Have a taste of Android or WP7 by simulating them on your iPhone
Lets say that you are a happy iPhone owner but at the same time you have sometimes wondered what it might feel like to use Android or even Windows Phone 7 for a little bit. Well, now you can actually try either one of the operating systems to some extent by simulating them right there on your iPhone. OSFaker is the app that you need to download, assuming your iPhone has already been successfully jailbroken.OSFaker can be easily obtained through Cydia and will do its best to give you a graphical representation of either Android or WP7. For those of you unfamiliar with Cydia, imagine Apple's App Store, but offering apps which were designed specifically to be used on a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch. Needless to say, such applications would have never made it to the listings of Apple's App Store.
Using the application proves to be pretty simple as it gives you the option to simulate Android or WP7 right after its launch. OSFaker added WP7 simulation in its most recent update, which explains its limited capabilities. On the other hand, the Android simulation includes access to a handful of basic apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Calculator, and Paint. Feel free to give it a try if you are curious enough already!
Samsung Wave 578
At the moment, four out of every five handsets we cover have one thing in common.. they are running Android. So sometimes it is nice to be presented with something a little different, and in the case of the Samsung Wave 578 the phone runs Samsung's own Bada OS.
We can't imagine that anyone has ever woken up in the morning and decided to go out and specifically buy a phone running Bada, but Samsung shifted 5 million Wave handsets last year running the OS.. so they must be doing something right. From a consumer point of view, these are attractive, capable and inexpensive touchscreen phones from a name they trust, and that seems to be doing the job.The Wave 578 isn't exactly an exciting phone, but it's a pleasingly compact smartphone coming in at just under 100 grams. There's a 3.2" 240 x 400 pixel capacitive TFT display, a 3.2 megapixel camera on the back plus a 0.3 camera on the front for video calling, support for 3.5G data and WiFi
Like most Samsung phones, it has a good music player with all the functions you'd expect plus an FM radio and a 3.5mm audio socket. Music and other material can be stored on a microSD card (up to 16GB) or in the 100MB of internal memory.
The Samsung Wave 578 can play and record video - playback is just about adequate on this Wave's screen, but the QVGA video capture resolution is a bit poor. However, Samsung phones are usually pretty good when it comes to stills photos, and we assume that the Wave 578 will make the best of the rather basic camera.
One unusual feature with the 578 is the inclusion of NFC technology which can allow contactless payments. Manufacturers seem to be gearing up for this in a big way for 2011, although previous efforts have fallen a bit flat. As far as we can tell, the Wave 578 doesn't have GPS (where the similar Wave 525 does) so perhaps the NFC circuitry sits where the GPS receiver used to be.
Bada isn't exactly the operating system on everyone's lips at the moment, but the similar Wave 525 currently has about 1750 apps available for it. Social networking support is built in, as is a web browser, email client and all the usual features.
Pricing is not known, but you can currently buy the similar Wave 525 for about €150, so the Wave 578 looks like good value. The 578 should be available in Europe from May and June onwards with other markets to follow.
HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa
The HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa are two Android smartphones aimed at Facebook fans. Although very different in outward appearance, their function and target market are very similar.
Both the ChaCha and Salsa are based around a 600 MHz processor with 512Mb of RAM, they support 3.5G data and WiFi, have GPS and a microSD slot. On the back of both phones is a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, and they also both have a front-facing VGA resolution camera for video calling.What sets these apart from other Android smartphones is the inclusion of a Facebook button on the front of the handset. This acts as a shortcut for sharing things (such as photographs) with your friends.. although at first glance it looks like some sort of operator logo.
Facebook updates are integrated into the phone's regular inboxes, and there are all sorts of widgets and gadgets to keep Facebookers happy. Out of these we think the most interesting feature is one that displays your friends latest status updates and photographs if you are making or taking a call from them which even lets you know if their birthday is approaching.
Out of these two handsets, the HTC ChaCha is the most interesting. On the bottom of the ChaCha is a nice looking QWERTY keyboard topped out by a small 2.6" 480 x 320 pixel display, which is a bit less than half the size of the HTC Desire but just as sharp. The whole device curves slightly and it does look quite interesting. The ChaCha weighs 120 grams, comes in at a normal smartphone size of 114 x 65 x 11mm and has a 1250 mAh battery capable of giving up to 7 hours talktime.
A more conventional handset to look at, the HTC Salsa features a 3.4" 320 x 480 pixel touchscreen, also weighs 120 grams and measures a slightly more compact 109 x 59 x 12mm. Inside is a 1520 mAh battery offering a shade under 8 hours talktime. The Salsa is a little better specified than the new HTC Wildfire S and we presume a little more expensive.
As we've said before with "Facebook phones", they're a good idea if you are a Facebook fan, but if you are not then these are almost definitely not for you. Although we think that the ChaCha is a promising looking device in its own right, turning off all the Facebook add-ons to turn it back into a normal Android phone might be a bit difficult.
These are both Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" smartphones, so they can download and run thousands of applications from the Android market. We suspect that the small screen on the ChaCha might be fiddly with some games, where the Salsa might be better suited. On the other hand, if you type a lot of text then the ChaCha might be the better choice.
There's no word on pricing, but these two phones should come in at the less expensive end of HTC's range when they are released in Europe and Asia during Q2. There will also be US versions launching later this year exclusively on the AT&T network.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
The original Galaxy Tab was a compact Android tablet which was nicely built (but expensive) and half the size and weight of the Apple iPad, but in use it felt just like an oversized Android phone.. because really that's all it was. Android was never designed to run on a tablet.. until now, that is.
Android 3.0 (aka "Honeycomb") is the first version of Android designed to take advantage of a tablet's larger form factor, and that's the operating system found in the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. In this context, "10.1" refers to the screen size, 10.1 inches.. a bit larger than the iPad and a lot larger than the original Galaxy Tab.
The display itself is a 1280 x 800 pixel (WXGA) TFT panel, capable of playing back 1080p video at 30 frames per second (presumably with some scaling to fit). Inside is a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor with 8GB of RAM, according to one source within Samsung.
On the back is an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video recording - something of an oddity because the enormous size of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will make it a bit inconvenient to use for photography or taking video clips. There's also a more useful 2 megapixel camera on the front which can be used for video calling.
As standard the Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes with 3G built-in, including "near 4G" HSPA+ and of course there's WiFi connectivity. We don't know if you can make phone calls with the Galaxy Tab, we can't see why it shouldn't work with a Bluetooth headset.
Because this is an Android device, then it does everything that Android does, including using it as a giant SatNav device if you really wanted. The most practical advantage though is the enormous library of software available through the Android market.
It's a big but slim device at 246 x 170 x 11mm and 599 grams, but that does include a large 6860 mAh battery. There's also 16GB or 32GB of integrated flash memory and stereo speakers for audio playback plus a 3.5mm audio socket too.
Developed in collaboration with Vodafone, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 should be out by the end of Q2 2011 in most markets. Pricing is not known, but a similarly specified 32GB iPad with 3G retails for about €700, so expect the higher spec Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be around the same price.
PlayStation Phone
