SGH PH930

Samsung is coming out with a new mobile TV phone for the Italian market called the Samsung SGH-P930 which will be made available through Telecom Italia. The new SGH-P930 combines DVB-H technology into a phone which also supports high speed HSDPA technology.

Let’s look at the TV features first – the screen on the SGH-P930 is designed to rotate from a portrait position into a landscape position making it ideal for television viewing. It comes with Picture in Picture (PIP) support which means you can watch two shows simultaneously. The screen itself is a wide 2.3 inch display with a resolution of 240 x 320 – plenty good for mobile phone users.

Other specs on this cool phone include:

• Support for UMTS 2.1GHz, GSM, GPRS, HSDPA
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• 2 megapixel digital camera and a VGA video
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• microSD card slot
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• Support for Mobile TV, Digital Video Broadcasting – Handhelds (DVB-H), PIP
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• Video Recording and Messaging (MPEG4/H.263)
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• Video Telephony and Streaming
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• MP3/AAC/AAC+/AAC++
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• Bluetooth 1.2, USB 1.1, Mobile Printing
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• Measures 107 x 49 x 19.7 mm
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• Weighs 119 grams

Competition in the smart phone market is on the increase recently as one new smart phone after other hits the market. Various companies are introducing mobiles with excellent features that captivate the mobile users. The mobile phones are becoming smaller in size though the features keep increasing. The T mobile is known for releasing such smart pones every year with improved technologies and enhancements.

A recent smart phone launched by the T mobile is ˜my touch 3G™.It uses the high speed data network. It is the second hand set of T mobile to feature Google powered android operating system. The ˜my touch 3G™ hand set is offered in vibrant colors including black, white and distinctive merlot. The mobile looks more admirable in its merlot color. Though this hand set is similar to the T mobile™s G1, there are certain features that differentiate it. The ˜my touch 3G™ mobile offers a deep level of customization. The users can personalize and customize the menus, wall papers, icons and a range of other things with the help of the themes and skins. This makes it unique from the iphone because it has a un customizable look.

While it is not always guaranteed that a newly released piece of kit will always be introduced in the APAC market first (usually, these new products will be introduced into the US market, still the biggest consumer group in the world even after the recent market slowdowns) – the Philippine’s proximity to said countries gives the possibility of back-channel access to products that are not officially released into the market yet. This is probably due to our proximity to the Hi-Tech Tigers of Asia – Korea and Japan and Taiwan, as well as the country with the biggest number of manufacturers – China. Such access usually happens if only for the reason of testing the waters for acceptance of a new product, or simply to gauge public reaction to it.

In the case of services though, we can be confident that we are keeping up with the Jones’, in that Globe, a local communications company, has been offering HSDPA connectivity through their Globe Visibility service since March of 2006 – one of only a few Telecom companies offering this capability in the Asia Pacific. More recently, it was announced that both Smart Communications and its main competitor Globe will be offering television services to their subscribers. This brings me to the subject at hand, the Samsung SGH-P930.

Samsung SGH-P930 - a little larger than life-size

Why go such a long way around the topic you ask? Well you see, this particular Samsung phone is capable of displaying televised content through a new video standard for handhelds called DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting – Handhelds), which in turn can only function on networks that are capable of 3.5G speeds – such as Globe Visibility on the HSDPA technology – High Speed Downlink Packet Access. Without these prerequisites, the highly touted television-showing capability of the phone will be MIA, with no recourse other than to lug a regular old portable TV around, which is so 80’s.

Can't call anyone with this sir. Pretty big screen though

From the surface, all is well and good- Smart has already announced availability of the TV service to subscribers as recently as July of this year, and Globe, while still mute on their plans, can’t be too far behind. Yet a cursory peek at blogs and forums regarding the big two mobile service providers in the Philippine show that the service may not be ready for prime time. A good example of this movement of dissatisfaction can be found. All of these technologies – HSDPA, DVB-H, plus the problem of coverage, support by hardware, customer service and user friendliness – must be overcome before hardware like the SGH-P930 can be worth considering for its TV capabilities.

The other half of the “leading edge” of technology is of course, the hardware. There is only a few handhelds I know of that has the prerequisite technology onboard to be compatible with the imminent release of TV on your cell phone. A recent confirmation came in the form of Smart Communication’s approval of the Nokia N92 for TV duties. Another cell phone that I know off is here in front of me, the Samsung SGH-P930.

Hold a world of possibilities

Design – wise, this Samsung shows its vintage by its 2.0 MP camera and the fact that it’s actually only a bit slimmer than a pack of cigarettes – a lot of newer and slimmer models from Samsung have since been introduced. I still very much appreciate the technology it represents though, and the build quality – it has a “heft” that is substantial rather than heavy. The swivel-style screen reflects its dual-purpose nature – that of a phone and a video-viewing device. The screen is very clear, with vibrant colors resulting from its 262k – color TFT Screen, which measures a healthy 2.3” @ 240x320. One complaint that cropped up during its testing period: the 5-way toggle had sharp edges and is difficult to manipulate. These are the most notable details of the phone – a more complete list of specifications follows below.

Another key point to be noted about the ˜my touch mobile™ is something called Sherpa. Sherpa is nothing but an application that claims to learn from the actions of the user. For instance, if the user is searching on a topic; the Sherpa recognizes your intention and provides more information related to it which you may need in future. Does it sound be unreal? The reality is this; the application has a built in learning engine which has the ability to customize itself based on the user™s preference. This application is created by geodilic and it learns the likes and dislikes of the users through feedbacks and behavior.

The ˜my touch mobile™ uses a virtual keyboard which is a replacement to the physical keyboard used by a G1 mobile. This makes it much smaller and compact than the G1 mobile. The android cup cake software used by the ˜my touch mobile™ gives a unique beautiful look. The memory is also increased when compared to the G1 Mobile. This enables the applications to load and run very smoothly.

Specifications of the ˜my touch mobile™:

o A 3.2 inch TFT LCD screen

o 528 MHZ processor
o network: GSM quad band phone capable of global roaming

o Battery : LI “ION 1340MaH

o Internet ; full HTML browser

o Operating system : Android

o Touch screen: 3.2 inches

o Resolution: 320*480 pixels

o WiFi, GPS connectivity

o 3.2 mega pixel camera with automatic uploads

o Bundles 4GB micro SD card

o Internal memory : 512 MB

Samsung launches a new mobile TV phone (model:SGH-P930) to the Italian market this month through Telecom Italia. This newest mobile TV phone combines not only the latest mobile TV technology, but it also combines HSDPA technology which enables high-speed data transmission.

Samsung has provided a mobile TV phone (model: SGH-P920) to Telecom Italia since May 2006. Samsung's successful drive in the Italian market has been a big step in leading Europe 's mobile TV phone market. Samsung's newest model, the P930, adopts horizontal LCD screen for optimal mobile TV watching and supports stereo speaker for best sound quality.

The P930 has wide 2.3 inch (240x320) LCD and supports Picture in Picture (PIP) function to watch two TV channels simultaneously. It adopts a 2 megapixel camera for high-quality photo shooting and a VGA camera for convenient video telephony. It also supports a microSD external memory slot for better storage.

The mobile TV market is lead by three different standards; DVB-H in Europe , MediaFLO in the U.S, and DMB in Korea . Samsung is leading all three standards by supplying world's first S-DMB and T-DMB phone in Korea, Europe's first T-DBM phone in Germany, Europe's first DVB-H phone in Italy and by successfully demonstrating the MediaFLO mobile TV technology at ‘CTIA Wireless 2006'in the U.S. market.

The key feature of the iphone namely multi touch is not supported by the ˜my touch mobile™. The battery life of this mobile is more than the G1 mobile and the iphone. The ˜my touch mobile™ is also comparatively cheaper than the iphone with the price ranging from $199.

The ˜my touch mobile™ performs very well even if some other applications are running in the background. The touch screen is made by HTC. The mobile users are able to personalize menus, wall papers and even the icons. The android operating system helps to improve the performance. The ˜my touch mobile™ is stylish in appearance. The only advantage it offers compared to the other recent phones specifically is that it is smaller in size compared to all recent models. The T mobile android battery is also improvised. It is quite pretty and same as the HTC magic mobile phone. Among the ever growing collection of smart phones in recent days, the T mobile my touch is a perfect and appropriate choice for all.

SAMSUNG Launches a New Mobile TV Phone in Italy

Seoul Korea , November 22th, 2006 - Samsung launches a new mobile TV phone (model:SGH-P930) to the Italian market this month through Telecom Italia.

This newest mobile TV phone combines not only the latest mobile TV technology, but it also combines HSDPA technology which enables high-speed data transmission.

Samsung has provided a mobile TV phone (model: SGH-P920) to Telecom Italia since May 2006. Samsung’s successful drive in the Italian market has been a big step in leading Europe ’s mobile TV phone market.

Samsung’s newest model, the P930, adopts horizontal LCD screen for optimal mobile TV watching and supports stereo speaker for best sound quality.

The P930 has wide 2.3 inch (240×320) LCD and supports Picture in Picture (PIP) function to watch two TV channels simultaneously. It adopts a 2 megapixel camera for high-quality photo shooting and a VGA camera for convenient video telephony. It also supports a microSD external memory slot for better storage.

The mobile TV market is lead by three different standards; DVB-H in Europe , MediaFLO in the U.S, and DMB in Korea . Samsung is leading all three standards by supplying world’s first S-DMB and T-DMB phone in Korea, Europe’s first T-DBM phone in Germany, Europe’s first DVB-H phone in Italy and by successfully demonstrating the MediaFLO mobile TV technology at ‘CTIA Wireless 2006′in the U.S. market.

Kitae Lee, President of Samsung Electronics Telecommunication Network Business said, “Mobile TV will change the lifestyle of people and will be a big contributor in the future of an ubiquitous world.” He added, “Samsung will lead the worldwide mobile TV market by providing a variety of mobile TV phones with advanced features and premium design.

SWIVEL AND SLIDE

The P930’s unique slide and swivel mechanism allows for it to stand out in a crowd. Add that to the slick black finish with silver trimming and the P930 doesn’t fail to impress.

Samsung's newest model, the P930, adopts horizontal LCD screen for optimal mobile TV watching and supports stereo speaker for best sound quality. The P930 has wide 2.3 inch (240x320) LCD and supports Picture in Picture (PIP) function to watch two TV channels simultaneously. It adopts a 2 megapixel camera for high-quality photo shooting and a VGA camera for convenient video telephony. It also supports a microSD external memory slot for better storage. The mobile TV market is lead by three different standards; DVB-H in Europe , MediaFLO in the U.S, and DMB in Korea . Samsung is leading all three standards by supplying world's first S-DMB and T-DMB phone in Korea, Europe's first T-DBM phone in Germany, Europe's first DVB-H phone in Italy and by successfully demonstrating the MediaFLO mobile TV technology at ‘CTIA Wireless 2006'in the U.S. market.

Now - the hardware is here, and the software (or infrastructure) is in the “Let’s roll-out” stage – all gung-ho and full of marketing piss-and-vinegar. Following multiple releases of TV-on-your-cell services around the world, it is now the local market’s turn. Hopefully problems - on multiple levels of the service – can be ironed out so that the adoption of this new technology (and the use of phones such as the Samsung SPH-P930) can be a smooth experience. Not everything is doom-and-gloom though – there was a time when texting was a hit-and-miss affair, while coverage was so spotty that there was still some merit in standing on top of your building’s water tank to get a better signal for your cell phone. Those days are long past now thankfully - perhaps the same process is being followed for the imminent introduction of TV services to our cell phones.

HSDPA-enabled network - Globe's towers are taller

Keeping up with the prevalently advanced tech in other countries is an admirable endeavor, but when it is accomplished at the cost of shoddy performance and half-hearted implementation, I’d rather stay a few months away from the bleeding edge – after all, it’s too easy to slip off and cut yourself on unproven technology compounded with untested services. Thankfully, the Samsung is definitely not bleeding edge – (how often can a hardware geek be glad to say that?) It was introduced in Italy November of 2006, and is already a proven performer. Newer TV-capable phones from Samsung have also been introduced.

P.S.: Yet even after saying all that, I still find a certain amount of gleefulness that the Philippines is actually one of the countries leading the charge for a new technology – the same kind of feeling when I happened upon a report that Filipinos led the world in cell phone texting usage. What kind of gleefulness? I dunno, maybe the novel kind?

As with most of the “slider” type phones, the display screen dominate the model, although this is well complimented by the sleek design of the phone which is available in polished black, with stylish silver trim.. The keys themselves are housed under the top layer of the phone, and become visible when the slider action is utilised.

The keys blend very well with the phone colours, and are actually built into the casing of the phone. They are fairly sensitive to touch and easy to use in conjunction with your traditional navigation tilt button, and additional function keys. You will however soon realise that the screen display actually rotates horizontally or vertically for better viewing, which comes in useful for some of the other functions available (see below).

Perhaps the biggest selling point for the Samsung SGH P930 is the HSDPA high speed data transfer which works in conjunction with the DVB-H mobile standard to offer actual mobile TV on the move. The speed of data transfer is the key to this service, with in effect a broadband service on your mobile, something which handset manufacturers have been working on for some time - the “holy grail”.

low you to watch two TV stations at the same time! While the content for the mobile TV market may still be in its infancy, with phones like the Samsung SGH P930 around to push the cause, this will speed up the improvements required and quality content will soon be with us.

This will in turn force many of the other handset manufacturers to rush out their mobile TV offerings, thereby reducing the end cost to the consumer.

In addition the Samsung SGH P930 also offers a 2 megapixel inbuilt camera with 1600 x 1200 pixel focus for that sharp crisp shot. The standard photography and video options are available, with sufficient memory capability to store a significant number of your favourites, for easy play back. A useful multi-shot and night mode facility again increase the functionality of the Camera.

The mobile covers the following networks, HSDPA, UMTS, GSM 900 , GSM 1800 and GSM 1900 to give that all round exposure. One slight disappointment is the battery which while offering over 200 hours standby time, only allows 2 hours of talk time, which is probably not as disappointing as it first seems, bearing in mind the increased functionality of the phone.

The Samsung SGH P930 also offers your standard 1,000 record phone book, with the ability to store multiple details on each contact, e.g. email address, etc. There is over 20Mb of memory available,. with a memory port for additional capacity. As well as your traditional internet access, the Samsung SGH P930 also supports Bluetooth Technology together with numerous USB connection ports.

The task of transferring data has been made very simple, efficient and very quick - no more excuses for forgetting those all important appointments, etc. Add in the SMS and MMS messaging services available and you have a quality mobile office, perfect for the business person or personal user.

For those who need time to relax on the move, there are a number of JAVA games pre-installed, which are fairly addictive! The Samsung SGH P930 also supports the MP3, AAC, AAC+ and WMA audio facilities, with built in stereo speakers giving that all round sound experience.

It looks as though the Samsung SGH P930 will be leading Samsung into a new phase of mobile technology, and they have stolen a march on many of their competitors with this quality offering.