August 2008 archives

Neville Hobson has been testing out the 3 Skypephone S2 and until recently had been collating his thoughts on what he made of the upgraded original handset. He has now put all this together in the form of a comprehensive video review on his technology blog, Next.

The review is 28 minutes long and runs through all the main points of interest and all that goes before your eyes when putting the integrated applications to work. A demonstration that suits the medium superbly. If the S2 is a something you’re intrigued by then this video is a must, giving you a users point-of-view guide.

http://www.vimeo.com/1637337

3 Skypephone S2 Video Review from Neville Hobson on Vimeo.

In the post where Neville presents the video he gives a snippet of his conclusion, and it seems an appropriate place finish, “It’s a terrific device, greatly improved on its predecessor”.

Mobile Industry Review were about to write something undoubtedly well constructed about the Skypephone S2 and Facebook integration, but then Ken, a MIR reader, sent them over his thoughts… Thus reader generated content, superb.

Ken’s view on Facebook wasn’t the best, it isn’t that he disliked it, just didn’t feel the need for it, so as he says himself, “it was with some trepidation that I approached FB when given the chance to try out a SkypePhone recently. Would my meagre assortment of friends do the business? Could I actually like this?”

In short the answer is yes. And why? Because Facebook on a phone works, especially in Ken’s case the messaging service it provides and the friends link, something he refers to as ‘killer’. This link gives you the update statuses of your friends, each with an option to message or call. The pull of this is the context it gives to your next meeting, knowing the state of mind of a pal or what they’ve been up to, “the serendipity that FB on my phone is starting to engender is eye-opening [...] If it’s fast and easy, people will do it. 3 have removed the pain and mobilised something I never thought I’d enjoy.”

Ken’s complete reaction was posted by Ewan here and is worth having a look at if you’re either tempted by the S2 or indeed a Facebook-aholic.

One of the features of the new 3 Skypephone S2 is that it can be plugged into your laptop and used as a dongle for getting mobile broadband. Neil decided to give this a whirl, and he’s written about it under the title 3 Skypephone S2 + Laptop = Mobile Broadband.

The process of getting the S2 functioning as a dongle is as straight forward as things can get, something Neil commended; “Set-up was a breeze, well for PC users (more on that later), as all you need to do is plug the supplied USB data cable into the bottom of your phone and the other end into your computer.” It is this simple because the setup software is all contained on the S2 itself.

As alluded to in the above quote, the setup on a Mac was less easy, which is something that Neil discusses in the post. However, he has nothing but good things to say about the newly designed connection interface and it is these words that send him headlong into the conclusion; “For the price - I really cant fault it, why get a Mobile Broadband Dongle, when you can have this AND make calls?”

With the Skypephone S2 ‘in the wild’ and showing promise “with a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a new carousel interface that sounds like it’s taken more than a passing inspiration from the iPhone’s touch UI”, Mobile Industry Review (incorporating SMS Text News) have featured it in their show!

Episode 22 of the Mobile Industry Review Show comes from the Tower of London and throws interesting historical facts a-plenty before entering into Skypephone S2 analysis at around the 2:20 mark. The review is three minutes in length and fairly conclusive with the integrated features of the S2 discussed (such as Facebook, Skype and Bebo amongst others) along with the function of the handset as a plug and play modem. This latter bit of functionality is something James Whatley had a brief moment trying to get to grips with, but pulls through in the end.

Overall, James, main reviewer Dan Lane and Ben Smith are all impressed wih the build quality, the ability to double it up as a dongle, screen quality and the looks. So be sure to view the review here.

A quick nod toward Neville’s Bank Holiday links; after superbly summing up what it takes to actually confirm it is indeed an three day weekend in August (yes August, will the real summer please stand up), he propagates his post with a flurry of interesting diversions in the form of links.

One such point among these links is the preparation of a Skypephone S2 review for his tech blog Next. Keep your eyes peeled it’ll be appearing soon, but if you want a sneak preview, then view this seesmic video of Neville getting things ready to go up.

Stuart Miles has given the Skypephone S2 a full Pocket-Lint review and it did rather well, scoring a positive 8/10!

Stuart spends the early part of the review placing the S2 in the handset landscape, coming to the conclusion that it sits firmly in the middle ground; “It is not ram-packed with features like the Nokia 6220, nor is it basic enough to be classed as entry-level like the Sony Ericsson J series”. This is followed by discussion on HSDPA and the easy navigation for finding the application you want at any particular moment.

Then Skype, as Stuart says, “the main reason you’ve bought the handset”. Overall this performed as one would want. However he does mention the “odd blip” in what were on the whole good results in voice quality tests, but there is a caveat, “if I was paying for the call I would be at times disappointed, but I am not so I was happy to put up with the odd blip. After all, I’ve just phoned a mate in the US and Australia for nowt whilst in the pub”.

At the point of conclusion 3 are praised for the improvements of the S2 on the original Skypephone, criticisms have clearly been listened to. And to go with the impressive 8/10 are Stuart’s final words, “If you are looking for a phone that is just a phone, but want a bit of free calling on the side, this is as good an offering as you’ll get from a mid-range Nokia or Sony Ericsson handset”.

Pocket-Lint’s full review is here and there are a some fetching images to accompany it through his link.

With the Skypephone S2 now available to pre-order the device is being assessed left, right and centre. As such I thought I’d point to a few of the previews that are popping up.

Engadget are impressed, believing it to be “more than your average WiFi-powered Skype handset for yakking it up while you’re wandering around the abode in your skivvies.”

Shiny Media are all over it with Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny giving it column inches, the latter opening with, “There’s so much free stuff on the latest incarnation of 3’s Skype phone, it wouldn’t surprise me if the next step was for them to pay you to use the phone.”

Not enough? Then there is more reaction to the S2 over at Gadget Paper, Latest Phones and Cell Review and iXplora.

The launch of 3’s Skypephone S2 has got the mobile tech corners of the interweb posting in anticipation of the devices that will be arriving 27th August, but as Phones Review points out can be ordered now from 3’s online store.

No new arrival on the handset scene would be complete without considerable unboxing, so for your fill enjoy iGadget Life’s work below. There is also a quick snap taken with the S2′ s upgraded 3.2MP camera on the post featuring the vid.

If more unboxing is required, ElectricPig are obliging and give a follow up with some details previewed, such as the carousel with a switcher key and compatibility with Facebook, Bebo and Windows Live Messenger.

Neville Hobson has added to his Flickr an industrious amount of images of the S2, an example of which you can see beneath these words.

Chris Dawson over at Tamebay has bugled in the new arrival with a tip for getting your SMS twitter messages on the go.

And for anything else you may need to know, delve through the posts by T3, Pocket-Lint and Technology, Gadget and Curiosities.

Neil’s first look is comprehensive. Although reserving opinion until he’s given the device some hands on use, this has not stopped his site iGadgetLife putting up a full post detailing specs and points of interest on the Skypephone S2:

“The new 3 Skypephone S2 has integrated Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Pre-installed Facebook application, quick-links to Bebo, YouTube, MySpace, eBay and RSS feeds. The camera has be upgraded from 2.0 to 3.2 mega-pixels and the screen has been improved to 2.2″ QVGA.

“GSM 900/1800/1900 Mhz, WCDMA 2100 Mhz, EDGE support, HSDPA (3.6Mbps), DTM (Class B).
50MB on board and expandable to 4GB with Miro SD Card.
1150 mAh Battery.”

For those in need of visuals, he has also taken a fair few snaps of the new arrival that can all be accessed here. I’ve included two from the collection, one of the device itself and a comparison shot between the first Skypephone and the S2.

iGadgetLife promise there is more to come… we await with anticipation.

Test what? Well, as I’m sure you’ve realised from the previous article, we’re talking the Skypephone S2. Now available for pre-order, the new incarnation of the original Skypephone will be on shelves from the 27th.

Neville in his testing of the device is determined to remain open-minded after feeling on first viewing back in July, that he would be unlikely to be able to make huge use of the device that offered services he was already hooked-up with on his regular handset - notably skype. However, he is a more than fair reviewer and is excited about a specific element of the Skypephone S2, “unlike the first-generation Skypephone, this one has HSDPA support, and I wonder how feasible using it as the equivalent of a mobile broadband dongle will be”.

There is also the matter of the wish list Neville created after being let loose with the original device. Will it be fulfilled? We’ll have to wait and see.

SMS Text news have a ‘mysterious handset’ from 3 that they’ve been playing with! And as he asks, “Can you guess-wot-it-is-yet?”

The picture he posted should help…

Apparently it arrived in an X-Files-esque manner, be-stuck with stickers of embargo notices. So, have you figured it out yet, yay or nay? Either way you should investigate Mulder and Scully style in the direction of the SMS Text News photo-stream on Flickr to see the handset in its full glory…

I’m sure there’ll be more to come from SMS Text News on the device and when there is we’ll let you know.

Outside of the box is a good place to be when it comes to doing something a little different. In light of this I give you one of Stephen Waddington’s projects, the wireless webcam.

Sure, when he received his 3 mobile broadband dongle he put it to use checking email while on the move, web browsing, uploading images to Flickr, posting blog entries and demo web applications in meetings. But that’s not all! He also hooked up a webcam with TinCam and a dongle to upload images to his piece of the web.

“The data throughput isn’t gutsy enough to act as a live connection and would quickly max out your data plan but uploading a captured image (about 30 to 40kB depending to quality) webcam image to a web server every few minutes is entirely viable.”

Stephen finishes by asking whether 3G could see the rise of temporary, mobile webcams. What do you think? Also he asks if might just be an excitable geek in a manner that suggests something is wrong with such a status?

3 has let Tech Radar know that it’s intending to double its mobile broadband speeds, a move that will push the UK more in line with the rest of Europe.

The improvement will be taking place over the summer and will likely see 3 squeezing the market more to its favour. It has also been hinted that the brand is looking to go even quicker than the current target of 7.2 Mbps. Yup, we’re talking 14.4 Mbps. This comes with a caveat however: with an increase in speed comes an increase in sensitivity, meaning that a user needs to be nearer to a mast to experience the speeds fully. Catchy as this may be, I’m not sure if it’ll beat Spiderman’s similarly cautionary phrase…

3’s goal isn’t just to increase the speed of a few however: “What we hope to offer is greater capacity, in order to serve more users, rather than just focusing on the top speeds.”

There is coverage about this on Broadband Finder.

Inquirer contributor, Tony Dennis has written a post on 3’s mobile broadband offering and the way it’s designed to connect the unconnectable.

This Robin Hood type painting of 3 by the Inquirer is built on the brand’s positioning; specifically, 3’s ability to offer their mobile broadband service in a package that engages the previously ‘disenfranchised’. This being that portion of the market that, for circumstances such as bad credit history (for whatever reason) or a free-roaming nature, aren’t suited to a fixed connection solution.

This is what the Inquirer believes is accountable for the large and expanding mobile broadband dongle UK user base, recently reported at almost 500,000. Like Tony says, “All you need is a computer, a USB port and a decent signal from the nearest 3 mast.”

Gordon Smith at Silicon Republic is predicting a Broadband arms race as the mobile broadband sector looks to improve speeds and, as result,  the service as a whole.

Looking specifically into the Irish broadband market, which is behind only Australia in its uptake of dongle-based connectivity with almost 250,000 users, Gordon delves into the details. In Ireland the market is a much more viable competitor to fixed line broadband than in other territories, something he refers to Pat Kidney, head of Analysys Mason Ireland, “several factors explain the high uptake of mobile broadband here. One is the slow progress to date of rolling out fast, fixed-line broadband and another is the high proportion of rural dwellers – close to 40% of the population.”

There is a school of thought presented in the article that believes although providers state they are satisfied with figures, they’re surprised by the demand, something that has led to the need for network upgrades. It is as Gordon states, “If adoption continues along the same steep curve, the operators are likely to need that extra capacity very soon.”

We await the roll out! For the full assessment from Gordon and further insight from Kidney head to here.