The Zone

Need.to.buy.new.phone!

Mobile phones are evil, I tell you. New models are coming out so fast that that not a month goes by without me contemplating to change my trusty 'ol RAZR to one of these new fangled beauties on the market today. The urge is just too hard to resist.

I have my eyes set on several models (some available now, and some coming soon), but I'm not planning to give in anytime soon. I hope I don't, at least not until my RAZR dies.

So, here are some of my poison. What's yours?

Sony Ericsson

W850i

I have a thing for sliders and the W850i is definitely calling out to me. SE's Walkman series of phones seems to be doing very well, and the first Walkman slider will do the line no harm.

However, i hope this doess't end up like the W900i. The W900i looked very tasty in pictures, but when most people saw the real thing, they were dissapointed. The spinner gimmick was very cool, but the thing is just so damn huge! It put a lot of people off, including myself.

Expect the W850i to arrive within 2 to 3 months, and you can bet that I'll be one of the first to check it out. No word on the price though, but don't expect it to come cheap. I'm betting it'll probably in the range of RM1500 or more.

Key Specifications

• 3G tri-band (UMTS, GSM900/1800/1900)
• 256K colors TFT screen (240 x 320 pixels)
• 16MB internal memory, Memory Stick Pro Duo slot
• 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio, TrackID music recognition

P990i

Ahhh... the fable Sony Ericsson P series of mobile phones. Back in the days when you didn't want a cumbersome Palm or Windows PDA-type phone, you would go for SE's symbian-based P series of phones. From the first P800 all the way to the P910i, they were a hit with users looking for a bit more juice with their mobile phones.

Now, the P series will be back with a bang with the P990i. From a very simple point of view, the P990i is sort of like an improved P910i with 3G, Wi-Fi and a 2 megapixel camera. But that won't really do the P990i justice. It's much more than that.

I would like to think that its the pinnacle of the P series. It's the best SE smartphone, yet. It basically has everything a power user can hope for - and more. I won't go into details of the P900i (Google it!), but if you're looking for a mobile office in your palm, you can't go wrong with this. By the way, the price of this baby is said to be above RM3000. Ouch.

Key Specifications

• 3G tri-band (UMTS, GSM900/1800/1900), Wi-Fi (802.11b)
• Touchscreen 256K colors TFT screen (240 x 320 pixels)
• 60MB internal memory, Memory Stick Pro Duo slot
• 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio
• QWERTY keyboard

Nokia

8800 Sirocco

The original 8800 was often lambasted as a phone for posers. If you had money and you don't have a clue about mobile phones, the 8800 is for you. Priced at RM2888, it scored little points on features, but very high on style.

I personally think that the 8800 is rather cool. There is a market for these kind of phones (RAZR anyone?) and you guys really need to look at it from a slightly different point of view. But let's leave it at there and get back to the matter at hand.

The 8800 Sirocco is essentially an improved version of the 8800. From the spec sheets I gathered, all things new with Sirocco are the 2 megapixel camera, increased internal memory (from 64MB to 128MB), Bluetooth 2.0 (from 1.2) and improved battery life.

I haven't see it in the shops yet, but I'm guessing that the price of the Sirocco should be similar to the 8800 when it first came out, which is about RM2888. I'll probably be least likely to get this, but one can always lust can he not?

Key Specifications

• Tri-band ( GSM900/1800/1900)
• 256K colors TFT screen (208 x 208 pixels)
• 128MB internal memory, no memory card slot
• 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio