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Just started using video calling and mobile TV this week. Not bad. Obviously the screen is a little small, but the picture is good enough to be seen clearly. I intend to watch the All Blacks beat the Springboks this weekend
on it; I'll report back with some comments.
Just ordered a Samsung Z400v from the Voda NZ website. When it arrives (and I get to grips with it) I intend to do a Camera comparison between everything I can get my hands on - currently V630i, Nokia 6234, the Z400v, a Sony DVD videocam with 1.0 Mp still cam and maybe a disposable film camera for reference. Watch this space...
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Posted: 2007-06-22 12:51:32
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Quite a line up of phones you'll have! Is the samsung z400 the silver one? Are you gonna do a menu and screen comparison?
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Posted: 2007-06-22 23:58:36
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The Z400v is a black slider style phone with similar features and retail price to the V630i, in fact all 3 phones have 3G video calling, MP3 player, 2.0 Mp camera and all retail for NZ$499 so it should make for a good comparison.
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Posted: 2007-06-23 05:54:04
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Well, I've just finished watching a great game of rugby between easily the two best teams in the world: The New Zealand All Blacks and the South African Springboks. Final result 26 - 21 to tha AB's.
I was initially sceptical about the value of Mobile TV but now I'll admit I'm hooked. It's great, even if the speed that the All Blacks play at causes severe pixelation and pauses in the action. The picture was excellent during the post-match interviews where the camera shots weren't moving around so much and tha sound quality was very good. I fiddled with the settings and was pleased to find I could watch in Fullscreen Landscape mode with no prompt graphics or black bars on the screen. At times the speed of the camera movement caused 'ghost trails' reminiscent of the effect created by tracer bullets, an analogy I felt appropriate to the skills of the All Blacks and Joe Rokocoko in particular.
Of real concern is battery life. I charged the V630i for 3 hours beforehand, then tuned in early to watch 30 mins of build-up and at half time tuned out to check the battery level which was indicating 1 bar remaining and beginning to turn red. I watched the entire second half and the interviews with the charger plugged in. Having finished watching I found the battery barely improved despite 50 mins charging. Mobile TV certainly sucks the juice!
Overall, I'd rate the experience 7/10 and have to admit it made a big impression on me. I'll definately consider screen size and video playback quality as an important factor in the purchase of my next phone...
_________________
SE and Vodafone sponsor Motorsport in OZ
If a man speaks in the woods and there's no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?
[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2007-06-23 16:55 ]
[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2007-06-28 03:05 ]
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Posted: 2007-06-23 17:48:15
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As a footnote to the Mobile TV pixelation issue, I'd like to add that this week I tuned in to edited highlights of the AB v Bokkies game and it wasn't pixelated at all. All the same shots from the weekend but in perfect picture quality. I wondering now whether the Live aspect of the game had something to do with it, or as Vodafone NZ announced that this was a service available to a limited number of subscribers, maybe high demand affects the picture? Who knows.
Mobile TV is certainly better on the V630i than the Samsung Z400v. Harsh contrast combined with jagged picture on the Samsung makes it virtually unwatchable.
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Posted: 2007-06-28 04:01:11
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Okay, not a full review but some comments regarding my first impressions...
All three phones have similar spec including A2DP, 3G, Media player, Flight mode, 2.0 MP Camera and all originally sold for NZ$499. The Samsung Z400v is a slider while the Nokia 6234 and Sony Ericsson V630i are candybar style. V630i is a music focused phone with Robbie Williams content pre-installed and
black and orange colouring but not with full
features. The 6234 is a standard middle of the road model for Nokia, while Vodafone NZ market the Z400v as a business phone because of its Word/Excel/PowerPoint/pdf document reader. One review I’ve read, mentioned it in the same sentence as the P990i. Not likely.
The Samsung looks like a kids toy phone but is nice to use, has good slide action and nice bright screen. Downsides are few but serious - harsh contrast of screen ruins video calling, mobile TV and video playback and is not adjustable; can't find any free themes to download, even on zedge, so I’m stuck with the standard red and white Vodafone menus; and changes made thru adjusting Settings in submenu's are forgotten once you exit that application i.e. using landscape mode for video. With the V630i it remembers that you viewed Mobile TV in landscape mode and automatically returns to that, with the Z400v you have to choose the option every time. It gets annoying... And 20 options in one submenu!?! Also you can’t minimise the Media player - major omission! I like the slide-show wallpaper feature though, very cool. I was'nt expecting much from this phone but have grown to like it alot.
The 6234 looks and feels the best with metal front cover and rubber back cover, but the menu font is unnecessarily small, it’s not intuitive to use, awkward to text with and that D-pad is awful. Having only one camera makes video calling a one-sided, pointless affair and smacks of being built down to a price. On the plus side, the in-built stereo speakers are great: sound quality is excellent, the headphones are a better design than
and thousands of free themes available online
I really like the styling of this phone: I think it's the best looking Nokia for years, but out of frustration I've grown to dislike it. My 12yr old son however thinks it's great, especially the pre-installed football (soccer) game. Overall though I'd rate it 3rd behind the Samsung (2nd).
The best of all is the V630i and not just 'cause I'm a fan of
.
It has the best UI, a quality look and feel and easily the best media player of the three. In fact the others are poor in this regard. A 256MB M2 card, USB cable, plug in stereo speakers + headphones all included in the box make it the best value package (the Z400v has USB cable, no memory card but 30MB in-built memory, while the 6234 has 64MB Micro SD and no USB cable). Though the screen is slightly smaller than the others, in landscape mode it shows full screen with no bars (Samsung) or onscreen graphics (Nokia). It just does everything better, easier and is a more satisfying ownership experience. It’s only down side is the placement of the microphone (on the bottom surface) and speaker (on the back). If you stand the phone up it covers the mic so the caller can’t hear you; if you lie it down, it covers the speaker and you lose half the volume. Just plain dumb. An unnecessary black mark on an otherwise superb mid-range phone.
IMO.
BTW, I purposely left out the Camera aspect as I hope to delve into that at a later date. The weather here has been atrocious lately and not conducive to travelling or taking photos.
_________________
SE and Vodafone sponsor Motorsport in OZ
If a man speaks in the woods and there's no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?
[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2007-07-07 18:25 ]
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Posted: 2007-07-07 18:49:33
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