GooGle Map Navigation

Patience has had to be your foremost virtue if you were eager to use Google Maps Navigation outside the US  or UK, but you might be in luck today as a sizable new batch of countries is getting the free turn-by-turn nav service activated. Googleites in Canada and most of mainland Europe will now be able to hear their Android (version 1.6 and above) giving them voice directions, and as an extra bonus, some nations are also seeing voice search activated, with Canada and German-speaking countries among them. Google’s clearly not sitting on its laurels here, so why not power up your phone and let us know how well it finds its way around De Wallen?
List of confirmed new countries so far: Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Source: Google DE

Yo TomTom, wake up and smell the competition. While the original gangster of navigation devices is still mulling over an app store, Nokia has raised the smartphone pathfinding bar a little higher by letting people record (and share) their own voice instructions. It’s not the most complex process in the world, you just get the extra Own Voice app to go with the latest version of Ovi Maps and set your vocal talents free. At the end you’ll get a neat little voice pack to utilize on your handset or to share with the world, which is surely just dying to hear your Mr. T impressions. Let the silliness commence!

Nokia Own Voice

There was a time when Windows Mobile used to rule the smartphone seas. Then along came Symbian but that’s a whole other story. It was touchscreen that showed to all the willing challengers that Windows Mobile is just too big to turn around quickly enough and catch the new wind. HTC however seem to disagree and dispel doubts of jumping ship. They have not given up on the cause and the HTC HD mini is the living proof.

So, mini is perhaps the right approach to users who would otherwise feel timid about giving Windows Mobile a try – especially with so many touchscreen temptations around. On the other hand, it does matter whose mini version it is. The almighty HD2 was the first PocketPC with a capacitive screen and a Snapdragon core.

HTC HD mini official photos

Now, the HTC HD mini is obviously shorter on size, resolution and processing power. But it may be well worth the resources invested in making it what it is – a pocket-friendly, but still powerful handset with solid build, slick design and a touch-friendly UI.

Check out the HTC HD mini key strengths and possible turn-offs in the lists below to get an idea if this is the handset that will suit you.

Key features

• 3.2″ 65K-color HVGA capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch input
• Compact body and bold industrial design
• Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional OS with Sense UI
• Qualcomm MSM7227 600 MHz CPU and 384MB RAM
• Quad-band GSM support with dual-band HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA 2 Mbps
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support
• 5 MP autofocus camera with touch focus
• CIF video recording at 25fps
• microSD card slot
• Standard microUSB port and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• MS Office Mobile document editor
• Opera 9.5 web browser
• YouTube client, Facebook and Twitter integration
• Very good audio output quality
• Excellent loudspeaker performance

Main disadvantages

• Poor display sunlight legibility
• Poor camera performance and sub-par video recording
• No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
• Card slot under the battery cover
• No DivX/XviD video support out-of-the-box
• Preloaded CoPilot Live navigation software is a trial version only
• No secondary video-call camera
• No voice dialing
• No handwriting recognition
• Unreliable Flash support in IE Mobile

We all know there’s more to a contemporary smartphone (touchscreen at that) than its spec sheet. The HTC HD mini certainly has the pedigree but the verdict will only be passed on its performance.

The HTC Mini HD at ours

Windows Mobile has been known to be pretty demanding on a phone’s processing power, and the Sense UI probably takes its toll too. Our initial impressions of the HD mini were downright positive but it still needs to pass the test of a full review.

Now then, we’ve got a PocketPC on our hands and we’re not gonna let that pet name fool us. It’s been a while so let’s not waste any more time in small talk and move on. On the next page, we look inside the box, before we set off to exploring the hardware and ergonomics

Gsmarena

iphone 4g

Memory: there is no card slot

internal 64/80 GB storage

100 received, dialed and missed calls

Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall

Camera: 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

Colors: black,white

Bluetooth: v2.1 with A2DP

Size: 640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches 140 g

Gps: with A-GPS support

Screen Size: 640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches