Gadgets
There’s always something new and exciting in the digital consumer world - Africa Telecoms takes a look at what’s hot this month. H Uncool HH Poor HHH Average HHHH Excellent
BlackBerry Torch 9800 Price: TBA Rating: HHHHH NEED TO KNOW • 3G network support • Optical trackpad • High-resolution touchscreen • Full QWERTY keyboard The latest smartphone from BlackBerry sees the amalgamation of touchscreen functionality with the total convenience of a full QWERTY keyboard, resulting in a robust slide phone. So what’s different about this BlackBerry? The touchscreen slides up on a nearly invisible metal track to reveal the beloved BlackBerry QWERTY down below. Happily, there’s more to this BlackBerry than just a touchscreen/sliding keyboard combo – there’s the all-new BlackBerry Operating System version 6, too that delivers a proper touchscreen experience. The BlackBerry is the ultimate communications device: the push e-mail functionality is a beautiful thing, BlackBerry Messenger is addictive, and support for IM apps and social networking apps means there are a million and one ways to stay in touch using your BlackBerry, least of which is the call and texting functionality. There’s an Organiser, Documents To Go and a variety of other useful functionalities that make this BlackBerry the perfect device for the serial multi-tasking communicator.
18 AFRICA TELECOMS Issue 9 2010
HHHHH Died and gone to heaven
Skullcandy HESH headphones Price: R600 Rating: HHH NEED TO KNOW • 50mm drivers with sound-boosting parabolic ear-cups • Over-the-head wearing style • In-line volume controls • 1.2-metre cable length An edgy blend of style and functionality, these Skullcandy HESH headphones deliver a personal audio experience that’s sure to please the average iPod-loving teenager, but not ideal for the business user. With their 50mm high-octane power drivers that pump sound into your skull, the HESH headphones are nice and loud. These ‘phones come with a travel bag and because of a 3.5mm audio jack, you can plug them into just about anything – a PSP, iPod, iPhone, MP3 player or laptop, and with a 1.2-metre cable, you’ve got room to groove. The in-line volume controls add a layer of convenience, letting you set the music player’s volume quite high and manage the headphone volume a little easier. Sound quality is good, with the notable ability to play music at high volumes with no distortion whatsoever. They are not particularly wonderful at blocking out external sound, though, so anyone in close proximity can also hear your music if the volume is set high enough. The upside to this is you’re not completely sealed off from the real world, and can respond to environmental sounds if needed.