The Galaxy tab comes with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution display, LCD TFT, Samsung’s 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 640MB of RAM and 16GB of storage space. The front of the tablet made of Gorilla glass and has a front-facing camera. On the back, there’s a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash on the back. Under the hood, it has a quadband GSM and dualband (1700/2100) UMTS. Take a look at SlashGear full review here.

[via SlashGear]

The Body

Much like some of LG’s other recent releases, the Fathom’s physical construction is very good. It feels like a sturdy phone. And yet, the company has figured out some way or another to give the illusion that it’s light as a feather. As we held it more and more in our hands, we were only ever consciously aware that it was there because we were using it, and not because it was an added weight we had to lug around. But things like sliding open the landscape slider are easy, and there’s no sign of grinding parts. The brushed metal look is unique for a phone, and while we weren’t fans of it right off the bat, we fell in love with it before too long.

Surprisingly enough, unlike other touchscreen devices, the Fathom’s 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen doesn’t actually feel like it’s taking up the majority of space on the front of the phone. And while it’s good to be different in some regards, we realized this trick of the eye actually lead to us not really enjoying the touchscreen, even just for its size. We’ve used a lot of them over the years, and we have to admit that 3.2-inches just isn’t big enough. While things on the screen obviously don’t feel cramped, because of space optimization with the User Interface (UI), it still just never feels like there’s enough space to actually accomplish anything comfortably.

Since the touchscreen doesn’t fill the entire face of the handset, there’s more room than probably necessary for things like Verizon’s and LG’s logo. Below the latter’s, you’ll find only three hardware keys (at least on the front of the device). The furthest to the left is the call/answer key, with the Windows key placed squarely in the middle. And the last one is the end call button. Simple and straight forward, with absolutely no frills thrown in. But, this is being pushed as a business phone (it is Windows Mobile, after all) more than anything else by Verizon, so we’re not surprised in this regard at all.

Along the sides, you’ll find the bottom of the device is bare. Along the left side, you’ll find a covered hatch, where underneath you’ll be granted access to the microUSB port. Interestingly enough, and something that confused us for quite some time, there’s another small port here, next to the microUSB’s. Some investigation, and we found out that this is the small port you’d push if you wanted to reset your device. While that’s great for convenience, as it means we don’t have to open up the back cover and remove the battery to reset the handset, this went a long way to show us that obviously LG believes that this is something that happens enough, the port should be easily accessible. While we didn’t run into any reasons why we’d need to reset the device in our testing period, we’re just thrown off by this a little bit. Near the top of the left side, you’ll find the volume rockers. These are very well-defined buttons, with good travel and feedback, and they’re raised just enough from the device to make it really easy to find them, even in a rush. And then, just above the volume control keys, you’ll find the 3.5mm audio jack. We wish it had been placed at the top, or even the bottom, as we’re not fans of sideways audio jacks; it makes listening to music from wired headphones difficult if the device is in your pocket. Along the top, the only thing present is the power/lock button. This button is flush with the device, and relatively small, but its placement makes it easy for anyone to find it comfortably.And finally, down the right side, you’ll find access to the microSD card slot. Right behind that (and probably technically on the back of the device), is the hide-away for the stylus LG has included with the device. Near the bottom on the right side are two more buttons: the task manager, and physical camera button. The TM’s button is just as good as the volume rockers, with good travel and feedback, but it’s pretty small for its own good. As for the camera button, it’s a dual-action button, meaning you press it down, and then have to press it down again to activate the second stage. Good feature, but can be a pain as the button is flush with the side of the device, with barely a recognizable rise to the button.

On the back of the device, the only thing you’ll find (other than that stylus) is the 3.2MP dedicated camera. Unfortunately, there isn’t a flash accompanying this camera, even if it does look like there’s plenty of space for one to get installed. The camera’s placement is nice, as there’s room for one of your fingers to reside between it and the top of the phone, making it for a more comfortable experience, and one where we weren’t constantly worried about foreign objects getting in our pictures.

The slider is spring assisted, and it slides up and down without a problem. We didn’t notice any plastic-on-plastic grinding, and the two-rail system works well to make sure that the phone is fully open, or fully closed. Even through a few day’s testing, the slider never felt like it was giving out, getting worse, or in any way shape or form lacking in its ability to open and close the device. This just goes hand-in-hand with our above statement that the Fathom is a well-built phone, even if it is light enough to assume quite the opposite.

Once you slide open the Fathom, you’re greeted with a full QWERTY physical keyboard. Right off the bat you’ll notice that LG took advantage of their four rows, and gave owners a dedicated row for the numbers. Each key on the keyboard is separate, and the squared keys are big enough that finding them is easy enough. The keys themselves are slightly raised off the keyboard, and not domed in any way, and they have good travel and feedback. The space key could have been a little bit bigger for our tastes, but that’s just personal preference, and it worked perfectly fine. Unfortunately, there aren’t dedicated keys for the comma or period; and the delete and enter keys are actually at the bottom-right of the keyboard, and not implanted at the top. It took some getting used to, but once we did it felt just as natural as anything else. Next to the keyboard you’ll find a D-pad with a center OK button, and right above that you’ll find keys for Back and volume. On the far top-left, there’s a dedicated key for messaging, which makes it easier to access your email addresses. We wished it went to a centralized messaging hub, so we could select from text, MMS, or email, but obviously Microsoft wants you sending more emails than text messages. (Or that’s just obvious to us, anyway.)

The body of the Fathom, the slide-out landscape keyboard, and the well-built design go a long way to speak good things about the device. If we could play around with the hardware all day, we’d probably be happy campers. But, as all things go, there’s more to the phone than just the hardware. So, now it’s time to dig into the software, and see if the Fathom is the full package.

The Software

We’ll skip the set-up process for you, and just move on to the idea that you’ve already got your device on, activated, and ready to go. The lock-screen is the first thing you’ll be greeted with: it shows a large blank box at the center of the screen. Below that, there’s a bar that shows the date and time, with arrows on either side of it. Above the box is the “unlock” slider, which allows you to unlock the device in a more traditional touchscreen method: sliding it to the left or right of the screen will grant you access to the features of your handset.

As for the big box in the middle of the screen, this is where you’ll input your gesture to access a particular feature of the Fathom right from the lock-screen. Meaning, if you draw a “C,” you’ll be taken immediately to your Calendar. Or, if you draw an “N,” you’ll go right to your notes. If you’re the only one that uses your phone, and you’re not worried about any kind of security, then the gesture-to-unlock feature is probably something that will excite you for awhile. And yes, you can change the gesture you scribble in the box to activate different applications, so you don’t necessarily have to have a letter correspond with a task.

As for the bar at the bottom, we were curious as to why those arrows were there. When we tried to slide it to the left or right, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that it will actually “slide” and transition into a music control bar. It only offers play, back and forward, but it’s certainly better than nothing, and we really enjoyed the simple and different way to access them from the lock-screen.

Unfortunately, the lock-screen is a really, really quick way to show you that the Fathom has a resistive touchscreen. Simply trying to unlock the device, draw a symbol, or access the music controls take some effort, and after getting so accustomed to capacitive touchscreens over the years, we can tell you right now that this is one of the biggest negative aspects of the device. At this point in time, we firmly believe that Windows Mobile should support capacitive screens, and the Fathom could do very well with the hardware alteration.

Once you get past the lock-screen, you’ll find yourself at the main menu. It’s a general list of most used options, like: phone, music, voicemail, the time and date, email, calendar, and messaging. It’s definitely the best implementation of a main menu utilized by Windows Mobile in years, and it makes accessing those applications so much easier that it’s almost ridiculous. Sliding the bar that highlights each option up and down, and landing on a particular application, will show you a brief preview of what lies beyond. For example, the main menu will show you whether or not you’ve got text messages, emails, or voicemails, even before you get into the app. Highlighting the text messages will show you a preview of the message, and the sender, as well as the time you received the message. The same goes for email.

Sliding the bar up and down on the screen is a pain, and we immediately stopped trying. It’s far easier to simply tap on something you want, even if it does feel so five years ago. Additionally, there are two options which are not all that easy to access, simply because they run off the screen thanks to the stacked list. Pictures and Favorites proved very difficult to get to on a normal, day-to-day basis, and for a very strange reason. If you select an option that’s already highlighted by the bar, and try to slide up and down, the main menu won’t actually allow you to slide all the way up and down, which prevents easy access to the top-most application links. However, if you simply press anywhere else on the screen, except for what’s already highlighted, then the main menu will “drop away” slightly, and show you all the quick links very smoothly and easily. It’s a very strange implementation of the UI, and we’re curious as to why anyone would actually decide on this. It proved far more annoying than anything else.

As you find yourself through the mobile Operating System, you’ll realize right off the bat why Windows Mobile isn’t in the limelight anymore. For all intents and purposes, Windows Mobile is a computer on a phone, and therefore getting anywhere is more complicated than it should be. Accessing things like Messages gets you to a fairly decent screen, and it’s obvious that Microsoft realized putting the small “x” at the top right of the screen simply wouldn’t work out anymore. That’s why we’re glad to see Windows Mobile 6.5.3 on the Fathom, because it makes it easier to close applications, access the menu, or even reach the Windows key (which will get you to a full list of your applications, like Settings CityID (which comes pre-installed). However, while it makes sense on a computer, we’ve seen over the years that the methodology between transitioning from one application to another, or closing an app altogether can be a lot more intuitive than Windows Mobile would like you to believe. Even hitting the “X” at the bottom of the Messages app, while you’re in the Inbox doesn’t get you out of the Messages app, it just takes you to another version of it, where you can better access the Inbox, Outbox, Sent, and Settings.

What interested us, though, was the onscreen keyboard. While you’re in portrait mode, there’s an onscreen keyboard for your resistive screen typing pleasure (or horror, if you prefer). However, if you were to rotate the device into landscape mode, in hopes that you’d get access to a landscape full QWERTY keyboard (not of the physical variety), you’re out of luck. Simply put, the Fathom lacks an automatic accelerometer. You can transition the screen from portrait to landscape only by sliding open the device and revealing the physical keyboard. We know that most people wouldn’t want to use the touchscreen keyboard anyway, especially if they’ve got a physical one that’s as nice as the Fathom’s is, but we still would have preferred the option. And to realize that the accelerometer is only activated by sliding open the phone seems short-sighted, and a blast from the past.

Other software features, like the music player, are just as bland as the rest of the OS. You can drag your finger (with some pressure), or fingernail or stylus, from the left-to-right or right-to-left over the album in the full music player application, and it will skip the song or album depending on your play mode. But, as has been the case from the get-go, the resistive touchscreen doesn’t make that actually worth it. Unfortunately, the technology of the touchscreen seems to ruin an already bland experience, and we didn’t enjoy it at all.

The Marketplace is something you have to install on your device before you can have access to it, which is pretty strange since it’s a pre-installed application icon from the moment you turn it on. However, once you access it, the applications present in the Marketplace should be enough to keep any “casual” user satisfied. You have applications like Twitter and Facebook for social networking, while there’s plenty of business oriented apps out there as well. You can access simple games, like Solitaire and what not, but nothing that’s going to keep you entertained for hours. Before you can download anything though, you’ll need to sign into your Windows Live account, so hopefully you’ve got that stored away in your memory. The Marketplace is a great addition, but it’s not an integral part of the OS, or even any device you might access it with.

Windows Mobile 6.5.3 is the best version of Windows Mobile there is. Hands down. However, being the best of the worst isn’t something that we’ll freely admit is something to be proud of. We feel that, more than anything else, it’s just a stop-gap between what’s already out there, and what’s coming (Windows Phone 7). Yes, some business owners out there might still like touchscreens that fight your every input, or having to use a stylus to actually accomplish anything, but we think that’s a dying breed. The software is the polar opposite of the hardware: and unfortunately, the software plays a far bigger role than the hardware.

Under the Hood

There’s a 1GHz processor powering the Fathom, but unlike many of the other devices out there powered by the same horsepower, we actually didn’t notice it this time around. Not because the phone lags, because it really doesn’t, and transitioning from one screen to another, or one application to the next, is very responsive and quick, but it just has to do with the way the OS is displayed. There aren’t any screen transitions, so if you leave messages for your clock application, it just happens. But, like we said, we didn’t notice that had anything to do with the 1GHz processor, or just the way the OS is set up. We will admit, freely, that we’re sure it has everything to do with the transitions, as well as shifting from one app to the next, but since there’s no visual way to represent it (other than screens just changing to another in the blink of an eye, which is a great thing), we weren’t bragging about the processor as much as we would on other handsets featuring the same thing.

The Camera

You’ll only use the camera if you have to. The 3.2MP is in no way shape or form a replacement for your current camera, or even if you’ve got another cameraphone out there with better features, resolution, and a flash. We’re not sure who’s idea it was to not include a flash, even just an LED one, but we believe that’s an unforgivable result. Captured images lack any kind of definition, and if you’re trying to steal a shot of something that’s even kind of moving, it won’t turn out well for you at all. Additionally, there’s a very unique “shutter action” that happens each time you take a picture. It’s a digital representation of a shutter closing, and it’s more distracting than anything else. The time it takes to snap a photo after hitting the button isn’t long, especially considering the autofocus that has to take place, but it could have been faster. In the end, the camera could have certainly been worse, but for what it is, we weren’t all that happy with it.

The Battery

The Fathom’s battery is certainly one of its better features. As long as you’re on top of your task manager, and you’re killing off applications that are running precious CPU in the background, your battery should last you quite a long time. Our test period with the device had us not needing a charge for a couple of days, even with emails being pulled from the cloud, text messages and emails being sent, a few voice calls, and playing music. Compared to other smartphones out there, the battery on the Windows Mobile device, at least this one in particular, beats them hands-down. And it goes a long way to not have to worry about your battery in day-to-day usage.

In the End

The LG Fathom is well built. It’s got a great feel to it, and the brushed-metal aesthetic is something unique enough to attract our eye in this world of slab touchscreen devices. The physical keyboard and battery are outstanding features of the device. However, it’s marred by the 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen, the mobile Operating System itself, and the lacking camera. We will say that if you’re a fan, or previous user of Windows Mobile, than 6.5.3 will feel like a natural progression of the OS, and it will be the best version you’ve ever used. But, for the mainstream users out there, there are simply better handsets, and most of them are cheaper than what Verizon Wireless is currently charging for the Fathom. You can pick up the device right now for $149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. In the end, we can’t say that we’d recommend the Fathom to anyone, even a business user. There’s plenty more options out there, ones that feature many more reasons to buy them than what we can glean from the Fathom.

The Body

The hardware of the KIN Two is both the device’s weakest link, and strong point, all rolled up into one confusing piece of gadgetry. We’ll start off with the bad news. While the main part of the device has a nice brushed plastic feel, it’s when you get to the touchscreen portion that things get pretty hairy. The KIN Two, like the KIN One, is a slider. It’s landscape format makes it easier for those that like to text to have access to a physical, full QWERTY keyboard, but in our tests, the slider is way too loose for its own good. Not that it’s going to fall off its rails in your pocket, but just trying to use the device in one hand makes it feel like it’ll squirm right out of your grip as you try to do anything.

Much like every other touchscreen-centric device on the market, the KIN Two’s 3.4-inch capacitive display takes up the most part of the handset’s front. Below the screen there’s a single button, which acts as the “back” button, and above the screen you can see where the embedded LED sits nicely next to the earpiece. Truth be told, while many believe the iPhone, and other touchscreen devices are attractive in their minimalist approach, the KIN Two does not gain from this lack of defining features. In fact, it looks similar to an iPhone and Nokia, if they were to combine. Unfortunately, we can’t say that the KIN Two is all that attractive.

While we’re talking about the screen, we’ll talk about its resolution. At 320×480 we weren’t expecting groundbreaking colors, but we have to admit that the KIN Two’s screen underwhelms. And that could very well be because of the colors, and the fact that Microsoft managed to tone them all way down. You’ll see a lot of uninteresting greens and blacks, and that’s about it. They did a good job of making sure that the color scheme made it throughout the entire User Interface, but we got bored real fast as we navigated through the phone. There’s just nothing all that interesting to look at. Also worth mentioning, though, is that the device has an accelerometer and proximity sensor as well.

Along the sides, you’ll find the microUSB port at the bottom, absolutely nothing along the left side, and a 3.5mm audio jack installed right at the center-top of the handset. Along the top-right is the power/lock button. What’s odd about this button, is that while it’s not necessarily flush with the handset itself, it’s right along the edge, and therefore it has a gentle curve. This makes it very, very hard to activate if you’re in a hurry. And each time we held the device in one hand and tried to activate the device, the screen would try to slide outward. It made for some very precarious situations where we thought we might lose the phone forever to a drop. And finally, along the right side of the KIN Two, you’ll find the protruding volume rockers which actually have really good travel and feedback (something else the power/lock button doesn’t have), and the physical camera button.

We have to take an aside for this last button, because Microsoft made it maddeningly difficult to use it. It’s some kind of strange mixture between flush and not, with the majority of the button hidden along the edge of the device, but one edge not. This doesn’t make it easy to use, and actually this is one time where we really, really weren’t happy with having a physical camera button.

The sliding function isn’t bad at all. There’s a spring assist, and it makes the device slide open quite easily. There’s no grinding of the plastic, thankfully, and no matter how many times we slid it open and closed, it didn’t seem to be getting worse in any way. And we’ve got to say, that’s a good thing, because what’s lying behind the touchscreen is well worth sliding the KIN Two open.

The physical keyboard is, simply put, surprising. We weren’t expecting to even remotely enjoy it, but right off the bat we found ourselves acclimated to its very unique presentation. Each key is a single, well-spaced round chicklet of a key. It’s honestly a remarkably featureless keyboard, but that works to the KIN’s advantage. There’s a dedicated period key, but you’ll have to hit the alternate key function (which is just a green button), to get to the comma. It’s a four-row keyboard, but the numbers do not have a row for themselves. There is also a dedicated key for smiley faces, search, and even the phone. We’re not sure why that phone key’s there, and we never once even thought about using it, but it’s there. The keyboard’s keys have very good feedback and travel, and typing on the KIN Two is fun and easy.

The hardware has a lot of little nagging features that degrade the overall score, but what it does right, it does really well. The slider, the keyboard, and the touchscreen itself are all features that we could honestly suggest to people, but unfortunately, it’s not all about the hardware. So, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the software.

The Software

The KIN Two’s software isn’t Windows Phone 7. And it’s not a featurephone simple User Interface, either. It’s caught somewhere in the middle. A strange no-man’s-land, where the same block overlay that became so famous at the announcement of Windows Phone 7 months back is featured here on the KIN device, and yet is not nearly as intuitive or interesting as the software that’s not even officially released.

We will give the software one big check mark in the win column, though. They’ve got a great unlock screen. While many other manufacturers out there just focus on sliding something out of the way, or dragging your lock screen away, Microsoft made some strange, interactive page that you “turn” to unlock your phone. It’s strange at first, especially considering you don’t simply have to flick it up to the opposite corner to unlock. No, you can pull it up, at your own pace, or just move it all over the place. Basically, if you’re really, really bored, you can play with your lock screen. Nothing all that groundbreaking, sure, but it’s a little extra bonus that we started enjoying before too long.

Once you do get the KIN Two unlocked, you’ll be greeted with your initial homescreen, called Apps. This is where everything is segregated into its own block. You’ll find Email here, along with the Phone, Messaging, and your RSS Reader. If anything, this is perhaps not the most attractive or interesting homescreen out there, but we will say that it’s clean enough, and not too busy (graphically speaking) that we couldn’t ever find what we were looking for. And when you compare that to your next homescreen, The Loop, it looks downright fantastic.

First, we’ll say that The Loop is a great idea. In theory, at least. And while we’ve seen other manufacturers out there, like HTC for example, create dynamic and constantly updated feeds for Twitter and Facebook in the past, it would seem to us that Microsoft’s desire to be different and bold just backfired on them. It may just be going over our heads, but in our tests of the device, The Loop was just way too complicated. There’s honestly a lot going on. You’ve got background images of profiles from Facebook, Twitter, as well as KIN-supported sites like KIN Support and KIN Scoop. It’s just a hot mess that made us wish we could have a far more simple, well defined, and clean User Interface to get our social networking updates.

Part of that social networking theme is the KIN’s “The Spot.” It’s just this little dot at the bottom of your screen at all times, and it’s this dot that allows you to hold, drag and drop stuff that interests you into it. From there, it will automatically upload things to your KIN Studio (more on that in a moment). We have to give Microsoft credit for this part, because while you’re not able to upload images to Twitter directly, this is a great way to showcase your pictures, and whatever else you want to show off right from a desktop client. And, we do have to say that it’s really, really simple to do. All because the KIN does it for you, right after you drag and drop your item into that little spot.

Now, for the KIN Studio. As we just said, this is a cool feature. It’s a site that you access from a particular URL. Once there, you’ll sign into it with the same Microsoft account (like hotmail, for example) that you used to sign into the KIN Two, and it will automatically pull everything down from the cloud that you’ve uploaded from your phone. Not only that, but it will also pull all your contacts, text messages, and The Loop as well. The interface in the Studio is really nice, too. You’ve got a timeline right in the middle, showing you when you’re most active throughout the months, while right above that is your images cache. You’ll see live previews of them, until you click them and see close-ups. You’ll store your text messages, call logs, and photos right here, in the Studio. We like the fact that it’s all cloud-based, and while some people may not like the fact that their text messages can end up somewhere other than their phone, keep in mind that you pick and choose which messages to send to the Studio. It’s not all stored there automatically.

Probably the biggest part of the KIN Two is the fact that it has a Zune player inside, and can sync to the Zune Software. Basically, this means you’ve got one of the best personal music players you can have, right on your phone. To make it better, once you sync it up with the Zune Software, you’ll be able to sign up for a Zune Pass, which will give you unlimited access to as much music as you want, all for $14.99 per month. You’ll not only get unlimited downloads, but you’ll also get 10 DRM-free downloads each month, which you can keep all for youself.

The Browser is the other piece of the software we wanted to touch on, before we move on. We really didn’t care for it at all. It’s a full HTML browser, and it does have some interesting features, but for the most part we were just unimpressed with it. You can access all your favorite websites from the browser, that won’t be a problem, but don’t expect to see any Flash playing anywhere. The interesting aspect of the browser, though, is what happens after you put in a URL and make your way towards it. While other mobile browsers might hide the address bar, the KIN hide’s barely a quarter of it. So the web address is slightly cut off, as is the “favorite” and “refresh” options. You can still access them just fine, but it’s just a strange design feature that bothered us more than interested us.

If you do want to favorite a particular website, you’ll hit the star, and you’ll be provided two options: pin to apps (which is your initial homescreen), or to favorite it. If you choose the latter, it will make a weird LEGO shape, and put it up above the URL in a separate “shade” that will drop down once you access the address bar. Under the long part of the LEGO shape, will be the name of your favorite web site. We liked this feature at first, and thought it was a great way to add favorites, but it just melded into the strange design element that we don’t care for.

The software isn’t Windows Phone 7′s software, but it’s not just a featurephone’s, either. We’re not sure if that’s a good thing quite yet, even after plenty of time with the handset. While the initial homescreen is good in of itself, and provides easy access to your most used applications, it’s The Loop and the fact that it’s supposed to play such an integral part of the device’s function that really throws us for . . . Well, for a loop. The combination of ease-of-use and random messiness isn’t a welcomed interface.

Under the Hood

The KIN Two has a NVIDIA Tegra processor under the hood. Right there should be enough to tell you that the processor powering the handset is well equipped for whatever this device throws at it. Or, at least, that’s what it should tell you. We thought the same thing, and were pleasantly satisfied with that thought process, but only for a couple of days. And, truth be told, the phone runs just fine if you keep it to one orientation. Once you start switching from landscape to portrait, or portrait to landscape, the phone starts to lag just a bit. It’s nothing that completely breaks down the system or anything, but it’s enough that we noticed it more than a few times.

We were happy with Microsoft’s decision to include Tegra into the KIN Two, even before we got to use the device, and we’re still pleasantly pleased with that path. We have to admit to you that we saw some lag, but we’ll amend that to say, again, that it wasn’t nearly enough to ruin the experience, or make us tell you that this isn’t the phone you should get based on its innards. The KIN Two does very well for itself, and powers the handset on quite well.

The Camera

One of the stronger highlights of the KIN Two, the camera on the back of the device is of the 8MP variety. Furthermore, it features an LED flash, autofocus, and image stabilization. Sure, that may not be enough to top the best cameraphones out there, but the KIN Two has one feature that many, if not almost all of them, do not: 720p video recording. And it really is as every bit as good as it should be. Of course, you’re still recording the video from a cellphone camera, and that’s more than obvious while you’re recording, but it’s much, much better than not having the ability.

Taking still shots is good enough, and it’s probably one of the better cameraphones out there. The LED flash does admirably, but we would suggest not to completely depend on it if you need to take some snapshots in the dark. The autofocus is quick and accurate, and the zoom is good enough. Basically, while it’s rocking the 8MP, the camera really is just “good enough.” In all honesty, we wouldn’t have minded a little harder work on the camera from Microsoft, considering the social nature of the device itself, but it could be worse, so we’ll take what we can, when we can.

The Battery

The battery life on the KIN Two is the best feature of the phone. Hands down. With some medium text message usage, email pulling down from the cloud on a regular basis, pulling updates from Facebook and Twitter on a constant basis, as well as uploading things from The Spot to the Studio from time to time, as well as listening to music from the embedded Zune, the battery lasted well into the night hours of two days. We tested the device with just playing music, after giving it a full charge, and after a handful of hours listening to music, and not charging the battery at night, the KIN Two lasted three days. And pulling email, updating social networks, and uploading to the Studio, the battery managed to pull a full week for us.

As we’ve said in the past, battery usage and life expectancy is one of the hardest things to judge or review. It’s completely based on your usage, along with how you charge the device on a regular basis. You probably won’t get the same battery life that we did, or you might even get better. It all depends on how you use your phone.

In the End

The KIN prevails due to very exact things: the battery, Zune, the keyboard, and we’ll even include the KIN Studio. However, there’s enough issues with the aesthetics of the User Interface, and the fact that it’s caught somewhere between a featurephone and smartphone that detract from the overall appeal of the handset. Furthermore, it’s the prices that matter, too. Both the KIN One and KIN Two are available right now from Verizon Wireless. You’ll pay $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate; and the KIN Two will cost you $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Additionally, you’ll need to pay Verizon Wireless’ smartphone data plan, every month, to take advantage of your KIN (meaning, it’s mandatory). That price is an extra $30 per month. We’re like everyone else and think that’s simply too steep for these devices.

Hardware wise, the SE X10 still manages to be relevant, even amongst the competition currently available on the market. Which, if you ask us, is pretty fantastic considering it was unveiled months ago. But, we imagine that’s just some major forward thinking on the part of Sony Ericsson, and nothing more. The screen is four inches (diagonally), with an 854×480 resolution, and it’s of the capacitive variety. Under the hood, you’re faced with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and 1GB of on board storage. It all comes together to make, theoretically, a pretty responsive device. At least, that’s what it’s supposed to create. Also, the handset is only running Android 1.6, which, well, isn’t Android 2.1. But, at least it isn’t Android 1.5, either. You do get support for Google Goggles, as well as a few more Google-based features, so at least there’s that for it. But, we still wish we could have seen a newer, more relevant Operating System on the device.

As for the buttons along the side, you’ve got a 3.5mm headphone jack at at the top, along with the power button, and a MicroUSB port. We were very tempted to rip the little protective flap off the MicroUSB port, because it’s more annoying than anything else, but we refrained, thankfully. You might not be so level-headed, though. And along the right-hand side of the device, you’ve got the volume rocker, and below that the dedicated hardware camera key. There isn’t anything placed along the left-most side, and along the bottom, you’ve got a slot where you could put a lanyard, if you so desired.

As we mentioned above, the front of the phone is dominated by the 4-inch screen. However, along the top, there’s room for Sony Ericsson to squeeze in their name; and along the bottom, XPERIA shows up, along with three hardware keys: menu, home, and back. That’s right, only three hardware keys, which is unlike a traditional Android-based device. It’s missing the Search key, and while we had never given it a second thought before, the moment it’s taken away from us, we realized how much we actually used it.

The X10 feels nice in the hand: it’s not too heavy, and it’s big enough to let you know that you’ve got a grasp on it, or that it’s tucked away nicely in your pocket. However, we’re not a fan of the plastic approach that SE took with their XPERIA handset. While the whole thing is nice to look at, when you’re holding it, you may get the impression you’re holding a toy, and we don’t think that’s a very good thing. And, while the front is shiny and attractive, it attracts fingerprints like nobody’s business, so expect to be wiping off the front of your handset quite often. (Though, that’s the territory you encroach upon when purchasing a touchscreen device anyway.)

Despite everything else, the phone is thin enough not to be an annoyance, and the bezels (at least along the side, for obvious reasons) aren’t big enough to take away from the stares the screen is going to attract. The whole thing measures in at just 4.7 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches, and weighs only 4.8oz. The X10 also supports a MicroSD card, for up to 16GB of additional storage, and SE was nice enough to include an 8GB card in the box for you.

As for the battery life, it’s not great. In fact, we were actually kind of surprised by the lack of life sustained even in stand-by mode. We had email checking for incoming messages, but Timescape and Mediascape turned off for automatic refreshes, and the battery still died over a night of no usage. It obviously gets worse when you actually start using the device, and we’re pretty sure that if you actually use it, you’re going to have to charge it at least by mid-day. Of course, this is just our usage, and it’s going to change per user, so take that for what it’s worth.

Now, when it comes to software, this is where Sony Ericsson want(ed)s to shine. The truth is, they put a lot of hard work into their customized User Interface, which (as we mentioned above) is running atop Android 1.6. The official name of the skin is Rachael, and it’s supposed to bring a level of interconnectedness not seen before. Of course, with the likes of HTC’s Sense UI, we were dubious for obvious reasons. And, sadly, it was all worth that hesitance. While there’s a 1GHz processor under the hood, there’s definitely a lot of stuttering going on. Even on the homescreen transitions. Some people may not notice it, but it was definitely aggravating for us to watch, over and over again. And, while the transitions from one feature, or app, to another feature or app may be worthwhile, it was just another thing driving us crazy when it comes to performance. We expected more, as we’ve seen better with the Nexus One and HTC Desire. We like customized User Interfaces, but we also enjoy our user experience, too, and we believe that those two things can live happily together. If you believe this, too, then the X10 may not be the best roommate for you.

Timescape is just one of the two main features supposedly representative of the Rachael experience. And, while it’s cool to look at, there’s nothing much else there. Much like HTC’s FriendFeed, it’s designed to populate an “updated stream” of recent status messages and updates to your device, so you can keep up with everything going on in your digital world. Facebook and Twitter were the two services we tried, and we got the feeling that it wasn’t working as well as SE envisioned it would. There’s a lot of lag, even after Timescape pulls down all the data and refreshes your stream, and going from one panel to another (with those hugely blurred images in the background of each panel making it all look so dated) stuttered more often than not. We tried to wait, for several minutes, after we updated the list, but the lag seems to be a dual partnered force from the dated software, the processor, and the way that Timescape handles the information and in which the UI is set up.

If you pan to the right and left, you’ll get access to recently played music, Facebook and Twitter, and your mail. All of these things can be customized based on what you want to show, and you can add multiple mail accounts. Also, you can tell the device how often to sync up your data (which, theoretically, should save your battery life — we weren’t so lucky), or if you want to do it manually when you see fit. While we agree that Timescape is definitely an interesting way to get your information, we aren’t sold on it.

And then there’s Mediascape. Compared to Timescape, this just seems boring. It’s a way to compile all of the media on your device, but it’s handled in such a “regular” way, that it seems like SE didn’t put much thought into the other version of their “scape” elements. There are some interesting parts to the whole, but the sheer difference in the way that Mediascape displays the content to you, compared to Timescape, feels half-hearted. Even with elements like online media, with services like Sony’s PlayNow, or with the Infinite Loop symbol that SE integrated with almost every single UI feature on the phone, which brings up more information about a particular object when touched, doesn’t seem enough to make Mediascape worth it. Yes, we love the fact that there’s no lag when we’re trying to find our favorite song, but we wish we could have the Timescape layout without the lag. We’d consider that a win-win situation.

We will say, though, that Mediascape does a great job of slowing things down. Truth be told, while the lag in Timescape is annoying in of itself, so is the fact that if you’re a hardcore Twitter user (meaning, you have a lot of people you follow), the whole stream can get congested very, very quickly. We understand that people enjoy the visual elements of software, but with Timescape, we can see people losing interest just because there’s no way to keep track of people in the stream, let alone prioritize some people’s updates over others. Following certain people on Twitter can mean you only see their updates in the stream, and no one else’s.

And then there’s the software keyboard. What can we say about this thing? Is it bad? Is it good? We wish we could come up with a definitive answer for you. Truth be told, it’s somewhere lost in between those two categories. If it didn’t have a track record of out right missing screen presses, we’d say it’s good. Also, the space key is remarkably small, and a pain to get used to. And when we say it’s small, we mean really small, and we found that trying to actually type on the handset was hindered by its limited size. We wish it had a more robust auto-predict/correction dictionary enabled, and we also wish beyond all wishes that the keyboard was more intuitively constructed, but we have neither of those things, so we rarely messaged people. It just wasn’t worth the trauma.

But, there’s one feature that makes the X10 stand out far above the rest of the pack. The 8MP camera on the back not only currently trumps all the Android devices on the market, the sheer fact that the images it does capture are amazing, is enough of a feature to make some people want it. On top of that, the handset also features smile detection and face recognition; digital image stabilization; 16x digital zoom; autofocus; and the ability to geotag photos right from the handset. (Yes, we know that geotagging photos is also on other handsets, but when bundled with the other aforementioned features, it definitely adds to the momentum.) On top of everything else, probably the coolest feature is the face recognition. Take a photo of someone that’s in your contact list, and you can link that photo with your contact. Right from the phone. It may not be as intuitive as Facebook integration, but it definitely takes care of the fact you may not have everyone on your Facebook, and some times you want a more personal photo for the people you know and love, right?

And finally, what’s it like to call on the XPERIA X10? Actually, not that bad at all. Sound quality wasn’t half-bad, and when we tried to find out whether or not people could hear us in loud areas, they seemed to be able to just fine, considering there isn’t any kind of noise cancellation on the handset. The speakerphone is plenty loud, even if the speaker itself isn’t on the back, but on the side (which is probably one reason it’s good in the first place). And, considering the hassle the onscreen keyboard brings to messaging people, we’re of the mind that if you do end up with the X10, you’re probably going to be calling people more than messaging them, so at least be happy with the fact that it isn’t terrible to do so.

In the wrap up, we’ve got to say that the X10 isn’t what we thought it was going to be. Instead, it looks like Sony Ericsson gave Android a valiant effort, but it’s just not up to the task. And, while we wish we didn’t have to compare it to the other Android-based devices on the market, we do, and the X10 just doesn’t cut it. When you look at the handset from SE, and you’re faced with a decision to choose either the Nexus One, HTC Desire, or even the upcoming HTC Incredible, there’s no reason we can see why you’d choose the X10. Even the 4-inch screen, when compared to those device’s 3.7-inches is trumped by the fact that those handsets have an AMOLED display, and not just the normal LCD. As for devices that are still coming down the pipe, you’ve got Samsung’s Galaxy S (with it’s 4-inch Super AMOLED display, and fastest processor on the market), and Sprint’s upcoming HTC EVO 4G (with a 4.3-inch LCD display), it looks to us that the X10 just doesn’t have what it takes to prevail. Sadly, that won’t change when the XPERIA-branded device gets upgraded to Android 2.1 later this year.

The Basics

The moment you take the Nuron out of the box, you’ll know it’s in your hand. It’s not necessarily all that heavy, so to speak, but considering the plastic build of the device, we would have been happier with a little bit of a lighter feel. Though, considering how thick the handset is, we can understand where the weight comes from. The 3.2-inch screen seems smaller than the specifications would suggest, and we imagine that comes from the large areas at the top and bottom, which have been reserved for the earpiece and sensors at the top, and the three hardware buttons on the bottom. Even the silver bezel seems thick on the sides, only aiding in the illusion that the screen is smaller than it really is.

As for the hardware keys, there’s quite a few on the Nuron. You’ve got the three main keys on the front of the device: Send, End, and the button that calls up the main menu. Just above the screen, you have the Media Button, which, when pressed, drops down a menu that gives you quick access to media components like music, the browser, and images. Along the right side of the device is the physical camera key, the notorious Nokia “slide-to-unlock” key, and finally the volume rocker. It should also be noted that the volume rocker also works as a zoom-in-and-out function, but we could only find that it works while using the camera. It doesn’t zoom in while using the browser, for example.

At the top of the device, there’s the MicroUSB port, the 3.5mm audio jack, and an old-school Nokia power port. Which, if we’re being completely honest, we didn’t even think were being used anymore. Nokia slipped a surprise in here for us, it seems. And finally, on the left hand side of the Nuron, there’s two ports protected by removable flaps. The upper-most opening is for the SIM card, and the one below that is for the MicroSD card. We found that opening both of those flaps was a bit of a pain, and more work than was probably necessary. But, we also know that people aren’t going to be opening and closing those very often, so that’s probably a non-issue.

For the general look and feel of the device, we can’t really dock Nokia any points. The device looks like a Nokia device, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that. It’s shiny, which should attract several new customers, and it’s thick enough that it may not worry many people who are notorious for dropping their phones. All in all, even if it is too thick and heavy for us, we don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing for most customers out there. It does feel good in the pocket.

The Operating System

Symbian S60 5th Edition powers this little guy, and from the moment you turn it on, that’s more than obvious. Truth be told, it’s not going to be for everyone. Even from the pure aesthetic approach, the look alone suggests something for a kid. In this day and age of icons, widgets, and the like, the Nuron shows us that there’s still people out there that believe a more “personal approach,” if you will, is better than sleek and sophisticated. We’re not sure where we stand on this. As it stands, though, you don’t really get to appreciate the Operating System on the 5230, mainly because you’re stuck waiting more often than not.

We noticed pretty quickly that the device runs relatively slowly a lot of the time. We also noticed that this would be completely off-set by the device’s bursts of quickness, too. There’s no middle ground here. We would be waiting several seconds for the main menu to pull up from the home screen, and then later in the day find that the menu was up even before we let go of the button. We can’t quite put our finger on why the system is so off-and-on, but when it’s off, the device is almost painful to use. When it’s quick and reactive, we actually had fun watching the screen animations take us from one to another.

Resistive Touchscreen

The title should probably be more than enough, but we’ll go ahead and expand on this. We’re not saying that resistive touchscreens are terrible, but the Nuron’s is definitely a petition in that regard. We may just be accustomed to capacitive panels, but going through menus, or even selecting options (when coupled with the lag generated by the slow processor), is aggravating. We do like, though, that while you’re selecting items in the menu, that you have to actually select something twice. So, even though you’re probably not accidentally activating anything on a resistive touchscreen, Nokia has made sure that you are absolutely sure of what you want before it activates.

Phone calls, Internet, texts, and no WiFi

We thought that not having WiFi wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it really is. Utilizing T-Mobile’s 3G network is great, but the browser on the Nuron isn’t. In fact, we really didn’t want to use it anymore after the first day. We’re not sure if jumping onto a WiFi hotspot would have made it any better, truth be told, but at least it would have been nice to try. Navigating webpages wasn’t hindered by the 3.2-inch screen. No, in this case, the processor just wouldn’t allow web surfing to be anything other than torment, as pages juttered, lagged, and completely stalled on every occasion.

Making phone calls wasn’t that bad at all, actually. The sound quality is nice, and we never dropped a call. When we ran through some noise tests, people on the other end did tell us that it was a bit hard to hear us, but that’s not surprising considering the device doesn’t do anything to minimize that kind of interference. The coverage in our area is pretty well established, and we made note of the Nuron’s ability to stick with the highest available signal, making all our voice calls pristine.

Text messages are a big part of cellphone usage. It’s no different for us, and that’s why we gave texting a real shot on the Nuron. However, we just had to stop doing it. The keyboard, while in portrait mode, is usable, but there’s no full QWERTY. It’s just the standard option for phones, with the number pad. You have the option to use T9 while you tap along, so that helps a bit, but the screen is just not forgiving. If you use your fingernail, you can probably get some speed out of it. And  then there’s the landscape QWERTY keyboard. We don’t have the world’s skinniest fingers, but we don’t think even that would help the typing experience on this device. It’s just not fun, to put it plainly. The phone’s features work in conjunction to make it an experience we don’t recommend to anyone, so maybe you should stick to the voice calls.

Wrap-Up

In the initial post, we said that this phone isn’t meant to blow your mind. We also said that this is probably the perfect device for someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money. Well, both those things are still true, but we should also note that the $69.99 that T-Mobile is selling the device for on a new, two-year contract is simply too much money. This needed to be a free phone. Especially with the lack of WiFi. There’s no way around it. And, to be be perfectly honest with you, we can’t recommend spending the $70. There’s other options, for just a bit more money, that will make you a lot happier than this device will.

If you have any specific questions regarding the Nokia 5230 Nuron, please let us know in the comments. We will be sure to answer them to the best of our ability.

QWERTY-packing Android smartphones are certainly a little rarer than their touchscreen-only counterparts, but we’d still have second thoughts about picking the Samsung Moment. While its AMOLED display is bright and clear and its keyboard pleasantly expansive (once you’ve retrained your fingers to deal with its offset layout) its stock Android 1.5 OS pales in comparison to what other manufacturers are doing to distinguish their rival handsets. Most damning, though, is the price: Sprint will ask $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and presuming a new, two-year agreement when the Moment arrives on November 1st. That’s perilously close to the $199.99 of the Verizon DROID by Motorola, and right now we can’t find enough to recommend the Samsung over the new Motorola.

Our remaining doubts concern how well the Storm2 stands as a prosumer device compared to its flourishing Android, iPhone and webOS rivals. Each has areas in which they better the Storm2, whether in usability, responsiveness, browser experience or media playback, but the BlackBerry does put up a decent fight. The Storm2 falls short of delivering a knockout blow, but it’s no longer undermined by its own “unique features”. RIM has certainly done enough for the Storm2 to warrant a place on your touchscreen smartphone shortlist.

Key Features:

• Smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate
• Large (3.25”), dazzling high-resolution 480 x 360 display at 184 ppi
• Capacitive touchscreen with integrated functions (Send, End, Menu, Escape) and new SurePress technology that makes clicking the display practically effortless
• 3G and global connectivity support for making phone calls in more than 220 countries and accessing data in more than 185 countries (with more than 80 destinations in 3G)
• Network Connectivity: EV-DO Revision A; UMTS/HSPA (2100 MHz); and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks
• Supports Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• 256 MB of Flash memory
• 2 GB of onboard media storage and a microSD™/SDHD memory card slot with a 16 GB card included