Earlier today, LG launched their latest and most stylish Android phone yet, the LG Prada 3.0. If you will try to remember, it was in late 2008 when they released their LG Prada 2.0 which is just a feature phone with a QWERTY slider so this latest version is a huge leap from 2.0.

The design on LG Prada 3.0 is inspired by the Prada fashion brand, with a mix of sleek curves on a slim, gorgeous black body. It looks like a bigger Optimus Black with the curves of the Nokia N9 (or Lumia 800) and I like it a lot. The buttons look inconspicuous especially those on top lending to a sophisticated design.

The inconspicuous buttons. L-R, Power/Sleep, microUSB latch, Activate front camera button

You can definitely see the Prada branding on this phone as it’s the only thing you will see in front when the phone is turned off. At the back is Prada’s signature Saffiano pattern giving it a unique premium feel and again, with the Prada brand. The LG logo is also embossed at the back so it’s hard to see without looking closely.

The textured back of the LG Prada 3.0, very classy

Having a 4.3-inch display, it’s one of LG’s biggest Android phone, the other one being the Optimus 3D. The IPS display is nice but it only has an 800 x 480 resolution, just average for 4.3-inch phones in the market but the same as the Samsung Galaxy S2. The HTC Sensation has the highest at 960 x 540.

The curves remind me of a slimmer Nokia 9

What’s nice with the LG Prada 3.0′s screen is the NOVA display we first saw on the LG Optimus Black. It sports a display brightness of 800 nits which is higher than that of the Optimus Black (700 nits). Comparing it to the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the LG Prada 3.0 has the brightest screen by a long shot making it very usable under bright conditions.

This phone also has a 1GHz Dual-Core / Dual Channel architecture just like the Optimus 3D although the Prada 3.0 has a 1GB RAM. This feature allows the phone to function smoothly despite heavy multitasking. If you’ve been using a dual-core phone, you would still notice some short lags here and there as more apps are running in the background. LG claims their dual channel architecture handles multitasking much better than ordinary dual-core phones in the market. Something to look out for in reviews.

Other features you will get out of this premium phone is an 8GB internal storage, 8-megapixel camera with flash capable of recording full HD videos and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. LG says the Ice Cream Sandwich update for this phone will be available (hopefully) on the 2nd quarter of the year.

So how much do you need to shell out for this fashionably sleek phone? The LG Prada 3.0 has an SRP of just Php29,990 and should already be available this month in all LG Concept stores. I was actually surprised at the price considering typical device collaboration with fashion brands tend to be outrageously expensive.

Good news for Nokia owners waiting for Symbian Belle, the long wait for the update is now over… well for some at least. It was leaked before that the update would begin globally on Feb 8th but they decided to start early as some owners are already seeing the update for their phone.

The Symbian Belle update is available for the the Nokia N8, E7, X7, C7, E6, and C6-01. Although the Nokia 500 supports Belle, the update for it will have to wait.

Updating is pretty simple but you need to have a PC and an internet connection to do it.

1. Download and install the latest Nokia PC Suite (v3.3.86)
2. Connect your supported Nokia handset to your PC
3. Click the Software Update in the Nokia PC Suite

Now there are two things that can happen at this point. The PC Suite will start downloading the update (300+ MB, for the C6-01 at least) or it will say that your phone is already updated. You can try to click on the Update button (maybe it can’t connect to the server at that time), or just try again a different day (maybe the update is not yet ready).

Don’t worry if you can’t update your phone at the moment. You’re not alone and it’s also possible that Nokia is still in the process of releasing the updates for other devices.

To check if the update for your device is available, you may visit the Nokia Belle Availability site. (Thanks JonJon for the tip)

Key in *#0000# to check for your handset’s product code.

Although Window Phones are not that popular here in the Philippines, there are still a lot of loyal fans who will be happy to hear that the Windows Phone Marketplace is now open for business in our country. Along with Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines is one of the five countries who can enjoy access to free and paid apps in the Marketplace.

It was just last month that Windows Phone app submission place, App Hub, became available for developers to submit their apps to the 5 new markets including China. This opened the doors for local developers to earn from their games and apps, and also introduce localized apps that would suit the Filipino user.

With the addition of these five countries, the Windows Phone Marketplace is now available to 41 territories but not yet in China. You can however, submit your app to be made available to China once their Windows Phone Marketplace opens.

Right now, the latest Windows Phone which is the HTC Radar, didn’t get much traction in the local market but the coming of the Nokia Lumia phones in the near future may give the WP7 platform the boost it needs in the country.

[Windows Phone Developer Blog]

For Smart subscribers out there, don’t you just hate remembering or figuring out what a certain Smart promo entails you and what keyword to text to avail it? There’s Always On, Flexi, AllTxt, Smartalk and hundreds (ok, a handful) of other promos from Smart that’s available to its prepaid and postpaid subscribers.

If you’re an Android user, you might want to take advantage of the free Smart Services app from the market. This handy app takes care of remembering all those Smart services for you, including contests and freebies they currently have.

The What’s New screen tells you their current promos, news and tips. You need an internet connection to get these info.

Finally the meat of the app, the Call and Text, and Data plan sections. You don’t have to bother yourself remembering or searching what a certain promo does. You even don’t have to remember which number to text and what keyword, just click on the one that you want to subscribe and you’re all set.

Aside from these things, there are still a wealth of information, services and freebies available to subscribers within the app. Although some, like news, movies, entertainment and the like, are just portal to third party mobile sites.

So what do you think? Is this a helpful app for Smart users or what? Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a similar app for the iOS. I was also browsing the Android market for something similar from Globe but the best I can find is a widget for m.globe.com.ph which would’ve been nice had it been fully working.

For those of you who own an LG Optimus Black, you don’t need to go to LG service centers just to have it updated. You can do so on your own as long as you have a stable internet connection and the LG PC Suite that came with your phone installed on your machine.

The update is around 238MB so if you have a slow internet connection, make sure you have the time to download it.

Here are the simple steps involved in updating your phone:

1. Make sure that your phone is set NOT to ‘Mass Storage only’. To do this, go to ‘Settings > SD card and Phone Storage’ and un-tick the checkbox that say ‘Mass Storage only’.
2. Connect your device to your PC and wait for the LG PC suite to detect your phone.
3. Once detected, you will see on the left hand side of the window 2 colored boxes Orange (Phone) and Green (PC). On the Orange box there is a button that says “Check for Phone Update”.
4. Once it detects the update, it will prompt you to “Update and Back Up the Files” or “Update Without Backing Up the Files”. The choice is yours.
5. Afterwards, just follow the succeeding instructions.

Note: There is a prompt that will tell you that the upgrade will delete previously downloaded apps. This is NOT true (in my case at least) as I still have all my applications/games after the upgrade.

Consequently, if you don’t have LG PC Suite with you, here’s an alternate solution.

1. Visit the LG Philippines homepage (http://www.lg.com/ph)
2. Select “Support > Mobile Phone Support”
3. Find the model number of your phone (LGP970).
4. Click on and install “WINDOWS USB Driver”
5. Click on “Software Update” and execute the “.exe” file
6. The LG Mobile Support Tool will be installed automatically
7. Connect your smartphone to the PC using the USB Cable
8. Click on “Start Updating”
9. After completing the upgrade, unplug the phone.

We reviewed the BlackBerry Curve 9360 a couple of months ago. It has a sleek design and is a thinner version of its predecessors. The tapered edges and its expensive-looking material made it look better than the usual Curve.

Next in this line is the newly released Blackberry Curve 9380 – the sister of the Curve 9360. They look very similar to each other and most of their features are almost the same. Only this one doesn’t have buttons for a keyboard. RIM has finally given the Curve the full-touch screen treatment and we’re here to find out how that feels.

Design and Functionality

Just like its sister (the 9360), this Curve retained the tapered edges and the rubber and matte-metal looking cover that gives it a sleek finish. Good thing RIM didn’t make changes with the overall design – I really think it looks good. The only thing they did with the appearance is to give it a 360×480 pixel, 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touch screen. Below the touch screen are the similar 4 buttons (Call, Menu, Back, Drop) and the optical trackpad.

The display has the same vibrant display, just like its sister. It also comes with a 5 MP (2592х1944 pixels) with an LED flash (Hooray!) and also features Geo-tagging, face detection and image stabilization.

Touch screen fans will be very happy with the big screen that comes with it. I must say, one reason why I love the Blackberry so much is because of its simple and clean keyboard. Buttons are an important feature. I hope I won’t be too biased with the touch screen review of this since it lacks one. More on that later…

It is essentially the same size and weight as its sister having dimensions of 109 x 60 x 11.2mm and weighs 98g. Just a difference of 0.2mm in depth and 1g in weight.

The top of the phone has the lock/unlock button that the Blackberry Bold has. It’s very convenient compared to locking it with the “a” button and unlocking it from the play/pause button in the previous Curve versions. Beside the lock/unlock button is the audio jack to enable you to have your earphones plugged in even if the phone is in your pocket or holster.

On the left side, you’ll see the micro USB port for data and charging while on the right side are the volume control buttons. In the earlier Curve versions, these volume controls were dedicated volume controls. I’m really happy that the music player buttons that used to be on top of the phone (previous, play/pause, next) were incorporated with the volume buttons. Clicking up and down changes the volume but if you hold the buttons down longer, it changes the music track to the previous song (down) and the next song (up). The button in-between functions as the play/pause button.

The Curve 9380 comes with the new Blackberry OS7. The interface organizes your Favorites, Media, Downloads, Frequent apps which is perfect for a business phone.

I read that the upcoming Blackberry 7.1 OS will have features like the Mobile Hotspot and the FM radio. I know the FM radio isn’t so new compared to MP3s but it sure is a nice to have feature. You’ll never know when you’ll need it. I also read that the OS comes with an app that will let users browse through their FM channels and it doesn’t require data services. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to test this feature out because the upgrade is not yet available locally.

Some nifty features of OS 7 is the voice-activated Universal Search to help you find your files, apps, contacts and messages. Another is the Near-Field Communication (NFC) to allow you to transfer files from one device to another quickly.

Camera

Well of course I had to dedicate a portion for the camera – everybody uses it on their smart phones! The 5MP camera wasn’t all too impressive (considering there are other smart phones out there that offer *gasp* an 8MP camera) but it sure takes good photos under broad daylight and I must say, having a flash on the Curve certainly is a good call. Good job, RIM.

I uploaded a few shots online and a couple of friends of mine got really impressed with the camera. Here are a few sample photos taken with the Blackberry Curve 9380 (the last two were taken indoors and the last shot used flash. Sorry you have to see the wires under my office desk, it was the only dark area I could use a flash with):

The camera comes with scene modes – face detection, portrait, sports and close-up to name a few. You can also take videos but it’s limited to VGA.

Touch Screen

As a fan of buttons for the keyboard, I wasn’t very happy with the touch screen on this one. I think it was a big mistake making this a full touch-screen phone leaving users no choice, unlike the Torch that enables users to choose if they’d like to use the touch screen or navigate using the optical track pad and physical keyboard.

I found it so frustrating navigating through the interface because when I try to swipe and scroll, I end up accidentally opening an app. Or I’d have to press harder in order for me to navigate through the interface. I didn’t find it too responsive and the keyboard was just too cramped for me. If you’re like me who’s really not used to touch-typing, allow yourself time to get used to a full touch screen interface.

Also, I didn’t like it that the optical track pad and the four buttons were at the bottom of the phone. Well, there’s no other place to put them but I found it just too uncomfortable reaching my thumbs down to the bottom of the screen when I needed to navigate using the buttons.

Piece of advice: If you use your phone for a lot of messages, think hard before you purchase this one unless you’re comfortable with touch-typing. If you’re more for using it as a multimedia device than a messaging device, then this one might suit your needs.

Verdict

Just like its sister (the Blackberry 9360), this entry-level smartphone has better features than the usual Curve series we’ve seen in the past. It has a sleek design and a beautiful interface having OS 7 installed in it. It’s a phone with just the right size, weight and dimensions.

Do consider though how important a physical keyboard is to you if you plan on purchasing one because as minimalist and beautiful as it can look, you might just end up missing the physical keyboard like I did. But for those looking for a BlackBerry that has a big screen for watching videos and browsing the web, the Curve 9380 is a viable candidate with an affordable price tag as compared to the Torch.

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 retails for Php 16,990 which is the same as its QWERTY brother, the Curve 9360.

TNS, the world’s leading custom research company, previewed to the members of the press some localized results of their Mobile Life 2012 study. Mobile Life 2012 is the most comprehensive research on mobile phones covering 43 markets from North America to Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa, with a total of 34,000 respondents.

For Metro Manila coverage, 500 face-to-face interviews were conducted from ages 16-60 years old across all economic classes. One of the interesting result is the brand of handset owned by Filipinos in Metro Manila, or what reflects the urban Filipino.

Source: TNS Mobile Life 2012 Report

It’s not a surprise that we are still a Nokia country but the study showed that ownership of the brand has declined from 2010. Enjoying growth is the far second, Samsung, and also the other two “pang-masa” brands, Cherry Mobile and MyPhone. Sony Ericsson took a huge dip in ownership from 2010 while BlackBerry remained stagnant.

Other results of the study showed that mobile phone ownership in the country remains stable and that they are as widely owned as the DVD player. The study also showed that there was significant grown in smartphone ownership since 2010 across all economic classes.

The full Mobile Life 2012 report will be coming in March 2012 and for those interested with the report and other studies conducted by TNS, you may inquire on their website at http://www.tnsglobal.com/.

Finally what every LG Optimus Black users are waiting for, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update is finally out. You can get your update once you hook up your Optimus Black to your PC and run the LG PC Suite.

The LG Optimus Black is one of those really nice phones that’s been hampered by an outdated OS which LG promised to update since last year. Now it’s here and according to LG, the Android 2.3.4 update will give the Optimus Black the following:

• Improved power management
• Enhanced mobile gaming experience
• Improved UI to enable faster access and control and a more intuitive user experience
• One-touch word selection and copy/paste:
• Better Download management
• Support for new media formats such as AAC, AVC, MPEG 4 and H.263
• New features and other improvements: active app management, shortcuts, widgets, icons, app groups, updated calendar options, camera geotagging, better email synching and more precise camera auto-focus.
• App updates and pre-loaded Google+ app

Better late than never for LG but people are now clamoring for the Ice Cream Sandwich which LG said will be available in Q3 of 2012. Still a long wait but at least it’s coming to the phone.

If you’re done with the upgrade, do tell us how’s your Gingerbread LG Optimus Black treating you.

Thanks Roi for the tip!

HTC is known for the stylish and solid designs of their phones that would cater to the male and female market. Their entry-level phones, particularly the HTC ChaCha and the HTC Wildfire S, have colors that would really appeal to the ladies.

What they’re missing are phones for the ladies who don’t want just the basics. So they turned to the HTC Desire S and made it more ladylike with the HTC Rhyme which was introduced last year. It has the solid specs of the Desire S but with the feminine look of the Wildfire S.

Read on to see how ladies would appreciate one of the most beautiful phones we’ve played with.

Design

The HTC Rhyme in my opinion has the perfect size for a lady’s hand. It’s not grotesquely large and it’s also not too light to feel too fragile. The color we have here is called Clearwater Blue which looks really nice with its different shades of soft blue.

The frame on the front smoothly curves outward highlighting the 3.7-inch Gorilla Glass display with the Android touch panels underneath. On its left side you would see the flap that opens to its microUSB port. A bit annoying to open every time you want to charge but it’s there to make the design look seamless.

On top is the Power/Sleep button and also the audio jack. On its right is just the volume controls. No dedicated camera button here which the ladies would really appreciate.

The back is made of aluminum and hard plastic in three shades of blue giving it a nice accent. You’ll see the 5-megapixel lens and its LED flash beside the tiny speaker grill. Below that are contact points for the included dock.

We’ve been using this unit extensively for a few weeks now without any protective casing (although there’s one included in the box) and were impressed with the durability of the materials used. No scratches whatsoever.

What’s in the box?

When you buy the HTC Rhyme, it comes complete with a lot of accessories. First time for HTC or most phone manufacturers for that matter.

First you’ll get your in-ear earphones (not Beats) with wide, flat cables making it less prone to tangling. There’s also the aforementioned hard pouch in matching colors.

There’s also the charm which you plug in to your audio jack and it lights up whenever you receive a message or a call. What you do is leave your phone inside your bag and leave the charm hanging out so you don’t need to expose your phone every time you want to check if somebody messaged you. I’m sure the ladies would find this useful.

Lastly, there’s the dock which you can connect to your PC or to a power source via USB. Just place the Rhyme on the dock to charge or to access its contents from the PC. The phone also has a dock mode which offers you a different display suited for landscape mode.

Display and UI

While some phones are gunning for the 4-inch and above display, the HTC Rhyme has a modest 3.7-inch SLCD display with a very decent 480 x 800 resolution which should be enough for most ladies out there. The screen looks really vibrant and clear and I would choose this over those Super AMOLED types because it gives a “whiter” white.

The Rhyme uses a different kind of HTC Sense 3.5 UI on top of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. Aside from widgets, you can now do more from the homescreen with pull-out tabs for Mail, Messages, Music, Camera and Market. They also simplified the static buttons to just the Apps and Call function.

The lockscreen allows you to quickly open to Phone, Mail, Camera or Messages when you unlock. I find it really useful especially when I need to quickly take a photo. Just slide the Camera button on the ring and you’re all set. This lockscreen is also customizable if you want to use your own set of apps.

Performance

In terms of performance, the Rhyme feels pretty much the same as the Desire S. Its 1GHz processor and 768MB RAM is very capable to suit your everyday needs. The Adreno 205 GPU is enough to handle your average games smoothly and play flash videos straight from the browser.

Here’s the Quadrant score (1502) of the HTC Rhyme which is above the norm for its class:

Overall, everything runs really smoothly. UI animations are not a problem and switching to different apps is very snappy. Despite not having the latest technology, this phone is already a testament of what a good user experience should be like.

Voice calls are clear as well even in speaker mode. No call drops experienced at all and it even has a call block feature for each contact.

Multimedia and browsing

The Rhyme also doubles as a handy multimedia player. The 4GB internal storage is clearly not enough but you can slap in an up to 32GB microSD for additional space.

Video plays really well including DivX files downloaded and transferred to the SD card. No stuttering or any problems whatsoever. Music files are automatically included in the Music app along with their tags, album art and playlist.

For the ladies out there who loves to play games on their handset, this phone can run your typical games like Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Paradise Island, etc. very smoothly.

Web browsing is also not a problem here. Pages render fast and correct and the 3.7-inch display should be enough for mobile browsing. Download the Adobe Flash Player from the Android Market and you’re all set in viewing multimedia contents on your web browser. Flash videos play quite nicely including online Live streaming.

Camera

The 5-megapixel camera on the HTC Rhyme outputs very decent photos if you’re not after those huge resolution photos. It also comes with built-in effects and filters if you want to get creative with your shots.

Here are some sample photos taken with the HTC Rhyme:

At 100% crop it can be smudgy and you can some oversaturation but it’s barely noticeable at smaller resolution. It performs impressive as well even when indoors. Surprisingly one of the best camera phones from HTC. It can also record 720p HD videos by the way.

Battery life

The 1600mAh battery on the Rhyme is even better than some of its brothers with higher specs. You can do well over a day on a single charge with your usual WiFi, surfing, FB,Twitter and photo-shooting on this phone.

Verdict

Truly the HTC Rhyme is a lady’s phone. You don’t have the latest and most powerful specs or the biggest screen but often times, women aren’t after that. They want something that looks really nice and unique, a phone that feels good to handle, nice contacts management, with decent camera and can handle your usual apps without any problem. And ladies (or men wanting to get this for their girl), the HTC Rhyme fits the bill like a glove.

There’s really nothing bad to say about this phone because it is what it is without pretending it can do more. Kudos to HTC for giving the ladies the a phone that they can really call their own.

The HTC Rhyme now has an SRP of Php20,800 and only in the ClearWater Blue color. If you want the Plum color, you need to outsource it from other Southeast Asian countries.

If you find your Nokia phone getting a bit bland, you might want to check out the Nokia Store (previously the Ovi Store) where you can purchase premium apps to spruce up your phone.

Currently, purchasing is only available to Globe postpaid and prepaid subscribers.

The Nokia Store features a lot of premium apps, games and content such as ringtones and movie trailers. These content can be downloaded to a wide range of Nokia devices from feature phones to smartphones. No need for credit card as the cost for apps purchased from the store will be charged to your postpaid phone bill or from your prepaid credits.

To get started, if you’re on Globe, simply visit store.nokia.mobi from your device browser. You will be prompted to download the Nokia Store application.  Once registered, you can start downloading content and applications that is compatible with your phone.

To date, Nokia Store is seeing strong growth with more than 11 million global downloads per day. This milestone is a result of the increased demand for mobile content and the growing number of new apps and partner developers, complemented by new consumers signing up for Nokia Store.

In the Philippines, some of the most popular applications downloaded for 2011 were Facebook Chat, Skype, AdventureOfTed, and eBuddy Messenger, a chat app that allows you to talk with your friends on MSN, Facebook, Yahoo!, GTalk and more.

With the local implementation of the Nokia Store automatic billing solution, Nokia continues to pursue its commitment of providing user-friendly, affordable devices and more importantly, in providing mobile content and innovative services.