Updated 24 May, 2012, 9:59 am IST

Phones to Look Out For

26 Mar, 2009, 10:00 am IST | by Shayne Rana

Here's my list of five mobile handsets that I'm, looking forward to seeing in the country this year.

There’s a lot of new mobile technology out there and a lot to look forward to. It may a while before we actually see it all here but it’s something worth anticipating - new designs, new Operating Systems, fancy User Interfaces and new features for multimedia mobile maniacs to revel in. This is my list on what I’m looking forward to in the near future (hopefully).

Nokia N97

We’ve seen what the 5800 XpressMusic can do. Nokia’s latest touchscreen technology is something to contend with as is but I’m anxious to see what the next step is going to be with the N97 and its 3.5-inch touchscreen display and its slide out QWERTY keypad. It seems like this is possibly the most ‘fully loaded’ handset that these guys will have to offer. Sure it has all the regular features that one has come to expect out of any high-end device but the N97 will also offer functionality and media from all angles. From its 5MP camera, TV Out, 3.5mm standard earphone socket, GPS, Pocket Office functionality, Wi-Fi and 3G support to a whopping 32GB of internal memory and support for more via MicroSD cards. Is there anything I missed out? Hmm... I don’t think so.

Samsung i7410

The i7410 is going to be really big with the media and business crows as well I imagine. The reason being, that it has a 3.2-inch touchscreen, which is as large as the best of them so viewing videos, web surfing and pretty much all else will provoke no strain on the eyes. However, this handset has the capacity to take that feature and kick it into high gear with a built-in projector that can throw images from 5 to 50 inches. A portable handset cum projector is the new future and the i7410’s features don’t just stop there. The handset is also equipped with a 5megapixel camera, microSD card support, Bluetooth with A2DP, EDGE/GPRS and 3G support and a document viewer. Presumably this device would be perfect for those who are required to show presentations every now and again and can you imagine watching videos? Of course the quality remains to be seen.

Sony Ericsson Idou

Sony Ericsson is gearing up to bring out the big guns with the Idou. Incidentally, the name Idou means ‘Behold’ in Greek and that’s exactly what I figure the announcer is going to scream at the launch. Like something out of a corny spy movie where the villain announces his latest and greatest creation. The Idou is the first handset to employ a 12 megapixel camera lens in a mobile phone and that is something to behold. The 3.5-inch touchscreen display will make a great viewer for taking pictures and with settings that include Face and Smile Detection technology and a Xenon flash, the Idou will be a camera phone to reckon with. Also part of the Idou’s arsenal of features is Bluetooth with A2DP support, GPS, 3G, EDGE and GPRS as well as Wi-Fi and microSD card support for additional memory.