Sony Bloggie CM5 Unboxing

Pocket HD video recorders have become a very popular segment in the video camera market. Just two years ago, there were only a handful of sub $200 cameras. Today, there a vast number of HD pocket cameras to choose from.

As someone who likes to contantly take video footage, I had been shopping for an HD camera for qute some time. There were several reasons I chose the Bloggie, but more on that in another video. For now, here's the unboxing that I recorded earlier last week.

Sony Ericsson Updates Phone Line

Recently, Sony Ericsson added three new phones to their Ericsson line up. All of which, being add-ons to current phones. At the end or each run down, I will give my personal feelings on each phone.

 Vivaz Pro

Deriving from the original Vivaz, the Vivaz Pro is a new phone announced at a pre-MWC event, came with the addition of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Unlike it’s other brother, the Vivaz, this one comes with a 5 megapixel camera as opposed to the 8 megapixel that the Vivaz comes with. It can also record 720p HD video. The camera can also be used for video calling. Thankfully, unlike other SE smart phones, this one doesn’t run Windows Mobile. It comes with Symbian series 60 5th edition, which some users might have a problem with, I personally don’t mind Symbian.  Just like other SE phones, this one comes with the full laundry list of features such as Wi-Fi, PlayNow, and social networking apps included. I personally like this phone a lot. It has a simple, yet good looking design, a slide out QWERTY keyboard which I prefer to a on screen keyboard. Sony Ericsson’s website suggest that this phone will be available sometime in the next three months. However, no price or exact date has been announced. 

 XPeria X10 Mini Pro

Sony Ericsson has really been riding on the shoulders of their gorgeous XPeria X10. One of the phones that they announced was the XPeria X10 Mini Pro. This new X10 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard in addition to a 2.55 inch touch screen, which looks very tiny from what I’ve seen. It comes with a 5 megapixel camera which also records video. It’s basically an XPeria X10 only smaller and with a keyboard. The Mini runs Android 1.6, but you wouldn’t know from looking at it, because SE has included Timescape which lets you merge all your communications into one App. By communication, I mean Facebook,SMS and Email. In my opinion, the Mini is great for users who want a stylish messaging phone that doesn’t take up too much space. SE’s web site says this phone will be released sometime in the next six months. 

 Xperia X10 Mini

The new X10 Mini is incredibly small. It measures 3.3 inches tall and has a 2.6 inch touch screen. It does not have a physical keyboard which in my opinion, can make text input hard. From the videos I’ve seen, the only way input text is to use a numerical keypad onscreen. It runs Android, in addition to SE’s Timescape. It comes with a 5 megapixel camera which is very nice considering the size of the phone. Overall, this phone is just a smaller X10 Mini Pro. In my opinion, this phone is too small to use. After viewing images online, it seems like it could pull off somethings, but everyday use of this phone could get annoying after a while.But that’s just my opinion. Once these phones are released and available to the general public, I will definitely play with and give you my first impressions. Sony’s website states this phone will be available sometime in the next three months. 

 So in conclusion, this has been a run down of some of Sony Ericsson’s newest phones they released. I hope you enjoy!

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Theres always one..

Gaming is one of the biggest things since the 90's, and there is 3 main competitors which are Sony (PS3), Nintendo (Wii) and Microsoft (XBOX). One thing this blog post isn't going to do is make an argument between gamers, as many gamers own all of the 3 above consoles.

On the market right now, Sony and Nintendo have more consoles on the market, for Sony the PS3 and PSP and for Nintendo the Wii and DSi, but what about Microsoft. Microsoft already have their vintage XBOX console, but what a handheld from Microsoft? Well, you could say that one of their 'netbooks' are one of their takes on the handheld console, but please, you can't game on the netbook. Maybe a laptop, but its about 3-4 times bigger than Sony and Nintendo handhelds. So, c'mon Microsoft, where is your handheld? Is it still being featured on Engadget as 'coming soon' or many Youtube videos being made about it, and what it'll look like, what it'll do etc.

Instead of making new Windows operating systems, get a XBOX handheld console out on the market. But, don't come up with the excuse of "Well, Sony has a powerful console (PS3) and a nice unique handheld (PSP)" If Sony and Nintendo can enter the market like that, you can Microsoft!

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Jonny