Three words describe my reaction to Samsung’s new flash based MP3 player – I like it. Normally these little players feel insubstantial, but the T10 feels solid and sturdy. I love the simple design and the matt black aluminum looks perfect. The only issue I can take with it is the easy to smudge front screen. Having said that, it’s designed to play video, so what should I expect?

The touch sensitive navigation pad is a joy to use and a welcome change from Apple copies. Samsung have actually come up with their own highly usable interface and although I am not a hundred percent impressed with the cartoon dog that comes with the interface or the incredibly annoying sound effects. I guess that just goes to show I am getting old and no doubt this will appeal to the younger market. Anyone daft enough to pay for a ringtone for their phone will more than likely enjoy this.

The sound quality is superb, perhaps even better than it’s obvious rival, the iPod nano. If anything, the picture quality on the tiny 2 inch screen is even better than the sound – crisp, sharp images and very little delay. The Samsung YP-T10 aslo comes with a nifty built in microphone and voice recorder, stereo Bluetooth, a text file browser and an integrated FM stereo radio. Did I say I like it yet?

Nokia’s latest offering, the N81 looks like it should be all things to all men, but the best way of describing this one would be “middle of the road.”

Not quite as feature packed as the N95, the N81 misses out on full GPS functionality, comes with the usual headphones that need throwing away and replacing with a decent set, a below average camera and, at some time on the future a hopefully decent range of games.

Everything about this phone is average from the design to the functionality. I fail to see the need for another phone of this level. The size is average (102x50x20mm) so they are not aiming for the “my phone’s thinner than your phone,” market.

Mobile review have an in-depth look at the phone here. In fact they go almost to the point of dismantling the thing and I was a little disappointed not to see one in pieces by the end.

All in all it’s just one more phone in an already overcrowded market place. My thinking is the consumer will be so confused by the time the salesman has run through the list of phones available they will just say, “OK, OK, give me the black one.”

Nokia’s detail page is here, and although they describe it as “never a dull moment,” clearly their idea of dull differs from mine.

What will they think of next? If you’ve ever wanted to listen to an Internet radio station without going through the trouble of using a PC, Freecom has just announced the solution. The Freecom MusicPal allows thousands of Internet radio stations to be received wirelessly by WLAN – without using a PC. Anyone who would prefer to play the MP3 collection of their PC/Mac or network can simply reproduce MP3 or WAV formats on the MusicPal by streaming. Thanks to the built-in loudspeaker, the MusicPal is completely independent.

The MusicPal can be configured very quickly, and according to the manufacturer it’s easy to operate. The two, handy click dials enable intuitive navigation and fully variable volume adjustment. Radio stations are pre-sorted by genres and country (vTuner service included,) and can be conveniently selected and saved in a “Favorites” list, which can be called up at the touch of a button. The LED display shows the time, radio station, and track. It also mixes in the latest news reports, blog news or weather forecasts of the RSS News Service.

This thing looks awesome and music aficionados can connect the MusicPal to active loudspeakers, a hi-fi system or headphones.

Equipped with WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption, the MusicPal complies with the highest WLAN security standards. The firmware developed for this purpose by Freecom is undergoing permanent further development, and updates are available online for downloading.

I love the idea, but whether MusicPal lives up to the hype remains to be seen. MusicPal should be in stores soon, and I am guessing the price will be around $200 (based on the Dutch prices.) Full specs here.

Other Internet Radio on Amazon.com:

Holy Smokes Batman!
Kiss goodbye to your smartphones and PDAs people, the UMPC U60 just crashed the party. With a 6.5 inch LCD screen the U60 will have smartphones checking in their underwear and wondering where it went all over the world.

The GIGABYTE UMPC U60 features the VIA C7-M processor, built-in IEEE 802.11 b/g wireless for wide compatibility, and the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR for increased data transfer rate which is three times faster than that of the conventional Bluetooth. It’s equipped with built-in stereo microphones and speaker, 300K pixel webcam with auto face detection and focusing functionality, which allow for automatic recognition of face(s) in the frame and follow the object even if he or she moves. It also allows for future upgrades with GPS satellite navigation module and DVB-T digital TV receiver module, which will turn your U60 into a navigation system and multimedia digital TV that you can carry with you on the go.

The power saving design of the GIGABYTE UMPC U60 stands out among the many UMPCs on the market. The VIA C7-M ULV 770 1GHz ultra low voltage processor features the Enhanced Power Saver technology using only 5W of power. In addition, the combination of the ultra thin LED backlight at 3.3V, the 1.8 inch ultra thin and low power consumption hard drive and the Windows Portal Power Management allows the U60 for up to 4 hours of battery life. All in 740 grams.

Hand writing recognition under Window XP Home for the first delivery. Clearly aimed at the business market, this is just another “got to have” to add to the Christmas list – if they ever ship them to the US that is.

Check out other UMPCs at amazon.com

It’s hard to tell whether this is a phone or a computer. It certainly isn’t tiny, which is one of the things that appeals to me, because, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have tiny little fingers. The E90 has almost every feature you could dream of and then some. It has the fastest processor currently used in Symbian OS smart phones. At 128MB, it also has the largest operating memory capacity ever used in a Symbian OS based device, with the recently announced UIQ3 based Sony Ericsson P1i being the only smart phone to offer the same.

Basic features include:

• Symbian OS v9.2
• S60 3.1
• Feature Pack 1
• 330 MHz OMAP2420 (ARM11)
• 128 MB RAM
• HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
• UMTS, EDGE, GPRS
• WLAN B/G 54 Mbps
• 3.2 Mpix autofocus camera
• VGA 30 fps video recording
• internal GPS receiver
• 128 MB storage memory
• microSD card slot
• quadband GSM
• 800×352 internal screen
• 240×320 cover screen
• full QWERTY keyboard
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• FM radio
• stereo speakers – 2.5″ audio connector

After a few days getting to grips with the E90, you can only come to one conclusion. It’s not a phone. It’s a full on mini computer that happens to double as a phone. The camera quality is nearly as good as some mid range cameras and the GPS mapping is detailed and clear. One of the great things I liked about this is the fact that you can buy short term map licences for all over the World. Apart from the kitchen sink, the only thing missing from the Nokia E90 is Fax support.

You can buy it and buy some accessories for it at amazon.com:

• NOKIA E90
• Krusell Dynamic with Multidapt® Leather Case for Nokia E90 (89275)
  
• Alu-leather case (Nokia E90 series) – FLIP Type