The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 is a mid-range Android messenger. A platinum silver version of this recently-released device walked into Mobility Nigeria command centre this afternoon looking sleek and cool.

Trust us to get to work immediately. We love QWERTY messengers to death here at Mobility Nigeria. The Samsung Galaxy Pro seems to have been molded after the likeness of its older brother, the Samsung B7320 OmniaPro (same 320 x 240 pixel display) which clinched the coveted award of Mister Mobility’s smartphone of the year 2009.

So, how does the Galaxy Pro fare? You’ll have to wait for the review. While you wait, please feel free to digest the specs and some pictures from our unboxing ceremony.

• 320 x 240 pixel, 2.8 inch, TFT capacitive touchscreen
• Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo) on a 800 MHz processor
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera
• QVGA@30fps video recording
• Weighs only 103g, at 108.6 x 66.7 x 10.7 mm in size
• 512 MB internal storage, plus microSD slot
• 1350 mAh battery
• microSD, up to 32GB, 2GB included
• Bluetooth 2.1, microUSB 2.0
• DivX/Xvid/MP4/WMV/H.264 video support
• Image/video editor
• ThinkFree document viewer/editor
• Flash 10.1 support in browser

There it is, the Galaxy Pro’s sales pack and included accessories.

If you have questions that you would love to have addressed in the upcoming review, please post away below.

Inspite of the popularity of pure touchscreen slabs since the coming of the iPhone, the QWERTY candybar form factor has proven that it has its very loyal share of fans and users. All over the world, QWERTY candybars are selling like hotcake, and it doesn’t look like the form factor is fading away for a long time.

Apparently aware of this trend, the manufacturers have decided to ride the wave and are throwing out a slew of hybrid devices that incorporate both a hardware QWERTY keyboard and a touchscreen in a candybar form. We shall borrow a term to call them from Nokia – Touch-and-Type.

Behold the Touch-and-Type entrants –

Nokia E6

• 640 x 480 pixel, 2.46 inch, Gorilla glass TFT capacitive touchscreen
• Symbian Anna on a 600 MHz ARM 11 processor, with 2D/3D Graphics HardWare Accelerator
• 8 megapixel, full focus camera, with dual-LED flash
• 720p@25fps video recording
• 8 GB internal storage, microSD slot, and USB On-the-go support
• 1500 mAh battery
• The E6 is being expected before the end of June 2011

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510

• 320 x 240 pixel, 2.8 inch, TFT capacitive touchscreen
• Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo) on a 800 MHz processor
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera
• QVGA@30fps video recording
• 512 MB internal storage, plus microSD slot
• 1350 mAh battery
• The Galaxy Pro has been available since April 2011, and is already in the Nigerian market

BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900/9930

• 640 x 480 pixel, 2.8 inch, TFT capacitive touchscreen
• BlackBerry 7 on a 1.2GHz processor
• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus & LED flash
• 720p video recording
• 8 GB internal storage, plus microSD slot
• 1230 mAh battery
• The 9900/9930 is being expected before the end of June 2011

So, we have a touch-and-type smartphone represented on Symbian, Android and Blackberry, so for you QWERTY candybar folks, you have options. In addition, the Motorola DROID PRO XT610, another Android messenger, has been around since November 2010, but that is one handset that hasn’t been seen in many markets.

If you had to pick one of the above, which one would it be, and what would your criteria be?

Nokia has announced the Nokia E6, a compact QWERTY and touch device aimed at business and general users who need to get things done while they’re on the move. Busy emailers rejoice – there’s now a new Symbian business device that you can operate single-handed.

The QWERTY and touch experience on the Nokia E6 offers faster navigation and operation than either a pure touch or keyboard-only system. While experienced users can get much faster text-entry from a QWERTY keyboard than they ever will from a touch display, being able to launch apps and choose options through the touch screen is often quicker than navigating through options with the thumbpad. It’s the best of both worlds for busy emailers and status-updaters.

The screen is a bright 2.46-inch LCD capacitive touch display offering 16mn colours and a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels. It’s made of Corning Gorilla Glass for great durability.

The device comes with 8GB of internal memory and support for MicroSD cards up to 32GB. The battery is a removable Nokia BP-4L 1500mAH – rated for up to a month on standby and 7h30m talk-time over 3G – longer over GSM connections. As you would expect, it offers Pentaband 2G/3G network support for world travellers and WiFi connectivity through 802.11 b/g/n. There’s also Bluetooth 3.0 with support for stereo headphones.

The device measures 115.5 x 59 x 10.5mm and weighs 133g. The 8-megapixel full focus (EDOF) camera has a dual-LED flash, 2X digital zoom (3X in video mode) and offers HD 720p video recording at 25fps.

Like other Symbian phones, the Nokia E6 comes with free global walk and drive navigation through the latest Ovi Maps. It also comes with free push email and IM, providing you have a data plan. The latest Symbian operating system now comes with five home screens, an improved browser and redesigned interface (there’s more info on Symbian Anna here). Bundled software includes QuickOffice, World Traveler, JoikuSpot Premium and F-Secure Mobile Security. More apps can be downloaded and installed through Ovi Store.

For the many existing Nokia E71 and E72 users, the Nokia E6 is the upgrade they’ve been waiting for. They now get a much higher resolution screen (four times the pixels), the latest Symbian operating system, Symbian Anna, improved support for Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile, SharePoint and Office documents. There’s much more memory, much better connectivity and an 8-megapixel camera. There’s also support for USB On-The-Go and AV-out for connecting to a television or headphones.

The Nokia E6 is expected to ship in Q2 2011 – before taxes and subsidies it will cost €340. North American availability is expected in Q3.

More images and info at Nokia Conversations.

When we say that the new Nokia E7 is your perfect companion for on and off duty, this is what we mean: For business users, Nokia E7 provides direct, secure and real-time access to email, calendar, contacts, tasks and the corporate directory through Microsoft Exchange servers, as well as Office Communicator Mobile, developed by Microsoft for Nokia smartphones, which brings presence and corporate instant messaging.

Additionally, a wide range of entertainment and social services available on the Nokia E7 make it the perfect off-duty companion, and the Ovi Store offers a wealth of apps

Pre-order now www.gtbank.com/nokiae7

Also, don’t forget that you can win a free Nokia E7 on this blog. All you need to do is tell us the most creative thing you have ever done with your Nokia phone. Simply post in the comments section below.

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Nokia West Africa

It seems natural to compare the Nokia E7 with its older sibling, the N8. However, a quick look at the specifications show that while they may have the same engine under the hood (680 MHz processor and GPU on Symbian^3), they are targeted at two different classes of users.

By all means, one is targeted at the business class and the other at the multimedia segment. The E7 lacks the N8′s superb 12 megapixel, autofocus camera, microSD card slot and FM Transmitter, but throws in a bigger ROM, superb 4-inch ClearBlack display and top-notch keyboard.

The E7 is the bigger of the two devices, but I must say Nokia worked a miracle to make it just 13.6 mm thick. As a matter of fact, I believe that the E7 is the thinnest QWERTY slider phone in the market. The N8 without a sliding keyboard is 12.9 mm; the Motorola Milestone 13.7 mm; and the HTC Desire Z 14.2 mm.

The E7′s keyboard has a few neat tricks too that will be highlighted later in one of my reviews.

Here are a few comparison shots of the top two Symbian^3 devices in the market, the Nokia E7 and Nokia N8.

This morning, Yomi received a call from Nokia. They had a Nokia E7 for him to pick up, making him one of the very first individuals to own that device in the country.

I drove down to Nokia’s Victoria Island office to pick up the device, and it is now here at Mobility Nigeria “towers”. Here are pictures from the unboxing done by yours truly (as Yomi is on holiday). Enjoy.

The E7 sales pack contains:

• the Nokia E7 Communicator
• charger
• headset
• manual
• USB data cable
• USB-on-the-go adapter
• male miniHDMI to female standard HDMI adapter

The E7 is a Symbian device very much after the mold of the N8. They look similar, with some distinct differences. Once I picked it up, I immediately noticed the difference in size and weight (the E7 is slightly bigger). However, for a device with a slide-out keyboard, it is not so thick or bulky.

The silver colour gives off a feeling of class. The hardware QWERTY looks sexy. The impression I get is that typing will be a breeze on it, seeing that the keys are well spaced and have a good feel.

The sliding mechanism is smooth: you push to initiate the opening and the spring mechanism completes the action.

In closing, here are the major advantages of the Nokia E7 over the N8:

1. Larger (4.0-inch) and better ClearBlack AMOLED display
2. Superb hardware QWERTY keyboard
3. Torchlight functionality
4. Microsoft Office Communicator Suite

Yomi will be bringing us more detailed information in his usual multi-part reviews. Knowing him, I am betting that he will be drowned in ecstacy when this package gets to him. Ladies and gentlemen – the Nokia E7 Communicator.

If you are out looking for a hardware QWERTY Dual SIM device that delivers on email (POP3/IMAP), basic web browsing, and social networking, perhaps you should consider the LG C310.

The C310 has dual standby functionality, meaning that both lines are active simultaneously. Network data is GPRS and EDGE. There’s only 15MB of memory built in, but then there’s a microSD slot that is compliant with cards up to 4GB.

The keys are large and comfortable to use, and the display is TFT. The camera is only 2megapixel, but that is to be expected of a device in the price range of N20,000. There’s also Bluetooth, microUSB, music player, video player, and a number of other features.

New Mobility Nigeria team member, Izi Ehigie, writes about her experiences with the LG GW305. This is her very first article for Mobility Nigeria. – Editor

“I’ll get you a phone”, were the words of my friend. He didn’t have to say “I promise”, but I knew that he meant it and I could hold him to his words. For a while, it didn’t look as if the phone was coming, but I knew it was.

One day, a long while later, my friend asked, ”Do you want a touchscreen phone or one with a QWERTY keypad?” Of course, I wanted one with a hardware QWERTY keypad.

Eventually, on Tuesday 9th of November 2010, I became the proud owner of a phone that I promptly I nicknamed ”GreyBerry.”

I am Izi, and about to give you a personal review of the LG GW305 phone. Roll along with me please.

The LG GW305 is a sleek black phone with a grey-coloured back cover (from where I got the inspiration to name it ”GreyBerry”). It is actually quite lightweight for its size.

Messaging on the LG GW305 is fun with its full QWERTY keypad. the mailbox isn’t quite up there. It seems basic and was unable to retrieve mails from my Yahoo mail account. I don’t know why emoticons were included on this phone when they are not visible in messages received.

One very funny thing about messaging on the GW305 is the delivery report which reads: “Report has been arrived“. Well, I guess that explains why the phone manual has just a few lines of English. Go figure.

Calls on the GW3054 are crisp and clear. There’s a 3.5 mm headset slot, though you cant end a call via the headset. That has to be done on the handset. The phone settings also lets you choose what calls you want to reject.

The large phonebook lets you allocate different funny images to your contacts. These come alive on your homescreen when you choose the Livesquare homescreen option.

Thumbs up for the camera. For a 2.0MP camera, I think it is a good one.

The LG GW305′s games are rather annoying since they are all demos and need to be purchased to enjoy the full packages.

Browsing on my GreyBerry has been the complete package – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

What’s good: That I can just pick up my phone and connect to the net.

What’s bad: A lot of sites do not load on this phone.

What’s ugly: Browsing terminates annoyingly without notice, leaving you with the notice, “Insufficient memory, unable to proceed“.

Well, that’s my brief review of the LG GW305. I do hope that you enjoyed reading my amateur effort.

It isn’t everyday that one gets the opportunity to carry about two of the most capable devices on the planet. The Nokia N8 is the latest device in Nokia’s N-series range. It is a pure touchscreen Symbian-powered device. The N900, on the other hand, has been around for over a year, but this QWERTY slider device running Maemo 5 is still very much a capable device in the smartphone market.

When I recently announced that the N900 is my smartphone of the year 2010, there were cries of “foul” from Nokia N8 fans – and that is testament to how much the N8 has come to be loved and regarded in the mobile space. Nokia certainly has hit a home run with the N8. It is indeed a lovable, capable device that meets the needs of lots of people.

Same Father; Different Strengths

Children of the same parents often have different strengths. Having used both devices extensively, I am qualified to present to you in what areas one outshines the other. This will help people in understanding how to choose devices that cater to their specific needs.

Note that this is not a detailed comparison, but a quick list of areas where the differences of the two excellent devices stand out.

Browser: While we are still waiting for the new Symbian browser that Nokia promised us (and I am hoping that Nokia will copy the N900′s browser to the dot), the N900′s Mozilla-based MicroB browser clinched the spot as the best mobile browser at its release and holds that spot till date. The Symbian browser on the N8 pales in comparison so badly that it is an uneven match.

Camera: The tide is turned immediately here. The N8′s stunning 12 -megapixel camera simply leaves the N900′s 5 megapixel camera in the dust for both still shots and video capture. The N8 does HD/720p video capture. No contest here too.

I took my wife out on a Friday night date yesterday and we took some shots. The N900 generally was left in the dust. Glad I took the N8 along with me.

Display: The N8 has a brighter, more colourful display, while the N900 has the greater resolution. Both of them work well in sunlight. Most people will opt for the N8′s display for video playback, but for web browsing and reading documents, the N900′s greater resolution makes it the preferred display.

Also, the N900′s resistive display is almost as responsive as any capacitive, but you will notice the difference.

Video Playback: Both devices handle playback well. The N8′s AMOLED display produces brighter colours, but the N900 has the better WVGA resolution of 800 × 480 pixels against the N8′s 360 x 640 pixels. Also, the N900 handles more video codecs than the N8 does, especially with DviX and Xvid files. There were video files that I could not watch on the N8 but the N900 handles them fine.

Customisation: Symbian has much more applications available than Maemo. Yet Maemo is much more highly tweakable via plugins, scripts and apps than Symbian. For example, the N900 is easily overclocked just by installing an app, and can have Linux desktop apps installed on it. Other mobile OSes e.g. Android, have also been installed and run on the N900.

UI and Multi-tasking: The N8 handles this like a champ, but my impressions are that the N900 does it better with more resources and a better UI. The N8 sports 256MB RAM, but the N900 takes it a step further with 256MB RAM and an extra 768 MB of virtual memory. This means that the N900 has a total of 1GHz application memory at its disposal.

The N900′s PC-like approach to tasks makes it the better user interface in every way. The N8′s UI is not bad; the N900′s is simply better. Having used iOS, Android and Symbian devices, the Maemo 5 UI is the closest thing to iOS’s sleekness, simplicity and ease of use. In my opinion, the Maemo UI actually matches iOS in user experience.

Mass Storage: N900 has 32GB and N8 has 16GB. No contest.

Maps: Simply put, the Ovi maps application on the N8 is miles better than that on the N900. No contest.

Social Networking Integration: Out of the box, the N900 has Skype and GoogleTalk integrated into the contacts and conversations applications. Install a few more plugins and you add Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook, and lots more. These are not separate apps, but plugins running right in your Contacts and Conversations apps.

Your chats show up in your Conversations as threaded messages. Your Contacts can be arranged according to online availability, so your available contacts show up at the top when you open the app.

It is simply incredible.

Text Entry: The N900 offers you the best of both worlds – an onscreen keyboard and a slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard.

Battery Life: Of the two, the N8 has the better battery life. Linux-powered devices tend to consume more resources than Symbian. In this case, the N900′s battery life is prey to this as well. The N8 simply keeps going after the N900 has given up.

Conclusions

Slider QWERTY devices have never been top sellers in the market. They have always been niche devices. Naturally, the majority of people will opt for the N8. Form factor aside, the N8 is the device that you need to buy if you are looking for media content creation. You simply cannot go wrong with buying a Nokia N8 if that is what you are after.

The N900 is a mixed bag and has a much smaller targeted audience – people who are looking for a more PC-like experience on a small device, a better social networking and web experience, as well as office content viewing, creation and editing. That’s where I fall. That’s why the N900 is my smartphone of the year 2010.

If you are looking for a smartphone with a candybar form factor and a QWERTY keyboard these days, chances are that you will end up with a Blackberry. Those chances are much higher than they were years ago.

You see, years ago, several devices on different smartphone platforms spotted a QWERTY keyboard in a bar form. We had devices from Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Palm besides Blackberry.

However, in the last few years, most of those platforms have shifted their focus from QWERTY bars. Oh, there are still lots of QWERTY devices on the market, but in a hybrid form that combines touchscreen with a slider. What is very rare on the existing platforms are QWERTYs on bars.

Personally, regardless of how responsive a touchscreen is, I always eventually crave for a hardware QWERTY keyboard. Weeks may pass. At times months. But I gotta have QWERTY! It is almost an addiction. I know several others like that. It is about preferences.

QWERTY bars have always been Blackberry turf. They made it popular. And while most other manufacturers are shifting heavilly, RIM are still holding on to that ground. The other mobile platforms that used to offer QWERTY bar alternatives have shifted their focus and almost left the turf exclusively in the hands of RIM and their Blackberry OS.

One thing is for sure, there is a market for hardware QWERTY in a bar form, and RIM are currently ruling that segment of the smartphone market. Will Blackberry hold out or are they a dying breed? Are hardware Qwerty devotees dinosaurs passing time till the apocalypse?

We have a handful of used unlocked BlackBerry 9630 Tour for sale. They are in very good condition, and have no physical or performance flaws/faults.

Available accessories:

1. Battery
2. Charger

For a limited period we are giving each unit away for only N35, 500.00

These devices are sold on a first come, first served basis. Offer ends Friday 26th November after which the price reverts to N39,000 each.

Sales Enquiries: mobility[@]mobilitynigeria.com or 08076400503

Okay, I understand that your heads may be swimming by now. First, it was the iPhone 3GS, then the Nokia N8, and now as a result of what I considered a twist of bad luck, a Palm Pre! Yes; all here at Mobility Nigeria within one week.

Yup, the Pre is getting old (well, just a year old, really), but I have always wanted a Pre or Pixi just to have a feel of WebOS. And what fun would it be if I kept it all to myself? Hang around.