HANDSETS

For Mike Teavee

Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition

In case you don’t get the title, I’m alluding to the kid with the TV fetish in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This device from Nokia is about the future from the UK’s point of view, made purely for you bigger Mike Teavee’s out there, who fancy watching snips of news while you’re sitting in traffic jams, and the footie while you’re pretending to look riveted by conversation at the in-laws – when we get DVBH networks, that is.

The Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition is an entertainment hub that combines mobile broadcast TV (DVBH), social networking, music and gaming in one compact 3G device. With mobile broadcast TV consumption on the rise – by 2012 there may be over 300 million people worldwide watching TV on their mobile phones – this handset offers easy access to anyone wanting to enjoy an exceptional live, on the move TV experience.

Programmes burst through the QVGA 2.4 inch screen in full colour, crystal clear, sharp images. You can also get one click access to live broadcasts, set reminders for favourites, and create personal channel lists with Nokia’s electronic programme guide.

Out in the UK when DVB-H gets here, but available in Q1 2010 across a lot of the European countries for a mere €155 before tax.

Ed Says:

Who are the rivals to this baby? Well, without DVB-H networks commercially available in the UK as yet, we might as well focus on handsets that allow us to watch streamed TV and video on demand. I’m thinking big, high quality screens.

The most obvious choice for me is the HTC HD2. I love this device, with its enormous 4.3 inch screen on the diagonal, captive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 WVGA. You’ve got up to eight hours of video playback time – enough to get you from Helsinki to the St Petersburg on a bus – and it supports the following video formats: .wmv, .asf, .mp4, .3gp, .3g2, .m4v, .avi. It also has a 3.5mm stereo jack, so you can use any earphones you fancy.

Outclassed by the HTC HD2 in all but reputation is my second choice for TV viewing, Apple’s iPhone, out now on O2 and Orange and coming to us any minute now on Vodafone. This baby has a healthy 3.5 inch screen on the diagonal, widescreen multi touch, with 480 by 320 pixel resolution. It supports H.264 video, plus MPEG-4 and has video playback of up to 10 hours.