Sony Xperia S

The Sony Xperia S is a seriously high-end device, powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in flash memory. The large 4.3" display has 720 x 1280 pixels resolution, giving full 720p HD playback capabilities. On the back is a 12 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, and there is a secondary 1.3 megapixel camera on the front for video calling.

There are lots of Sony enhancements built in to the Xperia S, including an Exmor-R enhanced image sensor, BRAVIA engine enhanced graphics, xLoud and TrackID music enhancements, integration with Sony's entertainment services and the Xperia S is also PlayStation certified.

Other features include an FM radio, HDMI port and of course the Xperia S has all the usual features such as 3.5G, WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth. The Xperia S will ship with Android 2.3, upgradable to Android 4.0 during Q2 2012. The handset is also NFC capable and has a set of optional NFC tags, although quite how useful that will be remains to be seen.

Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia Asha 201

Both devices are Series 40 feature phones rather than smartphones, but they can still download and run simple Java applications, in addition to those applications that are built into the handsets. Pre-installed software includes a web browser, a music player that can cope with MP3 and AAC formats, an email client, social networking support and in some markets the Asha 200 and 201 will support Nokia Life Tools.

The hardware is simple enough - these are dual-band GSM devices with a 2.4" 320 x 240 pixel TFT display, a smallish QWERTY keyboard, a basic 2 megapixel camera with rudimentary video capture capabilities, a stereo FM radio with a 3.5mm audio connector, a microSD slot and Bluetooth. Although the download speeds are limited to EDGE data only, the Nokia Browser is designed to make web browsing much faster on this type of connection

Nokia Asha 303

The Asha 303 is a bit of an oddity, as are several other recent low-cost Nokia devices. Although this isn't a smartphone, it really pushes the limits of what plain old "feature phones" can do. It packs a relatively small 2.6" 240 x 320 pixel touch sensitive display, it has a 1GHz processor inside, and a 3.2 megapixel camera on the back, an FM radio, a media player and a microSD slot plus Bluetooth. This is a 3.5G capable device with WiFi support as well, which is pretty impressive when you consider that it will cost just €115 before tax and subsidy.

This is a Series 40 device, which means that it is nowhere near as flexible as a smartphone when it comes to available software, but it can still download Java applications and perhaps most importantly of all, it comes with a pre-installed version of Angry Birds Lite.

Nokia Asha 300

In these days of touchscreen phones, the Asha 300 may seem like something of a relic. But rather unusually, it does combine a small touchscreen with a numeric keypad, so it can be used either like a traditional "dumb" phone with through the keymat, or by using the simple touchscreen interface.

By "simple", we mean that this is an old-style resistive panel that is also quite small at 2.4" in size with 240 x 320 pixels in resolution. On the back is a 5 megapixel camera capable of VGA resolution video capture. There's a media player, FM radio, microSD slot and quad-band 3.5G support but no WiFi.

This is a Series 40 feature phone rather than a smartphone, but you can still download Java applications and the Asha 300 comes with a preinstalled version of Angry Birds Lite plus a web browser and social networking tools.

Nokia X2-02

It might seem that these old products are hanging around Nokia's line-up like a bad smell, but the X2-02 is a rather interesting device with some useful features compared to the original X2, and with a price ticket of just €60 then it looks like pretty decent value overall.

This is a dual-SIM device, so it can support two active SIM cards at the same time. The second SIM card can be hot swapped via a slot in the side. There is also a built-in SIM manager that can support up to five different SIMs.

The X2-02 is a dual-band GSM device that supports GPRS and EDGE data, so it is hardly a speed demon when it comes to connectivity. On the front is a simple 2.2" 240 x 320 pixel TFT display, on the back is a basic 2 megapixel camera.

It gets more interesting when you see that the X2-02 also has an MP3 player, Bluetooth 2.1, has a microSD slot and an FM radio. One very unusual feature in a phone of this price is an FM transmitter, so you can play music from the phone onto a stereo or car audio system.. or even another phone with an FM receiver.

Although the 900 and 800 look very similar, the display on the Lumia 900 is now a 4.3" 480 x 800 pixel ClearBlack panel, which is significantly larger than the 800 (although it has the same resolution). The Lumia 900 also supports LTE (4G) data along with a variety of HSPA+, UMTS and GSM/GPRS options. From the technical specifications, the Lumia 900 could easily be a world phone, but AT&T seem to have it available only to them.. for now.

Inside is a 1.4 GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM and 16GB of non-expandable flash memory. On the back is an 8 megapixel camera with 720p HD video capture capabilities, and the Lumia 900 also has a front-facing camera for video calling. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity are also included, and the Lumia 900 comes with GPS and turn-by-turn navigation.

The temple at last

Ada Chai forest station looked forlorn in this deep forest -- an outstation with a pale existence. We walked down a long wooden pier that had developed gaping holes through its rotten wood planks. At the end of it was the wooden station its planks blacked by continuous rain, damp, musty smell hanging in the air. The lanterns could hardly beat the gloom of the gathering dusk as we entered the ramshackle station. The dampness enters your inside and you feel dizzy. I was taken aback by the unbelievably sorry living condition of the foresters.

Naturally Narail

WE were supposed to visit Narail months ago. But then many moons moaned by and all our plans collapsed one after another for one reason or another. Finally when we found time, it began with a disaster.

Cambodia by Bicycle

"Whenever you see three Cambodians, remember the fourth one who was killed by the Khmer Rouge.” A friend shared this sobering thought on the eve of a special adventure I was about to embark on: a bicycling trip from Bangkok to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. While this undercurrent of sadness was a part of the trip, my adventure was also filled with unexpected challenges, friendly people, and awe at seeing the magnificent ruins at Angkor.

After spending our first day (March 14) cycling in Thailand, we reached the Cambodian border at Prum at noon of the second day. We bicycled onward 17 km to Pailin and stopped there for the night. Pailin is famous for two things: sapphire mines nearby and several retired Khmer Rouge officials. Luckily I did not run into the latter while exploring the town in the afternoon. The streets of Pailin were torn up for installing sewage pipes and it was dusty and hot. Many more children than I had seen in Thailand played in the streets. The market reminded me of the bazaars of the smaller towns of Bangladesh, with the vendors waiting with their offerings while their children entertained.

The next day was our most difficult: 92km from Pailin to Battambang, the second largest town of Cambodia. Expecting another hot day (mid-30s) we started bicycling at 7am. Having braved Dhaka's traffic and shattered roads for many years, riding through Pailin's potholes was easy for me. But just outside the town I ran into trouble. That's because we started climbing the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains.

Tiny Primate Is Ultrasonic Communicator

They belong to a relict lineage of primates that gave rise to monkeys and apes about 60 million years ago, and for the past 45 million years tarsiers have been largely unchanged. Although tarsiers are important "living fossils," they are difficult to study in the wild. Scarcely five inches high, they are nocturnal and subsist mostly on a diet of insects, along with some small vertebrates such as lizards and snakes.

Nathaniel Dominy, an associate professor of anthropology at Dartmouth, describes the tarsier's ultrasonic vocalizations as "extreme, and comparable to the highly specialized vocalizations of bats and dolphins, which are used primarily for echolocation."