Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S

The Xperia Arc is one of the more elegant Android smartphones on the market, and with a large 4.2" 480 x 852 pixel display panel, it has one of the best screens as well. The weak point in the original Xperia Arc was the processor - it launched with a 1GHz single-core CPU just at the point that high-end competitors were switching to dual-core, so this useful update makes the Xperia Arc S much more competitive.Other improvements seem to be mostly software based with access to content from "Music Unlimited" and "Video Unlimited" in certain markets, plus enhancements to the camera and video output and numerous other software tweaks. The operating system is Android 2.3.4.

Sony Tablet S and Sony Tablet P

The Sony Tablet S is a somewhat conventional looking Android tablet, but it is perhaps the Sony Tablet P that will steal the show. The Tablet P comes with two displays with a hinge down the middle, so it folds up like a book, measuring 180 x 79 x 26mm when closed.

This design may seem completely mad when compared to conventional Android tablets, but this approach works well on a much smaller scale with the Nintendo DS. For example, you can use the bottom screen as a game controller while playing the game in the top screen, but obviously this will require a specially written application.The twin displays on the Sony Tablet P are each 5.5" 1024 x 480 pixel panels. Inside is a 1GHz dual-core processor with 512BMB of RAM. The Tablet P ships with Android 3.2 and supports both WiFi and 3.5G connectivity. Internal memory is just 4GB, but the Tablet P also has a microSD slot with a 2GB card in the standard sales package. On the front is a VGA camera for video calling, and on the back is a 5 megapixel primary camera with HD video capture.

Sony Xperia ion Preview

Heading exclusively for the AT&T network in the US, the Xperia ion is presumably a taste of things to come as far as the rest of the world is concerned. And if this is what Sony are offering the world during 2012, then it looks like it could be a very good year.

This is a powerful beast. Inside is a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. On the front is a 4.6" 720 x 1280 pixel HD display and an HD camera for video recording. On the back of the Xperia ion is a 12 megapixel Exmor-enhanced camera with 1080p HD video capture capabilities. The Xperia ion is a 4G LTE device, one of a number of new 4G devices for AT&T and other US carriers.

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.