Mobile Phone Reviews

Sony Ericsson is looking to make a big name for themselves in the current market with two of their forthcoming models namely the Xperia Play and Xperia Arc. While the Xperia Arc is largely your standard smartphone running Google’s Android the Xperia Play is quite unique. When I say unique I mean it features a [...]

There are so many different tablets on the market that it’s getting hard to choose which one may be right for you. First there is the Apple iPad 2, then Honeycomb powered tablets like the Motorola XOOM and even the BlackBerry PlayBook. Of the three the BlackBerry PlayBook is the most recent to hit store [...]

HP’s latest entry into the smartphone arena, the Palm Pre 2, hopes to bring webOS 2.0 to the forefront of the mobile hemisphere.  Unfortunately there are some pretty big sharks in the water, Google and Apple for starters.  In a story published by Softpedia this morning, the website has outed the official Palm Pre 2 UK release date as Friday, November 12, 2010.  If the date is to be believed, then you can expect the Palm Pre 2 to be offered in SIM-free form out the gate.  Those hoping for a deal will probably want to sit tight and wait for the individual carrier release dates, but if you must have webOS 2.0 at your fingertips this weekend, have at it.

The Palm Pre 2 features a 1 GHz CPU, 5-megapixel camera, Flash 10.1 support and webOS 2.0.  Besides being the first webOS 2.0 device on the market, the Palm Pre 2 represents the first device to be released under HP’s newly acquired ownership of Palm.  Rumors indicate that there will be no less than 5 webOS 2.0 devices released by HP in 2011, not including the Palm Pre 2.  So how bout it, anyone looking to pick up the Palm Pre 2 sans-contract this Friday or did you already jump on the deals from SFR France?

The Sony Ericsson LiveView is scheduled to be released in the UK on November 19.  The delayed launch has largely been due to the lack of Android 2.1 updates to Sony Ericsson’s handsets.  Android 2.1, as you know, is one of the key requirements for the LiveView so SE’s announcement that Xperia X10 owners would start receiving the update this week, had even bigger implications.  Unfortunately, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 will not be able to work with the LiveView at first unless a miracle Android 2.1 update arrives on the handset within the next 16 days.

The Sony Ericsson LiveView will be priced at 69 Euros when it goes on sale Nov. 19 in the UK.  According to online retailer play.com, the recommended price they’ve received from Sony (MSRP) is 59.99 euros so they will sell it for 49.99 Euros with free delivery.  If you have received your Android 2.1 update for your Xperia X10 and plan on picking up the LiveView in a few weeks drop us a line in the comments section below, thanks.

HTC is gearing up to launch a whole slew of devices running a whole slew of different platforms. However, the platform that they will focus on the most thanks to previous success is Google’s Android. This mobile source operating system has powered success handsets previously released by HTC such as the EVO 4G on Sprint.

A future handset that HTC will release running Google’s Android is the Desire HD. We’ve heard about this device several times in the past with its 4.3-inch touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 768MB of RAM and 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. As you can tell from the specs, it’s basically an HTC EVO 4G minus the 4G connectivity.

Those in the UK looking to get their hands on the HTC Desire HD will be happy to hear that it is officially coming to Vodafone UK. We’ve been notified of this release by the leaked poster that you can see above.

Anyone looking to grab the HTC Desire HD when it’s made available?

via coolsmartphone

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Remember the Alcatel OT-980 cellphone that we mentioned back on February 2010? The device is almost available for purchase on the UK at the Carphone Warehouse – it will be released on October 2010 for $160 in a “Pay As You Go” contract.

In case you forgot the Alcatel OT-980 first used Android 1.6 as the operative system but it has been upgraded to Android 2.1 Éclair. Specification-wise it has a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 320×240 as the resolution, a sliding QWERTY keyboard, bluetooth 2.0, a 2-megapixel camera for photos and videos, as well as e-compass and WiFi.

While much of the media hype is surrounding things like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, overseas Nokia is still chuggin’ away with a hefty share of the market. However ever since the beloved Nokia N900 hit store shelves, the Finland based company has yet to release any hard hitting devices.

Today, however, it was made known that the Nokia N8 we’ve been hearing about for so long will officially be made available online in the UK in the last month of September for £429 without a contract or completely free with a £35 per month contract. If you’re looking to purchase the Nokia N8 offline, you’re going to have to wait until October 1st as only then will it be available in brick-and-mortar retail locations.

If you’re not familiar with the Nokia N8 it features a 3.5-inch AMOLED multitouch display, a 680MHz processor, 256MB of SDRAM, a 12 megapixel camera with Xenon flash, a Carl Zeiss optics lens and 720p HD video recording, 16GB of built-in storage, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, HDMI out, Bluetooth 3.0 and more.

No word on when it will be coming to the States but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Press release included after the break.

GET YOUR NOKIA N8 THIS MONTH!

London, September 8th – The much-anticipated Nokia N8 will be on-sale at the Nokia Online Shop for £429 SIM free or on contract from £35 per month.

Pre-order now at www.nokia.co.uk/N8 to make sure you’re one of the first to get a Nokia N8 when it goes on sale exclusively at the Nokia Online Shop during the last week of September.

The Nokia N8 will also be available from Carphone Warehouse, O2, Orange, Phones4u, T-Mobile, Tesco Phone Shops, Three Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone from Friday 1st October.

The Nokia N8 offers amazing functionality and usability:
It will come bursting with new and exclusive Ovi apps
12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash
Record HD quality videos; edit using a unique, built-in editing suite and play-back with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound
Connect to your social networks and view live feeds from Facebook and
Twitter in a single app directly via up to three personalised home screens
Flick scrolling and pinch-to-zoom, plus a faster and more responsive user interface.

Mark Loughran, General Manager, Nokia UK, says, “The Nokia N8 is a great multitasker, packed with market leading innovations, which include the best picture and video capability available on a smartphone.

“The Nokia N8 is perfect for creating and sharing great content in high-definition, using HDMI out to connect to your TV as well as hot-USB swap. We’re making it fun and easy to capture and share memorable moments on the go.”

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All the way from the UK comes a new cellphone for Virgin Mobile, more specifically the Alcatel VM202 which is available in one exclusive color: Dazzle Pink.

The Alcatel VM202 features a 2.2-inch display screen with a QVGA resolution of 320×240 pixels, a 0.3-megapixel camera for the photos and videos, and a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can easily listen to your radio. One of the good details is that the Opera Mini browser is already pre-loaded in the device, and the other good detail is the battery life that can last up to 7 hours while talking, or 450 hours in standby. The rest of the goodies include 2MB of internal memory, a slot for microSD memory cards of 8GB, and a QWERTY keypad.

The Virgin Mobile Alcatel VM202 cellphone costs $45 with 300 free text messages.

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Google’s Android open source operating system is a great one but due to its frequency of updates and the infrequent rate at which hardware manufacturers push these updates out, some users have been left in the dust. The Dell Streak is a prime example of this segmentation as although it is a brand new device, Dell is still putting the finishing touches on the updated versions which means it will ship with Android 1.6 in tow.

Fortunately, some hackers over in the UK found this delay in updates to be inappropriate and have taken the liberty to themselves update the device to Android 2.1 also known as Eclair. According to those involved, all you need to do is copy the Android 2.1 .pkg file onto your device’s SD card and rename it ‘Update.pkg’. Once you’re done with that you just need to boot the Dell Streak into recovery mode and choose to recover from the Update.pkg file.

Of course, you’re going to have to make note that this will completely wipe your device and leave nothing behind besides a brand new, fresh Dell Streak. As with any non-official update, proceed at your own risk as it is possible that things may go wrong and you find yourself with a very expensive paper weight.

You can download that illustrious update file, here.

If anyone tries this, let us know how it goes.

via modaco

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LG Electronics (LG) today announced the release of the LG Cookie Series, a collection of vibrant coloured full-touch phones designed to match the unique lifestyles of young “Generation Z” mobile consumers looking for great style and great connectivity.

The LG Cookie Series consists of three full-touch mobile handsets: Cookie, Cookie Style and Cookie 3G, all suitable for younger users or first-time touch phone users. Tailored for the distinctive needs of today’s youth market, the LG Cookie Series provides more versatile texting functionality, enhanced music options, wider social networking support, and a customisable, user-friendly interface and design.

The LG Cookie Series was designed primarily for young mobile phone users who enjoy expressing themselves in unique and stylish ways, whether by phone or one of today’s most popular social networking tools.

All the Cookie phones offer an intuitive and easy-to-use virtual QWERTY keypad allowing for easy texting without the bulk of a physical keyboard. The keypad can be switched from portrait to landscape mode, providing young users with a more convenient texting method.

The LG Cookie Series touch phones make social networking much more enjoyable thanks to dedicated user interface optimised for this type of activity. Users can also keep in touch with their friends through instant messaging and email that support threaded viewing for easier conversations.

The LG Cookie Series also includes a 3.5-inch headphone jack, FM radio and microSD slot for enjoying and easy sharing of music and movies. Add to this a stylish two-tone design and the fun cartoon-styled user interface and the LG Cookie Series easily stands out in the full-touch phone handset market.

LG Cookie

Designed to fit perfectly in the palm of a hand, LG Cookie is the most compact phone in the line-up. LG Cookie is proof that touch phones don’t all look alike. LG Cookie’s compact form factor slips easily into a pocket or purse but still manages to include a generous 2.4-inch display.

LG Cookie Style

LG Cookie Style is the stylish phone in the series with a 2.8-inch LCD display and bold design. Cookie Style is available in a variety of colour options with accents on the front button panel, making it one of the most fashionable full-touch phones on the market. The phone’s colourful mix-and-match design will appeal to the young mobile generation’s desire for self-expression.

LG Cookie 3G

LG Cookie 3G allows for faster connectivity and data transmission, always keeping users connected to friends and family. Its advanced e-mail feature utilises the latest in push-delivery technology, instantly alerting users when messages are sent to any of their e-mail addresses. LG Cookie 3G is a perfect choice not only for Generation Z but also for digitally active people who cannot compromise on network connectivity and design.

The LG Cookie Series will be available in the UK in September. Pricing to be confirmed nearer the launch date.

via RealWire