T-Mobile is currently offering the handset free of charge on a £25 per month contract.  For this the user will receive 600 call minutes, 500 text messages, unlimited mobile phone usage, three months free insurance and be able to take advantage of an offer that gives line rental at half price for the first three months.  This is a 24 month contract and users will be tied into that.

For those who use their mobile phones less, the same provider offers the same length of contract, 100 call minutes, 100 text messages and three months free insurance along with internet usage for £15 per month.  The user must purchase the handset at a reduced cost of £63.99.

Cheaper monthly charges are also on offer with various providers.  Vodafone have a 24 month contract on the HTC HD Mini at just £10 per month.  This gives the user just 75 call minutes a month, 250 text messages and three months free insurance, but the user has to pay a high cost for the handset, currently £265.99.  It is also worth noting that this deal does not include internet usage.

Vodafone do have deals which include internet usage.  The cost of the handset drops to £218.99 on a 24 month contract with the same number of call minutes, text messages and free insurance, but at a monthly cost of £15 each month.

As far as compact mobiles go the Palm Pre is a slim, curvaceous number, it has a high-resolution screen with crystal clearness. The buttons have a vibrating feature when you use them, giving the impression that the phone is talking back.  Where the Pre is a winner is with the power behind the screen, and you can multi-task quite easily, something its competitors are still trying to over come. Searching your contacts while downloading is no problem for this mobile.

Palm phones have always had a good search facility and the Pre is no different in this respect. It also has the capacity to suggest and open other programs you may need. Closing applications is just a simple case of waving the icon off the screen.

Organising the chaos of modern life is made easy with the Palm Pre, and it is the phone for someone with an active social network that they need to be in contact with, synchronising your calendar, contacts, Google apps, work diary, Facebook and Twitter. Palm Pre comes with a QWERTY keyboard but it is a little clumsy and difficult to use, while the handset does have a very plastic feel to it.

Not prefect and a little costly but a fun phone to use. Since this is the first generation to incorporate the webOS system it is may be worth waiting to see how the system develops, as there are always glitches in the early stages of any new program.

The big selling point is the camera, which is what makes it look so different, since it’s essentially an addition on the back (and well as a front-facing video camera for video calling, if a user desires). All the controls for the camera are located on the right side of the phone, and are quite intuitive, while the picture quality is superb, as is the video, building on what the company has achieved with the Cybershot.

The look is definitely minimal, with very little on the front; instead, most controls are on the phone’s left side, although, disappointingly, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, which would have made the Sony Ericsson Satio much better as a few mobile phone reviews have noted, especially as it is being touted as a multimedia device. There is, however, a microSD card slot, and a video out slot, so users can even play mobile phone footage on a TV.

Granted, the Sony Ericsson Satio looks a little awkward, certainly when compared to other handsets on the market, but it is light and fits well in the hand, and the stylus works very effectively on the screen, which is set up for handwriting recognition.

The Samsung Tocco Lite is not actually an offspring of the senior Tocco, rather, it is a counterattack to LG’s Cookie, which conquered the mobile phone world during the first months of 2009.

Here’s the story, LG joined the trend for touch-screen phones after the iPhone revolution, but made something that would be available for mass consumption, the Cookie. Since they joined the touch-screen mania even before LG’s participation, Samsung figured out a way to respond to the call, they downgraded some of the Tocco’s features, starting with the camera, from 5-megapixel to 3.2-megapixels and they removed the 3G and Wi-Fi capabilities, the same as the LG Cookie.

The best thing about the Tocco Lite is the value for money it represents. Mobile phone reviews say that the Tocco Lite is even better than the Tocco, since it improved on its predecessor’s weak communication problems. In addition, the Tocco Lite has a very hip interface, which rotates as the phone rotates. It also has a virtual QWERTY pad for easier typing, as well as a handwriting recognition application. Like the LG Cookie, the Samsung Tocco Lite is a “fun phone” bombarded with lots and lots of multimedia features, access to more java games, a very good web browser, which makes excellent use of the large screen and access to RSS feeds, Google Mail, Google Search and Google Maps. The battery life extends to 250hours in standby mode.

Most of the reviews mention that the Samsung Tocco Lite is pretty similar to the LG Cookie.

 Currently available is the Apple iPhone 3G S USB Sync and Charge Cradle, which comes in black and allows the phone to charge while synchronising data with a PC or Mac. It comes with a USB cable and can be carried anywhere.

 There is also the iPhone 3G S Travel Charger, which may be plugged into standard wall sockets. It is ideal for those who love to go on holiday with their new phone. The Griffin Apple iPhone 3G S PowerDuo Bundle allows the phone to be plugged into AC outlets from 100 to 240 Volts. It also includes a handy car charger with a replaceable fuse.

There are also new accessories for the BlackBerry Curve 8350i users. Have a look at the BlackBerry Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard² Dual Standard HID/SPP Easy Setup. This keyboard can turn the phone into a laptop with 65 full-sized keys and five-row alphanumeric layout. It can also be folded and carried anywhere. It uses two AAA batteries. The BlackBerry Curve Series Car Mount, which can be set up on the inside of a car windscreen using its suction cups, is also very useful. The mount can hold most phones and protects them from scratches. In addition, the Case-Mate Clear Armour protects the BlackBerry Curve 8350i from scratches. This high-grade transparent film can also protect the phone from being dented.

 For the LG enV Touch VX11000, there is the LG Series Car Mount. The car mount is made of durable plastic and can be put on the windscreen with a six-inch pedestal shaft and suction cups. The mount can also protect the phone from scratches.

Phone Accessory

Coming with 8GB internal memory and a 16GB SD card, there’ll be no shortage of memory storage. The 8 mega pixel camera is brilliant and the video capture feature is simply stunning recording at a resolution of 3264×2448. With a dual LED flash and 28mm Carl Zeiss lens.

Talk time you’re looking at just over 6 hours on a 2G network and just under 4 hours on 3G.

The N86 8MP has a 2.6” screen at a resolution of 240×320 and has a AMOLED screen given vibrant colours and sharp images.

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g is a great little feature on this phone allowing you to connect to your home network and stream videos on to your Nokia N86 from the BBC iPlayer.

Nokia N86 8MP

Ofcom, the UK’s telecom guardian, has recently cited several significant spots in the UK that still have weak, and even non-existent, 3G signals. The regulating body has vowed to investigate why some places, particularly in rural regions, still fail to have good coverage. The country’s mobile broadband service is offered by providers Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and 3-Mobile, among others. At present, questions abound about the networks’ reliability when roaming in the country. The networks, in the meantime, restate their commitment to customer satisfaction.

Vodafone Releases New Netbook to Boost Mobile Broadband

Vodafone is proud to present its latest innovation in the image of Samsung’s portable NC10 netbook. What makes this particularly exciting is that it comes with ready mobile broadband connectivity. Another innovation the netbook has is the Vodafone SIM installed that over-rides the need for a USB dongle. The Vodafone mobile broadband deals include a 24-month contract at £25 a month (with 1 GB available for usage), and a 24-month package at £30 a month (with 3 GB available for usage).

Vodafone

Zetnet Gets Complaints about Email System

UK network provider Zetnet has received numerous complaints from subscribers due to the email provider being unreachable. Other subscribers also stated that websites also sometimes went down, as did their FTP access.  Zetnet recently released a statement to explain the email problems: “We are currently in the process of moving your mail to our new email platform.

Your account has been set up and you will be able to use your address as normal. You may notice that your old and stored emails are not visible immediately. Please do not panic. These will be transferred to your account over the next few days.  If you are unable to access your email or email appears not be arriving please be aware that there may be some delays initially. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.”