The Legend is the updated version of the very popular HTC Hero mobile and is the first to feature an all-in-one aluminium casing. The hard, cool one piece unibody gives off a sense of durability; this is a phone that will last and take the knocks.

As nice as looking at something is, you need it to perform as well and the HTC Legend does not disappoint. The brightly lit and coloured 3.2-inch geo-screen is very responsive. They changed to an optical joystick after the much criticised trackball system and placement of all the plugs and buttons has been well thought out.

Technologically they have included some innovative attractions; the “leap” feature allows you to see all your home pages at once and the “friend stream” has been specifically created for all the social network lovers out there, giving an easy view of all preferred sites.

There is a decent quality media player and 5 mega-pixel camera, FM radio tuner and 3.5 mm jack point. The Legend also has great connectivity with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB and GPS, along with 512MB of memory. 

HTC has put a lot of thought into the Legend and it is more than just an updated Hero. Its style and content will make it one of the top phones of the year for sure.

The HTC Nexus One is an Android mobile phone developed by Google and Android Inc as the next step in its mobile phone software evolution. Android mobile phone technology is open source, allowing users to create and share files and applications.

The HTC Nexus One measures at 4.69 by 2.35 by 0.45 inches, and weighs 4.59 ounces. It has an impressive 10 hours battery life of talk time, 12 days standby time. Its screen resolution is 480 x 800 pixels, with the screen measuring 3.7 inches. The touch-screen uses capacitive technology.

The inbuilt camera has a high quality resolution of 5 megapixels, with LED flash technology, auto focus and geo tagging. The video player supports MPEG4, H.263 and H.264 files. The music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WAV, AMR, OGG and MIDI files.

The software is Android 2.1. Internet browsing is through HTML and the mobile phone has microUSB, 2.1 stereo Bluetooth and A-GPS.

Key HTC Nexus One reviews points include the sharpness of the picture quality. Google has added a fly through version of Google maps, which looks stunning on the screen. HTC Nexus One deals are mostly contracts starting at around £35.

While running Windows Mobile is not a selling point for all users, the big screen delivered by the HD2 more than makes up for it. This 4.3 inch display is among the largest of all available HTC mobile phones.  Interfacing with the phone becomes a breeze, as is the ability to read smaller text and press smaller buttons, with greater accuracy and ease than ever before.  Streaming video looks great on this display, and is ideal for long trips.

While this phone may not be the smallest in the world, it’s still a very stylish phone offering a unique design and appeal to the mobile market.  The display facilitates both better multimedia and reading/writing in the process, and is a welcome addition to HTC’s offering.  This phone is clearly not for everyone, however if size is no issue and solid performance with easy to read text is, you should look no further than the HTC HD2. With many service providers offering mobile phone deals on contract mobile phones, you will not have to pay the full retail price for this item, with a new or upgraded contract.

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.

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad phone; it does a lot of things right. The navigation ball is excellent and responsive, while the screen is a pleasure, and very easily configured. It doesn’t come loaded with many apps, but there’s a strong selection in the App store, and unlike Apple, most of them are free.

Physically, the design is very clean, and typical of HTC mobile phones, although white might not be the best colour for something carried and used extensively every day.

The keyboard is onscreen, available in both portrait and landscape modes. However, given screen size, landscape is the only viable option, and some mobile phone reviews have noted that even then keys at the edge need an extra push.

Anyone wanting music on the HTC will need to keep it on a memory card, which isn’t such a great idea, and the listening experience isn’t as good as it could have been since the device lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack. Nor is the camera that great, experiencing unacceptably long shutter lag and no flash, although it does have 3.2 megapixels.

So yes, there are enough problems with the HTC Magic to feel as if the spell hasn’t taken and that it is very much a work in progress. But things will improve.

The HTC Tattoo fits well in the hand, and the casing can be changed – a sweet little touch, but not major, even if it lets users customise their phones a little. With seven home pages there’s plenty of information available, and it’s easy to scroll between them and configure them as the user desires. It’s even possible to have Twitter updates on the phone, while Gmail contacts are synched with Facebook contacts to allow pictures of people by their names. In other words, it has all the capacity of a more expensive unit.

In spite of the resistive screen, the virtual keyboard is very efficient. Like most HTC mobile phones, the Tattoo comes equipped with both GPS and Wi-Fi, and, thankfully, a 3.5mm headphone jack.

In spite of the price, HTC could have done a better job on the camera. Yes, it is 3.2 megapixels, but not having a flash puts severe limits on picture taking.

Without doubt, a lower price is going to make the HTC Tattoo popular, and it does everything more expensive models do, and generally does them just as well. Those who can live with its smaller screen, a not-so-great camera and resistive screen will be very satisfied.

The answer is that it does a very good job, although it is very much a work in progress. That said, there has been a lot of thought put into the phone. With both pull-out and onscreen keyboards, it offers the best of both worlds to users, and the regular keyboard is large enough to make typing easy, rather than a cramped chore.

This is meant to be a smartphone, though, and by tying it into everything that Google has to offer – from search to Gmail to Google Maps – it comes in with a running start, since all that back structure is firmly in place. Android also allows users plenty of leeway when it comes to customisation, and apps can be loaded onto the screen as shortcuts, while the touchscreen is smooth and fast. The App store isn’t as big as the one Apple has, but it’s constantly growing, and some of the apps are very good indeed. The only downside is that you can’t add them to your mobile phone bill.

Although it functions very well indeed, the design isn’t all it could be. It feels heavy and a little awkward, and there are a number of omissions, including stereo Bluetooth and a 3.5mm headphone jack. But as a first offering, the G1 is a powerful start, and one for those who want to be different.