Viewing your images and videos is easy on the 3.7 inch touch screen and it has an HDMI port which allows you to connect and view on a HD ready TV.  The internal memory can be expanded dramatically with the use of micro SD memory cards and the phone will support up to 32GB. 

As with all Android phones, there are lots of apps to choose from and you can customise your home screen.  Connecting to the internet is easy and you can synchronise your work and personal emails so that you can access them on the move.  Multi-tasking is a great feature of these phones and users can be reassured that they will lose no functional speed on the phone if they have several windows open at once.

The Motorola Milestone XT720 will be a regular feature in mobile phone reviews and for the latest mobile phone deals, a quick search of the internet will tell you all you need to know.  As one of the latest mobile phones, you can be sure that there is a value for money deal just waiting for you.

Lurking in the middle of the battery cover, the camera shoots video at 720p with motion that remains smooth and clear (videos at this resolution are often distinctly jerky) and there are two dedicated buttons – one for stills, the other for videos, which makes operation a breeze. The still shots are crisp and detailed, although they’re just a little muted in the colour department. You’ll probably be aware that HD footage guzzles a lot of storage space, but the Sony Ericsson Vivaz comes with a capacious 8 GB micro-SD card as standard. There’s an irritating design glitch here, though: to get at the card, you have to remove the battery. Hurrumph to that.

At 3.2 inches, the display is generous without being massive (the Sony Ericsson X10’s screen is a stunning 4 inches). For the size of screen, the 640×320 pixel resolution is more than adequate, making browsing the web a delight – videos, graphics and even text look fabulous.

The main downsides lie in the use of the cumbersome and sluggish Symbian S60 OS and the choice of a resistive rather than a capacitative touch screen. But there are plenty of preloaded apps (including a YouTube player), the GPS is excellent, and the phone’s HSDPA and Wi-Fi will permit fast data downloads wherever you are. And you’ll get at least 2 days out of a single charge of the battery. If you like contract mobile phones, you can pick this one up for a not too unreasonable £25-a-month over two years. SIM-free, it’ll set you back about £350.

Samsung mobile phones have certainly made progress on their original AMOLED screens – although they were amazingly bright and crisp, their glossy finish made viewing difficult in daylight. The Super AMOLED is considerably less reflective, and all the better for it. And the Wave’s Super AMOLED also happens to be super-responsive, too, which makes navigation a pure delight. Like the Galaxy, this highly sensitive capacitative screen supports multi-touch – to zoom in on a text or image, you just pinch your fingers together and, hey presto, you’re closer. You’ll also find that the phone includes HSDPA for super-fast web browsing over 3G, as well as GPS and the very latest 802.11n standard of Wi-Fi. You can also expand the integral 2 GB memory to a jaw-dropping 32 GB with a micro-SD card – and that camera’s a dream: not only will it automatically compensate for dark areas with a quick touch of the screen, it also shoots superb 720p HD video.

The Samsung Wave uses the new ‘Bada’ OS rather than Google’s Android, and Samsung believes this will deliver more smartphone features to less expensive phones. We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, the Wave is a truly smart-looking smartphone at a reasonable price.

What’s most noticeable about the LG GW520 is its full QWERTY keyboard.  This is an excellent keyboard, having keys which are nicely spread apart and large enough to eliminate mistyping errors. The keyboard also carries a set of arrow keys, perfect for scrolling up and down a webpage or conversation. This keyboard combines with LG’s LiveSquare software, to create an ideal instant messaging device, combining a wide variety of protocols and programs into one simple system. 

While the software may be adequate, and the GW520’s keyboard may be suitable, this phone suffers from several key hardware issues that simply make the phone inferior to other models. First and foremost, the provided touch screen is simply not sensitive enough. The arrow keys quickly turn into a necessity rather than a convenience factor, simply because the touch screen cannot be effectively scrolled through. In addition, the 2.8 inch screen, while a decent size, is simply not large enough for some social networking apps.  The face book application quickly begins to look cramped, and difficult to read.

The GW520 is an honest attempt, however due to the glaring faults of the product, it cannot be recommended.  Hopefully LG takes this device as a lesson, and improves future QWERTY keyboard, touch screen smart phones. Please check mobile phone reviews for other LG products, or compare mobile phones from other manufacturers.

The AMOLED touch screen is bright, with vivid colours that really pop. Three navigation buttons are located just beneath it. Open the slider and you’re presented with a user-friendly keypad with back-lighting and well-spaced keys for easy texting.

One of the best features of the Tocco Ultra is its 8.0 megapixel camera. The camera is easy to use and the resulting photo quality is sharp. One of least favoured features is the resistive touch screen. The interface is weak and it can be difficult to use; sometimes taking several deliberate presses to get the phone to do what it is supposed to do.

To compare mobile phones, we look to the Sony Ericsson C905, which also features an 8 megapixel camera, only with Xenon flash versus the Tocco Ultra’s dual LED. The C905 also has Wi-Fi capability, which the Tocco Ultra does not.

The Samsung Tocco Ultra is available through several contract mobile phone deals, as well as on pay-as-you-go and SIM free.

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 AMOLED screen is one of the best in the market in terms of touch screen responsiveness and picture quality, and when you compare mobile phones it truly puts its rivals to shame. Along with being able to play back HD video without losing quality, the screen also benefits from being able to be used in any lighting condition without losing clarity.

Other features in the Samsung Galaxy S which make it a powerful piece of kit include a 1GHz processor, which means the phone can easily keep up with the demands put upon it by the fast and responsive screen, and 3.0 Bluetooth technology, which provides fast data transfer.

Another major advantage of the Samsung Galaxy S is that as it uses Android 2.1 the downloadable app selection is much greater than on other Samsung smart phones such as the Wave, which uses the Samsung app store. The chassis for the Samsung Galaxy S is also sleekly designed and well built, something that Samsung occasionally struggles with even on their latest mobile phones.

Despite being one of Samsung’s leading smart phones, one major drawback of the Galaxy S is that it doesn’t have many generous contract plans when compared to other contract mobile phones.

The AMOLED screen is bright, with vivid colours that pop out at you when you’re looking at it. The screen is a touch screen, so you can dial or text from either it or your keypad, depending upon your preference. The keypad itself is very user-friendly and it’s back lit. When carrying the phone, it feels sturdy and well-balanced, whether open or shut. And the phone is pleasant to look at – featuring a dark smoky black with an eye-pleasing hot red accent – or is that hot pink? On that one, the user has to decide, because the colour is a bit ambiguous – although it does look good. There is also a blue version available through limited sellers.

The key feature of this phone is the 8.0 megapixel camera. It is smashingly wonderful. Downfalls for this phone include the touch screen, which can be frustrating to use and the widget system. Also, there is no Wi-Fi or dedicated headphone jack. All-in-all, the Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition is a stylish way to bring together the worlds of touch screen and keypad. The camera is one of the best, but the touch screen interface is weak.

If you’re looking for mobile phone deals on a contract mobile phone, the Samsung Tocco Ultra is available free with a £25 pay monthly plan.

What’s most notable about the GW620 is the presence of both a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard.  As many smart phones have chosen to isolate the keyboard user, this phone offers both, with tactile and responsive buttons all across the face of the unit.  While it goes without saying, access to the android marketplace is an excellent feature that LG phones have been missing for some time.  Finally, the phone boasts a very impressive 10 hour talk time battery life on a full charge, something completely unheard of for most of the latest mobile phones on the market.

While the processing power may not be the best on the market, and the phone may take a bit of time to initially boot up, the LG GW260 InTouch Max is an excellent handset for a novice smart phone user.  LG sought to make a friendly phone, and it’s safe to say that they have succeeded.

Pros

The chic matte finish is understated, while the generous 3-inch screen is vivid and colourful.  Media shortcuts include photo display, music, video playback, camera, or FM radio; all work admirably.  The speakers perform well and the charging dock is conveniently angled to make viewing videos a pleasure.  The Aino is one of Sony Ericsson’s latest mobile phones that come pre-loaded with the BBC iPlayer app so users can watch a selection of television shows instantly with just an internet connection.  The camera features an LED flash and its 8.1 megapixel resolution is much more powerful than most of the latest mobile phones.

Cons

Like many other Sony Ericsson mobile phones, the Aino does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which limits sound quality and audio playback.  The touch-screen turns off as soon as the phone slide is opened; this creates some problems with internet navigation and ease of use.

Conclusion

The Aino is sleek and fits comfortably in the hand.  The camera is excellent, video playback is impressive, the touch-screen functions fantastically, and the extras measure up nicely against the competition.  Despite these benefits, though, there are certain aspects of the Aino that don’t seem to make much sense:  an underused touch-screen, a rather boring interface, and a noticeably imbalanced feel when opened.  Overall, the Sony Ericsson Aino can best be described as underwhelming.