Latest Mobile Phone News

Rogers Wireless has introduced a new affordable messaging phone on the Canadian market – the Samsung Hype A256 (known in the US as Samsung Magnet and available through AT&T since May).

The Hype A256 is a simple candybar that features a full QWERTY keyboard and quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz).

The phone also comes with Bluetooth, MMS, VGA camera, 16MB of internal memory, and MicroSD card support (up to 16GB). Its battery can last up to 5 hours in talk-time mode, or up to 12.5 days in stand-by.

Popularity: 7%

That Sony Ericsson Jalou we’ve heard about last week is not a Symbian smartphone after all, but a fashionable clamshell.

The Jalou was just announced by Sony Ericsson, and it looks to be the same device as the Sony Ericsson Bao, leaked not long ago.

Designed for women and girls, the new phone is presented as being “shorter than your favorite lipstick” – and it is, since it’s only 73mm long.

The clamshell has a 2 inch QVGA display that can be turned into a mirror with the press of a button. Furthermore, it is SE’s first phone to come with Walk Mate step counter, an application that “helps you stay in shape wherever you go.”

The Jalou features quad-band GSM connectivity, and tri-band UTMS/HSPA (900 / 1700 / 2100 MHz) – the 1700 3G band promising a release via T-Mobile USA.

Other specs include:

* 3.2MP camera with video recording
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Music player with TrackID and PlayNow
* Stereo FM radio
* Google search and Google maps
* Email, IM
* YouTube app

Sony Ericsson Jalou will be released in the fourth quarter of 2009, in three gem-inspired colors: Aquamarine Blue, Onyx Black and Deep Amethyst. Its price is not known at the moment.

Sony Ericsson has also announced the Jalou by Dolce&Gabbana limited edition. This phone has the same specs as the regular Jalou, but comes in a Sparkling Rose color and is plated with 24 carat gold. It features exclusive Dolce&Gabbana content (like photos and videos from “Dolce&Gabbana’s women’s Autumn/Winter 2010 runway show”).

Popularity: 6%

Remember HTC Leo, the Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone rumored to be based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon platform?

A rendering of it has just appeared over at HTCpedia, and, if this is indeed what the handset looks like, then HTC did a fine job designing it.

Sure, there’s nothing spectacular about its look.

But then again, many phones with a simple design are considered beautiful – take Apple’s iPhone for example.

Once again, it’s said that the specs of HTC Leo include:

* Snapdragon MSM 8250 CPU at 1Ghz
* 4.3 inch capacitive touchscreen display with 480 x 800 pixels
* Accelerometer, motion sensor and light sensor
* HSDPA
* Wi-Fi
* A-GPS
* Bluetooth 2.1
* 3.5mm headset jack
* 512MB ROM, 320MB RAM
* 8MP autofocus camera
* MicroSD card slot

HTC is silent for now regarding the existence of Leo, but we should hope that the smartphone will be announced later this year.

Popularity: 5%

Well, we still don’t know when, but the first live picture of the phone has just appeared in the wild, so it probably won’t take long until the second largest US carrier announces the phone.

As previously reported, the LG Shine 2 should come with the following features: 2.2 inch QVGA display with 262k colors, HSDPA 3.6Mbps, Bluetooth 2.1, 2MP camera, MicroSD card support (up to 16GB), and a 910 mAh battery.

Seeing the phone’s features and design, we’re guessing that AT&T will sell it for a low price on contract. The handset will probably help LG to further expand its market share in the US.

Popularity: 8%

Right on schedule, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is now available for customers in the UK.

On Pay As You Go, the new music phone can be bought for £129.95 (if £20 Airtime from Vodafone is purchased), or for £139.95 with £10 Airtime from either T-Mobile or O2.

Vodafone and Orange are also offering the 5530 XM on contract: it’s free for those who choose an 18-month agreement of at least £25 per month.

The features of Nokia 5530 aren’t the ones of a high-end phone, but they’re still pretty attractive: 2.9 inch touchscreen display with 360 x 640 pixels, Symbian S60 5th Edition, Wi-Fi, quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity, 3.5mm headset jack, 3.2MP camera, and a 4GB memory card in the box.

You can buy the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic via Carphone Warehouse. For the moment, the phone is available only in black.

Popularity: 5%

Mobile VoIP provider offering free smartphone to every 2,000th new customer that opens an account

Mobile VoIP provider Vyke Mobile is giving away a Nokia E75 with £25 credit to every 2,000th new customer.

The Nokia E75 is fully compatible with Vyke Mobile. Vyke Mobile customers can send free calls and texts between each other when within a Wi-Fi zone. International calls and texts are said to be up to 95 per cent cheaper than that of a traditional mobile network.

Every 2,000th new customer who signs up for a Vyke Mobile will be sent the device free.

Popularity: 9%

Announced in mid-June, at the same time with the Nokia E72, Nokia 5530 XpressMusic will apparently debut in the UK on August 11.

The touchscreen phone will be offered only through Carphone Warehouse for the beginning, as the retailer managed to get six-week exclusivity on the handset (until the end of September).

Introduced as a cheaper version of the popular 5800 XpressMusic, the 5530 comes with features like a 2.9 inch, 360 x 640 pixels touchscreen display, quad-band GSM connectivity, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, 3.2MP camera and Symbian S60 5th Edition.

As expected, the price of Nokia 5530 XpressMusic in the UK will be a low one – £130 on Pay As You Go.

No word yet on when exaclty the Nokia 5530 XM will bne available in other European markets, but it should happen before the end of Q3 2009 anwyay.

Popularity: 5%

Despite some reports say Apple will end its two year iPhone exclusive deal with O2 this September (and allows other networks like Orange and T-Mobile to distribute iPhone 3G), a new report confirms it will end officially on October 9th.

Although there has been plentiful speculation about O2 losing its iPhone exclusivity over the last few weeks, ME has seen documentation that states it will end officially on October 9th.

However the Cupertino-based company will continue to give O2 exclusivity for iPhone 3GS.

Popularity: 4%

I typically book my trips online and I have found that what sounds good online and looks good when you get to the hotel are two different things. I have been driving around looking for a hotel with a vacancy on more than one occasion when on vacation or a business trip.

A new app for the iPhone called HotelPal is now available that will take your current location and then show you all the hotels in your vicinity. The little app will even give you the rates of the room and allow you to book as well.

Images of the rooms are available for some hotels along with a complete list of amenities. The app is available for download now at no charge and supports the familiar hotel chains like Sheraton, La Quinta and more.

Popularity: 4%

According to pocket-lint, the Nokia E52 will go on sale (SIM free) today in the UK. The Nokia E52 comes as the successor of Nokia E51. It features QVGA display, 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooh and microSDHC card slot. Read more over at pocket-lint

Popularity: 4%

Samsung has recently announced that their AMOLED touting YP-M1 PMP has officially been made available in South Korea.

This device, other than a 3.3″ AMOLED touchscreen display, features 8, 16, or 32GB of internal torage, a DMB TV tuner, and support for just about every type of media file you can think of.

Unfortunately no word on a worldwide release but as always, we’ll keep you posted.

Popularity: 6%

We recently spotted an AT&T version of the Touch Pro 2 today, but we also found out that the T-Mobile Touch Pro 2 has been priced, as revealed by a leaked pricing chart.

This pricing is not confirmed by anyone official, but the listings do sound pretty realistic, seeing all the features the phone boasts. The T-Mobile Touch Pro 2 is set to launch this Wednesday. We’ll keep you updated on any confirmations from either HTC or T-Mobile.

Popularity: 9%

We’ve seen the BlackBerry Storm 2 several times until now, but none of the units leaked were for Vodafone.

Well, Vodafone’s Storm 2, aka 9520 aka Odin, has recently appeared in some live pictures, over at benezblog.de.

The smartphone works on Vodafone’s Germany network, it has 3G and it doesn’t looks too different from the first-gen BlackBerry Storm. However, like Verizon’s Storm 2 (9550), Vodafone’s new handset comes with Wi-Fi – a feature not included in the original model.

As you can see in the image above, this BlackBerry Storm 2 runs the BlackBerry OS 5.0.0.138.

The release date of RIM’s BlackBerry Storm 2 is not known, although rumors say that the smartphone will be released by both Vodafone and Verizon in October this year.

Popularity: 6%

As phone makers compete to come out with the latest and greatest Android phone, it’s certainly no surprise that Motorola wants its piece of the pie; especially considering the struggling company seems to be running out of chances to dig itself out of the giant hole it has created.

We have known about the Motorola “Morrison” for quite some time, but the latest in a series of early Monday morning rumors throws some juicy specs and even a release date our way.

The Motorola Morrison’s specs will likely include:

* CPU: Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz
* Memory: 256MB RAM
* Flash Rom: 512 MB
* Memory Card Type: microSDHC, Class 6, 32 GB supported
* Display: 320×480 (HVGA)
* Accelerometer: 3-axis, Four-way screen rotation
* Magnetometer
* Proximity Sensor
* Ambient Light Sensor
* Voice Bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, W-CDMA 900/(1700 or 1900)/2100
* Wireless Lan: 802.11 b/g, WEP, WPA, 802.11i (WPA2)
* Bluetooth Version: 2.0 + EDR
* Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, GAP, HFP 1.5, HSP, SDAP, SPP
* USB: USB 2.0 High Speed, Micro USB connector
* Headset Jack: 3.5mm, Stereo out, Mic
* Camera Resolution: 5 MP
* Image Capture Resolution (max): 2560×1920
* Camera Features: Autofocus, White Balance, Geotagging, Color Effects
* Camera Digital Zoom (max): 5.4x
* Video Recording Resolution: 320×240 (QVGA)
* Video Recording Frame Rate: 25 fps
* Location Services: Standalone GPS w/ internal antenna, Assisted GPS, E-Compass
* Email Protocols: POP3, IMAP4, Exchange ActiveSync

There’s some good healthy specs in there, though nothing groundbreaking for Android. Hopefully Motorola can keep up with the competition.

Rumored release date for the Morrison on T-Mobile is set for October 21, just in time for the holidays.

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Let us get a little bit naughty with the iPhone. Being single has its own perks and the best way to rate your relationship history is to keep track of them via software app for the iPhone or iPod Touch for memories to show off after some time. The Little Black Book 2.0 for the iPhone or iPod Touch can do just that, an app suited for bachelors and bachelorettes.

Features of the Little Black Book 2.0:

* Quick contact entry on the fly with First Impression
* Dial Lock to calm heated arguments or prevent “drunk dialing”
* Import and secure existing contacts from your Address Book
* Text message and Google Maps support
* Overhauled user interface

Rate your relationships and store those precious moments are only some of the things you can get out of this iPhone app. The Little Black Book 2.0 app for iPhones or iPod Touch is now available at the

Popularity: 4%