Latest Mobile Phone News

For a long time rumoured to be the PlayStation phone Sony has now made its nastiest kept surreptitious official in the appearance of a Super Bowl Advert. The vaguely unsettling TV spot was the last thing to leak before its official revelation and depicts an Android robot getting opposable thumbs grafted onto it’s arms with the tagline “Android is ready to play”. A Facebook page has also been launched advertising the device’s official launch date and Sony has been quick to label this one its “next gamechanger”.

Whereas it won’t blow any other high end smartphones away with it specs it hordes some rational hardware and most outstandingly seems to capture the spirit of Sony’s popular gaming gadget. The front of the handset looks noticeably Xperia-like but when the display is slide up it reveals a gamepad with a layout which will be memorable to gamers. Running Android 2.3 it will be powered by a 1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM. The display is a 4″ capacitive touchscreen and there’s also a 5mp camera. One key feature will be Sony’s PlayStation Suite, a gaming platform for smartphones which will permit punters to play PlayStation games on the Xperia Play. It will be a first for smartphones and will ultimately find itself on other operating systems.

Popularity: 65%

Mobile telco VHA tonight definite it would be bringing Google’s Nexus S phone to Australia, even though the date of the local launch and any pricing facts stay under wraps for now. “Vodafone can confirm the Nexus S will be available in Australia. Pricing and launch details will be announced soon,” the business whispered on its Vodafone blog late tonight. It noted that consumers would be able to pre-register for interest in buying the Nexus S. The disclosure comes as Vodafone internationally revealed the Nexus S would be launched in a total of 24 latest countries worldwide.

Assumption has run extensive about whether the hyped phone would land in Australia since it was unveiled in early December last year. At the time, maker Samsung would only say that it was thrilled at the prospect of bringing the gadget to Australia, and was reviewing its options on how to do so. A plethora of latest high-end campaign — including handsets that are destined to make their way to Australia — are probable to be divulged next week at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona. Telstra chief executive David Thodey is planning to attend the event, where the telco’s partnership with HTC to launch its flagship Desire phone was unveiled in 2010.

The Nexus S has analogous provisions to other high-end Android phones currently on the market, for instance the HTC Desire HD, also sold by VHA in Australia. It comes with a 4″ WVGA, super AMOLED screen running at a resolution of 480×800 and using capacitive touch technology. It utilises a 1GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird) CPU, and comes with 16GB of onboard memory, and a 5 megapixel back-facing camera, as well as a front-facing VGA camera for video calls.

Popularity: 3%

The upsurge to Mobile World Congress 2011 continues to blaze and the emergence of two images of Nokia’s E6-00 on the net has got the business in a whirl. The spontaneous phone is owed to launch at MWC and, from the images that have been leaked, emerges to be an updated version of the Nokia E71.

Features of the E6-00 will pleasure photographers and videocallers – the handset packs an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, as well as a front-facing videocall camera. A bursting QWERTY keypad sits below a 2.8 inch VGA screen on the front of the phone, with the screen implausible to be a touchscreen given the hefty number of controls featured on the keypad and navigation. The E6-00′s launch at MWC is set to overshadow numerous other Nokia launches, including the X7-00 and the N9 (successor to the popular Nokia N8), predominantly if rumours of its ARM processor and Symbian OS prove to be true.

Popularity: 14%

As you know that Verizon iPhone 4 was announced a few weeks ago, the phone contains no new feature as such but they have used new CDMA antenna. Personal hotspot a pre-installed feature for Verizon brand iOS and a specific iPhone feature mimics popular jailbreak utility like MyWi. iLounge comes up with the video in which they have showed antenna issue in Verizon iPhone when it is held in “death grip” loses considerable cellular signals, same like in GSM iPhone 4 in the past. More over it is observed that if you held snugly in landscape mode it losses Wifi signals. Both issues can be resolved with the use of case. Verizon iPhone owner has to wait till fix of both issues arrives in the mobile market either through a case or through a update. Or you can learn twelve new ways to hold the iPhone 4 to get rid of this problem.

Popularity: 5%

A few months ago, Gmail added new “Priority Inbox” feature to its standard web version, a healthy addition I would say which shows the most important emails in the inbox. This feature was only available to the web browsers but now the Gmail web app for iPhone comes out with the “Priority Inbox” feature and the new version is now available in 44 different languages. You’ll be able to check the most important emails in your inbox, on your iPhone, through this new feature.

The Priority Inbox algorithm of this feature follows your email habits, and then comes up with those emails which deserve your attention the most. Like the Priority Inbox feature for the standard web browser version, it’s now available for the iOS versions. I think it’s a good one by the Gmail, but I mostly use iPhone’s Mail app for checking mails while I’m away. There are many ways to get your Gmail on your mobile phone. The mobile webapp version of Gmail (which you can get to by going to gmail.com in your browser) is the best way to get the most Gmail features on your iPhone or Android-powered device.

Popularity: 5%

Buying a mobile device online is not an innovative thing, but getting up in the early hours before sunrise to array a meticulous phone offers a different high altogether. Verizon Wireless experienced record sales of the Apple iPhone 4 within the original few hours when it went up for pre-order on the carrier’s website. The business then had to dangle online sales of the iPhone 4 to existing punters. The carrier claims to have sold more gadgets in just the first two hours compared to any other first day instigate in their history of sales. Most primary orders were placed by consumers during the early hours of 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. Apart from that, the iPhone 4 will also made accessible for pre-ordering through the Apple Store starting from today.

The business has also tried to bolster the hopeful by stating that there will be bounty of other opportunities to become owners of the handset through Verizon’s network. Tomorrow the iPhone 4 will be launched at 7 a.m. in 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores for the general public. What’s more, the gadget will be obtainable at the Apple store, Best Buy and some Walmart stores too.

Popularity: 5%

Conceivably pushed by T-Mobile’s incessant disdain of the 3G iPhone 4 on both AT&T and Verizon in its most recent Mac vs. Windows copycat ad, AT&T has finally been pushed off the 4G schneid by announcing its own “4G” phone, the Android HTC Inspire. It’ll go on sale Feb. 13, three days after Verizon starts selling the 3G iPhone 4. But don’t perplex this 4G phone, or the imminent Motorola Atrix, or this AT&T and T-Mobile “4G” capability, with 4G-enabled handsets to come on AT&T’s 4G LTE network, due to launch this summer, and Verizon’s new 4G LTE network.

Inspire and Atrix are designed to activate not on LTE (Long Term Evolution) but on the so-called HSPA-Plus network, a souped-up edition of the existing 3G technology which “are delivered when HSPA+ technology is combined with enhanced backhaul…4G speeds will be accessible in limited areas with availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment,” the same caveat-laden boosted technology which T-Mobile is selling as 4G. In fact, Inspire is the first of 20 HSPA-Plus handsets AT&T plans on rolling out this year. LTE, nonetheless, both Verizon’s version and AT&T’s coming version, is based on a whole different technology and built for ever-increasing speeds and capabilities.

Popularity: 3%

Those who favor talking on their mobile devices rather than texting or e-mailing may want to take a look at this next offering. Virgin Mobile has released their latest gadget, the Kyocera S2100 under its relatively affordable payLo prepaid service. This latest mobile handset is claimed to offer features which leverage payLo’s no-contract plans.

The phone sports a clamshell formation that has a VGA camera with 5x digital zoom for snapping photos. Kyocera S2100 boasts of basic features like Bluetooth 2.1, voice-dialing and internet browsing. The apparatus encompasses a tactile keypad for a better typing experience, while it comes prepared with an external 1 inch color LCD display which exhibits caller ID. Furthermore, this model allows easy access to the mobile web and e-mail so users can surf websites like Google, Accuweather, Yelp and US Weekly.

Popularity: 3%

We are just about recovered from Las Vegas and CES at the beginning of the year, but we can’t rest for long as LG and Samsung have both confirmed they will be making foremost declarations at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona in a couple of weeks time. It’s not as if LG didn’t declare anything at CES, they gave the world the first superphone in the dual-core Optimus 2X over and above the Optimus Black and a load of other gadgets. Now it has confirmed that at MWC, it will disclose the world first glasses-free 3D mobile phone – the Optimus 3D. LG previewed a 4.3in glasses free display at CES and it is this we suppose to see in the Optimus 3D. LG today made an official publication following a spate of rumours counting the people over at Phandroid getting their hands on what they say is the Optimus 3D. LG confirmed the debut at MWC on February 14 at 11am saying the appliance will sport a dual-lens 3D camera (for 3D recording), a glasses-free LCD display, and HDMI/DLNA for sharing on whatever 3D sets you have.

Now we know that for numerous people 3D on a mobile handset will not be something that will make them acquisition a latest gadget, nonetheless from a technical point-of-view it is captivating. We saw a couple of weeks ago the striking glasses-free display on the Nintendo 3DSand LG obviously believe bringing the technology to mobile gadgets will be a winner for them. We don’t know if we will get hands-on time with the Optimus 3D in Barcelona but we will reserve conclusion until we see how it works for ourselves. Over in the Samsung camp, they are being a little more enigmatic. Having unveiled a conundrum picture a couple of weeks ago with the tagline “Evolution is Fate” next to a picture of its best-selling Galaxy S, today they gave us a teaser video for the same device. Specs for the Galaxy S2 are thin on the ground and finally unconfirmed but we can expect to see a dual-core processor, possibly LTE compatibility and NFC built-in. Samsung produced the Nexus S for Google recently and this could be an indicator of where the Galaxy S2 will be going. It should therefore be running Android 2.3 or Gingerbread following Samsung’s close collaboration with Google on the Nexus S.

Popularity: 2%

Do you know which manufacturers sell the most cell phones? It’s not Apple, RIM or HTC. According to market researcher IDC, it’s Nokia, which shipped above 123 million handsets in the fourth quarter of 2010. According to IDC’s most topical Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, Nokia relics the top cell phone retailer, controlling over 30 percent of the worldwide market for cell phones. Samsung lands in second place on IDC’s list, with surplus 80 million phones shipped — a 17 percent boost over the previous year. IDC attributes that increase to the victory of the company’s Galaxy S smartphones, a well-liked line of Android smartphones that gained esteem in the latter half of 2010. Rounding out IDC’s list of the top 5 cell phone sellers are LG Electronics, the Chinese producer ZTE, and Apple. Remarkably absent from the file are BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and HTC, which maakers more than a few Android and Windows Phone handsets.

Popularity: 3%

SIM only plans are becoming more and more popular for their convenience and cost-effectiveness, but how exactly do they work? A SIM only deal is exactly what it sounds like. You get a new SIM card and network coverage, while keeping your existing phone. Every mobile phone, regardless of the manufacturer or network provider, uses a SIM card to connect to the mobile network. SIM cards are removable and replaceable, and provide your phone’s specific identity to the network. By signing up for a SIM only contract, you are able to change or upgrade your service with a new SIM card, while reusing your existing mobile device.

Typically, a service provider will include a new free or heavily subsidized phone with the initiation of a new contract. The cost of this phone is then recouped over 1-2 years of regular service. With SIM only deals and contracts the service does not include a new phone. This significantly lowers the cost of providing service, which the provider can then pass on to you in the form of greatly lowered service rates. You can find data plans with higher minutes and texts at lower prices, for the simple fact that the service provider doesn’t need to recover the cost of the phone. Likewise, contract lengths for SIM only deals are often greatly reduced. This allows you to switch plans or providers as needed, without having to worry about any extra cancellation fees.
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Popularity: 2%

Samsung Galaxy S 4G is very similar to T-Mobile’s Vibrant, which is also a Galaxy S smartphone. The biggest difference is its support for T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ network, where it will deliver theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21Mbps. The Galaxy S 4G is powered by a 1GHz Samsung Cortex A8 processor and runs Android 2.2 Froyo. It has a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, a pre-installed 16GB microSD card, a 5MP camera capable of recording 720p HD video, and a 1,650mAh battery. The Galaxy S 4G will also offer “mobile HD TV” and will come with the movie Inception pre-loaded on it. T-Mobile expects to launch the Galaxy S 4G this month but it did not provide an exact release date or pricing details for the phone.

Popularity: 15%

Mobile phone vendor Sony Ericsson has announced rolling out of next set of update for Xperia X10 and Xperia X8. While update for Xperia X10 is being rolled out slowly, users of  Xperia X8 will have to wait a bit longer for the updates. The update integrates a lot of nifty features aimed to give users the ultimate experience of the phones. With the updates, Xperia X10 users will be able to enjoy Pinch-to-zoom facility in browser and Google Maps. The update will add support for bi-directional languages such as Thai, Farsi etc.  With the update users of Xperia X10 and X8 can enjoy several other features such as video trimming, automatic trans-coding of HDD videos into the size of MMS and many others. The updates will also be available for Xperia X10 minis.

Popularity: 63%

Finnish mobile giant Nokia is known to come up with mobile devices for everyone. They have something or other for every age group and every class of consumers. Right from high-end gadgets to budgetary cell phones, Nokia is an all-rounder. With a surge in the mobile phone market of the country and intense competition in high end smartphones, Nokia has tried to capture the growing market and number of social networking addicts. With this, the company has come up with Nokia X2-01 aimed at people especially youngsters willing to hook to social networking sites.

Nokia X2-01 is a stylish designed compact mobile phone which measures 119.4 x 59.8 x 14.3 mm and is light on your pocket weighing just a little over 107 grams. It is equipped with a 2.4 inches TFT display which is capable of displaying of pictures of resolution measuring 320×240 pixels. The user interface of the phone is one its hallmark features. Seamless navigation and easy texting through the QWERTY keypad are some of the other exquisite features of the phone. Presence of several games with support for Java and Flash Lite 3.0 apps are some of the other solid features of Nokia X2-01 QWERTY.

X2-01 runs on the Symbian OS S40 interface and comes with an internal memory storage of 55 MB and it can be increased to a whopping 16GB with the help of microSD card slot.The phone lacks Wi-Fi support but local connectivity is improved by the presence of Bluetooth 2.1 with support for A2DP profile. The gadget is equipped with a VGA camera capable of clicking pictures of resolution 640×480 pixels. The camera lacks any modern facilities. One can record video @ 24 fps with the phone.

Popularity: 20%

Samsung Galaxy 551 is an addition to the low range of Galaxy Series of phone manufactured by the Korean electronics giant, Samsung. Samsung Galaxy 551 is an addition to the portfolio containing models like Galaxy 3 and Galaxy 5. Samsung Galaxy 551 is an effort by Samsung to capture the mobile market of mid-range smartphone users. Samsung Galaxy 551 is made entirely out of plastic which gives it a cool look. As there are no heavy materials used in its construction, the gadget is quite light weighing just 117 grams. The highlight of the phone is its full QWERTY keypad and we were impressed by the overall design of the handset. Samsung Galaxy 551 measures 111 x 55 x 15.2 mm and has glossy black finish.  Samsung Galaxy 551 comes with a 3.2 inches TFT capacitive touch screen which is capable of displaying 16M colors of resolution measuring 240×400 pixels. The display is equipped with an accelerometer sensor for UI-auto rotate and has TouchWiz3.0 UI. The screen of the phone is quite responsive and below the display you can find the hardware buttons. The volume rocker button is placed in the left side of the phone while the power/lock button is placed on the right. Considering the price tag associated with the phone, the performance of the display and overall build of the phone is quite impressive.

Samsung Galaxy 551 is preloaded with social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter and it also has Google applications like Gmail, Google search engine, Youtube, Google maps, Picasa and G-talk. It is a 3G based mobile and it also supports Adobe Flash 10.1 support. It also supports audio apps like mp3, mp4 and WAV formats. It is available with monthly contractual deals on Vodafone network which is the leading network. The phone is powered by a 667 MHz processor and comes with internal memory storage of 160 MB. The memory however, can be increased to a staggering 32GB with the help of microSD card. The phone allows you to store practically unlimited number of phone records. Samsung Galaxy 551 is equipped with a 3.15 mega-pixel camera which is capable of clicking pictures of resolution measuring 2048×1536 pixels.

Popularity: 19%