Nokia C3

The Nokia C3 is a budget version of the popular E71 and E72 BlackBerry lookalikes. What a great idea! A BlackBerry Curve for the price of a budget Pay as you Go phone! And in many ways the C3 delivers on its promise. It's certainly a smart looking phone. Plasticky, yes, but what did you expect at this price? The keyboard works well and the phone feels good in the hand.

The TFT display has been built to a budget, but it's no worse than the screen on the BlackBerry 8520. It has the same size and resolution (2.4 inches, 320 x 240 pixels). The camera's about as basic as you can get these days, so don't expect much from that. The phone does have an MP3 player, of course, and an FM radio, but pretty much every phone does these days. Don't look for GPS or 3G, because you won't find any high-end features on the C3.
There is one area where the C3 over-delivers, however, and that's connectivity. Not only does it have Bluetooth and USB, but it's also Wi-Fi enabled and has a 3.5mm audio jack too. The Wi-Fi could be handy for accessing the internet on your phone. The C5 has Facebook and Twitter apps that can be accessed from your home screen, but don't expect to do a lot of web browsing on such a small screen.

Battery life is truly excellent, with a very meaty 1320 mAh battery, and not too much work for it to do. Compared to high-end smartphones the C3 is like the Duracell Bunny! It's not so hot when it comes to memory though, with only 55MB onboard and no memory card included in the sales package. You'll need to spend a little extra to add a microSD card.
The C3 is very much a phone built to a budget. It's key selling point is the QWERTY keyboard and the fact that it looks like a BlackBerry. It does email well, has great battery life and has Wi-Fi. If that's what you're looking for, then you've found your perfect phone. If you want 3G or a high quality camera, then you need to spend more cash!

LG KP500 Cookie

The LG KP500 is nicknamed the Cookie. It's billed as an affordable touchscreen phone and in fact there are some amazing deals out there to tempt you. But before you rush off to buy one, join us in a tour of the Cookie, and let's find out what's missing compared to the more expensive rival touchscreen phones.

Let's start by looking at what you do get. You get a genuine touchscreen-driven phone (not just one with touch-sensitive buttons) that is controlled by pressing virtual buttons and icons with your finger or the stylus that's supplied with the phone. Pioneered by the iPhone (and others), touchscreen is the hottest trend in mobile phones in 2009, and it's hard to underestimate the amount of fun that you can have pressing virtual buttons on a screen. Especially for people like us, who don't get out enough. In the early days touchscreen phones were often tricky to use, but these days they're all pretty easy once you've got used to them. We don't think that the Cookie will pose any trouble, although some may find the stylus a nuisance. Anyway, great fun to use! The KP500 also has a built-in accelerometer, which simply means that it senses which way is up and automatically rotates the display. The virtual QWERTY keyboard slides into view when you turn the phone to landscape mode, which looks very cool. The accelerometer is also used when playing games, so you can tilt and turn the phone Wii-style to control movement. You can shake and flip the phone at other times to control various functions. It's all great fun, as long as you don't mind being stared at by passers-by.

The Cookie is more compact than most touchphones. It's about 20% smaller than the iPhone 3G and several millimetres thinner than its big brother, the LG Renoir. And weighing just 89g, it's probably the lightest touchscreen phone ever. We can't think of any lighter ones off the top of our head anyway. But, and this bit is important, LG have cleverly made the phone smaller without reducing the size of the screen. At 3 inches across, it's a big display by any standards, and when it comes to touchscreen, size really does matter! A bigger screen makes it easier to use, and the Cookie is definitely an easy phone to use.

So, the ergonomics are good, and the screen is good. What else is good? Well, it has a media player that plays most popular digital music formats. It also has a stereo FM radio. It's got a good web browser. It supports email and has a document viewer installed. Connectivity includes USB and Bluetooth, and the operating frequency is quadband GSM, so you should be able to use the phone anywhere in the world.

Now let's take a look at what's missing.

The camera is not as good as the 5 or 8 megapixel cameras seen in LG's high-end phones. It's limited to 3.2 megapixels, and there's no autofocus but this is reasonable when you consider the price. The memory is also more limited at 48 MB, although you can add a microSD memory card to bring this up to 8GB. It's not 3G and there's no WiFi, so web browsing probably isn't a good option, despite the big screen, which is a shame.

Inevitably there are trade-offs between price and features. We feel that LG have got the balance just right with the Cookie. By removing the features that most people won't miss, and by installing an average camera, they've not only slashed the cost, but have also made the phone more compact and easier to use in many ways. As long as you won't miss high speed web browsing or the camera quality, you can have all the benefits of the latest touchscreen phones for a fraction of the cost. For example, on contract you can expect to get the LG KP500 with half-price line rental for the duration of the contract, or a freebie such as a Nintendo Wii Fit, an XBOX 360 or even a couple of hundred quid cashback! With deals this generous, it's very hard to find fault with the Cookie.

The new Samsung Tocco Lite is an almost exact copy of the Cookie - there's little to choose between the two phones, except that our users seem to feel that the Tocco Lite is a more robust phone - the Cookie seems to annoy a few people with reported software glitches.

HTC Desire Z

So, if you take the most popular smartphone of 2010 and add a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, what do you get? Answer: an absolutely fantastic all-round stunning mobile.

And it really is that simple. HTC have taken the hardware and software of the Desire (a phone that we described as "the nearest we've ever seen to the perfect phone") and fitted a slide-out keyboard to the back. So, although the Desire Z is the same height and width as the Desire, it's a couple of millimetres thicker and about a third heavier, which might make it too big for some people's taste. But hey - look around you at all the people lugging their iPhone 4's and HTC Desire HD's around with them. Didn't you know, big is the new small?

The slide-out keyboard is great. It doesn't just slide out. It flips and folds into place with a nice action, and it's definitely a big plus for anyone who writes a lot of texts or emails on their phone. The 3.7 inch display is the same as the one used on the Desire, and responds brilliantly to the touch. The Desire Z runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) with HTC Sense, and we've commented many times before that this is the operating system of choice in 2010, being as easy to use as an iPhone, and with at least as much power under the bonnet, with a huge choice of apps. As this is more of a serious kind of phone, one app worth mentioning is Documents To Go, which lets you view, edit and create Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, plus view Adobe PDF files. The Desire Z supports Microsoft Exchange too, so is ideal as a business tool. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are available too, of course, as well as an easy to use web browser.

As we mentioned, the Desire Z shares most of the same hardware as the original Desire, including a 5 megapixel camera, GPS receiver with digital compass, music player and FM radio. There's some more memory in the Desire Z: 1.5GB built-in, plus the capacity to take memory cards up to 32GB. The processor speed is slightly slower though (800 MHz for the Desire Z vs 1GHz for the Desire) and the battery is slightly smaller (1300 mAh vs 1400 mAh), which seems like a perverse decision. Let's be honest: you're going to have to charge the phone every day in all likelihood.

So, to conclude, if you want a smartphone with real muscle, and if you have the muscle to carry every gram of its stunning aluminium-clad body around with you, then of all the phones in the expanding Desire family, the Z is the one for you. Love it for its powerful OS, its gorgeous touchscreen, its keyboard and its mind-boggling choice of apps. Tolerate its bulk and its battery life. If its too big and you don't covert the keyboard, choice the original HTC Desire. If it's still not big enough, choose the HTC Desire HD. Whichever you choose, you want go far wrong with one of the Desires.

Blackberry Pearl 3G

A BlackBerry without a QWERTY keyboard! Whatever next? BlackBerry built their reputation on handsets that were brilliant for mobile email, so what's the point of one with an alphanumeric keypad? We're still scratching our heads.

The Pearl 3G is a compact smartphone targeted at ... um, who? It doesn't have a touchscreen, it doesn't have a big choice of apps, it doesn't have a QWERTY keypad, it doesn't have a good camera or media facilities. It does have Wi-Fi and GPS, but so what? Virtually every other smartphone in this price range has them too, and plenty more besides.

We're left wondering why anyone would want such a phone. OK, to be fair, it's compact and it's got an optical trackpad and SureType to help overcome the limitations of the keypad. But why not get the real deal instead? It's not like the Pearl 3G is a cheap option. Better choices are the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Nokia E72 or even the BlackBerry 8520.

Update: since we wrote our review, we've had feedback from Pearl owners telling us we're wrong (see below for a flavour of these.) Guess what: we're not going to change our review, because we haven't changed our opinion. But there's clearly a small but significant number of people who really, really like this phone. Please read the user reviews below to get a more balanced perspective.

Blackberry 9300 Curve 3G

OK, here's another BlackBerry to add to the mix. RIM are really churning out new models at a fast rate. The 9300 Curve 3G is a mid-range model - more expensive than the BlackBerry 8520, cheaper than the BlackBerry Bold 9700. And its capabilities, unsurprisingly, sit somewhere between these two models as well.

Physically, the device is almost identical to the 8520. In fact you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart. The full QWERTY keyboard isn't as polished as the Bold's, but it certainly beats the alphanumeric keypad of the Pearl 3G. As the name suggests, the Curve 3G takes the basic 8520 and adds 3G. Also added is a GPS receiver with BlackBerry Maps. So, read our review of the 8520 and decide if it's worth paying a little extra for these features. Or, read our Bold 9700 review and ask yourself if you should pay more still and get a better camera, a better display, more memory, a bigger battery and a superior keyboard. We'd recommend going the whole hog and treating yourself to the Bold 9700, but hey, it's not our money that we're spending!

Blackberry 9780

Precisely one year after the launch of the Bold 9700 comes the Bold 9780. On the face of it, not a lot has changed. The 9780 is exactly the same size and weight as the 9700 and looks almost identical. The features are almost the same, with some very minor hardware updates and the latest BlackBerry 6 operating system. But don't misunderstand us, we like the Bold 9780 very much. If the original is close to perfection, there's no need for revolutionary change: evolution is better.

You can read our review of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 to find out more about what the Bold can do. We're just going to comment here that the 9780 comes with more built-in memory (512 MB compared with 256 MB), has an uprated camera (5 megapixels instead of 3.2) and runs BlackBerry 6. This is a definite improvement, with improved ease-of-use and clearer menus. The email and web systems have been redesigned, with the new web browser offering full tabbed browsing. The BlackBerry email experience remains intact, with full support for corporate email accounts as well as gmail. The home screen is more customisable, and there are plenty of shortcuts and helpful features to enable you to do what you want more quickly. It's a welcome change, but won't cause existing BlackBerry users much trouble in adapting.
In summary, the Bold 9780 is definitely the best of the Bold series so far, but existing Bold users won't see a huge change from the Bold 9700. Still, if it's time to upgrade, then the 9780 is worth having. It's a very solidly built phone with a mature but refreshed operating system. It does the job brilliantly, with a fantastic QWERTY keyboard, outstanding connectivity and a whopping 1500 mAHr battery. You won't find a better business workhorse than the BlackBerry 9780.

Google Nexus S

The Google Nexus S: is it the best mobile phone ever released, or is it simply a re-branded version of the Samsung Galaxy S? Well, quite possibly yes, and yes. Let us explain.

On the face of it, the Nexus S is simply a Samsung Galaxy S with one or two modifications. The phone is made by Samsung, and it shares almost all the features of the Galaxy S. So, it's an Android smartphone with access to 100,000 apps. It's powered by a superfast 1GHz Hummingbird processor plus a dedicated GPU and 16GB of built-in memory. It has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720 x 480 pixels at 30fps video recording. It has GPS with Google Maps. It has a superfast internet connection with download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps. It shares all these things with the Galaxy S. But in addition it has the latest release of Android (Gingerbread). The main camera has a flash too. So it's correct to say that the Nexus S and Galaxy S are very similar phones.

But it's also correct to say that the Nexus S is probably the best mobile phone ever released. Why? Because we described the Galaxy S as quite possibly the best phone on the market today, and that if it had a flash on its camera it would be perfect. And so we're prepared to stick our neck out and say that the Google Nexus S is (very, very nearly) the perfect phone.

Let's take a look at the operating system first. The Nexus S is the first phone to carry Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Android was already a mature OS, but Gingerbread pushes the limits of what a smartphone can be, and takes us neatly into the world of the future, i.e. 2011. Android 2.3 is faster than previous releases (most operations have no visible lag whatsoever), and the user interface has been refreshed. There's an improved keyboard with multi-touch support, making typing faster, easier and more reliable. At mobile-phones-uk we're big fans of physical keyboards, but the functionality available here might even convert us! Copying and pasting is improved, with a new text selection tool. Other new features include enhanced VoIP communication, Wi-Fi hotspot support for up to six portable devices and Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC is an emerging technology that lets your phone read data from objects with NFC chips embedded in them.

Have we mentioned that the Nexus S is fast? Let's say it again, because it really is. Gingerbread is noticeably lag-free when using the user interface, and the combination of a superfast 1GHz Hummingbird processor plus a dedicated GPU and 16GB of built-in memory makes everything run super-smoothly. This is a phone that is genuinely capable of multi-tasking, as well as seamless playback of videos, rendering of graphics-hungry web pages and game playing. In itself, this smoothness is a good reason to buy the phone. Let's also mention the battery life, because with a 1500mAh lithium ion battery, this is the best performance you can reasonably expect from a smartphone. It may not last as long as your circa-2000 Nokia, but it will easily power the phone for a heavy day's use.
One of the outstanding features that the Nexus S has in common with the Galaxy S is its Super AMOLED display. At 4 inches across and with 480 x 800 pixels, this is a brilliant screen for a smartphone. It isn't quite the biggest (see the HTC Desire HD), but the amazing clarity and brightness of Super AMOLED easily makes up for this. Tell your iPhone-brandishing friends that its screen is 30% bigger than theirs, and brighter too!

The Galaxy S has one glaring omission, and that was a flash on the camera. The Nexus S has a 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, plus 720 x 480 pixels video recording. It also has an additional front-facing camera that can take stills or shoot video in VGA resolution.
Other features of the Nexus S include a digital music player, assisted GPS with Google Maps 5.0 with Navigation and web browsing. The device comes pre-installed with Google apps such as Google Search, Google Maps 5.0 with Navigation (free turn-by-turn GPS voice guidance), Places (info about restaurants, places of interest, etc), Latitude, Mobile Instant, Gmail and Google Earth. Being a Google phone, the Nexus S will automatically update software over the air as it becomes available. Web browsing is fantastic and there's a YouTube app for watching videos. Facebook and Twitter are there of course, and integrate nicely with your Contacts. Just remember that this is a pure Android phone, lacking the refinements that manufacturers like Samsung and HTC layer on top of the raw operating system. But again, for many this could be its unique selling point, offering a purist experience without any baggage. You can always download an app for anything that's missing.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate, micro USB and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Hey - did we mention that the Nexus S looks stunning? We were so busy being impressed by what it does, we forgot to tell you about its drop-dead looks! Whereas the first Google phone (the Nexus One) was a bit of a dog, the Nexus S is a supermodel by comparison. It has a gorgeously smooth glossy surface, with hardly any surface blemishes and a specially designed Contour Display with curved glass. The Contour Display is a gimmick for sure, but it adds to the smooth looks and tactile finish of the phone. Yes, we want to touch it, hold it, caress it. In fact we just want it, and you probably will too.
Is it the perfect phone? Well, it's not as nice in build as the iPhone 4, being slightly plasticky at the back, and it lacks a microSD card slot. But 16GB is surely enough memory? You can always find something to be picky about. The bottom line is that no phone is ever 100% perfect, but the Nexus S is so close that it deserves to be called the best.

HTC Desire HD

The HTC Desire HD delivers more power than probably any other smartphone currently available, with the Android Froyo operating system, a 4.3 inch screen, 8 megapixel camera, HD video recording, GPS, 1GHz processor, 14.4 Mbps internet access and 1.5GB of internal memory. It may be big, it may be costly, but if you're excited by the opportunities that the phone offers, you won't find better.

Blackberry 8520

An entry-level BlackBerry Curve, with a new-fangled Trackpad to replace the annoying trackball on previous Curve models. The 8520 offers a full QWERTY keyboard, mobile e-mail, a basic camera and a media player, plus good memory and connectivity. But it cuts corners with the display, camera and lack of high-end features that are common in many smartphones.

HTC Wildfire

The HTC Wildfire brings Android technology to the budget smartphone sector. Incorporating the latest version of Android and HTC Sense plus a superbly responsive capacitive touchscreen, the Wildfire is both easy to use and supremely powerful, with access to thousands of apps. Combined with a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, a media player, GPS, Google Maps, fast internet, a fast processor, plenty of memory and a big battery, this is quite probably the best smartphone in its price range. Available in Black, Graphite, Red or White.

Samsung Galaxy S

The Samsung Galaxy S is quite possibly the best phone on the market today. It runs the latest version of the Android operating system and has a host of world-beating features including a 4" Super AMOLED screen, HD video recording and playback, a superfast 1GHz processor, surround sound, GPS with Google Maps, a monster 8GB or 16GB of memory and good battery life. 

Samsung Tocco Lite

Publish Post

The Tocco Lite is Samsung's answer to the LG Cookie. Available in black, gold, pink or silver, it's a bargain touchscreen phone. Although it lacks 3G, it offers a fabulous fun user interface with easy access to Facebook and YouTube, plus all the features that you'd expect: a 3.2 megapixel camera, video recording, music player, FM radio with RDS, memory card slot and Bluetooth. Available free on contract with a choice of free gifts: from free line rental to a free laptop or XBOX 360.

HTC Desire

The HTC Desire is one of the most impressive phones of all time. Despite being significantly cheaper than the iPhone, it can match or beat everything that the iPhone does. An Android smartphone with a fabulously responsive touchscreen, the Desire packs in a huge choice of apps, brilliant web browsing, one of the biggest and best screens ever, a good camera, a music player and GPS too. You want more? Add in a superfast processor, monster battery, WiFi and a 3.5mm headphone jack and you've got the perfect phone.

Nokia C5 Review

Design

Nokia is good at making simple candybar phones and the C5 is a good example. The handset is made from a combination of plastic and aluminium, which feels pretty light in the hands. Our review unit came in the white version with a metallic silver band that runs along the sides of the device. The C5 is also available in a warm-grey shade.

The build quality is generally solid, although we were marginally put off by the matte-silver battery cover, which was slightly loose at the bottom. The implementation of the microSD card slot and volume buttons is also questionable. The microSD card, when inserted, goes too deep into the slot, which makes it a painful experience trying to pry out the card with our fingernails. The volume buttons are also thin, stiff and sunk into the chassis. We had to press down hard before the buttons registered the command. Now try doing that while the phone is next to your ear.

Happily, the numeric keypad is a joy to use and the 2.2-inch QVGA display adequate for a device of this size. The TFT panel is capable of displaying 16.7 million colours, but legibility of the screen under the sun is only average. We had to squint a little while framing our pictures using the camera. Indoors, the display appeared sharp and vibrant. Elsewhere on the C5, there's a 3.5mm audio jack, micro-USB port and 2mm charging connector at the top, while a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash is around back.

Features

The C5 runs on the Symbian S60 3rd edition operating system with Feature Pack 2, which is practically on every other non-touchscreen Nokia smartphone. Smart dialling, conference calling (up to three participants), voice commands and video calling are all supported. The latter uses the secondary, front-facing VGA camera. The latter has a focus range of 20cm to infinity and is also capable of recording 144x176-pixel videos at 15fps.

The home screen features a shortcut carousel of your favourite contacts in the address book. Up to four people are displayed at any one time, although the sides of the two contacts at the edge are chopped off due to the limitation of the display (see our screenshot for illustration). Still, chances are you'd be able to identify who these friends are by their pictures. Clicking on each of these contacts brings you to an aggregator, which displays your recent history with this particular person. Below this contact carousel are active standby applications for calendar appointments, emails and statuses of your Ovi contacts. Further down at the bottom edge of the home screen are six application shortcuts that are configurable, as well as the left/right customisable keys. If you've used a recent Nokia smartphone, none of these should be new to you.

Most of the applications that the average user would need are pre-installed. There's QuickOffice for document viewing (although you'll need to register for the paid version in order to create new documents), an Adobe PDF reader, dictionary, ZIP manager, notepad, RealPlayer, voice recorder and Ovi Maps for navigation. Real-time walk and drive navigation are free on the C5. In Ovi Maps, you'll also find Lonely Planet and an events guide, as well as a weather update application. The C5 comes with 128MB of built-in memory, of which about 50MB are available to the user.

Aside from Ovi Contacts and Maps, the C5 also supports application downloads via the Ovi Store directly from the device and Files on Ovi. One thing we've griped about time and again is the lack of applications and the dreadful user interface on the Ovi Store. What's fortunate is that there's a robust amount of third-party apps written for the S60 platform. The only problem is you may not be able to find them on Ovi Store and instead will have to search on the web for it.

Files on Ovi lets you view, download and send files (what did you expect?) that are on your computer directly via the handset, which is a lifesaver if you need to access a particular document on your PC remotely. You'll have to install the File Connector program on your PC and the latter also has to be online in order to use this service. The 2GB microSD card that comes with the C5 also has the installation file for the Ovi Suite program, so you don't have to download this separately.

The 3.2-megapixel camera is a fixed-focus module with a maximum aperture of F2.4. In our field tests, we found the image quality just passable. We noticed a water colour effect as well as noise in quite a number of our pictures taken in daylight. That said, we didn't expect much from the camera in the first place. Because of its fixed focus, we'd recommend not going too close to your subject unless you are able to correctly estimate a distance of 25cm for the camera to focus. Any closer and you'll end up with a blurred image.

The C5 has a basic camera that lets you take 2048x1536 snaps and VGA videos at 15fps. The stitching of images in panoramic mode weren't very well done in our tests as you can see the seams of each picture clearly. Our videos also looked choppy due to the low frame rate for video capture. The built-in LED flash has an operating range of about 1.5m.

Performance

Call quality was good and we didn't encounter any issues during our review period of about a week. The speakers weren't too clear, though unless you're in a very noisy environment, you should still be able to hear the other party on the line while on a 3G video call. The video image also doesn't break up during the call when we were moving around.

The C5 is powered by an ARM11 600MHz processor with 128MB of RAM. Overall, the handset felt snappy and the occasional split-second lag barely registered on our annoyance meter. The only exception was when we accessed the Gallery. Browsing images and videos automatically rotated the display to landscape orientation, which took a laggy two seconds.

This is a basic smartphone that handles most tasks efficiently. The 1050mAh battery is rated for 12 hours of talk time and approximately 26 days on standby. With our office email on Microsoft Exchange set on push, occasional browsing on the web, downloading applications, and Twitter and Facebook updates, the battery lasted 2.5 days comfortably.

Conclusion

The Nokia C5 doesn't excite, but it won't disappoint, either. If you're looking for a basic handset with smartphone-like features, the C5 is worth considering. It's a neat, compact and affordable mid-range device that delivers for the most part.

Nokia e72 Review

Nokia has had mixed results when it comes to business phones, but it got pretty much all the ingredients right with the E71. It's been a long wait for the follow-up, but the E72 has finally arrived, featuring a faster processor, new optical joystick and upgraded camera. But is this new version as impressive as its predecessor?

The E72 can be snapped up for free on a £20-per-month, 24-month contract, or for around £300 SIM-free.

Skinny but toughAt first glance, the E72 doesn't look all that different to the E71. At 128g, it weighs pretty much the same, and it's still impressively slim, measuring a mere 10mm thick. Visually, the main difference is the chrome band that runs around the edge of the handset. It's a classy, business-like design, and the phone feels like it's built to last.

We're starting to see larger, high-resolution displays appearing on this type of messaging device, but the E72 is stuck with a relatively small, 60mm (2.4-inch) display with a pretty low resolution of 320x240 pixels. The screen is bright and colourful, but its small size and low resolution mean the phone isn't ideal for viewing Web pages.

Keys that pleaseBelow the screen, you'll find a dedicated home button, along with handy keys to take you directly to the calendar, contacts book and messaging inbox. The four-way controller now has an optical joystick at its centre. This means you can move through menus by simply running your finger across the top of the sensor. It works reasonably well, but isn't all that much faster than just using the standard clickable controller.

The E71's keyboard was exceptionally good, and Nokia has made few changes to it with the E72. The only real difference is that the spacebar has been reduced in length to make way for two extra keys. The overall layout of the keyboard is still top-notch and the keys are very easy to type on, as each one is curved outwards slightly. It's still probably the best keyboard you'll find on any messaging phone.

Sail the Series 60 seasThe E72 runs the Series 60 operating system. While this isn't as modern-looking as the iPhone and Android operating systems, it's still relatively easy to navigate, and we like how you can switch between business and personal modes via simple icons on the home screen. It's very responsive too, helped, no doubt, by the phone's upgraded 600MHz ARM processor.

There's a good range of applications pre-loaded, including the full version of Quickoffice for creating and editing documents, and Nokia's Maps navigation software, which works very well with the phone's GPS chip. The handset's messaging features are also impressive. You get free access to Nokia's push-email service, and there's a wizard to guide you through setting up the phone for Gmail, Yahoo, Exchange and Lotus Notes email accounts.

Clear callsAs you'd expect from a Nokia business phone, the call quality is absolutely first-rate. Callers sound very clear and natural via the earpiece, and the mic also produces crisp, clean audio.

The upgraded, 5-megapixel camera captures sharp-looking snaps, with natural colours. There's also impressive wireless support, in the form of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA connectivity. Unlike many smart phones, the E72's battery life isn't too bad -- you can expect to get two to three days of use from it before it needs a recharge.

Conclusion

The E72 is a fairly predictable update of the E71, rather than a radical overhaul, but the excellent messaging support, superb keyboard and sturdy build quality make this a fine messaging handset. Indeed, we can't help feeling that it may even tempt some BlackBerry users to jump ship.

Note that, although we gave the E71 a score of 8.9, we've given the E72 a score of 8.2, even though we consider it to be the superior handset. This has been to done to reflect the advances in the smart-phone market since the E71's release.

Edited by Charles Kloet. Thanks to Charles for this review!

Iphone 4 overall review

Apple's launch of the iPhone 4 has seen the greatest excitement for a new phone ever - and with HD video recording, a super high-res screen and ridiculously slim dimensions, it's not hard to see why.
But things are a little different now - not only was the iPhone 3GS something of a non-update to the iPhone range, but there are finally decent alternatives in the smartphone market, with the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S leading the Android fight right to Apple's door.
Add to that the first major leak of an Apple product a couple of months before launch, and suddenly the iPhone 4 has a lot to do to impress.

At least Apple has unleashed the big guns for this effort - before we get into the headline specs, the design itself is a massive talking point on its own.
Jobs' chats on stage to unveil a new iPhone might have got a little repetitive (best this, magical that etc) but this is the first time since the first iPhone way back in January 2007 that we've seen a variation on the standard iPhone design.

Gone is the traditional curved back and plastic exterior with slightly chunky dimensions; in is a chassis that's only 9.3mm thin at its thickest point and a new stainless steel and glass industrial design.

If you're an iPhone fan, there's a good chance you won't like the look of the iPhone the first time you pick it up - it's the same weight as the iPhone 3GS at 137g, but it's a lot smaller, with dimensions of 115.2mm x58.6 mm x 9.3mm, so it feels like a much weightier and compact model.
The edges are stainless steel, apparently forged by winged unicorns in an iceberg (or something) to be 10 times stronger than 'normal' steel.

The front and back of the phone are made of glass, which has also been treated to be a lot stronger than the normal variety we're used to seeing through and drinking out of.
This claim holds up - not only did we feel the need to drop the phone onto the floor a few times to test, someone nameless of the TechRadar team also knocked it out (an admittedly low level) window onto concrete - and not a scratch.
If you're the protective type, then you can buy an official 'Bumper' for the iPhone 4, which encases it in a small ring of rubber, if you haven't bought the handset only for its slim lines.

The chassis shape isn't the only different thing with the iPhone 4 - the whole ethos has been tweaked. For instance, no longer is there a slightly plasticky rocker switch to control volume on the left-hand side, as it's now two discrete metal buttons with '+' and '-' written on.
The volume silencer rocker switch is above too, but that has also undergone the uber-metallic treatment.

The top of the phone still holds the headphone jack, and the power/lock key. However, the 3.5mm port is now flush to the chassis, and the power button feels much nicer to hit than before.
There's also a separate microphone for noise cancelling next to this as well - we imagine a few people will be pushing paperclips in there before they realise that it's not for the SIM card slot.

The right-hand side of the chassis is still blank - no camera button sadly, which would have been nice given the extra effort Apple has clearly put into overhauling the photography system.
Still, sleek is clearly still 'in' at the Cupertino HQ, and we can't say we blame the designers when you look at the lines.
Actually, that's not true - the micro-SIM slot is hidden away here, rather than on the top. It's the same pokey key thing/slot system as before, but this time the SIM card is much smaller - Apple says to make more room for stuff inside, we say it's just to shake things up a little bit. Either way, we bet micro-SIMs become the norm before very long in all phones.

The bottom of the phone has the familiar Apple connector for charging and connecting and docking etc, and is flanked by another more microphone-y looking microphone slot and the speaker.
The front still has that one iconic button, which is much nicer to press in the new chassis, it has to be said.

Overall, the design might not impress some people the first time they pick up the phone - a number of people we showed the phone to grimaced a little bit the first time they handled it.
It's a sharp and weighty-feeling phone, make no mistake - and it doesn't sit as comfortably in the hand as well as other iPhones of the past have.
But it feels premium, and at up to £600, it had better - that's a lot to pay when you consider you could get a 42-inch 1080p LCD for £200 less these days.
In the box
At least Apple has remained consistent when it comes to the packaging - apart from a new graphic on the front to make the new iPhone 4 look more mysterious, there's not a lot different to the older iPhones.
So that means: a simple Apple USB cable, a three-pin plug adaptor and some headphones. The latter is the same old set from the year before: hands free and a function button on the cord, but slightly poor quality compared to a range of other buds on the market.

Oh, you also get that little tool for removing the micro-SIM card as well - but Apple should just save itself some money and stick a paperclip in there, as 99.99% of people will lose that little thing, panic, then improvise anyway. Well, we have. Twice.

You can read more at: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/apple-iphone-4-694980/review#ixzz1AHCgMHry

What is Smartphone

You probably hear the term "smartphone" tossed around a lot. But if you've ever wondered exactly what a smartphone is, well, you're not alone. How is a smartphone different than a cell phone, and what makes it so smart?

In a nutshell, a smartphone is a device that lets you make telephone calls, but also adds in features that you might find on a personal digital assistant or a computer--such as the ability to send and receive e-mail and edit Office documents, for example.
But, to really understand what a smartphone is (and is not), we should start with a history lesson. In the beginning, there were cell phones and personal digital assistants (or PDAs). Cell phones were used for making calls--and not much else--while PDAs, like the Palm Pilot, were used as personal, portable organizers. A PDA could store your contact info and a to-do list, and could sync with your computer.
Eventually, PDAs gained wireless connectivity and were able to send and receive e-mail. Cell phones, meanwhile, gained messaging capabilities, too. PDAs then added cellular phone features, while cell phones added more PDA-like (and even computer-like) features. The result was the smartphone.

Key Smartphone Features

While there is no standard definition of the term "smartphone" across the industry, we thought it would be helpful to point out what we here at About.com define as a smartphone, and what we consider a cell phone. Here are the features we look at:

Operating System: In general, a smartphone will be based on an operating system that allows it to run productivity applications. BlackBerry smartphones run the BlackBerry OS, while other devices run the Palm OS or Windows Mobile. There are smartphone OSes that are pared-down versions of desktop Linux, too.
Software: While almost all cell phones include some sort of software (even the most basic models these days include an address book or some sort of contact manager, for example), a smartphone will have the ability to do more. It may allow you to create and edit Microsoft Office documents--or at least view the files. It may allow you to download applications, such as personal and business finance managers. Or it may allow you to edit photos, get driving directions via GPS, and create a playlist of digital tunes.
Web Access: More smartphones can access the Web at higher speeds, thanks to the growth of 3G data networks and the addition of Wi-Fi support to many handsets. Still, while not all smartphones offer high-speed Web access, they all offer some sort of access. You can use your smartphone to browse your favorite sites.
QWERTY Keyboard: By our definition, a smartphone includes a QWERTY keyboard. This means that the keys are laid out in the same manner they would be on your computer keyboard--not in alphabetical order on top of a numeric keypad, where you have to tap the number 1 to enter an A, B, or C. The keyboard can be hardware (physical keys that you type on) or software (on a touch screen, like you'll find on the iPhone).
Messaging: All cell phones can send and receive text messages, but what sets a smartphone apart is its handling of e-mail. A smartphone can sync with your personal--and, sometimes, your professional--e-mail account. Some smartphones can support multiple e-mail accounts. Others include access to the popular instant messaging services, like AOL's AIM and Yahoo! Messenger.
These are just some of the features that make a smartphone smart. But right now, they're the features we use when deciding whether a phone is a smartphone or a cell phone. The technology surrounding smartphones and cell phones is constantly changing, though. What constitutes a smartphone today may change by next week, next month, or next year. Stay tuned!

e72 vs Onyx!

Battle of Nokia e72 vs BB Onyx, who's gonna win? Check this Out!

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