Mobile Phone Deals, Latest Mobile Phone News and Reviews

The European Commission has announced plans to cut the cost of mobile phone calls in Europe by reducing the fees that operators charge one another for using their networks. Call Termination fees as they are known in the industry, is the fee charged by an operator for handling calls from another network.

Europe’s telecoms watchdog has published its guidelines for regulations to harmonise call termination fees throughout the European Union by 2011. At the moment 27 national authorities currently regulate these fees, which lead to consumers paying variations in cross-border fees.

According to the latest EU figures, call termination fees range from €0.02 per minute in Cyprus to €0.18 in Bulgaria. The new regulations aim to standardise these charges throughout the European Union.

The European Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding has stated that “The consumer pays the price for these gaps between national regulatory policies.”

Network operators have until 2011 to implement the new regulations, with the European Commission estimating that mobile phone calls will become 70 percent cheaper.

The GSM Association, which represents more than 750 GSM mobile operators worldwide, has opposed the move. It has claimed that network operators would find it hard to absorb a cut in termination fees and it may lead to consumers paying more for their mobile phones.

Motorola and Kodak have joined forces to produce the first mobile phone to merge Kodak’s Imaging Technology and Motorola’s ModeShift Technology into one device. The Motorola Motozine ZN5 features a 5 megapixel camera that utilizes Kodak’s Imaging Technology to produce brighter, more vivid pictures and the Xenon flash is capable of giving stunning results in darker situations.

The phone features a 2.4 inch TFT screen, 350MB internal memory and a microSD card slot so the memory can be expanded up to 4GB. The ZN5 includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and supports MP3 and WMA audio files and MPEG4 and H263 video formats.

The Motozine ZN5 has integrated Wi-Fi and Edge for connecting to the internet and is Bluetooth compatible to easily share your pictures. Bluetooth can also be used to print your photos using Kodak’s Picture Kiosks and Kodak All-in-One Printers.

No GPS or 3G with the ZN5, which may put some people off, but the ZN5 has other features to make up for it. The Motozine ZN5 may just be one to keep your eye on; due for release in China this month, expect to see it in the UK before the end of the year.

The Nokia E71 is the latest phone in the Nokia Smartphone range. Nokia claim that the E71 is the thinnest QWERTY Smartphone on the market at only 10mm and is one of the slimmest Nokia phones to date.

The E71 boasts a 2.36 inch high quality QVGA display with 320 x 240 resolution and is HSDPA and WiFi enabled for super fast internet connection.  110MB internal memory is included and a microSD card slot with up to 8GB capacity can be installed to store files, music and video.

The Nokia E71 has a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash, and can play standard music and video formats like mp3, wma, mp4 and real media to name a few. Bluetooth and infrared are standard so you can connect it to other devices and has integrated A-GPS for navigation when travelling.

The operating system is Symbian Os 9.2 and comes with office, email and PIM software, and includes a feature to switch between business and personal accounts with separate email and home screens. The Nokia E71’s battery life is stunning, with over 10 hours of GSM talk-time and WCDMA talk-time of 4 and a half hours.

Due for release on the 7th July for the silver one and the 1st August for the black one, the Nokia E71 is set to have would be Blackberry customers taking another look.

Computer giant Apple are set to release an update for the iPhone which will include an easier to data reset the handset. Concerns over the data reset method was discovered when an Oregon State Detective successfully retrieved personal data from a refurbished iPhone purchased from Apple. The detective retrieved emails, photos and financial data from the handset.

In the new iPhone Software (v2.0) extra precautions have been taken for a more secure data reset function. iPhone users are familiar with the beta version of the reset software and Apple state that the full version of Software v2.0 will feature an easier method of erasing personal information and settings from the handset.

The new reset function will be accessible in the same way as the previous software, but the main difference is that all the data will be deleted, and overwritten numerous times. This is similar to the ‘Secure Empty Function’ used by the Mac Operating System and will make the data irretrievable, even by the best recovery tools.

If you own an 8GB iPhone, expect a data reset to take around an hour to complete and it is advised that you plug the handset into the mains as the software is power intensive. iPhone Software v2.0 will be available to download soon from the Apple website.

Sony Ericsson has announced that the long awaited Xperia X1 will be available before the end of the year. The US market could see the X1 as early as September with the UK receiving it a short time after.

The Xperia X1 is the first Sony Ericsson phone to have fully integrated Windows Mobile and is set to tackle the iPhone head on in the Smartphone sector. The Xperia features a 3 inch QVGA touchscreen capable of resolutions of up to 800×480 and boasts a unique arc sliding action that slightly tilts the screen and provides better visibility whilst uncovering the full QWERTY keyboard.

The phone has HSDPA mobile broadband and WiFi connectivity allowing the user to get the fastest internet speeds available, wherever they are. The main screen stores up to nine icons on the panel user interface and can be full customised for any preferences or requirements.

As stated above the Xperia X1 has Windows Mobile 6.1 installed which means you can take advantage of Office and Outlook for writing documents and checking your emails, Windows Media Player for playing various music and video formats and Internet Explorer for browsing the web.

Sony Ericsson have also managed to cram in a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, Bluetooth connection, 400MB of internal memory and a microSD card slot that can take up to 8GB capacity.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is scheduled for release around September time; there is no word on price or which of the networks will be carrying it yet, expect details to follow.