Mobile Phone Deals, Latest Mobile Phone News and Reviews

Asus has announced a new Smartphone to join its range called the P565, which Asus claims is the first Smartphone to have an 800MHz processor built in. The Asus P565 also features 128MB RAM and a 2.8 inch touchscreen with Glide user interface, enabling users to quickly switch between tasks effortlessly.

Other features include HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, for all your internet and file sharing needs, as well as a 3.15 megapixel rear mounted camera for taking those spontaneous pictures and front mounted VGA camera for video calls.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system is running the show, which means you can synchronise it with your computer to receive work emails and documents without being in the office. Built-in GPS is also included, so you will never get lost again.

The Asus P565 measures 102 x 60.5 x 16 mm, which is small for such a powerful device and weighs in at a very light 120 grams.

The Asus P565 looks like being a viable alternative to other Smartphone’s, with its abundance of power and multitasking capabilities. There is no news on release date or network availability yet.

Nokia has released a limited edition N96 for the Hong Kong market. The Nokia N96 Bruce Lee limited edition is basically the same N96 that is available now, but has an exclusive accessory pack with lots of Brue Lee goodies.

The specifications of the special edition N96 stay the same with a 2.8 inch QVGA screen, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and Bluetooth connectivity, 5 megapixel camera and 16GB of internal memory as well as a built in DVB-H TV receiver.

All that distinguishes this special edition N96 from the original is a Bruce Lee embossed back panel and a new wrist strap engraved with the martial arts masters’ name. Also bundled in, you get a life-like Bruce Lee figure in his famous yellow jumpsuit and pre-loaded Bruce Lee content such as rare photos and background themes.

It is not apparent if the special edition Bruce Lee N96 will be hitting our shores, so you might just have to settle for the standard version.

T-Mobile has revealed that it will be changing its pay monthly mobile phone tariffs for their exclusive Google Android Smartphone, the HTC G1. Since its release in late October, the HTC G1 was originally only available on T-Mobiles Flext40 and Combi 35 tariffs for £31.50 per month, but will now be available from as little as £20 a month on an 18 month contract.

The new tariffs on offer from T-Mobile will be the Flext30, which is an 18 month contract at £30 a month with a free HTC G1, unlimited internet and up to 700 minutes or 1400 texts. The cheapest tariff will be the Combi 15, which is again an 18 month contract, but cost £20 a month with 100 minutes and 200 texts; the G1 will cost you £100 if you choose this contract, but also comes with an upgraded 8GB memory card.

T-Mobile has implemented these new tariffs to turn the heat up on the iPhone 3G, which is the G1’s main rival at the moment. The HTC G1 is available in white and black, but there are no plans to offer it as a pay as you go option at the moment.

Samsung has released details of a new eco-friendly mobile phone aimed at kids and lower teens called the Samsung Tobi. Although targeting the younger audience for mobile phones is a hot topic at the moment, there are some features that parents will be happy to see including SOS call and message functions as well as a Fake call feature.

The Samsung Tobi or GT-S3030 to give it its full name also has a bunch of features that will not only make it ideal for kids, but is bound to be a great success in the pay and go market. The Samsung Tobi will be available in six colour variations (see picture below), and has a 1.9 inch screen, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, 1.3 megapixel camera and integrated music and video player.

The Samsung Tobi is also a handy size, measuring just 94 x 45 x 17mm and weighing in at only 85 grams. Additional features include a microSD card slot capable of taking up to 8GB for storing music, pictures and video and games including Brain Challenge and Tetris.

The Samsung Tobi GT-S3030 will be available at the end of November; there is no price yet but expect it to be relatively cheap.

Samsung has unveiled yet another touchscreen phone to its range, which will be available very soon according to prominent sources. Codenamed the A867 Eternity, the device looks very much like the Samsung F480 Tocco, but that’s where the similarities end.

The Samsung A867 Eternity is quad-band and features a 3.2 inch touchscreen display, HSDPA and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, microSD memory card slot and a 3.15 megapixel camera. The Samsung Eternity will also feature built-in GPA and A-GPS as well as a media player for listening to music or watching videos.

The Samsung Eternity measures 109 x 56 x 13mm and weighs in at around 110 grams and the battery life has a capacity of up to 250 hours on standby and 5 hours of talk time. Rumours suggest that the Samsung A867 Eternity will be released before Christmas, but as yet are unconfirmed.

Mobile phone operator O2 has added more customers to its network during Q3 of 2008 (July to September), than Vodafone and Orange put together as O2’s iPhone exclusivity and sim-only deals extend its market share over its rivals.

Recent figures released by O2 show that the network operator has had its best Q3 of all time and has added 31,000 more customers than its closest two rivals put together.

Over Q3 of 2008, O2 has seen a total of 402,000 new customers with 278,000 contract customers and 124,000 pay as you go customers. The recent jump in customers is thought to be due to the company being the exclusive seller of the widely popular iPhone 3G, combined with its simplicity sim-only deals.

O2 also added over 72,000 customers to its fixed-line broadband division, beating the market leader BT who added 69,000 customers and coming second to Sky broadband, who added a staggering 164,000 new customers.

Nokia has announced a new Smartphone to join its range, the Nokia E63. The E63 is basically a stripped down version of the popular Nokia E71, which will be aimed at the consumer market rather than the business sector.

The main difference between the E71 and E63 is that the E63 does not have GPS or HSDPA built-in, and the E63 only has a 2 megapixel camera compared to the E71, which has a 3.2 megapixel camera. Other differences are that the E63 will incorporate a 3.5mm headphone socket, so there is no need to use an adapter when using your favourite headphones.

The Nokia E63 will feature a full QWERTY keyboard, 2.3 inch display, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and microSD memory card slot. The E63 also has dedicated keys for home, calendar, contacts and email as well as a NaviKey to scroll through the device. A multimedia play is also featured, which supports various audio and video formats and the whole phone is controlled by the Symbian S60 operating system.

The Nokia E63 will be available in two colours, blue and red and will be released in the next few weeks for around the £160 price mark, but expect it to be free with certain contracts.

One of the leading High Street mobile phone retailers, Phones4U has been investigated by Ofcom after a spate of complaints to Trading Standards. There were more than 2000 complaints in a two month period, prompting the Ofcom investigation.

The investigation, which has lasted for nearly six months, concluded earlier this week and found that Phones4U had breached consumer laws when selling its mobile phone contracts. This included employees giving bad advice to customers about the phone contracts and failing to refund or replace faulty handsets.

Phones4U, which has over 400 stores in the UK, has changed its phone returns policy and numerous sales practices since the investigation; it has also implemented new changes to its staff training.

Ofcom said that Phones4U had given their full cooperation during the inquiry, and a statement released by Phones4U said, “Phones 4u notes the Ofcom announcement and is pleased that the investigation has reached a satisfactory outcome following a constructive and collaborative process.”

O2 have announced that it’s new PDA, the XDA Zest will be available on both pay and go and contract tariffs. It will be the first O2 XDA device to be offer on their pay and go tariff, and is hoped that first time PDA users will opt for the new device instead of a standard mobile phone.

The O2 XDA Zest is manufactured by computer hardware firm Asus, and is basically a re-branded version of the Asus P552w. The device features the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system, 2.8 inch touchscreen display, a 3.2 megapixel camera and secondary front camera for voice calls.

Wi-Fi and HSDPA are also supported as well as Bluetooth 2.0, USB synchronisation, built-in GPS and A-GPS, Pocket Office for viewing Word, Excel and PDF files and a media player supporting various audio and video formats. A microSD card slot is also available and can take up to 16GB of memory.

The O2 XDA Zest is due out sometime this month and will cost £249.99 on O2’s pay and go tariff, and will be free with some contracts.

Sony Ericsson has unveiled a new device for their Walkman range, the W705. This new device is a slider phone and will be the first Walkman branded device to feature Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Sony Ericsson W705 features a brushed metal front, 2.4 inch display, HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0 and comes with a 4GB Memory Stick Micro card to store your audio and video files on.

In addition to the mentioned features above, the W705 also has a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and a front mounted VGA camera for voice calls. Dedicated music keys are positioned on the front, so you can play, stop and skip through your music with both camera and volume buttons located on the side.

As you would expect from a Walkman phone, the W705 has a media player with the latest Walkman v3.0 software installed and supports numerous audio and video files; FM radio is also included. One big feature that is missing is a 3.5mm headphone socket, but Sony Ericsson usually include an adapter if you want to use your own headphones.

There is no word on a release date or price for the Sony Ericsson W705, but it is widely expected to surface in the first quarter of 2009.