Mobile Phone Deals, Latest Mobile Phone News and Reviews

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.

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.”

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.

The latest report by the Mobile Data Association has shown that UK mobile phone users send on average 217 million text messages a day, up from an average of 157 million during the same period of last year.

This means that over 6.5 billion text messages are sent a month by UK mobile users and the number of multimedia messages, such as picture and video texts has also risen by 20%, up to an average of 1.5 million a day.

The survey, which was conducted in Q3 of this year (between July to September), tracked the amount and type of text messages that were sent from UK based mobile phones. The Mobile Data Association went on to add that the increase of messages sent compared to last year, was a result of the cheap text message bundles being offered by network providers.

The report also showed that 16.9 million people accessed the internet on their mobile phones during September; this was down compared with August, which saw 17.1 million users access the mobile internet, though this is probably due to people accessing the latest sporting results from the Olympic Games.

The Nokia N79 is one of the newest devices to gain the N-series name and is also the smallest. Although it only measures 110 x 49 x 15mm and weights 97 grams, the Nokia N79 is packed full of features.

The Nokia N79 is a quad band, candy bar styled mobile phone that features a 2.4 inch display, 5 megapixel camera with dual flash and HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity for high speed internet browsing.

GPS and A-GPS are also featured on the device, as well as a comprehensive media player, FM radio and FM transmitter. Internal storage is 83MB and a microSD card slot is also present (a 4GB microSD card is included) to store your audio, video and picture files.

The Nokia N79 uses the Symbian S60 operating system, which has proven to be a very popular OS and data and files can easily be transferred to and from the device via Bluetooth 2.0 or the bundled USB cable. The N79 also comes with Xpress-on covers so you can customise the look of the device.

All in all, the Nokia N79 is a practical and small mobile phone, packed with the advanced features of a bigger device. The Nokia N79 is due out in a couple of weeks, no word on contracts or prices yet.

Samsung have unveiled a new Armani embossed mobile phone to join its other mobile devices. For the new Samsung M7500 has ditched the ‘Giorgio’ name tag, going for the ‘Emporio’ name instead.

The Samsung M7500 Emporio Armani, also known as the Night Effect is a stylish and trendy candy bar shaped device, which features red, green or blue side lights displaying the Armani logo. Built as a multimedia phone, the M7500 boasts dedicated music keys as well as a media player capable of playing various audio and video formats.

The display is a 2.2 inch OLED screen, which is designed to give more vibrant colours, and a rear mounted 3.1 megapixel camera and a front mounted VGA camera are featured. Music and video files can be stored on a microSD memory card and can be transferred to the device via the USB cable or Bluetooth 2.0.

The Samsung Emporio Armani also features 3G and HSDPA connectivity, but does not include a Wi-Fi connection, which might put some people off.

The Samsung Emporio Armani is due out sometime in November, prices and contracts are to be confirmed.

Orange has announced that it will be the exclusive seller of the new HTC Touch HD device in the UK. The new deal means that Orange will join the other major mobile operators, who all have exclusive high-end devices on their books.

Orange has also stated that customers will have to pay for the device, even on its £40 a month tariffs. The HTC Touch HD is expected to ship in mid November and will directly rival the other four mobile operator’s exclusive devices.

T-Mobile has the first android OS phone, the HTC Google G1 as its exclusive device. Vodafone has the Blackberry Storm, RIM’s first touchscreen device. 3 will be selling the Nokia N95 – Comes With Music enabled phone to their customers and of course O2 has the exclusive rights to the hugely popular iPhone 3G, which the other devices are trying to catch.

Mobile phone operators have started to offer their customers the choice of a reduced tariff plan or an upgrade mobile phone as part of their contract renewals.

It is hoped that customers who are happy with their current handsets will choose the reduced tariffs instead of a new device, meaning that the mobile operators will save money on new handsets (which they heavily subsidise) and also help their customers save during the credit crunch.

Currently both O2 and T-mobile are offering the new deal, which could mean a saving of up to £15 a month for customers who choose to keep their current mobile phone and renew their contract. Both firms are keen to point out that there is still the option to upgrade handsets if the customer wishes.

This new plan may be picked up by the other mobile phone operators, with the whole industry making a major switch towards longer 18 month contracts to retain customers.

Motorola have announced a new device that is designed with social networking in mind. The Motorola VE538 is a simple, but trendy candy bar styled device that supports 3G and has a dedicated key specifically designed to access social networking sites.

Measuring 107 x 46 x 16mm and weighing in at only 83 grams, the VE538 features a 2 inch TFT display, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity and media player. The Motorola VE538 also features a front mounted camera for video calls and a microSD card slot capable of taking up to 4GB.

The VE538 features a dedicated social networking key, which delivers one-click access to sites such as Facebook and Myspace and allows the user to update their page with pictures and blogs on the move. The Motorola VE538 also has a media player capable of playing various audio and video files.

Capturing pictures and video and sharing it with your friends through your social networking pages has never been simpler with the Motorola VE538.

The Motorola VE538 is due to hit the UK in the next couple of months (in time for Christmas). Prices and networks are to be confirmed.