Mobile Phone Deals, Latest Mobile Phone News and Reviews

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.

Nokia have announced a new version of their popular 5130 XpressMusic mobile phone. Designed as a low budget phone and touted as one of the cheapest music handsets on the market, the new Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is set to be popular with the pay-as-you-go sector.

The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is a quad-band device and has a 2 inch display, dedicated music buttons, a 3.5mm headphone socket and FM radio. Other features include a not too shabby 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and a microSD card slot that can take up to 8GB (1GB card supplied with the device).

Of course being an XpressMusic handset, the Nokia 5130 has a media player that supports various audio and video formats, and the dedicated music keys on the side make it easy to play, pause and skip through your favourite tunes.

The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic ticks all the boxes for an entry level device, and with a price tag of around £70 and lots of features, is set to be very popular. The only downside is that it won’t be released until early next year, meaning you won’t be getting one in your Christmas stocking.

Due to the success of the first LG PRADA phone, selling over a million units LG has released pictures and spec list of their new PRADA phone the LG KF900 (or PRADA II). Styled very much like the original PRADA phone, the LG KF900 also boasts a hidden weapon; a full slide out QWERTY keyboard.

The PRADA II has a 3 inch touchscreen display, HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity and a 5 megapixel camera. The phones camera is fitted with a Schneider-Kreuzach lens and has autofocus and a flash; a front mounted camera is also featured for video calls.

The LG PRADA II also has a media player, which supports various audio and video files and a built-in FM radio for listening to music on the go.

The LG KF900 is due for release before Christmas. There is no work on which of the mobile phone operators will carry the phone, but LG have stated that the sim-free version will cost a hefty £500.

Viviane Reding, the European Telecoms Commissioner has outlined a new proposal to cut the price of using mobile phones aboard. The plan will include cutting the cost of voice calls, as well as data and text messages and could be implemented as early as next July.

The European Parliament is due to vote on the new proposal in the new year, which could see the price that holiday makers pay for using their mobile phones drop by up to 60%. This would lower the price of a voice call from 36p to around 27p, the price of a text message from 23p to 9p and would allow customers to set limits on their data usage.

This is not the first time that the mobile phone operators have had roaming charge limits imposed on them; in September 2007 the EU limited mobile phone operators to charging 34p per minute for making calls and 17p for receiving calls. However, this only covered voice calls; the new proposal will take into account text messages and data usage charges as well.

O2 have announced that the iPhone 3G will be offered to their Pay and Go customers in the UK from the 16th September. It does however come with a hefty price tag; £349.99 for the 8GB version and £399.99 for the 16GB iPhone.

You will be able to purchase the iPhone from O2’s dedicated stores, Apple stores or the Carphone Warehouse and the price will include a year’s Wi-Fi and browsing for free, but terms and conditions apply like the excessive usage policy.

O2’s standard Pay and Go tariffs are available with a range of free minutes to O2 and landline numbers, but text messages are not included and will cost 10p each. Existing O2 Pay and Go customers will have the option of upgrading to the iPhone and could be eligible for an extra 10% of your top up being converted to call time.

Pay and Go tariffs and terms and conditions are available from the O2 website.

One of the biggest supermarket chains Asda, have announced that it will be cutting its pay as you go mobile phone tariffs from September. This news comes as mobile phone operators such as O2 and Vodafone are raising their prices to recoup lost earnings, as the European Commission puts caps on termination fees - the fees that the networks charge each other for handling calls.

Asda will cut their calls from 16p to 8p and text messages to 4p each. This will make Asda the cheapest mobile operator in the UK, undercutting Ikea which was previously cheapest; Ikea introduced their own phone packages earlier this month.

Asda, who use Vodafone’s mobile network, has introduced their latest price cuts to attract some of the 47 million pre-pay mobile customers in the UK. And with the other mobile networks increasing their prices, Asda is set to take at least some of the market share away from the big operators.

Industry analysts have stated that because Asda and other leading retail giants buy large amounts of minutes from the mobile operators and this is why they can offer a better deal to the consumers. The retail chains are also more likely to use their tariffs to enhance their brand image rather that make money.

LG are hailing their new KC550 phone as the cheapest 5 megapixel camera phone to hit the market. The KC550 is aimed at the mid-range market so there are a few features that have been omitted, such as 3G and Wi-Fi which are not featured.

However, you do get stylish looking slider phone reminiscent of the LG KG800 Chocolate, a large 2.4 inch widescreen display, a microSD card slot for up to 4GB of storage, USB and Bluetooth connectivity and of course, a 5 megapixel camera.

The KC550’s camera is certified by Schneider-Kreuznach and has an LED flash for low light situations and can capture video up to a resolution of 720×480 at 30 frames per second. The device also features an accelerometer so you can play motion- sensitive games, of which there are six to choose from. A multimedia player is also included, but you will have to use the LG headphones as there is no 3.5mm headphone socket.

The LG KC550 is available for free on contract or a very attractive £160 for the sim free version. The LG KC550 is ideal for anyone who wants high quality pictures without the need for all of the fancy extras (and of course the price) of high-end devices.

Unlimited calls in the US are becoming areality as  T-Mobile USA , Verizon Wireless and AT&T have all announced plans for flat-rate calls. It looks like there will be a mobile phone price war starting soon with some companies saying calls will be as little as $99 per month.

There arenow thoughts that if the price wars do come about customers who spen large amounts on their phones are more likely to downgrade their packages to gain the financial benefits.