From what I've heard, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 can be bought with a mobile phone contract from almost all major wireless carriers and expected date of arrival is around the 1st of April. In Asia, the retail version of the Xperia X10 is already out in stores while in the USA, there's no word yet as to when the X10 will become available.
However, if you're a die-hard Sony Ericsson fanboy in the US and you're itching to import an Xperia X10 from Asia but you're worried that your $700 would just go to waste if you can't really use the 3G band, well, fear not. Someone from howardforums was already able to import one and claims that it's working on T-Mobile 3G at blazing fast speed.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 works on 3G networks with 900/1700/2100 bands. AT&T users will have to wait until the official Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 North American model actually becomes available.
Another thing that makes the X10 stand out against its competitors is the 8 megapixel camera. It's the only Android mobile phone that supports this resolution. So the X10's camera should be great right? I'll leave that decision up to you with these sample pictures and videos.
Most Android handsets come without so much as additional apps or games. Maybe they're thinking that the user can always download a lot of games and applications (most of which are free) from the Android Market, still it would be nice if they were thoughtful enough to include one for our plesaure. Thankfully, Sony Ericsson did just that with the Xperia X10.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10's other UI is the Mediascape. You can view your music, videos and photos in mediascape and you get a nice graphical interface compared with Android's standard music player. The mediascape music player is really great in terms of UI. It collates your songs by recently played, recently added, your most played, and even randomly selects its own playlist for those days when you just want to zone out on whatever is playing on your music player.
The earpiece is a bit on the soft side, yes, you can hear the other person on the line clearly but it's not as loud as other mobile phones I have tested. This is good though because other persons near you won't be able to eavesdrop on your conversation.
Voice calls using the speakers is loud enough but the quality is not good as you can hear a lot of static.
Like other Android phones before 2.1, your get 3 homescreens you can put widgets on but lets skip to that and go to what sets the X10 apart: timescape and mediascape, Sony Ericsson's custom UI on top of Android. Timescape is kinda like friendstream on HTC or Motoblur on the Motorola Clique. Basically, its a social network hub where you can see your contact's Facebook and Twitter updates together with their recent messages (email and sms) to you, call logs, as well as your recent photos taken and music played. There's no option to add additional services such as Myspace or Friendster.
I'm not actually totally finished with this review yet but here are my initial impressions. Also, the never ending iPhone comparison: Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 vs. iPhone side by side pictures, more images after the jump.
Update: Finally finished reviewing the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.Updated everything.
Well, that's a bummer. According to Sony Ericsson, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will not get multitouch either through hacking, firmware update, tweaks, or any software related solution because it's a hardware thing.
That's just great, I feel like all hope of the Xperia X10 becoming my main mobile phone has been sucked out of me because of this news. Don't get me wrong, I mean Android is a nice OS and all but multitouch makes it a TRULY awesome OS. Awesome enough that the Milestone lured me out of my WinMo handsets.
Oh well, at least the Timescape widget helps me keep my mind off this multi touch issue.
Yet another reason for me to take back my Milestone. It seems that the over-the-air update for the Motorola Milestone European version is now available. So, what are the features of Android 2.1 on your Moto Milestone? Well, 9 homescreens, a new Motorola camera application, Facebook app (it better be as good as Bloo), Motorola car home interface, and Quickoffice.
If you're having problem with your OTA update or you can't get WiFi/3G access, you can download the 2.1 update on your PC using this link. How to manually update your Motorola Milestone to Android 2.1? Well, download the firmware from the link I've given you and then follow the instructions from this website.
If news of a new iPhone are being spread by the blogosphere, naturally, the news is brushed off as rumours. But if a major newspaper such as the Wall Street Journal says that a new iPhone is coming, then the rumours become confirmation.
According to Wall Street Journal, the new iPhone is going to be thinner and faster. While according to Engadget, the new iPhone will likely be named iPhone HD, will have a front facing camera, and will be announced around June 22. The iPhone 4G which most of us thought would be the new iPhone is probably referring to the CDMA version of the iPhone which according to the same article from Wall Street Journal, will be made for Verizon and will likely start production around September.
So, if you want to be on top of your social circle and you're thinking of getting the iPhone 3GS--stop! Wait until June and if June passes without any word from Apple then you're safe that the 3GS will still be the latest from Apple but if you can't wait, then you'll most likely get an outdated phone come June while your friends will all be touting new iPhones.
Yes! I finally got my hands on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Just got my hands on it, unboxed it, took pictures and now I'm going to take it for a spin. FYI, I got an Asian unit so box contents may differ by region. And if you want to know what are the contents of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 box, here's a list of what's included:
1 Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (mine's black)
1 battery
Charger
USB Cable
Headset
Quick Start Manual
Pouch
1 Screen Protector (Thank GOD! Now I don't have to scour the internet to buy a screen protector for a new phone)
There seems to be a conflict on whether or not the HTC Desire will ship by the 1st of April. T-Mobile, who has already offered the HTC Desire on mobile contract on their website, says that there is no delay and they in fact, have already shipped some of the handsets.
On the other end of the spectrum, mobile retailers such as Clove.co.uk and Handtec.co.uk says that there is some delay according to HTC UK, and that the HTC Desire is now expected to be avaialble on April 7th.
One user at digitalspy.co.uk has reportedly gotten his HTC Desire from T-Mobile so if this is true, then the delays only affect retailers and not mobile phone companies.Well, that's bad news for those who've pre-ordered their HTC Desire on Amazon and chances are, the delay also affects the HTC Legend. Double bummer.
It's a well known fact that the iPod is still the best selling portable music device in history. A dedicated iPod music application can be found on the iPhone and reviewers have hailed it as good as an iPod. Sure, there are cheaper iPod models but if you want a phone and an iPod, then it's a no brainer that you should just get one device. However, if you already have a phone and you just want an iPhone as a music player---well, come on, that excuse is just--lame. Besides, there are cheaper mobile phones that are also good music players in the market today.
Reason no. 9: Camera
I have to laugh off this reason. The iPhone, even the latest 3GS version is not exactly top of the heaps in the camera phone department. Sure, the 3GS' camera is better than the one on iPhone 3G but if you want a REALLY good camera phone, don't set your eyes on the iPhone.
For a cheaper price you can get the Samsung i8910 HD or Sony Ericsson Vivaz which have 8 megapixel cameras and 720p video recording capabilities. Now getting those two phones for THAT reason alone is not stupid because those are the two phones' MAIN feature. Now for Apple's phone, getting an iPhone for the camera is a stupid reason.
Vodafone customers rejoice! Vodafone has just put up the pre-order page of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, following T-Mobile who has just listed the Xperia X10 as available on a T-Mobile contract a few days ago. Of course, of course you have to wait 10 days till T-Mobile actually ships your X10 but at least Vodafone is not getting your hopes up.
As for Orange customers, the X10 is listed as coming soon on their pay monthly phones so keep your fingers crossed that Orange would either list it as pre-order or would surprise everyone else by making it available early.
For those who have ordered their HTC Desire on a T-Mobile contract and are worried that there might be delays in their handsets arriving on their doorstep, well put those fears aside because T-Mobile has confirmed on their Twitter page that stocks are in and orders are now shipping.
I must admit, when US carriers such as announce new phones, I'm not usually so excited or envious because more often than not the phone the US carriers have announced are already available here in the UK. But the HTC EVO has definitely caught my attention, joining the likes of the Nokia N900, Google Nexus One, and Motorola Droid (Milestone in Europe) which were released first in the US before we it reached European shores. It seems that mobile phone manufacturers are setting their sights in the US.
So what makes the HTC EVO 4G the newest superphone in town? Well, prepare a tissue just in case you drool as I tick out some of its finer features: 4.3 inch 480x800 capacitive TFT LCD, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 1GB internal memory, 512MB RAM, 8 megapixel camera witih 720p video recording, 1.3 megapixel front camera, HDMI out (needs an adapter to plug it on a TV), 802.11b/g WiFi, Android 2.1 with HTC Sense, and the icing on top of the cake: WiMAX.
OMG! What's that sound? I think that's my husband's credit card running for cover. I feel giddy just looking at the HTC EVO 4G. Here are some press photos and videos to wet our appetites after the break.
Slowly but surely, the best Android handsets on the market are becoming available. First it was the HTC Desire on contract that showed up on T-Mobile's online shop, which you have 7 days to wait out until delivered to your doorstep. Now it's Sony Ericsson's X10 that is available on T-Mobile contract though you actually have to wait 10 days until it's delivered to you.
The Sony Ericsson X10 shares the same processor as the HTC Desire though it's Android OS is a bit dated than the former. The only thing that the Sony Ericsson X10 has over the HTC Desire is its 8 megapixel camera and the larger screen but I don't think that would justify the fact that the X10 is more expensive on contract on T-Mobile.
The HTC Desire can be bought for £164 with a £10 a month mobile contract for 24 months while the Sony Ericsson X10 can be bought, on the same contract for £226. I mean, I could understand the higher price on contract if the X10 has outstanding picture quality of 720p video recording but if you read my Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Review, I don't think the camera will justify the higher price.
Vodafone on the other hand has the Xperia X10 on contract for free with a £35 a month tariff. Still higher compared with the HTC Desire.
Orange also has the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 on contract. The lowest monthly plan they're offering for the X10 is with a £22.5 monthly contract and you have to pay £149.99 for the phone. The X10 is free on Orange if you subscribe to their Panther 40 monthly tariff (£35 if purchased online).
We know that almost all UK carriers will offer the HTC Desire on contract and although Vodafone was first to put the smartphone on their coming soon page, it seems that on T-Mobile, the HTC Desire is now available. Though if you read the small print, they ask that you give them up to 7 days for delivery so more or less, that would still be around April 1st, just like Amazon.
T-Mobile offers a pretty attractive mobile contract for the HTC Desire. The lowest being £10 a month for 24 months and you'll just have to fork up £164 for the phone. For the £10 a month tariff you'll get, aside from unlimited mobile broadband internet (unlimited meaning unlimited until you get to the 1GB 3GB cap, if the phone is an Android phone, 1GB if it's under their flexible booster plan), free flexible booster wherein you can choose from unlimited text, unlimited landline to landline, unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls, or their international call and text booster (Europe, Australia, USA and Canada only). Not bad since if you add up your total cost, it would come to £404, much lower than the unlocked price of the HTC Desire on Amazon and you'll get all those freebies.
Vodafone also has the HTC Desire on contract and the lowest you can get this for free is £30 a month with a 24 month lock in period.
The HTC Desire will be coming soon on contract with O2 and Orange.
No, it's not the fart app. I just saw this video at mobilecrunch and I have to say, if I were a fussball addict, this is enough reason for me to get an iPhone. The Football Real Kick is an iPhone app which lets you play Fussball--the high tech way.
If you own a Nintendo DS and played a game wherein you have to blow on the mic to interact with the game, well, the Football Real Kick works the other way around, air is pushed through the speakers which allows the phone to blow the tiniest bit of particles, such as a styrofoam ball. The result? The coolest iPhone app for only 99 cents, and soon to be the must have app for college frat boys. Video below to wow you more.
Okay, so I’ve already mentioned that the Nokia X6 is available on contract with the 4 major UK Networks: Orange, O2, 3 and T-Mobile. So, you decided that you want this phone, and you don’t have any loyalty whatsoever with the networks and all you want is to get the best mobile contract deals for the Nokia X6. Well, here’s a comparison of all the Nokia X6 deals from the UK mobile carriers which offer the X6 on contract. I haven’t had a chance to check out other retailers though so if you find a cheaper deal, let me know so I can add it.
Cheapest and shortest contract deals
If you really don’t care about free minutes or text because either you’re just flexible with what is given to you or because you rarely use your monthly contract, then go for the lowest tariff at the shortest contract term. Here’s a table showing the lowest monthly cost, the total cost you have to pay for the phone plus any free text, minutes and any extras the mobile phone networks are willing to throw in.
Looking for the latest touchscreen phone in the market today? Well, I haven't actually reviewed the Nokia X6 yet but the X6 is the latest touchscreen mobile phone which is available right now on contract.
The unlocked price of the Nokia X6 on Amazon is £299.99 but throw in a 24 month mobile contract with a monthly tariff of £25 and you can get this for free. Currently, the mobile phone companies offering the Nokia X6 on contract are O2, Orange, 3, and T-Mobile.
The Nokia X6 is also not available on Pay as You Go on any of the UK mobile networks. Now as for choosing which mobile phone company, well T-Mobile provides the lowest monthly tariff starting at £10 and the lowest phone cost at £128, Orange offers the most minutes for every price plan, and O2 has the cheapest rate for mobile internet because of their bolt on package.
So which Nokia X6 mobile contract should you sign up with? Again, it would all depend on your needs.
Well, it looks like everybody is moving into improving their own OS. There's Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Series, then Nokia's S^3 and now, Research in Motion with their OS 6.0. The leaked screenshots from BBLeaks shows what could be the first images of RIM's new Blackberry OS 6.0. From what we can see, RIM is making use of more widgets, possibly to be more competitive with the likes of Android, Symbian, and Maemo.
Update:It seems that the Samung Genio Slide doesn't have a panoramic wallpaper. You can download the wallpaper and crop it to 240x320 resolution so that each part is a 240x320 wallpaper which you can set as a wallpaper on your Samsung Genio Slide.
Okay, I finally gave in to the request of my tweener niece who has been pestering me to make a wallpaper, out of the hundreds of Twilight and New Moon desktop wallpapers, for her Samsung Genio Touch mobile phone. This wallpaper will also work on Samsung Corby (As what the genio touch is called the rest of the world), and the Samsung Genio Slide or Samsung CorbyPro.
I understand that the Genio Touch has a panoramic style wallpaper so just setting a picture as a wallpaper won't do as the Genio Touch will ask you to crop the picture. These wallpapers have already been edited to fit the screen of the Samsung Corby and CorbyPro mobile phones in portrait mode so there should be no need for cropping. If your phone is in landscape mode, then the Corby would do some enhancements so it wouldn't show up right if its in landscape mode.
Just click on the picture of the New moon / Twilight wallpaper that you would like to save, it would open a new window or tab and you'll see the full picture. Right click on the wallpaper and click save as, the picture would then be saved to your desktop. After that, you just need to transfer the picture from your PC to your Phone (click on the link on how to do that), save it in the my pictures folder of your phone and then you should be able to see it in the wallpaper widget on the homescreen of your mobile phone.
Disclaimer: I don't own the copyright for New Moon and Twilight. They are owned by their respective owners. These wallpapers were in the public domain, more particularly, in Google images and I only downloaded it for personal use. No copyright infringement is intended.
For those of you who can't wait for the Google Nexus One to be available mid-April through a Vodafone mobile contract, well you can get one unlocked from Expansys at a price of...£599.99! Wow! That's too much money for an unlocked Google Nexus One.Oh, and that doesn't include the shipping price of £6.76 so the total price for an unlocked Nexus One on Expansys is a bloody £606.75.
You can actually import a Google Nexus One from the US by ordering through http://www.google.com/phone but of course, the total price that you pay during checkout isn't your actual price. According to the Google forums, the total price that you have to pay to import a Google Nexus One from the US is around £454 without the UK adapte including DHL fees and VAT. And even if there are other charges, the most that people actually paid didn't quite reach what Expansys is asking for it.
Oh, and if you think nobody's going to bite the Expansys bullet, think again. Their stocks went from 49 down to 10 during the time it took me to check out the Nexus One page.
Boooooo! If you're thinking you will be getting the Google Nexus One with a mobile contract from Vodafone by April 1st, well, don't get your hopes up. It seems that the launch of the Google Nexus One by Vodafone will be delayed at least until mid-April. By that time, Voda customers would have been touting their brand new HTC Legends and Orange and T-Mobile users, instead of jumping over to Vodafone because of the Nexus One, will stick with their carriers and will probably buy the HTC Desire, a similar mobile phone with a unique UI.
Well, it's finally official. Samsung has announced that it's rolling out the much awaited Android 2.1 update for the Samsung Galaxy Spica. The update can be installed by doing a software update through Samsung's PC Studio 7. According to Samsung, the Android 2.1 update will initially be available for Germany and would soon roll out for the rest of the world.
I wonder if the Samsung Galaxy Portal, the UK name of the Galaxy Spica, which you can get for free with a mobile contract from T-Mobile, will also get this update or whether T-Mobile will roll out its own update for the Portal? Well, however they might choose to update the Galaxy Portal, one thing's for sure, there's no stoppping Android from spreading across the smartphone market. Hmm, I wonder if I should add it to my comparison of new Android phones? Nah, that post is already long enough as it is.
Whether you bought your phone with a mobile contract online or at a retail store, chances are, the sellers only give you a small window wherein which you can take the phone back for a refund. In some cases, I think it's Vodafone, they actually don't accept returns if you buy the phone at their retail stores because as they put it, you were already given ample time to test the phone in store to make sure that the phone fits your needs, etc. So given the timeframe of 24 hours, what functions should you test on a mobile phone to make sure it's not defective? Here are some tips
If buying in store
Checking a contract mobile phone in a store has its advantages, you can actually see the phone yourself and see if you're comfortable using it or if the user interface is as snappy as what you've seen in video reviews of the mobile phone. However, it's a bit embarrassing especially if the store has a lot of customers and there's a line behind you. So take the phone for a quick spin by:
Whew, wow, my title is a mouthful. That's a lot of phones to compare and I've reviewed all four mobile phones: Google Nexus One, HTC Legend, HTC Desire and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, I just want to create a side by side comparison of the four latest Android mobile phones so that those still undecided about which mobile phone to get, can make an informed decision.
Design
Let's face it, though it's superficial, the design of a mobile phone can play a big factor whether you will fork up your hard earned cash. If design is the main thing that you would consider amongst these phones, would you say you'd rather have a bigger screen, a thinner phone or a phone made of metal?
In terms of screen area, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 has the bigger screen of the four, coming in at a massive 4 inches. The Nexus One and HTC Desire comes a close second having a 3.7 inch screen area while the HTC Legend only has a 3.2 inch screen though it looks larger because of the unibody design.
Well, sorry Orange, T-Mobile, and O2 users who're waiting for the HTC Legend to be subsidized, but it looks like only Vodafone users will get the HTC Legend on contract with Vodafone. The HTC Legend will join Vodafone's portfolio of exclusive handsets such as the Samsung Genio Slide, Nokia N900, Blackberry Storm2, and soon, the Google Nexus One.You can get the HTC Legend for free for as little as £25 monthly tariff.
Of course, if money is no object to you, you can always get the HTC Legend unlocked at Amazon UK but be prepared to shell out £399.99. Or you can hope that mobiles.co.uk, Carphone Warehouse or Dial-a-phone will be able to offer the HTC Legend with a contract from O2, Orange, or T-Mobile. The HTC Legend will be available on April 1st but probably sooner since HTC Legend reviews are now trickling out of the blogosphere which means some lucky persons are getting their Legends early.
I was lucky enough to receive my unlocked Nokia N900 without any problems but it seems some people are receiving defective units. Problems like microphone not working, Bluetooth, Radio problems and more commonly, random or constant reboots or N900s always restarting, some call this problem a reboot/restart cycle or loop. A friend of mine who ordered his Nokia N900 from Nokia USA got a phone with the latter problem. He switched on the phone, everything was okay, he was able to input the regional settings but when he tried to open the camera---bam! His N900 started to constantly restart itself. He can't get to the menu screen because the phone just reboots and he gets the message: Internal Software Error, camera software close or something. It was frustrating him and he was on the verge or returning his handset.
It was a good thing he thought of flashing his Nokia N900 using the Maemo Flasher software. Instructions on how to update the Nokia N900 firmware can be found by visiting the link. Just follow the instructions step by step, and he didn't even have to flash the eMMC on the N900 which is completely wiping the phone clean.
Anyways, for those who have experienced the same problems with the N900, it's really not a bad device and before you return that phone, try doing the Flasher update and if all else fails, then return the handset.
In case you forgot, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz runs on Symbian S60, has a 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen, 3.5mm headset jack, 8.1 megapixel camera, 720p video recording, and GPS among others.
And if you can't score yourself a cheaper Samsung i8910 HD on Orange or a used or unlocked one and you REALLY want 720p video recording on your phone, then prepare to fork up £30 a month for 24 months to get this for free. Those who don't want to be tied down to a contract, you can always get the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Unlocked at Amazon UK.
For those who already got this, leave a comment and share with us what you think of the phone.
Want to protect your precious iPhone from scratches or dents? You can either get a leather case or a silicone case for that. But if you want to go overboard and get both Moshi's Concerti iPhone case is for you. The Concerti iPhone case is a leather flip case with a silicone case inside. There's also a handy screen wiper attached to the flip case.
Design-wise, the leather flip case is very stylish on the other hand, the extra protection of the silicone case adds bulk to your iPhone so when putting it in your pocket, expect to see a big bulge. As for the protection offered, well, I haven't really had the guts to drop my sister's iPhone 3G with the Moshi Concerti on.
Ah yes, even though the UK leads the US in terms of 3G network, there are still some areas in the UK which gets blackspots--you know, those areas in your house or town where your mobile phone signal suddenly goes zilch. Now blackspots isn't really that much of a problem especially those of us who have landlines in our home but it does become an issue when you decide to go wireless, cut your landline connection and rely solely on your mobile phone to connect you to your friends and the rest of the world.
So how do you combat this problem? Enter Vodafone's Sure Signal and Orange's UMA technology to boost your mobile signal. Both services promises to increase your signal inside your home (where most of us experience blackspots). If you're just planning on cutting your landline and rely solely on either mobile networks you might ask, so which service can give me a better signal at home? Which can save me more in the long run? Let's find out.
Ah, I love it when these Korean mobile phone makers name their mobile phones. I mean, for those of you who don't know, Samsung's Genio line-up is dubbed as "Corby" in other parts of the world and we have seen mobiles such as CorbyPro, CorbyTXT, etc, etc.
Now, LG is doing the same thing with their LG Cookie. We will soon see variants of the LG Cookie such as the LG Cookie Plus and the the LG Cookie Fresh, both coming in Europe this March. Now isn't the name just--"kooky?".
Photo courtesy of Frothygirlz hit the link for an interesting opinion regarding iPhone addiction
No, really?! *rolls eyes* Honestly now, I don't know what to make of this survey. First, why only conduct it on iPhone owners? Second, does this mean that Stanford is on Steve Job's payroll? Anyways, the survey did point out that similar devices with the same features might be just as useful and endearing to its owners.
I've seen a lot of these questions in forums and Yahoo! answers so I thought I'd set up a guide on how to go about transferring your pictures from your phone to your PC.
Fastest way: MicroSD reader or card readers
If your phone has an expandable memory, either a microSD card, SD card, memory stick micro, etc, you can just take out your memory card, insert it in a card reader and then transfer your pictures from your phone to your PC. If the picture you want to transfer isn't on the memory card, chances are it's still in the phone memory. Insert the memory card back to your phone, go to your phone's media gallery, select the picture you want to transfer and then move it first from the phone's main memory to your microSD card. After that, do the previous instructions and you can now view the pictures via the memory card reader.
Looks like we're going to see HTC's latest smartphones, the HTC Desire and the HTC Legend on April 1st. That is, according to Amazon's pre-order page. You can order the HTC Desire for £528.68 £429.99 while the HTC Legend's pre-order price is £399.99 £369.99. Meanwhile, the HTC HD Mini will be available on April 14 with a pre-order pre-order price of £369.00.
So you're torn about buying a new mobile phone or a new laptop. You don't know which one to choose as you equally need both devices. Then you see ads about buying mobile contracts and getting free gifts such as a free laptop! What a coincidence! You can't believe your stroke of luck so you eagerly sign up for the deal. But are you really getting a cheap mobile contract with a free gift or would you have saved more if you just bought those two separately? Here are some things to consider to make the most of those free gifts deal.
Before considering any mobile contracts with free gifts, first, figure out your needs. How many minutes are you going to use monthly? How many texts? Do you need unlimited data or just around 500MB?
After considering your monthly usage, consider how much are you willing to spend on your monthly tariff? £20? £25? £30 or £35?
Now consider what kind of mobile phone you want. Do you need a fancy touchscreen phone? Do you need a smartphone or do you just need a phone. Choosing your phone will affect your total cost for these mobile contracts with free gifts as some websites will require a cashout for some high-end mobile phones.
Check the websites that offer cheap mobile contracts with free gifts such as mobiles.co.uk, e2save, dialaphone, and carphonewarehouse. These websites offer more mobile phone choices and more free gifts. Look for your chosen phone first, then look for your chosen free gift, and then look at the monthly plans. You'll probably get confused at this point because your projected monthly usage may be in between some tariff plans but be sure to choose the tariff that you'll be able to use. Don't choose the free 900 minutes if you know you're only consuming 300 minutes. You're wasting money.
Once you've chosen everything, remember to compare. Some of the online retailers doesn't offer necessarily the same monthly tariff as the one on the carrier's website. For example, Vodafone's 1200 anytime minutes plan which costs £40 a month includes 500MB data on Vodafone's website but the one on other retailer's website doesn't have the 500MB free data.
The HTC Legend is amongst the pletora of smartphones to be released by Vodafone this coming weeks. Its predecessor, the HTC Hero has garnered a lot of awards and attention so it has big shoes to fill. So, does the Legend live up to the Hero? Let's find out.
Buy the HTC Legend:
Design
Well, from Teflon coating to Aluminum, the design of the HTC Legend mobile phone certainly has improved. The aluminum unibody makes me think this is a Macbook phone. Anyways, the use of Aluminum definitely made the HTC Legend a sophisticated looking mobile. The unibody design made it possible for the HTC Legend to be curvy (unlike the Motorola Milestone) and because of this, users will find that holding the phone is just--well, amazing. You probably don't want to put it down. Anyways, not everything is made up of Aluminum. On the back you can find some black plastic parts to make sure that the antennae is getting proper reception.
Someone from the comments section asked how to take pictures with the front camera of the Samsung Genio Slide or Samsung CorbyPro as it is known outside the UK. Well, I don't know about taking pictures, but you can turn on the front camera (if your phone has one) from most Samsung phones using a series of codes. You can probably use it to check your image if your reflection on the screen isn't clear enough.
The European Commission has approved the merger of two of the largest mobile phone companies in the UK: Orange and T-Mobile. The merger between the two mobile phone giants is expected to be completed this Spring. Although there's no word yet as to what single phone company will emerge from the merger, there will still be two separate entities in the UK cell phone market but these two: Orange and T-Mobile will be controlled by one entity.
It seems we will have a lot of Android mobile phones coming this April so prepare for Android domination in the UK.
Google Nexus One
First there's the Google Nexus One, a Google branded mobile phone made by HTC which will be exclusive to Vodafone. The Google Nexus One features a 1GHz processor, 3.7 inches AMOLED touchscreen, and 5 megapixel camera among others.
Oh well, my hopes of owning the HTC HD2 has now been officially obliterated. It has been confirmed: There's no Windows Phone 7 Series update lined up for the HTC HD2. Microsoft has confirmed this news in an interview with APC Magazine? Why you ask? Because it doesn't have the 3 buttons required by WP7. The three buttons as required by Windows Phone 7 series are: dedicated Bing or search button, start menu, and the back button.
For any feedback or queries, you can contact me at: feedback[AT]cellphone-reviews[.]co[.]uk. You can also reach me here if you want me to review a phone or product.
at Amazon UK. 
