Sony Ericsson have always set a high bar when it comes to the quality of their mobile phones. Combining good looks with great functions, Sony Ericsson phones are used all over the world, whether it is for business and corporate use, or personal and social. They are easy to use and everyone can get the hang of them very quickly, putting Sony Ericsson at the top of the table when it comes to mobile phones.

Their new phone, the Xperia X2 is the latest mobile phone that Sony Ericsson have announced. This new phone is designed to be used by all sorts of people, and features multimedia technology that has rarely been seen before with a mobile phone. Featuring a huge 8 megapixel camera, you can have the world of photos at your fingers, with the ability to happily snap up any shot you feel like. You can also take high quality videos, thanks to the built in WVGA technology, which gives you more control than ever when recording video.

The Xperia X2 uses a slide out keyboard. Each letter of the alphabet has its own key on the keyboard, so you will never again have to wait for each letter to come up, as it will be instant. If you like the sound of the phone, the best idea is to head down to your local phone store, and ask them for further details regarding the phone in the area you live. We should be able to look forward to some fantastic Xperia X2 contracts and pay as you go tariffs.

Apple just brought out one of two major devices they are slated to launch this year, the iPad tablet.

After many weeks of speculations and rumors, the iPad has finally come to the spotlight. This little device packs a big 9.7 inch touch screen display, a fast 1 GHz processor and a set amount of memory depending on the version of the device (16, 32 and 64 GB variants are available). There will be two main types of iPads, the 3G version and the regular version. Aside from 3G net access, the 3G version will also have GPS support making it the perfect device to use with Google maps.

The launch of this device is a big success for Steve Jobs who has been laboring pretty hard to give birth to this ambitious piece of hardware. It has been confirmed that companies such as EA and McGraw-Hill are supporting the device, meaning that the iPad will be able to target both eBook readers and gamers. While it has yet to be shown exactly what the graphics capabilities of the tablet are, it will certainly be able to handle all of the games that can be run on the iPhone and then some.

The only drawback about the iPad is that it is unable to handle text messages and voice calls. The only thing 3G connectivity gives is internet access.

The other device Apple is scheduled to announce and release for this year is the new iPhone 4G. So far, details on the 4G are still sketchy. It was reported that the device would come with a touch sensitive casing and a new dual core processor. Apple is expected to unveil or at least announce the device this coming April.

For more details on the Apple iPad, head over to Tech Radar.

The release of the LG Chocolate marked a turning point in mobile phone technology. One of the most popular phones of 2009, everywhere people are using the Chocolate as part of their day to day life. LG recently announced the release of their new phone, the upgraded LG BL20 Chocolate. Featuring many upgrades over the previous version, it combines bits of multimedia with practical usage of the phone.

The BL20 comes with a good quality 5 megapixel camera, ideal for taking pictures of your favorite locations or moments. Great if you do not want to take your digital camera out with you, having such a good camera built into the phone gives you freedom to take photos anywhere you phone goes.

The phone uses a new application, which can capture text from real writing and turn it into text on your phone. For instance, you can take a picture of your school or work notes, run it through the application and within seconds you will have all the notes on screen in text format, saving you carrying round papers and also ideal for business cards.

At the bottom left of the screen is the new hot key feature. You can program up to 4 of your most used applications, and at the touch of a button your applications will spring up directly, saving you having to go through all the menus to find them then, a laborious task sometimes. The price of the phone is only speculated at the moment so keep an eye out for what BL20 Chocolate deals are available online.

Nokia have a huge reputation for designing quality and reliable mobile phones. Many people will have owned a Nokia phone at one stage in their life, as they really helped develop the mobile phone market. The newest release from Nokia is not a mobile phone at all, but a laptop, designed to keep you in contact with friends and family, and even business partners.

The Nokia Booklet 3G is designed to help keep consumers in touch with the friends and family, and this is achieved by using up to date 3G technology, which allows surprisingly fast internet speed for something which doesn’t connect to the wall.

The Nokia Booklet 3G uses a built in web cam and microphone to allow you to have businesses meetings over the internet, saving you from having to fork out money for expensive ones. The Booklet features connectivity with the Ovi system, Nokia’s download system. You can download over 4 million songs, thousands of movies and many games and other accessories for your laptop. Nokia expect this laptop to be a great selling product, and high sales figures have already been released.

Samsung have a reputation for delivering good quality and extremely reliable phones at a fraction of the price that some other mobile phone companies make you pay. They thoroughly test all their phones before sending them out to the public to ensure that any physical errors are found and any software glitches are dealt with and improved. The new phone from Samsung, the Galaxy Portal, often referred to as the Galaxy Lite, comes with less features than it is predecessor the Galaxy i7500 yet still gives you good features and applications.

The phone features a 3 megapixel camera, which whilst it will not be creating masterpieces or professional photographs will certainly be capable of capturing a precious moment or a beautiful image. Once you have a taken a photo it can either be uploaded directly from the phone onto a social networking site, or transferred across to a computer for editing and storage, or anything else you want to do with it.

Perhaps you need to check your email, send off some assignments or just chat to some mates; whatever you want to do the phone has endless internet capabilities. The phone also features direct links to many of Google’s programs, including YouTube, Google Maps, Google Trends amongst others. The phone is expected to be fairly cheaper than the earlier i7500 Galaxy, and some features reflect that. However, you will still be getting a lot for what you pay for. We will update with any news regarding Galaxy Portal deals as they become available.

Now that global warming is starting to have various negative effects on the planet, many people are starting to take it a bit more seriously. We now know that various chemicals can contribute to the problem, and factories can contribute to this problem a lot. The new phone from Sony Ericsson, the Sony Ericsson Hazel has been designed as to cut down on emissions and become as Eco friendly as possible.

To start off, the phone is made from mainly recycled plastic, saving having to burn new molds and create poisonous gases which in turn are pleased into the atmosphere. It also helps you directly by saving you a bruit of money as the plastic is recycled. All mobile phones come with some sort of manual, and this manual can often be very thick and heavy, as it is often written in many languages. With the Sony Ericsson Hazel, the manual is built into the phone so instead of it being a hard copy it is electronic. Although this may be an annoyance to certain people, it helps to save a lot of paper, which contributes to help saving the rainforest.

Not only does the Hazel help the environment, it is also a great piece of equipment. Featuring a 5 megapixel camera, you will never experience bad quality photographs again, with built in face recognition and various lighting elements. Featuring all new widgets, the phone is capable of directly connecting to different programs without the hassle of having to go through the menu. For instance, to log onto Facebook you just download the Facebook widget, and once you click it you are taken directly to the page, saving you time and effort. Keep an eye out for this new Sony Ericsson phone as it should be available in the next few months.

There is a reason why version numbers are important. These allow users to determine the exact version of the hardware, their current difference from the current build and exactly how much has changed from one version to the next. It usually determines whether one should purchase a new version of software or wait for a more significant update.

For many Windows Mobile 6.5 users, the announcement of WinMo 6.6 Maldives came as major news, with Microsoft promising to make the WinMo user interface more suitable for use with capacitive touch screens.

The big problem with the WinMo UI is that it was designed with the use of a stylus in mind. This meant resistive touch screens, and pin point accuracy for clicking the small links and toolbar icons. With the current trend of mobile devices not focused on capacitive touch screens, many users felt that the WinMo UI was too difficult to use. Some companies such as HTC, opted to use a custom user interface such as the HTC Sense UI –which is why the HTC HD2 is a very successful WinMo phone.

With Microsoft announcing nothing but more delays about their upcoming version 7 and the lack of overall support for the platform, it is important for the company to make a good showing this coming February during the Mobile World Congress.

Sadly, instead of having 6.6 ready, Maldives will be a basic 6.5.3 update offering a few minor changes to the interface. At least they will have a device ready to showcase the look of the updated OS. The Garmin-Asus Nuvifone will be sporting the new OS. The phone will come with a 3.5 in WVGA touch screen (no word if it is capacitive or resistive), a 5 mega pixel camera and a 600 MHz CPU.

Is 6.5.3 worth looking forward to? Get the rest of the details from Mobile Choice.

With the rise of Television phones and other gadgets to accompany them, Nokia have released their new phone, the Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition. This phone features some of the most recent technology available on the market today, and incorporates watching your favorite TV shows and movies on a portable device, with a great performing mobile phone to be used for making calls, taking photographs and other phone uses.

The phone comes with some basic free channels included on the contract plan, and these channels can be watched as much as you like, up to 6 hours on one battery charge. Additional channels can then be purchased as extras, and the list goes on, including dedicates sports channels, music channels, kids TV channels and much more. You do not need to connect the phone to anything as it is all built in, and usually loading times do not take long at all. This allows you complete freedom to stop, pause and re wind live TV as you please, giving you a fantastic all round experience.

The 5330 Mobile TV Edition comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera built into the back, allowing you to take photos whilst on the go and then email them back to friends wherever you are. The photos can be viewed on the large 2.4 inch screen with high resolution providing you with excellent quality picture, as well as space to actually see what you are doing unlike many other mobile phones.

Currently on release in various countries, the new Nokia phone is expected to reach the next 20 countries in the next 2 years. Details regarding contracts are very unclear at the moment, but it has been announced that the phone will retail itself at approximately £130, a pretty good price for what you are getting.

The soon to be released HTC Smart handset is actually not a smartphone even though the name might suggest otherwise. It runs on Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform which is a different operating system than most traditional smartphones run on.  While it is a pretty decent phone, it isn’t comparable in terms of quality to many of the other handsets previously released by HTC, such as the Hero. In fact, some people have dubbed it the “dumb phone.”

The HTC Smart comes with a 3.0 megapixel camera which is pretty nice.  There are mobile phones on the market with better cameras but a 3.0 megapixel is still nice. It has 256 MB of internal memory that can be upgraded via the phone’s microSD slot. It is a euro friendly 3G plus quad band EDGE handset. The display screen is just under 3.0 inches (2.8 to be exact).  Individuals will have Bluetooth connectivity and will be able to browse the Internet. The phone’s processor speed isn’t incredibly fast at 300MHz but it is okay.  Right now, there has been no discussion about whether or not the phone will have a built in GPS system or Wi-Fi.  Currently, the assumption is that it will not.

The cost of the HTC Smart has not yet been released. However, the likelihood that it will be a pretty inexpensive phone is pretty high considering the phone’s specs.  It definitely won’t be able to command a high price and I don’t think that was HTC’s intention.  Some people believe that this is more of a starter phone designed to get people comfortable with the HTC brand so that hopefully, as they are ready for a more complex or expensive phone, they will stay with the company and buy up.

The release date for the HTC Smart has not been released. However, there is talk that it will be available sometime in March of this year with some great Smart deals to pick from.

Despite the fact that so many mobile phones have been nicknamed as the “iPhone killer”, the Apple touch screen device is still pretty strong. It is that great considering the fact that the phone has been available for over two years now. The secret, as many can see, does not lie with specs, but with usability. Of course, we have to commend the fact that the iPhone 3G was developed to be future-proof –until today, the specs of the iPhone are still considered above average.

Anyway, the first week of Vodafone’s iPhone launch just passed and they have already sold 100,000 units. It is amazing how many people want the iPhone despite the fact that rumors of the iPhone 4G are looming in the air. Also, this is not a true launch, just a re-release through a new mobile operator and it still beat the Google phone’s first week of sales handily –the Nexus One sold only 20,000 units in its first week of sales.

One major factor affecting the iPhone’s sales that people are pointing out is the fact that Vodafone has the most powerful 3G network in the UK. Granted that they are also UK’s largest mobile network operator, there is also the fact that no MVNO like 3 Mobile or Virgin is connected to their network. Vodafone also claims that the company has been preparing for the arrival of the iPhone for over a year.

Just recently, Vodafone also started re-releasing the Femtocell Sure Signal Booster for only £50 (less than half the original price). The availability of this 3G signal boosting home apparatus will definitely encourage more people to get the iPhone. The reason why 3G signals are so important to iPhone users is because many of the device’s apps and functions revolve around being able to go online.

For the rest of the news, go to Mobile Today.