Mobile Phone Blog:

Social networking has provided a popular and useful outlet for the concerns of young people, according to one expert.

A spokeswoman for YoungMinds, a UK-based charity that provides support for children and young people in matters relating to mental health and emotional well-being, said difficulties relating to growing can be helped by such sites.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of the organisation, said recent research had shown anxieties relating to stress and fears about the future were rife in some teens and as such, many sought a vehicle to express this.

"Social networking sites are very popular with children and young people. They allow young people to express their identity and opinions through video, photos, music and chat," she added.

However, Ms Brennan also noted that there were some risks, such as cyber bullying and the misuse of information, which should also be considered.

Websites such as Facebook, Myspace and Bebo are readily accessible through mobile broadband – with some networks offering free access to them via mobile phones.

Ah, another day, another luxury mobile phone, that can’t compete, features-wise, with its cheaper siblings! Today it’s the turn of… well, another version of the Nokia 8800 Arte, if I’m honest. Yep, today, thanks to Engadget Mobile, we get our first look at the Nokia 8800 Gold Arte.

Which is categorised and made special by being an 8800 Arte.

That’s gold.

Erm.

Ok, to be fair to it, the 8800 Arte actually does have a reasonably decent spec, coming with a gorgeous 16 million colour screen, a really sharp 3 megapixel camera, and that cool thing where you can just turn your phone over to face down, to stop it ringing. And although it’s one of the most ostentatious mobile phones ever made, I have a bit of a soft spot for the 8800 Arte.

Despite the fact the Nokia 5800, which’ll cost a lot less on release (I’d bet my knicker drawer on it), can out-think it a thousand times over, that is…

However… I have no such soft spot for all the 8800 Arte’s silly siblings, whether they be Sapphire, Carbon, Gold, Diamond, Goose-feathers, Latex, Magma or Adamantium, so expect no such mercy on the Gold Arte. Quite apart from the fact it WILL cost more than my car did, just look at it. Covered in gold and sandwiched between hunks of white leather, front and back, if you use this particular mobile phone, there is no possible physical way you won’t look like a footballer’s wife.

Even if you’re a man…

So, in conclusion, if you really want a luxury mobile phone, get the standard Nokia 8800 Arte, a phone that doesn’t make you look like a badly false-tanned WAG.

If, however, you want a much more powerful mobile phone with similar (but better) features, then sign up for alerts, and we’ll email you when the Nokia 5800 is released.

More people are turning to mobile broadband and related packages and this is reflected in the number of laptops being sold, it has been noted.

A spokesman for The Cloud, an independent provider of wireless services in a number of European countries, said notebooks were now outselling PCs and this was due to the needs of the modern consumer.

Niall Murphy, co-founder and chief strategy officer for the group, said there was now an expectation by the public that laptops, mobile phones and other devices are fully-enabled to be connected to the web.

"Mobile and broadband is how people prefer services and that is evidenced by the devices people are consuming services through," he said, adding that users now demand access whether in the home, the office or "out and about".

According to recent figures from Ovum, prepaid mobile broadband connections will make up 73 per cent of the market by 2013.

LG has broken its reluctance to flood its range with smartphones with a new model, according to a recent review.

Mobileburn reports this week that the LG Incite is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional handset that boasts a range of features that may interest those looking for an attractive mobile phone.

Built-in GPS and a three-megapixel autofocus camera are accompanied by a three-inch touchscreen display and a stylus to take advantage of some of its more intricate features.

However, attention is drawn to some design flaws which may cause potential buyers to look at other handsets, although the screen itself is praised as "bright and colourful"

"LG did a nice job with the Windows Mobile Today screen and added an interesting finger scrolling system," the article concludes.

Other phones in the LG range which may interest consumers include the LG KC910 Renoir and the Viewty.

Nokia has boosted its online email services this week with the announcement its free Ovi accounts are now live.

The Finnish manufacturer states Nokia handset users across the world can take advantage of the system as long as they are using a Series 40 compatible model.

Nokia claims that currently this equates to around 110 million mobile phone users that are now able to set up their Ovi email account directly without the need for a computer.

The accounts are available in 12 language settings, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Hindi.

Nokia’s senior vice president, Tom Furlong, said: "Mail on Ovi is the first-ever email service which allows people to create an account directly on their mobile phone, and start using it right away."

Among the compatible 35 Series 40 devices currently available are the 7510 Supernova and 6260 Slide.

News from the Boy Genius Report now, about the possible next weapon in Google’s war for mobile phone supremacy. According to rumours, the follow-up to the T-Mobile G1 is going to be… the G2.

Innovative, ground-breaking naming scheme, or what!

Now, like many mobile phones way before they’re officially announced, details are a bit sparse, but what we know, so far, is that the G2, like the T-Mobile G1, will be powered by Google Android, and it’ll have a big ol’ touchscreen. As for the newest rumours, they spell out that the G2 will chuck the QWERTY keyboard to go for a full touchscreen device, in the vein of the HTC Touch HD, which isn’t a bad thing, considering how brilliantly that phone turned out.

Also, the source has stated that, unlike the T-Mobile G1, the G2 will also become available on other networks, although without the name G2, since T-Mobile have got the copyright on that name. And G3. And G4. And probably the letter G, since they trademarked the colour magenta. So, gawd knows what it’ll be called on other networks, but ten million billion quid says if it turns up on O2 it’ll be the XDA-something.

So, it’s sounding like the G2 is going to be much more akin to the iPhone, with a keyboard-less design, sleek body and loads of extra software downloads. And presumably a bespoke virtual keyboard, since there isn’t one built into Android, and, I would argue, mobile phones without any means of entering data are a bit pointless…

Don’t want to wait? Grab the first ever Google Android mobile phone, the innovative T-Mobile G1, today!

Mobile broadband is now so popular that the telecommunications industry must strengthen the support for it, according to one expert.

A spokesman for the Cloud, an independent provider of international wireless internet systems, said take up of services was booming, but added that more needs to be done to boost capacity.

Speaking to the Westminster eForum keynote seminar on next generation broadband, the group’s co-founder and chief strategy officer
Niall Murphy added mobile broadband was set to change.

"There’s huge growth in capacity consumption in mobile networks which far outstrips the inherent ability of existing wireless broadband technologies to service it," he noted.

Recent figures from industry analysts Ovum showed wireless networking services continued to grow despite the negative projections relating to the economic climate.

Vodafone users could soon be able to take advantage of a new service that allows them to top-up their credit when they have no money.

The network announced the launch this week of Vodafone IOU, where pay-as-you-go customers can text a special number to receive an emergency dose of talktime.

By sending the message ‘IOU’ to 468 – or by calling the same number – users can set up access to the service and will be given access to £2 worth of calling credit, this is then deducted the next time they top up.

Ian Haynes, head of product and pricing for the operator, said Vodafone IOU was intended to address a problem which many people can experience from time to time.

"£2 can go a long way with our Vodafone Simply price plan and it’s a really convenient service for our customers," he added.

The network recently announced it would roll out 18 new stores across the UK in the early part of 2009, with more to follow.

Not long ago, I bought a DVD of a film I’ve always loved since it was first released in 1996: Independence Day (for £3.50, double discer, brand new, bargain, eh!) It’s not the first alien invasion movie I’ve seen, and it won’t be the last, ‘cos I loves ‘em. There’s nothing like a good ET apocalypse to get the blood flowing.

Of course, if it ever happened for real, I’d poo myself and run away screaming like a girl.

Well, now, if there is alien life out there, it’s all set to get an even bigger impetus to wander over here and laminate our species down to the bedrock, thanks to a site that will let you send text messages into space. Yep, you read that right, you and your mobile phones can now send text messages into the great void, according to The Telegraph.

To be fair, it’s not strictly speaking done with mobile phones, and it’s not strictly speaking aimed at finding aliens. However, say I’m browsing along on my X1 Xperia (which I have now ordered and should be on its way, soon!), find the website to send messages into space, and see that it’s designed to send an eternal message for a loved one round the universe.

Yeah, right. My bottom that’s what it’ll be used for. People will send messages to aliens. You know they will.

And that, there, is where it gets worrying. Let’s assume that people send out messages in the same typing style they use for IM, or for sending texts from their mobile phones; the average message to a brand new, never before encountered species is going to read like a lolcatz picture…

If I were an alien at that point, I would wander over and make Earth stop sending spam texts into space. I don’t want to anger any advanced species that exist out there, and I certainly don’t want them ASBO-ing Earth, especially since to aliens, ASBO means “Annihilate, Smash, Burn, Owwrraaaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrr (the last word is hard to translate from alien, but scientists think it means ‘Probe’)”, usually with an enormous laser.

So, in essence, don’t text aliens. They’re big, they have tentacles, and they tend not to retaliate to things like that by writing a letter to the Daily Mail…

Join the campaign to stop numpty texters triggering interstellar annihilation! Leave us a comment below!

O2 has announced a new mobile broadband package that could interest those with high demands.

The package claims to be one of the best-value in the UK to cater to its mobile customers who need high capacity download speeds – by providing a 20 meg unlimited usage allowance for £9.79 per month.

Non-O2 users can subscribe to the same package for £14.68 and O2 claim the Home Broadband Premium offers fast speeds, a low price point and good customer service.

Peter Rampling, marketing director at O2, said: "With the new broadband services providing even better value, speed and service, we think both new and existing customers are going to love them even more."

He added the network has had a very successful year so far and this is particularly the case with its mobile broadband products.

Recently O2 announced that small businesses were also defying the credit crunch by going ahead with their Christmas celebrations.