Mobile Phone Blog:

There have been so many iPhone 5 rumours we thought we would just put them altogether and hopefully get a better idea of what the next generation iPhone will be like.

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 will be held on 6 June, so perhaps the iPhone 5 will make an appearance here, although Jim Dalrymple at the Loop says the conference will be about software and not hardware.

Taking into consideration the typical release date of the iPhone’s previous models we may expect to see the next generation in late June/early July which has been the case every year so far.

The actual handset is expected to be a complete re-designs of previous models, with a new metal back instead of glass to act as the antenna, a larger screen, possibly 4 inches compared to the current 3.5, a faster processor and more memory.

Different versions of the devices have also been speculated including a smaller version which will act as competition for the cheap Android smartphones, as well as a white version.

Other rumours include, an 8 megapixel camera, NFC technology an A5 Chip found in the iPad 2 and a similar price tag to previous models.

Apparently, Orange have just announced a new cheap QWERTY phone, for people who do a lot of messaging, and that’s all well and good, but there’s a problem with it, as far as I can see. That problem (and this may be based on my own prejudices, which may be about 11 years out of date) is that it’s an Alcatel.

Yes, I’m not a fan of Alcatel. At all. Granted, the last time I tried one was 11 years ago, but to this day, the word that flits across my mind is “abomination”. And that’s the problem, because whether the Alcatel OT-355 is a good phone or not, I won’t like it, because it’s an Alcatel. And I can’t be the only one, so… what other cheap QWERTY phones are out there, for those who feel like I do? (more…)

Annnnnnnnnnd, here we go, it’s time for another top 5 countdown, just in time for Christmas. I did the top 5 pay as you go phones, and the top 5 uber-cheap phones earlier, so now it’s time for (epic fanfare)… the top 5 mid-range smartphones!

Now, yes, I know the LG GT540 Optimus won this category on the general pay as you go countdown, but you might not see it being the best here, ‘cos there’s a difference y’see. I’m not just talking about PAYG phones in this post. No, I’m also going to be considering pay monthly phones, ‘cos this blog post is purely about them being mid-rangers, and not about them being good value on PAYG. Except the GT540. It is still sort of about that phone being good value on PAYG. (more…)

Right, I did the top 5 pay as you go phones earlier, and in that post, I split them up into categories, to make it easier for me to judge which was best. Well, now, it’s time to expand on that idea, and dig down into each category, to look at the top 5 of each particular class, and let’s begin with the top 5 uber-cheap, uber-simple phones.

I’ll be honest, for this category, you already know the winner. It was the Nokia 1661, ‘cos it only costs 90p. I mean seriously, come on, do you really reckon anything else is going to beat it, when it costs less than a quid to buy (yes, I know you have to buy it with credit, but that’s the same for any PAYG phone, so relatively speaking, it all works out the same in the end, right)?

Oh, and as you may have guessed (if you’ve ever looked on our PAYG pages), this list is made up almost exclusively of Nokia and Samsung phones. And one LG. And be aware, with all of these, you have to buy them with credit, which brings the price up, but it’s the same amount for all of them. Sorted? Good. Therefore, let’s begin with… (more…)

Christmas may be a time for many things, but for me, with the nature of this blog, it’s the time for me to write lots of “best of” posts. So, how about we start with one that might help you out if you’re stuck for a present for someone, since you’ve just got time to get an order in at most places, and have it despatched before Chrimbo.

Yes, it’s the category that pulled my bottom out of the fire a couple of years ago when me and the whole family banded together to get me mam’s present; it’s the top 5 Pay As You Go phones for Chrimbo, presented in an entirely subjective manner by me.

That’s how I roll…

Anyway, yes. Top five pay as you go mobile phones. And I’ve divided them into five main categories, to make this a bit easier on myself. Y’know, otherwise I’d have no real judging criteria to say which is best, would I? So yes, let’s begin with… (more…)

Your reviews are flooding in to MobileShop HQ so I’ve decided to take the time to drum up even more reviews. And, of course, remind you that if you do send in a review you stand a chance of winning a lovely iPod.

All you have to do to is leave a mobile phone review on MobileShop.com, you’ll automatically be entered into a prize draw with the lucky winner getting, yes you’ve guessed it an iPod.

To keep the prize draw theme going, I picked three phones out of my ‘top mobile phone’ hat and had a quick browse of the huge library of mobile phone pages in our Pay Monthly section to see what reviews had been left for them so far.

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I was reading an article earlier, on the pages of The Register, about the top 6 (as they called them) Granny-phones, where they counted down the (surprise, surprise) six best phones for the elderly, the infirm, or the terminally bewildered. And I thought, “Ooh, that’s a good topic, I’ve not spoken much about that before, I bet I can do a really good blog post about that.”

And then I hit a snag, because every single one of those phones they count down is completely absent from our site. And there’s actually a good reason for that: they’re actually not that easy to get hold of (the Nokia they talk about notwithstanding… in that case, it’s just not appeared in our product feeds). (more…)

IT ARRRIIIIIIIIVVVEEEEEED!!!

Woohoo, I finally have the phone I’ve been mithering on about for months. Yes, folks, my HTC HD2 arrived today, and it’s a good job really, because if I’d gotten any more excited, I’d have done some serious damage to the wallpaper, when I went off like a pressure cooker with the lid nailed down. I’m serious, I couldn’t sleep last night, I was so excited. It was like Christmas!

So, as promised, here’s my hands-on review (finally) of the HTC HD2, and I’m sorry to say that my excitement was premature; it’s an awful phone, and I hate it with a passio- haha, had you going! Yes, I’m kidding; it’s a stunning phone. (more…)

I had a chance to try out something I’ve not tried before, last night, and that something was Virgin Mobile Broadband. So, I thought I’d blog about it, and do a kind of mini-review, since 1/ it was actually really rather good; and 2/ I can’t help but find the phrase “Virgin dongle” somehow faintly amusing.

But anyway, enough of the puerile jokes, on with the mini-review!

First, setup: good god, it’s easy! I nicked my mate’s Virgin dongle for the night, and the installation process was, basically: 1/ plug in dongle; 2/ watch it installing; 3/ go online looking for stuff to get him in trouble with his missus, if she ever gets hold of his history.

Y’know, I often wonder why I don’t have more friends…

What was also nice to see was how good the coverage on Virgin Mobile Broadband was, and by that, I mean I actually got decent coverage. Not only that, but I did a speed test, and I was getting proper broadband speeds. Based on that, I have to come to one of two conclusions. Either I was across the road from the Virgin mast, or their coverage is actually rather good.

I’m inclined to believe it was the latter, which is always a good thing. Other than that, there’s not really a lot more I can tell you, in a review of mobile broadband. With mobile phones, I can go “ooh, look, huge screen“, or “ooh, massive camera“, or other such phrases. With mobile broadband, I’m a bit limited in what I can say, to “you plug it in, and it goes fast“.

So based on that, do I recommend Virgin Mobile Broadband? Well, yes, because you plug it in, and it goes fast, and it’s basically a seamless and very enjoyable experience. And, of course, you get to use the phrase Virgin dongle with impunity…

More news as it happens! And be sure to subscribe now to get all the latest action from the world of mobile phones!

I’ve tried several different virtual keyboards for my phone, including the standard Windows keyboard (blech, horrible), the SPB keyboard (ooh, much nicer) and the virtual keyboard that comes on HTC phones (really, really nice). But, today, I was reminded of a virtual keyboard I’ve wanted to try for ages. It’s called Swype, and the story that reminded me about it was simply one, from IntoMobile, saying that Nokia and Samsung had injected some cash into the project.

“Hmmm,” says I, my interest piqued. “If those two big names are getting behind it, it might actually be rather good. I’d best try this for myself.”

So, I thought I’d give it a try, to bring you, my dear readers, an impartial review. I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. The whole idea of swiping your fingers across the screen to type seemed like such an alien concept. I have to concede, I thought it would be rubbish, despite the news about Nokia and Samsung.

And then, I have to concede I was wrong.

It. Is. AWESOME.

The basic principle of the Swype keyboard can be summed up thusly: you drag your finger across the screen, roughly, more or less, sort of, in the direction of the letters you want to type. No individual tapping of letters, and you really don’t have to be that accurate when using it. So, that’s one benefit: it’s an absolute doddle to use, even on my phone, which only has a 3 inch screen.

And then, there’s the other benefit. Speed. Not only is it really easy to type (although you’re actually typing at all, in the traditional sense) words, Swype lets you do it at double-quick-super-pronto speed. Seriously, I’m not joking. Not only was I inputting text on this faster than on any other virtual keyboard, I was faster than using my hardware keyboard!

Sweet zombie jeebus, am I impressed. And bear in mind, this is on a year-old Sony Ericsson X1. Since Nokia have pumped cash in, imagine this on something like the Nokia N900, with a bigger screen and faster processor. Or, for WinMo phones, imagine it on the big screen of the HTC HD2.

I can say only one thing in conclusion. Swype is easily the best keyboard I’ve ever used on any phone, virtual or hardware-based.

Wow. Just wow.

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