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Archive for April, 2010

The Sony Ericsson Satio is a smartphone with a number of functions that will suit most users.  It has a black plastic casing which looks good and the screen has a lock switch which helps to prevent touch screens from appearing when you do not need them.  The touch screen is resistive which does not make for ease of use, and the small keyboard and pressure-sensitive screen occasionally make texting tiresome, although a stylus is supplied as an alternative.

The music functions on the Satio are excellent, with good sound quality and an easy to use interface.  However, there is no headphone jack but an adaptor is supplied. 

The phone has a 12-megapixel camera which produces good quality images, but has no optical zoom, though the shutter lag is not as evident as on other camera phones.  The flash also makes it easy to take photographs in poor light.   The phone also has a video function and the play back facility is clear on the excellent screen. 

The screen offers sharp images and different pages can be easily accessed from the home page.  Google Maps is pre-installed and the internet page offers instant links to news sites, social networking sites and entertainment sites.  Wi-Fi access is available and there are a number of applications which can be downloaded to make the phone easy to use. 

This smartphone is an excellent choice for those who are looking for their first phone that does more than text and make calls. 

The Samsung S8500 Wave is a phone that is a perfect shape and size for operating and for carrying around, in a pocket or in a bag.  It’s 11.8 cm by 5.6 cm by 1.09 cm.  It is extremely classy looking, the brushed effect casing adding a sophisticated touch.

It is a touch screen phone displaying almost 16 million colours on a high resolution AMOLED screen, a screen that measures 3.3 inches across.  The Wave has a built-in automatic rotation function enabling you to turn the handset switching from portrait to landscape.

You can text using the touch screen or by using the keyboard – the keyboard usually being the faster method.

The camera is five megapixels and can take videos as well as still life images.  It has enhancements such as smile detection, automatic focus and flash.  AGPS navigation allows you to geo-tag your pictures, saving the location of where your photo was snapped.

There is a music system that supports MP3 and other popular music file formats and an FM radio that shows the track and artist being played.  It also comes with Java and that means you can download games onto your handset.

The phone has Wi-Fi allowing you access to the web, and data transfer is high speed as it has 3G video-calling support.  The Wave comes with either two or eight gigabytes of internal memory that can be increased with an external memory card.

Part of the Ventura Telecom Group, Mazuma Mobile recycles 150,000 mobile phones each month.  Recent customer service surveys place Mazuma top for speed of service and the average price consumers can expect to receive for their handsets.  They can help both individual consumers and business users. 

A quick search of review sites and internet forums shows that users can sometimes receive cash for their mobiles within hours of it being received by the company. 

Mazuma takes both working and non-working handsets and provides a list of what needs to be included, plus guidelines on their website for the expected general condition of the phone.  The company will also accept old mobile phone chargers, although these do not have a cash value. Mazuma can ensure they are disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.

As with all mobile recycling companies the user needs to ensure that SIM cards are removed from handsets prior to sending them in.  Any SIMs received by the company cannot be returned to the user but will be destroyed.  Payments can be made to the customer either by BACS, a cheque or Argos vouchers. 

Mazuma Mobile has a comprehensive website that is user friendly for even the most computer phobic among us.  The whole process is set out simply and there is a FAQ section that should answer any queries that you might have.  A live support option is available for instant contact with Mazuma. 

The company has achieved UKAS accreditation for both Quality and Environmental Management and ISO 9001 and 14001 standards. 

The Nokia 7610 Supernova is a customisable mobile phone. This basic handset functions as a slider, which means the number pad is tucked inside the device when it is not in use.

Thanks to the design of the 7610 Supernova, users will find that this mobile phone is much smaller than similar Nokia mobile phones. This device is 98 mm long by 48 mm wide and it is 15 mm thick. The overall weight of the Nokia 7610 Supernova is 99 grams. The standard battery offers users up to 6 hours and 40 minutes of talk time or 288 hours on standby.

The Nokia 7610 Supernova provides users with the ability to change the look of the phone by switching its Xpress-on Covers. These covers are available in a wide selection of colours and two extras are included in the box. To customise this mobile phone further, users can download both MP3 and polyphonic ringtones.

There is a 3.15 megapixel camera with LED flash integrated into the Nokia 7610 Supernova. Users will also find a Stereo FM radio with RDS technology. This mobile phone only provides a 2.5 mm jack which means proprietary headphones are needed for the Nokia 7610.

Included with the Nokia 7610 Supernova is 64 megabytes of internal memory. There is a microSD expansion slot that supports cards up to 2 gigabytes in size. Users will find a 2 gigabyte card in the box.

When you compare mobile phones, it is important to note that the 7610 Supernova does not support 3G networks.  However, this Nokia mobile phone is quad band, which makes it suitable for travel.

A Three INQ Chat 3G review reveals a fun, teen phone with a cheerful, bubblegum mobile look that kids will love. The screen and QWERTY keyboard have a familiar BlackBerry look to it, but with bright splashes of colour on the buttons and logo, and this is clearly aimed at the younger generation.

Three has priced the INQ Chat competitively and it is very good value for money. It’s a cheap mobile phone teenagers can afford (or their parents can). As you would expect this phone is set up for social networking, contacts from Facebook, Skype, and Messenger can all easily be merged with your contacts list. The messaging interface makes alternating between, Twitter, MSN, and texting simple and a bonus for those who have a busy social networking circle.

The multimedia player is well laid out but the sound quality is not the best around, the 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus is decent enough and with the aid of the 2.4 inch screen you will be able to take and edit your photos for Facebook quite easily.

If you are not a teenager then the bright colours and incidental sound effects will get on your nerves after a while. The resolution is not top shelf and its downloading speeds are a little slow, leaving it feeling a bit cheap. There is also no standard 3.5mm jack so headphone selection will be somewhat limited. The Three INQ Chat 3G does offer good value for young people and it’s a fun recreational phone, great for networking and keeping in touch with friends.

Motorola joined forces with camera-giants Kodak to deliver a serious 5-megapixel shooter, to go head to head with Sony Ericsson and its Cyber-shot range.  The result was the Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5.

The ZN5 looks like any other average handset from the front but check around the back and the bulge tells you that this phone means business.  Underneath the lens is a 5-megapixel sensor, and although other phones have higher megapixel counts, this camera guarantees to produce better quality pictures because of Kodak’s secret clever processing.

When you open the lens, the menus are laid out in an organised manner making it easy to set up options like low light mode, white setting and flash settings.  The handset has a dedicated camera button and when you press it, you’ll notice very little shutter lag.

The camera comes with an inbuilt Xenon flash but because of the Kodak technology it takes great pictures in poor lighting even without the use of the flash.  The pictures look great on the ZN5’s screen but when you upload them to your computer, they don’t compare with a dedicated digital camera.  But compared to other phones, this handset is a cut above and easily rivals Sony Ericsson’s Cyber-shot range.

The ZN5’s menus make it easy to use other functions; the call quality is excellent and the battery life is good at over nine hours of talk time.  Another plus is that it has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The let down of this phone is that although the camera is great, Motorola left off 3G support.

This updated version of the BlackBerry Storm boasts several improvements on the original model and some really great features. The Storm 2 9520 comes with a Wi-Fi application that makes connecting to the internet while on the go even easier. Its sturdy and stylish design makes it the perfect accessory from boardroom meetings to shopping with friends.

The Storm 2 has a clickable touch screen with little to no lag behind while typing which is a big improvement on the original model. The rotating screen is another feature that is popular with some users allowing the change of viewing from portrait to landscape with just a turn of the handset. Memory capacity is smaller than some at 256MB but the phone supports SD memory cards with up to 2GB capacity.

There are many new mobile phones on the market at the moment, but the BlackBerry mobile phones are still a very popular choice. When you compare mobile phones against the Storm 2 you may find that this particular model is not as strong in some areas, such as with the lack of media apps available. Also, the battery life appears to be shorter than with other mobile phones and charging with the USB cable is very slow.

The clickable screen may be awkward to use and confusing for those trying to navigate round it for the first time but is very easy to get the hang of after a few tries and some may find the placement of the headphone jack awkward as it is located on the side of the handset and might be better placed at the top.

The LG Viewty KU990 is the company’s high-end touchscreen phone that is available in a variety of colours including the standard black and metallic finishes.  It comes with a 3-inch LCD display and a 5-megapixel camera with a built in xenon flash.

The camera takes good clear photographs but even with the xenon flash, the Viewty performs very poorly in poor lighting conditions.  The flash is not particularly bright and pictures taken in darkness do not come out.  Using the camera regularly quickly drains the battery; so if you take a lot of pictures, be prepared to pack your charger.

The camera feels and looks like a proper digital camera when you’re snapping your pictures and because of the HSDPA (3.5G) you can upload them straight to the web.  You can do the same for videos, which you can record and upload straight to YouTube.

You can video fast action scenes using the slow-motion video at 120 frames per second.  While you may not use this option every day it is fun to use and useful for shooting quick moving incidents.  As with the camera, the video works best in brighter or daylight conditions.

The touchscreen on the Viewty lets it down as it is tricky to use and scrolling through menus is sometimes clumsy.  Compared to, for example the iPhone, the interface is basic and doesn’t allow an application store.

Check out the Samsung Soul and the Samsung Jet for similar phones.

A T-Mobile Pulse review reveals an excellent cheap mobile phone and for its price it represents great value for money, especially on a pay-as-you-go contract. The Pulse is an attractive phone with one of the largest Android screens on the market. At 3.5 inches, it gives you enough room to watch video and surf the net effectively.

This T-Mobile phone is slightly heavier than the Samsung Galaxy but it still has a nicely rounded, slim line shape, designed to fit neatly into your hand. The look is improved by its “Canvas” skin system and the analogue clock face definitely gives it an elegant look. The phone comes with a choice of six skins, three more than the normal Android and you can add more if required.

The Android system is fast and easy to use and Google have lots of apps lined up for downloading. Running all these systems might be a drain on a lower end phone but T-Mobile have ensured it has a good battery life, which is essential for keeping this big screen lit up.

The screen resolution is perhaps not as good as it could be and there are definitely better models on the market, and the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack is a bit frustrating, as is its 3.2-megapixel camera without flash.

When all things are considered the T-Mobile Pulse is aimed at the budget market and on those terms it is excellent value for money when compared to other similar mobile phones.

You’ve probably heard of cash for mobile programs, and wondered why anyone would waste time trying to sell a mobile that is outdated and probably not worth much anyway.  In fact, there are several good reasons why you should sell your mobile.  Here are some examples.

First, selling mobile phones for cash means you earn something from a device that is no longer needed.  Instead of it laying in a drawer only to be thrown out some day, you get the benefit of some small sum for your trouble.  While it may not be much, it’s more than you had before.

Next, it’s good for the environment.  You may not think of it this way, but many businesses that operate a phones for cash program do so in order to harvest the components.  When this happens, it means that fewer resources are used in making new components.  You actually help to preserve resources by making it possible to recycle that old phone.

Third, you may be doing someone a good turn.  Some organisations run a cash for mobile drive in order to secure older phones that can be given to people who are unable to afford them for themselves.  The older phones may not be rich in features, but they are sufficient for making and receiving calls.  For someone who barely manages to make ends meet, receiving a used mobile and a small bank of minutes each month for little to no cost can mean a great deal.

Don’t let that old phone collect more dust.  Find someone who is paying cash for old phones and let them know you are ready to sell your phone today.