Mobile Phone Reviews

BlackBerry is a name that everybody in the world will recognise as a brand leader in the mobile phone market, but what is a BlackBerry phone? BlackBerry first made its name in the late 1990s as the business user’s mobile handset of choice. Designed and produced by a company called Research In Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry is a smartphone known for its internet and messaging capacities, including the highly popular BlackBerry Messenger service, more commonly known as BBM.

With a wealth of Wi-fi and communicative devices at the push of a button, the smart-looking BlackBerry original handsets came with an integral QWERTY keyboard that the company remains famous for. BlackBerry has become such an iconic brand that US President Barack Obama was even seen to use a BlackBerry for communicating during his famous 2008 presidential campaign. This celebrity endorsement could potentially have added millions of dollars to the company income due to its powerful advertising value. 

BlackBerry is known as a pioneer for its capacity to send and receive emails and instant messages, but new generation BlackBerry handsets have made more and more advances. The original smartphone BlackBerry was released in 2003. While retaining, in many cases, the traditional QWERTY keyboard, newer models have also adopted many of the characteristics and features associated with more modern smartphones, such as those pioneered by Apple, LG, Nokia and Samsung.

There is no denying the Sony Ericsson Arc is a beautiful phone.  Measuring an amazingly thin 8.7mm at points, it is by far the skinniest phone on the market.  Visually, this phone is superb, but does it measure up to the leading smartphones technologically?

The first thing to notice about the Arc is the screen size.  Measuring a massive 4.2 inches, it fills most of the front of the phone. The Arc runs a 1GHz Scorpion processor, which is standard for higher-specification smartphones, although the 512MB RAM definitely is not.  With most high-end smartphones harbouring at least 756MB, the Arc feels somewhat inferior.  Furthermore, with a tiny 320MB of internal storage, users could fill the memory very quickly indeed. Sony Ericsson has fitted the Arc with a MicroSD™ slot, which can support up to 32GB, although many apps do not support SD movement – a big problem for the Arc.

There is no doubt the camera of the Arc is superb.  At 8.1 megapixels, 720p HD video recording is also supported and the HDMI connectivity of the device means recordings can be played through any HD-ready TV.  Keen to exploit its BRAVIA TV technology, Sony has fitted this feature to the Arc in what is becoming more common across the Sony Ericsson range.

For a consumer, the Sony Ericsson Arc should definitely be on any wish list.  While it does not possess a dual-core processor, or the storage capabilities of some rivals, it is a fantastic-looking device that has been widely described as one of the best smartphones yet.

What is HTC Sense?  According to the Taiwanese giants, HTC Sense is an experience designed around many little original and insightful, yet simple, ideas.  So is HTC Sense an ideology?  A way of thinking?  Or merely corporate jargon?  In reality, HTC Sense is the interface that HTC uses for its Android, Brew and Windows Mobile devices.  However, even HTC itself often seems confused as to what exactly HTC Sense is, sometimes calling it the user interface (UI) and at other times insisting it is not.

Stock applications and widgets are a massive part of HTC Sense and, out of the box, HTC hopes that its highly customisable features will deter consumers from deferring to an alternate UI.  Due to this, HTC is constantly updating its UI in order to ensure customers stay loyal to HTC Sense, despite the free-market mentality of Android as competition.  Recent additions to HTC Sense include maps that synchronise with the phone’s compass in order to rotate in unison with the owner, previewing the route ahead while using navigational applications and the ringer turning off when the phone is flipped.  It adapts to the lifestyle and location of its owner, allowing technology and connectivity to contacts to combine for the modern age. 

Ideas such as these, which HTC are offering, will meet the wishes of today’s consumer, who is free to choose between the countless number of free UIs offered on the Android market.

When making the Optimus 2X, LG decided to introduce a dual-core processor.  For a home computer this is standard, but for a mobile phone this is anything but.  Only a couple of phones are powered by dual-core processors and this ensures that such models are most definitely regarded as ‘premium’.  The introduction of such a processor means that smartphones can now perform tasks that were only dreamt of 12 months ago.  Take HD video recording as an example.  Most smartphones of today are capable of such recording, although at 720p resolution, you can’t help but notice the difference in quality between ‘real’ HD recordings and mobile HD.  The LG Optimus 2X is different.  Due to the powerful processing capabilities, LG is now able to offer full 1080p HD video recording and, coupled with the HDMI connectivity of the device, recordings can be streamed to any HD-ready TV with superb results.

The LG Optimus 2X comes installed with Android 2.2, although by following on-screen prompts the 2.3 version is easily installable.  Bizarrely, LG has decided to fit the LG Optimus 2X with a TFT screen instead of an AMOLED display.  This is especially surprising given the processing capabilities of the device, and the TFT resolution unfortunately takes away some of the sharpness and clarity of the display.

This phone is surely a sign of things to come.  With new smartphones being released almost daily, it will not be long before a dual-core processor is the norm, along with full 1080p HD video recording.

A phone without a sat nav application nowadays seems quite unimpressive.  Virtually every new smartphone is fitted with a GPS receiver and thus the ability to use sat nav apps is nearly universal.  Before Android, there was Apple’s iPhone operating system and the iPhone became one of the first smartphone models able to receive a GPS signal.  The Android Sat Nav system works in exactly the same way as its predecessors; the GPS receiver in the phone picks up various satellite signals to pinpoint the user’s location and this location is then synchronised with the navigational app.

Satellite navigational applications are an area which Google has moved into in recent years, following the huge success of its mapping and route-planning features.  Google Maps is now a standard feature of most new smartphones, a trend which has continued from its inclusion on the iPhone 3G.  More recently, Google Maps Navigation has been launched, in order to keep up with other competitors offering both free and paid-for sat nav apps.

Android Sat Nav apps are changing.  Recently the supermarket chain Tesco announced plans to introduce an in-store navigational system for consumers.  Customers simply compile a shopping list on their mobile, and when the user enters the store Tesco’s app will guide the shopper around quickly and efficiently.

While Tesco’s app does not use a GPS system (Wi-Fi is preferred due to an inability to pick up GPS signals indoors), this is surely a sign of things to come, as app developers constantly battle to persuade smartphone owners that their apps are superior to the competition.

The Google Nexus S is like Marmite; some love it, while others hate it.  One example of this is the slightly curved screen that Google has employed for the Nexus S, its newest venture into the smartphone world.  Critics of the phone would say that the curvature of the screen is annoying and unnecessary, while fans would argue that it brings a touch of individuality to the sometimes monotonous aestheticism of the smartphone world.

In a time where Apple and HTC dominate the smartphone business it is only natural that any competitors will be compared to these giants.  Google has decided to team up with Samsung to try and break the dominance of these two and the Nexus S actually stands up well upon closer inspection.  The 4-inch super AMOLED display can be most obviously compared to the HTC Desire S and the 5-megapixel rear-facing camera is undeniably similar to the iPhone 4.

The 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor and the massive 16GB inbuilt memory mean the Nexus S is superior to many of its rivals with regards to memory, although by not including a MicroSD™ expansion slot the Nexus S seems rather inferior to the big smartphone powerhouses.

In regards to the look of the phone, one cannot help noticing the similarities between the Nexus S and the Samsung Galaxy S.  Furthermore, the plastic chassis of the phone means it lacks a certain classy feel that its metallic counterparts possess.

While the Nexus S may not be the world’s best smartphone, Google’s foray into the market is still young and it surely won’t be long until the Google smartphone is perfected.

About Virgin Media

After BT, Virgin Media ranks as the second largest broadband provider in the UK, and offers high speed, fibre optic broadband.  Virgin is one of the most reliable when it comes to providing broadband speed, and can bundle home telephone, mobile telephone and digital TV in the package.  Virgin also offers mobile broadband.

Packages

Apart from the mobile broadband, Virgin Media allows unlimited downloads with a fair usage policy. The cost of Virgin’s packages is very reasonable with the entry-level Virgin Media Cable Broadband L with phone package is around £6.25 a month for the first six months, increasing to £12.75.  This has download speeds of up to 10Mb, and the minimum contract is 18 months.

The mid-range Virgin Media Cable Broadband XL and phone package costs around £10.00 a month for the first six months, and increases to £20.00 a month.  This package has download speeds of up to 20Mb.

The swish Virgin Media Cable Broadband, which has free internet security and free super-fast router, download speeds of up to 100Mb, costs £35.00 a month.

Mobile Broadband

Virgin mobile broadband allows a limit of either 1GB per month or up to 3GB per month, depending on the package you choose.  There are two options with the lower limit – pay for your dongle (£24.99) and be tied-in to a contract with a minimum of only one month, or opt for the free dongle and the contract, for a minimum of 18 months.  The monthly cost is the same.
Similarly, the choices for the higher download limit are to pay for the dongle up-front or be tied-in for 18 months.

Ten years ago if you asked anybody to name a mobile phone manufacturer, you can bet Nokia would have been mentioned.  The manufacturer was the world’s biggest at the start of the last decade and its 3210 model revolutionised mobile technology.  Ten years on and the competition have caught up.  Companies such as HTC and Sony Ericsson have been born, while Apple and Samsung have produced hit after hit; leaving the Finnish giant playing catch-up.

In order to reverse the trend, Nokia has recently announced plans for the N9, the first MeeGo-powered smartphone, and it certainly packs a punch.  The phone comes with up to a massive 64GB internal memory as well as PowerVR SGX530 graphics, a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 OMAP 3630 processor and 1GB of RAM to ensure an instantaneous response to any user request.  While Nokia mobile phones have sold poorly over the past couple of years, the N9, which is to be launched later in 2011, could certainly spark the reversal of fortunes that the company so desperately needs.

Furthermore, Nokia has recently announced plans to launch an £80-million advertising campaign to promote its partnership with the Windows OS.  As of yet, Nokia has not revealed which handsets will be running Windows, although the massive advertising push will certainly ensure tat the handsets will be known.  After running the, now arcane, Symbian operating system on its phones, which triggered massive losses, Nokia hopes that the increasingly popular Windows OS will once again propel the manufacturer to the forefront of mobile technology.

The Motorola Atrix comes with a dual core processor and runs on Android 2.2.  The 4 inch qHD touchscreen gives sharp displays and responds easily.  Everything is easy to view or read and the zoom feature works wonderfully.  Things like browsing, gaming and using apps are all noticeably fast.

Additional Features
The device carries a 5mp led flash camera, video camera, video and audio players, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB, Bluetooth, 16GB internal memory, memory card (microSD) and video calling.  There is a multi-touch keypad with Swype as an added perk for avid texters.

The multiple pages (four to eight) can be open at any given time without freezing.  People who love spy gadgets may love that the fingerprint scanner along with the traditional four character pin as unlocking options.  Activate this feature by scanning both index fingers during the first setup, after three proper print readings the feature will start working.

Battery life is remarkable in comparison to other phones with android.  Some users found no need to recharge it at the end of the day even with excessive use.  There is also a Standard dock that turns the phone into a bedside alarm clock while charging.

Shortcomings
Motoblur may make setting up shortcuts a headache because it may bring up the main homescreen shortcut a few seconds between screens (scrolling left to right), so users may accidentally select the wrong option.  The camera lacks some basic settings and its quality is average. Also, the print unlocking can be painful if a user swipes their fingers too quickly.  These aside, the Motorola Atrix is a good phone.

Most providers and resellers are offering a lot of deals on LG mobile phones.  The LG Optimus Black is one of the devices offered in a number of deals from T-Mobile, O2, Vodafone, and Orange, both directly and through resellers.

Network Offerings:

The majority of plans offered are on 24 months tariffs and the phone for free (with some exceptions).   Also, not all offer data as a part of the basic package.

Vodafone:  this network is currently giving £25 auto cash back as free gift, along with unlimited text, 300 minutes and 500 MB of data.

T-Mobile: an equal amount of minutes and text (300 each), 500 MB and a gift of free line rental for a period of 7 months is being offered at a cost of £15.32 monthly.

O2: at £21.50 monthly, customers can enjoy 100 minutes, 500 text messages, 500 MB and, as an added perk, £50 auto cash back.

Orange: individuals can pay as little as £15 per month to get 300 minutes, unlimited texts and only pay half price for six months.  No data is given with this offer.

Most packages being offered by each network have striking similarities both to each other and to those by other networks. Some packages may be lower, but caution should be taken when choosing any offer. In some cases what seems like a steal is really just an “ok” price because the phone is not new. In fact, refurbished LG Optimus Black offerings from the networks are popular.