A Mobile Phone Blog

Long time no see...

2011-08-08T01:16:00.000-07:00

Oh dear. This blog is looking a little unloved, isn't it?

A blog about mobile phones that barely mentions that... what's it called... iPhone is it? Something like that.

Just look at it! Excitement about forthcoming Nokia handsets. Who remembers that feeling? Just a couple of centimetres down this page, you will find an excited preview of the Nokia N97. It wasn't exactly the game changer we were anticipating, and that's putting it mildly.

Oh, how the world has changed. Walled gardens and apples (how biblical), androids and lawsuits. HTCs and Sammys and jailbreaking. Oh for the days of pixelated snakes munching cubes (were they birds eggs? guess so).

I've always had a bit of a thing for ludicrous luxury handsets, and it has been the most ludicrous of the lot that has stirred this blog back into life. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the TAG Heuer Link.

At almost €5000 it ain't cheap, and that's just the starting price.

But additional extras include calfskin, alligator or lizard hide backing. Or perhaps you would like some embedded diamonds?

It's somehow reassuring to know that while London is burning, the economic markets are in crisis and over 2 million people in Britain are unemployed, there are still people out there who can afford to splash the cash on something that will be obsolete in 2 years whatever happens.

It's good to be back!

Mobile Gazette 2009 Phone WallChart

2010-01-14T03:54:00.001-08:00

They've made a great 2009 wallchart over at Mobile Gazette.

Check it out here.

Nokia N900

2009-09-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Nokia have announced their first ever Linux-based mobile phone.

See the video below for more details.

This looks like it's going to be a step forward for mobile handsets. While Apple's irritating adverts claim such great advances as mobile internet, GPS, text messaging (well, maybe not text messaging) etc, Nokia's new device looks like it's going to blow rivals away.

What's really impressive about this phone is the spec: a 600mhz processor, 256mb of onboard RAM and 768mb of virtual memory.

You will be able to update the phone directly via OTA upgrading, meaning less reliance on the still irritating Nokia PC Suite. Battery life is likely to be comparable to the Blackberry Storm.

This looks like it will be an awesome handset for business users and people who don't want to lug around an eee or equivalent.

Nokia N900 looking pretty sweet

2009-09-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Russian Mob Wives Rejoice - the Samsung Night Effect is Here!

2009-03-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

You may notice that this blog tends to lean towards the more "blinging" phones that make it onto the market, like the LG Prada collaboration a couple of years ago and the more exclusive Nokias.

Personally, I like my handsets functional rather than flashy (hence the monolithic black N95 that I'm still using) but have always had a magpie's taste for the gaudy. This new Samsung has got to be the gaudiest handset on the market, unless anyone out there can suggest anything less conspicuous!

It rather reminds me of my time working for American Express.

American Express launched their black card after years of unfounded rumours that they offered a secret, invite-only card for superwealthy Krug-swilling plutocrats. They cashed in on the speculation and created the Centurion; the most horribly aspirational piece of plastic this side of Victoria Beckham's breasts.

One day, we recieved a memo promoting a new, super-super-luxurious version of their Centurion credit card, known only as "titanium". The gimmick was that the card is made of... titanium. And why hasn't titanium been used to make credit cards in the past? Because it interferes with card readers. And sets off metal detectors. Which makes the Amex Titanium Centurion card less useful than any other Amex card. And who accepts Amex anyway?

The Samsung Night Effect is aiming at the Titanium card users out there - those who take pleasure in pulling out their metallic phallus in front of a large queue at airport security while loudly braying to their equally loathesome, marni-clad friend about how "rad/fab/expensive" their last holiday was.

The phone's USP is that it lights up like Pacha at 4am when it rings.

Seems like the world economic crisis hasn't quite gone far enough yet...

Nokia N97 on the way

2008-12-24T02:46:00.000-08:00

Nokia recently announced the N97, which is the latest in a long line of business phones from the Finns. The most notable thing about the handset is the great touch screen (which Nokia finally appear to have "got right") and the raft of features that put the handset up there with most mobile internet PCs like the Eee and its raft of imitators.

Nokia Maps has had an upgrade. This was perhaps inevitable, for two reasons. Firstly, people love the GPS functionality. Personally, I use Nokia maps regularly, especially when stumbling around a big city like London, or when sitting on a train and curious. The second reason for stronger GPS functionality on phones is probably more significant.

Location based mobile marketing is being touted as the "next big thing" in advertising/marketing - just ask NMA magazine (not to be confused with the rather less rock 'n roll NME). It has, of course, been touted as such for about five years but the technology is finally reaching a point where people are regularly consulting their handsets for directions. "Wow" say the marketers, "if people are looking for directions, what better time could there be to shove advertising down their throats? GO TO CAFE NERO. GO TO CAFE NERO". This is, of course, a dramatisation, but the techology is becoming more and more popular and mobile marketers are pushing clients hard to go down this route.

Back to the handset. Good camera (same as the N95), good keyboard (nicely spaced), useful tilty screen (to help with glare), good MP3 and video compatibility and 32gb of internal memory make this an attractive proposition. The digital compass is a nice touch too.

All in all, another strong offering from Nokia.

Merry Christmas!

Google Maps on the N95

2008-10-02T02:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I updated the Firmware on my N95 8GB. This was something of a pain in the ass, largely because it took around 10 minutes to shift Spiderman 3 from the handset to the laptop on which I was backing up the phone.

Spiderman 3 came loaded for free on a number of N95 8GB mobile phones. The only drawback was that you had to sign in to a website to validate it... or something like that... and I really couldn't be bothered. And frankly, who could? Spiderman 3? On a two inch screen? Meh.

Anyway, once Spiderman had squeezed its way through the USB cable, data transfer was quick and painless, which is a big step forward for Nokia PC Suite; one of the most loathsome programs ever conceived.

So, on with the installation.

I got an early indication of how it feels to be out of touch with "the young people today" when PC Suite told me that I was on Firmware version 15 and the new install would be version 20something. Horrible.

Anyway, the upshot is that I can finally use the GPS on my phone after months of angling it on a windowsill, waiting 20 mins and then occasionally connecting to a satellite. And, what's more, it's actually fully integrated with Google maps so you can get lovely images as an option. Which is great.

This is going to make navigation of London streets much easier, although at a cost... Vodafone data transfer is not cheap and Google maps is very data intensive. They do offer an add on at £7.50 per month which allows up to 120mb of data transfer, but I'm not sure that I will use that much data.

All in all... the update is a very good thing indeed. I am now tempted to go for a long walk just to use the GPS. Maybe I'll find a nice park bench, take a seat and watch Spiderman 3.

Nokia N79

2008-09-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

While the photo makes it look like the new Nokia N97 has fallen off the back of a lorry, this is arguably the most stylish N Series handset the Finns have ever made.

Supposedly a step down from the two way sliders, the N79 is a fine slab of technology WITHOUT the sharp edges that many people find offensive about the more angular N Series phones.

It is also as feature laden as any of the bulkier N Series handsets, such as the N95 8gb. The onboard camera is of the same standard as the chunkier handsets and has the added advantage of a lens cover (which is sadly missing from the N95 8gb). The megapixel count is high (five) but, as ever with these Nokia cameras, what is really impressive is the quality of the images produced.

I guess the only area where this handset falls down a little is in the size of the display, which is significantly smaller than the top end N Series phones. But then did anyone actually watch Spiderman 3 on their handsets anyway? I doubt it.

All in all, a great new addition to the Nokia range and well worth considering if you are looking for a practical compromise between form and function.

N95 Camera Shots at Le Mans

2008-06-17T14:19:00.001-07:00

I spent last week at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France.

This was the view from the top of the famous ferris wheel at 4am:

This was a snap from Tertre Rouge:

And this was the back of the Peugot Pit late at night:

After a week of camping sans airbed, I am now going back to bed. And I will enjoy it!

Nokia 6600

2008-06-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

If, for some reason, you were asked to visualise a "Nokia 6600", it's likely that you would think of this beauty:

The Nokia 6600 was Nokia's flagship handset a couple of years back. The little joystick made it fantastic for playing games and, if memory serves, the camera was particularly impressive. Sadly, as with most complex Nokia handsets, the 6600 had a habit of grinding to a halt after around a year of daily use, making it into the kind of handset that your mum loves: "something that can make and receive calls."

On that note, could it be true that there is another worldwide shortage of N95 handsets because so many of them are being returned? The theory goes that, because the handsets are so complicated, it is usually easier for Nokia to provide a new handset than fix an old one.

Anyway... back to the 6600.

Actually, that's just what Nokia are doing: going back to the 6600. Well, they are not going back to the device but they are going back to the name, for a handset that looks like this:

As you can see, they are offering the handset as a slider or a flip. The feature list for the two is pretty similar, with the accelerometer that sets my heart aflutter on the N95 again present, along with a 512mb removable memory card and radio. Interestingly, the clamshell handset has a poorer camera: only 2 megapixel, compared to 3.2 on the slider. What does Nokia have against clamshell users?

And why do they go back to the same names again? This handset doesn't really have anything to do with the old 6600, which has effectively evolved into the N95.

Speaking of which, the 6600 slide looks rather like a simplified version of the forthcoming Nokia N96. Apparently, there are no handsets available for review purposes until the official launch in the autumn. If anyone fancies sending one this way, please get in touch!

The Evolution of Mobile Phones

2008-05-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

e2save

What do I love most about the N95 8gb Part 2 - the accelerometer

2008-04-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

It is sooooo wonderfully understated and Scandinavian to include an accelerometer in the flagship N95 and not make a fuss about it. Apple included exactly the same feature in the iPhone and made it one of the central parts of their advertising strategy:

"WOW... LOOK... A phone that knows when you are moving AND has internet browsing"

The Finns, in their understated way, just put it in there and didn't really do anything with it. Third Party developers (you don't get them with the iPhone) have gone wild with the device and you can now use the N95 for such varied tasks as... err... playing starwars, playing bouncy ball and.... umm... playing Space Invaders. Nokia's own Activity Monitor app is quite cool, although it won't do your battery life any favours.

Anyway, this is just another reason that I love the N95. Thanks Nokia!

(Sorry if this blog has got a bit boring of late... you know how people get when they are in love. Normal business will resume once a younger model comes along =)

Nokia Tube

2008-04-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Nokia has announced an iPhonealike preliminarily called the Nokia Tube.

Details are sketchy but it does look rather like the return of the mac, doesn't it?

This is Nokia's return to touchscreen technology after the unpopular 7710, which was painfully slow and generally a bit crap.

There are no more details available at the moment, but as a dedicated Nokia fan I am really looking forward to this one. The only question is...

will it Finnish the iPhone?

What do I love most about the N95 8gb? Pt. 1 - the camera

2008-04-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

5 Megapixels of pocket powered pleasure.

Decision Time

2008-02-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

With a little help from Vodafone, my next handset has been decided.

Ladies and gentlemen, the next phone to grace Cellfella's Levi's shall be...

The Nokia N95 8G.

No great surprises there, then.

To be honest, I was holding out for an N82 but there's every chance that this little beaut will never make it all the way to Vodafone. I can't change network either because Voda is the only one to cover both my office and flat.

Still, I didn't even bother asking for an upgrade, just went straight to the "You really want to leave Vodafone?" department and said I wanted to change networks. For some reason they are much more receptive to negotiation that way!

Why would I have preferred an N82? Well, look at it:

Some bloggers have been a bit critical of the design. James Burland's review on Youtube is very positive about the phone's features but quite negative about the design. I, however, am not a big fan of sliders and would much rather have an old school block in my pocket.

Having not played with one yet (O2 has bad reception in this part of the world, hence no N82s to investigate) I can't confirm or deny what the review says about the fiddly buttons.

Anyway, it's all water under the bridge now. I'm going slidey for the next twelve months.

Now I'm just waiting for Vodafone to deliver the thing...

Struggling to choose a new mobile phone

2008-01-09T04:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back from Argentina and faced with something of a dilema.

My trusty 6630 is really in it's dying days now. It still calls ok and sends text messages. The alarm still wakes me up bright and early in the morning for my work as an SEO copywriter. The screen still works and the ringtone still scares people. That, however, is about all.

The camera died a death before I left the country. The video camera passed away long before that. Since my return, the menu system also appears to have come unstuck. It is rather like driving through a large city in rush hour traffic.

The good news, however, is that I am now out of contract and free to hunt down the best contract and handset. Well, within limits... there is no reception in my flat for Orange and O2, leaving me the options of T-mobile and sticking with Vodafone.

Both of these present their own problems. Firstly T-mobile. Now, I'm not normally one to bear a grudge, but I have had some experince with T-mobile in the past and I'm afraid to say it wasn't good. My first ever mobile phone (a dearly departed Siemens which was so heavy that it has left me walking with a limp ever since) was registered with 0ne-2-one. The deal included free evening and weekend calls for two and sixpence monthly, which seemed like a clincher.

The problem, and my lasting resentment, stems from the fact that you had to stand on top of a towerblock in the middle of London to get one bar of reception. Honestly, it was like a bloody Rabbit phone. Even the one-2-one store in my native Watford didn't have reception, which struck me as enduringly crap.

My problem with Voda is that they won't offer me any decent handsets as an upgrade, depsite my having been a loyal customer for 5(ish) years and always paying my bills on time with minimal fuss.

All I want is an N82!!! Or even an N95. EVERYONE HAS AN N95. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?!?

Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes open for good deals. Any advice please let me know. Anyone working for Voda want to explain why you're not nicer to loyal customers? Anyone from T-mobile got reception?

Nokia Prism

2007-07-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

Nokia is eschewing the curves which they arguably brought to mobile phones in the first place and going all angular.

The Nokia Prism was unveiled at a fashion show in China. Yes, a fashion show, not a technology conference as might be expected. To be honest, the technology under the surface of this handset really isn't anything to write home (or a blog entry) about: Bluetooth, USB 2.0 (I like), EDGE, GPRS and Tri-Band.

But the design is rather original, no? I love it when visions of the future from decades gone by actually come to be realised, rather like this lovely slab.

I do, however, have one concern about the angles and this is:

Every pair of jeans that I own has a white line around the lefthand pocket where my phone has sat. It makes me all nostalgic, looking at an old pair of 501s which no longer do up to see the outline of my first ever mobile - a Siemens S8 - which this page informs us has such groundbreaking features as a "large 4 line display" and "99 name phonebook".

Look at those sharp edges on the new Nokia! A recipe for denim disaster, no?

Some more about the Prism:
From the Mobile Gazette
From the Register
and finally, for those of you who dabble in Mandarin, from Nokia

Is this the best looking phone ever?

2007-07-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Nokia Aeon is a lovely new concept phone from the Finnish giants:

I was a little slow on the uptake with this one but what a phone! Nokia have taken the touch screen to another level... the phone consists of two separate screens held together in the middle by a fuel cell. You can apparently assign the two screens to do whatever you want.

The review says it should be wipe-down. Couldn't agree more when it looks that good.

Concept phones are all well and good, but there are some real beauties out on the market already. Check out the LG Chocolate Black Label, for example:

It's stylish, yes, but I still prefer Scandinavian phones. They just seem to make more sense and have less frivolous features. It's like putting an Audi next to a Lexus, y'know?

So here's something a bit tasty and Scandinavian:

I really wanted to show a good looking Ericsson handset but... ermmm... here's the Nokia 8600 Luna anyway. It's very much like the 8600 Sirocco Gold, but more understated. Lovely huh?

New Sony Ericsson handsets

2007-06-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson has recently revealed a raft of new handsets which are causing something of a stir.

The K530i is my personal favourite.

Looking remarkably similar to the K510, this is a lightweight 3G phone with a QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera and expandable memory. It is the first Sony Ericsson handset to work with the HGE-100 GPS Enabler, which is an exciting development.

As you have probably gathered, I am a big fan of 3G technology and firmly believe that the public should be more aware of its usefulness. Tied in with the GPS enabler, phones like the K530i are nudging us towards locally targetted mobile internet services, which is where we will see the next great breakthrough in mobile technology.

Another new handset revealed by Sony Ericsson is the impressive W960i.

A walkman phone, the W960i has 8GB of memory and features a touch-screen display which is sure to set hearts racing. Another model aimed at crossing the boundaries between electronic devices, this handset offers TV quality video playback and a 3.2 megapixel camera to boot.

This is a straight upgrade to the W950i and is surprisingly feature laden, while not compromising on style.

iPhone is popular (no surprises there then)

2007-05-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

Apple´s iPhone has caused the biggest fuss of any new mobile for as long as anyone can remember. In the wake of iPodmania, it should be unsurprising that the world is waiting with bated breath to see what the computer manufacturer can add to the already huge range of phones available. After all, the iPod revolutionised the world of mobile music players more than any single product since the original Sony Walkman. It was all a matter of usability, much as it will be with the new phone.

A phenomenal amount of free publicity has been given to the phone, from such unlikely sources as the BBC, which ran repeated features on the phone on television news bulletins and online. Similarly, newspapers around the world have been gripped by the progress of the device, again providing incalculable free coverage for the multinational. Clever stuff, no?

In the States, the iPod starts shipping next month and has already recieved, wait for it... one million enquiries from customers who wish to receive information when it is released. On AT&T alone.

Apple hope to sell 10 million iPhones and it seems their canny approach to marketing is doing the job nicely. Basically, they are saying nothing very much and letting the buzz build to phemonenal pre-release levels. No other mobile phone manufacter has the power to reach the mainstream media in this way, which probably sticks in the throat of Nokia and Sony Ericsson, who have been producing truly innovative handsets for years.

Now, all we can do is wait and see if it lives up to the hype.

My guess is yes.

Following on nicely: Nokia 8800 Sirocco Bling... sorry... Gold

2007-04-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Picture yourself as the posessor of fantastic wealth. Come on... we've all done it at some point. Personally, I walk along the seafront in Brighton and choose which of the mansion houses I would purchase. I would then buy a load of property all over the world and become a benevolent 21st century Rackman figure.

Someone, somewhere, would rather spend their wealth on owning a golden phone. Yes, that's right, a golden phone. Or at least this must be the case because the usually astute bods at Nokia have released the wonder that is the 8800 Sirocco Gold.

After detailing the best looking handsets, it seems only right that Nokia should deliver something so gloriously heinous as this.

Looking rather like something that might drop out of King Midas' rear end, this handset is arguably the most bling thing you could possibly have in your handbag. Before you can say 'footballers wives', it is worth noting that the handset is basically just a normal 8800, with all of the inherrent problems that have always plagued Nokia's top-end poseur package, such as a small memory (for the price) and a bad talk time, although this has been improved since the first 8800 was released.

The downside to having a golden phone is that it is heavier than equivalent handsets and would probably be quite attractive to a criminal, should he see it sitting on the table at the local Rat & Parrot.

The Best Looking Handsets

2007-03-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

In the early years of mobile telephony, handset manufacturers were clambering over each other to load on as much technology as possible. Handset design was generally 'functional' to say the least, which lead to phones like my old favourite, the Motorola Graphite. Mmmm... retro.

Nokia were the first to really crack the concept that a cute-looking mobile with features such as snake and an genuinely intuitive menu system - pictures, anyone?

Nowadays, ugly handsets are the exception rather than the rule. True beauty, on the other hand, is rare. I have recently highlighted the Apple and Prada phones: two shining (and shiny) examples of handsome handsets.

Here are a couple of other lookers currently doing the rounds.

LG Chocolate (Black Label daaaahling)

So stylish it can only be carried in £1000+ handbags by supermodels, the LG Chocolate Black Label is half 2001 A Space Oddessy and half the way Silk Cut adverts used to look before those meanies banned fun ads from telly. LG's populist Chocolate is a big seller and a particularly handsome handset. The Black Label editions are something a little special to look at. The pictured handset is a Black Label Platinum, which glows with sexy red buttons when it gets the signal or you touch it right. Phwoar.

Sony Ericsson z750

One for the Americans, this is. A hot little number from the Swedish/Japanese partnership, the Z750 is superbly understated and rather reminiscent of a post-surgery Motorola Pebble. It is heavy on technology too, with great compatability (it offers 3G service in the States and the rest of the world). The thinking man's crumpet.

Nokia 8800 Sirocco

Nokia have come up with this little beauty. While the original 8800 was a handsome, high end handset, it was rather limited by its terrible battery life. It was similar to a Lambourghini Diablo if you like - more status symbol than practical tool. The Sirocco edition, on the other hand, is more Audi S6 - stylish and powerful. The steel slider is a beauty when closed up, which wouldn't look at all out of place on the passenger seat of a supercar as it whipped along the Monte Carlo coastline to the casino.

Polymer Vision Readius

2007-03-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Kicking back, cup of tea in hand, around December time in 2005, a feature on Channel 5's rather wonderful 'Gadget Show' caught my attention. The presenters were at a technology convention (can't remember which, through the foggy haze of time) and had a representative of Philips keen to show off a brand new development. The Dutch tinkermeisters had a working model of an almost paper-thin screen which could be used with mobile phones. It operated using 'electronic ink' and could fold in on itself, making it very space-efficient. The disadvantage, if I remember rightly, was that the screen was not backlit and couldn't deal with much in the way of detail.

Fast forward a year (and a bit) and the mobile phone market is dominated by Apple's vision of a touchscreen handset. To my mind, the fuss about the iPhone and similar Prada Phone overshadows the most influential portable electronic device released this year, which is the Polymer Vision Readius. Don't get me wrong, the Apple will sell thousands of times as many units as the Polymer Vision device, but this little beauty represents the future.

The device is not a phone (although it is EDGE and UMTS compatible) but this technology is bound to transfer into the mobile market in coming years. The screen is also not up to the demands of the modern mobile consumer, but this very new technology can't be expected to match the image quality of its clunkier bretheren just yet. The screen is slow to update and cannot handle moving images. Yet.

The prospect of folding screens is a fascinating one. In years to come, how would you feel about reading an electronic newspaper that folded out from your mobile phone, or perhaps watching the football on a decent sized-screen which weighed less than a pair of shinpads?

Interesting developments indeed...

Fujitsu F703i - a waterproof phone

2007-03-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

There are not many gimmicks which haven't been explored in the world of mobile phones. We have had the drunk-proof handset. We have had an ungodly selection of pink phones, including Hello Kitty phones.

We have business phones, designer-branded handsets, cheap, almost desposible phones for the developing markets and hundreds of mid-market options.

What more could we possibly need?

What can be done that has never been done before.

Fujitsu think answer is a waterproof mobile phone.

Yes, that's right. The Fujitsu F703i can survive being under 1m of water for up to 30 minutes, if the claims of the manufacturer are to be believed. This raises some (reasonably obvious) questions, first and foremost... why?

Now, with only a relatively poor grasp of human biology, as conferred upon me by the English state education system and its fine GSCE double science qualification, I am in no position to comment upon what the human body is capable of, but talking underwater seems like a stretch. I mean really, most things in life are considerably more difficult when attempted underwater, which is probably why we evolved from sea creatures over many millions of years (I learnt that from a Guiness advert).

Interestingly, this handset manages to cling on to stylistic sensibilities. Check out the lovely 'chequered' effect, for example, and the futuristic clock facade. This is a departure from previous 'gimmick' phones which have always placed function over form and have looked rather rough as a result. On the other hand, who is going to see you when you are making calls underwater?

The mind boggles...

Nokia E90

2007-02-13T07:08:00.000-08:00

I've always admired the Nokia Communicator series from afar, waiting for the right time to switch up to the beasts. As I see it, there are two necessary requirements for owning one of these phones. Firstly, you have some need to check your emails on the go - maybe you travel away from your computer a lot - and secondly you need to wear a suit for work. For some reason these phones just seem perfect to fit into a suit pocket.

Sadly it doesn't seem as though I will be fitting either of these criteria in the near future. The umbilical link between myself and my laptop shows no sign of being severed any time soon and I work in shorts and a tee-shirt. Woo hoo! The joys of working at home.

The latest installment - the E90 - is one of the most advanced, feature-packed mobile phones ever released. Interestingly, the phone uses a Symbian S60 operating system as opposed to the S80 used on the 9500 and 9300. This may seem like an unusual step, but S60 offers E90 users access to a much wider range of applications. A quick straw poll suggests that S60 is every bit as easy to use as the newer system and ultimately more flexible. Good work Nokia.

This is a business phone. Smart features include onboard GPS and a high-resolution screen. The system can handle PDF files and read documents in Microsoft office. Unlike the previous generation of Communicator, the E90 comes fully-loaded with 3G, which can only be good news.

Features which you may be surprised to find on this phone include an FM radio and 3.2 Megpixel camera. Many businesses do not like to have cameras onboard business phones (however employees generally love them). I imagine the phone is there for those long, dull train journeys from London Euston to the Midlands to meet clients. Hmm... maybe that's fair enough.

Prada Phone - LG KE850

2007-02-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

After mentioning the LG KE850 in my last post, I thought it silly not to give you some information about this handsome beast.

First off... a word on the looks. Prada is known for understatement and this continues into the design of the new phone. While the iPhone is pretty tasteful itself, Prada's creation, with it's technochiaroscuro, is very subtle indeed. There are none of Apple's 'garish' colours - just black and white. LG have also released a non-Pradafied version of the phone, which will undoubtedly carry a far more reasonable price tag but isn't so chic.

You could be forgiven for thinking the LG KE850 is a knock-off of the iPhone but that would be incorrect. The two phones have been in development simultaneously and both manufacturers clearly shared a desire to push mobile design forward, removing the need for the wands which have always come with touchscreen handsets (and generally gone missing at an inopportune moment).

For me, the most attractive thing about the KE850 is the onboard camera - a Schneider Kreuznach lens ensures high-quality optics (they make Kodak's lenses). In addition to the fancy-sounding lens, the KE850 has an LED flash, making it possible to take high-quality photos late at night. Tabloid gossip columns are said to be delighted.

Other good news is that the handset weighs just 85 grams - 50 grams less than the iPhone. The KE850 measures 99 x 54 x 12mm which is a bit smaller than Apple's offering.

Unsurprisingly for such a compact, stylish handset, some features have had the chop - namely 3G (of which I am a huge fan) and wi-fi (which is also pretty damn useful).

All in all, this is one of the most desirable handsets on the market in 2007. Now start saving!

Apple's iPhone and friends - chic

2007-01-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

Not since the News of the World's sensational Ashley Cole 'revelations' has a mobile phone caused such a stir as the new Apple iPhone. It's not hard to understand why. Sharing the wonderful design principles that made the iPod the definitive MP3 player, it is extremely easy on the eyes. Anyone who has used an iPod will also be well aware of their user-friendly nature. This also looks set to cross over into the new mobile phone, with a rather lovely, touchscreen interface.

Of course, a touchscreen interface is nothing new. And it's certainly nothing unique to Apple - other manufacturers, notably blackberry and Nokia, have been using this technology for years. What is great about Apple's phone is that the traditional need for a 'magic wand' has gone, to be replaced by an interface suitable for even the clunkiest fingers. Interestingly, days after the annoucement of the iPhone, Prada and LG announced the arrival of this little beauty.

Quite possibly the most desirable phone since, well, since the iPhone, Prada have waved their magic wand over LG's already stylish design - remember the chocolate - and, well, removed all bells and baubles and left a futuristic slab of Italo-Asian style. On a semi-related topic, I spent last night in a restaurant called Asia de Cuba, in Buenos Aires' swish Puerto Madero region. Sitting in an Asian restaurant (in Argentina), with a Norwegian and a Canadian, chomping on American sushi, we were more than a little surprised when a belly dancer started up at one in the morning. The world is shrinking!

It would not be at all surprising to see Apple dominating the mobile phone market in ten years time. If they can make the iPhone as user-friendly as the iPod - and, let's face it, they probably will - it is time for the other manufacturers to get themselves together and make some real progress in phone design. These are exciting times indeed!

More reflections on Argentine mobiles

2006-12-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

After raving about the tiny cost of picking up a pay as you go phone in Argentina, I have sad news to report. The phones out here make no sense whatsoever! For example...

I can send text messages to the UK, but cannot recieve replies to the same number. In fact, it seems I cannot recieve any messages from the UK at all. This is a real shame, as I recieved an apologetic email from my ex saying something along the lines of "sorry for the filthy messages the other night". Filthy messages?

Secondly, your mobile number changes when you move around the country. Why?

Finally, you sometimes need to use area codes when dialling, and sometimes not. Why, oh, why?

Still, the handset is holding up nicely and seems to do everything required of it. The onboard games are bizarre, although the football one has something of sensible soccer about it. I crushed the USA in the final 4-0. Get on.

Cell Fella International

2006-12-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the English winter got a bit much for me. Dark at 4pm? Rain? Wind? Pasty looking people as far as the eye can see? No Thanks.

So this is my first post from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What a hell of a city this is. The people here are so passionate about the finer things in life... food, music, art and flirting. And, quite honestly, I have never seen anything quite like the steak here. For the princely sum of $15 (15 pesos = just under £3) you can get a vast (maybe 2 pound) steak in a decent restaurant. The one in the photo is half finished! Having had two already this week, I'm now hanging back a bit and giving my guts a chance to recover. The steak is great for soaking up all the Quilmes everyone knocks back out here.

One other thing that has greatly impressed me out here is the (wait for it) mobile technology.

As I'll be working out here for a few months, I thought it provident to pick up a mobile phone so that people at home can get in touch and I can mix it up with the portenos (there should be a squiggle above the n). Movistar - a division of Spain's vast Telefonica - rules the roost out here and have a rather splendido line of pay as you go handsets. For $99 (pesos) I picked up a Nokia 2160 with $50 (pesos) of calls included. That works out at under £20 for a brand new, if basic, Nokia handset and £10 of calls.

The handset is ok... a bit simple compared to my usual brick but it does the job nicely, if you know what I mean. The only thing that is really pissing me off about it is the lack of proper ring tones. At the moment I have some ghastly ditty called something like 'disco' which is almost impossible to register in anything other than entirely silent surroundings. Why, oh why, don't Nokia phones come with anything resembling a ringing sound?

Call me old fashioned, but when I hear a phone ring, I go to answer it. When I hear some ghastly disco dittie, I assume some 13 year old's phone is ringing.

Bah.

Still, at least it was nice and cheap, eh?

Managed to exhaust the credit pretty quickly, but it's free to recieve calls. If I'd taken the Vodabrick with me it would have cost £1.35 a minute to make and recieve calls here and they don't offer Vodafone Passport in this particular corner of the planet.

Oh well, enough moaning I guess. It's thirty-something degrees here and I'm off to one of the most beautiful nightclubs on Earth tonight - Opera Bay in Puerto Madero. Let's just hope I get some numbers...

Is this the next step forward for mobile billing?

2006-11-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

When I first got a mobile phone it was a lovely big Siemens handset on One 2 One. What a great phone that was. The best thing about it was that my contract, which came in at around £20pm if I remember correctly, included free evening and weekend calls to any local numbers. I never worked out what exactly counted as local, but hammered the free calls to my heart's content (and brain's discontent, most likely).

The typical shape of mobile phone contracts has changed in the decade since I got that lovely big load of Siemens. Now, the providers like to slap monthly allowances on your free calls, to avoid the possibility of the free minutes being misused, as was supposedly common with the old One 2 One deals.

Now, 3 have introduced the first groundbreaking billing package for 3G phones, under the interesting (if slightly odd) moniker 'X'.

"X-Series customers will only pay a flat access fee on top of their basic subscription and then what’s free to use on the internet should be free to use on mobile broadband (subject to fair usage and international roaming conditions, of course)"

This is a bold step forward for a company which is still trying to claw market share away from its longer-established rivals. In theory, it should force the other networks to follow suit and drop their current per-megabyte charging.

As we well know, the mobile operators are in a bit of a sticky situation at the minute as regards 3G services, having paid the equivalent of £500 per customer for their licenses. That's £500 they need to make back from mobile phone users like your mum, who has probably just grasped texting and would never dream of watching television or managing her money via the internet facility on her phone.

That is not to say that the 3G services will not turn a profit in the future. As new generation of mobile phone users grows up with the notion of a mobile internet, usage is growing... just not at the rate needed by the operators.

Against this background, 3's move seems like a logical and innovative step, which their competitors will have to match in the near future. It may remove some of the potential profit from offering 3G services, but a change in user habits is the only way the phone companies can hope to get any of their £22 billion investment in the technology back.

We are gathered here today...

2006-11-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

My Nokia 6630 is on its last legs.

Despite having 3G Speed, a 1.3 megapixel camera, 10 MB of internal dynamic memory with hot swap 64 MB Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (MMC), up to 1 hour video recording time and a Web browser with improved HTML support, the poxy thing is creaking sadly to the big pawn shop in the sky.

I must admit, despite our long relationship (almost 2 years) I have never been especially fond of the phone, with its pocket-filling dimensions and general asthetic impairments. It seemed so futuristic when I first picked it up from a Vodafone store... 3G? Yowsers. 1.3 Megapixels? Fab. Weight and dimensions of a young ox? Not so good.

The real trouble started about 3 months ago when I tried to use the fabled camera. Instead of allowing me to make the usual home made smut with my (now ex) girlfriend, up came a message saying 'system error'. Now, anyone with even the loosest relationship with techology knows that these are bad words to see.

The camera has not worked since. Worse, though, is the fact that all of my old photos and videos have also been deleted. This is very bad news, especially as I no longer have a girlfriend for company. (Off topic for a minute, but ex-girlfriend related, a number of these postings on Craigslist cracked me up)

So, what is the first thing a right-minded (and newly single) young chap would do in this situation? Try and salvage the address book, that's what. Luckily, my names and numbers were not touched in the Nokia memory rout. Great, I thought, let's get them backed up onto the computer. While this involves using Nokia PC Suite - officially the most shocking piece of software ever created - I have known it to work in the past and have a relatively recent list of names and numbers (lacking any post-girlfriend totty, it must be noted) to fall back on.

Did the bastard work?

What do you think?

Another system error left me feeling well and truly at the mercy of the technology that is there to help.

This means I have an evening in prospect of copying down all my names and numbers into an address book, which is not the best way to spend a Monday evening, all things considered.

So here I am blogging!

Motorola SLVR L7e

2006-11-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

Yippee. Motorola have released a new handset and it's not a RAZR!

No, instead it's another SLVR.

It seems the mighty Motorola is struggling to come up with anything even related to an original handset after having led the market for the past couple of years. The Mobile Gazette is rather more eloquent on the subject than I could ever hope to be.

It seems to me that the biggest breakthrough in recent handset design has been by LG, with their increasingly popular Chocolate phone, which can be seen attached to the ears of everyone from celebrities to the Croydon facelift brigade. LG has done brilliantly to break into the big boy's club of Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung. People are generally very loyal to a brand of mobile phone... far more so than to any particular network. Smaller brands find it very difficult to break into the market, you just have to look at the Benq Siemens debacle for proof of that.

Which way will mobiles go?

2006-10-31T03:16:00.000-08:00

It was interesting to read in the paper about one expert's theory that the human race is in the process of evolvig into a ruling class and a sub-species of shorter, less intelligent folk. While it turns out the 'expert' proposed this theory for the fabled institute of scientific excellence that is Bravo TV, you've got to wonder whether he may have a point.

To use a mobile phone metaphor: we all started out as those clunky phones which MPs/prominent businessmen/James Bond had in their cars from the 1960s. Those genetically superior Vikings at Nokia defined the populist mobile phone in the mid-nineties with the 5110 and 6110. The introduction of the 9 series was the genesis of modern business phones and saw the mobile market properly split for the first time as larger, clunkier phones with many more features were created for the business market. The decade since has seen two major types of phone develop (here's the point): the pretty, lightweight and feature-free phone aimed at texting teenagers and the heavyweight business machine, a la blackberry, psalm etc. There are hybirds, but these are not the most popular phones by anyone's standards.

Personally, I reckon that the human race will destroy itself long before we have a chance to divide into superior and inferior sub-strands - the evidence for this is all around us. Also, random factors will always crop up that stop the beautiful/intelligent types breeding with each other. For example, the national lottery. You can bet that lottery winners are able to punch well above their weight with the opposite sex, purely because of the downright attractiveness of a pile of cash.

Either way, sub-species should be the least of our worries. First should be global warming, while a close second should be Watford's survival in the Premiership. Up the Horns!

Phones 4 U Exclusive Vodafone Deal

2006-10-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

The annnouncement that Vodafone will be dealing exclusively with Phones 4 U seems like a bit of a funny one. The reason given - that Phones 4 U appeals to the younger market Vodafone craves - makes sense in a way, but I can't see any justification for NOT selling through as many outlets as possible. Also, the exclusive deal only applies to contract phones, which aren't really there for the younger market anyway.

Back in the day, Vodafone was the unquestioned king of UK mobile providers. Now, with the third generation licenses, reception issues with rivals are no longer relevant as they were and it's all about service and cost. I personally had difficulty with Voda when they worked with Singlepoint and in the months following their purchase of the company. I upgraded my phone and kept the same contract, but they knocked off my rolled-over free minutes and sent me a stinker of a bill. The problem was sorted reasonably quickly, but it shouldn't have been an issue in the first place and I did have to navigate through several layers of customer service advisor to get anything fixed.

While the Carphone Warehouse insists the announcement will do no great damage to profits (apparantly only 10% of their business involves Voda contracts), the BBC have reported that Carphone shares took a hammering in the aftermath of the announcement.

To me, it seems like a good time to pick up Carphone shares. Yes, they've taken a hammering and yes the Voda announcement is bad news (at least in the short term), but they have the most respected mobile communications brand out there (hence a royal warrant) and the Talk Talk internet project is in the process of revolutionising broadband, giving the company a huge client base to woo in the future.

Benq Siemens RIP

2006-09-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

We gather here today to mourn the death of BenQ Simens.

After less than a year of trading, Benq is closing its European wing in the face of unsustainable losses. Check out this ice cold press release for the company's official reasoning. It's fair enough... apparently the company lost 600 million Euros on its mobile business in the last year; by my estimation, thats losing the equivalent of my annual earnings every 21 minutes, which is pretty impressive going. Surely there are better ways of spunking THAT much cash, such as:

Going majorly off the rails
erm... that's all

Things that I would like to see on mobile phones

2006-09-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I would like to see on future mobile phones:

larger screens, maybe of the type that fold out
failing that, how about a phone-based projector?
in the mean time, better touch screens would be useful, or perhaps roller ball technology to make internet browsing more natural.
a working life of over 12 months. This one grates because my 18 month old handset is on its last legs... when I want to take a picture with it, I get a rather ominous 'system error' message. This is only weeks after it took the unprovoked step of deleting all of my images and video clips. Grrrrr!!!
curvier designs. I just like them, that's all.

Take heed, phone manufacturers! This is what Cell Fella wants!

These phones are getting thinner!

2006-09-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Yowsers, has anyone seen the new P310 phone from Samsung?

It is a beautiful handset, designed to look like a credit card and fit neatly in your pocket. It is pretty tiny, weighing only 75 grams but isn't lacking on features, such as bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera and a TV out socket (!?).

Anyways, this makes me wonder... how small is too small? There's no doubt that clunky handsets are on the way out for everyone except the business users who require a great variety of features and keep their phones in a briefcase or jacket pocket. Those of us who like to keep their phones in our jeans pockets require something a little more slimline.

On that note... does anyone else worry about the health risks of carrying a phone so close to your baby-making appartus? I've had a mobile for about 8 years now. For much of this time, it has sat in the left hand front pocket on my Levis. When I was recently packing a load to take to a charity shop, I had fun trying to work out which phone I had with which jeans by the markings around the pocket. Fun or not, there is a serious point here. For the best part of a decade, my tackle has been exposed to microwaves for hours each day. While the link between mobile phones and ill health has never been catagorically established, there is a little voice in my head saying that this has got to be a bad idea. Actually, the existence of a little voice in my head is probably a bad thing in itself, and could possibly be mobile phone related. Oh dear.

In fact, mobile phones must be getting to my head. What sane person would keep a blog about mobile phones? That's it, I'm going loopy. I'm off to the priory now... until next time, take it easy.

* * * Cute Phone Alert * * *

2006-08-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone who spends any time on the various forums around the web will probably have stumbled across images from Cute Overload. I'm not sure how they'd feel about putting a moible phone on there, but a contender has surely arrived in the form of the BenQ-Siemens AL26 Hello Kitty phone.

As you can probably tell by the name, the new offering from Siemens is branded with that most charming/irritating (delete as appropriate) of Japanabrands - Hello Kitty. While this cutesyness makes me want to attack my eyes with a cheese grater, anyone who has had the pleasure of teaching Japanese teenage girls will know that they absolutely adore this stuff.

You may think that this phone is just the AL26 with some cutesy graphics on there. You would be... wrong. Well, just about. The phone comes fully loaded with Hello Kitty wallpapers, ringtones, videos and all that jazz. I suppose it makes some kind of sense, what with this being a 'cute' phone and all.

Anyway, this development (along with Apple's U2 branded ipod) has lead me to consider some other branding crossover opportunites. How about:

The Timmy Mallet brand hammer/mallet - why was this never explored?
The Gary Glitter 'My Gang' dirty mac
Roman Abramovich moneyclip
Tony Blair gearstick - unfortunately there is no reverse gear...

Another new RAZR!

2006-08-08T05:10:00.000-07:00

Check out the Mobile Gazette's preview of yet another RAZR: http://www.mobilegazette.com/motorola-razr-xx-06x07x28.htm

They are questioning the need for another RAZR, and some might say quite rightly. While the phone has been one of the iconic designs of the noughties, perhaps it is time for a manufacturer of Motorola's resources to move on to something fresher. After all, the other firms have created equally stylish variations on the theme, such as LG's Chocolate and the swathe of folding Nokia phones recently released onto the market.

What will be the next big step forward in phone design? I'd like to suggest the return of the huge, Graphite-stlye phone. With retro styling taking over everywhere we look (notice girls in leggings and pumps, boys in skinny jeans), isn't it about time that we all had phones the size of bags of sugar?

RAZR leads the way

2006-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Just a a quick post - has anyone else notice how flagrently other mobile phone designers are ripping off Mototola's RAZR?

Nokia, who have led the mobile market for years with their iconic designs are now being heavily influenced by the flat, sleek, fold-down RAZR as can be seen on their 6111 handset.

Samsung's E900 is another RAZRLIKE handset on the market.

Elsewhere, LG's chocolate is another variation on the same theme.

I like these phones - as a child of the eighties, I guess this is what I always imagined technology to look like, and form should certainly be given as much thought as function!

Samsung's Stroke of Genius (or is it?)

2006-07-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

The fabled British press have been scratching around in recent weeks to fill the inevitable news gap that appears whenever the sun is shining. Never mind the whole world going to hell in a handbag: the summer demands silly stories, and probably the silliest so far was the news that Samsung had developed a revolutionary new mobile phone (the LP4100) which has a built in breathalyser to prevent those oh so regrettable 3am phonecalls to the ex/next partner.

We've all been there - a Saturday morning, bleary eyes, sore head... you reach for the phone and find a text message in the inbox saying something along the lines of "you are a dublini appe". What could have brought on such rudeness?

Then it dawns... you look at your call register and find something like "3:00 am Ex". Always bad news, because you haven't a clue what was said (but can guarantee it wasn't good).

I was in Ibiza last week, and, at around five in the morning, was inches away from sending some inappropriate text messages to both the ex and a good friend. Luckily, my fumbling fingers and short attention span took care of that little situation. If I'd had the LP4100 to hand, I suspect it would have automatically called 112 and made the San Antonio police come and get me!

Unfortunately, as you may expect, the press reports of this new phone were a bit wayward. The phone is produced by LG, not Samsung, and doesn't actually stop you from making those damned calls, it just lets you know that you are doing wrong. This 'concerned friend' behaviour is all well and good, but, much like real friends in the same situation, the advice is likely to be ignored.

And the phone isn't very attractive either. Oh well...

Into the ether once more...

2006-07-05T04:33:00.000-07:00

It's always hard to know where to start with a blog! They say all novels have a start, a middle and an end, whereas (good) blogs just go on and on...

I have ventured into the world of blogging once before, when I kept a number of blogs relating to diffferent aspects of my life and interests. That experiment didn't end too well with the men in white coats almost coming to take me away (ha ha hee hee). The moral of that particular story was that blogs are very much a matter of quality over quantity, and that is what I shall aim for with this blog.

The internet is great for technology news, and this blog should help to collate new information as it comes in. I'm personally a big mobile phone fan so expect to hear plenty about those little beauties. Aside from that, I love music and the various applications of technology in modern production and playback (despite around 80% of my music collection being on vinyl!).

I'd love to hear any comments you have, but you should probably wait until I say something interesting before you start with all that.

Oh well, until next time.