In many respects, the HTC Legend is a re-working of the excellent HTC Hero. You’ll see the lineage in the chin design at the base of the smartphone. Fortunately, HTC has done away with the trackball and the overall design is slimmer and sleeker.

Read our Google Nexus One review

Instead of a trackball you’ll find an optical trackpad, which in many respects isn’t really necessary as the HTC Legend has a 3.7-inch screen that is a genuine pleasure to use. It’s big, bright and best of all, responsive.

The chassis of the HTC Legend is made from metal, all except for the housing around the camera. It feels amazing in the hand with a tactile feel that is balanced by a decent weight dispersal.

However, it is the Google Android 2.1 OS that really makes the HTC Legend come to life. First seen on the Google Nexus One, the big difference here is the inclusion of the HTC Sense UI, which really helps bring the standard apps, such as Google Mail, Google Maps and a reworked web browser, to life.

It’s not just the standard Google apps you can access quickly on the HTC Legend, as the new Friend Feed app brings your Facebook, Twitter and Flickr accounts into one easy-to-use place. Then there is the ‘7 screen leap’, which allows you to view all the various Homescreens at once.

When it comes to features, you’ll find the standard array of features as on the Nexus One. So, there is a 5-Megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi built in as standard. We found the camera took some amazing test shots, even in a room with dim lighting.

The HTC Legend isn’t without its flaws: the battery life isn’t amazing, so you’ll find yourself needing to charge it on a regular basis and call quality wasn’t as good as we’d hoped.

Verdict
The HTC Legend is comfortably the best Google Android smartphone to date. It’s a great looking device with an amazing screen that responds quickly. While it’s less impressive as an every day phone if you’re looking for the ultimate smartphone, the HTC Legend has to be it (for now).

Best features
Great screen
Amazing HTC Sense UI

Not so good
Average battery life
Is the trackpad necessary?

Check out the HTC Legend image gallery:

Closest Rivals
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is Nokia’s first touchscreen phone and is a fantastic all-round device. You can take great quality pictures with the 3.2-Megapixel camera or listen to your tunes on the built-in MP3 player

LG Arena KM900
Inside the LG Arena touchscreen phone is a powerful S-Class user interface that lets you control an array of apps with your fingertips. The 3-inch touchscreen is perfect for images, video and even web browsing

Samsung S8300 Tocco Ultra Edition
The Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition blends style, design and the latest in technology. With a full touchscreen and revolutionary 2.8-inch super bright AMOLED display and 8-Megapixel digital camera this is one knockout phone

Symbian ^3 is one of the most hotly anticipated operating systems, as Nokia’s existing Symbian OS looks a little old and clunky on cutting-edge handsets such as the Nokia N97 Mini.

A recent demo gives a great insight into what we can expect from Symbian ^3, with the operating system looking a lot cleaner, smoother and more intuitive than its older sibling. You can expect multiple home pages, for a start – as with Android-based devices such as the HTC Legend.

Check out the current crop of Symbian smartphones

You can also expect customisable widgets, the ability to add or delete pages and applications, and a much more aethetically pleasing design. Multi-touch will also be supported – both on capacitive and resistive displays – meaning we may well see more of the latter. Further features include the ability to multi-task, with Nokia Conversations suggesting that up to 100 improvements have also been made to the new OS.

Don’t just take our word for it though – check out the video below:

Via Nokia Conversations

Rumours abound about what Apple’s iPhone 4.0 operating system will include but one safe bet is the inclusion of better multitasking. As it stands at the moment you can run core tasks in the background but you won’t find anything to rival the likes of the Nokia N900, not even in third-party app flavour, so multitasking will be a big step forward for all Apple users.

Check out the Apple iPhone 3GS review

A story popped up on Electricpig pointing out the rumour comes from sources with a ‘proven track record’ that it would be included in the new OS but at this stage details are a little thin on the ground. For the most part, problems to overcome will involve how the iPhone and iPad will handle having multiple apps open on a processing level, as having too many open will slow down performance. Then there is the evident knock-on effect of how this will hit the battery life of the device.

What do you think, do you want multitasking in your Apple iPad or Apple iPhone at the sake of possibly shorter battery times or are you happy with the current way things work? Let us know what you think in the Comments below.

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Via: Electricpig

There’s not a lot in the box itself - just the Nokia 7230, a charger, headphones and instruction manual. It’s a sign of the user experience to come, as everything about the Nokia 7230 is designed around simplicity.

Eschewing the current trend for touchscreens, the Nokia 7230 features a traditional 2.4 inch display, and regular keys. As such, it’s great for those of you who prefer a regular mobile phone over a smartphone, and it’s especially suited to older users who simply want a good, no nonsense product.

Slide down the keypad and you’ll find a set of oversized buttons. It’s a comfortable handset for long periods of use, with the keys proving big and responsive. There’s also a set of navigational buttons just below the screen, including a directional d-pad and call and end keys.

Check out the latest Nokia deals

Along with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the device, there’s a micro-USB port for syncing the Nokia 7230. There’s no micro-USB cable included in the box as standard, showing this may be a low priority for the target audience this phone is aimed at.

We’ll be bringing a full review of the Nokia 7230 in the next few days, but even from first glance it’s apparent that this is a well made, sensible and affordable option. It’ll be available form £129 (inc. VAT), so is a great choice if you want to remain free from contracts.

Check out our Nokia 7230 Image Gallery:

We’ve seen quite a lot recently on the software side of Windows Phone 7 Series, but not a great deal has been mentioned about the hardware. Details of an LG handset have recently been leaked, but Toshiba could be in the position to release one of the first Windows Phone 7 Series with the introduction of the Toshiba TG03.

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The Toshiba TG03 follows on from the Toshiba TG02 and Toshiba TG01 – the first smartphone we saw to feature Qualcomm’s impressive 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The chip was largely ineffective in the Toshiba TG01, which featured the power-sapping Windows Mobile 6.1, but the same processor along with the more efficient Windows Phone 7 Series could prove a devastating combination.

According to Electric Pig, the Toshiba TG03 will feature a large 4.1-inch touchscreen, but in this case it will fix some of the Toshiba TG01’s flaws, with a capacitive panel rather than the original unresponsive resistive display.

Whether the Toshiba TG03 is truth or rumour remains to be seen, but with more and more Android-based smartphones coming out, it’s about time manufacturers started releasing more details of Windows Phone 7 Series handsets.

Via Electric Pig

The Motorola i1 is an Android smartphone for iDEN networks, and although early reports of the handset pointed towards a 3-Megapixel camera, it would appear that the Motorola i1 is set to get a 5-Megapixel sensor.

The Motorola i1 is also set to feature Opera Mini as its default internet browser, which is a welcome move as it’s definitely one of the best mobile browsers on the market, effortlessly rendering web pages to fit on the smaller screen.

Check out the latest Android deals

As with products such as the HTC Legend, the Moto i1 will boast a custom interface over the top of the Android operating system, in this case Motorola’s Blur software. This means you’ll find a custom home page, and a slightly updated messaging format.

At present, there’s no word on when the Motorola i1 will be available, or how much it will cost.

Via Engadget.

The upcoming Dell Mini 5 Tablet has made another appearance, this time in a presentation, and shows that the Dell Mini 5 could also be called the Dell Streak when it goes on sale. More excitingly, the Dell Mini 5 – or indeed the Dell Streak – will get Kindle integration – making it the perfect device for reading eBooks. Read on after the jump to find out more…

One of the biggest problems with devices like the Dell Mini 5 – and rivals including the Apple iPad – is that nobody knows what to actually do with them. They’re too large for comfortable use as a telephone, and often too small for conventional laptop use.

They are perfect for eBooks, however, with the small screen of the Dell Mini 5 making it compact and light enough to slip in a pocket and take with you everywhere you go. Therefore, the leaked presentation – which pointed out that the Dell Mini 5 will definitely feature Kindle integration – is a great pointer for what the Dell Mini 5 might be used for.

Can’t wait for the Dell Mini 5? Check out the latest smartphone deals

In addition to Kindle integration, Dell’s relationship with Amazon also means that you’ll be able to access Amazon MP3s and Amazon video through the Del Mini 5.

The presentation also highlights the availability of different colours for the Dell Mini 5, and according to Electric Pig you’ll even be able to buy custom skins for your device through the Dell Design Studio.

Via Electric Pig

We’ve picked some of the best accessories available in the technology world, and whether you opt for one of the items below (we’d probably go for the netbook if you want to make an impression) or all of them, we’re certain your mother will approve. 

Dell Mini 10v Netbook
Your mother is bound to appreciate this great little netbook, especially as it comes with a 3G broadband deal. It means she’ll be able to browse the internet and keep in touch with you on the move – something the Dell Mini 10v is perfect for. It’s a particularly compact machine, and is perfect for viewing all her photos, or sending emails.
Price Free - £25 per month contract

LEXAR JumpDrive Retrax USB Key Flash Drive - 8GB Blue
Days like Mother’s Day help you to remember how much your loved ones mean to you, and how important your digital photo collections are. Lose them, and there’s no way of getting them back, so it’s important to make sure you back them up. This 8GB USB stick is the ideal way for your mother to backup files on the move, making sure she never loses a loved photograph again.
Price £21 (inc. VAT)

CANON Selphy CP790 Compact Photo Printer
Although an unexciting present in concept, a photo printer is the ideal accessory to get the best out of her netbook, letting her print photographs from her netbook. The Canon Compact Photo Printer will even let her print photographs straight from the camera’s memory card, so she’ll even be able to print without using a computer.
Price £80 (inc. VAT)

BUILT 7″-10″ Laptop Portfolio Bag
Netbooks such as the Samsung NC10 are great products, but when used on a daily basis it’s easy for them to become scratched and tatty. Help your mother protect hers with a bag or slip case, such as this Built Portfolio bag. Looking more like a handbag than a laptop case, it’s the ideal present for Mother’s Day, and promises to keep her netbook looking like new for some time to come.
Price £33 (inc. VAT)

Flip Mino Digital Camcorder
A pocket camcorder is arguably one of the best presents you can buy, letting your mother keep track of all future family occasions, and recording your drunken antics for all eternity. The incredibly compact Flip Mino has 2GB of internal memory, and your mother will easily be able to transfer video clips to her netbook or laptop, thanks to a built-in USB plug.
Price £140 (inc. VAT)

The Vodafone 845 smartphone could be a budget Android device, and unlike most devices we’ve seen up until now, it will pack a compact 2.8-inch screen. This should make it perfect for casual users, as it’ll be a lot easier to slip into you pocket than larger handsets such as the HTC Legend.

Despite its budget aspirations, the Vodafone 845 looks like being a feature-packed device, with 3G/HSDPA connectivity, and GPS included as standard. You’ll also find Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, helping the Vodafone 845 to compete with pricier models, at least in terms of features.

Check out the latest Android deals

Helping to distinguish the Vodafone 845 could be support for Vodafone’s 360 service – a social networking service that could make it easier than ever to keep in touch with all of your friends and family.

Electric Pig notes that the Vodafone 845 could go on sale from as little as £136 on pay as you go, making it a great introduction to Android ownership. It’s likely to go on sale in May.

Via Electric Pig

The Apple iPad – as yet – doesn’t appear to be the device that most people were hoping for from Apple. A scaled up Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, this slimline tablet has left people wondering just what the point of it is – with few features to distinguish it from its smaller rivals.

However, a video clip on the Apple iPad reveals iBookstore pricing - £5.30 - £10 – letting you turn the iPad into an eReader. The video also highlights a My Documents button, hinting at a traditional file structure and the fact you’ll be able to use iWorks on the Apple iPad to carry out regular office tasks.

Check out the latest smartphone deals

Although we weren’t expecting the Apple iPad to have a front-facing camera, it seems we may have been wrong, as the video also hints at the existence of a camera, which could be used for video chats.

Check out the video below – and let us know if you spot anything else of interest, some more Apple iPad secrets could well be hidden in there.

Via Electric Pig