Available from Orange for a limited time period, the Watch Phone will be available at an exclusive price point on either Orange pay as you go or SIM-only. The device features a compact and stylish design with a Bluetooth headset, in-built speaker and a full touch-screen interface, as well as 3G+ and video-calling capabilities.

The device heralds a new focus from Orange, to showcase the latest innovative, original, and high-end multimedia devices on the market, with at least three new market-leading devices to be unveiled by the end of the year.

Tom Alexander, CEO Orange UK said: “The Watch Phone is the must-have gadget of 2009. It’s handcrafted, exclusively limited, and will turn heads on the high street.

"Our ambition is to become the best loved communications brand in the UK, and the destination brand of choice for high-end mobile users in the market. To help us achieve this, we have secured some of the most original and innovative devices available.

"The Watch Phone is the first of these devices, all focused on bringing a 21st-century experience to our 21st century customers.

“Over time we also intend to match the power of these devices with bespoke multimedia packages, driving even more inspirational conversations and deeper connections for our customers.”

Mobile Multimedia

Orange has already begun integrating multimedia services into its animal packages, with the company now offering inclusive ‘sat nav’, mobile internet and email services on select pay-monthly price plans.

Furthermore, recent developments in device advancements, matched with the creation of price plans designed for multimedia usage have helped make it easier for consumers to access the content they want when on the move. On average 3.25 million monthly users now use Orange World (Orange’s mobile internet portal) and over one million Orange customers use their handset to access social networks every month.

Via Press Release

The new touchscreen device will be unveiled at the Nokia World conference in September, say industry insiders, as the Finnish handset giant tries to revive its fortunes in the smartphone market.

Nokia, which makes roughly four out of every 10 mobile phones sold, has been losing out in the market for phones that can access the internet, send emails and download third-party applications, to products such as the Apple iPhone and BlackBerry Storm. The Android software platform, meanwhile, has been gaining ground with over half a dozen handsets expected to be available by the end of the year.

Analysts at HSBC reckon Nokia had 47% of the global smartphone market in 2007; that was down to 35% last summer and 31% at the end of the year.

The smartphone segment is critical as it is the only part of the mobile phone market which is growing. Cash-strapped consumers are either holding on to their existing phones and opting for cheaper SIM-only deals or "trading up" to more advanced gadgets such as the iPhone.

Opting to use Android, an "open source" platform that any software developer can access, is a reversal of the company’s previous strategy in mobile phone software.

via The Guardian

This is all we know so far but it is one lovely looking Android handset, Xperia has previously been a Windows Mobile brand for Sony Ericsson.

via Android Community

A detailed description of what they do and why Clove are supporting them can be found on the following links:

http://www.clove.co.uk/ifihaveto.aspx

www.ifihaveto.co.uk

As part of their campaign to raise money for the cause they have amongst many other things donated 2 x Sony Ericsson C905, SIM FREE UNLOCKED Handsets which are up for auction on the following links:

Auction 1

Auction 2

Every penny raised from the sale of these units goes to the cause!

On a separate note they have also put together some fantastic deals on a whole host of devices.

They are running promotions across the board, from HTC to Samsung and there really are some great deals to be had.

The best of which are on Nokia Products.  Click the link below to find out just what crazy prices they are offering on the latest Nokia handsets.

http://www.clove.co.uk/category.aspx?department=Nokia&category=5114EB0F-4EC3-4FF9-B422-AE298BA32E3D

The HTC Touch Pro2 makes organising, hosting and participating in conference calls easier than ever before. The appointment reminder tool will cue up dial-in details and the call agenda and with a tap of the screen you can effortlessly join the call. Further taps to the screen allow the user to also confer privately with a single person and then return to the conference call if they so wish. The HTC Touch Pro2’s quad-band 3G+ connectivity also delivers reliable high quality voice calling and with Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional, users can very simply synchronise all Microsoft Outlook email, contacts and calendar information directly with their phone.

Business users can also use the HTC’s Straight Talk™ feature to switch from an email account to single or multi-party voice calls by pressing the image icon of the email sender. For those on the move, the HTC Touch Pro2 transforms into a professional quality speaker phone with a noise-cancelling microphone and speakers, just by placing it face down on a surface.

The device also boasts a 3.6-inch high-resolution touch screen, while a slide out QWERTY keyboard with adjustable tilt allows users to easily write emails or amend documents. With capacity for an 8GB MicroSD card, professionals can use the HTC Touch Pro2 to watch a film, listen to music or browse the internet on the move.

“The HTC Touch Pro2 is packed with features to make everyday business tasks a great deal easier and is the ideal mobile companion for the busy business user,” said François Mahieu, Director of Devices at Orange.

via Press Release

The Omnia II features Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and the world’s largest 3.7-inch AMOLED display with WVGA resolution. TouchWiz 2.0 User Interface and 3D effects make enjoying multimedia and multi tasking convenient and fun. Advanced R Touch (Resistive Touch) enables faster, more accurate touch response. Multimedia features include DVD-like (480p) video recording/playback, internet browsing and interactive 3D games.

We have the full video after the break.

Via HD Blog

Hero of Sparta is number one among top paid apps in iTunes USA and several other countries so here we are reviewing this game. It costs only $0.99 so it is also extremely cheap and since we are cheap skates we like this price.

So what is this Sparta? Sparta was a city in Greece – a country in East Europe – and Spartans were known as the best warriors in the whole ancient Greece. Compared to Spartans, pro wrestlers are little girls.

In this game, touted by its developer as "full-3D", you are King Argos, so quite a honcho Spartan. Apart from fighting regular other warriors, you are fighting also mythical creatures from Greek mythology.

Here is how this app looks like:

On the left you have kind-of joystick that controls your character and on the right the sword button to attack and shield button to defend yourself with sword.

Sometimes also other buttons appear, like the jump button:

Here is more tips about how to use that buttons to control the guy:

While mostly you can control your character, sometimes the "play only" scenes appear:

Very rarely a nice babe appears to please your eyes:

… and mostly you have to fight ugly mofos:

You can gather shiny things to obtain power:

When you get killed you can try again, what is nice:

This game is available in the following languages (the last one is Japanese not Chinese as iPhone is not on sale in China officially yet):

We must say that the creepiest is "kill move", that you can activate with this button that appears only for short time:

Apart from usual sword-based cutting of enemies body, some of these kill moves are crazy-murderer-worthy… so generally this game might not appeal to everybody. Obviously killing people by dropping bombs or sending rockets is equally gruesome but in sword combat with cutting enemies’ bodies, you get to see more of the gore.

We are amazed that such brutal game is number one in app store and we don’t like it too much, but one can’t discuss results: it is number one bestseller now.

Probably very nice 3D graphics must have contributed to the good sales figures. Not so much story or gameplay.

All in all, our conclusion is: if you are into bloody body cutting with swords, this game is a bargain at $0.99 considering how many nice graphics effects it has in it.

* * * * *

Thanks to Joel Ivory Johnson for the code so that we could test this game for free!

Get it here:

* * * * *

Via Clove Blog

The Pre, which went on sale in the US last month, has been tipped as the most viable alternative yet produced to the iPhone. The new version of the Apple device – the iPhone 3GS – went on sale less than two weeks ago and a million were snapped up in the first three days.

O2 already has an exclusive deal with Apple to stock the iPhone and grabbing the Palm Pre is likely to further cement its position as the UK’s largest mobile phone network. Reports of a tie-up between Palm and O2 first appeared in May and Carphone Warehouse is also expected to stock the Pre.

O2 is believed to have seen off fierce competition for the device from Orange, which it also beat to the iPhone at the last minute.

Analysts reckon that Palm has already sold more than 300,000 Pre devices in the US alone and the handset has a crucial role to play in reviving the company’s flagging fortunes.

After pioneering the handheld computer market in the 1990s with the Palm Pilot, the company’s move into the mobile phone business was scuppered by the arrival of the iPhone.

Earlier this year, Palm’s chairman, Jon Rubinstein, said that launching a hit device was the vital first step on the road to recovery. "We’ve been fighting the battle with basically both hands tied behind our back for the past year and half," he said. "Now we’re getting on the playing field, and we’re going to be extremely competitive. But it’s the beginning."

The Apple device sent many handset manufacturers back to the drawing board when it appeared two years ago. Since then a series of ‘me-too’ touchscreen devices have appeared, from the Nokia 5800 and Sony’s X-Series Walkman to the HTC Magic and T-Mobile’s G1. Business email device manufacturer RIM, meanwhile, has pushed hard into the consumer market with the Blackberry Storm.

The Palm Pre has received positive reviews since it launched in the US under an exclusive deal with Sprint. Its touchscreen has been compared favourably with that on the iPhone, while the Pre also has a full slide-out keyboard, making emails easier to type than on the Apple device.

But for many users the most striking difference between the iPhone and the Pre is the way in which the latter device charges: rather than being plugged in, it merely has to be placed on what Palm calls its "Touchstone" and charges through magnetic induction. O2 refused to comment.

via The Guardian

The phone, first announced back in February, will be the first handset to feature the Qualcomm 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and promises to take on the iPhone, Palm Pre and HTC Hero when it eventually launches in the UK.

The Toshiba TG01 is a skinny 9.9mm running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with a 4.1-inch WVGA 800 x 480 384k pixel resistive touchscreen, 3G HSPA, WiFi, GPS and A-GPS.  It also features Toshiba’s own 3D user interface, and is the first device to use Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon QSD2850 chipset.

Although Toshiba is keeping quiet on an operator launch partner, it has already teamed up with O2 in Germany following an announcement on Monday.

Image courtesy of Slash Gear