Click here to view the embedded video.

Late last year, Samsung announced their intention to launch their own mobile platform, an ecosystem designed to enable developers to create applications for Samsung mobile devices, which would further enhance the productivity and functionality of phones. Some questioned the viability of bringing yet another mobile platform to an already over-crowded market, but Samsung followed through on their intentions and Samsung bada was born.

The name bada is Korean for ocean, and Samsung claim it conveys the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created for this new system. Which is all well and good but whether developers will want to invest in creating applications for yet another phone platform remains to be seen. Even so, Samsung are confident that bada will deliver something appealing to consumers, and at the recent Mobile World Congress they announced the first mobile phone to run on bada, the Samsung Wave.

In design, the Samsung Wave is very similar to the Vodafone H1, with similar stats in measurements and weight, although the Wave is 2mm thinner. The Wave sports a huge 3.3 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours and with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. The screen has auto rotate facility and supports multi touch input, which among many benefits makes gaming on the device a much better experience. The screen is covered with a scratch resistant surface, which should help the display remain clear and legible in the day to day knocks and bumps a mobile phone receives. Sitting on top of the bada OS is Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz user interface, a smart, bright UI that will be familiar to many owners of previous Samsung handsets. One of the features carried over from standard Samsung devices into the Wave is Smart unlock. This nifty feature allows you to unlock the screen from standby and immediately launch into an application by tracing a letter onto the display with your finger. For example tracing an M could launch the music player, T for text messaging and so on.

Speaking of music, the Wave 8500 is a capable music player, and in fact a capable all round entertainment device. The music player supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA amongst other formats, whilst the video player on the Wave will play back MP4, WMV, XviD and DivX files. Audio playback is enhanced by the inclusion of DNSe which has been seen in a few top end Samsung devices recently, and there is also a 3.5mm audio jack. The handset includes a stereo FM radio, which also has an FM recording option, too. Should you wish, the Wave supports Bluetooth with A2DP for stereo wireless streaming, avoiding any messy tangles with wires, and in fact the Bluetooth on this handset is the very latest 3.0 variant. There is ample storage space available on the phone for all your media files, with the Wave coming with either 2GB or 8 GB of internal memory, plus memory expansion via MicroSD memory cards up to 32 GB in size.

The Wave also comes with a high quality 5.0 Megapixel camera incorporated, which offers support for autofocus, as well as face, smile and blink detection, to help you get that perfect snap every time. With a built in GPS receiver, the camera can Geotag images with location information, which can be viewed when your images have been uploaded to the web. The Wave is also a capable video recording device, offering high quality video capture, and the LED flash can also be used as a video light for recording in low level lighting conditions.

We’ve already mentioned the inclusion of GPS, and the Wave delivers with aGPS too, which works to locate your position in a faster way by not relying solely on GPS satellites but also uses network triangulation. Google Maps comes pre-installed on the Wave, and there is also a digital compass. Location based services comprise a large number of available apps for established platforms, and these features will be vital for such apps if they are ported to the bada OS.

To cut it as a top end smartphone these days, a device needs to be well connected and here the Samsung Wave also scores well. The phone is a quad band GSM device, offering dual band HSDPA on 900 and 2100 frequencies. The HSPA support allows for downloads at up to 7.2 Mbps and uploads at up to 2.0 Mbps, whilst the WiFi support includes 802.11 b/g/n. If you happen to be in an area that is not 3G enabled, the Wave offers both Class 10 GPRS and EDGE.

For a first device, the Samsung Wave certainly sets a high standard for subsequent bada based handsets. If Samsung do manage to deliver with an appealing set of applications for this new platform, they may just prove the naysayers wrong and make bada devices a viable alternative to the more established smartphone platforms.

The Samsung Wave is expected to release to market in late April 2010.

The HTC HD 2 was one of the surprise hits of last year, a huge device sporting a massive 4.3 inch display, with a host of features that made it one of the best Windows Mobile smartphones of 2009. But the HD 2 was not to everyone’s taste and there are many users who would appreciate a device with the functionality of such a handset, but not at that size. The buying power of such consumers is recognised by other manufacturers who have or are looking to have, Mini versions of their top selling devices. So HTC have come to market with the HTC HD Mini, a scaled down pocket friendly version of the HD 2.

Now, it seems obvious to point out that if you want a small device you are going to have to be content with a smaller display, and although the HD Mini offers just a 3.2 inch display, it still packs in a pixel resolution of 320 x 480, which should provide sharp image presentation, and be acceptable for video playback too. Supporting up to 65,000 colours, the HD mini display is a TFT capacitive touchscreen, with auto rotate and a proximity sensor for auto turn off. The screen supports multi touch input, and the device runs on the glorious Sense UI, which is probably the best interface laid over a Windows Mobile device, ever. The Sense UI allows quick and easy access to a host of services and applications, looks good and is so simple to use, it really is the making of the phone.

This device may be Mini in name, but it is certainly not Mini in terms of functionality. HTC have fair crammed pretty much every top end feature a modern smartphone needs into this small package, and there should be enough to satisfy the inner geek in all of us. The Mini offers a 5.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus and video record facility, and there is also a stereo FM radio with RDS support and a full media player for audio and video use. Multiple formats are supported, including MP3, AAC and WMA for audio plus MP4, WMV and DivX for video. There is ample memory available on the HD Mini, with 384 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM plus support for memory expansion via MicroSD memory cards up to 16 GB.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As you would expect, social networking gets star billing, with the handset offering bespoke applications for Facebook and Twitter, so you can keep updated with the latest from your contacts when out and about. The contact information integrates with the contact facility on the handset, so you can also follow updates via the built in phonebook on the phone. There is also a native application included for Flickr, which allows you to instantly upload images straight to the Flickr service from the phone, without having to transfer them to a PC first.

The HTC HD Mini is powered by a Qualcomm 7227 600 MHz processor, and runs Windows Mobile build 6.5.3 Professional. There is support for multiple email accounts on the phone, and push email is also available. Connection to the web is via 3G Mobile Broadband, with HSDPA at up to 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA at up to 2.0 Mbps. The HD Mini supports quad band GSM frequencies for greater roaming options, as well as dual band HSDPA on 900 and 2100 frequencies. WiFi 802.11 b/g is included, and there is also Class 10 GPRS and EDGE; in total, everything you would expect from a modern smartphone. For local connectivity the handset supports Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and has a MicroUSB connector. GPS is available, along with aGPS support, and there is also a digital compass on the device, which can help you orientate yourself in unfamiliar surroundings.

Considering the HTC HD Mini is just over 11mm thick, and weighs in at just 110g, there has been a lot of technology packed in to this tiny device. Windows Mobile devices have never really had much of an appeal to a wider audience the way some other smartphone devices have, but the HD Mini may change all that. From the excellent Sense UI, the amazing specifications and compact dimensions, the HTC HD Mini could become one of the most popular Windows Mobile handsets of all time.

The HTC HD Mini should be available to buy from late April 2010.

The HTC Hero was a defining handset for the Taiwanese manufacturer; it demonstrated a real commitment to the Android platform, and that HTC were capable of delivering handsets that had strong market appeal on a platform that was in essence, still in its infancy. One thing that really made the Hero stand out, apart from the protruding chin design, was the inclusion of the HTC Sense user interface, a smooth looking easy to use colourful UI, which really made its stamp on the industry.

The HTC Hero has since become one of the top selling devices around the world, and now HTC are ready to build on its success and take it to the next level with the HTC Legend. The Legend had been rumoured for a while, and was officially announced to the mobile world at the recent Mobile World Congress. Sporting the same trade mark ‘chin’ look made famous by its predecessor, the Legend has a few pointers of its own that will help it make its own mark within the industry. And the most instantly noticeable of these is the design.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The HTC Legend is made from one piece aluminium, delivering on a concept that HTC call ‘Hidden Power’. Like most marketing terms, it sounds like a grand phrase without really meaning anything at all! But what HTC are getting at is by using a single block piece of aluminium for the casing of the phone, it means essentially there is no need for a separate frame and cover for the phone, the unit is ‘one’, and this leaves more room for components on the device. And to be honest, it really delivers, giving the HTC Legend a desirability factor that the Hero was never really able to achieve.

The new style casing on the Legend has also allowed HTC to deliver a handset that is almost 10g lighter than the Hero, at only 126g, and almost 3mm thinner, the Legend measuring up overall at 112 x 56 x 11.5mm. Another area where the Legend improves on the Hero is the display. The display size, 3.2 inches, and resolution, 320 x 480 is still the same, but the Legend delivers with a high quality 16 million colour AMOLED Capacitive touchscreen, and the difference will be noticeably better. The Legend uses the most current version of the Android Operating System, 2.1, known by the codename Éclair. On top of this is the new version of the Sense UI, with multi touch support and a new way of browsing through the seven standby screens, much the same as found on the HTC Desire. At least here, HTC Hero owners can take heart, as HTC have promised Hero owners an upgrade to the new Sense UI which is due imminently. A welcome relief for loyal Hero users who are still running Android OS 1.5.

The surge in popularity in social networks over recent months has in some way been related to the ease of access offered to these sites by bespoke software on mobile phones. Rather than relying on a mobile web browsing experience, most modern phones these days offer tight integration with popular online services, allowing you to receive updates from friends online, as soon as they are posted. On the Legend, HTC have revamped their social networking experience, delivering through FriendStream, which offers live contact updates, images and link reading to posted items. Like all Android phones, the Legend is constantly connected to the data network, so as well as instant notification of updates on social networks, you can also utilise traditional Instant Messaging services as well as receiving push email notification, which works particularly well with the Google Gmail service.

Powered by a Qualcomm MSM 7227 600 MHz processor, the Legend delivers an excellent all round entertainment experience. The media player supports multiple media file formats for both audio and video, and the Legend also includes a stereo FM radio. There is a 3.5mm audio jack included, and the Legend supports the latest version of Bluetooth, 2.1. A built in GPS receiver with aGPS support delivers an excellent SatNav experience, using the excellent Google Maps, which also allows for geotagging support on the camera. The camera itself is pretty much as found on the HTC Hero, a 5.0 megapixel camera with LED flash and video recording facility.

Any smartphone worth its salt needs to deliver in the connectivity department, and the Legend does not disappoint, offering full HSPA connection with up to 7.2 Mbps for downloads and 2.0 Mbps for uploads, plus there is full support for WiFi 802.11 b/g, which is all backed up by Class 10 GPRS and EDGE. There is ample memory available on the device, with 384 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM, plus memory expansion via MicroSD memory cards, up to 16GB confirmed.

It is a bit of a brave step, marketing wise, to call a handset ‘Legend’, but HTC may truly have a device on their hands that can live up to the name. Not only a handset that delivers in terms of features, and functionality, but also in terms of looks and styling too. If the HTC Legend is on your radar for your next handset, you shouldn’t have to wait too long before you can own the device, as it is slated for release during April 2010.

HTC were busy at the recent Mobile World Congress, with a range of top end smartphone devices on show; one of these phones is the HTC Desire, a generic version of the most hyped phone of 2009, the Google Nexus One.

The HTC Desire is a smart looking handset, sporting a design that lives up to the Desire moniker. With smooth lines and a rounded finish, the Desire delivers a gorgeous, 3.7 inch AMOLED display, with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, supporting up to 16 million colours. Active Matrix OLED displays offer a higher refresh rate than passive matrix displays, and are less power hungry, which aligns to offer mobile phone displays that have a clearer and more natural colour definition. These types of displays also do not need backlight, helping with power consumption, a major consideration for smartphones these days. The screen is a capacitive touchscreen, with support for multi touch input, allowing you to use pinching or squeezing motions on the display to zoom in and out, ideal for web browsing or when using Google Maps. There is also an accelerometer for auto display rotation, plus a proximity sensor which disables the screen whilst in call.

Underneath the display sit the menu, home, back and search keys, sitting either side of an optical trackpad. In general use the trackpad will not be needed much, but can prove invaluable when needing to place the cursor at a certain point, such as correcting a part of a text message or email. Size wise, the Desire is amongst the norm for a modern day smartphone device, measuring in at a respectable 119 x 60 x 12mm, and weighing in at 135g.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The HTC Desire is a quad band GSM device, offering dual band HSDPA connectivity on 900 and 2100 frequencies. HSDPA capabilities on the HTC Desire offer download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps whilst HSUPA offers uploads at up to 2 Mbps. As well as HSPA data transfer, the HTC Desire offers WiFi, Class 10 GPRS and EDGE, plus Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support for stereo wireless streaming. Local data connectivity is also handled with a Micro USB port, which allows you to quickly transfer information between the handset and a PC. There is ample memory available, with 576 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM, with support for Micro SD memory cards available. The Desire can handle memory cards up to 32GB in size.

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor, the Desire runs the latest version of the Android operating system, 2.1 (commonly known as Éclair). Sitting on top of this is the revamped HTC Sense user interface, which has some tweaks making it even easier to use. The Sense UI still offers a range of 7 homescreens which you can swipe your way through, with different widgets or application shortcuts on each screen. An easy way to access these screens is to utilise a pinching movement from the main screen, which will bring up each of the seven screens as a little thumbnail; simply press the image for the screen you want and you will be taken straight to that screen.

There are plenty of features on the HTC Desire to keep even the most demanding phone geek happy (for a while, at least); The device delivers an integrated 5.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus and LED flash, and video recording maxes out at an impressive 720 x 480 pixels (D1 Resolution) at 30 fps. For entertainment the handset incorporates a full media player, supporting multiple audio and video formats, including DivX video files. A 3.5mm audio jack is included as standard, and the handset also offers a stereo FM radio with RDS support.

The rest of the things you can use the Desire for will boil down to which apps you decide to install from the ever expanding range found on the Android market. There are a variety of apps, both paid and free, that will increase the functionality on the phone, from simple things like weather and news reports, to video streaming applications, podcasting apps, photo editors and more. All of the usual Google suite of apps comes as standard, such as Google Maps, Google Mail and Google Calendar, and there are a whole host of applications for accessing sites like Twitter and Facebook on the move.

The HTC Desire is out now with deals via our comparison platform starting from £20.31 per month.

 

Motorola didn’t have much to show at the Mobile World Congress, showcasing just one handset at the event. In keeping with the recent tie in Motorola have had with Android, bringing us handsets like MILESTONE, DEXT and BACKFLIP, the QUENCH also runs Android OS, in this case version 1.5.

Unlike the aforementioned Motorola devices, the QUENCH is purely touchscreen, there is no hard QWERTY keyboard included here. Now generally typing on a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard can be a bit difficult to get used to, but with the QUENCH text entry is *completely* different. The QUENCH offers Swype, a completely new way of entering text on a touchscreen phone, where words are entered by swiping your way across the screen, instead of individually touching each letter. You simply press on the letter that starts the word you wish to enter, and then trace your finger across the screen to each letter in the word, without moving your finger from the screen, until you come to the last letter in the word. You then take your finger from the screen, press on the letter of the next word, and repeat. There’s no need to use the space key, as a space is automatically entered after each word. Swype needs to be seen in action to be fully appreciated, you can view Swype in the video clips below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The display itself is a large 3.1 inch capacitive touchscreen, with a pixel resolution of 320 x 480. The screen has an auto rotate facility, and there is a proximity sensor which disables the screen when you are on a call. The device is pretty much a standard size for a high end touchscreen smartphone, measuring in at 117 x 60 x 12.5mm and weighing 130g. On the QUENCH, Motorola have included the MotoBLUR UI, and there is support for live widgets, which allow you to be constantly updated with friends’ updates from your favourite social networks, and this is all powered by a Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz processor.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Available in three colour options, Black, Liquorice and Purple, the QUENCH measures up pretty well against other Motorola and other manufacturer Android handsets. The handset includes 512 MB ROM and 256 MB RAM, with memory expansion via MicroSD memory cards, supporting up to 32GB. The media player supports MP3, AAC and eAAC+ audio files along with MP3, H.263 and H.264 video files. A 3.5mm audio output jack is included, and there is also a stereo FM radio option, with RDS support. There is a 5.0 Megapixel camera onboard, with autofocus and an LED flash for low level light conditions, and images can be geotagged too. Video recording is enabled, CIF resolution at 25fps, but there is no front facing camera.

Web browsing on the QUENCH comes over well; with all the usual data connections you’d expect on a smartphone, HSPA Mobile Broadband at up to 7.2Mbps and WiFi for high speed browsing, backed up by Class 12 GPRS and EDGE, the web browser on the phone will allow you to zoom in and out using pinching movements on the display. All the usual Google services are accessible, Gmail, YouTube, Google Search and Maps, and the QUENCH also covers push email and instant messaging.

All round then, the Motorola QUENCH is a solid device, offering everything you would expect from a modern smartphone, and should help further re-establish Motorola once again as a manufacturer of desirable mobile phones. You should expect the QUENCH to be available sometime during late March/early April.

The first of the two Android devices is the Acer beTouch E400. Running on Android 2.1, the beTouch E400 has a large, 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen, and the Android operating system has been tweaked with the Acer UI. The E400 has a built in GPS receiver with aGPS support and includes a digital compass. The beTouch is a well connected handset, offering standard HSDPA at 3.6 Mbps and HSUPA at 384 kbps, and there is also WiFi and Bluetooth onboard.

A capable media device, the handset has a stereo FM radio and full featured music player, and there is a 3.5mm audio output jack. Messaging is covered with support for multiple email accounts, and the Pocket Office application for editing and viewing attachments comes pre-installed. Imaging seems a bit weak on the phone, in comparison with other recently announced phones, with a 3.2 Megapixel camera on board, it remains to be seen whether it provides acceptable pictures. The beTouch E400 should be available to market during April.

The second Android device has a slightly lower specification than the E400. The Acer beTouch E110 is smaller and lighter, and includes a 2.8 inch TFT resistive touchscreen display. It also runs on an older version of Android, version 1.5, it is not yet clear if the device can be upgraded after purchase to a more recent version. There is still the same 3.2 Megapixel camera, but whilst the E110 supports 3G+ Mobile Broadband like the E400, the E110 does not offer WiFi. Other features on the E110 seem to match its big brother, so we find support for social networking, multiple email accounts, and the Pocket Office application for viewing and editing email attachments. The Acer beTouch E110 should be available to buy from March.

Moving over to Windows Mobile now, Acer has two devices running on Windows Mobile 6.5.3, the first we are going to look at is the Acer neoTouch P400. The device appears to be a Windows Mobile version of the beTouch E400, so the spec list is pretty similar. The same HVGA 3.2 inch touch display is included, and the P400 also runs on the same processor. Support for GPS with aGPS is included, as is a digital compass, and there is even the same 3.2 Megapixel camera. Connection options on the P400 include Bluetooth, HSPA for high speed uploads and downloads, and the P400 includes WiFi 802.11 b/g in its arsenal. The device can handle multiple email accounts as well as push email, and the built in document viewer also allows you to edit email attachments. The neoTouch P400 is expected to be available from May.

Lastly we have the Acer neoTouch P300, a smart looking Windows Mobile device, with a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The QWERTY keys are illuminated to help with typing in poor light conditions, and there is a strong emphasis on productivity and messaging. The Pocket Office application allows you to work on the road, and the device can handle multiple email accounts and also offers push email. Social networking is tightly focussed on the phone, and connectivity is well covered, with support for WiFi, HSDPA, and Bluetooth. As we know, all work and no play is no fun at all; to cover this, the neoTouch P300 includes a full media player, and there is a 3.2mm audio jack, plus support for Bluetooth connectivity. The camera, as with the previous handsets, is a 3.2 Megapixel imaging device, the handset also includes GPS with aGPS support for accessing location based services. The neoTouch P300 is expected to be available in March.

This is a strong set of handsets from Acer, and although the name may not be big in mobile phones, with handsets like these that may be set to change.

We now turn our attention to the announcements at the Mobile World Congress from HTC. HTC have come a long way in the industry from the early days, when they were mainly responsible for supplying network branded Windows Mobile devices, bring the likes of the SPV on Orange, MDA on T-Mobile and XDA on O2 to market. As the popularity of these devices increased, HTC started to release handsets under their own name and are now one of the leading manufacturers of Windows Mobile and Android handsets. Of the three handsets announced, two are running the Android OS and one Windows Mobile, and it is that handset we are going to look at first.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The HTC HD2 has been a popular device for HTC, but it has to be noted that the large size of the device is not to everyone’s liking. Fear not, as HTC has announced the imminent arrival of the HTC HD Mini. Expected in early April, the Mini is an amazingly feature packed device for its size. The HD Mini is an amazing 17mm shorter than its bigger brother, 10mm narrower and a whopping 47g lighter. Despite the compact size the HD Mini delivers a bright HVGA capacitive touchscreen display with multi touch support, measuring in at a healthy 3.2 inches. The handset runs the HTC Sense UI over Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional, offering probably the best UI on a Windows handset. Squeezed into the HD Mini is a 5.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, GPS receiver with aGPS support, stereo FM radio and full media player which plays multiple digital formats for audio and video, including DivX. Powered by a Qualcomm 7227 600 MHz processor, the HD Mini has 384 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM, and can handle MicroSD memory cards up to 16GB in size. Data is well supported on the phone, with Bluetooth 2.1 for local connectivity, plus HSPA Mobile Broadband and WiFi for web browsing. All powered from a Li-ion 1200 mAh battery.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The next device will be known as the HTC Legend. The Legend is powered by a Qualcomm MSM 7227 600 MHz processor and has the updated HTC Sense UI overlaying Android OS 2.1. The updates include multi touch support, improved integration for social networks and an option called Leap, which allows you to view all the homescreen panes on one screen, by making a pinching movement on the display. Available in grey or black, the Legend in design is very much like the HTC Hero, even including the little ‘chin’. The handset is made of one piece aluminium, and that offers it a really smart, elegant look. With 384 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM, the Legend supports MicroSD memory cards up to 16GB in size, and includes HSPA, WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1. Other features include a 5.0 Megapixel camera, Stereo FM radio, full media player and of course there are all the usual Google services available too. The HTC Legend is expected to be available from the end of March/beginning of April.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lastly, by certainly not the least of our trio, is the HTC Desire. Previously codenamed the Bravo, the HTC Desire is basically a Nexus One, running with the excellent HTC Sense UI. Expected to be available from the end of March, t-Mobile UK have already confirmed that this device will be part of their line up, but we don’t yet have any pricing details. The HTC Desire sports a huge 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED display, with multi touch support, and instead of a trackball as found on the Nexus One offers an optical trackpad. The Android OS version is 2.1, and the device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz processor, with 576 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. MicroSD memory cards up to 16GB will be supported, offering plenty of storage for media on the phone, for images captured on the 5.0 Megapixel camera, as well as music and video. All the necessary data options are included, with Bluetooth 2.1 plus HSPA Mobile Broadband and WiFi.

An impressive array of smartphones, a line up of products that only further enhances HTC’s standing as a specialist supplier of top end products.

Sometimes when a new handset is released, it is instantly clear where it fits into that particular manufacturer’s line-up of existing handsets, but every once in a while a new product is announced that, whilst being a fine device in its own right, seems to be nothing more than a filler handset, just another variation on an existing phone. The Samsung S5620 Monte is a device that fits into this category. I mean, it is indeed a fine handset, with an impressive array of features, but I do wonder just who it will appeal to, what is the market segment it is aimed at? Perhaps, though, the S5620 isn’t designed to attract a specific type of user, and will instead offer a broad appeal across the market. It will be interesting to see just where this phone sits when it is released.

As I said, the feature setup on the handset is very good, with a solid if not spectacular line-up. Very lightweight, at just 92g, the Samsung Monte measures in at a comfortable 109 x 54 x 12.5mm, very much among the norm for a mid range device. With a full touch enabled display, using capacitive technology, the Monte delivers a TFT screen measuring in at a good 3.0 inches, supporting up to 256,000 colours and with a pixel resolution of 240 x 400. The handset runs on the proprietary Samsung TouchWiz user interface, which is a simple, icon driven menu system that makes navigation simple for even the newest of mobile phone users. The device has a built in accelerometer for auto display rotation, and there is a turn to mute option included too, which handily allows you to mute incoming calls by simply flipping the phone over. Another nice inclusion is the Smart Unlock option, which allows you to unlock the phone and instantly launch a chosen application by simply ‘drawing’ a pre selected shape on your phone’s display. So for example, drawing an ‘M’ could launch the music player, or an ‘S’ could launch the SMS feature, and so on.

It’s good to see on a mid range device the inclusion of a GPS receiver, enabling the phone to work as a personal navigation device by using the ever popular Google Maps application, with the Samsung Monte shipping with Google Maps 3.0. The GPS receiver also works with the built in 3.2 Megapixel camera, allowing you to add location information to the digital data on captured images, which allows people to see the location images were captured if you enable this on photos you upload to the web. As well as offering Geotagging, the camera on the Monte supports fixed focus, and also smile detection. Video recording is enabled too, allowing video clips to be captured at an acceptable 15 fps, at QVGA resolution, which whilst a bit choppy and blocky would still view ok if uploaded to the web. Social networking integration on the Monte follows in the footsteps of many recent handsets from Samsung, offering live updates that can be set to be delivered direct to the main standby screen on the phone. This option can be activated from a variety of the most popular social networking sites.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The S5620 Monte includes a full media player, with support for multiple music and video formats. Memory on the handset is a rather impressive 227MB internal, which can be expanded with the addition of a MicroSD memory card, with the Monte supporting cards up to 16GB in size. To enhance the music listening capabilities, the Monte includes a 3.5mm audio output jack, plus includes support for DNSe for an improved sound quality. There is a stereo FM radio with RDS included on the phone, and we also find Bluetooth 2.1, which allows for stereo audio streaming to a compatible wireless headset.

Messaging and web browsing are well catered for on the Monte, with support for Palringo instant messaging already installed on the device, plus the usual email facilities found on most Samsung devices, which includes support for push email and multiple account setup. There is a full web browser on the handset, which works well with most websites, and data connectivity is handled via 3G+ Mobile Broadband, backed up by GPRS, EDGE, and there is also WiFi 802.11b/g too.

Overall the Samsung S5620 Monte is a smart looking device, which will offer a broad appeal to a wide variety of users. Available in Q2 2010, the Monte will be available on both Prepay and contract, and given the expected selling press offers very good value indeed.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The LG Cookie has proven to be one of the most popular handsets of recent times, selling in millions around the world. The Cookie name is going to spawn a whole range of handsets from LG in 2010, and leading the charge is the LG GS500 Cookie Plus.

The Cookie Plus takes everything that made the original Cookie popular, with the ‘Plus’ on this device coming in the form of enhanced data connectivity options, with the inclusion of 3G with HSDPA Mobile Broadband offering downloads at up to 7.2Mbps. This will really help deliver a solid web browsing performance on the device, but HSDPA is not yet enabled in all areas, and some parts of the country still lack even 3G coverage, in which case the handset utilises Class 10 GPRS and EDGE for data transfer.

Like its predecessor the Cookie Plus delivers a high quality 3.0 inch touchscreen, with the display supporting up to 256,000 colours and with a pixel resolution of 240 x 400. The Cookie Plus runs on a cartoon style Flash UI, with bright colourful graphics and a wide selection of brightly coloured themes to compliment the graphical style of the phone. As with the original Cookie, the Cookie Plus is clearly aimed at a younger user, people who appreciate cartoon style user menus, funny noises and cartoon icons. The resistive display allows for handwriting recognition on the phone, and this works well with the editable screenshot MMS application. This app allows you to take simple screenshots on the phone, and add your own message written across the image, and then send via MMS. For example, if your football team has beaten a rival supported by a friend, you can take a screenshot of the score, and add your own message before sending the image to ‘console’ your friend!

Many applications can be quickly accessed on the Cookie Plus via the handset’s support for Widgets, with up to 40 applications being accessed via Widgets on the device. Widgets support applications like quick access to weather news, and also social networking. Social networks are the real big change for mobile devices in recent months, and it seems that any handset that wants to have success with a younger audience needs to include support in some way for services like Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, MySpace and the rest. The Cookie Plus delivers social networking support in spades, offering live updates direct to the main standby screen on the phone. The whole layout is very intuitive, and very simple to use, and gives a pleasing experience. LG have also included LiveSquare, which allows you to peer manage your favourite contacts via a graphical display on the phone.

Other features on the handset are as you would expect from a mid range mobile phone; the Cooke Plus offers a 3.2 Megapixel camera, which is enabled for video recording. Although the Cookie Plus is a 3G handset, there is no front facing camera, so no video calls. Aside from the already mentioned social networking support, more traditional messaging is well catered for, with SMS and MMS plus support for multiple email accounts. The Cookie Plus also includes a document viewer, so you can view, but not edit, office attachments such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and .pdf files.

The Cookie Plus offers the bare minimum in media support, with a standard media player which supports a variety of media and audio formats, plus there is also a stereo FM radio with RDS support. There is ample memory available on the device for storing media, with support for memory expansion via MicroSD memory cards; the Cookie Plus can support up to 16GB memory cards, room for thousands of music tracks and images.

The LG GS500 Cookie Plus, then, ticks all the right boxes for a mobile phone of its genre, and sits well as an interim handset in the Cookie range. With up to 10 handsets due to be released in coming months under the Cookie name, it will be interesting to see just what LG will have to offer. As for the Cookie Plus, it should hit the market sometime late in Q2, probably around March/April time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sony Ericsson have been strutting their stuff at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the largest phone exhibition in the mobile industry calendar, showcasing three new handsets, which are variations on handsets already announced by the Swedish/Japanese manufacturer. The first of these is the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We took a look at the Sony Ericsson Vivaz a short while ago, a handset that could make or break the battered reputation of Sony Ericsson, after recent problems with headline handsets like the Satio being withdrawn from sale by leading high street retailers. The Vivaz Pro offers everything the Vivaz has to offer, with the addition of a full, slide out QWERTY keyboard for faster typing and better data entry. To recap the strong feature set of the Vivaz Pro, the device offers 3.2 inch 16:9 wide touchscreen display, and can record video in High Definition quality. Where the Vivaz delivers an 8.0 Megapixel camera, the Vivaz Pro has only a 5.0 Megapixel camera, but support for things like face and smile detection and geotagging is still included. The Vivaz Pro has a good set of data connection options, including HSPA and WiFi, and there is also built in GPS support. The TV Out feature is a welcome inclusion, allowing you to view your HD videos and high quality images directly onto your TV screen. Despite the inclusion of the QWERTY keyboard, the Vivaz Pro is only 2mm thicker than the regular Vivaz, a little sacrifice for the enhanced feature.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The other two handsets announced by Sony Ericsson are variations on the recently announced but still to be released Xperia X10. The Xperia X10 Mini really lives up to its name, a small, compact Android device weighing in at just 88g, compared to the 135g that the regular X10 weighs in at. The tiny X10 Mini has a 2.5 inch QVGA touchscreen, and runs the Timescape UI over Android OS 1.6. The X10 Mini also boasts a 5.0 Megapixel camera with LED Flash and autofocus, includes GPS and we also find HSPA data connections and WiFi. The handset will be available in a variety of colour options, including Pearl White, Black, Pink, Lime, Red and Silver.

The other handset, the Xperia X10 Mini Pro is virtually identical to the X10 Mini, it just offers an additional slide out QWERTY keyboard to the handset. Following on with the Vivaz naming policy, it seems adding the suffix Pro to a phone indicates the inclusion of a QWERTY keyboard! And similar to the Vivaz and Vivaz Pro, the inclusion of a QWERTY keyboard on the X10 Mini hardly changes the thickness of the phone, adding just an extra 1mm to the dimensions, but weight increases to 120g. Both of the X10 Mini variants are expected to be available to buy during Q2.

Other news from Sony Ericsson was the announcement of some new stereo speakers, MS450 and HiFi headset, MH810 which includes remote media and call handling. There was also news of a whole new way of creating, and sharing mobile content on your Sony Ericsson device with news of Creations, in essence Sony Ericsson are providing a platform to allow users to create their own apps, themes and wallpapers, which can then be uploaded and shared with the Creations community. It is an interesting concept and should develop a firmer sense of community amongst Sony Ericsson users.