BlackBerry 8520 Review - Enter the "BlackBerry Zone"

Although this phone is less expensive then some of its brothers and sisters, it still is a sturdy and solid phone and the rubberized edge will make it easier to hang on to the phone.
Appearance:
The BlackBerry 8520 mobile phone is quite slim. The height is 109mm, the width is 60mm and the depth is 13.9. This phone is easy to carry and use. It fits easily in pocket or purse and weighs only 106 grams. It also comes in several colors including purple, which we only recommend if you are a teenager. The black is the classiest.
This phone has a 2.6 inch screen which displays sixty-five thousand colors on a TFT screen that measures 320 pixels X 240 pixels.
The strong point of the BlackBerry 8520 is the Qwerty keypad and Trackpad. The Qwerty keypad makes it great for typing and sending messages. The keypad comes with a backlight located underneath the screen and navigation controls. The Trackpad is not as accurate as a Trackball is, but since it doesn't stick out it makes it simple to slip into your pocket.
The BlackBerry 8520 can also connect with BlackBerry App World. This feature allows the user to get all the lastest news, follow the market, listen to live radio and play games.
Camera:
The 8520 has a two mega pixel camera with a 5 x digital zoom. It also takes video in two modes. Normal and MMS mode. The media player can also play DivX, WMV,MPEG4 and XviD.
Media sharing is another plus, the user can take photos and videos and upload them to social networks like Facebook and Myspace.
Sound:
The BlackBerry 8520 also features an audio player which supports files like AAC+, eAAC+AAC-LC and several others. Also the ever popular BlueTooth. There are also media keys that allow the user to pause, skip tracks and repeat. It also offers a mute button. A 3.5mm headphone jack is placed on the side which could be a little inconvient.
Internet Connectivity:
This smartphone supports Wi-Fi technology and the quad band networks of GSM and EDGE. This technology allows you to transfer files at high speed. The lack of 3G connectivity makes it hard to surf while you are out, however you can still "Tweet".
Memory and Talk Time:
The battery for the 8520 is an 1150 mahr rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell. You will get 4.5 hours of talk time on a fully charged battery and 408 hours of standby time which is a total of seventeen days. The handset comes with 256 megabytes of internal memory. There is also a slot for an expandable memory card.
Verdict:
The BlackBerry 8520 is a great buy. It has all the features you want in a BlackBerry and more. The Trackpad is easier to use then the Trackball and the downloads are fast and easy to read. The Qwerty keypad makes it easy to use the social networks. The solid apps and variety of media options make this a fun phone.

Sony Ericsson K850i Mobile Phone Review

The Sony Ericsson K850i mobile phone is designed as a continuation of the company's focus on creating the ultimate camera phone! The Sony Ericsson K 850i is equipped with HSDPA. The 5 mega pixel digital camera on the rear side of the phone is a unique endeavor. The Cyber-shot model, works as a digital camera and a mobile phone, except this time you could argue that the quality is good enough to replace the traditional digital camera. The Sony Ericsson K 850i features shutter and zoom buttons and there is also a slider switch. The latter is an enhancement within the dedicated Sony Ericsson K 850i that allows you to surf and watch movies and enjoy the playback modes that are available with other, regular digital camera's.
The phone is further enhanced with the digi-cam offering. Although it is not quite video camera quality, it is good enough for capturing short clips to share with friends. The phone also has a memory card slot and the special battery can be accessed via a side door that has been designed within the sleek body.
The Sony Ericsson K 850i has memory that is expandable and a micro SD slot too. The spectacular design of the k850i has a smooth, glossy finish and truly makes it a desirable model, comparable with some of the leading Nokia handsets. The keypad jostles to serve a dual purpose. You can now switch to the camera mode as the pre set icons guide you towards the shortcuts.
The K 850i has eliminated the 'back' button, the design is such that it is no longer required. This handset has been anticipated the world over by gadget enthusiasts and hopes to follow on from where the k800i left off. .
The Sony Ericsson K 850i is here to stay and knowing the commitment of Sony Ericsson, it won't be long before the successor to this masterpiece is named.

Sony Ericsson W595 Mobile Phone Review - A Medium Priced Sound System With Traveling Capabilities

One of the Walkman Range by Sony, the W595 is excellent at what it is designed to be - a music store and playback system with 3G interconnectivity. Similar in appearance to the W910i - there are signs that the w595 is a much more reliable model - indications that Sony Ericsson has turned the corner in its production.
Specific models of the w595 allow for networks across the world, with the w595c catering for China Mainland and the w595a made especially to work in America. The standard w595 functions on 2G in the GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 and 1900 ranges, and in 3G on HSDPA 2100.
Released in September 2008, the Sony Ericsson W595 weighs in at 104g and measures 100 x 47 x 14mm - a nice slim line handset which fits almost any pocket or handbag.
It has 256 colours in its display, with a 240 x 320 pixel 2.2 inch display which allows easy viewing of pictures by means of the Accelerometer sensor - enabling rotation of the phone to swap between landscape and portrait format - viewing photos taken from different perspectives becomes a pleasure rather than a pain.
The camera is a 3.15 megapixel model - with images 2048 x 1536 pixels in size. It features video calling and QVGA quality video at 15 frames per second. There is no secondary camera.
Maximum battery life for this phone varies between 385 hours in 2G and 365 hours in 3G in standby, and a talk time of between 9 hours (2G) and 4 hours 30 mins (3G). It uses a standard Li-Ion battery.
The W595 comes with an internal memory of 40MB and 2GB Memory Stick Micro M2 card with the optional addition of up to 8GB for the card slot. It records up to 30 received, missed or deleted calls and stores up to 1000 x 20 fields with photo call.
In terms of connectivity - this phone has the following features: SMS, EMS, MMS and Email messaging, WAP 2.0/xHTML and HTML (NetFront) browser, StereoFM radio with RDS, Java, Games (with download) and comes in a range of colours, including grey, larva black, ruby black, white, blue, peachy pink and gold.
The W595 handles data by means of Class 10 GPRS and Edge, HSCSD, HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, and v2.0 Blue tooth. It does have a USB port, but does not have WLAN or an infra-red port.
Other capabilities includes MIDP 2.0 java, TRACKID music recognition, SensMe, Shake Control, T9, Walkman Player, Picture Editor, Organiser and Voice memo.
Shake Control is made possible by means of an activator button, and allows for track shuffling, forward, back, and volume up and down control. The phone controls are protected inside a vertical slide, with sound play buttons on the exterior face of the handset.
What we didn't like about it
It is chunky, the wasted bezel space on the front could be taken up by a larger screen, and the sharpish corners of the ends could have been more rounded to make for longer pocket-fabric life. It's appearance is unremarkable, but for the person who wishes for functionality rather than looks, it does the job.
The absence of a now industry standard 3.5mm jack frustrates those who wish to use larger headsets, however the phone does come with a stylish looking adaptor.
What we liked about this phone
The phone comes to life when it is switched on - the icons are a good size, and Sony Ericsson have maintained their established and familiar menu structures allowing ease of use.
This is a good traveler's phone, working on Quad-band GSM and 3.6Mbps HSDPA - allowing full use of the integrated YouTube application and mobile browsing.
As a medium priced (around £130 or free with some networks) sound-system with interconnectivity, this phone excels at its task.

Samsung F480 Tocco Mobile Phone Review - Touch-Screen Madness Has Got a New Dimension

This time we have a mobile phone with a touch screen, which is interestingly based on widgets. The Samsung F480 Tocco is a step towards easy handling, since the previous smart phones from Samsung were a bit tricky to handle. In Samsung F480 Tocco we find the usual set of menu icons, and a small tap on one virtual button brings in the widgets on to the screen. As usual, you could drag one of those options on to the main screen and get the application running for you. The best of all is that the phone responses very fast, which makes Samsung F480 Tocco a stable consistent device in most respects. Overall, the phone features high-spec touch screen, packed in a very attractive package.
If you are looking for a mobile phone having a good music player, Samsung F480 Tocco is the one which can play most of the music files. This phone has a FM Radio which is an advantage over the Samsung F490. With 240 MB of internal memory, and having an option to extend up to 8 GB of microSD memory, there is plenty of space for you to store your music tracks, including your pictures. The phone has a unique feature, one similar to Sony Ericsson's TrackID(TM) service, in which the device can identify the song that you are listening to.
The 3G connectivity in Samsung F480 Tocco uses HSDPA at 7.2 Mbps, which essentially means that you have a download speed that is faster than that of the Broadband connections. It provides a formidable platform as a mobile phone with Internet connectivity, having an ideal large screen and Google applications.
The phone has two very serious problems. The first one is that, call dropping has often been experienced in this device, and the voice reception at times gets to be poor. While these two could be related to the firmware of the phone, but it has been found by many users that the problems persist even with the latest firmware.
The Samsung F480 Tocco has a brushed metal finish, and the package includes a leather case which is used to protect the phone from scratches. While model F490 uses an extra long screen, Samsung F480 has a conventional 2.8 inches QVGA resolution screen, which provides crisp displays with all round balanced colour and brightness. The phone does not have a QWERTY keypad, and does not have Wi-Fi capability. It is not as much of a Smartphone as we know.
To summerise, Samsung F480 Tocco is a high spec touch phone that offers extraordinarily good features in a beautiful package. The features include a FM Radio, a 5 mega-pixel camera, high speed Internet surfing, and others which make the phone quite attractive amongst the users. Its internal memory of 240 MB, along with the optional 8 GB of microSD memory make the phone one of the largest choice of people who are keen on storing music, and pictures.

LG KP500 Cookie - Smart and Confident

If you are on a budget and really can't bring yourself to spend the high price that some manufactures are asking, then you might want to consider the LG KP500 Cookie. It may not have all the "bells and whistles" of some other phones, but it has most of the features people want in a mobile.
This is a stylish and brilliantly designed phone packed with some really good features. First is your choice of colors, you can choose from black, silver, gold or brown and even pink. Next is the sleek 3 inch TFT screen displaying resolutions of 240x400 pixels and 262 colors. Since it has an accelerometer you can view the screen in horizontal or vertical format. You get a virtual QWERTY keyboard and a stylus for the handwriting recognition feature.
This mobile is comfortable to use since it measures only 106.5 x 55.4 x 11.9mm and weighs only 89g.
The camera on this device is not the best we've seen; the 3.2 mega-pixel camera has a resolution of 2048x1536 pixels, but unfortunately there is no flash and no auto focus. So your pictures will probably be dim and grainy unless you are in a well lighted area. The video on this device plays in MP4 and 3P formats.
Music lovers will enjoy the music features on the LG KP500 Cookie. This phone supports formats such as MP3, WMA, AAC and a built in FM radio with RDS technology. You can download your own music onto the Cookie and also store and manage your music on the Music Manager. MP3 ringtones and polyphonic ringtones are included or you can download your own ringtones.
You even get a variety of games to play on your phone, like Flying Dices and Wheel of Fortune.
The LG KP500 offers quad band technology keeping you connected wherever you travel. For fast connections you get HTML, XHTML and WAP 2.0. This phone also supports EDGE and GPRS technology as well as USB and Bluetooth with A2DP technologies. There is also a document viewer that lets you view documents in XLS, DOC and PDF formats.
Unfortunately, there is no 3G and no Wi-Fi which is very disappointing.
You should be able to store all your music, text and photos with the 48 mega bytes of built in memory. For even more memory there is a micro SD card slot allowing you to add up to 8 gigabytes with an SD card.
You might want to keep your charger close at hand since you only get 3.5 hours of talk time and 350 hours of stand by time.
We liked the fact that this phone was very affordable, it has a high quality feel and the user interface is very good.
We were disappointed in the fact that the LG KP500 had no flash, no 3G and no Wi-Fi.
The LG KP500 is a smart little phone with a lot of confidence. It's not a flashy and it's not out to impress. This is an uncomplicated phone that gets the job done.

Nokia 7510 Supernova Mobile Phone Review - Non-3g Clamshell Quad With Nokia Maps

The name Supernova conjures up all sorts of images of intergalactic wonders and starry bodies which are associated with excitement - think of the buzz and the awe created by the real supernovas and comets as they approach our little planet on their way around the solar system.
We would expect, therefore that the Nokia 7510 Supernova would have the same effect on us when we opened the pack.
Instead - what stared us in the face was a little clam-shell phone which, when we started reading the specs, filled us with some disappointment. For some silly reason, we expect phones these days to work on 3G as standard. The Nokia 7510 Supernova does not offer that service. After our initial disappointment, believing in the abilities of the Nokia company to come up with 'the goods', we looked a little further at the offering.
The 7510 Supernova is an edge handset weighing in at 124g. Obviously more sturdy than we first thought with a sensible hinge, we noticed dual screens - monochrome on the outside for displaying caller info when the handset is closed at 128 x 160 pixels in size, and the primary LCD display (TFT with 16M colours) on the inside, sized at 240 x 320 pixels.
The handset features Xpress-On cover customisation options, a 2 megapixel camera with an LED flash, quad band compatibility and 256MB internal memory, which can be boosted up to 8GB by means of MicroSD cards. Stereo Bluetooth is also included, and the standard issue Lithium-ion battery will provide up to 6 hours of talk time and up to 300 hours on standby.
Priced at £159 (but can be found as cheaply as £135), the Supernova can be enhanced by optional add-ons in the form of two Bluetooth headsets (BH-503 at £64, and BH-304 at £45) and Speakerphone (HF-200 at £50). The usual other optionals are carrying case, additional lanyards, etc.
Once having overcome the idea of the lack of 3G, we took a closer look at what else the handset offers.
On GSM, it works on 850, 900, 1800 and 1900, with Vibration, downloadable polyphonic and MP3 ringtone alerts. Speakerphone can be attached by means of a 2.5mm audio jack. In terms of size, the Nokia 7510 Supernova weighs 124g, a little heavier than it's peers, but measuring a scant 92.5 x 46.4 x 16.7mm, this shows that the hinge is solid and will not fail easily.
At 27MB, the memory will hold 200 entries, plus photocall, and records up to 20 dialed, 20 received and 20 missed calls. By means of a microSD card slot, the memory can be increased to 8GB - a 512MB card is included with the handset on delivery.
This handset uses class 32, 88kbps for GPRS, does not support HSCSD, 3G or WLAN. It also does not have an infra red port. It does however have Class 32 (296 kb) Edge and v2.0 Bluetooth with A2DP and USB.
If it's high quality camera you are after - then this handset is probably not for you. At 2 megapixels, it is basic at best - images to max size 1600 x 1200 pixels are possible - but yes - this camera does have an LED flash. Video at QCIF - 15fps is possible, and it has no secondary camera.
For messaging, the Nokia 7510 Supernova supports the basics - SMS, MMS 1.3 (up to 600KB), Email and IM. It uses WAP browser 2.0/xHTML, HTML and boasts an FM radio, games and java at MIDP 2.0.
Colours available are Blue, Green, Brown, Graphite and Purple. Other features include a push-to-open mechanism, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC/WMA player, MP4 player, T9 text input, voice command/dial/memo, and Nokia Maps for S40.
What we did like
We thought the Nokia Xpress-On covers were gone for good when they disappeared from the market some years ago - we were wrong - we are pleased to say - they're back on this new series of phones (7610, 7510, 7310 and 7210).

Samsung Galaxy I7500 Mobile Phone Review - A Highly Reliable Smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy i7500 is enthralling users across the world as being the first Samsung mobile to support the famous Android OS. We've learned that its speedy internet, its bright, super responsive AMOLED screen, its capable camera, and other features are also worth a second look.
Appearance:
When it comes to looks, the Samsung Galaxy doesn't turn a lot of heads. It's not ugly, but it's not eye poppingly gorgeous either. At 119 g, it's not the lightest phone ever either. However, its spartan looks may appeal to those who like a more uncomplicated look to their phones. Its black plastic interior, silver accents, and no nonsense button designs make for a low profile look. In addition to this, we didn't find any oddly placed buttons or crevices-the camera button and 3.5 mm headphone jack are all easily accessible.
Its 3.2 inch sixteen million colour touch screen is a wonderful addition, however. Big, bright, and stunningly crisp and clear, this is definitely a screen designed to make viewing everything from videos to internet browsers a wonderful experience. It's also wonderfully responsive as well, to the point where tapping out texts and emails on its onscreen QWERTY keyboard. If the exterior design seems a bit plain, the screen certainly makes up for the lack.
As for the OS, Android provides its audience with a highly enjoyable user experience. However, it's not as flawless or as nifty looking as some other phones. Fortunately, you can get a variety of shinier applications at the Android Market, many of them for free.
Sound:
There isn't much to fuss over regarding sound quality-it remains crisp and flawless, with no trace of warping or crackling. In addition to its 3.5 mm headphone jack, you also get an FM radio, polyphonic and MP3 ringtones, and a fairly basic music player that supports mp3, WM, eAAC+, and RA formats. It's nothing revolutionary, but it gives you what you need.
Camera:
Its 5 megapixel camera is certainly a nice touch. Combine autofocus, a LED flash, an image stabiliser, and geo tagging capabilities and you have a desirable little camera. We would have liked to see a Xenon flash rather than LED, but it's powerful enough to light up most areas. You can record and play videos as well, which will be a real treat on the Galaxy's awesome screen.
Internet connectivity:
The Galaxy has everything you need to stay connected, regardless of where you roam. It features 3G HSDPA, WLAN WiFi, Bluetooth A2DP, GPRS, EDGE, and micro USB capabilities. Its quadband technology also ensures you can continue using the phone in other countries if the need be. In addition to this, the Galaxy is also compatible with YouTube, Google Search, Google Maps, GPS navigation, and more. While it isn't as dedicated toward social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter as other phones, they are still easily accessible.
Memory and Talk Time:
With eight gigabytes of memory plus 16 additional gigabytes available in a microSD card, you should have enough space to store most of what you need. However, with only 3.8 hours of talk time and 290 hours of standby, you may need to charge this phone often, especially if you use it heavily.
Conclusion:
The Samsung Galaxy i7500 is an ideal phone for a lot of reasons. It's amazingly vivid, responsive touch screen is a wonder to use in itself. Its camera and internet connection make it worth consideration as well. However, it's not as shiny when it comes to aesthetics or operating systems as say, the iPhone or some of its competitors. This, however, may not necessarily be a bad thing, especially for those who prefer a more low key phone.