Mobile Phone News:

Well, it turns out the people who were secretly wishing for a new phone from this morning’s announcement were right after all. Headlining the Nokia World conference is a brand new mobile phone from the Finnish manufacturer. And anyone who guessed ‘touchscreen Nseries’ was right…

It’s the next evolution of Nseries mobile phones: the frankly mind-blowing Nokia N97. And it’s just biblical in its awesomeness.

First up, we might as well talk about the touchscreen since that’s gotta be the first thing people will ask about with the Nokia N97. It’s a big’n, too, coming in at 3.5 inches. Oh, and the aspect ratio on it makes it a proper widescreen, so if you’re wanting to watch widescreen movies on your mobile phone, the Nokia N97’s the beastie to do it on!

With that touchscreen comes the latest incarnation of Symbian, the S60 Touch interface made famous by the Nokia 5800. And trust me, this is a good thing, because I’ve become a big, big fan of the S60 Touch interface. Symbian rocks, always has done, and this latest touch version is whizzy, fast, and drop dead gorgeous. Oh, and just like the Nokia 5800, the Nokia N97 has got motion sensors to auto-rotate the screen when you tip the phone on its side.

After that, though, the Nokia N97 starts to overtake its little brother, and the first noticeable difference is the slide-out, proper, full QWERTY keyboard, something I reckon is a must on any modern smartphone (simply because I hate trying to type out web addresses or anything like that on virtual keypads, or worse, a numeric keypad). Ok, it does increase the thickness of the Nokia N97, but the payoff is text being very, very easy to type.

Oh, and there’s a better camera, too, since the Nokia N97 inherits the top-end 5 megapixel camera from the more recent Nseries mobile phones. Which means stunning photos, and with things like blogging and geotagging, there’s loads you can actually do with those photos. Oh, and you get WiFi and HSDPA, along with a stonking good web browser (and Flash built in), so you do actually finally get the full internet on your mobile phone! Combine that with an unprecedented and unbelievable 32Gb of memory (plus an extra 16Gb available with memory cards!), and this is basically the multimedia phone par excellence.

That’s the objective description of the Nokia N97. Now it’s time for me to actually say what I’m thinking…

Look at it! Just look at it:

It looks the furry canine animal’s intimate bits! Look, seriously, I’ve always said there are a few criteria a mobile phone has to meet before I’ll call it my perfect smartphone, those being an at-least-5-megapixel camera, super fast web access, a web browser you actually like and want to keep using, full QWERTY keyboard and massive, high colour touchscreen. The 01Phone concept I blogged about a bit back has all those features, but it’s not actually a real phone yet, so it looks like the Nokia N97 is the first mobile phone I can honestly say is my perfect smartphone.

Or, at least, it would be if it had a Sony Ericsson badge on it, what with me being a Sony junkie. I’d better hope their next smartphone, rumoured to be running the same S60 Touch interface, with an 8 megapixel camera, is up to snuff, otherwise I may have to break my habit, and buy myself a Nokia…

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Ages and ages ago, I did a post on the top ultra-super-mega-dirt cheap mobile phones on the planet. You remember, the one where the old Sony Ericsson J110 won. Well, that list was of the absolute low-end budget mobile phones, the phones for people who want ‘em simple, cheap and really nice to use. That’s why I only picked phones without a long list of features (or, with most of them on that list, without a feature).

But what about people who want their mobile phone to be cheap, but powerful? What if you want a mobile phone that does have features, but still has a low price?

So, I don my Zorro mask, and whip out my mighty shield of justice… sorry, got carried away there… I don my Technical Markus spectacles, and contemplate the best ‘feature’ mobile phones you can get for a decent price. And yes, as superheroes go, it’s a bit bobbins compared to Superman, who can fire lasers from his eyes, but can he save you cash, eh, eh?

I think not…

Oh, and just like the super-cheap phone challenge, there are two criteria for judging these babies:

1. Must cost less than £100.

2. Must be the best at what they do, in that price bracket.

So, without further ado, here they are:

Camera phones

We’ve all seen super top-end camera phones like the Sony Ericsson C905, but what if you want a camera phone that’s got good performance, takes stonking good pictures, but comes in at under £100? Well, believe it or not, there’s a 5 megapixel phone in that price range: the Samsung G600 which is, let’s be honest, incredibly sexy. And it’s a got a 5 megapixel camera, which I know from experience (one of my mates had one) takes stunningly good photos (which yes, DO look better when it’s cost you less than a hundred quid to be able to take them)!

Music phones

There’s an easy winner in this category, since it won Phone Of The Year at this year’s Mobile World Congress… the best music phone for under £100 has to be the Sony Ericsson W910i. Not only is it a Walkman mobile phone (and you just know that means awesome music playback), but it’s a Walkman phone with Shake Control (or Jiggly Control as I tend to call it) and SensMe (something dreamed up by wizards), and it’s a fabulous all-round phone, too.

Fashion phones

Ah, fashion boutique mobile phones, traditionally the realm of people who want the best looking phone, and money’s no object. That’s why they’re willing to drop 750 notes on a Nokia 8800 Sapphire. Thing is, though, there are fashion phones that come in under £100, and although they’re not going to have diamond-encrusted shells, or premium finish steel bodies, they’re still catwalk-gorgeous mobile phones. The best? well, it’s going to be subjective, since it’s based on looks, but I reckon you can’t top the Samsung U800 Soulb, which is just mouth-watering, has an incredible screen, and actually does have a metallic finish. And isn’t £750. So it beats the Sapphire any day…

Other Mobile Phones

The final category is other, or, in other words, mobile phones that I can’t figure out where else they’ll fit. It was going to be smartphones, but since no-one actually does a smartphone for less than £100, that kinda scuppered that idea… still, adopt, adapt and improve, and that’s why this final section is an outstanding phone that doesn’t really fit in any other category. It’s designed not to be cute or to take magazine quality pictures, or any of that. It’s designed to survive impacts with comets, to shrug off water, to laugh in the face of danger. And no, it’s not the JCB phone, before you say it. It is in fact, the Samsung Solid. It may not be as tough as the JCB phone (but then, the moon isn’t as tough as the JCB phone), but it’s currently £130 cheaper, and since this challenge is about value, that’s why the Samsung Solid is here!

So, there you have it. If you want a top-end mobile phone, with top-end features, but want to pay less than a hundred quid, grab yourself one of these babies today!

News has come through from PC World that confirms how big music mobile phones are nowadays. Basically, recent figures released by the Entertainment Retailers Association have shown that over the last two years, 44 million mobile phones that’ve got mp3 players built in (which, let’s face it, is most of ‘em nowadays) have been sold, compared to just 8 million CD players.

On the face of it, that’s some pretty telling numbers, right there. However, I reckon the people doing the survey haven’t factored in something. It’s getting increasingly hard to think of any mobile phones that don’t have music players built in, nowadays (except, obviously, the budget end of the market), so any sales of mobile phones will skew that figure, even if people never actually use the music player in the phone.

That doesn’t mean the statistics aren’t valid because, well, they are. Just by looking at the market, you can see that people want mobile phones that do more stuff in just one device. It’s that old buzzword ‘convergence’ again, and despite it being a word that’s completely done to death, it is true, and it is where the market’s going. Think about it, how many people do you know who habitually carry a mobile phone AND a camera AND an mp3 player everywhere they go (well, ok, my dad, but he doesn’t count), when they can carry something like the Sony Ericsson W902 (which, on a side note, also has a proper 5 megapixel, autofocus, almost-Cyber-Shot camera, neatly filling the camera bracket, too) or the iPhone 3G (combining iTunes and top-notch internet access) and not get a hunchback from carrying 400 billion gadgets..?

Actually, that’s not a bad example, you know, since the Walkman brand of mobile phones has to have done more to have got people using their phones for music than just about any other marque (well, ok, the iPhone/iTunes, too, if you want to be picky). But then, Sony have got a history of doing that, what with the original Walkman in the 70’s and 80’s. And Apple have done pretty much done the same with their iPod range, so the iPhone 3G’s right to be included there, too.

Having said all that, I don’t reckon we’ll see the end of CDs for a while, since a lot of people have said they like to have something they can actually physically hold, but the future seems to be pretty much happening as predicted, and it’s looking increasingly that mobile phones are going to be playing a massively important part in the world of music for a long time to come.

Want the ultimate ‘converged’ Walkman phone, with stunning music and a phenomenal camera? Grab the Sony Ericsson W902 today!

Very intriguing news today, as it seems Nokia have something big in the works for their Nokia World conference, starting tomorrow. As yet, no-one knows precisely what they have in store, whether it’s new mobile phones or new services, or whatever, but it’s reasonably certain they wouldn’t put a big countdown online (that big one just up there), unless it was a big announcement.

The question is, what do Nokia have in store?

Well, the first guess, since they’re known for mobile phones, is obviously mobile phones. The thing is, though, that Nokia World traditionally hasn’t been a main platform for launching new handsets. So, is it likely to be a new service, instead of a new phone? Again, no-one has any idea (except, presumably, Nokia), so we’re going to have to wait and see. It’s pretty certain to be something relatively big, though, since the keynote speech by Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is entitled ‘transforming the way we connect’.

Yes, that did make me wonder if we’re going to get real life Transformers, I admit it…

So, what are the actual possibilities? Well, it could be some new service that completely changes how you interact with your mobile phone. Or it might not. Or, it could be something like a new email service, akin to the Blackberry setup.

Or, it could be what most people are secretly wishing for, even the ones who don’t reckon it’ll be about new mobile phones. It could be a follow-up to the Nokia 5800, their first mainstream touchscreen mobile phone, since Nokia did say they’d be announcing a touchscreen Nseries phone before the end of the year.

Or it might not be.

It could be the end of civilisation as we know it, although granted, that’s probably unlikely, unless they’re announcing the Nokia T-800 Terminator…

When that countdown hits zero, however, we’ll all know for sure (and yes, I’ll be reporting on it here, too, so keep your eyes peeled)!

Want to grab the first mainstream Nokia touch phone? Sign up for alerts, and we’ll email you when the Nokia 5800 is released!

Since it’s a Friday afternoon, I thought we’d have a little bit of fun, with a blog post that has no merit whatsoever, but which should give you a laugh at our expense. So, for your reading pleasure, I present the results of our not-in-any-way-useful survey: who in Mobileshop has the worst ringtone on their mobile phone? Who has the ringtone that most makes their co-workers want to smash their head in with a brick?

However, this test needed to be about more than me slagging off people’s ringtones based on my personal opinions. It needed to be scientific, taking in variables such as what mobile phones people are using, the cadence of the song, the hidden meanings…

However, I then decided that was too taxing, and decided to judge it by slagging off other people’s ringtones. This was based on two important principles: 1/ I actually am a musician, so I know about these things; and 2/ I’m writing this blog, so I win.

There are, however, two important criteria:

First, standard manufacturer or network ringtones don’t count, which is why you don’t see people like Dan on this list. Only people who’ve gone to the trouble of putting a song as their ringtone are fair game for me ripping them to shreds about it, since using standard ringtones on your mobile phone is just lazy…

Secondly, anyone who has the Crazy Frog as their ringtone will be subject to summary execution…

So, let’s take a look at the run-down of the top tunes appearing on our mobile phones!

The Poet And The Pendulum - Nightwish
Native New Yorker - Odyssey
Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
Big Girls - Mika
Now You’re Gone - Bass Hunter
The Race Around The World - Castle Crashers Soundtrack
Theme to Spongebob Squarepants - Erm, some bloke

Well, with those contestants, it’s time to analyse them, and work out which is… you know what, there’s no point is there, Spongebob Squarepants is gonna win. I mean come on, I may hate Mika, but it can’t compare to some porous yellow freak who lives in a pineapple under the sea. And so, with the theme to Spongebob Squarepants, the winner of the “whose mobile phone has the worst ringtone” challenge… has unsurprisingly elected to remain anonymous, since she’s 41 and has Spongebob on her phone. I shall call her, simply, Nemesis.

However, I reckon I may be able to top that sea-sponge-based lunacy. I reckon I’ve found the absolute perfect stupid, annoying ringtone. And rest assured if and when I get my Sony Ericsson X1, it shall be set up to play Bohemian Polka by the incomparable Weird Al Yankovic (set here to the original video):

Oh, and incidentally, if anyone guesses which one of the songs above is my actual current ringtone, then leave us a comment. The first correct guess gets a virtual Jaffa Cake.

Grab the exquisite Sony Ericsson X1 today! Stupid ringtones not mandatory!

Being a man, I naturally like to see two enemies squaring up to have a massive fight. It’s especially funny when it’s two big names from the world of mobile phones. We’ve seen it before with Modu having a pop at Nokia, Microsoft having a pop at Google Android, and Apple yelling that they could ‘ave everyone with one hand tied behind their back, rah, rah, bring it on, etc…

Today’s prize fight is between the two names looking to making it big in the world of open source mobile phone software. The two companies are Google and Symbian, and it’s fair to say that at the recent Open Mobile Summit, the claws were out, according to MoCoNews.

It all started when Google’s Rich Miner had a jibe about security on Symbian mobile phones, saying that, basically, there wasn’t any, and that any third party software could access any pat of the operating system. Which basically isn’t true, and it’s why Symbian rep Jerry Panagrossi saw red, and had a bite back, saying that, in fact, Symbian’s security was even tighter than that on Android mobile phones.

Then it got really heated, when they started talking about free operating systems versus licensed models. Miner once again jumped up, but this time, the target was Microsoft, with their Windows Mobile platform. To quote Miner: “I wouldn’t want to be in the business today of charging for the OS. But they [Microsoft] aren’t in a position to flip it to open because they don’t have another economic model. But going forward, there’s going to be pressure on trying to add $10 to a handset.”

Ah, but then, it seems everyone in the panel on stage spit the dummy out, with panel member Larry Berkin asking how much it had actually cost T-Mobile to get the T-Mobile G1 out there, and whether, in the long run, it would have been cheaper on a licensed system. Miner’s reply was that T-Mobile were happy with the end result. Berkin didn’t seem to want to let it lie, though, as he then asked if there was anyone in the audience from T-Mobile to vouch for that.

Yep, dollies are definitely being thrown out of prams at this point…

Panagrossi’s turn to have a go at Android mobile phones next, as he went on to say, “There’s a huge market, and both models will survive. Just because Linux is free, doesn’t mean it’s the best or that it will be pervasive. It’s license vs. labor,” effectively labelling Google Android as nothing more than a niche product.

Ouch.

Anyway, that pretty much shows what’s going to happen in the larger mobile phone world. Like I’ve said all along, there’s a huge scrap brewing, between Google Android and Symbian Foundation. Once we get a whole range of their respective mobile phones on the shelves… well, expect the sparks to fly!

Meanwhile, if you want to get in on the Android game early, grab yourself the T-Mobile G1 today!

Round here, mobile phones are known, day to day, as useful tools of communication, and essential devices for the modern human. Over in the Vatican, though, a different view of mobile phones prevails, according to the Telegraph.

According to Father Federico Lombardi, mobile phones are causing ongoing and irreparable damage to people’s souls.

Now, for a second, let’s forget the fact that I’m a complete atheist, and totally against the idea of organised religion. Let’s leave aside the fact that I in no way see any need for god to exist to have a rich, full life. Let’s look purely at what the man said, and not let prejudices (for OR against religion) come into it.

And you know what?

He’s actually talking a huge amount of sense! Not in that mobile phones are killing your soul, but in that if you’re constantly connected via your mobile phone, or the internet, you have no time for quiet reflection, for what you might call spiritual growth, and most importantly, self-reflection. And you don’t have to believe in god to believe that’s important!

The odd thing is… I expected to get all ranty in this blog post, when I read the original article, and call the Catholic Church hypocrites, since they themselves use mobile phones and the internet to send out messages to members. I really was. But then I read the article with my sensible head on, and realised that what Lombardi said is very close to something I’ve said in the past, which amounts to, “Stop using your Blackberry and have a day off, ya weirdo!”

The Vatican isn’t, in fact, saying not to use mobile phones or the internet, but to moderate them with other things, other pursuits (presumably things like art or music… you know, good for the soul), and I agree with that completely.

So, no matter how good your new Blackberry Storm is (and god knows I know how much you want to use it, I’m the same), turn it off every now and again, and have a life. And I realise there are a lot of people who know me who’ll be shocked to see me agree with a man of the cloth, but hey, his and my views on mobile phones aren’t that dissimilar!

And for the times when you ARE using a phone, you want the best… so grab yourself the Blackberry Storm today!

Apple, no stranger to getting slapped on the wrist over their adverts, have been, erm, slapped on the wrist again over their latest advert for the iPhone 3G, which has now been banned, according to The Boy Genius Report. The reason?

Basically, the Advertising Standards Authority have decided the advert will mislead people to believe the iPhone 3G has way faster internet access than it actually has.

Therefore, it’s deemed misleading.

Therefore, it’s banned in its current form.

Therefore, I point at Dan, our resident iPhone owner, and laugh, as I do whenever there’s a news story that’s not gone Apple’s way (hey, I have to follow my own particular idiom).

However, was it a fair decision? Well, having seen his iPhone 3G in action, I can categorically state there ain’t no way it is as fast as that advert pegged it to be. Put it this way, my Sony Ericsson P1 could just about outrun it, and something like the HTC Touch HD would leave it for dead. To be fair to Apple, they didn’t explicitly state that it would load pages in a specific time, but the people who rang in to complain said that the time that pages loaded on the fake iPhone in the ad was far shorter than any real-life iPhone 3G can ever manage, and was therefore a massive, big misdirection. Personally, I would’ve said that most people can gauge the difference between reality and marketing-spin, and I don’t reckon I’d have banned it on those grounds.

Apple sulkily replied that the advert shows relative not absolute speeds, which sounds a bit of a cop-out to me, but have complied and pulled the advert from our screens. And that bit is fine by me, since that chirpy git who does the voiceovers on those ads gets right up my nose. That’s why I’d ban it…

Somehow, though, I don’t think Apple will be particularly bothered about the ad being pulled, since Apple fans have a tendency to buy three iPhones each, and it’s selling well, anyway…

Meanwhile, if you want a better phone, grab yourself the HTC Touch HD today!

Ever since the iPhone hit the shelves, Samsung have been cranking out touchscreen mobile phones like there’s no tomorrow, but one of the nicest of the year is still the Samsung Tocco, which is, to put it simply, drop-dead gorgeous. Oh, and really nice to use, too. Oh, and it has a superb camera. And the internet browser’s spot on.

You may have guessed that I like it…

Well, now, for the full-on fashionistas, there’s a new version, the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss, according to Unwired View, and it’s… well, actually, it’s suspiciously similar to the original Samsung Tocco. So, what differences are there, to make the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss the phone to buy?

Look, I have to be honest, here, the spec is exactly the same. It’s basically still a Samsung Tocco, with the same touchscreen interface, the same 5 megapixel camera, the same web browser, the same multimedia player… well, you get the idea. To all intents and purposes, the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss is the Samsung Tocco. There must be some differences, you’re surely thinking…

There are. On the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss, you get the name Hugo Boss plastered all over the front. And, erm, the theme is changed slightly to use special Hugo Boss icons and whatnot. Erm, and I’m a bit stumped as to what the exclusive Hugo Boss ringtones are, though (maybe someone whispering Hugo Boss over and over again, like in their adverts?). Oh, and of course, you do get a matching Hugo Boss Bluetooth headset.

All things considered, I can’t deny that the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss is a damn sexy mobile phone. Honestly, it really is one of the most striking mobile phones of recent times, and it’s packed full of features that will benefit you.

But the thing is… so is the Samsung Tocco, since they’re virtually identical, and although the Hugo Boss doesn’t have any prices yet, I’m willing to bet you’ll pay at least a bit of a premium for it. So, why wouldn’t you get the Samsung Tocco, instead, if they’re basically the same phone?

Still, if you want a bit of exclusivity in your purchase, with a designer name on your handset, then by all means get the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss. Me? I’d have the original Tocco.

Agree with Technical Markus? Grab yourself the original and best Samsung Tocco today!

Way back when (well, in February), we ran a story on Modu, a company aiming to bring modular mobile phones to the market. They had potential, they had a fighting spirit, and they had a unique offering for people who wanted something a bit different from their mobile phones. Put simply, they made a tiny little mobile phone module, that you could slot into other ‘jackets’, like a USB Modem sleeve, or a top-end camera phone sleeve, or whatever, the idea being that the jackets gave you your extra features like camera, or media player, and so on.

However, it’s beginning to look like we might not ever see those modular mobile phones, as news has come through today from Engadget Mobile, reporting that Modu have laid off 25% of their workforce. That doesn’t mean they’re out of the fight, yet, but it does make things distinctly harder for Modu.

The question we have to ask, though, is why Modu have been forced to make this not particularly pleasant or happy decision. Well, the obvious (but not necessarily right) culprit would be the failing economy, but it may in fact be down to their mobile phones being delayed for launch, and a big factor surely has to be the fact that Modu haven’t snagged any operator partners for their mobile phones.

However, I reckon there’s one big problem with their mobile phones that’s been overlooked, and it rocks the whole business model down to its core.

Before I get into it, though, I want to make it very clear that I like the Modu idea. I think it’s very, very clever concept, meaning people can change the functionality of their phone, and basically get a whole new phone, just by buying a new jacket, and not by having to splurge on, well, a whole new phone. It’s probably one of the most original and cool ideas I’ve ever seen introduced to the world of mobile phones. It is, in fact, Modu’s biggest strength.

The problem is, I reckon, it’s also their biggest flaw, and if it did come to market, its biggest selling point could ironically be its Achilles Heel. Modu famously had a pop at Nokia, saying that Nokia’s philosophy of building everything into one handset was flawed, and made their mobile phones stale. A thought occurred to me when they said it: maybe that’s what people want…

The big buzz word in the technology world (not just with mobile phones but with everything) is convergence. Loads of different devices coming together to make one device that does everything. It’s clearly something people are excited about, and want to buy into, or how would you explain the popularity and success of mobile phones like the Sony Ericsson X1, the T-Mobile G1 and the Apple iPhone 3G? A lot of people want a mobile phone that will do everything, in one, compact box.

And there’s the issue, right there. The Modu mobile phone is the absolute opposite of that, in that its main ‘box’ is an utterly basic phone, and to get the extra, super-duper functionality that a single, converged smartphone brings, you have to buy, and carry around with you, lots of extra jackets. You have to buy a jacket with a top-end camera in it, another jacket with a top-end music player, yet another jacket with a QWERTY keyboard, and so on, something you very notably don’t have to do with, say, the Blackberry Storm. Modu argue that people want excitement and a phone that isn’t stale, and can have functionality added with a new jacket. I would argue that people want a mobile phone that already does everything without them having to buy loads of extra bits, which they’ll have to lug about with them, and which they’ll probably lose.

So, is that the reason why Modu haven’t got any operator support? Is it because their business model is flawed, and they’re moving away from what the market for mobile phones is moving towards? To put it simply, would people rather buy the Blackberry Storm, that does everything in one device; or the Modu phone, plus the 20+ separate jackets needed to make it do what the Storm does in one box?

To me, the answer is a very simple one…

Get the mobile phone that does everything in one box; grab yourself the Blackberry Storm today!