February 15th, 2010 | Mobile Phone Recycling, Mobile Phones, Wireless Devices
There are many hazardous chemicals used in the manufacture of mobile phones. The majority of the materials in a mobile phone are the plastics and polymers that go into making the casing and circuit boards. These components generally don’t break down over time and will remain in the environment for years after being discarded.
Brominated flame-retardants are used to prevent fire inside mobile phones but are, oddly enough, highly flammable themselves. They are thought to cause cancer and complications in pregnancy leading to developmental problems and learning difficulties. These substances are now banned in some European countries.
The high quality capacitors and other electronic components contain rare metals such as arsenic and beryllium. Both of these are group 1 carcinogens and have other toxic effects in the body, usually resulting in death. Mobile phone batteries contain the highest amounts of some of the more toxic materials in the phone including lithium, cadmium, and other heavy metals such as cobalt, zinc and copper. Of these cadmium is the 7th most toxic substance known to man.
All of these chemicals can escape into the environment if a mobile phone ends up in a landfill site, possibly making their way into ground water that makes up our drinking water supply. For this reason it is best to have your old mobiles recycled free of charge by one of the many phone recycling companies that are available such as Mazuma or Envirofone. These companies also offer cash for mobile phones that are reusable and can be sold on.
February 11th, 2010 | Google Android, HTC, Mobile Phone Reviews, Touchscreen
The HTC Hero is a powerful and comfortable phone that uses Google’s Android system. This is really something different and not a simple iPhone copy when you compare mobile phones. The designers have used much of the good practice present in the HTC Magic but have given it a restyling.
The HTC Hero incorporates a clear, bright and very usable virtual keyboard, which can be orientated either portrait or landscape. The developers have tweaked the Android system making it even more user friendly and it now comes with a Twitter app as standard, so social network fans will find it easily integrates with their other programs such as Facebook and Gmail.
The Hero, as HTC discovered during development, is a fully customisable phone, enabling you to download and customise your favourite widgets to suit. One nice feature is its “postcards” set up where you can personalise locations by their GPS coordinates and include photos, notes and video clips.
Connectivity is no problem with the Hero, as it supports Bluetooth, mini USB,
Wi-Fi and has a 3.5mm jack point. There is a reasonably good camera but no flash and unfortunately it is not capable of video calling. The big determining factor with many phones is battery life but this is not a big problem with the Hero.
HTC has produced a good competitor when compared to the iPhone and has many qualities worthy of consideration when choosing a mobile. With increased development in the apps market this HTC mobile phone has a mass of additional add-ons you can purchase.
February 10th, 2010 | Mobile Phone Reviews, Nokia
The Nokia 6600 Slide is definitely a phone, but one that offers a little bit more than many other Nokia models. It also happens to feature one of the company’s best and most arresting designs in years.
It slides open and shut in a manner that’s both solid and smooth, and feels very reassuring in the hand. That makes for a very good start, but it’s just the beginning of the impressive features on this Nokia mobile phone.
The clarity of the display is stunning, and makes pictures look good – which says a lot, since the 6600 Slide only comes with an average 3.2 megapixel camera. Below the screen a blue directional key controls everything – again, spare, useful design. Everything is intended to be simple and logical, and it’s all perfectly intuitive.
The keypad, when pulled out, is just as one would expect from Nokia, easy to use, nicely responsive, and definitely not cramped.
The Symbian Series 40 operating system makes for fast, easy browsing for those who want to access the web from the handset.
Is there anything wrong with it? About the only lack appears to be no 3.5mm headphone jack, but on a regular mobile phone, that’s hardly a deal-breaking omission.
In other words, the Nokia 6600 Slide has pretty much everything going for it. The design is outstanding, even by Nokia’s high standards, and it does all the basics very well, with a minimal learning curve. Once again, Nokia has produced a classic handset for people who just want a phone.
February 8th, 2010 | Broadband, Mobile Broadband
When selecting the mobile broadband that is most suitable for your needs, it is worth making a comparison of all of the mobile broadband options that are available to you.
There are many different mobile broadband comparison websites around, and a simple search will bring up the most popular. When comparing mobile broadband you should take into account many different factors. One important one that you should consider is how much you would like to use the mobile broadband. With some packages you may find that there is a strict limit to the download volume that you can use.
You should also look at the coverage that the provider can offer. This is perhaps one of the most important factors that you should consider when making a mobile broadband comparison. If you live in an area in which there is a poor mobile broadband coverage by that company then you could be tied into a costly mobile broadband contract without being able to use it effectively.
When you make a mobile broadband comparison make sure that you check out as many different mobile broadband providers as possible so that you can get the best mobile broadband deal for you. It is important when you make a mobile broadband comparison that you are using reputable websites when reading reviews of mobile broadband services and mobile broadband comparisons. You may find that the mobile broadband providers themselves write some reviews, so when you make a mobile broadband comparison look for truly independent opinions.
February 5th, 2010 | LG, Mobile Phone Reviews, Touchscreen
These days, the newest mobile phones seem to be developing specialities to appeal to niche markets. Some aim for the young, while some aim for music lovers. The LG Renoir KC910 seems to be targeting those who take their pictures seriously (aptly, since it’s named after an artist).
A touchscreen phone, the Renoir boasts a mightily impressive eight megapixel camera with its own shutter key, and a stout lens cover. Shooting video, even in slow motion, is a snap, and the camera comes equipped with both smile and face detection, a small but very neat bonus. GPS means pictures can be geo-tagged if the user wishes. Given the emphasis on pictures, though, it would have been good to see a stronger flash
This mobile phone also offers playback of movies downloaded from the Internet (with both Wi-Fi and 3.5G, download speeds are very good indeed). However, before going into that it’s worth doing a little research; while most of the main movie formats are supported, the reach doesn’t extend to them all.
It seems a waste to have Dolby on this LG mobile phone, but no 3.5mm headphone jack to take real advantage of it – a definite omission. Indeed, outside pictures and video, the LG Renoir KC910 is disappointing, especially given the company’s high standards in other handsets. Both the touchscreen and the interface itself, vital components on any phone, are disappointing.
The Renoir might well find fans among photo buffs, but if LG had integrated these camera features into one of its top touchscreen models, then it would have been a much better experience.
February 3rd, 2010 | Mobile Phone Recycling, Mobile Phones
Phone recycling services such as Fonebank and Mazuma help you make a bit of cash for mobile phones you might have lying around your home. Normally when you are offered an upgrade to your current mobile by your phone’s service provider the old phone lies unused and forgotten in a desk drawer. Instead of cluttering up your house with old mobiles you can now sell them on and they can be reused.
Many of the materials that make up the components of a mobile phone are toxic and if thrown into landfill sites can leak out, polluting the environment. Selling your mobile phone to a company such as Mazuma ensures that these materials are kept in the phone or at the very least recycled for use in the manufacture of new phones.
The phone recycling firms generally only pay cash for mobiles that can be reused, but will also recycle unusable phones free of charge. Many will also supply the packaging needed for sending your phone to them along with freepost postage labels. A variety of payment methods are also available, including Argos vouchers from some firms, and an option to have the payment donated to a UK charity of your choice.
These mobile phone exchange services are a good way to reduce clutter in your home and make a bit of money from the old mobiles you have lying around. They are also the simplest and most environmentally responsible way to dispose of your old mobiles.
January 29th, 2010 | Camera Phones, LG, Mobile Phone Reviews, Touchscreen
LG has done something very different, and often very impressive, with the Crystal GD900. Not only does it boast a touchscreen, but also a keyboard that is, well, different.
First things first – the handset is a little thicker than the norm for a slider, but it’s sleek and fits well in the hand. The thickness is due to the pull out transparent keypad (yes, transparent), which is far more than a keypad, it’s also a mouse, and touch sensitive, allowing the user to use it as a control, and alternative to the screen. It should be noted, however, that it also functions perfectly well as a keypad, vibrating when pushed as a confirmation.
If that keypad sounds odd, it is – but it is also certainly something to draw attention and it does work well, if not always perfectly; it is sometimes a little erratic in function. But being able to launch things with keypad gestures is certainly a forward-thinking move. You can even use pinch-to-zoom on the keypad as you would on the touchscreen, with the same effect.
In portrait mode the screen doesn’t show all the icons. Put it in landscape mode and it does – all 32 of them – but they’re very small. There’s an onscreen QWERTY keyboard available, but it’s too small to use with much comfort – and besides, the keypad just looks so much cooler.
There’s no doubt the LG Crystal GD900 will impress, and it’s really a pretty good, if not perfect, phone. But LG is onto something with that keypad. Expect to see it on other models.
January 29th, 2010 | Broadband, Mobile Broadband, mobile technology
If you are considering using BT Total Broadband as your broadband provider it might be useful to know that, depending on your requirements, they have four different broadband deals to choose from.
The first option is the BT Total Broadband starter package. Prices for this package start at £15.49 for the first three months and are £30.98 thereafter on an 18 month contract. With this package you must also purchase BT line rental for an additional £11.54 per month. For your money you will receive a monthly broadband usage of 10GB with speeds of up to 20Mb plus basic security.
Their next package level is called Fast and Reliable, this has two contract options. The first is for 18 months and costs £7.99 for the first three months, which rises to £15.99 for the remainder of the contract. Secondly you could opt for a 12 month contract that costs £15.99 per month with no reduced rate at the start of the term. This package provides the same security level and speeds as the starter package and also comes with the option to purchase a mobile broadband dongle for a one-off fee of £39.99.
The BT Total Broadband Heavy User package costs £20.99 with a reduced fee of £15.99 for the first three months on an 18 month contract. This package has a 20GB monthly limit and comes with advanced McAfee security.
Finally there is the BT Total Broadband Unlimited package that has no usage limit and costs £24.99 per month with the option to purchase the mobile broadband dongle for £9.99.
January 25th, 2010 | Mobile Phone Reviews, Samsung, Touchscreen
The most immediately striking feature about the Samsung Jet is its styling. Like a runway model strolling through a crowded street, it stands out. The front is a sharp, shiny black and the reverse offers neat red stripes, while it’s as slim as any model in design.
All that’s well and good, but looking fine isn’t everything. With the newest mobile phones, function is every bit as important as form – probably even more so.
On that score, the Jet turns out to be somewhat average. It is a touchscreen phone, as most are these days, but one that needs quite a bit of finger pressure; in other words, it’s a resistive, rather than a capacitive screen. That’s a drawback, although hardly a fatal one.
The camera, at five megapixels, is excellent, and there’s little doubt that both images and video look good in playback, due to the handset’s AMOLED screen, which produces wonderfully crisp images. A 3.5mm headphone jack is a small but very positive addition. Among the latest mobile phones, the call quality on the Jet is excellent, an issue often forgotten by manufacturers who seem to concentrate on the additions instead of the essentials.
The Samsung Jet could be faster – anyone wanting something that moves from function to function at serious speed is going to be disappointed – and it certainly doesn’t live up to the advertising hype for navigating to places in a hurry. However, for those who can live with that, and want a handset that’s a feast for the eye, it will fill the bill handily.
January 21st, 2010 | Mobile Phone Reviews, Sony Ericsson
The new Sony Walkman phone, the W705, has a definite touch of glitz and bling about it, with the front silver highlighted by gold. It could be extremely tacky, but surprisingly, it’s not.
As well as controls for the music, as with all Walkman phones, there’s also a feature called ShakeIt which will appeal to those who love to go out dancing, and this is a handset that utilises the company’s SensMe method of arranging music by mood, rather than by genre. It can be confusing at first, but in an odd sort of way makes sense after a while. However, if you’re feeling down, it’s easy to indulge yourself with all those sad songs you have stored –and there’s a memory card, so room for plenty of material.
Sony Ericsson has done something very different with texting on this handset, too. On receipt of a text the user is given a variety of reply options, ranging from animation to sound clip and points in between. This is a very clever idea that will appeal to the young, who are the main audience for this phone, anyway.
The bad points? It can take a long time, up to two minutes, for the stored music to show on the screen, for no obvious reason, when turning on the phone. Also, the Media Manager software only works with PCs, not Macs, a rather disturbing oversight that could easily have been corrected. The W705 does have BBC iPlayer, but there are many reports of people unable to get it to work.
