May 19th, 2010 | Broadband, Mobile Broadband
You’ve been thinking about getting mobile broadband service, but just don’t know if the cost is worth it. The fact is you can do a great deal with this form of broadband service. Here are just a few of the tasks you can handle when there is a high-speed connection on your handheld device.
First, there is the matter of sending and receiving email any time you like. Whether in the park at lunchtime, or sitting in a comfortable seat on a commuter train, all you have to do is go to your email account, read what you like, respond to anything pressing, and in general manage your mail. This can be a great way to relax from the stress of the day, something that many of us need.
You can also use mobile broadband services to browse online for something you need. For example, if you and a colleague cannot decide where to eat, then use the mobile connection to find restaurants that are within the general area. You can also get directions to the restaurant of your choice, and call ahead for a reservation, all from the same device.
For people who use business broadband in the office, adding a mobile connection to the network just makes sense. Salespeople can download presentations, contracts, and other electronic documents with ease, getting them where they need to go in no time. Customers can reach you, even if you are not in the office. From this perspective, your mobile becomes a valuable tool that helps you increase your business and help you build stronger rapport with your clientele. Business broadband is already in extensive use, and is a steadily growing market.
There are many benefits to mobile broadband. From business applications to playing games whenever and wherever you like, Many people find the benefits far outweigh the costs. Consider looking into a mobile solution today.
May 17th, 2010 | Blackberry, Mobile Phone Reviews, Mobile Phones
The BlackBerry Tour 9630 is for Verizon subscribers who have long-awaited their very own BlackBerry smartphone. Combining some of the best features of other BlackBerry mobile phones with its own unique additions, the Tour 9630 is a solid performer in a really attractive package.
Pros
Users don’t always consider call quality a top priority when they compare mobile phones, but the Tour 9630 has audio so solid it’s worth mentioning. Even in Bluetooth mode, sound is clear, and the long battery life allows for up to six hours of non-stop chatter.
Internal memory is an impressive 256MB, powerful enough to support a wide range of features. Expandable memory ports boost memory upwards of 8GB.
The multi-media features are praiseworthy: a 3.15 megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus, and video; a variety of video playback options for the high resolution screen; a simple, easy to use music player; a 3.5mm headphone jack; and good web browsing function.
Cons
The QWERTY keyboard on the Tour 9630 is curiously harder to use than those of other BlackBerry mobile phones. Keys are crowded close together, and typing accuracy is rather difficult.
A glaring omission on the Tour 9630 is Wi-Fi connectivity, a feature that is fast becoming standard on the latest mobile phones.
The web browser has a distracting zoom function that makes text huge and images tiny. Following links is a time-intensive process that forces users to access a menu option before activating a link.
Conclusion
As a consumer offering, the Tour 9630 is sure to please Verizon subscribers in search of contract mobile phones with great call quality, loads of multi-media features, and adequate web browsing. If Wi-Fi and typing accuracy are necessities, then perform further research by checking mobile phone reviews on other Blackberry models. Mobile phone news sites can also be a valuable resource to aid you in this task.
May 14th, 2010 | Mobile Phone Recycling, Mobile Phones
Selling your mobile phone online can often be a tricky business, especially with the growing number of scam artists attempting to defraud you. In more recent times, a popular method of selling your mobile phone has been to use one of the many “instant cash” mobile phone buyers. Companies such as Envirofone and Mazuma Mobile have provided a quick and easy way for consumers to sell their phones for cash. Selling your mobile phone through these organisations is relatively safe, and they will provide you with a fair price for your old phone.
Fast becoming one of the most popular methods of selling old mobile phones, Envirofone and Mazuma have a handy tool on their individual websites that allows you to find out how much you will be paid for your mobile phone. You are under no obligation to use the service once you find out how much you can get for your phone, and you are free to get a quote from another service if you are not happy. If you choose to sell your phone to the company then you will be provided with a padded envelope to send the mobile phone off to them, and once it has been tested your payment will be made.
Other options for selling your mobile phone online are websites such as Ebay or Gumtree. These are less safe methods and you are at more risk of being defrauded if you choose to sell your phone through these websites.
May 12th, 2010 | Camera Phones, Google Android, Mobile Phone Reviews, Motorola Mobile Phones, Touchscreen
The Motorola Dext is also known as the Motorola Cliq. It is an Android smart phone and has some fun features if you like gadgets on your phone. In many mobile phone reviews this Motorola model has been called dull looking and completely ‘unsexy’, but it does have a useful and very responsive touch-screen and a good QWERTY keyboard. So, it is a good choice for Facebook addicts and Twitterers.
The Dext is a solid, if not very sleek looking phone and it is easy to use on social networking sites but it tends to have intermittent problems executing widgets from time to time and less than perfect call quality. The fast touch screen and the superb operating system more than compensate for these drawbacks but it all depends on what you want to use you new mobile phone for.
This slider phone has a full QWERTY keyboard under its 3.1 inch touch-screen and Motorola’s version of Android, named Motoblur, provides some extra features like sign-in to Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace and the ability to grab all your contacts and their profiles and merge them to fill up the address book inside the phone. This is not a very useful system for business users though, because where a business name was listed (no first name), the system lists it by number which makes it really difficult to retrieve.
In summary, this is great phone for Facebookers and Twitterers and other kinds of networking users but not very good for making calls because of the poor sound quality and far from ideal for business users. Once again it’s a case of different mobile phone deals being suitable for different types of users.
May 10th, 2010 | Camera Phones, Mobile Phone Reviews, Mobile Phones, Sony Ericsson
The Sony Ericsson T715 has some decent specs, but it just doesn’t seem to match its commonness. The styling is brilliant and most features perform well, but when users compare mobile phones from other manufacturers the T715 may likely fall short.
Pros
The T715 is an undoubtedly chic handset in black and silver, and the weight is rather substantial for its compact size. The buttons are better places than on some of the other basic Sony Ericsson mobile phones like the Naite and Jalou.
The inbox is good, allowing users to check SMS messages in threads, to access email inboxes and Facebook messages, and to engage in instant messaging.
The camera is only 3 megapixels, but is very user friendly and has some useful features like panorama and multi-shot mode.
Preloaded apps include popular items like Twitter and weather apps. There are also a fair number of games already loaded out of the box.
The T715 handles multi-tasking favourably, though running multiple apps at once seriously drains battery life.
Cons
Users must set up email accounts manually, and some may encounter repeated error codes during the process. The generic email app on the T715 is not capable of automatically detecting email settings from webmail providers like Gmail and Yahoo.
Like most other Sony Ericsson mobile phones, the T715 doesn’t have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, so users are limited to either using the uncomfortable, low-end headphones included with the phone or investing in a headphone adaptor.
Conclusion
The fine looks of the T715 go a long way in making up for its lack of advanced features.
May 7th, 2010 | Broadband, Mobile Broadband, Wireless Devices, mobile technology
As people outgrow their old mobile plans, there is sometimes the need to make some changes in the current broadband plan. When this is the case, it is important to take the time to find a plan that meets your needs today by performing a mobile broadband comparison task. Here are some tips to help you with the process.
If you are in the middle of a contract period with your current plan, the best place to begin your mobile broadband comparison is with your current provider. Many broadband providers are more than happy to roll existing commitments into more robust plans, as a courtesy to their customers. The upside of this approach is that you will still be dealing with a company you know, and will not have to worry about paying any penalties for ending the previous plan before the end date. As a bonus, the set up of the new plan may require you to do little or nothing on your end, in terms of connecting equipment.
For people who are near the end of their current plans and do not want to renew the contract with the current provider, it just makes sense to begin comparing plans before the current contract ends. As you gather pricing from different vendors, make sure to tell them exactly what you want, so they will direct you to the right broadband packages. Ask pointed questions about any up front costs or any type of recurring costs that are not covered in the basic monthly payment. The idea is to make sure you are getting a better plan, but are still getting the best price possible.
May 5th, 2010 | HTC, Mobile Phone Reviews, Touchscreen
HTC has proven itself time and time again as a dominant force in the smart-phone market. This relatively small company out of Taiwan has worked with both Microsoft and Google’s mobile operating systems, to produce some of the best new mobile phones on the market. Its latest entry into the smart phone market is the HTC Legend, the successor to the Hero line of mobile phones. Among its many performance, size, and display features, the HTC legend sports a full body, aluminium casing. A solid device with excellent performance in many key areas, the HTC Legend is a must-try item for anyone looking to compare mobile phones.
While its rugged design and overall visual appeal is superb, the phone must deliver an excellent experience for the user. In this area, the Legend does not disappoint. With a 3.2 AMOLED display, the Legend looks great, and responds to touch commands even better than before. In addition, the Hero’s trackball has been replaced with an optical joystick, which works very well, and is welcome addition to the device. While not necessarily as powerful as the Nexus One or Desire, the Legend has more than enough power to support the same modern day applications with little fuss.
The HTC Legend is an excellent addition to HTC’s existing line of mobile phones. More than an incremental upgrade, the HTC delivers exactly what modern phone users need, all while offering stronger construction and an excellent user experience.
May 2nd, 2010 | Mobile Phone Reviews, Mobile Phones, Samsung
The Tocco Ultra is a phone with the classic Samsung slide design and a full touch screen driven user interface.
The handset was one of the first to include an AMOLED screen – Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode, if you’ve ever wondered what the anagram stood for – a high resolution screen, 240 x 400 pixels measuring 2.8 inches; this is on the large side for a slide phone but small for a touch screen.
The camera is eight megapixels, with smile detection, LED flash and geo tagging meaning that your pictures will be dated and the location marked wherever you are in the world thanks to the built-in GPS receiver. The video can record at a high VGA resolution and video conferencing is also available.
The Tocco Ultra comes with a media player that supports the most popular format music files, plays videos and there is an FM radio with RDS. There is no jack, so you’re stuck using the headset supplied by the manufacturer or buying a Bluetooth stereo headset. The internal memory is very limited, 80 MB, which only has the capacity to store one favourite CD but you have the option of increasing the memory with a memory card to a more respectable 16 GB.
As well as geo-tagging your pictures the GPS is also useful for navigation and finding your nearest petrol station.
The Phone does not come with Wi-Fi but supports Bluetooth, USB, HSDPA and EDGE.
April 30th, 2010 | Broadband, Mobile Broadband, mobile technology
Apart from a few isolated rural areas, broadband provision has now spread to every part of the UK, replacing the old dial-up system that had many drawbacks. With broadband you can stay connected to the internet whilst making a phone call, and downloading is a much faster process as data is converted more efficiently through ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line), essentially an upgraded home telephone line.
A vast number of different broadband providers have moved into this lucrative market, from TalkTalk broadband and Tesco broadband to O2 broadband and Plusnet broadband. The difficulty for most people is finding the broadband supplier that is best suited to their needs, and at the best price. Fortunately, with so much competition to get new customers signed up, the prices keep going down and the deals on offer get better. With some mobile broadband suppliers, for instance, you receive a free laptop computer when you sign up, and there are discounts for the first year with many broadband suppliers.
Before reaching a decision, it’s essential to browse through the many broadband and mobile broadband comparison sites, a good one being broadband-finder.co.uk. These list all the latest deals and special offers, the new broadband providers, the things to look out for and many more useful bits of information.
Broadband providers increasingly offer a bundle of services, so they’ll for example take over your telephone line and provide cable TV as well as putting in the basic broadband connection. Virgin Media broadband and Sky broadband have specialised in this area.
April 29th, 2010 | LG, Mobile Phone Reviews, Mobile Phones, Touchscreen
The GW520 has a tremendous keyboard, with large evenly spread out keys so that accurate typing is quick and easy. It has arrow keys too that are handy if you need to scroll through loads of messages, which is a saving grace considering the touchscreen’s lack of sensitivity.
When you run your fingers across the LG GW520 home page, you enter LG’s Livesquare where your favourite contacts will appear as little icons, showing the number of messages they’ve sent you and your missed calls. The icons are displayed in a field, a park or a zoo and look sweet when they wave to you.
You can personalise your home screen by dragging a limited number of widgets, making things like your email or the weather more easily and quickly accessible. The phone also has an auto-predict when you manually type in phone numbers, so that even a number you dial frequently but do not have as a contact will come up for you.
There are lots of things that don’t really hit the mark with the GW520. The touchscreen is unresponsive, the QWERTY keyboard slow, and the quality of pictures from the 3-megapixel camera is way below average.
You can access Facebook from the home screen but the images look squeezed together on the 2.8 inch screen. You can’t add any applications so if you use any other social networking site, you won’t be able to access it on this phone.
Other similar phones to check out are the Samsung Beat DJ and the Samsung Genio Slide.
