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.
January 20th, 2010 | Broadband, Mobile Broadband
People used to connect to the Internet by using a dial-up telephone connection that was very slow when browsing through websites. It was a really long waiting time if downloading files that were only around 2Mb in size, anything much bigger was really out of the question. This is where a broadband connection changes everything.
A broadband connection offers you extremely fast Internet connection speeds that will literally make a 2Mb file download in a couple of seconds. Broadband speeds can reach up to 24Mbps, which of course changes depending on the network coverage of your broadband provider.
In a study it was found that the UK has the lowest average price for broadband connection anywhere in the world. You get a cheaper deal than any other country! There are a number of broadband providers in the UK such as O2 Broadband, TalkTalk Broadband, and many more. Some providers also have 85% network coverage in the UK. This means that almost everyone in the UK can get a reasonable speed out of his or her broadband connection.
Broadband prices range from as low as £7.50 to as much as £25.00 a month. Of course cheaper broadband means that you get a low monthly download/upload allowance, normally 5GB, but if you are just planning to browse the Internet and read email then it’s a good deal. However, if you were planning on downloading large files, games for example, or plan to use the Internet to play online games, then it would be better to source a broadband provider that offers you an unlimited monthly allowance.
January 18th, 2010 | Blackberry, Mobile Phone Reviews
Blackberry is the gold standard when it comes to business smartphones; even the ubiquitous iPhone can’t knock it off that perch. It definitely keeps that crown with the latest Blackberry mobile phone, the Bold 9000, which takes everything the company does well and puts it in a single package.
There are two things that jump out immediately when trying the Bold 9000. The first is the screen itself, one of the best Blackberry has done, large and exceptionally crisp, with very vibrant colours. The other is the QWERTY keypad, which is also a big improvement on what the company has achieved in the past. It’s very well-spaced, easy to use, and the fingers don’t cramp over the typing of the long messages Blackberry users are wont to send. Of course, it’s a given that email is a dream – it’s at the core of the company.
For connection there’s both Wi-Fi and HSDPA giving quick, smooth browsing, as any good smartphone should offer, and there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing users to use their choice of headphones.
Don’t expect too much from the camera. At just two megapixels it’s adequate, but no more than that. However, that’s hardly a priority for business users – the demographic of the Bold 9000.
Although some might be put off by the size of the phone, it’s not really any larger than many Blackberry mobile phones. It does sit heavy in the hand or pocket, but then again, a Blackberry is a business status symbol that needs to be seen.
January 14th, 2010 | Mobile Phone Reviews, Mobile Phones, Nokia
Nokia does phones, and Nokia does phones right. There’s nothing wrong with that, and for all the hype about smartphones, most people just want a mobile phone that does what it says on the tin, and does it reliably, efficiently, and well.
The 6303 Classic follows the tradition of excellent Nokia mobile phones. With its sturdy but appealingly shiny black metal casing it’s built to stand up to some rough handling, making it ideal for those who work outdoors – it won’t break if dropped.
Like most mobile phones, it doesn’t boast a massive screen, but it’s certainly ample for texting, which is aided by a keypad that’s designed to accommodate most fingers without cramping or excessive typos.
There’s a camera, but it’s more functional than anything special, although it will do an adequate job. There’s also room for music on the phone, which comes with a built-in FM radio, and the 3.5mm headphone jack allows users to plug in their own headphones for more comfortable listening.
Don’t expect anything innovative with the phone. About the only thing to differentiate it from other Nokia offerings, especially the 6300, is the casing. But the things it does do, it does very well.
That, of course, is why so many people keep on buying Nokia mobile phones. They know what to expect, and they’re rarely disappointed. As long as a user knows what to expect, then it’s virtually certain that the 6303 Classic will satisfy. Nokia has done it again – and just as well as before.
January 12th, 2010 | Camera Phones, Mobile Phone Reviews, Samsung, Touchscreen
Samsung’s new handset featuring the Google Android operating system seems to be a winner all round. It’s as if the company engineers actually spent time analysing other smartphones and then wondering how they could not only do it better, but also more simply. In many ways they’ve succeeded admirably.
Samsung mobile phones have always had a distinctive style, and the Galaxy is no different; anyone familiar with a Samsung will be readily familiar with this and the size and shape fits very comfortably in the hand.
Wanting to turn apps on and off? That’s simple. Just a couple of quick taps on the screen accomplishes it, much better than most of the competition, and means a user doesn’t have to go paging all through the menu.
Those are the big pluses. However, there are negatives, most notably the onscreen keyboard, which is exceptionally awkward to use, and probably deserves a full redesign to be fully functional in landscape mode. Similarly, the lock key definitely appears to have issues, not always working as the user might wish.
Battery life isn’t particularly good either, as several mobile phone reviews of the Galaxy have noted. However, others haven’t had problems with it.
All in all, the Samsung Galaxy is a decent, if not superb, smartphone and the Android under the bonnet works very well, smart and snappy on browsing, as well as for moving between functions. This isn’t going to set the world on fire, though, and it’s not going to topple the iPhone from its throne. But Samsung fans ready for a smartphone will like it.
January 11th, 2010 | LG, Mobile Phone Reviews, Touchscreen
This is LG’s second version of its Prada phone tie-in with the fashion house, a winner for all those who like designer names on everything they own. The first version lacked a lot, and some of those things have been addressed here.
With a name like this, it has to have style, and there’s plenty of that. The design is much like its predecessor, although marginally thicker (all of 5mm) to allow for a pull out QWERTY keyboard. This one is exceedingly generous, making typing a snap with no excuse for typos, although for those who really desire it, there is also an onscreen keyboard available.
The other major improvement lies in the camera, and most specifically, the video function. The camera is now five megapixels, but users can shoot 720 p video – and then even edit it extensively on the phone itself, all the way to adding a soundtrack if they desire. That’s an excellent feature, although how much people who buy the phone for the name will use it remains to be seen.
With HSDAPA and Wi-Fi it is very fast, but the speed is cancelled out a little by the confusing screen. The icons look lovely, but what they represent, and where different items lie, isn’t too obvious. It takes time to figure the phone out, as it’s not intuitive.
So although it’s still not perfect – what is? – LG mobile phones have taken a great leap forward with Prada on the KF900, and produced a handset to be proud of, and one that still looks very good, too.
