Mobile Digest

Review: Sony Ericsson W880i - super thin 3G phone

The propaganda

If your image of 3G phones is super bulky handsets, then Sony Ericsson's W880i will make you think again. It measures just a tiny 9.4mm thick - thin enough to fit inside a CD case according to the accompanying blurb.

Despite its small size, it's still feature packed with a built in 2 megapixel camera, Walkman music player, a 1GB MemoryStick Micro for storing tunes and photos, Bluetooth and a nifty utility called TrackID that tries to recognise any music you play it by sending a sample to the internet and bringing back the results.

The good

Design-wise it's a stylish looking handset, finished off in brushed metal effect plastic - orange at the back, carbon black at the front.

The menu system is the standard Sony Ericsson fair, so whether you're a seasoned user or newcomer you shouldn't have any problems finding your way around. The layout is logical, with most items where you'd expect to find them.

Image quality from the camera is passable, with snaps good enough for sending to friends or emailing around.

The bundled earphones are noise isolation style ear buds that block out all external sound, creating decent bass. If you find them a bit intrusive, then you can attach your own to the 3.5mm socket on the hands free kit, which sensibly attaches at the side, rather than bottom, of the unit so you can leave it plugged in your pocket.

The bad

Sleek design is one thing, but it seems that some usability aspects have suffered to accommodate the W880i's good looks.

First up is the keyboard - the main keypad buttons have been replaced by thin horizontal strips, rather than full keys, making them awkward to use. The four-way navigation pad is fine for moving around, but to select an item you need to push straight down, which can be difficult at times.

The main camera lens on the rear of the unit is also positioned too close to the left hand edge when you're using the phone horizontally, making it tricky to take snaps without your fingers in and hold the camera at the same time.

Geek Sheet

Connectivity: 3G, 900/1800/1900MHz GSM, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB

Internal memory: 16MB, 1GB MemoryStick Micro

Display: 1.8in, 240x320 pixels

Camera: 2.0 megapixel

POP3 email client

Battery: 6 hours 30 minutes talk time, 425 hours standby

Dimensions: 46.5x103x9.4 mm

Overview

The W880i is a sleek, small 3G handset but what it makes up for on style it loses in usability. It's not that it's impossible to use, just that it'll take some time to get used to before you're fully up to speed.

It's got decent multimedia credentials and surprisingly good sound from the bundled headset. The TrackID music recognition utility is a nifty add-on, though you're unlikely to use it that much once the novelty wears off.

If you can live with its input idiosyncrasies, though, with prices starting from free with contact it's a good looking, feature packed multimedia mobile.

Related sites: Sony Ericsson W880i

LG launches 3G Shine handset

LG's Shine phone has made quite a stir since its arrival at the start of the year - not least, picking up the Best Fashion Mobile award at this year's Shiny Awards. Check out our video review for various favourable noises - and if that impresses you, here's some good news - LG has just launched a Shine phone with 3G connectivity.

It's still a looker, with the same stainless steel finish and large LCD screen. And there's all the features you would expect - two megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens and continuous shooting mode, easy navigation via the scroll wheel and music/video playback using multiple formats.

There's also Bluetooth, a document viewer and storage via microSD card. No news on price as yet, but it's likely to be dependent on your contract - probably free if you sign up for enough talk time.

LG product page

Video review: Sony Ericsson W880i walkman phone

Sony Ericsson's new W880i is the latest Walkman phone, and it's pretty damn slinky. It's the slimmest music phone they've released yet, has a lovely big memory card bundled with it, and features the company's own Track ID service to identify tunes.

Susi's been playing with the phone, seeing how good it is, and whether she can stump the Track ID with a cunning blend of Johnny Cash, Morrissey and Gretchen Wilson. Does she succeed? Click below to watch and find out.

Nokia 5700 XpressMusic 3G smartphone

Nokia has announced the arrival of its 5700 XpressMusic 3G smartphone, which benefits from a dedicated audio chip to boost music performance and a twist design for switching between four modes - music player, 2 Megapixel camera, video call and smartphone.

Main storage is via microSD card, with up to 1500 tracks possible on a 2GB card. And once they're on, you can listen wirelessly via Bluetooth stereo headphones or compatible speakers via Bluetooth streaming. Formats supported include WMA, MP3 and AAC, as well as eAAC+ and MP4. There's also DRM support and a music player that supports album art and playlists and includes a 5-band equaliser and audio visualisations.

Also included is a colour screen supporting up to 16 million colours, 3G connectivity, video calling, two megapixel camera and all the features of the Symbian S60 operating system. Expect it in a couple of months, priced around 350 Euros, but expect a hefty subsidy if you take out a contract.

Nokia website

Review: LG U830

The propaganda

The LG U830 is one of the more recent additions to the monstrously successful Chocolate and Black Label range, and it is the clamshell answer to the KG800’s (aka Chocolate) sliding action. It also happens to be one of the first HSPDA enabled handsets in the UK and 3 customers will be able to enjoy the full advantage of the high speed data transfer that it enables. That means better, faster web browsing, mobile email options and mobile TV.

Other features are a bit more standard: there’s a 2.0 megapixel camera, 185MB onboard memory, battery life offering 200 hours of standby time, A2DP Bluetooth and a 2.2” 262k colour screen. Adorning the outer edge are touch sensitive multimedia controls, glowing red on black, which makes it immediately recognisable as coming from Chocolate camp.

The good

HSDPA connectivity is undoubtedly going to be a big lure but arguably one more suited to PDAs which have better options for web browsing, etc. Actually, the U830 turns out to have a fairly decent array of internet applications, including 3’s MSN messenger, that can take advantage of the service once it rolls out across the UK.

Call quality is one of the U830’s strongest features and I can honestly say I haven’t used a handset that has offered such a decent call quality as this. During our tests we found that incoming calls enjoyed a wide range of crisp sound, with no evidence of popping or hiss in the background. Outgoing calls were reported to be of good quality too.

The bad

The U830 has a really stylish design, as you’d expect from LG, and there is no arguing that it makes for a more than adequate fashion accessory. The problem with the design though, isn’t so much to do with the looks, but the sheer number of buttons on the keypad.

This reminds me very much of LG’s older phone designs and perhaps the fact that the U830 is basically a revamped KG810 is to blame.The U830 not only has media controls on the outside, it also has a full numeric keypad (12 buttons), soft keys (two buttons), a direction pad (five buttons), call control keys (2 buttons), a menu key (1 button), a music key AND a video call key. Phew. Couple that with the volume keys, camera shortcut and music controls and I think it is safe to say we’re on a bit of a key overload here.

There was only one glaring omission that threatens to let the phone down. We have: media control buttons, MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC++ and WMA format support, and a 3.5mm headphone adaptor. But wait a minute, where’s the memory card slot?! Unfortunately there isn’t one, which is a bit useless if you want to use you handset as a serious alternative to standalone MP3 player.

Geek Sheet

Dimensions: 98x49x14.8mm

Connectivity: 3G, HSDPA, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB, Infrared

Internal memory: 185 MB

Displays: External 1.3”, 128x160 pixels, internal 2.2”, 320x240 pixels

Cameras: External 2.0 megapixel, internal VGA.

POP3 email client

Battery: 200 hours standby

Overview

Although there are complaints to be made, these are not so great as to tarnish the overall experience of the handset. It is definitely a bit more ‘blokey’ than the Chocolate, but still looks stylish enough, and where it counts – call quality, mobile internet functionality, etc – its performance is well up to the task and is an worthy improvement over its predecessor, the KG810.

Related stories: Jajah mobile application to feature on LG Prada handset | LG Chocolate Phone Review| LG's KE850 Prada phone gets official unveiling - and imminent European launch | More Mobile Phones...

Related sites: LG

Nokia N95 hits the UK (six months after its launch)

The Nokia N95 was officially launched way back in September, but it's taken six months to finally get a UK  launch.

Sadly for Nokia, the mobile landscape has change somewhat in that time, with the launch of so many new handsets, most notably the iPhone and the LG Prada model. But the N95 still has plenty to offer. For a start, this two-way sliding "multimedia computer" has HSDPA connectivity, as well as EDGE and Wi-Fi, a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and GPS functionality.

There's also a fully-featured media player, built-in stereo speakers, and web browsing, plus expandable memory via microSD card. If you want one, check out your network of choice from today. Price based on your contract.

Nokia website

T-Mobile launches UMPC-like Ameo from £120

First mentioned in January and officially launched at the 3GSM 2007 was HTC's Advantage (X7500). It's now on sale in the UK as the T-Mobile Ameo.

The UMPC-like device has 3G UMTS/HSDPA connectivity, a QWERTY keyboard, 5-inch, 640 x 480, 65,536-colour screen, 8GB hard drive, 128MB of memory, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and an SDHC-compatible memory card slot. The operating system is Windows Mobile 5. Talk time is around 6.5 hours, with 300 hours of standby.

Depending on your contract, you can pick one up fairly reasonably - prices start at £120, rising to £430. If you don't want to be tied, HTC is expected to launch the device under the Advantage (X7500) label, but at a higher price point.

T-Mobile website

Via The Register

Orange launches SPV M700 smartphone with sat nav and HTC S310 Pay As You Go smartphone

Orange has announced the availability of the SPV M700, a Windows Mobile 5.0-based device, which also incorporates a satellite navigation application.

The SPV M700 offers 3G connectivity, with speeds of up to 1.8Mbps where network support is available. There's also EDGE support, Wi-Fi connectivity and a 2 megapixel camera. Sat nav is available at an extra cost, but you can try it out with a free trial. The major Microsoft Office applications (including Excel, Word and PowerPoint) are all available, as is push email.

The company has also announced the HTC S310, the first Orange Pay As You Go smartphone, also with Windows Mobile 5.0, along with 1.3 mega-pixel camera, 2-inch LCD screen and media player.

The SPV M700 is available from Orange stores and is free on contracts over £35. The HTC S310 is also available from Orange shops, retailing for £249.99

Orange website

30 things we learned at 3GSM 2007

Phew. As ever, 3GSM was tiring both physically and mentally, with a barrage of new products and companies, plus an enormous venue to walk around. Honestly, if we believed in wearing pedometers, they'd have exploded by Tuesday.

So now the Shiny team is back in Blighty, what did we learn from this year's 3GSM? It's a chance to spot the hottest new mobile phones and technology, as well as suss out the most important mobile trends for the next 12 months. Here's our main thoughts.

1. There was no big theme this year

3GSM 2006 saw immense hype around mobile TV, with companies queuing up to proclaim it the Next Big Thing in mobile entertainment. The fact that it's since disappointed means that the lack of a single big hype this year isn't necessarily a bad thing. There was lots of buzz, but spread around a bunch of subjects, which is a healthier state of affairs.

2. Mobile social networking is a hot topic

There were lots of companies - many of them startups - promising to create MySpace-like communities for mobile. Meanwhile, the big players - the actual MySpaces, Bebos and so on - were undoubtedly at 3GSM, even if they weren't talking about their plans.

From our chats with companies like Cerkle, FunkySexyCool, Clicmobile and others, it's clear how new an area this is. People aren't sure if mobile-only social networks will succeed, for example, or whether mobile is just an add-on to existing web communities. 2007 should give some clues.

3. LG's Prada phone is better than you'd think

Don't take this the wrong way. We weren't expecting the Prada phone (right) to be awful. Just a bit gimmicky. Yet as Susi's video verdict makes clear, it looks and feels like Prada's been involved from the start. And that touch-screen is mighty purdy.

4. Mobile music is a bit rubbish

It seems us mobile users aren't as keen on downloading full tracks to our phones as the music industry would like us to be. Warner Music head honcho Edgar Bronfman Jr told 3GSM attendees that "it's expensive, it's complicated and it's slow", saying the iPhone will hopefully force operators and manufacturers to up their game.

Meanwhile, mobile firm Omnifone was trying to do just that, unveiling what it reckons is a truly mobile iTunes-beater, which it'll be running for operators around the world.

Meanwhile, the music industry continues to rumble about whether it should scrap copyright protection for digital music - if it does, it would certainly have a positive impact on the number of people downloading tunes directly to their phones.

5. Cool new handset designs

Motorola's new Z8 phone has a 'kick slider' design, which is the first handset type to sound like it should be a trick in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. We're looking forward to Nokia launching a triple-back-kick olley grinder phone at 3GSM 2008...

6. Bring on the five-megapixel camera phones

By and large, we tried to steer clear of the really techy companies at 3GSM. After all, the chips and servers they make are only interesting to the likes of us once they're actually in products we can buy.

But a firm called OmniVision announced a five-megapixel auto-focus camera module, which it'll be flogging to handset manufacturers, and which it says is affordable enough to be put into mass-market mobile phones. We can't wait.

7. Don't hold your breath for a roll-up mobile display that can play video

Philips spin-off Polymer Vision got plenty of deserved buzz at 3GSM for its Readius roll-up display for reading e-books and RSS feeds (left). Both Susi (video) and I (interview) were impressed, although the company's goal of putting one in every mobile phone seems ambitious, given they're not expecting the screens to be capable of video for a good five years.

8. We should start getting a bit worried about mobile viruses

Worried you'll look like a n00b if your phone gets hax0red? You should be. Bubbling under the surface at 3GSM was growing concern about the possible impact of viruses in the mobile space - even if some of it was fuelled by the companies looking to flog technology to protect against them.

McAfee claimed at the show that there are now around 350 mobile viruses, worms or other malware, and also said that 83% of mobile operators have been hit by mobile infections.

9. Next-generation phone interfaces will look amazing

We swung by the NVIDIA stand to check out some of the demos running on the company's new mobile chipsets, which will be making their way into millions of handsets in the next couple of years.

One demo featured a user interface for phones that included multi-tasking windows, a 3D interface with snazzy transition effects, and 'fully accelerated translucent window compositing'. Want to know what that is? Watch our video.

10. The operators need to sort out their data-tariffs

If we're all going to be downloading music, video and games onto our phones from sources other than the operator's own portals, we don't want to be paying through the nose in data charges. Yet although T-Mobile and 3 have launched 'flat-rate' tariffs in the shape of Web'n'Walk and X-Series, the other operators are dragging their heels a bit.

Who wants to download a music track if it's going to cost you an extra £3 in data charges? Or, as Yospace CTO David Springall pointed out to us, who's going to upload their cool cameraphone video to YouTube if it costs them £12 to do it? Even Nokia and Sony Ericsson united to criticise the operators' complex tariffs at 3GSM this year.

11. Transformers RAWK!

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift might be the best mobile game of 2006, according to 3GSM's Global Mobile Awards judges, but I'm more excited about the chance to play as Optimus Prime in the upcoming Transformers mobile game. Even if it is a bit unwise to turn into a truck midway through a platform game.

Mobile games were a bit quiet at 3GSM, with only a few publishers booking their own stands to show off new stuff. However, there's a quiet momentum building behind smartphone games - for example with a new Symbian version of Project Gotham Racing.

12. We still can't tell the difference between all the mobile VoIP companies

There are loads of startups aiming to be the mobile Skype. And speaking as a consumer, it's hard to a.) tell them apart, and b.) figure out why we shouldn't just wait for Skype to roll out a mobile application that provides ALL the features you get on the desktop version.

Rest assured, Tech Digest is going to be looking at this whole area very soon, to figure out who's who and what it's all about. For now, we remain confused. Which is why we haven't raced to sign up to any service.

13. Mobile TV is still underwhelming

Research firm M:Metrics surveyed 22,000 European mobile users before the show, and found that former mobile TV viewers now outnumber current mobile TV users. 45% of the people who've turned off say pricing issues were a factor, while 24% cite concerns over service quality and reliability.

From the technical demos we saw at 3GSM, mobile TV will be great. One day. But for now, it's provoking a lot of people who are interested in watching programmes on their phones to switch off.

14. Mobile blogging is growing, with photos and videos the focus

The problem with moblogging was always the assumption that people would type posts on their mobile keypad to upload. However ninja your texting skills are, it's not very appealing.

However, talking to a couple of blogging tech providers at 3GSM (including Motorola), people have twigged that moblogging is more about instant posting of photos and videos as (or just after) you capture them. Which when you think about it, makes way more sense.

That said, the Shiny massive are also converts to SpinVox's Spin-my-Blog technology, which converts your voice blatherings into proper text posts. So wordy moblogging could make a comeback soon.

15. If you want a phone with a full keyboard, you're spoilt for choice

All the manufacturers had the QWERTY bug at this year's 3GSM, including the usual suspecs (HTC), but also the likes of Nokia, Motorola and Toshiba. We blame the rise of mobile email.

16. It's quite seedy to hang around a stand leching on Russian booth babes

Although, yes, it's probably even worse to film them. Sorry about that.

17. YouTube and MySpace have work to do on mobile

The two biggest Web 2.0 brands clearly see mobile as an important part of their future, but mobile types aren't convinced they've got their strategy right just yet. YouTube has signed deals with Nokia and Vodafone, but mobile video-sharing site Yospace reckons it still sees mobile as simply a case of shoving its web vids onto phones.

Meanwhile, social networking firm Clicmobile warned MySpace that it needs to get mobile right, or it could die! The fact that these two companies' are in some form rivals to MySpace and YouTube doesn't mean their views should be written off, either. Figuring out what will make a great MySpace or YouTube mobile service will be one of the biggest challenges in 2007. We're sure it's possible.

18. Don't spunk all your new product announcements the week before 3GSM.

It might mean Susi can shoot videos on your stand without being jostled by 717 men in suits, but it doesn't give her much to talk about...

19. Thin is in

The fashion industry may be (reluctantly) booting underweight models off the catwalk, but Size Zero phones go from strength to strength. Top dog at 3GSM in the 'looks really cool even though you have a nagging suspicion you might end up accidentally snapping it in your back pocket' stakes was Samsung's U100 (left).

20. Us Brits like a night at the movies

And we use our phones to do it too. M-Spatial chose 3GSM to release its latest research on what local services UK mobile users search for using their phones. Cinema was the most popular category, followed by Fast Food, Drinking and Taxi. No, Museums, Opera and Bowling Greens didn't make the Top 10...

21. Mobile GPS navigation is buzzing

Also in evidence at the show was mobile navigation technology, whether applications for phones from the likes of Telmap, TeleNav and ALK Technologies, or GPS-enabled devices from Garmin, BlackBerry and Nokia.

Right now, it's mainly about providing the sort of turn-by-turn driving directions that you'd get in a regular satnav device, but the real potential is in using your mobile's data connection to provide live traffic info and updates, or at some point in the future, tying into mobile social networks (companies like Clicmobile and CityNeo are already looking to do this).

22. Techy mobile companies have a keen sense of irony

At least, I hope that's the case. How they come up with stand slogans like 'Shattering Tomorrow's Boundaries of Mobile Antenna Specification Solutions, Today!' if they're not having a laugh is beyond me.

23. Windows Mobile is gearing up for another big push

Microsoft launched Windows Mobile 6.0 at 3GSM, with all manner of on-stand demos showing off its new features, which we'll be looking at in more detail in the weeks ahead.

But equally importantly, Microsoft has signed up the likes of LG, Toshiba and HP to make Windows Mobile phones, with the first handsets using the new OS set to appear in the second half of this year, including some from previous licensors like HTC.

24. Creating your own mobile TV channel is more fun than watching what the operators are serving up

If mobile is such a personal device, why do I have to just watch simulcasts of terrestrial or digital channels, hmm? Some companies are exploring DIY TV, where you create a channel of video content to watch on your phone. One example is Vpod.tv, who'll have an interview going up on Tech Digest early next week.

Meanwhile, Dutch firm TNO unveiled a new tech called Farcast which works the other way around, taking video from your phone and turning it into a web-based TV channel.

25. DVB-H mobile TV is still frustratingly far away in the UK

We want it. We want it now. But despite the announcement of cool DVB-H handsets like Nokia's N77, don't expect to see them on sale here unless the powers-that-be in the UK broadcasting and mobile industries figure out how and when to roll the technology out here. Bah.

26. You can finally get Flash Lite content on your phone

You know Flash - it's ubiquitous on the Web. Adobe has had the Flash Lite tool for mobile phones for some time, which can be used for rich games and applications. Trouble was, nobody was really selling them, so you had to frequent developer forums to find stuff to actually put on your phone.

That's changing. At 3GSM, Adobe signed a deal with website Handango, which will be one of the first to sell Flash Lite content to mobile users. Hopefully more will follow.

27. Short films on your phone are cool

At 3GSM, the people behind the Sundance Film Festival unveiled five short films shot especially for mobile, which were immediately made available for download to mobile users.

You can have a gander by texting FILM to 07624 807 811, to get sent a link to their WAP site. Better still, you can freely share them with friends via Bluetooth. The idea of sitting down for three hours to watch King Kong on a phone is horrendous, but short, arty movies like this should find a healthy audience.

28. We quite fancy a simple mobile phone

All these cutting-edge whizzy multimedia handsets can get a bit much at times. Remember the old days, when your phone could make voice calls, send texts and.. well, that was it. Those days don't have to be in the past.

The mobile industry is putting lots of effort into low-cost handsets too, albeit mainly for countries such as India and China, which are expected to provide explosive mobile growth in the coming years. Motorola's F3 won an award at the show for being the 'Best Ultra Low Cost Handset', for example.

If you're thinking of going retro, Tech Digest's recommendation is the newly-announced Nokia 3110 Classic, which is a replacement for the classic 6310i. Ashley liked the big buttons. "If your dad wants a phone..."

29. Touch-screen phones are easy to use

Not sure about how you'd get on without a keypad? Soon you'll have the opportunity to find out. Besides the LG Prada phone, and of course Apple's iPhone, 3GSM also saw the debut of Samsung's F700, which admittedly also has a slide-out keyboard for messaging. But it's the screen that caught Ashley's attention, even from behind a glass screen.

Touch-screen phones aren't just about slinkiness. As mobiles try to be all things to all people - music player, TV, web surfing device etc - the traditional keypad interface is struggling to keep up. Touch-screens mean more flexible user interfaces able to adapt to whatever you're doing on the phone at the time.

30. Everyone thinks mobile advertising will be big. Nobody knows quite how it'll work

The advertising industry loves the thought of putting ads on phones. Not least because the young cool hipsters it likes to target aren't as susceptible to TV and print ads. Along with online advertising, mobile is the new buzz area. Trouble is, nobody's quite sure what kind of mobile advertising will work well, and what us users will put up with.

The mobile phone's a personal device, so any unwanted ads will feel doubly intrusive. Yet at the same time, the mobile industry sees adverts as a way to make mobile entertainment cheaper - or even free - to make more of us use it. Which would certainly solve those worries over mobile TV pricing (see earlier).

At 3GSM, there was lots of talk about mobile ads, but not that much action yet. 2007 will see a big growth in the sector though, whether it's free mobile games with ads on the loading screens, banner ads on your operator portal, or the Crazy Frog bursting into your voice calls every three minutes singing his latest ringtone. Okay, not that last one. Well, I hope not...

3GSM 2007: Sony Ericsson's K800 Cyber-shot awarded Best 3GSM Mobile Handset 2007

I've just been working my way through the Tech Digest mobile phone archives and realised that the Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot K800 camera phone was unveiled on 28th February 2006. And with mobile handsets coming and going so fast, it's surprising to see the K800 voted Best 3GSM Handset at the GSM Association's Global Mobile Awards 2007. 

Launched last year, the K800 was the first Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone, featuring a 3.2 megapixel camera on a 3G mobile handset. See our preview of the handset for the full specifications. Since launch, it's shifted 4.5 million units, as well as being used by James Bond in the Casino Royale movie.

Anders Runevad, Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Sales, Sony Ericsson said: "Our Cyber-shot portfolio has made true mobile imaging a reality for millions of people and we are very proud that the industry has endorsed our achievements with such a prestigious accolade."

Sony Ericsson website

3GSM 2007: HTC’s Advantage has a magnetic personality

This is the extremely smart, ultra-mobile, HTC Advantage – not to be mistaken with a UMPC because, y’know, it actually has a keyboard. It also has Wi-Fi and HSPDA connectivity and will be selling for around a thousand Euros when it launches in Q2. Susi tells us all about it:

3GSM: our top five phones (LG, Samsung, Motorola and HTC)

Well, there's another hour or so of the majority of the Shiny Massive's (Susi, Ashley and Stu) time here at 3GSM (although Hard Core Stu is staying on for more mobile fun); just time enough for a quick reflection on our own personal Top Five Best Things What We've Seen. There's a noteable absence of certain big players, but we've looked deep into our souls and decided that's just the way it is.

1. LG Prada
Susi was very over-excited to get herhands on the LG Prada phone yesterday, and was not only not disappointed, but positively surprised at just how luxurious it was. The touch screen is a sleek black and white, and navigating it is a doddle. In actual life, I'll be interested to see how easy it is to text, but as an aspirational handset, it's a winner. Check out the video here.

2. Samsung F500
Samsung have brought out a couple of handsets with a screen on each side - one for the phone stuff and one for the media stuff. The F500 is their multimedia device, and boasts a swivelling screen so you can prop it up and indulge in some Brad Pitt on the move. The video is here.

3. Motorola Z8
Motorola had *a lot* of new handsets, and since they were one of the first people we saw, it's proving rather difficult to remember just what they were all about. The RIZR Z8 stuck in my mind though, for its ergonomic design and its rather lovely video playback capabilities. Watch the video here.

4. Samsung F700
It's a small miracle that a phone that we only saw from behind an electrified fence glass has made it into our Top Five, but it just goes to show its class. It's a touchscreening, QWERTY keyboard toting, five megapixel sporting piece of Samsung goodness. Ashley gets all excited on this 'ere video.

5. HTC S710
HTC make a late entry to the list with their new smartphone, the S710. It's slipped in a QWERTY keyboard in, as well as a 2 megapixel camera, WiFi and best of all it's going to run the new Windows Mobile 6 platform, full of IMing goodness. I took a look at it (as well as their new music friendly device) here.

3GSM - Samsung's phone line up - Ultra Edition II, card phones and more

One of the best, although some cynical bloggers would also say one of the worst, things about Samsung is they always launch so many phones. 3GSM has been no different with around a dozen or so new handsets taking their bow. The downside of this is that some times some phones get lost in the rush.

So to keep things simple here’s a quick trawl through the best of the new Samsung breed, along with our comments and, when appropriate, links to videos.

Samsung F700 - In our books this the one to watch for. Samsung has delivered a large touch screen phone (it has a 2.78 inch display) with its own pull out QWERTY keypad for when you need to do some proper work. Other than its screen it has very impressive looking five mega pixel camera, complete with auto focus, a decent looking web browser and the souped up version of HSDPA which in theory can run up to seven Mbps. The only downside is that you’ll have to wait until Q3 before you can get your mitts on one.

Watch video here

Samsung F500 - Now this is clever. It is one of Samsung’s split screen handsets, see also the F300 music phone, which has the phone on one side and a large multimedia ready display on the other. It also has a top that twists enabling the user to set it up as a stand to make watching vids easier. It is also compatible with a range of video formats including, for the first time on mobile apparently, DiVX. It also has plenty of storage on board (410MB) and is HSDPA compatible. Video here.

Samsung F300 - This is also very clever. Its another split phone with one side looking like a Samsung MP3 player from a year or so ago, and the other side housing all the essential phone gubbins such as the key pad. It is also A2DP compatible, so you can listen to music wirelessly via your Bluetooth earphones, and it has an on board FM radio. I am slightly disappointed with the storage (just 100MB which of course can be uprated via a MicroSD card) and the lack of 3G/HSDPA. Video here.

Samsung U100 - Now this is bonkers, it is the size 0 of mobiles and is just 5.9 mm thick. It is also not the most feature filled mobile, but it does had a 3 mega pixel camera, music player, 70MB of storage and a TV out socket. Video here.

Samsung P310 - Yep the card phone is back. The P310 is skinny, comes with its leathery-type carry case and, in our eyes anyhow, is rather cool. Unfortunately it is not as retro-looking as its predecessor the P300 and it is GPRS rather than 3G. Nevertheless with its bonus battery (built into the case) and striking design it is still one of our 3GSM highlights, It goes on sale via Vodafone in a couple of months time.

Samsung U700 - This has biz phone written all over it. It is a stylish slider with HSDPA, a 3 mega pixel camera and decent web browser on board. Like all phones in Samsung’s Ultra Edition II series it is very skinny.

Samsung I-520 - And last, but by no means least, is this Symbian powered smart phone. It is super slim, HSDPA friendly and stacked out with smartphone style facilities. It comes out in April.

3GSM 2007: HTC launches Advantage (X7500) and P3350 mobile devices

Alongside the Vox, HTC has two other new devices on display - the Advantage (X7500) and P3350.

The HTC Advantage (X7500) is like a miniaturised PC, powered by a 624MHz XScale processor and Windows Mobile 5. It also features an 8GB hard drive, along with tri-band UMTS with HSDPA, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, QWERTY keyboard, 5-inch VGA touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera and built-in GPS. Battery life is good too - up to 8 hours between charges. Expect to see it in the UK as the T-Mobile Ameo next month.

The P3350 is the previously-announced P3300 without GPS functionality. The quad-band/EDGE handset uses Windows Mobile 5.0 and features a 2.8-inch screen, 256MB of internal memory, microSD support, FM radio and stereo Bluetooth. No news on network availability for this, but the company says it will be available from March.

HTC website

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3GSM 2007: Toshiba launches G900 and E01 smartphones

Toshiba is muscling in on the smartphone market, showing off two devices at 3GSM - the G900 and the E01.

Attracting most of the attention is the G900, a horizontally-sliding handset, not unlike the popular HTC models. Like a good number of this year's new models, there's HSDPA connectivity, along with features including a 3-inch WVGA screen, 2 megapixel camera and front-facing video camera, 64MB internal memory (expandable by miniSD card), rear biometric scanner, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB On-The-Go and the newly-launched Windows Mobile 6 operating system. No news on price or network availability as yet.

Also on display from Toshiba is the E01 smartphone. It also features HSDPA, along with a 65k colour display, 2 megapixel camera and A2DP Bluetooth. Again, no news if this is coming to the UK. We'll keep you posted on both.

Toshiba website

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3GSM 2007: HTC launches Vox/S710 - smartphone with full QWERTY keyboard

HTC has finally launched its much-rumoured Vox device (or S710 if you prefer) - a smartphone with slide-out full QWERTY keyboard.

Slide-out keyboards are nothing new for HTC, most of their top sellers feature one. But this time the sliding keys are as part of a smartphone rather than a more bulky PDA. Other features are what you would expect from a smartphone - 2.4-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, 128MB of Flash memory, 64MB RAM and microSD support.

And like all new smartphones, there's Windows Mobile 6 on-board. As yet, there's no detail of which network will take it, but there's a good chance of re-branded version coming to a network in the coming weeks/months.

Stop press: Orange has now announced it will be launching this device on its network during the first half of 2007.

HTC website

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3GSM 2007: Nokia N77 mobile TV phone

Nokia unveiled their N77 multimedia TV mobile phone at 3GSM. It features DVB-H technology, a dedicated TV key, and a powerful internal antenna to allow a digital TV signal to be received whilst on the move.

Nokia say it offers much of the functionality of the N92 (which we reviewed here) but in a more compact body.

The N77 offers a 2.4inch wide screen capable of displaying 16 million colours, built-in interactive TV functionality, the ability to pause live TV for up to 30 seconds, 2GB of memory, integrated stereo speakers, and a 2 megapixel camera.

It's 3G, and runs Symbian OS with S60 3rd Edition software. It will retail for around €370 (unsubsidised) and be released in the summer. It won't be much use in the UK at present, though, as we don't use the DVB-H digital TV standard.

More news from 3GSM 2007

3GSM: Motorola KRZR K3

Shiny Susi takes a look at the KRZR K3 from Motorola, which features HSDPA for instant media downloads. It's a clamshell in the style of the previous KRZR, but packs in more techy stuff, for no more millimetres. .

3GSM 2007: Nokia launches three new Eseries models - E90 Communicator, Nokia E65, and Nokia E61i

Nokia has launched its second wave of Eseries business devices with three new handsets on show - the E90 Communicator, Nokia E65, and Nokia E61i.

All devices are quad-band GSM and 3G friendly as well as having Wi-Fi connectivity, with the E90 Communicator also HSDPA-enabled. All devices also use Nokia's newly-launched Intellisync Mobile Suite 8.0 platform. The Nokia claims the E90 Communicator offers an "uncompromised mobile office experience". Based on the S60 platform, it also features an integrated GPS and Nokia Maps application, an FM radio, a music player, a video player and two cameras - a 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera with flash and a second camera for video conferencing.

The Nokia E65 is a slim slider, but with all the mobile business capabilities of a Nokia Eseries device. Most-used applications can be accessed via One Touch keys on the front cover, including the ability to make conference calls, access your contacts database, mute and un-mute calls, and access an application of choice through the 'My Own' key. The E65 also supports the most used corporate and consumer email systems.

The Nokia E61i is designed specifically for extensive mobile email usage, offering advanced attachment handling with on-the-device document editing. There's a new full keyboard design, and along with Navi and One Touch keys, should make catching up with your inbox much faster. It supports corporate mobile email solutions such as Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email, Good Mobile Messaging, Mail for Exchange, Seven Mobile Mail, and BlackBerry Connect and most popular consumer email solutions. There's also a 2 megapixel camera, a music player and a video player.

The Nokia E65 is already available in selected markets, with wider availability building during the first quarter of 2007. The Nokia E61i will be available during the second quarter of 2007 and the Nokia E90 Communicator is provisionally slated for the second quarter of 2007.

Nokia website

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3GSM 2007: Motorola launches MOTOKRZR K3 - slim HSDPA clamshell handset

The 3GSM is underway in Barcelona and Motorola has wasted no time in lauching a new range of handsets - the first of which is the MOTOKRZR K3 - a stylish clamshell with HSDPA connectivity.

HSDPA means faster downloads, so faster browsing and potential for over-the-air downloads. The MOTOKRZR K3 also includes two integrated digital cameras - an internal VGA camera for video calls and a 2MP digital camera with 8x digital zoom for snaps. Also comes with USB 2.0 connectivity, 64MB of onboard memory, a microSD slot and stereo Bluetooth wireless technology.

According to Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices: "Whether you're looking for brilliant multimedia recording and sharing, premium sound with a state-of-the art interface or fast over-the-air downloads, MOTOKRZR K3 unites must-have design and must-do experiences."

The MOTOKRZR K3 is expected to be available in the coming weeks. Pricing to be confirmed.

Find out more

More from 3GSM 2007

HSDPA will dominate mobile broadband, WiMax to go niche

Broadband on mobile phones will continue to grow in popularity as coverage and speed improve. A new study by Arthur D Little suggests that HSDPA will become the dominant method of delivering high-speed Net access to mobile devices, receiving the most investment over the next 5 years. WiMax, on the other hand, will be a niche player.

HSDPA is seen as a natural progression from GSM and UMTS for those operators already running 3G networks. It is a less risky and better understood method of achieving mobile broadband speeds close to that of first-generation fixed broadband services.

Michael Natusch, head of Arthur D. Little's UK TIME (Telecoms, IT, Media and Electronics) practice, said: "The momentum in HSDPA deployments has been stimulated by competition from other broadband wireless technologies and by the prospect of competition from mobile WiMax. However, there is as yet no convincing real-world evidence of the actual relative performances of these technologies in large scale deployments. Nevertheless, it is likely that these two technologies will achieve comparable levels of performance in typical real-world situations, contrary to the notion that mobile WiMax should be regarded as a "Killer" technology."

The survey shows that WiMax could achieve a greater theoretical peak in data transfer rates than current HSDPA technology can - maybe 4 to 5 times as much. However, WiMax coverage from a single base station is lower than that of HSDPA.

The study claims to assess all the factors, strategic, competitive, commercial, regulatory and political as well as technological that influence operators' choices of wireless network technology. Whilst other articles have concluded that WiMax will wipe the floor with HSDPA, this study suggests that HSDPA is more likely to gain widespread adoption.

(Via Cellular News)

Sony Ericsson's W880 and K810: too much evolution, not enough revolution?

It's probably not Sony Ericsson's fault that I came out of this morning's press launch feeling a bit underwhelmed. The company announced several new phones, with the two most interesting being the W880 Walkman music phone and the K810 Cyber-shot camera phone.

But there were also some nifty Bluetooth accessories, and four other phones that while basic, are just what a significant amount of mobile users are looking for, rather than all the bells and whistles.

The fact remains that it was very much evolution rather than revolution, at a time when some of Sony Ericsson's rivals (traditional and new) are unveiling all manner of breakthrough products. Take the K810, which is Sony Ericsson's flagship camera phone, but only has a 3.2 megapixel camera. Isn't that a bit puny next to the latest LG and Samsung camphones? Sony Ericsson says not.

"For the majority of consumers, 3.2 megapixels is probably more than enough quality, especially when you see the way we optimise those photos," said Steve Walker, head of product marketing at Sony Ericsson.

"Yes, megapixel increases are on our technology roadmap, but when we look at the research we do within Sony on the camera market, for many consumers 3 megapixels is more than good enough. And of course, as megapixels increase, so storage needs increase too."

It kind of makes sense, but when during the same event Walker also talked about Sony Ericsson's history as a camphone leader – launching the first integrated camera phone, and the first megapixel model - shouldn't it be releasing phones that aren't just good enough for what consumers do now, but for what they'll want to do a few months down the line?

The W880 has some strong positives, specifically its super-sleek design, and the fact that it comes with a camera (a shocking omission from the otherwise-marvellous W950i). But some niggles remain. Why no 3.5mm headphone jack so you can plug your own phones in? Nokia has said it'll have one in every Nseries handset going forward, after all.

Walker said that the company's solution – putting the 3.5mm jack into the headphone cable - removes the problem. One journo pointed out that this falls down if the user loses that cable. "Well, try not to lose it is the best advice I can give you," he said. Thanks for that.

The elephant in the room at any music-focused mobile launch this year is, of course, Apple's iPhone. I should stress, I'm not an iPhone evangelist - it's got a bunch of flaws of its own to sort out - but you'd expect Sony Ericsson to be able to give a convincing argument of why people should buy its Walkman phones now, rather than waiting for the iPhone.

Walker did make some implicit comparisons when asked. "We have a range of products across a range of price points, including some at a price point of less than 100 Euros," he said.

"It's a slim, compact phone that's not compromising on the phone capabilities, but with everything in the package to let you listen to music on the move. It works, we know it works, we have a lot of consumer feedback from people, and they like the accessories. I can't really comment on iPhone and what Apple's doing. We're proud of what the Walkman's doing."

I really wish Sony Ericsson, Nokia and any other mobile manufacturer targeting the music market would comment on the iPhone. It's huge competition for them going forward, so shouldn't they be coming out now and saying 'Look, the iPhone's far too expensive, you won't be able to download songs over the air, it's too big and you'll be tied into Apple's ecosystem'? Aren't these people up for a scrap, in other words?

This has been a bit of a rant so far. There's a bunch of good things to report. Sony Ericsson has a new focus on FM radio, which by all accounts - Nokia reported this too - is a hugely popular feature with mobile users.

Sony Ericsson's Track ID technology, which has been developed in partnership with Gracenote, lets you 'tag' a song playing on the radio and have it identified, while also offering the same thing for any music you hear while out and about. The latter is nothing that Shazam didn't do a few years ago, but tying it into the radio is great.

But again, where does this lead? How about DAB chips in Sony Ericsson phones, or interactive features around the FM radio like Nokia's Visual Radio? Something's cooking, but Walker couldn't say what. "The expansion of that capability is an interesting one for the consumer. We have some things that we're working on, but nothing we can say today."

The same is true of questions over whether Sony Ericsson's Bravia TV phone, so far released only in Japan, will come over here. Not anytime soon, judging by the comments today. "Japan is a very high-end market, so we can offer a phone there that delivers a mobile TV experience that lives up to the Bravia name," said Walker. "It's limited to Japan now, but that's not to say we won't see that capability coming into other parts of our product range in the future."

Finally, what about full-track downloads? iPhone will, obviously, work closely with Apple's iTunes Music Store and iTunes application. Nokia is planning to launch some form of music download service this year. Does Sony Ericsson need to do the same? Seemingly not.

"Consumers don't want to be limited," said Walker. "The internet world has taught us that choice is what makes these things come alive. We want to make sure that we have the enablers - the right way of playing and protecting music - but it's not our business to be predominantly in the music services world."

Sony Ericsson does have its M-Buzz service, which sells ringtones and full-track downloads of new bands, but Walker said that's more a "stimulus" for the market. "What we do is work with our major operator customers to work out how their music services can be integrated into our Walkman phones," he said. "We do that with Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and many more besides."

Video Sneak Preview: Sony Ericsson K810 Cyber-shot camera phone

Also unveiled this morning was Sony Ericsson's new K810 Cyber-shot phone, which is the company's new flagship camera phone. It's 3G, and has a 3.2 megapixel camera, auto focus, Xenon flash and the Photo Fix feature to sort out dodgy images. How good is it? Check out Susi's verdict below.

Video Sneak Preview: Sony Ericsson W880 Walkman mobile

As you'll have read in our earlier story, Sony Ericsson has a new flagship Walkman phone, the W880. And praise be, it has a camera, unlike the W950i. Plus it's slim, stylish and eminently desirable. Don't believe me? Susi got hands on with the phone this morning at Sony Ericsson's product launch. Click below to watch her verdict.

Sony Ericsson’s new Walkman handsets – hands on impressions

This morning, Sony Ericsson officially unveiled its latest additions to the Walkman line up – the W880i and W610i. After the press conference we manage to get a quick hands on with both new handsets and we’re pretty impressed. Check out our video coverage too here.

In both handsets, Sony has clearly been determined to cut down on the some of the bulk that earlier Walkman phones suffered from. The W610i is only 14mm thick – a good half a centimetre thinner than the popular W810i. The W880i is even more impressive at only 9.4mm, the slimmest Sony Ericsson handset yet, which we’re reliably informed is thinner than a CD case. And it’s 3G too – proof that 3G phones are rapidly catching up with their 2G and 2.5G counterparts in terms of compact design.

With the W880i in hand, I noticed that it was a little bit wider than it seems in the pics, but still a heck of a long way from being a brick. Unlike other handsets, the camera on the rear is now better integrated so that it forms a flat surface rather than having the lens in a raised section.

All the new handsets on show have adopted smaller, stubbier button designs. The W880i uses rectangular buttons with rounded ends very much like what we’ve seen before, only smaller and raised a little further off the phone’s surface. I couldn’t really form a definite opinion in the short time I had with each phone, but it seems likely that this new design will mean that people with shorter, wider fingertips will have a better time operating it.

Once again, there’s no 3.5mm jack on the phone itself, so you need to rely on the headphone attachment, which does mean there’s a mic around for handsfree calls, but it does also add a bit more cable into the equation. A2DP is now standard on both handsets but Sony Ericsson is going to package a stereo Bluetooth headset (the HBH-DS970) along with the W880i. W610i users will still have to buy their own. And speaking of generous extras, the W880i also comes with a 1GB M2 memory card, which should be good for around 900 songs as well as being removable and expandable.

Another new feature on each handset is the TrackID system. You can use this to record snippets of any song you hear, as well as anything on the radio. It then transmits the recorded information out to a service developed in conjunction with Gracenote and will then feedback the track information, including song name artist and album information. In its current status, there is going to be little else you can do from there, but Sony Ericsson plans to build up relationships with music download services to offer you the chance to buy tracks that you have identified, or get suggestions on similar music to buy.

Sony Ericsson's new Cyber-shot handsets - K810/K818 and K550/K550im

More new handsets from Sony Ericsson. Following on from the new Walkman models comes two new Cyber-shot handsets - the K810/K818 and K550/K550im.

The 3G K810/K818 Cyber-shot phone features a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, Xenon flash and red eye reduction. Other camera-related features include Photo Fix, which can correct images after they have been taken and Illuminated Camera Icons to the side of the main keypad, which light up when in camera mode, allow you to access camera menu options at the touch of a button. There's also BestPic - shoot a number of images in succession, then pick the best one to keep.

Other general features include a 2.0-inch QVGA 262k TFT screen, video calling, photo blogging, Bluetooth, music/video playback and HTML browsing. Talk time is up to 10 hours. The K810/818 Cyber-shot phone should be available in the second quarter of 2007 in Noble Blue and Golden Ivory.

The slimline (14mm thick) K550 Cyber-shot phone is a quad-band EDGE device with 1.9-inch 262K TFD LCD screen, equipped with a disappointing 2 megapixel camera, along with auto focus, LED photo light and active lens cover. Also featured is Bluetooth, picture blogging, music/video player, FM radio with RDS, HTML browsing, Push Email and instant messaging support. Talk time is up to 7 hours.

The K550im variant is the first Cyber-shot phone to support O2's i-mode service. Both models will be available in Jet Black or Pearl White and should be in stores in the coming weeks.

Sony Ericsson website

Sony Ericsson launches W880/W888 and W610 Walkman phones

A big day for Sony Ericsson today, with a glut of new phones and accessories being aired for the first time, kicking off with two additions to the Walkman phone range - the W880/W888 and W610 Walkman phones.

At just 9.4mm thin, the W880/W888 is the slimmest Sony Ericsson phone yet. Available in brushed steel, silver or black and with a 1.8-inch QVGA 262k TFT display, it has a 1GB Memory Stick Micro included, enough for around 900 full length tracks. Also featured is Bluetooth audio streaming, a 2 megapixel camera, video recording and playback, picture blogging, full HTML browsing with RSS feeds and a strong battery life - up to 18 hours music playback. It should be available in the coming weeks, pricing to be confirmed.

The W610 with 1.9-inch 262K TFT LCD display, stores up to 470 full-length music tracks on the 512MB Memory Stick Micro provided. It uses the TrackID music recognition application, which lets you record a clip of an unknown music track onto your phone and immediately receive a notification of the track name, artist and album. Like the W880/W888, there's a 2 megapixel camera on-board, video recording/playback and picture blogging. Available in Plush Orange or Satin Black, it also includes an RDS FM radio, Bluetooth audio streaming, HTML browsing, Push Email and again, a long music playback of 25 hours or 7 hours of talk time.

Expect it in the second quarter of 2007.

Sony Ericsson website

Bag a Sony Ericsson W880i Walkman phone in a weekend treasure hunt

We had the teaser images, then we had the unofficial images of Sony's much-hyped Sony Ericsson W880i Walkman phone. But if you want to get your hands on one, you'll have to do a spot of treasure hunting.

You need to visit www.iwantmyw880.com, entering your current phone's details. Then this Saturday (February 3rd), you will be contacted via text message informing you that the first clue has gone live online. Once logged on, you have to solve the clues, before being given the location of the Sony Ericsson vault containing five W880i Walkman® handsets. Once you have this, drop everything and run!

If you can't spare the time this Saturday, there will be an online version running next week - so it's worth registering if you are interested.

Find the Sony Ericsson W880i Walkman phone

Sony Ericsson's new super-slim W880i handset - images online

Sony Ericsson sent out some intriguing images of the forthcoming W88i handset a few weeks back, without actually showing the super-slim phone itself. Well, Engadget has got hold of some images before the presumed launch date of 6th February - including the one above.

Details are still quite scarce about the actual specification (except that it features a 2 megapixel camera and all the expected music features), but it certainly lives up to the hype as a very thin and indeed very stylish handset. Sony Ericsson has a press conference on 6th February, so we'll hopefully have full details from there. In the meantime, check out the Engadget site for more images of the W880i.

More mobile phones

One Minute Video Review: Samsung Z560 mobile phone

Susi's been playing with Samsung's Z560, which is the company's new HSDPA phone. It's available on T-Mobile here in the UK, and promises faster Web-surfing on the go, including if you use it as a modem for your laptop. How does it measure up, and perhaps more importantly, can you surf Popbitch using it? Click below to find out.

CES 2007: Nokia N93i video preview

I went off to the Nokia press event today to take a look at the new handsets and the N800. Here's a quick vid I shot of the N93i. Nokia fans will remember that the N93 was a cracking phone, but a little on the tubby side. So with the N93i Nokia has hit us with a smaller and lighter handset. There are also some design tweaks too. Anyhow here's the vid. Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

CES 2007: Nokia revamps the N93 - calls it the N93i

Personally I am a huge fan of the Nokia N93. I love its fabulous screen, wealth of features, cool web browser, flip open and morph into a mini laptop design and most of all its amazing camcorder.

What I am not so keen on though is its rather chunky design. Let’s just say that it become known in Shiny Towers as the phone that ate all the pies.

So today I am hugely excited to find that Nokia has updated the Nokia N93 and shed a bit of its ahem, girth. The new N93i is apparently slimmer and more compact - how compact well I’ll find out this afternoon.

Features include

MPEG-4 VGA video capture at up to 30 frames per second
3.2 megapixel (2048 x 1536 pixels) camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom, autofocus and close-up mode
1 GB miniSD card
2.4inch display
Wi-Fi
MP3 player

Nokia has also tweaked the design a little so the reborn phone has a new metallic finish keymat and a mirror effect cover.

It also has Vox blogging software built it as we mentioned earlier today.

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

One Minute Review - 3's X-Series Nokia N73 mobile

So is 3's X-Series a cynical marketing ploy to tempt gadget lovers into subscribing to its network? Or is it how the mobile internet should be. Check out the video and then you tell us. More Apple iPhone goss X-Series launch Nokia's future of mobiles

Review: Sony Ericsson M600i