Samsung have been busy recently, releasing many phones into all areas of the market. Smartphones, mid-range phones, low user devices, handsets aimed at prepay users, young users and a really nice range of touchscreen devices. The Samsung S5600v Blade comes in the latter category. Along with the Samsung Jet, the Samsung Blade leads the way in the new level of mobile phones that interface via a touchscreen. Just how popular these devices prove over time is debatable; there are still a significant number of people who prefer to enter data on a device using a traditional alphanumeric keypad, and to a lesser extent, a hard QWERTY keyboard.

Touchscreen devices do have some advantages, though, and chief of these is the size of the screen. Kind of obvious, really, but once the keyboard has been removed it leaves a lot of real estate for the screen to fill, without compromising the overall size of the handset. The screen on the Blade is a nice, crisp clear 16 million colour TFT display, measuring 2.8 inches. This is the sort of screen that you want for watching video clips on a phone. It is about the minimum comfortable size that would allow for watching a full length movie without suffering too much eye strain. It isn’t possible to watch XviD or DivX videos on the Blade, but there is a lot of content mobile optimised to the MPEG4 standard, which is generic to mobile phones, plus the Blade can also take WMV video files, which is a nice bonus.

The media player on the Blade is very capable. As well as supporting the aforementioned video files, a whole range of digital music files can be played back on the handset too. Memory storage on the handset is a bit meagre, in modern terms, at just 50MB, but thankfully this can be expanded up to 8GB with the addition of a Micro SD memory card. Plenty of room for your music, and video clips, and images, too. The Samsung Blade is a capable imaging device, certainly nothing too outstanding but it will get the job done and is acceptable enough for a mobile phone. A 3.2 Megapixel camera, the Blade has an LED flash, autofocus and smile detection. It is also possible to record video clips, QVGA resolution at 15fps. Nothing special, again, but adequate enough for loading up to YouTube of Flickr.

Uploads on the move with the Blade are easily catered for, with the device supporting HSDPA Mobile Broadband, up to 7.2 Mbps speeds are available. If you happen to be out of 3G range then you will have to rely on GPRS or EDGE, as the Blade does not include WiFi connectivity.

So, overall the Samsung S5600v Blade is a smart enough device, looks good, measures in at a nice size, just 12.9mm thick, and weighs in at a more than acceptable 92g. Available in both pink and black, the Blade has some nice extra features included. These include a stereo FM radio, with RDS support, and the inclusion of Bluetooth 2.1 for wireless stereo connectivity. Bluetooth 2.1 is the latest version of Bluetooth technology, which allows for easier pairing to other compatible Bluetooth products. Another nice application is the Shazam Find Music Service. This will operate in a similar way to the Sony Ericsson Track ID program, allowing you to discover the name of a music track, the artist and album it comes from just by recording a small snippet of the song and uploading it to the Shazam service. Shazam has offered a service like this for a while now, where you could dial a shortcode number and record the song through the phone’s microphone, so it is nice to see it evolve into a full on mobile phone application.

So, in conclusion, the Samsung Blade is a competent, solid performer, with a nice range of features that should appeal to a wide variety of users. There is nothing outstanding, but it shouldn’t disappoint those who buy it.

For a first attempt at a touchscreen device, the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music was a fairly good effort from Nokia, instantly leaping to the top of the handset sales chart. Packed with features that would not have looked out of place on a top of the range N Series device, the 5800 captured the imagination of the Nokia faithful who were looking for something that in their eyes would rival the much hyped iPhone. The next touchscreen driven device from Nokia is also a member of the Xpress Music range, and at first glance it is difficult to see what differences the 5530 has. But, differences there are, as we will see.

Some of the noticeable changes are inside the device. With the Nokia 5530 there is no HSDPA connectivity, no high speed downloads. More surprisingly, perhaps, is the complete lack of any 3G connectivity at all. I really think Nokia have made a mistake here, it really is inconceivable that a modern day mobile phone is produced without at least 3G as a minimum. There is some light, with regards to connectivity, in the form of WiFi included on the handset, but that isn’t an ideal alternative. I would much rather see 3G as minimum than have to rely on finding an open WiFi network for my music downloads on the device.

Another option that the Nokia 5530 lacks in comparison to the 5800 is no GPS. Nokia maps will still work on the device, but your position will be calculated by network triangulation, which isn’t as accurate. So, the 5530 is not another 5800, clearly. But it isn’t all bad with this new Xpress Music device; despite these shortcomings the handset offers a solid, if unspectacular package. Carrying the Xpress Music name the handset has a clear focus on media entertainment. Multiple digital music formats are supported, as well as the general MP3 the 5530 takes WAV, WMA, AAC and eAAC+ whilst video formats include MPEG4, 3gp and WMV. Available in five colour options, Red on black, Blue on white, Grey on black, Pink on white and Yellow on white, the 5530 is going to stand out. If your preference is conservative black, the 5530 may not be your thing.

A 3.2 megapixel camera is included on the phone, offering solid imaging capabilities, with autofocus and a Carl Zeiss lens, and an LED flash. Video capture is enabled, but the quality isn’t that great. TV OUT is enabled on this handset, but I wouldn’t use it for playing back any videos captured on the phone, the quality just isn’t there.

As the handset runs on S60, there are a few legacy features available from Nokia smartphones, that almost seem a little out of place. The excellent web browser is included, but running on GPRS it’s hardly worth anything. There is a document viewer included, for reading email attachments and other items, but it is hard to imagine the target market for this phone even considering messaging on the move over the standard SMS.

Sporting a nice, large screen, the Nokia 5530 Xpress Music is easy to interact with. Multiple entry methods are supported, from standard finger touch, to handwriting recognition and stylus operability. The handset weighs in at a very acceptable 107g, and is around 2mm thinner than the 5800, measuring in at 13mm. As on the 5800, you can have access to your favourite contacts on the main screen, and see a detailed history of your communication with them on screen, here the 5530 excels with a carousel option allowing you to smoothly scroll through up to 20 contacts, compared to the four available on the 5800.

Overall, the Nokia 5530 is a bit of a mixed bag. If music on a capable mobile device is your thing, and you like a ‘funky’ colour scheme, then the 5530 is your phone. I would imagine where this phone is going to do well is with first time mobile users who just want something which looks good, or those users whose preference is Prepay over contract. It’s hard to get excited about this phone; with a mismatch of features it just feels unbalanced. It will probably remain an anonymous device in the middle of an already crowded mid range of music phones from Nokia. Reports suggest a September 2009 release date.

 A Hero is born this summer, check out the trailer below

The Hero will be the first HTC Handset to include the HTC Sense Interface

Hopefully that provides just a little taster of the Hero coming from HTC, we will be following up with preview, review and release dates shortly.

It wasn’t all that long ago, that if you wanted a decent messaging device your choice was pretty much restricted to a BlackBerry device. Particularly in the corporate market, where access to email on the move has done so much to change the way we work, BlackBerry are the dominant force. But recently, other manufacturers have been eyeing up this lucrative market, and in particular Nokia have done much to make themselves as dominant here as they are in the consumer market, with their excellent E Series devices. From the early days of the E60, E50 and E51, Nokia have developed a brand that has come to be synonymous with quality build and numerous top end features.

Of the recent E Series phones, the one that has come to capture the attention of the corporate market like no other before it was the Nokia E71. Amazing high quality material build, solid performance and packed with features, with a battery life that topped all rivals, the E71 propelled the E Series to the fore of the corporate messaging market. Never one to rest on their laurels, Nokia have now come up with the E72, a nailed on successor to the E71. We’re going to take a closer look at this device and see if it has what it takes to be as popular as its predecessor.

When you see the E71 ‘in the flesh’, as it were, it is hard not to see why this device has such high appeal. Ultra slim at just 10mm, the quality material used in the build shows that this is a device to be taken seriously. One of the first, more noticeable differences to the E71 is the redesigned keyboard of the E72. The two menu soft option keys and send/end keys are now part of one piece, and is a much flatter style than the keys on the E71. The four shortcut keys are not so close to the main central navigation key, and the whole look gives the impression of more space and a less cramped design. On the bottom row of the QWERTY keypad, there are now 9 keys instead of 7. To accommodate this, the space key has been made smaller, although it is still the size of two standard letter keys. A lot more information is shown on the keys, too, indicating the double up functions available. For example the Symbol key also has the Bluetooth icon, showing that this key can be used as a shortcut to activating and de-activating Bluetooth on the phone. Now, anyone who has owned an E Series device in the past will know that Bluetooth can be activated by a long press of the # key and the E71 was no different. By including the Bluetooth icon, this is now demonstrated to those who may not have realised.

Aside from the keypad, there is little to tell the E71 and E72 apart. The other enhancements are internal, and the major one of these is the inclusion of a 5.0 megapixel camera, over the E71’s 3.2 megapixel camera. There are no other camera improvements, and although this is a much requested enhancement from the army of E71 users, I question the logic of upping the pixel count on the camera, without improving other areas relating to image capture. After all, pixel count isn’t the be all and end all of picture quality.

The other two noticeable improvements to the E72 are the option of using S60v3 FP2, which offers additional features in the operating system, such as being able to view all open applications from pretty much any where in the menu, and also the option of turning on transitions for animated icons in the menu, plus the E72 also includes a 3.5mm audio output jack instead of the 2.5mm option on the E71.

The main differences apart, the E72 shares much with the heritage of the E71. So we find the inclusion of such features as an internal GPS receiver, with aGPS support, and many high speed data connectivity options, including WiFi, HSDPA and HSUPA for quick document downloads and uploads on the move.

Internal memory storage on the E72 is a very impressive 250MB, with the option of increasing this with the support of Micro SD memory cards, up to 16GB. And thankfully, Nokia have included the same battery on this device as that found with the E71, which offers fantastic standby and talk times, just what the modern mobile professional on the move needs.

So, overall, the Nokia E72 gets a thumbs-up. Incorporating the same design and feature set that made the E71 such a firm favourite, it seems Nokia have listened to their customers and offered all the features that were requested from the previous model. With other E Series devices such as the E75, E55 and E52 currently available, never has such a choice of quality messaging focussed devices been available to choose from. Expected release date for the Nokia E72 Q3 2009.

The Nokia 6600 was a nice slim slide design phone, operating on the slick S40 user interface. A popular device, the 6600 sat squarely in the mid range market and performed well, fulfilling its role of a mid market filler device for Nokia. As has been common with Nokia in recent times, once again the old model number is recycled, with this new incarnation being named the 6600i. Following on from old tradition, the “i” after the model name is used to indicate that the handset has gone through a slight improvement update, more than actually being totally overhauled. Let’s take a look at the details of this new phone.

The noticeable upgrade for the new Nokia 6600i is the inclusion of a 5.0 megapixel camera, upgrading the old 6600 3.2 Megapixel camera. The camera still includes a dual LED flash, which is starting to become a default addition on all Nokia handsets. Although not as good as a genuine Xenon flash, the benefit of a Dual LED is it is less battery intensive, and can also be used as a light when video recording in low level lighting conditions, the video camera will capture images at an acceptable social media friendly 15 fps.

Much like its predecessor, the 6600i is a neat, compact little device. We find the measurements very pocket friendly, weighing in at just 110g, the handset measures 93mm high, 45mm wide and just 14mm thick. As with the majority of Nokia devices, the 6600i has a superbly clear, bright screen, a TFT QVGA display, supporting up to 16 million colours and measuring 2.2 inches from point to point. The device is equipped with an accelerometer, which allows the handset to show some nice features. For example, when in standby mode the display closes down, to help preserve battery. Simply tapping the display twice will spring it into life, so you can easily check for any incoming texts or missed calls. Tapping the device can also be used to put the alarm into snooze mode, or reject incoming calls by silencing the ringer.

Social networking is a big thing these days, keeping in touch with friends and family on sites like Facebook, or talking to the community via services such as Twitter. The 6600i is equipped to handle access to such sites well, with Opera Mini already included on the device for all your web browsing needs. Also, the 6600i includes support for GPRS, EDGE and HSCSD, as well as being enabled for 3G browsing.

Other features on the handset, as we come to expect these days, include a well equipped media player, capable of playing MP4 and 3gp video files, and support for MP3, AAC, AAC+ And WMA music files. The handset incorporates a 3.5mm audio output jack, so you can make use of your own favourite headsets, and not suffer with the very often sub standard supplied manufacturer own headphones. With support for Bluetooth 2.0 included, you can also listen to music wirelessly with a stereo Bluetooth headset. There is also an FM stereo radio included, with RDS support.

Internal memory on the phone is not great, with a fairly meagre 20MB available; thankfully the 6600i is compatible with micro SD memory cards, and will take up to 16GB of additional storage space, which should be enough for even the most demanding of users.

Although there is no GPS receiver on the device, you can still take advantage of Nokia Maps, by utilising network positioning. Although not a smartphone, there are many applications that can be added to the device, thanks to support for java. Additionally, as well as enhancing functionality, java compatible games can also be installed.

Overall, the Nokia 6600i is a solid presentation from the Finnish giants. The 6600 was a decent enough handset, one of our personal favourites here at RightMobilePhone, with an upgraded camera, and a smart look, the Nokia 6600i is destined to be just as popular. Release date Q3 2009.

We all need to be more aware of our environment and of our actions that could have a negative effect on the materials available that we use. If we do not, those materials may run out, either because they come from a finite supply or because there is no time for the replacement cycle for such materials to run through and replenish existing supplies. Sony Ericsson are demonstrating knowledge of this fact with the announcement of the Sony Ericsson C901 Greenheart.

With a name that sounds like it is dedicated to some mythological warrior, the Greenheart demonstrates that with a bit of lateral thinking, it is possible for mobile phone manufacturers to do their bit towards making use of materials in a much more sustainable manner. For example, there is no manual with the C901 Greenheart, which instantly cuts out about 95% of all paper usage in the manufacture of mobile phones. But, for those who need a manual, fear not, as the C901 Greenheart has an electronic manual installed on the device. A simple solution, and one I hope Sony Ericsson include on future handsets too, and that this is not just a one-off gimmick.

But that is not all, for Sony Ericsson has reduced all unnecessary packaging with the C901 Greenheart, which is to be applauded. Nice packaging may make for good presentation, but once the box is opened and the phone removed, it becomes just another waste. The device itself is made up in part from recycled plastic, and comes with a Bluetooth headset that is made from 100% recycled plastic.

So, to the handset itself. Is being green enough to make this a popular device? Well, if that was the sole selling point I would have to say probably not. But the fact is the C901 Greenheart is packed with the latest mobile phone technology, so you can buy this device safe in the knowledge that not only are you doing your bit for the environment, but getting a good phone in the bargain.

To start, the C901 is equipped with a high quality 5.0 Megapixel camera, complete with auto focus, and still a rarity on a mobile device, a true Xenon flash. Although there is no GPS on the device, geotagging can still be used by utilising Cell ID, where your location is determined by triangulating your position from the three nearest cell sites. The camera is also equipped with face and smile detection, as well as smart contrast and red eye reduction. Video recording is also enabled on the device and there is a light which can be used for video recording in low light conditions.

Equipped with HSDPA Mobile Broadband, the C901 is able to load web pages quickly, and pages are well presented with the on board NetFront browser doing an excellent job in page rendering. The built in accelerometer allows you to quickly and easily browse web pages in landscape mode as opposed to the standard portrait setup.

The display on the device is standard Sony Ericsson, a QVGA offering measuring 2.2 inches and supporting up to 262,000 colours. Adequate enough, but with Nokia and now Samsung making use of higher resolution displays, Sony Ericsson really will need to start improving theirs. Also, it would have been nice to see an OLED display used, given the eco message of the device.

Other features on the handset are as you would expect from a high end Sony Ericsson mobile phone. A fully featured media player is included, for playing back popular music and video formats, and there is the always useful Track ID application. A native YouTube application is included as standard, as is support for mobile blogging, uploading pictures and text to your blog on the move, simple and easy. With another shout to the ‘Green-ness’ of the C901, Sony Ericsson have also included a C02 calculator, so you can calculate your own carbon footprint.

The C901 Greenheart is supplied in white, which Sony Ericsson describes as an ocean white. In line with the handsets green credentials, the paint used on the device is waterborne paint, which has less volatile organic components that solvent based paints do. Sony Ericsson is to be congratulated for bringing environmental concerns into the manufacture of their mobile devices. Of course, a one-off, ‘look at us, aren’t we clever’ device isn’t enough, and I hope that moving forward all such devices will be made from similar materials and recycled plastics where possible. Release date expected June/July 2009.

Despite commanding just a small percentage in terms of sales within the smartphone market, when it comes to hype, the Apple iPhone is in a league of its own. Since the initial launch, the iPhone soon became the handset by which media types would make their comparison with other smartphone devices. Which, to be honest, wasn’t really adequate, with the features on the original iPhone no more than you would have expected to have seen on original GSM handsets. Despite the lack of features, what the iPhone really had that won over many fans was the user interface. Slick, well designed, ease of use, the iPhone interface is probably the best out there in the smartphone market, and if there is one area the more established manufacturers need to look at with their own products, they wouldn’t go far wrong looking at the UI.

Apple have now launched the third edition of the handset, the Apple iPhone 3GS, and we are going to take a look and see what improvements have been made. And we’ll start with the camera. Despite being mediocre at best, the iPhone II with a 2.0 Megapixel camera is the most used cameraphone for uploading pictures to Flickr. Surprisingly, by quite some margin too. But if there is one feature that the iPhone lacked that allowed other smartphone users to smugly lord it over iPhone owners, then it was the lack of video recording facility. And, to be fair, they had a point. After all, for a top end smartphone not to be able to offer such a basic feature these days seems very strange. Well, no more do iPhone users have to listen to S60, or Microsoft smartphone users gloating away, because the new iPhone 3GS finally includes video recording, as standard, and at a fairly acceptable 30 fps, VGA, too. And, thanks to the excellent Apple UI, uploading videos from the phone to the web is as simple as you would expect.

The main camera itself is also enhanced, now moving up to 3.2 Megapixel, with auto focus, touch focus and geo tagging. The interesting feature here is the touch focus, which allows you to focus in on a particular area of the picture just by touching the screen. And finally, we have an iPhone that includes MMS as standard! Yep, Apple have caught up with the picture messaging craze and you can now send pictures from your iPhone as MMS without having to resort to third party apps to do this for you.

The ‘S’ in the name of the new iPhone stands for speed. And speed the phone certainly has, with support for HSDPA Mobile Broadband included, up to 7.2 Mbps. There is also included support for WiFi, GPRS and EDGE, for those times when you are not in 3G coverage or in a country where 3G is still not active.

Internally, the phone has received some enhancements, with memory on the device now available in either 16GB or 32GB options, offering plenty of room for storing videos, pictures, and music. Thanks to the gorgeous iPhone screen, video playback is a real pleasure on the handset, with crisp, clear definition. The screen itself measures in at 3.5 inches, and as before is a capacitive TFT touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours. The phone has a multi touch input method and a built in accelerometer for automatic screen rotation from portrait to landscape mode. The screen is covered by toughened, scratch resistant glass, and there is a proximity sensor, which disables the touchscreen when you are in a call.

GPS support is included on the iPhone, with additional support via aGPS. Google Maps is supplied on the device, and the whole mapping experience on the iPhone works really well, probably one of the best experiences on a mobile phone. The device also includes a digital compass, so you can get a grip on your bearings if you happen to lose your way.

Overall the new iPhone 3GS is a worthy successor to previous models. It is clear that Apple have worked hard to bring in features that any modern mobile user has come to expect as standard on their phones, such as video recording and MMS. The enhancement of the internal memory is also a welcome bonus, as is the inclusion of HSDPA for web browsing. The early hype of the iPhone was always something to be jeered, what with the limitations on the device, but now Apple have a serious smartphone, well equipped to face down its competitors in a feature-by-feature fight out. Now we need to see if Apple can bring this level of features and this level of UI in a few devices of different design. Now that is something I would like to see.

O2 have come under fire from current iPhone subscribers who are unhappy with the upgrade tariffs and charges, however if you are considering an iPhone for the first time, tariffs start from £29.38 a month (18 month contract) . Stock expected to be released to customers June 18th 2009.

Apple iPhone 3GS Video Tour

Sony Ericsson have been going through a bit of a sticky patch recently, with handsets that are not quite up to the mark hitting the shelves and leaving customers angry when their new shiny handset needs to go away for repair. For example, the C905 was a great handset, but the dodgy speaker was just poor quality control. We had a sneak preview of the sort of devices Sony Ericsson were looking to bring to market with the Idou, now renamed Satio. As well as confirming the new name of the Idou, Sony Ericsson also introduced us to two new phones, the Aino, and the Yari. Here we are going to look at the Sony Ericsson Aino in greater depth.

Designing a mobile phone isn’t all that easy; users want a small, compact phone, but also want a well sized keypad and a good sized screen, too. The two form factors that offer this are slide, and my own personal favourite, the flip. Sony Ericsson have chosen the former, and with the Aino have a device that is compact, yet has a large, clear, bright display and a good sized keypad. Just 15.5mm thick, the Aino weighs in at 134g, which is bordering on the heavy, in mobile phone terms. The TFT display measures in at 3 inches, and has a 240 x 432 pixel count. Equipped with an accelerometer for auto rotation, the display also offers limited touch functionality too.

Inside, the Aino is endowed with a stunning array of top technology, designed to launch Sony Ericsson back into the big time of phone manufacture. One of the stand-out features is the inclusion of an 8.0 Megapixel camera, with auto focus and an LED flash. The camera has touch screen operation enabled, and supports many extras to ensure your imaging results are the best they can be. These features include Geotagging, face detection, image stablisation, smart contrast and red eye reduction. And good news for those who like to record video on their phones, Sony Ericsson finally have introduced VGA video recording at 30 fps on the Aino.

Data connectivity is well supported on the Aino, with multi band HSDPA support included, plus WiFi with support for DLNA. Bluetooth 2.0 is there, for wireless audio streaming, and the Aino is designed to work around the world with quad band GSM connections included. Internal memory on the device is a bit low, with just 55MB of memory available; fortunately the handset will work with memory cards up to 16GB and comes supplied with an 8GB card in the box. One point worth mentioning is the fact that the Aino supports Micro SD cards, so no more worrying about different card technology. About time, too!

And, that is not even the half of it; the Aino truly is a handset that is set to reinforce the credentials of Sony Ericsson as a top handset manufacturer. Another feature of the Aino is the inclusion of remote play support for the PS3. With the Aino connected to a Playstation 3 you will be able to control the games console and move through the media content. The built in support for Blogger is retained, so you can update your blog on the move from the phone, and the Aino also has dedicated applications for accessing Facebook and YouTube.

The media player on the device is up to the standard of many recent Walkman branded devices, with the inclusion of the Walkman 3.0 player. Support is there for all the popular digital music formats, and the device offers some nice visual effects, with graphics of an old style tape player, cassette player, gramophone and CD player which can be used as backgrounds to the music player.

The Sony Ericsson Aino is an entertaining device, with many features packed into a handset that is not overly large. Almost unassuming in design, underneath the conservative look lays a handset that is absolutely heaving with the latest in communication technology. Sony Ericsson is aiming high with this device, and the Aino is more than equipped to deliver. Expected Q4 2009.

If you are going to be successful in the UK market, you need a strong line up of mid range phones. The mid range is where the business really happens. Cheap prepay phones have their place, as do the multimedia all singing all dancing devices, but the mid range is where the majority look for their phones. You only need to look at devices from Nokia and Samsung, to see how wide a range you need in this market sector and it is something that Sony Ericsson has been lacking. What a mid range phone needs is to be strong in all areas, with maybe a top end feature here and there not included, to keep the cost down, and to just ‘do’. Nothing complicated, nothing difficult, but not too basic either.

The mid range is where the Sony Ericsson Yari is squarely aimed. And the device brings with it some nice touches, enough to make it unique in its class, which is a job all of its own. A simple, almost conservative slide design, the Sony Ericsson Yari has a 2.4 inch TFT display, supporting up to 256,000 colours. A standard QVGA size, the display is what we have come to expect from Sony Ericsson over the years. Just 15.7mm thick, the Yari is a pocket friendly 115g; thanks to the slide design the alphanumeric keypad is well spaced, although the keys are perfectly flat, which may not be to the liking of heavy texters.

The camera on the Yari is a more than adequate 5.0 Megapixel device, with autofocus and an LED flash. Geotagging is supported, along with face detection and image stabilisation. For a handset that is not being branded with the Cybershot name, that is more than acceptable, and should offer excellent image results. Video recording is enabled on the camera, but we find that the VGA recording offered on the Aino is not also on the Yari, leaving the Yari with QVGA quality at 30fps. Along with many others, I look forward to the day when Sony Ericsson realise that today, on a mid range device, that isn’t enough.

Data wise the Yari is well featured, with support for HSDPA Mobile Broadband up to 3.5 Mbps and all the usual suspects backing that up, including GPRS, HSCSD and EDGE. Although the lack of WiFi may be a disappointment for some, the lack of this feature is one of the points that keeps the phone in the mid range, and also keeps the price down.

There is plenty on the Yari to keep you entertained. The most innovative of these features is gesture control gaming. Popular already in Japan, gesture control gaming is something you will already be aware of if you have ever used a Nintendo Wii. One of the games pre-loaded on the Yari is tennis. Activate the game, set the device up, on a table top for example, and stand in front of the phone, imagining you have a tennis racket in your hand. The front facing camera will pick up your motions as you play the game. I can see the appeal of this, and Sony Ericsson predict that multi player games will soon be available, and that can only enhance the fun, but I do wonder about the feasibility of such gaming on such a small screened device. Maybe combined with a TV OUT option, it would come into its own. Still, it is early days for this technology in devices available in the UK, and it will be interesting to see how it captures the imagination.

Aside from the gesture gaming, the Yari carries many other media features. Although not a Walkman device, the latest version 3.0 Walkman player is included, with support for all the major digital music formats. The Walkman player also has some nice background graphics, such as an old fashioned cassette player or gramophone. We also find on the Yari an old favourite application of mine, Track ID, plus support for Blogger, and a native YouTube application.

Overall, the Sony Ericsson Yari is a strong handset, with many good features and an interesting twist on mobile gameplay. Not the most stunning handset to look at, but is sure to sell well, and could be the phone that brings Sony Ericsson some much needed sales. Rumours suggest a release date of October, watch this space for more news as we get it.

It is the most popular phone of all time. 7 years after its release, it still commands a high price on resale and auction websites. Built for the business market, this handset sold in its millions, and everyone who still has one will do all they can to keep hold of it. With a battery life second to none, and the ability to hold a signal the way a limpet sticks to a rock, with a good range of features (for its time) and ease of use, nothing came close to this phone. Such a popular handset as this though, has become almost an albatross around the neck of the manufacturer. Try as they might, nothing has come close to replacing this fabled handset. In case you’ve not yet guessed, I’m talking about the Nokia 6310i.

It is hard, despite the popularity of this device, to actually get down in words why the 6310i was, and still remains, a defining handset of the digital age. And it has been hard for Nokia to produce a handset that captures the imagination the way the 6310i did. The 6230, then the 6230i were billed as 6310i successors. Then the Eseries came along, and we got the E60, then the closest to that point of truly taking over the mantle, the Nokia E50. The successor to that handset, the Nokia E51 has been a good seller for Nokia, and it is the successor to that, the Nokia E52, that may finally step forward and take the crown as top business phone.

If you were to take a survey amongst users, the over-riding feature that sits in the top three features for all 6310i owners is battery life. With the 6310i, forgetting your charger whilst away on a weekend didn’t mean spending time out of contact, the battery would just go, and go, and go. With all the new features on phones these days, large colour screen, GPS, high speed data, camera, etc, battery life has suffered. Now, with the E52, we have a phone from Nokia that manages to offer a comparable battery performance, with quoted times of up to 8hrs talktime on a single charge, and up to an amazing 672 hours standby. Now, we all know that quoted manufacturer talk times are to be taken with a pinch of salt, but even so, that is some mightily impressive figures.

Yet, the E52 does not scrimp on the features the modern executive wants in a device of today. The TFT screen on the E52 is QVGA, 16 million colours, measuring 2.4 inches point to point, as good as on most top end Nokia phones these days, and a nice upgrade to the 2.0 inch screen on the E51.The E52 is a nice sized handset, measuring only 9.9mm thick, and weighing in at just 98g.

The E52 boasts the full set when it comes to connectivity, for network and mobile data coverage. Quad band GSM gives access to most every GSM network worldwide, for the business traveller, and for data transfer nothing has been missed out. For those networks that are not yet 3G enabled, the E52 operates on HSCSD, GPRS and EDGE. 3G is boosted by dual band HSDPA, with download speeds of up to 10.2 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 Mbps possible. WiFi 802.11 b/g is included on the device, with support for UPnP technology and Bluetooth 2.0 The Nokia E52 comes with a built in GPS receiver, and also supports aGPS, and will work with Nokia Maps 3.0 and also Google Maps.

One thing that is going to appeal to the mobile traditionalist is the fact that the E52 has a standard 12 key alphanumeric keypad. Messaging is still a main focus on the device, with access to email on the move a priority, but there is no need to suffer a QWERTY keyboard with tiny keys here. The keypad buttons are well spaced out, easy to use and very comfortable for one hand messaging. The only area where the phone may suffer in usability is with the application shortcut keys, which work on a rocker style basis, and precision will be needed to ensure that the wrong option is not selected.

The E52 then is squarely aimed at the mobile professional, who wants a decent, hardworking, traditional style mobile phone. But all work and no play, as we know, makes for a dull life. In this regard the E52 also steps up with some decent media features. The E52 is equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera, with enhanced fixed focus and an LED Flash. Video recording is possible at an acceptable 15 fps. There is a built in MP3 player, which will playback MP3, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA files, and there is also an FM stereo radio with RDS support. A nice feature with the E52 is the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio output jack, so you can use your own headphones with the phone. And of course, being a S60 phone you can add extra features to the phone, by installing third party applications and even games, should you wish.

The Nokia E52 offers everything the mobile professional could want from a mobile phone; nice size, slim, light weight, top feature set, good sized display, proven, stable operating system, easy access to email on the move, high quality web browser, GPS facility, excellent range of data connectivity and one of the best battery performances of a modern mobile phone. Whether the E52 can truly take the crown from the mythical 6310i, only time will tell. But of all the phones to date, it is the best equipped to do so. Expected release date is the second half of 2009.