Samsung seem determined to keep churning out handset after handset, virtually flooding the market with all types of device, running on all types of platform, across as wide a range as possible. One of the more recently announced devices is the Samsung i5500 Galaxy 5, which will also be known in the European market as the Samsung i5500 Europa.

The Europa is aimed at the younger user, with Samsung claiming it has something to appeal to teens, students and young professionals alike. One of the central selling points of the Galaxy 5 is the inclusion of Samsung's Social Hub, which offers a single contact list that aggregates all the contacts from various mediums into one, easily accessible place. Via the Social Hub, you can easily message or email a contact, get their latest updates and tweets, and see their status all from one screen, simplifying the way you communicate with family and friends.

The i5500 Europa runs on the Android platform, with the handset released on version 2.1; an update to 2.2 should be available in the near future. The i5500 is a smart looking device, with a smooth, curved design. The main display on the device is a QVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 256,000 colours and measuring in at a comfortable 2.8 inches. This is slightly lower than many recent devices, but does help keep down the overall size of the phone, with the Galaxy 5 measuring in at 108 x 56 x 12mm and weighing in at a lightweight 102g.

The display uses an accelerometer for rotating the screen automatically from landscape to portrait and vice versa, depending on how the phone is held, whilst there is also a proximity sensor which disables the touchscreen when making a call. The main user interface on the handset is the colourful TouchWiz UI, v3.0, which makes use of bright, large icons, making menu navigation and application selection simple and easy to use.

One of our favourite applications of recent times is Swype, an intuitive method of entering text on a touchscreen phone, and the good news is the i5500 comes complete with Swype pre-installed. Swype is developed by the same people who originally brought the T9 text entry system to millions of phones worldwide, and is a significant improvement over the traditional tap method ordinarily used with onscreen QWERTY keyboards. When using Swype, all you do is place your finger over the first letter of the word you wish to enter, then simply trace your finger across the screen, stopping on each letter of the word. A trace line is left behind as your finger moves across the screen, and once you reach the end of the word, simply lift your finger from the screen, and move to the first letter of the next word. Spaces are entered automatically, and if the word you are trying to enter isn't in the dictionary, just tap it out in the traditional manner and it will be available the next time you need it. Swype takes very little time to get used to, with its intuitive user experience, and offers one of the fastest ways to tap out text messages on a touch enabled device.

The Galaxy 5 Europa offers a good range of multimedia features, including a 2.0 Megapixel camera, with geotagging feature, as well as a fully featured media player for music and video playback. There is ample memory available, with 170 MB of internal memory which can be expanded up to 16 GB with Micro SD memory cards. The Europa also includes a stereo FM radio, with RDS, and the inclusion of a GPS receiver as well as aGPS functionality means the handset can also be used with various location based services.

Information and content features prominently on the phone, along with Samsung's Social Hub, the Galaxy 5 offers native support for email, instant messaging, SMS, MMS and push email, as well as including a native RSS reader so you can stay up to date with the latest from your favourite websites. Additionally there is a wide variety of applications available on the Android Market, enabling you to add and install apps to increase the usability and functionality of the device.

High speed data is important to the vision of a constantly connected phone, and the Europa covers all the bases, with HSDPA Mobile Broadband on board, as well as GPRS, EDGE and WiFi 802.11 b/g with added support for DNLA, which helps you integrate the handset into your own existing WLAN. The inclusion of Samsung AllShare also allows you to control certified Samsung devices straight from the phone, allowing you to access content such as media, music, photos, etc, all accessed without the need for wires, straight from the phone. If you have a compatible TV, you could even use the device is a TV remote control.

Given the low level range placement of the Samsung i5500 Europa Galaxy 5, it actually boasts a strong line up of top end features, and it seems the device has enough to hold its own in the cut throat smartphone market. The i5500 Europa is releasing across multiple markets, including Europe, during July.

Samsung have been busy recently, announcing a range of new handsets, including a few running on the increasingly popular Android platform. The first of the new handsets we are going to be looking at in more detail is the Samsung i5800 Galaxy 3.

With the smartphone market becoming ever more populated and ever more a crowded scene, handsets need to either offer something unique to catch the eye, or to offer a solid spec list and reliable performance, and it is is reliable and solid that tend to define best the Samsung devices.

The i5800 Galaxy 3 is fairly light, weighing in at just 110g, and measures in at 114 x 55 x 13mm. The handset boasts a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours, and has a 240 x 400 pixel resolution. An accelerometer is included for auto rotation, and there is also a proximity sensor which disables the display when making a call. The display is also set up for multi touch input.

The style of the i5800 is a standard monoblock device, with a nice feel in the hand thanks to the curved edges. The back of the phone is smooth and curved, and apart from manufacturer and network branding, the only thing on the back of the device is the camera. The volume keys are located down the left hand side of the phone, whilst under the main display we find the main menu navigation key, flanked by the menu key on one side and the back key on the other.

The screen of the handset is bright and responsive, and the i5800 comes with Android OS 2.1 as standard. There are multiple connection options available on the phone, with HSDPA at up to 3.6 Mbps, as well as WiFi 802.11 b/g/n included. The handset is a quad band GSM phone, and includes Class 10 GPRS and EDGE for data connections when outside 3G coverage, and with no WiFi hotspot nearby. The Galaxy 3 also includes Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP support. Bluetooth 3.0 is currently the most recent version of Bluetooth available, and as well as offering all the benefits of previous versions, the main benefit delivered is a faster data transfer rate.

The Galaxy 3 sports a 3.2 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, as well as face detection, geotagging and a motion detection sensor, too. The device is enabled for video recording, capturing clips at QVGA resolution, up to 15 fps, which is good enough for uploading and sharing with friends online, but there is no front facing camera, so no option for face to face video calls.

Media is well covered on the phone; firstly the included media player handles a wide variety of options for audio and video, including DivX for video clips, as well as MP4 and WMV, as well as MP3, AAC and eAAC+ for music. There is a 3.5mm audio jack, plus a stereo FM radio with RDS, as well as support for the Samsung DNSe (Digital Noise Sound engine) which delivers a superior audio playback experience. There is plenty of storage space available for all the media types on the phone, with an internal capacity of 170 MB, with memory expansion supported via Micro SD memory cards, with the Galaxy 3 officially supporting cards up to 32 GB in size.

The i5800 includes a GPS receiver, with aGPS support, and there is also a digital compass built in, for use with Google Maps. The usual suite of Google services are included on the phone, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, etc, and of course the Android Market is packed with apps to help you get more from your phone.

The Samsung i5800 Galaxy 3 ticks all the right boxes. In use the device seems fast and responsive, it has a solid feel and gives the impression of a reliable, dependable product. Pretty much par with what we expect from a Samsung smartphone these days.

The Sony Ericsson Cedar is the latest handset to be launched under the Greenheart label, a range of devices manufactured by Sony Ericsson with recycled materials and using eco friendly methods. Initially, 'eco-friendly' handsets were pretty basic in terms of handset features, but recently the range has been given a real boost with the arrival of some top end devices, showing that you can still be 'green' and enjoy the latest in mobile phone technology.

The Cedar Greenheart is a quad band GSM device, offering 3G, and HSDPA data connections, for fast mobile browsing. There is no WiFi included, but the Cedar does also include Class 10 GPRS and EDGE, for those times when you stray out of 3G coverage. For short range data transfers, the phone includes support for Bluetooth 2.1, and the Micro USB connector allows you to easily connect the handset to a PC via a data cable.

The Cedar is a compact, lightweight device, measuring 111 x 49 x 15.5mm and weighing in at just 84g. The main display is a non touch TFT screen, measuring 2.2 inches, with a QVGA resolution supporting up to 256,000 colours. The internal memory available on the phone is up to 280 MB, which can be expanded with the use of Micro SD memory cards; the Cedar can officially support cards up to 16 GB in capacity.

A full music player is available on the handset, with support for multiple digital music formats, including MP3, AAC, eAAC+ and WAV, MP4, H.263 and H.264. There is a 3.5mm audio jack, so you can choose your own headset, and the built in Bluetooth carries support for A2DP, which supports wireless stereo audio transfer to a compatible Bluetooth headset. The music player is complimented with the inclusion of a stereo FM radio with RDS, and there is also a standard 2.0 Megapixel camera on board, which is enabled to capture video at VGA resolution, up to 30 fps.

The real point about the Greenheart range though, is all about reducing the impact on the environment from manufacture of mobile phones, and to this end the Cedar is produced using recycled plastic for the housing, there is no lead used, and a reduced amount of chemicals, and the device will be sold in compact packaging made from recycled material, the user manual is stored on the phone as a .pdf file rather than in printed form on the box, and the mains charger in the box is a low power consumption charger. All together this adds to a significant positive impact on general resources used to manufacture the device, and any work major companies achieve in this area is to be applauded.

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The Cedar Greenheart handset will be available in a couple of colour options, Black/Silver and Black/Red, and comes with some applications pre-installed for accessing popular social networks such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. As well as accessing social networks, the Cedar is a competent messaging device, with support for push email, with multiple accounts and Instant Messaging, as well as the usual MMS, SMS and standard Email access.

The Sony Ericsson Cedar Greenheart is expected to be available from Q3 2010.

Whilst recent successes for Sony Ericsson have come with devices running on the Android platform, there are other handsets in the Sony Ericsson range that have done well for them over the years, and probably the most popular has been the range of Walkman branded devices. Recently Sony Ericsson announced the latest handset in the Walkman range, the strangely named Sony Ericsson Yendo, which we are going to take a closer look at now.

The styling of the main UI on the Yendo, at first glance, gives the impression it could be an Android device, but it isn't. This impression is gained by the main standby screen offering four shortcuts, one in each corner, as found on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. The Yendo is a compact handset, measuring 93.5 x 52 x 15.5mm, and weighing in at just 81g. The main TFT display is a resistive touchscreen, which means you can interact with the device using a stylus, if you wish. The display itself measures in at 2.6 inches, and has a QVGA resolution, and supports up to 256,000 colours.

Internal memory on the handset is pretty poor, to be honest, with just 5 MB available, but thankfully this can be increased with the addition of a Micro SD memory card, with the Yendo able to support cards up to 16 GB in size. The device is a non 3G handset, and neither is there support for WiFi, so no high speed browsing here. All data transfers are instead dealt with via EDGE or GPRS. Bluetooth 2.1 is included, for short range information transfer, and the inclusion of A2DP means you can stream stereo audio to a compatible Bluetooth headset. The handset also includes a Micro USB connector, and there is a 3.5mm audio jack if you prefer to listen to your music with a wired headset.

Being a Walkman device, music is clearly the main focus of the Yendo; the handset offers the latest version of the Walkman music software, which allows you to sort your music into a variety of playlists. As well as the default playlists, you can sort music by genre, album or artist, as well as just listing all your songs in one long list. You can create playlists manually, allowing you to choose different playlists to match your mood, and the inclusion of SensMe will automatically suggest music based on the style of music you are currently listening to. Shake control allows you to skip to the next track with just a flick of the wrist (assuming you are holding the phone at the time) and the device also includes the excellent TrackID music recognition application. And if there comes a time when you want to keep up to date with the latest music, the Yendo offers a stereo FM radio, with RDS support, too.

The Sony Ericsson Yendo will come in a range of bright colour options, including Black, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Silver, White and Yellow. A really decent selection, which should offer something for almost everyone. Equipped with a standard 2.0 Megapixel camera, the Yendo also includes native apps for Facebook and Twitter, and you can download apps, games and wallpaper for the device from the Sony Ericsson Play Now service.

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Feature for feature, then, the Sony Ericsson Yendo is not the most highly specc'd device on the market, but where it promises a lot, namely in the music department, it delivers a high quality user experience. The inclusion of a touchscreen makes menu navigation on the Yendo a breeze, and the wide choice of colours should ensure a broad market appeal.

The Sony Ericsson Yendo is expected to launch during Q3 2010.

Samsung have their fingers in many pies within the smartphone market. As well as Bada, their own proprietary operating system, Samsung also produce handsets running on Symbian S60, Android and Windows Mobile. One of their most recently announced handsets, the Samsung B7350 Omnia Pro 4, will be released running on the Windows Mobile platform, but unfortunately not the latest version, Windows Phone 7; instead, the Omnia Pro 4 makes use of Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.5.3.

Some may question the logic of releasing a handset running on a soon to be obsolete platform, but given the length of time that goes into planning, designing and marketing a mobile phone, it may be Samsung are trying to get a return on their investment before Windows Phone 7 steals all the limelight.

The Omnia Pro 4 is a monoblock designed device, measuring 118 x 60 x 12mm, quite long but very thin. The handset sports a full, four row QWERTY keyboard, which are very close together, but slightly raised at the edges to ensure ease of use when composing a message. Above the main keyboard is the centrally located Navi key, which has been turned at an anle to present as a diamond shape, as opposed to the more traditionally styled square Navi key. Flanking the Navi key are two soft option keys, which lie above the Ok and Windows Menu key. On the left of the keypad is the Call send key, mirrored on the right by the call end key. Although the QWERTY keypad looks rather cramped, in comparison the menu navigation keys are well spaced out, and should be comfortable to use.

The main display of the device is a QVGA resolution TFT resistive touchscreen, supporting up to 65,000 colours and measuring 2.6 inches across. A quad band GSM device, the B7350 also supports dual band HSDPA connectivity, with download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps available. The Omnia also offers WiFi 802.11 b/g, as well as Class 10 GPRS and EDGE. For local connectivity, the Pro 4 offers Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, and includes a v2.0 Micro USB connector.

The handset supports multiple email accounts, as well as offering push email, instant messaging support and the facility to access RSS feeds of your favourite sites. Pre-installed apps offer access to Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger, and also Microsoft Outlook Mobile and Pocket Office, for reading email attachments directly on the handset.

The handset includes a GPS receiver, as well as offering aGPS support, and you can choose from a vast range of mapping software from the Windows Marketplace to use your handset as a mobile SatNav device. The GPS unit can also be used to add geotagging information to the images captured on the handsets 3.2 Megapixel camera. The camera also offers autofocus and smile and face detection. The camera can also be used to record video clips, at QVGA resolution up to 15 fps.

A full media player is included, with support for multiple digital formats for both audio and video, including the ever popular MP3, AAC, WMA, MP4 and WMV. Internal memory capacity is set to a fairly generous 200 MB, which can easily be expanded up to 32 GB with Micro SD memory cards. There is a 3.5mm audio output jack, and a stereo FM radio with RDS is also included. The Omni a is powered by a 1500 mAh Lithium Ion battery, similar to that found in the Nokia E71, which should deliver an outstanding battery performance.

Overall, the Samsung B7350 Omnia Pro 4 is a solid device, with a strong set of features included, which should appeal to those who want a reliable handset without all the bells and whistles found on other smartphone devices.

The Samsung Omnia Pro 4 should be released shortly, scheduled for July 2010.

From a position of weakness, Sony Ericsson have managed to turn around their fortunes with the release of a range of Android devices that have captured the imagination of phone users, delivering a combination of sweet design, and top edge functionality. First we had the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, the powerhouse flagship Android device, which is accompanied by X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro, two pocket sized handsets that are positively brimming with Android goodness. And now, filling a gap between the two extremes, Sony Ericsson have announced the Xperia X8, a handset that fits somewhere between the X10 models, in terms of size and features.

Measuring in at 99 x 54 x 15mm, the Xperia X8 has a nice feel in the hand, not too small, nor too large. Weighing in at just 104g, the Xperia X8 incorporates a 3.0 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours and with a pixel resolution of 320 x 480. A built in accelerometer delivers display auto rotate, and laying over the Android 1.6 OS is the Sony Ericsson Timescape UI. Timescape is a visually pleasing user interface, which pulls in all the various updates from your social networks and presents them in a timeline that you can flick through on the display. You can set the Timescape UI to contain any sort of information you choose, from Tweets, to status updates, emails and SMS. In general use the Timescape UI can seem a little slow, but this is covered over by the transition animations Sony Ericsson use as you flip through the menu, and the general impression is pleasing more than frustrating.

As with most Android devices, the Xperia X8 delivers a whole range of data connection options, designed to keep you connected and updated on the move. A quad band GSM device, the X8 has two variants with either dual bad or quad band HSDPA available, and also delivers WiFi 802.11 b/g, as well as Class 10 GPRS and EDGE. Bluetooth is included, with A2DP, and there is a v2.0 Micro USB connector included.

The Xperia X8 offers a 3.2 Megapixel camera, with video record facility, and also has geotagging support for recording the location details of where your images are taken. A stereo FM radio is included, as is a capable media player, supporting a wide range of formats for both music and video playback, whilst the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack allows you to listen to your tunes with your favourite set of earphones. Internal memory on the handset is set to 128 MB, which can be expanded via Micro SD memory cards, with the X8 supporting cards up to 16 GB, and the device is powered by a 600 MHz processor, which allows the handset to deal admirably with the most demanding of tasks.

The Xperia X8 will come in a wide range of bright colour options, including White, Dark Blue/White, Aqua Blue/White, Pink/White and Silver/White. As with other Sony Ericsson Android devices, the Xperia X8 includes a good choice of pre-installed applications, including the Facebook for Android app, a YouTube application, Google Maps, Google Talk and Gmail. Sony Ericsson also include the Track ID application on their Android devices, which works as well here as it does on other Sony Ericsson devices.

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All round, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 delivers a strong performance, with a good set of features, and compliments well the existing range of Sony Ericsson Android devices. As with Motorola, the Android OS has helped Sony Ericsson turn their fortunes around, and if they keep delivering handsets like these, those fortunes are set to continue to rise.

The Xperia X8 is expected to be released in Q3 2010.

Along with the Samsung Wave 2 which we reviewed a short while ago, Samsung also announced a second Bada OS device, the Samsung S5330 Wave 2 Pro. Much as with the other Wave 2 device, the S5330 Wave 2 Pro is a device that is aimed for a larger market share than the the original S8500 Wave, hoping to deliver the Bada OS to a wider audience, delivering the handset at a lower pricing point, making it available on PAYG as well as more low end tariffs and cashback deals.

The 2 new Bada devices have a lot in common, the spec list reads almost identical. Where the two handsets differ is the Wave 2 Pro comes with an built in hardware QWERTY keyboard, in line with the 'Pro' part of the handset name. The inclusion of the QWERTY keyboard adds over 3mm to the thickness of the handset in comparison to the other Wave 2, but otherwise the dimensions are identical, with a length of 109.5mm and a width of 55mm.

The Wave 2 Pro sports a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen, with a pixel resolution of 240 x 400. A built in accelerometer facilitates display auto rotation, and the handset runs the familiar Samsung TouchWiz UI 3.0 over the Bada OS.

There is a built in media player, with support for various digital formats for both music and video; available internal memory on the Wave 2 Pro is set to 80 MB, which can be expanded up to 16 GB by using Micro SD memory cards. Complimenting the music player is the inclusion of a stereo FM radio with RDS, which also has an FM record option, which allows you to record transmissions from the radio directly to the phone, which you can listen to at a later time. The inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack allows you to listen to your music on the move with your own preferred choice of earphones, and the handset also supports Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP for wireless stereo audio connection.

The Wave 2 Pro is a quad band GSM device, but does not include any support for 3G, so no HSDPA either. Main browsing on the device is done via Class 10 GPRS or EDGE, but thankfully the handset does offer WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, so you should be able to log on to a hotspot where available to speed up your data downloads. As well as Bluetooth, the there is also a Micro USB connector which allows you to connect the phone to a PC or laptop, to back-up and transfer content from the phone to the PC and vice versa.

A 3.2 Megapixel camera is included, with video record option, and the phone supports multiple email accounts, as well as push email and instant messaging, and also includes an RSS reader so you can keep up to date with the latest updates from your favourite sites.

One of the benefits of the Bada OS is the interaction you can enjoy with all your favourite social networking sites. Samsung' Social Hub integrates all your contact details, social networks and emails into one single space, making it easier to share information with your friends online. Accessing all your content through one combined inbox means you will never be out of touch, and can have instant access to Tweets and status updates, with pre-installed apps on the device included for Twitter and Facebook.

As with the S5250 Wave 2, the Samsung S5330 Wave 2 Pro delivers an all round solid device, and shows Samsung's determination to deliver a wide variety of Bada devices. The S5330 Wave 2 is expected to be available from August 2010.

Looking at the Nokia X6 8GB gives you a strong sense of deja vu, and if you've seen the previous versions of the Nokia X6, then you really have seen this before. The spec sheet on the X6 8GB is almost identical to the original Nokia X6, the only place where you're really going to see a difference is with the internal memory. The original X6 came with an impressive 32 GB of internal space, but there was no memory expansion slot. Shortly after, Nokia released the Nokia X6 16GB, with 16 GB internal memory and again, no memory slot. And now we come to the next handset released under the Nokia X6 name, the Nokia X6 8GB. Obviously, then, this handset comes with an internal memory capacity of 8 GB. And no, there is no memory expansion slot with this version of the X6, either.

But other than that, the new X6 8GB is the same as we've seen before, and already the X6 is proving to be one of Nokia's more popular recent releases, so as it should release at a lower cost price, the X6 8GB should help boost those sales and may even start to sell on PAYG deals, too.

For those that have missed the X6, or just for a quick recap, the handset has a TFT Capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours, with a pixel resolution of 360 x 640, and measuring 3.2 inches from point to point. There is a proximity sensor for auto disable the display when making a call, and an accelerometer for auto display rotation. The display is protected by a scratch resistant glass cover, which should protect against those annoying small scratches that seem to appear from nowhere, and also against pocket rub, if you keep your phone in a trouser pocket.

The X6 8GB offers a high quality, 5.0 Megapixel camera, complete with Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus, Dual LED flash and video light. The video camera facility on the device allows for video capture at VGA resolution, up to 30 fps, whilst the front facing camera, normally used for video calls, can also be used to capture video, at QCIF resolution at up to 15 fps. Geotagging is included on the camera, which allows you to record the location an image was taken, which is stored in the digital data of the photo. This can be viewed when you've uploaded the picture to an online web service, allowing people to view the location from a compatible online maps service.

With the built in GPS receiver also comes the option of using the handset as a portable SatNav device, and full, free access to the Nokia OVI Maps service is also available on the X6 8GB. The Nokia OVI Maps service is a real benefit, offering free voice guidance, and turn by turn directions. With Nokia Maps you can store all the map data locally on your device, as opposed to streaming the maps as you do with some other services. This is ideal for those moments when you happen to be in an area of poor coverage, as well as for roaming, cutting down on the risk of high roaming data charges.

Data connectivity is well featured on the Nokia X6 8GB; a quad band GSM handset, the phone also offers tri band HSDPA connectivity, with download speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps possible. WiFi is also included, 802.11 b/g, with additional UPnP support available.

The X6 8GB runs on the Symbian S60 operating system, v5.0 which is optimised for use on a touchscreen device. S60 is an open source OS, which allows you to add applications and games to the handset, many of which can be downloaded directly to your handset from the Nokia OVI store. The X6 is a competent media device, with a logically laid out music player, which is easy to navigate, and allows you to sort your music into various playlists. The device includes a stereo FM radio, with RDS, and there is also a built in TV OUT option, which allows you to view content from the device on a TV screen.

The new Nokia X6 8GB will be available in three different colour options, Azure, Black and Amethyst, and is expected to launch during Q3 2010, and will have a SIM free price tag of approximately €225.

When Samsung initially announced the launch of the Samsung S8500 Wave, with its proprietary Bada platform, many questioned the wisdom of bringing another mobile platform into an already crowded marketplace. The main issue being, would developers want to invest into developing applications for a platform that may not actually survive in a cut throat industry. For their Part, Samsung have done a lot to encourage application development, and to demonstrate their commitment to the Bada platform have recently announced two new handsets running the Bada OS, the Samsung S5250 Wave 2 and the S5330 Wave 2 Pro. We're going to take a more in-depth look at the 5250 Wave 2 now.

The first thing you notice about the original device running Bada, the S8500 Wave, is the amazingly gorgeous Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, which positively dominates the phone. And, by the same token, the first thing you notice on the S5250 Wave 2 is the lack of such a high quality screen. Instead, the device delivers a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 256,000 colours, with a pixel resolution of 240 x 400. Which is an ok display, but it isn't Super AMOLED! However the S5250 Wave 2 does have a built in accelerometer, for auto display rotation, and on top of the Bada OS is the TouchWiz UI 3.0 TouchWiz runs on many Samsung devices, and offers a bright, colourful UI, which is easy enough to navigate.

As well as bringing a lower quality screen to market, the Wave 2 seems to be a step below the original handset in many ways, in keeping with the more mid range market aim of the handset. The idea behind this move is to open the Bada OS to a wider audience, and the S5250 should appear as free on more mid to low contract tariffs and may even appear on some PAYG network deals.

The Wave 2 offers quad band GSM connection for voice, which means the phone can be used across all continents world wide. The handset is not a 3G device, all data across the networks is handled via Class 10 GPRS or EDGE. For high speed data, the device instead offers WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, and local connectivity is handled via Bluetooth 2.1, with A2DP stereo wireless connection, and there is a Micro USB connector for connecting to a PC with a compatible data cable.

The handset offers a fairly mediocre 3.2 Megapixel camera, with video record option, and there is also a built in GPS receiver, with additional aGPS support, which allows you to gain a faster fix on your location by using network triangulation. Network triangulation will calculate your position with an accuracy of up to 50m in populated areas, and can usually locate you within a few seconds, as opposed to using just the GPS receiver, which in some cases can take quite a few minutes to get a fix on your location.

The Wave 2 includes an adequately featured media player, supporting MP3, WAV and AAC for music, and MP4, H.s63 and H.364 for video. As well as the music player, the handset has a stereo FM radio with RDS, and also offers a FM recording option, allowing you to record FM transmissions straight to the handset for future playback.

On board memory on the handset is set to 80 MB, with a memory expansion slot that allows you to expand the memory via Micro SD memory cards, with the Wave 2 officially supporting up to 16 GB, more memory than most will need on a mobile phone.

Clearly, then, the S5250 Wave 2 is no successor to the original Wave phone; instead it should be seen for what it is, an attempt by Samsung to bring a wider audience in touch with their Bada OS. And if Samsung want to make a success of Bada, that is exactly what they need to do.

The Samsung S5250 Wave 2 is expected to be available from August 2010, with an initial launch into Russia and South Asia, before a wider, more general release.

Nokia has a tradition of delivering handsets that are designed a little different from the norm, and the Nokia X5 is the latest in this line up of quirky handsets. Part of the X Series range of phones, the Nokia X5 is designed to be noticed and get you noticed. But unique looks are not enough to make a mark on their own, the style needs to be backed up with a certain amount of substance, and we're going to take a closer look at the X5 to see what secrets are laying beneath the square shaped body.

The square design is instantly recognisable, although the X5 is not perfectly square, measuring 74.3 x 66.4 x 16.8mm. At almost 17mm, the Nokia X5 seems to be rather chunky, but the reason for the thickness is because Nokia have included a full, four row slide-out QWERTY keyboard, for quick and easy text entry. The keys are compact, and laid out with no space between one key and the next, but each key is slightly rounded on top, to help with ensuring quick, but accurate data entry. The main display on the device is a QVGA TFT display, supporting up to 256,000 colours, measuring 2.36 inches from point to point. Directly above the screen sits the earpiece, and to one side of this is the light sensor. Common on most Nokia devices, the light sensor allows the device to automatically control the keypad backlight, determining whether the ambient lighting conditions require the keypad light to come on, or not, which is a great help with preserving battery life, by not lighting the keypad when it is not necessary. The shape of the phone means there is ample space for the main navigation controls on the phone; located directly under the main display, the central, 5-way Navi key is flanked by two soft option keys, and the call send/end keys. On the far left is a key with a home symbol on it, which accesses the main menu, whilst on the far right of the device is the dedicated music key.

Music is a main feature of the Nokia X5, with the handset being marketed as a Comes With Music device in certain key markets. The X5 has good sound quality through the external loudspeakers, and also incorporates a 3.5mm audio jack, so you can listen to music with your own preferred headset. If you prefer wireless connections, the handset includes Bluetooth 2.1, with A2DP support, so you can listen to music with a stereo Bluetooth headset. There is plenty of memory available for storing music on the phone, with an internal memory capacity of 200MB, with an available memory expansion slot which allows you to increase memory capacity to 32GB using a Micro SD memory card. The Nokia X5 runs on the Symbian S60 OS, version 3.2, and the included music player is simple to navigate and just as easy to use. Music can be sorted into various playlists of your own choosing, and can also be navigated by browsing Genre, Artist and album. The handset supports a wide range of music file types, including MP3, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA. The music player is complimented with the inclusion of an FM stereo radio, with RDS support, allowing you to tune in to the latest news, sport and entertainment from your local FM radio station.

The Nokia X5 also includes a 5.0 Megapixel camera, with video record option, which captures decent quality snaps, certainly good enough for uploading to social networking sites and sharing with your friends. Messaging is also well catered for, with support for multiple email accounts included, as well as instant messaging and push email. One of the features of the X5 allows you to easily access your unread messages by simply shaking the handset. Connectivity is also strongly present on the phone, with the 3G X5 also able to connect via HSDPA and WiFi 802.11 b/g. If you are unfortunate enough to live in an area where 3G coverage isn't available, the X5 delivers data across both GPRS and EDGE.

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Overall then, the Nokia X5 is a decent enough device, with enough under the hood to make it a functional mobile phone, rather than just a weird looking one. The X5 will be available in a variety of bright colours, including Pink, Azure, Graphite Black, Yellow Green and Purple. The Nokia X5 is expected to be released during Q3 2010.