Penny Mobiles – Mobile phone news, reviews & information

Despite all the big fuss over the Apple iPhone, the smart phone industry is saturated with the Android operating system. Of course, the fact that the open source mobile platform is not tied down to just one manufacturer is key reason why the OS is so well distributed, and why it has gained so many users in so little time.

Now, another smart phone has just been added to the growing list of Android handsets: the Acer beTouch E130. We already know that Acer has been making Android devices –the Liquid series is basically their high end line for the Google OS. The beTouch E130 on the other hand has been designed for the mid to low range smart phone users. Since not everyone is willing to spend so much for a phone, it is great to have a good alternative that is available at a budget price.

Despite the slow 416MHz CPU, the E130 will still perform well (as seen with similar handsets running Android 1.6 Don’t), and the addition of the front facing QWERTY keyboard also gives the device an added charm as it makes typing messages and long emails a lot easier. Overall, this handset is a great phone to have for anyone looking for a cheap Android smart phone that does not lose out in functionality.

In other upcoming Android smart phone news, there have been some leaked images of three Sony Ericsson handsets. The Shakira, W150 TeaCake and a yet to be named 5 inch touch screen smart phone have been shown to running the Android OS. As one might expect, the device with a 5 inch display is a high end Android (it even comes with a slide out QWERTY keyboard and can tilt to be used as a mini netbook). The Shakira and TeaCake are reported to be based on the XPERIA series.

Acer have released all the details of their new phone, and it looks promising. Titled the Liquid, Acer has yet to set a release date, but from what has been shown it looks like it could be the phone of 2010. The phone runs on Google’s Android operating system, which is reliable and fast.

The phone uses a huge 3.5 inch touchscreen, giving you freedom to control how you use the phone. The phones screen is high resolution, perfect for viewing videos or looking at photographs which you have taken using the built in 5 megapixel camera. Many digital cameras are around 5 megapixels, so by getting the phone, you are in a sense getting a digital camera as well, giving you 2 in one, perfect if you don’t like carrying around a lot of valuable items at once.

All the photos you have saved on your phone are in a carousel mode, allowing you to scroll through them using your finger, giving you easy access to them all. Not many of the actual applications are yet known, but the phone builds itself on using multimedia technology with menus appearing by dragging your finger across the phone. It will probably take some getting used to before you can use it well, but after you have mastered this it will save you a lot of time.

The phone was meant to be available in November 2009, but due to varying faults and contract deals not coming through on time, the actual release date has been pushed back, although no set date has yet been given. Still, we are looking forward to being able to pick up the Acer Liquid on contract so we can see whether this really will be the phone of 2010.