Penny Mobiles – Mobile phone news, reviews & information

New smart phones are always fun to look forward to, and when leaks start popping out, that is the time when we really want to get to the bottom of things. These last few days have been filled with updates and new rumors regarding Sony Ericsson’s upcoming handsets and here is a quick review of everything that we know so far.

Originally, three handsets have been revealed; the XPERIA Shakira, a new Walkman handset and an unnamed device that has a 5.5 inch touch screen, a slide out QWERTY keyboard and is reportedly an Android smart phone. While the Walkman handset was rumored to be a new Android device that was based on the X10 Mini (the two phones do share similarities), it was later confirmed that the device is actually the W150 TeaCake which is not an Android handset.

The Shakira on the other hand is pegged as the phone in between the X10 and the X10 Mini, which was later confirmed by Sony Ericsson after they announced that the handset would be named as the XPERIA X8. Despite the new name, SE has yet to announce any further details on the specs of this Android smart phone.

Just recently, there was also news of an upcoming Windows Phone 7 device from SE, the Julie. The phone is reported to have a touch screen display and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. While no further details have been released it is possible that this device and the rumored 5.5 inch Android might be one and the same. If it is, then many Android fans would be disappointed as the handset was shown in pictures as having a hinge that allowed it to be used as a very small netbook.

With the XPERIA X8 named, expect to see more official news from Sony Ericsson in the next few days.

Vodafone’s mobile device offerings for April are several Android devices along with the Apple iPad tablet. The UK based mobile network operator’s official website is already promoting the devices for their upcoming launch.

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X10 is already confirmed for April and it looks like Vodafone might also offer the X10 Mini devices when they launch later this year. The XPERIA X10 may be the first Android smart phone from SE, but it looks like the joint venture have made a pretty good device for the open source OS. It has already been reported that despite the phone having only version 1.6 Donut installed, an update to the latest version will be made available within the next few weeks.

The HTC Desire and the HTC Legend are two of the Taiwanese manufacturer’s most anticipated devices. Both were first revealed last year when the HTC 2010 roadmap was leaked (along with several other devices). Both phones were showcased at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain.

The Desire is pretty much like the Nexus One in terms of specs, both phones have Snapdragon processors running at a full 1GHz, both use 5 mega pixel cameras and the two devices also have 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen displays. Many are considering the Desire to be the perfect substitute to Nexus One.

The Legend on the other hand is a mid-range smart phone that may sell even more than the Desire. Despite the hardware advantage of the Desire, the Legend is expected to be priced at a more reasonable rate. It is also the successor to the HTC Hero. Both the Desire and the Legend will be using the Sense user interface.

Get to know more about HTC Legend, Desire and Vodafone UK’s other offerings at Know Your Mobile.

While it is very common for us in the mobile industry to see new devices and innovations being announced and released one after the other, there is a definite charm in being able to have a good idea of how the industry will be shaping up a few months ahead in time. Events like last January’s CES (held at Las Vegas) and Feb 14’s Mobile World Congress (held at Barcelona, Spain), has given us plenty of new things to look forward to.

Samsung’s Wave phone got a head start in exposure with plenty of its posters being put up just a day or two before the big event. Looks like the Korean manufacturer has gone all out to deliver its promise of making a “smart phone for everyone” –the new Wave phone is hardly lacking in features, it has a 1GHz processor, a super AMOLED touch screen and Samsung’s spiffy new proprietary operating system, the Bada. Open source and ready to go, the Bada made a pretty successful debut last Sunday.

Though when it comes to debuts, nothing comes as close to the amount of fanfare and critical reception of the new Microsoft mobile platform, the Windows Phone 7 series; the new name is a telling sign of how many things have changed for the OS previously known as Windows Mobile. Presenters onstage constantly repeated the phrase: “the phone is not a PC”, emphasizing heavily on their new approach to reinvent the way users see their mobile devices.

Google’s Android operating system also made a pretty heavy showing, in actual devices too. HTC and Sony Ericsson will be launching major devices this coming March as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and the HTC Desire will be going head to head. Both devices run on Snapdragon processors. The HTC Legend and the X10 Minis will be following shortly too.

See MWC product images at the Guardian UK.

Looks like talks between Sony Ericsson and Vodafone UK have come to a nice little end with the announcement that the mobile network operator will be bringing the new Snapdragon Android phone into the UK. Just a while back, Vodafone removed the XPERIA X2 from its lineup for 2010 as they deemed the device unfit for their plan –the HTC HD2 was similarly removed from the lineup. Had the X2 been released earlier (December, as originally planned), then it would have benefited from some holiday sales.

Anyway, back to the X10. The phone was originally announced as the Rachel, and this Android phone is actually Sony Ericsson’s first mobile device that uses the Google operating system. The device was announced late last year and had a lot of rumors following it before Sony finally cleared up the actual specifications and even the name of the device sometime around October.

Vodafone is expected to start offering the device this coming April. Details as to whether this is an exclusive deal still remains to be cleared up as previous reports of other network operators offering the device have popped up. Aside from the X10, Sony Ericsson will also be releasing the Vivaz at the same time –though no operators have announced getting the Symbian smart phone.

Specs wise, this phone is a high end Android device, delivering specs that match even the Nexus One. The phone will be running on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor that will give it some much needed speed in loading applications. The screen is a large 4 inch capacitive touch screen giving users lots of navigation space. Speaking of navigation, the phone will be using the Android OS along with the Timescape and Mediascape user interface.

For the rest of the news regarding the XPERIA X10 and Vodafone UK, head over to Know Your Mobile.

Keeping in touch with friends and family members is an extremely important factor in today’s society, with more and more people joining social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Latest figures revealed that Facebook has around 180 million accounts! Now whilst computers are the main access point for all of these websites, mobile phones have been constantly updated to enable use of such sites on the phone. What this gives you is access to your favorite sites wherever you are, be it on a long car journey or even whilst walking through a forest. The technology is being constantly developed, and Sony Ericsson’s next release, the Xperia X10 is made using all the latest technology to allow you to effortlessly connect to your favourite sites and to keep you in touch with the people you need to most.

The Timescape technology is designed to let you view all your conversations in one place. By looking at just one window you can see all your new text messages, email messages, Facebook messages and MySpace messages, along with any other program you set up to be able to use. This really allows you to save yourself the hassle of constantly switching between windows which takes up time and can often confuse you when trying to carry out many tasks.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 comes along with a built in FM radio, allowing you to listen to your favorite tunes whilst on the move. You can use the included wireless headset to listen to the tunes, especially useful when traveling on public transport or other areas where you cannot be too loud with your music. The Xperia X10 is due for release in the first quarter of 2010.