Sony Ericsson W705
Sony Ericsson have always made fantastic phones, simple and easy to use, they were the favourite amongst many, when it came to buying a new phone. But, now everything has changed and your phone has to be able to send a satellite feed to Russia, while you update your status on Facebook and chat on the phone. Sony Ericsson, unfortunately, seem to have missed the boat on this one, whether that be by choice or not, I don’t know, but this time round I wasn’t that impressed when I began reviewing their two new handsets.
Firstly lets talk about the W705…
True to the brand’s stylish image, the new slide phone looks shiny, expensive and compact, I tested the limited edition handset, which is silver with hints of gold throughout, people seem to love it, and I regularly heard comments on how nice the phone looked.
Moving onto built quality, and I’m unsure. It looks solid and durable, however the handset tends to creak should you apply any pressure, for example while texting. The buttons are quite small and there are of course Sony’s signature 11 buttons, not including the keypad, which you use to navigate with. The slide is fairly quick, and the upper part of the phone doesn’t feel too flimsy when open.
Interface is always a key structure of any mobile, and Sony Ericsson have stuck to their simple but popular platform with a few tweaks and changes, mainly graphics and animation. Having kept this platform means that it’s easy and familiar to the user, brilliant! But there’s nothing that exciting and new about it really.
Where this handset really excels is the huge amount of applications and the abilities accessible to you. Including the obvious Bluetooth, camera and music capabilities that come with most on the market, the W705 comes with photo/video and music editing, and Track IDTM an application that recognises music, then lets you know all the information including track name and artist, perfect when you’re out and about and you hear something new.
Another great feature on this handset is the Wifi, meaning you can connect to the internet at any hotspot about town or just to the wireless network at home, so you can browse the internet and keep up to date with all your favourites. Unfortunately they have not been able to include any social networking apps, so you have to use this feature to update any status online.
The final app I would highlight for pure brilliance is the incorporated BBC iPlayer. This is the first phone I have seen with this app, and it’s great fun when you want to catch up on TV when you’re on the train or travelling. Quality is viewable and there’s not a lot of waiting for the show to buffer or load. Also included is YouTube, another popular app on many handsets on the market, again working well with the W705.
Of course this is also part of their ‘Walkman’ range, and it does “slide” into the line-up nicely. It works and can be too loud when playing which is always a good thing, you wouldn’t want it too quiet you couldn’t hear it. They have also added SenseMeTM , this means you can shake the phone to skip tracks and change the volume, all with the movement of your handset. They unfortunately havn’t thought about incorporating this into any music you put on the phone, but playlists, specifically built and downloaded to the handset using their own software, another music player to put on your PC.
As I have mentioned texting can be a pain with the small keypad and calls aren’t anything special, finding interference while your chatting away, arguably this could be my network, however I’ve never had a problem with interference on my personal handset.
So All in all it sounds like I hate this handset, but it has its ups and downs, I love the applications it does come with, however I’m not a big fan of the interface as it’s nothing new from Sony Ericsson. Maybe I’m a snob when it comes to expectations, but if you’re looking for a fairly good phone, with that added extra media presence, the W705 is for you, you wont be launching any space stations but you’ll have a damn good sing-a-long trying to.
Touch HD
HTC used to make handsets for other manufacturers, but in the past couple of years they have built their own brand and become a competitor in the mobile market, fully loaded with the big guns!
The new Touch HD is a fantastic little phone, fully touch enabled the Touch is very novel to navigate about and great fun to use. Many touch screens are either too sensitive or not sensitive at all making the ability hard to use, however the Touch HD doesn't seem to fail at any point.
After a fairly easy set-up and a quick date and time check, you are launched into a world of options, applications and fun tricks you are able to do. With Wireless Internet, Google Maps, YouTube, stock reports and the weather, you will slowly become immersed by this handset, watching your favourite clips from X Factor, or merely showing off to friends and family predicting the weather, or flicking through your photos with just a swipe of your finger!
Talking about photography! The Touch has a 5.0 mega pixel camera and with such a large screen you are sure to get the best shot, every time. Viewing photos and videos is a pleasure as the 3.8" widescreen shows every bit of detail. Not only your own videos, but the videos of the YouTube world can all be accessed at the touch of a button!
Moving on up! Moving on up! Whether you got dizzy from dancing at the local Gay bar or driving into the unknown, the Google maps application helps by telling you where you are and where you need to go!
Overall the phone is fantastic, fully customisable and because it runs on a windows platform, it syncs perfectly with e-mail and your calendar so that you don't miss a thing! Compared to the iPhone it's a brilliant alternative, definitely a phone for the PC people out there!
LG KS360
So recently having hit the stores, I've had a brilliant two weeks trying out the newest handset from LG. The KS360 is a slide phone, with a qwerty keyboard, but just that little bit different.
Okay so in a written review with pictures, I can't really build suspense as much as I'd like to, and as you see it's quite an odd little phone. The concept is of course nothing brand new, as we've seen Motorola and T-Mobile utilise the sideways sliding action before, however for LG it's a first and they've done very, very well.
Before I go into details, I'll say now that this is not a smart-phone as much as it may look and feel like one. With this craze hitting the market where everyone must have a phone that does e-mail, web browsing, makes the tea and the household chores, LG are offering all the styling of a smart-phone and none of the hassle, perfect for all you avid trend followers out there.
As with all LG handsets it does not fall short of delivering excellent service with all the bells and whistles, and the qwerty keyboard makes texting really easy, clear and rather novel.
Everyone seems to like it and I've not heard any bad feedback from others that I know have tested it. Altogether a fantastic phone and really nice to use. Available in two colour sets, Black and Pink and Black and Light Blue, you have a nice choice to suit either Butch or Barbie.
Lastly price, and rumour has it, it starts at £79.99 which is not bad one bit, especially when you think what you are getting.
LG Viewty
We begin with the Viewty, the more expensive of the two aimed at the pro-active businessman who boasts class and elegance. The Viewty is a progression from the Prada model that was released last year. But now with a better camera and much more storage, the Viewty looks and feels great and best of all the new touch screen works every time, with a handy little mascara shaped pen.
Now aside all the visual beauty, the Viewty is packed full of great little features that uphold the wow factor, like Bluetooth, mp3 player and a 5mp camera, but what is really great is to be sure you can hold all your favourite tracks and photos, the Viewty has a 90Mb internal memory with a memory card slot for extra space. Not only music and photos but files like word documents and excel spreadsheets are also able to be saved and read, perfect for the travelling businessman.
LG KF600
Moving on to the KF600. The phone is a mid range model meaning it isn't as equipped as the Viewty. However, functions just as well but on a smaller scale.
Although the phone doesn't have a 5mp camera and the massive memory it still features the mp3 player, Bluetooth and a 3mp camera with the added bonus to save and view word documents and excel files, but what sets this model apart from the previous is that it is a slide phone, for those of you who dislike the touch screen revolution. The sound quality is great and all in all LG have really put themselves in a win - win situation, with their complete range now doing extremely well, and definitely no complaints here.
Samsung i8510
Truly a beautiful phone, with a fantastic 8.0 megapixel camera, this is definitely a phone to consider.
The first Samsung to have an 8.0 megapixel camera, which has now been used throughout their high-end handsets, is a fantastic phone. Not only is it Samsung technology (a personal favourite), but it utilises every angle you could try and pick a flaw with. Including a huge range of features, GPS, Internet, e-mail and video camera, to name a few, this handset is packed full of technology.
Arguably, it is quite a size and fairly weighted, but can you really complain for the amount of kit your carrying? Think, no need to take that notebook about for emails and internet surfing, with google maps and route 66 navigation built in, that chunky old sat-nav can be thrown away and no need to carry that massive SLR, with the 8.0 megapixel camera and built in editing suite you can be the next Hockney in no time!
In terms of it being a phone, it does everything you need it to and more. Makes and receives calls, text, emails and lets you surf the net. What more could you ask for!
My one glitch with this gadget is the scroll function on the navigation panel, meaning you end up scrolling through your contacts rather than looking through your photos. Overall a fantastic piece of kit and certainly a winner from Samsung, especially now they have rolled out the technology to the other models in their range.
Motorola ROKR and Z10
With their operating software increasing rapidly in quality, Motorola are set to dominate the market this year, and with two new models out in quick succession, they may well just do it.
The Motorola ROKR is a fantastic slim model, which concentrates all its features around music. Similar to the Samsung Soul, the keys change to suit of whichever application you are using be it music to phone call or even just navigating through the menu. 2GB of internal memory to store all your favourite tracks and a smart little 2MP camera like a cherry on top.
Aimed at all you disco queens and hardcore electro heads out there, the ROKR has perfect sound quality and works similar to most mp3 players, with a touch sensitive scroll method, and the keypad lock acting as a hold button, this little wonder is fab for those who don't like having lots of different gadgets in your bag.
The other brilliant thing that Motorola have installed into this model is the 'talking phone' capability. Doing their bit for the blind by making the phone talk through everything that you are doing, speaking through menu options right down to reading out texts and phone numbers. Well done Motorola!
Moving on to the Z10. Not so swish in terms of gimmicks, but certainly not lacking in style and usability as Motorola have really upped their competition by making a phone for movie capture and editing all in the palm of your hand. The Z10 offers a brilliant 3.2 mega pixel camera, that after shooting your movies you can add different audio and even subtitles! Are Motorola tapping into the disabled market?
With
a micro SD card slot you can store all your favourite movies and watch
them on the move, with the base of the phone acting as the speaker and
the fantastic definition 
of the display, it's not something to be
ignored and will certainly cure any boredom on the train.
Lastly the look, now from all our feedback it seems that people rather like the way it fits to the contours of the face, however I believe it to be an acquired taste. A lot of buttons and chrome makes this phone look a lot more bulky although stylish.
Other than all the singing and dancing that these phones do, the basic functions are still there. Usable, packed full of features, but simple and easy.
Motorola, you deserve a pat on the back!
Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition
Well, after talking to a few friends about it, the best response to Motorola's brand new RAZR2 would be that 'it looks like a Jewish lady's purse', but then I expected that reaction from Mr Tuckwell.
So, Motorola have finally reached ultimate 'bling' by releasing their latest phone, the RAZR2 Luxury Edition. After the success that the pink and the gold D&G RAZR brought, there was nothing much else to do than to release the ultimate, an 18-carat gold plated phone! Team that together with the snakeskin back and carry purse, and hey presto, you're the envy of every WAG and chav.
Joking aside, the new Motorola is a really nice phone to use. Having not particularly got on with previous Motorola models, they have really improved the software and usability of the new RAZR2, including the new touch screen on the front, and syncing your music from windows media player, just like you would with an iPod. The menu is easy and simple to navigate around and a simple 'options' menu makes it easier to jump to important and popular uses of the phone (for example: the alarm, camera and profile status). The RAZR2 also features a fantastic 'Crystal Talk' technology, which works by almost isolating the conversation, perfect for talking in a noisy crowd. Equipped with the modern expectations like Bluetooth and email the RAZR2 is a perfect choice, for those wanting style and function. Unfortunately the camera is only 2megapixels and doesn't include a flash, which would have made this Motorola a great all rounder. Although, the ability to read and reply to text messages, without even opening the phone is such a fantastic idea, perfect for meetings and discretion in the office.
Personally, as tempting as the gold trims are, it was not to my taste. I would however, consider the standard RAZR2 V8 as it is a fantastic phone, as well as stylish. But, I feel that the RAZR has always been too wide, and is too big for me. All in all a fantastic phone, just could be a little smaller.