Definitely a mobile phone heavyweight, the Sony Ericsson Experia X1 has much to offer, and more. This Quad-band wonder boasts of a massive 3 inch touchscreen with a 3.2 megapixel camera that can display 480 x 800 pixels. Sony Ericsson invested in their baby a flash, photo light, 3x digital and auto focus. When it comes to great pictures, I don’t think you can fault the X1 with anything.

And this is not only a photographer’s dream, it is also the mobile businessman’s fantasy. This phone can support GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA 1.8 Mbits and HSDPA 3.6. Downloading will be faster than a blink of an eye and your internet surfing will never feel the same again. It is also 3G capable so you can video call from any part of the globe.

Sony Ericsson also prides itself in giving the user a total multimedia experience and it is no exception with the X1. Its music player supports MP3, AAC+, eACC+ and WMA v9 formats with Windows Media Player options. It also has an FM radio to make those long trips bearable. The X1 also has the Smartphone features with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional as its operating system, a Qualcomm MSM7200 528Mhz processor and 512 MB ROM and 128 MB RAM. It supports Internet Explorer Mobile for easy online access. You can now basically work from anywhere with this phone

It’s just logical then it has a full QWERTY keypad. But it doesn’t stop there. They also included a stylus that can recognize your handwriting by converting what you write to the equivalent character on your phone. Built in memory is 400 MB but it has a MicroSD slot for larger memory options. It may be a bit heavy at 145 grams but with all these features packed in, what do you expect? The Sony Ericson Experia X1 is testament to the ideal that indeed, you can have the best of both worlds.

A little known mobile phone company, BenQ launches one of the thinnest mobile phone available on the market – the T60. Only 8.9 millimeters thick, this phone however, boasts of a 2.2” screen that can display brilliant pictures taken by its 3.2 megapixel camera. You can store them in your T60 gallery or directly attach your phone to a PictBridge printer and immediately get hard copies.

This beautiful ultra thin device can rival the top mobile phone companies when it comes to multimedia. It prides itself of having an FM radio that can record programs just by inputting the schedule of the program. Its music player supports MPEG4, MP3, AMR and MIDI SP-MIDI. And it’s roomy 24 MB internal memory can enable users to store hundreds of songs, as well as video clips and data. For optional memory, it has a micro SD slot.

This is also a fun phone. The T60 has a feature called background calling sounds which allows you to play different background sounds. You can evoke the serene feel of a spa with ambient sounds or the bustling activity with city sounds. You can even fool your friends by making them think you’re at the beach or in a jungle by playing appropriate sounds. And it’s also very functional. You can attach the phone via USB to your PC or laptop and voila, you can use it as a webcam. With a 320 x 240 screen resolution, you’d be assured of a crisp and great-looking video image. You can even upload video to an online blog or website of your latest adventures through the T60.

The BenQ T60 is email ready so you won’t be out of touch with your friends. If you’re in a hurry, you can drop them a line through text messaging. Call quality is pretty decent. But the T60 provides you with more. It features a system where you can block out callers you do not wish to talk to by just by putting their numbers in the block list. It’s a sort of spam guard and will give you the peace of mind you deserve.

The talk time is not that impressive though, at just 2.5 hours but it has 180 hours of standby time. And BenQ also threw in one last cool feature – a remote control that will enable you to control your phone from across the room.

BenQ might not be a household name when it comes to phones as Sony Ericsson and Nokia are but it works like a tiger, silent but deadly. So watch out for this phone when it pounces at you in the mobile phone stores.

Slated to be deployed in June of this year to an anticipating world, the Samsung Instinct is set to be the worthy rival of the iPhone. A lot of people have pointed to many touchscreen phones as the ‘iPhone killer’ and as yet, none of them have delivered on that promise. This might be the one that will.

Looking very, very similar to the iPhone, this sleek, all black phone fills in the gaps that its competitor left. It has 3G access and a replaceable battery, things that the iPhone seem to lack. It also boasts of an expandable memory of up to 8GB and a MicroSD slot, something that its predecessor, the Samsung F480 severely falls short in.

It has three keys that make the whole thing very friendly, Back, Home and Call. The screen is brightly lit and the menu icons displayed with text captions. You also have the cool option of using voice commands for its GPS navigation system, installed ready on your Instinct. It can give you turn-by-turn directions to any location in a given city.

Its 3 inch screen is just right and although a bit thicker at 0.49” inches, it is lighter at 4.4 ounces and easy to slip in your pocket or purse. It supports HSDPA for a speedy and breezy internet surfing and with a full HTML web browser, your online experience is no trouble at all. The Instinct now supports Sprint’s 3G “EV-DO Rev. A” network, you can easily access clips from Sprint TV and download music.

The Samsung Instinct already garnered the Emerging Technology Award at the CTIA Wireless 2008 convention for “Best in Show” and placed first on the Most Innovative and Best Cell Phone list in CNET’s Cream of the Crop. It may not be released yet but people are already raving about it. Come June, you won’t have a choice but follow your “Instinct”.

It’s light too at 97 grams and can fit snugly in your pocket. With a 2 inch screen (176 x 220 pixels), the K630 also features a great music player that supports MP3/AAC/MPEG4 formats. Although not part of the Walkman series, its earphones have bass enhancers to make your music experience truly wonderful. And the sound quality, in true Sony Ericsson tradition is fantastic. It has the Sony Ericsson’s signature TrackID music recognition system which enables the user to get music information such as title of songs and the artist. It also features an FM radio with RDS to keep you abreast of the latest news and game scores.

Games are downloadable and with HSDPA, you can even download games online. Sony Ericsson fans are crazy over this affordable but nifty device which also supports GPRS and has EDGE technology. With WAP 2.0/HTML browsers, you can easily access the internet. The K630 also allows for picture blogging by just taking a few pictures, adding a caption and directly sending it to your online blog.

Its 2 megapixel camera is worth your money although it does not support a flash. It is, however, 3G capable. You can also easily connect this phone to ports such as USB 2.0 and Bluetooth 2.0. Its 32MB internal memory may be a bit small but it has a Memory Stick Micro for optional data storage of up to 4GB.

It’s edgy with great colors, Havana Gold and Quick Black makes for a very beautiful looking phone. Some people may keep on complaining about picture quality because of the absence of a flash, but the reasonable price with all its great features makes your money really worth it.

Boasting of a dangerously sleek design and a 2.8 inches full touchscreen display and 240 x 400 pixels, the Voyager attracts attention like no other. Unlike other touchscreen phones, this phone prides itself in having a full QWERTY keyboard tucked neatly under its clamshell hinges. The internal screen is also the same 2.8 inch display that exhibits nothing but sharp and crisp pictures. This is the Voyager’s edge above the other touchscreen phones that can be very difficult to type messages or send emails without a keyboard (the iPhone not even having an optional stylus).

With these features, the Voyager weighs pretty decently at 140 grams. It has all the regular features of mobile phones such as a 3.5mm stereo jack, 2 megapixel camera, first-class web browser, great call quality, a Micro SD memory card slot and an excellent player that can play AAC/MP3/WMA music.

The Voyager also features a V cast Mobile TV Bluetooth which is EV-DO supported with a pull-out antenna for better reception. You can actually enjoy watching the news and won’t miss your football games while on your way home. It has a slim battery that can last you hours and call time is up to 8 hours. Despite all these features, critics complain about its lack of Wi-Fi and a flash. They also point out that the screen feels flimsy to the touch and is not even made of glass. However, LG argues that this was purposely done to make the mobile phone lighter.

All in all, the Voyager is a thing of beauty indeed and its features pack a power punch. It may not derail iPhone off its track but it will surely make them run for its money.

A new breed of telemarketer is evolving. This one will not call you at nay hour,    nor will it spend a long time trying to convince to purchase a product. No, this telemarketer comes in the form of ads in magazine, newspaper and TV. Even if it is in a non interactive form, it is none the less persuasive and tempting. All you would have to do is pick up your phone and order the product via SMS.

Undoubtedly this is, a marketing ploy directed towards impulse buyers who just can resist the temptation of a good offer. Even if you are not an impulse buyer, you won’t be able to deny that SMS shopping makes the process easier. It works like this; most ads found in the newspaper and seen on TV carry texting codes that allow a customer to order a product via SMS. Pretty persuasive, given that you don’t need to spend time on the phone talking to agents; now, your order is just a Text Message away.

The only call you will have to make is when you register your number with a Text Marketing Company of your choice, then you can enjoy unlimited purchases via text messaging. After you have placed an order, your purchase is then charged to your credit card then, the product is shipped to you.

At the moment, marketing companies are sold on the idea of SMS purchasing. It will not be long until we see text codes on magazine ad and ordering will be as easy as typing a few detail on you phone.

With the introduction of Voice SMS, one can’t help wonder: Are we witnessing the death of Text Messaging? By using Voice SMS, a person is able to send “Voice Packets” from a mobile phone to another. In a technical sense, it is nothing like SMS; it is only marketed as such to avail of the consumer’s affinity for familiar things.

It has several advantages against plain SMS, one is the fact that you will not need to spend time typing out your message you just need to “speak or listen”.

SMS or Text messaging is the way of communicating between wireless devices (e.g. Mobile Phones, Pagers, PDAs, etc.) that uses text.

It has grown in popularity over the years and had its share of lovers and haters. A few things that go for Text Messaging over Voice SMS are as follows: Storage – text storage is much easier and takes up less phone memory than audio storage. Less prone to interference – Voice SMS are highly vulnerable to interference, though it may be easier and faster to get your message through, there is a great possibility that the quality of your voice SMS may be compromised.

It is true that Voice SMS has a lot going for it, but it can not be expected that the shift from regular Text Messaging to Voice SMS is going to happen over night. With the massive number of individuals using text messaging, there are bound to be a few who would prefer to stick with it a little while longer. It is important to remember that voice SMS is not a replacement of actual calls; the 30 second time limit urges a sender to be as concise as possible often making the messages impersonal and technical.

Like Spam e-mail, Spam text messages are more annoying than destructive. However, unlike Spam e-mail, this form costs some money. To avoid SMS messaging fees, Spammers use websites on the internet that offer free Text Messaging services. This leaves the cost to fall solely on the shoulders of those on the receiving end. If you report occurrence of Spam messages to your wireless carrier, you may be able to get a refund for the amount used up by Spam messages.

If the problem with Spam becomes too much to handle, most wireless subscribers would rather opt out of their SMS plans, which is bad news for wireless carriers who stand to earn over $3 Billion US through SMS subscriptions alone.

Incidence of Spam Text Messaging is greater in other countries that do not require wireless subscribers to pay for incoming messages. Some countries that support SMS advertising have problems with Spam authors getting through the system. An SMS feature that helps dissuade SMS Spammers is the 200 character limit. This restriction requires them to send messages that get straight to the point.

The increasing use of text messaging has also increased the risk of exposure and acquiring of a Mobile Phone virus. An SMS message is not the only route that a Mobile Phone Virus can infect your cell phone or PDA. Bluetooth is also a threat as well as MMS messages.

A few years ago; some scientist in Holland discovered a way to send text virus laden messages to a certain brand of mobile phone. In the format that they had established, the phone owner would have no way of knowing that the message that they have received contained a virus that was capable of bringing their mobile phone down. The message was formatted so that it would instruct the phone to perform certain programs that renders it virtually useless.

The creators of this SMS virus also noted that it is unlikely that virus authors would use it as a vector for Mobile Phone infections, because the procedure was reported to be a bit cumbersome and that an individual needs to have an extensive knowledge of how a mobile phone works. Also, they said that one of the reasons why SMS viruses have not spread is that no author would want to spend their own money to infect mobile phones.

That was a few years ago. At present, it would be extremely foolhardy to underestimate the capabilities of virus authors. Also, there a lot of websites that support free outgoing SMS. As new mobile phones are made available on the market, you can be sure that more than a handful of individuals are working on it.

In a way, text messaging is able to give the deaf community a sense of independence. They can just carry a phone with text messaging capacity and they are able to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world. If it were not for the text messaging capacities of most phones; people with hearing disabilities would have had to use a TTY, which is a specialized text telephone.

With use of text messaging, a deaf individual is able to ask for help in emergency cases. Several Emergency Service Stations in the UK and the United States are working to accommodate emergency reports via text message.

Also, cell phones are readily available and are often quite affordable. It is also worth noting that with cell phones being a constant in today’s society; having one does not point out to a disability like the way some gadgets would.

However, there are a few disadvantages to the deaf using cell phones and text messaging. One is that cell phones interfere with the individual’s hearing aid. It is therefore recommended to keep a cell phone as far away from the hearing aid as possible; and only use the cell phone when necessary.

Another issue is that most wireless carriers only offer the text messaging feature as an add-on to Voice Only Plans. This means that a Deaf individual would have to pay for the Voice Only Plan (a feature which they obviously would not be able to use) before they can avail of the text messaging feature. To resolve this, deaf communities are in talks with wireless carriers to have them offer SMS only plans.