Nokia has added a low-end selection of Nokia handsets -the Nokia 1616, 1818, Nokia 2220 slide and the 2690. The four new handsets have basic features with really low price tags.

Let us get to know them better shall we? The Nokia 2690 has a VGA camera along with an FM radio/built-in stereo and a 3.5mm audio jack. It also has microUSB support and Bluetooth. It is global roaming capable with its quad band and the internal memory can support up to 8GB.

With it being quite cheap, it does not mean, the thrifty buyer will have a black and white phone. In fact, the Nokia 2690 includes a 1.8 inch 262K colors LCD display. The resolution is 128 x 160 pixels.

The estimated price is 54 Euros that is before taxes -that is still quite cheap with the functionality and capability the phone has. It will be available in white silver, graphite, blue and hot pink. It will be out in Europe in the first quarter of 2010.

The Nokia 2220 slide that is capable of showing 65K colors with a resolution the same as that of 2690. It comes with an FM radio a VGA camera and an EDGE support. The 2220 slide will have six sexy color options: turquoise, graphite, warm silver, purple, hot pink and blue. This phone will cost about 45 Euros and will come out before the end of ‘09.

Ultra low-end Nokia 1616 and 1800 come with an LCD display of 65K colors and a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels. The two handsets also has LED flashlights and owners can change color covers anytime. The 1616 has a standard 3.5 audio jack while the 1800 has a headset included for its FM radio.

The 1800 will be out in 2010 at 26 Euros while the 1616 will be out in the earlier part of next year at an affordable 24 Euro rate.

Gas is not the only one with the right to a price hike, just recently, cell phone usage might experience a price hike as well -at least to Verizon customers.

Raising early termination fees for advanced devices seems like being held hostage. A year ago Verizon and other cell phone service providers were pushed by the FCC and a number of consumers to lessen their Early Termination Fee (EFT). It gained a lot of attention when Verizon Wireless paid $21 million to settle a California lawsuit.

Before that, most of the major carriers, including Verizon of course, stonewalled the issue but by October, AT&T started relaxing its EFT rules. Due to the incident, the FCC focused on the EFT thing with Chairperson Kevin Martin favoring a nationwide resolution with regards to termination fees. Verizon seconded Martin’s suggestion of prorating of fees and cell phone users thought the EFT problem has already been buried.

Just yesterday, news came out that Verizon is doing a price hike on termination fees. Verizon customers are now saying that Verizon used to be a great service provider. Now the average American says, it is nothing but a big rip off. Some people used to have two accounts and 5 phones or more with the service provider but because of their fees here and there, the giant is now losing customers left and right.

Enter the early termination fee and this will escalate to lawsuits (yet again). We are still in a recession and even if they say that the economy is getting better, it is still difficult to make enough money. Now, who can afford high fees on top of other fees “incurred” during your contract with any of these big companies and if you want to terminate your contract because you cannot make ends meet -they will charge you with higher fees (again).

The next incarnation of LG’s Chocolate series began in 2006, the LG Chocolate Touch, is slated for release during the 4th quarter of 2009 and promises to be a worthy successor in the line-up.  As implied by the name, the LG Chocolate Touch will be the first touchscreen model in the series.  The soft-touch coating on the back cover of the device is a nice feature, making the phone easy to hold onto.  The 3 inch vibrant touchscreen doesn’t have much flex and responds quickly and accurately to touch commands.  A proximity sensor turns off the display’s touch functions when the phone is being held up for a call and a light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s backlight level according to room lighting.  In typical fashion for a touchscreen device, the only physical keys located on the front face and below the screen are a Talk, Back (which doubles as Voice Command), and End/Power button. On the sides of the phone are also a few other dedicated buttons, including a display lock, speakerphone, music, and camera button.  The phone includes a 3.2MP camera for basic picture-taking needs.

Building on it’s “Chocolate” legacy, the LG Chocolate Touch really outshines the touchscreen competition when it comes to its media player capabilities.  Similar to a music only dedicated device, music downloaded onto the phone is categorized by All Songs, Genres, Artists, Albums, and Playlists.  The album cover shows when a song is playing with all the media player commands you will need to change volume level, back up or move forward in the song, or skip it altogether.  The ability to manually adjust equalizer settings on the media player is a feature welcomed by serious music lovers everywhere.  It is easy to take for granted that a standard 3.5mm headphone jack is included, but somehow it is often overlooked by developers, making it’s inclusion a huge plus.  The LG Chocolate Touch builds nicely upon the strengths of its predecessors, while incorporating new features that keep it in line with the best of today’s technology.

[Image Source: PhoneArena.com]

It’s official today.  The Apple iPhone has been finally unlocked.  A few months after Apple updated the iPhone to version 3.1 Engadget finally announces that unlock is available.

This means that PureMobile will have unlocked iPhones again soon.  This means that you are no longer tied to a specific carrier.  If you want to change your GSM carrier you can and now bring your iPhone 3Gs with you with you.

Samsung is preparing the release of a new touchscreen phone with Wi-Fi called the Samsung S5560.  It appears to be a pretty solid contender on the mid-level cell phone market.  Equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a Browser with Java support, it should make an excellent choice for everyday business use.  The battery gets up to an impressive 9.5 hours of talk time, a huge plus for the busy professional.  Boasting a 3 inch touchscreen with 240x 400 pixel resolution it will make using internet functions a breeze whether reading and responding to emails or general browsing.  Minimal outside controls means that most navigation will be through touchscreen commands only.  Like previous Samsung models the Samsung S5560 will utilize their TouchWiz user interface.  An  accelerometer sensor allows you to view images in portrait or landscape view switching automatically when you tilt the phone to the side.

The Samsung S5560 would already stand out as a solid cell phone model, but including a 5MP camera with LED Flash and autofocus makes it stand out from the crowd.  The camera also features smile and blink detection as well as image stabilization, pretty much guaranteeing that you will get some pretty good shots.  The 78MB of internal data storage won’t take you far with music and video files as well as some of the pretty hefty picture files, but that is easily remedied with an additional microSD card which is supported up to 16MB.  The media player should fit most needs playing MP3/WAV/eAAC+ audio files and H.263/H.264/MP4 video files.  The addition of Stereo FM radio with RDS will nicely round out anyone’s music collection and the inclusion of a standard 3.5mm audio jack is a nice touch that allows the user to listen to music anywhere with their favorite standard headphones.  The Samsung S5560 is a smart balance of business and entertainment functions that will serve its owner well.

[Source: GSMArena.com]

The Sony Ericsson U100i Yari is opening the rest of the world mobile phone market to the concept of gesture gaming, which has previously only been on models sold in Japan.  Already loaded with a wide game variety quickly accessible from the desktop including gesture, motion and standard games, the Yari also makes it easy to view and download new games from the PlayNow arena.  Already familiar to the US via the Nintendo Wii gaming system, gesture gaming interprets your movements to play the game, rather than pressing a couple buttons like on standard games.  On the entertainment front, the Sony Ericsson U100i Yari also includes an FM stereo with RDS access and a strong music player with stereo speakers for easy listening.  A music call feature allows you to share your favorite music tracks with friends while you talk on the phone.  The 5MP camera takes excellent pictures and video footage and includes a photo/video light, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, and image stabilization. 

A candybar style model with slider for built in keypad, the Sony Ericsson U100i Yari, boasts several features outside of the entertainment front as well. An accelerometer sensor changes the 2.4” display from portrait to landscape depending on how the phone is held up.  For owners who find the 60MB of internal memory to be inadequate, microSD card data storage is available and supported up to an additional 16GB of memory.  On a more practical side, the Sony Ericsson U100i Yari is Bluetooth capable and has GPS support with Wayfinder Navigation.  On a 2G network the battery can last up to 10 hours of talk time or 450 hours on standby.  A strong blend of practical and entertainment features will please anyone who purchases the Sony Ericsson U100i Yari and with all of the unique gaming features even non-gamers may find themselves trying to beat their best score on tennis, boxing, or another of the great games.

Anyone looking for a sleek solution to their phone and music storing needs could easily fall in love with the Motorola EM30 Cherry Red.  Thin, light with a striking color scheme of red, and black, this candy bar style device covers the grounds of both phone and portable music player well.  A button activates Motorola’s unique Modeshift Technology to illuminate the keypad and switch the device back and forth between phone and music player.  With the addition of up to an 8GB microSD card, literally thousands of songs can be stored on the Motorola EM30 Cherry Red, and if you happen to tire of your own music, there is always a great variety accessible through the full service FM radio.  A standard headphones jack is built into the phone, so you can use your favorite headphones to listen to music wherever you find yourself.  The screen is purposely a landscape display to make browsing on the HTML Java-enabled browser more accurate, and Windows Media Player compatibility gives you the freedom to easily download music from almost any of your own favorite music download sites quickly.

In addition to the music player functions, Motorola EM30 Cherry Red also provides the basics for talking and texting.  Bluetooth compatibility, voice dial, and voice memo are all features that can make life easier for those who need and learn how to use them. The device stores up to 1000 unique contacts with multiple phone numbers, and a running call log with the 20 each of the most recent missed, outgoing, and incoming calls.  A 2MP camera with 8X digital zoom is included and is simple to use. The standard Li-ion battery gets a decent 6 hours of talk time or 300 hours of standby.  Wide varieties of ringtones are preloaded, and the device supports polyphonic, MP3 and AAC ringtone files, so that customization of ringtone style could not be easier.  Motorola sums up the phone nicely in their own catchphrase: “…the Motorola EM30 (Cherry Red) connects the sounds that matter most: family, friends, and favorite artists.”

Windows Mobile 6.5 makes its debut with the HTC Pure, a sharp-looking phone utilizing the convenience of a touch screen interface.  Physical controls are limited to four core buttons including Talk, Back, End, and Windows, a zoom slider on the front face, volume control on the side, and a power/lock button located on the top.  The 3.2-inch touch screen is a nice size for browsing and is capable of great resolution up to 800×480.  Wi-Fi capabilities further simplify web browsing and dual browsers gives the user the choice between Opera Mobile for a basic browser and Internet Explorer Mobile 6.5 software for a fuller, more desktop-like browsing experience including support for Adobe Flash.  GPS and Bluetooth compatibility are both included on the HTC Pure and simplify your gadget needs.  The device boasts the same 5MP camera with digital zoom, touch auto-focus and video recording as its predecessor, the Diamond 2.  Although lacking in on-board storage with only 144MB of data storage built in, a cleverly hidden microSD card slot beneath the battery can accommodate up to an additional 16MB of storage space.

One thing HTC Pure users will certainly appreciate is the consolidation of all communication logs under each contact.  The full communication history is included whether it is by e-mail, text, or call log, stored for easy to access, and separated by contact.  Easy access to the Windows Marketplace makes it easy to customize the HTC Pure with new functions to meet each individual’s needs, and purchases made are conveniently added to your monthly phone bill so that security isn’t an issue.  The HTC Pure has certainly also delivered in the area of price; for a Smartphone with touch screen experience with access to great features at a more affordable price, check out the HTC Pure and you won’t be disappointed.

Check out the HTC Pure available at PureMobile.com

[Image Courtesy: Gear Log]

Music and media lovers everywhere are falling in love with the new Nokia 5630 XpressMusic.  The device features a rare voice recognition system that will play artists, songs, videos, and games just by telling it what you want to do.  The standard microSD card included with the phone is 4GB and should hold up to 3000 tracks, but it can be switched out for a 16GB microSD card for music lovers who find the generous 4GB still is not enough.  An FM radio is also included on the phone, as well as an excellent media player providing top-notch audio quality.  Wi-Fi capability makes managing your music collection a breeze with easy access to the Nokia Music Store for easy purchasing of new music and the Nokia Music for PC software making transfer of your existing music collection as easy as drag and drop.  Voice dial and commands can prove to be very convenient features for those who take the time to learn how to use them.

The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic phone features are practical and efficient as well, such as quick access to all recent communications with your 20 closest contacts including emails, text messages, photos shared and phone logs in one place.  A 3.2MP camera with flash also comes standard and is perfect for quickly sharing photos on the most popular social networking internet sites, many of which also happen to be easily accessible with software included on the phone.  The device also boasts an N-Gage game catalogue of leading publisher’s mobile games and the ability to have multi-player challenges. USB charging can be quite convenient when open power outlets are hard to come by, and allows you to load music files onto the device without the purchase of another gadget. Developers continue making new phones more compact, and the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is no exception to this rule.  The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is sleek and user friendly and comes packed with a long list of solid features you cannot get anywhere else.

More information on the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is available at PureMobile.com.

The soon to be released Blackberry Storm2 is the highly anticipated improvement on the original. In a previous post we shared our thoughts about the phone and the new features to expect with this version. At the time we only had an estimate of when it was going to be released here in the US. Well, we just got word that the Blackberry Storm2 is set to be available to Verizon business customers as early as Wednesday (October 26th).

Pricing is set to be $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate on a 2 year contract. Rest assured many of the die hard Blackberry fans will be lining up to get this phone. Many are anxious to use the new SurePress touch screen technology and built-in Wi-fi included with the Blackberry Storm2.

Source: Boy Genius Report