Mobile Phones Blog

As of today, 3 customers will be able to watch free music videos of artists signed to labels under the Sony BMG umbrella, following a deal with the music giant.

In theory videos featuring the likes of Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys and Santana, ought to be available for on demand mobile viewing; videos will be listed on 3’s music portal, and will come with adverts of up to 20 seconds before and after each song. Ads are targeted according to the age and gender of the customer, and no doubt their tastes in music.

According to 3’s head of portal advertising Neil Andrews, the UK’s leading 3G provider is the biggest retailer of digital media after iTunes; “The time is right for this type of business model,” said Neil Andrews, the head of portal advertising for 3; Even one year ago there were concerns in the industry about whether this type of advertising would perform. But when we sell enough [advertising] inventory, we need to generate more impressions so need compelling content to do that.”

According to a report in today’s Guardian, 1.4 million of 3’s 4 million customers regularly use the mobile video services. The service is an extension of the platform provided by Rhythm Media, with whom 3 launched their ad-funded mobile video service in March last year.

Easter might be over now, but there’s plenty of chocolate still going round. The highly desirable LG KG800, aka the LG Chocolate, is currently available on a £40 Orange contract on clearance via Mobiles.co.uk. The contract, an 18 month long Canary 40 gives you 850 cross network minutes a month, and unlimited calls to other Orange customers.

Part of the clearance deal also sees customers able to qualify for 11 months off of the total cost of the line rental by redemption. Remember that with Mobiles.co.uk, all orders received before 5pm on the day of ordering will be delivered the next day should you opt for Royal Mail Special Delivery.

Network: Orange
Tariff: £40 a month
Minutes: 850 / Unlimited Orange minutes
Messages: 400
Data: N/A
Cost: £40 a month for 18 months - 11 months free line rental available on redemption and is subject to successful claims

To place an order, click here.

Motorola is expected to split into two separate entities in 2009 after suffering a slump in mobile phones sales, after pressure from shareholder and hedge fund activist Carl Icahn over poor sales of its new handsets.

The Illinois-based firm is to wholly divorce itself from its mobile phones division which will exist as one separate business. The remainder of the company will focus on designing and manufacturing equipment for cable TV and for mobile networks.

Billionaire Icahn owns 6.3 per cent of Motorola’s stock and is the No. 2 investor, said today that Motorola’s plan is “a step in the right direction,” the company should move faster.

“Decisive action is required to reposition the mobile devices business for success as an independent company,” Icahn, 72, said in a letter to Motorola’s board, demanding to know why the move would take until next year, saying that “the situation at Motorola is too serious for the board to remain a country club.”

Motorola were once one of the top dawgs in the UK mobile market, winning awards for the pioneering design of their Razr handset which kicked off the slim phone craze in 2004 - without the Razr, its arguable that there would be no LG Chocolate, N95, or (whisper it) iPhone. The Razr 2 arrived last year amid much hype and fanfare which ultimately failed to translate into sales.

Motorola dropped from second to third last year among the world’s handset makers, behind Nokia and Samsung - Motorola’s mobiles business could end up being bought by any of the big players in the mobile business, although analysts predict that it will probably merge with an Asian partner such as LG or Samsung.

Hands up who wants a £30 12 month contract for just £10 a month? Hands up who wants to save £240 as a result? Still not enough? Hands up who wants a free 128MB memory card chucked into the bargain?

The Nokia 6300 - classic, no nonsense candybar design - is available FREE on a Vodafone Anytime 30 contract providing 200 minutes per month and 250 texts for the effective monthly cost of £10 from Dial A Phone. Full tariff details are listed below.

Network: Vodafone
Tariff: £30 a month
Minutes: 200
Messages: 250
Data: N/A
Cost: £10 a month for 12 months - 12 months discounted line rental available on redemption and is subject to 3 successful claims

To place your order, click here.

3 are slashing the cost of their USB Dongles for their Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband service. The modem, which comes free on certain mobile broadband contracts, which was up until now available for a one-off fee of £100, is now on offer to punters for £69.99.

With the current Pay As You Go price plan customers can get a 1GB data allowance with a £10 add-on, 3GB with a £15 add-on and 7GB with a £25 add-on. Each add-on lasts for 30 days.

3 claim that the 3GB package provides users with up to 2000 plain text emails, 100 hours of surfing the web, and the capacity for 200 audio files.

Despite the release date of the N96 coming ever closer, the Nokia N95 is still a phenomenally popular handset, which is why E2Save have come up with not one, not two, but three great N95 promotional offers for online shoppers.

The first sees customers getting an N95 FREE on the Orange Dolphin 35 18 month tariff, which comes with 600 minutes a month and unlimited texts, with customers able to claim back 6 months line rental free via redemption.

The second deal gets you an N95 on the same contract as above, but with the 6 months free line rental replaced with a Nintendo Wii console. The third, and deal again gets you the N95 on the same Orange tariff, but comes with a PlayStation 3 included.

Network: Orange
Tariff: £35 a month
Minutes: 600
Messages: Unlimited
Data: N/A
Cost: £35 a month for 18 months - 6 months free line rental offer is subject to successful claims

To place an order for the N95 with the 6 months free deal, click here.

To order the N95 and free Nintendo Wii deal, click here.

For the N95 with free PlayStation 3, click here.

In the wake of the Apple iPhone and all the attendant promises of wheels being reinvented, we have seen a slew of new handsets emerging from manufacturers which are placing user interactability at the forefront of handset design.

The Prada and the Viewty, both LGs, stepped up to take some shine off of the Apple with its 5 Megapixel camera and 3G browsing, and Samsung whetted appetites with their catwalk strutting Armani and details of its forthcoming Soul and F490 handsets; now Sony Ericsson are getting in on the act with two new handsets from their G series of handsets.

The G700 and G900 both boast touchscreen displays that allow users to prod and poke their way through a series of multimedia menus - common features across the two phones include an FM radio, media player, stereo Bluetooth, Opera, document editors and an email application.

The G900 is the heavyweight of the pair, coming with a 5 Megapixel camera, 3G capabilities, 160MB of on board memory and Wi-Fi. By comparison, the G700 comes with a specced-down 3.2 Megapixel camera, and is sans Wi-Fi. Apparently, both of the phones support handwriting recognition and measure up at 106 x 49 x 13mm, with each handset weighing 99 grams.

A stylus comes included with both phones so that the displays won’t get clouded by a million thumbprint smudges. The G700 comes encased in a ’silk bronze’ colour jacket, whilst the G900 will do the rounds in shades of dark red and dark brown.

A company in Sweden is introducing a pet tracking system that utilises the GPS capabilities of compatible mobile phones. A small receiver attached to pets’ collars will help owners with the GPS mobile phone track their location.

The technology works by using a SIM card in the collar unit which responds to an SMS query from a mobile phone and sends its GPS coordinates. It can also be customised so that dogs can roam freely, with an alarm going off when the dog crosses a pre-set threshold.

The receivers have been developed by Petlink Development and M-Tech, and are to be sold in more than 40 pet stores across Sweden on a subscription basis, costing users 79kr - the equivalent of roughly £6.50 - per month.

It is estimated that more than 15,000 dogs go missing in Sweden each year, and so a mobile GPS tracking device could come in handy - that is, so long as the device stays attached to the collar.

The Viewtyful Viewty from LG is available as part of a limited promotional run from Mobiles.co.uk. This highly desirable 5 Megapixel touchscreen beauty comes with an Orange Dolphin 35 contract, providing a very generous 600 cross network anytime minutes per months plus unlimited text messages.

The Mobiles.co.uk deal also sees customers able to qualify for a number of great free gifts, including 11 months of the contract at half price, or £75 cashback, a 4GB iPod Nano, or a Nintendo DS Lite. The various gifts are available on a redemption/claim basis, and differ according to the gift you choose.

Network: Orange
Tariff: £35 a month
Minutes: 600
Messages: Unlimited
Data: N/A
Cost: £35 a month for 18 months - half price line rental offer is subject to successful claims

To order, click here.

The Sony Ericsson W960i , one of the best selling handsets from the Walkman range of music phones, is currently available on offer from Mobiles.co.uk.

The W960i is available FREE on a £35 18 month O2 contract, which gives you 600 anytime cross network minutes a month, and 500 texts, along with the offer to claim back 6 months of the contract at half price via redemption. Full contract details are listed below.

Network: O2
Tariff: £35 a month
Minutes: 600
Messages: 500
Data: N/A
Cost: £35 a month for 18 months - 6 months 1 / 2 price line rental offer available by redemption

To order, click here.