Mid-Priced Media Mobile Phones
This week, Ciaran O'Byrne looks at some affordable mobile phones crammed full of the latest features...
What have you got there?
There are a huge amount of mobile phones being pushed out there in time for Christmas, but we are just having a quick look at two.
From the Nokia Illuvial range - 5530 Xpress Music "Pixie Lott" edition.
She had a number one in the UK with "Boys and Girls.and a number 4 here.
And the Sony Ericsson Aino slider and touchscreen phone.
We've spoken before how the mobile phone manufacturers and network providers want to give you direct remote access to Facebook, Bebo, Twitter and photo sites such as Flickr, while you are out and about and on the move, as it is now very big business.
The Nokia Illuvial is also going down the route of the pop star and popular culture tie-in.
Pop star tie-ins - Lady Gaga Headphones - which, like the singer, look a bit odd.
Ed Hardy graphics on the Sony Ericsson -which celebrates the work of legendary tattoo artist Ed Hardy.
Nokia Illuvial range - 5530 Xpress Music "Pixie Lott" edition, which looks a little like a scaled down Nokia N97 smart phone, except it doesn't have a slide out keypad.
It is touch screen only, and has a sliver and pink trim with a kind of floral yet modern motif on the back of the handset. It is without shame - a girlie phone - it also has a matching pink and white soft suede-ette pouch and handstrap.
Nice touches are the new Contacts bar allows for 20 of your most popular contacts to sit on a scrolling bar (just like a news ticker on TV news channels) and there is a media bar which drops down from the top right of the screen, and brings you straight to your favourite apps.
You can also, like a number of similarly targetted phones now, directly post photos, videos and sound clips to online sharing sites. The camera is 3.2 megapixel - not massive but fine for snapping away.
It's a fairly light phone - not the most robust, so don't drop it on the floor.
€159.99 "pay as you go", or from free on a pay monthly contract - from The Carphone Warehouse
The Sony Ericsson "Aino" was launched only a month ago here.
It's not a full-on smart phone - but those lines have been blurred recently, as the latest phones will have internet access, and widgets that take you straight to your Facebook page or Twitter site, aswell as access to movies in this case.
It is a slider with what they call "partial touchscreen" - which means the touchscreen operates when the slider is closed, but not when it is opened, when you have to use the keypad only.
You can answer the phone by either sliding your finger along the screen or just flicking the phone open, but while closed, you only have immediate access to the multi media functions.
Physically it is a slimer model than the Sony Ericsson Walkman phones - with fewer buttons along the sides - it's an attractive colour - "obisidian black" - and has a solid feel to it, and comes with useful accessories such as external stereo speakers and a nice little bluetooth headphone set as well.
It has an impressive "Media Go" suite - which includes a very good 8.1 megapixel camera and a very clear large 3-inch touchscreen. Along with Wi-Fi, GPS, Track ID, and it can even act as a remote control for a Playstation 3.
Sony Ericsson offer access a range of movie that you can watch on your handset only from their Play Now arena - you can select from a range of movies from Sony, download them and watch them for a 90 day period. Only on your handset, not on your laptop.
The keypad is fairly compact - it shouldn't be a problem to make a call, but some of the menu buttons are small.
The Aino costs from between €79 on O2 contract, and €149 on Bill Pay.
The Carphone Warehouse is stocking both the Sony Ericsson Aino and the Nokia Illuvial range - www.carphonewarehouse.ie