Samsung seems to be pretty successful with low-cost smartphones such as the Samsung Corby S3650 or the Samsung B3410. Such smartphones cost a little more than EUR 100.00 without contract and offer a touchscreen, mobile internet access for instant messaging and social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and sometimes even a real QWERTZ keyboard which makes typing messages and status updates easier. The Nokia 6760 slide is another example of this phone line. With purchase prices beginning above EUR 200.00 without contract at German web stores it is more expensive than the Samsung B3410, but it offers a broad range of features as you can read in this review.

Snoog Mobile is offering a prepaid price plan with low rates for mobile phone calls and SMS as well as free instant messaging with the ICQ client for free within Germany. Instant messaging is only free of charge with a compatible Nokia or Sony Ericsson cell phone, with the ICQ client installed on the mobile phone and when using the APN “wap.vodafone.de”. With other phones, other clients or other internet access settings users of the Snoog Mobile SIM card pay EUR 0.29 per megabyte for instant messaging or for using any other mobile data services over the network of operator Vodafone.

Discoplus is a new discount provider in the Geman market that offers a prepaid price plan mobile phone calls within Germany at low rates. For calls to home phone and other mobiles in Germany Discoplus subscribers are charged EUR 0.08 per minute, for sending SMS they pay EUR 0.08 per message. The prepaid starter package of Discoplus includes a SIM card and calling credit of EUR 5.00 and is available at www.discoplus.de for EUR 9.95. Currently, new customers of Discoplus receive a bonus of 50 free calling minutes.

Mobile phone provider Klarmobil has launched a new cell phone plan with a flat rate tariff for all mobile phone calls and mobile internet access within Germany. The price plan “Flat Komplett 3G” is available for EUR 49.95 per month and includes all domestic mobile phone calls to home phone and other mobiles as well as mobile internet access via GPRS or UMTS over the network of operator O2 Germany. The prepaid starter package including the SIM card is available at www.klarmobil.de for EUR 9.95.

From today, the low end smartphone Blackberry Curve 8520 is available at Real supermarkets for EUR 199.00 without contract. That is less than what the operators T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-Plus and O2 Germany ask for: T-Mobile sells the Blackberry Curve 8520 for EUR 229.96 without contract, Vodafone for EUR 269.90, E-Plus for EUR 209.99 and O2 Germany for EUR 249.00.

Dirt, mud, rain, dust or shocks – these are things you want to protect your Puma Phone with its cheap plastic body against. And just because this mobile has been designed by the same company that is famous for its sportswear, this does not mean that the Puma Phone should be used when doing track and field or cross country. It sports a run and bike tracker with assisted GPS, a pedometer, a stop watch, a speed meter a yachting compass, but that’s about as sportive as it gets. Rather regard the Puma Phone as a nice and extravagant accessory to take with you when hanging out with friends. The operating system has been developed by Puma itself and it looks nothing like other mobile OS.

While movie fans have traveled to Berlin this week, the mobile industry met in Barcelona. At the Mobile World Congress 2010 show manufacturers, providers and network suppliers presented latest devices and upcoming trends. Some of it – like eye-controlled earphones by Japanese operator NTT Docomo – seems weird, other things like higher data transmission rates over 4G networks or efforts to introduce standards to the world of smartphone apps sound rather promising. And, of course, handset manufacturers showed lots of new devices with new features. Here is a short wrap up of the most interesting phones and platforms of the show.

Mobile phone provider Blauworld has cut rates for accessing the internet via GPRS or UMTS by cell phone. From now on, Blauworld only charges EUR 0.49 per megabyte for accessing the internet over the network of operator E-Plus instead of EUR 9.00 as before. This sounds like a great bargain for new and existing customers of Blauworld, however, in comparison to tariffs of other German discount providers this price for using the mobile internet is still expensive. Customers of other brands using the E-Plus network such as Aldi Talk, Blau or Simyo only pay EUR 0.24 per megabyte – that’s less than half of it.

Expect monthly fees of EUR 60.00 or higher when booking a flat rate tariff of a German provider for mobile phone calls to all German networks. Operator O2 Germany is offering for a limited period of time a much cheaper flat rate plan: From today until Saturday, February 22nd, O2 Germany is selling the “O2o” price plan with a cost cap of EUR 40.00 per month at its web store (www.o2online.de). The same offer is also available at O2 Germany stores in fifteen cities such as Berlin, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig, Munich and Nuremberg until Saturday, February 27th. Usually, there is a EUR 60.00 cost cap for the “O2o” price plan.

In the past few years German network operator E-Plus has been successful with several low-cost brands for mobile phone calls and messaging such as Ay Yildiz or Simyo and not so much with own tariffs. Now, the operator takes it to the next level and does not distribute any price plans by itself anymore but just under its different brands instead. People looking for a postpaid price plan or flat rate tariff now have to look at the Base brand plans. Since the beginning of this month Base is offering two different price plans: a postpaid price plan with a two-year minimum term and with several tariff options and a prepaid price plan.