German network operator O2 Germany has launched a new prepaid price plan that offers mobile phone calls, text messages or mobile internet access for free. In return, subscribers to this prepaid price plan under the brand Netzclub will receive up to 30 advertising messages per month on their phone and will have to answer at least once by text message or click on one advertising link. However, there is no obligation for Netzclub subscribers to buy or order anything. Competitor E-Plus is also offering credit to customers who agree to receive advertisement messages on their cell phone under the Gettings brand.

We have spotted two interesting cell phones at German operators’ stores: Vodafone is selling the lifestyle smartphone Puma Phone manufactured by Sagem Wireless. E-Plus is offering the dual SIM phone Samsung B5722 to its customers. The Puma Phone costs EUR 369.90 without contract and between EUR 29.90 and EUR 139.90 with 24 months contract at Vodafone stores. E-Plus offers the touch screen dual SIM phone Samsung B5722 for EUR 199.00 only to its customers who have to agree to an extension of their term commitment for another 24 months when buying this phone.

Discount provider Simsay has launched a new mobile phone price plan called “Global Card” for low-rate international calls from Germany to other countries. Initially, customers can make international calls to landlines in Poland, Russia and the Ukraine for EUR 0.029 per minute or to landlines in China, Vietnam, Pakistan and India for EUR 0.049 per minute. Mobile phone calls from Germany to home phones in Nigeria and Ghana cost EUR 0.079 per minute with the Simsay “Global Card” price plan. However, these low rates for international mobile phone calls are only valid until July 31st. And: There is an additional connection fee of – depending on the country – EUR 0.15 or EUR 0.19 per international call. Simsay uses the network of operator E-Plus.

Operator O2 Germany provides the personal navigation and mapping service Telmap to its customers. Effective immediately, the application is preinstalled on many new GPS-enabled mobile phones such as Motorola Milestone, HTC Touch HD2, Samsung Galaxy or Sony Ericsson W995. Customers who are already using GPS-enabled smartphones can download the Telmap client directly to their phones at http://wap.telmap.com/o2de/. O2 Germany offers the Telmap navigation service to its customers for free, regardless of whether they have a prepaid price plan or a fixed-term agreement. The only fees are for the mobile data transmission.

The X10 of the Xperia series is Sony Ericsson’s debut Android smartphone. The list of features is rather impressive, even though it shows that the Sony Ericsson X10 is no high-flyer: 1 GHz Snapdragon processor by Qualcomm, 8.1-megapixel camera with HD video capture, HSPA and WiFi connectivity, and A-GPS. On the other hand, it runs on Android 1.6 - an older version of the operating system geared towards the easy use of Google services such as Google Search, Google Mail, Google Maps or Google Talk by mobile. This is why Sony Ericsson has put its own user interface User Experience with its Timescape and Mediascape views on top of the Android OS. How older software and up-to-date hardware work together will this review of the Sony Ericsson X10 show.

With a mobile phone that holds two SIM cards users can easily select between different SIM cards for personal and a private calls or for domestic and international calls. These are just two examples of how users of a dual SIM mobile phone can save money. However, most dual SIM phones in the German market are pretty expensive and – in comparison to other smartphones in the same price range – don’t live up to current standards. With the dual SIM mobile phone Mobistel EL350 Dual of manufacturer Elson there is such a device that is available at German web stores for purchase prices beginning at a little more than EUR 70.00. It provides anything necessary for making mobile phone calls and texting (SMS) over two different connections – but that’s about it.

Discotel and Maxxim, two low-cost providers offering prepaid price plans for mobile phone calls over the network of operator T-Mobile, grant extra airtime worth EUR 50.00 to new subscribers. New customers buying the prepaid starter package of Discotel or Maxxim until the end of May will receive an initial airtime worth EUR 5.00 as well as credit of EUR 15.00 each at the beginning of the following three months. The credit can be used for calls, text messaging (SMS) and mobile internet access.

It’s not the 8.1-megapixel camera, the 1-GHz Snapdragon processor or HSPA and WiFi connectivity that make the Android 1.6 smartphone Sony Ericsson X10 unique – it’s rather the new interface “User Experience (UX)” with its Timescape and Mediascape sections. Watch this video to see how Timescape and Mediascape work on the Sony Ericsson X10.

According to the manufacturer, the Nokia 7230 is made for the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Flickr – but at first glance it doesn’t show. This mobile doesn’t have a physical QWERTZ keyboard for faster texting, it does neither support HSPA for faster uploads nor WiFi for free internet access on the way, and its integrated camera seems to be below par. But let’s not get carried away: We should keep in mind that the Nokia 7230, which is running on the S40 platform, is just a regular mobile phone in a stylish design that offers quite a few ways to stay in contact with friends and to share pictures with them, as this review shows. And because of that it is less expensive than a high-end smartphone.

Kolaykart is a prepaid price plan of E-Plus brand Ay Yildiz offering low rates for mobile calls within Germany and to Turkey. For calls to other E-Plus subscribers and to landlines in Turkey Kolaykart users are charged just EUR 0.06 per minute. For calls to landlines and other mobile phones in Germany as well as to mobile phones in Turkey Kolaykart users pay EUR 0.16 per minute. All other international mobile phone calls with the Kolaykart prepaid SIM card can be made for prices between EUR 0.16 and EUR 0.99 per minute.