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.

Car navigation specialist TomTom now offers prepaid cards for its Live services on portable navigation devices (PNDs). After a free three month trial period users can choose to buy a prepaid Live services card for six months (EUR 59.95) or for twelve months (EUR 99.95). Alternatively, users can book an ongoing subscription via TomTom Home desktop software for EUR 9.95 per month which can be canceled with an one month’s notice. With TomTom Live services latest traffic information (HD Traffic), weather forecasts, fuel prices, safety alerts and information about local shops and business found by way of Google search are sent directly to the SIM card in a compatible navigation device.

Android smartphones are great for using Google web services on the way. Services such as Google Mail, Google Talk, Google Search, Google Maps and Google Chrome web browser are already installed on the mobile, new emails are automatically forwarded to the smartphone, and contacts and calendar on the phone are synchronized with the Google server over the air. In Germany, the first Android smartphone T-Mobile G1 appeared one year ago. Vodafone sold the second Android device in the German market, the HTC Magic. O2 Germany was the third German operator …

Nokia has launched a new version of Ovi Maps that includes high-end car and pedestrian navigation features such as detailed maps for more than 180 countries, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation for 74 countries and traffic information for more than ten countries. Both navigation and maps are free of charge and will be installed on any A-GPS smartphone with Symbian S60 sold from March on, updates of maps and additional Ovi Maps services will be carried out automatically over the air.

The exclusive unveiling on January 5th in Mountain View arranged at short notice, the new category “super phone” invented by Google, the new sales model over the Google web store and new features of Android OS 2.1 on the one hand - poor customer support, poor sales on the first week and a high purchasing price whereas manufacturing costs are low on the other hand: The Google phone Nexus One built by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC is the talk of the town. My first impression after being able to put my hands on the new smartphone for a few hours: The Google phone Nexus One (still) is just another Android smartphone.

With only a few days more to go until the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the question is: Will the Nexus One be the Google Phone or a Google phone? Will the Nexus One offer new features that other Android smartphones such as the Motorola Milestone with Android 2.0 do not support or will it just be the epitome of what all future Android smartphones will be capable of? There is evidence for both sides of the argument: Google genuinely getting into the hardware business or just giving Android another push as the competitive platform to the iPhone OS.

With the smartphone LG BL40 newchocolate it is all coming down to design: Because of the slim form factor and the black double clear-coat finish the LG BL40 newchocolate is a real looker. For a good reason: The LG BL40 stems from the first cell phone of the Black Label series, LG KG800, which was very popular at its time. The handset’s dimensions of 51 x 10.9 x 128 millimeters are as unusual as the 21:9-format touchscreen with a 4.0-inch diagonal and a resolution of 345 x 800 pixels. The oblongness of the phone also brings the older Communicator handsets of Nokia to mind.

When I had the chance to take a first glimpse at the new Samsung smartphone Omnia II I8000, I was excited about the phone: It offered all up-to-date functions, had a well responsive touchscreen and was easy on the eyes. Now that I had the opportunity to take a closer look at the Omnia II I8000 and after having found several weaknesses of the phone, I have to revise my first opinion. Please read this review in order to get to know more about the strong and the weak points of the new Samsung smartphone.

The Sony Ericsson Yari is a new kind of gaming phone. Users can play gesture-controlled games such as Fitness, Bowling or Tennis like with a Nintendo Wii or a Sony Playstation. The movements are registered by the mobile phone either by the integrated accelerometer or by the secondary camera above the display. However, you shouldn’t buy the Sony Ericsson Yari just because you love mobile gaming because the gaming fun is limited and telephone, messaging and mobile internet features and applications are not impressive and with limited purpose.

The new Android 2.0 (Eclair) smartphone Motorola Milestone (the GSM version of Motorola Droid) will be available in Germany at O2 Germany and Vodafone stores. O2 Germany will sell the Motorola Milestone for 481 euros without contract, Vodafone has not revealed any prices yet. At German online stores the Motorola Milestone will be available for prices beginning at 450 euros without contract.