As mentioned in earlier posts, the Vivaz is built with Human Curvature in mind, meaning that it is not only one of the best looking handsets available today, but also one of the most comfortable to hold and use. Sporting a resistive touchscreen means the Vivaz will react to your swipes, pokes and prods whether it be with your finger or a make-shift stylus. Navigating the phone is simple, thanks to the Symbian OS which will be familiar to most that have used a Nokia or previous Sony Ericsson Symbian handset.

The Vivaz’s party piece and it’s reason for being, is it’s camera, which it isn’t any ordinary unit. It’s an 8.1 megapixel unit, sporting an LED flash and face recognition. But what’s so special about that, i hear you ask? Well, we’ve neglected to mention until now, that the Vivaz is capable of recording videos in High Definition. As you’ve probably guessed, the Vivaz is the natural successor to the Satio and as far as we can tell, beats the Satio hands down in every respect unless you’re counting megapixels (which, as you probably know, doesn’t actually dictate how good a quality picture can be expected from a camera.) The Vivaz is a much better looking phone, easier to use, more responsive, offers more functionality and ultimately is perhaps everything the Satio should have been when it was originally released.

Interested? Well, Click Here to see all of our best deals and to see the full specification and feature list you can expect from this phone.

Below is an explanation from Google themselves.

“Say you want to call your friend Anne. Just open Gesture Search and draw letter “A”, and Gesture Search returns a list of items that have words starting with “A”. If your handwriting isn’t all that neat, that’s okay. If the “A” you draw looks a bit like an “H”, as seen in the bottom left corner of the screenshot, “H” results will be brought up as well. If needed, you can also erase a query by crossing it horizontally: left to right erases the entire query, and right to left removes the last letter or space in the query. Now you can either scroll down the list to find Anne or write more letters to refine the search.”

Sounds like a pretty good and simple tool to use, and definitely a lot more convenient to use in public rather than voice search. If you fancy trying out the Gesture Search for yourself, search for it in the Android Market; it will only appear and be available to download for handsets running on Android 2.0 or higher. If recent rumours are correct, all Android phones will be upgrading to 2.1 meaning all Android users will be able to take advantage of the new Gesture Search tool.

Keep an eye on the blog for new Android mobile phone releases which will be sporting Gesture Search.

Yes, following ongoing legal wranglings with Nokia and Kodak, the Cupertino outfit have now filed suit against HTC claiming the smartphone manufacturer has violated patents relating to the iPhone’s “user interface, underlying architecture and hardware”. Speaking about the legal action, Apple CEO Steve Jobs commented “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Some of the 20 patents Apple claim have been infringed include Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image, something that could quite easily cover any touchscreen phone without a hardware unlocking button, List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display which relates to how scrolling menus bounce when you reach the end (among other things) and Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices which refers to the proximity sensor turning off the screen when the iPhone is held to your ear on a call.

At this point, it’s very early days with HTC yet to answer to the claims and a court date potentially months (or even years away). We won’t see the end to this one just yet. At this point, you may be asking yourself why HTC? All 3 of the above features have all been seen in notable handsets from the likes of Nokia, Samsung and the Palm Pre so why are Apple only going after HTC? Well, that’s anyone’s guess, but the cynical amongst you may see this as a thinly veiled dig at Google. Whilst HTC manufacture both Windows Mobile and Android handsets, the Taiwanese outfit has been a major supporter of Google’s OS from day one.

With Apple and Google originally co-existing quite amicably (the iPhone uses Google Search and Maps after all), the relationship started to turn sour after the arrival and subsequent success of Google’s Android smartphone operating system which has clearly moved into iPhone territory. Now, with the release of the HTC manufactured Google Nexus One, Google have moved from software to hardware and it comes as no coincidence that Apple have decided that now is the time to act. Looking closely at the patents, we can see that it is Android that is mainly being implicated.

Google have even gone as far as to issue a statement following the law suit, commenting “We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.” Whether this means standing behind their partners with moral support or some financial clout remains to be seen but this one’s definitely set to run for some time. Keep an eye on the blog for more information on this as and when we get it.

Aesthetically, the C5 bears a striking resemblance to the 6300, one of Nokia’s most popular and successful launches in the companies history. Sporting a candybar form factor, the C5 boasts a large finger-friendly keypad and sharp 2.2 inch display. So on the outside, the C5 could easily be mistaken for yet another Nokia candy-bar feature phone but on the inside it’s a totally different story.

The C5 runs Symbian series 60 pitching it as a fully functional smartphone only with a feature phone design, size and, most important of all, price. Download apps from Ovi Store, pull in Facebook status updates to your contacts list and launch instant messaging conversations from your home screen. As a Symbian smartphone, the C5 also benefits from Nokia’s free SatNav initiative with Ovi Maps pre-installed, offering free voice guided in-car and on foot navigation.

The premium features don’t stop there. The C5 includes HSDPA connectivity ensuring the aforementioned app downloads and web browsing are lightening quick. Nokia have also found room for a 3.15 Megapixel camera with Flickr support, MP3 music player and FM radio, a 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth and expandable memory. Throw in up to 12 hours talk time and a staggering 26 days of standby and it’s obvious Nokia are on to a winner with the C5.

Expected to launch in the second quarter of 2010, click here to register for updates and keep an eye on the blog for more information as soon as we know more.

In addition to the obvious, free Skype to Skype calls anywhere in the world, the new Skype for Symbian app lets users make cheaper international calls, send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups, share pictures, videos and other files, see when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM and import names and numbers from the phone’s address book. Not bad for an app currently available for the princely sum of £0.

Speaking about the Skype for Symbian app, Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones at Nokia commented “Symbian enables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensures scale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype. We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users.”

Russ Shaw, General Manager, Mobile at Skype said, “With Skype for Nokia smartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide will be able to take the Skype features they love with them on the move. Alongside Skype’s relationships with operators and handset manufacturers worldwide, making Skype available direct to consumers will help millions of users keep in contact with the people that are important to them without worrying about the cost, distance or whether they are away from a computer.”

Skype for Symbian app is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen phones: Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530 and the following non-touch devices: Nokia E72, Nokia E71, Nokia E90, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E51, Nokia N96, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N85, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8 GB, Nokia N79, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 5320. Skype also plan to roll out the app to Symbian smartphones from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson, meaning the Sony Ericsson Satio and upcoming Vivaz can both join in the fun.

Following the initial talks, Orange and T-Mobile then signed a contract agreement in November further cementing their commitment to the proposed merger. But, from here, it was out of T-Orange’s hands. The deal would need to be verified and approved by the European Commission meaning there was still a major hurdle to jump. Well scratch that as, on Monday, the European Commission gave the UK networks the green light for the proposed merger.

UK consumer groups including the Office of Fair Trading had voiced concerns that the merger would have a negative impact on competition but the Commission claimed that “the commitments offered by the parties remedy the identified competition concerns.”

So, what now? Well, a statement from Orange issued shortly after the European Commission’s announcement noted that Orange and T-Mobile would work on integrating their combined 19,000 workforce. Tom Alexander, currently CEO of Orange UK, will take the helm as Chief Executive whilst Richard Moat, currently CEO of T-Mobile UK, will take on the role of chief operating officer. The board of the new joint venture company will comprise representation from both Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom who own T-Mobile and Orange respectively.

But what does this mean to all you Orange and T-Mobile customers out there? Well, for the immediate future, not alot. It’s expected that the T-Mobile and Orange UK brands will continue to operate independently for at least eighteen months after the merger. Longer term, could we see the iPhone and Orange Wednesdays make the move over to T-Mobile customers? And most pressing of all, what new name, if any, will this new giant adopt? Our money’s on Orange-Mobile (sorry T-Orange) but what do you reckon? Let us know in the comments below and keep an eye on the blog for more news.

For the 16GB Wi-Fi enable version this will cost you £389, £439 will bag you the the 32GB Wi-Fi variant, whilst if you have a spare £489 why not splash out and go for the 64GB Wi-Fi Model.

At first glace, these prices appear to be rather high; if you convert the US prices directly into sterling, the prices for these devices come in at £326, £391 and £456. If you consider that the US prices exclude VAT and international shipping costs, it doesn’t make our UK prices seem too bad.

There are no details yet about 3G device prices. Keep an eye on the blog for updates.

The E63 bears a striking resemblance to the handsets produced by the aforementioned fruity named manufacturer and joins the Nokia’s E72 as a QWERTY touting text-a-holics phone. The E63 is to the E72 what the 8520 Curve is to the Bold 9700, a simple, low-cost means of enjoying what has become one of the fastest growing markets out there, but none-the-less, a trully praise worthy phone within it’s own right; primarily because this handset offers so much for so little.

Already mentioned is the QWERTY keypad, which is a four-row affair headed by answer/end call keys, a directional pad, selection key, two menu keys and shortcut keys for Home, Calendar/organiser, Contacts and Messaging. In addition to this the E63 has a 2.0 megapixel camera (With Flash) capable of capturing both images and videos, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an ARM 11 369 MHz processor to make sure that the E63 can keep up with even the most die-hard of typers.

Fancy having the functionality of the Blackberry Bold series, but don’t want the premium price tag associated with it? Well, then you’ll be happy to hear that you can have the Nokia E63, absolutely free, starting from £15 a month on an Orange Contract, which better yet, has unlimited texts included meaning you can fire off texts until your hearts content. Click here to see our deals and more information.

The main update WebOS 1.4 brings is of course, the ability to record video. Video capture is added to the camera along with the ability to trim clips, ala’ the iPhone, share via MMS or email or upload to YouTube straight from the phone. The phone also improves the way new applications (or cards as Palm likes to call them) are launched. Previously a slight delay would be followed by a blank card on screen where as now we get an on-screen card with the logo of the app we’re opening and a small loading icon. Once the app has fully loaded it fills the screen meaning you never have to worry whether you’ve correctly selected to open an app. Amongst a host of other tweaks and enhancements, overall performance and battery life is also promised to improve. Click here for the full run down of what the update entails.

Not bad, but what about Flash support in the web browser? Cast your minds back to CES, where Palm first debuted WebOS 1.4, and you may remember that Adobe Flash support was also planned for the Palm Pre. Well, Palm were true to their word in that WebOS 1.4 does now support the Adobe Flash 10.1 Beta plugin, but you will have to wait for Adobe to release the standalone app in the App Catalog before you can start enjoying embedded video content and flash games on the move. Adobe have yet to release an expected launch date for the Flash Beta app so keep your eyes on the Blog and we’ll let you know as soon as we find out more.

Finally, the update also brought with it one extra treat for European Pre owners, who up until now have been some what neglected compared to the US who have been enjoying paid apps and 3D games in the app catalog for several months now. Need For Speed Underground, Monopoly and The Sims 3 have all popped up in the app catalog, ready to be downloaded. Free. That’s right, whilst our friends across the pond have to pay rather steep $9.99 for the afore mentioned games, we can enjoy the full titles absolutely free. We’re not sure whether it’s Palm or the games developers EA we need to thank for this act of kindness but regardless, there’ll be a few very happy Pre owners firing up their phones this morning.

The Desire is HTC’s in-house version of the Google Nexus One meaning what we get here is a stunning smartphone running the very latest version of Google’s Android operating system (v2.1 or Éclair for those still keeping count). In addition to the updated OS, the Desire (formerly known as the Bravo) also boasts HTC’s own Sense user interface which pulls in updates from Facebook and Twitter, updates your friends status in your contacts list, lets you upload photos to Flickr and offers seven customisable home screens. Add shortcuts, live web feeds and more to one of the home screens and flick between them or pinch on the screen to see all 7 screens at a glance.

Powering the phone is a 1GHz Snapdragon processor which ensures flicking between home screens, launching apps and opening web pages is ultra smooth not to mention great looking on the stunning 3.7 inch AMOLED touchscreen. Capacitive technology allows for multi-touch which enables such features as pinch to zoom in the web browser and maps and also makes for one of the most fluid, responsive touchscreen’s ever seen in a mobile phone. AMOLED technology makes for one of the brightest displays on offer whilst at the same time saving battery life and space allowing for the phone to measure a mere 11.9 mm thick.

Throw in a 5.0 Megapixel camera, HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS and expandable memory up to 32GB and it’s easy to see why the phone is an early contender for phone of the year. Available to pre-order now on Vodafone and T-Mobile, click here to check out some of our fantastic tariffs. With first stock expected in the last week of March, pre-order yours now to be one of the first to get your hands on the incredible new HTC Desire.