Due to be released this spring is Sony’s latest smartphone creation; the Sony Xperia S. Having removed Ericsson from their name, this marks a fresh start for the Japanese juggernauts. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, we delve deep into the details of why this smartphone promises to be one of the top handset highlights for 2012. The flagship phone for Sony in 2012, it will directly take on the new Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3.

Hardcore Hardware

If smartphones were judged entirely by their figures and numbers, the Sony Xperia S would confidently challenge the top trumps of the mobile industry. The 1.5GHz dual core processor is 25% faster than the iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy S2. Its LED-backlit 4.3 inch display towers above Apple’s smartphone range and is complimented by the transparent LED illuminated strip that shows off the necessary navigation buttons. Armed with NFC technology, the Sony Xperia S is ready for the increased reliability smartphones will have in card transactions and augmented reality.

Ice Cream Sandwich OS

Nothing tastes sweeter than the ability to optimise your smartphones performance. Android’s latest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, will help you get the most out of the meaty hardware encased within the Sony Xperia S.

PlayStation Certified

Being manufactured by Sony can only be a good thing when you consider they own one of the greatest games console franchises of all time. It’s great to see they’ve branded the Xperia S as a PlayStation Certified smartphone, giving you access to a whole library of PS1 classics tailored for smartphones.

In addition to the PlayStation Certified range, the Android Market provides over 300,000 apps at your disposal, including the PlayStation Classic, Grand Theft Auto III. Wherever you download your games, the Sony Xperia S will charge through their exhaustive demands without losing breath, thanks to its already praised 1.5GHz dual core processor.

Capture it all – Camera Specs

Worries in photo quality between camera smartphone and camera are phasing out for the casual happy snapper. Capturing 12 megapixel photos, the Sony Xperia S offers a resolution that’s competitive against standalone cameras. The inclusion of an Exmor R mobile CMOS sensor maximises light availability in your picture to help prevent dark and gloomy snaps. With a 1080p high definition rear facing camera, your video memories are sure to look crisp and detailed. There’s even a front facing camera perfect for video calls that captures it all in 720p high definition. To help achieve that perfect photo, the camera hardware is provided all the trimmings; touch focus, face detection, image stabilisation, geo-tagging, LED flash and 3D sweep panorama, making the Sony Xperia S a truly sensational camera smartphone.

Sony Xperia S UK release date

Not long to wait until the release day as the Sony Xperia S will be available in the UK at the start of March. For a full product spec and all the info on the Sony Xperia S, visit our coming soon page.

So there’s our run down on another hotly tipped smartphone for 2012. Does the Sony Xperia S excite you? Let us know on our Facebook page.

Samsung are set to officially unveil the Samsung Galaxy S3 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. Hotly tipped to be the smartphone of 2012, we sift through the rumours and hype to establish what the Galaxy S3 will feature.
With the highly successful Galaxy range, Samsung have the world at their feet. The Samsung Galaxy S2 was crowned the bestselling smartphone in the UK for December. With sales that challenge the iPhone head on, it’s no wonder why the next instalment of the Galaxy S range is so eagerly anticipated.

Could this be the Galaxy S3?

During the international CES conference, Samsung slipped in a clip of an unknown smartphone during their official promo video. Is this the Samsung Galaxy S3? Demonstrating a thinner bezel strip around the display, the screen appears larger than the Galaxy S2 and would match the rumour of a 4.6 inch display; 0.3 inches larger than the Samsung. Whether this image is the genuine Samsung Galaxy S3 or just a fake remains to be seen. It’s certainly a clever marketing stunt for Samsung to raise the excitement bar and get the press talking on their mysterious handset.

Snap it up with the S3

Circulating rumours suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S3 will come equipped with a 12 megapixel camera. With key 2012 releases such as the Sony Xperia S already confirmed to have a resolution of this scale, it’s more than likely that Samsung will want to build upon the Galaxy S2’s 8 megapixel camera with their next generation release. With Apple also expected to upgrade their 8 megapixel camera with the release of the iPhone 5, Samsung have a great opportunity to steal exposure from Apple’s future handset by offering the technology sooner and stealing the wow factor from under their rivals noses.

Hungry for Ice Cream Sandwich? The S3 is.

It’s a dead cert the Galaxy S3 will come pre-loaded with the tasty new addition to the Android family. With a refined and evolved user interface, Ice Cream Sandwich is even more efficient for multitasking. This is great news for the Samsung Galaxy S3, which is rumoured to house a 1.8 GHz dual core processor which would storm through high end games and applications without breaking a sweat.

Galaxy S3 release date?

Following the World Mobile Congress in February, it’s highly likely that the Samsung Galaxy S3 will grace the UK shops within weeks of its announcement. Demand will be high, so make sure you don’t miss out on what is expected to be the top selling handset of 2012. We’ll be tracking the latest announcements on the Samsung Galaxy S3 as they happen. So check back for specific details as we get them through.

Watch this space on how you can pre-order from mobiles.co.uk.

The distinct advantage of owning a Galaxy S over any of the other Samsung Galaxy mobile phones is that this is the first smartphone to offer Ice Cream Sandwich (The latest Android software) which is the successor of Gingerbread. A nice new feature is the unlocking mode where you can actually unlock your phone is using face recognition and voice typing is also available which is very similar to iPhone’s Siri.

Although the mobile phone looks quite compact in the photo above dont be fooled, the 4.65-inch display makes the Galaxy Nexus almost as large as the HTC Sensation XL however this is made up in thinness at only 7mm compared to the iPhone 4′s 9.3 mm and the Nexus is also 5g lighter than the Apple iPhone 4 weighing at only 135g.

If we are comparing the Galaxy Nexus to the iPhone then we will have to point out that the camera is only 5 megapixel compared to 8 megapixel cameras found in the Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4. Overall the new android mobile has its advantages over other smartphones such as the brand new software it runs on and its super AMOLED HD display which will be a significant upgrade from the Nexus S.

The Xperia Arc S has a 2d to 3d converter which lets you take photos and use ” 3d sweep panorama” application to display 2d photos in 3d if you plug it into a 3d tv or any other 3d display using a hdmi port. Sony Ericsson have maintained the reliable operating software for the Arc S which runs on Android OS gingerbread 2.3 and sustains all the hardware features the original Arc did including ultra thinness at 8.7mm.  The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is available in an array of colours :  pure white, gloss black, misty silver, sakura pink and midnight blue.

So what does this mean for current sony ericsson xperia arc ?

Cheaper deals? yes ! you can now get the sony ericsson xperia arc free on a 12 month contract, (yes they still exist and are growing fast) for £30 a month plus 6 months free line rental by redemption. If you are weary of free line rental deals then take a good read of our new cashback page which actually has a cashback calculator where you can find out everything you need to know about claiming back without having the make any phone calls or send any emails to verify details.

If you want the Xperia Arc now then take a look at the cheap deals available on o2, orange, vodafone, talkmobile, 3 and Tmobile here alternatively check back and find the Arc S very soon

Launching last week, the Bold 9900 is RIM’s (the people behind BlackBerry) latest flagship phone and brings with it a wealth of top of the line specs and an all new operating system to boot. On the outside, it’s very much business as usual for the 9900 – if it ain’t broke… – with a full QWERTY keyboard, optical track pad and a 2.8 inch display all wrapped up in a premium and stylish design that exudes exclusivity (though with the excellent deals you can pick these up on, expect this to be next must have for BB fans – more on that later).

On the inside, RIM certainly aren’t pulling any punches. The Bold 9900 runs BlackBerry OS 7, the latest iteration of BlackBerry’s proprietary OS which brings along with it improved performance (apps open almost instantly with no lag), support for new technologies such as HD video recording and NFC (or near field communications, enabling contact interaction like those used on the Underground Oyster Card payment system), and several improvements to the built in apps such as email and BBM. The new OS is also perfectly suited to touchscreen navigation and the touchscreen unit on the 9900 is as good as they get with fluid animations and support for multi-touch (pinch-to-zoom!). All of these tweaks make for the most advanced and user friendly OS to have ever graced a BlackBerry device and a real contender for the heavy weights of iOS and Android.

Powering the revamped operating system is a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor 768MB RAM making the Bold 9900 the most powerful smartphone the Canadian outfit has released to date. No longer just concerned with email and messaging, the multimedia arm of the 9900 has also received a significant shot in the err… arm, sporting a 5.0 Megapixel camera with image stabilisation software, an LED flash, face detection and Geo-tagging using the built in GPS chip. Video capture has also been boosted with 720p HD video capture (thanks to the OS update) andthe LED flash doubling as a video light. Internal memory is a respectable 8GB but for those who insist on carting around every music track they’ve ever heard, memory is expandable up to 32GB via a memory card slot (allowing for a potential 40GB of memory).

Elsewhere, the Bold 9900 features all the little extras you’ve come to expect in a top of the range smartphone including Wi-Fi, HSDPA, GPS and Bluetooth not to mention the perks of being a BlackBerry owner; namely BBM instant messaging and best in class email. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is in stock now and available on O2, Talkmobile and Vodafone on a range of 12, 18 and 24 month contracts. Our pick? Vodafone BlackBerry 300 + Mobile Internet which comes in at £31 p/m, gives you 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB data for BlackBerry email, BBM and web browsing.Whatever your tariff/network of choice may be, if you’re in the market for a high end smartphone that excels at email, masters multimedia and quenches your thirst for QWERTY, look no further than the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

The first official dual core smartphone comes from our Korean friends LG, you guessed it, another new addition to the LG Optimus Family – The LG Optimus 2X. Now, this isn’t the usual mid-range handset you’d expect, inside you’ll find the 1GHz Dual Core Tegra 2 chipset, which doesn’t sound that great when you consider that there are already smartphones running similar clock speeds and have been doing so for quite some time, but (and it’s quite a big but here) the dual core Tegra 2 processor can handle full 1080p Video Playback (HDMI Out) and is set to be the first mobile phone in the world to do so. It gets better, the LG Optimus 2X will also trump any video recording capabilities of any smartphone on the market currently, thanks to its ability to record in 1080p too!

The Optimus 2X has been described as a “brutally fast, overpowered reality” and rightly so, when you consider that it’ll be running Android FroYo on release with an update to GingerBread on the cards, potentially meaning even more speed! Other specs include a 8 megapixel camera + 1.3 megapixel front facing camera (compatible with GingerBread), 8GB internal storage, a 4inch WVGA screen (we assume capacitive) and what LG describe as a ‘hefty’ 1500mAh battery (which isn’t any larger than batteries offered on some single core smartphones), so it’ll be interesting to see how well the battery holds up through a full days use; it’s certainly going to put the revised Android power management in Gingerbread to the test!

The Optimus 2X is said to be available in early 2011 so keep an eye on the blog for updates about availability. In the meantime, what do you think about the Optimus 2X? Has it got you interested or has it left you with slight reservations, perhaps concerns about battery life? Let us know in the comments section below!

The reason for the encouraging reviews is quite clear when you look in a bit more detail at the specifications of this device; a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen capable of displaying 16 million colours at a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels, a full BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard, 4GB of internal storage, microSD support, microUSB port, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5 megapixel camera and of course, the latest iteration of BlackBerry software – OS 6.0 which has been heavily optimised for touchscreen use.
Of course, as with any BlackBerry, the real attraction of the Torch is the exceptional push email services and BlackBerry Messenger; features which will essentially let you instantly message any other BlackBerry user, anywhere in the world. There is also access to third party applications thanks to BlackBerry Appworld, BlackBerry’s answer to the App Store in which you’ll find a huge selection of games and applications ranging from horoscopes to Sudoku and everything in between.
Aside from all of the features and specifications mentioned above, the Torch is quite possibly the best looking addition to the BlackBerry family with its compact looking design and sleek curves it really is a good looking phone from any angle and is a welcome break from the usual smartphone form factor adopted by the likes of HTC, Apple, Samsung et al.

So lets take a look at what we do know; the Anzu is said to be running Android 2.2 FroYo upon release (although currently running 2.1 Eclair) with an update to GingerBread 3.0 in Summer ’11. It is also said to house an 800 MHz processor, a 4.3″ WVGA ‘X.LED’ screen (multi-touch support included this time!) Wi-Fi , an HDMI port and a standard 3.5mm jack.

It’s also reported that the X12 will be between 8.7mm and 10.9mm thick as well as the inclusion of an impressive 1500 mAH battery. In the camera department, we’re told that the fire breathing, lion headed Anzu will be sporting either a 12 megapixel or 8.1 megapixel camera (more likely the latter in our opinion) and will be capable of recording in 720p HD quality. What do you think, has the Anzu got you interested? Can the Anzu compete the with Desire HDs and iPhones of this world? Let us know in the comments section below.

The QWERTY touting, Android powered HTC Desire Z has been talked about and had more leaks in it’s time than a sinking ship, but it’s here and for those that missed our coverage of the Desire Z here’s a little run down of what you can expect. As previously mentioned, the Desire Z is a QWERTY touting device powered by Google’s latest Android iteration – 2.2 Froyo. Aside from, there’s also an 800 MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 1.5 GB internal memory, a 3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen, GPS, HSPDA and a 5 megapixel camera with HD Video recording to boot. Interested? Of course you are, Click Here for more information.

If a BlackBerry is more your cup of tea, then the flagship Bold 9780 could be just what you’re looking for. Of course, the obligatory QWERTY keyboard is present, as is the optical track pad and iconic BlackBerry styling. Where the Bold 9780 starts to differ from its predecessor however is, well, pretty much everything inside. The most noteable change is the addition of BlackBerry’s brand spanking new Operating System (BlackBerry 6 OS) which simplifies the BlackBerry experience and just makes general use of the Bold far more intuitive. Other noteable specs are a 5 megapixel camera with flash and a full accompaniment of connectivity options. Click Here for more information about the New Bold.

The PSP Phone very much resembles the PSP Go with it’s slide-out controls; including the obligatory square, circle, triangle and cross buttons, a D-Pad, what appears to be two optical trackpads replacing what would normally be the analogue sticks, shoulder triggers and the Start/Select buttons.

Where this starts to get really interesting though, is when we look at the phone aspect of this device, if the images are to be believed, it’s running Android albeit with a customised Sony skin on top. We can see the four obligatory Android hardware keys (Home, Menu, Back and Search) sitting just below the screen as well as a lock screen which will be familiar to anyone that has used a vanilla Android 2.2 device. Other features include a camera and LED flash on the back and a front-facing camera too.

Although, we’re still not 100% convinced by this, it’s either a fake or very early prototype; notice the lack of PlayStation branding, a mysterious ‘S’ in the centre of the controls and even more strangely, on-screen references to ‘A’ and ‘B’ buttons for Enter and Back. We really do hope this is the real deal and is simply an early prototype but let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. (Source: ElectricPig)