The iPhone battle in UK - Did O2 hit the jackpot?

The furore for iPhone never seems to die. And even before people start queuing in the UK stores, rumours and speculations 'elevates' the status of this much awaited phone. The latest buzz being, O2 will be exclusively selling Apple’s iconic iPhone, this Christmas.

Does it mean that the big players like Vodafone and T-mobile lost the deal? Well there is no support to second the thought, but with print heavyweights such as The Times and The Guardian making statements about O2's so called achievements, it seems like Apple already made its mind.

However, with Apple and O2 refusing to comment (and neither did any other operator reveal the status-quo), its difficult to validate the statement. According to sources, at the same time negotiations are still going on about who can sell the iPhone, once O2’s exclusivity contract expires - Carphone Warehouse being one of the strong contender.

If O2 intends to make it big, it has to make some network changes as well, to take full advantage of the handset. Since, EDGE - the type of data connection used by the iPhone, is only operated by carrier Orange in the UK. However, industry experts say that unlike the move to 3G, the change would be a relatively simple software upgrade rather than a full hardware roll-out.

The launch of iPhone will be a crucial marker of the sales chart in the UK market, as here phones are normally free with a new contract. The UK iPhone is expected to be made available at around 300 pounds (speculations again!)

Seems like the stage is all set... Mobi will keep you tuned!

The Apple iPhone - Bite the forbidden fruit!

The most anticipated and much hyped Apple iPhone has finally been made available for consumers in the UK and US mobile market.

The Apple iPhone has been designed, based on the latest multi-touch display combined with new software applications – enabling you to keep track of all the features at your fingertips. Apple has incorporated three products in its slim profile: a mobile phone, an iPod and an Internet communicator, all squeezed into one.

The iPhone offers a unique OS X, that allows you to create new applications for the mobile phone unlike limited versions of other phone applications. Its a complete touch screen mobile phone without any keypad or stylus. The eye-catchy 3.5 cm widescreen is simply irresistible.

With its multi-touch screen, you can use QWERTY keypad that are displayed on it, similar to Windows mobile or Symbian rich OS Smartphones. Its easier to use and typing mistakes are automatically eliminated.

As far as phone size is concerned, its somewhat larger in the hands, but with slim dimensions of only 11.6mm (much thinner than the most popular RAZR slim phones from Motorola). The device also comes with a 3.5 mm stereo headphones jack and in-built speaker. The iPod connector is used to sync with iTunes on the PC or Mac.

The phone supports quad-band GSM with EDGE. The main drawback of this device is the absence of 3G/WCDMA compared to other phones in the same level like Nokia N series and Smartphones. The Apple iPhone comes with 4GB or 8GB of space – room enough for almost everything you would want to carry on the move. It also supports Safari, the Web browser, built-in Google maps, Wi-Fi and more.

The temptation is there...can you resist it?

Nokia 6300 - Slim, Strong and Sensual

Nokia, one of the leading manufacturers in the mobile world, has recently launched a sleek phone, the Nokia 6300. The company has tried to offer an affordable yet sophisticated handset before the consumers all over the globe and has practically succeeded. The device offers lots more features that are common in other successful handsets, and the phone design is really attractive and slim.

In terms of it's design, the phone is stylish and neat. Its a combination of black coloured plastic casing and stainless steel battery cover – making it more tempting. The device is very lightweight (only 90g) and has a slim dimension of 106.4 x 43.6 x 13.1mm – anyone can easily hold the phone or can slip into the pocket.

The Nokia 6300 at 16 million colours (TFT) and 240x320 pixels resolution looks more bright and users can easily view menus and other features with ease. Equipped with a reliable series-40 User interface, the device does not hang-up. The navigation button is very simple and easy to use – explore phone features and stay in touch wherever you go. Additionally, it also offers organizers including an alarm clock, calender, calculator and lots more.

The Nokia 6300 is loaded with an extravagant music player – enjoy superb quality sound music. It supports almost all popular music file formats such as MP3 and AAC. The device also offers video player and FM radio – watch video clips or tune in to your favourite radio station for hit music. What's more, the Nokia 6300 comes equipped with a 2.0 mega-pixel camera and provides perfect picture quality. Grab the moment and share with friends via MMS, email or Bluetooth.

The slim yet powerful device supports Bluetooth, GPRS and EDGE – enabling users to connect the phone with other compatible devices and share data in no time; browse the web and synchronise emails. It also features HSCSD, which means more speedy downloading.

This candy-bar designed handset is sure to capture a lot of attention.

Nokia N76 - Classy n' Competent

Nokia N76 has a strange resemblance to the Motorola RAZR series phones. It seems that the engineers found the RAZR so impressive that they could not help getting influenced by it. Nonetheless the Nokia N76 has some good features with it. The admirable points being, its 3.5mm headphone jack and its ergonomics that runs on robust Series 60 platform.

The Nokia N76 is a slim clamshell mobile phone. It comes with a mirror like finish and exudes a sensational feel about it. But the screen is smaller and quite a lot of space has been wasted at the sides. Music lovers, however, will love the quick-access multimedia playback buttons below the LCD. There is the ambient light sensor in the keypad which gets activated on moving into darker environments. There's also a customizable multimedia key which we can configure to access frequently used multimedia programs.

Nokia N76 has something that has raised many eyebrows. There is a 3.5mm slot is on the top edge. On one hand it is good that the headset connector does not protrude from the sides of the pocket, and on the other it restricts the handset from opening fully when it is plugged. Also, if you are using the 3.5 mm slot then you cannot receive call, without unplugging the headset. Though this situation can be avoided if you use bundled earpiece.

Apart from design, other features that makes this smartphone desirable are- quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900), 3G capability, mini-USB outlet for connecting to and synchronizing with Microsoft Outlook, 26MB of internal memory, multimedia player, 2-megapixel CMOS camera (with LED flash) etc. The Nokia N76 offers up to 2.75 hours of talktime and an estimated 8.5 days on standby.