The slightly cut down version of the Galaxy S2 was announced not so long ago, in the beginning of this month. In Samsung’s new naming convention, an “R” handset is a high-end device that comes just below the “S”.

The new handset is made of less expensive components, but this fact doesn’t prevent it to be still a very desirable smartphone.

The device has a suggested price of €450, but it is most likely to be closer to €400 via various  mobile phone deals around offered by online retailers.

The Galaxy R is a dual-core device with specs that make it more powerful than most rival smartphones apart from ultra high-end handsets. The phone is equipped with a 1GHz ARM A9 CPU, 4.2″ 480 x 800 pixel display, a 5 megapixel camera on the back with 720p HD video capture, a 1.3 megapixel video calling camera, FM radio and all the usual Android features such as WiFi, 3.5G and GPS.

The dimensions of the device are 126x67x10mm and it weighs 132 grams. The battery is quite powerful, 1650 mAh, which is quoted as allowing nearly 10 hours of talktime and 23 days standby time. It is quite pleasant that Samsung is fitting larger capacity batteries as Android handsets are hungry for power.

It will not be surprising for us that most of you would prefer to go for the Galaxy S2 rather than the Galaxy R. But you don’t need to hurry up. Right at this moment Apple has a European-wide injunction, which blocks the sales of such devices as the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy Ace and the original Galaxy S. And the Galaxy R is not covered by the injunction.

Initially Samsung was going to have quite a limited release of Galaxy R in Europe,  but with an obvious gap in their product range it may well be that Samsung will ramp up production. The device is very close to the ”banned” phones in design and it may only be a matter of time for Apple to block this one too.

At this moment the countries that will get the Galaxy R are Russia, Turkey, and most of the European countries, some still pending.

Source : Mobile Gazette

Vodafone offers several pay monthly deals. Prices start from just £11.67/month, once cashback for 17 months free line rental has been claimed from a 2 year £40.00/month contract. This deal includes a free handset, 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB data. The phone is also available via other carriers like O2, Orange and T-mobile, but if you want to switch on Vodafone use a vodafone pac code.

Be sure to acquire vodafone promotional code 2011 to get more discounts.

LG Optimus Me, which is also known as LG Pecan, is the successor to last year’s cheap and cheerful Optimus One. The phone runs Froyo, packs a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen, providing one touch access to Facebook and Twitter. There’s also a built-in email client, pre-loaded Google widgets and access to thousands of apps from the Android Market. The Optimus Me features a 3 megapixel rear-facing camera, alongside a built-in media player and pre-loaded games. That’s not all, as the budget handset also packs HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, built-in GPS and up to 32 GB memory card slot.

And by the way, if you are looking for ways to get more discounts on mobile devices voucher seeker will help you.

To help you do this, we’ve decided to compare the Samsung Galaxy Ace and Motorola MILESTONE 2.  Both the phones  have been released recently and are available on sale.

Here, we offer you a comparison chart:

Galaxy Ace KFZ Halterung

The official price of the smartphone in India is still unknown, but the resource CellPassion suggests that it should be about 35.000 rupees ($785) – which is, of course, quite expensive.

BlackBerry Torch 9800 is the first slider phone from RIM, as well as the first smartphone running BlackBerry OS 6. The phone is equipped with a touchscreen with 360×480 pixels resolution, a sliding QWERTY-keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3,5 mm audio jack, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and 4 GB memory.

Find the best deals on BlackBerry Torch 9800 on http://www.phones4u.co.uk/

Most buyers prefer to buy Android-devices and the iPhone, while the N8 interests only the fans of brand Nokia. The experts mentioned that the main reason the Finnish manufacturer is slowly losing its position is the OS – Symbian.

Despite of all this rumors, Nokia N8 still remains the most awaited smartphone of 2010., though it has been delaied so many times. Read more about it on Dialaphone.co.uk.

In a few days Nokia should announced its financial report for the III quarter of 2010. According to many analysts, the result of this year may become the worst over past 10 years.

Samsung has released a new model called Clutch SPH-W9500 in South Korea, which resembles the female phone Samsung Diva S7070, but more advanced with it’s specifications.

While the Diva S7070 is an entry-level touchscreen, the Clutch W9500 belongs is a middle-end one. The phone has a 3.2-inch display, 3G, GPS, T-DMB, a 3MP camera, 1.3MP front camera for video calls, microSD card support (up to 16 GB) and battery capacity of 960 mAh.

Samsung Clutch W9500 has a «Lady UI” – actually TouchWiz 2.0 with some extra applications (address book, party planner,meeting scheduler and calorie calculator).

Samsung Clutch W9500 will be available soon in three color versions: “Beige Silver”,” “Romantic Pink” and “Black Gold”. The cost will be approximately $ 520.

The new phone features an interesting design, uncommon to entry level handhelds, which gives the impression that you are not so much getting a phone, but fully fledged Netbook.

Alcatel OT-808 is a clamshell that features a QWERTY keypad and a 2.4-inch display packing in a QVGA resolution. An external screen of an OLED design is also included, with a 128×36 pixel resolution

Other features include Opera Mini browser, email client, IM, Bluetooth 2.0, 2MP camera, FM radio, and most social networking integration (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace). The phone will support dual-band GSM connectivity.

Alcatel OT-808 will be available in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America market.

Other details and the release date are not known yet, but an equivalent price of around £80 is expected.

The information was then sold it on to rival phone firms who, armed with the information of when the mobile contracts were due up for renewal, were in a position to ‘cold call’ customers and secure their new contract.

Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, launched a major investigation after being contacted by the operator who suspected some of its staff were selling customer data.

After Orange, Vodafone, 3, Virgin and 02 said they were not the subject of the investigation, T-Mobile was effectively bounced into confirming its involvement.

T-Mobile claimed it was a problem that was affecting “the whole industry”.

The allegations involve the details of hundreds of thousands of T-Mobile customers, but Mr Graham said the records being examined run in to the millions.

It is suspected the details, including names, addresses, telephone numbers and contract expiry dates, were sold to a third party.

They were then allegedly sold on to competitors “whose agents were using the material to cold call customers prior to contract expiry dates to offer them an alternative contract”, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said.

Searches were carried out at a number of premises as part of the investigation and the ICO is preparing a prosecution file.

Mr Graham has vowed to prosecute anyone found to have breached data protection laws but criticised the fact that anyone found guilty would, under current laws, only face a “paltry” fine.

“Many people will have wondered why and how they are being contacted by someone they do not know just before their existing phone contract is about to expire,” he said.

“We are considering the evidence with a view to prosecuting those responsible and I am keen to go much further and close down the entire unlawful industry in personal data.”

Mr Graham highlighted the ongoing investigation as he backed Government proposals to raise the penalties for the illegal selling of personal data from a fine to a two-year prison sentence.

A spokesman for T-Mobile, which has 16 million customers, said: “T-Mobile takes the protection of customer information seriously. When it became apparent that contract renewal information was being passed on by an employee to third parties without our knowledge, we alerted the Information Commissioner’s Office.

“Working together, we identified the source of the breach which led to the ICO conducting an extensive investigation which we believe will lead to a prosecution. While it is deeply regrettable that customer information has been misappropriated in this way, we have proactively supported the ICO to help stamp out what is a problem for the whole industry.”

It is a breach of the Data Protection Act to trade illegally in personal information but the maximum fine in a Magistrate’s Court is just £5,000, or unlimited if the case goes to Crown Court.

The Ministry of Justice is currently consulting on raising the penalty to a year in prison in magistrates and two years in Crown.

Mr Graham has backed the proposals because the “paltry fines” do not deter the “lucrative criminal activity”.

Damian Green, the shadow home affairs minister, said: “This is yet another reminder that personal data on an electronic database is never entirely safe. The Government should take note, and reverse its policy of collecting and storing huge amounts of personal information about everyone in this country.”

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, added: “This shameful incident shows the disdain with which some companies treat sensitive personal data.

“Stiffer penalties for those involved in serious data breaches, whether in the public or private sector, cannot be introduced soon enough.”

Jill Johnstone, director of Consumer Focus, said: “This is a serious incident and shows the need for tighter data security among mobile phone providers. Customers at risk should be informed immediately and put on alert about marketing calls.”

Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition will be available in Austria, Finland, Ghana, Kenya, India, Italy, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines and Switzerland within a few days. Another 20 countries should expect the release of the phone within 12-18 months.

Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition will be available for €155 ($232). Nokia didn’t say when exactly the phone will hit the market.

Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks currently provide Mobile TV services in Austria, Finland, Netherland, Switzerland, Italy, India, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and Philippines. Nokia expects to complete commercial launches in over 20 new countries in the next 12-18 months.

It’s estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide will watch TV on their nokia phones by 2012.

The smartphones can be engraved, if this is requested by the buyers. The uniqueness of each unit will be emphasized by adding one of the 110 species of genuine exotic leather (leather of sharks, lizards, alligators, water buffalo). Moreover, Bellperre can add “diamonds and gemstones or initials, logos or personal messages on request.”

Smartphones are equipped with a 2″ display with a resolution of 176×220 pixels and a secure scratch-resistant sapphire glass, module, Bluetooth, camera. The new Finest Woods Bellperre phones weigh 120 grams and measure 100 x 44 x 15,3 mm each

Feature-wise, the Bellperre phones offer tri-band GSM connectivity 900/1800/1900, a 2 inch Sapphire Crystal scratch-resistant display, stereo Bluetooth, email and a version of Windows Mobile.

Bellperre says that its phones are handmade in Holland. No word on the price of the new luxury handsets.

Susan Voysitski, the vice president of the product management department of Google, said that mobile advertising is very promising and growing industry, in which AdMob has achieved a great success.

AdMob Founder Omar Hamoui noted that the deal between the two companies will benefit all – advertisers, developers and ordinary users.

By acquiring AdMob, Google will further enhance its experience in mobile advertising. As mobile advertising continues to grow, Google will be able to offer more effective tools for creating, serving and evaluating mobile ads formats.

LG does not have much experience in the production of Android phones (only the slider GW620), and analysts thought that the company will focus on the Microsoft OS. However, based on the favorable forecasts for Android and not very bright prospects for Windows Mobile LG decided not to take risks and produce smartphones as on the first and the second platforms.

we should remind that recently the CEO of LG Yong Nam said that the company heavily invests in the development of smartphones.

In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn’t offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T’s wireless network blankets the US, reaching approximately 296M people. Additionally, our 3G service is available in over 9,600 cities and towns. Verizon’s misleading advertising tactics appear to be a response to AT&T’s strong leadership in smartphones. We have twice the number of smartphone customers… and we’ve beaten them two quarters in a row on net post-paid subscribers. We also had lower churn — a sign that customers are quite happy with the service they receive.

AT&T claims the map is misleading although it clearly states that it is depicting 3G coverage.Verizon began an aggressive series of marketing campaigns targeting the iPhone dynamic duo of AT&T and Apple. It began with the ‘There’s a Map for That’ ads, playing off of the iPhone ‘There’s an App for That’ marketing slogan and illustrating how Verizon has 5 times more 3G network coverage than AT&T. It followed that up with the iDon’t campaign, highlighting weaknesses of the iPhone and stating that the upcoming Android-based Droid can do all of those things and more.

AT&T doesn’t claim that the information related to 3G coverage is wrong, but the customers that view the map are too dumb to understand tahat it refers only to 3G coverage, and not coverage at all.

The claim itself is just silly. People aren’t really that dumb.

The lawsuit may be a bad strategic move for AT&T because it can have the exact opposite effect. AT&T has asked for an injunction to prevent Verizon from continuing the ad campaign so that customers won’t continue to see the stark contrast of the 3G networks from each provider. The result is that the marketing campaign is getting tons of attention and free advertising, and customers are led to question what AT&T is trying to hide.

AT&T marketing claims that it has the ‘fastest 3G network’. For customers who live within the city limits of major urban centers that may be great, but for the people living in the white part of the map in the Verizon ad having the biggest 3G network is a more relevant claim. In an industry that is already moving on to 4G networks, not having 3G coverage is the same as no coverage for all intents and purposes.

What AT&T needs to realize is that it’s a smart phone world. Mobile phones are not just phones any more–they’re being replaced by mobile computing devices. Yes, AT&T has coverage of some sort in the vast majority of the blank white space depicted on the map in the Verizon ad, but that coverage is not sufficient to meet the needs of devices that rely on broadband connectivity.

The proportion of satisfied users with touch features of smartphones is high among the owners of HTC and Apple devices, while only the 29% of touch Sony ericcson touch phone users is ready to use touch keyboard in the future.

On the other hand, if consider all the respondents, including the owners of traditional push-button phones, the percentage of those who would prefer a touch models, increasing up to 54%. Thus, 38% would prefer touch phones while buying new ones, and another 16% are ready to buy phones, controlled by stylus.

Interesting fact, that the enemy camp of touch phones consists mainly of those who used to use the stylus

Canalys believes that this may be due to the delusion that the phone control by fingers is less accurate.

The dismissal will take happen gradually, during 2010-2011. The Nokia supposes that the number of staff to be dismissed may be revised in the direction of increase or decrease – depending on the future financial performance of the corporation.

Two weeks ago Nokia announced that it has a loss of $835 million in the third quarter of this year. Among the reasons were mentioned such factor as the significant decrease of Nokia phones and smartphones sales, while the sales decreased by 19,6% last year.

In early 2009, under the influence of the global financial crisis, the company has already laid off 1,5 thousand people. Obviously, this measure was inadequate.