The HTC Snap is the kind of smartphone we don’t see a lot of these days. It runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard. This means it doesn’t have a touchscreen, but it does have a miniature QWERTY keyboard sitting beneath the screen. Think BlackBerry Bold and you’ve got the idea.

HTC is very keen on coming up with new ideas to help make your Windows Mobile smartphone experience that bit more user friendly. We’ve seen this in HTC's TouchFLO interface for a long time, but that is designed for devices with touchscreens. Here we have something called HTC Home. This is designed to let you scroll up and down the home screen to get to different bits of the device, but obviously it isn’t as touchy-feely as TouchFLO.

In addition HTC has come up with a really clever wheeze called Inner Circle. This has its own dedicated button at the bottom right corner of the key pad. Press the button and you jump into email. Messages from those people you’ve identified as your key contacts are shown first.

It is a clever idea, designed to make sure you never miss an important email from a key person. Some of the best ideas are simple ones.

As far as specifications are concerned most of the important bases are covered. The HTC Snap is quad band GSM with GPRS and EDGE, as well as supporting HSDPA to 7.2Mbps. That means Web browsing should be fast.

It has 256MB of ROM and 192MB of RAM and there is a microSD card for adding to this. The slot is on the bottom edge of the casing, and you can’t get to it unless you remove the backplate first. The Qualcomm MSM 7225 528MH processor seemed to zip along well during our testing period.

GPS is built in and Google Maps is pre-installed. Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are here too. There is no front camera for two-way video calling, and the main camera is just a 2-megapixel one. Its lens is on the back of the casing and lacks a protective cover. It is slightly recessed but will doubtless get scratched over time. There is no flash, no self portrait mirror, and little by way of camera extras. If you want a sharp shooter, look elsewhere.

Music playback is hampered a little by the use of miniUSB to connect the headphones. At least a set is provided, but if you have your own preferred headphones you’ll need a converter. There is no FM radio. And there is no automatic screen rotation.

The HTC Snap has one of the best mini-QWERTY keyboards currently available, its battery life is good, and the Inner Circle idea is superb. If you don’t need a touchscreen but spend a lot of time on text based communications, it's worth a look.

The Nokia N97 32GB in White or Black is simply the newest phone in their line of products based on the S60 platform. The 3.5 inch touchscreen display offers digital real estate never before seen on a cell phone. The resolution is 640 by 360 pixels, which is close to the resolution many full sized desktop computers were offering 10 years ago. This makes web browsing with its built-in, unrestricted web browser a breeze. Integrated social networking utilities update your MySpace and Facebook information right from the main page.

You’re not restricted to simply viewing mobile websites. The fully functional integrated web browser can view practically any website that a desktop computer could, since it IS the same type of browser used on full sized computers. The Nokia N97 has so much power that it can render sites and individual pages quicker than any other smart phone. Combine this with 3G connectivity, and you have pretty much died and gone to heaven.

A full web browser isn’t the only notable software the Nokia N97 comes with. Nokia Maps is included as well, which gives you access to national and local maps whenever you need them. The Nokia N97 also has a widgets system with many applications to choose from.

It is hard to give a complete review without the phone being officially released yet. So far, it looks to be a promising alternative to many of the mainstream phones - just so long as you have a pocketbook thick enough to absorb all the dollar signs.

HTC a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, announced its latest entertainment-focused handset, the Touch HD, available on Telstra’s Next G™ network – Australia’s largest and fastest mobile broadband network.

Integrating a large 3.8 inch wide-screen VGA display (WVGA), a standard 3.5mm audio jack and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, the HTC Touch HD is the perfect device for multimedia fans and will transform how people experience multimedia on the move.

The HTC Touch HD combines high performance capabilities with a stylish, sleek design that has made HTC a global leader in mobile phone design and innovation. Its large 3.8 inch WVGA touchscreen offers users stunning clarity and vibrant colours, providing an unrivalled experience when watching movies, browsing the Internet or even flicking through photos taken with the 5 megapixel auto focus camera.

The stylish new device also features HTC’s beautiful TouchFLO™ 3D user interface to provide quick and intuitive access to the people, messages and content that are most important. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack has also been designed-in, allowing consumers to use high-performance headphones with the device for the best possible sound quality.

My first couple of days using the BlackBerry Bold has seen me check my hands many times for that invisible glue that does not want me to put it down.

The first thing I noticed was the new look. The Bold sports a very sleek looking keyboard and screen, surrounded by a silver band, and black faux leather back.

Turn it on, and the true beauty of the Bold is displayed.

The display is a 65,000 colour display, half VGA (480 x 320 pixels) gives you (to quote the folk at RIM) “razor-sharp display that is designed to deliver clarity and colour that exceeds expectations”. A pretty strong statement – one that certainly needed to be put to the test.

RIM have cranked up their screen performance by fusing the LCD to the under surface of the lens. After viewing several video clips, reading a Word Document, reviewing a PowerPoint presentation, then playing a quick game, I can definitely give RIM a 10/10 for their display!

The Bold has a new operating system – something that makes it easy to use. I can see a whole new generation of BlackBerry users taking up this product – its gone from being the “must have” device for up and coming lawyers and finance people to the “definitely must have” organiser/smart phone for both business and personal use.

The Bold supports the 802.11 a/b/g WiFi standards – something that can be useful if you have a wireless network at home or in a coffee lounge.

On top of everything, you get the benefits of the Next G network as well.

RIM have added some classy features to the Bold, including voice activated dialling, Bluetooth 2.0 supporting Stereo Bluetooth headsets and car kits (including Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile kits). A nice inclusion the noise cancellation technology that can offset background noise – perfect for a noisy office environment or outdoor use.

Nokia’s hasn’t skimped on the features with the E75, including everything you could hope for in a smartphone - and even in a multimedia mobile phone. However despite the fact it’s such a highly specked phone, the E75 still manages to stay slim, coming in at just under 1.5cm.

It’s a side-sliding QWERTY phone that comes with dual keypads, suiting it to business use. The email interface has been upgraded over previous models in the Nokia E Series so you can now receive HTML emails, sort messages and so on. Also included is HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and an FM radio.

Nokia has also included some impressive multimedia features and functionality, including a 3.5mm audio jack and support for N-Gage gaming. There is also a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash.

Nicknamed the Country Phone, Telstra's T165i is the second edition of the telco's handset targeted specifically at consumers in rural areas of Australia. Promising excellent reception thanks to a pull-out antenna and a large design, the 165i's rugged casing should also appeal to farmers.

The T165i isn't going to turn many heads. With its large pull-our antenna — a design not seen since the days of CDMA — this phone looks like it belongs in the late '90s. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. The design certainly creates the impression of a very sturdy handset. Despite the large size of the T165i, the keypad and controls are not as big as the F165 Country Phone. A minor annoyance is the rather loud clicking sound made when keys are pressed, though as a consequence tactility is excellent.

The design of the T165i means it should appeal to tradespeople as well as farmers. Unfortunately, manufacturer ZTE has skimped on included accessories: the previous Country Phone included a plastic belt clip in the sales package, but that same generosity is lacking in this new edition.

The T165i's big appeal is the extended coverage it provides in rural and regional areas. The handset is Blue Tick certified, meaning it is one of a select few handsets guaranteed by Telstra to provide excellent coverage. We weren't able to drive out to a rural area to test the handset's reception, but coverage is excellent in metropolitan areas and the handset offers above average voice quality.

Despite being targeted at rural customers, the T165i still offers full access to the BigPond content portal, including the FOXTEL Mobile TV service. HSPDA 7.2Mbps (an upgrade from the previous version's 3.6Mbps maximum) means speeds are very reasonable. The display's small size doesn't favour heavy multimedia use, nor does the proprietary headphone/charging jack. Thankfully, Bluetooth 1.2 with A2DP is a feature, so you can use compatible Bluetooth headphones if you wish.

A 2-megapixel camera that doubles as a video camera, an FM radio, a multimedia player and a voice recorder are all included. There is also a VGA camera on the front of the handset for video calling across the Next G network. Other features include standard SMS, MMS and e-mail messaging with T9 predictive text input, A-GPS, USB and a hands free speakerphone. A real plus is the volume of the ring tones, which are extremely loud at the highest setting. A microSD card slot handles extra memory, but there is no card included in the sales package.

I currently have had the chance to take Nokia Flagship Touch Screen Device the 5800 Xpress Music handset for a test drive to find out for myself what everyone is talking about.

Display

Screen resolution is fantastic and is comparable to other Nokia device such as the popular Nokia N95 but much wider which provides a better experience. The only downside i have with this device is the sensitivity of the touch screen, on some menus i would press once and the handset processed the request while on other menus it would only like to respond to a double touch. Now I am not too sure if Nokia have purposely done this as verification so you are not pressing the wrong thing but if this is the case I really think Nokia need to re think this one because you can't expect me to remember which menus I need to double press. If this is not the case and it just is purely not responding the first time I touch I feel Nokia needs to introduce a sensitivity bar in the settings to which a user can adjust it to his or her liking.

Sound/Music

The Nokia 5800 Xpress Music has been built for music and not surprisingly the sound quality on the built in speakers are fantastic which is great because Nokia have included 12 months unlimited music downloads from Nokia music so in no time you will have all the latest tracks to listen to on your handset.  

Software/System

The Nokia 5800 Xpress Music runs on a simplified Symbian S60 Touch Ui operating system which carries all the familiar menus found on all the latest Nokia symbian devices. The touch system itself is quite easy and before using this i was a bit worried but after about 10 minutes i had gone through all the settings and was able to change my theme, wallpaper, ringtones and shortcuts with ease, it is allot quicker and easier than any other symbian devices that i have used in the past as they have gotten rid of allot of unnecessary extra menus. Software wise is lacking, the edition I picked up which I believe all Australian distributors are doing comes with two games your standard calculator, converter, instant messenger, recorder, real player, notes, dictionary and Nokia maps 2.0 and that’s it. So as you can see it does have the bare programs needed but I have done a search around the net and you will find heaps of software out there out there for it and as a bonus most S60 series 3 programs will run on them so any program created for the Nokia N95, Nokia N96 will probably work. You will also need to keep in mind as this is the first Touch UI Nokia will release a Software update down the track which will enable allot more on the handset itself which is great as you can update the phones software from your own computer without sending it away.

In summing up this is Nokia's flagship, if you want a touch and want a Nokia this is your first choice. I do feel this is a stepping stone tho to the Nokia N97 but as seeing this won’t be released in Australia until around the end of 2009 why wait when you can get your hands on this one.

I guess the main feature is the navigator right. To be honest I do not use it that much but it has come in very handy quite a few times. Especially on holidays with a hire car and even when i was in Thailand it has the maps there, which made it much easier to find my way around in Bangkok.

The battery lasts me about two days each time I charge it. Which is pretty good i think, because i am on the phone a fair bit every day. When you use the navigator it sucks the battery power much more.

One problem with the navigator is that it can take a while to get your position. But this is common on most digital network phones apparently. It does find you though and it helps if you are outside or moving. At the beginning it can be a bit tricky to enter the address but you pick it up quickly.

The camera works really well and when downloaded to my computer, they seem of a similar quality to my sony camera. The videos turn out a little bit grainy unless you hold the phone very very still.

I have a fair bit of music on my phone, but had to buy a bigger sd card to fit it all. The factory card doesn't have much extra space at all for music.

Of all the nokia mobile phones I have owned this has definately been the most reliable. I should mention though that i have looked after it pretty well and it hasn't been dropped or had beer spilled on it or anything like that. If you are considering a nokia 6210 navigator i would recommend going for it.