If you are a heavy blog reader like me you’ll be interested to know that you can now get Google reader on your mobile device. Not sure I’d want to read through the large number of posts on a small mobile screen, but if you had a mobile device with a bigger screen then this might be just for you. Point at http://www.google.com/reader/m to get it.

Just before the weekend I took delivery of a new phone – A Motorola V3B which is essentially a Moto Razr but packaged up with a bit of BT jiggerypokery. The whole Fusion deal comes from BT. In essence they send you a phone and a new broadband router. Setting up the BT Fusion broadband router didn’t take too long at all, though it was important to follow through the instructions to the letter. After that my V3B had a blue flashing light on the front indicating I was connected by Bluetooth to the router.

I know I said I’d prefer to keep my mobile and broadband providers separate but the deal was too good to miss so now everything is BT again.

BT Fusion with the V3B means that you have a standard mobile when you are out and about, with a standard mobile contract. When you get home though, within range of the BT fusion router the phone changes networks to send any calls down through the broadband connection (a bit like VoIP). Because of this you get cheap calls when you are at home and they don’t detract from your contract minutes which you use when away from home.

Downsides are that people calling you on your BT Fusion phone have to pay to call a mobile whether you are at home or not. Also if you want to send a picture or media message to anyone you have to disconnect from the bluetooth manually and go back to the BT mobile network.

I’m sure I’ll have a better review of the BT Fusion service with the Motorola V3B in the future once I’ve had more time to play with it.

When the mobile shops start giving away a phone that contains a music player, then bundling a separate iPod with it you’ve gotta wonder how well the music player in the W800i works. Not to mention that Sony would probably bust a blood vessel if they realised their product was being sweetened with a free Apple product. Perhaps the phone should be getting bundled with a Sony Bean or Walkman MP3 player?
The Sony Ericsson W800i Free with Free iPod bundle is here at a tarrif around £35 per month.

BT have an interesting offering just now where you get a free Motorola Razr on a package costing around a tenner a month for people who are already BT broadband customers. There seems to be some clever gadgetry going on to make any calls you make from home go through your broadband connection. This broadband bit sounds rather similar to VOIP ala Skype, MSN etc except that you pay BT standard rates for it.
In essence though the deal is:

• Free Motorola Razr
• £10 per month including free minutes bundle
• Calls made at home are charged at standard BT rates instead of using your bundles minutes
• You’ve got to be a BT broadband customer to use this service

Personally I’d prefer to keep my mobile and broadband providers separate because of the hassle of changing everything over if you ever decided BT Fusion wasn’t for you. I do like the idea though of how everything is starting to merge together and I can see this being developed a lot more to include other services and push everything through your broadband connection.

Whenever anyone shows you their new Moto Pebl, all they want to do is show you the way the Pebl opens and closes. Dead smooth, nice click etc. “So how would you review the phone?” I ask. “Well, you know it’s kinda like any other phone. But did I show you how nicely it opens and closes?”. I supose in fairness, the pebl’s voice recognition is a step forward, the camera isn’t a massive resolution but the Pebble shaped design is nice. All in all, I wouldn’t say no to a Motorola Pebl if I was getting it free.
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The Motorola PEBL U6 mobile phone is a compact and stylish device created for those who appreciate great design. With a deft touch the PEBL U6 opens automatically to reveal an attractive keypad and large 262K colour display. This is perfect for playing the pre-installed Java™ games and taking photos with the Motorola U6’s VGA camera.

However despite its great looks the Motorola PEBL U6 isn’t just a style statement for the fashion conscious it’s packed with great features. Speaker independent voice recognition means you can control your phone by speaking (regardless of your accent!) while EDGE (Enhance Data for Global Evolution) technology and WAP 2.0 mean that the Internet has never been more accessible via a mobile phone!

# Smooth oval shape
# Automated opening
# Internal 262K TFT colour display (176 x 220 pixels)
# WAP 2.0
# E-mail client
# Speaker independent voice recognition
# EDGE (Enhance Data for Global Evolution)
# Bluetoothâ„¢ (V.2)

Get the Motorola Pebl U6 Free here

Another smart phone from Nokia, the 6111 is slide-open mobile phone. The Nokia 6111 looks great but if you are looking for a camera in a phone then perhaps keep looking, as the Nokia 6111 camera is only running at 1MB photos. OK for passport photos perhaps but not for anything bigger. Not quite why they bother with WAP on the Nokia 6111 when they’ve got GPRS built-in but I’m sure someone more technical than me could explain. Also with the Nokia 6111 do you really need infra red when you’ve got bluetooth. Stop trying to be everything to everyone, pick a technology and roll with it.
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The Nokia 6111 mobile phone is a stylish slide-open handset packed with the latest technology. The Nokia 6111 integrates a 1 megapixel camera and a sharp colour display. These features combine well with the 6111’s Bluetooth™ and GPRS connectivity allowing high-resolution photos to be taken and sent to friends easily.

The stunning Nokia 6111 also features WAP 2.0 support a media player and Javaâ„¢ compatibility for hassle free downloads of new applications and games!

- Stylish slide-open design
- 1 megapixel camera with 6 x zoom and flash
- 262K colour TFT display
- FM stereo radio
- XHTML Internet browser
- Support for Javaâ„¢ MDIP 2.0
- E-mail client
- Infrared

Get the Nokia 6111 Free here

I’ve finally found a phone that I’d be happy to own – the Nokia 5140. Rubber bits to stop shocks, water resistance if it gets splashed – great, everything I’ve been looking for. Then come the gadgets – camera, compass, torch, descibel meter ?!?. The Nokia 5140 is definitely the phone I now want. OK it might be getting a little dated, but not by more than 6-8 months. I’d still rather have this than a Pebl.
So in search of a Nokia 5140 I have a look round all the usual suspects in mobile phone sales – carphone warehouse, link, phones 4u – none of them have it listed, so it looks like I wont be able to upgrade to it. In desperation I’m looking to buy one now second hand off ebay. There are lots there, and who knows i might just get a bargain. If it’s everything it sounds like, and if I win one on ebay, and it’ll take my existing SIM, the Nokia 5140 could be the best phone I’ve almost had.

This Sony Ericsson W550i appears to us to be trying to be everything except a mobile phone. It’s got a good camera, radio, music player, looks like it can transfer music onto it with ease and it hides the keypad in a swivel design. I wonder if it ever rings, is there actually a button to answer it? Here’s the details:
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The Sony Ericsson W550i mobile phone is a compact and stylish swivel-open device designed for the music fanatic. The W550i (also known as the Walkman™) features a one-touch hotkey to access its music player Disc2Phone PC software to rip CD’s quickly and efficiently plus an RDS FM Radio so you can listen to music on your favourite radio station!

The Sony Ericsson W800i also features a 262K TFT colour display; Bluetoothâ„¢ compatibility and a fantastic quality 1.3 megapixel camera with 4x zoom and photo light!

# Music player with hotkey & Mega Bassâ„¢
# Disc2Phone PC software for ripping CD’s to PC to W550i
# RDS FM Radio
# Music & Video DJâ„¢
# 1.3 megapixel camera with 4 x zoom and photo light
# High-resolution 262K colour display
# Bluetoothâ„¢
# Access Net Frontâ„¢ Full HTML Browser

Get the Sony Ericsson W550i free here!

At the weekend my mate showed up with a shiny new Sony Ericsson W800i mobile phone. I’m a big Motorola fan and I’ve never had a Sony Ericsson mobile but I’m due for an upgrade and rather than going for the common as muck Moto RAZR I’m thinking about switching to another brand.
So I went looking for a Sony Ericsson W800i review and found one at:
http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/sony-ericsson-w800i.htm
They’ve also got loads of consumer reviews and the Sony Ericsson W800i seems to be viewed in a very good light. I’m not going to list all the features here, suffice to say it has everything that any other phone on the market has, all in the one body.
The thing that impressed me most with my mate’s W800i was the flash for the camera which doubles as an SOS beacon! Brilliant – so when you’re out of signal range you can still call for help. I’m well impressed.

Just seen the new Moto Pebl in an email from Motorola. Looks like a pebble, feels like a pebble. Wonder what happens if you try to skim it on a pond like a pebble? Well, clam shells belong under water don’t they? Despite all the watery insinuations, I’m pretty sure the Motorola Pebl is not waterproof. It does have phone, camera, video and bluetooth. Thanks to getting rid of the nasty little aerial from the design, this one will fit nicely in a pocket. I love the analogue clock that you can choose to display on the outer case screen – very smooth. Motorola voice activated dialing has also been included in the Pebl, something that’s extremely handy when you go bluetooth headset in the car. Altogether a great looking little phone.