Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

INQ have released a sister phone to the Mini 3g, the INQ Chat 3g. Just as before your social networks and messaging are all easy to access, but this time you get to tap away on the small but well formed qwerty keyboard, making it more social than a half hour in Starbucks.

Because of this its a doddle to crack out a Twitter update, ping off a text message or scrawl on your Facebook wall.

Some review sites have marked this phone down, unfavourably comparing it to a Blackberry due to its similar proportions and look.
Now we will freely admit that this phone does look a little bit familiar (ahem), but comparing the two is like pitting champagne against a skinny latte, they both have a fair place in the market.

The greatest asset that the INQ Chat 3g has, which also makes it an unfair comparison, is price.  This phone is great value for money; as this review is written Deals on 3 have the phone for £99.99 pay as you go or £10 per month.

The latter package also throws up something that Channel 5’s The Gadget Show hit on with the Chat, if you live within a good 3g area you need never pay to communicate again, if you are contacting someone else with Skype, Twitter or by text.

With just a slight increase in size and all of the other features mostly the same as the INQ Mini 3G, the Chat 3g is almost as good as your getting tenth coffee in Nero’s!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Nokia have released their latest attempt to claw back some of the smart phone market with the new X6 / 16GB.
The phone is a step forward from the 5800 Xpress music and is a better competitor, especially with the capacitive touch screen, which is nice and responsive, compared to its predecessors’ clunky resistive screen.

The phone uses the Symbian OS 9.4, which will make anyone who has used a Nokia phone in the past instantly comfortable. You also get access to the growing volume of apps on the Ovi Store, as well as access to the brilliant walk and drive navigation Ovi Maps.

The handset will sync very nicely using the latest version of the syncing software, Nokia Ovi Suite, and if you have Bluetooth on you computer you can leave the usb cable in the box, as you can sync through the ether!

One of the greatest features of the phone could potentially lead to a bit of frustration. With a massive 16GB of memory and 12 months free access to Nokia’s “Comes with Music”, that lets you keep all the music you download even if you decided not to re-subscribe, you’d think we’d be happy bunnies.

However the sound quality of this purported music phone lets it down a bit, even using high quality headphones in the 3.5mm jack. And as if to add insult to audio injury, the DRM means you can’t shift the music off the phone.

This sound quality does transfer over to the phone calls as well, with both caller and receiver complaining of slight tininess.

One area where the phone really shines is the camera. Taking a leaf out of Sony Ericsson’s book, the X6 comes with a Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lens, is relatively quick to shoot and has two LEDs, which although a little harsh, do mean you can take pictures in situations normally too dark for mobile phone cameras – queue embarrassing drunken photos on Facebook.

To give a fair conclusion to this review, it really depends on you the reader, whether you will like this phone or not.

If you have already decamped to the likes of Apple or Android, then the X6 is not enough to bring you back to the Nokia camp.

However if you are a loyal follower of the folks from the Nokianvirta River, then you will be very happy to have such a great phone, especially with a year’s worth of limitless music in your pocket.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

There is one thing that Sony Ericsson having been doing for years; producing great all round phones.
Sounds like a silly thing to say, but in the modern mobile phone market there is so much buzz around iPhone’s, Blackberry’s, Palms and whatever, that the old boys sometimes get forgotten about.

Well just to let us know they are still here, the T715 follows the SE rule to the letter. It has that great familiarity of understated design that its stable is so good at producing, with a solid up-to-date set of features that we expect of today’s handsets.

Anyone who has used a Sony Ericsson phone before will hit the road running. The phones software is the same as they have been using for a time now on many of the mid to low end phones. Very easy to get the hang of and it doesn’t take to many buttons presses to text or phone someone!

With such a heritage in digital imaging, Sony take great pride in implementing many of the lessons they have learned in the standalone camera market in their phones. Although not in the same realm as their specialist Cybershot phones like the 12 megapixel Satio, the T715 certainly benefits from this gene pool. It has a 3.2-megapixel image sensor which offers panoramic, burst-shoot and video modes making it a good backup should you forget your proper camera at your kids nativity.

Drawing from the Walkman side of the family tree, it’s possible to listen to MP3 and AAC files and tune into FM radio just as you can with W995 but many of the extended audio features are missing. There’s no one-click playback or mood-themed-playlist mode, for example. However, sound quality isn’t bad at all and album art is supported.

T715 - It's compact with a sleek finish

The build quality of the phones lives up to the marketing hype “adding a little luxury to your life” whether you meaning of luxury is in outrageous pink or a slightly more classical black and silver. The only fiddly bit is adding extra memory which requires popping the back off.

The Sony Ericsson T715 happily sits in-between the Walkman and the Cyber-shot handset, borrowing a bit from either camp. But there is not confusing the T715. Sleek and sophisticated its a great all round phone.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

You cannot write a review of the Nokia’s new E63 without mentioning its predecessor the E71. It was a superb phone that packed a bucket load of features into a compact, good-looking device.

The E63 shares the same basic design with a large 2.4″ display and an excellent full qwerty keyboard and controls taking up the bottom half of the phone.

It is clear from Nokia’s web site that they are aiming this phone squarely at the business community, with its mobile VPN and easy Intranet facility, but with a lower price than its sibling it is definitely worth looking at if you are Joe Public heavy texter.

The keyboard is definitely a winner, with each key on the keyboard raised and easy to press. There is enough between each key to make banging out a long message, be it email, text, IM whatever, easy and un-cramped.

Much of the price difference is made up in the style department, with the E63 being available in a range of coloured plastic finishes rather than the beautiful metal finish of its brother. This however does make the keyboard less slippery and the thicker phone gives you a bit more to hold on too.

The other cost cutting the Finn’s have made is in the some of the high-end features; it has 3G rather than HSDPA (3.5G), no infared and no GPS.
If you are happy with that then the user experience of the phone is almost exactly the same as its forebear.
This means a solid browser that lets you see full web pages, either using the mobile broadband connection or if you are in range 3G. Also there is access to Microsoft Exchange if that floats your boat.

One area it does win out against the E71 though is the headphone jack, which is a good old 3.5mm input, letting you put your favourite headphones right in.
At 2 megapixels the camera is sufficient for small prints and MMS messages and the microSD slot allows you to boost the internal memory from a tiny 110MB to a gargantuan 8GB.Useful if you have a large music collection or want to download a bunch of podcasts.

Performance wise the phone has nothing really to complain or rave about, the battery makes it through the day and calls are clear.
Overall the phone is a good all round device and, if you can’t warrant spending the extra on the few additional features and shiny finish of it elder family member, then this phone packs in the same general experience.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The INQ Mini 3g is a socially active little phone. And the social networking integration runs deep.
Your instant messaging inbox, Facebook Inbox and Skype Chats are all easy to access alongside your SMS in-tray.

Snap-on backs comes in lots of colours, available in packs of 3.

Come to think of it “accessible” is the word that first comes to mind when you pick up this compactly proportioned (103 x 45.8 x 12.8mm) social powerhouse! Your home screen already gives direct access to pretty immediate status updates and as soon as you take a photo the phone asks you if you want “upload to Facebook”.

Added to the social capabilities of its predecessor, the INQ¹, you will find the 140 character limited world of Twitter right in the palm of your hand.

Fortunately for those of us with a tweet addiction the keyboard is a pleasure to work with, the circular navigation pad is intuitive and the ’switcher’ button on the right hand side of the phone makes it easy to quickly flick through your homepage quicklinks.

One thing to be frank about, is that this is not a phone for those with a quick temper. Being such a small and lightweight phone it is happy with day to day wear and tear, but not to be used to dissipate anger should your team not be performing well.

The single USB cable cleverly doubles up as a connection to both your computer and the mains, with the power plug having a small USB input. The phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the bundled headphones, which double as a handsfree kit, are above par for a phone of this value. When connected the media app places a control widget on the home screen.

In spite of a few minor flaws the Mini 3g is a cheerful, colourful and compact phone that will do well within its intended market – the younger ninja skilled T9?er who will undoubtedly see this phone with slightly wider eyes, maybe as the prefect phone.

Add to the above the the fact the phone will be free on 3’s £15 a month tariff, when it arrives in October, this will be a perfect present for those eighteen to twenty something’s wanting to extended the lines of social connection.

The socially active INQ Mini 3G

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The HTC Hero is an exciting phone! Finally here might be a real contender to the iPhone crown, come on they’ve even delved into nuclear science for one of its features.