Last night saw a glittering awards bash in Central London, where Mobile Choice magazine picked the best handsets, tariffs, services and networks in the phone business. Some were surprises, many were deserving, all are great.
Without further ado, here are the big winners of the Mobile Choice Awards:
Most Stylish Phone
LG New Chocolate BL40 – None can argue that the striking stylings of this fashion phone were anything less than catwalk quality. A marriage of unorthodox looks with a 21:9 display, and a classic minimalist black finish had the Chocolate head and shoulders above the rest.
Runners-up:
HTC Touch Diamond2
Apple iPhone 3GS
Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte
Samsung i8910HD
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Best Multimedia Phone
Samsung i8910HD – 3.7″ AMOLED display? HD video recording? 8.1 megapixel camera? Yes.
Samsung Pixon 12 – For once, the numbers aren’t just for bragging rights as the first 12 megapixel camera phone also proved to be the best, with a suite of features commonly found on dedicated gadgets.
Runners-up:
LG Viewty Smart GC900
Nokia N86 8MP
Sony Ericsson C905 +
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Best Social Networking Handset
INQ1
3’s ‘little handset that could’ takes down the bevy of smart phone beauties by being a pocket dynamo in the social stakes. Liaising happily with Windows Live and Skype, the coup de grace is the merged contact list formed by hooking up with Facebook. Profiles, status and images all sync perfectly, leaving you with a perfect phone for popular folks that doesn’t dent the bank, let alone break it.
The HTC Hero ticks all of the boxes as far as a strong handset is concerned. Embracing the new Android operating system, HTC’s Sense UI manages to offer a fun, intuitive, slick and (above all else) practical interface, without choosing to ape Apple’s groundbreaking device.
The form factor might be a little divisive in terms of people’s tastes, but each design choice is clear, justifiable and makes for a striking phone to look at.
The Sony Ericsson Satio (nee Idou) wowed upon its initial unveiling at Mobile World Congress, a 12.1 megapixel wielding device that combines the strongest features of the Cybershot range, compliments them with the latest Walkman functionality and wraps them together with a slick full touch Symbian powered user interface.
The 3.5″ display is clear, crisp and responsive to the touch, and the built-in 3G connectivity and GPS set it amongst the strongest smartphone contenders.
The dual LED and Xenon flash guarantee only the highest quality images, and the microSD slot allows for up to 32GB of memory to fill.
A glaring ommision is a 3.5mm jack, which is such a necessity in mobile phones today touting multimedia as their strong suit.
Nevertheless, this powerhouse is due this October, with Sony Ericsson Satio deals looking at around £35-40 for a handset on a free contract.
What with the holy trinity of named handsets from Sony Ericsson rising to four with the Jalou, this is a perfect time for some lucky person to get some hands-on time with their flagship device, the Sony Ericsson Satio!
This Sony Ericsson Satio review goes in pretty deep detail with all facests of this Symbian-powered device, with each of the features poked around and swiped. This 12 megapixel super smartphone is turning many heads, and Sony Ericsson really needs it to be successful…have they succeeded in erasing the memory of nightmarish experiences like the P990?
Oh, and it lasts for 25 minutes…get comfy and enjoy!
The three new handsets said to herald a change in direction from Sony Ericsson are due to be released in September of this year, the 28th of September to be exact.
The ‘Entertainment Unlimited’ handsets aim to offer the best of both CyberShot and Walkman worlds, with the 12.1 megapixel Symbian-powered Sony Ericsson Satio to be the flagship device. This touchscreen handset also has a 3.5″ screen and a Xenon flash.
TheSony Ericsson Aino is an 8.1 megapixel slider device with an interesting interface that switches from full touch to traditional handset in a flash, as well as supporting PS3 media sharing over the web.
Don’t forget the Sony Ericsson Yari, another slider full of fashion-forward influences. Feeling like a handset straight from Akihabara, the Yari combines Wii-style motion gaming, 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash and a gorgeous form factor.
Want to see the latest Android phones? Check out the HTC deals now available on Omio.com to see prices and features of the HTC Magic, HTC Hero, HTC HD2 deals and the forthcoming HTC Bravo!
