Many people increasingly prefer the option of making telephone calls through the Internet. Skype is considered to be the pioneer in the field of Internet telephony. Skype is a Voice over IP (VoIP) software, through which you can easily make calls to other people (who have this service). It boasts of Gen-next software that allows you to make unlimited amount of voice calls. The installation process is fairly easy and does not take much time.

Skype converts the voice signal received from a telephone line into a digital signal. This signal, then travels through the Internet and is converted back into the voice signal at the other end.

Brief History:

Skype was launched in the year 2003 by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström. In September 2005, eBay acquired it for a whopping amount of $2.6 billion. Since the year it was launched, Skype has introduced many new and advanced versions, such as Skype 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 2.7.0.49 (beta) and 4.0. On August 16-17, 2007, the number of Skype logins had reached such a large extent that Skype had to experience a system-wide crash.

Functions:

Skype allows you to chat through its feature called ‘Skype me.’ A prominent factor, that gives Skype an edge over other services, is you do not receive any unsolicited messages or spams.

It consists of a facility through which you can easily debar the annoying users from messaging you.

Here, it also provides you a special feature such called ‘Skype To Go’ using which you can make international calls from your mobile phone, and that too, at the Skype-Out rate (rate at which you make calls from your PC).

Skype has introduced a new feature called ‘Skype Mobile’ in April 2008, through which Skype can be accessed on mobile phones too.

There is also a ‘video conferencing’ feature, which allows you to do video-conference with other users. It can connect up to five Skype users simultaneously.

Skype also ensures that all modes of communication between its users (instant messages, voice or files) are encrypted with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard).

On 14th April, 2009, eBay announced its plans to spinoff Skype in 2010 via an initial public offering.

Call Costs:

You can make free PC-to-PC calls to your contacts. However, in case of making or receiving calls from regular phones or mobiles, you may be charged some amount of fees that will be based on the destination to which you make the call.

Calls will be charged at per minute rate and you may also avail the fair use policy through which you will get to make unlimited free calls. There is also a scheme under which you will be required to pay monthly fees of $2.95 to make unlimited calls in the U.S.

Skype is thus the most preferred communication service across the globe and boasts of more than 350 million users.

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Skype phones on three Click Here

Tags: Compare Mobile Phones, Mobile Phone, Skype, Telecommnications, Three

When it comes to the most popular 3 mobile handsets, the most popular models are some of the best phones out there.

Take the three mobile handset Nokia E71 in grey. This beauty boasts not only stunning looks, but a 3.2 megapixel camera. There’s 110MB of internal memory, which is expandable up to 8GB with a MicroSD card. Talk time is 630 minutes and standby is 410 hours.

Or how about the Nokia N96? Good looks are combined with a 5.0 megapixel camera and a whacking great load of memory at 16GB, which can even be boosted with a MicroSD card. But the power hungry phone holds back the talk time, 174 minutes, and standby time, 161 hours.

Another one of the popular 3 mobile handsets is the Sony Ericsson W595. It has a respectable camera at 3.2 megapixel camera, with internal memory of 40MB (2GB M2 included), with talk time a good 540 minutes and standby 385 hours.

Or perhaps the Sony Ericsson C510 Black. This also has a 3.2 megapixel camera, with 120MB of internal memory (M2 expandable), with a decent 240 minutes of talk time and a standby performance of 350 hours.

Another contender for most popular three mobile handset is the Samsung F480 Tocco Silver. Delivering a great camera with 5.0 megapixels, it has a 250MB of respectable memory, which can be expanded by a MicroSD card. Talktime is an average 180 minutes and standby comes in at 250 hours.

Let’s not forget the Sony Ericsson C905 Black. This packs a photographic punch with a 8.1 megapixel camera, although memory does not win any major prizes, at 160MB, but it can be boosted to 2GB with an M2 memory stick which is included in the package. Talk time is a positive 540 mins and standby, 380 hours

Another one of the superb 3 mobile handsets is the Nokia N95. This delivers impressive memory stats with 8GB internally on board and a sound camera at 5.0 megapixels. Talk time is nothing to write home about at 204 minutes and standby a paltry 187 hours.

An impressive line-up of three mobile handsets.

Tags: 3, 3 mobile, Compare Mobile Phones, Mobile Phone, Telecommnications, Three

Has Palm and Vodafone done a deal; will the Pre, Palm’s new touch-screen phone, be available only through Vodafone?

Well that’s the rumours circulating the mobile phone fraternity, whispering that Vodafone has got an exclusive deal worked out for when the phone is due to have it’s retail mobile launch in mid 2009.

And why does anyone care you might wonder? Well, the Palm Pre is being touted by some as the one device that might just stop the seemingly unstoppable progress of Apple’s iPhone. Where have we heard that before? How many companies have produced what they believe to be an iPhone killer?

As an aside, the problem with many manufacturer’s is that they just don’t get the whole Apple thing. It’s about being cool first, then the technology. And until its stops being cool, then most manufacturers will only nip at the lead that Apple has built up. The problem for Apple, is why does something become ‘cool’ and how long will it last? There are many devices out there which are superior to the iPhone, but they won’t knock it off its perch. And will the buying public, who not only buy, but also aspire to Apple products, regard Palm as being cooler than Apple? Don’t hold your breath.

But, as RIM have shown with the BlackBerry Storm, there are a large number of people out there who want performance over looks, and if they can have performance as well as beauty, then so much the better. Although the Storm is not without its critics of course, some calling it a mild shower, certainly not a major climatic event.

And not only is Palm hoping that its Pre will be a iPhone beater, it’s also desperately hoping that it will once again give it a future in the industry of mobile devices.

Significantly, this is Palm’s attempt at a re-birth, a chance to show that it can once again play an important part in the sector. In the late 1990s Palm had a spell at the top, when things called PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) roamed the earth, walking tall and living their role as the executive’s must-have toy.

Then, almost in a blink of an eye, came smartphones. They were everything that the Palm Pilot was, but better. Ever since Palm has really been wandering the electronics industry wilderness, trying to get back what it once had. That it is still around is testament to not only Palm’s tenacity, but also its loyal customer base.

And this is why, when the Pre was unveiled at gadget heaven, the Las Vegas staged Consumer Electronics Show 2009, it caused a bit of a stir. Had Palm got it right at long last; had Palm produced the smartphone of 2009, one that would truly give the iPhone a run for its money?
It’s way too early to tell of course, but a number of the tech web-sites have quoted Apple executives as being a bit disgruntled at what Palm is offering, with talk of protecting their IP, so maybe it has got under their skin.

The Pre, which boasts some 8GB of storage, has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a touch-screen and is formed around an operating system called Web OS, which pulls downs files and services from the internet cloud, a concept which will come to the fore in the next decade. Basically, in the future, the device, whether a smartphone, desktop, or laptop, will just be a portal for downloading and uploading files from the internet cloud, where all applications will run. So the current technology emphasis is not so much on the application, but on the pipe that delivers the code. The more bits you can get up and down the pipe, the better.

And if Palm and Vodafone get together for an exclusive deal, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, as O2 cleverly grabbed the iPhone, T-Mobile got the G1 Google phone and Vodafone itself got the BlackBerry Storm.

So, we have to wait and see if Palm and Vodafone get it together. One thing is for sure though, whereas device manufacturers and mobile networks see this linking as a great marketing idea, it does alienate a number of potential customers. And the big question here is, does Pre need the weight of Vodafone, or does Vodafone need the weight of the Pre?

Tags: Compare Mobile Phones, Mobile Phone, Telecommnications

And the winner of the GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2009 is……? Well, you’ll have to wait until the night of Tuesday 17 February when the winners will be announced at a star-studded event at the National Palace in Barcelona, Spain.

 

Anyone who’s anyone in the mobile phone industry will be there to see awards being handed out across a total of seven categories: one, Mobile Entertainment; two, Mobile Services; three, Best Mobile Handset or Device; four, Marketing and Promotion; five,   

Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development; six, Technology; and, seven, Green Mobile Award.

 

There are a strong set of nominees who include, within category one Mobile Entertainment (sub-category 1a Best Mobile Game): gameloft for Real Football 2009; Digital Chocolate for AvaPeens and FlirtNation; MTS for MTS-City; Turkcell for MobiWar; and, CAPCOM for Biohazard 4 Mobile Edition.

 

Within category two Mobile Services (sub-category 2b Best Mobile Internet Service): Blue Lion Mobile for Qeep; Nokia for Nokia Sports Tracker; Bharti Airtel for Airtel Job Search; Volantis Systems for Ubik.com; and, Palringo for instant messaging service on mobile.

 

Within category three Best Mobile Handset or Device (no sub-category): Nokia for Nokia E71; T-Mobile for T-Mobile G1; INQ for INQ; RIM for BlackBerry Storm 9500; and, LG for LG KS360.

 

Within category four Marketing and Promotion (sub-category 4b Best Mobile Brand Campaign): Samsung for Everything in One Touch; R/GA London for Nokia Urbanista Diaries; IDEA for Celluar Education for all; Bharti Airtel for Communications dissolves boundaries; and, AdMob for Land Rover Campaign.

 

Within category five Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development (no sub-category): Bharti Airtel for Krishi Suchana (joint entry with Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-Operative; Nuance Communications for Airtel-T9 India Consumer Vernacular Messaging Campaigns; Ericsson and Zain for The Millennium Villages Project; Map International for Map International; and, Smart Communications for The Infoboard Community Solution.

 

Within category six Technology (sub-category 6d Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough): Texas Instruments for DLP Pico Chipset; RIM for BlackBerry Storm 9500 SurePress Screen; AeroMobile for GSM onboard Aircraft; ARM for Cortex-A8 Processor; and, Qualcomm for mirasol Color Display.

  

Within category seven Green Mobile Award (no sub-category): Smart Communications for Alternative Power for Cell Sites program; Nokia Siemens Networks for Environmentally Sustainable Business (ESB) initiative; Vodafone for Reducing Network Energy Use; Alcatel-Lucent for Eco-sustainable Communications Transformation; and, Telenor for Climate Change Programme.

 

And let’s just pray they’ve got their acceptance speeches sorted out.

Tags: Mobile Phone, Telecommnications

The end maybe nigh for those companies that send people texts that they don’t want and then charge them for the privilege.

And a new organisation has been formed to protect consumer’s rights when it comes to mobile phone services.

The simple problem is, that many people trawl websites for ringtones, games, chat forums, or other download applications, and, thinking they are free, inadvertently sign-up to long term and costly contracts from the suppliers.

Children are especially vulnerable, with many cases of teenagers being stung for quite ridiculous amounts of money.

The issue vexing the authorities is that most people who suffer this sort of nuisance do not realise they are committing themselves to contacts, agreements, or costs.

Complaints from many young consumers all run along similar lines. People respond to websites offering free downloads for their phones, maybe don’t even get the free download they were expecting, but then start receiving texts and messages that they didn’t realise they would get, then discover that in the wording of the free download contract (either hidden somewhere else on the site, or lost in a mass of words), there’s an agreement to receive numerous other texts at high cost. Teenagers have regularly been stung for hundreds of pounds, automatically taken from their mobile account, often without realising for weeks.

So in-steps PhonePayPlus, an organisation which hopes to put a stop to such practices.

Now, says PhonePayPlus, if a company wants to charge a mobile user for sending them continuing services, such as ringtones, then it has to send a free text, detailing what the user is committing themselves to. And then, the user has to text back, confirming their agreement. This, they claim, should put a stop to a lot of the semi-illegal practices. And if companies fail to do these things and continue to charge without such agreements being in place, then they will be investigated, and possibly fined, or even closed down.

But, of course, despite this new organisation and new rules, users of mobile phones and such services, especially teenagers, are still advised that it’s best not to get involved in the first place. And remember the old adage: there’s rarely such a thing as a free lunch.
The end maybe nigh for those companies that send people texts that they don’t want and then charge them for the privilege.

And a new organisation has been formed to protect consumer’s rights when it comes to mobile phone services.

The simple problem is, that many people trawl websites for ringtones, games, chat forums, or other download applications, and, thinking they are free, inadvertently sign-up to long term and costly contracts from the suppliers.

Children are especially vulnerable, with many cases of teenagers being stung for quite ridiculous amounts of money.

The issue vexing the authorities is that most people who suffer this sort of nuisance do not realise they are committing themselves to contacts, agreements, or costs.

Complaints from many young consumers all run along similar lines. People respond to websites offering free downloads for their phones, maybe don’t even get the free download they were expecting, but then start receiving texts and messages that they didn’t realise they would get, then discover that in the wording of the free download contract (either hidden somewhere else on the site, or lost in a mass of words), there’s an agreement to receive numerous other texts at high cost. Teenagers have regularly been stung for hundreds of pounds, automatically taken from their mobile account, often without realising for weeks.

So in-steps PhonePayPlus, an organisation which hopes to put a stop to such practices.

Now, says PhonePayPlus, if a company wants to charge a mobile user for sending them continuing services, such as ringtones, then it has to send a free text, detailing what the user is committing themselves to. And then, the user has to text back, confirming their agreement. This, they claim, should put a stop to a lot of the semi-illegal practices. And if companies fail to do these things and continue to charge without such agreements being in place, then they will be investigated, and possibly fined, or even closed down.

But, of course, despite this new organisation and new rules, users of mobile phones and such services, especially teenagers, are still advised that it’s best not to get involved in the first place. And remember the old adage: there’s rarely such a thing as a free lunch.

Tags: Instant Text Messaging, Telecommnications, text messages, Texting

Ever wanted to know how to make an iPhone ringtone?

Well, there is a neat way and the method described below is primarily for Windows, as if you have a Mac, you can use GarageBand to create a custom ringtone.

So, this is how you do it. Open up your iTunes software and search for the track you have decided will do nicely as your new ringtone. Remember it has to be a DRM-free track; one without digital locks (known as Digital Rights Management technology). Okay, so you’ve selected the appropriate track, the right-click on it and further click on the option which says Get Info tab.

Next you get the chance to select the part of the song you want as a ringtone by pressing the Options tab and finding the Start Time and End time choices. Ensure your portion is less than 30-seconds in length, then tick both of the boxes and click Okay when finished.

Okay so far? Next step is to right click on the song you’ve just hacked about and select the Convert Selection to AAC option. As soon as that’s finished, and the song has fully converted to the new format, just quickly check that it is actually less then 30 seconds long.

Now move to your iTunes music folder and search for your song, which will designated by a Q icon. You have to be able to see .M4A file extension (make sure your haven’t got the Hide Extensions box ticked, otherwise you won’t be able to see it).

Then copy the file to your desktop. Rename it so that you can recognise it as your newly created ringtone. There must be no symbols (hyphens etc) in the file name, otherwise it won’t work.

Okay, done all that? Back you go to iTunes, select File, Add File to Library and then browse for the file as you did above. It should be there and if so, press Open and it will then be automatically placed in the right part of your library.

The final step is syncing your iPhone with iTunes. Once complete, your new ringtone should be on your iPhone. If it hasn’t worked, just ensure that your iPhone and iTunes sync set-ups are configured properly to accept the ringtone.

Pretty nifty hey? And you can go about loading hundreds of ringtones all at no expense. So go and get cracking.

Tags: Compare Mobile Phones, Digital Download Products, iPhone, Mobile Phone, Ringtones, Telecommnications

Okay, don’t look away. This is not a technical article, just one that hopefully explains, in layman’s terms, how to create a ringtone from a MP3 file.

And the idea is, once you can make your own ringtone for free, you won’t have to be charged a fortune for an example that is cool one minute, then just an embarrassment the next.

Right, so what do you need?

Firstly, you need a mobile phone that can play MP3 files and also that can support custom tones. Most modern ones can, so you should be okay. You’ll also need a cable, or Bluetooth, as a way of transferring the file across to your phone. You can email it as well. And finally, you will need some free editing software; try Audacity as a starting point.

Okay, now some basic considerations. Most songs are around three minutes in length, so for a ringtone that has a life of around 20 seconds, if you load the whole thing, you are just wasting valuable memory.

And more than likely you will want to select a section of the song as your ringtone, and not just the start, so again, you need an editing process. Hence the need for software like Audacity.

Go to their website and Download Audacity. Then get it working. You will first need to download what’s known as the LAME compression library, as Audacity can’t edit MP3s as they come. So, download the lame_enc.dll file here, to your hard drive.

Right, once you’ve done all that, you’re ready to rock and roll.

Open Audacity’s Edit menu and click on Preferences, and with the File Formats tab (look for MP3 Export Setup), press the Find Library button and find the dll file you installed earlier.

Okay? Now, get your MP3 file and make a copy, storing it where you music player won’t be able to find it. Then open it in Audacity by dragging and dropping it into the interface.

You can now select the amount of seconds you want for your phone by playing around with the play and zoom buttons. Once finished, you use the Select tool to highlight the bit you want, then press Trim, and there you have it. Finally, go back to the File menu, pick Export as MP3, give it a title and hey presto, your very own ringtone.

You can then transfer it to your phone, by the methods described earlier.

If you pull that all off, give yourself a pat on the back not only because of your editing prowess, but because you can now save yourself a few bob.

Tags: Compare Mobile Phones, Download Audacity, MP3, Ringtones, Telecommnications

When it comes down to getting the best from your touch screen, there are two things to consider: how to use it properly and secondly, how to keep it clean.

For people who are new to touch screen technology, it can take a little getting used to, mainly because mouse and tracker ball techniques have been around for such a long time.

Now with the launch of the iPhone and HTC range of touch-screen phones, it’s become a different ball game altogether. And the designers of these touch screens interfaces are obsessed with one thing: the speed on the interaction. If the user places his stylus, or finger on the screen and there’s a delay, then the whole idea behind touch screen technology being intuitive, goes out the window. And when people use a touch screen, they do expect a positive result as regards feedback.

So, ideally, you want a rapid response from your touch-screen interface, but you don’t want to race yourself in retrieving the information. Light, but positive stylus/finger strokes are the order of the day, and it’s not a competition to see how fast you can go. And remember that touch screens are better for data retrieval, than data entry. So typing your novel on your phone is not the best use of its abilities.

Another preoccupation with touch-screen technology is the dilemma of finger-size. Should the interface be designed for those with thin, normal, of fat finger sizes. Fingers come in all shapes and sizes, so you need to spend a bit of time with your touch screen to decide how it accommodates the various sizes.

Intuitive is a word you’ll hear a lot with touch-screen design and it basically means you pick it up, almost subconsciously, as you go along. In your average touch-screen interface there are a number of intuitive and non-intuitive commands, and with a bit of practice, you can become adept at both. And you’ll also pick-up quite quickly the strengths and weaknesses of your particular interface.

Bare in mind when using a touch-screen, that background colours which are bright, or patterned, can help reduce glare from the environment in which you’re using the touch-screen and help keep down the finger print trail.

As regards on-going maintenance, touch screens do require the occasional bit of tender loving care, but you have to be rather careful as to what you are using to clean them, otherwise you’ll have a worse problem.

The crucial thing to remember is go easy. Touch screens are designed to cope with a bit of hard use, but they can easily be scratched by fingernails, pens used as a stylus, and say car keys if pushed into a handbag, or pocket. Prevention, as always, is better than cure.
And apart from watching for the proximity of sharp instruments, also try to keep fingerprints off the touch screen. Dirty finger tips should be kept away as much as possible and using a soft tipped stylus is the best way to exploit the screen.

So, you’re using the right type of stylus, trying not to navigate using a dirty pawprint, but you still need to keep the screen clean, it’s best to use a proprietary cleaner which will be marketed and sold as such a cleaner.

But when using an off-the-shelf cleaner, always do a quick test on the smallest part of your screen; just to make sure nothing horrendous happens when chemical meets screen.

So there you are, touch screens need a light approach, both in their use and their cleaning.

Tags: HTC, iPhone, Mobile Phone, Telecommnications, Touch Screen

All is not what it seems in the world of mobile phones. Modern mobile phones require clever marketing and positioning to survive in what is an extremely competitive sector.

Basically, you have a number of major mobile manufacturers, some of whom you will not have heard of, but whose kit you might be using on a day-to-day basis and supplied by one of the major mobile retailers. Other manufacturers have strong brand names, some have their own outlets, but still will provide different versions of their phones to different retailers. Thus, one retailer might have one mobile uniquely in one colour and another retailer sells it in another colour. And another manufacturer might make one mobile, but sell it as two different phones to two different retailers, with just the branding changed.

So a re-branded phone is basically one which has a different name and model name, from another down the road which is to all extents and purposes exactly the same.

Take for example the HTC Corporation. This Taiwanese company has for years built mobile handsets for the major mobile phone retailers and for many of those years, did not brand its own phones HTC, but Orange, Vodafone etc. In effect, it relied on the mobile retailers to buy and sell their units. And as this business is all about shifting large amounts of units, everyone was happy.

But such is the size and power of this company, that it now has the confidence to market its mobiles under the brand HTC. So, you can go onto the high street, or order from the internet, a HTC mobile, but if you look around, you will find the same phone is marketed by a number of other companies under their brand.

Lets look at the Orange SPV E600 which was branded Orange of course, and only available to its business customers, but was actually a HTC S620. The Orange SPV E650 was actually a HTC S710.

You get the picture.

Take the O2 Xda Orbit 2 which is a rebranded version of the HTC Cruise.

Now, the rebrand will usually have either a few cosmetic changes – a colour change – or a few different functions, so as not to be perceived as exactly the same which, of course, it is.

And think about the much heralded Google Android operating system phone the G1, which is currently sold through T-Mobile and is actually a rebranding of the HTC Dream. Incidentally, Google and HTC are partners in the development agreement which conceived the Android code.

Now this might appear pretty incestuous, but on the contrary, the guys in the mobile industry are realists. Certain manufacturers and certain retailers have more, or less influence in certain parts of the market. And where one retailer might be strong in one niche sector, or one country, it usually means they are weaker in others, and so might not be able to market certain phones as well as others.

Also, a strong brand can be used to sell anything. A strong brand need not worry itself with the costly business of manufacturing, but can go into the wholesale market and purchase its own branded phone. It then has to market it, but that’s where its skills lie.

It’s a common slight of hand used in many other industries and in this age of globalisation with a small number of massive manufacturers dominating, it will happen more and more. Think about the car industry, which has often sold the same car with different badges.

In reality, the mobile phone consumer is picking not only the handset, but his provider, and that comes down to personal choice, a judgment on the service provided and a weighing up of the price. And then its the laws of the consumer jungle that apply.

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For the best deals on mobiles visit http://www.compare-mobile.com/ who have 176,432 Deals from 32 retailers available on all the networks

Tags: Compare Mobile Phones, Mobile Phone, Re-Branded Phone, Telecommnications

When its comes down to it, the average shopper doesn’t really care about the market share and balance sheet of the company behind the phone on which they have their beady eye.

 

No, it’s more emotive that that. Is it the right colour, does it flip open, did I like my last one; and then, onto things like how well will the camera work and oh, yes, how much does it cost?

 

But in a shoot-out between Nokia and Sony Ericsson, Nokia wins hands down when it comes to market dominance. 

Lets look at some basics. Nokia sells more phones. It has a greater product range and it has models to suit both the lower and upper end of the market. In short, it’s offering to the consumer, which numbers around 100 different handsets at any one time, is pretty impressive.

It is reckoned that Nokia is one of four manufacturers in the premier division with the others, in order of global market share, being Samsung, then Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG. Now if you look at the figures in detail, you see that Nokia has a staggering 40% share in 2008, with Samsung in second place at 14%, Motorola on about the same at 14%, Sony Ericsson at 9% and LG bringing up the rear with 7%. The guys in the premier division account for well over 80% of all mobile phones purchased.

 

The second division includes guys like Apple (who aimed for a 1% share of the market with the iPhone, but seem to have fallen short); HTC; Fujitsu; Panasonic; Research in Motion (BlackBerry); and, Siemens.

 

Nokia has also played it right with the vast expanding markets such as China, in which has given it great boosts to it’s market share.

 

And as we enter a global downturn (at the time of writing), Nokia’s bundles of cash and virtually debt-free balance sheet will stand it in good stead for any future financial tribulations.

 

And Nokia is still facing questions over certain aspects of its operation, including its email functionality (being placed in the shade by the makers of the BlackBerry), its lack of touch screen products (putting it well behind HTC and Apple), and its slowness to develop a mobile phone infrastructure (with which Sony Ericsson is doing so well as part of a joint venture).

 

Sony Ericsson was established later than Nokia. It was the coming together of Japanese Sony Corporation and Swedish company Ericsson to form a joint venture in 2001 to develop and manufacture mobile phones.

 

 

They joined forces after Sony realised it was only a bit player in an ever-expanding marketplace and Ericsson, struggling to cope with manufacturing problems and huge losses, knew it had to have a partner with which to go forward.

 

The joint venture went through a sticky patch and just as it looked like it might well end on the rocks, the two companies decided to commit extra funds and refocus its activities on mobiles which were branded as multi-media devices.

 

It then chose to support GSM technology, a wise choice, and acted to stop Nokia gaining full control of Symbian, an industry consortium producing operating systems for smartphones. It then put it’s weight behind phones that offered the user more than just a mobile phone handset.

 

This strategy came to real fruition with the launch of affordable phones which were also digital music players, using the Walkman brand, and allowing file formats such as MP3 and AAC to be played.

 

Also, whilst developing the music side, it also promoted the phone as a camera and introduced the Cyber-Shot brand, pushing the small digital camera envelope from five to eight megapixels, built into a mobile phone.

 

And in a nutshell that is the difference between Nokia and Sony Ericsson. The first is a giant which dominates the market, offering all things to all men, whereas, after a distinctly rocky start, Sony Ericsson has carved a profitable niche for itself by providing cool and fun phones, with equally cool applications.

 

You’d be hard pushed not to find the phone of your dreams from Nokia, but then again, you might just want an offering from a smaller player which takes music and pictures very seriously indeed.

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For the best deals on mobiles visit http://www.compare-mobile.com/ who have 176,432 Deals from 32 retailers available on all the networks

Tags: Blackberry, Compare Mobile Phones, Fujitsu, HTC, iPhone, Mobile Phone, Nokia, Panasonic, Research in Motion, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, Telecommnications