Six of the best: internet for mobiles
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Could the internet be the final frontier for mobile phones? They’ve already snapped at the heels of digital cameras and made MP3 players sweat; could they have laptops in their sights? Here are some of the top contenders
1 Totally Devoted – Pocketsurfer2 – £179 from www.firebox.com (0844 922 1010)
It might only use GPRS, but this powerful device eats data over the airwaves and downloads pages on to its 5in screen at speeds which make other devices weep.
You can’t do any of the SMS or talking business on this unit, but – and this is a big one – buy the Pocketsurfer and you get 20 hours’ free usage per month for a whole year or £5.99 a month buys you unlimited usage.
2 Very Touchy – Apple iPhone – from £269, see www.apple.com/uk (0800 048 0408)
Even beyond the hype, after six months of using one, this previous non-Apple fan wonders how he ever survived without hourly share updates.
The oversized touchscreen works a treat; it’s the perfect size for watching downloaded videos, and while only WiFi-friendly at the moment there are rumours of added connectivity on the models arriving in June.
3 Latest Arrival – Toshiba Portege G810 – £369.95 from www.expansys.com (0161 868 0868)
With blue backlit buttons and a superb 2.8in touchscreen display, this is a very chic-looking handset from a rather surprising source.
Downloading is a doddle thanks to super-fast 3.5G connectivity and this piece of pocket-candy also boasts a three-megapixel camera and satnav.
4 Business Minded – Sony Ericsson P1i – from free on contract, see www.sonyericsson.com (08705 237 237)
Selecting a handset with a wide range of office tools and great connectivity hasn’t been easy, but the P1i is a smartphone offering both in a decent-looking package.
The twin cameras offer the added functionality of video calling and it also has a business card scanner. Some may be put off by the keyboard, but you could switch and use the touchscreen version.
5 The Entertainer – Nokia N81 – £289 at www.nokia.co.uk (0845 0455 555)
The Finns recently relaunched their N-Gage system and now you can download console-quality gaming straight to one of many N-series handsets.
A whopping 8GB internal memory offers plenty of space for storing your music, and stereo speakers add to the experience. Overall, this is the handset to make commuting almost bearable.
6 Nearly PC – Vario III – from free on contract at www.t-mobile.co.uk (0845 412 2303)
The full-sized keyboard will be immediately appealing to many – it’s easy to use and quite forgiving to those who don’t have slender digits.
It’s packed with a decent camera, super-fast HDSPA and WiFi, plus it has GPS, making it a ready-to-use satnav unit to boot.
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