What you get:

• Unlimited 8MB BT broadband
• Free evening and weekend BT broadband calls
• Free Wireless BT Home Hub with Hub Phone
• BT ToGo smartphone to take broadband with you everywhere
• 50 minutes and 50 texts included

Let’s start by saying that this isn’t the cheapest broadband offering on the market but hte mobility features more than make up for that. The BT ToGo deal effectively gives you all the advantages of BT’s Option plus mobile broadband and a free handset - more on that in a moment.

Ok, the free smartphone - there are two choices. The package comes with a free HTC s620 which is great for reading emails or browsing on the move. Trying to create documents on it is a different story - don’t bother. It’s far too fiddly. Now, if you want that little extra in the form of the HTC s710 you have two options: pay an extra £29.99 for the smartphone or FREE when you upgrade to 250 or 600 additional minutes. The sliding keyboard on the s710 is far easier to use. I had no problems creating documents. The only downside to this device is that it has no 3G - so if you’re not range of WiFi you’re back to the GPRS snail express! The real bonus with the ToGo package is that you can use BT cells to connect to WiFi - there are currently thousands of these around the UK and the number is growing. The best place to find these cells are either in large towns or cities (and motorway service stations). You get 500 free BT Openzone Wireless hotspot minutes so unless you spend your life online whilst you’re travelling you’re unlikely to use these up.

Both handsets feature Windows Mobile Edition with the usual range of additions like voicemail, Snap and Send (send photos from your handset BT Digital Vault - for FREE), contacts and calendaring services etc. The usual things you’d expect in a smartphone. I was pretty impressed the the Snap and Send feature - this actually worked rather well. The only problem I found was that transfer times could be slow over GPRS.

Free texts, etc.

The standard package gives yout 50 free texts and 50 free minutes to any UK network. Not great if you’re a textaholic!

You also get unlimited BT FON Wireless minutes.

The BT FON connection is made up of other BT customers around the country who offer a little secured section of their broadband service for wireless users. In return, they get access to the other BT FON hotspots around the country.

There are heaps of these, and they’re rapidly gaining in numbers.

Right, let’s get down to the crux, home broadband. I’ve been using BT for about 3 years now and I have to say that I haven’t always been impressed. All I can say is that I’ve made a lot phone calls to the helpdesk. Things have changed since I upgraded to BT ToGo. Now this could simply be because it’s a relatively new product and BT want to pull in as many customers as possible or it could be that they have got their act together. BT states a connection speed of 8Mb on their site but I’ve yet to see that. I’m seeing a max of 5Mb. But remember this; BT states that you will receive a maximum of 8Mb - that doesn’t mean you’ll get 8Mb. The really nice part about this package is that there’s no download limit - but do check AUP first.

The home broadband package comes complete with the updated Home Hub which provides connections of PC’s and consoles. On top of that you can connect your house phone to the hub and make internet calls, which is just like using Skype. Internet call quality over the Home Hub was very good. Not like the bad old days of VoIP!For more traditional phone users you get free evening and weekend landline calls.

Overall signal strength from the Home Hub was very good. I could even browse the web from the comfort of my garage (no comment!) which has pretty thick walls.

One aspect of this package that catches many peoples eyes is the free telephone support -24/7 and considerably better than what I’ve become accustomed to. The only gripe I have about the free support is that it seemed to be frequently engaged - users must have been having problems at exactly the same time! That said, when you get through the teams are genuinely helpful but sometimes need a little push if you want them to put you through to deeper technical support.

The contract is 18 months long but there are no set-up fees!

On the whole, I’m pretty impressed by the BT ToGo package. I’m not so concerned about the home broadband, even though the overall service was very good. For me mobile usage was key as I travel a great deal. I’ve never had any form of outage with the mobile aspect of the package but I’m frequently  in London where there are a huge amount of BT cells to connect to. If you’re happy with periodic use of EDGE when you’re on the move then this could just be the mobile broadband offering for you.

If you’re interested, here’s the link so you can take a look for yourself: BT ToGo.

Popularity: 87% [?]

T-Mobile has the Android G1 handset but did you really think that other manufacturers would sit back miss out on a big slice of pie? It was only recently that Motorola announced plans to beef up the size of their Android developers team so Motorola’s Android handset comes as no surprise. The only problem here is that Motorola’s handset might not hit the market until mid-2009 - enough time for T-Mobile to take a huge lead!

Rumour has it that Motorola handset will feature a touch screen, a slide-out qwerty keyboard, and a whole range of social-network-friendly things plugged into it. Errr, pretty much like the G1, although the device could have a flip screen like the Krave ZN4. A number of images of the Motorola handset have been circulated with viewers suggesting that it looks pretty much like a high end HTC handset.

A number of industry analysts have suggested that Motorola will deliver an Android handset in order to try an recapture lost market share - believe me when I say that they have a long, uphill fight on their hands (current share prices are almost at a 16 year low).

In particular, Motorola is hoping that their Android handset will have some resonance with the social networkerss of the world as mobile social network users are predicted to to rise to as high as 23% of mobile phone users by 2012.

Rumours have it that Motorola will be selling this handset at a very low price; around $150 with a two year contract. Ok, it’s like ly to be cheap so let’s wait and how good it really is.

Popularity: 96% [?]

A whole lot of law breaking!

Yep, it looks like most of us are prepared to break the law. A recent study reveals that 93% of road users are aware of updated driving legislation concerning the use of mobile phones.

Nomophobes.

The fear of being without your mobile. Statistics show that 13 million of us scared to be without our mobile phone. Joking aside, the reality of this is that drivers are unlikely to leave their mobile phones at home. But Government messaging is getting through. A Jabra survey shows that drivers know that using a mobile phone at the wheel is dangerous and is illegal if not used in the correct manner. Oddly engouh, 68%
of GB motorists think that this penalty should be tougher! (I suppose it comes down the age old view of ‘they haven’t caught me yet so I’ll carry on). Interestingly, 17% of respondents have actually stopped using their phone as a result of the new law.

Here’s five simple steps to keep you legal:

1.    Don’t talk unless it’s hands-free! How much does a handsfree set really cost? Not a lot.

2.    Think ahead! - prepare for every journey by ensuring that your
mobile phone is in its cradle and you are wearing a headset (if you have one) before you start driving.

3.    Keep it simple! - don’t argue or try to take notes whilst you are driving - bit of a no-brainer!

4.    The driving comes first, not the call! - don’t let the call distract you.

5.    Adapt your phone! - activate the voicemail. Don’t like your hands-free kit? Buy one that are happy with. Voice-activated and Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones would be the most suitable for in-car use.

There you have it. Some pearls of ‘wisdom’. One final point: consider other road users and the effects an accident can have on them and their families.

Popularity: 20% [?]

RIM takes the lead.

The BlackBerry 900 has landed. And don’t think this is a half way measure to bolster sales. The device, BlackBerry Bold, comes with a range of connectivity options: tri-band HSDPA, integrated GPS and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. Admittedly, the BlackBerry 8707v had 3G back in 2006 but actually getting a 3G connection was another matter.

What do you get for your money?

Well, it’s a nice looking handset but here’s the technical details in brief:

• 624MHz processor
• Full Qwerty keyboard
• 1Gb onboard storage - expandable via microSD/SDHC
• 2-megapixel camera
• “half-VGA” screen — a reference to the dimensions of the display, not the resolution, which are a VGA-quality 480 by 320 pixels.

So how will it fair? I’ve been using a BlackBerry for about a year now (yes, I’m planning to buy an iPhone soon). It’s good. Push email, calendaring, messenger, Google maps, ssh and a whole range of other add-ons make it ideal for my needs. The one downside is, as stated earlier, 3G connectivity - my handset seems to want to use Edge over 3G. The improved connectivity in the Bold should make the handset a real winner. Edge is here to stay and has huge future potential but for now I’ll stick to 3G.

Given many peoples love of the web the speed and capabilities of this new device it should be a hit with both day to day users and businesses.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Sticks fingers up at O2.

Vodafone has signed a contract to supply the iPhone to consumers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Full details have not been released as yet which suggests this may not be an exclusive deal.

Popularity: 62% [?]

The market is getting crowded.

Not a week goes by without a headline piece of news being touted by vendors of software and hardware alike. And this week has been no exception; Microsoft have walked away from the Yahoo deal, Pixsta are set to challenge Google and now RIM have announced a deal with SAP. The two companies have stated that SAP will make its CRM software available ton the Blackberry within the next couple of months. This should allow salespeople to use Customer Relations Management alongside Blackberry email, calendar and address book apps with minimal fuss.

Off the wire.

SAP has stated that their software will cache data when there’s no connection available, much the same as the Blackberry email services work. Updates will be stored on the device until a connection is found at which point the handset will push the updates back to the central SAP servers. Another planned feature is the ability to deploy applications to the Blackberry handset from the central SAP infrastructure.

This deal will not be exclusive. SAP is not keen for the service to become a niche product so expect to see more handset manufacturers offering a similar service in future.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Rumour mill grinds on.

I admit to liking the HTC devices, especially the Shift. An easy to use handset featuring a Windows OS which integrates into your business network allowing access to email and apps on the move.  Not much more you can ask for. Or so it would appear. The latest rumours suggest that the company is about to launch two new products: HTC Touch Diamond and the Touch Pro. The new additions are expected to pop up on the 6th May.

Specs.

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Qualcomm MSM 7201A @ 528MHz
• 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM
• 7.2MB HSDPA / HSUPA (rev A EVDO for Sprint versions)
• 2.8″ VGA screen
• WiFi
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• eGPS
• 3.1MP Camera with flash
• Forward facing camera
• Samsung MoviNAND 4GB internal flash storage
• Orientation sensor
• FM Radio
• microSD expansion
• 900mAh battery
• Dimensions: 51×99×10.7mm

In addition, rumours are rife that an Android based HTC handset may make an appearance on the same. Now that will be interesting.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Say again, you’re breaking up.

Apparently, AT&T suggested that the call quality of the latest Blackberry devices is a concern. The resulting fallout caused RIMs share price to drop by 3%. This may not seem like a great deal to some people but when we start talking about multi-billion pound revenues it starts to look at little more serious. A delay in the release of RIMs 3G device could also affect the market share of the Blackberry. The iPhone 3G is due for release soon so expect a major bunfight as vendors start to promote their products. I wonder if they’ll be passing some nice deals on to the customers?

Click here to go back to 60 Seconds.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Save the World: Buy a mobile phone!

Want a mobile you can throw on the compost heap when you’re bored with it? In that case, Nokia hopes the 3110 Evolve will appeal to you. What you get is the 3110 Classic with covers made from renewable products, green packaging and, to top it off, the charger will minimise energy usage if plugged into a fully charged phone.

Hug a tree.

By comparison, most other handsets pale against the 3110’s green credentials. But be aware, this is not a carbon neutral phone. True, the covers are over 50% renewable organic material and carbon emissions have been reduced by leaving the covers unpainted but this still has some way to go in order to please the greenest of users.

On the back of the current drive to make us greener I would say that Nokia will add these features, and more, to their future phone offerings.

Lots of shiny features?

You’d have thought so but you’ll be disappointed. Check it out:

• Series 40 User Interface

• No 3G connectivity (come on, this IS the 21st century!)

• Multi-format music player, which actually gives decent quality audio

• FM radio

• Removable MicroSD card memory

• A web browser plus web-based applications

• Email client and organiser.

• 1.3-megapixel camera which I thought was a bit crappy for a new phone. Also, the image quality was quite poor.

• Screen - 1.8-inch 262,000-colour display with a low 128×160 pixels resolution. Quite disappointing

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

The grey colour and plain design makes this phone look very dull. Come on Nokia, just because we want to save the world, it doesn’t mean we’re boring! Ok, there are some plus points: the keypad and navigation pad are easy to use. The weight (87g) and size (108.5 x 45.7 .15.6) make the 3110 a fairly light and and easy to hold handset. But, based on its looks, I don’t think many of you will be rushing out to buy it especially not for £149.

Popularity: 21% [?]

A shoehorned PDA.

Want to wow your friends with the latest in gadgets? Take a look at the P750. This is a serious consideration for users on the move. Asus have this PDA phone with all the features anyone should ever need (well, at least for this year!).

Take a look at the tech packed into this device:

• 3G HSDPA support (3.6 Mbps)
• front-facing camera for video conferences and…
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• GPS - you can send your position to 5 SMS recipients
• Travelog - record and share routes of interest
• 3 Mega Pixels camera

There’s even more packed into the P750. If you want to read more you can check out the full specifications. The handset comes with Windows Mobile 6 so users of Windows will be familiar with the layout.

A feature I like about the P750 is the password protection facility. This allows you store private information in memory then add a password. Pretty handy. The handset is laid out as a typical, slimline mobile phone. The major issue I had was the keyboard. It’s simply too small for my sausage fingers. Oh, and the silly little joystick - rubbish, in my opinion.

Ok, now forget those last two gripes from me. The P750 is a great piece of kit. Asus really have pushed the boat out on this product and I really do like it.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 21% [?]