The idea behind all phone deals is that you have to go for a long term contract. This is not so bad in the end. For many people the phone deals is the only way to own a high quality phone. Consider this – a top end smartphone if bought without a deal, will cost you anywhere in the region of £250 to 500. That is serious money and very few people can afford to just grabbing their purse and dishing out the money. The funny thing is that you can get the same expensive great looking phone for a fraction of the price or in many cases even for free, if you sign a contract.

Don’t be fooled, though, it is more like leasing the phone on a 2 years period but with many companies the monthly price is so reasonable, that it is still a very good deal, regardless of how you’re looking at it. I know many people who have dreamed about the latest Blackberry, Nokia or HTC smartphone model and have been able to fulfil their dream thanks to phone deals.

Never buy a phone with features that you don’t use. Once you’ve determined the features you’ll be looking for, visit some websites to compare models and prices. Also pop into some of your high street shops because it is possible that it’s where the best deal is at the moment.

Although there are still bargains to be found on the high street, many people find it easier to shop for cheap mobile phones online. Buying mobiles off the Internet not only makes the gadgets more accessible and cheaper but also saves a time. Many people find it very easy to do their shopping online.

The easiest way to find cheap mobile phones is to go for a long term contract with a provider. This is something that some people don’t want to do. It is quite understandable because tying yourself up for a 18 or even 24 month period seems quite daunting.

Omnia...and a Beauty

It seems that Samsung has really found the taste for marketing new smartphones. They are constantly presenting new models. From a certain point of view it is great but then again, too many cell phone models was what killed Siemens.

There are two new qwerty phone models that join the Omnia line - they are PRO B7610 and B7320. The first being a super-phone with a touch-screen and a slide-out qwerty keyboard and the latter being a classical qwerty phone with a horizontal screen configuration.

Samsung Omnia II I8000 is a top of the range touch-screen phone with the cutting-edge TouchWiz 2.0 graphical touch sensor. And then there is a cheaper version of a smartphone - Omnia Lite B7300 - but it still comes with camera and mobile internet. There is a catch; though - it will feature Opera browser.

Samsung Louvre B7610 is another debut expected in July 2009. It is also planned to issue this expensive (up to $500) phone on Windows Mobile 6.5 later this year. Samsung is working really hard and hey seem to believe in the smartphone market.

Lacoste Logo

Do you enjoy the quirky polo shirts by Lacoste? If you do, you will like the new Lacoste cell phone which is currently at an early stage of development. The famous French fashion brand is collaborating with another French company ModeLabs.

It is expected that the new Lacoste Cell phone will reach its trendy followers in the second half of 2010. It still remains unclear if the new fashion gadget will be a qwerty phone. So far many non-telecom companies have issued a branded cell phone. We can name LG Prada, Samsung Armani and also at least four different companies as clients of the aforementioned ModeLabs. These are Tag Heuer watchmakers, Hummer car manufacturer, MTV cult chanel and the fashion house of Christian Dior.

It is expected that many more fashion houses would join the branded gadgetry craze. It is now clear that a cell phone bearing the jolly Lacoste crocodile would soon be available through the retail outlets both online and high-street. Who is next?

It is estimated that in 5 years time mobile data traffic would reach 2EB (exabytes). If we are about to transfer some meagre 0.12 EB this year, then mobile traffic will double every coming year. According to Cisco, more than 60% of global mobile data traffic will consist of video. Who is going to pay for that crazy amount of video? We all are; even those who don’t watch flicks. When we reach 2013, 80% of all devices will be 3G or carriers of other advanced technology.

If you think 2EB is much, look at the prediction regarding the internet traffic. It will come to staggering 667EB per annum. Video, including the illegal Peer 2 Peer (P2P) program, will consume up to 90pc of all internet traffic.

So, how much exactly is an exabyte. It is a terribly big chunk of data. A saying goes that all words ever spoken by human being would come to 5 EB. (That of course doesn’t include the words spoken by one lady with dyed hair who takes a trip from Bournemouth to Poole every weekday morning - she has already spoken 6 EB of words and she just cannot stop LOL). Jokes apart, an EB is a billion Gigabytes. Here you go; video is establishing itself as the top medium to convey a message.

Palm Pre

Although Palm qwerty phone models have retained a certain amount of popularity and a close-knit community of devoted fans, it is more than obvious that the famous American company is facing real trouble. Despite the quality and versatility of previous Palm qwerty phone devices, the company hasn’t managed to keep their market share and currently losing money at staggering pace.

Possibly the Palm devices have lacked the zing and style.

The tables may turn with an arrival of what is already dubbed as the savior - Palm Pre. The new Palm Pre will debut on June 6, 2009 and will be distributed via Sprint telecom. The subsidized qwerty phone will cost $299.99 on a standard two-year contract with a $100 mail in rebate. Ain’t it a wee bit too expensive for a savior? It is unclear whether this device would be available as an unlocked phone.

Although Palm officials deny the rumors about approaching bankruptcy it is likely that in case Palm Pre was a failure, the company would cease to exist.

However, the problem is looming even before the launch. Sprint hasn’t prepared an advertising campaign for the phone because there are manufacturing shortages expected at Palm’s factories. They are struggling to set up a proper manufacturing process. We can expect the new model to be freely available in stores some time in the mid-summer. Not the best time to launch a new device.

People who have tried Pre say that this qwerty phone is a hybrid between an iPhone and BlackBerry.

The biggest mystery is the new operation system webOS - it is a brand new system and is not derived from PalmOS.

Palm Pre will be available through Sprint network as well as through Wal Mart and BestBuy. We can only wish them good luck and hope the Pre gets things moving for Palm.

Motorola Ironman Spy Picture

Recently, the company Motorola has developed a really high activity around their new cell phones. Recently the news broke about the two qwerty phones being on companies new agenda. These were Motorola Calgary and Motorola Rolex. Now it is a turn to unearth the third news - the stylish Motorola Ironman.

Insiders believe that it is very likely that Motorola Ironman will be running Google Android and will become the second such qwerty phone in the portfolio of American company. The first one is destined to be Calgari. It is rumoured to be the manufacturer’s very first Google Android cell phone and if we assume it true, it will also probably be the first Verizon phone carrying the famous open source platform.

Motorola Ironman is believed to be equipped with a powerful processor, top-quality digital camera, Wi-Fi functionality, support for all third-generation networks and a full qwerty keyboard. It will be a slider but not similar to Google G1 phone - this will slide vertically and will be quite compact and convenient.

Ironman phone should appear on sale in the third quarter of 2009, just a couple of month after the Calgari. We shall wait and see. The fact is that Android is a really slow starter. Considering the possibilities and capabilities of this system, it is a surprise we’re not talking about tens of different models working on this Operating System!

LG phones are known for their ergonomic and convenient keyboards and bold design.

The most popular phone with full qwerty keyboard from this range is enV - there are more than 8 million in existence. Rumor and Voyager have been sold in 6 and 3.5 million copies respectively. And then there is the new KS360, which has found 1.5 million users already.

LG puts big hopes on KS360, it is the standard currently - great design and endless possibilities to explore the internet and social networking - this phone appeals to younger generation.

How many iPhones have been sold?

However, it is nothing in comparison with iPhone. In the summer last year there was a weekend that saw a whole million of iPhone gadgets sold. Fancy that? Overall Apple has sold close to 400 million iPhones worldwide. Other makers of smartphones and qwerty cell phones cannot seem to close in. Still many experts predict that this world domination could end soon because more and more people discover that a touch-screen cannot compare even to the most basic qwerty keyboard.

As the world progresses, we need to type more and faster. Considering this, an iPhone is not an option any more. Is there a new qwerty phone up Apple’s sleeve?

Meanwhile Nokia is busy developing new qwerty phone models. The first one will be equipped with a sliding qwerty keyboard and a crystal-clear 4.2-inch touch-screen. The second cell phone will probably be called Nautilus and it will look like a thingy in a sea-shell. Although it is a touch-screen phone, it is possible that Nautilus will incorporate functions of a qwerty phone. It is expected to feature an all-new approach to data entry. The keyboard will be elevated upon the body of the phone thus allowing for much easier typing.

So, what are the new cell phones going to be technically? Do you think it is a Symbian or Windows Mobile? Oh, no, a very unlikely surprise - Linux. Both gadgets will run a super-advanced Linux operation system. However, if we remember the Nokia model line, it doesn’t look like a surprise any more. Models 770, N800, N810 were based on Linux too.

According to gossip, the announcement of the new phones will take place in the last quarter of 2009 - right on for Christmas.

The market of notebooks and netbooks is so saturated that it is hard to compete, especially if your competitor is Dell or HP.

On the other hand there are still very few good qwerty phone models available and the demand for high-end smartphones is still high both thanks to corporate buyers and mobile networks that offer free qwerty phones on 2-year contracts.

Apart from new qwerty phones, LG will also develop several touch-screen gadgets and try to compete with iPhone.

To please people with more kind of artistic taste, LG will manufacture cell phones in different strange shapes and colours. Yeah, who said a mobile phone should be black or silver?

Overall it is a very smart move from LG. If you consider that they are not the world leader in notebooks and netbooks (to be polite) but they are a leader (third biggest) in cell phones, you will understand the sudden change of course. Good luck LG!