It’s a mere few hours from the end of the month, and once again it’s time for our roundup of mobile reviews – a trot through all the phones we’ve ran our collective rules over during November. Nokia, LG, HTC, BlackBerry and Motorola – the gang’s all here, so if you’re thinking of splashing some pre-Chrimbo cash on a new handset, read on…
We’ve had no fewer than nine blowers in our reviews section this month, including three that were deemed worthy of a 100% Electricpig Recommended seal of approval. Without further ado, let’s get cracking – and don’t forget you can check out all our phone ratings at any time on our mobile phone reviews page.
Android
Cutting edge performance, a physical keyboard and the latest iteration of Android all feature in the HTC Desire Z – but sadly so does an incredibly ill-conceived hinge design that takes the shine off everything somewhat.
The Motorola Milestone 2 has the finest, most robust physical keyboard of any Android phone on the planet – it’s just a shame that Moto has to spoil Android 2.2 by smearing its Motoblur skin all over the top of it.
The presence of Android 2.2 makes this small, slimline smartphone somewhat interesting, mainly because it’s a low-to-mid range model – but HTC do cheap Android phones better.
Windows Phone 7
A top notch touchscreen, slick user interface and slim, soft-to-the-touch body add to the charms of this affordable Windows Phone 7 handset. It lacks a couple of features you might find on pricier WP7 phones, but still feels powerful.
The Windows 7 Phone handsets are coming thick and fast now, but the HTC 7 Mozart doesn’t really do anything to make itself heard over the crowd. It’s clearly a quality mobile, but its supposedly headlining features don’t really do their job.
The camera’s an absolute shocker, but the Optimus 7’s ease of use and syncing skills make it worth a look.
Symbian 3
A superbly sturdy, high quality build and a first class camera mean the Nokia N8 should be a winner, but its Symbian 3 interface, despite being new, doesn’t really cut it against the competition.
Nokia’s second Symbian 3 smartphone of the month, the C7 is skinny, affordable and, like the N8, packs a top notch camera. But it also packs Symbian 3, which is a drawback at the moment. And it looks a wee bit ugly.
BlackBerry
Current BlackBerry owners simply looking for the latest update of their favourite handset will appreciate the way the BlackBerry Bold 9780 does everything a BlackBerry should do in a very reliable, slick way. But it certainly doesn’t offer any real innovation.
