Those looking to purchase the hottest phone on the market should be aware that not every deal and every contract are created equal. Thankfully there are some great deals being offered by many European cellular service providers.

One such deal is being offered by Vodafone through Phones4U. This deal requires a £25 a month plan with £39 due up front. For that price, you will get 100 calling minutes, 500 text messages and 500MB of mobile data allowance. Granted, this might not be the best phone for those who are heavy on the texting and calling end, but the data allowance is comparable and is even a plus considering it’s offered through Vodafone.

Better yet the phone is unlocked so it will be first in line for any Android updates that are pushed out by Samsung, something locked devices are not able to boast.

That’s not the only deal out there for the Samsung Galaxy S II, though. Why not check out the Samsung Galaxy S II contracts over at Best Mobile Contracts, where you can compare this deal with many others to find the best deal for you.

The Motorola Corporation is set to launch a superb technologically advanced tablet computer running the Android OS. The most absorbing feature of this tablet is the video playback, as the Xoom can support video playback up to 1080p. The Motorola Xoom will be the company’s first ever tablet computer and faithful Motorola users are eagerly waiting for the release so that they get a first-hand experience of it. Excitingly, the Xoom will run on Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is the latest version of Google’s Android OS, specifically designed for tablets.

Important software features of the Xoom are quick multi tasking, a user interface specifically optimized for tablets, a thrilling Bump Top 3D desktop, enhanced browsing options for Google Maps, book mark syncing and many more advanced options. A wide range of official accessories are available for the Xoom, including a super-thin wireless keyboard, various multi-functional docks and a unique portfolio case, doubling as a stand that allows you to view the Xoom at a comfortable angle. Bluetooth headphones and protective gel cases are also available. If you’d like to get your hands on a Motorola Xoom, you can find Motorola Xoom offers to suit all budgets, so why not pick one up today?

Android, Droid, Honeycomb, Froyo, Gingerbread, all these names conjure images of little robots happily playing on nearby green hills as butterflies float by and half eaten applies jealously look on. Maybe not? Either way, Android is on its way to become the world’s number one cellphone software and with that comes talk about the future of the operating system.

As of now, Android is split into two different and distinct software options. Android 2.x is the software that is built for cellphones while Android 3.x is designed and geared for tablets and maybe netbooks in the future.

Even though the core architecture under both operating systems are the same, Android 3.x is one that has more features that are geared for bigger screens and more powerful processors than what you would find in a smartphone. But would such software ever make it to the smartphone?

TechRadar asked Google’s Director of Engineering of Android Dave Burke if the world could ever look to the possibility of 3.x coming to smartphones which would also herald the death of 2.x altogether. According to Burke, “Right now it’s a tablet operating system.” He did say that Google would like to unite both numbering systems which would essentially mean that one software would run on both device form factors, smartphones and tablets.

“I think that coming together is a good idea. What we’re trying to do here is make a base platform that’s so good, that others only need to add native elements in their core areas. We wanted to make the whole UI better – it shouldn’t be necessary to customize the texting widget with the Honeycomb UI. We don’t think one size fits all with Android, but sometimes changes [people make to the UI] miss the point – then again, sometimes it amazes us.”

The much awaited and talked about successor to the Nexus One, the Nexus S is finally available for pre-order in the UK, the release date already being set for late December, with no word on when it will be released in the US (where the first Nexus was released, with not-so enthusiastic user feedback).

The pricing seems pretty normal for a new high-end smartphone that packs in everything you might ever need and looks good to boot. An unlocked, SIM-free unit will cost the potential users 550 pounds, or $870, while the version bound by a 24 months contract will only be 35 pounds per month. The choice is pretty clear: if you want this phone but don’t have the money, go for the contract version, but if you already have a contract with another network company, it may prove difficult and more expensive to do that.

The new Nexus S certainly looks great, with the curved housing and the new Android 2.3 Gingerbread pre-installed, but a lot of people think it’s not worth paying the price when a brand new, unlocked Samsung Galaxy S, which shares the same platform and hardware with the Nexus S, costs only 415 pounds, and has support for HD video filming and an external micro SD card slot (though the lack of the former in the Nexus is probably only a matter of software). Furthermore, it might actually be cheaper to export the phone from the US when it comes out there at 550 US dollars (which is only 345 pounds).

Still, with all the issues, the Nexus S is definitely a phone worth paying attention to, and if you want to have the latest and greatest software, it’s the only choice besides the older Nexus One, as Google markets it as a “fully open” device with no locks or limits (unlike HTC, Motorola, Samsung and other brands, which lock the boot loader and do not allow the users to customize their own ROM).

Taiwan-based leader in smartphones HTC unveils its second full-QWERTY slider Android in the HTC Desire Z, a good 18 months after the first, the HTC Dream. Running the latest Android v2.2 Froyo, the new handset is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7230 engine clocked at 800 MHz. That’s a bit less muscled than the 1 GHz Snapdragon of the HTC Desire. From the aesthetics, it’s really a Desire that grew a QWERTY keyboard slider.

Great Flagship Features

Looking like the Desire when closed, the HTC Desire Z actually has the same the feature of the HTC Desire HD which is only distinguished by its larger 4.3-inch screen display. Instead you get a 3.7-inch capacitive S-LCD touchscreen with multitouch, WVGA (480 x 80) resolution, 16 million colors, accelerometer and proximity sensors.

Despite a set of flagship features, it is positioned as a more modest option than either the earlier Desire or its successor the Desire HD. It also boasts of social networking prowess that comes with Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, YouTube and Google talk integration.

The new HTC Desire Z is a cornucopia of data and telephony connectivity options. It’s 3G handset on the dual band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA and a quad band GSM on 2G with class 32 GPRS/EDGE data speeds. Local connectivity gets WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and microUSB v2.0 including GPS SatNav with A-GPS support.

Imaging gets a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, face detection, geo tagging and video recording at 720p high definition while mobile entertainment gets the usual media playback features, a stereo FM radio with RDS and headphone listening in either wired (3.5mm jack) or wireless (A2DP) mode.

Internal memory gets 1.5 GB with 512 MB RAM and microSD expansion for up to 32GB. Its li-ion batters rated at 1300 mAh delivers up to 9.8 hours of call time on 2G, 6.6 hours on 3G with 430 hours on standby.

This is a major turning point for Google: the year that the standards of handsets get pushed forward so much, other phones will undoubtedly be left behind.

If many folks were wondering why the previous Russian sourced rumors about the 3.0 Gingerbread version of the Android OS coming out with hard to believe details –specifically, the part where it would require high end hardware for the new OS to run, it is because some people are starting to see what Google needs to do.

It is unlikely, of course, that Google would cut off the older smart phones that still run the Android operating system. But considering how fragmented the current user base is, they might as well go and do it.

Until now, there are plenty of devices that are still running the older 1.5 Cupcake and 1.6 Donut versions of the Android. It would make sense not to abandon these devices if they could be brought up to date with either version 2.0/2.1 Éclair or 2.2 Froyo. But the fact is, some of these devices are never going to be updated, and the users will be fragmented even more.

The Android 2.1 Éclair currently holds the largest number of users at about 51% of the total count. This is good, but far from the massive majority it needs to bring uniformity to users. At some point, Google will have to announce actually hardware requirements for later versions of the operating system. While it would be nice if they could update all existing Androids to version 3.0, they will still have to cut off the older models as they would not be able to support the newer features of later updates.

Currently, the number of users on the latest version of the OS (version 2.2 Froyo) is just a meager 3% -which is basically the volume of Nexus One users.

There are plenty of design issues with mobile phones that certainly could use being addressed, and none of these universal concerns need to be urgently fixed.

Apple, however, certainly believes that they are not alone when it comes to suffering from an antenna issue. Steve Jobs stated that the issue is a challenge to the whole industry. What Apple seems to have forgotten is that with the literally thousands of unique handsets out there, only they are suffering from an antenna issue.

Sure, other mobile phones will lose a bar of signal, or even two, if it is held in a unique way. But none of these devices would actually drop user calls. The iPhone 4 however, is likely to drop a call if held in the left hand –a position where the exposed antenna strip is located. To state that the issue is an industry challenge is a long stretch, even for a company as Apple.

To further support their claim, Steve Jobs has also pointed out several mobile phones which are apparently suffering from antenna issues as well. Included in the presentation was the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Samsung Omnia 2 and an HTC Android smart phone.

However, none of these devices have a history of massive call drops similar to what the Apple iPhone 4 is suffering from. And the makers of the various phones are not too happy being dragged into the mess that Apple is already into.

Research in Motion, creators of the BlackBerry, is among the first to speak up about the matter. They released an open letter that directly addressed the issue of antenna performance and clearly stated that no BlackBerry handset requires the use of a casing to be used properly.

They are quite right, in fact, aside from the iPhone 4, there is hardly any other device that requires a casing to function right.

While it may sound like some top secret plan to create super weapons, Project JAL is actually Orange Mobile’s new plan to develop an Android smart phone that carries their brand. Overall, the new handset design is not bad, it looks a lot like the ZTE Blade –for good reason too; apparently the phone will be manufactured by ZTE.

In terms of specs, the Project JAL: handset will definitely be a low end device. The most important factor is that the phone still sports very practical specs. If all you need to have is a decent smart phone that comes with all the basic features but is still friendly to the budget, then this is going to be a great start.

Of course, price is going to be the big determining factor here. And with estimates on the handset ranging from 100 to only 150 GBP, it is likely that this phone will get plenty of basic 2G users to shift up to 3G.

The screen is a nice big 3.5 inch OLED display –which is already quite big for this kind of handset. No QWERTY keyboard means that the virtual touch screen keyboard will be the main user interface and of course, the screen follows WGA standards (this means viewing content on landscape mode is going to be quite a familiar experience for existing smart phone users).

Other features will include GPS (expect location based apps and features), Bluetooth, WiFi, and of course, access to the Android Market and possibly, Orange’s own app store as well.

Switching over to Orange Mobile may not be such a great plan for some, but for those who want to try out something new and are having their current contracts expire in the next few months, this is a great smart phone and network to switch to.

Just a few weeks after its release, the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 may turn out to be one of Samsung’s biggest sellers. With superior engineering and innovative technology encased within its handsomely-designed casing, the i9000 is Samsung’s most advanced smartphone to date, receiving praises from mobile fans and reviewers alike.

Seat of power

At the very heart of the system beats a powerful and efficient ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor which powers up the phone’s operating system, the popular Android v2.1 (Éclair) OS. The OS and the processor works in tandem with the phone’s beefed-up user interface, the TouchWiz 3.0.

This combination creates an overall synergistic effect which enables the Samsung Galaxy S to handle even the most challenging application or function with amazing ease.

Raft of excellent features

The i9000 comes in both 8 GB and 16 GB models which are upgradeable up to 32 GB via a MicroSD expansion card slot.

Multimedia functionality is provided by a versatile media player which can play audio files in MP3, WAV, eAAC+, AC3 and FLAC formats as well as video files in MP4, DivX, WMV, H.264 and H.263 formats with amazing clarity and presence. A 3.5 mm audio jack for earphones is provided as well for private listening.

The Samsung Galaxy S comes with a large 4-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen which displays a stunning 16 million colours at 480 x 800 pixels resolution. Other display features include an accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor and touch-sensitive controls

Multi-mode digital camera

The Samsung Galaxy S is equipped with a built-in 5 megapixel digital camera which is capable as well of recording videos at 30 frames per second. It can display vivid images at 2592 x 1944 pixels resolution and is capable of taking pictures in panoramic mode, stop motion and cartoon mode. A secondary VGA camera is provided to support video chat.

While a majority of mainstream mobile phone users have been consuming the pop phenomenon that is the iPhone, a relative newcomer is slowly making its way up – the hard way that is. With the HTC Desire, the Taiwan-based manufacturer is taking the more conventional path towards the consumer’s hearts – by coming up with a device that is not only all bark, but also has a lot of bite to go with it.

Making Waves

Let’s get things straight. We’re not claiming that the iPhone (in particular) doesn’t have the goods to back up the entire buzz that has and continues to surround it to this day. We actually believe otherwise as we consider it to be one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. However, we just think that the HTC Desire is a much better mobile phone. Why, might you ask? Well, we can give you two very good reasons.

Feature-Filled

The HTC Desire is definitely one of the most impressive Smartphones in the market simply because of its awesome set of features. For starters, its 3.7” AMOLED touch screen display delivers the most vivid image outputs at an amazing 480 x 800 pixels. It also has a cutting edge 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon for its processor which remains to be the most powerful in the market. And, there’s even an above-average 5-Megapixel snapper on board which can snap excellent quality photos. Last but not least, the Desire has the Google Android mobile operating system on board – enough said.

Value for Money

If that’s not impressive enough for you then maybe you should know that the HTC Desire retails at average price of £400. This means that at this considerably reasonable price, you’d be able to get all of the top-of-the-line features you’d expect from a Smartphone of this calibre. Or there are, of course, any number of great HTC Desire deals that’ll save you from having to make that one big expenditure. If you asked us, we’d rather go for the Desire than to spend a good 500 odd pounds for say, an iPhone 3GS.