It looks like Apple was not content with the number of mobile phone manufacturers they have dragged into the mess they are in. Last week, Apple held an ‘emergency conference’ to discuss the iPhone 4 antenna issue. While they were announcing that owners of the smart phone will be given free cases (those that already bought cases will be eligible for a refund instead), they also stated that the antenna issues that they are having exist in other mobile phones are well.

Apple is right about certain things, like the fact that the mobile phone antenna is prone to losing signals when they come into contact with the human hand –and the fact that human hands are not good amplifiers of mobile signals.

However, Apple’s allegation that this is a ‘challenge’ is not as true as one might think. Sure, the problem is there, but other mobile phone manufacturers have been doing great in finding solutions for it. Some mobile phone networks locate the antenna in areas of the handset that are not easily touched by the hand such as below the device or by keeping the antenna internally.

A recently uploaded video of the Nokia N97 smart phone, by Apple, shows the device with full signal strength. When a hand wraps around the device –as it is normally held, the signal drops down all the way to two bars. While significant, this has never been a serious issue. And the reason is because the N97 Mini can still make and complete voice calls even if a hand is touching the device –something that the iPhone 4 cannot do.

Also, Apple failed to mention the fact that the N97 Mini has been around for almost a year now and that the smart phone has never had a serious history of dropped calls complaints from existing users. This means that even if the device does have a few dropped calls every now and then, it does not happen often enough to be a concern.

The original N97 is an odd thing, full of contradictions and strife. On the one hand, it’s a clumsy, unwieldy, clunky, basically obese phone that was given a lukewarm reception by many in the industry on its release. On the other hand, it’s a top-drawer smartphone that blows most of its competitors out of the water and shifted two million units in a little under three months, almost single-handedly (or double-handedly, along with the even more impressive 5800) keeping Nokia’s quarterly finances just mildly shocking, when by all rights they should have been utterly shocking.

We think this is due to one of two things. Firstly, it might be that the so-called industry are just a bunch of cynical old gits who like to pan everything as soon as it’s released, regardless of how good it actually is. Or, it might be because while the N97 was flawed in many ways, the public still recognised it’s greatness and wanted a piece of its (high in saturated fat) pie. And recognising that both of these are probably true, we can’t help but feel the Nokia N97 Mini is going to sell like little low fat, low-GI, high fibre, free range, wheat grass infused hot cakes. Because it is literally exactly the same phone, just in a physical package that actually feels not only good, but right. And feeling right is one of the hardest things a phone can achieve, but boy does this little thing do it.

And yes, yes, we know the mini Nokia N97 is not exactly exactly the same, but all the changes (that you’ll find in this Nokia N97 mini review) are so minor that we can’t even be arsed talking about them. All you’ve got to realise is that if you’ve been tempted by all you’ve read or heard about the N97, only to then find yourself wondering why someone has placed a small car in your hand when you’ve gone along to test one out, then the mini is just what you need. It’s as simple as that. And, simple as it is, this is why we think people are going to be flocking mini-wards faster than you can say get your Nokia N97 Mini deals here.

Touch Screen mobile phones are all the rage at the moment, so it didn’t surprise us when Toshiba announced that they were wading into the market with the Toshiba TG01. We have to say that it is not a bad first effort from Toshiba as they look to take their experience from the TV industry and pack it into a tiny mobile device. The Toshiba TG01 sports a massive 4.1 inch screen which is larger than that of the Tmobile G1 and even bigger than the newly announced LG Arena. This in theory means that making the best use of your media applications will be a much more enjoyable experience for those using the mobile phone.
Another selling point for the TG01 is the fact that it comes with the fastest processor of any mobile phone to date. At 1 GHZ it should make light weight of any applications that you are trying to run. The TG01 is based on the Windows Mobile platform, which according to Stuff won’t be to everybody’s taste. However they have done some considerable customisation and this allows you to fine tune th OS to suit your needs.
So what are the TG01’s Competitors? Well the already mentioned LG Arena KM900 is one and the other would be the mighty Nokia N97, set for release in July of this year. WE are hoping to get our hands on all of these handsets in the very near future so that we can bring you a fair review to provide you with a clear winner. In the meantime, check out this video of the TG01in action

We are hoping that you will be able to get the TG01 on the following networks:
O2
Orange
Vodafone
T Mobile
Virgin

The impending release of the Nokia N97 is raising a few eyebrows, mainly who will get the exclusive launch of one of the most coveted handsets of 2009. Early Nokia N97 reviews have already been positive with many business users suggesting that they would much rather go with this phone over the Iphone. The big question is, who has Nokia done a deal with to decide who gets first release of this qwerty keyboard, touch screen, push email monster of a phone. The one that would make most sense is the Nokia N97 on Vodafone, as it does not have a killer handset of its own at the moment apart from the Blackberry Storm which has not been the most well received of handsets. Then you may see the Nokia N97 on orange, after all they do have exclusivity on the 5800, the other touch screen mobile phone from Nokia. The outsiders though would have to O2. If they could pull it off and be the first network to launch the Nokia N97 on O2 it would be something of a masterpiece. Having the iphone and the N97 would provide enough of an incentive for plenty of people to switch to their network. I guess we will have to wait and see who manages to pull off the coup of 2009!