The first thing you notice when you turn unbox the Galaxy S2 for the first time, hold it in your hands and turn it on, is how thin and light it is. It feels extremely delicate in the hand, like a large thin slice of expensive chocolate. It’s marvellous to turn on the screen; its wide expanse serves as a crazy counterpoint to the small dimensions everywhere else.

Watching streamed video is a treat on the bright and wide screen, although downloaded images were spoiled by over-aggressive compression by my mobile provider. The back cover also feels a bit flimsy, although that’s easily alleviated by purchasing a Samsung Galaxy S2 case.

Once you really get going with the Galaxy S2, you notice how quick it is. You can install apps two at a time with the quick dual core processor, which clocks in at 1.2GHz, and the phone’s benchmarking scores are off the charts (quite literally). This is the fastest mobile device I’ve ever used, and quite an upgrade from my T-Mobile G1, and even the Desires and Nexii of my friends. This power comes at a cost in terms of lower battery life, but that’s something I can live with.

The Android operating system is well served by the large screen and fast internals. The latest version, Gingerbread, comes installed by default. There’s also a cadre of Samsung-crafted apps, including useful upgrades to many of the standard Android applications, such as messaging, media player and more. It’s not as good as HTC’s Sense, but still represents a good upgrade over the stock experience.

It’s a wonderful feeling to have such a well equipped phone; whenever I read about a new technology in the latest phones – whether it be hosted USB, MHL connections to HDMI or assisted GPS, I can trust the Galaxy S2 to have it. I’m still slightly in awe of the fact that so much has been crammed into such a skinny silhouette.

All in all, I’m happy to report that my premonitions of smartphone inadequacy were wrong, and with Apple’s recent announcement of the iPhone 4S, I can remain confident that I bought the best smartphone on the market — just look at the reviews. While upcoming Android smartphones will boast faster CPUs and 720p HD displays, I can at least be sure that the Galaxy S2 will be remembered as a flagship smartphone, emblematic of the technical superiority Android phones now enjoy and the careful vision of Samsung.

This article was written by William Judd. William writes for MobileFun.co.uk, the UK’s largest online retailer of mobile phone accessories, including Samsung accessories.

If rumours are true, then this conference could see the launch of two iPhones, the iPhone 5 and a entry-level version dubbed the iPhone 4S. The ceonference is also said to be used for the formal accnoument of the already announced Cloud and Apple’s iOS 5.

This deal follows on from the success of Orange Wednesdays! We would have liked it to be have been called Orange Thursdays then we could have an Orange themed day every day!

What’s the catch? Well the new offer will allow you to download one film a week which has been chosen by Orange for the cost of the text message to watch on a PC, Laptop or Apple Device. As with all rentals from iTunes they are valid for 30 days.

The first films to be offered from Orange via Film to Go will be Mickey Rourke’s The Wrestler, The Ghost starring Ewan McGregor, and Che: Part One.

As long as Orange offers movies to download that people want to see, then this is sure to be a hit! But that is looking doubtful as I have never heard of the above films and have no intention of watching them! I wonder how long it will take for some decent movies to be released on the promotion?

What are you thoughts on their new service will this encourage you to stay/join Orange?

We now have a separate page for comparing Pay As You Go deals. You can select phones using the drop down, as well as selecting network and a maximum price. You can also use the list found on the right hand side of the page to find your phone, and if your not sure its the one your after hover your mouse over the name of the phone to see an image of the phone! Easy!

The new page also details how much (if any) airtime credit (top up) needs to purchased and as our deals are updated every day from all the leading retailers you can be sure that you are getting the best deal possible!

Why not try it out and let us know what you think! Compare Pay As You Go prices here!

To be eligible for this promotion you just need to have passport activated on your account, to do this follow the following instructions;

Existing contract customers just need to text “Passport” to 97888.

and Pay As You Go customers also need to text “Passport” to 2345.

But don’t worry if you don’t already have a Vodafone mobile as you can get a Vodafone SIM card to take abroad with you. SIM only deals start from just £10 a month and include 100 minutes and 500 texts, remember these allowances can be used whilst abroad. SIM only deals are great for people that do not want to have a lengthy commitment period as they only have a 30 day minimum contract! As another option Vodafone sell pay as you go phones from as little as £15 plus a £10 top up!

Click here to view SIM Only deals.
Click here to view Pay As You Go deals.

Whilst the changes have taken place, we are waiting for all the retailers to update their data so over the next few days you might notice some discrepancies. Some retailers and network sites will not update their online prices but the the important thing is that the new lower prices will apply when you receive your bill from the network. These changes will be in place until the VAT rate changes again, the next review is due in Jan 2010.

As an example, Racoon £35 will now cost £34.26. Orange have also reduced the cost of all handsets and modems they have rounded all the prices down to the nearest 50p.

T-Mobile have reduced all their monthly rentals for new and existing customers, however these changes will not be shown on the website for the time being. Pay As You Go customers will also benefit from the changes. Pay As You Go customers will receive extra credit depending on the amount they top up.

Vodafone have also passed on the VAT saving to all new and existing customers and line rental will be reduced by 2.13%. Pay As You Go customers will also receive an extra 2.5% extra credit when they top up, this is actually more than the effective VAT saving.

3 Mobile are passing the VAT cut on all their products and services. The updated prices will not be shown on the website for the time being but you will pay the new lower price. As an example if the advertised price is £129.99, you only pay £127.22 and if a pay monthly tariff is advertised at £21.00 a month you will only be charged £20.55. Pay As You Go customers will also receive extra credit depending on how much they top up. For example if you top up by £10.00 you will receive £10.18 of credit.

O2 have passed on the reduction to all new and existing customers however the new prices may not be displayed on all web sites immediately.

Compare all Mobile Phone Deals.

Click here to compare all Pay As You Go Prices.

If you know what phone you’re looking for simply, follow the link above and select the Make and Model from the drop down boxes to find the cheapest price of that particular model.

Happy Christmas Shopping!

The deals added include Free gifts such as; a Home Cinema Projector, a Nintendo Wii and a 32 inch HD TV and a Howson Golf Set. As well as hundreds of deals with automatic cash back that require no lengthy waits to get your money!

Your Phone Reviews allow you to compare deals with automatic cash back deals, meaning there are no worries other having to remember to claim cash back and sending off paperwork.

The Skypephone S2 is Free on monthly contracts starting from £15 per month, this tariff gives you an allowance of 300 minutes or 300 texts or a combination of the two. Not forgetting the Free Skype calls and Free Voicemail and Free Instant Messages using Skype chat.

There are quick links on the phone to allow you fast and easy access to Windows Live Messenger, Facebook or Google. The S2 also has a great 3.2 mega pixel camera.

Compare 3 Skypephone S2 deals.

Last year all the networks were forced into an agreement to reduce the cost of roaming whilst roaming in an EU country making it more cost effective for you, the consumer. Whilst there was a banding put in place for these calls most networks priced their calls towards the upper limit that the government set. Thus they were still making a huge profit from calls made by yourselves.

The call charges for each network are listed below to help you when you make an informed choice when picking your new mobile.

As you can see 3 Mobile have the cheapest rates and have really come well below the rate that was set by the government. Just so you know the official rate that networks had to stick to was 38p a minute to make a call and 19p a minute to receive a call. As you can see all the networks have stuck to this “guideline” with the exception of O2 shaving a couple of pence of and 3 Mobile reducing their cost by masses! There is still no official guidelines on what a text or picture message should cost. However all texts that are received abroad are free.

The government is currently in talks with the networks to reduce the cost of data charges whilst roaming abroad too, currently this can be extremely expensive when compared to the cost of data whilst in the UK. So we have included these in the above table as well. As you can see 3 Mobile again stick out with the lowest cost at only £3/MB.