Mobile Fun Blog

Blackberry’s back! (well kind of) Celebrate with a new case.

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

We know that Blackberry have been down for a few days and that users haven’t been too happy about their loss of service.  Jokes have been circling the Twittersphere about ‘Blackberry crumbles’ and ‘What did one Blackberry user say to another? Nothing’, but thankfully for Blackberry users the services seem to be returning to normal today.

What better way to celebrate than by getting a brand spanking new Blackberry case!  Here’s a few of our favourites.

Otterbox Defender for Blackberry Bold 9780

The first case is for the Blackberry Bold 9780 and is from the Otterbox range.  What’s great about Otterbox cases is that they provide three layers of protection: a thin thermal-formed cover for the screen and keys; a polycarbonate shell to protect the handset and a final silicone skin which absorbs shocks.

When combined this leads to the ultimate in protection , all whilst the Blackberry Bold 9780 case aims to remain as sleek and stylish as possible.

Otterbox for Blackberry Bold 9780

Dicota Hard Cover for Blackberry Curve 8520

The next case is for the popular Blackberry Curve 8520.  When the handset first arrived it was used primarily by business men but since then the BBM features have attracted a lot of teenagers to the handset.  The Dicota Blackberry Curve 8520 case is perfect for those teens who want a stylish yet sophisticated case.

Made from an impact resistant hard plastic, the Dicota hard cover snaps onto the back of you Blackberry and offers slim protection and a perfect fit.

One of the most fashionable blackberry curves cases, it offers protection from scratches and scrapes whilst giving you access to all the ports and features of the handset.  Even better the case offers extra grip to the handset to help you avoid those butterfingers moments.

Dicota Blackberry Curve Case

Samsonite Mobile Phone Holster

Samsonite are well known for their high quality luggage so when purchasing a Samsonite Blackberry Torch case you know that you’re getting a high quality product even without the ten year guarantee!

The case is made from genuine leather to add style and protection and it’s perfect for both work and socialising.   This Samsonite mobile phone holster will fit a lot of different phone models due to it’s size – Krusell also do a similar style case.

Being a holster style cover means that every inch of your handset is protected but in order to use the features and ports of your handset it must be removed from the case.

Samsonite Mobile Phone Holster

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Top Ten Phones of 2010

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

It’s been an interesting and busy year in the world of mobile phones. Countless new handsets have all been gunning for the top spot and trying to beat Apple’s iPhone. Stiff competition from Samsung and HTC has meant that the iPhone isn’t always the phone of choice – as our X-Factor giveaway showed. But which handset really was the winner in 2010?

With just 3 days left of 2010, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the top handsets from the last year and see just which of them came out on top – after all, it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t do an end of the year round up!

The handsets listed below are ranked on their popularity on the main Mobile Fun website from the 1st January through to today (29th December) and are based on a the number of people visiting the accessory pages for each handset.

There are a few surprises in here – most noticeable is that there are no handsets from Nokia, Motorola or LG.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 - Black

10 - Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Release Date: April 2010
Operating System: Android

At ten is the X10 from Sony Ericsson, it’s their only handset to make it into the top ten. It was their first handset to run the Android operating system and shows that Sony Ericsson aren’t just going to lie down and let the iPhone take over. The handset is crammed full of features, including a massive 4 inch screen, 8 megapixel camera with flash and a fast, 1GHz processor. Sony Ericsson have changed both the charging and headphone port on the phone, making the task of finding X10 Accessories easier than ever.

HTC Desire HD

9 - HTC Desire HD

Release Date: October 2010
Operating System: Android

Some of the guys in the office were surprised to see the HTC Desire HD finish so low in the top ten. Although it’s hugely popular, it’s only been out for a few weeks, so to even finish in the top 10 is a great achievement. It won’t take it long to get to the top spot, and I’m certain that this is going to be one of the biggest Android phones of 2011. The Desire HD is essentially the same as the original HTC Desire, but with a few noticeable differences – the first, and most obvious is the screen size – 4.3 inches – perfect for internet browsing and watching videos. Other differences include more internal storage, more RAM, and an upgraded camera.

8th Place - iPhone 3G

8 – iPhone 3G

Release Date: July 2008
Operating System: iOS

I bet you weren’t expecting to see the 2nd generation iphone in the top ten! At 2 and a half years old, this is the oldest handset in our list and was officially discontinued by Apple back in July. For it to still be in the top ten there must be a lot of people keeping them after their contracts have expired or passing them on to friends and family when they upgrade. The iPhone 3G uses the same wide range of iPhone accessories as the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, with the exception of a few speakers and docks.

7th Place - Samsung Galaxy S

7 - Samsung Galaxy S

Release Date: June 2010
Operating System: Android

Samsung hadn’t had much success with Android handsets, not until they launched the Galaxy S anyway. The phone was released almost at the same time as iPhone 4 and proved to be a great alternative. It matches or beats the spec of both the iPhone 4 and HTC Desire and has an equally stunning 4 inch display. The Samsung Galaxy S is without doubt the best Samsung phone of 2010 and it comes as no surprise that the Galaxy S is the only Samsung phone to feature in the top ten.

6th Place - BlackBerry Bold 9700

6 - BlackBerry Bold 9700

Release Date: November 2009
Operating System: BlackBerry

The media are saying that BlackBerry are having a tough time as more and more people are switch to Android and iOS devices, but that’s not necessarily the case. Two BlackBerry handsets have made it into the top ten – thanks mainly to their large corporate user base. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is the professional’s ‘Berry of choice as it has fast 3G internet, a clear, high resolution screen and is perfect for messaging and emailing on the move. It’s interesting that their two touch screen efforts, the Torch and Storm2 didn’t even come close to making the top ten, finishing 26th and 46th respectively.

5th Place - iPhone 3GS

5 – iPhone 3GS

Release Date: July 2009
Operating System: iOS

The second iPhone to feature in the top ten is the iPhone 3GS – the faster version of the iPhone 3G. Visually they’re the same phone and all iPhone 3GS accessories also work with the iPhone 3G – the only real differences were to the internals of the phone. The 3GS has a faster processor and an improved camera. The iPhone 3GS is still available now, and will be until Apple announce iPhone 5 in July so I wouldn’t expect the 3GS to disappear any time soon.

HTC HD2

4 - HTC HD2

Release Date: October 2009
Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.5

There is only Windows Mobile phone in our top ten – the HTC HD2. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise, as the HD2 is one of the best Windows 6.5 Smartphones we’ve ever used. The huge 4.3 inch screen makes using the OS pretty easy, despite it being designed for sylus based input. What is surprising though is that this is another fairly old handset, that’s now been replaced by the HD7 running Windows Phone 7.

3rd Place - BlackBerry 8520 Curve

3 - BlackBerry 8520 Curve

Release Date: August 2009
Operating System: BlackBerry

BlackBerry have always been associated with business users, but that all changed with the Curve series of phones. The original 8310 was a great handset that suited businesses on a budget, but it still didn’t really appeal to everyday consumers. Fast forward a couple of years, add in a much wider range of 8520 Curve accessories like covers and cases, freshen up the operating system and bring the price down and you get one of the most popular BlackBerry phones ever. It’s been around for a while and there’s plenty of life left in it, although the Curve 3G is gaining popularity and could soon knock it off it’s perch.

Nearly, but not quite - iPhone 4

2 – iPhone 4

Release Date: July 2010
Operating System: iOS

No, you’re not seeing things  - the iPhone 4 isn’t the top handset of 2010, but it is a very close second. If it had been on sale for as long as the phone in first place, it would easily have taken the top spot. iPhone 4 is still the handset that manufacturers are trying to beat and the only one who seems to have achieved the impossible so far looks to be HTC – having said that, no-one can touch the iPhone for simplicity of use, it’s stunning looks, app store content or the huge range of iPhone 4 accessories.

Finally then, the Number one handset of 2010 is the HTC Desire.

Top handset of 2010 - HTC Desire

Release Date: March 2010
Operating System: Android

It’s the closest thing to an iPhone killer that you’ll get and one that Android fans have been desperate to get their hands on. The Desire is easily the most popular Android phone out there, although the Desire HD will catch it up pretty soon. The Desire was the first mainstream handset to get a fast 1GHz processor and has an amazing screen. The range of Desire accessories is growing all the time too, although it will have a tough time matching or beating the number of iPhone 4 cases that are available!

So there we are, that’s our top handsets of 2010. Any surprises? Should any other handsets have made it? Let us know in the comments.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Mobile Fun Hot Handsets – July 2010

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

After a busy month for Apple, HTC & Samsung it’s time for another new Hot Handset list. July saw 3 of the biggest handsets go head to head with each other, but with limited supply and numerous problems reported with iPhone 4, it was going to be interesting to see which handset came out on top. This month there are three new entries into the top ten, with the other handsets staying pretty static. Here’s how the handsets ranked for July. (Previous month’s position is shown in brackets)

iPhone is back on top

1. (2) iPhone 4
2. (1) HTC Desire
3. (2) iPhone 3GS
4. (4) BlackBerry Curve 8520
5. (-) Samsung Galaxy S
6. (6) BlackBerry Bold 9700
7. (3) HTC HD2
8. (5) Sony Ericsson X10
9. (-) Samsung Wave
10. (-) HTC Wildfire

Despite all it’s perceived problems, the iPhone 4 has stormed its way to the top of the charts, and that’s before it’s was launched on all networks. It only went on sale with T-Mobile and Three 2 days ago, so next month I’d expect iPhone 4 to have an even bigger lead over the HTC Desire. This means that the Desire has been knocked off the top spot after 3 months. Following HTC’s announcement that they’re downgrading the screen on the Desire due to supply issues, I’d expect it to drop even further next month. Another handset that’s worth mentioning is the iPhone 3GS, which despite now being an old model held on to third place – I’d imagine the recent price drop and it being offered on all networks will have helped with this considerably.

The scores are achieved using a points system. We award points based on sales, number of customers owning each phone, searches on the website, page views and a few other bits of data. At the end of the month we total these up and publish the rankings.

For the last couple of months I’ve been revealing the scores for the top handsets as I think it gives a better idea of just how incredibly popular these phones are. This month iPhone 4 scored more than the HTC Desire and iPhone 3GS combined, based on our points system.

iPhone 4 scored 318 points (+ 198), the HTC Desire came in second with 206 points (-37),  iPhone 3GS held on to 3rd place with  100(no change).  By comparison, the BlackBerry 8520 in 4th scored 39 points and the HTC Wildfire in tenth place scored just 20.

BlackBerry handsets have had another strong month and have managed to hold onto the same positions that they’ve held for the last 3 months.

Sony Ericsson aren’t doing too badly, the X10 slipped slightly to 8th place. Their new X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro didn’t manage to make the top ten, but finished 12th and 25th respectively.

Nokia as I predicted last month, Nokia have now slipped out of the top ten. Their best performing handset is still the X6 which has dropped to 14th place.

Motorola. Still no sign of Motorola. Despite a few recent successes in America, Motorola are still struggling to launch a winner over here. Their best performer this month was the Milestone which could only manage 41st.

LG could only manage 23rd with the Cookie. This is really bad as the Cookie was originally released back in 2007 and they’ve failed to release a handset since then that’s been anywhere near as popular.

Samsung have had a good month with both the Galaxy S and the Wave breaking into the top ten – a massive improvement on last months 27th and 14th places respectively. The Tocco Lite has held on to 11th place.  The Galaxy S is a great alternative to both iPhone 4 and the HTC Desire so I’d expect to see this in the top ten for a quite a while.

Coming Up

August and September are fairly quiet months for handset releases, although we are hoping to see some new handsets from BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola. For more information on what’s coming up in the next few weeks, take a look at our Release Calendar.

About this Top Ten

This list is unique as it is not based on handset sales, but the number of users with a particular phone, accessory sales and visitors to the mobilefun.co.uk website between 1st & 31st July 2010.

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Mobile Fun’s Hot Handsets – June 2010

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Another new month sees another new Hot Handset list. June saw the biggest phone release in history with the iPhone 4, but with a limited number of handsets making their way into the UK, iPhone 4 didn’t quite manage to push the Desire out of the number one slot, but still stormed into the charts in second place. As with last month, there is just one new entry, with most handsets moving just a couple of places. Here’s how the handsets ranked for June. (Previous month’s position is shown in brackets)

HTC Desire is still Number 1

1. (1) HTC Desire
2. (-) iPhone 4
3. (2) iPhone 3G/3GS
4. (4) BlackBerry Curve 8520
5. (3) HTC HD2
6. (6) BlackBerry Bold 9700
7. (5) Sony Ericsson X10
8. (7) Sony Ericsson Vivaz
9. (8) HTC Legend
10. (10) Nokia X6

Given the hype and the fact that Apple sold 1.7 million phones in just 3 days I really expected the HTC Desire to come in second, if not 3rd. This means that the Desire has now been the most popular phone for 3 months. Having said that, the Desire’s popularity has dropped off a little over the past 4 weeks and I think it’s going to struggle to keep the top spot next month as more and more people manage to get their hands on iPhone 4.

The scores are achieved using a points system. We award points based on sales, number of customers owning each phone, searches on the website, page views and a few other bits of data. At the end of the month we total these up and publish the rankings.

For the last couple of months I’ve been revealing the scores for the top handsets as I think it gives a better idea of just how incredibly popular these phones are. This month the Desire scored twice the amount of points than the iPhone 4 and more than all variants of iPhone combined based on our points system.

The HTC Desire scored 243 points (-71),  iPhone 4 went straight in to second place with 120 and the iPhone 3G/3GS dropped to 100(-44).  By comparison, the BlackBerry 8520 in 4th scored 38 points and the Nokia X6 in tenth place scored just 13. What’s interesting here is that iPhone 4 scored almost the same amount that the Desire and iPhone 3GS dropped, suggesting that a high number of Desire and iPhone owners have made the switch to iPhone4.

BlackBerry handsets have had another strong month and have managed to hold onto the same positions that they’ve held for the last 2 months.

Sony Ericsson aren’t doing too badly, the Vivaz is sitting comfortably in 8th place but their Android powered X10 dropped down two places to 7th place. Surprising to see the X10 mini didn’t make the top ten and finished 21st.

Nokia are still desperately clinging on to 10th place, and I really thought they’d be out of the top ten this time round. The N8 isn’t due for another 6-8 weeks and I’d be very surprised if the X6 is still there next month

Motorola. Oh dear, still no sign of Motorola, despite a number of new phones being announced. They seem to be gaining popularity again over in the states, but they need to do something soon in the UK or people are going to start forgetting all about them. Their best performer was the

LG could only manage 24th with the Cookie. This is really bad as they’ve released so many phones since the Cookie, but they’re just not popular.

Palm have been bought out by HP now, so I don’t expect to see much from them. None of their current phones feature in the top 100.

Samsung are suffering again this month. The Tocco Lite has held on to 11th place, but their flagship handsets, the Galaxy S and the Wave aren’t doing as well as they’d have hoped with the Galaxy S coming in 27th and the Wave 14th. Surprising really as the Galaxy S is a great alternative to both iPhone 4 and the HTC Desire.

Coming Up

July and August will see some big handset releases0 and I can’t wait to see how well they all do. For more information on what’s coming up in the next few weeks, take a look at our Release Calendar.

About this Top Ten

This list is unique as it is not based on handset sales, but the number of users with a particular phone, accessory sales and visitors to the mobilefun.co.uk website between 1st & 30th June 2010.

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Mobile Fun’s Hot Handsets – May 2010

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Another new month sees another new Hot Handset list. May was a relatively quiet month for new releases so I wasn’t expecting much to change. There is just one new entry, but for the most part, the rankings haven’t really changed. Here’s how the handsets ranked for May. (Previous month’s position is shown in brackets)

HTC Desire is the most popular phone

1. (1) HTC Desire
2. (2) iPhone
3. (3) HTC HD2
4. (4) BlackBerry Curve 8520
5. (5) Sony Ericsson X10
6. (6) BlackBerry Bold 9700
7. (7) Sony Ericsson Vivaz
8. (-) HTC Legend
9. (8) HTC Hero
10. (10) Nokia X6

Not much movement at first glance – the HTC Desire has kept the iPhone off the top spot for the second month running! The Desire’s popularity has grown significantly over the course of the last month.

On last month’s top ten I revealed the scores for the top handsets - the Desire scored over 30% more than the iPhone did based on our points system – this month it scored an unbelievable 218% more than the iPhone! In fact, it scored more than the next 5 handsets combined.

The HTC Desire soared to 314 points,  the iPhone dropped slightly to 144 and the HTC HD2 dropped to 59.  By comparison, the Nokia X6 in tenth place scored just 15.

The scores are achieved using a points system, we award points based on sales, number of customers owning each phone, searches on the website, page views and a few other bits of data. At the end of the month we total these up and publish the rankings.

Despite being almost identical to the HTC Desire, the Google Nexus One didn’t make the top ten and finished in 18th place.

BlackBerry handsets have had a strong month again and managing to hold onto their positions from last month.

Sony Ericsson aren’t doing too badly, the Vivaz is sitting comfortably in 7th place and their Android powered X10 held on to 5th place.

Nokia are still clinging on to 10th place, but with no new handsets due for a couple of months, I’d expect this to be their last appearance for a while. Hopefully the Nokia N8 will do well for them, but that’s not due until August.

Motorola, bless them, are yet again nowhere near at 32 with the Milestone, and LG could only manage 19th with the Cookie. It’s not good news for Palm either, despite having two new handsets go on sale.  The Palm Pre has now dropped out of the top 100 completely.

Samsung are suffering this month too, with the Tocco Lite slipping out of the top ten and into 11th place.

Coming Up

June and July are always great months for handset releases. There are some big handsets coming and I can’t wait to see how well they all do. In just over a week Apple will be announcing their new iPhone, the Samsung Wave is due to hit the shelves any day now, with the Galaxy S not far behind it – three big releases that will no doubt turn this list upside down.

For more information on what’s coming up in the next few weeks, take a look at our Release Calendar.

About this Top Ten

This list is unique as it is not based on handset sales, but the number of users with a particular phone, accessory sales and visitors to the mobilefun.co.uk website between 1st & 30th April 2010.

(No Ratings Yet)

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