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.

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.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Apple have just announced the iPhone 4 and along with it iOS 4.0 – the latest major update to the operating system on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. There are a number of great new features, but one of the features that I was really hoping to see was full support for Stereo Bluetooth Headsets and music control using AVRCP.

In simple terms, this means that you would have been able to listen to your music from your iPhone through a pair of Bluetooth Headphones and control your music playback, (play, pause, forward, rewind and volume) using the controls on the headset, but Apple for some reason have yet again decided to leave this feature out of iOS4 so you’ll need to continue to skip tracks using the iPod app on your iPhone.

There is a work around of course and that is to jailbreak your phone, but that’s not something that a lot of people want to do and I can’t say as I blame them.

Although iOS4 doesn’t fully support Stereo Bluetooth, it does still support the basics, so you can enjoy your music in stereo and play/pause your music, you just can’t skip backwards/forwards. There are plenty of Stereo Bluetooth Headsets that will work with the iPhone and last June I compiled a list of my favourite Bluetooth Headphones, but as headsets have changed and the phone now supports more features, I thought it was well worth revisiting the list and updating it with some of the best new Bluetooth Headphones for iPhone.

Background Apps

Another new feature in iOS 4 is that you can now leave audio apps running in the background. This is great news for anyone who regularly uses streaming services such as spotify or Last.fm as it means you can now continue listening even if you’re browsing the web or emailing.

We’re using the latest version of the iOS4 beta software to test these headsets, but until developers update their apps to support multitasking, we aren’t going to be able to confirm that the headsets listed below will work with apps running in the background, but look out for a separate post once iOS 4 is officially released on the 21st June.

iPhone 4 Bluetooth Headphones

Right, on to the headsets!  With so many to choose from, it can get a bit overwhelming, so I’ve been through our current range of Bluetooth Headphones and compiled a list of my top 5 Bluetooth Headphones for the all new iPhone 4.

The headsets below were all tested with iPhone but should work just as well with the iPod touch.  If you have an iPod touch 2G (or newer), then you will be able to play / pause your music and, in some cases, adjust the volume but you won’t be able to use these headsets with any of your VOIP apps (such as Skype) on your iPod. Bluetooth won’t work on the first generation iPod touch as it doesn’t have bluetooth built in.

1. Sony Ericsson MW600 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

These are the most popular Bluetooth Headphones we’ve ever sold! Not only do they allow you to listen to music from your iPhone without a wired connection, they have a built in FM radio – something the iPhone has long been criticised for not having.

Another unique feature is that they have their own volume control – this means that you can adjust the volume on the headset or on the phone. As with most headphones on this list, they have the ability to skip tracks, but as the iPhone doesn’t support it, the feature is a little wasted for now. It’s multipoint too, so you can use it with your PC or Playstation 3 at the same time.For more details, take a look at my Sony Ericsson MW600 Review.

Sony Ericsson MW600 Stereo Headset with Radio

2. Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

The Jabra BT3030 works well with both the iPod touch and all versions of the iPhone.  The BT3030 is another multipoint headset – Multipoint allows you to connect to two devices at once, so you can connect it to your mobile phone and your iPod touch to listen to your music, and when a call comes in, it will pause the music and answer the call from your mobile.

The BT3030 hangs around your neck on a chain or can clip to your belt or pocket, and can be used with any 3.5mm headphones. Volume control on the BT3030 is not a problem, press the ‘+’ or ‘-’ keys to adjust the volume. It has several controls on the main unit, including play, pause and track skip – again, all work fine except track skip.

Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

3. Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headphones

The Jabra Halo Stereo Bluetooth Headphones are great. They’re the most normal looking ‘over the head’ headphones that I’ve come across and work well with the iPhone. It has incredibly simple controls – a touch sensitive slider on the right ear lets you adjust the volume by sliding your finger up or down, where as a double tap would skip the track if iPhone supoprted it. One multi use button lets you play/pause your music as well as answer/end calls and activate voice dialling (iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 only).

When they’re not in use, the headphones fold away so as not to take up too much space and to reduce the chance of them getting damaged. For more info take a look at my Jabra Halo hands on review.

Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headphones

4. Sony Ericsson IS-800 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

These are without doubt my favourite Bluetooth Headphones, but there are others that work better with iPhone and that’s why these have dropped from the top spot last year to fourth place this year. The IS-800 is incredibly small – it’s basically two earpieces joined by a wire! Although there are wires involved, the IS-800 is one of a few headsets that don’t feature a fairly bulky control unit. Instead the IS800 has a small, simple in-line control that allows you to answer and end calls.

Battery life is impressive at upto 270 hours – especially considering how small this headset is. The IS-800 doesn’t support AVCRP, which is fine as neither does the iPhone! The headset doesn’t have any volume controls, so all adjustment needs to be made on your iPhone.

Sony Ericsson IS-800 Stereo Headset

5. Samsung SBH-650 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Samsung don’t do many accessories for phones, but the few that they do make are really good. The Samsung SBH-650 has been a hit with Mobile Fun customers since it launched. It is easy to set up and works really well with iPhone. It’s very similar in terms of spec to the Jabra BT3030 but it looks a smarter. Like the MW600 and the BT3030, you can use your own 3.5mm headphones if you don’t like or lose the ones that come with the headset. It’s also multipoint, so using it with 2 devices at the same time isn’t a problem.

Controls are propably laid out the opposite way round to what you’d expect, with the volume controls on the front and track skip/play/pause on the sides. If you want to know more about the SBH-650, take a look at my Samsung SBH-650 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Review.

Samsung SBB-650

There are more Stereo Bluetooth Headsets for the iPhone and iPod touch over on the main site, so if you’ve not seen one here that does what you want, take a look at all our Stereo Bluetooth Headsets.

If you’ve got any questions or queries about Stereo Bluetooth on the iPhone leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you.

Every June and September Apple announce an upgrade to the iPhone and iPod line up (iPhone in June, iPods in September). For months the media speculate as to what the latest and greatest device to come out of Apple HQ will be called, often getting it wrong and causing no end of confusion in the process.

iPhone Naming

iPhones don’t follow the same naming pattern as iPods. The ‘G’ in iPhone 3G and 3GS refers to the technology within the handset and not the generation of phone. To avoid any future confusion over mobile technology and versions of device  Apple have decided to drop the ‘G’ completely from the name of the new phone and have simply called their latest handset iPhone 4.

What does the “G” mean?

When Apple launched the early iPod’s, they weren’t given names like they are today. The original iPod was replaced by a newer model also called iPod. As the newer model had several advanced features over its predecessor, it was unofficially dubbed the new generation of iPod, this over time change to 2nd Generation, which in turn got shortened to 2G.

The number preceding the “G” just determines where that particular model sits in the range of iPods. Even now with the iPod nano, we are seeing 2nd and 3rd generation models. The original style of iPod is now called the iPod classic, and no doubt as time goes on, more generations will follow.

So which iPod or iPhone have I got?

The list below shows all Apple iPods and iPhones from the last few years. I’ve put the dates that the different generations were released along with the available storage capacity so you should be able to figure out pretty easily which one you’ve got. If yours isn’t listed here, take a look at last years post which shows all models of iPod and iPhone up to March 2009.

iPhone 4

iPhone 4

Available from June 2010 and available in 16GB and 32GB models. The iPhone 4 is a brand new design with a lot of new features over the 3GS. It has a faster processor, higher resolution screen, video calling and a 5MP camera. iPhone 4 is released alongside a major new version of the operating system, iOS4.
Status: 16GB and 32GB launching 24th June 2010
View all iPhone 4 Accessories

iPhone 3G

iPhone 3GS

Available from July 2009 and available in 16GB and 32GB models. The iPhone 3GS is essentially the same as the iPhone 3G, but with improved battery life and a faster processor. There are cosmetic changes but a major new version of the operating system added many new features.
Status: 8GB Current, 16GB and 32GB discontinued 24th June 2010
View all iPhone 3GS accessories

iPhone 3G

iPhone 3G

Available from July 2008 and available in 8GB and 16GB models. The iPhone 3Gis essentially the same as the original iPhone, but with improved battery life and 3G connectivity. Some minor cosmetic changes and the introduction of a white 16GB model. iPhone 3G shipped with software version 2.0 which added the App store and support for Microsoft Exchange.
Status: Discontinued
View all iPhone 3G Accessories

iPhone

iPhone

Available from November 2007 and available in 8GB and 16GB models. The iPhone is a revolutionary Phone, iPod and Internet Device. The iPhone combines all the features of the iPod Touch with a mobile phone.
Status: Discontinued
View all iPhone Accessories

iPad

iPad

Available from June 2010 and available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. The iPad is a whole new type of mobile computer from Apple. It has a much larger touchscreen display that makes emailing, browsing and using your apps much easier. It has the same powerful processor as the all new iPhone 4 and comes in two versions, a Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi and 3G.
Status: Current
View all iPad Accessories

touch 3g

iPod touch 3G

Available from September 2009 and available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models. No visual changes compared to the 2nd Generation Touch. Main upgrade was to processor speed to bring it inline with the new iPhone 3GS.
Status: Current
View all iPod touch 3G Accessories

touch 2g

iPod touch 2G

Available from September 2008 and available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models. The the black beveled edges and back cover on the original iPod Touch gets replaced with stainless steel. Physical volume keys and a speaker are introduced into the slimmer design. Support for Nike+ is added with software version 2.1, along with “Genius” playlists.
Status: Discontinued
View all iPod touch 2G Accessories

iPod touch

iPod touch

Available from September 2007 and available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models. iPod moves to a whole new level with the introduction of the iPod Touch. The click wheel is replaced with a wide screen, touch sensitive display. Wi-Fi is introduced to the iPod range to give internet and email access.
Status: Discontinued
View all iPod touch Accessories

nano 4G

iPod nano 4G

Available from September 2008 and available in 8GB and 16GB models. The iPod Nano returns to its earlier, slimmer design, but with a 2″ widescreen display. Slimmer than previous versions, the iPod Nano 4G has an inbuilt motion sensor which allows you to change track just by shaking it. The iPod Nano 4G is available in 9 new vibrant colours.
Status: Current
View all iPod nano 4G Accessories

iPod nano 3G

iPod nano 3G

Available from September 2007 and available in 4GB and 8GB models. The iPod Nano now lets you enjoy TV shows, music videos, video podcasts and more.
Status: Discontinued
View all iPod nano 3G Accessories

iPod nano 2G

iPod nano 2G

Available from September 2006 and available in 2GB, 4GB & 8GB models. The second-generation Nano come in a variety of scratch-resistant colours.
Status: Discontinued

shuffle 3G

iPod shuffle 3G

Available from March 2009 and available only in 4GB models holding up to 1000 songs. The iPod Shuffle 3G is even smaller than the second generation model, and has no buttons to press to control your music. Instead the iPod Shuffle 3G has a new remote headset that controls volume and play back and a new voice menu system that talks you through your menu’s.
Status: Current
View all iPod shuffle 3G Accessories

iPod Shuffle 2G

iPod shuffle 2G

Available from September 2006 and available in 512MB, 1GB & 2GB models. The second-generation Shuffle comes in only one capacity in a clip-on case that’s roughly half the size of its predecessor. In September 2008 the iPod Shuffle receives a minor make over, with the introduction of 5 new colours.
Status: Discontinued

iPod Shuffle

iPod shuffle

Available from January 2005. Apple gets into the flash-based music player business, introducing the iPod Shuffle. About the size of a stick of gum, the shuffle comes in 512MB and 1GB capacities.
Status: Discontinued

iPod classic

iPod classic

Available from September 2007 and available in 80GB and 160GB models. Re-named the iPod Classic, the iPod Video sees an increase in capacity. In September 2009 the iPod Classic 120GB sees an increase in capacity to 160GB and the 120GB model is discontinued. The iPod Classic continues in Silver and Black
Status: Current
View all iPod classic Accessories

iPod Video

iPod video 5G Available from October 2005 and available in 30GB & 60GB models. The fifth-generation iPod Video plays video on a 2.5-inch, 320-by-240, 260,000 colour TFT display.
Status: Discontinued

iPod Color

iPod colour

Available from June 2005 and available in 20GB & 60GB models. The iPod and iPod photo lines are merged into the iPod Colour, ending the availability of monochrome-screen music players.
Status: Discontinued

iPod Photo

iPod photo

Available from October 2004 and available in 20GB, 40GB or 60GB models. The iPod Photo plays music as well as displays photos on a 220-by-176-pixel resolution screen.
Status: Discontinued

Wondering what’s next from Apple?
You shouldn’t have too long to wait. The next expected announcement is normally a music themed event that takes place in September and normally includes a refresh of all iPod models. This year, I’d expect the iPod touch to get the biggest update, with a new look to bring it in-line with the new iPhone 4 as well as camera and video capabilities. Look for more news on the Mobile Fun Blog nearer the time.

December has been a relatively quiet month for new releases but with manufacturers fighting to sell the most phones at Christmas, who’s going to come out on top?

To see which are the most popular handsets in the UK right now, or to see if your phone makes our top ten, head over to our Hot Handsets page.

Qstik Evo Q Bluetooth Headset

What’s Included

Normally with a Bluetooth Headset, you get a user manual and a charger and thats about all, but not with the Qstik.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that along with a Mains Charger, there was a desktop stand, an in car holder and magnetic mount, a spare ear loop and ear gel, user guide and the Stereo Headphones. I’d be impressed if a £70 headset came with that many accessories, but to find them all in with a headset of this price range is fantastic.

The desk holder and car holder both share the same charging cradle, so you will need to remember to carry the charging cradle with you as it’s not possible to plug the mains charger into the headset directly.

2 in 1

Whilst it looks like an ordinary Bluetooth headset, the EVO Q is actually 2 products in 1.  The Qstik is a Mono Bluetooth headset that can be used for voice calls on your mobile phone & VOIP calls on your PC, and when you connect the earphones, it becomes a Stereo Bluetooth headset that you can use to listen to music from your mobile phone or PC wirelessly.  To switch between Mono and Stereo, it’s just a case of plugging in the Stereo Headphones into the headset and launching the Music Player on your phone.

Pairing

Getting the Qstik Evo Q to work with my phone was extremely simple, and exactly how pairing any device should be.  Once it was charged, pairing took seconds.  On the subject of charging, it’s worth pointing out that the Qstik charger is actually a Mini USB charger, this is great as it means that I can charge it from my PC or laptop with a standard Mini USB data cable.  If you have a BlackBerry or Motorola phone then you’ll also be able to charge it with your existing mains or car charger.

 

Pairing the Qstik EvoQ Bluetooth Headset

To get the headset into pairing mode was just a case of pressing the centre button for about ten seconds until the lights flashed. Once they were flashing, a quick bluetooth search on my phone found the headset.  I entered the passkey (0000) and after a few seconds, the Qstik was connected to my phone.

Nokia BH-103 Vs Qstik Evo Q Vs Nokia BH-214

Size & Style

The Qstik has unique styling, but then it’s a fairly unique product.  The main unit of the headset isn’t designed to be worn on the ear all the time, no doubt the designers planned on most people using it with the headphones, in which case the main unit can be in your pocket or clipped to your jacket. Size wise it’s comparable to the Nokia BH-103 and Nokia BH-214, but compared to both of these headsets, it beats them hands down in terms of features and price.  I’ve put a comparison chart at the end of this post to highlight the differences between them. If you do wear it on your ear, it’s lightweight, comfortable and has simple controls that are easy to operate without having to fiddle around.

Audio Quality

Given the price point of this headset I was a little dubious about how clear the audio was going to be, but I had no reason to worry.  The Qstik features exceptional noise and echo cancellation technology to provide really clear audio. Even on the motorways at 70mph I had no problem with hearing callers, or being heard. Listening to music in stereo was equally as good.  Audio came through clearly and  paused when calls came through.

Connecting the Stereo Headphones to the Qstik

Music

The Qstik supports the AVRCP Bluetooth Profile which allows you control your music play back from the headset, with out the need to touch your phone.  On the phones I was using for this test, this only worked on the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music as the iPhone doesn’t yet support AVRCP. There aren’t any dedicated music controls on the headset, so track skip is achieved by different combinations of button presses.  To skip forward you have to press and hold the ‘+‘ button for 1 second and to skip back you press and hold the ‘-’ for one second.  It’s simple enough to do, it just takes a bit of time to remember which way round they are, but you’ll soon get the hang of it.

Battery Life

The battery life on the Qstik is pretty good.  There are headsets that will last longer, but you’ll pay a lot more for a Stereo Bluetooth Headset with the same number of features as the Qstik.  Talk Time is upto 5 Hours, Stand By time is aroud 150 hours, and we managed to play music continually for over 4 hours before the battery died. As mentioned earlier, the fact that the Qstik charges via Mini USB means that charging is easily done through your PC, so If you take the headset and charging cradle to work with you, you can plug it in to your PC and charge it throughout the day so that it’s ready for the journey home. The Mini USB Data Cable isn’t included though, so you’ll need to buy one seperately if you don’t have a spare one at home already.

Comparison

The closest alternative to the Qstik at the time of writing this post is the Nokia BH-103, but there are some significant differences.  The table below points out the key differences:

Feature	Qstik Evo-Q	Nokia BH-103
Mono Headset
Stereo Headset
Removeable Headphones
Includes Mains Charger
Includes Desk Stand
Includes Car Holder
Charger Type	Mini USB	Nokia 2mm
Music Control -Track Skip
Battery Talktime	5hrs	7hrs
Battery Stand By Time	150hrs	150hrs
Battery Music Play Back	4.5hrs	7hrs
Current Selling Price*	£9.95	£29.33

*Prices correct as of 29/06/2009

If this headset isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, why not take a look at our full range of Bluetooth Headsets and Stereo Bluetooth Headsets.  If you’ve got a Qstik EvoQ, let us know your thoughts on it.  Leave us a comment below.

iPhone 3G S

The new iPhone is really a refresh of the current one, rather than something completely new. Rumours of an iPhone Mini and iPhone Pro have been around for months, but as with most Apple rumours, they were just that. The name of the new phone is unusual too, with the ‘S’ referring to Speed – the iPhone 3G S is noticeably faster than its predecessor.

The iPhone 3G S is the same shape & style as the current iPhone 3G, but with a number of changes internally – the main changes are with the Camera, Processor, Storage and Battery, and a couple of new software features not available to the iPhone 3G. The iPhone 3G S will be available on O2 and is due for release in the UK on the 19th of June

iPhone 3G S Features:

• 3.2 MP Camera with Touch Focus
• Video Recording and Editing
• Digital Compass for improved mapping
• Voice Control for calls and iPod
• 16GB & 32 GB Models
• iPhone OS 3.0

iPhone 3G S - No Cosmetic Changes

For a more detailed walk through on the new iPhone 3G S head over to the Stuff.tv website where they give it a full run through.

iPhone OS 3.0

Previously announced back in March, iPhone OS 3.0 hasn’t really changed much from the version that we reviewed recently. A few additional features have been added to the line up, including the option to download Movies, TV Shows and audio books direct to your phone over a 3G network. Internet tethering has been confirmed for the UK too – this is where you can connect your iPhone to your PC using Bluetooth or USB and use it as a modem to connect to the internet (in the same way as a mobile broadband dongle). iPhone tethering rates on O2 are £14.68 per month for 3GB of data, and £29.36 for 10GB of data. More information on iPhone tethering. iPhone OS 3.0 will be released on the 17th of June and will be a free upgrade to iPhone users and there will be a small charge (amount not confirmed) for iPod Touch users.

Landscape Typing in iPhone OS 3.0

iPhone OS 3.0 Features

• Cut, Copy & Paste
• MMS
• Search
• Movies, TV and Books in iTunes store
• Internet Tethering
• Shake to Shuffle Music
• Stereo Bluetooth
• Find my iPhone and Remote Wipe (MobileMe users only)
• YouTube log in
• Support for Turn By Turn Sat Nav (TomTom for iPhone coming soon)

If you want more information on iPhone OS 3.0, we’ve got a hands on review that’s worth looking at, and a video review from Darryl Mitchel on his YouTube Channel.

A full range of iPhone 3G S accessories are available now on the Mobile Fun site.

Considering they only do one phone, the amount of attention drawn to the Apple iPhone is quite surprising, and at this time of year the Apple rumour mill kicks into overdrive. Apple are well known for introducing yearly updates for most of its products. The iPod for example has been updated around September almost every year since its introduction. It seems as though Apple are keen to follow in the iPod’s footsteps by announcing a new iPhone around June/July. We had the first generation iPhone announced in July 2007, and the current iPhone 3G was announced last June at their annual Developers Conference (WWDC).

Apple have just announced that this years Developers Conference is scheduled for the 8th June, and its already been discovered in the code of the new iPhone 3.0 operating system that there could be 2 new iPhones and 2 new iPod Touch models being announced. So what are we likely to see?




Our money is on the announcement of the iPhone Pro and iPhone Mini, and the renaming of the current iPhone to iPhone Classic.

iPhone Classic:

The current iPhone has been a massive success for Apple, and I can’t see them finishing it any time soon – having said that, stores around the world are already beginning to clear out their stock rooms to make room for the new models that will no doubt be on sale in July. I’m expecting to see an increase in storage on the iPhone 3G, along with a few other minor changes (OLED Display improved battery, improved camera), but overall the appearance of the phone isn’t going to change much.

iPhone Pro:

Rumours of an iPhone Pro have been around since the iPhone 3G was released, if not before. Reasons behind wanting the iPhone Pro vary greatly, but the main one seems to be that hard core business user miss the presence of a physical keyboard, and while the on-screen keyboard is good, some say it can take up too much screen space, limiting what you can do. Being a slightly larger device, an iPhone Pro would be expected to have more powerful processors, and be able to support an iPhone version of Apple’s Office software iWork, giving them the chance to be able to be much more productive when out of the office. Other additions would be a forward facing camera for video chat, along with support for iChat, an OLED display, improved camera and battery life.

Several website have created mock-ups of what they would like to see as the next iPhone. 9to5mac.com have a collection of ten of the best mock ups and Matt Brady’s concept also gets a lot of attention. Our attempt at an iPhone Pro Concept is shown above, click on the image for a larger version.

iPhone Mini:

There has been lots of talk in the past of an iPhone Nano, but the whole concept of the iPod Nano is that they’re unbelievably small, and given how much Apple (and everyone else) seems to love the iPhone operating system, I don’t think they’re going to change it as drastically as they would need to in order to make a really small touchscreen phone. Apple themselves have said that by making the screen smaller, it would cause problems with 3rd party apps, as well as usability. Having said that, surely if they were to increase the screen resolution, they could reduce the screen size a little, without causing too many problems? It wouldn’t surprise me either if the iPhone Mini had less features than the Classic or the Pro. To appeal to a new market, they would need a phone with a lower price point – to do that would mean cutting out a few features (GPS, App Store, Internet). Having said that the App Store and Internet Access are two of the iPhones big selling points, so I’d be surprised if they do.

iPhone 3.0 Software:

Regardless of the hardware that gets announced, pretty much every iPhone user is looking forward to the release of the latest version of the iPhone 3.0 Software. This update will add features that many say should have been on the iPhone since its launch back in 2007. Features such as MMS, Stereo Bluetooth, the ability to search your phone, forward messages and share contacts are features that are standard on most other phones on the market, but these are only just finding their way onto the iPhone.

The announcement earlier this month by Apple certainly got a lot of media attention, and a large round of applause from developers, but I can’t help thinking that they held back on something – Apple have another trick up their sleeve that they’ve not shared yet, something that relies on hardware in the new iPhones. I might be wrong, but from what I’ve seen in the past, Apple never reveal all their cards and are well know for saying “One Last Thing” at the end of their big announcements, and surprising most people with something unexpected.

Well, that’s what we think. What about you? What do you want to see the next version of the iPhone? Is the screen size/resolution theory a possibility? Will we get 2 new iPhones? What surprises do you think Apple have up their sleeve? Leave your thoughts below or discuss it on our Forums

Everything seems to be getting more environmentally friendly these days. This Wooden Dock for the iPhone 3G is the most recent addition to the range of Eco Friendly iPhone accessories and follows in the footsteps of the hugely popular iPhone 3G Solar Charging Case.

The Wooden Dock is handcrafted from solid wood, and each one has its own unique woodgrain finish. The Wooden Dock allows you to charge and sync your iPhone with your Mac or PC using a standard Mini USB cable.

The iPhone 3G Wooden Dock is available now for £19.95.

Why not take a look at our full range of Eco Friendly Mobile Accessories.

By HTC Touch Diamond Fan – Mark Hadley

"The tiny size is the first thing that you notice when you first hold a HTC Touch Diamond in the palm of your hand.

But don’t think this constrains its use as the TouchFLO interface is a joy to use. Navigating through menus and websites is a very simple process. Flicking through photo albums has a nice touch when using your finger and the accelerometer mean that when you turn the phone on its side, the screen automatically rotates to landscape mode so your photos fill the whole screen.

It looks great – the back of the phone has many faceted edges, resembling the surface of a diamond. This gives the phone a special feel and makes it look classy! Also a cool little feature is that the slot that the stylus is stored in is magnetized, so the stylus is ‘sucked’ back into the slot when inserting the stylus.

Overall, internet browsing is a simple, enjoyable experience with the large 2.8" inch screen and full Internet Explorer functionality giving you a classy user experience."

For those of you who are interested in buying the HTC Touch Diamond, we have a SIM free version available. If you already have the HTC Touch Diamond, why not check out our great range of accessories.

By iPhone 3G Fan – Andrew Simpson

"When the original iPhone launched last year, I was all set to get one. That was until I saw the spec and realised how limited it was in regards to the choice of network operator (only available on 02), the lack of 3G and the price. Knowing Apple as I do, I knew it wouldn’t be long until they brought out an upgraded model and that it would be the one I’d get. I use my phone a lot for browsing the internet and for email, so having a phone only running on O2′s Edge would be painful. The Edge network was poor but I’ve noticed that over the last few months, coverage has increased and you can now get HSDPA signal pretty much everywhere you go – equating to speeds of around 3mbps.

Although there have been loads of "iPhone Killers" launched over the last 12 months, none of them have come close to the iPhone. Their touch screen interfaces tend to be sticky and uncomfortable to use, where as the iPhone is slick and easy. iPhone 3G also comes shipped with the latest version iPhone 2.0 software, which adds support for third party applications and games. This was something that was only possible on earlier versions if you unlocked you iPhone. The iPhone 2.0 software is also rumoured to act as a remote control for iTunes, so no more running around the house to change tracks – great if you use airport express at home to stream your music around the house.

Visually, there's not much difference between the new version and the old iPhone, other than the introduction of a white 16GB model. The best news for me now is that i'm not going to have to shell out £269 for it as I can get this iPhone for free!"

See the full range of iPhone 3G accessories.