Phones

Having recently told you about the larger Xperia XZ here a chance to put the smaller sibling through its paces, like the larger offering both were supplied by Vodafone and with this I got the chance to check their coverage not only in England but also Scotland.

Adding to its range of smartphones, Wileyfox has introduced a new member of its Swift 2 family.

It’s small, available on a 30-day basis and provides a mobile hot spot service. For more information, read on….

Unlike a lot of phones that have a ‘plus’ or extra ‘enhanced’ version where the differences may only be minimal this has a big difference that you do not even need to measure it to see it’s the overall screen size which is a lot larger.

I never saw the first version of this mid-range SmartPhone, I was not even aware they had entry level phones in fact what I knew about this company before the launch in London I could have written on the back of a small postage stamp.

Vodafone has come up with a choice of special viewing options for its Smart Platinum 7 smartphone.

Continuing with its tag line of “For The Brave”, Huawei has released the next product in its popular Honor series.

“Your computer is infected with a virus” or “we can claim on your behalf for that accident you know nothing about” are just a couple of nuisance call topics.

I think of Doro for home phones and basic mobiles for those with hearing and sight problems. While they have released a SmartPhone previously I never got to see it. This was shown at their Xmas In July event but only arrived with me in November.

Over the years I have looked at a good number of phones from the French company Archos. Here I think I have received their first rugged phone. This is still a normal phone in other ways but it is able to stand up the odd drop or three.

This phone has no curves and for some that maybe in vogue, but I am no fashion guru. After Apple and Samsung perhaps the best known brand is Sony and this offering is the latest one from them to come across my desk courtesy of Vodafone.

Not everyone wants or needs the largest SmartPhone so this slightly smaller offering from Samsung may fit their needs. It seems that the mobile phone teams to follow are Samsung or iPhone as far as the vast quantity of publicity created.

Adding to its range of smartphone handsets, Huawei has released the Mate 9.

A visit to a central London location, just off Oxford Street, introduced me to a new handset from Wileyfox.

Both items from a company called tech21, first a case for an iPhone 7 and also for the same device something that Apple devices certainly seem to need a screen protector and this is called Impact Shield Self Heal 4.7 inches.

The Doro 8030 is an easy to use smart phone tailored to meet the needs of those mature people who form the company’s traditional market but now feel that they are ready to migrate to a smart phone.

At the recent launch of two new smartphones, the Swift 2 and the Swift 2 Plus, Wileyfox let slip, either by accident or design, details of a third phone, the Swift 2 X.

As every family member now seems to demand their own mobile handset, so some sort of control needs to be applied to their use and financial considerations.

While top of the range SmartPhones are in the middle hundreds there are a few ‘more basic’ offerings often with older operating systems that are available for say £50. So what can you expect to get for well under one hundred pounds?

The Philips 27-inch 272B7QPTKEB professional monitor with its quad HD resolution incorporates a pop-up web cam and is targeted at meeting the needs of business both in terms of performance and space.

There are two companies I think of who design specifically for the hard of hearing. In fact this is often the older person who not only has hearing difficulties but also sight problems, so it’s not only a phone to let you know someone’s calling but one so you can hear what they are saying.

Not a name I had heard of until shortly after the launch of the Huawei P9 when I found out this was a sister company, so when I received an invite to a breakfast briefing I accepted, I am not keen on rush hour travel at my age and when the venue is nowhere near a tube station even less and worse still it was held on a day when your umbrella was as much use to keep you dry as a colander.

This is the latest SmartPhone offering from Vodafone, as its their own brand you pay a little less but still get all the functionality that a recent Android SmartPhone has to offer, it looks Smart but you save just a little on the cost of it against a similar device from some manufacturers.

The Doro 6520 is the latest clamshell “easy” phone with added features aimed at the needs of the elderly and frail. It offers greater security to them and peace of mind to their relatives.

The latest handset to come my way from Doro belongs to the feature phone category

A 5 inch SmartPhone from Archos called 50 Power, it looks like many other phones but your secret is that it is sold SIM free and costs somewhat less than a lot of equivalent phones; it can be either a single SIM or dual SIM phone.

It seems a shame that virtually no phones come with a protective case as standard. Here are two offerings the first for the excellent Huawei P9 and second for either the iPhone 6 or 6S, the first called Tudia and the second Defense.

It was a rainy day in London as I made my way to find out more about the latest Honor handset.

The P9 is an excellent camera and phone, look back and you will find two reviews of it on this site, however launched at the same time – but not immediately available - is the P9 Plus which was stated to cost £100 more so what exactly does the extra get you.

Adding to its own brand range of handsets, Vodafone has released the Smart platinum 7 smartphone.