Most of us, if not all, look for a mobile phone that is functional, fun, and most of all budget-friendly. Tons of models out there pack in tons of features, too, but they do cripple the wallet. Samsung is smart enough to offer affordable options for mobile fanatics, without sacrificing quality and usability. In the third quarter of 2007, Samsung introduced us to the Samsung Blast SGH-T729. Read on and know the tricks this phone has up its sleeve, and you might have a blast with it.

The Blast is a slim slide phone in black and red finish, and measures 4.16 x 2.04 x 0.50 inches. It weighs only 2.9 ounces, making it easy to carry in a pocket or in a purse without adding excess bulk. The Lithium Ion battery has a talk time of 5 hours and standby time of 8.3 days. The Blast has a SureType keyboard, and has volume controls on the left spine, and camera buttons on the right. T-Mobile distributes this unit at $99 with subscription.

The SGH-T729 has a 2 inch LCD screen that displays 262,000 colors and a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. The brightness of the backlight can be adjusted. The Blast has a 1.3 mega pixel camera with digital zoom which can be accessed by sliding the phone up. Photos can be taken in seven resolutions or shot in night mode. Photo quality can be edited using balance adjustments, color effects, and one of 30 fun frames. There is also a self-timer and self-portrait mirror. The camcorder can record clips for MMS for 1 minute and 15 seconds. The length of videos can vary depending on available memory. The internal memory of the Blast is only 11MB, but it can be expanded with separately-sold microSD cards.

The Samsung Blast runs on EDGE packet data, and allows high speed web surfing, email, and downloading. T-Mobile equips its phones with instant access to AOL and Yahoo! Mail. You can also sync the Blast with your PC for file transfer. The Blast’s phonebook can store 1000 contact names, each having five phone numbers, email address, and notes. Contacts can be tagged with polyphonic ring tones or photo ID. Other PDA functions of the Blast are voice memo, calendar, to-do list, world clock, unit converter, alarm, and voice commands. You can record voice memos and customize them as ring tones, too.

The multimedia player can play songs in various formats such as mp3 and AAC, plus more can be downloaded from T-Mobile’s service. The Blast comes with three installed Java games: Cannonball, Midnight Casino, and Forgotten Warriors. More can be downloaded over-the-air through T-Mobile’s T-Zones for an additional fee. Skins, themes, tones, wallpapers, and screensavers are also available for download.

The Samsung Blast could use a few improvements in terms of speaker volume. Sound quality was not spectacular, and the music player seemed nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, the price of the Blast is friendly, and you will be getting more for your money with this one.

In May 2007, RIM proudly introduced one of their latest models, the Blackberry Curve. According to RIM, the Curve is the smallest and lightest full QWERTY keyboard Blackberry to be released by far. It measures 4.20 x 2.36 x 0.61 inches and has a mass of 3.92 ounces. Also known as the Blackberry 8300, this smart phone has a silver and black finish, with soft-grip edges that make it non-slip and comfy to hold. Aside from the fully-functional QWERTY keyboard with spell checker, the Curve is easily navigated with the trackball system. There is also a huge 2.5 inch LCD screen with 65,000 color display and 240 x 320 pixels resolution. The Curve has a light sensor that automatically adjusts the LCD brightness depending on the external lighting conditions.

What else can this sweet thing do? The back of the Curve has a built-in 2.0 mega pixel digital camera with 5x zoom. The camera includes an LED flash and self-portrait mirror. Photos can be shot in three resolutions, even as large as 1600 x 1200 pixels. Sharing of photos can be done by Bluetooth, MMS, email, USB, or microSD card.

For the multimedia-loving crowd, the Blackberry Curve has something in store, too. It supports audio files in a variety of formats, including mp3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, AAC, and others. Videos in mp4, MOV, AVI, and 3GP formats can also be viewed on the Curve’s large screen. You can save these files on the internal 64MB memory, which you can expand with microSD cards sold separately. Audio can be heard over the speakers or on 3.5 mm headsets. The Lithium Ion battery holds for four hours of talk time or two and a half weeks standby time.

Since the Blackberry line is initially designed for the business crowd, the Curve also carries the convenient email and PC sync features busy individuals need. The smart phone is compatible with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, and Novell Groupwise. The phone has an attachment viewer for Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, and various file types.

Some complaints about the Blackberry Curve, though. It runs on EDGE packet data, not as fast as 3G, so if you’re hardcore on downloading, it may be a little disappointing. Web pages take a little longer to load, so waiting can be inconvenient. But with the connection, email, messaging, and voice calls still work out great. The Curve could use some Wi-Fi or 3G enhancements, and the digital camera has yet to be capable of recording video.

The Blackberry Curve package comes with stereo headsets, wall charger, user manual, and case. Other features of the Curve include voice dialing, voice memo, calendar, alarm, and to-do lists. The unit is currently available in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It’s available for purchase without a service plan.

The RIZR Z8 proudly sports an ergonomically designed body. It’s not just a slide phone, but it’s a kick-slider, where the phone slides open but in a bent shape that follows the curve of your face. The earpiece is much closer to your ear, as well as your mouth towards the mouthpiece. The Z8 measures 109 x 50 x 15 millimeters and weighs only 112 grams. It has a 2.2 inch LCD screen with 16 million color display and 240 x 320 pixels resolution.

As a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), the Z8 shines. It has HSDPA or 3.5G packet data, so internet connections and download speeds are satisfyingly fast. Email and instant messages are supported by the Z8. The phone includes QuickOffice, so opening documents in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and PDF formats are welcome. The internal memory is 90MB, which can be expanded up to 4GB with a micro SD card. Motorola made the card slot very convenient to access without having to remove the battery. The Z8 has Bluetooth and mini-USB connectivity options as well. Other organizing features are voice memo, voice command, calculator, to-do list, and calendar.

The Motorola RIZR Z8 has a 2.0 mega pixel camera with LED flash and 8x zoom at the back. The pictures were fair, and video recording was not spectacular, but still good enough. Photos and videos can be used as MMS or sent via Bluetooth, email, or USB cable. The Z8 also has a secondary camera in the front, so you can take video calls or self-portraits.

This kick-slider has an integrated multimedia player. It supports songs in mp3, AAC, AAC+, mp4, and MIDI formats. You can use Bluetooth headsets to listen to your favorite tunes. You can also play streaming video on the Z8, although resolution may be a bit grainy. Some phone distributors include a microSD card in the Z8 package with a copy of the movie The Bourne Identity. For some additional fun, the RIZR Z8 can play Java games, and more can be downloaded.

The unique curve design of the phone really is an interesting feature to see. However, the curved keypad that comes along with it is a little difficult to type on. Video quality could use a little improvement, according to some critics.

The RIZR Z8 is shipped with the battery, wall charger, and user guide. Additional accessories that are compatible are Bluetooth headsets, microSD cards, leather cases and hard shell cases. The Lithium Ion battery for this unit has a talk time of 5 hours and stand by time of 380 hours.

This Upstage is such an amazing combination of many machines, you’d wonder how they fitted it in one handheld device. The mobile phone is capable of Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, like many 3G phones today. EVDO allows users to get online and download at high speed using their mobile phones. With the Upstage M620’s convenient web browser and 2.1 inch LCD screen, subscribers can watch live TV broadcasts, movie clips, music videos, and tune in to the news.

The mobile phone also comes with a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera which can zoom up to 5x. Pictures taken can be in four resolutions, from as large as 1280 x 160 pixels or as low as 176 x 220, depending on the user’s preference. The camera can take still photos in night mode, and can operate on a five second self-timer. There are also adjustments for brightness and contrast, and a photo editing software is included. The Upstage supports PictBridge, so photos can be printed immediately without cable or card transfer.

The Upstage M620’s digital camera can take video clips with sound, as long as there is available space in the memory. Videos that are less than 30 seconds long can be attached to Multimedia Message Service (MMS) files or sent in emails. Photos can be saved and used as wallpapers or caller ID pictures. Photo sharing is also made easier with the Upstage, as users can transfer using Bluetooth, USB cable, or SD card. Overall quality of pictures is pretty good, several sources say.

Mobile phones today have come a long way than just for taking calls or sending text messages. They have evolved beyond PDA duties, made lives more convenient, and information more reachable. As computers shrink in size, one can only hope that the goodies in them will keep getting better. With features like that of the Upstage, one can have an even better view of the world.

Never has there been any mobile phone created with dual interfaces. The Upstage M620 possesses a mobile phone on one face, and a media player on the other. Smartly enough, the unit is lightweight, compact, and stylish. When the Upstage first came out in the United States in April 2007, Sprint was the lucky one that won the rights to distribute it.

Let’s talk about the phone side first, shall we? The phone half of the Upstage has a 1.4 inch LCD screen with 176 x 65 pixel resolution. Display is up to 65,000 colors. The screen has clear and colored font for dialing numbers and entering text messages. The appearance is similar to the Samsung N270, which was featured in Keanu Reeve’s “The Matrix”. On the upper left corner of the Upstage M620’s phone face, you will find a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera with 5x zoom. The camera can take photos in night mode and operates with a self-timer. Photos and videos can be shared among users by MMS, Bluetooth, USB cable, and SD card. Using 3G, the camera serves as a webcam, and together with the speakerphone, users can make video calls.

Now, let’s move on to the media player side. The LCD screen here is much larger, at 2.1 inches with 176 x 220 pixel resolution. Display can be over 200,000 colors. When the digital camera is enabled, this LCD screen serves as the viewfinder. The media player side of the Upstage looks like the Samsung DAP, their mp3 player that was made to stand up to the iPod Nano. The Upstage M620 has a touch-sensitive directional keypad for scrolling and navigating through menus, as well as controlling playback. On this side of the mobile phone, you can play music, view album covers, watch live TV feeds, and movie clips. Added to that, you can surf the internet, browse emails, download songs, games, and applications with ease.

Samsung may have invented one of their best gadgets yet. The competition for creating the most high-tech mobile phones keeps getting tighter. Let’s wait and see, what will Samsung think of next?

First of all, the Upstage M620 is the only phone ever made that comes with a phone side, and a music player on the flip side. You can enjoy your favorite tunes on the media player and view your playlist on the 2.1 inch LCD screen. When a text message or phone call comes in, just flick the switch on the side and flip the Upstage over. Now you can take your message and your call without pulling out another device from your pocket. When done, flick the switch again, and you’re back to jamming with your music.

The Upstage is so thin and ultra lightweight, carrying it around has never been more convenient. At 4.07 x 1.73 x 0.37 inches, it’s nearly the size of an iPod Nano. The Upstage is a candy bar style model that weighs only 2.57 ounces, exactly like a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar. It has a black matte and chrome finish, so heads will turn every time you use this sleek phone.

If you’re always on the go, the Upstage can keep up with your pace. With 3G technology, you can get online anytime and any place, with the same speed that you get when you’re on your laptop or desktop. You can download music files and video files onto your Upstage. With its clear LCD screen, you can also watch live TV even when you’re on the go. Plus, you can check your email and browse websites by navigating with your Upstage.

All this and more, you can do when you have the Upstage M620 in your hand. Samsung has again proven itself to be a genius. Also, Sprint proudly launched it at $149 plus two year subscription in the United States, giving buyers an excellent deal. Many users have never been happier when they switched to the Upstage. How about grabbing yourself an Upstage now, so everyone else can worry about being upstaged.

The Helio Ocean has a suggested retail price of $295 with subscription. It has an oval body with smooth curves, and it measures 4.3 x 2.4 x 0.8 inches. The Ocean has a mass of 5.6 ounces. The phone makes up for the extra weight by packing in a unique dual-sliding feature. You can slide the Ocean vertically or horizontally to choose between tapping on a numeric keypad or on a QWERTY keyboard. Also, the 2.4 inch LCD screen has a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and displays over 260,000 colors. You can view the screen on portrait or landscape mode.

Like what I said, you can drown in this Ocean if you don’t familiarize yourself with the features. This baby has an amazing 4,500 capacity phone book. I’ve never heard of a phone with this contact-organizing capability. Each phone book entry can contain six phone numbers, four email addresses, three street addresses, three Instant Messenger (IM) ID’s, two web site URL’s, nickname, title, company and department, plus notes. Even a human couldn’t have that much data on him. Not only that, each of the 4,500 contacts can be tagged with a photo ID or polyphonic ring tone ID, so you can immediately know who it is when a call comes in.

With that amount of information, how are you supposed to find the number or contact data that you need? Never fear, the Ocean has a direct search feature. Whenever you start typing in the first letters of the name of your contact, the Ocean immediately flashes the names similar to it, narrowing down your search. This option is also super convenient when surfing the web. Simply tap on a search keyword on the QWERTY pad when the phone is idle, and a list of helpful websites will be shown. For example, type in the name of a music artist, and you instantly get lists of song downloads, photos, ring tone downloads, and others.

As mentioned earlier, you can add IM ID’s of your friends on the Helio Ocean. You can add contact names from Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Live Messenger, and AOL AIM. The cool thing about this is that your Ocean will alert you anytime any of your friends are online on any of these three IM clients. How about that?

You don’t need to get soaked if you want to take on the Ocean. You just need the right know-how and you can use this brilliant invention to your advantage. Have fun!