Mobile Phones

The TicTalk is a mobile phone designed for young children. Looking more like an obscure stopwatch than a communications tool, it offers a bevy of features to keep parents in control, such as locking which numbers can call out and in, when a child may play the onboard games and how long they can spend on a call.

Features

The TicTalk needs to be activated by Telstra's Web portal: http://www.kidsintouch.telstra.com. It is here that parents or guardians can program the phone, entering numbers that the child can call, as well as updating its organisation tools such as the calendar, to-do list and reminders. Not only can you control who your child can call, but you can also lock it so only certain numbers can make inbound calls, which is an excellent security feature. Overall, the Web portal is quite basic and simple to use, so it shouldn't cause you any major problems.

Users can program the TicTalk on a number of different levels. If parents want their child's phone to ring only between certain time periods, they can simply program it into the Web portal. Don't want your child to use the phone at school? Then turn it off during school hours. Don't want your child on the phone too long? Set a total amount of time the TicTalk can be on a call for. You can even send the TicTalk messages, with four designated response options.

Telstra's latest budget Next G handset allows you to access the Internet on your PC using the handset as a modem. The F256 also offers a 1.3-megapixel camera, a TransFlash card slot and Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, a lacklustre design, a below average display and poorly designed keypad are issues.

Manufactured by ZTE, the HSDPA-capable F256 is a prepaid handset, but its appeal lies in the fact that it offers full use of Foxtel by Mobile and BigPond services, including Sensis Search, BigPond Photos and WhereIs maps.

Using the F256 as a modem to access the Internet on a notebook is a pleasing experience, with pages loading fairly quickly. Setup is effortless as you simply install the software and plug in the F256 via the included USB cable. As it's a prepaid handset, its only real use is for basic Internet browsing and checking e-mail though; streaming videos and downloading large files is out of the question, as the highest plan allows just 200MB of data usage. At $59 for the highest plan, the service is certainly not cheap, despite its convenience.

Telstra's latest Next G handset offers a 2-megapixel camera, a TransFlash card slot and a fully fledged media player. Although its design is far from outstanding, it should still appeal to those looking at a reasonably priced option to accessing Next G services.

Manufactured by ZTE, the HSDPA-capable F852 is a handset offered on a lower priced plan than many other similar featured Next G handsets. It's aimed at consumers switching to the Next G network for the first time, but aren't willing to pay a premium to do so.

Although it's far from an outstanding phone, the appeal of the F852 lies in the fact that it offers full use of Mobile Foxtel and BigPond services, including Sensis Search, BigPond Photos and WhereIs maps.

Considering the kind of content the Next G network offers, the F852 is a little disappointing in delivering it. The internal display doesn't have a great viewing angle and the sound quality using the included headphones is below average. With no 3.5mm headphone jack nor A2DP stereo Bluetooth, there are no options for changing this.

A fully fledged smartphone running Windows Mobile 6, Samsung's i780 features a redesigned home screen that provides access to frequently used features. The HSDPA-capable i780 also offers a new control system in the form of an 'optical joystick', making it one of the easiest Windows Mobile devices to use.

The design of the i780 is fairly standard for a smartphone. Perhaps the biggest advantage of the i780 is its size - at just 12.9mm, this is one of the thinnest smartphonesbreviewed. Despite the reasonably compact frame, Samsung has still managed to squeeze in a fairly large touch screen display and a full QWERTY keyboard. Unfortunately, the 320x320 pixel resolution display could pose some problems for third-party Windows Mobile applications, as these are developed for 4:3 aspect ratio screens.

The keyboard is well designed, but we feel that the keys themselves are a little small. They are well spaced, however, and tactile feedback is fair, so typing messages and e-mails isn't too much of a concern.

The best feature of the i780 is undoubtedly the 'optical joystick'. Sitting just below the display and

Nokia's 6151 is an entry level 3G mobile phone that offers a 1.3 megapixel camera, an MP3 player, and extra storage thanks to a microSD card slot. The 6151 has a solid list of features at a reasonable price. This phone should appeal to those at the lower end of the 3G market willing to accept reduced screen clarity and some keypad design issues.

The 6151 is best described as attractive yet reserved, with a subtle black and silver finish. Measuring 108mm x 47mm x 19mm and weighing just 98g, the candy bar unit is easy to cup in your hand and comfortable to hold to your ear when making phone calls. The sides and rear sport a rubber style surface, while the keys and surrounding display area have a gloss black finish that unfortunately attracts some unwanted fingerprints. Nokia has included dedicated volume control keys and a camera button on the right as well as a push-to-talk (PTT) button and microSD card slot on the left.

Nokia has equipped the 6151 with a 256K TFT screen. With a maximum resolution of 128 x 160 pixels, the display is bright, but not overly crisp or clear. While the 6151 is a low-end model, a screen of clarity equal to or better than many of the 3G handsets recently reviewed would have been welcome. The keypad and controls are attractive, however the keypad feels squashed and each key requires a firm press to operate. The other controls consist of a five-way navigational pad, two selection buttons as well as answer and end call keys. One criticism of the navigational pad is that it can be a struggle to avoid accidentally pressing the centre button when scrolling up or down.