We all know Sony are up there with the best when it comes to compact digital cameras but Samsung generally stick around the budget end of the scale. However, Samsung’s smartphones have long-since been dominating the marketplace so when combined you can imagine what the result is. Sony’s smartphones haven’t really been a mega hit but the new Xperia S range look very cool and are laden with so many funky features that has made other manufacturers stand up and take note.

So, the burning question is: which smartphone has the best on-board camera, the Samsung Galaxy Advance or the Sony Xperia S? Let’s start by first saying that both phones are more than advanced when it comes to multi-media as they have the ability to produce very high quality images and superb videos. At the moment, the Sony Xperia S has the best camera quality of any smartphone out there that is sold on a global scale. Its 12 megapixel camera is pretty special and is lifted straight out of its digital cameras. There is the Exmor R CMOS sensor that gives added depth to the images and there is the chance to take 3D panoramic sweep images. The video recording is in 1080p HD, which delivers supreme results.

The Samsung Galaxy S Advance only has a 5 megapixel camera but the stunning processor, chip and quality of the Super AMOLED screen and its Gorilla Glass combine to make the images pop much more than that lowly figure suggests. HD videos are 720p but there is an LED flash and autofocus to help you along with your photography. So, for now the Sony Xperia S has the best smartphone camera on sale today but what about the rest of the phones?

The Galaxy S might be a little dated now but the Advance is still modern looking and has a thickness of just 9.7mm! It is only 120g and its curved design makes it thoroughly ergonomic and easy to carry around. The Sony on the other hand is 10.6mm thick and 142g in weight. However, the Xperia S looks nothing like any other phone out there but there are so many in the Galaxy range that you can get confused to which One is which. For uniqueness, the Sony takes another point.

While the results on paper are leaning to the Sony, the Galaxy S range simply cannot be ignored as five million sales a month and more than 50% market share is deeply disturbing for the competitors. However, the Sony Xperia S is certainly pointing in the right direction to be a strong competitor to the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy S2 or S3 when it’s released, but for now the sales figures don’t stack up for Sony.

As ever, it all depends on budget, your preference and tastes. Mobile Phone Checker can help with your budget as the comparison site shows exactly which retailers have the best prices for a Galaxy S Advance or a Sony Xperia S and the rest is up to you!

The top two phones in the UK right now are the Note from Samsung and the iPhone 4S from Apple. Both companies have been stealing market share and the limelight for some time now, especially Samsung as it has the Incredible Galaxy range too, and it’s time to work out which One you should go for. Here at Mobile Phone Checker.co.uk we have all of the best smartphones available to see on contract and PAYG SIM cards. We compare the best prices so you don’t have to hunt around for the information yourself.

So, onto the phones. Each One has been created for the same reason; to be the best and to work the best. While their intentions are similar there are differences that really depend on your preference to whether you buy One or not. First off, you see that the Note is enormous. It’s tricky to hold in One hand and many people refer to it as a ‘phablet’ which is a hybrid of a smartphone and a tablet PC. So, if you need your next smartphone to be compact and easy to carry around, and to use, then the iPhone 4S takes this round.

The Note actually comes with a stylus as the screen is so big and you’d rub your fingerprints off if you didn’t use it. There is a little bit of give and take when it comes to the size and many people find the screens on iPhone 4Ss are too small. However, the size only matters if you find the Note too bulky. The iPhone has a range of internal storage amounts from 16GB, 32GB to 64GB but no microSD card. That’s fine at first but many people might find that they’d wished they’d opted for the larger memory. The Note on the other hand has 2GB of on-board storage but it can take 32GB microSD cards.

When it comes to power the Note wins. The stunning 1.4GHz processor but it’s actually pretty similar the 1GHz iPhone One. That’s because the A5 chip inside the 4S is very refined and is super-efficient and quick. Both have plenty of RAM to handle a myriad of tasks, too.

Super AMOLED against the Retina Display of Apple’s flagship phone is something of a turning point. Everything is in HD and is just that little sweeter and crisper on the iPhone. The Note, however, is better for films, videos and images as the higher resolution really stands out. For example, the Note features 1280 x 800 pixels while the iPhone only has 960 x 640 resolution. Similarly the operating systems can be looked at and the Android Ice Cream Sandwich compared to the iOS 5.1 depends on your preference as both are equally impressive. There are plenty of apps to download from Google Play or the iStore, so it really depends on what you like.

Surprisingly, the iPhone wins in terms of talk time battery life but standby time is taken by the Note. Really, if you can handle the larger size of the Note then go for it, everyone else will probably prefer the iPhone 4S.

While Nokia’s sales since last year have dropped considerably, they have been quietly thinking up new, stunning smartphones to take on the big guns. The new Nokia range called the Lumia is set to take bites out of iPhone and Galaxy sales. The Lumia 800 is a fantastic smartphone that is not only affordable but it’s so different to anything else out there right now. The Lumia 900, however, is the Finnish company’s flagship model. It is just as pretty and funky as the 800 but it’s slightly larger, faster, more powerful and packs a techno-punch when it comes to the spec sheet.

The collaboration of Windows and Nokia has been a welcomed One since almost all other phones run on Android or iOS. That’s not bad thing but sometimes you just want to be different and unique. With 3 million sales compared to 30+ of the market leaders you’re doubtful to bump into too many people with a Lumia 900 so you’re bound to feel like you have something a little special. Running on the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system, which includes the Mango update, it’s a pleasant difference to other operating systems and thankfully Nokia has binned the Symbian OS for this new One. As Microsoft and Nokia are well-known for being so dedicated to the industry, this joint effort really shines through with the Lumia 900.

There is a stunning dual core SnapDragon processor that is backed up with 512MB RAM and 16GB of on-board storage. This is really cool and it means that the hardware keeps up with the software, a problem that many people have found with trying to run Ice Cream Sandwich on their lesser phones. The screen is a healthy 4.3” touchscreen which is a AMOLED capacitive One, it’s simple to use and super-quick as well as being crystal clear. The trick that is up Nokia’s sleeve is the camera. It’s an 8 megapixel unit with Carl Zeiss optics and has dual LED flash as well as autofocus. This gives super-clear photos and videos as well as meaning that you can sell your compact digital camera, as this will blow it out of the water. The video is supported by the option to record at 720p and at 30fps.

Most smartphones these days struggle to run their power-hungry resources and need charging constantly, but the Nokia Lumia 900 boasts a 1,830mAh battery that has video playback of 7 hours, 60 hours of music playback and standby of 300 hours. You can talk on it for seven hours and that’s what really sets this apart from others. Not having to find a socket every few hours really helps and it means you can simply top it up when you go to bed and not have to worry about it.

As it’s a Windows Phone it comes with Internet Explorer 9 which simply continues to get better and better for the users. There is A-GPS, a USB port, WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity too. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

The Nokia 800 has been the lynchpin for keeping the Finnish smartphone maker from falling into financial trouble. Amounting to only 3 million phones last year, the company has seen a huge drop in sales as Samsung continue to drive forward by taking more than 50% of the market share. However, with the latest 800 and the top of the range Lumia 900, there is plenty of hope for the firm to claw back some customers.

The first quarter of 2012 saw Incredible sales figures and it’s all thanks to the Lumia 800. The sleek-looking smartphone that is packed with amazing technology and is priced very keenly is their best seller. Nokia scrapped the Symbian operating system and now runs on Windows, which is less-preferred to Android but it’s still a great operating system as it stands. It looks to have been the best move Nokia could have made and if quarter two goes to plan then we could see Nokia close the huge gap from third to second placed Apple. It’s safe to say that Apple’s 30+ million sales won’t be too affected by Nokia’s Lumia range but if the Finnish firm can get back to 8-10 million sales then it will surely be a successful year.

The new Lumia 900, which is a step up from the 800 but shares many of its features, has yet to make such a big impact on the sales figures yet and we might need to wait a few more months to see what impact it has. Thanks to that Windows operating system it’s totally different to iOS and Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich or the Gingerbread OS. While many people are so used to those systems now, more people are used to Windows from decades of being at the top of the personal computing operating system market. With that backing from One of the biggest software companies in the world, it’s hard to ignore that Windows phones could well be the thorn in Samsung’s and Apple’s sides. It just needs more companies such as Nokia to develop and create more stunning looking phones that customers will discard their Galaxy or iPhone 4 for. It’s a big ask but we’ve seen the market change so rapidly over the past 4-5 years that anything is possible.

It’s a buyer’s market out there due to the competitive nature in the smartphone industry. Manufacturers make better, faster, prettier and cooler phones while networks jostle for position with the deals. If you’re looking for something different to that of Samsung or Apple’s models, then the Nokia Lumia 800 is a fantastic phone and comes in a variety of colours. You can see more of the contract deals and compare the prices and packages on the Mobile Phone Checker comparison charts. If you simply can’t ignore the 1.4GHz processor, the 16GB of internal storage, the 3. 7” AMOLED screen and 8 megapixel camera then you could be falling for the Nokia Lumia 800, just as many others before you have.

Three, arguably the UK’s favourite network, has recently launched the Nokia Asha 302 through its retailers. With Three understanding customers’ needs to be constantly connected to the Internet and not needing tens of thousands of text messages each month, it tailors its packages to be geared for the modern smartphone user. There are three deals that the Nokia is available One called The One Plan, Essential Internet and All in One. Each are slightly different but perfect for the average smartphone user.

Whatever deal you choose there is something about opting for the underdog that is Nokia. While Samsung and Apple are selling 30+ million handsets a year, Nokia are claiming just a tenth of that but many people want to be different and not follow the crowds, and the Asha 302 certainly fits the bill. You get a QWERTY keypad for starters, which is so much faster and easier to use than touchscreen. There are shortcut keys for even faster, on-the-fly text changes for WiFi, SMS and Bluetooth and for all of your social media updates their notifications are sent directly to the home screen so you will never miss an important message.

At 106 grams it’s One of the lightest smartphones out there. It feels tiny also at just 115mm long but its 13.5mm thick so it’s chunky enough so you don’t lose it. The screen quality is where the Nokia Asha 302 really makes itself known. With 2048 x 1536 pixels the clarity and sharpness is arguably better than that of the Super AMOLED screens that Samsung churn out. On-board storage is fairly weak at just 100MB but thankfully you can slide a 32GB microSD card in it. There is an RDS radio and media player installed too so your music needs are quenched too.

The casing of the Asha is a metallic surround with that dark black screen. It looks very elegant and upmarket but it has a more mature feel to it compared to the cutesy Samsung units or the characterless iPhones. As the two top smartphone makers have been dominating the market for some time now, it’s nice to see a different phone hit the shelves. Three is taking the Nokia Asha 302 to the UK with a storm and its price point is the most intriguing part here. On the Mobile Phone Checker website you can get One of these phones on contract for as little as £15 per month. That’s Incredible pricing for something that is so pretty looking and teeming with technology – and isn’t made by Samsung.

If you just can’t get to grips with touchscreens and like to type or text quickly then you’ll love the Nokia. BlackBerry have QWERTY keypads too but their screens are tiny and the look dated compared to the Asha so if you want a real keypad on a funky phone that has plenty to shout about in the specification department then the Nokia could well be the One for you. The price alone should make your ears prick up too!

We all feel in love with the iPhone 4S when it was launched in white. Just as we did with the iPhone 4 in white, it’s that marble-sheen that gives it a premium look. Compare it to an HTC Desire and there is no contest, you’ll take the Apple every day of the week. What makes an iPhone 4S in white even more special is that you can take the plunge and get it in 32GB or 64GB variants.

The extra memory on-board is very important as there is no removable storage. That means that there is no microSD card, but there is a very good reason for it as that would mean that the stunning glass case would be different. It’s this glass capsule that really makes the difference compared to tacky plastic phones. Weighing 140 grams it’s not the lightest of phones but again it’s something that literally and figuratively adds weight to the overall appeal. The screen is small, yes, but it’s 3.5” dimensions are bolstered with the stunning fact that it has 330ppi compared to low 200s of its competitors. There are 16 million colours supported and 640 x 960 pixel resolution so despite its small size it pops with colour and life to make you forget about the Samsung Galaxy S2 or HTC One you were thinking of getting!

Although the 32GB storage is something of a talking point, the iPhone 4S in white is packed with the usual gizmos such as an LED backlit IPS TFT screen that allows multi-touch. The 8 megapixel camera shoots with 3264 x 2448 pixels and it has an LED flash and autofocus. Face detection, geo-tagging and touch focus all help boost the camera up to extreme levels. Never again will you feel like you need to buy a digital camera.

As Apple’s iPhones are well-known for being funky and cartoon-like with their apps there is a whole host of in-built gadgets to play with too. From Siri voice activation to Twitter integration and iCloud storage, you are never far away from fun and brilliance all wrapped up in One. The battery is light years ahead of the iPhone 4 as it lasts up to 200 hours with 3G or 14 hours of talk time and 40 hours of music playback. That’s Incredible compared to the old phone and although people were disappointed that the iPhone 4S in white wasn’t the new iPhone 5, it’s such an upgrade compared to the old phone that no wonder so many people dumped their 4 for the 4S! Now that a little time has passed you can pick up an absolute bargain from UK retailers looking to get rid of iPhone 4S white phones. For the best prices check out the comparison chart for the top PAYG SIM phones and mobile phone contract deals on Mobile Phone Checker.

For more information click on through to http://www.mobilephonechecker.co.uk and see for yourself just how cheap and accessible the iPhone 4S in white really is.

Any adult or ‘racy’ content is being closely monitored by Microsoft in the Windows Phone Marketplace. After Apple launched their heavy-handedness against provocative material being shown on apps Windows has followed suit and will ensure that their handle on it is much tighter when it comes to censorship. The sexually-suggestive material is not allowed but swimsuit material is!

Only modest or subtle material will be allowed as currently there are no ways to stop children or underage people downloading apps of that kind. That means that apps developed for Windows Phones will be stringently checked and monitored so that no lewd content gets through the net. Each developer must meet Microsoft’s standards when it comes to sexy apps, but there is a way around it for legitimate customers of the app and that is to have a silhouette of the male or female model.

It’s not just new apps that are being scrutinised but existing ones will be painstakingly checked to see if they are breaching the new rules. Developers that submit apps to the marketplace will be emailed beforehand to make sure that they will check and change any pictures or images of provocative material, so that it makes the job easier for Microsoft. This tough approach to developers shows that Microsoft is taking Apple’s approach to app development and censorship seriously and as there are expected changes in the Windows Phone line-up this is a good move at this time before the marketplace becomes flooded with more Windows Phones.

Adult content at the moment is a little less checked on for Windows Phone users but with the introduction of Internet Explorer 9 and its stronger parental controls as well as Windows looking to clamp down on any underage viewing of sexual material, it shows that the firm are taking the responsibility of their application marketplace well.

As there are millions of apps launched every day, although many are for Android and iOS, the Windows Phone Marketplace is growing in numbers thanks to the introduction of the Nokia Lumia 800 and 900 which have seen a fantastic growth in sales compared to recent years for the Finnish company. There aren’t that many smartphones out there that run on the Windows Phone Mango operating system but the hope that more follow Nokia is very high.

Not only will Microsoft check and penalise existing and current apps, but it will check the reaction of customers to see what they believe should and shouldn’t be accessible. As Windows are a global name and people see them as a household name they are far more likely to offer their opinion and complete surveys than any other software supplier.

It seems like it’s just a matter of time before the Windows Marketplace will have more and more apps submitted to it so that it can start to become a genuine competitor to the Android Marketplace (or Google Play) and the iStore. If you want to find out more about the Nokia Lumia 900 or the Nokia Lumia 800 then check out Mobile Phone Checker for more information.

No, not the Honda tuning company Mugen Power, but the smartphone/tablet PC battery manufacturer. The firm has listened to the problems that many Samsung Galaxy Note owners have about the battery life of their stunning hybrid smartphone-tablet that it runs down too quickly under hard use. Even though the Note comes with a hefty 2,500mAh battery, which is twice what a decent smartphone has, it is so resource-hungry that the power drains quickly.

The ‘fix’ is to buy a Mugen Power battery that claims it can make the Note last more than twice as long. The 5,400mAh battery is the exact same size and measurement as the factory battery and slots right in. The price is around £60 for the battery and it comes with a new battery door as well as worldwide shipping. This gives a whopping return for your cash and it’s a great way to make the most of your usage of your Samsung Galaxy Note. At the moment there are clearance sales on the Note from Mobile Phone Checker, as many of the retailers around the UK are looking to clear the shelves to make way for the influx of Samsung Galaxy S3 handsets that are heading their way into the country soon.

As Android’s operating system, the cameras and HD videos become more and more clever and power-hungry, the only downside that many smartphones have is their need to almost be constantly plugged in. After rigorous testing from Mugen Power, the battery has received high praise after passing its quality control and having a low return rate. Finally, it seems that we might have an answer to the problem of having to carry your phone charger around with you when you’re a heavy user. Using 3G, Wi-Fi, making HD videos and browsing the Internet sucks the life out of your phone and in many cases you rarely get the battery life that is advertised. Now, if you choose the Mugen Power battery pack for your Note – and most likely other smartphones are having better batteries developed – then you can use your ‘phablet’ to the fullest without having to plug it in!

This is fantastic news for all Samsung smartphone users as there finally is a solution to the weak batteries that normally come as standard. While the quoted figures of 40+ hours of standby time and 8 or so hours of talk time as well as similar for Internet browsing, what isn’t taken into account is if you use many resources then you’re more likely to need to recharge after just a few hours. When you’re not near a power source that becomes a major problem, and it’s almost always when you’re lost and need to use Google Maps, for instance.

The Mugen Power battery has just been launched and if it’s as successful as it should be then we could well see more high-powered and high-capacity batteries hitting the shelves for more than just the Samsung Galaxy Note, such as the latest Galaxy S3. 

Originally, the HTC One V was available in a grey-brown colour and that was it. While it looks modern and slightly futuristic, it’s not very appealing for the extrovert. However, that has all changed now as the V is available in jet black and a funky purple colour. That means that you can have your super-stylish and techno-laden HTC One V in your favourite colour.

The high-end features of the V include A-GPS, media players, Wi-Fi, GPRS and a 5 megapixel camera. The smooth finish of the HTC makes it very sleek and elegant. It’s not a workhorse like a BlackBerry it’s for fashionistas that love to accessorise themselves and funky smartphone is just the way to do it. There is a huge popularity of smartphones that can pull off different colours, compared to the monochromatic usual suspects from Apple and Samsung.

The innovative design helps it stand out amongst what is really a fairly common-looking smartphone market. Mobile phones in the early 21^st century were changing designs such as the Razr to be different but now there is a common tablet-esque design so makers need to try and have their units stand out and the colour is the only real way to do that now.

Back to the tech spec: there is a 5 megapixel camera that is superb at snapping pictures quickly. It has autofocus and an LED flash. There is GPRS and Wi-Fi so you’re never far away from the Internet, and there is a host of apps pre-installed such as Maps, Google Search, Google Talk, YouTube, Calendar and Gmail. As it runs on the Android operating system you expect these fantastic apps but you can also download from millions of others from Google Play. You can also add Google Drive to the phone for an extra 5GB of free online cloud storage.

The new colours are bound to draw a new type of customer to HTC and away from the iPhone 4S and even the Galaxy phones. While those competing phones are very smart and pretty, they do look fairly similar to every other phone out there. A funky purple HTC One V is certainly a change that we’ve all been waiting for. If you want One, it’s available from all of the major UK networks and if you check out mobile phone contract comparison pages you can see that the best deals are laid out in front of you with the prices. From there, you simply click on the best priced One for the package you want and the phone will be winging its way to you in no time.

As we have come accustomed to smartphones and what to expect from them, many people find they don’t even use most of the features so with the HTC One V you’ll notice that an FM radio is omitted but with so many people using online radio streaming there’s little point. Don’t forget to check to see if you can get a free gift from Mobile Phone Checker when you sign up to a new contract as the HTC One V has a wide variety of free items to choose from.

Nokia’s sales have been dwindling since Apple and Samsung grabbed the marketplace with both hands. Therefore, to try and regain some customers the Finnish company has been testing their new 41MP camera in India and Russia to see what the draw to it is. If Nokia goes ahead and releases it to more markets it will comfortably be the most Incredible camera we’ve ever seen in a smartphone.

Thanks to Carl Zeiss optics and the ability to merge 7 pixels into 1, it means that it’s up there with DSLR cameras for clarity and crispness. The second best smartphone camera is that of the Xperia S which features a 12.1MP camera and most other competitors make do with 5 or 8MP. The super-sharp images that can be taken are surprisingly not shown very well on the 4” screen as it only has 360 x 630 pixel resolution but as soon as you put the images on an HD TV or on your laptop they pop with colour and sharpness. You can, however, zoom and edit the image on the phone which is quite cool to tidy up some images.

The Pureview 808 as it’s being hailed is claimed to be fantastic in low-level light, something that all smartphones struggle with even if they have an LED flash. As Nokia only sold 3 million handsets last year compared to 37 million that the iPhone did, there has to be another way into the market and Nokia is opting for the camera route. As other manufacturers choose audio or gaming or indeed processor speed, the Finnish company has gone for the imaging sector. What is very strange and it seems completely out of kilter when you hear about the camera, the phone itself only has the Symbian (Belle) platform, which isn’t even made any more! This is a strange move by the bosses at Nokia but with that camera lens being such a daring effort there had to be cut backs elsewhere.

So, if you have a smartphone right now and you don’t use it a great deal for apps or sap the power from using all of the tricks and trademarks that they’re known for but you love photography then the 41megapixel Nokia Pureview 808 could well fit the bill. It has 16GB of internal storage which is superb compared to the competition and that can be upped a further 32GB with a microSD card. That means you can hold those larger files of the images and videos that you take. The phone manages well with its 1.3GHz processor and 512MB RAM but with a three billion Euro deficit to catch up on last year’s sales it’s a tall order for the company and a risky push to drive more sales. If it’s received well in the Russian and Indian markets we could well see it on our shelves here in the UK and Mobile Phone Checker will be first to show you the best deals for it if you want One.