In today’s world, social networking has become an important part of our culture. Not too many people these days have some sort of social networking in which they participate. In our global world, making these connections has become even more important as well as stronger. Perhaps much of social networking’s popularity can be attributed to smartphones. These handy phones not only serve as phones but also double as portable computers to slide in your pocket. Apple’s new iPhone 4S was designed with regards to a user’s need to stay in touch as well as update social networking sites.

With the iPhone 4S, the App Store provides numerous social networking applications that are installed directly to the phone. Many of these are quite popular while a few aren’t as widely known. Facebook is probably one of the most recognized social networking site. It has enjoyed stellar growth over the years. Facebook users can easily view their news feed and other Facebook features with their iPhone 4S. The touch screen of the iPhone 4S makes it easy to post news, make comments and upload photos to you Facebook page. When taking pictures with the iPhone 4S’s new 8 megapixel camera, it is easy to send these pictures straight from the phone to one’s Facebook page.

Another widely recognized social networking application that can be put directly on the iPhone 4S is Twitter. While this is not quite as well used as Facebook, it has experienced phenomenal growth. Again, this growth can be traced back to smartphones like the iPhone 4S. Like the Facebook app, the Twitter app permits users to carry out functions they would it they were using a computer. On the main screen of the iPhone app, it is quite easy to post tweets up to as many as 140 characters. You can now order the iphone 4s at http://www.phones4u.co.uk.

The Nokia N8 is a 3G enabled smartphone that comes with a large 3.5 inch touchscreen, runs on the Symbian^3 operating system and has a 12MP camera.

Screen

The screen on the Nokia N8 is 3.5 inches and takes up much of the front of the phone. It has a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels / 16.7 million colors.

Operating System

The Nokia N8 runs on the Symbian^3 operating system. Word is that Nokia will abandon this OS and run their phones with Windows Phone 7 in the future which means that it is unlikely that you’ll see any upgrades to the software in the future.

Hardware

N8 runs with only a 680 MHz processor and 256MB of RAM. However since the Symbian OS was built from ground up to be battery, memory and processor efficient, you won’t have a sluggish system. There is 16GB of internal memory which is expandable with a microSD card.

Pictures / Videos

The Nokia N8 has a 12 megapixel auto focus camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. It has flash, face recognition, geotagging and a built-in photo editor. On the front there is a lower resolution camera for video calls (640×480 px resolution). As for the video capabilities the Nokia N8 allows you to shoot in 720p HD with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It does 25 frames per second. There is also preloaded software to allow you to instantly edit your videos right from the phone itself.

Additional stats

The NokiaN8 weighs 4.76 oz and it measures 4.47 inches tall, 2.32 inches wide and is 0.51 inches thick. As for battery life, it comes with a 1200 mAh lithium-ion battery. With it you can talk for almost 6 hours on 3G or 12 hrs on standard GSM with a standby time of 400 hours.

Other Features

• Turn by turn voice guided navigation. This also includes lane assistance, speed limit info and traffic information.
• Bluetooth 3.0 for hands free devices.
• FM radio plus FM transmitter for playing stored music over an external radio.
• Flash Lite 4 support for viewing flash movies or websites using flash.

Additional product images of the NokiaN8

Its launch has made it the most successful smartphone of all time, but many US customers waiting to get their hands on the iPhone 4S could be in for a long wait. The Wall Street Journal reports that even a month after the Apple device went on the market, the three biggest wireless carriers are finding it hard to keep supply up with demand.

In America, the largest carriers selling the iPhone 4S are Verizon, AT&T and Sprint Nextel. On each of the carriers’ websites, they suggest would be iPhone 4S buyers could have substantial waits before they can have the handset. Verizon’s website says up to three weeks, AT &T says 21 days while Sprint estimates around 14 days.

The reasons for the delay have been the source of much speculation. Some suggest it could be Apple’s manufacturers who have not made enough devices. Others suggest the demand has simply been so high, Apple, and the carriers, have been taken by surprise. AT&T has reported record breaking sales for the device. In its first three days in the shops, the iPhone 4S reached sales figures of 4 million, setting a new record for smartphones. For many of the carriers, worldwide and not just in the US, a successful iPhone 4S campaign is key after slower iPhone sales in the rest of the year, largely due to potential buyers hanging on for the third quarter to buy a new Apple device, at that point rumored to be an iPhone 5.

The impact of a new Apple device coming on the market for retail sales is extensive. Figures in the US show that in October, the month the iPhone 4S launched, retail sales rose 0.5%. There was a 3.7% in electronic sales over the same period. Some predictions have suggested the iPhone 4S could reach up to 27 million sales by the end of 2011, selling the same number of Samsung Galaxy SII devices but in just a third of the time. The predictions show the device has not just been popular in its initial launch, but that enthusiasm and sales continue to build. Carriers would be looking to Apple for more iPhone 4S models as the potential for profits is substantial.

Yet if supply fails to reach demand it could prove a damp squib. AT&T say they are working to get the device to customers within 10 days. The Apple Chief executive, Tim Cook, says the company is working as fast as they can to get the device into the hands of customers as quickly as possible.

Smaller carriers in the US, however, do not appear to have the same problem. For example in the southeast US, the regional carrier C Spire Wireless is reporting no shipping delays for the device.

As the holiday period, and the all-important Black Friday in the US retail market approaches, wireless carriers will hope that they manage to get their iPhone 4S contracts out to customers much more quickly, if they are to ride the wave of popularity for the latest Apple device.

Simon writes for Best Mobile Contracts, the best place to find a new iPhone 4S. You can also find phone contracts with free gifts to help you with your Christmas shopping.

This is the next incarnation of the Pam Pre smartphone lineup after the highly successful Palm Pre and Palm Pre+. The Palm Pre 2 is now twice as fast as its predecessors, with a 1GHz processor and internal storage of 16GB.

The 3.1 inch touchscreen display is a gorilla glass screen, same as the iPhone. It has pinch & zoom and multi-touch capabilities. The screen has a 320×480 resolution hvga display in vibrant 24 bit color.

The Palm Pre 2 smartphone has the new web 2.0 OS which is a vast improvement over the last operating system. This new OS brings usability enhancements like a gesture based navigation which creates effortless one handed usage.

There is a 5 megapixel camera with flash in the rear. This phone also has a physical slide out keyboard for typing when you need to.

This Pam Pre2 measures 3.96 inches tall, is 2.35 inches wide and is 0.67 inches thick. It weighs 5.1 ounces. Enjoy some additional product images.

The wait is over, Apple fans. Finally, the moment you have been waiting for has arrived. No, the iPhone 5 is not out (nor is there a definite release date for it yet). Instead, I’m referring to the white iPhone 4 belatedly hitting our shelves, nearly a year after the black version graced our presence. You’d expect a company of Apple’s size and stature to produce different colored smartphones in next to no time. Think again.

“We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right,” was how Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, attempted to put a gloss on the lengthy delays, which were due to the color’s effects on internal components.

So has the wait been worth it? The fact that the iPhone 5 could be available as soon as June if online rumors are to be believed will make consumers extremely wary of purchasing yet another iPhone 4. Perhaps the suggestion that Apple will wait until September before unleashing the next-generation iPhone is a little closer to the truth, giving the White iPhone 4 the time it needs to garner some sales.

Either way, what is not in any doubt is that the White iPhone 4 is easy on the eye. Well, that’s if you like white, of course. It also appears to be fractionally thicker than its black counterpart, although the difference is minute, if there is any actual difference at all. This is open to some debate. You’d expect that to be the beginning of a series of minor tweaks here and there, but sadly not.

That’s not to say that changes were needed to the original iPhone 4, because it remains hugely popular and that speaks volumes about the quality of the handset and Apple’s eye for detail. If anything, perhaps I’m guilty of expecting too much of the White iPhone 4. Perhaps I thought the end product would differ 10 months after it should have been launched.

Ten months, it’s worth remembering, is a long time in the mobile phone industry and in that period Apple’s rivals have been filling the marketplace with plenty of healthy competition from the likes of HTC with their HTC Desire HD device & Sony’s Xperia Play mobile/hand-held gaming device. Apple themselves could even undermine the White iPhone 4 if they bring out the iPhone 5 too soon.

Whether or not you should buy one of these smartphones is a question that only you can answer. If you already own an iPhone 4 then is it worth getting the ‘new’ version simply because it’s white? I’m guessing in most cases the answer to that will be a firm “no”, unless money is somehow no object. However, if you fancy getting an iPhone for the first time, at least now there’s a choice of colors. There is, however, the tempting option of hanging fire and waiting for the iPhone 5, which is expected to have a faster processor.

Here’s some basic specs on the Samsung Galaxy S. You may also know this phone as the Samsung Fascinate from Verizon, the Samsung Vibrant from T-Mobile and the Samsung Captivate from AT&T.

Screen

The display is 4 inches at 800×480 resolution. The colors are vivid and the screen is bright which means you can easily see the screen in regular daylight conditions.

Software

The Galaxy S has a 1GHz processor and runs on Android 2.1. For storage it comes with 8GB of internal memory but you can add up to a 32GB microSD card.

Camera

The camera on the back of the phone takes pictures at a 5 megapixel resolution. You can auto-focus and it comes with various scene settings. The only thing missing is flash, so you’ll be restricted to daytime shooting. There is a front facing camera which is ideal for video calls. The back camera also does video. It shoots 1280×720 videos (720p HD) at 30 frames per second. You can zoom into videos (digital zoom) at 4x.

Size

The Samsung Galaxy S is 4.82 inches tall, 2.53 wide and is only .40 inches thick. This phone weighs in at 4.20 ounces.

Here are some additional images of the Samsung Galaxy S.

You can find more info on the new Samsung Galaxy S and other mobile phones here.

Eton has used its solar power expertise to create an iPhone case with a solar panel. This case they’ve called Mobius will double your iPhone’s battery life with its built in battery but it will also help power up your phone when you expose it to sunlight.

I can see this product being useful to those who are going hiking or camping and will be away from any electricity. You might not be able to get a signal to make a call or go online, but you can use useful apps that don’t require an internet connection like the compass or the flash to provide you light at night.

At the moment I’m writing this the item is still “coming soon” so we’ll see some more product specs, additional pictures and reviews once it becomes available to the public. Here is a link to the product page. For now enjoy these images of the Eton Mobius solar charging case for the iPhone 4.