The Android operating system is the fastest growing operating system in terms of gaining market shares. This is mostly thanks to the platform’s impressive user interface, good choices of mobile phones and open source nature; as open source systems are able to attract more and more developers to create new applications and functions.

The Symbian operating system on the other hand, is slowly losing its grip on the market. Originally, the Symbian is a widely used OS (until now), but with its features and capabilities slowly dragging behind its competitors, fewer and fewer mobile phones are still using it. Right now, there are only a handful of significant smart phones that are using the OS (mostly from Sony Ericsson; the upcoming Vivaz and Kanna, as well as last year’s Satio). Other mobile phone manufacturers have been busy with either proprietary platforms or the Android and WinMo systems.

The big downer for Symbian came last year when Nokia announced that they would be using the Maemo operating system for the N-series of mobile phones. This announcement came shortly before Samsung announced that it would be focusing on the use of the Bada OS more and other systems less –leading to the inevitable rumor that Symbian was getting dropped completely. While both companies have expressed that they will continue to support and use the Symbian OS (especially Nokia), the fact that the OS needed to adapt to times was evident.

Originally, the Symbian OS was supposed to shift to open source sometime later this year. The plan has been moved much earlier in an apparent bid to attract more devs. Of course, this also means that we might see the Symbian and variations of it on other devices too.

Read more about the Symbian operating system going open source on Times Online.

This LG GT540 is only LG’s second Android handset. Not all the GT540’s specs have been fully released by LG. However, we do know that it has a 3 inch 320X480 pixels screen resolution, with 256k colors. This mobile phone has a camera resolution of 3 megapixels, with autofocus. It has support of HSDPA downloads, with a maximum speed of 7 megabits per second, and HSUPA uploads that can reach to speeds up to 2 megabits per second. This phone also has an option for micro-SD expandable memory with a maximum expansion of 32 gigabytes. The LG GT540 also features a 3.5mm audio socket, and also has an FM radio. This phone is based on 2.0 Android platforms.

However, there is no word weather there is mobile phone has a wireless WI-FI built in. The LG GT540 is also a great social networking mobile phone; an exciting fact is that, you can access social networking sites, such as twitter and Facebook with the SNS manager on this mobile phone, which is designed to handle social networking services. The LG GT540 can handle almost any type of media file, including DivX and WMV movies, which look flawlessly smooth and brilliant when played.   The touch screen has large icons, which are quite simple to use. When compared to other smart popular mobile phones, this phone can certainly hold its own in terms of performance, reliability and ease of use. However, it is in the looks category is where this mobile phone really stands out. This phone has a slight concave curves on the top and the bottom, which make it seem like it has shoulder pads. LG says this phone should be available for sale worldwide by April 2010.  Although no official price has been set on LG GT540, it’s estimated to retail at around 300 to 350 Euros.

• LG GT540 Deals
• LG GT540 Reviews

Everyone will want to own a Google Nexus One with its extensive features and capabilities provided on the mobile phone.  The phone will have Live Wallpaper that sets the background in your screen.  The interesting part is where the Live Wallpaper makes the background looks as if it was alive with fluid and graphical motion.  The water wallpaper will ripple if you touch the screen.  This is a milestone in the creation of Smartphones and the Google Nexus One is unparalleled for this feature.  In the charger dock, the clock app will run and show the time, weather, and accordingly to the location of the local area.  The clock on the phone diminishes the need to keep an alarm clock as you keep your phone on the charger next to you on your bed.

The settings feature will have a backup overhaul that will keep your profile, ringtones, and other various applications updated.  The noise-cancellation feature should be noted as the microphone concentrates on the voice command rather than the extraneous noises that hinder the ability of the phone to follow user voice commands.  Wind noise and machinery noise will be miniscule, and they are usually the noises that get in the way of call quality and background noises. The phone offers no alternative to the users who like to cradle the phone between their shoulder and neck.  Users who do this will find that the microphone located on the bottom of the phone on the left will be muted on occasions such as this.  Hopefully, Google will create better usability for people who operate a phone without hands in the future.

A car charger via the Nexus One will activate the navigation features that will help you find your way on the road.  The regular charger will make the phone activate the clock feature that will substantially replace alarm clocks.  The phone’s ability to connect to your car and activate the navigation feature makes the Google Nexus One remain the most flawless mobile phone on the market today.

The biggest problem with the phone is the high cost associated with the early termination fees.  If you are planning to buy the phone, be prepared to follow through with the associated fees that are referenced to the plans.  Another problem according to the consumer complaints is the touch screen, which is a pretty vague concept and is undetermined.  Like any phone, there is bound to be complications with some of them, so the downfall is not necessarily unpredicted.  Google will most likely attempt to fix the errors that are concentrated in consumer complaints and be rectified according to the analysis of consumer complaints.  They should focus on the areas that are most complained about.

• Google Nexus One Deals
• Google Nexus One Reviews

Even though, the phone is most anticipated, they will have to do something about the fees associated with unlocked and locked phones.  The unlocked version will be available for around €600.  With the T-Mobile plan, the retail is around €250 with a 2-year contract plan.  From this, it is pretty obvious why the complaints are existent when consumers try to weasel their way out of a plan and getting the phone for €200.

There are rumors that the Apple iPad will have a built in webcam.

Not announced, but highly plausible. Considering that video conferencing online is a major feature of being able to access the internet, it is likely that the iPad just might have a video camera installed. As to why Apple has been keeping it secret (if there is one) still remains to be answered. Initial shots of the iPad do not clearly show a slot for the camera, though a few burry images do hint at the possibility.

Whether the device comes with a camera or not, it is almost certain that the Apple tablet is here to stay. The device is not yet available and yet it is already making rounds in major events. Stephen Colbert literally pulled an iPad out of his coat when he was going to announce the nominees at the 52nd annual Grammy awards this week. The much applauded comic routine was a testament to the social impact the device already has at a very early stage.

Some tech enthusiasts are first to raise eyebrows at Apple’s newfangled gadget. Considering that apple has strong control over hardware and software content on the device, many believe that the iPad’s dominance in the tablet department would constrict innovation –though the same argument can be said about the iPhone and that was not such a bad thing.

Anyway, the iPad comes with a 9.7 inch touch screen which will give users a full 1024 x 768 pixels of resolution allowing websites to be viewed as they should be. Flash is not supported on the device; Steve Jobs is reportedly focused more on HTML5 than Flash. Multi tasking is also disabled on the tablet though the specs show that the device can handle it.

See more of the camera module on the iPad at Engadget.

Texting has become a very important method of communicating with our friends and loved ones. It is cheap, fast and in some instances, more reliable that voice calls (especially when you are spelling out specific instructions or information). According to a recently published report from the Mobile Data Association, the total number of text messages sent each hour within the UK reaches up to a total of 11 million.

The information was compiled from data submitted to the MDA by various UK based mobile phone operators and reflects the message sending rate of the UK for 2009. At 11 million per hour, that gives out a total of over 200 million messages sent each day.

By that number alone it is easy to see how much we rely on mobile phone technology for our everyday tasks. Of course, the prevalence of services that allows users to send Tweets and Facebook updates through SMS also played a large part in the increasing number of messages being sent.

So is this good news?

There is nothing right or wrong with the increasing number of messages being sent during a given time; and judging from the trends in the mobile industry, we can predict that this upward growth curve will continue to increase as more and more ways to utilize text messaging becomes available.

Even the number of multimedia messages (MMS) being sent is increasing. This is further encouraged by newer mobile phones that make shooting images and sending files a whole lot easier.

Should you cut down on the messages you send each day? There is no reason not to. So far, it has yet to be proven if mobile phone signals are actually harmful. While compulsive text messaging may be a sign of bigger problems, you should not stop yourself from forwarding that funny message to your friends.

For more hard numbers from the MDA, head straight to Softpedia.

Samsung have a reputation for producing simple and reliable mobile phones. They often quote that their phones are Eco friendly, but like many products it is hard for everyday consumers to tell whether they really are or not. That all changed however when Samsung released their new phone, the Samsung Blue Earth. The Samsung blue earth looks like a normal phone from the front, but when you look at the back everything changes. The back is covered with one big solar panel built into the back of the phone. It means that you do not have to use expensive electricity to power your phone, you can just leave it facing towards the sun and it will charge automatically.

Having a built in solar panel also means that the Blue Earth will never run out of battery when you are out, and if it does you simply face it towards the sky to recharge. The phone is made from a lot of recycled household plastic, which helps by stopping factories having to produce new plastic from scratch, which gives off poisonous chemicals into the environment. It also saves you a bit of money as the plastic is not so expensive recycled.

The phone features a 3.2 megapixel camera, great for taking photographs whilst out and about at times when you are without your digital camera. Everything about the phone is Eco friendly, even the box that the phone arrives in can be recycled and made into a photo frame or a pen holder, meaning that nothing is going to waste. The Blue Earth is due for release in Sweden this month, with the rest of Europe and Asia following shortly after.

If you get a mobile a phone, it will be primarily out of need. Mobile phones let you send SMS/MMS messages as well as make and receive calls. If you get a computer, you know that you can handle office or schoolwork with the device. If you get a tablet, well, what do you really need a tablet for?

Not to say that the new Apple tablet, iPad is not useful (because it is). The real concern here is whether people know what they need it for.

With net access becoming more and more common to everyone and online networking becoming the standard for modern socializing, it makes sense that devices such as the iPad become a part of households. Though it does nothing that you cannot do on a small net book or a really high-end mobile phone (in terms of social networking), the iPad is a device that makes net access very easy for anyone. Thanks to the touch screen user interface, browsing and using the tablet is intuitive and easy to learn.

Aside from being easy to use, the iPad also addresses some particular needs. For one, you can actually do short document editing on the device. The iPad comes with the iWork application for handling the creation and editing of various documents and the onscreen keyboard allows you to type easily. The device also functions as a digital book reader, making for a great alternative to devices such as the Kindle.

For games, the iPad is compatible with most apps for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, though apps made exclusively for the iPad will not be compatible with the two devices dues to the high native resolution on the tablet.

Many phones these days are geared specifically towards music, because music is such a big part of people’s lives. Whether it be showing your friends a new song you brought from the store, or playing music for your own enjoyment, there are plenty of reasons why people want music on their phone, along with applications do help with music.

The new phone from Sony Ericsson, the Xperia Pureness is designed to be used with all types of music, as well as being able to function as a business phone or personal phone. The phone comes with a built in music and video player, allowing you to play songs and videos you can download from the Sony Ericsson store.

The videos are played in high definition, giving you great quality pictures and great for long journeys or other times where you need to pass time. The phone comes with a built in program called Track ID, which allows you to learn the name and artist of any song you hear. You basically hold up the phone to a song that is playing on the radio or TV for a few seconds, and the phone will search through hundreds of thousands of song listings and fine the one it matches. You will then be present with the name of the song, the artist and the album.

The phone features Bluetooth connectivity which allows you to connect with friends and family. This is great if for instance you have recorded a new song and want to share it with people you can just Bluetooth it over instead of having to send it though the computer. You can have a look online to see what Xperia Pureness deals are available.

There are many reasons why you should get a Nokia branded mobile phone. Not only is the device a product of the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, but they are also the most eco-friendly electronics company in the world (as ranked by Greenpeace; Sony Ericsson ranks a close second).

Anyway, value wise, it is hard to go wrong with a Nokia smart phone and given the fact that just recently, the Finnish company announced that they would be offering free sat nav GPS services for all their compatible devices. Now, every single Nokia smart phone with Ovi Maps can work as a dedicated GPS device.

Anyway, just a few months ago, Nokia released the X6 music phone. The 32GB smart phone was designed for music fans and came with a special “Comes with Music” deal which allowed users to download from the Nokia Music Store for free. While it was a great offer for music fans, it was still a pretty expensive deal and not that many people are willing to shell out so much just for a music phone.

Nokia now addresses this by introducing the new Nokia X6 16GB version. Specs wise, the two phones are pretty similar. The X6 comes with a 3.2 inch touch screen display that handles images and videos well. It also has a 5 mega pixel camera that takes high quality photos for uploading and sharing (the Carl Zeiss lens does a great job of bringing detail into images).

Music fans will certainly enjoy the 36 hours of continuous music playback and since the device will not come with the unlimited downloads deal, Nokia offers 25 free tracks to X6 16GB users instead. The phone is expected to arrive on February 24.