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We're going mobile! Here's our weekly round-up of all the hottest mobile-related news

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We're going mobile! Here's our weekly round-up of all the hottest mobile-related news
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iOS + Android + Java ...

Welcome to our new weekly round-up of all the latest and greatest happenings in the wonderful world of mobile phones.

Anyone looking to buy a new phone or tablet can come here to see what special deals are available, catch up on the rumours about future kit, and possibly be entertained by some of the more lighthearted news of the week.

Please let us know what you think of this round-up in the comments below. But be gentle.


Three showing respect to the older generation

'Out with the old, in with the new' is the usual mantra among smartphone operators work. UK telco Three, however, has recently added some older handsets to its portfolio. And that's no bad thing.

The latest addition to the Three handset line-up is the Motorola Razr i, a phone that exceeded our expectations for a mid-range handset thanks to its amazing edge-to-edge display, excellent battery life, and a hot-to-trot single-core Intel processor.

The Razr i will set you back £250 on pre-pay, or £20 a month on a tariff with all-you-can-eat data. We'd really recommend your checking this out.

As for the "new", well, there's speculation that Three will be stocking the super-slim Huawei Ascend P2 smartphone just in time for Three's 4G network launch.

This svelte little number sports a 13-megapixel camera despite being just 8.4mm thick.


Carphone Warehouse offers iPhone 4 on cheapest tariff yet

There's plenty of life left in the iPhone 4, though you wouldn't want to pay too much to own one right now (especially with another new iPhone likely to surface in the autumn).

Fortunately, you can now join the world of iOS gaming for just £17 / month either through O2 or Three (via Carphone Warehouse).

With O2's iPhone 4 deal, you get 300 minutes and 500MB of data per month, while Three will give you 500 minutes but half the data (250MB).

Each tariff also comes with unlimited texts and is based on the purchase of an 8GB iPhone 4.


Phones 4u will get you fighting fit

Phones 4u is not only promising to upgrade your handsets, but is also promising to upgrade YOU.

Yep, the UK mobile phone retailer is offering its customers a place on a free urban boot camp from May 21st.

Fitness guru Ricardo Macedo has devised the unique 60-minute boot camp to get you beach ready in just six weeks. So, plenty of upper and core body exercises, plus loads of running, jumping, and climbing.


New iPad mini with Retina display incoming

Everyone expects Apple to update the iPad mini with a Retina display. According to CNET, though, the next refresh of Apple's diddy iPad won't be available in time for WWDC 2013. Instead, iPad mini 2 will most likely go on sale during Q3.

However, there's also speculation that a third iteration of the iPad mini may surface just after Christmas, so hold onto your pennies for the mo.

Just sayin'.


Samsung bags exclusive access to new ITV app

While ITV has updated its on-demand TV app with a new user interface for Android devices, Samsung has swooped in to secure an exclusive on it until the end of August.

You'll need to buy any one of the new Samsung devices if you want improved access to the last 30 days of ITV content across all of its channels.

You can stream TV through the app over wi-fi, 3G, and 4G, and the app itself has been specially optimised for the latest Samsung models with HD displays.


Vodafone confirms it will sell a phone that doesn't officially exist

Even before Nokia confirms the next phone in its Lumia range, Vodafone has jumped in by stating that whatever is unveiled, it will be available on its network.

A very eager rep from Vodafone couldn't resist posting on its blog: "We're proud to be able to say that (even though our lips are firmly sealed ahead of the launch) Vodafone UK will be stocking the next chapter in the Lumia story."

Someone over at Voda HQ presumably interprets the phrase 'keep your lips sealed' slightly differently from the rest of us, but, hey.

Whatever the case, we're quite sure that the next Nokia Lumia blower out of The Big N's factory will be the Lumia 925.


Amazon enters the third dimension

How many of you have owned or used one of LG's glasses-free 3D mobile phones? You did know LG made some, didn't you?

The current lack of interest in a phone with a 3D screen really makes us question the plausibility of a report this week that Amazon is working on a range of 3D phones complete with eye-tracking technology to let you select items that pop out of the screen.

Given Amazon's desire to sell hardware cheap and make money on books, films, and game downloads, it seems like this rumour might be a little far-fetched.


BlackBerry strikes Gold

If there's one way to guarantee a high level of sales, it's to take an existing phone and decorate it with a gold casing.

Or at least that's what Goldgenie believes, having done just that with the new QWERTY keyboard-toting BlackBerry Q10. Which you can pick up for a cool £1,597, by the way.

Given the SIM-free model costs nearly £600 'naked', perhaps that's not such a bad premium to pay if you want to stand out from the crowd.

For those of us without money to burn, there's the more affordable BlackBerry R10 model to look forward to. This slightly more tasteful blower should be unveiled at BlackBerry Live next week.


Which Galaxy is best for you?

Torn over whether to invest in a new Galaxy S4 or not? Don't fear: we'll have our in-depth review of Sammy's new flagship smartphone up on the site next week.

Samsung won't just be offering up one model of Galaxy S4, mind. Nah, of course not.

Instead, you will reportedly be able to choose from a whole range of Galaxy S4s, including a "Mini" S4 and a ruggedised, water-resistant "Active" model.

And who says it's a bad thing Apple only launches one new phone a year?

Jonathan Morris
Jonathan Morris
From starting out as a games tester for Mastertronic, Virgin and Sega in the late 1980s, it may seem odd to then ditch everything to write about mobile phones that, at the time, lasted 20 minutes between charges. He always had a hunch mobiles would become quite popular, but possibly didn't realise how powerful (and, ironically, returning to 20 minutes between charges). Jonathan's job is to continue advising on the best hardware to buy, in order to enjoy games that have advanced considerably since those long days and nights testing Double Dragon on the C64.