Join the mobile computing revolution

Mobile phones have taken off with the public faster than PCs, television or radio and nine in 10 people in the UK now own one. It took the personal computer 20 years to become mainstream, but mobile telephones have taken over the UK in less than 10.

Now the two are starting to merge, with handsets offering the ability to process, send and receive data. The upshot is that many mobile phones can now play games, send and receive email, instant messages, digital photos and even video.

These devices that mix telephone and computer can help simplify our lives, from allowing instant communication with friends and family, downloading of maps, or just staying entertained with music and games.

In this feature we will give guidance on how to choose the type of handset and mobile service that best suits your needs as well as giving tips on the best way to use a smart mobile device.

Phoning the future today
The fusion of computer and telephone has prompted some interesting designs to reflect the many uses of the new technology. There are the flash and funky multimedia phones, mostly with 3G connections and with digital cameras built in, with an increasing number being able to shoot short videos.

So-called smartphones make up for what they lack in looks by concentrating on communication and making sure that all your data is safe and synchronised with your PC.

Finally, there are handheld PCs that have a built-in telephone, for those who want the large screen, memory and storage space that comes with the bulkier package.

There are some standard features you should insist on across all device types, however. Bluetooth is essential, primarily for using wireless headphones, but also for synchronising small files with the PC, or to use with a wireless keyboard.

You may feel a bit self-conscious using a wireless earpiece at first, but it allows you to use the phone in a car (although you should never make calls while driving), or keep it safe in a bag and still take calls. If your computer doesn't support Bluetooth an adapter that plugs into a USB socket can be bought for about £10.

Some form of removable memory is also important, whatever device you buy, as images and music devour storage space. By far the most common type is memory cards - the same type used for digital cameras - which can store anything from 128Kb to 2Gb of data.

Many PCs now have card readers built in to transfer data, but you can also buy readers that plug into a USB port for about £12.

By next year, we'll see the first phones with built-in storage of up to 4Gb, but for the meantime you have to rely on removable media and the device's internal memory, usually ranging from about 80Mb to 128Mb.

Mobile broadband
Broadband is all about increasing the amount of data that can be received by a device, and 3G is the most prevalent technology that caters for mobile networks and devices. It offers downloads at speeds high enough to make it possible to download news and sport clips, make video calls to similarly equipped friends and family, and surf the internet as you would on a normal computer.

Phones designed for 3G networks usually come with a high-specification camera of at least one megapixel, although Samsung announced a 3G phone in March with a seven-megapixel video camera installed. That's enough for near professional quality, but even standard camera phones take pictures good enough for website images if the lighting is good.

You can share photos with online sites such as Flickr or mail them to friends as multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages, or to an email account for storage.

As for the screen, the ability to display 65,000 colours is a must if your holiday snaps are going to look good. Good sound is also a priority, with 3D speakers a must for anyone who wants to use their phone as a music player. Many phones also have a loudspeaker function built in, so it can be used as a speakerphone or play music loud enough so that others can hear.

This comes at a price, however, and a 3G phone usually has a battery life that allows only a couple of hours talk time, about two-thirds that of a standard phone. This decreases still further on video calls, so much so that the first 3G phones were sold with two batteries.

Phones, such as the Nokia 6630, are typical of the 3G phones available today. The 1.2-megapixel camera is good enough for quick snaps, but although it has a zoom mode this is only digital, not optical, so image quality will suffer as you close in on a subject. It also has up to an hour's video recording, although this is a huge chunk of data and requires plenty of storage space.

Phones like this work well in conjunction with a high-speed internet connection for downloading video clips and music. Each mobile phone operator has its own site, such as Vodafone or O2, that enables you to download news and sports clips and watch them on the handset.

All are also planning music download services by the end of the year that will allow subscribers to charge track purchases straight to their mobile account. However, make sure to check the terms and conditions as copyright concerns may prevent you transferring the music to a PC.

If video is your thing then something like the Samsung Z107 would be ideal. It has a swivel camera built into the top of the handset so you can swivel it to face yourself for the purposes of video calls. Operators like 3 include some free video calls as part of your contract.

This phone wouldn't suit the music fan and lacks removable storage, but as a video recorder and player it does the job well.