Bad news from US stock market; shares in Palm, makers of the very classy Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones have tumbled by 15% on the Nasdaq.........

If you're of a certain age, you will probably be able to remember the first time you ever saw a mobile phone up close. With similar dimensions to that of a brick and possibly even with some kind of nuclear generator attached as a starting motor, the future didn't seem so bright back then. But as we boldly march into tomorrow, destined to have phone chips hot wired into our brains and tiny microphones inserted into our teeth, form and function have improved tremendously.

Mobile phones are packed full of gadgets and gizmos and it is important not to waste money on something you like the sound of, but don't actually need. Cameras, video calling, TV, music players and radios are all well and good but come at a price. There are plenty of phones out there that have all these features, yet the one thing you're buying it for - the phone - can sometimes be the worst performer. Style over substance springs to mind here and if you're looking for a decent phone, make sure you get one! Don't be afraid to try before you buy - retailers will happily let you make a test call - so make sure you don't go home with a duff bit of kit. Lets have a look at some of the features you can find on the modern mobile.

Mobile phone technology has moved on quickly in recent years. At first you could send information via text, then infra red and then Bluetooth; then the internet became accessible; games have advanced from the simple Snake to 3D shoot 'em ups; you can play music, listen to the radio and watch TV. Cripes, pretty soon Ridley Scott will be shooting his latest masterpiece on his Nokia 80,000. Luckily for us, in a lot of cases this technology is defined handily by numbers - you get a bit of a clue about the progression between 1.0 and 3.0 systems for example, or can work out that the Samsung 1 is probably older than the Samsung 20. But what does it mean? What is WAP enabled? Why should we care? Lets unlock the door and take a gander. Don't be scared, it's simple stuff, really.

Owners of Android phones will be able to utilise the benefits of Opera Mobile within the next month, according to the Opera website.....