Native Union was formed by a group of exceptionally talented designers passionate about the art of conversation, and despite its rather misleading name for a mobile manufacturing company that tends to sound more like a worker’s union or a humanitarian organisation, Native Union, in its creation of the POP handset, has certainly provided a mobile that will stand out from the throng of similar looking mobile devices we all seem to carry.

Designed by acclaimed designer David Turpin, the Gold POP handset may look stylishly retro (or charmingly ridiculous depending on your viewpoint .ed) but its traditional aesthetical façade cunningly disguises its feat of internal capabilities, advanced enough to rival the likes of Apple and Blackberry.

Compatible with Bluetooth devices, computers and all mobile phones, Gold POP users can make Skype, conference, person-to-person and VoIP calls, whilst simultaneously accessing social media, email and apps.

A further notable component of Native Union’s new handset that gives it a refreshing edge on competitors is the fact it has been designed to dramatically reduce exposure to potentially harmful mobile phone radiation emissions, which have been the subject of concern highlighted in a recent report published by the World Health Organisation. According to the TUV – the world’s leading certification company – Native Union’s Gold POP reduces mobile phone radiation by 96%.

Whilst its radiation emissions may be second to none, the POP handset produces top quality crystal clear sound by being fitted with a top-notch speaker and microphone, as well as using noise reduction technology.

This satisfyingly unique handset is available for `£60 from Harrods’s and the Native Union website for a limited period only.

[Source: Native Union’s Gold POP Handset: Blending retro and tradition with modernism and bling]

My first impression of the device was “my that is a big screen”. A 262,144 colour TFT touchscreen 4.0 inches , 480 x 854 pixels (WVGA), scratch-resistant screen to be exact. The camera isn’t bad either -8.1 megapixels, GEO tagging, smile detection (this didn’t work for me despite going ear to ear Cheshire cat style). Intelligent face recognition identifies up to five faces in any picture, automatically connecting them with your phonebook. This actually seemed like a pretty neat figure, although face recognition systems in Picasa and Aperture have left me a little jaded towards the technology (I was once shown a picture of an old white lady in her 50s and asked “Is this you?”) Everything else was what you’d expect from a high end smart phone – apps, connectivity, music etc.

The headline features for me (aside from the lovely screen) were the “streams” for media and communication. Timescape™ manages all your communication with one person in one place allowing you to browse through your conversations in Facebook, Twitter, photos, emails, and texts all in one go. It actually looked reasonably nifty and the employee I spoke to assured me it made sense as a means of keeping in touch with people you contact often across various social networks. The Mediascape was an interactive way to browse music, photos and videos and allows you to access local and online content (YouTube and something called PlayNow). It reminded me a little of the Cooliris plugin/extenstion for Firefox/Chrome

Fortunately the tech press has grown up a little over the past few years so we no longer have to scream “iPhone Killer???” at every touchscreen smartphone. Which is fortunate as this clearly isn’t. It is however a fairly decent smartphone with a rich featureset, great camera and fabulous screen. And the Android Mobile OS is clearly going to be the site of some interesting developments. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 is out now.

[Source: Hands on with the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10]

Sony Ericsson announced the launch of their Aino touch and slider handset today. The device comes with both a traditional keypad as well an a touch interface giving one touch access to all content. Putting content on to your Aino can be done thanks to a nifty charging stand and Sony’s Media Home system kicks in, via wifi, and automatically synchronises the Aino with all the latest media content on your PC. You can also use the handset to control your PlayStation 3 as well as link in to the PlayTV service. Also on offer in the Aino are FM radio and a 8.1 megapixel camera complete with face detection, geo-tagging, photo flash and auto focus.

[Source: Sony Ericsson’s Aino slider & touch handset]