As it turns out, the iPhone is a very good mobile gaming platform. It offers good controls for most games and great graphics for a mobile phone. Gaming on the iPhone always makes me think of a sort of mobile Wii with the built-in accelerometer making for some interesting gameplay.

EA Mobile has announced that Spore Origins will be shipping for the iPhone, iPod and other mobile devices this month. The game was designed to take advantage of the iPhone accelerometer allowing the player to turn, tilt, and twist the phone to control the creature on screen.

We love our gadgets small, but sometimes it can get ridiculous. You are looking at the world’s smallest cell phone. The Xun Chi 138. It has a 1.3 megapixel camera, a touch screen with hand writing recognition, mp3 player and GPRS capabilities. It weighs just 55grams and measures a tiny 2.64 inches in length. It’s described as a “dual band GSM phone that supports GSM networks in Europe, Australia and parts of Asia, but does not work on North American GSM networks such as Cingular/Cellular One, T-Mobile, Rogers, Fido/Microcell, SunCom, Dobson, Edge Wireless, Alltel, Petrocom, Union, Pegaso/Movistar, Radiomovil/Telcel etc.” As you can see it’s ridiculously tiny, about the same size as a AA battery. Mini-Me would probably dig it, but some of us already have trouble with the buttons on our normal sized phones.

Chinavision is at it again, offering up a strange dual band smartphone that is part Nokia phone and part iPhone, with a projector thrown in for good measure. Features an interactive touchscreen, WAP, bluetooth, and a 1800mAh battery for extra long talk time between charges, MP3 and MP4 player, 1.3mp Digital Camera, Image Viewer, Video Recorder, and rich media environment messaging options, micro SD card slot complete with a 1GB card.

The projector can be used from a distance of up to 5 feet and will project an image about 32 x 40 inches. It should be “available soon”. I hope they aren’t waiting for the green light from Nokia and Apple.

Nokia released several new Nseries mobiles this week. The Nokia N79 is one of these and it’s coming to Europe this October – no specific American release information was made available.

The Nokia N79, according to its maker, offers up quite a lot of features for the multimedia inclined. This include, in a nutshell, “integrated navigation, music with FM transmitter, high-speed connectivity, superior web browsing, at least 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games and an advanced 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics.” It also combines 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi wireless support.

Verizon recently slipped a new mobile phone into its line up with no fanfare which targets messaging hounds. It is called the Blitz and pricing is around $70 after discounts and such.

The Verizon Wireless Blitz offers up a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and compact design. The screen size is 2.2-inches while the built-in digital camera is 1.3-megapixels and can be accessed with a dedicated camera key. Other features include a hands-free speakerphone, a built-in music player, Bluetooth support and expandable memory up to 4GB via a microSD memory card slot.

Verizon [via MobileBurn]

For many people prepaid mobile phones are ideal. This type of phone is great for people who don’t want be stuck in a contract or for those with poor credit. Many parents also use prepaid phones as a way to keep the amount of minutes kids use in check.

Virgin Mobile announced today that it has added a new Kyocera handset to its prepaid line that carries a very low price. The handset is called the TNT and is a clamshell style phone with basic features. The best feature of the TNT is the price — which is only $20.

The HB758 is an interesting phone. Not bad looking, with some nice features. It’s got a slide up feature for the keypad and slide down for your directional buttons so you can game too. It’s also a tri-band phone with a 2.8-inch display screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, integrated mp3/mp4 player, TV, Bluetooth, FM radio, simulation games, dual speakers, dual SIM slot, microSD slot and it supports multi languages. It’s priced at $142.82.

The most interesting thing about it though is how it looks like a PSP. They really went to town with the mimicry even adding what looks like the Playstation logo. It’s not a bad looking phone since a real PSP phone doesn’t exist as of yet, so why not buy this one and pretend? That’s probably what they want.

Seems like all of our gadgets are getting corn makeovers. The outer shell of the Samsung E200 Eco is more environment-friendly then most.

Samsung claims that the bio-friendly plastic is easier to dispose of and consumes less oil, producing less carbon than its oil-based arch nemesis’. The E200 also features a built-in alarm that reminds you to unplug the charger once the phone’s battery is full. It’s also got a 1.3 megapixel camera, video messaging, and a built-in MP3 player. If the power of corn compels thee, then you’ll want one.

The Nokia 3610 Fold is an interesting handset just announced that features dual screens. The clamshell design features ergonomics that Nokia is calling “understated elegance.” Outside you’ll find a 1.3 megapixel camera with 6x digital zoom, along with the external display.

Inside you’ve got a 2-inch, 262K color screen and the Nokia phone softkeys. It also supports up to 4GB microSD cards. It gets released officially in the third quarter of this year at $186. While I wouldn’t call it sexy, it does have a certain charm. It’s aimed squarely at those who just want basic features without a bunch of bells and whistles.

The Chang Jiang A998 looks a bit like a toy, especially in baby blue color, even though comes with a 2.8 inch display screen, 3.0-megapixel camera, TV function, integrated MP3 and MP4 player, Bluetooth, GPRS, FM radio, dual SIM slots, microSD slot and other basic features like FM radio, E-book , Currency converter, Unit converter, To do list, Incoming calls secretary and calculator. The price is $180.86. Probably the most interesting feature is that it sports the VAIO logo for some reason.

Now that Apple has launched the iPhone App Store, the iPhone has become a serious mobile gaming platform. I have downloaded a number of iPhone games and most often find the iPhone very good for gaming. A few of the games I have tried have problems with controls, but for the most part quality games work fantastically.

A company called Handmark has launched its first arcade-style racing game — called GTS World Racing — specifically for the iPhone that takes advantage of the accelerometer built-in the iPhone for controls. To get the car in the game to accelerate, brake, and steer you move the iPhone itself. The way you control most games for the iPhone reminds me a lot of the Nintendo Wii.

Nokia said today it would be adding a new XpressMusic mobile phone to Nokia 5610 XpressMusic and you’ll find it pricing around $100 after rebates and such.

The Nokia 5160 XpressMusic, available in red and white color choices, is a music slider phone with aluminum side panels and a 2.2-inch color display. It offers up to 22 hours of music playback and a memory capacity for up to 3,000 songs on an optional 4GB microSD card. It also has a built-in 3.2-megapixel 3.2 digital camera.

Samsung on Friday announced a new horizontal-slider design handset which it is debuting through cellular provider MetroPCS. It is called the Samsung Messager (SCH-r450) and it prices around $200.

The Samsung Messager (SCH-r450) is designed for those who like to message as they go, be it text, email or IM. It includes a QWERTY keyboard and support for messaging services. There’s also built-in MP3 playback and an external micro SD card slot.

Verizon Wireless has decided two of its more popular  BlackBerry smartphones are deserving of a new body color as college students get ready to return to school this fall. The cell phone company is unveiling pink versions of the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and BlackBerry Pearl 8130, priced at around $100 and $80, respectively.

Verizon had this to say about the features of these two phones: “The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is the smallest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone, which makes the handset a natural fit for fashion-savvy students who need to manage their responsibilities at school, while staying connected to their family and friends. Additionally, students traveling off campus can take advantage of Verizon Wireless’ VZ Navigator(SM) service on their BlackBerry Curve to access maps, audible turn-by-turn navigation and information on more than 14 million points of interest.

Spice Mobiles Limited unveiled their latest for the market in India. The Spice X-1 is a gamers mobile phone with a dedicated gaming console. The phone sports a big 2.4 inch screen, 2-GB expandable memory card, and comes packed with pre-loaded games and a gaming console. Just what games come with it, I have no idea, but look, a motorcycle.

You can also play games without the console using the dedicated gaming keys on the handset. That’s not all that you get. It also includes a 2 MP camera, Yamaha-amplified 3-D surround sound, FM radio with record and play feature and Bluetooth. It retails for $210.