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.

Motorola has been chasing the success that it had with the Razr for years now. Since the Razr was the hot thing, Motorola hasn’t enjoyed as much success as it hoped. Today Motorola has announced three new handsets in its ROKR line that it is hoping will be popular.

The ROKR EM30 is the top-of-the-line for the new handsets. The EM30 uses Motorola ModeShift technology to illuminate the keyboard. When in phone mode the keys are blue and when in music mode, the keys are red allowing users to tell at a glance what mode they are in. Other features of the phone include a FM radio with RDS 4 technology and compatibility with Windows Media Player 11.

Wii-like controllers for Bluetooth phones? Did you ever think you would see the day? Well back in my day sonny… The Zeemote analog joystick controller for Bluetooth phones is now hitting the scene. That is, if you are a lucky Dutch W760 buyer.

If so, you’ll get it free as a promo package. It’s not exactly the Wii-like version the company was previously promising, but it looks nicer then the Wii nunchuk and it’s got color to it. No word on U.S. pricing or availability yet, but you’ll be acing first person cellphone shooters when you do get one.

Mobile phones are one of the hottest categories of electronic devices around the world. While the smartphone gets most of the press and is one of the biggest growth categories in the segment, most users still opt for basic phones.

According to research, firm IDC worldwide cell phone shipments grew 15.3% in Q2 2008 with 306 million phones shipped. In Q1 2008, 289.7 million phones were shipped total. In Q2 of 2007, 265.4 million cell phones were shipped for a 15.3% increase. Smartphones are still seeing year-over-year growth of 40%.

Mobile phone manufacturer LG Electronics is poised to be among the first to bring Dolby sound to handsets set for release on the global market. The electronics company and Dolby inked a deal which would bring “Dolby Mobile” to into high-end multimedia phones towards the end of the year.

Dolby Mobile is described as an audio processing technology platform optimized for mobile applications. Key features of this platform include surround sound, bass boost, restoration of high-frequency effects and mono-to-stereo conversion.

LG/Dolby Agreement

Nokia is now debuting here in the United States a new, very slim QWERTY smartphone. It is called the E71 and pricing is set around $500.

The Nokia E71 is just 0.39-inches thin, reportedly making it the slimmest QWERTY device currently on the market. It sports a stainless steel design and large screen, among other hardware features. It also includes integrated GPS and a built-in 3.2-megapixel digital camera.