The Huawei U121 is a brand new entry-level handset from Huawei Technologies. It features some high-quality materials like stainless steel casing. Despite being entry level, the phone comes with a 1.3MP camera that supports video calls, an integrated FM radio, microSD memory card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Audio and video playback, miniUSB port and 3G connectivity. The Huawei U121 is currently only available only in Russia.

Sonim Technologies knows how to make rugged handsets. The company has already released some pretty tough phones in the past, but now they have a few more models scheduled for a mid-2009 release. The newest additions are the Land Rover S1 and the Land Rover S2 G4. Both will come with a protective case made from XENOY, which is “a revolutionary post-consumer plastic derived mostly from used plastic bottles and film.”

The Land Rover range will of course feature water resistance and the ability to function in the hardest of environments, including 1.6 meter drops on something as unforgiving as concrete. No word on pricing, but you can expect to pay a premium when they’re available.

Here’s another clone out of China. The HB 778 dual SIM card phone looks a lot like a phone we know. Yep. The Touch Diamond or Touch Pro. It sports a 2.8-inch touch screen and of course, dual slider design that slides up for the numeric keypad and side slide for gaming keys instead of a QWERTY keyboard. You’ll get a TV function, FM radio, 2.8-inch Touch screen, touch keypad with vibrator, 1.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, dual SIM slot, and microSD slot. It even comes preloaded with classic games like Super Mario. The very familiar HB 778 will cost you $151.

Camera phones are gaining megapixels all the time. The higher the megapixel resolution the larger images the phones can take and the better the image quality to some extent. However, many camera sensors on the market don’t perform well in low light situations.

A company called Aptina has announced its latest image sensor is entering mass production and is aimed at high-end 5-megapixel camera phones. The sensor is called the MT9P012 and in addition to high-resolution it promises to deliver 2x the low light performance of previous generation sensors.

It’s amazing how fast Chinese cloners move. They’ve done it again. Poor Motorola. They tried so hard to keep their beautiful new phone off of ebay. Here it is in all of it’s clone-y-ness.

It’s called the Wingtech D20, and basically what they have done is take all the beauty of the Aura and flush it down the toilet through the use of cheap plastics and bad colors. And there ya have it. Instant crap-gadget for people on a budget. Everyone will know you’re on a budget when they see this thing. Some features include: Swiveling, switchblade-like design exactly like the Motorola Aura, Support for dual-band GSM networks, GPRS Class 10, 1.5-inch TFT 128 x 128 pixel LCD, Multi-language support, MP3 and MP4 player, USB connectivity, and Up to 4 hours of talk time and 120 hours on standby.

Depending on your point of view, this is either bizarre or amazing. This handset does just about everything and somehow stays fairly slim and compact. The iCEphone is due to be released from The Medical Phone Ltd. in the UK and the most exciting and strange thing about it is that it folds three ways. It’s a portable video game platform, GPS and smartphone all in one, plus micro notebook.

It sports a three-way hinge that allows access to a 3-inch touch screen display at 240 x 400 resolution, a QWERTY keyboard and a mouse tracker pad with gaming controls. ICE stands for “In Case of Emergency Phone.” You’ll get a 3G connection with support for GPRS and EDGE, two SIM card slots, WiFI, and a 3.1 megapixel camera. The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 Pro. The iCEphone will be available in Thailand, then in the UK in the spring of next year for under $1,000.

One of the more common issues for people as they age is hearing loss. The big problem in today’s mobile society is that when the hearing stars to go, it’s hard to keep in touch with family, friends, and caregivers. The ClarityLife C900 is made just for people with hearing loss.

The handset offers a built-in amp that increases volume by 20 decibels. Other features of the handset include a one-touch emergency call button, a large and simple to use four-button control system, and an oversized backlit display with large numbers.

DoCoMo’s latest SMART cell phone series includes the clamshell F-04A that features an attractive, but plain design comprised of the following features: 3G/HSDPA, 3″ 480 x 854 resolution TFT display, 0.4″ 12 x 56 monochrome FSTN display, microSD/SDHC memory card slot, 2 megapixel camera with autofocus, VGA resolution camera for video calls, Built-in mobile wallet, Mobile Google Maps application and 1-Seg support. The F-04A should be available in Japan next February or March.

We told you about the Pantech Slate earlier this month. You might remember, it’s the “world’s thinnest QWERTY keyboard” handset. It’s now official at AT&T. This one is aimed squarely at those with messaging addictions, who want good looks and a slim design. It sports the full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, video recording, 1.3 megapixel camera, email, instant messaging and support for AT&T’s Media Net.

Like a bitchy supermodel the Pantech Slate is claiming to be the world’s thinnest device with a QWERTY keypad. Priced at $49.99, you’ll need a two-year agreement and mail-in rebate for AT&T subscribers. Sporting black and royal blue, it comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, instant messaging, Mobile Email and Bluetooth. It will be available by the end of this month.

One of the most popular form factors for mobile phones is the flip phone. Despite the popularity of the flip phone, it’s not typically a design associated with smartphones, which tend to be bar style phones resembling the PDA’s many sprang from.

BlackBerry has announced that its first flip phone is now available exclusively at T-Mobile. The phone is called the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220. The handset offers the features BlackBerry users are familiar with including RIM’s email solution, text, and picture messaging.

Verizon Wireless, besides announcing the Samsung Sway, also unveiled this week two new Motorola handsets and a Bluetooth headset. These new devices are the the Motorola Rapture VU30 and the MOTO VU204 as well as the MOTOPURE H15 Universal Bluetooth Headset. Pricing for these devices is around $130, $30 and $100, respectively.

The Rapture VU30 is the more advanced of the two new mobiles. It comes in a clamshell design Verizon says has a touch-sensitive external display. It does the usual Verizon music services and can also capture digital pictures, offering a dedicated shutter button for the 2.0 megapixel camera. Memory is expandable up to 8GB and you can get turn-by-turn audible driving directions.

Boost Mobile unveiled today it latest mobile phone from Motorola. It is the old school looking i776, which you’ll find pricing around $100.

The Motorola i776 is Boost’s smallest flip phone with a digital camera (VGA). It comes compatible with Boost’s walkie-talkie service and is also GPS enabled.

Verizon Wireless today unveiled a new slim slider phone designed for them by Samsung. It is called the Samsung Sway and you’ll find it pricing around $70 after rebate and contract.

The Samsung Sway offers your typical array of media and lifestyle features to make it more than just a mobile. It includes being a MP3 player which can be loaded with music via a USB cable, a 2.0-megapixel digital camera with video recording and digital zoom and Bluetooth support.

Apple’s iTunes store is hands down the most popular place to buy music around. Many people have tons of tracks in iTunes and teh ability to listen to those tracks on a wide variety of mobile phones while on the move would be a great thing for most music fans.

Didiom has announced that its placeshifting application for iTunes is in beta. The application allows iTunes users to stream music from iTunes on their PC to a mobile phone wirelessly. The software works with both BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.