The Sony Ericsson Jalou is another one of those fashion phones that Sony Ericsson has been in the habit of producing. Aimed squarely at the female demographic, it packs both a unique diminutive size and a highly-original (albeit, debatably attractive) looks.

Physically, the clamshell phone’s shape is supposed to resemble a gem, with a polished surface and shapely cut lines. Naturally, it’s a veritable magnet for smudges and fingerprints. It comes with two display panels – a 1.3-inch LCD in the front and a 2-inch QVGA LCD inside. Both displays are clear and bright, while the overall device sports a really solid build.

As a phone, it manages good voice calls, although adjusting the volume while you’ve got it placed next to your ear is very difficult because of the size. Battery, which is rated at 7 hours, is surprisingly good.

Like many fashion phones, the Jalou is primarily about its looks. However, it does come with some advanced features, like 3G, HTML browsing, an accelerometer and a good set of apps (including Facebook, YouTube and an onboard pedometer). It features Sony Ericsson’s usual media features, like TrackID, PlayNow and several basic media editing tools.

The 3.2 megapixel camera offers a good set of options, along with average quality stills (no flash, though). A novelty mirror function, which lets you use the LCD as a mirror, actually works. Other handset details include stereo Bluetooth and microSDHC expansion.

Overall, the Sony Ericsson Jalou makes for a sexy, little phone. The ridiculously small size makes it near-impossible for full-sized men to use (let’s see you open that clamshell with your large fingers), but should work very well for majority of female users. Priced at around $320 unlocked (depending on where you buy), it’s a good choice if you’re into a stylish, though not necessarily powerful, device.

While the Blackberry Storm didn’t exactly turn other touchscreen smart phones on their head, it wasn’t all that bad. With a series of software improvements and beefed-up hardware, though, there are high hopes for its successor, the Blackberry Storm 2.

Physically, RIM’s new touchscreen device isn’t a big departure from the original Storm. It sports the exact same dimensions and similar weight, but adds a few subtle touches. The capacitive touchscreen measures 3.2 inches with a 480 x 360 resolution. It comes with a built-in accelerometer and a proximity sensor. The latter feature detects when a face is close to the screen, automatically turning it off to avoid mispresses.

The biggest update here, by far, is the revamped Sure Press touch interface. Instead of a mechanical suspension system, like in the original Storm, the new handset uses electronic activators beneath the display to simulate clicks. The result is basic multi-touch support, improved touch response, faster typing and key rollovers. Along with some nifty UI enhancements, it makes for a touchscreen facility that can finally rival some of the best smart phones around.

As a phone, the Storm 2 manages excellent voice calls, with a rich and clear sound that’s free from any background interference. Speakerphone was similarly loud and clean-sounding. Overall phone performance is pretty snappy, while the 3G facility makes for very good data transfer rates. The onboard browser appears faster than on other Blackberry phones, but it could also be the increased memory assisting the speed. Battery has a rated talk time of 5.5 hours, which makes it useful for about 2 to 3 days on normal use.

RIM thankfully decided to add Wi-Fi to the mix, making the Storm 2 one of the more interesting world phone (yes, it supports both quad-band CDMA and dual-band GSM) choices around. It also comes preinstalled with OS 5.0, which adds numerous enhancements to the handset’s various applications. Messaging, of course, remains a major strength (it syncs with literally everything), while the browser (with Google Gears, Blackberry Widgets and streaming support) has received notable improvements. They even threw in Data Viz Documents To Go Standard Edition to supplement the attachments viewer.

The on board 3.2 megapixel camera is pretty good, with plenty of additional niceties (image stabilization, flash, lots of settings) and decent quality. Other features include aGPS (with Blackberry Maps), a media player with wide format support, stereo Bluetooth and micro SDHC expansion.

Overall, the Blackberry Storm 2 is a serious touchscreen smart phone contender. The world phone capabilities, wide range of connectivity options, improved OS and Sure Press technology makes it an attractive device for jet setting business users.

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The rumour of a PSP phone has been circulating various mediums for the past few years but 2011 could be the year that Sony finally give in to the growing demand for a game based phone.

It has been speculated by many sources that the so-called ‘Playstation phone’ will use of the Android 3.0 operating system. Inclusion of such a system will elevate the PSP phone to the heights at which other high-end devices operate. Sony may possibly also release the phone under the name of the Sony Ericsson Z1 or Xperia Play. The use of such a name will most definitely reduce the effect the name of PSP may have on skeptics of a game based phone.

Other rumoured features include a 1GHz processor, 5MP camera and a 4.1” screen; all aspects that would bring the phone in line with expectations of a top quality smartphone.

Leaked pictures show the initial face of the handset to be dominated by this 4.1” screen. Behind it lies the slide out keypad that, instead of donning the QWERTY format, operates on the Playstation D-pad design combine with a touchpad in the centre.

The interface seems to still be in development, which is a risky venture as Sony could possibly miss the competitive battle between many top companies in the first half of this year. However, with the unique advantage of being a game based phone they may have no need to rush their interface development.

The Playstation phone is definitely a handset that will exploit the growing game app market and the interest from some of the world’s most credible software developers. As Apple did with the iPhone, Sony could possibly do with their latest phone; take a popular media format and successfully adapt it to a phone. Head over to dialaphone.co.uk to find out all the latest infomation and rumors on psp phone, click here to find out more .