The CMS Forex Advantage

Competitive spreads as low as 2 pips
CMS Forex offers competitive spreads in 25 currency pairs. Receive a 1-pip volume rebate on every 5 lot trade. Read more »

Real-time trade execution
We pride ourselves on fast, fair, and reliable order execution. CMS Forex ensures the price you click is the price you get.* Read more »

Trade mini or standard size lots
Our Universal trading account allows clients to easily trade both 10k mini and 100k standard lots without the need to open an additional account. Read more »

Low minimum deposit
CMS Forex makes it easy for novice traders to get started by allowing you to trade Forex with a minimum initial deposit of only $200 USD. Read more »

Over 100 technical indicators
CMS Forex offers over 100 of the most powerful technical indicators. Technical indicators help traders gain a better
understanding of market movements. Read more »

Access to fundamental analysis tools
We offer access to fundamental analysis such as real time REUTERS news, expert commentaries by professional market strategists, and economic data release calendars. Read more »

Rollover interest
Both mini and standard lot positions held after 5pm EST are credited or charged rollover interest reflecting the difference in interest rates between the two currencies being traded. Read more »

Interest on unused margin
Accounts with initial deposits of 10,000 USD or greater will receive 2% interest on unused margin.† Read more »

Up to 400:1 leverage
Increase your buying power. The margin you put down on a trade can control a position up to 400 times greater in size. This may increase the size of your potential profits, as well as losses.
Read more »

Hedge your trades
Minimize your currency exposure risk by offsetting your positions. Open a hedge position without utilizing additional margin. Read more »

Quality customer service
Friendly and helpful customer service representatives are available by phone, live chat, and e-mail. Our dealing desk and support department are available 24 hours a day. Read more »

Forex education
Online Forex tutorials and courses guide you every step of the way toward gaining knowledge about Forex, trading strategies, and our proprietary trading software. Read more »

Combine the CMS Advantage with CMS Forex’s powerful Visual Trading software and ample educational and news resources, and you can be sure you are getting one of the best values in the Forex market.

Learn about CMS’s competitive Trading Terms »

*Except in extraordinarily volatile market conditions. Terms and conditions subject to client trading agreement.

†Unused margin must be over 10,000 USD. To be eligible, a trader must open at least 15 standard lots per month. CMS may alter the interest terms and schedule at its discretion.

Under extreme market conditions, CMS Forex reserves the right to modify its spreads.

Instant Pip Rebate

CMS Forex’s clients receive a 1 pip rebate directly to their trading accounts for every 5 lot trade. This applies to individual positions of 5 or more standard 100K lots where the whole position is opened with one order and closed in whole with a single order. This rebate instantly appears on the account at the moment of closing a position. You can view its details in the account report, in the "Commission/Rebate" column. Above 5 lots, rebates are applied according to the following schedule:

Position Size in Lots	Rebate in Pips
5	1.0
6	1.2
7	1.4
8	1.6
10	2.0

For example, if you open and close ten lots of EUR/USD you will receive a 2 pip rebate, which is equivalent to $20.00 ($10.00 multiplied by 2 pips) for the entire 10 lot round-turn transaction.

The rebate is given in the base currency of your trading account. Please note that this offer is not applicable to mini-lot transactions.

Spreads

CMS Forex now offers 2 Pip fixed spreads on EUR/USD and USD/JPY, our most popular currency pairs. Competitive spreads lower your transaction costs per trade and make it easier to open and close individual positions closer to your target price. In addition, CMS has reduced the spreads of twelve pairs and added to its roster, ZAR/JPY, USD/ZAR, AUD/NZD, USD/HKD, and GBP/AUD.

The spread is the difference between the Bid and the Ask price of a given currency pair. The Ask is the price you pay to buy and the Bid is the price at which you sell a currency pair. CMS Forex charges no commissions, and as a market maker may make some of its revenue from the Bid/Ask spread.

Currency Pairs Offered
Reduced spreads are indicated in orange.

EUR/USD 2	AUD/USD 5	EUR/CAD 8	AUD/JPY 6	AUD/NZD 20
USD/JPY 2	USD/CAD 5	EUR/AUD 9	NZD/USD 4	USD/HKD 12
GBP/USD 4	EUR/GBP 4	GBP/CHF 8	CAD/JPY 6	USD/SGD 8
USD/CHF 5	EUR/JPY 4	CHF/JPY 5	NZD/JPY 8	USD/ZAR 200
EUR/CHF 4	GBP/JPY 8	AUD/CAD 8	GBP/AUD 20	ZAR/JPY 6

Best Forex Brokers

Below are the online forex brokers that are highly recommended. Why do we highly recommend these forex brokers? Well, first of all we don't. The retail forex traders of the world do. Our opinion plays no role in deciding which brokers make this list. See our notes below the list for details on how this list was compiled.There are 11 online forex brokers on this list and we have over 220 brokers identified on this web site. This is therefore, in the collective opinion of the world's retail forex traders, the cream of the crop, the top 5%. While we do believe these are the best, there are still positives and negatives among those in this list so we urge you to read about them in more detail and do your own due diligence before entrusting your hard earned money with any of them. You may also want to check out our Recommended Forex Brokers List, our Top Rated Online Forex Brokers List, which currently includes more than 115 online forex brokers along with their independent trader ratings, and ou

Forex Basics

What's Forex? "Forex" stands for foreign exchange; it's also known as FX. In a forex trade, you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another - that is, you're exchanging the sold currency for the one you're buying. The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter market.Currencies trade in pairs, like the Euro-US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). Unlike stocks or futures, there's no centralized exchange for forex. All transactions happen via phone or electronic network.Who trades currencies, and why? Daily turnover in the world's currencies comes from two sources:
Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell products in foreign countries, plus convert profits from foreign sales into domestic currency.
Speculation for profit (95%).Most traders focus on the biggest, most liquid currency pairs. "The Majors" include US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. In fact, more than 85% of daily forex trading happens in the major currency pairs.The world's most traded market, trading 24 hours a day With average daily turnover of US$3.2 trillion, forex is the most traded market in the world.A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET, forex trading begins in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins, first to Tokyo, London, and New York.Unlike other financial markets, investors can respond immediately to currency fluctuations, whenever they occur - day or night.

Forex signals and alerts

The foreign exchange market (Currency, Forex, or FX) market is where currency trading takes place. It is where banks and other official institutions facilitate the buying and selling of foreign currencies. [1]FX transactions typically involve one party purchasing a quantity of one currency in exchange for paying a quantity of another. The foreign exchange market that we see today started evolving during the 1970s when worldover

Forex risk management strategies

The Forex market behaves differently from other markets! The speed, volatility, and enormous
size of the Forex market are unlike anything else in the financial world. Beware: the Forex marke
t is uncontrollable - no single event, individual, or factor rules it. Enjoy trading in the perfect market! Just like any other speculative business, increased risk entails chances for a higher profit/loss.

USA FOREX IN USA

With the modern times of mobile communication, it is not unusual to find hidden in a home a trader or a broker who is doing their Forex Trading from the comfort of their own home. Today to be a forex trader all that you require is a computer setup to multi screen investing servers, the number of the casual or evens serious home based forex traders has grown a great deal of late and this is because of the internet and the popularity of certain commodity trades.Today, this article will discuss about the Forex market, and how you can find a great online Forex broker when you do decide to jump on the wagon and become a Forex Trader. Most of the Forex Brokers today offer the ability to be able to trade online, forex trade over the phone, or forex trade from you mobile phone.With the growth of the virtual Forex Trader, we have seen an explosion of online forex brokerages on the internet in the almost predictable economic elastic demand and supply. Today we are seeing more individuals turning to commodity trading as a viable source of second or even third income, brokerages and financial firms all over the world have responded by extending their services to the modern technology world. Before you choose which firm and which broker to choose, there are few things you need to do.First step is to find the black list of online Forex brokers and those that have a bad reputation. There are a few collectives that collect a list of names of individuals and companies (including all their aliases and permutations) and place them upon a compiled list for everyone to refer to. If that is not enough, you must also check your local finance and governing body and run a list of potential brokerages and companies you want to join with them - you never know what you might find. Deal with well established companies that have strong regulation. Recently the CFD FX REPORT has researched all the online Forex Brokers and have come up with who they believe to the Best Forex Broker.Do not be swept off your feet by a long list of credentials if you do not know what they mean or where they even came from in the first place. Be wary of customer testimonials that are written on the website itself, as these can doctored or fabricated.Use a company that has great references, and has good client testimonials. Check also for longevity, the more years a broker and his company have been around, the more chances that it is a legitimate and viable source of investing advice. Always be careful where you place your money and it is very, very important that you choose a good online broker that is both legitimate and has the needs of your finances at heart. You must feel comfortable with this broker, remember a bad broker can make you BROKER.USA FOREX IN USAThe CFD FX REPORT is a real time trading tool that offers clients free trading reports, with trading ideas, stock market and forex market education as well helping them with. Also if you are looking for a Forex Broker, then feel free to visit our broker section as we recently reviewed all the forex brokers and have found the best on the market.

FOREX META TRADERS

The Foreign Exchange market (also referred to as the Forex or FX market) is the largest financial market in the world, with over $1.5 trillion changing hands every day.That is larger than all US equity and Treasury markets combined!FOREX META TRADERSUnlike other financial markets that operate at a centralized location (i.e. stock exchange), the worldwide Forex market has no central location. It is a global electronic network of banks, financial institutions and individual traders, all involved in the buying and selling of national currencies. Another major feature of the Forex market is that it operates 24 hours a day, corresponding to the opening and closing of financial centers in countries all across the world, starting each day in Sydney, then Tokyo, London and New York. At any time, in any location, there are buyers and sellers, making the Forex market the most liquid market in the world.

Forex Market Update

Please note that currently Saxo Bank’s Market Updates are only available in English.

Analysis by : John Hardy

Consultant/FX Strategist

Monday, Mar 09, 2009, 03:07

FX for the Week Ahead

Will the ranges break this week?

THEMES TO WATCH – UPCOMING SESSION

Market Comment:

USD rally - should it stay or should it go?
The currency market has been giving trend-seekers fits of late, with EURUSD's daily reversal act beginning to wear the market's patience thin as we kick off a new week. Friday, EURUSD was beaten back lower after yet another attempt through the 21-day moving average failed to bear fruit. So what is driving the USD of late? There are cross-currents that are pulling it in two directions at the moment and keeping it from breaking in either direction: First, risk aversion generally favors the USD as the world seeks a safe harbor and as so much of the asset bubble inflated before the bust was funded in dollars. On the USD-negative side, the market is likely dreading the Fed's inevitable move into outright quantitative easing and the , though it has so far failed to drive yields lower as we have seen in the UK after its outright declaration of debt monetization. We will continue to watch the EURUSD supermajor as our barometer for USD strength. There is little to argue for in favor of the Euro, save for the stabilization of intra-European sovereign debt spreads of late. While the economic picture in the US looks stark, the festering problems in the EuroZone (the EuroZone framework itself and the bank's exposure to EM problems) are ever-present and there is still the risk of the EUR looking less relatively attractive than the greenback. One wildcard risk to the USD that is raising its head as we are going to press is the price of oil , which is now trading ten dollars off its multi-year lows from February. This issue has been off the radar for a long time, but is still a relevant market to watch.

GBP: misery reaches new depths
The latest Bank of England meeting and announcement of quantitative easing measures - particularly the outright purchase of gilts - have seen the pound sharply weakening to its lowest levels in some time against the EUR and the USD. The expectation of active government buying in the market has pushed 10-year gilt yields sharply lower against their German counterparts. The long gilt had as much as a 100-bp higher yield last month, but now the spread has rapidly shrunk to a mere 18-bp advantage. Further down the line, it seems all major central banks will be forced down this path as well, but the market can't resist the obvious bait of shrinking yield spreads. Also adding to the pound's woes to start the week are new revelations of the latest tens of billions in banking losses at Lloyds and its newly taken over HBOS unit and rumors that Barclays may need to participate in the Asset Protection Scheme as well despite earlier promises of capital sufficiency that would allow them to avoid such a fate.

JPY continues to suffer on current account reversal
The sharply stronger JPY of recent months has wreaked breathtaking havoc on the Japanese economy. With most of the economy still geared toward export industries and the recent collapse in global trade flows, the Japanese current account has now moved into negative territory for the January data (on an unadjusted basis) for the first time since 1996. This represents a spectacular reversal from all-time highs in the CA surplus column posted in March of 2007. Still, much of the JPY weakness of late is about the market readjusting its JPY positioning as the starkness of the situation in Japan is painfully clear. The Yen is still a relatively safe place as long as the global deleveraging act continues and while the days of the massive bull trend in JPY may be well behind us, we could continue to see strong periodic rallies in the JPY as long as risk aversion is high, and especially if global yields continue to fall and commodities go nowhere fast.... Also, we have the hugely significant level of 100 coming on the radar as the financial year draws to a close in Japan this month. Will exporters want to lock in this level for the coming financial year? It may prove an important barrier to further JPY weakness.

CAD: USDCAD finally takes out 1.3000
The grinding weakness in global growth and especially the continued and seemingly ever-mounting woes south of the border have seen the loonie finally taking out the 1.3000 level here to start the week. The uptrend could continue as long as global markets fail to spark a reasonable rally in risk appetite. Longer term, we see extreme value in buying the likes of CAD versus the EUR as a relative play on fiscal robustness, but some patience will be required for this view.

Outlook: G20 on the radar
We're seeing increasing noise levels about the G20 meeting coming up on 2 April. The power brokers for the major G7 countries and the largest of the developing countries will be desperately trying to find a way to avert the global recession juggernaut and the institutions that used to be charged with bailing out trouble spots in the world economy but are overwhelmed by the scale of the current crisis - will they be able to come up with any credible plan? So far, the market has shown increasing cynicism with every new round of bailout schemes, and justifiably so. Stay tuned.

Forex Brokers - Make the Right Choice Not A Mistake

With the modern times of mobile communication, it is not unusual to find hidden in a home a trader or a broker who is doing their Forex Trading from the comfort of their own home. Today to be a forex trader all that you require is a computer setup to multi screen investing servers, the number of the casual or evens serious home based forex traders has grown a great deal of late and this is because of the internet and the popularity of certain commodity trades.

Today, this article will discuss about the Forex market, and how you can find a great online Forex broker when you do decide to jump on the wagon and become a Forex Trader. Most of the Forex Brokers today offer the ability to be able to trade online, forex trade over the phone, or forex trade from you mobile phone.

With the growth of the virtual Forex Trader, we have seen an explosion of online forex brokerages on the internet in the almost predictable economic elastic demand and supply. Today we are seeing more individuals turning to commodity trading as a viable source of second or even third income, brokerages and financial firms all over the world have responded by extending their services to the modern technology world. Before you choose which firm and which broker to choose, there are few things you need to do.

First step is to find the black list of online Forex brokers and those that have a bad reputation. There are a few collectives that collect a list of names of individuals and companies (including all their aliases and permutations) and place them upon a compiled list for everyone to refer to. If that is not enough, you must also check your local finance and governing body and run a list of potential brokerages and companies you want to join with them - you never know what you might find. Deal with well established companies that have strong regulation. Recently the CFD FX REPORT has researched all the online Forex Brokers and have come up with who they believe to the Best Forex Broker.

Do not be swept off your feet by a long list of credentials if you do not know what they mean or where they even came from in the first place. Be wary of customer testimonials that are written on the website itself, as these can doctored or fabricated.

Use a company that has great references, and has good client testimonials. Check also for longevity, the more years a broker and his company have been around, the more chances that it is a legitimate and viable source of investing advice. Always be careful where you place your money and it is very, very important that you choose a good online broker that is both legitimate and has the needs of your finances at heart. You must feel comfortable with this broker, remember a bad broker can make you BROKER.

The CFD FX REPORT is a real time trading tool that offers clients free trading reports, with trading ideas, stock market and forex market education as well helping them with. Also if you are looking for a Forex Broker, then feel free to visit our broker section as we recently reviewed all the forex brokers and have found the best on the market.

Forex Market - Make Money in Choppy Markets

The Forex Markets do not create clear trend lines all the time. Quiet often we will experience very volatile markets and the prices can move dramatically up and down. Sometimes they can start to trend then also of sudden make a strange upward or downward movement which will trigger your stop loss and stop you out of the trade.

So How can we trade this sort of Forex Marketand make money?

1. Don't expect a long swing plan or any sustained price movements if you are already in an open position, get some profits out when you have made some from the forex market or shift it to the breakeven price as soon as possible. This will reduce the risk of losing that position.

2. When you need to trade in these conditions trade the currencies pairs that are highly correlated. So we are talking about the top 6 currencies pairs.

3. It can be also useful to use some level of Fundamental analysis such as referring to the calendar of economic announcements every now and then in forex trading. Sometimes a choppy market occurs when there is two or more economic data releasing at the same time or within a few hours. A particular news may trigger an up movement while the other one may trigger a down. Therefore it is a bad time to trade forex as you do not know exactly where the forex market is moving.

4. Sometimes when the forex trading market is choppy, it forms range-trading channels, which sets one up for a breakout. If there's is no indication on which direction the market is moving, forex trader may go long when it's at the bottom range, and short when it is at the top range. This may earn you some pips, but again, it is better to wait for price to break out from the range-trading channels so that ideally you will be able to catch the breakout trend. This is why is why it is important to have a great forex broker too as they can help you with trading ideas. If you are looking for a Best Forex Brokerfeel free to visit the CFD FX REPORT as they have recently researched all the broker on the markets and can point you in the right direction.

The above should help you when trading choppy currency markets, but they are no guarantees of success. If you don't feel comfortable with the trade don't do it. Remember the markets are open nearly 6 days per week and 24 hours per day so there is also going to be more trading opportunities. Sometimes the market can go through fazes of not trending at all so don't try and predict a trend otherwise you are gambling.

Forex Trading - The top 5 Tips

We have all heard and read how much money we can make from Forex Trading, so what are the real rules and tips that will make us money from Forex Trading? Below we will uncover the real tips for Success.

Below are the 5 Tips to Help make you big money, they are not listed in order of importance.

1. Never buy a Forex Robot.
This is simple if you had a program that would make real money would you sell it? No.. You would keep it. The simple truth is most of these people are selling these programs and that is how they make the money not from Forex trading. So beware.

2. Get Educated and Learn Fast

Anyone can learn Forex trading and anyone can make money, you don't have to be a genius. You don't need to spend long doing it either and you should be able to learn everything you need to know, in a couple of weeks and then your all set to trade. You should make sure that you have a trading plan and some rules.

3. The Best Proven Systems are Simple:

Make it simple, use some indicators and support and resistance. Forget trying to be clever or complicated, simple systems are far more robust than complicated ones and work. People will more often than not try and complicate things.

4. Make sure you have Risk and Money Management Rules

Success is built on money management and risk management and you need to learn about volatility and standard deviation of price and if you have no idea what it is make it part of your essential Forex education.

5. The Golden Rule is Discipline- Set the Rules and Stick to THEM

No matter how great of a trader you are you will have losses, so you need to ride them out and have discipline, which means having rules and sticking to them

Discipline comes from knowledge of what you are doing and the ability to keep your emotions under control. Holding discipline is the key to success

Introduction to Trading Forex

This short introduction explains the basics of trading Forex online, a brief explanation of the markets and the major benefits of trading Forex online. There are also two scenarios describing the implications of trading in a bear as well as a bull market to better acquaint you with some of the risks and opportunities of the largest and most liquid market in the world.

As an additional aid for those who are new to Forex, there is also a glossary at the bottom of this text which explains some of the terms used in connection with currency trading.
Overview
Foreign exchange, Forex or just FX are all terms used to describe the trading of the world's many currencies. The Forex market is the largest market in the world, with trades amounting to more than USD 3 trillion every day. Most Forex trading is speculative, with only a low percentage of market activity representing governments' and companies' fundamental currency conversion needs.

Unlike trading on the stock market, the Forex market is not conducted by a central exchange, but on the “interbank” market, which is thought of as an OTC (over the counter) market. Trading takes place directly between the two counterparts necessary to make a trade, whether over the telephone or on electronic networks all over the world. The main centres for trading are Sydney, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York. This worldwide distribution of trading centres means that the Forex market is a 24-hour market.

Trading Forex

A currency trade is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another one. The currency combination used in the trade is called a cross (for example, the euro/US dollar, or the GB pound/Japanese yen.). The most commonly traded currencies are the so-called “majors” – EURUSD, USDJPY, USDCHF and GBPUSD.

The most important Forex market is the spot market as it has the largest volume. The market is called the spot market because trades are settled immediately, or “on the spot”. In practice this means two banking days.

Description of Forex

The Forex market, established in 1971, was created when floating exchange rates began to materialize. The Forex market is not centralized, like in currency futures or stock markets. Trading occurs over computers and telephones at thousands of locations worldwide.The Foreign Exchange market, commonly referred as FOREX, is where banks, investors and speculators exchange one currency to another. The largest foreign exchange activity retains the spot exchange (i.e.., immediate) between five major currencies: US Dollar, British Pound, Japanese Yen, Eurodollarand the Swiss Franc. It is also the largest financial market in the world.In comparison, the US stock market may trade $10 billion in one day, whereas the Forex market will trade up to $2 trillion in one single day. The Forex market is an opened 24 hours a day market where the primary market for currencies is the 24-hour Interbank market. This market follows the sun around the world, moving from the major banking centres of the United States to Australia and New Zealand to the Far East, to Europe and finally back to the Unites States.Until now, professional traders from major international commercial and investment banks have dominated the FX market. There are three main reasons to participate in the FX market. One is to facilitate an actual transaction, where international corporations convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency. Corporate treasurers and money managers also enter the FX market in order to hedge against unwanted exposure to future price movements in the currency market. The third and more popular reason is speculation for profit. In fact, today it is estimated that less than 5% of all trading on the FX market is actually facilitating a true commercial transaction.The FX market is considered an Over The Counter (OTC) or ‘Interbank’ market, due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network. Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. A true 24-hour market, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night.

Information About Forex Trading Strategy

A forex trading strategy can provide profit for a skilled speculator. A FX trading strategy is, simply put, a method for using foreign exchange rates of currency from various countries to buy one country’s currency when it is undervalued, and exchange it for another country’s currency with it is of normal or higher value, with the difference being profit.

A common forex trading strategy could involve US dollars and the Euro, the official currency of most European countries. To use a simple example of a forex trading strategy, a speculator would buy Euros when they were undervalued; let’s say two Euros equaled one US dollar. This would be unusual because normally the two currencies are almost equal.

By spending one hundred US dollars to buy two hundred Euros a speculator would be able to buy more goods in Germany, France or other European countries. When the market changed and became more even, the speculator would have twice as many goods as he normally would have, and would be able to exchange those goods for US dollars once again.

The difference would be profit. This is a very simple explanation of a forex trading strategy, but gives the basics to the new speculator.Of course, when coming up with a forex trading strategy the trader should only use money that he or she can afford to loose. This is speculation, as opposed to investment. The chances for profit are real, and could come quick but if the market turns the opposite way than expected the trader could actually loose money.

A forex trading strategy can reap large profits, but if anyone tells you that all trades will result in profit, they haven’t studied the market as well as they should have and they are not correct. Still having a sound forex trading strategy for a competent businessman can be a profitable venture. It requires study of the markets, which takes time and is usually best accomplished by reading financial newsletters and using tools available on the Internet.

Getting the advice of a professional forex trading strategy specialist can also be a sound choice. Professionals have the time, education and skills and can generally help a trader come up with a forex trading strategy that will result in profit more often than one could do without their help.The most sound forex trading strategy options are generally used by large multinational corporations who are often able to make steady profits.

Watching what large corporations do who are involved in forex trading, looking for patterns they may have set, can help a trader to get the benefit of the very expensive expertise used by these large companies. Making watching of the large traders a part of a person’s education is definitely a good place to start a forex trading education. Identifying the state of the market, determining the time frame you are working in, and the currencies that have fluctuation and getting the advice of professionals through self study can be the wisest forex trading strategy option available.

Nokia N86 8MP pictures

Market leaders Nokia are usually among the key news makers at the Mobile World Congress. By using a clever marketing move to postpone the announcement of their 8 megapixel flagship Nokia N86 8MP for the second day of the MWC 2009, they really got all the attention to themselves.

And we gotta admit Nokia, you really had us there for half a day, fooling us into believing that you won't be revealing an all-in-one flagship as an answer to the pressure of other manufacturers such as Samsung and LG.

Nokia N86 8MP

The Nokia N86 8MP leaked yesterday with its full specs available, however it was only today that we could lay our hands on it.

The goodies on board the Nokia N86 8MP include 8GB of internal memory, a microSDHC card slot, a 2.6-inch OLED screen, FM transmitter, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack and TV out. There's also quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA support for a truly worldwide voice and data roaming.

Motorola ZN300

Nokia N79 review: Swiss Army knife

Nseries keep on throwing heavy-spec'd phones at us and there's no question they're hitting their best form in quite a while. About time we got less of a curve ball lookswise, Nokia N79 embodies a new approach to Nseries styling. As to the insides, the N79 sides with N85 to make quite a number of Nseries veterans fear retirement. A true all-in-one, and less N-gage, Nokia N79 is big enough on personality and inspiration. No wonder we're eager to see it in action.

Nokia N79 official photos

Key features

• 2.4" 16M-color LCD TFT display of QVGA resolution
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and AF assist light
• VGA video recording at 30fps
• Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3.2 UI
• ARM 11 369 MHz CPU
• 3G with HSDPA support
• Quad-band GSM support
• Wi-Fi with UPnP technology
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality and 3 months of free voice-guided navigation
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• 4GB memory card included in the retail package
• Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotation
• Swappable Xpress-on smart covers (two of them in the box)
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• TV out
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• FM transmitter
• Stereo speakers
• Navi wheel navigation
• USB and Bluetooth v2.0
• One free N-gage game
• Keylock switch

Main disadvantages

• No smart dialing
• Doesn't charge off USB
• No office document editing out of the box
• Not the best camera performance
• Zooming in on a photo takes ages
• No dedicated 3D graphics accelerator
• The GPS performance is not the best among Nseries

Nokia N79 is certainly one of the best equipped bars on the market. In fact there is very little (and certainly not too important) features that the phone lacks. The best part is it excuses itself from the company of most recent Nseries devices and makes an impact with its own distinct appearance.

HTC Touch HD review: Windows almighty

The Touch HD is storming the WinMo stage to leave a footprint the size of half the HTC portfolio. Not so long ago we saw Windows Mobile changing for the better thanks to the TouchFLO 3D, The latest flagship gets things even hotter with a multimedia twist. And the new screen… well, beauty's in the numbers.

Looks like all that stands between the Touch HD and legend is the actual performance. A bold statement it is, so what we're about to do is push it to its limits. An unforgiving spec sheet calls for unforgiving scrutiny. Join us as we set sail to explore the HTC Touch HD big sway and little secrets.

HTC Touch HD official photos

Key features

• Massive 3.8" 65K-color WVGA display
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS
• TouchFLO 3D Home screen and gesture controls
• Wi-Fi and built-in GPS receiver
• Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 Mhz CPU and 288 MB DDR SDRAM
• Dedicated graphics chip (64MB RAM reserved for graphics)
• Quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA support
• 5 MP auto focus camera with nice image quality
• microSD card slot
• Accelerometer sensor for auto screen rotation and turn-to-mute calls
• Proximity sensor to automatically turn the screen off during calls
• Fingerprint resistant rear panel
• Touch sensitive keys with vibration feedback
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• miniUSB slot and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• Active magnetic stylus
• MS Office Mobile document editor
• Excellent Opera 9.5 web browser
• Rich retail package, including 8GB microSD card

Main disadvantages:

• A wee bit overweight
• Sizeable body (still within acceptable limits though)
• Average sunlight legibility
• Video recording maxes out at CIF@30fps
• There's no dedicated camera key or flash
• No D-pad (offers more precise navigation)
• Power key is really hard to press
• No TV out port

HTC Touch HD is simply the next big thing in the Windows Mobile realm. And big is by no means limited to size. Indeed, the handset does come out a little too hefty but the feature pack is the kind to make you forget about size. The massive screen and so-unlike-WinMo multimedia skills give HTC Touch HD the kind of crossover appeal to reach beyond the hardcore PocketPC following.

Sony Ericsson G705 review: Slide-o-matic

One of a kind is the last thing to call Sony Ericsson G705 upon as much as a glimpse. But conceited scoffs may be bitterly regretted. Wi-Fi, GPS and lightning fast data are likely to turn the snooty sneer into an embarrassed smirk.

Now, one of a kind may be not precisely right but the G705 is pretty darn close. The handset is only the second feature phone in the Sony Ericsson Generation Web lineup. To narrow it down even further, the G705 is only the company's second feature phone to sport both WLAN and GPS. And since the other one is proudly perched at the top of the Cybershot tree, the G705 has the midrange all to itself. What a cheeky chap!.

Sony Ericcson G705 official photos

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSDPA 7.2 Mbps/tri-band HSDPA for US version
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS function, Wayfinder Navigator software, geotagging
• Wi-Fi b/g with DLNA and SIP support, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB v2.0
• 2.4" 256K-color TFT display
• 3.2 MP camera with LED flash,
• Enhanced user interface with basic multi-tasking
• Illuminated Web shortcut keys
• Dedicated Play/Pause music key
• Media Center, Smart search, Manage Messages
• FM radio with RDS and TrackID
• YouTube client
• 120 MB built-in memory, M2 card support, 1GB included

Main disadvantages:

• Cheapo looking materials
• No office document viewer
• Video recording limited to QVGA resolution at 15fps
• M2 card slot is under the battery cover

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 review: Roaring V8 engine

Samsung INNOV8 is back to our shop and quite ready to strut its stuff again. Not so long ago we saw it in heavy duty cameraphone action, it's now time to explore the whole package. And there's a lot. The ample TFT display, abundant storage space, latest Symbian OS and the 8 megapixel camera all promise a nice ride. Multimedia and entertainment won't go unnoticed either, to make it as fun as it gets.

The INNOV8 has already got a star on the 8 megapixel boulevard and might as well be eyeing Symbian domination. Here it goes, but watch out 'cause this thing rides fast.

Official photos of Samsung i8510 INNOV8

Key features:

• The most feature-loaded S60 handset to date
• 2.8" 16M-color TFT display of QVGA resolution
• 8 megapixel camera with mechanical shutter, automatic lens cover, dual PowerLED flash, digital image stabilizer, geotagging, auto panorama shot, face detection, smile detection, blink detection
• VGA video recording at 30fps and slow-motion video recording
• Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3.2 UI
• 3G with HSDPA support
• Quad-band GSM, dual-band UMTS, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• 128 MB RAM
• Wi-Fi with DLNA technology
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality
• Massive 8/16GB internal memory
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotation
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• TV out
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• Optical trackpad navigation
• USB and Bluetooth v2.0
• Stereo speakers
• DNSe audio technology
• DivX support
• ShoZu integration

Main disadvantages:

• Sizeable body
• No xenon flash
• No screen auto rotation in the main menu and homescreen
• No office document editing out of the box
• No smart dialing out of the box
• No FM transmitter (which may be nitpicking though)

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 review: A new experience

There's a lot to fall for in Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. Possibly the hottest looker of a PocketPC is also heavy on skill. Heavy enough to not just scratch out a living as a one-hit-wonder but aim for the WinMo top.

The extra solid metal looks, gorgeous screen and the right pinch of novelty called XPERIA panels look to us as good enough reasons for the X1 to be hyped and romanticized. By the way, romance or not, Sony Ericsson and HTC have hit their perfect shape with that one.

The XPERIA X1 is surely the most eagerly anticipated device in the world of Windows Mobile. Getting our review out was surely quite a wait too, we know. Better late than ever, as some folks say. We'll still have our say 'cause for the XPERIA it's a load of high expectations to live up to.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 official photos

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support plus HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• 3-inch 65K-color WVGA touchscreen
• Qualcomm MSM7200 528 Mhz CPU and 256 MB DDR SDRAM
• 3.15 MP auto focus camera with VGA video recording
• Four-row full QWERTY slide-out keyboard
• Wi-Fi and built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS
• X-Panels interface
• Optical trackpad
• Exquisite and solid metallic body
• Standard miniUSB port and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• microSD memory expansion
• FM radio with RDS
• 3.5mm standard audio jack
• MS Office Mobile document editor
• Opera 9.5 web browser
• Excellent video playback performance
• Superb audio quality

Main disadvantages:

• Body is a bit on the bulky side
• User interface is hardly thumb-optimized
• Mediocre camera performance
• No built-in accelerometer
• Poor display sunlight legibility
• Records low quality VGA@30fps video in 3GP format
• No TV-out port
• No full Flash support for the browser (hence no full-featured YouTube)

LG KC910 Renoir review: Portrait of a high-flyer

The LG KC910 has a moniker that sends out a bold and clear statement about talent. Packing a whopping 8 megapixel camera and top-of-the-line video recording, the LG KC910 Renoir is all about capturing the moment, leaving an impression. While this alone should be enough to assert an identity, the Renoir just won't stop there. With the full touch user interface and the portly 3" display, everything is a mere touch away. Wi-Fi, HSDPA and GPS are all aboard to add the last bits of oomph to the feature-loaded LG Renoir.

The exciting facts and figures from the Renoir specs sheet however won't really give away its real-life performance and this is where we step in. We already had the camera performance of the LG Renoir to bits in our 8 megapixel cameraphone shootout but it's time to move up and look at the bigger picture.

LG KC910 Renoir official images

It certainly took us quite some time to bring this review forward. Perhaps we even pushed it over the peak of your anticipation, but we didn't mean to get you starved so you like the meal better.

Our better-late-than-never department - duly sent to the corner, by the way - has finally prepared a full-featured, action-packed and hopefully eye-opening review of one of the best imaging mobile phones this year - the LG KC910 Renoir.

Key features:

• Tri-band/Quad-band GSM versions, dual-band HSDPA
• 3" 256K-color touchscreen TFT display (240 x 400 pixels)
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera, xenon flash (geo-tagging, face tracking, blink detection, touch focus, manual focus)
• Video recording in AVI format, VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps, time-lapse QVGA videos
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• Wi-Fi
• GPS receiver with A-GPS support
• TV-out
• 100MB internal memory
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (ships with 8GB card)
• Accelerometer for auto screen rotate
• DivX/XviD video playback
• Dolby Mobile music enhancement
• FM radio with RDS
• Office document viewer
• Multi-tasking with a real task manager
• Handwriting recognition
• Excellent touch optimized image gallery
• Direct video uploads to YouTube

Main disadvantages:

• Xenon flash is inadequately powered and causes the camera to underexpose
• Fullscreen camera viewfinder doesn't show the entire frame
• No video streaming over Wi-Fi (such as the mobile YouTube)
• No Java connection over Wi-Fi (so Google Maps needs a data plan)
• No voice-guided GPS navigation
• Stylus as dongle only, no stylus compartment
• Design will not appeal to everyone

North American version of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic lands at $399

Tags: Nokia, Symbian S60, XpressMusic, Touch UI, Tube

The North American version of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is finally selling in USA. It's available at Nokia's flagship stores in New York and Chicago for 399 US dollars and comes with 850/1900 3G bands support to enable some HSDPA goodness.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is proving quite popular - Nokia celebrated the moving of one million units about a month ago.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hardly needs any introduction as it's in the Top 3 most popular phones in our specs database. Well, it's even at second place, but it's the only handset of the trio that's already available, so you might say it's the Numero Uno device on the market right now.

In case you've missed it, check out our 5800 XpressMusic review to help you decide the fate of your piggy bank.

Source

Mio present a new GPS phone - meet the K70

Tags: Mio, Touch UI

At an originally-created virtual online booth stand, sat-nav oriented manufacturer Mio presented their latest GPS phone called the Mio Explora K70. It has a 3.5-inch screen of WQVGA resolution, a 3 megapixel auto focus camera and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro. Explora K70 should also offer optimized GPS navigation experience with Mio's own navigation software.

The Mio Explora K70 is a fully-fledged PocketPC based on the Qualcomm MSM7201 platform and thus sporting a 528 Mhz CPU and 128MB of RAM. It's got quad-band GSM as well as tri-band HSDPA/HSUPA support.

There's an accelerometer on board the Mio Explora K70 to allow automatic screen rotation, and Wi-Fi is also supported.

Mio Explora K70 is certainly not the first GPS-enabled phone by Mio, but it's certainly the most attractive one out of their Mitac lineup.

The most impressive thing about the Mio Explora K70 is its size - it's only 11.9 mm in thickness and weighs 115 g.

Among the letdowns of Explora K70 however is the lack of some sort of a thumb-optimized user interface. Mio could have used Spb Shell for example, but they are obviously trying to keep costs down. The somewhat low screen resolution (by today's standards) is also something to be considered.

The Mio Explora K70 will optionally be delivered with an extended retail package including custom-made device mount and carrying case.

Currently, there is no info on prices and availability for the new Mio Explora K70.

You can have a walk around the virtual Mio booth by visiting our source link before 20 March 2009.

Source

China gets its first 3G phone - dual-mode Motorola ZN300

Tags: Motorola

Without a word of prior notice or any press announcements, Motorola ZN300 just went live over at Moto website. This new baby flaunts a 3 megapixel fixed focus camera and is quite strangely advertized as a cameraphone. And no, it doesn't have any outstanding video recording capabilities that we don't know about.

Not an overly impressive package, the lower midrange Motorola ZN300 already leaked in January but back then we didn't know it's a dual-mode phone.

If not anything else, Motorola ZN300 at least proves there's nothing RAZR-ish about Motorola anymore.

At 14.7mm thickness, the ZN300 is one chubby boy. It's got a QVGA display, Bluetooth and microSDHC card slot, a standard microUSB port and a standard 3.5mm audio jack. Doesn't sound impressive?

Well actually, the Motorola ZN5 is the first dual-mode phone, supporting both quad-band GSM as well as TD-SCDMA for fast data transfers.

For those of you that are not really into networking terminology we'll put it simply by saying that TD-SCDMA is a Chinese developed standard currently being tested by the biggest Chinese telecom China Mobile as means for providing 3G network access to its subscribers.

China still doesn't have a fully operational 3G network. The two other network carriers in China - China Unicom and China Telecom - are looking to implement the two global 3G standards WCDMA (UMTS) and CDMA-2000 respectively.

Currently, there is no word on expected pricing or availability for the Motorola ZN300.

Source

Toshiba TG01 will hit Germany exclusively through O2

O2 announced that they have secured an exclusive deal for selling the uber-smartphone Toshiba TG01. We already told you all the details about the monster device that the Toshiba TG01 is (and we mean that in the positive sense).

Just as a reminder, back at the MWC 2009, Toshiba reps stated the TG01 will be selling only through carrier deals. The only tidbits left to make the story full were which carriers, the availability and pricing. Well, finally, we can deliver on at least two of these points.

Toshiba TG01 is not only the first mobile phone with a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, but it's also the first to sport a massive 4.1" WVGA display. Toshiba have also managed to squeeze all that into a body that's a mere 9.9mm thick and promise standby battery life of up to 11 days.

The Toshiba TG01 runs on Windows Mobile Pro and has a custom thumbable UI called Stripes. The built-in accelerometer is not only used for screen auto rotation, but it can also accept gesture commands.

While the device seems way too large for comfortable single-handed operation and easy pocket stashing, it is still one of the most impressive pieces of technology that we've seen.

O2 will be offering the Toshiba TG01 only in white starting from this summer. Unfortunately pricing is yet to be announced further down the road.

You can check our Toshiba TG01 hands-on article from MWC 2009.

Source (in German)