Motorola StarTAC 85 (top tier) Price: £450
Features: One of the world's smallest and lightest cellular phones. Weighing 110 grams, it is the size of a credit card.
It flips open to reveal a four-line display screen and has a battery life (Lithium Ion) of up to 40 hours stand-by. Offers the option of a second battery.
Performs well on both networks.
Plus: VibraCalls (a noringing alert).
Minus: Accessories are pricey.
Nokia 3110 (mid tier) Price: £149.99 - £199.99
Features: Also compact, this very latest model is user-friendly and one of the most popular mid-tier phones. It features a large graphical display and 95 hours standby, with 165 minutes of talk time. It also has a full menu system. Data compatible.
Plus: A special "navi-key" gives easy access to the full menu.
Minus: Less talktime and standby than some of its rivals.
Ericsson GH 688 (mid tier) Price: £200
Features: This slim-line model is very light and simple to use. It has a three-line high-contrast display and is supplied with a slim battery which gives up to one hour 45 minutes talktime or 41 hours standby time. The highperformance battery (not supplied) gives an extended talktime of up to four hours 20 minutes or 100 hours standby.
Plus: Larger display screen than its predecessor.
Minus: Charger is a bit clumsy to use.
Siemens S4 power (mid tier) Price: £99
Features: Two "soft keys" enable you to select a range of functions or adjust settings. If you cannot be reached it makes the GSM network's voice messaging system simple to use. The 64 character display makes these easy to read. It offers up to 70 hours of standby time or 10 hours talk time and when the S4 runs out of power, the charger will fully recharge a completely empty battery in just five hours.
Plus: Long battery life.
Minus: Heavier than other mid-tier models.
Ericsson GA 628 (low tier) Price: £20£50
Features: A big seller since its arrival six months ago, it gives up to three hours 35 minutes talktime or 83 hours standby with the high capacity battery.
An in-built phone book stores 50 numbers in addition to those in your SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card. Supports calling line identification/restriction, call wait-hold, call divert and call barring.
Plus: Data, FAX and SMS capabilities at maximum GSM speed.
Minus: Small display screen.
Motorola d160 (low tier) Price: Free to £49.99
Features: You can select the nine most frequently used features with just two keystrokes. It offers five hours talktime and 70 to 80 hours of standby time and there is the option of using four Walkman-sized batteries for instant or emergency power. A onetouch dial key provides immediate access to voicemail or any other critical feature.
Plus: AA battery compatibility.
Minus: Long aerial.
