Trio of high-end smartphones hits the UK

 

Flagship phones from Motorola, Nokia and Samsung are now on sale, ready for the Christmas rush.

High-end smartphones from three of the biggest mobile manufacturers are now available in the UK.

Today sees the launch of the Galaxy Nexus, developed by handset maker Samsung and search giant Google, which is the first smartphone to feature the latest version of Google’s Android mobile operating system - Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Motorola RAZR, at 7.1mm - 2mm slimmer than the iPhone 4S - is described as being “impossibly thin by its American manufacturer, and also went on sale here yesterday.

Nokia’s first flagship Windows Phone 7-powered handset also got its UK release this week, with the Finnish company looking to the device to push it back to prominence in the age of the smartphone.

Simon Stanford, head of mobile at Samsung UK and Ireland, said: “The level of interest and anticipation surrounding the release of the Galaxy Nexus has been fantastic.”

The handset is the follow-up to Google’s initial forays into the smartphone market - the Nexus One, manufactured by Taiwanese company HTC, and the Nexus S, the first fruits of its collaboration with Samsung.

The Galaxy Nexus is also thinner than the iPhone 4S and is designed for using Google’s services, such as Android Market, Gmail, Google+ and YouTube, to “provide a ‘pure Google’ experience”, according to Samsung.

As well as being “ultra-thin”, the Motorola RAZR also boasts Kevlar fibre - the material used to make body armour - while the screen is protected by damage-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass and every part of the phone is splash-resistant.

The Nokia Lumia 800, described as “stunningly social” by its manufacturer, is designed to give users one-touch access to social networks and allow the grouping of contacts and integration of communication threads.

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