I’ve heard I can now access the internet
You can, but it’s really only worth it with a 3G phone - available on most networks but costing a little more (3 has a £35 per month plan with a choice of 14 handsets for free; www.three.co.uk). Speeds for browsing on 2G phones are equivalent to dial-up, a good 3G connection can be as fast as broadband. Most websites don’t yet have adapted versions for mobiles, which means when you access them, you have to do a lot of scrolling. T-Mobile’s MDA Vario, however — available for £39.99 with a £19 contract automatically reorganises a website so it fits the screen.

I don’t fancy typing on that tiny keypad
Many phones now have ‘QWERTY keyboards’, which have 33 keys and make using applications such as Word, Excel and Outlook, and surfing the web, a lot easier. Try BlackBerry’s 7290 (free with O2 on a £45 monthly contract; www.o2.co.uk 08702 410 202) or Orange’s SPV M2000, (£85.10 regardless of the contract; 07973 100 150; www.orange.co.uk).

Do I need wi-fi?
If you want to be able to tap into one of 20,000 “wi-fi hotspots” across the UK — in cafés, airports and train stations — and send information from your phone more quickly via a local broadband connection, then yes. (But when was the last time you needed to send a Word file with your phone in Starbucks?)

Is it true I can watch television?
Three networks — Orange, Vodafone and 3 —- now offer live TV, all on 3G phones (Vodafone’s service is free until the end of January, and £5 per month on top of your plan afterwards; www.vodafone.co.uk). The picture image is still very pixellated, though.

I like taking pictures. Can I just use my phone now?
You could do worse. The clearest image so far is offered by Sharp’s 903 (£80 with Vodafone on a £60 per month plan) which, with 3.2 megapixels, takes photos that are easily of print quality on 6x4, especially for party shots. Most phone offer 1.3 megapixels — good enough if you just want to e-mail pictures to friends. Keep pace with all the latest mobile phone developments at www.timesonline.co.uk/personaltech

JONATHAN RICHARDS