Recently, Samsung released two new handsets, Samsung Corby Pro and Samsung Corby Plus in India under its Corby range of phones. Both handsets comes with QWERTY keyboards, which allows easy access to social networking sites such as Twitter, Orkut and Facebook.

As 2010 draws nearer, techies can expect a key year for communication technology with Apple set to launch a new iPhone, Microsoft to launch its Microsoft Mobile 7, and there's the Google Android 2 on the way.

Launched in China in October 2009, the Apple iPhone 3GS is now conquering the world's most populous mobile phone market and is set for a great start to 2010. But Apple even now is already working on the phone's next generation.

Matthew Bath, the technology editor of WHICH Magazine, says "You can't escape the fact that the Apple iPhone has absolutely revolutionized this industry in two years and whatever Apple calls its next version, which should launch in about July 2010, it's going to be probably still the most anticipated launch of the year" .

The iPhone is not without market rivals. Most notably, Google Android is now offering a competitive operating system, with key applications and gadgets. This will be expanded in 2010, with the launch of Android 2.0, also known as Eclair.

3Store has started to sell the just released INQ Chat 3G smartphone for as little as £15 on its Internet Texter tariff on an 18-month contract.

The phone, which is manufactured by 3's sister company, INQMobile, is the first one from the outfit to come with a dedicated QWERTY keyboard and aims to capture the attention of the growing crowd of Twitter addicts and other social networking websites users.

It comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera and comes with an expanded suite of INQ applications including Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Windows Live messenger. It is also bundled with free "push" Gmail and offers free tethered internet access.

To date, however, social networking has largely remained a two-foot experience. We engage using our PCs or, increasingly, via mobile devices. This, as a result, means that social networking has largely siphoned time and attention away from other online media, while leaving TV relatively unscathed. That's all about to change.

In the UK, where it is called Dext, the phone is going to be launched today. Things appear to be going swimmingly.

However across the pond, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said his outfit is in talks with large carriers other than its initial partner T-Mobile USA to sell the gadget, which it calls Cliq in the US. Jha said he is "fairly hopeful we will begin to engage with all the US operators."

While T-Mobile will carry the Cliq in the US it had been thought that this would be an exclusive deal, perhaps with more cash subsidising the gadget.

Now it seems that relationship has either changed or other US telecoms are knocking on Motorola's door wanting a piece of the action.

This can't be much to do with hype. There has been little said in the press about what the phone can do other than basics and the fact that the Android operating system offers social notworking functions.

A key feature of the Cliq or Dext is social networking software dubbed "Motoblur," which syncs a user's phone contacts, emails, posts, feeds and photos from a wide range of messaging and social notworking services such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Gmail

“The social fanatic’s dream.”

That’s the tag-line for the Cliq, a new smartphone built by Motorola – and T-Mobile is hoping it will be enough to pry a swath of young consumers away from their iPhones. In a statement timed to coincide with the release of the Cliq, Motorola said that the phone pulls data from “Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gmail, work and personal email,” and “automatically delivered to the home screen of the Cliq in easy-to-view streams.”

The key selling point here is accessibility. With an iPhone, for instance, a Twitter application would remain separate from the MySpace application; the Facebook app would not be integrated with email. The Cliq, which is powered by Google’s Android operating system, uses platform called Motoblur, which Motorola is billing as a social networking “solution.” Feeds from various sites are integrated on the Cliq interface, which could make sorting updates and photos and emails a little easier.

If you’re not already familiar with Peek, it’s a company making phone-factor handhelds that aren’t actually phones: for about $15 a month they’ll get you a device with a QWERTY keyboard for checking email and/or sending SMS.

Now apparently they have made and plan to market a Peek device that does one thing and one thing only: Twitter (Twitter). There’s already an Amazon page for the TwitterPeek device, and a photo of the packaging has appeared courtesy of Peter Ha

Motorola has become the butt of many mobile phone industry jokes over the last few years. Not since the RAZR (now available in 18 different versions) has the company seen success with a handset. But at the launch event for the DEXT, something was different - journalists were heard saying that they haven't been this excited about a handset from Motorola in years.

So what's changed? The same thing that changed HTC and is currently changing Samsung - Android. Google's free mobile operating system is enlivening a whole raft of phone manufacturers that have always made great hardware but struggled with user interface design. But how does the DEXT stack up against the G1, Magic, Hero and Galaxy i7500? Read on to find out.

Ed Hardy at Brighthand handled the new Palm Pixi and video-recorded his impressions with a Palm rep. The Palm Pixi is 10% thinner than an iPhone with gesture navigation with super media sync and easy keyboard access.

Palm added much more synergy from the web on the Palm Pixi. It's geared toward folks who are completely social and networked.

Palm added more synergy from social networking including Yahoo! calendar and email. They added for the professional customer synergy Linked-in, any data is changed in the social networking servers is changed on the Palm Pixi. It's easy to flip through apps.

Due for release at the end of September are two great social networking phones that are going to give the INQ1 a run for it’s money. The Samsung S3650 Corby is made for those who love to customize their gadgets and ensure they never miss out on the latest gossip on Facebook. The distinctly shaped Corby comes with two extra ‘Fashion Jackets’ which are bright interchangeable rear covers to make sure you don’t get bored of your cool handset to easily. Upload photos and videos directly to YouTube, Flickr and Picasa and update your status on all your favourite social networking sites with ease on the 2.8 inch touchscreen. Also due for release soon is the Nokia 7705 Twist which allows you to twist and turn your handset in all kinds of directions on a chassis that neatly packs together to form a nice little pocket friendly handset. The phone features a full QWERTY keyboard, 3 mega pixel camera and support from email, IM, MMS and SMS. This cute little social networking phone also allows you to customise your handset for incoming calls with its glowing light ring that changes colour depending on who is calling.