Android-Based Vodafone 945 Goes Official, Vodafone 553 Too

Mobile phone carrier Vodafone has just announced the release of new handsets to its offering, all of which were added to the company's own-branded series of phones. The new devices are the Vodafone 945 Android smartphone, as well as the affordable Vodafone 553, complemented by a refreshed Vodafone 543 handset.

According to the wireless operator, the new Vodafone 945 handset is added to an offering that already includes an appealing smartphone, the Vodafone 845, which was released in April 2010, and it comes with an appealing price tag.

The specifications list of the new mobile phone is pretty impressive, it seems, as it includes a 3.2-inch capacitive multi-touch screen with haptic feedback, as well as a 5-megapixel photo snapper with flash.

Based on Google's Android 2.1 operating system, the handset comes with access to the Android Market, as well as to the Vodafone Music services and to a catalogue of over 2 million DRM-free tracks.

Other specs of this new Android phone include Wi-Fi connectivity options, 300MB of built-in memory, and a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage space.

“Available in black or silver, the Vodafone 945 is a handset with a contemporary feel – both in terms of design and the services and features it offers,” the wireless carrier announced.

As for the second new phone in the offering, the Vodafone 553, it comes as a QWERTY side-slider, and with a 2.8-inch rotatable touchscreen, aimed at offering users a wider range of options when it comes to their communication needs.

The new device sports enhanced email, messaging and mobile Internet capabilities, Opera Mini 5.0 pre-loaded, and fast access to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk and Yahoo! Messenger.

“The phone is powered by Vodafone’s 360 People – an address book which brings a customer’s various online contact lists together in one place and makes them available both on the phone and automatically backed up and in sync at www.360.com,” Vodafone notes.

Some of the other features packed inside Vodafone 553 include a 2MP camera, Bluetooth, FM radio, or Micro SD card slot with support for up to 8 GB of additional storage space.

The new device should arrive at Vodafone in color versions that include black, white, silver or pink, while being put on sale on a pre-pay basis in most European Vodafone markets.

In addition to the launch of these two handsets, the wireless carrier announced that a new version of Vodafone 543 should be released on shelves soon.

Leading high-street fashion brand Miss Sixty has updated the Vodafone 543 device with a series of exclusive customized covers and phone accessories “designed in colorful, on-trend graphics, all of which are reflective of the Miss Sixty brand.”

“The Vodafone 543, launched in April 2010, has a 2.4” touch screen and runs Opera Mini 5.0 for mobile internet browsing. The phone also comes with Vodafone’s innovative pre-pay balance indicator – an always-on display of how much credit the customer has left to use,” the company announced.

Vodafone 945, Vodafone 553 and Vodafone 543 are expected to be put on sale at the wireless carrier in time for Christmas.

“We work hard to take the best, most relevant and exciting market trends and make them available at a great price to customers across the Vodafone footprint,” Patrick Chomet, Group Director of Terminals at Vodafone Group said.

“In this instance, we’ve developed the Vodafone 553 and 945 to give customers affordable, fast access to the mobile internet data services that are seeing such growth in popularity – in fact, within two years we expect to see 70% of our mature market sales going to smartphones.”