Archive for January, 2011
You may have seen last year our review of Vlingo for BlackBerry. Vlingo for BlackBerry, the Virtual Assistant that turns words into actions, is adding French, German, Italian and Spanish language support. Non-English speaking users can now speak to Vlingo on their BlackBerry in their native language!
By speaking into their BlackBerry, Vlingo’s worldwide users can:
· Send a text or email message
· Search the web using Google or Yahoo!
· Call a contact
· Update their Facebook or Twitter status
· Dictate text into any text box with Vlingo Everywhere including: BBM, AIM, Yahoo, Windows Live
· Launch applications
· Hear text messages aloud via SafeReader
· Receive calendar reminders aloud via SafeReader (NEW!)
You can download Vlingo for a one-time fee on BlackBerry App World (http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/2588?lang=en ) or directly from you BlackBerry smartphone. Please visit www.vlingo.com for more information.
Adios Amigos!
Posted by: James
HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today announces the launch of HTC 7 Pro and HTC Gratia in the UK from February 2011.
"We are proud to be able to add two new phones to our already diverse UK product portfolio," said Jon French, executive director, HTC UK, Ireland and South Africa. "Both phones offer the stand-out design and innovation for which HTC has become renowned. With the fresh and exciting mobile experience of the Windows Phone 7 platform, HTC 7 Pro is for users who want to combine the ultimate in business efficiency with the ability to take full advantage of their leisure time. The elegant HTC Gratia is designed for those people looking for a compact yet powerful Android smartphone."
See the full press release and specifications for both devices after the break:
Those cheeky teasers at Samsung have got the media all in a kafuffle again. Like Samsung did with the Galaxy Tab they have updated the Samsung Unpacked website to show an image of the Galaxy S sitting beside what they will be unveiling at Mobile World Congress next month.
They say ‘”Something big is coming” so one can only presume it is the successor to the Galaxy S.
Our man Gareth will be at MWC to cover all the new announcements and gets hands on with the devices so you had better be ready for some good stuff from February 13th.
Posted by: James
There have been plenty of rumors about whether Apple will release a 7 inch version of the iPad and like always the company have been very tight lipped about the whole thing.
Apple COO Tim Cooks recently spoke on the subject of Android and Windows tablets and like Steve Jobs has said previously he characterized the small sizes and lack of optimization as “bizarre”.
[With] the variety shipping today, the OS wasn’t designed for a tablet; but Google said this," Cook said. "So you wind up having the size of a tablet that’s less than reasonable, or one that’s not even a real tablet experience. It’s a scaled-up smartphone; that’s a bizarre product in our view. Those are what is shipping today. If you do a side-by-side with an iPad, some enormous percentage [is] going to pick the iPad. We have no concern there."
On the subject of Windows tablets Cook said that current designs are “fairly big, heavy and expensive, with weak battery life. They also need to have a keyboard or a stylus for input and were largely irrelevant in the market. From our point of view and what we’ve seen, people just aren’t interested in them.”
I cant see Apple turning round and saying that a 7 inch in now not bizarre so maybe we should put the rumor to bed?
Posted by: James
I’m not a big sports fan. In fact I am not a sports fan at all but I do know a great application when I see one. If you use the iPhone and like to keep up to date with what’s going on it the sports world then the recently updated Eurosport app for the iPhone is a must. It is free as well which always helps.
As you will see in the video you have the option to view sports results, see the latest headlines and even check out results live as they happen. You can upload feeds to Facebook and Twitter from within the app if you fancy sharing the news with your friends.
With an attractive user interface the app is a real pleasure to use.
Check out the video after break:
As Brits feel the pinch after the indulgences of Christmas, 94% of people plan to tighten their purse strings this year according to a poll by Orange* – the first UK communications company to offer Tiny Top Ups**, a new service that lets Pay As You Go customers top up using their loose change from as little as 10p.
With one in four (25.7%) 18-24 year olds carrying less than £1 in loose change in their pocket, Tiny Top Ups puts the power back in the pennies making it easier than ever to stay in touch – welcome news for almost one in four (23%) Brits who normally wait for pay day before they top up their phone.
The research also reveals that running out of phone credit has caused more than one in ten (13%) 18-24 year olds to miss out on a new job opportunity, 15% to lose a love interest and one in six (16.6%) to miss meeting up with a friend; however with Tiny Top Ups these missed opportunities could be a thing of the past.
Further findings revealed by the research include:
Android tablets are easy to come by. Even your local supermarket will have a selection. At the top of the pricing scale is the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Is it worth the big bucks or is it a branded nightmare?
The ten second review:
- Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" Android 2.2 Tablet
- Price: £470.00
- Summary: High end Android tablet with phone capabilities
- Best of: Robust Android experience, added value software, light
- Worst of: Expensive, plastic, proprietary connections
- Buy it now from: Clove
Playbook’s Sr. Product Manager Ryan Bidan seems to stand behind the decision that the device will be shipping without independent calendar and e-mail features. He states the device is a “great standalone tablet” with just using WIFI and “this is not a device that is reliant on a Blackberry.” This still doesn’t address the concerns of the Playbook missing many of it’s popular BlackBerry features such as calendar, e-mail, blackberry internet and messenger services without a tethered BlackBerry phone.
This may be addressed in firmware update after the launch of the device but would have prevented the 1Q 2011 release date of the Playbook to include these on day 1 without being tethered to a Blackberry. Another consideration is that keeping personal data secure to the phone allows for non-secure data to be on the Playbook and this added benefit may be to prevent the data from being publicly accessible which has long been one of RIM’s strongholds in the market of keeping data secure.
Posted by: Gareth
Not satisfied with one operating system? How about two? That’s been done. Three? Okay! The current concept device of the Evolve III Maestro only runs Windows 7 and Meego however they are reported to be delivering Android as the third OS when hitting production. Which version of Android is still being debated but 2.2 on the specs below will be whizzy. Version 3.0 is mentioned in the video but not confirmed.
The Maestro will have:
- Intel Atom N475 CPU (although a dual core Oak Trail update may be in the works)
- 2GB of RAM
- 32GB solid state disk
- 10 inch display
- WiFi
- 3G
- weighs 1.8 pounds
Check after the break for some videos:
If you are a fan of having a white smartphone and you are in the market for a new BlackBerry why not consider the White Torch 9800 from Vodafone? The device has shown up on the Vodafone website as ‘coming soon’ over the last few days.
Now I may be wrong but I don’t recall seeing the white version for sale on any of the other UK networks so if you have to have it then head on over to the Vodafone site.
You may want to read our extensive BlackBerry Torch 9800 review before making up your mind. You can do so by clicking here.
Posted by: James
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