Archive for July, 2011

By July 11, 2011 Read More →

ALK release CoPilot Live Premium for iPhone and iPad

coplilot-ipad1 We’ve reviewed CoPilot in the past and have been impressed with its user interface, map views and general map accuracy. I’ve been using the UK version in my iPhone for some time and have the USA version on my iPad 2 for those trips abroad.

Today ALK got in touch with me to let me know about their latest version of the CoPilot Live, the new Premium edition which includes new features such as Personal Routes, Active Traffic and social network integration so you can check in with Facebook places via the app.

What’s more, for the next 7 days you can get 50% off the already low price making UK & Ireland maps just £14.99 for unlimited use and the European maps version for £29.99.

More details of the new features follow. Head on over to the App Store to download.

 

Posted in: News
By July 11, 2011 Read More →

Microsoft ‘charging forward with Nokia’

windows-phone-7-series-thumb According to a statement made by Microsoft’s Steve Balmer the company is ‘Charging forward with Nokia’. This sound bite was from the Imagine Cup 2011 conference held on 8th July.

Mt Balmer goes on to talk about the next version of Windows Phone 7 and the next generation of phones running WP7 that will ship towards the end of this year. We’re looking forward to see what Nokia and Microsoft have in store for us and to testing the first phones released as a result of the partnership.

You can see an extract from the speech below or head over to Microsoft.com for the full thing.

 

Posted in: News
By July 11, 2011 Read More →

HTC to unlock bootloaders from August

htc-logo-300x188 I’m sure you’ll remember the statement that HTC’s CEO Peter Chou made back in May about reconsidering their position on looking the bootloaders on their Android phones. This was good news for anyone wanting to load customer ROMs on to their handsets as it makes the process a whole lot easier and reduces the likelihood of ‘bricking’ the phone.

In an update made via their Facebook page (see below) HTC announced that they are going to provide an unlocked bootloader for the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation 4G and HTC EVO 3D some time during August. They will do this via a series of firmware updates.

The HTC EVO 3D will go on sale here in the UK during the same times frame so we wonder if it will ship here with an unlocked bootloader or will require a later update?

 

Posted in: News
By July 10, 2011 Read More →

BlackBerry PlayBook Convertible Case from mobilefun.co.uk

PBcase

If you have recently taken the plunge and got yourself a BlackBerry PlayBook then chances are you will need a case for it to avoid those accidental scrapes and scratches. The folks over at mobilefun.co.uk kindly sent through the PlayBook convertible case for me to use and to be honest I am rather impressed.

Why Buy?

  • Made from eco-friendly faux leather
  • Doubles up as a stand for the PlayBook
  • Designed for the BlackBerry PlayBook
  • Official BlackBerry Product
  • Only £21.95

You can see a short video below of me unboxing and giving a quick tour around this premium product.

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By July 10, 2011 Read More →

LG Optimus 3D unboxing video

Optimus3D-main Last week I managed to get my hands on a pre-release version of the Optimus 3D but this week, thanks to Clove Technology, we’ve got the final retail version to unbox and review.

Having used the LG Optimus 3D for a few days last week I have been quite impressed with it not only the 3D features but also it’s ‘regular’ smartphone/Android features. It’s dual-core CPU runs at 1GHz and keeps everything running pretty smoothly.

Currently this is the first 3D phone on the market with the HTC EVO 3D just around the corner. With this being the first I suspect HTC are going to find it somewhat difficult to catch up.

Below you’ll find a simple unboxing video of the Optimus 3D. If you want to see it and some of the features in more detail then have a look at my Optimus 3D hands-on video from last week too.

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By July 9, 2011 Read More →

Amazon tablet coming this year?

amazon-tablet Is there any hardware manufacturer out there that isn’t developing or releasing a tablet this year? Seems that almost everyone is releasing their version of what they hope will be the next big thing in the tablet market. Apple are light years ahead with their iPad at the moment leaving all the others very much out in the cold.

So enter Amazon. Amazon have already had some success with several flavours of their eBook reader, the Kindle so are arguable in a good place to develop their own answer to the iPad. Amazon certainly have the exposure and the branding to pull it off. The clever money suggests that Amazon will have their tablet ready for the end of Q3 or beginning of Q4 of this year to ensure that they maximise the Christmas sales.

Amazon themselves have been extremely tight lipped about the possible Tablet so there is certainly nothing close to concrete when it comes to specification but I’m guessing it will be Android based. In any case I’m sure that Amazon will have been watching and learning from all the other tablets on the market, each one has come with its own share of problems and mistakes and perhaps the most important lesson is simplicity. My daughter could use an iPad from age 2 so if a 2 year old can use it the UI must be beyond intuitive, it must be innate. If Amazon, or anyone for that matter, can come up with a UI that can rival the iPad then maybe they have half a chance.

There is one other thing that Amazon could do to make an impact and that would be to use their whisper sync technology on a tablet. Imagine buying a tablet with built in 3G connectivity and never having to pay a subscription just as with the 3G Kindle. Perhaps unlikely for now but maybe it’s coming!?

As always we’ll be watching closely and will return with updates as we get them.

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: Rumours
By July 9, 2011 Read More →

Apple to release 2 new iPhones in September

iphone5 The rumour mill is back in full swing again and almost everyone is speculating about the new iPhone that Apple is expected to release later this year. I think almost all sources are pointing to a September launch of the iPhone 5.

Of course no one knows exactly what the iPhone 5 will look like and what its eventual spec will be, however, I would expect to see it with the same A5 dual-core chip from the iPad 2, probably with more ram and a version with 64GB of storage. I also personally think the design will be much more like the iPad 2 with curved aluminium back and probably thinner than the existing iPhone 4.

US-based blog 9 to 5 mac say that they have sources close to Apple and claim that September will not only see the launch of the iPhone 5 but also another iPhone handset in the same announcement. It’s thought that this phone with be the iPhone 4GS. The new iPhone 4GS is expected to be a cheaper and lower spec phone to compete with those low-end Android phones that are flooding the market.

Apple could make a less expensive iPhone by taking existing iPhone 4 technology and putting it in a cheaper aluminium body and replacing the screen for a non-IPS model.

If Apple do mange to pull this off and come up with an iPhone 4GS and iPhone 5 line-up then they are really on to a winner. Cant wait to see what September holds!

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: Rumours
By July 9, 2011 Read More →

Research from Protect your bubble shows that Dance fans are most at risk of losing their mobile at festivals this year

protect_your_bubble

Protectyourbubble.com, the gadget insurance specialist, has found that 1 in 4 festival goers will lose something. Dance fans are the worst with over one in 10 losing their mobile at a festival (12%), despite 43% owning an expensive iPhone.

Protectyourbubble.com polled Wireless Festival goers, quizzing music fans of the different genres to find out how likely they are to lose their phone and other items. Hip Hop fans, though losing their mobiles slightly less (9%), place themselves at the most risk, with 29% bringing along BlackBerry’s and over 70% admitting to not having any mobile phone insurance cover at all. 84% of the group also confessed to drinking over 7 pints of lager at a festival, placing their gadgets in even bigger danger. Twice as many gadgets are lost from ‘drunken incidents’ (56%) than through being stolen (21%) or dropped (12%).

Pimms-drinking Pop fans are the most likely to look after their gadgets with them half as likely to have their phone stolen and one in three (35 per cent) having specific mobile phone insurance cover. They also bring the least money with most (61%) bringing under £40 to a festival compared to Dance fans who flash the cash with 15% spending well over £80 on the day. On average people spend £54.65 at a festival.

Rock fans are the most loyal fans with 32% travelling over 100 miles for the day. They are also the most likely to leave their iPhone at home with 29% bringing cheap ‘dumb phones’ to a festival with them. They are the most likely to lose other items at a festival though, with 8% losing their shoes and 5% losing their girlfriend or boyfriend.

Posted in: News
By July 8, 2011 Read More →

Warning over Facebook video calling scam

videocalls Earlier this week Facebook announced a tie-up with Skype that’s resulted in a video calling service, for full video chat, within the Facebook web interface. I haven’t tried this out yet but I’m looking forward to doing so.

However, since the announcement a raft of scams relating to the video chat service have plagued Facebook. These fake applications within Facebook are nothing to do with the official service but instead offer the promise of video chat but are, in fact, rogue ‘apps’ asking you for access to you personal information, permission to post on your wall and read your posts!

So just a word of warning, if you see a post on your wall or in your profile saying ‘Enable Video Calls’ or similar avoid it like the plague! If you’ve already succumbed to the temptation then head in to your settings and revoke privileged access to the naughty scammers!

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By July 8, 2011 Read More →

BlackBerry SDK update

rim-logo

If you are a BlackBerry developer or it is something to are looking to pursue then the following news from RIM will be of interest.

RIM has announced the availability of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK v 2.1 for BlackBerry Smartphones. This update comes shortly after the introduction of the BlackBerry® WebWorksT SDK v 2.1 for Tablet OS [http://devblog.blackberry.com/2011/06/blackberry-webworks-sdk-tablet-os-version-2-1/] and brings similar functionality and APIs to the BlackBerry® Smartphone OS. 

The new capabilities that WebWorks developers can now leverage include NTML & BASIC Authentication support, Camera API, Top Banner Indicator API, Enhanced Push APIs and improved rendering speeds for some applications. The APIs enable web developers to deeply integrate with the BlackBerry Smartphone OS and thereby build feature rich apps that offer more immersive and interactive end user experiences. Other benefits developers can derive from the new application functionality and APIs are better app monetization, diversified development approaches, support for standardized security and better integration with the widely popular BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM) Social Platform.

Developers can learn more about the new APIs at http://devblog.blackberry.com/2011/07/blackberry-webworks-sdk-smartphones-v2-1 and can download the latest WebWorks SDK for BlackBerry Smartphones at http://us.blackberry.com/developers/browserdev/widgetsdk.jsp.

 

Posted by: James

Posted in: News
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