Author Archive: Matt

More than 20 years in the IT industry. Blogging with a passion and thirst for new technology since 2005.

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By August 7, 2011 Read More →

HTC to launch 6 new handsets this quarter

htc-logo-300x188 Fantastic news if you are a fan of HTC’s phones as much as I am as earlier this week HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou, stated that the company will be launching between 6 and 8 new smartphones in this quarter.

That’s a whole lot of phones for any company to launch in one period so I cant wait to see what they have up their sleeves. We expect it will include a number of the rumoured handsets that we’ve seen over the past few months including the HTC Vigor, with it’s 1.5GHz dual core CPU and 720p display, and HTC Bliss, rumoured ‘ladies phone’, most likely.

We’re also hoping to see a few new handsets running Windows Phone Mango, there haven’t been any new Windows Phone devices launched for a while.

Reports also say that HTC will be steering clear of the lower end of the handset market concentrating instead on mid to high-end premium devices, something that HTC excels at. They don’t seem to be so good with the lower-end devices as even with limited spec the cost always seems too high.

We’ll come back with updates as we get them! I’m looking forward to a few more HTC launch events over the coming months! 🙂

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By August 6, 2011 Read More →

Acer beTouch E210 unboxing video

acer-betouch-e210-android-smartphone The Acer beTouch E210 is one of a small number of Android handsets to have a fixed front facing QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry style. The E210 was announced much earlier this year but only went on sale fairly recently.

For those wanting an Android powered handset but needing the speed of text entry that you really only get from a physical QWERTY keyboard, the beTouch E210 may be worth looking at if the price tag, around £220, and the limited spec doesn’t put you off. You can see the full specification below but it’s a little disappointing to see a just-released handset with a resistive touchscreen. I thought things had progressed beyond that now.

Overall the E210 is a nice enough looking handset, pretty lightweight and has a large QWERTY keyboard that makes it easy for fat-fingered people, like me, to use the keys with ease.

Check out the video below to see a little of the Acer beTouch E210 in action. Review coming up soon too.

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By August 5, 2011 Read More →

HTC files Patent claim against Apple in UK

Just two weeks after Apple’s claim against HTC in the US was provisionally upheld by the ITC, HTC have now retaliated by filing a patent-violating lawsuit against the Apple with the High Court of Justice in London. If you want to learn more about the legal implications of a copyright violation, get some copywriting training online.

The exact details of the claim here in the UK are as yet unknown but certainly looks like a tit-for-tat exchange of claims.

It perhaps makes perfect sense that HTC would file here as the UK is the largest market for HTC in Europe.

One assumes that if HTC are successful here in the UK and Apple successful in the US, in respect of their individual claims, that the two sides would seek some mutual agreement to nullify the the effects on both side of the pond.

We’ll continue to watch this one with interest!

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By August 3, 2011 Read More →

New BlackBerry 7 smartphones now launched

Image converted using ifftoany We’ve known about them for a while but today Research In Motion have now made an official announcement about the new BlackBerry 7 smartphones to be released.

Devices to carry OS 7 will include the Bold 9900, Torch 9810 and Torch 9850.

James has already been using the Bold 9900 for a number of weeks and will have his full review online for your reading pleasure in the next day or two.

RIM’s press release follows below.

 

Posted in: Press Releases
By August 2, 2011 Read More →

Skype for iPad at last!

photo After a bit of a false start yesterday, first being then released and the removed from the App Store, one of the apps I have been most eagerly awaiting has been made available at last. I’m talking, of course, about Skype for iPad.

Previously the only way to use Skype on the iPad was to use the iPhone specific app. Whilst obviously this was workable it was, frankly, far from ideal as with other iPhone apps that run on the iPad it simply used display doubling in order to get it full screen.

Fortunately the new iPad app makes excellent use of the larger iPad display and working in a similar way to the mail app with a two-pane interface.

Looks awesome and works well even with the camera on the iPad 2. If you have an iPad then it’s definitely worth a look!

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By August 1, 2011 Read More →

T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide unboxing video

t-mobile-mytouch-4g-slideThe T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide has been the subject of rumour and speculation for weeks but the device finally went on sale in the US last week.

The T-Mobile branded handset, manufactured by HTC, definitely sits at the top end of the market and in terms of specification is similar to the HTC Sensation albeit that the 4G slide has a full hardware QWERTY keyboard which, as the name suggests, slides out from underneath the screen.

With the QWERTY keyboard you might think that the MyTouch was all about productivity but tucked away on the back is an 8 megapixel camera and dual LED flash. Whilst that in itself may not seem too out of the ordinary, thanks to its clever backside illuminated sensor it’s claimed to be "the most advanced camera of any smartphone" with features such as zero shutter-lag, SweepShot panorama mode and HDR modes.

Whilst the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide is USA only, for the moment at least, we’ve got one in to review, starting with the unboxing video below.

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By July 31, 2011 Read More →

Mac OSX Lion LaunchPad Control

launchpadcontrolWe all love the new LaunchPad found in Apple’s Mac OSX Lion, but, if like me, you need further control of the LaunchPad, such as hiding apps without removing them, then look no further.

Launchpad-Control by Andreas Ganske provides you with a System Preference Pane that allows you to select what apps you wish to hide using a simple check to show, un-check to hide option on each app.

Simply download this free app, view your System Preference Pane and un-check all those apps you wish to hide. The advantage over this method is it simply hides the shortcut from the LaunchPad, the application can still be found, launched and used from within your Applications Folder.

Head over to chaosspace.de to download this for free. Of course donations are appreciated.

Download now

 

Posted by: Danny

Posted in: News
By July 31, 2011 Read More →

Synaps External Battery Reviews

Synaps External Battery I’ve recently been provided with two different types of external battery power for the Apple iPhone 4.

Both are made by Synaps. The first is the ‘Power case contour battery pack‘ (JP1300).

This external battery has been designed to fit the iPhone 4 and be used as a case as well as a method of charging your battery. Its available in Blue, Red and the colour I have been supplied, Black.

The packaging is clean and displays the product well. It’s typical retail accessory packaging, which can be seen as a negative as it wouldn’t stand out on a shelf of other accessories.

Once opened, you’ll find the battery pack, a micro-usb charger and a manual. It’s a real shame they decided to include a micro-usb charger instead of the official Apple dock connection as this means you need to carry an additional cable with you. The micro-usb cable does work with the USB plug supplied with the iPhone 4.

Posted in: Gadgets, Phones, Reviews
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By July 30, 2011 Read More →

ZTE Tureis demo video

zte-tureis-front We first saw the ZTE Tureis in action at the ZTE event we attended a few weeks ago but now we’ve managed to get hold of a pre-release handset for to have a good look at.

The Tureis really isn’t a bad looking device and it one of only a handful Android smartphones to have the fixed front-facing keyboard similar in appearance to a BlackBerry Bold these could well appeal to those that want a BlackBerry style device without the BlackBerry price tag or those looking for an entry level Android handset with hardware keyboard. At under £130 SIM-free the ZTE Tureis seems to be good value.

As we’ve said before, we don’t review pre-release handsets as ROM versions can and do change before they go on sale and sometimes the changes can be dramatic. We’ve got a French version here at the moment with an AZERTY keyboard. We’ll be getting the retail version to review soon but for now you can check out the unboxing video below.

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By July 26, 2011 Read More →

HTC open Negotiations with Apple

Apple-v-HTCMore news in the on-going saga of Apple vs HTC and today it would see a slight change of tone for HTC. Yesterday CEO Peter Chou took a fairly aggressive stance when asked about HTC’s intentions where Apple were concerned using words like ‘war’ when talking about smartphone dominance and saying that HTC ‘Will win’ the battle.

But today it’s a more diplomatic message from the HTC camp this time with a few comments from CFO Winston Yung. Yung say’s that this company, HTC, are willing to negotiate a deal with Apple over the current patent claims and added that ‘We have to sit down and figure it out. We’re open to having discussions’ and ‘We are open to all sorts of solutions, as long as the solution and the terms are fair and reasonable. On and off we’ve had discussions with Apple, even before the initial determination came out’

However, if HTC agree a deal with Apple then this does rather leave other Android OEM’s in a rather precarious position, after all it’s not just HTC that are allegedly infrindging upon Apple’s patents and if HTC choose not to make a stand this could spell disaster for the smaller companies that may be unable to to pay fees or to fight an expensive patent war.

 

Posted by: Matt

Post Tags: [HTC, Apple, Patent infringement, legal battle, tracyandmatt.co.uk]

Posted in: News
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