Phones

Reviving Blackberry: What Their Plan is To Mount a Comeback

In 1999, the first BlackBerry to hit the market was an email pager. At the time, it was a huge step in technology and connectivity. However, the company has faced recent woes as other smartphone companies chip away at their market share with newer and more advanced phones. Yet, behind the vision and leadership of a new CEO, the company has plans to mount a comeback and regain some of that market.

Once A Dominant Force in the Market

Before 2007, BlackBerry was one of the biggest phones on the market and the go-to phone for business people. It was one of the first phones on the market that could handle more than just calls and email. However, the company didn’t expect the threat that the iPhone would have on their market. While BlackBerry believed that people cared about security and efficiency on their phones, Apple focused more on ease of use and performance. In the end, sales for the company tanked, and they faced an uphill battle to regain the top spot they once held.

A New CEO with A New Vision

In 2013, BlackBerry tried to regain some its smartphone market by releasing the all-touch Z10. However, consumer reception was weak, and the company ended up having to cut its workforce by 40 percent and take charge of nearly $960 million in unsold phones. In the end, CEO Thornsten Heinz stepped down, and the company brought in John Chen, former CEO of Sybase to turn things around. Chen made it clear that his vision for turning around the struggling company was to focus on their core strength of providing strong and secure phones to businesses in the health care, government and financial industries.

Providing Services to the Enterprise Market

Chen also believes that the business market, which is often called the enterprise market, is where the company’s core customer base lies. He felt that by listening to what this market does and doesn’t like about their phones, he would be able to serve them better. As a result, Chen learnt that there were many features that BlackBerry had abandoned that customers actually enjoyed and wanted them to bring back. In the end, Chen also felt it was necessary to assure the over 60 million mobile phone subscribers that they weren’t going to get lost in the rush. However, he did point out that to bring the financial side of the company back up, they would be focusing on the enterprise market first.

Focusing on Business Services

Part of what the phone company is eyeing in the enterprise market is the latest trend of BYOD, or bring your own device. Here, companies are allowing their employees to bring their personal mobile devices to the workplace, and use those devices to conduct business and access confidential company information. While there are security concerns with BYOD, companies also see it as a way to increase productivity and employee satisfaction. With the latest BlackBerry phones, utilizing BlackBerry BYOD can make companies for efficient and cost-effective with minimal effort. They can offer the security BlackBerry is known for, while still providing a device employees are comfortable using.

The Newest BlackBerry Releases

The Z3 is the latest device that BlackBerry will launch. This phone will release in Indonesia first, before expanding to other markets in southeast Asia, and it’s expected to compete with other low-cost smartphones in that market. Additionally, Chen announced that at some point in the foreseeable future, the company would also be releasing a faster phone with 4G connectivity to the rest of the world. This phone, called the Q20, will have a keyboard and control keys with a track pad in response to consumer demands.

Like so many other companies, BlackBerry has faced its share of highs and lows. The company was criticised for not completely acknowledging how much of a threat the latest generation of smartphones would be to their market share. However, under the leadership of their new CEO, and with the release of new phones, they believe they’re ready to compete in the market once more.

5 accessories every smartphone owner needs

Your smartphone might’ve replaced everything from the humble calculator and calendar to the digital camera and MP3 player, but you still need the odd accessory to get the most out of it. Check out our list of must-haves below.

1. Smartphone case

High-end smartphones are worth upwards of £500, so it’s important that you shield them against damage. Repairing cracked screens is expensive, and scratches and scuffs ruin the appearance of your handset, reducing its resale value.

It’s a good idea to buy your smartphone case direct from the manufacturer, as it’s more likely to hold it snugly and leave spaces for connectors and camera lenses. You can browse the range of Nokia cases here, HTC cases here, Samsung cases here, and Apple-approved iPhone cases here.

2. High-quality earphones

Most smartphones come with a pair of earphones, but they’re not always of the highest quality. If you want to make the most of watching movies, listening to music and playing games on your device, purchasing some new earphones might be a good idea.

John Lewis has a wide range of premium headphones, and includes a minimum two-year guarantee with every purchase. Take a look at the reviews as well as the specifications to ensure you invest wisely — Bose tends to be one of the top brands.

3. Speaker dock

For similar reasons, a speaker dock is a must-have. Smartphone speakers can’t produce high volumes and tend to compromise quality. Get your hands on a Bluetooth dock so you can enjoy quality sound wirelessly. There’s one for every budget available at Amazon.

4. Emergency phone charger

One of the few downsides to owning a smartphone rather than an old-school handset is the reduced battery time. All those apps, a high-resolution screen and impressive processors are power hungry, so you can often find yourself low on juice.

For those occasions you need to charge while on the go, a power pack is a necessity. Check out the range at Gizoo, which includes chargers that are compatible with most devices. There are compact power packs that are small enough to fit in your pocket, and larger models that can top up your battery again and again.

And if you’re always on your phone, you will need glasses to protect your eyes. Shop for cheap varifocal glasses at Glasses Hut’s website.

5. Window mount

Anyone with a smartphone and a car needs a window mount. These accessories keep your device safely away from hands, so you’re not tempted to answer texts or check emails unsafely. They’re also indispensable when using your handset’s built-in sat nav.

Smartphones – your best budget options

2014 is a great year for those of you looking for a budget smartphone. The Apple range of smartphones won’t be within your budget bracket but there are more than enough great handsets with good performance for you to choose from.

ZTE Blade V

Budget quad core/5MP camera phone

Coming in at a mere £100, the ZTE Blade is a great handset for those wanting to get the most for their money. With a small 4-inch, 480 x 800 LCD screen you’ll be more than able to enjoy video and photographic content. Coming pre-loaded with Android 4.1 means you’ll have all the features that Android users enjoy as well as a host of apps available through the Google Play store.

Build quality isn’t the best but at this price it’s one of the nicer looking phones available.

Sony Xperia M

Affordable well designed smartphone with great battery life

The Experia M is a great budget phone for those of you who’ve got a little more to splash out. It’s no Xperia Z1 but for £180 this is a great little smartphone. Featuring many design similarities see in the rest of the Xperia series, the build quality looks and feels great. The M runs on the Jelly Bean Android OS and is powered by a more than capable Qualcomm S4 plus dual-core CPU which means you’ll be able to run most apps with extreme ease.

With 9 hours of battery life, one charge cycle will get you through the day with no problem unless you’re a real smartphone addict. However with only 2GB of memory, it’s advised you purchase a microSD card to make use of the expandable memory slots on the phone. If you’re looking for a sub £200 smartphone this is a more than capable handset.

Samsung Galaxy Y

Ultra budget smartphone

If spending more than £100 seems like a daunting prospect, you’ll be more than glad to discover this handset costs a mere £45! This ultra compact smartphone has a 3-inch screen and a 2 megapixel camera. For the price it’s a good phone but don’t expect to be playing the latest games on it. If you just need a simple phone for light internet browsing, emails, texts and phone calls then this is a great little number. Be sure to check out the Samsung Galaxy Y from Mobile by Sainsbury’s for a really competitive price!

HTC Desire500

Attractive handset at an attractive price

The HTC desire is our favourite looking budget handset of the moment. With a 4.3-inch screen with 480 x 800 resolution, viewing photos and videos is really enjoyable. The 8megapixel camera is more than useable and great for snapping a quick picture.  With a Snapdragon 200 quad-core processer with 1GB of RAM, the Desire500 is up there with the high performance budget handsets.

At a price like this you’ll be hard pushed to find a handset that combines design and powerful processing with such success.

Nokia Lumia 620

Windows phone with unique and quirky design

If you’re after something a bit different the Nokia Lumia 620 is a great option. The quirky and colourful design make this an eye catching handset and for a mere £150 this phone very reasonably priced.  What also makes this phone different is that it runs on Windows 8, unlike the rest of the Androids on this list. Windows 8 is a beautiful operating system and the 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU is more than capable of running the OS without lag. One of the disadvantages of the Windows 8 operating system is that you’ll have access to less apps, though the majority of popular downloads do have windows versions!

Nokia handsets are renowned for the quality of their cameras, and the Lumia 620 is no exception. Despite not having as many megapixels as other phones in this list (the Lumia 620 sits at just 5MP) the lens and overall picture quality is significantly higher. At the great price it’s easily one of the best handsets in the budget bracket range.

Motorola Moto G

The Rolls Royce of the budget smartphone range

Finding faults with the Moto G was extremely hard when we got our hands on this smartphone. The Moto G features a great 4.5-inch screen that makes apps, photos and video look great. When you consider you’re getting 720p resolution, this is the best screen for your money.

Design wise it isn’t the best looking phone, or the slimmest. But what it lacks in looks it more than makes up for in specs. With a Snapdragon 400 CPU with 1GB ram and using the latest build of Jellybean, you’ll be able to enjoy the vast majority of games and apps in HD!

For a mere £135 for the 8GB model and £160 for the 16GB model – the Moto G is a top pick for us as it’s very affordable and performs like more expensive phones. What more could you want?

With so many great budget options for smartphones, there’s no excuse not to get involved. Take a look at what you can get for your money today.

Samsung Galaxy S5 is it worth the hype?

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is the natural successor of the Samsung Galaxy S4, which was one of the most sought after models released to the market. However, does the Samsung Galaxy S5 offer anything worth getting excited about or is it better to wait for the S6?

The S5 features various improvements to its camera, display, design and operating software. However, there has been significant debate in the tech world about if an upgrade to the Samsung S5 is necessary in spite of the improvements.

Here, we will explore if the Samsung Galaxy S5 is worth the hype or if it a development that will ultimately fail until the release of the S6.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Design

It is evident that Samsung has put in a lot of effort to make the S5 design different from its predecessor. It features a dimpled back to differentiate it from the glossy and smooth design on the S4. One of the main drawbacks, however, is that this handset is mostly made of plastic.

As this is supposed to be a high-end phone, some might expect a more expensive, luxurious material. Sony, Apple, Nokia, and HTC have all experimented with metal to make their high-end phones but Samsung seems reluctant to shift from plastic.

The Samsung S5 has been designed to be both dust and water resistant in about 3.3 feet of water for almost 30 minutes. The phone is available in a variety of colour finishes including sweet pink, champagne pink, shimmery white, copper gold, electric blue and charcoal black among others.

The S5 features a big and bold 5.1-inch full HD super AMOLED screen. One of the best aspects of this handset is its clear screen. It is a bright screen and this makes it ideal for users who spend a lot of time browsing the internet.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Main Features

You can tell after just a few minutes that the S5 is definitely more usable when compared to the S4. Mostly because it includes more features that consumers are likely to use every day.

S Health

S Health is one of the most noticeable features on this phone. It includes a heart rate monitor that is placed at the back just below the camera. The monitor allows you to track your pulse. S Health has been designed to help users monitor their daily activity. However, it does not offer the same benefits you get from devices solely designed for this function.

Ultra Power Saving Mode

Samsung is making an effort to come up with a battery that will last longer when you need it the most. The ultra-power saving mode activates on your phone when you need it to reduce power consumption when the handset is not in use. The feature reduces available apps to six to reduce total power use and increase battery life.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S5 camera offers selective focus. This feature allows users to take pictures and then defocus the background. The downside is that the camera takes a while to ‘fire up’, especially if it is in sleep mode. Furthermore, its autofocus is swift but it is not always accurate.

Fingerprint Scanner

Samsung have decided to place a fingerprint scanner on the S5 home key. This is an intuitive program, but risky as it does not always pick up the fingerprint. Users are required to swipe vertically for the scanner to work but it is also possible to swipe sideways with less accuracy.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy S5 handset comes with a 2.5 GHz CPU that makes it one of the
most powerful models on the market. However, with that being said, some of the features are slow. As mentioned, the camera can take a while before it is ready to work.

The model offers 16 GB internal memory, but only about 11 GB is available for use. The good news is that Samsung has eliminated some apps that were considered less significant on the S4, but you can still choose to download them in the Google Play Store. This gives users greater control over their internal memory.

Conclusion

The progression when it comes to performance and in-phone features make this upgrade more than worthwhile if you are coming up to the end of one of a number of long term mobile phones contracts. There are a number of great value contracts from Virgin Media available now that you can take advantage of to get the Samsung Galaxy S5 for a great price.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has an amazing screen and it offers plenty of battery life. This is a powerful and competent phone with unique elements that make it different from any other model available.

Samsung Galaxy S5 – Size comparison with iPhone 5S