News

By November 13, 2013 Read More →

Nexus 7 gets KitKat

Nexus 7 gets KitKatWith the obvious success of the Nexus 5, Google is managing to get Android 4.4 KitKat in to the hands of more users.

That’s left many existing Android users wondering when their devices will have a KitKat update available. Several manufacturers have already made announcements and we know, for example, that HTC are going to have updates out later this month.

If you have a Nexus 7 though, you are definitely in luck! The Nexus 7 (both the 2012 and 2013 versions) and Nexus 10 will be getting the update imminently, although it’ll be exclusive to the Wi-Fi only models for now.

I’m checking for updates on my Nexus 7 ever 5 minutes!

Google have also announced that the Nexus 4 will get the update to KitKat soon too.

 

Posted in: News, Tablets
Tags: , , ,
By November 12, 2013 Read More →

Three announces iPad mini with Retina pricing

three-ipadEarlier today, Apple made the new Retina iPad mini available to buy on their online store. UK mobile operator, Three, have just given us their contract pricing for the new iPad Mini will be available to order starting Friday morning.

Stock is likely to be limited so move quickly if you want one!

iPad mini with Retina Pricing announced

 

16GB:

£129 and £25 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£79 and £29 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£419 on a one-month rolling contract

 

32GB:

£199 and £25 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£149 and £29 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£499 on a one-month rolling contract

 

64GB:

£269 and £25 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£219 and £29 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£579 on a one-month rolling contract

 

One month contracts are available with either 1GB data for £7.50 a month or 10GB data for £15 a month.

Posted in: News, Tablets
Tags: , ,
By November 12, 2013 Read More →

Retina iPad mini goes on sale

Retina iPad miniJust three weeks after Apple’s big iPad event, the Retina iPad mini has at last gone on sale on Apple’s website.

During the event we were introduced to the Retina iPad mini, an updated version of the existing mini but with, obviously the Retina 7.9″ 2048×1536 display, the new A7 and M7 chips and MiMo technology.

At the time of the event Apple said that the new mini would be on sale ‘later in November’. Many naysayers believed that Apple’s supply of Retina screens was in such constraint that the actual on-sale date would get pushed back. Seemingly Apple have silenced those critics today.

Head over to Apple for more on the new Retina iPad mini

Posted in: News, Tablets
Tags: , ,
By November 11, 2013 Read More →

Apple bringing two All-new iPhone’s next year

iphone-6According to Bloomberg, Apple will be releasing two brand new iPhone designs next year. One to have a 4.7 and the other to have a 5.5 inch display.

In the report posted by Bloomberg yesterday, the new devices will not only have larger displays but they will also have curved glass.

Certainly it would make sense for Apple to release larger phones as many of their competitors have already released phones in sizes up to and over 6 inches. With these larger screen sizes I would also hope that we’ll at last see a 1080×1920 full HD display from apple, where again many competitors are already there and playing keep-up is not a game Apple likes to play.

The report also suggests that Apple are working on pressure sensitive screens that will allow greater control and varied line thickness when drawing for example.

Posted in: News, Phones
Tags: ,
By November 11, 2013 Read More →

Android gaming update 11-11-13

Star-Wars-Tiny-Death-Star-Disney-MobileAnother week over and a collection of new entries on the Play store. What’s new and what’s reduced?

Star Wars: Tiny Death Star sees the player building up a Death Star with over 80 types of Star Wars themed residential and commercial floors to attract residents and commerce in their Death Star. Just like Sim Tower!

  • Earn credits to expand your Death Star, and build over 80 types of Star Wars themed residential and commercial floors like Rebo’s Karaoke and Cloud City Spa!
  • Attract over 30 unique species including Wookiees and Ewoks, and fulfill their dream jobs! Not everyone on the Death Star wants to be the Empire’s minion; some might just want to work at the local ice cream shop…
  • Below the hustle and bustle of the businesses above, build secretive, underground imperial levels to craft special supplies that will aide your Imperial troops in the fight against the Rebels.
  • As stealthy as your Death Star development may be, expect break-ins from Rebel spies such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and more! Capture them before they escape!
  • While running your Death Star, keep your eyes peeled for new scenes featuring many of your favorite characters like Han Solo, Chewie, Jabba the Hutt, and more.
Posted in: Apps & Games, News
Tags: ,
By November 11, 2013 Read More →

Sony’s new 3D headset now available

sony-hmz-t3w,U-V-404167-1Most are getting excited about the Oculus Rift and rightly so as they have recently announced Android compatibility. However, Sony has now made available the third generation of Sony’s HMZ headset line, following the HMZ-T1 (2011) and the HMZ-T2 (2012). The wireless head-mounted device provides two HD OLED screens generating a virtual 750 inch screen from 65 feet away, allowing users to enjoy 2D and 3D content with virtual 7.1 surround sound.
The device is lighter than the previous models, and provides flexible headbands, improved padding, and a tethered “battery box” providing around three hours on a single charge, dumping the required AC connection in the previous models. The device also supports MHL, meaning it can recharge a compatible smartphone or tablet while the device is transmitting video and audio over the same connection. Only costing mere $1000.

“The Sony HMZ-T3W portable 3D viewer keeps serious gamers in the game with speedy responses from its twin OLED screens and no annoying on-screen image lag,” reads Sony’s press release. “A one-touch button instantly boosts contrast and enhances shape details (game-mode), allowing gamers to relish the competitive edge in dimly-lit scenes where danger’s always lurking. Plus, there is no fumbling for the right keys in mid-game – the ergonomic visor-style headset gives an unobstructed ‘look-down’ view of your PC’s keyboard and mouse while you play.”

Posted in: News, Science & Technology
Tags:
By November 10, 2013 Read More →

HP Chromebook 11 price drop

hp_chromebook_11Just over a month after launch, HP’s newest Chromebook is already available to buy for less than £200 in the UK. The colourful, ARM-based notebook has had £30 slashed off its recommended retail price of £229 at a number of leading online retailers.

Powered by a Samsung Exynos chipset, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of eMMC storage, the device is also notable for using an IPS display to provide better colour reproduction and viewing angles – resolving the main issue that previous low-end devices have been criticised for.

Launched barely one month ago it’s a little surprising to see the device discounted already. Amazon have the device listed for just £199 – a saving of £30. Currys/PC World are matching this price indirectly, offering between £30 cash back on the purchase of this Chromebook, (and between £20-30 on all other Chromebooks) purchased between now and December 4th, 2013.

Using a Chromebook for the past two weeks I am certainly seeing the benefits of the low cost computers. Certainly some will scoff that they are not real computers however I am struggling to find something that I can not do on it.

Posted in: Laptops, News
Tags: ,
By November 9, 2013 Read More →

iPad Air Explodes in Australian Vodafone Shop

iPad Air ExplodesNot a good headline for Apple. In a Vodafone store in the city of Canberra, Australia, one of Apple’s new flagship iPad Air’s explodes during shopping hours leading to a full scale evacuation of the store and requiring the fire brigade to be be called to extinguish the fire.

According to several reports the store filled with smoke and sparks flew as the iPad literally exploded while on charge.

No official word from Apple as yet but it is believed that a faulty charging circuit was the culprit as the lithium polymer batteries used in the iPad, and common in a variety of other electronic products, are predisposed to exploded when over charged.

Worrying perhaps but considering the 100’s of thousand iPad devices sold each year having just one recorded explosion isn’t a huge cause for concern just yet as this is the first such recorded incident.

Posted in: News, Tablets
Tags: , ,
By November 9, 2013 Read More →

Nexus 5 WiFi bug

Nexus 5 wifi bugI’ve had my Google Nexus 5 for just over a week and one of the questions I’ve been frequently asked via twitter and Google+ 1 was whether or not I had experienced any issued with the WiFi in the Nexus 5.

Up until yesterday the answer I gave was no. Despite using a large number of WiFi networks almost daily, from the few WiFi access points I have at home to the WiFi on the train I commute on to the WiFi at work and in coffee shops in London, none had given me any WiFi issues with my Nexus 5.

That’s until yesterday. Suddenly my Nexus 5 dropped off one if my home WiFi points, it connected to the other but then despite showing as connected would not transfer any data. Initially I thought this was a problem with my internet connection but soon realised that my Mac and iPhone were still working fine over the same WiFi.

I switched to a different access point but the problem persisted. I rebooted the phone… the problem remained. I’ve tried removing the WiFi networks and re-adding them but that also had no effect.

WiFi access points I have tried using are a D-Link DSL-3680, TP-Link, Airport Extreme, Airport Express and a Vodafone Mifi. All have the same issue: The WiFi shows as connected but there’s no internet connectivity. Furthermore, the WiFi disconnects and reconnects frequently.

Reading other posts on the internet it would see that many other Nexus 5 owners also have the same issues and this seems to be related to an existing Nexus 7 problem too.

Possible Nexus 5 WiFi bug solution

After literally hours of playing around with settings on the Nexus 5, a hard reset, and pulling out old WiFi access points to try I have managed to get my Nexus 5 working again and this is the solution that works for me…

Connect to the WiFi network and then go and ‘Modify Network’. Under the IP Settings I’ve switched to static and have specified an IP address and DNS server addresses. In both instances I’m using the same addresses that were being assigned through DHCP anyway.

Having done that my WiFi comes back to life. The only drawback so far is that I’ve had to do this with each WiFi network that I use. Switching back to DHCP breaks the connection again.

Give it a try and let me know if it solves your problem!

Posted in: Editorial, News, Phones
Tags: , ,
By November 8, 2013 Read More →

Google’s Android looks to be spreading faster than believed

mobile-makeover-android-dominanceAndroid fans already know that Google’s operating system quickly spread across the world, conquering everything in its path; however, this latest analysis suggests it spread even more quickly than we could have imagined as PhoneArena has recently pointed out. According to Horace Dediu, an Asymco analyst, it turns out that Android is the fastest growing technology product in history! The metric he used to determine this was a comparison of total adoption numbers across specific time-frames after an initial launch. Here are a few mobile stats to put it in perspective:

  • Symbian hit 450 million users in 44 quarters (11 years)
  • BlackBerry hit 225 million users in 43 quarters (about 11 years)
  • Windows Mobile hit 72 million in 30 quarters
  • Apple’s iOS hit 700 Million users in only 23 Quarters (almost 6 years)
  • Android hit 1 Billion users in only 20 quarters (5 years)

The pic above charts some other devices throughout the history of tech. It’s interesting to take a glance at the Android & iOS versus PC Sales. The huge spike is something the PC industry never had. Of course, it’s not a perfect apples to apples comparison, but it’s still worth noting. There’s one other thing worth noting in the infographic. Despite the massive acceleration of adoption, there are still quite a few people left in the world who still don’t have smartphones. In China we are only 34% into their total market, and even in the United States we are only a little over half way there.

Posted in: News, Phones, Tablets
Tags: ,