Tag: Android

By November 20, 2013 Read More →

HTC Desire 500 hands-on in White

htc-desire-500-white-blueBack in September of this year, HTC launched a new Android smartphone under the much-used Desire name, the HTC Desire 500.

This new phone featured much of the software improvements from the popular HTC One but in a somewhat more affordable package.

When the Desire 500 first went on sale the all-black version was the first to land and we had an early hands-on with that model. Since then two further versions have become available; White with blue-trim and white with red-trim.

These are essentially the same hardware spec but it’s surprising just how different the phone can appear from a simple colour change. We wouldn’t normally return to a device just because of a colour change but as the Desire 500 has just had an Android update and has been so popular on PAYG tariffs we thought it was worth another look.

In the video below, Gareth takes a brief break from his painting-by-numbers to have a closer look at the HTC Desire 500 in white clothing. The phone, not Gareth in white clothing…

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
Tags: , ,
By November 19, 2013 Read More →

Sony Xperia Z1 Review

Sony Xperia Z1 ReviewSony have have been releasing some excellent phones recently that are capable of competing with the the best in the market. The Xperia Z1 in this review has a specification sheet that has everything that one could ask for and uses all of the latest internal hardware.

Can it bring everything together to create excellent device?

To find out please read on, but not before watching the Sony Xperia Z1 unboxing and initial impressions video from Matt,if you have not already done so.

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
Tags: , , , ,
By November 18, 2013 Read More →

How many are still using BBM for Android and iOS?

bbmiconAfter the initial surge of downloads of BBM, apparently hitting 10 million downloads within the first 24 hours after launch, how many are still using it almost 4 weeks later?

We’ve already seen the BBM app drop in the iTunes and Play Store charts and at the time of writing it’s well outside of the top 50. Was the initial surge something of curiosity or nostalgia among those users that used to have BlackBerry’s and have now migrated to other devices/platforms?

Many users that I know and support did indeed download and try BBM on their iPhone’s and Android smartphones but have since abandoned BBM again in favour of iMessage, Hangouts and WhatsApp, where they already have their contacts set up.

Looking at the latest download charts for the week, we can see that WhatsApp downloads, for example, are back to being ahead of BBM once again.

Personally, I was one of the 10 million to download BBM within the first 24 hours. I like the BBM interface and it works well but the fact remains that only a handful of my contacts (5) are using BBM vs a hundred or so on iMessage and Hangouts, for example. I’m sure I cant be the only person with this experience…

Not that I was expecting an answer, but I emailed BlackBerry to ask what the user retention of BBM has been. I have not yet received a response.

So what’s the consensus? Are you an iOS or Android user and are you using BBM?

Posted in: Editorial, News, Phones
Tags: , , ,
By November 18, 2013 Read More →

Android gaming update 18-11-13

king-of-fighters-97-android-game-1Here is a look at what’s new in the Play store this week for your gaming needs. Quite a diverse collection with a couple that might be destined to be classics.

King of Fighters ’97 is the second time the classic fighting franchise from the beloved NeoGeo has appeared on Android. has players picking their favorite team of characters including some hidden ones and battling it out with other teams. Depending on the team you finish the game with, you’ll get a different ending each time so there is plenty of replay value in just that fact alone. While the game does feature all of the original content from the original game, there are also a few new additions as well which SNK Playmore likes to do with all their mobile releases.

Features:

  • 35 playable characters: Play as SNK’s iconic fighters such as Kyo Kusanagi and Terry Bogard, and try to master the infamous “New Face Team” or the “KOF ’97 Special Team”! The NEO GEO version’s hidden characters are now available directly on the character select screen so you can easily crush your opponent using Orochi Iori or Orochi Leona! Experience for the first time in the series the “Affinity System”, and to select the members of your team according to their affinity, and enjoy their pre-match interactions!
  • 2 modes to improve the game’s depth: KOF ’97 uses 2 differents gameplay modes: EXTRA and ADVANCED! Master the system that fits you the best and burn your rivals down!
    ADVANCED MODE: Various jumps for different ways to bring the pain to your enemy! A must if you think offense is the best defense. You can stock your Power gauges to enter in MAX mode or to unleash deadly Desperation Moves. Depending on your characters’ affinity, get extra Power gauges even after losing a round!
    EXTRA MODE: Use the Evade move wisely as you are being rushed and send your opponent flying. Fill your Power gauge to automatically enter Power Max mode for a set amount of time. As you are close to exhaustion, your health bar will turn red and blink, then you will be able to unleash your Desperation Moves to your heart’s content, as long as you are the last one standing!
  • A NEOGEO Perfect Port with added features: You have the possibility to play the game as it was intended back in the days with 4 buttons, or you can enjoy the new control scheme using the 6 buttons settings and the simplified special move with the help of the SP button!
  • Fight against your friends through Bluetooth Multiplayer mode

King of Fighters ’97 is available from Google Play for £2.49

Posted in: Apps & Games
Tags: ,
By November 16, 2013 Read More →

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 review and unboxing

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 reviewLenovo have several Android tablets on the market at the moment and we recently looked at the IdeaTab A3000.

A couple of weeks ago Lenovo announced two new Android tablets to join their lineup, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 and Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10. The two tablets are identical aside from the size with 8 and 10-inch displays respectively. Ours will be a Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 review.

These new Yoga tablets are a little different to the normal slab-style device that everyone else is bringing out at the moment and clearly some thought has gone in to the design. The most striking thing about them is the large bulge on the bottom of an otherwise slim form tablet. That bulge houses a large 9000mAh battery and also neatly hides a kick-stand that allows the tablet to either stand virtually upright or, if you lay it down, angle the screen towards the user at a convenient desk-viewing angle.

Both the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 and Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 have a premium aluminium construction that makes then feel far more sturdy than many of the all-plastic alternatives out there and Lenovo have managed to achieve this without the tablet looking or feeling too industrial.

Check out the unboxing video below to see the design and that unique stand in a little more detail.

Her’s just a short Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 review for now. I wanted to get my initial impressions up alongside the video before I go in to a lot more detail later.

Lenovo say that the Yoga 10 is capable of up to 18 hours of web browsing on just one charge. While I’m not about to sit here and browse the web for 18 hours straight, I can tell you that the battery life seems to be really very good. Out of the box the Yoga had around 40% charge and I’ve been using it all day for the video and putting the review together and it’s still going strong.

Another good thing with the Yoga 10 is that there’s a pair of speakers for stereo audio playback. The speakers are sensibly placed to face forward when you are in landscape mode, ideal for watching video. The speakers may not be that large and certainly there’s not much low-end but in terms of sheer volume it does rather well. There’s also Dolby Digital Plus built in to help the audio along a bit.

Screen-wise the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 is OK. It’s not going to win any prizes but there are worse screens out there. 1280 x 800 pixels isn’t exactly watch you’d call dense these days but that said it’s a bright IPS display that’s pretty clear.

My final word for now is going to be on performance. Once again the 1.2GHz quad-core A7 chip isn’t exactly going to break any speed records but as you may be able to gather from the benchmark in the video, the Yoga 10 doesn’t disgrace itself either. In real-world use it’s fairly responsive and for the tasks I’d be performing regularly, such as web browsing, Hangouts and the like it does just fine and in terms of the few games I play on Android, it runs those without a hitch.

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 review image gallery

 Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 review specification:

  • 2G Network: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
  • 3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100
  • Micro-SIM
  • Dimensions: 261 x 180 x 8.1 mm (10.28 x 7.09 x 0.32 in)
  • Weight: 605 g (Wi-Fi) / 610 g (3G) (1.34 lb)
  • Built-in 3-stage kickstand
  • Display: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours, 1280 x 800 pixels, 10.1 inches (~149 ppi pixel density)
  • Sound Alert types Vibration, Polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
  • Built-in stereo speakers
  • 3.5mm jack
  • Dolby Digital Plus sound enhancement
  • Memory Card slot microSD, up to 64 GB
  • Internal 16/32 GB
  • 1 GB RAM
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth  v4.0
  • microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go
  • Primary Camera: 5 MP, 2592х1936 pixels
  • Secondary Camera: 1.6 MP
  • OS: Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
  • CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
  • Accelerometer
  • Compass
  • GPS with A-GPS support
  • Battery Non-removable Li-Ion 9000 mAh battery
Posted in: Reviews, Tablets, Videos/Unboxings
Tags: , , ,
By November 13, 2013 Read More →

Motorola Moto G – Quad-core power, budget price

motogMotorola’s newest Android handset, the Moto G is officially announced today and Motorola are hoping to shake things up a bit with this new model.

The Moto G will pack in a 1.2GHx quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 8 or 16Gb of storage, 5MP camera and 4.5 inch 720×1280 pixel display. Furthermore, the Moto G will ship with Android 4.3 with a promised update to 4.4 KitKat coming soon too.

Whilst these may not be the pinnacle of smartphone specs the price may surprise you. O2 have already come out to announce that the Moto G will be available on their network for just £129.99 on Pay & Go, which seems excellent value.

We’ll be looking to get our hands on one soon and will report back when we do.

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 9, 2013 Read More →

Panasonic PRX-120 unboxing

Panasonic PRX-120Android has long been used on smartphones and tablets but what about home, fixed-line phones? Here we have the Panasonic PRX-120, a home phone system where the handset is running Android 4.1.

It’s perhaps a little surprising that there aren’t more phone systems that run on Android. With the PRX-120 we have a base unit that plugs in to your phone line and a Android handset that looks like a standard smartphone from about 2 years ago.

One of the benefits of this phone, other than being able to run standard android apps, is that you can receive your fixed-line phone calls as well as being able to use Skype over WiFi from the same phone.

In almost every other way the PRX120 is just like a regular smartphone and while it may not have cutting edge specs relative to an equivalent smartphone, it can perform most functions, although I’m not sure how useful the GPS will be unless you have a REALLY big house!

Here’s a quick unboxing of the Panasonic PRX-120 so that you can see what it’s all about.

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
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: ,
By November 6, 2013 Read More →

Will we see the Samsung Galaxy Note 13.3?

Samsung Galaxy Note 13.3No, this isn’t a duplicate post, Samsung is working on a 12.2-Inch Galaxy Note tablet. However, that is not the only giant Android tablet they are working on. Supposedly, Samsung is also developing a 13.3-inch Android tablet to launch later next year.

It looks like Samsung believes 2014 will be the year of the tablets. Not only are they throwing out a ton of new tablet devices, they have upped their estimated tablet sales projections to a whopping 42 million. Of course, this will be for all of their tablets which will range in size a great deal. If this newest rumour is true we will have a wide range if new Samsung tablets: 7-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch and 13-inch. We will know something more concrete in January at CES.

Posted in: Rumours, Tablets
Tags: , , , ,
https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/surgical-face-masks