Archive for July, 2011

By July 16, 2011 Read More →

BlackBerry Bold 9900 hands on video

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Not many people have their hands on a BlackBerry Bold 9900 yet but we are lucky enough to now have one, we may in fact be the firs in the UK to have one in out possession. RIM’s new flagship device is due to launch worldwide in the very near future although the date is not certain as yet.

The 9900 is Research in Monitions first ‘Bold’ device to sport a capacitive touch screen and with it also being powered by a 1.2GHz processor (not the 1GHz I stupidly say in the video) this thing is a real beast. Running BlackBerry 7, the 9900 is the first of 7 BlackBerry smartphones to launch this year running this version of the OS.

With the 9900 being bigger than the last two Bolds it makes typing on its glorious keyboard even better.

We will have a full review coming soon but in the meantime you can check out our hands on video below:

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By July 15, 2011 Read More →

HTC are in Violation of Apple patents say ITC

Apple-v-HTCEarlier this week news broke that Apple were suing HTC again over alleged patent infringements. Apple approached the US International Trade Commission complaining that a number of HTC’s phones, including the EVO 4G and HTC Flyer used technology for which Apple owned the patent.

The gears turn quickly at the ITC it would seem as they have already ruled in favour of Apple. A judges initial determinations was that HTC are indeed infringing upon two of the ten patents that Apple filed a claim over. The ITC must now make a final ruling on the complaint but if they rule again in favour of Apple this could lead to a number of HTC’s handsets being banned from sale in the US.

HTC have already said they would appeal against the decision:

HTC will vigorously fight these two remaining patents through an appeal before the ITC commissioners who make the final decision," said Grace Lei, general counsel for HTC. "This is only one step of many in these legal proceedings.

If Apple are successful in this case it could have much further reaching consequences for manufacturers that use Android on their devices and indeed for the platform as a whole.

One of the complaints deals with the “ability to scroll, zoom, and rotate content on a screen, while the last references "portable computers."

We’ll watch this one closely!

 

Posted in: News
By July 15, 2011 Read More →

Acer announce the TravelMate 8481

TravelMate 8481I’m always on the road and rely upon having a notebook computer that’s always there when I need it and always ready for the job in hand. Over the years I’ve used dozens of different machines and few are up to a full days work. Acer think the have the solution with their TravelMate 8481, a machine they claim can keep on working for up to 9 hours straight.

Professionals spending most of their working life on the go need a notebook that is up to any challenge. A notebook capable of combining top performance with optimal security and extended battery life. Add to the mix a slim and light design and you have the TravelMate 8481, a true road warrior.

With the TravelMate 8481 there is no need to make compromises. First of all, it deliver all the power required for serious business on-the-go via the 2nd generation Intel Core processors that not only allows to run business productivity applications 60% faster than the previous generation, but it delivers smart performance that adapts to the task at hand, enabling more responsive multitasking while ensuring energy efficiency.

Furthermore, thanks to Intel HD Graphics 3000 the new model provides an impressive visual performance for sharper images and richer color. Using Intel® Wireless Display technology, it can share presentations or videos on HD displays or TVs via an easy to set up wireless connection. Smooth HD video playback and exceptionally clear image and sound will make any presentation really impressive.

Posted in: Press Releases
By July 15, 2011 Read More →

Orange Daily Mobile Internet Bundle for EU surfing

orange-logo Just last week the EU issued a directive telling mobile operators that they must reduce the cost of data for users roaming in Europe. Whether as a direct result of that directive or not Orange have today announced that they will have a new daily browsing bundle for Pay Monthly, Dongle and Small Business customers. The bundle will offer 30MB per day for £3, a significant saving over roaming without a bundle.

For those that need more than 30MB per day other options exist, details can be found below.

Good on ya Orange, expect to see other operators follow suit.

Posted in: Press Releases
By July 15, 2011 Read More →

New MacBook Air to get SSD and CPU boost

OK, so we expected the MacBook Air to go on sale after this weeks Apple Store outage and at the same time as Lion. Obviously that didn’t happen in the end and we’re still waiting for the release of OS X Lion but we’re pretty sure it’s imminent.

However, we’re still expecting to see new hardware from Apple soon and the clever money is on a MacBook Air and Mac Mini refresh. An inside source that suggests there will be a SSD and CPU boost for both the 11.6″ and 13.3″ Air models.

11.6in MacBook Airs will incorporate 128GB SSDs across the range and arrive with 4GB of memory as standard and there will be 1.6GHz Core i5-2467M, 1.7GHz Core i7-2637M and 1.8GHz Core i7-2677M processors models available.

The 13.3″ version already had a 128GB SSD but will also benefit from a RAM increase and other CPU options.

Both versions are likely to have Sandy Bridge and the new Thunderbolt port. I’d also expect to see similarly spec’ed Mac Mini’s launched on or around the same time.

Don’t expect to see anything until OS X Lion goes live as anything new is likely to ship with Lion pre-installed.

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: Rumours
By July 15, 2011 Read More →

Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast 127: Gobbledygook!

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With Gareth away Matt and James are free to ramble on uncontrollably about the ZTE Event from a few days ago where they saw a few lovely things including the ZTE Skate, ZTE Libra and ZTE Tureis. We’re talking about the changes to the Apple Store and price rises as well as the ongoing law suit between Apple and HTC.

There’s quite a bit going on this week, there’s no Gareth, there’s no script, it could all be chaos!

 

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Regulars – Gareth, James, Matt, and Tracy

Posted in: Podcast
By July 14, 2011 Read More →

Volume App Purchasing for Business from Apple

volume-apps Earlier today we reported that Apple had increased the standard pricing of apps on the App Store following their brief down time yesterday. If you missed it, many apps have increased in price by an average of about 15%.

However, if you run a business that uses or provides apps for employees then there is some good news. Today Apple announced their new Volume Purchasing for Business programme. Whether you are buying one or thousands of copies of an app there are discounts to be had.

At the moment, if you look at the details released by Apple, it quite specifically says: “Any business in the US can participate in the Volume Purchasing Program” but one would hope this will get extended to other countries in due course.

No exact date as to when the service will go live, simple “Coming Soon” but as always we’ll be keeping a close eye.

Buy apps in volume.

Streamline your purchasing process and put more power and productivity in the hands of your workforce. Every paid app in the App Store is available for businesses to buy in volume through the program website. Simply search for the apps you need, enter the quantity you want to buy, and complete the transaction with your corporate credit card. Apps are available for purchase at the same price listed in the App Store.

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By July 14, 2011 Read More →

TouchType Inc launches flagship Swiftkey X App for Android smartphones and tablets

touchtype Obviously predictive text entry is nothing new, been around for ages and although it has evolved a bit over the years the same frustrations still exist, the default predicted word is all too often the wrong one!

The Swiftkey X app from TouchType is a bit different. The next step of the evolutionary step in predictive text, artificial intelligence and machine learning. It gets to know your habits and how you enter text in order to improve accuracy. TouchType say this increases text entry speed by up to 50%

Check out the full press release below or head over to the website.

 

Posted in: Press Releases
By July 14, 2011 Read More →

ZTE signs agreement with Brightpoint for UK distribution

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Matt posted earlier the details of the three new ZTE phones we got to have a play with at last nights London event. The main purpose of the event though was to announce the partnership ZTE now have with Brightpoint for UK distribution. This will mean that instead of just having carrier branded devices here, like we have seen with last years Orange San Francisco, you will soon be able to buy ZTE branded phones through the normal sim free retailers and high street shops.

ZTE certainly offer value for money and we have seen that with recent devices. Could the company follow in the footsteps of HTC and soon be one of the most common brands in the industry? I don’t see why not. They expect to sell more than 80 million handsets this year!

You can read the full press release below:

Posted in: Press Releases
By July 14, 2011 Read More →

ZTE event, new phones fondled

ZTE-ice Last night James and I attended an event with ZTE where we had a chance to get our hands on several new ZTE phones. The ZTE Skate, ZTE Libra and ZTE Tureis were all on show at the event at the Ice Bar in central London.

At the event ZTE also announced a distribution partnership with Brightpoint UK.

The three phones are set to go on sale, SIM-free, here in the UK sometime next month. Interestingly the ZTE Skate is getting a CPU specification bump for the UK market, rather than the ‘standard’ 800MHz CPU that you’ll find listed in many specification tables the Skate will ship here with a 1GHz CPU which to my mind makes it a much more viable proposition.

Images and a few details of each handset can be found below.

 

Posted in: News
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