Archive for 2011

Huawei MediaPad to launch June 20th

We mentioned a short while ago that Huawei are launching their new tablet, the MediaPad, at an event soon in Singapore. The time and date is now confirmed and it will be on Monday June 20th at 10.00 am GMT.

Huawei Device executives will reveal MediaPad’s technical specs and provide demonstrations during the launch. They will also introduce Huawei Device’s cloud solution which helps operators and industry customers develop business and attract end users. 

Now clearly I am not in Singapore but fear not as I have been invited to view the event via a live webcast so we can at least bring you the news as soon as possible.

So check back with us after 10.00 am on Monday for some fresh tablet news.

Posted by: James

HTC will update the Desire to Gingerbread after all

After the recent decision that HTC made to not update the HTC Desire to Android 2.3 Gingerbread they have changed their minds! In a short statement they said:

“Contrary to what we said earlier we are going to bring Gingerbread to HTC Desire.”

One can only presume this turnaround was due to uproar from the tens of thousands of current HTC Desire owners out there.

Power to the people!

Posted by: James

Motorola Pro coming to the UK

The chaps at Clove posted interesting Motorola news on their blog today. It would appear that the recently leaked  Motorola Droid/Milestone 3 will not see a UK release. Of course, these things are open to change, but the message that we are receiving at the moment is that it will not be launched in the UK. As of yet we have not heard a reason for this decision, but perhaps UK sales of the Milestone 2 were not as high as Motorola expected. We heard yesterday that the HTC Desire Z has been discontinued, so perhaps the Android QWERTY slider form factor just hasn’t been that popular in the UK.

There is some good news though and that is that the Motorola Pro is heading for the UK and you can pre-order it now from the Clove website.

You can see the features and specs of the Motorola Pro below and if you fancy placing an order the link is at the end of the news post.

The Motorola Pro is an Android business phone that offers a unique form factor. Its candy bar design will be tempting to not only the business user, but anyone who sends a lot of texts or emails.

While there are several Android handsets with a physical QWERTY keyboard, there are not so many that have a portrait set of keys on the front of the device The portrait QWERTY keyboard has been popularised by BlackBerry handsets and is loved by both business and social users. Take the popularity of this form factor and add the Android OS to it and you’ve got the great looking device that is the Motorola Pro.

BlackBerry PlayBook goes on sale in the UK

If you have been waiting to get a BlackBerry PlayBook then today may be your lucky day. RIM’s first tablet goes on sale today exclusively at The Carphone Warehouse within Selfridges in London. If you cant get there then fear not as tomorrow the PlayBook will be available at all Carphone Warehouse, Best Buys, Dixons and Currys.

If you have not seen our review of the BlackBerry PlayBook you can do so here or alternatively the ten second review is below:

The ten second review:

Device: BlackBerry PlayBook

Price: From £399.00

Summary: A pocketable powerhouse. Still needs some extra software but overall a great 7 inch tablet.

Best of: HD Video, Browser, BlackBerry Bridge

Worst of: No native email client, not great for non BlackBerry users.

Buy it now: On sale from June 16th in the UK

Posted by: James

Android Gingerbread not coming to the HTC Desire

The title says it all, folks. For the thousands upon thousands of HTC Desire owners, the dream of 2.3 Gingerbread hitting their phone will have to continue to be just that. The HTC Desire was one of the most popular phones for HTC, and played an important role in really driving Android devices into the hands of general consumers. Not even 18 months old, HTC are already closing production of the Desire hardware. Now, software development has ceased too; Desires will have to stay on Froyo. Unless you want to explore the unofficial channels and flash a custom rom. Here is HTC’s excuse official statement:

Our engineering teams have been working hard for the past few months to find a way to bring Gingerbread to the HTC Desire without compromising the HTC Sense experience you’ve come to expect from our phones. However, we’re sorry to announce that we’ve been forced to accept there isn’t enough memory to allow us both to bring Gingerbread and keep the HTC Sense experience on the HTC Desire. We’re sincerely sorry for the disappointment that this news may bring to some of you.

Whether I believe them is questionable – after all, the Wildfire S for example, gets along with a slower processor, same amount of ROM, and less RAM, yet plenty of Gingerbread. Either way, at least HTC tried and perhaps it’s time to retire that Desire for something HTC thinks is a bit more sensational.

Post by: Vince