Gareth and James go one on one this week as Matt and Tracy are away frolicking in Florida. With little in the way of mobile news but a load of tablet updates Gareth and James share some views on the Motorola Xoom and the HTC Flyer.
Direct Download
iTunes
Download the iPhone App
Download the Android App
RSS Feed
If you are looking for a top of the range Android device but are not willing to shell out between £400 – £500 for the latest models it may be worth considering the good old Samsung Google Nexus S from Clove.
You may be thinking that that is an expensive phone and you would be right. However there are two versions of the handset. The Nexus S with the S-AMOLED screen is priced at £430.80, but Samsung also produced the device with a S-LCD screen and that one is only £318.00 incl VAT.
Many people will say that the Super AMOLED screen is better and it may well be, but is it worth the extra £112.00? I don’t think so. The S-LCD is still excellent.
Why not head on over to Clove and snap yourself up a bargain.
Posted by: James
Customers in parts of London, Kent and Sussex left with limited access to their mobile services
O2 customers in parts of East London, North London, Kent and East Sussex are experiencing problems making or receiving calls, texts or data after theft and vandalism at one of its operations sites in East London damaged the network.
O2 said it discovered the problem in the early hours of this morning and that and had made the site secure and informed the police.
Its engineers are on site now working to replace the stolen equipment and repair the vandalism, and said it expected its network to be fully operational by some point today.
The operator said it was a well organised theft which targeted the operations site and added it has extensive continuity plans which it is bringing into effect now but that the nature of this theft has prevented it from restoring service immediately.
Posted by: James
Equinux, developer of iPad, iPhone and Mac solutions, announces a new update for its mobile TV device, the tizi. The new tizi.tv 1.3 enables users to find local TV stations up to four times faster than before. It can now also store multiple channel lists, which can be accessed from various devices, eliminating the need for re-tuning. Additionally, a new in car mode automatically turns the tizi on as soon as it is connected to a USB source. The tizi.tv 1.3 update is available now for free download from the App Store.
Tizi.tv 1.3 is able to find stations four times faster through geo-matching to pin point a user’s location. By storing multiple channel lists directly on the tizi, users only need to tune the device once per location, so they can re-visit an area without having to re-tune their tizi. The stored channel lists can be accessed by various devices, whether connecting to an iPad, iPhone, iPod or Mac. Tizi.1.3 has been optimised for the iPad 2 to provide users with a better image quality. Additionally iPad 2 users can take advantage of the new VGA/HDMI-Adaptor to connect their devices to projectors, monitors or TV sets turning any screen they come across into a digital television (DTT).
Following feedback from tizi users, equinux has made several changes to the device with a new firmware 3.0 update. The tizi now has an auto-stop recording function, meaning it will stop recording as soon as a TV show is over. A new sleep function will automatically turn tizi off at the end of the current TV show or after a specified amount of time. Additionally, the tizi.tv user interface has been refined, the volume control is now available on-screen, Superzoom in portrait mode will automatically change and stronger password protection has been added.
Price and availability
The tizi.tv 1.3 and firmware 3.0 updates are available now from the App Store for free. tizi users can also download the Mac software, The Tube, from the tizi.tv website for free. tizi is available for £149.95 through Apple Resellers and at www.tizi.tv.
Posted by: James
With RIM having a huge chunk of the corporate market when it comes to BlackBerry Smartphones I am rather pleased with how the PlayBook can be used as a business tool. Over the years I have used many different mobile platforms and on several of them if you want to create a word or excel document you need to pay for an application to do so. Luckily the BlackBerry PlayBook comes pre loaded with applications that will mimic Word, Excel and PowerPoint to allow you to create and share business documents when out of the office.
As you will see in the video the apps are easy to use and will be perfect for those times when you wish you could create a document but have no access to a PC or Mac.
It is still early days for the BlackBerry PlayBook but I am encouraged by what I have seen so far and I will be using the PlayBook as a business tool for sure.
See the video below:
At last it looks like we have some pricing and a release date for the BlackBerry PlayBook here in the UK. Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy will be stocking RIM’s first tablet which they say will be in store on June 16th,
Pricing is pretty much as I expected with the 16GB at from £399; a 32 GB model will be available from £479; and a 64 GB model will be available from £559.
You can see the full press release below:
Here at tracyandmatt.co.uk we like to review interesting products and this one that I’ve been given for review is no different, here I have the new product from gear4 the UnityRemote. It is a very clever attempt at a universal remote and I have been putting it through its paces for over a week now.
Question is, is it good enough to be top of the universal remote market or is it just an expensive product that will end up at the back of shelves?
To find out, read on for the full review.
We mentioned earlier about the Samsung Galaxy S getting a Gingerbread update later this month. Good news also for HTC owners. If you are lucky enough to own an unbranded HTC Desire HD or Incredible S you will be pleased to know that the 2.3 Gingerbread update is happening now in the UK.
If you have not yet had a notification then jump into your settings and go to System Software Updates to manually check for the update.
My HTC Incredible S is updating as I write this.
Posted by: James
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in Android mobile devices, today announced the availability of upgrades to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) beginning with the Samsung Galaxy S.
Samsung is currently working on Gingerbread software upgrades for Galaxy Tab as well as other members of the Samsung Galaxy family. The new Samsung Galaxy S II is already available on Gingerbread.
The Galaxy S is an intelligently designed smart device with a 1 GHz application processor, giving users an intuitive, immersive and integrated mobile experience. The upgrade from Froyo (2.2) to Gingerbread (2.3) will fine tune the smart device even further offering:
· Faster Performance – Multimedia content now has a lower CPU consumption rate, while support for more powerful 3D Graphics enables an enhanced mobile gaming experience
· Upgraded Usability – The user interface has been improved, enabling faster access and control and a more intuitive user experience. Users will also benefit from improved copy-and-paste functionality
The upgrade path will begin with Galaxy S in the UK from late May. The availability of the software upgrade will be dependent upon each network’s own software approvals process. The upgrade will be available via Kies, Samsung’s device management software. Kies can be downloaded from Samsung’s corporate website (http://www.samsung.com)
Posted by: James
Yep, it looks like big change is happening in the Nokia camp. The Finnish company have decided to replace the brand Ovi with Nokia Services instead.
Nokia’s EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Jerri DeVard explains the shift:
“We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia. By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture – while continuing to deliver compelling opportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike.”“The reasons for this decision includes the fact that Nokia is a well-known and highly-loved brand the world over. Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices – there is no longer a differentiation. For example, if consumers want the best mobile navigation experience, they know it’s a Nokia that they can rely on. These last few years, and moving forward, our mission remains unchanged: we will continue our work to deliver compelling, unified mobile service offerings and next-generation, disruptive technologies.”
Nokia plan to start the transition in July this year with a view to re branding to be complete by the end of 2012.
Posted by: James
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.