Archive for 2012

NFC powered Nokia Lumia 610 coming to Orange

The below video popped up today on Nokia’s YouTube channel. I’m not entirely sure it was meant to but it is done now. This new Lumia 610 variant will be the first Near Field Communication supported Windows Phone we will get here in the UK.

Contactless payment is far from mainstream but the NFC Lumia 610 will support both Visa and MasterCard payments in due course.

"Orange is committed to rolling out mobile NFC services in all its European territories and as part of this goal we’re very excited to be the first operator to launch the Lumia 610 NFC," said Yves Maitre, Senior VP Mobile Multimedia & Devices at Orange. "The Nokia Lumia smartphones have been very well received by Orange customers. We are now going one step further and adding an NFC-enabled handset to this popular range of devices, enabling people to use contactless services via a single tap. Nokia is a natural fit for us regarding NFC and, like Orange, has shown a very early commitment to the standard."

You can see the video below:

Toshiba have an exciting new line of tablets

We have some news from Toshiba this morning. The company officially launched their new Excite line of Android Tablets. Toshiba has taken things to a new level with the Excite, by heavily stepping up the specs, reducing the size and weight, and adding a unique new size category, the monstrous 13-inch tablet! For reference, there are several specs that all of these tablets have in common. Here is a list of all the specs that they all have, prices are only listed in dollars and then below that we have each individual tab with their differences:

• Fixed Back Covers with an Aluminium Surface and styling
• Dual Cameras – 2MP for the front and 5MP for the back that can handle 1080p HD video
• Tegra 3
• 1GB DDR3 Ram
• Gorilla Glass
• Stereo Speakers with SRS Surround
• WiFi
• Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich – Unskinned & Stock from Google
• BioManager Utility to improve battery life

RIM confirms side loading apps on the PlayBook will still be available

According to a report on DroidMatters, RIM wants to avoid, what it calls the "chaotic cesspool" of piracy on Android’s Google Play Store (quote from RIM.) They shall will be locking the BlackBerry PlayBook to keep users from being able to side-load Android apps. Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations at RIM, announced these plans on Twitter. Mr. Saunders claims, without citing sources, that over 25% of Android device apps are downloaded illegally. RIM plans to create the lock in a future update.
Things have developed now and Mr Saunders has confirmed what direction RIM are taking with side loading apps over on the BlackBerry developer blog.

We’re not getting rid of side-loading on the BlackBerry PlayBook OS or in BlackBerry 10.
Side-loading on our platform is changing in nature. Side-loading is a developer feature. It exists so that developers can load their apps onto their own devices to test. It’s there so developers can send a beta release to their testing community for review. It is definitely not there for some people to side load a pirated app.

What are we doing?
Starting with our next release of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS, we’re introducing a feature that will encrypt apps so they can only be run by the user who purchased the app.

What’s next?
We’re working with you, our developer community, to ensure you can still quickly and easily test your apps on real hardware. That’s one of the reasons we’re kicking off BlackBerry 10 Jam by giving each developer attendee a prototype device to start building on. I’ll be on-hand at the show to answer your questions – look forward to seeing you there.

Let’s Jam.

@asaunders

While it can be argued that there are some piracy issues with Android, the Google Play Store can hardly be called a "chaotic cesspool" by any means.

Posted by: Gareth

Angry Birds Space now available for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Attention PlayBook users. Fear not, Angry Birds Space has arrived. The latest addition that has been so popular on iOS and Android is now available to download. Priced at £5 for us UK users (yes we get ripped off again) the game offers hour upon hour of fun including the following features:

• 60 interstellar levels!
• Regular free updates!
• Brand new birds!
• Brand new superpowers!
• Zero-gravity space adventures!
• Trick shots using planets’ gravity!
• Hidden bonus levels!
• Beautifully detailed backgrounds! 

Posted by: James

Lenovo take us on a tour of the IdeaTab

Lenovo has officially released details on their newest IdeaTab Android tablet: The S2109. You can see the new device in the video below, and it has the following specs:

• 9.7" 4:3 IPS display
• TI OMAP chip
• A microSD slot
• Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich
• Unibody 8.9mm thin shell with gunmetal finish
• 1.3 Megapixel front camera
• SRS Trumedia
• Quad speakers for stronger bass
• Micro-HDMI
• Micro-USB
• 10 hour battery
• 1GB of RAM

They still haven’t released details on pricing or availability, but we will keep you apprised as we find out more. Check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=__5DlnyEsy4&noredirect=1

Posted by: Gareth

Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion

Instagram’s army of users aren’t the only ones who see value in the popular Instagram app for iOS and Android; Mark Zuckerberg has aptly taken to Facebook to announce Facebook’s purchase of the app. While there are only 6 employees, they’ll be transferring to Facebook for cash and shares in Facebook to the tune of a cool one billion US dollars.

For avid users of Instagram, there’s nothing to worry about just yet – Kevin Systrom, current CEO of Instagram, has said that Facebook will not be the only network to share your photos to. What is likely to happen is for Instagram to integrate to Facebook much more tightly, which sounds good for Facebook users. After hitting 30 million users, Instagram’s growth is only going to get bigger under Facebook’s wing, so whether you love or hate it, chances are you’ll be seeing more Instagrammed photos in your newsfeed.

Post by: Vince