Author Archive: Gareth

Seasoned tech blogger. Host of the Tech Addicts podcast.

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By November 21, 2013 Read More →

A new HTC One could be on the way

htc-m8One of the tech world’s most reliable leak sources, @evleaks, suggests that there could be a successor to the very popular HTC One early next year. Apparently, it will also be running Android 4.4 KitKat when it launches.

Other rumours suggest the new phone will come with 3GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display, Boomsound speakers, and the seemingly omnipresent Snapdragon 800. It’s also expected to maintain the One’s signature metal casing.

Other suggestions are that this will be called the HTC Two? But personally think something along the lines of HTC One Pro is more likely.

Posted in: News, Phones, Rumours
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By November 21, 2013 Read More →

Moga gets a grip on gaming on the iPhone

moga-ace-power,Q-U-410502-22PowerA officially introduced  a new Moga controller on Wednesday, built for the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5 and fifth generation iPod Touch running iOS 7. The Moga Ace Power game peripheral is available now for $99.99 at Apple Retail Stores, from the Apple Online Store, or at the official Moga website shipping worldwide.

The controller connects to the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch via the Lightning connector. As the images show, on the left side iOS gamers will find the L1/R1 buttons on the shoulder, an analog stick on the top portion, a directional button below that, pause and select buttons, and a switch for turning on the peripheral. On the right are the L2/R2 buttons on the shoulder, the typical XYAB action button setup, and a second analog stick below those.

The Ace Power also has a built-in 1800 mAh battery and Moga Boost technology for charging the phone or iPod Touch during gameplay. “With the new Made for iPhone controller framework built into iOS 7, Moga anticipates a flood of game developers to take advantage of controller support,” the press release adds. “Mobile versions of traditional game genres such as first-person shooters, action, arcade, family, and sports/racing games will now be played with console-style controls.”

Posted in: Apps & Games, News, Phones
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By November 20, 2013 Read More →

Nintendo developing an educational tablet

angry_birds_game_and_watchWhen you think of educational instruments you rarely thin of Nintendo however, Nintendo of America software engineer Nando Monterazo has been tweeting in regard to Nintendo is experimenting with a tablet running Android. Over the years there has been much speculation that Nintendo might bring Mario or Link to a mobile platform however it does not seem like this will be happening anytime soon in a traditional sense as this tablet is meant for schools. 

From the sounds of it Nintendo is considering using its most well-known and loved gaming characters in a new range of educational titles. Those titles may even be linked to a single, Nintendo-branded tablet that’s not offered to consumers, just schools. Monterazo also said Android is being used just for the experiment and if a final tablet were manufactured it could run a “Unix environment.”

Posted in: News, Tablets
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By November 20, 2013 Read More →

Google to release Nexus wireless charger in UK

Nexus-wireless-charger-640x318If you have a Nexus 4, 5 or or the Nexus 7 tablet you are going to be wanting one of these. A Nexus Wireless charger. Appearing just in time for the holiday rush this would be almost the perfect present for a Nexus user. The charger has already been launched in the US at $50, however, here in the UK we have merely have a “coming soon” listed.

This will undoubtedly be a big hit for those in the Nexus fanclub. This isn’t the only option for wireless charging the Nexus devices, as they use a Qi standard, there are cheaper alternatives out there. The purists out there will have to pick one there up though as this one comes with Nexus branding.

With the Nexus Wireless Charger, your new Nexus 7 becomes the first truly wireless tablet. No more messing with wires, cords and plugs – your tablet just snaps into place on the magnetic face and begins charging. The Nexus Wireless Charger adheres securely to any surface – like your desk, counter top or nightstand – so the convenience of grab-and-go charging is always within easy reach.

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By November 20, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy Gear shipping higher amounts than anticipated

Galaxy-Gear-006-Set1-Front_SixDespite critical reviews and an unappealing price-tag, it appears that Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch is turning out to be a solid success. According to a couple of reports, Samsung has shipped using freight forwarders around 800,000 units to retailers world-wide. Additionally, 50,000 units have already been actually sold to customers in South Korea alone. This has far surpassed Samsung’s own initial expectations. These numbers also put it far ahead of competing devices from both Pebble and Sony.

Samsung issued a statement regarding the surprise success of the device, “It’s the most sold wearable watch available in the market place…and we plan to expand its availability by expanding mobile devices that work with the Gear.”

One of the reasons for the increased success of the device can mainly be attributed to incentive programs to help push the device out the door. This includes bundling it with the Galaxy Note III, and there were even UK carriers currently offering it for free if customers purchase the Note III on a two-year contract.

Of course, there have also been reports that up to 30% of consumers in the U.S. have returned the device, which does not bode well for its future sales. It will be interesting to see how the sell-through numbers match up with the shipping to retail numbers when everything is finally tallied. Regardless, shipping out 800,000 units to retailers in only 2 months is nothing to sniff at.

Posted in: News, Phones
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By November 19, 2013 Read More →

Introducing the Porsche Design P’9982 Smartphone from BlackBerry

blackberry-porsche-design-p9982Blackberry are at it again, letting Porsche design a new premium handset. The previous Porsche design met with mixed feedback, as will this one. However, the styling looks a little more subdued this time around.

The P’9982 features a customised version of the BlackBerry 10.2 Operating System touted to give the ultimate personal experience for a Blackberry user.

  • The Porsche Design P’9982 smartphone from BlackBerry will be available from Porsche Design stores, select carriers and retailers around the world beginning on November 21 with the exclusive retail launch at Harrods, Knightsbridge, London.
  • It will also be available from Carphone Warehouse and Selfridges.
  • The limited Crocodile edition will be available beginning early December, and will be exclusive to the Porsche Design shop-in-shop at Harrods.

Here is the Porsche Design P’9982 Smartphone Press Release:

Introducing the Porsche Design P’9982 Smartphone from BlackBerry

Productivity Designed for you

Stuttgart/London. Porsche Design and BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) today announced the elite, new, all-touch Porsche Design P’9982 Smartphone from BlackBerry and a second Crocodile model strictly limited to just 500 devices worldwide. Uniquely designed and expertly crafted, the P’9982 is exquisitely fashioned from high-quality materials and features a customised version of the BlackBerry 10.2 Operating System to give you the ultimate personal experience.

The P’9982, which extends the Porsche Design luxury brand’s range of modern luxury smartphones, features a satin finished frame forged from the finest quality stainless steel, complemented by a hand-wrapped genuine Italian leather back door. The back door of the limited edition model is hand-wrapped in genuine Crocodile leather. Distinguishable by its special series of PIN numbers, owners of the P’9982 will be instantly recognisable in the exclusive world of Porsche Design smartphone owners. The smartphone carries Porsche Design’s luxurious, iconic styling uniquely through the BlackBerry 10 experience to give you an exquisite handset purposely built to excel at mobile communications, messaging and productivity.

“Engineered Luxury meets Powered Performance – what has been true for the first Porsche Design smartphone is even truer for the all-touch P’9882,” says Juergen Gessler, CEO of the Porsche Design Group. “Once again the collaboration with BlackBerry has led to a device that implements our Iconic Style credo without compromises. With the P’9982 we extend our range of modern luxury smartphones and establish ourselves as a market leader in this segment.”

“The new all-touch P’9982 smartphone combines a unique design from an iconic brand with the power of BlackBerry 10,” said Alistair Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Design at BlackBerry. “Every aspect of this smartphone has been purposely designed and built for a powerful premium experience.”
The new P’9982 smartphone comes with a customised version of the powerful BlackBerry 10.2 OS, with key features such as:

  • BlackBerry® Priority Hub – BlackBerry® Hub is the one place to manage all your conversations and notifications. The new BlackBerry Priority Hub intelligently filters messages to give you instant access to the conversations and content most essential to you, helping you stay organized and focused on the most important tasks.
  • BlackBerry® Keyboard – The BlackBerry® Keyboard learns how you type, what words you use, and can correct your mistakes on-the-fly. It can also give you next-word suggestions that you can simply flick into your message, helping you type perfect text, every time.
  • BBM™ Video with Screen Share – BBM™ Video with Screen Share takes video chatting further by letting you simply swipe to share what’s on your display. With BlackBerry® Natural Sound your BBM Voice and Video calls will sound like you are in the same room.
  • Camera Time Shift mode and BlackBerry® Story Maker – The camera’s Time Shift mode starts capturing your picture before you even take it, giving you the power to pick the  perfect moment. BlackBerry Story Maker lets you take a collection of photos and videos, and add music and effects, to create an HD movie that you can instantly share.
  • BBM™ now in any app – BlackBerry 10 continues to refine the unique communications experience of the platform. If a BBM message arrives, you can instantly reply to the message without even leaving the app you’re in.
  • Apps for the Porsche Design customer – The BlackBerry® World™ storefront showcases essential apps for the P’9982 smartphone customer, including productivity apps, games, videos and music based on what apps you’ve downloaded. Get the best on BlackBerry World, uniquely suited to you.

Find your individual look with exclusive Porsche Design accessories that have been specially selected to perfectly complement your new P’9982 smartphone. Inbox, you’ll find everything you need including the premium stereo headset, a polishing cloth, USB cable for high-speed data transfer and an international charging kit. The P’9982 smartphone also offers exclusive after market accessories including handcrafted backdoors made from fine Italian leather that are available in three colours, so you can choose a look to express your individuality.
The Porsche Design P’9982 smartphone from BlackBerry will be available from Porsche Design stores, select carriers and retailers around the world beginning on November 21 with the exclusive retail launch at Harrods, Knightsbridge, London. In the UK, it will also be available from Carphone Warehouse and Selfridges. The limited Crocodile edition will be available beginning early December, and will be exclusive to the Porsche Design shop-in-shop at Harrods.

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By November 19, 2013 Read More →

Is LG making the next Nexus 10?

LG-Google-Nexus-10-leakHere is a rumour for you. We still don’t have any confirmation that LG will be the next maker of the Nexus 10 Android tablet. Furthermore, these pics could have been easily faked. Despite our reservations, we wanted to share the these supposedly leaked pics of an LG made Google Nexus 10 tablet.

Along with the leaked pics there are also some other tidbits. First, we can obviously make out a price in the pic on the left. Additionally, this report suggests we will actually see this device launch on November 22nd, which is this Friday. Brace yourself!

Posted in: News, Rumours, Tablets
By November 18, 2013 Read More →

YotaPhone incoming

yotaphone,4-K-409700-22A phone is coming from Russian company Yota Devices. Though its tech specs are not all that special, the YotaPhone is special in that it has a display on both the front and back of the device. The rear-facing panel is a 4.3-inch 360 x 640 EPD 16 grayscale e-ink display with a capacitive touch area underneath the display. On the front, you have a more traditional 4.3-inch 720 x 1280 capacitive multitouch LCD. The rear display functions as a notification screen and displays other information such as the time and date. It’s always on, even if your battery is dead.

YotaPhone is based on a dual-core 1.7 GHz CPU and 2 GB of RAM and features 32 GB of storage, support for WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS, a 13-megapixel camera in the back, a 1-megapixel camera in the front, and an 1800 mAh battery. It runs on Android Jelly Bean v4.2.2. No word on pricing just yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

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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
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By November 17, 2013 Read More →

ASUS to release its first Chromebooks in early 2014

Asus chromeboxIn a conference call to investors, Asustek CEO Jerry Shen announced that two new Chromebook products will ship worldwide towards the end of Q1 (spanning January through March) next year. Rumours and industry reports have long hinted that the Taiwanese PC maker would expand into more computing areas, such as Chromebooks and smartphones, as a way to offset a sharp decline in its traditional Windows-based PC business.

According to The Taipei Times, the company’s first set of Chromebooks will consist of a 11.6″ model priced at US$199 and a larger 13.3″ version set to retail for US$249. Recently developers have unearthed mysterious Tegra 4 and Baytrail-powered device references buried deep within the Chromium code. Could these be linked?

There was no mention of the Asus Chromebox that had some interest earlier this year. Perhaps, if Asus manage some success with their Chromebook we will see more happening.

Posted in: Laptops, News
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