Author Archive: James Richardson

Smartphone addiction taking over

More than a third of British adults who own a smartphone have admitted they are "highly addicted" to it and cannot bear to put it down, not even in the toilet.

Research for the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has found new evidence of how devices such as iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids affect our behaviour.

Smartphone users are more likely to have their phones switched on 24 hours a day and would wake up in the night to answer or use it.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have also lead to owners cutting down on their TV viewing and reading.

Six out of 10 smartphone users aged 12 to 15-years-old, or 60%, said they had a high level of addiction, compared to 33% with a regular mobile phone.

The Ofcom communications market report for 2011 says 18% of users will use their device in a theatre or cinema despite knowing it should be switched off – this compares to 10% of other mobile phone users. Facebook is taking up people’s time during the day.

The report also found evidence of smartphones blurring the divide between work and holidays with 30% regularly taking personal calls during working hours.

And using an iPhone or Blackberry at a social event or in the bathroom is also common. Almost half (47%) of teengers with a smartphone said they had used it in the toilet.

The top three activities used regularly by teenage smartphone owners were social networking, listening to music and playing games, with emails, internet surfing and social networking the most popular activities for adult smartphone owners.

More than a quarter of British adults, or 27%, are smartphone users, representing an estimated 12 million users, according to the Ofcom report.

The Apple iPhone is the most popular brand overall but BlackBerry or ‘Crackberry’ handsets are the most popular choice among younger consumers.

Are you an addict? I know I am.

Source: Sky News

Posted by James

Help bring the Orange Ice Cream van to your town

Yes, you did read the title correctly. Orange have an ice cream van! To celebrate the summer arriving the Orange ice cream van will be visiting various locations in the UK dishing out yummy ice cream to keep you cool in the warm weather.

If you click here you can register your favorite ice cream toppings and the most popular ones will be stocked on the van ready for your consumption.

It would appear that soon you will have the opportunity to submit your postcode. The more submissions from each postcode, the greater the chances of the van coming to your area.

You can see a short video from Orange below:

The Nokia 500 announced

Nokia have today announced the 500, a low cost Smartphone packing a 1GHz processor, changeable back covers plus the Symbian Anna operating system.

Full details from the Nokia blog below:

If you’re looking for a low-cost, full-function smartphone, then the Nokia 500 should meet your needs and more. As you can see from the pictures, this is a touch-screen phone. It’s got a 3.2-inch capacitive touch display, with a screen resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. On the back, there’s a 5-megapixel camera that can also capture video – ideal for holiday snaps and days out.

The Nokia 500 comes with the latest Symbian Anna OS, offering a refreshed UI, a better browser and split-screen messaging. As you’d expect, preinstalled you’ll find the latest version of Nokia Maps for free drive and walk navigation, plus you can download every other app you might need from the Store. If you’re anything like us, then your first week with the phone will be occupied filling and then emptying the phone of dozens of apps. The music player is complemented by an FM radio receiver and Internet Radio access to all the music and news you might need, not just from your own country, but from around the world. Social Media is catered for through the Social app, bringing friends’ updates to your homescreen.

Under the hood, there’s the 1GHz processor – allowing for plenty of oomph when you’re multitasking lots of apps or doing something extra-demanding. There’s 2GB of storage memory, plus the possibility of increasing this by a further 32GB using the micro-SD card slot. Like all our recent smartphones, it offers pentaband radio coverage so world travellers need never be out of touch, 3G data up to HSUPA speeds [that’s a whopping maximum speed of 5.8Mbps nowadays, by the way]. There’s also Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi b/g, as you’d expect. The phone measures 111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1mm and weighs in at 93g – lighter than any other Symbian^3 phone to date.

BlackBerry 9900 official launch event

Next week, on Wednesday, August 3rd, RIM are having a press event in Central London where one can only presume we will get the official BlackBerry Bold 9900 launch details. Various dates for launch have been bouncing around the internet for some time although none of the UK carriers have committed to a specific date yet. Many online retailers that sell sim free handsets say August 15th but until we hear it from RIM direct I wont hold my breath.

We could however see some other devices at the event, although I am not putting my money on this. We know RIM will have several new models in the market this year but when and where remains a mystery.

As soon as we have the Bold 9900’s launch date will will of course let you know.

In the meantime you can see our hands on video here if you have not seen it already. And our full review of the device will be published within the next few days.

Posted by: James