Author Archive: James Richardson

HP to buy Palm!

HP and Palm today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.
The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

Nokia E72 gets update and is also now available in white

With free satellite navigation rolling out to Nokia devices the E72 is the latest to get OVI Maps with free voice guided navigation.

Today’s update also includes improved overall performance for email, contacts, calendar and browser and Nokia E72 owners will also be able to listen to internet radio.

The OVI Maps Sat Nav is not something I have tried but I will be reviewing it shortly so watch this space.

Nokia have also announced that the E72 will now be available in white and this new edition will come with the above update pre – installed.

Not sure when we will see the white version here in the UK as at present it is only showing on the Nokia Asia website.

If you have an E72 please use your Nokia software updater to grab the update and enjoy.

Posted by: James

Palm Pre sales a ‘disaster’

Store staff in Carphone Warehouse and O2 shops claim sales of Palm Pre device have been terrible.

Palm Pre sales have been a disaster, claim staff in O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores. This follows news that Palm is to be put up for sale. Many stores have registering zero sales.

An O2 spokesperson said: “Palm Pre sales are in line with our expectations.”

But one store manager said “Our store has sold hardly any Palm Pres, It never stood a chance against the iPhone and they both advertise themselves as doing the same things”.

A Carphone staffer added: “It is a good device but it doesn’t really have a place in the market. No one knows who Palm is.  So Nokia, Sony Ericsson and the iPhone will always be preferred.”

The Pre is available exclusively on O2 contracts. It was also launched on a premium £35 per month tariff but has since become free on all tariffs to “shift stock” staff claim.

According to O2 forums, sales were so low many smaller stores stopped selling the Pre. Other shop staff have reported software and hardware issues including freezing, poor battery life, and faults with its slide track.

I am certainly not surprised by this news. When I reviewed the Palm Pre I thought much the same as most people that the New Web OS was great but sadly let down by the cheap feeling hardware. Will Palm get some good news one of these days?

Posted by: James

BlackBerry OS 6 previewed at WES 2010

Today at WES 2010 RIM finally gave BlackBerry addicts and users what they have been waiting for – a sneaky peak at BlackBerry 6.

As you will see in the below video the new OS is still very much BlackBerry but with some nice tweaks. And we will not have to wait too long for it, like other new operating systems announced recently. RIM founder and CEO Mike Lazaridis said today that we can expect to see the new OS lanched within the next calendar quarter – good news!

If you like BlackBerry, the Black Eyed Peas or crazy unnecessary dancing then have a look at the video. It’s a bit whacky!

Best Buy opens its first UK store

Yesterday I stopped off Best Buy at Thurrock, Essex. Best Buy kindly invited me to come and have a look around the new store situated on the Lakeside retail park and after walking through the doors I was pretty amazed.

If you imagine a Comet, PC World and Curry’s all rolled into one and doubled in size you get a Best Buy! The store is absolutely gorgeous. The staff were extremely friendly and really keen to discuss their products. Each section has a dedicated staff team to ensure you are getting the best experience possible when shopping with them.

I clearly made a b-line for the mobile section of the store and what I found was fantastic.

As you will see in the photos below the devices are split into sections depending on manufacturer. The beauty here is that every single phone in the store is not only on but also has a SIM card so you can give the handsets a proper test drive. Not a plastic dummy phone in sight. It’s no wonder Best Buy sell so many phones over in America.

WES 2010

This week in Florida is the biggest BlackBerry show of the year – WES 2010. Although it is not confirmed what announcements we are going to get I am confident we will get a device as well as software previews. I would love to say I am going over to Florida to cover the show but sadly not. We will however endeavour to bring you all the best bits from WES 2010 here on tracyandmatt.co.uk

If you are a BlackBerry fanatic or developer and are thinking of attending WES in the future here are five good reasons to make the commitment:

• Get your hardest questions answered: Speak one-on-one with BlackBerry® experts from Research In Motion (RIM), join a hands-on lab, and attend targeted breakout sessions.
• Learn from your peers: Share insights, experiences, and challenges with like-minded people from across the globe.
• WES is a great value: More than 100 breakout sessions in four tracks, hands-on labs, keynote speakers, training, certification exams-these opportunities and more are all available at a great price.
• Supercharge your mobility strategy: Take home the strategies and techniques needed to meet your organization’s mobility objectives in 2010.
• The Solutions Showcase: Preview mobility products and services from carriers, ISVs, and solution integrators.

Sounds a bit too technical for me. I think I will stick with phone reviews for now!

Posted by: James

Orange coming soon page looking promising

To be honest with you the ‘coming soon’ page on the Orange website is normally not very exciting but today is the opposite. As you can see in the screen shot they are soon to have the HTC Desire in black along with Samsungs S5620 Monte and S8500 Wave.

As we have already seen the HTC Desire it’s the Wave that I am looking forward to getting my hands on. I had a play with it at MWC back in February and the Super AMOLED screen is truly amazing. You wont believe how good it is until you see it for yourself. It’s great to see Orange picking up the S8500 Wave. I’m not sure which other carriers will also support it but I’m sure one or two others will if not all.

The Samsung S5620 Monte is more of a mainstream device and it looks like most UK carriers will more than likely sell it. In terms of where it site in the market it is not the best specced phone but it’s one of those ones that the youngsters will probably go for as its marketed as being a good social media device. I suppose it will take the place of Samsungs Jet which i reviewed last year.

Overall an interesting bunch of devices coming to Orange. We will have all three for review as soon as we can get our hands on them.

Posted by: James