Author Archive: James Richardson

iPad – Good News and Bad

The good news – Today Vodafone and Orange both announced that it will offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

This obviously applies to the 3G version of the iPad which is due for release in the USA at the end of April. It will be interesting to see if the other UK networks also offer a similar service and whether any of them will actually sell the iPad in the future.

The bad news – Apple is to delay the release of the iPad overseas by a month and will start accepting pre orders on May 10th!

This is not what we want to hear!

Opera Mini on the iPhone

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Opera Mini had been submitted to Apple for app store approval and it looked like it would be declined, however its in the app store right now!

It looks like Apple maybe didn’t see the browser as a threat to their own Safari browser?

Anyway, I have had a quick go and it seems to work ok but my early opinions are why would anyone want to use this when the Safari browser does such a great job on the iPhone and iPod touch.

If I feel like it I may do a review at some point so in the meantime here are a few screen shots from my iPod. Like on other platforms the Opera browser does have a nice home page where you can add bookmarks but as you will see in the pictures below its clear which browser looks best.

For Sale – Palm!

Yes, you read it right. The word on the street is that Palm are looking for buyers. Palm is said to be working with Goldman Sachs and Qatalyst Partners to pick a suitor, with HTC and Lenovo both named as potential offer-makers. Many people have said this is what is needed from Palm as last year when they launched their new operating system, WEB OS, although the OS itself was fantastic the hardware Palm produced was well under par. The Palm Pre was meant to be their turning point but worldwide sales have been a lot lest than they anticipated.

Could this be the end of what was once a pioneering company within the Smartphone market? Only time will tell.

Posted by: James

RIM announces hot new BlackBerry Bold 9700 in white

RIM has announced the sleek and powerful BlackBerry® Bold 9700 in stunning new white design.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone offers the perfect combination of form and function – with top-of-the-line performance and features with support for 3G networks, built-in GPS, Wi-Fi®, a 3.2MP camera and a sharp, dazzling display.

Cutting edge engineering and premium finishes extend to the exterior of the handset, with a smoothly integrated touch-sensitive trackpad and a distinctive fretted keyboard. The chrome frame is complemented by the new iridescent white colouring adding to the BlackBerry Bold’s sleek and elegant look.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 in White will soon be available online and in-store from Carphone Warehouse and T-Mobile on selected tariffs.

For more information on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, including product specifications, please visit: http://uk.blackberry.com/devices/blackberrybold9700/

Looks pretty swish doesn’t it? I’m hoping to get my hands on one of these so we will bring you some more photos of the real thing.

Posted by: James

KIN – New Windows Phone

Today at a press conference in the United States Microsoft have unveiled a new generation of social phone.

The KIN 1 and KIN 2 (Yes I know they are great names!) are targeting an audience that have social media as their priority. KIN is taken from the term ‘Kindred Spirit’ and was termed ‘a phone to navigate your social life’.

I would imagine we will get an official press release soon and most likely some video footage of the two devices in action but in the meantime I will give you a very brief summary.

The idea of KIN is to make social networking easy. Whether its Facebook, Twitter or MySpace we all have three sorts of friends.

The first type are our proper friends that we see regularly and speak to daily.

The second group are friends that maybe you went to school with but don’t really see now.

Malware – iPhone users please read!

BitDefender identifies fake “iPhone unlocking” malware mechanism

BitDefender has identified a malware-spreading mechanism targeting people wanting to unlock their iPhones.

Users receive an e-mail offering a link that promises a new version of an iPhone unlocking application to overcome vendor set network restrictions. People clicking the link are then directed to a web page which provides instructions to be followed in order to download the unlocking application.

After being urged to connect their iPhone to a computer, users are then instructed to download the “new modified” application and run it on the iPhone. However, once downloaded and run, the executable file causes a Trojan virus to be infected in the computer.

EASY TO USE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE BLACKBERRY

Now Blackberry users have easier access to the first ever international mobile phone travel emergency and concierge service.

With enhanced software Trafficmaster’s International Rescue is now easier to download to your GPS enabled Blackberry. The service provides round the clock personal travel assistants located in the UK and in over 40 countries, who are on hand to help you when you are trouble.