Author Archive: James Richardson

Motorola Mobility Unveils MOTOACTV in the UK

Burn more calories, beat that personal best and train even harder with MOTOACTV, the new device marrying fitness and music from Motorola Mobility UK Ltd. MOTOACTV is a lightweight, wearable fitness performance tracker and smart music player in one – it’s the equivalent of having a professional fitness instructor and your favourite DJ helping you train at all times. MOTACTV will be available starting December 1 from Sweatshop, the UKs leading running retailer.

Whether your goal’s the completion of a fun run, marathon, or everything else in between, with this site you’ll be able to check out the music you perform to best. You will be able to track your workouts over extended time periods, set goals and even create workout competitions with your friends via MOTOACTV.com. With MOTOACTV’s easy to navigate touch-screen display you can instantly launch a new workout or find that one song you’ve been dying to hear.

“Motorola has created a new category of smart device that support your active lifestyle with the addition of MOTOACTV,” said William Ripley, general manager, Companion Products EMEA, Motorola Mobility. “Workout smarter without using multiple devices or even wires, with the first multi-activity music and fitness tracking device with the brains to push you beyond your limits.”

“We are thrilled to announce that Sweatshop are partnering with Motorola Mobility to bring MOTOACTV to our UK customers,” said Nick Pearson, managing director of Sweatshop UK. “This is the most exciting product in the sports device market for years, and Sweatshop will help our customers get the most from it. We believe MOTOACTV can deliver real benefits to the training of our customers, whether you’re an experienced marathon runner or somebody looking to get fit.”

RIM Announces BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – The Next Generation Enterprise Mobility Solution for BlackBerry, Android and iOS Smartphones and Tablets

Research In Motion (RIM) today introduced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – the Company’s next-generation enterprise mobility solution and RIM’s entry into the multi-platform Mobile Device Management (MDM) marketplace. Building on years of leading enterprise mobility management solutions from RIM, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will simplify the management of smartphones and tablets running BlackBerry, Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems.

“We are pleased to introduce BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – RIM’s next generation enterprise mobility solution – to make it easier for our business and government customers to manage the diversity of devices in their operations today,” said Alan Panezic, Vice President, Enterprise Product Management and Marketing at Research In Motion. “BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings together our industry-leading BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology for BlackBerry devices with mobile device management capabilities for iOS and Android devices, all managed from one web-based console. It provides the necessary management capabilities to allow IT departments to confidently oversee the use of both company-owned and employee-owned mobile devices within their organisations.”

Ice Cream Sandwich coming to LG’s Optimus range

Over on their Facebook page LG has confirmed that Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich will be initially available for the following high-end LG smartphones which were introduced this year: the Optimus 2X, the Optimus Black, the Optimus 3D and the Optimus LTE.

We are also continuing to evaluate the ICS OS to determine whether it is compatible with the functionality, features and performance of other LG smartphones to make the ICS OS available on as many LG smartphones as possible.

In December this year, the forthcoming upgrade schedule and additional specific models for the ICS OS upgrade will be posted on the LG Mobile Global Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LGMobile).

Good news!

Posted by: James

Best Buy to close stores on January 15th

We mentioned just a couple of weeks ago the demise of Best Buy here in the UK. The joint venture between Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse has failed to make expected  profits and the company will close its eleven UK stores on January 15th.

The good news is that Best Buy will have a closing down sale so expect some bargains in the coming weeks.

To our valued Best Buy customers, vendors, suppliers, and friends,
We’ve loved bringing our passion for the latest and greatest technology to Britain over the past 2 years, and have always had the utmost appreciation, respect, and commitment to the entire UK marketplace, our customers and stakeholders.
However, as you may know, based upon the outcome of our employee consultation, we intend to cease retail trading at our Best Buy UK branded stores & website by the 15th January 2012.
We are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause you.
We are still committed to making sure your needs are well served up until our closing and beyond. Our on-going services are described in the "Customer Notice" and in our stores.
We’re also committed to on-going global relationships with our many vendors and suppliers, and appreciate your patience as we work to contact each as soon as possible to discuss our plans for the future.
Should you need to talk to us before then, please do not hesitate to call us on 0800 380 00 00. As a vendor or supplier, you are welcome to get in touch with your Best Buy relationship contact at any time.
We look forward to completing all of our remaining business together in the most respectful and professional manner possible.
Many thanks from everyone at Best Buy UK.

Posted by: James

Introducing the T-Mobile Vivacity

T-Mobile today announced the launch of the T-Mobile Vivacity – a great value, stylish Android smartphone ideal for enjoying multimedia on the move. The T-Mobile Vivacity will be available exclusively in T-Mobile stores, on the online shop and via telesales from today.

Running Android’s Gingerbread 2.3 OS, the T-Mobile Vivacity offers a winning combination of eye-catching design, essential multimedia features, as well as offering great value. A vivid, high resolution 3.5″ WVGA TFT capacitive screen is perfect for web-browsing, viewing pictures or watching movies. The latest 3G+ and Wi-Fi support lets you access the web whenever you want – ideal for on-demand browsing, or downloading apps, and uploading social networks on the move.

A 5.0 Megapixel camera allows you to capture life as you go, and, with support for up to 32GB Micro SD cards, you can enjoy favourite photos, movies and music, wherever you are. Built-in GPS functionality also allows you can keep track of your location, and offers the ability to add your location to Twitter and Facebook updates.

Available in sleek black or white variations, the T-Mobile Vivacity fuses advanced multimedia features with a truly premium look and feel – providing leading style that more than matches its impressive performance – all at a great value for money price point.

Paul Jevons, Director of Products and Devices, Everything Everywhere said: "The T-Mobile Vivacity gives you everything you want from a smartphone. It offers the latest Android software, a large, high resolution touchscreen display and a stunning design – perfect for anyone looking for premium performance and great value for money.”

The T-Mobile Vivacity is available free on a £10 per month, 24 month plan or for £99 on Pay As You Go.

Posted by: James

Telefónica Digital and RIM announce NFC payments with BlackBerry smartphones

We all know that more and more smartphones are shipping with NFC capabilities, however the use of NFC is somewhat limiting. RIM in Spain are now testing NFC wireless payments and I would imagine this will roll out to other countries in due course.

You can see the the full press release below.

Telefónica Digital and Research In Motion have announced a pilot program of the Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry smartphones.

In collaboration with local banks and retailers, Telefónica will roll out the Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry to 350 employees at its headquarters in Distrito Telefónica, Spain. Those taking part in the trial will be able to make payments in a simple, easy, safe and convenient way by simply tapping their NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphone against a reader. Employees that are part of the NFC pilot project will also be able use their BlackBerry smartphone (in lieu of a security card) to gain physical access to the Telefónica headquarters office.

The Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry currently supports the following NFC-enabled smartphones: BlackBerry Bold 9900,  BlackBerry Curve 9360 and BlackBerry Curve 9380, all of which run the new BlackBerry® 7 operating system.