Phones

By October 6, 2013 Read More →

LG Nexus 5 specs appear online

LG Nexus 5The official LG service manual for the new LG Nexus 5 has been posted online. It’s a 281 page document, filled with troubleshooting materials, circuit schematics and pin-outs, but it does include some of the all important specifications.

First of all, we have a line drawing giving us a better idea of the overall device design. Its the G2 with a little bit of design manipulation.  There look is in keeping with the design aspects of thd Nexus 7 and also of the leaked shots we have been questioning for the last couple of months.

Here are those LG Nexus 5 specs we have been waiting for:

  • 4.95-inch 1080p IPS LCD
  • Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU (MSM8947) at 2.3GHz
  • 2GB RAM
  • 32GB storage
  • Wireless charging
  • 8MP rear camera with OIS
  • 1.3MP front camera
  • 2300mAh battery
  • Accelerometer; ambient light sensor; Compass; Gyroscope; Proximity; Pressure sensors
  • HDMI out via Slimport
  • Notification LED
  • NFC
  • Bluetooth 3
  • A-GPS
  • 802.11 b/g/n wifi

There is a lot the be excited about here and if Google includes their typically low price point we will be seeing the bargain of the year!

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By October 6, 2013 Read More →

Nokia Lumia 1020 unboxing video

Nokia Lumia 1020 unboxingSince its announcement in July of this year, the Nokia Lumia 1020 has created quite a stir. There’s pretty much only one reason for this; the 41 megapixel camera.

At 41 megapixels (38MP effective) not only is the sensor on the Nokia Lumia 1020 the highest pixel count on a mobile phone, but it’s among the highest pixel counts of any camera on the market and even many high-end Digital SLR cameras don’t go that high.

So what of the rest of the 1020, have there been huge compromises elsewhere in order to accommodate that huge sensor? On the face of the answer is no. The rest of the phone specification seems to be pretty good too with a large AMOLED screen, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM and a host of other to of the line features, if there are compromises it’s not that obvious.

In the unboxing video below you’ll get to see what accessories come with the Lumia 1020, have a tour around the hardware and I’ll take a look at the OS as well as having a quick play with that amazing camera.

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By October 5, 2013 Read More →

HTC One to get Android 4.3

HTC One to get Android 4.3Great news for HTC One owners like me as HTC have announced that the HTC One will get an update to Android 4.3, and if you are an AT&T customer you’ll start getting that update OTA starting next week.

@JasonMacHTC Tweets:

Good news for One users on AT&T. 4.3 update passed AT&T certification today. Will begin to push to your phones early next week. @HTCUSA

No further update for users of the HTC One on other networks or unlocked versions either in the US or the rest of the world but it has been reported that this could be some time this month. We’re seeing details from HTC.

The 4.3 update for the the HTC One is set to be a significant one bringing new features and will include improvements to Sense which will result in the addition of Instagram as a source for streaming updates on BlinkFeed, more video highlight capabilities and the ability to disable the on-screen menu button.

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By October 4, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 UK Launch Date

SAMSUNG GALAXY ACE 3Samsung have today announced the UK release date of their latest device in the Galaxy range, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3.

Featuring a 4-inch 480×800 display, 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 8GB internal storage and 5 megapixel camera, the Ace 3 will one of the more affordable 4G capable phones from Samsung.

 

 

UK LAUNCH DATE ANNOUNCED FOR SAMSUNG GALAXY ACE 3

Latest addition to the Galaxy portfolio to hit shops on 5th October

London, UK – October 4th, 2013 – Following the launch announcement earlier this year, Samsung has today revealed that the 4G enabled Galaxy Ace 3, an updated version of the popular Galaxy Ace 2, will be available to buy in the UK from 5th October.

The Galaxy Ace 3 is powered by Android™ Jellybean 4.2 and thanks to its superfast 4G connectivity, it is quicker and easier to load and browse the web, and stream and download content whilst you’re out and about. The Galaxy Ace 3 also has numerous smart features such as S Translator, S Travel, S Voice, Easy Mode and Smart Stay, which uses advanced facial recognition to detect when the phone is in use, saving battery life by dimming the screen. In addition, the new handset has a 5-megapixel camera and boasts a 4.0 inch display so you can enjoy an amazing experience when viewing content, making it a great device for playing games and viewing videos and photos.

Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: “Our latest addition to the Galaxy portfolio, the Galaxy Ace 3 is packed with loads of features designed to provide a smoother and more intuitive user experience. Following the success of the Galaxy Ace 2, we are confident that our customers will enjoy this new device when it hits the shelves this month.”

The Galaxy Ace 3 will be available in the UK from EE stores, followed by selected retailers including Carphone Warehouse and Tesco.

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By October 4, 2013 Read More →

Nexus 7 arrives on Three

Nexus 7 arrives on ThreeThose wishing to pick up the new Nexus 7 have another option to get their hands on the device on contract from Three here in the UK.

Featuring the world’s highest resolution 7-inch display with over 2.3 million pixels, the new Nexus 7 is now available to buy on Three in-store.

The Nexus 7 is available for £199.99 as a WiFi only tablet. Or you can combine the Nexus 7 (2013) with a pocket-sized Huawei E5220 MiFi. This creates a portable Wi-Fi hotspot and gives you the freedom to connect your tablet to Three’s award-winning network to stay in touch when out and about.

Building on the success of its predecessor, the Nexus 7 is thinner, lighter and faster and the first device to run the latest Android 4.3 operating system. A powerful quad-core processor also allows people to smoothly switch between apps, tracks, games and maps for instance.

Dual stereo speakers and surround sound add finely tuned, rich and immersive audio to your music and with built-in wireless charging, you can simply charge it whilst on the go*.

Sylvia Chind, head of devices at Three, said: “The Nexus 7 has incorporated the latest technologies into an affordable tablet that is fast and looks impressive. The new lightweight design and wireless charging means you can take it out and about with ease. Combined with a MiFi it’s a great tablet option to make the most of downtime when commuting, whether that’s catching up on work emails or simply playing your favourite game.”

The Huawei E5220 MiFi is available for a one-off upfront cost of £29.99 on a one-month rolling contract at £15.99 per month including 5GB of data or from £49.99 on Pay As You Go with 1GB of data pre-loaded.

Key features:

  • The world’s sharpest 7-inch tablet screen
  • Wi-Fi connectivity
  • Android 4.3
  • Thinner, lighter and faster than the previous Nexus 7
  • Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor
  • 2GB of RAM
  • Wireless charging

*Wireless charging plate sold separately

Posted in: Phones, Press Releases, Tablets
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By October 3, 2013 Read More →

Android 4.4 KitKat images surface

Android 4.4 kitkatAs we head closer to the release of the latest version of Android OS, 4.4 KitKat, the increase in interest seems to be met with an increase in the number of leaks.

We’re expecting to see some official announcements and even some Android 4.4 KitKat powered devices released later this month but if you just cant wait that long to find out more about 4.4, in particular what it’s going to look like, then there’s good news for you as there’s a great selection of leaked image for you to check out courtesy of the blog Gadgethelpline.

As you’ll no doubt appreciate from a few of the images below, 4.4 is quite significantly different to the existing versions of Android that we have.

Check out the rest of the image gallery over at Gadgethelpline or via Coolsmartphone, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more!

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By October 2, 2013 Read More →

Apple will fix iOS 7 iMessage issues

fix ios 7As I mentioned the other day, there have been several issues reported with Apple’s latest iOS 7 releases, particularly with battery life and iMessage.

Fortunately, Apple have now acknowledged the iMessage issues and are now working on a futher update, presumably 7.0.3, slated for next week, that will resolve this problem

The most frequent complaint is that messages appear to be sent, but later appear with a big red exclamation point indicating they did not go through.

The simplest and most often-suggested work-around by users is to restart the device. Another option to fix iOS 7 iMessage issues to to disable iMessage, reset the Network Settings, and then turn iMessage back on.  (To reset the settings, go to Settings → General Reset → Reset Network Settings.)  The later work around is more annoying, though, and seems to require frequent repetition.

“We are aware of an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of our iMessage users, and we will have a fix available in an upcoming software update,” Apple said in a statement. “In the meantime, we encourage any users having problems to reference our troubleshooting documents or contact AppleCare to help resolve their issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes impacted users.”

Since then, some users have complained about excessive battery use, typed letters that don’t appear on the screen, and Apple’s Siri voice-recognition service not recognizing requests. Apple released an iOS fix last week  to tackle some security problems with iOS 7.0.2.

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By October 2, 2013 Read More →

LG Z to launch with flexible display

LG Z flexibleHot on the heels of Samsung’s announcement last week that they would release a special edition Galaxy Note 3 with curved OLED display, LG have countered with news that they will be taking this a step futher and releasing their own smartphone, the LG Z, with a flexible OLED display.

According to ZDNet Korea, LG leaked them details of the new LG Z which is slated to arrive later this month.
Whist it is understood that the LG Z itself will not be a flexible device, merely a smartphone with flexible display there are advantages to that arrangement in that the screen is transformed from being a typical brittle, fragile unit to something with a little more strength and ‘give’.
Little else is known about the LG Z at the moment, but we’ll keep our eagle eyes open for more news…
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By October 1, 2013 Read More →

iOS 7 issues

iOS 7 issuesIt has been several weeks since iOS 7 was finally released for iPhone, iPad and iPod devices but that launch hasn’t been without it’s problems and many new users have a complaint or two about the update.

Ignoring the fact that some users just don’t like the new visual styling or are finding it a little more difficult to use a locate things since the update, and ignoring too the fact that some users are complaining that the new parallax and zooming effects of the OS are making them sea sick… I’m talking about two specific problems that are being heavily reported; Battery Life and iMessage issues.

So taking the first, I support a number of users across a couple of business accounts and it seems that they all decided to update to iOS 7 the day it became available. The response to the update seems to have polarised opinion with some loving and some really hating the changes.  After just a few days the complaints began rolling in to me, “My Battery isn’t lasting the day” or “I’m having to charge my phone a lot more often”.

Initially I took the complaints with a pinch of salt, wondering if it could be caused, in part, by the users playing with the new features of iOS 7 and therefor using their phones a bit more. Turns out though that they were not alone and reports of poor battery life post-update started to fill Twitter, Facebook and online forums.

There’s no real answer to this at the moment aside from being sure to turn of WiFi and Bluetooth when you don’t need them it’s a case of waiting for a further update from Apple to, hopefully, address this.

The second of the iOS 7 issues is with messages. Some users are reporting that they are unable to send messages while others seem unable to receive. My own experience of this is with my iPhone 5 sending several messages to one person and seeing the notification at the top state ‘sending 3 of 3…’ to then see a message failed warning followed by replies to those messages from the recipient.

The messaging issue seems to be affecting some carriers more than others, Vodafone from what I can see being one of the most affected while my Everything Everywhere colleagues seem to be oblivious to such issues.

Apple have already released an update to iOS 7.0.2 but this primarily addresses a security issue rather than solving the issues above. iOS 7.0.3 is due out next week so the hope is that we’ll see some improvement with messaging and battery life in that update.

What are your experiences? Please share with us below!

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By October 1, 2013 Read More →

LG G2 launched in UK

LG G2 launchedToday an official announcement from LG that the new LG G2 launched today here in the UK, available from retailers including Carphone Warehouse, EE, Three and O2.

The massive spec of the G2 makes it currently the fasest Android powered smartphone on the market. The chipset inside is a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, with a 2.26GHz quad-core Krait 400 on the business end, a 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080 display, which gives us a 424 PPI density. It out performs everything else currently on the market but could that change when the Nexus 5 arrives?

Check out the full press release from LG below and we’ll hope to have some hands-on time with the LG G2 soon!

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