Phones

The Samsung Galaxy “Tape”

Vietnamese site by the name of Tinh Te, is claiming to have information on a few specs on a new Samsing tablet. Rumoured specs include Android 2.2, Froyo! 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 16GB of on-board storage and a microSD slot that can handle up to 32GB. A 4,000mAh battery tops this off.

From the leaked picture, there appears to be a front facing camera. This tablet should come with the GPU from the Galaxy S and the DLNA capabilities. There was no mention of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi but I fully expect them to be included.

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Samsung Galaxy Apollo i5801 Black on Orange

Recently announcing their push of inexpensive Android devices, Orange has announced another phone in the seemingly endless Galaxy line from Samsung. Coming to market with  a 3-megapixel camera, 3.2-inch touch screen, and an unconfirmed version of Android, this little device will probably find it’s way into quite a few hands.

Sony Ericsson Walkman Android phone

Here is a phone named Sony Ericsson W150i, and its codename is TeaCake. Reportedly, the handset currently runs Android 1.5 – it would be a stupid move for Sony Ericsson to release it like this, so we should hope it will have Android 2.1 at launch. The unconfirmed features of Sony Ericsson W150i include a 2.6 inch QVGA display, 5MP camera, and changeable covers.

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GoodReader for iPad Turns the Page…Literally

The newest version of GoodReader for iPad, which has been among the top sellers among all iPad apps since it was first released, now delivers horizontal page turning for PDF files to give it a truer book reading experience. The new version also will now rotate PDF files, display two-page spreads, and crop margins for PDF files so they don’t take up any available reading space on the iPad.

GoodReader has become such a huge success because of how it handles very large PDF and TXT files, navigating manuals, large books, magazines, and renderings of 100 mb and more with great speed compared to other document viewers. Providing the option of horizontal PDF page turning has been one of the most popular requests among GoodReader fans, allowing them to now enjoy reading a book or magazine by turning the pages in the same right-to-left manner they are used to doing with real books.

Resco Keyboard PRO 6.00 Released

Resco, a supplier of Windows Mobile end user applications, releases a new version of the Resco Keyboard PRO, a highly popular application that is removing all the limits of standard built-in keyboard. The new version gets even further. Plenty of minor and major improvements increase the level of comfort and once again provides much more user experience to a simple but crucial everyday activity as entering texts.

New features include brand new navigation layout, which how the name indicates serves for better navigation in larger texts with more paragraphs. Besides that, the layout contains copy, cut, paste, delete and select all buttons helpful in case you want to make quick one click operations with the already typed phrases. Earlier known Fx layout, which allows to insert frequently used phrases to the text, has been enriched with a simple method of adding new phrases to the list.

More on the HTC patent infringement case against Apple

The International Trade Commission said in a brief notice that it would take up the investigation, which has to do with "certain portable devices and related software."

HTC had said in its complaint filed with the ITC in May that Apple infringed five of its patents related to cellphone directory hardware and software and power-management technology in portable devices.

HTC has asked for a ban on import of Apple’s products, most of which are made in countries such as China.

HTC’s suit was expected after Apple filed patent infringement suits against the company in March both at the ITC and in the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

While Apple’s lawsuit against HTC did not name Google as a defendant, it was seen as a strategic move against Google, whose mobile software powers handsets from Samsung Electronics, Motorola Inc and others.

The ITC, a U.S. trade panel that investigates patent infringement involving imported goods, has become an increasingly popular venue for patent lawsuits because it can bar the importation of products that infringe patents.

Legal wrangling is commonplace in the smartphone market, an industry where many vendors work under cross-licensing agreements.

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A look at a couple of iPad cases

I have received a couple of nice iPad cases from Gear Zap and wanted to do a short post about them, the first one is a silicon case:-

This silicone case for the iPad is an excellent value solution for protecting your Apple iPad from scratches and light bumps. The silicone case is specifically moulded to fit the iPad perfectly, while there are cut-outs for buttons and connection points, allowing you to leave the iPad protected at all times.

It really is a nice slim fitting case although it does lack any protection for the screen.

The second case is a Pixel Plus Sleeve which is my favourite as it offers great protection all around the ipad and is ideal for transporting it around.

Clove World Cup Competition

Clove have put together this competition for the World Cup. All you have to do is answer a simple question and the winning entry gets a free 8GB iPod Nano (4th Generation). Closing date for entry is Wednesday 16th June.

Enter the competition here

O2 introduces new mobile data pricing model

O2 today announced plans for data pricing for new and upgrading mobile customers which gives customers a more transparent pricing model tied to usage.
CEO Ronan Dunne said: “We know that customers are looking for clarity in pricing as too many offers have clauses and catches which are not easy to understand. With the wide range of Internet based services now available on mobile devices we’re providing customers with generous clear data bundles that give customers freedom. This enables us to provide a better overall experience for the vast majority of customers and to better manage demand.”
Based on current usage patterns, 97% of O2 smartphone customers would not need to buy additional data allowances, as the lowest bundle (500MB) provides at least 2.5 times the average O2 customer’s current use.
From 24 June, O2 will introduce three inclusive data bundles for new and upgrading smartphone customers.

iPhone 4 upgrade details for O2

Those who want to avail of this offer will simply have to pay a flat rate of £20 for each of the remaining months left in their contract regardless of what their currently paying at the moment. So what does ya be thinking of that? Frankly I imagine it might have been much worse and could have been better. My partner has 8 months left so she would have to pay an extra £180 to upgrade now, for essentially being half way through a contract that’s pretty good.