News

The Galaxy Tabs to get ICS?

Great news for Samsung Galaxy Tab owners. sammobile.com has reported, allegedly, that the Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule for the Galaxy Tabs is due. It looks like most of the current versions if not all of them will start receiving the rollout of ICS next month! Here’s a quote directly from their site with all the details:

Good news, after long waiting Samsung will finally start with the Android 4.0 updates for the Galaxy Tab 7.7 – 8.9 – 10.1.
The updates will start in July but the most updates are planned for August.
According to our insider the update will improve your battery and speed.
Samsung Canada posted a schedule also when we will see the first galaxy Tab updates.
Even they say in July / August.
Another good thing is, when we have the first Android 4.0 for the Galaxy Tab 7.7 we will start making our review about the Galaxy Tab 7.7
If you want to see our first Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 WIFI review please stay tuned.
That review is planned to come online this month.
The next tablets will receive an Android 4.0 update.

• GT-P6210 Galaxy Tab Plus 7.0 WIFI
• GT-P6200 Galaxy Tab Plus 7.0 WIFI + 3G
• GT-P6810 Galaxy Tab 7.7 WIFI
• GT-P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 WIFI + 3G
• GT-P7310 Galaxy Tab 8.9 WIFI
• GT-P7300 Galaxy Tab 8.9 WIFI + 3G
• GT-P7510 Galaxy Tab 10.1 WIFI
• GT-P7500 Galaxy Tab 10.1 WIFI + 3G

Source: SamMobile

Posted by: Gareth

Microsoft announce Windows Phone 8 along with a bunch of great features

An event was held today with only people with invites from Microsoft being able to attend. A total of eight brand new features were announced for the platform which are aimed at finally competing with the likes of Android and iOS.

For many the most important feature announced today was multi-core support! This feature will support the same brands of processor that we are used to seeing, but in the newer devices we will be seeing more powerful versions of these processors from Qualcomm and ARM.

The start screen is another feature that has been completely redesigned to give you more choice, but also to allow you to cram more on the screen at once and just like all of the features announced this will come to all ‘new devices’. The only huge downside is the fact that windows phone 8 is incompatible with all current Windows Phone 7 devices! This is going to be disappointing for those who have bought a Windows Phone on a two year contract as you will be stuck on either 7.5 Mango or Tango.

The reason for this incompatibility issue is due to the support for much higher resolution screens, the resolutions that will be supported with Windows Phone 8 are: 1280 x 768, 1280 x 720 and also it will support the current 800 x 480 display resolution used.

Spotify updates its iOS app bringing streaming to non-premium users.

The music streaming giant have announced that ‘in the next few days’ an update will roll out for iOS devices. The update will bring with it a feature that was introduced last year just for the desktop application, Radio. The key thing here though is that the feature will be available to both the premium users and the free users!
Users will be able to generate ‘Radio stations’ using artists, albums, songs and spotty playlists, one other thing that also remains is the feature that Spotify loves so much, this is of course the social functionality which means that songs and the radio stations will appear in your friends’ Facebook timelines. Also with this feature comes the ability to create a playlist based on what your friends listen to.
The radio feature according to the company themselves will be coming to all major platforms in due course but for now iPad, iPhone and iPod users can expect the update in a few days.

You can see the full press release below:

Microsoft announce the ‘Surface’ tablet – with two variations

Over in Americaland Microsoft have unveiled the ‘Surface’ tablet which as expected many will say may rival the Apple iPad.

Let’s get straight down to the facts and what we know about the device or should I say devices as there are two variants.

• Software takes center stage: Surface sports a full-sized USB port and a 16:9 aspect ratio – the industry standard for HD. It has edges angled at 22 degrees, a natural position for the PC at rest or in active use, letting the hardware fade into the background and the software stand out.

• VaporMg: The casing of Surface is created using a unique approach called VaporMg (pronounced Vapor-Mag), a combination of material selection and process to mold metal and deposit particles that creates a finish akin to a luxury watch. Starting with magnesium, parts can be molded as thin as .65 mm, thinner than the typical credit card, to create a product that is thin, light and rigid/strong.

Ice Cream Sandwich rolling our for the Sony Xperia active

According to gsmarena, Sony have announced that they are rolling out the Android 4.0 update to the Xperia active so keep your eyes glued to your phone. Updates may be regional, as usual, so it may take a day or two but at least it is coming.

The small rugged Android device may not be the most popular but we have heard good things about it from numerous sources.

You can see a reminder of the phones specs below or check out our unboxing video here.

Microsoft Codex tablets could be on their way

On Monday the 19th Microsoft be will be holding a bit on an event and a number of sources believe they will be announcing their own brand of tablets.

It has been a while since Microsoft have played ball in the hardware sector with anything that doesn’t have Xbox written on it. However, if Microsoft tackle it correctly they could be onto a winner.

It seems more likely Microsoft will bring in a company to do their hardware for them, as with partnering up with Nokia for Windows Phone. Aside from Xbox the biggest contribution to hardware Microsoft have made in the last few years is the Kin One and Kin Two. Recent rumours surrounding comments about HTC’s lack of experience to handle some form of Tablet also help reinforce the idea they will be partnering with a company to bring the Windows experience to tablets.

The budget end of the tablet market is really booming, Amazon have proved this Stateside with their Kindle Fire and Google look to be putting their stamp on it with the fabled Nexus Tablet. If Microsoft if hoping to play in this market they will have their work cut out for them as manufactures have always had to pay heavy licensing fees alongside high level specifications to push out a decent Windows tablet in the past.

Thankfully, there is no long wait to find out what is going to happen as we will know by tomorrow.

Posted by: Gareth

Hands on with BlackBerry 10

BlackBerry 10 Jam took place in London on Thursday and the part I was looking forward to most was getting my hands on the dev alpha device running BlackBerry 10. Although RIM’s new OS is not due for release until Q4 this year what we have seen so far is both beautiful and in many ways unique.

BlackBerry 10 has been designed for BlackBerry users – people who want to get stuff done quickly and efficiently and the new OS allows for both those features, either one handed or two as the first release will be a touch screen handset.

I managed to grab some rather nice photos of what I was ‘allowed’ to see on the device which you can see below.

I’m sure you will agree with me that BlackBerry 10 looks amazing. The best is still yet to come.

Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast 172: Clash of the Titans!

Gareth and James are joined by Vince for a full comparison between the two biggest phones on the market, the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy SIII. James also gives us a neat preview of what to expect from Blackberry 10 having had an extensive play with their latest operating system. Apple manage to squeeze out a few updates to their iPhone and Macbook range as the guys attempt to muster up a little excitement about the announcement.

Acer high end tablet about to arrive

Acer just announced their newest Android tablet offering, and this one is designed to take aim directly at the Apple iPad. This new Acer tablet is called the Iconia A700, and will come with an impressive array of specs to truly give all tablets a run for their money. Here’s a breakdown:

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 1.3-GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 32GB of internal storage
• Measures 10.2 by 6.9 by 0.43 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.47 pounds
• 10.1-inch full HD 1,920-by-1,200-pixel display, with 224 pixels per inch, an 800:1 contrast ratio and a 178-degree viewing angle
• Wi-Fi only with 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR connectivity
• A micro USB and micro HDMI port
• A microSD card slot
• 9800mAh battery good for 10.5 hours of video playback
• 5-megapixel, rear-facing camera
• 1-megapixel, front-facing camera for HD video chats

Pre-sales for this new Acer flagship device will begin June 13. The tablets are expected to ship later this month.

Poster by: Gareth

Sony announce the Xperia Miro – via Facebook

The Xperia range just keeps on growing. The Miro is the latest edition and looks to be a budget Android smartphone although at the time of writing this we have no pricing confirmed. Announced today on Facebook, Sony say that the Miro is here although I am pretty certain this will actually be in Q3 2012.

Launching with Android 4.0 on board is going to please many people and with a 800MHz processor this one could well go head to head with the new HTC Desire C?

Let’s hope the price is right.

Thoughts?

You can see specs and some more images below: