In true Samsung style the company are already teasing us as to what lies ahead at the event on May 3rd where we can expect to see the next Galaxy S III. The following video doesn’t give much away (also typical) but it does have a dig at another what I can only presume is the iPhone stating ‘you can now stand out from….everyone else.’ Cheeky.
You can see the video below.
Good news if you use Windows Phone. Skype is now rolling out version 1.0 of the app which has been in beta for a few months. I’m not seeing the update here in the UK just yet but it is available in the US so be patient British people.
The update now brings the ability to search for contacts as well as call landlines. The app is still currently let down in my opinion by the fact it will not work in the background. This will be fixed in due course but Skype cannot give a time frame.
So as it stands the iOS and Android versions are still far better. Still, it is early days.
Posted by: James
With yesterdays announcement of the BlackBerry Curve 9220 over in India I thought it was worth bringing you some nice images of the device as it may well be one of Research in Motions best selling handsets in certain parts of the world. This 2G successor to the 8520 will not be suited to the UK market, in my opinion, and I would expect that we will see the BlackBerry Curve 9320 launched here instead, which is the 3G variant.
That said, the two devices are very similar in design and specs so if you are in the market for a new low cost BlackBerry in the UK it is still worth taking a look at the following pictures to give you a rough guide.
There is no doubt that the Curve 8520 is now out of date. It may have been the best selling smartphone in the UK for the last couple of years but it is time for an overhaul. The new Curves take the budget BlackBerry into the next era with the latest version of the OS (7.1), FM radio, a larger battery and a dedicated BBM hardware button on the left side of the device.
Remember last month when the likes of the BBC and The Guardian reported that RIM would not be supporting consumers? I said then that it was rubbish and that Thorsten Heins (RIM CEO) said no such thing. These new affordable BlackBerry smartphones go to prove that.
Anyway, you can see some nice high res images of the BlackBerry Curve 9220 below.
If you are in the type of business where having a smartphone is likely to end up in it getting broken the JCB Pro-Smart may well be the perfect device for you.
JCB’s first Android smartphone (discounting the limited edition of the DEFY+), the Pro-Smart, is now in stock at Clove.
Priced at £259 (£310.80 inc.VAT), the Pro-Smart features Android 2.3 Gingerbread and has an IP67 protection rating, as well as the usual smartphone features.
For some it might not always be feasible to have a nice smartphone because of the environments we work or find ourselves in, they are just too vulnerable to damage and the last thing you want is to spend large amounts of money replacing, protecting or repairing phones. You might have a smartphone you use occasionally or for personal reasons but for work it’s a basic phone that can cope.
JCB have been making phones for a while but they have still been fairly limited in capability, but they have been rugged.
Motorola have created waves with their water resistant and dust resistant DEFY, and it has become highly appealing to trades people or those who are a bit clumsy with phones.
The Pro-Smart is JCB’s answer to the Motorola DEFY. It is a fully fledged smartphone that is capable for calls, texts, web browsing, navigation video playback and more. However the difference is that the unit is IP67 rated meaning it will survive being dropped in water (for short periods of time). It will take a few knocks and will be more resistant to dust and dirt than many other phones.
If you are looking for the best camera phone around then you may want to consider the Nokia 808. Clove now have the device available to pre order but it will set you back a whopping £538.80 including VAT.
The price may seem like a high price tag for a handset that runs Symbian, but the PureView does have a 41MP camera to make up for its lack of a smartphone OS. It also comes with a Xenon flash, 4″ AMOLED display, 16GB internal storage (expandable via a microSD slot) and the range of connectivity features that can be found in current smartphones, including DLNA.
The rumour squad have been working overtime for months now but it looks like that is set to end next month as Samsung have sent out a ‘Galaxy’ press invitation for May 3rd.
The Samsung Unpacked event to be held in London should have the media’s full attention. The invitation isn’t giving us any clues as to what we can expect, apart from a Galaxy, but as we are due the Galaxy III about this time I think it’s certain what we will see that night.
I think we can safely say that Samsung are going to give the HTC One Series a good run for their money. What do you want to see with the new Galaxy flagship?
Posted by: James
You may or may not have heard of Kickstarter; for those who haven’t, it’s a website where entrepreneurs can pitch their ideas on the internet, looking for funding to take those ideas into commercial production. Many successful projects have turned into worldwide hits such as the Lunatik iPod nano watch case, but the Pebble watch threatens to send even that into the background, as it is currently the highest funded project ever by over half a million dollars. Despite setting out for a target of $100,000, they surpassed that in well under 48 hours and are now sitting at a cool two million, still with 35 days to go.
The Pebble watch was born out of Palo Alto, which carries on from their previous product, the inPulse, and is similar to the MOTOACTV or Sony Smart Watch. Of course, the Pebble does the expected smartwatch things – it connects to your iPhone or Android smartphone via Bluetooth 2.1, alerting you via the vibrating motor to new texts, email, calls etc.
The Pebble promises two key differences however which drastically improves the practicality of using a smartwatch on a daily basis. The first is the E-Ink display – not only is it very readable in sunlight, it is also super power efficient, allowing a claimed 7+ days of battery life. The second is the open nature of the software – a free SDK allows anyone to develop and distribute their own watch faces and apps for the Pebble such as everything from a simple stopwatch to a GPS powered Golf Rangefinder.
This all sounds mighty exciting to me, and you can join myself and the other 14,383 (and counting) backers and their $2,000,053 (and counting) by pledging cash here in return for a black, white, or red Pebble watch (or a hundred!) due for delivery in September.
Post by: Vince
Yes, you read that right. If you were not aware you can in fact get money for your old BlackBerry when you upgrade to a new one.
All the details can be found on the BlackBerry UK website. It is just a case of filling in the information consisting of what BlackBerry Smartphone you currently have and which you wish to upgrade to and you will be given a trade in price.
With ten different devices on sale here in the UK (excluding the Porsche Design P’9981) there is an option for everyone so you may as well take advantage of the offer.
If you are interested head on over to the BlackBerry site. You can find a shortcut to the trade up FAQ’s here.
Posted by: James
We have seen a few BlackBerry 10 concept designs but none until now with a hardware keyboard. This concept designed by DigitalHomeBoy is possibly the dream BlackBerry for many, including myself.
It is pretty much certain that the first QNX powered BlackBerry 10 device we will see will be touch screen only. This should be confirmed in the first week of May at BlackBerry Jam which is the developer conference taking place at BlackBerry World in Orlando. However, will Team BlackBerry be happy to ditch their beloved hardware keyboards for a touch screen slab? I’m not convinced so RIM had better take a good look at this concept and make it happen, or as close as they can anyway.
You can see more info on the concept device below. Would you consider a move to BlackBerry if you could have a smartphone like this? Please let us know.
The below video popped up today on Nokia’s YouTube channel. I’m not entirely sure it was meant to but it is done now. This new Lumia 610 variant will be the first Near Field Communication supported Windows Phone we will get here in the UK.
Contactless payment is far from mainstream but the NFC Lumia 610 will support both Visa and MasterCard payments in due course.
"Orange is committed to rolling out mobile NFC services in all its European territories and as part of this goal we’re very excited to be the first operator to launch the Lumia 610 NFC," said Yves Maitre, Senior VP Mobile Multimedia & Devices at Orange. "The Nokia Lumia smartphones have been very well received by Orange customers. We are now going one step further and adding an NFC-enabled handset to this popular range of devices, enabling people to use contactless services via a single tap. Nokia is a natural fit for us regarding NFC and, like Orange, has shown a very early commitment to the standard."
You can see the video below:
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