News

Toshiba have an exciting new line of tablets

We have some news from Toshiba this morning. The company officially launched their new Excite line of Android Tablets. Toshiba has taken things to a new level with the Excite, by heavily stepping up the specs, reducing the size and weight, and adding a unique new size category, the monstrous 13-inch tablet! For reference, there are several specs that all of these tablets have in common. Here is a list of all the specs that they all have, prices are only listed in dollars and then below that we have each individual tab with their differences:

• Fixed Back Covers with an Aluminium Surface and styling
• Dual Cameras – 2MP for the front and 5MP for the back that can handle 1080p HD video
• Tegra 3
• 1GB DDR3 Ram
• Gorilla Glass
• Stereo Speakers with SRS Surround
• WiFi
• Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich – Unskinned & Stock from Google
• BioManager Utility to improve battery life

RIM confirms side loading apps on the PlayBook will still be available

According to a report on DroidMatters, RIM wants to avoid, what it calls the "chaotic cesspool" of piracy on Android’s Google Play Store (quote from RIM.) They shall will be locking the BlackBerry PlayBook to keep users from being able to side-load Android apps. Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations at RIM, announced these plans on Twitter. Mr. Saunders claims, without citing sources, that over 25% of Android device apps are downloaded illegally. RIM plans to create the lock in a future update.
Things have developed now and Mr Saunders has confirmed what direction RIM are taking with side loading apps over on the BlackBerry developer blog.

We’re not getting rid of side-loading on the BlackBerry PlayBook OS or in BlackBerry 10.
Side-loading on our platform is changing in nature. Side-loading is a developer feature. It exists so that developers can load their apps onto their own devices to test. It’s there so developers can send a beta release to their testing community for review. It is definitely not there for some people to side load a pirated app.

What are we doing?
Starting with our next release of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS, we’re introducing a feature that will encrypt apps so they can only be run by the user who purchased the app.

What’s next?
We’re working with you, our developer community, to ensure you can still quickly and easily test your apps on real hardware. That’s one of the reasons we’re kicking off BlackBerry 10 Jam by giving each developer attendee a prototype device to start building on. I’ll be on-hand at the show to answer your questions – look forward to seeing you there.

Let’s Jam.

@asaunders

While it can be argued that there are some piracy issues with Android, the Google Play Store can hardly be called a "chaotic cesspool" by any means.

Posted by: Gareth

Angry Birds Space now available for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Attention PlayBook users. Fear not, Angry Birds Space has arrived. The latest addition that has been so popular on iOS and Android is now available to download. Priced at £5 for us UK users (yes we get ripped off again) the game offers hour upon hour of fun including the following features:

• 60 interstellar levels!
• Regular free updates!
• Brand new birds!
• Brand new superpowers!
• Zero-gravity space adventures!
• Trick shots using planets’ gravity!
• Hidden bonus levels!
• Beautifully detailed backgrounds! 

Posted by: James

Lenovo take us on a tour of the IdeaTab

Lenovo has officially released details on their newest IdeaTab Android tablet: The S2109. You can see the new device in the video below, and it has the following specs:

• 9.7" 4:3 IPS display
• TI OMAP chip
• A microSD slot
• Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich
• Unibody 8.9mm thin shell with gunmetal finish
• 1.3 Megapixel front camera
• SRS Trumedia
• Quad speakers for stronger bass
• Micro-HDMI
• Micro-USB
• 10 hour battery
• 1GB of RAM

They still haven’t released details on pricing or availability, but we will keep you apprised as we find out more. Check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=__5DlnyEsy4&noredirect=1

Posted by: Gareth

Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion

Instagram’s army of users aren’t the only ones who see value in the popular Instagram app for iOS and Android; Mark Zuckerberg has aptly taken to Facebook to announce Facebook’s purchase of the app. While there are only 6 employees, they’ll be transferring to Facebook for cash and shares in Facebook to the tune of a cool one billion US dollars.

For avid users of Instagram, there’s nothing to worry about just yet – Kevin Systrom, current CEO of Instagram, has said that Facebook will not be the only network to share your photos to. What is likely to happen is for Instagram to integrate to Facebook much more tightly, which sounds good for Facebook users. After hitting 30 million users, Instagram’s growth is only going to get bigger under Facebook’s wing, so whether you love or hate it, chances are you’ll be seeing more Instagrammed photos in your newsfeed.

Post by: Vince

Google glasses spotted

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: one of the co-founders of one of the largest and most influential corporations on the planet out and about using a prototype of one of his companies "pet projects." Apparently, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google is one of the "beta-testers" of their coolest new project, "Project Glass", aka Google Goggles. Here’s a quote from the Engadget article with some of the details:

Quote:

It would appear company co-founder Sergey Brin already knows, as he was spotted by tech pundits Robert Scoble and Thomas Hawk rocking a prototype at a Dining in the Dark charity event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Scoble has already posted a couple of pictures with Brin on Google+, mentioning more photos would be forthcoming from Hawk after the event concluded and that he’d heard other people, including Google exec Vic Gundotra, have the devices already. For now he mentions the glasses appeared to be "self contained" and that he could see a blueish light flashing on Brin’s eyes.

That’s pretty cool! If he can already start testing them in real-world situations, then they may not be too far off from an actual production model after-all. We will keep you apprised of this interesting and evolving tech.

Posted by: Gareth

CoPilot Live now on sale for iOS and Android

I do like a bargain and ALK are offering an Easter special: discounts on CoPilot Live.

With possible gridlock at the airports, many people will be hitting the roads this Easter weekend, particularly now that the risk of a fuel tanker strike is over (for now at least!). Although UK destinations are likely to be popular, many will be heading across to the continent to escape the sudden cold snap and to find some spring sunshine.

So what else could go wrong? Traffic chaos? Getting lost? Arguments over which way to go? How about huge roaming costs from downloading maps to your phone when abroad?

At CoPilot Live, they want to help you avoid travel problems this Easter. So they are offering some great discounts on the European map versions of our CoPilot Live Premium smartphone sat nav apps – for this weekend only.

USA to get the HTC EVO 4G LTE

Wow, what a name! The HTC EVO 4G LTE has tonight been announced in Americaland and will be available exclusively with Sprint. Here in the UK we are still way behind when it comes to LTE so I’m a little jealous of the speeds this new Android device will offer.

The new EVO is not too dissimilar to the HTC One X we now have here in the UK. Both have the same size screen and 8mp cameras but there is one big difference and that is storage.

The EVO 4G LTE packs 16gb of internal storage (One X has 32) however it also sports MicroSD support, a feature that many Smartphone users hate to be without. Why this feature is on one new flagship handset and not another baffles me but that’s just the way it is.

If you fancy checking out the full specs of the EVO 4G LTE you can do so below:

Instagram hits Android

At last it has arrived. The camera app that has been so popular with iOS users is now available for Android.

Instagram – A beautiful way to share your world. It’s fast, free and fun!

Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects to breathe a new life into your mobile photos. Transform everyday moments into works of art you’ll want to share with friends and family.

Share your photos in a simple photo stream with friends to see – and follow your friends’ photos with the click of a single button. Every day you open up Instagram, you’ll see new photos from your closest friends, and creative people from around the world.

Features :
– 100% free custom designed filters and borders
– Lux works its magic by making your photos more vibrant and brings out details in your photos you couldn’t see before
– Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Foursquare (Flickr coming very soon)
– Interact with friends through giving & receiving likes and comments
– Works with Android versions 2.2 and above that support OpenGL ES 2
– Full front & back camera support
– And much much more…

 

You can find the app here.

Posted by: James

RIM launch BlackBerry Mobile Fusion

RIM has now officially released the entire BlackBerry Mobile Fusion solution, including the Universal Device Service. Similar to how BlackBerry Device Service provides a set of security and management features for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, the Universal Device Service provides Mobile Device Management for iOS and Android based devices.

Now let’s be clear: this does not turn a random phone into a BlackBerry smartphone! BlackBerry® Enterprise Server (conveniently accessible through Mobile Fusion’s unified, web-console, Mobile Fusion Studio) pushes out 500+ IT policies to BlackBerry smartphones. This is the champagne of enterprise mobility solutions, giving organizations back-end integration and end-to-end security that only BlackBerry offers; accessed through feature rich BlackBerry smartphones in a multitude of form factors that end-users desire.

As more devices come to market, however, IT managers need to accommodate individually purchased units that come into the enterprise, whether by a sales rep deciding to expense the latest handset, a doctor bringing in their personal phone for hospital work, or a field worker getting whatever’s available on special as a replacement unit. Universal Device Service offers you – if not a champagne solution – perhaps a Cava or Prosecco. And, given how individual-liable devices are typically used, this is often quite sufficient. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion finally gives you a solution, managed from a single web-console, to deal with the influx of personal-liable devices in the enterprise and ensures that a range of suitable security mechanisms are in place.