News

ZTE Tania: At last a budget Windows Phone

In case you missed it, I few days ago ZTE held a small launch event in London where they announced their latest handset, the ZTE Tania. Up until now ZTE have only released smartphones running Android OS but with the Tania that set to change as this puppy run Windows Phone Mango.

The Tania is set to be an ‘affordable’ Windows Phone and there really isn’t yet a packed market place when it comes to Windows Phone so it will be very interesting to see how well it does.

Personally I think it’s a good looking handset and it works well in white even of the noise on Twitter does call it a girly phone with a girly name.

Specs and the press release can be found below:

Vodafone teams up with Yoda

Vodafone UK has today (Wednesday 18 January) announced that it has signed legendary Star Wars character Yoda to appear in its latest adverts.

The 900-year-old Jedi Master will star in a number of TV ads to showcase Vodafone’s innovative new services to ensure that customers get the smartphone that suits them, are able to use it right from the start and then have the confidence to experiment with all its new functions and apps. The first ad premieres on Channel 4 between 8pm and 9pm tomorrow night. The TV ad is supported by a major outdoor and digital campaign that showcases services including RED Box, Data Test Drive, Tech Team and Buyback.

The 60-second launch TV advert focuses on RED Box, a service that automatically transfers contents from an old phone to a new handset. Yoda is seen enthusiastically attempting to use his power to help a couple with the daunting task of transferring numbers to the husband’s new smartphone. However, he soon realises that the Force is not needed, as Vodafone’s new RED Box service has already solved the problem.

Each TV spot has been produced by a team at Lucasfilm’s renowned San Francisco-based visual effects facility ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), with Tom Kane voicing Yoda’s CGI character.

You can see the advert below:

Angry Birds Seasons update next week?

It looks like Angry Birds Seasons will be updated very soon and according to the below video that was uploaded to Rovio’s YouTube channel they are will have a Chinese Year Of The Dragon theme. For 2012 the Chinese New Year is the 23rd of January so fingers crossed the update should roll out for iOS and Android very soon. Now, I wonder if the BlackBerry PlayBook will also get the update?

Posted by: James

Tizen to replace Bada for Samsung?

The word on the street is that Samsung are going to replace their mid range devices with the Tizen OS and not Bada as they currently do.

What on earth is Tizen you may ask. Well, to cut a long story short Tizen is an open source Linux based operating system integrating MeeGo, the Nokia rejected OS.

Samsung have said that the current Bada devices, which have been around since 2010, will be backwards compatible with Tizen and they will produce at least two new Tizen handsets this year.

Let’s see if they show anything off at MWC next month.

Posted by: James

BlackBerry Bold 9790 now in stock sim free at Clove

If you are looking for a new BlackBerry then the Bold 9790 could well be the one you are looking for. Today you can pick it up sim free from Clove for £342.00.

Features of BlackBerry Bold 9790:

• 1GHz Processor
• BlackBerry 7OS
• 35-key backlit QWERTY keyboard
• NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• 768MB RAM
• 8GB Internal Storage
• 5MP Camera
• MicroSD slot (up to 32GB)
• 3.5mm headphone jack

I can say from experience that the device is a beauty. Our full review of the Bold 9790 will online in the next couple of days.

Posted by: James

LG and the Google Nexus TV?

LG has been really stepped up their game on OLED technology. Apparently, Google sees some potential here. A new report from Bloomberg suggests that Google and LG are in talks to potentially partner up on a Nexus-style TV. Basically they are considering developing a Google TV-powered HDTV together in order to compete directly with Apple if Apple does indeed come out with some type of Apple TV. This would also be a boon for Google’s fledgling Google TV efforts, as it would provide a Nexus-style Google branded piece of hardware that consumers could identify with, like the Nexus phones for Android.

In fact, LG just showcased a brand new OLED 55-Inch TV at CES recently that features some Google software powering it. This is something to watch out for!

Posted by: Gareth

Xoom Ice Cream Sandwich emerging

Now, here is some exciting news for Xoom owners… Motorola has begun pushing a new update out to the Xoom for users in the soaktest, and it isn’t just a series of bug fixes and feature improvements like a typical update. This is the full on Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich update! Soon, these lucky folks will be running with the latest and greatest from Google, and then, barring any big issues, they will be sending it out OTA for everyone else too! It won’t be long now!

Source: XoomForums via AndroidPolice

Posted by: Gareth

Black Sony Xperia S available to pre order from Clove

The guys at Clove have just given us a shout to let us know that the Black version of the Sony Xperia S is ready for pre order. Stock is due the week commencing March 5^th and the device will be priced at £467.99 sim free. The white variant will initially be an exclusive to Phones 4U.

Click here to register your interest at Clove. The also have a selection of Smart accessories for the device.

Features of Sony Xperia S

• 4.3" Reality Display with HD Resolution (1280 x 720)
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread (4.0 ICS Upgrade Q2 2012)
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor & 1GB RAM
• 32GB Internal Storage
• 12MP Camera with Sony Exmore R
• NFC for use with Xperia Smart Tags
• DLNA, Wi-FI, Bluetooth and HDMI connectivity
• Compatible with Smart Watch and Smart Wireless Headset
• GPS GLONASS for navigation

Posted by: James

New Mediapad from Huawei

According to their press release, Huawei is sticking to a fast Android OS upgrade special for their MediaPad Android tablets. They indicate that starting toward the end of the first quarter all new MediaPads will come pre-loaded with Ice Cream Sandwich, and all older ones will receive the ICS update not long after that, still during the first quarter. They also added that their new line of MediaPad tablets will add shadow black, classic brown, and passion pink to their current colour scheme. Here’s the full press release below:

QNX Porsche concept car at CES

Us tech geeks all know that QNX is what powers the BlackBerry PlayBook and that QNX itself is already used in many industries, including the motor trade.

Jacob from The Verge has been playing around in the QNX Porsche that is being shown off at CES in Las Vegas this week and it really goes to show the power, and advancements in technology that high end cars are going to be using in the future.

Essentially the Porsche concept car has a BlackBerry PlayBook mounted in its dashboard. However, it is not the ordinary PlayBook OS on board. Porsche have tweaked it to do some amazing things and many functions in conjunction with a BlackBerry Smartphone.

You can see the video below. It is awesome!