News

Some pics of the iPhone 5?

Probably is a fake but for now we’ll reserve judgement.  Apparently, on Thursday of last week two cases were revealed for the new generation of the iPhone, how exactly the case manufacturer knew the design is still unclear but they are confident enough in their prediction to start producing the cases ready for the new iPhone.

However, this week it appears Gizmodo, the guys who had the pre-production iPhone 4, posted the pictures below. The device looks real enough and in keeping with current design trends we are observing of Apple. It could, and more likely, be a self-referential joke by Giz to their situation with the iPhone 4 before it’s launch.

I have attached all the images below, including the fabled cases, for your judgement.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer 2 in October?

As we ready our The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer review (for the second time) we find out that ASUS is thinking about their next generation Transformer could be out as early as October.

Not much detail was given on what this updated version of the Transformer will be packing. Speculation is that it will have a next generation quad-core Tegra 3 processor, and possibly the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Ice Cream Sandwich is the convergence of Honeycomb and Android for smartphones. Ice Cream Sandwich(ICS) is set to work on all devices such as tablets, phones, Google TV devices, and more. With the success of their first Honeycomb tablet, Google might be giving ASUS early access to ICS as they did with Honeycomb for Motorola. Hopefully ASUS will continue to be competitive with pricing for this new device.

Posted by Gareth

Smartphone addiction taking over

More than a third of British adults who own a smartphone have admitted they are "highly addicted" to it and cannot bear to put it down, not even in the toilet.

Research for the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has found new evidence of how devices such as iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids affect our behaviour.

Smartphone users are more likely to have their phones switched on 24 hours a day and would wake up in the night to answer or use it.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have also lead to owners cutting down on their TV viewing and reading.

Six out of 10 smartphone users aged 12 to 15-years-old, or 60%, said they had a high level of addiction, compared to 33% with a regular mobile phone.

The Ofcom communications market report for 2011 says 18% of users will use their device in a theatre or cinema despite knowing it should be switched off – this compares to 10% of other mobile phone users. Facebook is taking up people’s time during the day.

The report also found evidence of smartphones blurring the divide between work and holidays with 30% regularly taking personal calls during working hours.

And using an iPhone or Blackberry at a social event or in the bathroom is also common. Almost half (47%) of teengers with a smartphone said they had used it in the toilet.

The top three activities used regularly by teenage smartphone owners were social networking, listening to music and playing games, with emails, internet surfing and social networking the most popular activities for adult smartphone owners.

More than a quarter of British adults, or 27%, are smartphone users, representing an estimated 12 million users, according to the Ofcom report.

The Apple iPhone is the most popular brand overall but BlackBerry or ‘Crackberry’ handsets are the most popular choice among younger consumers.

Are you an addict? I know I am.

Source: Sky News

Posted by James

Skype for iPad at last!

After a bit of a false start yesterday, first being then released and the removed from the App Store, one of the apps I have been most eagerly awaiting has been made available at last. I’m talking, of course, about Skype for iPad.

Previously the only way to use Skype on the iPad was to use the iPhone specific app. Whilst obviously this was workable it was, frankly, far from ideal as with other iPhone apps that run on the iPad it simply used display doubling in order to get it full screen.

Fortunately the new iPad app makes excellent use of the larger iPad display and working in a similar way to the mail app with a two-pane interface.

Looks awesome and works well even with the camera on the iPad 2. If you have an iPad then it’s definitely worth a look!

Posted by: Matt

Apple tosses Samsung’s tablet out of Oz

Apple scored a victory in their on-going legal tirade against Samsung. A court in Sydney, Australia ruled in favour of Apple regarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The device has now been blocked from advertising and sales within Australia until the courts decide the full patent infringement case. Here’s a quote from the Bloomberg article, Quote: Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, agreed to stop advertising the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia and not to sell the device until it wins court approval or the lawsuit is resolved, according to an accord reached by lawyers during a break in the hearing.

Should Apple lose its patent infringement lawsuit, it agreed to pay Samsung damages, which weren’t specified. Interestingly, Apple’s Australian claim is based on a U.S. version of the Galaxy tablet, which is different from the one that will be sold in Australia, according to Samsung’s lawyer Neil Murray. Samsung will provide Apple three samples of the Australian version of the computer tablet at least seven days before it planned to start distributing it. There’s no telling when, or if, this will affect any of Apple’s other international cases against Samsung, but it may have repercussions.

Ultimately, however, the final court ruling regarding the similarities and the 10 alleged patent infringements is really what matters the most in the long run. Then again, perhaps Apple has achieved what it really set out to do. Perhaps Apple’s real intentions were never really to "win" the court cases in the first place, and all they really wanted to do is hamper or slow down the momentum of their competitors. It’ll be interesting to see as the drama continues to unfold.

Posted by: Gareth

Help bring the Orange Ice Cream van to your town

Yes, you did read the title correctly. Orange have an ice cream van! To celebrate the summer arriving the Orange ice cream van will be visiting various locations in the UK dishing out yummy ice cream to keep you cool in the warm weather.

If you click here you can register your favorite ice cream toppings and the most popular ones will be stocked on the van ready for your consumption.

It would appear that soon you will have the opportunity to submit your postcode. The more submissions from each postcode, the greater the chances of the van coming to your area.

You can see a short video from Orange below:

The Nokia 500 announced

Nokia have today announced the 500, a low cost Smartphone packing a 1GHz processor, changeable back covers plus the Symbian Anna operating system.

Full details from the Nokia blog below:

If you’re looking for a low-cost, full-function smartphone, then the Nokia 500 should meet your needs and more. As you can see from the pictures, this is a touch-screen phone. It’s got a 3.2-inch capacitive touch display, with a screen resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. On the back, there’s a 5-megapixel camera that can also capture video – ideal for holiday snaps and days out.

The Nokia 500 comes with the latest Symbian Anna OS, offering a refreshed UI, a better browser and split-screen messaging. As you’d expect, preinstalled you’ll find the latest version of Nokia Maps for free drive and walk navigation, plus you can download every other app you might need from the Store. If you’re anything like us, then your first week with the phone will be occupied filling and then emptying the phone of dozens of apps. The music player is complemented by an FM radio receiver and Internet Radio access to all the music and news you might need, not just from your own country, but from around the world. Social Media is catered for through the Social app, bringing friends’ updates to your homescreen.

Under the hood, there’s the 1GHz processor – allowing for plenty of oomph when you’re multitasking lots of apps or doing something extra-demanding. There’s 2GB of storage memory, plus the possibility of increasing this by a further 32GB using the micro-SD card slot. Like all our recent smartphones, it offers pentaband radio coverage so world travellers need never be out of touch, 3G data up to HSUPA speeds [that’s a whopping maximum speed of 5.8Mbps nowadays, by the way]. There’s also Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi b/g, as you’d expect. The phone measures 111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1mm and weighs in at 93g – lighter than any other Symbian^3 phone to date.

Mac OSX Lion LaunchPad Control

We all love the new LaunchPad found in Apple’s Mac OSX Lion, but, if like me, you need further control of the LaunchPad, such as hiding apps without removing them, then look no further.

Launchpad-Control by Andreas Ganske provides you with a System Preference Pane that allows you to select what apps you wish to hide using a simple check to show, un-check to hide option on each app.

Simply download this free app, view your System Preference Pane and un-check all those apps you wish to hide. The advantage over this method is it simply hides the shortcut from the LaunchPad, the application can still be found, launched and used from within your Applications Folder.

Head over to chaosspace.de to download this for free. Of course donations are appreciated.

Download now

Posted by: Danny

BlackBerry 9900 official launch event

Next week, on Wednesday, August 3rd, RIM are having a press event in Central London where one can only presume we will get the official BlackBerry Bold 9900 launch details. Various dates for launch have been bouncing around the internet for some time although none of the UK carriers have committed to a specific date yet. Many online retailers that sell sim free handsets say August 15th but until we hear it from RIM direct I wont hold my breath.

We could however see some other devices at the event, although I am not putting my money on this. We know RIM will have several new models in the market this year but when and where remains a mystery.

As soon as we have the Bold 9900’s launch date will will of course let you know.

In the meantime you can see our hands on video here if you have not seen it already. And our full review of the device will be published within the next few days.

Posted by: James

Samsung Galaxy S II coming soon to Clove in White

The chaps at Clove have given us a shout this afternoon to let us know that the popular Samsung Galaxy S II will be available in White from approximately 15th August.

Loads of iPhone fans waited for a long time for a white version so I am sure this new white Galaxy S II will be just as popular.

If you have not read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S II you can do so here.

Or alternatively here is Patrick’s conclusion if you have not got the time to read the whole thing now.

The Android space was dominated by the Galaxy S last year and I expect that this year the entire mobile space will be dominated by it’s successor. The hardware on the Galaxy S II won’t be beaten for quite some time (perhaps until this time next year) only to be matched by the HTC Sensation and maybe by the as yet unannounced new iPhone.

TouchWiz 4.0 really has matured and become much more useful and better to use than last year’s version and with Google’s recent announcement that Android handsets will be updated for 18 months after release, you will stay current if you purchase this handset. Especially, when Google releases Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung updates the Galaxy S II to this tasty treat.

It is truly the best smartphone that I have ever used. The hardware and software comes together in harmony and produces a fast, easy and productive handset that is an absolute joy to use. If you have any doubts whatsoever about buying this handset, forget them.  You will not be disappointed.

We don’t have a rating system here but if we did, it would get a 10/10 with no questions asked. It really is that good!

Head on over to Clove for pricing and of course we will confirm with you when the white version is in stock.

Posted by: James