News

O2 not doing the Blackberry Playbook

O2 UK have announced that it “will not be selling” the BlackBerry PlayBook. The popular carrier has started notifying customers who had signed up for more information about its change of heart.

The official release from O2 states: “unfortunately there are some issues with the end to end customer experience.” Boy Genius Reports that they believe it is due to the lack of a native email client (RIM says that they will have it in a future release…).

This jibes with the review BGR released stating that it felt like the Playbook was unfinished in it’s design. O2 did say that it could offer the product at a later date, and that it will work with Research In Motion on its BlackBerry PlayBook products in the future.

Posted by Gareth

Pre order the HP Pre 3 from Clove

The HP Pre 3 is now available to pre-order on the Clove website. The forthcoming webOS handset is due for release at the beginning of July.

Following on from the HP Palm Pre 2, the Pre 3 maintains the slide-out QWERTY form factor of its predecessor, but features a significantly more powerful feature set and an updated version of the highly rated webOS platform.

Perhaps the main focus of webOS is its ability to multitask, which is ideal for the user of both business and social features. Open apps are regarded as ‘cards’ and these cards can be arranged into ‘stacks’ so as to organise the various applications that you may have running at any one time.

The Pre 3 has also been designed to work alongside the forthcoming HP TouchPad tablet. A great feature called touch to share allows you to transfer certain information between the two devices simply by touching them together.  This is explained briefly in the video below. For full details on the Pre 3 or to place a pre-order, head over to the Clove website.

Posted by: James

Huawei MediaPad to launch June 20th

We mentioned a short while ago that Huawei are launching their new tablet, the MediaPad, at an event soon in Singapore. The time and date is now confirmed and it will be on Monday June 20th at 10.00 am GMT.

Huawei Device executives will reveal MediaPad’s technical specs and provide demonstrations during the launch. They will also introduce Huawei Device’s cloud solution which helps operators and industry customers develop business and attract end users. 

Now clearly I am not in Singapore but fear not as I have been invited to view the event via a live webcast so we can at least bring you the news as soon as possible.

So check back with us after 10.00 am on Monday for some fresh tablet news.

Posted by: James

HTC will update the Desire to Gingerbread after all

After the recent decision that HTC made to not update the HTC Desire to Android 2.3 Gingerbread they have changed their minds! In a short statement they said:

“Contrary to what we said earlier we are going to bring Gingerbread to HTC Desire.”

One can only presume this turnaround was due to uproar from the tens of thousands of current HTC Desire owners out there.

Power to the people!

Posted by: James

Motorola Pro coming to the UK

The chaps at Clove posted interesting Motorola news on their blog today. It would appear that the recently leaked  Motorola Droid/Milestone 3 will not see a UK release. Of course, these things are open to change, but the message that we are receiving at the moment is that it will not be launched in the UK. As of yet we have not heard a reason for this decision, but perhaps UK sales of the Milestone 2 were not as high as Motorola expected. We heard yesterday that the HTC Desire Z has been discontinued, so perhaps the Android QWERTY slider form factor just hasn’t been that popular in the UK.

There is some good news though and that is that the Motorola Pro is heading for the UK and you can pre-order it now from the Clove website.

You can see the features and specs of the Motorola Pro below and if you fancy placing an order the link is at the end of the news post.

The Motorola Pro is an Android business phone that offers a unique form factor. Its candy bar design will be tempting to not only the business user, but anyone who sends a lot of texts or emails.

While there are several Android handsets with a physical QWERTY keyboard, there are not so many that have a portrait set of keys on the front of the device The portrait QWERTY keyboard has been popularised by BlackBerry handsets and is loved by both business and social users. Take the popularity of this form factor and add the Android OS to it and you’ve got the great looking device that is the Motorola Pro.

BlackBerry PlayBook goes on sale in the UK

If you have been waiting to get a BlackBerry PlayBook then today may be your lucky day. RIM’s first tablet goes on sale today exclusively at The Carphone Warehouse within Selfridges in London. If you cant get there then fear not as tomorrow the PlayBook will be available at all Carphone Warehouse, Best Buys, Dixons and Currys.

If you have not seen our review of the BlackBerry PlayBook you can do so here or alternatively the ten second review is below:

The ten second review:

Device: BlackBerry PlayBook

Price: From £399.00

Summary: A pocketable powerhouse. Still needs some extra software but overall a great 7 inch tablet.

Best of: HD Video, Browser, BlackBerry Bridge

Worst of: No native email client, not great for non BlackBerry users.

Buy it now: On sale from June 16th in the UK

Posted by: James

Android Gingerbread not coming to the HTC Desire

The title says it all, folks. For the thousands upon thousands of HTC Desire owners, the dream of 2.3 Gingerbread hitting their phone will have to continue to be just that. The HTC Desire was one of the most popular phones for HTC, and played an important role in really driving Android devices into the hands of general consumers. Not even 18 months old, HTC are already closing production of the Desire hardware. Now, software development has ceased too; Desires will have to stay on Froyo. Unless you want to explore the unofficial channels and flash a custom rom. Here is HTC’s excuse official statement:

Our engineering teams have been working hard for the past few months to find a way to bring Gingerbread to the HTC Desire without compromising the HTC Sense experience you’ve come to expect from our phones. However, we’re sorry to announce that we’ve been forced to accept there isn’t enough memory to allow us both to bring Gingerbread and keep the HTC Sense experience on the HTC Desire. We’re sincerely sorry for the disappointment that this news may bring to some of you.

Whether I believe them is questionable – after all, the Wildfire S for example, gets along with a slower processor, same amount of ROM, and less RAM, yet plenty of Gingerbread. Either way, at least HTC tried and perhaps it’s time to retire that Desire for something HTC thinks is a bit more sensational.

Post by: Vince

Orange to launch The Barcelona

With the huge success last year that Orange had with the San Francisco (ZTE Blade) could they be set to do it again? On the ‘coming soon’ page of the Orange site is the Orange Barcelona, a front facing QWERTY Android device. Running 2.2, supporting HD voice and with a touch screen this one could be another huge hit for Orange. No word on pricing yet but I would imagine it would be very competitive.

Orange say:

Brighten up your life with the Barcelona from Orange. Equipped with the powerful Android 2.2 operating system and a 2.6-inch TFT touch screen, this phone makes communication easy and fun. And it really looks the part with its sleek, ergonomic design. With a 3.2-megapixel camera to play with, you’ll always be able to capture life’s moments as well as listening to your favourite music using the FM radio.

You can see the specs below:

Pre-Order the Toshiba Thive in America

As planned Toshiba have put their Thrive up for pre-order. Prices starting at $429.99 and it seems that the US is first on the list to get this. There is little indication as to when we can expect to see it here in the UK. Here is what Toshiba had to say.

Introducing the Thrive Tablet by Toshiba. Powered by Android 3.1, Honeycomb, this tablet delivers a better way to browse the Web, enjoy e-books and HD videos, play games, listen to music and more. Complete, convenient and customizable, it’s everything a tablet can and should be, with a gorgeous 10.1″ diagonal high-res multi-touch LED backlit display, features you can personalize, and speedy performance so you can multitask your way through your digital life (and favourite entertainment) with ease.

• Android 3.1, Honeycomb
• 10.1" High-resolution LED Screen
• Dual front and back webcams
• User-replaceable Easy Grip Back cover and battery
• One USB 2.0, One Mini USB, One HDMI and an SD Card Slot

Posted by Gareth

Android Market to show compatibility

Google has revamped Android Market, its own app store, to show devices that are compatible with each individual app. Now, when you visit Android Market on the desktop, the app that you’re viewing or trying to purchase will give you a compatibility list showing which of the Android phones or tablets that you have registered will work properly with the app.

With the compatibility check, Android users may feel more confident in making more app purchases, especially considering that Google had shortened the refund period for app purchases recently.
Also, as the Android platform is fragmented with various devices, device-makers, and also OS versions of Android, a compatibility check will help users quickly identify if the app will work with their particular device(s). Previously, users had to rely on developers to list specific compatibility in the app description.

Posted by Gareth