News

Sony announces a pair of Android tablets

This one came as a little bit of a surprise to me actually as until now these had passed me by, I just received an email from Sony telling me that they have just officially announced their first entry in to the Android tablet market with not one but two tablet models cleverly named the S1 and the S2!

The S1 is a fairly conventional tablet design with 9.4″ screen, the S2 on the other hand, is somewhat more unusual with two 5.5″ screens in a folding arrangement which has a Nintendo DS look about it.

Rumour has it that they will both run on the Tegra2 chipset but we’re just waiting for the official specs to be sent through to use before we post them.

Full press release follows.

Free BitDefender security software with Tracy and Matt

By way of an exclusive offer to our readers, we’ve teamed up with BitDefender to offer a free 3 month licence of their Internet Security 2011 software.

With internet users facing a range of threats from viruses through to online fraud, whether you’re an advanced user or a beginner it makes sense to stay protected.

And of course, what better price is there than free? To claim your copy, just click on the following link: Download Your BitDefender 90 Day License

I personally use BitDefender for my Mac and can honestly say it’s one of the best security suites I’ve used.

Posted by: Matt

IM+ coming to the BlackBerry PlayBook

Here at tracyandmatt we have covered various versions of IM+ over the past couple of years. The multi platform instant messaging client is coming to the BlackBerry PlayBook which is good news if you ask me. I often use IM+ on both my BlackBerry and iPad and as I will be picking up a PlayBook it is nice to see that some familiar apps will be supported.

No date is given yet for the app, but I have just spoken with Shape Services and as soon as it is ready we will have a copy so we can bring you a video demo.

Posted by: James

Buy a Motorola XOOM today

Yep, if you have been waiting to purchase the Motorola XOOM then today is the day you can. If you head over to the Carphone Warehouse you can pick one up either on contract or buy it outright. You can get the XOOM free on contract from £25 per month or buy it outright for £579.99.

Here is a quick overview of the XOOM:

Motorola XOOMT 3G is a fast, powerful tablet with all the features you need to stay entertained and get online on the go. It’s one of the most feature-rich and exciting tablets yet.

Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast App reaches the Amazon App Store

If you have an Android mobile and currently living in the United States of America (Howdeee Pardners!) then you might be interested to know that you can pick up the Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast application from the Amazon App Store. If you search for Mobile Tech Addicts anywhere on the site you will find the app, or if you don’t like all that mucking around with typing you could click here.

Posted by: Gareth

Phones 4U to stock PlayBook at launch

With yesterday being BlackBerry PlayBook launch day in North America and Canada, Phones 4U have conformed they will stock the PlayBook from day one here in the UK. They have not however confirmed when the UK launch date will be. That one is still a mystery. The good news though is that we will have a PlayBook pretty soon for review and clearly as soon as we get the nod from RIM we will let you all know the launch details.

Phones 4U marketing director Russell Braterman said in-house research collected by the retailer showed 69 per cent of 16-25 year olds currently owned a BlackBerry handset and said the arrival of the PlayBook in the UK would increase the over BlackBerry user experience.

“We’re thrilled to be offering a professional-grade tablet device that will enhance the user’s mobile experience,” Braterman said.

Our customers are always after the latest and greatest in technology, and the BlackBerry PlayBook is setting a new standard for the tablet category.”

Personally I am pulling my hair out waiting for the BlackBerry PlayBook to arrive here. Well I would if I had any hair!

Posted by: James

HTC Flyer WiFi priced

In contrast to the recent post of the pricing for the HTC Flyer, PC World have listed the price for the HTC Flyer without the 3G aspect, the Wifi one. Loosing the 3G modem will drop the price from £599.99 to a bargain basement £479.99. This takes into account the drop is storage size also. The 3G listed on PC World’s site is 32GB, whereas the wifi is left with a little 16GB chip in there.

The HTC Flyer is a strong and exciting product but HTC have really pushed the boat out when it comes to the pricing. The Galaxy Tab was also guilty of this and soon we will see Motorola, Acer and LG entering the same price range with their offerings, however the latter three are better spec’d and running a more appropriate operating system. Oh, but they don’t have a stylus.

Posted by: Gareth

Apple Vs Samsung: The legal battle of the century

According to Reuters, Apple Inc are suing Samsung over the look of the Galaxy line. Mobile and tablets “slavishly” copying  iPhone and iPad design. According to Apple "This kind of blatant copying is wrong."

To mark this occasion of momentous nonsense I am launching a competition. The person who can identify the most differences in the devices after the break will receive a special mention on the podcast on just what a keen attention to detail they have.

Samsung Galaxy S Gingerbread update imminent

Another week, another release of a 2.3 update to one of the many Galaxy phones. Samsung seem to be making good on these updates and it’s a very welcome announcement. The Galaxy S 2.3 Gingerbread update will start rolling out this weekend. I’m guessing that users of other phones and tablets in the Galaxy range will see a release for their device in the near future.

To download the source, head over to the Open Source Developers Center, search for "GT-I9000_OpenSource_GB.zip," download, and enjoy.

Posted by: Gareth

Mobile Tech Addicts podcast award nomination

Hopefully many of you already tune in to our weekly podcast and may have heard Gareth mention that the Mobile Tech Addicts podcast has been nominated in the “Best use of social media by broadcast media” section of the Northern Ireland Social Media Awards.

We are up against some very stiff competition from the big local media however! UTV, CoolFM, City Beat and Talkback are some of the most popular local broadcasters in NI so the fact that we are alongside them is pretty cool.

So to those of you that tune in and enjoy our podcast (and even if you don’t) I’d like to ask you to please consider voting for us. You can find us under category 6 and all you have to do to place your vote is go to the Northern Ireland Social Media Awards voting site, put in an email address and tick the box next to our name. Simples!

Thanks so much to those of you that already voted and to those of you about to do so. We’ll let you know how we get on! 🙂

Posted by: Gareth