News

Some film based BlackBerry apps for Oscar weekend

This Sunday (27^th February) the world-famous red carpet will be rolled out for the glitz and the glamour that is the Oscars, the ceremony which rewards the Hollywood A-list. But do you know your Gwyneth from your Jennifer, your Scorsese from your Coen Brothers? If not, there is a multitude of film-themed apps in BlackBerry App World that entertain and educate, all in the name of film. And if you’re inspired to hit the flicks, there is even an app that lets you book cinema tickets.

Flixster for BlackBerry is a virtual haven for film buffs, featuring movie listings, trailers, reviews, stills and more. The application lets you find your nearest cinema, book tickets and view trailers for upcoming films, perfect for the indecisive or for those who just can’t get enough of movies. You can even read reviews from top film site Rotten Tomatoes and browse a catalogue of over 50,000 DVDs. The Flixster application is the ultimate pocket guide for movies and new releases, and the best thing is: it’s free!

Samsung Galaxy S II arriving mid to late March

Our friends over at Clove have updated their blog to give some indication of when they can expect the Samsung galaxy S II in stock.

Here is what they say:

As we all know, release dates are always subject to change but we’ve had word today that the first stock of the Samsung Galaxy S II i9100, both the 16GB & 32GB versions, will be landing mid to late March. This is slightly sooner than expected as it was previously thought that Samsung’s new ‘superphone’ would not be available until some time in Q2.

The prices that we have listed are correct at this time, but are subject to change. Regrettably the 16GB model has increased in price since its original listing in the Clove website. If you place a pre-order today, you will not be charged and once the final price and availability has been confirmed, you will be given the option to proceed with or cancel the order.

For customers that have already placed an order for the 16GB model at the lower price, please contact us quoting your order reference number, confirming whether or not you agree to the revised price, or whether you wish to change to the 32GB model. Previously the 32GB model was not listed, but we have now had confirmation that it will be available.

We now have the two variation of the SGS2 listed at the following prices:

Samsung Galaxy S II i9100 (16GB) – £510 + VAT

Samsung Galaxy S II i9100 (32GB) – £590 + VAT

Vodafone have a huge selection of Smartphones and Tablets coming soon

If you are in the market for a new top end Smartphone or tablet then you may want to consider Vodafone. Their ‘coming soon’ page on the site is busting at the seams with all the good stuff from our top manufactures.

Although the handsets are not yet released you do get the opportunity to sign up for updates so at least when the device does become available you will get notified.

Head on over to the Vodafone site or you can see the full range of ‘coming soon’ phones and tablets after the break.

We will of course have full reviews of all the below devices in due course.

Windows 8 Tablets due in Q4 this year

Some say that Windows 8 tablets using ARM processors could be out before the years end. Business Insider’s sources claim that Microsoft has thousands of engineers which have been working on the ARM version of Windows 8. It has already been leaked that Windows 8 will be more tablet-centric and touch friendly.

Windows 7 tablets have been critised for two main problems. Firstly, an unrefined touch interface. The few tablets on the market now seem to not only be less responsive than Android or Ipad alternatives but also fairly fiddly. Windows also seems to suck up battery life at an alarming rate. These are the precise two things that Windows 8 will combat. The ability for Windows 8 to run on ARM processors should allow the platform to match Android and Apple tablets with their 10 hours or more battery lives.

Some companies have managed to make Windows 7 quite a pleasent experience, for example Viewsonic’s Vpad 10 which I had the pleasure of playing with at MWC. This tablet had Windows as the front runner and ran Android 2.2 on top, with Meego as a option they plan to shoehorn in.

It will be great to see Windows shaking up the mix. Windows 7 proved to be a strong operating system and if Windows 8 is an improvement, with the support behind it, Microsoft has the potential to be a market leader.

Posted by Gareth

BlackBerry Dakota revealed

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of it before, but the folks at N4BB.com have landed themselves a suite of images of the new yet-to-be-announced ‘Bold Touch’ – running on OS 6.1, it has a 2.8 inch VGA touchscreen, magnetometer, accelerometer, 5MP camera, and a Near Field Communications chip that’s all the rage right now. The particular model that N4BB picked up had 6.5GB of inbuilt storage and half a gig of RAM.

Despite retaining the distinctive BlackBerry look, it has a few nice touches that we haven’t seen before such as the glowing trackpad and the carbon fibre back; the overall design clearly takes a leaf out of the old Bold’s book so it should please those Bold 9000 fans that a worthy successor is just around the corner.

Find the rest of the pictures below.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Shown of in White, Coming to O2

Personally  I don’t get the point of white phones. They look tacky and cheap in my opinion but for those who like white will be able to get their fix with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play aka, the playstation phone. The white Xperia Play will be an exclusive to O2 but we don’t as of yet, we don’t have a release date of either coloured model.

Check out Gareth’s demo video of the Xperia Play from CES below as well as some more pictures below…

T-Mobile to introduce flat rate EU data roaming

Operator will introduce flat rates across all of its European markets from March to encourage users to access data when roaming

T-Mobile is to launch the first EU flat rate “transparent” data roaming plans to improve customer experience.

T-Mobile said today at the 2011 Mobile World Congress it was introducing three flat rate data plans to encourage customers to access data whilst roaming.

It said the plans are designed to improve transparency on data costs for customers and remove fears of high bills.

The offer covers all EU countries including the UK and those T-Mobile does not operate in.

The packages include £1.95 for 10mb and £4.95 50MB per day and a week flat pass for £14.95.

Customers will be given active feedback on their usage.

It will be in place from March and across all its markets by July in time for summer.

Every T-Mobile customer will receive a text offering the service when they move in to a new country.

Only 3 per cent of customer typically use data roaming. DT expects the plan to increase customers numbers.

Deutsch Telekom chief technology and innovation officer Edward Kozel (pictured) said. “It’s as a easy and as transparent as you can get.”

Good news. Now I wonder if this will apply to Orange as well?

Posted by: James

HP (Palm) photos from MWC

While at the HP booth at Mobile World Congress Gareth spent some time taking photos of the recently announced Pre3 and Veer. Rather than him make a collage for his bedroom wall we thought you may be interested in seeing them so you will find them all below.

I’m not sure how big the man in the photos is but you will get an idea of the size difference between the Pre3 and the Veer. That man really must stop biting his finger nails!

Samsung Creates the UK’s first social census

Inspired by the 2011 national census, Samsung Mobile UK today launches the country’s very first social census asking people to submit photos of a moment that signifies their ‘present’ via social networking sites. The ‘Now Project’ will curate a collection of images that will be logged with time, date and location culminating in a visual census of the UK.

The project, which runs throughout February, invites people to capture images that represent what they are doing or feeling ‘now’. Everything from the commonplace and the ordinary, right through to the unconventional and the unique will be uploaded to an online gallery hosted on Facebook.

HTC photos from MWC

Gareth is spending his last day at MWC today and has taken a ton of photos over the course of the event. We thought we’d share some of these photos with you and below you’ll find a selection from the HTC presentation including pictures of the HTC Flyer and HTC Incredible S. We’ll have another post later on today with the other HTC handsets and further posts with photos from the other press events and of other products announced at MWC.

We’ve not done any editing but we hope you enjoy the selection.