News

Angry Birds Seasons is here for Android and iOS

Angry Birds Seasons is now available for download for iOS and Android devices! Initially launched in the App Store as Angry Birds Halloween, the game has been expanded with a brand new festive level pack Season’s Greetings.
Season’s Greetings consists of 25 daily surprises for fans of Angry Birds to enjoy while counting down the days until Christmas. Included in the game is also the 45-level Halloween special edition, now packaged as a separate episode called Trick Or Treat.

The game will set you back 59 pence on the iPhone/iPod Touch and only £1.19 for the iPad. Android users get their edition for free but it is ad-supported currently.

Go check it out.

Posted by: James

RIM vs Kik – The story continues

For those of you that have been following the Kik messaging saga on BlackBerry you may or may not be aware that RIM have launched a suit against Kik Interactive for patent infringement.

It would appear that Kik have infringed three Canadian patents but in addition it also looks like Ted Livingston, the CEO of Kik interactive, worked at RIM as part of the BBM group in 2007 to 2008. RIM alleged that Ted had access to confidential information regarding BBM development, future plans, and technology and used them to his benefit.
RIM also alleged that Kik had, without obtaining user consent, transmitted end users’ personal information, including information from their address books, to Kik’s servers and then used that information to send spam.
This is going to be an interesting case to watch, as RIM will certainly ask for an injunction to stop Kik from distributing its software across not only BlackBerry, but all other mobile platforms as well.

Some unhappy times lie ahead for happy Kik users I think.

Posted by: James

Is this the next BlackBerry Curve?

This one has apparently shown up for FCC approval in the States and is called the BlackBerry Curve 8980.

It’s rumored to have a QVGA screen, a 3.2 megapixel camera and only be EDGE which will not be everyone’s cup of tea.

In fact when I first heard about this one I was a little disappointed and initially thought what is the point in this.  However, I soon realised that this one does have a place in the market.

The Curve 8980 may be the replacement for the 8520. The 8520 was reviewed by us over a year ago so this would be perfect timing for a new improved version. The Curve 8520 has been a huge seller, particularly here in the UK where I see a so many youngsters with them so I see no reason why the 8980 shouldn’t follow suit. I could be totally wrong though and it will really depend on price.

Posted by: James

Free BlackBerry Services from T-Mobile

Those nice chaps at T-Mobile have announced a rather nice offer for us BlackBerry fans. If you click this link you can enter your details and T-Mobile will send you one or two sim cards with six months BlackBerry Services free of charge.

If you are a PAYG customer then as an added bonus you will get unlimited texts when you top up £10.00 per month.

Vodafone did a similar thing recently which I would imagine was a big hit. Nice to see T-Mobile following.

Posted by: James

Vodafone reduce EU roaming data charges

Vodafone has kindly decided to slash the price of using a smartphone for UK consumers travelling in Europe. How decent of them.

The new pricing provides daily and monthly rates for customers to use their domestic smartphone data plans when they are abroad. Those who travel occasionally can take a domestic data plan abroad for ?2 per day, which represents a cost reduction of up to 60% over existing plans and includes an increase to the data allowance.

Meanwhile, frequent travellers can select to take a price plan which includes data roaming within their monthly domestic package. Both offers are available for consumer or business customers.

The new plans will be rolled out in Vodafone’s major European markets during November and December 2010, in time for the winter holiday season, and across the company’s entire European footprint by summer next year.

The announcement is backed by a major marketing campaign with the strapline ‘feel free to use your smartphone abroad’.

Black Friday deals from Apple UK

With it being Black Friday today in the USA Apple UK also have many items on sale. If you are thinking of getting an Apple product then today is the day to do it.

With £81 off the price of an iMac and £35 off the iPad you cant grumble at that.

Click here to see all the discounts.

Posted by: James

Three announces it will offer new purchase options for iPad users

Three UK today announced it will offer new purchase options for iPad users, including more affordable prices when purchased with a data service plan, for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models in the coming months. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface.

Prices re not yet confirmed but this may well be the cheapest way to get an iPad. I see a network price war coming!

Posted by: James

The official word from RIM re Kik Messenger

If you listen to our podcast you would have heard us talking about Kik messenger and how cool it was. Then about a week ago we learnt that RIM had pulled Kik from BlackBerry App World. To make things worse for existing Kik BlackBerry users RIM kindly disabled push which kind of spoils things a bit! It would seem now that they have have released an official statement as to why:

RIM became aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding the Kik app and service. Following discussions with Kik, the app was removed from BlackBerry App World on November 12. Upon further investigation, RIM concluded that Kik had breached contractual obligations. Based on the broad scope and seriousness of the issues and concerns, RIM terminated its agreements with Kik and withdrew RIM’s support for Kik’s service.

Lets hope that Kik sort out the requirements for BlackBerry and re submit the app soon. I kind of miss it.

Posted by: James

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 finally, really getting Éclair update

Believe it or not, it doesn’t say ‘delay’ in that title. After countless false starts, Xperia X10 owners are finally getting their first taste of Android 2.1. Despite 2.3 Gingerbread being just around the corner, Sony Ericsson has finally seen it fit to let 2.1 go on their X10s. Sim-free X10s, X10 minis and mini pros have just had their share; now O2 are rolling out theirs, and T-Mobile are prepping for a launch.next week. (now where have we heard that one before?!) If you still have one and have been living off donuts patiently waiting for over a year to get that promised update, you deserve a medal. Still, better than waiting for a white iPhone 4 I guess.

Posted by: Vince

Apple iOS updated

This one has been a long time coming. Plug in your iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches as iOS 4.2 is now available to download.

iPad owners will benefit the most from this update as it will at last give us multi-tasking, something that has sorely been missing up until now.

Now your iPad has more room for more apps. Move apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity to declutter your Home screens and keep your apps organized for fast access to your favorites.

AirPrint makes it simple to print email, photos, web pages, and documents right from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. A few taps is all it takes to go from viewing it onscreen to holding a printed copy. There’s no software to download, no drivers to install, and no cables to connect.