This week Gareth and James are joined by Chris Vesey, a writer from Tracyandmatt.co.uk to discuss the latest mobile news. RIM launch Version 2.0 of the Playbook’s operating system and James is quite excited by this, Chris is playing with the HTC Explorer and Gareth continues his quest for value from Vodafone.
One of the many new features in OS 2.0 for the BlackBerry PlayBook is the ability to control the PlayBook from your BlackBerry smartphone. The feature is part of the latest version of the Bridge app that got an update last night.
While it may not be a feature that is used every day I can see two big benefits with it. Clearly for business presentations it will allow the user to control the PlayBook remotely therefore letting he/she free to move around the room.
Secondly, and where I will use it is just plugging the PlayBook into the TV via HDMI. I can now sit back on the sofa and have full PlayBook control without having to worry about a long cable.
You can see a quick demo of the app in action below. Continue Reading »
Samsung Electronics today announced two new additions to its Galaxy smartphone range; both the Galaxy Ace 2 and the Galaxy Mini 2 which will be available in UK from April. Building on the success of their predecessors, the Galaxy Ace 2 and Galaxy Mini 2 are ideal for people that enjoy an active lifestyle who want a handset that’s both stylish and affordable but is also packed full of great features.
Simon Stanford, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division said: “The Galaxy Ace and Galaxy Mini have both been hugely successful handsets for us since they launched last year so we’re excited to be bringing our customers refreshed versions of both devices. Anyone who buys one of these new devices will benefit from even more functionality, including improved processing speeds so they can quickly connect to and browse the internet when they’re out shopping, travelling to work or out with friends. Both devices join our existing Galaxy Family of smartphones again reinforcing our commitment to providing a smartphone for everyone.”
The below highlights the new video chat features in PlayBook OS 2.0 as brought to us by RIM Product Manager Vivek Gupta over on the BlackBerry Blog.
Now that the upgrade to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 – is here, I wanted to give you a sneak preview of some of the great new features that are available in the updated Video Chat! We think you’ll agree, whether for work or play, it’s an easy and fun way to connect with people.
Simply put, Video Chat on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet allows you to make and take video calls with your friends, family, and colleagues who also have a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. (Note: Both users of the Video Chat feature must be connected to the Internet for a chat to be enabled.) With just one click, you’ll be able to have virtual face-to-face conversations using the HD video cameras and stunning high-resolution screen on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
Pretty much bang on the rumored 10AM UK time BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 is available to download. At 401MB I strongly suggest a WiFi connection and make sure your battery is charged.
The BlackBerry Bridge app was updated last night to version 2.0 bringing the remote control option to the OS. This update kind of confirmed we would see the PlayBook OS updated today.
If you have a PlayBook go get the update.
New BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 features include:
- Integrated email client with a powerful unified inbox: With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 you have the option to use a unified inbox that consolidates all messages in one place, including messages from Facebook®, LinkedIn® and Twitter®, as well as personal and work email accounts.
- Social Integration with Calendar and Contacts apps: The built-in calendar harnesses information from social networks and makes it available where and when users need it. Contact cards are also dynamically populated with updated information from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create a consolidated view of contacts.
- Updated BlackBerry Bridge app: BlackBerry® BridgeT is a unique app that provides a Bluetooth® connection between your BlackBerry PlayBook and core apps on your BlackBerry® smartphone (including BBMT, Email, Contacts, Calendar and Browser) in order to let you view the content on the larger tablet display. With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, it’s easier and quicker than ever to take documents, web pages, emails and photos that appear on your BlackBerry smartphone and display them on your BlackBerry PlayBook for an optimized viewing and editing experience. The updated BlackBerry Bridge app also provides a new remote control feature that allows a BlackBerry smartphone to be used as a wireless keyboard and mouse for a BlackBerry PlayBook.
- Improved mobile productivity: Updated document editing functions, the new Print To Go app, and increased control and manageability of corporate data with BlackBerry® BalanceT allow you to get more out of your BlackBerry PlayBook every day. Plus, an updated virtual keyboard with auto correction and predictive next word completion learns how you type to enable faster, more accurate typing.
- New apps and content: Thousands of new apps are being added to BlackBerry App WorldT today (including a range of Android® apps that will run on the BlackBerry PlayBook). A new BlackBerry Video Store1 is launching today. Enhanced web browsing capabilities are also available with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.
We will have a video of the new features later in the day.
Posted by: James
The Tania is ZTE’s first offering to the Windows Phone table. Packing 7.5 Mango and with a 4.3 inch screen you would have thought that the Tania comes with a hefty price tag. Well you would be wrong. Here in the UK the ZTE Tania is priced at just under £200 which is amazing value for money.
For that money you still get a big, robust, well powered Smartphone. Where I do feel the Tania is let down is with its mere 4GB of internal storage. This is measly in this day and age. Combined with the disadvantage of not having a microSD this kinda sucks.
But remember, the ZTE Tania is half the price of some other high end Windows Phones.
You can see the unboxing video below and we will of course have a full review within the next couple of weeks. Continue Reading »
You will have hopefully read James’ review of the LoveFilm Player application for iPad. LoveFilm has long been the movie lovers rental service of choice but now it seems that having the physical disc delivered is a thing of the past. Netflix is a 100% stream only service that has been around for a while over in Americaland and has now arrived in the UK, to make the competition a little more interesting.
For the purpose of this review I decided to enroll on Netflix’s 1 month trial to give it a thorough testing, I hadn’t tried streaming a film on any platform before so I was quite interested to see what the quality would be like on an average broadband connection. After the 1 month trial it will cost you just £6 P/M which for the quality of video that you will receive is awesome value! Also the app is FREE!! My favourite word!
I have to say that I have been really surprised in a very good way that the quality of streaming is super! I have an average internet connection of 5 mb which is below the UK average but for my area is pretty good, however I wasn’t expecting the high quality that Netflix has offered me. I have to note to you guys that this is a review of not only the iPad version but of the iPhone version too, however they are exactly the same app just smaller on the iPhone, so I will be just using iPad screenshots for the review.
Clove just dropped us a line to let us know that the Motorola MOTOLUXE is now available to order and a day earlier than expected.
The Motorola MOTOLUXE XT615 is an elegantly designed smartphone running the Moto Switch 2.0 user interface on the Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread operating system.
Moto Switch features Social Graph, giving you quick access to the people that you contact most frequently. A feature called Activity Graph also gives easy access to the apps that you use most, while a music discovery tool called Music Now helps you to find new songs and albums.
Powered by an 800MHz Qualcomm processor, the 4″ edge-to-edge display of the MOTOLUXE is housed within a brushed metal outer frame. Just below the screen is a lanyard groove, which rather uniquely also doubles up as a notification light for alerts.
One of the most noticeable features of the MOTOLUXE is its 8MP camera, which features autofocus and LED flash. It’s also accompanied by a 0.3MP front-facing camera, meaning that video calling is a possibility should you wish to chat face to face with friends and family.
In terms of connectivity, the MOTOLUXE XT615 has a range of options, which include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DLNA and 3G. There’s also a microSD card slot expandable up to 32GB, plus a 3.5mm connection for headphones or a hands-free kit. Continue Reading »
ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, is planning to launch two new LTE handsets running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with 1.2GHz and 1.5GHz chipsets at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress telecoms industry show in Barcelona.
The PF200 smartphone will have a 4.3 inch QHD capacitive touch screen, with an 8MP camera and 1080p front facing camera for video calling. The handset will work across all the main LTE, UMTS and GSM spectrums, and will come with Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, WiFi, A-GPS, digital living network alliance (DLNA) compatibility, mobile high-definition link (MHL) for connecting to home audio and video devices, and near field communications (NFC) capability.
The N910 handset will work across LTE FDD, CDMA and EVDO spectrums. It has a WVGA (800 x 480) capacitive touch screen, with 5MP autofocus and flash camera with a 1080p front facing camera for video calling. Features will include GPOS, WiFi, Bluetooth and DLNA capability.
“These LTE devices are the fore-runners of a wide range of LTE devices ZTE will bring to the market in the coming months, as more and more LTE networks come on stream,” said Mr. He Shiyou, Executive Vice President and Head of the Terminal Division of ZTE. “They will be feature products – among a very wide range of devices on display at the ZTE stand at Mobile World Congress 2012.”
You can see images below:
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