Vodafone today announced its Vodafone Navigation App is now available from the App Store. The app provides turn-by-turn navigation, with voice instructions and speed camera alerts, for any location in the UK meaning Vodafone customers now have the option to never be lost again.
The Vodafone Navigation App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.
At the end of April 2010 customers can decide to keep the app for the length of their contract for just £3 a month, or choose to take it month by month for £5 a month.
Customers can also access Western European maps for an additional £5 for each month they are used.
via Press Release
Vodafone today announced the availability of its free Vodafone 360 People Sync App on the App Store. The app was developed to help customers easily move mobile contacts from one phone to iPhone by backing up and syncing all contacts regardless of network provider.
The 360 People Sync App removes the hassle of having to manually transfer numbers to a new iPhone. Customers can sync contacts from almost 500 phones to iPhone so no one need ever lose a contact again. Customers can check whether a phone is supported by registering for an account at 360.com.
The 360 People Sync App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.
Vodafone now offers the iPhone in the UK with a range of contract price plans tailored to let customers make the most of the UK’s outstanding network. Available from as little as £30 a month, customers will be able to buy their iPhone in-store, through their account manager or online at vodafone.co.uk/iphone
via Press Release
Back at the beginning of December last year we reviewed the first of a new line of LG Chocolate phones, the LG BL40. It was a pretty unusual form-factor with a 4″ full 21:9 cinematic widescreen display and at just under 11mm thick it invited such comments as ‘It looks like a TV remote’!
LG have taken the same design ideas, such as the smooth glossy black screen and metallic red accents and have applied all of that to a slim slider-styly handset and have come up with the LG BL20 ‘New Chocolate’.
The LG BL20 New Chocolate
I think, overall, the LG BL20 and the BL40 before it, are attractive looking handsets, the red and black does work well and when the screen is off or in standby the front looks almost totally black. The BL20 isn’t touchscreen though but uses a touch sensitive area below the screen for the majority of system and menu navigation. For input there’s the sliding numeric keypad which is also a stylish red colour.
As always, I’ve taken the time to unbox and tour the handset before it gets the full review treatment. Have a look at the video below for a brief tour of the handset and the OS.
LG BL20 Specification:
- GSM Tri-band, HSDPA Dual-band
- Dimensions: 106.9 x 50.8 x 12.3 mm
- Weight: 115 g
- Display: 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches, TFT, 262K colors
- Touch-sensitive hidden navigation keys
- 60MB internal memory
- microSD card slot supports up to 16GB
- Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
- USB v2.0
- Camera: 5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, Schneider-Kreuznach optics, autofocus, LED flash
- SMS, EMS, MMS, EMail, Instant Messaging
- WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML browser
- FM radio
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA player
- H.264/MP4/WMV player
- Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 900 mAh
- Stand-by: Up to 450 h
- Talk time: Up to 300 min
Posted by: Matt
It’s the newest, hottest phone on the market and it was outsold by the MyTouch 3G 3 to 1. It’s not like the Nexus One hasn’t been in the news very much, I think every major tech publication and newspaper has mentioned the device in one capacity or another. It wasn’t released on one network per area like the iPhone or the Pre so no network can be blamed for mis-marketing.
Perhaps too many people are suffering a 24 month contract to care about what Google is outputting.
Guess it’s only a matter of time before the British government clamp down, but the Chinese authorities have take big big step to stomp out illegal activates. Here is an article from Mobileburn.
Today China’s state media told the press that China will begin to ban its citizens from sending or receiving SMS texts if they are using their phones to distribute pornography or other content deemed illegal by the Chinese government.
According to AFP, China Mobile is working with the Chinese government to help police SMS texts using a "checking system."
China’s internet censorship has been well publicized, and many suspect it’s in an effort to prevent any backlash against the Communist government.
This news comes amid Google’s decision to stop censoring search results in China after hackers attempted to break into the email accounts of Chinese civil rights activists.
[Source Mobileburn via Yahoo News]
As yet none of the current Windows Phones are going to eligible for an upgrade to Windows Mobile 7 but many of us are hoping that the HTC HD2 will be! With its capacitive touch screen, multitouch support and a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor the HD2 really should be more than capable, in my opinion, of running the new OS but will Microsoft or HTC officially announce it?
HTC HD2
Well we may be a step closer. As reported last week on MSMobilenews, Microsoft marketing dude Greg Sullivan recently made the following statement:
"Our fragmentation issue is primarily around screen resolutions and assuming a minimum CPU and storage. So it has been a little bit challenging, because that choice, that flexibility, that freedom that people have to build any kind of device and use any kind of device: touch, non-touch, keyboard, soft key, has required a little bit extra effort in some cases for developers to target apps that run across a wide array of devices,” Sullivan said.
But the (HTC) HD2 is a great early example of our new approach.We’ve got capacitive and multi-touch support in a Windows Phone, and that’s because we did the platform work while working very closely with HTC to do the hardware/software integration.”
So how are we having our cake and eating it too? We’re going to continue the horizontal market, but work very closely with our hardware partners to provide more guidance on the platform so we don’t have nine different display sizes that independent software vendors have to target.maybe just two.
We’re going to continue investing in the user experience, and the legacy pocket PC 1999 UI that still kind of shows up if you drill down pretty deep? that’s another thing that’s changed."
With Mobile World Congress taking place next month I am hoping we may get some official announcements regarding Windows Mobile 7 and the good news is that i will be there to cover any breaking stories.
Posted by: James
Virgin Media has today announced a new UK partnership with HTC Corp., a leading smartphone designer, which will see the cutting-edge HTC HD2 smartphone added to its range of handsets. The HTC HD2 is the first HTC branded phone to be made available through Virgin Media, and marks the start of an expanding range of high-end handsets perfect for consumers looking for the best possible mobile internet and entertainment experience on the go.
The HTC HD2 is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, making it perfect for enjoying high-quality video and music on the move. Featuring a massive 4.3 inch touch screen with a 480×800 high resolution display, the HD2’s sharp and ultra-responsive capacitive screen brings web pages and other content to life with incredible clarity and control.
The Windows Mobile based HD2 also features ‘HTC Sense’ – HTC’s unique design philosophy that delivers a mobile experience that is focused squarely on the user. The HTC HD2 features popular social networking applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, and enables users to expand its functionality with a wide range of applications from Windows Marketplace. At just 11mm thin, the slim HD2 also houses a 5 megapixel camera with a dual LED flash.
Jonathan Kini, director of mobile at Virgin Media said, “The HTC HD2 is a stunning handset and the first-ever HTC-branded phone ranged by Virgin Media. Its launch kick starts a new range of high-end handsets coming to Virgin Media, perfect for mobile internet, social networking and entertainment on the go. We are delighted to be able to offer the HD2 through one of the best and most competitive deals in the market.”
Jon French, executive director of HTC UK, Ireland and South Africa, said, “HTC is known for producing great phones that offer consumers a unique mobile experience. Our close relationship with Virgin Media continues to grow, and we are pleased to be able to help it to kick off the New Year with such a fantastic deal.”
via Press Release over email
Yet more news relating to Google’s new Nexus One handset and yes it’s about the 3G issues!
It seems that T-Mobile USA are beginning to acknowledge that the Nexus One may have some issues when it comes to 3G coverage on their network.
Engadget have managed to get their hands on a screen shot from T-Mobile’s support procedure. One of the first things on the list is ensuring that the customer is not transferred to HTC support as they ‘will not be able to resolve this issue’ and goes on to suggest that the handset is rebooted.
It’s reassuring to know that T-Mobile have at least started to acknowledge the problems customers are having so lets hope that they are soon able to come up with a more permanent solution, otherwise I think we’ll start to see a lot of Nexus one devices returned or else appearing on Ebay!
Don’t forget to check out our Nexus One unboxing video too!
Posted by: Matt
By now I’m sure you will have heard that some Nexus One owners, especially those on T-Mobile, seem to be experiencing some issues with their new handsets. There is apparently some problem with 3G connectivity for T-mobile customers where the handsets are dropping off the 3G network and sticking to EDGE or GPRS. I’ve not got my Nexus One as yet but I’ll certainly be testing it with my T-Mobile SIM!
T-Mobile customers are complaining that they are unable to get any support from either their carrier or from Google directly as one is blaming the other for the issues, neither of them offering to assist.
So it is surely welcome news that HTC, the manufacturer of the Nexus One, have stepped up and have added Nexus One support pages to their site and are also offering telephone support and troubleshooting guides.
If you have a Nexus one and are experiencing problems head over to the HTC support pages to see if they can help. We’d also like to hear from you!
Don’t forget to check out our Nexus One unboxing video too!
Posted by: Matt
[ Post Tags: Google, Nexus One, Android, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]
Lenovo showed off it’s Android smartphone – the LePhone – last week at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.
The Lenovo LePhone
It has the same processor as the Nexus One (Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor) but is running version 1.6 of Android rather than 2.1.
Here are some of the specs of the phone:
- 3.7-inch 480×800 pixel touchscreen
- 3-megapixel camera
- WCDMA radio
- Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth
- GPS
- Front-facing VGA camera
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- 1GHz Snapdragon processor
- 8GB of storage
- Android 1.6 OS
The Lenovo LePhone
You can just see but the picture above that the phone can be used in two different ways – as a stand-alone touchscreen phone, or it can be clipped into the cradle to utilise the bizarre looking keyboard!
The Lenovo LePhone
For the moment its release will be restricted to China (some time in this first quarter of 2010) and there is no word about whether or not it will appear in the UK.
Posted by: Emma
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