Press Releases

BlackBerry P9981 press release and official images

Today, Porsche Design and Research In Motion (RIM) announced the elite new Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry. Designed by Porsche Design, in collaboration with RIM, the luxury brand’s first smartphone delivers engineered luxury and performance.

The Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry is instantly identifiable as a Porsche Design product. The exclusive material choices for this unique smartphone include a forged stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted QWERTY keyboard, and crystal clear touch display. This customized Porsche Design P’9981 comes with an exclusive Porsche Design UI and a bespoke Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app experience. It also includes premium, exclusive PINs that help easily identify another P’9981 smartphone user.

"Since 1972 Porsche Design has presented milestone products with iconic style, and the P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be our next landmark," said Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO Porsche Design Group. "The pure and distinctive design, coupled with authentic materials and an emphasis on the manufacturing process, perfectly match our philosophy and complement the Porsche Design product assortment."

"This collaboration stems from a shared belief that form equals function," said Todd Wood, SVP for Industrial Design, Research In Motion. "The Porsche Design P’9981 is a truly modern luxury smartphone, where the timeless style of Porsche Design meets the unmatched mobile experience provided by BlackBerry."

RIM Announces BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365

Research In Motion (RIM) today announced BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365 – a new RIM-hosted online service for mid-sized businesses and enterprises that extends Microsoft Exchange Online to BlackBerry smartphones, and allows organisations to self-manage their BlackBerry deployments in the cloud. An open beta for the service is launching today in over 30 countries.

“BlackBerry Business Cloud Services is an easy and cost-effective way for businesses and government agencies to extend Microsoft Office 365 to BlackBerry smartphones and manage the deployment in the cloud,” said Alan Panezic, Vice President at Research In Motion. “We have been working together with Microsoft and select customers through an early access program and we are pleased to now launch an open beta for the service.”

“BlackBerry Business Cloud Services will help accelerate how BlackBerry customers can realise the full benefits of the best productivity experience across the PC, browser and phone with Microsoft Office 365,” said Julia White, Senior Director of Microsoft’s Exchange Product Management Group. “This new service delivers valuable enhancements to Office 365 while preserving the cost and business agility benefits the cloud offers to organisations of all sizes.”

White BlackBerry Bold 9900 coming to Vodafone

The white BlackBerry Bold 9900 is coming soon to Vodafone UK, the only network it will be available to buy from.

The all new white version joins its black counterpart, a firm favourite amongst Vodafone customers since its launch, and will be available on Vodafone Data Test Drive.

Vodafone’s Data Test Drive enables pay monthly smartphone customers to use as much data as they like, for whatever they like, for three months so they can fully explore what their brand new smartphone has to offer. At the end of the three month period we’ll let them know exactly how much data they’ve used and whether the price plan they’ve chosen suits their needs.

If you need a reminder on what we thought of the Bold 9900 you can read our extensive review here.

Posted by: James

Trio of new smartphones line up for Vodafone Data Test Drive

Vodafone have just added three new handsets to their Data Test Drive programme. This allows customers that purchase or upgrade to Smartphones to have unlimited data for the first three months of their contract so that they can assess the usage of their new phone without the risk of those potentially high data bills.

This is a great idea as it allows those that are new to Smartphones to really try out their capabilities while not being obsessive over watching their usage while the get used to it.

Full release follows:

Massive price drop on HTC Flyer

News just in from the guys over at The Smartphone Centre, apparently they’ve just slashed more than £150 off the price of the HTC Flyer! The full press release follows:

Massive Price Drop On The HTC Flyer At The Smartphone Centre

The HTC Flyer has been a hugely successful portable 7-inch tablet with a magic pen that can do more for you than you can imagine.
From creating masterpieces with a stroke of a paintbrush, to taking multimedia notes or even signing digital documents.

The Smartphone Centre are pleased to offer the HTC Flyer at the following low pricing:

HTC Flyer – 3G – £559.95inc vat & delivery HTC Flyer – 3G – £399.95inc vat & delivery

HTC Flyer – WiFi (16GB) – £454.95inc vat & delivery HTC Flyer – WiFi (16GB) – £299.95inc vat & delivery

Both versions of the HTC Flyer are in stock and these prices are only whilst stocks last.

As with all our smartphones and tables, the HTC Flyer will be SIM Free and Network unlocked (3G Version only). We also offer FREE UK Delivery.

For further information, or to place your order please visit the HTC Flyer product page.

Posted by: Matt

The MOTOACTV – The Ultimate Fusion of Music and Fitness

Scorch more calories, shatter personal records and train even harder with MOTOACTV, the new fitness device from Motorola Mobility.  MOTOACTV is a lightweight, wearable fitness performance tracker and smart music player in one. Sync MOTOACTV with your PC, so you can check out the music you perform to best or track your workouts over extended time periods, set goals and even create workout competitions with your friends via the MOTOACTV Web Portal. And MOTOACTV features a touch-screen display so you can instantly launch a new workout or find that one song you’ve been dying to hear.

“We brought the features you love in your smartphone to the fitness world with a groundbreaking addition, MOTOACTV,” said Sanjay Jha, chairman and chief executive officer, Motorola Mobility. “Workout smarter without using multiple devices or even wires, with the first multi-activity music and fitness tracking device with the brains to push you beyond your limits.”

Stay on Top of Your Stats
We get it. You’re obsessed with your pace, number of calories burned, miles covered, personal records and fitness facts. MOTOACTV uses Motorola AccuSense technology and GPS to ensure measurement accuracy of your performance. Your time, distance, speed, heart rate1 and calories burned are all measured, so you can reach your fitness or weight loss goals faster than ever. Then if you’d like to work in fitness there are also some great online fitness courses that you can take which give you most of the skills that you would need so it’s a brilliant way to learn.

Then, upload your workout to MOTOACTV.com to analyze the performance data tracked by the device and review useful, easy-to-understand charts, tools and programs that help you see your strengths and empower you to overcome challenges. You can also get workout tips and training plans from fitness experts at MOTOACTV.com and on your Android-powered smartphone with our free mobile app available via Android MarketT and pre-installed on DROID RAZR by Motorola.

Run. Ride. Jam.
Heart pumping, thighs burning and five laps to go. You need a serious soundtrack to get you through. MOTOACTV can rock up to 4,000 of your favorite songs while tracking your every move, from the Rockies to the gym. Ultra-portable, you choose the way you want to wear MOTOACTV: strap it on your wrist or arm, clip it to your shirt or mount it on your bike during an outdoor ride2.

Your playlist is more than just workout songs: they’re songs that push you to perform at your best. The smart music player learns what tracks motivate you most by measuring your performance against your music and then uses those songs to create your personal high-performance playlist.

On those days when your automatically generated high-performance playlist isn’t doing the trick, you can switch to FM radio for even more song variety. And if the music is really moving you, go that extra mile – MOTOACTV tracks your outdoor training via GPS.

Keep Connected, Keep Your Pace
Real athletes don’t wear earbuds, they rock sports headphones. Introducing innovative sports headphones with built-in heart rate monitors, durable design and crystal-clear audio, the Motorola SF700 wireless and Motorola SF500 wired headphones deliver exceptional sound quality and real-time audible readouts of your heart rate allowing you to track your performance without the uncomfortable squeeze of a chest strap.

MOTOACTV also gives you the option to stay connected to your Android-powered smartphone, so you can answer calls, receive texts and rock out via your headphones without breaking a stride.

In addition to working with MOTOACTV, the Bluetooth® wireless Motorola SF700 and wired Motorola SF500 sports headphones are compatible with mobile phones, music players and tablets from Motorola and other leading manufacturers.

MOTOACTV will rock your fitness goals with the following features:

Ongoing tracking of fitness performance stats, including pace, distance, calories burned, and map of route covered, with automatic wireless syncing of workout data to MOTOACTV.com
8GB or 16GB of storage for endless playlists
Sports a 1.6″ full-color touch-screen display that is sweat-proof, rain-resistant and scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass that auto-adjusts for indoor or outdoor lighting
Option to sync with the latest Android-powered smartphone to receive incoming calls and texts
FM radio capabilities for more song variety
Up to five hours of battery life for outdoor workouts, 10 hours indoors, and nearly two weeks on standby
Supports both Bluetooth® 4.0 and ANT+ wireless connectivity for your existing fitness sensors and your future ones
Size: 46mm x 46mm x 9.6 mm
Weight: 35 g

Pricing and Availability
Beginning today, consumers can pre-order MOTOACTV at www.motorola.com, Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com, REI.com and SportsAuthority.com. Starting on November 6, 2011, MOTOACTV will be available for sale at Best Buy®, Eastern Mountain Sports, REI, The Sports Authority and online at Amazon.com, with other retailers following shortly.

The exclusive launch carrier will be Verizon Wireless with availability in November.

The MSRP for MOTOACTV 8G is $249 and $299 for 16G. Motorola SF700 and Motorola SF500 sports headphones are sold separately and will be $149 and $99 MSRP respectively.

MOTOACTV will also be available in Latin America and Europe starting in Q1 2012.

Posted by: James

Samsung and Google announce the Galaxy Nexus

Samsung Electronics and Google, today announced GALAXY Nexus, the world’s first smartphone running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest Android platform. GALAXY Nexus features a 4.65″ HD Super AMOLED display technology at 720p resolution and a 1.2GHz dual core processor.

Simon Stanford, Head of Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “We’re extremely excited about the GALAXY NexusT and the wide range of features it offers consumers. The collaboration with Google to launch the world’s first smartphone featuring Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a 4.65″ HD Super AMOLED display is evidence of Samsung’s continuing passion for innovation within the market”.

Motorola Mobility Unveils the New Motorola RAZR

Say hello to the jaw-dropping new Motorola RAZR, brought to you by Motorola Mobility, Inc. Impossibly thin at 7.1 millimeters with sexy curves to boot, this beauty will be available in North America, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa starting this November. Boasting a gorgeous sculpted glass face, diamond-cut aluminum accents and a hyper-vibrant 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display for incredibly vivid images. Motorola RAZR also sports KEVLAR fiber (yes, that KEVLAR) and Corning Gorilla Glass to help the screen stand up to scratches. In fact, every part of Motorola RAZR is protected by a splash-guard coating – even the electrical boards inside. This work of art is a force to be reckoned with.

If that’s not enough, pop the hood and find a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor with an impressive 1GB of RAM, all powered by Android 2.3.5. You’ll fly through tasks up to two times faster than single-core processor phones. Stream or download music and photos from your home or work computer with the easy-to-use MOTOCAST app. Watch movies on a screen that sports a wider range of colors than most LCD HDTVs. And for that inspiring filmmaker in you, use the 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p video capture for crisp, clear, cinematic-quality images.

Research In Motion Offers Free Premium Apps to Customers Following Service Interruptions

Research In Motion (RIM) announced today that a selection of premium apps worth a total value of more than US $100 will be offered free of charge to subscribers as an expression of appreciation for their patience during the recent service disruptions. The apps will be made available to customers over the coming weeks on BlackBerry App World and will continue to be available until December 31, 2011.

“Our global network supports the communications needs of more than 70 million customers,” said RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. “We truly appreciate and value our relationship with our customers.  We’ve worked hard to earn their trust over the past 12 years, and we’re committed to providing the high standard of reliability they expect, today and in the future.”

Motorola Mobility Introduces the World’s Most Advanced Wireless Headsets With Bluetooth Technology

Motorola Mobility, Inc. today announced the arrival of two new ground-breaking Bluetooth headsets, Motorola ELITE SLIVER and Motorola ELITE FLIP. The innovative Bluetooth headsets boast unmatched sound quality and features, including Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, HD Audio Plus and three times greater connection range than the leading competitors.

Motorola ELITE SLIVER and Motorola ELITE FLIP feature NFC technology, which allows you to pair either headset with your phone with a quick tap. The inclusion of HD Audio Plus in both headsets increases clarity and provides richer sound for all your conversations with true wideband audio and CrystalTalk dual-microphone noise cancellation technology. With an extended roaming range of up to 300 feet from Class  Bluetooth technology, you can walk away from your phone without disconnecting your conversation.

The Motorola ELITE SLIVER and Motorola ELITE FLIP also work with the My MotoSpeak application to read, dictate and send text messages hands-free. The new My MotoSpeak application adds the capabilities for users to initiate and send text messages without touching or holding their phone.

“Seamless integration of elegant design and new ground-breaking technology make Motorola ELITE SLIVER and Motorola ELITE FLIP, the obvious choices for consumers from the tech savvy to the fashion conscious,” said Yossi Cohen, senior vice president, Companion Products, Motorola Mobility. “In designing these headsets, we built custom software to deliver new user experiences. Multiple technology advancements such as NFC, HD Audio Plus featuring wideband audio and My MotoSpeak provide an additional layer of superior and innovative functionality.”