Press Releases

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro now available from Vodafone

If you are looking for a new small Android device coupled with a fantastic keyboard the Xperia Pro could be right up your street.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro is the NEW Android powered smartphone for easy messaging. Its slide out keyboard makes typing simple, and with the Smart Keyboard function that predicts what you want to do before you type, there’s less fuss and fewer mistakes. The Type & Send function also lets you handle all your messages in one place – straight from your home screen.
The new smartphone is available now, free on £25, 24 month price plans including 500 minutes, 250 texts and 500 MB of mobile data
The phone’s Facebook inside Xperia program means you won’t miss another social event again – you only need to sign in to Facebook once during the phone’s start up to receive automatic birthday and event updates in your calendar, and you can comment directly on pictures as they pop up in your phone’s gallery. 
The Xperia Mini Pro also gives you access to all apps on the Android market, so you can download any application you want and customise your handset to make it exclusively yours.
For further information please visit the Vodafone online shop

Posted by: James

Xperia Play gets FIFA 12 exclusive

Sony Ericsson today announced a limited time exclusive agreement with EA Mobile, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) the world’s leading mobile games publisher, to deliver the much anticipated EA SPORTS FIFA 12 on Android. Optimized for the world’s first PlayStation certified smartphone Xperia PLAY, the No. 1 sports franchise on the planet, will be available for the device worldwide in the holiday season.

With improved gameplay depth, authentic commentaries, updated teams from the world’s top leagues and all new replay systems, FIFA 12 on Xperia PLAY is the ultimate football experience for Android. The dedicated graphical processing unit, optimized memory bandwidth and 60fps rendering of Xperia PLAY enhance the football gameplay experience. Audio is also improved with enhanced commentary and crowd chants.

“FIFA 12 will undoubtedly be one of this year’s most popular games and Xperia PLAY consumers will be able to master it before any other Android users,” said, Dominic Neil-Dwyer, Head of Market Development for Sony Ericsson. “Adding to a portfolio of quality games for Xperia PLAY, FIFA 12 adapts perfectly to the device and delivers the best football experience on Android.”

I think I may have to download this one. I feel a demo video coming on.

Posted by: James

RIM Announces BlackBerry Management Center for Small Business

Research In Motion (RIM) today announced BlackBerry Management Center – a free online service for small businesses to centrally manage company-or employee-owned BlackBerry smartphones in the cloud and protect business-related content stored on the handsets. The service is designed for businesses with up to 100 BlackBerry smartphones that access email services from an Internet service provider (ISP) or web-based email services like Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo!.

“We are pleased to introduce RIM’s latest cloud service designed specifically for small businesses,” said Alan Panezic, Vice President, Enterprise Product Management at Research In Motion. “BlackBerry Management Center is a free service and an effective way to manage and support employees’ BlackBerry smartphones in the cloud.”

Motorola announce the Defy+

Our second piece of Motorola news of the day. The company have announced the forthcoming release of the Motorola Defy+, the successor to the Defy, which if you remember is the device you can take in the bath, make sandcastles with and even store in your pocket alongside a bunch of keys and your loose change.

Full press release below:

Live life to the fullest with the latest life proof smartphone from Motorola Mobility, Inc., Motorola DEFY+. Building on the Motorola DEFY’s life proof heritage, Motorola DEFY+ offers exceptional protection from whatever life throws your way with its water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof design (IP67). In addition, Motorola DEFY+ has a 1GHz processor that runs 25 percent faster and is more fun with the latest version of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) delivering a smarter operating system and better battery life to fully enjoy your experiences. Motorola DEFY+ will be available in Asia, Europe and Latin America starting in early fall.

Buy the BlackBerry Bold 9900 from Vodafone now!

The awesome BlackBerry Bold 9900, featuring a fantastic full QWERTY keypad and crystal clear touchscreen, is available to buy now from Vodafone before anywhere else in the UK.

Available free on £41, 24 month price plans, including 1,200 mins, unlimited texts and 500MB of mobile data, the sleek BlackBerry Bold 9900’s large keypad makes it perfect for keeping in touch, whether you’re emailing, texting, using BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook or Twitter.
Running on the latest BlackBerry software – BlackBerry 7 – and powered by a fast 1.2GHZ processor, makes browsing the web a breeze and full access to BlackBerry AppWorld gives you plenty of opportunities to work, rest and play.
It also packs a 5 megapixel camera so you can record those special moments in pin-sharp high definition video.

Head on over to the Vodafone site to place your order.

If you have not checked out our full review you can do so here.

Posted by: James

The Samsung Xcover GT-S5690 announced

Samsung Electronics have today announced the Samsung Galaxy Xcover (Model: GT-S5690), a touchscreen smartphone that combines intuitive social networking features all encased in a waterproof design.

Engineered with materials designed to protect it from wear and tear, the Samsung Galaxy  Xcover is the ideal smartphone for active users. Waterproof to a depth of one meter (max 30 minutes), the Galaxy Xcover protects against life’s little accidents while still sporting a beautifully slim and stylish body. The Samsung Galaxy Xcover is powered by Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”) the newest version of the world’s most popular mobile platform optimised for smartphones.

Simon Stanford, Managing Director, Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “We’ve designed the Samsung Galaxy Xcover especially for those consumers who need all the functionalities of a smartphone that can stand up to demanding lifestyles. By combining the best of our social features together with a strong, airtight chassis makes this smartphone resistant to dust and water damage without compromising on the design.”

The Samsung Galaxy Xcover is equipped with Samsung’s Social Hub, allowing users to communicate with whoever they want, however they want, all from one place. Communication history, Instant Messenger status and updates from social networking sites are all brought to a single destination. Users can access message types (push e-mail, text, voicemail and SNS) and respond directly without resorting to individual applications. Galaxy Xcover users have the ultimate inbox that allows immediate access to their friends.

HTC and Beats Electronics team up

HTC have announced a new partnership with Beats Electronics, the company redefining the audio market with its iconic Beats by Dr. Dre audio experience.

“The HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre partnership is an opportunity for two world-class companies to redefine the smart phone industry and define the future,” said Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre and Chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records which is a division of Universal Music Group and a stakeholder in Beats. “For Beats by Dr. Dre, this represents a critical step in our continued mission to clean up the destruction of audio caused by the digital revolution; and reengineer how sound is delivered so that the consumer feels the music the way that the artist intended.”

HTC and Beats have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations, available this fall.

“Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “It’s an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer’s mobile experience and audio is a critical part of that experience.”

ZTE ships 35 millions phones in first half of 2011

ZTE announced it has shipped 60 million terminal products including 35 million handsets in the first half of 2011. This represents a 30% increase year-on-year in handsets shipped and saw ZTE witness a 400% increase in smartphone sales.

In Europe, ZTE has partnered with over 65 operators on smartphones, with its handset sales increasing over 30%. Market analyst IDC’s ‘World Mobile Phone Tracker’ July 2011 report states that ZTE became the fifth-largest mobile phone vendor in the world based on shipment numbers for the first two quarters of the year.

You can see the full press release below:

Vodafone UK opens registrations for BlackBerry Torch 9860

Vodafone UK has opened registrations for the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone, which was officially announced by RIM yesterday.

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 offers the fast, fluid BlackBerry 7 experience in a stylish new all-touch design, powered by a 1.2GHz processor. 

With a spectacular new 3.7″ display, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, the device is optimised for viewing and sharing photos, videos and powerful gaming experiences without compromising the real-time collaboration and communication loved by BlackBerry users.

Check out the quick video below for a sneak peek of Torch 9860 and visit the Vodafone online shop to register for all of the latest information.

New BlackBerry 7 smartphones now launched

We’ve known about them for a while but today Research In Motion have now made an official announcement about the new BlackBerry 7 smartphones to be released.

Devices to carry OS 7 will include the Bold 9900, Torch 9810 and Torch 9850.

James has already been using the Bold 9900 for a number of weeks and will have his full review online for your reading pleasure in the next day or two.

RIM’s press release follows below.