Videos/Unboxings

BlackBerry Bold 9900 Unboxing Video

I am sure you saw our initial BlackBerry Bold 9900 demo video we did a couple of weeks ago. As you may have noticed, that device was not a retail one and it didn’t come with a box so an unboxing video was impossible. We have now had a retail one for a some time so we thought we had better show you what you get with the device.

The other good news with this second 9900 we have is that the ROM is carrier approved here in the UK, so what you see here on the handset is what you will get when it goes on sale very soon.

You can see the video below and the full review will be live shortly.

HTC EVO 3D demo video

We got a chance to play with an HTC EVO 3D a few weeks ago at a launch event that HTC held in London and now we’ve managed to get hold of one for review.

The EVO 3D has been on sale in the US for a few weeks and is due to go on sale here in the UK soon too. It goes up against the LG Optimus 3D in the 3D smartphone sector (of Just two handsets!).

I have to say that when I first heard about and saw these new 3D phones I thought it was nothing but a gimmick. I suppose that may well be the case but with the ability to record 720p video in 3D as well as capturing 3D photos the EVO 3D is an interesting prospect.

Spec-wise it’s similar to the HTC Sensation and has the same CPU, screen res, OS etc. So performance should be comparable.

Our full review will be up soon but as always we’re starting with a video.

Acer beTouch E210 unboxing video

The Acer beTouch E210 is one of a small number of Android handsets to have a fixed front facing QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry style. The E210 was announced much earlier this year but only went on sale fairly recently.

For those wanting an Android powered handset but needing the speed of text entry that you really only get from a physical QWERTY keyboard, the beTouch E210 may be worth looking at if the price tag, around £220, and the limited spec doesn’t put you off. You can see the full specification below but it’s a little disappointing to see a just-released handset with a resistive touchscreen. I thought things had progressed beyond that now.

Overall the E210 is a nice enough looking handset, pretty lightweight and has a large QWERTY keyboard that makes it easy for fat-fingered people, like me, to use the keys with ease.

Check out the video below to see a little of the Acer beTouch E210 in action. Review coming up soon too.

James and Matt appear on video at the BlackBerry event

Unfortunately both Matt and myself were unable to attend the BlackBerry press event earlier today due to prior engagements, however we did make an appearance, on video!

The video was actually recorded some months ago when we were asked by RIM if we would be prepared to talk about the BlackBerry solution on film. Although the video that was shown today was very short we actually spent about 45 minutes recording for what we were told was an internal promo video.

We did know that the video was going to be shown today as we had to give permission so even though we could not make the event in person we were their in another form.

Thanks for the opportunity RIM. It was fun to shoot. Now can we have some new BlackBerry 7 devices please?

You can see the video below.

T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide unboxing video

The T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide has been the subject of rumour and speculation for weeks but the device finally went on sale in the US last week.

The T-Mobile branded handset, manufactured by HTC, definitely sits at the top end of the market and in terms of specification is similar to the HTC Sensation albeit that the 4G slide has a full hardware QWERTY keyboard which, as the name suggests, slides out from underneath the screen.

With the QWERTY keyboard you might think that the MyTouch was all about productivity but tucked away on the back is an 8 megapixel camera and dual LED flash. Whilst that in itself may not seem too out of the ordinary, thanks to its clever backside illuminated sensor it’s claimed to be "the most advanced camera of any smartphone" with features such as zero shutter-lag, SweepShot panorama mode and HDR modes.

Whilst the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide is USA only, for the moment at least, we’ve got one in to review, starting with the unboxing video below.

ZTE Tureis demo video

We first saw the ZTE Tureis in action at the ZTE event we attended a few weeks ago but now we’ve managed to get hold of a pre-release handset for to have a good look at.

The Tureis really isn’t a bad looking device and it one of only a handful Android smartphones to have the fixed front-facing keyboard similar in appearance to a BlackBerry Bold these could well appeal to those that want a BlackBerry style device without the BlackBerry price tag or those looking for an entry level Android handset with hardware keyboard. At under £130 SIM-free the ZTE Tureis seems to be good value.

As we’ve said before, we don’t review pre-release handsets as ROM versions can and do change before they go on sale and sometimes the changes can be dramatic. We’ve got a French version here at the moment with an AZERTY keyboard. We’ll be getting the retail version to review soon but for now you can check out the unboxing video below.

BBM 6: App Integration

So if you are a BlackBerry user you hopefully have downloaded BBM 6 today. You may have been a little disappointed not to see any changes to how the application looks and if you have not done any research you may well have been scratching your head wondering what all the fuss was about.

What this latest update has brought to BBM is app integration. There are a full list of apps that support BBM integration over on the BlackBerry Blog but I though the best way to show you quickly how it works is with the below video demonstrating how BBM now works with the popular Foursquare application.

Enough of me waffling. See the video after the break and lets look forward to more and more apps supporting BBM.

Mac Mini (Summer 2011) unboxing video

A few days ago I recorded an unboxing video of the new MacBook Air and today I’ve managed to get my hands on the latest Mac Mini for review.

Announced and launched just last week the new Mac Mini, like the Pro and Air, now uses Sandybridge and either Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU’s depending on the model you opt for. Of course you’ll also get the new Thunderbolt connector for hooking up the latest high-speed storage devices or even Apple’s new 27″ Thunderbolt connected display.

The model we are looking at here is the 2.5GHz dual-core i5 with 4GB ram and 500GB hard drive. We’ll also be checking out some Thunderbolt storage devices soon.

Check out the unboxing video below which has to be one of the briefest to date. We’ll be back with an update and comments soon too.

MacBook Air (summer 2011) unboxing video

Just a few days ago Apple announced, fairly quietly, the new version of the MacBook Air. I’d been looking forward to this one as we’d been thinking about getting an Air but suspected Apple would refresh the model in line with the MacBook Pro and iMac that were updated to include Sandybridge and new Intel Core CPU’s along with Thunderbolt connector.

Apple didn’t disappoint as on the 20th July the MacBook Air and Mac Mini were updated along with the release of OS X Lion.

We’ve got out hands on the entry-level 11-inch model with 64GB SSD, 2GB RAM and 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU. I’ve only had a chance to use the Air briefly, as it arrived from Apple yesterday, but so far I am really impressed with the performance. While it’s obviously not as quick as my top-of-the-range MacBook Pro the Air is still certainly no slouch and in terms of day-to-day web browsing, email and word processing there’s no problems at all.

Check out the unboxing video below and stay tuned for James’s verdict shortly.

Asus EEE Pad Transformer unboxing video

The rising popularity of the tablet computer cannot be ignored but as good as tablets and tablet operating systems are, there are times where you need a proper keyboard to get the job done. Recognising this, Asus have come up with the EEE Transformer. The Transformer switches easily from Tablet to Netbook and back again giving greater flexibility from one device.

Running Android Honeycomb 3.0 the Transformer is geared for tablet use. This is my first time looking at Honeycomb and I have to say it’s pretty impressive.

The 5 megapixel camera can be used to take pictures and record HD video – storing your images and application is easy with the 16GB onboard memory, expandable by a further 32GB with a microSDHC card. On the front of the device is another 1.2 megapixel camera for video calls.

Our review model here comes from Clove Technology, who have the Asus EEE Transformer in stock for £444 at the moment. Full review is coming up soon but I have an unboxing and demo video for you below. Sorry for the confusion at the start! 🙂