iPhone 8 price

So how much will the iPhone 8 cost in your country? It seems that the figures currently going around suggest that the prices will be as so for the US, UK and Australia:

iPhone 8 64GB: £699, $699 and AU$1,079

iPhone 8 256GB: £849, $849 and AU$1,329

iPhone 8 design

• All‑new glass design, aluminum frame, water and dust resistant
• Similar look to the iPhone 7, with bezels and home button

As often is usual with iPhone updates there are welcome upgrades in materials and design/features as well as general enhancements in areas like audio quality.

Sound is improved with stereo speakers offering 25% increase in volume and a deeper overall bass quality. Again no headphone jack like on the Phone 7 offered.

Optional colours include:

Silver, gold and space grey.

Size: A little taller in size at 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mmhich could mean that older cases for the iPhone 7 may not fit even though only a fractional size increase.

Weight: 10g heavier than the iPhone 7.

iPhone 8 power

• Brand new A11 Bionic chipset
• GPU provides 70% faster graphics over iPhone 7

A brand new processor going by the name f the A11 Bionic Processor will mean that you get between 20-70% faster processing that the iPhone 7 A10 processor..

iPhone 8 display

• 4.7-inch Retina HD display

Perfect to not stray into the dodgy Phablet territory, the 4.7 inch display as seen on the iPhone 7 means that it’s a manageable size for many people and a nice balance of screen real estate v’s usability and portability.

Improved display:

The Retina HD display has been upgraded and has better colour accuracy and a wider gamut.

And with 3D touch offering pressure sensitive methods of using the phone, the True Tone Technology in the iPhone 8 will also adjust yoru screen colours for the lighting conditions you are in when you use the device.

In term of screen size, you will still get the same 1334 x 750 resolution, so no true HD action still on Apple’s 4.7-inch handset, which will give you a 326ppi pixel density.

iPhone 8 battery

• Wireless charging support
  
• An additional cost for the charging pad technology

With a fast charge options giving you 50% charge after only 30 minutes coming in hand on days wen you need to travel and use the phone a lot and can access a power point.

Wireless charging:

With the glass back offering the wireless charging option, this is technology that will be welcomed and we see growing in popularity as time goes by so no need for clumsy cables and dodgy ports.

You will need the Qi wireless charging pad however to use that feature

iPhone 8 camera features and updates

• 12MP rear facing camera
• 4K video at 60fps
• 1080p slo-mo video at 240fps

With increased light this allows for a better dynamic range and low light quality as well as reduced noise in general.

With the camera upgrade Apple has also allowed the video feature to capture at 4K with 60FPS footage and the ever cool slow-mo footage at 240FPS which is twice as slow as the iPhone 7. SO watch out for some cool videos to emerge of stuff going BOOM!

The front facing camera is pretty cool also at the same 7MP from the iPhone7 which as we know is perfect for FaceTime and selfies.

Summary:

All in all we see a capable increase in features and a worthy investment over the Phone 7 but only just!

Alcatel-Lucent and AirTight Networks are offering designs that address the ever growing trend that is bring-your-own-device (BYOD) which is putting more and more pressure on networks.

With the recent boom in popularity of smartphones and more recently the tablet PC, employees and C-level executives are expecting to be able to access the company networks on their devices.

Cause and Effect

Despite the increase in employee productivity the BYOD trend has brought with it, it has been cause IT administrators a great number of headaches as they are having to look back at all of the security measures in place and the bandwidth which these devices will require.

The IT administrators now have to find a way of keeping the networks secure whilst granting employee’s access via the mobile devices and controlling the effect this will have on the speeds of the network. Networking companies are developing systems designed to aid IT administrators manage mobile device access, one of which is Extreme Networks and their Intelligent Mobile Edge product.

Alcatel-Lucent’s take on BYOD

Alcatel-Lucent is adding to the market with its offering of its Converged Network Solution. The application allows the networks to track what device is connected to the network and who is using the device, plus the applications that are being used. The application has been designed to identify which applications require a higher quality of connection than other dependent on business criticality.

“Our solution helps enterprises keep their employees satisfied and productive, while reducing the capacity-sapping impact of personal services and devices on their networks,”

Stephane Robineau, vice president and general manager of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Network Business, said in a statement.

“As importantly, by building application fluency capabilities into the network, we are also making it possible for enterprises to ensure that employees who need guaranteed service quality for bandwidth-heavy applications, like video conferencing, can get it when they need it.”

Whilst the application allows the management of mobile devices on the network it also makes the use of external services such as cloud computing much easier.

Part of Alcatel-Lucents solution is the OmniSwitch 6450 Ethernet LAN switch, a 1GbE device that offers network access and can include 10GbE uplinks. This device will be made available between April and the end of June.

AirTight’s take on BYOD

AirTight has introduced a device “fingerprinting” capability into its Spectragaurd Enterprise Wireless Prevention Services (WIPS) and AirTight Cloud Services. The new fingerprinting capability was designed to enable easy identification for mobile devices on a network and check that they meet with the requirements of corporate policies.

“AirTight uses correlation of information from over-the-air and on-the-wire packets,” Parekh said in a statement. “This method produces accurate information about all smart devices (including iPhones, iPads, Androids and BlackBerrys) connected to the network to enable automatic classification and policy enforcement of ‘approved’ versus ‘unapproved’ devices.”

Along with the device fingerprinting AirTight also have a workflow designed to simplify BYOD management (patent-pending), mobile device quarantine, hotspot authorisation, Wi-Fi device pinpointing on premise, BYOD management API that integrates with mobile device management (MDM) systems and produces BYOD reports that can be emailed to any inbox required.

As the BYOD trend gains more momentum the pressure put on IT departments is increasing as is the number of businesses that are adapting their IT systems to accommodate this is up to 60 percent, according to a report from Avande. Nearly 90 percent of business leaders understand that employees use personal devices for work, 65 percent of C-level executives have acknowledged that BYOD is a high priority for their companies.

“Despite the notion that business leaders are resisting the shift, we found that companies are investing in staff and resources to enable the consumerisation of IT and have many of the resources that are needed today,” said Tyson Hartman (Avanade CTO) when they released the report.

It would seem that the BYOD trend will continue to bring new innovations and issues as things progress.

According to data from Ofcom; the communications regulator in the United Kingdom, there are more mobile phone subscriptions than there are people in the UK.

Given the number of newborns and children that are simply too young to have a mobile phone contact (at least so we think), it only enhances how incredible that stat is.

Whilst compiling data for my company’s latest blog post, I found one more stat that shocked me some more.

According to MobileInsurance.co.uk, the average person uses their phone 547.5 hours per year, or nearly 23 full days. Just think about that for a moment…

With that in mind, I began to research all the things the average person could do if they didn’t have a mobile phone, and therefore had an additional 547.5 spare hours in their year.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. Read an extra 78 books per year

My research led me to believe that the average book is 250 pages in length, which takes the average human 7 hours to read. Therefore, you could read an additional 78 books in the time you spend on your phone – that’s an extra six-and-a-half books a month.

Or you could read all seven Harry Potter books in just over two months…

2. Spend an extra 1.5 hours in bed per day

Tired? Wish you could lie in for an extra hour or so each day? Well, put your phone down for a year and you could get an astonishing additional 90 minutes in bed per day!

Feeling tired and grumpy at work? Leaving the party early because you haven’t got the energy? All of this would be solved but for the intervention and popularity of the mobile phone.

3. Microwave 28,157 Rustlers burgers

Remember those microwavable burgers your mother used to stick on for you when you were a child? ‘0 to tasty in 70 seconds’ was their advertisement. Well, in the time you spend on your phone over the course of the year, you could have a lot of run sticking 28,157 Rustler burgers in the microwave, one at a time.

Mind you, with 275 calories in their Flame Grilled Cheese Burger, that equates to an extra 7,743,175 calories a year, so we wouldn’t advise.

4. Listen to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album 776 times

The biggest-selling album of all-time was released in 1982 and lasts 42 minutes and 19 seconds. If the average person listened to Michael Jackon’s Thriller whilst on their phone, they could get through the entire album more than twice a day – or 776 times a year.

They’re out to get you; there’s demons closing in on every side. They will possess you unless you change the number on your dial…

5. Hop on the London underground from Leicester Square to Covent Garden 98,550 times

The shortest distance between two London underground stations is 260 metres – Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly Line. This takes only 20 seconds, despite costing £4.80.

With the time you spend on your phone you could take this journey an incredible 98,550 times over the course of a year!

6. Watch 1,493 episodes of Friends

There were 10 seasons of the American sitcom Friends between 1994-2004, producing 236 episodes in all, each lasting 20-22 minutes. If we ditch our mobile phones and grab some pizza we could watch all 10 season six times over and still have some spare time, or simply watch a combined 1,493 episodes.

“Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it!” – Monica

7. Drive Route 66 14 times

One of the original highways within the USA Highway System, Route 66 was established in 1926 before it was officially removed in 1985. However, it remains in popular culture with several tourists heading over each year to complete the 2,448 mile journey.

According to an article in the USA Today last year the route takes 37 hours to complete. This means if you put your phone down for a whole year you could drive Route 66 fourteen times and still have some hours left to spare!

8. Watch 353 football matches

Excluding the half-time break but included the average three minutes of additional time at the end of the second half, you could watch 353 full football matches over the course of the year.

To put that into context, the English Premier League season consists of 380 games over the course of 10 months, with 20 teams playing 38 games each. Or, the last FIFA World Cup was only 64 matches – so you could have watched every single match of that tournament five times and still have time to spare.

9. Catch a train from Miami to New York 19 times

Miami, Florida and New York, New York are two very popular tourist destinations. At the opposite end of the East coast of Ame5ria – one at the foot at the country and the other towards the top, they are more than 1,200 miles apart.

Amtrak run a daily journey between the two cities which takes 28 hours to complete. In the time you spend on your phone over 365 days you could complete this journey 19-and-a-half times.

10. Watch Cats the Musical 243 times

What’s everybody’s favourite musical? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical production of T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, first opened in London’s West End back in 1981 and remains popular to this day.

The show runs for two-and-a-quarter hours, meaning you could watch the play 243 times a year; 20 times a month if you prefer that than a mobile phone.

11. Watch the entire Star Wars trilogies 35 times

One of the highest-grossing and most popular film series of all-time – thereare seven films in the Star Wars Prequel, Sequel and Original trilogies, each running for at least two hours. Many a devoted fan has dedicated a day in their lift to watching all seven of them in succession in a day.

With the time available by sacrificing your phone for one year, you could watch the trilogies 35 times over the course of the year. “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

Chris Parkes
Marketing Manager
Network Telecom

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Now what do we have hear? Apple’s Siri, espousing the virtues of their Nordic rival Nokia, in the shape of the Lumia 900 series, yes it appears that Siri has decided, in its infinite wisdom, that the sleek but rather boring (app wise) Nokia Lumia is king of the smartphones.

According to a report on Ubergizmo and using the data and statistics based search engine Wolfram Alpha to help determine the answers the shock reply appears to be that Siri loves Nokia Lumias, so what next for Siri?

I prefer it when it appears to have no idea what the average Scotsman has to say, and would rather hear it blurt out profanities at some smug apple loving schmuck in all honesty, but if it wants to seemingly poo on itself also, who am I not to have a good laugh.

*caveat, I genuinely and rather ironically have never seen Siri used in real!

What do you Apple iPhone 4s owners think of this, can you prove that this does in fact happen, and do you, more importantly, agree if it does in fact hold true?

The iPhone has to be one of the greatest status symbols to ever gain notoriety as being exactly that. After all there’s the running joke of “How do you know if somebody has an iPhone?” and the simple answer is that “they tell you” and you know this is exactly what happens and this would have made Steve Jobs smile every day for the rest of his life. Not only did he create a product that literally everyone wants but he also created a product that conducted its very own viral marketing campaign. Do Apple even advertize these phones anymore? Do they need to?

But cell phone technology moves pretty quickly and you can expect your current phone to be out-of-date in around 9-months or less from now. Apple are particularly good at creating products that encourage people to upgrade to the latest model, even if they don’t really need it. Look at the launch of the iPad 3 for example and you got to see the same people camping outside Apple stores for days in advance of the launch just so they could be some of the first to own it.

And the same thing applies to iPhones in that as you’re upgrading you’re eventually going to wind up with handsets you don’t use and this is the prime time for you to sell iPhones for straight-up cash to the team at HelloTotem.com. That old iPhone of yours is worth money to them it will take you literally 90-seconds to head over to their website and complete their online valuation form that tells you exactly how much your phone is worth – even if it’s broken.

So if you want to sell iPhones you don’t use anymore and have a check or Paypal payment sent to you in a few working days then head over to HelloTotem.com right now.

Well good people the day has arrived when you can get yourself the brand new Ice Cream Sandwich Update for the Samsung Galaxy S2.

Or has it?

As Samsung seem to have gone back on their word and dismissed told Korean twitter followers that the 10th of March release date is not valid.

Other news related to the release of the highly anticipated ice cream sandwich update for the s2 have also been dismissed as a mistake from the Israeli Samsung Facebook page.

Android a bit of a mess:

Android is hardly a new operating system but at the same time it is far from a relic. But what Android is managing to do with aplomb is alienate various device owners who feel cheated when their own perfectly capable devices are not quickly furnished with new variants of the Android operating system based on.

Fragmentation is forcing people to go back to Apple or consider Windows for that more unified and safe feeling you get from a steady roll out schedule for new operating systems, and I can understand that mentality totally.

I am torn between the Apple and Android on my next update, which has to be a bad thing when the whole Android eco-system could have swallowed me up over 2 years and made me a happy droid user. But, it has not. And for that reason I may switch.

Apple lost me on an under performing 3GS handset, Android may lose me on a decidedly average operating system (IMHO) that appears to be constantly reinventing itself with issues present in many cases.

This is not an Apple is better rant, it is a Samsung/Android is a bit crap rant.

So what can we expect when they finally work out how to release the Ice Cream Sandwich update on the Galaxy S2 that does not melt your handset or force you to only use it while wearing brightly colored pink underpants in the setting sun.

Well there are some nice features we can expect to see I must say:

[arrowlist]

• Face Unlock
• Glowing-blue interface
• Multi-tasking system

[/arrowlist]

Yes I look forward to seeing the update and will be taking Samsung up on the offer but I will not be rushing into it for fear of issues that have plagued other owners of Android devices suffering at the hands of an early release.

I will keep you posted on the hopefully smooth final release.

Historically, the answer for millions of consumers has been a resounding “no.”

With the combined market share of all Windows Phone 7 handsets reaching only 1.5 percent in the USA as of January 2012.

But things could very well be looking up for WP7, as the Finnish handset giant Nokia unveils the newest Windows Phone in their Lumia line, the Lumia 610, for those on a budget.

Lumia 601 Windows Nokia on a Budget:

Priced at 189 euros ($253), this new smartphone is packing some decent hardware under the hood, with 256 MB of RAM, 8 GB of non-expandable storage (though Microsoft’s SkyDrive service will be available), and a 3.7 WVGA capacitive touchscreen. It’s also packing a single-core processor clocked at 800 MHz, along with a 5MP autofocus camera. It will also have HSDPA 3G (but no 4G from the looks of it), along with Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity. Nothing too terribly exciting, but they managed to squeeze in quite a bit for the price point.

The only question is whether or not this new phone will sell. Because it’s an affordable smartphone, it looks poised to strike a chord with those backing away from phones like the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy II Skyrocket due to their price. And with Nokia’s total mobile phone sales reaching 111.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone, they may just have what it takes to bring Windows Phone 7 to Android and iOS’s level.

Expect to see the new Lumia 610 sometime in the second quarter of 2012. We’ll bring you more information as details surface.

Great infographic showing some of the areas that us humans are putting ourselves under in terms of strains and stresses as a result of our new found love of all things mobile and squintladen!

Source: Bit Rebels

Thank god this new device is waterproof as you are bound to have to protect it from hurls of vomit when someone asks what it is called…..its an Eluga fair lady, I own an Eluga….cue…..puke….and run.

I love Irony and can not help but laugh at such a terrible name for a phone, the Eluga will be a phone designed for the European market and obviously the UK market seen as it is weatherproof and of course it would be waterproof when it sounds like a species of whale.

It is likely to arrive in Spring 2012 and will also feature a dustproof design with a 4.3 inch high resolution 960 x 540 display.

There is talk that Panasonic will be adorning this new device with an OLED screen display but there seems to be no concrete news of that just yet.

Lightweight phone:

Running on Android the new smartphone will also be a comparatively light device at only 103g, the device will nicely marry up to your Panasonic TV (assuming you have one) and will allow you to transfer information quickly and offer the ability to swipe photos etc using the Smart Viera application.

There is very little extra news on this new phone other than what we have here but it will be an interesting entrance to the space dominated by the likes of Samsung, Apple and HTC.

There are reports that the smartphone will get an Ice Cream Sandwich update in the summer.

A report in tech week Europe shows that a certain botnet has been found that is said to affect hundreds of thousands of Android devices, making the hackers a potential fortune every year, this is according to security research firm Symantec and researchers from the North Carolina State University.

New Botnet has two names:

The finder of the “RootStrap” botnet is called Xuxian Jiang of North Carolina State University. Symantec however call the malware another name: Android.Bmaster.

Chinese origins:

This particular malware is spread via 3rd party application markets in China and is seen bundled with some 30 seemingly legitimate applications.

Symantec researcher Cathal Mullaney said:

“Trojanised applications are a well known infection vector for Android malware, as they allow malware to be distributed while retaining the appearance of a legitimate application,”

The controller of the botnet aka the “botmaster”, (what a title) has huge control of the device once it is compromised, with revenue generation coming from secretly transmitted premium rate SMS messages, and the connection to premium rate numbers and pay per view videos.

With the botmaster able to take control of the device and delete texts, numbers, and infiltrate or stop communication warning the owner of the compromised device, yes, this particular style of botnet is seriously canny.

Mullaney said:

“The botmaster has a fine grained level of control over the infected devices, an infected device can be configured to send messages to a particular premium SMS number at a specific rate (three a day, for instance) for a certain number of days. Devices connecting to premium video or telephony services can also be configured for how long they should connect to a premium phone number or pay-per-view website.”

Elevated privileges:

Once the botnet has found its way onto your device and installed itself, it then downloads the gingerbread jailbreak tool and uses this to elevate its privileges on your device, after this it then downloads the Bmaster remote admin tool and malware including DroidLive.

So this is not a simple piece of malware but actually a rather sophisticated little sneak that uses layering methods to get to its goal of making the owner easy money from your device.

Infected devices will transmit data that is easily traceable by the hackers, so they can locate and identify your own device which includes being able to identify you IMEI and IMSI numbers, plus your location area code and mobile network code.

This actual malware has been reported since September 2011, and is thought to be one of a new wave of highly malicious money making Trojans that are slowly equaling the desktop Trojans that have infected so many Windows base PC’s over the years, could Android’s open operating system and less regulated marketplace for apps now be the new scourge of the average Joe?

We must point out that this particular malware is from third party marketplaces and not the Android one itself.

It is reported that around 10,000-30,000 devices are being affected per day.

How much is in this for the hackers?

Mullaney wrote:

“The motivation behind the botnet is financial, taking our two example dates as the lower and upper bounds of the number of active infected devices, we can see the botmaster is generating anywhere between $1,600 (£1,013) to $9,000 (£5,695) per day and $547,500 (£346,504) to $3,29m (£2.1m) per year the botnet is running.”

Talking of the Android operating system as a whole and mobile applications he stated:

“This is not the first example of an active, revenue-generating Android botnet we have seen, however, considering the huge market for Android apps, the availability of third-party app stores without security checks, and the massive revenue which can be generated from this type of botnet, Android.Bmaster’s million-dollar botnet certainly won’t be the last.”

We have covered a few stories in recent months related to Malware in the Android application market and have heard that Google are starting to crack down on the threat to the overall eco-system, though it seems likely that there will be many many more scams like this occurring as we allow deeper and deeper relationships to be forged between ourselves and our mobile devices in all areas of our lives.

With the Samsung Galaxy S3 due for release some time soon, though it now appears not to be unveiled at the MWC in Barcelona, news from Samsung still suggests that 2012 may well be another busy year for the South Korean technology giant.

With rumors emerging that a brand new Samsung Tab will be unveiled at MWC and on extended advert for this years Super Bowl XLVI.

The new Samsung S3 is expected to be a more powerful duel or quad core device with a massive 12 mp camera and a slightly larger 4.5 inch + screen, I am seeing this trend more and more for high end smartphones, where we are very much seeing the luxury end of the phone world go super size and what would basic science tell you that you needed to do to make a smartphone battery last longer?

Make the damn things bigger, and if you do that you can increase that lovely screen real estate, so this does appear to be the way forward.

Rather than slimmer we are going larger.

And if it helps Samsung’s promise that smartphone owners will get a full day on moderate to heavy use on one charge come true for 2012 devices then so be it, it seems like a win-win all round for me.

Back to the “Advance” the Ford of smartphones:

The new Samsung Galaxy Advance will be running on Gingerbread and will house a 1Ghz processor and a pretty sizable’s 4 inch Super AMOLED screen, capable 5Mpx camera with 1,3 MP facing option, and will come with ChatON, Samsung cross-platform communication service.

As is usual with these slightly cheaper options they are intended for markets that have a little less disposable income on average, but from what I can gather this device is pretty damn sweet if it is to be cut price.

Initial markets that will see the device include, Russia, in February of 2012, and then a global release will bring in other countries and territories such as China, Europe, African Middle East, Southeast and Southwest Asia.

In a report in the inquirer, it has been seen that Samsung will disappoint people looking for the next update of the Galaxy range as they state:

”The successor to the Galaxy S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.”

The news comes just after reports emerge that Samsung will be bringing out a new tab and a new smartphone with an addition to the Galaxy range called the “Advance”.

This also comes on the back of an expected Samsung galaxy S2 Ice Cream Sandwich release date delivered by Samsung’s Norwegian facebook account.

So how disappointed will you be that the Samsung S3 will not be making an appearance quite as quickly as many would have liked?

But as is noted in the article there is no saying that the new smartphone from Samsung will even be called the Samsung Galaxy S3, so could a new device still be in the cards, judging by the current show of Samsung humour that we can base our judgements on, this would likely be a joke too abstract for pretty dull Samsung.

With some users already opting for an unofficial ROM to make your Samsung S2 a bit more creamy like, but most of us prefer to wait for stable versions of new operating systems that do not invalidate pointless warranties or more to the point force us to do all sorts of geeky techy stuff that may or may not actually work.

Having said this, an official release from Samsung is no reason to assume that it will work properly as many Samsung owners who have had Nexus S Ice Cream Sandwich problems will attest.

Facebook update from Samsung Norway:

It appears that the northern European Samsung guys have leaked a bit of information out that may begin to shine some light in the ICS updates that will arrive for other Samsung devices, with only the pretty dreadful Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Nexus currently being unveiled officially.

It seems like this statement is pretty clear:

Samsung plans to launch Android Ice Cream Sandwich to the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note towards the end of the first quarter of this year. When more info is coming so we put it out here on our Facebook page!

*please note that this is a translation by Bing..;) from this update here.

And as you can see from this update, there will also be a proper ICS update for the Galaxy Note also.

Thanks must go tote ever vigilant guys at Phandroid for spotting this little tip.

With the Galaxy Note AT&T option being available from the 19th of February as we reported yesterday, many buyers will be pleased to see that the device will be getting Ice Cream Sandwich pretty soon.

So how do you take this news, is it about time or are you still curious to see what all the fuss is about ICS, and with the problems that have gone on before for many devices, perhaps you are a little skeptical that it will be worth the risk. Let us know your thoughts.

Pre-orders will begin on the 5th of February for the Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T and if you order before the 15th of February, Samsung reckon that you should have your new Galaxy Note device 2 days earlier than the official release date of the 19th.

AT&T’s price for the Samsung Galaxy Note?

The new smartphone will be $300 for a 2 year contract and will bring you all the Android goodness that many have enjoyed for a long time, I for one am quite intrigued by this device, yes it looks like a freaks toy in the hands of smaller framed people, but its a nice balance with some pretty sweet features that only a screen this size can offer.

Watch AT&T’s social media channel sell the device to you in a “happy” way:

Are you glad that AT&T have finally got the date out to you all?

With the original Droid Razr having a rather poor battery performance, Motorola in their infinite wisdom then decided to rub salt in the wounds of those very owners with such an under performing battery and bring out a harder more macho brother to the original. Will the extra space and bigger battery help?

Thank god things are looking to improve in the smartphone battery life world.

Both Motorola and Samsung are making progress into adapting designs and adding extra capacity to the batteries that are contained in our smartphone devices, I have covered this issue on many occasions before, it is one of those unfortunate circumstances that come around every now and again, when Moores law accelerates so fast that other areas of technology that are needed to make another work, unfortunately do not catch up in time (at affordable levels to be competitive in a global market)

Larger battery longer life:

Not only is the new Motorola Droid Razr Maxx battery larger in capacity it is also larger in size, not massively so, but definitely noticeable when you look side by side, this said it has been reported that using the device is more favorable over its older brother and the slightly more curved angles make for a better fit.

We will be doing a more in depth review of this phone soon but want to hear from owners of the new smartphone when they have finally given it a good test run, what they think to the claims of improved battery life, and if the extra capacity has indeed allowed the device to work as perhaps intended.

So will this be a tipping point where we can now expect to see a slightly chunkier design to accommodate a bigger battery until we see the likes of emerging technologies allow us to have a super battery the size of a one pence piece?

According to a report in CNET and referencing a Russian blogger going by the name of Eldar Murtazin who runs mobile-review.com the Samsung S3 will make an appearance at MWC next month in Barcelona and will then appear on shelves in April.

Ok so it has gone away now, but for a brief period you could clearly see that a new model had arrived in Samsung’s inventory on their website.

The GT-I9300 was in that familiar drop down until rumours about this being the Samsung S3 obviously came flooding out.

So what was it and why would it possibly have been there for a short period?

Well my hunch is it was a tech issue, or in a more cynical plot it would have been done to stir up a little free press and start those huge rumour wheel mills up again, and here we are stoking that fire once more, how predictable we are..;)

Officially it would seem that Samsung have not got a release date and they are still in the process of sorting out the date details.

It will be interesting to see just how good the new battery will be on the Samsung S3 and I for one hope they give me one to test out as the Samsung S2 which I currently use was slated rather a lot due to the pi** poor battery life, and with Samsung telling the world that their 2012 range of smartphones will last a full day of moderate to heavy use, I am waiting to test this out.

Oh I know you all get a little tired of these stories but they have to surface from time to time.

Yes it appears a Foxconn employee (of the unnamed variety of course) has let the cat out of the bag in terms of what we can come to expect from the new version of the Apple iPhone, the iPhone 5.

And if these rumours are to be believed from 9to5 mac then you may well be in for a treat as the increased screen real estate is something I think the iPhone does need to address, especially with such a huge amount of wasted space at either end of the casing to utilise in the way that the Samsung S2 does.

So what is the substance behind these reports?

Well it is one of those “reliable sources” again, much like Tomato Ketchup or a good old drop of Brown, these sources keep turning up and delivering the bread and butter rumours just in time for a little traffic boost when needed and who are we to miss out on some of that juiciness.

In this particular rumour yarn, it appears that a number of prototypes are floating about the Foxconn production plant with common features being a 4 inch display and a differently designed casing to house the new iPhone 5.

In terms of how this casing may look, it appears that it will be:

“No teardrop-shaped devices, as rumoured in the lead up to the iPhone 4S,”

And that if anything the design looks a lot more symmetrical:

“Samples so far have been symmetrical in thickness (also longer/wider).”

In all honesty I have a hunch this may all actually be true, and we will see a slick edge to edge display and a much more angular design which would be in keeping with current trends, yes Apple like to be trend setters in general, but sometimes they do follow suit for a while.

iPhone 5 summer release date?

On the back of the fact that the iPhone 5 seems to be still in prototype, “oooh I say, do you like this?” stage, and the next stage being full on production, it only takes a man with a small brain such as myself to surmise that the actual release date of the iPhone 5 is not likely to be before June but may well be in the coming months after.

Keeping up to the usual Apple product cycle, many believe that this release date will actually be Summer or early Autumn.

iPhone 4ssssss:

One thing is for sure, we do expect that the next iteration of the iPhone will indeed be the much anticipated iPhone 5 and not an iPhone 4SGetc…

I may start a site all to do with smartphone battery problems such is the current trend to moan about how long our poor mini laptops last.

*I am wholeheartedly one of those people.

2nd update to solve problem:

So now it seems Nokia have again released an update aimed at solving the Nokia Lumia 800 battery problems that have plagued so many new Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 7 device owners.

One of the main issues that Nokia acknowledged at the back end of 2011 was that the device was not reporting the full capacity of the battery.

Some other improvements are mentioned and they include performance improvements such as “Wi-Fi connectivity enhancements” though it is unclear if there will be an update to Windows phone 7.5 as many hope. This update will however bring with it another solution to the disappearing virtual keyboard bug that has also been a cause for concern for Nokia Lumia owners.

The roll out has already started with owners getting a notification on their device o show they can indeed go ahead and do the update, this will require access to a PC or Mac and will be delivered via Microsoft’s Zune software to finish off the installation and all being well result in an improved overall experience for Lumia 800 owners.

With Samsung not particularly acknowledging reported battery issues on their various devices affected until a recent statement saying that all 2012 Samsung smartphones will last a full day on one charge it is quite nice to see Nokia actually have a go and stand up to the reports and actually look like they care while taking some action…fingers crossed it all works.

Have you had issues with your Nokia Lumia 800, if so please do let us know any ways you have manged to rectify or avoid problems moving forward.

And here is the video to show you how to do that:

Source: Nokia_UK Twitter,

Are you waiting patiently for the slightly more advanced Lumia 900 which is due to arrive on UK shores soon, well you may be interested to know that the date for its arrival looked like it would be in June according to many reports and shots of the carphonewarehouse website.

Unfortunately for the Nokia fiends among you T3 has shown that this page has in fact been pulled and this leaves the UK release date of the Nokia Lumia 900 up in the air again.

Nokia Lumia 900 Specs:

[arrowlist]

• Windows Phone Tango Operating System.
• 800 x 480 pixels screen resolution
• 4.3 inch Multi Touchscreen Display with Corning Gorilla Glass
• Size:125.5 x 65.8 x 9 mm.
• 1.4Ghz processor with 1GB RAM.
• Connectiviy:3G,Wi-Fi,microUSB,Bluetooth.
• HD Video recording & playback.
• 16GB of internal memory.
• FM Radio with Recording.
• 3.5 mm jack audio jack

[/arrowlist]

With the Nokia Lumia 900 getting a release at CES 2012 it was shown to be a pretty sizable beast coming in with a larger 4.3 inch display and an upgraded (we hope) battery, it also brings in 4G LTE support.

Windows Phone 7 still needs a bit of a kick start and while there are growing applications in their own marketplace, they are still leaps and bounds away from Apples offerings or the Android marketplace and I am personally unsure just how many app developers are looking at this alternative currently, my hunch is less than Microsoft would like despite little sweeteners to encourage more to join.

Why are the UK getting a 4G enabled smartphone anyway?

Some were questioning why we the UK would be getting a 4G enabled smartphone when we are so far off even deciding on a date to have the UK 4G spectrum auction, never mind actually roll out a full service to customers.

So it seems likely that the Nokia Lumia 900 handset should get released sometime this year and will be a 3G enabled device, with the Windows phone team getting cocky about the speed with which they can boot up facebook with their Smoked By A Windows Phone Crap….woopty f**ing woo….:)

I wonder if the impressive sounding (kind of) shipping figures will result in actual sales, as I hear mixed reports coming out about these figures.

Do not get me wrong I think Windows and Nokia could be on to a winner here in the long term, I have used a Lumia 800 and feel it makes Android look like one of those crap phones your Mum buys from Tesco/Walmart and claims she has bought an iPhone for £30.

Of course I fully understand their tactics and fair play to them, and good luck.

UK mobile customers of o2 have phone numbers sent via header information to all websites you visit.

Thanks to the ever sharp Tom Warren who now writes for The Verge I can confirm that o2 have indeed been seemingly rather naughty when it comes to sharing your personal data to the database of website owners via o2’s use of transparent proxies.

Yes, if you have been visiting websites from your o2 phone via an o2 data plan you will almost definitely have been sending your phone number to that sites database, such is the current configuration of how HTTP requests are communicated via o2.

This site run by Lewis Peckover found and made public the issue that will have many people worried, and allows you to test your o2 device.

How to stop broadcasting your mobile phone to websites you visit?

Thanks to pocket lint please follow these steps to stop this action taking place.

Go to settings:

APN: mobile.o2.co.uk

Username: bypass

Password: password

Other networks affected by the issue:

It seems from tests done over at the Verge that Three and Vodafone are not affected by this issue.

Currently it appears that only o2’s Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) GiffGaff and Tesco Mobile are doing the same, we will try to keep you updated on any further news on other networks that are also sending private information such as this to websites unknowingly for customers.

A spokesperson at o2 states they are:

“investigating this at the moment and will update everyone as soon as [they] can,”

Does this annoy you that your personal number have been shared to websites you have been visiting?

With the UK seeing the arrival of a White Galaxy Note today.

Older owners of the Samsung Galaxy Note have been waiting for news about its future upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, but with the debacle that has ensued for many devices it looks like Samsung are playing it safe with thsi new update and not giving ICS a chance to cause havoc on more happy new customers.

Firmware update not ICS:

While I can see the disappointment in peoples faces already, all is not lost with his update as it does appear to offer some significant improvements even if it is only a bit of a make-up job, so here is what will be included with the update:

[arrowlist]

• Set brightness levels for browser to save some juice
• Improved lockscreen with arrows around the padlock, encouraging you to swipe to unlock.
• Preinstalled torch widget that supports three different brightness levels
• Keyboard now has five rows with the number row being always visible
• New “one hand” mode that shrinks the layout, making it easier to type with one hand only.
• Calendar app now supports different date formats

[/arrowlist]

It appears that the update is only for devices that are unlocked and it will be rolling out right about now, with carriers bringing the update to owners at a later date. This will be to ensure that they dont p*** off more people with an unstable update that can and does occur…wise move I say.

Are you wishing that this was more of an Ice Cream Sandwich flavour than a tarted up gingerbread?

Minus the usual Ericsson name attached, Sony will be releasing the Sony Xperia S in the UK on the 30th of January, we finally have an update of the date courtesy of Play.com and it looks set to cost around £429.99 with VAT and SIM-Free.

With CES being the showcase for the Sony device we think with the feature and spec it has on offer that it will be a welcome new addition to the Android family though some may be disappointed that it will arrive with only a Gingerbread operating system with ICS promised some time after the initial release.

<h3.Who will carry the device?

The usual few will be carrying the Sony Xperia S, including:

[arrowlist]

• O2
• Three
• T-Mobile
• Orange
• Phones4U (offering exclusive white version)

[/arrowlist]

The talk is that Vodafone is not going to be adding it to their stock range but time will tell on that.

So what do I think of the Sony Xperia S?

Looks wise it looks great in product shots, nice and slim, powerful with a 1.5 Ghz dual core processor and with a sizable 4.3 inch LCH HD screen it is also impressive to look at, the camera is a huge 12 MP and it shoots in 720p.

But as is mentioned in the original article, this year is now all about the quad core smartphone and (hopefully) making phones a bit bigger so they can contain a larger battery, slim size zero smartphones are so 2011. Hopefully we can start using our phones as we want without fear of no life remaining in them after only a few hours.

So maybe for those reasons this device may be the last of a dying bred, albeit a sweet looking device and top of its class, it looks likely to get superseded pretty much as soon as it comes out by other beasts on the way.

All that said, bloody nice phone though, what do you think?

This issue of smartphone battery life is one of major concern for both device owners and smartphone and tablet manufacturers, and though there are some exciting technological advancements coming out that aims to help us all enjoy longer battery life from our smartphones but until all these actually come to fruition there could be another rather nifty way of helping us get a little #MoreJuice out of our phones….and the answer lies in waste energy.

In an article in IEEE we see that wasted light could be the key to extra smartphone battery life.

Our batteries are finding it tough to make our shiny Super AMOLED screens stay bright all day and play all those games/apps and process that video as we now use our smartphones more and more and expect more from the devices. So could the answer lie in the light energy that is pretty much wasted from our screens on a day to day basis?

Cambridge university researchers could hold the answer:

You have obviously all heard of Solar Power, so without going into too much technicalities imagine this concept being taken and used in your smartphone for light that has escaped from your OLED screen.

Professor Arokia Nathan and researcher Arman Ahnood, point out that around 36% of the light produced on a mobile device screen is actually projected forward to the display to be seen by your eyes with the remaining light escaping at the display edges, and it is this wasted light that could hold the key to making that battery last a little longer.

Science part:

With the prototype developed, a number of key areas are explained that make this technology work as intended.

One of the main issues is voltage spikes which would potentially cause damage to the battery while charging and would be caused by the differing light intensities, this would be managed by using a number of solar cells within the smartphone display which are made up from thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon, this technology would be able to harness both the wasted light and the ambient light around you. Couple this with a thin film super-capacitor and you should be able to even out the voltage to stop damage to the battery.

On top of this another set of solar cells would be arranged around the device display to capture any light that escapes from the screens main display and it is said that an average smartphone can produce up to 5 milliwatts of power using this method and technology.

Does this sound like technology that will work or a bit of pie in the sky?

Tomorrow will see the UK release of the white version of the popular Samsung Galaxy Note, the padphone that many users say they love.

White Samsung Galaxy Note John Lewis:

Currently only exclusive to John Lewis on Oxford Street, you will need to be paying a visit to London in order to get yourself one of these slightly more chic devices.

The first 100 sold will also benefit from a few goodies thrown in, these will include £250 worth of films, music and books.

Later on in February more stockists throughout teh UK will get access to the white device so there is perhaps less of an impetus to get your ass down to London’s West End if you are hell bent on owning one of these smartphones

Simon Stanford, managing director, Samsung UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division.

“At Samsung we always want to offer our customers choice and are delighted to bring the Galaxy Note in white to the UK, the Galaxy Note is an innovative addition to the Samsung Galaxy family and a new category of device that consumers can’t get anywhere else.”

When we reviewed the Note we thought that the device was just (and we mean just) on the right side of big, but all in all loved the slightly confused smartphone.

With its Super AMOLED screen at 5.3 inches you can see why there are issues around size, but with great features such as the stylus pen and fast 1,4 Ghz dual core processor, with a stable Android 2.3 and a big meaty 8 mega pixel camera, it is a worthy device to consider if you are indeed in the market for a new smartphone.

I expect the device to retail at around £400 – £450, but have no actual prices just yet.

With the Droid Razr being available on Verizon Wireless for only $199.99 it is interesting to note that the arrival of the new slightly chunkier Droid Razr Maxx has somewhat eclipsed its slimmer slightly older cousin even before it has arrived.

With Verizon set to release the smartphone in the next week or so, we wondered just who much it will cost on contract and also SIM free.

With specs as high end as this device we allude that it will put the device in the Apple iPhone galaxy nexus bracket or thereabouts, and with this in mind I would hazard a guess that it will be sub $300 on a two year contract and sub $600 to buy outright, SIM free.

This is based purely on the price of the Apple iPhone variants and the fact that the Droid Razr Maxx is roughly on par with this smartphone.

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx Release Date:

With Droid life claim a 26th of January date. Are you a bit p***ed off that Motorola released such an improved device only a few months after one another, and are you looking forward to getting a true 4G device with a proper qwerty keyboard as many claim they would have liked on the previous models?

Battery Life Improved:

I am so happy that the simple issue of smartphone battery life looks like it has finally been properly addressed in early 2012 by Samsung and now Motorola, as this just seemed like such a step back with “moores law” well and truly caught out in some kind of loop of death where one axis was going well (speed, miniaturization) and the other (battery life) bent back on itself and chased its tail!

Yes I am looking forward to reviewing this device soon.

Have you bought a Droid Razr recently and found out about the new release of the Maxx due soon?

If so what are your thoughts, did you wish you had waited a bit longer, or that Motorola had not been so quick to update devices?

Ok, we are perhaps a few weeks early on this news but it has come to our attention that Skype will indeed be available on Windows Phone devices in the not too distant future.

And why not?

Microsoft after all own the damn VOIP company anyway, so it does seem slightly odd that they have even taken this long to bring their own technology to their devices.

I wonder if this is Microsoft steadying the networks who must be shi***ng themselves that once the penny drops that all we need is a data connection to connect to VOIP services, we can do away with our phone packages once and for all!

4G could be the death knoll for traditional mobile networks:

I have said this before, it is possibly only a matter of time before we simply have a VOIP type client such as Skype running in the background all the time on our mobile devices with no need to ever use our minutes and have the ability to call anywhere in the world for free or pretty damn cheap.

Is this the reason that the 4G network may well go for much less money than the 3G spectrum sold for, because we will not be prepared to pay the amount of cash we do for minutes if all we really want is data, leaving the obvious question of how to subsidize our shiny new devices up for grabs after per month costs are slashed.

I also suspect Skype as a service will become advertiser funded, where it will be free in principle but you will have to go through a short message for calls or video for using video conferencing, obviously this would go away if you paid a subscription or similar to Skype’s coffers.

Skype will kill networks dead in time:

I think that networks in the UK will look to consolidate and possibly muscle out the languishing Three network and if my predictions do hold true, there will likely be some call from the remaining few to push out far reaching WiFi on “health and safety grounds” as one wise commentator on the guardian blog pointed out:

ImperfectRex:

*After the other networks get rid of 3, expect them to start trying to get rid of wide-broadcast wifi. Either through legislation on health & safety or simply buying/bribing cheap or free wifi providers.

There are talks that Skype will not be fully featured until Apollo late this year but a version may well appear at the MWC in Barcelona next month.

This years CES was by and large quite dull for me, yeh, we saw a few fantastic looking new devices such as a new Lenova Intel K800 smartphone and some cool cameras and TV’s, but to be honest nothing at all really made me go WOW….I am open to suggestions though, as there was a fair bit of “stuff” being shown and only so many hours in the day!

What has caught my eye today though, is the suggestion that the new Samsung S3 may have been spotted by “accident” in the Samsung show at CES 2012.

Here is the picture of a device that could just be a mock up or may in fact be what the new device will look like, and if it as an edge to edge device then we are sure it may feature Gorilla Glass 2 which is a remarkable material that was a plus point of CES 2012 and we covered it here.

And if that was not enough, here is video suggestion that this device could in fact be the new Samsung S3 and it comes in at the 7.12 mark.

With a similar camera placing as the S2 it could be a close replica of what to expect from Samsung in the coming few weeks and months.

We have already talked about a Samsung Galaxy S3 release date but to be honest it is all pretty much rumor right now.

What do you think to this photo, more like a beefed up Galaxy Note or could it indeed be a Samsung S3?

We bring you what must be one of the most embarrassing episodes in the whole history of “my phone is better than yours” boll***ks.

Please watch as Ben Rudolph from the Windows Phone Blog team gets some poor self deprecating Samsung kiddo to “compete” with him in a vain attempt to show the world that his new Sammy phone is indeed a little bit slower than a new Windows Phone doing a status update to Facebook.

@BenThePCGuy will indeed offer you $100 dollars to compete in tests that he organises on areas that he knows his Windows phone will win on.

Brilliant. Nothing like controlled show boating to win the masses over.

You should go work for Apple at this rate Ben.

Windows phone maybe quick to update facebook et al but has no apps:

You know what, there is nothing us British hate more than showboating Americans, so Ben, if your putting your new device on the line and shouting from the rooftop to tell the world how good the Windows phone O/S is, and then getting them to shame themselves with a board to add to their humiliation (admittedly their fault for being so stupid, I will not hold that against you fully).

Then let me give you some food for thought also…

Currently the new Windows Phone O/S is great to use….but!

As a one trick pony, Windows Phone O/S lacks in depth of functionality beyond social media on the main few platforms for the simple reason that it currently has no decent applications other than Facebook and Twitter.

No apps no game:

Until this changes significantly, I am afraid that all Windows phones are sub standard when compared to the functionality offered by most Android devices and Apple iOS devices.

The trouble is that while Ben can indeed turn a pretty quick status update on his lovely Windows phone, he would be pretty stuck to do anything else on the device such is the lack of applications available.

Now if you are going to boast about your operating system, take a look at what “Users” of Apple devices do to show the world how much enjoyment they get out of their device when they used a suite of iPads to Remix an entire song live:

So yes, if you are itching to save 1 second per status update, then please go and get yourself a shiny new Windows Phone, especially a Nokia Lumia series device, but if you are not that bothered about being so quick, do not listen to quick handed Ben, and go get yourself an Apple, HTC, or Samsung device or better still wait for the new iPhone 5 release coming some time soon.

Want to watch Ben The PC guy make a tit out of a young guy? We got a video for that, but no app to show it on:

Yes if you are using a Windows Phone to read this article and now want to watch the video below, you may want to watch this video on your lovely Windows Phone YouTube application, but why bother, as it is just a link to the Youtube site! And not a real application from Microsoft….Crap!

Not another Ice Cream Sandwich update hullabaloo!

It seems that not withstanding Samsung Galaxy Nexus update problems and also ongoing ASUS Transformer Prime ICS update issues, it seems that HTC has felt left out in the difficult Ice Cream Sandwich updates arena.

So not to be out done for too long by competitors, HTC will now offer you an Ice Cream Sandwich update, currently coupled with associated issues and problems.

Yes, the ICS update so many have waited for will not currently be as stable as you may have hoped for on the Rezound, but as it is only a leaked version that people have trialled before the truly official release coming soon, then you only have yourself to blame for trying it.

Good advice, wait for official ICS updates:

Those that have had a go with this version have said that a watermark is present on their device meaning it is nigh on useless to use as your own true ICS update, so dont be clever, just wait on and do things the easy way.

The HTC Rezound is a pretty amazing bit of kit and comes with a 1.5 Ghz processor, and as a premium smartphone is also offered on 4G LTE, with Beats audio as standard. This lovely device is just waiting for a new Ice Cream Sandwich update and we will keep you posted on when this official version gets a full release, which we expect to be pretty damn soon.

Have you been waiting for the new ICS update, or have you gone for one of the less than trustworthy updates that are circling the web on various forums and posts?

When CNET decide your device is worthy of an award, you know your hard work has paid off. And with news that CNET believe the Nokia Lumia 900 was the best smartphone that graced the CES 2012 show in Las Vegas we hope that the Finnish guys are more than happy with the new title.

Good news for Nokia = Good news for Microsoft?

No news is good news when life is dealing you a shitty hand, but when you are looking to get back in the mix, you want to know what is being said about you.

News from CES that the Nokia Lumia 900 has gone down a treat will be welcome affirmations for both technology firms that their chosen paths should pay off in the long term.

With the Nokia Lumia 900 rumoured to be arriving on AT&T in March with a rumored 18th of March tipped by many, it will be nice to see this device added to the already popular but app lacking Nokia Lumia 800.

So it looks like they may have cracked the egg that will bring both giants back into the land of the waking, smartphone wise.

But, they still need a good application marketplace in order to ensure that more people choose Windows when given a choice of Android or iOS.

I must say that I for one believe that the sleek Nokia Lumia series will be a serous contender in 2012, I just wish they had a good application marketplace that could compete with Apple and Android on scale and functionality, but things change and with Nokia and Microsoft’s drive to encourage more developers I think this may well see some serious growth after gaining accolades such as this one from CNET.

Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T March Release Date:

The Nokia Lumia 900 phone runs Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5. It is the biggest and fastest smartphone yet. And it will become available exclusively through AT&T in March.

With the Nokia Lumia coming to AT&T exclusively are you interested in going from your iOS device or Android smartphone over to Windows and Nokia?

If so why?

People are starting to wake up to the marriage between Nokia and Microsoft and soft buds of love and joy are emerging for the love birds of old.

So what is all this about am 18th of March release date for the hotly anticipated smartphone?

The Nokia Lumia 900 looks set to see a Spring release on AT&T:

According to a report a leaked photo in WMPowerUser the Nokia Lumia 900 will get a March release date and what is more that actual date will be the 18th according to a Nokia developer newsletter.
stating that the device will “become available exclusively through AT&T in March”.

With the phone only just being show, it is intriguing to note that Windows rumormongers, Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrott state that their sources are claiming specific date of March the 18th for the Nokia Lumia 900 release date.

What do you think to the phone being exclusive to AT&T, are you hoping for an unlocked version also?

Source: WMPowerUser

What with RIM having riots in Indonesia, it seems that the world of mobile tech they all copy each other, now its Apples turn to hit the headlines after a major situation occurred in China following the release of the iPhone 4S to the Chinese market at one of their flagship stores in Sanlitun, Beijing.

With thousands queuing up outside for a chance to get the device as soon as possible, it appears that Apple took the precaution of simply not opening up shop for fears that they could not manage the madding crowds effectively, this of course resulted in fights, eggs been thrown and calls of “liar” and “cheats” at teh Apple and staff on top of all this SWAT teams were called in to manage the violence, and effectively managed to disperse crowds by 10.00 A.M.

Scalpers to blame for iPhone 4S riots in China:

“Scalpers” are common in China, and it is reported in Reuters that gangs were employing hundreds of people to queue to get a chance to buy the new iPhone 4S stock and resell it at a premium once it had all been sold.

You can still get some phones from online stores in China:

Apple store online and China Unicom.

Other stores in Beijing and Shanghai opened and sold as usual.

Apples fear of losing control:

Could it be that Apple are simply so scared of not being able to micro manage all potential buyers, that there is a limit to how many people can actually consider coming into an Apple store?

On my estimation they would have need 30,000 Chinese Apple Store members to effectively “welcome”, in typical Apple style, this crowd of 10,000 strong Apple iPhone lovers.

Though, I have to say, if they were to ever deliver on this, they are surely in the best country in the world to try it!

CES looked like it would be the event that brings Quad-Core smartphones to the masses, we have already seen a number of new devices that will sport extremely powerful processing power but as of yet none that had a quad-core processor. Now we hear that Fujitsu will be making their own smartphone in the form of their new device with exactly that.

Fujitsu not known for smartphones:

With the arrival of the new Lenovo K800 Intel based smartphone that we reported on earlier.

It would seem that more and more of the big Japanese and Chinese tech companies who have perhaps missed the ride so far, just could not resist getting in on the mobile tech world for too long, as two unknowns to the mobile marketplace enter with pretty serious offerings.

With no name for this device as yet, and the actual phone kept as more of a display model at CES 2012 as it is still in prototype, there is perhaps a lot less to talk about currently than we would have liked.

But, nonetheless, we can inform you of some of its features and get into rumourland about when the phone may make an appearance and what it may contain in terms of hardware and software.

[arrowlist]

• 1.2 GHz 4 core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor
• LTE Support
• 13 megapixel camera
• 4.6-inch display
• A ‘liquid crystal’ 4.6-inch display

[/arrowlist]

This Fujitsu phone will be making a proper showing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in a few weeks time.

And as far as release dates go, I would expect the second half of 2012, but not sure at all on this.

A new feature that is somewhat unexpected is that a fifth processor will be used to ensure that battery life is improved while the phone us running after all that power hungry Quad-Core processing is working away underneath…how this works I really do not know, and I may come back on this at a later date to explain more.

So what do you think to yet another smartphone device that will enter this insanely crowded market from a newcomer?

Are you an Apple iPhone owner wondering how the hell you ever make a decision to buy an Android based device?

It is possible that you many not really know who Huawei are.

Well, they are one of the worlds most established telecoms technology companies with their hands in many areas, including, telecoms networks, modems, dongles and now smartphones.

The Chinese telecom giant has been showing their wares at the CES show over in Las Vegas, and has produced two high end Android based smartphones.

Both coming under the names of the Ascend P1 S and The Ascend P1.

The thin model is called the P1 S, and is a ridiculously skinny 6.68mm thin, putting this smartphone firmly in the size zero, puking up when no ones looking mould.

So will Apple and Samsung now feel the need to make their models even slimmer?

I for one hope not for a few reasons:

[arrowlist]

• Battery life is currently compromised the slimmer you go. Sod the weight and thickness make my device work longer.
• I like a certain heft in my pocket, it makes me remember when it is there or not. Going too thin will reduce that “feeling” and perhaps make the device more susceptible to being broken.
• I see no part of the mobile consumer base sitting round moaning….”I love my phone, I really do, but i wish it was only 6.5 mm thick,”
• Whereas, I do see people going, “hurry up with those directions my battery is about to die…..of fuc*!”

[/arrowlist]

So for those reasons, I really could not care less about this device being so thin.

*caveat

It has to be said that the phones will be running on 1670mAh and 1800mAh batteries that are supposed to have an improved life of some 30%.

This could be great if they added this to the devices battery life from the base we expect now, but, will they just make them last as long as current competitors taking onto consideration the reduction in size, time will tell on all those levels I suppose.

So let us take a closer look at the actual phone and what it contains….”gubbins” wise, as we say up North.

[arrowlist]

• Dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 Cortex-A9 processor running at 1.5GHz
• SGX 540 graphics engine
• 4.3-inch, 960-by-540 Super AOLED qHD display
• UMTS/GSM 3G and HSPA+ 4G
• 1670mAh and 1800mAh
• Dolby Mobile 3.0 Plus 5.1 surround sound
• 8-megapixel, 1080p HD
• 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera that supports video calls
• The camera will offer: panoramic image-stitching, in-camera image editing, low-light enhancement, and improved close-up images
• Bluetooth 3.0 HS
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• 4GB ROM
• 1GB RAM (expandable to 8GB with a microSD card)
• PDF and PowerPoint editing
• HDMI
• Dual-microphone noise reduction
• Dual LEDs for the rear facing camera

[/arrowlist]

So after careful analysis of the specs above, I am actually quite excited about this device.

It has some potentially intriguing new features that could perhaps set it apart from other similar devices, particularly in the imaging department, a really good camera and photo lovers device and one that tackles the rather poor video features of some smartphones, with options that go above and beyond many in its class.

Here is a great example of the photo technology that will be working inside this device.

Problem:

Need to take a shot of a group of drunken friends (I only know this type) and want to make sure no one has there eyes shut.

Solution:

Get your Huawei Ascend P1 S and point and shoot at subjects, let it take 5 burst shots, and then let it miraculously stitch the subject faces into one shot so they all have their eyes open and look at their best….nice….if it works.

Cost and release date of the Huawei Ascend P1 S?

This device is rumored to be coming with a $400 price tag, and should be available in April in pretty much every global market, this will include:

Europe, China, Asia-Pacific, North America, Australia, and the Middle East.]

Summary:

Huawei are not messing about here, this device is a serious contender when you look at what it can do. It could be a very interesting year for this company and this release, so we will be keeping an eye out in general.

What do you think of the device?

The CES show over in Las Vegas has been the platform for Intel to finally announce that they are indeed going to be entering the smartphone and tablet processor market with new chips aimed at competing with ARM’s current strangle hold on the market.

I have always found it quite amazing how ARM entered this market and managed to so easily shi* on Intel from a small height and then keep dropping those tech turds all over them from ever growing precipices.

The K800 is Intel and Lenovo’s first smartphone on Android:

The announcement at CES that there will be a new Intel powered smartphone built by Lenovo has been met with a fair degree of interest and looking at the new device it is clear to see why.

The worlds first Intel based smartphone is quite a nice looking device.

Lenovo have gone to some lengths to totally re-skin the device and make it a device that suits them. Running on Android, and seemingly only version 2.3, this is not that difficult to do being Android based, we have already seen Amazon do the same with their Kindle Fire, things may however change come release. As it may be running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich by the time it hits Europe and the US later this year.

Right now it looks pretty good, especially when you look at what is under the hood, from here you can see that this phone will be no lazy bones.

Lenovo K800 Specifications:

[arrowlist]

• Android 2.3
• Intel Medfield
• 8MP camera
• 4.5″ HD 720p TFT screen
• WCDMA HDSPA+

[/arrowlist]

Watching the video below you can see that the device does look great but apparently suffers from that horrible and annoying lag that plagues this operating system, it almost looks like I am some kind of idiot when I use my Samsung S2, like some big fingered over eager freak.

But the fact is that this device currently lags, and I never know where I am when I want a lower area of a site or application on my Android device, this seems to hold true for this device too, despite the processor being so seemingly capable.

Lenovo build tanks?

Now we all remember the IBM Thinkpad’s which Lenovo took over and carried on with. Well design wise, they seem to have thought about keeping that crap looking casing that was apparently very tough.

So your phone may be happy to be dropped from a great height, but may not be getting many woo’s or ahh’s from your fellow comrades unless they do actually like the death star as a design aesthetic.

Indeed a little know fact is that the Thinkpad is the only laptop to be certified for use on the International Space Station, so maybe this smartphone might have found its niche already, now beam me up you spotty geek…;).

The Lenovo K800 will first appear in China and is expected to be released in the 2nd quarter of 2012, we currently have no other news on global releases beyond this.

Lenovo K800 summary:

Are you looking forward to this device or do you think that Intel have left it way too long to get into the fast paced mobile marketplace?

Or, is this all dependent on relationships with the right manufacturers, and in that case, is Lenovo a good choice?

We all know that first impressions count, and in all honesty, my knowledge of Intel getting in on the action has been met with lacklustre based on this device.

Surely technology releases are like comedy, it is all about delivery and timing!…dah dum!

Source: The Next Web

With Sony now dropping their old Ericsson name it seems that dropping letters is in fashion right now, as the more correctly named “Sony Mobile Communications” has out fooled us all and is now to call the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD quite simply the Sony Xperia S.

US carriers for the Sony Xperia S:

The release of the new smartphone will however be delivered in the first quarter of this year globally.

Networks:

With no news on carriers in the US, it appears that UK buyers will see the device on the Three network, though we simply have no other news than that currently.

Tech Specs:

The new smartphone device will arrive with some pretty impressive technical specs including a 4.3 inch 1280 x 720 resolution touchscreen display, however right now it seems that it will be running the older version of Android on 2.3, though this could well get an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich come full release, and is definitely promised by the 2nd half of 2012.

And in typical Sony style the new smartphone will sport a massive 12 megapixel camera, with a Sony Exmor R sensor, which will enable the device to record 1080p and 720p video.

Processor:

You will be provided with a powerful 1.5 GHz dual core processor from Qualcomm and an additional 32 GB of storage.

Watch the video below:

What do you make of the new phone?

I am quite glad to see Sony stop writing books for model names and get back to some simplified terms that we can all remember. And from cursory observations it would seem that this device could be a contender, though I see nothing of real note that other smartphone releases such as the Samsung Galaxy S2, Nexus, iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy Note can not compete against.

So would the new Sony Xperia S be of interest to you?

Samsung have announced a few hours before the CES event in Las Vegas that it will be bringing the giant smartphone the Samsung Galaxy Note to the US.

The stylus enhanced 5.3 inch super sized smartphone will be brought to the US and the device will be available on AT&T running on their 4G network.

Pricing of the US version of the Galaxy Note?

No details have yet emerged on the actual pricing of the Samsung Galaxy Note in the US, so we will have to keep our eyes peeled on this as and when news emerges.

Galaxy Note has nice features:

If size is your thing, you will be pleasantly happy with this phone as its size means it offers features that other phones would find hard to deliver.

One being the use of a small stylus termed an “S Pen”, which is housed in the device, and can be used to write on the huge screen almost the same as writing on paper, this is obviously useful for note taking.

In a nice little extra feature, the notes you take can be shared across multiple devices.

Galaxy Note huge screen:

With a huge screen, it has huge appeal to those who are less worried about bulges in their pants, and more concerned over screen real estate so they can play games or watch video on their smartphones while out and about, which this phones screen offers in abundance with a huge 5.3 inch in width.

Based on the Android operating system, the phone has been missing from US consumers clutches ever since it was launched back in October, so this news will make for lots of smiles for those wondering whether to wait in hope or simply go and pick up an alternative smartphone.

So are you looking forward to the Galaxy Note finally coming to the US or has other smartphones got your attention now you have had to wait so long?

Google once again chose Samsung to be the manufacturer of their latest Ice Cream Sandwich enabled device the Galaxy Nexus (Prime in the US). And while there have been some discussions of Galaxy Nexus signal issues initially with the device, it has by and large received a warm and welcome reception for its high end specs, design and functionality.

Do you love the Samsung galaxy range? And you are now in the market for a new Samsung Galaxy Nexus but do not want to look like the rest of the madding crowd, if so, what do you do?

Would you simply get the original Galaxy Nexus model that came out late last year and put a skin on it to make it look unique?

Or, would you prefer to wait for the arrival and release of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus in white?

Well do not get too over excited just yet, as it looks like the arrival may not be until February and the actual colour maybe more half and half if this product shot is anything to go by, but it is coming and it looks pretty neat.

Clove the UK device retailer state:

First stock due week commencing February 6th

No US release date just yet:

US readers will know this device as the Samsung Galaxy Prime, and we are unsure if the white version is currently available for you, or indeed will ever be made an official release, but it does appear to be coming to UK shores on February.

I have to say that I really like this device having played around with it a few times of recent, I feel that ICS has one up on Gingerbread in terms of lag and general feel, it has that lovely responsiveness that you come to expect of high end phones and I actually feel is lacking on the Samsung S2.

What do you make of the design, is it a bit cheeky calling it white when the front seems so dark, and only the back and sides really have the signature white look applied?

We have just released news stating that HTC are going to be coming back into the smartphone market with a bang at the MWC next month, with rumours of two or more new HTC quad core smartphones.

But after hearing pretty sombre news related to their own finances in, these new releases could probably not come about any quicker.

HTC 4th Quarter Financial Results:

These figures show that the finances of HTC have take quite a shock and profits are rumoured to be down by 25% compared to the same quarter last year.

With HTC making only TND $11,000 Million this year in sales compared to a much larger £14-15,000 million in the same quarter of 2010 when HTC had much more of a buzz about them.

New smartphones failed and tablet a flop:

Despite the bad news on profits in the last year, HTC remain pretty calm about it all and looking at overall net income, then it is easy to see why there is no huge panic at the firm just yet, as things are still looking quite healthy in this respect.

HTC Edge, HTC Quattro and HTC Ville – MWC 2012:

Yes, their tablet, the flyer, was a bit of a disaster in terms of getting much traction, and in this manner it essentially flopped. And new models that have arrived in the last 12 months have not been met with huge fan-fair as other more intriguing models from Apple and Samsung have taken the limelight, but HTC’s pedigree is good, and it will be with much anticipation that we all wait for news from the Mobile World Congress when they reveal two or three new smartphone offerings in a bid to get back to the top of peoples minds and wallets.

Rivals Samsung report record sales:

It must add some salt to the wounds though to see their South Korean rivals Samsung post record profits for 2011, though unlike RIM who are in pretty deep trouble, we expect HTC can come back with a good set of products in 2012 and turn this partial, but in many ways expected, financial misery around to a positive.

What do you think the next year will hold for HTC, are you looking forward to the release of their new models?

HTC have been looking a little stale lately, and even though their current offerings are perfectly sound, the fact is that both Samsung and Apple have been pushing out models that have in many ways superseded those on offer from HTC.

It looks like Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress may be the venue that the world finally gets to see the two new quad core smartphones from the Taiwanese manufacturer.

Other manufacturers releasing similar superphones:

While we are looking forward to this new range of phones from HTC, and it would appear that JP Morgan are also happy about the prospect, with a new stock weight classification of “overweight” now being given to HTC.

The problem long term maybe that all the main manufacturers are also bringing out their new “superphone” ranges this coming year.

So you will have LG, Samsung and Motorola all in the same space very soon, but it may suit HTC to get in early while it is less crowded and pick up some early adopters of these quad core beasts.

Is power that important to you?

What do you think of the prospect of having so much power at your fingertips?

Do we really need it?

And do you worry that smartphone battery life will get compromised, and perhaps wish that we reigned in the power of our phones and sorted this area out first?

Having said that, there is some great battery technology coming out that should help this situation.

So is it game on for the Quad-Core action whatever the size of the battery or indeed device?

Let us know your thoughts on the potential release of these new HTC monsters in the comments below.