It's been just two weeks since we saw the first signs of a Windows Phone 7 Series theme for Windows Mobile 6.5 and now the beta is available via a CAB file. This first version includes the people hub, live tiles, a program launcher, and bing search.

It's early days yet but, if you're willing to take the plunge and give feedback then you can get that Windows Phone 7 Series feel on the link below.

Link - xda-developers.com
Credit - mobiputing.com


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Six new Android phones will be appearing on UK network "3" in the next three months. The details, announced by Mobile News, mention Sony Ericsson and Samsung, with the HTC Hero already selling.

The Spotify app location - which lets you listen to music and share it amongst your friends - will also be included on the upcoming Android phones with 3 Head of Internet Services, David Kerrigan, stating..

"We are focussed heavily on providing our mobile internet-powered applications and will make them available to more people this year. The Spotify application will be available on all Android devices we launch on the network. These applications have been important in driving mobile data and will be available as an add-on for all contract tariffs going forward.”

We're guessing that one or more of the X10 phones and possibly the Samsung Galaxy Lite will be part of the line-up, but more news as we get it.

Link - Mobile News
Credit - Johnny De'Silva


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There was another huge Android announcement at MWC that is of course the HTC Legend which is an upgrade to the Hero that so many people loved last year (it also won phone of the year!)

Now in a aluminium unibody case with the new version of Sense an an optical trackpad the Legend is expected to fly of the shelves once it goes on sale in April.

Link: Vodafone Coming Soon

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Today is fast becoming a day for Vodafone to put up pre-orders on their coming soon section.  Earlier today we brought you news that the Nexus One was available to register your information for over on the official Vodafone website and now comes the HTC Desire, due out in April

The HTC Desire was announced at MWC and was rumored to be called 'Bravo' before that.  Check back for more information later.

Link: Vodafone Desire Page

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Over at the Vodafone UK website a new handset has just appeared in the "Coming Soon" section. Yup, it's the Google Nexus One. Whilst it might look like the Desire and have similar specs to the Desire, it's not the same phone. For a start there's no HTC Sense... and... ooh look over there... quick, there's a raccoon .. ;)

The Nexus One runs Android 2.1, has a 3.7" widescreen WVGA AMOLED touchscreen running at 800x480 and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. Powered by a 1Ghz Qualcomm CPU it also has GPS, a 1400mAh battery, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G / HSDPA / HSUPA / WiFi, a digital compass and accelerometer.

Click over to the Vodafone shop to sign up for updates.

UPDATE: I have heard from a contact at Vodafone that the Nexus One will ONLY be on sale over the Google website, the same as it is at the moment.  Stores will not be getting devices to sell direct.  Dan

Link - Vodafone Shop
Credit - Dave

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Hey you. You lovely, lovely person you. See all this news 'n stuff ? That's all because of you that is. If you've heard or seen something we've not covered, give us a nudge. We love your mails and tweets. Sometimes we print them off, tear them up and stuff them into pillows to sleep on. Come on, don't be scared now. ;)

Link - Email us


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UberGizmo have come across some information on a new Android 2.1 device being rebranded under the Vodafone name and is to be called the 'Vodafone 845'

The Vodafone 845 features a 3.2 Megapixel camera, 2.8 inch QVGA screen, Android 2.1, 3G/HSDPA and WiFi plus GPS for navigation like most Android phones on the market.

The 845 is rumored to be on sale in May so keep an eye out around that time for the expected release also on Pay As You Go for around €150 or £135.

Link: UberGizmo

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The comScore MobiLens service reports on trends in the US mobile industry. In the three months between October 2009 and January 2010 their stats, which come from Smartphone subscribers aged over 13 years old, show that Microsoft appear to have lost ground, the iPhone has plateaued but the Google Android OS has more than doubled it's share.

This graph, taken from gizmodo, shows the change on the previous figures and - although Android remains a smaller player - their rate of growth is pretty amazing.

Windows Phone 7 Series, which was recently announced at Mobile World Congress, will hopefully reverse the slide for Microsoft. However, there's a number of months to go before this OS appears and we'll be keeping an eye on the next stats when they appear.

Link - comScore
Credit - Gizmodo.com - Techcrunch.com


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Some months ago I blogged about how the Google car had snapped pictures of my entire family. Today the journey is complete and all those millions of photos are online. Google Street View has expanded to cover most of the UK and it's available right now, in your hand.

Your street, your house, your car and possibly everything else is now in the Google matrix. It's on your phone too. I tested it on a HTC Hero and grabbed this screenshot from a very tiny local lane. Even dirt tracks appear to have been covered with your Windows Mobile or Android now getting the updated images.

I'm counting the minutes until (A) Lots more "strange images" are found (B) Someone films themselves outside their house viewing Google Street View on an Android phone with compass mode turned on or (C) This hits the newspapers with headlines shouting about "invasion of privacy".

Link - google.co.uk/maps


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Opera Mini 5 beta 2 is now available to download on your Android device. Head over to m.opera.com/next on your phone or click here. It includes tabbed browsing and a speed dial function for getting your favourite sites in just one click. In our brief testing we've found that it didn't render sites quite as well as the in-built browser, plus there's a distinct lack of pinch / zoom, but it's still worth a gander.

Other features include "Opera Link" for connecting bookmarks / favourites between your desktop Opera browser and the phone. There's also a download manager and it does appear to be very quick indeed.

Link - Opera Mini 5 Beta 2


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Google have added a new version of their YouTube application which improves speed and helps to make finding videos easier.

"In today’s release we have added search query suggestions, ‘My Account’ support, and a new homescreen user interface that is optimized for larger screens. Now when you log into your YouTube account on our phone, you can view your favorites, subscriptions and playlists from wherever you are. Let’s say you have recently found an amazing basketball shot video and favorited it on your desktop PC. When you’re at the basketball court with your friends all you need to do is launch the YouTube app and go to your “Favorites” to show it to them."

There's also suggestions which - just like Google search - will pop up as you search for videos. To grab it, grab your phone and browse to m.youtube.com/app or click below for the details..

Link - Google Mobile Blog


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For the first time I'm not starting this with an author's note! Oh, wait. Damnit.

So, we've finally got some concrete details about the future of Microsoft operating systems on mobile devices. I'm impressed with some of what Microsoft have done; Requiring minimum device specifications is clever, and stops underpowered devices giving WP7S a bad name. A greater focus on usability and interface is a no-brainer, and the Zune and Xbox Live integration is a godsend. However, I see a lot of potential flaws and downsides that mean my next phone won't be running a Microsoft OS. And that kinda sucks for them, because I'm a young consumer, the exact kind of market Microsoft should be targeting. Then again, I'm not exactly normal.

Firstly, the name. “Windows Phone 7 Series.” It's... actually kind of terrible. Not only is it a bit of a mouthful, with an acronym worse than “L4D2”, but it's slightly confusing. It implies that this is the 7^th generation of Windows Phone, which is technically true, but doesn't represent the clean break they are trying to make. Additionally, the “series” part makes it seem like there's going to be multiple versions, something they haven't mentioned. A “series” would be better as branding for a, well, series of high-spec devices Microsoft want to promote. It might be that Microsoft were trying to build on the success of Windows 7 by using the 7 to make people associate the new OS with the first universally hailed Windows OS for some time, but if that was the idea, they'd have been better going with “Windows 7 Phone”, as it suggests a direct relationship, something Microsoft would be wise to promote. As it is, “Windows Phone 7 Series” just seems too confusing and wordy, especially compared with the likes of “WebOS” and “Android”.

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