Author: Leigh Geary

Google – Ice Cream Sandwich announced

For us Brits it’s another foodstuff that we’ve probably never tried but, Ice Cream Sandwich is now official. It seems that reducing fragmentation and pulling all the good stuff from the tablet OS – Honeycomb – into one new OS. Arriving in Q4 this year, it’s one OS …

Google I/O Live

Below is a live feed from Google I/O 2011. Hit play to join in on the action. There’s two feeds to choose from …

Confirmed – O2 to get HTC Salsa Exclusivity

Clove recently added a blog post stating that the HTC Salsa would be exclusive to O2. We’ve done some digging and have now received confirmation that the keyboard-less Facebook phone (on the left) will be exclusive to O2. The Salsa has a 3.4″ screen with 480×320 pixel screen, …

Microsoft grab Skype – The details

Following our news item this morning we can now confirm everything thanks to a full press release on from the company. The figure paid by Microsoft is indeed $8.5 billion (£5.2bn), and was paid in cash. Microsoft state that … The acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time …

Acer Iconia A500 Tablet now available

The Acer Iconia W500 Tablet we covered last month has now got a keyboard-less brother running Android for £391.66 (ex VAT), which works out at £469.99 with the VAT. The A500 tablet is powered by Android Honeycomb and features a 10.1″ WXGA (1280×800) screen, 1GB DDR Ram, microSD, …

Gingerbread for the Desire leaks out

I’ve got a strange attachment to the HTC Desire. It’s a crackin’ device that still stands up to the newer phones coming into shops now. Android Gingerbread has just leaked out for the Desire so we should be seeing this “unofficial official” version rolling out “properly” to Desire …

LG Optimus 2X thoughts/mini review.

As promised, I’ve put up my thoughts on the O2X a couple of weeks after I bought it. I’ll try to give an honest, everyday opinion of the phone, consider it’s my only phone and gets some decent use actually as a phone for my day job and …

Motorola ATRIX deals on Orange

The Motorola ATRIX went on sale just a few days ago and we’ve already detailed the pricing but, just to give you a nice graphic showing you the prices for this device, here’s a snap from the Orange launch site. As you can see, if you’re after the …

HTC Sync released for HTC Flyer

Hey! Got yourself a HTC Flyer ? No ? Us neither. We’re being told that this tablet will either arrive “any day now”, “soon” with Amazon stating “June 1st”. The 32GB version with 3G and WiFi seems to be going for £599 at PC World, Expansys and Amazon, …

Incredible and Desire HD receive Android 2.3 Updates

Android 2.3 is now arriving on HTC Desire HD and HTC Incredible handsets. Updates seem to be rolling out to the SIM-free phones first with update notices showing in About->Phone->Software Update. Improved copy and paste functionality, better power management, a new UI, download manager, SIP Internet calling and …

Quickly setup your net connection – Tweakker

Tweakker is a free application for setting up all those tricky internet / MMS and APN options on your Android phone. Although some phones have this built-in now, there’s still a fair amount that don’t. I’m sure there’s many who have felt the pain of changing to a …

Microsoft to buy Skype

With Microsoft supposedly on the back foot it’s all too easy for critics to write off their mobile offerings. In a word, don’t. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s never to underestimate Microsoft. The agreement with Nokia has been done. A new Windows Phone release is about …

Next major release of Windows Phone 7 coming on May 24th

Microsoft has announced that the latest version of Windows Phone 7 will be released in a ‘VIP Preview’ event on May 24th, in NYC. We reported some of the cool new features that this next version of Windows Phone will have, including Bing voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation. The release …

LG Optimus Black. Available from Orange this week

You may have seen news of the LG Optimus Black floating around the web this past week. It’s interesting and, for the most part, completely wrong. A UK network has already been announced, back in February in fact. They’ll end up in stores this week and we’ll have …

Microsoft market share continues to slide, despite Windows Phone 7

Although Microsoft are making some pretty admirable advances, the numbers coming out of the US are still a little worrying. The new handsets landed in November last year but the percentage share of the market is still down from 8.4% in December 2010 to 7.5% in March this …

Bing updates in Windows Phone bringing extra goodies

The new Windows Phone “Mango” release is rumoured to have some rather nice extras including song recognition through “Bing Audio”, turn-by-turn voice directions, a podcast player and something called “Bing Vision” for reading barcodes and text. This should provide OCR capabilities to effectively scan your documents by snapping …

Video – Motorola Xoom and Asus Eee Pad

After using the iPad 2 for a couple of weeks it’s interesting to hear opinions on other new tablets. The BBC’s Marc Cieslak takes a look at the new Motorola XOOM here but seems to be fairly critical of it due to the current lack of microSD functionality …

HTC Mozart – £349.99 on O2

You can grab the HTC Mozart, powered by Windows Phone 7, for £349.99 on Pay and Go when you also grab a £10 top-up. The Mozart is one of the new HTC handsets released last year as part of the Windows Phone 7 launch. Link – o2.co.uk

HTC Desire Z – Just £265 !

The HTC Desire Z is an excellent device. Our recent review pointed out the rather excellent slide-out QWERTY keyboard, fast boot and 5 megapixel camera. Amazingly Amazon are selling the Desire Z for just £265 – that’s unlocked and with free delivery. That, I have to say, is …

Samsung Galaxy S II – Pictures and example videos

Want some up-close shots of the Samsung Galaxy S II ? Well, if our photos from back in February weren’t enough, we’ve now added these extra shots of the handset we have on loan from the lovely people at Clove. I’m using it fairly heavily at the moment …

CyanogenMod 7’s Triumph: Over 200,000 Downloads

The aftermarket Android OS, CyanogenMod 7, has surpassed 200,000 downloads. In case you didn’t know, CyanogenMod is a popular method of ensuring that your Android device is running the latest version, as well as adding in some cool new customisations and features. It’s like having stock Android on …

Looking for a cheap microSD card?

We like to have a look around for cheap memory cards every now and then. So, if you’re looking for a bargain, try this 8GB microSD from Kingston. It’s Class 4, comes complete with a microSD adapter to turn it into a full SD card too. The description …

Bargain Basement – The View Quest 8″ Tablet

OK, this tablet was kicking around the recent Gadget Show exhibition in Birmingham. It’s the ViewQuest 8″ Android Slate and costs less than £200. Actually a lot less, you can get it for £154 on Amazone. This, unfortunately, is the best image we have. There’s even a 5″ …

Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini phones [UPDATED]

Like your Sony Ericsson Android handsets nice and small? Then you’ll be pleased to know that a couple of images of some new Xperia Mini phones have materialised on Sony Ericsson’s press site. The new devices sport Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sony Ericsson’s custom modifications, as well as …

Samsung Galaxy S II on test

The Samsung Galaxy S II / GT-I9100. Call it what you will, it’s ruddy quick. Equipped with a dual-core 1.2GHz chip it’s already blown away most of the competition with benchmark results like this. The specs are all very decent indeed. That large 4.3″ 480×800 pixel super AMOLED …

iOS 4.3.3 released to fix tracking issues

Apple iOS 4.3.3 has now been released to fix those location tracking “bugs” that came to light last month. Location data was found to be stored in a local file on handsets, this could then be extracted with a simple tool. Apple have stated that they were aware …

Xperia PLAY on O2 – Now arriving in June

O2 hit a few niggles with their Xperia PLAY and decided to iron out some bugs first. They’ve now announced that the phone will be arriving at the start of June. Although other networks are already selling this gaming handset, O2 seem to have found some bugs and …

iPad 2 Review

I get it, I really do. If I’m honest this is the tablet that all other tablets ape. It’s as slim as a magazine and is the device everyone seems to want. Heck, I’ve wanted one of these for quite some time. The device we have here is …

HTC Sensation available for pre-order on Vodafone

The HTC Sensation, announced last month, is now available for pre-order on Vodafone. It’s free with plans costing £35 per month (2 year contract). For your money you’ll also get 100 minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of internet browsing. It’s not The all-new HTC Sensation has a 1.2Ghz …

Motorola ATRIX arriving tomorrow on Orange

So, the Motorola Atrix then. Orange are pushing this one quite a bit, and rightfully so. Launching tomorrow, the Atrix can quickly change from a phone to a Netbook or PC. As per our earlier story the device will be free on £35 p/m plans over 24 months. …

New tough smartphone – by Casio

This rough and tough Android-powered phone will soon be coming to the USA on Verizon. It’s made by Casio – a brand which is normally associated with watches and calculators. Named the “Commando”, this is both waterproof and impact-proof with Gorilla glass, large (and loud) front speakers, tactile …

Tweetdeck bought by Twitter….

TechCrunch is reporting that Twitter has bought the immensely popular Tweetdeck. This was rumoured a few weeks ago but it went quiet, now TechCrunch claim they have inside knowledge that the deal has been done and will be officially announced in the next few days. The sub plot is that …

BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 officially announced.

Rim have officially announced the latest BlackBerry smartphones, the Bold 990/9930. Sporting a 1.2GHz Cpu,2.8″ touchscreen, 5Mp camera and 8GB of onboard storage these phones are good news for BlackBerry fans. Full press release below. Many thanks to BGR for this story.     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RIM …

Galaxy S II gets £499.99 price-tag on Three Pay As You Go

Dan has just fired over this picture of the Samsung Galaxy S II sitting within the latest Three catalogue. The S II is a very potent device. Powered by a dual-core CPU it has an 8 megapixel around the back, 1.3 megapixel up the front. Whilst O2 are …

White iPhone 4 Thicker than Black; not just an optical illusion

It looks like the delayed white iPhone 4 is indeed thicker than its black counterpart. I noticed on a lot of unboxing videos online that people were commenting on how the white iPhone looks bigger than the black; partly, this is down to an optical illusion. Because the …

Hann File Transporter – Upload and download files to Windows Phone

Can it really be ? Yes, an app which lets you transfer raw files onto your Windows Phone. Hann File Transporter pairs up with the freely available Hann Portable Server to let you upload and download files directly from your computer. Office files on your computer can also …

Huawei begins legal action against ZTE

I know what you’re thinking.. this is all starting to get a bit crazy now. Everyone seems to be filing lawsuits against everyone else in the mobile market right now. Huawei have just fired a shot across Chinese rival ZTE, with Chief Legal Officer Sony Liuping stating that… …

O2 Offering up the Galaxy S II for just £399

Looking for the Samsung Galaxy S II ? O2 are selling it for £399 on Pay & Go. that’s cheaper than Play.com (£499), Amazon (£499) and Carphone Warehouse (£495). If you’re interested in the S II, check out our hands-on video. This is the second item we’ve seen …

Looking for a Windows tablet or notebook ?

Meet the Acer Iconia Tab W500. It has a slight personality disorder and can be a Tablet or a notebook. It has an AMD C50 Dual-core 1GHz CPU, 10.1″ 1280×800 pixel WXGA screen, 2GB DDR3 RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and oh.. Windows 7. There’s also a 32GB SSD …

Google Docs in action

Google have released a Google Docs app for Android users. It’ll let you create, edit and upload documents on the go and everything gets stored in your Google cloud. You can also take snaps of documents and use OCR (optical character recognition) to turn photos into text. Heck, …