Author: Mike
Even though they are hardly top of the range, you have to admire Archos. The French company keep the bottom to mid-range end of the market afloat, releasing a variety of smartphones and tablets. Never one to shy away from the latest tech, Archos have now announced their own VR headset. …
The thing about rumours is that it’s nigh on impossible to prove or disprove them at the time and afterwards, when reality bites, most people won’t apologise for misleading. Take this one with a large pitch of salt but the next version of firmware to hit Lumia phones …
Who doesn’t love Argos, particularly the newly revamped shops with annoying and hard to use touchscreen ordering iPads? Now the favourite of the High Street has started to sell Bush Windows phones and tablets. These are no high-end models but are firmly entrenched at the budget end of the market. …
One of the most exciting things about getting a new phone is checking the latest version of the OS. On Windows Phone this takes two forms: the OS version (currently 8.1) and, if you’re running a Lumia phone, the firmware version. Cyan is still being pushed out to …
There are some phones that just leave a dry taste in the mouth and a yearning for more. While some manufactures like to stick to a winning handset formula, others are quick to innovate. One example of the latter is the Sharp Aquos Crystal phone. It might be a …
Having never tried these I don’t quite see the attraction. That said, manufacturers are never wrong (surely…) and now Carl Zeiss has joined the VR headset party. Anyone who’s had a Nokia phone will be well used to the name Carl Zeiss. It will therefore be frustrating for current Nokia …
The first pre-orders for the Lumia 830 are being despatched today. Last week we detailed some of the prices for the phone, but for anyone looking to purchase it the best deal at the moment is with, wait for it, Woolworths. Yes, the long forgotten face of …
For those who are happy to forsake the Glance and Micro-SD features on the soon-to-be-available Lumia 830, the superior-specced (is this a word?) Lumia 930 has had a price drop and the offer of a free wireless kit revitalised. When it was first released in the summer those …
Speculation was rife recently that Tesco would shortly announce its own smartphone. Based upon its success with the Hudl tablet, this was supposedly going to be an affordable phone. A week is a long time in the tech world though, and with the recent announcement of cheap but well specced …
Released at the start of September at the IFA conference in Berlin was the Lumia 735 and the Lumia 830. Microsoft promised that these would be available for September. These phones were beginning to look like the yeti – much discussed but rarely seen in public – until …
I admit from the outset that despite being a mobile phone addict, I have never been tempted by the iPhone. The iPhone announcement did little to increase my enthusiasm. I am, on the other hand, quite a supporter of the Windows Phone OS. Observing the difference of opinions …
We all love something for free, particularly when it’s the latest album by Dublin’s greatest sons (excluding Boyzone of course). U2, one of Apple’s original partners when iTunes was launched, has decided to release its new album for free on iTunes. The album is only available for the next …
No, this is not some sort of late April Fool’s Day prank. Just as James wrote about the need for innovation recently, the one area that old dumb phones still triumph over modern smart phones is in battery life. Long gone are those days where a battery would last …
Microsoft has made no secret of the fact that, in the future, it is aiming for a unified OS, be it for phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. Windows 9, or ‘Threshold’ as it is being referred to, is widely expected to be shown off to the world at a …
Here are some thrilling clichés: Everyone loves something for free; If it looks too good to be true it probably is. Microsoft and TalkTalk have signed a deal for customers taking out a new subscription to ‘Simply Broadband’ package. For the princely sum of £217.40 for the year …
Ever since Microsoft released details of the 8.1 OS update it has been possible for OEMS to not only install Windows Phone onto existing Android handsets (as has happened with the HTC One M8), but it has also ensured that budget phones can be produced as the fees to …
Those on Windows Phone continue to suffer from app withdrawal. More often than not common apps are now available on the OS, but more often than not these are not the fully developed versions available on Android or iOS. Case in point: in May Spotify released an official app …
We’ve previously reported here how those who had opted to install the Developer’s Preview of Windows Phone 8.1 had been unable to install the Lumia Cyan firmware. True to its word, Microsoft has (finally!) resolved whatever the glitch was and Lumia Cyan can now be installed. The usual …
One of the great things about supermarkets nowadays is that you might simply pop in with the intention of buying a pint of milk and some scampi fries, but you can easily leave having spent lots of money on electronic bargains. Case in point, Tesco has reduced the …
We recently reported on the forthcoming release of the HTC One (M8) for Windows Phone. Suspected to be the subject of the HTC press conference on 19 August, the phone is supposedly going to be available to buy just a few days later, albeit only on Verizon in …
Rumours of a Nokia selfie smartphone have been circulating for some time. Rather comprehensive details have now emerged via two leaks, which show the Lumia 730, codename ‘Superman’. Whether this is an ironic reference for what will be a mid-level handset is not clear, perhaps it will somehow wear …
Some good news and some bad news here folks. First the good: Last week I bemoaned the lack of any alternatives to the monster Lumia 1520 or Glance-less Lumia 930 for top end WP 8 phones. Clearly someone was paying attention as it would appear HTC are about …
One thing that Microsoft was certainly guilty of in the past but has since remedied is the speed by which it offers updates to its mobile phone OS. Windows Phone 8.1, released as a developer’s preview just a few months ago, has undergone a series of small revisions that fixed various …
When Microsoft took the wraps off Windows Phone 8.1 back in May one of the most anticipated features was the new lock screen app. To the dismay of many, when WP8.1 was released this feature was noticeably absent. Several months on Joe Belfiore, the head of the Windows Phone …
Windows Phone currently suffers from two intractable problems. The first is the oft cited ‘apps gap’. The second, I would argue, is far more important: it is the limited range of handsets available. For those wanting a top spec phone, choices are effectively limited to the year old Lumia 1020, …
One of the great new features of Windows Phone 8.1 was Cortana, the voice activated assistant. A grammatical mistake I hear you cry! One of the great new features of Windows Phone 8.1 will be Cortana, the voice activated assistant. Of course, for those in the UK (or anywhere …
Now that the Nokia Lumia Cyan software has started to roll out there has been a general torrent of people reporting problems. Millions of us signed up for Microsoft’s Preview for Developers, a simple and foolproof means of getting early releases of Windows Phone 8.1 onto our handsets. The …
We’re British, it is therefore in our bones to love booze, brawls, and the beautiful game… In a twist to the myriad World Cup games comes a novel approach: Hooligans ‘The Bravest’. What can we expect of this celebration of all that makes us proud? According to the …
One thing we are not short of is apps or services that stream TV channels. The problem is that many of these are tied to your location. For instance, I can easily watch live World Cup games using TVCatchup, the BBC iPlayer or ITV players apps. Upon visiting the US a …
Rumours rumours rumours. A day never passes in the tech world without rumours to fill the void. Here are two more. The busiest leaker in the business, evleaks, brought forth more discussion points today. His/Her first message was simple: Big news: Android-powered Lumia incoming, from Nokia by Microsoft …
One of the main factors that frequently draws me back to Android after using Windows Phone is the endless customisation available. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the launcher. With fond memories of using SPB Shell, a 3D launcher on the old Windows Mobile phones, I had high …
You can imagine the scenario: you’re stuck on the station platform, you’re underground and cannot get a signal and you’re unlucky enough not to use a network for which free wifi is provided, yet you’re desperate to keep up to date with the Russia vs. South Korea score. …
The Nexus 5 was reviewed favourably when it was released back in November. Offering a stock Android experience, now updated to 4.4.3 KitKat, it includes a decent screen and powerful processor. The price has changed over time, but Carphone Warehouse are now selling it for a bargain basement …
There is something incalculably exciting about OS updates. Often they will fix as many things as they subsequently break. Sometimes, like the previous WP 8.1 update, massive changes are effected, as the battery drain issue that many people had suffered from (myself included) since upgrading to 8.1 was fixed. Within the …
If there’s one thing that you can be certain of in the mobile world, it is rumours. Almost as exciting as watching the final few minutes of transfer deadline day and hearing about whispers of players being spotted in local kebab shops, rumours of mobile phone updates, releases …
For those desperate to catch up on the latest episode of the Archers on BBC Radio 4, but unable to listen to it on the tube because there is no signal, your dreams have finally come true. Announced via its twitter feed, the BBC have finally revealed that …
Here’s a novel twist. A developer who makes games who, wait for it, wants to donate the proceeds to charity. How unusual I hear you cry, but how refreshing. BeepCloud is a new company who’s mission statement is to ‘build creative new sources of revenue to help fund charities …
For the ‘developers’ amongst us who took the plunge and downloaded Windows Phone 8.1 there has been widespread support for the changes. That said, it is not a ‘developers preview’ without having its fair share of problems. Topping the list have been numerous complaints about battery life …
Everyone loves a bargain, particularly if there’s a shiny new gadget involved. Announced 10 months ago at last year’s Google I/O conference, the Nexus 7 received positive reviews. With this year’s I/O conference to be held at the end of June, speculation is rife that a new Nexus …
In everyone’s life a stage is reached whereby everything seems to have been better in the past. I’ve now hit this milestone. The music in the 1980s was better, as were films. There’s no one today who is a patch on the great Terence Trent D’arby (not that today’s …
