Category: Android

Have mobile phones stopped evolving?

There is, if we’re honest, a bit of a problem with phones now. They’re all a little bit too good. Personally, sitting here, apart from making me a cup of tea or driving me to work, I can’t think of much else that I want my phone to …

Happy Birthday Android

I can’t believe it’s been nearly half a decade since I got my hands on the the HTC G1, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Today marks the 5th anniversary of Android. The initial release was on September 23rd 2008 and we covered the launch and the new …

Oppo N1 unleashed with rotating camera.

In an event that took place just minutes ago in Beijing Oppo have announced the release of the Oppo N1. The handset features rear touch panel called “O-Touch” and a multi-touch OS which adds a splash of colour and time-saving tricks. The makers of the much lauded Find …

Focal Camera app now on Google Play

Following the launch of Cyanogen Inc., the Focal Camera app became a casualty when it was removed from the CM builds. It has, however, reappeared with a proper release in Google Play. Labeled as a beta product, it’s an improved (but not finished) release of the open-source camera …

Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite Review

Don’t get me wrong, I love writing reviews, but of the large quantity of Android phones on my desk I was quite happy to at last see a tablet. The MediaPad is, for me, a perfect size. It’s easy to hold with one hand and weighs about the …

Tesco to launch own brand Tablet, known as the Hudl

Supermarket behemoth Tesco has today announced that it is to start selling its own tablet, known as the Hudl. The device, a 7″ HD screened tablet is to ship with Android 4.2.2 (Jellybean), will sport a 1.5Ghz Quad-core CPU and will have 16GB onboard storage which will be …

LG Announce the LG Vu III

Today in Korea, LG unveiled the latest in their “Phablet” range, the LG Vu III. Slated for an October release, the 5.2″ monster will actually go on sale on September 27″ for a currently unspecified price. The handset sports the latest in the Snapdragon range of processors, the …

My time with the HTC One Mini

A few months ago I had a HTC One for review, ever since it went back my life has been different, I’ve been constantly looking for a new phone to fill the 5″ 1080p Aluminium unibody sized gap in my life. I’ve played about the Galaxy S4 and …

Set your APN and MMS details easily – Tweakker

Most modern Android devices will setup those tricky MMS, APN and internet settings when you first pop in a SIM. However, with the increasing amount of virtual networks it sometimes can’t do it for you, or it gets the wrong network. Tweakker is an app we featured many, …

Google Play full of fake BBM apps.

Since everyone’s asking, yes. There are a bunch of “BBM” apps in Google Play at the moment. None of them is real. We know that people are getting excited about BBM for Android. We are, too. But we also need to be a little patient as BlackBerry works …

Sony Z1 launch event

On Wednesday I took a little trip to London town for the launch party for the Sony Z1. The event was held at Sushisamba, which is on the 39th floor of the Heron Tower and provides some spectacular views, especially as the sun set. This meant a quick …

No more Skype updates for Windows Phone 7

Got one of those old-fashioned Windows Phone 7 devices? Yes. I know. They’re not old. Microsoft, however, is ending support for their very own Skype app on the OS. Sure, the product will still be available, but it won’t be updated. Windows Phone 7 users probably won’t be …

CyanogenMod On the Oppo N1 ?

CyanogenMod founder Steve Kondik has promised “exciting news ahead” following the big changes at Cyanogen. They’re now a fully-fledged company and are taking a really strong and organised approach to securing and updating your device. This latest news comes from his announcement that they will be attending the …

Galaxy Note 3 pre-order at EE now

have added the latest device in the Galaxy Note series, the Note 3, to their website. It arrives along with pricing and a delivery date within the next 7 days. iPhone? What iPhone? The Note 3 is a powerhouse of a phone with a large 5.7″ 1080p screen. …

Have a break, have a Nexus 7

Google, as you’ll hopefully know already, went ahead and called their new version of Android “KitKat” after a rather clever tie-in with the chocolate bar. Now the PR machine is beginning to kick into gear and the companies are dishing out more than just free chocolate bars. Their …

Agora – A quad-core smartphone for £158

Good old Kogan, eh. Everyone loves them don’t they eh? No, me either. However, l £149 + delivery (which is a rather chunky £9) means that you get yourself a 5″ Agora. It’s got a quad-core 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, 1280×720 IPS screen, 8 megapixel rear camera and runs …

Google makes Quickoffice free for all

  In a move that we predicted last week, Google have made their Quickoffice suite off apps free for all users. Apple’s decision to provide iWork for free on new iOS devices has more than like tipped Google’s hand. Quickoffice was previously free for premium Google Apps users, …

AntTek Explorer Ex for Android makes file management a pleasure

Ever since I’ve had a mobile phone I’ve always wanted to play about with the file structure, even if it’s for something as menial as deleting some music from off a SD card. File manager apps are an essential part of life, if you’re on Android especially. As …

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing now on Android

One of my little boys favourite games on the iPad, Sonic & SEGA Kart Racing, is now available on Google Play. SEGA has today launched its popular kart-racing game Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing on Android. There’s AiAi of Super Monkey Ball fame, Ulala from Space Channel 5 …

Cheap refurbished Nexus 7 tablets on Play.com

Would you like a cheap Nexus 7? No, we’re not talking about the new 2013 model. 🙂 If you want a cheap one, Play.com have some manufacturer refurbished 16GB and 32GB 1st gen Nexus 7s for £99 and £120. These are refurbished by ASUS and sold as “like …

A new chapter – Cyanogen Incorporated

If you’ve used Android for any length of time and found the software upgrade path to be either… A) Buy a new phone or.. B) Wait for your manufacturer / network to approve and release the update … then you’ll have probably found an option C, CyanogenMod. The …

Android / iOS BBM release date set for this weekend…

Blackberry were once a major player in the smartphone world. Their devices allegedly played a major part in the orchestration of the London riots via the use of the secure Blackberry messenger platform and now users of iOS and Android can rejoice for finally BBM is coming to …

Angry Birds Star Wars II is now available

Can you bear to play Angry Birds ever again? If yes your next few days are going to be rather busy. Yesterday Rovio released the next installment in the Angry Birds saga. As per the norm with Rovio the gone all puntastic with their explanation of the game, …

Rideye – A black box bike recorder

Yes, it’s time for your daily dose of Kickstarter action. This time it’s my beer fund. If you choose to invest, you’ll get no return on your money but you’ll be able to read some really long and rambling news articles. Yay. No, seriously, it’s this – the …

A dock for every device you own

Looking through the crowd funding site Kickstarter I think my prayers have been answered with the Everdock. Well-made and nice-looking, universal docks that work with a variety of devices are hard to come by. The folks at FUZ Designs are hoping to solve that problem with EverDock. The …

Lifeproof iPad Mini case – Review

Sometime ago I bought myself a shiny new retina display iPad, lovely I thought, that was until my wife saw it. ..I no longer have a retina iPad. Then Apple released the iPad mini. Great, I thought,  I’ll treat myself, plus it will be easy to pop in …

Firefox Browser for Android gets updated

Firefox Browser for Android has a tough fight on its hands. What with Google Chrome shipping on most Android devices these days. But for some people who find Chrome a bit slow or a bit bloated there are lots of alternatives, Firefox being one of them. The handy …

Nexus 7 LTE now available in the UK

International Android fans rejoice! The Nexus 7 LTE is expanding its availability to several more countries starting today. Google Play is now selling the mobile data-enabled Nexus 7 in Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, UK, Japan and Korea. Pricing in the UK is at £299 for the 32GB model …

Bloom.fm gets a full Android app

Not heard of Bloom.fm ? Well, it’ll let you combine radio and music discovery in one big experience (I’m reading from the press release, sorry). There’s a catalogue of 22 million songs which you can preview or borrow if you want to hear more. Borrow? Yes, borrow. You …

Droidcon kicks off next month

This October marks the return of Droidcon London. The Android developer conference is your chance to get down and dirty with the OS and to gain development skills from experts. Gradleware, Evernote, Funky Android and I Fight Bears will be there and, during the two days, there’ll be …

Nexus 4 out of stock as more Nexus 5 pictures appear

The US Google Play Store is now reporting that both the 8GB and 16GB versions of the Nexus 4 is out of stock. The UK site, however, is still showing stock of the 16GB version so grab one quick. Does this mean the Nexus 5 is getting close …

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 – Review

Tablets are becoming more and more popular these days with new features and different screen sizes allowing for all types of customer. Small tablets are great for travelling and for taking to work, where as the larger ones can almost act as a laptop replacement for lots of …

Acer Liquid S1 phablet – Initial Impressions

The current generation of Acer devices are pretty impressive, at the top of the pile is the “S” range, which is the flagship device range. The Liquid S1 phablet is a great big thing with a 5.7″ screen and specs similar to the Galaxy Note II. I’ve had …

Where’s My Water? makes a comeback

There’s a few games that people really latch onto and generally become huge. Where’s My Water? is definitely one of them, and has kept my son (and wife) entertained for quite a bit. Now there’s a new version, cunningly named “Where’s My Water? 2”. Oh and get this, …

HTC USA to shrink in size. Yet more staff to leave.

It’s been a number of months since HTC lost several key members from their Seattle operation. We’ve not seen a resignation for some time – not since May when Daniel Lazarides left. Today Darren Krape, Senior Worldwide Community Manager for HTC, is preparing for his new job at …

Keep an eye on your kids with Children Tracker

Well now, this seems rather good. I’m always banging on about how easy it is for kids to access stuff they really should be accessing. A quick search of YouTube will easily reveal a whole host of videos that haven’t been flagged as inappropriate, even though they are, …

New Twitter beta arrives

If you’re on the Twitter beta programme (apparently our very own Ronnie is but he never knew) you’ll be getting a refreshed version of Twitter this morning. Accessing the beta programme doesn’t seem possible any more but involved you signing up to the appropriate Google group. You then …