Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Phones Review

Phones Review

Nokia X1-00 Release Date, Specs and Price

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 08:43 AM PST

Nokia has today released perhaps one of its cheapest (and loudest) phones to date, the X1-00 at a price of 34 Euros, which is believed to be aimed at the music lovers out there amongst us.

But, please don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re not going to be getting much for your money, as the phone comes with a large speaker on the back that can deliver your music at a rate of 106phon (now a phon is a unit of measurement for loudness and apparently 106 of them is enough to shake your window frames).

Now before you start saying ‘at that rate the music is probably going to sound like a distorted mess’, the guys at Nokia Conversations state that a bit of tweaking has been done to the frequency response, so that you can turn up the volume on the phone and still listen to your music without distortion. This is something that many of the more expensive phones are unable to offer.

The X1-00 also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, so you can plug speakers into the phone when you want to crank up the volume or plug headphones in when you want to keep the music experience personal. The Nokia X1-00 comes with support for MicroSD memory cards up to 16GB, so that’s a lot of extra music storage. There is also an FM radio integrated into the phone, so you can listen to you favourite radio station, whilst on the move. It also uses Nokia’s Series 30 operating system.

Other features on the X1-00 are an integrated LED flashlight, pre-loaded games, music player app, 5 phone books (yes, I did say 5), according to an article on the mobile.engadget.com site, the possible reason for this is so that the phone can be shared among multiple family members. All this and more neatly packaged in a brightly coloured phone which measures 112.2 x 47.3 x 16mm and weighs 91g.

This is certainly a phone to catch the eye of prospective buyers and the ear of music lovers.

Samsung Wants Symbian Devs For Bada

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 07:31 AM PST

With the demise of the Symbian platform at Nokia leaving many Symbian developers unhappy it appears that Samsung has extended the hand of friendship to Symbian developers saying come develop for our OS.

According to an article over on Unwired View, and by way of the Samsung Hub, old Sammy has sent out some emails to disheartened Symbian developers inviting them to come and use their developing talents on the Samsung Bada platform.

Here’s what the email stated…” If you are a Symbian developer unhappy about Nokia's recent announcements, and are hence looking for a new platform to showcase your talents, we say "Hello!" and "Welcome to bada!" If you're new to the bada development, or are moving your app from Symbian, we'd like to welcome you with the 'Quick guide to bada development'. In about 15 minutes, you can learn how to build your first bada app!”

For those Symbian developers who don't wish to switch to Windows Phone 7 and would like to use their developing skills on Samsung Bada they can do so by hitting the Bada platform website for further information.

For those interested in developing for Bada we have an introduction to Bada video lecture for you pleasure below and other lectures on the Bada OS can be viewed at the Samsung Bada Developers YoutTube page.

Domo iPhone & Android App: Share with Facebook Strangers

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 07:04 AM PST

Facebook Stalkers, you maybe strangers but hey this app will allow you to say hello. The new Domo mobile app has now launched and can be downloaded today for iPhone and Android.

Mashable say that this app allows talking to strangers via mobile, the Domo app in a nutshell allows user-to-user relationships through shared Facebook interests that allow them also to send longer messages and even shared photos with other nearby Domo users.

The app features: Importing profiles from Facebook, Browsing the interests they have, Fine control of privacy, Browsing the people around you, Exchange text messages and pictures, Find out what interests other people share with you in common and much more.

Domo basically collects info from your Facebook public profile and then allows other users near you see it, then it finds out what he or she have in common. Scary stuff, oh yes stalking comes to mind. Ok of course you control what people see but do you like the concept.

Domo will let you share interests such as work, education, entertainment preferences, groups and other things you like on Facebook. Please watch the YouTube video below courtesy of tonchidot, we also recommend you visit the official Domo website.

If you are an iPhone user please download this new app via iTunes, Android users please visit the Android Market.

Motorola Atrix 4G Experiencing Reboot Problems

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 06:58 AM PST

It appears that the latest Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone out of the Motorola camp is experiencing some issue with random reboots along with other bugs on the Motorola Atrix 4G, although it is unclear whether the random rebooting problem is hardware or software.

According to an article over on Pocket Now, numerous early adopters of the Motorola Atrix 4G have been reporting the issue on various websites including XDA-developers, Motorola Support Forums and the Atrix 4G Forum.

Apparently one user reported experienced the device restarting every then minutes, and apparently some users have already returned their Motorola Atrix 4G four times and still suffering from the problem, although some users aren’t seeing any issues whatsoever.

Some are claiming that apps are the cause; while others say it may be battery related or heating issues, so basically no one is completely sure why certain Android Atrix 4G handsets are suffering from random reboots.

So do you own a Motorola Atirx 4G? If so have you experienced any issues with the device rebooting or any other problems? Feel free to let us know by posting to our comments area below.

Official Royal Wedding Website & Android, iPhone Apps

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 06:39 AM PST

Friday 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey the Royal Wedding with Prince William and Kate Middleton is going to be the main highlight of the year and we thought we would mention a few details about the official website and some Android and iOS apps.

Below we have 3 apps, 1 for Android users and the other two for iOS users, hopefully these are useful to you and of course other than the ones mentioned below if you know of any better applications covering the Royal Wedding please do let us know.

The first app is for iOS users and this one is simply called "Royal Wedding", this is a free app that will let you know everything there is to know about the eventful day. This app has all the background history on Prince William and Kate Middleton, other features include: about the proposal, the church (about Westminster Abbey). Who sits where, Gallery, The wedding dress, Family tree and much more. For more information please visit iTunes.

Next up is for Android users, the app is called "Royal Wedding Countdown" and is self-explanatory really. This is a live countdown app giving you the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the royal wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton; you can also trumpet fanfare when you press the Royal Coat of Arms. Please visit AndroidZoom to download.

Last app is another iOS one called "Royal Wedding Countdown", like the Android one above but for Apple users. Apparently this app is a must and features the latest news on the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and obviously the countdown to the wedding itself. More information via iTunes

If you know of any other apps that are better please do let us know, if you have any comments about the Royal Wedding please do post them below.

You can visit the official Royal Wedding website for more information as well, this is a great site and is definitely worth bookmarking.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc UK Release Date Revealed

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 06:03 AM PST

If you are in the United Kingdom and patiently waiting to get your handset on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc smartphone you might like to know that you may not have that much longer to wait as apparently the Android 2.3 Gingerbread handset is releasing this month.

Previous rumour had it that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc could come out to play in April; however according to an article over on Pocket-lint, they have heard from the guys at Mobiles.co.uk that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc will become available as of the “week commencing 21March.”

Spec wise the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc offers according to GSMarena, a 4.2-inch capacitive LED backlit touch screen, 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and 720p video, Sony Mobile Bravia engine, 1GHz Scorpion processor, AGPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI port, 320MB storage, microSD expansion up to 32GB and a 3.5mm jack.

As for which carrier the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc will be on, well apparently all carriers will offer the Android device, with Mobiles.co.uk listing O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Three and Orange, with apparently the best offering being £25 a month based on a 2-year term with the handset costing $30.

So does the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc take your fancy or do you prefer the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo or Sony Ericsson Xperia Play?

Strike Out Windows Phone 7 Baseball Game App Update

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 05:41 AM PST

William from B+ Studio (Independent game developers) sent us an email with a press release for a new updated Windows Phone 7 Baseball Game called Strike Out and we want to give you all the details.

Strike Out! Is a new app that has been updated to version 1.1 and there are some new features that you may like. The email was titled "Strike Out! Use Steroid Mode to Trick Your Friends!"

Strike Out is a baseball game for Windows Phone 7 and it will challenge you and your friends; the question is "Who is the fastest pitcher?" The game has a radar gun within to catch the speed and you need to try and get the best speed. This game now has a hidden feature called Steroid Mode, where you the player can manually choose your pitching speed by simple click on the screen by each pitch; and once you choose for the slowest pitching speed, it will create very funny sound effects.

Strike Out version 1.1 Now Features: A very important feature from Strike Out; is scheduled to be released in April. They will be adding more game modes and Easter Eggs for you to enjoy it; you can unlock these goodies through collecting Strike Cap (Coming soon), What are Strike Caps? They are soda bottle caps that can be found in game, Upload your MVP cards to Facebook and much more.

For more information please visit www.bplusgame.com, please do download via Strike Out! Zune, you can also watch the YouTube video below to give you a better idea about the game.

iPhone 4 Releasing on SK Telecom in South Korea

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 05:36 AM PST

Yes folks not everywhere on this rock we call Earth is totally dominated by the iconic iPhone 4, although Apple may grab another extra piece of the pie with their iPhone 4 next week as although the iPhone 4 is already offered in South Korea, a second carrier, South Korean SK Telecom is to offer the iOS device.

According to an article over on 9to5 Mac, SK Telecom has announced they are to offer customers the iPhone 4 as of the 16th of this month; however there is some confusion over whether the SK Telecom iPhone 4 is CDMA or GSM.

According to an article over on Macrumors, SK Telecom is the second carrier in the world to offer a CDMA iPhone although SK Telecom claim the world’s first commercialised HSDPA back in May of 06, so the iPhone 4 could be GSM.

The President of Platform Business and Co-CEO of SK Telecom, So Jin-Woo says, "SK Telecom is proud to offer iPhone 4 on the nation's top network. Our customers will benefit from flexible tariff plans tailored to their unique usage needs along with a high level of customer care.”

Apparently for those in South Korea who want the iPhone 4 pre-registration for the handset is available as of today and SK Telecom offering the device now breaks KT Telecom’s exclusivity over the device.

Verizon HTC Thunderbolt or iPad 2: Decision Time

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 05:09 AM PST

We will keep this simple and painless as not to add pain to the HTC Thunderbolt release, when it comes to this smartphone releasing customer concerns are getting very hot under the collar and we would like to ask you one simple question.

It seems the HTC Thunderbolt delay is getting highly annoying for many customers and no one knows the real official release date as of yet and soon as we know we will of course let you know. Is it really a delay until a release date was mentioned in the beginning officially? Just a thought.

Below we have put a poll question together because it is very important what sort of Verizon customer you are, are you in more need for the HTC Thunderbolt or the Apple iPad 2? The reason we ask this because surely it is more important for Verizon to give its customer what they want and if they prefer the Thunderbolt rather than the iPad 2 then should they not give them what they need.

There have been many reasons or should we say speculations why the smartphone has not released yet and such days as Feb 24th, 28th, March 10, 16th, and 17th have been mentioned with the latest release date being March 24th. Verizon Wireless apparently said in a Tweet according to our earlier article that …"Zillions of rumors every day. When we DO launch our 4G phones, they'll work great on our LTE network." let's hope so hey Verizon.

Other reports rumoured on the delay is apparently down to 3G and 4G Data Switch problems with the switch between 3G and 4G LTE.

Now call this a silly question or not what would you the Verizon customer prefers, the HTC Thunderbolt release first or the Apple iPad 2? Please click the relevant fields in our poll section below.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Android Gingerbread Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo Pre-order In Germany

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 04:47 AM PST

For the Android faithful over in Germany, and especially the Sony Ericsson faithful, you just might like to know that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo smartphone in red is now up for pre-order on Amazon although without an availability date in tow.

According to an article over on Ubergizmo and by way of GSMareana, the German version of Amazon is taking pre-orders for the Android 2.3 Gingerbread Sony Ericsson handset with an asking price of 345.81 Euros, roughly $480.

Spec wise the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo offers a 3.7-inch capacitive LED backlit touch screen, Sony Mobile Bravia engine, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8 megapixel suto-focus camera with LED flash and 720p video, WiFi, AGPS, Bluetooth, 320MB internal memory, microSD expansion up to 32Gband 3.5mm jack.

There’s still no real confirmation as to when the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo may see release; however the word is that Sony Ericsson has mentioned previously that the Android device could possibly launch in March or Q2.

So any of our readers hoping to snap up the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo when it hits or are you waiting for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play?

Apple iPad Zite Magazine App Released

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 04:19 AM PST

There’s a new magazine application for the Apple iPad been launched on the App Store called Zite, which apparently is aiming to take news reading on the iOS tablet to the next level by dragging news articles not just from online sources but the users GoogelReader and Twitter accounts as well.

According to an article over on Ubergizmo and by way of Mashable, the Zite app for iPad is unique as the app learns from what the user reads, such as the stories you favourite, stories you click on, articles you rate up, rate down, and avoid.

Apparently the Zite iOS app learns from the users behaviour with different articles and as such delivers articles what the app thinks you’d like and doesn't load those articles the app thinks you wont be interested in.

The Zite app for iPad apparently gets better over time, and just so you can check out the Zite app in action we have a introduction to Zite video for your viewing pleasure below, so don't forget to check it out.

For those Apple iPad users who wish to grab the Zite app you can download it as a free download to your iPad by hitting up iTunes, and if you do feel free to let us know how you get on.

Samsung Stealth For Verizon Poses For Pictures

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 03:57 AM PST

Back at CES in January the Samsung SCH-i520 otherwise know as the Samsung Stealth made a somewhat short sharp appearance, being announced along with a further 10 4G LTE enabled devices by the Big Red.

Well now the Samsung Stealth grabs a little of its own limelight by posing for a few wild shots which come our way courtesy of the Boy Genius Report and by way of Jon Rettinger over at Technobuffalo.

Spec wise the Samsung Stealth offers the user a4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, Android 2.2 Froyo operating system that is also upgradeable, 1GHz processor, 8 megapixel rear auto-focus camera with LED flash and 720p video, 1.3 front facing camera, mobile hotspot for up to eight devices, WiFi, HDMI out, Bluetooth, AGPS, 828MB internal storage, microSD expansion up to 32GB and a 3.5mm jack.

According to the tipster the Samsung Stealth battery lasts well delivering up to a full day’s usage with LTE enabled, and also says that as for the release of the Samsung Stealth, potential customers should be looking towards mid-April.

Well with the rate of release Verizon is pushing out their 4G devices we may even see the Samsung Stealth hit before the HTC Thunderbolt, so perhaps if you have become fed up with waiting for the Thunderbolt the Samsung Stealth might make a suitable alternative.

Angry Birds Facebook Game App Release: How Addictive

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 03:50 AM PST

Angry Birds is one of the most addictive games ever and not only is it on iOS, Android, Nokia, Palm and a few gaming consoles and even Windows Phone 7 may get a look in as well it is also making its way onto Facebook.

Yes that is right, according to Huffington Post and Washington Post the new Angry Birds Facebook App Game is going to release soon.

According to inquisitr Angry Birds Facebook should release sometime in May, this game is turning into a phenomenon. This game is definitely not a one off we all like it game and then to be heard of again, it is highly addictive and seems like it will never die down.

This game is addictive because it is about destroying pigs with flying birds, it is simple, not too confusing and highly pleasurable. Yes we have it on the Apple iPhone 4, and the Android HTC Desire HD. We are addicted too.

This is in a way the combination of the rubix cube, Mafia Wars, Farmville all very addictive games but Angry Birds even more so. We will let you know when Angry Birds Facebook game app releases, in the meantime please let us know what you think of this amazing game.

Why is it so addictive, your thought please would be most welcome? You may want to check out the St. Patrick's Day Angry Birds.

Three UK Launches Unlimited Data on Pay As You Go

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 03:28 AM PST

For those who use pay as you go mobile phone it is somewhat rare to receive unlimited data, but it appears that Three UK has made the jump to offering their pay as you go customers unlimited all you can eat data.

Apparently as of Monday Three UK all you can eat data is available on the All in One 15 and All in One 25 add-ons from Three UK that can be purchased for 15 or 20 quid and these add-ons last a duration of 30 days during which the user can use as much data as they wish.

For customers that currently do not have All in One 15 or All in One 25 add-ons you can get one by calling 444, but if you do have one you will still get the usual allowance of texts and calls along with unlimited data.

To celebrate the occasion Three UK has also launched a contest that offers the chance to win all you can eat prizes including this week two First Class Inter Rail tickets for a month so you can explore Europe or your 6 months food shopping bill paid for.

To enter Three UK’s contest all you need to do it go here, and enter your details and phone number to be in with a chance of winning, and as they say, you’ve got to be in it to win it.

Wedding Stress Relief Help: Top 5 iOS Apps

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 03:21 AM PST

We all know proposing is hard enough, you know the right time and the right place etc, but when that is done the planning starts and many loving couples suffer with the wedding stress and we are here to give a little relief with the top 5 iOS apps that can help you.

Below we will give you a few details of each wedding application for Apple devices with a link to iTunes for you to download if you wish to. Hopefully these apps will help you so that wedding stress can become wedding stress relief.

The fist app is simply called "Wedding" By Seligman Ventures Ltd, getting married takes money and in most case quite a lot of it and saving up can be a nightmare in itself. This app will let you know if you are under or over spending using progress bars and how much you have saved each day and week. For more information please visit iTunes.

The next iOS app is called "WeddingWire" (Download via iTunes) where you can plan your wedding on the go, this app will allow you to access and manage wedding plans and checklist of your entire wedding including your budget. Main features include search over 200,000 local wedding professionals, wedding to-do list, Manage past and future payments, Find and connect with the perfect vendor and even check your personal wedding countdown.

The third app is "Wedding Countdown" and when someone asks you when your wedding is you can tell them the details like "We have got 480 kisses, 178,326 heartbeats and precisely 184,072 minutes to go, now that is precise. Main features include: Full landscape support, Countdown for Wedding or Anniversaries, Tap to hide toolbar, Use your very own photos as the background, Play your favourite music from your iPod while counting down and so much more. Please visit iTunes for more information.

The fourth app is "Ultimate Wedding Planner"; this application is a big one and offers so much to help you so you do not get stressed. This is the best digital magazine from 2 for Couples offers up tips on everything from announcing your engagement and sending invitations to how to take good wedding photos and songs to play at your reception. Main features include: Great wedding photo tips, Top wedding trends, Dress designer directory, Getting wed: A to Z, Wedding day primer and so much more, and we mean MUCH more. Download via iTunes now.

The last and final app is "iGuides – Wedding Gift Etiquette" (iTunes Download), we all know weddings should be the best day of your life and when you are getting married you receive gifts and if you want the right gift then use this app. Main app features include: View chapter by chapter for fastest searching, Great Introductions that help you understand the “big picture” and Step by step, easy to follow instructions.

Please do let us know if you are getting married, we would love to hear your pre-wedding stories in the commenting area provided below.
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