Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Phones Review

Phones Review

Apple Store in Beijing, China: What happened?

Posted: 09 May 2011 01:03 PM PDT

Unconfirmed reports have come in regarding an incident that took place on the afternoon of May 7, outside the Sanlitun Apple Store in Beijing, China. In which, four people queuing to purchase the white iPhone 4, were apparently assaulted by a foreign member of the Apple store's staff.

According to one of the accounts coming to us by way of 9to5Mac, there is an indication that some people tried to push to the front of the queue that had built up outside the store to purchase the white iPhone 4 and chaos ensued, with the store security trying to keep order. However, apparently a foreign (i.e. not of Chinese origin) Apple worker came out with a metal club and assaulted two young men and two middle-aged women.

The account goes on to indicate that the worker who was wearing an Apple uniform and called 'John' returned to the store after the attack on the people outside, which resulted in people from the crowd wanting to enter the store to find him. However, they were denied entry to the store by the security, which ultimately resulted in the glass door of the Apple store being broken.

Please not that this account of the event seems to be mirrored by the accounts of others who claim to have been there and witnessed the whole event unfold. Please not that as of yet were are unable to get official confirmation of what happened from Apple, and as of yet we only have these unconfirmed reports to go on.

To read further accounts and to see more pictures of the incident visit the 9to5Mac site. If the accounts of the event are proven to be true, then it would appear to be a case of an Apple worker taking the law into their own hands and it will be interesting to see how Apple address the situation. Were you there at the time of the incident? If so, please give us your account of what happened.

Stupid Monkeys iOS App: Crazy Cool Game

Posted: 09 May 2011 11:33 AM PDT

Monkeys are usually considered to be very smart animals, unfortunately that does not seem to apply to the ones in the iOS app 'Stupid Monkeys' (the name says it all).

In this app, which is compatible with all Apple iOS devices, you have to help the monkeys collect food with your superiority of your brain capacity, as the monkeys in the game are just too stupid to figure anything out for themselves.

The Stupid Monkeys is a brand new super cute app that is simple, but highly addictive at the same time. You will have great fun cutting vines and watching the monkeys fly across your screen in some crazy poses. Please note that if you do download this iOS app to your Apple device, addictiveness to this crazy cool game is guaranteed – you have been warned!

Here are few game tips to becoming a top swinger in the jungle: 1). Make certain of hitting the fruit to ensure you do not get an X. 2) Avoid hitting the bombs. 3) By hurrying you avoid getting several monkeys on the screen at the same time. 4) if a fruit grows beside a bomb, just wait a short while for another to appear.

In future updates, you can expect further levels, more content packs and improvements. So why not swing on over to iTunes and install this FREE app to your iOS device. Please leave us your comments below.

Stock Killer: Apple Killing Blackberry, Nokia and Sony Ericsson

Posted: 09 May 2011 09:55 AM PDT

When it comes to the mobile stock market it seems Apple is killing other companies such as Blackberry, Nokia and Sony Ericsson. iPhone sales are so powerful that these named firms really need to reinvent themselves or face a massive stock drop.

InvestorPlace have hit upon something very interesting indeed saying, that 3 smartphone stock's could be killed off by Apple, over the last five years Apple (AAPL) have become very strong indeed in the stock investment category and share prices are just getting stronger and stronger.

When you sit back and think that Apple have shipped over 18.7-million iPhones worldwide during its first quarter of 2011, Nokia have always been at the top and still are but they will become number two by the end of this year of 2011 and Apple will be victors. Apple has an overall 19-percent of the smartphone market, which is staggering.

The Apple smartphone business has grown by 114-percent in the last 12-months, Please read the full stock report via InestorPlace and see what you take on all of this.

Do you think that Apple could kill the smartphone industry leaving other companies such as RIM, Nokia and Sony Ericsson with a dilemma?

HTC Kingdom Sprint Smartphone, qHD display

Posted: 09 May 2011 09:33 AM PDT

Not much was known about the HTC Kingdom when it first came to our attention, but now a few more details have been leaked.

We first done an article on the HTC Kingdom on April 28, but were only able to provide you with a few of the smartphones features. Well, now I am pleased to be able to present you with even more information and details leaked by 911Sniper.

The first think to note about the 4-inch HTC Kingdom is that it will be is coming to Sprint, it features a qHD display (without the extra dimension) just like the upcoming EVO 3D and will be based on Qualcomm’s MSM7630 chipset, which provides CDMA world phone support. The Kingdom will be sporting an upgraded 1.2GHz single-core processor and a Adreno 205 graphics engine.

Further features for the HTC Kingdom include a 5-megapixel rear camera that is capable of recording video at 720p, and a front facing 1.3-megapixel camera. The handset supports phone supports WiMAX, Wifi and Bluetooth 3.0, and in an article by Pocketnow coming our way via Engadget the phone is reported to receive and transmit FM, giving the possibility of play music on your car radio wirelessly.

Please give us your thoughts on the features for the HTC Kingdom.

The Queen is Tech Savvy: She Wants Apple iPad 2

Posted: 09 May 2011 09:28 AM PDT

The Queen has prompted her staff to buy her a new Apple iPad 2, now we find this more interesting than the Royal Wedding with Prince William and Kate because technology is the future.

Prince Harry and Prince William use the new Apple iPad 2 tablet PC and this sparked interest from the Queen and then decided it is time she owned one according to The Sun. The Queen who is now 85 had a few lessons on the iPad at Buckingham Palace from her grandsons and now she wishes to add to her Apple collection.

The Queen already owns iPods and a mobile phone and now she will have an iPad 2, this is amazing because it goes to prove she is a elegant lady with class, many Apple fans will love the fact she is choosing their beloved devices.

According to the source above she said it is surprising how easy it is to use and that, all we say is "The Queen is more tech savvy than the Prime Minister".

Please let us know what you think about the Queen wanting the new Apple iPad 2.

Via – T3

Jailbroken iPhone Unauthorised Tethering: How AT&T Tracks

Posted: 09 May 2011 08:44 AM PDT

Now some of the iPhone jailbreak brigade likes to enjoy tethering their jailbroken iOS smartphone and avoiding forking out for an upgraded tethering plan, but AT&T sent out SMS messages and emails letting their customers know if said customer continue to tether they would be charged for it.

So how does AT&T keep track of who is going the unauthorised tether route with their jailbroken iPhone? Well according to an article over on Maclife, by way of Redmond Pie, the guys over at Android Police have apparently discovered how AT&T can track customer's tethering.

Here's what the Android Police article says… "Jailbroken iPhones typically use the same tethering technique as a standard iPhone, the one that's already present in iOS. This method exposes tethering activity quite readily, because the iPhone, when in tethering mode, sends traffic through an alternate APN (AT&T access point/router) for the express purpose of identifying the traffic as tethered data. This makes it extremely easy for AT&T to identify whether or not an iOS device is utilizing tethering, and just how much of their data is consumed via tethering.

Some tethering applications for iOS make use of alternative methods and route tethered traffic through the phone's normal data APN, but by and large, most jailbreakers stick with the stock application because it's easy to use and doesn't require any complicated setup. In fact, many iPhone users jailbreak for the sole purpose of avoiding AT&T's tethering fees (for why, see next section). These are the people AT&T's is going after."

Apparently one of the popular jailbreak-apps for tethering is MyWi, which apparently exposed the users activity to AT&T and will probably result in AT&T getting in contact so the user can get official tethering. However word is there is another app that AT&T can't track called PdaNet, which is available from Cydia.

So there you go, how AT&T tracks unauthorised tethering on jailbroken iPhones and an app on how to avoid getting caught…feel free to let us know if you decide to use the PdaNet app from now on.

Carphone Warehouse Profit Forecast: Best Buy Boost

Posted: 09 May 2011 08:19 AM PDT

For the third quarter in a row, the UK retailer Carphone Warehouse has improved its profit forecast despite sales falling at its European business.

The raise by Carphone Warehouse of their full-year earnings guidance is due to an expectation that a profit-sharing agreement with Best Buy in America, will generate them up to £100m after another strong trading quarter.

The Carphone Warehouse's European business saw a decline by 1.7% in similar sales to the previous year's fourth quarter. The group said that an increase in the number of customers moving to 2-year contracts instead of signing up for just one year, resulted in fewer connections and therefore, an 8.8% drop to 2.6 million.

As indictaed in an article by Peter Cripps of Belfast Telegraph, the sale of smartphones and ‘tablet’ computers, is likely to give a boost to the operating profits of Carphone Warehouse's European business by between 15% and 20% in the full-year.

Best Buy (the mobile phone retailing business in the US) saw a growth to their connections of 25.9% to 1.8 million in the quarter after new stores were opened. In the year to the end of March, the business is expected to reach the top end of their previous guidance profits of between £90m and £100m.

iPhone 4 Accessories for South Korea: WiMAX 4G sleeve

Posted: 09 May 2011 08:13 AM PDT

How would you like 4G data capability operating on your iPhone, well if you live in Korea you can with the WiMAX 4G sleeve.

The new WiMAX 4G sleeve (KWF-B2500) for the iPhone 4 is part of Korean Telecom’s new WiMax Egg Series and comes with an a 1500mA expansion battery, so not only is the user able to surf in WiMax, but they can do so five hours.

The WiMAX 4G sleeve adds an extra 8mm thickness and 68g of added weight to the device, which could make it quite slightly uncomfortable to carry in your pocket – but I'm sure this would not matter to the masses of Apple iPhone 4 users, if it meant that they had 4G connection available on their smartphone.

Information coming to us from Akihabara News via Engadget, is that at present the WiMAX 4G sleeve is only available to those living in South Korea for 129,800 Won ($120). However, for those in the States wanting some of that 4G goodness, there is always the Sprint Overdrive 4G unit.

So would you like to see your iPhone 4 snuggled up in a WiMAX 4G? Please let us know.

Latest Handset Comparisons 2011: Dual Core Smartphones

Posted: 09 May 2011 08:11 AM PDT

It seems that 2011 is destined to be remembered as the year in which dual core smartphones broke into the mobile market, with many of the latest releases sporting two physical processing powerplants to crunch numbers like never before. Here are some of the biggest recent releases to keep your curiosity satisfied and your consumer sense well informed.

The LG Optimus 2X was the first past the post when it comes to dual core releases, outstripping its nearest rivals by getting to market earlier in the year. Running the 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 chip and boasting support for full HD 1080p video recording, this is no slouch when it comes to raw capabilities. With a growing number of apps optimised for dual core processors and the ability to mirror its screen on a TV via HDMI output, there is a lot to recommend about the Optimus 2X.

Of course LG`s party was relatively short lived because the Samsung Galaxy S2, arriving to much fanfare, has already outstripped it in terms of performance and desirability. In a shell that is thinner than the iPhone 4, Samsung has managed to squeeze a 1.2GHz dual core processor and a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus display, along with Android 2.3. Elegance of design and the bleeding edge nature of its internal components mean that the Galaxy S2 currently wears the crown as world`s most powerful mobile.

If you are looking for a similar thinness but at a lower price point then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc might be a better choice than the Galaxy S2. Its 4.2 inch high resolution display is large without being overbearing and its singe core processor running at 1GHz is powerful enough for most purposes. An 8.1 megapixel camera with HD video shooting is a welcome addition and like the Optimus 2X it has an HDMI output for living room viewing, although display mirroring is not an option as a result of its lower powered processor.

A direct rival to the Xperia Arc is the LG Optimus Black. With a four inch NOVA display and a single core 1GHz processor it is blow for blow a decent rival to the Xperia Arc and although it is not quite as thin its 109 gram weight will make it feel light and portable just the same. It is perhaps no surprise that most of the big names launching mobiles at the moment have chosen Google`s Android operating system.

Including laptop deals with these new mobiles is another way of getting consumers to commit to 24 month contracts and with portable web access for social networking a necessity in the modern world these smartphones are becoming increasingly attractive.

HTC Puccini Android Tablet and Holiday Smartphone for AT&T Pictured

Posted: 09 May 2011 08:07 AM PDT

Well now it appears that AT&T is in line for a couple of new Android devices destined to surf the AT&T network at some point in the future, the two devices are called the HTC Puccini and the HTC Holiday, one tablet the other a smartphone.

According to an article over on Phone Arena by way of Pocket Now, the HTC Puccini is apparently an 10-inch tablet and the rumour is the tablet may run Android 3.0 Honeycomb whilst being able to play nice on AT&T's 4G LTE network once its deployed later in the year.

The word on the HTC Holiday is that it is some kind of Android smartphone that could possible sport a front facing camera, and again may run on AT&T 4G LTE network, but other than that details on both HTC devices are rather scarce at the moment.

Apparently the monikers are internal names for the HTC devices so could well come out as something else. That's about all we have for now, but as soon as we hear more we will of course pass it along.

Older Discounted Apple Gear Often More Popular Than New Android Products

Posted: 09 May 2011 07:46 AM PDT

Apparently according to a recent report, by far the top selling Apple gizmo for both Verizon and AT&T is the iPhone 4, but older versions of iOS products apparently are often more popular than newer Android products.

According to an article over on Apple Insider, US retail sales channel checks done by Michael Walkley, an analyst for Canaccord Genuity, says, “Interestingly, our April checks indicated continued strong demand for the iPhone 3GS at AT&T and iPad 1 at Verizon, as these older generation products with reduced prices often outsold new Android products. We believe this highlights Apple’s significant competitive advantage, and these older products help Apple offer a tiered pricing strategy at key channels.”

Apparently when checking AT&T stores the iPhone 3GS selling at $49 outsold such Android smartphones as the Motorola Atrix 4G and the HTC Inspire, while check with Verizon stores showed that after the Apple iPad 2 made its debut, both the 16GB and 32GB Apple iPad 1sold out in less than 2 weeks.

Furthermore when checking with stores apparently new Android devices seems to be gaining share from Windows Phone 7 but not iOS, while Walkley believes the iPhone will remain the top selling Verizon smartphone throughout 2011.

Yes well what can one say other than if you reduce the price on old devices low enough obviously they become more acceptable to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford such devices, so personally I wouldn't read too much into it.

Having said that, would any of our readers choose a cheap old iPhone 3GS over a newly released Android smartphone? Feel free to voice your answer to our comments area below.

Samsung Nexus S 4G Price Comparison: Sprint & Best Buy

Posted: 09 May 2011 07:37 AM PDT

The Samsung Nexus S 4G by Google is now up for pre-order on the Sprint online store as well as Best Buy, the price comparison between the two are completely different with the later online store being cheaper.

If you visit the Sprint online store (We use New York Zip Code 10257 as an example) you will see that they have the Nexus S 4G for $199.99, the regular price is $549.99, which means you save a cool $350.00. It is a different story if you visit Best Buy because their price for this smartphone is $149.99, which makes it $50 cheaper than Sprint; these prices are both based on a new 2-year contract.

Just so you know if you wish to terminate early fees will be prorated, starting at $200 and progressively reducing to $50 depending on the number of remaining contract months.

When you receive your smartphone you will get in the box a Samsung Nexus S 4G Mobile Phone from Google, Owner’s manual, Lithium-ion battery and Charger.

Main Specs Include: Android 2.3 OS, 3G/4G mobile hotspot capability, 4-inch Super-AMOLED colour touch-screen display, Bluetooth, 5MP camera on the rear featuring 2560 x 1920 resolution and a front-facing with 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution, video recording at 720 x 480 resolution, Built-in GPS, Voice activation, Built-in MP3 player and much more.

Where will you be buying your Samsung Nexus S 4G by Google smartphone from, will it be Sprint or Best Buy? Check out both Sprint and Best Buy screenshots below:

Sprint

Best Buy

Rogers Is Now Officially 4G HSPA+ Network

Posted: 09 May 2011 07:36 AM PDT

As of today the 9th of May 2011 Rogers Wireless in Canada has changed their network terminology from 3G HSPA+ to 4G HSPA+ to keep in line with International Telecommunications Union Standards and to fall in line with other Canadian networks.

According to an article over on Mobile Syrup an internal Rogers document came to light on the 7th of May, which shows that Rogers will be making the terminology switch as of today, with Rogers saying "This is simply a network name change."

Rogers switching to 4G HSPA+ terminology is apparently to "bring up on par with Bell and TELUS and close the perceived gap.

Back in February Telus announced their "4G" network and Bell followed suit in March, after which both MTS and SaskTel also announced their networks would be marketed as 4G; however Rogers will still launch their true 4G LTE network later this year in Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.

Tweakker For Android: The 3 Step Internet Connection App

Posted: 09 May 2011 07:34 AM PDT

If you are having a few problems staying connected to the Internet on your Android smartphone and could do with a little help to make sure you can always connect regardless of what provider or operator you are with, you can download the Tweakker app for Android.

The Tweakker app for Android devices is a three-step Internet connection helper including setting up the Internet, testing the Internet and browsing the Internet, and is a Beta version of the app but is apparently a "risk free app" meaning if the app settings installed are faulty, the app will roll back to previously installed settings.

The Tweakker app is an easy to use app for setting up mobile Internet 3G/GPRS/WAP APN, with support for in excess of 600 operators over more than 150 countries with more being added over time, although there is no support for CDMA including Verizon, Sprint and all South Korean and Japanese smartphones.

The Tweakker app for Android is available to download to your Android handset as a free download from the Android Market.

BeBook Live Tablet Coming to play on Android: Video

Posted: 09 May 2011 05:53 AM PDT

There's a new tablet coming out to play on the Android platform from BeBook, who are more known for their eReaders, but is about to step into the tablet arena by launching the BeBook Live tablet, a device that will come out running Android 2.2 Froyo rather than the tablet centric Honeycomb.

According to the guys over at Slash Gear by way of Talk Android, the BeBook Live will be a 7-inch tablet sporting a 1Ghz Samsung Cortex processor, 512MB SDRAM, 4GB internal flash storage, 2 megapixel front facing camera, mini HDMI, and microSD expansion up to 32GB.

The BeBook Live Android tablet will also include pre-installed apps such as Rockplayer, Ebuddy, and mobile game Tank Hero, and also have support for Adobe DRM for publishing PDF files along with viewing other content.

The BeBook Live Android tablet will apparently become available sometime in June and will command a price of $280. We have a short promo video of the BeBook Live tablet for your viewing pleasure below courtesy of the mybebook.com YouTube page, so hit that play button and check it out…enjoy.
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