Nufone
News on all the latest Mobile devices
BlackBerry set to launch 7 new handsets in the near future
Aug 4th
All sporting BlackBerry OS 7
RIM is looking to turn the tide on its somewhat ominous looking fate with the promise of seven new handsets “over the coming months”.
According to the company’s Co-CEO Jim Balsille, the new mobile phones will be running BlackBerry OS 7. RIM has allegedly been struggling to get smartphones up to “market expectations”, meaning it is yet to ship a new handset this year.?
The company has managed to add 1 million new BlackBerry subscribers in EMEA over a period of 3 weeks. A significant number, but nothing when compared to Google’s 400,000 daily Android activations.?
As of now only the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 has been announced. It is a slimmer take on the companies’ usual QWERTY design conventions and coupled with the success of BBM, could help turn RIM’s fate.?BBM has been crucial in keeping RIM’s devices in with the cool crowd, the company now allegedly adds 48 new users to the service every second.?
According to Mike Lazardis, RIMs second CEO, the decision to hold back on handset releases could mean that the company will emerge ahead of the competition.?
Don’t expect things to get particularly exciting in the BlackBerry camp until QNX-powered handsets start being released, which are not likely to hit shops until 2012.?Things like the BlackBerry Storm 3 and Torch 2 could help pass the time for RIM, but it definitely needs to get its skates on and get some handsets released.
Tags:
BlackBerry BlackBerry OS 7 RIM Mobile phones Phones
BlackBerry set to launch 7 new handsets in the near future originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:57:00 +0100
Paypal shows off NFC-powered money transfers between Nexus S handsets
Aug 4th
Don’t do it by accident
Paypal’s electronic money mastery continues to grow, with the company now entering into the NFC mobile payments field.?
Paypal has designed a system that allows you to instantly transfer money between accounts by simply tapping two different handsets together. The idea relies on the near field communications technology found in Samsung’s Nexus S smartphone.
Using a specially designed Android widget, you enter the amount of money you want to send, tap it on the relevant phone until your handset vibrates and then after a pin is entered, the transfer is complete.?
Paypal cited a massive growth in demand for mobile payments as a reason for the systems development. The problem is that until now a lot of NFC systems have been pretty clunky, with few businesses yet to make use of them. A company the size of Paypal properly supporting NFC could mean a major leap forward in the systems adoption.?
As of yet there is no exact release date for the widget, nor are any of the countries that will support it mentioned. A Paypal blog post is pointing to the end of summer for the widget to go live, but sadly that is all we know.?
Read
Tags:
PayPal NFC Mobile phones Samsung Nexus S Phones
Paypal shows off NFC-powered money transfers between Nexus S handsets originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:42:00 +0100
ZTE to sell Android phones direct to UK
Aug 4th
SIM free through Brightpoint
ZTE is setting its sights on increasing UK penetration, signing a deal with Brightpoint for distribution of the affordable handsets directly in the UK.
ZTE might not be a name that you recognise. The Chinese company is behind 2010’s popular Orange San Francisco handset, which they call the ZTE Blade, and this year’s main handset is the ZTE Skate, a handset that we first saw at Mobile World Congress in February and which has subsequently been announced as the Orange Monte Carlo.
Ultimately the announcement means you’ll be able to get your hands on a ZTE phone in the UK, SIM free, with relative ease.
“We expect ZTE to become a household name synonymous with high quality smartphones and tablets”, said Wu Sa, director of mobile device operations, ZTE UK.
The move bears some resemblance to the moves made by HTC, who also appointed Brightpoint back in 2006. There are some parallels, with ZTE behind several white label devices, looking to grab their own slice of the market under their own name.
ZTE’s challenge lies not only in distribution, but in perception and awareness. Whilst HTC now enjoys global recognition as a brand, ZTE is much lesser known and doesn’t have anything like the same portfolio depth. The current run of Android devices are pushed as “affordable”, but that won’t necessarily mean rapid adoption.
Many of those looking to buy SIM free might be after a premium device with a high resell value and those seeking an affordable smartphone might find that they don’t have the cash to buy the handset up front.
Of course, much depends on the performance of the ZTE Skate and the price that customers will ultimately have to pay for it. We suspect that ZTE will have to push out higher-spec devices to pull in the SIM-free buying public. That said, existing ZTE devices have been popular with the modding crowd and a direct sales channel might see customers moving away from the networks’ branded devices and direct to ZTE.
ZTE told us the Skate should be arriving in Q4 of this year, so not long to wait.
Tags:
Phones Mobile phones ZTE Android Brightpoint ZTE Blade ZTE Skate Orange San Francisco Orange Monte Carlo
ZTE to sell Android phones direct to UK originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:00:00 +0100
iRiver Android-powered tablet and smartphones leaked
Aug 4th
Time to play with the big boys?
iRiver is planning on hanging out with the cool kids with what looks like a pretty stylish Android-powered smartphone and tablet setup.?
Pictures leaked this morning onto Korean website cetizen?show first an Android handset, named Vanilla, and a tablet called…well Tab.?
The pair are keeping it “urban”, shipping in the Apple-esque white that us trendies know and love. The Vanilla also boasts what is called a “clear glass look”, which whilst our Korean isn’t exactly great, we can only presume means something along the lines of the iPhone 4.?
Specs-wise, the Vanilla is not massively exciting, featuring a lowly 3.5-inch display and 800MHz CPU. Worse still, it uses Android 2.2, meaning it will come to market without the latest version of Google’s OS. There is what looks like a front facing camera but no details as to its snapping ability yet.
The Tab is also Android 2.2 and features a 7-inch screen with 5-megapixel camera and built-in Bluetooth. 16GB of internal memory means a bit of space to play with on the music front, but other than that there isn’t that much really to get excited about in the specs department.
iRiver is rapidly becoming a mainstream brand and expanding beyond its traditional Asian markets. The company recently announced the Story HD, the first Google Books eReader. It also boasted the highest resolution of any current generation electronic reader device.?
It would be nice to see iRiver return to the fore. Personally we think its value for money approach and decent design aesthetics are a more exciting entry into the Android landscape than some of the similarly priced competition.?
Read
Tags:
iRiver Android Phones Tablets Android 2.2
iRiver Android-powered tablet and smartphones leaked originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:44:00 +0100
O2 Priority Moments high street deals service hits the shelf
Aug 4th
Everything from cinema tickets to books
O2 has launched itself and its customers right into the ever-popular voucher market with the arrival of O2 Priority Moments.
Born from the already successful gig tickets system, this entirely separate mobile service brings location-based, exclusive offers to O2 users and, so far, involves 30 major UK brand partners with 40 deals from the off which you’ll be able to redeem at 3,500 outlets across the country.
O2 Priority Moments comes as a dedicated app for both iOS and Android, but can also be accessed from a standard mobile website by any internet-enabled handset. It just won’t be quite as pretty if you have to use the latter way. O2 marketing and consumer director Sally Cowdry said at the London launch event:
“Now, O2 customers can benefit not only from tickets but for deals on the high street too. There’s no printing, no paper; just real time deals on everything from cinema tickets to books. On average, we expect our customers to be able to save up to ?105 per month.”
Naturally, those savings are all relative to what you might be shopping for in the first place but nonetheless the launch deals are certainly tempting. You can get 50 per cent off books at WHSmiths, half price tickets at Odeon cinemas, a third off your bill at Yo Sushi and deals at Harvey Nichols and restaurants like Ask, Pizza Hut and Zizzi as well as travel specials from National Express. Certainly plenty to explore.
Priority Moments is available now and anyone can download the apps on iTunes and the Android market. If you can plug in someone’s O2 phone number who doesn’t intend to use the service, you might even find yourself quids in despite being a customer on another network.
Related links:
Feature – Stop your phone from getting hacked
Review – HTC HD7
Tags:
Phones Mobile networks O2 O2 Priority Moments
O2 Priority Moments high street deals service hits the shelf originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:28:00 +0100
Microsoft employees testing Twitter integration headed to Windows Phone 7
Aug 4th
Microsoft testing begins
Microsoft employees have begun posting tweets that point to them testing the social network on Windows Phone 7.
Mango, the new update for WP7, has had Twitter integration planned since its announcement. Current builds of the new Microsoft smartphone OS feature slick Facebook functionality built in. Developers’ builds of Mango however, are yet to include the Twitter functionality.?
Messages posted by the testers appear on Twitter as “via Windows Phone (via Windows Live)”, confirming that the social network will integrate on WP7 handsets. Given that testing has begun now, it looks like things are on track for the Mango launch.
You can expect Mango to launch around September or October this year, with (fingers crossed) Twitter integration built in. Until then why not check out our extensive first look review of the soon to be released Windows Phone 7.5.
Read
Tags:
Twitter Microsoft Windows Phone 7 WP7 Phones Social networking Mango
Microsoft employees testing Twitter integration headed to Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:45:00 +0100
Facebook for Android 1.6.1 launched – now with added video uploads
Aug 4th
News feed gets a refresh as well
Facebook has updated its Android mobile app to include video uploads on the go. You can now send footage straight from your smartphone to the social network.?
The news feed has also seen a revamp, with a much cleaner UI and easier way to comment on friends’ posts.?
There is now proper pages support, meaning you can view a complete list of the pages you like as well as the ones you admin. Pages posted in status updates can also be tapped on using “@”.?
The new Android update brings the app even closer to its desktop cousin, with little of the functionality at home left out from the mobile version. The bug fixes included in 1.6.1 also make things the smoothest yet on the mobile.
With Google+ stealing the limelight it is nice to see a decent release from the Zuckerberg towers. It isn’t the first either, only yesterday the company announced Facebook for Every Phone, bringing the social network to even the lowliest of dumbphones via a web browser app.
Read
Tags:
Facebook Social networking Phones Social networks Android
Facebook for Android 1.6.1 launched – now with added video uploads originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:02:00 +0100
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray hands-on
Aug 4th
Up close and personal
Sony Ericsson has shown off its new Xperia Ray smartphone at a showcase event in London, 2 months ahead of the UK release in September and we were there to grab a hands on.
The new phone, which feels and looks a lot thinner in the flesh than the press shots we’ve seen prior, will come with Android 2.3.4 (the model we played with still had 2.3.3) and boast the same Bravia engine found on the Xperia Arc launched earlier in the year.
That new screen technology is clearly visible with a vibrant 3.3-inch display that is not only crisp, but has an incredible viewing angle (as our pictures show). The “reality display” 854×480 pixel resolution definitely helps add to the phone’s media and browsing experience.?
That crisp display also helps get around the fact that the screen is smaller than other Sony Ericsson handsets on the market and should mean that you won’t have to squint too much when it comes to getting it out of your pocket.
An 8.1-megapixel camera complete with Exmor R technology keeps up the high quality imaging standard set by the recently released Xperia Arc. 720p HD video recording is also possible.
The hardware itself is just 9.4mm thick and only 100g in weight. Perhaps not quite Galaxy S II slim but definitely tiny enough to feel compact in the hand. Sadly no dual-core action to be had with the Xperia Ray, still thanks to Sony Ericsson’s redesigned approach to Android, it is snappy enough with a 1GHz processor under the hood.
Aside from the rubberised matte finish on the back of the case, there isn’t much more to share with you at this time – our play was brief – but you can be sure we’ll bring you a full review when we get to play with the new phone over a longer period, no doubt nearer launch day.?
Tags:
Phones Mobile phones Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Android
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:02:00 +0100
Gresso unleashes $30,000 limited edition white iPhone 4
Aug 4th
Bank-breaker
The Gresso company, famed for its outlandish mobile customisations, has gone and released a $30,000 diamond encrusted mobile phone.
The iPhone 4 Lady Blanche diamonds also has a younger sister, covered in Swarovski crystals and priced in at $7000.?
Both feature three, independently timed Swiss clocks on the back, showing New York, Paris and Moscow. Alongside these are pearl dials with a choice of either diamonds (the more expensive version) or crystals. Naturally things are hand made using a clever floating diamonds technique that allows for a “unique dazzling”.?
Using only odd numbers of diamonds or crystals coupled with clever jewellery work means that especially bright tracks of light are created, making things shinier than shiny.?As if there wasn’t enough diamond action already, the entire back of the phone uses solid diamond-coated mineral glass.?
Current release date details remain pretty vague, with things only confirmed as coming out this year. Keep checking the Gresso website if you are interested. Careful though, a few distractions or accidental purchases could easily see you bankrupting yourself in an instant.?
We definitely like the idea of a bit of mobile bling, personally though we prefer something along the lines of the vajazzled Virgin Media TiVo box.?
Tags:
Gresso iPhone 4 Phones Apple ios Apple iPhone 4 Mobile phones
Gresso unleashes $30,000 limited edition white iPhone 4 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:17:00 +0100
Sony Ericsson Xperia Active hands-on
Aug 4th
Time to get wet
How often do you carry your phone around with you? If the answer to that question is all the time, but not when you’re in the bath or the shower, Sony Ericsson’s latest phone might be the one for you. This information came to light after a quick hands-on with the new device at a Sony showcase event in London on Thursday.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Active?is the company’s first mobile phone that can be dunked in water for up to 30 minutes, to a depth of 1m, making it perfect for outdoor types or those that just like to use their phone while getting wet.
Not one to shy away from testing the unique selling point of a phone, the first thing we did was to dunk it in some water to see what happened.
Luckily for Sony, the result was not much. There was no frying of the electronics, no cries of “What did you do!” from the product manager, just a slight smile that the demo had gone to plan.
Get past the water-loving elements of the latest smartphone from the Swedes and you’ll get Android 2.3.4 (remember SE promised to always have the latest Android OS on its handsets going forward) and a focus with the gym in mind – there’s a music player etc.
Hardware wise, it packs a 1GHz processor, has a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and auto-focus that is also capable of 720p video recording, there’s also a 3-inch Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine (320×480).
That screen is certainly crisp, if not a little small when compared to the Xperia Arc. We had trouble with the “wet tracking technology”, as Sony calls it, that allows you to use the touchscreen underwater, however we should state that this was still a prototype. Sony assures us it does work.
We especially like the fact that unlike other “tough” phones on the market, Sony hasn’t created a device that is big and overly bulky. Yet there is rubberising going on, but not to the extent that it won’t fit in your pocket.
Out in Q3 2011, prices are still to be confirmed, but this might be one for the boating set.?
Tags:
Phones Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson Xperia active Android Mobile phones Waterproof
Sony Ericsson Xperia Active hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:55:00 +0100
Comments