Announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year and currently on sale in Europe (you can find a whole range of UK deals here), the Galaxy S II has been rumored to hit Sprint (U.S) sometime in late July. The phone will also make an appearance on Verizon and of course T-Mobile and AT&T are all in tow.
The phone has been given favorable reviews by the vast majority of reviewers and some have gone as far to say that it is the best phone currently available on the market. That said, not much has been said about Samsung’s enhancements to Android through its UI overlay dubbed TouchWiz which is currently in version 4.0.
As the guys over at AndroidCommunity have pointed out, while the UI features some highly touted features such as the resizing of widgets and whatnot, there are other minor features that many have overlooked such as the ability to include gesture movements used in zooming and new Live Tiles (something reminiscent of Windows Phone 7). Best of all, all these features are running atop Android Gingerbread 2.3 and while Samsung has not made it explicitly clear; it is a high possibility that the Galaxy S II will be upgraded to Android Ice Cream in autumn.
Unfortunately not much has been said about the competition posed by HTC’s Sense UI which is currently in version 3.0. HTC’s Sense UI has long been considered the premier and best UI overlay for the Android operating system. But with the launch of the Galaxy S II and TouchWiz 4.0, it is clear that HTC has some major competition. Ultimately the decision will have to be made by the buyers and not the pundits, but for what it’s worth, Samsung seems to have something great going here.
Source: GizmoCrunch
The all new UltimateAddons bicycle and motorcycle mount that comes with waterproof case for Apple iPhone 4 is the very latest product to be launched by the mobile accessory specialists at Ultimate-Mobiles.
Aimed at the cycling community, the all new UltimateAddons bicycle/motorcycle mount with waterproof case for Apple iPhone 4 can easily be attached to bike handlebars that have a diameter between approx. 21mm – 30mm and makes use of a rubber grip to secure it safely to the handlebars.
Priced at £19.99 including VAT, The waterproof case boasts two zips to ensure easy access to the Apple iPhone 4, and the clear plastic front allows the user to use all of the Apple iPhone 4’s touchscreen features without the need to remove it from its protective case.
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UltimateAddons Bike Mount with Waterproof Case for Apple iPhone 4
ASUS, who has been developing a close relationship with Microsoft in the past months has been rumored to be bringing a cellular phone to the United States for some time now. According to these reports, the device would run Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 platform and sport some very impressive features.
The device has been caught in the wild and if this is in fact a legitimate device, than these specs would boast an AMOLED screen with an as of yet unknown resolution. On the back is a camera that is sports 5.2 megapixels, no mention of HD shooting has been made but taking into account current industry trends, we’d be pretty surprised if this didn’t shoot at least midrange HD footage.
According to WMPoweruser, the device will resemble that of the Zune HD. The screen size is 4-inches and an unknown processor or intetnal storage and RAM. But, once again, we’d speculate the storage would be at least 8GB and a CPU of at least 1GHz and maybe 512 of RAM. The battery has been confirmed to be 1300mAh.
ASUS is currently one of the bigger computer manufacturers worldwide and has been of recent years making inroads into the U.S market thanks to their very popular Eee PC line. With a presence in the mobile phone market, ASUS could beef up their presence in that arena which so far has been nonexistent.
Last but not least, if reports and speculation should be followed, Windows Phone 7 hasn’t seen the great acceptance that Microsoft hoped it would. Even though it is less than 4 months since the platform has been launched, manufactures such as LG are saying that they did not meet their expected goals sales wise. Hopefully with more manufactures behind their operating system, Microsoft will be able to continue to claim back grounds lost on the mobile front.
Via: Softpedia
HTC has created the Desire Z as a companion to the regular Desire. It comes with a keyboard and a smaller screen, but it looks better. It comes with an aluminum instead of plastic covering. Take a closer look at the HTC Desire Z here in this informative article.
The HTC Desire Z gets its good looks from its exterior aluminum cover and resemblance to the Nexus One. It is a bit smaller than the regular Desire HD but is also heavier. It weighs 180 grams ( 5.8 ounces ) which is more than an iPhone 4 and a Nokia N8. There will be no problem getting it into and out of a pocket with its rounded corners.
HTC is out of the popular AMOLED screens at the moment, so the HTC Desire Z comes with a type of replacement. The display on this handset is made with SLCD ( Super Liquid Crystal Display ). This is not quite as bright as the AMOLED format, but uses less battery juice than regular TFT. The display is fully featured with everything except Swype input. All the rest, such as a proximity sensor, is included.
The camera on the HTC Desire Z is good enough to take high definition shots. It is rated for five megapixels and features auto focus and LED flash. Geo tagging and face detection are standard. The high definition video is rated at 720p. There is no secondary camera for the front. When the user is done with personal videos, they can be sent to a television without using cables, thanks to DLNA, a new Wi-Fi standard. Speaking of Wi-Fi, this handset can handle all modes, including the fastest; “N”.
The smartphone is fast and completes tasks without lag, thanks to a 800 megahertz processor and Android 2.2. Local news and music is included with a FM radio. Prices are annouced at €549, but the Desire Z is available now on a great range of phone deals.
Virgin Mobile is definitely one of the biggest network carriers in the entire UK. Through the years, it has established itself as one of the big players as it continues to take on a considerable share of the market.
More recently, they have come out with a series of mobile phones that are exclusive only to their users. A majority of these devices have been budget mobiles or devices that come with a very reasonable price tag. This approach seems to be the way to go as it has been successful in capturing entry level users.
One of the additions to Virgin’s growing budget mobile family is the Virgin VM202. Let’s have a quick look at this device.
Making their own Market
Virgin is one of the many network providers that have decided to come up with their own line of devices. That is, instead of teaming up with big name mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung, they have decided to manufacture their own mobiles which are distributed exclusively to their subscribers.
Although technically, they still outsource the production of these devices (the Virgin VM202 for instance, is manufactured by Alcatel), they still hold full ownership of these mobiles. Financially, this approach makes sense as they are able to generate more profits by gaining additional earnings from the sale of each device on top of the monthly tariffs.
However, what makes this technique even more sensible is the ability to customize said devices to better suit their own services. They are able to include additional features and functions that are associated to different services they provide. In the long run, this is perhaps where the big bucks are.
The Elements of a Budget Mobile
The VM202 is a budget mobile in every sense of the word. For starters, it is awfully cheap. You need not shell out a considerable amount of money to be able to get your hands on this wonderful device. On top of that, it also comes with a lot of features that aren’t exactly cutting edge, but are able to get the job done.
It is a no nonsense type of device that gives you the basic features you’d expect from a mobile device. If what you’re looking for are the most advanced features then the Virgin VM202 is not the mobile for you (and you’d have to have a bigger budget than that, buddy).
Budget Features
Although the VM202 is marketed as a basic mobile phone, it still has a number of features that are rather impressive considering the mobile’s price range. Included in the kit is a handy 1GB microSD memory card which is able to store your favourite MP3 songs.
It also comes with a 3.5 mm ear jack as well as compatibility with MP4 videos for your viewing pleasure. However, the most impressive feature of the Virgin VM202 is its slide out QWERTY keyboard which doesn’t only feature ‘soft to touch’ keys, but also happens to come in bright pink. That should be enough to grab your attention, right?