February 2nd, 2010 | Mobile Phone News, Smartphone, Software Updates
A free GPS app aimed for joggers and cyclists to track their fitness routines has been launched the app available on smartphones works by GPS tracking the time and distance of a joggers’ route and automatically uploads it to an online profile. The Endomondo Sports Tracker means users can analyse their workouts, with data including the distance, speed, split times and maps of their route.
Mette Lykke, co-founder of Endomondo, said: “You can challenge a friend or group of people to train and compare results. You can also find ’sports buddies’ online and become part of a wider training community.”
The Endomondo Sports Tracker was trialed at last year’s Copenhagen Marathon where the progress of 50 runners was tracked in real-time and the app will work on iPhone, Nokia, HTC, Sony Ericsson and Samsung mobiles, as well as Garmin navigation devices.
January 25th, 2010 | Samsung
The first thing you notice about the diva is its distinct style, the back panel has a white 3D quilt effect and then the front of the touch screen phone also features a diamond shaped menu button, you can see that this phone has been designed with young women in mind.
The phone offers everything for the socially minded person with Facebook and MySpace integration and other social network applications with a WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML browser and Pop-up SNS for Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The Diva is a lower range touchscreen but the design does make it more appealing as well it has a 2.8-inch resistive TFT touchscreen, a 3 megapixel fixed focus camera with Smile shot, face detection, blink detection, Beauty Effect and Lomo Effect and Bluetooth connectivity.
This fashion conscious Samsung mobile phone will be out in the first quarter of this year, although now official price has been announced, because it’s a lower range touch screen it won’t be too expensive and there will probably be some great mobile phone deals available for it when its released.
Samsung Diva S7070
January 22nd, 2010 | Mobile Broadband
The Government has pledged to provide a minimum speed of 2Mbps (megabits per second) to all UK homes by 2017, to achieve this they will be applying a new tax of 50p a month on phone bills to raise the necessary funds to roll out the superfast broadband nationally, the amount they wish to raise from the tax will be around £175m.
There are some problems however in applying this tax to every home that has a fixed-line phone, not everyone will want or afford to pay this tax, the tax will force more than 3.2 million households, including pensioners, to pay for a service they do not use and have no interest in signing up for.
Many people who do use the internet may end up switching to mobile broadband providers and cancel their land line toget out of paying the tax, mobile broadband has greatly improved since it was introduced, you can also use compare mobile broadband with comparison sites to get some good offers with many companies offering great deals some better than land line based broadband.
January 20th, 2010 | Mobile Phones
Recycling your old mobile phone is a great way to make a little cash and prevent the toxic chemicals used in their manufacture from entering the environment. The materials will be reclaimed and used in the manufacture of new mobile phones. So you never know, you could get some of them back in the form of a new phone. Many old mobile phones can be reused as they are however, and the companies offering cash for phones often simply sell them on to the developing world and other companies as reconditioned so that they can be reused.
Getting cash for mobile phones is easy and can be done by contacting a company that recycles phones; this not only helps the environment but can be a good way to make a little money. The process involves visiting a website, selecting your phone model, agreeing a price, and sending it off in packaging which is usually provided for you.
When sending your phone it is a good idea to send it by recorded or special delivery. Once your phone is received it will be tested. If it passes testing, payment will be made either by cheque or bank transfer. If the phone is not in a good enough condition (usually only 20% of phones fail testing) you will be contacted with a revised price and can choose to either accept it or have the phone returned to you.
There are also comparison sites available which will direct you to the best offer for your model of phone, so it really is worth shopping around.
January 16th, 2010 | Mobile Phone News, Mobile Phones, Samsung
During the first quarter of this year Samsung will be releasing their ‘Shark’ range of mid- range mobile phones, there are 3 sets in this range Samsung Shark S5350, Samsung Shark 2 S5550 and Samsung Shark 3 S3550. None of the 3 phones are touch screen, meaning they are ideal for those who do not want to partake in the new touch screen era and prefer the more simple to use handsets.
Both the Shark one and two have the most capabilities out of the 3 Samsung mobile phones both with 3G connectivity with access to social networking sites, the Shark 3 has WAP 2.0 Browser with social networking integration. Strangely the Shark 2 has the best capabilities out of the range with a better camera than the Shark 1 which only has a 3.2 mega pixel one where as the Shark 2 has a 5 mega pixel camera. As well as that Samsung say it can also record video at up to 320 x 240 pixels at 30 frames per second.
All 3 phones other features a pretty standard with the Shark 1 and 3 having a micro SD card slot up to 8GB and the Shark 3 can have up to 16GB, they all have FM radio, gaming capabilities and MP3 ringtones. The look of all 3 phones is nothing special but the ‘Shark’ 2 does have a slightly more styled look compared to the other two with a chiseled metallic back. Because of the basic features and style of this range there will be some great mobile phone deals available when they are launched.
Samsung Shark Range
January 9th, 2010 | Broadband
You can use broadband comparison sites to find the best deal for your broadband needs, sometimes this involves switching providers, if you are already signed up to a broadband provider you can change your service by migrating, transferring your service or upgrading.
If you are migrating from a cable broadband to an ADSL broadband you will need an active BT line, a new modem which is compatible with an ADSL connection. You cannot use your cable modem and additional equipment may be required, like a micro filter, USB connection or Ethernet connection. Installing an ADSL service can take on average 10 days, once ordered your start up package will be sent directly to your home and the connection will be directly activated by the provider.
You can also migrate from ADSL provider to another your BT phone line will not be affected and, you will keep the same phone number as with switching phone providers. All you need is a standard BT ADSL connection and your individual MAC code, which will be supplied from your current provider when you cancel.
Switching to a new provider could give you a cheaper subscription, more speed and better services for your broadband needs
January 6th, 2010 | Google Android, HTC, Mobile Phone News, Smartphone, Vodafone
Google have today launched their own branded Nexus One mobile in the US, the ‘superphone’ has been tipped to be a big rival for Apples iPhone. This thinner than a pencil” phone made by HTC has a 3.7-inch active matrix organic LED (AMOLED) touchscreen with a 480 by 800 pixel wide VGA display and a Teflon-coated body. The Nexus One has a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU which is currently only available in a few other handsets, GPS, digital compass, accelerometer and light and proximity sensor. There is also a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 35.5mm headphone jack and a second microphone on the back which is used for active noise cancelation during calls.
The Google Nexus One also runs on Android 2.1 which is an update version Eclair, and you now get 5 homescreen panels instead of 3, as well as new news and weather widgets and 3d main menu. Also on the Android 2.1 is the new API which gives devs access to the Android 3D framework which may bring along many 3D graphics applications and even games, a lot like the iPhone.
The Nexus one is currently only available in the US on contract, however it will be available here in the UK later on in the year on Vodafone, you can buy the Nexus One unlocked in the UK for around £330.
Google Nexus One
January 5th, 2010 | HTC
Part of the new generation Windows Mobiles the HTD HD2 follows on from last year’s HTC Touch HD smart phone, it has a huge 4.3” display with WVGA resolution and captive touchscreen technology making it more responsive. This Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional smartphone has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 448 MB of RAM making it easy to run, it comes with 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and a built in GPS receiver.
The HD2 also comes with the best camera so far on a Windows Mobile phone, a 5 MP autofocus camera with duel LED flash and touch focus, a microSD card slot, standard microUSB port and Bluetooth connectivity. The HTC HD2 also comes integrated with YouTube Client, Facebook and Twitter, and also comes with MS Office Mobile document editor.
The only disadvantages with this phone and like many others is poor visibility of the screen when in sunlight, it’s also quite a large handset compared to most and can be a bit awkward when using and also the preloaded CoPilot Live navigation software is only a trial version.
HTC HD2
January 4th, 2010 | Broadband, Business
Many businesses are now reliant on the internet, for their everyday needs, so you need to have a broadband service that is not just reliable and dependable, but that helps you get the most out of your internet use for your business needs.
For business broadband many internet service providers (ISP) now offer exclusive packages that are tailor made for many business needs like running your business online and being reliant on the web for information or communication purposes. You can use broadband comparison sites for your business needs to find out what the best deal is for you and how much you can afford.
Although business broadband deals are usually more expensive than those for regular home use, they are generally considered to be a worthwhile investment not only because they can be tailor made to your needs but also can be more reliable and faster than your broadband at home.
December 23rd, 2009 | HTC, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Touch Screen, Vodafone, Windows Mobile
Thanks to the launch of Windows phone, the new version of Microsoft’s operating system for mobile phones we have seen a wave of smart new handsets. There are some which are new designs and others that are newish smartphones which were previously available with Windows Mobile 6.1.
The ranges on offer vary from the all-business HTC Touch Pro2 to Samsung’s simpler, Omnia II, this could mean Windows phone may take Windows phones beyond the professional user and into the mainstream for everyone no matter what their needs.
HTC HD2 – This is one of the more high end mobiles however one of its most obvious features is its massive screen, although the phone itself is not small that is made up by the screen size making it an ideal windows phone for seeing your things clearly on.
HTC Touch Pro2 – This has been designed for people who use their mobile a lot for email, combining a large QWERTY keyboard that slides out and tilts up, and it also comes with a 3.6 inch wide screen. The Touch Pro2 also comes with GPS, a versatile multimedia player, FM radio, the comprehensive software suite.
LG GM750 – Currently only available on Vodafone the GM70 is a fast web browsing phone, with easy access to personal and work e-mail accounts via LG’s customisable S-Class interface. The GM70 can also talk directly to social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Picasa and it also supports YouTube and other video sites.
Samsung Omnia II – The Omnia II is a multimedia focused Windows Phone and can play back most major media types, and it also has an FM radio. The Omnia II has built-in GPS and is supplied with a mapping application. Because this is a Windows Mobile device you can choose from a wide range of other satellite navigation systems as well.
Toshiba TG01 – Only available on Orange the Toshiba TG01 features a 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 processor which is twice as fast as the processors usually found in Windows phones, the memory is also larger than most at 256MB RAM. TG01sports a 4.1” touch sensitive display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels in 262,000 colours, ideal for web browsing.