PhoneLon

 

iPhone 5 release date UK rumours were rife as Apple celebrated the 4th anniversary of the first iPhone this week. The first iPhone went on sale on 29th of June 2007 so the iconic Smartphone is celebrating its fourth birthday. It was such a game changer that it would be considered a decent phone by most people today who do not have power and processor hungry needs.

 

Before its launch mobile phones relied typically on features and early multi media Smartphones like the Nokia N95 were difficult to use, slow and full of bugs. iPhone became the first touch-screen phone aimed at the ordinary consumer mass market. It was also the first time that anyone thought of buying a phone priced similar to s laptop computer at over $500.

 

Four years later and the iPhone is still leading the Smartphone market although Android mobile phones outnumber it by shear number of devices.

 

The iPhone has had many changes since its birth. The thickness has been reduced from 11.6mm to 9.3 for the iPhone 4 and the camera has come from a measly 2-megapixel to a reasonable 5 megapixel with rumors of 8 megapixel for the iPhone 5.

 

However, the iphone 4 still looks very similar to the first one with major changes being to the operating system like upcoming iOS 5, the iCloud and massive apps developers support network.

 

It’s good to review what the iPhone has brought to the market.

 

The Apps Store

 

The original iPhone did not have Apps in iTunes store so it was limited by what it came with. A year later the Apps store was created and spawned a whole new set of amateur and professional developers.

 

Four years later the App store is the envy of competitors with over 500,000 apps to do just about anything one can think of for pleasure and business use and they keep growing.

 

It’s Convenience

 

The iPhone has become the Swiss army knife of gadget fans by dispensing with the need to carry iPod for music, a camera for picture taking and eBook reader for casual reading.

 

You can use the Smartphone to do many things including get directions without need for a separate satnav and to go online without need of carrying around a computer.

 

iPhone Spurred Competition

The iPhone has spawned a healthy level of competition leading to many new devices using Android Smartphone and Windows Phones. Demand for similar devices and copy-cats have seen an increase for cheaper devices for people who may not have the buying power or inclination to acquire iPhone features.

 

The competition has lead to choices of specifications such as different screen sized phones, processor speeds and operation systems as well as numerous hardware specs.

 

Some people still prefer the physical keyboard while many have moved to touch screens with multi touch input.

Rumours of the iPhone 5 has resulted in great prices for iPhone 4 deals with retailers and networks trying to attract new contracts.

What ever ones opinion of Apples iPhone one can hardly resist taking a bow to the most iconic mobile phone on the market. The future looks bright for the iPhone as it goes through another phase likely to lead the market again. iPhone 5 release date was rumoured to be in 2012 by some pundits but it is more likely to be around 7th September 2011 as predicted by the authoritative CNET UK review site.

You can keep up to date with iPhone 5 release date UK news via our signup page for iPhone news.

 

 

With the dawn of the smartphone, a focus on data allowance has emerged, but many may be confused as to what this means and which operators provide the best data plans. In the past the main thing people have used to decide which mobile tariff to choose is how many inclusive minutes and texts are given out each month. To cut through to the heart of the matter, let us look at what constitutes the best data plan deals.

Data allowance describes the amount of information you are allowed to download and upload in a given monthly period if you have a fixed term contract with a mobile provider. It is typically represented by megabytes or gigabytes (MB or GB) and the allowance will be listed alongside the inclusive minutes and texts with each deal. Every time you send an email, view a web page or download an app you will eat into your allocated data for that month and your total is not transferable to the next period, which means you need to choose an adequate amount which is suitable for you, just as you would with minutes and texts.

The best data deals will come with at least 500MB of usage each month. On average the typical user will not use half this amount, but as you get more used to the functions of your smartphone you can expect to see usage rise and thus giving yourself a bit of breathing space makes sense. Few data plans include unlimited usage, although there are exceptions. 1GB or more should easily satiate even the heaviest of mobile internet users, although it is worth calculating your typical usage to see just how much you might need.

There are a number of data tariffs offered by mobile network providers. Providers such as O2 take a different approach to data, allowing you to choose a specific bolt-on for your contract that can expand your allowance as you see fit.

All data packages will typically have additional charges enforced should you exceed your monthly allocation. This is usually charged at a flat rate so that additional megabytes of usage will cost you extra and be added to your monthly bill, although the best data plans will be expansive enough to help you avoid paying any more fees.

A good mobile data allowance will allow you to spend more time online while on the move. You will be able to do more of things like download music, stream video, and tethering to your other mobile devices like tablet PCs. Visit our dedicated page here to find the best data plans.

Sony Ericsson have revealed three new mobile phones today, the txt, Xperia active and Xperia ray. Both the ray and active are android powered handsets whilst the txt is running Sony Ericsson’s proprietary software. Each phone seems to have its own unique selling point in an attempt to target specific customers based though some specialised features.

Sony Ericsson txt

No surprises that this handset is going after the text messaging addicts out there. In fact Sony Ericsson are actually trying to port some of the more popular uses of it’s Xperia range onto it’s more basic products. The txt incorporates a “friends” application which enables users to pick up to 5 accounts from facebook or twitter and displays them on the handset. The phone isn’t able to directly interact with facebook or twitter without using the handsets mobile browser but it does allow you to keep up to date with what your friends are up to. The txt comes Equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard which will appeal to the heavy texters and wifi which will keep down and mobile data use due to the social media integration. A respectable 3.2 megapixel camera covers all of the basics for the Sony Ericsson txt and depending on the price could be a winner for Sony Ericsson. The phone measures 106 x 60 x 14.5mm, weight 95 grams, has an inbuilt FM Radio, YouTube integration, 2.6 inch display, 100 MB of internal memory with MicroSD memory card support up to 32GB. The txt is due Q3 so we’d expect an October launch.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Active

The Xperia Active is an Android based handset that can take a beating, the phone is both dust and water resistant, water resistant meaning it can be submerged for 30 minutes at a depth of one meter. Sony Ericsson have really added appeal to the handset by incorporating some sports apps that can keep a track of your workout and training routine and can even keep an eye on your heart rate with compatible ANT+ devices. With the emphasis on fitness the phone still provides for the masses as the compact design still incorporates a 5mp camera, 3″ touch screen 1 GHZ processor and runs android 2.3 gingerbread. Although the phone is aimed at the fitness market we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s robust features don’t draw in the tradesman looking for a handset that can survive on a building site. The vital statistics are as follows, size: 55 x 92x 16.5mm and 110.8 grams. 5MP camera with 8x digital zoom, autofocus and 720p Video recording. A 3″ Capacitive touch screen (That works with wet fingers, Reality Display with Mobiles BRAVIVA engine display 320 x 480 pixels. 320MB of internal memory and microSD support up to 32GB. This addition to Sony Ericsson’s portfolio will come as a welcomed surprise for many fitness enthusiasts and we can’t think of a phone that currently competes in this area. Expect the Active to be hitting stores Q3 this year.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

The Xperia ray hardware wise is very similar to their current flagship handset the Xperia Arc, both have the 1 GHZ processor, run gingerbread 2.3, 8MP cameras and use the Sony BRAVIA engine for the graphics. The ray is however considerably more compact, at only 111 x 53 x 9.4mm the newest powerhouse form Sony Ericsson is a good 20mm smaller overall and may appeal to a wider market. The size of the display is reduced as a result at 3.3″ but is still very competitive when pitched against other android handsets on the shelves. For those of you who are after a powerful mobile with a small form this could be the handset for you. The Xperia ray uses Facebook inside Xperia software to integrate your friends status updates and gives you a richer experience. The ray is bundled with an 8.1mp camera, 1GHz processor, 2.3 Gingerbread, Wisepilot navigation, capacitive touch screen, 300 MB of internal memory with a 4GB bundles microSD card and 720p HD video recording. This too is expected in Q3 but we’ll keep you informed as soon as we know more details about all three handsets releases.

All three Sony Ericsson phones should be available through mobiles.co.uk when they are released and you’ll be able to register for updates by the end of the week.

Apple today announced Final Cut Pro X, a new version of the world’s most popular pro video editing software, rebuilt from the ground up on a modern 64-bit architecture. Final Cut Pro X completely reinvents video editing with a Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas; Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media, and people; and background rendering that allows you to work without interruption. Final Cut Pro X is available from the Mac App Store for $299.99.

Tethering is cool, it saves you money, is easy to do and lets you get on the internet anywhere you get mobile phone has signal. Isn’t that cool? Tethering isn’t actually anything new, I “thethered” my nokia 8210 with my toshiba laptop back in 2001, the problem back then was firstly my laptop battery was really bad and only lasted an hour and Secondly my Nokia downloaded websites slower then it takes most web developers to put an entire website together. Thankfully things as moved on since then.

Now tablets are all the rage and laptops last a good few hours on their battery and don’t require a fork lift to carry them about. So how does it work? It might surprise you that all you need to tether is a phone with Bluetooth. So you don’t even need a smartphone to do it, although Smartphones do make it a whole lot easier to set up. You also need to have a data plan on your phone otherwise you might find yourself with a hefty bill at the end of the month. To be honest legacy phones aren’t especially easy to tether to so here we’re going to talk about Smartphones as you’ll most likely have a data plan with this anyway.

Android is the cheapest and easiest OS to tether with.  The way to tether does vary with manufacturer and version of the OS. For example the Samsung Galaxy S running Android 2.2 will only tether over a USB cable whilst the Samsung Galaxy S II can tether using wifi. There are plenty of guides out there for your specific phone but here’s an example of how it works with the HTC Incredible S. All you have to do is go to the settings menu, and open up the Wireless and networks menu. Once here all the user has to do is enter the Tethering and portable hotspot menu and configure the network. The user then chooses a name for their wifi hotspot and a password. Once saved the phone then starts to share it’s internet connection over wifi. Connect your laptop or tablet as you would to any other wifi point and you now have the ability to browse the web, get on Facebook send e-mail and what ever else you like to do on-line.

This is one of the easier ways of doing it you’ll need to check how your phone can support tethering but as long as it’s fairly modern you phone should be able to do it. The last point to bear in mind is that your network may not allow tethering with your data bundle for your phone. You’ll need to check but thankfully O2 has decided to include tethering in all of their tariffs from the 29th of March , so if you’ve taken a contract out since this date you can tether your day away. We’ve put together some tether deals here too that include a phone and internet device so you can get the most out of being on-line where ever you are.

 

The best thing about this app is that it shows the current weather on the app’s icon as a badge and there’s no need to jailbreak. There are other apps like WeatherIcon that hack your Weather icon to show the current temperature instead of a constant sunny and 73. The app has other basic weather

For some strange reason, Apple decided to leave out the Calculator app on the iPad. Thankfully, there is a free one in the App Store that works great. It’s simply called “Calculator for iPad”. It looks and works just like the iPhone app. When you rotate it to landscape you get a scientific calculator. There

Hackers have figured out how to add their own custom widgets to Apples new notification center in iOS 5. The first one we’re writing about is called MusicCenter. This shows you what song is currently playing and if you swipe to the side, shows the music controls. It is available in Cydia for free! Developed

I’ve always longed for a simple task management app that isn’t over complicated. I’ve also though of developing an app that would remind you of a task based on your location. For example, I could create a reminder that the next time I come a certain restaurant I need to remember to try their Salmon

Here at mobiles.co.uk we are excited to announce our new trade in service where we now offer cash for your phone. There are many reasons to trade-in your old mobile phone such as care for the environment, use the cash as part of the down payment on a new phone or to just simply have some wonga in you pocket. Whatever the reason to sell you phone, you will find that we have a good price that will dissuade you from leaving your old mobile in the cupboard.

The process could not be simpler – just put your IMEI number into our new dedicated page for cash for phones. The IMEI number is found by typing “*#06#” into your phone dialer screen. The result may contain hyphens or forward slashes but you only need to enter the numbers without any spaces to receive your quote.

Our system will identify your phone by its IMEI number and ask you to enter the last 3 digits of your serial number. This process is also simple. For example you can find your iPhone serial number by selecting ‘Settings’ and then ‘General’, and finally ‘About’. Entering the serial number will make sure you get the best price for your phone otherwise our system will offer you the most basic model of your make.

Check condition of your Handset

Your handset must be in good visual condition in order for us to process your Trade-in. This simply means the phone is a a normal working order. Wear and tear is acceptable but make sure that it:

•    Does not have excessive damage to the screen, camera or keypad
•    Can power up and receive charge
•    Has no evidence of liquid damage

Any Questions?

Let us have any questions in our comments area. Below are some common recycling questions.

What can I trade-in?

We currently just trade-in mobile phones based on its current market value.

What condition of phone is acceptable?

Though normal wear and tear is fine, it needs to be in good visual condition, have no physical damage, have all it’s features in good working condition, include its battery and be able to power up and charge and have no evidence of liquid damage.

Though you must include the battery, there’s no need to have any of the cables, chargers or other accessories that came with your product.

What happens to the things I Trade-in?

Your products are passed on to a third party – most go to developing markets, or are used by insurance companies to replace damaged, lost or stolen items.

Once you complete above registration process we will send you a prepaid envelope to send us your handset. You must make sure that you have downloaded any important information such as your contacts, music, video and photos to your computer before you send your package.

Show me the Money!

Once we receive your phone and confirm its condition you will receive a cheque in the post.  Head over to our new trade-in page for an instant quote on your mobile by clicking this link – cash for phones.