Like the look of the but just couldn’t get around the uncompromisingly large design? Then HTC have just the answer with the . Sharing much of the same feature set as its bigger brother, the HD Mini still packs a serious punch only this time in a more pocket friendly form factor. And now, the HD Mini just took one step closer to finding its way into pockets across the country; the HD Mini is now available to pre-order at with first stock due later this month.
With the HD Mini, have put the HD2 on a crash diet, slimming down the touchscreen from 4.3 inches to a more manageable 3.2 inches whilst retaining the capacitive technology for an incredibly responsive touch experience including multi-touch in various apps. The HD Mini, like its sibling, runs a combination of Windows Mobile 6.5 and HTC’s Sense UI. Sense provides a stylish and intuitive front end to the phone, offering multiple home screens with social networking feeds, weather, photos and more all at your fingertips whilst handles the deeper processes, letting you download apps from Windows Market Place as well as carry out traditional WinMo tasks such as opening and editing Office documents.
The Mini is powered by a 600MHz processor and 384MB of RAM, both of which are more than enough to ensure that navigation is slick, menus open instantly and apps run effortlessly even when multi-tasking (running multiple applications). On the media front, the HD Mini boasts an impressive 5.0 Megapixel camera supported by both autofocus and touch focus, a built in multimedia player and pre-installed YouTube app and expandable memory up to 32GB. Throw in HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS and we’re struggling to see how HTC found room for all this tech in such a compact phone (it measures a mere 11.7mm thick!).
The HTC HD Mini is available to pre-order now on O2, Orange and T-Mobile. Get the HD Mini free from ?25 per month on Orange with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and inclusive data for all your downloads and web browsing. With first stock expected on the 24th of May, to check out some of our fantastic offers and reserve yours now to get it first.
Excited by the prospect of the recently announced but still pining for a slide out QWERTY keyboard ala’ the ? Well, Nokia could have just such a device up their sleeve if a recent leak is to be believed. Courtesy of the guys over at , all we have to go on at this point is a leaked press image but the quality and authenticity of the image both suggest there could be more to this than just simple speculation.
The leaked image (left) shows off a with very close ties to the Nokia N8 even down to the colour (a rather funky green if we do say so ourselves). Where it differs is of course that slide out QWERTY keyboard that Nokia are oh so fond of (N97, N97 Mini) which jerks up to give a better viewing angle without the need for a kickstand (as seen in the ). No word on features apart from the QWERTY/ touchscreen combination seen in the photo but a similar spec to the 8 (12 Megapixel/ HD Video/ Symbian 3) would be more than welcome.
Keep an eye on the for more developments as and when we get them. And, if you happen to like the N8 just how it is, sans QWERTY keyboard, to register for updates and we’ll let you know as soon as Nokia’s first 12 Megapixel camera phone is available to order.
More and more research is suggesting that (RIM) are in fact working on the creation of a Tablet. So far the device has received the codename ‘BlackPad’ or ‘Cobalt’ and is expected to feature an 8.9 inch touchscreen and will be fully compatible with Blackberry OS. RIM are reportedly ordering the displays from Hon Hai which would mean that this tablet will be smaller and thinner than the Apple iPad which was released earlier on this year.
It has also been reported that the device will sport both a 3G connection and Wi-Fi and it may even sync with a BlackBerry .
The companies co-chief Mike Lazaridis recently broadcast his on the need of Tablets in the market, and he noted that any tablet had to be more than just a substitute for a notebook.
RIM have followed in the footsteps of after Apple’s proved to be a hit and also changing its BlackBerry OS 6.0 to include a Cover Flow like media player, along with other touch-friendly elements. .
Keep an eye on for all the latest news on the upcoming BlackBerry Tablet including updates on its official announcement and likely release dates.
The Motorola Droid’s (or as we know it) days as the number one phone were short lived with the touchscreen/QWERTY device quickly surpassed by the in the states and the here in Blighty. But, if newly leaked rendered images are to be believed, Motorola aren’t taking this lying down and are (if the rumours are true) busy working on a Droid successor and could even be making Google’s next phone, the Nexus Two!
Going under the intriguing codename ‘Shadow’, the rumoured sports the same form factor as the current Droid/ Milestone; large display, slide out QWERTY keyboard and slim design. The Shadow is said to up the screen dimensions to a whopping 4.3″ (the Milestone featured a 3.7″ display), boast an with HD video capture (most likely 720p) and an HDMI port. Other rumoured specs include the latest version of Android (most likely 2.2 or Froyo), a 720MHz processor and 512MB of RAM.
So, that’s the Motorola Droid2 covered, but what about the Nexus Two? Well, rumour has it Motorola will be making a QWERTY-less version of the Shadow for Google to release as the Nexus Two. If true, this would mean a phone of proportions running Google’s Android OS, something Android fans have been crying out for ever since the HD2 was released. No word on official announcements or launch dates for either of these devices yet so keep ‘em peeled on the Blog for more info as and when we get it. .
With new additions to the , and families over the past 6 months, BlackBerry Pearl fans were crying out for some new hardware and RIM have duly obliged with the announcement of the smartphone. The Pearl marks a first for the Canadian as it is the first BlackBerry phone to feature a traditional alpha-numeric keypad and also moves away from the trackball that gave previous Pearl’s their name in favour of the new optical trackpad. Is this a step too far or can the Pearl 9105 retain its BlackBerry-ness?
Despite the new style keypad, the Pearl 9105 is still unmistakably a . The keypad is that of a traditional so each key represents multiple letters with several taps required to get to certain letters in the alphabet. In addition to this, the 9105 boasts BlackBerry’s predictive text SureType technology that learns the words you use most to save time whilst typing. The departure away from QWERTY and semi QWERTY keyboards allows the Pearl 9105 to sport a more compact form factor; the phone measures a svelte 108 x 50 x 13.3 mm and tips the scales at just 93.6 g.
At this point you may be asking what exactly have stripped out to make room for this compact design. Well, we’re pleased to tell you that the Pearl 9105 is a fully fledged BlackBerry smartphone. Chat with friends with BlackBerry Messenger and receive real time delivery reports and even notification when your message has been read. Sync your Pearl with iTunes and carry all your music with you using expandable memory (microSD up to 32GB) and enjoy up to 30 hours of music playback with the long lasting removable battery.
Enhance your BlackBerry Pearl 9105 Smartphone with downloadable apps from BlackBerry App World and enjoy a more intuitive experience with BlackBerry Super Apps, Apps with deeper integration with the native apps on the phone allowing you to sync your calendar with Facebook and receive notifications on Ebay! Best of all, like any worth its salt, the Pearl is perfectly capable of multi-tasking and can manage multiple apps with ease thanks to BlackBerry OS’s dashboard interface.
The Pearl 9105 is ready for high speed web browsing thanks to HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity and is also a competent mapping device with GPS and BlackBerry Maps pre-installed. Combine this stunning feature set with BlackBerry’s tried and tested push email service, document editing and an excellent built in organiser and the Pearl 9105 becomes the perfect tool for work and play. Expected to launch in June, to register for updates and keep an eye on the and we’ll let you know as soon as the BlackBerry Pearl 9105 is available to pre-order.
have officially lifted the lid on their next flagship smartphone and for once, the mill appears to have hit the nail on the head in terms of specifications and even the name of the device. Leaked as the Nokia N8-, it seems the whole industry had all assumed a second digit would be added to the name in keeping with Nseries tradition but it seems Nokia were looking to buck the trend and have officially unveiled the .
Reading the list of features for the Nokia N8 is like reading a fans wish list. First and foremost, the N8 is a touchscreen device with a traditional candy bar form factor. Sporting a 3.5 inch AMOLED display, Nokia are clearly very confident in the touchscreen experience on the N8 as they have opted not to include a slide out QWERTY keyboard (as seen in the and ). The display uses capacitive technology which enables multi-touch (!) so the N8 will feature pinch to zoom in maps, the web browser and more. We’ll reserve judgement till we get hands on with the N8 but this easily looks set to become the best touchscreen Nokia ever released.
With the N8, Nokia clearly had their sights set on breaking boundaries. The phone is Nokia’s first to feature and a (and the first phone to combine both). Video is captured in 720p HD and the N8 also boasts an HDMI port for connecting to an HD ready TV and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound for audio quality to match the excellent visuals. The N8 also includes an intuitive built-in editing suite letting users edit videos and add images, text, music and transitions. Equally impressive is the still image capture thanks to the built in 12 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, powerful Xenon flash and large lens that rivals those found in compact digital cameras. Whether its HD Video or still photography you’re after, the N8 has got you covered.
As good as the feature set of the N8 is, this simply isn’t enough if it’s running on an out of date operating system. Symbian as a OS as we know it has had its day and, truth be told, there are so many competing (and better) operating systems out there. Equally, Nokia’s new OS MeeGo (or Maemo as it was) is too rough around the edges for a mainstream device, so what do Nokia do instead? Choose the N8 to relaunch Symbian of course! The N8 is running the all new Symbian ^3 operating system which offers multiple home screens that can be customised with apps and widgets (ala’ ). The new 2D and 3D graphics architecture in the platform takes full advantage of the Nokia N8’s hardware acceleration to deliver a faster and more responsive user interface and Symbian ^3 also benefits from greater memory management allowing for faster and smoother multi-tasking. We’ll save our in depth look at Symbian ^3 for another day but it certainly does look promising and a far cry from what we’re used to on touchscreen Nokia phones.
The N8 comes with all the trimmings you’d expect from a flagship ; HSDPA and Wi-Fi, 16GB memory plus expandable (microSD), GPS with Nokia’s free voice guided SatNav (Ovi Maps), ARM 11 680 MHz processor and much much more. Whether they can reign in all these features and deliver a user friendly phone to match the headline grabbing spec sheet remains to be seen but at the very least Nokia have got off to a very promising start. Slated for a Q3 2010 launch, to register for updates for the Nokia N8 and keep an eye on the Blog for more info.
have today announced the date for this years Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) and also potentially revealed when we’ll catch our first (official) glimpses of the next . That’s right, Apple have announced that this years WWDC will be kicking off on the 7th of June in San Francisco and running for five days. The event is a chance for Apple to meet with key iPhone, iPad and Mac OSX developers and discuss upcoming releases, both hardware and software related.
Whilst there is no official mention of any product announcements at this years WWDC (nor any mention of a keynotes speech from Apple CEO Steve Jobs), it was a similar scenario at last years event where we were first introduced to the . This coupled with the recent “leaks” and supposed iPhone 4G sightings all hint at something very big on the horizon. Historically, the latest iPhone has always been announced in the Summer with a full launch the following month so, providing Apple are sticking to that tried and tested method, we can expect a new iPhone (the iPhone 4G or iPhone HD, place your bets) to debut this summer.
Whatever is (or isn’t revealed) at this years WWDC, we’ll be on hand to give you all the gory details. Make sure you keep an eye on the for all the latest news and be sure to point your browsers our way on the 7th of June for our live coverage of the event.
The , the upgraded version of Nokia’s popular 6303 Classic is now available to pre-order at with first stock set to arrive on Thursday the 29th of April. Available in stylish Silver with a premium look and feel worthy of its Classic moniker, the 6303i offers subtle enhancements over its predecessor.
First up for an overhaul for the 6303i is the battery life with this latest addition to the Classic series boasting an incredible 30 hours of music playback from a single charge. The 6303i realises its music player potential with a 3.5mm audio jack and Bluetooth v2.1 (supporting wireless headphones) both on board. The 6303i also improves over the original supporting expandable memory by up to 8GB using microSD cards (the 6303 Classic only supports up to 4GB cards).
With it’s pocketable design and incredible battery life, the 6303i is well equipped to replace your stand alone MP3 player. have also upgraded the 6303i in another key area by enabling instant messaging on the phone. Chat with friends in an instant messenger client just as if you were sat at your PC and type at speed with the incredibly user friendly T9 keyboard.
Elsewhere, the 6303i sticks to its predecessors tried and tested formula, serving up a 3.15 Megapixel camera with autofocus, a dual LED flash and video capture meaning your ready to capture the moment in high quality video and high resolution still images. Reserve your Nokia 6303i Classic now for as little as ?25 per month with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data (for web browsing and instant messaging) and choose from our fantastic range of free gifts including a free 250GB Sony PS3 and a free game. to check out this and more of our other fantastic offers.
In terms of the operating system, we’re all fairly clued up on . From the innovative tiles interface though to the exciting integration, we can’t wait to get hands on with Microsoft’s new platform. But, as excited as we are for this new OS to land, we still no little to nothing about the hardware that will be running it. At least, that was until yesterday, when we caught our first glimpses of the device that could be the first to run Windows Phone 7. Ladies and gentleman, feast your eyes on the Lightning.
Courtesy of the guys over at , the Dell Lightening is shaping up to be something rather special. Running the aforementioned Windows Phone 7 OS, the Lightening sports a gorgeous WVGA 4.1 inch OLED touchscreen display AND a slide out QWERTY keyboard (in a portrait landscape design similar to that found on the ). The design of the Lightening looks stunning from the leaked images with smooth lines reminiscent of the Zune HD.
As good as this thing looks, the really exciting aspect is what’s going on inside the Dell Lightning. Running a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, this beefy processing power is combined with 512MB RAM meaning Windows Phone 7 should run effortlessly on the device. The Lightning boasts a 5.0 Megapixel Autofocus camera and is loaded with connectivity options including HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and built in GPS. Also of note, the leaked specs also suggest that the Lightning will feature full Flash support including video playback. So, it seems OS will be the only smartphone OS not to support Flash, potentially a costly mistake from Steve Jobs and co.
If this is going to be the benchmark for Microsoft’s new OS, Windows Phone 7 really can’t come soon enough. Dell have (unofficially) shown their hand and early indications suggest they could be on to a winner. So, , , and ; the gauntlet has been thrown down, your rebuttal? Penciled in for a Q4 2010 launch, the Dell Lightning could very well be a launch device for Windows Phone 7. Keep an eye on the for more information.
Keen consumers of televisual content (couch potatoes) may recall You campaign which asked you not just to get a phone but to get a phone that gets you. A nice idea and one that is in keeping with HTC’s ethos of customisation, personalisation and social networking. And now, have taken this a step further with a Facebook campaign that will let Joe Public choose the name of an upcoming HTC product!
Little is known about the product in question (though it’s safe to assume a with Sense UI and all the trimmings is on the cards) and HTC aren’t giving too much away on their Facebook page:
The guys and gals in the lab are working on something new and we want you involved in the process. We are looking for a name that is playful and full of youth. If you were to choose one of the following names for a new phone, what would it be?
HTC fans are asked to choose from the following four options; Jovi, Zeal, Wildfire or Festi. So, what’s it going to be? Is your next phone going to be the HTC Jovi? Do you see yourself updating your favourite social networking sites on your HTC Zeal? Or what about taking a quick photo on the HTC Festi? Personally, our monies on the HTC Wildfire, providing it’s a beating super phone loaded with features.
Fast becoming the manufacturer of the people, check out HTC’s Facebook page to check out the poll and cast your vote. What of the phone? Will we finally meet the first official Windows Phone 7 device or will this add yet another string to HTC’s bow? Keep an eye on the and we’ll let you know as soon as we know more about this upcoming HTC launch.