Be first to know about the new iPad / Apple iPad 3…
The new iPad will be available in the UK from 16th March 2012. Register your interest in from Mobiles.co.uk!
The new iPad official spec (Apple iPad 3)
9.7 inch display
Retina Display screen technology with 3.1 million pixels “More pixels in the new iPad than on a 1080p TV screen”
Operating system iOS 5.1
9mm thin
1.3 LB weight
16GB internal storage
Dual Core Processor with Quad Core Graphics – A5X chip
iSight Camera – 5 megapixels, Backside illumination, 5 element lens (same as iPhone 4S), Hybrid IR filter, Auto exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection
1080p video record – Autofocus, Face detection, built in stabilisation
Wi-Fi 4G LTE connectivity
Voice dictation
iCloud
9 hours of battery when connected to 4G internet. Up to 10 hours battery life (Same as iPad 2)
Apple iPad 3 : The new iPad Announcement timeline
19:23 - “Across the year you’re going to see a lot more of this kind of innovation, we are just getting started.” – Starting the hype for the perhaps?
19:21 – Is it called “THE NEW iPAD”?
19:20 - “It’s the ultimate iPad, and we think it’s going to change how you see and do just about everything.”
19:12 – Create your own scrap books, put Geotagging maps, Weather, notes linked to your iPhoto. Send it to your cloud. App $4.99.
19:11 – Great effects too: Vintage, Aura, Black & White, Duotone, Warm & Cool.
19:05 – Apple iPad 3 can edit photos up to 19 megapixels.
19:00 – Talk of Photo Beaming and Photo Journals on the new iPad.
18:58 : Updates on iMovie, offer advanced planning and editing tools.
18:57 : GarageBand. 4 iOS devices can jam together..
18:53 Talk of games. How will the PS Vita react?
18:34: 4G LTE : Faster webpage loading.
18:32 : Voice Dictation, Tap then speak, your voice will translate into text on the screen.
18:31 HD 1080p Video, Autofocus, Face detection, built in stabilisation.
18:30 iSight Camera – 5 megapixels, Backside illumination, 5 element lens (same lens as Apple iPhone 4S), Hybrid IR filter, Auto exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection.
18:28 – Claims to have 4 times the graphics performance of NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip.
18:27 – The new iPad uses A5X Chip, offering quad core graphics.
18:25 – More pixels in the new iPad than a 1080p Television. Fit a full Blu-ray image within the iPad.
18:22 – Retina Display included. 264 pixels per inch – sharper graphics. “Text sharper than a newspaper”.
18:18 : Over 200,000 apps created specifically for iPad screen size.
18:17: Role of iPad was to create a new category.
18:16 iPad TIME – “Poster child of the post-pc world” . 15.4 million iPad’s sold last quarter.
18:14 iCloud supports movies. Recommends movies based on what you’ve seen. Similar to Genius on iTunes.
18:12 – Announcement of Apple TV – interface will look more like iOS.
18:11 – App store will support 1080p video.
18:10 – Talk of a post PC-era. This sounds very iPad.
18:08 – Siri in iOS 5.1, now available in Japanese and Australian.
App Store – 25 billion apps downloaded, from a selection of 585,000 from the app store.
From February 27th to March 1st, the Mobile World Congress will take place in Barcelona, Spain. The MWC conference is Europe’s largest gathering for all things mobile! The event brings together phone manufacturers, software designers and the media, into a magical melting pot to discuss the future and beyond of our favourite portable devices. Unlike Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show (CES), anything shown at the MWC conference is highly likely to reach the UK. So what are we most looking forward to seeing at the MWC conference 2012?
HTC
look set to steal the show before it even begins. Inviting key members of the press to an event on the eve of the MWC conference, HTC must have something pretty important to announce to warrant their own event. What can we expect from HTC in 2012?
The Taiwanese giants look set to unveil a ONE series of top of the range smartphones. The ONE X (ONEX) is widely reported to have a jaw dropping quad core processor; power in a smartphone that could easily chomp its way through multitasking applications and Operating Systems such as . With a supersized screen of over 4.5 inches, a HTC release of this rumoured spec would certainly help fight their corner against smartphone rivals and . There’s also talk of a HTC ONE S (ONES) which will represent the next generation HTC Sensation, equipped with a still impressive 1.5GHz dual core processor and 8 megapixel camera.
Expect the unveiling HTC devices to have Sense 4.0 preinstalled. Sense 4.0 will give your HTC access to Microsoft’s Skydrive, improved copy and paste functionality and an improved dual panel task manager. Let’s hope the HTC rumours turn to truths at their announcement pre MWC conference.
Samsung Galaxy S3?
After months of speculation and rumour, we were saddened to hear the won’t be making an appearance at the 2012 MWC conference. Instead Samsung plan to adopt Apple’s approach and host their own event; a PR stunt which will raise a mountain of hype and attention towards their flagship Samsung Galaxy S3.
One possible announcement Samsung may unveil at the MWC conference is a new . The previous edition offered a happy balance between tablet and smartphone with a stylus equipped 5.3 inch portable device. For those who like the functionality of a stylus integrated with their tablet, the new Galaxy Note is rumoured to have a 10.1 inch display.
Nokia Lumia 900
We were mightily impressed by the announcement of the . Like an older brother to the Nokia Lumia 800, the latest Windows Phone offers a larger 4.3 inch screen size, 4G LTE capabilities and a front facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Currently only available in the USA, we expect Nokia to use the MWC conference as the perfect opportunity to spread the Lumia love and announce a UK release date. The Nokia Lumia series may also be set to expand with new editions trawling the web including a budget Nokia Lumia 730 and a possible Nokia Lumia 910.
With also expected to dazzle their new Windows Tango OS to the world, the MWC conference should announce which smartphones in the Nokia Lumia series will be lucky enough to utilise this software.
BlackBerry
After a troublesome 2011 and senior level restructure, Canadian Manufacturers Research In Motion look set to announce a few new handsets to their BlackBerry Curve series. Expect unveilings of the BlackBerry Curve 9220 and 9320 at the MWC conference. BlackBerry’s biggest announcement is likely to be in the form of a tablet. With a smooth user interface and great multi-tasking potential, the original was let down by the lack of apps available on its BlackBerry App World. With the new BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 to offer apps from the Android Market, could be ready to unveil a tablet which can compete with the best. Let’s hope BlackBerry use the MWC conference to turn their fortunes around.
So there’s our round up of exciting releases we expect to be announced at the MWC conference 2012. Don’t forget to visit us next week as we bring you the latest info from Barcelona. Let us know what you think of these future releases on our
We’re happy to announce that Mobiles.co.uk are now taking pre-orders for the PlayStation Vita. Sony’s latest gaming console, short named the PS Vita, is set to become the We can’t wait to finally play on the PS Vita, which will be unleashed across the UK on 22nd February. If you want to make sure you don’t miss out on the action, pre-order your console with mobiles.co.uk; not only will you receive the PS Vita without the enduring those launch day shopping queues, you’ll also a fantastic free gift.
PS Vita specs
Offering high powered, full throttle gaming, the PlayStation Vita showcases your favourite titles upon the eye catching 5 inch OLED touchscreen. With launch titles such as the adventurous Uncharted: Golden Abyss or the fast paced Wipeout-2048, PlayStation are making sure their PS Vita hosts some of the hottest new titles around. Built with a quad core processor, the PS Vita handles high performance graphics with smoothness and grace. There’s great flexibility in the way you control your games too, with dual analogue sticks, action and shoulder buttons, rear touch pads and PlayStations own Six-axis motion sensing system; the technology that lets you shake and tilt your PS Vita to enhance your game play experience. There are two models of the PlayStation Vita available from mobiles.co.uk. Choosing the right PS Vita for you will depend on how you wish to use the internet on your portable games console.
PS Vita Wi-Fi
Connect your PS Vita to a nearby wireless hotspot to access the PlayStation Network; your hub for playing against other competitors across the world. It’s hugely addictive fun trying to climb the leader boards of your favourite games. Additional features let you download bonus content such as wallpapers, themes or demos. Keeping in touch with friends is easy as you text or voice call your friends through the PSN. With front and rear cameras built into the PS Vita, you can even catch up with friends over a video call.
PS Vita 3G + Wi-Fi
If you want online access when you’re out and about, then you need the PS Vita 3G + Wi-Fi. With 3G built into the upgraded version of the PS Vita, you have access to the internet, anytime and anywhere. As the PS Vita 3G + Wi-Fi is designed for on the go gaming, this model also boasts GPS. By knowing your position on a map, the PS Vita can bring you Augmented Reality gaming: Imagine fleeing from hordes of zombies in your local neighbourhood; the technology to do this safely has arrived. The PS Vita 3G + Wi-Fi will still give you the full access to the PlayStation Network as seen on the Wi-Fi edition.
Free memory card when you preorder the PS Vita
Did you know when you order the PlayStation Vita from mobiles.co.uk, you’re entitled to an awesome free gift? Everyone who pre-orders will receive a free 4GB memory card; a must have for saving game progress or downloading additional content.
PS Vita as a free gift
You can even get the with your next mobile phone contract. Prices start from just £15.50 per month. Likewise, the , starting from £20.50 per month.
Take a visit to mobiles.co.uk to reserve yours today.
Last month, Google revealed that their total number of downloaded Android apps had . The largest slice of the app pie went to games, with a staggering 25.6% of all apps downloaded, that’s 2,560 million games downloaded so far. Phew. Here’s our rundown of the top 5 free Android games available on the market at the moment.
5 – Zombie Dash
At the time of writing, this game holds the number 1 spot on the freebie Android games chart, having toppled the mighty Angry Birds from its pedestal. The secret of the Android games success is down to two things. The first aspect is its simplicity – you have two moves at your disposal, jump and shoot. The second aspects is zombies. People like zombies. Especially when you can shoot them. When jump and shoot is combined with zombies, you have a winning formula, as 5 million Android games downloads have so far confirmed.
Like this games app? Download from the free Android games chart.
4 – Pool Master Pro
Pool has always been a popular game subject whatever the platform, and the Android games version continues the trend with its 10 million downloads. Offering practice modes, as well as options to play against a friend or the computer, simply add a pint of lager and bowl of stale peanuts to recreate your local pool hall as accurately as possible without ever leaving the house.
Like this games app? Download from the free Android games chart.
3 – Fruit Slice
There has been much debate over the two fruit based slicing games currently available. Fruit Slice and offer a very similar setup; various items of fresh fruit fly through the air as you swipe the touchscreen to split each item of your potential five-a-day. The plentiful produce is occasionally punctuated by Looney Tunes style bombs, which you have to avoid or its game over. It may sound dull, but it’s hugely addictive stuff. On the Android games chart, Fruit Ninja has the highest placing (although they both have 10 million downloads), but we suspect that this is just down to it having the better name. Ninjas are cool – ‘nuff said. Judged on the games themselves, however, Fruit Slice is the clear victor. It offers more games on the app itself, much better graphics, and a smoother gameplay. If you have a spare fifteen minutes to waste though, either of the two will pass the time nicely.
Like this games app? Download from the free Android games chart.
2 – Words With Friends
This game is essentially Scrabble, but slower, which doesn’t necessarily sound too exciting, but stay with us on this one. The slow nature of the game is essentially its unique selling point, as it’s great for taking out on your afternoon break, playing your go, and then forgetting about it until later. The game consists of a Scrabble style set-up where you make words with the lettered tiles you are given, trying to use the double/triple letter/word squares to hit maximum points. As the title suggests, you can connect with your favourite social networking site to challenge your friends, or select random player in order to take on a mystery opponent from anywhere in the world. It would appear that ‘Words with Friends or Stangers’ just wasn’t as catchy a title. Either way, it has 10 million downloads to date.
Like this games app? Download from the free Android games chart.
..And number 1 of our Android games – Angry Birds
Probably the most popular smartphone game ever, with a mere 50 million downloads at the time of writing, our number 1 spot goes to those perturbed avians, the Angry Birds. It’s a total mystery as to why they are quite so angry, or why they take out their frustration by loading themselves into slingshots in order to systematically assassinate a race of green disembodied pigs with a penchant for flimsy architecture, but they just do. Spawning a series of themed sequels and special editions, such as the Halloween and Rio editions, and their very own merchandising line in the real world, the Angry Birds seem pretty unstoppable… especially if you’re a pig with no legs..
Like this games app? Download from the free Android games chart.
But why take our word for it, all Android games mentioned are free of charge so log onto the Android Market and check them out for yourself.
Prefer portable console gaming to Android games apps? Check out our blog on the soon to be released . If you’ve played these free Android games, let us know what you think of them on our page. Find out more about .
So, Nokia are nowhere in the high end smartphone business having tried and failed to topple the all conquering and a slew of juggernauts. From the Nokia N8 to the recently released E7, the hardware has been up there with the best of them but the operating system, namely Symbian, has always been lacking. Well, at Nokia World last week, Nokia at long last announced the handset that will sport an OS to match the beautiful hardware; the Windows Phone 7 powered .
Taking design queues from the Nokia N9 (which sadly didn’t get a UK launch), the Lumia has a seamless one piece body and and 3.7” curved touchscreen. Not just stunning to look at, the one piece design also aids durability giving the Lumia and reliable and solid feel; this is a phone built to last. On to the touchscreen, at 3.7” it’s marginally bigger than the and features eqaully impressive quality and clarity thanks to the Clear Black AMOLED technology.
On the inside, the Nokia Lumia 800 is running the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile OS; Windows Phone 7.5 (or Mango) and powered by a scorching 1.4GHz processor. The aforementioned OS brings new features such as multi-tasking and copy and paste whilst the processor ensures said multi-tasking is snappy, fluent and effortless. On to apps and you’ll be pleased to know, as the fastest growing app store of any mobile OS, you should find plenty of great titles to keep you entertained on the move.
Keeping in tune with Nokia’s strong heritage in camera phone technology, the Lumia 800 boasts an 8.0 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Optics, autofocus and a dual-LED flash all coming together to ensure the 800 takes stunning photos. On the video front the Lumia captures in 720p HD and deep integration with your favourite social networks (thanks to Windows Phone 7) means that uploading your pics and movies is a breeze.
Want more? How about Wi-Fi, 16GB internal memory, 512MB RAM, Bluetooth, GPS, SatNav with free turn-by-turn navigation(a first for Windows Phone 7) and acess to a suite of Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel and Outlook. In short, this is the phone we’ve been crying out for for the past 2 years.
Available to pre-order now, the is launching on the 16th of November. Free from ?25 per month, pre-order yours now!
Ok, so here’s you’re predicament. You want a top of the line in a traditional BlackBerry form factor but you’re intrigued by this new fangled touchscreen technology. What are you going to do? Well, you could buy yourself a BlackBerry Bold 9780, an iPod Touch and a soldering iron and get creative. Or, you could check out the amazing new BlackBerry Bold 9900 that has just landed in the UK, boasting that tried and tested BlackBerry design (with full QWERTY keyboard) and combining it with a stunning touchscreen display. We recommend the latter.
Launching last week, the Bold 9900 is RIM’s (the people behind BlackBerry) latest flagship phone and brings with it a wealth of top of the line specs and an all new operating system to boot. On the outside, it’s very much business as usual for the – if it ain’t broke… – with a full QWERTY keyboard, optical track pad and a 2.8 inch display all wrapped up in a premium and stylish design that exudes exclusivity (though with the excellent deals you can pick these up on, expect this to be next must have for BB fans – more on that later).
On the inside, RIM certainly aren’t pulling any punches. The Bold 9900 runs BlackBerry OS 7, the latest iteration of BlackBerry’s proprietary OS which brings along with it improved performance (apps open almost instantly with no lag), support for new technologies such as HD video recording and NFC (or near field communications, enabling contact interaction like those used on the Underground Oyster Card payment system), and several improvements to the built in apps such as email and BBM. The new OS is also perfectly suited to touchscreen navigation and the touchscreen unit on the is as good as they get with fluid animations and support for multi-touch (pinch-to-zoom!). All of these tweaks make for the most advanced and user friendly OS to have ever graced a device and a real contender for the heavy weights of and .
Powering the revamped operating system is a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor 768MB RAM making the Bold 9900 the most powerful smartphone the Canadian outfit has released to date. No longer just concerned with email and messaging, the multimedia arm of the 9900 has also received a significant shot in the err… arm, sporting a 5.0 Megapixel camera with image stabilisation software, an LED flash, face detection and Geo-tagging using the built in GPS chip. Video capture has also been boosted with 720p HD video capture (thanks to the OS update) andthe LED flash doubling as a video light. Internal memory is a respectable 8GB but for those who insist on carting around every music track they’ve ever heard, memory is expandable up to 32GB via a memory card slot (allowing for a potential 40GB of memory).
Elsewhere, the Bold 9900 features all the little extras you’ve come to expect in a top of the range smartphone including Wi-Fi, HSDPA, GPS and Bluetooth not to mention the perks of being a owner; namely BBM instant messaging and best in class email. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is in stock now and available on O2, Talkmobile and Vodafone on a range of 12, 18 and 24 month contracts. Our pick? Vodafone BlackBerry 300 + Mobile Internet which comes in at ?31 p/m, gives you 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB data for BlackBerry email, BBM and web browsing.Whatever your tariff/network of choice may be, if you’re in the market for a high end smartphone that excels at email, masters multimedia and quenches your thirst for QWERTY, look no further than the BlackBerry .
As the dust settles after the football transfers, Mobiles.co.uk reveals a major signing of its own. You heard it here first; the BlackBerry has landed, well on pre-order anyway…
The BlackBerry 9860, available to pre-order from today is available on the Vodafone network initially. Free at just ?31 per month you will see ’s first all touch device (since the Storm series) come partnered with 300 anytime minutes, unlimited texts and a whopping 500MB of BlackBerry data, you get Vodafone passport too. It doesn’t stop there, to make the deal even sweeter we have thrown in ?30 automatic Cashback, effectively making your first month just ?1.
If free gifts are your thing and with Christmas just around the corner why not increase your monthly spend by just ?5 and reap the rewards? You can receive a free 9860, 600 anytime minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB BlackBerry data, Vodafone passport and a free Archos 7 tablet PC!
If you still need convincing and these amazing deals aren’t enough on their own then you’ll need to check out the amazing 3.7 inch touch screen display. This feature makes the 9860 the largest in the Blackberry range so far. With a screen even larger than that of 4, the 9860 will undoubtedly have Apple quaking in their boots – at least until the stock lands.
So there you have it, the BlackBerry is expected to arrive in-stock from next week. It will be released on a first come first served basis so don’t miss out and make sure you pre-order your BlackBerry 9860 today.
With two fully fledged 3D smartphones now on virtual shelves, the time has come for a 3D shoot out.
Both LG and HTC have entered the 3D arena and are vying for your attention (not to mention hard earned cash) so which should you plum for? Let the Mobiles Blog help with that difficult decision in our 3D face off…
Design, Size and Weight
One thing is clear with both of these smartphone powerhouses; adding that 3rd dimension certainly bulks up the size and weight. Both these 3D Android’s tip the scale at over 160g, 168g for the Optimus 3D vs. 170g for the Evo 3D (for reference, Apple’s for is a relative super model at 137g), and it’s a close call in the dimensions stakes as well with the Optimus 3D marginally thinner (11.9mm vs. 12.1mm for the Evo) but the Evo slightly shorter making this a very tough round to call. The physical design of both devices is very similar also with both opting for touch sensitive capacitive buttons and a solid, sturdy construction. The Evo 3D edges this round thanks to its stylish textured battery case, metallic camera shutter and 3D/2D slider, the touch of colour surrounding the dual lenses and a slightly shorter profile making it ever so slightly more pocket able. Winner: Evo 3D (just)
Software
No contest. The runs the latest version of Android, v2.3 (or Gingerbread), whilst the Optimus 3D is still on v2.2 (Froyo, if you’re interested). Whilst certainly not a deal breaker, Gingerbread does offer several tweaks that improve the user experience including support for NFC, Video calling (both these phones have a front-facing camera) and improved copy and past functionality. The Optimus 3D will eventually get the Gingerbread update (LG say it should land very soon) but right now the experience on the Evo just edges the Optimus. Winner: Evo 3D
Performance
Both these phones include a dual-core processor although the Evo 3D clocks in a 1.2GHz (vs. The ’ 1GHz) and offers more RAM (1GB vs. 512MB). To be perfectly honest, in day to day use you won’t notice the difference from the extra 0.2GHz of processing power – we certainly didn’t – so it’s very hard to call this one. What we did find however is that the one element we could separate these two on was battery life. From our real world testing (answering a few calls, browsing the we web, using the 3D cameras and playing a few rounds of Angry Birds), we did find that the Optimus 3D kept on trucking some time after the Evo had given up and gone off in search of a charger. Whether it’s HTC’s Sense UI overlay draining the battery, some clever software LG has installed or just some sort of witch craft, we found we had much more confidence in the Optimus 3D lasting a full day. Either way, both of these will need daily charging so again there’s not much between the two. Winner: Optimus 3D
Camera
Both of these multimedia-monsters will capture 2D and 3D photos from the dual-5Megapixel lenses and HD video, again in 2D and 3D, though the Evo tops out at 720p resolution where as the Optimus 3D captures at full 1080p (though only in 2D). The Optimus 3D also has an HDMI port meaning you can play your videos back on the big screen and, for those lucky enough to have one, in glorious 3D. The Evo will also perform TV-out but without a dedicated HDMI port you’ll notice a dip in quality and also won’t be able to charge whilst enjoying video playback. The Evo 3D does out perform the Optimus in low light photography thanks to a dual LED flash (the Optimus makes do with a single LED) but 3D images, what should be both of these phones party pieces, do max out at 2 Megapixels for the Evo giving the Optimus a clear win here. Winner: Optimus 3D
Screen
A tough one to call. Both pack a glasses-free 3D LCD display, both measure 4.3” and both are capacitive units with equal responsiveness and performance. The has an edge over the Optimus 3D when it comes to pixel count, boasting 540×960 vs’s the Optimus 3D’s 480×800 pixels, resulting in crisper images and sharper text. What turns the tide in this contest is the 3D functionality; viewing angles on the Optimus 3D feel much wider meaning that you don’t have to keep the phone fixed in exactly the same position to enjoy the 3D experience. Perhaps this is a personal preference but on the Evo 3D it felt more difficult to “get” the 3D and keep it in your sights. Neither create the dreaded (and exaggerated in our opinion) eye strain that mainstream media likes to get itself worked up about though it’s always recommended to take breaks when viewing any sort of media content on a screen this size. Winner: Optimus 3D
Overall If you want a 3D smartphone with the latest Android software, powerful future proof hardware and HTC’s excellent Sense UI, go for the Evo 3D, it won’t disappoint you. However, if you don’t mind waiting for the Gingerbread update (it’s coming pretty soon and plus, Froyo is still a great smartphone experience), the Optimus 3D’s superior camera and video capture (both 3D and 2D), battery life and 3D display just swings this contest in LG’s favour. Throw in the fact that the can be picked up for as little as ?25 per month on contract vs. The Evo 3D which starts at ?35 per month, the LG is also financially the smarter choice with a saving of ?240 over the course of your contract. Whichever you choose, we’re sure you’ll be happy enjoying that extra dimension, be it in photos, videos, online content or the slew of apps that are winging their way to the Android market. LG may have just piped HTC to the post in this battle, but the real winner here is the 3D tech itself.
RIM have recently announced their next generation smartphone with the new BlackBerry , which will ship with a touchscreen only display –ditching the traditional QWERTY keyboard.
The Torch 9860 is the spiritual successor to the Storm 2 and boasts a streamlined design with optical trackpad, a powerful 1.2 GHz processor and 768MB RAM, plus comes with the ability to shoot video in 720p HD and a 5.0 mega pixel camera. (Breathe)
The most impressive feature is reserved for the much talked about 3.7 inch touchscreen display which makes it the biggest in the Blackberry range to date and even larger than that of which the 9860 will undoubtedly be competing with – that is until iPhone 5 arrives.
One of the other notable additions is the introduction of RIM’s new operating system Blackberry 7 OS which is faster and more efficient and sports a completely new web browser and ‘liquid graphics’ technology.
What are liquid graphics though I hear you ask? Is your phone going to leak in your pocket? Are liquid graphics better than solid graphics? In a nut shell it’s a way of making the whole browsing experience more fluid and responsive through a higher degree of hardware acceleration.
With Blackberry’s OS looking a bit dull and behind the times – this will be a welcome enhancement and only look to cement Blackberry’s popularity in the young adult market.
Other improvements of BB7 OS include the revamped web browser providing full support for HTML5, improved zoom functionality and web based gaming, and finally, a running theme, it’s faster – loading pages in nearly half the time than that of its predecessors.
So all in all the is shaping up to be a strong rival to the iPhone 4 but it’s still got a lot to do to compete with Android and iOS especially in terms of their constantly growing apps stores which is what smartphones are all about.
But it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on RIM’s touchscreen only flagship smartphone when it’s released in October.
Keep up to date on the Blackberry Torch 9860 at or click to register for e-mail updates.
We reported back in a about two new phones coming from Sony Ericsson. Today the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini is available for order and proves to be a tough little contender in the world of hard hitting power houses like the and . The original was released in May 2010 and the market has moved on considerably since then, obviously the new isn’t going to be the cutting edge due to it’s small form factor but for it’s size it’s leaps and bounds ahead of the X10 Mini.
The Spec
The Xperia mini has a 3.0 inch display and displays 320 x 480 pixels which is an increase in pixels of 112%. The phone size is 88 x 52 x 16 mm making it one of the smallest handsets on the market. Internally the Xperia Mini is powered by 512 MB Ram, 320MB storage (Upgradeable to 32GB with microSD card), a 5 MP Camera with LED flash and autofocus, 720p video capture, 1GHZ Scorpion Processor and a battery that lasts up to 14 days on stand by or 24 hrs as a Music player. The Mini also comes with the latest version of Android V2.3 (Gingerbread). In the past haveing a smaller pocket fitting smartphone would have meant a heavy compromise on spec and features, with the Xperia Mini this isn’t the case. Sony Ericsson have recently promised to release updates to their version of on a more frequent basis so the should have a fair amount of life thanks to the high quality of it’s hardware.
It’s Social
It’s not just the hardware that’s top notch, if your a Facebook addict the Xperia Mini intergrates Facebook into every aspect of the phone. Take a look at the below developers video to see just how well Facebook works with the new Xperia Mini.
The Xperia Mini is available today and starts free on Tariffs from ?10.50 per month. Also available on pre-order is the a variant of the but comes with a full qwerty keyboard that slides out from the side of the phone. Well update you on the Availability of the pro in the next few weeks so keep an eye on the b.
– “Poster child of the post-pc world” . 15.4 million iPad’s sold last quarter.
