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.
**Edit – Register your interest for before anyone else.**
Next Wednesday 7th March, Apple have something “We really have to see. And Touch”. Given this date has been the announcement for previous iPad releases, it’s extremely likely that next week’s Apple event will see the announcement of the highly anticipated . We just can’t wait to find out what future tech the next generation Apple device will possess. Last month we discussed how : Any new technology revealed at the Apple iPad 3 launch will give way for programmers to develop fantastic new apps for us to play with.
Most likely iPad 3 rumours?
It’s highly likely the iPad 3 offer a much improved screen resolution, with many rumours citing Apple’s latest device to have Retina Display. This technology is already present in the so it’s not outrageous to assume a transfer of technology onto the iPad 3. We believe Siri will play a vital role at the iPad 3 launch party as Apple look for ways to further improve user experience through voice control.
We hope the iPad 3 launch also unveils an improved camera spec. With the iPad 2 snapping it up in a single megapixel, we want to see the iPad 3 launch reveal a built in camera, similar to the iPhone 4S; .
When is the iPad 3 UK release date?
Expect the iPad 3 to be shipped to the UK and available to buy before the end of March. Apple have an excellent reputation of releasing a product days after its announcement. The iPad 2 arrived to the UK just over 2 weeks after announcement, the iPhone 4S beat this in a blistering 10 days. One could safely assume that the iPad 3 launch would reveal a UK release date just a stone’s throw away.
Everything will be revealed on Wednesday 7th March.
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
Last week we gave a rundown of our . This week we trawl Apple’s chart for some essential free iOS games, available to play on devices such as the Apple and . All the fun and all for free, here’s five free iPhone games apps which we’re addicted to.
Jetpack Joyride
First in our free iPhone games list is Jetpack Joyride. Meet Barry. He may wear a suit but he’s far from your regular guy. After breaking into a secret laboratory, Barry has commandeered a selection of jetpacks. With mad scientists, rapid fire missiles and deadly laser beams destined to stop Barry in his tracks, your mission is to control the Jetpack to avoid these hazards. Just touch the display to add more boost to your jetpack. Timing and quick reflexes are essential. High scores are determined by distance covered and the coins collected. It’s essential thrust filled fun in your quest to help Barry stay alive.
Like this games app? Download Jetpack Joyride from the free iOS games chart.
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Ninja Fishing
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Teach a Ninja to fish and he’ll slice the scaly beasts right out of the water! By casting your hook as deep as possible into the ocean, use tilt controls to reel back in as many fish as possible. Once out the water, use your sword to descale the fish ready for market; a concept similar to Fruit Ninja. With over 50 fishes to catch, there’s great variety within this free iPhone games app. It’s manic fish and slash gameplay, that will keep you coming back for more.
Like this games app? Download Ninja Fishing from the free iOS games chart.
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Mega Jump
How high can you jump? Help Redford defy gravity as he collects coins in efforts to throw himself higher towards the edge of the universe and beyond. Miss the cash however and you will plummet to a fall of shame. Guide Redford by tilting your iPhone left or right; the controls are easy to pick up and are surprisingly effective. As with Jetpack Joyride, it has the addictive element, making it acceptable to have “just one more go” in order to get further. With Facebook and Twitter integration, you’ll justify the extra time spent on Mega Jump to leap above your friends on the ranking lists.
Like this games app? Download Mega Jump from the free iOS games chart.
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Bejewelled Blitz
The next app in our iPhone games chart pushes the mind to the limits! With a screen preloaded full of mismatching bling, your task is to swap jewels around to form horizontal or vertical lines of the same coloured jewel. Bigger lines means more points. Sound easy? The panic and dread of the looming 60 second time limit, adds pressure which would crack any diamond. With the highest scores awarded to those who craft multiple combos or collect Hypercubes, you need to plan your moves a few steps ahead to dazzle the ranking lists. If you get stumped for too long, arrows hint your next jewel switch to help you dive straight back into the action. We think this game rocks and is a worthy entrant in our free iPhone games list.
Like this games app? Download Bejewelled Blitz from the free iOS games chart.
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..And our free iPhone games favourite: Slam Dunk King
Our final app from our free iPhone games list is fresh from PikPok. Slam Dunk King, challenges your finger swiping skills to master the hoops and dunk as many balls as possible. Flaunt your skills with trick dunks and smooth moves to earn as many points as possible. Watch out for the bombs though, they’ll blow up your basket! There’s a selection of games including Time Attack, Arcade and Sudden Death to choose from. With additional options to earn or buy coins to unlock new balls, courts and mascots, Slam Dunk King is sure to keep you bouncing from boredom!
Like this games app? Download Slam Dunk King from the free iOS games chart.
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So there’s our round up of our favourite free games available on the iOS platform. We’ld like to apologise in advance for any unsociable acts you may put your friends through as you strive for a new high score. Addictive and free, they’ll definitely keep you occupied. Join us next week for our run down on free games available from the Windows Phone Marketplace.
To celebrate our latest offers on HTC smartphones, we have a fantastic competition where you can win a great tech bundle worth £560! The winning entrant will not only receive a HTC Flyer tablet, but a pair of Beats Solo headphones to accompany your audio pleasure.
HTC Flyer
The HTC Flyer is a 7 inch tablet that’s upgradeable to Android Honeycomb. Offering 3G and Wi-Fi access keep in touch with your friends Facebook updates at a swipe of a finger; alternatively comment to them directly with the front facing video calling feature. Equipped with a Magic Pen, it’s the perfect tool for producing fine details or brushstrokes. With a 16GB internal memory (and external memory expandable by another 32GB), the HTC Flyer is great for storing all your favourite music and more. The meaty 1.5GHz processor ensures the HTC Flyer is a reliable tablet that won’t let you down when running powerful applications.
Beats Solo headphones
Beats are the prestigious headphones by musical icon Dr. Dre. Let the music move you, as you hear layers you would struggle to pick up through normal headphones. With enhanced bass, Beats Solo headphones bring out all out the textures and details, so you can enjoy exactly what the artist hears. With a built in microphone for hands-free calls or online chats, it’s the perfect hardware to wire up to your 3G device.
How can I win?
Any mobiles.co.uk customer, who purchases a HTC contract handset between 19th January – 16th February 2012, is automatically entered into this fantastic giveaway. For your chance to win visit our Remember to enter by midnight 16th February2012 if you wish to qualify for our draw.
For full terms and conditions, please check on our .
We also offer the HTC Flyer Wi-Fi as a with many of our contracts. Alternatively, or versions of the HTC Flyer can also be bought as standalone products. Don’t forget to tell your friends on about this amazing giveaway. Good Luck!
If you’re like us you’ll already be thinking about your next handset even though you only upgraded last month! There’s been lots of exciting news over the past few months about up and coming handsets with more upgrades then you can shake a phone at. So to help out, we’ve put together a small list of handsets here that we think will be big in 2011.
HTC
Apart from a Trio of Tablets which are expected soon, will continue to stick to what they do best, which is delivering awesome handsets. Even though we don’t know much about these handsets we can imagine that they will be cutting edge combined with simplistic reliability. You can expect Dual Core processors and screens with exceptional resolution and colour management.
Nokia
The has unfortunately for Nokia been hindered with bugs due to the ever aging Symbian OS. Maybe the N9 will be given a new OS to play with. (Not very likely to be honest). As you can see the N9 comes with a sliding keyboard and will most likely ship with the same amazing 12mp camera. The in it’s own right was an amazing media phone and it looks as though Nokia are only looking to add to this.
Sony Ericsson
There’s been lots of talk around a PSP phone for some time now, but images of the handset are coming thick and fast now and we have the name Xperia Play. We expect to have full details come February but what we know for sure is that the handset runs on the operating system and will have a 1GHz Snapdragon Qualcomm processor and 512MB of RAM. We don’t know how users might use their back catalogue of games but we hope Sony Ericsson don’t miss a trick here and require users to own a phone specific version of their games.
Blackberry
The Apollo (Codename for their newest ), will be a natural progression for . The handset’s design is largely the same as the current (and previous) versions of the curve. With exception NFC the handset most likely won’t ship with any new killer features but is expected to be aggressively priced so may be a winner for the pay as you go and budget market.
This is only a quick round up of what we think will be some of the biggest handsets and we expect much more to be confirmed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. We’ll update you on more handsets we can expect to see later this week so keep checking the blog and get ready for some big announcements in the very near future.
After much deliberation and “will it or won’t it be 3.0″, it seems Google have let slip a preview video for Honeycomb and it is indeed the 3.0 we were all hoping for. There has been much speculation and confusion around the build numbers recently, with Gingerbread initially being rumoured as 3.0, which later turned out to be a smaller update in 2.3; which sought to further improve speed and adds a rather cool new lock screen animation which reminds us of an old TV being switched off. (Click here to take a look for yourself) Gingerbread hasn’t been officially released yet, but an unofficial build has been made available by a group of developers over at XDA Forums, the proviso being that you have to root your phone to get it. We’ve had a play with it, albeit a ‘Pure Google’ experience which lacks the HTC Sense overlay (much like the new ) and suffice to say, even as an experimental build we are hugely impressed with what we’re seeing.
Take a look at the screenshot of Honeycomb, cool huh? Notice anything a little odd about it? That’s right, Honeycomb has been optimised with in mind and from what we’ve seen so far, we really want to get our hands on a Honeycomb device and have a play! Optimised for a tablet is probably the wrong word, Google states that Honeycomb has ‘Been built entirely for tablets’ which bodes well with recent announcements from CES of tablets from Motorola, LG and the current Android dons HTC. Feast your eyes on the video below for the full preview of the revamped UI and tablet optimised applications. And if your into a bit of techno, don’t forget to crank the speakers up or plug your head phones in for the accompanying track.
So, what do we know so far? Well if you’ve watched the video you will have noticed that Google is going head to head with the Kindle’s and iBooks of this world with its own ‘ebooks’, of which there are said to be ‘millions of books’ available on the go. There’s also a revamped Gmail suite which has been optimised solely for tablets, notice the static bar on the left and the fluid motion between screens. In additon to this there’s a new YouTube app, the inclusion of gTalk (Googles answer to FaceTime), 3D Google Maps and a brand new internet browser.
There are no official details about when this will be released, but we’d like to think that it isn’t too far off, especially given the recent deluge of Android tablet announcements from some of the markets biggest players, at this years CES. Let us know what you think in the comments below, can an Android tablet beat the Apple iPad? Keep an eye on the blog for more details.
We questioned the recent efforts of and it’s recent handsets for their lack of innovation and advancement, as they appeared to be nothing more than slightly jazzed up versions of their predecessors. Don’t get us wrong, the new is an awesome phone, but it’s near on identical looks to the old Curve left us wanting a little more excitement, fireworks and fanfare. What BlackBerry have responded with, certainly doesn’t disappoint.
This is the BlackBerry Playbook, a 7inch tablet running a brand new BlackBerry Tablet OS created in conjunction with recent acquisition, QNX Software; the makers of one of the most reliable and robust operating systems available today (according to the ). What we’re looking at here then, looks set to redeem all of the range short comings, since it would seem that all efforts have been focussed on this.
What do we know about the Playbook? Well, it’ll be a 7 inch tablet, (putting in the firing line of the mighty ) sporting an LCD panel with a 1024 x 600 resolution as well as full multi-touch and gesture support. There’s also a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, Dual HD cameras (3 megapixel front facing and 5 megapixel rear facing) with support for 1080p HD Video recording (and yes, you read that right, 1080p!) There’s also an HDMI out for watching your videos on your HD TV via MicroHDMI as well as a microUSB port. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi take care of connectivity options, although it is said that RIM plan to launch 3G and 4G versions of the Playbook in the future.
Despite the aforementioned specs, the tablet is said to be ultra thin and portable measuring up at just 130mm x 193mm x 10mm, with an overall weight of just 400g; we just hope that they have managed to squeeze a decent sized battery into the Playbook! The bad news? Well, the Playbook isn’t going to be available until early 2011 for our US cousins with a launch here in the UK looking more likely to be in Q2. Keep an eye on the blog for more details as they emerge and why not take a look at the official promo-video below in the meantime. (Source: via )
The touting Samsung Galaxy Tab has appeared in another video advert, albeit an ad destined for our American cousins. The video is still very relevant though, given it takes us on a virtual tour of the Galaxy Tab and it’s many uses in different walks of life, ranging from Doctors to you or I sitting on our sofa at home.
Watching the video, you’ll probably not notice many features you haven’t already seen or heard of before; front-facing camera, Android Market, Google Maps, Flash Support etc. all get a mention. As does Media Hub which will allow you to watch movies and TV Shows as well as a feature that will allow you to stream media directly to your TV, both of which we feel are not being shouted about loudly enough. What the video does do however, is put the features into real, everyday life application, something which currently makes it difficult to justify the expense of an iPad for some.
Where we do start to question Samsungs marketing slightly though, is the ‘Go Nimble’ which is followed by shots of the Galaxy Tab being carried in the back pockets of jeans/trousers. So, the Galaxy Tab will fit in the pocket of your jeans but would you actually want to put it in there? Probably not. Either way, feast your eyes on the video below, let us know what you think in the comments section and keep an eye out for the Galaxy Tab on our pages over the next few days, for your chance to sign up to our registered interest list, where we’ll keep you updated about stock dates and the latest deals for the Galaxy Tab.
By now, you’ve probably seen the Samsung Galaxy Tab teaser video (if you haven’t don’t worry, we’ve got you covered - ) and you maybe wondering what’s happening in Berlin on September 2nd, as pointed to at the end of the video. Well we’re guessing it’ll be the official announcement of the tablet, before the IFA kicks off on the 3rd. What is the IFA? Well, it’s one of the biggest consumer electronics shows in Europe and is where amongst quite a few other manufacturers, have chosen to showcase their latest and greatest inventions.
We already know quite a bit about the Galaxy Tab following the , but what if the Samsung Galaxy isn’t quite your cup of tea? What other touting tablets are we expecting to be revealed at the IFA? Well feast your eyes below for the full run down of the one we know about:
ViewSonic ViewPad 7
Firstly, we have this, the ViewPad 7 which is said to be a cheap and cheerful tablet PC. Cheap and cheerful doesn’t necessarily mean that functionality has been compromised though, with 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SD card support, front and rear cameras and a 7 inch screen, if ViewSonic manage to get a decent interface on this, it could prove a perfect low cost alternative to the Galaxy Tab.
Archos Internet Tablets
Next up we have not one but five tablets (supposedly) heading to the IFA from Archos. These are said to range in size from the 10 inch iPad rival down to a rather miniature 2.8 inch tablet which we’re not quite sure qualifies as a tablet so much as an oversized touchscreen watch. Anyway, we’re going to assume that this also falls under the heading of cheap and cheerful, since Archos aren’t particularly well known for their PC expertise but more so for media players meaning these tablets should have quite a wide range of media format support.
MSI Windpad 110
MSI are said to be bringing two laptops along to the IFA, a Windows 7 touting Windpad 100 and an Android Windpad 110. Although, we’re not convinced by the naming (Windpad - Windows Pad?) and expect to see it carrying a different moniker at the IFA. Both tablets are said to be sporting 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processors and a stock UI known as WindTouch (again, Windows Touch?) as well as built in web cams. We’re not sure about this one, it’s rumoured to be around $400 which doesn’t quite put it in the cheap and cheerful category but likely to be somewhere in between this and the Galaxy Tab.
Google Chrome OS Tablet
Technically this isn’t an Android tablet but is definitely worth a mention since it’s coming from the Google camp. Said to be sporting the web based Chrome OS and being produced by HTC, this is the only tablet we’ve mentioned so far that could truly give the Galaxy Tab a run for its money and given HTC’s recent success with its smartphones, we doubt they’re likely to ease off the accelerator peddle and miss this opportunity to dominate the Tablet market too. We don’t know much about this tablet, but you can should expect something rather special, given that Google won’t want a repeat of the , which to be fair is an awesome phone but was far too late to the party here in the UK.
Orange Tablets
Okay, so these probably aren’t going to make an appearance at the IFA but are still worthy of a mention. A French publication yesterday pointed towards carrying three tablets in the not so distant future, according to the translation, these will supposedly be a subsidised iPad, an Android Tablet (Galaxy Tab?) and also an Orange own branded tablet that is said to be ‘made by a famous Asian company’ according to the translation and early rumours seem to point towards this being Foxconn.
Well, that about covers all of the tablets we’ve seen rumoured so far that we’re exepcting to see at the IFA and if we’re honest, the real competition here seems to be between and /Google. The majority of the tablets seem to be falling in the cheap and cheerful end of the spectrum, we were hoping to see some more in the way of high end devices looking to stick it to the iPad. Let us know what you think and keep an eye on the blog for our run down of the IFA.
– “Poster child of the post-pc world” . 15.4 million iPad’s sold last quarter.
