Category Archives: Mobile Devices

Category containing all posts that relate to mobile devices.

O2 gets another top-knotch smartphone – the Palm Pre

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Well if you have been reading the tech news lately, you’ll know about the new techy phone – the Palm Pre.

It’s been eagerly anticipated by many people, mainly because it looks like a brilliant competitor to the iPhone. It’s got some brilliant features and looks pretty cool too.

But today, it was revealed that O2 will be hosting the new phone in the UK, which ads it to the collection of fancy smartphones.

I think it is good that all the fancy top-knotch smartphones are ending up on the O2 network, but I do think some of O2’s competitors should get a chance too. To be fair, T-Mobile did get the Android phones which could be very promising, but some of the other networks haven’t really got much to say for themselves.

I think it would be nice to see an iPhone on another network. If O2 would let some other networks have some of the really high-end phones, I think it would be good.

iPod Touch OS 3.0 Full Review!

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Apple’s 3.0 OS for iPod Touch and iPhone was released earlier this evening, and GEEK! was of course right at the front of the queue. I’ve downloaded the update and installed it to my 8GB iPod Touch, so now everything is going fine and I’ve had a little time to play around with the new firmware, I thought I’d write a review for it.

Please note that this is a review for the 3.0 OS for the iPod Touch, not the iPhone. iPhone-specific features are not reviewed in this post.

Well the first thing you are going to notice is the price – £5.99 in the UK and £9.95 in the US. Personally I don’t think that is too bad, but I’m a little annoyed that iPod Touch users have to pay at all. Never mind, I’m not going to make a fuss of it.

Once you’ve paid the price, you then need to accept the terms and start the download. It’s thereabouts 240 megabytes and on a good broadband connection will take about 15 minutes to download. Once you’ve downloaded it, iTunes will proceed with an install.

The install is fairly simple. iTunes will back up your current iPod’s settings and then install the firmware. The process takes about 20-25 minutes depending on how much data is currently being stored on your iPod.

Providing everything went through smoothly, you’ll be able to use your iPod as soon as the update is complete. You can unlock your iPod and it will be ready to use.

Here’s a quick run through of the main new features in OS 3.0:

  • Spotlight search means you can search your entire iPod for data – whether it is music, videos, notes, photos, or emails. You can find it on the very left tab in the home screen.
  • New search bars in music, video, email and notes. Get it to it by scrolling up to the very top of the screen in each section.
  • Bluetooth music streaming means you can stream to bluetooth audio devices.
  • Upgraded onboard iTunes store means you can buy and rent movies directly on the iPod. You can also download TV shows directly from the iPod.
  • Upgraded Youtube browser means you can now sign in to your Youtube account. You can now browse your uploads and subscriptions, as well as rate and comment on videos.
  • The iPod Touch now supports Shake and Shuffle. This means you can shake the iPod Touch and it will shuffle the track.
  • Voice Memos is now on the iPod Touch, which is basically a dictaphone for the iPod Touch. You will need a microphone supported by the iPod Touch for this to work.
  • Restrictions can now be put in place as to which applications can be used.
  • Safari has been upgraded under the hood, so the web support is now better.
  • There have also been some bug fixes and minor software improvements.

That’s a basic round up of what’s in the update. In my opinion it is well worth the £5.99, so go ahead and get it if you have the cash to spare.

Thanks Apple, a good update there.

iPod Touch 3.0 comes Wednesday, still no UK price confirmed

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Its only 3 days to go until the 3.0 software for the iPod Touch (and iPhone, although that’s free) finally launches. It’s been a long wait, with a total of five betas and a GM, but Apple finally announced the launch date earlier this week.

However, it somewhat annoys me that Apple still haven’t confirmed the final price for the 3.0 update in the UK. Yeah, I know, the chances are that it will be something like £6.99, but I wish Apple would put me out of my misery and just tell me how much it’s going to burn in my pocket. I don’t want to have to pay for it anyway, but I’m going to because I want the new features.

Apple has confirmed that the update will cost $9.95 in the US, but there has been absolutely no news whatsoever as to what is happening about the UK price.

Come on Apple, get your act together. I know the chances are that nobody gives a damn what it is going to cost, but I there are a few of us that do.

New Nokia N86 ships worldwide, looks exciting!

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The new Nokia N86 has started shipping worldwide, and it looks very exciting!

nokia-n86-0

I think it looks pretty nice, although the angled button towards the bottom right of the top layer looks a little weird on the phone. The number keypad has good size, well spread out keys which should be easy to use, and the large screen should make it great to use.

In terms of technical specs, it has a 2.6″ OLED screen, a quad band antenna, bluetooth, 8MP camera with flash, HSPDA, Wi-Fi, Music Player and GPS – so it is well equiped for most phone users.

It isn’t cheap, with SIM free prices starting from £549.99, but you can get it FREE on a £30 contract with Vodafone.

I don’t think I’d pay the money for it as it is very expensive SIM free, but it is well equiped and is very practical.

iPhone/iPod Touch 3.0 software arriving June 17th

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Yes, it’s official. The new firmware, OS 3.0, will be available for the iPhone and iPod Touch from June 17th.

As predicted, iPod Touch users will have to pay for the privilege ($9.95 to be precise, UK price unknown at time of writing). iPhone users will get it free.

Hot picks for OS 3.0 are:

  • You can download and rent movies direct from the iPhone/iPod
  • Upgraded Safari browser for better browsing and faster Javascript. There is also better Quicktime support of HTTP streams.

I don’t think the OS 3.0 will be anything massive, but it will definately be worth the update. I shall be purchasing the update when it is launched.

Wikipedia actually has quite a good entry on what’s to come in OS 3.0, with lots of detail if that’s the kind of thing you’re interested in. Here is the link – just scroll to the 3.0 section in turquoise.