Category Archives: Mobile Devices
Intel co-brand could work wonders for the Motorola RAZR i
Rating: Joint development between handset and chip vendors
If there was ever a handset which currently could be described as an ‘iPhone 5 killer’, it would be Motorola’s latest member of its RAZR family launched in Europe today [September 18th 2012] – the RAZR i. About the only thing wrong with this smartphone is the spelling. If it had A-p-p-le or S-a-m-s-u-n-g as the brand name on top of the handset’s screen, then everyone – not just GoMobile News, would be singing its praises. Continue reading
Motorola surprises with not for USA RAZR i
Rating: It’s all about speed, battery life & Intel Inside
Here in sunny Blighty [UK], Motorola Mobility launched another model in its Android RAZR family which hasn’t been seen before – the RAZR i. The crucial advantages Motorola has is access to both Google (its parent) for Android optimisation and innovation plus Intel for its microprocessor skills. This handset is going to be billed as the “full-screen phone” in its ads, although GoMobile News wasn’t sure this message was delivered effectively in the TV advert which we saw screened. What the i is about, however, is speed. Continue reading
Nokia’s W7 Mango phone now cheaper than Motorola RAZR
Rating: Asda supermarket sparks handset price battle in UK market
What a significant development. UK supermarket Asda – which is effectively the UK incarnation of the USA’s Walmart, has sparked off something of a price battle over leading smartphone models. It has decided to drop the price of Nokia’s premier W7 Mango (WP7) handset down to £199. Asda is now offering the Nokia Lumia 800 for £40 less than even Amazon and a whopping £200 less than leading High Street electrical goods retailer, Currys. What cheered GoMobile News up is the price Asda is asking for the Motorola RAZR. It wants £50 more than the Lumia 800. Just goes to show what a great handset the RAZR is, ahead of the official launch of the latest RAZR models in the UK tomorrow [September 18th 2012]. Continue reading
iPhone 5 screen size correction and launch updates
Rating: O2 appears to have leaked the 21st September launch date
Whoops. GoMobile News got it wrong on the iPhone 5 screen size front. It is bigger at 4″. As Ernest Doku, a telecoms expert with uSwitch.com, says, “”Thinner, lighter and with a 4-inch screen, the iPhone has gone on a diet and come back leaner and faster. The taller screen caters to the crowd that feed off form factor, but still like the ergonomically comfortable width of the 4S.” As Doku says, after the bitter disappointment of an underwhelming iPhone 4S, there was pressure on Apple to deliver something very special. It appears to have met expectations in all but won area. The handset doesn’t support NFC. Apple launches one handset a year and in the fast moving world of mobile telecoms, the lack of NFC is a huge mistake. But O2 has given us a launch date. Continue reading
Apple finally calls its latest handset the iPhone 5
Rating: Biggest difference is Thunderbolt data connector
Finally, the California-based device manufacturer, Apple, has lived up to expectations and called today’s [September 12th 2012's] very latest version of its cellular handset the iPhone 5. Whilst the good news is that Apple has officially decided to call device the iPhone 5, that hasn’t prevented its hardware from getting out of sync with its mobile OS numerology – which has now reached iOS version 6. Similarly, the new – supposedly twice as fast processor – inside the 5 is called the A6. Probably the biggest change is that Apple has changed the data interface which should bring a mixture of joy and pain to peripheral manufacturers. Firstly, they should be able to sell adapters and secondly none of their existing products will fit the iPhone 5. Continue reading
Forget 12, it’s 18 here in Europe says Motorola
Rating: Just pretend you don’t know the RAZRs have already launched
You have to admire Motorola’s timing. Just hours before a certain big event takes place in San Francisco around 6 pm (here in Blighty), the company has sent UK hacks an intriguing invite. We’re asked to attend an “exclusive launch event” six days from now – Tuesday 18th September [2012]. It’s entitled, “Let us take you to the Edge”. Given that this launch is co-hosted with Intel, it isn’t too difficult to guess what the event will showcase. As a hint we intend to publish the full specs of the new RAZR M, RAZR HD and DROID RAZR MAXX HD here. Continue reading
Nokia still hasn’t got the app-generation
Rating: It’s not fancy covers, it’s apps they want
Looking at the way Nokia has just positioned its latest devices – two Windows Phone 8 handsets, doesn’t convince GoMobile News that the former world leading handset supplier has really grasped the app revolution. It’s good to see that Nokia’s PureView camera technology has made the leap from Symbian (with the 808) to the Windows Phone platform but do smartphone lovers really care that much about having the best camera inside a phone? These are the sort of people who happily pay top dollar for a smartphone whose screen smashes on a regular basis. The market has changed. Smartphone lovers want to be able to run the latest software not take the best quality pics. Continue reading
Guest Post: Top 8 features of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus
by Jenny B, currently working with Ladbrokes Online
At one point in time we were defined by our class status (in Britain at least). We were either working, middle or upper class with a few in-betweens. Now we are largely defined by the kind of gadgets we keep in our pockets and mobile phones come top of the list. No longer can we get away with walking into a shop and going for the cheapest tariff regardless of the phone that comes with it. As there are a wide variety of phones on the market I have decided to choose this ‘alpha phone’ (the Samsung Galaxy Nexus) – the cream of the crop- and list its finest features as a template to guide you on what to look for in a phone. Continue reading
Samsung off hook vs Apple for the moment
Rating: Isn’t this damaging the entire ITC industry?
Leading mobile phone vendor, Samsung, is off the hook for the moment. A US judge has set December 6th [2012] as the date for the next hearing in the Korean manufacturer’s battle with Apple Computer. What that means is that Samsung shouldn’t miss out on the vital pre-Xmas sales season. Especially if the company immediately appeals the decision as is widely expected. Samsung’s shares jumped 3 per cent yesterday [August 29th 2012] as a result. GoMobile News can’t help but think that these IPR battles are holding back the entire ITC sector, though. Continue reading
Mobeam & ProLogic to promote mobile digital coupon tech
Rating: Works with existing PoS but requires LED inside handset
Here’s an interesting partnership. Mobeam which has specialist mobile phone technology has formed and alliance with ProLogic which operates a coupon clearing house facility for US based retailers. The beauty of this joint effort is that it won’t require any new equipment to be installed at the point-of-sale – it works with existing PoS systems. The only catch is that Mobeam doesn’t quite explain how it is going to get its technology onto existing handsets as well as persuading handset makers to build the technology into their future mobile phones. Continue reading
ZTE’s low cost Grand X Android now on Virgin UK
Rating: Cost competitive access to the Tegra Zone app store
When GoMobile News first saw the ZTE Grand X in action last month [July 2012], we were massively impressed. It runs the very latest version of the Android OS – Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). Unfortunately, the whole ethos behind this particular handset is that it offers powerful performance at a very cost competitive price. So we had to wait until it was genuinely commercially available before we could actually write about it. Luckily for us here in the UK, Virgin Media is now offering its customers the ZTE Grand X on prepay (PAYG) for a mere £199.99. You can check out this offer here. Continue reading
RIM: we may let other makers use BB10
New op system could be phone maker’s last hurrah
Struggling Canadian phone maker RIM may licence its new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other manufacturers in a bid to plug the ever-deepening hole in its finances. CEO Thorsten Heins is reported to have told Bloomberg News that the new op, currently in the final phases of testing, may well be offered to other manufacturers even as RIM races to release its own devices based on BB10 early next year. Heins did not say whether those manufacturers might include other phone makers, but only last week it was reported that Samsung might be planning to buy RIM or at least licence the new OS – both claims which the South Korean manufacturer was itself quick to deny. RIM is hoping to turnaround its fortunes with BB10. Continue reading
RIM shares jump on rumours of licensing deal with Samsung
First step towards the company splitting itself in two?
Shares in Canadian handset maker RIM jumped more than 4 per cent in New York last night [8th August 2012] amid speculation that Samsung may licence its latest Blackberry 10 OS – or even buy the strugggling manufacturer. Neither side has commented but it’s no secret that RIM desperately needs money with its share of the global smartphone market having fallen from around 12 per cent in Q2 last year to just under 5 per cent in 2012. Its hopes are pinned on new BB10 phones due to be released after Christmas to revive the BlackBerry brand. In June [2012] it was reported that RIM may also be considering splitting itself into two separate parts, as did Motorola which sold off its handset side to search giant Google. Continue reading
HTC investors flee to the hills
Taiwanese maker’s cap drops by more than half this year
Following in the footsteps of RIM and Nokia, Taiwan’s HTC is the latest phone maker to hit the decks with its shares sinking to a new low and knocking around $1 billion off its market value. Failure to fend off Samsung and Apple is, again, the reason. Whereas just two years ago HTC was riding the crest of the wave as the first to make handsets powered by Google’s Android OS, it is now witnessesing a reversal of fortunes with its second-quarter revenues down by over a quarter and indications of more trouble ahead, including an expected halving of its revenues in the current quarter. Continue reading
Samsung tops European sales league
But much of demand is in low-end phones
Korean manufacturer Samsung has emerged as Europe’s dominant mobile phone player, grabbing almost half of sales in the last three months according to market analysts Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Smartphone sales were driven by Samsung’s release of its flagship Galaxy S3 phone plus the growing popularity of Google’s Android operating system which runs on its phones and which accounted for two thirds of its European sales. Continue reading
