Another device from ASUS
The stretched expected ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Android Tablet that everybody has been waiting for is lastly coming soon to stores around Europe. Nevertheless of many other usual tablet PCs you may have seen the ASUS Eee Pad takes it that large step further. It can come with a generous keyboard docking station and turn [...]We love mobile phonesAnother device from ASUS
HP exits phone and tablet market
In a move that many people may thing was inevitable, HP today announced that it was quitting the smartphone and tablet market, effectively killing of the legacy of Palm.
Should Facebook set up call centres to help hijacked users?
Facebook is coming under heavy criticism for its failure to help when people have issues with their account. The social media site has never provided a telephone number for help when things go wrong and this has led to people … Continue reading →
Lava M30
A very low cost and interesting looking music phone, the stylish Lava M30 is aimed at emerging markets where it faces tough competition.
Motorola WILDER: Sturdy Social Networking Handset Announced, Launch Scheduled For July
Today marks a nice surprise in the announcement of the Motorola WILDER, a tough and rugged smartphone for the price conscious consumer. The splash and dust-resistant handset comes with a 2.8-inch touch screen, 2 mega pixel camera whilst social integration for Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and YouTube is also handled…although the lack of a smartphone OS [...]
Verizon to Sell Droid X2 Next Week
Verizon plans to sell the Motorola Droid X2, an Android-based phone with a sharper screen, on May 26 for $200 with a two-year contract.
Motorola PRO
The worldwide version of the DROID PRO, the Motorola PRO is an Android phone designed at corporate customers rather than consumers.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
The new flagship phone in Sony Ericsson’s range, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is a stylish and powerful Android phone which might just turn around Sony Ericsson’s fortunes.
February 2011 Roundup
February 2011 was a very busy month, with stacks of new Android smartphones and tablets and a controversial tie-up between Nokia and Microsoft.
In Depth: Best phone screen: display tech explained
Mobile phones have progressed dramatically since the days their displays needed only to show you the number of the person calling. Once we added text messaging and even email, we need a bit more space to see what we’d written.We added colour to give them a bit more interest. When we started adding cameras to the phones, we wanted the screens to be sharper, so we could see the terrible, pixelated VGA photos we’d taken.Once the ability to store video arrived, we needed them to be smooth, with good refresh rates.In the era of touchscreen smartphones, we expect them to be as good as computer screens, offering crisp text, vibrant images, blur-free video and enough brightness to see outdoors, all under a responsive touch layer.Predictably, several different options have arisen, especially when it comes to high-end smartphones. As a result, it can be hard to know exactly what manufacturers (and, indeed, technology sites) are talking about when they boast about Super AMOLED Plus screens or Retina displays.So what’s the best phone screen to go for? We’ve rounded up all the important information about different mobile screen types below, so you’ll know what to look out for on your next phone.TFT-LCDBy far the most common kind of screen used on mobile phones is TFT-LCD (often just referred to as LCD, since TFT-based LCD screens are the only type used in practice). It ranges from the budget smartphones like the HTC Wildfire to high-end handsets, such as the iPhone 4.There are many different ways of manufacturing LCD screens, so knowing that a phone is LCD doesn’t tell you much about its quality.In practice, cheap phone screens will often display dull colours, and have narrow viewing angles, which means that if you look at them from off-centre, it becomes hard to see what’s on-screen.High quality LCD screens will have bright, accurate colours and with visibility from just about any angle.All LCD screens need to have a light behind them, which shines through the pixels to make them visible. As a result, they don’t offer quite the thinness of AMOLED technology.Super-LCDThis is a particular type of TFT-LCD screen, and has been touted as rivalling AMOLED for image quality. It offers lower power consumption than most LCD technologies, but without sacrificing any picture quality.NOVAThis LCD-derived screen technology from LG will be used on the Optimus Black phone. It’s said to offer hugely increased brightness while being extremely energy efficient.AMOLEDThis is a screen technology based on organic compounds that offers high image quality in exchange for potentially very low power usage. Unlike LCD screens, AMOLED displays don’t need a backlight – each pixel produces its own light – so phones using them can potentially be thinner. It also means that a mostly black screen will use very little electricity, and true blacks when watching videos, rather than the dark grey some LCD screens produce.However, AMOLED screens have proved costly and difficult to produce in the same numbers as LCD, a fact that led to the HTC Desire having its AMOLED screen replaced with Super-LCD halfway through its manufacturing life.AMOLED uses a different subpixel arrangement to LCD, which can result in images that don’t appear quite as sharp.High-end LCD screens are also able to produce a wider colour range than AMOLED screens, though this would make little difference to most casual users.Super AMOLEDThis is a derived form of AMOLED screen that actually includes the capacitive touchscreen technology in the manufacturing process, meaning that it doesn’t have to be overlaid later. It offers other advantages over earlier AMOLED screens, including increased brightness and lower power usage.Super AMOLED PlusA new technology first used by the Samsung Galaxy S2. The significant change is in the subpixel construction, switching to something much closer to that used by LCD, which should mean sharper, clearer images.Mobile phone screen resolutionsScreens can come in any number of resolutions (the actual number of pixels), but there are some you’ll see more than others.The HTC Wildfire has a 240 x 320 (QVGA) resolution, which isn’t unusual for an budget phone. An updated version, the HTC Wildfire S will have a 320 x 480 (HVGA) resolution, which is also common for budget phones, or those with smaller screens, and is used in the iPhone 3GS.The most common screen resolution used in Android touchscreen smartphones currently is 480 x 800 (WVGA). You can find this on everything from the budget Orange San Francisco to the HTC Desire S and Google Nexus S.Some phones have a resolution of 480 x 854, such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Xperia Play, because this offers closer to the 16:9 aspect ratios of HDTVs, so is ideal for watching movies.The iPhone 4 is notable for its extremely high resolution 640 x 960 screen.Increasingly, phones are being introduced with 540 x 960 (qHD) screens, such as the HTC Sensation. At the extreme end, Acer has introduced a phone with a 480 x 1024 screen, which is actually at a cinema 21:9 aspect ratio.Which is the best mobile phone screen?When buying a phone, the screen will always be a factor, but it isn’t going to be the decider for that many people. The important thing is to understand what you’re being offered.This often isn’t helped by obfuscating brand names, such as Apple’s Retina display or Sony Ericsson’s Reality display. In this case, Apple is referring to the high pixels per inch count of its display, rather than a particular technology, while Sony Ericsson’s Reality display with Mobile Bravia screen uses mostly software improvements to the video to achieve impressive results.In both cases, it’s actually LCD technology powering things, which can often be discovered by looking past the marketing and at the specifications.The ideal option for you may come down to what you use your phone for most. If you like to watch movies and play games on your phone, AMOLED might be the better choice, thanks to its hugely superior contrast ratio compared to LCD.However, if web browsing and document viewing is more your thing, LCD usually offers slightly crisper text, making it easier to read what’s on screen over long periods. In either case, you’re unlikely to be disappointed with the best of what manufacturers offer.
HTC Desire HD and Incredible S Android 2.3 updates roll out
HTC has begun the process of bestowing the latest version of Android on its more recent phones, starting with the HTC Desire HD 2.3 update.The HTC Incredible S is also getting its own version of Gingerbread (boosting the handset to Android 2.3.3) via an over the air update, according to the HTC update site.The new-and-improved software will add a smattering of improved functionality to the handsets, including improved copy and paste and (hopefully) a much improved battery life, especially in the case of the Desire HD.Odd kidThe Incredible S has seemed like the odd one out at the HTC shindig for a while, as the only phone from 2011 not launching with Android 2.3, rather going for the more market-ready Froyo.However, before you pull out the party poppers (and don’t do that anyway, you weirdo) this will probably only be for unbranded and unlocked phones, as the networks will still need to do final checks to make sure the software works with your shiny phone.We’ve had a nose around the networks to see if they can give us any time frame for the Android 2.3 update for the Desire HD and Incredible S, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we know more.
HTC Sensation Exclusive To Vodafone In May 2011, Other Operators From June
The HTC Sensation will be released exclusively on Vodafone in the UK and Europe in May, at least initially. HTC’s all-singing all-dancing Android multimedia superphone, previously known to tech watchers as Pyramid, will be available a month later in June on T-Mobile and Orange according to Pocket Lint. 3 Mobile have also announced a vague [...]
Carphone Warehouse opens Samsung Galaxy S2 pre-order
Carphone Warehouse has opened pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Wildfire S. The Samsung Galaxy S2 is the first handset to rock a 1.2GHz processor, so you can be guaranteed some pretty nippy operations and the Super AMOLED screen is one of the best we’ve ever seen. You can nab the Android 2.3 phone from Carphone Warehouse for free on a 35 a month contract, or pay 499.95 upfront. Those impatiently awaiting the Samsung Galaxy S2 will probably want to head over to Carphone’s arch nemesis Phones4U, though the retailer has an exclusive early release date. Wild thingsThe strapped-for-cash might prefer the HTC Wildfire S; still with Android 2.3, it offers smartphone-style functionality on a shoestring. It might not have the headline grabbing specs, but the HTC Wildfire UK pricing is pretty impressive; it’s yours for free on a 13.50 a month contract, although the retailer hasn’t specified what else that nets you. The other option is to shell out 349.95 for the handset on pay as you go.
iPhone 5 with faster processor due September
More iPhone rumours for you, as the uncertainty and speculation over Apple‘s next smartphone continues. Previously we’ve heard that it might be out in June, or that it might be delayed until nearer the end of the year, or even 2012 in the case of one report. Reuters is now citing three sources who reckon [...]
Big iPhone is watching you
The iPhone tracks its owner’s movements and stores them in a log file, it would seem. That’s the claim of a pair of British software developers, who were working with location data on the smartphone and pulled information out of a file called consolidated.db. The Telegraph reports that the pair discovered this was a log [...]