Samsung Apps hits 100 million download landmark

Samsung Apps hits 100 million download landmark
Samsung has announced that its mobile and TV application store is celebrating a major milestone with 100 million app downloads since its launch. Samsung Apps launched in June 2010 with the Samsung Wave, and has gone from strength to strength reaching 10 million downloads in three months and now attaining the 100 million markSamsung tells us that there are now more than 13,000 apps on the store, with Magic Torch, Need for Speed Shift and Asphalt 5 listed among the best sellers. Rapid growth”We are anticipating that Samsung Apps will show a rapid growth in 2011, especially with a variety of the upcoming bada device line-up” said Kang-Hyun Kwon, Senior Vice President of Media Solution Center, Samsung Electronics. “Through consistent service improvement and high-quality app selections, we will continue to offer optimised application services for Samsung smartphones.”Samsung Apps are available in 120 countries and it is France that has racked up the most downloads followed by Germany and Spain. That trio of European countries actually accounts for 40 per cent of the downloads from the store.

LG Optimus Me P350
Challenging low cost feature phones in style and specifications, the LG Optimus Me P350 looks like an affordable and attractive Android device.

Exclusive: Motorola empathy for Nokia over tough OS decisions
Motorola has empathy for rival Nokia as it goes through a tough decision process on which operating system will best serve the company. Motorola Mobility’s Andy Hooper the director for European & MEA converged experiences believes that Nokia is going through a similar pain as Motorola did a short time ago. Nokia’s decisions on Symbian’s changing role and a high-profile tie-up with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 suggests a major rethink has gone on.Hooper draws obvious parallels with Motorola whose Razr phone was a big part in widespread success but who then let market share slip through its fingers. Smaller scale”To some degree we look at what’s happening with Nokia and we did that on a smaller scale three years ago,” Hooper told TechRadar. “We had to make that tough decision; ‘what are the platforms on which we are going to build the business?’ And the decision was made to focus on Android. “That [decision] takes time to pass through the development process, and then bringing devices to market and, of course, getting the products right takes time.”We feel this year CES really showed we are absolutely back in the game in bringing compelling user experience to the market.”Motorola’s 2011 raft of devices has certainly caught the eye, with TechRadar’s Motorola Atrix review awarding the smartphone four stars, the same score as given in the Motorola Xoom review which represents Moto’s efforts in the tablet market.

Samsung Galaxy S II Mini leaked – small phone, huge specs

Samsung Galaxy S II Mini leaked small phone, huge specs
Read the original article on MobileMentalism.com at Samsung Galaxy S II Mini leaked – small phone, huge specsThe Samsung Galaxy S II Mini has just been leaked showing a brand new smaller smartphone with a truly monstrous CPU! The Mini is possibly the least appropriately named device since the Mitsubishi Charisma, as it’s the same size as…Read the original article on MobileMentalism.com at Samsung Galaxy S II Mini leaked – small phone, huge specs

Review: Nokia 5230

Review: Nokia 5230
One of the great truths about smartphones is that you should always match a phone to your actual needs. The Nokia 5230, despite falling short of expectations, is an intelligent device that offers a wealth of unique features. Whether these features match your needs is the real question. Before covering the failings, let’s cover the basic advantages of using this phone. The Nokia 5230 is the bargain-bin version of the flagship phone, the Nokia N97. We say ‘flagship’ as a somewhat slippery term, because the N97 is by no means as powerful as, say, the Google Nexus One and is actually second-rate compared to the much faster Nokia N900. Yet, the N97 is the touchscreen phone set to compete with the Apple iPhone and just about every Android, Palm and Windows Phone device. As the entry-level version of the N97, the Nokia 5230 is about 118, or about half the cost of competing smartphones that run well over 200. That’s an attractive price point one that provides all the functionality of a touchscreen device, apps galore, GPS, media playback, a 2MP camera with advanced options such as setting ISO level, and 4GB of storage (on an included microSD card). No, the Nokia 5230 is not an iPhone or HTC Desire competitor, but does have some powerful features.What you don’t get is Wi-Fi, and that is one of the major problems with this device. Wi-Fi is useful because it means you can continue using the device inside when your carrier service goes AWOL or when you want to download huge files. The Nokia 5230 also lacks a full hardware keyboard, runs a bit slow at times, has a confusing turn-by-turn voice nav for GPS routing (although the phone supports many languages), low camera quality at just 2 megapixels, and a few minor glitches. In the box Nokia has included the typical charger, manual, and a pair of earbuds with a 3.5mm connector that you will likely discard for a much more adequate set. Our test unit included a 4GB card already inserted into a side compartment, which is included with every Nokia 5230.It’s no secret that the Symbian S60v5 OS is an acquired taste. Yet, millions have acquired it, and swear by it, so we won’t debate all of the merits and demerits here. Suffice to say, the OS does not work at all like an iPhone or Android phone. In some ways, it is akin to the Windows versus Linux debate, and Symbian is definitely more like Linux, where you can perform some functions that are not possible or difficult with other phones. For example, when you install an app, it is easy to see how much memory it will use and the version number. While this is a perk for an advanced user willing to pay more for the Nokia N97, it is a problem on the Nokia 5230 intended for new smartphone users or at least those who do not want to pay big bucks for a phone that has every bell and whistle.The Nokia 5230 interface does require a learning period. For starters, there are three hardware buttons along the bottom of the phone: a green Call button, a Menu button that shows you the installed apps and an End Call button. At times, you might wonder if you should press the End Call button to back out of an app (in most cases, you should) or press the Exit or OK button on screen. It’s fairly inconsistent you have to pay attention to what’s on the screen a bit more than with other phones.You also can’t move apps around on the screen, hold down on one to see an option to delete it, or add widgets for, say, adjusting screen brightness quickly. What this means initially is some fumbling around to find basic options. The Nokia 5230 is also not a tremendously speedy phone, at 434MHz, so there are times when you might press a button and the Nokia 5230 fails to register the click. This can seem like a touchscreen quality problem, but the touch sensitivity is quite adequate it is just that the phone is too slow to keep up with simple finger presses at times.Navigating on the phone is a bit tough, but you quickly get used to basic operations. It’s easy to fire up the GPS app (Ovi Maps 3.0) or press the green Call button to access the phone dialler. There are a few cool tricks to using the phone. For example, there’s a dedicated camera button you can use to start the camera app (which shoots photos and video). This button is positioned on the lower right side of the phone (when in a vertical orientation) to encourage horizontal use.Another perk is that the Nokia 5230 happens to have a well-implemented lock button on the right side of the phone. You just slide the button down. This makes it hard to accidentally power up the phone when it is in a laptop bag or in your pocket, which saves on battery power. It also avoids the ‘press this on-screen button to unlock’ annoyance.Anyone who is used to an iPhone or Android device knows you can easily flick on the screen to move down to see additional apps or more content on a website. However, on the Nokia 5230, you have to drag a slider down to see more of the screen. You might find yourself swiping on the screen, only to realise you have started an app. And, adding insult to injury, because the phone tends to run slow, this induces some frustration as you wait for the app to start and then close it. This is one of the 5230′s most annoying quirks.Call quality on the Nokia 5230 is outstanding for a bargain-level phone. With T-Mobile service, we never had any problems with dropped calls, faulty connections, or distortion either on the phone (what we heard) or the other end of the line (what our caller heard). Adding contacts for dialling is also slick and easy, although the Nokia 5230 does not aggregate contacts from multiple social networks (like the Motorola Milestone or Palm Pre, or the upcoming Windows Phone 7 devices).Nokia does offer a Facebook app for the Nokia 5230 and, really, social networking apps tend to pop up on the phone in unexpected places. For example, when you snap a photo, you can upload it to your Vox.com blog account.MessagingMessaging lives or dies by how well the soft keyboard works on phones without a real QWERTY keyboard, and the Nokia 5230 is definitely alive and kicking by this standard. The keyboard is responsive and accurate. In fact, we had more problems with accuracy on an HTC Hero than on this phone. The accelerometer that senses whether you are in horizontal or vertical orientation also worked well it’s important in those times when you really need to type a message in landscape mode with the full soft QWERTY keyboard. There were a few times when the Nokia 5230 flipped back to horizontal when we nudged it in the wrong direction, something the Nexus One and iPhone rarely do but a problem that plagues models by HTC.For the most part, the messaging apps for texting and email worked well, but we did notice a slight lag on this phone for basic operations, such as composing a new message. Once again, the slower-than-average processor is just not fast enough to keep pace with a fast-fingered messaging aficionado. We decided to test this theory and did a side-by-side comparison between the Nokia 5230 and a Nokia N900 with its speedy operating system and 600MHz processor. Sure enough, composing an email was much faster on the N900 smartphone.One complaint here is that the Google Mail client for Symbian did not work correctly on the Nokia 5230 it seems to assume you have a hardware keyboard and does not bring up the software version correctly. The simple workaround is to access Gmail from the browser or configure the built-in email client to access your Gmail account.The lack of Wi-Fi means email attachments take a while to download to your phone, but once they do, we had no problems opening Word documents and viewing photos on the Nokia 5230 even if we had to wait a few seconds.There were no huge surprises for internet browsing, other than a nicely configured home screen when you start the browser initially.It shows links to several popular services, including Yahoo Mail, Facebook, news channels and Mapquest. Large icons for making bookmarks, typing in a URL and accessing browser settings make it easy to surf. The only real gripe here is that the phone screen, at 640 x 360 pixels (about the size of two fingers side by side), is a bit small for reading text on a web page.The screen quality while bright and clear does not match the sheer crispness and quality of the Google Nexus One, which uses OLED technology. Of course, the lack of Wi-Fi rears its ugly visage here as well. Sites loaded slowly over a typical 3G connection, and not nearly as fast as they do over Wi-Fi. And, while web page rendering worked fine for sites like ESPN.com and Gmail, there is a long lag on rich sites like IGN.com as they load in the background. Combined with the slow processor, lack of Wi-Fi makes the Nokia 5230 a poor choice as a web device.If the slow speed and lack of Wi-Fi keep coming up as problems on the Nokia 5230, one saving grace is the exceptional camera. The quality is actually no better than an iPhone at two megapixels, you won’t be submitting your stunning images to a glossy photo magazine any time soon. Yet, the Nokia 5230 provides some slick camera features beyond just setting the white balance (which helps you adjust lighting options so that subjects appear the correct colour).For example, this is one of the only phones that lets you set exposure level (amount of light allowed in through the lens) and ISO speed (how quickly the shutter opens and closes). The Nokia 5230 also has settings for a self-timer, multiple shots in sequence, colour and contrast level options, and sharpness level.All of these settings do lead to better photos. In a scene with some ducks on a river, the exposure settings provided a slick way to brighten up a photo before ever using Photoshop. With the self-timer, it was possible to take a family portrait without having to relegate one family member to being the photographer.Unfortunately, like every other cameraphone except the beefier N900 and maybe the Motorola Milestone, the Nokia 5230 is just too light for serious photography. It’s too easy to set up a nice shot, then nudge the camera a bit and take a blurry photo. For video, this lighter-than-air problem is a bigger problem. It is difficult to hold the phone steady enough for any real video clips unless you rest it on a table or chair. Even then, it’s hard to record a video that isn’t jerky and unwatchable.The Nokia 5230 is an entry-level smartphone, and this becomes readily apparent with media playback. It’s just too difficult to find music and movies, and the Ovi store is still a work in progress (at times, the Ovi apps even failed to open the store at all). Lacking the Apple iTunes store or a robust partnership with Amazon for buying songs, the Nokia 5230 is just an average media phone. Playback quality for music was fine, but videos tended to stutter a bit due to the slower processor.The phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack and comes with a 4GB microSD card which is expandable up to 16GB. If you do load up a bunch of songs, the music player is just adequate it lacks any useful album cover viewer (you can view album cover art but you can’t flip through them like you can on the iPhone). There is an FM radio on the Nokia 5230, and it worked well for several news and sports channels, but the music quality, even on earbuds, was just passable. You can record voice memos to yourself, but the Nokia 5230 lacks the advanced features of, say, the Nexus One in terms of easily sharing these memos when you connect to your PC.A light smartphone usually has one drawback: the battery is just not big enough to hold a charge. Fortunately, the Nokia 5230 lasted all day (about 8 hours) playing music and video occasionally, making frequent calls but otherwise having the device on standby without seeing the battery die. The Nokia 5230 battery life benefits from the slide lock button that prevent accidental power-ups, which can even occur on an iPhone.Nokia says the Nokia 5230 will last for several days if you just use it for music and disable all of the other connections, such as 3G and Bluetooth.Battery time over GSM is much longer a rated 7 hours compared to WCDMA, which lasts about four hours. The tricky trade-off here is that it depends greatly on how many calls you make, whether you have music and video playing on the device, and if you use Bluetooth. On the plus side, since there is no Wi-Fi, you won’t drain the battery that way.OrganiserThe Nokia 5230 falls short when it comes to keeping you organised, for several reasons. One is just the phone speed there is often a delay when you pull up a contact or view your Google Calendar as the phone struggles to keep pixels moving on the screen. There were times when it was easier to pop open a laptop and look up a web contact or check a task list on Plaxo than to try to visit these sites on the phone. And, there are precious few apps available for business users who are serious about staying in contact, on schedule, and on task at all times. The Nokia 5230 is an ideal calling phone, has good media options, and lasts all day on one charge, but lacks business features.There is an alarm clock that enables you to set up multiple alarms through the day, and an app for recording memos to yourself, but not the wealth of built-in apps for jotting down notes or managing voice mail like there is on other phones.ConnectivityThe Nokia Nokia 5230 connects to 3G and Bluetooth devices as expected. We were impressed with how the device connected easily to both Mac and PC laptops to upload and download files over a Bluetooth connection, a feature that the iPhone lacks. We tested the Nokia 5230 with multiple Bluetooth adaptors and even in a car with Ford Sync technology and the Nokia 5230 paired quickly and efficiently.The lack of Wi-Fi is an important issue, though, for those who need a speedier connection to download larger files, send images to an online photo service, grab large file attachments or stream audio with an app such as Pandora.One of the great strengths of the Nokia 5230, however, is that it supports GPS navigation (with turn-by-turn spoken instructions) and Ovi maps. Nokia calls this “lifetime GPS” because you never have to pay for the turn-by-turn instructions. The Nokia 5230 also has a free TeleNav app with voice nav, but only as a 30-day trial.OtherIt is also worth mentioning that the Nokia 5230 is a capable, if underpowered, gaming device. Our model included several commercial titles, including Guitar Hero 5 for mobile and Need for Speed Shift.These games are colourful, control well, and have some entertaining gameplay features, but tend to run a bit slow on the Nokia 5230 compared to the N97 and other Nokia models.A smartphone is a trusted gadget you rely on every day. It is not just an accessory you might need occasionally as you type away on a laptop. As such, a phone must be capable of doing much more than just a simple calling device: it must be expandable (both with apps and with more memory) and easy to use.We likedAs an entry-level model at an affordable price, the Nokia 5230 is a good choice for those who can live without some of the latest perks of more modern smartphones, such as Wi-Fi and a full-size hardware keyboard. We dislikedWe question some of the interface challenges on this device menus you have to wade through to find the option you want. And, slow processing speed meant running even simple apps such as the contact manager caused some frustration. While this will be a major issue for more advanced smartphone users, it will only become a minor annoyance for those who primarily just need to access email and text messages, make calls, and browse the web a few times per day. VerdictThe most important realisation with the Nokia 5230 is that it is not intended as a power user device and just does the smartphone basics. However, in our final analysis, we found the Nokia 5230 to be an intelligent device that we would use if the iPhone, Nexus One, and other models were just a figment of our imagination. Basically the Nokia 5230 would be an outstanding touchscreen phone about four years ago. Today, it is just an average buy for the price.Related LinksMore mobile phone reviewsTechRadar’s Reviews GuaranteeRelated StoriesReview: HTC LegendReview: LG Chocolate BL20Review: Acer Liquid S100Review: Nokia E72Review: HTC HD Mini

One Million Android Smartphones Sold for CPW

One Million Android Smartphones Sold for CPW
Driven by sales of the HTC Desire, HTC Wildfire and Samsung Galaxy S.

Samsung Unveil Samsung Galaxy Player Mini-Tablet
 A new hybrid device which is somewhere between a tablet, iPod and smartphone.

HTC tablet hits German stores

HTC tablet hits German stores
The HTC Flyer has been listed on Amazon Germany, just one day after it was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Barcelona. The brand new tablet device is set to go head-to-head with Apples iPad 2 and the BlackBerry Playbook in a market that HTC are a late entrant into. The specification of [...]We love mobile phonesHTC tablet hits German stores

December 2010 / January 2011 Roundup

December 2010 / January 2011 Roundup
December was a very quiet month, but the new year brought plenty of new handset releases, with some high-end Android phones being showcased.

HTC Flyer price revealed already

HTC Flyer price revealed already
The HTC Flyer has hit German Amazon.de pre-order, with pricing set at 669. The tablet was listed by the company itself; so if we use a straight currency conversion that gives the HTC Flyer UK pricing of around 563 not at all bad for the tablet, in our view. Although the price was given, there’s no HTC Flyer release date listed on the German retail site, but if you’re super-keen it is possible to place an order to receive the tablet when it’s launched. According to Amazon’s figures, 51 per cent of people viewing the product page have done just that. Keen beansHTC’s long awaited Android tablet was first shown off at Mobile World Congress earlier this month. It’s set to ship with Android 2.4 (a new release of Gingerbread) and HTC Sense. It also comes with a pressure-sensitive stylus which can be used to annotate text and all sorts. Aside from that there’s also 3D widgets, a 7-inch LCD screen and a nice-to-hold aluminium unibody casing. We’ll be reserving judgement until our full HTC Flyer review hits, but we went hands on with the tablet over at Mobile World Congress which should keep you going for now. Related StoriesWi-Fi-only HTC Flyer price unearthedSlim-bodied iPad 2 images surfaceIn Depth: iPad 2 launch: what to expectHands on: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 UK release modeliPad 2 rumour: ixnay on the SD slot and hi-res display

Android 3.0: full SDK now ready for developers
Android developers can now start creating Android 3.0-specific apps, thanks to the release of Honeycomb’s final SDK.The SDK means that Android developers can make use of Android 3.0′s redesigned user interface and offer tablet-centric content.There are soon to be a number of Android 3.0 tablets on the market, with the Motorola Xoom packing the OS, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the LG Optimus Pad.New updatesThe final platform includes updates to SDK Tools (r10) and ADT Plugin for Eclipse. A few of the tweaks, according to the Android Developer forum, are: a ‘new palette’ with categories and rendering previews, more accurate rendering of layouts, zoom improvements and layouts with gesture overlays.Honeycomb will bring a new UI specifically for tablets, customisable home screens, redesigned keyboard, improves cut and paste and an update to standard apps which essentially modifies them for the big(ger) screen.Related StoriesWi-Fi-only HTC Flyer price unearthedSlim-bodied iPad 2 images surfaceIn Depth: iPad 2 launch: what to expectHands on: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 UK release modeliPad 2 rumour: ixnay on the SD slot and hi-res display

Updated: iPad 2 news and latest rumours
The internet loves Apple and it loves ill-founded speculation, so it’s hardly surprising that iPad 2 rumours were flying before the first iPad even reached the UK. UPDATE: The iPad 2 launch has been confirmed by Apple as 2 March 2011. And you can check out what we’re expecting from the iPad 2 launch, too. And with just days to go now before its unveiling the iPad 2 release date, specs and price are still closely guarded secrets, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some juicy rumours, inspired guesses and possibly even Apple leaks to consider. Reports suggest Apple is also expecting massive demand for the new device and has ordered six million units per month.Here’s our pick of the latest iPad 2011 rumours.UPDATE: On 24 February 2011, a Japanese blog posted pictures of what it says are accurate mock-ups of the new Apple iPad. It’s slimmer than the first generation iPad and features a front-mounted camera.UPDATE: iPad 2 has apparently been spotted. Reuters reports on a “source with knowledge of the device” who spotted the new iPad at the launch of News Corp’s The Daily. UPDATE: On 8 February 2011 the Wall Street Journal claimed that the new iPad has gone into full production. iPad 2 specs: cameras and a gyroscopeGizmodo reckons that FaceTime support’s a given, and that means a front-facing camera like the iPhone 4. BuzzBizzNews echoes the camera story, suggesting twin cameras. It also suggests that there’ll be a three-axis gyroscope like there is in the iPhone 4. EETimes says Apple has been testing gyroscopes but decided not to put one in the original iPad. On 10 December 2010, images of a new iPad case appeared online, suggesting that the iPad 2nd generation will feature a rear-facing camera.On 17 January 2011, we heard word of not only a rear camera, but a front one too… it seems more likely that FaceTime will be coming to the iPad 2 as well.iPad 2 specs: a USB port and SD card slotRumours suggest that the iPad 2 will have a USB port, which BuzzBizzNews says will enable users to “upload movies, documents and photos”. We’re not convinced it’s for that, because Apple is moving increasingly to wireless. The iPad prints wirelessly. The iPad streams media wirelessly. Why add USB? More likely, we think, is a MicroUSB port or adapter so the iPad meets new EU regulations on mobile device chargers. Images of a new iPad case have appeared online that seem to show space for an SD card slot.On 17 January 2011, we also reported on said SD clard slot – it would be a dramatic move for Apple to go with such expandable memory, but a clever one if true.UPDATE: On 25 February 2011, Engadget wrote that the SD card slot has been canned. So too has the higher resolution screen, according to the Engadget.iPad 2 specs: GSM and CDMAAllThingsDigital quotes analyst Brian Blair, who says that Apple may be readying a “world iPad” that uses both GSM and CDMA networks, enabling it to get online anywhere in the world. CDMA, incidentally, is the technology used by Verizon in the US.iPad 2 case: thinner and more like a MacBook Brian Blair also says: “the new iPad is thinner than the existing model and is essentially made from one piece of metal with no pins needed. We understand it requires a new type of manufacturing process as a result, similar to the company’s unibody approach seen in MacBooks.”iPad 2 specs: retina displayWill the gorgeous screen from the iPhone 4 make its way to the iPad? The Apple Blog thinks so: “You can be sure that Apple’s Retina Display, or something very close, will make its way to iPad”. Then again, such a screen would massively increase the number of pixels, increasing the demands on both the iPad’s processor and its battery, so a nine-inch Retina Display is a challenge. If Apple’s solved it we’ll see you down the Apple Store the second it goes on sale.iPad 2 specs: a seven-inch screen?All of Apple’s rivals have plumped for 7-inch displays, which means their tablets are lighter than the iPad. Will Apple follow them into seven-inch territory? iLounge says prototypes exist, while earlier this year DigiTimes predicted not just a seven-inch iPad 2, but a 5.6-inch iPad 2. Apparently the smaller iPads would target ebooks while the current iPad would target multimedia entertainment, “sources stated”. We’re doubtful. Apple already does a mini-iPad with a retina display. It’s the iPod touch. The idea of a smaller iPad 2 took another knock in November, when 9to5Mac reported that the iPad 2 adverts have already been shot – with current-generation iPads playing the role of iPad 2s. The iPad 2s will be digitally added nearer the time, and of course that’s much harder to do if the iPad 2 is smaller than the iPads the actors are actually holding.iPad 2 specs: a faster processorKitGuru “has been hearing rumours from the Far East” that the iPad 2 will be a seven-inch job with a 2GHz processor and an HD video camera. It reckons the processor will be based on ARM’s Cortex A9, the 1GHz dual-core processor that you’ll find in the BlackBerry PlayBook.On 18 January, we also reported the iPad 2 will have a boosted dual core GPU, based on an upgraded graphical core from Apple. This will allow better pixel management, lending weight the theory that the iPad 2 will have a much higher-res screen.iPad 2 specs: more memoryThis is a no-brainer: the iPhone 4 has twice the memory of the iPad (512MB compared to 256MB), largely because the iPhone does multitasking. Since the iOS 4.2 release, iPads do multitasking too. 256MB already seems a little bit stingy.iPad 2 specs: no home buttonBoy Genius Report says a source has told it that Apple has employees testing iPads with no home buttons, but we’re inclined to agree with ZDNet, which says “don’t bet on it”.iPad 2 features: Find My FriendsOn 13 January 2011 we reported that Apple seems to have a location-based tool called Find My Friends in the works for its iOS 4.3 iPhone and iPad update.The iPad 2 release date is probably in the SpringRumours suggested that the iPad 2 would be rushed out in time for Christmas, but if that’s Apple’s plan they’re being awfully last-minute about it. Early 2011 seems like a much better bet, and it fits with Apple’s annual product cycle: the first iPad was announced in January and shipped in the spring. On 7 December we reported on rumours that Apple would be shipping iPad 2 units out to warehouses in February 2011. If that date is correct, it suggests an iPad 2 release date of some time around April.This has been corroborated by our report on 17 January, with the April UK release date backed up by ‘insiders’.On 20 January 2011 we reported that the iPad 2 release date could be 9 February, after images leaked showing that date on the home screen (the original iPad launch promotional material had a 27 January 2010 date on the home screen – the date the first iPad launched).On 7 February 2011, Elton John, speaking on BBC Breakfast, said he is looking forward to buying an iPad 2 in April so he can make video calls using Skype. Did he just out the iPad 2 release date or has he been hearing the same rumours that we have?On 21 February 2011, we reported that T-Mobile and Orange have dropped their iPad prices. This could indicate that a new iPad is imminent as the carriers try to clear out old stock.On 22 February 2011, Reuters reported that Yuanta Securitues sent out a note about iPad manufacturer Hon Hai suggesting that there are production bottlenecks which could cause the iPad 2 release date to slip to June.The iPad 2 price won’t change muchUnless there’s a new seven-inch model we’ll be amazed if the iPad 2 price is dramatically lower than the model it replaces: Apple isn’t struggling to shift units and rivals are charging similar prices. Cheapo tablets do exist, but they’re rubbish. Related StoriesT3 iPad app gets Apple app subscriptionWarner launches ‘app editions’ of Inception and The Dark KnightApple set to refresh MacBook Pros this week?In Depth: 10 best iPhone and iPad Twitter apps

Motorola CLIQ 2

Motorola CLIQ 2
The follow-up to Moto’s very first Android phone, the Motorola CLIQ 2 improves almost every aspect of the old device that you can think of.

In Depth: 10 best iPhone and iPad Twitter apps

In Depth: 10 best iPhone and iPad Twitter apps
Users of Apple’s mobile devices are spoilt for choice when it comes to Twitter clients – there are loads of the things littering the App Store. The official Twitter client is free, stable and fairly feature-rich, but with the wealth of apps, you’d be crazy to not at least see what’s available elsewhere, and so we’ve unearthed what we think are the best Twitter clients for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.1. Twitter (free, universal) On the iPhone, Twitter is an evolved version of top Twitter client Tweetie, rebranded when the service bought out the developer. It’s a simple, elegant app that ably does its job. On the iPad, you’d at first glance be forgiven for thinking you’d launched an entirely different app, such is the change in interface. While divisive, Twitter’s pane-based swipe-oriented approach proves usable and efficient once you’re used to it, although the iPad version oddly lacks the ability to create lists (which it has when running on the iPhone) and supports a relatively limited range of services.2. Echofon (free with ads or 2.99 for ‘pro’, universal)Plain and simple, Echofon is great if you just want fast access to content, and unlike Twitter it’s similar in use across devices. A big plus for Echofon is its ability to sync unread tweets between installs across mobile and desktop platforms, but it lets itself down a bit with occasional crashes on iPhone when sending emails and loading the in-app browser.3. Twitterrific (free/2.99 for ‘pro’, universal)At one point, Twitterrific was feature-packed but becoming more complex with every update. The developers bravely stripped everything back and started again. The result is an impressively usable and great-looking client – although you’ll need to pay to go ‘pro’ on each device you want multiple accounts on.4. Twittelator Pro (2.99, separate apps)Seemingly taking the baton from Twitterrific in terms of complexity, the iPhone version of Twittelator Pro is feature-rich, with great search, theming and drafting capabilities. On the iPad version, theming is gone and there’s a lot of wasted screen space, but the two-pane interface is usable, and in-stream images are handled deftly, although the lack of a built-in web browser is annoying.5. Osfoora (1.79 for iPhone, 2.39 for iPad)It’s one of the pricier clients and the default black theme is a bit harsh, but Osfoora (iPhone version, iPad version) has a good crack at marrying a clean efficient interface with plenty of features. It’s particularly worthy of consideration for anyone who wants a more flexible client than Twitter or Twitterrific, more stability than Echofon has to offer, and an app with better screen usage than Twittelator Pro on iPad.6. TwitBird (free/1.19 for ‘premium’/1.79 for ‘pro’, universal)Oddly available in three flavours (ad-supported ‘free’; two-account ad-free ‘premium’; 16-account ad-free ‘pro’), TwitBird is fully-featured, with some interesting themes and ideas. The grid-based Espresso theme provides navigation akin to the Facebook app (which works nicely, and is more flexible than the standard toolbar model), and the client automatically placing the original tweet under a reply is useful.7. HelTweetica (free, iPad-only)HelTweetica is an iPad-only release which aims to be a “clean and modern take on the Twitter client app” and largely succeeds. It packs a lot of tweets into a small space, although this results in slightly fiddly buttons for performing various tasks. However, the app is fast and also has an efficient single-user view that automatically loads the user’s recent tweets.8. TweetDeck/TweetDeck for iPad (free, separate apps)Aiming to bring the column-based Twitter client to iOS devices, TweetDeck (iPhone version, iPad version) is worth a look if you’re married to the desktop version. It’s great for sync and flexible personalisation, although be warned that this client is buggy and crashes quite often.9. HootSuite (free, universal)After a hateful enforced sign-up to the HootSuite service, the HootSuite app proves interesting. With its column-based approach, HootSuite almost resembles TweetDeck, providing the means to rapidly switch between feed types and lists, or columns with tweets based around sets of keywords. On iPad, the sidebar provides even quicker access to default and user-defined columns.10. Flipboard (free, iPad only)It’s certainly not the most obvious means of browsing Twitter, but if you’re more interested in linked content than 140-character notes from friends, Flipboard turns the service into a digital magazine. It also links with Google Reader and Facebook.Related StoriesT3 iPad app gets Apple app subscriptionWarner launches ‘app editions’ of Inception and The Dark KnightApple set to refresh MacBook Pros this week?Updated: iPad 2 rumours: what you need to know

Nokia X2-01

Nokia X2-01
Due to hit the shops by the end of the year, the Nokia X2-01 is a very low cost QWERTY phone, but will the limited connectivity options put people off?