Yesterday, I had the fortune to have a quick go on a friend’s Samsung Galaxy S3 and I was blown away! The screen looked amazing, its was ridiculously fast. The only thing that really startled me was just how large it is- but wow does it look great.  With less than 12 days to go before it hits our shores, I have already had reports that there are already 7 million handsets on pre-order so if you are looking to get hold of one, make sure you arrange your pre-order.

T-mobile are offering it  on their “Full Monty” tariff for 49 quid one off payment  and 24 months contract at 36 quid per month.   Its also available on tariffs from 10 quid per month, and shorter contracts from 18 months.  I

Here is the link and  the details below: 

Samsung Galaxy S III Pebble Blue 16GB on The Full Monty

Plus get all this each month:

• Unlimited internet and texts
• 2000 minutes to any networks
• Plus unlimited T-Mobile calls
• Order now for delivery after 30 May

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S3: Smartest Android phone launched!
2. DELAYED! Samsung Galaxy Nexus in UK shipping 2 December
3. Samsung Galaxy S2 beats iPhone to phone of year

HTC have had a great history of releasing popular budget handsets. The wildfire and wildfire S have all been massive sellers in the android market.  The latest generation follows hot on the heels of the current Android leading HTC One series.

Here are the high level specs that will be of interest:

• Ice Cream Sandwich ( HTC Sense 4 customisation)
• Beats Audio
• 3.5-inch HVGA screen
• 600MHz processor (  enough for email, music playback and other apps- might struggle on some games)
• Dropbox integration and free 25MB storage.
• Near Field communication essential for Future proofing your phone for the next generation of apps and services.

T-Mobile UK today announces pricing for the new HTC Desire C. The handset will be free on Pay Monthly plans from £15.50 per month (24 months), or for £169.99 on Pay As You Go. It will be available in-store, online and via telesales in early June.

 

Available in white and black, and coming with HTC Sense 4.0 integrated with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the HTC Desire C is great as a first smartphone or for those upgrading from an existing one. Packing a powerful battery and offering access to thousands of apps, games, music and movies – available through Google Play – you will always be connected and entertained whether at work, home or on the move.

 

“Listening to music is one of the most popular things people use their phones for, so it’s more important than ever that we deliver the power and emotion artists capture in the studio,” said Jason Mackenzie, President, Global Sales and Marketing for HTC Corporation. “The HTC Desire C offers customers excellent design, easy access to content and fast connectivity – making it the perfect all round device.”

 

Authentic sound without compromise

The HTC Desire C features a powerful, yet rich studio-quality sound experience that is enabled through the combination of optimized Beats Audio and amazing hardware.  This integration enables a rich, clear audio experience to customers no matter if they’re listening to music or playing a game.

 

Premium design taken to a new level

Combining a durable metal frame with precision engineering, the HTC Desire C is ideal for those who want a premium-designed phone. Boasting a micro-drilled earpiece for sharp in-call sound, hyper-viewing angle display and metal camera bezel, this compact smartphone offers an unrivalled level of design and user-experience for its class.

 

Designed for sharing

Packing the latest mobile technology into a neat, eye-catching design, HTC Desire C’s vibrant 3.5-inch HVGA screen makes it easy to browse the Web, view photos or connect with friends and family. If you like to share personal experiences with your social network, HTC Desire C’s 5 megapixel camera and instant sharing capabilities will allow you to post any moment, seconds after it was captured.

 

Through HTC Desire C’s deep integration of Dropbox and 25GB of free online space[i], you also have the freedom to securely back-up, browse and share thousands of photos, videos and documents, whether stored locally or in the cloud.

 

Ensuring that HTC Desire C keeps pace with new mobile services as they become available there is also an NFC variant of this model, allowing users to make payments or access information and offers.

Availability

HTC Desire C will be available from Tesco Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin Media, Three.

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S2 beats iPhone to phone of year
2. HTC goes for number 1 in their new range of handsets
3. Samsung Galaxy S3: Smartest Android phone launched!

Samsung don’t pull any punches when it comes to producing top notch, high end android phones.  The Samsung Galaxy S2 was the best in its class, and the people I know who have one, extoll its features just as much as the ardent iphone fanboys.  It was a magical, uncompromising combination of features that turned its users’ into Samsung fans.  With the new generation, Samsung Galaxy S3, there are now even more reasons why this could just be the best Android phone around when it launches at the end of May in the UK. ( priced at about 36GBP per month when it arrives in Phones4U stores)  You can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S3 from Phones4U here, Three here and carphone warehouse here 

What makes this phone so compelling?

• Processor- Its a quad core ( 4x processor engines) which mean that Android’s performance is blisteringly fast
• Camera- 8MP camera on board which allows you to take a burst of pictures and pick the best one.  You can also capture perfect video, whilst taking pictures at the same time
• Screen- Coming in at a hand stretching large 4.8inch screen, it gives you both size and beauty to view that amazing content you have captured.
• Battery- Samsung have thought of the whole package and have put in a 2100mAh battery
• Wireless Charging- No more plugging in, the S3 has a wireless charging kit!
• Eye tracking software- It knows when its being looked at using eye recognition.  It stays on when you are reading, it knows if you have been away to show you relevant updates.  Bit Scary but very cool.
• Smarter phone shortcuts- if you are texting, lift the phone to your ear to automatically call the contact.
• Voice Recognition- Iphone fans can talk to Siri, now Samsung Galaxy S3 owners can talk to their phone too. 

With a new iphone several months sasw

A really great handset, check out the youtube video for the launch event and summary. 

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S2 beats iPhone to phone of year
2. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is coming to Uk november 17
3. DELAYED! Samsung Galaxy Nexus in UK shipping 2 December

The real magic happens when you add it to your tech’ed up mobile phone and thus connection to your apps, and internet connectivity. Some of the ideas talked about are going completely change the way that people, buy, shop, advertise, discover and connect with each other.

Some of the top experts in NFC  are in the room, from companies like Google, Isobar, Kovio,  o2, Proxama and Blackberry. We also have entrants from all over europe, who have come in just participate in the event and win some of the stunning prizes.

Day 1 Roundup

Most of the first half of the day was taken up by lightning talks from experts to try and help them teams resolve their ideas into something that was commercial and innovative. The standout talks by Google and Proxama illustrating how NFC is already being used by companies like Nike, LG and even Lexus were mind expanding. I really loved the idea about how in Taiwan it is already being used for Taxi bookings, illustrate how juicy the technology is and ripe for adoption.

The Event

The hackathon is being hosted in Shoreditch Studios in London and I have been pleasantly surprised by how well its been organised, clearly a lot of thought and effort has gone into it. From having ample food available the whole time, with treats every few hours. So far we have had our own Ice cream cart parked outside, which gave us a great opportunity to chill out on the o2 deck chairs outside and take a break from coding.
Last night when energy was starting to flag, we were treated to our own private pick and mix sweet trolley that would make old Woolworths blush. Not forgetting the Hoolahooping, with Radiohead and Galaxy tablets as prizes for the well earned winners.

Some of the Ideas

Here is a list of a small selection of the ideas that I thought you might be interested in:
Personalization-LG are using NFC in car to automatically switch phones into car mode and connect to the inbuilt home entertainment system.
Advertising-Already pushed out around London, Clear Channel, Proxama and Isobar have rolled out a network of nfc enabled Bus stops which allow users to find out more about the advert by tapping.
Managing Receipts-In san-francisco, a company has already started piloting electronic receipts via NFC- Love this idea especially as it will be real tree saver.
Loyalty- In Nice, France, the government has partnered with local retailers to build NFC infrastructure for loyalty cards ( aka Carte Magique)
Automated Shopping- Purchase Tickets and NFC handles automated check in to your social networks too.
Sales- Lexus have rolled out the technology in their showrooms in Dubai that let people demo their new car entertainment systems from within the car.

Yes- NFC Bingo is awesome…….. trust me, we are hooked.

Our Team is going to spend the next few hours tidying up our ideas so we are ready for the big presentation at the end of the day.

Thanks to the brilliant efforts of Isobar and o2 we have an amazing event and tools to really explore what NFC can ( and probably will end up doing)

For those of you interested in finding out about future hackathons, join the UK Hackathon and Jams Meetup group

Related posts:

1. Create London #NFC Hack day for mobile
2. Android Workshop Day 1 Start
3. RNIB: Hackathon Apis

The Royal Tenenbaums was and still is one of my favourite movies of all time.  Its clever, beautiful textured, deep, dry and hilarious all at the same time.  Such is the genius of its director, Wes Anderson.  Whenever it appears on TV, I can curl up on the couch and spend an hour or two trying to hold my sides in from laughing too much, or usually spotting some other nuance that I missed the previous time round.

Made in imagination…. what is it about?

The idea came about from a very basic idea – free flowing imagination turned into video.  The ad team interviewed a group of people who have some of the most wildly creative imaginations in the world, a group of school children!  They asked them why phones were so special, and they came up with some wonderful reasons and features including talking heads, rainbow monkeys and big chimpanzees.

Each one of these interviews has been turned into a stop motion animated video by Wes Anderson and will be shown over the next few months.

Here is a sneak peek :

Free your imagination to dream up wonderful and creative ideas

Watching the trailer for these campaigns is really heart-warming and really inspiring.  When we all were children, we had a direct hotline to our imagination, and its a shame that as adults that our focus on our day to day lives mean that we have forgotten how to dream without being restricted by minor details like practicality and reality.  The world would be a better place if we all could follow the examples in the adverts take some time and dream up what could be and about such wonderful things as rainbow monkeys.

How does it relate to phones?

Xperia smartphones are made of more than microprocessors and memory chips – they are designed to let consumers use their creativity and imagination to drive connected experiences that interest and excite them.

I personally use my Sony Arc for so many awesome things, including home videos, family photos and even as my primary development phone for my mobile apps.  For me mobile and digital is like a paintbrush and canvas, we have so many powerful tools to create so many special things that its almost overwhelming. Looking at how the internet’s content has changed over the past few years, with interactive panoramas, works of art, and even movies being created on just mobile phones, I know that I am not alone in this.  Mobile phones are the great personal enabling technology and frankly I am surprised that its taken this long for a mobile company to point out one of the key reasons why mobile is so compelling.

Something for you to try!

Over here at Android bloke, we have been really inspired.  Why don’t you take 5 minutes out, away from your computer.  Tell your brain that for the next 5 minutes its ok to be a kid again and dream of what you want to.  Press the pause button on your work and give yourself some time to really use your own imagination to dream up such wild and wonderful creations like Rainbow Monkeys!  Its very therapeutic and far healthier than a coffee break!

The videos are going to start airing on 24 March 2012.  For more info about Xperia range, check out Sony’s Xperia features page.

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1. Flash mobile is no more

The Touchnote android application is one of my favourite on Android. Now they have partnered up with the new Samsung Galaxy Note to bring out a competition to celebrate the new Samsung device being released in the UK.

Competition:

The rules for the competition is really simple.  All you need to do is head over to https://www.galaxylovenote.com and upload a picture and write a romantic note and send it off to that special someone in your life.  The image and card will be printed and sent via post in hard copy for free! On top of that, you may be in with a chance to hand deliver a card to that special someone ANYWHERE in the world.

Sounds awesome and is a great way to show off the key new feature on the Galaxy Note, which is the addition of a stylus to hand write into your apps.

Here is a really great video where Samsung talk about the promotion ( complete with a cute romantic story)

Enjoy!

And head over to https://www.galaxylovenote.com to enter .

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is coming to Uk november 17
2. Samsung Galaxy S2 beats iPhone to phone of year

The Motorola Luxe handset was recently announced at Mobile World Congress and  is an affordable  Android phone, high on looks but not the fastest in the market with only a 800Mhz processor.

In terms of media creation, its really great and comes with an 8 MP camera, a screen capable of viewing widescreen movies without crunching, FM Radio, MP3 Player and android gingerbread software.  Hopefully it will be updated soon to the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

If you are looking for a basic Media phone that supports android then this is the one for you.

It is currently available from t-mobile on their Motorola Luxe Page

Related posts:

1. 2x Motorola Xoom 2s hitting UK in November

Sony’s strength has always been entertainment and the 2012 marks the first launch of the purely Sony brand now minus Ericsson. To this end, Sony have made a concerted effort to propel themselves to the top of the android league through innovation and design excellence.

Of course we all jumped at the chance to get our hands on the the new entertaining Sony range which will be launching over the next few months. Here are some of the coolest features from our visit to Sony HQ.

Your phone, the home entertainment hub

Phones in 2012 are all about media and playing nice with your other devices. Sony’s goal is to make it really easy for the average user to use their phone as a media hub. Living room is a big focus. With just a connection to your television to one of the new handsets via a mini HDMI connection, you have now got access to the new “Sony Dock” carousel of icons which have been optimised for TV viewing AND which can be controlled using your remote control. (WOW!) You can also also customise the dock to add from a selection of your other favourite apps.

There has also been an update to the optional Sony dock accessory for some of the handsets which allow you to attach external USB storage or a usb keyboard so yes you can still play Angry Birds on your Telly!

All the new devices come inbuilt with DLNA support, so if you TV is connected to your network, then you will be able to push your content from your phone straight to your TV wirelessly.

Check out one of the videos I took at the event:

Sony Entertainment Network

Sony are also starting to build tighter integration with its own music and video ecosystem dubbed: “Music and Video Unlimited”. One Login will give you access to your content from any device, be it laptop, mobile phone or now television. its really great to see that Sony are thinking about the larger picture for users.

Reality Display

Sony's new Displays

Even if you don’t have a second screen to hand, the new phones really jump out in terms of screen quality. The new Xperia range sport the sharpest screens in the market. And do they look amazing! Whats also impressive is the improvement in the viewing angles offered by the new screens. It is a beautiful sight to behold. They also include Sony’s patented Bravia technology so when you are viewing movies, the mode automatically kicks in and makes your content really stand out.

Sony Xperia P and White magic

The secret cause that makes these work is in the white light. Traditional phones only show three colours: Red, Green, Blue to make up their image. The new Xperia P uses an extra White colour which can be used to improve clarity, but also make it really easy to see in bright daylight ( not that we have that problem much in UK!) Most displays can show approximately 400-450 candels. The new P goes up to 900! This technology is called “White Magic”, and also helps with improving battery life for the phone e.g. indoors when it drops the lighting down by half.

Making your own media

Its no good having amazing quality for media output, without being able to capture great media. The Xperia range phones have surpassed the previous range by offering not 1 but 2 high quality cameras. Every phone in the range comes equipped with a front facing 1.3MP camera which is perfect for video calling ( or checking your makeup for the woman and some men out there.. ) The 12MP camera on the back is really high quality and also includes Sony’s EXMOR chip for capturing images in low light. Sony in their demo, were also really keen to emphasise how fast it was to capture, and how you now don’t have to unlock your phone to capture a picture, which I think is a great new feature.

Smart Tags playing with others gadgets

Smart tags were also on hand to be shown off and its really great to see what Sony have done with them. SmartTags can be used to quickly change the phones settings or to trigger actions. You can put one in your car, which when tapped by the phone will automatically change your ringer, and connect via bluetooth to your car. They demoed a tag by a stereo which when tapped automatically launched the music player and connected via bluetooth straight to the speakers. ( instant Tunes!) I can think of a multitude of other uses.

Another interesting tidbit is that three.co.uk will give you 3 tags when you buy a phone ( pity they weren’t called 5) . O2 will be charging all users for the tags ( Boo! Hiss!)

Sony Smart Watch

The humble watch has also been given kick up in the specs. Now with multi-touch, and high resolution and a full 60 apps optimised for it. Twitter, Music control, and neat app which will vibrate, if it moves more than 20m from you, is really great to see using this new factor. It can now also send text messages and also remotely capture images and operate the telephone all without leaving your bag or pocket. The best news is that it now has a battery life of almost 5 days so no chance you will run out of time! The Smart Watch will be available for 99 quid from Amazon.com and Play.com in the next month.

The phone will be available in the next few weeks in UK Stores!

Head on over to our new Android Phone list to find the best deal to preorder the Sony Xperia Range

Related posts:

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2. Sony brings 3 NXT handsets to the party
3. Sony goes Large with Xperia S

Sony is strengthening its line up for 2012 by announcing another 2 handsets as part of its NXT ( Next Generation Handset) family.

Like HTC and Samsung, it has opted to keep the same name across all its handsets and just opting just to add an extra letter to indicate the model. Sony have also taken a further leaf out of HTC design by opting to bring an aluminium unibody design which is just going to exude beauty.

Features common to all Sony NXT Handsets

• NXT is all about connected entertainment and lets the phone become the hub( watch out xbox!) for your home content.
• New User interface simpler and more in line with Android ( Amazing! )
• New Software Gallery, Video Player and Music Player.  ( Not sure if these are Sony’s bespoke apps or just the new icecream sandwich versions)
• Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA® Engine for razor-sharp clarity
• Plays nice with Sony other accessories including docks

The Range

Sony Xperia P – is the new flagship in the range and will show off the best of the new Sony brand.

Key features for Xperia P ( Link to phone Xperia P)

• 4” Reality Display with powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine.
• WhiteMagic™ display technology for an ultra-bright and power efficient viewing experience.
• 1 GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance with 16GB flash storage.
• 8MP camera with unique fast capture, HD recording and Sony technology to capture 2D and 3D panoramic images.
• Easy HDMI and DLNA connectivity to share content on any screen.
• Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled to access a growing range of NFC applications and services as well as Xperia SmartTags.
• Available in a choice of silver, black and red, all with an aluminium unibody.
• Launches on Android platform 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgrade to Android platform 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) during the second quarter of 2012

Sony Xperia U – the new compact handset that is easy to carry and pocket or handbag friendly

Key features for Xperia U (Link to phone Xperia U)

• 3.5” Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine.
• 1 GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance.
• 5MP camera with unique fast capture, HD recording and Sony technology to capture 2D and 3D panoramic images.
• Crisp and loud listening with xLoud and 3D surround sound audio technology.
• Available in a choice of white or black, with pink and yellow exchangeable caps for the base of the smartphone in the box.

T-mobile – have confirmed that they will be launching the Xperia U when it hits UK Stores

The handsets are due to hit our shores in on Android platform 2.3 (Gingerbread), which will be upgraded to Android platform 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) during the second quarter of 2012.

Edit: Current projected release date is 23 April 2012 however this may slip.

Related posts:

1. Sony goes Large with Xperia S
2. Official: Ice Cream Sandwich for Sony 2011 phones
3. HANDSON: Sony superphones, Tags and Second Screens

HTC have outed the latest direction for their new range of phones.  It seems they have taken a play out of Samsung’s strategy book and gone for the single name and added an extra letter.   I personally am not a fan of this take as I find it really confuses users who are already bamboozled by the sheer number of handsets around.

Beautiful Looks and big Engines

What the new strategy doesn’t disguise is how powerful and beautiful the new range of handsets are. They all come built in with Android’s Ice cream Sandwich version 4 and the latest iteration of HTC Sense User Interface.   This includes the new HTC Camera application with super fast picture times and great performance in low light.  It also lets you take pictures, whilst shooting video!   I can’t wait

HTC One X ( aka Extra Large)

•            Beautifully crafted polycarbonate unibody – super-lightweight with the ruggedness of metal

•             Powerful 1.5GHz Super 4-PLUS-1™ quad-core processor ( Its a Tegra 3!- which includes the extra battery saving core which runs in the background when the phone is not in use.)

•             Bright and vivid 4.7-inch, 720p HD screen made with Gorilla Glass

Link to HTC Site is here: HTC One X

HTC One S ( A High End  smartphone but a bit smaller! )

•             Stylish metal unibody design, only 7.9-mm thick – HTC’s thinnest phone yet

•             Dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor

•             4.3-inch screen with 3-D glass that is protected with Corning™ Gorilla Glass

Link to HTC Site is here: HTC One S

HTC One V ( Even smaller- similar to HTC Legend)

•            Iconic aluminium unibody design

•             Premium audio and image experience with broad market appeal

•             3.7-inch screen with optical lamination for wider viewing angle and reduced reflections

Link to HTC Site is here: HTC One V

These phones are due to hit our shores from APRIL and have Orange, T-mobile, 3 , O2, Virgin and Vodafone listed on the release so they are going to be everywhere.  I personally am starting to save today!

Find out more at HTC.com

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2. HTC goes budget with new beats phone
3. HANDSON: Sony superphones, Tags and Second Screens