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

There are already a lot of companies that already provide cloud based storage services to the internet audience, in particular Box.net, dropbox and even Apple’s iCloud. The exciting difference about Google’s proposition, is that it will offer not just access to everyone, it will also allow for a greater degree of collaboration, no matter what platform you are using.

One Drive to Rule them all

There was a lot of hubbub around the centralising of privacy data for all Google Services, but clearly the pain has been worth it. By having one place where we can access everything, makes it simpler and easier for everyone to enjoy. Why can’t I have one place with all my music, my books, and my videos. Why can’t I have one place with my photos business docs and separate for my personal ones. Simplicity and accessible power is the promise of google drive,  and I hope it can deliver.

Drawbacks and Wishlist

You can access all your docs using a web browser

Sadly it looks like Android developers are not yet included in the current api, which means that native support for the service is not going be coming in the short term. potentially this will be something that is built into Android’s next release Jelly Bean. I would love to have a folder on my google drive, where I can save my progress from Angry Birds Space and be able to play it on my laptop, Xoom Tablet, or my phone. That would be amazing!

What I am looking forward to:

You can edit or sync the docs to your pc / mac

One interface for all my docs.
Being able to share anything with anyone easily
Having my content in one place.
Being able to directly collaborate on documents directly from my laptop.
Being able to search anything within the device, including images.

For a great overview about what Google Drive will be able to do, check out the youtube video below:

Visit the Google drive page to be notified when its ready to be rolled out to your account.

Google Drive on your tablet

Related posts:

1. Google Drive.. in bound
2. Google Tv #Hackathon at Google Campus
3. Android devs see red at Google maps tax

Developers from all over Europe have come to the new Google Campus in techcity, to get their heads around Google’s new TV platform.

If you are wondering about what Google Tv will be able to do later in the year in the UK. Head on over to the Google TV home page:

Developers: If you want to create the next Angry Birds ( or facebook) for Google TV- then head over to the Google TV Publishers page to get started.

The Hackathon

The morning started with an open introductory keynote, from Google Campus, Londroid and several webservice providers including LoveFilm.com.  The discussions concluded with a group brainstorming exercise where the group was encouraged to share some ideas.  Finally developers were let loose on the Google Tv developer devices which have been stationed around the campus.

We are all looking forward to see what the teams will come up with at the end of the hackathon, when the final apps are presented tomorrow. Thanks to efforts of sponsor ( and android developers) Novoda and Londroid- for organising!

Google Campus

Google’s new Campus building the perfect setting on this Saturday morning for the event. What could be better than an open source building, to build on an open source platform?
Google have designed campus from the ground up to embody its open source ethos. They have taken out a lease on a building in tech city and refurbished it and made it the perfect launchpad for the next Facebook ( or Google!).  Already at about 90% capacity, startups from all over Europe have flocked to take advantage of the networking opportunities and services
Some of the services on offer include:

• Blisteringly fast internet connection
• Co-working space and desks that can be rented by month.
• A great coffee shop!
• One of the best education libraries I have seen.
• Meeting Spaces.

To find out more information – head over to their page: Google Campus

Google TV

Google TV is the up and coming platform for google that is set to revolutionise the way that you watch interact with your tv.  Look out for my handson demo of Google Tv coming soon.  In the mean time- you can check out the introduction to Google TV here:

If you are wondering about what Google Tv will be able to do later in the year in the UK. Head on over to the Google TV home page:

Developers: If you want to create the next Angry Birds ( or facebook) for Google TV- then head over to the Google TV Publishers page to get started.

Related posts:

1. RNIB: Hackathon Apis
2. Isobar O2 #CreateLondon Hackathon Day 1
3. Android devs see red at Google maps tax

If you think you are really stressed then you should go to NHS Choices Website- otherwise if you want to try out the App- go to the app store link here:

We all live in really stressful times- and its good to see that the android app developers over at the AF group have been sitting up and paying attention.  They have taken something that is hardly used  my most developers- the simple android pressure sensor and used it to detect stress. 

The app works by by pressing the phone against your forehead so you you can use the pressure sensor to determine how much pressure there is.  Based on this it will give you a reading at how stressed you are.  At the moment,  there isn’t any research that confirms that this works for detecting stress, however quite surprisingly for me it worked- and detected that I was stressed.  My friend April, who is named after the teenage mutant ninja turtles character, April O’Neil, also said it correctly found that she was stressed!

Wow 2 for 2 – and a 100% success rate!

If you want to try it out head over to the Stress Test App on the Google play store.  Apparently the test app will only be running for the next day or so.

Related posts:

1. Featured App: Twonky Browser
2. Hailo Taxi App gets London moving.
3. Android users rebel against LinkedIn App

Learn, Code, Create and now user grid

The next event is coming up this weekend where ApiGee are going to be launching their brand new UserGrid service in London.  Join other developers, entrepreneurs and designers for April Fool’s Sunday hackathon to bring your next best app idea to life in a day. Create or join a team or code solo. API teams will be there for technical guidance, brainstorming and feedback. Learn something new, network and win prizes, Free food and beverages will be served.

Here’s the place to register: http://apihackathonlondon.eventbrite.com/

Here’s how the describe it..

Usergrid is an open source cloud platform for mobile applications, providing user management and social graphs, database services, activity streams, and analytics. We’ll be letting anyone who has signed up for the hackathon into the private beta and we’ll be on-site at the hackathon to answer any questions or help you integrate Usergrid with your app.

High Street Hackathon

Have you ever wanted to find a way to hack the high street- well nows your chance. The Spring Hackathon will be happening on 27 April where 6 small and medium size companies are going to be coming in and challenging teams to build something to revolutionise the high street ( again in 48 hours)

Visit: http://hackathoncentral.com/register/

Why go to a Hackathon?

The reason that I attend them is they are a really great way to have a lot of fun, meet new people, discover some amazing app ideas, have a laugh and also learn and create with lots of different technologies and platforms.

The good news is that there are a tonne of really great android apps ( and on other platforms too) coming out as a result of these events and I can’t wait to share what they have created with you.

Related posts:

1. RNIB: Hackathon Apis
2. Isobar O2 #CreateLondon Hackathon Day 1
3. Instagr.am coming to Android

Its been the next logical step since it was first rumoured back in 2007.  Can the worlds biggest cloud services provider, Google, finally release a cloud storage service?

Features?

• Automatic Backup of online photos ( hopefully with autoshare to Google+)
• Automatic sync of books, videos, music and apps bought ( already available on android, but this would be the most likely central point to keep everything.
• Automatic backup of SMS and Call Log (unlikely as privacy groups would go crazy- but something I genuinely would love to have)
• Storage space for all your documents and pdfs, that will allow you to share, and co-edit easily in one place
• Desktop sync client to sync your files to your desktop so  you can access them easily.  ( might be slightly against Google’s ethos- but something I would want to use the service)
• Find my phone features- which haven’t really been done quite right just yet.
• Rollout of the Music, Videos and books service to UK Customers ( I might just be dreaming of this one)

Competition

The space is already crowded with some big players so Google will have its work to do to take a percentage of the market:

• Dropbox- The guys and gals over at Dropbox must have seen this coming and I am sure will have something to respond when it goes live.  Dropbox is already one of my  most used apps on Android, and is going to be a tough competitor to beat..  I wouldn’t be surprised if Google does what they usually do, and end up buying Dropbox and merging it at some point this year.
• iCloud- The people over at apple have already had their cloud service available for a while and its safe to say that I don’t see an iCloud client coming for android anytime in the near future.
• Box.net – this enterprise storage service has recently partnered with Android stalwart Sony to offer their users over 50GB of online storage via their mobile app.  They also have a desktop client that is available for extra cost. See our previous post here on details of how to get the storage.

Google Drive is apparently coming in 2 weeks so look out for it then!

Related posts:

1. Google starts to Drive
2. Google Tv #Hackathon at Google Campus

Fantastic news is that Instagram have declared pre-registration for their Android app “open”.  The iOS version already has an astounding 27 million users and a staff of only 5!  Instagram are hoping to double their existing audience by expanding to Android and then to other platforms.

Their CEO Kevin Systrom has stated that the company would’ve
found it difficult to develop Instagram had it tried to develop for the iOS and Android platforms
simultaneously.

The app was given a sort-of-debut at Austin’s South-By-Southwest festival, where Systrom showed
off prototype of the app running on the Samsung  Nexus phone. Android fans were both
jealous and excited to have this cool app thrown about without being able to grab it.

Why is instagram so cool?

The simple filters and pre-existing social network are the factors that are
tempting users away from other imaging-and-share apps.

The other question no doubt is how do Instagram plan to monetise their hugely popular app? The
platform is currently free of ads but this will likely to change as their user base expands
into Android. Systrom has talked of plans for turning Instagram into a multi-billion dollar business by leveraging commercial relationships and deals.
One example is Burberry recently used the app to share live pictures from its fashion shows.

Instagram have currently opened up a pre-registration page where users who input their details
will be probably be amongst the first to be able to beta-test a version of the app. You can find out more over on the instagr.am home page here.  There is however no more word on when the app will actually become available. With Instagram teasing us all by
dropping hints that the Android version might even be “better than the iOS version”, let’s hope the
long wait is worth our while!

check out the latest mobile phone deals from our new partner site USwitch for the best mobile phone deals on the Nexus and the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S3 ( where you can make the most of Instagr.am and other apps. )

Related posts:

1. Whale Trail for Android is coming!
2. Angry Birds Space is coming to Android
3. 2x Hackathons a coming soon… and UserGrid finally Launching!

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