17
Apr
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In the interest of time, I'll spare you, dear readers, my usual spiel and say simply this: I like official accessories. In theory, anyway. I like the idea of accessories specifically made for specific devices by the device's original manufacturer. I've been delighted by the Nexus 7 pogo dock, and love the Nexus 10 pogo charger (though it isn't actually official yet).

Then there's the official book cover for the Nexus 10. We first saw this cover when the Nexus 10 was announced, and then it vanished into thin air for nearly six months before making a sudden appearance in the Play Store.

28
Mar
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If you've been waiting to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S4, today's the big day, and you're not short of choices when it comes to retailers or networks.

The phone is up for pre-order on all of the UK's major networks - EE, Three UK, Vodafone, O2, Orange, and T-Mobile - as well as Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u, and Amazon. Don't know which network to go with? Let's break it down for you...

EE

EE is the only network that will provide the phone with 4G for the time being, as the other networks are yet to get their services up and running.

12
Oct
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Now that Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S III Mini, Phones4U has started to take pre-orders in the UK, with prices for the mid-range phone starting at £25 a month.

All of the tariffs on offer from Vodafone, Orange, and O2 offer the phone for free, although none of the plans include a data allowance over 1GB per month.

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The cheapest option is available from Vodafone, giving you 300 minutes, unlimited texts, and a paltry 250MB of data per month for £25. For an extra few quid, you can bump up to Orange's Panther 36 plan, which offers 600 minutes, 3000 text messages and a 1GB data allowance for £28.50.

03
Oct
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Orange and T-Mobile UK, the two companies forming the new 4G EE network in the UK, have launched three 4G capable Android phones today.

That means that if you're an Orange or T-Mobile customer, you can now buy the Samsung Galaxy S III LTE, HTC One XL, or Huawei Ascend P1 LTE on contract to ensure that you're ahead of the game before 4G goes live in the UK at the end of this month.

Update: EE will launch on October 30th, as per Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE:

We are delighted to announce that the official launch of our new customer brand, EE, offering the UK’s first superfast mobile 4G and fibre broadband service, will take place on the 30th October 2012.

02
Oct
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It looks like mobile device users in the UK can expect 4G services to begin rolling out a bit sooner than previously expected – six months sooner, to be specific.

The Wallstreet Journal reported Tuesday that the UK government has struck a deal with the UK's four largest mobile operators which will enable the auction of 4G mobile spectrum to begin at the end of 2012, with bidding beginning in early 2013.

The deal, which comes after rumblings that Vodafone and O2 were considering legal action against Everything Everywhere (EE) to stop it launching its own 4G service, was closed on by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

31
May
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Intel has been conspicuously absent from the mobile arms race in recent years but 2012 is the year the company changes all that. After a significant showing at CES this year, Intel has now teamed up with Orange to deliver San Diego. No, not the city, and get used to making the distinction. The San Diego is Europe's first Intel-powered Android phone.

Orange_San_Diego_with_IntelInside_front orangesandiego2 Orange_San_Diego_with_IntelInside_back

The 4.03" device will be powered by the 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460, and run on an HSPA+ network. The device also packs an 8MP camera, supporting 1080p video capture, and HDMI out. In an effort to keep up with the Joneses One X and the SGSIII, the camera also features a burst mode, boasting the ability to take up to 10 photos inside of a second.

09
Mar
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I won't lie: I have no qualms about calling shenanigans on this one, especially considering the recent Nokia/Microsoft alliance. So with that said, let's proceed to examine what is, most likely, the latest entry in the Android Photoshop fail series:

nokia-orange-deezer

Indeed, it appears that Nokia and Google have overcome their differences and created an almost button-less, Deezer-running Android phone for the masses... or so says Orange. Reality, of course, begs to differ.

Source: PointGPhone (thanks, Adrian)

29
Oct
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Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

It's not HTC's first 4.3-inch monster of a phone, but according to these early reviews, the Desire HD might just be the best. It would be really hard to say no to its sexy aluminum casing, stunning 8MP camera, and next-generation Snapdragon processor, not to mention all the advantages not immediately visible from its spec sheet. Let's take a look at what reviewers have had to say so far:

TechRadar

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TechRadar's Gareth Beavis wrote up an exhaustive review of the HTC Desire HD that covered just about everything about the device, from its game-playing capabilities to its four capacitive buttons.

28
Oct
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Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

Since the advent of Android in 2009, the family of devices running Google's mobile OS has grown from one handset to now hundreds and possibly thousands of unique models. In recent months, Android has seen an explosion of devices coming from lesser-known Asian manufacturers, with one of the main selling points being price. The manufacturers realized that with Android they had a readily and freely accessible operating system, a large market of potential customers, and all they had to do was put together a cheap device to capitalize on Android's continued growth. Unfortunately, these devices often cut corners where things mattered the most - poor displays, resistive touchscreens, bad build quality and a litany of other crimes against the gods of consumer electronics.

29
Sep
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Here's a device that's been making some waves in the UK Android community. Over at MoDaCo.com, founder Paul O'Brien picked up Orange's rebranded ZTE Blade for £99 ($160) with a pre-paid SIM. Judging from his video, it seems that you get quite a lot of device for your money, including that aforementioned 3.5" AMOLED screen. Despite being burdened with a silly name and an abundance of network shovelware, the Blade/SanFran's 600 MHz CPU appears to run Android 2.1 pretty nicely.

As is his wont, Mr O'Brien has cracked the Blade right open, with root being achieved pretty much immediately, and the tantalizing prospect of an AOSP Froyo ROM hanging in the air.