Wednesday 27 July 2011

HTC says they're willing to talk to Apple to settle lawsuits


So as some of you will know, Apple and HTC have been having patent wars for a while now. HTC CFO Winston Yung said “We’re open to having discussions.” in order to settle outside of court.
Yung also said that “We have to sit down and figure it out,” and that HTC is "open to all sorts of solutions, as long as the terms are fair and reasonable".

Monday 25 July 2011

Microsofts marketplace expands to 19 more countries

 

Sorry, I have not been posting much recently. I have not found much very interesting.

Anyways, Microsoft has decided to expand the countries which can use their marketplace by 19 countries. When the marketplace was first opened for Phone 7, last year when Phone 7 devices were released, only a few countries were supported which left people whose countries were not supported having to fake their locations which only allowed them to download free applications.

There have been 19 countries included, so a total of 35 countries are supported by Microsofts Marketplace.

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Nokia's first WP7 device not that special?


So despite the long wait for Nokia's first WP7 device, rumors are that the W9 (or whatever they decide on calling it) may not be as innovative as hoped for.

 In February Stephen Elop said that Nokia's contribution towards the Phone 7 platform will be worth billions and that Microsoft will be paying them billions for their contribution. They will introduce innovations that will have more people consider switching over - so far nothing of that sort has been seen or rumored.

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Samsung plans on 300M phones sold in 2011


An interview with Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung's mobile communications and digital imaging told us what Samsung's plans are. Samsung aim and expect to surpass last years shipment of phones - 25 million smartphones out of a total of 280 million sold - with 60 million smartphones and a total of 300 million phones which is near 1 million devices a day!

The expected increase in smartphones is quite bold although the Galaxy S II has been taken very well in Korea, Japan, Europe and other regions. Samsung have some new

Monday 18 July 2011

Samsung Galaxy Ace gets Gingerbread officially


So a few months back the Gingerbread ROM was leaked for the Ace, Samsung has decided it is now a good time to release Gingerbread officially.

SamFirmware have announced that Samsung have started releasing it over KIES, the first are for the Russian and Polish users. More will obviously follow shortly.

The update is a normal update which will simply update the Android OS to v2.3.3

Source

Apple's A5 chipset overheating, is this the reason for hte iPhone 5 delay?


There has been some online gossip that the Apple A5 chipset is causing the smartphone to overheat and since the iPhone 5 is meant to be even slimmer it means the components will be packed tighter so less space and harder to cool the components and since the new chip will be a dual core it will be producing even more heat.

According to the rumors they are still struggling to find a solution and if they are unable to find one soon

Friday 15 July 2011

HTC Desire Z Gingerbread release


So after all the excitement the original Desire owners have had with them getting Gingerbread the Desire Z owners can get all amped as HTC has started rolling out the Gingerbread update for the Desire Z across the world.

HTC said a few days ago that Gingerbread will be rolled out within a few weeks although it has been confirmed by carriers that it has already started to be rolled out in certain countries. The update will roll out gradually, so soon you will probably get a notification asking you to update. The update is 104MB and the software number for this update is 2.42.861.6 and will update the Android version to 2.3.3 with Sense UI 2.1.

Hope all of you with Desire Z's get the update soon and enjoy it! :D

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Apple and HTC at it again...


Apple have piled on more patent infringement allegations against HTC with the ongoing legal action between the two companies. This is the fourth lawsuit involving the two companies in the US alone. Apple have filed a few complaints previously and HTC are also suing their competitors for patents.

There are five patents included in the new suit according to Apples filing:

Monday 11 July 2011

HTC unlocks their bootloader


So a while ago HTC started locking their bootloader which upset the developers in the modding community and HTC said they would revise their bootloader policy. Today HTC announced that they will be unlocking the bootloaders on their Android smartphones starting in August.

The first phones to be unlocked will be the global Sensation, then the Sensation 4G on T-Mobile USA followed by the EVO 3D on Sprint. The rest of the phones will eventually get unlocked through software updates.

I personally do not think HTC should have done such a thing although it is good they are listening to their users feedback, it would make sense to do so as after all it is us - the users - who purchase their phones and make them money.

Friday 8 July 2011

Apple wants the Samsung Galaxy S banned

 
So you have gotta love patent wars at times as it is ridiculously hilarious how they go about things and what they expect.

Apple and Samsung are still at it, Apple have filed a complaint and want all of the Samsung Galaxy S's banned in the USA which may lead to Samsung dropping their complaint and wanting all of the iGadgets banned in the USA.

The reason for the ban request is due to the infringement of 6 patents - 4 technical and 2 design ones.
So the war is nowhere near  finished and will probably end up being settled with a huge amount of money.

Thursday 7 July 2011

Microsoft demands royalties for every Samsung droid made


So here is something to have a bit of a laugh about (well I did at least).

Microsoft are demanding that Samsung pay them $15 for each Samsung Android mobile which has been sold to date due to several Microsoft patents in the devices. HTC was the first company to give Microsoft claims.

Microsoft believe the Linux based operating systems are infringing its intellectual property in some way and Android OS is a Linux based OS. I am sure Microsoft has a well prepared case about what the Linux kernel infringement is, although I am not going to go into that.

Qualcomm's road map


So yesterday I should have posted this but got a bit lazy, sorry!

Anyway, Qualcomm's roadmap for 2011/2013 which reveals hardware details and approximate release dates about the upcoming 28nm dual-core Krait that shall be shipping soon.

Wednesday 6 July 2011

NVIDIA's 28nm Tegra 4 "Wayne"

 

So the the NVIDIA Kal-El is not even out yet and we are already getting information on the next Tegra chip, Wayne, which will come in two versions as NVIDIA plan on targetting the smartphone, tablet, netbook and notebook market. The chip will be released in December 2011 to the software developers to get ready for the Windows 8 release in October 2012.

Tuesday 5 July 2011

A long time gone

Ok, I know... I have not blogged in a loooong time.
I've been having problems with my internet so been unable to. Although it is now sorted so I am back and blogging!

While I have been gone I got a chance to play around on an HTC Trophy and WP7 is seriously awesome, really smooth and fluid. Android is a bit of a resource hog compared to WP7 in my opinion. I would really like to get a WP7, I think WP7 is going to be taking off soonish and becoming quite a tough competitor towards Android.

Lets do a quick update on some things which have happened and caught my eye.
So Nokia are planning on pulling out of Japan fully by closing down their Vertu stores. The main Nokia office in Japan will stay open until the end of the year to handle fee refunds.

Someone got their hands on a prototype iPhone 4 and it was put up on auction which started at $810 and went up to $999,999 (and possibly higher).

Samsung may be working on a WP7 version of the Galaxy S II, I really hope so as I think that would be super awesome! They will need to change to a Qualcomm chipset which shouldn't be a problem. Also the device should get the nice Super AMOLED Plus screen which the Galaxy S II has.

Nokia's first WP7 device which is code named Sea Ray and looks really sleek in my opinion, it is similar to the N9 although has a dedicated camera button and different LED placement.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Sorry about that


Alright, I know! I have not been doing anything with my blog the past few days and I am sorry about that.
I had some exams coming up which I was a bit worried about and had to study for - they're over now.

Thursday 16 June 2011

HTC take it back, Desire will get Gingerbread!


Ok, I am sorry I took so long to post this.

HTC have taken what they said back, the Desire will eventually be getting a Gingerbread update.
Why did they take what they said back? I do not know, maybe a misunderstanding, perhaps due to all the complaints or HTC amazingly sorted out the RAM problems which they couldn't sort out in months.

Regardless of the reason I think its awesome that the Desire will be getting Gingerbread! I am sure all of you Desire owners think this to. Anyway, hope all you Desire owners enjoy Gingerbread!

Wednesday 15 June 2011

HTC to use NMT for slimmer phones and no deathgrip


So rumor has it that HTC will be partnering with Chenming to make use of their NanoMolding Technology (NMT) which apparently helps create thinner, cheaper phones with less interference with the antenna - so no deathgrip! So how does it work?

HTC Desire does not get Gingerbread


So there is some bad news for the HTC Desire owners, the original Desire will not be getting the Gingerbread update as HTC claim it has insufficient memory. So you will not be getting Gingerbread via the official channels.
Here is the official statement from HTC:

Tuesday 14 June 2011

N8 to get 30FPS videro recording with Continuous AutoFocus


So there is news that Damien Dinning has been chatting on twitter about a new N8 specific update that will add 30 FPS (Frames Per Second) video recording with continuous Auto Focus. So what does this mean?

Monday 13 June 2011

Apple sued for the use of the iCloud name


Apple have been sued over the use of the iCloud name by an Arizonian company.
iCloud Communications, a Pheonix-based VOIP say that the name of Apple's recently announce online storage service causes confusion with  competing products.

Thursday 9 June 2011

HTC denied the Sensation's death grip


So HTC pulled an Apple and straight out denied that the Sensation had a death grip.
Here is the exact quote which was sent to Slashgear.
"Every phone experiences a slight variation in signal strength when the antenna is covered in its entirety by a palm and/or fingers. However, under normal circumstances this does not affect the performance of the phone."

Wednesday 8 June 2011

A little off topic


So today I am going a bit off topic.

Woke last night due to the weather, wind was howling, rain was crashing down... I just hoped it would clear by morning as I commute with my bike.
Around 2 months ago my girlfriend and I rode down to a track for the weekend with a friend to do some rider training. It was 270KM away, we left early in the morning and guess what? 98% of the way down it was raining. DAMN, was that an unpleasant ride. After that I swore to get a rain suit. When I got back I queried about rain suits, although did not get one as we were going into winter and it supposedly does not rain here in winter.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

HTC Sensation's "death grip"


So the HTC Sensation has a death grip too. Seriously, HTC, what were you guys thinking when you designed this phone? Very attractive looking phone, although the specs are not the best (compared to the Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II) and now it has a death grip too?

Well back on track. What is a death grip? Well, a death grip is when

Monday 6 June 2011

HTC Sensation vs Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II


Well, as some of you know I was planning on getting the HTC Sensation although I had completely forgotten about the Samsung Galaxy 2 until it was brought up this weekend. Originally when hearing about the two phones I said to myself that I will wait and see closer to the time although since I am more of a HTC fan as opposed to a Samsung fan I was kind of leaning towards the HTC... Fine, I lied. I was heavily leaning towards the HTC.

Friday 3 June 2011

A little bit of everything



OK, so there will be a bit of a mix of things here:
Androids distribution, the HTC Sensation, Qualcomm and their Snapdragon as well as HTC and their love for WP7!


So Android's 2.2 Froyo has the largest market share still, with 2.1 Elcair second and 2.3.3 Gingerbread third and gaining market share very quickly. Gingerbread 2.3.3 has gained 5.1% in just a month. I am sure it shall continue to gain market share as people upgrade their devices from 2.2 Froyo to Gingerbread and more people purchase Gingerbread devices.
3.0 and 3.1 Honeycomb is slowly getting there, although is tablet focused.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Windows 8 - It has premiered


Hey! So Microsoft premiered their next operating system at D9 yesterday and it seems as if it is more like Windows Phone 7 just placed on top of Windows 7...  So Windows 7 with the Windows Phone 7 tiles. (Some pictures of the Windows 8 interface below)    Although you can use the normal "legacy" view that Windows 7 has so I doubt it will be the end of the world for those who dislike tiles or find them confusing. With Windows 8 being touch friendly it will supposedly work seamlessly on tablets, desktops as well as laptops.

Windows 8 will be able to run on the same hardware as Windows 7 and Windows 7 applications should be able to run fine on Windows 8, although may be a bit interesting to see what happens when you have a Windows 7 application which requires a mouse and you have a touch screen device where your finger isn't as precise.


Tuesday 31 May 2011

Windows Phone 7


So, as I mentioned in an earlier post I quite enjoyed Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 and am would like to get my hands on a WP7 device sooner than later. I unfortunatly do not know anyone who has one so have never used one and had not gotten one due to it being incomplete. Although now with the NoDo update and Mango (Windows Phone 7.1) which introduces many more features, such as deeper integrated social networking, improved message handling and more common features which I think it should have had from the start, like multitasking.

Monday 30 May 2011

Games, Games, Games!

Ahoy!

So recently I have been doing some gaming as I have had some spare time. Also since I got a new phone having some fun with that too.

I played Crysis 2, really awesome game. I really enjoyed it, quite different to the first one. Collecting nano crystals and using them to unlock certain abilities such as seeing the footprints of your enemies or being able to see the route of your bullets. Been a while since a game got me eager to continue playing after exiting it for the first time.

Friday 27 May 2011

My phone and my view on phones


So I recently got a new phone and I am really enjoying it.
I got the Nokia N8 - now before you say anything let me finish and explain! This is going to be quite lengthly and if you are easily offended it may be recommended you do not continue reading. I am just providing you with my opinion and I do not mean to offend anyone.


I really enjoy my smartphones, in my opinion it is a bit of a waste to get a phone which is not a smartphone - but not everyone makes full use of a smartphone so I guess for those people it does not make a difference. When it comes to smartphones the OS makes quite a difference and not just the hardware, although the hardware plays a huge role as well. It's really the combination of hardware and OS which the smartphone has which makes the phone what it is.

Thursday 26 May 2011

Rooting Android devices

Why you would want to root your device?

Although Android is open source it still does not give you full control over your device. By "rooting" your Android device it provides you with root access which basically means you get full control of your device, you become the Administrator and not a user with limited access. You paid for the phone so why would you not be allowed to do what you want with it?

Advantages of Rooting 

  • You can get performance boosts as it allows you to tweak the OS and install custom ROMs.Some devices do not support newer versions of Android but thanks to people building and customizing ROMs you may be able to run newer Android OS versions.

Introduction

Hi

Soo.. Let me just tell you what exactly this blog is about and what I shall be blogging about.

As the title says this is just another boring tech blog. I will be blogging about tech related stuff, whatever I feel like blogging about, whatever gets my attention or interest.

I shall be sharing my views and opinions as well as looking for input from you guys (my readers).

Comments and suggestions will be welcome, if you think I should do this or do that or something to improve my blog let me know and I shall consider it.
This blog probably won't be the best, so do not expect too much.

I may post random things which are not really tech related, although I doubt I will be doing that much.

If there are products which you want my opinion on let me know and I may even blog about it.

Cheers,

Psy