Saturday 3 March 2012

Nokia Lumia 900 available for pre-order in the UK

By on 06:55

UK retailer Clove has gotten official word from Nokia about the price of the Nokia Lumia 900 and they've put it up for pre-order. The 900 was first unveiled for AT&T but the global version of the phone was announced just a few days ago at the MWC.
The global Lumia 900 is pretty much the same handset as the AT&T version, with the notable exclusion of LTE. You still get a 4.3" ClearBlack AMOLED screen, 8MP camera with 720p video and 16GB of storage all encased in a polycarbonate unibody.
Anyway, the Nokia Lumia 900 is available for pre-order from Clove for £530 (€635, $845). The exact date of availability is still not clear (all Clove knows is it's going to be "some time Q2"). They are also not sure what color options they'll get, but will release the info as soon as they have it.

Android allows applications direct access to your photos, too

By on 06:53

Just a couple of days after uncovering the security loophole in iOS, whereby an application can copy the user's entire photo library and upload it simply by asking for location information in photos and videos,The New York Times is back with similar issue found on Android devices as well.

In case of Android, the issue is a bit more worrying, as was demonstrated by the Times, using the same method they used with iOS. They built a simple time app for Android, which, in its permission dialogue, made no mention of accessing the photos on the device but simply for Internet access. This app was then able to not only access the photos on the device but also post it on a website, all behind the user's back.

Apple wins another injunction against Motorola in Germany

By on 06:51

The legal battle between Apple and Motorola continues but the latest round goes to the team from Cupertino. Apple has managed to win an injunction against Motorola for its patent regarding the bounce animation displayed in the photo gallery, as was first seen on the iPhone and then later on copied in Motorola devices (along with almost every other touchscreen device out there today).

Thanks to this injunction, Apple can now enforce the ruling, if it so wishes, which would require Motorola to destroy all the existing offending devices in its possession Germany and recall those the remaining ones from German retailers.

T-Mobile US getting new myTouch devices from...Huawei

By on 06:51

The two devices are codenamed the U8680 and U8730, and other than running Gingerbread on WVGA screens (and one of them having a slide-out keyboard), nothing else is known in terms of specifications.
 
You'll remember that HTC kicked off its own foray into the myTouch line back in 2009 with the rebranded HTC Magic, and LG also partook in the festivities with their LG Maxx Touch.
Expect the competitively priced myTouch phones to land sometime by the end of May.

Apple App Store crosses the 25 billion downloads mark

By on 06:49

If you've been to Apple's homepage in the past couple of weeks you may have seen the counter for the App Store downloads, which was rapidly approaching the 25 billion downloads mark.

Well today, on March 3, 2012, the counter finally crossed that mark, creating a new milestone for the company. But while Apple must surely celebrating this event, it has made sure that it won't be the only one celebrating. That's because as part of their traditional contest, which is held every time such a milestone is about to be crossed, the person who downloaded the 25 billionth app will be getting store credit worth $10,000 to spend on any of Apple's online stores.

Thursday 1 March 2012

Security bug in iOS lets apps secretly access your photos

By on 05:30

A security issue has been identified in iOS which gives third party applications and its developers unsolicited access to your photos.

According to The New York Times who uncovered this issue, an application that has the permission to use your location can also access your photos. They demonstrated this by commissioning a developer to create a dummy app (which was not submitted to the App Store) that popped up a notification asking the user for location (as seen above) and when provided had complete access to the photos stored on the device.

Nokia 808 PureView wins Best New Device at MWC

By on 05:28

The winner for one last category of the Global Mobile Awards - the Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2012 award - was left to be announced and looking at the photo of smiling Nokia execs makes it easy to guess which device took that award home.
The Nokia 808 PureView, which arguably caused the biggest splash with its 41MP camera sensor, was voted worthy of the award by a panel of journalists and analysts attending the show.
Here's what Jo Harlow, Executive Vice President of smart devices at Nokia, had to say about the award:

Monday 27 February 2012

Nokia officially announce Lumia 610 and world Lumia 900

By on 08:52

After many leaks, it's now official - Nokia announce the Lumia 610 at the Mobile World Congress as well as the global availability of the Lumia 900.
Nokia Lumia 610
Running Windows Phone 7.5, the Lumia 610 is powered by an 800MHz single-core Snapdragon S1 processor and 256MB of RAM and 8GB storage.
With a 3.7" WVGA TFT LCD screen, the Lumia 610 stands at 119mm x 62mm x 12mm and weighs 131.5 grams.
The camera of the Lumia 610 is a 5MP unit with auto-focus and a LED flash. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS are on board, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB port and a 1300mAh battery.

MeeGo 1.2 update for Nokia N9 goes live

By on 08:41

About a month after it was seeded to developers for testing, the v1.2 update for MeeGo goes live. The update weighs in at 284MB and it may take a while to install (up to 40 minutes according to Nokia).
But it's well worth the wait. With it, you'll get to make video calls and finally put that front-facing camera of the Nokia N9 to good use. MeeGo 1.2 also offers folders in the app launcher so you can get the place more organized.

Nokia 808 PureView video and camera samples emerge

By on 08:34

Nokia unveils cheaper Windows smartphone

By on 07:43

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia unveiled a cheaper smartphone using Microsoft's Windows Phone software on Monday, aiming to win back market share by targeting a wider audience.

Nokia last year dumped its own smartphone software in favour of Windows Phone to step up its fight against rivals such as Apple's iPhone, but the high prices of its phones have been a major weak point.

Nokia said its new Lumia 610 model would carry a price tag of 189 euros, excluding subsidies and taxes, when it goes on sale next quarter. That compares with around $600 for the iPhone and other high-end smartphones.

"The 610 takes Nokia's Lumia portfolio to an encouraging new price point in its pursuit of cheaper Android rivals," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.