August, 2011

Apple plans a truly smudgeproof iPhone

August 15, 2011 10:45 am by Mic Wright

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, oleophobic, patents

Apple’s battle against smudges and fingerprints began in earnest with the iPhone 3GS but the oleophobic coating it currently applies to iOS devices wears off in time. That could be set to change though thanks to a new and improved process outlined in a new Apple patent filing.

While Apple patents often come to nothing or relate to developments that are years away, the fact that this one describes an improvement to something the company is already doing warrants closer inspection. The document was filed in February 2011 and could mean the first truly smudgeproof iPhone will be the iPhone 5. Read on for details of how Apple plans to fight fingerprints in the future…

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Words with Friends Facebook app syncs with iPhone and iPad

August 15, 2011 10:25 am by Mic Wright

Categories: Apps & Software Tags: Apple, Facebook, iPad, iPhone, Newtoy, Words With Friends, zynga

We may have Google+ games to compete for our attention now but there’s still plenty of addictive distractions popping up on Facebook. Farmville maker Zynga snaffled up Newtoy, to Facebook. The word game, which is obviously in no way like Scrabble, uses practically the same interface for its Facebook version as on iOS. That’s no coincidence.

Our Words With Friends addiction is long-established and will now become even more crippling. The Words with Friends Facebook app syncs with the iPad and iPhone versions if you sign in using your Facebook account. That means you can start a game on Facebook and seemlessly switch to mobile. From our testing, the games update almost instanteously.

Out now | £free | Facebook/iTunes

Asus Eee Pad Slider launching September with free cloud storage

August 15, 2011 10:02 am by Mic Wright

Categories: Computers & Accessories Tags: Android Honeycomb, Asus, eee pad slider, Google

The Asus Eee Pad Slider has lived up to its name so far with a release date that just keep sliding back. But it looks like the QWERTY-packing tablet will finally arrive next month. Notebook Italia reports that it will launch in Italy in September, which would strongly suggest it’ll hit the UK then too, and Asus has updated the Eee Pad Slider product page to offer concrete specs.

The Asus Eee Pad Slider will ship with Android Honeycomb 3.1 onboard and an Android 3.2 update promised after launch. Contrary to previous reports there will be a choice of 16GB or 32GB of storage. Whatever model you opt for, it’ll pack a 1280×800 WXGA display, a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, 1GB memory, a 5MP rear camera, 1.2MP front-facing camera, USB 2.0, mini-HDMI, a microSD card reader, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Most intriguingly for our newly iCloud-obssessed world, Asus says the Eee Pad Slider will come with a year’s free unlimited cloud storage via Asus WebStorage.

Check out our Asus Eee Pad Slider preview and rundown of the Android tablets it’ll compete with while we await confirmation of the tablet’s ETA.

Out TBC | £TBC | Asus (via Notebook Italia)

Windows Phone Mango leak: install it now if you dare

August 15, 2011 9:25 am by Mic Wright

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: leak, Microsoft, Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone Mango

Since Windows Phone Mango was released to phone makers back in July, it was almost inevitable that it would leak. And now it has. The final version of Windows Phone Mango has made its way onto the web and if you’ve got the time and patience, you can install it on you very own Windows Phone device.

The ever resourceful folk over at the xda-developers forum have put together extensive instructions on how to install the Windows Phone Mango leak with download links.

The OS build (7720) requires a phone running either the post-NoDo update or one of the previous Windows Phone Mango beta releases. The Windows Phone Mango leak has been confirmed to work on the HTC HD7, HTC Mozart, Dell Venue Pro and LG Optimus 7 among others but remember if you choose to grab it, you do so at your own risk.

Out now | £NA | xda-developers (via Engadget)

Samsung I9220 and I9250 super-phones are fiction; roadmap leak denied

August 12, 2011 6:26 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: Android, roadmap, Samsung, Samsung I9220, Samsung I9250

Samsung’s alleged roadmap leak by the Lithuanian site Mobili quickly conjured up dreams of grandeur. A rumor that Samsung would be launching nine smartphones and two tablets was enough to spread like wildfire throughout the blogosphere. Today in an change of events, Samsung formally responded by denying the claims.

It’s not often that a top-tier manufacturer responds to Internet rumors. Samsung decided to grab the bull by the horns and step in front of yesterday’s alleged roadmap leak. Commendable, but details in the press release were sparse and not exactly convincing. Have a look for yourself:

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HTC Vigor to be first smartphone powered by Beats Audio?

August 12, 2011 5:00 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: Adreno GPU, Android Gingerbread, Beats Audio, HTC, HTC Vigor, qualcomm, Samsung

Yesterday news broke that HTC had invested $300 million to become the majority shareholder in Beats Audio. The fruits of this 51 percent stake may bear a smartphone sooner than expected. The rumored HTC super phone, the HTC Vigor, will reportedly become the first handset to sport the Beats by Dr. Dre moniker.

The HTC Vigor is a beast of a handset. Rumors point to a 720p HD display (1280×720 pixels), 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and a Qualcomm Adreno GPU. Clearly the Vigor represents the gold standard in smartphone flagships. With Beats Audio on-board, HTC might have an answer for Samsung’s high-end Android dominance in 2012.

via Gizmodo

HTC Sensation Android 2.3.4 OTA update now live

August 12, 2011 4:30 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: Android 2.3.4, Android Gingerbread, Google, HTC, HTC Sensation, ota

A sweet taste of Android Gingerbread (v 2.3.4) is headed to European owners of the HTC Sensation. The update is reportedly 41MB in size and upgrades both the OS and the device’s firmware to version 1.45.401.2. According to a report from Eurodroid, the update has already started to hit Sensation owners in Germany.

Riding the latest build of Android is always a treat. As HTC’s GSM flagship, the Sensation’s arrival to 2.3.4 is well deserved. Besides Germany, users have reported receiving the update in Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Croatia and Italy.

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Valve is planning a Counter-Strike reboot for 2012?

August 12, 2011 4:00 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Gaming Tags: Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Global Offensive, press release, Valve

Ah, the days of playing Counter-Strike for hours on end may soon return. According to Kotaku, Valve is working on a new version of the classic title, due out in 2012. The game will be called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and thanks to supporting evidence on Steam forums, Twitter and gaming blogs, the news is shaping up to be more than just water cooler fodder.

Over on the Steam forums a thread has been started for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive which says “more info in the morning”. The details revealed thus far suggest the game with be released in the first quarter of 2012 and it will focus on 5v5 competition. A press release is expected within 24 hours from Valve and the game plays on an updated source engine.

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August, 2011

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