Monthly Archives: October 2011

Blackberry Playbook P100 Tablet

With all the fuss surrounding the launch of the iPad 2 and Android 3-based tablets of late, you’d be forgiven for thinking there were no other platforms in the tablet market. This is far more than a two-horse race, however, and the latest to the starting gate is none other than RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook.

On

Sony to buy Ericsson's part of mobile venture Sony Ericsson

Sony Corp. will pay Ericsson about $1.5 billion for its half of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, which makes a variety of mobile devices.

Sony is ending a 10-year mobile-phone joint venture with Ericsson, buying out its business partner's 50 per cent stake for €1.05 billion, or about AU$1.39 billion.

Through the deal, which had been rumoured earlier this month, Sony Ericsson will become a wholly-owned Sony subsidiary, Sony said today. In addition, Sony will assume ownership for mobile phone patents and get other patent rights through a cross-licence deal with Ericsson.

Consumers can expect a tighter integration between Sony's phones and the other main devices in the company's "four-screen strategy", said Sony chief executive Howard Stringer in a statement.

Asha: A new family of smarter mobile phones

Nokia continues its mission to deliver high quality, stylish devices that provide the best access to social networks, the Internet and information, and offer the best overall experience and value proposition for the next billion mobile phone users. These consumers want access to innovations such as easy-to-use dual-SIM, local services and content, and third-party apps, all with a superior user experience for which Nokia mobile phones are known.

These devices comprise the new Asha family of Nokia mobile phones. Derived from Hindi - meaning 'hope' - Asha signifies Nokia's focus on positive user experiences and connecting millions of people to new opportunities that help them reach their aspirations.

The Asha mobile phone family includes:

Nokia Asha 303

The first Nokia Lumia smartphones

First two smartphones based on Windows Phone introduce a range of new experiences designed to make everyday moments more amazing.

Nokia Lumia 800

The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 features head-turning design, vivid colors (cyan, magenta and black) and the best social and Internet performance, with one-touch social network access, easy grouping of contacts, integrated communication threads and Internet Explorer 9. It features a 3.7 inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display blending seamlessly into the reduced body design, and a 1.4 GHz processor with hardware acceleration and a graphics processor. The Nokia Lumia 800 contains an instant-share camera experience based on leading Carl Zeiss

Nokia announcements today - new range of WINDOWS phones, the Lumia 800 and 710, as well as some new Mobile Phones, the Asha range.

The Windows Phone products are due in Australia in early 2012, however the new 300, 303 and 200 are all due as early as mid- NOVEMBER!

Nokia showcases bold portfolio of new phones, services and accessories at Nokia World

Signals new dawn with the launch of Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710, the first Nokia smartphones powered by Windows Phone

Introduces a range of stylish, smart mobile phones, superior Nokia Maps, partnership for co-branded accessories with Monster, and more

London, UK - At Nokia World, the company's annual

Apple iPad 2 review: The iPad 2 is faster, thinner and lighter than its predecessor and now has dual cameras, but flaws remain

Apple's iPad 2 tablet is finally here. A successor to the original iPad, which created a completely new category of devices and sold almost 15 million units worldwide, the iPad 2 is faster, thinner and lighter than its predecessor and now has dual cameras. If you liked the original iPad, you'll love the iPad 2, but for current iPad owners the second generation iPad isn't a necessary upgrade.

iPad 2: Design and display

The Apple iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than the original model. Apple says its 8.8mm width makes it 33 per cent thinner than the first iPad, and the 613g weight makes it 15 per cent lighter than its predecessor. The new size and weight makes the iPad 2 much more

The Blackberry Torch 9860 brings the Blackberry mobile phone into the touch phone era. Unlike the many Blackberry mobile phone’s before it, the Blackberry Torch 9860 has done away with the traditional physical keyboard and traded it up for a bigger better screen, with a touchphone keypad that boasts amazing performance and a stylish look as well!

The Blackberry Torch 9860 at a Glance

Want to know what you get for your buck with the Blackberry Torch 9860? In addition to a great looking phone that boasts the traditional Blackberry mobile phone interface and ecosystem, some of the other great features users enjoy include:

- High-resolution 800x480 WVGA pixel color display- All-touch screen

- Easy to use optical trackpad for web browsing

- Covered by Wi-Fi

- Built-in GPS functionality-

A few years ago the HTC mobile phone was almost unheard of in Australia, but now we’ve caught on, HTC is now a part of everyday Australian tech talk and with good reason too. They now boast some of the world’s finest smartphones and the HTC Evo 3D X515e is certainly no exception!

Key features of the HTC Evo 3D X515e

-    The HTC Evo 3D X515e is powered by Android™ 2.3 with HTC Sense 3.0

-    Users enjoy the use of 3D and 2D HD video recording (720p)

-    The 1.2GHz Snapdragon dual-core

The Nokia 500 has just been announced as Nokia latest Symbian Anna smartphone. The new phone is based on the Nokia C5-03 specs-wise but refreshes some of the key features, retaining the reportedly affordable price tag.

The Nokia 500 has a 3.2-inch capacitive screen with 640 x 360 pixel resolution and there's a 5 megapixel camera on the back. Connectivity is covered by 14.4Mbps HSDPA and 5.8Mbps HSUPA speeds, Wi-Fi (no N support here), GPS, a charging microUSB port and a 3.5mm standard audio jack. There's 2GB of internal memory and a microSD slot for adding more storage.

The Nokia 500 comes with exchangeable back covers in different colors (two extra supplied with the phone). Much like with the Nokia N79 back in the day, the Nokia 500 changes its wallpaper automatically to match the color of the back cover you put on it.

Google confirms Nexus S will get Ice Cream Sandwich -- for real this time (Gingerbread devices, too)

Okay, so we've already seen Ice Cream Sandwich running on the Nexus S, but that was decidedly... unofficial. We've just heard straight from Google's Gabe Cohen that the Nexus S will definitely be getting ICS. In fact, both he and Matias Duarte think most Gingerbread devices will see an upgrade, saying: "Currently in the process for releasing Ice Cream Sandwich for Nexus S. Theoretically should work for any 2.3 device." It's hardly a surprise and there's no specific word on timing just yet, but hopefully it won't take long to move that vanilla Android device up to something with a breaded exterior.

Update: We also asked about whether the Nexus One is getting some ICS love, but there's no clear plan