Spotify announces Symbian app

Spotify has expanded its mobile reach with a launch onto the Symbian platform – a potentially huge new audience spanning around half of the global smartphone market.

As well as a large range of Nokia handsets, the app will also run on a selection of Sony Ericsson and Samsung smartphones running the Symbian platform, such as the Samsung GT-I8910 Omnia HD and Sony Ericsson Satio.

To get Spotify’s Symbian application, users can either download it directly to their phones by visiting m.spotify.com through their mobile web browser, or by entering their phone number on the new Symbian information page to receive instructions via an SMS.

As with the other iPhone and Android Spotify offerings, the Symbian app is only available to those who are Premium, i.e., paid-up members of the service.

HTC HD2 Windows Phone Smartphone Review

HTC Smartphone

HTC has a history of making enormous, feature-rich smartphones and the phone I’m looking at today is the pinnacle of those efforts so far. The HD2 incorporates an enormous 4.3in capacitive touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera, and plenty more besides, but with it running Windows Phone can it possibly be our favourite handset of the moment?

Well we weren’t joking when we said enormous. At 121mm tall and 67mm wide, the HD2 is some 5mm taller and wider than the iPhone 3G/3GS, which some people find too big too handle already. Now, 5mm may not sound like all that much but when added all over it makes for a significant increase. At 11mm thick, it’s at least a tad thinner than its fruity rival and it’s still markedly smaller than the behemoth that is the Toshiba TG01.

Adding to the feeling of this being a large phone is the size of its screen. While, the iPhone’s screen actually fits within the palm of your hand (even if the whole phone doesn’t) and is thus completely accessible using the thumb of one hand, the HD2’s screen always requires a readjustment of your grip or your other hand in order to use all of it. Again, this isn’t uncommon per se but it’s definitely the marker of a phone we feel goes beyond the point most people would find comfortable for everyday use. Also because the screen fills so much of the device, you’re left with very little room to position your hands without pressing and activating some part of it.

Nevertheless, if all you want is the biggest and best screen on your mobile then you won’t be disappointed. Not only is it enormous but its resolution of 800 x 480 pixels is equal to the best on the market and is double that of the iPhone’s and most Android phones. Combined with excellent brightness, pitch-like blacks, and wonderfully vivid colours, it is simply a joy to behold. In fact, because it uses standard LCD technology, rather than AMOLED, it seemed to suffer less from the slight over saturation that plagues devices like the Samsung Galaxy, and the Samsung Jet (Samsung does seem to be at the forefront of this display technology when it comes to phones).

Whatever task we put this phone to, its screen never failed to amaze us. Probably the most memorable thing was this phones ability to fit the entire TrustedReviews website on screen and still maintain readable text… when held in portrait mode! Of course, watching video, viewing photos, and all the other multimedia tasks one can enjoy on a modern mobile phone are dutifully taken care of as well.

Helping our perhaps (on second read) over-zealous enthusiasm for this phone’s screen is the fact that it’s glass is super tough and scratch resistant. You’ve probably also guessed from this that it uses capacitive touch sensing as well and, again, it is superbly implemented, reacting instantly to any gesture with the lightest of touches. Multitouch is also supported but more on that later.

 

Source: http://www.trustedreviews.com/

Palm Pre set to outsell first-generation iPhone?

pre_t3_w500Better late than never, the Palm Pre finally hits town this Friday and more specifically, the O2 network. Will it sell? Well, according to a new TNS survey it will, eclipsing the original iPhone if those views translate into sales.

According to market research firm TNS, 26 per cent of users questioned said they would definitely or probably buy the Palm Pre, considerably higher than the 16 per cent who said they would buy an iPhone in 2007. Encouragingly for O2, that figure is even higher (27 per cent) when its own customers were surveyed. The poll of 1,003 adults aged 16-64 also found that 32 per cent of mobile users currently on other networks are likely to switch to O2 in order to get hold of the Palm Pre.

Kevin Evans, associate director at TNS Technology, said: ‘The Palm Pre is already being touted as the ‘iPhone killer’ and our research certainly suggests it’s going to shake up the market.’

‘The decision to offer the Pre free to those on a 24-month contract is in sharp contrast to the £269 price of the iPhone at its launch, while the launch timing capitalises on the fact that thousands of UK iPhone early-adopters are approaching the end of their 18-month contract period, while the next-generation iPhone is not expected until next June.’

But will it really hit those dizzy sales heights? The handset might be free, but only on a two-year tie-in and with a minimum cost of £34.26. And while many iPhone users might be ending their deals with O2, there’s no reason why they would dump the iPhone and grab a Pre instead. With the Blackberry Storm 2 also appearing around the same time, not to mention a steady succession of tasty Android phones and the usual selection of slimline fashion phones, there’s a lot of choice out there. The Palm Pre will certainly do well, but we’re far from convinced that it’s going to scoop up over a quarter of the mobile market overnight.

Sources: http://www.t3.com/

Apple releases iPhone firmware update 3.1.2

iphone-3g

Apple has announced the latest firmware for the iPhone which should fix some nagging problems with the device.

The firmware update 3.1.2 launched last week and corrects three major issues reported by users. The bug fixes include:

* Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone to not wake from sleep
* Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart
* Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video streaming

The firmware update is compatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and the iPhone 3GS. Read more at the Apple website

Brian’s Opinion

Personally, I think that Apple has been pretty good with the bug fixes for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Typically there is not much time after a major firmware release before minor fixes are also addressed with updates. That’s a good thing since it means that Apple will keep its many iPhone users loyal.

We may even see bigger changes to the iPhone now that AT&T has announced that it will open up VoIP applications to its cellular network. Previously, these types of application only work over a Wi-Fi connection. That means we get to squeeze even more capabilities into the iPhone.

Source: http://www.geek.com/