Mobile Phone Blog:

[The opinions expressed in the blog post are entirely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mobileshop.com.]

And here we go again; another day, another bit of advertising designed not to show how good someone’s own product is, but instead, to slag off the opposition. Well, actually, in this case, it’s to slag off the opposition’s users. Yes, it’s a new ad for the Nokia Lumia 920 that… well, see for yourself…

Riiiiiiiiight. You remember how I did a post a couple of months ago about how Windows Phone has some really overzealous fans, and that it’s Microsoft’s own fault? Yeah, adverts like that are why… (more…)

There’s been rumblings, for absolutely yonks, that Apple would eventually release a budget iPhone, presumably to try and take on the likes of the mid-range, Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. The same rumour seems to get trotted out every single year, and up until now, it’s been complete cobblers. Every single time.

Today’s rumour, courtesy of Tactus, is a bit different, however. This time, the rumour comes with a photo attached, which purports to actually show the body shell of this possibly mythical, unicorn-like budget iPhone, in the flesh.

So, therefore, it’s time once again to ask that question: is this real or cobblers? (more…)

Hmm, now there’s a thing. Y’know how the iPhone range has consistently been cited as being simpler to use than Android phones? And y’know how even Android fans sometimes admit that there’s some truth to that statement? Even I, the inveterate Android fan and loather of all things Apple, have had to admit many times that iOS is an intuitive interface, and also, that it probably has less of a learning curve for first time smartphone buyers than an Android phone would.

Well apparently, that’s not the case any more, ‘cos a new survey’s been done by Siegel+Gale (pdf link), and it states that the Galaxy range of phones, made by Samsung, is in fact simpler than the iPhone. So yeah, what’s the crack? (more…)

[The opinions expressed in the blog post are entirely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mobileshop.com.]

Now then, here’s an interesting thing. Y’know how Apple tends to have possibly the most loyal fans in the entire spacetime continuum, and how it’s because Apple manage to give off this vibe that their gear is just cool, and something people want to own? It’s been called the reality distortion field before and it’s served Apple well, but now, it’s starting to sound like that distortion field might be starting to fail.

According to BBC News, consultancy firm Added Value has done a survey about “inspiring” brands, and they’ve found that Apple, apparently, just ain’t as inspiring as it used to be.

So, what’s going on? (more…)

A while back, Adobe released a new app for tablets, that made me go all squiffy. That app was Photoshop Touch, and I was amazed to see that the world’s most well-known image editing program was coming to mobile devices (until I realised that it’s not full-fat Photoshop, it’s basically Photoshop Elements; still cool, but not as cool as seeing CS6 on a mobile device would be).

Well, except for one crucial fact: when I say mobile devices, I of course mean “tablets only”.

Today is a good day, though, because according to Adobe’s blog, Photoshop Touch has stopped being a tablet-exclusive. Yes, it’s s now available for smartphones! (more…)

Ahhhhhh, schadenfreude is such a wonderful thing, especially when it’s combined with a nice hint of laser-guided karma, and someone being hoisted by their own petard. When said someone is Apple, and when the story involves them losing legal battle, the karma is particularly laser-guided.

Yes, the story (according to the BBC) is that Apple’s been involved in a court case in Brazil, that they’ve lost; it’s a big’n too, because the thing that was being fought over was the iPhone name itself! That’s right, folks; Apple now doesn’t own the trademark on the name ‘iPhone’ in Brazil, ‘cos it’s actually owned by a company called Gradiente Electronica. So, let’s have a look at my favourite court case in history… (more…)

I’ve made my love of Transformers (as in proper Transformers, that don’t have Michael Bay’s name on them) blatantly obvious on this ‘ere blog, and it’s well known that I’ve been a fan of the franchise since I was six. What you probably don’t know is that Transformers weren’t the only toys I played with when I was a nipper; the other one I spent hours fiddling about with, right, was Lego.

I loved the stuff, and according to CNet, Lego’s about to be brought into the mobile world! Basically, the upshot of that is this: not only am I going to write a positive post with the iPhone 5 in it, but I’m also going to squee like a small child.

So, what’s the crack? (more…)

Hands up everyone who’s old enough to remember Missile Command. Quite a few people raised their hands there, I’d imagine. And now, hands up everyone who always wondered what Missile Command would be like if you played as some kind of frog wizard. Well wonder no more! Frog Orbs has now been released on iOS…

Yes, now you can play as a frog with magical and a collection of orb-y things (so the name’s quite appropriate, really)! Frog Orbs is available now on iOS devices like the iPhone 5, but does it look to be any good? (more…)

Hold on to your hats, folks, ‘cos I’m about to do a post about Apple that says positive things in it! Yes, I know, I slag Apple off (a lot), but I firmly believe that when someone does something cool, they should be commended for it, no matter who that someone is. So, given that one of the big causes I’m currently trumpeting is that of indie authors publishing ebooks (‘cos I am one), when Apple does something cool for indie authors, I am going to congratulate them.

What we’ve got here is the Breakout Books promotion on the iBookstore, which is, according to Smashwords, giving new, breakout authors a chance to tussle with the established players in the publishing world… (more…)

It’s always interesting to take a look at the sales figures for the big manufacturers in the world, even if they provide no real surprises when you do look at them. There’s never usually any big shocks, after all (except for those times when there are, like when HTC and Nokia dropped out of the worldwide top 5), and it’s pretty much the same names cropping up in these lists of “which manufacturer has the biggest, erm, balance sheet“.

Anyway, the point is that Strategy Analytics has published their stats for 2012, and (big surprise!) Samsung and Apple dominate the charts.

So, let’s have a look at the figures, and see what caused things to turn out this way… (more…)