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.]

Well folks, I wondered when this day would come. Ages upon ages ago (two-and-a-bit years ago, in fact), I did a blog post about the TwitterPeek, a thingie that was only tangentially related to the topic of mobile phones, ‘cos it was a handheld device designed only to do Twitter. There was also an email version, designed only to do emails, and at the time I said that, even as a concept, it was utterly, irredeemably pointless.

Well, the day has now come when I am proved right, according to Engadget, but it’s a shame that the death of this thing has also led to customers being shafted.

Allow me to explain/rant… (more…)

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

Okay, here we go, another proclamation about technology, by Pope Benedict XVI, or as a certain circle of my friends calls him, Emperor Popeatine (or Darth Ratzinger, either’s good). Granted, this is only tangentially related to phones, but since he was having a pop at social media, and since social media thingies are a massive part of the modern mobile experience, I thought what the hell, and decided to blog about it anyway.

So, what’s the Pontiff been saying? Well, according to Yahoo News, he’s come out and said that he doesn’t think people should use the likes of Twitter and Facebook so much, and that people need to strike a balance between silence, words, images and sounds… (more…)

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

Here we go, this is my burning question for the day, and it’s inspired by the first review I read for the Blackberry Porsche Design P’9981 (from Engadget), a phone that is, let’s not beat about the bush, a Blackberry Bold 9900 in posh knickers. It also costs, according to the latest info I’m seeing, just shy of 1500 quid. So, my question, really, is simple: what in the name of Godzilla are RIM thinking?

At a time when they’re taking a pummelling in the market, and when they’re trying to turn it around with a new CEO, did they really think a 1500 quid, limited run phone was the answer? Well apparently, it seems like they did, but as you can probably guess, I remain highly sceptical, although “highly sceptical” is a tame way of putting it… (more…)

[The opinions expressed in the blog post are entirely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mobileshop.com. Also, if you are not a resident of or voter in the USA, give this link to anyone you know in the States, to get the word out.]

Awesome, here we go, I’ve been dying to blog about this for ages, but with it not relating to mobile phones, I couldn’t. You may have heard of a bill going through the US political system, called SOPA (along with a sister bill, PIPA). If you’re in the video gaming community, I’m certain you’ve heard about it, ‘cos it’s set the internet aflame, it really has.

Well, now, brilliantly, I can wade into the debate, ‘cos according to PocketNow, a new Android app has come out, that allows you to fight SOPA through your mobile phone. Well, okay, it lets you fight the companies who support SOPA, but you’re still fighting the bill, indirectly, right? I suppose that with it being an American bill, I’d also best explain why us Brits should care about this… (more…)

Woohoo! First blog post of 2012! I ended the year with a post talking about what I think will happen in 2012 (including the end of the world… a lot of people are going to be relieved, yet curiously disappointed, that this one doesn’t happen), so I’m going to start the new year wit a post what I think should happen. Y’know, what with me being arrogant enough to think my opinion should be taken into account.

Yes, these are the new year’s resolutions I wish people in the industry would make, ‘cos I can’t help but think that the world would be a better place if these came to pass. Basically, it’s a good job my new year’s resolution wasn’t to stop being arrogant, or I’d have just failed. So, let’s begin… (more…)

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

Well, Christmas is well and truly over, and my supplies of good will and peace to all men have dried up, so it’s time for another rant! But hey, I’m being topical, ‘cos it is about Christmas. Well, to be fair, it’s mainly about annoying little sprogs with epic levels of self-entitlement, but there’s a general Christmassy theme to it. And a phone-esque theme, too.

Y’see, I read a story on IntoMobile, which eeeeeeeeeeeeever so slightly annoyed me. Apparently, lots of kids were expecting iPhones for Christmas, and their parents didn’t buy them one, so they’re basically disowning their parents, via Twitter.

And that, my friends, is the very definition of “first world problems”, ain’t it? (more…)

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

It’s been a long time since I had a good, snarling monster of a rant, so with this being the season of good will, I reckon it’s time I had one, right now, so I might be able to actually feel some good will. Y’know, lest me bottling it up, in conjunction with the absurdity of the thing that’s annoyed me, makes me try to headbutt a wall to death (which would, admittedly, be quite funny, for everyone except me… hmmmm, maybe I’ll headbutt a bouncy castle, instead). So, what’s got on my nerves, this time?

Patent lawsuits, that’s what. I’ve done a few bijou rantettes about patent lawsuits before, but we’ve now reached the point where steam comes out of my ears, so it’s time to give the topic of patent lawsuits a right royal thundering… (more…)

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

I’ve whinged about Apple a lot, while I’ve been working on this blog; it’s sort of a running theme, in any post I do about the Cupertino giant, that I really, really can’t stand them. From their draconian App Store policies, to their sheer, unfettered arrogance, to their belief that they invented everything, even if other phones were doing those exact same things for years… basically, pretty much everything Apple does annoys me.

I keep trying to tell myself it’s some psychological problem in my head, and that I should let it go, but they keep doing things that just boggle my mind. Case in point: this latest story, as reported on by The Verge), which has absolutely, completely staggered me… (more…)

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

Hmm, y’know what, I think I’d better label this blog post as a rant, right now, before I even get into the meat of writing it. Y’know, ‘cos it’s about WebOS, and thus it’s about HP, and my opinion of HP is… well, let’s be polite, and say that my opinion of HP is not particularly favourable. It’d be churlish (although not inaccurate) to say that I think HP couldn’t find their posteriors with both hands and a very big atlas, so I won’t. So, what’s fuelled my ire today, then?

Simple. According to French newspaper Le Figaro (Google-translated link, have fun), HP will be making a decision about the fate of WebOS within the next fortnight. Alas, given the complete lack of faith I have in HP, I fear that decision will inevitably end up as being “screw it up royally“… (more…)

Whenever I watch a DVD, one of the things I love seeing is how they made the film; you know the thing I mean, where they stick those ‘Making Of’ documentaries on the disc. One thing I’ve never seen before, though, is a Making Of documentary for a phone. So, without further ado, here’s the first one I’ve ever seen, for the Nokia Lumia 800…

Well, that made my blood boil a lot more than I expected it to! This post wasn’t going to be a rant, but after hearing what Nokia had to say (in an unbearably smug tone) in the video, I was annoyed enough to make it into a rant. So, here goes… (more…)