Mobile Phone Blog:

We all know that tablets are an important sector of the market these days, after the success of the original iPad (a device that I predicted would never, ever take off… oh, how wrong I was), and Android tablets are gaining more traction in the market. Sure, Android tablets made by the likes of HTC or Motorola are nowhere near as popular as the iPad, but Android brings some key benefits to the table, and one of the big ones is that it’s a free OS.

And that means cheaper tablets, which brings us on to the topic of this post. According to IntoMobile, Intel have unveiled a reference design for a brand new Android tablet, called the Studybook.

And it’ll be cheap, as far as tablets go… (more…)

After the news that Rockstar were bringing Grand Theft Auto III to mobile phones, it only seemed a matter of time until they brought over the other big franchise they’re known for, into the mobile world. Yes, I’m talking about Max Payne, and according to Joystiq, the John Woo-inspired action game is due to make its debut on smartphones (and tablets, naturally) this month.

It’s coming out on iOS first, on April 12th, (and they say it’ll work on the iPhone 3GS, which is a novelty, these days… I’m used to games only working on the iPhone 4S, or at best, the iPhone 4). The Android version will follow on April 26th, but as yet, there’s no list of which Android devices it’ll work on, although one is coming… (more…)

Hmm, now then, this is an odd story. The new iPad (I’m not sure if this issue is confined to the iPad, or whether it also applies to the iPhone 4S… details are sketchy on that point) seems to be doing something odd, and according to IntoMobile, it might actually have been deliberately designed to do that odd thing.

Yup, as the title says, it’s that issue that’s popped up online, where people are reporting that their iPad is showing it’s 100% charged when it’s actually only at about 90% charge, in effect meaning that it ends up never being fully charged. So, users are reporting that their usage time is about an hour less than they expected. The question is, though: is this a design error or a deliberate design feature?  (more…)

Have you ever wondered what a virtual ukulele would sound and play like, if it were on iOS? No, me neither, but the fact is, someone has gone and made a ukulele app for that platform, and it’s called Futulele (awesome name, that). Observe…

Okay, despite my feelings on the likes of the iPhone 4S, that’s actually pretty clever. As you can see in the video, the app’s running across both the iPad and the iPhone (the two are connected by Bluetooth), so you use the iPad as the strummy bit, and the phone as the fretboard bit. And then you make sweet, beautiful music… (more…)

There has being talk of a possible mini iPad but its only now that there seems to be any real evidence to back up these rumours.

Apparently a new Samsung document has being discovered that offers proof of a “new [Apple] seven-inch product temporarily referred to as the iPad mini”. Sources say the American giant is preparing a more compact version of the iPad to rival Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

Its expected the device will be released quarter three this year but hopefully we will get a preview at the launch of the iPad 3 this week.

If rumours are abound then you can be sure that Apple is never far away… and this time, it seems that a new iPad from the fruity manufacturer could be on the cards.

According to a Japanese website, Apple is to be holding a special event at the beginning of February where there is a strong possibility that the next iteration of the popular iPad tablet will be announced.

This would correspond with what has happened in previous years as the previous two iPad models have been announced on 27 January 2010 and 2 March 2011 respectively.

There have also been reports of the iPad 3 being ‘spotted’ at the recent CES event in Las Vegas, supposedly boasting a quad-core processor and a high-res display, but until we see hard photographic evidence, I’m afraid all we have is mere speculation!

Rumoured specs of the iPad 3 have being leaked online, indicating a higher res-screen, quad-core processor and LTE support.

Rumour has it Apple is likely double its screen resolution from previous 1024 by 768 pixels to a whopping 2048 by 1536 pixels. A source indicated LTE support will feature on the iPad before the iPhone as the bigger battery can support it better.

Apparently Apple’s third generation iPad has being in production since the start of this month and with a bump up in February; the UK could see a release as early as March.

Well, blimey o’riley. Who would’ve thought, after the mauling I gave to the last series of Spooks (magic physics-defying bullet!),that last night’s episode would actually manage to impress me? Well, alright, “impress” is probably too strong a word; let’s instead say that it wasn’t completely awful.

Also, Guy of Gisborne isn’t in this series, what with his character being dead, and everything. This can only be a positive thing, because Richard Armitage gets right up my nose. Maybe it’s that monotonous yet whiny voice, or maybe the fact he looks like he’s wearing eyeliner 24/7, or maybe it’s because the man cannot act, but I can’t stand him. So, good riddance, says I! But anyway, what about mobile phones? (more…)

HTC is filing a lawsuit against Apple for the third time over patent infringing.

The Taiwanese phone manufacturer is asking the International Trade Commission to ban the iPhone maker from selling its products which it believes are infringing on its intellectual property, including the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Grace Lei, General Counsel at HTC Corporation, commented: “We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones… This is the 3rd case before the ITC in which Apple is infringing our intellectual property. Apple needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its products.”

Constantly wiping your iPhone on your t-shirt to rid those greasy smudges and fingerprints? Well great news Apple is looking to solve this problem as a new patent appears.

Currently the Apple devices including the iPhone, and iPad devices are coated with  ‘oleophobic’ coming from the Greek word ‘oleo’ meaning oil which reduces the effect of oily fingerprints, however the effectiveness fades over time.

To pro-long the effectiveness of the coating the new method will involve using inert gas instead of air in the coating process which should reduce the risk of ‘undesired chemical reactions’.