IM for Nokia: another free messaging service lands
We love it when new technologies hit the mainstream. In 2011 alone, we've seen NFC go mainstream, 3D make its way to the mobile space, and now we have another hot new tech to talk about: instant messaging. Wait, hang on...
Hot on the heels of Apple's iMessage comes IM for Nokia, the Finland-flavoured messaging service that's available now for Nokia users.
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Motorola Wilder: cheap touchscreen thrills for teens
We're always wary when we hear about phones supposedly targeted at a specific group, especially when the group in question is almost certainly not the same as the group doing the targeting.
And so it is with the Motorola Wilder – or the EX130 to quote its model name, with Moto clearly believing a hip name, a low price and a press release loaded with words like “cool” and “exciting” is just what teens are after.
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Now Samsung is tipped to buy out Nokia
It's safe to say that Nokia isn't exactly going through the most successful phase of its existence, with its smartphone market share crumbling and the Windows Phone partnership still as much as half a year away from yielding its first actual phone.
So it's no surprise that rumours of a buyout just won't go away. First there was talk of Microsoft swallowing up the Finnish phone maker, and now comes the claim that Samsung too is sniffing around looking for a bargain.
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More Everything Everywhere stores on the way
Mobile networks Orange and T-Mobile are to push forward with the next phase of their evolution into a single brand with the opening of 30 Everything Everywhere-branded high street stores over the months ahead.
This follows a successful trial of five stores under the super-network's branding back in February, which saw increased numbers through the door and favourable feedback for both Orange and T-Mobile.
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Microsoft launching own-brand tablet in 2012?
Considering that the tablet-friendly Windows 8 is still nowhere near finished, Microsoft certainly is leaving it late getting into this whole tablet thing.
Yet the company's tablet ambitions may extend to more than just software, it seems. According to Taiwanese industry paper DigiTimes, Microsoft is considering releasing a Microsoft-branded tablet running a Texas Instruments processor.
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Samsung Galaxy S 2011 Edition is coming, but not to the UK
Samsung has announced the European launch of the Galaxy S 2011 Edition, a variation on the Galaxy S we all know and love.
It's a strange move considering the replacement Galaxy S II is already available, but either way it's unlikely to affect us too much here in the UK, as the handset won't be crossing the Channel and landing on our shores.
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Youngster discovers shortcut to iOS 5 satisfaction
OK, you Apple types, would you like to get your hands on iOS 5 right now instead of having to wait for the autumn like everyone else? Of course you would.
One solution, of course, is to become a developer, with Apple having already provided developers with a Beta version to get to grips with. Or you can follow in the footsteps of young Mert Erdir and simply stroll on through the back door.
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Second BlackBerry PlayBook OS update, but still no native email
BlackBerry Playbook owners are to receive a second over-the-air software update for their BB tablet over the next few days, RIM has announced.
Some will claim this shows RIM's dedication to keeping the tablet right up to date with the latest features as they become available. Others, though, will say it simply proves the theory that the PlayBook wasn't actually finished when RIM launched it.
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Microsoft takes credit for new iOS features
The 200-odd new features in iOS 5 may be good news for Apple fans, but Microsoft's Joe Belfiore is wasting no time in letting everyone know just who thought of some of the more innovative first.
Belfiore has sent out a series of tweets name-dropping some of iOS 5's highlights, and reminding us all that Windows Phone 7 got there first.
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Apple's iMessage: bad news for the networks; worse news for RIM
There was plenty to digest in Apple's iOS 5 announcement at WWDC yesterday, but one of the most exciting of the 200 new features on offer in the newly updated OS is without a doubt iMessage.
It allows iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users to message each other directly via their standard data connection, potentially cutting the need for traditional text messaging altogether – and removing one of the few unique draws RIM and BlackBerry still has in the consumer market.
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HTC twice the phone maker it was a year ago
HTC has been the most prolific maker of Android handsets since practically day one of the Google OS' existence, and has been similarly active in the early days of Windows Phone 7's existence too.
And all those different models of handset are certainly paying dividends when it comes to good old cash in the back pocket, with HTC's sales figures for May more than doubling the tally from a year ago.
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Toshiba Thrive priced and dated, but only in the US
Toshiba has been talking up its Honeycomb-powered Thrive tablet for months now, even going so far as to claim its slate is superior to the iPad 2.
Now it finally looks like Mr Joseph Public will be able to put that claim to the test, as Toshiba has announced that the Thrive will officially be available to pre-order on June 13.
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End of the road for the original HTC Desire?
The HTC Desire was without question one of our favourite phones of 2010, and was arguably the first Android handset that really could go toe-to-toe with the iPhone in the real world and not just in Android fanboys' imaginations.
So it's with a slight tinge of sadness that we're hearing that the much-loved Desire could well be nearing the end of the road, with the last batch of stock reportedly having touched down on UK shores.
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Adobe boss: Flash war with Apple is over, but hopefully Android will beat iOS
According to Adobe boss Shantanu Narayen the long-running spat with Apple, and Steve Jobs in particular, about Flash support in iOS is a thing of the past.
Yet we can't help but feel there's a little favouritism going on when Narayen predicts that the flash-friendly Android will achieve market dominance over iOS in the tablet arena, just as it did in the smartphone game.
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Qualcomm boss promises quad-core Snapdragon chips
The Snapdragon name has risen to fairly significant prominence over the last couple of years as the title of Qualcomm's range of widely used mobile processors.
Since processors have gone dual-core, however, rival Nvidia has clearly edged ahead in the processor arms race. But Qualcomm is very much still in the fight, and has ambitious plans for its quad-core Snapdragon line.
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Microsoft dishes the details on more Mango tweaks
Microsoft reckons there are in the region of 500 changes in the Windows Phone Mango update, and while a good number are probably minor changes you were never going to actively notice anyway, we're still sure there are a few interesting elements Microsoft hasn't told us about yet.
Such as a bunch of multimedia tweaks to the Music and Video Hubs, the details of which Microsoft has dished up in a new blog post.
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The Apple rumour mill never sleeps. We've barely recovered from the endless speculation that dominated the build-up to the iPad 2's launch, and here we are speculating about... yes, you guessed it – the iPad 3.
It's obviously very early days yet, but we're already hearing whispers about two of the more significant details likely to dominate discussions about the next-gen Apple tablet: the screen, and the launch date.
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WinPho's market share on the slide
Microsoft certainly talks a good game when it comes to Windows Phone 7, claiming it has a bright future and is a viable “third ecosystem” alongside Android and iOS – especially now that Nokia has committed its smartphone future to the platform.
But back at the ranch things are a little different. The latest stats from comScore show that not only is WinPho's market share still stuck in single figures, but it's actually going down.
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Vodafone announces new data-friendly roaming packages for the summer
All this decent weather around means our thoughts inevitably turn to sunny beaches on foreign shores, but one of the downsides to travelling abroad is the ridiculous cost of using your mobile phone in anything like your normal fashion.
Things have slowly been getting better, though, and this summer Vodafone has taken another step towards affordable mobile roaming with its newly tweaked Vodafone Data Traveller package.
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Google denies Samsung Galaxy Tab delay rumours
Google has poured cold water over rumours that it has delayed the European launch of Android Honeycomb 3.1 – and therefore the next generation of Samsung Galaxy Tabs – until August because of “issues” getting the OS to work properly.
Like so many stories of this nature, the rumour originated from a single tweet by one Eldar Murtazin – and as usual, his claims are delivered without any kind of proof or corroboration.
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