One of my favourite things about Halloween is the tradition of girls dressing up in outfits that emphasise their good bits. Y’know, like, their intellect and their brains and stuff.
One of my other favouritest things is, no, not sweet sweet candy, but zombie/horror games for smartphones and tablets, and I done compiled a Top 5 for y’all.
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Five reasons why the iPad mini sucks
Following the iPad mini launch on Tuesday evening, I penned Five reasons why the iPad mini will succeed, an entirely accurate – if a little one-sided – look at Apple’s diminutive tablet.
As a proudly objective journalist (as opposed to an Apple-loving blogger (shut it)), I’m obliged to present the other side of the story; the side that says: “Man, that iPad mini is the worst thing since the iPhone 5.” Or something.
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Five reasons why the iPad mini will succeed
Well, the iPad mini is finally here, ending years (okay, months) of speculation with far from impressive specs and a higher-than-expected price tag. Disappointing? Yeah, maybe a little.
Having said that, we firmly believe the iPad mini will sell by the proverbial bucketload, and I gots five reasons why; five reasons to make you cry, you big Android lover.
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The end of October = mental
Here we were thinking the mobile calendar had peaked in September, with the Nokia Lumia 820 and Lumia 920, Kindle Fire 2 and Kindle Fire HD, a trio of Motorola Razr smartphones (and specifically the Razr i for us), and a little something called the iPhone 5. Phew.
Not be outdone, October is set to crank things up a notch. Yeah, he’s been relatively quiet so far (no offense, Samsung Galaxy S III mini), but he’s about to explode all up in yo' face.
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I’ve seen a handful of adverts lately for something called the Sony Xperia J(?), and realised I don’t have a clue where it sits in the grand spectrum of Sony Xperia handsets. I kinda gave up paying attention after the Sony Xperia S, U and P. Oh, don’t act so shocked.
In the grand tradition of using one stone to murder two birds, I’ll now educate myself while creating an impromptu Guide to the Sony Xperia family. Everybody wins. Er, unless you hate Sony. Also, it’s a good excuse to rant about naming conventions. Ready?
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For those of you who’ve read Blogging for Dummies, you’ll know that the first rule of blogging is: Don’t talk about blogging. The second rule is: Attempt not to slayeth the trolls, for they cannot be slain. Look at Treab, for example. He's immortal.
Having said that, I have been known to reply in the form of a massive ranting feature, such as Is Android fragmented? Yeah, mostly. In a similar move, I’m about to satisfy bettsy’s desire for an “opinion” on Motorola.
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The sheer terror that comes with owning a new phone
Ardent followers of our hallowed pages will know that I recently took the giant step of ditching my trusty HTC Desire HD and purr-chasing an iPhone 5. A 64GB iPhone 5, to be specific.
Yes, that means I parted with a frankly outrageous £700, and as such, the past week has been nothing less than terrifying.
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We’ve a combined feature slash deal slash app review preview type thing right here. Is there no end to my talents? Ahem.
Recent app reviews have been fairly underwhelming, with the notable exception of N.O.V.A. 3. Well, I’ve gone and grabbed a bunch of decidedly promising stuff from the App Store, and I’m hoping we might see some more 5-star gaming.
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How to transfer Android contacts to iOS
Now that I’m officially Mobot’s “Head Apple Fanboy” (iPhone 5, iPod touch, MacBook Pro, iMac, new iPad, iPhone 2G in a drawer somewhere), you can expect loads more features like these, advocating turning your back on smelly old Android and embracing the “world’s most advanced mobile operating system”, iOS.
I jest, of course, but I do have some hopefully useful tips for those who have made the leap, in particular how to transfer your Android contacts to your iDevice.
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Long time readers of our hallowed pages will know that it’s an established tradition for yours truly to take some time – every few months or so – to have a good moan about Facebook. Previous works include Why I hate the Android Facebook app, and I hate you, Facebook and Skype apps.
To be honest, I was all set to have a major rant against Jan’s favourite social network, but I’m kind of in two minds here. Let’s see how this unfolds.
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Apple Maps: a bit rubbish?
It’s probably fair to say there’s not a great deal worth getting excited about in iOS 6, which rolled out earlier in the week ahead of today’s iPhone 5 release.
The headline feature is Apple Maps, which replaces the long-used Google Maps app. However, early reports (and personal experience) suggest Apple has a bit of work to do to bring its Maps app up to scratch.
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Just to clarify: that headline isn’t me saying: “Yes! I’ve pre-ordered my iPhone 5 and I can’t WAIT to get my hands on it!” It’s more a case of: “Uh oh, I just caved in and pre-ordered my iPhone 5, and now I can’t afford the rent.” Anyone have a spare room?
In an extension of Thinking out loud: iPhone 5 reaction, I will now attempt to convince you – and more importantly me – that I’ve done the right thing.
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Following the launch of any major product, it’s traditional for me to “treat” (ahem) you Mobotniks to my innermost thoughts. For example, a few months ago I penned Why I bought the new iPad, and more recently Samsung Galaxy S III? Meh, I’ll wait for the iPhone 5.
Indeed, that brings me nicely to this here feature: my reaction to Apple's latest and greatest. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, Apple finally launched the iPhone 5 on Wednesday night, and I immediately donned the Cap of Contemplation.
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iPhone 5: don’t get too excited
Happy iPhone 5 day, you heathens! This very evening, September 12, Apple will finally lift the lid on the successor to the iPhone 4S. About bloody time. Er, even though the 4S is less than a year old. But still.
Where am I going with this? Ahh yes. This is arguably the biggest night for mobile in 2012, but don’t get too excited, man. Chances are the reaction – from you and me, anyway – will be a resounding “Meh”.
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I promised it just a couple of hours ago, and here it is: the spanking new Amazon Kindle Fire HD doing battle with the few-months-old Google Nexus 7. The latter built by Asus, of course. I always feel guilty for not mentioning them.
Around a month ago, I pitted the original year-old Amazon Kindle Fire against the Google Nexus 7, and the former took a bit of a beating. Ultimately I concluded that the Google Nexus 7 ‘won’ in every conceivable way, ‘cept for price. How does the shiny new Amazon Kindle Fire HD change things?
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What the hell’s this? Some sort of preview of the week? You’re damn right. It’s a bit like the traditional Review of the week, ‘cept it comes before the action in question. Obviously.
I wouldn’t normally entertain the notion of such a feature, but, as I was saying on Saturday, there’s a fair bit happening this week.
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Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, my cynical friends. The iPhone 5 hasn’t been announced yet, so how can I possibly pit the two smartphones against each other? Allow me to explain.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2, launched on Wednesday, is an absolute beast of a device, and I’m wondering how Apple feels about it. Should Team Cupertino be scared? Or did Tim Cook shrug from atop a monstrous pile of money?
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There was a time when most of the big name tablets, even the 7in ones, were priced similarly to the iPad. Check out this guide from July 2011, including the 16GB Wi-Fi only HTC Flyer at £479.99. Sweet Moses, what were you thinking, HTC?
However, Bob Dylan has written a song about tablets called "The times they are a-changin’", essentially detailing how you can now grab various slates – some old, some new – for less than £200. That’s more like it, man.
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Having originally launched six – yes six – months ago at Mobile World Congress, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is finally here, huzzah! Of course, it’s not the only tardy MWC device. Where the hell’s the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad, for example?
But enough about the “world’s fastest smartphone”, we’re here to talk about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, with the windows and the stylus and the whatnot.
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BlackBerry 10 licensing will only work for RIM outside of mobile
We heard the suggestion for the first time in RIM CEO Thorsten Heins' interview with The Telegraph the other day, and now he's repeated it again to Bloomberg: the company wants to license out the BlackBerry 10 OS to other hardware makers.
The principle is a simple one: thanks to years of declining earnings, RIM has had to downscale its operations significantly, and so only with outside help can it give BB10 the cross-market presence to make a serious dent in the market.
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