Category Archives: Tech News

HTC One Mini banned from sale by this Friday

Android, Tech News

Bloomberg has reported that a British judge has ruled in favor of Nokia, finding that HTC infringes several patents owned by the Finnish company. As a direct effect, HTC will not be able to sell its One mini phone in the UK starting this Friday, December 6. While the judge also found the One to be infringing, he did not immediately impose a ban on the flagship; such a measure would have caused “considerable” damage to HTC, he opined.

However, the injunction against the One is just postponed, giving HTC enough time to appeal the ruling. The One mini ban is immediate, though, as of December 6. “Nokia is also claiming financial compensation for the infringement of this patent”, said the company, adding that the Taiwanese phone maker has agreed to no longer import “any more of the products into the U.K. pending the appeal”.

In its defense, HTC argued that the infringing microchips were too small of a component to justify an injunction. However, the Taiwanese company didn’t comment, as of yet, on the ruling.

This surely won’t help HTC’s financial woes.

Apple and China Mobile – in business

Apple, Tech News,

The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Apple and China Mobile have finally reached a deal that will see the world’s biggest mobile carrier offering the iPhone on its network from 18th December 2013.

China Mobile, which has more than 700 million subscribers, is one of the last major carriers in the world that does not currently offer the iPhone, and this deal should bring a huge boost in sales to Apple.

To put this deal in perspective, this deal with China Mobile would give Apple access to a subscriber base that is seven times the size of Verizon Wireless, the U.S.’s largest carrier. Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, is Apple’s third biggest market after the U.S. and Europe in terms of revenue.

Three UK rolling out 4G and offers USA coverage – more details

Tech News, ,

Three UK is on a bit of a roll.

– USA one of four new fear-free roaming destinations for Three customers.
– Three customers can use their UK data, text and calling allowance while in the USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Macau.
– Feel At Home now operates in 11 destinations around the world.

– In the UK , Three has started rolling out 4G speeds in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
– This is for a selection of customers in these areas initially just to make sure there are no issues

I use Three UK and find it it be an excellent operator when it comes to tariff allowances and pricing.

Amazon piloting air drones for delivery of your book orders in 30 mins

Tech News

A few days Amazon hit the headlines with its 30 min delivery offering using Air Drones. Below is their video.

I have had a few days to think about this. It is a crazy idea was my first thought. My second thought, it’s great advertising for free just in the lead up to Christmas. This story was all over the news.

And of course it’s 4 years away from being the real deal, and that is if it ever really wasn’t anymore than clever advertising.

Just think, someone sees the drone make a delivery. And then runs off with your package? Or you live or work in a flat or office block? Would use of the air space be granted? Would there be a craze to shoot them out of the sky?

Huawei is quitting the USA

Android, Tech News

Venturebeat has reported that Huawei confirmed it has had enough of its wars with the USA and will quit selling it’s wares.

For years, officials in the US and elsewhere have accused the tech company of being a proxy for the Chinese government. And while Huawei has long denied the claims, it seems like it’s just too tired to do it any longer.

In a recent interview with French media, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said the company will stop looking for new business in the US, where fears over its alleged spying are the highest. ”It’s not worth it,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview.

So is Huawei acting as a spy for the Chinese government and stealing all your information.

Well my experience with Huawei, has been the Ascend P6 phone which overheated when using Bluetooth and GPS at the same time. Maybe it was also reporting back to China as well, and actually overheated due all my food tweets!

Do we really need flexible phones ?

Android, Apple, Tech News, Windows

LG and Samsung have both released flexible phones recently to demonstrate what they are both capable of building. But do we really need flexible phones?

The LG G Flex has a self healing back and can be flexed flat by pushing down on it. It moves by about 5mm downwards from the centre point before it goes flat. This really fascinates me. A self healing back and slightly flexible. Why you may ask?

Well it means that future phone will be more durable. Scratches won’t be a problem and the odd drop or two won’t crack the screen. It will also potentially negate the need for a case.

I can’t wait for future developments in hardware. 2014 could be an interesting year.

Quechua’s new smartphone is IP54 certified

Android, Tech News

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Quechua, which is known for selling mountain sports gear and equipment, has partnered with electronics company Archos to build a smartphone designed to face the elements.

The 5-inch smartphone combines the ruggedness and durability that comes from Quechua’s sports brand along with Archos’ smartphone expertise.

Quechua’s Phone features a 5-inch handset on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, IP54 certification, a Qualcomm 1.2GHz, quad-core chip, 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), a 5-megapixel rear camera and one rather beefy 3,500mAh battery.

The handset is designed with an active lifestyle in mind and is resistant to shock, mud, water, sand, cold and snow. Seems like a good phone for an active type person. The specifications are middle of the road though, so not ideal for the power user.

Tablets are more important than phones for shopping

Android, Apple, RIM, Tech News, Windows

The latest announcements from many major retailers have all commented that sales of tablets including iPads have proven to be what people want for Xmas.

In addition, iPads were used to buy 60% of online purchases on Black Friday at major retailers. Other tablets and mobile phone also contributed heavily. Blackberry and Windows Phone sadly did not feature in the stats as devices used for buying goods.

I must admit most of my shopping so far has been online using mobile devices. That’s mainly due to my whiplash injuries keeping at home. So have you been using your tablet or phone to buy goods ?

Tablets, Smartphones and TV’s for under £99 – surely not!

Android, Tech News, Windows

I mentioned in my latest podcast, Gav & Dave’s Podcast available in iTunes, that Asda had Black Friday limited offers on about 8 items.

Now while a number of these items would not be the type of product I would normally buy, I do think it does show how cheaply goods can be manufactured, sold and then distributed.

For example an android tablet was £49, a 32 inch TV at £99, Samsung S3 Mini locked to Vodafone at £99 and a LG 42 inch plasma TV at £259. So last Friday, you could have bought a phone, tablet and TV for £247. That’s less than half the price of both the iPhone 5C and 5S. What is amazing about these prices is it gives more people the ability to own modern tech. It may not have the best screen or the best speakers or it may be last years tech but it’s still useable. And low cost and affordable.

Now you could say this is just once a year pricing. But it’s not.

Both Nokia, Motorola and other companies sell smartphones for £99 or even less. Instead of the S3 Mini, the Nokia Lumia 520 or Motorola Moto G are better options by miles but cost the same or in the case of the 520 even less dependant on network.

The same goes for tablets and TVs.

It’s truly remarkable at what prices products can be sold for nowadays and really puts pressure on high end products to justify and differentiate their offerings even more.