Al Gore: iPhones coming October

Notice the plural

22 September 2011 10:19 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

  Al Gore, the former vice president of the United States and current Apple board member, has seemingly confirmed that multiple iPhone devices will be released in October, mentioning to a Johannesburg audience "the new iPhones coming out next month".
Speaking at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in South Africa Gore, who is also a Senior Advisor to Google, said: “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.”
Now obviously a lot of fanboy hysteria has been stirred up by the fact that the ex-VP used the plural "iPhones". This has been taken as the most concrete evidence yet that the next-gen iPhone will indeed be accompanied by a cheaper iPhone model.
It's often been suggested that, as well as a spanking new iPhone 5, we'll also be getting a more wallet-friendly update to the iPhone 4.
It's reported that 10 million of the budget models will be ready at launch for a phone described as an "iPhone 4 look-alike". Our guess is that it'll just be an 8GB version of the existing model, with the odd internal tweak.
On Wednesday, All Things Digital stated that the new Apple CEO, Tim Cook, will be the one giving the 5th-gen iPhone presentation to the watching world on 4 October, with the handset pretty much "green for launch".
Gore's statement is the first time that anyone from the Apple board has specifically stated that there will be new handset launch in October though.
source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42193/al-gore-new-iphones-october

New HTC users to get 5GB free Dropbox service

Cloud Storage boost

22 September 2011 9:18 GMT / By Stuart Miles

  Microsoft has Skydrive, Apple has iCloud, and now HTC has Dropbox following a new partnership between the phone maker and popular cloud storage service.

HTC has confirmed to Pocket-lint that users of its latest Android handsets, like the HTC Rhyme, will get a bonus 3GB of storage in addition to the 2GB of free storage offered by Dropbox if they connect to the platform with the new phone - launching in October

The deal, which will extend to all Sense 3.5 devices in the future, will mean that users will be able to save files and photos on their phone and have them automatically synced to their computer at home or other devices running the Dropbox software.

Dropbox currently offers users 2GB of storage for free, with the chance to upgrade that by a further 8GB by convincing friends to sign up to the service. HTC’s additional 3GB makes reaching the 10GB free storage maximum all the more easy.

When asked whether HTC would be looking to bring the offer to its Windows Phone 7 smartphones, the company wasn’t so sure. Our HTC man suggested WP7 already has a very compelling offer from Skydrive powered by Microsoft baked into the OS.

Skydrive offers a far greater 25GB of free storage to lure people to the service.

Currently HTC’s Android interface Sense 3.5 is only on the HTC Rhyme and HTC Sensation XE however, with more phone announcements expected in the coming weeks from the company, we don’t expect that to be the case for long.

HTC hasn’t said whether older Sense users would be getting an update to 3.5 or the Dropbox features.
source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42191/new-htc-5gb-dropbox-allowance

Windows Phone 7 Mango update to start next week or two

Official update almost here

22 September 2011 9:16 GMT / By Stuart Miles

 

Microsoft has confirmed that it will be rolling out its latest Windows Phone 7 operating system, dubbed Mango, to customers with a first generation WP7 smartphone in the next week or two.

The announcement from Redmond means the company sticks to the promised "Fall" release.

"Hi everybody. Given all the recent speculation around the timing of our Mango update, I wanted to bring you up to speed on what to expect next," wrote Microsoft man, Eric Hautala on the official Windows Phone blog.

"For months, we and dozens of our partner companies have been laying the groundwork for the Windows Phone 7.5 update - and making solid progress. As a result, we now expect to start rolling it out in the next week or two."

If a "week or two" sounds pretty vague, that’s because Hautala was responding to comments saying:

"By 'roll out' I mean we’ll be starting the actual delivery process - emphasis on starting."

The previous update, dubbed NoDo, that added copy and paste functionality to the OS took a number of weeks to arrive via the numerous operators and handset makers around the world.

To help ease the stress of those waiting, Microsoft says that it will continue to update the Where’s My Phone Update? page that should let you know when the update is coming to your phone on your network.

Hautala also fires a warning shot to those keen to try and get it early through unofficial sources:

"During the official Windows Phone 7.5 update process, every Windows Phone will also receive software from the handset manufacturer. This matched and paired firmware has been painstakingly tuned so your phone - and apps -work with all the new features of Windows Phone 7.5. Since your phone requires the proper firmware to function as designed, my advice is simple: steer clear of bootleg updates and homebrew tools."

To get the update users will have to update the Zune software on the PC or the Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac software.

HTC has already confirmed to Pocket-lint that it will be pushing the Mango update to its HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC HD7, and other handsets like the HTC Surround by the end of the month.

However, due to timings, the HTC Mango update will not have Wi-Fi tethering as Microsoft added the feature too late in the approval process for HTC to include it.

The feature will, however, be included in the OS for the company’s new handsets, the HTC Titan, and the HTC Radar.

source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42190/windows-phone-7-mango-update

New BBC homepage coming for smartphones, tablets and TVs too

To roll out in coming months

21 September 2011 10:37 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

  If you thought that the BBC's new homepage looked like it'd be a perfect fit for a smartphone or a tablet, then you'd be right. The homepage was built with Auntie's "1 service, 10 products, 4 screens" policy in mind - and a smartphone, tablet and even, possibly, a TV version will be coming soon.
"It shares a design principle that we've seen in tablets and mobile phones and we've heard from reviewers during testing over the last couple of months that it feels quite natural to them because of that," said James Thornett, product manager for BBC Homepage.
"We are already looking in advance, and thinking about how this would appear on a mobile platform. With the user interaction and design, you can see how tablets could easily be adapted and we are also talking with our colleagues across the business of TV. There are interesting discussions around the converging of TV platforms in the future as well."
Thornett also explained how the redesign of the homepage is part of a wider initiative, and is a configuration that will be eventually spread across the wealth of the BBC's online platforms.
"Visually and in terms of the technology used, this is the biggest change that we've made," he explained. "We built it from the ground up and we believe it to be an intuitive, time and location based experience for users.
"When we set up the strategy in January, we set up a very clear user experience vision to run alongside our technical product delivery and you're starting to see some of that bare fruit now.
"I would expect you to see, within the course of the next few weeks, months and years, the rollout of the design front and this kind of interaction and style across all of our sites."
Thornett explained that a blanket redesign of all of the BBC's sites in one go was an impossibility, not just down to the size of the task, but because there would be a risk of alienating the huge readership.
source:http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42161/bbc-homepage-smartphones-tablets-tv

Upgraded Samsung Apps service coming for Wave and Galaxy handsets

Plus 30 free games

20 September 2011 14:20 GMT / By Rik Henderson

  Samsung has improved its Samsung Apps service and is rolling it out to handsets imminently. The Bada 2.0 sporting Wave range will be the first to receive the enhancements, while Galaxy device users will see the update hit before the end of 2011.
The new version of Samsung Apps features a rejigged user interface, with new elements such as My Page and Smart, while an integrated billing service has been introduced to make purchasing applications more simple.
Samsung has also implemented the concept of application rental with the new Samsung Apps. Users can "Rent'n Play" as well as "Try'n Play" in order to test apps before paying full price. And the Smart function adds recommended app suggestions based on an owner's preset preferences, as well as current usage trends.
Other new features include a Wish List, to store apps for future investigation (say, for instance, when you're in a Wi-Fi zone), and there are more opportunities for app developers to promote their wares.
In addition to the relaunch of the service, to celebrate the company's proprietary store's second birthday, Samsung has made 30 normally-paid titles, including Fruit Ninja and Plants vs Zombies, completely free for Wave smartphone users.
source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42159/upgraded-samsung-apps-wave-galaxy

HTC Rhyme: More metrosexual than plain girly

Pink RAZR to blame

20 September 2011 20:05 GMT / By David Phelan

  Here’s the thing: the history of mobile phone companies making handsets specifically targeting women has not been glorious. Mostly, it’s been a series of ho-hum phones picked out by dusty pink cases, the addition of diet apps or, pardon me, a pink (i.e. menstrual) calendar.
But the reason companies keep coming up with them probably relates to Christmas 2005. The UK mobile phone networks had high hopes: 3G had been around for well over a year, but this was the Christmas it was going to take off, surely? The 3G handsets had shrunk to a size where you could actually put them in your pocket - just - and although nobody was bothered about video calling, the benefits of faster data connections were beginning to seem more persuasive.
But Christmas 2005 was dominated by an under-powered phone with a dodgy operating system, feeble camera and disappointing battery life. And it wasn’t even a new model, let alone a 3G phone. Motorola’s RAZR V3 came out in hot, hot pink and cleaned up, that holiday season.

The pink RAZR’s success has a lot to answer for, 6 years later, as phone companies still target women. So, today, in the opulent surroundings of the High Line Stages in New York, HTC unveiled its latest smartphone, the Rhyme, to Pocket-lint and a handful of selected press.
To say that HTC has created a girl's phone is probably an overstatement. This is very much a "lifestyle" phone that will appeal to many, with the "girly" element coming from the range of accessories.
So, it ain’t pink, it’s a tasteful dark plum colour, and will also be available in Clearwater, a golden shade that looks really cool.

But the colour-matching accessories, a pair of tangle-proof earbuds and a cube on a wire that glows when a call or text comes in, make this phone seem decidedly feminine.
The processor is fast, the screen is pin-sharp and the new photographs commissioned as wallpapers look chic and inviting compared to the somewhat manly approach as seen in other more "early adopter" smartphones from HTC.
The charging dock that doubles as a display to turn the phone into a bedside alarm is handy, too. It has the latest version of HTC’s trademark Android overlay, re-engineered to make it accessible and good-looking.
Where the Rhyme, or Bliss as it was codenamed, will appeal is that it doesn't debase women into believing they just want something that's pink while still offering them something that will be powerful enough to appeal. That said though, you have to ask whether women will go for it and whether a few feminine touches here and there are enough to help emulate Motorola's success 6 years ago.
Unlike the pink RAZR, if offers brains and power to match its looks meaning that it's still likely to appeal to both women and men.
source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42166/htc-rhyme-why-a-girls-phone

HTC Rhyme hands-on

Gynoids are go

20 September 2011 21:54 GMT / By Henry Leonards

  The HTC Rhyme is something of a delicate matter, as it is HTC's first phone that is said to have been designed with a female audience in mind. Yet it comes in dull colours and looks quite a lot like every other HTC handset we’ve seen so far. Sure, it’s not black, but it’s unlikely to set anyone’s world on fire in terms of look and feel. So what makes this handset so special then? Well, we’re not quite sure to be honest.
Do women need a phone aimed at them? Is there something about current handsets that's somehow not meeting the needs of female-kind? We take a look into the Rhyme to find out if there's any rhyme or reason for this new handset. Sorry, we pretty much had to write that.
The HTC Rhyme has a pair of unusual features, the first one is the Charm indicator which in short is an LED at the end of a wire and the other being a "wireless" charger dock. Okay, so maybe we’re being a bit uncharitable about it, but the Charm indicator really is just that, a small LED in some plastic attached to a wire that connects to the headphone socket. The LED will then pulsate to help you find your phone when it's lost in your handbag and flash when you have an incoming call. The Charm indicator can’t be plugged in at the same time as the headset.

The wireless charger doesn’t rely on some fancy induction charger technology; instead it has a small row of connectors at the back of the phone which interface with the dock and thus charge the battery. At least the wireless charger is an optional accessory, unlike the Charm indicator, although to be fair, you don't have to use it if you don't want to.
The phone itself feels solid, but also quite heavy for its size at 130g, especially as it only has a 3.7-inch Super LCD screen, albeit with WVGA (480x800) resolution. The Rhyme has a power button and a volume rocker; we would have liked a dedicated camera button too, but this fits the majority of HTC's current Android portfolio.
The Micro-USB port is hidden behind a flap, although this flap is part of the rear cover and it’s fiddly to open and close. Behind the rear cover you’ll find the easily accessible SIM card and microSD card slots, but oddly enough, the battery is not removable.
A quick breakdown of the specs include a 1GHz single core Qualcomm processor, 768MB of RAM and 4GB of built-in storage, although only about 1GB is available for the user. You do of course get features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
The rear 5-megapixel camera is meant to have a back side illuminated sensor and a 28mm F/2.2 lens and although it’s better than most phone cameras, it can’t compete with higher-end phones in terms of quality from what we've seen.

In use the HTC Rhyme feels relatively fast, although the HTC Sense 3.5 UI means that a lot of things have been moved around, so users of other HTC Android phones will have to re-familiarise themselves a bit. The most obvious change is that the little bar on the bottom is now gone, replaced by a pair of circles. One of which accesses the apps and the other the phone menu.
HTC has also come up with a new widget called Shortcuts and Clock and it adds five shortcuts on the left-hand side of the screen, all of which can be customised, alongside a clock and current weather conditions. HTC freely admits it's obsessed by the weather and weather widgets which continues to be a theme of its phones.
HTC has also thrown in FriendStream, its Locations app, HTC Deals, HTC Listen, Facebook, Twitter and a few other more or less useful apps as standard. The supplied desktop wallpapers are also nice, but some logic is missing in terms of how some of the HTC specific apps and settings work. We also didn’t notice any female specific apps, although we’re not quite sure what these would be in the first place.
The time we spent using the Rhyme didn’t convince us that there was anything specific about the handset that would make it appeal to a female audience, instead it’s just another smartphone from HTC that doesn’t really stand out from the crowd.
source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42167/htc-rhyme-phone-hands-on