GizmoSpy » News

Watch live football via Sky TV from your Nokia

GizmoStu — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:28:25 +0000

Nokia have teamed up with Sky to launch a new app which allows the mobile phone companies users to watch live premiership football matches and more.

The Sky mobile app, which can be downloaded from Nokia’s Ovi store, also gives users the ability to watch on demand goals,match highlights and sports news and the best bit … it’s free.

Even for those that have no interest in football the app can still be a handy tool, giving you the capability to program your Sky+ box while out and about, so if you’ve forgotten to record tonights Eastenders then you need fret no more.

The app is currently compatible with the Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Nokia 5530 with plans to release versions for the 5230 and X6 in the near future.

Samsung 3DTVs on sale from March

GizmoStu — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:17:15 +0000

With an eye to being at the forefront of innovation, Samsung have unveiled their plans to be the first to bring 3D TVs to stores in the UK starting from March.

The LED 7, LED 8 and LCD 7 as well as the BD-C6900 Blu-ray player will be the first models to hit the shelves, with the LED 9, the Plasma 7 Series and the HT-C6930W Home Theatre System following a little later in the spring.

The range of Samsung 3D TVs will use the Active Shutter technology also taken up by Sony and Panasonic, and will have PVR functionality built-in, meaning you will simply be able to plug in a USB stick or hard drive and start recording TV content directly to either device.

The TVs feature Samsung’s 3D processor that will automatically convert 2D content into 3D in real time, as well as built-in Wi-Fi and ethernet capabilites to enable things such as instant film rental through LoveFilm and iPlayer on your TV through the company’s integrated Internet@TV service.

Samsung have also struck a deal with Dreamworks so that all new 3D TVs come bundled with Monsters Vs Aliens, something that should please those young at heart.

As yet, Samsung still haven’t announced any pricing for their 3D range, but as soon as we hear we’ll keep you updated.

Amazon Kindle app launched for Blackberry

GizmoStu — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:35:00 +0000

Ever wanted to download and read Ebooks from the Amazon Kindle store on your shiny new Blackberry? Well, as the saying goes, there’s an app for that.

Amazon.com have just released a version of their kindle app for Blackberry users, but just for those in the US currently. This release follows on from a similar app for the iPhone back in March 2009. There are also plans to add more features to the Kindle for BlackBerry app in the near future, including the ability to search within books and scroll through books.

The Amazon application will let readers switch between smartphones, iPod Touch devices, computers, and Kindle eBook readers without losing their places in digital books.

Rumour has it that the internet giant has set it’s elves to work creating similar software for MACs and the upcoming iPad, with the announcement by Apple that there will be no iBooks available for the UK iPad launch Amazon must be set to pounce on this gap in the market.

New iPhone SIM Only Plan from Vodafone

GizmoGaz — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:34:46 +0000

The iPhone is still all-the-rage at the moment, but the reality is that so many people will have one already, though not necessarily on as strong a tariff as they’d like.

Well Vodafone may have come up with a solution – the iPhone SIM Only Plan.

A £25 per month tariff which includes the following:

600 minutes talktime
unlimited texts
1GB of data allowance
Flexible 30 day contract

So why is this great for iPhone users?

+ Stay online for longer and get more downloads!
The 1 GB allowance equates to 10,000 emails/web pages or 1,000 minutes of streaming video, plus users will enjoy 1GB monthly allowance to BT Premium Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots!

+ Great Allowances without compromising flexibility
The great talktime and unlimited text allowance is also combined with freedom as the short-term contract means you can stop anytime with just 30-days notice. If

+ A more reliable service
Vodafone’s network coverage reaches 99.7% of the UK population with awards for its speed and reliability – So you can fully benefit from all the great allowances!

The Spys at Gizmospy think this could attract a lot of new iPhone customers to Vodafone as it will suit the majority of consumers. Check out the Sim Only Plan here

$10,000 iTunes giftcard for the lucky 10 billionth song downloader

GizmoStu — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:01:24 +0000

Apple are bracing themselves for their 10 billionth iTunes song download and it’s drawing ever closer. To mark the occassion the lucky person who hits this landmark download will receive a huge $10,000 iTunes giftcard, just imagine the possibilities.

The competition is open to us here in the UK and Ireland plus various countries across Europe. Alternatively you can also fill out an online entry form, but whichever method you choose to enter you can only make 25 entries per day.

Head on over to iTunes now to checkout the countdown and make your potentially rewarding entry.

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Mobile service providers joing together to create standard for mobile phone apps

GizmoPaul — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:21:28 +0000

The mobile phone app market is a lucrative one and as such 24 of the largest phone operators have joined together the challenge the dominance of app stores, such as Apple’s app store. The operators including Vodafone, China Mobile and Sprint have access to over 3 billion customers and want to regain control of the apps available on phones.

Downloads are predicted to top the 21 billion by 2013 and in a market dominated by Apple the phone operators are keen to get in on the action. Apple downloads were more than 3 billion in the last 18 months. Blackberry, Google, Nokia, Symbian and Microsoft all offer their own app stores as well.

As a result of these different phone manufacturers all competing developers of apps often have to create multiple versions of the same app for different stores. The Wholesale Applications Community aims to overcome this by offering a single open platform that delivers applications to all mobile phone users independent of the phone.

This work is also supported by some of the hardware manufacturers such as LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, as well as industry body the GSM association. Another firm echoing the new idea are Adobe. Their AIR platform, which is available on desktops, allows developers to build desktop applications for services that are more commonly found on Google’s Android browser. Adobe will be offering the AIR platform on Google’s Android operating system and until now it has been unavailable on smart phones. This may change if all apps have to conform to the same developer standard.

Microsoft announce next version of Mobile Phone Operating System

GizmoPaul — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:03:55 +0000

Today Microsoft launched its latest version of its mobile phone operating system. The new OS is called Windows Phone 7 series. The user interface has been redesigned to include Microsoft services like Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service. Microsoft made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

While Apple, Symbian and RIM (Blackberry) have the lions share of the market, Microsoft currently have around 9% according to research firm Canalys. The previous version, Windows Mobile 6.5 was launched in October 2009.

The new operating system has the services that are at the heart of mobile phones at the moment, search, social and location.

The new operating system seems to be built around 6 hubs, people, pictures, games, marketplace, music and office. The first phones using the new OS will be available later this year from manufacturers including Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony Ericsson.

Microsoft will impose certain specifications on the hardware suppliers such as being multi-touch and having a hard button that will bring up Bing, Microsoft’s search engine. Manufacturers will also be restricted to using the tile interface which means the interface will be less customisable which may not appeal to users. The other operating systems such as Apple allow heavy customizations of the interface.

Microsoft may gain some users with this new release but they have laid their plans early with other players in the market set to make announcements on their next releases later this year.

Play.com to ship Google Nexus One from 16th February

GizmoStu — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:42:58 +0000

Although you can currently buy an unlocked Nexus One direct from Google, Play have taken the initiative and shipped some in ready for sale here in the UK from February 16th.

Although there will be a slight markup in price it does save all the hassle of importing the phone from the states and all the extra fees incurred along the way.

Currently the phone is listed on Play at £599, with of course Plays free delivery as standard and it will be fully unlocked and sim free.

Vodafone plan to offer the phone on contract starting from spring this year, but if you can’t wait and have to get your hands on one now then head on over to Play and grab one before they’re gone!

Click here for more info

Alienware M11x Netbook further price and spec details

GizmoGaz — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:58:33 +0000

Our spys have been on the alert for the next biggest gaming NetBook. and found out some leaked details about the planned starting price and product specs.

Dell plan to price this NetBook at $899 and be available from approx 5th Feb 2010, but packed with a Pentium SU4100 or Core 2 Duo SU7300, 11.6″ 720p Display, with NVidia GT 335M Graphics 1GB chip, so is perfect for gaming. Rumours are this was branded as a Netbook but with this much power it’s only really a Netbook because its ultra portable.

There was also an update on Dell Japans website which further backs that this product will be released this month. Release dates in the UK have yet to be revealed.

This is not yet official news, but watch this space.

Sky+HD boxes replace the original Sky+ set-tops

GizmoStu — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:14:33 +0000

Sky have today announced it will no longer be issuing the original Sky+ boxes, instead opting to give new customers and upgraders alike the newer Sky+HD receivers as standard. For those without a HDTV the extra capabilities will just lie dormant until such a time that they wish to upgrade their telly.

The move coincides with the press release a few days ago that it’s new 3DTV broadcasting will be coming soon to homes that have the HD box.

For new customers who opt to subscribe to the HD package the box and installation will be free or those who decide against having the extra HD pack it will be £49 for the box and £30 for the installation.

Existing customers who wish to upgrade to Sky+ without HD capabilites will have to fork out £99 and £60 installation costs. Sky have yet to confirm the price for existing customers to upgrade to full HD.

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