Mobile Phones News Blog

Samsung’s recently announced flagship handset, the Galaxy S III, has been named as the official mobile phone of the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.

A limited-edition version of the quad-core device will be specially made for the prestigious sporting event, tying in with Samsung’s position as a major sponsor. However, the Olympic version of the phone won’t be going on general sale and will only be made available to sponsored athletes and selected trialists.

Visa Europe, one of the event’s main sponsors, will be fitting the special edition Galaxy S III with a version of its payWave app. The app uses the new device’s NFC capabilities to allow users to buy food, drinks and merchandise in and around the Olympic village using the many terminals being installed in the run up to the Games.

DJ Lee, head of Sales and Marketing at Samsung Mobile Communications, said: “The Samsung Galaxy S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind and is the ideal device to showcase the ease and convenience of Visa’s mobile payment application at the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

Payments up to £20 can be carried out in this way but any larger amounts will have to be confirmed with a passcode for security reasons. By the time the Olympic Games begin in July there are expected to be 140, 000 compatible terminals in operation the UK.

Nokia has announced a wave of new app releases, some of them exclusive to the Windows Phone platform, at the CTIA Wireless show currently underway in New Orleans, USA.

Microsoft has been pushing hard to attract new and existing developers to create apps for Windows Phone, and the steady increase to 80,000 available apps in the Windows Marketplace shows their efforts are succeeding.

Add in the pull of Nokia’s excellent Lumia phones, and it appears quite a few brands are eager to let the pair exclusively host their apps for a set amount of time.

Probably the biggest announcement comes from Rovio, who has confirmed it’ll be bringing Angry Birds Space to Windows Phone soon. No exact date was provided, sadly.

Electronic Arts will be adding a large number of games to the Marketplace, most of which appear to be ported over from other platforms, including FIFA, Mirror’s Edge, Madden NFL, NBA Jam and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

Moving away from gaming brings us to PayPal, who has been developing a payment app ready for Windows Phone which will use a Live Tile to provide up-to-date account information.

Nokia has secured exclusives from sports network ESPN, whose app will display scores on a Live Tile, plus a separate Fantasy Football app too, both of which will be only available on Lumia phones until May 2013.

Golf fans will be treated to a PGA Tour app in June, where it will remain a Lumia app until this time next year, plus we can expect a Groupon app, an AOL Entertainment Hub featuring radio, movies and music, and finally, the motoring social network Tripdots too.

Release dates for all these apps appear to be between now and early summer, and the exclusives are another good reason to choose a Lumia Windows Phone.

Unlike some previous editions of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 5 and iOS 5.1 haven’t seen a string of incremental updates, in which bugs are fixed and small features added.

While this could indicate the software is relatively trouble free, there are others experiencing problems who see this as an oversight on Apple’s part, as they’re forced to live with whatever issue has befallen their device.

However, last night Apple released iOS 5.1.1, which could solve some of these problems. According to the iTunes details, the new version improves the reliability of the camera software, specifically for HDR snaps taken directly from the lock screen, plus 2G and 3G switching on the new iPad, AirPlay bugs and a fix for the syncing of Safari’s bookmarks and the Reading List.

Unfortunately, there’s no mention of a fix for the new iPad’s Wi-Fi troubles, or its less-than-accurate battery meter, or the iPhone’s notification sound woes.

The update could be a whopping 800MB if you choose to download it through iTunes, so if at all possible, consider downloading using the over-the-air option, as here it only replaces those files that are needed on your particular phone, cutting the size down to a mere 45MB.

Although it’s not available at the time of writing, a direct download via Apple’s security page could also be used.

With Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference less than two months away, this could be the only update we’ll see to iOS 5 before our first look at iOS 6, which is widely expected to make its debut at the show.

Microsoft has been granted a patent for a device which reads muscle movements and communicates them wirelessly to a phone or computer.

The Electromyography-Based Controller could be fitted into an armband that would read electrical signals from the wearer’s muscles and translate them into commands for any connected device.

The controller could be fitted into other wearable equipment such as a shirt or glasses or even nodes that attach directly to the user’s skin.

Whilst the idea is still very much in the concept stage and far from being launched into the market, it’s still interesting to see if such a controller will ever made available to consumers and, if so, exactly what form the final version takes.

A concept design that gives an impression of what the next iPhone could look like if it is made from Liquid Metal has been created by a French artist.

Digital designer Antoine Brieux produced the image depicting how the the new iPhone would look if rumours about Apple using the super-strong material prove to be true.

Although speculation about the next iteration of the Apple smartphone hasn’t yet come anywhere near the levels reached by Samsung’s new Galaxy device there has been suggestions that it will have an ultra-thin case.

Brieux also envisaged possible specs such as a 4.5-inch screen, 10 megapixel camera and quad-core A6 chip.

Apple is said to have an exclusive deal with Liquid Metal Technologies, the makers of the much talked about material. Although it is doubtful that a final iPhone will look like Brieux’s creation it is interesting to see a concept of how Liquid Metal could be implemented.

Following our brief introduction to the Samsung Galaxy S III at Earls Court we were fortunate enough to be invited to the company’s HQ to get to know the much-anticipated handset a little better. The Korean manufacturer has clearly set out to ensure that the S III is the most cutting edge smartphone in the world, so it was with some excitement that we headed to Samsung in order to really get to grips with the device.

Key Features

• Quad-core processor
• 4.8” HD Super AMOLED display
• 16/32/64GB internal storage options
• 8MP camera with burst mode
• 1080p HD video recording
• 8.6mm thickness
• 133g weight
• Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS

With its curved edges and smooth finish, the Galaxy S III certainly lives up to its billing as ‘designed by nature’. The device feels comfortable, if a little underweight, in the hand and cuts a minimal outline in the pocket thanks in no small part to its svelte 8.6mm thick frame.

We were dazzled by the 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display when we tried a unit at the launch event and after a little more time with it we can safely say this is one the best screens seen on a smartphone to date. Colours are vibrant but realistic and the contrast is second to none, providing a totally immersive experience whether browsing images or watching video.

The stunning display provides the perfect platform to show off the all new TouchWiz Nature UI, an interface which offers the user a vibrant yet familiar experience. Android Ice Cream Sandwich is unsurprisingly the operating system of choice for the S III, with the handset’s powerhouse 1.4GHz quad-core processor dealing with the platform without lag or any sluggishness in menu browsing.

The on-board camera is an 8 megapixel unit which includes a number of great features such as burst mode and zero shutter lag. One particularly interesting feature is the Best Shot function which allows the user to capture 8 images in a mini burst with the camera app itself then auto selecting the best shot. Full HD 1080p video recording is also possible on the device, with a reduced quality mode available if required.

A major selling point for the Galaxy S III is the idea that the phone is both intuitive and effortless and much of this is ideology manifests itself via the software on the device. One such feature is the Pop-up Play video functionality which allows the watching of video content while carrying out other tasks at the same time. With multitasking considered an incredibly important aspect of today’s flagship smartphones, Pop-up Video is sure to grab the S III a number of headlines.

S-Voice, a competitor to Apple’s Siri, is another intuitive feature and offers the user various ways to interact with the device using voice recognition. Particularly impressive is the ability to unlock the phone by simply speaking to it, with options also included to personalise the phrase used to ‘wake’ the handset.

Some other intuitive features that we only had the time to glance over include Allshare Play, which uses DL NA and the internet to connect the S III wirelessly to your other personal devices, and Direct Call, which uses motion recognition to make answering calls as simple as moving the handset up to your ear.

With functionality at the top of the priority list for Samsung, there is a host of features we did not have the time to test out during our brief visit. However, we are really looking forward to spending some extended time with the device and as soon as we do you can expect a full review right here on the Dialaphone blog.

After perhaps more speculation and rumours than any handset in the history of smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S III has finally landed at the Samsung Unpacked event at Earls Court in London. We were fortunate to be able to attend the launch in all its orchestra-backed, Oscar awards ceremony tinged grandeur, where we would be introduced to this most anticipated of devices and, most importantly, get our hands on one.

On picking up the Galaxy S III the first thing that jumps out is the stunning 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display which offers dazzling colours and excellent contrast. The device is extremely lightweight at just 133g and also slender with a thickness of 8.6mm. The overall form factor is reminiscent of the Galaxy Nexus complete with rounded corners, however, the inclusion of a physical home button differentiates the S III from its predecessor.

In terms of design, the S III is said to be inspired by nature and this is apparent in both the colourways the device is available in (pebble blue or marble white) and the glazed finish of the plastic rear panel which supposedly represents flowing water.

The S III features a quad-core processor under the bonnet and the device also comes loaded with a huge 2100mAh battery, one of the largest capacities we have come across in a smartphone. Connectivity options are plentiful with 3G, NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 built in ensuring connectivity is as cutting edge as the rest of the phone. Internal storage comes in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB options with expansion options catered for by microSD slot.

Android ICS runs out of the box as expected and comes skinned with an all new TouchWiz Nature UI which, as the name suggests, is built broadly around the themes of air, water and all things outdoorsy.

The onboard 8 megapixel camera offers some particularly intuitive features including “best shot” mode (which will automatically pick the best image from an 8 shot burst), zero shutter lag for instant capture and a start up of just 990ms. Video capture is available in full 1080p HD and impressively, the front-facing camera is also capable of HD recording.

Samsung has positioned the S III as a device that is ‘effortless and intuitive’, meaning great measures have been taken in order to make the features included as useful as possible in everyday use. These features include S-Voice, a function that appears to be along similar lines to Apple’s Siri, and S -Beam which is built upon the foundations of Android Beam. One particularly innovative inclusion is the Pop-up Play video functionality which offers the ability to watch videos at the same time as carrying out other tasks on the handset.

Another innovation is Smart Stay, an intriguing feature which uses the front-facing camera to read the users eyes. This technology has the ability to place the handset into standby if you fall asleep while watching a movie, or even stop auto-rotation of the display if you lie down whilst using the handset.

The focal points of the Galaxy S III all appear to be built around the need to be intuitive and Samsung’s desire for this handset to effortlessly fit into the user’s everyday life. Although the numerous features are a little overbearing at first, they will undoubtedly be attractive to consumers wanting the very latest technology in their pocket. Also, innovative functionality such as pop out video really did provide the wow factor in our short time with the handset.

Although we will withhold judgement of the Galaxy S III until we can really delve into the workings of the device, we’re sure that it will be another Samsung creation that really pushes the boundaries of smartphone technology.

Camera lens maker Carl Zeiss has had a long and illustrious partnership with Nokia already, and an announcement has just been made that the relationship is set to continue for several more years.

Carl Zeiss lenses have been found on many of Nokia’s best camera phones, including the N95, N82, the N8 and the latest 808 PureView, equipped with a show-stopping 41 megapixel camera.

Nokia’s vice president of smart services, Jo Harlow, said Carl Zeiss was a “crucial partner in the creation of the first PureView experience,” and that we should expect “more PureView innovation and further enhancements in smartphone imaging in the coming months and years.”

The new deal between the two companies will see Carl Zeiss work exclusively with Nokia, and although PureView technology is currently only found on a single device, it’s expected that we’ll see a similar camera on a Nokia Windows Phone in the future.

Launched at Mobile World Congress, the 808 PureView will go on sale in certain markets later this month, before arriving in the UK before the end of June. It has a 4-inch touchscreen, 16GB of internal memory, NFC and uses Nokia Belle as its operating system. The phone’s standout feature is the 41 megapixel camera, which also shoots 1080p video and has a xenon flash.

Nokia recently produced a special video promoting the 808 PureView, which was shot using the device itself.