Do you love your white smartphones? Well if you do, The Samsung Galaxy Nexus white edition has been revealed as coming to the UK a whole week before this years MWC (Mobile World Congress), probably as to not take any thunder away or indeed to the Galaxy Nexus against Samsung’s next gen devices.

This technology news follows on from recent rumours regarding an official white Galaxy Nexus release with many speculating it might not even come to the UK.

“After much speculation, we are pleased to announce the availability of the Galaxy Nexus White which follows the great reception the phone has received since it was launched back in November,” said Simon Stanford, Samsung’s UK and Ireland head of the Telecommunications and Networks Division.

Overall this is good news for consumers as the white Galaxy Nexus adds another option available to consumers against Apple’s white iPhone 4S.

Via: T3

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

Back in November 2011 I highlighted just why the Apple patent war needed to stop. Well nonetheless that war is still going on. So this week we have some news that is good, bad and just ugly. Where to begin? Well lets start with bad, in the land down under, Australia. Apple has brought a whopping 278 claims against Samsung in an Australian court – 278! The Australian reports the Apple has added 278 complaints against Samsung. 72 involve patents and 10 involve Smartphone and Tablets products Samsung has yet to release in Australia . Although Apple won an injunction against Samsung back in November 2011, it has since been overturned. Samsung’s top lawyer involving the suits, Neil Young (anyone else suddenly picture the American rock singer?) says that do to the short notice of the latest law suit, Samsung will not be able to file defense until the middle of May 2012 at the earliest. This could have a major negative impact on Samsung’s sales in Australia.

Now for some good news – or ugly news, depending on how you look at it. Motorola has won a permanent injunction against Apples iCloud product in a German court. The decision was handed down in the Mannheim Regional Court by judge Andreas Vass. Apples iCloud being a cloud-based service, infringes on a ”multiple pager status synchronization system and method,” owned by Motorola. Motorola also won a case against Apple involving one of Motorola’s European 3G/UMTS patent. Since then, Apple has pulled the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 from its German online store along with any 3G/UMTS enabled iPad’s it has. This move came from a ruling handed down in December 2011. Motorola went all out against Apple to ensure the ruling was enforced. This will  hurt Apples sales in Germany.

VIA: Engadget 

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

Oh you lucky chaps (and chapettes). Yes, the Nokia Lumia 900 is now up for pre-order in the US  at one of Microsoft’s fifteen retail stores to be found across the United States, and to secure yours you need only deposit $25. According to most recent rumours, the Nokia Lumia 900 will be in customers hands by March 18th in the US, whilst UK folk will have to wait for any news regarding a release date as non have been specified at this moment.

The Nokia Lumia 900 adds LTE to its Lumia line up and features a bigger screen than the beautifully crafted Lumia 800, Nokia’s current flagship smartphone. Other specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon system on chip clocked at 1.4GHz (an APQ8055 + MDM9200), an eight megapixel camera, WVGA screen resolution, 16GB onboard storage and a 1830mAh battery that can power the phone for up to seven hours.

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

Nokia has announced its Q4 earnings for 2011 and shockingly the company made a loss of a gigantic $1 billion, despite them releasing fairly solid hardware in the name of the Lumia series of smartphones. According to Nokia, this loss is being put down to a global decline in the sales volume for their smartphones, losing out to the competition whilst handset sales fell 29 percent in Q4. This news comes as Nokia also announced recently that they are a seeing a 21 percent year on year decline in sales, early year almost certainly down to poor hardware.

Overall then, it looks like Nokia’s fate is going to be determined by their deal with Microsoft and the Windows Phone 7 operating system. As always however, if a product is fantastic (much like the 800) it is going to have to be marketed in such a way that it appeals to practically all consumer demographics. Nokia, we’ll leave this to you, however I’ll bet Apple is smirking at the fact they saw bumper profits this year with iPhone sales sky rocketing.

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

Mobile website design will take centre stage in 2012 as momentum continues to shift from the traditional Web to the mobile Web. As mobile phone users increasingly migrate to the Apple iPhone and to Android-powered smartphones, the popularity of the mobile Web will continue to soar. Add the number of mobile tablet users to the mix and understanding the importance of mobile websites is easy.

Perhaps one of the most significant challenges facing web developers is the need to present usable web content in formats that adapt to a multitude of different mobile screen sizes and resolutions. After solving the rendering problem, designers must then focus on creating mobile layouts that present content in a way that is easy to navigate without omitting essential features.

The following design tips will help everyone who has a website get their mobile websites deployed and performing their best for the coming year.

1. Design for Fingertip Navigation.

Clickable elements should be large enough for users to tap without unintentionally activating a different element. Designers with enough discipline will avoid the temptation to overload mobile Web pages with too many buttons and controls as if they will be used with a mouse. Menus, search boxes and images should be large enough and separated enough for the site to operate with taps as intended.

2. Utilise the m.website.com format.

Ensure that, through responsive web design, the mobile version of a website is easily recognisable from the desktop version. However, the user interface should be optimised to highlight key features, as screen space is limited.

3. Use Consistent Scrolling

Create pages that scroll left or right, but not both. Many users won’t realise that a page goes left, when they’re used to flicking right. Scrolling up and down can also get confusing. A consistent design can make sure visitors don’t miss any content they would like to see.

4. Add Dynamic Content

As 4G becomes standard, designers should feel at home adding video and image galleries to their mobile Web space. Not everyone has the fastest data speeds, however, so there should be a way for those with 2G and 3G to opt out without having to abandon the site altogether.

5. App Emulation

Smartphone users are used to apps, so when designers serve pages that look and act like an app, they feel at home. Some developers prefer to create a mobile website instead of an app so users always have the latest content at their fingertips.

After getting started with these tips, developers should not forget other important aspects of development such as social integration and flash-free construction. With a little special attention, mobile websites for 2012 can be better and more profitable for every.

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

Introducing Lookout Labs’ Mobile Threat Tracker

By Yuri

Here at Lookout, we like to push the boundaries of mobile. That’s why we launched “Lookout Labs,” an initiative that enables our team to quickly create and launch new mobile products. Many of you have already had the chance to find a lost phone with Plan B, or learn a little more about Carrier IQwith our detector app; both were concocted in Lookout Labs. Today, we’re excited to introduce our Mobile Threat Tracker. This interactive app allows you to zoom through time and watch as thousands of sparks light up the globe, each one representing a real person protected by Lookout. With the Lookout Mobile Threat Tracker, you can now see the thousands of threats that Lookout identifies and catches everyday. This app should answer some of the questions we get all the time: “Are there really mobile threats?” “How many mobile threats are there?” “What are the most common mobile threats?”

Within the Mobile Threat Tracker you can quickly see the top three trending threats. If you tap on the name in the app, you can learn more about each threat. This week’s top threat, RuPaidMarket masquerades as a useful app, but actually sends premium sms messages without allowing you to opt out, or letting you know that you will be charged.

Behind the Mobile Threat Tracker

As an engineering intern at Lookout, I love reading the stories that Lookout users submit to our company. It’s pretty cool to hear how Lookout has saved the day for our users by finding their lost or stolen phone, backing up their precious data, or blocking them from downloading a malicious app. I thought it would be interesting to build an application showing the many threats that Lookout detects across the world, telling the story of these individual users at a macro level. This was the genesis for the Mobile Threat Tracker. The Mobile Threat Tracker shows a globe against a starry backdrop where each flying spark illuminates a mobile threat we’ve detected. With a swipe of your finger, you can travel through time to see mobile threat activity and read the top three threats Lookoutprotected against for the current week. This data is updated hourly so you can see mobile threats appear and disappear overtime.

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

It’s been a while since LG outed a new ‘Prada’ branded smartphone due to the line being flumped by the likes of Apple’s iPhone and Android offerings, however their latest version, the 3.0, ships with a few fairly desirable features including a 4.3 inch Nova touch screen display, a dual core processor (as is the norm now), 1GB RAM and 8GB of built in flash memory. The device also features an 8 mega pixel camera for you to take snaps with. Sound interesting? Well it looks like you won’t have long to wait in the UK, because T- Mobile has added the mobile phone handset on their website’s coming soon page. It does have to be said however that the page doesn’t show pre-order details or pricing, so we’ll have to wait and see exactly what’s in store for consumers.

Via: 3g.co.uk

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.

These days, it’s hard to hold on to your mobile phone for the full term of your contract. 12, 18 or 24 months can seem an awfully long time when bigger, brighter and better phones seem to be coming out on a seemingly daily basis. Of course, several of the major mobile networks offer the chance to ditch your totally useless mobile in before your term is up, in return for a renewal of your contract. So what is the sensible shopper to do? Read on.

The answer: buy SIM-free. I know, I know. It’s expensive, but these days it makes more sense to go down the more expensive route in the short term to reap the long term benefits. For example, if you find yourself in the market for a HTC Desire HD, the phone itself can be purchased SIM-free  online. Now, the original price might be a little bit pricey at first, but think for a second. You’re likely to have a phone you’re wanting to get rid of, say, an iPhone 3GS 16GB. Cash 4 Phones will offer you a cool £100 for your old mobile, effectively knocking the price of the HTC Desire HD SIM-free down. Sounds better already, right?

Even better, you’re now free to ditch your contract at the end of the term. Most people are paying somewhere in the region of £30 per month for -frankly- awful levels of minutes, texts and data packages. There are many alternatives to the big networks, the best of which is GiffGaff. GiffGaff is a community run network, based off the back of O2′s signal to ensure good network coverage. Because they don’t spend money on big advertising campaigns or shops that means they deliver all the savings to you for some almost absurdly cheap pricing. For example, a £10 goody bag will net you 250 minutes, properly unlimited texts and truly unlimited internet (100GB, if you like). And the best part? It’s a rolling contract, if you’re struggling for cash one month, just don’t bother paying and you’ll not be charged a penny.

With that, over the coming months you’ll be saving a good chunk of money whilst simultaneously getting more bang for your buck. Not sounding so expensive now? I didn’t think so. Not only that though, you’re also opening the door to much faster updates for your phone. Every carrier on the planet not only loads up their Android phones with useless software, but they spend a long time going about it. After a new version of Android is released, phone manufacturers then begin work upgrading their product portfolio to the latest version, the software is then sent to all phone networks for them to do with it as they want. This can lead to delays of up to months, something you’re going to completely eliminate if you’re free from the shackles of carrier locked mobile.

It’s not all sunshine and roses, you are going to have to swallow that initial purchase cost, which will make something of a dent in your bank balance, but to my mind, there’s no better way to get a smartphone these days.

©2012 Technology Blogged, News. All Rights Reserved.