Omio News Blog

Beat Hazard Ultra Review – Synesthesia Shooter Is Perfect Fit On iOS

Do not adjust your display. The above screenshot is from dual-joystick shooter Beat Hazard Ultra, a frankly intense game that uses your own tunes to create a unique wave-based blast ‘em up.

Created by indie developer Cold Beam Games, the frenetic title has seen success on a myriad of platforms including PC, Mac and Xbox Live Arcade, but making the leap to iOS devices sees Beat Hazard Ultra finally land on the same place where your music collection resides…and it is a beautiful marriage.

Every beat, snare and lyric of your chosen song is seamlessly converted into a pulse-pounding, visceral 21st Century remix of classic shooter Asteroids – dodging enemy craft, blowing up opponents and collecting a variety of power-ups in an alien landscape.

Whilst some boost your ship’s weapons and others add to your score multiplier, the best power-up is definitely ‘volume’, cranking up both the music and visual intensity in an already spectacular game.

Choose a melodious song and lulls in the flow offer a brief respite, whilst the staccato rhythms and ferocious bass of a dubstep anthem makes for a high-octane gaming experience like few others.

The iOS version brings a few new perks and add-ons to put a novel twist on your favourite albums (as well as some in-app purchases to level up faster…) , whilst the ability to use tracks from a built-in internet radio tuner gives a limitless supply of audio.

Whilst the touch controls make the tense movements and twitch-based action a tad tougher than with a traditional joypad, Beat Hazard Ultra is a phenomenal (and universal) port complete with iCloud save support, achievements, and a must-have launch price of just 69p.

Get it now, enjoy your iPod playlist in an entirely new way…

GiffGaff Teams With Keith Harris And Orville For ‘Unlock A Chicken’ Campaign

A rap video by 80s variety act Keith Harris and Orville in association with SIM-only retailer giffgaff, in order to highlight the plight of battery hens…sounds entirely normal.

Partnering with the Wood Green Animal Shelter, giffgaff pledges to rehome incarcerated poultry every time that someone activates a new SIM.

Drawing a comparison between consumers tied into long term contracts and chickens in battery farms might sound a bit of a stretch, but Tom Rainsford, Head of Brand and Propositions for giffgaff (GiffGaff? Giff Gaff?) highlighted the similarities:

“People on long mobile contracts are analogous to battery hens, laying profit for big mobile companies. We launched the idea of unlocking real battery hens through new SIM activations last year, and the giffgaff community loved it. We’re now giving them shareable content to help get the chicken love out there. And yes we know – Orville is a duck.”

To be fair, we were this close to mentioning that fact…

Check out the full video below, it’s worryingly amusing.

HTC Sensation XE White Due February, Brings Beauty And The Beats

If you were only able to tell HTC’s Sensation handsets from each other by colourway, the Taiwanese phone maker is set to make things a lot tougher this month with a white model of the HTC Sensation XE.

The HTC Sensation XE white is due for a February 20th launchaccording to SIM-free phone seller Clove, with the Beats by Dre-equipped smartphone costing £408.

Powered by a dual-core processor, Android Gingerbread and a 4.3-inch qHD display, the Sensation XE is already a formidable device in the AV stakes, with enduring popularity stemming from affordable pricepoints.

With confirmed word that HTC is to be focused on quality over quantity this year, we look forward to seeing more from both the manufacturer and the amazingly successful Beats brand.

Samsung Galaxy Y Pink Now Available From Carphone Warehouse, Free From £9.99 Per Month

Those looking for an affordable Valentine’s Day gift are in luck, as the Samsung Galaxy Y is now available in a fetching pink hue from the Carphone Warehouse.

Free from just £9.99 with 50 minutes, 100 texts and 250MB of data as well just as a shade under £80 on prepay, the Galaxy Y Pink brings Gingerbread to bear on a cute casual handset.

Very much a ‘starter for ten’ in terms of smartphone specs, the Galaxy Y Pink has a 3-inch touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera as well as 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Perks include swift texting and typing via Swype, as well as Samsung’s brand of customisation with the TouchWiz interface.

Cheaper than two dozen red roses, the Galaxy Y Pink is a Valentine’s gift that keeps on giving…well, in terms of free Android apps at least.

Giffgaff Adds BlackBerry Services, Tackling Capacity Issues With £1.5m Upgrade

Good news for users on O2′s virtual offspring giffgaff, as the prepay operator is finally able to offer BlackBerry services – including BBM – to customers.

For £3, an add-on can be placed onto current deals to offer access to all of the favoured mail and messaging platforms offered by RIM’s compact smartphone range.

A victim of its own success, giffgaff has been plagued by a number of customer service and infrastructure-driven issues that have delayed the rollout of this upgrade, citing ‘capacity restraints’.

Talking about the issues faced by the fledgling network, CEO Mike Fairman was candid in an interview with Mobile Magazine:

“The problems came from our rapid growth…so we had to reign in and focus on providing a good service for our existing customers. We switched off all our adverts, slowing our momentum in order to put that capacity in.”

With over 100,000 customers since its launch in June 2010, giffgaff focuses on offering affordable SIM only packages for those using unlocked handsets, leveraging the O2 network and giving a selection of packages which include unlimited internet use for as little as £10 per month.

Additional fixes scheduled for giffgaff include increasing contact centre staff numbers and broadening capacity, all part of a £1.5m effort to bring the provider to a higher standard. With a community-driven word of mouth strategy and incentives to bring friends and family on board, giffgaff’s goal of 1 million connections by 2017 seems lofty, yet somehow achievable in our current ‘money saver’ climate.

Compare the latest SIM only deals here.

Anti-Stalking PanicGuard App Launched For Android, iOS

Released late last week, PanicGuard is the world’s first police-approved app for Android and iOS, specifically aimed at the personal security market.

Leveraging the handset’s GPS and video recording facilities to automatically contact emergency numbers when activated, PanicGuard hopes to lend peace of mind to some of the estimated 120,000 people who are victims of stalking each year.

Activated by shaking or holding the handset, an alarm is triggered and a text, e-mail or social networking message is automatically sent to your emergency contacts. Once the handset goes silent, rather than the app turning off it actually begins transmitting video and audio to a secure server. Finally the GPS functionality (at least until the handset is turned off) enables the authorities to follow a signal to the device’s location.

“Everyone has a right to feel safe on the streets and in their own homes, but sadly that is not always the case,” says Michael Dissing, entrepreneur and developer of the PanicGuard app.

“Our goal is to empower our users to feel more confident, knowing that without doing anything more than shaking their phone, they can instantly alert friends and family who can call the police to come to their aid and they will have the evidence to help them catch the criminal.”

Whilst free to download, the service costs £3.99 on a three month rolling subscription after a 30 day trial. It’s also important to bear in mind that this app needs to either run in the background or be previously activated to work. Whilst a great idea, running out of battery due to an eager GPS might leave you without enough to juice to make a call in a hairy situation…

Nokia OS Gets Last Hurrah, Belle Update Lands On Symbian Smartphones

 Nokia’s Symbian operating system seems to be getting a last nip and tuck before being put out to pasture, with the latest ‘Belle’ update set to grace the Finnish manufacturer’s range of pre-Windows Phone blowers from today.

The Nokia N8, E7, E6, C6-01 and C7 will all be receiving the long awaited revamp, with updates to all manner of features including a notifications bar, customisable homescreens and improvements in navigation. See if your handset is compatible by clicking here.

Whilst some may argue that this is all ‘too little, too late’, it’s nice to see the Nokia old guard getting the respect they deserve before focus turns to supporting Microsoft’s mobile platform in earnest.

In related news, Nokia have also announced cuts of 4,000 staff across three manufacturing facilities and a move of their production processes to the Far East. With a protracted time to market a major factor in the above being ill-equipped to compete with an Android avalanche and Cupertino’s finest, a move towards agility is a smart one.

Source: uSwitch Mobiles

LG Prada 3.0 Phone Gets Star Power For Ad Campaign, Deals Now Available From £31

Today in ‘symmetrical people holding things’ news (we miss you, Idiot Toys!), LG have hired actor Edward Norton and gorgeous Ukrainian/Canadian model Daria Werbowy as the faces of the new PRADA 3.0 handset.

With both recognised by LG as stand-out members of their field and representing the ethos of ‘stylish looks and smart functionality’, Norton and Werbowy will lend their visages alongside the latest Android-powered beauty from the Korean manufacturer.

The handset is certainly a looker, a fashion phone that finally evokes a lot of the Italian fashion house’s unique sense of minimalism and clean lines. The PRADA influence extends to a slender 8.5mm form, 4.3-inch touch display and the signature Saffiano pattern emblazoned on the matte black rear.

The PRADA vibe extends to the revamped user interface, complete with understated icons and simple fonts. An unfortunate side effect of this substantial facelift is that the PRADA 3.0 will be stuck on Android 2.3 rather than the newest Ice Cream Sandwich build…however LG are pledging to roll out an upgrade later this year.

Dr. Jong seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company commented: “LG is delighted to have these talented and successful individuals on board to help launch this smartphone. They embody the very essence of the PRADA phone by LG 3.0, combining style with substance, as well as bringing to life this outstanding smartphone.”

Slightly more affordable than this season’s togs are the deals for the PRADA 3.0, Phones4U are offering the handset free for just £31 per month, with 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data on Orange and Vodafone.

SIM-free phone fashionistas can pick one up for £429.99 from Expansys, with stock available now.

Infographic Shows Potted History Of Mobile App Stores

If you cast your minds back to the heady days of 2008 – Leona Lewis’ dulcet tones filling the airwaves with ‘Bleeding Love’ and the Dark Knight’s gravel tones filling cineplexes – you might remember Apple forging the genesis of what has become the modern mobile app store alongside the iPhone 3G.

App developer Shoutem has jogged our memory with this handy infographic, charting the rise of everything from the Android Market to BlackBerry App World and even Nokia’s own Ovi Store.

Despite some notable exceptions - including the webOS App Catalog – it’s a pretty comprehensive list of some astronomical figures.

Check it out below.

Samsung Go Dual-SIM Route With Galaxy Y Duos, Galaxy Y Pro Duos

Whilst proving popular with folks in emerging markets, the dual-SIM phone has historically failed to fan flames in the hearts of European consumers…nevertheless Samsung is aiming to change this with an Android powered duo scheduled for 2012.

The Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and Galaxy Y Pro Duos are a pair of mobiles with a nice line in dual-SIM functionality.

The Y Duos is a Ginerbread-powered device, packing a 3.14-inch touch display as well as all of the slick Samsung software acoutrements we’ve become used to seeing in their mid-range Android line-up, from the TouchWiz user interface to all sorts of media player love.

As for the Y Pro Duos – if the name didn’t give it away – packs a physical keyboard in its BlackBerry-aping slender form, as well as the modified Android OS.

So, what’s the point of a dual SIM device? Well, it stops you looking like an extra in The Wire for one, wandering around with a pair of handsets if you need two separate phone numbers – for ‘business’ and ‘pleasure’ as it were. These enable you to put both SIMs in one phone, switching between the two at will.

The reason that they’re so popular on other parts of the globe is the ability to have easy access to a dedicated SIM for international calling and the like. Avoic costly calls, texts and data charges, all the while looking cool with a single versatile device.

Russia is the first to receive the Duos…duo in January of 2012, likely followed by a global release soon after. Will the UK finally come around to the idea of doubling down in the SIM stakes? Perhaps these might be enough to change our mind.