Omio News Blog

Flipboard App Leaks: Flipping Great News Available To All Android Users

We were pleasantly surprised at the recent Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012 event to see the innovative newsreader app Flipboard running on the Samsung Galaxy S3. 

Flipboard allows you to add RSS, Facebook and Twitter feeds into a bright tiled layout, and flick up and down to ‘flip’ rather than scroll through pages, making navigation a breeze.  It also looks great, folding the page in half as it flips, and especially making Twitter posts with images more visually presentable.

It was a great app to show off the S3′s huge 4.8″ HD Super AMOLED screen, and something of a talking point. Up until now this has been exclusive to, and an office favourite on our iOS devices. Whilst an Android release was rumoured as imminent, it was announced as a Galaxy S3 exclusive at the event, at least initially.

Now a version of the app has turned up online via the forum XDADevelopers.com after user Falcho reported that he had simply extracted the program file from a review handset using AirDroid.

The app is currently working perfectly on a number of Android handsets, not just the latest ones, even the original Samsung Galaxy S gets some love,  meaning that you don’t have to upgrade just yet, to get a piece of the flipping pie.

Installation is as easy as dropping the .apk file into the handset’s internal memory (it won’t work fully from the SD card) and in the phone’s security settings, enabling the ‘Allow installation of non-Market apps’.

In addition to this, the same user has managed to upload the S Voice app, so Samsung Android users will also have a chance to try the Galaxy S3′s voice control functionality.  We’re not nearly as excited about this as Flipboard though, an app that actually improves the user experience rather than frustrates it.

If you’re feeling a little adventurous and wonder what all the fuss is about, head over to XDAdevelopers for more details.

For more details on Android handsets, including the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3, check out Omio’s deals page.

BlackBerry Curve 9320 Announced: Free On T-Mobile From £15.50 Per Month

RIM have announced an upgrade to their popular and affordable Curve range of handsets.  The BlackBerry Curve 9320 will have all the core functionality of that users have come to expect, although offer no real surprises.

Being an entry level classic BlackBerry, the focus here leans towards function and affordability over spec-sheet.  We have the usual 2.4″ screen and QWERTY keypad. Push Email, Facebook and Twitter integration via apps is present and accounted for, whilst the BBM service for instant, always-on communication now has it’s own button for easy access.

Onboard is an MP3 player with FM radio for music on the move, plus a 3MP camera with LED Flash for capturing moments when something bigger is out of reach.

GPS maps, and internet access also round off the ‘smart’ functionality, whilst global 3G compatibility, 512mb onboard with 32GB microSD storage and a good sized 1450mAh battery will mean that the Curve 9320 will travel well abroad too.

The Curve 9320 will run the latest version of BlackBerry OS 7.1, although it is unlikely that this will be upgradeable to the upcoming BlackBerry 10, which seems to be more geared towards touch-screen handsets.

T-Mobile are the first to announce availability of the 9320, offering it free from £15.50 p/m on a 24month contract.

This will net you 100mins call time, unlimited texts (flexible booster) and 250MB of data.

Alternatively they are also offering the handset off-contract for £149.99, making it a cheap and chirpy communicator, or a functional second handset.

Keep an eye on Omio’s deals page for offers on the BlackBerry Curve 9320 from other networks as they emerge.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Launch: UK Release Date Set For May 30th

Samsung finally revealed the hotly anticipated Galaxy S3 yesterday evening, in a multi million pound launch event at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

The handset runs the latest version of Android 4.0.4 on its 1.4 GHz quad-core Exynos processor with 1GB of RAM. 

The screen is an impressive 4.8-inch 720p Super HD AMOLED screen, which, whilst big has a thin bezel around it, so is perfectly holdable.

Figures like that would usually have us reaching for the charger, but the new processor is said to be much more power efficient, and the battery is a whopping 2100mAh, which is roughly 30% more powerful than the rival quad-core HTC One X.

The rear camera is 8MP and super-fast, taking 3.3 still shots per second, and 1080p video. 

The front camera is a surprise at 1.9MP, which is larger than expected, but maybe necessary for facial tracking. The S3 will be able to tell if you are looking at it and stay on if you are reading something, rather than dim the screen on a timer as is the norm.

The Galaxy S3 was given a more rounded appearence than the S2, opting for natural curves and soft edges.

Samsung have said they were inspired by nature when desiging the handset, which explains why we were serenaded by whale noises and birdsong during the build up.  The handset was demoed in two colours, pebble blue and ceramic white, for business and pleasure respectively.

Samsung also described the phone as being ‘designed for humans’ focussing on the social sharing features of the handset.  ‘S Beam’ is a close proximity file sharing feature that uses NFC and wifi to send files between handsets.

Facial recognition software will also allow users to instantly share photo’s with people in their contact list immediately. 

‘S Voice’ brings an air of Siri to the precedings, allowing users to look insane whilst talking to no-one.

You may be able to wake the phone from sleep with a voice command, but we always found the wake button much quicker. Hopefully local search facilities will be enabled upon release, (something Apple have still failed to do here in Europe) and bring this functionality out of novelty status.

The S3 will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, with this expandable upto a further 64GB with the addition of a micro SDXC card.

Users will also be given 50GB of Dropbox cloud storage free for two years, which should see through a 24month contract.

The Galaxy S3 will be released as a 3G HDSPA+ version on May 29th in Europe, with a 4G LTE version following in countries lucky enough to have super-fast mobile broadband, in June of this year.

The Korean tech giants were keen to play down the numbers and the launch focussed on what the phone could do rather than boast about specifications or previous succeses. Of course, they could have boasted had they wished…

Figures released recently by London firm Strategy Analytics revealed that Samsung held 30% of the smartphone market, beating Apple’s 24%.

Samsung also accounted for 24.5% of the global mobile handset market, passing Nokia, who have been on a downward slide of late.

UK Retailers are currently rubbing their hands in anticipation of the May 29th launch, as the Galaxy S2 sold like hotcakes.

Some information lacking from the launch event was any solid details on pricing. However, retailers will be keen to start pre-sales so expect full details soon.

We expect the handset to be offered on contract from the £35 per month mark, with the upfront cost varying depending on which model you plump for. Those who wish to buy the phone outright rather than tie into a lengthy contract should expect prices starting around £500.

We will of course be sure to bring you any deatils of availability and pricing as soon as we find out.  Sign up for alerts about the Samsung Galaxy S3 on our deals page, or keep tuned to Omio for more news.

BlackBerry 10: RIM Preview New Keyboard And Camera Features

Research In Motion yesterday previewed features that we can expect from their upcoming BlackBerry 10 mobile software, proving that despite a year of continuing setbacks, the beleaguered mobile company still has some innovations up its sleeve.

New RIM CEO Thorsten Heins used his first BlackBerry World conference to reveal a swish new keyboard for their upcoming touchscreen handsets, as well as a time-travelling camera app that should prevent missed smiles and blinking in pictures! 

All this was shown on an early developer’s handset, that was essentially a scaled down version of their PlayBook tablet.

A new virtual keyboard may not sound like the most compelling of announcements, but for a company that holds messaging so central to it’s core identity, it is definitely important to get right.

On first impressions the keyboard looks nice and spacious, with plenty of room for even the larger thumbed among us to glide around. Each row of letters is separated, with a clear dead zone in order to minimise miss-pressed keys, that also allows space for predictive word suggestions to appear.

The new software will be able to scan a user’s previous messages in order to make word lists for predictive typing and auto-correct, something that would usually take some time to adapt to, but in this case will be available straight away after setting up the handset.

In addition to this, the hit points of individual keys will adapt dynamically to the natural typing of the user, great news for those of us who always miss the same buttons!

Lastly the keyboard software will incorporate a number of touch gestures, for instance horizontal swipes to delete entries and vertical swipes to switch from letters to numbers, or to select text suggestions.

For those of you who are quite happy with your touchscreen typing, the prospect of a time-travelling camera may hold more appeal.

Everyone’s taken a picture, only to find that someone has blinked or pulled an involuntary stupid face just as the shutter clicks.

The camera app in BlackBerry 10 will take a number of images before and after the shot, and will allow you to glide either forwards or backwards in time to get the perfect snap.

The demo previewed on stage suggested that faces can be independently manipulated, receiving a rapturous reception from the audience.

It’s a nice idea that had the ‘wow’ factor, and could save you from some spoiled photo’s, but we’re still holding out for a Blade Runner style camera software that can look round corners.

Whilst there is no indication that RIM are to ditch the physical keyboard completely – something that has been a unique selling point for the BlackBerry - it is good to see them try to innovate in a field that they have struggled to compete in, that of the Android and iPhone dominated touchscreen market.

To say that RIM have had a bad year would be an understatement. A massive loss of service in October 2011 affecting tens of millions of users saw their reputation as the last word in reliability in tatters.

Add to this a drop in market share from 10% to 5%, and shares dropping 77%, it was little surprise when co-founders Mike Lazardis and Jim Balsillie stood down as joint CEOs back in January.

New CEO Thorsten Heins recently announced a renewed focus on the business markets in an attempt to consolidate the company’s strengths and core values.

Whilst the announcement of a flashy camera app will attract some headlines, we’re happier to see the messaging interface being given some due care and attention.

For a wide range of deals on BlackBerry handsets, see Omio’s deals page.

Sony XPERIA P Release Date and Price Revealed, Contract Deals Available Soon

The Sony XPERIA P will be released in the UK on May 7th 2012, initially sim-free via Clove for £330, and Expansys for £339.  Contract deals are available on Omio’s deals page now via buymobiles.net.  More deals will show up as the release date closes.

The Android handset is looking pretty shiny with a precision crafted aluminium unibody, and a 4” touchscreen that utilises Sony’s ultra-bright, ultra-crisp ‘Whitemagic’ technology.

Sony have also been pushing a novel yet practical use for the built in Near Field Communications, the same technology used in transport swipe ticketing, such as London’s Oyster cards.  Sony have developed Smart Tags, dongle like devices that you can hang in your car, home or office, that enable you to quickly change custom settings as you move from one area to another, which will no doubt kill those annoying scrambles to switch on bluetooth & GPS every time you get in the car.

The relatively slim 1GHz dual core processor won’t break any speed records, but may give some allowance for battery life.  The 8MP camera with Exmor R image processing should make all your snaps look gorgeous, and you’ve got a respectable 16GB of storage for pics video’s and music.

DLNA built-in will mean you can wirelessly beam video and images to compatible screens effortlessly. Full specs are available here. The handset will ship with the relatively antiquated ‘Gingerbread’ flavour Android 2.3, although Sony are promising a hop, skip and a jump of an upgrade to Android 4 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ in Q2 (so around the summer).

The XPERIA P sits in the mid-range of Sony’s NXT series of handsets, just below the more powerful Xperia S which is available now. The payoff with the XPERIA P is that you can get a great looking handset without breaking the bank!

You can bag yourself an off contract pre-order today, via Clove and Expansys. If you’re after an on-contract deal, keep an eye on the Omio deals page.

Apple & Samsung Ordered By Judge to Sit Down And Sort It Out Like Grown Ups

It could be that an end is in sight to the ongoing ugly legal fight between Apple and Samsung, a messy high profile battle that is part of the a wider ‘patent wars’ in the tech industry.  The tech world has resembled something like pub brawl at kicking out time of late, with patent rights being bought and sold as weapons for the courtrooms.  The Apple vs Samsung match up even saw Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab banned for a while in Europe after accusations of similarities with the iPad, and influenced a hardware re-design to the American version of the Samsung Galaxy S2.

Now Samsung and Apple representatives have been ordered to the office of Judge Joseph C Spero, who will no doubt to sit them down and give them a jolly good piece of his mind.  Both Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO will be attending, probably both looking at the floor, shuffling their feet nervously.

Twitter have even waved a white flag, calling for a patent truce and telling everyone to ‘just get along’. The Innovators Patent Agreement is a call for a non aggression pact, that would effectively mean that patents could only be invoked legally for defensive purposes.   

But why the beef? Despite the bitter slug fest in the courts, Apple and Samsung do a remarkable amount of business together.  Samsung not only provide the New Ipad’s high resolution ‘Retina Display’ but also the custom A4 and A5 microprocessors in the iPhone 4S and iPad.  Most see this as being more to do with Steve Job’s vow to destroy Google’s Android mobile operating system. 

Google and Apple used to be quite pally, but Google’s entry into the mobile market was seen as an arch betrayal by Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who had simultaneously sat on the Apple board of directors as Android was being developed in secret.  Jobs afterwards vowed he was ‘willing to go thermonuclear war’ in order to sink Android, and his company since targeted high profile Android devices, such as Samsung’s also exceptionally popular handsets and tablets.

The court meeting, to be held within the next 90 days, should give us an idea about how much this vendetta lives on in the Post-Jobs Apple organisation, and hopefully draw to a close a messy chapter in the patent wars.

Nokia Lumia 900′s Bumpy Launch: Early Adopters Benefit, For A Change

Nokia’s big US launch of the Lumia 900, its $99 flagship smartphone, has been embarrassingly setback by a software glitch that has affected data transmission.  However in a remarkable move, Nokia have offered early adopters a $100 rebate off their next bill, effectively meaning that customers will be $1 better off for taking up the handset.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a week for Nokia.  First weekend sales in the US of the aggressively priced flagship Windows Phone handset were promising, topping the Amazon sales charts despite some mixed reviews.  Critics praised the familiar design, essentially an XL version of the Lumia 800, built around a large ClearBlack 4.3” AMOLED touchscreen, and the addition of 4G LTE data speeds.  The addition of a front facing for video calls and Skype was also welcomed, this being a notable omission from its predecessor.  However they did note a lack of multi-core processor, and relatively low screen resolution, in comparison with its major competitors.  Despite this, customers showed that their priorities lay with their wallets and snatched up the handset on-contract for a mere $99.

The celebrations were short lived however, as reports started to emerge of a significant bug in the handset causing loss of data connectivity. Nokia were swift to offer an explanation of the fault on their blog yesterday, offering either a downloadable software patch on the 16^th April or an immediate in-store exchange for an updated handset.  In a bold and clearly costly move, they have offered $100 credit to each person who buys the phone between its release and the 21^st April, effectively paying customers $1 to take up their phone on contract.  One dollar may barely get you a free lunch, or even a cheap app, but the principle stands.

It’s yet to be seen how this swift manoeuvre will sit with customers.  Will they smell desperation and run a mile, or will this give them an additional sales boost? As a third place runner behind Apple’s and Google’s Android, the key to long-term success for Nokia and Microsoft is to boost the Windows Phone ecosystem.  Any significant rise in user numbers will be supported by increased app purchase and in turn, further developer support.  Nokia’s decisive response is in stark contrast with the silence and denials from Apple over launch bugs on previous iPhone releases, so we wait to see whether Nokia have managed to pull a last-minute save with this move.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is available for pre-order now in the UK, and set for a 27^th April release date, by which time the UK handsets won’t be affected by the software glitch. The Lumia 900 is currently being offered from free on a two year contract via Phones 4u.

Check Omio’s deals page for a full list of tarriffs and offers.

Nokia World 2011 – Nokia debuts new ‘Lumia’ series Windows Phones for November release

At the Nokia World 2011 conference yesterday, CEO Stephen Elop introduced the first fruits of their ‘strategic partnership’ with Microsoft.  The Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710 are being heralded by the marketing blurb as the ‘first true Windows Phones’, (which presumably had executives at HTC and Samsung spraying their coffee over the boardroom table in shock). 

NOKIA LUMIA 800

First up is the Lumia 800, the flagship handset, and the one to drool over. Phonespotters and Nokia fanboys among you (yes, you over there in the corner) may find it somewhat familiar, as externally it looks pretty much identical to the Meego-running N9. It has the same highly engineered ‘unibody polycarbonate’ shell, looking similar to the last vertical iPod Nano, although with a 3.7” curved glass front and a fantastic ‘ClearBlack’ AMOLED screen running 800×480 pixels.

When it comes to the internal gubbins, the Lumia 800 is unlikely to win any games of Mobile Top Trumps. The processor is a qualcomm single core running at 1.4GHz, running 512MB of RAM, which won’t scare off drag-racers like Motorola Atrix or the Galaxy SII. This should be perfectly adequate for the resource-light Windows Phone 7.5 Mango operating system, (plus the iPhone 4S runs just fine on the same amount).  Storage is also somewhat disappointingly limited to 16GB, with no memory card slot, although users will be able to use 25GB of cloud storage with the Microsoft SkyDrive service. The Lumia 800 has removed the front facing camera of the N9 (not that anyone really uses them anyway) but it does pack a whopping 8MP camera at the back with Carl Zeiss optics and the (essential for shooting on nights out in Helsinki) good low light performance.

The handset will be released this November in the UK and Europe in three colours, black, cyan and magenta in the UK and Europe with a suggested price of around 420 Euro’s.

LUMIA 710

Playing the 800′s less attractive but no less powerful sibling, the ‘no nonsense’ (read affordable) Lumia 710 comes with the same 3.7” screen, 1.4GHz processor ad 512MB ram, and a smaller yet respectable 5MP camera with all the usual social network hook ups for image uploading. Users will however only have 8GB of unexpandable storage for music, video and images however, although Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage is here aswell.

Whilst it lacks the smooth unibody appearance of the 800, the Lumia 710 is available in both black and white flavours, with the distinctly Nokia interchangeable back covers making a return in black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow.  Hello Kitty ones are probably being moulded in China as we speak, coming to a market stall near you.

The Lumia 710 will still have access to all of the same services such as Nokia Drive navigation, Nokia Music, a Spotify-esque service and also run a fully functional Internet Explorer 9. This handset is aimed at the fun young and price conscious market, and will bring Windows Phone functionality to a lower price point of 270 Euro’s.

Both Microsoft and Nokia are pinning a lot of hopes on this  initial lineup. Whilst Nokia were arguably the original smartphone manufacturers with classic handsets like the Nokia Communicator and the N95, the App-led (pardon the pun) ecosystems of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Andoid Marketplace have since left Nokia shivering at the bus-stop. In the year that we’ve had it, Microsoft haven’t managed to make a mark with their Windows Phone OS, outside of critical commendations, and whilst a few handsets are available at present, none really have the ‘wow factor’ or mass market appeal of a ‘killer handset’.

With Lumia, Nokia and Microsoft are making a two pronged invasion of the marketplace. The Lumia 800 is clearly targeting  phone fashionista’s and getting people talking about Nokia’s design skills again. The Lumia 710, whilst not as flash, is aggressively priced to give a much needed boost in numbers to the Windows Phone platform, which will live or die on the number of users in the marketplace.

No doubt anyone that remember Nokia’s domination of the mobile market, back when Snake was the pinnacle of mobile gaming, will be hoping that the Lumia range will be the first step to restoring some of their former glory.

Check back here for more info as we receive it, and on Omio’s deals page for and the best contract deals for the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710.

Video Footage Of Upcoming BlackBerry Curve ‘Apollo’ Leaked

Video of the rumoured, yet still unannounced follow up to RIM’s wildly successful Curve 3G, currently being touted as the Curve 9370 ‘Apollo’, has leaked online courtesy of Vietnamese blog tinhte.vn via our friends at electricpig.co.uk.  See the video below, and a run down of what to expect from the newest BlackBerry handset.

What is apparent from the video is the new bodyshape, a smooth more rounded back, and tapered at the top and bottom, which makes the handset feel even thinner than its actual 11mm.  The 3.5 headphone socket has moved to the top, and the side has a volume rocker, camera button and a tiny tiny standby button.  Feel free to ogle it above in all its YouTube glory.

Whilst our Vietnamese is admittedly, um, non existent, an internet translation of the accompanying article does reveal some more interesting tech specs:

The camera has been improved to 5MP, with an LED flash to capture all of those late night/low light moments.  There is also a front facing VGA camera included.  The screen has also been given a pixel bump in line with the higher end BlackBerry models, up to 480 x 360 pixels, from 320 x 240.

The Curve Apollo runs the latest version of BlackBerry OS, version 6.1, and appears to run along smoothly thanks to double the memory (512mb) and a speed bump in the form of an 800MHz Marvell ‘Tavor’ processor.

Fingers crossed that RIM are slightly more cool about early footage of their handsets getting online than Apple were with the iPhone 4.  Lets just hope our guys in Vietnam doesn’t get some steel capped boots knocking at the door any time soon!

Stay posted to Omio for any more official details.  In the meantime, feel free to sign up for alerts on Omio’s deals page, so that the moment we get any indication of pricing or availability for the BlackBerry Curve ‘Apollo’, we’ll let you know!

Samsung Galaxy S II – FREE on T-Mobile from £25 Per Month

Deal hunters rejoice!  Samsung’s newest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S II, is now available on T-Mobile for absolutely free from £25 per month.

That will get you 600 cross network minutes, 500 texts and 500MB data each month.   Those unwilling to sign on for a 24 month contract can get the same package on an 18 month contract for £19.99 upfront, and £30 per month.

The Galaxy S II is quite simply one of the most powerful and thinnest smartphones on the market… We mean, like stick-insect thin, being a paltry 8.49mm at the narrowest point.

Its diminutive waistline belies the power in the belly of this sexy beast; The Galaxy S II is rocking a top of the line 1.2GHz Dual core processor and 1GB of RAM.

This combined with the latest Android 2.3 software, means the phone is SNAPPY, handling anything that you care to throw at it with ease, including flash browsing unlike some of its other notable rivals, and full 1080p video playback and recording.

The icing on the cake though is the generous 4.3-inch ‘Super AMOLED +’ touchscreen, which put simply is big, bright and colorful and has been universally praised for reproducing images that pop right out at you.

Samsung have come under fire from Apple in recent months over alleged copyright issues regarding the uncanny likeness to iOS, we won’t lie, its a fairly obvious reference to Apple’s layout.

However whilst they pit their best lawyers against each other in a legal bloodbath, for everyone else its something of a win/win. Previous iPhone users who may be wanting to dip their toes into the cool free waters of Android will find themselves at home here, with the added advantage of interface customization, free file handling, and expandable memory upto 32GB.

Alongside the iPhone 4 and HTC Desire HD, this really is one of the top three best smartphones on the market today. So if you fancy treating yourself to something special for less, check out all the deals for the wonderful Galaxy S II on Omio’s deals page.