Microsoft [MSFT] is trying to play catchup due to companies such as Apple [AAPL] releasing the iPhone and Google [GOOG] releasing Android. Their current Windows Mobile 6.X just doesn’t cut it these days.

To shift things up a gear, Microsoft are in the process of creating Windows Phone 7 and surprisingly, it actually looks good. The OS hasn’t launched yet, but will be doing towards the end of this year.

To try catch back up to Apple, Microsoft is looking at throwing cash towards popular iPhone app developers and offering them that cash to port their popular iPhone OS (or iOS as it’s now called) games over to the Windows Phone 7 platform. [Read more…]

Three recently sent us a Three MiFi for review to test and see how it performs and what it’s all about. MiFi devices are handy as they are quite small (the size of a small mobile phone) and act as a portable wireless hotspots connected up to 3G networks. What makes them good is that you can easily leave the device in a bag, or on the desk next to you and easily connect up any device by just entering the encryption key. Unlike the previous mobile dongles which required software to be installed on a PC or laptop so you could connect up to 3G, the MiFi wireless modems connect automatically by pushing a button on the device. Your laptop or smartphone then just connects up as it would to a router at home with no hassle. As there is no software to install it works extremely well with Wireless Apple iPads and easily allows the iPad to connect and work while out and about.

The model we got is the Huawei E5830 that comes with the unit it’s self, a short USB cable for charging, a SIM card and a battery. On the front is an information display (not a screen as such) that shows the status of the device. 5 LED’s are on the front which show if Wi-Fi is enabled, what the Mode is, signal, roaming and battery. [Read more…]

Sony Ericsson has announced a new smartphone in their Xperia lineup. The new phone is called the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 and from what Sony say, it takes the best from the Xperia X10 and the mini X10 versions and puts those in a package costing less than ‚¬200.

The Xperia X8 uses a very similar UI to the X10 mini. When launched it will either run the Android 1.6 OS from Google [GOOG] and then shortly after receive an update to Android 2.1, or it will launch with Android 2.1 depending on timing and the market it is going to. However, there is no mention of Android 2.2 just yet unfortunately. [Read more…]

For those ordering the iPhone 4 in the US yesterday, you’ll probably be more than aware of the issues that arose from trying to make a simple order. Some are reporting that they tried for up to 3 hours trying to get a pre-order through while others are now also indicating that they saw other peoples accounts when completing the order process.

This news follows an incident last week where 114,000 email addresses were made available of iPad 3G customers. This was also a security fault at AT&T.

AT&T are unable to recreate what has happened to customers but did say that nobody saw any credit card details, addresses or social security numbers. Either way, it’s a pretty big mess up on their behalf. [Read more…]

Samsung has announced two more Android smartphones. The two models are the Samsung Galaxy 3 I5800 and the Samsung Galaxy 5 I5500.

The Samsung Galaxy 5 has a 2.8 inch QVGA screen and features 802.11b/g wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and a 3 megapixel camera. When launched it will run the Google [GOOG] Android 2.1 OS along with the TouchWiz 3.0 UI built by Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy 3 I5800 is the larger of the two smartphones and comes with a 3.2 inch WQVGA screen. The OS running on the Galaxy 3 is also Android 2.1. A 3 megapixel camera is to be found along with 801.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. [Read more…]

If you were planning on pre-ordering a SIM free iPhone 4 in the UK this week then you will now need to wait an extra week before it ships to you.

After yesterdays server problems at Apple [AAPL] due to the high amount of people wanting to order the iPhone 4, it somehow magically seems that they have shifted the first shipment of the smartphone. We now see on the Apple store that new iPhone 4 pre-orders are not shipping till July 2 making those who left it too long wait an extra week.

It is unclear why carriers are yet to open their pre-order pages, especially with Apple selling their first batch of pre-orders in less than a day. [Read more…]

Over at XDA Developers we see that someone managed to tweak the setting on the new HTC EVO 4G taking the clock speed from the standard 998MHz (or 1GHz) up to 1.267Ghz.

The results saw Linpack jump from 6.9MFLOPS to 8.8MFLOPS which shows a 30% increase in speed almost.

The modification is straightforward although by increasing clock speed you also see the voltage requirements increase based on stock levels. What that means is that it sucks the juice out of your battery fairly quickly. [Read more…]

Motorola is holding an event next week on June 23, a day before the iPhone 4 launch, to show off it’s new and next generation Droid handsets.

Companies involved at the event include Google [GOOG], Verizon [VZ] and Adobe.

It isn’t clear what will be announced just yet although we suspect we might see the Droid 2, Droid X and potentially both handsets. [Read more…]

There’s a rumour at the moment that T-Mobile in the US could be making all phones free when signing up to a Family Plan on a 2-year contract for this Saturday only due to Fathers day the day after.

From what we understand on the poster, you’ll need to sign up for a 2 year family plan to qualify and there will be mail-in rebates on some of the handsets which will mean you have to pay up front, but can mail in to get it back so to speak.

Nothing official has arrived from T-Mobile about this yet, but the poster captured below (click to make larger), shows that the event is for Saturday and includes all phones. [Read more…]

IBM has created a new app for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and Android smartphones that brings augmented reality to the Wimbledon Tennis tournament.

The application is designed to let you navigate around the grounds and more easily find games you want to watch. By pointing the smartphone in the direction of a game you can pick up scores and details of the match and if cameras are available, you can even watch the match on the screen of your smartphone.

The app is called IBM Seer. It also shows other useful information such as where to get food, where toilets are and other general information that you might need throughout your stay. [Read more…]

Apple [AAPL] has just launched a new application for the iPhone called Apple Store. It’s a VERY simple idea that brings the online Apple Store to the iPhone in the shape of an application.

To run the application you just need to be on iOS 3 or above meaning it will work now. It currently is restricted to those in the US from what we understand.

The application lets you browse through the Apple product catalog, pre-order, order and check reviews. Other features include the ability to check where local stores are. [Read more…]

Yesterday some leaked screen shots made their way around the internet from a Vodafone test site which showed the iPhone 4 tariffs in the UK. We now see that the phone could actually be more expensive if the 3GS prices are followed. If what we hear is correct then we have been told the pricing will match the 3GS pricing with the 1GB data limit also.

Yesterday the iPhone 4 UK price screen shots revealed that the Apple iPhone was going to be free on £65/month contracts (32GB model). The 3GS pricing sees this jump up to a free iPhone 4 on a £70/month 18 month contract.

Pricing on the lower end would stay the same though with the £30/month contract bringing in the phone at £280. [Read more…]