Nokia Lumia 520 review: first look

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

The Nokia Lumia 520 is one of two low-cost Windows Phone 8 smartphones Nokia unveiled at its MWC press conference, and it really is cheap.

It’s set to cost around £120, and yet when we took our turn with it on the Nokia stand after the news conference, we found little evidence of cost-cutting.

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HTC One review: first look

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

HTC hasn’t made a ground-breaking handset in a few years, but first impressions suggest the HTC One is a welcome return to form.

We’ve been hands-on with the new phone, and the One makes a superb first impression. Its body is constructed entirely from aluminium, with two diamond-cut bands that contain the aerials. The good looks are matched with excellent build quality – the 143g device feels as sturdy as anything Apple or Samsung can muster. (more…)

BlackBerry Z10 review: first look

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

The BlackBerry Z10, launched alongside the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, has been a hell of long time in the making. Finally, the company looks to have a smartphone to compete with the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III.

The specifications only tell part of the story, but notably they do bring RIM’s new baby – sorry, make that BlackBerry’s new baby – level with the competition. As expected, the Z10 has a 4.2in, 1,280 x 768, 356ppi touchscreen, and a quick perusal of the rest of its vital statistics reveals few areas of significant weakness. The phone measures 130 x 65.6 x 9mm, and inside there’s a dual-core, 1.5GHz processor, with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage to back it up. The rear camera is an 8-megapixel unit capable of shooting 1080p, and the front-facing camera is 2mp capable of shooting 720p.

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Sony Xperia Z review: first look

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

If you’re sick of all phones looking the same, then Sony’s Xperia Z – the first phone from Sony’s design team, as opposed to Sony Ericsson’s – is well worth a look, a feel and the occasional coo of appreciation.

The first thing you’ll notice may well be the colour, with Sony opting for a striking purple design to accompany the standard black and white. (more…)

Ubuntu phone review: first-look

Thursday, January 3rd, 2013

Ubuntu for smartphones is the third episode of an ambitious four-part series that will eventually see the Linux distro span phones, tablets, PCs and TVs. Only the tablet version of the OS remains on the drawing board, which is surprising given that it’s the closest relation to Ubuntu’s traditional PC stalking ground, but we’re told it will arrive in the next year or so.

In the meantime, we kicked off the new year with a hands-on demonstration of Ubuntu for smartphones in London last night, giving us an early glimpse of what visitors to CES in Las Vegas will be treated to next week.

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Apple iPhone 5 review: first look

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

As is now customary, the internet was smoking hot with guff and nonsense this week, to the point where even the mainstream press was joining in. Thank heavens it can all stop now (at least until the next time), as the iPhone 5 is officially here, and we were at the London launch to get our hands on a brand new sample.

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ZTE Grand X review: first look

Thursday, July 19th, 2012

ZTE isn’t well known on these shores, as the only handsets we’ve seen from the Chinese firm have been budget efforts like the Skate or Orange-branded devices such as the San Diego. ZTE hopes that’ll change with its Grand X.

First things first: this isn’t a phone to put the Samsung Galaxy S III in its place. For starters, the chipset isn’t anything as powerful as Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 but the weaker, dual-core Tegra 2. There’s also no sign of the hand-stretching panels that now appear in high-end handsets – ZTE has made do with a 4.3in, 540 x 960 screen that’s typically favoured by more modest phones such as the HTC One S and Sony Xperia P. We certainly spotted some pixels, but the screen is bright, vivid and usable. (more…)

Intel’s first smartphone, the Orange San Diego review: first look

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Intel has finally unveiled its first foray into the smartphone market. It’s been a long time coming, but the first Android phone to run on an x86 processor – the Atom-powered San Diego smartphone – will be launched on 6 June, in partnership with UK mobile network Orange.

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Samsung Galaxy S III review: first look

Friday, May 4th, 2012

Only one smartphone is capable of generating the sort of publicity the iPhone can right now, and that’s Samsung’s Galaxy S III. That phone was unveiled at a glitzy launch event at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

Click here for our full, in depth, review of the Samsung Galaxy S III

Anyone hoping for a groundbreaking step forward in terms of its hardware, however, might be disappointed. There are no great surprises.

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Could you swap broadband for a smartphone?

Monday, March 5th, 2012

I’ve recently moved into a new place, and amid the excitement of unpacking, assembling flat-pack furniture incorrectly, buying an ironing board and putting furniture together the right way round, I’ve not yet signed up with a broadband provider.

I know, sounds awful. But here’s the thing: in the short-term, at least, I’ve barely noticed.

It’s a revelation that shocked news editor Nicole Kobie, but I’ve got by using my smartphone tethered to my PC along with 3’s The One Plan, which famously offers unlimited data. (more…)