It’s been almost a month since BlackBerry 10 launched alongside the Z10 smartphone and users are already being treated to their first update for the operating system. Announced this morning in a blog post by BlackBerry product manager Michael Clewley, BlackBerry 10.0.10.85 addresses some of the most common complaints about the software, with improvements to third-party app performance and battery life.
Clewley says there are more than 60 battery saving improvements in the update that will result in a longer average user per char cycle for heavy users -- though he gave no specific figures beyond that. Phone, calendar and contacts features are also getting some rough edges worked out with better Gmail calendar integration, as well as improvements in how call logs are handled and importing contacts from online sources.
Blackberry 10 users will also be pleased to know that the company has optimized the camera app to take better pictures in low-light situations and enhanced video-playback handling in the browser. As for the aforementioned improvements in third-party app support, Blackberry said that this update will lead to some fresh apps, such as Whatsapp. The popular cross-platform IM application is arriving to the platform later this month.
The first BlackBerry 10 update is approximately 150MB in size and will roll out over the air through all carrier partners over the coming weeks. You should get a notification about the update when it’s available on your network, but you can also manually check by going to Settings> Software Updates> Check for Updates.
The HTC One features an aluminium body, 4.7-inch HD screen and intriguing camera tech
The HTC One is set to hit the UK's streets on March 15, and networks are rushing to stake a claim on the company's new flagship Android phone.
However, there's far more to the story than that: what about pre-orders? Prices? Thoughts about whether it's worth buying a phone that you've not held properly?
Don't worry - we've spent some time browsing the relevant catalogues and come up with the prices, plans and pontifications you need to worry about before thinking about shelling out your hard-earned.
EE
The first network to decide it's worth bringing you the new HTC handset, this network is also one of the most pricey. It's offering the One from 'mid-March' and will cost you the princely sum of £69.99 up front and £41 a month from then on - and that's on a 24 month deal.
On the plus side you get mega speeds, movies and other assorted treats - but they may not be enough to make up for the lack of food in your life given the amounts you'll be spending.
Launch date: Mid-March
Greatest data allowance plan cost: 3GB allowance on 4G: £69.99 for phone, £41 a month
Vodafone
The red network has decided you can get this handset on a pretty good deal - if you think a free phone from £42 a month is such a thing.
The good news is that you can get this handset in BLACK rather than just boring ol' aluminium / silver - and apparently our eyes are deceiving us when we argue it looks heaps like the BlackBerry Z10.
The phone is being badged as '4G-ready' too, something that many manufacturers are doing given they're getting ready to make, you know, 4G ready.
Launch date: March 15
Greatest data allowance plan cost: 2GB of data: free phone, £42 a month
Three
Three was another early one to chat about its HTC One aspirations - dubbing it 'Ultrafast ready' rather than 4G, although that incorporates the next-gen network.
You can pre-order the phone right now, and it even comes on PAYG for £479.99 - that's if you've got that much spare change just sitting around. It comes in black on the numerical network, which is a plus if you want one to match your Batman outfit.
Launch date: March 15
Greatest data allowance plan cost: £69.99 for phone, £36 a month for the One Plan
Orange and T-Mobile
The two EE sub-brands are still fighting for customers below their EE overlord, and are offering the HTC One on some lower contracts as they look to nab those that aren't overly fussed about 4G.
It's interesting to note that neither offer a delivery date, and vary pretty dramatically in terms of cost, simply because Orange doesn't offer an unlimited plan.
Launch date: Unknown
Greatest data allowance plan cost: £29.99 for phone, £41 a month for 3GB data on Orange / £69.99 for phone, £36 a month for unlimited data on T-Mobile
O2
The bubbly network isn't going to be left out when it comes to the HTC One, but it's not going to be the cheapest if you're desperate to get your hands on the new phone with this supplier.
You do get the normal amount of treats though, such as O2 Priority, but many will see other networks as massively cheaper. And it doesn't even come with a charger - although this is a pretty eco-friendly move, and you've probably already got one.
Launch date: March 15
Greatest data allowance plan cost: £29.99 for phone, £47 a month for 4GB of data
Phones 4U
If you toddle down to one of 11 Phones4U stores now, you can be among the first in the world to have a go on the HTC One (which we already have, no big deal). You'll also be able to pre-order the handset with a few freebies for early orderers helping to sweeten the deal.
You'll be able to get the HTC One handset from Phones4U for free on a £36 per month contract on several networks from March 15. Want it in silver? Want it in black? Want it in gold? You can't get it in gold. Sorry. But there are headphones on offer as well - Dr Dre will be happy.
Launch date: March 15
Greatest data allowance plan cost: Free phone, £41 a month for 3GB of data on Orange
The Carphone Warehouse
As for Carphone Warehouse, the first 1000 people to pre-order the HTC One will get a free pair of Beats headphones, as well as being offered in black and silver.
You'll have to make like it's 1996 and call up to do that (the number is 0800 925 925), or you can hang on until March 15 when the handset will be available in-store and online.
Launch date: March 15
Greatest data allowance plan cost: Free phone, £40 a month for unlimted data on Three. (But no Beats headphones).
HTC One features
Of course, there's more to life than how much something costs - the HTC One comes with a whole host of new features that we've rounded up in a lovely and efficient manner below:
HTC One makes its debut with snap-happy Zoe on its arm
HTC's newest flagship Android phone: the HTC One has finally landed in all its aluminium uni-body, feature-packed glory. It's a good looking phone, slim with rounded corners and a premium look.
It's rocking a 4.7-inch Full HD display with a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon processor on the inside. There's also 2GB of DDR2 RAM to play with and the handset will be available in 32GB and 64GB models.
It's well-documented that HTC hasn't had the best of it recently, with the profits slumping and market share down. So the HTC One is the firm's new attempt at a market-leading handset, and with an all-aluminium body, super-high-res 4.7-inch HD screen and futuristic camera technology hint that this could be something of a winner. So how does it stack up?
HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Sony Xperia Z vs iPhone 5
A few years ago, if you weren't on an iPhone or a BlackBerry, chances were you were rocking an HTC Android device with a big clock on the homescreen. But times change - and Samsung got busy with its Galaxy line, ultimately stealing the top Android spot from HTC and making HTC wince. We've compared the HTC One against the S3, the Xperia Z and the iPhone 5 to see how it fares.
Microsoft isn’t letting the fact that next generation consoles are just around the corner as evident by a new Xbox 360 bundle. The Xbox 360 250GB Spring Value Bundle is now available in the US for a limited time while supplies last at select major US retail stores, according to Microsoft’s Major Nelson.
As the name suggests, the spring bundle includes a slim Xbox 360 console with a 250GB hard drive, a wireless controller and two games: Darksiders II and Batman: Arkham City. Microsoft is including a physical retail copy of Darksiders II but you’ll need to download Batman using a supplied code. Last but not least, a free one month subscription to Xbox Live Gold is included as well.
Expect to pay $299 for the kit which is on par with similar seasonal bundles we have seen from Microsoft. A quick check with Amazon shows the bundle is temporarily out of stock which could mean one of two thing: either Amazon hasn’t received them yet or they are already all spoken for.
The spring bundle is a pretty sweet deal but when you take into account recent rumors suggesting Microsoft could show off the Xbox 720 as early as next month, one has to seriously consider if it’s worth investing in the Xbox 360 platform this late into its lifecycle. Perhaps the biggest question is whether or not Microsoft’s next generation system will be backwards compatible with today’s 360 games.
The Apple iWatch is far from confirmed but the sheer number of rumours relating to this mythical gadget have our curiosity well and truly piqued.
Since it's Friday, we pored over all the rumours, speculation and wish lists that have emerged so far and put together this 3D render to show what the device could look like.
As well as showing off the looks, we've speculated about functionality; we reckon there'll be a dinky Lightning connector port for charging as well as super-speedy data transfer.
Getting Siri-ous
We'd also be surprised if Siri didn't get involved somehow, and would expect connectivity to your iPhone so you can make and receive calls from the watch's interface as standard.
Have a butcher's at the video for yourself and let us know if you think we're spot on or hilariously wide of the mark in the comments below.
Windows 8 continued its slow but steady growth in February grabbing 2.26 percent of the operating system market share, up from 1.72 percent in December and 1.09 percent in November according to Net Applications. During the month Windows 7 also gained 0.07 percentage points after losing 0.63 percentage points in January, and it’s still the most used platform by a comfortable margin with 44.55 percent of the market.
The venerable Windows XP is second with 38.99 percent, down from 39.51 percent, while Vista continued to shed users with a 5.24 percent share. That put Windows 8 in fourth place among all operating system versions, just ahead of Mac OS X 10.8, which gained 0.17 points to 2.61 percent market share.
So how has Windows 8 fared compared to Windows 7 during its initial launch months? To put it into perspective, both versions of Windows were officially released in October of their respective years, but by the end of February 2010 Windows 7 had already seized more than 9 percent of the traffic seen by Net Applications.
There are a few considerations to take into account, such as the fact that Windows 7 superseded and improved upon an operating system release that was generally seen as a commercial failure, whereas Windows 8 marks a significant paradigm shift for Microsoft that’s bound to encounter some resistance from long time Windows users despite offering heavily discounted upgrades -- which are no longer available, by the way.
Slowing PC sales might also be playing a part in Windows 8’s sluggish adoption.
Overall market share numbers for each operating system in aggregate haven’t changed much: Windows still dominates with a whopping 91.62 percent, down 0.09 points from 91.71 percent, followed by OS X which gained just as much to grab 7.17 percent and Linux holding steady at 1.21 percent.
