Author: jonchoo

A keen mobiler for more than a decade. I am passionated about music, photography, video games, fellwalking, technology and social. I blog occasionally at http://jonchoo.blogspot.com, though I mainly tweet about insane stuff at -> http://www.twitter.com/jonchoo You can also email me on my Gmail account at jthchoo

4G LTE Speed Test on EE featuring the Galaxy S3 LTE and Ascend P1 LTE

Today’s announcement by EE on the arrival of 4G LTE in the UK heralds a new era in this Britain’s telecommunication industry. It’s been a long time waiting, and judging by the initial hands on demonstration, it seems that it will be worth the wait.

Huawei’s Ascend P1 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 were two of the few handsets on display at the EE press conference today. Initial speed test shows that the devices were capable of achieving and maintaining 25+Mbps download and 12+Mbps upload speed, a fair upgrade over T-Mobile’s current 3G network.

No price plans has been announced yet. The rollout of EE’s 4G LTE network will begin this year and they aim to cover 1/3rd of the population by the end of the year.

Continue reading “4G LTE Speed Test on EE featuring the Galaxy S3 LTE and Ascend P1 LTE”

Everything Everywhere launches a new company brand, LTE in Britain

Everything Everywhere, the UK telecommunication company that was formed following the merger of T-Mobile and Orange UK, today announced a new company brand and details of their LTE network, the first in Britain. The company will from today be called EE, though the T-Mobile and Orange brands will continue to co-exist. EE is positioning the new brand as one focused on delivering super fast broadband via fiber and 4G LTE service.

EE’s 4G network will be switched on for trials today in London, with more cities joining at a later date. In addition to London, EE aims to launch LTE Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Southampton, Hull, Nottingham and Derby by Christmas of this year. They aim to provide a coverage for 20 million people, a third of the population of Britain, by the end of the year.

EE has insisted that the new brand will allow them to tap other markets, including fibre and broadband as well as other new categories. While the 700 T-Mobile, Orange and Everything Everywhere stores will be rebranded to EE, there will be three distinct brands for consumers, with EE focused primarily on the top-end of the spectrum. Phones confirmed to be launching on the network includes the Samsung Galaxy S III LTE, HTC One XL, Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 920.

Press release after the jump.

Continue reading “Everything Everywhere launches a new company brand, LTE in Britain”

Nokia Lumia 610 review

When Nokia announced the Lumia 610 back at Barcelona, it was promised that the handset and Windows Phone Tango will usher in a new era of smartphone. Here was a smartphone that was cheap and still performed well, in theory at least. It was a sound idea, but the compromises were just too big. Read on to find out why. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 610 review”

Nokia Lumia 610 first impressions

When Nokia announced their partnership with Microsoft last year, there were concerns that the adoption of Windows Phone as their primary smartphone platform would mean the death of cheap smartphones. After all, Nokia’s then bread and butter were cheap Symbian smartphones. Fast forward 15 months later and here is Nokia’s answer to getting prices of Windows Phone devices down – the Lumia 610. Read on for our first impression on the full retail version of the Lumia 610. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 610 first impressions”

Nokia Lumia 610 UK release date announced

Nokia has confirmed the release date and network pricing of their new budget Lumia 610 in the UK. At a press event in London Trafalgar Hotel yesterday, the beleaguered Finnish mobile company annonced that the Windows Phone-powered phone will go on sale in the first week of June. It will be available on contracts from £15 a month. No sim-free pricing has been announced yet. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 610 UK release date announced”

Nokia launches patent suit against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic

In the latest twist in the never ending saga that is mobile patent lawsuits, Nokia has today filed suit against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic alleging that their products infringe a number of Nokia patents. The claims were filed in United States and Germany, and includes complaints to the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Nokia has alleged that up to 45 patents were infringed upon. Nokia is no stranger to patent disputes, launching a similar claim against Apple a couple of years ago. The legal challenge, which resulted in a counterclaim by Apple, was settled outside the court with the house that Steve build settling an one-off payment while agreeing a cross licensing deal. HTC is also currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Apple over alleged infringements over unlicensed patents.

PR after the break

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Sony Xperia’s TV Ad is Made of Tiny Robots

When it comes to ads, Sony has always pushed the limit of creativeness. Who here remember their famous Bravia ads, like Playdoh and Paint? With the release of their next Xperia NXT devices, Sony Mobile is relying on a massive advertising campaign to promote the brand. The new TV campaign is directed by Wes Anderson of Fantastic Mr. Fox fame. It tells the story of little Androids who work tirelessly inside an Xperia smartphone, all based on the imagination of a little kid. How sweet is that? The TV ad is supposed to premier on the evening of Saturday 24 March but it seems that someone at Sony has jumped the gun. Jump over to view the stop motion animated ad in all its glory.

Continue reading “Sony Xperia’s TV Ad is Made of Tiny Robots”

Sony Xperia NXT family hands-on

Sony announced two new Xperia NXT smartphones at MWC a couple of days ago and today we had a chance to go hands-on with the new devices, the Xperia P and Xperia U, alongside the already announced Xperia S. Read on for our hands-on impressions.

With the new Xperia NXT family, Sony has introduced a new design language that looks stunning. While the new Xperia S, Xperia P and Xperia U were developed under Sony Ericsson, the far reaching influence of Sony are clear. The translucent bar near the bottom of the phones for example reminds me of a couple of their Bravia TV models with ‘floating’ frame construction. Read on for our hands-on impressions.

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Nokia Lumia 710 Review

Welcome to FoneArena’s review of the Nokia Lumia 710. The Lumia 710 is Espoo’s second Windows Phone 7 device. It is Nokia’s designated entry level smartphone aimed at introducing Windows Phone to the masses. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 710 Review”

Nokia Lumia 800 white version hands-on

It seems apt that Nokia has chosen to announced a new colour Lumia 800 this week. Europe has been blankated by snow – so what better way than to celebrate than making official the white version. White is a popular colour for a phone, and while the previous versions has always looked so darn beautiful on the Lumia 800’s Polycarbonate unibody shell, it just isn’t quite as sexy as it is in white. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 800 white version hands-on”

White International Lumia 900 leaked, by Nokia

Yesterday Nokia all but confirmed the white Lumia 800, which we will go hands-on soon. But they also showed off another Windows Phone device. Whether accidental or intentional, the Lumia 900 sans AT&T logo is featured, in plain sight, on their Facebook page. And in white. Continue reading “White International Lumia 900 leaked, by Nokia”

Nokia Lumia 710 unboxing

The Nokia Lumia 710, announced at last year’s Nokia World, is Nokia’s second Windows Phone device. The Mango-powered smartphone will be making its way across stores worldwide.

The Lumia 710 is Nokia’s attempt at making Windows Phone cheaper and accessible to the market. While the Lumia 710 can be considered an ‘entry level’ Windows Phone, the specs says otherwise. Unlike entry level Android phones for example, the Lumia 710 features the same speedy 1.4GHz Snapdragon SoC that powers the Lumia 800. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 710 unboxing”

Samsung Galaxy Note unboxing

The Samsung Galaxy Note has arrived and with it comes the now obligatory unboxing video. But first, a quick recap on what the Galaxy Note is. The Galaxy Note is a super sized phone, or a small tablet – depending on your point of view. Personally I view it more as a phone as, while it is massive, it is a fully functioning phone, and most users will likely use this as their main phone rather than carrying a separate smartphone (and why would you want to?). Add the S-Pen stylus and the 5.3″ Super AMOLED HD (800 x 1280) display with Wacom digitiser to the mix and what you get is a device that replaces not only your smartphone, but also your Moleskine notebook.

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Nokia Lumia 800 The Dark Knight Rises edition hands-on


As part of the The Dark Knight Rise Prologue promotional tie-in between Warner Bros and Nokia, Nokia has produced 40 limited edition The Dark Knight Rises Nokia Lumia 800 smartphones. Being one of the lucky few in the world to own one, I believe it is only fair I share some of my thoughts here. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 800 The Dark Knight Rises edition hands-on”