Adobe [ADBE] has reported that it expects to see Flash installed on over 250 million devices by the end of 2012. A scaled-down version of flash has been created that allows the software to function on less powerful phones.

Apple’s Chief Executive Steve Jobs has sharply criticized Flash, calling it unreliable and ill-suited for mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad, raising questions about its security and power-management.

Although Apple [AAPL] has resisted using Flash and instead has promoted the use of the HTML5 standard, companies such as Google [GOOG] are embracing the technology and we will soon see it in Android 2.2 when it launches. [Read more…]

The HTC EVO 4G is a new smartphone on the market launching just last week. Already, someone has decided to do a scratch test on the screen to see how the screen holds up under the strain of a razor blade, key and a screw. The reason the scratch test was done was due to a screen defect and the device having to be returned… so the owner thought it would be good to test how durable the screen it.

Surprisingly the screen held out very well with the owner saying that there was “absolutely no scratch on the phone.”

The same test was performed on the lens of the 8 megapixel camera around the back and rather than using glass there, it appears that the HTC EVO 4G uses plastic or regular glass as it scratched too easily. [Read more…]

Apple [AAPL] has provided another way to grab the iPhone 4 on launch day in the US. As well as being able to pick up the smartphone at Apple stores and AT&T [T] stores, you will also be able to pick up the device from Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has sold iPhones in the past which includes the 3G and 3GS, but this is the first time they have been allowed to sell the iPhone 4 on launch day.

Rumours are also saying that Best Buy will also carry the iPhone 4 on launch day in the US. Finally, Radio Shack employees have started telling customers that the company will also carry the phone on launch day. [Read more…]

O2 has updated the iPhone 4 mini site with details of the microSIM that the iPhone 4 uses. Unfortunately it’s just basic information about what a microSIM is, how it differs from a regular SIM as well as how you can get hold of one.

Unfortunately there is no information available yet for the iPhone 4 UK price although we are expecting all networks either today or Monday to finally announce prices ready for the June 15 pre-orders to open up.

What O2 do mention on the microSIM page that is interesting is a small converter that can switch your microSIM back in to a regular SIM. The small device is free and is simply a thin case the size of a regular SIM with a cut out for the microSIM to sit in. [Read more…]

This week we posted a segment spotted on Youtube about the Nokia N8 and it’s photograph and video editing features. The photography features of the N8 look great. The next segment in the lineup now goes over the Music Player as well as the HDMI output.

The capabilities of the phone in terms of music and the HDMI output are demonstrated by Chris Bennetts who is the senior project manager at Nokia [NOK].

The Music Player looks quite responsive on the video with the scrolling of song titles working as you’d expect. A cover-flow style system is used where you can flick through the album art stored on your device. This feature works in both portrait and landscape modes where the portrait mode shows more information on screen. [Read more…]

On Monday when Apple [AAPL] announced the iPhone 4 we didn’t hear anything of the device moving to other networks in the US such as Verizon [VZ] or T-Mobile. Although most people assume this is the end of that argument till perhaps next year when iPhone 5 is announced, we still keep hearing that the iPhone 4 (and 3GS) could be heading that way.

The latest rumour comes thanks to a Kaufman Bros analyst called Shaw Wu who says the iPhone 4 could hit T-Mobile in the US this fall.

The reason that Saw Wu says that T-Mobile may be the network of choice for Apple to sell the iPhone 4 on as well as AT&T is that T-Mobile are a GSM network like AT&T and they would be able to roll the iPhone 4 out quicker than say Verizon or Sprint.

[Read more…]

Windows Phone 7 is due to launch later this year. Several companies are planning to launch hardware along side the launch. Microsoft [MSFT] has created a new job opening recently which puts out a request for a strong and experienced developer to help the OEM to design applications. The job offering is worded as follows…

“We are looking for a strong and experienced developer to help the OEM to design and develop applications that make their devices stand out in the marketplace. You will also help them to bring new phones to market.”

Software is what makes a phone work well. Chipsets are similar but as we have seen with a lot of companies trying to produce software, they often get it wrong. Apple has done it right, Android has done it right, but many others tend to fall over at this point. [Read more…]

Remember a couple of weeks back we posted about the Motorola DROID 2 keyboard showing up? It now appears that the keyboard was indeed from the Motorola DROID 2 as Droid Life managed to get their hands on the actual device.

The Motorola DROID 2 gets rid of the weird optical pad that sat to the right of the keyboard on the original DROID which is nice to see.

The handset it’s self looks very similar to the DROID 1 with the keyboard being the only major change in the device. [Read more…]

MuscleNerd confirmed a few weeks ago that when the iOS 4 and iPhone 4 launch, so will the carrier unlocks for both iOS 4 and 3.1.3.

In a message posted on Twitter on June 6 we learn…

People still ask, but sure, with both 4.0 & iPhoneHD coming out this month, so too will the 3.1.3/4.0 carrier unlocks 🙂

For those who have done a factory reset and erase of their iPhone and found iTunes forcing you up to 3.1.3, you will also be running the 05.12.01 baseband. MuscleNerd has an unlock ready for this baseband although it wont be released for about another 2 weeks till iPhone 4 comes out and iOS 4 which launches a few days before. [Read more…]

Apple [AAPL] has launched iBooks for iOS 4. Although the new OS isn’t publicly available, developers are still able to download the latest release.

So, if you happen to be running iOS 4 on your iPhone then do a search on iTunes and download it now. The iBooks app for iPhone doesn’t appear to be available OTA at the moment, but we suspect it will arrive soon. Once installed you’ll get the usual Winnie the Pooh sitting on the shelves and will also be able to download any purchased eBooks that you have on your iPad.

The application it’s self might not run on the older iPhone 3G from what Engadget reports of it’s experience in testing, but this will hopefully be just early days rather than a limitation on the older device. [Read more…]

Vodafone has just put up a pre-order page for the Samsung Galaxy S and has specified that the smartphone will be delivered by June 15.

The Samsung Galaxy S on Vodafone is available for free when signing a 24 month contract where you pay £35/month with other prices varying from £200 if paying £30 on an 18 month contract.

The Samsung Galaxy S is an Android based smartphone. It has a large 4 inch Super AMOLED screen, 16GB of internal memory and runs a fast processor. [Read more…]

eBay has confirmed that some crazy people can be found in the UK. The iPhone 4 UK price is not known yet as none of the carriers have announced it although we are expecting them to soon. What we see here though is that eBay has a number of iPhone 4 devices for sale and ready to ship on June 25… ie, the seller pre-orders one next week, it arrives on the 24th at which point he ships on the 24th and it arrives on the 25th.

I can’t yet find a reason why anyone would bid on a device that you can order (we assume cheaper than £870) on June 15 and get it a day earlier. However, on this particular auction it looks like 15 people joined the bidding war with the winner walking away with what looks to be an over priced iPhone. They claim to be factory unlocked although it seems like a jailbreak and unlock is being made available shortly after launch anyway. [Read more…]