Sony Xperia P mid-range Android
Review Smart enough for the money?
Little brother to the Xperia S, the Xperia P is the second Sony Ericsson handset to arrive in the UK. The company's flagship S model prompted a slightly lukewarm response when launched but the Xperia S sets its sights lower as a mid-range handset on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S Advance and HTC One V.
Sony Xperia P Android …
Songkick Concerts
Android App of the Week Hello, Cleveland...
I’ve been waiting for Songkick to land on the deck of the USS Android ever since it was released for iOS a year ago. Now it has and it’s every bit as good as I was hoping for.
Simplicity itself to use, once installed Songkick scans your music library as well as your Last.fm, Pandora and Spotify feeds and then creates a …
Samsung Galaxy S Advance mid-range Android
Review HTC thrasher?
Things sometimes change fast. Take the HMS Lord Nelson, a fine battleship when laid down in 1905 but almost instantly rendered obsolete by HMS Dreadnought, laid down just a few months later.
Or take HTC’s One V. A 3.7in single-core LCD Android phone now up against a dual-core 4in OLED-screen device for the same contract price of …
Asus Transformer Pad TF300
Review Plastic fantastic
It’s no secret that I like the Asus Transformer Prime a lot. Still, £500 is a lot for a tablet even if it does go like the clappers, is made of aluminium and has a cracking keyboard dock with a built-in extra battery.
Asus Transformer Pad Can you tell Pad from Prime at a glance? No
Asus has now addressed that issue by …
Volkswagen Up!
Review Honey, I shrunk the Golf
They say good things come in small packages, and at only 3.5m long Volkswagen’s new city car is certainly small. To put that into context it is 28.5cm shorter than the unloved Fox it replaces and only 53.5cm longer than the original Mini.
Volkswagen Up VW's done a good job with the styling
There’s no denying VW has done a …
UEFA Euro 2012
Android App of the Week Three Lions?
Assuming you haven’t been on another planet for the last few months you'll be aware that soccer's 2012 European Championships kicked off in Warsaw on Friday. Sixteen teams, 31 matches and, I predict, the usual post-mortem in regards to England’s woeful performance.
Not that I can gloat if England does crash out at the first …
Android App of the Week Read it later. Literally.
Read It Later was one of the better Android apps for archiving web content to read at a later date and it has just been given a full makeover, a new name and a welcome price reduction. It'll now cost you absolutely nothing.
The principle behind Pocket couldn’t be simpler: if you find something you like on the web just open the …
Vauxhall Ampera hybrid e-car
First Look The electric car comes of age?
Only the most ardent electric-vehicle advocate would argue that the current state of battery technology and absence of recharging infrastructure isn’t an impediment to the widespread adoption of the e-car.
On paper, the new Vauxhall Ampera – the European version of the Chevrolet Volt – has the perfect answer to this problem: it …
HTC One V Android smartphone
Review High five?
In the beginning was the Hero and then came the Legend, and now the Legend has sired the One V. Yes, the V is the runt of the One litter but its forebears had a solid following and, as a one-time Hero owner, I’m hoping the bloodline is in good health.
HTC One V Android smartphone Another one: HTC's One V
With the One V, HTC’s …
Ten... Mi-Fi HSPA 3G wireless mini-routers
Product Roundup DIY hotspots
Reg Hardware Mobile Broadband Week
If you want cellular data connectivity when you're out and about you can cough up for a laptop or tablet with a Sim card slot, but they are hardly cheap. Or you can tether your phone if your telco lets you.
Another alternative is a portable router. These can be bought with data contracts …
Evernote
Android App of the Week Popular app gets Ice Cream Sarnie treatment
As a long-time user of Catch Notes it was going to take something quite impressive to get me to jump ship to arch-rival Evernote but a recent update and integration with the latest versions of HTC's Sense have persuaded me to do so.
The upgrade has brought a new Ice Cream Sandwich-esque design to the app. There’s still an awful …
UK mobile broadband carriers compared
Product Roundup Network vs network
Reg Hardware Mobile Broadband Week
Two years ago, I plugged a selection of 3G dongles into my laptop at various locations to see what the coverage and speed offered by the major mobile networks was like. You can see the results here, but with HSPA being introduced at ever higher upload and download speeds, it's time to …
IMDb
Android App of the Week Film fan's feast
If you're a fan of the movies then this app should be right up your aisle. Not only can IMDb tell you just about everything you could ever wish to know about just about every film ever made, but it has all the information you need to plan your movie-going night out too.
Film opening dates, show times, the location and contact …
Hyundai Veloster coupé
Review Welcome to the world of 2+1 motoring
Tradition dictates that cars look the same from the left as the right. Not Hyundai’s new hatchback coupé, though. It has a rear door on the passenger's side but not on the driver’s. Clever idea or gimmick? More to the point, will it lure buyers away from the the obvious alternatives, the VW Scirocco and Vauxhall Astra GTC?
From …
National Rail Enquiries
Android App of the Week The train now arriving on Platform 3...
I should use local trains more often, but there are several reasons why I don’t. One is I’ve no idea where most of my local stations are, let alone the ones dotted further afield around Manchester. Secondly, I can’t be bothered picking up timetables.
The new National Rail Enquiries app solves both these problems and could herald …
Textgram
Android App of the Week The Post-it note de nos jours?
Textgram is another app designed to differentiate your digital self from the masses, in this case by letting you send graphically enhanced missives as MMS messages, or as pictures to your social network.
Maybe it’s the use of 'gram' in the name, but Textgram has already racked up between 100,000 and 500,000 downloads since its …
Google Currents
Android App of the Week Go with the flow
When Google’s Currents news and magazine reader was released late last year, I thought it one of the most visually attractive apps ever to come out of Mountain View.
Looks aside, though, there was a lot wrong with it, not least the time it took to sync. A recent update claims to have fixed that and added a host of new features …
Ten... Satnavs to suit all budgets
Product Round-up At the next roundabout...
The squeeze is on for satnav makers stuck between the rock of smartphone navigation apps and the hard place of the built-in systems that are finding their way into ever cheaper showroom models. Of course, there are still a heck of a lot of cars on the road that don’t have built-in navigation and while using your phone is fine …
HTC One S Android smartphone
Review Meet the bridesmaid
Playing Tonto to the One X’s Lone Ranger in HTC’s new model line-up is the One S. I’ll get to Silver, the One V, when it arrives in a few weeks. For now though, we can see if HTC’s much vaunted One series makes sense from a technical, as well as a marketing perspective.
HTC One S Android smartphone Tonto's talker: HTC's One S …
Android App of the Week A picture tells 1000 words 140 characters
At last, the much vaunted iPhone picture blogging app has arrived on Android and, judging by the one million downloads it saw on the day of release, it’s been eagerly awaited.
For the uninitiated, Instagram is a Twitter-like affair but with a picture taking the place of the 140 characters. You take a snap, jazz it up with some …
TED
Android App of the Week Mental giants toss their orbs... on vid
TED - or Technology, Entertainment and Design - is a series of conferences run by a private not-for-profit organisation called the Sapling Foundation. In its own words, it was formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading".
So what we have here then is a collection of 1200-odd - with more being added each week - video lectures …
Renault Twizy budget e-car
First Look Get your knickers in a Twizy
Some vehicles are more suited to certain geographical locales than others. Case in point: Renault's new two-seater electric runabout may not make much sense in central Manchester on a cold, dark, drizzly December evening.
On the other hand, on a sunny afternoon on a Mediterranean island it could be right at home. Lucky, then, …
HTC One X Android smartphone
Review Quad-core corker
HTC messed up in 2011 by releasing too many similar handsets. There was nothing actually wrong with phones likes the Sensation, Sensation XL, Sensation XE or Incredible S but equally none of them had me itching to upgrade my Desire HD ahead of schedule.
HTC One X quad-core Android smartphone The X factor: HTC's One X
Now HTC …
Runtastic Push Up
Android App of the Week Push, fat boy, push
Those of you with six-packs, biceps of iron and a physique from a eugenicist’s wet dream can stop reading now. For the rest of us, who have been planning to “get fit” next week, next month or next year, Runtastic’s Push Up app may be just what’s needed to whet our blunted purpose.
The idea behind this app - like all the best …
Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 Android media player
Review Small tablet or big PMP?
I reviewed Samsung’s first Android media player just over a year ago and frankly thought it was awful. I'm sure I wasn't alone. Undaunted, Samsung tried again with a new device packing a larger screen, faster CPU and bigger battery but only costing £40 more.
Samsung YP-G70CW Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 Second listen: Samsung's Galaxy S …
Toshiba AT200 Excite
Review The world's thinnest tablet, apparently
At only 7.7mm thick, Toshiba boasts that its new tablet is the slimmest yet and it’s a claim I can’t argue with either. Dubbed the Excite in the US and the rather less exciting AT200 elsewhere, Tosh's slim slab is 0.9mm thinner than the previous title holder, the Samsung Galaxy 10.1. While the Apple iPad 2 seems positively …
Dijit
Android App of the Week Remote control app plus Griffin Beacon IR blaster
It’s two-for-one this week as I take a look at the Dijit remote control app and Griffin Technologies' Beacon accessory, which connects to your phone over Bluetooth and then operates your home entertainment kit.
Dijit Android app screenshot Dijit Android app screenshot Devices get basic layouts, such as this one for a Sky+ box …
N7Player
Android App of the Week Got music covered
It’s not often that I come across an application that displaces a default choice on my phone within minutes of me downloading it, but the N7Player music player is just one such. I think it’s brilliant.
Before I go on, let me make one thing clear: I’m an obsessive about album cover art. I go to great, some would say unhealthy …
Viewsonic Viewpad 10e tablet
Review Android take on iPad aspect
‘Budget tablet’ is a phrase that tends to crop up in reviews that only ever reach one conclusion: the product is pretty awful. But the new Viewsonic Viewpad 10e may be the exception that proves the rule, because this £200 Argos-exclusive ain’t half bad.
Viewsonic Viewpad 10e Android tablet Viewsonic's Viewpad 10e adopts the …
Panasonic CF-53 Toughbook 14in rugged laptop
Review A bit of a hard case
Skinny Ultrabooks may be getting all the press at the moment but what it you want a laptop that will withstand the knocks, drops and tribulations of use on the road and in the great outdoors rather than the board-room? Panasonic’s semi-rugged CF-53 Toughbook may be just the ticket.
Panasonic CF-53 Toughbook rugged laptop Ready …
TuneIn Radio Pro
Android App of the Week Radio killed the video star
I stumbled across TuneIn while reviewing the Archos 35 Home Connect - it’s preinstalled as that device’s main radio portal - and since that chance encounter it has ended up on all my Android devices.
TuneIn allegedly offers over 50,000 internet radio stations and 1.2m on-demand programmes. I’m not about to count them to see if …
Ten... in-car gadgets and accessories
Car Week Dashboard fixation
Reg Hardware Car Week
With so much tech being built into the even the most mundane of motors, writing round-ups of car gadgets isn’t as easy as it used to be. For this list, the brief was even more exacting: only include kit that if you were given one for Christmas it wouldn’t be on eBay come Boxing Day.
There’s a lot here to …
Ten... stars of the Geneva Motor Show
Car Week Eye-catching autos
Reg Hardware Car Week
The annual automotive get-together on the shores of Lake Geneva is arguably now the premier annual European car show. With auto makers having a better time of the current economic situation than many other manufacturing concerns, there was a definite feeling of optimism about the halls of the 82nd Geneva …
Renault Mégane 265 Trophy 2.0 turbo
Review Tuned to perfection
Reg Hardware Car Week
Lap times around the fearsome 13 mile Nürburgring have become a touchstone for performance road cars in recent years. Renault’s new Mégane 265 Trophy has been hustled around in 8m 08s, which is the current lap record for a front-wheel drive car.
Renault Megane 265 Trophy Not a subtle car
To put that …
Ten... e-cars and hybrids
Car Week The best plug-in hybrids and pure-play EVs
Reg Hardware Car Week
What started out as a dribble in 2011 is becoming a deluge in 2012 as e-cars in the form of pure electrics, range extenders and plug-in hybrids capabilities start to become ever more common. Until we see a major breakthrough in battery tech, the day will belong to the plug-in hybrids and REs, but that’s …
Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4
First look Driving the world’s first diesel electric hybrid
Reg Hardware Car Week
Car company PRs are always a chirpy bunch, but with a practised eye you can tell when they think they are really on to something. That's currently the case with the folk from Peugeot, who are like a dog with two tails to wag when talking about the new 3008 HYbrid4, the world’s first diesel electric …
iOnRoad Augmented Driving
Android App of the Week A major contribution to road safety?
Reg Hardware Car Week
Possibly the most - only? - useful augmented reality app I’ve come across, iOnRoad Augmented Driving uses your phone to provide a selection of handy driving advisories and warnings not unlike those provided by the latest Ford Focus.
The app uses your phone’s rear camera to scan traffic in front of you. …
Future car tech
Car Week What's coming under the bonnet and in the cabin
Reg Hardware Car Week
You are probably expecting me to start this feature with a hymn of praise to the electric car, but I’m not. The Nissan Leaf has been on sale for the best part of 12 months and all the e-cars on the horizon, from the Renault Zoe to the Tesla Model S, are simply variations on the theme. The electric car is …
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet
Review The formal fondeslab
Reg Hardware Mobile Week
Lenovo currently fields three Android tablets. The IdeaPad A1 and K1 are aimed at the general consumer while the third model carries the revered ThinkPad moniker and with it expectations of brick outhouse build quality, business-user friendliness and no-nonsense styling.
Lenovo ThinkPad Android …
Ten... top Android games
App of the Week Special Master blasters and more
Reg Hardware Mobile Week
Traditionally, if you wanted your phone or media player to double up as a gaming platform, you bought an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. But the last 12 months have seen a veritable revolution in the number and quality of games available for Android. Some of the games here had me giggling like a fool, …
AppAware
Android App of the Week The app for apps, apparently
Developed mobile ecosystems are all well and good but a marketplace with over a third of a million apps raises one significant problem – how to discover new and worthwhile stuff.
AppAware – which underwent a complete redesign late last year – aims to make finding essential and interesting apps more of a pleasure by providing …
Nokia Asha 201 Qwerty phone
Review Cost-conscious caller
When Nokia announced its three new Asha budget phones in October they didn’t attract much attention alongside the WinPho 7 handsets that were punted by the company at the same time.
Nokia Asha 201 Keeping it simple: Nokia's Asha 201
That’s a shame, because the Ashas look like being very good mobile phones, perfect for people …
Archos 35 Home Connect
Review Net savvy Android clock radio, anyone?
After having built a DECT home phone around the Android operating system doing the same for the humble bedside clock-radio probably seemed like a logical move for Archos so here we have the 35 Home Connect.
Archos 35 Home Connect Beside manner: Archos' 35 Home Connect
The basic components are much the same in the Smart Home …
HP Pavilion dm1-4125ea 11.6in netbook
Review AMD's Atom smasher
Now that everyone and their dog has or wants a smartphone or tablet, the recent drop in netbook sales can hardly be a surprise. Yet does this mean there is no space for a small, cheap laptop? Of course not and HP’s recently refreshed Pavilion dm1 is a fine example of why I hope the breed never dies.
HP Pavilion DM1-4125EA AMD …
SexInfo 101
NSFW App of the Week Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me
Reg Hardware Sex Week
The Android market is full of apps dedicated to the various positions you and your other half can tie yourselves into, but be warned: many have a terrifyingly long Permissions list.
In other words many are nothing more than scams targeting the randy and stupid.
SexInfo 101 Android app screenshot 139 …
Avast! Mobile Security
Android App of the Week Prepare to repel boarders
The security or lack thereof of the Android platform - real or imagined - is a common topic of conversation at the moment so it seems like a good time to take a look for a comprehensive security app. My preferred choice is Avast!.
Avast! for Android is free and carries no advertising, making it perfect for anyone who is just a …
Orange San Francisco 2
Review More hails of the city
The Orange San Francisco was the smartphone bargain of 2011. For £99 you got a solid little handset with a 3.5in 480 x 800 screen, Android 2.1 and a 3.2Mp camera. The fact it was falling-off-a-wet-log easy to root and change ROMs – even I managed it – was the icing on the cake.
Orange San Francisco 2 budget Android smartphone …
Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi EcoDynamics
Review Very clean, very green three-pot diesel
A Kia? Reviewed by Reg Hardware? No, we’ve not taken leave of our senses, because the new Rio EcoDynamics is being pitched as the most fuel-efficient and least-polluting car - when it comes to CO2, anyway - you can buy without an electric motor poking its nose into the drive train.
Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi EcoDynmics diesel car Not a …
AirDroid
Android App of the Week Remote control for your smartphone
If you've ever wanted to manage your Android phone from your computer's desktop then AirDroid is the answer to your prayers.
Installation and use are blindingly simple. Point a web browser to the handset's IP address of your local network - it's provided by the app - then type in the supplied password and you're in. You can …
Archos 35 Smart Home Phone
Review Skype savvy Android DECT set
The last Android-based home phone that landed on my desk came from iDect – that’s Binatone to the rest of us. Frankly, I was less than impressed by it's lack of integration with Gmail contacts. Now, Archos is out to crack the same nut with its 35 Smart Home Phone which adds quite a few refinements.
Archos 35 Smart Home Phone …
