4G Moto G on sale today through Phones 4U

The updated version of the world-beating Moto G is on sale today, with phones & SIMs aggregator Phones 4U claiming to be selling it before anyone else in the UK. Black and white versions of the Moto G 4G are on sale right now through the shop’s web site, with contract deals starting at £18.99 for a “free” 4G Moto G.

But the Moto G is a phone designed to be bought off-contract and paired with a SIM of your own choosing, with Phones 4U selling the 4GB Moto G 4G for £149.95 on PAYG, or £159.99 SIM-free.

For which you get 4G readiness and marginally updated hardware with microSD card support to negate the fact it only has 8GB of onboard storage space. Check it out over at Phones 4U, where the white model’s exclusive until the end of July.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 24, 2014 / Posted in: Deals, Handsets, News

Moto Maker for Moto X hitting Germany on July 1st

After way too much time as a US-only exclusive and with the phone it pimps to the extreme already starting to show its age, Motorola’s finally ready to launch the Moto Maker customisation service for the Moto X in Europe.

According to Motorola Germany, the case modding service will launch exclusively for those who buy a phone through Phone House in the country. Phone House is the German wing of Carphone Warehouse, so here’s hoping CPW picks up the deal and launches the custom phone option here in the UK too.

This could be the answer to the tricky “eccentric summer phone” problem we currently face. As long as it’s cheap.

Link via Androidsis.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 17, 2014 / Posted in: Handsets, News, Opinion

Vodafone Smart 4 – 4.5-inch display powered by 1.2GHz dual-core processor

Vodafone’s “Smart” series of devices has been expanded today, with the network launching the Vodafone Smart 4 — a budget model available on a PAYG basis for just £75. For that you get a 4.5-inch display, 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor and 512MB of RAM, backed up by a 5MP camera with secondary front chat-cam too. Android 4.4 is the launch OS.

4GB of internal storage will be a bit of a bottleneck, but other than that it ought to be decent enough for the money. Here it is:

Don’t confuse it with the older Vodafone Smart 4 Mini. That’s a different one with less oomph. Check out the new Smart 4 over at Vodafone.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 17, 2014 / Posted in: Handsets, News

Archos 50b Oxygen – 5-inch display for £129

The Archos 50b Oxygen is apparently available today if you know where to look, with Archos looking to score a budget winner at a £129 price tag. For this, buyers get a 5-inch display running at 1280 x 720 resolution, 8megapixel camera, 1.3GHz quad-core chipset, 1GB of RAM and microSD card support. On paper, it’s WINNER.

This is it:

Archos is also releasing the 50c Oxygen variant, which comes with a 1.7GHz octo-core processor and increased price tag of £179.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 12, 2014 / Posted in: Handsets, News

VVVVVV and Super Gravitron hit Android

Indie genius Terry Cavanagh, who robbed us of the first half of 2013 by releasing the staggering Super Hexagon on Android, is back. He has two new-to-Android games up on Google Play today — VVVVVV and its spin-off mini game friend Super Gravitron.

VVVVVV is the main treat. It’s a crazy gravitational platform game in which the main character [SPOILER] can stick to ceilings when jumping. Which instantly means twice the hassle, twice the jumps, twice the spikes, twice the deaths and more. It’s been on PC for years and has quite the fan base.

VVVVVV is £1.99 to buy, while Super Gravitron is the £FREE taster. See the main man’s page for details.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 12, 2014 / Posted in: Apps, Games, News, Opinion

SwiftKey Keyboard now £FREE

The popular SwiftKey Keyboard , which we’ve been banging on about constantly and using intermittently for years now, has changed. It’s now properly free for all to use, with the maker binning the one-month free trial version and making the full app now free for everyone.

The standard version of the alternative keyboard now includes in-app purchases for buying additional visual themes, but it looks like all the usual features are IN for FREE. So HOORAY to THAT.

Given that Google’s now adopted next-word prediction into the core Android experience it probably had little choice in the matter. Check it out here , if you’ve not had it on your phone since 2011 anyway.

Link via Giz UK.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 11, 2014 / Posted in: Apps, News, Opinion

Nexus 5 down to £250 unlocked via Carphone Warehouse

It’s official price cut season! The most recent Nexus model has now seen its price CRASHED and SLASHED to just £249 by third-party mobile deals aggregator Carphone Warehouse, selling the Nexus 5 for its cheapest price yet. We didn’t love it hugely as the battery’s a bit of a weak point in Google and LG’s latest reference device, but for that price and 16GB of onboard storage it’s a bit of a steal.

And the red and white versions are also down to £249 too, if you’re a bit flamboyant. Get in there.

Or get in here to be more precise.

Link via HUKD.

2 Comments by Eurodroid / June 10, 2014 / Posted in: Deals, Handsets, News

Sony Xperia Z2 review

This is Sony’s latest go at producing a high-spec Android flagship model, with the Xperia Z2 ticking every one of 2014’s must-have tech bullet points. It has a large 5.2-inch 1080p display. It has the hot new Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset inside. It has a massive 3GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. It’s also got lots of glass and a 20.7MP camera and magnetic charging options and more software tweaks than you can imagine.

Here’s what it’s like.

Review phone provided by GiffGaff, supplier of mobiles, contracts, minutes, texts, data, SIM cards and all that sort of thing.

It’s big. While rival monster phones like the Huawei Ascend P7 manage to feel surprisingly small in the hand, the metallic and glassy Z2 is definitely on the large side. It’s quite slim, but the lack of curvature in the boxy chassis and the sharp metallic sides make it feel as if you’re holding quite a lump of electronics. And, of course, that’s because you are.

It’s not disastrously unportable, but there were occasions when we preferred to pocket our substantially more humble Moto G when off out, simply because humping around the Z2 is a little more of a task. You feel it in your pocket. It has a gravitational pull on your trousers.

Sony’s chunked-up the USB cover from the Xperia Z1. It’s now much fatter and easier to remove here on the Z2, making picking it open to charge the phone less of a chore. It’s the little things that make life worth living.

There’s a microSD card slot along the other edge, along with the central power button and a physical camera shutter button, with the latter also letting you insta-launch straight into the camera app from standby.

One Very Nice Thing is that Sony’s the latest company to nick the tap-to-wake option and stick it in the Z2, so you’re able to double-tap on the display to pull it out of standby, rendering the power button nearly obsolete. It worked most of the time, although on quite a few occasions we had to knock it a few extra times to wake the phone. There’s probably a knack to timing it right.

We were also supplied with a Roxfit flip case for the Xperia Z2. It’s ridiculously thin, but does add a little extra size to the already rather large phone. But it’s probably a necessity given the glassy nature of the mobile. If you handle it with one eye on its future resale value, you’ll want it looked after.

And this is the official Sony DK36 magnetic charger. You don’t get a lot of plastic for your £30 investment, but it does lock on with a satisfying click and flips the display into landscape mode. Sadly this doesn’t kick in any sort of custom docking display, despite the fact that Sony’s software automatically recognises headphones being plugged in and offers a customisable list of actions.

And as we moaned about on Twitter ages ago, Sony won’t let you use any old headphones with the Xperia Z2. Which is a shame, as the ones it supplies are the type that require forceful insertion into your earholes. I hate them. They hurt and always fall out. But the sound quality is really good if you can get them rammed near enough to your brain and taped to your head so they don’t fall out.

That’s the main Home screen (left) and the lock screen. A quick launch for the camera sits in the lock screen’s pull-up slot, so there’s no standard access to Google Now from the lock screen. Plus Sony’s bafflingly and rather pointlessly added a link to its “What’s New” app store on the Google Now button when pulled up from the Home screen.

Not a fan of that. The older Sony Select app store is pre-loaded on the Xperia Z2 too, so there are now TWO useless curated rival app stores inside Sony’s take on Android.

Read the full article »

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 5, 2014 / Posted in: Handsets, News, Reviews

Hitman GO launched on Android today

Unique strategy game Hitman GO has been winning fans on iOS for quite some time — now we get a GO on it via today’s Android release. For £2.99 you get a turn-based adventure that has little in common with the stealthy home console originals, with the new mobile game offering instead the opportunity to “strategically navigate fixed spaces on a grid.”

That’s not the most evocative description we’ve ever seen on Google Play. Here it is:

It’s very nice looking, with the diorama style graphics a massive improvement on the series’ usual collection of drab 3D worlds. Get it on Google Play here. It does have the dreaded IAPs, though, so discretion is advised.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 4, 2014 / Posted in: Games, News

HTC One (E8) — 5-inch 1080p display, polycarbonate unibody shell

The non-stop flood of rumours suggesting HTC has a possibly cheaper, non-metallic version of the HTC One (M8) on the way were indeed correct, with HTC today announcing the HTC One (E8). The phone’s largely the same as the M8 variant, offering a 5-inch display running at 1080p resolution backed by a quad-core Snapdragon 801 chipset and 2GB of RAM, with the only compromise being the removal of the secondary rear camera the M8 used for some of its fancy image processing tricks.

The E8 features one lone 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, along with microSD support and a 2,600mAh battery. Here it is, in some colours:

Lovely colours. The E8 should be on sale in “select markets” in June. No news regarding price has emerged yet, but it must be cheaper. Even if only by a fiver. Read more on HTC’s blog.

No Comments by Eurodroid / June 3, 2014 / Posted in: Handsets, News

Reviews
- Sony Xperia Z2 review
  This is Sony’s latest go at producing a high-spec Android flagship model, with the Xperia Z2 ticking every one of 2014’s must-have tech bullet points. It has a large 5.2-inch 1080p display. It has the hot new Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset inside. It has a massive 3GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. It’s […]
- LG/Google Nexus 5 review
  It’s smooth to use, the 1080p display is sharp, clear and bright, the device is extremely light and thin and therefore very pocketable and portable — much more so than other 5-inch phones we’ve used. And yet… we’re a bit unimpressed by the overall package…
- Vodafone Huawei Ascend G510 review
  A relatively high-spec smartphone, with a 4.5″ display running at 480 x 854 resolution and powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, plus the Ascend G510 arrives running Android 4.1.1 — albeit potentially hindered by Huawei only sticking 512MB of RAM inside it..
- Kogan Agora 5.0" Dual-core Smartphone review
  We bought one of these using our actual money. We couldn’t quite believe that budget hardware maker Kogan was able to sell a 5″ Android phone for £119 plus delivery from Hong Kong so had to get one to have a look at the thing under our usual LABORATORY CONDITIONS. First impressions of the Kogan Agora […]
- Panasonic Eluga review
  The Panasonic Eluga marks the company’s return to the European mobile phone scene years after several years of absence, and it’s come back to us with a moderately high-spec Android model that features a rather stylish, slim case.
- HTC One V review
  The HTC One V is HTC’s third entry in its high-profile new HTC One range, offering a smaller 3.7″ display running on a single-core 1GHz processor. It is is very much the “affordable” option in HTC’s newest Android series, but it still arrives running the same HTC Sense 4 interface we saw in the excellent […]
- HTC One S review
  The HTC One S is the piggy in the middle of HTC’s 2012 line-up, offering a 4.3″ AMOLED display inside a very slim and stylish aluminium chassis. You get the same ImageSense camera technology as employed to such great effect in the HTC One X, along with Android 4.0.3 and the very latest HTC Sense […]
- HTC One X review
  Here it is then, HTC’s new quad-core monster, the 4.7″ flagship for 2012 that introduces the Tegra 3 processor to mobile phones, updates HTC’s range to Android 4.0 and brings us the supposedly streamlined version 4.0 of HTC’s Sense user interface. You also get a fantastic 8megapixel camera that we’ve previously examined in great detail, […]
- HTC One X review: Camera, photo and video samples
  HTC’s new quad-core flagship phone doesn’t just feature Android 4.0, a 4.7″ display and Nvidia’s newest Tegra 3 chipset – there’s also an entirely new 8megapixel camera in the phone, powered by a system HTC is calling ImageSense. And this camera is one of the many highlights of the new Android phone, offering the perfect […]
- Sony Xperia S review
  Sony returns with an all-new mobile design for 2012, pairing a dual-core processor with a 720p display. It’s a lovely phone, but is it enough to end our Samsung and HTC obsession?
- Sony Xperia S review: Camera, photo and video samples
  We’ve spent most of the last week captivated by the staggeringly sharp screen of the new Sony Xperia S, while putting together what will hopefully be something resembling a review for you all to read very shortly. In the meantime, to be getting on with, here are a few sample photos and videos, taken using […]
- LG Prada 3.0 review
  LG’s updated Prada phone comes with an absolutely crazy black & white theme, but is it just for fashionable suit wearers who want to make themselves look a bit more interesting?
- ACCESSORY REVIEW: Case-Mate Tough Case for Galaxy Nexus
  £30? For a phone case? It had better be good.
- ACCESSORY REVIEW: Samsung Official Mesh Vent Case for Galaxy Nexus
  Samsung’s official Galaxy Nexus case. Costs a lot. Has a glittery little logo.
- ACCESSORY REVIEW: Case-Mate Barely There for Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  Fresh from reviewing the cheap and cheerful FlexiShield case for the Galaxy Nexus, we’re back with another protective offering from industry veteran Case-Mate. Although this particular product retails for around the same price as FlexiShield’s TPU option, it’s quite a different proposition. Review submitted by extremely patient retro gaming advisor Damo. As the name suggests, […]
- ACCESSORY REVIEW: FlexiShield Case for Galaxy Nexus
  Seeing as we’ve just reviewed the brand spanking new Galaxy Nexus, we’re in the mood for some accessorising – and we don’t mean earnings and handbags. To that end, we’ll be covering a few Galaxy Nexus-themed items over the next few weeks, starting with the FlexiShield Case. Review submitted by reader, writer, gamer and occasional […]