Telstra has announced that it will be bringing out its first 4G phone running Windows Phone, parterning with HTC to bring the TITAN 4G to Australia – beating the Lumia 900 (which has been announced on Optus, but will run on its 3G network as opposed to its upcoming 4G LTE network) as the first WP7 phone for Australia.

The HTC TITAN 4G features a 4.7-inch display running on a 1.5GHz processor, a 16-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, autofocus and image stailisation, and features the latest version of Windows Phone – version 7.5 Mango.

HTC was the first phone manufacturer to produce a 4G phone for Telstra, with the HTC Velocity 4G. That phone has been wildly successful for Telstra – and now we’re seeing that slowly expand with more phones.

Consumers can get the phone for $0 upfront on its $79 Freedom Connect plan under a 24 month contract – and this will get you 2GB of data, $800 worth of calls and unlimited SMS. Business customers can also get this under its $79 Business Mobile Maximiser plan, which has the same features as above, for $0 upfront.

It will come out on May 29 – next Tuesday. Full press release below:

TELSTRA AND HTC TO LAUNCH AUSTRALIA’S FIRST 4G WINDOWS PHONE

24 May 2012 — Windows Phone fans will soon be able to surf the mobile web, respond to email and access work documents faster than before on the HTC Titan4G – Australia’s first 4G Windows Phone which launches next Tuesday 29 May on the Telstra Mobile Network.

Will Irving, Group Managing Director, Telstra Business said HTC Titan 4G is the first business-geared 4G smartphone to launch in Australia.

“Australian small businesses have embraced smartphones to help them work where they want and to stay responsive to customers and new business opportunities. The launch of the nation’s first 4G Windows Phone means small businesses can perform even more advanced tasks from the palms of their hands – like handling larger emails on the go, capturing and sending high-resolution images and video  and accessing emerging cloud-hosted services direct from their smartphone screen.  Best of all, Windows Phone is incredibly easy to navigate and immediately familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft’s popular Office software,” Mr Irving said.

“We were the first company to launch Australia’s first 4G smartphone – the HTC Velocity 4G – and we are very proud to have  chalked up another first by introducing Australia’s first 4G-enabled Windows Phone, the HTC Titan 4G,” said Ben Hodgson, Country Manager, HTC Australia and New Zealand. We have already seen how 4G speeds improve the smartphone experience and when you include the benefits of an easy user interface, a 16 megapixel camera and all the great Microsoft applications, you have a really compelling smartphone.”

Megan Howard, Windows Phone Lead, Microsoft Australia commented on the launch: “ We are thrilled to have the HTC Titan 4G added to the Windows Phone portfolio – adding more speed and power to the platform’s capabilities.  Microsoft is dedicated to providing consumers with choice and variety when it comes to their phone options and the platform’s first 4G capable handset is key to that offering.

“Microsoft also has the fastest growing app marketplace in the country with more than 80,000 apps ranging across productivity with Lync, Skype and SkyDrive, practical apps like Go Catch and Pizza Hut and fun with Xbox LIVE,” Megan said.

The HTC Titan 4G enhances connectivity, efficiency and productivity for busy people, with its large on-screen keyboard and built-in Microsoft® Office Mobile software. Customers can use mobile email with Exchange ActiveSync to view work emails by conversation and to view all, unread, flagged, or urgent messages. In addition they can search for emails that aren’t stored on their phone but are available on their email server.

Owners can also access, change, and share Office documents and notes easier and faster when in 4G coverage areas. The built-in Office Hub brings together Office documents and notes in one convenient place. Customers can take and sync notes using OneNote Mobile and easily view, edit, comment on, and sync Office documents back to their SkyDrive.

Packed with advanced imaging technology, the HTC Titan 4G features a 16-megapixel camera, a wide-angle lens, autofocus, dual LED flash, red eye reduction, image stabilisation, a backside-illuminated sensor and a physical camera button, allowing customers to leave digital point-and-shoot cameras at home. The HTC Titan 4G delivers a number of features that HTC has developed to help people capture perfect photos in a variety of conditions; for instance, panoramic shot for sweeping landscapes and burst shot for action photography.

Customers using the HTC Titan 4G in 4G coverage areas (capital city CBDs, associated airports and more than 80 additional regional and metropolitan locations) can access typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps and typical upload speeds from 1Mbps to 10Mbps. When outside 4G coverage areas the Titan 4G uses HSPA+ Dual Channel technology to serve up Australia’s fastest 3G download speeds which range from 1.1Mbps-20Mbps in all capital CBDs and much of the associated metropolitan areas and many regional locations. Outside these areas speed ranges will be less.

HTC Titan 4G Key Features:

• Lightning fast 4G speeds in 4G coverage areas
• Windows® Phone 7.5 OS
• 4.7 inch WVGA super LCD  capacitive screen
• 16-megapixel camera with dedicated button, auto focus and dual LED flash; 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
• 1.5 GHz processor
• 720p HD video recording to capture video with incredible quality and detail

Pricing and availability:

The HTC Titan 4G is available from Telstra Stores and online from Tuesday 29 May.

Business customers can purchase the HTC Titan 4G for $0 upfront after using their MRO bonus on our $79 Business Mobile Maximiser™ Plan. This includes $800 worth of national calls and MMS, unlimited SMS to standard Australian numbers and 2GB of data for use in Australia each month. Min cost over 24 months is $1,896.

Consumer customers can purchase the HTC Titan 4G for $0 upfront on the $79 Freedom® Connect Plan (after using an included MRO Bonus), with $800 worth of included calls and MMS, unlimited SMS and 2GB of data, all to standard Australian numbers (excludes use overseas) each month. Min cost over 24 months is $1,896.

4G coverage is currently available in all capital CBDs (meaning within 5km from the GPO), associated airports and selected regional areas (meaning within 3km from the regional town centre). For details on 4G coverage locations, visit: www.telstra.com/mobilebbcoverage.

Motorola’s DEFY Mini phone is heading to Australia via Optus. And like I said when it was announced back at CES, it’ll most likely (and is going to be offered as) a pre-paid phone when it comes to Australia. And like the DEFY – it’s dust-proof, water-resistant, scratch-resistant and the screen is protected by Gorilla Glass, making the screen crack-proof.

The phone features a 3.2-inch display, a 3-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera, GPS navigation and will have expandable memory via an SD card slot. The phone will also feature “MotoSwitch”, which apparently learns the songs you love, who you talk to the most and which apps you most use, and collate all of it on the home screen.

Because it is a pre-paid phone, it won’t run Ice Cream Sandwich – instead, it will run Gingerbread (2.3.6).

It will be on Optus’ network, and is on sale now from Dick Smith and Optus for $199 on prepaid and includes $30 of credit. Other retail outlets, such as K-Mart and Target, will sell the phone from next Monday (May 21).

Gallery and press release below.

Motorola Mobility Brings Style and Strength to Australia with the Motorola DEFY™ MINI

The smartphone that can take whatever your adventurous lifestyle throws at it, for a price you can’t beat.

SYDNEY, Australia –18 May, 2012 – Say hello to the smartphone that defies expectations. Dust-proof, water-resistant, scratch-resistant and featuring a powerful 1650mAh battery, the new, life proof Motorola DEFY™ MINI sets you up for social survival wherever you decide to go, making sure you stay connected for longer.

The phone’s crystal-clear, 3.2-inch Corning® Gorilla® Glass touchscreen display is great for email, texting and browsing the Web. It’s cool, compact design and long battery life means that only you decide when the fun stops.

Snap photos of your various exploits with the Motorola DEFY MINI’s 3-megapixel camera, or take advantage of the front-facing VGA camera to connect with friends while you’re on the train, bus or just relaxing at home. Featuring an intuitive interface with social and activity widgets, the DEFY MINI also allows you to instantly share all the fun you’re having with your friends.

Plus, if you’re on the move, the Motorola DEFY MINI’s GPS navigation will always keep you pointed in the right direction and make sure you get where you’re going.

Motorola DEFY MINI is the first device to launch in Australia with MotoSwitch, a handy user interface which learns the songs you love, who you talk to most and which apps you get the most mileage from. It then cleverly collects all your preferences and keeps them front-and-center, which means you’ll be so organised you’ll have loads of extra time on your hands.

But don’t worry… your boredom won’t last long. Since Motorola DEFY MINI is an Android™- powered smartphone, you’ll have immediate access to thousands of games, apps, music, books and movies available on Google Play ™.

“Motorola DEFY MINI is just the right mix of style, value, performance and toughness.” said Timo Brouwer, Managing Director, Motorola Mobility, ANZPI. “It can stand up to whatever your busy life throws at it, keep you connected and organised and capture and share your once-in-a-lifetime adventures – all with resilience and style.”

Gavin Williams, Head of Segment Marketing, Optus said, “Smartphones are becoming increasingly significant for Australians and our customers are expecting their devices to withstand more and more. As such, we’re excited to offer a great solution in the Motorola DEFY MINI, which wraps the latest tech innovations in a tough and robust package.”

Price and Availabily

Motorola DEFY MINI is available on Optus pre-paid $199 RRP which includes $30 of credit and a sim.

DEFY MINI will be available today from Dick Smith and from Optus retailers,as well as mass market chains like Kmart and Target from Monday 21st May.

Nokia’s Lumia 900 and Lumia 610 heading to Australia, as confirmed by Nokia. Both phones come just months after their sister phones, the Lumia 800 and 710, were launched in Australia – and surprisingly, Nokia Australia took a few months to get the Lumia 900 and Lumia 610 out the door to Australians. Both phones were only announced back in February.

The Lumia 900 is heading to Optus, and will be $0 upfront on its $60 Optus plan. This is a stark difference to the Lumia 800, which is currently available on all carriers. The phone, however, can still be purchased without a contract for $699 (still far cheaper than the iPhone 4S).

The Lumia 900, which has a large 4.3-inch display and a 1.4GHz processor, is not the LTE version that is on AT&T’s network, but rather the high-speed 3G version announced back in February. The phone also features an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, and a 1-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Lumia 610, labelled as the “most affordable” Windows Phone will be available via retail channels in July for a price tag of $329. It will be also available via carriers Boost Mobile in June, and Vodafone in July. No pricing details have been announced by Nokia, or the two carriers. The phone will have 8GB of storage, 5-megapixel camera, a 3.7-inch display and runs on a cheaper processor.

And I’ve said before:

But with that price tag, it’ll make a good pre-paid phone, or a phone if you simply want to try Windows Phone without signing a contract and if you have money to throw around (and if you don’t like it, you can simply return it within 14 days – win-win!)

LG smartphones are about to get a brand new user interface, with the Korean phone manufacturer pushing a new update on its custom UI – the aptly titled LG Optimus UI. Now hitting version 3.0, it brings several features that essentially play catch-up with its rivals own custom interfaces – HTC’s Sense and Samsung’s TouchWiz.

“With smartphone hardware becoming more and more similar, it’s important for manufacturers to differentiate their products from the competition through the user interface,” Dr. Jong-seok Park, the CEO and President of LG’s mobile division, said.

The new update, only available for its Ice Cream Sandwich phones, will include a new “powerful memo function” called Quick Memo, where users can jot notes on the screen with a finger and share them with friends via social network, text messages or email. It will also introduce ‘Voice Shutter’, which lets you control the camera with voice commands.

It also introduces things that you may have seen on Samsung and HTC phones with a new pattern lock and unlocking sequence, quick access to the camera, a feature that will choose the ‘best shot’ among multiple images, and a new ‘Download’ category.

It will be on the new LG Optimus LTE II phones – which launch in Korea this week, then on the LG Optimus 4X HD in June.

The Samsung GALAXY Nexus (Image: Samsung/supplied)

RUMOUR MILL: By Thanksgiving, we could see five new ‘Nexus’ smartphones and tablets – the title given to Android’s flagship phone for a particular version – being sold directly to consumers through Google, as opposed to the traditional carriers. Well, that’s if a report by the Wall Street Journal is true.

The paper notes that:

Google will work with as many as five manufacturers at a time to create a portfolio of “Nexus” lead devices that include smartphones and tablets, and it plans to sell the gadgets directly to consumers in the U.S., Europe and Asia through its website, and also potentially through some retailers, one of these people said. The smartphones are expected to be sold unlocked, meaning they come without a wireless contract and can run on multiple wireless networks by inserting a SIM card.

The phone will also run on the upcoming (and much rumoured title) Jelly Bean, which is expected out in the third quarter of this year.

However, the Wall Street Journal also notes that it plans to give many other hardware manufacturers to produce ‘Nexus’ devices, as opposed to one – suggesting that manufacturers aren’t that happy with Google buying Motorola, even fearing that Google “will try to boost the struggling Motorola business at their expense”. Previously, Google partnered with one manufacturer to create a ‘Nexus’ device – currently with Samsung, but previously with HTC.

Google’s plan to sell direct to consumers is also being said to “help supercharge the sale of Android-powered tablets”. Those tablets have been unable to find much of a market due to the dominance of the iPad, and the Kindle Fire’s attractive price tag (the irony is that the Kindle Fire is running Android, but heavily customised).

The plan also suggests that it wants to “exert more control” on the platform and “reduc[e] the influence of wireless carriers” over its phones. The plan does allow Google to have more control, since it will be selling and distributing the phones in addition to marketing the overall Android name – something that has always been left with the carriers.

Is it a good idea, however? It is. But it will depend on the markets, because if Australia or the United Kingdom aren’t allowed to purchase phones via Google, then it goes to show that the carriers have some power in that country.

HP has also announced the new HP ENVY Ultrabook and HP ENVY Sleekbook – both models coming in 14-inch and 15.6-inch display sizes. Both include the latest Core processors and offer high battery life of eight or nine hours, and again bring thinness with these laptops reportedly being only 19.8mm thin.

These new ultrabooks also feature Beats Audio, dual speaks and a subwoofer. It also features an Intel Core processor, a solid state drive and options for the Sleekbook to have discrete graphics so users can edit and create videos on it.

HP says that these are out today with a price tag starting at US$699. Australian availability and pricing, however, is not known at this stage.

HP has announced some new updates to its ENVY ultrabook lineup, with a new addition called the ENVY Spectre XT. It promises to combine extraordinary design and, since it is an ultrabook, thinness without sacrificing on performance – being powered by latest Intel Core processors and Beats Audio support.

It also features a 13.3-inch display, 256GB solid state drive hard drive and a “full array of ports” that include HDMI and USB 3.0. It also has a HD webcam and an optional backlight keyboard – so you can write while in the dark or low-light conditions.

It does come with several pieces of software with it, including Adobe Photoshop Elements 10, Norton Internet Security with two years protection and Absolute Data Protect with one year of protection.

HP Australia has confirmed that it will start selling this in mid-June for a price of US$999.99 – and we’ll see if they decide to charge the ‘Australia Tax’ on it.

Since Tom and Terence are writing these things, it’s only logical for me to write one about Sydney! Since the iOS App Store has a huge range of Apps available to download, it’s sometimes hard to pick the right App for what you need. This post will attempt to ease that frustration and help you pick the right up for getting you around the public transport system in Sydney.

TripView Sydney

TripView Sydney is probably the best App to download for finding your way around Sydney. It provides timetable information for Trains, Buses and Ferries. It’s really quick to show you the nearest station or bus stop and then show you a map to assist you to get there. You then pick a destination and it will show you the next train, bus or ferry instantly.

The best thing about TripView is it’s ability to show you if there are disruptions on the network. When viewing a timetable, it will work out if any disruptions on the network will affect your journey and let you know about it.

TripView Sydney is $2.99 off the App Store and it’s well worth it. There is a fully featured free version but it won’t save any of your trips.

Transport Info 131500

The Transport Info 131500 app is the newest contender to the App Store. It’s been made by the NSW Department of NSW and uses their Journey Planner technology. Upon opening the app, it will work out your location and instantly show you all the next services. While looking slightly complicated, tapping on a service will display more information and a map.

Of course, the app allows you to plan out a trip without using location services. It allows you to choose a mode of transport or you can allow it work out the best and fastest way to get there. I did find some of this complicated but the App is only new.

The Transport Info 131500 app will show you service interruptions but only if you ask it to. So you may run into problems there…

It is a free app and there are no ads.

CityRail Mobile Website

Of course, if you are so inclined to, you can use the CityRail Mobile Website. It has the ability to show you Service interruptions, Trackwork on your line and a highlight events feature which shows you any events happening around Sydney and how to use CityRail to get to them.

The Next train service and Trip Planner links redirect to the 131500 mobile website and looks much like their App – so it’s probably better just downloading the Transport Info 131500 app.

Of course, it’s free and probably a quick way to find out Service interruptions or trackwork if you’re not near the station.

That’s all the apps I could round up, if you know of an App that I have missed. Be sure to let me know.

Mother’s Day is approaching, and if you’re still struggling to give your mum a gift or looking for some ideas, we have given you our five choices what you should give your mum on that special day. No, we won’t be giving tips like getting her a gift certificate to a spa resort. We went down the more practical and techie route.

So here are our five suggestions on what you should give mum on Mother’s Day. If you also have any other suggestions (or questions, we love questions), do leave a comment below.

Also, heads up. Tuesday (today – the day of this post) is the final day of our giveaway to win something for mum thanks to Seagate. You’ve got until 12:01am tomorrow to enter – and it’s really, really simple to do. Go check it out.

Amazon Kindle

One of the best things out there is the Amazon Kindle – it’s an eBook reader. However, it is really lightweight and easy to use, and is a much better alternative than lugging around heavy hardback or flimsy paperback books. It is also easy to read on thanks to the eInk technology, making it look like actual printed text as opposed to pixels.

What I also love about the Kindle is the book store it offers – it has a vast collection of books from mainstream hits, classics and even the more obscure books that you might not even heard of. It does require an Amazon account, but that is also easy to set up.

I have reviewed the Amazon Kindle Touch, but the Amazon Kindle is just the same (without the touchscreen). You can get it at Amazon, or from Woolworths. We also suggest that you also give her a gift certificate from Amazon so she can start buying books.

Apple iPad

I know this is obvious, but this is a no-brainer. It is the best tablet out there in terms of style, ease to use and the large app store – and I know every Android fanboy is going to be annoyed. We’re also assuming that you haven’t given your mum an iPad for Christmas or her birthday. She can store her music, see family photos (and potentially embarrass you), and surf the web from one device.

The iPad has also some great apps for both mums and for their young children alike. There are recipe and casual gaming apps (like Angry Birds) for mum, while there are story and educational apps (like iStoryTime that James Wilson reviewed) for the kids. Basically, if there’s something you want, they’ll probably be an app on the App Store. Heck, you can even download Kindle for the iPad and read your Kindle books on it.

The iPad is the obvious choice, but it is just a good device. I’ll leave it up to you on whether you want to give your mum the new iPad or the iPad 2 since the only main difference is the retina display.

Jawbone Jambox

A pretty unusual choice, but it is one of the best Bluetooth speakers out there. If your mum has an iPod, iPhone or any mobile device that supports Bluetooth audio, then you should at least give her this to let her play her music without the need of headphones or let her listen to it without the need to resort to the crappy little speakers on the mobile phone itself.

It is beautifully designed and has a continuous battery life of 10 hours, but it is very pricey (though, arguably, you should spend a bit more money for your mum). As Stewart Wilson said in his review: “We tested with a range of music on the Jambox and it was nothing short of fantastic. If you have sound quality in mind and need something small, compact and cheap – the Jawbone Jambox is the one.”

If she’s of a certain age, then you should help her try and set it up – though, you should probably spend a bit more time with mum on this day as well.

Choiix Power Fort OR morphie Juice Pack Air

We all hate it when a gadget runs out at a very critical time for us. Why not give your mum something that will extend her gadget’s battery life – especially a iPhone or smartphone. And I couldn’t decide on one or the other, so why not group them together in one.

You can give her the Choiix Power Fort (above), and she can charge your phone or any device via USB – Android smartphone, tablet, or even some cameras – during the day or put it in her carry bag when she doesn’t need it. And if she does, she can pull it out of the device and use it.

The other alternative is to give her a morphie Juice Pack Air – which is only available for the iPhone. However, it allows you to charge and use the device since it uses the pin connector on the bottom of your iPhone – as opposed to the Power Fort, where you have to use a USB cable. It does make the iPhone 4S or iPhone 4 a bit thicker, but it’s a good device to keep your phone from dying when you need it.

Sony Cybershot WX30 (or any good digital camera)

Buying a digital camera for your mum lets her capture any special memories that she might want to keep, or just simply use during her holidays. However, there are so many digital cameras and while there are a lot of bad ones, there are so many good ones out there. I think the Sony Cybershot WX30 would be a good compact camera for mum, mainly because the image quality is pretty good for a camera in the sub-$300 camera range.

The Cybershot WX30 also has a 3.0-inch touchscreen display, meaning that you simply have to touch to edit settings as opposed to try and maneuver around buttons which have a dual purpose. It also has 5x optical zoom and a 16.2-megapxiel lens.

However, like I said, you can have your own opinions on a good camera that you think your mum should get. One hint: don’t give your mum a pink camera – unless she really does like the colour. Just stick with the usual silver, white or black.

Also, heads up. Tuesday (today – the day of this post) is the final day of our giveaway to win something for mum thanks to Seagate. You’ve got until 12:01am tomorrow to enter – and it’s really, really simple to do. Go check it out.

Image above: Rachael Kramer (rkramer62)/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Tom did a guide for Android, and now I’m doing one for Windows Phone. While we have constantly mocked Windows Phone for having some very sub-par applications, there are little gems that are really brilliant. So, here are some of the top applications – both web and mobile apps – that will help you get around Melbourne’s transport system.

At least it’s a bit easier to understand than Sydney’s own transport system.

Train Trapper

Tom loves this app on Android, and I love it on Windows Phone.

It’s really useful to quickly find the next train approaching the nearest station – something that can be pretty handy if you are in the city and want to do a bit of quick exploring before the train arrives. You can even filter out lines to simply focus on your train line home, and even set reminders.

Train Trapper for Windows Phone, however, does not show any alerts on whether it has been delayed or cancelled. However, there are other avenues to find this out, such as Twitter or simply by walking up there and take the connecting bus service.

The big important thing is that it is free (and has no ads). You can download it here: http://tgau.co/ttwp7

TramFinder

What’s a Melbourne Transport roundup without anything to go around our trams. Simply put, TramFinder is Train Trapper for trams.

What I like about this is that it will find the nearest tram stop for you – plus its route and how many minutes is the next tram will arrive. I also like how it overlays the path on a map so you know where you are going. If you need to find a stop not near you, simply move around the map and find one, search through the numerous routes or even type its name.

It is beautifully designed and is easy to use, and is one of the rare apps that doesn’t start with the traditional Metro pivot design. It just takes you directly to the map, and tries finding your nearest stop.

Again, it’s free and has no ads overlaid in the app. You can download it here: http://tgau.co/tramwp7

Melly Journey

While the design is not the best and it is pretty basic in functionality, this is a good app for small journeys around the city and suburbs if you don’t know the area.

Melly Journey is basically the journey planner on the Public Transport Victoria’s website. I’m guessing that it connects to PTV’s database and plots a journey from one spot to another using buses, trains and trams. It will give you estimated times and where to walk from and to. Think of it like a GPS for walking.

Because it’s using PTV’s database, it does require you to be really exact. However, it does give you some options to make sure it does get a result from the PTV’s database.

Like I said, it’s not the prettiest and has some flaws, but it’s good if you need to plot a journey. You can download here, for free: http://tgau.co/mellywp7

Metro Trains Mobile Website

The Metro Trains mobile website is the place to go if you need to know the overall status of the network. It’s pretty useful only for that purpose since it wants to redirect the timetable feature to the crappy-coded PTV’s mobile website, or to the Metlink/PTV iPhone app – which, for obvious reasons, won’t run on your Windows Phone.

The overall status, however, is pretty necessary information if you are a Melburnian. Metro Trains has had a pretty rocky start with its network, and while it has eased back to normality, there are bound to be a couple of hitches along the way.

You can access it on their website: http://m.metrotrains.com.au.

Yes, I do know the image is from Android. The website will still be the same – minus some slight alterations because it is a different browser. But the same functions will still be there.

Image above: Ryk Neethling/Flickr (Creative Commons)

RIM’s hilariously-stupid “WAKE UP” campaign has said something will happen today, and it has landed. The website now redirects you to another website, listing a manifesto about how businesses choose RIM because they have “been in business from the very beginning”.

“These days being ‘in business’ means you’re the kind of person who takes action and makes things happen. You don’t just think different… you do different,” the manifesto reads. “It’s a simple choice: You either here to leave your mark and eat opportunity for breakfast OR You’re satisfied to just float through life like a cork in a steam.”

You sort of get the feeling that RIM is trying to say to corporate users, “Hey, you don’t need a stupid iPhone. Real business people want a BlackBerry.”

And that’s its problem – and it probably shows that the advertising creator Tounge had done poor research on the brand. Advertising is meant to show the problems in your life, not the problems in a company.

Nor its desperation.

RIM should no longer separate business and consumer – they are one and the same. There is no longer any distinction because IT has adapted to the growth of iOS, Android and Windows Phone – and that business people are consumers too, regardless of the suit and tie.

And it’s not that RIM hasn’t attracted the consumer market, there have been people who aren’t in the corporate world using a BlackBerry. It probably was a cheap phone on pre-paid, but the fact it had a keyboard meant that he or she could type on Twitter or Facebook. I, with my BlackBerry, still enjoy it since I can quickly type a message really quickly.

And the sad part is, this campaign has done more damage to the RIM brand (great job Tongue!). Everybody thought it was Samsung, who were known for being a bit aggressive with Apple. Other reasonable people who would do this, other than the speculative Samsung, would have been Microsoft (if they were that desperate, and probably are), HTC and Motorola. It could have been any of them – but not RIM.

RIM needs a product out the door and quick. One that attracts both business and consumer alike – like I said, they are not distinct entities anymore. And they should hurry, because the ship is sailing really quick. You don’t want to leave it too late, like another competitor Palm.

Trying to steal Samsung’s thunder, LG has made a second phone announcement. This time, it has announced the Optimus LTE 2 – no, that is its name, very original – and will feature 2GB of RAM and a “True HD” IPS display. The size, however. is not known but assume it somewhere in the 4-inches-or-more range.

Why? Because, for Android, size matters – especially with the screen.

Anyway, the phone will have LTE support, as its name suggests, and will have a larger battery (2150mAh – which is apparently 40 percent longer than the Optimus LTE). You will also be able to charge this wirelessly since it has an inductive charging coil at the back – so simply place it on the dock and it will recharge, like at the image below.

Other features, if we can seem to understand Google’s weird translation of the news release by LG, include possibly zero-shutter lag, or something to do with the camera loading fast to “capture the moment”. It will also have the ability to recognise your voice so you can command it to take the photo without pressing the button. Other than that, LG seems to be pushing 2GB of RAM. Why 2GB is up for speculation, because you necessarily don’t need that much RAM.

LG is pushing this in South Korea from mid-May, with no international availability confirmed as of yet. Though, we could possibly see this on Optus or Telstra if they want to build up their numbers of LTE phones in Australia – since we only have two.

“Inspired by nature.”

That’s the tagline that the Galaxy S III will be sold on. Samsung has officially revealed version 3 of its most popular smartphone line, and will be running Ice Cream Sandwich and feature a gigantic 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display.

The screen, while 22% bigger, won’t have an impact on its size – with Samsung saying that has reduced the bezel. The phone is also 8.6mm thin, and yet manages to pack a 16GB or 32GB memory, an 8-megapixel camera with zero shutter lag, autofocus and Flash and 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. Oh, and the already revealed 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad with 1GB of RAM.

It also promises less than 1 second loading of its camera apps, and will also have “Best Photo” feature in its burst photoshooting mode, giving you a choice of eight ‘best’ photos out of 20. Other enhancements include ‘Face Zoom’ and ‘Group tag’ – their names sort of give it away. In addition, they will feature a brand new ‘S Beam’ service that expands on Android Beam by letting you simply share without the need of Wi-Fi or mobile signals.

Then we also have ‘AllShare Cast’ and ‘All Share Play’, which will share any form of files between the phone and your tablet, PC or television – regardless of distance. The phone does include NFC support for mobile payments.

It’s skinned interface for Android – TouchWiz – gets a redesign as part of this “natural” promotion. It’s pretty much core Android with a bit of customisation by Samsung – though it promises to have live wallpaper, information lock screen and smart alarm. However, Samsung has apparently made some customisations that make it more ‘human-friendly’.

The phone will be a 3G phone, but selected markets will have a 4G version – but the specific signals it will use will be “dependent on market”. That could possibly be to avoid the problematic use of ‘LTE’ in each market – like Apple and Australia.

The Galaxy S III will feature two colours at launch – a ‘Pebble Blue’ and ‘Marble White’ at launch. It will also follow Nokia in bringing some freaking colour on its products. On May 29, it will launch in Europe before going on a “World Tour” and land in the US in June. No word on carrier availability in Australia, but we will be asking Samsung Australia for comment.

Update: We’ve asked for Samsung Australia about availability of the device, but they are being very tight-lipped. “Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased there is continued interest about our GALAXY range in Australia, but we have no plans to make any announcements at this time,” the company said in a statement.

Gallery and its full press release today below:

Samsung Introduces the GALAXY S III, the Smartphone Designed for Humans and Inspired by Nature

London, UK—May 3, 2012—Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced today the third generation GALAXY S, the GALAXY S III. Designed for humans and inspired by nature, the GALAXY S III is a smartphone that recognizes your voice, understands your intention, and lets you share a moment instantly and easily.

This sleek and innovative smartphone has the enhanced intelligence to make everyday life easier. With Samsung GALAXY S III, you can view the content like never before on the device’s 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display. An 8MP camera and a 1.9MP front camera offer users a variety of intelligent camera features and face recognition related options that ensure all moments are captured easily and instantly. Samsung GALAXY S III is powered by Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, with greatly enhanced usability and practicality to make life easier. Packed with intuitive technology, the GALAXY S III delivers a uniquely personalized mobile experience that refuses to be compromised.

“With the GALAXY S III, Samsung has maximized the consumer benefits by integrating superior hardware with enhanced smartphone usability,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. “Designed to be both effortlessly smart and intuitively simple, the GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind. What makes me most proud is that it enables one of the most seamless, natural and human-centric mobile experiences, opening up a new horizon that allows you to live a life extraordinary.”

Introducing Natural Interaction

The GALAXY S III enhances the interaction experience between the device and user. Smart enough to detect your face, voice and motions, the GALAXY S III adapts to the individual user to provide a more convenient and natural experience. With the innovative ‘Smart stay’ feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how you are using your phone – reading an e-book or browsing the web for instance – by having the front camera identify your eyes; the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing pleasure.

The GALAXY S III features ‘S Voice,’ the advanced natural language user interface, to listen and respond to your words. In addition to allowing information search and basic device-user communication, S Voice presents powerful functions in regards to device control and commands. When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the GALAXY S III “snooze.” You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.

In addition to recognizing your face and voice, the GALAXY S III understands your motions to offer maximized usability. If you are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, simply lift your phone to your ear and ‘Direct call’ will dial their number. With ‘Smart alert,’ the GALAXY S III will also save you from trouble by catching any missed messages or calls; your phone will vibrate to notify missed statuses when picked up after being idle.

Easy and Instant Sharing

The Samsung GALAXY S III is more than a personal device that can be enjoyed by one user – it wants you to share and experience smartphone benefits with family and friends, regardless of where you are. With the new ‘S Beam,’ the GALAXY S III expands upon Android™ Beam™, allowing a 1GB movie file to be shared within three minutes and a 10MB music file within two seconds by simply touching another GALAXY S III phone, even without a Wi-Fi or cellular signal. The ‘Buddy photo share’ function also allows photos to be easily and simultaneously shared with all your friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.

With ‘AllShare Cast’, users can wirelessly connect their GALAXY S III to their television to immediately transfer smartphone content onto a larger display. ‘AllShare Play’ can be also used to instantly share any forms of files between GALAXY S III and your tablet, PC, and televisions regardless of the distance between the devices. Under AllShare Play is also the ‘Group Cast’ feature that allows you to share your screen among multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network; you can make comments and draw changes at the same time with your co-workers, witnessing real-time sharing on your individual device.

Human-centric Design with Uncompromised Performance

The GALAXY S III not only presents features with enhanced usability, but also provides an ergonomic and comfortable experience through its human-centric design. Its comfortable grip, gentle curves, and organic form deliver a rich human-centric feel and design. Inspired by nature, its design concept is the flow and movement of nature. The elements of wind, water and light are all evoked in the physical construct of the GALAXY S III. In its essence, the minimal organic design identity is reflected in the smooth and non-linear lines of the device. Available in Pebble Blue and Marble White at launch, Samsung will introduce a variety of additional color options.

With a 4.8” HD Super AMOLED display, the GALAXY S III offers a large and vivid viewing experience. Samsung Mobile’s heritage Super AMOLED display even enhances to HD and 16:9 wider viewing angles. To ensure faster content sharing and connectivity, the GALAXY S III offers Wi-Fi Channel Bonding which doubles the Wi-Fi bandwidth.

The GALAXY S III also sports a range of additional features that boost performance and the overall user experience in entirely new ways. It introduces ‘Pop up play,’ a feature that allows you to play a video anywhere on your screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web. Its 8MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed that lets you capture moving objects easily without delay – the image you see is the picture you take. With the ‘Burst shot’ function that instantly captures twenty continuous shots, and the ‘Best photo’ feature that selects the best of eight photographs for you, the GALAXY S III ensures users a more enhanced and memorable camera experience. HD video can be recorded even with the 1.9MP front-facing camera, which you can use to capture a video of yourself. Improved backside illumination further helps to eliminate blur in photos that result from shaking, even under low lights.

Mobile payment is also accessible with the device through advanced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The gaming experience is enhanced through ‘Game Hub,’ providing access to numerous social games, while Video Hub brings users high quality TV and movies. Furthermore, Samsung Music Hub will offer a personal music streaming service. Game Hub, Video Hub and Music Hub will be introduced in select countries initially and soon rolled out to global markets.

The Samsung GALAXY S III will be available from the end of May in Europe before rolling out to other markets globally.

Running Ice Cream Sandwich, featuring a 4.3-inch display and a body that is designed to avoid the nasty legal issues with Apple (it’s very oblong) – the LG Optimus L7 will be launching in Europe this month, soon followed by launches in Asia.

The Optimus L7, part of its ‘L-Series’ of phones, is also said to include a new UI that would allow multi-tasking. And looking at the images, it appears that they have done little changes to the UI, maybe changing icons but not the overall experience. It also features zero-speed shutter on its five-megapixel camera.

However, for some unknown reason, LG has pretty much kept a tight lip on what its specs are (even this announcement has little detail) – and probably we’ll see what it has inside once we get a European launch date. We do know that it as a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, 5-megapixel camera (as mentioned above) and a 1GHz processor. It will also include DLNA and NFC support.

No pricing as of yet, but a rough guide would be pricing it similar to the Galaxy S II.

The Indians and the Russians are about to be the first few countries to get the new Nokia 808 PureView, with the mobile manufacturer confirming that it will be rolling out the 41-megapixel cameraphone in May in ‘selected markets’.

Other markets have not been revealed, but having growing markets such as India and Russia as part of its initial launch could hint at launching it first in those markets to test the waters of a launch in more developed mobile markets such as Australia, Europe and North America.

For those who don’t know, the Nokia 808 PureView has a 41-megapixel lens that can take pictures at 38 megapixel resolution, while also able to take it in smaller resolutions including 5 and 8 megapixels. It claims that it can take pictures – at 5 and 8 megapixel resolution – without the loss of clarity when zooming, and have sharper images.

It also runs on Symbian – but hopefully, it runs a bit better than the other phones we had that were running on it.

Full gallery below.

Nokia has launched a whole bunch of lawsuits against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic, claiming that they violate (collectively) 45 of Nokia’s patents. It has not revealed what patents each case entails, but all the cases are either in the US or in Germany.

It has filed its US cases against HTC with the International Trade Commission, and HTC and Viewsonic in the Federal District Court in Delaware. In Germany, it has filed cases against HTC and RIM in Dusseldorf’s Regional Court and against all three companies in the most-popular court in patent law – the Mannheim Regional Court, in addition to another three cases in Munich.

In all, it has filed a total of 11 lawsuits against the three companies – all launched in one day. Pretty big effort on Nokia’s part.

The full press statement is below:

Nokia takes new steps to protect its innovations and intellectual property

Patent suits filed against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic in the US and Germany

Espoo, Finland – Nokia has filed claims in the United States and Germany alleging that products from HTC, RIM and Viewsonic infringe a number of Nokia patents.

“Nokia is a leader in many technologies needed for great mobile products,” said Louise Pentland, chief legal officer at Nokia. “We have already licensed our standards essential patents to more than 40 companies.  Though we’d prefer to avoid litigation, Nokia had to file these actions to end the unauthorized use of our proprietary innovations and technologies, which have not been widely licensed.”

Nokia’s actions include a complaint to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) against HTC, suits against HTC and Viewsonic in the Federal District Court of Delaware, US, against HTC and RIM in the Regional Court in Dusseldorf, Germany and against all three companies in the Regional Courts in Mannheim and Munich, Germany. In total, 45 Nokia patents are in suit in one or more of the actions.

Nokia proprietary innovations protected by these patents are being used by the companies to enable hardware capabilities such as dual function antennas, power management and multimode radios, as well as to enhance software features including application stores, multitasking, navigation, conversational message display, dynamic menus, data encryption and retrieval of email attachments on a mobile device.

“Many of these inventions are fundamental to Nokia products,” Pentland concluded. “We’d rather that other companies respect our intellectual property and compete using their own innovations, but as these actions show, we will not tolerate the unauthorized use of our inventions.”

With the release of BlackBerry 10 development tools to developers, RIM has made a huge promise to BlackBerry developers. Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of Developer Relations today announced that RIM guarantees that developers will earn $10,000 in their first year of sales and if you don’t quite reach $10,000 then RIM will pay you the difference.

Sounds enticing to make a BlackBerry app now doesn’t it? However, there is a catch – the app must pass BlackBerry’s new stringent quality certification guidelines to ensure your app isn’t crappy. So that means no fart apps will qualify for this offer. Once the app has passed verification and is published to the store, the app must first generate $1,000 on it’s own before RIM will jump in and cut you a cheque.

It’s a very interesting approach RIM is taking – Paying developers to make great apps. However, some speculate that this is RIM trying to gather market share again since BlackBerry is slowly but surely dying out… Apparently paying developers is one way to do it.

Mother’s Day is approaching, and why not give your mum a place where she can store more photos and videos on her iPad, or any of her devices she might have. We have partnered up with Seagate to give you ONE of two GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage devices – and all you have to do is one simple click to have a chance of winning.

Up to 8 devices can connect to the GoFlex Satellite, and 3 users can simultaneously stream a HD movie. Simply plug it in your computer, drag your files, and download the free GoFlex Media app (available on the App Store or in the Android Market) to access the files from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or your Android tablet and smartphone.

You’ll be able to store a whole lot of photos, music and video, since it has a 500GB hard drive inside. And now, with the new update, you will be able to use the internet while being connected to the Satellite.

And yes, you don’t have to give it to your mum. You can give it to your partner, or for yourself – we won’t judge.

So, how to win?

Simple – like us on Facebook, or add us on Twitter and simply post this message: I’ve entered to win something for my mum, @techgeekcomau – http://tgau.co/tgmums #tgmums - thx @seagate_au. That message is important for logistics reason – mainly to make sure you’re not a spambot. If you enter via Facebook, then you don’t have to post that message.

Again, to reiterate – all you have to do is to like us on Facebook, or add us on Twitter and post that message.

You have until 12:01am on Wednesday 9th May. After that, we will choose a winner and will ship the product off – hopefully by Mother’s Day. Make sure you read our giveaway rules – and only people in Australia can enter this competition.

And again, thanks to Seagate for the prizes!

Image: Mark Pegrum/OzMark17 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Apple and Microsoft, among other tech companies, have been called to Canberra to explain why Australians are being charged much more on software, music and games in comparison to other nations, according to a new report.

Wait, Parliament doing something? (Okay, that might not be fair, they have done some good work – such as the R18+ laws)

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Minister for Communications, Senator Stephen Conroy, has already signed off on a parliamentary inquiry that will examine the pricing policies of software and “other IT-related materials”. The exact terms of reference on the inquiry have not been finalised, but the price of e-books could be examined if any issues of price differences between Australia and other markets are raised.

Leading the charge for such an inquiry has been Ed Husic, a Labor MP in Sydney, who took issue with the “price discrimination” – citing Adobe’s pricing structure where a digital download for Photoshop CS5 Extended cost $999 in the US, but $1,671 in Australia.

Adobe hasn’t helped itself when it was revealed that the latest edition of Adobe’s Creative Suite programs would see Australians also being charged more – this is despite the fact that the Australian dollar is basically on parity with the United States dollar.

“From my perspective, the most commonsense approach would have been for the companies to set out in their own terms why they price their products in Australia differently from other parts of the world. Instead of doing that, IT vendors have not only remained mute, they keep aggravating Australian consumers,” he said in a parliamentary speech in March.

“Let us be clear about this: IT vendors are demonstrating they will price differently here because we will cop it or they think we will keep quiet about it.”

Talking to SMH, Choice’s spokeswoman Ingrid Just said that they welcomed the move.

“The excuses overseas technology companies used to justify the higher prices, such as the small size of the market, the cost of setting up support centres and the imposition of local taxes and duties, were not acceptable,” she said.

Well, if nothing is resolved, then we can all look forward in many Australians continuing to pirate the software that is overpriced. And trust me, if Australians are fed up of waiting for new series because broadcasters air them later than their American counterparts, or end up pulling them to air in the summer; then they’re sort of fed up with the overcharging as well.

What do space and sheep have in common? Well, this new trailer by Samsung. Released on its YouTube channel, it’s hints potentially of a brand new Galaxy device that “fits perfectly in your hand” – so, let’s get the speculation wheel going.

We can assume that it will have a slim body, and a big screen – if it’s anything like the other images of the supposed Galaxy S III from a Vietnamese blog. The trailer also makes a slight dig at its competitor Apple by labelling them sheep.

Well, what do you think? Comment below – even if its a weird speculation – like I don’t know, Windows Phone 7 on this device?

Announced back at CES, the long awaited update to the AR.Drone – the AR.Drone 2.0 is heading to Australia. Now featuring a 720p HD camera, you can now finally use this with your Android-powered tablet or phone thanks to the updated AR.FreeFlight 2.0.

If you have used the predecessor, you would know that the movements are done via virtual thumbsticks – and you literally move the phone or tablet forwards or backwards to make it move in that direction. AR.Drone 2.0 now lets you do stunts with a new ‘Flip’ feature.

The FreeFlight 2.0 app will also let you record and take screenshots of your flights, and yyou’ll soon be able to share flight data and watch other people’s videos with an upcoming app called the AR.Drone Academy.

It’s coming soon in June with a recommended retail price of AU$349. Gallery below.

Well I got the opportunity to play with an iPad 3, so immediately I grabbed my camera and set to work. I do apologise for the poor lighting of the photos, and I intend on taking some nicer photos at a later date. But for now, enjoy what you have either already experienced, or just plainly don’t care about.

Also, I took some screen-shots from both iPad 2 and iPad 3 so you guys can compared the difference. iPad 2 #1, iPad 2 #2, iPad 3 #1, iPad 3 #2.

Microsoft has today announced the editions for Windows 8; and has basically dumped the “Home Basic”, “Home Premium”, “Business” and “Ultimate” editions found on Windows Vista and 7, replacing them with the much more defined “Windows 8″ and “Windows 8 Pro”.

What’s the difference between “Windows 8″ and “Windows 8 Pro”? According to Microsoft:

For many consumers, Windows 8 will be the right choice. It will include all the features above plus an updated Windows Explorer, Task Manager, better multi-monitor support and the ability to switch languages on the fly…

Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies… If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.

Windows Media Center, which has been included in some versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, will now no longer be included. However, Microsoft will bundle it within a “media pack” add-on for Windows 8 Pro – which goes to tell you that not many people knew what it was for. (It was a way to make your PC like a DVR).

Windows 8 Pro also includes BitLocker, Boot from VHD, Client Hyper-V, Domain Join, Group Policy and Remote Desktop. There will also be an enterprise version of Windows 8 – which is essentially the same as Windows 8 Pro, but with features that are more specific for IT organisations. The enterprise edition will not be on sale for consumers.

But, that’s only two? Where’s the third?

The third is Windows on ARM – now known as Windows RT. Why the name RT, we have no idea. But this version will be only installed on Windows PCs and tablets that run on ARM processors, and will pretty much have the same features as Windows 8 – except that it will have Microsoft Office installed, and no Windows Media Player.

In terms of upgrading, those on Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium can upgrade to Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. However, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate users can only upgrade to Windows 8 Pro – meaning that if you want to use the standard Windows 8 version, you’ll have to do a clean install.

You can see all the features in its blog post. No release date or pricing has been revealed as of yet, however.

Within Windows‘ Rafael Rivera posted an interesting video that is the supposed introduction to Office 15 – the upcoming version that is meant to replace Office 2010. But as the video suggests, it is meant to go “where ever you go” – leading to suggestions that it could feature integration with Office 365 and SkyDrive.

What is with this speculation? Well, apparently, the introduction says that you can sign in to Office and edit on the fly and have the file on all your devices (we’re going to assume that ‘your device’ is a Microsoft product such as Windows Phone or a Windows tablet – sorry iOS, Android, webOS and BlackBerry fanboys).

It is expected to be released in 2013, with a public beta coming soon. The video is below, so what do you think?