Author / Xavier Voigt-Hill

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by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Unannounced LG Nexus 4 goes up for pre-order at Carphone Warehouse with October 30th release date

Despite the fact that LG’s upcoming Nexus 4 remains unannounced, there is not a lot we still don’t know about Google’s future flagship phone. It has appeared in Carphone Warehouse’s database, been semi-confirmed by an LG executive and even been fully reviewed by Belarusian site Onliner.by after they got their hands on a prototype model. Now, with anticipation rising for Google’s Android event on October 29th where it is expected that all will be revealed, British retailer Carphone Warehouse has begun to offer the device for pre-order, with shipping promised for next week. Alongside Android 4.2 – which will still be known as Jelly Bean – the page confirms a Snapdragon S4 processor will power the 4.7″ 1280 x 768 display, while 8GB of internal storage will be built in with no expandability. An 8MP rear camera will be capable of 1080p video and NFC will also be present to allow for Android Beam support. While you cannot currently order the phone without a contract, deals are available on Vodafone and O2, with the cheapest contract without an up-front cost is for £31 per month. An October 30th ship date is promised, and we will be covering Monday’s announcement event live.

Source Carphone Warehouse

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Apple event liveblog: 7.9″ iPad Mini, 13″ Retina MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini and iPad refreshes

Another month brings another Apple event, and this time we expect to see a whole plethora of new and updated devices, spearheaded by the iPad Mini. Rumoured to have a 7.85″ 1024 x 768 display and a design similar to that of the new iPod Touch, this device looks set to sport a low price tag to take on the Nexus 7 and company. Rumour also has it that the existing iPad will receive a minor update with a Lightning connector and 4G in more territories (such as with EE in the UK) and the Mac family will get minor updates across the board, with the highlight being a 13″ Retina MacBook Pro. We also expect to hear a bit more about iTunes 11 tonight, but whatever happens we will be around to liveblog proceedings on this very page. Enjoy!

Continue reading →

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

EE confirms 4G pricing as LTE network launch looms

In preparation for the launch of their 4G LTE service on October 30th, EE today confirmed the pricing of devices and services on their network. All deals will include unlimited calls and texts, while deals above and including the £41 tier will get an additional media service from a choice of Deezer, 2 Gameloft games per month or live mobile TV from up to 20 channels. A £10 surcharge is applicable to any plan to reduce its length from 24 to 12 months, and existing Orange and T-Mobile customers who have signed deals in the last 6 months may make the switch to an LTE-enabled device for £99 plus any applicable change in monthly cost.

The reception to the tariffs has been hostile from many consumers, with some accusing EE of abusing their temporary monopoly on LTE in the UK and others pointing out that the late timing of this announcement allows for the costs to be buried while many customers sleep. As more networks introduce LTE services over the next year prices will undoubtedly be cut down, but until that point EE’s stranglehold on the market will ensure that the price you have to pay for the fastest data connection in the UK is not a cheap one.

Contract pricing with devices
All plans include unlimited calls and texts.

Monthly cost Plan length Data
£36 24 months 500MB
£41 24 months 1GB
£46 24 months 3GB
£51 24 months 5GB
£56 24 months 8GB
£46 12 months 500MB
£51 12 months 1GB
£56 12 months 3GB
£61 12 months 5GB
£66 12 months 8GB

Subsidised device pricing (plus 24 month contract)

Device £36 (500MB) £41 (1GB) £46 (3GB) £51 (5GB) £56 (8GB)
Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE £179.99 £139.99 £89.99 £39.99 £29.99
Apple iPhone 5 16GB £179.99 £109.99 £49.99 £29.99 £19.99
Samsung Galaxy S III LTE £149.99 £49.99 £29.99 £29.99 £29.99
HTC One XL £149.99 £49.99 £29.99 £29.99 £29.99
Huawei Ascend P1 LTE £19.99 Free Free Free Free

Via The Verge / Coolsmartphone

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Celebrating Digixav’s first birthday

Delicious ginger, BlackBerry, Apple and Jelly Bean cake.

Exactly one year ago on a cold Tuesday evening Digixav was born. Created from my lingering desire to have a portal from which to ramble on about tech, the very first post was a brief introduction to our plans for the site, and soon after Henry and Chris jumped on board with their own little introductions. Our first site design looked a lot like this, and, after a few hours getting to grips with WordPress, we properly launched DX with our disastrous liveblog of the keynote in which Google unveiled Android 4.0 and Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus – and to this day I am still embarrassed by the amount of stuff that was in my taskbar. Since then, the team has grown massively and our readership has been far higher than we could have ever imagined.

One year on, our aim remains the same: to deliver more tech news, reviews, guides and opinions to you, our loyal readers. We’ve had a great first year on the internet, and we hope to do even better in the next one. Tonight, we celebrate with cake. Tomorrow, we take over the world. Thanks for joining us.

P.S. The cake is a ginger cake made by Kieran, iced with a BlackBerry Curve, iPhone 4S and Nexus 7. It tastes really good and also resulted in this picture.

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Watch live: Felix Baumgartner to jump from 120,000 feet in Red Bull Stratos project to break speed of sound in freefall

As part of the Red Bull Stratos project, record-breaking BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner is currently in a capsule heading up towards 120,000 feet, where he will then freefall from space and become the first human to break the speed of sound without assistance. After numerous weather-based delays, the capsule launched at around 16:30 BST today and so far all seems to be going to plan, and you can watch along live with us below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrIxH6DToXQ]

Source Red Bull Stratos

 

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Android 4.1.2 begins to roll out to Nexus 7 tablets

A minor update to Android 4.1 has begun to roll out to owners of Google’s Asus-built Nexus 7 tablet, with unspecified bug fixes and a much-desired landscape mode for the launcher as its main features. An Australian EE Times reader has received the 31.3MB update and while we have yet to see the update come through to our device, the update push is expected to continue across the globe throughout the day and it is recommended that you furiously check for updates throughout the night.

Via The Verge
Source EE Times

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Facebook hits one billion monthly active users and likens itself to chairs in debut ad campaign

Fresh off the back of announcing that Facebook now serves a billion active users each month, Mark Zuckerberg’s firm also announced their first brand advertisement, produced with Portland-based ad agency Wieden & Kennedy. Set to be shown in 13 countries and translated to 12 languages, the 90 second spot, entitled The Things That Connect Us,  is described as a reflection of what Facebook stands for by W+K.

Facebook’s first commercial ever honors the everyday things that people use to get together and connect – things like chairs, doorbells, bridges, airplanes and Facebook.

Coinciding with the billion user milestone, the company also released a document of statistics regarding the site since launch. The threshold was passed on September 14th at 8:45pm BST, and the site has played host to 140 billion friend connections, 219 billion photos and 1.13 trillion likes, with over 600 million users frequenting from mobile platforms. With such large user numbers, the big challenge for Facebook is to turn this into a large revenue stream, but investors don’t seem entirely convinced – share prices are slipping further today as the slide away from the billion dollar IPO continues.

Via Adrianne Jeffries (Twitter)
Source Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) | Wieden & Kennedy | FB Newsroom
Image Credit Eduardo Saverin (Facebook)

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

EE 4G LTE network to launch in UK on October 30th

After introducing themselves and their initial 4G plans to the UK last month, EE CEO Olaf Swantee today confirmed that the nation’s first LTE network will go live on October 30th. The network will initially become active in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield, and service will expand to Belfast, Derby, Hull, Nottingham, Newcastle and Southampton before the year is out. From that point, their ambitious rollout plans expect to have 70% of the country covered by the end of 2013, with this figure increasing to 98% a year later, matching their current 3G footprint. Device-wise, 7 compatible phones and 2 mobile broadband devices have had compatibility confirmed. These are:

Pricing and availability for these devices have yet to be confirmed, but the press release also confirms a forthcoming event where full details will be announced. As for customers who have already purchased the iPhone 5 from T-Mobile or Orange, they will be able to switch networks at launch.

Press Release

Statement to be attributed to Olaf Swantee, CEO, EE

We are delighted to announce that the official launch of our new customer brand, EE, offering the UK’s first superfast mobile 4G and fibre broadband service, will take place on the 30th October 2012. This is a significant milestone for the United Kingdom, and for the people and businesses of our country who will now be able to enjoy the huge advantages of superfast 4G technology for the first time. We are very proud to be pioneering, innovating and leading our industry in launching 4G for our nation through our new EE brand.

Notes to editors:

1. EE will be releasing invitations to a press event shortly to announce full details of its new brand and exciting new superfast services.

2. EE will be the first brand in the country to offer a mobile 4G LTE service, the pioneering new technology that offers superfast mobile internet at speeds typically five times faster than 3G speeds today.

3. EE will launch 4G in ten cities on the 30th October, and will cover 16 cities – a third of the UK population – by the end of the year. Customers on the EE brand will also have access to the biggest and best 3G network in the UK. Further towns, cities and rural areas, will follow rapidly with coverage to reach 98% by 2014.

4. 4G technology provides indoor and outdoor coverage for superfast web browsing.

5. EE’s 4G services will be available on a number of exciting handsets including the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III LTE, Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820, HTC One XL and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE.

Via The Verge
Source EE Newsroom

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

RIM pledges to keep loving devs with bizarre music video

At its BlackBerry Jam concert event to show off BlackBerry 10, RIM premiered a surreal music video in which leading employees sing their hearts out for the developer community. The video is rather surreal and confusing, so it’s best just to sit back and enjoy the dulcet tones of Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations.

Via Ben Popper (Twitter)
Source RIM (YouTube)

 

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Myspace teases complete redesign in plan to return to social greatness

In a video posted on Vimeo today, Myspace teased an upcoming redesign that the company claims is an all-new social network built from the ground up. The latest version of the network appears to integrate Facebook and Twitter posts and an active sign-in page confirms that users will be able to sign in to ‘Newspace’ with their existing social accounts. Similar to the network’s recent iterations, music appears to remain the focus to users, but whether this can keep Justin Timberlake’s company afloat remains to be seen. Access to the new Myspace is not open yet, however budding users may request an invite at the teaser page.

Via Joe Simpson (Twitter)
Source Myspace (Vimeo)