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  • Samsung Galaxy S2, O2 and Ice Cream Sandwich

    Yesterday, Samsung made available Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS) available to the UK networks for the Galaxy S2 (my phone of choice).

    The idea is that the individual networks can now make any changes to it that they need to, test them and then release the final package.

    My SG2, on O2, came with no such network branding. So, I contacted O2 yesterday to ask them when ICS would be made available.

    Hi David, we’re just making sure it will provide the best possible customer experience. Watch this space!

    What does that mean? Well, the delay suggests they are branding it. Is this “the best possible customer experience”? If this is the case it shows that O2 (and I’m sure the other networks are no different) are completely out of touch with people actually want. I could be wrong – I hope I’m wrong. But if they’re not, why the delay?

    I’ll await the results with interest.

    Meantime, Samsung have released some documents for UK SG2 owners covering the changes…

    Update: 3 have released ICS for GS2 today. Meanwhile, O2 have started giving more away to queries on Twitter…

    it will be rolling out early April time

    That’s right… April.

    Update: For those who missed it, O2 made ICS available last week. However, I didn’t receive it. After some digging, it turns out the lack of existing branding on my phone is because it’s unlocked (which I confirmed by putting a Vodafone SIM into it and finding it worked!) At this point it become more complex. For reasons not understood, Samsung are not release ICS for un-locked phones until late April. Yes, that’s the version that was provided to the networks the other week and requires no further changes. Why it’s not yet available is a good question.

  • Are the iPad 3 cracks already appearing?

    Not literally mind you.

    Users of the iPad 3 (sorry, New iPad) are reporting a much reduced battery life than expected and problems with over-heating.

    The latter doesn’t cause any problems other than a very warm or hot section of the back case.

    As you know, the battery life on the New iPad is supposed to be the same as that on the iPad 2. However, users are complaining that it drains quicker, particularly when using them intensively – such as playing games. Of course this is probably due to these drawing more use from the new chipset.

    With regard to the heating problem some users are reporting that proper draining and recharging seems to resolve this. It would appear that many new owners, keen to try it out, didn’t perform the requested initial charge and the battery is not working efficiently.

    In all cases it’s too early to tell exactly what the problem (or cure) is and there’s no official word from Apple.

    Oh, and to the person complaining that it takes longer to charge the New iPad – it’s a bigger battery, what did you expect?

  • How Technology Has Helped Online Bingo Sites

    One of the many advancements that online bingo sites monitor very closely in order to incorporate it to their sites in order to benefit their customers is that of technology. In recent times, webcams have become extremely popular as some online bingo rooms use them so their customers can share that winning feeling with the rest of their bingo buddies from around the world. The use of webcams has become somewhat of the theme at Bingo Cams, which rewards their customers that share their progressive jackpot wins with extra cash prizes. The site has used technology in order to reach a niche market that no other bingo site has tried to reach before, giving them the chance to not only offer a no deposit bingo bonus as a great way to attract new customers, but use technology as an added incentive to lure computer savvy customers.

    Most bingo sites nowadays also use the likes of Facebook, Twitter and other social engines to tap into a market that previously had nothing to do with the online bingo scene. By employing the likes of Facebook and Twitter, new bingo sites have managed to inform customers of what they can gain when they join their sites, whether that is a form of free bingo bonus offers, promotions or other attractive competitions and tournaments. Online bingo websites have also started to offer unique cash giveaways to their customers that ‘Like’ them on Facebook or ‘Follow’ them on Twitter.

    With so many technological advancements coming thick and fast, it’s only a matter of time before playing bingo online is taken to the next level.

  • How to fix favicons missing from Firefox

    I’m not sure why, and I don’t appear to be the only person reporting this, but recently my favicons have disappeared from my Firefox installs. Although it’s only affected 2 out of the 3 Firefox installations that I use (one XP and the other Windows 7 – the one unaffected is also Windows 7). In all 3 cases I’m running the latest Firefox installation and my bookmarks are synchronised via Xmarks (ironically I don’t use Firefox’s built in Sync because it doesn’t synchronise the favicons).

    The problem is, reloading my bookmarks from the Xmarks server doesn’t resolve the issue. Indeed, if I visit one of the sites the favicon doesn’t update, which it should do. This, to me, suggests a corruption – as, indeed, does the solution. However, why this has suddenly happened to 2 installations is a mystery – an update to Xmarks or Firefox maybe?

    Anyway, the solution I’ve found is a pain, but works.

    • Backup your existing bookmarks
    • Create a new profile by running your Firefox installation with a parameter of -profilemanager
    • Restore the previously saved bookmarks. Yes, they still don’t have Favicons
    • Install and activate the Firefox add-in FavIcon Reloader
      • Yes, I’m aware that this has now been removed. I’ve extracted the plugin code from my own installation and have temporarily made it available via this download link
    • Modify the settings so that it times out after 900 seconds (15 minutes)
    • Run FavIcon Reloader (you’ll need to have the old style Toolbar and it’s under the Bookmarks menu).
    • This will now update your favicons. If you try and run FavIcon Reloader under your old profile it won’t update anything, which is why we’ve had to create a fresh profile

    It’s now done. However, you also have a new profile so you’ll need to set it back up again, synchronise your existing settings, etc. It might be the case that you can export the bookmarks and put back, successfully, into your original profile. However, because of the original issues I wouldn’t trust it – I believe the profile has somehow become corrupt, which is why I’m recommend a new profile (besides it’s good to do it every-so-often and clear out some of the accumulated crud).

  • Will my next phone be a Nokia running Windows?

    At work, as a cost saving measure, they’re replacing the many Blackberry handsets with Nokia’s. More specifically Nokia Lumia 800′, running Windows Phone 7.

    Naturally, I’ve had a chance to try one out and get feedback from those that have them. And, believe it or not, I may just choose for my next phone (or, by that time, whatever the latest Nokia / Windows Phone combination is available).

    The phone itself is gorgeous – matt back with a lovely weight, impressive screen and excellent camera. Windows Phone 7, I have to say, is also impressive. It’s responsive and easy to use. It makes Android, in particular, look very sluggish and old fashioned.

    Yet, reviews have been neutral. Yes, it has an average battery life (what’s new with modern smartphones?) and there is nothing particularly stand out either. But you could equally say the same about the other popular smartphones – indeed those that the same reviews rave on about. I’d say the Lumia 800 is about as stand out as the Galaxy Nexus or iPhone 4S. All impressive with minor flaws but an excellent overall experience.

    Because WP7 is new the number of apps is small. Thankfully you can view their Marketplace online, so you can get a taster of what you can and can’t get up front. Google apps, for instance, are severely lacking.

    But, here’s the rub – look at Carphone Warehouse and you can get the Lumia 800 from £21.50 a month. The Galaxy S2 will cost £26 and iPhone 4S will set you back £36, in comparison. That, to me, makes the Nokia look a bargain. Come back in 16 months and see what I decide!