The Downloadsquad website has published an article claiming that google plans to release a tablet based on it’s Chrome operating system before the end of november in the USA.  If it’s true, this tablet is going to be aimed squarely at the Ipad, the article claims that the tablet will be available at a heavily subsidised price on Verizon data tariffs.

That would be an interesting change of tactic for google who attempted to bypass the networks when it released the Nexus One mobile phone. The Nexus One was initially only available via google’s own online shop, unlocked and un subsidised. Although the Nexus One was a great phone, sales were disappointing because punters were not as willing to stump up the full cost of the handset as google hoped. By the time the Nexus One was made available at a subsidised price thorough the networks there were bigger and better devices available and google recently stopped manufacturing the device.

So back to the rumoured tablet. The article says that it will most likely be made by HTC and based on NVidia’s Tegra 2 “PC on a Chip”, this would make it roughly equivalent to an reasonably good netbook in terms of performance.

The Chrome OS is where it gets interesting for me, I’ve played around with development builds of Chrome OS on my netbook and I rather like it.

It’s basically just google’s Chrome browser on top of a very stripped down linux Kernel, which makes it very, very fast. Running Chrome from a usb stick on my Samsung NC10 results in boot times of less than 30 seconds, so expect the tablet to go from off to surfing the web in a very short time indeed.

Will this do any harm to the iPad’s sales? I don’t know, it depends on the price and how well non-nerds get on with the Chrome OS.  The Tablet is likely to have flash support right out of the box so you’ll be able to watch videos on You Tube (in your face iPad owners) – which let’s remember google owns and serves up ads on.

Of course this whole thing could just be a rumour put about to upset Steve Jobs. Tee Hee.

HTC hero owners the world over had a long wait for android 2.1 to be released to them.  HTC postponed the release for several months and stayed remarkably tight lipped about why, although industry speculation was that the challenge of bolting their HTC sense interface on to android 2.1 took longer than expected.

Once it was complete, the 2.1 upgrade was available over the air to owners with unlocked Heros,  but those on contract had to wait until their networks rolled out the release.

Most of the networks in the UK were slow to react and vague about when the release would be made, largely due to testing and making sure their branding worked on branded handsets.

But several weeks on from HTC’s release, Orange customers in the UK and Europe are still waiting, and some have started a facebook group to highlight what they say is a poor performance from Orange. Oddly, the main issue people are complaining about isn’t that they haven’t got the update,  they seem to be more upset that Orange is not giving them any idea of the likely release date. Users on the facebook page are reporting wildly different and contradictory responses to their question from Orange customer services.

Some of the Facebook group users have resorted to taking matters in to their own hands by ‘rooting’ their phones.  Rooting is a method of wiping the network branded android operating system from a phone and replacing it with copy of HTC’s default version of android 2.1 for the Hero, it’s a bit like wiping windows from your PC and re-installing it or putting on another OS like Ubuntu.

Are you an HTC Hero owner? Have you got android 2.1 yet? Let us know

A few weeks ago google announced that google account users with the @googlemail.com suffix could have a new @gmail.com address.

I got the message and immediately clicked on the button for a shiny new @gmail.com address and everything went fine.  Until I started to notice problems with my phone.

My HTC Hero wouldn’t download from android marketplace anymore, my calendar stopped synching and the gmail app wouldn’t work anymore.

After a bit of researchI figured it out, changing your @googlemail.com to @gmail.com effects all your google services, mail, calendar, talk, etc AND YOUR PHONE IF IT’S LINKED TO THE ACCOUNT.

When you make the change, your phone continues to try and connect using the old @googlemail.com account and certain services will no longer connect including calendar and marketplace. This issue seems to be effecting most if not all android handsets including the HTC Desire, Hero and the like.

Unfortunately you can’t add a second account to your android phone, so you have a few options:

1. Don’t Change to @gmail.com
2. Change back to @googlemail.com
3. Backup and factory reset your phone, then start again with @gmail.com

I didn’t fancy 3, and it was too late for 1 so I changed my email back to @googlemail.com and everything worked perfectly again after a quick restart of my phone.

From what I’ve read it seems google know about the problem and are working on a fix, knowing google it won’t take long but in the mean time, just say no, there’s no real advantage other than @gmail.com is cooler (yes, I’m a nerd).

From next week travellers in the EU will be protected from running up massive bills for mobile data.

If you are abroad and using a mobile broadband dongle or one of the many smart phones with an always-on data connection, your data connection will be cut off if you hit a 50 Euro limit.  As soon as you reach 40 Euros you will be notified by your network, and given the option to lift the cap if you want to.

This new EU regulation comes in the wake of several recent stories of unwary travellers running up truly staggering bills whilst abroad. Last year, a student from Nottingham managed to run up a bill of nearly £8000 in a single month. William Harrison took a mobile broadband dongle to Paris with him for a summer internship and was clobbered by the monster bill after using skype to keep in touch with family and friends in the UK.

Even with the new regulations most of us will not want to run up a 50 Euro bill, so what can you do to protect yourself?

First and foremost, check what your network will charge you for data roaming, some networks will allow you to add a pre-paid data roaming bundle to your tariff.

Smartphones with always on data connections can catch you by surprise, they can connect to the internet automatically to check emails etc without you doing anything. Most smartphones will allow you to disable data roaming, so make sure you do this before you set off. The method varies from handset to handset so you may have to research a little.

Here’s an example of what you need to do with an HTC Desire, it’s similar on most Android based phones:

Go to Settings, choose Wireless Controls, then Mobile Network Settings. Next make sure the check box marked ‘Data Roaming‘ in un-checked and you’re good to go.

Happy Holidays.

The beautifully stylish HTC Legend has been named the coolest phone of 2010.  Beating the likes of Google’s Nexus One and the iPhone the Legend won by being ‘HTC’s stylish super-soldier for Android’s increasingly rapid march into iPhone territory.’  Apple fans fear not as the Cool list includes an iPod dock, an iPhone application and the super cool iPad.

So what’s so special about the HTC Legend? Well there was once a time when a mobile phone could either have looks or an impressive spec. The HTC Legend brings the two together for one super cool phone.  Looks wise the Legend is a sleek and stylish phone with HTC’s trademark chin. An alloy casing surrounds a super sharp 3.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen which displays web pages and photos beautifully.

Behind the display is the Sense user interface and multi-touch support which provides a fantastic user experience. The powerful Legend runs on the Android 2.1 operating system which allows users to run applications quickly and easily as well as customise the homescreen with their favourite apps.

The Friend Stream application is perfect for social networking fans, allowing you to keep up to date with all your contacts across various social networks putting all updates, photo uploads and messages into one application. Not only is it a brilliant Internet device with HSDPA and WiFi support it also comes with a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash to let users snap excellent photos on the go.

The Legend really is an impressive device that comes on some great contracts starting at just £20 a month.

Yesterday Google gave us a look at the latest version of the Android OS, the Android 2.2 Froyo (strange name for an operating system but so is Eclair!). Froyo is bringing a number of significant updates to Android phones including performance upgrades, improved camera capabilities and better app management.

The most anticipated improvement from Android fans is the addition of Flash 10.1 giving users access to every video on the web. There is also a new web browser V8 JavaScript engine to load JavaScript-heavy pages faster than ever before and improved memory management to switch between apps with ease.  Apps can also be adjusted for ‘car mode’ and ‘night mode’ to control them easier in these situations.

For those who love to snap away on their Android phones like our boss Bobbie, Froyo has added onscreen camera keys to control zoom, flash, focus etc and the LED flash can now be used when recording videos. There are also a plethora of other features to make the running of your Android phone and overall better experience.

So who will it affect I hear you ask?

According to HTC most of their Android phones that were released in 2010 will receive the Froyo update including the Desire, Evo 4G, MyTouch Slide and the Incredible. Of course the Nexus One is on the list and will probably be the first to receive the update and we hope the beautiful Legend and Hero get the upgrade to make these devices even better!

Which parts of the upgrade are you looking forward to the most and which is your favourite Android device? For all the latest Android phones Compare HTC mobile phones at Mobiles Please.co.uk

Touch Screen Phones are fast becoming the norm and with improved technology and a great range of user interfaces there is tough competition to produce a phone with the ultimate touch screen. We have compiled our top 5 touchscreen phones to guide you to your perfect touch screen phone.

Apple iPhone 3G S

Combining three amazing products in one, a stunning phone, a widescreen ipod and a ground breaking internet device the Apple iPhone took mobile phones to a new level.  Make calls simply by tapping the 3.5 inch capacitive touch interface and swipe and pinch your way through web pages with one of the most advanced web browsers on a mobile phone. The multi-touch screen features an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and is scratch resistant to keep your phone looking great.

HTC Desire

The iPhone may have been the first impressive touchscreen but the new kid on the block has certainly set a few tongues wagging. Similar in design to the Nexus One the Desire has a soft curved design and a fantastic 3.7 inch AMOLED display. The Desire has a fully customisable home screen using HTC widgets and the AMOLED screen definitely has the wow factor with crystal clear and bright graphics. The Desire also features an accelerometer, proximity sensor and scratch resistant coating to make it a truly desirable phone.

HTC Legend

The good looking one! Similar in design to the popular Hero, the HTC Legend is a sleek and stylish phone with HTC’s trademark chin. A fashionable alloy casing surrounds the super sharp 3.2 inch AMOLED touch screen which displays web pages and photos beautifully. The Legend fits comfortably in the hand and with the Sense user interface and multi-touch support it provides a fantastic user experience. The Legend may not be as high tech as the Desire but it certainly looks the part and is sure to make you stand out in a crowd.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Boasting an impressive 4 inch touchscreen with class-leading resolution the Xperia X10′s display is super sharp and vibrant making all the phones decent features shine. The Xperia X10 is a powerhouse smartphone with a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and a number of hot features including a standout 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash that is full of image enhancing features to take fantastic photos on your phone. The Xperia X10 is a great touchscreen device if you want to have fun on your mobile and the 4 inch screen is perfect for viewing movies and webpages wherever you are.

Samsung Tocco Lite

The Samsung Tocco Lite doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that the above phones have but it is one of the most popular touchscreen phones on the market so it must be doing something right.  The touch screen here is resistive not capacitive but some people prefer this as they can use a stylus instead of their finger making sure they don’t press the wrong thing. A pocket friendly device, the Tocco Lite provides a vivid bright screen which is fully touch sensitive and makes it easy to navigate around the many applications on this handset.

Mobiles Please compares touch screen phones from all the networks including Samsung, Nokia and HTC, from bargain phones to super smartphones, we have it all. To see our favourite selection of touch screen phones use our great comparison service.

HTC have today announced a budget Android phone – the Wildfire. The name certainly sounds exciting and looking at the specs it looks set to be a very popular smartphone device. Similar to the super cool Desire, the Wildfire runs on the Android 2.1 operating system and boasts the Sense user interface under the easy to use capacitive touchscreen.

Being the Desires little sister means the spec sheet isn’t as high tech but it does boast a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, a number of social networking applications and an optical trackpad for easy navigation around the phone. The Wildfire comes with 3G HSDPA support and Wi-Fi to browse the web from the 3.2 inch screen and also features a GPS receiver, Bluetooth, microSD card slot and 3.5mm audio jack.

HTC have had to make cuts somewhere to produce a budget phone which has unfortunately fallen on the QVGA display making Android a little bit less special (but what can you expect if you want a cheap Android device?).

The Wildfire will be available in four colours giving it more appeal for a younger market and should be available in Q3 this year. For all the best HTC phones, compare deals at Mobiles Please now.

HTC have now introduced the popular Desire in a black casing. This new look makes the Desire look ultra chic and stylish making it a truly ‘desirable’ phone.

The black Desire is currently only available on Orange from £25 a month with 400 minutes and unlimited texts as well as all the great Orange extras including Orange Wednesdays.

The Desire from HTC is one of the most advanced handsets on the market. Similar to Google’s Nexus One the Desire has a soft curved design and a fantastic 3.7 inch AMOLED display. There is an optical trackpad to navigate through the phones many features and with Android 2.1 sitting above a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU the Desire really does give you an incredible user experience. The Desire has a fully customisable home screen using HTC widgets including weather, photo album, music and messages. There is a 5 megapixel camera on board with autofocus and LED flash and with expandable memory up to 32GB there is plenty of storage for all your favourite music and photos. Users can browse the web with 3G connectivity and make sure they are always in the right place with GPS and Google Maps. The HTC Desire weighs 135g and measures 60 x 119 x 11.9mm, with it superb design and excellent user interface it is one excellent smart phone.

Click here to see all HTC Desire deals.

Today Vodafone announced that their customers can get the Google Nexus One from the 30^th April from at £35 a month. Google fans can pre-order the Nexus One over the next four days on the Vodafone website (not google.com/phone). We expect that in-store availability will be around the 5^th May.

Being such a hot phone, the Nexus One will keep customers in 18 or 24 month contracts with tariffs starting at £25 with a £99 charge for the phone. The £35 a month plan offers the Nexus One for free over a 2 year contract.

Last month, Goldman Sachs downgraded its estimate for Nexus One sales this year from 3.5m units to just 1m worldwide. This is probably due to the amount of competition on offer from manufacturers such as HTC and Apple.  The HTC Desire (the Nexus One’s big brother) offers the same spec as the Nexus One but is available on a number of networks pushing it into the limelight and making a lot of sales! Apple are also brewing up a storm with the iPhone 4.0/HD giving customers even more to think about when purchasing ‘the coolest phone on the market’.

This is exciting news for Google fans if they couldn’t get their hands on a Nexus One before, but it feels like Google have left it a bit too late to launch their device in the UK, as the mobile phone world moves quickly on to the latest ‘hot’ device, casting many decent phones into the shadows.

To compare all the latest smart phone deals go to Mobiles Please.co.uk