The future of mobile broadband lies with 4G. Service providers in the United States and Europe have already rolled out their LTE networks many quarters ago. The UK was late to the 4G party though, having established their first 4G network last October.

What is 4G?

4G is fourth general of cellular wireless standards, succeeding 2G and 3G. In developing countries, the latter technology is still being deployed, but it is only a matter of time before they make the move to 4G as well. 4G technology has revolutionized the way people live and access the Internet. But more than that, it has revolutionized how work is done in the workplace and has made the option of working from home more of a reality than a concept.

Everyone’s Getting 4G

Research and advisory firm the Yankee Group conducted a study and confirmed the obvious: mobile LTE is on the rise. By the end of this year, there will be 152 commercial 4G networks in operation spread out in 65 countries. The firm predicts that the number of mobile broadband users will rise to 114 million in 2013 and will double to about 258 million by the end of 2014.

This study confirms what many before it have concluded: mobile broadband is on the rise, and mobile data demand will obviously follow suit.

BYOD in the Workplace

People have been using their mobile devices to access the Internet even when they’re on the go or away from their homes or offices. 4G has made doing this more convenient and faster due to the fast speeds that it provides. It has become so rampant in the workplace, with employees checking their emails and firing messages off on their handheld devices, that it has given rise to something called BYOD or Bring Your Own Device in the enterprise.

BYOD is basically a business policy where employees are allowed to bring their own mobile gadgets to work for use at work as well.

‘Live to Work’ Through Broadband

Extending the concept of BYOD is the ‘working from home’ option. This is where employees are expected to do their work at their own time and pace, from the comforts of their homes. Some believe that their employees’ productivity increased when they are in a comfortable environment, which will let them do their work well and fast. The downside is when workers abuse the option and fail to deliver instead since they are left without supervision.

Regardless what you think about working remotely, this is only made possible because of broadband. Without the Internet, there can be no exchange of information or messages and users will not be able to access servers or files that they might need to do their job. It also allows them to remain in constant communication with the office, should any situations arise.

Mobility and the Future

The future is bright for mobile broadband. Ofcom, the communications regulator in the UK, is already looking into 5G while they are in the midst of rolling out 4G. More and more firms are adopting BYOD in the workplace since they have seen the benefits that a good policy brings to the firm. The same can be said for working remotely.

Who knows? Your own firm might be headed that way as well. So if you’re unsatisfied with your provider’s current service or coverage, then maybe it’s time to switch to a new one so you can get your work done without a hitch. You can easily check Internet service providers in your area by logging on to Broadband Expert.

Employees in high-growth, emerging economies are demonstrating a more flexible attitude to working hours, and are happy to use their own devices for work. This behavior will shape not just future patterns of enterprise mobility in high-growth markets, but also dictate which markets are going to benefit most from this revolution.

– Richard Absalom, consumer impact IT analyst at Ovum

There is a question that has been looming in over our heads for a long time, and that is, do we really need smartphones? Keep reading to see my views on the matter, you might or might not agree.

Before we had smartphones, life was just fine wasn’t it? Heck, life was even better because we were never subject to the need of constantly checking our Twitter feed, and what friends might be saying on Facebook wall. What I am really trying to say here, is this, smartphones are ruling our lives. We are no longer in control, which makes us slaves to that little device with a screen right there in the palm of our hands.

What happened to the good ole days when persons sitting or standing in a bus can be seen with a book reading away while letting their imagination takes control, these days, everywhere you look there is someone staring at his or her smartphone playing Angry Birds, or replying to a Tweet from a popular celebrity, despite knowing deep down that they would never respond.

Putting away your smartphone would allow you to enjoy life a lot more. Your smartphone enables you to bring the internet with you everywhere you go, which is nice; however, the internet takes you away from reality. When you are out and about, it is best to focus on what is going on than how many people are replying to your Facebook feed.

I can’t begin to count the amount of times I’m out with friends, and every time my smartphone alerts me of an incoming email, Tweet, or a message via WhatsApp. Obviously, like many of you, I am addicted to my smartphone and the convenience of being able to stay in contact with hundreds of people anywhere I go. Having said that, if I didn’t have a smartphone, I wouldn’t be checking an email at 4am in the morning. Have you noticed when you are around friends who also own smartphones, that almost everyone are busy checking what is going on with their phone despite having real people around them? It happens a lot, which proves how smartphones are taking control of our lives.

Smartphones are slowly replacing feature phones, which would make it easier to connect with people from all lifestyles. In turn, our lives will become too centered around the internet and a single device, the addiction could affect our lives outside the World Wide Web. It will be up to us to control how much attention is given to our smartphones in order to balance the way we live.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that I am not trying to get you to ditch your beloved smartphone, just take control. Sure, we don’t need smartphones, but they are now a huge part of our lives, and like everything huge, we need to tame it. Remember, smartphones are just electronic devices, and that’s all there is to it.

So, what say you? Do you agree or disagree that we do not need smartphones? Share your thoughts in the comments.

So, first things first: do you need a new phone? If you’re simply unhappy with your current provider, you can opt to terminate your contract and sign on to SIM only contracts from other networks that will give you more value for your money. Study the data allocation, talk time, text messaging terms, and lock-in period of each plan before you sign on to a new contract.

However, if your desire to want to get a new phone is not related to your provider, then mull it over before you decide. Is your current phone not able to meet your needs anymore? Will updating or downloading new apps extend its life for just a little bit longer? Or has your phone become increasingly slow or does it freeze a lot?

Once you do decide to get a new phone, here are some things to consider:

Manufacturer.

In some cases, you might already have an idea of the phone manufacturer you want your next phone to come from. This makes the entire process relatively easy. Just head on over to the website of the manufacturer to check out their latest lineup of mobile phones.

The Plan.

Most network operators bundle contracts with mobile phones. These are usually deals with good value, because you’ll be getting the actual handset at a cheaper price.

The Use.

If you’re open to any manufacturer, then the quickest way to narrow your choices down is by asking yourself what you’ll be using the phone for. Here’s a quick list of questions to go through:

• Is it for work or more for personal use?
• Do you want a touchscreen phone or one with regular keypads?
• Are you looking for a device that’s app and feature-filled, or do you prefer a phone with just the simple, core features?
• Do you need a phone with Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, or 4G connectivity?

You can make use of cellphone comparison websites once you’ve been able to narrow your choice down to the final two or three units. Good luck!

Uploading the full size of a picture to SkyDrive from a Windows Phone 7 handset is a problem faced by many users, gladly, there is a simple work around to solve this little thorn in the side.

We are guessing Microsoft allows the compression to take place because the limit imposed on 3G data, but then again, there are no limits on WiFi so why does the same thing occurs when WiFi is being used? Mystery.

Anyway, to upload to SkyDrive without losing quality in your pictures, you will need the official SkyDrive application for Windows Phone 7. Yes, SkyDrive is built into the platform, but it cannot be updated on a regular basis, only when a new version of the OS is scheduled, hence why an official application is needed. SkyDrive app for Windows Phone is feature rich for a version 1.0 product, and despite its flaws, we love the thing like a box of candies.

OK, let us talk about uploading pictures. Download the SkyDrive application from here, (you can also read our review here), and log into your account. Once everything is up and running, you should be seeing all your folders and files, pretty awesome huh? Damn right. From there, all you will be required to do is tap the add button at the bottom left on the screen and upload your picture, problem solved.

Microsoft didn’t announce this feature, so who knows, the company might change it in future updates but we hope that never happens. So, enjoy uploading your full size images to SkyDrive via your Windows Phone, you deserve it.

One of the best Windows Phone application for storing your hard to remember passwords, is LastPass, an app we found ourselves falling in love with. If you are a regular user of the popular desktop browsers, there is a high chance you might have heard of LastPass, if not, let us break it down a notch for you.

The main use of LastPass is to store and secure your passwords for all the websites you log into on a daily basis. Passwords are stored in the cloud, so if you should lose your internet connection, well, tough luck bud. The application gives you the convenience to have access to your passwords anywhere, however, after the trial, you will be asked to fork out $12 per annum, which is not bad, especially if you are a regular user on the desktop.

LastPass for Windows Phone is straightforward. Log in by entering your email address and password, from there the app takes you to your vault where you can edit and add new passwords. Sadly, if you tap on one the saved websites, LastPass fails to launch IE9 and instead fires up its own version of IE. We would have preferred to have easy access to IE from the browser, but that is not the case.

If you are going to use the default browser and want to log into your favorite website, it won’t be easy. Right off the back you will have to launch the LastPass application, copy paste the details into the browser and off you go.

We love this application, and although some of the problems can be an annoyance, they weren’t enough to persuade us to look the other way.

Download LastPass

2012 is the year of quad core superphones, and battery life that goes out in 2hrs after a full charge. LG is currently planning to upstage Samsung and HTC to become the first manufacturer to release a smartphone with a quad core processor inside, this phone is known as the LG X3.

The specs behind this Android device is spectacular. We tend to prefer optimized software to unnecessary powerful hardware, but this is just something else entirely. The LG X3 is pushing on with a four core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, 4.7-inch display with 1280×720 resolution, 16GB internal storage, NFC, HSPA, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and Android Ice Cream Sandwich tucked away somewhere inside.

Let’s face it, even if the battery life on the X3 is just a measly 30mins on a full charge, everyone would purchase this phone if they are able to afford it. If there were one thing good about Android, then it would be the hardware it runs on.

Via: PocketNow

The Microsoft and Nokia deal, which began in early 2011, always seemed one sided in the favor of Microsoft, now it appears both companies are trying to balance things a bit. Soon, Bing Maps will be covered with the Nokia Logo, a move that could give Nokia more power in this deal, and possibly piss off other Windows Phone manufacturers.

Bing Maps is essentially Nokia Maps in a sense if you think about it. Navteq, a mapping company Nokia bought a few years back, powers Bing Maps, so it makes sense Nokia would want its logo printed over the thing. Not only would the Nokia logo be seen on Bing Maps for Windows Phone, but also on the desktop version of the software.

The big question left to be answered, is, how other Windows Phone hardware manufacturers feel about this. Surely, no company would want its users staring at the Nokia logo every time they use Bing Maps, it could draw users away to Nokia. However Microsoft and Nokia plans to implement this in the future had better be good, or else Windows Phone might lose support from top partners.

Via: Pocket-Lint

There are quite a few solar powered mobile devices out there, but none of them are worth the money since no one is willing to put their cellular phones in direct or indirect sunlight to get a little bit of charge. This piece of solar technology by Arman Ahnood, could just be the trick needed to get solar powered cellular phones into the mainstream.

How it works? The solar panels lay safely behind the display, which first has to be an OLED. It gathers energy from wasted light emitted from the OLED display. Currently, the system is only able to average around 11% of energy captured, which is not enough to fully charge a battery. Since it is still in the testing stages, we hope Arman find a way to get around this little problem.

What we need next are better designed batteries instead of packing more power into future smartphones. Only Apple seems to realize that a longer battery life is what consumers need, rather than a super phone. That is why the company under-clocked the dual core processor in the iPhone 4S.

Via: Extreme Tech

We always wonder how much manufactures pay to use Windows Phone, well, now we know. ZTE UK is reporting that it is required to pay Microsoft $27 per handset, a lot more than the fee some manufactures have to pay in the Microsoft patent deal against Android.

The first ZTE branded Windows Phone is called the Tania, and is set to go on sale in the UK pretty soon. What we want to know, is, how much Nokia is paying under the partnership that began early in 2011.

Via: Trusted Reviews

There’s a new Windows Phone handset ready to rock the UK in the form of the ZTE Tania. This smartphone is an entry-level device that is like the Samsung Omnia W and Nokia Lumia 710, but not as classy.

The biggest difference between the ZTE Tania and the mentioned phones above, is that comes packed with a 4.3-inch WVGA display, which is too big for the display tech that is inside the thing. Do not expect sharp colors from the Tania, but for the asking price, you just cannot go wrong if you are out looking for an entry level Windows Phone with a huge ass display.

Other specs includes a 1GHz single core processor, 512MB RAM, 5MP camera, and 4GB worth of internal storage. Question is, couldn’t ZTE pack a little bit more storage into the Tania? Sure the company is targeting first time smartphone users, but even youngest of first time users have a huge music collection.

If you are interested, you can pick this bad boy up for a neat £250, or £20 on contract. The price is not bad if you ask us, think about it.

An Apple iPhone 4S without a camera, never thought we would live to see a day like this. The only country you will find an iPhone 4S like this is in Singapore, better get your credit cards out and ready to import this runt of the iPhone family.

M1, a Singaporean network operator is now offering camera-less iPhone 4S smartphones, and for a good reason. This moved was made because the Singaporean Military does not allow its soldiers to use cellular phones with cameras, probably to refrain soldiers from taking abusive pictures while on the battlefield. Whatever the cause for this move is, the fact remains that there is a runt in the iPhone family, time will if it will be accepted by anyone outside of the Military.

Via: Digital Trends

After getting LG to join the patent deal signing pack, Microsoft went even further. The company has persuaded Pantech to sign a patent deal for the use of Android, unfortunately, the details are not known, but we’ll find out eventually.

Pantech is the third largest manufacture in South Korea, so if they can fall by the wayside like a fly, what chances are there for the others? Also, if you remember correctly, some companies in Asia are teaming up to phase off attacks like this from Microsoft and other would be patent trolls, time will tell if they can stand tall against a giant t is gobbling up everything in its path.

Via: MobileSyrup

Our health is important and we should do whatever it takes to keep it in check. If you’re a Windows Phone owner, this Fitness application is definitely something worth trying out.

OK, so let be serious here. Fitness is a no good application that is no fun to use if you already have a million feed readers. What I am trying to say it, Fitness is a feed reader, just like many of the other applications that we see popping up daily. Many of the topics in Fitness app is truly not supposed to there as they are irrelevant to to what the application stands for.

Download Fitness via FreewareWP7

Been a while since we tested any brand spanking new Windows Phone game, things are about to change. There’s a game that recently found its way to the Marketplace called Overrun, it’s a bit like space invaders, and although the gameplay is clunky, it’s fun to play nevertheless.

The game is about this farmer who pissed off a hacker group by stating that technology is overrated. In response to this, the hacker group gathered all the robots in the world to kill this feisty farmer, this is where you come in. You play as the farmer, and your job is to shoot the begeezus out of robots as they overrun your screen. To shoot, just tap the screen, if you want to control where to shoot at, you have to tilt the phone to do so. We would have liked if there was another option for controlling the movement of our weapon, tilting is just not enough.

Despite the small problem with titling our handset, we love this game, a good little thing to waste time with.

Download Overrun via FreewareWP7

Ever in a situation where you just want to escape but can’t because a good reason is lacking? Well, how about giving Fake Caller a try, it might just be the hole in one you needed.

With Fake Caller, you can schedule a fake call from a number of your choosing in order to get away from that annoying someone. You can even choose which carrier the call is coming from, although I find choosing a carrier a bit pointless, but maybe for some, it could be a good thing. There’s not much more to say about Fake Caller, it does what it says it would do so we have nothing to complain about.

Download Fake Caller from FreewareWP7

A new manufacture could be lining up to enter the realm of Windows Phone in the not so distant future. Today, a picture of a leaked prototype Sony Ericsson Windows Phone hit the web, and although this was before Sony bought Ericsson’s share, we believe Sony could still venture down this path.

There is no information about the handset at the moment, but from the looks of things, this display screen is around 4-inches. Hopefully, Sony will announce something interesting in regards to Windows Phone at the Mobile World Congress in February, which is next month.

Via: T3

Well then, isn’t this just both interesting and stupid all at the same time. Consumer electronics recycler and reseller Gazelle, posted some ridiculous findings of a survey they conducted at CES 2012. Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to read will have you wondering if the Gazelle staff are intelligence enough to be compared to an actual Gazelle in the wild.

Gazelle sought out to find what are folks outlook on life relative to the mobile phone they carry around. According to the company, Android and iOS users all have a better outlook on life than BlackBerry users, and they came to this conclusion from asking persons on the show floor some random stupid questions.

Here is what Gazelle came up with. “52% of iPhone users and 58% of iPad users are always optimistic about their future while 28% of Android smartphone users and 36% of Android tablet users share the same outlook.” Good news right there for iOS and Android users, but it doesn’t end there unfortunately. “29% of iPhone users and 60% of iPad users expect the best in uncertain times and 31% of Android smartphone users and 55% of Android tablet users expect good things to happen more often than bad. 25% of iPhone users and 26% of iPad users don’t get upset very easily, and neither do 18% of Android smartphone users or 27% of Android tablet users.”

What do you make of all this nonsense? Heh heh! Now, this is where thing begin to get nasty.

“33% of BlackBerry users subscriber to Murphy’s Law, holding the belief that if something can go wrong for them, it will. 16% of BlackBerry users hardly ever expect things to go their way and 33% of BlackBerry users rarely count on good things happening to them. 0% of BlackBerry users usually expect the best.”

So apparently, Android and iOS users are very optimistic about life and always expecting the best, while BlackBerry users are all doom and gloom, some bullshit this is. What can you expect though if you use a BlackBerry? I mean, no successful phones in years, RIM constantly losing market share, talks about other companies making plans to acquire RIM, which fanboy wouldn’t lose their top over this, heh heh!

Via: BGR

The Nokia Lumia 710 which was announced last month, December 2011, and went on sale in January 2012 for $50 with a two year contract on T-Mobile USA, is now being offered for free on contract via WalMart.

The handset which is the first Nokia Windows Phone device to hit the States and the second in the company’s line up, is crucial to the success of the Windows Phone platform and Nokia. Being offered for free should give this phone the boost it needs to help propel Windows Phone to greatness and beyond. We only hope right now that Nokia plans to sell the Lumia 900 at a price that is affordable for everyone, I doubt selling it at the price of a high end android phone would go down well with many consumers.

Owners of the Google and Samsung joint Galaxy Nexus are being plagued by random reboots, the cause of the problem is unclear at the moment, but we do know for a fact that owners of the GSM version are mostly facing this unfortunate problem.

The CDMA version of the handset is not immune, however, but the reboot problem is not that widespread when compared to the GSM version. To keep your mind at ease, you should know that Google is looking into the problem as the company is aware of it. A fix shouldn’t take too long, but for now you will just have to soldier it on until then, or you can always fit it a new ROM in it.

Via: Google UK

If what is being reported is true, Microsoft is in for a hell of a fight this year to compete with its Windows 8 tablet offerings. We are hearing that future Windows 8 tablets with Intel inside pricing will be more expensive than the iPad and Android tablets, the pricing is expected to start from $599 to $899. This is in part due to Microsoft and Intel unwillingness to adjust cost for suppliers, this could open the door wide open for ARM to gain footing.

If Microsoft and Intel were watching the market closely, both companies would realize that no one want a tablet more expensive than the iPad, look at how Android tablets are faring. Many may say that consumers would buy into this because the OS is full featured with no compromises, but features does not come into play with ordinary consumers when the price is just right. However, if ARM can work with suppliers, the company could make Windows 8 tablets running on ARM cheaper than that of Intel, and thus being more desirable to consumers despite not supporting legacy applications. But as I said, consumers do not care about feature once the price is right.

Let the battle begin, we are dying to see what the outcome would look like in a few years.