May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Our Top 10 Smartphones

The world of smartphones is constantly changing and there are lots of top 10 lists out there, so here we have our current top 10 smartphones of the moment. Check back because we will keep this post updated as new devices are released

So without further or do our top 10 smartphones are:

1. HTC One

The HTC One brings a new experience to Android users with a dramatically improved HTC Sense user interface, great design and cutting edge hardware, with a 1.7GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM the HTC One will handle most things that you can ask of it, and with a 2300mAh battery you should too get a full day’s usage.

Interact with all this great content through a stunning 4.7 inch HD capacitive display, which has a 1920 x 1080 resolution for an incredible 468 PPI (points per inch). It has various new features such as ‘Blinkfeed’ which streams live updates from a variety of feeds, be it social or news direct to your Home screen, ‘HTC Zoe’ Made up of 4 components, Zoe Photos, Highlights, Editor and Share.

More features including HTC Boom sound, Sense TV.

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May 8, 2013 By 1 Comment

Clove Vlog #54 – Smartphones – It’s a buyers market

 

In the 54th vlog from Clove we discuss how at present it is a buyers market and there is plenty of choice.

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April 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

QUIKSILVER neoprene smartphone pouch

Are you more of the surfer/skater type and want a more practical case that meets your lifestyle for your smartphone?  Why not take a look at the Quiksilver neoprene pouch that is designed to accommodate a variety of different smartphones and comes in either black or red.

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April 15, 2013 By 1 Comment

Clove Vlog #52 – Smartphone software

In the 52nd vlog from Clove we discuss the reliance on software rather than hardware in the latest smartphones.

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March 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

ROXY Smartphone sock

Flip cases, pouch cases and more all serve a purpose, but sometimes you just want something quite simple.  A mobile phone sock is always quite a popular option thanks to their universal design and vast compatibility.

In the following video we take a look at the ROXY smartphone sock.

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February 8, 2013 By 3 Comments

Success of smartphones & tablets should be determined by accessories & satisfaction

ID-10046440Without doubt there are many fantastic smartphones on the market.  Just look at how many Apple and Samsung phones are sold each year alone.

The problem is that sales figures of handsets alone do not tell the whole story.

I think there is more to a successful phone than it being one of the must have handsets of the year.

What do I mean by this?

A successful phone is one that works best for you, the user, and a lot of this is determined by the phones features, accessories and how it integrates into your life.

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December 30, 2012 By 3 Comments

Smartphone reviews: your preferences

We want your opinions on what makes a good review

Reviews are always important, helping customers make informed decisions and letting those be aware of how well a product is being or possibly going to be received. In the fast-paced technology industry and especially in the mobile sector, getting information into the public domain first is crucial. Also with the media used to present information changing; reviewer techniques, personality and hands-on information can be delivered in a variety of methods.

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Personally I am a fan of text heavy, exhaustive reviews with each facet of the device scrutinised. This probably stems from being a big videogame fan growing up and as a teenager only having printed magazines to provide information to influence my decisions. Now it seems my preference is one that is being swept aside for more ‘bitty’ reviews that provide necessary technical specifications, but little in the way of exposition regarding the reviewer’s personal experience with the device. A quick search on a device name and the word review will likely pull up a fair amount of short, hastily written pieces by someone with little experience of the device and seemingly there simply to draw some web traffic rather than truly inform the reader. This of course isn’t to say that there aren’t some sites publishing quality reviews that suit my taste, just that personally I find many lacking.

Video reviewing has changed the scene, engaging the viewer with the product instantly and able to show the device in action in a way that words alone never could. Video reviews can also lead to a reduction (or complete removal) of text and can be more personally revealing. Hearing a sigh of frustration when something goes wrong (again!) can far more delicately convey just how annoying a scenario is than any number of printed words trying to explain it.

It is perhaps inevitable that in the Internet environment, saturated with multimedia and with a prevalent culture of instantaneous gratification, we are finding more short-form information dumps. This isn’t necessarily a Bad Thing™; learning to provide concise overviews is an important and necessary skill, however we should be able to differentiate between this and the type of ‘nothing’ writing that adds little to a discussion or fails to inform the reader.

Clove provide short reviews, unboxings and links to others’ work so we would like to know what our regular readers like to see and if you want more (or less) from us. Are you fans of videos, or large image galleries? Do you think certain topics get discussed too much or not enough? Does a wall of text leave you cold or a funny introduction draw you in to read it all? Let us know!

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December 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Our Top Ten Smartphone Accessories

Accessories are often what makes a smartphone we own that bit more personal to us or that bit more productive.

Whether it be a case, a cradle or a cable accessories are something that most of us need at some point during ownership.

There are hundreds of different ones out there, whether it be manufacturer’s own for specific handsets or general accessories for any handset.

The following is our list of the top 10 accessories available for smartphones today.

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November 23, 2012 By 178 Comments

Tell us your first PDA or smartphone to win #clove20 (Competition 4)

For today’s giveaway (Competition 4) we would like you to comment on this blog post to tell us what your first PDA or smartphone was and then share the blog post on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. There’s another big prize to be won for this so we’ll be leaving the competition open until 9:59AM on Monday 26th November. There are plenty of runner-up prizes to be won again as well.

We’ll also have Competitions 5 and 6 running over the weekend (details to follow) AND we’ve got something slightly different going live later today. Thanks to everyone that’s been part of the celebrations so far. The winners of competition 3 will be announced later today.  Continue to share our #clove20 content for more chances to win.

Here’s a look back at some of our favourite devices from the last 20 years for some inspiration for today’s competition,

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November 21, 2012 By

20 years of Clove #clove20

This post has been written by Shaun McGill, a long time friend of Clove who has reviewed many a device for us over the years and has been a fantastic writer to work with. As well as writing for various publications, Shaun runs his own Lost In Mobile blog, which offers  great insight and discussion into the smartphone world. Thank you, Shaun.

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In 1991, Psion released the Psion 3 PDA. It was the first consumer orientated mobile device that could do more than just offer a list of contacts and an alarm feature. Indeed, it offered a calendar with multiple views, word processor, spreadsheet with charts, world times and much more. You could program it yourself using the onboard OPL programming language and the hardware keyboard and large (for the time) screen made it the very first tool that normal people could use to organise their lives. This was before the majority of people had personal computers in their homes, way before the internet became ubiquitous and during a time when the Filofax was still common place in many offices and homes.

David Potter founded Psion in 1980 and the name came from the acronym “Potter Scientific Instruments”, but because PSI was already being used elsewhere, ON was added to make the company name unique. Before mobile computers were even envisioned by Psion, the company developed games for the ZX Spectrum including the legendary titles, Flight Simulation, Chequered Flag and the Horace series, but we can trace Psion’s entry into the mobile computer market all the way back to 1984 with the launch of the Psion Organiser. It was aimed squarely at business and those who had a fascination with computers in all of their forms at the time. Neither the Psion 3 or Psion Organiser range set the world alight, but they offered a glimpse at what was possible and to call the Psion 3 ahead of its time would be a massive understatement.

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