Phones4U - Tag Archive

Free gifts with selected mobile phone handsets

7 Replies Christopher Roberts

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Mobile phones are growing more and more expensive. With top of the range smartphone handsets costing upwards of £400, it may be tempting to downgrade, to go for something simpler and cheaper.

You may convince yourself that there’s not much to miss out on – a cheaper handset will be perfectly functional, of course, and you can make calls and send texts – that’s all that phones are for, right? Well not any more. If you choose not to try out one of the brilliant, high tech smartphones out there nowadays, you are not only missing out on an opportunity to familiarise yourself with popular developing technology – you are also missing out on the generous offer of free gifts that come with the majority of expensive handsets.

Many mobile phone retailers are now offering incentives such as free gifts, to try to get you to try out their smartphone handsets. One example of this can be seen at Phones4u. At Phones4u to help incentivise consumers to purchase some of their top of the range smartphone handsets such as the HTC ChaCha, the Samsung Galaxy S II, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia, when you buy one, you will receive an amazing free gift!

A giftFor some time now mobile phones have come with free gifts, but this offer is now being taken to the next level, by including some of the most popular gadgets on the market. Some free gifts being given away now include the Kindle 3G, Amazon’s popular eReader; the PS Vita, Sony’s brand new handheld PlayStation console; and even the Samsung Galaxy Tab, a tablet PC that can rival the iPad. These are gifts that are being given away free when you take out certain contracts, and buy certain handsets from different mobile phone retailers.

So, next time you go out shopping for a smartphone, remember, if you also want a Kindle, there may be some great offers whereby you can get both! One offered as a free gift when you purchase the other.

Keep your eyes pealed, to make sure that you get the best deal around!

Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich

8 Replies Christopher Roberts

Google has revealed a fair amount about the new version of Android, known as Ice Cream Sandwich. The Sandwich moniker is used since Google see the new OS as “one OS everywhere”, or a single version of Android running across all their phones and tablets. Will this unifying system be as tasty as it sounds?

In terms of release date, it looks as though some Android devices shipped before Christmas will run this OS, with some sources suggesting it could arrive as early as October. The new version is rumoured to be known as Android 2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is a little mystifying since it brings together Android 2.3 and Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Wouldn’t Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich make more logical sense?


Google Android's LogoThe Ice Cream interface will bring together all the fancy features from 3.0 Honeycomb, which was designed purely for tablets and larger screen devices. This includes an updated app launcher, holographic user interface, interactive new home-screen widgets and a multi-tasking panel. Leaked shots give a positive impression of the homepage look and feel, which has a great feeling of depth and Minority Report-style futurism. This ties in with Google’s statement that the new OS is their “most ambitious release to date”.

But the Ice Cream Sandwich is about more than the UI, and will bring all the previously tablet-only Android 3.1 features to mobile phones. In real terms, this suggests compatible Android tablets and smart phones will be able to act as hubs and inputs for connecting mice, keyboards and game controllers.

There is also a 3D “headtracking” feature utilising the front-mounted camera. This determines who is speaking and focuses on them during a video call. This detection technology is apparently a key feature in the OS, and it will be interesting to see how developers can further enhance this novelty.

Google intends to make the Ice Cream OS fully open source in an attempt to make things more consistent between devices. When it becomes fully established it will doubtless prove an exciting time for Android affiliates and early adopters. In terms of reputation, Android provides the leading mobile phones; find out more on these models on the Phones4U website.