Vodafone 4G speed test results

Vodafone and O2 switched on their 4G networks yesterday in London so, as I have a Vodafone 4G SIM, I decided to give it a spin on the pretty empty 4G network.

Armed with a 4G phone receiving a lovely 4G signal, it was a pretty safe bet I was going to be doing lots of speed tests to see how well it runs.

What makes this more interesting is the Vodafone network we were testing is running on the new 800/2600 spectrum which was purchased for around £900 million this year.

We first picked up the 4G signal at Heathrow Airport and received a speed of around 40Mbps. In central London things got even better with a peek speed of 66Mbps in Camden Town at lunchtime.

Average tests were around 50Mbps which is great for a 4G network and, sitting here in a hotel in Kensington right now, Vodafone is outperforming the EE network which is advertising it’s ‘double speed’ 4G.

Are you in an area with 4G that was switched on yesterday? Let us know your results in a comment below..

       

 

Quad Drawer, the quick app drawer – Android App Review

 

Level Up Studios have got into the app drawer market with the idea of revolutionising the Android icon grid. Have they made the must have launcher add-on of the decade, or are they trying to fix something that just ain’t broke?

You may have heard of Level Up Studios, they are famous for their Beautiful Widgets range of, well, beautiful widgets for Android; an astonishingly successful series of well designed widgets that most people have tried at some point. Equally successful is their star Twitter client, Plume. So, a pretty good pedigree.

Quad drawer, however, is a bit of an unknown app that is designed to replace the standard Android app drawer, which is just a large grid of short-cuts, with a searchable and sortable drawer to make life easier. It was launched without much fanfare a couple of months ago, at which point it was a little flakey. I’ve been running it ever since on two phones, and I now feel it’s got to a stage where it’s worth a review.

Click all images for larger versions.

 

How it works

Click the Quad Drawer icon to see the apps and a keypadTap an icon orSearch then tap on the result

If you prefer your descriptions with music and pictures you can watch the official video below:

Sounds pretty simple, right? Well there’s a lot more to it than just that.

Not only are the app icons searchable, but they are also sortable to your taste, or it can automatically rearrange them based on the most regularly used. It’ll even display the number of times an app has been launched since Quad Drawer was installed.

It also lists your contacts, allowing the same quick access from one place.

I have to say that this has made the app drawer far more usable for me. I am the kind of person who’ll look at a grid of icons for ages knowing that the one I want is there, but it always seems to be in my blind spot.

 

My favourite feature, though, is the ‘floating window’. This is a small semi-transparent icon that can be placed anywhere on your screen and provide access to Quad Drawer. It will float above everything else that’s happening, such as Chrome, games, videos, etc. giving a way to get to your apps without having to go to the home screen first.

I thought that it would interfere and become annoying, but after half a day I didn’t notice it any more, only when I wanted to launch an app.

Sounds great, right? Well, it is, apart from one major flaw. There are no widgets shown, and because they are part of the normal Android app drawer you loose the ability to add them.

Android without widgets? May as well just have a grid of icons…

I tweeted Level Up Studios and asked if I was doing something wrong. They replied that it was not technically possible. Hopefully it will be possible soon.

There is a way around the problem though, albeit a bit of a bodge – setup a shortcut to the stock android app drawer before installing Quad Drawer and use that for adding widgets. It’s a shame, because I can’t find a fault with the rest of the app.

Quad Drawer is available as a stable release in the Play Store as well as a beta for the most up to date features. If you’re not afraid of a bug or two I highly recommend the current beta release; sign up to be a beta tester on their Google+ page.

Level Up Studios have got into the app drawer market with the idea of revolutionising the Android icon grid. Have they made the must have launcher add-on of the decade, or are they trying to fix something that just ain't broke? You may have heard of Level Up Studios, they are famous for their Beautiful Widgets range of, well, beautiful widgets for Android; an astonishingly successful series of well designed widgets that most people have tried at some point. Equally successful is their star Twitter client, Plume. So, a pretty good pedigree. Quad drawer, however, is a bit of an unknown app that is designed to replace the standard Android app drawer, which is just a large grid of short-cuts, with a searchable and sortable drawer to make life easier. It was launched without much fanfare a couple of months ago, at which point it was a little flakey. I've been running it ever since on two phones, and I now feel it's got to a stage where it's worth a review. Click all images for larger versions. How it works Click the Quad Drawer icon to see the apps and a keypad Tap an icon or Search then tap on the result If you prefer your descriptions with music and pictures you can watch the official video below: http://youtu.be/7g4ho7YeppU Sounds pretty simple, right? Well there's a lot more to it than just that. Not only are the app icons searchable, but they are also sortable to your taste, or it can automatically rearrange them based on the most regularly used. It'll even display the number of times an app has been launched since Quad Drawer was installed. It also lists your contacts, allowing the same quick access from one place. I have to say that this has made the app drawer far more usable for me. I am the kind of person who'll look at a grid of icons for ages knowing that the one I want is there, but it always seems to be in my blind spot. My favourite feature, though, is the 'floating window'. This is a small semi-transparent icon that can be placed anywhere on your screen and provide access to Quad Drawer. It will float above everything else that's happening, such as Chrome, games, videos, etc. giving a way to get to your apps without having to go to the home screen first. I thought that it would interfere and become annoying, but after half a day I didn't notice it any more, only when I wanted to launch an app. Sounds great, right? Well, it is, apart from one major flaw. There are no widgets shown, and because they are part of the normal Android app drawer you loose the ability to add them. Android without widgets? May as well just have a grid of icons... I tweeted Level Up Studios and asked if I was doing something wrong. They replied that it was not technically possible. Hopefully it will be possible soon.…Quad Drawer, the quick app drawer – Android App ReviewQuad Drawer, the quick app drawer – Android App Review82

An fantastic idea that should become default in Android. It's look and functionality would be perfect if there were access to widgets.

 

Note 3 United Kingdom three 16 September next.

 

The Galaxy note 3 is rumored to make his debut in the presentation of Samsung IFA 2013, next week Sep 4th and a display of the system carrier leaked inventory shows us that Samsung does not have much more to announce the device.

The above image was leaked by Engadget, is supposedly carrier three UK and shows the upcoming releases for some devices including Galaxy note 3-16 September - and Sony Xperia Z1 (aka "Honami") - 24 September.

We can not be sure that the release dates will be accurate for all regions and carriers nowadays, but given that we immerse ourselves well in IFA the next week and a large UK carrier is willing to sell the phone quickly after that, we must quickly assume will be available.

Trolls of patents at the center of attention. Will it turn the tide?

Patents are generally a good thing. Protect your work, your idea, your product. However, as we have seen happen too often, "Patent Trolls" abuse often demanding payment system, or licensing of patents, despite being vague and generic, have been approved.

Now a growing trade body is expressing his anger about trolls from patent seeking high amount only to resolve cases that bring. The Association of Internet is now part of the Group and are both radio and print ads in 15 States to protest against the trolls.

The President of the Association of Internet, Michael Beckerman, said...

Patent trolls use bad patents to intimidate companies of all sizes, in all economic sectors, from coast to coast. This is essentially legalized extortion, forcing companies work hard to go to court or a check.

We hope that this, along with calls to Congress addressing the problem, hope to mean less of these claims of patent holders that are nothing more than the entrepreneurs want to make fast money.