Free calls in android

www.fring.com

Fring enables users to call each other at no charge, send free instant messages, and even make free video calls. 

It's an incredibly powerful service that has the potential to revolutionise the way we communicate. and you can download your own copy from the Android Market. In this tutorial well explain how easy it is to set up a free Fring account, make free calls, send images and make a video call. Before long you’ll be wondering if you actually need those inclusive minutes and texts with your phone contract

1 Accounts
The first step is to grab a copy of Fring from the Market. Once it’s installed, open the app and follow the on-screen steps to create a new account. If you already have a Fring account, then the login button is located at the bottom of the screen.

2 Free calls
Once logged in, you’ll see your contacts listed down the screen. Tap on one and you’ll see an option to call it with the Cellular button. Don’t worry; it’s totally free to make a call — the data used comes via your device’s internet connection, over Wi-Fi or 3G. 

3 Services
To send instant messages, you’ll need to have a Fring, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, AIM or Yahoo contact on your list. To add a Fring contact, press the Menu key, tap ‘Add friends’, and search for a Fring contact.

4 Syncing
To sync with an MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, AIM or Yahoo account, press the Menu key, choose ‘Add-ons’, then tap on a provider of choice. You’ll be asked to log in to the account. When completed, all the contacts associated with that account will appear in the contacts list. 

5 Contacts
Once you’ve completed the step above, tap on a contact with a smiley face icon. You’ll see icons at the
bottom of the screen for sending instant messages. calling them and making a video call. Tap the orange-coloured instant message button for now.

6 Instant messages
Sending messages works just like the Messages app on your smartphone. The chat takes place in a threaded view, and it’s possible to send attachments and view the contact’s current status. It’s a great way to save money if you’re on a limited SMS messages plan.

7 Video calling
Making a video call is incredibly easy. Simply tap on a contact that supports video calling, such as a Fring or MSN contact, and tap on the video call button. The video chat begins automatically, with a large main window for the contact and a preview window that displays your image in the top-right corner.

8 Profile
You can add a profile photo by tapping the small green contacts icon in the top-left corner of the screen. It’s also possible to add mood text, and update your nickname, phone number and email address from this window.

9 Dialler
To dial a number by hand, press the Menu key at any time and tap on the Dialler button. You’ll need to enter the international code for each country; if you’re not sure what it is, tap on the flag icon in the top-left corner and choose a country from the pop-up window.

10 Settings
More advanced settings are available by pressing the Menu key. then ‘More’, then ‘Settings’. You can tell the app to open when the phone is turned on by checking ‘Automatic startup’. display phone contacts within Fring, and show of time contacts, your mood message, or a signature. This is also where you log out.•

Children tablets

The quality of children’s tablets varies enormously, though, so it pays to know what to look for. Although specifications play a part. it’s important to get a device that can withstand rough handling: kids and fragile technology don’t mix well.

Hardware
One disadvantage of most children’s tablets is that they have screens with poor viewing angles, unlike an iPad or ocher tablet with an IPS screen. Some are better than others, though. Again, check reviews before you buy. Also look for a tablet chat comes with a rubber bumper, as it’s bound to be dropped on a regular basis. The nabi 2 and Kuno 7 include these in the box.

Battery life is important. since you don’t want to end up with a tablet that lasts only a couple of hours before needing to be connected to the mains or a new set of batteries. In the latter case, rechargeable batteries are advisable. Cameras are included on most tablets but not all. If you want a tablet to double as a digital camera and camcorder, look for one with a rear-facing camera. Front-facing cameras are good only for self-portraits and video chat.

Finally, check the ports and controls. Tablets that lack hardware volume buttons are frustrating, and look for an HDMI output it you want to be able to hook the device up to a big-screen TV.

Software 

Most children’s tablets are based on Android, but don’t provide access to Google’s Play store Typically. you’ll be restricted to the manufacturer’s own store. which may have a limited selection of apps and games, and they’re usually more expensive than similar apps in Googles store. 

The software that comes preloaded is also important. since it determines how much play time your child will get from the tablet before you have to start spending more money to keep them entertained. Another thing to look for is a web browser that restricts which sites they can visit and includes other parental controls for limiting their usage.

Parental controls
If you opt for a standard tablet for your child, you should be aware that your kids will be able to access pretty much all the content you might have blocked on a desktop PC or laptopAn easy way to restrict internet access and any other communication is to enable flight mode before you give the device to your child. Savvy kids will easily work out how to disable this, however.

iOS tablets
Apple has added to iOS some parental controls, but they will apply to anyone who uses the iPad. To set up an iPad for your kids to use, tap Settings, General, Restrictions. You’ll have to enter a PIN to enable restrictions.

You can disable certain built-In apps such as Safari, but you can restrict other apps only by their age rating (or disallow access entirely). Similarly, you can restrict films by age.TV shows by those rated Caution and music or podcasts with explicit content. You will also probably want to disable location services for social-networking apps. There are lots of other privacy settings that prevent apps from accessing your data, and you can disable multiplayer games and the adding of
new friends in Game Center. It’s sensible to disable in-app purchases, as well as the ability to install apps.

Android tablets
Google’s Android OS doesn’t have much in the way of parental controls, although its Google Play app store does offer content filtering. Launch Google Play, then press the Menu button and choose Settings. Content filtering. You can allow apps rated for low, medium or high maturity.

Consider the free Kid Mode app. This lets kids play their favourite Android games, read stories and paint pictures, but there’s no way to accidentally buy anything. delete your emails or access another app. We also recommend the parental-control apps from Kaspersky, Norton and the popular Funamo. 

LeapPad2 Explorer™

Price: $99.99     Website: http://www.leapfrog.com     

LeapPad2 Explorer™ Learning Tablet

SPECIFICATIONS
Suitable for 3-9 years; 500MHz IF 2000 processor; 4GB storage; 5in (480x272) touchscreen; stylus; 2Mp front- and rear4acing cameras; 4x AA batteries required; up to nine hours claimed battery life; 267x64x292mm;950g

PROS: Educational benefits; relatively stylish, tough design; 300-plus games and apps; front- and rear-facing cameras CONS: Requires four A batteries; expensive games and apps VERDICT: A proper little tablet with apps and games that can capture a child’s imagination

Nabi 2

Price: $199.99     Website: http://www.nabitablet.com/specs/nabi2

Fuhu Nabi 2

SPECIFICATIONS
7in (1024x768, 169ppi) capacitive multitouch screen; Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich; 1.3GHz nVidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor;1GB RAM, 8GB storage; 802.1 lbFg/n; Bluetooth 3.0; GPS; 2Mp, 720p front camera; 2x stereo speakers; 3.5mm headphone jack; microUSB 2.0; microSD (SDHC compatible); mini-HDMI; non-removable battery; 221x154x29mm; 610g
PROS: Very good web browsing and general performance; safe to leave with children unsupervised; tough, non-toxic build  CONS: U S-centric software; poor viewing angles; no access to Google Play  VERDICT: Easily the best kids’ tablet we’ve seen, but it needs Anglicising

InnoTab 2

Price: $69.99     Website: http://www.vtechkids.com

Vtech InnoTab 2

SPECIFICATIONS
51n screen; 2GB storage; 1.3Mp rotating camera; SD slot; 4x AA batteries; 30x60x280mm; 720g 

PROS: Rotating camera; microphone; pull-out stand; great range of software available; expandable storage; educational  CONS: Not as stylish as Leap Pad; toy-like  VERDICT: Destined to be a hit with all kidsunder the age of eight1 and a true rival to the LeapFrog Leap Pad

Kurio 7

Price: $198.94     Website: http://www.kurioworld.com/

Kurio 7

SPECIFICATIONS
7in (800x480) capacitive multitouch screen; Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich; 1.2GHz Allwinner AlO
single-core processor; Mali 400 graphIcs; 1GB RAM; 4GB storage; microSD; 802.11b/!n; 0.3Mp, 2Mp cameras, 720p video; Mini-USB; Mini HDMI; 3.5mm headphone jack; 195x122x11mm; 352g

PROS: Decent parental controls; one of the better tablets to leave unsupervised with a child; tough design; user profiles  CONS: Slow processor; poor battery life  VERDICT: Only the hardware holds back what would otherwise have been a great tablet for all the family

Arnova ChildPad

Price: $169.95     Website: http://www.kurioworld.com/

Arnova ChildPad

SPECIFICATIONS
7in (800x480) capacitive touchscreen; AndroId 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; 16Hz ARM Cortex AS processor; 4GB storage; microSDHC; 223x142x12.2mm; 380g

PROS: Parental controls; full Android interface; cheap; capacitive screen  CONS: Poor camera and sound quality; naff apps; interface not very child-friendly  VERDICT: It looks the part, but a fiddly interface and substandard games means we can’t recommend the Arnova Child Pad

iPad Mini vs Google Nexus 7

Google’s taken a hit on the pricing of its Nexus 7, hoping to encourage rake-up of the Android platform and content sales. We never expected Apple to match that price with its iPad mini, which costs £110 more than the Nexus 7 at the same 16GB capacity.

The Nexus 7 is the smaller tablet at 120x 199mm versus 135x200mm, but the mini is both thinner and lighter: the Nexus 7 is 10.5mm and 340g: the iPad mini measures 7.2mm and weighs in at 308g.

Given this slightly larger chassis, it’s no surprise to find a larger 7.9in screen on the mini. Its I 024x768 resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio matches that of the iPad 2. whereas the 7in Google panel offers a higher resolution of 1280x800 pixels. This results in a 216ppi pixel pitch for Google’s tablet; 163 ppi for the mini.

 

iPad Mini vs Google Nexus 7

In our testing the Nexus 7 was also the faster of the two tablets, with its quad-core nVidiaTegra 3 chip able to offer more oomph than the iPad minis 1GHz Apple AS dual-core processor.

Neither tablet accepts removable memory cards to boost the internal storage capacity, although the iPad mini offers a 64GB option where the Nexus 7 maxes out at 32GB.

Google’s Nexus 7 has a front-facing 1,2 Mp camera; the iPad mini matches this and gets one up with a 5 Mp rear-facing iSight camera.

The iPad mini is charged through Apple’s new Lightning connector, introduced with the Phone 5, while the Nexus 7 takes universal Micro USB. Both have Wi-Fl and Bluetooth connectivity on board, although Apple’s tablet is dual-band and the firm is touting faster speeds via channel bonding. The Nexus 7, meanwhile, adds NFC to the spec sheet. Mobile 3G connectivity is an option for both tablets, and the mini also supports 4G LTE in the UK.

The major difference between these two tablets is the software they run — that’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean for the Nexus 7, and iOS 6.0 for the mini. You can read our reviews of each on pages 10 and 12 respectively.

With similar battery packs inside, expect both tablets to last around 10 hours when surfing the web.

iPad mini vs iPad 4

For a long time Apple refrained from creating a small-screen tablet, but it’s no longer content with dominating only the large-screen tablet market: it wants the lot. But has it compromised on quality to create the mini, or is it possible that great things really do come in small packages?

Apple has stuck to its usual pricing structure for its fourth-generation iPad, which starts at £399 and goes up to £659. Meanwhile, the iPad mini starts at a more affordable £269 for the most basic model, which extends to £529.

There are no prizes for guessing that the iPad mini is smaller and lighter than the iPad. The former measures I 35x200mm, and the latter 186x241 mm. The mini is also thinner and lighter, at 7.2mm and 308g versus 9.4mm and 652g.

The full-size Pad takes Apple’s tried-and-tested 9.7in IPS panel. Swap around the numbers and you get the mini’s screen size: 7.9in. Both sport a 4:3 aspect ratio, but differ in their resolution. Whereas the big iPad has a Retina-quality 2048x 1536 screen, the mini matches chat of the iPad 2 with 1024x768 pixels. The full-size iPads 264ppi pixel density is more impressive than the mini’s I 63ppi.

iPad 4 and iPad Mini

Apple tends to share very little information on its processors, but the Pad takes its latest 1.39GHz A6X dual-core chip with quad-core graphics, and the mini runs the iPad 2’s 1GHz A5.

As is always the case with iPads, both are available with l6-,32- or 64GB of storage, and neither has an expansion slot.

The cameras in use by the iPad and iPad mini are identical. You get a l.2Mp front-facing FaceTime HD (720p) camera, and a 5Mp rear-facing iSight snapper chat can also capture full-HD (I080p) video.

Connectivity specifications are like for like between these Pads. Both use Apple’s new Lightning connector, and both support dual-band 802. I I a/ b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The Pad and iPad mini also offer the same support for 3G or 46 LTE connectivity in the UK. although its offered via a Micro-SIM in the fourth- generation iPad and a Nano-SIM in the mini.

The similarities continue with the battery life.Apple claims a 10-hour battery life for each of its iPads when surfing the web over Wi-Fi.

Jelly Bean 4.2

Je lly Bean is an incremental update to Googles Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich mobile OS, but it helps Android close the gap on iOS and has been very well received by those lucky enough to be able to access it. Indeed, while version 4.2 Jelly Bean is now upon us, as seen on the Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 7 and 10 tablets, most devices are yet to be upgraded to 4.1 from 4.0, let alone to 4.2. Here, we’ll look in, depth at the changes In Jelly Bean 4.1. and then explain some of the new features added to 4.2.

Performance
One of the first things you notice when you use jelly Bean for the first time is the speed boost.. Google calls it ‘Project Butter’. and we can vouch for the fact it is lag-free and super-smooth. Its extended vsync timing to all drawing and animation. tripled the graphics buffering and even applied some wizardry chat anticipates where on the display your finger will move next. Following a period of inactivity, a CPU input boost is applied at the next touch event to eliminate latency. 

Interface 
Since Jelly Bean Is an incremental update to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the interface hasn’t seen a major overhaul The main addition is smooth animations, seen when you open an app. for example. Rather than the app suddenly popping up when you cap its Icon, the animation gradually appears from wherever that icon is placed onscreen. Another improvement is that widgets and app shortcuts will automatically rearrange themselves around a new object. and If there’s only a certain space available the widget will resize itself to fit.

Notifications 
The Notifications bar has been enhanced and can now show more detail, such as including a text message or photo. Some notifications can be expanded or collapsed with a two-finger gesture. As well as showing more Information, users can respond to the notification via multiple action buttons without opening the associated app. You could respond to a missed call by returning the call directly from the alert, for example.


Google Now
One of the best new features In Jelly Bean is called Google Now, the latest development In Google search. Its aim Is to stay one step ahead of you. offering the answers to your questions before you ask them
For Google Now to work at its best it needs to get to know you. When logged into your Google account. it will use your search history to learn what sort of things you look for. If you’re happy to divulge your search habits, location and similar information. Google Now will quickly become a useful tool.

Dictation and keyboard input
Until jelly Bean, Android’s voice-input feature has required a data connection to function. Now, you can dictate an email or text message, for instance, regardless of whether you have a mobile orWi.Fi connection. Words appear onscreen almost immediately after they’ve left your mouth.

Voice search
As before, you can use the microphone icon to perform a voice search. Like Apple Siri, you can have the answers read aloud to you. Android also gets one over on Sin in the UK, since you can search for local businesses and attractions.

Chrome
Google Chrome is the default web browser, It offers an excellent tabbed browsing experience and things such as your bookmarks, most visited sites and even open tabs can be easily synchronised with the desktop version of Chrome. There are other nifty settings. too, such as the ability to configure text scaling.

Flash
The biggest issue with Jelly Bean is its lack of Flash support. This puts it in a similar position to the iPad. on which Flash-based web and video content is inaccessible. If you’re happy to do a bit of hacking there are ways around this.

New in jelly bean 4.2
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is preloaded on Google’s own-brand Nexus devices. It hasn’t announced when die free update will roll out to other devices — as always. if and when your specific device is upgraded will depend on whether its manufacturer decides doing so is worth its while.

A new feature Is the ability to configure multiple user accounts. each with its own Home screens, backgrounds. widgets. apps and games. It’s a snap to switch between users, without logging out.

Gesture typing Is another neat addition. which in effect turns Android’s keyboard into a Swype-style keyboard.You glide a finger over the characters you wish to use, and it Intelligently works out what you’re trying to write, automatically inserting spaces.

If you like taking panoramic photos. Photo Sphere is great. This camera feature allows you to take continuous pictures in any direction, then stitches them together in a sphere.
Also new is wireless display technology, which lets you share what’s on your device on a larger screen, expandable notifications for more apps. lock-screen widgets. and quick settings in the Notification bar.

Note that not all these features will necessarily be available on all devices running Android 4.2. since the manufacturer will the OS how it sees fit

eos 650d

Canon has ditched the three-year-old DIGIC 4 processor in favour of the DIGIC 5 chip used in recent PowerShot cameras. This raises the continuous speed from 3.7fps to 5fps, and also introduces in-camera chromatic aberration (CA) correction. This eliminates discoloured halos around high-contrast lines) and has been offered by Nikon’s SLRS for many years. These benefits arent available at the same time, though. With CA correction enabled, 5fps shooting lasted for just three frames before slowing to 2.lfps. With it disabled, it lasted for 29 frames and then slowed to 3.6fps.

Automatic high dynamic range (HDR) shooting is now available, and has a dedicated position on the mode dial for quick access. Curiously, the camera slightly crops and then enlarges the image back to 18 megapixels. More worryingly, autofocus problems were quite common in this mode. There’s also a new Handheld Night Scene, which combines three exposures to reduce noise. It made things softer at ISO 3200 but proved its worth at ISO 12800. 

eos 650d

LIVE AID
For us, the 600D’s biggest weakness was its slow autofocus in live view mode. Live view on an SLR bypasses the main phase-detect autofocus system, and the 6OODs backup contrast-detect system was appalling, taking up to four seconds to lock on to subjects. For the 650D, Canon has integrated additional phase-detect autofocus points on to the sensor. This appeared to improve live view autofocus speeds, but only to an extent; it still took between one and two seconds to focus. That’s still likely to be too slow for most people. It’s also significantly slower than the Pentax K-30.

We ran tests using the phase-detect autofocus and then retook the shot using live view’s contrast-detect
autofocus. Most were identical, but in a third of these shots live view gave sharper results. The imperfect
shots were usually good enough to keep) but having to choose between fast or accurate autofocus is frustrating.

This is the first SLR to include a touchscreen, and it’s extremely well implemented. It shows a variety of shooting details, and turns into a control panel when the Q button is pressed. 

touchscreen

The touchscreen is best in Live View and Video modes, where it sets the autofocus point. Its useful to be able to move it while recording video as full.time autofocus is available in video mode, thanks to the on-sensor autofocus points It’s an improvement over the 600D, but it still isn’t brilliant, with frequent focus hunting and long periods that were completely out of focus. However, while video autofocus on the 600D was hopeless, on the 650D it’s OK for casual use.

The autofocus motor spoiled the soundtrack when using the 18-55mm and 18-135mm lenses, but was much quieter with the 40mm STM lens, which is designed to be quiet while recording. Adjusting manual exposure while recording is now silent, with shutter speed, aperture and ISO speed controls available on the touchscreen.

CLIP HIGHLIGHTS
Video clips are no longer constrained by a 4GB limit. The 600D’s videos stopped without warning after about 15 minutes, but the 650D can span videos across multiple files up to a maximum of 30 minutes. You’ll need videoe diting software to stitch the files back together, but there were no glitches to the picture or soundtrack when we did so. 

30 minutes video

Our video quality tests gave similar results to the 600D. Details were sharp, but not as crisp as the Panasonic GH1. The difference is subtle though.

We experienced the same problems with moire interference that we’ve seen from countless other SLRs’ video modes, where dense repeating textures exhibit swirling interference. We shouldn’t dwell on the
negatives, though. Colours in videos were sumptuous, noise at fast ISO speeds was impressively low, and shallow depth-of-field effects gave video footage a beautiful film-like quality.

ISO 1600 and 3200

We struggled to find anything to complain about regarding the 650D’s photos. CA removal not only eliminated halos, but tightened up focus towards the edges of frames as well. Meanwhile, the improved noise reduction maintained slightly crisper details at ISO 1600 and 3200 and exhibited less chroma noise at ISO 6400 and above. Noise in unprocessed Raw files appeared heavier than from the 600D, though. Regardless, the 650D is arguably the best performer at this price for image quality. Automatic exposures were expertly judged and JPEGs displayed gorgeous colours.

COLOUR CHARTS
EOS cameras’ colour output makes our spines tingle that bit more than with rival cameras. The controls are straightforward and elegant, and the increased speed, extra shooting modes, in-camera CA correction and improved live view autofocus mean there are four less reasons to look elsewhere. Slightly iffy autofocus with the 18-55mm and 40mm lenses is our only bugbear, but it’s pretty subtle, and something we could live with until we’d saved up for a better lens.

18-55mm and 40mm lenses

The Panasonic GH2 is available with a 14-42mm lens for about the same price, and the fantastic Nikon D7000 costs just a little more. The GH2 comes top for video and the D7000 wins hands down for photographic control, but the Canon EOS 650D is hot on both their tails, and nudges ahead of the Nikon camera for image quality. (Ben Pitt)

iPhone 5 Review

THERE’S The Easy way to explain an Apple iPhone 5: it’s thinner, lighter plus a little higher than the 4S. While this summary certainly conveys the general look of the phone, it underestimates what’s disappeared in the design for it striking handheld.

Apple has managed to shave 1.4mm from the thickness of its previous phone. If you comparing the two models side by side, it’s quite obvious. The iPhone 4S’s screen and back bulge out from the side, whereas the iPhone 5 has a flush-fitting back, and the screen is barely raised at all.

While the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 are clearly related, there are some aesthetic changes to the new model, which give it a different look and help to keep the weight down. Gone is the all-glass rear, changed with an aluminium panel that covers almost all of the back of the phone, bar two glass panels at the top and bottom. We’ve been told that during manufacturing, the back of the phone is photographed with the aluminium panel in place, so that the best-fitting glass panels can be found. Our review model was certainly well put together, with a flush-fitting rear.

Bigger Screen

Bigger screen

The iPhone 5 features a bigger 4in screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, as opposed to the 3:2 aspect ratio used on the iPhone 4S. What this means in practice is that both screens are the same width, however the iPhone 5’s is slightly taller, with a resolution of 1,136x640, maintaining the same high 326ppi pixel density, (whereas the iPhone 4S has a resolution of 960x640). This is still a Retina display, which Apple defines as a screen where you can’t see individual pixels.

The extra resolution is useful, as you can now fit five rows of icons on the homescreen, up from four on the iPhone 4S. It also makes sense when you use a lot of the applications: you can view more calendar appointments and emails in a list, for example. Typing with the phone in portrait mode is also easier, as there’s more space above the keyboard for text, making it easier to see what you’re writing and correct any mistakes as necessary. 

Retina Display

It’s not just a bigger screen. The iPhone 5s display embeds the touch components with the actual pixels, removing a layer from the old screen. As well as being thinner, the new screen is brighter with higher colour saturation. Compared side by side with an iPhone 45, we really noticed the difference; the iPhone S’s screen looks a lot more vibrant, with more pleasing colours. The screen is evenly lit and the viewing angles are excellent, with the display easy to see from any angle. A 16:9 display also makes more sense if you’re watching a lot of TV programmes or films on your phone. The screen suits the aspect ratios usually used, leading to a reduction (if not complete removal) of black bars. 

A6 Chip
Along with the new phone comes a new processor: the Apple A6. Apple promises this is twice as fast as the iPhone 4S for the CPU and provides double the graphics performance. It’s also 22 per cent smaller. It’s hard to test a phone’s processor, but this dual-core model certainly proved itself in the tests we performed. The SunSpider JavaScript test completed in 9441ms on the iPhone 5 and took more than twice as long on the iPhone 4S, completing in 1,9173ms. Web browsing in general was very quick, with the BBC News home page rendering in less than four seconds.

The iPhone 5 was a little snappier than the iPhone 4S, opening applications such as Photos just that little bit faster. As you’d expect from Apple, iOS is beautifully smooth throughout, effortlessly rendering all the operating system’s animations. 

A6 chip

The iPhone 5 ships with iOS 6, available for older iPhones and iPads as a free upgrade. In the main, iOS 6 is a tweak to what’s gone before, making the iPhone work better in the cloud and with other Apple devices. Improvements are mostly small, but they are handy; for example, Safari now has iCloud Tabs, which means you can see browser tabs currently open on your other Apple devices. We like the way that you can share Photo Streams with people on iOS 6 devices or, for everyone else, via a public website. As it currently stands, using postcodes is the only sure-fire way of finding the address you want. Apple is working on this problem at the moment, but it’s a little sad that Maps currently represents such a wobbly step back.

 

Map

In its favour, Maps introduces turn-by-turn directions. Youre given a clear choice of three routes, with traffic problems highlighted, making it easy to choose your own journey. Prompts are spoken clearly by Sin, and we like the way that the next turn indicator counts down the distance, so you know exactly when to make the manoeuvre. We also like the 3D Cities view which gives you a 3D model of the place you’re looking at so you can fly over it virtually. The centre of London is covered, but that’s about it for now in the UK, although Apple has plans to expand its content. 

Siri is faster to respond than before, and you can also post Facebook or Twitter updates using it. Again, Siri swings between scarily accurate and annoyingly wrong, but it’s often a quick way to use a feature; we think it’s brilliant for setting reminders, for example.

Passbook, a brand-new app, is a digital wallet for tickets, store cards and coupon codes. Currently, it’s a bit limited in the UK, but we expect more partners to come online in the coming months. When it has full UK support, it could prove really useful. Passbook is location-aware so it can, for example) pop up your airline boarding pass as you reach the airport, so you don’t have to hunt through your bag for the old paper version. 

Siri

SIM PLEASURES
While the iPhone 4 introduced the Micro SIM, the iPhone introduces an even smaller version: the Nano SIM. If you’re buying an unlocked phone, you’ll need to get your operator to switch your old SIM for the new one. Your operator ought to do this free of charge, and you should be able to make the switch in-store, but phone to check.

Apple has revamped its in-ear headset and introduced the EarPods. This is good news for commuters; you will no longer be bombarded with irritating, tinny noise coming from people who haven’t upgraded their bundled headphones.

The slightly strange design of the EarPods sends the audio into your ear rather than letting it leak. It’s a big improvement in sound quality, too, because there’s more range, better balance and a real sense of bass. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that they’re relatively pleasant, although the sound is still slightly muddy, lacking fine detail and the full range that you get from other sets. As such, wed still suggest that you invest in a decent set of headphones, with the EarPods acting as a decent backup pair.
As with the old buds, the EarPods have a built-in microphone and responsive in-line remote with volume control and a multifunction button. Call quality is pretty good, with the microphone clearly picking up our voice.

WIRELESS AND 4G (Ultra Fast)
Apple has completely upgraded the wireless technology inside the iPhone 5. First up is the 80211n dual band, which means it’ll connect to 24GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks. The advantage of 5GHz is that there’s less congestion, so you’ll get better throughputs. You’ll need a dual- band router, though.

24GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks

This is the first iPhone with built-in 46, and it will work with the new Everything Everywhere 4G network. From what we’ve seen, 4G provides really fast downloads) making the mobile Internet experience similar to being on a home network. 

AFTER SHOTS
A thinner case has meant that Apple has had to redesign the lens and sensor for the iPhone 5, but it still has the same 8-megapixel resolution as the iPhone 4S. There’s little difference in practice between the two models; like the 4S, the iPhone 5 has one of the best smartphone cameras around.

Shots are bright, vibrant and detailed. For most purposes, you can happily use your phone rather than a compact camera. The iPhone 5 also introduces a panorama mode. Just hold the phone steady and pan up to 2700 to create one massive image.

8-megapixel

Video is shot at 1080p at 3Ofps, and quality is generally excellent. Footage is detailed with punchy colours; it’s easy to see why there’s no longer any need for Flip video cameras or the like. 

Battery life is quoted by Apple as the same as the 4S, which is impressive, considering the iPhone 5 has the larger screen. In our video playback test, the iPhone 5 lasted 12 hours and four minutes, which is pretty much the same as the iPhone 4S in the same test. (David Ludlow)