Steve Litchfield
Steve is the editor at All About Windows Phone, which means any typos that slip through in the main stories are his responsibility (although, ultimately, you can still blame Rafe). He’s also one of the main writers, specialising in the camera and multimedia side of things when it comes to reviews and tutorials. When not working on AAWP and All About Symbian, Steve writes, produces and stars in The Phones Show, a fortnightly video show reviewing phones and smartphones in detail.
You can contact him at slitchfield@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @stevelitchfield or on Google+. You can also contact Steve via the contact page.
Recent Content by Steve
Review: Nokia Lumia 900 - Part 2 - Camera and Camcorder in depth
In part 1 of our Lumia 900 coverage, Ewan took a chatty look at the hardware and summarised his feelings about the device - we're now seeing the Lumia 900 appearing in European shops, making it all the more appropriate that we accelerate our review schedule. In this, part 2, I look at the 900's camera capability and its viability for creating and consuming multimedia.
Has the ever-growing smartphone gone beyond 'normal' limits?
Attending the launch of the 4.8"-screened Samsung Galaxy S III in London last Thursday, I was struck that the borders of the smartphone world have changed yet again. At some point though, surely, enough is enough? Yes, we get it that smartphones are now personal computers in our pockets, as opposed to simply being 'converged devices', but have we already passed the point where the mass populace will start to revolt against the 'march to large' and vote with their wallets?
Twenty Top Windows Phone Tips and Tricks
Modern mobile platforms tend to dumb down their interfaces as time goes on, in an attempt to bring ever more 'feature' phone users into the fold. And rightly so, easier to use is usually 'better', but that doesn't mean that clever features and tricks don't still lie beneath the surface, ready to be brought into action by informed power users like you. Here are our top 20 Windows Phone tips and tricks for your reference and enjoyment. An article to bookmark and to share with others, hopefully?
Head to head: HTC Radar versus Nokia Lumia 710
With the HTC Radar in one hand and the Nokia Lumia 710 in the other, both second generation Windows Phone handsets at something of a budget price, what's a geek to do but compare them directly? At first glance the pricier and sleeker Radar should walk off with the honours, but in practice the garish plastic Lumia 710's innards outclass those of the aluminium-clad HTC contender. There's definitely still a use case for the Radar, but the old adage applies: it's horses for courses, etc.
Review: GPS Calculator
You've got to love a 'labour of love' utility that opens with a splash screen of a 'hungry chipmunk working tirelessly to start your app' - in this case GPS Calculator. Not quite what you might expect - rather than divulge the inner workings of your GPS satellite reception, it's more a mathematical aid, based around your position and around points on the Earth's surface. With widgets and calculation aids galore, and with a price of 'free', this is a must-download for orienteers and map-heads across the world.
The Top 20 Phone Camera Innovations of All Time
It was tempting to put 'in the last decade' in the title, but in fact we've only had cameras in our phone for ten years, amazingly enough, starting with the Nokia 7650 back in 2002... Nokia features heavily in the top 20, as you might expect, the company has been somewhat trail blazing in imaging, as acknowledged even by Nokia haters, but watch out for the iPhone, plus a Samsung and several Sony (Ericsson) models, too. Enjoy this camera tech-heavy trip down memory lane....
Review: Password Jinni
Secure database utilities ('password managers') are a common enough category of utility on all mobile platforms and Windows Phone is no exception. I've already looked briefly at Handy Safe in covering its launch on Windows Phone and at how to take its data from other platforms, and will no doubt return to this for the full review treatment, but in the meantime here's a new alternative, Password Jinni, with a few unique features (and a few others missing....)
Review: Proporta BeachBuoy Bike Mounted Waterproof Case
As reported last week, Proporta's just launched a bike mounted version of their popular Beach Buoy waterproof case for all touchscreen phones - and I couldn't resist giving it a real world test. Here's my review - is it worth the five minutes set up time to have your smartphone always to hand in all weathers? Maybe - I'd say a more definite yes, if you live in the rainy UK and get lost a lot!
In praise of the infinite game
There's a certain class of mobile game that's often ignored. One that gets overlooked in favour of all-singing, all-dancing 3D-rendered RPG slash-em-ups and orgies of feathered destruction. It's not - quite - casual games. It's not - quite - sports games. It's not - quite - board games. Though many of those titles qualify. I'm talking about infinite games. By which I mean mobile games that you can happily play every day - forever - literally.
Head to head: Nokia N8 vs HTC One X vs Lumia 800
Everyone loves a good head to head. Especially when it involves current champions from three different mobile ecosystems, in this case Symbian, Android and Windows Phone. Leaving aside the slightly larger form factor of the One X, how well do these three phones with exemplary build quality compare?