Sony might not be upping its game in the United States anytime soon, but that’s not stopping the Japanese giant from continuing with its regular strategy of releasing many of its mobile devices directly for sales in the states through its website and via select retail partners.
With that in mind, today Sony announced that the Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra and Sony SmartWatch 2 are now available in United States...
Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority
Word on the street is that the October 15 announcement date was slipped during Google Launchpad, an event recently hosted by Google for start-ups. At said event developers “have served lashings of Key Lime Pie,” as CNET UK puts it, and we’ll remind you that until KitKat was revealed as the official name for the next Android version, Key Lime Pie was used internally at Google as a placeholder name, and have reportedly heard more details about Google’s Android plans.
That said, there’s nothing to prove that the event will indeed take place next week, assuming this rumor is real...
Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority
In the first two rounds of T-Mobile’s uncarrier initiative, we saw the death of traditional contracts and the introduction of JUMP, a plan that allowed folks to upgrade their devices early. Less than an hour ago, T-Mobile took the wraps off its “third phase” in the company’s ongoing uncarrier initiative, and it looks to be yet another game changer.
This time around, T-Mobile is “tearing down [global] borders” by introducing unlimited global data and texting to all Simple Choice customers starting October 31st. The new roaming service applies to both individual and business subscribers, and covers over 100 so-called Simple Global countries. Those looking to make calls while abroad will also be able to do so for an extra charge of 20 cents a minute...
Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority
It's not easy to design a good-looking phone. A quick comparison between the iPhone 5S and Moto X shows why.
While beauty is subjective, some designs are clearly better than others. The HTC One is gorgeous by most accounts, including CNET Reviews' take.
And the Samsung Galaxy S4 is obviously a looker for many.
The Moto X -- which I recently picked up from Verizon -- is another decent design; CNET Reviews calls it "well-crafted."
I wouldn't disagree with that assessment. But an iPhone it is not...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
Like it did with its Galaxy S 4 smartphone, Samsung has once again been caught artificially increasing CPU speeds on its Galaxy Note 3 phone when benchmark apps are running, reports Ars Technica.
Samsung uses special code inside its operating system to identify benchmarking apps by name to boost CPU clock speeds and prevent CPU cores from entering low-power modes. As a result, Ars discovered, Galaxy Note 3 benchmarks report CPU performance roughly 20 percent faster than most apps will experience on the device...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
Fairfax Financial might not take BlackBerry private for $9 per share after all.
Analysts speaking to All Things Digital in interviews published on Tuesday said that the chance of BlackBerry going private for $9 a share -- or $4.7 billion -- seems unlikely. In fact, Fairfax Financial could come in as low as $5 per share.
"I would think Fairfax would want a lower bid if they're the only one at the table looking to buy it," Ironfire Capital founder Eric Jackson told All Things Digital. "After seeing their earnings, I think a price between $5 and $7 is more likely than $9..."
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
HTC's rumoured One Max smart phone could be with us in a matter of weeks, fresh rumours suggest.
Mark 15 October in your calendars, tech fans, as that's the date that Android-centric site Android Central says it spied on Chinese-language blogging site Weibo, further claiming that the site tallies with its own anonymous sources.
Take that rumoured date with a pinch or two of salt, as there's no way of knowing yet whether it's genuine or not. It does broadly tally with an earlier report however, in which an HTC executive supposedly divulged that a variant of the HTC One was planned for the last three months of 2013...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
With tech giants Apple and Google squaring off this year with the release of their new operating systems, we take a look at both and discuss some of the key features and benefits.
iOS 7
Always keen to stay one step ahead of the competition, and eager to make up for some issues with iOS 6, such as the ineffectual Maps app, Apple’s new iOS 7 will be available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, the iPad 2, iPad third and fourth generation, the iPad mini and the iPod touch fifth generation.
The new feature and update list is lengthy to say the least, but here we take a look at some of the most important innovations that we think will make iOS 7 the most intuitive operating system that Apple has produced to date.
Putting you in control
The new control centre, accessed by swiping upwards on any screen, is a handy little feature that allows you to access an inbuilt torch, control your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, switch to Airplane mode, adjust the brightness of your screen and play music. In addition, you can also switch your phone’s Do Not Disturb function on or off, which is really useful when you find yourself in the cinema or in a quiet area.
Account logins
This is one of the features we are most excited about for iOS 7. The new operating system allows you to store passwords, account names and credit card details in the iCloud, with the details being automatically filled in when you sign into a website or online shop that you’ve previously visited.
Smartphone users have been waiting for this feature for a long time and, with Apple’s guarantee that details will be securely encrypted, it’s certainly going to be a real time-saver for Apple’s customers.
Fingerprint ID
This is only going to available to users who purchase a new iPhone, but, long term, it’s got the potential to transform the way in which users access downloads, as well as all other kinds of data, by replacing the need to remember hundreds of different usernames and logins.
Android KitKat
While Apple has a reputation for keeping their cards close to their chest, it seems that Google have become pretty adept at that particular feat themselves. In contrast to the iOS 7, we know very little about the Android KitKat, apart from information gleaned from the online rumour mill.
It’s strongly speculated that the Android KitKat will launch in October or November 2013 and all that Google are publicly saying at this point is that they are committed to making “an amazing Android experience available for everybody."
With this in mind, we fully expect the KitKat OS to be made available to older phones, as well as the new, long-awaited, Nexus 5.
In terms of specific features, sources indicated that the Android KitKat will include tweaks to gallery visualisation, new animation APIs and new notification widgets. At this point that’s all we know, but the suspense is killing us and, if the rumours are anything to go by, the KitKat should make the wide array of Android OS pay monthly phones available on the market that little more exciting.
The debate
It’s difficult to come to a conclusion on which operating system is going to be the most exciting and functional, largely because we know so little about the Android KitKat. So, if you’re in the market for a new phone this year, we think that patience is certainly a virtue you should covet, at least until we have a little more information at our disposal.
Article Credit: Ben Williams
The Nokia Lumia 1020 and its epic 41-megapixel camera lands in British shops on 25 September, and you can order it today. It's available on contract from 3, O2, Vodafone, EE, Phones 4U and Carphone Warehouse, or costs £549 for just the phone.
Nokia announced the UK release date for the camera-tastic Windows Phone 8 phone today -- as well as a 64GB model exclusive to O2, doubling up on the regular 32GB version. That's free on a two-year contract for £37...
You can pre-order the Lumia 1020 from Phones4U here.
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
Following yesterday's introduction of the iPhone 5s, a new GFXbench result showing partial graphic benchmarking results has appeared revealing significant improvements compared to the iPhone 5 on the Egypt HD 2.5 test (via @nerdtalker and @anexanhume)...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
O2 has revealed its first prices for the iPhone 5S and 5C -- and the colourful 5C can be yours for just £50.
Despite being embarrassingly left out of Apple's presentation, O2 has offered up a couple of deals that will get you a new iPhone -- including a deal to nab you a 16GB iPhone 5C for £50 if you pay £32 per month.
That's a reasonable amount of money to fork out up-front -- for an iPhone, anyway; there are much cheaper phones and deals available away from Apple -- as long as you're happy with 750GB of 3G data and 600 minutes of talk-time every four weeks...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
The Apple iPhone 5C and 5S are finally upon us, bringing colourful plastic casings and a new gold hue, respectively, to the iPhone range. O2, Vodafone and Three have all confirmed that they will have the new phone. It'll be arriving in the UK on 20 September.
At the time of writing, no networks were able to say exactly how much cash you'll need to splash to put either new phone in your pocket. None of the other networks were able to say whether they definitely will have either phone, although it's safe to assume they all will...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET