Nokia teases new phone with Lumia colour, Qwerty keys

Time to put the 'key' in 'Nokia'. The Finnish company has revealed a glimpse of a new phone with a Qwerty keyboard, but it's unlikely to be a Lumia smart phone.

In a mysterious teaser image, Nokia shows what appears to be a phone with bright Lumia-style colours but Asha-style keys.

The teaser reveals rounded corners for the prospective device, showing a Z key and contoured Shift key.

The phone is apparently decked out in the vibrant primary colours that are the signature of Nokia's Windows Phone-powered Lumia smart phone range. But a Qwerty Lumia is unlikely, and with Nokia's mobile devices making the announcement it appears this will be a feature phone, perhaps an Asha phone.

Asha phones are Nokia's wallet-friendly feature phones, which now feature basic apps but lack the power and features of a smart phone. They're aimed largely at developing markets low-cost pay as you go customers.

Qwerty keyboards have disappeared from smart phones as touchscreens become ubiquitous in a post-iPhone world. Even BlackBerry is drifting away from its signature clicky keyboard, promoting the all-touchshcreen BlackBerry Z10 ahead of the forthcoming, keyboard-packingBlackBerry Q10.

Nokia's latest Lumia lineup includes the Nokia Lumia 520 and Lumia 720. Rumoured future devices for the struggling company include a new hero phone, a possible oversized rival to the Galaxy Note 2, and a 'new season' of new devices.

Nokia's announcement is scheduled for 7am on Wednesday. That's a bit early for a UK launch, but we'll set our alarms anyway and bring you the news.

[Source: CNET]

LG Confirms May 1 Event is Optimus G Pro Focused

LG recently asked us to save the date on May 1 for an event, although we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Now we know.

The company issued invites on Monday to an event in New York City that will be entirely focused around its new LG Optimus G Pro smartphone. We imagine that LG will name U.S.carrier partners and pricing either at the event, or before it, so we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as that news unfolds.

Right now we’re just being told that we’re going to “share in the genius” of the Optimus G Pro with the band Altlas Genius.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

iPad 5 Rear Shell Leaks, Shows Off iPad Mini-Like Design

Apple has been unusually silent over the past several months—we haven’t seen any big announcements since the iPhone 5, which was back in September of last year. We’re quickly skipping over the company’s annual iPad announcement, and that vow of silence may tell us a lot about what to expect when a reveal does finally come. We’ve heard a lot about the likelihood of a redesigned full-size iPad—we’ve seen pictures as proof—and today’s leak further backs up rumors we’ll see a bigger iPad mini-esque for form factor.

Just last week reports suggested Apple would introduce an iPad that’s “25 percent lighter and 15 percent thinner than the fourth generation iPad.” That’s all hearsay based on an analyst note. But there was also a case leak based around the rumored thinner design, while another report said the iPad 5 would slim down because of a more efficient LEDs. There’s plenty of talk right now, but obviously we have no way of verifying anything until Apple decides to address the world about its next generation iPad.

We’re expecting Apple to send out event invites any day now, but the more likely scenario will be to wait until WWDC. If that’s the case, will Apple use the conference to announce multiple hardware devices in addition to new software? Will it now just hold one big event mid-way through the year instead of several events throughout the year? We’ll have to wait and see. It’s not typical Apple form, but nothing has been quite typical for awhile now.

MacRumors highlights another possible leak in the same iPad 5 report having to do with the iPhone 5S’s SIM try. They look identical, which is no surprise given the fact that many expect the 5S to keep the iPhone 5’s same form factor.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Believe It Or Not, Research Reveals That Most Facebook Users “Self-Censor”

Is there anything about social media that researchers haven’t yet zoomed in on? This time, the study (.pdf) comes from a Carnegie Mellon Ph.D. student and a Facebook staffer, who reveal that most Facebook users tend to self-censor their comments at the last minute before posting.

Carnegie Mellon’s Sauvik Das and Facebook Data Scientist Adam Kramer co-authored a study that put millions of people’s Facebook habits under a microscope during a 17-day period. When the duo examined the massive sample size of 3.9 million users, they found that 71 percent edited themselves right before posting.

The study identifies “self-censorship” as “the act of preventing oneself from speaking” — though personally, I think a more accurate definition might be “the act of preventing oneself from looking like an imbecile to everybody one knows.” (You say potato, I say potahto.) The report hones in on the fact that today’s social media enables people to write and then review their thoughts before sharing them. This, Das and Kramer believe, is what gives users the room to second guess what they wrote.

I’m both surprised by these research results and not. On the one hand, it’s human nature for a person to evaluate how he or she comes off to others. But on the other hand, it certainly doesn’t seem like a whopping 71 percent are actually considering what they put out on Facebook. The network’s rife with offensive status updates, questionable pics and other regrettable messages.

I suppose all those gross updates and “potty” shares must come from the other 29 percent.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

4G Nexus 4 with 32GB and Key Lime Pie to launch next month?

It's rumour time, so pinch of salt at the ready. Google was previously rumoured to be launching the Nexus 5 handset at its I/O conference next month, but now come whispers it'll announce a revamped Nexus 4 instead, SidhTech reports.

On the cards: 4G for a superfast Internet connection, 32GB of storage, and the debut of theAndroid Key Lime Pie operating system.

Nexus 5 rumours have been ramping up of late. But then the Nexus 4 only launched just before Christmas, so if Google announced its successor mere months later it would annoy all those who snapped up the original (especially if they had to wait weeks for it to be in stock.) Instead, it might bring out a slightly spruced-up version of the Nexus 4 to entice new customers without leaving existing ones royally peeved. That's the thinking behind the rumour, anyway.

[Source: CNET - Click here to read the full story]

RIP Mike Culbert, iOS and Newton pioneer

We've received direct word andnoted on Twitter that that Mike Culbert, a longtime Apple hardware engineer, has passed away after battling cancer. According to his friends, he was a "brilliant engineer, a wonderful human being." He will be missed.

Culbert began working at Apple over 25 years ago, ending up as VP of Architecture. His contributions include numerous patents for many iPhone and iPad innovations, we now take for granted. These include iOS video screen rotation, power saving patents, the ambient light sensor, digital content escrow for iTunes purchases, and more. He was also a key player on the Newton development team.

We at TUAW send our condolences to his family and friends.

[Source: TUAW]

SimCity update 2.0 hits April 22, offers bug fixes, enhancements -- still no offline mode

Although SimCity has become relatively stable following its problematic launch, there are naturally still ongoing bugs that the folks at EA Maxis have been working to fix. Thankfully, that version 2.0 update that was teased just over a week ago now has an arrival date of April 22 at 4PM ET. Included in the update are 26 bug fixes, along with data map color filters, a color-correct HUD for the colorblind setting and the action of mayors traveling from their mansions to their jobs. Sadly, an offline mode is still no more than wishful thinking, but at least that OS X version should still be on track for a June 11th release. You'll find all the details about your virtual city's soon-to-arrive enhancements at the source link -- expect some server downtime, by the way, when the update itself hits.

[Source: Engadget]

Samsung Galaxy S4 on 4GEE from EE

The Samsung Galaxy S4 on superfast 4GEE http://ee.co.uk/s4, featuring the world's first Full HD Super AMOLED display, Smart Pause, Group Play, Story Album, S Health, and Air Gesture. 

We're EE and we've brought you the UK's first superfast 4G mobile network, together with Fibre Broadband. Whether you're streaming HD TV, live multiplayer gaming, or watching a film, it'll be superfast, at home or on the go. Check out full details here.

iPhone 5S Front-Facing Camera Leaks Again

Just last week we published a story that included photos of several alleged parts of the iPhone 5S. Now, NoWhereElse has published a new image that reportedly shows us a glimpse of the front-facing camera module. The photos apparently first surfaced on a Japanese retailer’s website, and NoWhereElse says the part design “differs greatly from that of theiPhone 5.”

That could suggest that we’ll see a different industrial design with the iPhone 5S, although history tells us that it will maintain the same exact body as the iPhone 5. It’s possible that Apple’s just tweaking how it lays out the innards of the phone, perhaps to make room for other hardware changes.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Volkswagen iBeetle integrates the iPhone through a dock, an app... and that's it

Many see Apple and Volkswagen as two peas in a pod given their similar marketing, even if previous talk of collaborations amounted to little more than speculation. That purported dream team will soon become real through the iBeetle, an adaptation of the modern VW Bug designed with a little help from Apple. Don't get your hopes up for a tie-in on the level of VW's iPad-friendly Bulli concept, however. The integration mostly amounts to an iPhone dock as well as a car-optimized iOS app that can play music, read messages aloud, take photos and augment the instrument cluster. It's a solid idea, especially when a large number of us already use our smartphones this way, but it isn't very adventurous -- the iPhone won't coordinate extensively with the center stack, unlike smartphone-aware infotainment platforms such as GM's MyLink or Ford Sync. We'd still take a close look at the iBeetle when coupe and convertible models reach US dealerships in early 2014, but it may be best for those already bent on getting somefahrvergnügen from their next ride.

[Source: Engadget]

How Apple handles the data processed by Siri

After raising questions about Siri's privacy policy, Wired received a response from Apple spokeswoman Trudy Miller that confirmed Apple anonymizes Siri data and stores it for up to 24 months.

According to the Wired report, your iOS device records what you say to Siri and sends that clip to Apple's servers for analysis. As part of the voice recognition translation and response, Apple assigns a set of random numbers to the clip to identify the user from which it originated. This number is used during the back-end voice processing to make sure the response is sent back to the correct phone.

Apple stores this clip along with the random number for six months. After six months, the number is stripped from the file and the file is kept for up to 18 months.

The practice of storing anonymized data for several years is common among tech companies that handle large volumes of data. Wireless carriers, for example, keep select user data like text message history for up to five years.

[Source: TUAW]

Microsoft Hints It’s Working on 7-inch Surface

Microsoft CFO Peter Klein on Thursday confirmed the company is looking into smaller touch devices, further fueling speculation we’ll see a 7-inch Surface later this year. During an investor call, Klein said Microsoft is working closely with OEMs to create small touch-based Windows devices, which are expected to land with competitive pricing. Klein’s comments add more weight to a previous report from Intel CEO Paul Otellini about cheaper Windows 8 devices.

The Redmond-based company has been quietly inching its way toward smaller tablets, backed up by Microsoft changing its minimum tablet hardware requirements down to a resolution of 1024 x 768. Smaller tablets such as the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD 7 and iPad mini have all proved enormously popular over the traditional 9-inch and above size. They’re not only cheaper, but offer greater portability, making them easier and more pleasing to use in most cases.

Klein also noted during Microsoft’s earnings call on Thursday that he is departing the company at the end of the fiscal year.

Microsoft’s own Surface tablets haven’t exactly lit the market on fire, and OEMs have found it difficult to hock devices running Windows 8 and RT, so a change is definitely in order. While Klein’s comments don’t specifically call out tablets as a point of interest, it’s certainly a logical next step for the company to take. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company doesn’t have anything more to share right now, so perhaps we’ll see an announcement over the busy summer months.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]