Galaxy Note 3 Mini anyone? Three different sizes for the smartphone apparently spotted in document

A new Galaxy Note 3 report seems to suggest that Samsung is testing different sizes for its upcoming flagship smartphone, although it’s unclear at this point whether the company is actually thinking of launching the handset in different screen sizes.

While this is an unconfirmed rumor, it looks like there’s a document in the wild that lists shipments of several Galaxy Note 3 models with screen sizes of 5.5, 5.7 and 5.99 inches. This would match Samsung’s policy of launching a phone for almost every taste – just check out this year’s Galaxy S4 family.

Initially spotted by TechKiddy, the screenshot below comes from Indian logistics website Zauba, which shows the Galaxy Note 3 coming in three different sizes.

Considering the variety of Galaxy Note 3 rumors out there that are rather conflicting when it comes to display size – some older ones say 5.99-inch while newer ones say 5.7-inch – such a document makes some sense, and seems to indicate that Samsung may have not chosen the final design of the handset.

Similar reports concerning the nature of the display – flexible or not flexible – as well as fingerprint-reading technology have also circulated recently, suggesting that the design of the handset is far from final...

Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority

Where are Samsung’s high resolution tablets?

Most people would agree that behind battery life and performance, the display is the most important component in a mobile device. Even more so in a tablet, where the display is especially crucial. A screen resolution which looks great on a 4.5-inch smartphone won’t pull off the same effect on a 10-inch tablet. The main reason for that is something called pixels per-inch (PPI). 

The iPad 3’s Retina Display set a bar for other tablets to reach with a pixel density of 264 PPI, but then the Nexus 10 surpassed it with its 300 PPI display. On Thursday, the new Nexus 7 beat them all into a submission with its 323 PPI screen, so we are left a little perplexed by the lack of a high-resolution tablet from Samsung, the biggest Android OEM.

Sure the Nexus 10 is technically made by Samsung, but Samsung has yet to grace its Galaxy Tab range or even its Galaxy Note 10.1 with the same high-resolution display...

Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority

Apple Wins 'Brand of the Year' Awards in Smartphone, Tablet, and Computer Categories

Marketing research firm Harris Interactive has awarded Apple the title of “Brand of the Year” in the categories of smartphones, tablets, and computers, as first reported byVentureBeat. The distinction comes after a poll asking 38,500+ Americans about the perceptions of their favorite brands, in which Apple was placed above other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, Samsung, and HTC. 

 "Americans continue to give Apple brands strong ratings," says Manny Flores, Senior Vice President at Harris Interactive. "And while their Consumer Connection scores are strong within their respective categories, what really stands out is that in all three of the categories Apple brands are measured - Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone - its Brand Momentum scores are in the top 30 of all 1,500 brands evaluated in the study, showing that consumers see this as a brand of the future.

These awards come after BBC reported about a survey done by marketing group Added Value (AV), who claimed that Apple’s brand has become “less inspiring” among consumers.

Source: Mac Rumours

Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords

The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.

If the government is able to determine a person's password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.

"I've certainly seen them ask for passwords," said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We push back."

A second person who has worked at a large Silicon Valley company confirmed that it received legal requests from the federal government for stored passwords. Companies "really heavily scrutinize" these requests, the person said. "There's a lot of 'over my dead body.'"

Some of the government orders demand not only a user's password but also the encryption algorithm and the so-called salt, according to a person familiar with the requests. A salt is a random string of letters or numbers used to make it more difficult to reverse the encryption process and determine the original password. Other orders demand the secret question codes often associated with user accounts...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

The new Nexus 7 vs the competition, how does it stack up?

The new Nexus 7 was announced today and the Internet has been ablaze with the information all day. It’s a pretty impressive device and one that all Android fans have the potential to enjoy. It has amazing specs, a cheap price point, and best of all, it’ll be available on July 30. While it’s pretty much the common sentiment that the new Nexus 7 will be the best 7-inch tablet on the market when it gets released, we have to ask ourselves if it really is that much better.

With that in mind, here is a direct comparison with some of the more popular 7-inch tablets in the industry. For a full list of the new Nexus 7 specs, check out Andrew Grush’s earlier post detailing the official specs. For this comparison, we’ll take a look at the 5 major specs that people care about. Those are the screen, the CPU, the battery, the RAM, the storage, and the connectivity...

Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority

Apple to Discontinue iPhone 5 Alongside Launch of 5S and Plastic Models?

Korean site ETNews.com is reporting [Google translation] that Apple will be discontinuing production of the iPhone 5 in the fall, instead putting all of its efforts towards the iPhone 5S and the rumored entry-level plastic iPhone. 

Apple has been presumed to be discontinuing the iPhone 4 and 4S in order to make way for an all-Lightning iPhone lineup, allowing Apple to standardize around its latest connection standard and phase out the older 30-pin connector standard with the possible exception of the iPod classic, which has not been updated in a number of years. The fate of the current iPhone 5 has, however, not been the subject of much discussion as it has remained unclear whether the new lineup of iPhone 5S and plastic iPhone would leave room for Apple to continue offering an iPhone 5 model. 

Today's report claims that the in-cell technology used on the iPhone 5’s touchscreen is "not suitable for low-volume production", contributing to Apple's decision to stop production on the phone and focus all of its efforts toward producing parts for newer products. The iPhone 5 and 5S are, however, expected to share nearly identical display technology although leaked photos have a shown a change to the orientation of the flex cable connectors on the display assemblies. 

The iPhone 5S is reportedly scheduled to begin production later this month, with both that device and the lower cost iPhone rumored for launch in the September-October timeframe. 

Source: Mac Rumours

Chromecast: Google's best weapon to breach the TV biz

When it comes to its ambitions for television, Google's hoping that the third time's the charm.

This morning the company unveiled Chromecast. Google's latest foray into the television is a low-cost stick that plugs into a HDMI input to let a wide swath of smartphones, tablets, and devices using the Chrome browser seamlessly fling what they're playing onto the TV.

Google argues that it is solving a unique problem, but it really isn't. In fact, a myriad of devices already exist to do just that. But by coming out with a cheaper, more innovative offering, Google fired its loudest shot across the bow of Apple TV and all of the other streaming TV peripherals with the Chromecast. And at $35, it claims to have a winner.

The television is "the most immersive experience in the house," said Sundar Pichai, Google's head of Android, Chrome, and apps at the breakfast unveiling Wednesday in San Francisco. He noted more than 200 billion online videos are watched globally by users every month, and Netflix and YouTube combined represent nearly half of peak downstream Internet traffic in North America.

"It's very difficult to get your online media onto your television in your house," said Pichai.

True enough. It has been difficult, but largely only for Google...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

For Facebook, it still comes down to making money on mobile

When Facebook checks in with Wall Street for its quarterly review on Wednesday, it will hand in results for mobile advertising for just the fourth time and reveal its first full-year report card on revenue from mobile ads.

By most accounts, Facebook is expected to do well on the mobile front and make close to one-third of its advertising revenue from mobile placements, according to analysts' consensus. It would be a remarkable achievement, one that comes just in the nick of time to save Facebook from a decaying desktop business.

From zero to last-minute hero

RBC Capital Markets is particularly bullish on the subject and expects Facebook to pull in $487 million from mobile, which would be good enough for 34 percent of the firm's projected $1.43 billion second-quarter ad revenue estimate. Goldman Sachs holds a more conservative perspective and is predicting that Facebook will make $425 million in mobile ad revenue.

Whatever the number Facebook reports, it will be a marked improvement from the infinitesimal amount that Facebook made from mobile advertising at this time last year. Then, Facebook said it was bringing in $500,000 per day from mobile ads. Now, Facebook's mobile revenue may come in as high as $5.4 million a day, or up 980 percent from the year ago quarter...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

San Francisco District Attorney Impressed by iOS 7's Activation Lock Feature

After news that government officials would be testing the efficiency of iOS 7’s Activation Lock against thieves, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón has come out in support of the feature, saying that “clear improvements” have been made to stop criminals, according to the San Francisco Examiner. 

Last week, Gascón and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman brought in security experts from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center to test out Apple’s Activation Lock feature as well as Absolute Software’s Lojack service on the Samsung Galaxy S4 in order to determine how effective they are against thieves.

"I'm very optimistic that they came and were willing to share their technology with us," Gascón said in a statement, also noting that Microsoft and Google had not yet come forth with their plans to combat theft. Gascón did not detail how the specific features work, explaining that they were not yet finished.

Both attorneys called for the tests as a part of the Secure Our Smartphone (S.O.S) program that aims to stop the theft and black market resale of stolen mobile devices. While carriers have already established a database to track stolen phones, it has proven to be largely futile. Prior to these tests, Gascón and Schneiderman called for smartphones to have a kill switch that would disable them in the event of theft. 

Announced at WWDC, Activation Lock is set to be included in iOS 7, which is expected to be released to consumers this fall.

Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Updates 'Apple Store' iOS App, Possibly Laying Groundwork for Future Free Content Releases

Apple has released an updated version of its Apple Store app for the iPhone, which is said to include both performance enhancements and improved product search capabilities. The Apple Store app allows users to purchase Apple products quickly and efficiently on their iPhones. 

News of an upgrade first came to light last week, with a report that suggested Apple would begin offering free downloads within the App, including content from Apple’s iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore. 

While the app appears to be the same on the surface, it is entirely possible that Apple has included the framework that will support the addition of new deals and offerings within the app in the near future. 9to5Mac suggests the possibility that free content may only be shown when a customer is inside a brick-and-mortar Apple Store. 

Apple is said to be overhauling the app as part of its incentivization efforts designed to increase its number of in-store iPhone sales. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, iPhones are an important "gateway product" that lead customers to purchase other Apple products. 

At the current point in time, only a small percentage of iPhones are sold in Apple Stores, with the majority of sales coming from third party locations like carrier stores and electronics retailers. By offering free content in its Apple Store app, Apple can draw customers in to view and purchase additional Apple devices. 

In an effort to increase iPhone sales Apple has begun including the iPhone in its annual Back to School program, allowing eligible education customers to receive a $50 gift card that can be used to purchase music, books, or apps. 

Apple is also planning to implement a new iPhone trade-in program, which is designed to encourage users to upgrade to the latest models by offering a credit for used devices. 

Source: Mac Rumours

Mysterious HTC Zara to arrive alongside HTC One Max?

As Samsung prepares for the release of its Note 3, HTC is also getting ready to unleash two new devices of its own. The first of the handsets is known as the HTC One Max and is designed to compete directly against the Note series. The second is a previously unheard of handset by the name of Zara.

We’ll start by talking about the One Max, which we already know a great deal about.

For starters, the phone will feature a premium metal-body design similar to the HTC One. The handset is also said to have a 5.9-inch FullHD display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, UltraPixel camera and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

What about the HTC Zara? The latest report from China Times suggests that the handset will arrive in September alongside the One Max. Unlike the One Max, the HTC Zara trades in the premium metal body for a plastic design that is probably more akin to Samsung devices.

Unfortunately, beyond its plastic shell, next to nothing is known about the Zara. We can’t say what markets it is being aimed at, its pricing or even what kind of hardware or screen size the phone might possess.

What we do know is that September is shaping up to be an interesting month. Not only will we see Samsung’s latest Note, but now we have two interesting HTC devices to look forward to as well.

With HTC’s push towards higher-end metal bodies, would you still consider a plastic-bodied HTC handset if the specs were right for the money?

Source: Android Authority

U.S. Mac Sales Down in June Despite Introduction of New MacBook Airs

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has released a new report covering the full June quarter Mac and iPod sales data from market research firm NPD. 

According to the data, Apple's Mac sales came in down 5% year over year, despite the introduction of the newest Haswell-based MacBook Airs at this year's WWDC. During the same time period last year, Apple unveiled both upgraded MacBook Airs and the new Retina MacBook Pro, so it seems the lack of a refreshed MacBook Pro lineup may have impacted sales for the quarter. 

As with his previous reports, Munster notes that it remains difficult to extrapolate NPD data to Apple's global sales performance, but he views the June data as "neutral to slightly negative," down from slightly positive in a May report.

 We note that we had expected an uptick in Mac sales in the month of June given updated Macbook Airs at WWDC; however, Mac units were [down] 12% y/y for the month of June according to NPD. Based on the differences between NPD data and Apple reported Mac sales over the past few quarters, we note it is becoming more difficult to draw conclusions from NPD data.

Munster stands by his belief that iPads will continue to cannibalize Mac sales and sticks with his prediction of 5% year over year decline in Mac sales for the June quarter. Macs are currently responsible for less than 15% of Apple's total revenue. 

As for iPods, Munster's analysis of NPD data suggests that units are down 32% year over year, while the Piper Jaffray estimate suggests that sales are down 23% year over year on a global basis. However, as iPods only represent 2% of Apple's revenue, the overall impact of the sales decline is minor.

Source: Mac Rumours