Mobile Devices - Page 138

Something we keep hearing about is a bigger iPad, shifting from the 9.7-inch screen found on the full-sized iPad, to a 12.9-inch "iPad Pro". The latest report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is that Apple won't put it into mass production until Q2 2015.

Kuo says that Apple will use an oxide panel in the iPad Pro to hit a "high resolution, quick response, and high color saturation" and that it requires more time to make this happen for component yield and assembly. We don't know much else about the iPad Pro, apart from it having a bigger screen size - floating somewhere between 12.2 and 12.9 inches.

It should offer an A8X chip, Lighting connector, and hopefully something that differentiates it from the iPad and iPad Air.

Microsoft took a major step forward after releasing the Lumia 535 smartphone, its first handset without Nokia branding. The device is powered by Windows Phone 8.1 and will cost around $137, featuring a 5-inch qHD display screen, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

Microsoft purchased Nokia in April for $7.2 billion and wanted to move ahead without the Nokia branding - recently confirming that devices would be known as Microsoft Lumia.

Even if the company is able to release affordable, appealing smartphones, trying to compete against the Apple iPhone and Google Android smartphones will remain an uphill battle. Windows-powered smartphones only have 2.7 percent of the global smartphone market, according to Strategy Analytics, as its market share continues to drop.

Android 5.0 Lollipop will be splashing onto countless smartphones and tablets in the coming months, where we normally see Google's Nexus line of devices receiving the latest update, first. Not this time! Motorola's Moto X is the first smartphone to receive the deliciously-named OS, a first when it comes to Android updates.

Normally we would have seen the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 devices all receive their Lollipop updates, but it's Motorola's flagship smartphone that has it first. The HTC-made, NVIDIA-powered Nexus 9 already has Android 5.0, but that's the only device (up until now) that featured the new OS. Google's latest smartphone, the Nexus 6, isn't really available yet - so there's no smartphone on the market with Lollipop on it, apart from the Moto X.

The Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Moto X has been pulled - surprise, surprise - but it's great to see that a handset like the Moto X is receiving its update super quick. Let's hope that Sony, Samsung, HTC, LG and others can follow through with quick updates.

After their official meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing, the leaders of Russia and China got together and exchanged gifts. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, gave Xi Jinping, China's president, a smartphone. This wasn't any ordinary smartphone, it was a Russian-made, dual-screen smartphone (the world's first), known as the YotaPhone 2.

The handset that Putin gave Jinping was also a special edition version of the handset, something that included a data protection system that was designed by Russian engineers. This makes the phone "unique" in the way of safety, according to Rostec company, the firm who made the phone. Rostec has said that China's leader was the first person in the world to own the YotaPhone 2, with the official launch of the Russian-made handset to begin next month.

The YotaPhone 2 sports the world's first dual-screen, with one of its displays using electronic paper technology, being always-on, even with a drained battery. Some people refer to it as the "Russian iPhone", with the YotaPhone 2 selling at around $300.

We've been waiting for a much closer look at Google's super-interesting Project Ara modular smartphone technology, and thanks to Engadget Expand in NYC over the weekend, we're now getting a much closer look at the modular smartphone.

Project Ara was running an older version of Android during the event, something that will be fully updated to the latest version of Android before it reaches consumers' hands. Google's Advanced Technology Projects, and Project Lead on Project Ara, Paul Eremenko, showed off the ease of switching around the modules on the modular handset, something he called hot-swapping, which we should all be familiar with. He also teased how the Endoskeleton's bus will handle all of the hot-swapping of its components.

Eremenko also talked about an app that allowed the modules to be "ejected", which will turn off the electro-permanent magnet, allowing the module to be removed. There will also be another module on offer, something that will sport an LED that will allow you to read your pulse.

Texting while driving is a dangerous activity that can lead to traffic tickets and auto accidents, but 98 percent of drivers who own mobile phone and regularly text while driving say they are aware of the risks. Two-thirds of survey respondents say they read text messages when stopped at a stop sign or red light, with a quarter of survey respondents admitting they send and read texts while driving.

The survey also revealed motivations behind reading and sending texts while driving: 28 percent are worried they could miss out on something important, with a quarter also saying they don't believe their driving habits - and ability to pay attention to the road - are impacted.

Despite many states now having laws that make it illegal to read and send texts while driving, actual enforcement of these laws tends to be sporadic.

The Galaxy Note 4 is barely here, and here we are: talking about the Galaxy Note 5. Well, PhoneArena is reporting that the next Galaxy Note smartphone will sport a 5.9-inch 4K Super AMOLED display, which will be pushing 700PPI, with manufacturing to begin in August of 2015.

This puts it right into the time frame of the next Galaxy Note announcement, which is around September of every year. Samsung has confirmed the new 3840x2160 AMOLED panel for mobiles itself, during its Analyst Days presentations last year, as well as it telling the world at the Semiconductor and Display Technology Roadmap workshop back in January of this year.

What makes this interesting, is that a 5.9-inch 4K panel would be absolutely perfect for the Oculus Rift, and considering Samsung has a strong partnership with Oculus VR, this could be the display Oculus has been waiting for.

OnePlus has had quite the year, with its Smash the Past promotion, something it promoted right after unveiling the One itself, which had people around the world smashing their current smartphone for the sheer opportunity of getting the OnePlus One smartphone.

Second, was the referral program that had people inviting others to have the opportunity to buy a One smartphone, but now we're hearing the company has sold over 500,000 devices, with the aim now shifted to 1 million units. The company opened up its pre-order window for a single hour last month, which had their servers overloaded with requests. Now the company will be holding a similar event on November 17, where it hopes its servers will handle the load a little more.

During an interview with Forbes, co-founder and director of OnePlus, Carl Pei, said that they've sold 500,000 handsets, and hope to reach one million units before the end of the year. With OnePlus spending just $300 on marketing so far, I'd call that a success.

The tablet market in North America is extremely competitive, but the Apple iPad is completely dominating Web traffic, collecting 79.9 percent, according to Chitika.

The statistics don't include the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 tablets, as Chitika studied mobile advertising impressions in September, so it's possible Apple's lead could have extended. In the No. 2 position was the Amazon Kindle with 6.7 percent, and Samsung took the No. 3 spot with 6 percent.

"With Amazon, Apple, Google, Sony, and other brands all overhauling one or more of their tablet offerings in advance of the 2014 holiday shopping season, the North American market remains tremendously competitive," the Chitika report says. The group also says "early January may yield the most accurate picture of the post-holiday North American tablet ecosystem."

Reports are circulating that the recent failures of 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus models are due to the use of TLC NAND. Apple is the world's largest flash consumer, and has made a concerted effort to utilize technology to expand their use of less-desirable flash (ie 'cheap'). TLC NAND, which holds more bits per cell than MLC NAND, has a higher capacity than other types of NAND. Using cheaper flash provides Apple with better margins, and also helps during periodic flash shortages by expanding the pool of flash they can purchase.

Apple actually purchased Anobit in 2012 to integrate their MSP (Memory Signal Processing) technology, which extends endurance for less-desirable flash. It is rumored that the 128GB iPhone is one of the few select models that utilizes TLC NAND, and users are reporting widespread crashes or reboot loops. This problem has persisted even after the latest update to iOS 8.1. The problem may be confined to the NAND controller on the iPhone, but with no direct confirmation from Apple, users are left to speculate.

This news comes on the heels of problems with TLC-powered Samsung SSDs, but that problem was also relegated to a firmware bug. TLC is becoming a widely-used form of NAND, and NetApp is even developing TLC platforms for datacenter usage, so these teething problems are likely specific issues with endurance-extending techniques, such as DSP, wear leveling, and read-retry/disturb.

It seems Apple will not be able to rid itself of "BendGate" anytime soon, after saying just nine iPhone 6 Plus units were bent, with a website showing 300 bent devices. One of the Nine wanted to collect photos of bent iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units from customers, and while there wasn't a lot of publicity to promote the website, more than 300 photos were collected.

It's possible some iPhone owners haven't reported the problem - or are unaware it has happened - but considering the millions of devices sold, Apple is quietly trying to resolve the problem that has hit a small number of owners.

"We are most definitely not anti-Apple though and I am a massive Apple product user myself and an iPhone 6 Plus owner (yes... it bent)," according to the website's founder.

Acer has an impressive new tablet on its hands with the new Switch 12, which is a 5-in-1 device that is marketed as a 2-in-1. The Switch 12 features a 12.5-inch Full HD IPS display, with an anti-fingerprint coating and Gorilla Glass for ultimate protection. From there, Acer is using Zero Air Gap bonding technology, which should improve viewing angles, and display performance in direct sunlight.

Acer's new Switch 12 tablet is powered by Intel's super power-efficient Core M processor, which is joined by 4GB of RAM, a choice of 30GB or 120GB of SSD storage, dual front-facing speakers, micro USB 3.0, and micro HDMI ports, as well as 2x2 MIMO wireless technology. Battery life is something Acer has worked on, with up to eight hours of video playback, and Windows 8.1 slapped on for its operating system.

Switch 12 features a kickstand, as well as a magnetic, latch-less detchable keyboard. The company teases that it has five modes of operation: notebook, pad, display, tent and desktop. The company hopes to launch the Switch 12 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa during Q4, starting at a price of $813 or so, while the US and Canada should receive the Acer Switch 12 sometime early next year.

Former California Highway Patrol officer Sean Harrington, based out of the Dublin, California office, surrendered to authorities on Monday. Harrington faces two counts of felony theft of computer data for stealing private photos from smartphones of people in police custody, and he recently resigned from the CHP. Harrington admitted to taking photos from around a "half dozen" female arrestees, with photos and commentary shared among several other officers.

Apparently, Harrington and several other officers thought it was a "game" to share photos of women, sending the photos to one another. In the most recent incident, a 23-year-old woman was arrested for suspected DUI and provided the officer her phone password so he could retrieve a phone number for her. While using her phone, Harrington sent photos to an officer, which the arrested female discovered when using her iPad after she was released from jail.

Here is what Michael Rains, Harrington's attorney, said to the local media: "You talk about paying the price for something you once called a game. You can't pay too much of a price for that, and frankly, it's not over. The women who were victimized by this deserve to be angry and upset because it's not a game, it's a serious matter."

Here we are, living in a world of Apple only just reaching 1920x1080 on its latest iPhone 6 Plus, while Japan's Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) working with Nokia on some truly groundbreaking OLED display prototypes. Back in June, the two unveiled a 5.9-inch 1280x720 (720p and 249 PPI) display that could be folded in two, or in three - with two different prototypes being used.

Well, SEL are back, showing off a new 8.7-inch AMOLED, with the resolution cranked up to 1920x1080 (1080p and 254 PPI). These new panels are touch-capable, and can be tri-folded with the single prototype. SEL has done this by utilizing their CAAS-OS (C-Axis Aligned Crystalline Oxide Semiconductor) backplane, as well as a WRGB structure. The panels themselves are less than 100μm thick, weighing just 6 grams.

SEL was also teasing their new super-high-resolution AMOLED display, which was just 2.8 inches, with a resolution of 2560x1440 - this provides the tiny little OLED display with a PPI of 1058. The company had a large viewfinder on-hand to better show off its incredible technology.

The Amazon Fire smartphone was launched in July, and while it received a tremendous amount of hype, the phone fell completely flat. Amazon suffered a $170 million hit, mainly due to the Fire phone and associated supplier hardware costs, with the company also holding on to a whopping $83 million in unsold Fire units.

The 32GB model launched at $199, while the 64GB model originally cost $299 - typical pricing for new smartphone launches - but the company, which is well known for offering consumers cost-friendly prices, decided not to undercut Samsung, Apple, and other smartphone rivals.

Here is what David Limp, Amazon SVP of devices, recently noted in an interview: "I think people come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations. We thought we had it right. But we're also willing to say, 'we missed.' And so we corrected."

Apple and other mobile payment providers are preparing for a long-term battle in the mobile payments sector, but it will ultimately be up to consumers to determine a winner. As additional retailers begin to embrace NFC-enabled mobile payments, their competitors will watch closely - and likely follow suit - offering the same type of payment services.

Mobile payments aren't new, but it appears Apple Pay and the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) CurrentC appear to be the two most serious competitors at the moment. As Apple Pay is available to a large number of US consumers, CurrentC - supported by Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, and a collective group of more than 50 major retailers - will have to take a more creative marketing approach to win over consumers.

"This skirmish will go on for a while, but ultimately it seems shortsighted to tell customers that you can't use their competitor's alternative," said Creditcards.com analyst Matt Schulz. "The baseline really is the credit card. The process of using one is still very easy, so everything compares to that."

Global smartphone shipments topped 320 million units during Q3 2014, with the Google Android operating system capturing 84 percent of global market share, according to Strategy Analytics. Considering Android's appeal, and low cost to deploy for phone manufacturers, Apple, Microsoft and BlackBerry are struggling to try to compete.

Not surprisingly, Apple iOS was in the No. 2 spot with 39.3 million shipments, while Microsoft Windows was in No. 3 with 10.5 million global shipments in Q3. BlackBerry, the long-time smartphone king before the iPhone emerged, trailed with just 2.3 million shipments, as the company flirts with bankruptcy - and continued buyout rumors.

Here is what Neil Mawston, executive director of Strategy Analytics, said in a press release: "Android's leadership of the global smartphone market looks unbeatable at the moment. Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide. However, challenges are emerging for Google. The Android platform is getting overcrowded with hundreds of hardware brands, Android smartphone prices are falling worldwide, and few Android device vendors make profits."

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is now the No. 3 smartphone manufacturer in the world, trailing behind only Apple and Samsung. Described as "China's Apple," it continues to be an impressive run for Xiaomi, which has surpassed Lenovo and LG, after manufacturing smartphones for just three years.

Here is what IDC noted about Xiaomi: "Xiaomi jumped into the top 5 list for the first time at the number 3 position thanks to its focus on China and adjacent markets, which resulted in triple-digit year-over-year growth. Key to its success was the launch of its Mi4 smartphone in August, which was positioned as a high-end alternative to the status quo. What remains to be seen is how quickly can move beyond its home territories to drive volumes higher."

It seems inevitable that Xiaomi will try to invade the United States and Western Europe in the future - but with Apple and Samsung having so much success in these markets - Xiaomi will invest additional time to ensure a stranglehold in China and other parts of Asia first.

Half of traffic to the YouTube video sharing website is generated from mobile users, a 10 percent increase the last time YouTube offered public numbers. Mobile users can enjoy a mobile version of the website, or download an app that allows them to access YouTube without being in a Web browser.

Here is what YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki recently confirmed: "Mobile is super important. I think it's important for every business right now."

YouTube reportedly is interested in an ad-free, subscription-based service - helping generate additional revenue - as Google struggles to woo advertisers to mobile. In addition, the company will likely launch a music service sometime in the near future, indicating Wojcicki's team is ready to get more creative to make new long-term revenue streams.

If you enjoyed Outlast, you're going to enjoy this news: Red Barrels, the developer behind the game, has confirmed it is working on a sequel for the hit horror game.

Red Barrels' co-founder and designer, Philippe Morin, confirmed with Bloody Disgusting, that they are working on Outlast 2. Morin said that once the team was finished with the Xbox One version of Outlast back in June, the team "quickly realized we had at least another horror game in us". He continued: "The game will be a survival horror experience and it will take place in the same universe as Outlast but it will have different characters and a different setting. We might go back to Mount Massive Asylum one day, but for now we have new ideas and themes we'd like to explore and we think we're cooking up something special".

He didn't provide too many details on what the sequel will offer, but did say it will be an "emotional ride". The Montreal-based studio has internal hopes of scaring its own team, so prepare your pants, people.