Mobile Devices - Page 145

Every year around this time, the rumors about Apple's next-generation iPhone begin to flow in what can only be described as a monsoon of information. Usually many of those rumors never pan out, but when Securities Analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo speaks, we usually stop what we are doing and listen to what he has to say. This is because his track record for Apple leaks has been flawless, and his predictions always come true.

In a statement today, Ming-Chi Kuo says that the iPhone 6 model will feature a 4.7-inch screen, and will not feature a full 1080p resolution but rather, a pitiful 1334x750-pixel resolution. This means that Apple has yet again failed to see that consumers want HD screens, and as Android makers prepare 1440p-screens for phones later this year, Apple is once again several years behind the curve.

Additionally, Kuo said that the new iPhone 6 will feature an Apple A8 processor and just 1GB of RAM, further limiting iOS developers in how resource intensive they can build their apps. Accompanying the larger screen will be a thinner profile, with the new device losing a few millimeters in thickness. Kuo also states that based on supply partners, Apple will finally bring NFC to the iPhone.

This time last year, Apple's executives were worried that "consumers want what we don't have" when it comes to smartphones - more specifically, larger screens or much cheaper handsets - both of which are plentiful in the Android camp.

Apple execs had noticed a rapidly decelerating growth in its sales, even while the company was selling record numbers of iPhone's. Thanks to the Apple vs. Samsung trial, we're seeing much more information about the company, and its plans to release a bigger iPhone.

The one thing Apple is going to have against itself when (and not if) it releases a bigger iPhone, is that in its previous ads and sales pushes for the previous iPhone's, is that you could use it with one hand. Apple seemed content with the 3.5- and 4-inch screen sizes on the current and previous iPhone's, but when it comes to the next-gen iPhone, all of that talk of using it with one hand is going to be thrown out the window. So when Apple says it is scared its consumers want something it doesn't half - they are right - consumers do want something different.

Nokia has rolled out a new Bluetooth speaker that is interesting in that it is able to improve the bass response using any flat surface. Nokia says that hard surfaces are particularly good for improving the bass, and all you need to do is set the speaker down or it to work. The MD-12 has a built-in vibration actuator that allows it to produce a surprising amount of bass for its size.

Power for the MD-12 comes from a rechargeable battery and it can run for 15 hours per charge. That should be plenty of time for you to play music on the go. The device also has an integrated microphone so it can be used as a speakerphone.

Bluetooth technology links the speaker to a mobile device and NFC tech is integrated too. NFC makes it easy to pair a device supporting NFC. The compact speaker weighs 180g and promises big bass and sound thanks to its vibration actuator. For devices that lack Bluetooth, a 3.5mm connector is available and the cable is included.

When Nokia chose not to unveil any new devices at Mobile World Congress 2014, it was unclear if the company would release any more new phones before its acquisition by Microsoft is finalized. Fortunately for Windows Phone fans, that was not the case. During today's Build Conference, Nokia launched several new Lumia Windows Phones including its new flagship the Lumia 930.

The Nokia Lumia 930 is of course the successor to the Lumia 920, and comes to the table with an entirely new setup that I am sure Lumia fans will love. The 930 features a 5-inch full HD screen which is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 3, along with new touch-screen technology that enables it to work with normal gloves.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 is along for the ride and features a core clock of 2.2GHz, while 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage round out the core hardware. Windows 8.1 is on board and a new 20-megapixel rear camera handles all of your imaging duties. This camera is also capable of 1080p video at 30fps as well. Nokia says that the new Lumia 930 will cost consumers $599 off-contract, which puts it into the $199 rage on a 2-year contract.

With spring fresh in the air in the northern hemisphere, its that time for things to begin blooming once again. However, I am not talking about flowers and trees, I am talking about rumors of Apple's next-generation iPhone. A new report from RedmomdPie is suggesting that Apple will be pushing the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 into mass production beginning sometime in May, but the 5.5-inch iPhone 6S will not be headed to production until later in the summer due to delays.

RedmondPie cites Reuters as the source of the info, which says that its contacts within the Asian manufacturing industry have said that Apple has began pushing out orders to its supply chain for the components that make up the iPhone 6. While I am inclined to take this news as mostly speculation, it is about time for the Cuppertino-based company to begin building up stock if it plans on launching a new phone this year, but with the iPhone 5C being such a major flop, will apple actually bring a second device to market for its sixth iteration of the iPhone? What do you think? Will we see 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone's hit the market later this year?

phLast summer it was Samsung that got caught cheating the system when it came to 3DMark benchmark scores, and it appears that HTC has now decided to follow a similar path with its new HTC One M8. 3DMark has delisted the new phone from its ranking system after research and testing was conducted by AnandTech that proved the M8 was falsely bumping performance when publicly available benchmarks were ran.

HTC was caught by a version of 3DMark that is not available to the public but otherwise identical to the public version showed results that were 15-percent lower than those ran on the detectable public version of the benchmark. This means that HTC is boosting performance when it detects 3DMark is running. This is a direct violation of Futuremark's rules and as such, it pulled all results from its 3DMark website.

HTC says that it does optimize performance when running benchmarks and that the deception is a feature as it shows the phones maximum performance. "Our engineers optimize in certain scenarios to produce the best possible performance. If someone would like to get around this benchmarking optimization there are ways to do so, but we think most often this will not be the case," said HTC. The issue is that 3DMark does not seek to discover a phones maximum performance, but rather its real-world performance. This means that the benchmark must be ran under normal everyday conditions.

A new patent filed by Apple is lending some insight into the companies future plans for its iPhone and iPad mobile devices. The patent shows that Apple has came up with a concept that would see DSLR-like interchangeable lenses attaching to a bayonet-style mount surrounding the camera. Add-on lenses for the iPad and iPhone have been around since the first iPhone launched, and now it looks like Apple wants to cash in on those accessories.

The bayonet mounting method has several advantages over some of the magnetic, and clip-on designs that are already on the market as it gives Apple a way to ensure that the lens is perfectly aligned with the iPhone's camera sensor every time. This will improve image quality, and allow Apple a licensing avenue that would force lens makers to pay Apple for the rights to create lenses to mount onto the new iPhones. In the end, I feel that this is exactly what Apple was going for, and I actually think that they will release this mount in the form of a case rather than built into the camera.

A few days ago, we mentioned that some images had leaked that were supposed to be a new line of tablets from Samsung. Samsung has now made those Galaxy Tab4 tablets official. There are three different tablet models in the series, and they are all very similar.

The only real differences between the tablets are the screen size and the battery capacity. All three tablets can be had in Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and mobile broadband equipped versions. They all use a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and have screens with 1280 x 800 resolution. All three offerings also use Android 4.4 for the operating system. Rear cameras have 3MP resolution with the front camera having 1.3MP resolution.

Rounding out the feature list for the trio is Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and Glonass. The quad-core processors are paired with 16GB of internal storage and 1.5GB of RAM on all units. They also all have microSD card slot for expansion.

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets connected to the Internet open the door to home automation services, according to the Home Automation Study from The NPD Group.

The study found that 88 percent of mobile device users are familiar with current home automation devices, a full 10 percent higher than regular consumers. Furthermore, four-out-of five own a smartphone, tablet or some type of mobile device - and because of this, home automation adoption could continue to grow.

"Mobile connectivity has enabled products from programmable thermostats to home security systems, to be controlled remotely, thus increasing their appeal and utility," said Ben Arnold, The NPD Group industry executive director, in a statement. "Another key part to this growing industry is the app ecosystem which allows consumers to use one device to monitor and control multiple products."

It's been a few months since Google first released Android 4.4, and the updated mobile operating system is now on many of the current handset models out. As with any new major release, a handful of bugs have been discovered, and it appears that Google is aiming to fix them with the next update to the software.

Android 4.4.3 has been rumored to be headed to release for a few weeks now, and it appears that Google is closer to its unveiling that previously thought. AndroidPolice has discovered the unofficial changelog of the 4..4.3 build, and based on what it shows, the build will mainly be a bug-fixer. This is nothing new for Google, as it likes to keep the major changes and new features tucked away for major release updates. AndroidPolice has also posted a screenshot of 4.4.3 running on a Nexus 5, which could mean that the update is coming down the pipes quite soon.

Like most guys, I typically have a few things in my front pocket. I like to carry my wallet there so I don't have to sit on it while I drive or work. I also have my smartphone in a pocket most of the time and a car key. I may misplace the car key more than I like to admit, but I always have my wallet and smartphone on me.

I bet most guys are the same way so a good place to put a battery to keep your smartphone going longer would be in the wallet. That doesn't sound like something that would work, but Hamamcher Schlemmer has done just that. The company has a new Smartphone Charging Wallet that has a smallish 680 mAh battery inside.

That battery can be purchased in two versions with one having a charge cable for the iPhone built-in and the other having a charger for Android and other devices. The wallet itself is made from calfskin and has plenty of slots for credit cards and cash.

LG unveiled a new smartphone last month at Mobile World Congress called the G2 Mini. The smartphone is a solid mid-range offering that was promised for a global launch this month. This week marked the launch that mid-range device.

The G2 mini has a 4.7-inch screen and a nice 2440 mAh internal battery that is removable. Removable batteries are a big deal for smartphone users who spend a lot of time on the phone and away from an outlet. With a removable battery, you can swap batteries and keep working.

The phone uses a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor and has 8GB of internal storage. The resolution of that 4.7-unch screen is 960 x 540. The Qualcomm processor is paired with 1GB of RAM and the G2 mini has a memory card slot for storage expansion.

Leaks are something everyone has come to expect when it comes to new mobile devices that are preparing for launch. Take the recently launched HTC One M8 for example, the device was leaked several weeks in advance, and almost every single rumor and leaked imaged turned out to be 100-percent accurate. While companies like HTC and Samsung may not care much about early leaks, BlackBerry appears to not only care, but putting a plan into action to snub would-be leaksters before they have a chance to divulge product information.

BlackBerry's CEO, John Chen, said that he is no longer taking leaks of the company's products lightly, and anyone caught leaking images, products, or any IP will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. While he did not mention what recent leak has him so fired up, we suspect that it was the recent outing of the upcoming BlackBerry 10.3 build and a string of smaller leaks that divulged upcoming project codenames.

"One of the most frustrating things for all of us at BlackBerry is when a critical and confidential project is reported in the media before we are ready to discuss it. Leaks are, at their best, distracting, and at their worst downright misleading to our stakeholders. The business implications of a leak are seldom advantageous," Chen said in the company's blog. "This is why I want to make you aware that, right now, we are pursuing legal action against a party who stole confidential information about a future BlackBerry product and made that information public. This person falsely posed as an employee of one of our carrier partners to obtain access to secured networks."

The geeks over at iFixit laid their hands-on the original HTC One smartphone last year and gutted the bugger to see what it looked like on the inside. They found out right away that if you broke the original HTC One, you would have a hard time repairing it. In fact, the HTC One scored a lowly 1 out of 10 for reparability.

iFixit has their hands-on the newly launched HTC One (M8) and are hoping for a reparability improvement. Early on, it looked like HTC might have made the smartphone easier to report when the back cover used spring contacts rather than cables. However, it was soon clear that the remainder of the M8 was no better than the original when it comes to being able to repair.

Many of the parts inside the smartphone use glue that is hard to remove. If you break the screen, which is sadly common for many smartphone users, you have to remove every component inside the M8 to get to the screen. Some of those components are even glued to the screen backing.

Over the last few weeks, there have been several rumors pop up on the internet that suggested that HTC would release the new HTC One M8 just hours after launch. As it turns out, those rumors were true, and during this mornings launch event, HTC said that you can buy your very own HTC One M8 right now. Verizon has an exclusive on the in-store purchases for the next 12 days, so that means that you can head over to a Verizon Wireless store right now and buy an HTC One for $199.99 on a 2-year contract or for $599.99 off contract.

HTC says that all major US and Canada carriers are now offering the HTC One M8 on sale via their websites, but as of this writing, only Sprint and AT&T have the M8 listed for sale. Pricing is the same as Verizon, with $199 on contract being the norm and about $600 being listed as the going rate for off contract purchases. I was unable to find a M8 listing on T-Mobile, but I am sure it will show up there soon. AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are all offering the phone on their respective payment plans as well, with the average monthly cost between $25 and $30.

Today HTC officially launched it's next flagship, the completely refreshed HTC One M8. The new flagship is said to continue upon the path of excellence that HTC experienced with the 2013 edition of the One, and includes many new features that make this the best smartphone on the market. Boasting a new 5-inch full HD display, the phone features a powerful 2.3GHz quad-core processor from Qualcomm, and 2GB of RAM to keep things running smoothly.

Unlike its predecessor, the HTC One M8 features an microSD card slot to augment the 16GB or 32GB of on-board storage. The new HTC One M8 does in fact feature the dual rear camera system we have seen in leaks over the past month, and the pair make for some awesome new photographic features. The larger main camera handles traditional photo duties while its smaller counterpart is tasked with figuring out what is where in the photograph. This depth perception feature allows the M8 to do some clever tricks such as refocusing images after they are taken, or even create that high-end Bokeh (background blur) effect that was previously only possible on high-end cameras.

The HTC One M8 comes with an entirely new sixth iteration of its Sense UI, which has cleverly been dubbed "Sixth Sense." This new version of HTCs Sense UI is more ascetically refined, and features a few interchangeable color schemes that causes stubble changes in the colors displayed on things like the phone dialer, gallery app, and the quick settings screen. BlinkFeed also gets a refresh and its API is now open to developers to allow deeper integration with more apps, feeds, and news. Overall BlinkFeed's UI has been redesigned as well, and features larger story blocks, and less clutter. BlinkFeed can also be turned off now, unlike its always-on version in Sense 5.5.

Last November, Futuremark made the announcement that it would be de-listing the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note III from its 3DMark benchmarking results. This drastic action was taken because of some shady, behind the scenes code that was implemented on the devices that made them appear to perform better in benchmarking than they actually did. Several other phones were caught up in this scandal, but things have changed with the roll-out of Android 4.4.2 KitKat to these two devices.

"That decision (To de-list the Samsung devices from results) won us lots of praise from 3DMark users, even from those who owned one of the delisted models. We knew that de-listing would send a message to manufacturers too. We hoped it would encourage them to be fair and honest with their customers," said Futuremark. "After conducting our own testing, I can confirm that the Galaxy Note III and Galaxy S IV now conform to our benchmark rules when running the Android 4.4 update provided by Samsung."

Samsung Galaxy S IV

Following a story indicating the White House will jump ship away from BlackBerry, follow-up reports indicate that BlackBerry will remain in the Oval Office.

The Department of Defense is reportedly testing smartphones from Samsung and LG, likely running the Google Android operating system, and losing the White House would be a major loss for the struggling Canadian smartphone maker. A White House spokesperson told the Washington Post that there is no pilot program currently underway to leave BlackBerry in favor of Samsung or LG devices.

A statement released by BlackBerry:

ABI Research is a research firm that keeps a close eye on various markets in the technology world. The company has released a new report looking at the tablet market around the world for 2014. ABI is estimating that 200 million tablets will ship this year.

If that proves to be true, it will represent a 20% gain compared to 2013. In 2013, there were 166 million tablets shipped. The research firm is also predicting that North America will account for less than 50% of all global tablet shipments in 2014 for the first time.

That change is because tablet makers have spent significant money expanding their shipments and marketing into other countries. Intel has a chance to become a big factor in the tablet realm in 2014 according to ABI. If Intel can pull off its goal of shipping 40 million tablets using its processor tech it will become a major force in the tablet market.

A year ago, when HTC announced its flagship, the HTC One, the tech world was set ablaze with some of the revolutionary and unique features that this next-gen Android phone had. Unfortunately the company took more than two months to actually bring the phone to market, and by then, most of the buzz that was generated, had already died down, and everyone had refocused onto Samsung's Galaxy S4. Despite rave reviews, and claims of the One being the best phone ever, HTC suffered greatly as a result of the delayed release.

Today one of the largest retailers of HTC devices, Carphone Warehouse, leaked PR documentation that showed that it would be offering the HTC One for sale immediately after the phone is officially launched on March 25th. It does appear that HTC will first focus its marketing efforts on the UK in an attempt to boost sales of its upcoming flagship in the UK, while Americans will have to wait until April to pick up the smartphone.

In case you missed the ten previous post we have on the new 2014 HTC One, here is a refresher. The phone will feature a 5-inch 1080P display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, and 2GB of RAM. Android 4.4.2 will be on board as well as Sense 6.0, and a new version of BlinkFeed. Dual cameras will be located in the rear to aid in special imaging effects, and a 5-megapixel front facing camera will be featured as well. This time around, HTC will include a microSD slot to expand storage too.