12/10/2012

Amazon has confirmed they sell their devices at cost!

   Amazon has today confirmed that they sell their tablet and eReader hardware at cost. Their CEO, Jeff Bezos said to the BBC ""We sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break-even on the hardware." 

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25/09/2012

The news in brief:

• RIM has announced that carrier testing for their BB10 devices will begin in approximately A months time. So the company is on for a 2013 release! The company has also announced that they will have native support for Twitter, Facebook, Four square and many more social platforms from launch!

• Google has announced that any work on a version of iOS6 maps until they get a special invite from Apple to do the work. Eric Schmidt said it was up to Apple whether the iPhone 5 and other devices would get Google maps. Schmidt said that Google would "welcome" Apple's cooperation but said that "we have not done anything yet" to prepare a new version, so looks like you'll have to make do with iOS maps guys.

• Apple A6 teardown reveals the chip has a dual-core CPU and a tri-core GPU configuration.

• Apple have also announced today that scratches on their aluminium backed iPhone 5 are 'normal' and should be expected. Are you going to let Apple sell this excuse to you as a sign of uniqueness?

• Today some of Samsung's Galaxy series of phones, particularly ones which had been 'Touchwiz-ed' were found to be vulnerable to a simply html code which would automatically reset the phone. The issue currently affects the Galaxy Beam, S Advance, Galaxy Ace, and Galaxy S II. However, the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus, which runs stock Android, is not susceptible. Neither is Samsung's latest beast, the Galaxy S3. “The USSD code issue in the SGS3 is patched, and has been for some time” TeamAndIRC said. “Current i747 [AT&T Galaxy S III] and i9300 [European Galaxy S III] firmware are not vulnerable.”
  
  Samsung has yet to comment on 'dialer-gate' but good things come to those who wait! We'll keep you updated.

• The Samsung Galaxy Note II is launching in the UK on October 1st.

And finally, here's a lovely little video from RIM explaining why they love their devs! It's kinda catchy!

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19/09/2012

HTC announces the 8X and the 8S, fresh new Windows Phones!

 Today HTC has released to the world two new phone, both powered by Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8 operating system. Both of which will be branded as Microsoft 'Signature devices',

 

The HTC 8X

   The HTC 8X (as it’s likely to be known) has a 4.3-inch Super LCD II 720p display, which equates to 341ppi! A 1.5GHz dualcore Snapdragon S4 chipset, 8-megapixel f2/0 BSI camera and twin amps for its Beats Audio integration.

   On top of this there's Gorilla Glass and an optical lamination touchscreen, 16GB of internal storage (though no microSD card slot), WiFi a/b/g/n, NFC, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and the usual sensors; digital compass, GPS, accelerometer and so on . Yes there's LTE on board, but only if you're a North American resident, those of us in Europe will be getting a HSPA+/DC-HSDPA variant.

The HTC 8S

   There's a more affordable alternative too, which comes in the shape of the HTC 8S. A solid little phone which offers a 4-inch WVGA display (480x800pixels), a 1GHz dualcore S4 chipset, a 5-megapixel f/2.8 camera, and a microSD slot to give the 4gb of internal storage a boost.

   The 5MP shooter will only be capable of 720p, but if you're in the market for this sort of phone you can't expect to have all the goodies!

   Both of these stunning phones go on sale in November, with the HTC 8X being up for sale on 126 operators in 50 countries, and the HTC 8S on more than 146 operators in 52 countries. 

   Us UK residents can get them both on; Three, Orange, T- Mobile, Vodafone, O2, and Virgin Media, unlocked versions will obviously be available too!

   In the US, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will be offering the phones1 The rest of Europe meanwhile will be able to buy them from Vodafone, Orange, and T-Mobile.

  And even further afield you can get them on Telstra, Vodafone Australia, Singaport Telecoms, Chunghwa Telecom, Smartone, Optus, and Telecom NZ in Asia-Pacific region!

In other news:

• Apple has release iOS6 to the world today! Go get updating guys!

• Nokia has blasted HTC over their announcement of the new 8X and 8S today saying "Instead of changing a product name, we’re changing the game with benefits like PureView, nav & wireless charging” Nokia executive vice president of sales and marketing Chris Weber tweeted. “It takes more than matching color to match the innovation of the Lumia 920.” Slightly harsh but we can see his point.
  
  Perhaps some of his upset stems from the fact HTC's new phones are “signature Windows Phones” and Microsoft has agreed to use HTC’s handsets for its promotional material and advertising for Windows Phone 8. Steve Ballmer did rave on about how the new smartphones embodied WP8 today.
  
  To be fair to Nokia they do offer a suite of exclusive apps, such as Nokia Music and Nokia Transport, they have their own maps and HTC has chosen to just use the bare bones of Microsoft's new OS with their attempts, so we can understand their criticism.

• Are you interested in Samsung's new Galaxy Note 2? Well if you live in the United States then you will be able to get it from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular!

• There's been rumours today that LG's Optimus G, which is set for a November release, will become Google's new Nexus device by the time it's release date rolls around. It's very possible indeed, but remember we might be getting multiple Nexus devices this time!

And finally, Acer has unleashed a new Iconia Tab on Europe, it's the A110. The device is a seven-inch tablet running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and rocking an Nvidia Tegra 3 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. The tablet has a solid screen resolution of 1024 x 600 and 1 GB of RAM. There's 8GB of internal storage and a SD card slot. If you live in the UK it'll set you back £180!

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Apple, the next iPhone and the future.

   Some things happen once a year; Christmas, Easter, your birthday, your anniversary or your family holiday! In the same category is Apple's iPhone release! (Obviously it's importance equals the previous bunch!).

Wouldn't you love it to look like this?

   Every year since the iPhone's inception this one event has generated huge intrigue, excitement and some degree absurdity; it's a moment everyone reports on and everyone reads. Apple have managed to create a level of hype around this annual release that the IDC reported the company's sales have slumped recently as consumers hold their cash for the next version of the iPhone to land!

   But, what does Apple's iPhone need to be to maintain their dominance and hold the position of the highest selling single handset?

   Before we tackle that it's worth remembering that Apple makes and sells millions of devices at premium price points and it's this premium that means they cannot afford to get complacent! The iPhone 4S was widely viewed as a disappointment; on the surface the device didn't change, the internals changed slightly. Some viewed it as Apple putting in minimum effort, others viewed it as a genius stroke and asked why change something that is 'exceptional' already? Apple can't afford for the next device to be average, it needs to blow people away again.

Who needs to be wow-ed?

   You may ask why? Yes Apple will always have that core of people who buy anything Apple produces, the fanboys, if you will. But, Apple has competent challengers like never before. There are lots of people out there who have had their heads to Samsung's high end devices and the wonders of Android. I'm sitting in a room now with, 5 Samsung phones, a HTC and a dumbphone. The Samsung's sales to us have included 2 Galaxy S3's and some lower-end Android powered phones.

"It's very hard to justify buying an iPhone 4S over a Galaxy S3, unless you're very heavily invested in iOS."

   We are the people Apple needs to win back with larger, more appealing devices because at the moment it's very hard to justify buying an iPhone 4S over a Galaxy S3, unless you're very heavily invested in iOS. Apple must reverse this to ensure their dominance. The next iPhone needs to wow people in a way the 4S doesn't when faced with the competition.

Apple releases the iPhone at a challenging time of year!

   It's also worth remembering that Apple's releases are effectively half a year behind HTC, Samsung, LG and their crop of Android power houses. HTC and LG tend to release their phones in late January/early February, while Samsung has their Galaxy S range announcements in May. These guys have a whole half a year to offer up superior phones before Apple can come back with something just as good. Apple should try to best these competitors with their September release instead of playing catch up to the ones that their competitors just release! So please bare in mind that next year will usher in quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro's as standard, 1080p screen as standard, so the iPhone will have some serious competition within 5 months and the new 'set' of Nexus' within a couple of months of the release!

Will patents affect anything?

   There's not just pressure from other companies devices, Apple as a whole company needs to be wary of patent lawsuits too. If the company decides to go on an offensive and get hoards of devices banned from sale for various reasons they will become 'the bad guy' and consumers will start to punish them. But, this is something Apple should have the foresight to both predict and avoid. This is pretty much the only way Apple can go wrong with the next iPhone!

   So what would TheTechFella like to see from Apple's 'new iPhone'. Well if I had my way I would have a lot more than we're expecting.

What I want!

Which would you go for?

• I would love to see Apple step up to a 4.3" screen, this is almost the perfect size for ease of handling and giving you ample size to read everything you need to on your phone. 
• On top of this I would love to see a good processor in this one, maybe the A5X or even a slightly more updated version of this chipset!
• On the storage front there has to be a minimum of 16GB's of storage and an SD card would be a dream come true, but it'll probably remain as just that, a dream.
• A metal chassis would be good, but anything that will make iPhone's less likely to smash than the current crop is!
• A metal chassis doesn't have to be dull and understated either! What about a range of colours like the iPod's have?!

This is something like what Apple will release!

What we'll probably get!

• A 4" Retina display.
• Metal chassis, no glass in sight.
• An A5x chipset, the same one that's in the new iPad.
• A new charging/docking connector.

   As a final word I'd just like to mention that whatever Apple makes it'll sell by the bucket load because it's a premium, high quality, well made, well supported and all round great device. Apple is now what Nokia used to be; the leader, the innovator and the top dog. But, the question is 'will Apple be able to cement their position as we head into 2013 and the next wave of superphones.

   There's probably tonnes I've missed and there's probably things you'll disagree with in this post, let me know what you think in the comments!

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25/06/2012

RIM planning to separate and sell off Blackberry?

    There's been some interesting news today with regard to RIM and the future of their ailing Blackberry smartphones. The UK newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, has suggested that RIM is considering splitting up the BlackBerry business and selling off the handset manufacturing arm. The sources have claimed both Amazon and Facebook are potential suitors. Although, details of any possible deals are very near and far between, and the newspaper offered no sources in its report; RIM is also said to be weighing the possibility of using the messaging division to act as a standalone business, if that would boost performance.

   This would be a very interesting progression if this did happen and the buck doesn't stop with Facebook and Amazon rumours. Microsoft have also announced their own brand tablet just last week, so it is possible they want their own hardware department too, although they have categorically denied any plans for making their own Windows Phone for the moment.

   If there's any progression on this news then you'll be the first to know!

RIM's BB10 Plans!

   It looks like RIM have stolen the news today, with the second bit of news being that the company plans two of devices.

    The news has been sourced by N4BB and they claim RIM is readying the full-touch BlackBerry L-Series, complete with a 768 x 1280 display AND the BlackBerry N-Series, which will have a QWERTY keyboard and a 720 x 720 display. So good high resolutions on both counts here.

   The L-Series, which you may  previously have heard of under its codename of “London”, is very similar to the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device we saw earlier in the year.If the specs are to be believed the device measures 55mm wide and has a super good 356ppi screen.

   The N-Series was codenamed “Nevada” and is said to be 52-53mm wide, with a square screen with a 330ppi resolution, which is 6 pixels per inch less than an iPhone. The first model in this particular series is rumoured to use an OLED panel, but future devices might opt for LCD instead, something which would bring down the price noticably.

   If you can't wait for these new Blackberry's, then you could reportedly expect to get the L-Series as soon as September 2012. The N-Series, however, with that physical keyboard will have to wait until Q1 2013 at the earliest.

In other news.

• iOS 6 maps will have Yelp check-in built into it!
• Microsoft were asked directly whether they had plans to release their own brand Windows Phone, but for the moment the reply from Greg Sullivan, the senior marketing manager for Windows Phone, said, "No, we do not."
• AT&T's Galaxy S2 has finally got its Android 4.0!
• Two members of LulzSec have today pleaded guilty to hacking in a hope of reducing their jail time.
• Microsoft has suggested that they decided to built their own Windows 8 tablet because of a reluctance of OEM's to make devices for them!
• Latest iPhone prototypes are reported to be featuring NFC, something Apple will need to feature to catch up with Google's Android Operating System and to match Microsoft's plans for Windows Phone 8.
• The Galaxy S3 is projected to hit 10million sales at some point in July! Less than 2 months after it went on sale!
• Virgin Media have decided to best Three and T-Mobiles One and Full Monty plans with a ridiculously cheap deal which offers truly unlimited internet access from £21 ($33) per month. The new 'Virgin Media Premiere plan' also includes unlimited landline calls, unlimited text messages and 2,500 anytime minutes to mobile networks. But as always with Virgin you will have to be a current Virgin Media customer already to get that bargain price.
• And finally, Google TV will be coming to the UK in the very near future!

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15/06/2012

Microsoft preparing to launch their own tablet.

   Microsoft could be about to release their own branded tablet, a measure aimed to directly challenge Apple and rumoured Nexus tablets. 

   The Redmond-based software company has scheduled an event for Monday,and have promised a 'major' announcement, it's so special the company has said "you will not want to miss" it.

   The rumour comes straight from 'The Wrap' and at the moment we have absolutely no idea what the tablet will look like. The mock up above is what Cnet created by slapping a bit of Windows 8 onto the HP TouchPad, but we have no idea what it will look like if there is one released.

   On the software front we expect Windows 8 RT, which is the version of Windows 8 designed for ARM, would be a banker.

   It'd be great to see Microsoft acquire Nokia and make a tablet courtesy of them, using the amazing Polycarbonate casings they've been using on the Lumia 800 and 900.

   There's no doubt that if this does pan out as rumoured then Microsoft will undoubtedly be selling a good few of these tablets just by their brand name alone. If they can manage to make one that looks aesthetically pleasing then this really could be a potential challenger to the iPad and Android tablets.

   It'll be really interesting to see what happens because Microsoft has rumoured to have banned HTC from making Windows tablets, so lets see how they manage themselves.

In other news:

• Motorola business solutions have purchased Psion, the rugged mobile producers for $200million. Unfortunately this is the part of Motorola that makes your phones, so we're not entirely sure what the company is using them for at the moment.
• Apple and Motorola's spat has now gone as far as the judge asking them to prove the validity of each of their claims before they're consider in court, that's scheduled for the 20th of June, so we'll know how this round is going to be scored soon.
• Batman 'the dark knight rises' is coming to Android and iOS this summer.
• China is set to send the country's first female into space tomorrow!
• The Ethiopian government has made it a crime to use any VOIP service from within the country. So Skype, Google talk and pretty much anything else that does the same thing is out of the question unless you fancy 15 years behind bars!
• Apple has shown that in iOS6 you will have to give apps permission to access your contact book, in the same way you would in Android, as an extra bit of security.
• Kinectimals for Android has been released!!!

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13/06/2012

Samsung working on a Facebook competitor?

   Samsung is rumoured to be creating its own social network. A network designed specifically to tie in with existing devices and services. The new social network, which has been code named “Samsung Facebook”, has the mammoth expectation of becoming a competitor to Facebook over time. The network will be accessible on smartphones, cameras, and televisions. Samsung is looking to incorporate more social features into their arsenal something which would build on the well received ChatOn messaging service, which is available on all mobile operating systems at the moment.

   The Korea Times has said that Samsung will utilize a powerful cloud computing platform in order to make the service availability as widespread as possible. There's not an official name for this yet, but Samsung is currently making progress on its Family Story system, which hopefully will become the framework of this new platform. Family Story was first shown to us back at CES 2012; it's designed to share photos, reminders, memos and a whole host of other useful things via Samsung smartphones and televisions.

   Family Story is projected to be completed by the end of the year, with the service going live during the first quarter of 2013. The Korea Times said: “The eventual goal is to expand our social media service across different devices from different companies across different mobile platforms. That includes cameras, televisions and blue-ray [sic] players.” This could be a very exciting platform indeed!

The limited availability of iOS6.

   Apple had their brief little pop at Android mid-week about how many users have received the latest build of the OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, but Apple chose to omit that while iPhone 3GS and 4 owners will get a version of iOS 6, they won’t be able to use all the features, they would expect. In the companies finest small-print, on the iOS 6 preview page, Apple has revealed that FaceTime over cellular will only be available to the iPhone 4S and the new iPad, while 3GS owners will also have to make do without Shared Photo Streams.

   As well as these 'little details' it's been announced that the original iPad won’t be getting iOS 6 at all and will be stuck on iOS 5, while the iPad 2 won't get any Siri functionality, unlike the new iPad on iOS 6. Flyover and turn-by-turn navigation, features in Apple’s new Maps app, which replaces Google Maps in iOS, will be be available on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 and newer.

   The list of features the iPhone 3GS won't have is the most extensive; VIP list support, VIP/Flagged smart mailboxes, and Offline Reading List, on top of the previously mentioned features, are only on the iPhone 4 or later, and iPad 2 or later. Apple’s plans for Made for iPhone hearing aids will require the powers of the iPhone 4S. Sorry to be the one to burst the bubble but it's better to know sooner rather than later, right?

Three announces EU Roaming deal to beat them all!

   One of the newest and most forward thinking UK mobile carriers, Three, has taken it upon themselves to challenge to extortionate data roaming charges that people have become wise to when travelling abroad. 

   Their solution is the new Euro Internet Pass. A service which offers unlimited data in most EU countries for £5 ($8) a day. The new add-on will support most of the popular European holiday destinations, such as France, Germany, Greece and Spain. The only slight downside here is that that tethering isn't included in the deal, but the company has said that “The pass was designed for browsing, so streaming may not be as good as it is on our UK network, and, tethering isn’t included.” 

   There's also been warnings that set-up may be a bit of a pain for first-time users, it'll require a combination of turning on data roaming but (initially) turning off push notifications so you can avoid charges until the day-pass realises it has started:

   “To activate the pass, firstly make sure data roaming is enabled. You’ll then also need to turn off your push notifications  (they’re the things that tell you stuff like when you’ve got an email, when it’s your turn in a game or when someone’s tagged a pic of you). They need turning off to avoid out of bundle charges while you’re setting up the pass. How to do it differs from phone to phone, so make sure you’ve worked out how to sort it before you go away. Then just click on the link in the SMS. Follow the simple steps to buy the pass and then you can go wild online until midnight that day (UK time)” 

   A full list of supported countries (and principalities) is below:

 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (incl. Azores & Madeira), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Balearic & Canary Islands), Sweden, Vatican City and Monaco.

    Not supported:

Aaland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey), Croatia, Cyprus (North), Faroe Islands, French Guiana, Georgia, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Martinique, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Reunion, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Turkey, Netherlands Antilles and the Rest of the World.

In other news:

• Nintendo are reportedly working on a Nintendo 3DS successor!
• Nokia are again trying to sell their luxury brand Vertu, this time it looks like they have a buyer and we'll keep you updated as to whether they manage to complete this deal.
• Apple's new Retina displays (2880x1800 pixels, 220PPI) for their laptops cost $150 each so that's one of the reasons the Macbook Pro's have shot up in price.
• AMD have licensed ARM's Cortex A5 technology to enhance their security on x86 based architecture.
• It's been reported that Microsoft is charging $85 for each Windows RT license, which'll make most Windows tablets inaccessible.
• Sony have announced two new phones today; The Xperia Miro and the Xperia Tipo. The later of which is a dual sim phone, whereas the former is a mid-range phone. Click on the name of each phone for a full information list.
• Windows Phone 8 is rumoured to have Skype integration and the inclusion of a whole host of Nokia exclusive apps such as their mapping technology. Keep it locked to TheTechFella for all the latest news.

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iOS6 from WWDC 2012

iOS 6.

   There's over 200 new features, lets get started:

Siri:

• Siri can now open apps, just say the name and it'll open!
• It'll find your sports score and reschedule your meeting effortlessly.
• Use Siri to use your phone direct from your steering wheel! This will see Apple working with BMW, GM, Mercedes, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda, to give you support in the next 12 months for the Siri on the wheel button. Which will allow you to press the button and tweet, message or do pretty much anything else Siri can do!
• Siri is coming to The New iPad! But, not the old ones.

Facebook integration.

• Apple have said "We have been working very closely with Facebook to create the best Facebook integration ever in a mobile device."

• It'll be just like Twitter integration; you can post anything you want to from your phone! 
• "But we didn't stop there. We've also integrated it with the App Store, so now you can like apps and see which apps your friends like." This is something you can now do to the App Store from elsewhere.
• The API is public so you can integrate Facebook into your app!
• Contact syncing... Finally!! This is coming to the Mac too!

The Phone App:

• "You've probably been in a meeting before where you can't answer it right now, and you wish you could easily text them back a message or be reminded later..." now you can control an incoming call. Slide up and you can get reminded to call back later or send a message back, which is actually useful.
• There's a new 'Do not disturb' mode, which will silence all notifications!
• You can now screen your phone calls, ignoring all or just letting in a few people at a certain time. You can set it so that if someone calls you multiple times, regardless of who they are, they'll get through.

Facetime:

• Facetime over Cellular data!!!
• You can now answer the calls from a mobile on an iPad or a Mac with the use of an Apple ID.

Safari:

• iCloud Tabs now have a feature that allows you to get your desktop tabs onto or off of your phone.
• There's now an Offline Reading option. You can add anything to your Reading List and it'll download and cache it for later.
• The iPhone can now bring up a notification that an app exists you can tap a banner which will push you straight to the App Store. This can push URL's to an app so you can keep reading where you left the browser.
• Ohhh and landscape browsing will now give you full screen viewing.

Maps:

• "In iOS 6, we have built an entire new mapping solution from the ground up, and it is beautiful."
• "Beautiful, beautiful maps. Now, part of Maps is local search... we have already ingested more than 100 million business listings" if that's not enough there's Yelp integration already.
• The traffic information comes in too: "We're also building a traffic service." It's a simple presentation, with red bars showing traffic slowdowns and icons showing construction, accidents, etc. Your speeds will help inform Apple of problems, so it knows if you're speeding in Realtime.
• Siri integration too!
• You can ask where to get petrol and it'll tell you!
• There's a 3D fly-around view too.
• These are all vector based like Google Maps so you can spin and twist and really disorientate yourself as much as you want. Zooming works so that when you get close enough to a place it'll pop into the 3D view.

Other:

• There's a "Lost Mode" for iOS devices. Send a phone number and it'll show a notification on the screen. If anyone finds it they'll tap, it'll dial that number automatically.

   This update will ship in the Autumn, so it will arrive with the new iPhone and will come to the 3GS and newer versions of the iPhone, 2nd generation iPads and newer iPads, and the 4th generation iPod touch and of course all future iDevices!

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