this week

Why your phone's killing the consumer electronic kings

Another day, another firm gets the hell out of the consumer electronics business: Philips has decided it wants to spend more time with its colour changing lightbulbs, and it's ditched its home entertainment division.

As The Proclaimers almost put it: Blu-Rays no moar! Headphones no moar! Speakers no moar! Gadgets no moar!The name will live on, but the company's mind is elsewhere: in medical devices, personal grooming and kitchen appliances.The reason? With the exception of LG, Samsung and Apple, most CE firms are losing astonishing amounts of money.

As EE Times reported last year, the world's best-known firms are bleeding money in the consumer electronics business. In the financial year ending March 2012, Panasonic lost 772 billion yen (about $9.2 billion), Sony 457 billion ($5.5 billion) and Sharp 376 billion ($4.5 billion).

BlackBerry Z10 and Nokia N9 MeeGo Swipe UI similarities with BB10

When we first some glimpses of the new BB10 OS, we saw it had a lot of similarities to Nokia’s revolutionary Swipe UI in the MeeGo-Harmattan OS. BB10 seems to be a collection of different OSes into one, and the Swipe UI homage might find some new fans for the z10.
Previously from Nokia Experts, concentrating on ZDNet, Matthew Miller notes the following similarities.

• Tap/swipe the screen with no button press to turn on and unlock device
• Swipe up from bottom to return to “home”
• Display of applications and folders, one with multitasking tiles that are live, and one with recent comms (BlackBerry Hub)
• Swipe down to reveal upper menu
• Slowly move finger across the screen to see elements behind active one
• Deep multi-service integration.

Intel planning to show off more dual-core Android handsets at MWC

Intel has been slowly pushing its way into the smartphone market. It began last September with the Motorola RAZR i, and has been moving quicker since CES this year, unveiling the Lenovo K900, and more recently the Yolo, and the Acer Liquid C1. Now, word has it that Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona will feature even more dual-core Android handsets powered by Intel.

Supposedly, Intel will use MWC to show off Android handsets powered by a new dual core, dual graphics platform, as well as handsets based on the company’s new Intel Atom Z2420 platform targeted at emerging markets. So, this means that the smartphones at MWC will be showing off the low-end Lexington Atom Z2420 processor that we saw at CES, and not the high-end Bay Trail quad-core chip.

Out of the Intel devices that we've already seen, it seems that MWC will be bringing more devices similar to the Yolo, which is based on Intel’s own smartphone reference design for the Z2420, and just launched last week in Kenya.

Mystery Nokia RM-860 will party in the USA  

An unfamiliar Nokia device has appeared in the database of gamer site Occasional Gamer. The model is called "Nokia RM-860", and while we know nothing of such a model, it could easily be a new Lumia device for the United States. Why are we so sure? Well, the full title of the entry is actually "NOKIA RM-860_nam_usa_100, where "nam" obviously means "North America" and "usa" means... Yeah.The good news is that a device with the same "RM-860" model has also been spotted in Nokia's NaviFirm database, kind of confirming its existence. Honestly speaking, this might be many things. It could be the rumored Nokia Catwalk (a PureView Phase II device like the Lumia 920), the Nokia EOS (a WP handset with a larger sensor like the 808), or a completely new device. (Not that the Catwalk or EOS are "old" devices.) Overall, most speculating sources reason that this might end up being a Verizon handset, but it may also be destined for AT&T, as that is where the EOS is expected to appearWhatever this RM-860 is, we'll probably know for sure at Nokia's event scheduled for February 25th.

HTC M7 to go on sale from March 8, new color option revealed

HTC will be holding two press conferences simultaneously in New York and London on February 19. According to numerous leaks the Taiwanese company will reveal its latest M7 flagship smartphone at those.
Now a new rumor has it that the HTC M7 is expected to go on sale starting from March 8. Unfortunately, there are no confirmations on which carriers will have the device up for grabs. Earlier we heard the smartphone will be available in UK and the rest of Europe before it reaches the US.
The launch date aligns well with the earlier leaks and HTC is allegedly working on manufacturing about 4-5 million units of M7 in the Q1 of 2013.
If this new info comes out correct the M7 will be made available in Black and Silver/White color variants.

Trio of New Gigabyte Server Motherboards Announced

We recently reviewed a dual processor setup using the Gigabyte GA-7PESH1 and a pair of socket 2011 Xeons, with varied reactions from the point of view of a need for ultimate throughput with a simple to intermediate knowledge of NUMA programming.  Today Gigabyte has announced the successors to the GA-7PESH1 and GA-7PESH2 in the form of the 4-way GPU supporting GA-7PESH3 and GA-7PESH4, along with a 3-way 1P model, the GA-6PXSV4.
The main feature Gigabyte wish to promote is the improved memory compatibility; specifically noting that they are the only manufacturer to support a system fully populated with DDR3-1600MHz 16GB RDIMM 1.35V modules.
The GA-7PESH3 looks more like a normal 2P motherboard in terms of orientation, with each CPU supporting one module per channel and the PCIe layout designed for multi-PCI devices (think 3-way or 4-way dual slot GPUs, or 7-way single slot).  The motherboard also contains an LSI controller for support up to eight SAS 6 Gbps drives, a full 7.1 audio solution and USB 3.0 functionality.

The GA-7PESH4 model gives the full range of memory slots available, similar to the GA-7PESH1, but with an orientation change.  The PCIe layout is clearly a little odd, with one at the top of the IO panel, and the power connectors are also in this area.  The main selling point of the 7PESH4 is the inclusion of four Intel I350 Gigabit Ethernet ports.

The GA-6PSXV4 takes the GA-7PESH4 in a single socket form, with the four Intel I350 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the socket orientation at right angles to normal channel implementations.  The layout supports 3-way GPU, but also includes a PCIe x1 slot as well as a PCI slot.  Like the GA-7PESH3, we also get a series of USB 3.0 ports on the rear IO.

All three boards are reported to have been designed for airflow design in mind, and each CPU is supported by a 6-phase power delivery (remember, no overclocking on server boards).  We analyzed the Gigabyte management software package in our GA-7PESH1 review, which used the Advocent Server Management Interface for security, monitoring, and remote control, and expect these new models to be relatively similar.

NVIDIA GeForce R313.95 Beta Drivers Available

It seems ironic that after years of their monthly releases when AMD/ATI has now switched to a "when it's necessary" release schedule--something NVIDIA has been doing via official beta releases for a similar time--that the cadence of official releases from both AMD and NVIDIA seems unphased. In fact, as usual the holiday season only increased the pace of updates. The second half of 2012 and beginning of 2013 for instance gives us the following drivers:

Recent Driver Releases
NVIDIA Version	Release Date	AMD Version	Release Date
313.95 Beta	28-Jan-2013	13.2 Beta 3 (12.100.0)	29-Jan-2013
310.90 WHQL	5-Jan-2013	13.1 WHQL (9.012.0)	17-Jan-2013
310.70 WHQL	17-Dec-2012	12.11 Beta11 (9.010.8)	4-Dec-2012
310.70 Beta	4-Dec-2012	12.11 Beta7 (9.010.8)	12-Nov-2012
310.64 Beta	28-Nov-2012	12.10 WHQL (9.002.0)	23-Oct-2012
310.61 Beta	20-Nov-2012	12.9 Beta (9.001.0)	26-Sep-2012
310.54 Beta	12-Nov-2012	12.8 WHQL (8.982.0)	14-Sep-2012
310.33 Beta	23-Oct-2012	12.6 WHQL (8.980.0)	30-Jun-2012
306.97 WHQL	10-Oct-2012	12.7 Official Beta (8.981.2.1)	27-Jun-2012
306.23 WHQL	13-Sep-2012	12.7 Beta (8.981.2)	12-Jun-2012
306.02 Beta	27-Aug-2012	12.x (9.00)	12-Jun-2012
304.79 Beta	3-Jul-2012	12.x (8.980.0)	4-Jun-2012
304.48 Beta	18-Jun-2012	Win8 Release Preview (8.972.4)	2-Jun-2012

Note the increase in NVIDIA's releases as the holiday games came out, with two or three driver updates each month for the past four months. In contrast, AMD had five beta releases in June (which were all similar and mostly looked to fix bugs not addressed in the initial beta) along with a WHQL driver, the 12.8 WHQL in September along with another beta, 12.10 WHQL in October, the 12.11 beta in December, and now the 13.1 WHQL and 13.2 beta in January. Basically, we're looking at similar total number of readily available driver releases during the same seven months, but AMD had a lot of betas early in the cycle (many related to Enduro and WIndows 8 support).
NVIDIA's latest update primarily looks to address performance issues with Crysis 3, though there are a few other recent titles like Assassin's Creed III, Black Ops II, and Far Cry 3 that may also see performance improvements. NVIDIA's release notes claim improvements of up to 65% in Crysis 3 and 24% in Assassin's Creed III, though that's with the ultra-high-end GTX 690 desktop GPU so those with lower class GPUs should temper their expectations accordingly. Interestingly, we're still seeing potential performance improvements (albeit minor) in some older titles like Civilization V, DiRT 3, Far Cry 2, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. You can read the full release notes on NVIDIA's site, with the following downloads currently available (and yes, Windows XP is supported as well, but I figure few enough gamers are running that with high-end hardware)

AMD Catalyst 13.2 Beta 3 Drivers Released

As promised alongside last week’s release of the Catalyst 13.1 WHQL drivers, AMD has shipped out the first public beta for the next version of their drivers this week, Catalyst 13.2 Beta 3.
The latest beta makes a couple of additions that will be of particular interest to hardcore gamers. On the application support side, like NVIDIA’s beta release yesterday these are the first drivers that specifically target Crysis 3, itself having just been released in beta form as a multiplayer beta. AMD is citing up to a 15% performance improvement here in scenarios with high degrees of MSAA, while promising further improvements as the game and the drivers both march towards a final state.
Meanwhile these drivers are also the first driver set from AMD to address some of the frame latency issues Tech Report’s Scott Wasson has turned up over the last couple of months. His own testing of an earlier version of these drivers found that frame latency was significantly reduced in a few different games he tested, including Skyrim, Borderlands 2, and Guild Wars 2.
As always, these latest drivers are available directly from AMD’s site.

 WSJ: Yes, Sony Will Announce the PlayStation 4 on February 20th

The WSJ is confirming what we all saw in Sony's slick video teaser for its upcoming February 20th event: Sony will be announcing the PlayStation 4. Citing the ol' reliable 'people familiar with the matter', the WSJ says that the PS4 will be announced on February 20th and be released later this year.
The WSJ also reports that Sony will try to throw in more "social gaming aspects" in the PS4, focusing more on how people "interact with the machine" than the sheer hardware power of the system. Sony had considered ditching the disk drive and using game downloads but decided that video game file sizes would be too large and Internet connections may be too slow to handle the load. Which means we can still expect the ol' disk bay to be in the PS4. The announcement of the PS4 will beat Microsoft's Xbox 360 successor to the punch, it's unclear if the actual next generation system will too. Both are expected to launch by this holiday season.

Fujifilm Unveils Five New Point and Shoot Cameras, Due Out in March

We’ve stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago, so after seeing Nikon and Olympus intro an array of new digital cameras one after the other, we were certain other big guys in the industry will also make some moves soon.

And boy, how right we were. Fujifilm has just come out with five new point and shoot cams, set to enrich the F, S and J families.
First off, we have the 16 MP F900EXR and F850EXR travel zooms. The two fellows are slim and stylish, but at the same time powerful and capable of great things. Besides the high-quality sensors, both cams come with 20x optical zoom lenses and 3-inch LCD screens. The F900 is the more feature-packed of the two and will cost $399.95. Meanwhile, the F850 will go for 100 bucks less.
Next up, the S6800 and S4800 bridge cams. These aren’t exactly slim, but are packed with 16 MP sensors and 30x optical zoom. The S6800’s sensor is backside-illuminated CMOS, while the S4800 comes with a CCD one. The price difference, however, is not going to be major, so while the first will cost $249.95, the second will go for $229.95.
The last camera unveiled by Fujifilm today is more for novice photographers and is dubbed JX680. This is as slim and compact as cams get nowadays, but is also packed with a 16 MP CCD sensor and a 5x optical zoom. Priced at $99.95, the little fellow will go on sale in March.

BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 unveiled, first BB10 smartphones

RIM (well, BlackBerry now) has opened a new chapter in the history of its platform with the release of its first to BB10 OS devices, the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10.The new OS is centered around touch gestures, even the Q10, which has a hardware QWERTY.
The BlackBerry Z10, however, joins the ranks of the touch-only army with a 4.2” WXGA screen (1,280 x 768, 356ppi pixel density). A dual-core Krait CPU at 1.5GHz has been enlisted to run the new OS and there’s 2 gigs of RAM to make sure there’s room for multitasking, which plays a huge part of the new experience.

BlackBerry Z10 • the on-screen keyboard
The company also made sure the Z10 is capable in terms of multimedia with an 8MP main camera that has TimeShift (Scalado-powered tech) and shoots 1080p video and an HDMI port. The phone packs 16GB of storage and you can throw in a microSD card (up to 32GB) to expand it.
On the connectivity side, there's LTE (market dependent), Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.
The Z10 boasts an advanced touchscreen keyboard, which should completely make up for the lack of hardware keyboard.
And if you still need a physical keyboard, the BlackBerry Q10 is the one you should be looking for. The smartphone keeps the trademark hardware QWERTY keyboard. It has a touchscreen too - it's a bit unorthodox, a 3.1" square AMOLED screen with 720 x 720 resolution and 330ppi pixel density.

BlackBerry Q10
The BlackBerry Q10 has a stainless steel frame and an "edge-to-edge" glass on the front. The chipset of the Q10 is the same as the one on the Z10.
The BlackBerry Z10 will launch in UK first (tomorrow!) from all the major carriers and retailers, with a choice between getting it on contract or pre-paid. It goes to Canada on February 5 for $150 (with three-year contract). US consumers will have to wait until March though. Then they'd be able to snag it for $200 from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint(with a two-year contract).
The BlackBerry Q10 is expected to hit carriers globally in April.

Samsung Galaxy S IV might launch in April

Samsung Galaxy IV, the rumored next flagship of the South Korean giant might actually launch in the month of April according to a couple of images from an internal raffle doc at a New Zealand mobile retailer.

The raffle doc states that all the prize winners will be given a Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone. The raffle ends on April 9, so we imagine the prizes should be delivered shortly after.
If the raffle details are to be trusted, Samsung's latest smartphone will be launched in the month of April. This aligns nicely with previous rumors pointing to an announcement in March and launch in the third week of April.
Since Samsung won't be bringing the Galaxy S IV to the upcoming MWC such a strategy would make sense so the company doesn't lag behind its rivals, who will all have 1080p smartphones by April. Then again the Galaxy S III is still selling pretty well, so maybe there's no point in Samsung rushing things up

Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 7.8 update starts rolling out

The long awaited, highly anticipated Windows Phone 7.8 update has made its way to the first generation Nokia Lumia smartphones. Users of the aforementioned devices should be receiving notification for the new OS version's availability in the coming weeks. The update will be installed via Microsoft Zune desktop software.

Windows Phone 7.8 brings a host of upgrades to the table. They include a brand new homescreen with more customization options, camera extras, and a host of performance enhancements for the first members of the Nokia Lumia lineup.

The Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade will be seeding through February. Its exact availability around the world will be carrier dependent.

Upcoming Vertu Constellation Ti running Android gets leaked

Looks like luxury brand Vertu is shifting to a new operating system for its phones, with the new OS in question being Android. After separating from Nokia, Vertu is now also distancing itself from the now outdated Symbian and towards greener pastures.
The first rumored Vertu phone to be running on Android is the Constellation Ti. The phone has a 800 x 480 resolution display, 1.5GHz Snapdragon MSM8260A SoC, Android 4.0.4 and a rather minuscule 1,250mAh battery. The specs aren't much but then again, Vertu devices have never been about specs but more about the quality of the materials used in their construction and the sheer snob value of owning one of these über-expensive devices.

There are supposedly four versions of the Constellation Ti: Titanium Black PVD black leather, Titanium Black Alligator, Red Gold Mixed Metal and Titanium Black Leather. Each uses a different material and color finish for the body. The Red Gold Mixed Metal interestingly has a different key layout below the display compared to the others, as seen above, but it could be just an older version of the design.
The device hasn't been confirmed yet but according to The Verge, Vertu is set to announce a new phone next month so it's likely this could be the one

LG Optimus L7 II Dual unveiled, a dual-SIM dual-core droid

The LG Optimus L7 is getting a sequel with improved specs and dual-SIM capabilities to boot. The LG Optimus L7 II Dual updates the design a bit, going for a less angular look and has moved to capacitive keys only.
The regular Back / Home / Menu keys are joined by a SIM switch key for easy toggling between the two SIM cards.

The Optimus L7 II Dual keeps the 4.3” IPS LCD screen of the original but bumps up the CPU spec to 1GHz dual-core (of unknown architecture) and adds a better camera that shoots 8MP stills and 720p videos. The phone will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box and comes with LG's home-brewed QSlide, QuickMemo and QuickTranslator software.
The battery has gotten a nice upgrade too – it has 2,460mAh capacity, which should last for two days according to LG.
The LG Optimus L7 II Dual will launch in the second half of February in Russia for 12,990 rubles ($430, but note that phones in Russia are usually pricier than in most other European countries). The phone will come in black and white.

Acer and Intel announce the Atom-powered Liquid C1

At an event in Thailand, Intel and Acer presented a new Android smartphone. The Acer Liquid C1 makes use of the latest mobile Intel Atom Z2420 chipset, which was only recently announced - back at CES earlier this month actually.
The Acer Liquid C1 is not a high-end model but it's still decently equipped. At the front there's a 4.3-inch IPS screen of qHD resolution (960x540 pixels). On the back there is an 8MP auto focus camera.

The Intel Atom Z2420m chipset (codenamed Lexington) has a main x86 processor, running at 1.2GHz. It's a single-core CPU with support for Hyper-Threading. It's meant to deliver reasonable performance at a tempting price point - great for emerging smartphone markets.
The chipset supports hardware-accelerated 1080p encoding and decoding plus it enables the Liquid C1 camera to snap 5 still images in a second.

The Intel-powered Acer Liquid C1
Unfortunately, the smartphone comes with only Android ICS preinstalled. There is no word on plans for future updates to more recent versions of Android, but we haven't seen a proper press release from Acer either, so there's still hope.
The Acer Liquid C1 should launch this February - initially in Thailand, and later on in other South Asian countries. It will be priced around 9,990 baht, which makes for around USD$335.

Mid-range Sony C530X HuaShan stars in spy photoshoot

The Sony C530X HuaShan has leaked a couple of times before, but this is the first time it has been caught on camera. A photo of the Android software info screen puts the OS version at 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (which is what the Xperia Z will launch with).

Sony C530X HuaShan spy shots
The C530X HuaShan uses the same design language as the Xperia Z – rectangular with slightly rounded corners and the trademark metallic grey Power/Lock key. Results from GLBenchmark point to a 720p screen, while another leak (a photo uploaded to Picasa) revealed the camera to have a 5MP sensor.

A look at the Android OS version and dialer of the C530X HuaShan
The benchmark scores list the chipset as Qualcomm MSM8960T, which has a dual-core Krait CPU @ 1.7GHz and Adreno 320 GPU, along with support for LTE connectivity.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Sony C530X HuaShan, but there’s a good chance we’ll see it (in official capacity) at the MWC in about a month.

Rockstar announced a release date for GTA 5, it’s not coming anytime soon

Last autumn Rockstar announced its plans to release the Grand Theft Auto 5 this spring on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Unfortunately, the game has been delayed.

According to Rockstar, the studio needs some more time to polish the game and it’s release will be pushed back to the Fall.
Luckily, Rockstar pinpointed a release date – September 17, 2013. Just as planned, the game will launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. There is still no word on the PC version, but I guess it will come out in 2014.

Microsoft Surface Pro 64GB comes with only 23GB of available storage space

Microsoft’s 64GB Surface Pro tablet ships with about a third of its advertised storage capacity when it goes on sale February 9. While it's common for tablets to have less storage space available because of preinstalled software, the Surface Pro is one of the worst offenders compared to the identical issue faced by Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD, and Surface RT.
Microsoft confirmed the $899 64GB model of the Surface Pro will only have 23GB available for use out of the box – that’s just under 36 percent of the advertised capacity. The rest is taken up by the full Windows 8 Pro install, preinstalled apps and a recovery partition, which make up for the 41GB occupied. The 128GB model of the Surface Pro comes with 65 percent of its advertised storage capacity available, 83GB.
This is not the first time the Surface tablets from Microsoft are in the spotlight due to how little storage space is available for users out of the box. When the Surface RT tablets were introduced in October, the 32GB Surface RT actually came with 16GB free to use (50 percent of advertised capacity), while the 64GB version has 45GB free, which is around 70 percent of the storage advertised on sale.
In comparison with other tablets, Microsoft appears to offer the least available storage space. iOS on an 16GB Apple iPad takes no more than 4GB of space, leaving some 75 percent of the advertised capacity for use. So, for example, the new 128GB iPad actually has some 124GB of available storage, with the OS taking just over 3 percent of the space. For the 128GB Surface Pro, Windows 8 Pro takes 35 percent of the storage capacity – over 10 times more than the iOS.
Amazon also leaves more than 78 percent of the 16GB Kindle Fire HD storage available to users, while the 32GB model comes with almost 27GB free. Similarly, the 16GB Barnes and Noble Nook HD+ comes with 13GB user accessible storage, while the 32GB model has 28GB free.
Having a full Windows 8 Pro install on a tablet-sized device has its trade-offs. You can install and run a full desktop version of Word or Photoshop, but your tablet will only have a limited amount of built-in storage available to use, and half the battery life of normal tablets . However, the Surface Pro allows you to extend your storage capacity via a full-size USB 3.0 port and a MicroSD slot, while on the iPad you are stuck with the built-in storage.

ZTE Mozilla may be the first Firefox OS phone, to be announced at MWC

 ZTE has quietly announced a number of devices these days, including the 8" V81 tablet, affordable Blade C smartphone, the Grand Memo phablet, and now the ZTE Mozilla smartphone. To tell you the truth, the last one isn't really announced, but the folks from ZTE gave us two hashtags to follow for their MWC 2013 event: #ZTEGrandMemo and #ZTEMozilla. Given the recent news that ZTE wants to launch a Firefox OS device, it is only logical to assume that the Chinese company will do so at MWC 2013, and that the device may be called ZTE Mozilla.

Specs lovers should stop drooling right this instant, because according to previous information, Firefox OS will be mainly used for entry-level smartphones, at least initially. We don't know what ZTE's Mozilla phone will be like, but at least we now know that this is soon going to change

this week

Next-Gen Video Format H.265 Is Approved, Paving The Way For High-Quality Video On Low-Bandwidth Networks

The ITU has approved a new video format that could bring 4k video to future broadband networks, while also making streaming HD video available even on bandwidth-constrained mobile networks. The H.265 standard, also informally known as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), is designed to provide high-quality streaming video, even on low-bandwidth networks.
The new video format is the successor to the H.264 codec, which nearly every video publisher has standardized after the release of the iPad and several other connected devices. It seems crazy now, but once upon a time, Apple’s adoption of H.264 and insistence on HTML5-based video players was controversial — especially since most video before the iPad was encoded in VP6 to play through Adobe’s proprietary Flash player.
The hope is that, through improved compression techniques, H.265 will enable publishers to stream 1080p video with about half as many bits as required today. That should make true streaming HD video available not just in broadband households, but on mobile and tablet devices, using networks that are a lot more bandwidth-constrained. Doing so could make online video more widely available in markets with poor connectivity or mostly mobile connections.
In places where there is decent broadband connectivity, H.265 could enable even higher-quality video. With 4K TVs finally becoming available, there’s an opportunity for even greater video resolution. The only problem is that networks aren’t built to support the load that streaming that video would require. With H.265, 4K streaming could be possible with as little as 20-30 Mbps of bandwidth. Still a lot by today’s standards, but not completely unheard of.
Of course, just because the format has been approved doesn’t mean that we’ll start seeing video files shrink or lower bit-rate streams anytime soon. While there will likely be software-based encoders available by the end of the year, the codec won’t see mass adoption until it gets embedded into chips and hardware. It could be 12 to 18 months, maybe longer, before the first devices with H.265 hardware acceleration make it to market.
Once those initial devices do make it to market, however, we can probably expect a quick ramp up in the amount of content that begins to take advantage of H.265. Since the launch of the iPad, the percentage of video published in H.264 has climbed from less than 10 percent to more than 84 percent in less than three years, according to MeFeedia.
The adoption of H.265 could mean less network strain, more HD video, or some combination of the two. I personally expect that the availability of a more efficient codec will more likely mean higher quality rather than smaller video files, but every little bit helps.

iPhone 5S targeted for a July launch, iPads coming in October

The rumors of next generation iPad and iPhone are already starting to pick up steam. According to the latest report from iLounge, the iPhone 5S is said to enter mass production in July.
Note the start of the mass production is usually a few months before the actual announcement, so Apple can fill up its warehouses ahead of the launch weekend.
The report also says that the company's tablet lineup refresh is coming in October. The iPad mini with Retina display is reportedly codenamed J84, while the iPad 5 is dubbed J72. Apple's rumored next-gen iPads are expected to retain the design of their predecessors, but the mini should be getting a Retina display. It's anyone's guess what kind of upgrades will come with the iPad 5.


As for the iPhone 5S - it is expected to include a faster processor and a Sony-made 13 megapixel camera sensor. Furthermore, the device is rumored to feature an improved rear LED flash. The iPhone 5S versions are codenamed N51 and N53 and predictably the device will have similar design to the iPhone 5.
The new iPhone is also rumored to feature a fingerprint scanner, which is based on the Authentec technology acquired by Apple last summer.

Karbonn S1 Titanium with 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, Android 4.1 coming soon

Karbonn S1 Titanium, the company’s upcoming flagship phone has surfaced on their official site. It packs in a qHD multi-touch display, but no details about the display size yet, looking at the image it looks like a 4.5-inch display.  It is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It has has Dual SIM support, 5MP Auto Focus Camera with LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera for video calling. This would compete with the recently launched Micromax A116 Canvas HD that also comes with a quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS.

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 rugged Jelly Bean droid goes official

Samsung just announced the Galaxy Xcover 2, an IP67-certified Android phone. It improves an all the specs of its predecessor, from a bigger screen to a more powerful processor.
The Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 has a 4” WVGA TFT screen, dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz customizations. The 5MP main camera can shoot 720p video and there’s a dedicated shutter key, plus a front-facing VGA camera.
The Galaxy Xcover 2 measures 130.5 x 67.7 x 12 mm, bigger than its predecessor, and it’s heavier too, at 149g. It has a 1,700mAh battery that’s secured into place by a special lock.
On the connectivity side, there’s 3G with 14.4Mbps HSDPA and 5.76Mbps HSUPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS + GLONASS. The Galaxy Xcover 2 packs 4GB of built-in memory and a microSD card slot

Lava Xolo X500 to be the first Intel Z2420 powered smartphone in India

Intel had launched the Z2420 reference platform for low to mid end devices at the International CES 2013 just a week back, and we are now starting to learn from a report on NDTV Gadgets that the first smartphone to use that platform in India would be the Lava XOLO X500. Lava had already released the XOLO X900 in collaboration with Intel, and it proved to be quite a success. Following that, the XOLO X500 is supposed to be Lava’s second Intel phone that is ready to be launched in the Indian market.
UPDATE – It’s official!

The Lava XOLO X500 is reportedly a DUAL SIM Android device running on Ice cream sandwich. Otherwise, the XOLO X500 is reportedly just a rehash of the reference platform that Intel launched at CES. The key highlights of that platform(and of of the XOLO X500) are -

• 3.5 inch screen (480×320 in X500′s case)
• Intel 1.2 GHz single core processor with Hyper Threading(2 logical cores)
• PowerVR SGX 540 Graphics co processor
• 512 MB of RAM
• 5 megapixel camera with 1080p full HD recording(?)
• 7 fps burst rate for the camera
• 4 GB of internal storage
• Price – Rs.8,999/-

That’s about almost the same as the reference platform and the pricing suggests that this will be residing at the upper half of the low end smartphone segment. We are quite excited to see what kind of performance the Z2420 platform brings, as we already know that the XOLO X900 was quite powerful indeed.

HTC announces low-cost Desire U 4

HTC has announced the newest addition to its Android smartphone range in the form of the Desire U. The Desire U is a budget smartphone and slots above the previous announced Desire C.

The Desire U has the familiar HTC family look to it, which has started becoming a bit too familiar now. On the front is a 4.0-inch, 800 x 480 resolution display. Inside, the Desire U runs on a unknown 1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM. You also get 4GB of internal storage space with microSD card slot, 5 megapixel camera on the back with WVGA video recording, Beats Audio, 1,650mAh battery and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Jolla looking to China to gain traction for Sailfish

This year looks like the year of Linux-based mobile operating systems. Android, which already has the global lead, is poised to firmly take the US market share as well. Then, there are at least 3, maybe 4 (depending on if Ubuntu makes it to market in 2013) Linux-based mobile platforms set to launch, including Sailfish, which Jolla hopes will gain traction in China.So, not only will Sailfish be competing with established mobile platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry, but it will have to take on the new Linux crew: Meego, Tizen, Firefox OS, and Ubuntu. Each seems to be looking at around the globe for incubation grounds to grow user bases for these new platforms. Firefox OS is set to launch in Brazil, Canonical has said it will aim at emerging markets with Ubuntu, and now Jolla wants to try its hand in China.

Analysts expect that smartphone sales in China will be around 240 million devices this year, which gives Jolla a lot of room. It's interesting that unlike its competition, Jolla is aiming for the high-end market in China, competing with Samsung, Nokia, and Apple in the $500-$800 price range. 

Jolla has already created accounts on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, China's premier micro-blogging platforms, and signed a deal with D.Phone, a leading phone retailer in China. The company doesn't seem to want to tip its hat though, saying only that Jolla wants Sailfish to "stand out" in China.

RIM Blackberry Z10 press images leaks out, looks like the real thing

RIM is about to launch its BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system in just about a couple of days at a huge event and next month the first actual BlackBerries running on the new platform should arrive.The BlackBerry Z10, the very first one, has already leaked out countless times in images and video, but this time it seems we have something special as @evleaks has gotten hold of what it claims is the official press image. And judging by all we’ve seen so far we have no reason to doubt its veracity.The BlackBerry Z10, an all-touch device with no physical QWERTY keyboard, looks slightly conservatively designed, nothing outworldly, it’s a bit plain, but that simplicity and lack of radical decisions might actually help it get the sympathy of a wide range of people.We ourselves are not enamored by the design, but what seems more important is what materials would RIM pick for the final device and what would be the feel because nothing feels worse than cheap plastic.

With so many month in development, though, we have no reason to doubt RIM would at least pull the BlackBerry Z10 from a design perspective.  Take a look at the leaked images right below.

Nokia to release a 38MP WP EOS phone this year

The Nokia 808 PureView was the company’s first PureView smartphone and it still holds the throne as the best cameraphone out there, despite the Lumia 920 challenge. It seems that this is about to change though as the company's Windows Phone camp is going to get its own PureView device.

According to the information that The Verge acquired, the device will include a sensor similar to the one inside the 808 PureView and the whole device will be made of aluminum. The latter coincides with the rumor for another upcoiming high-end Nokia Catwalk that’s also going to be made out of aluminum, according to previous reports.
The EOS is going to a high-end Lumia device, but isn’t clear whether it’s the aforementioned Catwalk, that’s going to replace the Lumia 920, or if it’s going to be a completely different animal.
What sources familiar with the matter have confirmed, though, is that AT&T will be offering the EOS, which isn’t much of a surprise considering the carrier's close connections with Nokia. As far as the design of the device goes, it’s believed to keep the square edges of the current Lumia line-up of smartphones.

LG Optimus G Pro with 1080p display goes official in Japan

The recently leaked LG Optimus G Pro is now official. The 5" 1080p display toting Android beast will be part of NTT DOCOMO's Spring lineup of Android smartphones in Japan when it hits the shelves in early April.

Along with the eye-grabbing display we mentioned above, the LG Optimus G Pro features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with 1.7GHz quad-core CPU and 2GB of RAM. The battery has increased significantly compared to the LG Optimus G we already know - it is now a 3,000mAh unit. A 13MP camera, 32GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot and, of course, LTE connectivity complete the highlights in the handset's spec sheet. The LG Optimus G Pro will boot Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.
We are yet to find out about international availability of the LG Optimus G Pro. The upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona seems like a safe bet to us for a global unveiling.

Meizu MX2 launches on China Unicom

Meizu and China Unicom have entered a partnership to sell the Meizu MX2 on contract in China. The phone goes on sale from today and is available on multiple contracts.
You can go for the free phone plan, in which you have to pay ¥226 per month and ¥2,699 prepaid for two-years or ¥156 per month and ¥2,699 prepaid for three years. There is also a bonus credit deal, where the phone is sold for ¥2,699 with a two year contract of at least ¥66 per month but you get bonus credit toppings of ¥5,800.
As for the phone itself, it has a quad-core Cortex A9 CPU clocked at 1.6GHz, 2GB RAM, 4.4-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution display, 16/32/64GB storage space, 8 megapixel camera and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The first Firefox OS phones are official, meet Keon and Peak

The first batch of smartphones running the HTML 5-based Firefox OS have been unveiled. Meet the GeekPhone Keon and Peak - a duo of early Firefox OS-running smartphones targeted at app designers and developers to start building the upcoming OS' app ecosystem.

What you see above is the GeekPhone Peak, which is the more powerful of the two. It sports a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.
With a 4.3" qHD IPS display, the Peak packs an 8MP main camera with LED flash and 2MP front-facing one. The smartphone is housing a 1800mAh battery, a microSD card slot and the usual array of smartphone sensors and connectivity options.
Next up is the brightly colored Keon sporting a unique Firefox-inspired orange paintjob. The smartphone runs on a Snapdragon S1 CPU clocked at 1GHz with 512MB of RAM and packs a 3.5" HVGA display.

Internal storage is 4GB and despite its low-end nature, GeekPhone has thrown in a microSD card slot. The only camera is at the back and it features a 3MP senor and no flash. Under the orange back panel resides a 1580mAh battery.
GeekPhone says both Firefox OS developer smartphones will be available starting next month, but is mum on the pricing. However, judging from their specs and the budget-oriented nature of Firefox OS, they shouldn't cost too dearly.

Symbian is officially dead, 808 PureView is the last of its kind

We all knew this was eventually coming, but it's now official. Symbian on Nokia is dead.
Nokia managed to send off the once might platform in style. The 808 PureView will go down in history as the last Symbian device by the Finnish manufacturer.
Nokia announced the news alongside its great Q4 results today, which showed $585 million profit and $10.83 billion in revenue.
During our transition to Windows Phone through 2012, we continued to ship devices based on Symbian. The Nokia 808 PureView, a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-2012, was the last Symbian device from Nokia.
Symbian OS on Nokia devices has played a key part in the smartphone game over the past ten years, but its significance was severely reduced once the touchscreen revolution started. Some of the most notable phones to come out of Nokia were powered by Symbian - beginning with the 9210 Communicator. The Nokia E61 started a messenger phone hype that peaked with the E71, making Symbian OS the only viable competitor to the then-strong BlackBerry portfolio of messengers.
Then came the cameraphone era, which gave birth to devices like the Nokia N95, which was widely regarded as the king of the smartphone hill in its day. The Nokia N8 came at a time when Symbian was rapidly sliding into irrelevancy but still made a huge splash among camera-lovers with its large sensor and superb image quality. Heck we loved snapping photos with it and it's still the most popular smartphone in our database with over 25 million hits.
Nokia began a shift towards Windows Phone in the beginning of 2011 and starting now Redmond's mobile OS is Nokia's only smartphone platform.

Acer officially unveils the stylish Liquid E1 mid-ranger

 Acer announced a new member of its lineup of mid-range Android smartphones. The smartphone is called Liquid E1 and is basically a trimmed down version of the CloudMobile S500.

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, the Acer Liquid E1 runs with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean out of box. It's sporting a 4.5-inch display of qHD resolution (960 x 540 pixels) and boasts an 5MP auto-focus primary camera with LED flash at the back and a 0.3MP video-chat camera at the front.
The Liquid E1 dimensions are spot on for a midranger at 132 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm with a weight of 130 grams. Popping the stylishly designed back cover open reveals a somewhat underwhelming battery with a capacity of 1760mAh. Acer says that it should be good for up to 8 hours of talk time and around 400 hours of waiting patiently in standby.
The Liquid E1 also features an FM receiver, microSD card slot and the usual array of sensors. Judging from those official shots, we really like the Liquid E1 design, particularly on the dark grey version with red accents.
Annoyingly, pricing and availability are still only known to Acer.

Ubuntu Phone's 12 default apps will be "community created"

 We can already see it coming, once Ubuntu for phones gets released, there is going to be a lot more talk about just how "open" Android really is. Mark Shuttleworth already made one such comment when introducing the platform, and Canonical is following through it seems. The newest is that Ubuntu Phone's 12 default apps will all be "community created".

Canonical is putting out the word now to get developers on the project. The 12 default apps will be made up of 8 "traditional apps" - a file manager, calendar, clock/alarm, weather, calculator, e-mail, document viewer, and a terminal app - and 4 "social apps" - YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and an RSS reader. It's nice to see a terminal app in the works. We're sure power users will like that addition. 

Each of these apps have a Wiki page, design guidelines, and message boards dedicated. So, if you're interested, just read through the docs and start helping out with the design.

Forget flexible screens: NEC Medias W with two 4.3" panels just folds

  Not for nothing, but when NTT DoCoMo unveils its seasonal lineup we always listen, as the Japanese were toying around with 7mm waterproof handsets with 13 MP cameras in the days when Symbian still ruled.The US has caught up now, thanks to Apple and Google, but there are still a bunch of smartphone surprises in all shapes and forms coming from the Land of the Rising Sun with every new carrier portfolio.

We say shapes and forms, since that's exactly the selling point of the NEC Medias W that is included in NTT DoCoMo's 12-device launch today. Samsung might have a prototype bending phone in the labs with the YOUM flexible screens, but the Japanese are taking the simpler approach.

They just slapped two 4.3" qHD panels, and connected them with a hinge, so when closed the NEC Medias W is not larger than your average smartphone, just a bit thicker. When you open it, though, it reveals a screen that is Note II-sized in diagonal, letting you fool around with apps stretching on both screens, or use two apps at the same time.

LTE is onboard, too, and the rest of the specs are a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 MP camera, 16GB of storage and a memory card slot. Any takers?

Nokia Lumia 620 goes on sale, Russia gets it first

Nokia Lumia 620 is now available in Russia. It costs about €300 (11990 RUB) and, is the most affordable Windows Phone 8-powered smartphone by the Finnish company yet.
It is available on the official Nokia Store for Russia in all of its color versions (white, black, yellow, green and magenta colors).

We already had a close encounter with the Nokia Lumia 620 in green
Since the device is already on sale in Russia, we can probably expect it to hit Europe and Asian markets in the following weeks.

Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy Grand goes official in India

Samsung Galaxy Grand, which was announced in December 2012, has now received its official announcement in India. The 5" smartphone with dual-SIM functionality has been priced at Rs. 21500 (about $400).

Samsung Galaxy Grand features a 5" WVGA TFT display and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core processor along with 1 GB of RAM. The smartphone has an 8 MP camera with LED flash at the back and a 2 MP shooter in the front.
The dual-SIM smartphone offers 8GB of storage and supports memory expansion up to 64GB via the microSD card slot. Samsung Galaxy Grand runs on a 2100mAH battery and comes with few cool home-backed features like S Voice, Direct call, Smart alert, Popup play along with the Multi-View functionality, which allows the users to access two apps simultaneously.
Furthermore, the handset's auto forwarding option will automatically divert incoming calls on the other SIM to the primary SIM, if when you are in a call.

this week

LG's Optimus G Pro revealed in leaked image with 5-inch 1080p display, 3,000mAh battery and LTE

The LG Optimus G is one of the most powerful phones on the market right now and it got the honor of being the basis of the latest Google Nexus phone. Yet, LG may already be working on an improved version, the LG Optimus G Pro.
Blog of Mobile came upon some info that points to the Optimus G Pro joining the 5” 1080p fight. The quad Krait CPU will be clocked at 1.7GHz (up from 1.5GHz) and the battery capacity has been bumped up to 3000mAh. It might also pack an IR port, similar to the Sony Xperia ZL.
The rest is pretty much the same – 13MP camera, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, LTE connectivity, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC, wallet and a couple of digital TV standards (presumably, those won’t make it to the worldwide version).
The LG Optimus G Pro will measure 139 x 70 x 10mm and weigh 160g according to rumors.
A couple of things lend some credence to the G Pro rumors - the image above was sent to Engadget by an anonymous tipster and Piet Zweegers, who sent this in to us, found out LGOptimusGPro.nl is registered by LG Electronix Benelux (there's nothing at that domain at the moment).
This isn't the first time we're hearing of such a device - it sounds very close to the rumored specs of the LG Optimus G2.
If it pans out, it will be interesting because the G Pro will depart from the 16:10 aspect ratio of the Optimus G (unless the Pro has a 1200 x 1920 screen, which was mislabeled as 1080p by the rumors) and it will undoubtedly spark rumors of a Nexus 5.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

The Yoga 11 is the little brother of last year's Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, one of the flagship laptop-tablet hybrids for the launch of full-blown Windows 8. At 11 inches, it's smaller and runs the ARM-powered so it has more in common with an Android tablet than a traditional laptop. While the market has been disappointingly quiet, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 offers something a little different for Windows hybrid hunters. Its screen is the same size as the Sony Vaio Duo 11, and an inch smaller than the Dell XPS 12, but those machines run full-fat x86 Intel chips and cost over £1,000/US$1,100 to the Yoga 11's £699/$849. It's a nifty device in itself, but it's not as fun as Microsoft Surface, and unless you're looking for a work laptop that doubles as a nifty tablet to watch films on, we'd advise forking out for the Sony Vaio Duo.


Microsoft Surface Pro

Microsoft Surface Pro is the full-blown Windows 8 version of the Surface RT laptop-tablet hybrid device we reviewed in Tech. last year. It will run on an Intel chip rather than a low-power mobile option, and will consequently be able to run any software that any other Windows 8 machine can run. In other words, it's the non-hamstrung version. The one people might actually want to buy. Microsoft isn't yet ready to talk about the exact launch date for this product, but we have had a chance to have a good play with it and to try out the new pen. We didn't have enough time to test battery life but Windows Store apps feels just as responsive as on Surface RT, and desktop programs feel as responsive as you'd expect from a Core i5. Microsoft's first real PC is shaping up to be really great and really portable.

Nikon 1 J2

Although the Nikon 1 J1 proved to be an incredibly popular compact system camera (which has since been replaced by the Nikon 1 J2 and joined by the Nikon 1 J3), its larger sibling, the Nikon 1 V1, was never as popular. Perhaps seen as not serious enough for "advanced photographers", its high asking price put off the beginners who were busy investing in the Nikon 1 J1. Now, however, Nikon has replaced the Nikon 1 V1 with the Nikon 1 V2, which promises to be an evolution of the existing camera and is what Nikon hopes will attract those lucrative more serious customers - the ones who are more likely to buy additional lenses and other accessories down the line. Although this camera probably still won't overtake the J series in terms of popularity, the images from it are a step up for those looking to get a little more serious with their photography, making it a good introduction to the world of CSCs.

PS4 to be more powerful than Xbox 720 state developer sources

A leading gaming website has reported that the PlayStation 4 will be significantly more powerful than the next Xbox, although Microsoft's machine will boast more RAM.
Widely-respected website VG247 has quoted developer sources who have knowledge of the specs for the PS4, codenamed Orbis, and the Xbox 720, codenamed Durango.
According to the site the PS4 will have a run-capability of 1.84 teraflops, significantly more than the suggested 1.23 teraflops from the new Xbox.
However, when it comes to RAM - not something to be overlooked - the Xbox will have 8GB compared to Orbis' 4GB.
Last, but not least, the Xbox will apparently play Blu-ray discs this time, something that was confined to Sony's PS3 in the current console generation.
Of course, without official word these specs remain rumours, but there is nothing here that does't have a ring of truth to it, and VG247 certainly has decent contacts within the industry.
And it sets the scene or another round of fanboy arguments as to which console represents the better gaming experience.
For many gamers, the most important piece of information is just when the new consoles will be arriving - and it looks increasingly likely that both Microsoft and Sony could choose March to make their announcements.
That could mean that the PS4 and Xbox 720 arrive in time for the turn of the year in home territories, with the likes of UK and Australia not too far behind.

From VG247

FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard hands-on

At first thought, we really wondered what case scenario would best fit a pocketable Bluetooth keyboard. Considering that the FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard can be tucked away in your pockets, some would naturally think it’d be an ideal companion for many of today’s gadgets – like tablets and smartphones. Even though we’d prefer a keyboard that’s more full-sized, we soon realized that there is one perfect case where the FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard best fits in.

With its pocket friendly size, we find that the FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard is best used on the couch. Yes folks, you heard that right – the couch. Actually, we paired it up to a Motorola DROID RAZR HD, which we connected to a high-def television via its HDMI-out connection. Seeing that there’s a very useful built-in trackpad on the FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard, we’re able to navigate through the UI of the phone with no issues at all. Also, it helps that there are left/right mouse buttons to ease the navigation too – especially paired to any Windows/Mac PC.

As for the typing experience, we really can’t complain about it, since the buttons are adequately sized for the pocket-size of the keyboard. Bubbled in the center of each button, there’s enough distinction between them – and that’s despite the fact they’re crunched up next to one another. At the same time, there’s a nice responsive click feel with every press. Showing off its usability, we also appreciate that there is a dedicated row for numbers, and another set for various media functions.

Finally, the FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard is great for presentations as well because it’s also packing along a red laser pointer – so there’s plenty of fun with it. Rather than relying on usual replaceable batteries, it’s comforting to know it’s using a rechargeable one instead. And if you plan on using this with a PC, it’s great that the USB Bluetooth adapter is neatly tucked away into the body of the keyboard (where the battery is located) when it’s not in use. Honestly, for $50 you’ll need to fork over to pick this up, there’s plenty of value in the FAVI Mini Bluetooth Keyboard – plus, it’s a versatile tool!

Korean researchers make 'the world's first imprintable and bendable lithium-ion battery'