Evernote beta for Android gains handwriting support

The Evernote’s beta app for Android has gained handwriting support and now lets you scribble down notes or just doodle around, saving everything as is – not transforming your handwriting into neat text like on the Galaxy Note 3 for example.
The update will take its time getting to the official Android app but for now you can test the beta through the Google+ group. The link is down below but you’d need to be patient and wait for the administrators to allow you permission to be in the group as it is private.

The Evernote guys are also working on adding highlights, table support, horizontal ruler and encrypted text support for the app editor, but there’s no saying when those might make it.

Windows 8.1 tablets get cut down to Android slate prices

In an effort to boost sales and use of their Windows 8.1 tablets, Microsoft has slashed prices on a bunch of devices in the Microsoft store.
The Toshiba Encore, Lenovo Miix 2, went from $299 to $249, and the Dell Venue Pro from $299 to $229. It should also be noted that all of these tabs carry 32GB of storage space. 

Probably the most interesting price cut of the bunch is the Venue Pro’s. By pricing the Windows slate at $229, Microsoft is going head to head with Google’s Nexus 7, and offering more storage space in the process; 32GB vs 16GB. In terms of real storage use, however, depending on the applications and the OS partition, this really means an extra 4-6GB for users. The Nexus 7, however, does have a higher resolution screen at 1920×1080, but the Venue Pro’s screen is 1.1” larger than Google’s tablet.
On the processing side, all three of the tables sport an Intel Bay Trail Z3740D chipset, which has an integrated GPU and is praised for its performance across the Windows 8 tablets.
The move by Microsoft becomes more interesting when you consider that they are selling the Dell Venue Pro at a lower price than Dell itself, showing that the company is trying to build the brand of their Microsoft store. Also, by selling the tablets at such low prices to foster faster adoption, chipset maker Intel will also stand to profit. The processor manufacturer enjoys a high margin from tablet chips, so the more people that buy the big pieces of touch tech, the better it is for Intel.

We have yet to see if the price drops will force enough people to adopt Windows 8.1 tablets as their computing vehicle of choice. The big question that remains is can manufacturers create Windows tablets that strike a balance between speedy performance and longer battery life. Do you see 8.1 tablets catching on?

Lenovo reveals two Android tablets

Since Lenovo has purchased Motorola Mobility from Google, they’re going to be hard at work on a variety of Android devices.
It turns out that the Chinese manufacturer has a pair of tablets on the way: the A3500 and A3300. 

Both slates received their Bluetooth SIG certifications. There are photos of the tablets, but they’re not the best quality.
What do we know about the devices? Well the A3500 (above) will have a 7-inch 800×1280 display, built in 3G, 1GB RAM, 5MP primary camera, a 2MP front-facing unit, and a quad core, 1.3GHZ processor.
The A3300 (above) is the lower spec’d one of the two devices. It’s screen resolution is 600×1024, no 3G, 1 GB RAM, a 2MP primary camera, a VGA front-facing one, and a dual-core 1.3GHZ processor.

There’s also word that Lenovo has two other tablets in the works, the A7600 and A5500. Considering their model numbers, the tablets should be better spec’d, but we don’t have any details on the internals of the devices, so anything at this point would be mere speculation.
How do you feel about Lenovo’s greater stake in the Android market. Are you expecting big things from the world’s number two PC manufacturer?

How much did Google actually lose from Motorola

As a refresher – Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91 billion yesterday, which would make it around two and a half years since Google bought Moto for $12.5 billion in 2011.
So by using simple math, you get that Google has lost some $9.6 billion in that span right, only getting a rich patent portfolio to show for it? Adding the money Motorola drained from Google on a quarterly basis the figure is even over $10 cool billion. Well, not exactly. Some analysts are estimating the figure to be only half as big. Here are the numbers. 

When Google bought Motorola the latter was sitting on $3 billion in cash and close to $1 billion in tax credits so the deal cost Google around $8.5 billion. Then Google sold Moto’s set-top box business to Arris for around $2.4 billion, rounding the total to $6.1 billion. Finally by subtracting the $2.9 billion from Lenovo and you’re looking at a $3.2 billion loss by Google.
And that’s a figure that the Motorola patents alone might justify, so Google didn’t do quite as bad. It also got to keep the modular Project Ara. To put it in perspective, it turns our Google paid just about the same for Motorola as it did for Next Labs, which is mostly known for making thermostats, .

Google releases Q4 and fiscal year 2013 earnings

The team at Google should be all smiles today as the mega-giant corporation saw their profits raise by 17% from last year. The company's total revenue was a staggering $16.86 Billion for Q4 2013 alone.
Larry Page, CEO of Google, had this to say:

"We ended 2013 with another great quarter of momentum and growth. Google's standalone revenue was up 22% year on year, at $15.7 billion. We made great progress across a wide range of product improvements and business goals. I'm also very excited about improving people's lives even more with continued hard work on our user experiences."

The majority of Google's revenues came from their owned sites, generating $10.55 billion.

news on Windows 8.1 update

Next update to Windows 8.1 will allegedly make booting to desktop the default 

 

Continuing its crusade of making a U-turn on pretty much every decision it made recently, Microsoft will now let boot directly to the desktop mode in Windows 8.1 bypassing the generally disliked Metro-style Start screen altogether. Although this feature was added in Windows 8.1, the next update to it will make it the default option.
Microsoft has apparently been taking user feedback into consideration that suggested majority of Windows 8.1 users are still on keyboard and mouse setup and prefer to go to the desktop mode directly instead of the Metro-style interface that is more optimized for touchscreen devices. Because of this Microsoft is slowly making Windows 8.1 more desktop user friendly. They added the Start button back in Windows 8.1 and the next update is said to make Metro-style apps more like desktop apps by letting you pin them to the taskbar and having a close button to quit the app.

Most of the recent updates to Windows 8.1 have been to make it more like Windows 7 rather than adding any new features as such. At the current rate, the next version will probably be called Windows 7 instead of Windows 9.

SwiftKey Note now available on iOS 

 

Few days ago we talked about the SwiftKey Note app for iOS, which was leaked on Twitter. Now the app has been officially unveiled and is available for download for free on the iPhone and iPad.
SwiftKey Note is a simple note-taking app for your iOS device. But where it differs from other note-taking app is that it has its own custom keyboard, that uses the same algorithm as the SwiftKey keyboard on Android. This means you will get the same telepathic level of prediction and almost always accurate auto-correct system at your fingertips. 

The keyboard mimics the design of the iOS 7 keyboard so iOS users will feel right at home. But once you start typing you’ll see that it provides suggestions to what you’re typing above the keyboard. You can tap on them to complete the word or type something that doesn’t exist in the dictionary and then tap on the word above to save it. There doesn’t seem to be a way to sync your saved words, though, as there is on Android.

SwiftKey has also integrated basic editing features into the keyboard, that can be accessed by swiping sideways on the prediction row. You can make the text bold, italic or underlined, set alignment and also add bullet points.
One of the key features of SwiftKey Note app is that it integrates with Evernote, which means your notes are synced to the cloud and can be accessed again from another device running SwiftKey Note after logging in. SwiftKey could also add more services in the future.

Other than basic note taking abilities, SwiftKey Note is a very simple app, much like the default Notes app or Simplenote. You can’t, for example, add images or videos into your notes. If that’s your thing that you should consider using Evernote instead. The main catch of this app is the keyboard, which you won’t get elsewhere due to Apple not allowing universal third party keyboards in iOS.
As for the keyboard itself, I found the typing experience excellent. I was typing as fast and as carelessly as I can and the keyboard managed to get it right nearly 100 percent of the time unless I hit an odd key, such as the comma or the period. Compared to the stock iOS keyboard, I found the experience only slightly better, but that’s because the stock iOS 7 keyboard itself is fantastic. I did appreciate the presence of a suggestion row though, which is sorely missed on iOS.
SwiftKey eschews some of the Android keyboard’s habits, such as pressing the period key to insert a period and space and instead relies on double tap on Space key to stay consistent with the iOS experience. The keyboard can also be split in two the same way the stock iOS keyboard can. Oddly, though, there is no Flow mode on this keyboard for swiping text on the screen, which would have been a welcome addition.
The SwiftKey Note is an interesting idea albeit not a compelling one. The app itself is very basic to make you not want to consider using it over your current favorite note taking app. The keyboard is terrific but as I mentioned before it is only slightly better than the already excellent iOS 7 keyboard and the lack of Flow doesn’t do it any favors. In the end, I don’t see a lot of reasons why you should have this installed on your iPhone or iPad right now. Maybe with time when it gets more features it would be worthwhile.

Galaxy S4 and S4 mini get Black Editions with leather backs 

Black is the new black – the Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition borrows the faux leather back of the Galaxy Note 3 and marks the introduction of yet another Galaxy S4 version (the 1001st by our count).
Snarkiness aside, we quite liked the faux leather back on the Note 3. Selling just the back cover would have meant current Galaxy S4 owners can get in on this too and the Note 3 back comes in other shades too (white and red, for example).
It's still an option for those who don't appreciate the plastic, fingerprint magnet back of the standard Galaxy S4. The specs are exactly the same as the I9505 though, the Snapdragon 600 version of the phone, rather than the updated S4 Advance models (with Snapdragon 800).
That goes for the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini too, as the compact phone will be getting a Black Edition of its own. This model has the same specs as its global counterpart too.

The big Galaxy S4 Black Edition will hit Russia (and presumably other markets) in February this year for RUB 23,000 ($660). The Galaxy S4 mini Black Edition will be RUB 16,000 ($460).

Nokia Lumia 720 receiving the Lumia Black update

 Lumia Black update on Nokia Lumia 720 

The Nokia Black update is now available for the Lumia 720 as owners have reached us to report they are now enjoying the latest Nokia extras on their handsets.
The Nokia Lumia Black update brings the Glance screen feature, support for Bluetooth 4.0 and Nokia Beamer (which the 720 doesn't get due to the 1GB RAM requirement). Early adopters report that the Glance screen works perfectly as works well with the newly the double tap to wake feature, which also came as part of the update. The phone also feels snappier, according to some reports.

The Lumia 720 update means that the majority of the Nokia Lumia lineup has already received the Black update. This includes the Lumia 520, Lumia 625, Lumia 920 as well as the Lumia 1020 AT&T variant. The Lumia 620 is the only one that yet to receive the enhancement suite.

Microsoft is in trouble for the new OneDrive name 

 

Microsoft seems to have really bad luck with its SkyDrive cloud service. First a UK court ruled out Microsoft is infringing British Sky Broadcasting Group trademark last summer and Microsoft has agreed to change the name.


Just two days ago Microsoft announced the new name of the service – SkyDrive was re-branded to OneDrive. And as of today Microsoft is in trouble once again for the same reason.  
As it turns out One.com offers a similar cloud service called Once Cloud Drive and Microsoft is allegedly infringing the One.com trademark. It does sound close, doesn’t it? Naturally, One.com says this will lead to a confusion and the company is now “consulting trademark experts”.
If you “bing” ‘one drive cloud’ the service pops up as the third result – using Google moves it on top of the results. There, I’ve just done the marketing research Microsoft should have done in the first place. Hopefully this awkward situation will be resolved soon.

Samsung to open 60 stores across Europe in three months 

 

Samsung has chosen Carphone Warehouse as a “preferred partner” for Europe. The retailer will collaborate with Samsung to open and manage over 60 dedicated stores of the Korean company.
Carphone Warehouse is already managing the three pilot stores and it seems Samsung is happy with the results and has decided on an aggressive expansion.  

Naturally, all those new stores promise high-end customer experience and will offer various Samsung smartphones, slates, computers and wearables.
The new stores will open in the next three months in seven major EU markets – Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. If everything goes right Samsung will entrust Carphone Warehouse with even more stores across Europe later on.

Nokia Black update rolling out for Lumia 520 

Nokia tested the 512MB RAM waters for the Black update with the Lumia 625 and now it's rolling out the software for the most popular Windows Phone device out there, the Lumia 520.
Nokia Black builds on top of Windows Phone GDR3 and brings various improvements. From GDR3, it gets Bluetooth 4.0 LE support and the ability to close apps from the app switcher menu, there's a rotation lock too.
From the Nokia goodies, there's a new drive mode and Nokia Storyteller. The Lumia 520 already has the Nokia camera app. Since the device only has 512MB RAM, it will miss out on Nokia Refocus and Nokia Beamer (this is why it's so important that the Lumia 525 has 1GB RAM). Glance Screen will not be available either.
Anyway, you can check if the Nokia Black update is available for your Lumia 520 for your region and carrier by going into Settings > Phone update or check this list. The update is still listed as Pending review for many carriers.
Update: MyNokiaBlog reports that the Lumia 520 and 720 are getting double tap to wake with the Black update, even though it wasn't available with Amber.

Nintendo to make an app for smartphones 

Nintendo has announced that they will be making an app for smartphones. Although far from releasing its games on the mobile platform like everyone wants, this app will at least let you access the Nintendo store from your mobile device.

 

The Nintendo smartphone app should be similar to the PlayStation and Steam mobile apps, where in it will let log into to your Nintendo Network ID (NNID) and let you purchase games and other content for your Nintendo consoles and access certain other features as well.  


Nintendo has been adamant about not releasing its games on the mobile platform, the way several other console makers, particularly SEGA has done in the past. The company hasn’t been doing very well as of late so it remains to be seen how long it can maintain its stance.

The maker of gyroscopic OIS for Nokia makes the component available to other manufacturers 

According to a report in The Register, Nokia’s HIGHLY-EFFECTIVE GYROSCOPIC OIS TECH has become available to other manufacturers on the open market. The tiny part made by ST Microelectronics was previously exclusively available to the Finnish manufacturer.

 

 

The dual-axis gyroscope for image stabilization carries the model number L2G2IS. The package has measures of 2.3 x 2.3 x 0.7mm and has mechanics which have been micro-machined in silicon. The part is priced at the substantial for such component $1.70 per unit, and is sold in quantities of 1,000.
According to the source of the report, the clever OIS component might appear in new devices as early as next month during MWC.

Oppo introduces N1 phablet in India, costs $640 

Oppo, the Chinese manufacturer has officially entered the Indian smartphone market with the introduction of its flagship phablet, the Oppo N1 in the sub-continent.
Oppo unveiled the N1 phablet back in September last year with a 5.9-inch FHD display, a Snapdragon 600 chipset, featuring a quad-core Krait processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage, 13 megapixel rotatable camera and 3,160mAh battery.
The phablet was also the first device to official support the CyanogenMOD 10.2, which is based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS and there is also the home-baked ColorOS version that is built on the Android 4.2.



Oppo N1 will come out with ColorOS out of the box in India and there is no official word on the availability of the limited edition CyanogenMod variant in the country. Oppo has priced the 16 GB version of its phablet at INR 39,999 (about $640) and the device will be available in tier-one cities in the coming days.

Samsung will allegedly tone down on custom software on Google’s request 

It seems Samsung’s custom software enhancements have finally gotten Google’s attention. Enough for the Mountain View company to talk to Samsung and ask it to calm down a bit.

 

According to the sources at Re/code, the two companies are now in talks to bring Samsung’s vision of Android in line with Google’s. Google seems to be particularly taking offense at the presence of duplicate Samsung service that mimic ones by Google, such as the presence of a separate application store, music store, movie store and ebooks store. Since Samsung has to have Google’s services on board as well, it results in two of each on every device, which will likely confuse customers. 

As part of the ongoing discussions, Samsung will likely be toning down its custom interface changes as well, including the new Magazine UX that was introduced on the new line of Galaxy Tabs at CES this year, along with highlighting Google’s services over its own on its devices.
Personally, I’m sick of seeing Samsung’s custom stores on every device that not only offer a poor selection of content but also clutter the device with unnecessary apps. However, I disagree with Google trying to curb Samsung’s UI enhancements. Samsung has spent half a decade trying to make Android usable by adding useful (and admittedly several useless) features to Android, many of which were later shamelessly ripped off by Google and added to stock Android (take the notification shortcuts, for example).

Now Google has a problem with the Magazine UX, a genuinely useful feature that makes up for the lackluster multitasking on Android and lets you do more with your device. Instead of coming up with something like this on its own or at least encouraging someone else who’s doing it, Google is trying to pull Samsung back to align it with its own myopic vision of Android.
Hopefully, a balance will be achieved some time in future where Samsung will tone down the unnecessary features and enhancements while still keeping the genuinely useful ones.

Samsung to make Galaxy Tab for students  

 Samsung USA has revealed that they will be releasing a Galaxy Tab designed for education.

The tab has been created in coordination with the Google Play for Education program. 

Available for grades Kindergarten through 12th grade, the education-centric tablet will give students access to specific content created for digital instruction.
We don’t have the nitty-gritty on the “Edu-Tab’s” tech specs yet, but we do know it’ll rock a 10.1” WXGA screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and will have WiFi, a dual-camera set-up, NFC, and Android 4.4, Kit-Kat, right out of the box.

The content that will be pre-loaded on the tablet will all be teacher approved as part of the Google Play for Education program. Additional apps can be purchased with a school PO instead of a customary credit card, as well.

Apple granted another "iPen" stylus patent 

As you have probably noticed from the news over the past few hours, today was a big day for Apple patents. Apple apparently had about 30 patents approved, although only a few of them are targeted enough to the mobile sphere to make us interested. We've seen mobile camera lens patents and now we're seeing another patent that points to work on an "iPen" stylus. 

This isn't the first "iPen" patent gathered by Apple, and it is unlikely to be the last either. According to Patently Apple, the Cupertino crew has more than 20 patents that could all be part of an Apple stylus, including LiveScribe-like recording, variable pressure and texture input, gesture controls, and more. The newest patent granted today allows for determining the orientation of the stylus through a sensor in the pen as well as a sensor in the slate.  

There could be a number of cool uses for a feature like this from something simple like making the device feel more like various drawing materials, for example a pencil (one end for writing and the other for erasing), or a charcoal stick (using the side for a broad shadows), to more advanced functionality like putting the stylus into power-saving mode depending on the orientation. 

This patent was filed in 2011, but it seems fairly obvious that Apple is still putting time and effort into figuring out how to make a stylus that is more than just a "dumb stick", which was why Steve Jobs wanted to avoid it in the first place. It just remains to be seen if Apple will actually build the device and sell it. It seems more likely with the rumored 12.9-inch iPad in the works, but we'll have to see.  

 

Apple releases an updated report about National Security information requests 

Apple has just released a new transparency report, which reveals the number of National Security "requests of information related to law enforcement investigations" for the first half of 2013. This report gets released shortly after the Department of Justice announced that it will allow more detailed disclosures about the "number of national security orders and requests issued to communications providers". The report is an update to a similar one, which was issued on November 5, 2013. 

 The Cupertino giant's report covers the first six months of 2013 and reveals that the company has received between 0 and 249 National Security orders, which concern between 0 and 249 different user accounts. In addition, Apple states that it has received 927 requests by law enforcement, which concerned 2330 different accounts. Apple disclosed the personal information of no more or less than 747 user accounts. In addition, the company revealed that 81% of the National Security account requests resulted in some kind of data disclosure. 

Apple states that it has not received any appeals for bulk data in the said period. The report also claims that "the number of accounts involved in national security orders is infinitesimal relative to the hundreds of millions of accounts registered with Apple". It is important to say that the aforementioned requests include both "FISA letters" and "National Security Letters", which usually allow an institution to reveal data without even admitting that it has been requested to do so and don't require a court order. 

 

"NSLs are limited to transactional data such as a customer’s contact information. Apple is required by law to comply with these NSLs if we have the information requested." - excerpt from Apple's report. 

 

 

 

Apple also states that it "reviews each order, whether criminal or under national security authority" and that users should be content about their privacy on, say, iMessage and Facetime, because their data is being encrypted. Even more, it is claimed that no "location data, Maps searches, or Siri requests" are being stored by Apple.

Nokia shows us why its Lumia Windows Phones are safer than other devices 

While it may be preparing to announce new Windows Phone 8.1 handsets at MWC next month, Nokia found the time to remind us, via its official Conversations blog, why its Lumias are safe devices - for both regular, and business users.
For example, a company can enable the automatic encryption of a Lumia’s internal storage “and have file encryption kick in as soon as the phone is turned on.” Moreover. since Windows Phone is the only mobile OS that comes with Information Rights Management (IRM) built-in, Microsoft Outlook can handle rights-protected docs and emails - thus, “your company’s confidential documents stay confidential, as they cannot be accidentally forwarded to your competitor’s CEO.”
Unlike Android handsets, WP devices don’t allow the installation of apps from third-party sources. You can use only apps from the Windows Phone Store, so malware and possible viruses are kept at bay.

Nintendo said to work on Android games 

Nintendo is certainly not in the most favorable of positions right now. Following the price cut of its unsuccessful Wii U gaming console, a report by Japanese news outlet Nikkei suggests the company may be looking to expand its business to Android games.
Currently, Nintendo’s strategy is to release self-made games only for its consoles, but not for anyone else’s. The report cites a source that’s previously been accurate about Nintendo’s plans, who claims that in 2014 the Japanese company will release “minigames” for Android phones. Nintendo hopes that this effort will bring more attention from casual gamers to its console and games line-up.
This aligns quite well with previous rumors of 2013 for an education-focused Nintendo tablet running Android. It seems it’s just a matter of time before the company shifts its focus to mobile gaming as well as its full-fledged consoles.

  

In an interview given to Forbes last October, Nitendo CEO Satoru Iwata hinted of the potential that smartphones could have for the company.

I feel like we should make an effort to take advantage of smart devices’ existence. For instance, we already made it possible to browse Wii U’s networking service called Miiverse on smart devices. Starting with this attempt, we are discussing among us how we can expand the use of smart devices to help drive the business of dedicated gaming systems. 

SA: Samsung lead smartphone charge in 2013 with 320M sales 

A report by Strategy Analytics has it that global smartphone shipments reached a record 990 million units in 2013. This comes slightly short of the 1 billion estimated by IDC, but that kind of difference is negligible when dealing with estimates.



SA saw annual growth of 41% over 2012. In Q4 alone the increase is the slightly lower 32% - 290.2 million this year over 217 million in Q4 of 2012.
Samsung tops the list of smartphone manufacturers with a record 319.8 million smartphones shipped worldwide. This achievement gives the company a market share of 32%. According to the research company, Samsung's success lies in the company's numerous devices that made a big dent in the market as well as the great performance of its Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3 flagships.
In comparison to Samsung, Apple didn't do as well. The Cupertino based company grew 13% year-over-year having shipped 153.4 million smartphones worldwide. In 2013, the company marks a decline in its market share to 15%, from 19% in 2012.
Still, both companies accounted for nearly half of global smartphone shipments last year. Strategy Analytics notes that enormous marketing budgets as well as the optimized and extensive distribution channels have enabled Samsung and Apple to be leaders in the industry.
However, the research company expects the two leaders to feel increased pressure from "second-tier" brands such as Huawei, LG and Lenovo, which are all growing rapidly. Combined, the trio boasts 14% market share in 2013.
Huawei has expanded in Europe, LG saw its Optimus line do well in Latin America, while Lenovo's Android phones grew in sales across China.

Apple iPhone 5c sales fall short of expectations, Tim Cook admits

Apple executive admits iphone 5c sales below expectaction 

Apple put out its Q1 report and investors instantly spotted that the iPhone 5c, which replaced the iPhone 5, hasn’t been selling as well as expected. CEO Tim Cook is optimistic about Apple's performance with the iPhone 5s and 5c combo, but acknowledges "the mix was something very different than we thought."


Tim Cook credits Touch ID with why the iPhone 5s was so much more desirable than the 5c. "I think that, associated with the other things that are unique to the 5s, got the 5s a significant amount more attention and a higher mix of sales," says Cook. No surprise the iPhone 5c didn’t get Touch ID, huh?
Anyway, investors are not impressed with Apple's performance. They were expecting Apple to beat its own guidance (as it has done in the past), especially with the China Mobile deal in place and reports that, after only a week, the company saw its best activation numbers in China.
The iPhone 5c captured a smaller market than the previous phone in its position, the iPhone 4S. That's despite a strong Black friday performance. We thought that the 5c might be an ugly duckling to make the iPhone 5s look better that it would have if the iPhone 5 was still available (both metal phones that look the same).
In pre-market trading Apple stock is down 6.70%, which knocks off $33 billion of the company's market cap. The drop was even bigger at one point, but AAPL is now slowly improving.
Apple's guidance for the next quarter isn't encouraging though, revenue is expected to be $42-44 billion. Last year Apple did $43.6 in Q2, which signals no growth and, with the margins falling, that may lead to a drop in profits.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 UK pre-orders kick off 

Samsung opened the pre-order books for the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 in the United Kingdom. The top-end Android tablet is priced at £649 ($1076; €788) for a Wi-Fi version with octa-core Exynos chipset at Samsung’s official online store.

NVIDIA TegraZone is available for all Android devices

NVIDIA TegraZone is now available for all Android devices 

 

NVIDIA TegraZone got treated to a major update which expanded its availability to non-Tegra devices. Version 2.9.0 of the app is currently available to download in the Google Play Store for all devices running Android 2.2 and up.



It must be pointed that the updated app does not make Tegra-enhanced game playable to non-NVIDIA devices. The mobile chipset manufacturer’s idea behind the move is to raise awareness about its hardware and the effect it has on video games.
In addition to the expanded availability, NVIDIA TegraZone brings several other improvements. They include integration of Google Play Game Services and Google+ login, as well as support for NVIDIA SHIELD and the MadCatz MOJO gaming console.
The expanded availability of the TegraZone app is a strange move by NVIDIA. I would personally find checking out games I cannot actually play a bit frustrating.


 

Sony has a tablet attachment for its QX10/QX100 lens- camera duo 

 

For those of you who find snapping photos with a tablet a tad too subtle, I have some great news! Sony has a tablet attachment for its QX10/QX100 DUO of lens-style cameras coming your way. 

Carrying the model number SPA-TA1, the tablet attachment is set to launch in Japan in the beginning of April. It will ship with six different arm sizes – from 85mm in width, all the way to 190mm. The mount which ships with the camera lenses tops out at 75mm of width, therefore leaving owners of devices such as the Sony Xperia Z Ultra in need of a dedicated case.

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo is official

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo  costs €260  

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo sports a 5-inch display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The smartphone will be powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core A7 chipset along with 1 GB of RAM. It features a 5 megapixel rear camera, VGA front facing shooter and 8 GB internal memory with the ability to expand it via microSD card. 

Samsung's latest addition is equipped with a wide range of connectivity options, but lacks 4G LTE support. The smartphone runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and packs a 2,100mAh battery.





Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo is already listed in a Dutch online retail store with a price tag of €260 (about $355). The retailer promises to ship the smartphone within 24 hours. The Galaxy Grand Neo is expected to go on sale in other markets across the globe in the coming days.

Samsung announces devices with 4K displays are on the way 

The Mobile World Conference is fast approaching, and Samsung has some titillating news about the displays on their future devices.

 

The Korean Manufacturer mentioned that they’re preparing a smartphone with a QHD AMOLED screen (2560 x 1440 resolution). Some believe that this will be the display on the Galaxy S5, but it’s all speculation at this point. Their other announcement is what’s really intriguing, however. 

Samsung also announced that they are working on outfitting future smartphone models with UHD (4K) displays. This means that we could be seeing cell phone screens with a whopping 3480 x 2160 resolution from Uncle Sammie.
There’s no need to get too excited too quickly, however, as 4K screens are a ways off. Samsung just recently released 4K television sets, so it’s a little premature to think that this technology will be made available on their smartphones soon, but it is still an exciting promise to look forward to. Samsung will most likely reveal more information at MWC, which begins on February 24th.
In non-cell phone related news, Samsung also announced that they will be releasing AMOLED television sets with UHD SHD resolutions (7680 x 4320).
Samsung’s definitely upping their game when it comes to displays, anybody here excited to have a 4K phone?

Nokia X aka Normandy pops up on Browsermark's database 

Is there anything we don't know about the Nokia's Android phone codenamed Normandy? We already learned its name - Nokia X, we know its specs too - a 4" WVGA display, dual-core Snapdragon 200 chipset, a 5MP cam, 4GB storage, dual-SIM, six different colors, stripped down Android 4.4 KitKat.


We saw the Nokia X leaks via AnTuTu benchmark. Today it has entered yet another benchmark database - the one of Browsermark 2. According to the submitted info, Nokia X's model number is RM-980 and its Chrome browser scores 1885.88 on the test.

BrowserMark 2 

Higher is better 

According to the rumors, Nokia X won't be a Google certified phone, which means no Google Services including the Play Store. Nokia will reportedly provide its own application store, but the users will be able to sideload apps, too.


Anyway, Nokia X is expected to go official at the Nokia's pre-MWC event in Barcelona next month.

BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 update goes official, available now 

BlackBerry has just announced the latest 10.2.1 update for its BlackBerry OS. It brings lots of new features, and is compatible with all BlackBerry 10 smartphones. The rollout has already started so you can update your device right now.


BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 


Here is the complete official change log:

• Customize Pinch Gesture to Filter BlackBerry Hub – BlackBerry Hub lets you access all your messages and notifications in one place. A new feature lets you instantly filter the message list in the Hub. You can customize the Hub to show only Unread Messages, Flagged Messages, Draft Messages, Meeting Invites, Sent Messages or Level 1 Alerts. Once the filter criterion is set, you can simply activate it with a pinch gesture on the Hub’s message list. 
• Simplified Phone Experience – The phone includes a new incoming call screen that lets you swipe to the left to answer or swipe right to ignore a call. New intuitive icons allow you to instantly silence the call, or send a Reply Now response through BBM, SMS or email that you can’t answer the phone right away. You can choose from a list of standard automated responses or respond with a personalized note. 
• SMS and Email Groups – You can now create SMS and email groups for more efficient broadcast communications. 
• Actionable Lock Screen Notifications – You can now "Tap to open" a message that appears on the lock screen, letting you respond to an important message much quicker or to check messages more discreetly. 
• Picture Password for Quick Unlocking - You can quickly unlock your phone using a combination of a picture and a number (0-9) of your choice, which you place at a particular point on the image. When you try to unlock the phone, the picture will appear along with a grid of random numbers. To unlock, simply drag the grid so the number you selected overlays the particular point on the image. 
• Customizable Quick Settings Menu - You can now customize what appears on the Settings menu, which includes features such as being able to quickly change the Brightness of the smartphone’s display, toggle various network connections, and access the built-in flashlight. The Settings menu also includes a toggle that lets you instantly switch between your Personal and Work perimeter. 
• Offline Browser Reading Mode - You can now save the current web page you’re on for later viewing, even if you are offline or without an Internet connection. 
• Preferred Contact Sync – You can now choose the sync source for your Contacts ensuring you always have the most up-to-date contact details. When adding a new contact you can designate which sources you want the contact info to sync with, such as the corporate address book, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. 
• Device and Battery Monitor - A new and improved device monitor provides you with essential details on battery usage, the impact of installed apps on battery life and memory usage and storage, as well as CPU stats. 
• FM Radio – If you have a BlackBerry Z30, BlackBerry Q10 or BlackBerry Q5 smartphone, the new software update unlocks the built-in FM radio in those handsets. You can listen to local FM stations, which does not require any network connection. 
• Automatic Software Updates - OS updates can be set to happen automatically over a Wi-Fi® connection to help ensure you’re always benefiting from the latest and best possible customer experience. 
• Enterprise Features - When combined with BES10 version 10.2, enterprise customers will gain additional security features and IT policies for when more granular controls are required, such as for regulated industries and for organizations that work with sensitive data. For more information about BES10, please visit bes10.com. 
• BlackBerry says the new 10.2.1 update is now available for all compatible devices (Z10, Q10, Q5. Porsche Design P'9982) everywhere around the globe. Of course, the rollout is gradual, so it may take some time before the update hits your device, especially if it is carrier-bound.
  
  

How much storage space does your 16GB smartphone really have? 

 

 

Last year, customers who bought Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablets found out that their 64GB tablet had only 23GB free storage space, just 36% percent of the advertised storage space. Not surprisingly, this didn’t go down too well with customers. 

When it comes to smartphones like the iPhone, 16GB models are quite popular as it is the entry level model. So the question is how much storage space does your 16GB phone have? Folks at the Which? magazine ran tests on eight popular 16GB smartphones to find out the answer to that question.
They’ve created the following infographic, which shows how much free storage is there in top smartphones available currently.




So as you can see, Samsung’s flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with the least amount of free storage space. It has just 8.56GB or just 54% of the advertised storage space.

iPhone 5c, Nexus 5 and iPhone 5s took the top honors with 12.60GB, 12.28GB and 12.20GB respectively. While it is understandable that some of the space is occupied by the operating system that is required to run the device, Which? magazine found that in some cases unwanted bloatware and system files occupy 46 per cent of the phone’s internal storage.


The problem is more acute with Android based devices, as carriers are also allowed to install apps before selling devices to customers. The problem is that customers are not allowed to remove some of the unnecessary or unwanted apps from their smartphones include the iPhone.
However, as the Which? magazine points out, the three smartphones that offer the most amount of storage space don’t have memory card slots, so they can’t be expanded like Galaxy S4. 

So does it really matter how much free storage space is available on smartphone, especially if they’ve memory card slots? I think it does, as I felt a little cheated when I found that I got only 54% of the advertised storage space on my Samsung Galaxy S4. I must also admit that I was disappointed to find out that I just got 76% of the advertised storage space on my iPhone 5s. It would be nice if the smartphone vendors gave customers an easy way to delete the bloatware.

Samsung and Google sign a long-term license agreement 

Samsung and Google signed a long-term partnership which will see the two giants share their patent portfolios. The deal will cover the companies’ current and future patents over the next ten years.
The partnership will spread over a broad range of technologies and business areas. Considering its duration, the collaboration is certain to extend well beyond mobile products, with home appliances sitting on top of the list of new areas (Google’s recent acquisition of Nest is a clear indication of its ambitions in this field, while Samsung is already an established heavyweight).
Unsurprisingly, both Samsung and Google are pleased with the agreement. Having it in place will reduce the potential for any litigation between the companies, therefore allowing them to focus their efforts on innovation.

15% of Windows Phone carry the GDR3 update 

 

Microsoft is big on uniformity with their Windows Phone brand: you’re not going to see any skinned versions of their quickly rising mobile platform anytime soon. As a result, manufacturers also face some hardware restrictions. Maximum screen resolution and maximum processor speed caps are part of the territory.



The GDR3 update rollout isn’t going particularly quickly though and several months after its release only 15% of the Windows Phones surveyed in Q4 2013, are carrying it.  

Of course, we got several updates from Nokia in January and will all newly sold WP handsets packing GDR out of box, chances are that adoption will grow quickly. However, Microsoft will certainly need to step up its game in the future and show the positive side of uniformity – quick updates. Otherwise the strong limitations of the platform only serve to limited choice for end users.

AdDuplex stats teaser: GDR3 is on ~15% of WP8


— Alan Mendelevich (@ailon) January 25, 2014

Nokia says Lumia 1020 can replace your DSLR 

Nokia’s latest commercial is yet again advertising the awesome 41MP PureView camera of Lumia 1020. This time around Nokia is trying to convince you the Lumia 1020 is a great replacement for your DSLR.

  

 

Recently, with the Lumia Black firmware update, the Lumia 1020 camera algorithm was rewritten to behave like it did on the first PureView phone – the Nokia 808. The result is more natural colors, less noise and more detail.

Nokia offers $20 voucher

Nokia offers $20 voucher for apps if you buy some of its devices 

 

If you’re planning on buying a Windows-running Nokia device (Windows Phone or Windows RT) or just bought one, you should know that Nokia is offering a free $20 voucher for apps you can redeem in the WP or Windows Store.




Note that the deal ends on January 31 and is limited to one voucher per account. 
The deal is available for the following devices: Nokia Lumia 521, Nokia Lumia 925, Nokia Lumia 928, Nokia Lumia 1020, Nokia Lumia 1520 or Nokia Lumia 2520.

It will take up to three days to process the new activation and for you to receive the voucher, the final date for activation is February 15, which gives you some breathing room.
If you’re looking at a Lumia 521, you should know it’s $70 off-contract from the Microsoft store and $35 at Target. It’s out of stock online, but you can try price matching it in store.

LG announces 2013 four quarter and full year financial results 

LG has revealed its fourth quarter and full year financial results for the year of 2013. The company made $53.1 billion in terms of net revenue with $203.65 million net profit in the full year of 2013, an improvement over 2012. Operating profits increased to $1.17 billion in 2013 from $1.08 billion in 2012.

As far as just the fourth quarter is concerned, LG earned $14.03 billion in terms of net revenue and $223.89 million of operating profit. Unfortunately for LG, the company also faced $60.21 million in terms of net loss due to higher non-operating expenses.
The mobile sector of LG's business reported a 29 percent increase in annual revenue to $11.85 billion year-on-year and an 18 percent increase in fourth quarter revenues to $3.38 billion quarter-on-quarter thanks to strong performance by the G2 and Nexus 5. LG shipped 13.2 million smartphone units last quarter, which is a 54 percent increase over last year.

Microsoft acquires Gears of War franchise 

 

Microsoft has acquired the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games (Unreal Engines, Unreal series, Gears of War series, Infinity Blade series) for an undisclosed amount.



Now that the series is owned by Microsoft, the software giant has assigned the young Black Tusk studio to develop the next generation Gears of War game. Naturally it will be an Xbox One exclusive.  
Microsoft has done the very same thing with the Halo series. It bought the franchise from Bungie after the studio was done with its story arc expanded over four FPS games (Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Reach). Microsoft now has its own 343 Industries game studio in charge for the new Halo games (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 4, Halo 5, Halo: Spartan Assault).

Samsung and Ericsson settle patent quarrel for $650 million  

Swedish company Ecisson announced today that it has reached an agreement with Samsung to end their 2012 patent infringement case. Samsung has accepted to pay up $650 million in addition to years of royalties.
Both companies signed their first licensing deal in 2001 when Samsung approached Ericsson to use its handset and network patents. The deal was then renewed in 2007, but things slowly went south in 2011 when the deal expired. The reason for this was Samsung's accusation of Ericsson higher royalty rates demands.

The details regarding what royalties Samsung has accepted to pay are still unclear. The case started in 2012 on the grounds that Samsung has infringed several Ericsson patents including ones for clearer voice transmission, touchscreen functions and network efficiency.

Over the weekend, Samsung also struck a long term license agreement with Google. The Korean company has also been in ongoing talks with Apple to reach an out-of-court agreement on their never-ending patent war.

Russian carrier Megafon sells the iPhone again 

Russia's second largest cell carrier, Megafon, has ended their ban on offering the iPhone to its customers, and has started selling Apple's smartphone once again.
Megafon originally stopped offering the iPhone due to distribution disputes with Apple. Recent changes in Apple's overseas distribution policies, however, has made Megafon a happy carrier and the two companies were able to work out a deal.

Apple is certainly gaining some traction in the region. They launched a Russian online Apple store just for the country in June of 2013, and now the three largest cell phone carriers in Russia all offer the iPhone.
Still, it has yet to be seen whether or not this will have a large effect on Apple's sales in the area. Their phones command a high price and may not have as much footing, or clout, as the higher-end Android models. Time will tell, as it always does. Do you think Apple will make big waves in Russia?

Microsoft drops SkyDrive brand, renames the service OneDrive 

Microsoft has renamed its cloud storage service from SkyDrive to OneDrive. This was expected after a UK court found Microsoft infringing British Sky Broadcasting Group trademark last summer.

  

Microsoft says it chose the OneDrive name because the cloud storage should be the one place where you store all of your pictures, videos, documents and files.  

There won’t be any other changes besides the name. Microsoft is working hard lately to improve SkyDrive. It has tremendously bettered the iOS app, it now even supports automatic upload, just like Dropbox. What’s great is Microsoft is giving you 7GB of free cloud storage, while Dropbox starts with 2GB. You can buy more SkyDrive storage, of course, or you can get 20GB for free with some of Microsoft’s paid services such as the Office 365 subscription.
Anyway, we expect Microsoft to update all of its SkyDrive apps with the new OneDrive name soon.