The Galaxy S5 surpasses the Galaxy S4 in terms of adoption rate in the USA

In two days' time, on May 11, Samsung's current flagship will have been available on the market for exactly a month. We do know that the first day sales of the Galaxy S5 were significantly higher than the first day sales of Samsung's last year forerunner, the Galaxy S4. At the same time, the launch weekend sales of the device also beat the ones of its greatest rival, the Apple iPhone 5s. All of these facts indicate that although it received a fair amount of critique, the Samsung Galaxy S5 would probably break a sales record or two and become one of the best-selling gadgets of 2014, just like its predecessor.
The Galaxy S5 will undoubtedly be one of the hits on the smartphone market this year, but Samsung's rivals won't stay idle – on the contrary, their smartphones are going to fight tooth and nail with the Galaxy S5 for a bigger share of the market.




 source: Chitika via BGR

Ari Partinen, one of Nokia's PureView camera gurus kisses nokia goodbye for Apple

Ari Partinen. He is one of the camera experts who are responsible for the Nokia N8, which came with a spectacular camera for its time period, the Nokia 808 PureView, which featured a stellar 41MP snapper on its back, and almost every PureView-equipped Nokia smartphone, such as the Lumia 920, 1020, 1520, and the Icon.
All in all, Mr. Partinen is one of Nokia's gurus in the field of mobile imaging technology, but sadly, May 9 is his last work day at the Finnish company, which sold its Devices & Services division to Microsoft. But Ari Partinen won't remain unemployed for long. In fact, he has already settled for a new job. In Cupertino, California. That's right, one of Nokia's biggest experts in the mobile camera department announced that he will work for Apple from June onwards. This was announced by Ari Partinen himself on Twitter. He expressed his satisfaction of the outcome by stating that he will be starting "a new chapter in Cupertino". Hopefully, Ari Partinen's involvement with Apple will result into future iDevices with even better imaging capabilities. Partinen is not the first member of the team behind the PureView technology to leave the Finns. Back in November 2012, another prominent photo guru - Damian Dinning - kissed Nokia goodbye and moved to Jaguar Land Rover.Alas, it is pretty sad to witness that key experts are leaving Nokia, which was once the dominant player on the mobile phone market. However, times are changing and one should expect a high-ranking expert such as Ari Partinen to desert the sinking ship and look for better opportunities.

Ari Partinen @Partinen 

 

Today will be my last day working for the amazing #Lumia family. In June I will start a new chapter in Cupertino, California. Much love! 

1:23 AM - 9 May 2014 

 

 

 

 source: @AriPartinen via Engadget

The dark side of the Samsung Galaxy S5: 4 (plus one) mighty annoying features

The Samsung Galaxy S5 came amidst sky-high expectations, and Samsung mostly delivered with top of the line hardware in the form of the Snapdragon 801 system chip, and a brand-new ISOCELL 16-megapixel camera for very sharp images. 

The Galaxy S5, however, is not perfect, and after you use for a while it you start noticing some annoying details. Don’t you wish you knew about those things before you actually bought the phone? None of them is a deal-breaker, but combined, they just spoil the impression of an otherwise great smartphone. Plus, even if they don’t derail you from your decision to buy Samsung’s latest and greatest, it’s still good to make an informed purchase.

1. Fingerprint scanner: will it ever register your fingerprint from the first time? 

The more you use the Galaxy S5, the more you realize that the fingerprint scanner would rarely ever recognize your paw's unique signature from the first time. Try it again, then again, then again, and then just when you're ready to give it up, it recognizes it. Do you have the nerve for that many tries, though? 

 

 

2. Vibration that could wake up the dead 

The default vibration for the Galaxy S5 is set to be so strong that it could literally wake up the dead. Well, maybe not literally, but boy, does it get close to it. Luckily, there's actually a solution for that: go into settings -> sound -> vibration intensity, and set it to lower. 

 

3. Phonebook and contacts app still lags, thank TouchWiz for that 

Can you believe that TouchWiz still stutters here and there? Even with the newest and most powerful quad-core Snapdragon 801 system chip on board. The slowdown is especially noticeable in contacts app when you try to call someone. 

 

4. UI design is a mix of everything 

TouchWiz is evolving, but on this path of evolution it does not scrap old features - it simply accumulates them one over the other, and the end-result is a UI that has more different elements than there are items in a garage sale. 

iPhone app + accessory tested to accurately detect skin cancer

An app called DermoScreen and a $500 dermoscope attached to iPhone’s camera, along with a magnifying lens and a light are currently being tested by the University of Houston to detect skin cancer. The app takes a photo of any suspicious mole or lesion in a patient, and after a few seconds will confirm if the skin condition is likely cancerous or not. The app is currently being evaluated for further testing at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, with the hopes of making this a more practical and less painful medical tool for doctors and patients.
Considering other cases where cases and apps are built around the iPhone in order to solve medical needs, and with the devastating effects of cancer in our society, this is clearly something great in the works.

Source: University of Houston

Apple and Samsung now own 106% of the smartphone profits?

Even though Apple and Samsung are constantly attacking each other in the courtrooms, both companies do have two things in common. On one hand, both companies build smartphones with parts made by Samsung, and in the other, both companies own the smartphone markets at the moment. What’s interesting is when you have a look at exactly how much of the market these companies own, which according to a recent study, even exceeds the amount of profit available, once you consider that there’s no such thing as profits above 100%, right?
A new report by Canaccord Genuity claims that between Apple and Samsung, both companies own 106% of the global smartphone profits. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind, is how can you have a profit number that goes beyond 100%? According to the study, competing companies like HTC, Nokia, Motorola, & Blackberry are all losing money, and that would account for that extra percentage we’re still trying to find some sense into. According to the report, the company that makes the most profit is Apple, owning a 65% of the industry profits, while Samsung owns 41%. The study also mentioned that the reason why Apple is making more money is due to the device operating margins it has of 37% compared to Samsung’s at 22%.
Again, we’re still finding that 106% to be kind of impossible, not just because of it’s not a possible number in profits, but also because we know how companies like Lenovo dominate China. It’s far-fetched to consider that only Apple and Samsung are making money, but we’re sure they do own a big chunk of it.
 



Via: Cult of Mac

The difference between iOS and Android users

All these differences between the platforms end up attracting different kinds of users, and today we look at one survey that attempts to reveal some of the traits that are more likely to apply to iOS users than Android fans, and the other way around.
According to this study by Battery Ventures, iPhone users seem to have more white collar jobs, travel by air, and enjoy wine.
Android users, on the other hand, are more likely to be blue collar, rely on public transportation, and prefer beer. We also see an interesting relationship with vices: Android users eat more often at McDonald’s and represent a larger share of smokers, yet at the same time they’re more likely to identify as religious.
But for those differences, the groups still share some commonality. There’s no clear difference between iOS and Android users when it comes to where they live and whether they rent or own their homes. Political leanings seem to cover both platforms, as well, and neither iOS nor Android users are more likely to own guns or be Fox News watchers than the other.
Notably, when this user data is filtered to only compare iOS and Android users of similar income levels, many of these differences start to go away.


 Source: Re/code

iPhone 6 dates August for 4.7-inch and September for 5.5-inch variant

A 4.7- and a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 are both expected to make an appearance later this year. According to the same “unnamed sources”, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will reach stores in August, which is one month earlier than what Apple used to announce the iPhone 5s last September. The larger, 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will likely be announced in September, about a year after last year’s flagship. The Economic Daily News, who broke the report cited by India Times, has also estimated that a total number of 80 million iPhone 6 devices will be produced this year, combined.



Source: India Times

Apple Considering Purchase of Beats Electronics for $3.2 Billion

According to a report out of Financial Times, Apple is currently negotiating a purchase of Beats Electronics to the tune of $3.2 billion. The deal could be made official as soon as next week, but from what sources state, a few terms have yet to be ironed out. If the deal does go through, for the $3.2 billion, it would be Apple’s largest acquisition to date.
The deal would be unlike HTC’s 2011 51% $500 million acquisition of Beats, as Apple’s deal would be for all aspects of the company; not just a majority share. It would include all of the hardware, the streaming music service, and anything else that falls under the Beats name.



via:financial times

Xiaomi top Apple in China, Samsung and Lenovo still leading

According to data by Counterpoint's Technology Market Research, published by the Korea Herald, Chinese Xiaomi continues its lead over Apple in terms of market share in the Middle Kingdom. Back in August, Canalys first reported that Xiaomi is gaining ground in China, and even surpassed the Cupertino-based company.

Xiaomi, which is seeing stratospheric growth in its home country, held 11% of the market in China in the first quarter of 2014. Known for producing quality smartphones and then selling them with small mark-ups, the local vendor continues to hold the number three, with Apple an inch behind, at 10%. That's not surprising, seeing as the majority of Chinese smartphone buyers mostly shop at the low-cost aisle, and the iPhone only recently started selling on China Telecom -- the country's biggest carrier.

The study also calls out the two market leaders in China -- Samsung and Lenovo -- which grabbed an 18% and 12% share in Q1. Coolpad, at 10%, is tied with Apple, and both are closely-followed by Huawei, which holds 8% of the pie. ZTE and Oppo had it the worst -- the two companies captured 6% and 3% respectively.

As the world's biggest smartphone market, China is obviously getting higher and higher on manufacturers' agenda, and there are definitely those that consider it crucial for a company's future odds of survival. That said, the commoditization of smartphones has brought down (and continues to squeeze) profit margins to a point where only a few brands are actually making a real buck. That's a godsend for consumers, but it might cost us the current diversity in products somewhere down the line. 

 

 

source: Counterpoint Research via Korea Herald

Samsung's mobile design chief is out

Korean based Samsung has replaced Chang Dong-hoon, its head of mobile design. Dong-hoon offered his resignation last week, and Samsung accepted. The tech titan has promoted Lee Min-hyouk, vice president for mobile design, to the the top position.. That makes the 42 year-old Lee, the youngest senior executive in the company.
While Chang was booted for the looks of the Samsung Galaxy S5, the younger Lee received praise within the company for his work on designing the entire Galaxy range. Samsung has become the global leader in smartphone sales, thanks to strong shipments of the Galaxy line. The newly promoted Lee Min-hyouk has the nickname "Midas" inside Samsung, for his success with the Galaxy designs.Still, Samsung has been criticized for the continued use of plastic on its high-end models. The Samsung Galaxy S5 also has to compete with the HTC One (M8), which has been considered one of the sharpest designed Android phones ever.As for Chang, he will remain head of the company's design center, which decides the overall design strategy of Samsung.



 source: Reuters

BlackBerry 10 updated to SuperTube for streaming YouTube videos

Because the BlackBerry 10 browser is outstanding in the way it handles HTML5, most 'Berry users turn to the mobile version of YouTube to get their daily fix of streaming videos. After all, who could go more than a full day without seeing a cat draw the Mona Lisa using nothing but a #2 pencil? Most of us would never make it more than 24 hours without watching a boxer (the dog, not the pugilist) bark out the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet.
For those who would rather use the official YouTube client on their BlackBerry 10 powered handset, for now, you're out of luck. Yes, you do have a YouTube icon on your phone, but it merely re-directs you to the mobile YouTube site. Nothing wrong with that. But for those who like the whole app experience, there is one called SuperTube, available from BlackBerry World.SuperTube has just received an update that brings a ton of new features, enhancements and bug fixes to the app. One of the benefits of the update is a 1000% faster loading time for local videos. Shared video links now include the name of the video's author and the title of the clip. For those who put together a playlist, the total time of the list is now included. And if you change the resolution in the middle of watching a video, the clip will no longer start over from the beginning. Additionally, some error message bugs have been fixed, making the app much improved. For those BlackBerry 10 users who would rather use an app to stream video, you can head over to BlackBerry World to download SuperTube. All BlackBerry 10 powered devices will support the free app, including the new BlackBerry Z3.


source: SuperTube via Crackberry

Turn your Nokia X into a real Android (video)

New HTC Butterfly rumored with B2 codename and M8-like specs

A new HTC Butterfly smartphone will be landing soon, and, according to the most recent rumors, it will wear the codename “B2″. The leak also suggests that the device will have identical specifications like the One (M8) flagship, but it will only be sold in markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and other Asian markets.
Already reported about the new HTC Butterfly at the beginning of last month, when we also heard a tentative model number: 0PAJ3. However, that report indicated, just like this one, that the specifications will be M8-like, with one major difference: the camera will allegedly be a 13-megapixel shooter, version the four-megapixel UltraPixel Duo Camera on the 2014 One. If you’re, however, expecting the same aluminum premium build, don’t. Like previous Butterfly devices, this too will have a glossy (most probably plastic/polycarbonate) body, as the leak suggests.

LlabTooFeR @LlabTooFeR

HTC B2 is new Butterfly device, specs are the same as M8. Glossy body. It will be sold only in HK/Taiwan/Japan and some other Asian markets.

12:20 AM - 8 May 2014 

 

 

 

 Source: Twitter

Samsung’s online store also houses “Swarovski for Samsung” fashion accessories

Samsung has just announced a collection of crystal accessories from Swarovski for its Gear Fit and Galaxy S5.
For the Galaxy S5, crystals are integrated right into the back cover, and there is an extra design feature where two crystal effects are merged — neat. Two colors will be made available of the new cover, Vibrant Blue and Mystic Black.
Moving along to the Gear Fit, the Charm Sliders are positioned by Samsung to give users “ultimate versatility in their wearable technology experience.” These charms will be made available in various styles, with a mix-and-match option letting you personalize it all. Bars will be available in Brown, Golden Shadow and Crystal, while dangles will come in Siam Heart, Light Rose Heart, Crystal Skull, Anthracite Skull, Crystal Star, Blue Star and Golden Shadow Lips.
The collection will be made available on Samsung’s online store on May 8 in China (pre-sale only) and Korea, with the United Kingdom right behind them. We will start seeing the Swarovski for Samsung collection in retail shops starting on May 22.


Source: Samsung Tomorrow

Nokia XL goes up for sale in multiple markets

While the Nokia X is easily the Android most associated with Nokia’s recent experimentation with the platform, its sibling devices, the Nokia X+ and XL, are the more heavyweight options. The X+ boosts available RAM and throws in a microSD card, while XL does all that while also upgrading to a five-inch screen, increasing main camera resolution to 5MP, and adding a front-facer, which the other two lack altogether. The Nokia X has already hit the scene, but now Nokia is easing its way into availability for the rest, and today we learn about the start of sales for the Nokia XL.
Sales of the XL are now open in Asia-Pacific and India, Middle East, and Africa regions. Like the other X family members, the XL supports dual-SIM operation and is available in a good half-dozen color options.
While the XL is still a very low-priced model, it doesn’t come in quite as affordably as the X itself (all those upgrades ain’t free), and while the price will vary based on market, look for it to be in the $130-150 range. For a five-inch smartphone (even if it is one with just a WVGA resolution), that’s not half bad.
The Nokia XL may come with Nokia’s own forked version of Android, but with a little effort, the same techniques that help turn the Nokia X into a more traditional-looking Android handset should be applicable to the XL, just in case you choose to go that route.


Source: Nokia

Huawei launches super-thin Ascend P7

Huawei’s next Ascend smartphone has been on our minds since last year, but it’s only been quite recently that the P7′s story has really started coming together. The last five weeks have been full of hardware leaks, brought us a number of pictures of the handset, and have been leading us up to today, for Huawei’s scheduled launch event. This morning in Paris the company finally goes official with its latest Android, the Huawei Ascend P7.
One of the biggest (or smallest, perhaps) unanswered questions about the P7 has been just how thin it might be, at least compared to the 6.18mm-thick P6. Rumors suggested it would measure under 7mm, and the phone doesn’t disappoint, coming in at just 6.5mm slim.
The Ascend P7 features a 5-inch 1080p panel with Gorilla Glass 3 protection (and there’s also Gorilla Glass covering the phone’s rear), offers a 13MP Sony main camera with f/2.0 aperture, has a big 8MP front-facer, and delivers a 2500mAh battery alongside some power-saving software features. Just as we heard, the phone’s powered by a 1.8GHz KIRIN 910T quad-core SoC, and will come equipped with 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage.
Huawei’s making the P7 available in black, pink, and white, with sales getting started this month in nations in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Pricing should be in the neighborhood of 450 EUR. For the moment, there’s no indication of any plans to bring the P7 to the US.


 Source: Huawei

LG Announces 5.5-inch Quad HD LCD Display, Will be Featured in the LG G3

LG announced this evening that its 5.5-inch Quad HD LCD panel for smartphones has been approved and will be unveiled with their forthcoming flagship smartphone. They are talking about the LG G3, which will be announced on May 27 across the globe.

Receives Certification for Quad HD Quality Ahead of Mass Production 

Seoul, Korea (May 8, 2014) – LG Display announced today that its 5.5-inch Quad HD (QHD) AH-IPS LCD panel for smartphones was certified as a QHD display after passing verified tests by NEMKO, the Norway-based international testing and certification organization for electrical products. The certification comes shortly before the new Quad HD LCD panel will be unveiled with the forthcoming LG’s flagship smartphone to be launched in the first half of the year.
The certified 5.5-inch QHD AH-IPS LCD panel has 2560 x 1440 pixels, four times the image resolution of HD panels and 1.8 times higher resolution than a Full HD panel. With 538 pixels per inch, this panel also meets the 100 percent RGB color reproduction standard.
This panel, which will go into mass production shortly, will offer superior performance to other existing smartphone panels. This is an ultra-slim panel with a mere 1.2 mm thickness and has a 1.15 mm bezel, which will be the narrowest available and 0.05 mm less than panels introduced last year.
In addition, the panel has achieved the same level of brightness as a Full HD panel. It is difficult to raise penetration ratio in higher resolution panels since they have more pixels. However, LG Display successfully achieved higher brightness by improving the penetration ratio through enhancing the pixel structure design and aperture ratio in the LTPS backplane.
The Quad HD display produces images in sharper color and contrast than regular displays because of the greater amount of pixels. This means that high resolution images and videos in the Blu-ray format can be viewed in a fully vivid and realistic manner. The display retains the readability of letters and images without distorting them when they are enlarged while surfing the internet or working on documents.
“This product fulfills the core qualities of smartphone displays, which are high resolution and slim design, and I believe the consumers can enjoy vivid images that are close to real life with this display,” said Byung-koo Kim, Vice President and Head of LG Display’s IT/Mobile Development Group. “LG Display will continue to maintain technology leadership in the super high-resolution smartphone display market above 500 ppi resolution, which will take off this year.”
According to DisplaySearch, the shipment of premium smartphone displays based on LTPS backplanes is expected to grow to 780 million units by this year and 940 million units by  next year. These products are going to maintain sufficient competitive advantage in premium product categories where large size, high resolution and low power consumption are key factors.

Contrary to Apple claims, iOS vulnerability shows email attachments are not being encrypted

A security expert in Germany has uncovered a vulnerability in iOS 7.1.1 which leaves email attachments vulnerable since they are apparently not encrypted by Apple’s data protection protocols.
Apple claims its data protection encrypts email message attachments. However, Andreas Kurtz was able to set up an IMAP email account, throw in some test emails, turn the iPhone off, and get free access to the email attachments on his iPhone 4.Using established methods, Kurtz was able to bypass the iPhone’s passcode and see the email attachments unprotected. He was able to do this on iOS 7.0.4, on iOS 7.1, and most recently, 7.1.1 after he alerted Apple about the problem. Having the phone passcode protected is supposed to protect everything on the device. Kurtz was able to reproduce the issue on an iPhone 5s and iPad 2.Kurtz did inform Apple of his discovery, the company advised him that it was aware of the problem and it would be fixed in an upcoming OS update. When iOS 7.1.1 dropped however, Kurtz was rather surprised that there was no fix implemented, “Considering the long time iOS 7 is available by now and the sensitivity of email attachments many enterprises share on their devices (fundamentally relying on data protection), I expected a near-term patch.”


source: Andreas Kurtz via CNN

ARM predicts 1 billion "entry level" mobile devices by 2018, $20 smartphones coming soon

The new smartphone race is no longer a race to the top. The high-end markets are quickly growing saturated with Samsung and Apple devices, but there is still a race to be had in the low-end market. We've seen a number of new devices like the Moto G and Nokia X that are trying to offer users good performance at a low price, but ARM also has its sights set on the ultra-low cost market.

The idea seems to be that there are quite a lot of people out there who may want smartphones, but can't even afford the price tag around $100 to $200 offered by the Nokia X or Moto G. ARM still has those users in mind. At ARM's second Tech Day, it has laid out a few interesting predictions for the smartphone market, both in the short and long term. ARM's short-term prediction isn't really much of a prediction as it is an extrapolation of what has already been happening. Mozilla showed off $25 Firefox OS smartphones at Mobile World Congress back in February, and ARM is now going way out on that limb to claim that there will be $20 smartphones on the way "in the next few months". Of course, a device at that price you'll only be getting an Android device with a single-core Cortex A5 based SoC. ARM doesn't expect prices to drop below $20, because no matter the cost of the components, manufacturers still have costs to build the devices.

Looking at the long-term, ARM is once again not going too crazy with its prediction, but it does serve to show the direction the market is moving. ARM is expecting the biggest growth over the next four years to be in the "entry level" (sub-$150 devices), and the "mid-range" ($150-400). In 2015, ARM is predicting about 1.75 billion total mobile devices shipped, up from about 1.3 billion in 2013. By 2018, ARM is predicting total mobile shipments of almost 2.5 billion devices, with almost half of that total being "entry level" devices alone.

What ARM doesn't predict is what an "entry level" device might look like in four years. About four years ago, the Huawei Ascend was the $150 smartphone of choice, and it offered a 3.5-inch 320x480 display, a 528MHz single-core CPU, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of storage, and a 3.2MP camera. Right now, devices in that range offer at least a dual-core CPU (or quad if it's a MediaTek), between 512MB and 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage, around a 5-inch display that is getting closer to the 720p level, and dual cameras. What's your guess for what an entry level device will look like in 2018? 

 

 

source: AnandTech

You can now win an HTC One M8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Limited Edition (US and Canada only)

HTC and Marvel are now holding a Super Selfie Sweepstakes that gives folks in the US and Canada the chance to win an HTC One M8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Limited Edition smartphone. For the most part, the M8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Limited Edition looks like the regular gunmetal grey HTC One M8, but the difference is that it has the iconic S.H.I.E.L.D. logo etched on its rear case. It appears that only 14 such handsets will be made.
To enter the Sweepstakes (which will end on May 15) you must show HTC “your Captain America-inspired selfie with the #superselfie hashtag” - either on Facebook, or on Twitter. For more details, including the official rules of the contest, you should check out the source links below. The first link even provides several Captain America wallpapers “for your HTC” (although you can use them on other phones as well).  HTC didn’t just randomly partner with Marvel for this contest. The studio’s latest movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, features HTC’s older One M7 in a short scene. Quite a nice product placement, we'd say.

 


sources: HTC (1), (2), (3)

Samsung to appealing the verdict of the second patent trial

Even though Apple was awarded just $120 million after seeking $2.2 billion from Samsung in their latest patent trial, the latter manufacturer still plans on appealing the verdict, in an attempt to bring the award down to zero. John Quinn, a lawyer for Samsung, says that the verdict was "unsupported by evidence." The jury ruled that out of five patents that Apple claimed Samsung had infringed on, three were indeed used by Sammy without permission. Apple was found to have infringed on one Samsung patent, and ordered to pay its rival $158,000. The amount of the jury award to Apple was the eighth largest in the U.S. this year and the fourth largest for a patent trial.
Apple and Samsung can now each file with the judge, a request for a sales ban in the U.S. on products that were found to have infringed on the other firm's patents. Apple had been seeking $2.2 billion from Samsung while Samsung had filed a cross-claim for $6.2 million. In the first trial, Apple was awarded $930 million.

"Of course we’re pleased that the jury awarded Apple 6 percent of what they were asking for, but even that can’t stand, because Apple kept out all the real world evidence and didn’t produce anything to substitute for it, so you have a verdict that’s unsupported by evidence -– and that’s just one of its problems."-John Quinn, attorney for Samsung 

 

 

source: Bloomberg

LG G3 to come with Snapdragon 805, 3200 mAh battery, and 13 MP Sony sensor with OIS+

Those Snapdragon 801-laden LG G3 rumors must have been of prototype devices, while the real slim shady will be arriving with a Snapdragon 805 processor, according to the latest tip. Let's not forget that Qualcomm itself mentioned not long ago that the first device with an 805 chipset will be arriving in May, so the G3 seems like a prime candidate. 
The insider claims that LG will be going all out with the specs of the G3, putting a 5.5" Quad HD (1440x2560 pixels) panel, Snapdragon 805 processor, and 3 GB of RAM, while the phone itself will still be made out of polycarbonate. Their specs source is the phone's repository, which has also divulged that the G3 will come with 32 GB of internal memory out of the box, as well as a microSD card slot for storage expansion. Last, but not least, the phone is said to house a rather generous 3200 mAh battery pack, which should result in some good backup power for the extra resolution and appetite of the Quad HD display. The insider mentioned that this battery will be joined by improved power management, hopefully along the lines of the Lucid Logic's tech found in the Galaxy S5.

LG will apparently be using the same 13 MP Sony IMX124 Exmor RS sensor that is in the OnePlus One, if the source is to be believed. It comes with an f/2.0 aperture, which means good performance in low-light conditions on theory, and, judging from the OnePlus One samples, the results are pretty decent indeed. The tipster also confirms that the camera will be on the same suspension mechanism that is in the G Pro 2, called OIS+. The optically-stabilized module will thus be able to produce super-steady video footage, and keep the shutter open for a longer time when it gets darker. All of these claims will be put to the test very soon, as the LG G3 is expected to be unveiled at a global event starting May 27th, which will take place in spots as diverse as Istanbul and New York. 

 

 

source: TechManiacs.gr (translated)

iPhone 6 goes up against the Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5s in these leaked pictures

As you can see in the images, the iPhone 6 device is just slightly smaller than the Galaxy S5, reaffirming the rumors that there's going to be a 4.7" display on board. At the same time, we can feast our eyes on what seems to be a very slim, almost all-metal body that's visibly thinner than that of the iPhone 5s. In our opinion, it kind of looks like the iPad Air, so it does seem believable for the iPhone 6 to look like that. An additional detail we're able to spot is the power key, which has now moved to the right hand side of the device (as opposed to the top), similarly to that of the Galaxy S5. Naturally, this is a preferred positioning in large smartphones, since it makes it easier to reach the often-used power key.
One thing that makes us doubt the authenticity of this leaked iPhoen 6 dummy, though, is the LED flash on the back of the phone, which appears to be just a single LED flash, and not the True Tone dual-LED one that debuted in the iPhone 5s to mostly positive reception. Well, we can never be sure - perhaps Apple has found a way to integrate both LEDs in the space of just one? Hopefully, the next leak will be able to clear this mystery up. But now, please go ahead and take a look at this mostly realistic-looking iPhone 6 dummy and how it compares against the Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5s!
   


 source: macitynet.it, more via GSMArena

Apple’s sapphire production costs may limit the 5.5-inch iPhone 6

 Apple has done its best to reduce the cost of each sapphire display in order to be able to complete in costs with other companies, though it seems not enough has been done.
Reports indicate that the sapphire production costs are still too steep for Apple to be able to deliver enough 5.5-inch iPhone models on time. If you remember, Apple struggled with sapphire production with the home button of the iPhone 5s, and this could mean that whenever Apple decides to launch the 5.5-inch iPhone 6, it’ll do so in limited quantities. At the moment the number seems kind of off, but the report mentions that the cost is still around $280, compared to the estimated goal that Apple should focus on of $44.
Apple’s iPhone 6 is set to launch this year, and even though it’s hard to determine which will be Apple’s move when it comes to sapphire, we’re sure the company didn’t build a manufacturing facility just for fun.


Source: Weibo

Apple’s new patent could prevent accidental button input

Apple has shown us just how reluctant it can be about capacitive buttons. Surely the company made the capacitive touch screen popular, but they’ve focused on physical buttons that you have to press every single time in order to drive the phone to react with you in certain cases. Those of us that have learned the annoyance of capacitive buttons understand the reasons for that, but it seems that Apple is having some second thoughts.
The company has just filed a new patent for touch-sensitive buttons, and even though we’re having a hard time figuring out how these buttons are different than capacitive ones, it seems that Apple’s plan is to actually detect when you’re not planning on interacting with the phone, and not really to give you additional functionality with the button. Most known cases would be to have the phone react to anything other than your finger, and that’s really what Apple is aiming for, given how common it is for a phone to react to objects in your pocket or in a purse.
 


Source: USPTO

Q1 2014 shipment numbers show growth for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, decline for BlackBerry

A new report from ABI Research suggests that almost 430 million mobile devices shipped in the first quarter of the year, with a strong showing for almost all of the major mobile platforms. iOS, Windows Phone, and Android (including AOSP) all saw year-on-year growth, but it looks like BlackBerry’s decline is not about to slow anytime soon.
Android (not AOSP) experienced saw year-on-year growth of around 24%, with 187,027,721 devices shipped in the first quarter. Though this number is less than the one for the fourth quarter of 2014, there is no sign that Android’s growth will be curbed anytime soon.
iOS saw 43,719,000 devices shipped, with year-on-year growth of 17%. Though Apple is still putting up ridiculously impressive numbers, growth is slowing.
There were 13,274,030 Windows Phone devices shipped, a strong 119% increase from the same quarter last year. Windows Phone had a 3% market share of all sales in the quarter.
The Q1 2014 shipment numbers from ABI show that BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS, when separated, don’t make up even 1% of the phones sold in 2014 — they are barely a blip on the map at this point.


Source: Business Wire

Samsung brings KNOX 2.0 to Galaxy S5 users worldwide

Samsung has announced the global availability of their KNOX 2.0 security platform on their flagship Galaxy S5, built to give users a strong end-to-end private system for enterprise users of the device.
What was known last year as simply Samsung KNOX is now known as KNOX Workspace, at the core of the security features. This is currently available on the Galaxy S5. The other parts of KNOX 2.0 include KNOX EMM (a cloud-based mobile device management tool), KNOX Customization (a feature for customization to create “highly customized B2B solutions with off-the-shelf hardware”), and KNOX Marketplace (a place “to find, buy and use KNOX and enterprise cloud apps in a unified environment”).
Samsung states that other Galaxy devices will be receiving upgrades over the next few months to get the bump up to KNOX 2.0, but users of the OG KNOX are not about to be alienated by Samsung — the old MDM is backwards compatible with KNOX 2.0.

 Source: Samsung Tomorrow
Via: Android Central

LG G3 image leaks via a case maker, shows front and back

Yet another case for the upcoming LG G3 leaked showing off the curios back design as well as the front. The G3 keeps the centered power/volume key setup below the camera, but adds a dual-LED flash and what looks like a sensor or an IR blaster flanking the camera.

The front shows razor thin bezels around what is rumored to be a 5.5" QHD screen. Also the UI matches the leaked screenshots that leaker earlier. This either confirms the new, flat Optimus UI or it just means the leaked screenshot was used.
Anyway, the LG G3 is expected on May 27 with a 16MP camera, Snapdragon 801 chipset, 3,000mAh battery and an water-resistant IPX7 rating.


 source:

Ortud.com

Facebook Messenger facing an uphill climb against other mobile chat apps in many markets

Across many developing markets, where messaging applications are a booming business, Facebook and its Messenger is seeing a decline in usage.
Africa as a whole holds massive potential in growth markets, as well as a fair amount of organic development in communications technology. WhatsApp is popular as one might expect, and that is a feather in Facebook’s cap, but other platforms are seeing wild growth as well, at Facebook Messenger’s expense.
South Africa based 2go Mobile Messenger for Android smartphones and feature phones has seen explosive growth across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, surpassing 20 million users in less than two years, and that was before the company had an Android compatible application.“We did see a decrease in daily users, particularly among younger teens,” according to Facebook CFO David Ebersman. His comments were based on usage patterns from the middle quarters of 2013. Based on surveys across 30 countries, Facebook activity fell 76% from the first quarter of 2013 to the third quarter.The standard model would indicate that this is because younger users are always looking for something new, so they are inattentive to stick with any one platform. However, messenger platforms like 2go are also popular because of the feature phone availability which ensures competent performance on slower bandwidth 2G networks. In Nigeria for example, out of a population of 170 million, 105 million have a mobile phone, and only 25% of those have a smartphone.Facebook sees a correlation of growing data penetration with use of its social network and messenger platform. Nicola D’Elia, Facebook’s growth manager for Africa is focused on mobile, “Growth will come where we are able to deliver the highest data penetration and in sub-Saharan Africa it is definitely through Mobile.”


 source: Tarifica

WhatsApp banned in Iran

The world’s most popular messaging app is being blocked by Iranian authorities. WhatsApp, recently acquired by Facebook, was a key avenue for people to communicate with friends and relatives inside and outside Iran, but Iran’s Committee on Internet Crimes has ruled.
What reason could there be for this? It’s Mark Zuckerberg’s fault apparently. Because he is “an American Zionist” who now owns WhatsApp, it must be stopped. The messaging service joins WeChat, which was banned last year.“The reason for this is the assumption of WhatsApp by the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg,” said Abdolsamad Khorramabadi, head of the aforementioned internet crimes committee.Of course, it probably does not matter to these people that old Zuck owns less than 30% of Facebook nowadays.  Facebook itself apparently has limited accessibility in the country, along with the other major social networks like Instagram, Twitter, Viber, YouTube, et al.  In fact, several government officials are active on these social networking sites themselves, where they shovel out the propaganda. That may be the only thing tempering new fears that Iran may start to put a real clamp on data connectivity to internet based services and implement Halal Net, a national intranet that has been sanitized by censorship officials. Data tracking in Iran became a priority following the election riots in 2009 and 2011.Some folks are able to get around restrictions using third-party proxies. It looks like it is time for a bunch of apps that help them do that.


source: Fox News