HTC event invite hints at photography theme

... device maker gives few hints on the event, although the "Double Exposure" invite ... The theme of the invite -- "Double Exposure" -- and the fact that HTC asks invitees to submit a selfie with their RSVP suggests a camera or photo-centric event. ... The October 8 event is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m ET.  


The problem is, we don’t really have a sense for any rumored HTC handset with particularly adept imaging capabilities in the pipeline. That alone is enough to have us thinking about software news, though we won’t discount the possibility that something’s been in development under the radar. Even if this is hardware, it may not even be a full-on new phone, but something like an accessory.

 

Apple links new U2 album to iTunes accounts, causes unapproved auto-downloads

Because Apple is linking the album with iTunes accounts on their end, iOS device owners who have automatic music downloads enabled will get the U2 cuts piped to their devices without user intervention. Those who have automatic downloads deactivated will still see "Songs of Innocence" tracks in their playlists as available to download from the cloud.
Due to the way iTunes is set up, removing the tracks could be a hassle. On a Mac, deleting the LP from the Album view is enough, but with iOS the process is more involved. iPhone owners can simply hide the album by toggling the "Show all music" option in the Music app, which makes only onboard content viewable. Alternatively, disabling automatic iTunes downloads in App Store settings will more permanently keep the album off an iOS device, but by doing so users give up the convenience of having wanted content pushed over. Apple announced at the iPhone 6 event on Tuesday that it was giving away free copies of "Songs of Innocence" to more than 500 million iTunes customers as part of the "biggest album release in history." It was later learned that Apple paid an undisclosed sum for exclusive first rights to the LP and will be using the album's first single to promote products like iTunes and the iPhone 6.


 

Samsung pokes at Apple in new ads for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4

We've seen Samsung make fun of Apple in its commercials. The last time, Samsung mocked "wallhugging" iPhone users who are attached to an A/C outlet all day, due to the shorter battery life found on the iPhone. Now in a series of six ads, Samsung uses a "genius bar" setting with two goofy employees, to make fun of its rival, and to promote the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

 

China left out of the countries to receive the first iPhone 6 units

So, the iPhone 6 has been announced and will soon start rolling out to countries across the globe. Customers in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and the UK will be able to pre-order a shiny new iPhone come September 12th, with the first wave of devices hitting said countries on the 19th.
What this list doesn't include is the biggest smartphone market – China. Probably not the best situation, as the country has been a big part of this year's successes in iPhone 5s sales. Not to mention that China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom started taking pre-orders earlier this month, claiming that the iPhone 6 will be available mid-September, and by the 2nd of the month, China Mobile had racked up 33,000 pre-orders. Maybe not an impressive number, but still one that was obtained in 2 hours of the pre-order page being up, and a week before Apple even announced the device officially. Reportedly, by September 9th, the pre-orders were “hundreds of thousands”.Apple's own website also included China in the list of countries to receive the first wave of devices, however, it was quickly removed in an edit a few hours after the official announcement. So it seems like it was a last-minute change of plans. Media speculations suggest that Apple has not yet received a routine certification from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. MIIT's website has not yet listed the new iPhones as approved, which is usually the case before a new handset is launched in China.Apple hasn't commented yet, though various 3rd party retailers in China have confirmed that the launch date for the country has been pushed back, though none of them were able to give a concrete date. The three carriers that sell Apple's handsets have taken down their pre-order pages and mum's the word on when they will be back up again.

Microsoft to drop Windows Phone and Nokia brands

Remember when HTC delivered its Windows Phone version of the One M8 last month? In the weeks leading up to its release we heard a few names thrown around, including things like the W8, but the phone ultimately debuted as the One M8 for Windows. Specifically “Windows,” not “Windows Phone.” Compare that to the company’s previous WP entries: models with names like the Windows Phone 8X by HTC. What happened to that “Phone” part? This may be just the start of a larger trend, as multiple reports arrive that Microsoft is getting ready for a major Windows Phone re-branding effort, in which both the Windows Phone and Nokia names will be going the way of the dodo.
Instead, we could start seeing Microsoft Lumia phones (with no hint of Nokia), and witness references to the platform shift from Windows Phone to simply Windows. Considering the ongoing talk about Microsoft taking steps to merge several of its platforms, notably RT and WP, a simple, over-arching “Windows” banner does make a degree of sense.
The documentation supporting this move claims that at least the dropping of Nokia in reference to Lumia models will occur in time for the holiday season later this year. As for an official name-change for the platform itself, Microsoft has already been spotted referring to WP as simply “Windows,” but we may find ourselves waiting until another launch event before the transition is official – specifically, if we get something like Windows 9 for phones, rather than Windows Phone 9.


 source:The verge

specs comparison of Apple iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 5s

The good thing is, unlike what happened with Sony’s flagship Xperia line, nothing has got worse between generations. And there’s a commendable set of upgrades, too – it’s more than clear that this isn’t just an incremental bump up for the iPhone line. We’ve included also the iPhone 6 Plus, the 5.5-inch sibling to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, for comparison; you’ll see its specs, where they differ from those of the iPhone 6, after the slash mark.
Let’s get right to the improvements. The screen is seeing a bump up in resolution in pixel density, and Apple has gone ahead and outfitted its new flagship with a 64-bit home-grown A8 system-on-a-chip. The storage options now also benefit the customers more than they did last year, with a 64GB and 128GB option taking the place of 32 and 64GB, respectively. The camera has been given a slight upgrade (and there’s optical image stabilization on the 5.5-incher), and the battery looks to be vastly better. NFC has also been included for Apple Pay purposes, and there’s support for the 802.11ac WiFi band.



 source:pocketnow

iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus

• Both phones feature “Retina HD” displays; the iPhone 6 comes in at 4.7 inches (at 1334×750), while the iPhone 6 Plus comes in at 5.5 inches (at 1920×1080)
  • The glass on the front of the displays now curves into the body, as opposed to the flat edges of all models prior
    • Apple says these are “the thinnest phones [they've] ever made”, at 6.9mm and 7.1mm, respectively.
      • Both handsets are powered by Apple’s new A8 processor, which Apple claims is at least 25% faster than the A7 by processing power, and 50% faster by graphic rendering prowess.

Apple announces iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

IFA 2014 has passed its mobile launch baton to Apple, and today in California, with members of the press in attendance at the Flint Center and millions of Apple fans watching at home, it’s time to announce the company’s latest products and services.

With Tim Cook beginning the event with promises of “the biggest advancement in the history of iPhone,” our attention is piqued. Wasting little time, we get right to the meat of today’s event, as Apple announces the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus.

The iPhone 6 is our 4.7-inch model, while the iPhone 6 Plus is the 5.5-inch version.

Source: Apple

Xiaomi and Obi are not competitors by Blackberry CEO

With its controversial flash sales, Xiaomi has been taking the Asian market by storm. Now in the midst of expanding into India, the manufacturer is shaking things up in that country as well. But that doesn't seem to bother BlackBerry CEO John Chen. Chen says that Xiaomi and Obi, two manufacturers known for their production of high spec'd handsets at a low price, are aiming at the opposite end of the market that BlackBerry is focused on. "We don’t consider (Xiaomi and Obi) as competitors since they play to a lower end market and do not pose a threat across our broad set of capabilities," said Chen. The BlackBerry executive considers his company to be more than just a handset provider as it offers a complete mobile solution with its BES platform.     In India, where the BlackBerry name is still held in high regard, the manufacturer has been undercut on price by both Xiaomi and Obi. But Chen says that his phones are priced to sell. When pressed about pricing, the executive said, "I believe the pricing of our devices is competitive, especially for the higher value that BlackBerry delivers. The BlackBerry Z3, for example, has an attractive price point for the features and benefits it provides." The BlackBerry Z3, the first 'Berry targeted for the emerging markets and produced through a partnership with contract manufacturer Foxconn, is priced at $245 USD to $263 USD. That compares with a price of $231 USD for the higher spec'd Xiaomi Mi3. Obi, founded by former Apple CEO and soft drink whiz John Sculley, has priced its flagship Octopus S520 at $198 USD.  BlackBerry has cut pricing on a slew of devices in India, such as the BlackBerry Z30, BlackBerry Z10,BlackBerry Q5, BlackBerry Curve 9320 and BlackBerry 9720. Despite the cuts, BlackBerry is not one of the top five smartphone manufacturers in India, according to IDC. That list is led by Samsung (29%), Micromax (18%), Karbonn (8%), Lava (6 %) and Motorola (5%).  In developed countries, where the smartphone markets are driven by specs, not price, Chen has a high-end model close to launching. The BlackBerry Passport is the flagship handset 'Berry fans have been asking for. The Passport features a 4.5 inch 1440 x 1440 resolution screen, packs the Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM and a 3450mAh battery. The secret sauce is a quirky QWERTY keyboard with contextually based virtual keys, to go along with the physical keyboard. The latter also doubles as a touch pad.                    

Samsung Belgium will donate a pear for every Apple tweet sent out today

With only a couple of hours before Apple kicks-off its iPhone 6 and iWatch event, Twitter is - unsurprisingly - flooded with tweets about the Cupertino company… and the Belgian division of Samsung has found a way to turn all this into a mini campaign that’s both helpful and fun.According to Samsung Belgium, the company will buy a pear for “every tweet about an apple”, then hand out the fruits, for free, tomorrow at the Brussels-North railway station. Samsung isn’t buying pears just because they’re not apples. There’s a more serious reason behind this: following recent bans on imports and exports to and from Russia, Belgian pear cultivators are reportedly in danger of loosing about 40% of their revenues. Thus, Samsung is helping local farmers by buying what will certainly turn out to be a very large number of pears.