Sony set to launch 12 inches tablet early 2015

According to sources in the Taiwanese supply chain,
Sony is preparing to enter the ultra-size tablet market,
as are a selection of other unspecified mobile vendors.
Sony is apparently set to launch a 12-inch tablet in the
first quarter of 2015.
Being such a large size, it’s likely that Sony will pack
the huge tablet with a high resolution display and will
have to accompany that with a beefy processor and
other high-end specifications. This will be the case
according to the sources, and Sony will be targeting
the 12-inch tablet at markets with a high demand for
graphics-related applications.
However, this tablet isn’t expected to experience very
high demand, as only a limited supply is apparently
heading through the supply chain. Instead, Sony could
be testing consumer appetites for larger tablets with a
smaller roll-out before deciding if it’s a market
segment it would like to commit to in the long term.
Sony’s 12-inch tablet will likely be targeted at laptop
users looking for something a little more portable.
Think Microsoft’s 12-inch Surface Pro 3 or Samsung’s
12.2 inch Galaxy Note PRO. It will be interesting to see
how successful Sony’s tablet turns out to be.
Via : Android Authority

Samsung Galaxy S5 could receive a Lollipop update in December

Unspecified sources are hinting that the
Samsung Galaxy S5 could receive a Lollipop update
sometime in December this year. Unfortunately, a full
rollout timetable remains elusive so we can’t be sure if
this will be region specific or not. Unlocked handsets
are bound to receive an update first, but it could be a
month, or perhaps even longer, before carrier branded
S5s see Lollipop. Although we’re still waiting on an
official word from Samsung, it seems likely that an
update is coming, especially given the preview build
video.

It's official: Nokia branding replaced with Microsoft Lumia

Microsoft is officially replacing its Nokia branding with
Microsoft Lumia on the company’s Windows Phones.
The software giant is "looking forward to unveiling a
Microsoft Lumia device soon," and, as The Verge
revealed earlier this week, Nokia’s existing phone
websites and social network accounts will now be
transitioned over to the Microsoft Lumia branding in the
coming days. Microsoft has also revealed that it will use
the company’s name on the front and rear of future
Lumia devices in a simple replacement of the Nokia
branding.
NOKIA BRANDING WILL CONTINUE ON BASIC PHONES
While Lumia phones will drop the Nokia brand entirely,
Microsoft still has a 10-year license to use the Nokia
brand on basic phones. "Microsoft will continue to sell
Nokia-branded, entry-level category of phones, such as
the Nokia 130," explains Tuula Rytilä, Senior Vice
President of Marketing for Phones at Microsoft. "We have
licensed the Nokia brand for such devices." It’s not clear
how many of these types of devices Microsoft will
continue to focus on. Microsoft is killing off the majority
of Nokia’s feature phones in favor of Windows Phone,
with only the very basic mobile phones still likely to be
produced in future.
Microsoft only had a temporary period of 18 months to
use the Nokia brand on smartphones, providing the
company enough time to switch to Microsoft Lumia.
Microsoft revealed yesterday that the company sold 9.3
million Lumia Windows Phones in the most recent
quarter, a small increase from the 8.8 million sold in the
same period last year. While Windows Phone faces many
challenges in the market against iOS and Android
handsets, Microsoft may face a new challenge with its
branding. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed
yesterday that the modest growth in Lumia sales was
"driven by sales in Europe where we gained share with
lower price devices." Nokia has always been a strong
brand in Europe, and it’s now down to Microsoft to
prove it can continue to push Lumia sales forward
without Nokia.

Via : The Verge

How to free up space in iCloud

Apple's iCloud storage service can be used to stash
away photos, videos, device backups, and more in the
cloud. The company offers users 5GB of space for free,
however because it's 5GB of space per Apple ID and not
per device, you may find yourself running out of space
faster than you would like. While additional storage can
be purchased from Apple, there are ways to free up
space in your iCloud account.
Check your space
To see how much space you are using, enter Settings on
your iPhone or iPad, select iCloud , click Storage &
Backup, followed by Manage Storage .
Delete old backups
There is a good chance that your backups are taking up
most of your space. If you have backups from your old
device, say from an iPhone 4 or iPad 2 that you no
longer own, you can just go ahead and delete those.
Simply click on the backup scroll to the bottom and tap
Delete Backup .
Change backup settings
You may have also backed up things in your most recent
backup that you didn't really need to have saved in the
cloud. If this is the case, click on the most recent
backup and scroll down to see all of the backed up
data. If you find something you really don't care about,
flip the switch to off to delete the data. This will also
make sure it isn't backed up the next time you perform
a backup.
Alternative photo services
An easy way to free up a ton of space in iCloud is to
delete photos from your backups. Instead of having
photos stored in iCloud, I recommend using one of the
many third-party cloud services that offer even more free
space than Apple. There is Yahoo's Flickr app, Microsoft
One Drive, Google+, DropBox and Amazon Cloud Drive,
and many others. Check out this article for more
information .
There is also your iCloud Photo Stream. While this
doesn't actually take up space in iCloud, photos are
only stored on Apple's servers for 30 days. If you end up
using one of the other cloud services to store your
photos, I recommend disabling the iCloud Photo Stream
feature. This can be done by going to Settings, clicking
on iCloud , selecting Photos and flipping the My Photo
Stream switch to off.

Samsung Galaxy phones approved by NSA

Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets have just become
the first consumer mobile devices approved by the US
National Security Agency (NSA) to carry classified
documents. The edict covers most of its newer Galaxy
devices, including the Galaxy S5 , Galaxy Note 4, and
the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet (2014 edition) -- as long as
they're equipped with Knox, Samsung's mobile
security app. Knox-enabled devices have already been
approved by the US Department of Defense, but only
for general, not classified, use. That's a shot of good
news for Samsung in the face of recent dismal
earnings , and it no doubt wants to translate the NSA's
golden nod into consumer and corporate sales.
Ironically, many of those potential customers may be
paranoid... of the NSA.
Via : Engadget

HTC One M8 Eye no for Europe

HTC representatives have said that the HTC One (M8
Eye) won’t be coming to Germany, Austria or
Switzerland, which suggests that the rest of Europe if
off the cards too. The reason being that the handset
was designed with specific markets in mind, mainly
India according to the representatives.
That’s not to say that HTC wants to ship an inferior
product to Western consumers. It was pointed out that
the M8 Eye lacks some features found on the regular
HTC One M8, such as infrared.
The sentiment seems to be that the two handsets are
optimised for which features HTC believes consumers
in each market prefer, and neither is meant as a
replacement to the other. We’ve seen Samsung make a
similar move with its high speed LTE Galaxy S5. But
are they right to make these sort of assumptions?
Would you rather have the option of a 13 megapixel
snapper over infrared? Theoretically of course, as it
doesn’t look like the One (M8 Eye) will ever leave
China or India. Remember, there’s always the One (E8)
and Desire Eye to satisfy your photography needs.
Via : Android Authority

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Why iPad Air 2 is skinny

It's safe to say that you don't buy most Apple devices
these days with the expectation that you can open
them up , and it looks like the iPad Air 2 is no
exception. Do-it-yourself repair shop iFixit has torn
down the new tablet and found that it's even tougher
(or at least, more expensive) to fix than its
predecessor in a few respects. That bonded display
may be great for cutting back on reflections, but it
increases the risk of breaking the panel when you're
prying things open -- and it'll cost more to replace if
you do break it, since you can't separate the glass
from the LCD. Problems from last year persist, too,
such as the use of glue to hold seemingly everything
together instead of clips or screws. Another change
from its predecessor is the battery -- the 27.62 Wh unit
is smaller than the original Air's 32.9 Wh capacity,
although a more efficient design should keep battery
life close between the two. Is any of this a deal
breaker if you're set on getting an extra-slim iPad?
Probably not, but it's something to consider if you
normally prefer to fix gadgets at home instead of
taking them back to the store.
Source : ifixit

A new email app from Google

The basic idea is this: it's still a Gmail app, but instead
of giving you the traditional list of emails, it tries to
intelligently give you more information so you don't
have to even open them. Google Now-style info cards
appear right in line with your message list, including
things like flight times, package tracking, and photos.
It also tries to intelligently "bundle" emails into groups
that you can quickly dismiss. So instead of having those
annoying category tabs in Gmail, you have all your
promotions and whatnot collapsed down into a single
line in your Inbox. You can drill in and "pin" the ones
you want to save and then dismiss the rest. Google is
also applying its algorithms to automatically parse out
things like phone numbers and addresses when you
need them.
Via : The Verge

Microsoft Garage launches new Android apps

Microsoft Garage is a big change for the company,
especially the idea of employees being encouraged to
create cross-platform apps in their spare time. Other
companies have similar initiatives, including Google's 20
percent program that lets employees spend time working
on what they think will most benefit Google. "It does
represent a new direction for the company," admit Jeff
Ramos, the manager of Microsoft Garage. "We’re evolving
our culture, wanting to get better with experimentation."
That experimentation begins with Next Lock Screen,
Microsoft’s take at a better Android lock screen. It’s
available in the Google Play Store for free today, and it’s
largely designed to stick to Microsoft’s new guiding
principles, which focus on productivity. "It’s a time-
saver lock screen built for busy people," explains
Microsoft, and it does this by pulling in calendar items,
missed calls, emails, and text messages to the lock
screen interface. That alone isn’t unique compared to
many other alternatives, but Microsoft has added a
couple of interesting features: swipe dialing and quick
app launch. One-swipe dialing lets you dial into a
conference call from one of your calendar appointments
and have the PIN automatically entered, useful if you’re
dialing in from a car.
MICROSOFT'S TAKE ON ANDROID LOCK SCREENS
INVOLVES A BIT OF IOS
Quick app launch within Next Lock Screen is like an iOS
Control Center for Android. You can pin your favorite
apps and tools to it to quickly toggle Wi-Fi or a
flashlight and launch apps from the lock screen. There
are separate sections for work, home, and on the go,
providing a little bit of flexibility for different locations.
"We saw there were a number of lockscreen apps, but
none were focused on the productivity user," explains
Microsoft’s Lawrence Ripsher, who oversees product and
design for the company’s My Life & Work team. Microsoft
is trying to fill that gap with Next Lock Screen, despite
good alternatives like GO Locker, Cover Lock Screen, and
many more.
A second Android app, Journeys & Notes , is designed as
a way to keep a log of travel history. It’s similar to
Foursquare in the sense that you can access tips from
fellow travelers who have traveled the same route as
you. It’s really designed to be a new social app that’s
like leaving a trail of digital memories along your travel
route.
Microsoft is also turning its attention to Android Wear.
While its research arm recently released a keyboard that
lets you draw letters on Google’s smartwatches,
Microsoft’s new Torque app goes a step further. Torque
replaces the need to say "OK Google" with a twist of
your wrist to enable Bing search. Once activated, you
start speaking as you would normally and Bing searches
are performed instead of Google ones. It’s a cheeky
move to replace Google’s search engine on Android
Wear, but it might be a more natural way for some to
activate smartwatch functionality without having to
shout "OK Google" into your wrist.
Via : The Verge

Microsoft launches music deals every Tuesday for Windows and Windows Phone

Microsoft on tuesday launched Microsoft Music Deals, a new
app for Windows and Windows Phone users looking to
save money when buying tunes. You can download it
now from the Windows Store and the Windows Phone
Store.
The company is promising that every Tuesday, 101 top
albums will be available for under $2 each, plus you’ll
be able to buy debut albums at $0.99 and “timeless
classics” for $1.99. The app is really just a jumping-off
point; any album you pick in Microsoft Music Deals will
redirect you to the Xbox Music app for Windows 8/8.1
and Windows Phone 8/8.1.
You might be wondering why Microsoft didn’t just build
this functionality straight into Xbox Music. It probably
comes down to noise: Microsoft Music Deals can give
you Live Tile updates and push notifications when new
deals become available. We would argue it’s probably
easier to get interested users to download a new app
than to get a subset of existing users to turn on an
optional feature.
This week, the deals include Slipknot’s latest heavy
metal album “.5: The Gray Chapter” for $0.99 as well as
Phil Collins’ “No Jacket Required,” Prince’s “Purple
Rain,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (Super Deluxe),
Maroon 5’s “V,” and 5 Seconds Of Summer’s debut
album for under $2 each. In other words, if you’ve
purchased music at any point during your life, chances
are Microsoft Music Deals will have something that
catches your eye.
It seems like every company that has to do with music
is looking for a way to entice users to its platform with
deals, new subscription offerings, and, of course, a
growing list of features. Companies ranging from Spotify
to Apple are involved in a price war, and you have
to wonder:
Via : venture beats

Sony's mobile business in red

Sony is going through some troubled waters at the
moment and it doesn’t seem as if the immediate
future looks much better. Earlier this year the
Japanese electronic giant posted a net loss of over $1
billion for its 2013-2014 financial year, which ended in
March. However Sony forecast that it would sell some
50 million mobile phones from April 2014 to March
2015. Unfortunately things didn’t go as expected and
in September the company adjusted its forecast and
lowered its sales target by some 7 million, to 43
million units.
According to the Wall
Street Journal, Sony is yet
again preparing to reduce
its smartphone sales
forecast by several million
units. It is believed that
Sony intends to reduce its
presence in many of the
world’s emerging markets,
especially in China. This means that Sony will reduce
or stop making altogether entry-level handsets. It
seems that Sony has decided that introducing entry-
level models for emerging markets was a mistake.
Although the Xperia brand will remain core to Sony’s
smartphone business, the brand has been struggling
against cheaper handsets from Chinese OEMs. Sony’s
Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida said that the
smartphone business unit will focus on high-end
models and won’t seek a major share of the global
market.
Sony isn't the only one feeling the pitch.
Last month Sony released more bad news for investors
when it announced it would write down $1.68 billion
off the value of its smartphone business. It also
lowered the earnings forecast for the current business
year to a loss of over $2 billion. Sony isn’t the only
one feeling the pitch. HTC is in the middle of a turn
around after a period of loss making, and Samsung is
expecting its Q3 profit to plummet 60% compared to
last year. However some companies are managing to
do well. LG is expecting record sales this year, while
Xiaomi has just taken over the top spot in the highly
competitive Chinese market.
Sony will hold a meeting with investors in November,
where it will reveal its updated smartphone business
plan. If you want to know more about why Sony’s
mobile business is doing so badly then read our very
own Robert Trigg’s excellent analysis.

Iphone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus demand more than supply by Tim Cook

At its fourth quarter earnings call today, Tim Cook
addressed the imbalance between the demand and
supply of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus by saying that the
demand is “far outstripping” the supply.
He also said that at the moment it is unclear as to
when the production will be able to catch up with the
supply, even though the company has had a
satisfactory bump in production.
The supply issues will last until the end of this year as
the company is not “even close” to addressing the
imbalance in demand and supply of the new iPhones.
While iPhones have always had supply issues after
their initial launch, Apple has been able to create a
balance by quickly ramping up production. However,
the unprecedented demand for the new iPhones have
created a huge imbalance between demand and supply
that the company is not able to make up for even by
ramping up production.
Right now, you can get your hands on the iPhone 6
within 7-10 days if you order it from Apple’s online
store. The iPhone 6 Plus, however, has a shipping
delay of 3-4 weeks.

Goodbye Nokia, welcome Microsoft Lumia

Microsoft started dropping hints about its plans to kill
off the Nokia and Windows Phone brands last month,
and now the company is ready to make it official.
Microsoft Lumia is the new brand name that takes the
place of Nokia for the software maker. The name change
follows a slow transition from Nokia.com over to
Microsoft's new mobile site , and Nokia France will be
the first of many countries that adopt "Microsoft Lumia"
for its Facebook, Twitter, and other social media
accounts. Microsoft has confirmed to The Verge that
other countries will follow the rebranding steps in the
coming weeks.
NOKIA IS STILL A SEPARATE COMPANY
Microsoft's decision to drop the Nokia brand itself
doesn't mean that Nokia is going away fully. Nokia still
exists as a separate company without its phones
business, and the Finnish firm now focuses on mapping
and network infrastructure. Microsoft's choice to use
Lumia as the Nokia replacement won't come as a
surprise to many. Nokia's Windows Phone apps have
been rebranded to Lumia recently, and holiday ads will
be pushing Lumia instead of Nokia .
What's not clear is how Microsoft will handle the
branding on its future Windows Phone. Existing Lumia
devices carry the Nokia logo at the front and back
typically, and Microsoft could opt for just Lumia or
Microsoft at the front and back, or even the lengthier
Microsoft Lumia combination. We'll likely have to wait
until Microsoft announces a new Lumia after the
rebranding exercise to understand exactly how the
company will label its future Windows Phones.

Apple releases iOS 8. 1, Apple pay , SMS relay etc

Apple today released iOS 8.1, its first major update to
iOS 8. First seeded to developers at the end of
September, iOS 8.1 brings quite a few significant
features to the operating system. The update
activates Apple Pay, enables Yosemite users to
access Continuity features like SMS relay and Instant
Hotspot, offers all iOS 8 users access to iCloud Photo
Library, fixes several bugs, and more.
iOS 8.1, build 12B410 for iPads and 12B411 for
iPhones, is available immediately as an over-the-air
download and after updating, it will allow iPhone 6
and 6 Plus owners to access Apple Pay, Apple's new
payment service. With Apple Pay, the iPhone 6 and 6
Plus can be used to make payments in both retail
stores that support NFC and participating apps. Apple
has also released Apple TV software 7.0.1.
Apple Pay support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6
Plus (U.S. only)
Photos include new features, improvements,
and fixes
-Adds iCloud Photo Library as a beta service
- Adds Camera Roll album in Photos app and
My Photo Stream album when iCloud Photo
Library is not enabled
- Provides alerts when running low on space
before capturing Time Lapse videos
Messages includes new features, improvements
and fixes
- Adds the ability for iPhone users to send and
receive SMS and MMS text messages on from
their iPad and Mac
- Resolves an issue where search would
sometimes not display results
- Fixes a bug that caused read messages not to
be marked as read
- Fixes issues with group messaging
Resolves issues with Wi-Fi performance that
could occur when connected to some base
stations
Fixes an issue that could prevent connections
to Bluetooth hands-free devices
Fixes bugs that could cause screen rotation to
stop working
Fixes an issue in Safari where videos would
sometimes not play
Adds an option to select between 2G, 3G, or LTE
networks for cellular data
Fixes an issue in Safari where videos would
sometimes not play
Adds AirDrop support for Passbook passes
Adds an option to enable Dictation in Settings
for Keyboards, Separate from Siri
Enables HealthKit apps to access data in the
background
Accessibility improvements and fixes
- Fixes an issue that prevented Guided Access
from working properly
- Fixes a bug where VoiceOver would not work
with 3rd party keyboards
- Improves stability and audio quality when
using MFi Hearing Aids with iPhone 6 and 6
Plus
- Fixes an issue with VoiceOver where tone
dialing would get stuck on tone until dialing
another number
- Improves reliability when using handwriting,
Bluetooth keyboards, and Braille displays with
VoiceOver
Fixes an issue that was preventing the use of
OS X Caching Server for iOS updates
Also included in iOS 8.1 is support for SMS relay, a
Continuity feature designed to allow Macs (running
Yosemite) and iOS devices like iPads to receive SMS
messages routed through a user's iPhone. Instant
Hotspot is also enabled through the iOS 8.1 update,
letting Mac users remotely activate the Personal
Hotspot capabilities of an iPhone when two devices
are near each other.
Along with those major features, iOS 8.1 reinstates the
Camera Roll, which was removed with iOS 8, and it
gives all iOS 8 users access to iCloud Photo Library ,
Apple's new cloud-based photo storage solution. The
removal of the Camera Roll turned out to be a
controversial decision, with Apple opting to re-add it
after iOS users asked for the feature to be returned.
iOS 8 has not been Apple's smoothest software
release, with users encountering quite a few bugs in
the operating system. While multiple issues were
fixed with iOS 8.0.2, released in late September, iOS
8.1 fixes several other bugs, including a problem that
caused some iOS 8 users to have trouble pairing their
phones with their Bluetooth devices. According to
release notes, iOS 8.1 also fixes several other
complaints users have had about iOS 8, including
problems connecting to Wi-Fi and issues with screen
rotation.
Via : MacRumors

Apple reports $8.5b profit for Q4 2014

Apple this afternoon released its financial report for Q4
2014 ahead of a media event elaborating on the
numbers, and the numbers themselves were as big as
expected in the wake of evidence of impressive iPhone 6
and 6 Plus sales. All total, the company reported $42.1
billion in revenue (with 60 percent of it coming from
international markets), which amounts to an impressive
$8.5 billion in profits. What's more, that's up
considerably from the $37.5 billion Apple reported last
year.
As expected, the iPhone stole the numbers show, as
sales of Apple's handsets amounted to 39,3 million units
for the quarter. But the Mac was still the surprise
wonder here, as it moved an impressive 5.5 million units
during the same period. Deep back-to-school discounts
from August are thought to have much to do with the
unusually strong Mac sales, which shattered the
existing record from 2011 when Apple moved 4.9 million
units.
The iPad, however, continued its stark sales decline. At
this time last year, the tablet moved 14.1 million units,
but only 12.3 million iPads made their ways into the
hands of customers this year. That makes Q4 2014 the
third quarter in a row with a slump in sales of the
device.
Other sales were up, as Apple CEO Tim Cook reported
during the call proper. iTunes revenue, for instance, was
up 22 percent for a total revenue of $5.4 billion; and the
company broke another record with sales at its retail
stores, which brought in $5.1 billion for an increase of
15 percent from last year.
Cook believes that Apple Pay, officially launched today
with iOS 8.1, will push sales even higher in the future.
"We think we will sell more devices, because we think
it's a killer feature," Cook said. "We see Apple Pay as an
incredible service that is the most customer-centric
mobile payment system that there is. We’re very proud of
it and we can’t wait to sign up more retailers and extend
it around the world.”
Via : MacLife.com

China staging attack on iCloud and Microsoft live

China got its first official shipments of new iPhones last
week, but a new report from web censorship watchdog
Great Fire indicates Chinese users may be facing an
unpleasant surprise when they try to connect to Apple
services at large. As of last night, the Chinese firewall is
blocking all local connections to iCloud.com, redirecting
those connections to a dummy site designed to look
exactly like Apple's login page. If you're using Firefox or
Chrome, you'll land on a warning page like the one
above, but if you're using the Chinese Qihoo browser,
the most popular browser in China, you'll be routed
straight to the dummy site with no indication that it's
not being run by Apple. A similar attack is also being
leveled against Microsoft's Login.live.com
INSTEAD OF ICLOUD, USERS WERE DIRECTED TO A
DUMMY SITE
Because the attack is taking place at the level of the
Great Firewall, it seems likely that this is an attack by
Chinese authorities meant to harvest usernames and
passwords. If a user logged into the dummy site, it
would give the attackers complete access to the user's
iCloud account, including any photos or text messages
stored in the cloud. Apple also recently added default
disk encryption to iOS, a feature that drew disapproval
from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies,
leading many to speculate that this attack might be a
strike back against the company's new security efforts.
It's still possible for users to circumvent the attack and
get through to the real iCloud site unscathed. The attack
only targeted one of iCloud's many IP addresses, so
anyone routed to a different IP should reach the real
site. A VPN service can also be used to redirect users to
iCloud, provided the VPN service is not also blocked by
the Great Firewall. It's the first time China has directly
attacked an Apple service, but Great Fire also notes that
Apple has complied with the country's surveillance
requests in the past. "Apple has a long history of
working with the Chinese authorities to self-censor
content in China," Great Fire said in a statement. "While
we worry for Chinese users who may have their accounts
compromised, we are shedding no tears for the Apple
executives."
Via : The Verge

HTC Android 5.0 Lollipop update timetable

The latest source suggests that HTC will indeed be
brining Lollipop to most of its new handsets and will
likely pack its new Eye Experience software in with
the update, although not all features will be available
on every device. The follow list might be subject to
change, as handsets are apparently still under
evaluation.
The HTC One (M7) and (M8) remain the first in
line for the update. GPE versions of the handsets
will receive an update in late November-
December, as expected, and Sense based versions
will see an update in January-February.
The January to March contains a host of HTC
devices. Lollipop should arrive for the Desire EYE,
One (M8) Dual SIM, One (M7) Dual SIM, One (E8),
One (E8) Dual SIM, and Butterfly 2 in this period.
HTC’s One Mini 2 and Desire 816 will follow later,
with an update expected in the March-April time
frame.
Lastly, the One Max, One Mini, and Butterfly S are
in line for Lollipop somewhere between March
and May next year.
Oddly, HTC’s newly announced 64-bit Desire 820
appears to be left off the list. This and HTC’s MediaTek
processor powered handsets are still under evaluation,
according to the source, and may or may not receive
an update.
Via : Android Authority

The sim card about to die

If there's one thing I've learned about Apple's dealings
with SIM cards in the past seven years, it's that Apple
gets what Apple wants.
The little gold-plated circuits — which identify you as a
subscriber on a particular carrier — plug into phones,
tablets, and basically anything else with a cellular radio.
Customers of GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile have
been using them since time immemorial; CDMA carriers
like Sprint and Verizon have started using them since
switching to LTE. Apple hates SIMs, and has hated them
for as long as the iPhone has existed: it is known to
have explored the use of embedded, non-removable
SIMs in the past.
Finally, with the iPad Air 2 and mini 3, Apple has
decided to start making its move by using a
reprogrammable SIM that can be taken from carrier to
carrier, switching networks and pricing plans through
user-friendly software alone. It's called "Apple SIM." Not
every carrier is on board yet — Apple SIM is still
removable, and carrier-bought iPads will use regular,
locked SIMs — but the writing is on the wall. The
wounds are mortal. Within a year or two, you'll probably
never see a SIM card in an Apple product again. You
may not even see a tray.
WITHIN A YEAR OR TWO, YOU'LL PROBABLY NEVER SEE
A SIM CARD IN AN APPLE PRODUCT AGAIN
Every time Apple has tweaked the SIM formula, it has
won. Just look at the original iPhone in 2007: the notion
of a handset with a SIM card that could only be
accessed by triggering a fidgety little tray using a paper
clip was insane. Yet today, many flagship smartphones
are using them (the main holdouts are phones with
replaceable batteries — another notion that Apple
practically shut down). "SIM tools," little pieces of easy-
to-lose steel that will prick you if you're not careful, just
seem like a totally normal thing to find in the box of a
new phone now.
Next there was 3FF — better known as micro-SIM —
which debuted on the original iPad in 2010. At the time,
it wasn't fun: Apple broke compatibility with an
enormous ecosystem of GSM devices, which made
sharing an account with your iPad a huge pain. Slowly,
carriers started offering micro-SIMs, but you still needed
a flimsy, hard-to-find adapter to use those cards
anywhere else. (It took a full product cycle, more than a
year, for other manufacturers to skate to Apple's puck.)
Apple never looked back, switching to micro-SIM with
the iPhone 4 later that same year.
APPLE ISN'T AFRAID TO BREAK COMPATIBILITY
It happened all over again with 4FF, the nano-SIM
standard that today's iPads and iPhones use. Apple first
fought and won against a consortium of other phone
manufacturers who were proposing a different (and more
advanced) nano-SIM, then it introduced the new card to
the market mere weeks later with the iPhone 5. Once
more, carriers and competing phone makers had to catch
up — even this year's Samsung Galaxy S5 is still on the
older micro-SIM.
Apple's unique place in the market gives it extraordinary
power over carriers, which are notorious for being
difficult to work with and, often, stuck in their ways.
And with the Apple SIM, only a small number of carriers
are on board so far: AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and UK's EE
(Verizon, perhaps the most stubborn of them all, is
missing). But, as with the introduction of the micro-SIM
on the original iPad, this is a tell by Apple. It's a
warning that the next iPhone will be using
reprogrammable SIMs — and if a carrier would like to
offer that iPhone, it had better start getting ready. It's
easy to imagine that Apple could just eliminate the tray
altogether, leaving uncooperative carriers on the
sideline.
It's easy to bemoan the death of the removable SIM; for
GSM customers, it's a symbol of freedom, a way to move
between phones at will. But in reality, Apple's rapid
progression from mini- to micro- to nano-SIM has
already left us with a fragmented market, and tossing a
SIM between Android and iOS phones can lead to
provisioning issues that leave you stuck on the phone
with customer service anyway. If Apple forces this issue
— which, by all appearances, it's going to — it'll light a
fire beneath carriers and competing phone makers that
makes switching carriers easier than ever. (Switching
devices , not so much.)
Via : The Verge