2014 smartphone features: Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 lead the way

OVER the last week we saw the who’s who of the mobile world including Samsung and Sony show off their latest devices and technology in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress — so what does that mean for your new phone in 2014? 
Bigger is better 

So the old saying goes. We’ve only seen two flagship devices announced this year in the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 but already the trend is clear on not only those devices but new mid-range devices that our phones are only getting bigger. The Xperia Z2’s screen has grown to 5.2-inches from its predecessor’s screen of 5.0-inches, similarly the Galaxy S5 as grown to 5.1-inches from the Galaxy S4’s 5.0-inches. We also saw big phones from other manufacturers including LG with their G Pro 2 and ZTE with the Grand Memo II.


The megapixel war is back 

Just when you thought camera makers had stopped fighting over megapixel numbers, smartphone makers reignited the battle when Nokia announced its 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 last year. Sony’s latest Z2 features a similar 20.7-megapixel camera to last year’s Z1 while the Galaxy S5 upped its camera to a 16-megapixel snapper. HTC’s next flagship is expected to continue its Ultrapixel style camera but also with an upped resolution of 8-megapixels while the next iPhone is rumoured to also have a higher megapixel count.

 

Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 has a heart rate sensor under the camera. Source: Supplied 

 

It’s sensors galore 

Apple introduced their fingerprint scanner and M7 motion processor with last year’s iPhone 5s and since then sensors have become the latest greatest feature. HTC included a fingerprint scanner in its huge One Max at the end of last year and Samsung has also added one to the Galaxy S5 as well as a heart rate sensor.

Flat UI is best UI 

When once we wanted an operating system with graphics and style, now we’re after simple colours and a flat user interface. The Windows Phone has had this style since its inception but Android and iOS have followed suit with their latest versions. This back-to-basics trend looks set to continue this year.

Your phone will last longer 

Finally an improvement that will actually matter — battery life.Ever since smartphones have been around their battery life has been terrible, often forcing us to reach for the charger before the end of the day. Thankfully, this year looks like it’s going to change all that with a key focus for manufacturers being battery life with both Sony and Samsung upping the size of their batteries and Samsung even launching a new Ultra Power Saving mode that can get you nearly 24-hours of battery life from just 10 per cent of battery. 

 



 source;news.com.au

Looking to the past won’t save BlackBerry

Last week, BlackBerry broke into the fast-and-furious MWC news cycle with a few announcements of its own: not only would the company be keeping the door open for another tablet in the coming years, but it would also be releasing new smartphone hardware in the form of the Z3 and Q20. The former device was less than interesting, destined as it was for Indonesia, but the Q20 seemed like a BlackBerry fan’s NSFW fantasy. As Stephen Schenck described in a follow-up piece:
“The Q20 will be the company’s latest model to feature a hardware keyboard, and notably, it has the largest display of any such BB10 device to date; while the Q10 and Q5 had 3.1-inch screens, the Q20′s grows to 3.5 inches. It also revisits some of BlackBerry’s roots, bringing back the menu, back, send, and end buttons along with a trackpad …”
In short, the Q20 seems like everything a BlackBerry fan could ask for in 2010.
The problem, of course, is that it’s 2014 – and no one, save a few die-hards, is asking for a classic BlackBerry anymore. But that’s apparently not stopping the company from building one.
This is frustrating, because it undoes much of the progress made by the company’s new platform. When I attended the BlackBerry 10 unveiling in Toronto, the energy around me was palpable. Much of that was Canadian nationalism, but it was an earned pride: BlackBerry 10 promised to do what generations of iterations hadn’t. Its modernized UI was incredibly refreshing; its multitasking approach was familiar, but it worked well; and underlying it all were the best parts of the “old” BlackBerry: the messaging hub, enterprise support, and best-in-class keyboards that had catapulted the company to the top over the past decade.

It was this combination of features, plus the promise of gap-filling Android apps, that put BlackBerry firmly in the running for the then-contested “third platform” spot. It would have been a stretch, BlackBerry victory over Windows Phone wasn’t a total impossibility.
Of course, what ended up happening was … not that. Unit sales failed to impress, the company nearly imploded and tried selling itself, only to return a few months later with another promise (there’s that word again) of new devices and a bright future – promises which didn’t stop some carriers from halting retail sales of BB10 devices. Meanwhile Microsoft slowly but surely gained ground to establish a firm, if not fantastic, hold as the third-place alternative to Android and iOS.
May be, the reasons for BlackBerry 10′s failure to thrive all come down to a harsh but inescapable failing: there’s no longer a compelling reason to recommend a BlackBerry over one of its more-established competitors. That’s a realization I came to as recently as this weekend, while test-driving a new version of BB10 on the Q10.
To be sure, the BlackBerry platform has much to offer the mobile geek and the interface nerd. I genuinely loved much of the time spent with the device. Five years after the debut of the webOS platform that inspired it, BB10′s gesture-driven interface still feels futuristic and effortless; the Hub is still the best way I’ve ever seen to manage notifications; and the keyboard shortcuts paired with the satisfying tactility of the keys delivers an experience unlike anything else. In these respects, the Q10 is possibly the best fusion of old and new in the mobile world.
But the ecosystem challenges that plagued BlackBerry 10 at launch continue to haunt the company, and this tired old handicap represents the biggest obstacle to the brand’s adoption. Major apps written specifically for the platform are (still) few and far between. Placeholder titles written by BlackBerry like Twitter and Facebook are (still) molasses-slow and lacking all but the most basic functionality. Core-level applications like Maps are (still) almost comically devoid of features. And while the new BB OS 10.2.1 -awaiting carrier approval on many US operators- finally offers expanded support for more advanced Android titles, that’s little more than a Band-Aid. Convincing geeks to sideload some APKs onto their devices is no sweat -and Adam Zeis over at CrackBerry has some great tips if you’re one of those folks- but the vast majority of the world’s phone buyers have no interest in such adventures.


But rather than devote more resources to fixing these longstanding shortcomings, BlackBerry has instead decided to focus on designing a throwback smartphone. A sequel that seems all but guaranteed to sacrifice the natural flow of its predecessor’s UX in order to include … more buttons. Because apparently all this chat about “ecosystems” and “robust core features” is total bunk: what people really want are their menu/back/send/end keys.
BlackBerry isn’t alone in this focus problem. We’ve seen similar moves by Microsoft with Windows Phone: the company has made WP8 users wait over a year for base-level functionality like a notification center while its partners have added frivolous features like app folders and allowed carriers to overstep their bounds by meddling with hardware features. But Microsoft has the time and money to burn in its quest to push its platform -BlackBerry doesn’t. 

  By Michael Fisher 

First MHL 3.0 compatible phones and tablets are on their way

When it comes to getting content from our phones onto our TVs, we have plenty of options. Maybe your phone has a physical HDMI output (though those seem to be getting increasingly rare). Maybe you do things wirelessly, using Miracast or an accessory like Chromecast. A lot of smartphone users connect to their televisions using MHL though their phones’ micro USB port, which not only carries the video signal, but helps power your phone while it’s acting as a video source. As it turns out, among all the product launches we got to see last week at MWC 2014, the first couple devices supporting the new MHL 3.0 standard debuted: Sony’s Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z2 Tablet.
What’s so great about MHL 3.0? In a word: 4K. While previous MHL specs could handle 1080p video without stressing, MHL 3.0 ups the ante to display video with a resolution as high as 3840 x 2160. Maybe that’s a bit overboard for most of our current uses, but make no mistake – 4K is on its way, and it’s just a matter of time before you start seeing 4K screens replace 1080p panels in living rooms everywhere. In that sense, maybe MHL 3.0 is more future-proofing than anything else, but it has a couple other tricks up its sleeve besides just 4K support.
While you could power your phone over MHL before, MHL 3.0 dials-up the juice to support charging with as much as 10 watts of power. There’s also support for new multi-channel audio formats, the ability to work with multiple displays, and improved accessory compatibility.
The Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z2 Tablet may be MHL 3.0 early adopters, but look for more new hardware to support the standard in the months to come.

 

 
Source: Engadget
Via: Xperia Blog

Samsung essentially confirms unannounced Galaxy Tab4 models

For the most part, when it came to the MWC last week, Samsung delivered just what we expected it to: the Galaxy S5 and its second-gen Gear smartwatches. Sure, there wasn’t much in the way of Tizen phone progress, and we’re still waiting on a 64-bit Exynos, but those were rolls of the dice anyway. Really, the most surprising thing that failed to appear was news of any more tablets, following a leak earlier in the month that detailed three new Galaxy Tab models, to complement the higher-end TabPRO lineup. We still may be waiting on word of those, but Samsung has gone ahead and removed any doubt they might still be forthcoming, mentioning the trio as compatible with the Gear Fit.
You can see it up top plain as day: Galaxy Tab4 7.0, 8.0, and 10.1 models. We had assumed that these would be branded as “Galaxy Tab 4” devices, but it looks like Samsung is taking a page from the TabPRO “we don’t need no stinkin’ spaces” playbook and stylizing the devices as its “Tab4” models, instead.




  Source: Samsung

Apple hiring HTC engineers to build more iPhone models?

Even though Apple has been publicly reluctant to build more than one new iPhone model every year, there’s no denying that things changed in 2013 with the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. The amount of pressure the company is facing by Samsung’s vomit of smartphones, and Samsung’s capability of delivering new flagships at least twice a year is clearly making a dent in the way Cupertino operates.
Apple is reportedly stealing HTC engineers and even some local engineers at its new Shanghai three-building complex with plans to enhance its production capabilities of the iPhone. You could say that Apple is doing this to be able to deliver the amount of iPhones it gets ordered each year, but reports claim that instead, Apple wants to be capable of building additional iPhone models during the year in order to keep its sales momentum going.
We’ve already seen how HTC can be capable of delivering tons of smartphones in a year, and clearly this would be a match made in heaven if Apple follows the same plan. Let’s just hope this also gives us a bigger iPhone as well, since HTC is not famous for miniaturization.


 

 Source: Wall Street Journal

Google Wants Its Modular Ara Phone to Cost $50

Google is taking its Ara modular smartphone platform increasingly seriously, and now in interviews with Time it has revealed that it aims to sell a simple version of the phone for as little as $50.

Time has taken a deep dive into Google's modular smartphone, revealing some interesting details along the way. Work on the concept, which follows on from R&D by Phonebloks and Motorola, remains at Google because it kept hold of the Advanced Technology and Projects group when it sold Moto to Lenovo.

It seems Google has ambitious plans for it, too. The Time feature explains that its current plan is to create a "grayphone": a barebones, customizable exoskeleton that initially comes with little more than a screen, a frame and a WiFi radio. The devices should only cost $50 and will be "designed to be sold at convenience stores". From there, users would be able to customize their device however they wanted. 

In fact, the upgrade path sounds quirky, too. An on-board app will allow users to tweak soft design elements, and Google's Paul Eremenko told Time that users would rock up to special kiosks to upgrade the physical components. Those kiosks will be designed to fit into shipping containers to be sent around the world, and will contain parts and tools so users can tweak their devices. 

It all sounds wildly ambitious, because it is. Indeed, Eremenko says there's a way to go before Google reaches the $50 price point, and it's still unclear if there's huge demand for phones like this. But Time points out that Eremenko wants the project to be "great, not profitable," so perhaps it doesn't matter. Certainly, it isn't idle speculation: Google is even holding an Ara developers conference this Spring, so it's clearly taking the whole project seriously. It's going to be exciting to see what comes of it. [Time]

Microsoft to force Xbox Live on iOS and Android, will lead to disaster

Microsoft isn’t content with keeping its Xbox Live service in the living room. Based on a recent job posting, it’s evident that Microsoft is now trying to expand its gaming ecosystem directly into iOS and Android smartphones. While mobile games with Xbox-powered leaderboards and achievements might sound like a brilliant idea at first, this initiative is actually another disaster waiting to happen for Redmond.
In its public job posting, Microsoft claims that this position will help to “create a modern framework” that will be “scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS and Android.” With a very specific focus on gaming, it’s not a huge leap to assume this project will directly tie into the existing Xbox Live ecosystem. Previous attempts have already been made to bring Xbox Live functionality to Windows and Windows Phone, so it’s no surprise that Microsoft is doing the same thing for the titans of the smartphone world.
On the surface, this all seems like a logical next step for Microsoft. Expand your brand, reach as many people as possible, and you’re good to go, right? Unfortunately, this is most assuredly doomed for failure. Both iOS and Android have baked-in game services, and Microsoft’s follow-through has been terrible in terms of expanding its core Xbox services to other devices.
Take a look at Games for Windows Live. Even with support from big-name titles like Grand Theft Auto IV and BioShock, the service never took off. Microsoft largely ignored the service for much of its existence, and then unceremoniously announced its death in mid-2013. The “GFWL” experience was awful from start to finish, and that was on Microsoft’s own platform. Nobody is going to be shocked if Microsoft offers the exact same level of support for iOS and Android.
Regardless of Microsoft’s past, smartphones and tablets don’t need yet another gaming service. Apple already has Game Center, Google has Google Play Game Services, and Amazon has its own implementation called GameCircle. Developers can easily implement these solutions into their games right from the core development tools, and users won’t have to sign up for a third-party service.
Leaderboards, achievements, friends lists, and save-syncing already exist on these platforms. Unless Redmond has something new and exciting up its sleeve, there’s no reason for a developer to use Microsoft’s service instead of the native solution. Slapping an Xbox Live logo on your Flappy Bird clone isn’t going to solve anything. If the development team thinks releasing an also-ran service will help revitalize the damaged Xbox brand, they’re in for a rude awakening.




 source:extremetech