| Twitter Music app launches today for iOS and web Apr 18th 2013, 13:22 
Twitter #Music has hit the mainstream today, with the social network launching its music-finding app for iOS. The Twitter-powered app hopes to help you find new music by recommending tracks based on who you follow, which you can sample through plugged-in music services Rdio, Spotify and iTunes. The default setting will be iTunes, which will allow you to play 30 second previews of songs through the app, but if you subscribe to Rdio or Spotify you can log in to use those instead and get involved with the full track. Recommendation stationsYou'll be able to track what friends are listening to and see recommendations made by artists and bands you follow. To a certain extent, the app will live and die by the people you follow. The Now Playing section shows you what music people you follow have tweeted, which kind of assumes you're following only like-minded people whose music tastes you're likely to share and who are likely to tweet about music. 
You can also navigate to see what music artists are following or see a particular profile from within the app which may prove more useful to those who use Twitter as a purely social network. It's also going to show you the most popular tracks using trends, which may mean you're inundated with pop nonsense and satirical musical numbers depending on how many Beliebers are online and what current events are irking tweeters at the time. And, of course, you can tweet any tracks you 'discover' through the app by rote. The app is coming to Apple's App Store later today, while non-iPhone/iPad users can head to music.twitter.com to get involved. Twitter promises that there will be an Android version 'soon'.     |  | Archos prepping an awesome foursome of smartphones Apr 18th 2013, 12:23 
When you think of smartphone manufacturers Archos probably isn't the first, or even the tenth, name which springs to mind, but the plucky firm is apparently ready to roll with four new handsets. Information on the quartet was picked up by French site Mini Machines, and reveals handsets ranging from budget to high-end areas of the market - specs and all. It's a long time coming, after Archos (back in its PMP pomp back in 2008) told TechRadar it was thinking about entering the phone market if the timing was right. Five years seems to be the figure there, then. The flagship device appears to be the Archos Platinum 48, which features a 4.8-inch HD display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 8MP camera, 2000mAh battery and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean - which would place it nicely against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5. Next up in the identity parade is Archos' attempt to challenge the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, the Titanium 52. Ice ice babyIt has a 5.2-inch display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 2200mAh battery, 5MP camera and a slightly lacklustre 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, plus it only runs Ice Cream Sandwich. As we move down the price scale we're greeted by the 4-inch Titanium 4, and the baby of the range the Carbon 3.5, which has, you've guessed it, a 3.5-inch display. Both handsets run Ice Cream Sandwich and pack 512MB of RAM, with the Titanium 4 boasting a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5MP camera and 4GB of internal storage. 
Meanwhile the Carbon 35 makes do with a 1GHz single-core chip, 2MP camera, 512MB of internal storage and a 1500mAh battery. According to the leak all the handset will be available sometime this month apart from the Platinum 48 - which is due a little later in May. We have contacted Archos to try and find out if these smartphones will be heading to the UK and we'll update this article once we hear back.     | | The tide may be changing for Nokia as it sees best ever Lumia sales Apr 18th 2013, 10:55 
There's some good news coming out of the Nokia camp today as the Finnish firm reports its best ever Lumia smartphone sales. During the first quarter of 2013, Nokia saw sales of its Lumia handsets increase by a healthy 27 per cent quarter-on-quarter, managing to shift 5.6 million of the Windows Phone-toting units. It's not all good news though, as after Nokia returned to profitability in the final quarter of last year it has managed to post a small loss of around $196 million (£130 million/AU$190 million) on what has been its lowest quarterly revenue since 1999. You also have to consider Nokia is still some way off the likes of Samsung and Apple, with predictions suggesting we'll see 37 million iPhones shipped during the same quarter. It's also worth remembering that the number of phones shipped is not the same as the number of phones sold. Fall of the feature phoneAlthough Nokia had an encouraging boost in smartphone sales the Lumia range is still dwarfed by the firm's feature phone offering, with the company shipping 55.8 million mobile phone units over the same period. That said volumes of Nokia's mobile phones fell by a hefty 30 per cent quarter-on-quarter, which shows how the world is starting to shift towards smartphones as they become increasingly more affordable. We reckon things will only get better for Nokia as the year progresses with the recent launch of the Lumia 520 and Lumia 720 adding to the firm's strong arsenal of Windows Phone 8 devices. Plus if the various rumours about the 41MP Nokia EOS, leaner Lumia 920 copycat the Catwalk and the mystery Galaxy Note rival turn out to be true it could be a really exciting 12 months in Finland.     | | BlackBerry 10.1 update preview reveals HDR camera and other neat tricks Apr 18th 2013, 10:12 
BlackBerry 10 has been around for a few months now and while it's had a couple of minor updates we're starting to learn what the first major upgrade will bring. The folks over at CrackBerry have been doing some digging in the BlackBerry 10.1 SDK and have managed to uncover some juicy morsels of information on what the update has in store for us. First up the camera app will be getting some love with the inclusion of a HDR mode, allowing you to take better snaps with your BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10. A World of changeBlackBerry World is also getting a small refresh, with an easier way to check for app updates - which really is a welcome addition as it's a real pain at the moment - plus the inclusion of a voucher code box, suggesting BlackBerry will go down the Apple and Google route of offering coupons in stores. Pin-to-Pin messaging has also been added to the BlackBerry Hub, allowing you to easily send encrypted missives to your fellow BlackBerry buddies. A number of smaller cosmetic and functional additions and tweaks will also be included in the update, such as the ability to paste a number into the dialler and new help demos when someone boots up their device for the first time. More new features will likely surface as the BlackBerry 10.1 update approaches a release - although that date is currently unknown. With iOS 7 and Android Key Lime Pie both expected to arrive later this year BlackBerry needs to make sure its BB 10 platform can keep pace with the dominant forces in the mobile market.     | | Roundup: 6 best to-do apps and extensions to manage your time Apr 18th 2013, 10:00 
Make list. Tick things off list. Lose list. List-making apps for smartphones are myriad, but so far have taken longer to use than a pen and paper. Available on different platforms and devices - such as iOS, Mac OS X, Android, Chrome, Gmail and Windows-flavoured operating systems - and often synced via the cloud, we've enlisted some of the best free apps for this super-test. There are a plethora of paid apps, too, with the likes of Firetask, ToDo and TaskPaper costing a staggering £27.99/US$39.99, £10.49/US$4.99 and £17.49/US$24.99 respectively, but to us that seems like the digital equivalent of spending a week drawing a revision timetable. Here's some of our favourite free or cheap task apps from the hundreds now available. 1. Wunderlist 2Free (Android, iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows) 
The best-looking app around is also the king of the cloud. Tasks can be entered and later filed into folders (work, DIY or anything - it's free text entry), or smart lists created for today, the current week, or for anything starred. It's familiar, it's simple and it's enormously useful. We especially like the way each entry can be expanded upon; a simple 'buy bread' instruction can be created that just sits there until being digitally crossed-off (by ticking a box), or it can be given a due date whereby pop-ups appear on a smartphone and desktop - and even via email. It goes deeper, with a notepad available for each entry that can store reams of simple text. Our only complaint is that anything pasted into the notepad loses all formatting, and there's not even bold/italic/underline functionality within the apps. Other than that, it's not far off being a task-based Evernote. Everything is stored on the cloud, and lists can be shared between people, too, so it's just as good for a weekly shared shopping list as it is for a work project. 2. Remember the MilkFree (Android, Gmail, Google Calendar, iPad, iPhone, Outlook, Twitter) 
It looks basic and, design-wise, a little dated, but in practice Remember The Milk is one of the better task apps, largely because it's available across so many platforms. King of the cloud sync, Remember The Milk is as comprehensive - or not - as you want it to be. If you just want to make a simple list of things not to forget, the default sections for Today, Tomorrow and Overdue are probably enough. Exact due dates and times can be set and reminders (via email or text message) come through promptly, though it's also possible to set daily, weekly or even yearly tasks that could cover birthday present-buying or annual job tasks (such as filing tax forms). Its availability across almost every device and platform is another bonus, but think twice about installing it everywhere - it works for you, remember, not the other way around. 3. Clear£1.49/US$1.99 or £4.99/US$6.99 (iPhone or Mac) 
Last year's hit task app and surely a design inspiration for the popular Mailbox app doing the rounds this year, Clear is all about swiping instead of tapping. Folders and individual tasks are created by side-swipes, with left and right gestures completing or deleting them, while a long swipe downwards returns to the main screen. The interface relies on blocks of colour, though several simple themes are available. Clear is a product of the 'less is more' mantra, and while that will be a plus for some, others will sorely miss the chance to set reminders, create timed events or program recurring tasks. Although it's thoroughly modern and thoughtfully designed, it's not much more than an electronic version of a paper notebook - although the cloud-syncing introduced with the birth of a Mac app version does change that. There is some unnecessary clutter, with empty folders graced by pithy rent-a-quotes from the likes of Thomas Edison, Carl Sagan and, err, Bruce Lee, which can be posted by Twitter. That gives it a slightly amateur dimension that doesn't sit well with its price, though overall the core simplicity of Clear will be just what some users are after. 4. ITA69p/US$0.99 (iPad, iPhone) 
Most to-do list apps hinge on a smartphone app, but ITA - though for iOS only - is also optimised for the iPad. Like Clear, ITA is another very simple app that does away with scheduling or recurring tasks and instead presents text-only entry boxes for tasks. Once grouped together under a heading - say, Work, Home or DIY - tasks can all be reordered, edited, completed (and thus put to the bottom) and entire lists shared by either email or - unusually - by text message, most often by a tap or a drag. The master list of, err, lists can also be reordered, but across the app there's a mishmash of different fonts, sizes and backgrounds that give it a slightly disjointed look. Although all lists can be stored locally, there's a cloud-based option if you want to access and alter tasks from both an iPhone and iPad. 5. Any.DOFree (Android, Chrome, iPhone) 
Probably the most beautiful-looking task app, Any.DO works across iOS and Android devices as well as via an almost identical Chrome extension, though there's an email action plugin for Gmail, too. The elegant interface is divided into Today, Tomorrow, Upcoming and Someday. When entering a new task on Any.DO there's a speech-to-text option that works reasonably well, though it only makes one attempt; if it misunderstands you it's back to the keyboard. Notes can be made for each task - again, there's a speech-to-text option upfront - and tasks can be shared with others via email. Reminders can be set for specific times, while tasks can recur daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly. However, the app's daily reminder at 10am to 'take a moment to plan your day' does grate; who wants to be hassled by an app? Although it syncs with Google Tasks, a unique angle of Any.DO is a Gmail plugin that monitors the language in all incoming emails in an attempt to extract a task to add to Any.DO. In practice, the suggested action is often way off the mark, but it's a cinch to add free text in the 'What's Next?' box and set a time to follow up. As well as a rather simple Chrome extension, there's a new location-based feature that uses your phone's GPS to set geographical alerts. However, it's only available if you go through the process of inviting friends to use Any.DO, which for us is a task too far. 6. TaskulousFree (iPhone) 
Designed solely for the iPhone, Taskulous is similar in structure - if not in scale - as Any.DO.The basic front screen groups things into Today, Scheduled and Someday, which might be a bit prescriptive for some, but in practice covers anything. That last folder - Someday - can become a dumping ground for tasks that don't fit anywhere else, but can be just as exhaustively scheduled as anything else. For each task there's a free-text Notes tab and a Due Date and - best of all - the option to add it to a linked Calendar, such as iCal or Google Calendar. It's a clever way to both extend the reach of this one-device app and meld with your existing ways of organising your life. As well as appearing in the Scheduled tab, any event or task can be shared via email. However, even if you give exhaustive due dates for tasks they don't appear in the Scheduled section, just the folder you originally created them in, so you have to make that decision beforehand. The empty Logbook section, which is presumably for completed tasks but remained empty during our test, reinforces our feeing that Taskulous isn't quite as polished or as flexible as it first appears.     | | Nokia could be working on a big-screen Galaxy Note rival Apr 18th 2013, 09:32 
Super-sized smartphones are all the rage these days with the Huawei Ascend Mate, ZTE Grand Memo and the ridiculously big Galaxy Mega following in the footsteps of the Samsung Galaxy Note - and Nokia is apparently next in line to get in on the action. According to sources talking to the Finanical Times, the Finnish firm is cooking up a large-screened handset of its own. This phone-tablet crossover device is said to be a similar size to the Galaxy Note, but will be technically more advanced - however, there were no details on specs, release date or even a name. More where that came fromThere's more than just a super-sized smartphone on the cards over at Nokia though, with people "familiar with Nokia's plans" claiming it's readying several high-end flagship products for 2013. Only yesterday did we hear further rumours surrounding the Nokia EOS and it's 41MP PureView camera and these reports have been reinforced by the sources who reckon we could see the handset arrive in July. Caught on the CatwalkThere have also been murmurings surrounding another Nokia device, dubbed Catwalk, which is thought to be a leaner Lumia 920 - something which is mentioned in the FT report. Over on Sina Weibo - China's version of Twitter - the Nokia Catwalk has apparently appeared in a number of snaps, revealing that it is indeed both lighter (by 50g) and slimmer (by 2.3mm) than the Lumia 920. According to the report the Lumia Catwalk will feature a 4.5-inch display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, 2000mAh battery and an 8.7MP camera. WPCentral claim these details have been "confirmed" by one of its own sources, but we're staying cautious on all these rumours - although it does seem Nokia is working on some big things.     | | Amazon opening up App Store to 200 new countries Apr 18th 2013, 02:49 
With the Kindle Fire HD selling like hotcakes and rumours of an Amazon smartphone getting louder and louder, the online retailer has decided to throw more fuel on the fire of speculation by opening its App Store to an additional 200 markets around the world. Previously only available in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Spain, the App Store will roll out over the coming months to a large number of additional countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, India, South Africa and South Korea. The Amazon app store, with more than 50,000 apps, will be available to download to a wide number of Android devices, offering Android users an alternative source of apps to buy on their device. Developers can now dictate which countries they wish their app to appear in, while international developers can also begin enjoying the new global reach of the Amazon ecosystem. Setting the world on FireThe last time that Amazon expanded its App Store access back in 2011 from the US-only to include the UK and European countries, it was a precursor to international availability of the Kindle Fire overseas. The Amazon App Store was made available in the UK and Europe in the middle of last year, just months before the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD went on sale in October. Whether this global expansion is planned for the current range of Fire tablets or a new breed of Amazon smartphone is pure speculation, but it's unlikely that Amazon doesn't have a strategy to expand its hardware footprint outside of the US and Europe.     | | LG: UK phone market is most tricky in the world Apr 18th 2013, 00:57 
LG has pledged to improve its devices after admitting to a sluggish start to the smartphone era. In a briefing with TechRadar in Seoul today, Won Kim, LG's head of mobile communications in Europe, confessed that the smartphone market is currently a two horse race with bitter rivals Samsung and Apple dominating heavily. "Sadly the mobile market is a two horse race at the moment with Samsung and Apple," he said. "It's not easy for us to shake the lands. It's getting more and more difficult. Never the less we have a strong footprint led by our new smartphones and on top of that we have the Nexus 4 and the Optimus G as a flagship phone with best in class hardware features and most up to date software." "Our neighbour is dominating"Kim says the UK is the most tricky phone market in the world, with Samsung and Apple picking up more market share than anyone else. However, he pointed to some other European countries where LG is already a strong number 3 and pledged to take that position in the UK – something Sony is also striving hard to achieve. "LG has been a bit sluggish in terms of rollout of our next gen mobiles in Europe but nevertheless our footprint in 3G smartphone has improved in the last year and we're reaching about 10 per cent market share in Europe now and we have a number 3 brands in European countries like Spain, Italy and Poland. At the same time we have good customer relationships and recognition in Northern countries. "We are very weak in the UK market but it's time for us to challenge this most difficult market this year and we must do something in order to establish a footprint in the UK. But with the Optimus G and Optimus G Pro we feel we have the products to do this. Sooner or later we will be the number 3 brand in the UK as well." Kim compared the success of the English Premier League and its effect on player prices to the way companies like Nokia, Samsung and HTC choose the UK to launch their new phones on the world - making it a unique marketplace. "It makes the UK especially tricky to approach," he said, before promising the launch of the LG Optimus G2 later in 2013. "Optimus G2 is coming in Q3 2013"Kim In Kyung, head of 4G LTE research at LG, added that LG is defrentiating itself from competitors like HTC and Sony by making "better products". "We are different from brands like Sony or HTC. So we are the true competitor of our neighbour, so our strategy is to never forget that phones are connected devices – all LG devices should connect and talk to each other. They are copying our features such as putting embedded IR in a phone to make it a remote control. "The Optimus G Pro is just better than any other phone and people will see this when they use it." Kim and Kyung both pledged that the forthcoming LG Optimus G2 will be "something special, something unique, something... you will want to buy." But they also mentioned that the naming strategy remains up in the air, so it's "possible the phone will be called something else". Our bet's are still on Optimus G2 though. Will you be buying an LG mobile phone this year? Let us know in the comments or tweet @techradar     | | Calling the Amazon phone: Will you use this Siri-like assistant app? Apr 17th 2013, 23:23 
Amazon has played in the e-reader space for what seems like ages, leaving the smartphone work to others as it carved out its own niche market. That's not to say an Amazon phone hasn't been rumored, however. In fact, more evidence is amassing that the company wants to get on the same field as the likes of Apple and Samsung, with a new revelation today adding more fuel to the Amazonian phone fire. According to sources speaking with TechCrunch, the company quietly purchased digital assistant app Evi for $26 million (around UK£17 million, AU$25 million) sometime late last year. Available on Android and iOS, Evi is a very Siri-like service made by UK-based True Knowledge. She's one smart cookie, with the app's inventor saying Evi can process almost 1 billion facts while tapping into a "huge base of the world's knowledge in a form that she can understand and reason with." She even "learns" as she goes. So what does Amazon want with Evi?Though the sale of Evi is unconfirmed by all parties involved, bunches of clues point to the deal being done. Among those is that at the UK Companies House, which oversees company registrations, all Evi Technologies Ltd directors were reportedly replaced by Amazon's UK legal rep. Mitre Secretaris Ltd is the corporate secretary for Amazon.co.uk and it's now also apparently the Company Secretary for Evi Technologies. Twisted. But in terms of what Amazon would want with this voice and text recognizing personal assistant, there are a few options, with most pointing to a mobile device. One is that the online retailer is looking to boost its Kindle Fire offerings with a Siri-ous companion. In the face of competition from the iPad, iPad mini and Android and Windows 8-based tablets, an intelligent assistant like Evi might give the Kindle an extra edge. If she can give good book recommendations, she's a winner. Or perhaps Amazon is laying the groundwork for the introduction of its very own phone, one we wouldn't be surprised is based on Android but features its own homegrown features, like Evi. Maybe Evi will join sister software Ivona, which Amazon picked up in January, to create the uber-assistant? Nothing is for sure, but the Amazon phone is sounding increasingly like a foregone conclusion.     | | Alien-looking phone might be Samsung's metal Galaxy Note 3 Apr 17th 2013, 20:24 
It emerged this week that Samsung could choose a new unibody metal chassis for the Galaxy Note 3, and today images appeared online that could show Samsung's new design language in the wild. The Twitter account @evleaks posted the images with the question "Upcoming Samsung design language?" @evleaks has an excellent track record when it comes to these things, though it's by no means infallible. While this could be the real deal, it's also unclear what we're really looking at, and the pictures are of pretty low quality. Nevertheless, the recent whispers of a new Galaxy Note 3 design - not to mention what looks like an S Pen slot on this alien Samsung device - are at the very least suggestive. Galaxy Note 3 going metalRumors of a new unibody metal Galaxy Note 3 design came with a report that said Samsung had taken "note" (ha) of the HTC One's striking design. If this really is the new Galaxy Note 3 we're looking at, then it appears last month's reports that it would feature an unbreakable flexible display won't pan out. Report's of the Galaxy Note 3's screen size have varied as well, with massive 5.9- and 6.3-inch displays both hinted at last month. We've asked Samsung to comment on these images, though we're not anticipating a telling response. Regardless, remember that leaks of this nature are always to be handled with a healthy dose of skepticism until something's officially announced.     | | Microsoft joins two-step boogie, adds more security in new update Apr 17th 2013, 20:01 
Throughout the rest of the week, Microsoft will be rolling out a new security upgrade for its accounts, which will provide a new two-step verification process. The accounts affected include Outlook, Skype, SkyDrive, Xbox, and anything else that used to fall under the old Windows Live ID banner. With more than 700 million people using Microsoft accounts on various devices around the globe, that's a lot of potential users that will no doubt benefit from stronger security provided by the new two-step process. The optional process has already been offered for services at commerce.microsoft.com and xbox.com, but is now being opened up to the rest of the Microsoft-using public. Microsoft doubles downWhile you can still use just the standard password to access any of your networking or email accounts, the voluntary second step requires a unique code to also be entered. This code is activated and sent to secondary devices or email accounts once you decide to take the necessary action to activate this new dual-layer measure. If you want to take advantage of the added layer of security, all you have to do is visit the Management page to get started. Some Microsoft apps and devices, like the Xbox 360, don't allow for two-step security. However, you can set up a specialized password specific to that device for added defense. Once you have set the new level of security up on your devices (laptops, phones, etc.), you set them to "trusted," so you only have to enter the password/code combo the first time it's activated. Other companies like Google and Facebook already use such security measures to provide as much of a barrier against hackers as possible. Seeing Microsoft take the necessary steps to help its user base stay safe as well as it can bodes well for the foreseeable future, but such tactics will only work as long as the consumers make use of them.     | | Is Google Babel-ing on again with Google Voice for Android update? Apr 17th 2013, 19:40 
A minor update to the Google Voice VoIP app for Android this week may hold a few clues regarding the Babel messaging service that the company is reported to be cooking up. The app update only lists "Improved the reliability of SMS delivery" as its reason for being, but Android Police took a glance beneath the surface to find one particularly intriguing little detail. It may not sound like much, but the APK teardown showed that Google Voice's configuration settings can now be read by other applications within the Android ecosystem. Putting two-and-two together (perhaps to make five), some have concluded Google is intending for another app to take on Voice's settings. Could that be the rumoured all-encompassing Babel application? Babel fishing?Recent rumours and leaks have suggested that Babel will bring together G-Talk in Gmail and on Android, as well as a client for Chrome, Android and iOS. According to a leaked Google memo, the service will run across synchronised devices (a la Apple's iMessage), while it'll also support 800+ emoji and video based Google+ Hangouts. Speculation has also pointed to the eventual integration (and replacement) of Google Voice, which brings us neatly back to today's reports. "I think it all points to another app taking over Google Voice's duties," wrote Android Police's Ron Amadeo. "Google is either baking in special support for its own app, or they're going to start supporting a third party Google Voice ecosystem about a million years too late. GV is, at least partially, readying to transfer data to something, we just aren't sure what." An official announcement regarding Babel is expected for Google I/O less than a month from today.     | | T-Mobile's 'unlimited' Full Monty plan is actually limited for 18 hours a day Apr 17th 2013, 18:27 
The UK arm of T-Mobile is now forbidden from advertising 'unlimited' data with its top-of-the-shop Full Monty tariffs. The Advertising Standards agency has ruled the company's practice of throttling customers peer-to-peer sharing activities from 8am to 2am does (surprise, surprise) constitute limiting data. The practice leaves only a 6 hour period in the middle of the night when restrictions are not in place and that gave the ASA the excuse it needed to crack the whip. According to The Inquirer, T-Mobile has already changed its Full Monty advertising to reflect the ruling. It ain't just the amount of dataThe verdict read: "We noted that the Full Monty plan was described as having 'unlimited' UK internet and that this was in the context of a mobile dataservice on a handset. We considered that 'unlimited' was a general claim about the whole service, rather than about a specific aspect of the service." "We considered that consumers were likely to expect that services, or features of services, described as 'unlimited' were not unduly limited and that where policies existed, which limited speed of access, that the restrictions could reasonably be considered to be moderate only." Is 4Mbps sufficient?However, the ASA appeared to have no objections to the overall speed restrictions T-Mobile places on its Full Monty customers. As The Inquirer also pointed out, the company limits download speeds over 3G to just 4Mbps, while uploads are only processed at 1Mbps, which T-Mobile says is "sufficient." The company said in a statement: "Our customers should rest assured that the speeds available to them on our Full Monty plans are sufficient for all devices and users - including data downloaders with the latest smartphones, and data services such as video streaming, social networking, browsing, emailing, and music downloading." Last year the company angered customers by halting free mobile tethering on its Full Monty plan.     | | LG to end its UK smartphone hiatus with Optimus G2 later this year? Apr 17th 2013, 17:18 
LG will bring to an end its self-enforced exile from the UK smartphone market by launching the Optimus G2 in 2013, reports on Wednesday claimed. Pocket-Lint has spoken with an LG insider, who claimed the device will be a flagship model to compete with Android big hitters like the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z. According to the source, LG will give the device a full launch on British soil in Q3 or Q4 this year, but there was no information on potential tech specs. Whether the Optimus G2 is the subject of LG's recently announced New York press event next month remains to be seen. End the hiatusWhile Brits were able to come by the LG-made Google Nexus 4, through the search and mobile giant, the launch would mark LG's first official launch of an Optimus G branded device in the UK. The first version of the device, launched in other territories last year, only became available SIM-free through the third-party retailer Expansys earlier this month. It seems the company has no plans to launch the updated Optimus G Pro in the UK either. LG has been tentative with its smartphone launches due to the youthful nature of the UK's 4G LTE infrastructure, meaning we've missed out on some big name devices. Hopefully the hiatus is about to come to a long overdue end.     | | A case of the ex: Jolla readying Sailfish devices to prove Nokia wrong Apr 17th 2013, 13:34 
Jolla, the startup partly comprising of ex-Nokia employees, reckons it will have hardware ready next month. While the phone won't be available to buy, the move will show that Jolla, formed by disgruntled Nokians who wanted to continue the work into MeeGo (the OS created by the Finns and Intel) through the Sailfish operating system, is serious about bringing out hardware based on the concept. The handset, which will feature 'modern Scandinavian design', according to Jolla Chairman Antti Saarnio, will also be offered early in a Kickstarter-style agreement where users will get a level of personalisation based on their contribution. Sailfish OS will take a huge number of cues from MeeGo, meaning a BB10-style swipe to move between windows (although it should be noted MeeGo got there first with this concept before being scrapped by Nokia). Coming soonThere's no word on how the phone will look, but it appears this isn't a fly-by-night scheme set up to curry the affection of ex-Nokia-lovers who have had to sit and watch Symbian and MeeGo crumble. According to DigiToday, the Finnish news site which ran the story, Jolla has enough cash to launch the first phones in Finland, and is seeking more funding to increase its rollout later in the year. While it's hard to see the OS gaining that much traction in a world dominated by Android and iOS, the concepts that underpinned MeeGo impressed us greatly, with a similar-yet-superior feel to BB10 noted when we first played with the Nokia N9 (the design of which became the Nokia Lumia 800). So here's hoping the brand can expand outside of Finland (that was totally a triple rhyme) and we can see a renaissance of another fallen OS.     | | Huge Huawei Ascend Mate will be cheap in Australia Apr 17th 2013, 04:02 
Go on, admit it. You've been eyeing off the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and wishing the screen was even bigger. Sure, you play along when your friends talk about how it'd never fit in your pocket, but secretly you ignore them. You want a huge smartphone. If this describes you, you'll be excited by the info we have to share. Huawei will launch the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate "phablet" in Australia on April 20, and it is a bargain if you pre-order. Sales will be exclusively through Harvey Norman at launch, and you can grab one for $429 if you get in before launch day. Spec crunchThe phone will be sold unlocked and is compatible with all Australian networks. In fact, with support for all major 2G and 3G frequencies, the Ascend Mate should work on all GSM networks around the world. It has a huge battery too; a 4050mAh capacity sealed within its plastic chassis. Huawei estimates this is good for 2 days of use or 9 days of standby, but given that we get results like these with the Galaxy Note 2 and its 3100mAh battery, we are expecting even more from the Mate when we review it soon. It will also be interesting to test out the quad-core 1.5GHz processor developed in-house at Huawei. Most of the phones we review use Qualcomm hardware, so it will be great to have something different to benchmark them all against. The phone runs on Android Jelly Bean (4.1) with a Huawei designed overlay on top, called the Emotion UI. Like the interface on the LG Optimus G, the Emotion UI is a themes-driven system, with lots of visual customisation. It is quite a simple system though, with only a few custom widgets and extra tools.   | |
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