| HTC M4 render claims to show HTC One mini, seems pretty dubious May 1st 2013, 11:50 
An image claiming to show a handset going by the code name HTC M4 has popped up online, but after a little bit of digging we're not convinced. The picture popped up on PhoneArena apparently showing the M4 handset - thought to be a cut down version of the flagship HTC One with almost identical looks. According to the leak, which comes via perennial tech warbler @evleaks, the HTC M4 will sport a 4.3-inch 720p display, dual-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, 1700mAh battery and come running Android Jelly Bean 4.2. The plot thickensWhile it's not hard to believe that HTC could be working on a One Mini in light of the success of the Galaxy S3 mini and assumed Galaxy S4 mini which will probably grace us in the next few months, we're sceptical about this particular leak. Having contacted PhoneArena about the image TechRadar was told "It's made by an artist, based on a leaked photo" - a photo which the site was unable to provide. That said @evleaks has a strong track record when it comes to rumours, and PhoneArena is a well-established site, which does give the article additional credibility.     |  | Intel's refreshed Atom chip will revitalise Windows 8 tablets May 1st 2013, 10:50 
Intel is set to introduce its next-generation Atom processor, which will be the first redesign of the chip since it launched five years ago. May 6 is the day Intel is expected to announce the refresh, which will be targeting a range of products from low powered tablets to smartphones and PCs. The 22-nanometer Atom will follow Intel's mainstream Core processors with a speedy graphics chip and superior design. We have important intel to shareIt's big news for Windows 8 tablets which currently struggle a little under the current Atom when it comes to multitasking. And the good news is that it will allegedly won't be any less generous when it comes to battery. The Silvermont micro-architecture of the new Atom will produce Merrifield processors for smartphones and Bay Trail processors for tablets. We also know that Intel is looking at Android for powering low-cost notebooks in the future, with upcoming laptops from the likes of Asus expected to run Android on Intel chips.     | | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 currently has three guises, and one's got a flexible display! May 1st 2013, 10:29 
It looks like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 design is still up in the air as reports suggest the Korean firm is mulling a trio of options. SamMobile says that "sources familiar with the matter" (hmm...) claim Samsung is toying with a Galaxy S4 look-a-like, a totally redesigned option and a flexible display variant of the Galaxy Note 3. While SamMobile's track record is better than most when it comes to rumours, it's already admitted that the image it posted yesterday claiming to be Note 3 is actually a fake - so let's not get too carried away. Bend and flexWe've heard various suggestions that flexible displays could find their way into smartphones this year, so learning that Samsung could be exploring this option isn't overly surprising - although we reckon we're still a year or two off flexi handsets hitting the market. The unknown sources didn't provide us with any other nuggets of information so we're still in the dark over the Note 3's screen size, specification and potential release date. We'll be keeping an eye out for the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at IFA 2013 in Berlin this September, as that's currently the favourite for a Note 3 launch.     | | In Depth: Best iOS Games controllers: our top 4 reviewed and rated May 1st 2013, 09:00 
If you're traditionally a console gamer, you probably miss physical buttons when playing games on your iOS device. Fear not though, for this little bunch of accessories is here to save the day. So whether you're playing on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch there's always a way you can get your physical controls back. So will these four iOS games controllers leave us gripped for more gaming action, or send us into a red-eyed, button-bashing frenzy? Read on to find out. 1. Gametel
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
Price: £37
Website: gametel.se
Dimensions: 120×67×24mm
Weight: 80g
Connectivity: Bluetooth
Power: Micro-USB (lead not supplied; up to 9 hours) The Gametel was originally designed for Android. The packaging doesn't mention iOS, and omits the micro-USB lead for charging because the assumption is that you already have one. Fortunately, the controller is actually iCade-compatible and is easily paired with an iOS device over Bluetooth. Uniquely for the devices on test, it can house a device in landscape in an extendable clip, although this also means it's uglier than the 8-Bitty and SteelSeries Free. The Gametel D-pad had almost the opposite problem to the 8-Bitty: diagonals weren't hard to find, they were too easy to slip into. The D-pad felt good, but we found it too often lacked precision, causing errors in games that demand tight all-round controls. For titles such as Gridrunner and Forget-Me-Not, we were often frustrated; with more forgiving games such as Ice Rage, the sloppiness was fine; and for platform games where you merely need left, right and action buttons, the Gametel is a potentially decent bet, with action buttons that are responsive enough. Sadly, the Gametel falls down in terms of button mapping. Identical to the 8-Bitty, too many titles map important actions to the tiny centre start/select buttons or the shoulder buttons, which rest on the middle of your fingers. Verdict: 3/5 2. iCade 8-Bitty 
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
Price: £30
Website: thinkgeek.com
Dimensions: 125×55×20mm
Weight: 75g
Connectivity: Bluetooth
Power: 2×AAA Being of a certain vintage ourselves, we were instantly drawn to the 8-Bitty. It has the chunky appeal of a classic NES controller, and despite being a cuboid slab of plastic, it's surprisingly comfortable to hold; it feels rugged, if light. In use, though, two problems become clear: the D-pad is stiff and has longish travel, making diagonals too tricky to reach, and button mapping is, to be polite, sub-optimal. The former issue was stark when playing high-paced shooters such as Gridrunner, where we'd regularly see our ship obliterated through it sticking purely to the horizontal and vertical axes against our wishes. Ice-skating game Ice Rage also proved tiring due to the raised nature of the D-pad. The mapping issue rendered platformers such as League of Evil, Super Crate Box and Mikey Shorts (along with many of the games in retro compilation Midway Arcade) unplayable, through assigning actions (jump, shoot, slide and so on) to the shoulder or centre buttons. On those games it's more suited to (for example: platformers such as Qwak HD, which has mapping that corresponds to what the 8-Bitty expects; simple overhead racer Retro Racing; Pac-Man-style efforts), the 8-Bitty provides a glimpse of what it could have been. It's also easy to pair and is reasonably priced (even if the $30 US price-tag has apparently translated to £30 in the UK), but its shortcomings are too overt to allow us to offer a recommendation. Verdict: 3/5 3. Steelseries Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
Price: £50
Website: steelseries.com
Dimensions: 108×55×20mm
Weight: 54g
Connectivity: Bluetooth
Power: Micro-USB (lead included; 10+ hours) At first, we thought the SteelSeries Free was ridiculously small, as if someone had left it in a hot wash overnight. We played with the dual sticks, watched our thumbs collide, and grumbled a bit. With low expectations, we were therefore shocked at how well the controller worked with the majority of games we tested. Like the 8-Bitty and Gametel, the SteelSeries Free is an iCade-compatible controller. It pairs with relative ease, although there are two modes (one for PC/Mac use), which slightly complicates matters. However, unlike rivals, this controller's button mapping wasn't designed by someone who hates you, hence actions in games mostly working as you'd expect. There were exceptions - Qwak HD, for example, was simply unplayable - but out of all the iCade-compatible controllers on test here, this was the only one where we found we could really get stuck into League of Evil, Super Crate Box and Midway Arcade. The D-pad proved reliable too, although diagonals were perhaps a touch too easy to slip into on occasion. However, we mostly ended up using the left-hand joystick; this resembles an analogue stick, but on iOS it's really another digital directional controller. Still, for titles such as Gridrunner, Ice Rage and Air Attack it proved excellent, and we even ended up using the stick for platformers and racing games. Really, all SteelSeries Free gets wrong is the price. At £50, it's a tenner more than we'd like to part with. However, we have to admit that you are paying for quality, as well as comfort and the best compatibility outside of a full-sized iCade, and so if you have the funds, this tiny controller comes highly recommended. Verdict: 4/5 4. Duo Gamer 
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
Price: £60
Website: duo-games.com
Dimensions: 145×80×35mm
Weight: 175g
Connectivity: Bluetooth
Power: 2×AA (up to 24 hours) The Duo Gamer is unique in this group in pairing as a Bluetooth headset and having dual analogue sticks akin to those on traditional games consoles, offering impressive integration with compatible games - this one isn't iCade-compatible, like the others, but instead works only with certain Gameloft titles. Games refer to specific aspects of the controller as you play, rather than you scrabbling around, trying to find out what each button does. This is admirable, but that's where the good stuff ends. The first thing you'll notice on using the Duo is that it appears to have been sculpted with all the grace of a brutish woodsman hacking away at a log with a massive axe. It's not so much unergonomic as anti-ergonomic - imagine holding a lightweight brick that cuts into your hands. Fortunately, the D-pad and buttons are solid and reasonably responsive; less fortunately, the analogue sticks are stiff and twitchy, and take time to get used to. On the games front, racer Asphalt 7's default tilt controls gave more precision than the Duo, meaning the controller's only worth considering if you use your device at a distance, wired into a TV. For first-person shooters (N.O.V.A. 3; Modern Combat 3) the Duo suddenly makes sense, your set-up resembling something like an Xbox or PlayStation, even if the controls still aren't nearly as fluid as a traditional console's; and even then, we'd say you'd need to be a massive fan of the very few compatible titles to take the plunge at this price. Everyone else: stay away. Verdict: 3.5/5     | | Samsung Galaxy S4 fails to beat HTC One to best mobile title May 1st 2013, 08:55 
It's the question that's been on everyone's lips ever since our Samsung Galaxy S4 review landed - can this latest flagship make it a hat trick of appearances at number one for the Korean manufacturer? The results are now in and we can officially reveal that the HTC One has managed to beat off intense competition from the Galaxy S4 to stay in top place in our 20 best mobiles phones in the world today showdown. It was probably the most difficult call we've had to make in the history of the top 20, with very little to choose between the two - if only we could use the Robot Wars judging methodology of style, control, damage and aggression. Style, control, damage and aggressionThe HTC One offers power, poise and beauty and it's this innovative package which has seen it trump the still excellent - but noticeably plastic - Galaxy S4. With the arrival of the Galaxy S4 the Samsung Galaxy S3 has taken a tumble down the rankings to seventh, while the Sony Xperia Z still holds firm in third, closely pursued by the iPhone 5 and Nexus 4. The ball is now firmly in Apple's court as we wait and see if the rumoured iPhone 5S (or could that be the iPhone 6?) can take top spot later this year - unless Google springs a surprise at its IO event in a couple of weeks.     | | Apple granted a multiplayer gaming patent with chat capabilities May 1st 2013, 05:05 
Apple has been loading up on video game-related patents recently, but so far all of its controller copyrights have made the ideas seem like single-player affairs. This week, however, it was revealed that the Cupertino company was granted a multiplayer gaming patent along with 42 other successful patents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. While the application doesn't spell out a long-rumored Apple game console, it does lay out different types of networks that could relay gaming media content. "Apple's focus zeros in on delivering a very high-end video gaming experience specifically for multiplayer gamers," noted Patently Apple, which rifled through the patent application today. "[Gamers] will be able to use chat, video and other forms of communication while gaming with their buddies," noted Patently Apple, which rifled through the patent." Game time for FaceTime?In addition to setting up a process for joining and inviting other players to multiplayer games, the patent details how gamers would be able to initiate in-game audio chat sessions. This could extend between both desktop computer and mobile devices, demonstrating that this multiplayer gaming patent may cover everything from Macs to iPhones to newer technologies. Whether or not the in-game chat capabilities outlined in this patent are intended to include video, along the lines of FaceTime, remains to be seen. Apple's gaming prospectsThis newly published Apple multiplayer patent gives credence to the theory that the company is turning to gaming when exploring, as Tim Cook said, "exciting new product categories." Besides patenting multiple game controllers, the Apple was reportedly talking to developers about launching a proprietary game controller at GDC 2013. The impact of an dedicated Apple gaming machine could destroy console gaming, according to a former Microsoft lead engineer and Xbox co-founder Nat Brown. Agreeing with this former video game industry head, 50 percent of Brits polled said they would put money down on an Apple game console. With analysts sour on the prospects of the new Xbox and PS4 matching current generation-console sales, Apple's gaming competition in the future may actually be Google, which is also patenting multiplayer services in a hurry.     | | Samsung doubles down with world's first 4GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM Apr 30th 2013, 22:48 
Samsung is further narrowing the gap between mobile devices and PCs thanks to today's announcement that it will begin producing the world's first 4GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM. The memory, comparable to that of a desktop computer, not only trumps the company's 2GB LPDDR3 mobile RAM unveiled seven months ago, but reduces the size from 30nm to 20nm. "Our 20nm-class 4GB mobile DRAM provides another example of our ability to deliver well-differentiated, high-performance, high-density memory to customers in a timely manner," said Samsung Executive Vice President Young-Hyun Jun in a press release. "By providing the most efficient next-generation mobile memory with a very large data capacity, we are now enabling OEMs to introduce even more innovative designs in the marketplace." 4GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM comparisonThe 20nm-class process technology behind the 4GB LPDDR3 DRAM chips makes for a 30 percent improvement in performance and 20 percent savings in power consumption over LPDDR2 DRAM. It can transmit data up to 2,133 megabits per second (Mbps) per pin, which is more than double the performance of an 800Mbps LPDDR2 chip. "This makes it possible to transmit three full HD videos, collectively 17 GBs in length, in one second over the new Samsung chip embedded in a mobile device," claimed Samsung. The South Korean manufacturer's 2GB LPDDR3 mobile RAM announced seven months ago could run at a total of 12.8 Gbps and 1600 per pin. And that performance bested the single LPDDR2 chips in just 10 months. DRAM the torpedos, full-speed aheadSamsung's announcement was coupled with hopes that this speedy new RAM will be an attractive solution for multimedia-intensive features on next-generation mobile devices. "We're focusing on LPDDR3 right now," Samsung Mobile Memory Group product marketing manager Stephen Lum to TechRadar. "That's really what's being adopted in the marketplace. Mobile users can start to get excited about the tech, too. "We're planning to roll this technology out into mass production into devices in the second half of this year," Lum said. "We're production ready. Our customers will be launching their devices over the course of the next couple of quarters." Next-generation mobile devicesWith smaller gadgets like Google Glass and more flexible technology like the rumored Apple iWatch on the horizon, the 20nm-class LPDDR3 could be a better fit for all sorts of mobile technology - eventually. "Last year, I think there was only a single device that launched with LPDDR3, so you're going to see a whole slew of new devices with the capabilities built around this technology," Lum told TechRadar. This means that Samsung's 20nm-class 4GB LPDDR3 memory should make its way into next-generation mobile devices over the next couple of months. The company's fast-paced memory division was able to put the 2GB LPDDR3 mobile RAM, announced last fall, into its Galaxy S4 smartphone, which launched this month. Samsung was reportedly also able to retain Apple as a chip-buying customer last fall, outfitting the iPhone 5 with 1GB LPDDR3 chips. However, there's no guarantee that Apple will use the South Korean manufacturer's newer LPDDR3 chips in the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6. Apple reportedly wants to ditch all of its Samsung-marked components. This includes swapping Samsung parts for Intel processors like the A7 system-on-a-chip. With industry-first announcements from the Smasung every seven to ten months, it's going to be a difficult task for any company to avoid using the world's largest memory manufacturer.     | | Facebook makes guinea pigs out of Windows Phone users with new app Apr 30th 2013, 21:49 
Facebook has today made a new version of its app for Windows Phone available, which gives users the opportunity to test new features before hitting the main app. The social network and Microsoft are inviting users to join its beta program for the new application, which brings several of the features most requested by users in an unrefined form. The beta app brings high-res photos and Facebook Timeline profile pages, giving the app an appearance more like the Android and iOS iterations rather than the 'Metro' UI associated with Windows Phone. The hope is that users will send bug reports and feedback to enable the new features to graduate to the main Facebook for Windows Phone app in a more timely fashion. Energetic volunteer? You're upIn a post on the official Windows Phone blog, Microsoft wrote: "Today we're launching a new program designed to help speed up delivery of new features in the official Facebook app for Windows Phone and need sharp-eyed, energetic volunteers to download a beta version of our next release and tell us how to make it better." However, the company warned: "Don't like it when apps crash? This probably isn't the program for you." The good thing for Windows Phone users is that the existing app and the Beta app will sit alongside each other, so if users get too annoyed by the crashes, they can revert back to the main app. The beta app is not listed on the Windows Phone store (Microsoft reckons it'd cause confusion and it is probably right), but Windows Phone users can download the app by clicking this link.     | | Apple rumored to deepen auto integration with iOS 7 Apr 30th 2013, 17:28 
Now that automobiles are finally rolling off the assembly line with Siri's "Eyes-Free" technology introduced with iOS 6, Apple may be eyeing even deeper integration for the next version of its mobile software. 9to5Mac reported Tuesday that Apple is working on new ways to integrate iOS devices into the automobile, an initiative that could be unveiled when Cupertino rolls out the latest iOS 7 later this year. According to numerous sources, Apple is working with automakers to "deeply embed" services like Maps, which could provide turn-by-turn navigation on a car's built-in display in place of proprietary GPS software installed at the factory. The feature is said to be controlled by Siri, the voice assistant technology currently powering Apple's "Eyes-Free" auto integration with partners such as Chevrolet, BMW, Toyota, Honda and Land Rover. Patent cluesThis isn't the first time Apple has been rumored to jump into the driver's seat, with a June 2007 report claiming the company was hard at work on an in-car satellite navigation only days before the original iPhone hit the streets. The company has also left a sizable trail of auto-related bread crumbs in its wake thanks to the patent filings required to protect future technologies the company might incorporate into its products. Only last week, reports surfaced that Apple filed a pair of auto-related patents for smart key and parking locator functionality, while earlier today a patent for automatically selecting the best number to call in case of an emergency was revealed. While Apple's own Maps and Siri integration may be ready for iOS 7, sources caution that there's no guarantee the features will actually be released this year, since they require extensive testing as well as agreements with automakers in place.     | | iPhone patent may save your life, prevent drunk phone calls Apr 30th 2013, 16:24 
Apple has won a new patent for a phone which can intelligently detect the best means of contacting someone. Confused? Let us explain. The iPhone would use features such as the GPS and accelerometer to work out where you are and what you're doing, and then react accordingly when someone tries to contact you. For example, you're driving in your car when a call comes in. The GPS will detect that you're moving at a high speed and send a message back to the person contacting you to let them know that a text message would probably be a better option. Sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do thatYou would also be able to set certain rules such as "No phone at the cinema" to make sure you won't be known as "that person" when someone tries to drop you a line mid-movie. It's potentially a pretty useful feature. Perhaps Apple will even get Siri involved, turning it into the all-out personal assistant it wants to be. Who knows? But with Google Now available for iPhone and iPad as of this week, Apple will no doubt be wanting to push its own services to offer as much user convenience as possible. Apple's patent was actually first filed back in 2008. If Cupertino has been working on the technology since, it could be sooner rather than later that the functionality appears in the iPhone - if it ever appears at all.     | | In Depth: Can Firefox OS be the new Android? Apr 30th 2013, 14:26 -470-75.JPG)
"It cannot be right that two companies lock down and control their experience … it's the equivalent of two companies controlling every service you use on the internet." So says Dan Appelquist, Open Web Advocate at Telefónica Digital, which intends to pull the rug from under Apple and Android by selling smartphones with the 'open web' architecture of Mozilla's Firefox OS. The first handsets like the ZTE Open, go on sale this June, will attempt to popularise common, open standards for apps that make them transferable across different handsets and tablets. In doing so it will try to take apart the acceptance of the 'walled garden' app ecosystem popularised by both Apple's iOS and the Android OS. 
"Firefox OS is not a proprietary platform, it is fully standards-based and built on HTML5," says Andreas Gal, Vice President, Mobile Engineering, Mozilla.
"What's more, Firefox OS is not a new ecosystem - it is the Web and the Web is the largest existing ecosystem we have today." 
Gal thinks that under the present splintered, closed regimes, app developers have it too hard. "Having to build an app in multiple formats - all to reach people who have never asked for the specific app I am thinking of building - is not sustainable," he says, adding that Mozilla hopes Firefox OS will act as a catalyst for the 'open web'. "Over eight million developers develop in HTML5 today compared to around 100,000 iOS developers and 400,000 Android, but ten million for HTML5," he says. "We just want to unlock the power of HTML5 for standards-based work." The not-for-profit Mozilla's intentions might be good, but the closed ecosystem for apps, popularised by Apple's app store (20 billion+ downloads in 2012) and Google Play (revenue up six-fold in 2012) on Android, is proving very popular. 
"Right now, the mobile world is busy because there is so much economic value to be gained by owning a platform," says Gal. "The problem with mobile for users today is that once a user buys apps, music etc. on a given platform, they are not currently transportable to another ecosystem." Rather than creating a competing platform, Firefox OS uses the web as the platform to build apps powered by open Web standards like HTML5, CSS, and Javascript and new Web APIs that enable Web apps to access functions of the handset previously only available to native apps - such as camera, telephony, messaging and Bluetooth. Aiming lowHowever much of a 'level playing field' Firefox OS seeks to create, it's not owners of iPhones and Galaxy S-somethings in the UK, Europe or the USA that Mozilla is aiming Firefox OS at, at least not initially. Smartphone penetration stands at just 16% in Latin America (it's over 50% in the UK, and will nudge saturation levels shortly), which makes it an ideal proving ground for a new and untested operating system. 
"In the coming years, lower-cost Android smartphones are expected to dominate the markets in emerging areas such India, China and Africa," says Kevin Curran, senior member at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "Launching a new smartphone OS is not to be taken lightly, but Mozilla's main partner is Spain's Telefónica, which has over 200 million mobile subscribers in Latin America." Firefox OS will see the light of day this June in Venezuela, Poland, Brazil, Portugal and Spain, with the first handsets including the Alcatel One Touch Fire and the ZTE Open. Telefónica has strong links with major carriers around the world including América Móvil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Telecom Italia and SingTel, and it also has mobile phone chip-maker Qualcomm on-board. 
"These partners certainly add hope to the ambitious project," says Curran. "It seems they aim to sell it in the pre-paid phone markets, where lower-income people generally get their airtime." This is a market where low income users prefer to pay only their operator for both air-time and apps rather than pay a third-party like Apple or Google. It's also a market where inexpensive Android devices currently dominate. "This market is not being well addressed by current offerings," says Appelquist about Latin America. "High-end smartphones are priced out of the reach of the vast majority of consumers and we see low end Android devices offering a very poor experience." 
However, for now, at least, most of the lower-end devices are - and will remain to be - based on Android. "It is standards-based and open source, so of course it will be the OS of choice for manufacturers of lower priced handsets," says Mohammed Hussain, MD of mobile phone accessories retailer, Mobile Fun, "but it will be interesting to see if Mozilla's Firefox OS gains traction in the budget smartphone sector." He expects Samsung's Tizen and Nokia's budget Windows devices to try to crack this sector, too, particularly in emerging markets. Others are not convinced that Firefox OS can carve-out success despite its open-hearted intentions. "While I love the idea of the Firefox Phone OS, and a Firefox media based system on TV," says Peter Chadha, Founder of DrPete, "at the moment I am not convinced that these will gain market penetration, unless it is funded by Google or Yahoo on the basis of search and adverts, as Android is already free. Perhaps Firefox is hoping that by offering this operating system, open source developers will want to come on board and deliver something really different and innovative?" 
That would please those who want to see an end to the 'walled garden' approach to the mobile web, such as World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, though the success of Firefox OS is far from inevitable.     | | Sony's 6.4in Togari detailed again, could come with oversized sibling Apr 30th 2013, 14:13 
Specs for two giant Sony smartphones have been posted on a handful of Chinese sites, promising a 6.44-inch Xperia Z successor and a 5-inch option code-named Honami. The reports come from somebody posting on the not-always-reliable Baidu forum, who claims that s/he is a tester of Xperia devices - hmmm. Anyway, this person says that the Togari handset is a 6.44-inch 1080p display-toting phone - and it's not the first time we've heard that rumour. The tester went on to add that the handset rocking a similar design to the Xperia Z with a glass back and white colour option. Xperia overloadBut that's not all, Sony phone fans: the same source added that s/he has been messing about with a second giant phone; another Sony Xperia handset codenamed Honami. This handset is reported to rock a 5-inch 1080p display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor, a Walkman audio chip and a beefy 20MP Cyber-shot camera with Carl Zeiss lens. "The tester goes on to say that Honami will be one of the most attractive phones Sony has ever made," reports XperiaBlog, which honestly isn't that difficult, before citing a number of additional Chinese-language sources who 'confirm' the handset's specs. Both handsets are anticipated to launch in July in China, although we're expecting Sony to save some flagship phone goodness for IFA 2013, which takes place in early September.     | | Blip: WhatsApp to get vocal with push-to-talk? Apr 30th 2013, 13:56 
Now that WhatsApp has gone some way to give traditional SMS messaging a good kicking, it might now be setting its sights on a BBM-Voice-rivaling voice chat function. The guys over at 9to5Mac have posted a leaked email said to be sent from WhatsApp to a Hong Kong developer, requesting that the developer to translate some Chinese strings that include a "Push-to-talk button". Then, to throw more fuel on the speculation fire, an email tip of what is allegedly the new interface – showing the button for voice chat – also surfaced. Of course, this could actually all be referring to some form of dictation function, not an actual push-to-talk feature. But we wouldn't be too surprised to see WhatsApp introduce voice functionality into its app soon. 
We've asked WhatsApp for a comment, and will update if we hear more. More blips!Take a look at WhatsApp-ening in the world of blips     | |
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