| Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom comes into focus with 16MP camera May 7th 2013, 12:50 
Word on the street is that Samsung will release a new version of its flagship phone named the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, complete with 16MP camera. The original Samsung Galaxy S4 features a 13MP sensor and has no optical zoom to speak of - but speculation around the supposed Zoom moniker suggests that the new version will do. Other specs suggested for the new handset include a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED screen, Android Jelly Bean, 8GB memory and Bluetooth 4.0. Zoom inChoice fans will be pleased to hear we're expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S4 (product code SM-C1010) launch in black and white. This zippy information comes from Sammobile, a site we've dealt with in the past - although this time it doesn't cite its sources so we wouldn't take this news as gospel just yet. If you're holding out for a hero phone with optical zoom then you should hang on till June or July, as that's when the site adds that the Galaxy S4 Zoom will be released.     |  | HTC One briefly appears for sale in fetching red May 7th 2013, 11:50 
If the black and silver options aren't doing it for you on the HTC One front, then you'll be pleased to hear that it looks like the Taiwanese firm will be pushing out a red version soon. There have been some rumours floating around suggesting more colours were on the horizon for the new flagship handset, and this has now been taken to the next level with online retailer Handtec listing the red HTC One on its site - although it's now been taken down. The handset was priced at £419.99 SIM-free (around $653 / AU$640), but the web page stated the One was currently "out of stock", with no sign of a release date. One for you?Apart from the colour it seems to be business as usual on the red HTC One, sporting a 4.7-inch full HD display, 1.7GHz quad-core processor and fancy Ultrapixel camera. We were seriously impressed with the HTC One and it managed to become only the third smartphone to garner a five star review, propelling it to number one spot in our "20 best smartphones in the world today" - beating the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z. We contacted HTC regarding the red One, but the Taiwanese firm didn't have a comment on the speculation so we're just going to have to wait and see.     | | Blip: Share a spliff with Snoop Dogg in his new Snoopify sticker app May 7th 2013, 10:29 
Snoop Lion nee Dogg nee Doggy Dogg has released a new sticker app that lets you share a spliff, cash, shades and comedy hats with the man himself. Already a prolific Instagrammer, Lion's new app encourages you to share your bestickered masterpieces with the masses via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Ultimately, the app wants you and all your friends to shell out for more sticker packs (purple grape drank is free but a FO' SHIZZLE tag will cost you, as will stacks of cash, dancing girls, and a PIMP-branded chalice). On a vaguely related note, we still haven't heard back from Snoop regarding his umbrella use. But we maintain hope. More blips! Drop real life like it's hot and delve into the murky yet thrilling world of blips...     | | More details leak on budget-friendly BlackBerry R10 May 7th 2013, 09:57 
Word on the BlackBerry R10 is already doing the rounds and we've now been furnished with some specifications for the hotly-rumoured - and apparently affordable - BlackBerry 10 handset. After an image of the R10 leaked last week we already know this handset will more than likely feature BlackBerry's trademark QWERTY keyboard and now Chinese site DGtle has provided more information on the device. According to its sources the BlackBerry R10 will feature the same 3.1-inch, 720p display which is found on the high-end BlackBerry Q10, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 5MP camera and 1800mAh battery. Arriving this monthIn terms of design the R10 looks very much plastic fantastic in the leaked shots and the keyboard has more in common with the likes of the Curve range of handsets, with isolated keys. Concerns were raised initially after the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 were announced with lofty price tags, which potentially isolated a large base of users, but the R10 could be the Canadian firm's ticket to success. The report suggests the BlackBerry R10 will be shown off at BlackBerry Live next week in Orlando, and TechRadar will be in attendance to bring you all the news at it happens.     | | Another Nokia Lumia 928 ad spotted, we're bored of it already May 7th 2013, 09:17 
The Nokia Lumia 928 simply cannot wait for its own official announcement, with the handset showing up in a double page ad in Vanity Fair. It's not even the first time the Lumia 928 cat has exited the Nokia bag - a billboard was already spotted over the weekend promising "the best low-light smartphone camera". So it's no huge surprise that the Vanity Fair ad also pushes the handset's PureView camera, promising a Carl Zeiss lens on board. Given the Verizon logos splashed around both ads, we've deduced that the 928 will launch in the US on Verizon, although there's no clue as to what networks the rest of the world are looking at. Snap attackNokia's premature ad also includes a URL which takes you to a Verizon-free version of the ad on its US website; not much more to glean at this point other than that the design looks perhaps a tiny bit boxier than we're used to. Don't expect the Lumia 928 to break any world's slimmest records though - it looks like a fairly sizeable waistline is on the cards. So when will Nokia actually admit that this thing exists? We're expecting the Nokia Lumia 928 to be unveiled at the company's event in London on May 14.     | | Updated: Best Telstra phone: 5 we recommend May 7th 2013, 01:00 
Telstra is currently dominating the Australian telco space, with recent reports suggesting it has as many as 14.4 million subscribers on its network at this time. So, with so many of you choosing the Big T for your mobile service, it's time we took a look at which handset you should choose when you wander into the Telstra shop. Compared with its competitors, Telstra's range is quite small. Traditionally, Telstra has been very selective with which OEM partners it works with and it tends only to take on the big name products. 4G is another driving consideration for Telstra, and all of the phones in this list are 4G-ready. While we are big fans of the lightning fast data speeds associated with 4G, it does tend to take a toll on battery life, so be sure to read the full review of each handset to make sure it is right for you. Samsung Galaxy S4
The phone that would be king. The Galaxy S4 had big shoes to fill after the success of the S3, and it does so by basically being the same phone as the S3 but with a much better screen. In a world where tech changes so much each year, this may sound like a bad thing, but it isn't. The S4 is a very capable smartphone, with one of the year's best screens and fastest performance. There isn't much not to like. It is packed to the gills with gimmicky features, like ways to control the phone without touching the screen, and a Samsung-designed health management app. These may not be features you'll end up using, but they certainly don't detract from the phone in a major way. It has been criticised for its plastic-feeling construction, and if you prefer your phones to feel sturdier you'd be best to look to the HTC One or an iPhone 5. Apple iPhone 5
Few "best phone" lists would be complete without the iPhone, and compared with the available offering at Telstra, the iPhone 5 definitely deserves to be here. Last year's hardware refresh gave fans the (slightly) larger screen they had been calling out for, and though it is still much smaller than the screens on phones by Samsung and HTC, it is a step in the right direction. It is also markedly more powerful than the previous generation iPhone, with Apple's new A6 processor, with a focus on graphics processing. The iPhone is still the best device for smartphone newbies, too. It's simple, clean layout is easy to navigate, and even people who don't feel comfortable using computers tend to take to the iPhone like ducks to water. This isn't to say that advanced users won't love an iPhone too, but it is definitely a great choice for anyone new to touchscreen tech. HTC One
With our own Gareth Beavis calling the HTC One "the best phone on the market", it is impossible for us not to include it in this list. He's not alone either, the One has drawn superlative-dripping reviews across the globe, calling it "elegant", "beautifully designed" and a "powerhouse". HTC's new approach to its Sense-branded user interface gives the One an exciting new face, and defines it from older HTC models. The Blinkfeed news feed is also a neat touch, though it isn't yet as useful as HTC might like it to be. There are a few quibbles remaining though. The lack of expandable storage will irk those with massive media collections, and the handset does tend to heat up quite a bit during use. Still, it is hard to go passed the One for everything it does right. BlackBerry Z10
Some may consider the Z10 a contentious inclusion in this list, but we love the many ways that the Z10 is different from everything else in this collection. Sure, it looks like most of the other phones here, but unique features of the BlackBerry 10 OS help it to stand apart. The unified messaging hub is the best example: a one-stop shop for all of your messages. And not just SMS and email, but all of your social networks and system notifications too. There are no buttons on the Z10 either, every element of BlackBerry 10 is controlled with gestures. For example, swiping up and to the right starts a 'peeking' command, which lets you see what is in your inbox without exiting the app you're using. Needless to say, the Z10 won't be for everybody. It is certainly worth a look if you visit a Telstra shop to weigh up your options, though. Nokia Lumia 920
Telstra has embraced the Windows Phone 8 more so than Optus or Vodafone, snaring two of the flagship devices as short-term exclusives. The Lumia 920 is our pick of the Windows litter, beating out the HTC Windows Phone 8X with its outstanding camera and great performance. And, what a camera it is. Making use of an ingenious optical stabilisation system, the PureView camera on the Lumia 920 takes some of the best photos capable through a smartphone lens. This equates to more photos in focus than blurry messes, which is no mean feat from a phone. Like the iPhone, the Windows Phone OS also offers a comparatively shallow learning curve, so this is not a bad option if you are choosing a new smartphone for someone who has only used feature phones in the past.     | | UPDATED: Telstra, Optus and TPG all buy extra 4G spectrum May 7th 2013, 00:45 
The Digital Dividend auction has just wrapped up, and the ACMA has just announced which companies were successful in bidding for chunks of the old analogue TV spectrum. With the closure of the analogue TV system later this year, the ACMA held secret auctions of the spectrum the analogue TV network used. As expected, the spectrum was snapped up by Telcos, and will likely be used to expand 4G network capacity. Telstra, Optus and ISP TPG all managed to win a part of the spectrum during the auction. Vodafone, which already had 20MHz of bandwidth for its 4G network, opted not to take part in the auction process. Telstra takes the lion's shareTelstra spent $1.3 billion on the auction, securing 40Mhz of bandwidth (or two lots of 20Mhz) in the 700Mhz band, as well as two lots of 40MHz (for a total of 80MHz) in the 2.5GHz spectrum band. Optus took home two lots of 10MHz (20Mhz total) in the 700Mhz band, and two lots of 20MHz (40Mhz total) in the 2.5GHz band as part of its bidding. Optus spent just over $649 million on its chunk of spectrum. Perhaps most interestingly though was the purchase of two lots of 10MHz (20MHz total) of spectrum in the 2.5GHz band by TPG internet. The ISP spent $13.5 million on the network. Given TPG currently licenses Optus' network as an MVNO, the purchase of its own spectrum gives TPG an opportunity to expand out from its traditional ISP roots into a full-blown telco in its own right. Although the government netted almost $2 billion from the auction, two lots of 15MHz in the 700MHz spectrum didn't sell. What will happen with this leftover network is unclear, although given the limited nature of wireless spectrum, expect it to be snapped up sooner than later. Waiting for 2015The purchase of the digital network won't result in a massive jump in 4G network coverage overnight. According to the ACMA, the new licenses in the 700Mhz band won't become available until 2015. For the winners of the 2.5GHz band, licenses will generally commence at the start of October 2014, with the exception of Metro Perth and regional WA areas, which begin in February 2016. The official wordNeedless to say, the Telcos are ecstatic about the potential all that extra bandwidth provides. In a statement, Telstra CEO David Thodey explained the benefit for the nation's largest telco: ""The spectrum will be used to enhance our network to help support extraordinary demand growth for mobile services and data. With the 700 MHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum we will be able to deliver faster speeds, more capacity and expansive wide area coverage of 4G LTE technology on our Next G network. "The low-frequency nature of 700MHz means the mobile signal can travel relatively longer distances, which is ideal for improving the services we can offer to customers in rural and regional areas. It also means better in-building coverage in metro and suburban areas. "Together with ongoing investment in our wireless network, which will total $1.2 billion in 2012-13 Financial Year, and the application of next generation LTE-Advanced 4G technology that we announced earlier this year, the additional spectrum will help ensure we continue to deliver Australia's leading mobile network for our customers." Optus was similarly optimistic, with CEO Kevin Russell claiming the 2.5GHz spectrum will play nice with the 2.3GHz spectrum the Telco already licenses: "The spectrum Optus has acquired in the 700 MHz band will provide stronger 4G coverage across both metropolitan and regional Australia, allowing us to expand our 4G services to more customers than ever before. "The additional spectrum purchased in the 2.5 GHz band, when combined with our already substantial holdings in 2.3 GHz, will enable Optus to provide unparalleled network capacity for 4G data services to our metropolitan customers." TPG is keeping specifics a little closer to its chest, offering the following statement: "TPG believes that the 2.5GHz spectrum is a valuable asset which, with developing technologies, will bring TPG the opportunity to offer innovative and value-adding products to its customers, particularly in the increasingly important wireless broadband market."     | | Intel Silvermont architecture revealed for next-generation mobile devices May 7th 2013, 00:33 
The architecture behind the Intel Silvermont system-on-a-chip could help the semiconductor company take on the mobile CPU space currently dominated by ARM processors. That's because this 22-nanometer successor to the Saltwell microprocessor is being rebuilt for mobile technology in mind, specifically power-critical smartphones and tablets. Intel estimates that Silvermont will be able to provide about three times the peak performance as Atom processors like the Z2580. Alternatively, the new SoC will be able to achieve roughly the same performance as current-generation Atom processors at 5 times the lower power. The first of manySilvermont, the first Intel chip to employ the next-generation low-power microarchitecture, won't be the last, according to Dadi Perlmutter, Intel executive vice president and chief product officer. "Early sampling of our 22nm SoCs, including 'Bay Trail' and 'Avoton' is already garnering positive feedback from our customers," said Perlmutter in a press release. "Going forward, we will accelerate future generations of this low-power microarchitecture on a yearly cadence." Airmont in the offingIntel's commitment to yearly refreshes of its mobile-focused technology is already in the planning stages. This includes a 14nm processor codenamed Airmont with a release date expected in 2014. With Intel Silvermont promising architecture that delivers industry-leading performance-per-watt efficiency, the semiconductor company may finally be able to make headway with its Atom processors.     | | New iPhone could launch early as parts reportedly arrive in factories May 6th 2013, 22:03 
A report out today claimed that parts and components for Apple's next iPhone have begun arriving at Chinese manufacturers, though we recommend taking the news with a few hearty shakes of sodium. Apple blog Patently Apple cited "a new Chinese report" and claimed that "Apple's noisy supply chain is at it again." Manufacturers along that supply chain have supposedly begun receiving the parts that will be necessary to build the next iPhone, which Patently referred to as the iPhone 5S. However, it's unknown what Apple's next smartphone will actually be called, as the Cupertino company could very well skip straight to the iPhone 6 or something else entirely. An early iPhone release?Patently Apple claimed that those unnamed Chinese sources believe production on the new iPhone will actually begin in July, as two months between parts arriving and production beginning is reportedly standard. Further, Foxconn's Apple product production lines are supposedly the manufacturing giant's most efficient facilities, and Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai) has plans to bring the rest of its lines up to speed this year. The implication in all of this is that Apple has moved up its parts deliveries so that it can launch the next iPhone earlier than the traditional annual September release it's stuck to in the past. Rumors surrounding the release of the next iPhone involve multiple versions of Apple's new flagship, with a cheaper iPhone possibly launching at some point as well as the requisite iPhone 5S/iPhone 6. Either way, recent research suggested that iPhone users will likely elbow past Android fans by 2015, and Apple may have something up its sleeves to help ensure that that happens.     | | Nokia Lumia 925 rumored to strut the 'Catwalk' May 14 May 6th 2013, 21:11 
Nokia's next Lumia phone, thought to be called the Lumia 925, will be unveiled during an event next week, according to a report out today. Chinese site Windows Phone Bar outed the news that the Lumia 920 follow-up will be revealed during a May 14 event in London. Nokia previously teased that the event will continue "the Nokia Lumia story." The Finnish phone maker hasn't mentioned the Lumia 925 in any official capacity, but whispers of a device codenamed "Catwalk" have been circulating for months. That device is thought to be the 925, the next successor in Nokia's Lumia line of Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Lumia 925 Catwalk rumorsThe last we heard of the Nokia device codenamed Catwalk was a vague rumor in early April that it would be unveiled May 15. If today's reports are accurate, that rumor won't have been far off the mark. The Nokia Catwalk first appeared in rumors in January, and even then it was presumed to be a Lumia 920 successor. That report suggested that the high-end Catwalk would sport a thinner and lighter aluminum body rather than past Lumias' typical polycarbonate chassis. Today's report repeated that claim, though its veracity has yet to be verified. Other rumored specs for the Lumia 925 include a 4.5-inch 1280 x 768 OLED display, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of memory, 16GB of storage, a non-detachable battery, and an 8.7-megapixel back camera. Essentially, much the same as the Lumia 920, just with a differently made body mold. We've asked Nokia to confirm additional details about the planned announcement on May 14, and we'll update this story if and when the company responds.     | | Is this mystery LG device the Nexus 5 or Optimus G2? May 5th 2013, 13:17 
Photos of an unknown LG device have leaked on the web, with speculation suggesting it could be the rumored Google Nexus 5 or LG's own as-yet-unannounced Optimus G2 device. The photo comes courtesy of prolific mobile leak-artist @evleaks and shows a buttonless smartphone, with a redesigned earpiece and an exceedingly slim bezel. Not a lot else is known about the device, but with rumors abound that LG and Google are set to team up for another Nexus phone later this year, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if this was it. The Korean company is also expected to update its Optimus G line later this year. Either or neitherThe leaked pictures follow reports late last week, which brought news of three different versions of the LG Optimus G2 devices showing up in benchmarking tests. However, other reports on Friday increased speculation that Google and LG would continue their Nexus partnership with a new handset set to succeed the Nexus 4 in the autumn. Quite honestly, this could be either device, but it could also be neither. We'll have to wait and see.   | |
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