| Cheap iPhone speculation returns with Chinese factory recruitment drive May 9th 2013, 09:42 
A key Chinese manufacturer used by Apple to produce devices such as the iPhone 5 and iPad 4 has revealed it's planning on employing more staff, to potentially cope with a cheaper iPhone. Apparently officials at Pegatron have revealed to Reuters that it's looking to boost its current workforce of 100,000 by 40 per cent in the second quarter of this year. However Pegatron's Chief Financial Officer Charles Lin wouldn't say if the firm was getting set to produce a budget iPhone. Coincidence?Coinciding with this information are claims from other sources who say a cheap iPhone is in the works as Apple looks to broaden its market at the low end of the smartphone totem pole. The sources point to markets such as China and India as the main reason for Apple working on the low-cost iPhone, but we'd expect the Cupertino-based firm to launch the handset around the world. At the moment the cheap iPhone launch is tipped to happen sometime in the third quarter of 2013, so watch this space.     |  | Buying Guide: Best Samsung Galaxy S4 case: 15 to choose from May 9th 2013, 09:35 
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has finally landed with enough new features, including a brighter screen and an Xperia Z-rivalling camera, making it a worthy alternative to the iPhone 5 and the HTC One. With a bigger 5-inch display to protect and a slender new design to keep scratch and dent-free, buying a nice cover for your Samsung Galaxy S4 will surely be one of the first things on your new phone to-do list, along with adding mum's number to your address book and setting up Facebook. To help you with at least one of these tasks, we've picked the best Samsung Galaxy S4 cases to buy that will keep your handset in good nick. 1. BoxWave Tuxedo SuitUp - £5/US$8 (around AU$7.50)
If you are on a tight case-buying budget this slim solution wraps itself around the sleek S4 body and, being made from TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), should provide careful smartphone handlers with enough protection. It also battles grease and fingerprints and gives all important access to speakers, cameras, charging port and the rest of those key areas you'd want to play with. 2. Samsung Galaxy S4 Sports Armband - £10/AU$12/US$13
If you are planning to put S Health and the host of S4 fitness accessories to the test, you can slap your 5-inch smartphone into this neoprene stretchable armband with an adjustable velcro strap that keeps it in place as you work out. A transparent screen cover means you can easily change the track or end the session. 3. Case-Mate Barely There - £15/US$20 (around AU$19)
If keeping the form factor slender is your number one priority, this hard shell polymer case fits on the back and sides of the S4 and features an interior lining to add to its overall resistance against drops. The lay flat bezel will help protect the screen when you lie it down on a table. It's available in white to complement your brightly hued handset, or alternatively in black or lipstick pink. More info on the Case-Mate Barely There 4. Incipio Feather - £20/AU$25/US$25
Adding just over 1mm of thickness, the ultra-strong polymer case made from Incipio's Plextonium materials should offer suitable defence while keeping your S4 looking svelte and pretty. Aside from its sleek and tough credentials, there's a microfibre cloth to buff up the display, plus a screen protector and video stand to watch high-definition movies and TV shows on the train. 5. Cygnett WorkMate Evolution - £20 (around AU$30/US$31)
The Australian case-maker has employed a triple layer of protection here, including a shock-absorbing silicone inner shell - with corners given particular impact-resistant attention. The textured finish means it should offer nice grip, and there's a screen protector to guard that 5-inch display up front. 6. Otterbox Commuter Series - US$35 (around £22.50/AU$34)
Offering two layers of protection without fattening up your S4, a polycarbonate outer and silicone inner will battle drops and scratches. If you want the display looked after, you can carefully apply the self-adhesive screen protector provided as a last line of smartphone defence, while the sleek surface makes it easier to slip it in and out of your pocket. 7. Incipio DualPro Shine - £25/AU$35/US$35
Made with materials that won't affect signal reception, the brushed aluminium shell fits around the S4 back, adding just 2.4mm of thickness. Using a combination of Plextonium and a shock-absorbent silicone layer, it'll also fend off scratches and reduce the impact of a fateful drop. 8. Samsung Flip Cover - £27/AU$40/US$40
When you clip this onto the rear of your S4, replacing the battery cover, the sleek official Samsung offering will guard the display from getting scratched or dirty. It'll add minimal bulk, enable you to take calls without having to flip open the case and is durable enough to take on everyday bumps and scratches. 9. Anymode Marvel Beam Case - £30/US$35/AU$37
If you want to find another use for the built-in NFC, when you are transferring data from smartphone to smartphone, it'll light up the eyes of Iron Man or Spider-Man without using any battery life. You'll have access to key controls and ports, and the slimline design should satisfy S4 owners not willing to give up that slim form factor. 10. Tech 21 Impact Snap with Leather Cover - £30/US$50 (around AU$45)
If you want some military-grade protection, this clip-on case uses shock absorbing D30 material. This has been used in armour by the US Ministry of Defence, so should give the S4 a tough, durable exterior. There's a leather flip cover to protect the screen and give access to all those vital ports and buttons. 11. Griffin Survivor with Belt Clip - US$50 (around £32/AU$48.50)
The clue is in the name, so if you are preparing to take your smartphone out into the wilderness or have a bad track record of letting handsets slip from your grasp, this durable polycarbonate case reinforced with shock-absorbing silicone is built to brave the elements, whether it's the rainy journey home or a visit to the beach. 12. Samsung Galaxy S4 Wireless Charging Cover - £40/AU$49/US$51
Samsung may have decided to opt out of wireless charging, but you can still avoid rooting around for the micro USB cable by swapping the battery cover for this handset-hugging cover. This uses inductive and electromagnetic technology, which means it can sit on an official Samsung wireless charging pad and bring your S4 back to life. 13. Proporta Barbour Quilted Collection - £40/US$55 (around AU$60)
Providing snug and stylish surroundings for your S4, the soft quilted case pays homage to the iconic British fashion line with its sleek wax jacket-style design. There's an internal slot to keep hold of cards, with a magnetic clasp to keep the smartphone secure and there's access to charging ports, the volume rocker and rear-facing camera. 14. Samsung S View - £45/AU$60/US$60
Swapping places with the back cover of the S4, the official Samsung case maintains the handset's slim design and provides everyday protection for the 5-inch AMOLED display. A letterbox-style cut out will enable you to see message notifications and when calls are being received, all without having to flip open the case. 15. Speck SmartFlex View - price TBC
Primed for watching videos or Skyping hands-free in portrait or landscape mode, the SmartFlex has a retractable stand that snaps back into the flexible case once you're done. In terms of protection, it has raised edges to provide impact resistance for the screen and rubberised button covers that keep dirt out without restricting access to those all-important buttons and ports.     | | Nokia Asha 501 unveiled, blurs line between feature and smartphone May 9th 2013, 09:25 
The Nokia Asha 501 has been launched at a special event in Delhi, India revealing a polycarbonate chassis, full touchscreen and an OS which resembles the now defunct MeeGo. In fact the Asha 501 sports Nokia's own Swipe UI which is laid over the top of a re-worked "Asha software platform". While the interface may make the Asha 501 look like a smartphone on screen, the fact of the matter is it's still a featurephone - with 2G connectivity and a sub $100 (around £64/AU$97) price tag. Battery fantasticOne of the benefits a featurephone provides is battery life and the Asha 501 is no different with Nokia claiming it will be good for 47 days of standby, and 17 hours of talk time on one charge - something today's smartphones can only dream of. 
In true Nokia fashion the Asha 501 will come in a psychedelic range of hues and boasts a 3-inch QVGA dislay, 3.2MP camera, 4GB memory card in the box and a body which measures a chunky 99.2 x 58 x 12.1mm and weighs 98g. If the low-price, long lasting Nokia Asha 501 has taken your fancy then it's set to hit stores in June in over 90 countries - with a third quarter Asha 501 release date confirmed for the UK.     | | Apple wants Android source code in Samsung patent case May 9th 2013, 01:35 
Apple is looking to force Google to turn over its Android source code as part of the company's ongoing patent lawsuit with Samsung. Before a U.S. magistrate judge this week, Apple accused Google of improperly withholding pretrial information related to the mobile operating system, according to Bloomberg. Specifically, the company is seeking all of the search terms that Google is using to discover documents that Apple has requested. "It's a question of transparency," Mark Lyon, a lawyer for Apple, to a U.S. magistrate. "We have concerns that they're not doing a full search." Google's defenseGoogle is caught up in the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit because it "provides much of the accused functionality," said the lawyer for Apple in a case filing. True enough, Google's Android mobile operating system runs the Samsung smartphones that have been at the heart of the trial, including the Epic 4G and Galaxy S2. But Matthew Warren, an attorney for the Mountain View company who is also representing Samsung, didn't see the fairness behind Apple's petition. Google, he argued before the judge, doesn't have the same legal rights, like "reciprocal discovery," as a third-party to the case. The search terms are "future discovery that we don't think [Apple is] entitled to," and could lead to "ideas about how to proceed that they wouldn't have had." Second lawsuit just heating upThe judge has not declared whether or not Google will have to provide Apple with all of the Android information being sought in this second patent lawsuit between Apple and Samsung. Samsung was found guilty of the first patent infringement case last year after a jury found that Samsung was violating six of Apple's patents. That jury awarded Apple $1.049 billion (£675 million, AU$1.03 billion) in August, but a judge halved that amount due to jury errors three months later and ordered the new trial, which ensures more back-and-forth legal squabbling between all of the companies.     | | Updated: Best Optus phone: 5 we recommend May 9th 2013, 01:25 
There are plenty of reasons to be an Optus customer at the moment. Not only is the telco building out its new 1800MHz 4G network, but it is greatly improving the reach of its 3.5G coverage too. The Optus handset range is a curious mixture of old and new. There is the best and brightest from the big names, most of which are listed below; plus a number of yesterday's heroes on lower cost plans. Apple iPhone 5
Is it fair to describe the iPhone as an "oldie but a goodie"? After talking about the iPhone for as many years as we have, it is the first thing to pop into our heads. Of course, the iPhone 5 is the latest and greatest in Apple's arsenal, and is among the best phones in the Optus catalogue. It's 4-inch display may struggle to impress the way bigger screens do on Android-powered phones, but its Retina screen technology is super-crisp, and the 8-megapixel camera is one of the best in the business. If you'd prefer to save a few dollars a month, but still want an iOS device, Optus still offers an 8GB iPhone 4S. It is about AU$10 less than the iPhone 5 per month, which adds up to quite a saving over the course of a contract. Samsung Galaxy S4
With two successful Galaxy S phone launches under its belt, Samsung is seen as the Android phone maker to beat in 2013, and the Galaxy S4 is its flagship. Design-wise, the S4 doesn't diverge from the aesthetic of the S3, in fact, you'd be hard pressed to spot the differences from a distance. But it does bring a few neat new features to the Galaxy range, with all-new geatures for navigation, camera settings and a health monitoring tool. But it is the phone's 1080p HD screen that is the real showstopper. This display is among the best we've ever seen and definitely worth the price of the handset on its own. It's just a shame that its plastic chassis doesn't feel so premium in quality. If you don't feel like you need the latest and greatest, Optus still offers both the Galaxy S2 and S3 on considerably cheaper plans. HTC One
It may not be priced like one, but the HTC One truly is the Porsche of the smartphone world. The handset is crafted from a single piece of aluminium machined in such a way that all of its hardware fits snugly under the metal cover. Gone is HTC's colourful, and increasingly complex, user interface, and in its place you find a new, simplier UI with a minimalist design. This fresh new face looks outstanding on the phone's 5-inch 1080p HD screen, too. After a couple of years of just missing the mark with its releases, the HTC One feel's like the company's best phone. It also looks and feels a lot like this year's best phone. Sony Xperia Z
Despite being a household name, Sony is still struggling to find its feet in the smartphone and tablet landscape. This has nothing to do with the quality of its phones, though, and the Xperia Z is proof. Fronted by a 5-inch 1080p HD screen, with a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, the Z has everything its competitors from Samsung and HTC are offering in terms of hardware. It is also dust and water resistant, making it better for the outdoors type. Unlike the Galaxy S4, the Xperia Z is a relatively gimmick-free zone. There is no eye-control or finger-hovering navigation, and for some people this will be more of a drawcard than a reason to avoid it. BlackBerry Z10
BlackBerry is back in 2013, and its first new phone is definitely worth more than a passing glance. Aimed at people who prioritise communication over other smartphone tasks, the Z10's 'Hub' is a tool that social networking junkies will love as much as heavy business users. But it is not a one trick pony. The Z10 also has an excellent web browser, best-in-class multitasking, a great 8-megapixel camera and access to an app store which is filling up with new apps daily. You might still find you prefer an iPhone, but you should definitely play with a Z10 first.   | | HTC First checks in as almost free amid poor sales speculation May 8th 2013, 23:40 
The HTC First smartphone is checking in with an almost free price on U.S. carrier AT&T, as poor sales speculation for the Facebook phone has mounted. "The HTC First price drop is a current promotion that AT&T is running both in stores and online," a spokesperson for the carrier told TechRadar. "HTC First will be $.99 on [a two-year] contract," "We do promotions like this all the time. (i.e. Lumia 920 is currently free in some channels)." That sounds reasonable, only the Nokia Lumia 920 came out for AT&T in November. The HTC First with Facebook Home launched on April 12 - less than a month ago. HTC One and doneWhile HTC and AT&T wouldn't comment on the First's sales information, calls to individual AT&T stores backed up the poor sales speculation. "People don't seem to want that phone as much," an AT&T sales representative said, echoing his other colleagues when asked about the sudden price drop. The performance, they said, is being affected by other phones people do want, namely the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. "The HTC One just came out," said an AT&T employee at a different store of the flagship phone, which starting rolling out in the U.S. April 19. "So whenever they come out with a new phone, the price of the older one usually goes down." HTC First promotionWith its mid-range specs and 5MP camera, the HTC First seems to have had a tough time closing the deal at $99 (around UK £63, AU$97) when sitting next to the higher-end HTC One. However, the phone's new, almost free status could spur the avid users of social networking to try the Facebook Home experience running on top of stock Android 4.1: Jelly Bean. "We think this is a good move by AT&T and have highlighted the new price on our Facebook Mobile page," a Facebook spokesperson told TechRadar. No company would comment on just how long the promotion will last. "For competitive reasons, we can't speculate on timing [of the $.99 promotion]," said an AT&T spokesperson, a price that works out to about UK£.64, AU$.97). All of that may depend on how well HTC First lives up to its name on consumers' priority lists.     | | Bite-sized Asha 501 leaks a day ahead of planned Nokia surprise May 8th 2013, 20:32 
Nokia announced today that it will hold an event in New Delhi around noon (UTC) tomorrow, asking folks whether they're "ready to add some color to your week?" Perhaps Nokia's post on its Conversations blog was meant to be mysterious, but a leak earlier today seems to have thwarted the Finnish phone maker's plans to keep this pigmented announcement secret. That leak involved photos of a stack of devices referred to as the Asha 501, a new, tiny, budget phone from Nokia. The Asha 501 appeared in an assortment of colors, including black, white, green, blue, yellow and red, a palette that reminds us of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Nokia's budget-friendly strategyThe Asha 501's appearance today is courtesy of Twitter account @evleaks, which has a shockingly good track record with leaks. It will come as no surprise if Nokia is gearing up to introduce new Asha devices tomorrow. Despite Microsoft and Nokia's Windows Phone 8 push, Asha devices still outsold Lumias in 2012. In fact, @evleaks even followed up with SlashGear that the Asha 501's debut will land "[t]omorrow, in India, actually." Nokia has made a concentrated effort to up its budget phone game lately with devices like the Asha 205 and Nokia 206 debuting late last year, plus the super simple Nokia 105. The Lumia line has been getting more affordable as well with devices like the Lumia 520, and Nokia execs have hinted that it could go even cheaper. Stay tuned to see if yet another rainbow-hued budget Nokia phone makes its debut Thursday, though we're doubtful the phone will be available in the U.K. or U.S. to start. A live global webcast will hit the Conversations blog at 7:30 a.m. BST/11:30 PDT.     | | Did a massive Maps redesign just leak ahead of Google IO? May 8th 2013, 19:51 
A massive Google Maps redesign could be on the way as a host of shots of a new, more map-focussed interface hit the web ahead of Google I/O. According to the Google System blog, the redesign will put the emphasis back on the map while retaining just a bit of Google's technological touches. Before the days of internet interfaces giving us the tools to input coordinates on a virtual map to guide us to our desired destination, a map was just a giant hard copied picture with lines, numbers and names. In creating better tools to help us navigate the world, the map itself was compressed; lost under a sea of check points, pop-ups and buttons to press. But now it looks like Google plans to hark back to those simpler times when finding where you wanted to go was a matter of connecting lines, and everything else was secondary. Mapping your world
The biggest change reportedly coming to Google Maps is the new full-screen view, which does away with the compartmentalizing, and gives you a much cleaner perpsective. The sidebar looks to be replaced with overlays, which will pop up when needed or are directed above the larger map. Google+ will now be integrated as well, with recommendations appearing based on the advice of members in your circles. New color schemes and icons will also appear, which are immediately noticeable in the leaked pics, as are the improved text styles - it may make it a bit easier to differentiate between the streets, businesses, parks, etc. While the new Google Maps will probably look rather sharp on a desktop, the full-screen approach should translate well to mobile devices, too. All of this could be the work of a prankster leading honest internet folk on a wild goose chase, of course, so don't take the above as gospel yet. While we asked Google for more on this possible new Maps concept, but with Google IO just a mere week away, we won't be surprised if the company waits until then to give us an inkling of where it's going.     | | Apple iPhone 6 drops in store's inventory listing, suggests skip over 5S May 8th 2013, 19:42 
The iPhone 6, not the iPhone 5S, could possibly be Apple's next smartphone judging by a little hint that cropped up on Wednesday evening. Gadget site Stuff reported it received a photo purportedly of the till system at a Vodafone UK store (which it has since removed along with the reference to Vodafone), with '4G iPhone 6' listed. The appearance of an item within a store's inventory usually suggests it is preparing to receive stock of said item, naturally. However, with the iPhone 5S widely expected to be the name of the next iPhone, it would be a eyebrow-raising surprise if Apple skipped its usual release cycle to go straight to the iPhone 6. Major changes?Historically, the 'S' versions of the device has seen incremental upgrades, whereas the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 saw major design changes. This year's instalment was thought to be the former and we'd be very surprised if Apple went straight to the iPhone 6. The more likely scenario is likely to be that whomever entered 'iPhone 6' into the Vodafone inventory may have simply meant 'next iPhone', but stranger things have happened.   | | Rising iOS 7 web traffic may hint at impending Apple OS reveal May 8th 2013, 18:33 
The next iteration of Apple's mobile iOS operating system could be just around the corner, if recent data is any indication. Mobile site conversion company Onswipe reported today that it's seen a big increase in iOS 7 traffic to the sites it monitors. According to Onswipe, traffic from iPhones and iPads running iOS 7 increased significantly over the last week, with much of that traffic concentrated in San Francisco and Cupertino, where Apple's HQ is located. Three quarters of that traffic came from iOS 7 iPhones, while a quarter came from iOS 7 iPads, and May 2 had the highest concentration of iOS 7 traffic. iOS 7 at WWDC 2013Onswipe uses HTML5 to optimize websites for mobile viewing, so it makes sense that the company would pay attention to the operating systems mobile visitors are using. If traffic from Apple devices running iOS 7 is spiking, testing is presumably progressing at a more rapid clip, with a sooner-rather-than-later release a natural dovetail of the OS' progress. While we don't know Apple's release timeline yet, there's a pretty significant event swiftly approaching that could provide many of iOS answers. Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2013) kicks off June 10 and will provide the perfect opportunity for Apple to unveil iOS 7. Apple has even hinted as much, promising "an in-depth look at what's next in iOS and OS X" at the San Francisco conference. iOS 7 a major overhaul?iOS 7 is predicted to be a significant overhaul of Apple's seminal mobile operating system. A report early in May claimed that Apple was directing extra resources from other development teams to help finish the new iOS release. Onswipe also noted those using iOS 7 tended to visit websites about turntables, Vine, Apple's stocks and Kid Cudi. That information is largely useless, but perhaps it paints a picture of Apple's iOS testers.     | | Nokia Lumia 928 goes lens to lens with iPhone 5, Galaxy S3 May 8th 2013, 18:27 
Continuing with one of the worst kept phone secrets of late, yet more evidence of the still-not-officially-announced Lumia 928 is making the rounds thanks to none other than Nokia. In a video posted on its U.S. website, Nokia pits "the Nokia Lumia" against the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5. Amid the whir of a roller coaster and beat-tastic music, the flick aims to show the Nokia device's dominance in low light and OIS photography. Compared to the iPhone 5, Nokia's contender has greater color saturation and sharper image focus, while the S3's takes have greater noise. Of course, this is Nokia's test and not an independent survey, so we'll have to wait to get our hands on the phone before making a final judgment. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isKPxCvFEGo&feature=player_embeddedThis is the Lumia 928, right?Nokia only ever refers to the phone as the "Nokia Lumia" and the "newest Nokia Lumia," but the page's URL - http://www.nokia.com/us-en/lumia928 - kind of gives it away. We've seen the phone on billboards and in magazines already, so we know the device exists. The camera, we keep being told, is the highlight feature of the phone. According to the Lumia landing page, the device features an 8.7MP PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Optical Image Stabilization (or OIS). Visitors can sign up for alerts when the new Lumia becomes available via their email addresses, though who knows. Perhaps we'll have all the details handed to us before Nokia ever makes an official pronouncement.     | | Updated: T-Mobile iPhone 5: release date, news and features May 8th 2013, 17:56 
Finally! T-Mobile announced today that it will begin selling Apple's latest iPhone, the iPhone 5, come April 12. T-Mo promises the device will come to customers in a "new affordable, unrestricted and hassle-free way." Moving 500,000 iPhone 5sThe iPhone 5 on T-Mobile seems to be clicking with customers as the company reported in early May that it had moved about half a million units in three weeks. New customer figures and customer retention were also in the black for T-Mobile, signaling that the iPhone 5 coupled with its Un-carrier payment plans may be just walk mobile phone users are looking for. Will the iPhone 5 come to MetroPCS?Yes, we know this page is all about T-Mobile, but as of April 30, MetroPCS is part of the Magenta family. However, there are no immediate plans to trickle the iPhone 5 down to the pre-paid carrier. Not that it won't ever arrive, however. While T-Mobile plans on expanding the MetroPCS brand into new markets and add some of its phones to the little sister company, the companies aren't even sure how they'll be co-branded, let alone what products they'll share. Discussions with Apple are possibly already taking place, but don't hold you're breath for the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile's merger acquisition. 'Gangbusters' first dayWe know you slogged out to pick up the iPhone 5 on its first day at T-Mobile...right. Well, if you weren't able to make it to a T-Mobile store April 12, the company wants you to know the first day of sales was just peachy. "Today has been gangbusters for T-Mobile," said Mike Sievert, chief marketing officer for T-Mobile, in a statement sent to TechRadar. "We experienced lines out the door this morning at nearly all of our almost 3,000 stores nationwide. Today really showcased how our new Simple Choice Plan and our Un-carrier philosophy is resonating with customers. Clearly they want the iPhone 5, and they are voting with their feet that they want it from T-Mobile." Way to go, T-Mo. We'll wait and see what actual sales figures look like, but we appreciate the optimism. $0 down trade-ins for an iPhone 5From April 12 (the day the iPhone 5 goes on sale at T-Mobile) through June 16, T-Mobile customers looking for a way to swap their iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and pick up an LTE-equipped iPhone can do so for $0 down. Customers will need qualifying credit to take advantage of the deal, plus still make monthly payments to pay off the full price of the phone, but it's a good way to save some money. Depending on the trade-in value of their old phone, customers can receive up to a $120 credit. Better than using your old phone for a coaster, if you ask us. Pre-orders open for iPhone 5If you've been waiting for Friday, April 5 like Christmas, then you'll be pleased to know the day has arrived and pre-orders for the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile are now official open. You can head over to the T-Mobile website to put your order in for the $99.99 iDevice, though remember there are 24 months of regular payments you'll need to make in order to keep your cell service crackling. Those 99 clams will get you a 16GB phone, while $199 down nabs you a 32GB version and $299 a 64GB. Pay full price for the phones up front and you'll fork over $579, $669 and $779 respectively. Demand must be high because we're having trouble accessing the pre-order page, but keep checking in as supply will only shrink as the official launch date of April 12 inches closer. T-Mobile drops cell phone contractsIn addition to announcing the release of the iPhone 5 on their network, T-Mobile presented their new Un-Carrier plan. The plan will eliminate cell phone contracts and pricing starts at $50 per month with the Simple Choice plans. 'Customers don't need another AT&T'During T-Mobile's press conference in New York, CEO John Legere outlined the new look, feel and services of the carrier and touted how it's much different from its competitors. "We're about changing this business, and it's not self-serving. It's serving customers," Legere said during the event. "Customers don't need another AT&T." Legere and team 'un-leash' on competitorsLegere and team T-Mobile are really piling on their competitors, with their new "Un-leashed" ad campaign. He and his Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Sievert, continually compared the big carriers - specifically AT&T - to "villians" and called for an end to the big "B.S." when it comes to contracts. Legere also called the wireless industry "broken" that gives "no rewards for loyalty." So who really has the cheaper plan?The fourth-place U.S. carrier will start selling Apple's iPhone on April 12 for a $99 down payment and $20 each month for 24 months. That works out to be $579 for the iPhone 5 during the two-year no contract period, as long as you are a "qualified buyer" who passes a credit check. But how do activation fees and texting factor affect the price? See who truly has the cheaper plan here Here's all the news and rumors we found leading up to the announcement of the T-Mobile iPhone 5. When Apple released the iPhone 5 in September 2012, every major U.S. wireless carrier got the device - and a major increase in sales - except one, T-Mobile. Apple conspicuously left the fourth largest U.S. carrier off its list of iPhone 5 recipients, leaving many consumers wondering why T-Mobile didn't get Cupertino's latest smartphone. In fact, it's been nearly six months since the iPhone's latest release and the T-Mobile iPhone 5 has yet to appear. But, T-Mobile execs have mentioned that an iPhone 5 will show up soon...ish. Network watchdogs see 4G LTE testing in major marketsYou've got to hand it to T-Mobile - it's certainly seems to be pushing its efforts into overdrive to prepare for the iPhone and other high-end, 4G LTE-capable phones. Network monitoring group OpenSignal recently detected nine different cities where T-Mobile looks like it's testing its LTE network. Those include Seattle, New York, San Francisco, Denver, New Orleans and the San Jose/Bay Area, in addition to Las Vegas and Kansas City, where T-Mobile has publicly announced testing was taking place. OpenSignal reported picking up the Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4, so no iPhone, but perhaps testing for the iOS phone is already complete? Sneak peak at 'UnCarrier' price plansWe've said it before and we'll say it again - T-Mobile's plans for the iPhone 5 are intimately tied to its rebranding as the ultimate "UnCarrier." It wants to offer high-end devices at unsubsidized prices, giving customers not just freedom of choice but freedom from contracts and hidden fees as well. An internal memo leaked in mid-March points to some potential pricing structures for T-Mo's new plans. Starting at $60/month for 500MB of high-speed data, customers can add on at 2GB increments all the way up to an extra 12GB. Customers who pick up the iPhone 5 will have their pick of plans, which while not earth shatteringly cheap are at least up front in what you get for how much. Event planned for March 26Well, well, well, what do we have here? An NYC event scheduled for Tuesday, March 26? What could T-Mobile have up its sleeves? While we don't fully expect T-Mobile to reveal specific plans for the iPhone 5 (though we wouldn't put it past the No. 4 carrier to take advantage of the public stage) we are anticipating news on the company's "UnCarrier" ambitions. This means introducing new pricing structures and news related to its 4G LTE roll out, both of which play into T-Mobile's long term plans to bring Apple's latest iOS device to the fore. Stay tuned as TechRadar brings you coverage of the March 26 event, where we just might see the iPhone 5 turn magenta. 4G LTE light up coming soon4G LTE and the iPhone 5 go together like Nutella and toast, so the fact that T-Mobile announced it's prepared to switch on its LTE support before the end of March is a clear sign the iPhone can't be too far off. Part of its preparedness is switching on LTE support housed deep within the Galaxy Note 2, something the carrier starting doing March 18. The Note 2 is just the first in a series of cell phones T-Mobile plans to enliven with LTE, one of which is the unannounced yet oh-so-happening iPhone 5. T-Mo's Offering iPhone 5 on Value PlanT-Mobile Chief Executive Officer John Legere confirmed at a Deutsche Telekom presentation that T-Mobile will get the iPhone 5 but gave a noncommittal "2013" as the date. However, Legere added that when the iPhone 5 does make its grand appearance, it will be offered in a dramatically different way than other carriers and placed on the network's Value Plan. T-Mobile's Value Plan lets users choose any phone they want and they can pay in monthly installments, instead of signing the dotted line on a two-year contract. A T-Mobile rep went into more detail in a previous TechRadar report: "With the Value Plan, you have the option to bring your own device or get a device from T-Mobile with a low down payment and the remainder of the purchase price to be financed over a 20-month period with the Equipment Installment Plan (EIP)," Katie McFadzean told TechRadar. Customers can pay full price for a phone upfront or bring in their own unlocked devices, but the point is to save customers money in monthly phone bills, termination fees, etc. where carriers rack up more dough than a handset is actually worth. iPhone 5 priceA 16GB iPhone 5 costs $649 (more for more gigs), so T-Mobile will have to eventually recoup that amount at some point in consumers' relationship with the carrier. You could, of course, pay 650 big ones up front, but who wants to do that? Though we don't have confirmation yet, reports suggest that T-Mobile might finance the iPhone 5 for as little as $99 up front while charging $15-$20 in payments over 20 months. Those financing figures come from GigaOm, and could change, but it gives an idea of the new type of charging structure T-Mobile plans to implement for a high-end handset. iPhone 5 in a few months, not manyThough we're still lacking a firm release date, Legere divulged to Reuters that the time frame for the smartphone's release, and the company's subsidy elimination plan, will be on the shorter end of the stick. "They're all, I would call them, in three to four months as opposed to six nine months," he told the publication. Legere made that comment in early January, during the heat of CES 2013, so that places the timing of the iPhone 5's release right around April or May. Additionally, a report from the end of February suggests T-Mobile told employees there will be a vacation blackout from the last two weeks of March through the first two weeks of April. Specifically, Auto-o-Mobile pegs the blackout dates as March 18 through April 14. Such periods usually signal a major phone release, so T-Mobile may send signals it plans to launch the iPhone 5 during this time. With all the info, we're guessing that early to mid-April is the time T-Mo plans to release the lastest iPhone. T-Mobile's sour grapesWhen Apple released it's sixth-generation phone, it seemed T-Mobile didn't take it well. In fact, T-Mobile had their in-store employees "sell against the iPhone" when it was released last October. So it's a little odd that they would vie for Cupertino's attention now. However, T-Mobile's sour grapes over not getting the iPhone 5 may be their own fault. The wireless carrier is not compatible with iOS handset because of its use of AWS frequencies for 3G coverage. What's more, the iPhone 5 runs on LTE, which T-Mobile didn't carry until this year. T-Mobile's 4G LTE push for iPhone 5Speaking of 4G LTE, it's a bandwidth currently not offered by T-Mo, so how does the carrier plan to support Apple's latest iPhone? By making a massive push to provide 4G LTE to customers, that's how. "In 2013, we're going to get LTE rolled out to our customers even sooner than originally planned," a T-Mobile spokesperson told us in late January. "We're on track to have 100 million Americans covered with LTE by mid-year. By the end of 2013, we'll cover more than 200 million people with LTE." That flurry of 4G LTE won't be for nothing: not only will it boost T-Mobile's current and future phone offerings for every manufacturer, it is prime spectrum space for the iPhone 5.   | | What delays? iPhone 5S screen production said to kick off next month May 8th 2013, 16:30 
Sharp is said to be readying its displays for the next generation of iPhone, which will kick off production in June – that's next month for all you calendar fans. Japan business daily Nikkan Kogyo claims that Sharp will begin building the LCD panels for the fabled iPhone 5S at its Kameyama Plant in Japan. It certainly chimes with what we've previously heard, despite fears over possible delays. And also, you know, the predicable Apple cycle. Sharp lookThere's nothing about whether the display will be bigger or smaller than the iPhone 5, but the paper claims that the specs are "similar" to the current iPhone. Of course, Sharp is a long-term Apple partner and provided the screens for the iPhone 5, so it's not hugely surprising that Apple has chosen to stay with it, even though Sharp did recently suffer a few production issues. Sharp won't be doing all the hard work though. LG Display and Japan Display (the latter being a combination of parts of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi) will also be producing the screens. Sir Jony Ive might want to get a move on with iOS7, then.     | | Motorola X Phone release date, news and rumours May 8th 2013, 15:34 
Google acquired Motorola Mobility a year ago but we're still yet to see a handset slide out bearing the search giant's brand and Moto's design. Rumours surrounding the X Phone have been around since December and, while neither Google nor Motorola has officially revealed anything about a potential handset, it hasn't stopped the speculation and leaks. It would make sense for Google to use Motorola as the manufacturer of its next Nexus-branded smartphone, as this would give the firm greater control at every stage of production - but that's something which is far from certain. Over in Australia, carriers have apparently already seen details of the X Phone, prompting one network head to say the handset will be a "real breakthrough, a game changer that will put pressure on Samsung and Apple". We've pulled together all the internet chatter surrounding the Motorola X Phone and stuffed it into one manageable article, just for you. Motorola X phone release date and priceMost reports surrounding the Motorola X Phone release date seem to point towards the annual Google IO conference which takes place in mid-May. Even if the X Phone is unveiled at IO, consumers may still have a lengthy wait before the handset lands in their sweaty palms - especially if the Nexus 4 is anything to go by which sold out in minutes when the first stock was made available, leaving many waiting for more units to turn up. Initial reports suggested that the X Phone would arrive in stores in either June or July, but word's got out that it's already been delayed until August or later. If the Motorola X does carry Google's name, we could also see some rather competitive pricing as the search giant looks to undercut the top phones of the moment - such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. Pie or BeansGoogle-branded handsets usually usher in a new version of the Android operating system, so if the Motorola X Phone does eventually end up adopting the search giant's name you can expect it to arrive running the latest Android platform. A new version of Android is also expected to be announced at Google IO, with early claims pointing towards Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Key Lime Pie also seems to be on the cards for the X Phone, if the swathe of rumours are to be believed. However, more recently we've seen reports saying that Key Lime Pie has been delayed, and instead we'll see an updated Jelly Bean at Google IO, known as Android 4.3. If this is the case then the X Phone could come running 4.3 instead of 5.0 - we're just going to have to wait and see. Look at thisThe X Phone might build on the 4.7-inch display found on the Nexus 4 and rock up with a 5-inch screen with almost no bezel. Another "tipster" doesn't agree though, claiming the Motorola X will stick with the 4.7-inch format and instead up the resolution to Full HD, for a truly eye-popping display - something which has also been "confirmed" by a separate source. We're not done there though, with 4.65-inch also being bandied about as the potential screen size for the X Phone, although the unconvincing renders this information arrived with makes us question it. SpecsIn terms of power the Motorola X phone is hotly tipped to pack a 1.7GHz quad-core processor - various sources say the same thing - along with 2GB of RAM. That's not the only processor which has been linked to the X though, with Android World claiming it's been told it could carry a powerful 2.3GHz Nvidia 4i chip. The same leak also points towards the Motorola X packing a punchy 16MP camera which would put the handset head and shoulders above the current crop of flagship smartphones, plus it could measure a pocket friendly 131.2 x 66.7 x 7.9mm. Another rumour claims that the new UI that will feature on the X phone will integrate a host of new features to rival Samsung's S-Beam, S-Voice and the like. In terms of storage we could well see the Motorola X offered in a 32GB guise, which will be music to some people's ears after being left frustrated that the Nexus 4 was only available in 8GB and 16GB variants. Real or render?In terms of what the Motorola X Phone could potentially look like we've had a couple of leaks claiming to show the handset. First up are a set of images picked up by Vietnamese site Tinhte and while the handset in question looks pretty impressive in terms of style, they appear to be renders instead of photos of the actual device. 
The other set of images come courtesy of @evleaks and apparently show the X phone with a prototype chassis in order to protect its identity. Comparisons can be drawn between the handset in these images and the renders above - with the front facing Motorola logo sitting in the same place. 
    | | Nokia Eos could usurp Lumia 925 at May 14 event May 8th 2013, 13:37 
Nokia may be prepping the much-talked-about Eos for a grand unveiling at its London event on May 14. Originally it was thought that we'd be treated to the Nokia Lumia 925 at the event next week, but fresh rumours out of fabulously hit and miss Chinese site DigiTimes suggest the Nokia Eos may be on the billing instead. DigiTimes pins the information on "market watchers" - whoever the hell they are - who claim Nokia will launch a smartphone with a 41MP PureView camera and running Windows Phone 8 at the show. Who's watching you?With the introduction of handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z this year, and with increasing pressure from shareholders, Nokia needs to offer up a high-end handset capable of taking on the titans of the smartphone arena. We're approaching this report with caution as DigiTimes sources in the past haven't been overly reliable, and this is the first we've heard that the Eos may be the device in the limelight next week. Luckily there's not long to wait to see what Nokia does have up its sleeve and TechRadar will be in attendance to bring you all the latest.     | |
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