 | Week in Tech: BlackBerry's ripe for the picking as Apple falls far from the tree Aug 16th 2013, 10:00, by Gary Marshall 
If we had to sum up this week in sounds, we'd choose two. One would be a sad clown playing an out of tune piano being thrown down a stairwell, and the other would be a high-pitched whooshing sound. The sad clown noise comes from Blackberry, the once-proud smartphone giant that's just put itself up for sale. The official phrase is that a special committee will "explore strategic alternatives to enhance value and increase scale", but realistically Blackberry is standing on the high street offering three pairs of socks for a pound. How did it come to this? Gareth Beavis knows: "If you don't move with the times, you'll be overtaken and consumed by technological vultures feasting on the juciest bits of your once-cutting-edge carcass." We know, we know, that's pretty dark. You should have seen the stories he wrote in primary school. It's easy to blame the iPhone for Blackberry's demise, but the problems go back further: the 2002 Quark combined calling and email, and while it was "the future" it was "also the company's downfall". "The mantra 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' must have been emblazoned on the walls," says Beavis: RIM (as it was then known) "eschewed 3G, took ages to add cameras or Wi-Fi to its devices and even managed to mess up the touchscreen when it finally tried to rival the iPhone with the Blackberry Storm." Blackberry is a company packed with talent, but all too often its timing sucks. Going steady or falling apart?Guess who else is supposedly in trouble? That's right: Apple, because nothing says "disaster" like being the most valuable technology company in the world. But there is trouble in paradise. The board is getting jittery and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison reckons history will repeat - "we saw Apple with Steve Jobs, we saw Apple without Steve Jobs," he says. But billionaire investor Carl Icahn says Apple is "extremely undervalued." Who to believe? Kate Solomon agrees that "Jobs is a tough act to follow," but Tim Cook should ignore calls to do something fast. "No," Solomon counsels. "Do something great." It's not that Apple is in trouble, it's that the world is impatient. "Like you, I want magic," Solomon says. "At any tech launch, I'm hoping for something that will cause my eyes to widen and an involuntary "Oh wow!" to slip out. I want it to do something useful, I want it to work perfectly, I want it to look gorgeous and I want it to be awesome. And hey, that's going to take a bit of time." Something else that's taken a bit of time is Windows 8.1, but it's nearly done now and you'll be able to get it in October. The cunningly named Windows 8.1 will hit Windows Update in October, and Microsoft hopes it'll boost interest in Windows 8 systems. We hope so too: Windows 8 hasn't been the stimulus the PC industry hoped for, and news stories about Windows RT increasingly sound like broadcasts from the deck of the Titanic. Down the tubesAnd the high-pitched whooshing sound? That's Elon Musk's Hyperloop, which may be the future of travel, a billionaire's folly or a really effective way of turning humans into pink mist. As Michelle Fitzsimmons explains: "One day years from now you may find yourself sitting snugly in a tube, hurtling from San Francisco to Los Angeles at 800 miles an hour." There's just one problem with Musk's idea. He isn't going to build it. He's too busy exploring space and stuff, "so don't expect to be whizzing down tubes to visit your granny any time soon," says Duncan Geere. "But by the time you're a granny? Don't rule it out."        | | Samsung Galaxy S4 Active stock finally shows up in Australia Aug 16th 2013, 06:48, by Farrha Khan 
It has been a little over two months since it was announced, but it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is finally available in Australia through AllPhones. According to Ausdroid, AllPhones has the rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 variant in stock, but only the "Urban Grey" model right now and no word on if there will be any others available. TeleChoice, which still has the phone listed as coming soon, does also list "Dive Blue" and "Orange Flare" options. Outright price from both retailers is $699. TeleChoice has plans starting from $38.50 in its catalogue, but no word on when it will be available. The big three Australian carriers haven't listed the phone yet, either. Rugged inside and outThe Galaxy S4 Active is IP67 certified, and dust and water-proof in a fully sealed design. Thankfully, it doesn't skimp on the internal specs, being a near-clone of the Galaxy S4 except for the lower-specced, rear-facing 8MP camera. It's a little heavier too, at 151g, but still has 4G, a 5-inch Full HD display, 1.9GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 2MP front camera and 2,600mAh battery.        | | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Exynos 5 Octa not going global? Aug 16th 2013, 02:26, by Farrha Khan 
Just as with the Samsung Galaxy S4, it looks like the world will be split between those who will get the Exynos 5 Octa processor in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and those who won't. According to SamMobile, the independent and fairly reliable Samsung blog, there will be two models, one with the eight-core processor on the 3G variant, while the LTE variant will sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. With the Exynos 5 Octa revealed last month, this isn't the first leak to indicate that the new processor will be used for the Galaxy Note 3. According to the site, the Galaxy Note III LTE will be powered by the Snapdragon 800 processor with an Adreno 330 GPU, while the Galaxy Note III 3G version will feature the Samsung Exynos 5420 Octa with an ARM Mali-T628 MP6 GPU. A 3 GB LPDDR3 (Channel A+B – 12.8Gbit+12.8Gbit) RAM will feature in both variants. Octa vs LTEAs the eight-core Galaxy S4 variant wasn't released across all territories in favour of LTE, including in Australia, the UK and US, we've been doubtful of a global eight-core Galaxy Note 3 release. SamMobile has put together a comprehensive list of which territories and carriers will get which Note 3 variant, with the Brits lucky enough to get both the Snapdragon 800 LTE variant (H3G, O2, Vodafone) and the eight-core 3G variant (Carphone Warehouse). The US seemingly only have the Snapdragon LTE model listed through AT&T alongside its country code. Aussies also looks to miss out on the Exynos 5 Octa, while the LTE model is listed through Optus, Telstra and Vodafone. Of course, Samsung will probably later add to this list, so perhaps the US and Australia won't be left behind after all. We're inclined to put faith in this list and spec details though, if only because it is so comprehensive, but we'd still take all this with a grain of salt until Samsung's Unpacked event on September 4, when the Galaxy Note 3 is expected to be launched. - There's still a few weeks left until the Unpacked event, so why not catch up on everything we've heard so far about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3?
       | | Did HTC plot to offer customized phone options before the Moto X? Aug 15th 2013, 22:26, by Chris Smith 
Motorola is attempting to sparks a user-first smartphone revolution with its customizable Moto X phone, but it may not have been the only one to cook up such an idea. According to a new report, HTC at one time considered getting in on the personalization act, too. Sources familiar with HTC's plans told The Verge the company planned to launch a customization website allowing customers of U.S carrier Sprint to design their very own HTC 8XT handset. The report revealed the existence of a prototype Design Studio web app that would have allowed users colour control over the two-tone body, speaker, accents and engraving options. However, the HTC 8XT device running Windows Phone 8 was launched in July minus those options with both the manufacturer and the carrier reportedly backing out over "cost and complexity" concerns. Fashion sensitivitiesWith its new Moto X, Motorola is betting heavily on a perceived desire from smartphone users to carry a handset they can, to some degree, control the look of. The Moto X doesn't impress too much in terms of its mid-range specs, but AT&T customers in the U.S. can use the Moto Maker website to choose from two front frame colours, 18 back plate colours (new wood materials are coming soon) and seven accent colours. Buyers can also choose to have a personal message engraved on the back. Meanwhile, reports claiming that Apple will launch its rumoured iPhone 5C budget handset in a range of bright colors akin to its iPod range could also be a sign that manufacturers are conscious that buyers want more choice over their phone's aesthetics. As for HTC, it seems its design-it-yourself plans have been benched for the time being, but if Motorola does well with the Moto Maker, the Taiwanese company's phones could get a little more colorful.        | | Improved imaging is the marque feature of Nokia's Lumia Amber update Aug 15th 2013, 21:31, by Chris Smith 
Nokia confirmed its Lumia Amber software update has started to roll-out for the company's Windows Phone 8 devices. The headline feature in this fairly significant software bump is the new imaging experience, which brings other WP8 Lumia handsets up to speed with the Lumia 1020 (obviously minus the massive 41-megapixel sensor). Amber will bring improved image processing, noise reduction, color reproduction, exposure control, autofocus and better performance in low-light, according to Nokia. The Nokia Smart Camera app, which debuted on the Lumia 925 and features prominently on the Lumia 1020, is also open to other Lumia users running Windows Phone 8 on their handsets. Best shotIn a post on the Nokia Conversations blog the company explained the merits of the Smart Camera app: "The app brings a slew of different options – use Best Shot to find the sharpest image from a series of ten; combine several shots of people in movement into one with Action Shot; heighten the appearance of speed by blurring the background with Motion Focus; create ideal group shots by choosing the best faces from a series with Change Faces, or remove unwanted objects from your pictures." Beyond the camera features, Amber brings the new Glance Screen functionality on board, which displays a clock, battery meter and informs users when the phone is in silent mode, even when the display is locked. Users will also be able to flip the phone over to activate silent mode, while double tapping the screen will unlock the device. There's also some minor improvements to the Here Maps app. Lumia owners with Windows Phone 8 handsets can check whether the update is available in Settings > Phone Updates.        | | Sony Xperia i1 'Honami' could put 4K video in the palm of your hand Aug 15th 2013, 20:09, by Lbrown 
We don't know that many concrete facts about the rumored Sony Xperia i1 (aka "Honami"), but that hasn't stopped a barrage of rumors and leaks from giving us an idea of what to expect from Sony's purported phablet. The larger successor to the Xperia Z, the Xperia i1 is believed to come with a robust 5-inch HD display, which should make pictures taken with the rumored 20MP camera (at a 3936 x 5248 resolution) look very nice. Of course, that 20MP camera might also be perfectly suited for shooting video in 4K, which is just what the latest info surrounding the Honami seems to suggest. According to leaked promotional materials, Sony is planning on releasing the first phone to allow users to shoot video in 4K resolution, which perfectly suits the Japanese company's plans across its own brand. As a slide tells it, the video resolution would be 4000 x 2000. Mixed signalsThat Sony might be bringing the ability to capture what it's calling 4K video to a device said to be as beastly as the Xperia i1 isn't all that surprising. Considering the phablet is expected to come with a 4K-capable 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip, it actually may have been more shocking to learn the phone wouldn't use 4K in some way. However, the rumored resolution of 4000 x 2000 is a bit curious, especially when considering Sony's 4K Ultra HD televisions only support a 3840 x 2160 and genuine 4K resolution is 4096 x 2160. The Bravia branding on the slides in question lends this report a bit more credence, as does the tagline, "How do you get 4K content? By shooting videos with a 4K cellphone." Remember though, the Xperia i1 still hasn't even been announced, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time rumored features didn't make it into the first iteration of a new smartphone. With IFA 2013 just around the corner, we may not have to wait long to learn just how true these reports are, but until Sony delivers exact specs itself, we're not going to get too excited about the possibilities of shooting 4K with our smartphones. Yet.        | | Well that was fast: Google blocking Microsoft's re-released YouTube app Aug 15th 2013, 17:59, by Michael Rougeau 
It was just this week that YouTube finally returned to Windows Phone, and Google has already blocked the new app. Microsoft and Google were supposed to collaborate on a new version of the Windows Phone YouTube app after bickering over it for months, but apparently the results weren't up to Google's snuff. Citing that YouTube (a Google property) had worked with Microsoft to create a new app, but one based on HTML5 a YouTube spokesperson sent us this statement: "Unfortunately, Microsoft has not made the browser upgrades necessary to enable a fully-featured YouTube experience, and has instead re-released a YouTube app that violates our Terms of Service," the spokesperson said. "It has been disabled. We value our broad developer community and therefore ask everyone to adhere to the same guidelines." Mixed messagesWhen the new Windows Phone YouTube app debuted on Tuesday, Microsoft released a statement indicating it believed the app would finally satisfy Google's ToS. "We've released an updated YouTube app for Windows Phone that provides the great experience our consumers expect while addressing the concerns Google expressed in May, including the addition of ads," the statement read. Clearly, something was missing, and that something looks to be HTML5. Microsoft said in a statement to The Verge it was working with Google to resolve the issue. Update: Microsoft released a lengthy response to the blocking, placing blame squarely on Google and its demand for HTML5.        | | Apple 'gifting' patent rekindles NFC for iPhone and iPad rumours Aug 15th 2013, 15:39, by Kate Solomon 
A new Apple patent hints that the next generations of iPhone and iPad will come with NFC on board. The application is based around giving iOS songs, ebooks and films to other iOS-using friends and families. So if you wanted to give your pals a Hanson hit, you could either make the purchase directly in iTunes, or you could locate the song (probably 'Mmmbop', let's face it, but 'Where's The Love' was a valiant follow-up) on your own iPhone or iPad and gift them a copy from there. Plant a seed, plant a flower, plant a roseAt the moment, when you buy iTunes files as presents for other people, you send them via email - however, this new patent gives you the option to do so using NFC. This option will be handy if you're desperate to get 'Mmmbop' on to your friends' phone but you don't have internet access - it basically transfers a locked file to their handset which is then authenticated once they're back in Wi-Fi or data range. Of course, this is no guarantee that Apple will include NFC in any device, nor that this patent will ever be used in any way - still, it's proof that the company is having a good hard think about how it can make NFC worth its while.        | |
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