Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 08-07-2013

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Updated: Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date, news and rumors
Aug 7th 2013, 13:58, by Paul Douglas

Updated: Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date, news and rumors

Android Key Lime Pie news

Google's showing no signs of slowing its pace of Android development, with Android 4.0 appearing on the Galaxy Nexus late in 2011, followed in July of 2012 by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release that arrived powering the super Nexus 7.

But, forward-looking, update-obsessed people that we are, we can't help but imagine how Google's going to maintain the pace of innovation in its next major release of its mobile OS, Android 5.0.

All we know so far is that Google's working away on the K release of Android, which it's developing under the dessert-related codename of Key Lime Pie. Regarding the version number, it's likely that the Key Lime Pie moniker will be given to Android 5.0. We thought we might find out on 29 October 2012 but as yet there is no official word from Google.

So now as we wait on official news of the Android 5.0 release date and features, we can start to pull together the Key Lime Pie rumours from around the web, with the first sighting of Android 5.0 on a benchmarking website, apparently running on a Sony smartphone. There has previously been speculation that Sony is in line to produce the next Nexus phone, which may lend some credence to this rumour.

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Android 5.0 release date

The Android 5.0 release date is currently looking to be some time in October 2013, although we originally expected to see it break cover at Google IO which was scheduled to take place from May 15 to May 17 2013, a month earlier than 2012's June dates. Given that Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at 2012's IO conference, it seemed reasonable to expect to see Android 5.0 at this year's event.

On 31 January, a Google IO showing of Android 5.0 looked more likely when screengrabs of a Qualcomm roadmap were leaked, showing Android 5.0 as breaking cover between April and June 2013.

But on 24 April 2013, we read that Key Lime Pie may not make its debut at Google IO after all. Apparently, "trusty internal sources" told a site called Gadgetronica that Google decided to delay Android 5.0 for two to four months to give hardware makers the chance to properly roll out Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The notion of Key Lime Pie being off the menu at Google IO raised itself again on 26 April when Android 4.3 surfaced in server logs over at Android Police. Those log entries supposedly came from Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 devices running an updated version of Jelly Bean - Android 4.3 - and apparently the IP addresses of those devices trace back to Google HQ. So might that point to a delayed Android 5.0 arrival?

And on 13 May, we got our (almost certain) confirmation that there would be no serving of Key Lime Pie at Google IO from Sundar Pichai, Google's new head of Android. Pichai told Wired that this year's IO is "not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system". Boo! "Both on Android and Chrome, we're going to focus this IO on all the kinds of things we're doing for developers so that they can write better things," he added.

Google wasn't entirely quiet on Android 5 at its IO conference, though. As Android Authority spotted, during a session entitled 'Android Protips 3: Making Apps Work Like Magic' Android developer relations tech lead Reto Meier teased attendees with a slide showing an Android eating a piece of Key Lime Pie and later with a game where the options included Jelly Bean and Key Lime Pie.

Key Lime Pie

Word on the street, or at least on the streets of VR-Zone as of 13 June, is that Android 5 is now going to land in October 2013, along with the Nexus 5 phone.

In the meantime, we do have the minor Android 4.3 update to look forward to.

Android 5.0 phones

Rumours of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was speculation that this phone would be sporting Key Lime Pie, but sources who spoke to AndroidAndMe correctly claimed that the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4, would be running Android Jelly Bean.

While the Nexus 4 didn't appear with a helping of Key Lime Pie, speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggested that the Motorola X Phone was the Android 5.0-toting handset that would be revealed at Google IO. According to a post on the DroidForums website, the phone will also feature a virtually bezel-free, edge-to-edge, 5-inch display. The Motorola X wasn't on show at IO but we're still expecting to see it break cover this year.

The same leaked Qualcomm documents cited above also made mention of a two new Snapdragon devices, one of which will be, unsurprisingly, a new Nexus phone.

That Nexus phone is most likely the Google Nexus 5. We weren't surprised that it was absent from Google IO, given that the Nexus 4 only went on sale at the end of 2012.

On Monday 18 March, supposed images of the Nexus 5 surfaced, with the handset apparently being manufactured by LG. If the accompanying specs, leaked along with the photo by the anonymous source, are true, then the Nexus 5 will feature a 5.2-inch, 1920 x 1080 OLED display, 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 3GB of RAM.

Google IO 2012

While we warned that a sighting of the Nexus 5 at Google IO was unlikely, rumours that we wrote up on 19 April reckoned that there would be an Android 5.0-powered Nexus 4 launched at the event. Apparently, the revised handset would feature 4G capability and improved storage of 32GB. That rumour turned out to be incorrect as the only handset launched at IO was Google's take on the Galaxy S4, which is running Android 4.2.

There may still be a Nexus 4 running Android 5 on its way, though, as on 6 August 2013, someone using the Chromium (Chromium is the open-source project behind Google Chrome) bug tracker filed a report concerning a Nexus 4 phone which was running a KRS36B Android build. It's quite possible that the K stands for 'Key Lime Pie' as current Jelly Bean builds - such as JWR66V - always start with a J. So perhaps the Nexus 4 will be the first handset to get a taste of Android 5.

If rumours that we covered on 30 May are correct, then HTC will be bringing us an Android 5.0-powered 'phablet' in the form of the HTC T6.

Featuring a 5.9-inch full-HD screen, the HTC T6 would be squaring up against the also-rumoured Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which is likely to break cover at IFA 2013. According to tipster evleaks, the T6 will feature a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

Android 5.0 tablets

The original Nexus 7 tablet was unveiled at Google IO 2012, so we thought it possible that we'd see a refreshed Nexus 7 2 at Google IO 2013. The speculation earlier in the year was that Google would team up with Asus for this, as it did with the original Nexus 7. We expected an upgraded display on the new Nexus 7 tablet, while Digitimes reported that the 2nd generation Nexus 7 would have 3G service and range in price from $149 to $199.

The new Nexus 7 was a no-show at IO, but the Asus-built device was later launched by Google on 24 July 2013, albeit running Android 4.3 rather than 5.

But Android 5 could still be headed to the new Nexus as the Chromium user who filed a bug regarding what may be a Nexus 4 phone running Android 5 also filed a report concerning a Nexus 7 running the same KRS36B Android build.

Samsung's Android 5.0 upgrades

Although Samsung is yet to officially confirm its Android 5.0 schedule, a SamMobile source is claiming to know which phones and tablets will be getting the Key Lime Pie upgrade. According to the source, the devices set to receive the upgrade are the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Android 5.0 features

For 24 hours, it seemed as though the first kinda, sorta confirmed feature for Android 5.0 was a Google Now widget, which briefly appeared in a screenshot on the company's support forum before being taken down. As it was so hurriedly pulled, many people assumed it was slated for the big five-o and accidentally revealed early.

As it happened, the following day, on 13 February 2013, the Google Now widget rolled out to Jelly Bean.

On 28 February 2013, we learned from Android Central that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel, which gives rise to the notion that this kernel might make it into Android 5. One improvement that the 3.8 kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which would mean a snappier phone with better multitasking.

On 13 June 2013, in posting its story that Android 5.0 would be seeing a November release, VR-Zone also claimed that the new OS will be optimised to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM.

Android Geeks reported that Google Babble would debut on Key Lime Pie. Babble was the code name for Google's cross-platform service and app with the aim of unifying its various chat services which include Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger, Chat for Google Drive and Chat on Google+.

Android Geeks' source also (correctly) said that Google Babble will be supported by devices running Android 2.3 and above, which makes sense given that Google will want as many people as possible on the platform.

A screenshot that we were sent from a Google employee on 8 April confirmed that not only was this unified chat service on the way, but that it was called Google Babel not Babble. The service was to come with a bunch of new emoticons and Google+ built-in so you can jump from Babel chat to hangout. A leaked Google memo on 10 April provided a few more juicy details including talk of a new UI and synced conversations between mobile and desktop.

Google Babel

On 10 May, we discovered that Babel would launch as Google Hangouts, and on 15 May we saw it come to life for devices running Android 2.3 and up. So much for it debuting on Key Lime Pie.

Following an 18 April tear-down of the Google Glass app MyGlass by Android Police, it looked as though there may be an iOS Games Center-like service coming to Android 5.0.

Android Police found references in the code to functionality that doesn't exist in Glass, which suggested that developers accidentally shipped the full suite of Google Play Services with the Android application package.

The files in the package contained references to real-time and turn-based multiplayer, in-game chat, achievements, leaderboards, invitations and game lobbies.

As expected, we found out more about Google Play Games at Google I/O, but it's not a Key Lime Pie feature after all as it has been made available already.

Android 5.0 interface

While this is pure speculation, we're wondering whether Android 5.0 might bring with it a brighter interface, moving away from the Holo Dark theme that came with Android 4.0.

Google Now brought with it a clearer look with cleaner fonts, and screenshots of Google Play 4.0 show Google's app market taking on similar design cues. Is this a hint at a brighter, airier look for Key Lime Pie?

Google Play 4

On 6 August 2013, we learned that Google had applied to patent a rather cool piece of functionality whereby an Android user would be able to launch different apps by drawing different patterns on the lock screen.

If this feature makes it into Android 5, we could be able to launch the camera app by drawing one pattern and Twitter by drawing another.

Our Android 5.0 wishlist

While we wait on more Key Lime Pie features to be revealed and scour the web for more Android 5.0 news, TechRadar writer Gary Cutlack has been thinking about what we want to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Hopefully the new mobile OS will feature some of these things...

1. Performance Profiles

It's bit of a fuss managing your mobile before bed time. Switching off the sound, turning off data, activating airplane mode and so on, so what Android 5.0 really needs is a simple way of managing performance, and therefore power use, automatically.

We've been given a taste of this with Blocking Mode in Samsung's Jelly Bean update on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 but we'd like to see the functionality expanded.

Something like a Gaming mode for max power delivery, an Overnight low-power state for slumbering on minimal power and maybe a Reading mode for no bothersome data connections and a super-low backlight.

Some hardware makers put their own little automated tools in, such as the excellent Smart Actions found within Motorola's RAZR interface, but it'd be great to see Google give us a simple way to manage states.

Another little power strip style widget for phone performance profiles would be an easy way to do it.

android 5

2. Better multiple device support

Google already does quite a good job of supporting serious Android nerds who own several phones and tablets, but there are some holes in its coverage that are rather frustrating.

Take the Videos app which manages your film downloads through the Play Store. Start watching a film on one Android device and you're limited to resuming your film session on that same unit, making it impossible to switch from phone to tablet mid-film.

You can switch between phone and web site players to resume watching, but surely Google ought to understand its fans often have a couple of phones and tabs on the go and fix this for Android Key Lime Pie?

3. Enhanced social network support

Android doesn't really do much for social network users out of the box, with most of the fancy social widgets and features coming from the hardware makers through their own custom skins.

Sony integrates Facebook brilliantly in its phones, and even LG makes a great social network aggregator widget that incorporates Facebook and Twitter - so why are there no cool aggregator apps as part of the standard Android setup?

Yes, Google does a great job of pushing Google+, but, no offence, there are many other more widely used networks that ought to be a little better "baked in" to Android.

4. Line-drawing keyboard options

Another area where the manufacturers have taken a big leap ahead of Google is in integrating clever alternate text entry options in their keyboards. HTC and Sony both offer their own takes on the Swype style of line-drawing text input, which is a nice option to have for getting your words onto a telephone. Get it into Android 5.0 and give us the choice.

UPDATE: Google heard us and this feature appeared in Android 4.2.

Android 5 keyboard

5. A video chat app

How odd is it that Google's put a front-facing camera on the Nexus 7 and most hardware manufacturers do the same on their phones and tablets, yet most ship without any form of common video chat app?

You have to download Skype and hope it works, or find some other downloadable app solution. Why isn't there a Google Live See My Face Chat app of some sort as part of Android? Is it because we're too ugly? Is that what you're saying, Google?

6. Multi-select in the contacts

The Android contacts section is pretty useful, but it could be managed a little better. What if you have the idea of emailing or texting a handful of your friends? The way that's currently done is by emailing one, then adding the rest individually. Some sort of checkbox system that let users scroll through names and create a mailing list on the fly through the contacts listing in Android Key Lime Pie would make this much easier.

Android 5 contacts

7. Cross-device SMS sync

If you're a constant SIM swapper with more than one phone on the go, chances are you've lost track of your text messages at some point. Google stores these on the phone rather than the SIM card, so it'd be nice if our texts could be either backed up to the SIM, the SD card, or beamed up to the magical invisible cloud of data, for easy and consistent access across multiple devices.

8. A "Never Update" option

This would annoy developers so is unlikely to happen, but it'd be nice if we could refuse app updates permanently in Android 5.0, just in case we'd rather stick with a current version of a tool than be forced to upgrade.

Sure, you can set apps to manual update and then just ignore the update prompt forever, but it'd be nice to know we can keep a favoured version of an app without accidentally updating it. Some of us are still using the beta Times app, for example, which has given free access for a year.

Android 5 apps

9. App preview/freebie codes

Something Apple's been doing for ages and ages is using a promo code system to distribute free or review versions of apps. It even makes doing little competitions to drum up publicity for apps much easier, so why's there no similar scheme for Android?

It might encourage developers to stop going down the ad-covered/freemium route if they could charge for an app but still give it away to friends and fans through a promo code system.

10. Final whinges and requests...

It's be nice to be able to sort the Settings screen by alphabetical order, too, or by most commonly used or personal preference, as Android's so packed with a huge list of options these days it's a big old list to scroll through and pick out what you need.

Plus could we have a percentage count for the battery in the Notifications bar for Android 5.0? Just so we know a bit more info than the vague emptying battery icon.

    


HTC Desire 500 heading to mid-range fans in the UK
Aug 7th 2013, 09:32, by Hugh Langley

HTC Desire 500 heading to mid-range fans in the UK

The HTC Desire 500 will make its intrepid journey to the UK and will be available this month, after recently making an appearance in Asia.

The mid-ranger features a 4.3-inch screen with a 800 x 480 resolution, 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Meanwhile there's an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of shooting video in 720p and a 1.6 megapixel rear snapper.

The handset also has a microSD slot with support for cards up to 64GB, and a 1800mAh battery providing the juicepower. Dual-SIM and NFC versions will be available in some European countries.

A big feature being pushed on the handset is Blinkfeed, HTC's tile-based, updating homescreen. Of course, those who aren't so keen on this function should probably note that it's not something you can switch off.

Blink and you'll miss it

For those of you expecting the HTC One Max, or a slightly better-spec phone, sorry to disappoint. But as the Taiwanese company says, this is designed for those looking for an affordable HTC experience.

The Desire will be available in 'Lacquer' black and 'Glacier' blue, which sound much fancier than regular black and blue.

HTC has told us that the phone will be available in August, although it's told us to hold tight for a specific date for the diary.

  • Check out our review of the HTC One
    


iOS 7 beta 5 brings icon tweaks and new controls
Aug 7th 2013, 01:45, by Matt Swider

iOS 7 beta 5 brings icon tweaks and new controls

Apple released the iOS 7 beta 5 download to developers today, putting the latest preview version of its refreshed operating system in their hands through an over-the-air update.

iOS 7 beta 5 brings about minor changes, as explored by 9to5Mac, including tweaked icons and an additional control center setting.

The most noticeable graphics update occurs in the settings menu. More colorful icons replace the all-blue images of the previous four betas.

Another highlight among the user interface changes is that the new "slide to power off" design is no longer edge-to-edge.

"Slide to power off" does, however, still have that reddish-orange tint to it. No change there. It still looks much louder than the prior silver and black scheme of iOS 6 and below.

Control center updates

Control center, one of the more anticipated features of iOS 7, also received a minor revision.

It's now possible to disable this swipe-from-the-bottom menu layer while in apps. The reason for this is likely because certain apps like games could use screen swiping controls that interfere with the new gesture.

Everything else about the long-overdue control center menu remains intact. It offers quick access to toggle buttons like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and airplane mode without requiring users to exit an app and dig into the settings menu.

It's exactly what jailbreakers have been doing with Cydia's SBSettings since the early days of iOS. It only took Apple about five years to catch up.

Not long now

Apple is pushing out regular iOS 7 beta updates with minor changes, which means we should see the launch of its fall-bound mobile operating system very soon.

iOS 7 is expected to make the developer-to-average user transition at the same time a new generation of Apple smartphones is introduced, as per usual.

Speculation points to an iPhone 5S and cheap iPhone launch date in September, so it may only be a month or so away.

    


BlackBerry Z30 bears down on smaller Z10, Q5 in latest slipped images
Aug 6th 2013, 22:44, by Michelle Fitzsimmons

BlackBerry Z30 bears down on smaller Z10, Q5 in latest slipped images

Today is a day for comparison leaks it seems.

Following earlier slips supposedly showing the iPhone 5S next to the iPhone 5 and the still-unconfirmed HTC One Max gobbling up a Motorola phone, we know have a look at how the BlackBerry Z30 stacks up to its predecessors.

This BlackBerry phone, also referred to as the A10, is far from a done deal, though an abundance of leaks and information about the device indicates it won't be that way for much longer.

In the snaps,which were sent to CrackBerry, we get a look at the Z30/A10 next to the BlackBerry Z10 and Q5. It's the big kahuna in the group, to say the least.

Z30 vs Z10

Now you Z me

Spec info for the Z30 has been fairly consistent, with reports indicating it will lug a 5-inch screen, 2GB of RAM and a 1.7GHz dual-core processor. We've also heard it will house 16GB of internal storage, an 8MP rear camera, 2MP on the back and a 2800mAh battery.

Image credit: CrackBerry

There are signs it may run BlackBerry 10.2, an updated version of BB10, and you may notice that today's pics show five rows of icons, not four.

Have you had enough tastes of this new BlackBerry? We're nearing our limit too, so can only hope Waterloo lets this fruit blossom soon.

    


Updated: LG G2 release could happen in tandem with tomorrow's launch event
Aug 6th 2013, 21:39, by Matt Swider

Updated: LG G2 release could happen in tandem with tomorrow's launch event

Update: OK, leaks. You can stop now.

Hours after we first brought you news of the potential release of the G2 in Korea as well as an ETradeSupply image, notorious tipster @evleaks released the image you see above, purportedly of the LG G2.

Accompanied by nothing more than "LG G2, 2013" and a link to the photo itself, this looks to be a press shot of the still unrevealed phone.

Let's hope Wednesday still holds some surprises.

Original article...

There's one foolproof way to stop the deluge of LG G2 information that has given us plenty of fodder for the phone, yet not the device itself: hold a launch event.

That's scheduled to happen tomorrow in New York City. LG is going to unveil its "learning from you" flagship phone, and the device could go on sale right away, at least in its home country.

There will be no lag time between the launch event and when stores start selling the G2, according to a report from MK News.

The only problem with this report is that LG's home-base is in South Korea, so that doesn't exactly confirm the LG G2 release date anywhere else in the world at the moment.

Final LG G2 leaked photos

There are only hours to go before the LG G2 is officially unveiled to the world, but the photogenic smartphone made time for one last leak.

ETradeSupply is offering a final peek at the phone's LCD display and digitizer assembly.

G2 leak

These photos back up the previously rumored display specs that point to a 5.2-inch 1080p screen with very little bezel.

The soon-to-be-sorted-out specs also indicate a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 13-megapixel camera on the back.

The chatted-about volume rocker is located on the back of the phone too, right underneath the rear camera. It will be interesting to hear the reasoning behind this odd placement from LG at tomorrow's event, if the feature is indeed finalized.

    


Twitter injects Android and iOS apps with improved security, photo galleries
Aug 6th 2013, 19:52, by Lbrown

Twitter injects Android and iOS apps with improved security, photo galleries

Twitter is setting its sights on phishermen around the globe with the latest update to the Android and iOS apps.

If you haven't been party to it yourself, you probably know at least a friend or two on Twitter who've had their accounts hacked.

A major portion of today's update to the mobile apps included improved login verification, which enables you to set another layer of security on your account in the event someone tries to pry into your follower list.

Previously, users needed a phone number to use Twitter's two-stage verification process, but now all you'll need is an internet connection to approve additional log-ins directly from the app itself.

These approval requests will appear on your device of choice, and will show you an approximation of the location where the attempted login is happening - if you seen an unknown request, you'll have total control over whether or not to block it even if it's from halfway around the world or down the block.

Twitter security

Photo finder

Additionally, Twitter is sprucing up the search options on the Android and iOS apps, and will now include social connections and photo galleries in the results.

Searches will auto-fill based on your relation to users, providing a bit of context to how you're connected to certain people on your account, and will also feature photos, which has been tweaked to show all images in an Instagram-esque gallery, rather than the previous thumbnail view.

In iOS, that same gallery style can be viewed on an individual user's account, enabling you to see all the pictures that person has posted to Twitter from one convenient spot.

Lists can now be managed from the app as well, but that feature has been wildly underutilized on the service to this point.

While it's nice to see Twitter taking the time to put more effort into that feature, perhaps it should be more focused on bringing the same functionality in the app to all devices.

    


New leaks show off tiny changes between alleged iPhone 5S, iPhone 5
Aug 6th 2013, 19:36, by Lily Prasuethsut

New leaks show off tiny changes between alleged iPhone 5S, iPhone 5

The rumored iPhone 5S has leaked yet again, this time with images of it in a side-by-side comparison with the iPhone 5.

FanaticFone claimed the pics are the "first in the world" to compare the digitizer and LCD screen of the current and next-gen Apple phones.

The image the site featured has the front panels of the purported iPhone 5S and iPhone 5 looking nearly identical. That's because, on the outside, the handsets essentially are, though there are some internal differences.

This isn't too surprising as Apple tends to avoid dramatic changes in its flagship phone's external design. We could see its furthest jump yet if the cheap iPhone ends up adding splashes of color.

iPhone 5S vs iPhone 5

In this leak, the dimensions of the LCD screens measure exactly the same, so we shouldn't look for a vastly different display on the 5S.

iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S comparison

There is a longer, redesigned ribbon cable, as shown in the image, but the FaceTime camera and home button appear to be in the same place.

Past rumors have suggested the iPhone 5S will have a fingerprint scanner within the home button, but this leak doesn't show any signs of the tech.

The main differences appear in the longer flex cable, which suggests the 5S' internal hardware will have new components.

Image credit: FanaticFone

The leak also revealed rearranged screws from a previously leaked image, possibly confirming the need for more space to accommodate the new hardware.

We're not far from the release of iOS 7, further indication that the iPhone 5S will likely see the light of day around fall, so stay tuned for more.

    


HTC One Max photo leak shows just how big the rumored phablet may be
Aug 6th 2013, 18:32, by Michael Rougeau

HTC One Max photo leak shows just how big the rumored phablet may be

The HTC One Max will be truly massive, according to the the latest photo leak.

The alleged upcoming phablet popped up on NoWhereElse.fr (the same site that yesterday brought us a supposed LG G2 manual). It appeared courtesy of the same person who leaked previous HTC One Max photos.

Today's leak is a big improvement, however, as it purports to shows just how big the One Max really is.

The phone that it's under is reportedly the Motorola Moto XT882, a device that's 4.81 x 2.46 x 0.52 inches with a 4-inch display. By comparison, the HTC One Max looks like it could eat the XT882 for breakfast.

Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave

It looks like the HTC One Max may be on the docket for IFA 2013 as rumors of a September release are compounded by HTC's own teases.

Just yesterday the Taiwanese company release a snippet of video involving a briefcase, a helicopter, and a figure who may or may not be Iron Man.

An ominous "big things ahead" tag line accompanied the tease.

Bigger and better

Currently, it's thought that HTC will send the HTC One Max into the ring to duke it out directly with Samsung's Galaxy Note 3, and it's yet to be seen which one will turn out more massive.

Currently the HTC One Max is believed to have a 5.9-inch 1080p display and a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, which would make it both bigger and packing more oomph than the HTC One and its 1.7GHZ quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip.

It could even arrive rocking Android 4.3.

    


In Depth: Do device repairability scores and drop tests matter?
Aug 6th 2013, 17:37, by Michael Rougeau

In Depth: Do device repairability scores and drop tests matter?

You've seen the videos. A phone dangles precariously in someone's hands, a countdown begins. On "one," the phone plummets to Earth, accompanied by a "crack!" and, more often than not, a few actual cracks.

These drop test videos can garner millions of views, and while they're fun to watch in a cringe-inducing way, do they serve an actual, helpful purpose?

What about repairability scores in general? It's become de regular that mere days after most devices are announced, there's a tear-down revealing the innards and how easy (or hard) the parts are to put back together again. Do examinations into whether you can replace a phone's battery with or without a surgical tool have any bearing on consumers' purchasing decisions?

There are plenty of tests, reviews and ratings coming from professional drop-testers (if they can be called that) and amateurs alike. We set out to discover whether consumers pay more than just a passing glance to repairability scores and drop tests and if there's more to watching devices meet an untimely end than meets the eye.

Dangling phone

Repairing or replacing a smartphone or tablet can be an expensive proposition, and a cheaper though less reliable route to take is self-repair.

However, we don't live in an age where shop class is a high school requirement any more, so are consumers beyond a few handy folks repairing their devices themselves?

Who you gonna call?

iFixit.com is a well-regarded site that specializes in tearing down mobile devices and posting reviews and rates based on how easy the machines are to repair. It regularly reveals useful tidbits like the fact that among three of the hottest phones available right now - Apple's iPhone 5, Samsung's Galaxy S4, and the HTC One - the S4 is the easiest to repair yourself.

Similarly, Square Trade, which offers third-party extended warranties for popular electronics, publishes "drop test" videos demonstrating the durability of various phones when dropped from specific heights.

The information provided by sites like iFixit and services like Square Trade are meant to be used like tools by consumers to inform their purchasing decisions, and doubtless there are some that use them for exactly that - just as there are many those who simply like to watch iPhones get dropped into swimming pools.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLW0HrVeoD8

Miroslav Djuric, iFixit's chief information architect, offered some semi-hard data to back up his assertion that consumers take iFixit repairability ratings into account when making purchases.

In a recent survey of 13,000 iFixit community members, he told us that 93 percent responded that ease of repairs is an important factor in the hunt for a new device.

Of course, that's exactly what iFixit community members would say, isn't it? But Djuric offered some anecdotal evidence as well.

"We've heard from tons of people through social media that they're going to flat-out not purchase a phone or tablet because its battery cannot be swapped out, or the device was encased in glue and it can't be easily opened," he said.

"The opposite is also true: Folks were quite pleased to hear that a particular device scored well, and is actually serviceable."

Getting smashed

What about Square Trade? Could it offer any evidence that consumers watch its drop test videos for any reason other than the visceral joy of seeing a Samsung Galaxy S3 get smashed under a beer bottle?

Ty Shay, Square Trade's chief marketing officer, told us that most people have at one time or another learned how expensive a broken phone can be to fix or replace. You can buy a phone from a carrier at a heavily subsidized price, but it will still cost $600 to repair, for example.Ty Shay

Shay suggested that as more consumers experience that, word will continue to spread in casual ways that a damaged phone can be a major burden, and iFixit and Square Trade's efforts to educate them will become ever more relevant.

"Millions of Americans have had those experiences, and I think once you've had that it definitely teaches you," he said. "It changes your behavior going forward."

Square Trade has three ways of determining device durability, which can affect the warranties it offers. For one thing, Shay said the thousands of claims the company processes every day provide "real, hard data" about which devices are breaking, not to mention how the machines are breaking. Unfortunately, Square Trade wasn't willing to actually share that data, but the company does use it for its own purposes.

Square Trade also conducts a significant amount of consumer research, Shay said, and it takes its own tests - which range from immersing phones in water to seeing how likely they are to slide off your coffee table - into account.

These tests, which sometimes earn millions of views, can also change consumers' opinions, Shay contended.

"Is that the factor that determines what phone they're going to buy? I would say no," he said. "I would say that it is a factor that enters into their overall decision-making process."

Phones with nine lives

Square Trade said it has yet to conduct a study on which phones are the most or least durable in the industry overall, and it didn't provide any data about which phones are most likely to be returned or require repair.

Spokespeople for the major carriers also refused to play ball. Sprint said that type of data is "competitive information that Sprint does not share," while Verizon said it "[doesn't] share numbers of that nature." AT&T said it's "not something we'd share publicly," and T-Mobile never responded to TechRadar's queries on the matter.

We did, however, speak with one phone maker that focuses on reliability and durability as a rule, not as an afterthought. Caterpillar, the makers of the "ruggedized" Cat B15 and the company that also makes heavy-duty construction equipment, said that its phone is designed specifically "to withstand dropping, knocking, water and dust."Cat B15

"We have designed the Cat B15 device to be the most progressive, durable and functional device available in the market today," said Cat Director of Strategy Colin Batt. The company offered no hard data on how important that durability is to their customers, but Batt said that the feedback the company gets is "overwhelmingly positive."

Cat did divulge that according to its studies, 77 percent of damage to phones is caused by dropping, and its phones are drop-tested extensively to prevent such damage. The company also tests its phones to make sure the handsets can withstand certain levels of water, dust, shock and vibration, Batt said.

If a Cat phone does sustain damage, the company doesn't encourage consumers to repair it themselves, but like other phone makers offers warranties and return policies that "are in line with the market."

"We recognize that some people's exuberance to demonstrate the durability of their Cat phone may 'end in tears,'" Batt said.

"We don't warrant that the phone is indestructible, as everything can be broken if you try hard enough," he continued. "We know exactly how the devices behave and what they look like when they have been put through scenarios that exceed our claims."

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xaq3pduPv4&list=TLsDA5k-Ox2_A

Manufacturer knows best

We also asked several other phone makers, including Apple, Nokia, HTC, Samsung, Huawei, BlackBerry and Motorola, to weigh in on the topic of device reparability, but none of the companies we asked were interested in discussing it.

The phone makers likely wouldn't have had much to say anyway; most electronics makers have strict policies on repair, and for many the simple act of opening up your phone to take a look yourself means voiding the warranty, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig told us.

The CEA each year hosts the massive CES tech convention in Las Vegas. As an industry advocacy group, CEA might have some programs in place to educate or inform consumers about the best way to handle device repairs, or so we thought. Koenig said that's not the case.

"I think our position is that consumers should first start with contacting the retailer or manufacturer about [whether] a product is malfunctioning or damaged to investigate repair options," he said.

"In a lot of cases, if you avoid that route or don't take that path you will void your warranty."

Electronics makers want to be in control of repairs because of quality concerns as well as not being held responsible for faulty devices repaired at home or by third parties, he explained. This only intensifies over time as electronics become ever more complex.

Bath time

"We're not talking about gears and cogs and belts," Koenig said. "We're talking about microelectronics that are very, very sophisticated and require a high degree of skilled labor to repair properly."

In a recent consumer survey, the CEA found that warranty concerns had an impact on electronics purchases for 75 percent of people born between 1965 and 1980, 64 percent of consumers from the period 1981 to 1994, and 54 percent for those born from 1995 to 1999.

The survey also asked about factors like overall device quality, price, and features. Reparability wasn't even an option for respondents to choose.

But Koenig said he feels comfortable inferring from the data regarding consumers' warranty concerns (or lack thereof) that consumers aren't currently too concerned about device repairs, either.

"The data doesn't say that, but that's what I would read from these findings," he said, adding that these days phone users are likely to simply buy a new device rather than have a broken one repaired or try a DIY repair.

Skirting disaster

So ultimately, is anyone paying attention to the repair scores and drop tests and warranties? Yes, of course. But the question of who and how many remains murky.

iFixit and Square Trade swear each is making a difference, and the groups very well may be. iFixit in particular even seems to have a noble agenda: slowing the consumption of the planet's resources by encouraging consumers to buy easily repaired devices and repair their electronics themselves or have them repaired rather than buying new ones.

"For quite a while we've been spearheading the return of [the knowledge necessary to repair your own electronics]," Djuric said. "That is the only path through the great 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book that doesn't lead to the world's collapse due to humans' strain on resources."

That's a pretty bleak notion, but he added some figures to back it up, claiming that 1.75 billion phones were produced last year.

"Things aren't looking too bright for the future unless we can make existing devices last longer," he said. "That's why we started iFixit, and why we're making custom-built tools [like the Pro Tech Toolkit] in order to help people fix devices."

In other words: if people aren't paying attention already, they had damn well better start.

    

Key Lime Pie to come with neat unlock-to-app feature?
Aug 6th 2013, 16:25, by Kate Solomon

Key Lime Pie to come with neat unlock-to-app feature?

Google's latest patent hints that future Android iterations will let you draw specific patterns to unlock your phone straight into the app you want.

The application suggests that you'll set up several patterns to unlock your phone to take you into, say, the camera app or the dialer screen.

It's simple yet handy, as all the best things are. Could we see the new unlock-ability make its debut in Android 5.0 - also known as Key Lime Pie?

All killer, no filler

Let's hope so. But just when might that be? At this point, your guess is as good as ours.

Wait, no, that's not true. Our guesses are pretty solid and we reckon October 2013 is a good bet.

We don't expect this nifty unlock-to-app to be the headlining feature though - we've had a think about what we'd like in the next Android version here.

    


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