| Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom gets 4G version for even faster photo uploads Aug 31st 2013, 14:49, by Chris Smith 
Samsung has confirmed it will launch a 4G LTE-enabled version of its Galaxy S4 Zoom smartphone-cum-camera. The Frankenstein's monster-style device currently already boasts Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, but this new version will bring next-gen speeds into play. The presence of 4G tech will make uploading photos, backing them up in the cloud and the process downloading photo sharing and editing apps a little faster. Naturally, it'll also come in handy for the fully functioning Android 4.2 Jelly Bean smartphone stuck to the back of the camera lens. Available for allAs yet, none of the UK's 4G networks have confirmed they'll sell the device, but Samsung has said it will work on six different bands, meaning EE, Vodafone and O2's networks will all be compatible. The Galaxy S4 Zoom, which made headlines for its appearance rather than its specsheet, packs a 16-megapixel camera sensor with a 10x optical zoom and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED 960 x 540 screen. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom LTE is available in mainland Europe now and will launch in the UK soon. Samsung is yet to confirm a price-point.        |  | Casio 'prepared' to battle Apple and Samsung in war of the wrist Aug 31st 2013, 13:51, by Chris Smith 
Watchmaker Casio is ready to defend its territory as it awaits the onslaught of hi-tech smartwatches from the likes of Samsung, Apple and some of the hottest startups in tech. The Japanese electronics firm's CEO Kazou Kashio said the company has been expecting the invasion of its turf and won't be caught napping when tech like the iWatch and Galaxy Gear goes on sale. The company's range of G-Shock watches have long been considered the pinnacle of digital wristwear, but will certainly be under-threat from new offerings running advanced mobile software, apps and games. Without elaborating, the CEO told the New York Times: "Suddenly, everyone's discovered the wrist. We've known for a long time it's prime real estate. We're prepared." Big guns tooling upEarlier this year the company launched its Casio G-Shock GB-6900AA watch, complete with Bluetooth connectivity, which allowed iPhone users to see call notifications and read emails on the device. However, the Samsung Galaxy Gear is thought to be arriving next week, and the iWatch perhaps within the next year. Those devices could change the conversation somewhat. Sony recently revamped its Smartwatch accessory, while the Pebble Smartwatch broke crowd-funding records on Kickstarter. Microsoft is also thought to be working on a wearable device, while yesterday it was confirmed that Google had snapped up smartwatch manufacturer WIMM late last year. Casio will need to have something pretty special up its sleeve to live with that crowd. Otherwise its in for a bit of a G-Shock.        | | Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1 UK release dates leaked? Aug 31st 2013, 12:40, by Chris Smith 
Those waiting to get their hands on the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1 may not have to wait long following their expected unveiling at IFA next week. According to an alleged photo of Three UK's inventory the Galaxy Note 3 will be available from the network on September 16, while the new flagship Sony device will come a little more than a week later on the 24th. The purported internal document was sent to Engadget by a tipster who claimed to work for the UK's fourth-placed mobile network. With that in mind, it wouldn't be too much of a leap to suggest that the handsets will arrive with EE, Vodafone and O2 on those dates too. No secretNeither handset has officially been announced by the manufacturers yet, but they've also made little attempt to keep them a secret either. The Galaxy Note 3 will all-but-certainly debut at Samsung's Unpacked event on the eve of the IFA tech show in Berlin on September 4. Sony's new top dog, long known by its 'Honami' codename is also scheduled to state its case on that date before the show gets underway. TechRadar will be out in force at IFA so stay tuned for all of the latest news as it breaks from the German capital.   | | In Depth: Verizon Edge, AT&T Next are complete rip-offs Aug 30th 2013, 22:36, by Marc Flores 
With Verizon Edge, and AT&T Next, you're getting ripped off. Folks still ask us what these plans are, and we agree that they can be confusing. We're going to clear the air as much as we possibly can and give you the lowdown on each of these upgrade plans, and why they're a horrible idea for consumers. It all started with T-Mobile JUMP, which stands for "Just Upgrade My Phone." The idea is that it's difficult -and it really is - to hang onto a phone for two years. Generally, you're not eligible for phone upgrades until your contract is up, and U.S. carrier contracts last 24 months. This means that your busted, year-old phone, which probably holds half the battery charge it used to, is going to be a thorn in your side until you can upgrade. Or you pay for a brand new phone at full retail price. With JUMP, Verizon Edge and AT&T Next, you can upgrade much sooner for a monthly fee while turning in your current phone to get a new one at contract price. It works like insurance if you've ever opted to have that feature on your plan. With insurance, you pay a monthly fee, and if your phone gets lost, stolen or broken, you pay a deductible to get a new or refurbished phone. With these new upgrade plans, you pay a monthly fee, and if you want to upgrade, you turn in your current device and pay a reduced fee for a new one. Here's the key thing to know about these plans: AT&T and Verizon have monthly plans that include the subsidized cost of your device. Put simply, when you pay $199 for your new smartphone, you're paying for the rest of the device via the cost of your monthly contract plan. How Verizon Edge rips you offWith Verizon Edge, the cost of the phone is broken down into 24 parts - one for each month of your contract. You get to pay for your phone over time with the ability to upgrade every six months if you pay 50% of the cost of the device. The major problem here is that no adjustments are made to the monthly voice, messaging and data plans, which have device subsidy costs baked right into them. By paying the normal monthly plan, you are also paying the full retail cost of a phone that you're never going to own. By the time you're eligible to upgrade in six months, you'll have paid for a monthly plan that includes subsidy costs on a phone you're never going to own, you've partially paid for a phone that you have to trade in for a new one, then you're paying the additional amount to reach up to 50% the cost of that device if you want to trade in for a new one. It's a rip-off. How AT&T rips you offIf you decide to go the AT&T Next route, you're facing similar problems. Instead of paying for your phone over the 24-month contract, however, AT&T breaks down the monthly payments on the phone depending on the model, ranging from $15 to $50 per month. The trouble here is you can only upgrade every 12 months. That means you could be paying up to $30-50 a month for a phone that you're going to have to return in order to upgrade to a new one. Do the math there, and realize how much AT&T is taking a dump on you. On top of that, you have the baked-in device subsidy costs that are part of its current voice, messaging and data plans. You're paying for a phone you're never going to own, much like leasing a car. T-Mobile is your best betT-Mobile seems to be the least offensive with JUMP. You're paying $10 a month on top of the cost of the device spread out over 24 months. You also have to return your phone when you upgrade to a new one. The earliest you can make your first upgrade is after six months, so with this plan, the sooner you upgrade, the better. You won't drag out how much you're paying on the device by waiting it out. The other upside with T-Mobile is its monthly plans and lack of contracts. Over time, you'll end up spending less with T-Mobile if you decide to go with one of these frequent phone upgrade plans. In the end, you're really spending more money than you ought to if you want to upgrade your smartphone every 6-12 months. There are other ways to do it, like trying to sell your phone yourself every few months, but that can be such a headache. But if having a new smartphone every few months or every year really matters to you, and you don't mind companies like Verizon and AT&T ripping you off, knock yourself out.   | | AT&T kicking contracts with 'Aio' as T-Mobile lawsuit kicks off Aug 30th 2013, 18:25, by Michael Rougeau 
AT&T is kicking contracts to the curb nationwide with new prepaid wireless service plans dubbed "Aio" that will be offered as an alternative to its more traditional contract plans. The Aio plans, which were first tested this year in Atlanta, Florida, and Texas, roll out across the U.S. next month. AT&T Aio features three plans ranging from $40 to $70, and all include unlimited talk, text and data. For added incentive new subscribers who sign up before Sept. 29 get a free month of service. The scarlet logoT-Mobile boosted its own no-contract business when it acquired MetroPCS last year, and AT&T is clearly following its rival carrier's example. But that's not even the reason for their current spat in court. According to CNET, T-Mobile sued AT&T in federal court this week for alleged trademark infringement relating to the color magenta. The pink-ish branding AT&T uses for its Aio services is too close in shade to T-Mobile's traditional color, the latter claims. Clearly that has nothing to do with the fact that AT&T is revving its engines to blast full-force into the prepaid market. Clearly. As long as AT&T is up for legislation, though, maybe Asus should consider standing up for its Transformer AiO tablets and following suit?   | | Week in Tech: Bye bye Ballmer, hello high-speed data Aug 30th 2013, 10:00, by Gary Marshall 
If you had to describe larger-than-life Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, he of the Monkey Dance and "Developers! Developers! Developers!", in a single word it wouldn't be "retiring" - but he is, in news that we suspect surprised him as much as it surprised the rest of us. The official date hasn't been announced yet, but Steve Ballmer will step down within the next 12 months. "I think you'd be hard pushed to find someone in the tech world who felt that Steve Ballmer was the best man to make Microsoft great again," says UK editor in chief Patrick Goss, but "Microsoft is still jam-packed with talent and innovators, it's cash-rich and one of the most trusted brands in the world." Forbes famously dubbed him the world's worst CEO last year, but that's unfair: under Ballmer, Microsoft has made astonishing amounts of money. The consumer division may have taken a few knocks, but the enterprise division is enormously successful - as Mary Branscombe elaborates in a feature on Ballmer's triumphs. Did he fall or was he pushed? The smart money's on the latter, with many analysts expecting Microsoft's next financial results to be horrific - largely due to disappointing sales of Windows 8, which Ben Stinson says should have been touch-only from day one, and disastrous sales of Windows RT. So who's next for the top job? Patrick Goss's list of potential candidates contains more than a few surprises. 4G is on the way
The other big news this week was that the UK's 4G networks, which are only currently available to one very tall woman in central London, will finally be rolled out to, ooh, at least seventeen people. Only kidding: 4G's about to go wheeeeee, because O2 and Vodafone have finally joined the 4G party. As John McCann reports, it's not all good news: "O2 is initially launching its LTE service in just three cities to start with - London, Leeds and Bradford - while Vodafone is being even more conservative by starting its service off in the capital only." Their rollouts aim to reach a whopping 13 cities each before the end of the year, which means they'll be quite far behind EE: it hit the 100-town, 60% of the population milestone this week. Also trailing is Three, which doesn't turn on its own 4G service until December. That might be worth waiting for, though: the network promises that it won't charge customers any extra for 4G mobile broadband. To find out which 4G network is best, check out our updated guide. Nexus 7 nails it again
You can't use the new Nexus 7 on 4G yet - it's only shipping in 16GB and 32GB Wi-Fi versions for the time being, although an LTE version is coming - but that's unlikely to stop it from selling squillions. As Phil Lavelle reports in his Nexus 7 review, "this is one beautiful piece of equipment... Google has taken what made the original such a belter, corrected almost every niggle with it, bumped the price up ever so slightly yet also made the Nexus 7 feel so much more premium." It isn't perfect, but "if you're looking for a 7-inch tablet... there is no better alternative on the market right now." Have you ever looked at Nintendo's 3DS and thought, "wouldn't it be great if it didn't fold, looked really odd and didn't have 3D"? Then have we got news for you: Nintendo's unveiled exactly that in the form of its new, cheap 2DS. As Matt Swider says, "like every Nintendo product launch in recent years, the 2DS is mired by some strange design choices... different, but no better than the old one."   | | Three makes it free to use your phone abroad in 7 countries Aug 30th 2013, 09:12, by John McCann 
Three has announced that from today it's abolishing international roaming charges for its customers in seven countries - the first UK network to do so. The service, which it's ingeniously called "feel at home", is available to Three customers travelling to the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Sweden and Denmark, allowing you to use your UK price plan while visiting. If you're on a pay monthly Three contact you'll be able to use your bundled allowance of minutes, texts and data when aboard, so as long as you don't exceed your limits it won't cost you a penny. Those of you rocking unlimited plans will be subject to some restrictions when abroad, but with 3000 minutes, 5000 texts and 25GB of data to play with you shouldn't have to worry. If you do end up going out of bundle Three says you'll be subject to reduced roaming charges of 20p/min for calls, 7p per text and 10p per MB for data. Pay as you go customers require credit on their account to use their normal services and allowances aboard, with additional usage charged at the UK rate. Random assortmentAs for the random assortment of countries, Three has explained the reasoning behind the selection to TechRadar. "Due to the falling data roaming wholesale rates in Europe the exposure of roaming onto other networks in these countries has been significantly reduced and therefore made an offer such as this possible," a spokesperson said. "We have also introduced this offer in countries where we have a sister network." There's no set up required either. Once your phone has picked up a local network in one of the qualifying countries you'll be good to go. We've asked Three if more countries will be added to this offer in the future. We'll update this article as soon as we hear back.   | |
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