Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 09-16-2013

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Updated: Android 5.0 release date, news and rumors Sep 16th 2013, 13:51, by Paul Douglas Android 5.0 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 by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release that arrived powering the super Nexus 7 in July of 2012. Two more flavors of Jelly Bean were to follow: Android 4.2 was released on 13 November 2012, and then Android 4.3 arrived on 24 July 2013. Throughout the Jelly Bean reign, we've been gathering rumors of the next major Android update, Android 5.0. The word was that this release was being developed under the dessert-related codename of Key Lime Pie but then on 3 September 2013, Google announced that Android 4.4 KitKat would precede Android 5, so the Key Lime Pie name looks to have been ditched. We're still expecting an Android 5 release, of course, but with different features, a new code name and a later release date than we were originally anticipating. The dessert-themed moniker that we assume will begin with L is anyone's guess at this stage. Android 5.0 Lemon Cheesecake or Android 5.0 Lemon Meringue Pie, anyone? As we wait on official news of that code name, as well as the Android 5.0 release date and features, we can start to pull together the latest rumors from around the web. Android 5.0 release date Until Android 4.4 was announced we had expected the Android 5.0 release date to be some time in October 2013. We now expect to see Android 4.4 KitKat launch during that month. In the face of that point release, we think it's now likely that we'll see Android 5.0 shown in mid-2014, quite possibly at Google IO, Google's annual two-day developer conference in San Francisco. That's a year on from when we had originally expected to see Android 5.0, which was at Google IO 2013, which took place from May 15 to May 17 2013. 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 the 2013 event. But on 13 May 2013, we got our confirmation that there would be no serving of Android 5 at Google IO from Sundar Pichai, Google's new head of Android. Pichai told Wired that 2013'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. Android 5.0 phones Rumors of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was talk that this phone would be sporting Android 5.0 but the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4, arrived running Android Jelly Bean. While the Nexus 4 didn't appear with Android 5.0, speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggested that the Motorola X was the Android 5.0-toting handset that would be revealed at Google IO. The Moto X wasn't on show at IO and instead appeared in August 2013, running Android 4.2.2. We also heard whispers that a new Nexus phone, most likely the Google Nexus 5, might be blessed with Android 5.0 and on 18 March 2013, 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. The latest speculation, which we reported on 13 September 2013, suggests that the Nexus 5 will now arrive sporting Android 4.4 KitKat. If rumors 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 (now looking as though it'll launch as the HTC One Max). Featuring a 5.9-inch full-HD screen, the One Max will be squaring up against the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which broke cover at IFA 2013. According to tipster evleaks, the One Max will feature a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. With a rumored release date of the end of 2013, though, it's going to arrive too early to come with Android 5.0 out of the box. 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. 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 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. Do note that this claim was made before Google announced Android 4.4, so if it was ever correct, it's probably a lot less correct now. 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 gave rise to the notion that this kernel might power 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, VR-Zone also claimed that Android 5.0 will be optimised to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM. We're now expecting that Linux 3.8 kernel to show up in Android 4.4, given that Google's stated aim with KitKat is "to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody". Android Geeks reported that Google Babble would debut on Android 5.0. 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+. 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. 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 Android 5. 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 an Android 5.0 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In Depth: Become an Android Power User with the Samsung GALAXY S4 Sep 16th 2013, 11:51, by Your Mobile Life Step 1: Documents The cornerstone of any PC has to be the Microsoft Office suite – incredibly boring, but still the benchmark for getting spreadsheets and presentations done. Although there's no official Microsoft Office suite for Android, that doesn't have to stop you. Google Docs is an excellent (and free) alternative. Just download the free Google Drive app, whack your Google Account details in, and you'll be able to start creating a variety of different document types. If, for some unfathomable reason, you need to see documents on a PC, you can to go to drive.google.com, and all your documents will be there for your spread-sheeting or word editing pleasure. Best of all? No need to save as it's all automatically done in the cloud! Step 2: Email Obviously, this is one area your GALAXY S4 is all over. The S4's email app can do everything your boring PC email client can, but without trillions of menus. To use it as your primary mailing machine, though, there are a few changes you're going to want to make. In the settings menu, change the default sync time to 'push' (for an Exchange email account) or 'every 5 minutes' for any other account. That means you'll get your email constantly, which, although a mild drain on your soul, will at least keep you in the loop. The other change you will want to make is to update your email signature – after all, you don't want people thinking you're slacking all the time, do you? A proper signature at the end of messages will make you look like an email pro (it's your decision whether or not that's a good thing) – normal stuff to include is your name, work address, phone number, job title… It just depends how easy you want to make it for stalkers, basically! Step 3: Photo editing The gold standard for photo editing on a PC is Adobe Photoshop – and you don't have to give that up now you've ditched the clunky laptop. The GALAXY S4's gorgeous 5-inch screen is a perfect match for editing photos, and the £2.99 Photoshop Touch for phone app from Adobe is the dinky little tool for the job. If you're not one for downloading too many extra apps, though, the GALAXY S4's inbuilt photo editing capabilities (which you'll find in the Camera app) can handle most tasks with aplomb, from effects to simple cropping and straightening magic. Step 4: Music Hub Unless you're yet to celebrate the millennium, chances are the bulk of your music collection is digital. With the GALAXY S4, you get to take that everywhere with you; but you also need a way of playing it over big speakers. While you could just use a boring old cable to plug it into the hi-fi, that's quite last decade. Instead, get a Bluetooth adaptor such as the £59.99 BAYAN Audio Streamport Universal plug it into the stereo, connect up your S4, and you'll be able to play sweet music without taking your phone out of your pocket. For hardcore music fans, rest easy – the GALAXY S4 supports the hi-fidelity AptX codec, so your tunes will come out just fine, with none of the distortion or clipping found in Bluetooth streaming of yore. Step 5: Keyboard and mouse Here's where things get freaky. You know that sometimes typing out giant emails on the keyboard on your GALAXY S4 can get a little taxing, no matter how good the auto-correct? Well, tax yourself no more (that's more a job for the government, anyway). Bluetooth keyboards and mice will work just dandy with a GALAXY S4, dontcha know? Just put them into pairing mode, go to the Bluetooth menu in Settings, and they will pop up. Connect them, and you'll have a cursor to move around on screen, and a keyboard to type words with. Or just hit randomly. Whatever takes your fancy, really. Step 6: Monitor BUT WAIT: there's more. Specifically, you can hook your phone up to an external monitor. All you need is this handy adaptor, and you will be able to plug a HDTV or computer monitor into it. Big Angry Birds! Sorry, we meant spreadsheets. Definitely spreadsheets. Nothing to see here. Move along… Step 7: Display Mirroring Chances are you've got another big screen lying around your house: your TV. It should be your go-to method for showing off photos or watching videos when you're lying on the sofa, and with the S4, it can be. If you've got a Samsung Smart TV (or Smart Blu-ray player), you can wirelessly mirror the S4's screen on the big telly. Just head to Settings > Connections > Screen Mirroring, add your display, and Bob's your blown-up-to-60-inches uncle. Step 8: Facebook PCs aren't all work and no play – in all probability, most of our time on the internet is probably spent "Booking The Face", organising events and over-obsessively checking our ex's photos! The Facebook app is already pretty darn good, but to get to Facebook Level 5,000, you should get the Chat Heads feature. Just download the free Facebook Messenger app, head into Settings, and enable Chat Heads. These little bubbles sit on top of other windows, letting you fire off quick messages without having to leave whatever app you were already in. This way you never have to be more than a tap from your closest friends. The GALAXY S4: ensuring you'll never be lonely, ever again! Step 9: Security So, we've pretty much made the GALAXY S4 the centre of your digital life. But as everyone from Peter Parker onwards has known: with great power, come nefarious hackers. That's why Samsung KNOX will soon be on your S4 – a one-stop security shop that can easily make your GALAXY S4 secure enough to store the most sensitive of hush-hush corporate secrets, without completely ruining its fun appeal. Step 10: Back-up You know how you're meant to back everything on the PC up, but never do? Well, the GALAXY S4 allows you exactly the same amount of forgetfulness, without the risk of losing your files! There are dozens of cloud storage 'solutions' out there; SugarSync, Mega and Google Drive, to name but a few. The best by a country mile though, is Dropbox: the storage is pretty cheap, but most importantly, the photo backup is automatic. Even better, you'll find that your GALAXY S4 came with a whopping 50GB of free Dropbox space. If you ever manage to drop your S4 down the loo (a sad day for all involved) all the gorgeous Drama Shots you slaved over would be lost forever. With Dropbox, they'll all be saved in the cloud for posterity. Siri grows up and comes out of beta for iOS 7 Sep 16th 2013, 09:22, by Marc Chacksfield It's been two years since the launch of Siri and since this time the service has managed to rise from being a gimmick to, well, a much-improved gimmick. Now it seems that the service has freed itself from its beta shackles with the upcoming launch of iOS 7. Spotted by 9to5Mac, the blurb for Siri on Apple's official page has been altered so that the words 'beta only' are nowhere to be seen. Beta banned It now reads: "Siri is available on iPhone 4s or later, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply." As well as this, Apple has removed its FAQs for the service - presumably you now have to ask Siri how to do things, rather than looking on a website. Siri has been given something of an overhaul for iOS 7. As well as improved voices, you can now ask it a number of new things, such as "play my last voicemail", "turn on Bluetooth" and "increase my brightness". The integration of iOS in cars will also see Siri pop up in a number of vehicles in the near future. Which we are more than happy with - as long as Siri responds when we call it KIT. Read our early verdict on the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. Buying Guide: Best Samsung Galaxy S4 case: 15 to choose from Sep 16th 2013, 02:05, by Mike Smith and Nick Broughall 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 - US$8 (around AU$8.50) 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. More info on the BoxWave Tuxedo SuitUp 2. Samsung Galaxy S4 Sports Armband - $15 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. More info on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Sports Armband 3. Case-Mate Barely There - 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 - $28 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. More info on the Incipio Feather 5. Cygnett WorkMate Evolution - $35 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. More info on the Cygnett WorkMate Evolution 6. Otterbox Commuter Series - $35 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. More info on the Otterbox Commuter Series 7. Incipio DualPro Shine - $33 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. More info on the Incipio DualPro Shine 8. Samsung Flip Cover - $35 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. More info on the Samsung Flip Cover 9. STM Harbour 2 - $30 Cradling your beloved Galaxy S4 in a dual density thermo polyurethane casing, the Harbour 2 from STM gives your phone a tough outer shell while gently caressing it thanks to the soft, intenal layer. A hinged design allows you to prop the phone up for hands-free viewing, and also gives easy access to the dock connection on the bottom of the phone. More info on the STM Harbour 2 case 10. Tech 21 Impact Snap with Leather Cover - $36 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. More info on the Tech 21 Impact Snap with Leather Cover 11. Griffin Survivor with Belt Clip - $48 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. More info on the Griffin Survivor with Belt Clip 12. Samsung Galaxy S4 Wireless Charging Cover - $58 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. More info on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Wireless Charging Cover 13. Tech 21 Impact Mesh - $40 The D30 impact material strategically placed around the phone in the Impact Mesh case gives your Galaxy S4 a level of protection not found in many other cases. When you drop your phone, the D30 molecules lock together, absorbing the brunt of the force and dispersing it before it can do any major damage to your phone. That extra protection is a welcome addition for anyone with a tendency to drop their phone. More info on the Tech 21 Impact Mesh case 14. Samsung S View - $59 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. More info on the Samsung S View 15. Speck SmartFlex View - $35 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. More info on the Speck SmartFlex View

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