| Who knew? Self-healing phones actually work Nov 20th 2013, 12:55, by Gareth Beavis 
Apparently more than a marketing gimmick, LG's G Flex can even defy a knife attack. LG has made a big deal about its new G Flex phone, touting the new technology that not only allows the phone to bend under force but also withstand the rigours of daily key-in-pocket abuse. It even went as far as pushing out a video showing the back of the phone (that you can see at the bottom of the article), which is coated in a new kind of polymer, being brushed by bronze bristles alongside a 'standard' mobile phone and in a couple of hours showing no signs of the destruction. However, YouTube user Marques Brownlee decided that this test was too uniform and too regulated to be considered a 'real world' test and (nervously) decided to give his own LG G Flex an attack. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-W66HINFLgAs you can see in the video, he first scuffs it with keys (the most common use-case scenario for damage) which shows the phone healing after a few minutes, although he doesn't really go to town on the expensive handset. But we respect his bravery, as he then scores the phone with a knife to see how the polymer coating can recover, but sadly this isn't total. It does get to about 'halfway' to healing after a couple of hours, but still shows the signs of the damage. It's noted that LG uses very warm conditions in its bronze brush test to enable faster healing – this would make sense given the polymer's flexibility, and therefore ability to return to its original shape, would increase with heat. However, it means that in normal conditions, or cold days, things may get permanently scarred unless you carry a portable hairdryer around. Still, it does give the G Flex an added layer of protection previously only afforded to cases, so if this is the first step to invulnerable phones, we're on board. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGFtBiSyFDg       |  | Samsung finally decides it wants the Galaxy S5 beat iPhone 5S specs Nov 20th 2013, 11:40, by Thomas Thorn 
It seems that getting and staying ahead is the name of the game for Samsung, with more news appearing to confirm that the Galaxy S5 will get the much talked about 64-bit processor. We've heard a lot about Samsung's desire to put in iPhone 5S-aping chips, and the Korea Herald reports that Samsung and ARM have already met to discuss its arrival next year. A senior ARM official said "Executives from Samsung and ARM had a meeting today. They discussed the ARM 64-bit chip, which is expected to be used in Samsung's smartphone next year". A move to a more powerful chipset is vital for, among other things, the increase in biometric data now handled by our mobile devices; the A7 chip allowed Apple's Touch ID, so this dovetails nicely with news Samsung is planning a fingerprint scanner in the Galaxy S5. Why stop there?If you thought that it would end there though, you'd be wrong. It seems ARM isn't resting on its laurels, with a push to 128-bit chips in 2015. Antonio Viana, ARM's executive vice president of commercial and global development said in a speech on connectivity and mobility in the future that in "shifting to face recognition on smartphones from the fingerprint scanner to unlock an iPhone, it requires more powerful memory capacity". This could means that reports of the Samsung Galaxy S5 scanning our eyeballs to unlock may be a year too early. There is no word on what devices the 128-bit chips would land in, but a 2015 launch would mean likes of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S would arrive with them, assuming no radical changes in naming structure.        | | Samsung finally decides it wants the Galaxy to S5 beat iPhone 5S specs Nov 20th 2013, 11:40, by Thomas Thorn
It seems that getting and staying ahead is the name of the game for Samsung, with more news appearing to confirm that the Galaxy S5 will get the much talked about 64-bit processor. We've heard a lot about Samsung's desire to put in iPhone 5S-aping chips, and the Korea Herald reports that Samsung and ARM have already met to discuss its arrival next year. A senior ARM official said "Executives from Samsung and ARM had a meeting today. They discussed the ARM 64-bit chip, which is expected to be used in Samsung's smartphone next year". A move to a more powerful chipset is vital for, among other things, the increase in biometric data now handled by our mobile devices; the A7 chip allowed Apple's Touch ID, so this dovetails nicely with news Samsung is planning a fingerprint scanner in the Galaxy S5. Why stop there?If you thought that it would end there though, you'd be wrong. It seems ARM isn't resting on its laurels, with a push to 128-bit chips in 2015. Antonio Viana, ARM's executive vice president of commercial and global development said in a speech on connectivity and mobility in the future that in "shifting to face recognition on smartphones from the fingerprint scanner to unlock an iPhone, it requires more powerful memory capacity". This could means that reports of the Samsung Galaxy S5 scanning our eyeballs to unlock may be a year too early. There is no word on what devices the 128-bit chips would land in, but a 2015 launch would mean likes of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S would arrive with them, assuming no radical changes in naming structure.        | | HTC One will get a bite of Android 4.4 KitKat at the end of January 2014 Nov 20th 2013, 09:44, by Hugh Langley 
HTC One owners holding out for Android 4.4 KitKat will be getting a delayed Christmas gift, with the update set to arrive at the end of January 2014. HTC made the announcement on Twitter, bringing the news that Brits will have to wait until next year for the anticipated upgrade. "We're working with our local carriers to begin the rollout of Android 4.4 and Sense 5.5 for the #HTCOne from end of January 2014," it read. Gonna tell you One timeThere's currently no word on whether unlocked devices will be getting the update sooner than everyone else. We expect the rest of the world might also get the update at the same time or before, given that HTC One-owning Brits were pretty late to Android 4.3. We're chasing up with HTC and will let you know as soon as we hear more. Meanwhile we're expecting the HTC M8 (aka the HTC One Two) to appear around March time, when the current flagship handset will turn One year old.        | | Xbox One SmartGlass hits iOS, Android and Windows Phone ahead of Friday's launch Nov 20th 2013, 03:35, by Chris Smith 
Microsoft seems to be getting all of its ducks in a row ahead of Friday's Xbox One launch after rolling out the new console's second screen companion app, SmartGlass, across the major mobile platforms. The new and improved version of SmartGlass, which can be used as a remote and a controller, to watch DVR clips on the go, browse Xbox Live and interact with friends, landed on Windows Phone on Tuesday. As the day progressed, the free download turned up on Google Play and, as the evening came to a close, up popped SmartGlass on the App Store for iOS devices. Gamers will also be able to use SmartGlass for Xbox One to browse the Xbox Store, read and reply to messages, and pin content to view on the console, as part of the improved functionality. 'Almost magical'Back in September TechRadar spoke with Ron Pessner, the man behind the SmartGlass app, who enthused about the new speedier connection, which is 3.5x faster than the Xbox 360 version. "The pairing should feel almost magical," he said. "It should be really delightful, like when you take your laptop home and it automatically connects to your Wi-Fi. "As proud of we are of the Xbox 360 SmartGlass one of the main pieces of feedback was around the connection latency time – but now it should feel instantaneous." Unfortunately, expectant Xbox One fanciers will have to wait until Friday at the earliest in order to give the smarter, speedier SmartGlass a spin for themselves.        | | US carriers reportedly rejected anti-theft 'kill switch' in Samsung phones Nov 20th 2013, 00:01, by Matt Swider 
The 1.6 million US smartphone owners who had their handset stolen last year may think that a "kill switch" feature to disable the phone would be a good deterrent, but carriers reportedly don't agree. Major carriers AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are said to have rejected anti-theft software in Samsung smartphones sold in the US, according to a New York Times report today. The reason? Carriers are more concerned about profiting from the insurance programs bundled with high-end phones, suggested San Francisco's District Attorney George Gascón. "Corporate profits cannot be allowed to guide decisions that have life-or-death consequences," Gascón told the Times after reviewing emails between a Samsung executive and a software developer. "This solution has the potential to safeguard Samsung customers, but these emails suggest the carriers rejected it so they can continue to make money hand over fist on insurance premiums." A no way from the CTIAThe CTIA, the industry trade group that represents wireless carriers, didn't address the accusation that networks are opposed to a kill switch for profits. Instead, it pointed out to the Times its concerns with such an anti-theft feature, like the fact that it could be hijacked by hackers who could use the security measure against officials in the Department of Defense and law enforcement. Alternate solutions brought up by the CTIA included having carriers and law enforcement continue to work on a stolen phone database. "One of the components of the efforts was to create an integrated database designed to prevent stolen phones from being reactivated," said the CTIA in a statement sent to TechRadar. A debased databaseThe CTIA acknowledged that this database isn't as far reaching as a "kill switch" could be, especially outside of the US, but it's confident in solving that problem. "As more countries and more carriers around the world participate in the database, criminals will have fewer outlets for their stolen devices," it said in its statement. "We're pleased the carriers met all of the deadlines so far, and are on track to meet the final one to integrate the 4G/LTE databases by November 30, 2013." Consumer obligationStill, a lot of the onus seems to fall on consumers, whether it's reporting the phone as stolen or downloading anti-theft apps to begin with. Google's Android Device Manager app, for example, isn't pre-loaded onto its phones and neither is Apple's similarly merely "suggested" Find My iPhone app. The Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the new iPhone 5S is one hardware solution to this software blockade. However, networks would probably love consumers to pony up for their protection plans like the overpriced AT&T Next and Verizon Edge upgrade programs.   | | Nokia Lumia 1520 arrives in France, won't be swimming across the Channel yet Nov 19th 2013, 20:54, by Chris Smith 
Perhaps the most impressive-looking Windows Phone handset yet, the Nokia Lumia 1520 has arrived in France, but there's still no news on when Brits can get their hands on the 6-inch beast. The quad-core handset was announced on October 22, with a release tipped for November, and now the roll-out has started on the continent. On its official Nokia Conversation's blog the company said sales will also begin in the United States, Hong Kong, Russia and Italy later this week, but poor old Blighty has been left out of the equation as of right now. Nokia said pricing and availability in more markets will be announced soon and encouraged expectant smartphone users to stay tuned for more details. Quad-score!The Lumia 1520, the company's last major release before it flops into the lap of its new masters in Redmond, brings a full HD display and a quad-core processor - both firsts for Nokia and Windows Phone. It's also got a 20-megapixel camera, 2GB RAM, a 3400mAh battery, a microSD card slot and is the first Nokia handset to be nano-SIM compatible. It'll be available on three continents within a week, but for Brits the wait for the Lumia 1520 will continue for a little while longer.   | | BLIP: EE feels wrath of Imgurians as image sharing site falls under content lock Nov 19th 2013, 20:20, by Chris Smith 
If there's one group of people on the internet you don't want to upset it's Imgur users, well actually, no, it's probably Anonymous or 4Chan members, because Imgurians actually seem pretty nice. Anyway, just because they're the decent guys of the web, it doesn't mean loyal Imgurians can't get a little ticked off when someone takes away access to their beloved kitty .gifs and profoundly-captioned .jpgs. Earlier on Tuesday EE told upset customers it had blocked access to the site, as a "business decision" but now it is saying it has fallen under its content lock, because Imgur isn't moderated. Removing that content lock is a simple process for the network's customers, but guess what? Imgur is still restricted with EE blaming a technical issue. Get it sorted, EE. These guys need their memes back. More blips!It's a veritable blip-a-palooza up in here...   | | Moga outs Ace Power gamepad for iPhones, iPods running iOS 7 Nov 19th 2013, 19:48, by Michael Rougeau 
The lives of iOS 7 gamers are about to get a whole lot easier as mobile gaming peripheral maker Moga has debuted what it claims is the first gamepad compatible with Apple's latest OS. The Moga Ace Power controller attachment for iPhones and iPods is "coming soon," according to a sign-up page on Moga's website, and will debut for $100 (about £62, AU$106). The Ace Power for iOS 7 lets users slide iPhones and iPods with lightning charger inputs (that includes the iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, and 5th-gen iPod Touch) between its two sides, which then snap into place around the device. It features an analog nub on either side (they look similar to the Nintendo 3DS's), plus a d-pad on the left, four face buttons on the right, two shoulder buttons, and two triggers. Mobile gaming: It ain't easyMoga debuted in 2012 with Android gaming accessories like the Moga Pro controller for Android. Like the company's Android accessories, the Ace Power will need support from developers to be truly useful. But mobile game devs have little reason to develop for physical gamepads that aren't widely adopted, so such support is usually spotty. Moga's Ace Power iOS 7 gamepad also features an 1800 mAh battery that helps charge newer iPhones and iPods and prevents frequent gaming from draining device batteries. The Ace Power first popped up last month when Twitter tipster @evleaks tweeted a photo of it along with a few details. That tipped us off to the battery in the gamepad, though the final product looks a bit different from what was seen then. In fact, the @evleaks photo now looks like it may have been a concept shot or prototype image. Expect more on the Moga Ace Power iOS 7 game controller soon.        | | Samsung patent reveals how its curved, 3-sided smartphone could work Nov 19th 2013, 19:12, by Kevin Lee 
If LG's decision to put buttons on the back of the LG G2 was already a little baffling to you, then Samsung's three-sided phone may just blow your mind. A new patent spotted by Gizmodo reveals a design from the Korean company for a phone with a curved screen that also wraps around three sides of the device. The patent, originally filed in May, became public this month, and it details a "method of operating functions of a portable terminal having a bended display." Unlike other smartphones with curved screens such as the Samsung Galaxy Round and LG G Flex, the patented prototype has a convex shaped display. The screen essentially spills over the sides, giving users an interactive display on the right and left edges of the phone. 
According to the patent, the extra screen space will be used to display the charging meter, a place for bookmarks, and other information usually relegated to the edge of an app. What's more, the extra space will be touch sensitive, letting users assign multitouch quick actions and reimagining the slide-to-unlock gesture as a side-mounted experience. The patent also documents a few new interesting interactions that will let phone users drag items off the edge to a visual clipboard. Crazy talkIn some ways a smartphone with an extended display seems like an ingenious idea. The curved display will give users more vertical screen real estate by moving the phone's status bar and placing menus off the normal edges. However, it creates a natural problem in that holding the phone could trigger any number of unwanted actions, though we're sure Samsung would develop some sort of fix for this. 
Today's patent find follows a Bloomberg report from last week that a forthcoming Samsung Galaxy phone may feature a curved, three-sided wraparound display. According to the publication's sources, the new phone may show its multiple faces in the second half of next year. With CES 2014 right around the corner, Samsung may decide the Vegas tech show is the perfect place to take this concept from patent to product.   | | Android 4.4 KitKat update is making its way to Verizon Moto X Nov 19th 2013, 18:03, by Michelle Fitzsimmons 
Quicker than promised, the latest version of Android is now coursing through the Moto X's circuits. That is, the Moto X on Verizon. Motorola has announced that starting today, Android 4.4 KitKat is rolling out "in phases" to its customizable smartphone on the nation's No. 1 network. Users will either receive a notification message, in which case KitKat will download automatically, or they can manually update their phone by heading to Settings > About phone > System updates. No word yet on what's the score with other carriers, but Motorola assured there's more KitKat for Moto X news on the way "very soon." What goodies does KitKat bring?Android 4.4 packs a number of enhancements over earlier Androids, including an improved phone dialer, more gallery options and a new Hangouts app, which has SMS and MMS messages rolled in. The new Android also brings an updated camera app, color emojis and new status and navigation bars. Motorola noted in its release that its "software strategy is to build on a pure Android foundation and complement existing Google services, not compete with them." Its aim then is to mesh the Moto X's features with 4.4's, not clash with them. And stroke its owner's ego a little bit, we're sure. Verizon, along with Sprint and T-Mobile, recently added Moto Maker support, affording customers the chance to pick and choose certain elements of their Moto X just as AT&T users enjoyed for an exclusive length of time. Throw in Android 4.4, and the Verizon Moto X sounds like a pretty sweet smartphone (especially as the 16GB version is a tantalizing $99.99).   | | One formality down: Nokia shareholders overwhelmingly approve Microsoft sale Nov 19th 2013, 17:49, by JR Bookwalter 
Today Nokia shareholders approved the sale of the company's devices and services division to Microsoft, with the majority of them already giving the go-ahead before a formal and final vote. Reuters reported Nokia shareholders holding more than 99% of Nokia voting rights voted in favor of the previously announced sale to Microsoft. The Microsoft buyout, which also includes a €5.44 billion (about $7.37b, £4.57b, AU$7.82b) payment for licensing Nokia patents, is expected to infuse the onetime Finnish mobile giant with nearly €8 billion (about $10.84b, £6.72b, AU$11.5b) when it closes in early 2014. Though it's jettisoning its loss-making mobile business, Nokia will still operate its telecom equipment business, Nokia Services and Networks, as well as its nat-sav software unit. It will still own a number of patents. Nokia Music may go cross-platformWhile many outsiders assume Microsoft is picking Nokia's cupboards clean of all the best stuff, a new report claims that may not be entirely true. According to Unwired View, the previously Lumia exclusive Nokia Music may not be packing its bags for Redmond, instead staying behind with the company's map software for a multi-platform expansion. 
Screenshots dug up by Chinese website CTech seem to indicate that Nokia Music could wind up on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android courtesy of an HTML5 app that will also work on all leading web browsers. Nokia already attempted the same feat a year ago with its free Here Maps app for iOS, but there's no word on exactly when the HTML5-powered version of Music might actually make its debut. - Will you flip for Lenovo's Yoga Tablet 10? Find out in our full review!
       | | Updated: BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982 launches as metal clad Z10 Nov 19th 2013, 17:00, by John McCann 
What should a company do when it's in trouble? Well if you're BlackBerry apparently it's launch a premium smartphone for the high rollers - introducing the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982. While it's got an all-new name and the Porsche Design branding splashed across its front, the P'9982 is actually a humble BlackBerry Z10 in a swanky Italian leather and stainless steel suit. The only hardware difference is the P'9982 comes with a sizeable 64GB of internal storage, trumping the paltry 16GB found in the Z10. 
That means you get the same 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 4.2-inch 720p display, 8MP camera and the latest BlackBerry 10.2 OS - the P'9982 is certainly going for style over substance, then. What you do get is an official certificate of authentication in the box, plus an exclusive BlackBerry pin which starts "2AA" to let everyone know you're part of this elite club. In terms of on-screen goodies the P'9982 comes with a grey wallpaper (yes, plain grey), a special Porsche Design ringtone and a dedicated area in App World. How much?!In terms of price, this smartly dressed Z10 is going to set you back a fair bit, although the exact price hasn't been announced. TechRadar has been told that it'll sport a similar price tag to the previous Porsche Design smartphone - the P'9981 - which retailed at around £1,500. Update: BlackBerry has told TechRadar "information on pricing for the P'9982 will be announced through Porsche Design and other retail partners. The suggested retail price for the P'9982 smartphone is £1450." Meanwhile the Z10 can be yours for just £200. At that price you'd think that the P'9982 would be a limited edition phone, but BlackBerry has said it'll sell as many as it can - so if you really want one you won't need to know "someone on the inside." If you're sold then you'll be able to nab the Porsche Design P'9982 from November 21 in selected retailers around the world - with Harrods in the UK getting the handset exclusively from that date. Update: The P'9982 will be available at Carphone Warehouse from November 25 for £1400 SIM-free and Selfridges at a later, currently unspecified date.   | |
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