Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 12-20-2013

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BlackBerry commits to five more years of smartphones Dec 20th 2013, 15:03, by Hugh Langley BlackBerry has just signed up for a five-year partnership with Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn. The two will work together to create new devices, according to BlackBerry, which stated that the initial focus of the partnership will be Indonesia and "other fast-growing markets" with an early 2014 target. The news comes on the same day that BlackBerry announced a painful third-quarter loss of $4.4bn, with the company only shipping 1.9 million smartphones last quarter compared to 3.7 million the quarter before. It's even had to cancel its annual developer conference, BlackBerry Live - an event which has been running for 12 years. The better news is that over 40 million users have registered the BBM app for iOS and Android in the last 60 days. New year's resolution "Partnering with Foxconn allows BlackBerry to focus on what we do best – iconic design, world-class security, software development and enterprise mobile management," said BlackBerry's new CEO John Chen. Chen also made it clear that it's committed to hardware "for the long-term", despite the company's declining fortunes. While it will be focusing on emerging markets for the time being, we could well see some Foxconn-built handsets winging our way in the near future. For now, we just hope that BlackBerry's new partnership can help it to turn its fortunes around. We returned to the BlackBerry Z10 to see what's changed In Depth: Tablet or Phone: Which should you choose? Dec 20th 2013, 14:22, by Thomas Thorn and John McCann How to decide There will be a lot of you out there who are already rocking a smartphone and/or a tablet, but for those of your about to dip your toe into the technologic water you may be wondering if you need both or just one. Luckily TechRadar is on hand to help you make that decision, whether it's picking up your first mobile device or perhaps it's time to upgrade and you're unsure which direction to follow. Of course you could make things easy and plump for both a shiny new smartphone and a tablet, but they don't come and cheap and for many of us we only realistically need one or the other. There are numerous things to consider when it comes to choosing between a phone or table, but the key questions you need to ask yourself are; who is it for, what will it be used for, how much are you looking to spend and what screen size do you fancy? Best mobile phones in the world today The biggest difference in phones and tablets is obviously screen size. This distinction is forever becoming more blurred as supersized smartphones begin to encroach on the 7-inch tablet market. Looking for the best of both worlds? Then you might want to check out the 6.44-inch Sony Xperia Z Ultra or the 6-inch Nokia Lumia 1520 - there's even the 7-inch Asus FonePad which is a tablet first and foremost, but also has calling and texting abilities. If plans for your new device centre around watching a lot of movies, reading books and magazines or browsing the web then we'd recommend buying a tablet. While you can do all these activities on a smartphone, the smaller screen isn't as comfortable from a visual perspective, although phones are much better for music playback thanks to their portable nature. We'd recommend a phone for those users who spend a lot more time on the go, for those who value portability as much as functionality. Tablets are becoming ever more portable, but nothing will ever replace the ease of being able to just pop something into your pocket. Best tablets in the world today Phones are the better messaging devices, so if you're going to be sending a lot of texts, constantly checking your email or spending hours on instant messaging services then you'll want to lean towards a smartphone. Tablets are able to manage emails as well as run some instant messaging services, but phones win out overall here. We love take pictures, so if you want your new mobile device to also double as a point and shoot snapper you'll once again want to be heading to the smartphone side, as they pack better cameras than tablets while also being a lot easier to carry around. Buying a tablet Tablets taking your fancy? Well there certainly is plenty of choice available these days, from affordable, small size slates to larger tablets which offer you everything under the sun - for a cost. One of the biggest differences between tablets is the OS, with Android and Windows 8 gracing numerous slates and iOS 7 featuring on iPads. iOS 7 is the easiest to grasp for first time users with its system built around quickly accessing apps, with everything being on screen. Best tablets in the world today Android is far more open, with manufacturers putting on their own user interfaces, although these can be changed with third party apps on the Play Store. Windows 8 is more of a compromise between tablet and laptop, being able to cover those that need something for work, and apps for those that want to sit on the sofa and mess around. The iPads If you're looking for the complete package look no further than the iPad Air. It certainly has a lot to shout about, from a superb design to a fluid, intuitive operating system, powerful innards and a stunning 9.7-inch display. The big issue with the iPad Air however is its price. With it starting at £399 and skyrocketing all the way up to £739 for the full spec version (128GB of internal storage and 4G connectivity) you'll certainly need deeps pockets. For those of you who have their heart set on a full size iPad, but simply can't afford the Air, Apple still sells the iPad 2, with the Wi-Fi only version rocking a slightly more palatable £329 price tag. There is the iPad mini with Retina display (also known as the iPad mini 2) which offers up the same, slick user experience in a smaller body with an 8.9-inch display and slightly lower price tag, although it still starts at £319. Sub £200 At the complete opposite end of the scale to Apple's premium offerings are a range of super cheap slates looking to give you the core tablet experience without the cost. It's worth while being cautious at this end as low price can sometimes mean low quality - we advise you steer clear of the Argos MyTablet, for example, but the £119 Tesco Hudl is excellent value for money with its decent 7-inch display and powerful components. If you can stretch your budget a little further you'll be even more pleased with the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 (from £169) or the new Nexus 7 (from £199), both of which offer fabulous 7-inch, full HD displays. The moral of the story at the very low end of the tablet market is; do your homework. There are some great deals to be had, just make sure you're not buying something you'll regret almost immediately. You can sometimes pick up older tablets at relatively low prices, as the technology powering them is a year or two old. These tablets can provide a good return for your money, although you may have to trade off on an older operating system and the possibility of no support or future updates. Screen increase Larger screens tend to cost a little more, but there is generally an added bonus of higher all rounds specs, including faster processors and longer battery life. If you're planning on doing a lot of web browsing or watching a lot of movies, the added screen real estate can prove invaluable. Screen resolution also becomes increasingly important as screen sizes grow. Another area that will need a look at is the processor, as there are varying single, dual and quad-core processors, each with different RAM and GPU sizes. A greater number of cores means a faster speed, perfect if you do a lot of multi-tasking, gaming or movie watching, while the GPU helps with all the graphical processing, which is most prominent in games. Tablets are generally media consumption devices; their large screens make them ideal for reading and watching movies. That doesn't mean they can't be used for content creation, though. If you fancy a slightly larger screen, but still want your tablet to be relatively portable take a look at the 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, 8.3-inch LG G Pad 8.3 or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (no prizes for guessing the screen size of the latter) - which offer direct competition to the iPad mini 2 at slightly lower price points. Full size Are there any tablets which can take on the iPad Air at the top of market, or are you just stuck with Apple's expensive, yet stunning slate? The good news is that there are, and one of the best examples is the Sony Xperia Tablet Z. It's full HD, 10.1-inch display is fantastic and at just 6.9mm thick it's the slimmest 10-inch tablet on the market, as well as being rather lightweight too. It also has a microSD slot to expand your storage options - a rare option This makes the Xperia Tablet Z very easy to hold for long periods of time - perfect for a movie marathon - while also making it surprisingly portable for such a larger tablet - it does however cost upwards of £350. If you want a big screen, at a lower cost but don't want to compromise too much of performance the Google Nexus 10 could be the tablet for you, with a full HD display and a decent processor. It may be over a year old, but at around £280 it's hard to knock the Nexus 10. Tablets are slowly replacing laptops, but there are some activities which demand a keyboard, which is where the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and Asus Transformer Pad Infinity come into play.. Both come with detachable keyboards to allow for easier text input, ideal if you're likely to be tapping away a lot of emails, with the Surface Pro 2 sporting the added benefit of the desktop version of Windows 8.1 - the same a computers and laptops use. Buying a smartphone If you thought there was a lot of choice when it came to tablets then prepare yourself, the world of smartphones is overflowing with options, big to small, expensive to dirt cheap. You name it, it probably exists. The biggest topic that surrounds mobile phones is price, and the compromises you have to make if you opt for a more wallet friendly device. Low and mid-range Cheaper handsets are becoming increasingly more competent, with the mid range and budget markets being populated with both new devices, as well as last year's flagships. There are some decent cheaper mobiles on the market, however. The likes of the Moto G, Nokia Lumia 520 and Huawei Ascend Y300 all provide a decent return for a smaller outlay. If you fancy a little more power and functionality then the likes of the HTC One Mini and the Galaxy S4 Mini are a good shout, while the Google Nexus 5 is also very reasonably priced, bringing high end specs to the budget conscious. The phablets Screen size is just as hot a topic on phones as it is on tablets, as many manufacturers are pushing flagship screens as far as 5-inches. Phablets have also emerged intending to blur the lines between tablets and phones. As a compromise device, a phablet might be just what you're after, although they tend to command higher price tags. The Galaxy Mega is available SIM free at around £440, with the more powerful Galaxy Note 3 requiring a heftier £630 outlay. Whilst there is undoubtedly a link between screen size, power and price, you should also consider differences between dual and quad-core processors. You should look for a compromise between the power of the processor, the GPU and RAM. Higher screen resolutions will need more power (and thus bigger batteries) to ensure everything chugs along nicely. The flagships The latest flagship devices come with oodles of power, but they also command a certain level of financial investment. The reward for this speaks for itself, just take a look at our HTC One, LG G2 and Samsung Galaxy S4 reviews. Storage is also very important on smartphones, especially if you plan on filling one up with apps and/or media. This is highlighted by the lack of expandable storage on the likes of the iPhone 5S and HTC One. Cameras are more important (and therefore also better) on smartphones than on tablets, as their smaller statures make them easier to carry. The best camera is the one that you have with you, and you're almost always going to have your phone with you. The trick with smartphone cameras is not to be drawn into the pixel race, although that is still very prevalent. Nokia's Lumia 1020 comes with 41MP lens, the Xperia Z1 a 20.7MP camera, and both produce quality snaps, but you'll get decent shots from a high-end 8MP or 13MP rival. OS choice is also rather important. iOS 7 is only available on iPhones, coming with its bright, simple to learn and use interface. It is also heavily locked down, meaning less customisation in a trade off for better security. Android is far more open, and each manufacturer places their own UI over the top. These can be replaced via the Play Store however, along with features like the SMS app or even the keyboard. Windows Phone 8 and BB10 are both locked down systems, and are both a lot newer than the Google and Apple equivalents. As such, they don't have the same vast app offerings on their app stores, but this is changing all the time. Finally, you should consider just how important 4G is to you. In the UK, the 4G roll out is still very much in progress, although it is far more prevalent in other territories. 4G is now available on a wider range of devices, with the cheaper Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 sporting LTE capabilities. This technology is only really important when it comes to serious web browsing, as the 3G structure is still very capable of loading web pages smoothly. Week in Tech: Glass half full of Christmas cheer Dec 20th 2013, 13:04, by TechRadar George Orwell was wrong. The future isn't a boot stamping on a human face forever; it's the human race so engrossed in Facebook that it walks off the end of a pier. Such - ahem - pier pressure will only get worse as computing becomes more pervasive and stuck-to-our-facey, and there's no tech more pervasive and stuck-to-your-facey than Google Glass. Google's eyewear isn't on sale yet, but its early "Explorer" adopters have been given some new goodies just in time for Christmas. There's a new Upload To YouTube feature, a Weather app, news updates from the Wall Street Journal and Winkfeed, and Google Hangouts. Sadly there's no sign of a pier detector. Maybe next year. Glass is also becoming more gregarious. This week the MyGlass app came to iOS, enabling iOS users to walk off the end of… OK, OK, we'll stop now. It's not all good, though. The latest Glass updates remove Guest Mode, which will make sharing and showing off the device more difficult. A different view Glass isn't the only intelligent eyewear that wants to get in your face. As Matt Swider discovers, there are several Glass rivals around - and some of them are an awful lot cheaper than Google's effort. One of the most interesting is GlassUp, which has an expected price tag of just $299. Another interesting Glass alternative is Epson's Moverio, which we first saw back in 2011. It's been given a major revamp and rethink since, and it's now aimed at business users. Unlike Glass, it's binocular, enabling users to see in 3D space without interfering with their normal vision. Maybe that's what Santa wears for a sat-nav system. As you might have noticed, it's nearly Christmas - and that means it's time for our super soaraway Christmas Gift Guide, which covers gifts for every conceivable interest. Does the guide include tablets? Of course it does, and we reckon tablets of all shapes and sizes will be on many people's wishlists this Christmas. But will you want to kiss a MyTablet under the mistletoe? We think not - and our guide to the very best tablets to put under the tree offers 10 much better alternatives. Appy Christmas If you're giving or hoping to get a tablet or a smartphone as a gift, don't forget that the installed apps tend to leave a lot to be desired. Why not bookmark our guides to the best apps so that you can be excited and delighted on Christmas day? We have the 80 best free iPhone games on the planet, the 80 best free iPad games, the 90 best free Android apps, the 90 best free Android games, the best Android camera apps and the best camera apps for iPhone. Once you've installed all your apps, there's more good news: you can take them travelling. This week BA became the first European airline to approve tech use during take-off and landing. There are conditions - the devices need to be in Airplane Mode or equivalent, so you won't be able to make calls (hurrah!) or use mobile data (boo!) - but it's nice to see air travel finally catching up with the rest of the world. And that's all for this week. We hope Santa's good to you. Merry Christmas when it comes! Look back on 2013 with the Week in Tech archive Blip: Android founder admits iPhone really did change everything Dec 20th 2013, 10:50, by John McCann Former Android developer Chris DeSalvo has revealed that Steve Jobs' announcement for the first iPhone meant that Google had "to start over" after two years of development on Android. At the time of Apple's presentation Andy Rubin, director of the Android team, was in a car on the way to Las Vegas for a meeting. When the news hit he ordered the driver to pull over so he could watch the rest of the webcast, and turned to a colleague to exclaim "Holy crap, I guess we're not going to ship that phone" - referring to a BlackBerry-like handset Google had in the works. DeSalvo manages to sum up the feelings of pretty much everyone at Google that day: "As a consumer I was blown away. I wanted one immediately. But as a Google engineer, I thought 'We're going to have to start over'." More blips! Lucky for you, our blips are ready to shop right now Star Wars' social (imperial) march continues, gives Tumblr a Force infusion Tourist makes good case for Google Glass by falling off pier checking Facebook Minecraft mines and crafts its way onto PlayStation 3 In Depth: How the smartphone is becoming the brain of your entire house Dec 20th 2013, 10:30, by James Rogerson Smartphones are nice and feature-stocked these days, but we know what the phone buying hoardes are like: everyone wishes they did more. Sure, you can tweet from them, but we want them to be able to cook us dinner and take the robot vacuum for a walk. The good news is that's a future which may be closer than you think. We're already on our way there, as phones are gradually connecting us more to other devices. For example many smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One, now have infrared blasters, which can be used to control televisions, set top boxes and even air conditioners, removing the need for a separate remote. But as the internet of things takes off and more devices become smart and connected, more and more potential is being unlocked in smartphones; before long they may be the brain of homes everywhere. And if your smartphone is the brain, your router is the heart, as most smart devices are connected via Wi-Fi, so your router keeps it all going and keeps everything connected. A lot can be done already, though in many cases it requires additional setup costs. Apple AirPlay lets you stream or mirror photos, videos and games from your iOS device to your HDTV, allowing you to view your snaps on a big screen, but aside from needing an HDTV there's also a middle man in the form of Apple TV, which is required to make it work. That in itself costs around £80. On the music front there are things like Sonos, which lets you use your smartphone to stream music to any room in your house, allowing multiple people to listen to different things in different rooms with ease, or just filling your whole house with music. But with a basic one room setup coming in at £169 and the price going up substantially for multiple rooms or higher quality speakers it's far from cheap. On the more affordable side, things like the 'Unified Remote' app for Android and Windows Phone lets you control a Windows PC from your phone, complete with a mouse, keyboard and custom remotes for media, task manager and more, so you don't have to stay chained to a desk. Similarly the Xbox SmartGlass app gives you a similar level of control over your Xbox 360 from your smartphone, meaning you can enter text without having to use a clunky controller. Appliances are starting to get smart too. There's now such a thing as an 'iKettle' and no, it's nothing to do with Apple. It's a Wi-Fi enabled kettle that you can turn on from your smartphone. It will then tell you when the water has boiled and even keep it warm until you get there. Even more usefully: it can send a message to your phone first thing in the morning or when you arrive home from a long day at work, asking if you'd like to turn the kettle on, so the water will be boiled by the time you make it to the kitchen. Unfortunately the price angle rears its ugly head yet again here, as at £99 it's quite a lot more than a standard kettle. That's particularly problematic when you consider that most users will be apprehensive about upgrading when traditionally a kettle is a device that only gets replaced once it breaks - you'd have to really want that convenience. Other appliances are seeing similar features added. For example LG's £250 Lightwave oven can be used as an oven, grill, microwave or toaster and the best part is that all of those functions are controllable from an app on your smartphone. This means you can adjust the cooking temperature and check how much longer something needs to cook for without ever setting foot in the kitchen... once you've actually put the food in it, that is. Behind the scenes things such as your general toastiness are also getting a smart overhaul. Honeywell's new evohome system allows you to create up to 12 thermal zones in your home which can be controlled individually, so you're only heating the rooms you're using and then only when you need to. To make things even easier both the heating and hot water can be turned on and off from a smartphone app. Smart security Alongside living rooms, kitchens and heating, home security has also been revolutionised by smartphones. Alarms, motion detectors, cameras, doorbells, locks and more can all be controlled by smartphones now. Take the $199 (£124) SkyBell. When someone rings your doorbell you can get an alert on your phone and see a video feed of them. You can also talk to them through your phone and it works wherever you are as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection. So whether you're in the bath or on holiday you can still keep track of who's coming to your house and even communicate with them, giving you security and peace of mind. Then there's the $199 (£124) Canary security hub, which is an all in one security device complete with an HD night vision camera, a microphone, a motion detector, an alarm and temperature, humidity and air quality sensors. And it's smart too, gradually learning about the environment of your home so that it's better able to differentiate a genuine threat from something harmless. For example a sudden, dramatic temperature change could indicate a fire, but if you live somewhere that's always very hot it will be smart enough to not keep alerting you about the heat. When it does alert you about something you'll see details of it on your smartphone and can choose how to respond, whether that's by ignoring it, making a call, sending a message or triggering the alarm. Even when there aren't any alerts you can always access Canary remotely from your phone if you just want to check on things. All of these devices are available now or due to hit the market soon and they all aim to make life easier, by giving you as much control as possible from wherever you are, just as long as you've got your smartphone with you. The setup cost is a stumbling block for some of them, but once you've overcome that they bring you a long way towards having a truly connected home, empowering you to do things you never could before, be it freeing your music or keeping an eye on your home from afar. But this is just the beginning, as work is being done to make household devices even smarter in ways which could revolutionise the home. So what about the FUTURE? By looking to Asia you can already get a glimpse of what's next to come, as places like South Korea are way ahead of the UK in the connected homes stakes. For example, Samsung makes a fridge (sadly only available in South Korea) that has a touchscreen, allowing you to tell it what food you're putting in it. That food index is then synced to your smartphone, so when you go shopping you'll be able to see at a glance exactly what you already have. The fridge can also send an alert to your phone or to your television if the door has been left open. We imagine that's colloquially called the 'Sigh-inducing' app. Then there's LG's HOM-BOT vacuum cleaner. Automated vacuum cleaners are nothing new, but this one lets you remotely take control of it with your smartphone. You can activate it from your phone and even steer it. You don't even need to be in the same room as it has a built in camera that streams to an app on your handset. We've actually had a go on this one, and while it doesn't help the cleaning, the novelty value of moving the vacuum cleaner with your phone never gets old. Of course there's a flipside with all this extra tech: you might also be concerned about the energy use of all these connected devices. But actually by having devices that intelligently know when to turn on and off it's likely to actually save you energy, which is one of the points touted with by Honeywell for it's ecohome. Plus there are smart devices for homes that specifically deal with keeping track or your electricity use, such as the British Gas Smart Meter, so you can always keep on top things. Through the power of apps, smartphones can also potentially add extra functionality to connected devices. You can see the beginnings of this with Philips Hue light bulbs. Out of the box these let you turn your lights on or off and change the colour of your lights with your phone or tablet. However, Philips has also opened the Hue API up to developers, which has led to apps which expand their functionality. For example there's now a 'Hue Disco' app, which lets you program the lights to pulse in time to music, while another will make the lights blink whenever you're tagged in a Facebook photo, which, if you're sufficiently popular, is also a guaranteed way to get a headache. If other smart household items, such as fridges, ovens and televisions open their APIs up to developers then a lot could be achieved. Gaps in functionality could be filled and custom apps could give you even more control of your house from your smartphone. Televisions, for example, could be given access to more content sources or made to support more file types, while apps could keep track of use-by dates for food in your smart fridge. Looking further ahead, devices are likely to start communicating with one another as well as with your phone, as that, after all, is what the internet of things is all about. Samsung's smart fridge does that already to a small extent by being able to communicate with your television, but the real future will come when things become even more automated, minimising the need to control devices at all, giving you a daily roundup of all the bits you need to know. That could mean a toaster that communicates with your kettle to ensure that your tea and toast are both ready at the same time. Or speakers that can communicate with your television and will know to turn music off in that room when you start watching something. Not to mention the curtains that will then automatically close to create a cinematic experience. That's the real future, a home where all the devices are connected to one another, not just to the internet or to your phone; we imagine most would still like to have a smartphone or similar device at the centre for all the things to kick it all off with a flick of the finger. Your smartphone will give you remote access to all of these things, letting you fine-tune their behaviour and take control when needed, be it to change the channel on your television or take control of your robot vacuum cleaner. Want to create your own connected home? Here are ten gadgets to get you started. iPhone 6 could arrive with a flexible wraparound display Dec 20th 2013, 10:05, by Hugh Langley Samsung and LG have already got in on the curved game, and now Apple looks set to follow suit. A patent for a flexible wraparound display, made using a powder liquidmetal process, has just been awarded to Cupertino and could be a strong hint at what's coming in the iPhone 6, or more likely the iPhone 7 or 8. A wraparound display would of course mean that you could view content on the back, front and sides of the phone. The patent does suggest, however, that you'd still have non-touch surfaces on the top and bottom of the phone. Aside from the touchscreen, the device would use rotational motion detection, using a number of sensors such as a gyroscope and accelerometer to adjust the display depending on your viewing angle. Tilt it like you mean it Interestingly, the patent also references devices of different shapes, including a hollow cylinder, a hollow tube with an oval, or even a triangular or rectangular shape. In other words, there's a strong suggestion that the technology could also be used in other future Apple devices such as smartwatches (hint, hint, iWatch). At the same time, another Apple patent has been published by the USPTO suggesting that Apple is looking at souping-up the color accuracy in its displays. The patent for a "Quantum dot-enhancement display having dichroic filter", which is a very fancy way of saying that Apple is looking at a technology for creating colors that are much more precise and vivid. Here's everything we know about the iPhone 6 and iWatch so far iPhone 6 could arrive with a flexible wraparound display Dec 20th 2013, 10:05, by Hugh Langley Samsung and LG have already got in on the curved game, and now Apple looks set to follow suit. A patent for a flexible wraparound display, made using a powder liquidmetal process, has just been awarded to Cupertino and could be a strong hint at what's coming in the iPhone 6, or more likely the iPhone 7 or 8. A wraparound display would of course mean that you could view content on the back, front and sides of the phone. The patent does suggest, however, that you'd still have non-touch surfaces on the top and bottom of the phone. Aside from the touchscreen, the device would use rotational motion detection, using a number of sensors such as a gyroscope and accelerometer to adjust the display depending on your viewing angle. Tilt it like you mean it Interestingly, the patent also references devices of different shapes, including a hollow cylinder, a hollow tube with an oval, or even a triangular or rectangular shape. In other words, there's a strong suggestion that the technology could also be used in other future Apple devices such as smartwatches (hint, hint, iWatch). At the same time, another Apple patent has been published by the USPTO suggesting that Apple is looking at souping-up the colour accuracy in its displays. The patent is for a "Quantum dot-enhancement display having dichroic filter", which is a very fancy way of saying that Apple is looking at a technology for creating colours that are much more precise and vivid. Here's everything we know about the iPhone 6 and iWatch so far BBM for Android and iPhone to get free voice calls in 2014 Dec 20th 2013, 06:10, by Farrha Khan We already knew that free voice calls on BBM for Android and iPhone was coming when BlackBerry's VP Andrew Bocking confirmed it in October, but it looks like we won't be seeing it until early 2014. Along with BBM Voice calls, BBM Channels will also be migrating to iPhone and Android, as well as adding more emoticons and what the company said in a blog post will be "easier file sharing" for pictures, you location and voice messages. The new features are in beta right now, with BlackBerry repeating Bocking's earlier words, saying that a bigger roll out should happen within "the next couple months." Where's the video? No word yet on BBM Video, however, which Bocking said back in October was also coming to the messaging service in "coming months". Once it does however, it will be able to better compete with Apple's iMessage and FaceTime, which started offering free voice calls over an internet connection with the rollout of iOS 7. BBM's chatroom-type feature Channels migrating over to iPhone will also put it in a more profitable position than Apple's native offerings for its own devices, as it will be able to also sell ads and sponsored posts on the platforms. Here's our review of BlackBerry 10, on which BBM is a native Moto G is getting Android KitKat update earlier than promised Dec 20th 2013, 01:04, by Matt Swider Android smartphone owners have gotten used to carrier-delayed firmware updates, so when Motorola announced an earlier-than-promised KitKat rollout, our robot antenna ears perked up. "Starting today, we are rolling out Android 4.4.2 to Moto G phones bought on Motorola.com or Amazon.com in the US," wrote Punit Soni, head of product management in an official blog post. The US doesn't get to hog the G update all to itself, however. "KitKat will come to other Moto G carriers and regions soon as well." Motorola is getting a jump on the "early 2014" release window it had originally promised for its mid-range handset during its launch last month. The Google-owned company has also been steadfast in pushing KitKat to its higher-end Moto X, ensuring US carriers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers are up-to-date. Droid Ultra, Maxx, Mini also 4.4-ified Motorola's slightly older Droids on Verizon are starting to receive the KitKat upgrade as well starting today. The Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini tweaks include a new full-screen mode, improved security, smarter power use and better camera software, according to a Verizon's website. Also, just in time for New Year's Resolutions, Fitbit direct syncing is now possible thanks to low-powered Bluetooth 4.0. Other apps being updated or integrated include Verizon Mobile Security, Verizon Tones, Google Photos, and NFL Mobile 8.2.3. While carrier-owned apps aren't typically worth toying around with, everything else will make you glad that Motorola is staying firm on its firmware update promises. Read: Motorola patent filing details smartwatch with flexible display. Apple patent peels back the layers of a new Maps evolution Dec 19th 2013, 23:03, by Michael Rougeau A newly published Apple patent suggests that the Apple Maps app could someday feature new types of interactive layers that make the navigation experience easier. Users of Apple Maps are used to the experience being more difficult, so this would be a nice change. The functions described in the patent, which is titled simply "Interactive Map," go far beyond the layers available in existing mapping apps (satellite view, traffic overlay, weather, etc.). The map layers Apple has proposed adding include data relevant to the road you're traveling, specific types of businesses and more. Travelin' app In one example, this hypothetical new Apple Maps would allow users to tap a road and thus display a layer of information only pertaining to that road: junctions, off-ramps, accessible businesses, etc. Or, if you're on the road and feeling hungry, it could display a map layer that only shows nearby restaurants, rather than all nearby businesses. The same goes for if you run out of gas or tear a hole in your pants on a night out; Tap that business-specific layer, and you'll see all nearby gas stations or pants stores, and nothing else. You could also select layers that show only highways, when you're driving long distances, or only side streets, when you want to avoid highways. 'Siri, show me ads' There are more location-specific applications as well. Touching an airport on the map might bring up a flight schedule, or touching a restaurant might bring up a menu. Still other types of map layers might tailor the map to your specific needs as a tourist, commuter, or other type of traveler. Relevant information, like the history of a monument or other tourist destination, could appear automatically on the map. On the flip side, this feature could also be used to display ads from nearby shops. And the patent hints at custom layers that users would be able to program to show whatever businesses, roads and other points of interest they choose. Even navigation itself would be easier; The patent outlines how tapping two points simultaneously could produce a route between them instantly. None of this functionality is possible in existing map apps, but it's not difficult to imagine Apple adding it to Apple Maps in the next iOS update. And this hypothetical layers-centric version of Apple Maps could interact quite nicely with a virtual personal assistant like Siri. Speaking of Siri: TechRadar asks, "Siri, why do I hate you so much?" Nokia is draping the Lumia 1020 in Black update for RAW shooting, other fixes Dec 19th 2013, 23:00, by klee After some gallivanting about the Nokia Camera app update, Nokia has finally dropped the Lumia Black booster for the Lumia 1020. The Black update is available for download right now directly from the Nokia Lumia 1020 support page, and it comes charging with improvements. First and foremost Black upgrades the Nokia Camera app to shoot in RAW Digital Negative Format (DNG). Lumia 1520 Purview shooter have already been enjoying the ability to shoot relatively compression- and processing-free photos for a few weeks now, and Lumia 1020 owners will finally be able to join in the fun now. More recently, Nokia updated its official Camera app to work on a much larger range of other Lumia devices. The official Windows phone partner also stated DNG support is coming to more handsets as the Lumia Black update becomes available. The small but crucial fixes Aside from increasing the Lumia 1020's picture shooting abilities, the Black update also tweaks a few functionality quirks. These include adding screen lock rotation, the ability add custom ringtones for specific notifications, and closing running apps is easier to do in the app switcher. Lumia 1020 users might also notice the new and improved Glance background app that adds tiny temperature check and pedometer tools to the lock screen. Along with these added features there's also Bluetooth 4.0 LE support along with better battery monitoring. Of course, there's the standard firmware enhancements and other miscellaneous stability fixes. The downloadable update is hitting devices now, but if for those who just want to kick it to their devices manually, it's available for download here. The Steam Machine teardown reveals no secrets but an easy to fix PC. A Jolla Christmas? Sailfish smartphone goes on sale in the UK and Europe Dec 19th 2013, 19:56, by Chris Smith If you fancy a break from the iOS and Android duopoly, and Windows Phone and BlackBerry just aren't doing it for you, you may like to take a look at the upstart Jolla Sailfish smartphone. The handset, running the Sailfish OS which began its journey within Nokia as the never-truly-realised MeeGo software, is now available to buy in the UK and most of Europe, from the official web portal. The modestly-specced handset, which arrives packing a 4.5-inch 540 x 960 display and a 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, can be had for €399 (around £331). There's also 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1-megapixel front facing camera, so it's certainly not a Nexus 5 contender in terms of a value-for-specs comparison. A whole Jolla Android apps However, despite the mid-range specs, a reasons more folks may be willing to consider the Sailfish-running handset over more moderately priced rivals is its ability to run Android apps. It is using the Yandex app store, which holds over 85,000 Android titles, while there's also plenty of native Jolla apps to choose from. Those ordering the device will have to wait a while to get their paws on it before Santa arrives as delivery estimates currently sit at 3-4 weeks. Can Jolla oust Ubuntu or Samsung's Tizen in the battle of the upstart mobile operating systems? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Jolla on Jolla: How it could do what Nokia couldn't. Flex time: Motorola puts in for patent on smartwatch with bendable display Dec 19th 2013, 18:34, by JR Bookwalter Like it or not, the smartwatch appears here to stay, but the best may be yet to come as companies like Motorola secure patents that would allow for wearable devices with wrist-fitting displays. The US Patent and TradeMark Office has published a new Motorola patent application that outlines how the Google-owned company might introduce a wearable electronic device with a flexible screen. The patent application was first filed on June 19, 2012, revealing that Motorola already had its sights on wearables well ahead of the current smartwatch craze. Of course, Motorola has filed plenty of other patents and trademarks for wrist-friendly wearables as well as flexible displays, but the newly published application is the first we've seen from the company that combines them in one gadget. Bending over backwards Motorola's patent specifically details a method whereby "a flexible chassis module" can be coupled to a display module. "This method allows flexing of an electronic device with a flexible display for curved viewing, if desired, or bending with minimal stress," the patent reads. The technique described by Motorola is not unlike a traditional metal watch band, which connects a series of narrow links to provide the necessary flexibility. The difference here is that the entire display of a smartwatch could bend with the chassis. It's all futuristic sounding, but first Motorola will need to figure out how to make equally bendy circuit boards, if not sidestep the laws of physics entirely. Apple, by the way, is rumored to be tinkering with flexible tech for the iWatch. There's patents to prove it. Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy Gear! Auto Shazam arrives on iPhone so you'll never miss another track Dec 19th 2013, 16:30, by Hugh Langley Auto Shazam, the feature that launched in May to turn our iPads into always-listening music matchers, has now arrived on iPhone and iPod Touch for both free and Encore Shazam users. If we have one frustration with Shazam, it's getting the app up and running in time to catch the final few seconds of that TV advert which keeps getting away. Auto Shazam solves that problem by identifying songs and TV content without you even having to touch your phone. It'll work when the app is open or when it's running in the background, even if the screen is locked. Matchmaker When a match is made the song or TV adverts and shows will automatically be added to your collection by order of date. Currently Shazam's TV show features only work fully in the US, functioning on a selective basis in the UK. Auto Shazam is set to "off" by default so you'll need to flip the Auto switch at the top of the Shazam home screen to start it up. Of course, there are likely to be two points of concern here: privacy and battery life. Shazam says that the app "does not save or send audio samples" - instead a digital fingerprint of the song is matched against Shazam's database. As for battery, we've asked to know exactly how much of a drain Auto Shazam might be on your juicepower, but we understand that the app should demand less power than a phone call. To get Auto Shazam, you'll just need to download the latest version of the app. Your move, Soundhound. Can Shazam become the only app you need for TV? In Depth: Best camera apps for Windows Phone Dec 19th 2013, 16:30, by Thomas Thorn When you think back 13 years ago to the first cameraphone, the things we carry in our pockets now must seem like witchcraft. Today's camera phones are modern wonders, with the likes of the Nokia Lumia 1020 coming packed with a 41MP sensor, or the high-end, low-light capturing camera found behind the Nokia Lumia 925. Admittedly other Windows Phones aren't ignored, but with Nokia currently dominating the Windows Phone market, it is clear where a lot of the emphasis has been placed. Microsoft's purchase of the Finnish brand only furthers the point. For those of you that are after a way of making the most out of your snapper, no matter what brand of Windows Phone you have purchased, you'll be pleased to find out that there are a wide variety of camera apps that populate the Windows Phone Store - although we'll warn you: a lot of them like to just put filters on your photos. Super Camera With a name like Super Camera, you'd hope that the app is something that will be able to help you make the most of the snapper you have available. Unfortunately, we have seen apps that fail to deliver on the promise that the name implies. Fortunately, Super Camera provides a decent amount of features that mean it is worth at least a second look. It provides the one feature that nigh on every camera app does by filling itself to the brim with filters. These don't seem to be provided in real time, however, so a slug of post processing is needed. Super Camera also provides basic image editing, along with speech bubbles and collages. More interestingly, it allows you to make GIF images from video and adding text. This is something that's a little more novel, and has been seen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4. You can also create GIF images with Turbo Camera, should you decide that you don't want to use Super Camera. The biggest feature that Turbo Camera offers is, unsurprisingly, the speed, with claims it can shoot photos at over 30fps. LazyLens The clue to what LazyLens is about is in the name. It provides an easy way to edit photos without having to spend forever going through varying photo editing techniques, with preset filters and frames. In all, Lazy Lens is just like every other camera app that does the same, as there are so many different types of camera filter apps. LazyLens wraps this all up in a neat package, with a clean and friendly UI that is based heavily on the tiles of Windows Phone. Alongside the filters is the ability to perform basic photo adjustments, so you can toggle contrast, brightness and saturation separate of filters. You can crop and rotate images too. A set of frames are also included to make your images seem more professional. If you're all about the filters, you could try out Camera Buddy. There is nothing else on offer with Camera Buddy, just some fun filters applied in real time, so you can preview the photo before you take it. Sketch Camera One of the things that is most appealing about buying a decent camera phone is the feeling that it will somehow make you into a great photographer, something that will make you stand out against all your friends. Secretly we also all harbour the desire to be amazing artists, which is where Sketch Camera comes in. It takes your photographs and applies filters that make them seem hand drawn, on a similar level to the Van Gogh photo booths that you might have seen in amusement arcades. There are a variety of different filters, (12 at the moment), although the developer has promised more to come in future versions. If you're after some cool filters, but sketchy ones aren't high on your priorities list, you could try CamWow. It comes packed with real time filters that show you what you are photographing before you've hit the shutter button. Camera Effects It seems that there is just no getting away from adding filters to your photographs, as Camera Effects is yet another app that adds filters and effects to your images. As filters are an easy way to hide basic photographic mistakes whilst making them seem fun, we can see why they're so popular. Camera Effects offers so many different effects that there is no way we could list them all, and whilst there are less, there is an impressive amount of frames that you can add to your photographs. The app also comes wrapped in a rather attractive interface, with the look of an older camera to make things a little different to others. In all, there is not much that can be said about Camera Effects, other than it applies some decent effects to your camera. Awesome effects can also be gained through Lomogram. It too comes packed with many filters (47 at the time of writing), effects and borders to help turn your amateur photographs into something that you will want to share with your friends. HDR Photo Camera A lot of keen photographers will also want to be able to take HDR photos, in order to boost the quality of the images they have taken. With there being a loss of colour associated with single images, HDR photography is one way of making photos seem more vibrant. Step in HDR Photo Camera. As with every HDR camera, it combines three individually taken photos of different exposures in order to try and create a far more vibrant photograph. HDR Photo Camera also works on individual photographs, using a tone mapping algorithm. Photo filters are also supported to a basic level. This means that you can take HDR photos with a different tone, such as Sepia or Black and White. There are other HDR apps out there, so why not take a look at HDR Camera if this isn't the app for you. It works in a similar way, stitching 3 different photos together in order to create a better and more vibrant image. 6Tag While Instagram has hit the Windows Phone app store, users shouldn't necessarily jump straight there. There are plently of Instragram alternatives, and of these, 6Tag is widely regarded as the best. It allows you to do all the things that official Instagram apps on other OS' can, and also adds a lovely design touch on top that makes it fun to use. You can apply filters, create collages, as well as upload pictures and videos. Viewing, tagging and commenting is also built in, meaning that you can fully manage your Instagram account. Should 6Tag not be to your liking, the official Instagram app is now here in Beta (as of 25 November) and does all the normal things you'll have seen wistfully on iPhone and Android devices. Side mention: Strange Camera If you want to turn your camera into something a little more different, then perhaps Strange Camera is for you. We've taken a look at a variety of different camera apps, yet we HAVE found none that seem to offer the same sort of functionality. Strange Camera provides the ability to warp photographs, reflect photos down a centre line and make it look like you're looking at the main image through lots of little bubbles. In all, there is a lot that Strange Camera can do, and we have found no real equal in the sort of photos it can take. We've mentioned it at the bottom as a bit of fun really, as those looking to take serious, or semi serious/artistic photographs will probably want to give it a miss, but you can have a lot of fun with it. In Depth: Best camera apps for Windows Phone Dec 19th 2013, 16:30, by Thomas Thorn When you think back 13 years ago to the first cameraphone, the things we carry in our pockets now must seem like witchcraft. Today's camera phones are modern wonders, with the likes of the Nokia Lumia 1020 coming packed with a 41MP sensor, or the high-end, low-light capturing camera found behind the Nokia Lumia 925. Admittedly other Windows Phones aren't ignored, but with Nokia currently dominating the Windows Phone market, it is clear where a lot of the emphasis has been placed. Microsoft's purchase of the Finnish brand only furthers the point. For those of you that are after a way of making the most out of your snapper, no matter what brand of Windows Phone you have purchased, you'll be pleased to find out that there are a wide variety of camera apps that populate the Windows Phone Store - although we'll warn you: a lot of them like to just put filters on your photos. Super Camera With a name like Super Camera, you'd hope that the app is something that will be able to help you make the most of the snapper you have available. Unfortunately, we have seen apps that fail to deliver on the promise that the name implies. Fortunately, Super Camera provides a decent amount of features that mean it is worth at least a second look. It provides the one feature that nigh on every camera app does by filling itself to the brim with filters. These don't seem to be provided in real time, however, so a slug of post processing is needed. Super Camera also provides basic image editing, along with speech bubbles and collages. More interestingly, it allows you to make GIF images from video and adding text. This is something that's a little more novel, and has been seen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4. You can also create GIF images with Turbo Camera, should you decide that you don't want to use Super Camera. The biggest feature that Turbo Camera offers is, unsurprisingly, the speed, with claims it can shoot photos at over 30fps. LazyLens The clue to what LazyLens is about is in the name. It provides an easy way to edit photos without having to spend forever going through varying photo editing techniques, with preset filters and frames. In all, Lazy Lens is just like every other camera app that does the same, as there are so many different types of camera filter apps. LazyLens wraps this all up in a neat package, with a clean and friendly UI that is based heavily on the tiles of Windows Phone. Alongside the filters is the ability to perform basic photo adjustments, so you can toggle contrast, brightness and saturation separate of filters. You can crop and rotate images too. A set of frames are also included to make your images seem more professional. If you're all about the filters, you could try out Camera Buddy. There is nothing else on offer with Camera Buddy, just some fun filters applied in real time, so you can preview the photo before you take it. Sketch Camera One of the things that is most appealing about buying a decent camera phone is the feeling that it will somehow make you into a great photographer, something that will make you stand out against all your friends. Secretly we also all harbour the desire to be amazing artists, which is where Sketch Camera comes in. It takes your photographs and applies filters that make them seem hand drawn, on a similar level to the Van Gogh photo booths that you might have seen in amusement arcades. There are a variety of different filters, (12 at the moment), although the developer has promised more to come in future versions. If you're after some cool filters, but sketchy ones aren't high on your priorities list, you could try CamWow. It comes packed with real time filters that show you what you are photographing before you've hit the shutter button. Camera Effects It seems that there is just no getting away from adding filters to your photographs, as Camera Effects is yet another app that adds filters and effects to your images. As filters are an easy way to hide basic photographic mistakes whilst making them seem fun, we can see why they're so popular. Camera Effects offers so many different effects that there is no way we could list them all, and whilst there are less, there is an impressive amount of frames that you can add to your photographs. The app also comes wrapped in a rather attractive interface, with the look of an older camera to make things a little different to others. In all, there is not much that can be said about Camera Effects, other than it applies some decent effects to your camera. Awesome effects can also be gained through Lomogram. It too comes packed with many filters (47 at the time of writing), effects and borders to help turn your amateur photographs into something that you will want to share with your friends. HDR Photo Camera A lot of keen photographers will also want to be able to take HDR photos, in order to boost the quality of the images they have taken. With there being a loss of colour associated with single images, HDR photography is one way of making photos seem more vibrant. Step in HDR Photo Camera. As with every HDR camera, it combines three individually taken photos of different exposures in order to try and create a far more vibrant photograph. HDR Photo Camera also works on individual photographs, using a tone mapping algorithm. Photo filters are also supported to a basic level. This means that you can take HDR photos with a different tone, such as Sepia or Black and White. There are other HDR apps out there, so why not take a look at HDR Camera if this isn't the app for you. It works in a similar way, stitching 3 different photos together in order to create a better and more vibrant image. 6Tag While Instagram has hit the Windows Phone app store, users shouldn't necessarily jump straight there. There are plently of Instragram alternatives, and of these, 6Tag is widely regarded as the best. It allows you to do all the things that official Instagram apps on other OS' can, and also adds a lovely design touch on top that makes it fun to use. You can apply filters, create collages, as well as upload pictures and videos. Viewing, tagging and commenting is also built in, meaning that you can fully manage your Instagram account. Should 6Tag not be to your liking, the official Instagram app is now here in Beta (as of 25 November) and does all the normal things you'll have seen wistfully on iPhone and Android devices. Side mention: Strange Camera If you want to turn your camera into something a little more different, then perhaps Strange Camera is for you. We've taken a look at a variety of different camera apps, yet we HAVE found none that seem to offer the same sort of functionality. Strange Camera provides the ability to warp photographs, reflect photos down a centre line and make it look like you're looking at the main image through lots of little bubbles. In all, there is a lot that Strange Camera can do, and we have found no real equal in the sort of photos it can take. We've mentioned it at the bottom as a bit of fun really, as those looking to take serious, or semi serious/artistic photographs will probably want to give it a miss, but you can have a lot of fun with it. Android botnet sending millions of copied texts to Korea and China Dec 19th 2013, 15:00, by Alex Hamilton A malicious botnet has been uncovered by security researchers. The software sends copies of users' SMS' to email addresses believed to be registered in Korea and China. Named MicroSMS, it infects Android devices by pretending to be a settings app called 'Google Vx'. Once in place it then asks for administrative rights and, if granted them, steals the contents of SMS messages and sends them to a third party. In a blog post, security firm FireEye wrote: "Some SMS-stealing malware sends the contents of users SMS messages by forwarding the messages over SMS to phone number under the attacker's control. Others send the stolen messages to a CnC server over TCP connections. The malicious app, by contrast, sends the stolen SMS messages to the attacker's email address of an SMTP connection." All apps compromised The post went on to say that MicroSMS is one the largest mobile botnets that leverages modern technology and infrastructure. The discovery, it claims, highlights the importance of mobile protection and the quickly changing landscape of security threats. The company claims that many of the email addresses which receive the SMS messages are being accessed from mainland China and Korea. FireEye is working with law enforcement agencies to get the email; accounts shut down and says there is no evidence yet of new accounts springing up in their place. It was revealed earlier this year that all of the top 100 paid Android apps and 56 per cent of top 100 paid iOS apps available as 'cracked' versions had been compromised. The widespread use of cracked apps represents a real danger for both individuals and companies, given the explosion of smartphone and tablet use in the workplace and home, says mobile security firm Arxan. Malware looking to drain bank accounts of 'tens of millions' of PC owners In Depth: Best camera apps for iPhone Dec 19th 2013, 14:15, by Thomas Thorn For many people purchasing a smartphone, having a decent camera is still one of the biggest draws. It seems forever ago that cameras were first introduced on mobile phones, with 13 years being about 6 lifetimes in the tech world. Today's camera phones are modern wonders, and with more photos being taken on an iPhone every day than any other camera, there must be something that Apple is doing right. The iPhone 5S now comes with an upgraded 8MP iSight camera, which Apple says is 15% larger and 33% more light sensitive than the previous model, the iPhone 5. Apple has taken a similar approach to its newest camera as HTC did on its UltraPixel tech debuted on the HTC One. An increase in pixel size has lead to more light being taken in by each pixel, meaning better all round photography, especially in lower lighting conditions. But let's not forget the ageing iPhone 4S also has a really decent camera that many would argue was better than many handsets released at the same time. This understandably lead to a significant amount of camera apps on the App store, should you want to get more out of your iPhone's camera, so we've trawled through and rounded up our best picks for you to chew over. Instagram With the photo creation and sharing app being famed for both the right and wrong reasons (anyone remember Insta-adgate?) it is easy to see why Instagram became so popular, if only to share photos of dinners and cats. Photo sharing can be argued to be the biggest draw of Instagram, although an equal amount of people will argue its the range of filters that Instagram allows you to apply to your photographs, allowing even the most amateur of photographers feel like a pro. The app also allows you to manage your Instagram account, viewing photos from those that you follow, and make comments. There isn't a whole lot we can say about the Instagram app, as its popularity means that most of it has already been said. If social photography is more your thing, why don't you check out the Facebook Camera app. It is literally what it sounds like, with the app allowing you to post photos to your Facebook account quicker than ever and see what your friends are up to. Flickr Flickr is a photo sharing and editing site, with a dedicated app and is one of the biggest and best known photo sharing apps, being used around the globe. Coming with a terabyte of storage, it is popular service amongst intensive photographers as a way of storing photos to the cloud, as well as providing a level of photo manipulation that includes 16 different filters. Like Instagram, the Flickr app also allows you take to take control of your Flickr account, meaning that you can connect with friends and access their photo streams. For those that want a little more control over their images, Flickr also allows you total privacy control meaning no Insta-ads. If you're using Flickr for photo storage, why not consider using Dropbox. Whilst not a photography app from the start, it does come with the ability to instantly upload your photos from your camera, via Wi-Fi or your data plan if you're feeling flush with the megabytes. Text Camera When it comes to internet photography, there are seven things that we can all point to as defining this generation. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, cats, cats and more cats, and the so-called "inspirational quotes". Text Camera can go some way to covering all three forms of these, although the food and felines will take a back seat. As the name suggests, Text is the main focus of the app. That said, filters are also supported, helping make your images all the more inspirational. There are already a variety of pre-installed doodles and quotes, as well as the ability to write your own quotes which means that time when your friend shouted Kettle for C in a game of 'I spy' can be forever immortalised. If you decide you like the idea, but want a different implementation, why not check out InstaText. It too comes with filters and stickers, and the ability to pop text over imagery. It does miss the quote functionality though. Camera Art FX Filters are probably the most common features when it comes photography apps. Nigh on every app will pack in some sort of filter functionality, as they can often cover up some of the more basic amateur photographic mistakes. They also add a level of fun. Apps like Camera Art FX can make things look really interesting, adding more arty effects like comic style, doodled or painted effects, or even allow you to make your own Obama-esque 'Hope' poster. The free app contains 12 effects, with there being 13 in the paid version. All filters are applied in real time, meaning that you can preview what you're going to snap before you hit the shutter button. This isn't going to be for everybody, but for those that want something similar you can always try Cartoon Camera Plus, which packs a variety of image effects to choose from. PowerCam For those looking to add photo effects, filters, and mess around with their images in other ways, you might not need to look further than PowerCam. Allowing you to take photos in 8 different modes, with real time view, PowerCam offers a lot. These photo modes include Magic Shot, Colour Splash, and Smile shot, meaning that you will always get the photo of your smiling child (or baby sibling) that you really want. It is also fast, with photos taken and effects applied in a second. HD video recording with live effects is supported as well. Photos can also be edited more traditionally, with various enhancements around. Photo sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr is supported. If you're after a different photo editor, however, why not try FX Photo Studio. It allows you to add varying filters and textures, as well as text. There are over 190 effects, including black and white and colour strokes, and you can change gamma, saturation and contrast levels to name but a few. Camera+ Camera+ pitches itself as an app that will appeal to both seasoned professionals, as well as the most amateur of photographers. To do that, it provides options such as being able to select your exposure level and focus separately. Other features allow you to use the horizon to eliminate crooked shots, digitally zoom up to 6x and allows you to take a forward facing photo whilst using flash. We can imagine that meaning a lot more dodgy selfies. Camera+ also makes a song and dance about the Clarity feature. This 'makes several intelligent adjustments', which is technical chat for 'auto adjusts your images' to bring out the details in photos that you might originally have thought were unusable. For those that are looking for a more professional style app, but don't wish to use Camera+, why don't you look at Camera Awesome. It awesomises (again, read as auto adjusts) images, as well as allowing you to select individual focus and exposure, and provides different compositions. In Depth: Best camera apps for Android Dec 19th 2013, 11:45, by Thomas Thorn For many people purchasing a smartphone, having a decent camera is still one of the biggest draws. It seems forever ago that cameras were first introduced on mobile phones, with 13 years being about 6 life times in the tech world. Today's camera phones are modern wonders, just look at the massive sensors that adorn phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, or even the half-phone-half-camera Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom for that matter. Some manufacturers are taking a different tack, with HTC looking at creating larger pixels to let in more light. Its proprietary UltraPixel technology means that the flagship HTC One, and its brothers the One Mini and One Max creates some stunning low light imagery. It is then probably no surprise that the Play Store has found itself populated with numerous camera apps, designed to replace the stock camera app with something either more fun or more intuitive. Here's our guide to what we feel are the best camera apps on the Play Store right now. Paper Camera One of the fun things about having a third party camera app is filters. There are so many filters around that choosing the right app for each purpose might prove a little difficult. An app that we can recommend is Paper Camera, as we love the varying sketch style filters that it provides. These are provided in real time, meaning that you can see what the image is going to look like before you snap it. There are 14 filters to choose from, with these also being able to be transferred over to video recording. You can also use Paper Camera to edit existing images, and share them to varying social accounts. If you've decided that this isn't the app for you, but you would still like to use the sketchy effects, why not try Pencil Camera (or variants). These apps also provide real time filters, and cover a range of devices with both free and paid for versions available. Instagram Instagram is a photo app that is likely to appear on most modern smartphone users wish lists. The photo sharing site got so popular that it soon got bought out by Facebook. The biggest feature that Instagram brings is its variety of filters, allowing users to take some strange looking pictures of their dinner, or their cat. These can then be instantly shared to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare. The app also allows you to manage your Instagram account, viewing photos from those that you follow, and make comments. There isn't a whole to say about the Instagram app really, as its popularity means that most of it has already been said. If you're unsure whether Instagram is for you, you could always try InstaLomo HD for Instagram. It too provides different filters, with sharing also heavily built in. Camera ZOOM FX On the face of things, Camera ZOOM FX is well designed, with there being no real surprises in layout as it follows the same layout as stock cameras that we have encountered. Photo editing is also included, as with nigh on every camera app that we have seen these days, but it comes with a decent range of features. If you're into downloading add-ons, there are over 90 that can be added to Camera ZOOM FX, including Frames, Props, Composites and more Composites. Morphing photos is also supported, meaning that you can distort images. There is even a clever sound activated shutter a la LG devices, meaning you can set the app to take a photo with a clap or shout. Photo distortion is rather popular, so for those that aren't impressed with Camera ZOOM FX and want a more specific app, Photo Warp will cater to your every warp need. Cymera We could easily focus on the filters that come in Cymera, but if we did that with every single photo app, we would be here all day. The more interesting features that Cymera offers are found deeper into the app. Editing existing, or taking and editing photos is easy, and there are a lot of options available. The more interesting ones allow you to overlay decorations to make photos more fun, or free draw on images. Facial detection is also built in, meaning that you can edit the faces of subjects after taking a photo. They can become slimmer, have bigger eyes and bigger smiles, and Cymera will also intelligently place varying hair styles or make up, should you desire. If you're choosing the Cymera app because of these facial features, it might be worth checking out BeautyPlus, an app that bills itself as the ultimate self-portrait camera. It provides real time filters and removes facial blemishes to aid the less photoshop inclined. Camera HDR Studio HDR shooting is something that is built into many different stock cameras these days, but chances are that you might want to grab yourself a more dedicated app if HDR photography is something that you are going to be doing on a large scale. This is where the likes of Camera HDR Studio comes in, with its ability to take HDR photographs even without HDR capabilities. It supports a whole variety of HDR modes, meaning you can take standard HDR photos, artistic or even cartoon like photos. In total, there are 9 HDR modes, 50 colour effects, 12 artistic effects etc. Camera HDR Studio also allows you to shoot up to 30 photos per second depending on your device's speed. Lower specced devices come with support up to 10 photos per second. If HDR is your thing, but Camera HDR Studio isn't, why not check out (confusingly-named) HDR Camera. It doesn't come with photo filters, providing a more steam-lined app in the process. HDR Camera also comes with a paid version, packing in more features. Flickr Flickr is a photo app and photo site that has been around for a while, now under the stewardship of Yahoo. It is one of the biggest and best known photo sharing apps, being used around the globe. Coming with a terabyte of storage, it is popular amongst intensive photographers as a way of storing photos to the cloud, as well as providing a level of photo manipulation that includes 16 different filters. Like Instagram, the Flickr app also allows you take to take control of your Flickr account, meaning that you can connect with friends and access their photo streams. For those that want a little more control over their images, Flickr also allows you total privacy control meaning no Insta-ads. If you're using Flickr for photo storage, why not consider using Dropbox. Whilst not a photography app in the regular form, it does come with the ability to instantly upload your photos from your camera, via only Wi-Fi or can coerce your data plan to do the same thing too. New leak further points to Android KitKat and Sense 6 for HTC One Two Dec 19th 2013, 11:09, by James Rogerson Rumours about the HTC One Two have been flying thick and fast, but two of those rumours have recently been given a little more credence. We've heard before that the HTC One Two will likely come with Android 4.4 KitKat alongside version 6 of the Sense UI, but now the insider @LlabTooFeR has tweeted something approaching a confirmation, stating that 'at the moment they are testing the device on 4.4.2 and next version of Sense.' Not just any tipster When @LlabTooFeR says something about HTC it's worth paying attention, as he / she /they've got a proven track record. For example back in May they let slip about the HTC One's impending update to Android 4.2. Not that it should be surprising that the HTC One Two is coming with both the latest version of Android and a new version of Sense, but then the HTC One launched one Android version behind, so it's nice to get some reassurance. It's not known what will actually be included in Sense 6. A wider range of news sources for BlinkFeed would be a good start, and a more intuitive menu system wouldn't go amiss either. Can't wait for the HTC One Two? Check out the HTC One Max. In Depth: Why aren't all our smartphones waterproof right now? Dec 19th 2013, 11:00, by Ben Stinson Waterproof phones - the options and the science The mobile phone has gone from a novelty device to untether us from the wall to the one thing we take everywhere and expect to keep up with the demands of our unpredictable lives. As the cost has escalated, so has our desire to keep them safe, leading to reams of cases and hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on insuring our treasured possessions. In recent years manufacturers have made progress in making these phones more "life proof" by using tougher materials, stronger glass, and some manufacturers - such as Sony - have even made some of their newer smartphones fully waterproof. There's a new round of companies too, aiming to make almost every device waterproof without having suffer any compromises in design or weight to achieve it. What does this all mean? We'll we've dived into the deep end to find. Best waterproof smartphones Whether you've been unfortunate to drop your phone in the bath, drink or even down the toilet (we kid you not), you'll have felt the pain of attempting to resurrect your phone from a potential watery grave. If you haven't, then it's probably only a matter of time before you do according to the statistics, so here's our picks from the current crop of smartphones on the market to help you guard your device from the dangers of liquid. Sony Xperia Z1 & Xperia Z This article couldn't pass by without a nod to the Sony Xperia Z1, a smartphone built with the clumsy, or perhaps adventurous, types in mind. Unlike many other waterpoof phones it has all the features of a flagship Android handset, but with the addition of IP 58 rating. Read: Sony Xperia Z1 review This rating represents the Z1's abilities to withstand dust and water, allowing submersion in up to one and a half metres of fresh water for up to 30 minutes. The Z1 superseded the Xperia Z, which was not as refined in the design department, with a covered headphone slot and only packing an IP rating of 57, meaning it's less water resistant than the Xperia Z1 (but also cheaper). Read: Sony Xperia Z review Samsung Galaxy S4 Active The Galaxy S4 is a phone we've been impressed with for months now, but as is Samsung's way, it was determined not to leave a portion of the market uncovered after Sony played the waterproof trump card with the Xperia Z. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is its answer, and despite being somewhat of an afterthought by the Korean giants, it is a fantastic handset in its own right. It too can shoot pictures underwater, and on the surface looks tougher than the original S4, but isn't all that much bigger. Samsung gained an IP67 rating for the S4 Active which means that it should protect better from dust, but has the same waterproofing rating as the Sony Xperia Z - so that's 30 minutes of submersion at 1 metre. Read: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active review And the others There's a raft of other phones that claim to be able to withstand the wet, with the first smartphone to market being the Motorola Defy. Unfortunately it didn't make much of a splash and it's waterproofing credentials were rather over-hyped. Read: Motorola Defy review Then there are handsets such as the JCB SiteMaster 2. It's not a smartphone, doesn't have a touchscreen or any other fancy features, but what it can do is survive most that life could throw at it. It can withstand a full tonne of pressure, be dropped from the height of 2 metres repeatedly without damage, and as you can guess, is fully waterproof to the same IP67 rating as the Samsung and Sony phones. I've got a non-waterproof phone If you've already got a good smartphone, or you're set on buying a particular model that doesn't come with any waterproofing credentials then worry not: you can still save it from Neptune's clutches. While you can pick up cheaper sprays to cover the exterior of a phone in a waterproof coating, these are usually temporary solutions. The following two companies are offering services that aim to waterproof the device for an almost indefinite period of time - so can you make your HTC One waterproof, and if so, is it really that easy to? Liquipel This Californian based outfit works with nanocoatings and use a proprietary tech that allows virtually any device, not just smartphones, to be covered in a super-hydrophobic layer of particles on both the outside and the inside of the device. The process involves a vacuum to suck all the air from inside and outside the device, which is then replaced with a gas that binds to the device's surfaces and circuits, creating a gap that repels any liquid that might come in to contact with it. The process takes around 30 minutes from start to finish, and will set you back around $60 (£37) for a smartphone or $75 (£46) for a tablet. Liquipel a US based company, though there are plans to make the service available worldwide very soon. WaterFi WaterFi is another US company offering solutions on a variety of devices. Unlike Liquipel it doesn't waterproof using nanotechnologies, but instead offers a patented process to help a selection of gadgets resist the wet. It relies on a rubbery insulator that is injected into the device along with an extra layer of protection that protects from corrosion or chemicals. WaterFi's Communications manager, Gabe Hagstrom, believes waterproofing can be liberating for a gadget lover: "The cost of our waterproofing doesn't just save the customer from paying for a repair or replacement," he told Techradar. "It actually frees the customer to use the device in ways and places they never thought possible. "They take their iPod swimming and surfing, the Kindle to the beach and wash it off in the ocean if it gets sandy, and take the Nike FuelBand scuba diving." Their initial offering of a waterproof iPod Shuffle ($140 / £86) and Nike Fuelband ($220 / £136) is a perfect swimmer's solution, but it's now expanded its range to Amazon Kindles and the Jawbone Up. It can also coat your pre-existing Shuffle, Kindle, Fuelband or Jawbone for a lower price and although there's no smartphone solution as of yet, according to Hagstrom it's something its considering with new handsets such as the Nexus 5. "Looking forward to [waterproofing] phones we see devices that are unlocked and affordable without a contract, like the newest Nexus phone, which we would then look to waterproof and offer brand new on our website to save all the hassle of sending in a phone that's in use and going a few days off the grid." Both Liquipel and Waterfi offer viable after-purchase solutions, and with options starting at £37 to waterproof your existing phone they are a very tempting way of keeping your beloved device protected should you have a fluid mishap. You could very easily spend this kind of money on a waterproof case, but this would of course add extra weight and bulk to the handset and detract from the design too. Of course with these products there's no major protection gained against drops or smashes, but at least puddles, baths and toilets wouldn't seem quite so scary. And remember: while there are companies out there that claim to be able to resurrect water-damaged phones, but due to the fiddly nature of having to totally disassemble the device and potentially replace batteries or screens, the cost of this is considerably higher, with most services starting at around £65 and topping out at well over £200. Waterproof phones - the future Will the next iPhone be waterproof? Most smartphone manufacturers we've spoken to have considered adding waterproof technology into their smartphones at some point in the future. This type of waterproofing won't be an afterthought, or something you'll have to consider as an additional expense, but will instead be baked into the manufacturing process. TechRadar spoke to two companies leading the way in this field about where they see the market heading and how long before swimming pools will be freely littered with all manner of smartphones. P2i British company P2i isn't in the retail market and doesn't offer a service to protect your device post-purchase, but has instead decided to go down the route of being a part of the manufacturing process itself. Its technology is similar to that used by Liquipel, but P2i's waterproofing method is being used by the likes of Timberland and Kangol for their waterproof clothing. If you are familiar with some of Motorola's more recent devices including the Razr i and XOOM 2, then you'll have already seen some of P2i's splash-proof technology in action. It's also present on Motorola's latest handsets, the Moto X and Moto G. Dr. Stephen Coulson, who invented the technology at Durham University in the early 2000s, explains further how it works. "The coating works to alter the surface layer chemistry of the device so that instead of encouraging water to wet out and stick, it simply beads up and rolls away." he told us. "Now, instead of being pulled into the device through capillary action, any accidental splashes or spills onto the device are repelled away from the circuitry. "This is extremely important in protecting devices from corrosion and electrical failure brought on by moisture, sweat or accidental liquid splashes and spills." P2i's newer 'Dunkable' technology is an evolution of splash-proof, making for even better water resistance. Although we couldn't pin down any specifics, it's likely to be included in many phones, tablets and other gadgets very soon according to Coulson. "Because the Dunkable technology will be ground breaking when it arrives, the brands we are working with are very keen to keep it confidential until they launch" Coulson said. "Most of the top ten [smartphone manufacturers] have worked with us to some capacity before, and so it's simply a case of looking into a new project." HzO Back across the pond in the US, HzO offers its own take on a waterproofing nanotechnology called WaterBlock. It's a very similar process to that used by P2i that involves using a chemical vapour to coat both the interior and exterior of a device to protect it against damage by water or any more potentially corrosive liquid. Like P2i, HzO's technology is implemented at the manufacturing stage, and according to Marketing Manager Jared Matkin, that's where it plans to continue to focus its efforts rather than offering an aftermarket solution. "We are working directly with OEM's/manufacturers to integrate our licensable technology into production lines so that when products come to market they already have our coating on them," he told us. "I can say that our nano-coating protects against full submersion, and while we don't recommend people live an underwater existence with their WaterBlocked device, that protection in most normal, 'real world' scenarios will last the lifetime of the device." HzO has been proudly showing off an iPhone at tradeshows with a see-through case that easily shows liquid flooding the device. It's tested it with coffee, fizzy drinks and other less than ideal contaminants, and claim that the test devices have continued to work normally despite being tested well beyond the real world scenarios that the average consumer would likely put their smartphone through. No more watery graves Whether you're after a waterproof phone, or want to do something to protect your existing handset, there's a variety of solutions out there. It looks certain that the future will be full of waterproof gadgets, thanks to the technologies being developed by P2i and HzO. There's little needed to convince us consumers that it should be a default feature of any future smartphone, and of course manufacturers are striving for better device reliability to give us a longer lasting product. It's a safe bet that by this time next year virtually every new smartphone will come bearing some form of the liquid-guarding technology. Dr. Coulson, CTO of P2i sees a big future in nanotechnologies and other protective coatings. "This is just the beginning for invisible coatings on electronic devices. The future will see the likes of anti-scratch, anti-fingerprint and even antimicrobial coatings as standard – all applied at such a tiny scale that you won't even know it's there" he told us. Samsung and Apple may soon unleash sun-stealing smartphones Dec 19th 2013, 10:27, by J Rogerson Both Apple and Samsung look to be beavering away on solar powered smartphones in a bid to stand out from the competition. That's according to a report from ZDNet Korea, which claims that while Samsung is currently focused on displays, it is 'deeply considering' shifting its focus to developing solar power technology for its smartphones. Samsung isn't alone in its sun-powered plans either, as the report also states that Apple has recently applied for additional solar charging patents - there's not much more to go on than 'solar panels for iPhones', but that's a pretty big clue. That would make sense as battery life is the biggest stumbling block still faced by handsets and given Samsung and Apple's current popularity in the phone world they're ideally positioned to make solar power popular. Second time lucky Solar powered smartphones aren't a new idea though. Apple filed a patent for just such a technology back in early 2011 and Samsung even released a phone with solar panels on it back in 2009, but so far the technology hasn't really caught on. It's unlikely that either company is close to bringing the technology to market, but with two of the biggest smartphone companies in the world looking into it solar power could be a common feature of handsets a few years from now, and could really step up battery life, especially when left on standby. Right now you can't charge your phone with the sun, so you might want to check out these battery saving tips.

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