Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 02-21-2014

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Nokia X gives Android the live tiles treatment in latest leak Feb 21st 2014, 11:30, by John McCann It seems Nokia really is going to go Android as the pre-MWC 2014 rumor mill continues to churn out Nokia X leaks, with the latest offering a series of images depicting said Android phone. French site Nowhereelse.fr has apparently got hold of more images of the fabled Nokia X (previously known as the Nokia Normandy), showing off the front, back and side of the chunky handheld. The homescreen is visible and the user interface matches previous leaks, showing a highly modified version of Android which resembles the live tile setup of Windows Phone more than Google's own creation. Android, but no Google The Finnish firm's own Here Maps application appears on one of the tiles - as does a simple "Store" icon - suggesting the Nokia X won't come with Google's own suite of apps such as Maps and the Play Store. In terms of design the Nokia X is shaping up to be a pretty ordinary slab of plastic, reinforcing the budget credentials it's been associated with so far - although we'll hopefully find out for sure shortly at MWC. What else will we see at MWC 2014? Is Huawei's smartwatch taking cues from the LG Lifeband Touch? Feb 21st 2014, 10:42, by Hugh Langley It's hardly a surprise to see Huawei getting in on the smartwatch game, but this isn't quite what we thought it would have up its sleeve. One Huawei official has posted a picture of an interestingly-looking wrist device over on Weibo, along with the message, "My new toy. Do you like this color?" The colour isn't the problem – it's the design of the watch itself that will likely divide. Going by the pictures, it seems to be taking some inspiration from the LG Lifeband Touch's rigid style. Fighting fit However, this could be a separate health-focused wristband we're looking at, rather than a more straight-up smartwatch like the Galaxy Gear. Huawei's smartwatch is expected to show up at MWC 2014, which kicks off in Barcelona on February 24. Hands on with the LG Lifeband Touch Video: The ultimate Nokia Android phone: here's what we want to see Feb 21st 2014, 10:40, by Owen Hughes Don't get us wrong: even though the Nokia X Normandy isn't primed to set the world alight, the idea of a Nokia handset running Android is exciting in itself. Still, we'd be lying if we said we weren't a tad disappointed at the reported low-end spec sheet. From what we've heard, we're looking at a 4-inch 480x854 display, a 1GHz dual core CPU and 512MB RAM – hardly a contender for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 or HTC One 2/ M8/ One+/ whatever. So what would we really like to see in a Nokia Android handset? What would be the perfect amalgamation of the Finnish firm's hardware and Google's home-grown OS? Gareth Beavis and John McCann have a few thoughts, and they're in the sharing mood. FutTv : 1Tf67TVMu3bmo Dell and Red Hat working on network function virtualisation tech Feb 21st 2014, 10:13, by Nick Farrell Hardware maker Dell and open source Linux king Red Hat are teaming up in a bid to make a buck in the new area of network function virtualisation (NFV) technology. NFV technology is supposed to help carriers reduce costs and quickly roll out new services. The pair have co-engineered Dell-Red Hat OpenStack-based NFV and software defined networking (SDN) software which should be in the shops in 2014. Killing proprietary According to a Dell statement, these network functions are traditionally run on proprietary gear. Major carriers are interested in NFV because its gives them a standards-based approach to virtualising telecom software and run on industry standard servers, he said. Dell has been developing a closer relationship with Red Hat lately and late last year announced it would sell systems based around Red Hat's version of the OpenStack open-source cloud platform. The offerings are to be tailored for large enterprises that wish to set up private clouds. Dell said the Carrier project built on that agreement to include NFV and SDN applications designed to help operators increase infrastructure agility and reduce costs. It has also been elbowing its way into leadership of the CloudNFV organisation. The hardware maker plans to provide more details about its NFV plans and its cooperation with Red Hat at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. Dell faces some tough competition in the area. Alcatel-Lucent already announced its own plans to work with Red Hat on NFV. Alcatel-Lucent is using Red Hat's Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform to power its CloudBand platform. HP is also expected to detail plans for a new NFV business with Bethany Mayer expected to head it. Now read all about how Nuance is predicting cross platform virtual assistants within two years. Telstra introduces new plans and 12-month phone trade-ins Feb 21st 2014, 01:23, by Farrha Khan Every Day Connect plans are being put out for pasture next month with Telstra introducing new plans from March 4, along with the ability to trade-in your phone one year into your 24-month contract. To be able to trade-in 12 months into your contract, you need to be on one of the new 24-month Handset Plans, which will be replacing the Every Day Connect plans and are priced at $55, $70, $95 and $130. All include free SMS for domestic numbers, the lowest tier includes 500MB of data per month and $550 of monthly credit allowance for calls and MMS. The $70 plan has 1.5GB of data allowance and $550 of monthly credit allowance for calls and MMS, while the $95 plan has The $130 plan tier remains the only one untouched compared to the current $130 Every Day Connect plan's offerings of unlimited calls, MMS and 3GB of data. However, the new prices for the other plans are slightly cheaper than the current Every Day Connect plans, which are priced at $60, $80 and $100 - though it should be noted that if you want to opt in for the 1-year Telstra New Phone Feeling trade-in, you'll be paying an extra $10 per month on top of the new Handset Plans. There are also some allowance differences - the budget $55 plan gets its data allowance slashed in half, though it is only $5 cheaper and the $95 plan gets a 500MB bump while it is also $5 cheaper for that tier. Credit allowances are lower for the two lower tier plans as well, reflecting the price you are paying. BYO Accelerate Plans Telstra has also introduced new BYO mobile phone plans, called Accelerate Plans. Priced at $45, $55, $70 and $95, the plans will replace Telstra's current BYO plans, and you'll be able take it up for 12-month, 24-month or month-to-month contracts, which will now be known as "Casual Plan". Monthly allowances is the same as those of the Handset Plans, corresponding with the relevant tiers respectively, except it should be noted that the budget $45 plan will not include unlimited domestic SMS on a month-to-month Casual Plan. Again, credit and data allowances are effected similarly when compared to current BYO and no-contract plans - meaning the data allowance is 500MB lower for the lowest tier, but 500MB higher for the second highest tier - and end up being slightly better value for money as each plan is cheaper by $5 to $15. The telco has lowered all excess data charges from 10c per MB and introduced $500 cap for excess data. The new plans also incorporate Telstra's Excess Voice Safety Net $130 cap for excess domestic calls and MMS. Telstra's plans are a little bit more competitive, but how is it's network? We compare Australia's best 4G networks New HTC One tries to secretly pass through FCC, cc's the rest of the world Feb 20th 2014, 23:17, by Matt Swider The new HTC One smartphone made a regulatory appearance on the US Federal Communications Commission's website this morning before the information was pulled. Even though the device wasn't officially named and was accompanied by a crudely draw illustration, its limited specs made public do match all of the rumors that have led up to this point. From the pulled filing, we know the HTC One follow-up features dual-band 802.11ac WiFi, low-powered Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC support. And while so-called HTC One 2 hasn't officially been confirmed by any carriers, it appears to be AT&T-bound in the US thanks to an AT&T 4G LTE compatible wireless band. There are also other wireless bands on board with 2, 4, 5, 7 bands getting the green light. Other HTC One rumors HTC's new flagship device, codenamed the HTC M8, has been the subject of plenty of rumors and photo leaks. In addition to seeing the new phone through blurry spy shots, we're expecting there to be 3GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 800 processor and two cameras, including one with 5MP "Ultrapixels." Now that the FCC has given its stamp of approval, we're ready for the new HTC One to out itself. That's thought to happen at HTC's March 25 reveal in New York City, not next week's MWC 2014 conference where we're instead likely in for the Samsung Galaxy S5's launch. In other HTC news: HTC looks to dominate wearables with three devices. Google outs Project Tango, a 3D-mapping phone that takes cues from Kinect Feb 20th 2014, 21:28, by Michelle Fitzsimmons Imagine using your phone to create a 3D map of the world around you, one you could use to figure out how new furniture will fit in a room or maneuver through an unfamiliar building or find an item on some lone supermarket shelf. Thanks to a new Google endeavor, you may one day be able to do all these things and more. Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group has announced Project Tango, a 5-inch Android smartphone prototype packing customized hardware and software to track the device's entire 3D motion. Using the data, the phone crafts a 3D map of the surrounding environment. The phone's sensors can snag over a quarter million 3D measurements a second, and as it updates its position and orientation in real-time, it coalesces the information into a single 3D model. Project Tango has definite Kinect undertones, and for good reason. ATAP lead Johnny Lee used to work for Microsoft's Kinect crew. Of this Project Tango, Lee said its goal is "to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion." The phone houses development APIs that send position, orientation and depth data to standard Android apps. Though the days are still early, Google envisions Project Tango having applications in gaming, helping the visually-impaired, maps/navigation and other everyday scenarios. Not for you. Yet As if you couldn't tell, Project Tango is firmly planted in the "early stages" sands. For now, Google is focused on "exploration of what might be possible in a mobile platform." That said, Project Tango does have a few known specs, including a 4MP camera, 2X computer vision processors, integrated depth sensing and a motion tracking camera. Only 200 prototype dev kits exist, and Google hopes to get them out the door by March 14. The company is searching for professional developers to take a crack at "creating more than a touchscreen app." Some of the dev sets have been set aside for indoor navigation/mapping, single and multiplayer games that use physical space and new algorithms for processing sensor data. There are also a number set aside for "we haven't thought of [it] yet" purposes. Check out ATAP's video explaining Project Tango and its possibilities below. Looks pretty nifty, if you ask us. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe10ExwzCqk#t=19 Google Glass is another future-forward piece of tech. Kazam looks to work its magic in the smartphone market Feb 20th 2014, 20:54, by John McCann Startup mobile manufacturer Kazam has finally announced the smartphones it'll bring to the UK in the second quarter of 2014, with six reasonably priced devices to choose from. The first two phones are part of the mid-tier "Thunder 2" range - the 4.5-inch Kazam Thunder 2 4.5L and the 5-inch Kazam Thunder 2 5.0. Looking at the Thunder 2 4.5L you get a 854 x 480 resolution display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of internal storage, 8MP rear facing camera, 1.6MP front camera and 4G connectivity. Meanwhile the Thunder 2 5.0 comes with a HD 720 x 1280 display, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 4GB of internal storage, 13MP rear cam, 5MP front cam, but no 4G support. Both handsets feature 1GB of RAM, microSD and dual-SIM slots. Kazam was unable to confirm pricing, but both handsets are likely to fall comfortably below the £300 mark. Take 2 "Trooper 2" is Kazam's low-end range which comprises of four dual-SIM handsets in screen sizes 4, 4.5, 5 and 6 inches. These handset share lots of the same specs - a 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, stock Android 4.2.2, 5MP rear camera and 0.3MP front facing camera. The Kazam Trooper 2 4.5, 5.0 and 6.0 all have the same 854 x 480 screen resolution, while the Trooper 2 4.0 has a 800 x 480 setup. Fresh approach Kazam's focus however, is less on the specs of each individual device and more about offering customers an affordable handset with additional benefits. For now those benefits are one free screen replacement if you break it within the first year and its free Rescue service which can be called upon if you run into difficulties with your device. Kazam announced its presence back in November 2013, but it's taken until now to rally the troops and get its devices through the UK's lengthy approval process. Ready your wallets, the Samsung Galaxy S5 may be on sale in three weeks Feb 20th 2014, 20:46, by Chris Smith The Samsung Galaxy S5 will be on sale by the middle of March, according to recent reports. The new flagship handset is set to arrive at the Samsung Unpacked event at MWC on February 24 and will be on store shelves just a couple of weeks later, an unnamed Samsung executive and other trusty sources of GSMArena have revealed. A mid-March launch, which doesn't seem too much of a stretch, would give Samsung an opportunity to greet shoppers before its biggest Android rival HTC is able to get 'The All New HTC One' in front of the public. That handset, which has already leaked out several times this week alone, won't have its coming out party until March 25, potentially giving Samsung 1-2 weeks before consumers are presented with a choice. Joining the dots The Galaxy S5 is expected to arrive with Android 4.4 KitKat, an all-new version of the TouchWiz UI, a Snapdragon 800 or 805 processor (with octa-core in some regions) and 3GB of RAM. The device is also likely to retain a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, while speculation has pointed towards a dust and waterproof metallic casing and a potential fingerprint scanner such as the iPhone 5S. The most recent rumours also suggest a 16-megapixel camera as well as the ability to shoot 4K video, while the hardware could feature a dedicated camera button for the first time in the series. Not interested in HTC or Samsung? Check out our LG G2 review. Archos flaunts an 8" 4G tablet, octo-core phone before MWC 2014 Feb 20th 2014, 20:30, by klee MWC 2014 might just be a couple of days away but that hasn't stopped Archos from announcing a slew of new smartphones and a tablet to boot. Headlining Archos' latest line-up of smart devices is the Archos 80 Helium 4G, slotting into its recently introduced series of 4G Helium devices. The company claims the 80 Helium 4G the world's first 8-inch 4G tablet under £229.99 (about $382/AU$426). For the price, users will get a 1024 x 768 IPS screen displaying a slightly aged Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Tucked underneath the 8-inch screen there's a quad-core Archos A7 processor paired with an Adreno 305, 1GB of RAM and 8GBs of storage. Tablet camera connoisseurs will also be able to shoot photos with the tablet's 5MP camera and 2MP front snapper. Archos has yet to announce when the 4G tablet will be shipping, but we've asked the French device maker and will update this post accordingly. Going octo-core Archos also announced a few new phones, including the 50c Oxygen, a handset powered by a 1.7GHz Cortex octo-core A7 chip. Along with the high-core processor, the 50c Oxygen is a dual SIM device house a 5-inch, 1280 x 720 resolution screen. Rounding out the devices' specs are a Mali 450MP4 GPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GBs of storage. The 50c Oxygen is also outfitted with an 8-megapixel back camera and 2MP sensor in front. The Archos 50c Oxygen will be sold for £219.99 (about $366/AU$407). Coming with a similar set of cameras is the Archos 64 Xenon, a 6.4-inch phablet device packing a slightly more pedestrian 1.3GHz quad-core A7. The phone has a Mali 400MP2 GPU and 1GB of RAM to help power its 1280 x 720 resolution display. The Archos 64 Xenon will arrive later this year with 4GBs for storage for £199.99 (about $333/AU$370). The affordable entry Lastly, Archos outted its most budget-friendly device: the 40b Titanium for only £99.99 (about $166/AU$185). The meekly priced phone is also equipped as such with only a 4-inch, 800 x 480 resolution screen. Inside, users will find a 1.3GHz A7 chip with a Mali 400 GPU, plus 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. The imaging options aren't stellar but there is a 5MP sensor paired with a VGA front-facing camera. All the phones will come running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and will be available on a yet to be announced date. Until then, stay tuned for our hands-on with Archos' device line-up at MWC 2014. Archos might have some nice Android devices but the LG G Flex is really turning heads. Archos adds the 8-inch Helium tablet to its 4G line-up Feb 20th 2014, 20:30, by Kevin Lee MWC 2014 might just be a couple of days away but that hasn't stopped Archos from announcing a new slew of smartphones and tablets. Headlining Archos' latest line up of smart devices is the Archos 80 Helium 4G. The company claims it is the world's first 8-inch 4G tablet under AU$450, slotting into its recently introduced series of 4G Helium devices. For this affordable price, users will get a 1024x768 IPS screen displaying a slightly aged Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Tucked underneath the 8-inch screen, there's a quad-core Archos A7 processor paired with an Adreno 305, 1GB of RAM and 8GBs of storage. Tablet camera connoisseurs will also be able to shoot photos with the tablet's 5MP camera and 2MP front snapper. Archos has yet to announce when the 4G tablet will be shipping, but we've asked the French device maker and will update the post accordingly. Going octo-core Archos also announced a few new phones along with the tablet including the 1.7 Ghz Cortex octa-core A7 powered Archos 50c Oxygen. Along with the multi-core chip, the 50c Oxygen is a Dual SIM device with a 5-inch, 1280 x 720 resolution screen. Rounding out the devices' specs are a Mali 450MP4 GPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GBs of storage. The 50c Oxygen is also outfitted with an eight-megapixel back camera and 2MP sensor in front. The Archos 50c Oxygen will be sold for £219.99, which is about AU$407.79. Coming with a similar set of cameras is the Archos 64 Xenon, a 6.4-inch phablet device packing a slightly more pedestrian 1.3 GHz quad-core A7. The phone has a Mali 400MP2 GPU and 1GB of RAM to help power its 1280 x 720 resolution display. The Archos 64 Xenon will arrive later this year with 4GB for storage, with a £199.99 price tag, about AU$370.72. The affordable entry Lastly, Archos introduced its most budget-friendly device: the 40b Titanium for only £99.99 (about AU$185.35). The meekly priced phone is also equipped as such with only a 4-inch, 800 x 480 resolution screen. Inside, users will find a 1.3 GHz A7 chip with a Mali 400 GPU, plus 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. The imaging options aren't stellar but there is a 5MP sensor paired with a VGA front facing camera. All the phones will come running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and will be available at a later yet to be announced date. Until then, stay tuned for our hands-on with Archos' whole device lineup at MWC 2014. Archos might have some nice Android devices, but the LG G Flex is really turning heads. Apple bought years' worth sapphire screens, reveals Canonical CEO Feb 20th 2014, 19:27, by Michael Rougeau Rumors that Apple will turn to expensive but high quality sapphire for screens in its future devices are looking less and less like rumors. Now Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth has said publicly that Apple has purchased a huge supply of sapphire displays. And how would he know? "Apple just snapped up three years' worth of the supply of sapphire screens from the company that we had engaged to make the screens for the Edge," Shuttleworth said in a town hall meeting discussing Canonical's proposed high-end Ubuntu smartphone. Of course, the Edge missed its Kickstarter goal by $20 million (about £12m/AU$22m), so why shouldn't Apple swoop in on its sapphire deal for the iPhone 6's benefit? Bitter much? Shuttleworth does seem sort of bitter, though. "Isn't it interesting that how many of the things we said the future needed to include are showing up on other people's roadmaps?" he asked. He continued, "Apple also has started describing their latest-generation mobile CPUs as desktop-class. That's another thing we said we needed to have in the Edge was a desktop-class CPU. "And we're starting to see the roadmaps for the devices from Samsung and others that have the same amount of RAM that we were proposing to put in the Edge." Apple and sapphire sitting in a tree Apple already used sapphire in the rear camera lens glass and the fingerprint sensor home button on the iPhone 5S, but rumors that its love for the tough stone might go much further began in November. In January an unearthed patent revealed that Apple could use sapphire on more than just screens, including sticking it on processors and other components. Apple CEO Tim Cook the very next day confirmed the company's interest in an Arizona plant tinkering with sapphire, though unsurprisingly wouldn't get into specifics. Meanwhile, although they may not be the killer Edge that Canonical envisioned, the first Ubuntu smartphones look likely to hit stores in 2014. Here's TechRadar's review of the iPad Air. Canonical CEO says Apple bought a boat load of sapphire screens Feb 20th 2014, 19:27, by Michael Rougeau Rumors that Apple will turn to expensive but high quality sapphire for screens in its future devices are looking less and less like rumors all the time. Now Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth has said publicly that Apple has purchased a huge supply of sapphire displays. And how would he know? "Apple just snapped up three years' worth of the supply of sapphire screens from the company that we had engaged to make the screens for the Edge," Shuttleworth said in a public town hall meeting discussing Canonical's proposed high end Ubuntu smartphone. Of course, the Edge missed its Kickstarter goal by US$20 million (about AU$22 million), so why shouldn't Apple swoop in on its sapphire deal for the iPhone 6's benefit? Bitter much? Shuttleworth does seem sort of bitter, though. "Isn't it interesting that how many of the things we said the future needed to include are showing up on other people's roadmaps?" He asked. He continued, "Apple also has started describing their latest-generation mobile CPUs as desktop-class. That's another thing we said we needed to have in the Edge was a desktop-class CPU. "And we're starting to see the roadmaps for the devices from Samsung and others that have the same amount of RAM that we were proposing to put in the Edge." Apple and sapphire sitting in a tree Apple already used sapphire in the rear camera lens glass and the fingerprint sensor home button on the iPhone 5S, but rumors that its love for the tough stone might go much further began in November. In January an unearthed patent revealed that Apple could use sapphire on more than just screens, including sticking it on processors and other components. Apple CEO Tim Cook the very next day confirmed the company's interest in an Arizona plant tinkering with sapphire, though unsurprisingly wouldn't get into specifics. Meanwhile, although they may not be the killer Edge that Canonical envisioned, the first Ubuntu smartphones look likely to hit stores in 2014. Here's TechRadar's review of the iPad Air. BlackBerry 'Windermere' phone could bring gesture control to physical keys Feb 20th 2014, 18:11, by JR Bookwalter Remember BlackBerry? They haven't forgotten about you, and are apparently hard at work on a new smartphone that could combine the best of software and hardware keyboards in one device. BGR is back on the BlackBerry beat again with the first rumblings of an all-new smartphone out of Waterloo with the code name "Windermere" - but it may live or die at the hands of an outside partner. According to "multiple trusted sources," the top secret Windermere project is something of a departure for BlackBerry, with a wider frame that consolidates the hardware keys into three rows instead of four. But that's not all: The loose-lipped sources claim the physical keys will also be imbued with the power of touch sensitivity, allowing for gesture-based typing described as similar to the Swype app on Android. Twice the fun This wouldn't be BlackBerry's first foray into gesture typing - after all, the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 handsets are capable of accessing numbers, symbols or accent keys the same way, only with an on-screen keyboard. The unique form factor may also extend beyond just physical keys, with BlackBerry said to be toying with the idea of running "two apps on screen simultaneously side-by-side." BlackBerry fans may want to cool down any impulse to buy, however. The fate of Windermere may rest with a single unconfirmed "large partner" who could put the kibosh on the hardware before it ever leaves the prototype phase. Assuming this rumored partner likes what they see, we could be looking at the first significant revision to the once-mighty BlackBerry brand in quite some time. Speaking of unique smartphones, read TechRadar's take on the LG G Flex! Windows Phone goes after Siri with host of leaked voice controls Feb 20th 2014, 12:27, by James Rogerson We've known about Microsoft's upcoming Cortana voice assistant for a while, but now we have a much clearer idea of just what the Siri-rival will be capable of. LiveSino.net has been able to pull a Cortana icon set from the Windows Phone 8.1 SDK, which shows that not only can the Cortana voice assistant do basic things like web searches, set alarms and check the weather, it can also give you information on stocks, warn you of heavy traffic or roadworks, take notes, play music and make appointments. Powerful pipes Plus it can set reminders, activate do not disturb mode and airplane mode, turn Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on and off, give you directions, make calls, send texts and more besides. With Siri and Google Now both household names Cortana will have a lot of catching up to do, but with all these features it's got a good chance of impressing people, particularly if, as rumoured, the Cortana voice actress from the Halo series lends her pipes to the service. Cortana's biggest rival, Siri, is good, but it could be better. HTC looking to dominate wearables with three devices Feb 20th 2014, 11:54, by James Rogerson HTC has not one, not two, but three wearable devices in the works according to an unnamed person with 'direct knowledge of the plans'. One of the two smartwatches apparently in development is based on Qualcomm's Toq according to Bloomberg, which spoke to the anonymous source, and it could challenge the likes of the Galaxy Gear. It will feature Qualcomm's low-power Mirasol display technology, a music player, Bluetooth connectivity and will apparently be previewed to carriers at MWC, though it's not likely to be shown in public. Fighting fit The second smartwatch is based around Google Now and will have an AMOLED screen, while a third wearable - a smart wristband - will have a thin touchscreen display, activity tracking features and a music player, so by the sounds of things it will be gunning for the Fitbit Force and the Nike FuelBand SE. Don't get too excited about seeing these things as HTC has yet to decide whether any of them will go into final production according to the source. HTC has previously confirmed that it plans to bring its first wearable out by Christmas, so with that in mind it seems likely that at least one of these will make it out the door. If you want a smartwatch now you might want to check out the Samsung Galaxy Gear Acer's high-spec Liquid E3 won't send you into liquidation Feb 20th 2014, 11:34, by John McCann As with many of the manufacturers attending MWC 2014 this year, Acer has jumped the gun and announced the new smartphones it'll be bringing to the show. It has launched the Acer Liquid E3 and the Liquid Z4, both of which sport low price tags and half decent spec sheets. First up is the Liquid E3 which boasts a 4.7-inch HD display (that's 720p rather than 1080p), 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, microSD slot, 13MP rear camera and 2MP front facing snapper with LED flash for selfies. That's not a bad package considering Acer is quoting €199 (around £165) for the Liquid E3, which will launch with Android 4.2.2 in April, but an Android KitKat update is confirmed for later in the year. Cheap as chips The Acer Liquid Z4 is even cheaper, coming in at €99 (around £80), and features a 4-inch display, 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of internal storage, 5MP rear camera and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The Liquid Z4 release date is also marked as April, and it'll be available in black and white. What you need to look out for at MWC 2014 Samsung Galaxy S5 set to get serious about photography Feb 20th 2014, 10:41, by James Rogerson If everything pans out the Samsung Galaxy S5 could have a camera to be reckoned with as a new report suggests that for the first time, Samsung will apparently put a dedicated camera button on its new Galaxy flagship. But it's not just any button, there will be an invisible sensor built into the bottom right of the phone which you simply tap to take a picture, according to SamMobile. It's claimed to be called 'Side Touch' and removes the need to tap the screen to fire off snaps. There are some limitations though as supposedly it won't work in portrait mode or when shooting video. The report also claims the Samsung Galaxy S5 will have a 16MP sensor - which has long been rumoured - as well as the ability to shoot 4K UHD video at 30fps and 1080p video at 60fps. Snap happy The information doesn't end there, as SamMobile also kindly listed the camera modes we're likely to see on the Galaxy S5. These include old favourites like Sound & Shot, Panorama and HDR alongside new ones such as 3D Tour Shot, which can be used to create interactive virtual tours of your surroundings, Continuous Shot, which takes numerous photos in rapid succession, and Focus Select, which makes subjects stand out against the background by adjusting the depth of field. There will also be numerous camera effects, such as monochrome, sepia, vintage and cartoon. Just the other day we heard from Samsung itself that the Galaxy S5 will have an improved LED flash, so if all this other information is accurate it looks like the camera is going to be a key feature of Samsung's new flagship. Samsung got even more serious about camera phones with the Galaxy S4 Zoom.

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