Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 03-24-2014

TechRadar: Phone and communications news TechRadar US latest feeds

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Blackberry 10.3 leak hints at snazzy new look, possibly a 1080p handset Mar 24th 2014, 11:20, by Hugh Langley We've been aware of Blackberry's plans to give BB10 an overhaul in the next big update, and a new leak of screenshots shows us what the new UI might look like. We can't verify the legitimacy of these screens, and there's a chance the OS might look a tad different come release, so take all of this with a bit of caution. But from what we can see right now, it looks like Blackberry is jumping on the bandwagon with its own Siri-like intelligent assistant, for one thing. It's also ditched the boxes around the app icons, added a new keyboard layout and colour scheme, and made a few other design tweaks that gives the OS a cleaner, more minimalist feel. As for the camera, the option to record in 720p at 30 fps and 60 has seemingly been added too. Look sharp However another telling screenshot has surfaced alongside these, showing a set of folders that reveal a 1080x1920 resolution. Again, without delving into the OS ourselves, it's difficult to verify the existance or accuracy of the claim from N4BB. But given that we're not expecting a new Blackberry tablet any time soon, this could well be a hint at a 1080p phone currently in the piipeline. We'll be keeping our ear to the ground. Is the Blackberry Z10 a worthwhile Android/iPhone alternative? Nokia phone division sale delayed until April Mar 24th 2014, 10:57, by Dean Wilson Nokia has announced that the sale of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft will be delayed until April. The Finnish mobile firm revised its projected transaction closing date from the first quarter of this year to the end of April. The company said both it and Microsoft are still committed to the deal. The sale has received most of the required regulatory approval from the likes of the European Commission and US Department of Justice, but Nokia is still waiting for approval from antitrust authorities in Asia. Nokia said that both it and Microsoft are confident the deal will close. It denied that ongoing tax issues in India have any bearing on the delayed sale. Deal or no deal The buyout was first announced in September of last year, building on a previous exclusivity deal that Microsoft and Nokia operated for Windows Phone. The relative lack of success of that partnership has raised questions over just how viable the duo are in the mobile market, but it seems that Microsoft is still willing to bet that Nokia's assets can help it make Windows Phone a major contender to Android and iOS. The acquisition is worth €3.79 billion ($US5 billion, £3.2 billion, AUD$5.6 billion), and Microsoft is also forking out an additional €1.65 billion ($US2.18 billion, £1.4 billion, AUD$2.4 billion) to license Nokia's valuable mobile patents. What will the Nokia buy mean for Microsoft? After this video, is there anything left to announce on the HTC One (M8)? Mar 24th 2014, 10:33, by John McCann Just when you thought the HTC One (M8) couldn't be subject to any more leaks a 14-minute long video has appeared on YouTube days before its launch, seemingly revealing every last detail of the smartphone. Posted by YouTuber Hans Meyer, the video sports a German voice over and a look round the handset appears to confirm the features we've seen in previous rumours including a microSD slot and headphone jack located on the rear. Round the back the dual camera lenses feature once again, while on screen the camera app has been simplified - although there appears to be some deeper editing features in the gallery. In focus One feature appears to be a variable focus control, similar to the one seen on the LG G Pro 2 and Samsung Galaxy S5, allowing you to select which area of the photo you want to be in focus after you've actually taken it. The Sense UI - which we expect to be Sense 6.0 - appears to been given a light makeover and it seems to include the "double tap to wake screen" feature we've seen on the LG G2, plus a new power-saving mode which provides a simplified UI to conserve consumption. We'll find out soon if the avalanche of leaks surrounding the HTC One M8 are accurate as it will be announced on March 25. We will be reporting live form the event, so stay tuned for all the latest. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEB10wqk1X4 Motorola Xplay back from the dead? Phablet tipped for later this year Mar 24th 2014, 10:09, by Hugh Langley Rumours of a Motorola phablet have surfaced once again, after a device named the "Motorola Xplay" was previously outed back in October 2013 The new claims comes from a poster on the Weibo forum – the same person who correctly called the Moto X, Moto G and Moto 360 plans. Motorola: we'll keep on making high-end phones That tipster says that Motorola's phablet will arrive between July and September this year. However, there's no word on the size or name of the device, so the previously rumoured spec of a 6.3-inch display may have changed in the last few months. Bandwagon Everyone else seems to be getting in on the phablet game – even Apple is rumoured to be going bigger for the iPhone 6 – so it's no surprise to see Moto doing to the same. It's also good to see the company continuing full steam ahead despite the ownership shift from Google (where the phablet presumably began its journey) to Lenovo. Beating the iWatch to the punch? Everything you need to know about Google Android Wear

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