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

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Meet the company behind the $25 Mozilla Firefox OS smartphone Mar 3rd 2014, 15:36, by Désiré Athow A smartphone that carries a suggested retail price of a mere $25 (around £15) was always going to capture the imagination and grab headlines, but the agenda is really about making the feature phone as relevant to the masses as a black-and-white television set. We met Diana Jovin, VP Corporate Development & Communications at Spreadtrum to see what's coming up for the little-known fabless company, which is now part of the state-owned Tsinghua Holdings. Partnering up Spreadtrum hit the limelight on Sunday 23 February after being presented as Mozilla's chip partner for a $25 smartphone based on Firefox OS. It's worth mentioning that until then, all smartphones based on Mozilla's OS were using Qualcomm SoCs. It is currently ranked third in terms of SoC chipment hitting 350m units in 2012 with 140m feeding the smartphone market. Diana predicts that the majority of SoCs shipped in 2014 by the Chinese company will be for the smartphone market. The firm currently occupies the void left by Mediatek as the latter focuses on higher margin products. Firefox, Jovin claims, will accelerate the adoption of smartphones because it is optimised for very low power solutions. A brief look at the $25 smartphone She handed TechRadar Pro a shipping unit (not a prototype) of the $25 smartphone; it is built by consumer giant Haier for very big Chinese operator. That device runs on the SC8621, which is a single-core ARM Cortex-A5 SoC clocked at 1GHz with 256MB of RAM, 2GB flash and a 320 x 240 pixel 3.5inch display. It has a rear 2-megapixel camera but no front facing one. It is reasonably well built and reminds us of the Huawei Ideos U8150 or the LG Optimus L3, both of which can be found for well under £50 and come with a worse processor. Spreadtrum partners however are aiming for a much lower price point; whether or not the masses will embrace Firefox OS though remains to be seen. Microsoft's Siri contender Cortana shows its smarts in extensive leak Mar 3rd 2014, 14:56, by Kate Solomon Microsoft's Siri-alike voice controlled personal assistant will take the form of a blue circle according to the latest leaks. The Verge got its hands on some shots of Cortana in action on a handset, revealing that you'll be able to set a nickname for Cortana to call you - so if you prefer to be known as Little Slice instead of just regular old Kate then that can be accommodated. On to more useful features, and Cortana will save information in Notebook that it can easily draw on to provide notifications - similar to Google Now, it'll also monitor things that are mentioned in emails and data you've told it to track, such as flight information. Badabing It'll nab its information from Microsoft-friendy services like Bing as well as Foursquare and others. The name Cortana, which is taken from Halo, may or may not change before the feature debuts, probably at Build in April. Like Siri, Microsoft has imbued Cortana with some "quirky" (read: annoying) turns of phrase like "I'm absorbing the entire internet" and is no doubt on the look out for someone "quirky" (read: annoying) to advertise it too. Here's everything you need to know about Cortana iPhone 6 display may look even more beautiful in a self-healing coat Mar 3rd 2014, 14:00, by Hugh Langley It might not be long before Apple's Retina displays look even more impressive, with Cupertino showing interest in a fix for screen imperfections that could give iMacs and iDevices significantly smoother appearance. A patent application from Apple, published by the US Patent & Trademark Office on February 27, describes a technology that would work as an added coat to "heal" imperfections created when the display panel lighting gets scratched. As BGR notes, the imperfections caused by scratches are minor by themselves but by removing them all the viewing experience would noticeably improve. Fix up, look sharp As this is something that will be appreciated more on larger displays, the iMac and iPad would obviously benefit more from the technology. However Apple's interest in the technology may also chime with rumours of the iPhone 6 having a larger screen too. All the other gossip on the iPhone 6 iPhone 6 will stick with 8MP, but it'll be the best iPhone camera yet Mar 3rd 2014, 13:18, by John McCann The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 rocked up at MWC 2014 with 16MP and 20.7MP cameras respectively, but according to latest reports the iPhone 6 will stick with a humble 8MP. Details leaked onto Chinese social networking site Weibo suggest the iPhone 6 isn't in for a megapixel bump, but instead Apple will be boosting the camera in different ways. Camera quality isn't all about megapixels - just take a look at the 4MP HTC One - and Apple's iSight snapper still manages to deliver decent shots thanks to the heap of extra technical nous the Cupertino firm has thrown into the mix. Apparently you can look forward to a bigger 1/2.6 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, OIS (optical image stabilisation) skills and a 6P sapphire lens on the iPhone 6 - a boost from the snappers you'll find in the iPhone 5 and 5S. Bezel is so 2013 While the camera looks to gain more, the bezel round the supposedly larger screen of the iPhone 6 is tipped to shrink, with new images emerging, claiming to show the front panel of Apple's next smartphone. Lined up to what is supposedly the iPhone 4S and 5S front panels, the iPhone 6 does appear to have a slightly larger display and absolutely no bezel either side. We're not getting too carried away though, as this is highly unlikely to be the real deal for a number of reasons - our guess is Photoshop or a straight up fake 'prototype'. The gap between the home button and the bottom of the display for example, looks rather clumsy for a start - something you don't expect from a perfectionist like Apple, and the notion of a bezel-less phone would require some serious engineering power. All the latest on the iPhone 6 In Depth: Apple CarPlay: everything you need to know about iOS in the car Mar 3rd 2014, 13:17, by James Rivington Apple CarPlay: Everything you need to know Apple CarPlay is the much-mooted 'iOS in the car' project that we've been hearing about for years. With our digital tech barely having made a scratch on the largely analogue in-car experience, the automobile is considered by many to be the next great tech battleground. Because the lifespan of a car is so long compared to the lifecycle of digital technologies like phones and the software they run, the challenge is to create a smart in-car infotainment system that can stay up to date even as your car ages. Most of the big names in the auto industry have their own systems, but in the last couple of years they've all been converging on one simple idea – that smart in-car tech needs to be driven by our external devices because they get updated regularly, with the car being just the passive conduit. We've already seen several cars natively running Android, offering integration with Android smartphones. And that now brings us to Apple CarPlay, a new way of building a car that starts smart and stays that way. What is Apple CarPlay? CarPlay is not an in-car system that runs iOS or iOS apps. It's a system that integrates your iPhone apps with your car's digital systems, allowing you to control them and your device, more easily. The idea is that you plug your iPhone into your car via USB, which instantly handshakes with your vehicle. You can then use the functionality of your iPhone without having to fumble around with it and take your eyes off the road. It's safer, easier and more convenient - or that's the idea, anyway. What can CarPlay do? The idea of CarPlay is that it allows you to use all your iPhone's functionality without actually touching it. So that includes playing your music, navigating to the shops, taking phone calls, reading text messages and even watching YouTube videos. In theory, there are no limits to the interplay. Perhaps you'll even be able to turn your wipers on and off simply by talking to Siri or unlock your vehicle using your iPhone - but that's a way off even if it's possible. From the start, you'll be able to use your iPhone's phone and messaging functionality, play your iTunes music, navigate using Apple Maps and watch videos. However, Apple's plan is to allow third parties to build CarPlay compatibility into their apps, making them usable through the system. Confirmed apps with CarPlay features incoming are: Spotify, Podcasts, Beats Radio, iHeartRadio and Stitcher. Expect a smorgasbord of other options to be revealed in time - we foresee a future where all relevant iOS apps are built with CarPlay in mind. How do you control Apple CarPlay? There are three ways to control CarPlay, and none of them include touching, looking or even thinking about your iPhone. 1. Control CarPlay using Siri Using Siri, you'll be able to talk to your vehicle and tell it what to do. That includes playing music from your favourite band or even requesting a specific playlist. You'll also be able to have your messages read out to you before you dictate your reply. 2. Use a touchscreen display Some CarPlay cars will come with touchscreen displays cooked into the dashboard. Using this display, you'll be able to open and close apps using a very simple homescreen. This will certainly be the most straightforward method of using CarPlay - expect touchscreen options being added to new car models. 3. Use your knobs Of course, your car will still have physical buttons, knobs and controls and you'll still be able to use these alongside the touchscreen and Siri options. Volume controls, track skip and the like are all seemlessly integrated and will work as expected. Can CarPlay drive me home? CarPlay is not a driverless technology. So the command "Siri, drive me home" will no-doubt simply trigger a typical pre-planned sarcastic Siri reponse. "You.. are.. having.. a.. laugh.. aren't... you...David?" However, what CarPlay can do, is use your iPhone's Apple Maps app to guide you while you drive. If you have an in-dash display, the Maps app will launch a sat nav style window that will give you turn-by-turn guidance without you having to put your iPhone in your field of view. If you don't have a display, you'll still get the turn-by-turn audio cues. Is my iPhone compatible with CarPlay? CarPlay requires a certain amount of oomph as well as a lightning connector and thus older iPhone are simply not capable of running it. Only the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5 are currently compatible, as well as all new iPhones moving forward. Are there any CarPlay cars yet? There are no CarPlay vehicles on the road right now. But they're hitting the streets this year, with models from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes and Volvo all getting in on the act. That's not all though, because many other big names in the car industry have committed to supporting the CarPlay platform with future models. These include BWM, Chevrolet, Ford, KIA, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot-Citroen, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. What does Apple say about CarPlay? "CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. "iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we're thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva." More on CarPlay: What does Apple's 'iOS in the Car' mean for in-car multimedia? MWC 2014: 10 best phones of Mobile World Congress 2014 Mar 3rd 2014, 11:59, by Marc Chacksfield Best phones from MWC 2014: 1-5 This year's gathering of the phone nerds has just taken place in Barcelona, with Mobile World Congress 2014 seeing stacks of new mobiles revealed by the likes of HTC, Sony, LG and Samsung, all jostling for the prize of securing your 2014 phone contract upgrade. Key trends this year were the arrival of 4K video capture on several mobiles and a continued emphasis on larger displays that'll push trouser pocket capacity harder than ever in 2014, plus there was the enormous shock of seeing Microsoft-owned Nokia release a whole range of budget smartphones running on rival Google's Android OS. While there was lots of new tech to see and poke, the event didn't quite expose all of 2014's phone plans, though. Apple wasn't there and Nokia didn't bring any new Windows Phone models, so what we saw was mostly the Android consortium battling to come up with something that stood out from the crowd. These are the ten, in no particular order, that got our fingertips the most flustered. 1. YotaPhone 2 Not likely to arrive before very late in 2014, the next-gen YotaPhone was at MWC 2014 in the form of a concept device. And what an exciting concept it is too, expanding on the genius idea of sticking a low power epaper display on the back of the phone by making this B&W display now a full touchscreen. This means many key phone functions can be carried out via the vastly more efficient epaper screen, meaning battery life ought to be immense when using this always-on screen alone for your notifications. Internally, the ubiquitous Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 runs the show, with the "main" colour screen a 5-inch unit outputting at 1080 resolution – and the epaper screen managing a decent 960 x 540. 2. LG G Pro 2 LG's well-teased 5.9-inch whopper was one of the hits of MWC 2014, with the phablet device and its knock-knock screen unlocking tricks, post-shot refocusing and clever display scaling for one-handed use showing that LG's really getting on the ball with its software features. The hardware's about as impressive as it gets too, with the G Pro 2 running on a 2.26GHz Snapdragon 800 processor with 3GB of RAM, plus its 13megapixel camera has 4K video capture and a 120fps slow-motion recording option for… whatever that might be for. 3. Sony Xperia Z2 Sony's big new flagship for 2014 is the Xperia Z2, which somehow squeezes even more oomph into a chassis just 8.2mm thick. It's slightly bigger than last year's impressive Z1 slab too, with the Z2 offering a 5.2-inch display that operates at the "full HD" resolution of 1920 x 1080. Interestingly, Sony's using the Z2 to encourage punters to upgrade their home TVs, with the phone's 20.7megapixel camera able to capture 4K video at the ludicrously high 3840 x 2160 resolution. That ability comes thanks to the upgraded internals, with the Z2 powered by Qualcomm's brand new Snapdragon 801 series chipset clocked at 2.3GHz and paired here with 3GB of RAM. A 3,200mAh battery ought to keep it running for a good couple of days, too. We hope. 4. Huawei Ascend G6 As far as Huawei is concerned, the big selling point of the Ascend G6 is its five-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera, meaning that, if you like looking at your own face, you can do so in better clarity than on rival hardware. The rear camera's an eight-megapixel unit manufactured by Sony, so proper pics of things other than your gurning face ought to come out nice too. The G6 is bordering on the 'budget' spec for 2014 elsewhere, though, combining a quad-core 1.2GHz chipset with 1GB of RAM and a low-ish resolution display of 540 x 960. On just a 4.5-inch IPS screen that resolution shouldn't be too much of a deal-breaker, with Huawei compensating with a low RRP of around €249 (£205). Not bad for a slim 4G phone. 5. Samsung Galaxy S5 Android's best-selling series returns for 2014, with Samsung offering a strangely muted and not entirely thrilling update to the Galaxy S range. The Galaxy S5 is a little more angular than the curved Galaxy S4, with Samsung still sticking with the physical Home button and once again eschewing a move to software buttons. While it's not hugely thrilling to look at, the insides of the S5 are more than capable, with a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 801 processor running the show and backed by 2GB of RAM. The Galaxy S range has had great cameras since the Galaxy SII blew everyone away with its colour reproduction and speed, and Samsung's continuing to lead here with a 16-megapixel sensor in the Galaxy S5. Plus, as we're seeing many other phone makers introduce, the S5's camera lets you adjust shot focus after you've taken a photo, if you fancy entering the required mode. And it's waterproof now, too. Best phones from MWC 2014: 6-10 6. ZTE Grand Memo II ZTE's updated phablet now features a whopping six-inch display, which sits atop a chassis just 7.2mm thick. The display, which runs at only 1280 x 720 resolution, isn't quite as impressive on paper as the 1080p units in many of its big-boned rivals, plus its Snapdragon 400 processor won't be challenging the likes of the Xperia Z2 for the power-user money. If these small compromises mean ZTE can sell it at a decent price, it might do pretty well for itself, as it does the basics well by having a 13-megapixel camera, five-megapixel front-cam, microSD card support and a large 3,200mAh battery. 7. HTC Desire 816 The smartphone world's moved on a lot since the first HTC Desire blew us all away. The Desire 816's 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 display is positively middle-of-the-road in terms of dimension and resolution in 2014, as screen sizes continue to explode and resolutions reach ever higher levels. The plastic casing of the 816 may look a little cheap in comparison with the gloriously premium HTC One it takes many design cues from, but that's part of the compromise – HTC wants to make a cheap phablet for the mass market. With the same big, front-facing speakers and that huge screen, it's one for the heavy media consumers. 8. Nokia XL Poor old Microsoft's only gone and started making Android phones, with its newly-acquired hardware buddies at Nokia binning Windows Phone and using Google's OS to power a series of budget mobiles. The highlight of Nokia's Mobile World Congress Android showing was the Nokia XL, a staggeringly affordable 5-inch model costing just €109 (around £90). There are compromises galore, mind, with the key Google services like Gmail and, ahem, Google+ missing from the heavily modified Android code, and Nokia relying on a 1GHz dual-core chipset to run its OS. So it won't be winning any late night, pub car park benchmarking showdowns. It's all about selling the big phone dream to the kids, then hoping they upgrade to one of Nokia's more premium models in a year or three. 9. Sony Xperia M2 Also fishing for buyers at the budget end of the spectrum is the Xperia M2, which is a smaller, less powerful and not quite so attractive take on Sony's smartphone designs. The M2 features a 4.8-inch screen that outputs at the qHD resolution of 960 x 540, with its Snapdragon 400 chipset backed up by 1GB of RAM. With 4G support, an eight-megapixel camera, dedicated shutter button and respectably low RRP of €220 (around £180), it'll tick a whole lot of boxes with people after solid features at a decent price. 10. LG G2 Mini There's nothing particularly "mini" about a phone with 4.7-inch display, so this is quite a puzzling name for LG's smaller take on the G2 Pro. Internally it's been scaled down in terms of performance, with the G2 Mini powered by a quad-core Qualcomm chipset clocked at 1.2GHz and its display running at the non-HD resolution of 960 x 540. But with Android 4.4 as its OS and a 2,440mAh capacity battery inside it, the G2 Mini ought to make for a decent compromise between size, power and decent battery life. After all, a superphone is only super if the battery hasn't died. First dual-booting Android and Windows phones on track for this year Mar 3rd 2014, 11:46, by Kate Solomon Microsoft has apparently given Karbonn Mobiles the go-ahead to release phones that boot both Android and Windows Phone. The manufacturer, based in India, reports that its dual-OS handsets will be released by June 2014. It aims to get them into the hands of both regular joes and professional users, although no one has outlined exactly what the benefits of the dual-OS set-up will be. Ease off Karbonn chairman Sudhir Hasija told the Times of India, "Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players. We signed the agreement two days ago and will launch a range of Windows Phones in about three months." If true, this is the latest in a line of actions that show Microsoft is chilling out about having absolute control over the Windows Phone platform. Reports surfaced recently that it had asked HTC to combine Windows Phone and Android on one device as well. As well as letting its new pet Nokia make the Android-based Nokia X line-up, the company has lowered the hardware requirements of Windows Phone so it can run on cheaper phones and soak up some of the big business in emerging markets. We don't expect Karbonn's dual-booting handsets to hit the UK, US or Australia, however there's a chance that other manufacturers are working on similarly two-faced devices like HTC. We'll keep you posted. So how 'bout that Nokia X? Should Microsoft be worried? New HTC One totally uncovered in latest video leak? Mar 3rd 2014, 11:00, by John McCann We've lost track of the number of times the new HTC One has been leaked, but a new video appears to reveal pretty much everything there is to know about the upcoming handset. Posted by YouTuber Roshan Jamkatel, whose Twitter bio reads "I make pranking videos!", the new HTC One is claimed to be up and running alongside its predecessor. During the poorly narrated 12 minute video Jamkatel claims the HTC M8 sports a microSD slot, two rear camera lenses and HTC's Sense 6.0 Android overlay. The body appears to sport more rounded corners and rear, while the metal chassis remains and navigation keys are moved on screen - all things which fall in line with previous rumours. Unhappy HTC? While we remain sceptical on the validity of the smartphone in this video, the leak has been given slightly more credence after HTC's Senior Global Online Communications Manager was spotted by PhoneArena making direct comments to Jamkatel on Twitter. Jeff Gordon supposedly tweeted: "it's not going to be a good week for you, my friend," followed by "we have the IMEI and all other info. We'll be in touch," but the posts have since been removed. If HTC's feathers have indeed be ruffled by this video leak it suggests there may be some truth behind it - Jamkatel's original YouTube post has even been removed, but not before another user was able to post it online. We have contacted HTC to find out more information on the leak, and we'll update this article when we hear back. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivOspWGlMdk Telstra introduces 'Digital First' Mar 3rd 2014, 05:46, by Farrha Khan In a new initiative called "Digital First", Telstra is stepping up its digital strategy with a new three-year plan that includes real-time billing and giving you an estimated arrival time for technicians. Telstra CEO David Thodey said that the telco will be starting with the roll-out of a new technical support model this month, where ADSL and mobile customers will be given a unique code for their modem or device that will be used to provide "tailored information". Thodey said that this will give customers the information they need faster and with fewer points of contact. The tailored information will also soon include real-time usage tracking and billing, as currently, usage details can be delayed by up to 24-hours. A new digital world Telstra CEO David Thodey said that the main focus of the initiative is to allow customers to have the "convenience of dealing with us on their terms in their own time". "We are challenging the way we do things to make life simpler and more convenient for our customers, giving them greater control in managing their telecommunications needs whether that be through our Telstra stores, contact centers or digitally," he said. The initiative will not only give customers more control over their own accounts, but control and transparency for services, technical appointments, support options and product features. The telco will be introducing automated job allocations and integrated mapping, which Telstra says will get technicians to jobs quicker and will provide customers estimated arrival time so you don't have to hang around for hours, only to miss the technician. Telstra is set to reveal more details about it's Digital First initiative over the coming days. March is set to become a big month for Telstra, as it will also be launching its new plans this week as well BBM for iPhone and Android to keep you in the picture with group photo messages Mar 2nd 2014, 19:24, by Chris Smith The next update for BlackBerry's ever-improving BBM app for iPhone and Android, will soon bring group photo messaging into play, the company has confirmed. In a blog post this weekend, the Waterloo-based firm said it was continually looking to add new features in order to keep customers happy and photo messaging within group chats is next on the agenda. "We know customers want to be able to share pics with multiple people in a chat. The next release of BBM will support photo sharing in multi person chats," Jeff Gadway, the firm's head of product and brand marketing wrote on the BlackBerry Blog. The support will come as BBM looks to make up ground on other popular messaging apps like Google Hangouts, Apple's iMessage and Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which already have the ability to distribute photos to more than one person. Bigger files Additionally, the company is upping the maximum file size users are able to share from 6MB to 16MB. That's 16 seconds of 1080p HD video, according to BlackBerry, or more pertinently, the difference between sharing a full resolution photo taken with a DSLR and one taken with a smartphone camera. "What this means is that you'll be able to send bigger pictures, larger documents and longer videos," Gadway added. The company didn't reveal when the update would be dropping, but considering the frequency of the changes so far, then it's unlikely to be too far away from launch. BBM to collide with Facebook Messenger on Windows Phone later this year! Mercedes-Benz has just leaked Google's 'Projected Mode' in-car tech Mar 2nd 2014, 17:29, by Chris Smith Google's long-awaited in-car solution will be called 'Projected Mode' and will 'seamlessly integrate Android smartphones within the vehicle's dashboard unit. That's according to a job posting from Daimler, the parent company of German auto giant Mercedes Benz, who're seeking a software engineer to assist with deploying the technology within its fleet of luxury cars. It seems, judging from the posting, that Google's solution will see the smartphone or tablet's display mirrored on a larger display within the car's central control unit. That would pit Google's 'Projected Mode' as a direct rival to Apple's iOS in the Car solution, which is expected to be announced with help from Mercedes at this week's Geneva Motor Show. Interchangeable The posting reads (translated): "You are responsible for the application integration of smartphones using the Google Android operating system by means of Google projected mode to the head-unit. This is a technology for the seamless integration of Android smartphones in the Mercedes-Benz head-unit. Smartphone functions such as play, for example, media content, send messages / receive phone calls, navigation, etc., can be controlled and displayed on a safe for the driver way through the vehicle's controls. "Google-projected mode, you develop one of the most significant technological innovation in the field of telematics, which should be used in all Mercedes-Benz vehicles and in all markets worldwide." Interestingly enough, there's also a posting requesting applications for a software engineer for Apple's iOS in the Car, which appears to confirm Mercedes-Benz will be bed-hopping between the two great rivals. Aside from the interchangable Apple/Google mentions, the two job postings read almost word-for-word. That would suggest that whichever smartphone they own, Mercedes drivers will be able to sync up their handset. Pretty cool. In depth: How computers have revolutionised our cars In depth: The amazing cameraphone tech that could kill compacts Mar 2nd 2014, 11:00, by James Rogerson The HTC One and LG G2 Now that smartphones have reached a plateau where any power increase is almost redundant, the camera has become one of the biggest battlefields. Manufacturers are scrambling to add more megapixels, more features and better flash modules than the competition, all without mucking up the look of their handsets. Except in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, but the less said about that the better. Consumers are anxious to get their hands on the latest cameraphones too, as they've gone from a bullet point on the box to something that can almost compete with standalone compact snappers. Want to see them in action? Check out TechRadar's best cameraphones test But while they're marketed in megapixels there's a whole lot more that goes into making a good cameraphone and quite a few differences between them, so we're taking a look at three of the most popular options on the market HTC One While most flagship phones are focused on driving the megapixels up, HTC took a brave approach with the HTC One, by focusing on the size of the pixels rather than the number. It only has a 4 megapixel sensor, but those megapixels are dubbed 'UltraPixels', which literally just means they're bigger than the pixels you'd find on a standard cameraphone. Camera sensors on smartphones are tiny, as increasing the size would cause it to take up more space on a handset and require a bigger lens too, so most smartphones have similar sized sensors and by upping the megapixel count you're really just jamming more pixels into the same space, which means making them smaller. Smaller pixels take in less light which make them less able to accurately recreate an image and can lead to noise and other distortions. Bigger pixels like those found in the HTC One can capture more light, 300% more light than many 13 megapixel cameras in fact, allowing for more detailed images. As more light can be taken in the HTC One also performs a lot better in dark environments than most smartphone cameras. The only downside to this approach is that the images are lower resolution, so while they might look fine on your phone screen they don't fare so well when blown up. As well as having bigger pixels, the HTC One's f/2.0 aperture is also larger than many of its competitors. For example the LG G2 has a f/2.4 aperture, where less f-stops equate to a larger aperture, meaning the HTC One's camera lens opens wider when taking photos and more light gets taken in. The HTC One also has optical image stabilisation, which counters shaky hands by using a gyroscope to move the lens in the opposite direction of the motion, to avoid blurry images. LG G2 The LG G2 takes the opposite approach to the HTC One, packing 13 megapixels into a sensor of roughly the same size. In fact, at 1/3.06 of an inch it's actually marginally smaller than the HTC One's 1/3 of an inch sensor. As mentioned above it also has a smaller aperture, so less light gets in and the pixels can capture less of what light does enter the sensor. On the flip side images captured by the LG G2 can be blown up a lot bigger than those from the HTC One without a noticeable loss in quality. It also means that using the cameras digital zoom is a lot more viable. Most smartphone cameras don't have an optical zoom because it would require the lens to stick out, so instead they leverage their megapixels to zoom in digitally, lowering the megapixel count the further they zoom. Obviously starting from 13 megapixels allows you to zoom further with less loss in quality than when starting with 4 as on the HTC One. One thing it shares with the HTC One is that they both feature optical image stabilisation. This is something which is becoming increasingly common in smartphones but quite a few still don't have it, even at the high end. The LG G2 also has a multi-point auto focus, meaning that it can automatically focus on up to nine subjects at once, even if they're moving, and it will automatically pick out faces and other things you're likely to want to focus on, so in busy images it's easy to ensure that everything you want to be in focus is. But a camera is nothing without its lens, so LG has used scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass to protect it. iPhone 5S and Nokia Lumia 1020 iPhone 5S The iPhone 5S in many ways sits between the LG G2 and the HTC One with its approach to photography, as it has an 8 megapixel lens, a 1/3 of an inch sensor and an f/2.2 aperture. It also has bigger pixels than the LG G2, but smaller ones than the HTC One. To be precise each pixel in the iPhone 5S is 1.5 microns, while those in the HTC One are 2 microns and in the LG G2 they're just 1.12 microns, so the iPhone 5S can capture more light than the LG G2, but less than the HTC One. Like the LG G2 it has a sapphire crystal lens but it doesn't have optical image stabilisation, though it mimics the effect with auto image stabilisation, which takes four photos in rapid succession and combines the best part of each into a single image. But the iPhone 5S is more than just a middle ground, as it's got a killer party trick of its own. Because while the LG G2 and HTC One just have a single LED flash, the iPhone 5S has a dual-LED 'True Tone' flash. One of the LEDs is white and the other is amber and for any given shot the iPhone 5S will automatically work out how much of each flash to use, from over a thousand possible combinations, to capture natural, true to life colours. Nokia Lumia 1020 The Nokia Lumia 1020 is a bit different from the rest of phones on test, with technology distinct from its competition. For starters, it comes in with a whopping 41MP sensor, which is plenty powerful and adds a whole host of technology to push the photo message on smartphones forward. The Pureview technology contained within it uses a new technology called pixel oversampling. What this means is rather than one 41MP image, several images using different pixels are taken and combined into one 5MP image - the point at which Nokia believes is good enough for camera phones. The Lumia 1020 uses six lens elements in the construction of its camera, using Carl Zeiss optics, to incorporate an extra glass sensor as well as five moulded plastic ones as well - this contributes to a much larger sensor, which is why it protrudes so far out of the back. The aperture size, as you can imagine on a sensor this size, is a little lower than the HTC One, coming in at f/2.2. However Nokia believes that its combination of the oversampling Pureview technology, combined with a high-power backlight illuminated sensor (which puts fewer components in front of the pixel to preserve more light going in) more than makes up for that. The Lumia 1020 also features OIS, as you might have guessed - the system resting on ball bearings to get a fluid shot with a stable image. It can handle much higher digital zoom thanks to the 41MP sensor, and can even output image files up to 38MP by using all the pixels at its disposal. It's also got features like a high-power Xenon flash, which the rest on test can't add in simply because it's such a chunky unit - but with the protruding rear, the 1020 has found the space. Just be ready for that added heft. Nokia has published a white paper on its camera tech used in the Lumia 1020, which you can view here to find out more on the technology. All of these cameras are great in their own way and often in quite different manners. Going forward it's cameras like these, that are innovative and well thought out, that will be the best, not just those with the most megapixels. Apps can breathe new life into a cameraphone. Check out the best ones available for Android.

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