 | Nokia Lumia 630 set to refresh Windows Phone's affordable line up Mar 4th 2014, 12:04, by James Rogerson 
Nokia isn't giving up on Windows Phone just yet as reports of the Lumia 630 leak out and point towards a 4.5-inch 854 x 480 screen, Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM. This all comes from Winp.cn, which got the information from a user of the Chinese Baidu forum with the handle Nuoji it. As they're not a known tipster it's hard to say how legitimate the information is but nothing about it raises any flags. The most interesting aspect of the Nokia Lumia 630 is perhaps the fact that it will apparently be one of the first devices to run Windows Phone 8.1, which is set to include Microsoft's Cortana virtual assistant among other things. Slicker than the 620All in all it looks like a fairly low end device but it should still be a substantial upgrade over the Nokia Lumia 620, as that only had 512MB of RAM and a 3.8-inch 480 x 800 display. It still managed to impress us with surprisingly slick performance and an affordable price tag, so hopefully Nokia can repeat the trick with the Lumia 630. We should know soon enough as Winp.cn claims the handset will launch in China in mid-April, at around the same time as Nokia hands its Devices and Services division over to Microsoft.        | | The all new HTC One teases dual cameras in official teaser Mar 4th 2014, 10:40, by John McCann 
As rumours continue to swirl around the new HTC One it appears the Taiwanese firm may have let the naming cat out of the bag after a poster appeared in the window of London store Selfridges. The poster reads "the all new HTC One" and then hints at another premium body by adding "Feel it" in big letters. HTC's UK twitter account posted the picture with the message "Something is happening in Selfridges. 25/03/14" - the same day as HTC's big event at London Olympia and in New York. Big teaseThat's not the only teaser HTC has released, with another image hitting the web with six photos of pairs - potentially hinting at the dual-camera setup rumoured to feature on the rear on the new One. 
HTC slipped this collage onto Twitter with the caption "On March 25th, life will become twice as beautiful." As if that wasn't enough, a HTC device with six different variants has also passed through the FCC in the US, and four of those models are apparently set up to work on the four major carriers in America.        | | Android tablets overtake pricey iPads in latest popularity contest Mar 3rd 2014, 22:44, by Matt Swider 
As phones go, so do tablets. In other words, Android tablets handily became more popular than their iPad counterparts for the first time, according to new data today. 120.9 million people snubbed the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 with Retina display last year in order to pick up one of the many tablets that runs Google's dominant operating system. These worldwide sales numbers give Android tabs a 61.9% market share in 2013 after having just 45.8% of the tablet pie in 2012, according to market research firm Gartner. Buyers were interested in low-end smaller screen tablets, suggested the firm, which perfectly describes the inexpensive 7-inch duo, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and Google Nexus 7. iPad sales numbersApple's 7.9 and 9.7-inch hardware still sold a combined 70.4 million with a market share of 36%. That's up from the 61.4 million sold in 2012, but down from its 52.8% market share. The company remains the number one tablet maker if the sales and market share are broken down by individual tablet manufacturer, with Samsung and Asus in second and third. Apple also has the excuse that its redesigned full-sized iPad Air and smaller iPad mini 2 with launched in November of last year. The new mini was actually in short supply too. Contrast that to Samsung and Google's pint-sized slates. Both the Tab 3 7.0 and Nexus 7 launched in July, giving them an almost four-month head start. iPad and Android tablet sales are trending toward the numbers we see from their phones. Android-powered nearly 80% of smartphones in 2013, while Apple clung to just 15%, down from 20% a year ago. Can Apple turn it around?Apple might have a few tricks up its sleeve when it introduces the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3. We could see a bigger screen via the rumored iPad Pro and Bluetooth mouse support to match what users like about the extra-large business-friendly tabs like the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. Touch ID could make the inevitable phone-to-tab transition and Apple sure has to do something with that Sapphire glass factory. A tougher screen and wireless charging are on a lot of peoples' wish lists. More than anything, the sales trend could tempt Apple to release a cheaper iPad to compete. Rather than a plastic tablet akin to the iPhone 5C, a price cut could turn things around.        | | Blip: The Galaxy Note 3 Oscars selfie was totally not product placement Mar 3rd 2014, 22:01, by Michelle Fitzsimmons 
The Oscars selfie seen 'round the world was taken with an "organically" incorporated Galaxy Note 3, according to Samsung. Viewers cried foul when host Ellen DeGeneres (via the long arm of Bradley Cooper) snapped an A-list selfie using a Note 3 that broke a retweet record. Shameless schilling! She was tweeting from an iPhone backstage! A Samsung spokesperson has since told TechCrunch that "[w]hile we were a sponsor of the Oscars and had an integration with ABC, we were delighted to see Ellen organically incorporate the device." The pic, starring the likes of Kevin Spacey, JLaw and Meryl Streep, has been retweeted almost 3 million times, and to "honor" the achievement Samsung is donating $3 million (about £1.8m/AU$3.3m) to charities of DeGeneres' choice. She picked St. Jude's Research Hospital and the Humane Society, which will split the cash equally. It's nice to know some good is coming out of something so self absorbed. More blips!Smile for more blips in 3, 2, 1...        | | Microsoft reportedly angling for Xbox Live play on Android and iOS Mar 3rd 2014, 20:50, by klee 
It looks like Microsoft is making a new play on mobile gaming, one that extends beyond Windows Phone's walls. A newly discovered job posting suggests that Microsoft is looking for new software engineers to port the Xbox Live platform to iOS and Android devices. Going beyond the SmartGlass app people can already download, it seems Microsoft wants to extend Xbox Live's functionality even further. One of goals listed in the job description included creating "a modern framework that is open source, light-weight, extensible and scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS and Android." The post also detailed Microsoft's desire to "win back" game developers from competitors, developers that perhaps switched from programming console and PC titles to become mobile game makers on more robust platforms. Winning back developers The Verge confirmed with a source familiar with the Redmond company's plans that it is building a platform to extend Xbox Live functionality to iOS and Android games directly. Prior to this new job posting, Microsoft had already implemented achievements into the Wordament app on iOS and Android, so it's not a far stretch that it would want more Xbox Live integration in games. Achievements are a big reason why Xbox gamers stick with Microsoft's platform, but it could completely steamroll the Game Center on iOS and Android's Play Games service. Achievements aside, implementing more messaging, leader boards and even voice chat could all add a new cross-platform layer to competitive and multiplayer mobile gaming. - You can also get Achievements on the Xbox One - check out our review!
       | | HTC One KitKat update suspended in the UK following user difficulties Mar 3rd 2014, 20:41, by Chris Smith 
UK-based HTC One owners forced to wait months for the Android 4.4 KitKat update to hit their device, are dealing with more frustration after the company pulled the update due to difficulties. In a statement, the Taiwanese manufacturer said it was "temporarily suspending" the update due to the unspecified problems being experienced by users. Some who have already downloaded the update are complaining of poor battery life, but it is unclear whether this is the extent of the difficulties. The company told Android Central: "We are aware that a limited number of HTC users are experiencing difficulties with the KitKat update. "As a result, all FOTA updates have been temporarily suspended. HTC is committed to providing customers with the best possible mobile experience and we are working hard to resolve the issue quickly." Successor imminentThe UK was not among the first wave of European countries to receive the update in January and the company only announced the KitKat for British HTC One owners last week. With the One's long-awaited successor, the 'All New HTC One' due later this month, the company hopes to have the 'difficulties' resolved in time for its big media event on March 25.   | | Galaxy S5 will come with a pricey amount of free goodies, says Samsung Mar 3rd 2014, 19:44, by Michael Rougeau 
Just in case the Samsung Galaxy S5 isn't sweet enough on its own, Samsung is adding some extra sugar in the form of a "Galaxy Gifts" bundle of subscriptions, premium apps and more. That's $500 (about £300/AU$560) worth of goodies, according to Samsung. It includes a year's premium subscription to the fitness apps RunKeeper and Lark AND six months with the similar Skimble and Map My Fitness as well as The Wall Street Journal. The bundle also includes three months of Businessweek+, three month premium subscriptions to LinkedIn and Evernote, and three months of massive 1TB storage via Bitcasa. There's also offers from select stores when you use PayPal, a free download of the to-do app EasilyDo Pro, $10 (about £6/AU$11) of Cut the Rope 2 credits and a six-month, 50GB subscription to the online storage service Box. Getting better all the timeAll told Samsung says the Galaxy S5 bundle is worth a decent amount of cash, clearly looking to incentivize consumers when the phone goes on sale next month. With a 5.1-inch full HD display, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, a 16MP camera, and fingerprint scanner, the Galaxy S5 is not a gargantuan step up from its predecessor, but it does carry enough welcome improvements that it will no doubt sell like gangbusters come April. Of course, much depends on the actual price of the phone, which we're still waiting to hear outside of the £599 floated for the UK. - The Galaxy S5 has a lot in common with the Galaxy Note 3 - here's TechRadar's review.
       | | Oppo's latest smartphone may feature a gut-busting 50MP camera Mar 3rd 2014, 19:00, by klee 
The smartphone megapixel war is back on as a new image suggests Chinese manufacturer Oppo might have a 50MP smartphone camera. Oppo posted a new photo of a Ford classic supposedly taken by the upcoming Find 7 in a whopping 8,160 x 6,120 resolution. The posted image may have been enhanced by some post-processing trickery, but it seems like the Find 7's camera can handle good dynamic range. We can see a lot of sharp details without any noticeable dark shadows or overblown highlights. There's a fair bit of purple fringing around the leaves (cropped out in the image above) as they meet the sunlight, but this effect is usually a fault of the lens. Even with the evidence we have here, it's too early to determine the phone's camera quality from just one image. Widening the camera gapIf the teaser image turns out to really come from the Oppo Find 7 it would dethrone the 41MP Nokia Lumia 1020 from having the highest megapixel count around. The smartphone camera tech war is picking up this year and thus far we've already seen a 16MP camera on the faster auto-focusing Samsung Galaxy S5. We should see a dual-sensor HTC One 2 soon enough, and the iPhone 6 is said to have the same 8MP sensor but with a wider aperture sapphire lens. We know megapixels don't count for even half the quality of an image, but it's a big gambit coming from Oppo. The smartphone maker has already put bets on the Find 7. Earlier reports suggest the phone will launch in two variants, one housing a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution display and the other a 1080p screen. We'll find out if all of this hardware boasting is real very soon when the Oppo Find 7 is announced on March 19.        | | Acer giving Windows Phone the cold shoulder until more apps are available Mar 3rd 2014, 17:46, by JR Bookwalter 
Avoiding Microsoft's smartphone platform until more of your favorite apps are available? Turns out at least one smartphone manufacturer feels the same way and plans to sit on the sidelines until Redmond gets its act together. The Inquirer got the word straight from Acer that while it may have a cozy relationship with Microsoft when it comes to Windows 8 notebooks and tablets, it believes Windows Phone 8 has much longer odds for success. Acer Vice President of EMEA Allen Burnes, a former Motorola veteran, said his company "can't take the risk" on further Windows Phone devices until consumers have a better selection of apps at their fingertips. "There are a whole bunch of elements around the application space which need fixing, which for us, is a a big deal," Burnes elaborated, referring to the situation as "no good for consumers." Show us the marketThe Acer veep apparently has the numbers to back up such tough talk, having released a single ill-fated Windows Phone handset back in late 2011, the Acer W4. While Windows Phone currently enjoys more than 10% market share in Europe, growth there appears to have stalled, and Microsoft is apparently going to have to find a way to increase that number to at least 15% in order to get Acer interested again. "The fact is, until people start talking about the great experience you can have on Windows Phone, we can't go in on it," Burnes said. In the meantime, Acer appears fully committed to Android smartphones, despite the company getting in to bed with Redmond when it comes to Windows-powered tablets and PCs. - Speaking of Android, check out our review of the Nexus 5!
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