| Apple's pressure-sensitive touchscreen probably won't make the iPhone 6 Apr 3rd 2014, 15:31, by Hugh Langley 
Another Apple patent has surfaced for our speculative pleasure and this one is of particular interest: it outlines a pressure-sensitive touchscreen technology. Using infrared lighting and capacitive touch to detect the amount of internal reflection from your finger, the technology would be able to work out how much force is being applied to the screen. The addition could open up some really interesting new ways of interacting with our iPhones and iPads, not least for games. Under pressureAnd don't worry about those greasy fingers - apparently the technology will also be able to determine the presence of smudges or water. As far as we know, Apple's may have done little else but file the patent, so there's no guarantee we'll see this swanky new tech any time soon. But this isn't the first patent Cupertino has registered a patent for pressure-sensitive tech, which makes it seem a lot more of a likely prospect. We just don't expect it'll be here in time for the iPhone 6.   |  | Early view: Nokia Lumia 930 vs Nokia Lumia 925 Apr 3rd 2014, 15:05, by James Rogerson 
Windows Phone is really starting to pick up steam as the OS matures and Android levels of power have started to be packed into its handsets, the latest of which is the Nokia Lumia 930. One of the first phones to run the until-recently-kind-of-mythical Windows Phone 8.1, the 930 is the flagship phone set to replace the ageing Nokia Lumia 925. Here's an early view of what's changed and the myriad ways in which the Nokia Lumia 930 looks to be a superior handset. Headline featuresThese two flagships share many of the same headline features, in that both have a premium and rather similar metal-infused design and both put a focus on photography. However the Lumia 930's snapping smarts go way beyond what the Lumia 925 can manage, thanks to a much higher megapixel camera (20MP vs 8.7MP) and some new camera modes. 
Beyond that the Nokia Lumia 930 is acting as a show home for Windows Phone 8.1 and all the features that come with it, but we're expecting that the Lumia 925 will get some Windows Phone 8.1 love before long too. The Lumia 930 is also a truly powerful phone with oodles of speed and RAM, while the Nokia Lumia 925 put less of a focus on specs. ScreenThe Nokia Lumia 925 has a 4.5 inch 768 x 1280, 332 pixels per inch AMOLED display and it's reasonable quality, though fell some way below what was expected of a flagship even when it launched last year as it wasn't even full HD. The Nokia Lumia 930 is, thankfully, a 1080p display. Its 1080 x 1920 display is also bigger at 5 inches, but still manages a higher pixel density of 441 pixels per inch. It's an AMOLED display, just like the Lumia 925 and both phones use Nokia's ClearBlack technology which enhances the contrast of the screen. 
On paper the Lumia 930's screen should be a little tougher though, as it uses Gorilla Glass 3 while the 925 has Gorilla Glass 2. The Lumia 930 also features Super Sensitive Touch and 180-degree viewing angles. DesignBoth the Nokia Lumia 925 and the Nokia Lumia 930 have unmistakeably premium designs but Nokia hasn't really redesigned things much with its newer handset. Both Windows Phone smartphones have an aluminium frame and a polycarbonate back, though where the Lumia 925 eschewed bright colours for a choice of just black, white or grey the Lumia 930 will be available in black, white, green and orange, so you can combine the colourfulness that Lumia is known for with a premium aesthetic. 
On the other hand at 137 x 71 x 9.8mm and 167g the Lumia 930 is quite a lot thicker and heavier than the 129 x 70.6 x 8.5mm and 139g Lumia 925. OSCurrently the Nokia Lumia 925 runs Windows Phone 8 while the Nokia Lumia 930 runs the newer, shinier Windows Phone 8.1 with all its fancy features like Cortana voice search and Action Centre. 
That all gives the Nokia Lumia 930 a huge advantage, but that advantage is likely to be short lived as in theory all Windows Phone 8 devices will get the 8.1 update. CPU and RAMThe Nokia Lumia 925 came out at a time when Windows Phone wasn't trying to go toe to toe with Android on specs, but even so its 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB of RAM felt a little lacking at launch and by this point it's barely scraping what we'd consider to be mid-range. The Nokia Lumia 930 thankfully stomps all over it with a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM. It's not quite a match for say the Samsung Galaxy S5 or HTC One (M8), as it misses out on the excellent Snapdragon 801 CPU, but it's still likely to be a real powerhouse. CameraIf there's one area where Lumia flagships tend to excel it's in their photography chops, but that said the Nokia Lumia 925 is again starting to look a bit dated here. Its 8.7 megapixel sensor isn't likely to drop any jaws but it does feature optical image stabilisation and it's capable of some solid shots and has a bunch of different modes and editing options. 
The Nokia Lumia 930 should be in a whole different league though. It has a 20 megapixel sensor along with optical image stabilisation, so you can expect much sharper photos, plus it has some new features such as 'Living Images' which turn photos into GIF-like MP4 files. It should be better for video too as while both phones are capped at 1080p 30fps the Nokia Lumia 930 has four microphones, allowing you to record audio in surround sound. BatteryThe Lumia 930 has a 2420 mAh battery which Nokia reckons will give it a 3G talk time of up to 15.5 hours. The Nokia Lumia 925 has a significantly smaller 2000 mAh battery and with it a lesser talk time of 12.8 hours. So it doesn't like there'll be a huge difference in battery life, but every little helps and the Lumia 930 should have a bit more juice than its predecessor, especially if Windows Phone 8.1 is kinder on the power pack. PriceThe Nokia Lumia 930 is expected to retail for around £360 / 434 Euros / $599 / AU$648 before taxes and subsidies when it launches in June, so with VAT added it's likely to be more like £400 in the UK. The Nokia Lumia 925 can now be picked up from around £280 / 338 Euros / $465 / AU$504, so it's a fair bit cheaper as you might expect, but then it's also substantially older and worse. Early verdictThe Nokia Lumia 930 is more than just an incremental upgrade over the Lumia 925. First impressions show a phone which is far more powerful, has a much improved camera, a higher resolution screen and superior battery life. 
It doesn't have any stand-out features/gimmicks like a fingerprint scanner and most of its software features will likely make their way over to the Lumia 925 before long, but its hardware is vastly superior.   | | Analysis: Apple's WWDC logos through the ages: what did they tell us? Apr 3rd 2014, 15:03, by Kate Solomon 
Apple's WWDC 2014 developer conference is set for June 2 and we're already feverish with anticipation. What will Apple announce? iOS 8? An OS X Mavericks successor? An iPhone, an iPad, some Macbooks? For the sake of our wallets, we hope not all of the above. As in previous years, the company has designed a natty new logo for the occasion. But what can we divine from these colourful squares and their optical shenanigans? We've taken a look back at previous years invites with the benefit of glorious hindsight to see what's what. 2008
The original iPhone was announced at MacWorld in January 2007 and speculation about an iPhone 3G was rife ahead of WWDC 2008. The invite, showing a landmark (the Golden Gate Bridge, obviously) split into two hinted at two major announcements - and so there were: Hello iPhone 3G, hello App Store full of third-party apps. Also unveiled were iOS 2.0 (!), push notifications and MobileMe (RIP). 2009
An uninspiring look for WWDC 2009, with the iPhone and its apps taking a rather drab centre stage. All we could really tell about the show from the teaser logos was that the iPhone was going to be the focus. We were hoping for iOS 4.0, a new iPhone and a major Snow Leopard update to "give Windows 7 a run for its money" before Steve Jobs took to the WWDC stage to reveal the iPhone 3GS, an underwhelming Snow Leopard update and a new MacBook Pro line-up. Our phone expert Gareth Beavis was also unimpressed by the iPhone 3GS, saying that it "failed to lay the smackdown on the Palm Pre." Oh Gareth. 2010
Apps were firmly on the menu for WWDC 2010, but the logo didn't exactly hint at the iPhone 4 that Steve Jobs ended up announcing at the conference. Described as the world's thinnest smartphone, it launched with a now-laughable 9.3mm depth, a mobile gaming game-changing gyroscope and a host of antenna-related problems. 2011
Now here's an image that hints at the conjoining of Mac OS and iOS - all those apps sitting in the MacBook-esque sea of grey? It was the logical conclusion. Unfortunately, it was also the incorrect conclusion. The iPad had launched in the previous year and we expected iOS 5 to be announced at WWC 2011 hand-in-hand with the iPhone 5. What we got was iOS 5, iMessage, Newsstand, over-the-air updates, OS X Lion and the phrase "Post PC". In a shock move for Apple, the iPhone 4S wasn't unveiled until October 2011. 2012
Here's where things started getting colourful. The app-ish squares that make up the Apple logo hinted at news of iOS 6 in that they looked like app logos and we were expecting iOS 6. The show sold out in record time (under two hours) and did indeed see the launch of the new OS. The logo didn't exactly tip us off to the debut of the ill-fated Apple Maps app, though. 2013
Well hello, new slimline font for iOS 7. We could only identify that with the benefit of hindsight, but Apple hadn't been this obvious since the "landmark" invite of 2008. Rumours that a whole new look for iOS was on the cards percolated for weeks ahead of WWDC 2013 and we weren't disappointed by the flatter, cleaner iOS 7. Mac OS X also got a rejig in the form of Mavericks, and Apple also launched iTunes Radio. 2014
So what can we divine about WWDC 2014 from all this? Well, not a whole lot more than the obvious. We're expecting iOS 8 but with the iPhone 5C-ish colours and iOS 7 font present on the new logo, we don't think it'll be a huge change from the previous iteration (at least as far as design is concerned). There's nothing to suggest a new iPhone. There's nothing to suggest a new iPad. There's nothing to suggest an Apple TV set or an iWatch. But it's Apple, so you really just never know. We'll be reporting on the big WWDC 2014 keynote live on June 2, so stay tuned for all the official news as it breaks.   | | Cortana on its way to all of Nokia's Windows Phone 8 handsets Apr 3rd 2014, 14:40, by James Rogerson 
If you're using a Lumia handset that runs Windows Phone 8 then you could soon be enjoying all the new Windows Phone 8.1 features, as Nokia has confirmed that it will be coming to all such devices as an over-the-air update, starting this summer. Nokia only mentions Lumia handsets but we'd expect non-Lumia devices will get the update too However if you're on an older Windows Phone 7, 7.5 or 7.8 handset like the Nokia Lumia 900, Lumia 800, Lumia 710, Lumia 610, Samsung Focus S or HTC 7 Mozart you won't be getting the update. Meet CortanaMicrosoft tells us that the Windows Phone 8.1 will be rolling out to current WP8 users in the coming months. We don't have a more specific date than that for the start of the roll out. Unfortunately, the new Cortana voice assistant which looks set to give Siri and Google Now a run for their money will not hit the UK until late 2014, but it will roll-out in beta in the US this summer. It's not quite Windows Phone 9, but it's a worthy update all the same. - Want a new handset to enjoy Windows Phone 8.1 on? Check out the Nokia Lumia 930.
       | | Apple's WWDC will kick off on June 2, hopefully with iOS 8 in tow Apr 3rd 2014, 13:03, by Hugh Langley 
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (that's WWDC to most of you) will kick off on June 2 in San Francisco. As you probably know already, the annual event is a pretty big deal: Apple tends to showcase its new software and hardware for developers so we're guaranteed to get a sneak peek on what's on the horizon. This year we're expecting to see the big reveal of iOS 8 and hopefully hear much more about that rumoured Healthbook app that's apparently leaked out already. Can you smell what Tim's Cooking?Last year was a big one. We saw iOS 7, OS X Mavericks, iTunes Radio all unveiled, as well as the new Mac Pro and Apple's updated MacBook Air. Developers can go apply for tickets for the event on the WWDC website starting now. Deadline is April 7 at 10am PDT.        | | In Depth: Cortana: everything you need to know about Microsoft's Siri rival Apr 3rd 2014, 12:40, by Gary Marshall 
We knew Cortana was coming, but we didn't expect her to keep her codename: in the Halo games Cortana is an artificial intelligence that goes wrong. It's a sign of Microsoft's current confidence that such things don't seem to matter: when Joe Belfiore asked Cortana whether she liked her name and appearance at this week's Build 2014, she replied that she resembled a halo — and she did it in a voice that sounded awfully like Jen Taylor, who plays Cortana in the video game. So what is Cortana, and what can she do for you? What is Microsoft Cortana?Cortana is a personal digital assistant, a kind of silicon secretary who can help make your life easier. Instead of searching for things you ask Cortana - so if you want to know what the weather forecast is, how many pounds are in a kilo, who's winning the football or when Jim's birthday is, you'll ask and Cortana will give you the answer. 
Microsoft says that Cortana will be socially intelligent, so for example you'll be able to set a reminder to ask somebody about something, and the reminder will pop up if you text, call or otherwise interact with that person. How does it work?Cortana can be voice activated or you can type your questions or commands, and she'll respond in kind: silently if you type and verbally if you talk. She replaces the search function in Windows Phone and appears as a Live Tile on your device. Her intelligence comes via Bing, which has access to Tellme's natural language processing (which Microsoft acquired in 2007), the Satori knowledge repository and Microsoft's enormous cloud processing power. Cortana is designed to learn about you and store what matters in her Notebook. That means she'll silence your phone during your favoured quiet times, warn you about travel issues and remind you that your friends owe you money. 
What's the Microsoft Cortana release date?Cortana will be released "in the next few months" as a beta for Windows 8.1, and she will be US-only to begin with. The full version is planned for a late-2014 launch in the US, UK and China, with other countries getting Cortana in 2015. For now, Cortana development appears to be limited to Windows Phone 8.1 - although an appearance on Windows and the Xbox One is surely a case of when, not if. Is it better than Siri and Google Now?As you might expect, Microsoft promises that Cortana will be the best thing ever: she'll take the best of Google Now's analysis and Siri's user-friendliness, bring them together and then take everything one step further. Cortana won't just listen to you, she'll understand you, and she'll be aware of everything from your location to your personal preferences. So when you ask her to book a hotel, she'll find the kind of hotel you like in the kind of area you like to stay in at the kind of price you want to pay. If you're in an airport she'll anticipate that you need a boarding card and will have it ready when you unlock your phone. These are the kinds of things we're used to hearing from Apple and Google, yet they've not come to fruition... could Microsoft have stolen a march here? 
Cortana will be available to third party developers: unlike Siri, which is limited to Apple's own apps and a few Apple-anointed services, Cortana could potentially work with any of your apps. Microsoft demonstrated Cortana working in Skype, Hulu Plus and Facebook. That third-party support could be significant. Cortana could be a wine expert and a travel agent and a personal assistant and anything else you might need to make your everyday life a little bit easier. The vision is of Cortana as a smart, well-informed helper or friend. It'll be a few months before we discover if Microsoft can deliver on those promises. Isn't Cortana just Microsoft Bob all over again?Bob was years ahead of his time: he was made in 1996, when the world didn't have decent mobile broadband, let alone cloud computing and the enormous amounts of data Cortana can process. We can't wait to discover what Cortana has to say about him.        | | Analysis: How Microsoft got it right at Build 2014 Apr 3rd 2014, 12:11, by Max Slater-Robins and Dan Grabham 
Build 2014 didn't contain a huge number surprises, with modest tweaks being made to Windows 8.1 in the form of Windows 8.1 Update 1 and the announcement of Windows Phone 8.1 as expected. What wasn't expected was that Microsoft has said it will re-introduce the Start Menu to a future version of Windows 8 - possibly Windows 8.2. Interestingly Microsoft has also bowed to pressure and elected to bring back the traditional start menu in the desktop mode. This does signal that Microsoft is listening to user concerns and is willing to act upon them in order to improve the experience. It's like Microsoft has realised that the answer to its Windows navigation woes was there all along. And for that reason alone, Microsoft got it right at Build 2014. 
But it did well in other areas, too, bowing to the needs and wants of developers. Universal apps that are coded to work on phones, desktops and tablets will now also run natively in desktop, further removing the distinction between the Start screen and the desktop - in Windows 8.1 Update 1 you'll also be able to get to the Taskbar from any screen. But there were some great tech thrills and spills. The biggest addition is Cortana to Windows Phone which could prove to be a break-through feature when consumers see what it can do for them. Detractors will compare it to Siri, but it has some unique tricks up its sleeve. Microsoft's Joe Belfiore called Cortana a "truly personal digital assistant for Windows Phone" and it functions in much the same way as Siri or Google Now, performing tasks via a spoken command and offering information intuitively. She — Cortana's voice is female — completely replaces Bing search on Windows Phone. In a similar style to Google Now's "Magic Wand" feature, Cortana features a Notebook which contains all of the things she can keep track of, including a "close friends" list and an option for quiet hours during which she will not bother you. Cortana's functionality extends to keeping track of your appointments, finding you restaurants (via data from Yelp), forecasting the weather, reminding you of events and answering questions on a myriad of topics. In the demo Microsoft showed off Cortana's integration with third-party services such as Facebook, Hulu and Skype with more to come via APIs from Microsoft. 
Windows Phone has finally gotten a notification hub in its 8.1 update. Called Action Centre, the hub shows quick settings options (Bluetooth, Airplane mode, WiFi and cellular data shut off) along with battery percentage (previously buried in the settings menu) as well as showing you all of your notifications. Microsoft has also reworked the lock screen allowing developers the opportunity to show you notifications in exciting new ways. The home screen has also been changed to allow a "high density" option that features more tiles. A background can also be set underneath the tiles, allowing for a more customisable experience on Windows Phone. While there are no particular surprises here, it is interesting to see Microsoft move into the league of the big boys, introducing a key feature to compete with Siri and Google Now, as well as other more fundamental features such as a notification hub. None of the additions in 8.1 are groundbreaking, and neither should they be since it is only a point one update. They do, however, improve the experience of Windows Phone, increasing the appeal to new users. Windows 8.1 Update 1 helps mouse and keyboardThe improvements made in Windows 8.1 Update 1 are not groundbreaking, but do improve the experience on desktops and laptops that use a mouse and keyboard as opposed to a touch screen. Microsoft has re-introduced many of the key software buttons that Windows 8 and 8.1 lacked, meaning the experience is far more pleasant on the majority of PCs. 
Microsoft has taken a two steps forward, one step back approach with Windows 8. It introduced a radical redesign that was predominately focused on touch and then gradually began reintroducing key aspects of the UI that focus on non-touch users. Alongside Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft also played to those keen for hardware announcements - as part of the show Nokia announced three new phones: the Lumia 930, the Lumia 630 and 635. All three will launch with Windows Phone 8.1 with the 930 becoming the new flagship Nokia — and now Microsoft — device. The 930 has an impressive 5-inch full HD display rocking a pixel density of 441 pixels per inch along plus a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2.2GHz on four cores with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The 930 will become available in June in Europe. It looks like a cracking high-end device while the 630 and 635 may have what it takes to compete at the low-end, but none of them are likely to drastically change the future of Nokia or Microsoft. 
As mobile analyst Benedict Evans notes on Twitter, the market for these devices does not appear to be huge despite Nokia's best efforts at making the devices as attractive as possible. Perhaps Microsoft's near unlimited pockets can aid the advertising of the Lumia range but until then Nokia needs to produce something truly spectacular to break through. But overall Microsoft did rather well during the opening Build keynote. It teased a future OS update, wowed with Cortana and appeased those wanting hardware. It wasn't exceptional or completely stunning, but it was pretty solid. And that's about all you can ask from a company needing to get back on track with consumers and developers alike.   | | Is this mystery Samsung a Galaxy S5 with a Quad HD screen? Apr 3rd 2014, 09:09, by James Rogerson 
While we're still waiting for the Galaxy S5 to launch it looks like Samsung might already be working on something even better - or at least something with a higher resolution screen anyway. A device listed as the SM-G906S has appeared on GFXBench and while the 'Info' tab is hidden, keeping most of the details of the handset locked away, the mystery phone is listed as having a QHD (2560 x 1440) display. That would one-up the 1080 x 1920 display on the Galaxy S5. It scores well in GFXBench's tests so it should be pretty powerful too, though it falls slightly behind the Samsung Galaxy S5 so we could be looking at a curious mix of a better screen with less power. A galaxy of possibilitiesWhether this is a variant of the Samsung Galaxy S5 or an entirely new beast isn't clear, though given the differences in both screen and performance it looks like this could be something totally new. On the other hand the model number isn't super far removed from the Galaxy S5's SM-G900 number, so a variant is still possible. So what is it? And when will we see it? So many questions and so few answers. But we're sure this won't be the last we see of the SM-G906S so hopefully we'll get some soon.        | | Is Google plotting an 'Android Silver' support service for select devices? Apr 2nd 2014, 20:50, by Chris Smith 
Google may be plotting a new premium support initiative centred around selected Android devices, according to rumours on Wednesday. AndroidPolice has obtained internal Google documents explaining an 'Android Silver' programme, which could feature a maximum of five devices running the latest version of Android, and very few UI changes. Those who sign up, according to the report, would be entitled to set-up support from well-trained staff at carrier stores, as well as help transferring data and making their first purchase on the Play Store. After leaving the store, Android Silver members would have access to a Hangout Assistant (like Amazon's Mayday) who could answer questions and troubleshoot problems 24/7, the leaked document says. Never LostThe rumour, which purportedly originates from documents shown to Google employees in December, also speaks of a Never Lost feature, which would allow Android Silver members to track and wipe their device. Beyond that, the suggested Never Lost feature would help users navigate back to their lost device, remote back up data and even offer a loaner phone until the old one could be found or replaced. The concierge-style service is by no means certain to happen. The originator of the report gives it a "6/10" in the rumour stakes, but it's certainly interesting to see Google thinking about upping its support game. The insistence on up to date Android and limited UI changes could perhaps encourage OEMs to act promptly when pushing updates, in order to be part of Google's premium range. That of course, would help to ease Android's problem with crippling fragmentation. Right now, it all remains conjecture. Interesting conjecture, but conjecture nonetheless.        | | In Depth: Windows Phone 8.1 vs Windows Phone 8: what's new in Microsoft's mobile OS? Apr 2nd 2014, 20:47, by Joe Osborne 
During the Build 2014 conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Microsoft CVP Joe Belfiore pulled the curtain back on the much-rumored, long awaited Windows Phone 8.1 update. Set to launch in the coming months on existing handsets and packed into upcoming models, Windows Phone 8.1 looks and sounds like much more than a "point update." This could have easily been dubbed "Windows Phone 9." Here's what's new and different in Windows Phone 8.1: Cortana jacks into Windows PhoneWindows Phone 8.1 marks the launch of Microsoft's voice recognition and Bing-powered mobile personal assistant, Cortana. Named after the artificial intelligence that has followed the titular Halo protagonist, Master Chief, around for years, Cortana is basically Microsoft's answer to Google Now on Android 4.4 Kitkat and Siri on iOS 7. On stage, Belfiore pitched Cortana not only as the most important change to Windows Phone, but as "the world's first truly personal assistant," with an emphasis on "personal". Cortana is designed to use both Bing and your phone's internal data – such as contacts, calendar and more – to build a personal relationship with users, to get to know them. 
Cortana can handle all the basic tasks you would expect from a voice-powered tool, like scheduling reminders, setting up alarms and translating voice to text. But Microsoft has baked in support for third-party apps, too, like Facebook, Hulu and Skype. Now, you can check in on Facebook friends, load up your Hulu Plus queue and initiate calls with your voice. When Windows Phone 8.1 launches, Cortana will have a "beta" tag until Microsoft sends Cortana to UK and Chinese Windows Phone devices in the "second half of 2014." Action Center leaps into … you knowAt last, Windows Phone catches up to the competition with its very own drawer of quick settings. Microsoft calls this the "Action Center," but it's essentially an answer to what Android has offered for several versions and what Apple introduced with iOS 7. This settings drawer of sorts offers simple access to control over Wi-Fi, Flight Mode, the Bluetooth radio and interface rotation lock. You'll also see notifications from all of your apps within Action Center, in case you missed them on their Live Tiles. Even more personal Live TilesMicrosoft has finally opened up support for three columns of Live Tiles, Microsoft's name for the interactive elements of its mobile operating system, to handsets of all sizes. But more importantly, you can now choose a "Start background." 
This feature allows users to choose a single image that will appear across and behind all of their Live Tiles, sort of like a sliced up photo. However, this effect only applies to a certain number of tiles. Nevertheless, "Start background" makes for a super stylish look to your home screen. Swyping a winning keyboardThanks to a tool that Microsoft has dubbed its "Word Flow Keyboard," Windows Phone now support swipe typing. Popularized by the fan-favorite Swype keyboard on Android, this allows you to more easily type one-handed by gliding your fingers along the virtual keys rather than tap. This might have earned Redmond campus the Guinness World Record for swipe typing – do these give these out for anything these days? – but Android still did it first. Regardless, there's clearly some merit to second place. 
Skype meets FaceTime head-onWith Windows Phone 8.1, you can start a Skype video call right from within a standard phone call just by tapping the corresponding icon. It seems quite similar to what iOS users can do through Apple's FaceTime, though it works with Cortana as well. Regardless, we'll have to see how this works when calling Android and iOS users. Action shots get easier with Burst ModeJust like on some Android phones, Windows Phone devices can now shoot images in Burst Mode, meaning the camera can take several shots with a single button press. Given the focus on the camera for many of these handsets, this should provide a much-wanted boost to Microsoft's mobile camera software. 
Additional improvementsOn top of these marquee upgrades, Microsoft fleshed out its Data Sense, Wi-Fi Sense, Storage Sense and Battery Saver tools to grant more control over those aspects of your phone. Of course, they're all designed to save, whether that be saved battery life, saved storage, or saved data. Plus, you can now project the contents of your phone's display to a PC, TV or projector over USB as well as Miracast on some supported devices. Xbox Music has been refreshed as well, separating music, video and podcasts into dedicated apps with additional functionality. There's plenty more to see in Windows Phone 8.1, like improvements to Internet Explorer 11 (such as InPrivate browsing), Calendar (like a week view option) and further syncing between your Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices (right down to the color scheme). So, yeah, it will be worth the upgrade.        | | Updated: The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 are the first to launch with Windows Phone 8.1 Apr 2nd 2014, 20:08, by Michael Rougeau 
Microsoft and Nokia unveiled not one, but two new Lumia devices at the Build 2014 conference: the Nokia Lumia 630 and the Nokia Lumia 635. They're two budget-priced handsets that come in a variety of SIM configurations, Nokia Executive Vice President of Devices and Sevices Stephen Elop revealed. More importantly, they'll be the first two smartphones to launch with Windows Phone 8.1 - including the new Siri rival, Cortana - out of the box. The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 bring "an un-compromised Microsoft experience and an un-compromised Lumia experience to more people at much lower price points," Elop said. The important of two SIMsThe Lumia 630 comes in two variants: a standard single-SIM 3G version and a 3G dual-SIM model. It's the first Lumia phone to support two SIM cards, a feature enabled by the Windows Phone 8.1 update. The Lumia 635 is the 4G model, and it only supports one SIM. Elop demonstrated that it's easy to differentiate call histories, listings and more between the 630's two SIM cards, and switching SIMs on the fly when placing a call a matter of a single tap. Dual SIM phones will be important in the near future, Elop said, adding that analysts predict over 100 million will be sold in 2016. Launch date and pricingBoth new Lumia phones come in five "stunning" colors, Elop said, and feature interchangeable shells. They're packing 4.5-inch LCD displays, 1830mAh batteries and 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processors. Additionally, the three-column interface new to WP 8.1 that Microsoft showed off earlier in the presentation works even on these smaller-screened devices, as demonstrated by Elop. Both phones will also take full advantage of Microsoft's Siri rival, Cortana - when it arrives in Australia. The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 of course come with Nokia apps like Mix Radio and Here Maps, as well as Microsoft's new built-in fitness capability, called "SensorCore." With SensorCore, the 630 and 635 keep track of steps taken and calories burned using Bing Fitness and the phones' sensors. Both phones will launch in May starting in Asia and will travel around the world, though no date has been confirmed for Australia. While pricing for Aussies haven't been revealed yet, the 3G single SIM Lumia 630 will launch at around US$159 (about AU$170), the 3G dual SIM Lumia 630 will be US$169 (about AU$180), and the 4G Lumia 635 will sell for around US$189 (about AU$205).   | | Updated: New Lumia 630, Lumia 635 will be the first to launch with Windows Phone 8.1 Apr 2nd 2014, 20:08, by Michael Rougeau
Microsoft and Nokia unveiled not one, but two new Lumia devices at the Build 2014 conference: the Nokia Lumia 630 and the Nokia Lumia 635. They're two budget-priced handsets that come in a variety of SIM configurations, Nokia Executive Vice President of Devices and Sevices Stephen Elop revealed. More importantly, they'll be the first two smartphones to launch with Windows Phone 8.1 - including the new Siri rival, Cortana - out of the box. The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 bring "an un-compromised Microsoft experience and an un-compromised Lumia experience to more people at much lower price points," Elop said. The important of two SIMsThe Lumia 630 comes in two variants: a standard single-SIM 3G version and a 3G dual-SIM model. It's the first Lumia phone to support two SIM cards, a feature enabled by the Windows Phone 8.1 update. The Lumia 635 is the 4G model, and it only supports one SIM. Elop demonstrated that it's easy to differentiate call histories, listings and more between the 630's two SIM cards, and switching SIMs on the fly when placing a call a matter of a single tap. Dual SIM phones will be important in the near future, Elop said, adding that analysts predict over 100 million will be sold in 2016. Launch date and pricingBoth new Lumia phones come in five "stunning" colors, Elop said, and feature interchangeable shells. They're packing 4.5-inch LCD displays, 1830mAh batteries and 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processors. Additionally, the three-column interface new to WP 8.1 that Microsoft showed off earlier in the presentation works even on these smaller-screened devices, as demonstrated by Elop. Both phones will take full advantage of Microsoft's Siri rival, Cortana, as well. The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 of course come with Nokia apps like Mix Radio and Here Maps, as well as Microsoft's new built-in fitness capability, called "SensorCore." With SensorCore, the 630 and 635 keep track of steps taken and calories burned using Bing Fitness and the phones' sensors. Both phones will launch in May starting in Asia and will travel around the world, arriving in the US by July. The 3G single SIM Lumia 630 will launch at around $159 (about £95, AU$170), the 3G dual SIM Lumia 630 will be $169 (about £101, AU$180), and the 4G Lumia 635 will sell for around $189 (about £115, AU$205). T-Mobile, MetroPCS , AT&T and Aio - an AT&T subsidiary - have all announced that they'll be carrying the Lumia 635 in the US. T-Mobile and MetroPCS will sell it for "a low upfront cost with zero service contract, zero overages, zero hidden device costs and zero upgrade wait." AT&T shared no further details except to confirm that the 635 will launch this year.        | | Google toiling away on gaggle of new Gmail features Apr 2nd 2014, 19:59, by JR Bookwalter 
If there's one service we rely on each day more than any other, it would be email - and of the most popular email clients around may soon be infused with new superpowers straight from the Google mothership. Geek turned up screenshots today from what appears to be a forthcoming version of Gmail for Android, which the report claims will bring an avalanche of new features after being unleashed from internal testing. Gmail users shouldn't expect a complete visual makeover, but Google is attempting to make the app more useful with the addition of new tabs for Travel, Purchases and Finance, much like the previous Social, Promotions, Forums and Updates sections added last year. For those too busy to attend to their inbox, Google is also planning to implement a snooze feature into Gmail, which will restore a previously read email back to the inbox after a predetermined amount of time. Inbox, pinnedSpeaking of the inbox, Gmail developers are also hard at work developing a new feature called Pinned, which allows users to keep important emails front and center at the top of their inbox. According to one of the screenshots, the Pinned feature includes a toggle that will instantly shift emails back to their original place with a single tap, perfect for viewing incoming missives sorted by date. Curiously, the currently available star system doesn't show up anywhere in the leaked screenshots, although it's unknown if Gmail plans to eliminate this feature entirely or plans to incorporate it into future builds. There's no telling how soon these new Gmail features might make their debut, and there could be plenty more simmering on the back burner that we have yet to discover.   | | Build 2014: Nokia Lumia 930 revealed as Windows Phone 8.1 flagship Apr 2nd 2014, 17:53, by Michelle Fitzsimmons 
There's a new flagship Windows Phone at Build 2014: meet the Lumia 930. It's packing Windows Phone 8.1, of course, and features a 5-inch Full HD display. The PureView camera rings in at 20MP and features optical image stabilization and Zeiss optics, while there's an HD 1.2MP wide-angle camera affixed to the front. With the new Lumia, the Nokia Camera app features something called Living Images. Nokia describes it as a way to "turn static pictures into living memories," but to use it basically sounds like Nokia's answer to HTC's Zoe. On the sound side, the 930 features four high-performance digital microphones, allowing for directional recording. During an on-stage demo the sound was crisp and surround. Nokia, which pending regulatory approval is almost completely Microsoft's, has managed to pack in wireless charging as well, a cordless way to charge the 2,420mAh battery. Snappy The Lumia 930 runs on a 2.2GHz quad-coare Snapdragon 800 processor and houses 32GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. It's LTE capable and features Bluetooth 4.0 LE. As for the rest of the phone, the display is 1080p with 441 ppi. Touch may be a forgone conclusion with smartphones these days, but the Lumia 930 does feature Super Sensitive Touch for what it's worth. Parts-wise the Lumia 930 is built on an aluminum frame with a polycarbonate back. Easy being greenThe Lumia 930 will be available in June starting in Europe, but don't look for it in the US as Nokia has thrown its hat in with the Lumia Icon and Lumia 1520. That device, by the way, will get a fresh coat of green paint. The new Lumia will retail for $599 (about £360, AU$648) before taxes and subsidies, and be available in orange, green, black and white. Check it out in action below: YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7eMY45Fw0MMore to follow...        | |
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