 | Video: Here's the Amazon phone we want to see May 16th 2014, 13:01, by Owen Hughes 
Is Amazon eyeing up the smartphone game? With its Kindle range making a big splash in the tablet and e-reader markets and its huge catalogue of online content, a venture into the smartphone fray would be the next logical step for the world's largest online retailer. In fact, we're almost certain it is. If recent leaks and industry whisperings are to be believed, Amazon already has a prototype up and running and it's packing some rather interesting features. An absurd-sounding five (count it – five) cameras are thought to adorn the front of the Amazon phone, the belief being that they're there to introduce advanced 3D gestures and motion tracking capabilities. Sadly, the design we've glimpsed leaves a lot to be desired, and we think there's untapped potential for Amazon to make its phone a unique offering in the overcrowded and often same-y market. Here's TechRadar's own vision - take note, Amazon. FutTv : E2wwA8oQv39ga       | | In Depth: The next smartphone war is going to be cheap, not nasty May 16th 2014, 13:00, by Gareth Beavis -470-75.jpg)
A cheaper futureIn 2009, a battle line was drawn. One that would create deep divides in the smartphone world, even within brands themselves, and will have a significant impact on the next phone you'll buy. What happened back then? Smartphones got good. Processing power reached the point where you didn't have to choose between spending a year's salary and having a decent experience browsing the web on the go, opening up the tech to a wider range of users. As you'd expect over the years, that performance has been built upon to give us octa-core handsets with more RAM than a over-zealous farmer, putting truly phenomenal power in our pockets. But that line, the one that showed a baseline of 'acceptable smartphone performance' has translated into phones that cost hardly anything to produce and could lead to the biggest change in the smartphone market to date. And it's not just the lesser-known brands that are championing this cause either: with the launch of the Moto E, Motorola has proved that the bigger brands have realised the true value in making a smartphone that's within financial reach of as many as possible. 
Samsung has a similar view: while the company is pushing hard to convince the world that its flagship Galaxy S5 is the phone most should own, the company is looking to launch its Tizen handsets into more developing nations like Russia and Tizen. The reason for the shift is simple: the high end smartphone market is stagnating, with smartphone shipments actually starting to decline in countries like Japan (according to researcher IDC) as saturation levels kick in, users embedded in two year contracts who understandably don't need to buy another handsets. So connecting the next wave of smartphone users has become crucial if sales are to continue – and the best way to do this is to entice users on price. This is already happening, with the average price of a smartphone practically halving from $450 in 2012 to $260 by 2018 – which means the profit margins of the big brands are going to get hit hard. The only way to keep high revenues afloat is to increase the number of handsets sold, and that means attracting more and more users the smartphone pie. What is a cheap smartphone?There are two strands to the 'cheap smartphone' sector that will have a big impact on the success of brands like Samsung, HTC and Apple in the years to come. The first is the reasonably-priced smartphone for the developed nations with high smartphone penetration, something that offers a similar experience to the likes of the iPhone 5S or Galaxy S5 but without the hefty cost. That's where companies like Motorola and Nokia are targeting, and it appears to be working: Moto went from almost no presence in the UK to taking nearly six percent of the market according to Kantar World Panel with the Moto G, which offered impressive performance for a fifth of the cost of a top-end Android handset. 
Nokia's Lumia 520 managed a similar feat worldwide, proving popular in both Western and developing nations to become the top-selling Windows Phone on the market, and doing so at a price around 25% of the cost of a flagship phone. This section of the market is going to get quickly filled with brands from Asia muscling in, able to offer low cost, high quality handsets thanks to a focus on specs over headline features. "Motorola was nowhere in Europe before the Moto G launched in November last year, but the new model has since boosted the manufacturer to 6% of British sales," said Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at analysts Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. "It highlights the speed at which a quality budget phone can disrupt a market. The same pattern can be seen in France with Wiko, which has 8.3% share, and Xiaomi in China with 18.5%." China callingOne of the leaders here is OnePlus, a Chinese brand that's brought out the OnePlus One, a phone with the spec list of the Samsung Galaxy S5, but dropped features like a super-bright AMOLED screen, heart rate monitor and waterproof casing to offer the One, a phone that costs half the price. OnePlus isn't alone: China has multiple brands selling millions of devices in their home territory who are able to use these economies of scale to churn out decent phones internationally – this move has started, and is only going to continue. These phones are still north of £200 / $350, which is a yearly salary to some people in developing nations. But this market features billions of users who don't just want a smartphone; the technology and connectivity it provides can open up new ways to conduct business, enabling rapid shifts in economy that simply weren't possible before. "The [Moto E] may prove useful for first-time smartphone buyers in Europe and some parts of the Middle East, but it won't make a difference to first-time smartphone buyers in other developing markets such as Africa," said Amr Shady, CEO of Middle East and African telecom provider. "Motorola needs to knock another £80 off the price tag before it can even begin to be attractive to most Africans. The belief that the 'budget' offering will continue the momentum that the Moto G handset built in developing markets when it was launched last year will not be realised on this continent for some time." Retro is inAnd this is where the effort of five years ago come into play, as that same level of processor is being used to create a phone that could cost as little as $25 / £15. Mozilla's Firefox OS was announced in 2013, designed specifically to target this next wave of smartphone users. The idea was to offer low-cost handsets, low on specs but with acceptable functionality, in partnership with networks worldwide. Instead of resource intensive apps, HTML5 would be used to access to the same services on the web, enabling simple tools which perform vital services. 
The project seems to be bearing fruit, as there are a number of handsets on the market from low-cost phone manufacturers ZTE, Alcatel and Huawei, with the likes of Sony and LG promising to deliver phones in the future. According to analysts Ovum, "there have been 425,000 unique visitors to the Firefox OS Marketplace since July 2013" which is a strong uptake for a platform that's only been going for a year, highlighting the growing need for devices in this category. While these phones still retail for around $80, a deal between Mozilla and Chinese processor manufacturer Spreadtrum to enable 75% cheaper phones by creating a reference design for a chip to use in all Firefox OS-powered handsets. This will enable faster and cheaper production of phones, and will increase the ability to bring smartphones to developing nations dramatically. What does this mean for me?Well, if you're someone who likes to use high-end smartphones, the good news is you'll probably be paying less in the short term or getting a better device. The Galaxy S5 was cheaper on average than its predecessor in a bid to maintain attractiveness, where other brands are extolling the virtues of more technologically advanced features to keep those wth more disposable cash interested in buying phones that command a better profit margin. Apple, the most notorious brand for high margins, has already been forced to clip these slightly in bringing out the iPhone 5C, and there's every indication that the iPhone 6 will have a larger screen and all-new design – and enabling this tech will either eat into the company's profits or force an even higher premium on one of the most expensive phones on the market. 
And it's not just Apple that's reacting – HTC has been pushing hard at making attractive, but expensive, casings for its One range and LG is set to bring a QHD screen on the G3 in a bid to convince consumers that the latest tech is still worth paying for. The rise of the mid-range phone will directly impact the price and performance of 2015's flagship models, forcing brands to compete with the likes of OnePlus on cost or offer genuinely attractive features that warrant the extra pressure on this pocket. The next half-decade will see more of a push into both cheap and ultra-cheap smartphones to enable more users to join the smartphone revolution – as the battle for your pocket space intensifies, ultimately, it's the consumer who's going to win.        | | Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Beats, Glass and space on your face May 16th 2014, 12:01, by TechRadar 
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Who could have predicted that Dr Dre would end up working for Apple, that someone would use virtual reality on a rollercoaster or that Samsung would have lots of ideas that sounded awfully like other firms' ideas? OK, last one aside, it's been quite a weird week in tech. HTC's mini marvelWhat's small and has a stupid name? No, not Will.i.am - we're thinking of the HTC One Mini 2, which can sound even sillier if you get the One Mini 2 on Three 4G (you can blame Twitter wags for that one). The good news is the handset is much more sensible than the name: according to John McCann, "it gives the iPhone 5S a run for its money," because it's really just a shrunken version of the HTC One M8. Moto's budget blower is E-ely goodIt's time to say hello to the latest addition to the Motorola family: the Moto E, which might be short for "Eeeeees really cheap." At just £89 SIM-free (around $150, AU$160) it's incredibly cheap, but that doesn't mean it's incredibly nasty: our Mr McCann says it's "a desirable smartphone with an impressively low price tag and a decent set of specs… you won't find a better offering at this price". Xbox dis-KinectedEarlier this year we said that Xbox One's compulsory Kinect was a gift to Sony. This week Microsoft admitted defeat and promised a cheaper, Kinect-free Xbox One. That's not the only Xbox U-turn, either: the Microsoft tax, which meant you couldn't use your favourite streaming service without a Gold account, is getting dumped too. Is Dr Dre the new Steve Jobs?No, of course not - but he's about to become one of Apple's top people. In news that surprised almost everyone, Apple is buying fashionable headphone company Beats Audio for $3.2 billion, which is the price of two pairs of Beats headphones. Why Beats? We reckon it's a talent buy based on getting Beats' curation skills and Beats' co-founder, music biz legend Jimmy Iovine. Now everyone can be a GlassholeGoogle Glass is for early adopters no more: now anyone who's daft enough to drop $1,500 on Google's smart specs can get a pair, as long as they're in America. Their new-toy joy might not last, though: Glass 2 is already in development. Apple "copying Surface" shockerWith just weeks to go before Apple's WWDC, iOS 8 rumours are flying thick and fast - and the most interesting one is that iPads are going to get split-screen multitasking, just like a certain tablet whose name rhymes with "furface". iOS 8 might also introduce HD audio playback, although if you're using Apple's earbuds we're not sure you'd notice the difference. Maybe Apple should buy a headphone company or something. (E)3 is the magic numberIt's nearly E3 time, and we're excited already. As Lily Prasuethsut reports, this year's show is likely to be VR-tastic - and it'll also feature Valve's Steam Machines, the new Halo game and possibly the Halo TV programme too. Here's hoping 2014 is the year Nintendo levels up and recovers from the relative disaster of the Wii U. Samsung "copying everyone" shockerSamsung has invited us to its "Galaxy Premiere 2014" to see the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S line. But that's not all: Samsung has also invited journalists to a health-focused event this month, which is in no way an attempt to spoil HealthBook in iOS 8. Samsung is also planning to launch a Google Glass rival later this year, and now that Dre's joined Apple, Samsung plans to sign Death Grips. We made that last one up. Space on your faceHands up who saw Oculus Rift and thought "man, that'd be great on a rollercoaster!" No, us neither - but that's exactly what one enterprising pair did this week when they sneaked a VR headset and laptop onto the fairground ride. The reason? So they could experience a virtual version of the rollercoaster… IN SPACE!        | | Samsung exec admits Galaxy Note 4 could have a flexible screen May 16th 2014, 11:36, by Kate Solomon 
We haven't exactly been short of rumours about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 coming with a bendy display, and now a Samsung exec has confirmed that the company is at least thinking about it. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung VP of mobile Lee Younghee confirmed that Samsung is thinking about a flexible display. The caveat is that the device is still being developed: there's no final design yet and a flexible display is just one of the options, so nothing is set in stone. Bend it like SamsungKorean media first reported that an upcoming Galaxy device will come with a "bent" display, then a patent application revealed a device with a screen that curves around the side of a Note-type device. So if you're a fan of the bendy curvy display, keep your eyes peeled around August/September time; we're expecting Samsung to announce the Note 4 at IFA 2014 alongside its Galaxy Gear Glass specs.        | | Updated: Samsung Galaxy S6: what we want to see May 16th 2014, 10:34, by Simon Hill 
Galaxy S6: what we want to seeIt's never too early to speculate wildly about the next smartphone in Samsung's Galaxy S series. The Galaxy S5 was definitely a step up from the S4, but we can't shake the feeling that everyone's favourite South Korean manufacturer (sorry LG) is resting on its laurels. Come on Samsung, market domination should be about more than outspending your rivals on advertising, get back in the game and kick it up a gear! We don't have to strain our grey matter too much to dream up a wish list of improvements we'd like to see in the Galaxy S6, given the relatively muted response the current S5 met, so if you're reading this Samsung, please take note... Samsung Galaxy S5 PrimeWait... what? The Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime? If the rumor mill is to be believed before we get any sign of the Galaxy S6 we will be treated to an updated version of the S5. If the various leaks and sources are correct the Galaxy S5 Prime will arrive with a premium metal chassis to bring it in line with the build quality of the Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8. Reports suggest the Galaxy S5 Prime will also sport a 2560 x 1440 QHD display (something we will see on the LG G3), quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB RAM and a hearty 3000mAh battery. Apparently the Galaxy S5 Prime release date is tipped for June, although we haven't heard anything official from Samsung itself. A better bodyIt would be fair to say that the dimpled back panel on the S5 wasn't universally well received. Everyone has been crying out for a new design in the Galaxy S series for a while now, but Samsung isn't listening. An S6 with a metal unibody and a premium feel would be a potential crowd pleaser. If a redesign is on the cards, why not take it further and go for a new form factor? A new premium profile could refresh the range and make it feel special again. 
A 2K displayNo one is impressed by 1080p anymore, not when 4K TVs are in the shops and we've already heard that Samsung's working on 2K and 4K displays for smartphones. We wouldn't have been surprised to see a 2560x1440 pixel resolution on the S5, but it seems QHD displays are not ready for prime time just yet. Anything less than a 2K display in the S6 will be a crushing disappointment. We're sick of all these fat pixels. Make them invisible to the naked eye - and make sure it doesn't hurt the battery while you're at it, Samsung. Hey, we're not here to solve these issues - that's for your fancy R&D labs. A 64-bit processorPerhaps the lack of a 64-bit processor in the S5 was an acknowledgement that there aren't many advantages yet, or maybe it was a statement about not copying Apple. In any case, regardless of benefits perceived and real, 64 is a bigger number than 32 so it must be better, and if our friend's iPhone has one, if you don't put one in the S6 we're not buying it. While you're there, for heaven's sake add more RAM – 2GB is not enough to satisfy the modern day demands of multi-tasking, especially if you're going for a 64-bit chip. A flexible designRemember that Sky advert where the guy folds his phone out to tablet size? That would be a real slice of fried gold and we've heard Samsung has a folding prototype already. Failing that, a squidgy, bendy phone that can take all sorts of damage and return to its original shape unblemished would be nice. Squeezy controls could bring a fresh tactile element to smartphone ownership. At the very least we expect flexibility to deliver greater durability and new potential shapes, but it has got to be better than the Samsung Galaxy Round. 
A bigger batteryWe can hold the sum total of humanity's achievements in one hand, accessing all of our scientific knowledge, and our greatest works of art, but only for a few hours at a time. Why are mobile phone batteries still so crap? We need bigger batteries, more efficient power management, and faster wireless charging. The 2,800mAh battery in the S5 might be a slight step up from its predecessor, but it has an extra 0.1 of an inch of screen to power. You're treading water, Samsung. Free us from the daily charge. An end to bloatware
No one wants a Samsung-branded app that does exactly the same thing as an existing Google app, only worse. We also expect a device listed as 16GB to have more than 10GB free. The days where Android was rough and ready and Touchwiz really added value are gone. Stock Android is smooth and delicious, KitKat needs no embellishment. It's time to tone it down a little. By all means stick S Health on there as an optional extra, but please let us uninstall the S apps we don't want and ditch the superfluous doubles. There is some good news here, as a top Samsung exec has been quoted as saying the firm is looking to ditch the Samsung Hub suite, sparking talk of the end of bloatware heavy smartphones. We can but hope. A decent pair of stereo speakersSadly there's just one speaker on the S5. We don't want to have to wear headphones or hook up speakers all the time. It's a mobile device. The HTC One clearly demonstrated the benefits of dual front-facing speakers. Sony heard it, because the Z2 has them too. Screens are big enough to watch movies with friends now. How about bringing that sound quality up to scratch? A good set of stereo speakers in the S6 would be welcomed by everyone. A DAB chipWi-Fi isn't always available and mobile data can be costly, so streaming tunes from the cloud or internet radio can be tricky and prohibitively expensive. FM radio seems to be rapidly disappearing from mobile devices and the quality is pretty patchy anyway. Isn't it about time digital radio made it into smartphones? Access to high quality stations without the fiddling or the network connection would open up a world of music, sport, and talk. DAB chips are coming to smartphones and we'd love to see one in the Galaxy S6. Always listeningThe Moto X was a mixed bag, but it's undeniably cool to be able to talk to your phone and have it blink to life. Google continues to improve Now and add more functionality. If the Galaxy S6 was always listening, we'd get more value out of it. Voice recognition is improving fast. Given that our smartphones are starting to connect to wearables, home electronics, and cars, the ability to issue voice commands brings us a step closer to the futuristic utopia we've all been dreaming about. 
A new UXWe already suggested that Touchwiz is no longer adding much value to stock Android, but that doesn't mean it couldn't. A radical rethink of the stagnant UX could wash away childish fonts and pointless features to deliver something fresh and stylish. Samsung must have bags of data on how we interact with our smartphones and a cursory glance at popular launchers reveals a world of possibilities. Be bold Samsung, offer us something new and exciting! As long as it isn't a candy-fuelled, garish, neon nightmare, we'll give it a try.        | | LG G3 shown off from all angles ahead of the big May 27 event May 16th 2014, 08:54, by Hugh Langley 
We've already had a couple of glimpses of the alleged LG G3, but the latest look is the most explicit yet. This one comes from our old leakster pal @evleaks and displays the front, back, top and side of the handset, giving us a clearer impression of what the phone's dimensions will be. That's if it's real, of course. But @evleaks does have a pretty good track record with this whole phone leaking business. Fingers offThat mysterious black oval sensor on the rear is a laser auto focus, according to the tipster himself, which should make focusing a lot faster. We'd say it looks more like an IR blaster, but there you go. 
Interestingly, it's looking unlikely that there'll be any fingerprint sensor after all. At least not on the rear, anyway. At the same time, a different insider claims that the LG G3 will feature a Snapdragon 801 chip, which should have it blazing a fair bit faster than the G2. @evleaks also treated us to another press shot of the phone, which looks much like the ones we've already seen. Still, we're not complaining. The LG G3 is set to be unveiled on May 27. We'll be there to bring you all the news as it breaks. - So why should you be excited for the LG G3?
       | | Android and PayPal bump uglies as Google adds new payment option May 15th 2014, 23:40, by Chris Smith 
Google has added the option for Android device owners to pay for Google Play content using their PayPal accounts. In a post on the Android Developers' blog, Google announced that users in 12 countries will now see PayPal as an option when purchasing apps, books, movies, games, music and more from the Play Store. Those countries are the United Kingdom, the United States, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Spain. The purchases must be for digital content and cannot be used for physical goods when spending via Google Wallet. Frictionless"Our goal is to provide users with a frictionless payment experience, and this new integration is another example of how we work with partners from across the payments industry to deliver this to the user," Google wrote. The somewhat surprising move comes long after Apple enabled users to link their iTunes accounts to PayPal. Will you be switching to PayPal rather than carrier or credit card billing? Let us know your thoughts below.        | | Samsung Hub suite to shut its doors, according to top exec May 15th 2014, 19:05, by Chris Smith 
The Samsung Hub digital store on the firm's range of smartphones and tablets might be on the way out, according to a top Samsung marketing executive. The in-house portal offers the firm's range of bespoke applications as well as access to popular content like games, music and movies, making it a competitor to the Google Play Store. With rumours that Google asked Samsung to stop launching so many 'gimmicky' apps for its Galaxy devices, it appears the company may have taken heed, starting with the annexation of Samsung Hub. In a Twitter conversation with SamMobile's Anhijeet Mishra, Samsung's Marketing Manager for Technical Media Philip Berne posted "Samsung Hub is going away," without further elaborating. Groundwork laidWhile it's not clear when the company will drop the portal completely, the groundwork was already laid with the recent Galaxy S5 launch. On that handset, Samsung Hub was not present out of the box. The store's only real use for Galaxy fans is the ability for users to sync content downloads across multiple Samsung devices, but that aside, it's unlikely many users will miss Samsung Hub. Whether this will mean Samsung will tone down its constant endeavours to separate itself from the rest of the Android pack remains to be seen.        | | BlackBerry 10.3 update set to give OS a much-needed polish May 15th 2014, 18:08, by Chris Smith 
BlackBerry has detailed the forthcoming tweaks it plans to introduce with the BlackBerry 10.3 update. In an official blog post, the firm explained 18 changes that'll hit handsets like the Z10 when the update rolls out to the firm's beloved 'end users.' Among the changes are UI improvements that will bring a "cleaner, simpler" action bar at the foot of the screen, and central positioning for an app's "signature action." The firm is removing those ungainly boxes from around app icons, will allow users to add as many apps as they want to folders, while the Z3, Z10 and Z30 phones get an extra row of apps on the homescreen. Give it two fingersIn further UI changes, the system settings can be accessed from anywhere on the phone by swiping from the top with two fingers. The BlackBerry Hub has been updated, enabling smartphone owners to download all email attachments with a single tap. In terms of the Calendar and the Reminder apps, a new notifications profile will sync with your calendar to ensure there are no phone or message tones interrupting important meetings. The Camera UI has also been given tweaks to ensure greater ease of use. The company says the update will only be available to developers at first and far from being ready for the average 'end user' (as BlackBerry still insists on calling its customers).        | | Interview: OnePlus CEO: 'We didn't set out to create a low-cost phone' May 15th 2014, 16:26, by Gareth Beavis 
The surprise smartphone hitThe OnePlus One is a phone that nobody expected to see. Up until now, the formula has been pretty clear: pay more, get more. This meant you either paid less and got a slightly substandard experience or forked out top dollar and got the best on the market. There are one or two phones that belie their price-to-performance ratio (the Moto G and Nokia Lumia 520 are good examples of this) but the OnePlus One seems to be the first to truly break the mould. We spoke to CEO Pete Lau,the ex-vice-president of Chinese phone manufacturer Oppo who decided late last year to resign his position and just over than half a year had created a phone ready to ship to consumers. 
That in itself is remarkable, but when you read the spec list, the feat becomes more impressive: a Qualcomm 801 processor, Sony-made Exmor camera sensor, a 5.5-inch screen from the same company that supplies the HTC One M8…the list goes on. And all for £219 / $300 (around AU$320), dramatically undercutting even the current 'cheap superphone' on the market, the Nexus 5, quite significantly. We spoke to Lau over email to get to find out why he left Oppo to strike out on his own, if the initial launch was meeting expectations and what the future holds for the company. "I wanted to build a phone that could reach users across the globe and improve their day to day experience. I'm a big tech fan myself, so I made the phone I've always wanted," he said. "All of us here really believe in that; we believe that technology can be fast, beautiful, and solidly built while still being accessible," he added. "It's not surprising to me that other people feel similarly, but the positivity of the response still far exceeded our expectations." Lau is pointing to the fact that despite not opening up pre-sales, over 140,000 signed up to smash their current high-end phone in exchange for the new OnePlus device. It's not that surprising given this method meant users could get a new, powerful smartphone for $1, but it showed quite an appetite. 
OnePlus didn't ask everyone to break a perfectly usable handset, giving the option to send it to charity instead, but it showed appetite for a phone that's had no publicity beyond word of mouth and media coverage. It's that method of marketing that Lau attributes as the reason for the low cost of the phone, but also admitted OnePlus is making no money on each handset sold. "We are selling the phone at cost," admitted Lau. "We are able to do that by redistributing our costs to better benefit the user. "Rather than put money towards a large marketing budget, we are focusing on online marketing and community interaction. Rather than working with retail partners, we rely on selling the device online. "This hasn't really been done before, and we are comfortable not making money on our devices for the first two years to build the brand and gain people's trust that a great and reasonably priced product can be bought online." OnePlus One =...?You might wonder how a brand can survive for two years without looking to turn a profit, especially in the impossibly congested smartphone market. The answer lies fairly close to home, as OnePlus shares an investor with Lau's former employer, Oppo. 
While Oppo Mobile and OnePlus are separate companies (despite the investor being named Oppo Electronic), Lau's new firm uses Oppo to manufacture its phones in the same way as Apple uses Foxconn, which helps a start-up gain access to the lower cost systems and components. Another factor in the popularity of the One is the fact it uses CyanogenMod, a version of Android that builds on the stock user interface and adds in a few extra tricks to give users far more control over their phone. Want to make the buttons do something different? Simple. Want to see more in the notifications bar? You've got it. This approach both lowers the cost further and attracts those that dislike the controlled method of skins on most popular Android phones. However, there were a couple of points that commenters instantly leapt upon: the fact that the storage wasn't expandable (although the phone does come in 16GB and 64GB variants) and the battery was stuck into the chassis. The displeasure centred around the fact that this customisable phone didn't allow users to fully put their stamp on the device, but Lau thinks the choices made created a better prdduct overall: "There was nothing we left out so that we could meet a certain price point [with the One]", he said. "We didn't build the One with cost in mind, we built it with the intention of making it the best-performing and best-designed phone on the market. "External storage typically doesn't perform as well as built in and adds bulk to the phone. I've found is that people either care about storage or they don't. "We offered a 16GB and 64GB version of the One so those who need storage can get it." The battery was more of a difficult decision: making it removable means power users can treble the juice available and truly make it the 'ultimate phone' for some. But Lau thinks that this would be hugely detrimental to those that want a decent phone out of the box: "In all of the hardware decisions we made, we went back to the root of the issue. The most important thing is to allow for a full day of active use, without the customer ever having to worry about shutting apps or limiting their screen on time to make the battery stretch," he said. 
"We added in a larger battery to execute that goal without having to alter and bulk up the design, weight or feel of the device." The decision even extended to the possibility of using a QHD screen, the same style found in the forthcoming LG G3. Lau said the power drain issues were still too vast to include it in the OnePlus One, but did say "It's always exciting to push technology and try new things." So with the OnePlus seemingly ready to make a big splash with minimal marketing, how will the company continue with a 'relaxed' attitude to profits? Lau told us that while there wouldn't be another flagship phone in 2014, the company will 'continue to grow its flagship line', but was evasive on the subject of creating a similarly low-cost tablet: "We did not set out to create a low cost device. We set out to make a well built, well designed, and well performing piece of technology. We reason we price our devices reasonably is because of our business model and nothing else." For now, the future seems set for OnePlus, with the only issue centering around whether the brand will be able to deal with the initial demand and sustain the interest once the media has lost interest in the launch of a new device. But the key questions of the OnePlus survival are really yet to be asked. A cheap phone with good internals is obviously going to attract attention, but what about when higher profit margins are needed? What if the consumer starts demanding more from a smartphone beyond a strong spec sheet? It's going to be interesting to see how the new brand meets these challenges, but for now, it's great to see someone showing the world that just because you want a powerful device it doesn't need to come with a sky high price.        | | Versus: HTC One Mini 2 vs HTC One M8 May 15th 2014, 15:50, by James Rogerson 
Screen, design and powerIn one of the least surprising moves of the year HTC has followed up its remarkable, if awkwardly named, HTC One M8 with the even more awkwardly named HTC One Mini 2. This was all but a given from the moment the One M8 was announced, but the specs of its mini sibling were less clear. So what's changed? And how do the two handsets stack up? ScreenThe HTC One M8 has a gorgeous 5 inch 1080p display. As you'd expect the HTC One Mini 2 has a smaller screen, though it's still far from tiny at 4.5 inches. But as well as being smaller it's also lower resolution, coming in at 720p. 
That's still enough for it to deliver crisp visuals, in fact it's roughly on par with the Retina display on the iPhone 5S, but put it side by side with the HTC One M8 and the differences are noticeable. DesignAt first glance the HTC One Mini 2 looks every bit as premium as its larger sibling, with the same brushed metal back elevating it above most other smartphones at least in the design stakes. But look closer and it's not quite the masterpiece that the One (M8) is. While the metal of the HTC One M8 covers the edges too, the One Mini 2 has a plastic rim, though it's only particularly noticeable at the top and bottom, as the metal back curves up into the sides, leaving just a narrow strip of plastic. 
The HTC One Mini 2 is also thicker than the HTC One M8, which is a bit of a surprise. The One M8 is already far from slim at 9.4mm, but the Mini 2 bumps that up to 10.6mm. Though it is at least lighter than the HTC One M8 and the other dimensions are lesser too, which is as you'd expect given the mini moniker. The front of the One Mini 2 is much the same as that of its big brother, with the standout feature being the speaker grills above and below the screen, speakers which deliver the same Boomsound experience as the M8. 
CPU and RAMThe HTC One M8 is every bit the powerhouse you'd expect it to be given its flagship status. It has a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 2GB of RAM giving it impressive performance. Unfortunately the HTC One Mini 2 isn't in the same league, with its 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM. We haven't yet experienced any performance issues with the device, but don't expect it to go toe-to-toe with the HTC One M8. 
Camera, OS and batteryCameraFor the One M8, HTC stuck with the same 4 Ultrapixel camera as it equipped the original HTC One with. The increased pixel size makes it great in low light but not quite a match for its competitors in bright light. HTC also gave the phone a Duo Camera set up, with a second sensor used to judge depth, which lets you change the focus of a shot after shooting it and add background blur to images. 
The HTC One Mini 2 sticks with a more conventional 13MP camera which is likely to be met with mixed reactions, much like the Ultrapixels it eschews. Some will likely jump at the increased megapixel count, but then the pixels are smaller. More pertinently the One Mini 2 also lacks optical image stabilisation and the second sensor found on the HTC One M8, so there's no ability to mess with depth and focus. It also lacks some other camera modes, such as panorama. HTC's most famous camera feature, Zoe, will be making it across, but not at launch, instead you'll have to wait until the universal Android app arrives this summer, all of which leaves the camera feeling a little crippled. At least the front facing snapper is up to scratch, with a 5MP sensor matching that of the One M8 and which is seemingly designed explicitly for selfies, complete as it is with a selfie countdown timer. Both handsets can also shoot 1080p video. 
OSThere's no real difference between the operating system on the two phones. Both are equipped with the latest version of Android, 4.2.2, and both are overlaid with HTC's Sense 6, complete with Blinkfeed. Whichever handset you experience it on it's a slick, attractive interface. BatteryThe HTC One M8 has a 2600mAh battery, which HTC quotes for up to 20 hours of talk time or 496 hours of standby time and it's a battery which we were impressed by in practice too. The HTC One Mini 2 has a 2100mAh juice pack, which HTC reckons can last for up to 16.2 hours of talk time or 556 hours of standby time, which if true isn't bad at all, though suggests that it won't have quite the life of the One M8 when in active use. StorageThe HTC One M8 comes with a choice of 16 or 32GB of built in storage, but it also has a microSD card slot which can expand that by up to 128GB more, so you're never likely to run short. 
The HTC One Mini 2 only comes in one size, 16GB, but it too has a microSD card slot with the same capabilities. PriceThe HTC One M8 currently hovers around £520 SIM free, making it a serious investment. The HTC One Mini 2 might not be able to match its muscle but it's likely to be substantially cheaper. No prices have yet been announced, but we'd expect it to launch for under £400, just like last year's model. Early verdictThe HTC One Mini 2 looks to be a compelling little device, with a top flight design married to a relatively small screen which could make it a genuine competitor to the iPhone 5S. It looks like a great choice for anyone who liked the look of the HTC One M8 but wanted a smaller screen size, which is surely the whole point. 
Unfortunately it's more than just the screen that's been shrunk down as the specs are inferior to the HTC One M8 too, making it hard to pretend this is a high end phone, even if it looks like one. It might have been nice if HTC had taken a leaf out of Sony's book and delivered a top tier device at a smaller size point, but at least this way it should be a lot more affordable than the HTC One M8.        | | Updated: 50 best iPad games: the greatest free and paid-for games around May 15th 2014, 15:28, by Craig Grannell 
The 50 best iPad games: 1-25No-one predicted the meteoric rise of gaming on iOS, and we're not sure anyone knew what the iPad was for at all when it first appeared. However, Apple's tablet has become a very able gaming platform. With more screen space than the iPhone, games have the means to be more immersive. The iPad's therefore a perfect platform for adventure games, strategy titles and puzzlers. But, just like the iPhone, there are so many iPad games that it's tough to unearth the gems and avoid the dross. That's our mission here - to bring you 50 of the very best iPad games, mixing traditional fare with titles that could only have appeared on a capable and modern multi-touch device. 1. Asphalt 8: Airborne (free)At some point, a total buffoon decreed that racing games should be dull and grey, on grey tracks, with grey controls. Gameloft's Asphalt series dispenses with such foolish notions, along with quite a bit of reality. Here, in Asphalt 8, you zoom along at ludicrous speeds, drifting for miles through exciting city courses, occasionally being hurled into the air to perform stunts that absolutely aren't acceptable according to the car manufacturer's warranty. 
2. Badland ($3.99/£2.49) At its core, this darkly humorous title echoes copter-style games, in that you prod the screen to make your avatar fly. But the hazards and traps are devious and plentiful: imaginative and deadly contraptions in silhouette, ready to eliminate any passing creature. Your retaliation comes in cloning your flying monster, and figuring out how to manipulate the environment to bring as many clones home as possible. 
3. Bejeweled HD (free)We've lost count of how many gem-swappers exist for iOS, but PopCap's Bejeweled has a long history, which brings a maturity that's reflected in this iPad release. Along with a polished standard mode, where you match three or more gems with each swap, there's Diamond Mine (dig into the ground), Butterflies (save insects from spider-ronch doom), and Poker (make 'hands' of gems). 
4. Beyond Ynth HD ($2.99/£1.99)This fantastic platform puzzler stars a bug who's oddly averse to flying. Instead, he gets about 2D levels by rolling around in boxes full of platforms. Beyond Ynth HD hangs on a quest, but each level forms a devious test, where you must figure out precisely how to reach the end via careful use of boxes, switches and even environmental hazards. 
5. Bit Pilot ($1.99/£1.49) A pilot finds himself trapped inside a tiny area of space frequented by an alarming number of deadly asteroids. You must stave off death for as long as possible. Bit Pilot is the best of the iOS avoid 'em ups, with precise one- and two-thumb controls guiding your tiny ship, effortlessly dodging between rocky foes — until the inevitable collision. 
6. Blackbar ($2.99/£1.99) As much a warning about digital surveillance as a word-based puzzler, Blackbar is a unique and compelling iOS classic. The game comprises single screens of communications, many involving your friend who's gone to work in the city, which you soon learn is part of a worryingly oppressive society. Your job is to literally fill in the blanks, while becoming immersed in a stark dystopian reality that's fortunately still peppered with warmth, humour and humanity. 
7. Blek ($0.99/69p)Blek is akin to shepherding semi-sentient calligraphy through a series of dexterity tests. Each sparse screen has one or more dots that need collecting, which is achieved by drawing a squiggle that's then set in motion. To say the game can be opaque is putting it lightly, but as a voyage of discovery, there are few touchscreen games that come close. 
8. Boson X ($2.99/£1.99)In what we assume is a totally accurate representation of what boffins in Geneva get up to, Boson X finds scientists sprinting inside colliders, running over energy panels and then discovering particles by leaping into the abyss. It's equal parts Super Hexagon, Tempest and Canabalt, and it's very addictive indeed. 
9. Botanicula ($4.99/£2.99)Botanicula is another excellent adventure from the brains behind Machinarium, this time featuring a little group of tree creatures on a quest to save the last seed from their home, which is infested with parasites. Puzzles abound as you keep the seed safe while marvelling at the gorgeous environments. Although the point-and-click-style mechanics might be familiar, Botanicula is nonetheless a unique and joyful gaming experience. 
10. CRUSH! ($1.99/£1.49) CRUSH! is deceptive. At first, it appears to be little more than a collapse game, where you prod a coloured tile, only for the rest to collapse into the now empty space. But subtle changes to the formula elevate this title to greatness: the tiles wrap around, and each removal sees your pile jump towards a line of death. So even when tiles are moving at speed, you must carefully consider each tap. 
12. Device 6 ($3.99/£2.49)Device 6 is first and foremost a story — a mystery into which protagonist Anna finds herself propelled. She awakes on an island, but where is she? How did she get there? Why can't she remember anything? The game fuses literature with adventuring, the very words forming corridors you travel along, integrated puzzles being dotted about for you to investigate. It's a truly inspiring experience, an imaginative, ambitious and brilliantly realised creation that showcases how iOS can be the home for something unique and wonderful. 11. Death Ray Manta ($0.99/69p)Akin to what Robotron might have looked like had its developer managed to recreate a 24-hour sherbet binge on-screen, Death Ray Manta is a wonderful, eye-searing twin-stick shooter. But whereas you initially think KILL ALL THE THINGS, each level contains a collectable 'tiffin'. Death Ray Manta therefore becomes both shooter and puzzler as you attempt to score the maximum 64 — and with only one life. 
13. Eliss Infinity ($2.99/£1.99)Eliss was the first game to truly take advantage of iOS's multi-touch capabilities, with you combining and tearing apart planets to fling into like-coloured and suitably-sized wormholes. This semi-sequel brings the original's levels into glorious Retina and adds a totally bonkers endless mode. Unique, challenging and fun, this is a game that defines the platform. 
14. First Strike ($3.99/£2.49)First Strike bills itself as the fun side of nuclear war, but there's a sting in its tail. The game mixes Risk-like land-grabs, a Civ-style tech-tree, and defence akin to Missile Command, your missiles aiming to intercept incoming strikes. Sooner or later, though, you realise the only way to win is to go all-out, sacrificing territory and obliterating your opponents. Just like the classic Missile Command, First Strike remains a playable game, but it's one with a chilling message that comes through loud and clear — at least when it's not buried under radioactive crackles. 
15. Forget-Me-Not ($1.99/£1.49)Forget-Me-Not is like one of those ice creams you get with every kind of candy imaginable, but instead of sugary treats, the sprinkles here are all the best arcade games of old. There's Pac-Man dot-munching, Rogue dungeon-roaming, nods to Caterpillar, Wizard of Wor and more. It's a glorious, madcap neon-drenched slice of perfect arcade fare, deserving a lofty position in gaming's history alongside the more famous games that inspired it. 
16. Frisbee Forever 2 (free)We loved the original Frisbee Forever and this sequel is essentially more of the same. Fling your plastic disc away, guide it through hoops, collect stars, and make it to the finish line. What makes Frisbee Forever 2 really stand out is the lush locations you get to fly through, including ancient ruins and beautiful snowy hillsides. 
17. Gridrunner Free (free)Gridrunner Free has the look of a lost 1980s arcade game, with hints of Caterpillar and Space Invaders. But this is really a thoroughly modern affair, with perfect touch controls and bullet-hell-style gameplay, albeit bullet-hell in the video game equivalent of a shoebox. Oh, and you get only one life in survival mode, making every game a frantic bid to stay alive (more modes can be unlocked via the 69p in-app purchase). 18. Hitman GO ($4.99/£2.99)It's great to see Square Enix do something entirely different with Hitman GO, rather than simply converting its free-roaming £D game to touchscreens. Although still echoing the original series, this touchscreen title is presented as a board game of sorts, with turn-based actions against clockwork opposition. You must figure out your way to the prize, without getting knocked off (the board). It's an oddly adorable take on assassination, and one of the best iOS puzzlers. 
19. Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage HD ($2.99/£1.99)There are other famous swiping games on iOS — Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja spring to mind — but Icebreaker has oodles more charm, loads more character and, importantly, better puzzles. The animated, cartoon-like world feels alive under your fingers as you cut ice blocks, rope, slime and more to return helmeted chums to a waiting boat. 
20. Impossible Road ($1.99/£1.49)A roller-coaster ribbon of road winds through space, and your only aim is to stay on it and reach the highest-numbered gate. But Impossible Road is sneaky: the winding track is one you can leave and rejoin, if you've enough skill, 'cheating' your way to higher scores. It's like the distillation of Super Monkey Ball, Rainbow Road and queue-jumping, all bundled up in a stark, razor-sharp package. 
21. Kiwanuka ($1.99/£1.49)There is a hint of Lemmings in this sweet-natured action puzzler. You must guide a little tribe to freedom, using a magical staff to make bridges from the citizens themselves. They're left behind as you bolt for each level's exit, presumably thrilled at their assisting your escape, if less thrilled that they're now forever fused into an unused pathway across a yawning chasm. 
22. Letterpress (free)Who knew you could have such fun with a five-by-five grid of letters? In Letterpress, you play friends via Game Center, making words to colour lettered squares. Surround any and they're out of reach from your friend's tally. Cue: word-tug-o'-war, last-minute reversals of fortune, and arguments about whether 'qat' is a real word or not (it is). 23. Limbo ($4.99/£2.99)A boy awakens in hell, and must work his way through a deadly forest. Gruesome deaths and trial and error gradually lead to progress, as he forces his way deeper into the gloom and greater mystery. Originating on the Xbox, this Limbo fares surprisingly well on iOS, with smartly designed controls. Its eerie beauty and intriguing environments remain hypnotic throughout. 
24. Magnetic Billiards (free)A game that could have been called Reverse Pool For Show-Offs, Magnetic Billiards lacks pockets. Instead, the aim is to join like-coloured balls that cling together on colliding. Along the way, you get more points for trick shots and 'buzzing' other balls that must otherwise be avoided. 20 diverse tables are provided for free, and many more can be unlocked for $1.99/£1.49. 25. Minotron: 2112 ($1.99/£1.49)Jeff Minter's gaming pedigree is very long indeed, and he went all out on this update of his own Llamatron, which itself was a tribute to Robotron, the original twin-stick blaster. In Minotron, the levels are populated by all manner of oddball foes, and the action comes thick and fast. A smart scoring system enables you to tackle the game in 'pure' fashion or pick up from your best score at any level previously reached. 
The 50 best iPad games: 26-5026. Monument Valley ($3.99/£2.49)In Monument Valley, you journey through delightful Escher-like landscapes, manipulating the very architecture to build impossible paths along which to explore. It's not the most challenging of games (nor does it have the most coherent of storylines), but each scene is a gorgeous and mesmerising bite-sized experience that showcases how important great craft is in the best iOS titles. 
27. Need For Speed Most Wanted ($6.99/£2.99)Racing games are all very well, but too many aim for simulation rather than evoking the glorious feeling of speeding along like a maniac. Most Wanted absolutely nails the fun side of arcade racing, and is reminiscent of classic console title OutRun 2 in enabling you to drift effortlessly for miles. Add to that varied city streets on which to best rivals and avoid (or smash) the cops, and you've got a tremendous iOS racer. 
28. Osmos HD ($4.99/£2.99)This superb arcade puzzler is at times microscopic and at others galactic in nature, as you use the power of physics and time to move your 'mote' about. Some levels in Osmos are primordial soup, the mote propelled by ejecting bits of itself, all the while aiming to absorb everything around it. Elsewhere, motes circle sun-like 'Attractors', and your challenge becomes one of understanding the intersecting trajectories of orbital paths. 
29. Pinball Arcade ($0.99/69p) The iPhone's a bit small for pinball, but the larger iPad screen is perfect for a bit of ball-spanging. Pinball Arcade is the go-to app for realistic pinball, because it lovingly and accurately recreates a huge number of classic tables. Tales of the Arabian Nights is bundled for free, and the likes of Twilight Zone, Black Knight, Bride of PinBot and Star Trek: The Next Generation are available via in-app purchase. 
50 best iPad games: 26-5030. Plants vs Zombies HD ($0.99/69p)Yes, we know there's a Plants vs. Zombies 2, but some dolt infected that with a pointless time-travel gimmick and a freemium business model. The charming, amusing, silly and sweet original remains where it's at. For the uninitiated, in Plants vs Zombies you repel zombies with the power of hostile plants. Countless other defence titles exist for iOS, but PopCap's classic is still the best. 
31. QatQi (free)QatQi starts off a bit like Scrabble in the dark, until you figure out that you're really immersed in a kind of Roguelike mash-up. So although the aim is to make crosswords from a selection of letters, you're also tasked with exploring dungeons to find score-boosting stars and special tiles. 32. Royal Revolt (free)In Royal Revolt, the king is dead and his siblings have stolen his kingdom while the prince was at school. Unfortunately for them, he was studying magic and is now out for revenge. The game itself is a real-time-strategy effort with some seriously cute and well-animated graphics. 
33. Slydris ($1.99/£1.49)This sort-of-Tetris has you drop sets of coloured blocks into a well. Tactics are of paramount importance, since you can move only one block for each new line of junk that's introduced. Slydris therefore becomes an ongoing challenge, a deceptively deep slice of strategy, gravity, block management and combos. 
34. Smash Hit (free)If you find catharsis in smashing things, Smash Hit will leave you in a totally blissed-out state. You float through the void, lobbing metal balls at glass objects, clearing a path and chaining collisions. Over time, the paths become increasingly complex, the camera begins to whirl, and the shots get very demanding, depleting your meagre resources. A single one-time 'premium' IAP upgrade exists should you want to start out on any sections of the journey you've managed to already reach. 
35. SpellTower ($1.99/£1.49) This fantastic word game starts off easy. You get a grid of letters and remove them by dragging out words. Your only foe in SpellTower is gravity, letters falling into empty space as completed words disappear. But then come new modes, with ferocious timers and numbered letters that won't vanish unless you craft long enough words. And there always seem to be too many Vs! 36. Splice: Tree of Life ($3.99/£2.49)A regimented game set in a world of microbes, Splice is all about arranging said microbes to fit within predefined outlines. Restrictions abound, based on binary trees, forcing you to think ahead regarding where to drop your microbes and when to splice them. Grasp the basic mechanics and the game opens up, but it never relinquishes its devious edge, later introducing freeform microbes, and those that grow and vaporise. 
37. Super Hexagon ($2.99/£1.99) Ah, Super Hexagon. We remember that first game, which must have lasted all of three seconds. Much like the next — and the next. But then we recognised patterns in the walls that closed in on our tiny ship, and learned to react and dodge. Then you threw increasingly tough difficulty levels at us, and we've been smitten ever since. 
38. Super Monsters Ate My Condo (free)The original Monsters Ate My Condo was like Jenga and a match-three game shoved into a blender with a massive dollop of crazy. Super Monsters Ate My Condo is a semi-sequel which takes a time-attack approach, shoe-horning the bizarre tower-building/floor-matching/monster-feeding into a tiny amount of time, breaking your brain in the process. 
39. Super Stickman Golf 2 ($0.99/69p)If you've often thought golf would be much better if it was played on Mars, or in a giant castle, or in dank caverns with glue-like surfaces, Super Stickman Golf 2 is the game for you. Its side-on charms echo Angry Birds in its artillery core, but this is a far smarter and more polished game. It also boasts two equally brilliant but different multiplayer modes: one-on-one asynchronous play and frantic multiplayer racing. 
40. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP ($4.99/£2.99) Apple's mobile platform has become an unlikely home for traditional point-and-click adventures. Sword & Sworcery has long been a favourite, with its sense of mystery, palpable atmosphere, gorgeous pixel art and an evocative soundtrack. Exploratory in nature, this is a true adventure in the real sense of the word, and it's not to be missed. 
41. The Room ($0.99/69p)There's something wonderfully old-school about The Room, in its Myst-like exploration and sense of mystery. But this is a truly touchscreen experience, with you investigating inexplicable boxes with seemingly infinite nooks and crannies, which unlock to present yet more secrets and routes to explore. An obscure narrative is woven throughout, along with plenty of scares. Devour it greedily, preferably at night, in a dark room, and then take on its more expansive sequel. 
42. Threes! ($1.99/£1.49)Threes! is all about matching numbered cards. 1s and 2s merge to make 3s, and then pairs of identical cards can subsequently be merged, doubling their face value. With each swipe, a new card enters the tiny grid, forcing you to carefully manage your growing collection and think many moves ahead. The ingenious mix of risk and reward makes it hugely frustrating when you're a fraction from an elusive 1536 card, but so addictive you'll immediately want another go. 
43. Trainyard (3.99/£2.49) Trainyard is another devious puzzler that at first seems a cinch. Initially, you merely drag tracks to lead trains between stations of the same colour. But then rocks enter the fray, along with colour-mixing and train-splitting. Before you know it, you've 14 stations, seven trains, hazards aplenty and an aching brain from figuring out how to get all the trains home safely. 44. Tiny Wings HD ($2.99/£1.99)This sweet, endless title stars a bird who loves to fly but doesn't have the wings for it. Instead, she uses gravity, sliding down hills and then propelling herself into the air from the top of adjacent slopes. Meanwhile, in another mode, her offspring are happily racing, bounding over lakes, eager to earn the biggest fish from their mother. Whichever route you take, Tiny Wings is a vibrant, warm and friendly experience. 
45. Touchgrind Skate 2 ($4.99/£2.99) You can almost see the development process behind this one: "Hey, fingers look a bit like legs, so if we put a skateboard underneath…" And so arrived one of the finest iOS sports titles, with you using your fingers to roam urban locations and perform gnarly stunts. Admittedly, this game is tricky to master, but it's hugely rewarding when you do so, and video highlights can be shared with your friends. The game's also a great example of touchscreen-oriented innovation — Touchgrind Skate just wouldn't be the same with a traditional controller. 
46. Walking Dead (free)We do like a good zombie yarn, as long as we're not the subject matter, having just had our brains eaten. Walking Dead successfully jumped from comic to TV screen, and it's just as good in its interactive incarnation. The first part of the story is free, and you can then buy new episodes; if you survive, season 2 is also available. 
47. World of Goo HD ($4.99/£2.99) It didn't begin life on the iPad, but World of Goo certainly makes sense on it. A bewitching game of physics puzzles and bridge building, the title also has real heart at its core. Through powerful imagery, haunting audio and the odd moment of poignancy, you find yourself actually caring about little blobs of goo, rather than merely storming through the game's many levels. 
48. XCOM ($9.99/£6.99) This game feels almost like a brazen slap in the face to iPad detractors who claim Apple's tablet can't handle AAA titles. Showing up only eight months after its release on high-powered consoles, the iOS version of XCOM loses little of the original's brilliance. Earth has been invaded, and troops under your command must fight back, in tense turn-based battles. Tough, terrifying and suitably deep, this smart, sophisticated title feels perfectly at home on an iPad, despite its PC/console origins. 
49. Year Walk ($3.99/£2.49) Year Walk preceded the same developer's iOS masterpiece Device 6, but is equally daring. It's a first-person adventure of sorts, with more than a nod towards horror literature and, frankly, the just plain weird. It's unsettling, clever, distinctive and beautifully crafted — another unmissable and original touchscreen creation. 
50. Zen Pinball (free)More pinball! This one's a bit less realistic than Gameprom's efforts, but Zen Pinball is very pretty, with a bright and exciting free table, Sorcerer's Lair. Further tables are available via in-app purchase, including some Marvel-themed and surprisingly great Star Wars efforts, but the sole freebie should keep pinball addicts happily sated for a while. 
  | | Super-ultra-fast 5G to land in Europe in 2022 May 15th 2014, 14:15, by John McCann and Farrha Khan 
While Telstra is testing 4G LTE-A with mobile data speeds reaching 450Mbps, a UK-based telco, EE, has decided it's time we all heard about the next generation - crazily called 5G and capable of delivering speeds of over 1Gbps. EE held a special briefing where the telco's Principle Network Architect, Professor Andy Sutton, explained: "When we talk about 5G, we're talking about a network that may be introduced in about a decade. "The standards will be ready by about 2020, and maybe we'll see some of the Asian operators go a little bit sooner as is generally the norm," - which is what the South Korean government and Huawei have also predicted. The 5G networks are likely to work their way into the business arena before they become available for consumers, adding additional waiting time before we can reap the rewards of even faster internet on our mobiles. Trails of 5G have already begun in Japan, with Docomo and Fujistu teaming up to offer faster speeds in some cities, while Samsung in South Korea has also got in on the action, but it's still early days for the technology. No giant leap for 5GWhile we're likely to see the marketing teams for networks and phone manufacturers pushing the 5G buzzword in the years to come, it's not going to be as huge a leap, in terms of technology, as the radical shift from 3G to 4G. In simple terms, "4G takes us up to 1Gbps, 5G is everything beyond that," Sutton noted. "5G is still at the fundamental research stage, and it's designed to complement 4G and LTE-Advanced networks." The development of 5G looks to make the network more flexible, with a larger capacity and reduced latency for instantaneous internet access. EE predicts that video usage on mobile devices will account for 67% of all mobile traffic by 2018, and 5G will help make that a reality, as well as providing support for 4K and 8K streaming by 2030. Ed Ellis, in charge of Network Strategy and Forecasting at EE, said "we could potentially see 4K adoption and devices coming around much quicker than we were initially expecting." Ellis explained that this means we'll need networks that are able to cope as "the required bit rate to support those videos leaps massively - and the capability 5G delivers makes that a reality." 6G. What 6G?As the Internet of Things also starts to ramp up, EE reckons that by 2020, each person in the UK will have on average 27 connected devices. Most of those are devices you're not even going to notice, things such as automatic curtains and lights that adjust in accordance with the time of day - but that's a huge leap from the two devices the average person currently owns. This massive increase in connected devices is another reason why 5G is so important and why it's an evolution of 4G, as these new connected devices are already being woven into the developing LTE-Advanced services. Sutton said that it takes around 10 years from the point of conception to the practical implementation of a new generation of network, and he predicts "this 5G network is going to be around for 10 years plus before we move on to 6G." Before you get totally carried away with a sixth generation network, Sutton warns "there may not be a 6G if we get 5G right." "We may change the way we evolve networks from that kind of generational shift to a more subtle evolution of capacity and capability based on some of the things we're working on for the 5G world." In the meantime, you may return to your 4G device and stare vacantly at the screen as you await the arrival of 4K video streaming with zero latency, and internet speeds that will knock your socks off.   | | HTC One Mini 2 ditches Duo Camera and M8 moniker May 15th 2014, 07:00, by John McCann 
The HTC One Mini 2 has officially been announced, bringing the One M8's premium design to a more manageable form factor. While the two handsets may share a lot in terms of design the One Mini 2 has had its spec cut from HTC's flagship with a 4.5-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM and 2100mAh battery squeezed into the smaller, chunkier frame. The One Mini 2 does arrive with Boomsound dual speakers, Android 4.4.2 KitKat and the Sense 6 UI, but round the back Duo Cameras have been ditched in favour of a single 13MP lens. Weight gainThere's been a bit of weight gain over the original One Mini, with the One Mini 2 sporting a thicker 10.6mm chassis while tipping the scales at a heavier 137g. You'll find 16GB of storage hiding inside, but that can be expanded with a microSD card up to 128GB in size, plus you also get 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and NFC. 
The One Mini 2 will arrive in three colours; gunmetal grey, amber gold and glacial silver. HTC One Mini 2 will start to roll out from June around the world, with Australia expected to follow.   | |
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