| Fighting Talk: Amazon is finally going to make 3D awesome on a smartphone Jun 6th 2014, 15:04, by Phil Lavelle 
I never thought I'd be hearing the words: "Oh my God. Is that THE Amazon phone in your hands?" I've not been this excited about a closed ecosystem since I arrived too early for the Kew Botanical Gardens. The numbers don't lie - it seems many of you ending up here are wanting to read about the almost-confirmed Amazon phone. I don't blame you either: what was once a weird rumour that bandied about on the Wall Street Journal and NY Times has suddenly become almost fact - and word is it's going to be a stormer. While Amazon and others like HTC, Google and Samsung still have some way to go before they get the kind of rabid, slobber dribbling excitement Apple's unveilings do, credit where credit's due: I am super intrigued by this thing, and that's because it's going to be packing something clever with 3D. We've been here before with the third dimension, remember. LG gave us a taste a few years back with the Optimus 3D, but it wasn't pleasant. 
The 3D worked - kinda - but only in a separate section of the phone on certain apps and it was enough to induce a headache after too long. And here's the double fail: the shocking battery that died just as the migraine arrived. It's pretty telling that nobody has really made any effort since. Amaz-ing choiceUntil now. Rumour has it that the Amazon phone will have five cameras. Although some will be infrared units, solely for the purpose of scanning your noodle to see which way you're looking, thus providing you with a true, no glasses 3D experience. And if Amazon doesn't cock this up (*cough* 3DS *cough*), Bezos and co are on to a winner. For several reasons: There are few companies that can unveil a technology and be guaranteed that people will buy into it. Apple has that luxury with the devs killing themselves to get to those lucrative iTunes account holders and their cash. If Apple were to bring 3D to the masses, you can bet the developer world would go crazy busy with depth-defying amazement. Unfortunately for Android, it's not as rosy a picture. Sorry diehards - I love your OS, but the fact is that too much fragmentation means few developers will concentrate on one particular handset. It's too diluted. Amazon's Kindle range runs Android but it's a locked version. A walled garden of iOS proportions - and it is this that gives it security. Developers are not having to shoot into an Android shaped dark space, instead pointing directly at the bullseye of Bezos' devices (and one with users' payment details baked right in - don't underestimate that draw). This will make it easier for Amazon to ensure a consistent experience. 
What exactly Amazon has up its sleeve here is anybody's guess. And that's why it's so fascinating. Amazon is rising up to become one of the bigger media players, with its access to movie brands and music. If we're about to finally get something that can deliver movies, games and music at a consistently low price (plus do it in 3D) then this could be the phone that I've been waiting for. The company has nailed the eBook market and has done it successfully (albeit controversially). It could be about to bring something genuinely revolutionary to market here and the beauty is we don't yet know what it is. Part of the fun is in the guessing - although I can't wait for the June 18 to arrive.        |  | Moto X+1 may give us the 1080p display we've been waiting for Jun 6th 2014, 11:04, by Hugh Langley 
There's a nagging issue with the Moto G where the carrier is displayed in the status bar at all times, taking up valuable space. Punit Soni, Motorola's VP of product management, posted a screenshot of the device settings to show a new toggle in Android 4.3.3 that will disable the name, but may have revealed something more significant. It seems that the device Soni was posting from wasn't a Moto G, but one with a 1080p display. How do we know that? Because someone spotted the 1080p screenshot resolution. Motorola doesn't have any 1080p devices on the market - the G is 720p - so there's a chance that Soni could be using an as-yet-unannounced phone, possibly the Moto X+1. Upgrading to a 1080p screen makes a lot of sense for the next Moto X, so here's hoping that Soni has inadvertently spilled the beans.        | | In depth: Live sports streaming: the future is HD and multiscreens on your phone Jun 6th 2014, 11:01, by John McCann 
The future of streaming live sporting eventsAnyone who's been to a sporting event which has action away from where you're stood or sat will know the frustration of not being able to watch more than one thing at the same. That's about to change though, thanks to LTE Broadcast - aka Multicast. Say you're an avid tennis fan and you're enjoying the mixed doubles finals on centre court at the French Open. That's great, but several other matches are happening at the same time on other courts around Roland Garros in Paris and the only information you get are brief score updates on the big screen. Now imagine streaming any of those other matches live, in HD, to your smartphone sitting unloved in your pocket. Pretty cool, huh? You cannot be seriousOrange and FranceTV set up a demonstration of the LTE Broadcast technology at the French Open, utilising the work Qualcomm has done in the arena to stream live games (and highlights/repeats) to a series of Samsung Galaxy S5 handsets. As this was only a trial the video was being beamed to the handsets at 720p, but on a 5.1-inch display it was still perfectly watchable. LTE Broadcast is capable of handling not only 720p video streams, but also 1080p and 4K as well so you'll be well catered for. 
Some of the benefits of LTE Broadcast are that it can provide these live streams to a potentially unlimited number of devices in an area without any need for buffering and without the feed freezing on you. On each device at the demo there were four streams available from four different matches, but this offering can be greatly increased if required, and you can jump between games (or whatever event is offering it) if one gets particularly boring. It's not just a one-way street though, as LTE Broadcast also allows uplink from your device, allowing you to potentially interact with the streams you're receiving - be it pulling up additional stats or tweeting your thoughts. 
There's good news for the content owners too, as Qualcomm's Senior Director Laurent Fournier explained, as LTE Broadcast supports DRM allowing those providing the streams to protect their material from piracy. It's also cheap and easy for network operators to implement, as it uses the pre-existing hardware in terms of masts, and compatible handsets just require a software update to enable the functionality. Game, set and match?The trails of LTE Broadcast are still in the early stages, but the system does work and the number of compatible handsets in circulation is steadily increasing. TechRadar was told by an Orange representative during the demonstration that the network was still waiting for more customers to have compatible handsets before rolling out the service to consumers. That shouldn't be too far off though, as Qualcomm has confirmed that any handset sporting a LTE Snapdragon chip - be it in the 400, 600 or 800 series - requires just an over-the-air update to enable the Broadcast functionality. 
This means that LTE Broadcast isn't just limited to those of us who are rocking the latest and greatest flagship phones, but to those who have opted for more affordable 4G options as well. Of course the larger screen sizes and higher resolutions which come with the top flagship handsets will be beneficial for the video streaming activities. A service such as this will no doubt be monetised by many, if not all, who opt to supply the service, although exact costs and details are yet to be decided. It's not just in-venue events and live video streams that Fournier foresees taking advantage of LTE Broadcast, with the potential for it to offer things such as breaking news, emergency alerts, e-learning, newspaper and magazine downloads and more. In the word's of one of the network's trialling the service, the future's bright for LTE Broadcast and live video streaming on our smartphones.        | | Week in Tech: Week in Tech: iOS 8 says hi, PSP says goodbye, Amazon says '3D is still cool' Jun 6th 2014, 10:45, by TechRadar 
From time to time we like to play a game called Ask The Internet. "Hey, internet!" we say. "What starts with A and is, like, totally doomed?" The answer is always "Apple" - but we can't help wondering whether this week's WWDC, the most interesting one in years, is going to quieten the howls of doom somewhat. And that wasn't the only news this week: Samsung's giving Tizen to TVs, Valve's going VR and Amazon's unveiling something that's apparently amazing. It's been a particularly alliterative Week in Tech. No iWatch, no problemThe star of Apple's annual WWDC wasn't Craig Federighi's hair: it was iOS 8, the latest and greatest version of Apple's mobile OS. There's stacks of interesting stuff including third party keyboards, huge improvements to messaging, a really clever feature called Continuity that moves seamlessly from mobile to Mac and back again, and a new app called Health. No sign of the iWatch just yet, but we reckon we spotted plenty of not-so-hidden hints. OS ten ten point tenThe news that Apple is calling OS X 10.10 "Yosemite" caused a flurry of "how to pronounce…" Google searches, but the named-after-the-place-not-the-cartoon-character operating system is much more than a name lots of people can't say. There's ammunition for Apple fans and foes alike, from the excellent iOS integration to what looks awfully like Windows Vista's Sidebar. Amazon's amazing phoneTo the amusement of everyone on Twitter, Amazon has debuted a video that looks awfully like its customers are seeing their sexy bits for the first time - but the out-of-frame object isn't man or lady parts; it's Amazon's incoming 3D smartphone. We'll see the Amazon phone for ourselves on June 18, but you can chortle at the video right here and right now. PSP RIPAlas, poor PSP. The trusty PSP is off to the great gaming graveyard in the sky, with Japanese shipments facing the final curtain this month. It was a lovely bit of kit but it suffered from two fatal flaws: it was awfully expensive, and it wasn't a Nintendo. Another nifty NexusTech news has a long tradition of printing rubbish blurry shakycam shots and asking "is this the new New Thing?" while readers squint at a torx screw from an alleged iPhone case - but this Nexus 8 leak is a lot less blurry and a lot more interesting as a result. The Nexus 8 will be like a Nexus 7 but one louder, and it'll probably have improved performance too. More at Google IO later this month. Samsung's only TizenSamsung has been showing off its Tizen-based Smart TV interface, offering a "sneak peek at something big". An SDK for developers is coming in July and Samsung promises that its Tizen TVs will play nice with other Tizen kit such as the Gear smartwatches and the Samsung Z smartphone. Is this the beginning of Samsung's move away from Android? Valve's VR headset virtually unveiledPictures have surfaced of Valve's new virtual reality headset, which immerses you in imaginary worlds where all kinds of far-fetched things might happen - such as the release of Half-Life 3. But it apparently isn't for the likes of you or us: Valve's VR plans are focused around helping other headset developers such as Oculus Facebook.        | | Buying Guide: The best HTC One M8 deals Jun 6th 2014, 10:33, by James Rogerson -470-75.JPG)
Interested in the HTC One M8 but baulking at the price tag? Don't worry, we know how you feel. It's almost too shiny to resist but such a stunning build and so much power comes a fairly steep cost. But while you're certainly going to have to shell out a fair bit to get your hands on one there are some pretty good deals floating around and we've done the hard work for you by collecting them all in one place. So grab a coffee, say some parting words to whatever handset you're currently rocking and read on to find the best HTC One M8 deal for you. A word of warning before we get started, the HTC One M8 supports nanoSIMs which are smaller than the SIM you may be already using. In fact only the M8, iPhone 5S, 5C, 5 and Moto X support this tiny card so you'll need to get your network to send you a new SIM to pop in the handset. ThreeIf you're going to splash out on a world beating super phone, you might as well make the most of it and get some superfast 4G internet to go with it. Three is the obvious choice to go with, being the only network to offer unlimited 4G data and it's got some fairly good prices too. For example on a 24 month contract you can get the HTC One M8 for £39 per month with unlimited 4G data, unlimited texts and 600 minutes. Better yet, there's not even an upfront cost. Over the life of the contract that will set you back £936. -420-90.JPG)
Alternatively if 600 minutes isn't enough for you Three also sells the HTC One M8 for £42 per month on a 24 month contract with unlimited minutes, 4G data and texts, with no upfront charge. That comes in at a slightly steeper £1,008 over 24 months, but has the advantage of never having to worry about any allowances. Both of those deals are for the grey version of the handset. VodafoneVodafone also has some tempting deals, which is good news if you're currently with the big red and don't fancy switching networks. For £33 per month you can get the HTC One M8 in grey or gold with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. Better yet there's no upfront cost, so over the 24 months of the contract it amounts to just £792. The deal gets better still as there's £48 cashback, pushing the price down to £744. 
If you're after a little more data you can also get the handset with 2GB, along with unlimited minutes and texts for £38 per month and no upfront charge. You even get £24 cashback so that comes out at £888 in total. That's slightly cheaper than Three and while it has data limits, Vodafone offers 6 months of free Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV to sweeten the deal. If you'd rather not be tied in to a 24 month contract it's also possible to get a decent 12 month deal with Vodafone. For £52 per month plus £54.99 up front you can get the HTC One M8 with unlimited minutes and texts and 2GB of data. So you're looking at £678.99 overall. EEWhile EE can't match Three for data allowances it does have far and away the most wide reaching 4G network right now, so you'll actually be able to make use of 4G speeds in more places. 
Currently you can get the grey, silver or gold version of the HTC One M8 for just £37.99 per month and that comes with 4GB of 4G data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts. There's no upfront cost so that comes to £911.76 over 24 months. O2O2 is also getting in on the M8 love. You can get the handset in grey, silver or gold with 1GB of 4G data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts for £28 per month, with no upfront cost. That comes out at £672 over 24 months, which makes it one of the cheaper deals around. -420-90.JPG)
1GB of 4G data won't always go far though, so if you're a heavy user you should consider spending a bit more and getting 5GB of data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts for £38 per month, with no upfront cost. That gets you the HTC One M8 in silver and it's a 24 month contract so it will cost you £912 overall. Tesco MobileTesco Mobile may not be one of the largest networks but it's well worth considering. Right now you can get the HTC One M8 for £38 per month with no upfront cost and that will give you 3000 minutes, 5000 texts and 3GB of 4G data, coming out at £912 overall. -420-90.JPG)
Or if you don't need that much data you can get it for just £34 per month with 1GB of 4G data, 1500 minutes and 5000 texts. That doesn't have an upfront cost either so it will set you back £816 over 24 months. Remember, Tesco Mobile relies on O2 for signal, so you can expect the same coverage. T-MobileThree might be the only network to offer unlimited 4G data, but if you're happy with just 3G then T-Mobile can give you unlimited data too. -420-90.JPG)
The HTC One M8 is available in silver or grey from T-Mobile with 500 minutes, unlimited data and unlimited texts for £37.99 per month with no upfront fee and £48 cashback. Over the life of the contract it will cost you £863.76 once you factor in the cashback. OrangePrices on Orange are similar to T-Mobile, but come with different allowances. You can, for example, get the handset in gold for £37.99 per month with no upfront cost and £48 cashback, but while it comes with unlimited minutes and texts it only includes 1GB of 3G data. 
So at £863.76 over 24 months it's the same price as you can get it for on T-Mobile, but you get more minutes and less data. While there are other deals out there and more likely to be added over time these are among the best around right now. So pick a network and data requirement and get shopping!   | | Buying Guide: The best iPhone 5C deals Jun 6th 2014, 10:09, by James Rogerson 
The iPhone 5S is a great phone, but it's also a very expensive one, and if you can live without the premium metal build and Touch ID fingerprint scanner then the iPhone 5C is almost as good and slightly cheaper. Despite being positioned as a budget way to get an iPhone though it's still not actually all that cheap, which makes shopping around vital. Just to make things even harder the prices are changing all the time, so to save you a bit of time and effort we've compiled a list of the best iPhone 5C deals currently available. EEEE is arguably the best 4G network around at the moment, thanks to its expansive coverage and double-speed 4G in a number of locations. It's not always the cheapest network, but you can still get some good deals. 
One of the best at the moment is for the iPhone 5C in white, blue, pink, yellow or green with 2GB of 4G data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts for £23.99 per month with an upfront cost of £129.99. Like most phone contracts this ties you in for 24 months, coming out at £705.75 in total. VodafoneVodafone currently has one of the cheapest deals around, netting you the iPhone 5C in green with 100 minutes, 100MB of data and unlimited texts for £25 per month with no upfront cost. At £600 in total it's certainly affordable but not necessarily great value unless all you want to do is text. 
That's not the only notable Vodafone deal though, as the iPhone 5C can also be grabbed in pink, green or blue for £29 per month with no upfront cost. In fact it even comes with £96 cashback. For that money you'll get 600 minutes, 500MB of data and unlimited texts and it will set you back £600 in total if you factor in the cashback, making it better value than the previous deal. Vodafone also has a 12 month contract available, which for £47 per month and nothing upfront for the handset will get you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. All in all that's £564, so it's on the steep side, but it means you're only locked in to a contract for a year and it comes with one year's membership to the Gourmet Society. O2O2 currently has some good deals on the iPhone 5C with more data offered than those from Vodafone. 
For example you can get the phone in white, green, blue, pink or yellow for £28 per month with no upfront cost and for that you'll get 1GB of data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts. After 24 months that comes out at £672, which isn't bad at all, though 1GB of data might not be enough for everyone.. ThreeWhile Three's 4G coverage is pretty patchy right now what it does have is unlimited data tariffs. It doesn't have sky high prices either, as you can currently get the iPhone 5C in yellow or blue with unlimited 4G data, unlimited texts and 600 minutes for £35 per month with no upfront cost, so that's £840 in all. You do get a whole £10 of cashback though, taking your total outlay down to £830 - every little helps (no, wait, wrong network). 
Alternatively if you don't need all that data you can spend £32 per month and get it in blue with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of 4G data, so that's £768 in total, as there's no upfront cost. Tesco MobileTesco Mobile is another good shout for the iPhone 5C. You can get it in blue, green or pink with 750 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB of 4G data and all it will cost you is £28.50 per month. As there's no upfront cost that's £684 over 24 months. OrangeOrange doesn't offer 4G data, but it does have some reasonable prices, with the iPhone 5C currently available in green or blue for £32.99 per month with 1GB of 3G data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts. 
It even comes with £72 cashback and as there's no upfront cost that comes to £719.76 after 24 months, which isn't bad but we'd be inclined to say the Tesco Mobile deal is better if you can get by on 750 minutes. T-MobileT-Mobile doesn't offer 4G either, but like Three it has some unlimited data tariffs. Right now you can get the iPhone 5C in blue or white with unlimited data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts for £27.99 per month, with an upfront cost of £39.99. That totals £711.75 after 24 months, making it one of the cheapest ways to get unlimited data.   | | 'McLaren' in pole position to be next Windows Phone flagship? Jun 5th 2014, 23:59, by Chris Smith 
Things have been pretty quiet since Microsoft officially took their reins at Nokia, but word has it the company is preparing to make a dash for the mobile podium with a new flagship handset later this year. According to @evleaks, Microsoft has big plans for a Nokia-made smartphone with the speedy-sounding codename of McLaren. While there is no news on hardware specs or features as yet, the prolific online leakster says major US networks Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have agreed to carry the mystery device. The report claims the phone will also be the first to run the software update internally known as Windows Phone Blue GDR1, the first to follow the recent Windows Phone 8.1 boost. Stepping upThe roadmap identified by evleaks, which appears to be US-centric and not representative of European launch plans, also features a slew of device codenames all set for launch in the second half of 2014. The names Makepeace and Dempsey, another flagship handset called Talkman and a phablet called Cityman are listed, but again there's no news of specs for those devices. After a slow 2014 for the iconic mobile company, it looks like Microsoft is preparing to step it up as we build towards the summer and beyond.        | | Here's a possible peek at the Nexus 6, courtesy of the Android Twitter account Jun 5th 2014, 21:59, by Chris Smith 
All of the recent mobile speculation has been predicated on assumed knowledge that Google is done with Nexus phones and will instead transition into the Android Silver program. However, Google may have given those Nexus naysayers something to think about by showing a mysterious, unknown device within a promotional tweet on the official Android account. While highlighting a grocery shopping list feature on Android, the accompanying photo shows a Nexus-styled device with a Nexus-style design and an ultra-thin bezel. Is this device just a generic mock-up that Google has chosen to use rather than the Nexus 5? Or has the firm offered a sneak peak of a forthcoming handset release? Ingredients for successWhether it's the Nexus 6 or not, the post does highlight a new feature that allows Chrome to search for recipes and then add potential ingredients to a checklist. Droid-Life points out how users can access the feature by tapping 'More' in the search results and then selecting Ingredients. That action brings up a checklist with suggested items required. As the site notes, the feature may be old but looks to have gone relatively unnoticed until Google tweeted the picture with the mystery device. FutTv : rBeXb3sD39yv4       | | Prepare for cheaper Windows and Windows Phone devices this year Jun 5th 2014, 18:20, by Michael Rougeau 
Microsoft is preparing to swing for the low-cost fences with its Windows and Windows Phone devices. The company is keen to get the prices of its tablets and smartphones down this year, Microsoft Vice President of OEM Partners Nick Parker said at Computex Asia, according to The Wall Street Journal. "We'll reach price points that are very industry competitive for 7-, 8-, 10-inch devices," Parker said. Where smaller-sized Windows tablets cost between $300 (about £180, AU$320) and $500 (about £300, AU$540) in 2013, in 2014 the devices will drop to between $100 (about £60, AU$110) and $300. Everyone loves a surpriseIn addition Windows Phone handsets under $200 (about £120, AU$215) will appear in some markets, Parker said. He added that these price points "will really surprise you," although he sort of just gave that surprise away. Microsoft made Windows free to device makers working in the sub-9 inches space in April, a move that could help enable them offer lower prices. But it's important to note that Parker's promises apply to devices 10 inches and smaller, which exempts devices like the premium-priced Surface Pro line.        | | Meet the Google Project Tango Tablet Jun 5th 2014, 17:34, by JR Bookwalter 
Once again proving it takes two to tango, Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) team is making developers do the happy dance by announcing tools necessary to create software for the forthcoming visionary tablet. Google ATAP announced on Google+ today that an official software development kit (SDK) for the anxiously awaited Project Tango tablet, a collaboration with NVIDIA expected to land in developers' hands at the Google I/O conference later this month. First announced as a Kinect-style smartphone prototype back in February, the seven-inch tablet powered by a NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor is unique in its ability to map 3D motion and depth, courtesy of several onboard sensors. Available later this month, Google is now accepting signups for the Project Tango Tablet Development Kit, which will cost developers $1024 (about UK£609, AU$1098) for the privilege of owning the hardware and software to "make applications that track full three-dimensional motion and capture surfaces in the environment." Two to TangoLast month, a report claimed Google was readying as many as 4,000 prototype tablets, which are packed with 128GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, BTLE and 4G LTE as well as a motion tracking camera and integrated depth sensing. The Project Tango website makes it clear the Tablet Development Kits are not aimed at consumers, but rather developers who Google hopes will help evolve the platform in interesting and unique ways in the future. "These development kits are designed for professional developers interested in exploring the future of mobile 3D sensing. Developers will receive updates as the software algorithms and APIs evolve," the website revealed. The tablet is also the only way for developers to pitch in on Project Tango, given that Google has long ago handed out all of the smartphone models produced earlier this year. - There's no 3D, but our iPad Air review proves it's still a darned good tablet!
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