Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 06-07-2014

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In depth: App addicts: has your smartphone become a drug? Jun 7th 2014, 11:01, by Simon Hill Is your smartphone addiction becoming a problem? It doesn't matter where you are these days – people are being rude in a way they didn't used to be. Ignoring you in the car or at a restaurant. Annoying everyone in the cinema. Blanking you at a party. Look around and you'll see why: there's a good chance you'll see at least one person using a smartphone. You might be reading this on one right now. Smartphone penetration in the UK stands at 71% as of March this year according to data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech (with similar numbers in developed nations around the world) and that figure is still rising. People take their smartphones to bed with them, lay them on the table as they eat, and even take them into the toilet. The manners passed down from generation to generation are being forgotten in a Tweet. It's not unusual for people to pull a phone out and start tapping away while you are in direct face-to-face conversation (it's called phubbing), and come on, admit it: you've probably done it yourself. "Abusing and sometimes compulsively using our smartphones can be a real problem," explains Dr. David Greenfield, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. "It can lead to a marked reduction in real-time social interaction as our capacity and desire for regular face-to-face conversation decreases." Dr. Greenfield is also founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, one of the few places in the world that specifically treats smartphone and technology addiction, as well Internet, video game, and pornography addiction. "When we're engaged in these digital technologies we're not doing other things that may be important for our lives, whether its exercise, socializing or work", says Dr. Greenfield, before going on to explain that the ever-present nature of smartphones and our "hyper-vigilance" towards them elevates stress hormones and is "not good for productivity or physical health". He describes the smartphone as the "smallest slot machine in the world" because of the variable-ratio reinforcement schedule. When your phone rings or buzzes you can't predict what it will be, if it's an important email, a text from someone you love, or maybe a winning score for your favourite football team, you get a pleasurable neurochemical hit of dopamine. "It can start as a minor irritation for family and friends," says Professor Reed, a psychologist at Swansea University, "they're focusing more on the device than the people around them, but it can turn into a serious problem. "Some smartphone owners are reporting broken sleep patterns where they're actually waking up to check the Internet, email, or social media. At the extreme there are people spending 60-70% of their waking life on the Internet for non-work-related purposes." "Perhaps 6-10% of people display some signs of Internet addiction," says Reed, "it's a behavioural addiction like gambling or pornography." It may not have the same physiological consequences as something like alcohol or drug addiction, but smartphone addiction works the same way Dr. Greenfield explains, "irresistible urges, inability to stop using compulsively, withdrawal when you don't have it, and increased tolerance which leads to using it more and more." Both Greenfield and Reed have found classic withdrawal symptoms in Internet or smartphone addicts. They report pronounced negative mood swings, irritability, frustration, feeling disconnected, and a fear of missing out. "You also see some physiological changes," says Reed, "increased blood pressure and increased heart rate, which indicates that people are using it like a sedative, or an escape." The good news for most of us is that withdrawal lasts a matter of hours or days, but how do you know if you have a problem in the first place? Admission is the first step "We knew we were wasting a lot of time on the phone and we didn't know what to do about it," explains Mrigaen Kapadia, CEO of Mobifolio, the husband and wife team behind the BreakFree app on Android. They decided that something on your phone which monitors how addicted you are could be the perfect solution. "We came up with a two-step process," says Kapadia, "the first is to tell the user how addicted they are because most of us don't realize how much we are using our phones." The BreakFree app gives you a daily addiction score based on a combination of factors including how many times you've unlocked the screen, how long you've spent on the phone, and which apps you've been using. "The next step is to stop the addiction," he explains, "so we have tools that provide notifications to warn users when they're going overboard." You can get notifications to alert you when you've used an app a number of times or for a prolonged period, and there's an option to automatically switch off functions like Internet access, audio, or to block calls, which can also be scheduled to give you some quiet time, free from smartphone interruptions. "The problem is when you have nothing to do you're going to get your phone out and you'll find something to do," says Kapadia, "the whole family can be sitting together, but they're all staring at their smartphones and the art of conversation is being lost." "Smartphones fill in those little gaps," says Dr. Greenfield, "gaps of timelessness where creativity occurs and new ideas are born, where spontaneous interactions can occur, where we have an opportunity to relax, reflect, or talk to somebody. "Try to make healthy choices about how you use and when you use your smartphone," he suggests. "Remember that you can turn it off sometimes, you don't need to take it everywhere with you." Roundup: Best of TechRadar: this week's best features and hottest reviews Jun 7th 2014, 07:00, by James Rivington 10 best phablets in the world today Because bigger is definitely better, right? Our hands might not be getting any bigger but our phones certainly are. As flagships like the LG G3 and OnePlus One creep up to 5.5 inches, phablets are starting to resemble small tablets, arguably filling the roles of both a smartphone and a slate. If you think that one device is better than two, or just have really big hands, then there is a growing selection of phones to suit and these are the ten best. Read: 10 best phablets Google driverless car hysteria shows humans are too stupid to drive People just don't 'get' driverless cars People are hysterical about driverless cars. They just don't get it. In fact, reactions to Google's vehicle prove that most people struggle to grasp even the most basic benefits of driverless cars, let alone the more nuanced possibilitiesThere's loads of broken logic being used, too. Some argue that you can't have driverless cars mixed with human-driven cars because humans are so bad and erratic at driving. But if humans are so bad, how do they cope with each other? The bottom line is that driverless cars will be much, much more accurately and reliably controlled than human-driven cars. And that includes reacting to poorly-driven human cars. Read all about it HP Envy Leap Motion HP's Envy line has had recent ups and downs, but it seems to have found its feet recently. Being (and looking like) a lower-cost alternative to a MacBook Pro-like machine is no bad thing – especially for people who want that kind of power without the cost. While the Leap Motion controller doesn't add much to the package, it's still not a bad machine overall anyway, especially in the oft-neglected 17-inch category. However, it's well worth looking at the HP Envy TouchSmart 15 if you are considering this laptop, because it's a lot cheaper for almost as much power. HP Envy Leap Motion review 10 best TV deals in the UK for June 2014 Hey you, are you looking for a cheap TV? With most brands' latest TVs just out and a World Cup coming up, there's never been a better time to snap-up a cheap TV. Retailers are desperate to clear their stockrooms and cheap TVs a-plenty are pouring out with bargain price tags slapped on. Read: Cheap TV deals of the month Huawei Ascend P7 Huawei's new hero phone isn't going to worry the flagships The Huawei Ascend P7 is a solid phone across the board, but doesn't excel beyond the competition in any particular area. The camera's not quite as punchy as the units in the high-end Nokias and the iPhone 5S or even Samsung's top Galaxys, the chassis isn't as impressive as the HTC One M8, the price not as low as the Nexus 5, the overall experience not quite as smooth as... loads of other phones. Huawei Ascend P7 review 5 big iWatch hints that Apple dropped at WWDC Apple might be making a compelling case for the wearable Apple didn't unveil the iWatch at WWDC 2014, but it did the next best thing: it dropped some almighty hints about the technology that might be heading to our wrists. Should it actually exist, we expect Apple to announce its long-rumoured wearable later in the year to coincide with the iPhone 6. Whatever shape the iWatch ultimately takes - and we're increasingly convinced that the "watch" bit is misleading - these hints from Apple's WWDC ketnote give a pretty good idea of what it might do. Continue reading... Creative Axx 200 A bluetooth speaker with a lot of talent The Creative Sound Blaster Axx 200 is a portable Bluetooth speaker with an identity crisis. I say that because it's not just an NFC-enabled Bluetooth speaker, it's also a PC soundcard, an MP3 player, a phone charger, a speaker phone, a voice and call recorder, a megaphone and a police siren. Yes, a megaphone and a police siren. Seriously. Creative Axx 200 review HTC One M8 vs HTC One E8 It's metal vs plastic, but what else has changed? The newly announced HTC One E8 is a slightly odd prospect. At its core it's very similar to the impressive HTC One M8, just with a plastic build and a couple of other changes. The idea seems to be to deliver flagship specs at a lower price point, but when the two devices are so similar it's hard to imagine that they'll both be big sellers. Nevertheless, the HTC One E8 is here, so if you're wondering just what the difference is between it and the One M8 we've got the answers. Sony Xperia Z3: what we want to see We want changes galore, but will we get them? It seems like the Sony Xperia Z2 has barely been available any time at all and yet already there are a few rumors circling around the Sony Xperia Z3. That's not entirely surprising, the smartphone world is fast moving at the best of times and while most companies bring out one flagship a year Sony has started releasing one every six months or so, which means the Xperia Z3 may not actually be all that far off. Read all about it Wearable cameras are all the rage but should we all become lifeloggers? We're all Big Brother now Life-logging is all the rage. Sony's new SmartBand SWR10 wristband records your activity, but not just the steps you take or the calories you burn. This wearable builds a profile of your everyday activities by logging the time you spend on Facebook, the songs you listen to and what you browse on the web, too. Continue reading... 50 best Android games 2014 While the 'free-to-play' market has taken a bit of a beating of late due to gamers falling out of love with the use of in-app payments, the world of mobile gaming is still an exciting one. Whether you want games that will last the length of a commute, or want to be lost in a port of GTA where you spend hours mowing down pedestrians and making money out of murder, there is a game on here for you. This constantly updated list is a mixture of free and paid for games, and also that one in between - some in-app payments aren't really that bad. Honest! If by the end you think we have missed something special off of the list, let us know and we will see if it is worthy of inclusion further down the line. Read: 50 best Android games Creative Roar SR20 A pounding new Bluetooth speaker Consider the best wireless speaker you've ever owned. What did you like about it? If I worked on a betting website, I'd say it'd be features like superb audio quality, a low-latency connection, and the ability to charge your mobile device. How does Creative's latest Sound Blaster portable speaker stand up to that list? Well, it might not set the new standard in portable audio, but at $199 (about £119, AU$213), the price is right for this bass-heavy Bluetooth speaker. Creative Roar SR20 review Live sports streaming: the future is HD and multiscreens on your phone You've got an HD display in your pocket, why not take advantage? Anyone 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? Google Hangouts takes a page from Draw Something with new sketch tools Jun 6th 2014, 22:09, by Chris Smith Google's Hangouts service has been heralded as a pretty versatile communications tool, allowing instant messaging, photo and file sharing, and voice and video calls. However, until now, there's always been one thing missing; the ability to make little funny squiggles and doodles and send them to your nearest and dearest. Thankfully, that draconian era of doodle-free Hangout-ing (Hanging out?) looks like it's coming to an end with some web-based users reporting a set of sketching tools showing up within the in-browser Gmail page. Google doodles According to an AndroidPolice tipster, users will have a choice of brush thickness and colours in a sort of primitive MS Paint-style interface within the message window. Interestingly, according to the tipster, drawings can still be edited after they've been sent. It seems to raise the possibility of collaboration, but that's just speculation on our part. Skype catches up with Hangouts by adding free group video calls iOS 8 'Send Last Location' a life saver right before iPhone battery dies Jun 6th 2014, 21:00, by Matt Swider We're really hoping that the rumored larger screen of the iPhone 6 boosts to its battery size, but for now we're taking solace in a feature to help recover our drained phones. iOS 8 beta 1 has a new "Send Last Location" setting that's part of Apple's already invaluable Find My iPhone app, according to AppleInsider. Once your iPhone reaches a critical level, it'll forward the wayward device's location to Apple's servers and presumably store the GPS information in your iCloud. Right now, figuring out if your iPhone 5S or iPad Air is between the couch cushions or still in the car isn't practical through Apple's app if the battery is dead and hasn't broadcast a signal in a while. iPhone thieves beware "Send Last Location" is not only great for figuring out where you left your drained iPhone that clearly isn't in the charger, it's ideal for combating phone thieves. It's one extra protection added to a long list of Find My iPhone capabilities: tracking, beeping, sending a message to, locking and completely wiping your precious iPhone. Combined with the iPhone 5S Touch ID fingerprint sensor and forthcoming iOS 8 Family Sharing ability to recover each others' iDevices, there's really no excuse for losing your phone. Find out more about iWatch before it presumably launches in October Apple and Spotsetter may make Maps your app of choice Jun 6th 2014, 20:28, by Juan Martinez Apple may not have given up on ousting Google as the leading mobile map application on the market. According to reports, Apple has agreed to acquire location-based social search engine Spotsetter. Spotsetter combines maps, business location information, user images and reviews to form a personalized recommendation engine across a user's social network. The technology enables consumers to search for venues, or search by location, to read about their friends' experiences. Industry reports suggest Apple will leverage the social aspect of Spotsetter to improve interactivity within its own Maps application. Apple Maps … oy vey With Spotsetter's technology, it may be possible for users to open Apple Maps and receive personalized recommendations based on their social networks without leaving the application. Two years ago, Apple pre-installed its Maps application on the iPhone, but ultimately urged users to install and use Google Maps after its own app was deemed unreliable. Prior to the acquisition, Spotsetter had processed more than five million user profiles, 40 million venues, and one million curated venue content items from around the world, according to TechCrunch. The company was founded by ex-Google Maps engineer Stephen Tse and Johnny Lee. Spotsetter has been removed from Apple's App store. Tse announced Spotsetter would be shutting down six days ago in a blog post. Lee and Tse now both list Apple as their current employers on LinkedIn. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google Maps versus Apple Maps: Which is better? Pay a penny to build your own Moto X Jun 6th 2014, 18:59, by Kevin Lee Motorola really wants you to try a Moto X and for as little as a penny, the smartphone maker will let you keep it for 14 days. Android Central spotted a special program Motorola will kickoff June 9 letting anyone try the Moto X for one cent. For the down payment of a Lincoln coin, users will be able to customize their own handset with Moto Maker and keep it for a two-week trial. The special promotion appears to be a one-shot deal Motorola is only holding while supplies allow. Of course also expect to pay for the full $349 price of the device if you decide to keep it. So far Motorola has only posted a splashy ad on its front page without any details on where users can sign up for the deal. We've contacted Motorola for more on the program and will update the story when we hear any new details. Get over it It's no secret the Moto X hasn't exactly taken off as a soaring success in the United States, so Motorola is clearly hoping to sway some new customers with this promotion. Motorola confirmed at the end of last month that it was closing its manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The Moto Maker factory closure was attributed to the poor sales of the Moto X coupled with the higher labor costs in US. Meanwhile, Motorola could be using the promotion as a way of off-loading a surplus of flagship handsets. This summer we expect its successor, the Moto X+1, will show up with a 1080p HD screen and faster Snapdragon 800 processor. Get a load of Samsung's latest Android smartphone, the Galaxy S5 PayPal bullish on Touch ID support for iPhone app Jun 6th 2014, 18:00, by JR Bookwalter Apple delighted iOS developers this week with the announcement of more than 4,000 new APIs, one of which enables apps to take advantage of the fingerprint sensor built into the latest iPhone. Business Insider reported Thursday that PayPal engineers were indeed in the audience for Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco this week, and one upcoming iOS 8 feature in particular has piqued the interest of the mobile payment service. PayPal Senior Director of Global Initiatives Anuj Nayar confirmed company developers were on hand for a WWDC session detailing forthcoming changes to Touch ID, which could, for example, be used to log into the mobile app to send payments. "It seems to be a fairly easy API to use, but we're still kicking the tires," an unnamed PayPal insider elaborated. Thumbs (and fingers) up When Cupertino's latest mobile operating system lands this fall, the fingerprint sensor built into the iPhone 5S will no longer be limited to just unlocking the device or authorizing iTunes Store purchases. Thanks to a new API, Touch ID can now be integrated into third-party apps, such as the official PayPal solution that currently allows customers to send and receive payments using a password or PIN code. While many pundits believe Touch ID is only the opening salvo in an all-out assault by Apple on a mobile payment system, existing services such as PayPal have been dabbling with similar efforts on finger-friendly smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S5. Presumably, owners of Touch ID-enabled iOS devices would be able to log into their PayPal account to transfer funds or manage settings without the need for a password or even cell phone login credentials, which currently are secured by a four-digit PIN code. For more Apple love, check out our full review of the latest MacBook Air! iOS 8 can scan your credit card using the camera Jun 6th 2014, 17:15, by Chris Smith Apple's forthcoming iOS 8 software will allow users to fill in online payment forms by using the camera to scan credit card details. The new feature, first spotted by 9to5Mac, gives iPhone and iPad owners the opportunity to "Scan Credit Card" details, when the numerical keyboard pops up on shopping sites. Users can then place their plastic within a frame and, thanks to a little optical character recognition, the camera will do the rest, filling in the details automatically. The idea is to shave a few seconds off making an online purchase and, in some cases, will save folks squinting at that faded expiration date. PayPal gets touchy too Apple has been somewhat reluctant to throw itself into the mobile payments sphere up until this point. It is yet to add an NFC chip to any of its iOS devices, choosing instead for the web-based Passbook service which hasn't been widely adopted outside of a few retailers, venues and airlines. This move boosts the online shopping experience rather than in the in-store one, as does the news that PayPal is among those third-party services adopting the Touch ID fingerprint sensor technology in iOS 8. Here's everything you need to know about iOS 8 Sprint reportedly agrees to acquire T-Mobile for $32 billion Jun 5th 2014, 16:53, by Juan Martinez Sprint has agreed to acquire T-Mobile for roughly $32 billion, according to numerous reports. The proposed acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, would merge the third and fourth largest US mobile carrier networks. The acquisition, which has been rumored for months, was supposedly called off last month. The Federal Communications Commission allegedly quashed the deal, citing anti-trust concerns. However, talks appear not to have died, and proponents of the deal argue Sprint and T-Mobile combined would have more buying power to compete with Verizon and AT&T, as opposed to creating a monopoly. Sprint and T-Mobile each have more than 100 million subscribers. AT&T and Verizon have 116 million and 122 million subscribers, respectively. Other notable acquisitions Regulators are also in the process of determining whether Comcast's $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and AT&T's $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV will be approved. The Wall Street Journal reports the T-Mobile acquisition could close as early as this summer. The Journal also reports that Sprint would still be on the hook for $1 billion in cash and assets if the deal falls through. In 2011, AT&T's agreed to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion. Regulators rejected the proposal. At the time, The Justice Department argued the US needed four carriers to be competitive. Why did AT&T acquire DirecTV?

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