Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 09-16-2014

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Industry voice: How communications tech is keeping Europe safe Sep 16th 2014, 14:18, by Mark J. Fletcher You may not know it, but 112 is actually the common European emergency number used across the 28 EU Member States and many countries surrounding the EU. There are over 320 million emergency calls made every year across the EU, to both 112 and national emergency numbers, but there is still a great deal of work to be done in order to promote 112 and vitally, to future-proof the technology. While the European authorities have control over some telecoms issues, 112 is handled and managed by individual Member States according to local country law and guidelines. This means that each country will often adapt EU law to satisfy national requirements and this has resulted in a service level that varies from country to country. Depending on specific demands, such as the ability for the public to connect via other services (SMS or Real Time Text messaging) and the country's own deployment of technology, 112 is far from synonymous - but it should be. Addressing and rectifying this issue is one of the tasks that the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) is currently facing as part of the Next Generation 112 initiative (NG112). Avaya has been working alongside EENA, local governments and public safety agencies since the 1990s on best practice routing principles and most countries that have implemented 112 services are currently working towards common next generation emergency network concepts. Tech's transformation of emergency services Happily, this should result in a far more harmonised system across Europe coming into play over the next few years, streamlining communications and connectivity to more devices and the information they can contribute. While working on the NG112 initiative, Avaya has come across a number of challenges and exciting new concepts for the future of the emergency services: • The first and foremost question to consider is that of the caller's location. The primary question that every emergency service in every country in the world asks callers is where they are. Surely however, this is an issue that could easily be solved by smartphones? The answer is yes, but at the moment that sort of data is as yet unable to pass through the national emergency service provider's networks. Fortunately, this is something that will be tackled in the immediate future as we move towards next generation concepts. • Secondly is the question of non-traditional multi-media sessions such as IM, SMS and social media. Today the vast majority of people (and young people in particular) make fewer calls and are increasingly likely to connect to emergency services via alternative communications methods. Avaya is working, through its participation in EENA standards committees and public safety services, to ensure that these comparatively new methods of communication can one day be integrated with the emergency services network, seamlessly. • If, in the future, we could contact the police via applications, like Whatsapp for example, then think about video support? This is something that would be an incredibly useful addition to next generation emergency call support. It would be especially beneficial for individuals who are deaf, blind, or hard of hearing as well as individuals with speech disabilities who could now communicate via sign language or be connected to a remote video interpreter via the screen and smartphone camera. • The NG112 Committee together with the EENA Operations Committee has published a 112 Apps EENA Operations Document. EENA strongly believes that all apps connecting citizens with the emergency services should be standardised and a common pan-European app should be developed to ensure the availability of at least one app solution or architecture for accessing emergency services all over the European Union. The goal of this document is to encourage a number of external 112 apps to be created in a standardised approach all over the EU – for example, these might allow a user to provide the emergency services with live video footage, so that they may see what is happening, where the caller is and which response unit would be most suitable. The emergency response team on the way may also be trackable via one of the apps, so the person in need can see how close help is to them. A "huge opportunity" The good news is that, following extensive lobbying from EENA, in the last weeks of 2013, a plan was confirmed by the European Commission to put a budget in place for a demonstrator and proof of concept of the NG112 project to commence in 2015 under the Horizon2020 framework. This is a huge opportunity when you consider the scale and necessary upgrades that many different national systems will need to put in place for the theory to become reality. While it may be too soon to say definitively, it is hopeful that within the next few years, Next Generation 112 services will become more ubiquitous across the EU. Even more exciting, it is entirely plausible that one day there will be a more global view of the emergency number. Rather than specific numbers used in specific countries, the most widely used emergency numbers (911 and 112) would be valid no matter where in the world, or on which device or platform, they were called, a concept already endorsed by the IETF and under consideration by the WHO. Mark J. Fletcher, ENP is Chief Architect of Worldwide Emergency Services at Avaya, and the co-vice-chair of the NG112 committee at EENA. iPhone 6 NFC can only be used for Apple Pay, at least for now Sep 16th 2014, 11:09, by James Rogerson Apple has finally jumped on the NFC train with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, but sadly you'll only be able to use it with Apple Pay, at least for the time being. NFC is used for all sorts of things, from contactless payments to easy pairing of devices - it can even be used to unlock doors - but it's only the contactless payments bit that you'll get from Apple. That means you won't be able to use it for contactless PayPal payments, for example. Or at least that's according to Cult of Mac, which claims to have got confirmation from an Apple spokesperson. Things could change It's not all bad news though, as we're likely to see Apple Pay supported in a lot of places, especially as the company has already partnered with Visa, MasterCard and American Express, and Apple is also going to allow developers to integrate Apple Pay into their apps. It's also possible that it might expand the functions of its NFC chip in future, much like it's now doing with Touch ID, but that's likely to be at least a year away. For now we're stuck with just Apple Pay, rather than the full features of NFC. Want to see what we think of Apple Pay? Windows Phone 9 preview coming to all WP8 handsets in January, claims rumour Sep 16th 2014, 10:33, by James Rogerson As much as we like Windows Phone 8.1 we're ready for the next major upgrade and it looks Microsoft might be too, as it's rumoured that a preview build of Windows Phone 9 will launch in January 2015. That's according to unnamed sources speaking to NokiaPowerUser, so as always we'd take it with a pinch of salt given that we don't know how credible their sources are. But if you're wondering whether you'll be able to get Windows Phone 9 on your current device then you might not need to worry, because apparently it will be available for all existing Windows Phone 8 devices. Low on details Actual rumoured features of Windows Phone 9 are thin on the ground but we've heard in the past that it could be major overhaul of Microsoft's mobile OS and that it may even be merged with Windows 9. Whatever the case, NokiaPowerUser warns that one rumoured feature, split-screen multitasking, might not be available for smaller screen devices, which makes sense. If Windows Phone 9 really is coming in January then we're likely to hear a whole lot more about it over the coming months, so stay tuned. Windows 9 is on its way soon too. EE confirms Cash on Tap can now be used on London Underground Sep 16th 2014, 09:56, by Hugh Langley Coinciding with the announcement that Transport for London is rolling out contactless payments across the network, EE has confirmed that customers will be able to use its own Cash on Tap service on the tube. EE rolled out Cash on Tap to London buses last month, but now the contactless system will work with Underground, DLR and Overground networks. For the uninitiated, Cash on Tap lets users make contactless payments with their EE phones. The timing ahead of the iPhone 6 and Apple Pay, Cupertino's own wireless payment service, certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. EE's service is partnered with Mastercard, but the benefit for London commuters using Cash on Tap will be the avoidance of card clash - something that's sure to be a problem with the rollout of contactless payments on London's transport system. We're tried out Apple Pay, and this is what we thought Is this Samsung's first selfie phone? Sep 16th 2014, 09:27, by James Rogerson The world is going selfie mad so it's about time Samsung joined the craze - and the Galaxy Grand Prime is seemingly the phone it's going to use to do it. The selfie-centric phone was leaked by Vietnamese site thegioididong.com, which both posted pictures and revealed some apparent specs. Those include a 5.0-inch 540 x 960 display, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM. The Galaxy Grand Prime apparently runs Android 4.4 KitKat and is said to be equipped with an 8MP main camera which can record video in 1080p, but the star of the show is the 5MP front-facing camera, leaving it better equipped for selfies than most mid-range phones. Cheap shots Rounding out the specs there's apparently 8GB of built in storage, a microSD card slot and a 2600 mAh battery. According to the source it will arrive in Vietnam in October with a price of less than 5 million VND (£146 / $236 / AU$262). As yet there's no word on if or when it will head west, but if it does it will be entering a crowded market, where only its selfie camera is likely to help it stand out, and even then it will face competition from the similarly selfie-focused Nokia Lumia 735 and Sony Xperia C3. It's still no match for the 13MP Oppo N1. Opinion: Why the Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 is a bad idea Sep 16th 2014, 00:31, by Marc Flores Panasonic announced a beast of a smartphone camera at Photokina 2014, and the little gadget has already garnered quite a bit of interest. For photo enthusiasts, having a 1-inch sensor with a Leica lens in a smartphone sounds like a dream. It also helps that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 has a 4.7-inch 1080p display and all the GHz and RAM and mAh that a modern Android flagship has. So there's no question that, on paper, this is quite a good Android device. But why do we need big, 20MP sensors on our smartphones? First, this thing is going to cost more than a pretty penny. Trust me. Anything with the name Leica on it commands the big bucks. Just look at Panasonic compact and CSC cameras and compare them with the same cameras that happen to bear the Leica moniker. The Leicas are generally a few hundred dollars more. Smartphones are my thing. I review them, test them, love them and hate them. But it's also no surprise that photography is a huge passion of mine, too. The natural assumption, then, is to think that I would fall in love with a good smartphone with an incredible camera, right? We've tried this before, and it didn't work out so well. The Lumia 1020 was the first megapixel beast that we saw in a smartphone. The camera module itself was so big that it was quite a prominent feature in the phone's overall design. However, we quickly learned that size didn't always matter. The 1020 was a dog, and regularly disappointed us in terms of performance. It was slow, image quality wasn't always that great and it was on a platform that, to this day, still desperately needs an overhauled ecosystem. Buy a camera or a phone, not a cameraphone When considering a new smartphone, I always tell people to consider battery life, or at least spare battery packs and cases. The weakest and slowest moving technology in any smartphone is battery life. We have processors fast as computers from a few years ago, displays so sharp that they'll cut your eyeballs, and yet we're still using the same lithium ion batteries that have been in smartphones for years. If we consider the Lumix DMC-CM1 and its 2,600mAh battery, that's nothing. It's good enough to get an Android phone through the day, maybe, but coupled with the monster of a camera in it and you're done. Buying this phone really means you're buying a camera that happens to be a phone, too. Otherwise, if you're really on the market for a solid Android device, you're better off with LG, HTC, Motorola or Samsung. Then again, if you want to buy a good camera, buy a camera! There are so many good compact and CSC cameras out there now that I can't recommend something like the Lumix DMC-CM1 in good faith. Let history be a lesson: those Samsung Galaxy cameras that ran Android were hardly a runaway hit. Quality hardly matters unless you're printing The idea that you can take a photo with a proper camera with a nicely sized sensor behind some nice glass, then share it instantly with your Facebook or Instagram friends is great. Why shoot with the HTC One's 4MP UltraPixel camera for Instagram when you can have a 1-inch, 20MP sensor and Leica glass? I'll tell you why: it doesn't matter. When you're looking at your Facebook or Instagram stream on your tiny little smartphone, you won't be able to appreciate the massive detail that these cameras can capture. How many megapixels do you need to produce a photo that's going to be viewed at 1.5 inches square? Additionally, having the convenience of a nice camera running on Android doesn't really make sense anymore. More and more compact, CSC and DSLR cameras are coming equipped with Wi-Fi. That means you can control these cameras with your smartphone, and you can also edit and share your photos immediately through your iPhone or Android device. Again, no one is going to be able to tell from your Instagram, Facebook or Twitter photos whether you shot an image with a smartphone or a compact camera. And if you really want to have those nicer files for the future, buy a proper camera with Wi-Fi. Your current smartphone camera is good enough If you have an iPhone or a nice Android device, chances are your existing smartphone camera is more than good enough. Just poke around Flickr or 500px and see all the incredible photos people are taking with their smartphones. There are art galleries and exhibitions all over the world featuring only smartphone photos. Camera software in our phones are also improving, and you can control your focus and exposure in most camera apps, which is perhaps 90% of all you need to take good photos with your phone. I'm not here to lecture you and say, "Your eye is the most important piece of photography equipment you have," but it really is. Take some time to learn to take better photos, and soon you won't be stressing over megapixels and glass quality. Your vision and eye for light and composition trumps the equipment you're shooting on, whether it's an iPhone camera, a mirrorless camera or a big DSLR. Lumix DMC-CM1: do not buy First, the phone is only going to be available in France and Germany to start. Who knows if it will ever head anywhere else. But the CM1 is not the first, and probably won't be the last, of its kind. Here's a quick wrap up of reasons not to buy this camera phone: Battery life will be awful Photo quality won't make a difference for most uses (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) It will be more expensive than your average smartphone There are cameras with better sensors and lenses that have Wi-Fi connectivity for smartphone control, editing and sharing If you drop this and break it, as we tend to do with our smartphones, you will have broken your nice smartphone and your nice camera all in one; phones are easy to replace, cameras are usually easy to fix, this CM1 probably won't be So, if you've been looking for a smartphone with a nice camera, consider the LG G3, or perhaps the iPhone 6 Plus, which offers OIS or optical image stabilization. But if you really want a better sensor, better glass and built-in Wi-Fi control, get a camera like the Olympus OM-D E-M10 or the upcoming Fuji X100T. Don't waste your time and money on a phone like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1. Galaxy Note 4 release happening after iPhone 6 hits the streets Sep 15th 2014, 19:55, by klee The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 was originally thought to come out this month, but now we're learning the phablet's release will actually go down in October. A new Samsung USA ad digging at the iPhone 6 Plus for imitating the size of its years' old Galaxy Notes stated, "The Next Big Thing is Here October 2014." The video doesn't give an exact date, so that still leaves the entire month of October up for the Galaxy Note 4 release. Despite a lack of specifics, at least we have confirmation it won't ship this month. The iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6, meanwhile, are going on sale Friday. Samsung hasn't officially announced the price of its latest Note either. The only hint of the device's cost is a Indonesian listing spotted on August 14 putting the handset at 9,499,000 Indonesian Rupiahs (or around £490/$810/AU$870). YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxhSnNZH3Rk Not bigger but better While the picture isn't clear on when exactly the Galaxy Not 4 will arrive or how much it will cost, we've at least gotten our hands on it. Like the Galaxy Note 3, the Note 4 has a 4.7-inch screen, but this is the first device from the company with a 2,560 x 1,440 Quad HD Super AMOLED display. The phablet is also equipped with the latest mobile internals, including a 2.7GHz Qualcomm 805 processor and 3GB of RAM. Users will be able to choose between the 32GB and 64GB of storage, although they could just insert a microSD for additional space. As for its camerasm the Galaxy Note 4 is outfitted with a 16MP rear camera and for the first time a much wider f/1.9 lens on the front backed by a 3.7MP sensor. The device also sports Samsung's new metal-rimmed design, also found on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. As you can see, all we're really missing is the Note 4's release date and price, though we should hear those before long. Now this is a big smartwatch - check out our hands-on review of the Samsung Gear S Amazon Fire TV turns up the tunes with Spotify Connect support Sep 15th 2014, 19:39, by JR Bookwalter It's not quite the same as having a full-fledged Spotify app, but owners of Amazon's little black box can now make beautiful music with their smartphone or tablet in hand. Spotify announced the availability of Spotify Connect support for Amazon Fire TV, which allows the tech companies' mutual customers to "enjoy the music together" without the need to install an app on the media streaming device. Instead of a dedicated app for Fire TV, Spotify Connect takes advantage of the Spotfiy app already on your smartphone or tablet, allowing users to stream potentially millions of songs from anywhere within Wi-Fi range. There is one catch: This mash-up won't work unless you have a paid Spotify Premium subscription, which is a requirement of Spotify Connect to begin with. Oh, and you'll have to be a US resident. Better together "You can seamlessly switch your favorite music from your mobile to the TV and continue to make calls, use other smartphone apps and go out of Wi-Fi range, all without interrupting the music," Spotify explained in a brief blog post. Launched more than a year ago, Spotify Connect offers subscribers a way to hook up to supported hardware from anywhere in the home, as long as the connected speakers are within the reach of a Wi-Fi connection. Amazon Fire TV joins a long list of hardware launch partners already Connect-ing, including Samsung, Revo, Sony, Denon, Yamaha, Panasonic and Pioneer. The set-top requires the latest version of the mobile app in addition to a Spotify Premium subscription. This may not be quite as cool as actually having a standalone Spotify app for Fire TV, but being able to beam millions of songs to yet another piece of hardware in your home without having to pay extra is certainly welcome. Peer into the goodness of our hands-on review for the Motorola Moto X (2014)! HTC-made Nexus 9 said to be highlight of October 8 event Sep 15th 2014, 17:48, by JR Bookwalter Asus will reportedly be out of the Nexus tablet business with the unveiling of Google's long-awaited followup, setting the stage for a new generation of Android slate manufactured by HTC that could be introduced early next month. PhoneArena today reported (via 4GNews) that an unnamed source at an HTC manufacturing facility in Brazil has supposedly spilled the beans on the company's next tablet, which is said to be the followup to last year's Nexus 7 refresh. The so-called Nexus 9 (or is that Nexus 8?) - appropriately named for its rumored nine-inch, 1080p HD display - could make its debut at an October 8 media event, and the report claims the tablet "is also expected to use the Tegra K1," Nvidia's latest mobile processor powerhouse. The apparent Tegra K1 confirmation comes straight from a Nvidia legal filing made public last week, which specifically mentions the existence of a Nexus 9 "expected in the third quarter of 2014." Totally tubular Google and HTC appear to be deviating from the Nexus 7 playbook with the Nexus 9, possibly including "a new 'tube-shaped' waterproof camera" with a 16MP sensor that could be used to entice current GoPro owners. While we can't exactly imagine anyone wanting to take their tablet on an extreme sports outing, apparently this so-called "smart lens" features a wide-angle view capable of being controlled from a smartphone app on either Android or iPhone. Such wireless connectivity will reportedly be possible using either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and HTC is also said to be planning a selfie-centric smartphone which could be launched at the same event. Other rumored specs include 3GB RAM (instead of the initially whispered 4GB), 16GB onboard storage with the option to add 128GB more via micro-SD and a 64-bit version of Google's forthcoming (and still officially unnamed) Android L operating system. Weigh in on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in our full review! Photokina 2014: Panasonic just stuck a 1-inch camera sensor on an Android phone Sep 15th 2014, 17:30, by klee Just when you thought Panasonic was out of cameras to announce at Photokina 2014, it up and announced the first smartphone with a 1-inch image sensor. Lumix DMC-CM1 it sports a 20MP sensor alongside your typical Android smartphone internals. On top of capturing high-resolution stills, the CM1 can also record 4K-video. It's equipped with a 28mm equivalent f/2.8 Leica Elmarit lens and, coupled with the larger sensor, it should produce much more bokeh than your typical smartphone camera. A nother bit smartphone photographers will like is the Lumix CM1 has manual controls, including a ring around the lens and a ready to shoot switch. A whole lot of camera phone YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJiJfGY_tLA As with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom the lens comes out to a hump that extends the phone's thickness from 15.2mm to 21mm. Users will have to decide if their pockets are big enough to carry a larger and heavier smartphone for the sake of image quality. Although the Lumix CM1 looks more like a digital camera with its leather-clad body, it's most definitely still a phone. The Android 4.4 KitKat device features a 4.7-inch 1080p LCD, plus a Qualcomm 2.3Ghz processor and 2GB of RAM. The handset comes with 16GB of internal storage in tow, which thankfully can be further bolstered with a microSD card up to 128GB in size. Reviewed Cameras reports the device will only be available in France and Germany this Christmas, but we've got high hopes it will release to the rest of Europe and the United States. The iPhone 6 Plus has a pretty good camera, too

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