Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 09-19-2014

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Galaxy Alpha and iPhone 6 enter TechRadar's top phones in the world Sep 19th 2014, 15:01, by Hugh Langley It's time for another shakeup at TechRadar HQ, as we re-rank our 10 best mobile phones in the world today. Once again we rolled out the spreadsheets, pie charts and test tubes so we could reach a definitive verdict - proven by science. We've had a few new contenders enter the arena since last time, so it's taken a fair amount of consideration. But several sleepless nights and many arguments later, we've reached our conclusion. Both of Apple's new handsets - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus - have made it in, with the former coming in at third place and the bigger, latter handset ranking at sixth. The HTC One M8 still holds the crown for the number one spot, while the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has also managed to wiggle its way into the smartphone elite. But where did we place it? Well, you'll just have to read on and find out... iPhone 6 Plus teardown confirms 1GB of RAM and more Sep 19th 2014, 14:15, by Matt Hanson When you first get your hands on the much sought after iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus the last thing on your mind will probably be to take them apart. Not only would the process be fiddly and come with a good chance that you might irreparably break something, but it would also void your warranty. However the intrepid folk over at iFixit have no such qualms about getting out the toolbox and taking apart both versions of the latest iPhone. Whilst some may baulk at the prospect of taking apart their shiny new iPhones, there's a lot to be learned from such endeavours. Apple can be notoriously cagey about releasing detailed specifications about its hardware, so sometimes taking apart its devices can give us a better idea of the technology inside. To avoid damaging the phones you can't just go at them with regular tools. Luckily the team at iFixit have a number of specialised devices, such as a screwdriver for the iPhone's rather uncommon Pentalobe screws, and the iSlack tool which carefully removes the front face and screen. What's inside? Upon opening the iPhone 6, the team at iFixit noticed how similar the layout was to the iPhone 5S, with a clean routing of the Touch ID sensor cable making it safer to open (and therefore easier to repair) than the iPhone 5. By opening the case iFixit got a better look at the batteries inside the new iPhones, with the iPhone 6 Plus having a battery rated at 3.82V with 11.1 Wh of energy, coming to a total of 2915mAh, nearly double the 1560mAh capacity of the iPhone 5S. For comparison, the iPhone 6's battery is 6.91 Wh with a 1810mAh capacity. As the iFixit team delved deeper into the iPhone 6 they were able to confirm that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have 1GB of RAM. While this was widely assumed, it was never officially confirmed by Apple. Head over to the iFixit for a more detailed breakdown of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The results are fascinating, with perhaps the biggest reveal being that Apple has worked hard to make the insides of the new iPhones neater, making them easier to repair if needs be. iPhone 6: the TechRadar verdict Updated: Nexus 6 release date, news and rumors Sep 19th 2014, 13:00, by John McCann and Simon Hill Nexus 6 release date, news and rumors The Nexus 5 arrived in the second half of 2013, continuing the brand's mantra of high specs, low cost and a pure version of Android. We're now well into 2014, so our thoughts are turning towards Google's next iteration of Nexus device, although the chance of the Nexus 6 actually appearing isn't guaranteed. There has been talk about Google's new Android Silver program, where the search engine is apparently turning to key smartphone manufacturers and offering resources to make high-end devices in collaboration with Google. Some are suggesting that this could be the death of the Nexus line, with @evleaks claiming: "There is no Nexus 6. Farewell, Nexus. Don't worry, there's a silver lining to this cloud... Android Silver, circa February 2015." Android Silver: everything you need to know But don't worry Nexus fans, as Android's head of engineering Dave Burke has confirmed the brand is still 'invested in Nexus'. Mentions of the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 8 tablet have also been spied by eagle eyed devs who have been sifting through code for Google's Chromium browser - giving us hope the Nexus 6 is still on the cards. More recently, mobile carrier T-Mobile dropped a hint that it was working on bringing Wi-Fi calling, a feature available in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to the Nexus 6. For now though nothing is confirmed and the Nexus 6 could still arrive this year. Cut to the chase What is it? Google's sixth iteration of its affordable Nexus line When is it out? Going on the Nexus 5, probably October or November What will it cost? It's likely to start around $349, £300 Nexus 6 release date and price The Nexus 5 was announced on October 31 2013, hitting stores in November of the same year. In terms of the Nexus 6 release date we're expecting the handset to arrive around the same time in 2014. Considering the Nexus 5 launched at $349, £299 for the 16GB model we'd expect the Nexus 6 to inherit a similar pricing structure, although if it's rocking some serious tech it may come in slightly more expensive. Nexus 6 operating system The Nexus 6 could be the first device to run the next version of Google's operating system, which we now know to be Android L, after it was announced at Google I/O earlier this year. When Google launches a new major version of its software it usually offers up some hardware too. The Nexus 5 ushered in the arrival of Android KitKat and the Nexus 6 seems the sensible option for the next installment, although there's always a chance that'll we'll see the Google Nexus 10 (2014) or an updated Nexus 7 slate instead. Nexus 6 design Korean manufacturer LG was being hotly tipped for a third term as Google's Nexus smartphone producer, and while the Nexus 5 bore resemblances to last year's LG G2, some sources reckon the Nexus 6 will apparently be based on the LG G3. That's all been called into question though as LG has now denied any involvement in the Nexus 6. That begs the question of who then will be making it in LG's place, but it also kills most of the theories that had been circulating. They may have a point though, as Motorola is another manufacturer being linked to the Nexus 6, with reports of a handset codenamed "Shamu" doing the rounds. We may have now caught our first glimpse of the Nexus 6, as the Android Twitter account tweeted a photo featuring an unidentified Nexus handset. The phone wasn't the focus of the photo, so it's possible that it's just a generic mock-up, but that then begs the question of why they wouldn't just use a Nexus 5 for it. Either way there's not much to take away from it, all we can tell is that it's a black rectangle with curved corners, large bezels above and below the screen and small ones at the side. There's no sign of any buttons on it, which could mean they've been moved to the back, on the other hand they could just be flush with the edges or hidden by the fingers. The thin side bezels could mean that it's taking a similar approach to the LG G3, by packing a larger screen into a similar sized chassis, though again it doesn't look like LG itself has anything to do with the phone. Nexus 6 display Beating the LG drum again, and one rumour pegs the Nexus 6's screen size at 5.5 inches, which is the same as the LG G3, but with LG seemingly not involved that's presumably just a coincidence if it's even true. Going back to the Motorola leak, and the "Shamu" handset apparently sports a sizeable 5.9-inch display which would push the device firmly into phablet territory. We reckon it's highly unlikely that the Nexus 6 will be a phablet offering, so unless Shamu arrives alongside a more conventional handset (around 5-inches in size), it probably won't see the light of day. We've also now seen another leak, this time on GFXBench, which lists a 5.2-inch 2560 x 1440 QHD display. That's big and high resolution but seems more likely than 5.9 inches. Nexus 6 power It looks like the Nexus 6 might be a real beast. The Motorola Shamu, which is believed to be the Nexus 6, appeared on GFXBench. It has so far only completed a single test but alongside the results you can see that it has a 2.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor and 3GB of RAM, which would make it a match for any other smartphone out there. A similar listing has also popped up on AnTuTu, revealing an Adreno 420 GPU. Nexus 6 camera Not much is known about the camera yet, but a leak on GFXBench for the Shamu lists a 12MP snapper with UHD video recording, which would be a step up from the lacklustre 8MP camera on the Nexus 5. It may even be slightly better still, as according to a similar listing on AnTuTu it will actually have a 13MP main camera, plus a 2.1MP front-facing one. Nexus 6 fingerprint scanner With the iPhone 5S, HTC One Max and Samsung Galaxy S5 all sporting fingerprint scanners it's no surprise that other top-end handsets are being linked to the biometric tech. The Nexus 6 is no exception, with Android Geeks citing a "trusted source" who claims the handset will indeed come with a fingerprint scanner. Read our in depth Google Nexus 5 review The key features the Nexus 6 needs Fans of the cutting edge vanilla Android experience were quick to fall in love with the Nexus 5. It ushered in Android 4.4 KitKat with a sexy Google Experience Launcher on top, but it wasn't perfect. Here's what our friendly neighbourhood search giant could do to get us excited about the Nexus 6. A bigger battery Battery life has bossed the chart of complaints in the smartphone market for years now and last year's Nexus was a major offender, with a constantly weird amount of power suckage. Scraping through a day simply isn't good enough. If you're going to pack more and more irresistible features into a device with a gorgeous hypnotizing display, then please give it enough juice to fulfil our obsessive usage. A better camera Google made some swift adjustments to roll out an update that fixed up the Nexus 5 camera, but it's still an obvious candidate for improvement. A new version of Android should handle the software side, but the Nexus 6 is going to need to pack some decent hardware. Nokia is the current gold standard with the 41MP-toting Lumia 1020, but the Android pack is pushing 13MP and upwards now. Of course there's more to a camera than the megapixel count, but there's a lot more than can be done here. We want great quality shots, but also fast performance to help us capture those precious, spontaneous moments as they happen. A slightly bigger screen With some clever engineering and some ruthless bezel slicing we're getting bigger displays without smartphones growing to ridiculous proportions, although phablets are now a thing. Perhaps the 6 will refer to the screen size. Realistically 6 inches might be pushing things too far, but we could always use more screen real estate. We'd like to see the Nexus 6 creep up a touch past 5 inches without becoming unwieldy. A slight increase in screen size without additional bulk would hit the spot nicely. An edge-to-edge display has long been a dream for smartphone fans. A 64-bit processor Since Apple made the jump to a 64-bit processor in the iPhone 5S it's inevitable that other manufacturers will want to follow suit. It doesn't matter if there isn't much obvious short term advantage. App developers and manufacturers will be able to realize the potential of this in years to come, but perception is important and that's reason enough for the Nexus 6 to need a 64-bit processor. Dual speakers The front-facing dual-speaker setup on the HTC One M8 is undeniably nice and the more we consume media on our smartphones the more important it becomes to get decent sound. The Nexus 5 had one speaker at the bottom and it was less than stellar. It's another obvious target for a spot of improvement on the Nexus 6 and it would be nice if headphones weren't a requirement for enjoying music on your phone. A new form The LG G Flex and the Samsung Galaxy Round have begun the transition to flexible displays which will enable new form factors. A gentle curve is not much to get excited about, and it's still probably too early for the full potential of flexible displays to be realized, but anything that takes smartphones away from the black rectangle convention could be good. A Nexus 6 with a really interesting design and some software innovation from Google could point the way for the evolution of the smartphone. At the very least a kind of secondary display portion on the edge for at-a-glance functionality and controls. Maybe even a dual-screen set-up with a low energy secondary display for notifications. Always listening The big USP for the Moto X was the voice recognition, allowing you to issue commands to Google Now without using your hands. The idea of hands-free operation has always been hampered by the need to press something first. If the Nexus 6 was always listening for its master's voice, we might be tempted to make better use of Google's fortune-telling digital butler. Wi-Fi calling A feature we wouldn't be surprised to see make its way onto the Nexus 6 is Wi-Fi calling. Apple introduced the feature with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and its unlikely that Google will be far behind. A spokesperson for T-Mobile seemed to let slip that this feature would be included when talking to 9to5Google - confirming that the network was currently working on it with Google. The process involves using Wi-Fi coverage to boost mobile signal and in the case of T-Mobile is represented by a blue "Talk Bubble" icon. A 2K display Full HD with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution is still the standard for top-end Android smartphones, but QHD 2560 x 1440 displays are just around the corner. By the time the Nexus 6 is due to arrive the 5.5-inch QHD LG G3 will be on sale, and maybe even the Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime and HTC One M8 Prime as well. It wouldn't be a shock if the Nexus 6 brought us a new level of pixel density. It's probably too soon for 4K displays, but we're heading in that direction, and this would at least give a Nexus the headline grabbing features we love. Of course, only if it can be done cheaply. We don't want to lose the low prices we've become accustomed to. Biometric security Face Unlock was a gimmicky feature that arrived in Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It didn't always work and it was easy to spoof with a photo but finding new ways to effortlessly, but securely, unlock your smartphone is still on the agenda. Apple's Touch ID uses your fingerprints and there's a digit scanner in the Galaxy S5 too. If this kind of security is set to become a new standard, then the Nexus 6 needs to jump on board. Indestructibility We've seen Kevlar coating from Motorola and waterproofing from Sony and Samsung, and there's no doubt the Nexus line could stand to toughen up. You only need to glance at any Nexus 4 or Nexus 5 forum to find tales of woe from hapless owners with shattered screens. Flexible display technology could put an end to cracked and broken screens. Waterproofing has left the rugged category behind and broken into the mainstream. A Nexus 6 that can survive a dunk and doesn't need a polycarbonate overcoat is surely on the cards. The day is here: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus release to the wild Sep 19th 2014, 12:00, by Michelle Fitzsimmons Break out the party hats: the day many of you have been waiting for is finally here as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus release into the wild. This means anyone can waltz into an Apple Store right now (or 8 a.m. local time, if you're not on the East Coast) and walk out with a new iPhone. Or waltz out - whatever floats your boat. We camped out overnight to see what the scene was like at Apple Stores in New York and Los Angeles, and the faithful didn't disappoint. The questions are - will all those who waited and everyone who trickles in to stores throughout the day leave with the iPhone 6 they wanted? Or will we see shortages of any particular color, storage sizes or, worst of all, will stock of either phone run out completely? Stay locked to TechRadar as we track the iPhone 6's availability across the nation, and let us know if you run into any issues getting a new iPhone yourself. If you're still on the fence as to whether an iPhone 6 is right for you, check out our iPhone 6 review and iPhone 6 Plus review. We hope they help. Done with those? Then head over to our iOS 8 review! Fighting Talk: Why Apple made me buy both iPhones Sep 19th 2014, 11:58, by Phil Lavelle Want to get the best iPhone for you? Order two. That's what I had to do - even though I've no intention of keeping them both. We're here on launch day, and this was the only way I could feel safe because of what happened last week. The problem is that Apple gave us something new on Tuesday 9 September. Something 'magical'. Something 'awe-inspiring'. Something it's never given us before: a real choice... what a way to screw with your head. The once-easy decision of colour or storage, now replaced by the choice of two models. ARGH! (I'll ignore the 5C vs 5S debate, as that was just a rebadged iPhone 5). And I just couldn't make up my mind. So I ordered both. Credit card status: broken! Not that I can afford to keep two. But I had little choice in the small scheme of things. Making the choice Here's why: there's something else that comes with Apple phones for a lot of people, and that's impatience. Because you know that if you don't get one pre-ordered, you're going to have to try on launch day. And having done that several times since 2007, I can tell you that it can be a miserable experience. Last year, having failed miserably, it was November before I was able to just walk into an Apple store and pick up a 5S without having said a prayer to those above and walked a dozen old ladies across the road to balance the karma out. The fact is that I just couldn't make my mind up on Friday. So firm action was needed. The 5S could do with being a little bit bigger - so the iPhone 6 looks perfect. But the iPhone 6 Plus has a better screen and a better battery. And there was no way I could go check them out in a store first to make a decision. Add to the mix that - like them or loathe them - Apple devices have a habit of happily shocking you when you first pick them up (for example, the weight of the iPhone 5 compared to the 4), it's not the easiest decision to make. To the winner, the spoils Luckily, Apple has a great returns policy which means I can try them both out and then return the one I don't want within 14 days. Which I totally intend to do. Or maybe I can sell one at a hugely inflated price and get together the cash for a deposit on a house. I feel I've earned it - after all, that pre-order process was NOT a pleasant experience. I was sat there on my bed like a surgical operation was about to commence. The laptop right in front of me, open. The iPad next to me with the Apple app open (using a different connection, just in case), the iPhone right in front of me using a third connection. And three cards next to me so I could grab another if I got the dreaded 'declined' message for any reason. And yet, it still took 40 minutes because the world's most valuable technology company couldn't get its website up to scratch. No other company in the world could make me want to buy two of its devices without having seen them in the flesh, knowing that one would go back anyway. I've no idea what it is that made me want to do that – perhaps it was that ever-growing 'missing out' feeling that social media rams down our throats, expanded to the notion I might not get something I like as soon as possible. Even now, I know how this makes me look. I'm not saying this is a critical problem in my life, but this is what happened when a new thing you want becomes available. Such is the problem of the fanboy that I'm spending money I don't have in the hope I can return one and solve the problem. A fool and his money, eh? If they'd never invented smartphones, my bank balance would be a lot happier these days. If you're in a similar dilemma, maybe our iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus reviews will help Google's Android L will automatically protect your data Sep 19th 2014, 10:53, by Jeff Parsons Security and personal privacy have become rather important topics in the world of smartphones of late. Apple's CEO Tim Cook gave his thoughts earlier this week on the issue, and now Google's working to make Android more secure. The search giant has told the Washington Post that the next generation of its mobile OS, the as-yet-unnamed Android L, will encrypt data automatically for the first time. Previously, users of Android had to activate optional encryption on their handsets. What is particularly pertinent about this is Google says even law enforcement types won't be able to access the photos, messages and videos stored on an encrypted device. Apple made a similar feature a cornerstone of iOS 8, and assured users that the company itself could not turn over any personal data to the fuzz. The move from both companies is in response to the NSA practices revealed by Edward Snowden last year. Lock and key According to Google, the aim of making Android - the world's most popular mobile OS - more secure has been in the pipeline for months. "For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," said Niki Christoff, a spokesperson for Google. "As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on." The next version of Android is expected in October, although historically it takes Android far longer than iOS to achieve mass uptake of a new version due to the volume and differentiation of the devices. Here are the top 10 things you need to know about Android L Week in Tech: Week in Tech: iPhone 6, iOS 8 and Moto 360 all get the TechRadar verdict Sep 19th 2014, 10:50, by TechRadar What's big, has everybody talking and will cause a great deal of joy and sadness on Friday morning? No, not the Scottish independence referendum: we mean the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which go on sale Friday - but not to many of the people who ordered theirs from Phones 4u, which went into administration this week after everybody else's pre-orders had already sold out. This week we discovered whether Apple still leads, or if others have taken its crown. Not only that, but we've got the latest Sony Xperia, a bunch of new Kindles, the Moto 360 and a date with Destiny. Has Apple perfected the phone? The iPhone 6 is bigger, better, sleeker and faster than ever before - but the days when Apple had the good smartphone market to itself have long gone. How does the iPhone 6 fare against Android's finest? Gareth Beavis knows, and he reckons it's "sensational, but not flawless." The screen isn't full HD and, as we're sure you already know, it's awfully expensive - although not as expensive as the even bigger iPhone 6 Plus. The good Mr Beavis reckons you should make sure you really want one: it's designed for "a very particular client base." We think he means rich giants. iOS: is 8 great? New iPhones mean a new version of iOS, and the arrival of iOS 8 appears to have many iPhone 4S owners cursing Tim Cook as their smartphones slow to a crawl. On more recent devices, though, there's a lot to like - and Matt Swider can explain what, where and why. Not everything works yet (don't enable Cloud Drive until Yosemite ships if you want to keep syncing with your Mac) but there's lots of cool new stuff. We're particularly pleased about the third party keyboards. Sony's premium push Sony, it's safe to say, isn't doing very well at the moment. Its solution? Shift strategy and in mobiles, concentrate on the premium smartphone market. Sony's problem isn't so much the hardware - devices such as the new Xperia Z3 are great - as Sony's relationship with carriers, particularly those in the US and China. Amazon's Kindle Kollection You can tell Christmas is coming: Amazon's announced a whole bunch of new Kindles it hopes you'll buy for everybody you know. There's a new Kindle Fire for kids called the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition, updated Kindle Fire HDs and Kindle Fire HDXes, and a new higher resolution ebook reader called the Kindle Voyage. Moto 360-uh-oh Matt Swider has spent a week with Motorola's Moto 360 smartwatch, and that time has exposed a fatal flaw: its battery life is terrible, which means that after a long day it's not much more useful than a sundial. It does look quite nice, though. A date with Destiny This week Bungie's Destiny broke records: its launch is the most successful of any new gaming franchise, which is a corporate way of saying it's sold a bajillion copies. Unlike Bungie's Halo franchise it's available on PS4 too, and that encouraged us to revisit our PS4 review to see how it looks now there are lots of decent games and streaming services for Sony's console. It's still the most powerful console in the world, and now it's starting to deliver on its promises []. Google 2.0 The Scots aren't the only people who want to change the world this week. Google wants to change the world too, and CEO Larry Page has set up a special Google 2.0 task force to solve issues such as, er, making Google more accessible to kids. Thankfully Google 2.0's other plans are more ambitious: they're designing cities of the future, more efficient airports and better forms of security. Google's Calico still beats them on ambition, though: it's trying to cure death. Galactic revelations And finally, Samsung has confirmed the release date for the Galaxy Note 4. The phablet will go on sale in the UK on October 10 and in the US on October 17, with pre-orders now open. You can see what we thought of the phone in our Galaxy Note 4 hands on review. Check out our best iPhone 6 deals IN DEPTH: In stock or not, iPhone 6 Plus hopefuls wait in long Apple Store lines Sep 19th 2014, 06:48, by Matt Swider The iPhone 6 launch is underway with customers forming long lines at Apple Stores around the world, most notably in New York City, where we caught up with fans waiting as many as 19 days. "We were actually the first in line, but these guys came after us and bought our spots," said Staten Island resistant Joseph Cruz. "They paid us each $1,250 (about £757, AU$1,395) just to shift down to three and four." Cruz, his cousin Brian Ceballo and just about everyone else we talked to are betting the popular iPhone 6 Plus will be in stock when the Apple Store in Manhattan opens its door at 8 a.m. They're really attracted to the big screen. "You can do so much more with it. Instead of having a little phone trying to look at videos, you can actually have a mini tablet," Ceballo told TechRadar. iPhone 6 Plus is the big, big want Not everyone may be lucky, as the 5.5-inch phone is reportedly in short supply. In fact, from all of the Apple diehards we talked to, almost everyone was itching for the phablet. It's this year's gold iPhone 5S. "It's a bigger phone," said East Harlem's Balde Agdnelaze "If you have it, you don't need an iPad. It's just an iPad replacement." Not only does iPhone 6 Plus have a larger screen next to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 display, it has a higher resolution, larger battery life and an 8-megapixel camera with an optical image stabilization. You can find out more about the iPhone 6 vs the iPhone 6 Plus in our in-depth comparison coverage. Lines twice as long in California Sitting outside the landmark Apple Store in Santa Monica, we found the iPhone 6 launch line to be twice as long as last year when the iPhone 5S came out. That's despite the fact that Apple took pre-orders a week in advance, something that wasn't done in 2013. iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are thinner, but the lines certainly aren't. iPhone 6 hopefuls that we talked to had flown in from as far as Hong Kong, Brazil and Belize, where the Apple smartphone can cost as much as three times as much in their home countries. To them, camping in line is a better alternative to ordering it from Apple's online store. It's three to four weeks out from shipping if you order it today. More to follow... OnePlus One pre-orders open in October, but you'll have to be fast Sep 18th 2014, 19:27, by klee Those who've been hoping for an invite to buy the OnePlus One will soon have an equal chance to pre-order this great and cheap handset. OnePlus will launch a new pre­-order system in October, letting anyone virtually line up and purchase the smartphone. Sound too good to be true? It kind of is - there is a limited purchasing window and you'll have to be fast. Prospective OnePlus One buyer first in line will get the handset as long as it's in stock, otherwise OnePlus will jot down pre-orders. The company isn't putting any limits on the number of reservations it will take, but it noted users will receive a longer shipping date estimate if it's flooded with requests. "No matter what, we'll always tell you our best approximation for when it will ship before you submit the payment authorization," OnePlus wrote in a blog post. The company did offer assurance it wouldn't charge customers unless the device ships. So to recap: Pre-orders will open to everyone next month, but you'll have to be early in line to actually get one. You can still pre-order the phone, but it may take awhile to get to you if a lot of people place orders. Think we've got it. Never settle The OnePlus One is one of the best smartphones available for a low price of $299/£229 (about AU$320). However, getting an invite to actually buy the handset has been a huge headache for interested buyers. With this new ordering window open to all, many more will at least get the chance to put their hands on the 5.5-inch handset. On top of a full HD display, the OnePlus One features a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU. The OnePlus One is more than on par with flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 at a fraction of the price. What's more, the handset comes running a variant of pure Android 4.4.2 KitKat called CyanogenMod 11S, which includes a host of additional settings and greater personalization options. Speaking of great smartphones, we really dig the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus EE is here to save the day for customers who pre-ordered through Phones 4u Sep 18th 2014, 15:22, by Hugh Langley Phones 4u's announcement that it was going into administration came just moments after scores of people had pre-ordered an iPhone 6. But EE is coming to the rescue. It's just told TechRadar that it has a limited number of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets for people who lost out by pre-ordering the new phone from Phones 4u, so long as they ordered their handset on EE's network. Starting from now, you can phone up EE and provide your Phones 4u pre-order registration number and you'll be pushed to the front of the queue, which means you could get a handset on launch day. As for anyone hoping to wonder in without any prior pre-order and pick up an iPhone 6, there's no guarantee you'll be so lucky. But it's worth a shot, eh? We've reviewed the iPhone 6, and this is what we thought Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release date: When can I get it? Sep 18th 2014, 11:12, by James Rogerson The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is almost here and it looks set to be one of the best and most exciting handsets of the year, with a top-notch screen, powerful innards and a premium design. Samsung has now announced a release date for the Galaxy Note 4 too. It will be arriving in Samsung Experience stores across the country from Friday September 19, followed by select online and high street retailers including Three and Carphone Warehouse on Friday September 26 and finally it will go on general sale from Friday October 10. But you won't have to wait till then to get your orders in, as pre-orders will open tomorrow. Official pricing hasn't yet been confirmed but with it hitting stores tomorrow it will be soon. EE EE has confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will be available on its 4G network but hasn't yet said when or for how much, claiming that "more details on pricing and availability will be announced in due course." Given Samsung's release date announcement it will presumably be heading to EE on October 10. Vodafone Vodafone has confirmed that it will be selling the Galaxy Note 4, but not yet given any specifics on price or exactly when it will be available. Like EE though we assume it will be hitting Vodafone stores from October 10. Three Three confirmed to us that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will be heading to its network very soon. The network itself hasn't confirmed when but according to Samsung Three will be getting it on Friday September 26. O2 O2 has also confirmed that it will be selling the Galaxy Note 4 on its airy network, no price or release date details were given but following Samsung's release date announcement it seems likely that O2 will sell the Note 4 from October 10. Carphone Warehouse While Carphone Warehouse's website states that it is expecting to have stock of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 from sometime in October, Samsung has revealed that the retailer will actually be selling it from September 26, making it one of the first places to get the phone other than Samsung's own stores. You can already register your interest to ensure you're contacted once it's available to order. No details on price were given though. Why not check out our Samsung Galaxy Note 4 hands on video while you wait for it to go on sale: YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11oaeaoPXuk The Sony Xperia Z3 was announced yesterday too.

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