Released earlier this year, the HTC One S received some high marks for style when it first introduced itself.
Previously only available in a sleek black, the One S is a tiny little powerhorse of a smartphone that packs a lot into a diminutive package.
That package is about to get a bit brighter with the upcoming planned HTC One S Special Edition.
However, since such a minuscule amount is changing from the standard One S, HTC decided not to rebrand the One S the same way it did its One X+.
Bright spots
Following in its big brother's (the HTC One X) footsteps, the HTC One S Special Edition comes in a new Snow White body.
Along with the new paint scheme comes 64GB of storage, which doubles that found in the original iteration.
Additionally, unlike the One S models currently on the market, the One S Special Edition will reportedly come with Android 4.1: Jelly Bean and HTC Sense 4+.
All the phone's other specs remain the same, though that's not a bad thing considering the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 8-megapixel camera and 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen are all fairly impressive.
Currently the One S Special Edition is only available in Taiwan, and there's no indication from HTC as to when or if other markets will get the redesign.
TechRadar has reached out to HTC, and will update this story if and when a request for comment is returned.
According to a recent study, Americans pay three times as much for their LTE network service than most Europeans -- and nearly ten times more than what Swedish citizens pay.
We can now add 4G LTE service to the list of things Americans pay significantly more to have than the rest of the world — right next to education and health care. According to a GSM Association study reported by the New York Times, Americans pay three times more per gigabyte of data than the average European consumers — and ten times more than Sweden. But at least we can get a large pizza for just $5, right America?
The study revealed that America’s leading LTE provider, Verizon Wireless, charges its subscribers $7.50 for every gigabyte of data downloaded over its network. In comparison, the average cost of a gig in Europe is $2.50. Sweden leads the way in inexpensive service, with data only ringing up at $0.63 per gigabyte.
Verizon spokeswomen Brenda Raney did counter this information by pointing out the Verizon plan that is being compared is from its Share Everything plan, which includes unlimited call and text minutes and allows data to be shared among ten devices. If a person was to purchase a data only plan, similar to how the European providers offer service, they would only pay over twice the European average with a cost of $5.50 per gigabyte. Of course, Europeans separate talk and data plans, though. Verizon, on the other hand, is forcing all new users to sign up for Share Everything plans. And though you can connect up to 10 devices to an account, there is a monthly fee per device, which ranges from $10 to $40.
Verizon was the first company to roll out 4G LTE in the United States, followed by AT&T. Verizon still owns the market with 11.6 million LTE subscribers (AT&T reports just short of a million), or about 43 percent of the world’s 27 million LTE users. The lone country to beat Verizon to market just happens to be the cheapest: Sweden. The cost gap seems to have everything to do with competition, though. Europe has 38 of the world’s 88 LTE providers fighting for subscribers. Austria and Finland have three within their borders alone. Meanwhile, the world’s largest market for mobile, the United States, is still playing catch up in this regard.
This has actually been a trend with phone service in the United States. The average cost of a 3G contract runs an American citizen $115 a month. In comparison, citizens of the Netherlands pay $51 and those in Britain pay $59. The higher costs keep the adoption rate at a slow climb, which in turn keeps the cost up on those that have jumped on board because the provider has to recoup costs from building the network. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle that is very American: Pay more, consume more, and get less.
Path's iOS 6 update will allow existing users to add their Facebook, Instagram, and Foursquare activities to their log.
Up until now, Path users who wanted to fill their accounts with Facebook, Instagram, and Foursquare data could only do so when they signed up for a new account. The most recent update now allows existing users to import data from the three major social networks so you don’t have to start over if you really want to link all the accounts together.
What the iOS 6 update does is essentially allow you to pretend to make a new account, giving you the option to “Start Your Path” all over again and access the Import button for the three services under the Settings page. After the import, depending on the size of the data which you are syncing over to Path, it could take several minutes for your account to list all the moments from the three services you just hooked up.
While the update is helpful to Path users, this sync will inevitably clutter most users’ home feed, logging in every single action from the three big social networks. Luckily, if you’re like most people and only have a limited amount of friends left on Path, this journal won’t look too bad. But if you have plenty of friends who are constantly updating the Path logs, prepare to scroll an incredible amount just to get through a day’s worth of activities. Each log for an Instagram photo already takes up a good amount of display real estate, fitting about a photo and a half per screen. And yes, this is on the iPhone 5′s enlarged screen.
Either way, it’s to Path’s credit to allow users the option to make that choice if they want to, and the import integration will be useful to existing users who want to remain on the app and make it as content-filled as humanly possible.
Microsoft has revealed that the pricing for its Windows RT Surface tablet starts at $500, with an added $100 if you want to shell out for a keyboard cover.
The pricing and specifications of the new Surface tablets were briefly revealed at Microsoft’s online store today on a page that was quickly pulled. The 32GB version of the ARM-based Surface tablet running Windows RT (a version of Windows 8) will set you back $500. If you want the TouchCover keyboard case in black then you can add another $100. The 64GB version with the black TouchCover keyboard case will set you back $700.
You’ll be able to pick up additional TouchCovers in a range of colors for $100 a pop and the TypeCover keyboard will go on sale at $130.
Microsoft is gearing up for a major advertising push into the holiday season and The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company has placed orders to produce 3 to 5 million of these devices in the fourth quarter. That’s reportedly on a par with the numbers Amazon and Google ordered of the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 respectively, but way below the 10 million iPad minis that Apple has supposedly ordered.
We expect the tablets to go on sale on October 26 in Microsoft stores immediately following the Microsoft Windows 8 event on October 25.
The 32GB Surface RT is hitting the same price point as the iPad 16GB at $500. The tablet war is well and truly on. The speculation about the pricing for the Surface tablets has been rife; at one stage we were hearing a possible price of just $200. With the long-rumored iPad mini widely expected to be announced on October 23, Microsoft could have a hard act to follow. Can the Surface make a splash at this price point? We’ll find out very soon.
In the meantime, check out the first Surface TV ad which ran on U.S. television on Monday night.
Venti non-fat no foam 6 pump extra-hot chai tea latte please, and make it snappy
Apple's Passbook voucher app just got a little bit handier in the UK and Canada as it now works in Starbucks.
Although caffeine fiends in the US have been able to pay and collect Starbucks rewards using Passbook for a while now, Canada and Britain are the first two international territories to do so.
You'll need to download the Starbucks iOS app (free) and set up a Starbucks account before you can add your "card" to Passbook from the "My Card" tab in the app.
Once you've set up your favourite Starbucks outlets, Passbook will then throw up your special payment code whenever you walk into one of them. Clever girl.
Apple-flavour
The international Starbucks expansion comes just before Apple integrates Passbook payments into its own retail outlets.
Reports are coming in that Apple Stores' retail software EasyPay will be installed so that it can accept Passbook payments, and should roll out in the coming weeks.
There's talk of hardware issues in some Apple shops but we're sure the company has something in place to sort that out before the official Passbook shopping spree begins.
Asus has launched the PadFone 2, a revised version of its quirky original, but still featuring a smartphone that docks with a tablet screen.
Asus has announced the PadFone 2, the follow-up device to its quirky PadFone, which first appeared in 2011. The launch event was an international affair, with two almost simultaneous conferences taking place in Milan and Taipei, which were also streamed to audiences online. It’s fair to say that Asus really wants you to know there’s a new PadFone in town.
Asus is focusing on the PadFone’s intuitive design to sell it this time around, and promoting it to people who may not want the bother of purchasing two separate devices, with two network agreements, but still want the convenience of a smartphone and a tablet at all times.
While the original PadFone had a door on the rear of its tablet dock, in which to hold the smartphone, Asus has replaced this with a slot for the PadFone 2. It’s not only more attractive, but far simpler to quickly connect and disconnect the phone. This is important, as the sharing of content from phone to pad is a big thing on the PadFone 2.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves though, so let’s talk about the hardware. The smartphone has a 4.7-inch Super IPS+ touchscreen, covered with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass, with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 312ppi. The tablet’s 10.1-inch screen is almost identical, with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, but the pixel density is considerably less at 149ppi.
As the tablet is a brainless dock — or Station as Asus calls it — it relies on the smartphone’s processor and power to make it work, so it’s a good thing Asus decided to use Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz, quad-core APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro chip. The phone comes with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal memory, plus a hefty 2GB of RAM, and a black or white finish.
The PadFone 2 has a 13-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, a 100-shot burst mode that takes six shots per second and an f2.4 aperture. Because the PadFone 2 sits screen-forward in the back of the tablet, the camera can be used when it’s docked. There’s a separate video call lens above each screen too.
Strong battery, high price
Keeping the PadFone 2 up and running is a 2140mAh battery inside the phone, plus a 5000mAh battery inside the tablet. When docked, the tablet recharges the phone, and can do so three times before the battery expires. Asus quoted the phone as providing 16 hours of 3G talktime, but 48 hours when docked along with 27 hours of video playback.
Despite all this technology, Asus has made sure the overall weight hasn’t spiraled out of control, as the phone weighs 135 grams on its own, or 649 grams when mated with the tablet dock. As a comparison, the new iPad weighs 652 grams and the Galaxy Note 10.1 600 grams.
Back to the sharing for a moment. Slotting the phone into the tablet will see certain tasks and apps instantly transfer over to the big screen, with no input needed from the user. This was demonstrated with the gallery, browser and streaming video.
Other features include NFC, LTE connectivity, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, plus a speaker system with Asus’ own SonicMaster enhancements, handwriting recognition, dual-language support and an instant translator too.
Asus says the PadFone 2 perfectly embodies what it calls Customer Experience 2.0, as it combines beauty inside and out, plus a great display, audio and performance.
So, you probably want to know how much and when you can get one? If you’re in the USA, it’s almost certainly not going to be this year, as according to Asus, it’s still in discussions with networks. In Europe, release is likely to come between January and March 2013, but there’s hope for a last-minute launch before Christmas too. Asus will release the PadFone 2 in Taiwan at the end of October.
The price? It’s 799 euros for the 32GB model and 899 euros for the 64GB PadFone 2. That’s $1040 and $1175. Those are very big numbers, but take a moment to consider how much a Galaxy S3 and a Galaxy Note 10.1, or an iPhone 5 and new iPad cost together. Do this, and it doesn’t sound so bad.
We do our best to follow all of the latest Apple October 23rd rumors, including a new Mac mini, a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, and the iPad mini.
This week is off to a flying start with several Apple rumors already “confirmed,” including new Mac minis, a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display, a curvy iMac, and an iPad Mini price list for good measure. All of these products are rumored to be announced at a press conference many think will happen on Oct. 23rd. From the looks of it, Apple may announce a number of smaller, ‘mini’ products at the event
New Mac Mini’s coming
Big fan of Apple’s tiny little Mac? You’re in luck. A new rumor from 9t05Mac points to new versions of the Mac mini rearing their adorable little heads at Apple’s rumored October 23rd event. Supposedly, the new Macs will come in two configurations, with varying memory and processor options as well as a third model for those who want to run OS X Server. Rumor has it that they’ll start shipping immediately after the announcement. Apple hasn’t updated the Mac mini in more than a year.
We assume that the new mini will get some form of visual refresh, but it’s hard to imagine Apple making it a whole lot smaller than it already is. Maybe we’ll get a Mac micro?
(Section added by Jeffrey Van Camp)
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
9to5Mac has also heard from a “consistently reliable source” that Apple will introduced a Retina display-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pro during the iPad Mini’s launch event later this month. It will apparently be thinner and lighter, and offer different combinations of processors and storage options too.
Macrumors.com has found a few potential features for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro on a Chinese website, which claims the smaller computer will still have two Thunderbolt ports, a USB port, a headphone socket, an HDMI-out and an SD card reader; just like its bigger brother. There’s also talk of an interesting battery design — although it’s not elaborated upon — and the report is accompanied by a couple of pictures that, frankly, could show absolutely anything.
Before we move on, it’s best to clarify that we’re talking about a product that doesn’t exist being launched at an event that hasn’t been announced for another non-existent product. That said, it’s logical for Apple to produce a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, but at the moment we don’t know when that will happen.
A curvy iMac
The curvy iMac rumors seems to originate from the same Chinese website, where it’s said that the new model will have a curved shell that’s something like “a water droplet,” which sounds more like Samsung’s design philosophy than Apple’s. Naturally, it too is going to arrive at the small “intimate” event apparently set for October 23.
iPad Mini prices
Finally, we’re onto the event’s main attraction, the iPad Mini. A picture supposedly showing a list of iPad Minis that will possibly be stocked by German electronics retailer MediaMarkt has been leaked, complete with prices and basic specs. In addition to the usual 16, 32 and 64GB models, an 8GB iPad Mini may appear. Each version will have the choice of a black or white finish, and either Wi-Fi only or “cellular” and Wi-Fi.
The most basic 8GB Wi-Fi iPad Mini is priced at 250 euros, and the top 64GB Wi-Fi with 3G or 4G at 650 euros. A quick currency conversion gives us $322 and $840 respectively, the latter of which will probably have seen wallets everywhere twitch nervously.
Just like all the other iPad Mini rumors, there’s no way to know if this is really a screenshot from MediaMarkt’s computer system, and equally we can’t take those prices as final either, as Apple’s US pricing is often lower than it’s European equivalent.
October 23 is one week away tomorrow, which means that if an event is to take place, Apple will start to send invitations out very soon. We really, really hope it does too; if only to put an end to these infernal iPad Mini rumors.
Update 10/16/2012 by Jeffrey VC: Rumors of a Mac mini announcement have surfaced and have been added to the list.
What's a political season without a complete inability to trust the candidates? With the amount of ads and information being flung at voters, it can be hard to sort through it all. These apps will help you keep politicians honest, even on the go.
There is an old saying that states, “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Those that watched the first Presidential debate were presented with a whole lot of the first two items and a fair amount of misuse of the last. It’s best to make yourself as informed as possible before entering the voting booth, but if you’re armed with campaign rhetoric and ideals from advertisements, you’re likely to be disappointed over the next four years. While we can’t always keep our politicians honest, it’s getting easier to check their statements for factual information with the help of some excellent apps. These mobile political lie detectors are invaluable weapons in the fight against falsehoods and manipulated data.
Between pretty much any program that you watch between now and election day will be nothing bot a string of politically charged ads. These pieces of propaganda are sure to fill your head with promises of what one party will do for you while explaining exactly why the opposing party will fail to do the same. With the influx of cash from Super PACs, thanks in part to the case of Citizens United Vs. Federal Election Commission, it’s hard to keep track of where political ads come from. Super PAC App will tell you who put out a particular ad, how much money that PAC has raised, how much they spent, and how much truth is in the message.
Though WP Politics is a heavyweight in the political news apps, it’s also one of the finest resources for fact checking thanks to its integrated Twitter feature called The Forum. In this particular partition of the app is a list of Tweeters known as the Fact Checkers. This is a place to keep your eyes during the debates, as feeds from the finest fact checkers in the business are converged onto one screen and deliver updates live. If something sounds fishy coming out of a candidate’s mouth, these guys will sound the alarm immediately.
Similar to Super PAC App, Ad Hawk is built to tell you exactly who is behind the mudslinging and monumental promises made in political ads. Hold your mobile device up to your TV and let Ad Hawk catch wind of the strategically woven words that come with these ads. The app will identify the ad in question and inform you of who brought it to air. From there, you can do further research on the people responsible for the particular propaganda from within the app. Perhaps the coolest part of this app is it shows how much an organization has spent on positive spin toward one side and negative toward another. It becomes increasingly clear what organizations exist to better their candidates odds and which are essentially smear campaigns.
One of the worst parts of the political cycle is the water cooler conversations that go along with it. People from both sides of the aisle often resort to repeating talking points like parrots for their party’s agenda. What’s worse is those talking points are often based on half truths or outright lies. If a person busts out a ‘fact’ that you think is less than factual, then take it to the ultimate judge: Settle It! This free app from the folks at Politifact gives you the quick and dirty answer on the most hotly debated beliefs. It’s a great tool to have to shut down that friend or family member that gets their information from chain emails and partisan blogs.
During the political season, it’s likely that some dirt gets dug and skeletons are retrieved from deep in a candidate’s closet. Unfortunately, there are also often statements and beliefs brought back into the limelight that have been dismissed, debunked, and debriefed long ago. Using its patented Truth-O-Meter, the Politifact Mobile app brings the fact checking organization’s entire history of truth-finding and lie-stopping to your phone or tablet. Check on the promises of the candidates, the overall honesty of elected officials on the Truth Index, and even see which way the wind is blowing with the Flip-O-Meter. It’s a great way to keep candidates honest — even on statements they thought no one would remember.
Asus has announced its second generation Padfone – the Padfone 2. The original Padfone was a fine concept – a tablet powered by a phone which you could slot in and out - but it had several launches and false starts.
So Asus has decided to return to the drawing board and produce the all-new Padfone 2. However the new Padfone doesn't totally replace the original, but is a second product that sits alongside it in the range.
The biggest change between the original Padfone and its successor is the design. Gone is the cover for the docking bay, now replaced by a slide-in slot for the phone part; the tablet is referred to as "the Padfone station".
The slide motion is undoubtedly impressive and whatever is on your phone screen is transferred to the tablet when you slot in the phone, even if you're playing video or music.
Asus Padfone 2 display
The phone part of the new Padfone has a 4.7-inchSharp Igzo Super IPS+720p HD display with an impressive brightness of up to 550nits and a strong covering of Corning Fit Glass. The tablet has the same 10.1-inch IPS screen as the Padfone 1.
The new Padfone sports a powerful 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor inside based on ARM's latest-gen Cortex A15 design with Adreno graphics.
Asus claims a 30 per cent processor performance improvement over the original Padfone with double the graphics power.
Asus Padfone 2 cameras
The Padfone has a whopping 13MP camera on the rear, and a 1.2MP one on the front for video calls and conferencing.
The rear camera also boasts some other impressive specs; it can shoot 30fps 1080p video, 60fps 720p video (twice that of the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3) or up to 100 continuous still shots at full resolution.
That means it'll shoot 6 per second, twice as many as the HTC One X and one more than the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Asus Padfone 2 sound
Asus says it has worked hard to improve its proprietary SonicMaster technology for better bass and volume whether you're using the phone or the tablet; and for different apps such as games or music.
There's an Audio Wizard app on the device so you can adjust the audio for different environments.
Asus Padfone 2 memory and storage
The Padfone 2 features 2GB of RAM on board, while the device is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions globally – it appears that European countries will only get the 32 and 64GB models.
You also get 50GB of cloud storage thrown in for two years with Asus WebStorage which supports instant upload of images.
Asus Padfone 2 apps
Asus has also produced several proprietary apps. There's a SuperNote app that features character recognition and handwriting support rather like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. A so-called SmartKit includes dual-language input as well as instant translation.
Asus Cloud also supports native Microsoft Office in the cloud, so you can edit in real time when connected to the net.
Asus Padfone 2 battery
The phone is powered by a 2,140mAh battery that can support up to 13 hours of use on Wi-Fi, 16 hours of talk time and up to two weeks on standby.
When you plug it into the Padfone station (the tablet part), there's extra battery, so you can get up to 48 hours of continuous use. Asus says it has also included a number of power saving technologies inside the device for different usage scenarios.
Asus Padfone 2 dimensions
The phone is 9mm thick and weighs 135g. Combined the phone and tablet weighs 649g – lighter than the new iPad, as Asus chairman Jonny Shih was pleased to tell us at the press conference. The original Padfone was 854g.
Shih said that Asus had worked hard on the components, the result being that it was now 40 per cent lighter thanks to "space-grade aluminium".
Asus Padfone 2 connectivity
As you'd expect from any new high-end mobile device, there's 100Mbps LTE support as well as NFC for mobile payments.
The unit announced in Taipei offers support for the 900/2100MHz WCDMA frequencies and the 800/1800/2600MHz LTE frequencies, though there is also GSM compatibility for Europe and elswehere. Data connectivity for both parts of the device comes from the phone's SIM.
Asus Padfone 2 release date
The Padfone 2 is hitting Taiwan next week, and will be available with or without the tablet station.
We are told that both Padfone 1 and 2 will be available in Europe, including the UK, from early 2013... which still feels like ages to wait. It's available in both black and white colours.
Asus Padfone 2 pricing
In Europe, pricing is 799 EUR and 899 EUR for the 32 and 64GB versions respectively.
In Asia, pricing starts at NT$17,990 (about $US620/£383/AUD$599) for the 16GB phone only, and ranges up to $NT 21,901 ($US749/£466/AUD$729) for the 64GB version.
The tablet dock can be purchased by itself for NT$8990 ($US310/£191/AUD$299), or bundled with the phone for NT$6000 ($US210/£127/AUD$199).
Asus Padfone 2 review
Want to know all about the new phone/tablet mixup? Well, we're awaiting our final sample to properly put through its paces, but for now you can check out our hands on: Asus Padfone 2 review for all your preview needs.
Asus has confirmed to TechRadar that Asus Padfone 2 will "definitely" be coming to the UK with its arrival set for early 2013.
That's according to Asus UK technical PR Adam King who told us, "We will definitely be getting it early next year.
"As to [exactly] when I can't say, but we'll hopefully have some more details before the end of this year."
Phone in the tablet
Asus' affable chairman Jonney Shih was in bullish mood at this morning's European launch event in Milan and predictably hailed the new device as "incredible, I'm very proud of it".
The Taiwanese company has produced a new slide-in design for Padfone 2, which includes a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 13MP camera.
"I've spent nights sitting in a room with all our team leaders to drive the best customer experience in all aspects – and benchmarking [against] all our competitors including iPhone and Galaxy S3," Shih added.
"The combination of the phone and tablet means it can adapt to various lifestyles. We have tried very hard to look at all respects [of the device].
"I'm very proud of our engineers, they have tried very hard to drive down every part to achieve this miraculous weight – the phone and Padfone station together are lighter than the new iPad – we have tried out various different kinds of [dock] so your precious Padfone 2 is securely attached to the Padfone station."
To find out what we made of the handset, check out our hands on Asus Padfone 2 review.
Now that the ASUS Padfone 2 is finally official, it's time to get a detailed idea of the device's pricing and availability. As we already told you, the smartphone is initially going to be available in 32GB and 64GB variations, with a 16GB coming out later (we assume by Christmas).
ASUS will launch the Padfone 2 and its tablet station first in Europe (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden) and Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and U.A.E). The smartphone/tablet should be available there in the beginning of December.
The US hasn't been mentioned in the official press release, but we got a word from an ASUS manager at the event, saying the Padfone 2 will debut in the US by the end of the year as well.
As for pricing, the 32GB Padfone 2 (including a the 10.1" tablet station) will retail in Europe for €799, while the 64GB model will be €899. We guess once the 16GB version comes arounds, it'll cost around the €699 mark.
In Asia, the Padfone 2 tablet station will be sold separately for NT$8,990 ($310). There, the unsubsidized Padfone 2 smartphone will retail for NT$17,990 ($620) and NT$21,901 ($750) for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively. However, should customers purchase the Padfone 2 together with the tablet station, the latter will be sold at NT$6,000 (around $210).
Information on subsizided US versions isn't yet available, and we are yet to see which US carriers will pick the device up. We are also yet to see how the Padfone 2 will compete with the upcoming LG Optimus G in Europe too.
The Padfone 2 is powered by a beefy 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) chipset with Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. This awe-inspiring chip helps the Padfone 2 run Ice Cream Sandwich with absolute ease. Naturally, an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is planned, too.
An alpha build of Android 4.2 has appeared online, revealing some of the new features which will greet us in the upcoming version.
Thought to be debuting on the LG Nexus 4, Android Police claims to have received the build via an anonymous source, which is apparently a complete system dump from the LG Nexus device.
According to Android Police, it came across an image in the notification panel code, which featured the words "Future site of quick settings".
Double drop
Quick settings, we assume, refers to the tools we find in the notifications bar on Samsung's TouchWiz-running handsets, which allow you to easily toggle key functions such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC without having to dive into the settings menu.
Some more digging and a video was sent to Android Police by the source, showing the location of this "future site" – turns out it's a second drop down panel, which appears over the top of the first notification bar.
These power controls have proved popular among consumers, as it allows them to quickly turn on and off the regularly used features on their devices, and it comes as no surprise to learn that Google could be considering baking this option directly into Android.
There's no word from Google on the new features in future builds of the Android platform, but hopefully we'll see this along with a host of other improvements at the launch event of the next Nexus smartphone – possibly in the next month or so.
Details extracted from a photograph supposedly snapped on the next Nexus smartphone suggests the device will be known as the LG Nexus 4.
There have been numerousrumours surrounding Google's next smartphone collaboration, with LG seemingly winning the race to produce the fourth generation, but it looks like the name LG Optimus Nexus could be out the window.
Two images posted on photo sharing site Picasa may have spilled the beans, with the EXIF data attached to them noting the device model they were taken on as the Nexus 4.
Google backing
We know that EXIF details are not the be all and end all, and can be easily faked, but interestingly the photos in question were uploaded by Mehul Agarwal - "Who's he?" we hear you ask, well he just happens to be a Google software engineer.
Obviously this doesn't guarantee us that the information we see before us is correct, but it does add more weight to the argument that the phone will be called the LG Nexus 4.
There's been no official word from Google or LG on the status of the Nexus 4, but we're expecting an invitation to a launch event to turn up in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more information.
At a special Padfone 2 launch in Taipei today we managed to get some hands on time with Asus' second attempt at a smartphone/tablet pairing.
As was made clear during Asus CEO Jerry Shen's presentation, the company listened intently to the customer feedback on the original Padfone and has made some significant improvements for the device's second generation.
The phone itself is considerably lighter and sleeker than its older brother, measuring in at 9mm at it's thickest point and tapering to just 3mm at its tip.
Retaining the concentric circle patterned back of the original it feels elegant yet sturdy despite the lack of weight. The 4.7-inch screen is certainly a step up from it's predecessor, but somehow feels considerably smaller than the Galaxy S3's 4.8-inch offering than you might expect.
Slide to connect
The phone and the station combined weigh 649g, which is perfectly comfortable for a tablet, despite the additional weight of the phone.
Inserting the phone into the tablet is one of the places where Asus has made a considerable improvement.
Gone is the fold-back hatch that required the phone to be inserted sideways. Now the phone is inserted straight down into the top of the tablet, sliding in comfortably and providing a small vibration to indicate it has been inserted properly. It just as easily slides back out.
Those who remember almost snapping off the original Padfone station's hatch will recognise what an improvement this is.
The tablet dock is styled in a similar fashion to the phone, but when held side by side it lacks a little of the phone's refinement.
The concentric circles on the phone running out from the centered camera look fantastic, but this leaves the tablet wanting by comparison.
Battery life is a big feature for Asus, with Shen boasting that when the phone is docked in the tablet it has a 3G standby time of six weeks.
Without the tablet, Asus claims 3G talk time of 16 hours, browsing of 13 hours, video of nine hours and 3G standby of two weeks. And the Padfone's camera is impressive, offering 6fps for 100 continuous shots and 720p video recording at 60fps.
Early verdict
With the Padfone 2 Asus has presented a product that delivers on much of the unfulfilled promise of the original Padfone.
With pricing that is comparable to the entry level iPhone 5, consumers could well be tempted to pick up this alternative smartphone that is both handsome and can be converted into a tablet.
It's unlikely Padfone 2 will be a truly dominant force and it probably won't see Asus taking Apple and Samsung head on just yet, but the Padfone 2 does see Asus offering something unique and doing it with a good deal of style.
