Apple demands approval of all third party Lightning accessories

Apple is only letting approved factories make Lightning based peripherals Not content with introducing a unique hardware chip in the iPhone 5 to eradicate cheap alternatives, it turns out that Apple is also only allowing approved third party factories to create accessories using the new Lightning connector. This tighter control is set to all by eradicate...

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T-Mobile branded LG Optimus L9 press shot emerges

With its more powerful relative's availability confirmed in the United States, LG's mid-range Optimus L9 has emerged in a press image, sporting T-Mobile US livery. Both LG and T-Mobile are yet to officially announce availability of the handset. The LG Optimus L9 combines mid-range specifications and imposing looks. It features a 1GHz dual-core CPU, a gig of...

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Motorola acquires Viewdle for RAZR-sharp face recognition technology

Motorola acquires face recognition firm Viewdle Google-owned Motorola Mobility has announced its acquisition of Ukranian face detection software company Viewdle, in a deal reportedly worth $US35-$US40 million. Face detection looks set to be the next big battleground for mobile software. Following Apple's acquisition of Polar Rose back in 2010, and Facebook...

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AT&T and Sprint add LG Optimus G to their smartphone lineup

AT&T and Sprint Wireless will offer the LG Optimus G in the United States. AT&T will be selling the 8MP version of the smartphone, while Sprint will entice you with a 13MP snapper on the back of the Android powerhouse. Of course, both versions of the handset will feature LTE connectivity. The rest of the LG Optimus G's specifications are already quite...

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Google Maps bringing Street View to web app, says WSJ

Google looking to improve its web app for iOS Google will add its popular Street View feature to the Google Maps web app, accessible on iOS devices, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the feature will be rolled out on Thursday, and tech correspondent Walt Mossberg has already tested the new version of the browser-based service. Since...

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Database listing might just show 32GB Google Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus 2

Revealing more than meets the eye? (credit: SlashGear) Like something out of a Mission: Impossible movie, a database listing purporting to show a 32GB Google Nexus 7 appeared online Wednesday. The database apparently belongs to Carphone Warehouse, Europe's largest independent mobile retailer and a U.K. based corporation. While the Nexus leak is tantalizing,...

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Apple to use its retail store staff to help improve iOS 6 Maps

Apple's retail store employees, not necessarily known for their cartography skills, look to set to begin work on improving the company's troubled iOS Maps app. Yes, Apple’s Maps app is something of a mess; yes, the company’s CEO considered the situation to be so serious that he issued a letter of apology to those who’d downloaded it as part of iOS 6; and yes,...

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Apple reportedly wants to ditch Intel chips in Macs, hire its own SoC designer

Intel may be the next partner on Apple's "chipping" block Apple is still reeling from its transition from Google Maps to iOS 6 Maps on the iPhone, but the Cupertino company looks as if it isn't finished making big changes with long-time partners. Intel may be the next partner on chopping block. Apple is reportedly considering moving away from using Intel's...

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Sandia’s MegaDroid goes public

What has 300,000 Android Operating Systems and helps tech professionals predict how mobile devices would react in a crisis? It's a massive project called MegaDroid, based in California. What do you call an artificial system that simulates a network of hundreds of thousands of Android devices, allowing to predict the behavior of said devices in case of new app,...

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QR code usage up 96 per cent in Europe

Are QR codes finally taking off? European smartphone users are scanning QR codes like nobody's business, with new figures revealing a 96 per cent increase compared with a year ago. A report from comScore said 17.4 million users in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the UK scanned a code in the three months leading up to June 2012. The Germans led the way...

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How to pick the right e-reader

Are you ready to take your book collection digital and buy your first e-book reader? We're here to help. We break down the best e-readers from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others. If you’re looking for a new e-reader, whether you’re upgrading or buying your first device, you’ll find there are a lot of options. There are four big names in the e-book reader...

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What the T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger means for you

T-Mobile and MetroPCS are merging to expand spectrum holdings and network coverage. What do current (and future!) customers get out of it? T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom has announced that it’s struck a deal to merge with regional pre-paid mobile operator MetroPCS. For MetroPCS, the merger represents a tremendous growth opportunity: instead of...

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Jolla rumored to introduce 'Sailfish' OS, new device in November

Jolla's MeeGo revival could take place this November Earlier this year, a small collective of former Nokia employees created a company called Jolla and set out to revive the one-and-done MeeGo operating system, which company founders said would help create "the world's best smartphone product." MeeGo was originally developed collaboratively by Intel, Nokia,...

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Report: Nokia may sell headquarters

Nokia may be selling their headquarters to make some quick cash Having just unveiled two new Windows Phone 8 handsets, the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, in September, there was a hint of optimism in the air for Nokia. Even CEO Stephen Elop seemed convinced Nokia's fortunes were about to change, and that soon Nokia would have a stake in the market share battle....

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PlayStation Mobile platform is one more confused corner of Sony’s fractured brand

Sony's PlayStation Mobile opened for business on Wednesday, but the platform is representative of the company's problems with clarity.   After a year of beta testing and a particularly wise name change, Sony’s PlayStation Mobile platform is now available for the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s Xperia smartphones, and a number of other portable devices that fall...

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The 10 hottest phones you can’t buy yet

We list the smartphones rumored to come out in the next few months, including some new Android smartphones and phablets, and some Windows Phone 8 devices. We don’t report every leaked shot of every rumored handset — there are blogs for that — but we try to keep you informed about what’s out there and what’s coming up. Lately, we’ve been hearing a number of new...

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Xbox from Mars, iPhone 5 from Venus: 60% of mobile gamers are women

While PC and console gamers are almost evenly split along gender lines, a significant majority of mobile gamers are women. Talk to the indie game maker, and he’ll tell you that the place to find an audience is on mobile devices like the iPhone 5. Talk to the video game publisher, and he’ll tell you the same thing, because there’s no revenue model quite so...

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Carphone inventory reveals a Galaxy Nexus 2 and 32GB Nexus 7

Rumors about a Galaxy Nexus 2 have been the talk of the town lately and CarPhone Warehouse employees must be curious as ourselves. The following shot from the inventory system of the British retailer show us what might be an accessory for a Galaxy Nexus 2 and a 32GB version of the Nexus 7. For all we know, this may not mean much. The listed screen protector may...

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Xbox Music launches alongside Windows 8 on Oct. 26

Xbox Music, Microsoft's Spotify competitor raised from the ashes of Zune, will launch alongside Windows 8 at the end of the month.   Microsoft has held a nearly year long funeral for Zune in 2012. Now after months of rumors and vague announcements confirming the death of the Zune brand in favor of the name Xbox Music, Redmond is finally ready to unleash...

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HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S 'coming soon' to O2

The 8X - feeling blue da ba dee dab a diiii The Windows Phone 8 release date is inching ever closer as O2 adds the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S to its 'coming soon' page. There's still no concrete date etched indelibly in our diaries, but Windows Phone 8 handsets are set to land at some point in November 2012. The arrival of the two flagship...

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Sony PlayStation Mobile now live for cross-platform gaming

Gaming to the left of you, gaming to the right Sony has set its PlayStation Mobile store live, filled to bursting with bite-sized games for the PS Vita and most PlayStation Certified Android devices. Today, the service is coming to Japan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia, with more to follow in the coming...

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MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA to merge (Update: MetroPCS approves merger)

The old saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them," but Deutsche Telekom may be going another way. It's looking to join T-Mobile with MetroPCS to compete with Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile is often the forgotten option of the major wireless carriers. That might not be the case anymore if rumors out of Deutsche Telekom are true. Word from the German...

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EE 4G launch date confirmed as October 30

4G - harder better faster stronger Things are about to get a bit speedier in the UK with the announcement of EE's 4G network launch date as 30 October 2012. The date sees the new EE brand "go live" alongside the super-fast mobile network, which will go live in ten cities around the country (London, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh,...

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Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini to debut next week?

Suspicious invite, excellent translation (credit: Unwired View) Samsung's rumoured Galaxy S3 Mini handset could launch as early as October 11. The tech giant's German branch has begun inviting press to an event on October 11 to see something that Google Translate tells us means "As large and small can be so small can be big." Luckily we have a German...

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Nokia Belle FP2 update pulled, users report issues

Yesterday, Nokia started the rollout of the Belle FP2 update for the last crop of Nokia OS (formerly Symbian) phones including the 603, 700, 701 and 808 PureView (with the PureView getting extra imaging and gallery features). Shortly after, though, the update was pulled from Nokia's servers. The reason is that while for some the update process went fine and everything...

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