Apple has announced some major changes in the company's management, starting with the exit of senior vice-president of iOS software Scott Forstall from the company. Forstall will leave Apple in 2013 and till then will act as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook.
In the wake of him leaving the company, his responsibilities will be shared by four of Apple's current executives. Jony Ive, who is in charge of the Industrial Design department at Apple will now head the Human Interface department as well. This means Ive will now be in charge of the hardware as well as the software designs at Apple.
Meanwhile, Eddy Cue will take on responsibilities of Siri and Maps, Craig Federighi will lead both iOS and OS X and Bob Mansfield will lead a new group called Technologies that covers all the wireless teams at Apple.
It is said the Forstall was liked by few people within the company, least of all by Jony Ive, who apparently wouldn't even sit in the same meeting room as Forstall. According to John Gruber of Daring Fireball, Forstall's "design taste, engineering management and abrasive style, and the whole iOS 6 Maps thing" were key factors in Forstall leaving the company, or to put it bluntly, him being made to leave the company.
According to The Verge, Forstall's biggest mistake was him refusing to sign his name on the apology letter that Apple issued regarding the customer dissatisfaction with the new iOS 6 Maps software. He thought the complaints over the data quality were over-blown, so instead Tim Cook signed his name on the letter.
With Craig Federighi leading iOS and Jony Ive handling the design department, we are really looking forward to some new design innovations in iOS in the future versions. Jony Ive's minimalist design taste with the hardware is almost universally loved and we would love to see more of that in the software, with less leather and linen backgrounds. Still, we would like to give credit where it's due and would like to thank Scott Forstall for giving us one of the best mobile operating systems of all time, which was nothing short of groundbreaking at the time it came out.
In other news, Apple's head of Retail John Browett is also leaving Apple. Browett joined the company in January this year and was apparently not one of the best employee choices made by Apple.
Update: We had more hands-on time and got to dive into the OS at the Windows Phone 8 event in San Francisco – here are some further thoughts from U.S. Associate Reviews Editor Alex Roth.
HTC has doubled down on Windows Phone 8, creating two colorful handsets, the compact HTC Windows Phone 8S and the more powerful HTC Windows Phone 8X. Both devices are available in four colors that help them stand out from the smartphone pack, although consumers might confuse them with the also splashy Nokia Lumia 920.
We've already reviewed the HTC Windows Phone 8X and found it to be a slightly mixed bag that's more good than not. Now, at the Windows Phone 8 launch event in San Francisco, we took a hands-on look at the 8S, just weeks ahead of its rumored November release date.
Showing its colors
Other than perhaps those distinctive Windows 8 Live Tiles, the first thing you'll notice about the HTC Windows Phone 8S are those bold colors it's available in. Gray, black, red and blue are the four primary colors on offer.
Unlike the 8X, which comes in a single solid color, the 8S has a two-tone look. The bottom of the phone's face and the rear cover each sport a lighter hue. Red is met by orange and blue by a lighter blue. Black has a white stripe, giving it an Oreo cookie look, and gray with lime green, which comes of a bit like a crossing guard's vest.
Premium plastic
Holding the 8S, we were struck by its feel in more ways than one. Its polycarbonate construction has a distinctly rubbery feel. It's grippy and honestly fun to hold. There's an unmistakably plastic feel, but not the flimsiness you'd find with a budget phone.
That rubbery quality is a nice touch, but did have us worrying that it might pick up lint in our pocket and make the 8S lose some of its trademark luster.
The phone's Gorilla Glass face, rounded backside and highly tapered edges give it a sleek appearance. This makes the feel of its easy-to-hold rubberized body all the more surprising.
On the inside
The Windows Phone 8S by HTC has good specs for what will likely be a moderately priced device. While we don't have a firm word on costs yet, it will undoubtedly go for less than the 8X, which is $560 as a full priced, no contract device.
In the processor department it has a very standard 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. The display is a rather sharp 4-inch, 720p screen. For memory there's 1GB of RAM and 4GB of onboard storage, with room for an additional 32GB via microSD expansion. That actually puts it above the 8X, which is stuck at 16GB of space thanks to its lack of expandable memory support.
All the right buttons
As with the 8X, the Windows Phone 8S's lock button is found on top of the phone. Depending on what sort of device you've grown accustom to, this placement may take some getting used to.
There's a volume rocker on the right side with the standard issue Windows Phone 8 dedicated camera button below it.
Pop-off panel
That two-tone space on the rear is actually a pop-off panel, allowing you access to a microSD slot. Again, the 8X lacks such a feature, and the 8S is only a tiny bit thicker for having a more open design. It's 0.41-inches (10.3-mm) thick, as opposed to 0.40-inches (10.1-mm).
This small, removable panel is easy to slide off thanks to the phone's rubberized build. While the lack of removable battery will disappoint some consumers (the cell is only 1700 mAh, after all), the miniature hatch design is yet another distinct design decision for the Windows Phone 8S.
The HTC touch
In addition to what Windows Phone 8 offers, HTC has contributed some software of its own. Its Live Tile behaves like an Android widget, displaying a forecast, temperature and the time at a glance.
Jumping into the app gives further information on those subjects as well as stocks.
In settings you'll find Attentive Phone, which has a selection of intuitive ringer options. The Windows Phone 8S can be set to ring louder when tucked away in a pocket or purse, automatically quiet down or shut up altogether when you pick it up or turn it over.
Taking pics
Like all devices running Windows Phone 8, HTC's 8S has a dedicated camera button. Pushing it opens up the 5-megapixel camera, which can also shoot 720p video.
If you feel like slapping some Instagram-style post-production on your snaps, HTC has included its own Photo Enhancer app. It has a number of filters to choose from, including the all-popular vintage style.
Alas, this is not a phone for video chat fans as it lacks a front-facing camera.
Beats by Dre
The Windows Phone 8S has surprisingly good external speakers. We were able to crank pre-loaded tracks to a high a volume without getting distorted, crunchy sound. While any music aficionado would surely use headphones, a representative reminded us that these speakers benefit the speakerphone function as well.
As the familiar "B" logo suggests, there's Beats by Dre branding here, which likely plays into the strong audio output. However, the 8S does not boast the volume-boosting amplifiers of its big brother the 8X.
Early Verdict
If we had a to pick a favorite aspect of the Windows Phone 8S by HTC, it would have to been its overall look. Between the iPhone 5, Galaxy S3 and Droid Razr M, we live in a sea of polished aluminum. In the past, we've claimed to prefer its feel, but HTC's 8X and 8S have proven that a little aesthetic variety is indeed nice.
It's a compact phone that's still got reputable specs, and the option for microSD expansion is an unexpected plus, given the 8X's completely sealed design.
We do wonder what its battery life will be like with a 1700 mAh cell, and the lack of front-facing camera is rather strange. A special version of Skype has been one of Mictosoft's major bragging points with Windows Phone 8, and seems the 8S won't be able to enjoy all the benefits. This could be corner that was cut to make a highly affordable device, making us all the more eager to get firm pricing numbers, and equally eager to give the 8S a full-blown review.
Below is our original and early hands-on look at the Windows Phone 8S by HTC.
TechRadar got early access to the Windows Phone 8S by HTC, and while we admired it's aesthetic merits, it wasn't running a finished version of the OS – we will be updating this review soon as we get hands on with the finished product at HTC's event in New York.
The Windows Phone 8S by HTC, which is its proper title don't ya know, launched alongside the HTC 8X at a special HTC event in New York, where the Taiwanese firm unveiled its first Windows Phone 8 handsets.
Both, we're told, will go on sale in early November and the Windows Phone 8S will be available in a range of two-tone colour options; California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red and Limelight Yellow – the latter being the one we've laid our hands on.
The HTC Windows Phone 8S price is currently un-known, but as this is clearly a mid-range handset we expect it to rival the likes of the HTC One V and Sony Xperia U.
Design wise the 8S can be compared to the One V and Xperia U, with a separate chunk below the screen – although it stays flush with the device instead of curving forwards as on the V.
Like the Windows Phone 8X, the HTC 8S isn't the slimmest handset at 10.3mm, but the taped edges provide the illusion that it is thinner than it is, and the tidy 120.5 x 63mm frame gives a sleek finish to decent looking device.
The Windows Phone 8S sits comfortably in the hand and at 113g it's nicely weighted without feeling like a cheap toy.
The 4-inch, WVGA (800 x 480) display dominates the majority of a relatively minimalist front, which also features the Windows, back and search soft keys on the colour bar below and the matching earpiece above.
There's a power/lock key and 3.5mm headphone jack sitting on top of the 8S, while a volume rocker switch and camera button reside on the right hand side of the handset.
The buttons are easy to hit, and thanks to the small stature of the HTC 8S you don't need to stretch your fingers to far to reach any part of the handset.
A microUSB port is found on the base of the Windows Phone 8S, and you can slide the rear of the coloured section off to reveal a microSIM slot and a microSD slot – allowing you to build on the 4GB of internal memory.
There's no access to the 1,700mAh battery though, which may annoy some of you who like to stick bigger power packs in your phones, but it should keep you going for a whole day with a decent level of usage.
We'd expect the 1GHz dual-core S4 processor and 512MB RAM to run Windows Phone 8 without too much of a fuss, however as we were only able to access the lock and home screens on the HTC 8S, you'll have to wait for our updated hands on review to find out how it gets on.
That said, the display was still clear, and although not as pin-sharp or vibrant as on its bigger brother the Windows Phone 8X, it's still a perfectible acceptable for what we expect to be an affordable smartphone.
Round the back there's a 5MP camera, with single LED flash and 720p video recording, and HTC has ensured it comes with a f/2.8 aperture and 35mm lens for improved picture quality.
It's good to see the dedicated physical shutter button on the side of the 8S, allowing you to launch the camera app and snap photos easily – something we find easier than trying to tap the onscreen alternative.
As we mentioned at the start, we'll update this review later today with our findings from the fully working version of the Windows Phone 8S by HTC, after we've spent some time with it at the event.
Early verdict
It's obviously difficult to give a proper early verdict at this point, but once we've had a play with the final device today, we'll update this with a more informed outlook.
Design wise we reckon the Taiwanese firm is on to a winner with the HTC Windows Phone 8S, but we'll reserve proper judgement until we've spent some time with the fully working device in New York.
Definitely more convenient than hunting down a power outlet while holding a latte, Starbucks and Duracell are testing wireless charging at retail stores.
Detailed on Boston.com earlier today, the Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks is launching a pilot program that will install wireless charging stations at seventeen franchise locations around the city of Boston. Partnering with Duracell, Starbucks management is utilizing inductive charging technology and installing large Duracell Powermats within the tables at retail stores. In order to take advantage of wireless charging, customers will either need to purchase a Power Matters Alliance (PMA) compatible wireless power case or borrow a loaner case from a Starbucks employee. Duracell currently makes PMA-compatible cases for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S as well as the Samsung Galaxy S III Android smartphone.
When asked about the new technology rolling out at Boston locations, Starbucks chief digital officer Adam Brotman stated “We’re building the Powermat technology into some of the tabletops, just to get a sense for how our customers will react, compared to having to plug their mobile devices into the wall. A few weeks into the test, we’ll do some in-store giveaways, and we will have some behind the counter available to loan out.”
Starbucks plans to roll out a minimum of eight Powermats per store in order to gauge customer demand and the first stores to receive the upgrades are located within Boston’s financial district. As more people start using the wireless charging stations instead of the power outlets within each store, it’s likely that it will free up charging space for customers with laptops or other devices.
AT&T has also started to sell PMA-compatible cases and Delta airlines has started installing wireless charging spots around gates at major airports within the United States. Earlier this year, General Motors announced that the company would be adding a PMA-compatible powermat station into Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick automobiles. In addition, popular venue Madison Square Gardens in New York City has added hundreds of wireless charging locations as a service to visitors.
Hurricane Sandy may have forced Google to cancel the New York event, but even the storm can't stop LG from announcing the Nexus 4. The phone leaked extensively, so there's little about it that's unknown (it's based on the LG Optimus G), but let's go over the specs one last time.
The LG Nexus 4 has a 4.7" True HD IPS Plus screen with WXGA resolution (768 x 1280, 15:9 aspect ratio). It's powered by a Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with four Krait cores at 1.5GHz, 2GB RAM and Adreno 320 GPU.
The phone is running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (so no Key Lime Pie) and you get a choice between 8GB and 16GB storage options (there's no microSD card).
The camera on the back has an 8MP sensor and it has a cool feature called Photo Sphere. It's like a panorama, but you can snap photos in every direction you like - sideways, upside-down, wherever.
The Nexus 4 measures 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1mm and weighs 139g. It has a 2,100mAh battery, which has enough juice for 15.3 hours of talk time or 390 hours of standby. The phone supports wireless charging.
As far as connectivity goes, the LG-made Google Nexus 4 will have GSM/HSPA+ and NFC (unlike the Optimus G, there's no LTE). We suspect there will be a CDMA version later on, but there's no info on that just yet.
The first LG Nexus 4 phones will be available from the Play Store in US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia starting November 13. If you prefer brick and mortar stores, the you'll have to wait until the end of November when the Nexus will hit Europe, Central/South Americas, Asia, CIS and the Middle East.
The 8GB version (unlocked) is priced at $299, while the 16GB version is $349. T-Mobile USA will carry the 16GB LG Nexus 4, though with a price of $199 and a 2-year contract, it doesn't sound like much of a deal.
Google Play Music enables sharing with friends via Google Plus
Google has beaten its cloud rivals to the music punch by allowing users to store all their tunes digitally…and for free.
The new Google Play Music service, which comes to Europe on 13 November, will feature a Scan and Match option that will scan your library and save it to the cloud – making them all accessible from any Google device.
While the likes of Amazon and Apple will charge you £21.99 a year (or only let you upload 250 songs for free) Google Play Music will allow up to 20,000 songs stored online, and can be played back on any internet-connected device at up to 320Kbps quality.
Play, collaborate and listen
The new Google Play Music platform will allow users in Europe to purchase and download music for the first time, and will also enable sharing to your friends via Google Plus.
These 'social recommendations' will allow you to share the song with unlimited people and they'll be able to listen to it once before being given the option to buy it, too.
And the big news for unsigned artists is they'll also be able to get their wares up on Google Play Music, as well - joining the other big names like iTunes and Amazon in being able to share their sounds.
The Google Play Music release date has been set for 13 November, when the likes of the Google Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 10 go on sale, freshly baked with Android 4.2 from the outset. There's no work on the cost per track as yet, but it's unlikely to be overly expensive given how much the average cost of each song is for the US version of the portal.
We go hands on with Microsoft's latest Windows Phone operating system for the first time, and it appears like Windows Phone 8 may have some fight in it.
Windows Phone’s journey began long ago, in 2010. Back then, BlackBerry was still a viable brand and Palm was alive. It appeared like Microsoft was about to reverse its fortunes in the smartphone space. Two years later, it’s still battling for single digit market share in a smartphone market absolutely dominated by Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system. With Windows 8 launching, Windows Phone 8 could be Microsoft’s big chance to turn things around.
Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8 earlier this year, but today, it showed off several new features: Wallet, Kids Corner, Camera Lenses, an amped up People Hub, and Data Sense. What are all these fancily-named features, you ask? Let’s dig in.
The new phones
Microsoft has kept a tight lid on what parts of the OS we were allowed to see and what we weren’t up to this point, but today, the veil came off. Samsung, HTC, and Nokia each showed off their WP8 devices. Seeing the entire lineup together was quite impressive. This is undoubtedly Microsoft’s most varied and well-supported Windows Phone launch to date. For the first time, Microsoft has given manufacturers a lot more leeway to create handsets with more varied specs, features, and designs. These handsets offer a variety of screen sizes, resolutions, shapes, processing power, and unique features. While Nokia handsets boasted a suite of Nokia transportation apps, HTC is heavily pushing its ImageSense camera and Beats functionality. Samsung has plenty of unique apps and is stressing the connectivity between its Windows Phones and Windows 8 tablets. Phones also now seem to come in every color of the rainbow. The hands-on area resembled a Skittles commercial. Some phones even feature swappable shells, so you can change your color every day.
Kids Corner
Now that the smartphone industry is maturing, it’s beginning to get more family friendly. Today, I got to try out Microsoft’s new Kids Corner feature: a sandboxed custom homescreen you can create just for your kids to play around in. For the tech-savvy parent, I have to say, this could be a killer feature.
Kids are annoying sometimes. They won’t shut up and they’re hyper as hell. But what if you could hand them your phone without worrying whether they’ll email your boss pictures of Barney? Now you can. WP8 lets you assign whatever apps, games, music, videos, or other content you want your kids to be able to access to a special homescreen. Turning the feature on requires you to dig into the Settings menu a little, but once it’s activated, you can hand your child your phone at its lock screen. All they have to do is swipe to the left to open a custom kid-friendly homescreen. They can move all the Live Tiles around however they please, and the Home button is deactivated, so you don’t have to worry about them escaping back into your content. A word of advice, though: Create a password for your lock screen. If you don’t, then your kids can still restart the screen and poof, they’re back in your email.
Data Sense
Microsoft has followed Google’s lead and integrated a data-monitoring feature in Windows Phone 8. Data Sense lets you set a data limit for the month (or another length of time) and will warn you as you pass thresholds like 50 percent of your data. Better, you can dig into exactly what apps are sucking up all of your data. I can’t believe that the iPhone doesn’t yet have a feature like this, but now every other major OS does. There isn’t a ton of depth to this app, but it’s value can be measured by the size of your phone bill.
Rooms for your people
Windows Phone has long pushed “hubs” as a way to aggregate large numbers of apps and features around certain topics. The People hub has been a good place to find your contacts and see recent social-networking status updates, but now it can do a little more. If you happen to have a group of friends who have climbed aboard the Windows Phone train like yourself, you can invite them into a “Room” with you. Rooms are kind of like Facebook used to be: exclusive. They have to approve you, but once you’re all connected, you can share content pretty easily.
I haven’t made my own group yet, but I did check out some pre-made groups. By swiping through pages, you can connect with your friends in a few different, useful ways. There’s an open, ongoing chat window, a shared calendar (which can connect to iPhone and some Android devices via a Web link), and photo sharing. It seems like a really great way for close friends to stay in touch. Hopefully Microsoft will continue to build on this feature.
Camera ‘lenses’
This feature doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of notoriety, but for fans of photo filters and apps, it’s pretty cool. While Instagram still isn’t on Windows Phone, there are a lot of cool apps that let you add effects to photographs and now Microsoft lets you access them directly from the Camera app. In essence, it’s now a Camera Hub. You can access these apps by just tapping one of the icons on the screen. Its easy and brings up a grid of apps. Press one and you can apply its feature or filter. Very cool.
Better Live Tiles
Finally, I still haven’t gotten over how much nicer and more customizable the Windows Phone 8 homescreen looks. Because Microsoft is now allowing even more minute features and pages to be “pinned” to the Start screen, the variety of content is impressive. Every Windows Phone I saw today had a completely different and sometimes startlingly unique look to it — a few of them were so busy that I didn’t know where to start. Microsoft has always said that the Start screen reflects who is using the phone. For the first time, I think that’s true. Live Tiles can now be resized to take up an entire row, a standard square, or 1/4 square (practically an icon). You can do a lot with the Start screen now. Apps can communicate with their Live Tiles (and you) faster and better now too. You can even allow apps to show you information on your unlock screen, if you’re into that.
It’s looking good
Windows Phone has always been a nice-looking operating system, but with WP8, Microsoft seems to be smoothing out some of the gaps in its functionality and introducing more features that are unique to its platform. iOS and Android seem to chase and copy one another these days, but Microsoft continues to do its own thing. Now that Windows Phones like the HTC 8X will be on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon this holiday season, there’s little reason not to at least check one out. You may like it. I’m may make the jump myself, if I’m able.
Huawei has announced the Honor 2 Android smartphone, a quad-core device that could cost between $300 and $370 if it makes it to US shores. Its predecessor did, so there's a good chance it will do too.
Huawei has recently had more headlines dedicated to it allegedly posing a threat to US national security than its cut price, great spec Android smartphones for which it was once best known. With the announcement of the Honor 2, it could turn this around, provided it sees an international release sometime soon.
News of the Honor 2 seems to have originated from Huawei’s Weibo account, where the phone is named the Glory, a name repeated on the Chinese version of the manufacturers own website, where just to confuse matters it also listed as the “Glory Quad-core Love Shared Exclusive Edition.” Now that’s a memorable name for a smartphone.
So why are we calling it the Honor 2? Well, the original Huawei Glory U8860 was renamed the Honor in the USA and other regions (as well as the Mercury if you grabbed it from Cricket, or the Honour if you live in the UK), and Huawei’s CEO has also referred to the phone under this name, when he hinted at its impending release late last week.
Hopefully that’s cleared up any confusion over the name, so on to the most interesting part — the specification. Inside the Honor 2 is a 1.4GHz, quad-core Hass K3V2 processor of Huawei’s own design, plus 2GB of RAM. The screen measures 4.5-inches and has a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, providing an excellent 326ppi pixel density.
Android 4.0 is its operating system, and there is also an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video, 8GB of internal memory and a 2230mAh battery that could offer 72 hours of standby. This does make it a little larger than its competitors, as it measures 10.5mm thick and weighs 145 grams. Some may consider this to be a small price to pay for the bigger battery though.
Talking of small prices, there’s confusion over the Honor 2′s possible cost, with Engadget.com saying it will come in at a little over $300 — a bargain if so — while pocketdroid.net says it will be around $370. Whichever turns out to be correct, the Honor 2 will go on sale early next month, and given that the original Glory/Honor made it out of China, there’s a good chance its sequel will do as well.
Verizon has welcomed Windows Phone back into the family with the announcement of the Nokia Lumia 822, an exclusive Windows Phone 8 device set to be released soon.
Verizon has announced the Nokia Lumia 822, a Windows Phone 8 handset exclusive to the network. The news comes a few hours ahead of Microsoft’s big Windows Phone 8 event, which will be held in San Francisco, where the last pieces of information regarding the new OS will be shared.
In the meantime, lets look at the Lumia 822. The screen measures 4.3-inches and hides behind a sheet of protective Gorilla Glass, and although no resolution is mentioned in the press release, it’s likely to be the same as the GSM Lumia 820, which stands at 480 x 800 pixels.
An 8-megapixel camera sits on the rear of the curvy device, complete with Carl Zeiss lens and 1080p video recording, while a 1.2-megapixel video call lens can be found above the screen around the front.
Nokia makes a point to emphasize all the applications it bundles with its Lumia phones, including Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, City Lens and the recently launched Nokia Music. This music streaming service has been out in Europe for a while, and is particularly interesting due to there being no subscription charge and no streamed advertising either.
Other features include NFC, Bluetooth and a choice of black, white or an online exclusive grey color scheme, plus the chance to swap the rear cover for one that enables wireless charging.
The Lumia 822 will connect to Verizon’s 4G LTE network, but aside from all this there is a lack of information on the device’s finer technical points. That won’t stop us hazarding a guess though, as the 822 will probably share the same dual-core, 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory as the Lumia 820.
All this is identical to the Lumia 810 too, which is exclusive to T-Mobile USA, while the Lumia 820 can only be found with AT&T. As they share the same spec sheet, the 810, 822 and 820 should really be considered network-exclusive designs, as the differences are all cosmetic.
The Lumia 822 is the first Windows Phone to hit Verizon since last year, when it carried the affordable Lumia 710, and confirms rumors dating back to August of the network’s plans to once again carry handsets running Microsoft’s mobile operating system. Verizon and Nokia have so far committed only to the Lumia 822’s “upcoming availability,” so we’d expect to hear more following Microsoft’s final big reveal later today.
Nokia's flagship Windows Phone 8 handset may be exclusive to AT&T for the first half year, but its Lumia 820 sibling is not - Nokia just announced the Lumia 822, Verizon's version of the device.
The phone comes fully loaded - it has the Nokia Drive+ offline navigation with US maps pre-installed, the City Lens and Transit apps and several camera apps (Smart Shoot, Cinemagraph, Panorama and Creative Studio).
The free, no-ads, no-log-in Nokia Music streaming service will be available on the phone too, to make use of that fast 4G LTE connectivity.
CDMA and LTE with Verizon bands aside, the Nokia Lumia 822 features the same specs as its GSM twin, including an 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, 4.3" WVGA ClearBlack AMOLED display and dual-core Krait processor.
Different shells can be put on the back of the Lumia 822 to enhance its looks and functionality, including a shell that enables wireless charging.
Stop us if you've heard this one before (credit: Wired)
An LG Nexus 4 handset was apparently "lost" in a San Francisco bar by a Google employee last month.
The handset, which no one came back frantically looking for, was locked and had a "not for sale" sticker and Google logo on the back.
Jamin Barton, the bartender who found it, showed the mysterious handset to a regular in the know about these things, who "immediately" identified it as the unannounced but leaked-to-high-heaven LG Nexus 4.
L'odeur du rat
This suspiciously clued-in regular named Dave called Google, as you do, at which point the tech giant began panicking and strong-armed the bartender and Technology Dave into returning the phone.
But not before Barton took some photos of the handset and sold them to Wired. The images aren't particularly inspiring, but they are in line with the host of other leaks we've seen to date.
The story is ridiculously similar to that of the lost iPhone 4 which was found in a bar and sold to Gizmodo, prompting a major war between Apple and the tech blog back in 2010.
Image credit: Wired
It smells like a planned marketing leak to us but hey, what do we know. The LG Nexus 4 was set to be unveiled at a Google event in New York today which has been cancelled due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy.
Image credit: Wired
No word on if or when a rescheduled launch is set to take place - we're expecting to see an updated version of Android Jelly Bean and a 10-inch Google Nexus 10 tablet.
The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the HTC One X recently started rolling out and it brings a good performance boost with it. One of our readers (thanks, Safal) sent in screenshots of some benchmarks he ran on a JB-running One X.
SunSpider • Quadrant * AnTuTu
The web browser saw the biggest boost and it’s the area where the HTC One X most needed one. The old results just weren't fit of its quad-core flagship status. A slight boost in AnTuTu and Quadrant point to an overall performance increase too.
Here's how the updated phone stacks up against its ICS-running self and other high-enders.
AnTuTu
Higher is better
Samsung Galaxy Note II 13562
HTC One X (Tegra 3, JB) 12932
Samsung Galaxy S III (JB) 12288
Meizu MX 4-core 11820
LG Optimus 4X HD 11735
HTC One X (Tegra 3) 11633
LG Optimus G 11226
Quadrant
Higher is better
LG Optimus G 7439
HTC One X (Tegra 3, JB) 6822
HTC One X (Tegra 3) 5952
Samsung Galaxy Note II 5916
Samsung Galaxy S III (JB) 5375
Meizu MX 4-core 5170
LG Optimus 4X HD 4814
SunSpider
Lower is better
Apple iPhone 5 915
Samsung Galaxy Note II 972
Motorola RAZR i XT890 1059
HTC One X (Tegra 3, JB) 1117
Samsung Galaxy S III (JB) 1192
Meizu MX 4-core 1312
LG Optimus G 1353
LG Optimus 4X HD 1446
HTC One X (Tegra 3) 1468
The Jelly Bean-running HTC One X gets ahead of a Jelly Bean-running Samsung Galaxy S III, at least in these benchmarks, and makes it very competitive with the LG Optimus G (which has a next-gen Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset but ICS is keeping it back).
Note that we're talking about the regular One X here, not the zippier One X+ and its overclocked Tegra 3 chipset (it will launch with JB out of the box too).
According to Android Central the Taiwanese firm has confirmed that owners of the international version of the One X in Europe and Asia will start seeing the update pop up on their devices over the next few days.
A report from September claimed that we'd see the Android 4.1 upgrade arrive on the One X in October, as HTC looks to keep up with its biggest rival the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has recently received the sweetly named software.
Smoother and faster
The update will be available over the air (OTA), meaning you won't need to plug your One X into your computer to download and install Jelly Bean, but due to the size of the file you'll need to hop onto a Wi-Fi network and make sure your battery isn't too low.
Android Jelly Bean is a smaller update than Ice Cream Sandwich, bringing incremental upgrades to the Google platform, the most noticeable of which is Project Butter, which aims to deliver a smoother and faster user experience.
We're waiting for official word from HTC to confirm which regions can expect the update and when, and we'll update this article once we hear back.
We've also contacted the UK networks to find out their plans on the HTC One X Jelly Bean update, but we're still waiting to hear back from all of them.
