Spotify's competitors are stepping up their respective games
Spotify was seemingly under siege from tech's big guns today, following Sony's decision to retool its iOS app to battle the music streaming leader.
On the same day Microsoft confirmed it would be rolling out Xbox Music on the web to take on Spotify's own browser-based service, Sony announced it intended to match Spotify on iOS devices.
The Music Unlimited app, like its Android equivalent, will soon give subscribers access to offline playlists for the first time.
That particular feature has been one of Spotify's most enduring features, allowing subscribers to store up to 3,333 songs for playback when they're away for an internet connection or are on a limited data plan.
HQ Audio coming too
Version 1.3 of the app, which will go live "very soon" according to the official Sony Entertainment Network blog, also brings 320Kbps streams, which matches Spotify's highest playback quality.
Sony said the app has been submitted to Apple and is waiting for approval. You can check out the new features in the video below.
Less than a day after we saw it get unboxed, Samsung took the wraps off the Galaxy S4 LTE-A. Dubbed SHV-E330S, the newcomer is available for SK Telecom in Korea. It is the first device, capable of reaching network speeds of up to 150Mbps on the carrier's brand new LTE-A network.
Available in Blue Arctic or Red Aurora color scheme, the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A features the same design as its I9500 sibling. Measures of the LTE-A are 136.6 × 69.8 × 7.9 mm, while its weight tips the scale at 131 grams - one more than the international version.
Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A official images
The main difference between the Galaxy S4 LTE-A and the version we are familiar with already is the presence of a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC under the hood. The rest of the specs are familiar - they include 5" 1080p Super AMOLED display, 13MP camera, 32GB of built-in memory, microSD card slot, and IR port.
Expectedly, the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A will be priced higher than its "plain vanilla" sibling. There no information on the handset's availability for more markets or carriers for the time being.
More alleged images of the LG Optimus G2 have made an appearance on the web, courtesy of @evleaks. This time around, the upcoming Android powerhouse showed up in leaked slides.
In line with previousleaks, the images of the yet to be revealed handset reveal an interesting set of buttons on its back, below its camera unit. The slides also suggest that the Korean manufacturer might do away with the Optimus moniker and unveils the device as the LG G2.
LG already announced that the upcoming smartphone will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with quad-core Krait 400 CPUs and Adreno 330 GPU. Alleged screenshots have also revealed that the smartphone will (expectedly) pack a 1080p display.
The handset is expected to break cover on August 7, at an event in NYC. We'll be there live, so be sure to tune in for the full scoop on the device.
Leaked iPhone 5S photos are getting less blurry - it must be close (credit: Weibo)
The iPhone 5S is shaping up to be an incremental update to Apple's smartphone line, not a major rehttp://techradar.com/vision, according to newly leaked photos that may be of the forthcoming phone in pieces.
The pictures of an unassembled iPhone 5S, compiled by Slashgear, rehttp://techradar.com/veal a dehttp://techradar.com/vice with similar dimensions and features as the existing iPhone 5 model, and http://techradar.com/very few noticeable differences.
All of this information backs up recent rumors about Apple's next iteration of its smartphone.
Prehttp://techradar.com/viously, it's been hinted that iPhone 5S will hahttp://techradar.com/ve a dual-LED flash for its rear camera and a slightly beefier 5.92 Whr battery, an upgrade ohttp://techradar.com/ver the 5.45 Whr battery.
A Humpty Dumpty moment for iPhone 5S
Photos are clear, other facts still blurry
While there hahttp://techradar.com/ve been multiple leaked photos of the purported iPhone 5S dual-flash LED, we're still waiting to hear about the camera upgrade and if it indeed has a 12 megapixel camera.
The other lingering questions are if it will hahttp://techradar.com/ve an updated processor like the iPad 4's A6X or jumped to the next in line A7, and whether or not it will contain the anticipated fingerprint sensor.
Beyond the iPhone 5S, change may come to Apple's hardware through a completely different dehttp://techradar.com/vice if the always-rumored, nehttp://techradar.com/ver-fulfilled iPhone Mini shows up as a low-cost model.
All eyes on iOS 7
Much to the delight of iPhone accessory manufacturers, the screen size and http://techradar.com/volume buttons of the iPhone 5S appear to be the same as last year's model.
Instead of dramatically changing up its hardware formula, Apple seems to be inhttp://techradar.com/vesting all of its rehttp://techradar.com/vamping energy into the operating system.
The Jony Ihttp://techradar.com/ve-dehttp://techradar.com/veloped iOS 7 has cleaner-looking icons that remohttp://techradar.com/ve all of the gloss and texture that has existed since the smartphone line's launch in 2007.
It also has helpful new features like Notification Center so that users don't hahttp://techradar.com/ve to exit out of an app to change minor system settings like brightness or toggle Bluetooth connectihttp://techradar.com/vity.
iOS 7, along with the iPhone 5S, are expected to debut in September. And with the deluge of manufacturing photos getting less and less blurry, that launch date must be getting closer and closer.
Crimson and cobalt come walking over (credit: Naver.com)
After a week in which Samsung formally unveiled more Galaxy S4 variants like the Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy S4 Active, another iteration of the popular Android phone was uncovered.
We already knew Sammy was planning to release a version of the Galaxy S4 with 4G LTE-Advanced capabilities, but we didn't know when or if there would be any cosmetic changes to the handset.
While we still don't know which countries will get to take advantage of the high-powered phone, a new set of leaked photos gives us a better idea of what to expect from the Galaxy S4 with 4G LTE-A when it does finally arrive.
Korean site Naver happened to get its hands on what appears to be two versions of the upcoming smartphone, which bear a distinctly patriotic color scheme.
Same old Samsung and dance
Dressed in crimson red and cobalt blue, the Galaxy S4 with 4G LTE-A certainly doesn't do anything to stand out from the crowd.
Even though the new handset will supposedly deliver speeds up to twice as fast as standard 4G LTE, that didn't stop Samsung from rolling out the same old blue we've been seeing adorn its phones for quite some time.
Though the red hue is a bit sharper, and does indeed pop a bit more, it's still a rather standard set of choices when compared to the more flamboyant aesthetics of the Xperia Z or the Lumia 920.
Unfortunately, Naver didn't provide any other details on what type of specs the latest Galaxy S4 included, or if they differed at all from the original.
It's been reported the 4G LTE-A version would feature a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, but that fact is still up in the air at this point.
That a site was able to get its hands on what appears to be near-final versions of the smartphone does indicate we might not have to wait much longer to find out all the details.
It's curious though that Samsung didn't have the Galaxy S4 with 4G LTE-A at its Samsung Premiere event if it was so close to finished with the product, but perhaps the Korean manufacturer is waiting for the right moment to strike (or for cellular networks globally to catch up to the technology).
It certainly wouldn't be out of the question to see this new speedier phone debut alongside the oft-rumored Galaxy Note 3, which has been tipped for an August release.
Sony's new phablet could bring a premium price tag
No sooner had Sony revealed its new Xperia Z Ultra device than UK network Three announced it would be carrying the device.
However, judging by Sony's pricing in the Netherlands, the new phablet may cost a pretty penny when it comes to UK shores sometime later this year.
According to the Sony's official communications in the Land of Orange, the device will cost a substantial €719 to buy SIM-free, which equates to about £610 at today's exchange rate.
Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Note-bothering device is likely to be much cheaper (if not free) on contract, but that's a hefty sum for an unlocked device.
Premium specs? Premium price
In its blog post on Tuesday, Three didn't mention a release date or UK price for the device, only that it would be coming soon.
However, the specs would seem to justify an inflated price tag compared to the highly-rated Xperia Z smartphone.
Beyond the 1080p. 6.4-inch screen, which boasts the same Triluminous tech used in the company's Bravia TVs, the Z Ultra also has a powerful quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, clocked at 2.2GHz.
There's an 8-megapixel camera and, like its smartphone predecessor, it's also waterproof and dustproof to a certain degree and comes packing Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2.
Check back soon for more news on an official UK price and release date, but in the meantime, check out our own Gareth Beavis' hands-on with the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
The Nokia EOS, the company's upcoming Windows Phone-running cameraphone flagship is going to be called the Lumia 1020, according to evleaks. More often than not, the famous Twitter user is right in its predictions, so there's good reason we trust the latest Tweet, stating just "EOS = Nokia Lumia 1020".
While it was believed for a while that Nokia may come up with a brand new name for its camera-centric Windows Phone 8 smartphone, something in the lines of "EOS", it seems the Finns have decided to stick to their familiar naming scheme. Considering the series of leakswe've had of the smartphone and its resemblance to the Lumia 920, it's logical for the company to go a step further and give the EOS an official name - the Lumia 1020.
Nokia has confirmed in its latest teaser image that the Nokia EOS Lumia 1020 is going to pack a 41MP camera. The rest of the details will be unveiled on July 11, when Nokia is holding its special event for the device. We'll naturally be covering the event live for you, so make sure you stick around when the time comes.
Glastonbury has always suffered from patchy, unreliable mobile phone signal. It's like New Year's Eve all day every day, with texts taking hours to deliver and bellowed phone calls audible only half the time.
And while some people head to the festival to disconnect from both reality and their data networks for a few days, others fear long, dry days devoid of Instagram and iMessage, lost somewhere between the cider bus and Shangri La, doomed not to find their friends until they all stumble back to pass out in the tent at 5.30am.
Disconnected countryside
It doesn't help that Worthy Farm is slap bang in the middle of the countryside, where the big city infrastructure is yet to infiltrate. Why bother digging up the land, laying expensive cables and investing in next-gen networks when only 8,700 people live there for 98.6 per cent of the year?
Patchy rural connectivity is a big problem though and, while we doubt that Glastonbury is its top priority, it is one the government is looking into. More immediately, Glastonbury Festival is unique in that, for one week a year, it brings an urban-size population all expecting to text, call and tweet their way through the festival, and dumps it on to a rural network that struggles to support even a super low countryside density.
So while the town mice have begun flocking to Worthy Farm this week, EE, one of the festival's sponsors and provider of the mobile network onsite, has already been beavering away there for months - but how exactly do you bring a big city network to the middle of nowhere?
Wi-Fi by the truckload
Taking a leaf out of the hipster book, EE has basically brought along its own pop-up network.
"If you have masts that are all very close together you can provide more capacity in an area so you can support more users," EE spokesperson Howard Jones explains. "So in a rural area you have masts that are further apart because you don't need to be able to provide coverage or capacity to as many people. It's as simple as that."
So rather than try and use what's already there, EE grabs some trucks, loads them up with masts and drives them on down.
"We take a portable version of our mobile phone network - and it literally is base stations and masts on trucks that you drive down there and position around the site strategically.
"Then we deploy a 2G, 3G and 4G layer for the network, so there's service for all levels of customers - a lot of people we might see at the festival are people taking their old Nokia 2G phone because they only want to call and text rather than go on Twitter or stream video or any of that.
"Basically, we're throwing everything at it."
Specifically, EE has five mast sites positioned around the festival, with 250 transmitters between them.
While there's no telling if EE's "everything" will be enough until the festival hits its stride later this week, Jones is confident of the network's capacity - or hopeful, at least: "We believe there's enough in there to support everybody on the network."
Who needs it anyway?
There's an argument that the whole 4G festival thing is one big publicity stunt. Because, really, who wants to risk their expensive top-of-the-range smartphone when there's the triple threat of mud, crime, and abundant opportunities for drunkenly dropping it into the rancid long-drop toilets?
Even EE admits that it's very difficult to predict how many of its customers will make use of the 4G network on site. There are only around 500,000 4G users in the country, and the proportion of them making the trip to Worthy Farm with their expensive smartphone in tow isn't necessarily huge.
"We're not expecting there to be hundreds of thousands of people at Glastonbury all using 4G," Jones concedes, adding that EE sees the Glastonbury network as kind of an experiment.
"What we are expecting is that there will be a reasonable amount and enough for us to get a real sense of what they're doing and what they're doing differently. Most people will be on 3G and a lot of people will be on the 2G network. But it's key to be able to enable all of those layers.
"We're hoping that, by enabling a 4G service, people think: I don't need to ditch my iPhone and go back to my old Nokia phone, I can actually make use of the thing I rely on day-to-day when I'm at home. Or bring both, as a back up. The network can support any of those layers."
Those not on EE needn't despair: the pop-up network supports all the major UK phone providers to a certain extent, through a combination of antennas mounted on EE's kit and specialist software in the base stations.
Those of us not heading to Somerset this week might well be praying that the whole thing falls over. But no one really knows whether those brag-laden Facebook posts, Instagram photos, Vine videos and garbled drunken tweets will get through until the 150,000-strong crowds descend.
A full unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor has appeared online, further solidifying that the company is almost ready to launch the device in Korea on SK Telecom's LTE-Advanced network.
The device, carrying the model number SHV-E330S, will be offered by the carrier in the coming weeks in at least two colors - Blue Arctic and Red Aurora.
Unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A
Here are the two Galaxy S4 LTE-A units getting the hands-on treatment.
Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A in Blue Arctic
Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A in Red Aurora
The Samsung Galaxy S4 will be one of the first smartphones to support the new LTE-Advanced standard, which promises data transmission speeds of more than double those of conventional 4G LTE. AnTuTu benchmarks of the Snapdragon 800-running beast have also appeared online, but we'll be awaiting results from the retail unit to be sure of its performance.
An official launch date for the latest Galaxy S4 variation isn't yet confirmed, nor is the pricing (although co-CEO J.K. Shin did mention that the LTE-A version will be more expensive than the regular Galaxy S4). Customers who had purchased the Snapdragon 600 have already expressed their dissatisfaction of Samsung's move to launch a more powerful version of the phone just two months after they've bought theirs.
Sony unveiled the 6.4" Xperia Z Ultra just a few hours ago but there was no info on the pricing at the official event. Fortunately Sony Netherlands shared the European price in its local press release.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra will become available worldwide by the end of Q3 this year and you will be able to get one for €719. That's quite steep, but given the kind of package it gets you, probably reasonable price tag.
The Snapdragon 800-powered water-proof Sony Xperia Z Ultra phablet will be available through quite a few carriers as well. You will most probably be able to get it even free if you opt for some of the more expensive 24-month contract. The UK carrier Three was the first one to announce the availability of the Xperia Z Ultra on its network later this year.
You can find the full specs of Sony Xperia Z Ultra here. Our first hands-on impressions are right here.
Word is that the latest bigscreen phablet offerings from Samsung will be getting a new color scheme - Plum Purple. While no official image has surfaced, the following renders should give you some idea of what to expect.
Renders of the Mega 6.3 and Mega 5.8 in purple
The colors are expected to become available in week 28-30 of this year, which is 2-4 away now.
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 features a 6.3-inch display of 720p resolution, with dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait CPU, 8/16 GB of internal storage, and 1.5 GB of RAM. It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of box, and also has 8 MP shooter capable of 1080p video recording. Check out our full review here.
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 has a qHD display, 8 GB of storage and 1.5 GB of RAM. It's got a dual-core 1.4 GHz Broadcom chipset, and the same 8 MP camera capable of 1080p video. It's also powered by Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and you can find out more about the Mega 5.8 here.
The small-handed among you who lust after Sony's enormous Xperia Z Ultra will be pleased to hear that Sony has your back.
Alongside the 6.44-inch smartphone-cum-tablet, Sony has launched the SBH52, a slinky little Bluetooth handset that lets you take calls, read messages and control music without unpacking the giant phone from your pocket, bag or specially-made cross-body case.
The slinky little handset looks as stupidly small alongside a person's head as the Xperia Z Ultra does over-sized.
OLEDMG
The OLED display will flash up caller IDs, song titles and text messages, while the handset supports HD voice and FM radio.
Old-school stylings
You can pair it with your phone via NFC if that's what floats your boat, and it also features Multipoint Bluetooth for pairing with more than one device at once.
When not taking calls, the SBH52 clips on to your lapel and can be used as a music remote thanks to the headphone jack and playback control combo.
No official word on a Sony SBH52 release date or pricing just yet, but we're expecting it to hit the shops around the same time as the Xperia Z Ultra, which is scheduled for a September launch.
We'll be adding to our hands on in the very near future - but feast your eyes on our current pictures if you simply cannot wait for our more in-depth thoughts.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is meant to be a phone - but with a 6.44-inch screen it's pushing the boundaries of what a smartphone can really be.
It's a huge device, there's no doubt about that, but at 6.5mm thick it sits more comfortably in the hand than you might expect and the full HD screen really impresses too.
Spec-fans will be unable to contain their excitement at the thought of the first smartphone with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chip, a quad-core processor clocked to 2.2GHz.
It certainly shows in general use though, as it's as snappy as anything we've played with - both flicking between apps and browsing the internet over Wi-Fi were lightning fast. It's getting to the point where smartphones are faster than you'd ever need them to be, but we're still impressed by the performance here.
The design of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is something that is as much of an acquired taste as the Xperia Z before it. It has the same sharp design, which makes it slightly more difficult to hold in one hand but the rubber exterior does mitigate this to some extent.
Early verdict
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is a phone that wants to be a tablet. While many will look at the Ultra and recoil in horror at its larger dimensions, those that want the larger screen won't be able to help but desire this handset.
Is it going to win over more of the smartphone market? It's a definite possibility as the power and size combination are currently unique. More importantly for the long-term future of Sony Mobile is that this handset shows that the Japanese brand is keen to show it's at the forefront of technology.
We honestly can't see this being a mainstream device, but it bridges the gap between phone and tablet, both decent devices, marvellously.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is coming to United Kingdom carrier Three soon. Sony's top tier offering will support Three's Ultrafast network so if you're a customer and live in an area that supports it, you could get the Xperia Z Ultra with fast LTE in the UK.
There's no word on which plans Three UK will be offering the 6.4" droid or when exactly it will hit online and retail stores but it should happen before Q3 of this year is over. Naturally we're expecting the device to come with a mandatory 18 month or two-year deal.
Three UK is the first major carrier to get dibs on the Sony giant but we expect more carriers across the globe to join the party soon.
Sony has joined the phablet race, with a new smartphone sporting a whopping screen and ultra-slim dimensions.
The phone features a number of top-end features that will make this a real head-turner when it comes to choosing your next smartphone, not least the Snapdragon 800 CPU that's clocked at 2.2GHz in a quad-core arrangement.
It's also managed to pack in a 6.44-inch 1080p screen while maintaining a 6.5mm thickness - it's hard to explain just how thin this thing feels, but trust us on this one.
Not waterproof...
In true Sony style the Xperia Z Ultra is both water-resistant (a depth of 1.5m for 30 minutes, or being subjected to 'low pressure jets of water') and dust resistant too - both IP55 and IP58 certified. The headphone port is uncovered now too, in the same way Samsung has done on the Galaxy S4 Active.
Another interesting innovation is the ability to write on the device - which, in itself, isn't much to write home about. But you can sketch or note on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra with a normal pencil, or any 'selected stylus or pen', meaning you can get a decent level of detail when idly drawing pictures of rude things.
The phone will use an X Reality on a Triluminous display - if you're not up on the Sony vernacular, that means it's the same technology as used in the larger Sony TVs as well as an optimised engine that will help re-introduce lost pixels while improving colour reproduction too.
Colour palette
The phone will be available in purple, white and black, and will be running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean under the hood - rumours of it being the first handset to pack 4.3 seem to have been wide of the mark, which is a shame as it won't be here until later in the year.
There's 'only' an 8MP camera on the back, but given the slimmer frame we can understand the tradeoff. It does offer up all the Sony Exmor RS features we'd hope to see on a smartphone from the Japanese brand, so your snaps should be improved with the algorithms packed under the hood.
In true phablet style, it packs on the pounds slightly with a weight of 212g making it almost twice the weight of some modern smartphones, but with the extra screen the difference doesn't feel that marked.
We're still waiting for a Xperia Z Ultra price yet, but it looks like we'll be seeing this on our shop shelves in September or October globally.
Sony has just made its Xperia Z Ultra phablet official. Previously known by its codename Togari, the device features a 6.4" monstrous screen and a Snapdragon 800 chipset, which is the fastest ARM chip put in a smartphone to date.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra Triluminous screen has 1080p resolution, giving it a nicely sounding 342ppi pixel density. It uses Sony's X-Reality tech, which is t's the successor of the Mobile BRAVIA tech. Sony is boasting that the 6.44" display gives users 60% more surface to work with compared to other phones (5" phones presumably).
There's a powerful Adreno 330 GPU to push all the pixels to the screen too, a part of the new Snapdragon 800 chipset, which also packs a quad-core Krait 400 processor clocked at 2.2GHz. That makes the Sony Xperia Z Ultra the first device to go official with the 800 chipset and it will surely be quite the benchmark champion when it comes up.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra official images
The new chipset runs Android 4.2.2 with a revamped Sony software to make good use of both the extra available power and screen real estate.
The camera on the back of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra phablet has an 8MP Exmor-RS sensor that can record 1080p video and supports HDR for both stills and movies.
The Sony Z Ultra uses the same OmniBalance design as the Xperia Z, including the tempered glass back and at 6.5mm it's even slimmer than the hot-looking smartphone. It's water-resistant too with a IP58 certification, same as the Xperia ZR. Unlike the IP57 of the Xperia Z, this certification allows the Xperia Z Ultra to dive deeper than 1m and stay there for longer.
The Ultra packs 4G LTE connectivity along with NFC. There's also Sony's proprietary WALKMAN player with ClearAudio+ and Xloud enhancements.
Sony is advertising it as the world's slimmest 1080p phone - it measures only 6.5mm thick. That screen size and 3,000 mAh battery come at a price though, 212g of weight in this case.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is expected to launch in Q3 this year in three color versions - white, black and purple.
