The iPhone fans among you may be facing a quandary after Apple's big iPhone event last week: do you go for the top-end iPhone 5S or save a few bucks and opt for the colourful iPhone 5C?
For some it will be a no-brainer: "LOOK AT THE PRETTY COLOURS" or "LOOK AT THE 64-BIT CHIP ON THAT" depending on your priorities.
But you'll still need to know if either are worth your money given that even Apple's 'budget' option doesn't exactly come cheap.
Definitive
Enter TechRadar. Our phone experts have been putting both handsets through their paces since they were announced and we're confident you won't find a more balanced or comprehensive review of the iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C anywhere on the web.
So (spoiler alert!) what are the scores on the doors?
Our Mobile Devices Editor Gareth Beavis made merry with the iPhone 5S, proclaiming it to be "A step far and above what we expected from Apple with its usually boringly iterative update" and awarding it 4.5 out of five.
Meanwhile, Phones and Tablets Writer John McCann's pocket was jazzed up by the iPhone 5C and its Connect-4 casing. He described the iPhone 5C as "well-made yet ultimately uninspiring iPhone", awarding it a healthy 4 out of five.
And if you're still mid-contract with an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, don't worry! You can still get iOS 7 on your device with downloads starting at some point today. Stay tuned for more details.
Read everything you need to know about iOS 7 here.
The first official implementation of the BlackBerry Messenger platform on Android devices could arrive in Africa this Friday, exclusively for Samsung Galaxy phones.
According to a ZDNet article and a tweet from Samsung Nigeria's Twitter account, the Korean giant may have snagged access to BBM three months before it arrives for other Android devices in the region.
As per an existing marketing agreement between Samsung and BlackBerry in Africa, the launch of the BBM platform for Galaxy devices will see it integrated within Samsung's own messaging hub application.
As yet, despite the odd hint hint here and there, there's no clear indication of when BlackBerry will pull the trigger on its BBM expansion project. However, the developments in Africa suggest it cannot be far away.
The popularity of the free BBM app, helped to keep the company's phones popular with the younger crowd long after the slump had commenced is one of the most valuable chips BlackBerry possesses.
It may prove a target for potential buyers looking to pick the bones, or it may be a division that remains under Waterloo's control as other parts of the business are sold off.
Google announced today that a majorly updated Google Wallet app has been released for every Android phone in the U.S. running Android 2.3 and above.
That's an overwhelming percentage of Android phones - in July research found that just 6.3 percent of Android devices were still on 2.2 or below, and that number has certainly continued to decrease since then.
Prior to today's update Google Wallet was available on just a handful of phones with Near Field Communication built in, but the app just got a lot more inclusive.
It also gained some important new features that will help it take on competition like Paypal.
Join the party
Today's update also makes the Google Wallet app available on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, the three major U.S. carriers that previously blocked it.
That said, All Things D reports that users on those carriers still won't be able to use the NFC functions like tap-and-pay.
Previously it's been speculated that those three carriers' lack of Google Wallet love stems from their support of competitor Isis.
Though we haven't heard much about Isis in a while, we've seen nothing to refute the theory, and the continued lack of support for Google Wallet's NFC functions is troubling for customers.
But All Things D did get a hint about Google Wallet coming to iOS at some point: "We want to bring Google Wallet to all smartphone users, and we're working to do that as soon as possible," a Google spokesperson told the site.
Change is in the air
The new Google Wallet app can send money from a user's bank account or existing Wallet balance directly to any U.S. adult with an email address. Users can also use a credit or debit card, though Google charges fees for that.
The Google Wallet app can also scan, store and update loyalty programs like those from grocery stores, airlines, hotels, restaurants, and more, with more options rolling out in future updates.
And savings and coupons from Google Search, Google Maps, Google+, and Google Offers will all appear in Google Wallet. Couponing sites like Valpak will be added later this week, and Google said it's working with more partners.
Finally, the app keeps track of all your purchases and activity, including those made using tap-and-pay on NFC-enabled Android devices.
Stay safe, kids
Google said in today's announcement that it takes security seriously.
To that end all Google Wallet transactions are monitored for fraud, all users are 100 percent protected against unauthorized use, and the Google Wallet app can be disabled remotely if a phone is lost or stolen.
And Google reiterated that users should choose strong passwords and enable 2-step verification.
Previous versions could breathe new life into non-iOS 7 devices
Apple is in the process of rolling out a new feature for iOS devices running older versions of the software, which allows the last compatible version of apps to be downloaded.
Apple's new iOS 7 software becomes available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners on Wednesday, but for handsets like the iPhone 3GS it's the end of the road when it comes to software updates.
With developers busying themselves with updating the apps for re-imagined software, the new feature will give those owners incapable or unwilling to use iOS 7 the ability to continue using their favourite apps.
According to reports on Tuesday, the new notification pops up asking if users wish to install the last compatible version when they attempt to download an app that is not supported by their version of iOS.
New lease of life
The decision to make the older versions available, first spotted by a Reddit user on Tuesday, keeps devices like the iPhone 3GS and original iPad alive and kicking, despite their incompatibility with iOS 7.
It could even encourage some estranged iPhone users to dig the old handset out of the closet and give things another whirl.
With Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Xbox and Office, Microsoft is working hard to unite its products and services under the same shingle, but this week the company offers a peek at how Bing.com will fit into its new vision of the future.
Microsoft's Bing Blogs today announced a rebranding of Bing.com that offers a reinvention of the service's visual identity, starting with a new logo and brand elements intended to stretch across all of the company's products.
Featuring a clean, modern design, Bing's new logo cleverly matches the color palette used in the lower right quadrant of Microsoft's latest corporate branding, but the change is about more than just looks.
"Bing is no longer just a search engine on a web page. It's a brand that combines search technology across products you use every day to help empower you with insights," explained Bing Senior Director, Brand and Creative Scott Erickson in a blog post.
The right search
In addition to the new look, Microsoft is rolling out a new Bing.com web portal on Tuesday that's billed as "faster, cleaner and more visually appealing."
New to the service is Page Zero, a feature that attempts to second guess what the user is looking before even as they type a search query, while intelligently offering multiple choices for queries that have more than one option available.
Other changes include "Pole Position," which displays answers front and center for queries where Bing.com has a high confidence in the results, as well as combining existing Snapshot and Sidebar features for better integration with social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
The new Bing.com is available today as a preview, and Microsoft claims the design was created with every kind of device in mind - from big-screen televisions to future smart watches and everything in-between, including the PCs, smartphones and tablets we use every day.
There was a time when phones used to be a bit different from each other. Buyers used to have choices that extended a little further than whether they'd like their featureless new rectangle to run iOS or Android, with the phones of old having quirkier appearances and more unpredictable features.
Nokias were nothing like Panasonics, Sony had some bonkers ideas, Palm existed and LG pioneered with some weird touchscreen models way before Apple worked out how to make them feel nice and actually work properly.
Many older handsets came with their own operating systems and therefore had different personalities. Some had games, some didn't, some had chunky little aerials to fiddle with, and it was always, always possible to work out which way up they were in your pocket by feel alone.
We miss the days when phones weren't all homogenised into the same form factor by the one huge factory in China that makes everything, so here are the five finest phones that made us love them by being different and proud of it.
Nokia 3210
Year: 1999
Launch Price: £400
The first phone of a generation. We loved it like we love a first car. It didn't matter what make it was, how fast it was or how cool it looked, the fact that it existed, worked and was ours* was enough.
We were empowered with the ability to adjust meeting times and dates while on trains, we could send text messages when a full conversation would be needless or awkward, while T9 text input had us texting with ease on the keypad.
It had three games and you could choose the sounds it made, plus you could purchase after-market covers to jazz up that staid exterior. Cutting-edge tech that changed lives.
*Subject to contract, terms & conditions apply.
Sony Ericsson K800i
As used by James Bond
Year: 2006
Launch Price: £400
Sony's been a bit shy about putting its Cyber-shot branding on mobiles of late, but it was this promise of decent portable imaging, teamed with a capable 3.15MP sensor with autofocus, flash, a dedicated shutter button and a cute little sliding lens cover that convinced people the K800i was the coolest phone to own in 2006.
Its burst mode photo tool was innovative back then too, letting users capture nine shots and pull out the best of them to keep - a system most modern smartphone makers are still trying to pretend to have invented themselves today.
And while we may laugh at its clunky candybar looks now, just seven years ago this was the phone used by gadget king James Bond to text his East European lady friends in product-placement motion picture bonanza Casino Royale.
Nokia N95
Beloved by all nerds, it's the genesis of the smartphone
Year: 2007
Launch Price: £450
As well as dominating the cheap candybar market for years, Nokia was also king of the newly emerging smartphone world for a bit.
Phones weren't quite as smart in 2007 as they are now, but the S60/Symbian OS was the hackable Android equivalent of its day. A 5MP camera was a thrilling thing to have on a phone back then, which Nokia coupled with GPS, Wi-Fi, a decent web browser and HSDPA radio support.
It was the nerd's phone of choice, thanks to Nokia managing to push it as a powerful computer inside a chunky little sliding case.
It wasn't quite that, but it had all the elements of today's smartphones in place - just working a bit slower than they do now.
BlackBerry Bold
Like a little office away from home
Year: 2008
Launch Price: £500
Released shortly after the iPhone began recalibrating everything, the BlackBerry Bold 9000 series model appeared to have the power and style to give Apple's newcomer a thorough kicking.
It was slimmer than previous BB models, supported the full-speed HSDPA mobile data connections, and incorporated all of today's smartphone must-haves like GPS, Wi-Fi, a camera, SD card memory upgrades and more.
The Bold was solid (with an erotic leatherette back), the keyboard a dream, the display large and clear. It was a winner. Shame about what came next for BlackBerry (nee RIM).
HTC Desire
Three year's old counts as heritage these days
Year: 2010
Launch Price: £500
The first genuinely Triple-A Android model, the original HTC Desire was also one of the last smartphones to really stand out from the crowd in design terms.
It was brown for a start, had chunky silver buttons and even came with a glowing red Terminator eye inside its clickable track sensor, a feature that would soon disappear from the Android spec sheet.
With a 1GHz processor inside, the old Desire still functions pretty well as a smartphone today, although HTC never took it past a DIY upgrade to Android 2.3.
Nokia has just announced via its Twitter feed that it's preparing for an announcement event on October 22.
While the Finns haven't specified neither a place for the event, nor what they'll be announcing there, we are all anticipating the star of the show to be the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet that has been making the rounds this past month.
As you can see, Nokia's image teaser is quite intriguing as well, with skiers dressed for snow skiing but instead sloping down a sandy desert dune, which is kind of bizarre and mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, Nokia is promising to "reinvent innovation", which sounds exciting.
The innovation in question that Nokia is probably hinting at is the Lumia 1520 phablet, codenamed "Bandit". The Lumia 1520 is rumored to have a 6-inch 1080p screen, presenting a substantial development, with both being firsts in the Windows Phone ecosystem.
The phablet is rumored by evleaks to pack a 20MP PureView camera. It's unclear how big the sensor of the phablet will be but the PureView branding guarantees Optical Image Stabilization and a Carl Zeiss lens as the bare minimum.
And just as the notorious leaker suggested a while ago, Nokia has indeed pushed back its Lumia 1520 announcement event to October 22.
If you're a UK resident and you want a spanking Sony Xperia Z1, then you might be in luck. The device is already in stock at retailers Clove, Handtec and Digital Phone Company. The device is readily available in black, while the white is expected to arrive September 23. The purple version is listed as coming soon.
The Sony Xperia Z1 retails for around 550 pounds (VAT included) SIM-free and you can get a Sony SmartWatch 2 for free with the Xperia Z1 from Clove.
Interestingly Sony's own online UK retail store hasn't got the Xperia Z1 listed as available, stating an end of the month shipping. Amazon UK expects to release the device on September 20, while network carriers should have the Z1 available from next week.
Asus has unveiled a new version of the PadFone Infinity flagship. The smartphone of the Infinity package retains its design and the 5.0" IPS 1080p display, but is now powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 800 chipset with four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.2GHz, Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM.
Asus PadFone Infinity 2
Asus has also upgraded the camera. It's still a 13MP one, but is now capable of 3MP high-quality photos made of a bigger 13MP picture by combining 3 pixels into one. This sounds a lot like the Nokia's PureView oversampling technology though here Asus calls it PixelMaster. You can bet the 3MP photos shot this way are really impressive. There is also 35fps burst mode, but the resolution is only 3MP.
Finally, Asus has granted the PadFone Infinity a microSD expansion slot but lowered the internal storage down to either 16 or 32 GB. The rest of the specs are pretty much the same as the old PadFone Infinity including LTE connectivity, ь 2MP front camera and ь 2400mAh battery.
The new PadFone Infinity runs on Android 4.2 with a slightly refreshed Asus skin on top of it. Asus promises to bring this update on the previous generation PadFone Infinity as well.
The new PadFone Infinity has the same design as its predecessor, but its metallic back is now diamond cut and gives the phone a premium look and feel. Asus will be offering the new Infinity in Titanium Black and Platinum White.
Asus has priced the new PadFone Infinity at $640, while the PadFone Station is going to cost about $240. There is no official launch date, but we expect the refreshed PadFone Infinity to launch in a few weeks.
According to Korean media outlet etnews, LG is preparing to launch the Vu 3 in October as a direct rival to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. In addition, LG has teased a couple of specially made cases for the phone hinting its almost ready for prime time.
The LG Vu 3 is said to be cheaper than its predecessor despite the updated innards inside it. According to the Korean sources, the third-generation boxy phablet from LG will flaunt a 5.2" 4:3 display of 1280 x 960 pixels resolution.
The LG Optimus Vu II successor will be powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset, which is arguably the most potent performer on the market right now. Furthermore, the Vu 3 is said to feature a 13-megapixel rear camera and support for the fastest LTE-A networks.
The LG Vu 3 will launch in South Korea for the KT Telecom (with a model number F300k), LGU+ telecom (F300l) as well as SK telecom (F300s). As for the cases that LG teased on its Facebook page they are dubbed QuickView and will be available in black and grey.
You shouldn't mistake them with the LG G2 QuickWindow cases, as the LG Vu 3's QuickView case is quite different and a lot cooler. It's front cover is semi-transparent, which allows the primary displays to be put in an ingenious use. Incoming notifications can be showed on the whole fascia of the case, without compromising the security of the display itself.
Follow the second source link below for a cool animation on how the case works. LG is expected to officially announce the Vu 3 and its accessories in the next couple of weeks.
Just when it was in grasping distance (credit: evleaks)
Until now we were expecting to be treated to Nokia's rumoured phablet handset, the Lumia 1520, on September 26. Sorry folks, but it looks like that's just changed.
The suspected 6-inch device is now scheduled for around mid-October, according to sources speaking to The Verge.
The event was originally set to take place in New York but apparently the location may have also changed, though we're not told where to.
We've told that the Lumia device will be the first Windows Phone device with a full HD display, and expected to arrive in red, yellow, black and white.
It might not be the only device on the Nokia horizon either, with its first tablet - codenamed Sirius - said to be about to break cover.
Can Nokia combine the best of both smartphone and camera worlds in the Nokia Lumia 1020?
Samsung has launched the highly anticipated Galaxy Note 3 smartphone in India along with its sidekick, the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The flagship smartphone will set you back by a lofty ₹49,900 ($792), whereas the Galaxy Gear smartwatch comes at a similarly expensive ₹22,900 ($363) price tag.
The Indian model will run on Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa SoC, which means you won't get the 4K recording option as on the Snapdragon 800 model to be sold in the US. You will, however, get the same 5.7-inch, 1080p Super AMOLED display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage space, 13 megapixel camera, 3,200mAh battery and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
The Galaxy Note 3 is Samsung's most expensive smartphone in India as of yet and follows the trend of rising prices of flagship devices every year. Having said that, the popularity of these devices shows that clearly a lot of people are still willing to pay the big bucks to get their hands on these devices.
That may not necessarily be true for the Galaxy Gear, however. Being the first product of its kind on the market, Samsung is going to have a tough time explaining why you need this in your life and moreover, how exactly is it worth the price tag, which is more than most mid-range smartphones in the country. You can, for example, purchase the company's Galaxy S II Plus for around the same amount of money.
Both the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear will be available in stores starting September 25 at the aforementioned prices.
Meanwhile, Samsung also announced plans on launching the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition in India. No price has been mentioned so far but the device would go on sale in India in October.
