According to a report in The Verge, the previously leaked, mysterious Nokia Normandy is an Android handset. Known internally under several different codenames, the device is said to be developed as an equivalent to the low-cost Nokia Asha range.
The Nokia Normandy allegedly runs heavily modified Android version – much like in the case of the Amazon Kindle Fire range. The OS will allow the handset to run popular Android apps, thus addressing a major shortcoming of the current Nokia Asha lineup.
The Nokia Normandy development is described as going at “full steam ahead”. The handset is reportedly planned for a release in 2014. However, with Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia's devices & services units all but completed, we are yet to find out what the Redmond giant’s plans for the Normandy are.
As Nokia's device and services division hurtles towards a merger with Microsoft, word of the Finnish firm's long-rumored Android phone has resurfaced.
The company's Android handset is codenamed Normandy, according to sources of The Verge. The codename - apparently one of several for the clandestine phone - appeared in November along with an alleged photo courtesy of Twitter tipster @evleaks.
Nokia's Android phone is said to run a "forked" version of Google's OS, similar to how Amazon makes use of the system for its hardware.
Normandy can run Android apps like Skype and other popular applications. Because of its forked status, Nokia would be able to fully customize the OS, taking it out from under Google rule.
Nokia has reportedly been developing the phone despite the impending sale to Microsoft. Because of the acquisition situation, it's unclear whether Nokia will attempt a release of Normandy before the deal is finalized. If it decides not to, then it's equally uncertain whether Microsoft will keep Normandy afloat post-merger.
The smart money is on a big "No" for Normandy under Redmond's order.
An Asha phone
Interestingly, Nokia's Android handset is supposedly designed to be an on par with Asha - a lower-end phone that will deliver traditional smartphone apps to consumers.
Because Series 40-powered Ashas have failed to do just that, Nokia wants Normandy to pick up the slack.
Normandy is said to be "full steam ahead," with a release pegged for sometime in 2014.
The attitude within Nokia may be gun-ho, but the clock is ticking for Nokia to launch its take on Android. Regulatory hurdles are falling left and right for the Microsoft deal, and a closure can't be more than a few months away.
Remember the Ubuntu Edge, the Canonical creation that set out to earn $32 million (about £20.8m, AU$34.5m) on Indiegogo but fell very short?
Well, the company is back at it again, though this time it's maneuvering a slightly different route to deliver the Ubuntu mobile platform to the public at large.
"We have concluded our first set of agreements to ship Ubuntu on mobile phones," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth told CNET. "We've shifted gears from 'making a concept' to 'it's going to ship.' That has a big impact on the team."
Shuttleworth stayed quiet on who its initial phone partner is, but said that Canonical is on board to deliver its Ubuntu Touch OS to a handset. High-end devices running the Linux-based operating system should be available next year.
Ooo-ooo-Ubuntu
The good news for Ubuntu supporters doesn't stop there. Shuttleworth said several board-level discussions are underway at other hardware makers.
And not just Joe Smartphones; Canonical is chatting with "four household brands" that "sell a lot of phones all over the world" to both businesses and consumers.
Ubuntu Touch has been available for install on Nexus devices, but 2014 would mark its arrival on a native machine. The OS is essentially a mobile-ized version of Ubuntu for desktop. When docked to a desktop monitor, Ubuntu Touch can launch as the full-fat desktop system.
Xperia Z Ultra fans craving Sony's phablet-sized device running the latest vanilla version of Android 4.4 can do so by forking over $649 (about £ 394/AUS $708). Although it looks like availability is in America only for now, global customers should be able to get their hands on the 6.4-inch handset soon.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra features a 6.4-inch screen with a 1920x1080 resolution. Inside the smartphone comes packing a Qualcomm Quad Core 2.2GHz processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB for storage that's expandable though the microSD slot.
The rather large phone also comes with a decent suite of cameras including an 8MP sensor on the back and 2MP front snapper for selfies.
Playing with the big boys
In a race to cram the biggest phone in consumers' pockets, the Xperia Z Ultra is the largest beating out its closest rival Samsung Galaxy Mega by a mere 0.1-inches.
Those that want something in the slightly smaller sub 6-inch screen world should look for the still palm busting 5.9-inch HTC One Max or 5.7 inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Of course the Play Edition of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra holds one extra feature of running a vanilla version of Android above all the other devices. Unlike other manufacturers' devices, the Xperia Z will be updated more quickly with the latest versions of Android not come preloaded bloatware or 37 pieces of visual flair.
Google Play Edition Sony Xperia Z Ultra and LG G Pad 8.3 quietly went official in the United States - the duo of Android 4.4 KitKat devices is currently available to order in the US Google Play Store. The Xperia Z Ultra is priced at $649, while the G Pad 8.3 costs $349.99.
Save for the stock Android 4.4 KitKat, there is no difference between the Google Play Edition Sony Xperia Z Ultra and the version we have reviewed. Google purists will be treated to a Snapdragon 800 SoC and a 6.4” 1080p Triluminos display, wrapped in a 6.5mm thick IP58 certified body.
The same goes for the GPE LG G Pad 8.3. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 SoC, 8.3” IPS display with 1920 x 1200 pixels, expandable memory, and metal-clad body, the Korean slate appears to be well worth its price premium over the Nexus 7.
Speaking of Nexus 7, Google today released a white version of the popular tablet. Like its Nexus 5 relative, the white color is applied only to the back of the slate – its front is still black.
The newly released stock Android devices are all listed in stock, and available to ship in one to two business days in the United States.
Apple's future may get curvy (credit: AppleInsider)
Flat touchscreen iOS devices and Mac displays could be a thing of the past one day now that Apple has been awarded a patent for a touch sensor capable of being manufactured on a curve.
AppleInsider reported today that a new patent awarded to Apple from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office paves the way for the iPhone 5S maker to start manufacturing devices with curved displays.
U.S. Patent No. 8,603,574 specifically outlines a "curved touch sensor" capable of producing touchscreen surfaces capable of being wrapped across the front of a device without manufacturing defects such as substrate warping or deformation.
First filed in 2010, the curved touch sensor patent specifically covers displays, touch pads and touch mice, with the invention credited to Lili Huang, Seung Jae Hong and John Z. Zhong.
Curvy roadmap ahead?
In that original patent filing, Apple noted that current methods for creating touch panels using thin-film conductors aren't ideal for curved displays, since they require lower temperatures to avoid being damaged.
Display manufacturers prefer to employ higher temperatures "for added thin film resistiveness and enhanced optical properties," according to the report.
Apple's process dodges this issue by depositing a conductive thin film over a flexible substrate while it's still flat, then adding the substrate package and applying heat to the completed stackup.
The complicated process doesn't necessarily mean Apple will adopt this method for future iOS or Mac products, so current smartphones with curved displays such as the LG G Flex appear to be safe for now.
MediaTek recently announced its first true-octa core processor, as part of the MT6592 chipset. The successor of this SoC is allegedly in the works and the upcoming chip that is reportedly known as MT6595 is rumored to go official in the January, next year.
The company's upcoming chipset is basically an LTE enabled version of the MT6592 and is very likely to keep the true octa-core CPU. If the rumors turn out correct, MediaTek will be looking to expand its market share even further in 2014.
Until now, MediaTek has been producing chipsets, which are ideal for mid-range and budget friendly smartphones. However, things might soon change for the Taiwanese semi-conductor company and we really hope the company rises its game and poses a more serious threat to Qualcomm and lightens up the development race.
Oppo N1 was announced in September and launched in China on November 11. Later Oppo promised to expand the N1 availability worldwide on December 10 and today it duly deliverd.
The Oppo N1 is now available through Oppo's official online stores. In Europe you can have the 16GB model for €449, while the 32GB flavor costs €479, while the US prices are set at $599 and $649, respectively. Asian prices vary somewhat - you can get the exact info for your country here. The cool cameraphone is available only in white flavor.
N1's international retail package includes the O-Click accessory and an Easy-Cover case in addition to the basics. Naturally the Oppo N1 runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean skinned with Oppo's Color UI, but the partnership between Cyanogen and Oppo will soon allow you to install an official CyanogenMod on it as well.
We already me the Oppo N1, so if you are still wondering whether it's worth your cash, you should check out our review.
According to a leaked internal document sent to us by an anonymous tipster, Huawei is working on an Ascend P7 smartphone that's currently going under the codename "Sophia".
The Huawei Ascend P7 is going to be a major update over the Ascend P6 and will feature a 1080p 5.0" TFT LCD display. Under the hood of the phone, Huawei is betting on the HiSilicon Balong 910 chipset with a quad-core 1.6GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Happily, it's expandable thanks to the microSD card slot.
As you can see the document states that the phone will be made of "exquisite materials" and as our tipster points out, the phone looks very similar to its predecessor. We won't be surprised if Huawei bets on metal for the chassis once again. Another unique selling point of the Ascend P7 would be the ability to take the "best selfie videos" as Huawei puts it.
The company aims to achieve this thanks to the front-facing 8MP camera. At the back, there's going to be a 13MP auto-focus snapper with LED flash. The smartphone will be powered by a 2460mAh battery. The Huawei Ascend P7 will be LTE-enabled with support for Cat 4 at the 800/1800/2100/2600 bands.
The phone runs an unspecified version of Android garnished with the company's own EmotionUI 2.0, which isn't that surprising.
If the document is to be trusted, Huawei plans to release the Ascend in April next year. Pricing is yet to be detailed.
Whether you've got an older Android device or one the latest Android-powered tablets or phones, there are plenty of choices when it comes to loading it with extra software.
There's an app for pretty much everything these days, and it's easy to spend hours browsing the selection in the Google Play Store. That can be a downside as it can be a problem to separate the wheat from the chaff.
That's why we're here. We've tirelessly trawled Google Play looking for the best downloads on offer - many of them are free but if there are apps that we think are worth the money we've included those, too. We've got alternative browsers, keyboards and music players, brilliant free games, apps for kids and a whole lot more.
Read on for links to all of our roundups.
80 best free Android apps
Most of the good stuff on Android is free, thanks to the work of developers who do it for love alone. From social networking apps to ones to inspire you with new ideas at work and at home, these 80 free Android apps should be any Android owner's installs...
Even if you're using a phone layered down with a custom user interface like Sense or TouchWiz, there are many alternatives to your pre-installed tools and settings. These are our 10 favourite alternate Android apps.
Android has a wealth of productivity tools at its disposal, ranging from free and simple text editors and "to do" lists up to impressively feature-packed and rather costly suites of document management apps that promise PowerPoint and Excel editing on your mobile.
We wouldn't recommend sticking with Internet Explorer on a PC unless you've tried out some of the alternatives, and you're doing yourself no favours if you've never ventured beyond the stock Android browser for getting around the web. We've listed eight of our favourites below.
There's an abundance of Android keyboards on the Play Store, and you can change them until you find one you like. With this in mind, we've selected nine of the best Android keyboards available .
The best way to unify your Android music player experience is to use one of the many standalone apps out there, all of which offer their own take on how to best make your MP3 collection sing out of your phone. Here are 10 of the best ways to get your mobile managing your tunes today.
If you have a relatively modern handset with a fast processor, the following media apps will spice up Google's rather boring movie playback options and widen your options when it comes to video viewing.
Samsung likes to slap on some bling on a Galaxy phone now and then and the Galaxy S4 is no exception. It's a limited run of 3,500 units so far only available on the Samsung Thailand site.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Crystal Edition is based on the white I9500 (that's the Exynos 5-powered one) and features a unique back with studded Swarovski crystals.
It will set you back 20,300 baht ($630/€460) and you can only get it from the Samsung Shop. For comparison, a standard I9500 S4 costs around 17,400 baht ($540) in Thailand.
US retailer Walmart has been selling Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c for a while now, but starting this Friday the two smartphones will be available on its own contract-free carriers Straight Talk Wireless and Net10 Wireless.
The prices match those of SIM-free iPhones from the Apple Store. You can get an iPhone 5s 16GB from Walmart (available in store only) for $650 and an iPhone 5c 16GB (available online) for $550. Walmart also offers iPhone 4S 8GB (in store and online) for $450.
After you get an iPhone, you can sign up for a 30-day plan with Straight Talk for $45/month or Net10 for $50/month (additional lines in Net10's Friends and Family service cost $40). If you want unlimited international calls, add $15 a month to either Straight Talk or Net10.
These plans last only one month and can be renewed at the end of the period, but you don't have to (unlike traditional contracts, there's no early termination fees).
Also, if you have a Walmart credit card, you can get financing for the iPhones with no interest if you pay the money back in 18 months, 24 months if you bought an iPhone 5s. Financing is done in-store only.
Note that the plans are listed as unlimited for voice, texts and data with an asterisk. If you use more than 2.5GB of data for the month, you'll be dropped to lower speeds. Also, for the unlimited international calls, you are limited to calling 15 unique phone numbers during the month. Both the data usage and list of international numbers are reset when a new plan is activated.
We could still be getting some bend and flex, though
Samsung's tradition of packing its Galaxy and Note phones with AMOLED displays may have come to an end.
The latest rumour is that Samsung is looking to fit PLS LCD displays on its future phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4 – both of which are expected in 2014.
According to G 4 Games, who picked up the story from the hit-and-miss etnews, the reason is that Samsung is looking to cut down on production costs.
For your consideration
The important thing to note here it that Samsung is apparently only "considering" at the moment, so don't get too overworked by the news.
But the reports state that Samsung could make a decent 20% cost cut by opting for PLS LCD over AMOLED, so it's no doubt a big decision for the company.
If we just pretend it's not there, eventually it'll go away
While Android phones are still being made with a physical menu button on them, Google is making it pretty obvious that they're not wanted by shifting all functions to the on-screen capacitive button in KitKat.
"The menu button is not pining, it's passed on! The button is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to a flagship device it'd be pushing up the daisies! THIS IS AN EX-BUTTON!!"
Okay then. Just need those pesky manufacturers to get on board, eh?
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is leaving its predecessors in the dust – it sold 5 million units in the first month of availability and now a month later the number of units shipped has reached 10 million.
Note that the number of sales is probably lower than the number of shipments as those are supplies sent to retailers and carriers. Still, the numbers are impressive – the original Galaxy Note took 9 months to reach 10 million units shipped and the Note II took 4 months. The Galaxy S4 took less than a month to reach that milestone , but that one was a far more mainstream product.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was launched simultaneously in 58 countries on September 25. According to Samsung, it drew in customers with its large-screen multitasking and fast LTE in the west and the convenience of text input with the S Pen in Asia.
Funny Samsung should mention LTE, the Exynos-powered Galaxy Note 3 does not have it. This raises the question of how many of those 10 million units does the N9000 (the Exynos 5 version) account for versus the N9005 (the Snapdragon 800 version).
Could this be the Nexus 8? And could LG be working on it?
This isn't the first time that we've heard the Nexus 8 might be a thing that exists or that LG might be making it, but now we have more fuel to add to that fire.
A recent tweet from @evleaks states that a tablet with the model number LG V510 is indeed a Nexus tablet and it backs that up with what seems to be an inventory manifest which shows that the LG V510 is a Google device.
Seen it all before
Whatever it ends up being, a manual for the device, leaked by the Japanese site RBmen, suggests that its specs will be very similar to those of the LG G Pad 8.3, including in 8.3 inch 1920 x 1200 screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 5MP rear camera, a 1.3MP front facing camera and a 4600 mAh battery.
The manual doesn't include the word 'Nexus' but it does state that the LG V510 will be running stock Android, which strongly suggests that it will be a Nexus device.
We're still waiting on a Nexus 10 refresh but in the meantime we'd quite happily take a Nexus 8 to tide us over, if that is indeed what this is.
Can't wait for the Nexus 8? Then check out the Nexus 7.
While the world at large may have poo-pooed the 'phablet' at first glance, Samsung's sales figures show that these big-screened phones are becoming more and more popular with every passing iteration.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has blown previous Notes out of the water by hitting 10 million sales within 60 days of going on sale, which isn't making anyone more enthusiastic about calling it a 'phonblet'.
It joins such Samsung handsets as the SGH-T100, SGH-E250, Samsung Galaxy S, S2, S3, S4 and Note 2 in the Samsung 10 Million Sellers Club which isn't so much an exclusive club as a list of phones Samsung has made.
Infinity and beyond
The Note 2 did pretty well for itself too, hitting 30 million sales back in October 2013 after going on sale a year before - at the Note 3's current speed, it should out-do its predecessor quite comfortably.
Attentions understandably turn to future Samsung products, with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 presumably currently in development - we don't expect to see that get its big unveil until IFA 2014 which, mark your calendars, kicks off in September.
