Game changer: why I'm excited for Project Ara, and you should be too

Ara borealis (credit: dscout.com/ara) When Ransom Olds developed the modern assembly line (a little history lesson to liven up your day), it sparked a revolution of process that we still employ. Ford went on to perfect it, and since the early 20th century, cars and much more have been produced in a near-seamless fashion, all thanks to a change in manufacturing....

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Lenovo and Ashton Kutcher are about to Punk the smartphone industry

Lenovo's most recent phone, the Vibe Z, appeared at CES 2014 Playing iPhone creator Steve Jobs in a film doesn't qualify you to design actual smartphones yourself, but don't tell that to Ashton Kutcher and Lenovo. The actor who "Punk'd" people in the early oughts teamed up with the tech company in 2013, and now he's helping it design a line of smartphones...

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Sony Xperia M2 pricing details revealed in Netherlands

Details on the pricing of the freshly announced Sony Xperia M2 made the rounds in Netherlands. The mid-range device is said to launch in April for €289. The smartphone will be offered with free multimedia content when available. It will include three Sony Pictures movie downloads and a free month of Music Unlimited streaming which gives access to over 25 million songs....

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The all new HTC One leaks out wearing AT&T branding

The highly anticipated HTC One successor made yet another unscheduled appearance on Twitter. This time around @evleaks posted a press image of the upcoming smartphone with AT&T branding. The newly leaked image shows the HTC M8 with an aluminum finish and brings no surprises. It falls right in line with previous press photo leaks where the device appeared...

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New HTC One price revealed?

Touching down on March 25 The new HTC One is the next big anticipated phone of 2014, and the price of the handset might have just been leaked online. Mobile Fun is pricing the phone at £579.99 (around $968, AU$1080), however the validity of this pricing is unfounded beyond the claims of the site itself. A spokesperson from Mobile Fun told TechRadar that...

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Acer will make a Windows Phone after the OS hits 15% in EU

Acer's smartphone strategy is currently focused solely on making Android smartphones but that may change if Windows Phone reaches 15% market share in Europe. The company's VP of Smartphones Allen Burnes said in an interview that Acer wants to see more demand from consumers on WP before they take risks with Microsoft's OS. The Acer Allegro is the only WP smartphone...

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Apple may stop iPhone 5S Touch ID 'forgetting' your fingers

Touch problems should hopefully fade to black Not long ago, we reported that a number of iPhone 5S users were complaining of a "fade" issue with the iPhone 5S Touch ID scanner, causing it to forget your fingerprints over time. Now a source "familiar with Apple's development plans" has said that the company is preparing to release a software update that could...

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A smartphone odyssey: from MWC to the stars

Mobile World Congress brought together most of mobile's major players (credit: Mozilla) Sometimes we wonder if we had too much cheese before bedtime and we're dreaming of mad stuff such as Nokias running Android or Samsung making a smartwatch that isn't hideous and rubbish. But no! These aren't fromage-fuelled flights of fancy: they're real! This week...

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If you're on Three then you now have 4G

4G 4 all (sort of) All Three customers are now on a 4G tariff as the network's roll-out continues across the UK. You shouldn't be paying any more money for the 4G connection but if you have a 4G-friendly phone and are in one of the 36 towns and cities that Three has hit the 4G 'go' switch on, then you should be browsing at 4G speeds. Three says there...

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All New HTC One finds itself on camera yet again

The 2014 HTC One in the fuzzy flesh (credit: HardForum via BGR) The All New HTC One is a foregone conclusion at this point, but that's not stopping leaks from spilling in the days leading up to its March 25 launch. A user over at HardForum spent some one-on-one time and got a little handsy with a test version of the HTC One 2. The person's post seems...

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HTC Desire 816 will reportedly cost below $300 in China

According to a report in Chinese online media, the freshly announced HTC Desire 816 will cost below $300 when launched. Allegedly, the phablet will be priced at ¥1799 (about $294) when it goes on sale in China in the near future. Should the reported pricing turn out to be the real deal, the HTC Desire 816 is bound to become a mighty good mid-range proposition. The...

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iPhone 5C vs Sony Xperia Z1 Compact: The best 'baby brother' for you

Want a smaller phone? Here are two great choices In the quest for searching for a new handset there are only a few handsets that actually stand out, but with their bright colours the chances are you've seen the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact and Apple's iPhone 5C. If after reading our full in depth reviews of both you're still struggling to work out which one of...

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Google Project Ara aiming for release next year at a ridiculously low price

Modular phones focused on being great, not profitable Going modular may be even cheaper and more accessible than some imagined. According to Google's Advanced Technology and Projects team, the folks behind Project Ara, speaking with Time, Google wants to get the first barebone version on its modular phone on the market for as little as $50 (about £29/AU$55)....

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Android Beam: Why you should care about this hidden gem

Getting the best from NFC on your Android phone Near Field Communication technology (NFC) has spread its way across the mobile landscape like a forest wildfire, yet how many of us actually use it, let alone use it to its full potential? We all know how NFC works (if not, then here's all you need to know about NFC) although one of its greatest applications...

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MWC 2014 wrap-up: the best of the biggest mobile event this year

We're on our way out of the MWC grounds. The biggest mobile tech event of the first half of teh year is over. While last year we left slightly disappointed, this year was full of excitement with several flagship launches, several new tablets and plenty of wearables, too. Before we say goodbye, we have time slow down and review the highlights of the frantic week...

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Third-party apps can use Samsung's fingerprint scanner

In a not so surprising move Samsung released its latest flagship with a fingerprint scanner just as rumors suggested. The home button on the Galaxy S5 does more than just unlocking the phone though. Samsung is also providing its fingerprint scanner information for use with other apps so developers can, for example, replace passwords with biometric print data. ...

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Sailfish: the OS that wants to dethrone Android

Sailfish is compelling, but can it rock the boat? There's revolution in the air. People and companies are tired of essentially being limited to a choice of just three smartphone operating systems. They're tired of the walled gardens of iOS and Windows Phone and they're wondering about the open-source-but-secretive development of Android. This atmosphere...

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