We're here at CES 2014!

LG lays out its CES claims

CES time is finally upon us! TechRadar has touched down in Las Vegas for the biggest tech show of the year.

CES 2014 doesn't officially start until Tuesday, but there are plenty of pre-show happenings - from CES Unveiled Sunday night to Monday's press day - for you to lock your browser right here.

We've gathered what you can expect during the course of the week over on our CES 2014 hub page, and already the tech-stravaganza is coalescing around a few key themes.

Namely, look for plenty of wearables as well as TVs, TVs and more TVs. In fact, we're already seeing a battle for bragging rights heat up between two players in particular: LG and Samsung.

We took an early peek at the CES show floor upon our arrival in Vegas, and it was hard to miss that both have banners touting in particular their curved 4K TV plans for the show.

Samsung brings the brag

LG is dragging a number of 4K sets around the convention center halls, among them a curved 77-inch 4K OLED TV and a 105-inch curved 4K behemoth. Plus, we're expecting to hear plenty about the company's webOS platform in due course.

Samsung meanwhile laid claim to the world's first curved UHD TV in December 2013, though LG beat its competitor to the punch with its announcement coming hours earlier. Still, Samsung said its version is the curviest, so we'll have to see who takes the 4K crown once the show kicks off.

Stay tuned for much more than tubes though, including hands on reviews of smartphones and tablets from the likes of Lenovo and Acer and Steam Machine news from Valve and its partners.

Are you pumped for CES?? We sure are.

• Will we see the Apple iWatch at CES? Doubtful, but you can still read up on it.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/we-re-here-at-ces-2014--1212144

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Apple reportedly snaps-up SnappyCam app to boost rapid fire iPhone photography

SnappyCam offered continuous high speed photography

Apple has reportedly purchased the company behind the photography app SnappyCam, which enables the iPhone to take continuous, full-res pictures at higher speeds than the native camera

Following the app's recent disappearance from the App Store, TechCrunch brings word that the one-man SnappyLabs operation is now under Apple's command.

The SnappyCam app, made it possible for the iPhone's camera to snap full resolution shots at between 20-30 frames per second, depending on the iPhone model and up to 60fps at lower resolution

Naturally, that's significantly faster than Apple's own iSight camera software, and allowed the app to become a hit among iPhone users in many countries.

Interest from the big guns

According to TechCrunch's sources, the SnappyCam app had attracted interest from "most of the major players," but it appears that Apple has won the day.

The likelihood now is that Apple will fold SnappyCam's functionality into the iOS camera at some point, or will have the developer work on future iPhone camera tech.

Terms of the deal have not been confirmed and Apple has not commented on the reports. However, the girlfriend of founder John Papandriopoulos, posted on Facebook to congratulate her partner, which, we suppose is as close to confirmation as it comes.

Papandriopoulos is reportedly an electrical engineering phD at the University of Melbourne, but student or not, the Fosters will probably be on him tonight.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/apple-reportedly-snaps-up-snappycam-app-to-boost-rapid-fire-iphone-photography-1212120

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Samsung lowers Q4 earnings estimate due to weak US dollar

We already know Samsung's shares are dropped 4.6% on estimates of lower operating profit, but Hyunwoo Doh from analyst company Jefferies & Co has further explained the company's situation.

Part of the company's Q4 financial troubles come from slowing smartphone sales. Particularly, Doh points at insignificant growth in high-end smartphones as rumors of the upcoming Galaxy S5 coming at the MWC tend to intensify.

The steady rise of the Korean Won against the US dollar isn't helping Samsung either, since the company receives virtually all of its corporate payments in the American currency. Additionally, Samsung has spent $380 million dollars paying its workers bonuses as part of the company's 20th anniversary of its "new management initiative".

Doh also notes the Semiconductor and Consumer electronics departments of Samsung would do strong for Q4 as a result of seasonally strong demand. His forecast doesn't see Samsung recovering until Q1 2014. This means investors will have to be patient and wait the Galaxy S5 to be announced for the company to start seeing profits climbing up.

Source } Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsungs_lower_q4_earnings_due_to_slow_sales_weak_us_dollar-news-7480.php

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HTC M8 rumored to be called One+

Although it may not have the most original of names, HTC's newest flagship phone is rumored to be called the One+.

Evleaks released details about HTC's M8 yesterday: namely that it will have a 4.9 inch Full HD display and a Snapdragon 800 processor under the hood. However, popular XDA member, Mike1986, indicates that the M8 is indeed the One+, and has a list of rumored specs that go into greater detail and suggest that the One+ will be a much better spec'd device than previously thought.

The One+, according to Mike1986, will have a 5-inch Full HD Gorilla Glass 3 display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, 2GB LPDDR3 RAM, a 6MP or 8MP camera with double lens (rumored to be exchangeable), a 2.1MP front camera, 2,900 mAh battery, a microSD card slot and NFC.

On the software side, we can expect the One+ to have Android 4.4 Kit-Kat out of the box, overlaid with HTC Sense 6. Another interesting fact is that the One+ is rumored to not have any physical buttons, with all of the Android interaction taking place on screen, a la the Nexus 4 & 5.

As always, these are just rumors, so don't take them as gospel just yet. The One+ is speculated to make its debut at Mobile World Congress, from February 24-27 in Barcelona.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/one_rumored_to_be_htcs_new_flagship-news-7479.php

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HTC One range will probably get Android 4.4 KitKat boost sometime in February

KitKat updates coming for HTC One range...soon...maybe

The indomitable march, well the zombie-esque stumble, towards Android KitKat updates continues with news that owners of the HTC One range will get the newest version of Android by the end of February.

According to prolific HTC mole @LlabTooFer, the HTC One (and its dual-sim brother), the HTC One Max and the HTC One Mini have been fast-tracked, sorry, put on the waiting list for the update.

"All new devices such as One, One DualSIM, One max, One mini will get 4.4.2 update in time frame January-February," he tweeted on Friday. The Google Play Edition already has the update.

The leak artist also pointed out there'd be no update for the 18-month old HTC One X device, much to the chagrin of his followers.

There's no Sense in that

It also appears that HTC doesn't plan on dropping the Sense 6 user interface with the Android 4.4.2 update.

"Forget about Sense 6 for now, such update for previous devices might appear in late Autumn," LlanTooFer tweeted in response to a question.

That new UI is likely to make its debut on the next flagship handset rumoured to be donned the HTC One Two. That device could make an appearance at Mobile World Congress in February.

• HTC has attempted to demystify that mysterious and, quite frankly infuriating, Android update cycle.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/htc-one-range-will-probably-get-android-4-4-kitkat-boost-sometime-in-february-1212084

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