Saturday, February 22, 2014

Two new Huawei smartphones and a smartband leak

Evleaks has leaked two new Huawei smartphones and a smartband on Twitter. One of them is the Huawei Ascent G6. The phone looks remarkably similar to the P6, with glass body and metal strip around the sides. No specifications are available but you can make out an 8 megapixel camera on the back.



The other tweet shows an unnamed Huawei smartphone with a smartband. Neither devices have the Huawei logo on it and don't look entirely convincing so we'd take these with a bit of salt. The smartphone does look quite good, however, and the smartband seems interesting.



More on these as we find out.

Source 1Source 2


Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/two_new_huawei_smartphones_and_a_smartband_leak-news-7892.php

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 vs Galaxy Gear 2 Neo vs Galaxy Gear

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 vs Galaxy Gear 2 Neo vs Galaxy Gear
Which do you want? The standard 2 or a little slice of Neo?

Samsung's had another stab at owning the wrist – but what's the difference between the two?

We all expected Samsung to launch a new Galaxy Gear at MWC 2014, but to have two come along at the same time is a little odd.

If there was a vast difference between the spec sheets, we'd understand the logic, but there are many similarities between the two watches, which will make it hard for the prospective buyer.

There are key upgrades on offer though from the original, which will make it hugely more popular if the price is right.

Galaxy Gear 2 vs Gear 2 Neo

So check out our gallery of the new watches, and let us run you through some of the key specs so you can tell which is right for you.

Design

This is the main area where the two differ, and we can see this will be partly where the two are sold against one another.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 doesn't deviate a huge amount from the first iteration, coming in with 36.9 x 58.4x 10.0 mm, and weighting 68g. That's not a lot different from the Galaxy Gear 2 Neo, which clocks in at 37.9 x 58.8 x 10.0mm, but is 20% lighter at 55g, which will make a fairly big difference.

Galaxy Gear 2 vs Gear 2 Neo
The Galaxy Gear 2

However, both are thinner than the original, which came in at 37.9 x 58.8 x 10.0mm and weighed a whopping 74g in comparison.

The main upgrade between the new two and the original is the band – Samsung is going to allow users to change the strap on their Gear 2.

Galaxy Gear 2 vs Gear 2 Neo
The Galaxy Gear 2 Neo

This is partly allowed by the moving of all the new sensors into the head of the watch, which means you can customise it without having to be stuck with one colour, which users had to do with the original Gear to allow for the camera.

Sadly the charging block still exists for the Galaxy Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo – any hopes of being able to connect the watch straight into a standard phone charger are scuppered here.

Camera and infra red

The camera has been kept for the Galaxy Gear 2, but it's another missing feature for the Galaxy Gear 2 Neo.

It's barely been changed from the whopping sensor on the original Gear (a 1.9MP offering), but has been moved into the main head of the watch to allow for the aforementioned straps.

Galaxy Gear 2 vs Gear 2 Neo

The camera still isn't facing forward, so any hopes of a Dick Tracy-style video call have been scuppered.

Galaxy Gear 2 vs Gear 2 Neo

A new addition for both the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo is the infra red blaster, which Samsung already has on its flagship phones and most tablets.

This is pretty cool, as it will allow you to control the TV or DVD player with a touch of your finger right from your wrist – although it's likely this will appear cool simply because most of us hankered for that digital watch that could act as a remote from childhood.

OS

Now this is a surprise: the new Galaxy Gear range will run on Tizen rather than Android. This is a bold move from Samsung, as while it has put a lot of effort into the new OS it's co-creating with others (with Intel a big partner) it's yet to make it to the big time.

Given that in the press release Samsung was crowing about the fact the Gear 2 will be able to connect with a range of devices, it looks likely we'll be seeing TVs and other gadgets running the OS too so Samsung can offer real interoperability.

Galaxy Gear 2 vs Gear 2 Neo

Those worried about the apps already made for the original Gear shouldn't – and not just because there are far more pressing things to get upset about. The Tizen OS is set up to port over Android apps pretty easily, and given there weren't a huge amount made in the first place chances are the Gear 2 will offer a decent suite and backwards compatibility.

There are also quite a lot of launch partners as well, with the likes of Banjo, BMW, CNN , Conde Nast, Expedia, eBay, Evernote, Feedly, Garmin and Glympse all playing the game.


Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/samsung-galaxy-gear-2-vs-galaxy-gear-2-neo-vs-galaxy-gear-1227436

Samsung announces Tizen-based Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo

Samsung has brought some big changes with the latest additions of its Gear smartwatch lineup. Not only will the new devices be thinner and lighter than the original, but will also feature a special wearable version of Samsung’s Tizen OS rather than Android.


Samsung Gear 2 in Charcoal Black

The new Samsung Gear 2 (no more Galaxy in the name as it’s no longer an Android device) comes with the same 1.63" Super AMOLED display of 320 x 320 screen resolution, but with a processor beefed up from a dual-core 800 MHz to 1GHz.


Samsung Gear 2 in Gold Brown

The new gears bring a better set of health sensors including heart rate monitor, and an Infrared port for remote control of your home appliances.


Samsung Gear 2 in Wild Orange

The internal storage and RAM remain limited like the last edition, and the battery has been downgraded to 300mAh (from 315mAh), which is a bit worrisome as battery life was one of the major drawbacks of the Galaxy Gear. Hopefully, Samsung has optimized Tizen OS to be more battery efficient than Android.

The new Gear series will also come in a Neo flavor, which will lack the 2MP HD camera, but is able to cut the weight down significantly to 55g.


Samsung Gear 2 Neo

Last but not least, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will feature IP67 dust and water resistance certification, which should bring the smart wearables another step closer to real watches. Expect both smartwatches to be available globally starting this April, but their pricing is yet to be confirmed.


Samsung Gear 2 Neo


Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_announces_tizenbased_gear_2_and_gear_2_neo-news-7891.php

Samsung's Tizen smartwatch to drop Galaxy branding? Galaxy Gear 2 also leaked

Samsung's Tizen smartwatch to drop Galaxy branding? Galaxy Gear 2 also leaked
Left to right: Non-Galaxy watches and a Galaxy watch? (credit: @evleaks)

The likelihood that Samsung will launch Gear smartwatches in multiple varieties at MWC 2014, next week, has increased following a series of Twitter leaks on Saturday.

Prolific leakster @evleaks posted press renders of a pair of watches, initially dubbing them the Galaxy Gear 2 and the Galaxy Gear 2 Neo.

However he soon backtracked, claiming the devices would not be 'Galaxy branded.' That suggests, as speculated previously, at least part of Samsung's offering will not be arriving on Android.

Instead, it's likely that any non-Galaxy branded watches will be the first devices to run on Samsung's own Tizen operating system.

Confusing? Yep.

A few hours later @evleaks posted another image, claiming it to be the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2.

So, while Samsung appears to be testing the appetite for its own in-house operating system, there's still going to be an Android version for Google loyalists to get their teeth into.

If all this sounds confusing, don't worry, it is. We're sure all will become clear during Samsung's Unpacked event on February 24, which is now around 48 hours away.


Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/samsung-s-tizen-smartwatch-to-drop-galaxy-branding-galaxy-gear-2-also-leaked-1227419

T-Mobile HTC One users get Android 4.4 KitKat update

The Verizon and the Sprint models of the HTC One got the latest Android 4.4 KitKat update a couple of days ago. Now, HTC has started rolling out the KitKat update for all the HTC One users who are on T-Mobile US.

As it appeared on Verizon and Sprint update, the newest firmware comes with the Sense 5.5 user interface, which brings the customizable Blinkfeed homescreen pane. The latest version of Android also comes with several tweaks and improvements to enhance the overall performance.

Meanwhile, the update isn't far from reaching the AT&T HTC One consumers, according to HTC's executive director of product management Mo Versi. The Taiwan manufacturer seems to have received the carrier's technical approval for the update and the new firmware will start rolling out very soon.

Source 1 | Source 2


Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/tmobile_htc_one_users_get_android_kitkat_update-news-7890.php

Not one, but two Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatches leaked

Not one, but two Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatches leaked
How will Samsung follow up on the Galaxy Gear?

We've seen various rumours claiming the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch may launch at MWC 2014, but a new leak suggests it might come as part of a double act.

The information comes via @evleaks - a prominent Twitter leaker - who posted a blurry image of two watches along with the message "Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear 2 Neo."

This was then followed by another, clearer image of the watches, which appear to sport a more slender design over the original Galaxy Gear - and no camera bulge, although it appears a lens is still present on top of both devices.

No specs were offered with the photos, but going by the icons on the screens the watches will sport notifications, cameras and possibly fitness features (if that is a running shoe we see).

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 - LEAK
The two leaked images (credit: @evleaks)

No more Galaxy?

A later tweet from the same source then suggested that Samsung will actually drop the Galaxy brand for the devices, making them the Samsung Gear 2 and Samsung Gear 2 Neo.

Of course there's no way to verify the images, and they could well be renders chucked together in PhotoShop, but hopefully we'll find out what Samsung is hiding on February 24.


Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/other-devices/not-one-but-two-samsung-galaxy-gear-2-smartwatches-leaked-1227373

2014 week 7 in review: the news that you might have missed

The MWC starts this Monday officially, but plenty of makers have invited the press to Sunday events. Some makers didn’t even wait that much and already announced new devices. And as the gadgets inch to official status, the leaks become more common too.



Here's an overview of the events this week, in case you missed some. And don't forget to check our MWC Preview article for more information on what you can expect from the Congress.

LG wouldn’t wait for the MWC to start – the company unveiled the LG G Pro 2 last week and the LG G2 mini this week. The G Pro 2 phablet should be going on sale any day now, but only in its home country. Europe and the US will have to wait several months.

The LG G2 mini will go on sale in CIS countries next month, but it should expand quicker than the G Pro 2. LG's compact flagship has three versions so when it does go on sale, make sure you're looking at the right one.



Samsung is holding back for now – it has its new flagship ready to go, with teasers warming up the crowd. There's mounting evidence that the rumors of two Galaxy S5 versions are true. At least one will come in Gold.



At least one of the Galaxy S5 versions might switch to on-screen buttons to suit its new flat interface. The jury is still out on the fingerprint scanner. Samsung will definitely be showing off its next-gen Exynos chipsets, but it's unclear if one of them will land in the S5. There's also talk of a Tizen-powered Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch.

The Xperia Z2 ("Sirius") mostly managed to stay out of the rumor mill this week, other than an extensive 12 minute video showing off its UI and 4K video capture (plus other camera modes).



Sony's new tablet hit our tip box more often. The Xperia Tablet Z2 promises a brand new chipset, newer OS, but the same screen and water resistance.



HTC won't be bringing the All New One to the MWC. That one will come in three colors, including Gold, but it will have to wait until March.

Anyway, we'll most probably be seeing the Desire 8 phablet with a 5.5" 720p screen and quad-core Snapdragon 400 chipset and Android 4.4 with Sense 6.



HTC also made its US users happy with the Advantage program – for the One family (HTC One, One Max and One mini), it will offer free screen replacements for the first six-months after purchase (doesn’t apply to phones bought before this week) and software updates for up to two years after the device was launched. Again, this is US only.



The Oppo Find 7 phablet will be coming in two versions too – both were spotted in AnTuTu's database. The difference is that one has a 5.5" QHD screen, while the other sticks with 1080p. The Find 7 is already certified in China.


Oppo Find 7

This is the latest info for the Galaxy S5 too – one version with 1080p screen and one with QHD.

Nokia went on an all-out social network offensive posting teasers to Vine, Weibo and other networks. It's teasing the Nokia X, its Android-powered phone. From spy shots we've seen it will have a heavily customized Android (it looks a lot like Windows Phone) and will feature Nokia services instead of Google.

In software update news, Samsung started rolling out Android 4.4 KitKat for some of its devices (here's the full list), but the latest update might never make it to the international Galaxy S III.



This was a good week for alternative OSes too, Jolla expanded the availability of its first smartphone and announced Sailfish OS 1.0. Geeksphone Revolution that runs both Android and Firefox OS went on sale too.



MediaTek announced it will produce some of the first Android-compatible AMRv8 chipsets using the Cortex-A53 core. The chipset will have the advantage of an on-board LTE (this was Qualcomm's stronghold until recently) and big time makers are starting to use its chips – HTC is working on an octa-core device.

This week we got a second Windows Phone 8.1 video demo, this time running on an actual device and featuring the Action Center that wasn’t available in the SDK demo.


Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/2014_week_7_in_review_the_news_that_you_might_have_missed-news-7889.php

Apple drops iOS update to plug securty hole, but OS X may be affected too

Apple drops iOS update to plug securty hole, but OS X may be affected too
Missing steps added to cure vulnerability in iOS 7

Apple has dropped iOS 7.0.6 to fix a previously unheard of security issue, which left iPhones and iPads vulnerable to hackers operating on the same unsecured wireless network.

The flaw in the way iOS devices handles secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport socket layer (TSL) authentication could allow for data to be intercepted by third parties the company said.

In its release notes, Apple claimed to have had restored "missing validation steps" in order to nix the bug, but said it did not divulge the full nature of security issues until an investigation had taken place.

It wrote: "Impact: An attacker with a privileged network position may capture or modify data in sessions protected by SSL/TLS

"Description: Secure Transport failed to validate the authenticity of the connection. This issue was addressed by restoring missing validation steps."

OS X affected too?

It is not known whether the flaw had been exploited, but one expert, Johns Hopkins University cryptography professor Matthew Green, called the oversight "as bad as you could imagine."

Security firm CrowdStrike took a look around the iOS 7.0.6 and concluded that Mac OS X devices are at risk from the flaw too, and said it expects Apple to launch an update for its desktop software too.

Explaining the nature of the flaw in layman's terms, Crowdstrike wrote: "To pull off the attack an adversary has to be able to Man-in-The-Middle (MitM) network connections, which can be done if they are present on the same wired or wireless network as the victim. Due to a flaw in authentication logic on iOS and OS X platforms, an attacker can bypass SSL/TLS verification routines upon the initial connection handshake.

"This enables an adversary to masquerade as coming from a trusted remote endpoint, such as your favourite webmail provider and perform full interception of encrypted traffic between you and the destination server, as well as give them a capability to modify the data in flight (such as deliver exploits to take control of your system)."

So there you have it. We have no idea how long these "missing steps" were missing, or whether they've always been absent. Needless to say, it's advisable to get on that iOS 7.0.6 update with a quickness.


Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/apple-drops-ios-update-to-plug-securty-hole-but-os-x-may-be-affected-too-1227365

Nexus 5 now a mega bargain as retailer slices 16GB model down to £240

Nexus 5 now a mega bargain as retailer slices 16GB model down to £240
The grass is even greener with the newest Nexus 5 deal

If you thought the high-spec Google Nexus 5 was a decent deal at £300, then the deepest price cut yet will knock your socks off.

Independent retailer Carphone Warehouse is now selling the 16GB handset for just £240 in black, red and white.

Red and black are available now, but the white model is listed as pre-order and will be ready to ship on February 27.

The 4G LTE handset will arrive with a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, with 445ppi, as well as the very latest the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.

Cutting edge specs

Meanwhile, the presence of a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, with 2GB RAM in the engine room, makes it a match for most high-end handsets on the market.

The camera comes in at 8-megapixels, while the manufacturer LG also packed in a 2300mAh battery promising 17 hours of talk time.

Our review late last year commented: "There's a minimalist charm to the Nexus 5 that's hard to resist. It's comfortable to hold, the display looks great, it's extremely fast, and it never slips up or stutters. This is Google's invitingly priced vision of a premium Android smartphone."

For £240? That's smartphone finesse money (usually) can't buy.


Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/nexus-5-now-a-mega-bargain-as-retailer-slices-16gb-model-down-to-240-1227356

Counterclockwise: flagships, awards and failed joint ventures

Counterclockwise is a weekly article that reminisces about the good – and not so good – old times. We look back what happened in tech history on this week of the year.



And what used to happen is the Mobile World Congress. The MWC has been pushed back to the end of February now but we're already seeing announcements and plenty of leaks. But never mind 2014, let's see what happened at the Congress in previous years.

2013 flagships at the ready

It was barely a year ago when the three most popular Android phones were announced. Sony got the jump on everyone and the Xperia Z was on sale (already sold out in places), while HTC was busy announcing its own flagship.



Samsung was even further behind – instead of announcing the phone, the company revealed the date of the announcement, March 14. That worked out okay for the company as production delays ate into HTC One's lead.

Sony was then a bit behind – the Xperia Z used the older chipset compared to its competition for the sake of coming out early. The company rectified that with a second 2013 flagship, the Xperia Z1, and there's a very good chance we'll be seeing the Z2 come Monday.

And the award goes to...

The association behind the MWC gives out awards decided on by a pristine panel of judges. Which phone won the 2010 award? The HTC Hero, of course!



HTC had the Dream, the T-Mobile G1 (in a way, the first Nexus) under its own brand, and dropped the QWERTY to make the Magic. It was the HTC Hero, however, that really showed the world that HTC will be a leader when it comes to designing Android phones (if its reputation from the WinMo-powered HTC Diamond wasn’t enough).

A year later in the same week that the Hero won the award, HTC unveiled the Legend, its successor. It featured an aluminum unibody that would go on to become a trademark for HTC.

A year earlier in 2009, it was the INQ1 that brought home the Best Handset award. INQ produced feature phones with extensive social networking integration, including Facebook – then a young, fast-growing social network.



HTC also attempted to make Facebook phones, even one for Facebook itself (the HTC First) but a social networking phone just wasn’t meant to be.

A Game of OSes

Microsoft's path to bring Windows Phone to the world seems to be a staple of Counterclockwise and here it is again. It was this time of the year in 2010 when the software giant officially unveiled the new smartphone OS.



This was the death knell for Windows Mobile – Windows Phone 6 Starter Edition was to take its place. It was just a rebadged Windows Mobile 6.5 and to be honest, we've never seen a device with that OS, though a company called BSQUARE announced one. We had to Google this – 6 Starter Edition really is an OS lost to history.

Windows Mobile 6.5 itself had a short lifespan, being announced just a year prior at the 2009 MWC. No surprise here really, it was just a stop gap measure until Microsoft can get WP7 ready.



Microsoft's fate got intertwined with Nokia but in 2010 the Finns announced a collaboration with another tech giant, Intel. Two Linux-based OSes – Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin – were to merge into MeeGo.

Back in 2010 Nokia was still at the top, but declining quickly and badly needed an OS to carry it into the future. Partnering with the second half of Wintel – the combo that still rules the desktop market – could only be a monumental success, right?



The project did result in one phone – the Nokia N9 – before dying and is now Tizen, after Samsung took over and merged it with its own Linux-based OS, Bada. We're still waiting for a phone though.

The divorce

Sony and Ericsson were big players in the mobile world individually, together they will be unstoppable. Unfortunately, once again history proves an alliance of two giants isn't immune to failure.



Not that Sony Ericsson didn’t bring out some of the more interesting Android phones (a few good Symbians too), but Samsung, HTC, LG and others found more success with Android. In 2012 Sony had had enough and filed for a €1.05 billion divorce from Ericsson.

It was amicable, but now Sony has committed even further to mobile after selling off its computer business.

Hatchets buried, challenges issued

Nokia and Qualcomm are two of the biggest names when it comes to mobile communication patents and they weren't always on great terms. In mid-February 2010, however, the two companies made up and Qualcomm's CEO announced Nokia is making a Snapdragon-powered phone.



Back then we were thinking "Symbian" but Snapdragons later became closely associated with another Nokia line – the Windows Phone-powered Lumias. This was still under the stewardship of Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Microsoft-man Stephen Elop (head of the Business division, 2008-2010) only took over as CEO in September, 2010.

About a year later, Elop made the announcement – Windows Phone is the way to go forward. He gave plenty of interviews at the time, including one where he said Lumia phones will target "a very low price point. We have become convinced that we can do that very quickly." To give you a feel of how young WP7 was back then, it didn't even have copy and paste.



Fast forward to today and it's Nokia's startlingly cheap Lumia 520 that rules over a third of the Windows Phone market. Really, in the US it can be had for $60-70 and it has specs better than Android more than twice its price.

Despite owning a huge chunk of Windows Phone's market, the Lumia 520 is still a drop in the sea – the OS still has only a single-digit share of the smartphone market and still Nokia has its work cut out for it.


Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/counterclockwise_flagships_awards_and_failed_joint_ventures-news-7888.php