Google's modular phone ambitions just took a giant step forward

What parts will you pick? There's life yet in Google's Project Ara as the modular phone endeavor just got its own developer conference. Make that conferences. Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division sang the news on its Google+ page (where else?), revealing the first Ara Developers' Conference will go down April 15 - April 16. It will...

Read More

The first Ubuntu phones will launch in Autumn from Chinese manufacturers

One Ubuntu phone that won't launch any time soon is the high-end Edge Chinese manufacturers Meizu and BQ will launch the first Ubuntu phones in the fall of 2014, according to Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth. The company is starting with lesser-known manufacturers so it can ensure those companies dedicate enough resources to focus on "placing the right...

Read More

Iphone 6 to have Sapphire coating but no May release

Apple and Gorilla Glass will be parting ways with the release of their iPhone 6, as the Cupertino-based tech giant will be switching to sapphire screen-coating for their next line of smartphones. Sapphire coating has been used in high-end watches for a while due to its high-durability and scratch-resistance. Currently, sapphire coating has only been used on...

Read More

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact vs Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini: Which is right for you?

Which one gets your heart aflutter? Sony outdid itself with the launch of the Xperia Z1 Compact, bringing all the power of the full fat version and shrinking it down without much compromise. But those internals won't stop it being compared to the other smaller phones on the market, with one of the most popular being the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. Quite rightly,...

Read More

Sapphire screens - the gem of the mobile world?

A scratch proof iPhone? Finally! There's been a lot of talk surrounding sapphire screens for smartphones recently, and it's one of the heavily rumoured features for the upcoming iPhone 6. Apple has even gone and purchased a sapphire product company, fuelling the rumours of an iPhone 6 appearance further and it could be the catalyst the screen tech needs...

Read More

Mediatek to launch its own hexa-core chipset - MT6591

Beside working on two Cortex-A53-based chipsets and on the reportedly super-fast octa-core Mediatek MT6595, the company obviously has a hexa-core chipset in the pipeline, too. Yup, that's a six-core chipset, much like the just announced Samsung's Exynos 5260 Hexa. The new chip is called the Mediatek MT6591 and it should already be in production, unlike the previous chipsets...

Read More

Nokia X series phones won't reach the US, Canada, Korea, or Japan

Jussi Nevanlinna, VP for Mobile Phone marketing, officially confirmed for Nokia Conversations that the three devices, which make up Nokia's X series, won't be available in the North America, Canada, Korea, and Japan. Jussi Nevanlinna, VP for Mobile Phone marketing at the Global Mobile Awards 2014 (Photo: GSMA) When they announced the Nokia X series back the other...

Read More

Specs compared: Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Sony Xperia Z2

Specs compared: Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Sony Xperia Z2 (credit: It's a phone face-off) MWC 2014 has given birth to the Sony Xperia Z2 and Samsung Galaxy S5, both of which will be soon be jostling for your attention as they take over the spotlight as Android's latest, and presumably greatest, offerings. Unfortunately, before we get both handsets into the...

Read More

What is MHL and why do you need it?

MHL brings mobile entertainment to the big screen With MHL you can unchain your media from your phone or tablet and easily display videos, games, photos and more on a big screen. It can be liberating and it's all achievable with the help of just a single cable, yet a lot of people are probably unaware of its existence and many who do know of it still don't...

Read More

A smartphone battery that lasts a week? Never gonna happen, says Qualcomm

You'll still be seeing a lot of your charger in the future We're waiting for the day when our smartphone battery will last a week on a single charge, but sadly that day will probably never come. TechRadar spoke to Laurent Fournier, Qualcomm's Senior Director for Business Development, at MWC 2014 who revealed the technology isn't heading towards a smartphone...

Read More

Hands on: Blackphone review

An anti-NSA smartphone. A year ago that would have meant very little to anyone. Five years ago and the idea of a smartphone that protects your data would have probably been met with a lot of shrugging. But these are different times, and as more and more people realise that their data is a commodity - and as more Snowdens appear and data breaches unravel - there's...

Read More

Webroot and Cellebrite offer mobile malware protection to telcos and retailers

Upping protection against nasties Security specialist Webroot and mobile data expert Cellebrite have teamed up to launch what they claim is the first anti-malware detection and removal service for mobile operators and retailers. Announced at MWC 2014, the service, which will be marketed as a product, will see Cellebrite placing Webroot's Mobile App Reputation...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S5 takes Best In Show in TechRadar's MWC 2014 Awards

MWC - a hotbed of phone tech Competition for the biggest honours at MWC 2014 has been fierce, but our dauntless team of phone experts have scoured the show floor for the biggest and best tech of the year. What will be crowned best tablet? At a phone show, which handset could possibly take best phone? And what's the tech that's got tongues wagging both at...

Read More

Could your smartphone actually survive in space?

A Nexus One at the heart, but could it survive on its own? It's an age old question, one which has troubled scholars almost as much as the issue of whether cats can count. But it's a question which we finally aim to answer: can a smartphone survive a trip into orbit? Firstly, let's get the obvious out of the way: no, a smartphone can't make or receive calls...

Read More

Storage wars: do we really need microSD cards in our phones?

Is it time to say goodbye to our little friends? MicroSD cards are serious business, or at least that's the impression given by the uproar surrounding any major Android handset that doesn't include a slot for one. But are they really necessary? There's no denying that they can be appealing. Regardless of how much storage a handset has a microSD card can...

Read More