Windows Phone 8 release date: when can I get my new phone?

Shut up and take my money!

With the announcement of the Windows Phone 8 prices, you'll be pleased to know you won't need to wait long to get your hands on one.

But with a plethora of phones on offer, and a number of networks promising to thrust them into your hands, how much will you need to fork out and how many days will your have to count down?

The HTC Windows Phone 8X UK release date has been set for 2 November, but the rest of the phones will be available on multiple networks and retailers later in the month it seems.

HTC Windows Phone 8X

The first Windows Phone 8 handset we've subjected to our intensive testing (see the HTC 8X review to get an idea what's going on) but is a slightly more expensive option thanks to the Beats Audio power and improved design.

If you want to get your hands on the phone, pre-orders are now open for the HTC 8X, with a release date of 2 November being touted from the likes of Phones 4U, Three and Carphone Warehouse.

Some networks are charging for the phone up front, but here's our guide to how much you'll need to pay and the cost each month:

• Phones 4U: (No cost up front) £31 per month

• Carphone Warehouse: No price as yet

• EE: (£29) £36 per month

• O2: (£29) £36

• Vodafone: No price as yet

• Three: (£30) £29

HTC Windows Phone 8S

The little brother to the flagship Windows Phone 8 handset is proving a hit with the networks, with most choosing to range the new device.

With it's amp-less innards and lower spec, it's certainly one of the cheaper choices on offer – but just how much will it cost you?

Read our hands on: HTC 8S review

• Phones 4U: (No cost up front) £20.50 per month

• Carphone Warehouse: No price as yet

• EE: (No cost) £20.50

• O2: (No cost) £21.50

• Vodafone: No price as yet

• Three: No price as yet

Nokia Lumia 920

This is the phone that most people are excited about – and for good reason, given the huge plethora of technology on offer inside. Be it wireless charging, the ability to text with gloves on or the Puremotion HD+ screen, it's got a lot going for it.

However, here's the rub: it will be an exclusive to EE (thanks to being the only 4G Windows Phone 8 handset) and will therefore cost a boatload to own. Sad times.

Read our hands on: Nokia Lumia 920 review

• Phones 4U: (£19.99 cost up front) £46 per month

• EE: (£49) £36 per month

Nokia Lumia 820

The little brother to the Finns' big hitter, the Lumia 820 offers some similar features but skimps on a few specs to keep the cost down.

You'll be able to chuck on a range of cases (including the ability to wirelessly charge) and a more-than-half-decent camera to boot – great for those on a budget, although it's not the cheapest on offer by far.

Read our hands on: Nokia Lumia 820 review

• Phones 4U: (No cost up front) £31 per month

• Carphone Warehouse: No price as yet

• EE: (No cost) £36 per month

• O2: (No cost) £36 per month

• Vodafone: No price as yet

Samsung Ativ S

The 'under the radar' member of the Windows Phone 8 clan (thanks to only just being shown off in any kind of shape to the prying eyes of us journalists) it's been dubbed the Windows Phone 8 Galaxy S3… and that's a pretty good mantle to have.

It's thin, light and comes with a whopping Super AMOLED screen… this could be the underground hit for Microsoft if ever there was one, despite the fact not many networks are stocking it (read: O2).

Read our hands on: Samsung Ativ S review

• Phones 4U: (No cost up front) £36 per month

• O2: (No cost) £36 per month

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/windows-phone-8-release-date-when-can-i-get-my-new-phone-1108436

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How Microsoft’s Surface just might kill the iPad

With real productivity apps, a clever keyboard cover and a well-engineered design, the Surface tablet stands a real chance of cutting into iPad sales… if Microsoft will throw enough money at the marketing.

All these “killer this” and “killer that” comparisons get out of control. Every new challenger is hyped as the killer of what came before. But sometimes, it’s true. The iPad really turned out to be a PC killer; folks bought iPads instead of buying new PCs, and that market took a pretty big hit. Apple pulled this off by building something that changed the rules for a PC, and we saw it differently.

Where the PC was about performance, the iPad was about portability. Where the PC was about mice and keyboards, the iPad opted for touch, and where the PC was generally about productivity, the iPad was about entertainment.

But it forced a hard choice that most of us didn’t really want to make: tablet or laptop? This was because the iPad was really a netbook that swapped the keyboard and mouse for a touchscreen, and the iPad’s shortcomings made it a very difficult product to live on exclusively. Most iPad buyers had to keep their PCs or buy MacBooks, and that took what was already an expensive solution and increased it.

With the Surface, Microsoft is trying to reverse the deck and do to Apple what Apple did to it.

Productivity

The Surface comes with Microsoft Office, the unchallenged, dominant desktop productivity product in the market. In fact, the ARM-based Surface actually bundles in Office, so you get productivity capability out of the box, putting it ahead of most PCs. But let’s not stop there, because unlike Apple, Microsoft isn’t being as restrictive of apps that fall into their turf. For instance, the apps can share data, so you can be looking up restaurants on one screen, and then simply click to bring up navigation, or some other app that can use the information from that initial screen. Microsoft also designed in a high degree of accuracy, so you can use a stylus, a tool typically preferred over a finger for creating art or editing pictures. These aren’t netbooks with touchscreens instead of keyboards, they are full PCs. That generally means you should be able to leave the laptop at home or in the office more often.

Designed from the inside out

Apple designs from the outside in. While this does result in beautiful products, it also results in painful problems like Antennagate, or cost problems, which may explain why the iPad mini is priced a whopping 60 percent above the rest of the market. This is also why the first iPhone, when it was presented, was pretty much a pretty brick that took months to get working. When car companies take this approach, you get rolling art that costs a fortune to maintain and isn’t very reliable.

Microsoft made big point of designing from the inside out. Engineers got the product properly equipped, adequately reinforced, and balanced before designers wrapped the result in a pretty case. The end result is a tablet with a screen optimized for movies and video, a balance that makes it feel lighter than it is, and a full set of features. (It’s missing a 4G radio, but because only about 10 percent of tablets have WAN radios turned on.) Microsoft even put in a fast-charge battery, so you can go from dead to near full charge in around two hours. Oh, and another in-your-face move is that while Apple uses magnetic plugs to charge for their laptops (which uniquely saves the laptop if you trip over the cord), it doesn’t appear on the iPad. The Surface does have this magnetic design. When Apple and Microsoft signed the last cross licensing agreement, Microsoft agreed not to copy the iPad. Instead, it ripped a part off the MacBook to improve its own tablet. Now that really is getting in Apple’s face.

The necessity of a keyboard

A few years back, before the iPad, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were on stage, and Bill said something to the effect that tablets were the future for mobile PCs. Steve pretty much said that only idiots would buy a tablet, because a keyboard was simply too irreplaceable.

Now, both the iPad and Surface tablets have optional magnetic covers, but only Microsoft’s comes with a built-in keyboard. This makes it look like the Surface Tablet is a better presentation of Jobs’ vision than the iPad, and that is about as “in your face” as we can get.

I think it would be fun to run the clip of Steve Jobs calling tablets without keyboards stupid right after a clip of Tim Cook talking about tablets with keyboards as the ugly result of refrigerators and toasters mating, and then follow it with the number of iPad keyboards sold (the market for this has turned out to be impressively large).

Marketing is key

After seeing the cringe-worthy Olympics ads that Apple did, I’m convinced that a lot of talented people left the company after Steve Jobs passed. This gives Microsoft the potential to out-market Apple this round. Kathleen Hall’s advertising team at Microsoft is considered one of the best in the business, but Microsoft traditionally underfunds advertising. If it does that here, this potential Apple killer will follow the Zune into the dustbin of history. The initial TV ads are good, but they’ll need Apple-like seeding and sustained marketing programs (read: loads of cash) to assure this “killer” product reaches its potential. If it opens its wallet wide enough for that, Microsoft may do to Apple what Apple did to it with the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and find that revenge can be oh so sweet.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-microsofts-surface-just-might-kill-the-ipad/

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Ads to invade Facebook mobile app News Feed

The pressure's on

Users might notice new ads pop up on their smartphones' Facebook News Feed as the social network has opened up its latest strategy to make money through its mobile app.

In August, Facebook began testing a new "mobile app install ads" program that wasn't connected to users' social ties.

The test was apparently a success as Facebook announced Wednesday via its developer blog that it's opening the service up to all developers.

The test program allows an undisclosed amount of third-party developers purchase ad space on the mobile News Feed to help drive buyers to their apps.

Those advertisements then lead users to the developer's app store purchase page either through the Android or Apple app store.

It all ads up

"For years, many apps and games on Facebook.com have used ads as an important part of their growth strategy," Facebook's Vijaye Raji wrote on Facebook's developer's blog.

"Now we are bringing these opportunities to mobile apps," Raji continued.

"With these new ads, mobile apps and games of all sizes across any category can reach the right audience, at scale."

In the post, Raji touted the new program's ability to help developers reach more relevant audiences and drive up install rates.

He pointed to game creator TinyCo, which saw a 50 percent higher click-through rate when it participated.

Other advertisers reached 8-10 times the audience and Ad Parlor clients saw consistent 1-2 percent increases in click-through rate from the home feed, according to Facebook.

This is a bit of a break from the Facebook ad norm. Traditionally, ads pop up on users' pages because they or a friend liked the brand.

But with this program, dev advertisers will be able to target the audience they want to sell to, instead of who likes them. Facebook is banking on the hope that those two groups will have a large cross-section.

Since the ad program is new, Facebook will still need to work out a few kinks to smooth out the user experience.

The company will also improve the program's ad targeting abilities, as well as make sure developer ads aren't targeting users on the wrong platform.

Facebook in free fall

The program comes as Facebook tries to monetize its mobile space.

The social network as a whole has felt the pressure to become more profitable after its failed IPO in May. In September, the stock hit a new low at $17.55 (UK£11.14, AU$17.33) from its starting price of $38 (UK£23, AU$36).

We'll see if the new mobile app install ad program wows investors next Tuesday, when Facebook calls to share its third-quarter earnings.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/ads-to-invade-facebook-mobile-app-news-feed-1105154

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US appeals court lifts ban on Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Returning to U.S. shelves

Apple's recent victory over Samsung, when a California jury awarded the Cupertino company over $1 billion of Samsung's money, is hardly the final chapter in the two tech giants' everlasting patent war.

Heck, the parties haven't even reached the epilogue yet.

In a new development, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided on Thursday to permanently reverse a California court's previous decision to grant Apple a preliminary injunction on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

The injunction, which was hard-won by Apple, prevented the phone from being sold in the U.S., but the federal appeals court's panel of judges determined that the California court "abused its discretion" in granting the ban.

What does it mean for consumers?

With the sales ban on the Galaxy Nexus officially lifted, Samsung is free to sell the flagship Android phone in the U.S. as soon as it can get the device to shelves and doorsteps.

TechRadar has reached out to Samsung to determine when it plans to do so, but so far the Korean company has yet to respond.

The reversal of the injunction is certainly a victory for Samsung, though its war with Apple rages ever onward regardless.

Samsung kept its promise

Over the summer, U.S. District judge Lucy Koh decided to grant Apple preliminary sales bans on numerous Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Nexus.

At the time, Koh determined that mounting pre-trial evidence against Samsung, in particular related to Apple patents concerning Siri-like search features, justified the injunction.

"Although some consumers may be disappointed that they cannot purchase the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy Nexus, as Samsung itself has repeatedly insisted, is not Samsung's only smartphone product on the market," Koh wrote in a July 5 ruling.

Samsung promised to pursue the matter with the federal circuit appeals court, and it seems that move has finally paid off.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/us-appeals-court-lifts-ban-on-samsung-galaxy-nexus-1103770

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See which tech companies are profitable with ‘How Do They Make Money?’

How Do They Make Money shows you which popular tech companies are profitable and how they earn it.

Because of huge acquisitions like Facebook’s billion dollar purchase of Instagram, it’s easy to assume all tech companies are making a ton of cash. And so it may bewilder you to find out many popular web-based services are not turning a profit. There are also many online services that are earning money — some we did not expect at all — but we’ll get to that later.

If tech industry funding is something that interests you, How Do They Make Money can answer quite a few questions for you. The site lists a large number of different companies like Facebook, Tumblr, Pandora, and Netflix. When you click on one, a window pops up containing funding information. On the left-hand side it shows whether a web service is profitable or not and the information on the right gives examples of how it is funded. These money-making methods include things like advertising, subscribers, and selling data, among others. If one long list seems overwhelming, How Do They Make Money lets you filter choices by service or revenue type.

For instance, Dropbox is listed as “profitable” by offering paid subscriptions and freemium content. Instagram is apparently not profitable, but the following clarification is included: “Before selling to Facebook they were not making money.”

Spotify is not profitable either, despite offering advertising and paid subscriptions as part of its service. Competitor, Rdio, is also listed as not profitable. It’s extremely odd considering Instapaper is allegedly profitable through advertising and subscriptions. If an offline reading application, which has many free alternatives, can turn a profit then why can’t a music streaming service? 

One drawback to the site — and it’s a pretty big one — is that it doesn’t provide sources for the financial information listed. Actual earning numbers are omitted as well, only giving a thumbs up or down to indicate profitability but never listing how much money is brought in. This makes it difficult to take anything on the site without a considerable amount of salt. Unfortunately, if you’re after cold, hard facts and solid numbers then you’ll need to look elsewhere.

But despite the lack of transparency with its data, How Do They Make Money is still worth checking out. It certainly made us look at the free services we use in a different light. It’s unbelievable so much hard work and dedication can go into a product that may never make a dime. 

Did any companies on the list surprise you? Maybe we were shocked by the same ones!

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/which-tech-companies-profit-how-do-they-make-money/

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Apple iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S: Spec showdown

The iPhone 5 is here. But is it worth the money to upgrade from the iPhone 4S? Check out the specs and decide for yourself.

A new year, a new iPhone. Apple announced today the latest version of it’s best-selling handset, the iPhone 5. As expected, the device features a number of updates, most notably a larger, 4-inch display, a better camera, and an updated processor. So, is it worth throwing down a few hard-earned Benjamins to upgrade from the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5? Check out our spec comparison chart below to find out.

 Also check out our iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 spec showdown.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-iphone-5-vs-iphone-4s-spec-showdown/

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