Sony announced the latest addition to its Xperia lineup earlier today but left out the pricing details. Luckily that didn't last too long as the Xperia SP and Xperia L have already been priced in Europe.
Sony Xperia SP, the mid-range offering from the company, which packs a decent a hardware is priced at €419 (about $545) and the entry-level Xperia L smartphone will carry a price tag of €299 (about $387) in Germany.
In Netherlands, the Sony Xperia SP is rumored to go on sale for €399 (about $516) and the Xperia L smartphone is said to be priced at about €279 (about $362).
We have already got our hands dirty with the Xperia SP and Xperia L. Check out our first impressions on the latest Xperia smartphones.
We're increasingly using a tablet to catch up with and follow TV
Almost a third of us now own a tablet, and a majority are looking at either a smartphone or a tablet while watching TV. With our attention diverted from the main screen, the traditional TV ecosystem is falling apart.
The BBC iPlayer and Sky Go Extra now offer downloads to iOS gear, Panasonic has unveiled an app that allows the viewing of a second TV channel on a tablet app if you buy one of its new twin HD tuner TVs, and 'companion' apps from Zeebox to Twitter and Shazam are changing the way we interact with TV.
There are seismic shifts happening in how society uses technology for entertainment, and it's not escaped the attention of broadcasters. Now they're beginning to respond to our habits; a second screen revolution is happening in homes, but the content owners are not about to leave things to chance.
Different camps
Second screen viewing falls into a few different camps. The first, and by far the most embedded form of second screen use is the BBC iPlayer. With 174 million requests during December 2012 – a 22 percent increase on the previous year – this pioneering catch-up TV app is the standard bearer around the globe.
"Go to Asia and America and people are talking about the iPlayer as best practice, about how they're doing, and how it's operating," says Carl Hibbert, Head of Broadcast Research at analyst firm Futuresource Consulting. "The free-to-air broadcasters are almost being led by iPlayer, it's a real flagship product around the world."
The likes of ITV Player (321 million views for first 9 months of 2012, a 23 percent increase) and 4OD (136 million views in the first three months of 2012, a 10 percent increase) have apps on smartphones and tablets, though these commercial broadcasters offer a mix of pre-roll adverts (4OD) and post-window payment (programmes on ITV Player are only free in the initial seven day catch-up period). Virgin Media's TV Anywhere app for TiVo offers live TV streaming so you can watch one while you, err, watch another.
In an effort to challenge the likes of Netflix – which is increasing its offering beyond films to stream exclusive TV series like House of Cards – the BBC recently announced that it was to broadcast around 40 hours of TV shows online before its initial terrestrial broadcast. That tells you all you need to know about how in flux the industry is.
Cross-platform support is helping
Moving to downloads
Streaming catch-up TV over WiFi or 3G on an app is one thing, but the iPlayer has recently begun offering downloads through its iOS apps that are good for 30 days. For those who travel frequently, it's an absolute boon. "Everyone likes to talk about broadband and online viewing, but we don't have access to the internet all the time," says Hibbert. "You can probably can get some of it over 3G, but people are on restrictive data plans. We'll possibly see more experimentation from operators on downloads." For £5 a month for existing Sky subscribers, Sky Go Extra now offers downloads, too.
Sky Go Extra now offers downloads for users
The problem all commercial broadcasters have with downloads is less one of negotiating different rights from the content owners and more to do with the danger of severing their links to viewers. "If it's downloaded you've effectively lost a direct connection," says Hibbert. "If that consumer doesn't watch that content for 20 days, is the pre-roll advertising that was inserted at the time of download still relevant? If they're not relevant, then is the advertiser willing to pay?"
The iPlayer, of course, doesn't have such thorny issues to worry about. There are, however, some innovative attempts to bolster the first screen and bring the second screen in-sync with it, and so all the while preserving that link that advertisers demand.
Social & interactive TV apps
One relatively recent innovation is the social or companion app. There are several available, with Zeebox – which is partly owned by Sky, ComCast and NBCUniversal – one of the most well-known, though there are others, like the US-centric GetGlue. Zeebox is basically a platform to chat about live TV shows and follow celebrities' TV-watching habits, though it's most skilful at showing where 'the buzz' is. It was invaluable during the Olympics when it was often difficult to keep-up with where and when a plucky Brit might make a play for a medal. Zeebox on a smartphone or tablet also remotely controls a Sky or Virgin TiVo box as well as smart TVs from Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and LG, and fully integrates with Twitter.
The second screen thus far is a place to surf the web or YouTube, watch catch-up TV, or join-in a Twitter debate about a live TV show, but getting apps in-sync with a live TV broadcast is where interactive apps could really come alive.
UK tech start-up Capablue has worked with Channel 4 and others on ways to develop engaging yet properly targeted, unobtrusive second screen advertising, including for Fonejacker and Made In Chelsea. So far they've been largely proof of concept apps, but the technology is intriguing and already polished; Capablue's Connected platform uses audio watermarking to synchronise with a linear broadcast. The mic on a phone or tablet hears the audio watermark and cross-references that with a cloud database to have the app showing content related to the relevant few seconds of the TV broadcast. It works for live TV, +1 channels and time-shift recordings.
Audio watermarking also underpins the BBC's new 'guess the value of the really old thing' Antiques Roadshow Playalong app that activates only when the programme is being broadcast live, while music recognition service Shazam can now trigger advertising overlays where audio watermarks exist in 'first screen' adverts.
Micro games, adverts and links to catch-up TV content are one thing but when will 'second screen' interactive apps move beyond mere novelty and experiments? "When they start to make money," Tom Cape, CEO of Copablue, told TechRadar about this completely new space for advertisers and broadcasters. "We will see a move from 'content' apps – ones which provide additional content as part of 360-degree commissioning – to ones that actually are built to promote and monetize TV better."
YouTube is attempting to establish itself as a bone fide broadcast platform
For now the watermarking requires producer or broadcaster involvement to place the tags, so third-party apps would lack syncing capability. However, there's nothing to stop the technology spreading. "Third party apps could work with advertising if watermarks are placed in adverts by the media agencies," says Cape. A third party that wants to provide synced content must encode all forms of live TV on the hoof with its own digital fingerprint, which is exactly what a rival video watermarking system called TVsync does.
Digital fingerprinting
Based on a system designed to track the progress of pirated video content around the internet, Vobile's TVsync system monitors hundreds of thousands of TV each day, automatically inserting a unique digital fingerprint in every single movie and live TV broadcast. With an app opened, point a smartphone or tablet's camera at any content playing on a TV screen, laptop, phone or other tablet, and the fingerprint in that video is recognised. Second screen content – or a website – is immediately launched.
The system has the downside of requiring line-of-dight to the TV, though it also works with a single frame of video, as well as audio.
TVSync isn't a consumer product, but instead a technology – like TiVo – that could end-up in apps, smart TVs and set-top boxes offered by well-known providers. "Imagine this embedded on a smart TV chip, synchronising and monitoring – and recording – what's on and what's being watched," says Devon Child, Vice President of Products & Solutions at Vobile.
Whether viewers will actively reach for a smartphone to trigger extra content is debatable, but new services that requires only the microphones on handheld devices to be switched-on at all times are passive enough to catch-on (security concerns aside). Either way, perhaps it's time we swapped 'smart TV' for 'smart screens' as we prepare for the second screen's second coming.
With the Samsung Galaxy S4 now out of the way the door has been thrown open for the Korean firm's other high-end smartphone to get a reboot in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Rumours are beginning to circulate about Samsung's next super-sized handset, suggesting it's going to get even bigger - even though the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 raised eyebrows with its larger size.
We're constantly on the look out for Galaxy Note 3 news and you'll be able to find all the latest right here. You lucky things.
Announcement and release date
In terms of a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date the trail is pretty cold at the moment with "later this year" all we have to go on for now.
If previous iterations of the handset are anything to go by we can expect Samsung to uncover the third generation Galaxy Note smartphone towards the end of August, in the run up to IFA 2013 in Berlin.
This would mean that the Galaxy Note 3 would probably hit stores around October if previous cycles are maintained - but given the Samsung Galaxy S4 emerged earlier this year, could the same trick be repeated for the Note 3?
More than a pretty penny in price
You can expect the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to carry a hefty price tag, probably in line with the Galaxy S4 - making it more expensive than its Chinese rivals the ZTE Grand Memo and the Huawei Ascend Mate.
The Note 3 will probably set you back at least £550 (around $800/AU$770) give or take, plus there will be regional variances too.
Does the screen need to get bigger?
Although exact specs are still unknown the general consensus seems to suggest that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will sport an even bigger screen than its 5.5-inch predecessor.
Early reports pointed towards a whopping 6.3-inch display, which would see the handset dwarf the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate and 5.7-inch Grand Memo.
More recently though sources have claimed that the Galaxy Note 3 could actually pack a slightly more modest 5.9-inch AMOLED screen.
However Samsung may have let the cat out of the bag on its own website after listing a smartphone accessory as being compatible with screens from "4- to 6.3-inches", potentially hinting at a massive display bump for the Note 3.
The operating system conundrum
We can be pretty sure that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will roll up running Google's Android platform, but which particular version that will be is not so black and white.
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie is expected to be announced at Google's I/O event in May, potentially alongside the Nexus 5 - which would put the Note 3 in the running to also launch with the latest version of the software.
However if history has taught us anything it's that assuming is for fools - as we've seen numerous handsets launched with older versions of Android - but the Note 2 was one of the first handsets from Samsung to launch with Jelly Bean, so perhaps a Key Lime Pie device isn't so unlikely.
Specs
The big screen won't be the only feature Samsung will want to shout about though, as you can expect the Galaxy Note 3 to be packing some serious tech under the hood.
It could be another industry leading handset (the Note 2 was the most powerful smartphone when it launched) with reports suggesting it will follow in the footsteps of the Galaxy S4 with a ridiculous octo-core chip.
As this device will fall into Samsung's "Note" family you can expect the fabled S-Pen to make another appearance here as it looks to rub shoulders with the Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1.
BlackBerry's CEO has laid a burn on the iPhone, pointing out that its software is starting to look a bit dated.
We'll say that again: BlackBerry's CEO has dissed the iPhone for being out of date.
Zing. Thorsten Heins' actual comments to the Australian Financial Review started out quite fawning: "Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market.
"They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that."
Out of touch
But hey, times change: "The rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don't innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly.
"The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is now five years old."
To be fair to Heins and co, if anyone should know about slowing down and being replaced, it's BlackBerry.
But the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 OS and the not-terrible 4-star BlackBerry Z10 has obviously swollen the company's cranial cavity.
We doubt that Apple will respond with a microsite outlining all the reasons why the iPhone is still better than BlackBerry a la this weekend's lame defensive against the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, but still: it's always fun when tech companies start pulling each others' hair.
A UK-based online retailer has revealed the price of a SIM-free Samsung Galaxy S4, and it's just as much as you'd expect.
According to Unlocked-Mobiles an unlocked, off-contract Galaxy S4 will set you back a princely £529.98 (around $800/AU$770) - almost identical to the 16GB iPhone 5.
Crucially that's a whole £10 more expensive than an HTC One and while it may not be huge, it will be interesting to see if this has an effect on the overall contract price when these are released.
The site also notes the Galaxy S4 release date as April 26, which gives you just over a month to save up for the fourth iteration of Samsung's flagship device.
Continental excess
Pricing in the UK follows news from across the channel, where Amazon Germany currently has the 16GB model listed at €649 (which is around £555/$837/AU$809).
While the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 seem to cost the same in the UK, the European pricing makes the S4 €30 cheaper than its Cupertino-based rival.
There's currently no word on how much the 32GB and 64GB versions will set you back, but we're sure these prices will be revealed soon.
The Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 is the first smartphone with an octa-core processor or at least in some regions. As expected, the North American versions of the phone will use a Snapdragon chipset instead (a 600 to be precise).
So, both the US and Canada are getting quad Krait 300 cores and Adreno 320 GPU instead of Cortex-A15 / A7 CPU cores (four of each) and PowerVR SGX544MP3 GPU.
We expected that version to only be available in North America and the European version to use the Exynos 5 Octa chipset. The Swedish site for major European carrier Tele2, however, lists the Samsung Galaxy S4 on pre-order with the Snapdragon 600 chipset. The prices start at SEK 220 (about $34) per month on contract.
That’s a bit disappointing, but the Qualcomm-designed chipset should still offer stellar performance – better than the competing flagships, which use the same chip but at lower frequency. Benchmarks point to great SunSpider performance – 822ms vs. 1124ms for the HTC One and 1336ms for the Sony Xperia Z.
AnTuTu scores indicated a relatively modest increase in overall performance of about 30% for a score of 21, 089 vs. 22,678 for the HTC One and 20,794 for the Xperia Z.
It remains to be seen what kind of performance the Exynos 5 Octa will offer – AnTuTu’s publicly available benchmark doesn’t support the chipset and the scores the AnTuTu team posted from in-house testing can’t be compared to the old benchmarks.
You can check out our hands-on impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 over here.
We've already told you that 4OD on Sky Go has brought the best of Channel 4's programmes to the VOD service, but we can also confirm that many of those series will be available to download to your device and watch when you are offline.
So if you have forked out the extra fiver for Sky Go Extra, you can now check out some of the big hitters from C4's back-catalogue even when you are lacking an internet connection.
If you love a dystopian glimpse of our future, Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror series is one of those on offer, as is Fresh Meat season one, Black Books and The Inbetweeners. Oh, and 8 out of 10 Cats. If that's your bag.
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