Microsoft is building up a huge update to Windows Phone. Dubbed Blue, the General Distribution Release 3 (GDR3), will likely land in 2014 with a notification center, improved multitasking and updated core apps in tow. According to sources Microsoft will be releasing some of the improvements meant for Blue later this year - support for larger screens (5" and 6"), 1080p resolution and quad-core chipsets (likely the Snapdragon 600 and 800 series).
So it's likely that we'll see Windows Phone 8 phablets with much improved hardware before the end of the year. Microsoft has reportedly been trying to offer speedier updates but had issues with chipset testing and bugs along the way.
Meanwhile, Redmond has also released the changelog for the upcoming WP8 GDR2 update - it will bring improved Xbox Music (easier download of music), FM Radio embedded in the Music+Videos app (select phones) and the new Data Sense aoo, which helps you regulate your phone's data usage. There's also improved HTML5 support for Internet Explorer, and the ability to set a Lens as default cameraapp. The GDR2 update will come to the Nokia Lumia lineup as a side dish to the Lumia Amber update, which will bring Smart Camera among other goodies.
Casings, casings everywhere but no actual handset to speak of (credit: FanaticFone)
Yet more photos of what is believed to be a cheap iPhone have surfaced, showing off its outer shell and volume switches in close-up.
The design of the white shell first published by the fairly reliable folk over at FanaticFone.com show a similar design to that we're already familiar with from other leaks.
It's very similar to the iPhone 5 but with a softer, more-rounded look thanks to the plastic casing that continues around the edges of the handset.
Snow White
Also on show are holes for the camera lens and flash and the dinky lightning connector port on the bottom panel. Unfortunately, the headphone jack is also down there as it is on the iPhone 5.
Credit: FanaticFone
Chinese-Twitter-alike Weibo also plays host to some volume switches supposedly for the cheap iPhone - in the jaunty shades of yellow, blue, green and red that we've seen in other budget iPhone chassis leaks, they look an LA starlet's daily dose of vitamins and supplements.
Credit: Weibo
We're still none the wiser as to a release date for the budget iPhone, however - although, knowing Apple, 'budget' is likely to turn out to mean 'slightly less insanely expensive' rather than being synonymous with 'actually cheap'.
Rumours that BlackBerry is set to launch its largest phone screen seem more certain than ever as an image of the A10 handset has appeared online.
Don't assume this is the real deal but the picture certainly echoes previous word that the handset, also known as the Aristo, would closely resemble the Samsung Galaxy S4 with its rounded edges, as well as coming across as a bit HTC One.
BGR's report states confidently that the BlackBerry A10 will have a 5-inch Super AMOLED display, dual-core processor and separate graphics processor.
It's also noted, however, that the resolution will be just 1280 x 720, which pales a little to the growing number of 1080p displays on the market.
Aristo Development
The dual-core processor, if true, will no doubt disappoint some who were hoping that the A10 would be a true heavyweight when it comes to power, even though not going quad-core will be gentler on the battery.
The BB10-rocking phone is expected to launch "this fall", with a November date being thrown around. As the fourth handset to come running the new OS, could this be the one to help BB10 take off?
An image of what is reportedly the BlackBerry A10, an upcoming BB 10 smartphone, has been leaked. The photo confirms that the handset will be build around a 5" display.
The source claims that the BlackBerry A10, which is codenamed Aristo, will be equipped with a 1,280 x 720 pixel display, like its Z10 predecessor, rather than a full HD screen as available on most recent high-end smartphones.
Other BlackBerry A10 we know so far include a Snapdragon chipset with a 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait processor along with 2 GB of RAM and an 8 megapixel primary camera.
The design of the BlackBerry A10 looks quite similar to that of the BlackBerry Z10 except that this time the piece at the bottom is colored white, rather than black.
BlackBerry A10 will run on BlackBerry 10 OS, but unfortunately, there is no word on the pricing and the launch date of the smartphone.
If you're enticed by the Nokia Lumia 1020's camera suite but plan on sticking with your older PureView Windows Phone handset for the time being, don't fret - Nokia has promised you'll be able to get in on the action too.
The Pro Camera app will be available to the Nokia Lumia 920, Lumia 925 and Lumia 928 later this year, so long as the handsets have been upgraded to the latest Amber software update.
We found there was a whole world to play with in the Pro Camera software, which you can read all about in our hands on review.
More blips!
Focus on the good stuff and have a look through some more blips
Yesterday, Nokia announced the Lumia 1020 smartphone with a 41 megapixel PureView sensor and to go with it, a new version of the Nokia Pro Camera application with one of the most comprehensive range of image adjustment options found on a mobile phone.
The best part about this software is not how it packs in a dozen options but the way the interface is laid out, which makes using them quick and easy. Unfortunately, as of now this app is only available on the Lumia 1020 but if you have an older Lumia device, fret not as you could be getting it soon.
Nokia has confirmed that the Nokia Pro Camera application would be released to older Lumia smartphones through a software update, also known as the Amber update. The update will only be released to the Lumia 920, 925 and 928 smartphones, so if you have any other Lumia phone then you're out of luck.
No dates have been given as to when this update will start rolling out.
You can find out more about the Nokia Pro Camera app here.
By now you've heard of the Nokia Lumia 1020. OK, to be sure you really heard about it days ago when the first of many leaks started dripping for the new Windows Phone 8 handset.
Tips and slips aside, Nokia officially unveiled the camera that packs a 41MP camera sensor in its rear today, leaning heavily on same said snapper tech.
The Pureview camera packs a world of picture punch, including a Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash. Thirty-eight mega-pixels do the work of take a picture for saving and editing, while a 5MP image is also shot for social sharing. Optical image stabilization is achieved with internal ball bearings and motors, believe it or not.
There's a dedicated Pro Camera app on board as well, giving users access to a wider range of settings not available on other WP8 handsets. Lumia 1020 owners will be able to control things like exposure and white balance while also manually controlling the focus.
There's good news for owners of already-released Lumias too: The 920, 925 and 928 are all due to get the Pro app, though the phones will require an update to the latest Amber software.
But how do pictures actually look taken with the 1020's biggest selling point? Nokia posted a few snaps online to highlight its functions, which we've included below.
Pose for your class pictures
Users should find a welcome ease of use when it comes to manual focus - it was our favorite when we tested out the phone - and it's quite easy to choose the focal length of your image thanks to a sliding camera button.
Batter up
The image quality is rather remarkable, considering we're working with a smartphone here. Granted, it's a $299.99 (about £199, AU$327) smartphone, but still..
The world through a Pureview lens
Zooming was a big focus of the phone's press event today, and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop showed just how close a viewer could get to an the ground, literally, with an image taken from on high.
'Hello down there!'
If you decide to take some pics from a helicopter with your Lumia 1020, be sure to hold on tight.
Low light photography is also supposed to be up the 1020's alley, and Nokia provided a few grabs to demo how well photogs can not only capture detail with little illumination, but also with little blur.
Nokia provided a flash comparison during its press conference
And here's two from presumably real life, though we'd bet $5 those girls at the railing are posing with 1020s:
Our friends are always jumping in bars, too! Not bad for a phone
Finally, to show all the fun you can have messing with the 1020's camera settings, Nokia included Mr. Jumpy in a mini-laser light show.
Long exposure
Smashing?
From what we've seen so far, the Lumia 1020's camera is very impressive, though certainly not perfect.
We found lag in the time it took to take and save images instantly when we went hands on with the device, and the fact that the three camera apps - Pro Camera, Cinemagraph and Smart Camera - are indeed three separate camera apps is annoying.
Stay tuned for our full review to get a complete assessment of all things Lumia 1020, including just how its image taker really fairs when we put it through the TechRadar paces.
