Could 2013 bear more than two phones from the ripening branches of BlackBerry?
It's looking like that's an affirmative as the company's CEO earlier today said there's an upcoming flagship phone he's "very excited about."
Speaking with CNET, Thorsten Heins teased, "There's one new product I'm really excited about, but I can't really share it.
"It takes BlackBerry 10 to another level in terms of the user experience."
A holly, jolly time of year?
Heins said the new flagship will should be ready for the holidays, though he couldn't give a full-proof guarantee. We are also likely to see a mid-tear BlackBerry 10 device sometime this year too, though Heins didn't elaborate further.
All told, the current fiscal year should welcome three to four BB10 devices. Perhaps BlackBerry is trying to make up for lost time?
So far, the renamed company has announced the touchscreen Z10 and the QWERTY Q10, though the latter hasn't been released yet. The Q10 got an unlocked price today of £529.98 (around $800/AU$770).
U.S. carriers begin selling the Z10 Friday, and Heins said he anticipates the Q10 launching to take place one or two months after its touchy sibling.
As for the future line of BB10 devices, Heins said that ultimately the company would like to offer three levels of phone, with each tier offering both a touch-only and QWERTY option. Screen size dimensions for the phones won't change no matter what tier they're on.
The 100,000 app club
In addition celebrating BB10 and the Z10's U.S. launch, BlackBerry took time to acknowledge another important milestone today, and no it wasn't not having shut down yet.
The company announced that BB10 customers now have over 100,000 apps to choose for their Z10 smartphones.
Major names like Amazon Kindle, Open Table and The Wall Street Journal are now available, and others like CNN, The Daily Show Headlines, Maxim, MLB at Bat, PGD, Rdio and Skype are coming soon.
Fan favorites Angry Birds Star Wars, BBC Top Gear news, Facebook, and WhatsApp are all in BB10's growing app circle, too.
In 7 weeks, the catalogue grew by more than 30,000 apps, the company reported.
BlackBerry must be using some kind of fertilizer...that or the Z10's U.S. launch provided some motivation to developers.
The new app streams words as they're spoken, meaning faster search results
Voice recognition is one of those mobile services that has been on the cusp of brilliance for quite a while, yet no-one seems to have it down to a fine art.
Apple's Siri and Google's Voice Search do an ample, if not always reliable, job, but Microsoft has demonstrated how it intends to leapfrog them both with its improved Bing Voice app for Windows Phone.
The company's research department has shown-off a prototype version of a faster, more accurate and more intelligent version of the app, scheduled for launch at a later date.
According to the video demonstration, the new Bing Voice app processes speech so fast, it will stream utterances word-by-word, as they are spoken, rather than wait until the sentence is complete.
Better, faster, smarter
Even in the presence of background noise, so often the bain of voice recognition apps, the new Bing Voice service showed considerable speed and accuracy improvements in Microsoft's tests.
The demonstation showed the phrase "Starbucks in Washington" was recognised by the improved tech in 0.52 seconds, whereas the current version called it "sky in washing machine," and took 1.19 seconds.
Error rates are also down by between 12 and 15 per cent on the new version and, according to the researchers, there's potential for that to improve by another 15 per cent by the time the tech rolls out.
This extra speed and accuracy, along with the word by word streaming, will allow the app to deliver Bing Search results faster than ever before, the company said.
When's it coming?
The MSFTKitchen demonstration video made no mention of when it might be arriving on the mobile operating system, but Windows Phone 9 sure sounds like a good time, huh?
Until then, or whenever Microsoft decides to grace Windows Phone fans with the tech, check it out for yourself in the video below.
Maybe Google Now used Apple Maps to get to the App Store, because Apple said today that Google never submitted the intelligent personal assistant app to its online store.
A Google representative also told TechRadar, "Yes, I can confirm for you: We have not submitted Google Now to Apple's App Store," backing up the statement Apple sent to TechCrunch.
This flies in the face of comments made by Google Eric Schmidt, who seemed to lay the blame for Google Now's Android-only status at Apple's doorstep.
"You'll need to discuss that with Apple," said Schmidt at the Google Big Tent Summit in India.
Schmidt was responding a candid question from the moderator, who asked when he could get Google Now on his iPhone.
"Apple has a policy of approving or disapproving apps that are submitted into its store, and some of the apps we make they approve and some of them they don't," he said.
"They recently did approve Google Maps, thank goodness," said Schmidt to laughter and applause.
Not Google Now, but maybe Google later
Although both Apple and Google are denying that Google Now is in the App Store queue, the two companies have been in this position before.
Schmidt, in another discussion last October, said the decision for Google Maps coming to iOS would be in Apple's court.
"I don't want to pre-announce products," Schmidt said last October, "but I can tell you that were we to do that, [Apple] would also have to approve it."
"They haven't approved all of Google's offerings over the years."
Either way, with Google Now threatening to move in on Siri's territory, it could force Apple to evolve Siri in iOS 7 before Google gives it a run for its robotic money.
Dancing to the tune of Apple's latest security measures
Apple has rolled-out a two-step identity verification measure to allow users to choose "trusted" devices to confirm the legitimacy of changes to their Apple ID, iTunes, or iCloud accounts.
Users in the UK, Ireland, United States, New Zealand and Australia can sign-up for the new security protocol on the Apple ID website from today.
After sign-up is complete, whenever a change to the account has been made, a verification key will be sent to the user's "trusted" iOS devices via the Find My iPhone app or to any other smartphone via SMS.
Entering the passcode enables full access to the account, while two-step verification will also be required when users make a purchase on a new device for the first time.
No more security questions
Those who enable two-step verification will no longer have to remember the answers to multiple security questions in order to access their account.
This, of course, also prevents other people from guessing the answers to them.
Users are also issued a recovery key, which they must keep safe. This, combined with the trusted device, comes in handy if users forget their Apple ID password or lose the trusted device.
If Apple fans decide that the two-step shuffle between devices isn't for them, they can also opt out and choose answers to new security questions.
Pandora's Windows Phone 8 features make it special
Streaming music services are all the rage these days, and fighting for users in the crowding marketplaces on various operating systems is no doubt a daunting task.
Pandora has had the benefit of being one of the more recognizable and reliable streaming services, though upstarts like Spotify have no doubt made keeping hold of that valuable audience a challenge.
With new threats from Apple, YouTube, and possibly even Twitter potentially looming on the horizon, there's no better time for Pandora to try out some new tactics.
In an effort to set itself apart from the competition, Pandora has teamed with Microsoft and its Windows Phone 8 brand to provide some unique exclusive features for users of phones like the Nokia Lumia 822 and Lumia 920.
Truly free music
Right now, Pandora offers free music streaming through ad-supported stations, but with the new Windows Phone 8 app, those ads are a thing of the past.
For the remainder of 2013, all streamed music from Pandora on WP8 devices will be ad-free, and will have no limits on how much music you can stream.
Users will also be able to pin their favorite stations to the home screen, where the Live Tile will display what song is currently playing.
To make this new Pandora experience even more appealing to parents, when the app is launched through the Kid's Corner, all music will automatically be filtered for explicit content.
All of the other features present on Pandora apps on other operating systems return here as well, including the ability to create 100 stations, or buy music you hear straight from the related marketplace.
The app has only just released, and its biggest draw may be temporary, but for now there's a clear front-runner when it comes to the best free streaming music app available on Windows Phone 8.
Sources from the Apple supply chain are at it again. This time the rumors circulate around the end of May arrival of components, which would point to an arrival of the next iPhone in the the third quarter of this year.
According to said sources the next iPhone will allegedly be a marginal upgrade of the iPhone 5 (perhaps called the iPhone 5S). The next-gen iPhone should come with an improved processor, perhaps a higher-megapixel camera with new module or even a redesigned flash ("Smart Flash") with white and yellow LEDs in order to improve color reproduction.
Foxconn Electronics chairman Terry Guo has noted that he expects company performance to start picking up after April or May, which could coincide with the beginning of the production of the latest iPhone.
According to the sources if the components supply goes smoothly the next-gen iDevice could be delivered to retail channels in 1 to 2 weeks time, which would mean a realistic Q3 launch (Apple needs to gather up stock as the production rate is far lower than initial demand).
Finally reports are mentioning a cheaper, plastic-made iPhone too, but as we are getting the "cheaper iPhone" each year we take those rumors with an extra pinch of salt. Besides, every time the new iPhone comes out last-year's model gets discounted, technically making it the "cheaper iPhone".
The HTC One features an aluminium body, 4.7-inch HD screen and intriguing camera tech
The HTC One is one of the world's best phones - but amid talks of delays to shipping and unconfirmed pricing, when will you actually be able to buy one?
Don't worry - we've spent some time browsing the relevant catalogues and come up with the prices, plans and pontifications you need to worry about before thinking about shelling out your hard-earned.
Here's the bad news first: HTC has sent the following missive to us regarding the launch of the new HTC One: "We will start fulfilling pre-orders by end of March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April." This is a stance re-iterated when asking the firm on 20 March about why the delay has happened - sorry we can't give you any more information at this point, but we are digging.
It's not confirmed why this has happened, but rumours range from the complexity of the camera module to suppliers just not considering HTC as big a deal as in years gone by... either way, it's not good if you've pre-ordered, especially as our HTC One review showed that this is one of the best phones on the market.
EE
The first network to decide it's worth bringing you the new HTC handset, this network is also one of the most pricey. It's offering the One ASAP and will cost you the princely sum of £69.99 up front and £41 a month from then on - and that's on a 24 month deal.
On the plus side you get mega speeds, movies and other assorted treats - but they may not be enough to make up for the lack of food in your life given the amounts you'll be spending.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: 3GB allowance on 4G: £69.99 for phone, £41 a month
Vodafone
The red network has decided you can get this handset on a pretty good deal - if you think a free phone from £42 a month is such a thing.
The good news is that you can get this handset in BLACK rather than just boring ol' aluminium / silver - and apparently our eyes are deceiving us when we argue it looks heaps like the BlackBerry Z10.
The phone is being badged as '4G-ready' too, something that many manufacturers are doing given they're getting ready to make, you know, 4G ready.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: 2GB of data: free phone, £42 a month
Three
Three was another early one to chat about its HTC One aspirations - dubbing it 'Ultrafast ready' rather than 4G, although that incorporates the next-gen network.
You can pre-order the phone right now, and it even comes on PAYG for £479.99 - that's if you've got that much spare change just sitting around. It comes in black on the numerical network, which is a plus if you want one to match your Batman outfit.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: £69.99 for phone, £36 a month for the One Plan
Orange and T-Mobile
The two EE sub-brands are still fighting for customers below their EE overlord, and are offering the HTC One on some lower contracts as they look to nab those that aren't overly fussed about 4G.
It's interesting to note that neither offer a delivery date, and vary pretty dramatically in terms of cost, simply because Orange doesn't offer an unlimited plan.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: £29.99 for phone, £41 a month for 3GB data on Orange / £69.99 for phone, £36 a month for unlimited data on T-Mobile
O2
The bubbly network isn't going to be left out when it comes to the HTC One, but it's not going to be the cheapest if you're desperate to get your hands on the new phone with this supplier.
You do get the normal amount of treats though, such as O2 Priority, but many will see other networks as massively cheaper. And it doesn't even come with a charger - although this is a pretty eco-friendly move, and you've probably already got one.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: £29.99 for phone, £47 a month for 4GB of data
Phones 4U
If you toddle down to one of 11 Phones4U stores now, you can be among the first in the world to have a go on the HTC One (which we already have, no big deal). You'll also be able to pre-order the handset with a few freebies for early orderers helping to sweeten the deal.
You'll be able to get the HTC One handset from Phones4U for free on a £36 per month contract on several networks from March 15. Want it in silver? Want it in black? Want it in gold? You can't get it in gold. Sorry. But there are headphones on offer as well - Dr Dre will be happy.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: Free phone, £41 a month for 3GB of data on Orange
The Carphone Warehouse
As for Carphone Warehouse, the first 1000 people to pre-order the HTC One will get a free pair of Beats headphones, as well as being offered in black and silver.
You'll have to make like it's 1996 and call up to do that (the number is 0800 925 925), or you can hang on until March 15 when the handset will be available in-store and online.
Greatest data allowance plan cost: Free phone, £40 a month for unlimted data on Three. (But no Beats headphones).
HTC One features
Of course, there's more to life than how much something costs - the HTC One comes with a whole host of new features that we've rounded up in a lovely and efficient manner below:
HTC One makes its debut with snap-happy Zoe on its arm
HTC's newest flagship Android phone: the HTC One has finally landed in all its aluminium uni-body, feature-packed glory. It's a good looking phone, slim with rounded corners and a premium look.
It's rocking a 4.7-inch Full HD display with a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon processor on the inside. There's also 2GB of DDR2 RAM to play with and the handset will be available in 32GB and 64GB models.
It's well-documented that HTC hasn't had the best of it recently, with the profits slumping and market share down. So the HTC One is the firm's new attempt at a market-leading handset, and with an all-aluminium body, super-high-res 4.7-inch HD screen and futuristic camera technology hint that this could be something of a winner. So how does it stack up?
HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Sony Xperia Z vs iPhone 5
A few years ago, if you weren't on an iPhone or a BlackBerry, chances were you were rocking an HTC Android device with a big clock on the homescreen. But times change - and Samsung got busy with its Galaxy line, ultimately stealing the top Android spot from HTC and making HTC wince. We've compared the HTC One against the S3, the Xperia Z and the iPhone 5 to see how it fares.
