HTC recently launched the successor of its HTC Butterfly dubbed HTC Butterfly S. The Butterfly S was a relatively modest upgrade over its predecessor, but that was still enough to make it one of the most powerful smartphones available in the market. And according to the latest rumor by leakschina the smartphone might be getting a dual SIM version int the near future.
The dual SIM HTC Butterfly S is said to sport a 5-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The upcoming variant is rumored to feature a Snapdragon 600 chipset with a 1.9GHz quad-core Krait 300 processor along with 2 GB of RAM, just like the regular version. Furthermore, the device will have the same UltraPixel camera as on the HTC One.
The dual SIM HTC Butterfly S reportedly measures 144.5 x 70.5 x 10.9mm and weighs about 159g. The smartphone will run on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean but unfortunately, there is no word on the launch date and the global availability of the device.
If the premium silver aluminium casing surrounding the HTC One isn't enough to ignite your inner fashionista, then get a load of this Glamour Red device available to buy in the UK now.
Announced last month as a UK exclusive, the newly crimsoned device is up for grabs only at Phones 4U.
The device with the eye-catching paint job is available on contracts from EE, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile from £31 a month.
That'll get you 500MB of 4G data from EE with unlimited texts and minutes, but it'll cost a whopping £119 on top for the device itself.
Bragging rights
As you'd expect, everything else about the phone remains the same.
It boasts the same quad-core processor, innovative Ultrapixel camera, full HD 4.7-inch screen and all of the other features that made the HTC One our top-rated phone on earth.
As we said, there are no official plans to make the Glamour Red HTC One available outside the UK, so snap one up and lord it over people around the world on your holidays this summer.
The customisation options for the "designed by you" Moto X phone could include the chance to choose from a variety of build materials for the device's backplate.
According to Android and Me owner Taylor Wimberley, who's been firing off tips left and right recently, options for the casing will include wood, metal, fabric and ceramic as well as the default plastic.
In a post on Google+ Wimblerley wrote: "People keep asking for Moto X leaks, so here is another tidbit. Moto X features a curved design engineered from ground up for personalization.
"As I reported awhile back, users will be able to pick the material for the backplate. Plastic is the default material, but wood is also an option that should be available at launch. Other materials like metals, ceramics, and fabrics should become available after the August 23rd launch."
The device is expected to launch on all networks in Motorola's US homeland and beyond, but in his post on Friday, Wimberley hinted Verizon's great rival AT&T may have a little exclusive up its sleeve.
He added: "AT&T has some kind of "exclusive" thing for the Moto X launch, but I don't know if it's an exclusive material/colour or something else completely different."
If the Moto X went on sale with the aforementioned options, which backplate material would you choose? We'd have to say the wooden finish sounds rather appealing.
Features, not specs, are what will help the Lumia 1020 stand out
It's seemingly impossible to go a week without a new smartphone announcement, with manufacturers falling all over themselves to announce the "next big thing."
Some may be tempted to write off yesterday's reveal of the Nokia Lumia 1020 as just another debut of yet another Windows Phone 8 device, albeit one with a humungous camera, but the Finnish firm is hoping consumers will find that it actually enhances the mobile phone experience.
When CEO Stephen Elop took the stage to put the focus on the bombastic 41MP Pureview camera fitted into the Lumia 1020's frame, he showed the world the Nokia is ready to evolve beyond the traditional idea of a smartphone.
In addition to attempting to blaze a new path in the cellphone sphere, Nokia believes its latest flagship will offer prospective users true control and confidence in capturing their lives at the press of a button.
Two camera apps, one focus
Lumia 1020 rethinks what a camera phone should be
That the Lumia 1020 has a better camera than most point-and-shoots, and low-end DSLRs for that matter, shouldn't intimidate potential users.
For Nokia, one of the core concepts of its latest phone is putting confidence back in the hands of the amateur photographer.
According to the company's research, consumers will take 7-10 pictures with a camera just to make sure they got the right image.
As Nokia's reps explained to us, with the Lumia 1020, the first picture you take will hopefully be the picture you keep. Granted, it make take the phone a little longer to save the 15MB image, but the aim is that it's worth the wait.
The phone's Pro Camera app should alleviate some of the unease and uncertainty users might have about getting the shot just right, as well.
Useful features like Reframe allow you to craft multiple images from just one massive 41MP shot, while more experienced photographers will still find all the ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed options they could hope for, allowing them the same level of customization they have with a full camera in a device decidedly smaller. The features aren't inaccessible to the non-photogs among us, either.
The Smart Camera app provides a range of "been there, done that" options at a slightly lower resolution, but is still capable of offering more creative ways to personalize your pictures.
Though you won't be able to take 41MP images with Smart Camera on, you'll have much more freedom and flexibility for action shots and editing within Nokia's built-in Creative Studio.
Technically, there's a third camera app in the default Windows 8 camera, but it's not fine-tuned for the new Pureview lens like the other two Nokia-developed apps.
Called Cinemagraph, it will still take pictures just like you'd expect, but it doesn't offer any of the bonus features found in either Smart Camera or Pro Camera.
Regardless of which app you use, all photos are taken with the new stabilization, multi-layered lens, and flash, which should help give even novices a chance at capturing the elusive "perfect" image.
The forest for the trees
Every picture tells a different story
Unless you've got an actual photographer in your family, most of your photo albums are probably full of either close-ups or wide-angle shots.
Your smartphone camera album is probably even worse, as most digital zooms end up looking awful and distorted.
Pro Camera's Reframe takes all the guesswork out of the equation, and lets you snap pictures now and decide what the story is later, without the loss of pixel density or fidelity.
To be fair, in our time with the Lumia 1020, we found zooming in all the way for the tiniest of details left things muddled, but the range of post-photo zooming is miles above what's available elsewhere.
Reframing works as soon as the photo is saved, giving you the choice of repurposing the still to your exact specifications quickly and easily.
While more savvy photo fiends are already doing these kinds of things in editing programs on their computers, having the option available instantly and on the go certainly helps the Lumia 1020 appear more flexible for the average consumer.
Pictures in 41 megapixels
Simple and smart
Even if you'll be losing some of the ridiculous pixel density by using the Smart Camera app, there are still some advantages to the secondary application.
We've seen camera features like action shots, multi-shots, face-swapping, and the ability to wipe moving objects before, but that doesn't make them any less relevant for a phone like the Lumia 1020.
By including a wealth of options like those above, Nokia has effectively eliminated the hoping and praying typically associated with trying to get just the right shot.
In theory, users will be able to take solace that no matter what, they're going to get the shot they wanted... with a little help from Nokia's software.
Of course, there's something to be said for the lens and flash coming with the Lumia 1020 as well, as those components will do a lot of the heavy lifting in making sure photographs turn out the way you intended.
Intelligent design
Nokia's future is built on the 1020's camera
The Xenon flash isn't as harsh as an LED flash, but it is brighter and faster, which means images taken in low-light will come out stronger, even if people are moving.
Outside of turning the flash on or off, that's not something you'll ever have to manage; that's just the way the phone is built.
Additionally, the five lenses (one glass, four plastic) compacted together to create the Pureview design have stabilization measures built-in to ensure they all move in unison.
By ensuring the lenses will never be out of sync, you have a markedly lower chance of shaky cam happening with stills or with video.
Again, this should aid in taking all of the worry out of picture-taking, which in turn allows users have faith in their abilities, and should keep them snapping away without having to worry about standing perfectly still.
Point of sale
The Lumia 1020 is still a pricey piece of hardware (priced at $299.99 in the U.S. or about £199/AU$327) when compared to some competitors, but Nokia and its products appear set to take a different path than phones like Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One.
The Lumia 1020 doesn't quite hold up to the screen and hardware power of its top rivals, but as the line between spec-heavy devices has blurred, Nokia's phone is a bold statement about where it sees itself going in the future.
Based on our earliest impressions, every aspect of the Lumia 1020 has been fine-tuned to appeal to the snap-happy consumers that have flooded social networks with pictures of everyday life, while also offering power and performance that should impress pros.
As it will be arriving in just a few weeks in the U.S., we won't have long to wait to discover if consumers are willing to shell out premium prices for the convenience, and confidence, the Lumia 1020 provides.
You can find out more about the Lumia 1020's camera prowess in the video below:
Waste from tin mining pours into the ocean (credit: Ulet Ifansasti / Friends of the Earth)
Apple has launched an investigation over allegations that tin mining operations in Indonesia are destroying the country's environments and communities.
Tin mined there is used for production of Apple's iPhones, iPads and other products, but it comes at a heavy cost, according to environmental activists Friends of the Earth.
The group claims Apple's mining is "destroying tropical forests, killing coral and wrecking the lives of communities in Indonesia," and that in 2011 an average of one miner a week died due to dangerous conditions.
Apple recently updated its Supplier Responsibility page with a claim that it's led "a fact-finding visit" to the Indonesian island of Bangka.
Ecowarriors to the rescue
"Recent concerns about the illegal mining of tin from this region prompted Apple to lead a fact-finding visit to learn more," the site reads.
"Using the information we've gathered, Apple initiated an EICC working group focused on this issue, and we are helping to fund a new study on mining in the region so we can better understand the situation."
Friends of the Earth alerted Apple about the alleged harms caused by tin mining in Indonesia months ago and its "ecowarriors" have been campaigning at Apple Stores and writing letters to Apple executives.
It seems Apple finally took notice, but those concerned can still use Friends of the Earth's custom contact form to ask the company to take further action.
The group also claims that Samsung has already acknowledged getting tin from the same sources.
This isn't the first time the iPhone maker has experienced controversy surrounding its suppliers and manufacturers; concerns over working conditions at Foxconn's plants, which allegedly prompted strikes and suicides, caused quite a hubbub last year.
Windows Phone users may have to wait until 2014 for a significant update
Microsoft detailed the next Windows Phone 8 update yesterday and revealed that General Distribution Release 2 (GDR2) will bring minor changes to the mobile OS.
But eight months after the initial release of Windows Phone 8, some users are expecting more major changes to the OS. After all, Windows 8 received its substantial Windows 8.1 update just ten months after release.
But despair not - The Verge claims to have learned that the major Windows Phone 8 update users are jonesing for will drop next year, once Microsoft has had time to iron out some irksome bugs.
That update will focus on adding new features to the software to support new hardware from Microsoft's OEMs with bigger screens and better processors, the site said today.
Updates and more updates
The soon-to-arrive Windows Phone 8 update includes minor improvements to Xbox Music, Skype, and Internet Explorer, plus the return of FM radio to some phones, and a Data Sense app for some carriers, Microsoft revealed on its Windows Phone blog.
It also allows users to set a default lens for the camera app and promises other improvements that aren't detailed.
So yeah, nothing major. That will have to wait until the "blue" update - also the codename for Windows 8.1 before that was officially unveiled - drops in early 2014, according to The Verge.
That more significant WP8 refresh will reportedly include a notification center, souped up multitasking, and more changes to built-in apps.
However, the site expects another update, GDR3, to arrive before the end of 2013, and some of the features expected in next year's update, including a much-needed rotation lock option, could also be included in that.
Microsoft and Nokia sitting in a tree
Just like it did for the Nokia Lumia 1020, Microsoft is believed to be working closely with Nokia and possibly other OEMs on development of future Windows Phone 8 updates.
Manufacturers are reportedly dictating or requesting some of the changes to the OS, including leaving room for 5- and 6-inch 1080p Windows Phone handsets with quad-core chips.
Those devices are thought to be arriving this year from manufacturers that work closely with Microsoft, like Nokia and likely HTC.
Let's face it: smartphone screens are getting a little boring. Apart from going closer to the edge of the bezel, it's all just increasingly larger displays in the same rectangular shape, with most attempts to deviate from this form factor failing.
But what if we didn't have to put up with that? What if a radical new way of looking at our smartphone could mean we completely change the way we use our smartphones and tablets? Flexible displays could do just that, and it's a technology that could be worth billions in just over half a decade.
The second you mention flexible displays, most people turn off. They don't see the point in being able to bend your phone - and if that was all that flexible displays allowed, they'd have a point.
But imagine if your smartphone could expand to tablet size, or you could wear a curved display on your wrist. Many people already know that flexible screens can be rolled or even folded, but more importantly they also offer much greater durability.
A study by warranty provider Square Trade suggested that iPhone and Android device owners in the UK spent £1.2 billion on repairs between 2007 and 2012, and the most common cause of damage was accidental drops. While traditional glass touchscreens shatter and scratch, flexible displays can survive similar falls unscathed.
The technology dates back to the 70s, when research company Xerox PARC produced the first flexible e-paper display. Billions of pounds have been sunk into the research and development of flexible displays since then, with limited results. Cambridge-based Plastic Logic showed off a concept newspaper that could be rolled up and put in a bag around seven years ago, but the technology has struggled to get off the ground.
At the same time Polymer Vision, a company spun out of the Philips R&D lab in Eindhoven, tried to release a folding e-ink display, but couldn't get to the economy of scale needed - plus, the company told us, it was hard to convince people that their new device wasn't horrendously brittle.
Thankfully in the last couple of years we've seen a flurry of prototypes heralding the arrival of this technology on the consumer electronics scene, meaning we could gett our hands on the new wave of devices in the not-too-distant future.
A recent report from Visiongain suggested "the global flexible display screens market will reach US$260.3 million" this year, but expects it to be the "benchmark technology for mobile devices" by 2018.
An IHS report from early June is also optimistic about the future of flexible displays suggesting that worldwide shipments will climb to "792 million units in 2020, up from 3.2 million in 2013", taking market revenue to around US$41.3 billion, although other reports are more circumspective, suggesting that the market will only be worth $3.2 billion by 2017.
Designing the future
The numbers are still very much up for debate, as we're not even at the product stage yet. However, prototypes for flexible devices already range wildly and the potential is exciting.
At the shallow end, there are displays that simply curve around the edge of a traditional rectangular smartphone, as shown by Samsung.
Manufacturers could design user interfaces to make use of these spaces as distinct touch control areas for navigation, or as secondary displays for specific information. Imagine a permanent battery meter and signal strength display, or a dedicated notifications area that provides at-a-glance information regardless of your activity or the app that you are in, without detracting from your normal smartphone use.
One could easily see a version of Android being brought out to cater for this, using the top, bottom or spine of the phone to deliver notifications.
As the technology improves, smartphone forms will become a great deal more imaginative. Freed from the restrictions of rigidity, we could see a real drive toward designs that fold up to be truly portable, but also allow us to expand our smartphones to large tablet size for watching video.
The trend toward larger displays and hybrid smartphone/tablet devices indicates clear demand in the market already.
Interact in a new way
We could also find new ways to interact. The Nokia Kinetic, on show at Nokia World 2011, allowed users to flex the device in order to control it. You could scroll by twisting, or answer the phone by giving it a squeeze.
It's clever ideas like this that will capture the imagination of the public when a manufacturer delivers the first truly malleable phone - not just the fact that you can wrap it around your finger.
A similar idea has obviously occurred to Apple, as you can see from this patent application which discusses a system to detect "force exerted on a flexible display". A touchscreen that could determine the force you apply and react accordingly would be a great deal more intuitive to use.
It could also have major implications for apps and games. A harder strike on a virtual piano key, for example, could play a louder note - this is already possible, but flexible screens would give the user so much more relevant feedback.
The potential applications in wearable tech are also striking. Flexible displays could serve the burgeoning smartwatch industry, or be uses in clothes themselves - imagine a display on your sleeve that bursts into life when you have an incoming call and prompts you to pop your earpiece in.
But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here.
So, what's actually happening now?
All major manufacturers of smartphones are working on flexible displays, in one form or another, for a multitude of devices. Samsung, LG, and Nokia have all shown off prototypes, where Sony, Phillips, Sharp, Toshiba, and others have revealed they're also working on the technology.
Even Apple has already filed patents in this area, showing that the race to release the first smartphone with a flexible display is clearly on - although the early pacesetters look to be LG and Samsung.
Samsung showed off its bendable OLED displays, dubbed Youm, at CES earlier this year, where LG Display followed up with something very similar at the Society for Information Display conference a few months later.
Both prototypes were crafted from thin plastic and based on OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology - the same kind that's powered the high-performance displays in the Galaxy S2, S3 and S4.
Flexible LCD displays are possible, but OLED is preferable because it doesn't require a backlight. This enables thinner and lighter designs, critical for a bendable screen. OLED also offers deeper black levels, higher contrast ratios, and greater power efficiency.
The e-ink / flexible display combination is the most advanced example of this technology – and you're probably already using it today if you're one of the millions of ebook readers.
The Amazon Kindle, for instance, is packing a flexible display - that's what makes it so robust. However, bringing out a completely flexible ereader on the same scale would be too expensive, and require a flexible case, battery and processor too.
And while e-ink is good for the written word, it's not use in smartphones as it can't handle HD video. It even struggles to reproduce colour to the same degree as a Super AMOLED or LCD display.
The general consensus is summed up in a recent IHS report into the possible state of the flexible display market: "We predict OLEDs will be the leading flexible display technology during every year for the foreseeable future."
Wait - there's a problem
But can a flexible display offer anything approaching the resolution and clarity as seen on the stunning HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4?
"It's very difficult to have high definition screens that are also bendable and flexible," Professor Andrea Ferrari from Cambridge University told us. That's because of current technology limitations.
LG Display already demonstrated an unbreakable and flexible 5-inch plastic OLED panel for mobile devices that was labelled as HD, but it's unlikely that early flexible displays will match their rigid counterparts when it comes to pixel density.
Raza Ali, IT & Telecom Analyst at Visiongain, added: "The flexible screens in early devices will not be as good as traditional glass OLED initially. However, the quality will get better with time and eventually surpass glass OLEDs."
Making everything else flexible
There's also the issue of the myriad other components needed to enable a bendy phone or tablet. It's fine for the display to flex, but if the battery and other components can't do the same, then how can we ever expect progress here?
That's what makes the recent developments with graphene so exciting. This flexible carbon is extremely strong and could be used to make the display and the rest of the components in a smartphone flexible as well.
Professor Ferrari told us that graphene is the "strongest and most stretchable material, flexible and bendable, transparent and conductive," going on to explain that "these properties are ideal for interactive displays."
Plastic Logic is already using the material to overcome the barriers to flexible screens, working with the Cambridge Graphene Centre to overcome the inherent issues.
"Plastic Logic is working with new materials which will help make batteries flexible and energy-dense enough to power these flexible display screen devices" according to Ali, explaining that "there will be a whole new submarket working on subsidiary electronic components needed for flexible display devices. There is a lot of research and development going on... to make truly flexible display devices a reality in the near future."
As for the touchscreen, we are used to glass, and plastic simply doesn't have the same feel. Luckily the makers of Gorilla Glass, Corning, are already working on something called Willow Glass which is flexible and (according to Corning) "formulated to perform exceptionally well for electronic components such as touch sensors".
This material will even allow electronics to be printed directly onto the substrate and combined with the glass all in one manufacturing process - another big advantage that OLED technology has, as it can be printed in a variety of ways.
But will anyone be able to afford a flexible phone?
Cost is always a consideration with new technology - OLED TVs are a brilliant idea, but have been hampered for years by eye-watering price tag.
Ali suggested "the biggest challenge to be faced by OEM's in the flexible display screens market is balancing the performance and the price of the product to ensure premium user-experience and the best value for money at that price point."
He states they will be "high-end and luxury consumer devices for early adopters", and it could be 2018 before the costs fall significantly enough to entice the new smartphone buyer to splash out on a new device.
But, like LCD and plasma TVs in the last decade, identifying new materials and fine-tuning the manufacturing process will bring costs down over time to a price people are comfortable with.
When can I buy a smartphone with a flexible display?
But don't think the iPhone 5S will be a wibbly wonder. Predictably, it will be some time before the full potential of the technology can be realised.
Professor Ferrari believes "[displays] are becoming less and less of a science issue, and more of a development and marketing decision," so we could see smartphones using graphene in the display within a year or two.
But when it comes to transistors, casings, batteries and other components, there is still a great deal of research to be done - although there are loads of companies with extremely interesting patents popping up all over the place.
But there may have been some confusion over what that means, as Global Communications Director for LG, Ken Hong, told us.
"What he was referring to was the 'plastic OLED' display which is often translated as 'flexible' by some media, but that means it's not as rigid as glass, not that it can wrap around one's finger," he clarified.
He went on to explain that "it's about resilience and durability first", and confirmed that LG is "still targeting the fourth quarter of this year to introduce a smartphone featuring a plastic OLED display."
Early flexible display devices aren't likely to offer much, or indeed anything, in the way of functionality beyond current smartphones.
What they will offer in the short term is the possibility of lighter and stronger devices in familiar form factors.
It may not be thrilling, but, as Ali explains, "it is a huge leap forward in terms of display technology, especially since conventional glass screens are so prone to cracking even if dropped from a low height."
By comparison flexible displays "would be unbreakable, and would be able to take a huge amount of wear and tear before showing signs of abuse while maintaining a high screen quality and resolution."
As the technology matures over the next couple of years, we'll see some designs that use flexibility to maximise space and offer additional displays and controls.
When manufacturers can make batteries and other components flexible as well, then we will see some really inspiring designs.
It's highly likely in the short term we'll see one of the Asian manufacturers bringing out a standard smartphone with a flexible e-ink display on the back for web and ebook reading, but this will be a niche product to test the market in the same way as the Samsung Galaxy Beam with built-in projector.
But who wouldn't love to have a small, highly portable smartphone that's capable of expanding to full 10-inch tablet size? That will be a device that people will rush out and buy… but there's still time to enjoy the Samsung Galaxy S5 before that comes about.
Check out Samsung's Your Mobile Life to discover loads more about the infinite possibilities of the GALAXY S4, Note 8.0 and Note II
