How fast is EE's 4G? Which handsets do I need? Your questions answered

Everything Everywhere, aka EE, will launch its 4G service on 30 October - but which handsets will work? Photograph: David Parry/PA

Everything Everywhere has announced that it will start offering its 4G service on 30 October. Here's what you might expect - including which handsets will (and won't) work on it - and the details that remain to be determined.

This is the sort of the speed that a 4G network offers on a phone - and something like this is what you may be able to expect from Everything Everywhere's network (from the conjoining of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK) by the end of October.

Speedtest.net app results for EE's 4G network, tested in London on 2 October 2012

By contrast, here's what a 3G network offers (in the same location, same time):

Speedtest.net app for EE's 3G network, tested on 2 October 2012

For those who don't have the images, the 4G network shows 38.59 megabits per second (Mbps) on the download, and 12.38 Mbps on the upload, using the standard Speedtest app; for the 3G network, it's 4.08 Mbps for downloads and 2.72 for uploads.

That's a factor of more than nine times faster on downloads, and 4.5 times faster for uploads.

Though you might not see such speeds once there are more people on the 4G network, it's clear that it has substantial headroom in speed terms over 3G - which has a theoretical maximum download speed of 7.2 Mbps, although other UMTS (3G) technologies such as HSDPA can in theory offer connections at up to 42 Mbps, and HSPA+ an incredible 337 Mbps.

By contrast LTE can - again, in theory - offer 300 Mbps downlink and 75 Mbps for the uplink.

EE has been working for some time on setting up its 4G network; the company decided to go ahead with building it even before Ofcom had decided to allow it to re-use its 1800MHz spectrum for 4G connections. Presently EE has about 60MHz available in the 1800MHz band to use for 4G (which will be shared with 2G services); next September it is obliged by Ofcom to sell 10MHz to Three. EE says that won't "significantly" affect its offering.

The base towers use Huawei's 4G systems - a significant win for the Chinese company which is rapidly challenging to become the largest provider of mobile network infrastructure in the world, against its main rivals Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Of course, the early tests are on uncongested 4G networks, compared with (comparatively) congested 3G ones. EE says that 4G will offer "superfast mobile internet at speeds typically five times faster than 3G speeds today".

Very probably, more customers. Already the biggest network in the UK (in terms of customers), it will now have around 11 months' headstart on other companies, which have yet to win 4G spectrum through the auction. Despite the peace deal brokered by the government and Ofcom, the reality is that EE will be able to offer handsets tuned for 4G at a time rivals cannot.

It plans to launch in 10 cities on 30 October, and up that to 16 by the end of the year.

Note that no handset bought before mid-September, even if it says it's 4G-ready, will work on EE's 4G network, apart from the iPhone 5 (and even in that case, only if bought in the UK). The following are on offer:

• Apple iPhone 5
• Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (but not any SGS3 handsets sold in the UK up to this point)
• HTC's One XL
• Huawei Ascend P1 LTE
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE (from 15 October)
• Huawei mobile dongle

All are being offered through EE. (Note that the "new" iPad, aka iPad 3, launched earlier this year with 4G connectivity in the US won't work for EE's 4G because it uses a 2100MHz chipset.)

Although the SGS3 was sold as having 4G capability (and does, on networks that offered it as such), any that have been previously sold in the UK - even by Orange/T-Mobile itself - will not work for EE's 4G services. "The modem's different, the antenna is different, it's a different SKU [stock-keeping unit]", says Tom Bennett, EE's director of network services. In essence, any SGS3s (and other 4G phones, excepting the iPhone 5) not sold through EE for its 4G services won't work on its network, no matter what the specifications might say. Any iPhone 5 sold in the UK, even with another network, will work because it does use the 1800MHz chipset. (However, those networks will surely be reluctant to release people from contracts already signed without large compensation.)

Getting onto EE's 4G service will mean signing a new contract and in effect joining a new service, even for existing customers of Orange/T-Mobile. For the latter, there may be discounts if they signed a contract earlier this year; anyone who signs an Orange/T-Mobile contract for a 3G smartphone between now and the launch of the 4G service will be able to shift over with no penalty.

Confusingly, EE will now be the brand both for the network supplying coverage to Orange/T-Mobile customers on 3G contracts, and the brand supplying 4G connectivity.

Customers on other networks who want to shift over to EE to get 4G speeds will have to sign new contracts.

4G is much, much faster than 3G. It offers higher speeds over longer distances from the base stations than 3G (because it uses different encoding and error-correction, says Bennett) and offers better connections even inside buildings where 3G services might be attenuated. (The speed tests above were taken by two iPhone 5s sitting side-by-side, in an upstairs room in the Frontline Club in Paddington, London. There were two large windows nearby, though also plenty of brickwork.)

4G is also fast enough to work as a replacement for fixed broadband in rural locations; given that many people outside cities don't get speeds much above 4Mbps, the potential for 4G to fill in the digital speed gap is substantial. However, whether it's effective for that will depend heavily on the cost of the service. EE has been testing it in Cornwall and Cumbria, with what it says are encouraging results.

One key difference between 4G and 3G is that 4G is a data-only connection, so that if you're surfing the web on 4G and get a voice call, the connection will automatically drop down to 3G (which is a voice-and-data connection), says David Salam, EE's director of network strategy architecture. If you're trying to do data-intensive work but also get phone calls regularly, that might be a problem.

4G phones bought and working here won't necessarily connect to 4G networks in other countries. They might work with Optus in Australia (which is building an 1800MHz 4G network), but there's no guarantee of it. Thailand has 4G networks using 1800MHz, but again, if the handsets aren't tuned for the precise frequency bands involved, they won't be able to connect.

EE isn't giving anything away about its pricing. But it does expect that people will want to use a lot of data. Will it therefore jack up the contract costs? Salam wouldn't be drawn. But he did say that "with 16 cities, we'll have coverage for 70% of the population. By 2014 we hope that will be up to 98% of the population. That's mass-market. We aren't building this for the elite few."

Studies in the US and South Korea, which have been in the forefront of implementing 4G (in the US's case, since early 2011) show that there's a dramatic ramp in the popularity of sites showing video, because people on the move are suddenly able to access streaming video without interruption - and buffering is much faster. Expect to see sites which do offer video to leap to the top of the viewing charts. Likely beneficiaries: the BBC's iPlayer, 4OD, ITVPlayer and any site that has a good variety of video content.

Making video calls will also become much more feasible because of the fast uplink speeds. In fact, sending video of any sort will become much simpler - with all that implies for coverage of live events.

Without knowing how much the data allowances will be on 4G, it's not possible to say whether people will be burning through their data allowances more quickly. But on the basis that 4G lets you get at data nine times faster, one might expect that 500 megabytes - currently the common ceiling for flat-rate data plans on most of the networks (apart from Three, which has a number of plans offering unlimited data) - will seem too restrictive.

If 4G pushes the data allowance up (one might guess to 2GB per month) that will create extra pressure on the other network operators, whose 500MB will look stingy (even if one can't normally get through it). It could have a similar effect to Google's introduction of Gmail in 2004, when it offered an entire gigabyte of free email storage - ten times more than rivals like Hotmail and Yaho were offering. That kicked off a revolution in webmail.

If (and it's still if) EE does the same with mobile data, and the other networks pitch in with their 4G offerings, we may see mobile data consumption - and, because of the fast uplink speed, creation - skyrocket in the coming years.

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review

Amazon released its first tablet device back in 2011. Known as the Amazon Kindle Fire it was the first  atypical budget tablet, in that it retailed at a low price point but wasn’t an absolutely abysmal product.

Consumers took note and the device sold well in the US, accounting for almost 50 per cent of Android-based traffic at one point. Google also noticed and set about raising the bar, which it did convincingly with its Nexus 7 – the world’s second atypical budget tablet.

Between these two products, a new niche in the market was opened up - one about services, hardware, performance and low-prices. It’s niche because only the biggest corporations like Google, Amazon, and Apple can afford to venture here.

The Apple, Amazon, and Google’s of the world can afford to sell at cost, or even a loss, because they own the services, the apps stores, and the content. Nokia, HTC, LG, and Samsung do not. And this is why we don’t see atypical budget offerings from them.

With the Kindle Fire HD, Amazon has come out with all guns blazing. The new tablet device is thinner, better looking, more powerful, and has a better display, as the name suggests. It’s also running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, albeit in an unrecognisable form, and is available for the first time in the UK.

But is it any good? Or should you go with Google’s similarly priced and arguably better-equipped Nexus 7 instead? Lets find out.

The original Kindle Fire didn’t look great. It felt a little rough round the edges and the performance just wasn’t there. These factors contributed to the impression that Amazon was using it more as a test device for its take on Android and how its services would be implemented than a genuine bid for the space.

Looking at the Fire HD, the successor model, this seems to be proving true. It’s well crafted, thin, and very easy on the eye. It also feels light in the hand and has a robust premium feel that was previously lacking in a big way.

The front of the device is glass for the most part and then tapers away to a grippy soft-touch backing, which not only looks very smart but also aids handling substantially.

From the front, the only visible imperfection is the camera, which sits dead center above the display. The volume rocker, power/unlock button, and 3.5mm jack run down the right hand side and two ports – one micro-HDMI, one microUSB – can be found on the bottom of the slate.

The volume rocker and power/unlock keys sit flush to the device and, as you’d expect, are quite difficult to locate without looking first. Over time you do get used to their positioning but it is rather infuriating during the first few days with the device.

Exact proportions are 193x137x10.3mm and it weighs in at 395g. That makes it shorter and thinner (although not by much, a mere 0.5mm in fact) than the Nexus 7. The Fire HD is also wider than the Nexus 7 on account of its bezel and is heavier by around 55g.

A metallic strip that runs the entire length of the back, where the Fire HD’s Dolby audio dual-driver stereo speakers are housed, adds a nice finish to an already great-looking device.

Overall, I’d argue that the Kindle Fire HD surpasses the Nexus 7 for looks, despite it’s slightly heavier build and wider design. It definitely feels more robust in the hand. What's more, thanks to the combination of build materials and styling it looks significantly more premium too.

Another big positive of this device is its display. It’s an utterly gorgeous 7-inch IPS LCD setup with a 1280x800 pixel resolution. Video, text, eBooks, and the Fire HD’s navigation menus all look extremely crisp and detailed.

It’s not quite up the standard of Google’s Nexus 7, however, despite having the same display resolution. Colours seem a little washed out and there’s a weird yellow hue that pervades everything, which isn’t present on either the Nexus 7 or the Nook HD.

Viewing angles are excellent, however, and Amazon says that it is tinkering with the device’s display technology – the touch sensor and the LCD have been laminated together, which drastically improves visibility in direct sunlight.

It’s a welcome addition but the effects could hardly be described as dramatic. That said, no-one – not Samsung, Nokia, or LG – has managed to solve this pesky issue as yet, but it is good to see that efforts are now being made improve devices for outdoor usage. Amazon gets 9/10 for effort, in this regard.

Just as it did with the original Kindle Fire, Amazon has implemented its own bespoke take on Google’s world-beating OS. It’s definitely unique, offering a completely new experience, one packed with truly awesome services, but it’s not without its issues.

For starters we’ll look at the UI. Being bespoke means there is zero trace of Android here. It’s Amazon all the way. There’s no Chrome browser, no Google Play, and no Google services. Instead you’re pushed towards Amazon’s way of doing things – sometimes quite forcefully, too.

As UIs go, Amazon’s offering isn’t all that intuitive. You have all your content options across the top – Shop, Games, Apps, Books, Music, Videos, Newsstands, Web, Photos, Docs, and Offers – and a swipable row of icons below that show all the apps you’ve used recently. Below that you have another row of recommendations.

Hit the Apps menu and you’re taken to a more familiar setting, one laid out with app icons which automatically makes you feel more at home. The only issue here is that the apps aren’t static and switch around based on how much you use them. We get the logic but it’s pretty annoying in practice.

Amazon’s App store is also grossly under-stocked compared to Google’s Play store despite growing significantly during 2012. At  last count, there were around 50,000 apps and games available via Amazon’s app portal. That’s not bad but it’s still a long, long way behind Google’s Play store.

Not that this should bother you. Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD is most definitely not about apps and games. It’s about services – Amazon’s services, to be precise, which are as expansive as they are diverse. TV, film, music and docs are all supported and all run both on and off the cloud.

But there is a catch: you have to give yourself over to Amazon completely. The best way to do this, as you’ll find out when you power the device up, is by signing up for an Amazon Prime account. You get a 30-day free trail and after that it’s £49 a year.

If you use Amazon a lot then a Prime account makes a lot of sense. For your £49 you get unlimited One-Day delivery on certain purchases and the ability to ‘borrow’ titles from the Kindle store, although you’re limited to one book per month.

LoveFilm is also deeply integrated into the Kindle Fire, bringing films, TV shows, and documentaries direct to your tablet wherever you are. You will have to signup for a subscription though and, no, Netflix is not available for the tablet, so it’s LoveFilm or no film, sadly.

In terms of storage the Fire HD comes in two varieties: 16GB or 32GB – and there’s no support for SD cards. Storage isn’t all that important, however, as Amazon’s expansive Cloud service means that you don’t need to store everything on-device, just pull it down when you want it.

Amazon’s WhisperSync is supported throughout the device, meaning you can start reading a Kindle title on the Fire HD and continue reading from the same spot on your smartphone, computer, or traditional Kindle ereader.

And thanks to the Micro-HDMI, porting content over to an HDTV is also possible. Again to really get the most from this you’ll need to sign-up for a LoveFilm account but be aware that selection, compared to some competing services, namely iTunes, is still rather thin on the ground especially for newer titles.   

Video support is limited with only three video codecs – MP4, VP8, and H.263 being supported. With music you can upload your own tracks from your PC, but we do get the distinct impression that Amazon would rather you buy all your music from its own store (surprise, surprise).

Amazon has yet to release a 3G or LTE-enabled version of its Kindle Fire HD. You don’t even get GPRS or EDGE. Instead you have dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, which is great for accessing faster broadband networks but means you’ll struggle using the device while out and about.

Bluetooth is also supported and Amazon’s Silk browser is your default option for exploring the web. Chrome isn’t supported nor is Firefox, which means you’re stuck with Silk – and this is definitely not a good thing.

The browser is laggy, unintuitive, and features none of the services many users now expect from their mobile device’s browser. Yes, you can use bookmarks and save searches but if you’re already invested in either Chrome or Firefox on your PC then Silk will be a massive disappointment.

Amazon says Silk is fast. It’s not. According to our SunSpider benchmark (where lower scores are better) it scored a paltry 1806.6ms, which is significantly slower than the Nexus 7, Nook HD, and way behind iOS Safari and Windows Phone 8’s IE 10 browser.

Packing a TI OMAP 4460 dual core chipset clocked at 1.2GHz and 1GB of RAM should translate into decent performance across the board, and in most cases it delivers the goods, handling games like Dead Trigger with ease.  

There are hiccups though along the way with touches not registering and more than occasional lag and stuttering when traversing the Amazon UI. Two years ago this would have been fine but in todays market, what with the advent of Android Jelly Bean, Windows RT, and iOS6, it’s simply not acceptable.

Battery life is pretty stellar though and we managed to get through a full day with extensive usage from a single charge. Certain things will run the battery down faster – gaming and video calling, for instance – but generally speaking we don’t have any real complaints in this regard.

Overall, the Kindle Fire HD is a mixed bag of tricks. It looks great, is very cost-effective, and generally performs adequately at most tasks. For us though the UI was just too busy – it tries to do too much and doesn’t deliver a very coherent experience.

It’s also far too focused on getting you to buy Amazon services and goods. At times it feels downright aggressive, in fact. However if you’re the type of user that wants pick an ecosystem and opt inside it fully then this approach could definitely work for you.

Amazon Prime, for instance, is utterly brilliant as are the company’s cloud services and the way its Kindle services are integrated. But if you like to pick and choose what services you use and also alter the look and feel of your tablet, like you can aboard the Nexus 7 and the iPad to a lesser extent, then the Fire HD will feel very restrictive.

This device, in its most stripped down form, is simply a beacon for Amazon services and products. It’s not a tablet like the Nexus 7 or iPad, it’s a device that’s designed to suck you fully into Amazon’s retail universe – and make you stay there.

This is fine, providing that’s what you’re looking for. But if you’re not, and you want more choice and freedom – the two cornerstones of Android since day one – then the Amazon Kindle Fire HD may be a tough pill to swallow.

For me personally, it’s no patch on the Nexus 7 despite Amazon’s best efforts and excellent built-in services.   

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WhatsApp now available on Windows Phone 8

WhatsApp free messenger application is now available on Windows Phone 8.

WhatsApp worked closely with Nokia to produce the Windows Phone 8-styled app, following its success on Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7.5.

WhatsApp allows you to message your friends also using the app as you would via normal SMS. The benefit is it uses data rather than your free SMS message allowance.

When you install the app, it will scan your phonebook to find contacts who are already using WhatsApp. When you message any of those contacts, it will use an available data connection to send the message.

You can send just plain text, photos, audio and video too, making it comparable to BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) but cross-platform.

More than 100 million people worldwide are using WhatsApp to communicate for free.

WhatsApp is free to download and use for the first year, costing $0.99 a year thereafter.

View the original article here

Samsung Confirmed as Top Manufacturer for 2012

According to figures from IHS iSuppli, Korean manufacturer Samsung has continued to cement its position in the mobile phone industry during 2012, and is confirmed as top manufacturer for the last year, passing long term number one manufacturer Nokia.

For the first time in 14 years, Nokia has been beaten to the top spot, as Samsung's market share rose from 24% a year ago to 29% in 2012. During the same period, Nokia have seen their share fall to 24%, from 30% last year.

Wayne Lam, Senior Analyst at IHS said: “Samsung's success and Nokia's struggles in the cellphone market thus year were determined entirely by the two companies' divergent fortunes in the smartphone sector.”

Samsung have had a dominant 2012 in smartphone sales, riding high on the back of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Samsung's biggest challenger in the smartphone arena continues to be the iPhone, with combined sales of Samsung and Apple devices accounting for almost half of the entire smartphone market.

It is not just Nokia who are falling way behind in the smartphone race, either, as both RIM and HTC have had a miserable time recently. IHS peg all three manufacturers with just a 5% market share, and plenty of work to do to regain lost ground.

Nokia are still pinning their hopes on Windows Phone 8 becoming a viable third option to iOS and Android, whilst RIM will be hoping that the release of the new BlackBerry OS in early 2013 will bring it back to a competitive level. Meanwhile, HTC will be hoping to capitalise on the good work seen following the release of the popular HTC One range.

Overall according to IHS, the global mobile phone market saw 1.4 billion shipments in 2012, with 654 million smartphones shipped worldwide.

Source

Nokia CEO says less is more when it comes to networks and Windows Phone

When it comes to networks, says Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, less is more. It’s a left-field approach that involves using fewer networks to create a sense of exclusivity around the company’s flagship devices.

Speaking to CNET, Elop said: ‘One of the things we had learned with the first launch was being very narrow would yield better results for us,’ Elop said.

He added: ‘we take a product and go exclusive with a particular carrier. In a market where subsidy and marketing dollars are heavy, we encourage them to promote it as a hero product, and use the subsidy to drive down the pricing to a competitive point. It also gives you access to in-store resources.’

It’s a tactic that worked well for Apple when it first released the iPhone way back in the mid-2000s. So the reasoning behind Nokia’s approach is sound.

What’s really important, however, is uptake by consumers en masse of Windows Phone. This has yet to happen for the platform despite concerted efforts from Nokia, Samsung, HTC, LG, and ZTE.

The Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 820 are excellent devices, providing you don’t mind the Windows Phone adjustment, and has even sold out in some regions.

Windows Phone currently accounts for just two per cent of the smartphone space, as of Q3 2012. Adoption of Windows Phone 8 has been better than expected in some regions, but the platform still has a long way to go before it’ll be giving Android or iOS any trouble.

Will Elop’s Apple-approach to propagating its Windows Phone flagship devices pay off in the long run? It’s difficult to say at present but we’ll know a lot more once we get the company’s Q1 2013 results through.

View the original article here

HTC suspends development of several new smartphones

HTC has apparently halted the development of several new smartphones, according to reports.

DigiTimes broke the news, citing unnamed sources, and claims that the company has already cut its projected shipment growth for Q1 2013 from 20-30 per cent to 10-15 per cent.

Once a dominant force in the Android space and a consistent producer of excellent hardware, HTC has now been reduced to playing second fiddle to Samsung, which now owns almost 50 per cent of the market.

HTC lost 16 per cent of its market share between Q3 2011 and Q3 2012, according to recent stats, and now faces the unenviable task of reasserting itself in the space.

Samsung has spent literally billions on marketing its products over the past 18 months. And it’s clearly paid off – the company doubled its stake in the Android market within the space of a year.

HTC does not have this luxury, however, being a smaller company with more limited marketing spends.

Apple and Samsung dominate because they can afford to spend billions on advertising. Sure they're products are good but there is very little disparity between the HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S3, and iPhone 4S.

Great products become best-sellers off the back of expansive marketing campaigns. And with the financial clout to implement them HTC's woes look set to continue well into the new year and beyond. 

HTC has yet to comment on this story.

View the original article here

Boot up: Google's hardware dream?, open data closure, how Dropbox thrived, iOS in China and more

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Disneyland in Hong Kong. To find out more, would you look on Wikitravel? Photograph: Mark Ashman/Associated Press

A quick burst of 12 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

While Mr. Schmidt acknowledged that Google purchased the company and its patents, in part, as a reaction to rival "Apple's behavior," he said its hardware business was a real draw. Mr. Schmidt was tight-lipped about Google's plans for Motorola but he promised that a new batch of products were nearly ready for prime time.

"We always wanted to be in the hardware business," he said. "Larry and Sergey have always wanted to do hardware in one form or another. This was a way to get into it quickly."

If anyone can find a quote from any of Schmidt, Page or Brin from any period before 2012 in which they have indicated that they want to get into the hardware business, please point us to it. (Note: "Android" isn't the hardware business. It was always software, and intended to be software.)

RIM's revenues, broken down by geography. Note the divergence.

Even without availability on China's largest mobile provider, the iPhone's market share in China has grown form 9.9% a year ago to 17.3% in the June quarter.

Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf's quarterly report on the smartphone industry was issued on Monday, and identified the "big news" of the quarter as the emergence of China as the leading smartphone market. Smartphone shipments in China grew 164% year over year to 33.1m units in the June quarter, topping the 25m units sold in the US.

Android share: 69.5% (so Android is outselling iPhone 4:1). That leaves 12.6% for all other platforms.

Trojan malware has hit 100,000 devices using the Google Android operating system (OS) in China, say security researchers.

The Trojan, dubbed MMarketPay.A, is designed to purchase apps and content without the consent of the device user, running up high mobile bills.

Researchers from security firm TrustGo said 10 China-based Android marketplaces have so far been infected with the Trojan, which can be hidden in applications which appear legitimate.

Kasabi, a platform that hosted and published linked data, is closing down after owners Talis Systems said the market was growing too slowly to be sustainable.

The UK-based company allowed anyone to publish data sets, create APIs and use tools to combine and recombine them with each other. It was spun out of Talis, a semantic web developer that focuses on moving information to the web, last year.

But after just over 12 months on its own, the parent company said that while the opportunities were still interesting they were too large and too slow-moving to be sustainable. It said that the market for linked data wasn't panning out as it expected, and it was "time to admit that Kasabi is not getting the traction we thought it would."

Most of them are pretty obvious, but the point where it's compared to Megaupload seems like the most relevant broadly.

The US judge who tossed out one of the biggest court cases in Apple's smartphone technology battle is questioning whether patents should cover software or most other industries at all.

Richard Posner, a prolific jurist who sits on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, told Reuters this week that the technology industry's high profits and volatility made patent litigation attractive for companies looking to wound competitors.

Patents are in effect a serious cost of entry as well as a source of ongoing litigation. Hard to argue against Posner on their applicability to software.

Ten years ago, writer Nick Carr suggested that "IT Doesn't Matter". Tech execs scoffed. Now:

In truth, it has taken just about 10 years for Carr's view of the world to reach mass adoption. Without question, some startups are producing cutting-edge technology and some customers are taking advantage of their wares to one-up rivals. On the whole, however, corporations now seem to prefer, whenever practical, to rent the same computing services their rivals do, rather than try to build custom systems.

Yahoo! recently confirmed that an older file containing approximately 450,000 email addresses and passwords was compromised. The compromised information was provided by writers who had joined Associated Content prior to May 2010, when it was acquired by Yahoo!. (Associated Content is now the Yahoo! Contributor Network.) This compromised file was a standalone file that was not used to grant access to Yahoo! systems and services.

We have taken swift action and have now fixed this vulnerability, deployed additional security measures for affected Yahoo! users, enhanced our underlying security controls and are in the process of notifying affected users. In addition, we will continue to take significant measures to protect our users and their data.

There was something about the file that was odd: none of the contributors seemed very active. Which this confirms. Even so, bad policy by Associated Content to leave a plaintext password file lying around.

On July 11, 2012, the Wikimedia Foundation of Wikipedia fame made a decision that has been a long time coming: they decided to support hosting a new wiki devoted to travel, populated with Wikitravel content and, most importantly, the community that built Wikitravel. It's not a done deal yet, as the decision has to be confirmed by public discussion, but as it's looking pretty good so far; and if it comes true, this second shot at success is almost certain to result in the new gold standard for user-written travel guides, in the same way that Wikipedia redefined encyclopedias.

Involved post, but basically it's moving from being owned by Internet Brands to a fork run by Wikipedia.

Nvidia has admitted that it suspended its user forums last week because they were hacked and posters' personal data lifted.

The graphics chip maker said last night that its investigation following the discovery that "unauthorised third-parties gained access to some user information", specifically user login names, email addresses and profiles, though the latter just comprised information forum users could view anyway.

The profit warning comes as a report emerged that the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the Shenzhen-based company over the sale of banned U.S. computer equipment to Iran and its alleged attempts to cover it up and obstruct a Department of Commerce probe.

Neither of these is good. ZTE has an estimated 4.2% share of the global handset market.

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iPhone Suffers From ‘Do Not Disturb’ Bug

More bad news for Apple today, with the report of yet another bug in their iOS 6 firmware, this time affecting the Do Not Disturb feature.

Do No Disturb is a rather handy feature, that lets you set periods of time where you don't want to worry about incoming call, text or email alerts. Once set, Do Not Disturb stops these alerts, and even stops the screen of your iPhone from lighting up when an alert comes in.

The feature is customisable, so you can allow alerts to bypass the filter, so if you need to be on call you can still receive calls from those important numbers, whilst filtering out other non-essential communications.

However, users of the iPhone running iOS 6 noticed that on New Years Day, the Do Not Disturb settings were not switching off as usual in the morning, meaning some people were sleeping in due to no alar, going off, or missing calls during the day after not realising the feature was still active.

In addition, some users are claiming that the settings to enable DND are not working, so calls and texts are not being filtered during the night. The feature can easily be manually turned off in the settings menu, however some alerts are still not working, even though the setting is off.

Apple has a history of date/time bugs in their iOS, with problems occurring with alarms when clocks change to the time difference in BST/GMT.

The timing of the appearance of the DND bug is rather embarrassing for Apple, as they have just embarked on a TV advertising campaign for the Do Not Disturb option, featuring Venus and Serena Williams.

Rebooting the phone by switching it off and back on again seems to be enough to resolve the problem.

Oh, no, RIM: Marissa Mayer's husband dumps BlackBerry for iPhone

Sales of BlackBerrys have been hit by iPhones and Android devices. And Zachary Bogue. You know... Photograph: Alamy

Oh dear. Even as Yahoo's appointment of Marissa Mayer as its chief executive was sending an electric jolt through Silicon Valley on Monday, her husband Zachary Bogue was sending his own sort of jolt in the direction of embattled BlackBerry-maker RIM. Yes, he's dumping it.

Dear @rim, My Blackberry no longer even functions as a phone. At the Apple store right now. It's not you, it's me. Best, The Last BB User

— Zachary Bogue (@zackbogue) July 16, 2012

Zachary Bogue - Marissa Mayer's husband - is dumping his BlackBerry

Obviously Bogue is his own man in the Mayer-Bogue household; in his day job he's a cofounder and managing partner of Founders Den, which provides space for "experienced" entrepreneurs.

It's indicative of the problems RIM is having though if it can't hang on to a business-y user such as Bogue. He is now, it seems, an iPhone user.

We're guessing that Mayer will hang onto her Android phone. As well as her Nest thermostat, Up bracelet by Jawbone (it collects data about your daily activities), Verizon Mi-Fi (for turning a 3G signal into a Wi-Fi network), Google Chromebook (the "cloud-based" computer favoured by Googlers), and Eagle Creek zipper bag.

(How do we know about those? From her Geeksugar interview from December 2011, when she shared her Christmas gift choices.)

In the meantime, if anyone has seen any good news for RIM, please could you share it in the comments? We think they need a bit of relief.

Google spills further details on Project Glass

Google’s Project Glass has been in full swing for the best part of a year now, but the company has apparently hit something of a snag in its R&D process: how will consumers like you and I actually use it once it’s made available?

In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Glass project leader Babak Parviz said that Glass would generally be used as ‘a device that would allow for pictorial communications, to allow people to connect to others with images and video.’

He added, however, that Google was still experimenting with ways to improve the headset’s interactivity and overall usefulness, according to BGR.

The exact feature set for the headset, according to Parviz, is not yet set and is still very much ‘in flux.’ Parviz also stated that Google has ‘experimented a lot with using voice commands’ and ‘with some hand gestures.’

The Project Glass business model has yet to be defined but Google apparently has no plans to display advertising through glass ‘at the moment.’

Google has yet to confirm when its Project Glass hardware will be released into the wild. Judging from Parviz’s comments though we’d wager it’s still quite a way off, so don’t expect to be wearing any Android-powered heads-up spectacles anytime soon.

Perhaps they'll be here in time for your Xmas 2014…

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Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL leak online ahead of CES 2013 launch

Sony’s answer to the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X – known as the Xperia X and Xperia ZL – have leaked online ahead of their scheduled CES 2013 launch.

Previously known as the Yuga and Odin, Engadget got hold of some official press shots of the devices ahead of the company’s big CES 2013 reveal.

Sony promised that 2013 would see it come out guns blazing in a bid to close the gap between itself and Samsung. And looking at the specs for these two devices, as well as their respective styling, it seems that Sony has made good on its promise.

Both devices supposedly pack the same features, which include a 5-inch 1080p LCDs, quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processors, with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 320 graphics, along with a 13-megapixel Exmor RS sensor on the rear, reports Into Mobile.

What’s weird about this rumour, however, is that both phones carry the same spec. That’s a bit weird in our book – surely Sony would want to differentiate the models and offer two distinct price points?

God knows –– hopefully Sony will explain everything in Las Vegas next week. It'd also be good to know what version of Android these guys will be runnning at launch as well. 

Obvisouly we'd like some Key Lime Pie action, but seeing that Sony is often slightly behind the curve in this regard we've got a feeling we'll have to make do with Jelly Bean at launch with the option for an upgrade at a later point in time. 

Stay tuned for our live CES 2013 coverage to find out more.  

View the original article here

BlackBerry Service Problems in Europe, Middle East and Africa

Users of BlackBerry devices are finding that connection to BlackBerry services are failing today, with the outage hitting users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In the UK Vodafone has said that some users have reported experiencing problems with emails and the BlackBerry Messenger service, although it seems that voice and text services are unaffected at this time.

Times have been tough for Research In Motion, with the BlackBerry brand losing favour with general smartphone users, as well as in the core enterprise markets and amongst younger users whose primary usage revolves around the BBM service.

At the end of January RIM will be showcasing a new range of BlackBerry handsets running on the firm's new BB10 Operating System, so any bad news surrounding the reliability of BlackBerry services is going to be particularly unwelcome at this time. RIM will be hoping that the problem is not as serious as the outage that occurred in late 2011, when BlackBerry services remained offline for several days.

There are currently no time limits offered for a resolution to the connection services. As well as acknowledging the problems, a Vodafone spokesperson said that they were working hard with RIM to restore full service to customers as soon as possible. Additional updates will be posted by Vodafone on their Twitter account when further information is available.

BBC Launches ‘Play Along’ Smartphone App

The BBC has launched a play-along companion smartphone app, that gives users a unique way of interacting with BBC programming.

The first show to benefit from the technology is the Sunday evening TV programme, The Antiques Roadshow. With the app installed, smartphone users will be able to interact by offering their own suggested valuation for items members of the public have taken along to be valued by the professional appraisers.

At the end of each show, users will be ranked from Novice to Expert, depending on how closely their own offered valuations matched those of the experts.

To join in, simply launch the app on your smartphone, and choose the 'play along with the programme' option. The objects that are featured on the TV will be shown on the display of your phone, and a countdown clock will let you know how long you have to make your own valuation before the expert. To attain the level of expert, you will need to get a percentage score of 75% or higher.

The smart aspect about the interaction is you don't need to be watching the programme 'live' at the time of transmission to join in. The BBC have hidden audible signals within the programme transmission, which are picked up by the microphone on the smartphone. So if you record the programme to watch later, or use the catch-up service on the BBC iPlayer, you can still join in.

The 'audio watermarks' are totally invisible to audiences, hidden inside the soundtrack of the programme, and are used to identify the episode being viewed, and the content line-up on display.

The BBC spent a lot of time researching which TV programme could best be used to showcase this new technology, and the Antiques Roadshow created the most interest with test groups. Tom Williams, Development Editor for Red Button and Dual Screen at BBC Vision, said: “The Antiques Roadshow was chosen for the inaugural play-along app because and app for that show would genuinely enhance the programme for a mainstream audience. We piloted a number of titles but Antiques Roadshow stood out. As soon as we tested the first prototype of the app with audiences we saw what a buzz it created in the living room. The interface is simple enough not to distract from the programme and the interaction builds on existing behaviour – who doesn't shout out what they think an item is worth?”

The Antiques Roadshow Play-Along App is available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, running iOS 5.1 and above, and can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store. An Android version is available for Android devices running Android 2.2 and above, and is available for free from the Google Play Store.

Via

The puzzle of Android's delayed changeover from Gingerbread

Something odd has happened to Android.

While its growth rate continues to grow (yes, a second-order change; sales are accelerating), we aren't seeing the changing of the guard from the older version to the newer one that we have over the past two years - such as the end of 2010, when "Froyo" (version 2.2) replaced "Eclair" (version 2.1) and then the end of 2011 when Froyo was replaced by "Gingerbread" (version 2.3).

Going by the statistics shown on Google's platform versions page (which shows the version of Android being used by devices connecting to Google Play in the two weeks up to 1 October, and is revised monthly), Gingerbread has been the most-used version of Android since November 2011. At that point it was running on 42% of devices connecting to Google Play (then the Android Market), just passing the 40.9% using Froyo.

Versions of Android accessing Google Play to October 2012. Click for larger version. Source: Google, Wayback Machine

As I forecast around the end of last year, this has been the year of Gingerbread: it has been by far the leading version, peaking in June at 65% of devices. And now, as has happened in the past, its share is starting to fall, as the next version, "Ice Cream Sandwich" (4.0, hereafter ICS) starts to appear on newer devices, and older ones get updated via carriers.

Except the difference now is that Gingerbread isn't dropping off as fast as predecessors. Go back a year: at the start of October 2011, Froyo was down to a 45.9% share (from a high of 65.9% in May 2011) and Gingerbread had risen to 36%, and was adding about 6 percentage points every month. Similarly, by October 2010 Eclair was at 40.4% (down from a high of 59.7% in August) and Froyo was at 33.4%, and adding 4 to 5 percentage points per month.

Now look at today: Gingerbread is falling, down from that 65% in June to 55.8% at the start of October - but ICS is at just 23.7%, and has risen by only a couple of percentage points. True, if you add in "Jelly Bean" (4.1) then you bump up the 4.x figure to 25.5% . But that's still a long way adrift.

What that adds up to is that unless something changes quite dramatically in the next couple of months, Gingerbread will remain the dominant Android version for quite a while. It's only losing a couple of percentage points per month, while ICS/Jelly Bean gain about the same. With a 30% gap between the old and the new variants, it could take another year before things changed.

At this stage, we need to make a few points. First, looking at the numbers in this way masks the enormous growth in the total number of devices actually accessing Google Play. The latest figure given by Eric Schmidt, at the start of September, was 480m Android devices. That compares to 190m announced in Google's Q3 earnings on 13 October 2011. So in less than a year, the number of devices (almost all handsets) has more than doubled.

In turn, that means - if we accept that the number of devices accessing Google Play is proportionate to the ratio of devices in the wild (though there's no way to know that; only Google really knows) - that:
• in October 2011 there were 68.4m devices running Gingerbread
• in October 2012 there were 268m devices running Gingerbread, and 122.4m running 4.x.

In other words, there are more devices running 4.x now than there were running Gingerbread a year ago. So even while it might appear that 4.x (ICS and Jelly Bean) hasn't made much progress, it has - but that's obscured by the huge growth of Android.

A couple of things to note from those numbers:
• ICS/Jelly Bean went from nowhere to 122.4m in a year

• Gingerbread grew by 200m devices in the same period, to that 268m figure. It looks like many manufacturers are still using it because it's a known quantity.

Estimated number of devices running different versions of Android to Oct 2012.

So now there are nearly 360m devices out there which are running versions of Android before 4.x. It's unlikely that a significant number of them will be upgraded; yes, some might here and there, but it's not actually in manufacturers' interests to provide an endless upgrade path for Android phones, because if you keep using a phone, they can't sell you a new one. (Apple offers long upgrade paths because it sells services on older handsets such as music and apps, and those keep people tied into its ecosystem. Android handset makers don't have the same breadth of services; most of what comes on Android is via Google, rather than say Samsung or HTC specifically. It's noticeable that Samsung is making significant efforts to move into services through extras such as S-Voice.)

Gingerbread isn't going away. About 200m of those handsets are one year or less old, so they're going to continue for at least another year - possibly two or three.

ICS/Jelly Bean is growing fast in absolute numbers, but even if a million a day solely running ICS/Jelly Bean are added, then it will take about 100 more days before 4.x overtakes 2.3. That's some time in January. However, it's unlikely that's going to happen - because the numbers suggest that Gingerbread devices are being added even more quickly than ICS/Jelly Bean ones.

Again, though, what does that mean? If Gingerbread persists, does anyone lose out?

According to Google, the benefits of 4.x for developers include a "social API" which can "store standard contact data as well as new types of content for any given contact, including large profile photos, stream items, and recent activity feedback", and a "calendar API" that makes it easier to add calendar services to apps, a visual voicemail API, Android Beam (for NFC-powered data transfer), "low-level streaming multimedia" (for DRM-based media), and a whole slew more.

If you're not using Android 4.x, those aren't available to you, and they're not available in any apps you might get. Of course, it doesn't matter to the handset makers, who have got paid by the carriers; doesn't matter to the carriers, which have sold a phone; doesn't much matter to Google, which has another customer. So who does it matter to?

Only, perhaps, to app developers which can't offer higher-grade apps (and so can't get people to spend more on those new apps); to some of the media companies which can't take advantage of DRM-enabled streams.; and of course to users who might have heard about the benefits of ICS/Jelly Bean, but can't get them because their handset isn't being upgraded.

The number of devices that get updated, relative to the total number out there, is likely to be minimal. The reason that Gingerbread isn't falling away faster is because handsets are still being shipped with it on (though there's no way of telling, it's possible that many of those are in China, where Android ran on 80% of the handsets shipped there in the second quarter).

For those who want an upgrade from Gingerbread to ICS or Jelly Bean, the situation is much the same as it ever was: it might happen, or it might not. The Android Update Alliance, announced at Google I/O in May 2011 with carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Sprint, and Verizon, and handset makers HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola, was dead within months. Its promise that "any new Android phone would receive timely OS updates for at least 18 months following launch": when PC Mag followed up in December 2011 it was almost entirely ignored, and by June this year Ars Technica found no mention at all.

But in many ways that's not surprising. The figures for US sales of Samsung phones (released in the Samsung-Apple patent trial in July/August) showed that phones had a brief life cycle: they'd appear, sell well for a few months, and vanish, to be replaced by another model.

For the handset maker and carrier, the hassle of writing and checking OS updates for a phone that might not even be on sale any more (or if it is has already been overshadowed) isn't outweighed by any other benefits. It doesn't bring any extra sales (indeed, it might slow up sales of new handsets with whizzy new features, because you'd get those features on the new OS).

Updating certainly brings extra support calls - and you can guarantee that the number of support calls that follow a new Android OS update will far exceed the number of support calls before an update asking where it is. Possibly that's part of the reason why Motorola has reneged on its promise to update a number of handsets, to the annoyance of users.

If updating won't bring the handset maker or the carrier any extra money (and might even cost both), you can see why they'd be reluctant to do it. Only the pressure of seeing rivals doing so will impel them to do that - which is where Google, with its Nexus line, needs to be leading the charge. If it can push out updates, that might drive more updates. But don't hold your breath, because (as the Samsung trial figures showed) Nexus devices don't sell in huge numbers; you have to look to Samsung for that.

So that's the thing about Android. It's getting so big that the inertia of its existing installed base ihas just begun to act as brake on the arrival of new OS-based features in the broader market. While Google wants to push its new products - Google Currents, Google Now - which require the new APIs, and while those might be attractive for users, the interests of the handset makers and carriers's aren't necessarily aligned with them. And this isn't going to change any time soon.

iPhone 5 launch: live coverage of the Apple event

Apple is launching the highly-anticipated iPhone 5 at an event in California, with the company potentially releasing details on iOS6 and iPad Mini. Follow live coverage here

UK networks give BlackBerry 10 full support

It’s landing in January and represents a fresh start for the company. There’s a lot riding on it already but UK networks seem confident in what RIM has in store, pledging full support BlackBerry 10-powered handsets.

Vodafone, O2, Three, and EE have all confirmed that they will carry BlackBerry 10 devices once they land in Q1 of next year. Surprised? You really shouldn’t be: RIM accounted for just under a quarter of the UK smartphone space last year.

It has consistently lost ground to iOS and Android over the past 18 months, but many – including myself – feel confident that BlackBerry 10 will bring RIM back into the game. 

The Carphone Warehouse has also confirmed that it will be stocking BB10 devices.

Interested in getting a BlackBerry 10 device? Read our overview of everything that’s currently known about the device, as well as our first-look at the platform itself.

RIM will officially launch BlackBerry 10 on January 30. The first handset to carry the new OS, said to be called the BlackBerry London, is expected to land before the close of Q1 2013.

We expect to see some hardware in late-February early March.

View the original article here

Top Free Gift Incentives This Christmas

When you buy something, it is always nice to receive a little bonus. Everyone appreciates a little bit extra, and that applies just as much when buying a new mobile phone.

We have hundreds of offers available from our online partners, that allow you to get a nice free gift when you buy a new mobile phone on a monthly agreement. With Christmas just around the corner, you can kill two birds with one stone, by buying a new phone for yourself, plus getting a free gift you can give to someone for Christmas, or perhaps keep it as a treat for yourself.

Google Nexus 7
One of our more popular gift bundles at the moment involves the Google Nexus 7. This small 7 inch display Tablet has sold in record numbers since launch, and shows that the Android OS can contend with iOS both in the Tablet arena as much as in the smartphone market.

The Nexus 7 is made by well known manufacturer Asus, and boasts a strong set of features. Thin and lightweight, the Nexus 7 runs on the latest version of Android, giving you the very best of the Android OS. The seven inch HD Back-lit IPS display has a resolution of 1280 x 800, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, for extra protection and durability.

The device has a front facing 1.2 Megapixel Camera, and includes WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity features. Internal memory capacity is up to 16GB, with 1GB RAM, offering plenty of storage for videos and photos. There is no expandable storage option locally, but you can easily integrate the device with a number of online storage options. The Nexus 7 is powered by a 4325 mAh battery, which is good for up to 8 hours of use from a single charge.

The Google Nexus 7 is available on a range of mobile phones, across T-Mobile, O2, Orange, Vodafone and Three.

Google Nexus 7 deals

Games Consoles
Gaming remains a popular pastime for many, so it is no surprise to see a range of games consoles available as free gifts when buying a new pay monthly mobile phone.

The Sony Playstation PS3 and Xbox 360 are available as free gifts with a number of handsets, including mobile phones from Sony, Samsung, LG and Nokia, across all the main UK networks.

In addition to the main games consoles, we also have many deals offering the Sony Playstation Vita portable gaming console. The Vita sports a 5.0 inch OLED touchscreen, with multiple methods of controls, including rear touch pads, six axis and dual analogue controls.

Powered by a quad core processor, the Playstation Vita can handle the most challenging of games, and you can also play against your friends online via the Playstation network.

Playstation Vita deals
Sony Playstation deals
Xbox 360 deals

Amazon Kindle
For those who prefer a more gentle way to pass the time, we range a number of offers that include a free Amazon Kindle when purchasing a mobile phone on a monthly agreement.

The Amazon Kindle has been immensely popular since launch, allowing you to carry thousands of books with you in a small, thin, lightweight device.

Ideal for taking on holiday and reading at the beach, or for snuggling under the duvet for a good read, Amazon offer a huge number of books that can be read on their Kindle, which you can download from the Amazon website and start reading on your device in less than a minute.

Weighing less than 170g, the Kindle screen offers excellent clarity, even readable in bright, sunny conditions. With a capacity for over 1,000 books, you will always have something to read wherever you are, and if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can 'loan' books from Amazon, to read, for free.

The Amazon Kindle is available as a free gift on multiple handsets across all networks, with line rental prices starting from just over £10 per month.

Amazon Kindle deals

40 inch TV
Even the most repeated TV shows look good on a big screen, and there are a number of deals available that offer a free, 40 inch TV.

The TV is available for free with a number of handset from Nokia, Samsung, Sony and LG across a number of UK networks.

Also, if you would like to get the TV in time for Christmas, so you can watch all your favourite TV shows up close, the TV will be delivered instantly, along with your new mobile phone, subject to stock and availability.

40 inch TV Deals

The above deals are just a few of the highlighted offers from the hundreds we have available online, today. As well as the mentioned gifts, we also include offers involving the iPod Nano, Beats headphones, the BlackBerry PlayBook, Laptops, Netbooks, even hair straighteners. To further information, see our Free Gift Deals page.

Please note, that whilst the TV has instant delivery, some free gifts require additional time to be delivered, which needs to be taken into account if you are ordering for Christmas.

HTC working on Windows RT tablets

HTC is currently hard at work on a range of Windows RT tablets, according to rumours.

The report comes from Bloomberg which cites unnamed ‘people familiar with the matter’, alleging that HTC will produce both 12-inch and 7-inch Windows RT devices.

Aside from rumours of a 7-inch Xbox Surface tablet based on a custom Windows build, this is the first time anyone’s mentioned a 7-inch Windows 8/Windows RT tablet since Microsoft revealed the platform in 2011.

According to the report, HTC’s new Windows hardware will land in Q3 2013 and will run ARM-based Qualcomm processor architecture.

The news follows reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has held meetings with HTC chief Peter Chou, purportedly to discuss Windows Phone 8, but this new information, if true, could suggest that Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets were also on the agenda.

‘HTC had also been considering a tablet with Windows 8 running on Intel, but scrapped those plans because the company determined it would have to charge too much -- around $1,000 -- for the device, making it difficult to sell enough of them,’ claimed Bloomberg.

A 7-inch Windows RT device would certainly give Microsoft something with which to fight Google’s Nexus 7, Apple’s iPad Mini, Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble’s Nook HD, all of which have generated plenty of consumer interest.

Microsoft has previously said that with Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone 8 sharing the Windows NT kernel the interface and apps can be easily scaled between phone and tablet formats and to various screen sizes.

However, whether this will readily include the 7-inch form factor isn’t clear.

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Could BlackBerry 10 instigate the biggest tech comeback ever?

Is RIM about to do the impossible and make one of the biggest tech comebacks ever seen with the launch of BlackBerry 10?

Reports from all over the glove indicate that networks, consumers, and retailers are feeling very confident about the release of RIM’s new OS and accompanying hardware.

Vodafone confirmed that it would be carrying RIM’s new BB10 handsets in Q4 2012, a full two months before the launch of BlackBerry 10 which takes place on January 30.

It was a similar story across the pond in RIM’s native Canada. Speaking to BGR, a Rogers spokesperson said, ‘we can’t release the total number of reservations we have received for the BlackBerry 10 all-touch device, [but] we can say that customer interest is definitely strong and reservations continue daily.’

In the UK, O2, Three, and EE have all confirmed that they will carry BlackBerry 10 devices once they’re released later on in Q1 2013. EE has also confirmed that it will carry 4G variants on its network.

Every major UK network has now confirmed that it will carry BlackBerry 10.

Just under 25 per cent of the UK’s handsets are BlackBerry devices, according to reports. RIM will be keen on converting those users into BlackBerry 10 users, something that will be tough but is definitely doable with the right marketing.

Check out our first look at BlackBerry 10 to see what to expect come January 30.

Throughout 2013, Microsoft and RIM will do battle for third spot behind iOS and Android. At present it seems that networks are backing RIM over Microsoft, which could do BlackBerry 10 a lot of favours during the next 12 months.

Via

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Android Attack Turns Phone into Spam Botnets

Android users are being warned to check the source of any free apps they download, after it was discovered that fraudsters were cloning popular games and embedding them with a Trojan horse.

Users are being enticed to download the apps by being sent a random text message that has a download link embedded. After the app has been downloaded, it accesses the phone contacts list on the handset, and starts to send out thousands of junk SMS.

The threat was discovered by security company Cloudmark, and has also been picked up by Lookout Security. The threat has been dubbed 'SpamSoldier', and the primary method of transmission is via SMS.

The Trojan horse has been found hidden in popular titles such as Angry Birds Space and Need for Speed. The threat was first noted in October, and is spread under the guise of multiple titles from a server based in Hong Kong.

It has been noted that the attack is fairly simple and unsophisticated in its implementation, however it is effective, with users who have been infected ending up having thousands of texts sent from their phone.

As with most malware, the apps are not downloaded from the Google Play Store, but from third party sites. Whilst apps from third party sites can be perfectly fine to download, more care is needed to prevent inadvertently downloading infected games and apps. Generally downloading apps from unsolicited text messages should always be avoided, as should downloading 'free' apps that are usually paid for.

As well as sticking to recognised app stores, it is prudent to have a recognised security app installed on your device, that can scan apps before they are installed and warn of malware. Always check the permissions requested by an app before installing it, and if you are unsure, don't install it.

Sony confirms Xperia Android Jelly Bean update schedule

Sony has kept its word and confirmed the Android Jelly Bean update schedule for all of its eligible Xperia handsets. And the good news is that everything’s currently running on time.

The Sony Xperia T, TX, and V will get Android Jelly Bean, version 4.1, beginning in February and March. Xperia P, J, and Go handsets will receive the update at the end of March.

Jelly Bean for the Sony’s Xperia S, SL, Ion, and Acro S handsets will land in the first week of April, according to reports. But not all Xperia-brand handsets will be getting the update, something Sony confirmed back in Q3 2012.

That means if you’re rocking an Xperia U, Miro, Tipo, and Sola you’ll have to make do with Android Ice Cream Sandwich from here on out.

Sony’s next flagship, currently codenamed the Yuga, is scheduled to launch at CES 2013 in January. It’ll be the biggest handset Sony has produced to date packing in a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, 2GB of RAM, and Qualcomm’s devastatingly fast quad-core S4 Pro chipset.

Expect to be hearing lots more about that bad boy in the coming weeks.

View the original article here

Samsung hits back at Ericsson with request for US import ban

If you thought that the holiday season might go by without any patent-induced tit-for-tat then you would be sorely mistaken, as tech giant Samsung has taken the decision to sue Ericsson and request an International Trade Commission ban on US sales and import of some of the company’s telecommunications hardware.

Samsung’s decision to seek legal relief from the alleged infringement of 7 of its patents is likely motivated by Ericsson’s own actions, after the Swedish company sued the Korean manufacturer and sought a ban of its own earlier in the year.

Samsung issued a statement on the issue, in which it stated:

'We have sought to negotiate with Ericsson in good faith. However, Ericsson has proven unwilling to continue such negotiations by making unreasonable claims, which it is now trying to enforce in court,'

Which, to the layperson could be taken as: 'We tried to talk to them but they went running to the courts, so we’re now countersuing.'

It has been mooted though, that Ericsson’s litigiousness in protecting its patent assets is part of a growing trend among companies that have been enduring harsh times, in which they seek to fall back on to their intellectual property in order to protect ailing income streams.

On this occasion though, it appears that the Swedes have roused a not inconsiderable opponent, and as we have seen in the past, money talks louder than patent paperwork, so Ericsson had better get its head down below the parapet – because the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer looks to be coming to exact revenge.

To read more on this ongoing fracas, head over to Reuters.

Samsung Galaxy Note

Three Criticised by ASA for Misleading Ad

Three has been told by the Advertising Standards Authority to do more to warn customers about potential future mid term contract price rises in its advertising, after finding a recent campaign to be misleading.

The ASA acted after a customer received a leaflet from Three outlining available offers. The leaflet highlighted the One Plan, available at a cost of £30 per month, but there was no mention that the price of the plan could be raised at any point during the contract.

The issue of mid term price rises has been a hot topic in the last year, with all five major networks bringing in contract price rises to consumers who thought that their contracts would remain at a fixed rate for the duration of minimum contract term.

The issue has lead many customers to complain to OfCom, who have launched a consultation into the issue. Consumer Watchdog Which? has also launched a campaign, called Fixed Means Fixed, calling on the networks to keep prices at a fixed rate during the contract term.

General price rises can be a cause for early contract termination, however the terms and conditions of pay monthly contracts allows for price increases in line with the Retail Price Index. The problem is when networks fail to highlight this clause to customers, who only find out when the prices increase.

In response to the ASA, Three pointed out that it had the right to increase prices in line with the rate of inflation, which was outlined in the terms and conditions of the contract. However, the ASA ruled that because the monthly cost was highlighted along with the duration of the contract, customers would reasonably assume that the price was fixed.

In addition, as the price of the contract is important to customers, the potential for a price increase needs to be made clearer.

In response to the ruling, a Three spokesman said: “Our ability to increase recurring charges in line with RPI is set out in our terms and conditions. We note the decision on a leaflet which was published in 2011. OfCom is about to consult on price rises within the lifetime of a customer contract. We believe this is an opportunity to bring greater clarity and consistency across the industry for consumers rather than relying on an ad hoc decision on individual communications.”

To pledge your support for the Which? campaign, and for more information, see the Fixed Means Fixed website.

Apple’s 12 Days of Christmas Starts Boxing Day

In what has become a regular Christmas smartphone tradition, Apple will once again be giving away free digital content to owners of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch over the 12 days of Christmas, starting from Boxing Day.

The free 12 Days of Christmas app is available to download from the Apple App Store, and offers users in the UK and across Europe access to a range of content that can be downloaded to their iOS devices for free.

As in past years, each day there will be a new item to download, which will be available for 24 hours. If you allow the app to send you push notifications, you will get an alert when the new item is available to download.

A wide range of items will be made available to download, from songs, music videos, movies, TV shows, books, apps and games.

The 12 Days of Christmas promotion runs from the 26th December, until the 6th January. The app is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod Touch (3rd, 4th and 5th gen) and the iPad, all versions. IOS 5.0 or later is needed.

To download the 12 Days of Christmas app, head to the Apple App Store.

ZTE bringing Firefox OS smartphone in 2013

ZTE has big plans to bring a new smartphone powered by Mozilla’s Firefox OS to Europe this year, according to reports.

The company will debut its handset in Brazil but is said to be in talks with an unknown European network. Other reports suggest Mozilla is teaming up with Telefonica, parent company of O2, which suggests that we could see ZTE’s Firefox handset launched in the UK through O2.

Telefonica CEO Matthew Key said: ‘Firefox OS will bring a better smart phone experience to a higher proportion of the population at a lower cost.’

Firefox OS is planned to offer an Android alternative at the lower end of the market with budget-price devices.

While the operating system itself has been previewed before, running on existing Samsung Galaxy handsets, we’ve yet to see any leaks or previews of the actual device hardware and we’ve no idea what ZTE’s as yet unnamed smartphone will look like.

Mozilla vice president Jay Sullivan revealed that ZTE and Mozilla is working closely with Qualcomm, indicating that Snapdragon processor hardware could power the first set of Firefox phones we see released.

View the original article here

Nvidia’s Tegra 4 processor to bring 6x the power of Tegra 3

Watch out Qualcomm, Nvidia is busy prepping its next-generation mobile processor. Known as the Tegra 4, it’s said to have 6x the power of the Tegra 3 and improved power efficiency.

Details about the next-gen mobile processor emerged online earlier today via Chinese site Chiphell. Said to be codenamed Wayne, the Tegra 4 processor is said to feature a 4-plus-1 battery saving quad-core design similar to the one currently used aboard Tegra 3 processors.

‘The design is based on a 28nm manufacturing process, which is more power efficient than the 40nm design used in the current Tegra 3, and on par with Qualcomm’s S4 mobile processors,’ claims Tech Crunch.

However it’s in the graphics department that Nvidia is really spicing things up. According to the leak, the company’s Tegra 4 processor will boast six times the graphics processing capabilities of the Tegra 3 and twenty times that of the Tegra 2.

Video playback at a resolution of 2560x1440, USB 3.0, and high-speed HDMI connections will all be supported inside the new mobile processor, according to the source. If true this would bring Nvidia’s next-gen proposition well in-line with Qualcomm’s market-leading S4 Pro.

The only thing missing, according to the leak, is support for LTE – something Qualcomm has already well and truly nailed aboard its S4 chipsets. To be truly competitive with the market-leader, Nvidia will need a robust solution for how it tackles LTE going forwards. 4G is a reality that can no longer be ignored – even in the UK.

There’s no word on a release date for the processor, but we’d expect to see it on market by Q2 2013. Nvidia has apparently been working on Project Wayne since last February. Perhaps we’ll see a launch at CES 2013?

View the original article here

Has the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 popped up on a benchmarking site?

Eagle-eyed smartphone fans have noticed a device on benchmarking site GLBenchmark which looks for all the world to be the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

The device, which is being called the ‘GT-N5100’, apparently sports a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1280×800, and is reportedly driven by Samsung’s own Exynos 4412 quad-core processor clocked to 1.6GHz. Oh, and the device will ship with Android 4.1.2. too, according to those in the know.

If the rest of the Note range is anything to go by, we expect this device will also have the fantastic S-Pen and rumour has it that Samsung has endowed it with a 13-megapixel camera too, making the device a dead cert to win plenty of friends.

With both Mobile World Congress and CES 2013 happening at the beginning of 2013, we’d hedge our bets and say that it’s likely Samsung will choose one of these conferences  to lift the lid on this device, but one thing's for sure, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing what this mini-tablet will offer, given the already healthy state of the market.

View the original article here

HTC’s 2013 flagship, codenamed ‘M7,’ detailed online

Never one to back down from a fight, HTC’s new alleged flagship handset, said to be codenamed the M7, has leaked online ahead of its scheduled 2013 release date.

Packing a 13-megapixel camera, a 4.7-inch display with a pixel density of 468ppi, and a quad-core 1.7GHx processor the M7 has the makings of being the biggest and best HTC handset seen to date.

The HTC M7 will launch in spring 2013, according to Unwired View. That kind of rules out a CES 2013 launch but opens up the possibility of an official debut at IFA 2013, which takes place later on in the year.

The M7 will no doubt be Android-powered, perhaps even carrying Google’s Key Lime Pie update, although that will depend entirely on when its released. So far we don't know much about the Big G's plans for Android 5.0, other than it'll most likely be launched at Google’s I/O 2013 event.

Will it be enough to save HTC? Well-designed, high-end devices have never been the Taiwanese manufacturer’s problem. It’s produced plenty over the past 18 months. What it can’t control is the might of Samsung, a company that now dominates the entire Android landscape.

Still, all it takes is one device – the iPhone, the Galaxy S3, the Nexus 4 – to set consumers’ pulses racing and force them out to the shops in droves.

Perhaps the M7 could be the phone that reestablishes HTC as a key player in the mobile space?

View the original article here

BlackBerry X10 with QWERTY keyboard leaks online

RIM’s BlackBerry X10 has leaked online revealing what the company’s first BlackBerry 10-powered QWERTY device will look like ahead of its official launch on January 30.

Non-surprisingly the BlackBerry X10 shares more than a passing resemblance to the RIM’s ‘Bold’ devices of old. Not much else is known about the device apart from that it will feature a 720x720 pixel display with a pixel density of 330ppi.

The leak comes via N4BB and details precisely what uses can expect from RIM’s clearly more traditional BB10 device. No doubt aimed at pulling across life-long BlackBerry users, the X10 looks more professional than its all-touch launch partner, the Z10.

In this sense it’s obvious RIM isn’t turning its back on users that prefer buttons. That’s a wise move, too, because pretty soon RIM will be one of the only company’s that produces handsets with QWERTY keyboards – hardware many users deem indispensible. And that’s an important USP.

So while the X10 might not be as exciting as its all-touch launch partner the BlackBerry Z10, it’s still an exciting development in the on-going BlackBerry 10 saga, which we’ve watched develop throughout 2012.

That saga, however, will soon conclude. On January 30, 2013, RIM will officially unveil BlackBerry 10 and its two launch handsets – the BlackBerry X10 and the BlackBerry Z10 – to the world.

Expect release dates to follow shortly after. Networks the globe over have been very positive about BlackBerry 10. 

Excited yet? 

View the original article here

The Apple tax: will the Samsung verdict leave consumers paying more?

Apple's iPhone 4S and Samsung's Galaxy S 4G and Galaxy S smartphones. Photograph: EPA

Once upon a time, Steve Ballmer blasted Apple for asking its customers to pay $500 for an Apple logo. This was the "Apple tax", the price difference between the solid, professional workmanship of a laptop running on Windows, and Apple's needlessly elegant MacBooks.

Following last week's verdict against Samsung, the commentariat have raised the specter of an egregious new Apple tax, one that Apple will levy on other smartphone makers who will have no choice but to pass the burden on to you. The idea is this: Samsung's loss means it will now have to compete against Apple with its dominant hand – a lower price tag – tied behind its back. This will allow Apple to exact higher prices for its iPhones (and iPads) and thus inflict even more pain and suffering on consumers.

There seems to be a moral aspect, here, as if Apple should be held to a higher standard. Last year, Apple and Nokia settled an IP "misunderstanding" that also resulted in a "tax" ... but it was Nokia that played the T-Man role: Apple paid Nokia more than $600m plus an estimated $11.50 per iPhone sold. Where were the handwringers who now accuse Apple of abusing the patent system when the Nokia settlement took place? Where was the outrage against the "evil", if hapless, Finnish company? (Amusingly, observers speculate that Nokia has made more money from these IP arrangements than from selling its own Lumia smartphones.)

Even where the moral tone is muted, the significance of the verdict (which you can read in full here) is over-dramatised. For instance, see this Wall Street Journal story of 24 August sensationally titled After verdict, prepare for the 'Apple tax':

After its stunning victory against rival device-maker Samsung ElectronicsCo, experts say consumers should expect smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices that license various Apple Inc, design and software innovations to be more expensive to produce.

"There may be a big Apple tax," said IDC analyst Al Hilwa. "Phones will be more expensive."

The reason is that rival device makers will likely have to pay to license the various Apple technologies the company sought to protect in court. The jury found that Samsung infringed as many as seven Apple patents, awarding $1.05bn in damages.

The $1bn sum awarded to Apple sounds impressive, but to the giants involved, it doesn't really change much. Samsung's annual marketing budget is about $2.75bn (it covers washer-dryers and TVs, but it's mostly smartphones), and, of course, Apple is sitting on a $100bn+ cash hoard.

Then there's the horror over the open-ended nature of the decision: Apple can continue to seek injunctions against products that infringe on their patents. From the NYT article:

...the decision could essentially force [Samsung] and other smartphone makers to redesign their products to be less Apple-like, or risk further legal defeats.

Certainly, injunctions could pose a real threat. They could remove competitors, make Apple more dominant, give it more pricing power to the consumer's detriment ... but none of this is a certainty. Last week's verdict and any follow-up injunctions are sure to be appealed against until all avenues are exhausted. The Apple tax won't be enforced for several years, if ever.

And even if the "tax" is assessed, will it have a deleterious impact on device manufacturers and consumers? Last year, about half of all Android handset makers – including ZTE, HTC, Sharp – were handed a Microsoft tax bill ($27 per phone in ZTE's case), one that isn't impeded by an obstacle course of appeals. Count Samsung in this group: The Korean giant reportedly agreed to pay Microsoft "between $10 and $15 – for each Android smartphone or tablet computer it sells". Sell 100m devices and the tax bill owed to Ballmer and Co exceeds $1bn. Despite this onerous surcharge, Android devices thrive, and Samsung has quickly jumped to the lead in the Android handset race (from Informa, Telecoms & Media):

Amusingly, the Samsung verdict prompted this gloating tweet from Microsoft exec Bill Cox:

Windows Phone is looking gooooood right now.

(Or, as AllThingsD interpreted it: "Microsoft to Samsung. Mind if I revel in your misfortune for a moment?")

The subtext is clear: Android handset makers should worry about threats to the platform and seek safe harbour with the "Apple-safe" Windows Phone 8. This will be a "goooood" thing all around: If more handset makers offer Windows Phone devices, there will be more choices, fewer opportunities for Apple to get "unfairly high" prices for its iDevices. The detrimental effects, to consumers, of the "Apple tax" might not be so bad, after all.

The Samsung trial recalls the interesting peace agreement that Apple and Microsoft forged in 1997, when Microsoft "invested" $150m in Apple as a fig-leaf for an IP settlement (see the end of the Quora article). The interesting part of the accord is the provision in which the companies agree that they won't "clone" each other's products. If Microsoft could arrange a cross-license agreement with Apple that includes an anti-cloning provision and eventually come up with its own original work (everyone agrees that Microsoft's Modern UI is elegant, interesting, not just a knock-off), how come Samsung didn't reach a similar arrangement and produce its own distinctive look and feel?

Microsoft and Apple saw that an armed peace was a better solution than constant IP conflicts. Can Samsung and Apple decide to do something similar and feed engineers rather than platoons of high-priced lawyers (the real winners in these battles)?

It's a nice thought, but I doubt it'll happen. Gates and Jobs had known one another for a long time; there was animosity, but also familiarity. There is no such comfort between Apple and Samsung execs. There is, instead, a wide cultural divide.

– JLG@mondaynote.com

BBC Sport Launches iPhone App, Android to Follow

BBC Sport has launched a new app for the iPhone, that gives users easy access to BBC sports coverage, including commentaries from BBC 5 Live and BBC 5 Live Sports Extra. The launch has been timed to coincide with the January transfer window, one of the busiest time for news and stories in the football calendar.

Combining HTML 5 with native iOS features, users can access news articles, latest standings and results, and also interact with other users via social media. Live on-demand video streaming will be added to the app in a future update later in the year.

Initially available for the iPhone, a version is under way for Android, and will be released in a few weeks. The Android app needs further work to ensure compatibility with as many devices as possible, include Android Tablet devices.

“The app is a major step forward in our development and one that recognises the importance of mobile, right now and in the future,” said BBC Sport Head of Interactive, Ben Gallop. “A third of the traffic to the BBC Sport site already comes from mobile – a proportion that rises to more than 40% at the weekend when live sport is going on. It won't be long until most of our audience is accessing our content through handheld devices.”

The release of the dedicated BBC Sports app was decided following the popularity of the app released last year for the London Olympic games, which was downloaded over 2m times.

For now, the BBC Sport app will remain available for just iOS and Android. There are no plans to release an app for Windows Phone or BlackBerry. The cost of developing an app for these platforms needs to be justified against the size of market the service will reach. For now, users of Windows Phone and BlackBerry will have to continue accessing the BBC Sport Mobile Site.

The BBC Sport app is available to download for the iPhone for free, from the Apple App Store.

Analyst leaks more details of the iPad Mini 2 and Samsung Galaxy S4

The iPad Mini 2 and Samsung Galaxy S4 have leaked again, this time from an analyst in China.

The analyst in question is from RBC Capital Markets and says chipmakers are already working on the iPad Mini 2, while Samsung is set to include a bendable display on one of its 2013 launches, possible the Galaxy S4 in the second half of 2013.

'iPad Mini Gen-2: Apple's gen-2 iPad mini is getting pulled-in, and is likely to have several new suppliers, with TXN gaining content,' said analyst Doug Freedman.

TXN refers to Texas Instruments - one of the component suppliers used for parts on previous Apple projects.

Regarding the Samsung Galaxy S4, Freedman is predicting Samsung Display will be ready to ship an unbreakable plastic substrate screen by the second quarter, but the bendable screen won't be released until a couple of months after.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the most hotly tipped smartphone launch of 2013, with rumours suggesting it will be slimmer than the Galaxy S3 with a 5-inch screen and 1.2GHz dual-core CPU.

The iPad Mini 2 is said to feature a 7.9-inch screen with a top-notch ppi of 235.

View the original article here

Sony Yuga called Sony Xperia Z

The Sony Yuga will actually be called the Sony Xperia Z according to leaks on the web.

There's been a lot of hype around Sony's flagship device, due to be announced officially at CES.

Now Xperia Blog has revealed the name, courtesy of a 'source, who has provided credible information over at XDA in the past'.

The website goes on to say the Xperia Z will be both dust and water resistant measuring 139 x 71 x 7.9mm.

The screen will be 5-inches with a resolution of 443ppi and it will come with OptiContrast - another screen technology found on Sony TVs.

Previous rumours say the Sony Xperia Z wil run on Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chip, with a 12-megapixel camera.

We'll be reporting from CES 2013, so watch out for all the information right here!

View the original article here

iOS 6.0.2 arrives on iPhone 5 and iPad Mini

Apple has released the iOS 6.0.2 update for iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, stating the main features of the update are 'improvements and bug fixes'.

One of the highlighted bug fixes is for a problem that 'could impact Wi-Fi'. It is reported that some iPhone and iPad Mini users were experiencing Wi-Fi randomly disabling.

The update is a hefty 51.4MB, so you'll probably want to carry it out over Wi-Fi rather than data, to save a massive phone bill (unless you're on an unlimited tariff).

The iOS 6 update was announced in June 2012 and arrived on the iPhone and iPad Mini at launch. People using older iPhones and iPads were able to update their phones to iOS 6 from September.

It was reported in October that Apple was testing later versions of iOS, including iOS version 6.1 which will land after Christmas.

iOS 6 adds a host of new features, including its rather dodgy Maps application, improved Siri, Passbook and Facetime over 3G.

View the original article here

Sony Unveil Water Resistant Xperia Z Smartphone

Sony has unveiled the Sony Xperia Z at CES in Las Vegas, a water and dust resistant smartphone that boasts a massive 5.0 inch display.

The Xperia Z is expected to be released in the UK in March, with Phones4U already claiming they will be offering the 'Phablet' device.

The 5.0 inch display has a pixel resolution of 1080 x 1920, and is protected by a shatter proof and scratch resistant screen. The Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine 2 ensures images and video seen on the phone are clear and sharp, and the device makes use of the proprietary Sony UI, Timescape.

Onboard is a 13.0 Megapixel camera, which offers support for Geo-tagging, Face Detection, HDR, Image Stabilisation and the Sony Sweep Panorama feature. The camera is capable of recording 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second, supporting continuous auto-focus, video stabilisation and HDR. A front facing 2.2 Megapixel camera is also available, that which can also record 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second.

Powered by a quad core 1.5 GHz processor, the Xperia Z supports HSPA and LTE 4G, plus WiFi, with WiFi Direct, DLNA and WiFi Hotspot all included. Also onboard is Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP and NFC for fast wireless connection to other compatible devices. Sony are keen to highlight the benefits of NFC over and above the uses for wireless mobile cash payments, showing the possibilities of easily connecting your device to a compatible music player or TV to share media between devices, just by tapping them together.

The slim size of the handset, just 7.9mm, helps to compensate for the large size, which is needed to accommodate the large display. The handset measures 139mm long and 71mm wide, and weighs in at 146g. Internal memory on the handset is set to 16GB, with 2GB RAM, with memory expansion available via Micro SD memory cards, up to 32GB.

The Xperia Z will run on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, with a software upgrade planned to bring the device up to Android 4.2 soon after launch. The device is powered by a Lithium Ion 2330 mAh battery, that is non user-removable. Sony suggest that standby times are up to 550 hours, with up to 14 hours talktime and 40 hours music playback from a single charge. Sony have also included a battery stamina mode, which Sony claim more than doubles the battery life.

The Xperia Z from Sony is set to be available from March, and will be launching in Black, White and Purple variants.