Would-be graphic designers rejoice: Adobe has an app designed just for your smartphones.

Announced today, Photoshop Touch for mobile brings the core functions of Photoshop to the form factor of a phone.

Those who've been paying attention will know that Photoshop Touch for tablets has been around since last year, though Adobe has planned about bringing the app to life on handsets ever since.

"We wanted to make the app more accessible and available for situations where you don't have a tablet available," Stephen Nielson, product manager at Adobe, told TechRadar.

"We wanted to bring the same core features of Photoshop to millions of pockets worldwide."

Shop talk

The app features are virtually identical features as Touch for tablets, yet shrunken down to pant pocket size.

Users can utilize layers, advanced selection tools, adjustments and filters as they manipulate images taken straight from their phone's photo gallery or redacted from the cloud.

There's also a phone optimized version of Scribble Select that allows for precise selections and cropping even with a finger.

The Camera Fill feature lets users blend layers in real time using their camera as well as add textures.

Adobe has gone to great lengths to make sure everything is accessible within a thumb reach: tool bars around the perimeter make for quick swipes and taps to all the image manipulation tools you'd expect of Photoshop.

What would be mobile without easy share options? Touch users can quickly post their creations to Facebook and Twitter or send via email.

Instagramming it?

Though Photoshop tends to run in fairly graphically advanced circles, Nielson said that the mobile app is appropriate for someone who doesn't just want to apply a filter to a photo.

"Photoshop Touch is more of an advanced app in a lot of ways," he said. "You can do a lot more with it than any other app, but it does require a little more learning. You can pick it up very quickly, though."

When asked if Adobe is trying to do a little jockeying with Instagram, Nielson noted that what is central to the social site isn't Touch's focus.

"Our focus is the core features of Photoshop – the layering, advanced selections. It does include filters and adjustments, but those aren't the core features.

"We have some unique features, like more transformative tools that transform an image into something different rather than overlaying a filter."

Creative cloud

What really stands out with Adobe's app offering is the ability to start a project on a desktop, tinker with it on a tablet, then finish it off and share on a phone.

Flip the steps around or skip from one to the other, it doesn't matter thanks to the Creative Cloud.

If users do start a project on their phone, the image is first saved there and then is transmitted to cloud storage (there's even a loading bar to let you know when the transmission is complete).

Though there are several cloud subscription models, ranging up to US$50, a free cloud account comes with 2GB of storage.

The app will work on iPhone 4S's and higher and Android running Ice Cream Sandwich or later. iPod touch (5th generation) owners can also get a taste of Touch.

Except for China, the app is available now through the App Store and Google Play for US$5 globally.

Stay tuned for our full on review of the app, and be kind if you want to critique our photo skills. We're sensitive, you know.

Source : techradar[dot]com

The HTC Tiara may be the first Windows Phone 8 smartphone with GDR2, the second update to Microsoft's mobile operating system, according to rumored specifications.

Listed along with "Windows Phone 8 GDR2" as the OS are additional leaked specifications dug up by Unwired View that put this phone in the mid-range category.

Components include a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 4.3-inch Super WVGA LCD2 display, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage and a 1800mAh battery.

These rumored HTC Tiara specifications line up almost perfectly with the company's mid-range, Android-powered HTC One SV smartphone.

The only exception is that the WP8 version has a slightly superior 8MP rear-facing camera over the One SV's 5MP camera.

HTC is TBA on Tiara

The HTC Tiara release date is said to be in mid-May, according to the same rumor, although the company isn't ready to publicly crown its first Windows Phone 8 GDR2 smartphone just yet.

"HTC does not comment on rumors and speculations," the company told TechRadar when asked for a comment on the leaked specifications.

When Taiwanese device manufacturer does finally acknowledge its next WP8 smartphone, it's unlikely to call it by the codename Tiara.

Instead, look for something along the lines of the HTC 8T, 8U, 8V, or 8W, as this mid-range Windows Phone 8 smartphone's rumored components fit nicely between the existing HTC 8S and HTC 8X.

Source : techradar[dot]com

The stable version of Chrome 25 hasn't even been out for a week and Google has already promoted the next build to its beta channel and plans to roll out a completed version for Windows, Linux and Chrome OS "in the coming weeks" with Mac to follow soon after. Along with various developer-oriented tweaks (listed below), Chrome 26 brings improved spell checking with updated dictionaries and fresh support for Korean, Tamil and Albanian. Additionally, you can now sync custom dictionaries across devices.

Besides revamping the default dictionaries, Google is also adding support for grammar, homonym and context-sensitive checking -- the same technology you're likely already using in Google search and Google Docs. The engine will even correct proper nouns, such as the misspelling of Stephen Spielberg ("Steven" is correct). This feature is currently limited to English users who enable the "Ask Google for suggestions" spell check option, but Google plans to support additional languages in the near future.

Other noteworthy changes:

• Developer preview of app launcher on Windows.
• Forced compositing mode and threaded compositing on Mac.
• Desktop shortcuts for multiple users (profiles) on Windows.
• Updated UI styling of menus on Windows.
• Asynchronous DNS resolver on Mac and Linux.
• The
• CSS Transitions allow CSS property changes to occur smoothly rather than abruptly.
• The calc() function allows you to use basic mathematical expressions anywhere a length or number is required by a CSS property.
• The activeTab API allows your Chrome extension to interact with the currently active tab when the user invokes your extension – for example by clicking its browser action or hitting a keyboard shortcut. Since the activeTab API requires a user action to activate, it does not cause an install-time permissions warning.
• The HTML element can be used to represent the main content of the of a document or application.
• CSS pseudo elements (like ::before and ::after) can now be animated and transitioned.
• Encrypted Media Extensions allow you to play protected audio and video content on the Web.
• Enable the Experimental JavaScript flag in chrome://flags to try Object.observe(), which lets you add a listener to any JavaScript object that gets called whenever that object or its properties change.

Folks who are feeling even more adventurous may want to check out Chrome's Canary release, which contains a feature that adds a small visual indicator to tabs playing audio. More specifically, it places an animated equalizer over the site's favicon. Among other benefits, the feature would make it easy to find and close tabs with noisy ads or other annoying sounds. It's unclear if or when this feature will make it to a stable version of Chrome. Of note, Chrome Canary is mostly for developers and can be unstable.

Source : techspot[dot]com

Mastercard is set to roll out its new digital payments system MasterPass, moving into territory currently owned by PayPal.

Set to launch first in Australia and Canada, MasterPass is designed to be a digital payments system that can be used for all purchase, both online and in the real-world. In the first phase of its roll-out though, MasterPass will be something online merchants can add to the checkouts of their stores.

Down the track, Mastercard hopes to accept payments in stores using any number of data transfer methods, like NFC and QR codes. This builds on the Mastercard NFC-based PayPass system already being used by banks in credit and debit cards.

Digital dollars

Customers using MasterPass won't need to use Mastercard products exclusively either. The system is set up so that a number of different financial sources can be added to a single account. Over time, Mastercard intends to release the code to third-parties so that these businesses can create their own MasterPass-connected digital wallet.

Mastercard is also building a system so that the same functionality can be built directly into phones. Though, the recent partnership announced between rival Visa and electronics manufacturer Samsung prove that Mastercard is already off the pace in this regard.

Registrations will open in Australia and Canada by the end of March, with the USA and UK to follow shortly after, before a wider push around the world later in the year.

Source : techradar[dot]com

The LG Optimus Vu 2 picks up from where the original Optimus Vu left off, quirky 4:3 screen and all.

Eyebrows were raised when the first Vu was announced last year, but LG has obviously deemed it enough of a success to churn out a new iteration.

Global release dates and availability for the Optimus Vu 2 are currently unknown, but the handset is already on sale in LG's native Korea for 966,900 won (around £530/$860) and we'd expect it to hit other markets round the world in the coming months.

You still get a 4:3 aspect ratio display, which clocks in at 5-inches and boasts a 1024x768 XGA resolution.

The odd shape of the screen means the Optimus Vu 2, likes its predecessor is more of a square shape which makes the handset very wide and difficult to hold in one hand.

LG has managed to keep the weight down on the Vu 2 and the frame is quite thin so while your fingers may be struggling to properly wrap round at least your wrist isn't giving way.

It looks like a premium device thanks to the metallic frame running around its perimeter, but the sturdy chassis of the Optimus Vu 2 is predominantly plastic with no brush aluminium in sight.

To help manipulate the expansive display LG bundles a stylus with the Optimus Vu 2, but there's no space to slide it into the handset like you can with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which makes us think it will get lost in a matter of days.

The screen itself is bright and responsive and we had no trouble navigating our way around Android, although we were disappointed to find the LG Optimus Vu 2 was only running Ice Cream Sandwich and not Jelly Bean.

With a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM the Vu 2 has plenty of power under the hood and that makes for a smooth user experience and apps which open quickly.

You get 16GB of internal storage in the Optimus Vu 2 and there's a microSD card slot on hand if you feel the need to expand the memory capabilities.

LG has pre-installed Google Chrome alongside the stock Android browser, and thanks to its 4G connectivity, strong Wi-Fi support and powerful processor we we're able to nip around the web at a decent pace.

Both desktop and mobile sites looked good on the Optimus Vu 2, and the 4:3 aspect ratio makes viewing full versions of websites easier.

Video playback on the Vu 2 was pretty good, but it isn't the best we've seen on a smartphone and the 4:3 display really isn't suited to cinema footage, as you're stuck between having large black bars above and below or a distorted image if you want it to fill the screen.

The Optimus Vu 2 comes with LG's QSlide feature, which lets you make the video you're watching become a transparent overlay on the handset, allowing you to use other features of the phone without interrupting playback.

There's a slider present at the top of the display allowing you to adjust the opacity of the film and the transition from movie watching to the transparent, multitasking layer is a smooth one.

Another LG innovation is Vu: Talk which allows you to share your screen with another Optimus Vu 2 and gives both users the ability to draw on screen, share maps and make notes in real time and even during calls.

It's a pretty impressive feature but due to the limitation of both people requiring the handset to make it work, it's one we fear won't get a great deal of use.

The 8MP camera on the back of the LG Optimus Vu 2 produces some pretty good quality images, and with features such as a flash, HDR, panorama, burst mode and a voice controlled shutter the app is well stocked.

Shutter speed is quick and the voice controlled option is a fun way to take photos, with the simple command of "cheese" or "smile" enough for the Optimus Vu 2 to snap a picture.

There's also a time machine mode which will take five photos before you hit the shutter, to ensure you don't miss the action you're trying to capture and it worked pretty well when we tested it out.

Thanks to the large size and awkward shape of the LG Optimus Vu 2 one handed typing is a bit of a struggle, but you can set the keyboard to bump up to the left or right of the screen to make it a little easier.

However this adjusted view means the keys become bunched up and the cramped layout can lead to mistakes.

Early Verdict

While we applaud LG for breaking the mould with the screen on the Optimus Vu 2 we can't help but think the handset is just a bit too impractical.

The oddly shaped screen will put a lot of people off at point of sale and it doesn't offer anything particularly outstanding over the competition such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

If you want a big screened LG handset you're probably better off checking out the Optimus G Pro which sports a full HD, 5.5-inch display - although you don't get a stylus with that.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Earlier this week, some of you may have seen the teasers regarding AMD's TressFX physics and rendering technology. Today, the chip-maker unveiled details about TressFX -- its new toolset for creating life-like locks. The system promises a future for gamers where rendered hair features both a realistic look and realistic movements.

TressFX is the fruit of a partnership between AMD and Crystal Dynamics -- the game studio who managed to snag control of the iconic Tomb Raider franchise roughly a decade ago. Not surprisingly, the next Tomb Raider installment -- essentially a franchise reboot -- depicts the tomb-diving heroine Lara Croft with flowing locks of finely rendered hair, rather than her trademark bundle of hair-like blocks.

Hair found throughout the history of gaming titles has traditionally been a collection of some low-number of polygons with a hair-like texture mapped over top of it. TressFX creates a system where developers can have thousands of individual, flexible "strands" of hair that can be influenced by gravity, wind, movement and even moisture. The strands are treated as solid constructs, unable to clip past other objects. This should make the perceivable results of TressFX particularly realistic.

AMD's sophisticated hair tools are based on its previous work with Order Independent Transparency (OIT), making use of Per-Pixel Linked-List (PPLL) data structures to memory usage and rendering complexity. TressFX also leverages the massively-parallel processing power afforded by DirectCompute, taking full advantage of AMD's GCN-based Radeon cards.

Although AMD doesn't say specifically, Nvidia line-up also supports DirectCompute and OIT (pdf), which may suggest TressFX will work across a broader variety of GPUs than just AMD Radeons. However, it's a safe bet that TressFX will work best, if not exclusively, with Radeon GPUs.

Source : techspot[dot]com

There are plenty of things to assume about the Samsung smartphone codenamed "Godiva," not least that its launch could be approaching, if recent FCC filings are proof of anything.

The Samsung Godiva was identified by the FCC on Tuesday, having been put through the requisite tests that indicate it could be released soon.

This despite the fact that Samsung has yet to even acknowledge Godiva's existence - much less admitted that it's actually the Stratosphere III.

That's another assumption, true, but it's one that's grounded in evidence.

Flying colors

The FCC test results revealed that the Samsung Godiva will be compatible with CDMA and LTE and feature GSM roaming and NFC, a feature that was hinted at in previous leaks.

Beyond that everything that's known about the Godiva came from various leaks, including the Godiva photos that popped up in mid January.

According to these leaks, Godiva's specs will include a Qualcomm 1.4GHz Snapdragon MSM8960 chip and Adreno 305 graphics, a 1280x720 display, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

Godiva = Stratosphere III

What's really interesting about the Samsung Godiva, though, is that it's almost certainly the next device in Samsung's "Stratosphere" line of mid-range phones (though it lacks the QWERTY of the Stratosphere II).

The original Stratosphere went by the model number SCH-I405, while the Stratosphere II, launched in the fall, went by SCH-I415.

And the Godiva? SCH-I425. So either the Samsung Godiva is really the Samsung Stratosphere III, or Samsung needs to rethink its process for assigning model numbers to devices.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Google announced on Tuesday that users of its social network, Google+, are now able to sign into third party apps using their Google+ credentials.

Similar functionality has existed in rival social network Facebook for years, and Google+ finds itself once again playing catch-up, fledgling venture that it is.

Google's touting a number of improvements over Facebook's app sign-in functionality, without specifically calling its rival out by name.

But when Google's director of product management for Google+, Seth Sternberg, promised not to let apps "spray updates" all over the place in a Tuesday Google Blog post, we all knew who he was referring to.

Making promises

Sternberg promised that Google is focused on "four key principles" for the initial release of Google+ application sign-in.

Those principles are "simplicity and security" (which sound like two principles to us), desktop and mobile being "better together," sharing content vs. "spraying" it, and "sharing is for doing, not just viewing."

The first is self-explanatory; with Google's various services becoming increasingly more connected all the time, a log-in for Gmail, Youtube or any other Google service can be used as well as Google+ credentials. And users can easily review the apps they've signed into at plus.google.com/apps.

"Google+ Sign-In also comes with the protections and safeguards you've come to expect from your Google account," Sternberg wrote.

Being selective

App sign-in comes with some other features that benefit from Google's ubiquity across devices and service, like the ability to connect mobile and desktop devices in new ways. For example, when users sign in with Google+ credentials to a desktop app that has a mobile equivalent, they'll be able to install the app on their mobile devices with a click.

Google also teased new "interactive" Google+ stream posts that will invite users' friends directly into third-party apps. That sounds a lot like those annoying Facebook notifications that ask users to allow third-party apps to access their profiles, but at least the Google+ equivalent will stay in the stream and out of your inbox (hopefully).

Most importantly, perhaps, Google promised that with help from Circles, it will be easy to determine which apps will share what information with whom on your Google+ profile.

"Google+ doesn't let apps spray 'frictionless' updates all over the stream, so app activity will only appear when it's relevant (like when you're actually looking for it)," Sternberg wrote.

Judging by the number of inane and pointless third party items that appear in our Facebook news feeds, we'd hazard that that's easier said than done. That or maybe our friends just really don't understand what's appropriate to share.

Several apps will soon roll out or have already integrated Google+ sign-in features, including Flixster, OpenTable, The Guardian, Shazam, and USA Today. Developers who want to integrate the sign-in feature should head to Google's developer docs.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Razer has announced their award-winning Razer Edge gaming tablet will be available for pre-order on March 1 at 12:01 AM PST. The company says units purchased at that time will be shipped to consumers later in the month although no specific ship date was mentioned.

The gaming tablet, originally known as Project Fiona, was showcased at the 2012 CES as a prototype device but over the course of the year, fans let the company know that they wanted it to become a real product. That happened in January as Razer unveiled the finished product and changed the name to the Razer Edge.

The 10.1-inch slate will ship in two different configurations. The base model will include an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of flash memory and a discrete Nvidia GT640M LE GPU. For a bit more dough, the Pro edition houses an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory and either 128GB or 256GB or storage space.

The tablet was selected as the winner of the “Best of CES” award from CNET last month, although the prestigious honor didn’t come without a bit a bit of controversy. The publication originally selected the Hopper with Sling from Dish Network as the winner but CNET’s parent company (CBS Corp.) chimed in and forced them to retract the award and select a new product – the Razer Edge.

The incident caught the attention of the Consumer Electronics Association which ultimately cut ties with the technology website and awarded both products as winners this year.

Source : techspot[dot]com

Windows Phone continues to sneak up in terms of UK smartphone market share, but new research is suggesting its Android that is losing the most users to Microsoft's mobile OS.

Data from Kandar Worldpanel ComTech claimedWindows Phone added 700,000 new users in the UK during 2012, which was an increase of 240 per cent over the previous 12 months.

However, the research pointed out that 17 per cent of these new users reportedly switched to handsets like the Nokia Lumia 800 and HTC Windows Phone 8X from those on Google's Android operating system.

That's more than any other platform apart from Symbian (26 per cent), which can be easily explained by Nokia loyalists simply upgrading from their old devices running the condemned operating system.

Android has more to lose

In contrast, 6 per cent of Windows Phone leapt from the sinking BlackBerry ship, while only 2 per cent of newcomers to Microsoft's mobile OS arrived via iOS. The other 47 per cent were buying their first smartphone.

Android sure didn't suffer too much by losing an estimated 119,000 or so users to Windows Phone in 2012, increasing its market share to 56.2 per cent. iOS was finished 2012 on 30.6 per cent, while WP was in third with just over 6 per cent, according to the research.

However, it is interesting that Android apparently lost more users to Windows Phone than iOS despite its overall gains.

Elementary analysis of the results would suggest that iPhone users are more loyal to the platform and less inclined to leave for pastures new, whereas Android users are less attached and ready to switch things up a little if a new platform intrigues.

Of course, there are more people using Android than any other platform, so by proxy there are more people who can conceivably leave for Windows Phone, but the numbers still seem a little out of whack.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Source : mobilemag[dot]com

While there have been some standout devices shown off at Mobile World Congress 2013, there seems to be something missing: new phones launched.

Team TechRadar has been out at the conference in full force for the past few days, forgoing sleep and the delights of Barcelona to sample the latest and greatest the mobile manufacturing world has to offer.

However, that's been a little trickier than in recent years, as there simply has been less cool new stuff announced at the show.

We're not saying it's a barren wasteland, with Windows Mobile handsets shuffling around empty warehouses screaming 'But we were so POWERFUL' into the cluttered airwaves, but the days when we would almost literally lose our minds with the volume of phones to preview are gone.

Not nothing...

There are notable exceptions of course: the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 has been worth a look, Firefox OS is coming to new handsets and new manufacturers have got into the Android game as well.

But even the new launches aren't new; LG press released everything it was bringing to the conference before it started, the HTC One went all iPhone and had its own press event and Sony's big reveal was… a tablet that had already been announced in Japan a month ago.

Rewind just two years and the smell of frazzled keyboards still hangs in the Barcelona air as technology journalists frantically trying to bring you news of the Samsung Galaxy S2, LG's Optimus 3D and the Sony Ericsson 'PlayStation Phone', the Xperia Play.

Even writing those names out has caused our keyboard to become doused in sweat as the memories of caffeine-induced frenzies that fuelled our hands on reviews come screaming back to the mind.

It's all different now though; Samsung has swanned off to do its own Galaxy thing and many other manufacturers are eschewing the traditional MWC launches. However, it does make a lot of sense when you consider the way phones are released, as a February unveil doesn't really allow much flexibility.

If you notice, most handsets go on sale in May, July or October (with a little wiggle room and the odd one chucked out in late February) to fit in with consumer buying cycles – anything announced now would have to wait a few months before hitting customer pockets, and that's wasted buzz.

Much better to have your own launch event, one that doesn't run the risk of being overshadowed by myriad other announcements, than to simply become tomorrow's (quad-core) chip paper.

But here's the upside for you: fewer handsets to talk about means more time to dig deeper into the innovation itself, to speak to the people that matter and get the inside scoop on what's actually going on behind the scenes in the mobile world.

TechRadar will be bringing you more of that very content in the next few days as the dust settles on our extensive previews of the latest handsets, so stay tuned for more on how phones could stay on standby forever without needing a charge, or how you could soon blow on a screen to take a picture.

And if that's not enough to keep you going, well, isn't there a big ol' launch happening in New York in the next few weeks…?

Source : techradar[dot]com

The ZTE Grand Memo is the latest in what is a growing range of super sized smartphones, sporting a frankly huge display.

It slides in at the top of the ZTE range, as the Chinese firm looks to extend its high-end mobile offering after it launched the Grand S last month at CES 2013.

ZTE expects the Grand Memo to go on sale during the second quarter of the year, however an exact release date and price are yet to be announced.

The main attraction on the Grand Memo is its large 5.7-inch display - which features a 1280 x 720 HD resolution - dominates the front of the device, but there's a sizeable chunk of bezel above and below the screen adding extra length to an already big handset.

It puts the Grand Memo up against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, LG Optimus G Pro and Huawei Ascend Mate.

This bulk makes it a little unwieldy in the hand and we found ourselves really having to stretch our fingers to properly grasp the Grand Memo.

Design wise the Grand Memo is pretty standard fare, with the now familiar slab of glass on the front coupled with glossy plastic on the rear which offers little in the way of grip - something you really could do with on such a large phone.

At least ZTE has managed to keep the thickness down, cramming an impressive amount of tech into the slender 8.5mm frame.

The screen itself is bright and clear, although on closer inspection its not the most detailed of displays we've had the pleasure of ogling and you may want to consider the full HD Optimus G Pro or the smaller Sony Xperia Z and HTC One.

ZTE has employed a rather hearty overlay onto the Android Jelly Bean OS, with a lot of 3D animation in play as you slide between homescreens and flick through the app list.

These animations are a little annoying however and means operation is slowed down as they perform their various actions.

It's disappointing as we reckon the 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM inside the Grand Memo could make mince meat of the stock version of Jelly Bean.

Some of the animations can be switched off in the settings menu, but some still remain and that irks us somewhat.

As with Huawei, ZTE can be accused of making its Android UI look a little bit childish, and we'd much prefer the clean cut Google icons to the more cuddly ones we get on the Grand Memo.

Aside from the animations getting in the way the Grand Memo is pretty nippy everywhere else, with apps opening promptly.

There's only 16GB of storage inside the ZTE Grand Memo, but thankfully a microSD slot resides under an easy to remove flap on the left side of the handset, as do the microSIM and microUSB ports.

You'll find the power/lock key located on the top of the device, which can be a little tricky to hit if you're holding the Grand Memo in one hand as you usually need to shuffle it down a bit to reach.

ZTE has packed some of the latest connectivity tech inside the Grand Memo with Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 5.0GHz and 4G all present and correct, although we were unable to test the internet speeds due to a lack of connection at the booth.

NFC hasn't been included here and we suspect it has something to do with ZTE wanting to keep the body of the handset slender.

A 3,200mAh battery resides inside the Grand Memo which should hopefully keep you going for a day, but we worry about those over the top interface animations draining unnecessary juice.

The Grand Memo is also well equipped in the camera department with a 13MP snapper and LED flash round the back, while on the front you get a 1MP lens.

The camera app has a simple layout which is easy to use and the shutter speed is suitably quick which meant we were able to snap photos in succession without having to wait around.

Modes such as HDR, panorama and burst are all present and correct along with a variety of effects and the option to record 1080p video.

We weren't overly impressed by the picture quality on the ZTE Grand Memo with images seeming to lack clarity and moving objects appearing blurry.

Early Verdict

We're starting to become spoilt for choice in the "phablet" market as more and more manufacturers decide to jump on the super sized smartphone band wagon.

While the ZTE Grand Memo is a decent handset it isn't the best in its class, with the Optimus G Pro and Galaxy Note 2 still the two standout devices.

The Grand Memo could do well if it is priced lower than its competitors, to offer customers a massive screen on a budget, but if ZTE looks to match the cost of its rivals it could spell trouble for this tabl.. sorry, smartphone.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Windows 7 users have had access to a release preview of Internet Explorer 10 for a few months now, but now Microsoft is making the final release available on the platform for the first time since the browser’s debut on Windows 8. The new version is said to provide up to a 20% speed increase over Internet Explorer 9 as well as more support for modern web standards.

Feature-wise, Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 will be nearly identical to its Windows 8 counterpart, although the user interface is largely the same as version 9. It has the controversial Do Not Track option turned on by default, preventing advertisers from having automatically tracking users’ behavior online. It also includes support for the Pointer Events touch API and hardware acceleration using Direct2D and DirectWrite, which will require a platform update to bring Windows 7's version of these APIs in line with Windows 8.

Download: Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7

Other notable features include integrated spell checking and auto-correct, improved JavaScript performance, and support for 30 new standards covering HTML5, CSS3 and Web Application specifications. There’s also a focus on battery life improvements for mobile PCs. As Ars Technica notes, pretty much the only major difference is that IE10 for Windows 7 will continue to use Adobe's updater for Flash, whereas Windows 8’s version includes an embedded version of Flash that gets its updates from Windows Update.

Although the browser is available for download right now Microsoft will be pushing the new version through Windows Update over the coming months. Anyone with the release preview installed will see IE10 as an "important" update, which means it will install silently and automatically under Windows Update’s default configuration. Those on IE9 should start seeing IE10 as an important update shortly thereafter too.

Source : techspot[dot]com

In the inaugural TechRadar MWC Awards, there could be only one Best In Show - and our crack team of experts deemed the HTC One the cream of this year's mobile crop.

The One also took the coveted Best Phone award, while the Best Tablet went to the impressive Sony Xperia Tablet Z and the People's Choice award went to Firefox OS.

"It's been tremendously hard to judge these awards - congratulations to those that won!" said Gareth Beavis, phones and tablets editor at TechRadar.

Stiff competition

"The sheer level of competition shows that we're in for a strong 2013 in terms of technology and new levels of innovation, with Full HD screens, waterproof designs, next generation connectivity and even new ways of charging our phones being very much to the fore."

Explaining why the HTC One took Best Phone, he described it as "refreshing" for "combining innovation with consumer needs".

"While we were very impressed with efforts from LG, Sony and Huawei, HTC's combination of stunning design, alternative camera technology and cutting edge specs have created a real buzz around its impending launch," he added.

Tablet tie-break

When it came to Best Tablet it was a hard won battle for the Xperia Tablet Z. Gareth explained: "Another close fight between Sony and Samsung, but the Xperia Tablet Z prevails due to its lightweight design, NFC integration and sheer screen quality - we found it very hard to fault in our preview.

"Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 was a strong contender, as the S Pen / screen size combination is really impressive, but the Xperia Tablet Z edged it thanks to its impressive Reality Display."

On to the People's Choice award, and it was Mozilla's open source OS that took gold.

"Firefox OS has had an inauspicious start to life, but it really came to the fore at MWC 2013 thanks to a number of manufacturers pledging to support the platform with devices," said Gareth, explaining the judges' motivations.

"It might be designed for emerging markets, but the OS has a real chance of making waves in budget smartphones and could herald a new way of developing apps for phones in the future."

The best... around!

And finally, the Best in Show - what Gareth describes as "a superbly tricky category to call".

But it was the show floor that swung it for HTC: "You only needed to look at the swaths of people clustered around the HTC stand to play with the One to see that this is where the buzz resides at the show this year."

If all that talk of top-notch mobile madness has left you thirsty for more mobile action, catch up with all the news, hands on reviews and in-depth analysis in our comprehensive MWC 2013 round up.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Mozilla will soon be taking a page from Apple’s book and implementing a feature in Firefox 22 that will allow the browser to block advertising cookies from third-parties by default. If you aren’t already aware, Cupertino’s Safari browser has shipped with this feature for some time now. The same technique is already possible with the current version of Firefox but users have to enable it manually in the Options menu.

Jonathan Mayer, the Stanford graduate that’s responsible for the new functionality, says the collateral impact should be limited due to the fact that Safari’s desktop and iOS browser has implemented a similar cookie policy for more than 10 years now. He said that a few websites may require a small code change to accommodate Firefox in the same way they do with Safari.

As you can imagine, advertising executives aren’t exactly thrilled about the news. Mike Zaneis, senior vice president and general counsel for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, published a response on Twitter saying the default setting would be a nuclear first strike against the ad industry.

It’s unclear at this point when exactly we can expect to see the feature arrive as a final release but given some basic math, we can narrow it down somewhat accurately. The current version of Firefox for desktops is 19 and we are told cookie blocking will first arrive in version 22.

What’s more, the update will spend roughly six weeks in pre-alpha, alpha and beta before it’s ready for the big show. Based on this information, we probably shouldn’t expect to see Firefox 22 for another 4-5 months at the earliest.

Source : techspot[dot]com

So the Acer Liquid Z2 is not going to set the mobile world alight, but we quite like it all the same.

It's designed primarily as a first baby step into the smartphone world and comes with some helpful features to make the transition as painless as possible.

It's a fairly dinky little thing to look at and comes with a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, 1GHz single-core processor, and a 3MP camera.

As a resolutely budget device, it does not feel like a premium smartphone, but it's small and light and certainly isn't horrible to look at and fondle in the hand. There are uglier phones out there that cost twice as much. That said, it is quite a fat device for something so small, but at least it's not heavy.

The great thing about this little phone is that even your mum's silly friend who dresses too young for her age and pretends not to understand the TV remote will be able to use it. It comes with an app called 'Quick Mode' which is essentially an app launcher designed for people who don't know what Android is and don't want to know.

Open it up and it gives you all of the main settings, functions and apps in one menu. Things like Bluetooth on/off, camera, browser etc. All of the things a technophobe needs to make use of a smartphone without trying, basically.

This all runs on top of a mostly vanilla-flavoured build of Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and even though it has low-end specs, it still manages to be nippy and responsive to the touch. There was no sluggishness, and the camera - which "launches in just one second" - was able to fire off snap after snap without any focus or save lag.

Early Verdict

OK, so it's not going to win any awards but we like the Acer Liquid Z2 and look forward to putting it through its paces in a full review. We give it a tentative thumbs up for the time being and encourage you to check it out if you have a technophobic friend or relative who quakes at the thought of touching anything with silicon inside it. Just don't tell them it has silicon inside it.

Source : techradar[dot]com