Fresh speculation is afoot, with a rumor coming from a Japanese blog of a fairly reliable reputation about an entry-level iPhone hitting the market in 2014.
Macotakara (via AppleInsider) reported Thursday that Apple is developing a polycarbonate iPhone measuring 4.5-inches, a few stitches more than the 4-inch iPhone 5. Despite the bigger screen, the phone is said to largely take after the rest of the iPhone family - home button under LCD display and all.
With nary a mention of sources, the blog reported that the material used to make the new phone's body will be similar to the glossy shell of the discontinued white plastic MacBook. Because of the material, it's likely this iPhone (iPhone plastic?) will be thicker than current models, though it should pick up some extra durability.
While larger than its current handsets, Apple is said to be targeting a price of US$330, though it's unclear if that is an unsubsidized price for the phone or not.
Hope you're thirsty...
Like the rim of a margarita glass, take this info down with a few grains of salt.
As we said, no sources were named whatsoever, so the validity of this info is questionable.
However, it does raise some interesting ideas about what Apple has planned next.
There have been disparaging reports about the size of the "cheap" iPhone's screen, with rumors pegging it as similar to the iPhone 4S' display, the iPhone 5's and even larger, at 5 inches.
The most recent report had it copying the iPhone 5's 4-inch form, but today's rumor places it a little closer to the trend we're picking up that a budget iPhone will have a screen larger than any current model.
We won't know size details for sure until (and if) Apple ever introduces this polycarbonate device, but where things stand we wouldn't be surprised at all if a lower-priced iPhone housed a bigger screen.
The idea that this iDevice will be made with cheaper materials and priced at such a dramatic drop from the unsubsidized iPhone 5 plays into Apple's move into emerging markets like China and Brazil.
What's more, as Android seemingly continues its stomp across the globe and starts to saturate the U.S. market more thoroughly, Apple likely feels the pressure to hit more price points in order to compete.
For the right phone, US$330 could strike the sweet spot for customers in every country who've always been interested in an iPhone yet were turned away by price.
iPhone 5S snippet
Though most of the report focused on this entry-level iPhone, there was a takeaway related to Apple's rumored iPhone 5 follow-up, the iPhone 5S.
According to the report, the 5S will include a dual-flash LED module on the rear of the device. Stacked atop one another and to the right of the camera, the two flash ports will aid in, you guessed it, picture taking.
It's not the biggest piece of news, but we'll take it.
A Manhattan district court jury heard opening arguments on Monday about a 2011 patent infringement complaint filed by a former Sony engineer against Nintendo over the 3DS' display technology. Seijiro Tomita, a 30-year Sony veteran who retired in 2002 to create his own inventions, claims he met with Nintendo in 2003 to show the company his solution for displaying 3D visuals without requiring glasses.
Tomita alleges that he demonstrated the then patent-pending technology for seven Nintendo workers and four of them went on to help make the 3DS. The US granted Tomita's patent in 2008, years before the 3DS' March 2011 launch, and he believes Nintendo is using his idea without permission. To right that wrong, he wants a pile of cash -- specifically, $9.80 for every 3DS that has been and will be sold.
As of December 31, 2012, Nintendo has sold 29.84 million units worldwide. Assuming Tomita's request is awarded, he could be looking at a payment well into the hundreds of millions, but Nintendo isn't opening its coin purse without a fight. The company insists that its device doesn't use "cross-point" information, a core part of Tomita's patent that helps show 3D images across multiple displays.
What's more, Nintendo said Tomita was far from the only person or vendor to show the company 3D display technology. "Mr. Tomita's meeting was one of hundreds," Nintedo's attorney Scott Lindvall said. In fact, it was noted that the game maker held four meetings about 3D technology before even speaking with Tomita, including one in 2002 with Sharp, which now produces the 3DS' display.
Veteran YouTubers with iOS devices will be happy to learn the most recent update (v. 1.2.1) to the YouTube app finally adds "send to TV" functionality.
The update will allow iPhone 5, iPad 4, and iPod touch users to pair their mobile devices to a television set equipped with Google TV, which will make it possible to control content streamed to the TV from any compatible device.
The feature was already available on Android, but at least now there's one more feature iOS users can claim as their own.
Stream line
Though there are only a handful of Google TV compatible sets on the market, there are even more manufacturers readying such devices for later this year.
Fortunately, if you don't have a compatible HDTV, the YouTube app also allows you to pair your mobile device with an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, though the process isn't as simple on the gaming consoles.
The new "send to TV" feature even allows for anyone else on the same Wi-Fi network to control what's streaming, or add new content to a playlist.
The addition of iOS devices for this feature makes a great deal of sense for YouTube, as more than 25 percent of its views now come from mobile users.
With companies like Bang and Olufsen, LG, Panasonic, Sony, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio, and Western Digital all onboard the Google TV train, we're sure to see even mobile-to-TV cross compatibility take place in the future.
Veteran YouTubers with iOS devices will be happy to learn the most recent update (v. 1.2.1) to the YouTube app finally adds "send to TV" functionality.
The update will allow iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users to pair their mobile devices to a television set equipped with Google TV, which will make it possible to control content streamed to the TV from any compatible device.
The feature was already available on Android, but at least now there's one more feature iOS users can claim as their own.
Stream line
Though there are only a handful of Google TV compatible sets on the market, there are even more manufacturers readying such devices for later this year.
Fortunately if you don't have a compatible HDTV, the YouTube app also allows you to pair your mobile device with an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, though the process isn't as simple on the gaming consoles.
The new "send to TV" feature even allows for anyone else on the same Wi-Fi network to control what's streaming, or add new content to a playlist.
The addition of iOS devices for this feature makes a great deal of sense for YouTube, as more than 25 percent of its views now come from mobile users.
With companies like Bang and Olufsen, LG, Panasonic, Sony, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio, and Western Digital all onboard the Google TV train, we're sure to see even mobile-to-TV cross compatibility take place in the future.
Ouya announced plans to ship their Android-based gaming console to backers on March 28. A post on the company’s website said parts are already in the factory and the assembly line is buzzing away as they gradually ramp up production. The message further advises gamers to keep an eye on their inbox for an e-mail containing tracking information and estimated arrival date.
The young game company also announced the hiring of Kellee Santiago, co-founder of thatgamecomapny (responsible for creating Journey and Flower) and partner with Indie Fund. Santiago will join the Ouya team as the leader of developer relations.
In a published statement, Santiago said Ouya gets it as they are the first console company that really understands how important it is to remove the barriers to development. By freeing up the development process, she says, the company is opening up new doors in console gaming.
Ouya also noted that Kim Swift, responsible for hit titles like Left 4 Dead, Portal and Quantum Conundrum will be working with Airtight Games to create an exclusive title for the console. Swift said the platform gives them the freedom to fully realize the funky, unique game they have in mind. The game is said to appeal to core gamers in terms of skill and difficulty but also has an unexpected, imaginative slant.
The company is still planning a full retail launch this June where systems will be available in brick-and-mortar stores like Best Buy, GameStop and Target. Online shoppers will be able to pick up the console through Amazon, we’re told.
Not to be outdone by Brin, Google's Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President Patrick Pichette took time during his talk at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference to put Motorola on blast.
Yes, even though Google purchased Motorola Mobility back in 2011, the internet search giant and Android OS provider isn't exactly thrilled with what it's inherited, according to Pichette.
Wow factor
Motorola, Pichette said, had 18 months worth of products to roll out when Google took over formally last year, which included the already announced Droid Razr Maxx HD and Droid Razr M. We've heard about this 18-month backlog before as part of the reason why Google hasn't yet produced a phone with its acquisition.
Though both these Droids have fared well enough both critically and commercially, Pichette didn't shy away from expressing his exasperation with what he's seen and what's yet to come.
"The case with Motorola is that we've inherited a pipeline," Pichette said, according to The Verge.
"Motorola has a great set of products, but they're not really like 'wow' by Google standards. Dennis Woodside [CEO of Motorola Mobility] and his team have inherited 18 months of pipeline that we have to drain right now."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the company rumored to be helping Google develop its own device dubbed the X Phone.
Relationship woes
That Motorola hasn't impressed Pichette isn't necessarily surprising, but the way in which he acknowledged his disappointment so publicly was a bit shocking, especially considering whispers that Google and Samsung are on rocky ground.
Pichette, however, was quick to dismiss any controversy brought about by the claims Google and Samsung aren't seeing eye to eye, and claimed both companies have a "terrific relationship."
Needless to say, we're curious what Google has planned for Motorola after that 18-month pipeline has been drained, particularly with Samsung's Galaxy S4 slated to unveil at the Unpacked event on March 14. The bar could be raised rather high, and Google is certainly going to want to show up with its next phone, or maybe consider getting a new manufacturing partner.
Earlier today Ubisoft revealed the box art for Assasin’s Creed IV: Black Flag on Twitter, validating a number of rumors that we have heard about the game this week. The main protagonist could be Edward Kenway, Connor’s (from Assassin’s Creed III) grandfather and a privateer according to at least one source.
The game’s storyline and setting will no doubt take place on the high seas as the box art reveals the game’s hero standing on the deck of a pirate ship with an ominous black flag waving in the background. The adventure is expected to take place in the Caribbean islands including the Bahamas, Jamaica and Cuba.
The single photo is all we have to go on at the moment but we understand that Ubisoft is planning to release more information on the game on March 4. We do know that Ubisoft will release the game sometime during fiscal year 2014 which starts on April 1, 2013 and runs through March 31, 2014.
The PlayStation 3 version of Black Flag will include 60 minutes of exclusive gameplay. This appears to be similar to the four extra missions that PS3 gamers were given in Assasin’s Creed III. Thus far the title has only been announced for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and the Wii U. Depending on when the game is released, it’s not out of the question to think we could see it show up on the PS4 and the yet-to-be-announced Xbox 720 as well.
HTC One - the only Sense 5.0 handset, but only for now
HTC has confirmed that it plans to upgrade a select number of handsets to the newly-announced Sense 5.0. The news came first through the phone makers Facebook account, then via an HTC statement.
Currently only running on the HTC One, Sense 5.0 should be coming to the HTC One X, HTC One X+, HTC One S and HTC Butterfly in various guises.
Not all the handsets will be able to support all the features of the upgraded UI, however, so you won't necessarily be getting the full HTC One experience on your aged hardware.
Sensible
Sense 5.0 brings a new menu layout and a raft of new apps like Simplicity and Blinkfeed to the HTC Android line-up.
No word from the phone maker as to exactly when the software updates will hit beyond "in the next few months," but we'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, check out what we made of the software in our hands on HTC One review.
HTC One - the only Sense 5.0 handset, but only for now
HTC has confirmed that it plans to upgrade its One Series of handsets to the newly-announced Sense 5.0.
Currently only running on the HTC One, Sense 5.0 should be coming to the HTC One X, HTC One X+, HTC One S and HTC Butterfly in various guises.
Not all the handsets will be able to support all the features of the upgraded UI, however, so you won't necessarily be getting the full HTC One experience on your aged hardware.
Sensible
Sense 5.0 brings a new menu layout and a raft of new apps like Simplicity and Blinkfeed to the HTC Android line-up.
No word from the phone maker as to exactly when the software updates will hit but we'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, check out what we made of the software in our hands on HTC One review.
It appears micro-transactions -- those enticing in-game unlocks and premium items that typically cost a litte extra cash -- will possibly make their way into every Electronic Arts game in the not-so-distant future. EA says it plans to add in-game purchases to all platforms, including PC, mobile and console games.
"We're building into all of our games the ability to pay for things along the way," EA CFO Blake Jorgensen stated during an investor conference. "either to get to a higher level to buy a new character, to buy a truck, a gun, whatever it might be, and consumers are enjoying and embracing that way of the business."
Additionally, EA has built its own micro-transaction back-end. In the past, EA has outsourced its in-game purchase operations to third-party companies; however, the game publisher is now taking ownership of its micro-transaction business. By moving the operation in-house, EA presumes it can maximize profits from future pint-sized puchases -- a business which generates far more than pint-sized profits.
Jorgenson told investors that "The Simpsons", for example -- a game that is free to play -- racked up about $25 million in micro-purchases during Q4 2012.
Dead Space 3 is a prime example of a AAA game title featuring micro-transactions. EA's inclusion of in-game purchases wasn't without criticism though, sparking debates over the potential for conflicts of interest (e.g. placing "brick walls" to lure gamers into paying to surmount near-impossible scenarios) and the integrity of a company who releases a $60 title with the foregone conclusion of gamers spending even more. And, If you'll excuse the pedantry, there's also the philosophical matter of a $50 DLC pack being considered a "micro" transaction.
In its Dead Space 3 review, Eurogamer reviewer Dan Whitehead had this to say about micro-transactions: "It's not about crudely forcing the player to spend extra with brick wall obstacles, but a more subtle psychological invitation, leaving the option out in the open, like a box of chocolates tantalisingly within reach". Whitehead continued, "I managed to complete the game without spending any extra and never felt like I'd been held back, but by the same token there were plenty of moments where I fell just short of what was needed."
"It's easy to see how the temptation would be hard to resist, especially when certain resources are conspicuously less common than others." he added.
How do you feel about microtransactions becoming a mandatory feature in EA's upcoming games?
HTC is streamlining its approach to smartphones this year, making the new HTC One its sole flagship handset.
Executive director for U.K. and Ireland, Phil Roberson, revealed that the HTC One will be true to its name, with the Taiwanese firm betting big on sleek iPhone-like Android handset.
"We just said, let's just create one flagship device this year," Roberson told Omio. "This is The One."
Last year HTC took a very different approach, releasing the a wide range of HTC One devices including the One X, One X+, One V, and One S.
One handset to rule them all
Consolidating its flagship brand to a single device could pay off for HTC. The multiple model approach can quickly confuse users as to which features belong with which handset.
There is no confusion about the new HTC One though, with a 4.7-inch full HD display, 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, and 2GB of DDR2 RAM.
It also features Beats Audio-powered BoomSound with a front-facing speaker and amplifier, along with BlinkFeed for a constant stream of news and photos from your preferred outlets and social networks.
The camera, while 'only' 4MP, uses UltraPixels to increase the pixel size and picture quality along with it, especially in low-light settings. The camera will also get a boost with HTC Zoe, which animates photos into mini-movies.
Of course, just because the HTC One will be the only flagship HTC device on the market doesn't mean that the door is closed to other HTC handsets outside of the One brand.
After the HTC One took the MWC best in show award, it's hard to argue with the results of HTC's new flagship strategy.
At this point we know that Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 game console will be powered by an AMD APU that consists of eight Jaguar CPU cores as well as integrated Radeon graphics with a shared GDDR5 memory set. AMD’s head of global business units John Taylor recently shard some more information with the Inquirer about the APU, noting that a modified version will be made available for consumers to purchase later this year.
He said that everything Sony has shared about the processor thus far is AMD’s intellectual property. It is by far the most powerful APU they have built to date, he said. They haven’t done anything similar for anyone else in the market as it contains IP that we will see in A-series APUs later this year.
It’s all part of AMD’s flexible system on chip strategy, which allows them to take a consumer APU and fine-tune it for a customer. If nothing else, the new A-series APUs will highlight just how much work Sony has put into the PS4 chip.
The PS4-like APU that will be available later this year obviously won’t include Sony’s technology nor will it have the same number of cores or the sheer number of teraflop performance. The fact that Sony selected an x86 APU as the platform for their console has no doubt left some people believing that it’s little more than a modified mid-range PC shoved inside a game console shell.
How's this for irony: The U.K. judge who ruled Apple must publicly apologize to Samsung as part of a patent appeal is now an expert on the Korean manufacturer's legal team.
Foss Patents reported Thursday that Professor Sir Robin Jacob, a retired U.K. judge-turned-professor who famously forced a public apology out of Apple last year, now appears to be working for the very company he ruled in favor of.
Sir Robin is currently one of nine experts "working on behalf" of Samsung Electronics, defending the Korean manufacturer against an Ericsson complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
The ex-judge's latest endeavor is raising eyebrows in the wake of the appeals court verdict he handed down - along with two other judges - less than four months ago.
'Lack of integrity'
During its appeal in one of many Samsung v. Apple patent battles, Cupertino steadfastly refused to withdraw a separate German lawsuit, despite a ruling by a lower court in the U.K.
That denial led to an appeals court ruling forcing Apple to make a public apology confirming that Samsung's Galaxy Tab did not infringe on the company's iPad.
Apple U.K.'s initial apology attempted to turn the court ruling on its head, a stunt greeted with scorn by Sir Robin, who singled out the company's "lack of integrity" in failing to comply with the order.
According to the report, ex-judges in the U.K. are indeed permitted to work for the very same companies they once presided over in court, assuming the litigation in question falls outside of that country's borders - as it does in this case.
Impressively completing the phone-leak triumvirate of being shadowy, blurry and grainy, this picture supposedly shows the Samsung Galaxy S4.
What you can see there is the phone's boot screen, which seems to confirm the name 'Samsung Galaxy SIV' and the model number of GT-I9500.
Beyond that, there's not much to report other than that the phone is shaped like a phone and can be held by the human hand, mired as the photo is in grainy shadow.
It's thrilling stuff
Aside from the fact that it is clearly a terrible picture, we'd prescribe the requisite seasoning of salt with this particular phone leak; there's no way of knowing if if's simply a Photoshop job (which, we'd say, wouldn't be too tricky to do, given the results, although we've no idea WHY you'd do it).
Add in the fact that the site that first published the image, Android Caotic, doesn't say how it came by the photo (just that it 'unearthed' it from who-knows-where) and you've got yourself one spurious leak.
That said, with March 14 just two weeks away it's likely that we'll see the handset surfacing in more and more leaks - maybe, just maybe, one of them will be a better-lit version of this shot.
When you hear the name Caterpillar, you usually think about all those yellow-colored construction vehicles and machines. As it turns out, there’s also a Caterpillar in the portable electronics market and they’ve got a super rugged Android smartphone called the CAT B15. And it doesn’t look all that shabby.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The CAT B15 is clearly not being geared toward average Joes who work a conventional 9-to-5 in the safe confines of a climate-controlled office. It’s very much for people who work in construction and in other more “extreme” environments where their devices do need to be tougher. Not surprisingly, the CAT B15 offers military grade protection against all sorts of things, like drops, water submersion, dust and extreme weather.
It is disappointing that it’s built like a tank on the outside and like a toy on the inside. The specs are worthy of a smartphone from three years ago: 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9, 512MB of RAM, and a 4-inch WVGA display with Gorilla Glass. That’s equivalent to a first-gen Samsung Galaxy S. When you consider that the people working at construction sites really rely on this tech, you would think that Caterpillar would put some beefier specs to back up the beefier exterior. At least it’s running a newer version of Android, if the mocked up screen above is to be believed.
In any case, the Caterpillar CAT B15 should ship in March for the European market at an MSRP of £299. I’d assume Caterpillar will ship to North America too at a comparable price.
Complete 4G roaming is very much on the cards, says says Qualcomm's Roberto di Pietro. Qualcomm has just announced the RF360 - a single chip that provides access to over 40 mobile bands globally.
4G LTE is provided on many frequency bands in different countries and it's this variation that's made the RF360 necessary.
"LTE is the first technology that's embracing all the regions at the same time but on the other hand, LTE is a challenge to handle all the different spectrum from region to region and even from country to country," di Pietro explained to us in a chat at MWC 2013 this week.
"We really want to have a single device to [handle] all this spectrum. RF360 is the first step towards the global roaming dream. You can have a single device. This was one of the bottlenecks preventing the [widespread] adoption of LTE. Our customers can utilise a single platform, rather than developing 3, 4 or 5 [globally]."
It's good news for handsets manufacturers who have to develop different handsets for different markets. Even the iPhone 5 has three different versions globally - two different GSM models that work on different LTE bands and then one CDMA model.
di Pietro says it won't take long for the technology to be adopted, and believes it's "another step toward the democratisation of LTE", as the technology moves towards mass adoption. "This year we'll have devices from the high tier to the low tier with multi-mode LTE, HSPA+, 3G and GSM in a single chip. You can imagine how tough this has been for our engineering team to put this on a single piece of silicon. We've got got more or less 40 bands on this chip. It's kind of a multi-dimensional complexity."
Enabling better battery life
We also quizzed di Pietro about the advances made in terms of battery life - and consumer demand for bigger screens yet with longer standby times. "Everything is built with the assumption we need to optimise power consumption - and not just the architecture as a whole, but every single core. We are delivering. Even in terms of performance the Snapdragon 600 and 800 are moving from 30-40 per cent battery performance improvements to 70 percent with the 800."
Snapdragon 800 offers significant battery life improvements
"The efficiency of this architecture is the crucial element for performance. We're optimising the usage of each core depending on [what it's being used for].
"When we design our chipsets we design from the ground up, bearing in mind that we need to have the performance but at the right power consumption. Most of our competitors are moving to the mobile industry from other industries so they are moving from the top down - kind of reverse engineering. So this really helps us have a competitive advantage."
The core debate
Are people wrong to simply look for more cores inside their smartphones? "What is inside of these devices matters more and more for the end user and the number of cores is an easy message for consumers to understand.
"From our perspective it's crucial to pass on the message about the user experience. It's a challenge because it's much easier to say numbers than trying to [communicate] the main elements that makes the experience around Snapdragon better."
"It's the difference between us and our competitors. We have a broad and deep offer. We are present in the ultra-high tier and now lower, we've launched the Snapdragon 400 and 200. We're taking the top experience of maybe six months ago and bringing it to an affordable price point. 400 is really the cutting edge for that price tier. Also the 200 has quad-core on the [ARM Cortex] A5 architecture. We really want to enable the best user experience in all the tiers.
LTE competition
di Pietro, who was a senior figure at 3 when it launched 3G in the UK, also believes Qualcomm's expertise in LTE chips will keep it ahead. "We're already on our third-generation. While the others - where are they? Of course they are coming. And thank God they're coming - competition is always good. But we have one and a half, two years advantage. While the others are coming to the market, we have time to innovate.
"The capability we have to invest in R&D and innovation is one of our key assets. We invested more than $3 billion last year, it's a massive amount. It's helping the industry move to a new mobile era. We're not just part of this platform, we're building this platform."
Google's showing no signs of slowing its pace of Android development, with Android 4.0 appearing on the Galaxy Nexus late in 2011, followed in July of 2012 by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release that arrived powering the super Nexus 7.
But, forward-looking, update-obsessed people that we are, we can't help but imagine how Google's going to maintain the pace of innovation in its next version of its mobile OS, Android 5.0.
All we know so far is that Google's working away on the K release of Android, which it's developing under the dessert-related codename of Key Lime Pie. Regarding the version number, it's likely that the Key Lime Pie moniker will be given to Android 5.0. We thought we might find out on 29 October 2012 but as yet there is no official word from Google.
So now as we wait on official news of the Android 5.0 release date and features, we can start to pull together the Key Lime Pie rumours from around the web, with the first sighting of Android 5.0 on a benchmarking website, apparently running on a Sony smartphone. There has previously been speculation that Sony is in line to produce the next Nexus phone, which may lend some credence to this rumour.
On 31 January, a Google IO showing of Android 5.0 looked more likely when screengrabs of a Qualcomm roadmap were leaked, showing Android 5.0 as breaking cover between April and June 2013.
Android 5.0 phones
Rumours of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was speculation that this phone would be sporting Key Lime Pie, but sources who spoke to AndroidAndMe correctly claimed that the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4 would be running Android Jelly Bean.
While the Nexus 4 didn't appear with a helping of Key Lime Pie, speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggests that the Motorola X Phone is the Android 5.0-toting handset that will be revealed at Google IO. According to a post on the DroidForums website, the phone will also feature a virtually bezel-free, edge-to-edge, 5-inch display.
The same leaked Qualcomm documents cited above also made mention of a two new Snapdragon devices, one of which will be, unsurprisingly, a new Nexus phone.
Android 5.0 features
For 24 hours, it seemed as though the first kinda, sorta confirmed feature for Android 5.0 was a Google Now widget, which briefly appeared in a screenshot on the company's support forum before being taken down. As it was so hurriedly pulled, many people assumed it was slated for the big five-o and accidentally revealed early.
On 28 February 2013, we learned from Android Central that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel, which gives rise to the notion that this kernel might make it into Android 5. One improvement that the 3.8 kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which would mean a snappier phone with better multitasking.
While we wait on Key Lime Pie features to be revealed and scour the web for more Android 5.0 news, TechRadar writer Gary Cutlack has been thinking about what we want to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Hopefully the new mobile OS will feature some of these things...
1. Performance Profiles
It's bit of a fuss managing your mobile before bed time. Switching off the sound, turning off data, activating airplane mode and so on, so what Android 5.0 really needs is a simple way of managing performance, and therefore power use, automatically.
We've been given a taste of this with Blocking Mode in Samsung's Jelly Bean update on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 but we'd like to see the functionality expanded.
Something like a Gaming mode for max power delivery, an Overnight low-power state for slumbering on minimal power and maybe a Reading mode for no bothersome data connections and a super-low backlight.
Some hardware makers put their own little automated tools in, such as the excellent Smart Actions found within Motorola's RAZR interface, but it'd be great to see Google give us a simple way to manage states.
Another little power strip style widget for phone performance profiles would be an easy way to do it.
Set telephone to BEDTIME SLEEPY MODE
2. Better multiple device support
Google already does quite a good job of supporting serious Android nerds who own several phones and tablets, but there are some holes in its coverage that are rather frustrating.
Take the Videos app which manages your film downloads through the Play Store. Start watching a film on one Android device and you're limited to resuming your film session on that same unit, making it impossible to switch from phone to tablet mid-film.
You can switch between phone and web site players to resume watching, but surely Google ought to understand its fans often have a couple of phones and tabs on the go and fix this for Android Key Lime Pie?
3. Enhanced social network support
Android doesn't really do much for social network users out of the box, with most of the fancy social widgets and features coming from the hardware makers through their own custom skins.
Sony integrates Facebook brilliantly in its phones, and even LG makes a great social network aggregator widget that incorporates Facebook and Twitter - so why are there no cool aggregator apps as part of the standard Android setup?
Yes, Google does a great job of pushing Google+, but, no offence, there are many other more widely used networks that ought to be a little better "baked in" to Android.
4. Line-drawing keyboard options
Another area where the manufacturers have taken a big leap ahead of Google is in integrating clever alternate text entry options in their keyboards. HTC and Sony both offer their own takes on the Swype style of line-drawing text input, which is a nice option to have for getting your words onto a telephone. Get it into Android 5.0 and give us the choice.
UPDATE: Google heard us and this feature appeared in Android 4.2.
P-U-T T-H-I-S I-N A-N-D-R-O-I-D 5-.-0
5. A video chat app
How odd is it that Google's put a front-facing camera on the Nexus 7 and most hardware manufacturers do the same on their phones and tablets, yet most ship without any form of common video chat app?
You have to download Skype and hope it works, or find some other downloadable app solution. Why isn't there a Google Live See My Face Chat app of some sort as part of Android? Is it because we're too ugly? Is that what you're saying, Google?
6. Multi-select in the contacts
The Android contacts section is pretty useful, but it could be managed a little better. What if you have the idea of emailing or texting a handful of your friends? The way that's currently done is by emailing one, then adding the rest individually. Some sort of checkbox system that let users scroll through names and create a mailing list on the fly through the contacts listing in Android Key Lime Pie would make this much easier.
Make this a destination, rather than a never-used list
7. Cross-device SMS sync
If you're a constant SIM swapper with more than one phone on the go, chances are you've lost track of your text messages at some point. Google stores these on the phone rather than the SIM card, so it'd be nice if our texts could be either backed up to the SIM, the SD card, or beamed up to the magical invisible cloud of data, for easy and consistent access across multiple devices.
8. A "Never Update" option
This would annoy developers so is unlikely to happen, but it'd be nice if we could refuse app updates permanently in Android 5.0, just in case we'd rather stick with a current version of a tool than be forced to upgrade.
Sure, you can set apps to manual update and then just ignore the update prompt forever, but it'd be nice to know we can keep a favoured version of an app without accidentally updating it. Some of us are still using the beta Times app, for example, which has given free access for a year.
Let us keep older versions. Many people fear change
9. App preview/freebie codes
Something Apple's been doing for ages and ages is using a promo code system to distribute free or review versions of apps. It even makes doing little competitions to drum up publicity for apps much easier, so why's there no similar scheme for Android?
It might encourage developers to stop going down the ad-covered/freemium route if they could charge for an app but still give it away to friends and fans through a promo code system.
10. Final whinges and requests...
It's be nice to be able to sort the Settings screen by alphabetical order, too, or by most commonly used or personal preference, as Android's so packed with a huge list of options these days it's a big old list to scroll through and pick out what you need.
Plus could we have a percentage count for the battery in the Notifications bar for Android 5.0? Just so we know a bit more info than the vague emptying battery icon.
Is Times Square ready for the invasion of the phone geeks?
Hey Samsung fans, get thee to Times Square on March 14 and you can be part of the big Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event.
Samsung is inviting all and sundry down to the famous shopping-cum-advertising mecca to watch a live stream of the launch event, as well as getting a chance to see the phone in the cold hard flesh.
"Be the first in the world to experience it!" the invite intones, sounding like a direct order.
"You can watch Samsung Unpacked via live stream and experience Samsung's new flagship smartphone at Times Square."
Party on
We can't think of anything more fun than standing around in the cold watching a company unveil a phone on a big screen but there are probably a few of you who won't be able to make it to the Big Apple to take part.
In which case, you can watch the live stream online on YouTube, or join us here on TechRadar or on Twitter where we'll be covering the whole shebang live.
As for what we're expecting from Samsung in March; super-fast browsing, a 5-inch 441ppi screen, an octo-core processor chip and a camera rocking at least a 10MP sensor have all been mooted.
Not long till we find out for sure - in the meantime, keep up to date with all the rumours on our dedicated Samsung Galaxy S4 page.
We're ready for the show, are you ready for the show?
The Samsung GT-I9500 (better known as the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4) has popped up and busted out some record-breaking stats in new benchmarking data.
If legit, when testing the handset's browser the Browsermark 2.0 benchmarking tool reckoned the S4 managed a score of 2710 (with Chrome 25 as the browser).
Browsermark describes it as "superior to 99% of all phone browsers" so that's pretty good news for any Samsung fans counting down the days until the big March 14 reveal.
It's worth remembering a few caveats though: benchmarks aren't ever completely accurate, nor do they really reveal what the real-world performance of the handset will be like.
Plus there's no guarantee that the Samsung GT-I9500/Samsung Galaxy S4 was the handset used in these tests; it's all pretty easy to fake.
At this point, though, the finalised handset is likely to be floating around and we wouldn't be too surprised if these turned out to be legit.
