Made by LG, it would seem (credit: Android and Me)
Google's opening day the IO keynote was heavy on the dev news and upgrades yet light on major announcements, and pushed hardware to the back burner in a rather intriguing fashion.
Yet there may be a bit of kit hiding in the Moscone Center's halls, an alternately hued handset we could see launch as soon as next month.
According to Android and Me, the rumored white Nexus 4 was more than just a keynote no-show at this year's conference, appearing behind the scenes as a clone of the current version yet in an alabaster shell.
How does the site know? Because Taylor Wimberly, the publication's founder, claims he laid hands on the glittery gadget.
The post-IO show
In Wimberly's words, the phone is a "carbon copy" of the black model, and will arrive on the Google Play Store June 10 with Android 4.3 on board.
We know, that's a lot to take in.
What little there is to know about Android 4.3 indicates it won't be an earth-shattering update, but it should bring Bluetooth Low Energy support. It may also support OpenGL for Embedded Systems 3.0, shepherding advanced graphics capabilities along with it.
Google apparently scrapped 4.3 from its keynote in favor of showing off its ability to introduce new services and APIs without bumping up Android firmware, a perspective courtesy of Android and Me's Google sources.
We did get Google's Galaxy 4 running stock Android 4.2, so perhaps we're in for some more Nexus news before mid-year.
The company announced at its BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday that the celebrated instant messaging app would be leaving the sanctuary of its own ecosystem for the first time.
The reasoning? BlackBerry believes smartphones are more suited to BBM due to the on-the-go nature of the app, whereas user behaviour changes when switching to slates and desktop computers.
Engagement and activity
Vivek Bhardwaj, Head of the BlackBerry Software Portfolio said: "Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is. If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it's because it is mobile, because people are on the go."
"When you start looking at tablets, computers and other screens, the usage model changes and behaviour changes. For us right now the absolute focus is getting BBM onto smartphones."
Are you a long-time iOS or Android loyalist who's excited to try BBM for the first time? Or are you already more enamoured with the new Google+ Hangouts app? Let us know below.
While ZTE might not be as well known as major brands like Sony, Samsung, HTC and LG – it is a decent Chinese handset maker with a reasonable international presence, and it’s latest ZTE Grand X2 doesn’t look half bad.
The newest phone sets itself apart from the competition by ditching the ARM processor in favor of an Intel Atom 2GHz Z2580 processor. While it is certainly not the first Intel smartphone, they still are somewhat of a rare breed, so this is an interesting enough choice.
Outside of the processor, the phone has 8GB storage, 1GB RAM, microSD support, 2000mAh battery, 8MB rear cam, and a 4.5-inch display with a 720p resolution. There is also Android Jelly Bean onboard.
What seems a bit odd is pairing a fast 2GHz Atom with only 8GB storage. Still, this should be a reasonably high-end device, and yet will still likely have a pretty low cost compared to “more mainstream” brands.
So when is it coming? No specific date, simply a project fall release for Europe. No word on other markets like North America, but considering the United State’s recent attitude towards Chinese carriers, I wouldn’t be that surprised if ZTE decided to skip releasing the phone stateside.
High demand for Galaxy Note 3 could lead to plastic case
Samsung fans may still be elated by the news an unlocked version of the Galaxy S4 would be sold by Google in the U.S. in June, but those still waiting out a new and improved Galaxy Note 3 may want to have a seat.
While rumors of a major redesign for the phablet have run the gamut to include flexible displays and a full metal chassis, it looks like Samsung is going to continue along the beaten path with its next iteration of the Note.
According to sources speaking with SamMobile, the Korean manufacturer will be once again following the design aesthetic of the Galaxy S3/S4, and will release the Galaxy Note 3 in a similar polycarbonate case.
Though the look of the follow-up phablet may disappoint some Samsung users, the innards of the device still sound quite impressive.
Demanding audience
The decision to use the same style of casing on the Note 3 was reportedly made because Samsung is concerned it won't be able to satisfy demand for a metal-cased version.
Rather than delay the production of the Note 3 to accommodate an increased availability for a metal design, Samsung is believed to be moving ahead with the device in its plastic case, which will continue to keep the Galaxy phone line uniform in look.
Initially it was believed Samsung might switch to metal based on the positive response to the rival HTC One, but since Samsung is already responsible for the vast majority of Android sales, the company clearly feels it can turn out a profit with a case of diminished quality.
Fortunately, all of the specs rumored for the Note 3 appear to still be fine, regardless of the flip-flopping Samsung has done on the outer shell.
The same sources indicated the Galaxy Note 3 will feature a 5.99-inch AMOLED HD screen, and is still planned to include the octa-core design, which features a quad-core 1.9GHz Cortex A15 and a quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex A7 processor.
There will also be a 13MP rear camera, and the Note 3 will supposedly use Android 4.3, rather than Android 5.0 as originally believed.
Though it's possible Samsung still could be moving ahead with a metal Note 3, consumers have shown performance matters more than design, which could be all the reason it needs to keep the Note 3 in shiny, happy plastic.
BlackBerry has confirmed that its new mid-range Q5 handset will be available on contracts around £20 a month.
The QWERTY-packing device was unveiled at BlackBerry Live on Wednesday with a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4G connectivity, 8GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM.
Rocking the new BlackBerry 10 OS, it'll sit below the flagship BlackBerry Q10 device and will allow a different breed of customer to experience the crucial new operating system for themselves.
Speaking to TrustedReviews, Rob Orr, BlackBerry's UK managing director, said it'll be available on "the kind of £20 odd per month tariff."
Smartphone democracy
Orr added: "The Q5 brings the BlackBerry 10 proposition and democracies that proposition in to the mid-teir of the market."
BlackBerry is yet to reveal when the device, which launches in pink, white and red, will go on sale in the UK, but Carphone Warehouse has confirmed that the handset will be available from July.
The mid-range device is BlackBerry's best chance of regaining a little of the marketshare it enjoyed during the previous decade when it dominated the teenage market.
The excitement of the rumour mill, the titillation of every leaked photo led to higher than ever levels of expectation over the iPhone 5 features, and while the announcement was greeted with some derision at the lack of perceived headline improvements, the record sales tell an entirely different story.
Given the underwhelming changes to the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5 launch really needed to re-energise customers to prove Apple can repeat the game-changing trick it managed with the iPhone 4.
The iPhone 5 price was predictably high and continues to be so, so consumers will need to bear that in mind too when looking for their next smartphone.
So is the Apple iPhone 5 the greatest smartphone ever, and did it finally see Apple ascend to the top spot in our 20 best mobile phones chart? Or was it a case of too little, too late... and what about those darned Maps, eh?
We'll begin in the traditional manner: how the thing actually feels in the hand. With the iPhone 5 there will be many types of prospective buyer: the upgrader from the 4 (or more-money-than-sense iPhone 4S upgraders), those tired of their Android handset and those taking their first steps in the smartphone market and want to get one of them iThingies their friend/child has.
Well, all of those picking up the iPhone 5 will have the same reaction: this thing is amazingly light. You've probably heard the numbers by now (20 per cent lighter than the predecessor, as well as beating most of the opposition too at 112g.)
It's an odd sensation, but it actually detracts from the experience when you first pick it up. We've praised the weighty feel of the iPhone in the past, lending it a premium feel in the face of toy-like phones, and it's almost disappointing that Apple decided to join that clan.
However, through extended use this problem quickly disappears. The overall effect of the phone is still a chassis designed for strength, and so it feels solid, if somehow a little hollow; pleasantly, though, it sits more anonymously in the pocket.
You'll obviously see the change in height too – the iPhone 5 stands 123.8mm tall to allow for the larger 4-inch screen. In truth, those not familiar with the iPhone 4S probably wouldn't notice the difference, which is why it's a good move from Apple to include the larger screen if it's not going put people off that hate larger phones.
The decision to stick at 4-inches is Apple's admission that while it recognises people are all over the idea of having more screen real estate to play with it doesn't want to move away from the thumb-friendly nature of the device.
Through a mixture of moving the centre of gravity slightly as well as repositioning the screen within the bezel, it's still possible to scroll your thumb mostly around the whole display one-handed, which Apple is clearly keen to keep hold of.
However, we're not convinced of that argument any more, and it's the first iPhone where comfort to some extent really does depend on the size of your hands. For many people, it is possible to move a thumb around the entire display, albeit with a little more stretching than on previous models; anyone with smaller hands might find the top of the screen out of reach. For everyone, the Home button is harder to access when holding your phone comfortably.
The net result is a curious one: a device that's more pleasant on the eyes and nicer to hold, but frequently more awkward to use than its predecessor. Newcomers might not notice that, but the compromise will be clear for upgraders from the iPhone 4S.
The general construction of the iPhone 5 is excellent, to say the least. We've tested both the ceramic white version and the anodised black, and the two tone effect on the back of the phone is stunning, both visually and under the finger.
It doesn't beat the sheer beauty of the HTC One S, with its micro-arc oxidised back and rounded lines, but it's well-set in second place.
The two sections of pigmented glass at the top and the bottom of the phone add a pleasant effect, and the sapphire glass is meant to be thoroughly durable, to complement the Gorilla Glass on the front.
Apple knows consumers get furious when they drop and iPhone, and is clearly seeking to stop the smashes before they happen with a tougher exterior - although it seems the anodised black version is pretty prone to scratching, with a number of users mentioning chipping on the darker hue.
Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Marketing, reportedly replied to an email from a user pointing out that aluminium will scratch and chip in natural use - and we're also hearing that white iPhone 5 models are being returned through flaking as well.
We kept our black iPhone 5 in a soft pocket in a bag for much of its life, yet saw the following chip with minimal key / coin contact in under a fortnight:
For a device of this premium quality, users will expect it to survive the pocket test, and especially do so for the first two weeks of life. It's a big fail for Apple to expect users to accept that a product can be damaged so easily.
The same industrial band around the outside is in effect again as on the iPhone 4 and 4S, with small sections removed where the antenna joins.
Apple has gone for a more advanced form of antenna here, meaning the days of lost signal are gone, and generally increasing the power of your call connection and GPS lock on too.
There are other big design changes here too: the headphone jack has moved to the bottom of the phone, and the iconic 30-pin connector has been retired in favour of the new Lightning port, giving a headache to all those that have invested in chargers, docks and other accessories over their iPhone lives.
You can buy an adaptor, but it's pricey at £25. And unless you want to keep it permanently attached to the bottom of the iPhone 5 you'll need to buy a few, which is far from ideal.
However, let's not harangue Apple too much for this: a smaller connector is not only easier to use (you can plug the smaller cable in either way round, and the connection feels more solid), but you're rewarded with a thinner and more compact phone to boot.
There's also a small chink of light on the top right hand side of the iPhone 5 - when the screen is illuminated, you can see it under the band if you really, really look for it. It's been seen by a number of users, but is hard to actually replicate unless you mask the screen and hold it at the right angle.
It's again a sign of slightly under-par machining from Apple, but in day to day use it's almost completely invisible.
The decision to move the 3.5mm headphone jack to the bottom is an odd one, as while it allows you to slip the phone into the pocket head-first when listening to music, which is a more natural action, it's a real pain in the posterior for some apps that will only work in landscape a certain way up.
Using it this way means your headphones experience will be one of having to jiggle the jack around two fingers.
It's not the most comfortable way to hold a phone, and even when using the phone in portrait mode, the jack gets in the way somewhat. Plus it's miles away from the volume keys, which makes it hard to change the audio level in the pocket if you don't use the dedicated headphones.
There are other smaller design changes to the iPhone 5 too, such as the iSight front-facing camera moving to the middle and the home button being noticeably more robust to help reduce instances of a broken portal to your home screen.
But enough about what the phone looks like - the killer question is how the thing feels in the hand. And we'll sum it up by saying: smooth. Some might find it a little slippery (we were always worried we would drop the darned thing), but unlike the glass-backed iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5's unlikely to make a surprise trip off of a sofa and onto a wooden floor of its own accord.
So beyond the slightly odd form factor for those upgrading, and scratch issues for the black model, the design's again extremely strong. For the most part, the iPhone remains a device suitable for use one-handed, although quibblers might grumble whether it's quite as ultra-high spec as it should be - the lock button remains loose, so you can hear it clicking if you shake the phone.
That undoes some of the premium feel Apple's going for, at least if you take to shaking a phone by your ear; more seriously, this device can have an up-front charge (off contract) of £529-£699, and so we'd argue it should be near perfection and free from noticeable (if admittedly small) blemishes.
And while it looks nice, from the front it doesn't really add much to the design of the iPhone - it's certainly not the same as the jaw-dropping design of the iPhone 4 compared to the 3GS... it's another evolution in the iLine. It's not bad, but for those that hoped the iPhone 5 would be another step change there's a good chance they'll be disappointed about the look... until they feel the lovely back on offer.
There was a real chance here for Apple: remove the bezel and give the front of the screen a look that's similar to the OLED TVs from the likes of Samsung or LG… but instead we're treated to the same lines as before.
You always get the feeling that Apple saves what it can for the next iteration of the iPhone, and while there's nothing wrong with the current construction we can see the edge-to-edge screen becoming something amazing on the iPhone 6 or iPhone 5S.
The Nokia Lumia 520 is Nokia's fifth Windows Phone 8 handset. It's a phone which slots into the very bottom end of the range, just below the Nokia Lumia 620.
And we do mean just below - the specs of the 520 and 620 are remarkably similar, meaning that Nokia's main competition at the bottom end of the market is itself. Otherwise, its biggest rival is likely to be the recently launched Huawei Ascend W1 - a low-end handset that we're rather fond of.
The Nokia Lumia 520 has a fairly generous 4-inch, 480 x 800 display and is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 512MB of RAM. That may not sound like much but the power matches the Lumia 620, and we had few qualms about the performance of that phone given its price. The screen is actually slightly bigger than that of the Nokia Lumia 620, which only has a 3.8-inch display.
The Nokia Lumia 520 starts at around £150 SIM free or from around £100 if you buy it locked (and the price has already plummeted to £70 in some stores), while the Lumia 620 retails from around £175 SIM free or £150 locked.
That means a decent saving for those who don't mind committing to a network. It's a little cheaper than the Huawei Ascend W1 too.
The Nokia Lumia 520 will be undergoing a facelift soon when it gets the new Lumia Amber update, which will bring FM radio and an all new camera to the handset in Q3 2013 - we'll update the review when it appears.
Like all recent Nokia handsets there's a lot of colour in the Nokia Lumia 520. It shares the look of other Lumia devices, with a single piece of smooth plastic covering the back and sides of the phone. That shell is available in black or white, but the bright shades of yellow, blue and red on offer will appeal if you like it loud.
If nothing else, it makes Nokia handsets stand out from the crowd. Regardless of the colour, it's quite a nice looking phone in other ways, with an angular rectangular design more in line with the higher end Nokia Lumia 920 than the curved edges of its closest relation - the Nokia Lumia 620.
It's certainly a more distinctive (and we'd argue classier) look than that of the Lumia 620 - which is odd for when the Lumia 520 is supposed to be the more basic option.
It's also slimmer and lighter than the Lumia 620, at a fairly sleek 9.9mm and 124g. At 119.9 x 64mm it is longer and wider than the Lumia 620, but that's understandable given that it's also got a slightly bigger screen.
From left to right: The Lumia 520, 620, 720 and 820
We like the feel of it too. The plastic casing seems almost warm, making it nice to hold, and it's not as slippery as it might look - so getting a firm grip on the handset is no problem. The almost jagged corners can dig into your hand a little when held in certain positions, but it's at worst slightly uncomfortable and easily avoided by adjusting your grip.
The front of the Nokia Lumia 520 is mostly screen as you'd expect and at 4-inches it's a decent size for a low-price handset. The pixel density of 233 pixels per inch also isn't bad at all for the money you're paying - sure it's dwarfed by the likes of the 469 ppi HTC One, but it's also many times cheaper.
A huge plus is the ability to use gloves with the screen too - being able to type in the cold weather is becoming a really common ability on phones, but we're impressed Nokia managed it on such a cheap handset.
Unlike some handsets, the screen here isn't edge-to-edge: there's a black border running the entire way around it. At the sides this border is fairly narrow, but it becomes quite wide at the top to make room for the earpiece and a Nokia logo. It's even wider at the bottom, because that's where you'll find the start, back and search softkeys.
The back of the handset is almost featureless, with just a small Nokia logo in the centre, the 5-megapixel camera lens near the top and a tiny loudspeaker near the bottom.
The right edge of the handset houses all of the phones physical buttons, with a volume rocker at the top, a power button near the middle and a camera button near the bottom. The layout works well, with the buttons spaced far enough to prevent confusion.
The left edge is devoid of any features, ports or buttons at all.
The top is home only to a 3.5mm headphone port on the left hand side.
The bottom edge has a micro USB port in the centre, which is used for charging or connecting the Nokia Lumia 520 to a computer.
The back cover is easy to remove - you simply use your nails to peel it away at each corner. The cover itself feels reasonably sturdy, so we don't see it snapping even if you take it on and off a lot. Once that has been removed, you'll have access to the 1430 mAh battery (which interestingly is bigger than the 1300 mAh battery found in the Nokia Lumia 620).
Underneath the battery there are two slots - one for a micro SIM card and one for a microSD card. The Nokia Lumia 520 supports up to 64GB cards, which comes in very handy for bulking up the storage from the fairly limiting 8GB of onboard memory.
At first glance it's certainly an impressive handset for the price, easily competing with the similarly priced Huawei Ascend W1 and potentially rendering the Nokia Lumia 620 redundant. In fact, given that it has similar specs, a bigger screen and a better battery, you might be wondering why the Lumia 520 is considered lower-end than the 620.
Well, there are a few reasons. First off, the Nokia Lumia 520 doesn't have NFC. It also doesn't have camera flash or a front-facing camera, plus there's no compass built into it, and while the screen is slightly bigger it still has the same resolution - resulting in a marginally lower ppi.
But we don't consider any of them to be deal breakers, and depending on how you plan to use the phone they may well be things you can happily live with - especially for £70.
And I can also stop accidentally writing Lexus too...
With the launch of the stripped down Samsung Galaxy S4, Google can finally give up on Nexus phones.
Before the Google Nexus 4 came along, I was always baffled by the Nexus project given the search giant was always just trying to make sure its Android system was as widely used as possible. The Nexus One was proclaimed as the reason Android smartphones went mainstream, but it was really just a re-tooled HTC Desire.
And that phone, the one that took HTC to its highest standing in the phone industry, was a much better phone: it got rid of the pointless trackball and made everything a lot simpler.
The same with the Google Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus - both good phones, but expensive and obliterated in terms of sales by the Galaxy S and S2, which were the more mainstream variants. And why continue with Nexus devices at all now Google is on three in every four smartphones?
It should have ended years ago
What's most interesting is what Eric Schmidt said in 2010: ""The idea was to do the Nexus One to move the phone platform hardware business forward. It clearly did.
"It was so successful, we didn't have to do a second one. I called up the board and said: 'OK, it worked. Congratulations - we're stopping'."
Of course, this was just before it launched another Nexus phone, but Google has always been in and out of love with making its own hardware devices - and this move with Samsung hints that it would prefer to just make a vanilla version of the decent hardware that's being spewed onto the market.
There's a (relatively small) band of users that adore stock Android - when I heard about the move, the first thing we did was see if HTC was going to do the same thing to combine the best hardware and untainted software, but it confirmed it had no plans to do so, showing that Google isn't being picky about which phone its software is used on.
We don't need Nexus phones any more - the hardware race is such that whatever Google specs out is bettered within a month, and subsidising the phones costs money and brand reputation for whoever makes them. Remember the flak LG came under for hawking the Nexus 4 at full price in other territories?
Move on, Moto
And that's perhaps another reason why Google isn't so set on making a new Nexus phone: it's constantly been at loggerheads with the biggest manufacturers over skins (the user interface that each manufacturer plops on top of basic Android to add in its own services), but now it has Motorola in-house it can concentrate on making awesome Android phones of its own.
The X Phone is a long time coming, but it's still got the interest of a lot of the industry.
Google's most successful Nexus devices are the most recent: the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. The reason? Both have excellent hardware and a rock-bottom price thanks to heavy subsidies from Google.
The Nexus 4 is a relatively average phone in some ways, but has two USPs: it's half the price of its competitors and it runs stock Android. That's a model that makes a big statement for Google: this is the hardware we want, and this is how good our services can be.
In the phone world, there's now plenty of choice to prove that; in the tablet arena there's more of a dearth, which is why it's likely Google will keep plugging away with awesomely cheap tablets.
I'm not a fan of the vanilla Google experience - I think it's too basic, and the "magic" of reviewing phones is in finding out where the companies are providing innovation. But while I'm surprised Samsung agreed to do the clean version of its phone, I'm happy that it did: the S4 has so much innovation, it's in danger of making things too complex for users.
Google doesn't need Nexus phones - the hardware to make the best use of Android is already out there. If it can convince more brands to do what Samsung is doing, then it's got everything it set out for in the first place. We all know this Android-only version of the S4 will sell a fraction of the standard model, so Samsung doesn't need to worry there.
By all means, keep making tablets - there aren't enough decent devices out there. But there's no win to be had in competing in the phone world, so Google should just concentrate on poking Android onto every phone, car, fridge and lightbulb... although I would totally buy the Nexus microwave.
Google Wallet has already been available on a few smartphones and tablets, and now the search giant has announced more phones onto the list. From now on, users of Sprint’s HTC One, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S4 and US Cellular’s Note II will be able to use Google Wallet to purchase in store via NFC-based contactless payments.
You can download the app for free by heading to Google Play here.
Meanwhile, Google has also announced a way to make sending payments simple, which will be as easy as sending an email. They are integrating Google Wallet with Gmail, and sometime in the coming months US users over 18 years old will be able to send money through Gmail via a $ icon in the attachment options. “It’s free to send money if your bank account is linked to Google Wallet or using your Google Wallet Balance”, but you will be charged a flat fee of 2.9% per transaction for payments using your linked credit or debit card. Receiving money will always be free.
Check out the video below to know more about the upcoming service.
Windows Phone has finally eased past BlackBerry and Symbian to take third place in the smartphone race, but IDC's latest figures make it clear just how much of a two-horse race between Android and iOS it has become.
In fact, in platform terms, combining the two big rivals from Google and Apple amounts to a staggering 92.3 per cent of smartphones shipped in the first three months of 2013.
Apart from IDC's analyst brilliantly suggesting that this amounts to "more than the lion's share" of the smartphone market, the breakdown of market share is just as deserving of attention.
Android has been dominant for some time, but has ramped that up even more in comparison to the same quarter last year and now amounts to 75 per cent of the market with 162.1 million units shipped.
Apple still bobbing along
Apple's iOS accounts for 17.3 per cent of the market (down from 23 per cent in the same quarter of 2012) and Windows Phone has captured 3.2 per cent for third place, leapfrogging ailing BlackBerry which has declined from 6.4 per cent to a meagre 2.9 per cent.
That means Windows Phone is growing faster than Apple's iPhone - although it has a long journey before it is competing for silver.
At the foot of the table Linux and Symbian both fell away - the latter declining from a relatively healthy 6.8 per cent of market share in Q1 2012 to a terminal looking 0.6 per cent.
Microsoft and key partner Nokia will certainly be buoyed by the 7 million Windows Phone handsets shipped - compared to just 3 million this time last year, and Apple - despite losing market share - has still managed to flog 37.4 million iPhones compared to 35.1 million in 2012.
But Android - and that means principally Samsung - is the real success story, taking advantage of a burgeoning market to sell more than 70 million more handsets than a year ago.
The spread of 4G networks is likely to fill 'not-spots' for mobile communications in the UK, with extra 2G and 3G equipment backing up that made for the fourth generation, according to a report from regulator Ofcom.
One is that wherever 4G networks are rolled out, 2G and 3G equipment will be installed alongside. More phones and dongles that use all three technologies are hitting the market and providing faster connections for users.
Second is that the agreement between Vodafone's coverage should improve on the back of its agreement with Telefónica's O2 to share infrastructure, and the obligation on the latter's 4G licence to provide indoor coverage to 98% of UK premises.
Third is that Telefónica's coverage advantage is likely to spur other operators to extend their coverage to compete for business.
Funding factor
The report says these factors should combine with others, such as funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and reforms in the planning laws, to improve mobile and broadband coverage around the country.
EE has so far led the way in extending 4G coverage, aiming to extend its network to 98% of the population by the end of next year.
Microsoft's new YouTube app for Windows Phone has been available for about a week, but it didn't take long for Google to kick up a fuss. Why? Because the app blocks ads, giving Google's potential revenue a kicking.
Google claims this violates the YouTube API Ts and Cs, demanding that Microsoft remove the app by May 22. According to The Verge, Microsoft built the app without the go-ahead from Google.
Now Microsoft has responded and said that it will include advertising if that's what Google really wants, but with one proviso. "We'd be more than happy to include advertising but need Google to provide us access to the necessary APIs," it said.
Play nicely
Of course, it's all of us who get punished at the end of the day, and a lack of app will mean users are forced to stick with the Google mobile web version when watching YouTube.
"In light of Larry Page's comments today calling for more interoperability and less negativity, we look forward to solving this matter together for our mutual customers," added Microsoft.
But where does Google now stand? We contacted Mountain View to see how it feels about Microsoft's response and will update when we hear more.
The hardware keyboard on the Q5 makes unified search easier
As well as announcing the budget Q5 BlackBerry 10 handset at the BlackBerry Live conference this week, the company is also updating its management features for businesses – for its own and other smartphones.
So not only will the BBM messaging service be available for iOS and Android this summer - initially for text messages, photos and the new branded channels that businesses can use to reach customers - but with BBM voice and video features promised in the future. That could be useful within a business because it allows the sender to see when a message has been delivered and if it's been read yet.
But if your business uses Microsoft Lync or IBM's Sametime instant messaging, you can now get encrypted instant messages on BlackBerry 10 handsets.
You can see who else is available on IM, see new messages in the BlackBerry Hub, send individual and group messages or switch from a text chat to a voice call. And if you're using BlackBerry Balance to separate personal apps and work information, secure IM can be managed inside the work perimeter of Balance.
Secure Work Space
The free BlackBerry Enterprise IM 3.0 app is available on the BlackBerry site now, but the Secure Work Space apps for iOS and Android that BlackBerry showed in March is still in beta testing with selected partners. Secure Work Spaces will need an update to the BlackBerry Enterprise Service that will be available at the end of June.
It's scheduled to ship by the end of August through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Both versions will include email, contacts, calendar, tasks and file access, a secure browser for looking at intranet sites, and allow admins to package up apps to run inside the BlackBerry-protected workspace.
"What we're focusing on is data level protection," Jeff Holleran, Senior Director of Enterprise Product Management, told TechRadar Pro. "It's about protecting data on the device rather than the ability to control the complete device.
"We use the right levels of data protection so we don't have the concern of attack vector going against the data, because it's just those fully authenticated apps from the business that have the ability to go across the secure connection to the firewall. You can think of it as extending the firewall to cover the apps on the device."
Not only is that easier than trying to build an app that uses a VPN, but it's also better for battery life. Because a VPN connection will time out if it's not being used, other tools for connecting to business data have to keep the connection alive. This involves turning on the phone radio, which reduces battery life and uses up a data plan.
BlackBerry isn't yet looking at Windows Phone or any other platforms.
Feedback factor
"Our customers have asked us to support iOS and Android," Holleran said. "If there is feedback from them, we will add additional platforms when it makes sense to do so."
That's over and above the BES 10 version 10.1 update that's available this week, which allows admins to apply the same kind of policies to BlackBerry 10 handsets as they could with BlackBerry 7 devices, like turning off the camera or blocking personal apps and files.
It's aimed at primarily government departments and heavily regulated industries that need to strictly control what employees can do with phones. But smaller businesses will also be interested in the new version of BES because it's significantly easier to install, as well as showing more information about the phones – BlackBerry, iOS and Android - that you're managing.
The new dashboard will show how many devices are being managed, what mobile network they're on, what OS they're running, what apps are installed and whether they're complying with your policies.
"We got a lot of user feedback," Holleran told us. "We listened to the feedback and we've simplified it a lot."
For example, BES 10 had multiple installers, all with different requirements, and you had to run them in the right order.
"We consolidated the installers so it's going to lay down the components you need in the right order. We do port checking to make sure there are no conflicts. We made sure it became a very seamless installation."
Firewall options
The June BES update will also make managing iOS and Android devices easier by simplifying firewall options.
"The number one complaint we had was all those ports you had to open on the firewall to Apple and Google for managing devices," Holleran said. "Now we route that through the BlackBerry secure infrastructure so you don't have to open extra ports."
BES 10 version 10.1 is a free download and BlackBerry is continuing the offer of free upgrades for BES 5 users until the end of December 2013. After that licences will cost $59 (£39) per year per device.
Samsung has said it is "reviewing" the memory situation on the Samsung Galaxy S4 after it received a pasting on Watchdog last night.
The pack over at BBC Watchdog, led by Anne Robinson, took issue with Samsung's claim that its flagship phone offers 16GB of storage when in fact users can only enjoy around 9GB of that space.
Through what we imagine to be gritted teeth, Samsung told Cnet, "We appreciate this issue being raised and will improve our communications.
"Also we are reviewing the possibility to secure more memory space through further software optimisation."
All alone in the moonlight
Samsung had originally said that the memory trade-off is down to the S4's "more powerful features" for which we should all just jolly well be grateful.
We questioned the internal space in our full Samsung Galaxy S4 review, but our fears were somewhat allayed by a software update - although we still think that a lot of those "powerful features" are a bit of a waste of space if you aren't going to use them.
Hopefully Samsung's internal reviews will give us the option to ditch some of that in favour of apps we've actually chosen.
This year’s Google I/O keynote didn’t see hardly anything in the way of hardware announcements, but it did see one very interesting development: the announcement of a Samsung Galaxy S4 “Google Edition”.
This new version of the Galaxy S4 will be sold unlocked through Google Play, and will run on a stock version of Android – ditching Sammy’s TouchWiz UI and custom S4 software. The idea here is that you effectively get a Nexus device, which means that you will get the latest and greatest versions of Android directly from Google at a much quicker pace.
It also means that some of the customized features on the Galaxy S4 won’t work, as they rely on the TouchWiz UI. Still, for those that absolutely love a pure vanilla Android experience, this could be their dream phone.
Unfortunately, it might be like a Nexus – but there isn’t Nexus pricing here. The 16GB Galaxy S4 will sell through the Play Store for $649. While the Nexus 4 sold like hotcakes, part of its success was that it was dirt cheap relative to the specs that the phone packed.
Considering there are devices that aren’t much weaker than the S4 (like Nexus 4) but considerably cheaper, this might be a hard sell except for those that absolutely want the most cutting edge hardware or are big Samsung phone fans that happen to dislike TouchWiz.
So when is it coming? The phone will arrive to Play on June 26th and will only be sold in the United States. Additionally the phone will have LTE and will work with both AT&T and T-Mobile.
More than likely this will be the same Snapdragon 600 version sold by carriers, but how cool would it be if the Google Vanilla version of the S4 instead ran on the Exynos processor? What do you think of the S4 Google Edition, would you pay $650 outright for it?
