Apple could keep a phone with the smaller 3.5-inch display
Apple is reportedly working on not one but two iPhone models this year, including what sounds like the long-rumored iPhone Mini, according to a report out of Taiwan this week.
The company plans to launch both an iPhone 5S and a low-cost iPhone model in the third quarter of 2013, claims industry sources who talked to the sometimes-reliable DigiTimes.
The cheaper iPhone's specs are said to be comparable to the smaller iPhone 4S model, which syncs up with what we have heard about the iPhone Mini.
While the low-cost smartphone may have a less advanced display and processor, the iPhone 5S is rumored to double its predecessor's pixel count to almost 1.5 million.
'We haven't so far'
This iPhone Mini news comes at the same time Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company decided against releasing multiple smartphones at once.
"We haven't so far," said Cook at the to All Things Digital in response to a question about why there aren't a range of new iPhone models out every year.
"It takes a lot of work, a lot of really detailed work, to do a phone right, when you manage the hardware, software and services around it."
"We've chosen to focus our energy on getting those right. And we've made the choices in order to do that. So we haven't become defocused [by] working on multiple lines."
Cook's "so far" comment leaves the door open to Apple making multiple iPhone models simultaneously in the future, just as the company did with the iPod years ago.
All iPhones on September
The iPhone 5S and rumored iPhone Mini are expected to start mass production in June and be released in September.
Although a low-cost iPhone has been predicted before every smartphone-focused Apple press conference in recent history, 2013 may be the year the rumors actually pan out.
That's because Samsung may come out with a smaller version of its Galaxy S4 smartphone, dubbed the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, making an iPhone Mini all the more relevant.
Between now and the new iPhone launch, read our WWDC coverage for more information on Apple's upcoming computer hardware announcements.
HTC and Samsung's relationship appears to have soured
Samsung has been using its dominant position in the mobile component business to harm rivals, according to a senior HTC official.
Jack Tong, the president of HTC North Asia, has reportedly said Samsung "strategically declined" to supply his company with the AMOLED displays that had featured in 2010's brilliant HTC Desire handset.
According to the Focus Taiwan report, Tong accused Samsung of using components as a "competitive weapon" to sabotage companies it sees as a threat to its market-leading position in Android devices.
"We found that key component supply can be used as a competitive weapon," he said.
Keeping it local
Tong said that since Samsung's change of heart, HTC and other Taiwanese companies such as Acer and Asus have sought to keep mobile component makers working in the country to ensure a good supply.
He also said those companies are attempting to persuade foreign parts manufacturers to relocate to Taiwan in order to lower manufacturing costs.
X did mark the spot: Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside announced today that the company's new "hero" handset will be called the Moto X.
Woodside, speaking at the AllThingsD D11 conference, uttered the name of the device, putting to bed all the "Motorola X Phone" name rumors. This will be the first major product to come out of Motorola since Google purchased the company last year.
In fact, the device is already out in the wild...sort of.
"It's in my pocket, but I can't show it to you," Woodside teased. Android head Sundar Pichair has also apparently laid eyes on the device, though Woodside assured the company doesn't use its proximity to Android to gain an unfair advantage.
Halloween haunt
The Moto X will be built the same Texas plant where Nokia handsets used to come to life. Seventy percent of the handset will be built on U.S. soil, making it the first smartphone built in the country, Woodside said. It will be broadly distributed, which isn't the clearest phrase but could very well mean international availability.
The hero phone isn't all: Woodside said that people should expect a "handful" of new Motorola handsets by October.
Besides tempting us to pick his pocket, Woodside revealed that the Moto X will house a number of tightly integrated sensors that will, for example, cause the handset to act differently if a car is traveling 60 miles per hour, allowing for safer user interaction.
The device will also draw little power, Woodside noted, and we expect now that the cat is out of the bag, we'll hear much more on this X phone soon.
The first non-leaked photo of the Huawei ascend P6
Huawei took to Facebook today to confirm that the super slip Ascend P6 Android phone will be officially unveiled on June 18.
"On June 18th, Huawei will unleash an intimate experience to consumers," reads a post on Huawei's official Facebook page with a close-up photo of the Ascend P6.
The June 18 date was previously teased when Huawei Device Chairman Richard Yu posted on the Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo that the Ascend P6 will be revealed during a London event on that day.
This is the first confirmation we've received that the P6 will be present at that event, though.
Bragging rights
Huawei used this opportunity to brag about the Ascend P6's signature feature: its thinness.
"We do everything to the fullest," the Chinese company wrote. "The Huawei Ascend P6 challenges all phones to be the thinnest, smallest, and one of the most compact smart phones with a screen that can rival it's competitors.
"Care to guess how large the screen to body ratio is?" it added.
We've no idea, but the 6.2mm-thin phone will be the slimmest on the market when it debuts.
Its rumored specs include a 4.7-inch HD display, 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 5MP camera and Android Jelly Bean.
Facebook thinks slow and steady will win the social race
Facebook may be one of the most dominant social networks of all time, but the company has struggled to find its footing beyond the confines of the world wide web.
It's strange to think of Facebook Home having 1 million users being a bit of a disappointment, but when you consider more than one billion members comprise Facebook globally, the disparity is hard to ignore.
That doesn't seem to bother the executives at the social network though, as they see the adoption and growth of Facebook Home as a long haul effort.
Homeward bound
Speaking at the D: All Things D conference on Wednesday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talked a bit about the network's vision for Home.
"I think it will be a long road. [The smartphone is] an incredibly powerful device and social device," Sandberg said.
"We believe that the phone will get reorganized around people — Home is the first iteration of that."
Even those who have been brave enough to make the jump to Home have a fair share of complaints, but Sandberg promised those voices are being heard.
"We consider [Home] a v.1, a very early version," Sandberg said. "We would love if we could put out a v.1 version and get everything right."
Home is supposed to be updated monthly, and time will tell if Sandberg and the rest of the Facebook team are right in believing Home has what it takes to survive amidst the rapidly changing smartphone landscape.
"The important thing to remember about WWDC is that it is a developer conference," The Loop wrote.
The event is Apple's annual opportunity to catch developers up on the company's software plans for the next year. As such it's expected to focus on announcements concerning OS X and iOS 7.
"[The iPhone and iPad] are Apple's flagship products and they demand separate events," the site continued. "Entire industries watch these products because they shape what will happen in the mobile space. They are that important."
How about a new Mac?
While The Loop predicted that WWDC 2013 will focus on iOS 7 and changes to OS X, the blog also suggested that a new Mac announcement is not out of the question.
"The Mac is still an important part of what Apple does, but I don't know that Apple would hold a special event specifically for a Mac product anymore," the site wrote.
"If they did, it would have to be quite a spectacular product."
OS upgrades incoming
There may be some big changes headed to Apple's mobile OS with the impending reveal of iOS 7.
English designer Jony Ive is known to be redesigning iOS, and his input could result in a massive overhaul.
Then again, it could remain largely the same - we'll have to wait until it's revealed to find out.
Meanwhile, just because the iPhone 5S and iPad 5 won't be revealed at WWDC doesn't mean they aren't coming eventually—Apple is just staying secretive for now, like it always does. Who knows, maybe all these predictions are wrong and we will see a new iPhone and iPad next month.
EE has given Brits the opportunity to experience the joys of 4G mobile speeds without signing up for a lengthy contract for the first time.
The new 30-day SIM-only contracts allow users to sign up month-to-month from just £23 with 500GB of data and unlimited texts and minutes.
For £28 a month its possible to sign up for 1GB of data, while £33 will give users a little more piece of mind with 3GB data.
The deals range all the way up to £63 a month, but for that EE is offering the luxury of 20GB a month, which'd be tough for the most avid video and music streaming enthusiasts to exhaust.
Getting 'em hooked
EE is offering the deals in the hope that users will try the no-strings approach and be so amazed with the difference over 3G that they'll sign up for a one or two year contract.
The company, which pioneered 4G in the UK, will also be mindful that competition from the likes of Vodafone, O2 and Three Mobile will arrive later this year, so will want punters to try its offering first
Will you be more likely to sample 4G under the contract-free terms? Let us know in the comments below.
It seems a long time ago that LG was helping dominate the mobile market, with phone offerings such as the LG Chocolate. In reality, 7 years is more than a long time in tech, with LG's more recent mobile offerings often failing to hit the same mark they did before.
That said, LG's partnership with Google created not only the latest (and possibly last) Nexus 4 device, but also one of the hottest pieces of mobile tech that easily rivalled the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5.
Much like Samsung, LG is banking on its Optimus range, now equipped with the Optimus G Pro and Optimus 4XHD, to take on the world. Aimed at the budget end of the market, LG created the L Series, now in its second iteration, packed with the LG Optimus L3 2, Optimus L5 2 and the upcoming Optimus L7 2.
LG is hardly reinventing the wheel with the design of the Optimus L5 2, with a very square all glass front and prominent home button sat front and centre, just below the screen.
We can't help but feel a tiny bit disappointed with this kind of design, as we love design innovation, but the Optimus L5 2 is a very smart piece of kit.
Measuring in at a 117.5 x 62.2 x 9.2mm, and weighing in at 103g, LG has created a slim and light device. The Optimus L5 2 sits very comfortably in the hand and the pocket, and at only 66 per cent the weight of the Ascend G510 is a lot less noticeable. Despite the weight, or lack of it, the build of the Optimus L5 2 still feels sturdy.
As we said, LG's L Series was designed to be the budget range, with the Optimus L5 2 sitting right in the middle of the Optimus L3 2 and L7 2.
With this in mind, we weren't expecting mind blowing specifications, and the 1GHz single-core processor alongside 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage seem to fit with the pricing, although LG has seen fit to equip the L3 2 with the same specs.
Interestingly, the LG Optimus L5 2 seems to have near identical specifications to the lower powered Huawei Ascend G330.
This is more than a little confusing. LG does equip the Optimus L5 2 with Android Jelly Bean, with a basic overlay. In the form of camera sensors , the Korean firm have interestingly only given the L5 2 a 5MP rear facing sensor.
Whilst disappointing, given that the aforementioned Ascend G510, Xperia J and Galaxy Ace 2 all have a front facing snapper, we can be a bit forgiving as the low resolutions that were on offer almost made them redundant.
LG has also graced the Optimus L5 2 with a 4-inch screen at 480 x 800 pixels, so by no means the HD definition that we've become accustomed to on flagship powerhouses, yet still clear enough for day to day use. Elsewhere, the L5 2 comes with 3G, Bluetooth and NFC.
We said that L5 2 sits comfortably in the hand, and the 4-inch screen is easy enough to hit with one hand. Thankfully, LG has placed all the standard buttons in familiar (unlike on the Huawei Ascend G510) and easy to hit places, with the power/lock button on the right hand side, with the volume rocker sat on the left, just below a customisable quick key (more on that later).
Just below the screen sit the almost traditional backlit soft keys, replacing the need for Android's on screen controls.
We only mention the backlighting as we found that its exclusion on the Ascend G510 meant that the buttons were a little hard to see. The back and menu key sit either side of a physical home button.
The home button has a nice LED light behind it, that illuminates whilst charging, during calls and alarms as well as for notifications and missed events. Downloaded apps can also make use of the light.
In the way of ports, the Optimus L5 2 comes with the obligatory 3.5mm headphone jack (on the top) and the microUSB data/charge port in the base.
We're big fans of the placement or the microUSB as it makes using the L5 2 easier whilst charging, as for the headphone port, the positioning debate will continue long after this review.
The back cover is smart and fully removable, wrapping around the sides of the L5 2. The plastic has a brushed metallic look, and whilst completely smooth, provides a decent level of grip so you don't drop it. Along with the LG logo, are the loud speaker, camera sensor and LED flash.
With the back cover wrapping around to the front of the L5 2, there is no set place with which to work the cover off. That said, we found it pretty easy to work our short finger nails under it at any corner, or buy using the gap for the microUSB port.
The ease of removal left us a little worried about dropping the Optimus L5 2, but on the one occasion we did drop it (on carpet), we're pleased to say it stayed on.
Behind the back cover there is access to the 1700mAh battery, the standard SIM slot, as well as the fiddly, hot swappable microSD slot.
First impressions of the LG Optimus L5 2 are pretty promising. The plastic feel, and standard layout match the price tag, but being light and easy to use one handed show LG may have hit a sweet spot.
We're expecting Samsung to lift the lid on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini box at its June 20 event, but as for the specifics inside, most of it has been a lot of guess work until now.
Now German blog All About Samsung claims the Galaxy S4 Mini will be powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. We'd previously heard that the Mini would arrive with a Snapdragon S4 processor, so if true, this is good news.
The diminutive device will also have 1.5GB of RAM with a 8-megapixel rear camera, 2.1-megapixel snapper on the front, and a 540 x 960p qHD resolution display. We're also expecting the S4 Mini to arrive with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Nice and snappy
Of course, the Mini won't be as beefy as the older S4, but we're still impressed with that Samsung will be packing into the phone if these benchmark results are true.
With Apple's WWDC 2013 developer conference just around the corner, we're about to learn more details on the forthcoming iOS 7 update for the the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
The last major iOS 6 update for Apple's mobile devices was mostly hit, but there was a big Maps-shaped miss.
Lots of people were rightly angry about Apple ditching Google data, but beyond that mis-step there were things to like: a more useful Siri (App launching plus the recognition that a world exists outside of the USA), shared Photo Streams, handy Phone app controls such as 'send to voicemail', and major improvements to Mail, Safari, accessibility and the Camera app.
iOS 7 release date
it looks like the new operating system might be running a little behind schedule. John Gruber believes that iOS 7 is "running behind", with engineers being pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it.
We're expecting a September or October release date for iOS 7 in line with previous releases. We'll almost certainly see a reveal at WWDC. Apple has promised to give devs "an in-depth look at what's next in iOS and OS X", Mobile web traffickers such as Onswipe have already reported seeing iOS 7 pop up in their logs.
Find out what our TechRadar experts want to see from iOS 7 in the video below:
iOS 7 design
A greater synergy between hardware and software design is something Apple is looking to achieve as it moves towards iOS 7. That's according to the Wall Street Journal in late March 2013, which also suggests that Jonathan Ive is pushing for a starker and simpler design for iOS 7 - that reminds us a little of what Microsoft has done to the desktop in Windows 8. In late May it seemed that iOS 7 had found its way out into the wild, as sources have given loads of details on the 'flat redesign'. The first major change indicated by the sources was a distinct lack of skeuomorphic style, as the fake textures and effects you're so used to seeing will be swapped out with a more basic design sense.
It seems that everything starts with a new Lock screen, where the glossy image and clock have been replaced by a stark black screen with supposed improved gesture controls. Even the security code pad has been altered, and instead of the familiar overlay, a new interface with round, black keys with white text has emerged.
It will be almost immediately apparent just how different everything looks as base apps like Calendar, Camera, Game Center and Safari will be pared down quite a bit from their current incarnations.
Longtime iPhone users may be in for a bit of a surprise, as the leak suggests iOS 7 will replace the vibrant look and feel of the phone with a more minimalist, monochromatic approach.
What else do we want to see in iOS 7?
The rest of this article explores a dozen of the features we're clamouring to see in iOS 7. (And by 'clamouring', we of course mean 'asking really nicely'. C'mon, Mr Cook - pretty please?)
1. Hide Apple apps
Pretty much everyone we know with an Apple device has a folder entitled 'Apple'. This isn't filled with must-have apps from the geniuses at Cupertino, but all the junk Apple installs that you can't get rid off. To be fair, what each individual considers junk is different, and these apps—Compass, Stocks, Voice Memos, Passbook, and so on—have their fans; but is it too much to ask for a switch in Settings that will hide those we don't use?
2. Better app management
Change for change's sake is rarely a good thing. Recognition is key to satisfying experiences with technology. That's why we're not yelling at Apple to change how iOS home screens work. What we would like to see is improvements to app management: more screens; by default saving app data on delete; and an alphabetical list of installed apps, perhaps accessible from Spotlight.
3. Change app defaults
We're pretty certain this request would be met with wide-eyes from Apple CEO Tim Cook, swiftly followed by a full twenty minutes of belly laughing, but we want the ability to use non-default apps for important things like email and calendaring. Apple's own apps would remain the defaults, but you should also be able to pick your own in Settings.
4. Provide a guest account
It's extremely unlikely that Apple's ever going to enable multiple user accounts on iOS devices—they are, after all, designed as extremely personal computers. What is perhaps more realistic is some kind of guest account you could switch to when handing your device over to someone for a short while; something similar already exists on the Mac in OS X.
5. Change Siri's voice
OS X is blessed with dozens of high-quality voices that witter away to you in various dulcet tones. By contrast, Siri is Siri. In the US, you get a slightly robotic woman; in the UK, Siri's that bloke who did The Weakest Link for a decade. It'd be great if you could choose the voice your device uses to speak. (Possible exception: Yoda voice.)
6. Provide App Store demos
Apps and games might be cheap, but that doesn't figure cheapskates into the equation. Too often, people are unwilling to risk 69p on the latest release, forcing devs into irritating freemium models or making them clutter up the App Store with 'lite' versions of their output. Apple should just allow demos: 24 hours from first launch and then you buy or the app won't run. Boom.
7. Power up 'Do Not Disturb'
Fed up of getting woken up in the middle of the night by the marketing efforts of [redacted, but quite possibly a well-known mobile network] or Game Center fanfares? Do Not Disturb is a great feature that enables you to time when your phone will quit bugging you. But you can define only a single schedule, and we want to see alternative options for weekends.
8. Make locking location-aware
Locking is a great thing on iOS devices, making it at least a little harder for some scallywag to get at your data if they pinch your shiny Apple joy. But it could be more intelligent, locking on a location-aware basis, and not when you're, say, happily sitting at home on the sofa.
9. Improve the lock screen
There's something to be said for Apple's minimalism regarding the iOS lock screen, and it's mostly that it's too minimal. We're not sure we want to see Android-style widgets sprayed everywhere, but a little more functionality wouldn't go amiss. For example, artwork from a currently playing song is displayed on the lock screen, but there are no controls for pausing or skipping to the next track, until you double-press Home, which isn't hugely discoverable. And beyond notifications, nothing else shows up there at all.
10 Cut all iTunes ties
In recent years, Apple's made great leaps away from iTunes, and you can technically get away with never using the monstrous jukebox. However, there's still no way to easily get your existing music collection nor your photographs on to your device, and there should be. (Alas, with Apple wanting to push iTunes Match and the iTunes Store, there almost certainly never will be for the first of those.)
11. Make more icons dynamic
We're hesitant at arguing Apple's home screen icons should be more like Windows 8 tiles, but there's something to be said for dynamic updates when such things work well. With iOS, you get update badges and a live calendar. It'd be nice at the least if Apple made its own Clock and Weather icons dynamic.
12. Enable cross-platform installs
On a device, you now often see iOS-style banners on websites that when tapped take you right to the equivalent App Store app. But if you're browsing elsewhere, you have to email yourself a reminder and then install later. How good would it be if you were surfing on your PC, saw a great app and could install it across your devices without going near them, nor even to iTunes?
According to sources (a little guy that lives in a blue world, probably) which have conversed with Pocket-Lint, the blue HTC One will be available in the coming months, joining the already-available black and silver finishes and the much rumoured red version.
There's no firm release date for either the blue or red HTC One handsets just yet, so we're going to have to sit tight and see what the Taiwanese firm reveals.
More Blips!
What not check out some more of our great blips, and how about a soundtrack to go with them?
Cancel your summer holiday, there's work to be done
The next few months could turn out to be pretty busy as rumours start to circulate around several new smartphones which may break cover in that time.
Now we'll warn you that the latest news comes via Digitimes - the incredibly hit and miss Taiwanese website - so take what you read with a pinch of salt, but we could be in line for a pair of new iPhone handsets as well as an early release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
The site claims unnamed industry sources have revealed Apple is asking its factories in China to ramp up production on two new devices, thought to be the iPhone 5S and a budget iPhone model.
Fact or fiction?
These handsets may be unveiled as early as next month and the sources reckon Apple will start shipping its new iPhones at the end of June.
That's not all however, as the same insiders also think they've got the inside skinny on the next super-sized Samsung in the form of the Galaxy Note 3.
Early report suggested that the Note 3 would make its debut at IFA 2013 in September, but apparently the Korean firm may jump the gun with a July or August announcement.
No specs, features or further details were provided on any of the handsets in question, so we'll just have to bide our time and see if this latest leak is fact or fiction.
The information comes from Russian website Hi-Tech Mail (translated over at GSMArena) which states that the Tab 3 10.1 will be available from June, and land running Android Jelly Bean 4.2.
The Tab 3 will apparently pack a 10.1-inch, 1280x800 resolution display, with a 1.6GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM doing the legwork, and 16GB or 32GB storage options, which is pretty much what we've previously heard.
So many Samsungs…
We've also previously been leaked the specs on the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3, which is pitching itself at the cheaper Android smartphone arena, and the new information matches details we've seen before.
It will apparently sport a 4-inch display with a 800 x 480 resolution, with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 4GB of storage memory.
According to the site, this will cost the equivalent of about £210 (about $315, AUS $330). Whether this means Europe will be getting either of these devices first is unclear, but we'll know all on June 20.
Apple CEO Tim Cook stills believes his Cupertino-based firm is on top in the smartphone and tablet war, even though Android commands a larger market share.
Cook opened up about Apple's competition during AllThingsD's annual conference, and he still firmly believes that it's still the number one player in the technology market.
"For us, winning has never been about building the most.
"Arguably, we make the best PC, but we don't make the most. Same with the MP3 player. However, with the tablet, we make the best and most. With phones we make the best, but not the most."
According to Cook, iPad users are far more engaged when it comes to tablet usage compared to Android based rivals.
"We look at usage: what customers are doing. A study said there were twice as many e-commerce transactions on iPad than on all Android devices combined during Black Friday last year.
"What the numbers suggest over and over again are that people are using our products more.
"My own iPad personal use is a significant percentage of my computing work. It has changed the game. I don't hear that from Android tablet users."
People love us!
But don't just take Cook's word for it, apparently Apple products are the most loved among consumers too.
"Customer satisfaction is sort of the report card no matter the business: iPad and iPhone have the highest customer satisfaction in tablets and phones.
"We want customers of all ages… we try to appeal to everyone."
Although once again, those are actually Cook's words, and he's probably got reason to be a little bit biased towards his own company - and he needs to do some defending as critics claim the firm is starting to go in the opposite direction in its post-Jobs era.
