Galaxy Note 3 display reportedly in full view ahead of Sept. 4 reveal

Galaxy Note 3 display reportedly in full view ahead of Sept. 4 reveal

And that's why you always leave a note (credit: ETrade Supply)

The large Samsung Galaxy Note 3 display almost made it to its expected Sept. 4 announcement without being leaked in high-resolution photos, but the phablet seems to be too big to contain.

The super-sized handset, which may not be for the small-of-hand, purportedly leaked in photos provided by electronics parts seller ETradeSupply.

The photos depict a standalone Galaxy Note 3 screen with an approximately 5.68-inch display when measured diagonally, according to the parts supplier's measurements.

That's even bigger than the already massive Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which released almost a year ago.

What specs are left to reveal?

The Galaxy Note 3 display could very well be 5.68 inches give or take a few tenths of an inch, given ETradeSupply's unofficial measurements of the leaked standalone screen.

Samsung may still have surprises in store for its phablet, with rumors that it will be able to shoot 4K video and contain 3GB of RAM to handle the memory-intense video capturing process.

Questions that remain include whether the company will stick with the often critized plastic house found in its other smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S4, and if this phone will indeed contain a Exynos 5 globally.

Take note of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 launch date, as we should have all of the details about the phablet on Sept. 4.


Source : techradar[dot]com

HTC One Max specs leak as HTC One gets the blues

HTC One Max specs leak as HTC One gets the blues

A wild blue HTC One appeared! (credit: Mobile01)

It seems HTC has yet to figure out how to stopper its many, many leaks, as three separate sources today provided insights into the Taiwanese company's upcoming plans.

First there's the HTC One Max, which rumor has it could drop by the end of the year.

The Chinese site RBMen published an alleged specs sheet for the One Max today, claiming that the phablet will launch with Android 4.3.

The HTC One Max specs sheet also alleges a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip, 5.9-inch 1080p display, 2GB of memory, and an Ultrapixel camera on the back (2.1 megapixels in front).

Pull my fingerprint scanner

Conspicuously absent from that list is the HTC One Max fingerprint scanner that was rumored earlier this month.

An alleged leaked photo of the One Max previously appeared to show a space on the back chassis where a fingerprint scanner would fit snugly, but no scanner is listed in the specs that leaked today.

Today's report is by no means confirmation that the One Max won't have a fingerprint scanner, and either way we may find out by IFA 2013 early next month.

Commenters on Android Community's story claimed that the Chinese-language specs sheet also illuminates external SD card support for the Max, but that could just be for the Chinese variant.

Blue clues

Elsewhere across the web new shots of a blue HTC One emerged, reportedly showing the HTC flagship's alternate hue both deconstructed and in the wild.

The shots come by way of Sina Weibo and Mobile01 (via Engadget).

The blue HTC One deconstructed
The blue HTC One deconstructed (credit: Sina Weibo)

The blue HTC One was rumored back in May, and again at the beginning of August, but so far has yet to pop up officially.

Whether it will ever pop up in the west is a mystery, but that day could well be approaching.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Google's Waze app acquisition may hit red light as OFT pumps the brakes

Google's Waze app acquisition may hit red light as OFT pumps the brakes

The OFT will probe the fairness of Google's Waze buyout

Google's recent purchase of the community-sourced Waze traffic app faces an official probe from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on grounds the deal may be breaking competition laws.

The search and mobile giant agreed a deal to acquire Israel-based start-up in June, for a reported $1.3 billion (around £0.83m), in order to boost its own Google Maps navigation app.

However, the OFT has expressed concern that Google's ownership of the app, which offers real time traffic updates, provides petrol price info and police traps, may give the company too large a slice of the pie.

If the OFT finds that Google's purchase gives it more than 25 per cent of the relevant UK market and/or a turnover of more than £70m, then it would have grounds to order divestments.

Lessening of competition

In its announcement, the OFT wrote: "The Office of Fair Trading is considering whether this agreement has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services."

Google has yet to comment on the situation, while the OFT has given interested parties 40 days to weigh in on the debate and have their say.

The OFT's announcement follows a similar proclamation from its US counterpart, the Federal Trade Commission, which announced it'd be looking into the legalities of the deal, back in June.


Source : techradar[dot]com

iPhone 5S photo avalanche shows off Apple's champagne jacket

iPhone 5S photo avalanche shows off Apple's champagne jacket

Apple's got its Moët and Chandon in a pretty cabinet (credit: Sonny Dickson)

Feast your eyes on this gallery of photos of the iPhone 5S casing in the colour that all the kids are calling "Champagne".

It's really awfully nice of the internet to go with champagne instead of cava, say, or that other yellow-ish-gold-ish substance, urine.

Anyway, these pictures come from relatively new tipster on the block Sonny Dickson who claims to have nabbed the extensively photographed rear-housing from a source in Apple's Asian supply chain.

Throwing a Veuve ball

There's not much more to say beyond "here are the pictures", so here are the pictures:

iPhone 5S

We're expecting to see the iPhone 5S launch date land at some point in September - September 10 looks like a good bet if you're the gambling type.

  • In the meantime, here's everything we know about the iPhone 5S so far - and the lesser-spotted cheapo iPhone 5C which may launch at the same time.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids attempts to lure money from parents

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids attempts to lure money from parents

Why, why, why?

Kids these days, what are they like? According to Samsung they're looking to get their grubby little mitts on your latest tech purchase, but thankfully the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids is here to distract them from your new gadget.

Coming in a lurid yellow hue the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids has exactly the same specs as, yep you've guessed it, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.

That means it sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage, 7-inch 1024 x 600 display, 3MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a micro SD slot.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is running the show, but as this is the "Kids" version it has been heavily modified with a child-friendly interface, pre-loaded content such as games, entertainment and ebooks as well as a dedicated app store for your little treasures.

Kids only?

There's a parent control system where passwords can be set up and a time management tool means that little Jimmy will only be able to play on his Tab 3 Kids for 30 minutes before it locks him out.

It's not clear if the child-friendly interface can be switched off to allow parents to use the tablet themselves and the spec sheet suggests the Tab 3 Kids does come with the likes of Gmail, Google Maps and the Play Store installed - things some parents won't want their kids using.

So aside from the average specs and an interface which doesn't - at first glance - lend itself to adult use, surely Samsung has done some work on the chassis to make it "child-proof", right? Wrong!

Money please

That lovely chunky rubber border you see hugging the slate in the photo above is actually a case which you can pick up, wait for it, at an extra cost to you.

And if you haven't finished parting with your cash there's also an "easy-to-grip C Pen" which, between you and me, is a chunky stylus. Once again, a paid-for optional extra.

There's no word on a Galaxy Tab 3 Kids price just yet, but considering it's basically the stock Galaxy Tab 3 with a different software overlay we're not overly hopeful of a pocket-money-friendly price.

The tablet will go on sale in Korea early next month, followed closely by China, Europe, the US, Africa, South America and South East Asia.

It looks like it will be coming to the UK, but Samsung has told us, "UK availability will be announced in due course."


Source : techradar[dot]com

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to shoot in 4K?

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to shoot in 4K?

Will the Note 3's camera be capable of ultra greatness?

With IFA 2013 approaching, rumours surrounding the upcoming Galaxy Note 3 are flying thick and fast and the latest suggests its camera will be capable of recording Ultra HD video.

An "industry official" told of the camera boost, claiming that the phone-cum-tablet will be capable of recording in 200 million pixel resolution.

The thinking is that being able to shoot home movies in 4K will encourage Note 3 owners to upgrade to an Ultra HD ready Samsung TV too.

Ultra unlikely

We're not convinced that the new class of smartphones about to be unleashed in Berlin will come toting 4K snappers simply because phone memories are not up to the task yet.

Video content of that quality will see your phone overburdened before you can say sharper-than-sharp picture quality.

But it's not the first word we've heard of a handset coming with UHD smarts: the oft-touted Sony Xperia Z1 (previously known as Honami and also potentially billed as the Xi) is said to boast a 20MP camera with video shooting resolution of 4000 x 2000.

Samsung is also said to be giving audio quality a bit of a boost on the Note 3, according to the leak, with 24-bit playback smarts coming aboard.

Given that the source of the Note 3 rumours is the dodgily Google Translated word of an "industry official", we're not exactly staking our lives on the device coming with a 4K snapper.

However, we should find out for sure next week - a Samsung official today confirmed that the Note 3 will be unveiled on September 4 alongside the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Apple to let you trade-in your old iPhone for cheaper iPhone 5S?

Apple to let you trade-in your old iPhone for cheaper iPhone 5S?

Because everyone wants to buy from an Apple Store

It looks like Apple is about to jump on the trade-in bandwagon in its dedicated stores, with reports suggesting a program will be in place in time for the new iPhone launch next month.

Apple is apparently in final preparations to launch its iPhone trade-in program next month, or so say "sources with knowledge of the intuitive" over on 9to5Mac.

The program would allow owners of older versions of Apple's handsets - the iPhone 4 or 4S for example - to bring them into an Apple store and swap them for a shiny new iPhone at a discounted price.

Nothing new

While this concept has been around for years at various retailers, this is the first time Apple Stores would offer the deal.

It seems that Apple is keen for as many people to buy the new iPhone direct from its stores rather than going via a network or high street retailer.

Apparently 80% of all iPhones sold are outside the Cupertino firm's stores, so there's clear money to be made with this new scheme likely to aid home-grown sales.

We expect Apple to launch the iPhone 5S and possibly the cheaper iPhone 5C next month with September 10 being touted for the 5S launch date, where we may see official confirmation of the trade-in program too.


Source : techradar[dot]com

iOS 7 September 10 release adds more evidence to iPhone 5S and 5C launch

iOS 7 September 10 release adds more evidence to iPhone 5S and 5C launch

Help us, we're trapped inside Jony Ive's colourful nightmare

September 10 is the date we're currently marking in the diaries for the iPhone 5S and 5C reveal, and that may have just been reinforced by n apparently slip that claims that we'll see the release of iOS 7 that that very same day.

According to an email sent to developers from Nuance, the company behind Siri, the general availability date for iOS 7 is set for September 10.

Traditionally, new iOS versions have been made available the day of a new iPhone launch so Nuance's bean-spilling is no huge shock to the system. But on the flip side, this seems to be more evidence that September 10 is going to be Apple's big day.

This also means we should actually have something to play with on the day, as we don't expect the new iPhones to be available until at least a week later.

iSpy an iOS release date

Of course, the beta version of iOS 7 has been available to developers since its WWDC 2013 unveiling in June and has been incrementally updated by Apple since.

But September 10 is looking like the date that we'll finally get Jony Ive's new OS overhaul in its final form, without any of the nagging bugs that owners of the developer version have been putting up with in the past few weeks.

The Gold Master version, usually set out to developers before the general release, is yet to be seen. But if September 10 is the golden date, we expect it to appear very soon.


Source : techradar[dot]com

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