BlackBerry soldiering on for now, but how long can it survive?
BlackBerry recently refused offers to sell off various chunks of the company to interested parties like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Lenovo, Reuters reports.
The stricken Canadian firm believed that breaking up the company and flogging off bits and bobs would have been detrimental to the interests of customers and shareholders, the report claims.
Apple and Microsoft were apparently interested in acquiring a substantial patent stash, but BlackBerry spared its remaining loyal supporters the indignity of their beloved company falling into enemy hands.
The other two tech companies sniffing around BlackBerry's still-twitching carcass were Cisco and Lenovo, according to the report, with the latter long thought to be interested in a takeover bid.
Doubt, doubt and more doubt
BlackBerry's immediate future was cast into yet more doubt earlier this week when the board also rejected a takeover, which would have taken the company private once again.
Instead it secured $1 billion (£625m, AU$1.06) in funding from Fairfax Financial - which had led the consortium planning to take full control in the first place.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is a phone that takes the best of the internet and lets it all fly across an impossibly large screen. With the best of Sony's technology inside, does the 6.4-inch screen put it out of reach for most people?
Let us paint you a picture: a man walks into a bar. Pulls out his phone. It's got a five-inch screen. The jukebox grinds to a halt, glasses drop, smash on the floor and the crowd recoils in horror.
If you could see that happening just two or three years ago, can you imagine the scene if you whipped the even bigger Xperia Z Ultra out in public? There'd be carnage. As it is, you'll certainly raise more than a few eyebrows.
Sony's continuing its assault on the portability market – indeed, it's continuing its assault on our senses too. The Xperia Z Ultra is a massive phone. Or a small tablet. A phablet, even, if you subscribe to that idea.
Because let's face it – these things are no longer obscene. Like them or hate them, big phones and small tablet combinations appear to be here to stay. And Sony clearly wants a nice meaty slice of the pie.
It's not a bad looking Android tablet-phone hybrid
There have been some genuine innovations over the last year – with megapixel levels pushed up to 20MP and phones and tablets that are waterproof. We never tire of being able to run a tablet under the shower just for the hell of it. You can do that with the Xperia Z Ultra. But it still doesn't feel right.
And where Samsung took the plunge two years ago now with the Galaxy Note, the phablet section which many (this reviewer included) thought would never grow has soared.
Everyone seems to be walking around with them (or maybe we just notice them more because they're so different, so it seems like everyone has them) but other OEMs have spotted there is money to be made here.
And this is Sony's first attempt at the middle ground.
In terms of the competition, the Xperia Z Ultra is firmly pitted against one device: the also just released Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It's bigger – in fact, it's a similar size to the Galaxy Mega, Samsung's own huge offering – but specs wise, it's nearer to the Note range.
It even nods its head towards Samsung's big selling point on these devices – the S-Pen – with a pencil recognition capability. We'll explore that later in the review.
The on switch is hard to miss
Let's just say that, for now – if you think you know what to expect when you grab the Xperia Z Ultra, you're probably mistaken. We knew it would be big. But boy, does it feel enormous.
Then again, big is beautiful and the Xperia Z Ultra feels like a genuinely expensive, classy piece of kit. If you've fondled an Xperia Z phone at any point, you'll know what we're talking about here.
All black glass, high gloss, front and back with very little to interrupt that apart from the Sony logo on the front and the Xperia logo on the back. In fact, if you've felt the new Nexus 7 2013 model, you'll feel right at home.
As we look at it, all we can think is how much it looks like it could be that device's little brother. And that's definitely not a bad mantle to have.
When the screen's off, it melts away and the whole front just looks like one beautiful black panel. If you look hard, you'll spot the front facing camera at the top, but not the notification light, which also sits there hidden from view.
The left hand side has the charging offerings – two contact points for a dock and the actual micro USB slot which, like many other devices, is hidden behind a rubber port. This keeps it forever watertight so that you can actually functionally use the Xperia Z Ultra in the bath without fear.
Sony appears to have listened to grumbles past and made it a little easier to open and close without the flap getting in the way.
Round the other side, you'll see areas for the microSD expansion slot and SIM card insertion (again, hidden by rubber stoppers), the volume rocker and standby button.
We'd normally moan here about the placement of the standby button but the fact is that it's not so much of an issue on a handset of this size. Everyone will hold theirs differently, but everything seemed well placed.
There's also a headphone jack at the top of this side. What's great is there is no covering for the headphone socket – and yet, this too is waterproof.
Goodness knows what Sony's managed to do here, but it's made it work and it means there is one less annoyance when you want to listen to some music or just audio in general. Big thumbs up here.
And that brings us to the elephant in the room. And by 'elephant', we mean it, since size is everything here. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is enormous.
We're talking dimensions of 179 x 92 x 6.5mm. That means it's tall, it's wide. But it's also actually rather thin, and we like that. The weight is very evenly distributed. The worst thing Sony could have done is give us something that was top- or bottom-heavy and very difficult to handle. This works perfectly for us.
It's when you press that standby button on the side that you see where the magic really lies. The Xperia Z Ultra has the most beautiful display. 6.4-inches in size with 1920 x 1080 resolution.
That works out as a PPI of 344, which is more than enough for even the best opticians. You will not see any pixels on this screen. Some reviews have slated the color for being washed out.
We certainly had no complaints there. Whereas the Xperia Z phone from earlier this year had the worst issue with viewing angles, it seems Sony has listened and fixed that with this model.
In fact, our only complaint was with the lack of vivacity. We were using our review model alongside a Samsung Galaxy S4 which, of course, uses a different type of panel.
Many complain that Samsung's are too bright, too colourful, and not realistic enough. It's horses for courses and some will prefer the Xperia Z Ultra's truer-to-life palette. Either way, we challenge anybody to pick this device up and not be impressed with the screen.
They may be unimpressed with the ability to swap the battery out though. Yes, more and more manufacturers are sealing their power packs in, but with a device like this, which screams out to be a movie player for the commuting hours and a PDA for the rest of the day, this is going to use some juice.
It's not always practical to carry a charger around, and we would have preferred a little trade off in the design to allow a spare battery option.
That's even more so considering the price. As you'd expect, the Xperia Z Ultra is NOT cheap by any standards. SIM-free, you'll struggle to pick one up for much less than £600 / $675 (Around AU$638), although some stores are bunging a Smartwatch 2 in with the phablet.
Either way, don't expect to get this device free on a contact unless you're willing to part with around 25% more per month compared to the Sony Xperia Z1 each month for two years. Sounds a lot on the face of it – but if you'll use this as a phone and a tablet, it may represent a saving. You'll still likely be broke – but a little happier.
What's the point in Google's Nexus device program these days?
I mean that literally - what is the point in it? I used to know, but now, I just don't get it. Is it a developer device? Is it a consumer item? Is it both? What day is it?
Google's only just announced the new Nexus 5 and for the first time since the Nexus One joined the party, I wasn't excited in the least. I know that puts me in the minority because the Nexus 5 section of this site was getting some serious hits in the build up to the announcement and launch, but WTF?!
When the Nexus One came out, it was like a smartphone revelation. Quick history lesson for those who don't remember almost four years back: this was a phone for those who were dedicated. Not one for the masses. One for those who were prepared to put the time and effort in.
You didn't just pick one of these up on the high street - you had to buy direct from Google in California, get it shipped over, and if you lived in international climes pay customs taxes and then wait for the postman to bring it during an incredibly snowy January when most of them refused to step on icy driveways.
Man, that was a long wait. And the Nexus One wasn't cheap. I'm still paying it off now.
In fact, it did get a little consumer appeal through limited networks who cottoned on to its popularity and sold a few on contract.
But this remained a device for the elite. The reason was simple. This was pure Google. But now everyone's getting them. The Nexus line's lost its exclusivity. How am I supposed to feel special now, Google? HOW?
One true love
This week, a friend of mine who isn't even a tech head had the audacity to ask if I thought he should get a Nexus 5 because he'd read about it in the paper, saying: 'yeah, it looks quite cool.'
If I'd had a Nexus One nearby, I'd have smacked him around the head with it, shown him that this is a device for the chosen few, not every Joe Bloggs and sent him on his merry way.
But the fact is that the Nexus 5 is now a device for the masses. It's not solely a tinkerers' toy anymore. And that saddens me.
I'm not saying Google has made a mistake with the Nexus 5. It had to do something, go mainstream to keep control of its system, especially given Samsung's strategy seems pretty clear: become the number one Android retailer, get people used to Touchwiz, then migrate them to Tizen, which looks the same, and hope they go peacefully.
In other words, give Google a sloppy kiss while simultaneously nicking the family silver.
Not unloved
I'm well aware that I'll be castigated for moaning about success of a range, and I'm fine with that. This is a rant about missing the 'good old days' of smartphone use, when you had to WORK for the love.
You may say that tinkerers don't really need their own device any more. Which is probably true. Over on XDA forums you can download Frankenstein versions of any ROM under the sun and stick them on nearly any Android device you can get hold of.
There's no need to have a virgin OS when you can pretty much make one yourself any time you like.
But I miss feeling like I've got my hands on something that shows I'm a true fan, someone that cares about this technology. Even the Google Play editions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 aren't that hard to get.
The Nexus 5 is a great device. And it's going to sell incredibly well, no doubt. But as for its relevance, that's not so high anymore. And the likes of the developers, those who like to have a good play, may well end up looking at some of the new operating systems, like Jolla or... whisper it... Tizen.
Android 4.4 KitKat has made its entrance with the LG Nexus 5, bringing the latest flavour of Google's homegrown mobile OS to the table.
KitKat doesn't mark a massive leap forward for Android as we were possibly hoping to see with version 5.0 - formally known as Key Lime Pie - but there are still a few tweaks and new features to be had that should appease Android users.
As well as bringing Google Now to the forefront of the phone alongside voice-activated search, the new Hangouts app combines all your SMS, MMS and Hangouts into one place, something that's not a million miles from BlackBerry 10's messaging hub.
Check out the video below for our handy walkthrough guide, where we showcase some of the new features on offer in Android's new chocolate-coated operating system.
Slogans are powerful things, but they can often become sticks to beat their creators with: how many times do you think Google's execs wished they'd never come up with "don't be evil"? Apple's equivalent is probably "it just works", which pretty much everyone on the planet is familiar with.
Other firms' products require endless patches and cause endless irritation, but Apple's stuff just works.
That's not all. I was one of very many Mavericks upgraders whose initial installation refused to finish, citing terrible hard disk damage, and others seem even unluckier: some Western Digital external drive users have seen their data disappear.
And then there's iWork, the exciting new update that took away stacks of features that power users had come to depend upon. Apple has since published a support document detailing the missing features it's going to put back in. And lots of people are pretty unhappy with iOS 7 too.
Have we gone from "it just works" to "it might work"?
It's tempting to accuse Apple of slipping quality control, but then Apple has dropped the ball before. Remember iOS 6 Maps, or the furore over Final Cut Pro X? And before anyone invokes the increasingly annoying "this would never have happened under Steve Jobs" mantra, we need to throw in the launch of MobileMe, the buttonless iPod Shuffle and the cracking - literally - G4 Cube.
Perhaps the truth is simple: Apple has always messed up, but today it appears to be messing up on a much bigger scale because it's a much bigger company with a much bigger profile, catering for a much wider variety of customers in a much wider variety of configurations and circumstances. It's not any less competent than before. It's just under much more scrutiny.
That may be true, but even if it is it's a worry: Apple's entire brand is based on being better, on delivering a premium experience and charging accordingly, and if it breaks that promise the brand image suffers as a result. You buy Apple stuff because it doesn't throw a strop halfway through an OS installation, wipe your external drive and refuse to play nice with your documents. You buy it because it doesn't produce mysterious errors or shut down or freeze for no good reason.
You buy Apple stuff on a promise, and that promise is "it just works".
If it doesn't, what exactly are you paying a premium for?
If you haven't read our round-up of the best tablets in the world yet, we'd advise you do it now, because we're about to spoil the ending.
For the first time in history, we've given the full five stars to a tablet. And no, it wasn't the Argos MyTablet. Of course the recipient was Apple's spanking new iPad Air.
As Gareth Beavis explains, it's a lovely and very powerful thing, and his review was so persuasive that we promptly spent money we didn't really have on an iPad we really didn't need. It's that good.
Put it this way: when was the last time you read a device review that talked about "joy"?
The iPad Air wasn't the only thing we lusted over this week, though. We're pretty keen on the new Nikon Df too. Angela Nicholson reckons it's "superbly retro" while boasting state of the art technology, and while it's pricey at £2,649.99 (about US$4,650, AU$4,500) - Nikon used the 99p because £2,650 would have looked expensive, ho ho - the "considerable excitement" appears to be entirely justified.
Camera dealers say that if it's as good as it looks, it will "fly off the shelves".
The greatest console story ever told
With the launch of the next generation games consoles mere days away, it's time to ask the big question: who won this generation's console wars? Was it the PS3? The Xbox 360? Or, um, the Wii? Phil Iwaniuk reckons it's the Sony console, and he's certainly convincing.
"Any fool can see PlayStation 3 ends the era victorious," he says. While Microsoft had "an open goal" in the early days, "PlayStation 3 cunningly built a wall of fantastic first-party titles in front of that goal in the six years that followed."
Did the Xbox 360 win the last console war?
Not so fast, says Jon Hicks: the winner has to be the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 is "the most influential console on the market", "king of the hill" and the bestest console ever.
Hugh Langley reckons they're both wrong. There can only be one winner, and it's the Wii. "Did it have the graphical might to stand shoulder to shoulder with the PS3 and Xbox 360? Hell no. Did it have the hardcore library of the GameCube? Nope. Did it have a stupid name? Yeah, we sniggered. And guys, it couldn't even play DVDs."
Wait, everyone! There's a twist!
The Wii did "something much, much bigger: it got the whole world playing videogames." The Wii wasn't just a souped-up version of an existing console: it was new, and different, and amazing, and it had Super Mario Galaxy. Game over!
Samsung folds
Sadly the Wii is no more, and it looks as though BlackBerry's going the same way after yet more bad news - so let's cheer ourselves up with something positive to look forward to. Say hello to Samsung and its amazing bend-o-phone.
The phone doesn't actually exist yet, but it will - and soon. As James Rogerson reports, Samsung has been showing off prototypes of devices with folding screens - so your phone could become a tablet, and maybe an aeroplane or a beautiful origami swan - and they could be on sale as soon as 2015.
We're with Rogerson, who says "it's an exciting prospect… it could also remove the need to have both a phone and a tablet if it can effectively combine the two."
It would also mean phones could be phone-sized and tablets tablet-y, heralding the end of the worst word technology has ever seen. That's right, Samsung appears to have announced the imminent death of the phablet.
Now that's something that deserves the five-star treatment.
Bend me, shape me any way you want me as long as it's pretty much just this way
We're still not sure if the LG G Flex will make it to the UK, US or Australia, but we now know that it will hit French shores next month after launching in Korea.
So the signs are good for a possible December release - although it's not good news for your bank account, with the LG G Flex pricing revealed to be 999,900 Korean Won which is about $940 in the US, £583 in the UK and AU$992.
Its curved OLED ways will hit South Korea on November 12, with 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera and a Wolverine style scratch-healing coating on the back of the device.
G up
But the headline feature is that curved, slightly bendable screen which, it has been confirmed, does actually flex.
Flexible phones look set to be the next big tech thing, with Samsung's Galaxy Round also doing the, er, rounds and rumours of bendy batteries starting to proliferate.
It's looking increasingly likely that Samsung will push out a 64-bit chip on its phones next year, and we suspect it might even appear on the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Digitimes, admittedly not always the most reliable of sources, is reporting that Samsung Display and Japan Display will "begin volume production of WQHD displays soon" and that Samsung will also pack 64-bit CPUs into its smartphones for 2014.
According to the same report, the phones will additionally have 16-megapixel cameras, following Samsung's confirmation that 2014 will be the year of 16MP snapper.
Power to the people
On Wednesday Samsung outlined its plans to develop an optimised version of a 64-bit mobile chip, following in the footsteps of the iPhone 5S.
Stephen Woo, president of System LSI at Samsung Electronics, said that Samsung will first offer a 64-bit chip based on ARM's core, before putting out an optimised version.
This means that if the Galaxy S5 does arrive as early as January, it might not see Samsung's more ambitious chip. However if the Galaxy Note 4 sticks to Samsung's habit of an IFA unveiling, it'll likely offer up the optimised mobile processor.
