Are wireless signals really dangerous?

Are wireless signals really dangerous?

Using a headset is always a good idea

While we are surrounded by radio waves emitted by the Cosmos, we have only known about them since the 1890s, when wireless transmission was first demonstrated.

However, It wasn't until the late 1980s, with the advent of the first mobile phones, that radio transmitters first started entering the home, and even then, it took until the early-to-mid 1990s before mobile phones became commonplace. The mid-1990s also saw the first consumer use of wireless networks, and just as with phones, only took a few years to become mass-market products.

Look around a modern home and you will see that we are now surrounded by devices which emit radio waves, from our mobile phones to laptops and tablets, wireless routers, baby monitors, cordless phones, wireless games console controllers, some TV and Hi-Fi remotes (although most use Infra Red), wireless burglar alarm systems, Bluetooth headsets, keyboards and mice, wireless weather stations and more.

Galaxy S3
Modern mobile phones have a peak transmission power of just 2W, although earlier analogue phones were as much as 3.6W

So does all this electromagnetic radiation pose any sort of health risk to us? This is a question that many scientists have been struggling to answer and it seems that trying to get a definitive answer is not easy.

There's no doubt that Radio Frequency (RF) energy can be powerful and dangerous. Microwaves ovens use radio waves to heat food, which is why they need proper shielding to be safe. High-powered radio transmitters, such as those used on military vehicles, have warnings to keep away from the antenna, because coming into contact with it while the radio is transmitting can give you a nasty burn (known as RF burn).

Microwave ovens use a frequency around 2,450MHz (2.45GHz), Bluetooth 2,400MHz to 2,408MHz, and Wireless LAN uses 2,412MHz to 2,484MHz. Other devices, such as baby monitors and burglar alarms tend to use FM frequencies (e.g. 433MHz).

Mobile phones vary from country to country and cover a wide spectrum of frequencies although the most popular are 850MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz and 1,900Mhz. While any radio wave with a frequency between 300Mhz and 300GHz is classed as a microwave, it doesn't mean that they all have the same characteristics.

How bad are microwaves?

Microwave ovens are able to heat food for three reasons; the waves are highly focused, the metal box of the oven prevents the waves from dispersing, therefore they are fully absorbed by whatever is in the oven and thirdly, the emission power is very high (up to 1,000w). In contrast, a Bluetooth headset, wireless land or mobile phone's RF emissions are unfocused and unconstrained, while the emission power is much lower.

Bluetooth devices range from 1mW to 100mW, Wireless LANs between 32mW and 200mW, while 3G mobile phones have a maximum power output of 2 Watts, but will typically be operating at around 500mW, although the first analogue phones had a peak output of 3.6W.

Microwave
Microwave ovens use focussed wave, at very high power and trapped within a metal container, to heat food

From this it's fairly obvious that the amount of RF energy emitted by most devices, is incredibly low. However, any device which operates near the same frequencies as a microwave oven, i.e. around the 2GHz mark, could potentially generate some of the same effects, including localised heating of tissue. It is this heating effect which has led some to believe that microwave frequency radio waves are detrimental to health.

What about phones?

In 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic, although the World Health Organisation has said that "to date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use". A number of studies have been carried out, but as mobile phone use has only been widespread for around 15 years or so, so far, there has no direct evidence of a link between mobile phone use and cancer.

One of the largest studies was carried out in Denmark and involved around 420,000 people, who had been using mobile phones for 21 years (1982 to 1995). Despite the fact that the users would have been using the higher powered analogue phones, as well as lower-powered digital phones, the researchers concluded that there was no evidence for an association between tumour risk and mobile phone use, even in long-term users.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth headsets are very low power devices and enable you to keep your mobile away from your head

So what about other health risks? There have been many stories which claim that RF exposure can interfere with sleep patterns. Research here is contradictory, with one Finnish study showing no ill effects, others have found that pulsed RF can have an effect on the brain. Some people even believe that being soaked in radio waves has other effects upon the body, such as fatigue, lack of concentration, headaches or memory issues, and this is known as Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity.

However, in 2010, a review of 46 studies into electromagnetic sensitivity found that there was no robust evidence for the existence of electromagnetic hypersensitivity. In double-blind tests, those who claim to suffer from hypersensitivity were unable to conclusively determine whether a RF emitting device is on or off.

Reducing exposure

While RF emission power levels are regulated by national legislation, some manufacturers, it seems, take extra steps to reduce your exposure. It has been discovered that in Apple's latest iPad, there is apparently a proximity sensor, which will reduce the power of the device's 3G radio, when it detects a solid object (such as any part of your body) within 10mm top of the screen. However, according to Pong Research, it's not just human tissue which triggers the sensor, most iPad cases do as well.

Ipad mini
The iPad contains a proximity sensor, which can be activated by many standard cases and which reduces the 3G signal strength

Pong does have a vested interest in these claims, however, as it markets a range of cases which it claims not only stop the proximity sensor of the iPad activating, when fitted with a case, but which also direct the RF energy of your mobile device away from your head., using a passive, coupled antenna. Unfortunately these are claims we can't verify, as we simply don't have access to the necessary testing equipment, however, Wired has an extensive writeup on Pong's claims and comes to the conclusion that yes, these cases do in fact live up to their claims, when tested in a compliance testing lab.

One of the points Pong makes is that most SAR (Specific Absorption Rate – a measure of how much RF energy is absorbed by the human body) tests are done on models of adults heads. The argument is that a child's head, especially one under the age of 10, has a much thinner skull than an adult and the brain is more vulnerable to the effects of RF radiation.

This is a fair point and while some more recent tests have been conducted using head models based on MRI scans of a child's head, most studies have been based on adults. Studies that have used models of a child's head have shown increased absorption of microwave frequency radio waves.

Pong
Pong's cases are custom made for each phone model, so that the case's antenna is in the optimal position

So, the question is, should you be worried about the emissions your wireless devices are giving off? This is the billion-dollar question and to our minds, still hasn't been answered. So far the evidence would suggest that adult users are at very low risk, but more research needs to be done. For children, the risks would certainly appear to be higher. Trying to police your child's phone use is probably impossible, so reducing exposure seems like the next best option.

Using a Bluetooth headset is certainly one way to reduce the amount of RF radiation your head is exposed to from your phone, although they are not the easiest things to use and far too easy to misplace. Using a case that directs radiation away from the head would seem to be the next best option and Pong's cases would certainly seem to fit the bill.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Why basic smartphones will win in the race for 'the next billion' users

Why basic smartphones will win in the race for 'the next billion' users

The first Firefox OS smartphone, the ZTE Open, launches soon in Spain, Venezuela and Colombia

With so many high-end smartphones about, the market for cheap PAYG phones is long dead. That's the received wisdom, but it's wrong – so wrong – because it's predicated on a mis-understanding of where the 'market' is.

If you hadn't guessed already, the US, Europe and the rest of the developed world ain't where it's at. All consumer electronics companies – and handset makers in particular – are looking much further afield.

"The big opportunity is in how we put smartphones into the hands of the next billion," says Dan Appelquist, Open Web Advocate at Telefónica Digital. "And we do not believe that the situation we currently see with smartphones in developed markets will necessarily be replicated as this happens."

Cue basic 'feature' handsets like the new Nokia 105 and Nokia 301. After an era of 'quaint Western bias' the accountants are waking up to the fact that iPhones and Galaxies don't cut it in India and other developing economies – and that's where the money is. "Market leaders in the developed world don't have the technologies or the price points to succeed and will have to innovate rapidly to do so," says Victor Basta at Silicon Valley-based analyst firm Magister Advisors.

"China and India alone have a population two and half times the combined population of the US and Europe." Analyst house IDC estimates that almost 920 million mobile devices will ship this year, predominantly in developed nations, but with seven billion souls on the planet, there's a long way to go.

Nokia 105
The £23 Nokia 105 was the surprise hit-handset at Mobile World Congress 2013

"There is a trend towards cheap 'light-weight' versions of Android and iOS devices aimed at the third world in a bid to build brand loyalty for the future," says Kevin Curran, senior member at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "Currently, top of the range Apple and Google smartphones are simply too expensive for the common people."

Cue the rise of basic challenger smartphones. "Some smartphone users are turning their back on Apple and Samsung for so-called 'basic phones' like Blackberry and Nokia Windows because we are now entering a new phase; one that sees a diminishing return on the extra investment for a premium handset," says Peter Chadha, Founder of DrPete and CEO of Steegle.com.

"These 'basic challenger phones' can provide their users with excellent email, internet access and even applications. This is a real shift as these alternatives historically struggled, with poor screens that lacked capacitive touch, and tardy processors." However, the likes of Siri, voice recognition and 'face unlock' are features too far for most people on the planet.

What's the world's most popular smartphone brand?

Despite what we've said about cheaper phones gaining in popularity, there's an aspirational aspect, too. A poll of 3,670 people in Brazil, India, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia last month found that Samsung is currently the brand of choice (32%) in these markets, with Nokia coming in second place (22%) and Apple in third (21%). Compare that to the UK/US, where Apple is still the frontrunner at 32%.

The same Upstream 2013 Emerging Markets Mobile Attitudes report also found that a third of emerging market consumers would buy a device from a brand that has similar functionality and features to a high-end brand, but at a lower cost. And here's the rub: 38% of Nigerians, 15% Indians, 11% Brazilians and 9% of consumers from Saudi Arabia want a smartphone for less than $100 USD, while half of those polled would be prepared to spend $100-300 USD on their mobile.

That's not enough for an iPhone or Galaxy S4, but the world's biggest economies have their own solutions.

For instance, China's most popular search engine Baidu sells smartphones made by Lenovo (and it even has its own Google Glass competitor, the Baidu Eye). Its latest handset is the LePhone A586, which has a 4.5-inch screen, runs Android 4 – including Baidu's own cloud features, apps, voice search and even voice unlock – and costs just £100/$153 USD. That's easily four times cheaper than an iPhone.

Once it's dominated China – something that's predicted to achieve next year – Lenovo and Baidu are off to Brazil where smartphone penetration is a mere 14%.

Can smartphones in developing countries easily access the internet?

No, and it's all about infrastructure – or lack of. "Across Europe you will see dozens of ISPs competing for customers, there are peering arrangements in place between them to help maximise Internet traffic efficiency both domestically and internationally, and the resulting savings are passed to the customers," says Axel Pawlik, managing director of the RIPE NCC, a Regional Internet Registry that allocates IP numbers to its members in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. "The developing world is often a very different picture – Internet connection can be unstable and slow, and often limited to certain geographic regions."

Countries on the east coast of Africa were physically cut-off from the internet until 2009, only able to connect via satellite as there were no submarine cables linking to global networks. Even now much Internet traffic in Africa has to leave the country in order to switch to another network within the same country, so it's an expensive

Why do people in in developing countries want smartphones?

A major reason is WiFi and calling apps."Calling apps have made cheaper smartphones far more enticing by undercutting feature phones, offering longer term savings and greater coverage in exchange for a slightly larger upfront cost," says ex-Virgin Media founding executive Graeme Hutchinson, who now runs Ghost Telecom, producer of free-calling iOS & Android app FooTalk, which combines Skype-type VoIP with very low cost standard phone number calling. It even does Facebook calling, making it the world's first app to offer global Facebook VoIP – before even Facebook itself.

Foo Talk

Apps like FooTalk allow smartphone owners to use the growing availability of Wi-Fi to fill-in the gaps in a developing country's mobile infrastructure, which is in turn changing the global focus of telecoms companies. "For operators, developed markets are at over saturation point and we're seeing a reduction in new user take-up," says Hutchinson. "Operator growth therefore has to come from emerging and developing markets. With data services central to the future of mobile, operators' traditional geographical boundaries are disappearing and they are looking to global strategies that embrace the developing world as a key part of their plans."

Premium vs cheap smartphones

"The developing economies are more price sensitive than the UK as just a difference of £10/$15 USD when multiplied into rupees or pesos starts to seem a lot more – and users who aren't particularly tech savvy will be more persuaded by price," says Chadha.

Mohammed Hussain, MD of mobile phone accessories retailer, Mobile Fun predicts that Google and Amazon will take a big stake in the low end segment of smartphones and tablets, with a Kindle Fire-style subsidised low-end mobile device possible. "We see the smartphone market evolving to offer two extremes in terms of handsets," he says. "There will be both premium and low-end handsets, leaving a dearth of handsets in the middle."

It's in the low-end sector that 'the next billion' handsets are destined, and the race to provide them could birth a new operating system – with Mozilla's Firefox OS one of them. It's due to launch this year in Latin America via Telefónica's networks, and it's a direst response to the closed app-ecosystems of Apple and Android.

There's nothing smart about the Alcatel One Touch 232
There's nothing smart about the Alcatel One Touch 232, but it costs very little

Why don't Apple and Android suit developing countries?

"The current App store model present in the West, which requires consumer credit or debit card details, is not one that can be easily transferred across into emerging markets," says Marco Veremis, CEO at Upstream, which conducted the Emerging Markets Mobile Attitudes report.

It found that the lack of banking facilities available to consumers in these markets led to 42% preferring to pay for them via their mobile operator, so it's mobile operators, not platform owners, that have the advantage when developing apps and content. That explains why an open platform like Firefox OS makes sense in the developing world – and why Telefónica is so keen on it.

"We will see some unsuspecting winners in the open battle for emerging market consumers," says Veremis. Given the unique billing and marketing relationship mobile network operators have with consumers in emerging markets, they have the opportunity to be crowned Kings."

Since it's open source, Android will dominate low-end devices in developing countries for now, but Firefox, Samsung's Tizen and/or Nokia's budget Windows devices might takeover.

iPhone
Could we soon a cheaper version of the iPhone?

Will high-end smartphones survive?

The next billion handsets will not be iPhone or Galaxy-flavoured, but there's obviously still an appetite for high-end smartphones. "There will always be a premium device segment, especially as the middle classes grow rapidly in China and India – these middle class consumers want premium handsets," says Hussein.

"While some observers may think that a new cheap iPhone might drive down prices, we are sceptical that Apple will target the low-end segment of the device market. After all, devices such as the iPad Mini aren't exactly cheap, and Apple has a reputation for keeping its gross margins as high as possible."

However, even Appe needs to keep on its toes. "Already in China there are seemingly amazing iPhone 5 clone phones – normally based on Android – for less than £60/$92 USD, and in time, Telco's will start providing these types of smartphones as they are competing for users and market saturation," says Chadha, who think we might see a completely different type of mobile phone delivered for the high-end.

"This would require some sort of paradigm shift which alters the high-end smartphone to be a must have for all," he explains. "For example, flexible screens or using cyborg type technology to implant connections directly into your body – to your eyes and ears – where you would want high-brand, high-quality."

In the new world order the premium, high-end smartphone will have search once again for a new business model – and a new 'killer app'.


Source : techradar[dot]com

So far, Spotify is more popular than iTunes with Twitter Music users

So far, Spotify is more popular than iTunes with Twitter Music users

Twitter Music launched to the public on Thursday

Read into this what you will, but in the first 24 hours of its existence, figures suggest that slightly more people used Spotify than iTunes to enjoy tracks on the new Twitter Music service.

According to stats from Simply Measured, 11,984 people used the #NowPlaying hashtag to tweet Spotify links from the web or iOS app, compared with 11,612 shared #NowPlaying tweets linking to iTunes.

The third factor in this equation, the Rdio streaming service was a distant last, accounting for 3,457 tweets.

In total there were over 226,000 #NowPlaying tweets sent from Twitter Music during the first 24 hours, which the researchers claim is four times the amount of Vine videos posted during its first day.

But what does it mean?

The results are both surprising and unsurprising in somewhat equal measures.

iTunes previews can be accessed on Twitter Music freely, whereas users listening to full tracks must sign in to either their Spotify or Rdio account.

It either means that users don't have a problem with signing into those accounts in order to listen to entire songs, or they just don't consider a 30 seconds iTunes preview to be worthy of a #NowPlaying tweet.

How do you interpret the stats? Is it to early to be making any judgements? We found these figures quite interesting, but do you even care? Let us know in the comments section below.


Source : techradar[dot]com

The batteries that charge 1,000 times quicker and last 10 times longer

The batteries that charge 1,000 times quicker and last 10 times longer

Advances in battery tech are badly needed (credit: johnnywashngo from Flickr)

Batteries have been shoved well and truly into the spotlight this week. From sulphur and voltage spikes, to a battery technology breakthrough that could produce cells which fully charge in minutes and last for days rather than hours.

If that wasn't exciting enough, we've got black holes, super nanosuits, and the real reason we love beer, all waiting for you in another exciting Week in Science.

Microarray batteries could charge 1,000 times quicker -- Scientists may have finally made the massive breakthrough in battery technology we've all been waiting for. Miniaturisation is the key here; essentially researchers have created ranks of microbatteries, producing many, many 3D electrodes combining intertwined anodes and cathodes at the microscale. That creates a much higher surface area to volume ratio, and means that electrons don't have far to flow to complete the circuit and therefore output power quicker to where it's needed.

The result is a battery that fully charges in minutes and lasts 10 times longer than current lithium-ion cells, something that would certainly boost battery life by miles in our smartphones. Unfortunately, the battery isn't quite ready for primetime, given a few safety concerns including a flammable electrolyte, but this could be the breakthrough that finally brings batteries up to scratch with the rest modern technology. [Nature Communications]

Next-generation batteries could stink like rotten eggs -- Miniaturisation may be the next hot battery technology, but sulphur might be the new material to boost it even further. A new technique called inverse vulcanisation creates new polymers out of a liquid sulphur mix, creating a new material for the potential construction of cathodes. Current generation sulphur-based batteries, although they provide good power density and low rates of self-discharge, quickly eat up their sulphur cathodes. The hope is that this new cathode sulphur polymer will solve that issue, beating lithium-ion batteries in almost all respects. While more research is clearly needed, soon your batteries could be sulphur-powered as well as being tiny. [Nature Chemistry]

Spikes throw your sensors for six -- If leaps in battery tech weren't enough this week, it seems the way you charge you current cell could make a difference to its life after all. Unlike nickel-cadmium or nickel-hydride batteries, lithium-ion batteries are meant to be able to be topped up whenever -- they don't have a memory of charge. However, new research suggests that incomplete charging and discharging does have an effect on battery life. Surprising spikes in voltage were seen from incomplete charges of batteries, meaning capacity sensors were thrown way off. That could result in your phone, or more importantly, your car, thinking you have more juice than you do in your battery, running flat without warning before you get home.

Thankfully, now that we know it's going on, battery capacity sensors can be adapted, something that's obviously pretty pressing and crucial for the burgeoning electric car market. [Nature Materials]

Microneedles could be the new staples -- Modern medicine really isn't all that modern sometimes -- we still use what are essentially staples to hold skin grafts and wounds together. But taking a bite out of nature, a new patch littered with microneedles could be the next generation of wound repair patch. Mimicking the spiny head of a parasitic worm, the patch's needles penetrate the surrounding skin to hold things in place. A thin hydrogel coating then swells to anchor all the needles and flesh together when in contact with water. The patches proved to have three times the adhesion strength of surgical staples, and could have far-reaching medical applications. Soon you could be patched up by something derived from a parasite, which could even deliver drugs into your system. [Nature Communications]

Needle
Could needles soon be much smaller?

The first ever-lab grown kidney actually works -- Medical science made a huge breakthrough this week with the first ever working transplant of a kidney wholly grown. It was grown in just two weeks in a lab from a combination of human stem cells and rat kidney cells. The kidney was inserted into a rat where it was capable of filtering urine just like a natural kidney could. Unfortunately, it only managed 10 per cent efficiency, but it's a start. The next step is to try the same thing in pigs, which have very similar vascular systems to our own, and to get the efficiency up. It's a little while away yet, but kidneys grown to order might soon be available for human transplant, and that really will be revolutionary. [Nature]

Anti-cancer scientist jailed for faking results -- The first scientist to be convicted in the UK for breach of scientific safety laws, has just been jailed for three months. Steven Eaton, who worked for pharmaceutical firm Aptuit, was prosecuted under the 1999 Good Laboratory Practice Regulations for falsifying test results from an in-research anti-cancer drug. By selectively reporting results, he was able to show that the drug had passed tests, when indeed it had failed. The court was told that the drug could have easily caused irreparable damage to cancer patients if it had been cleared for sale. It just goes to show that there's greed and dishonesty within science, just as there is within any other industry. [BBC]

It's jail time for one cheat scientist

Pleasure and beer go hand-in-hand -- The reason why so many of us love beer has finally been unearthed. It's been known for a long time that alcohol releases dopamine to tickle our pleasure centres, but now the mere taste of beer has been proven to produce a similar, but totally separate response. A study that sprayed just 15ml of beer onto the tongues of volunteers showed large spikes in dopamine levels within minutes of tasting the beer. That triggers our reward response, the same one that's also initiated when you sleep or have sex, and is one of the reasons why you get cravings for beer.

The researchers also discovered that people with a history of alcoholism in the family got a much bigger surge in dopamine levels in the brain when tasting beer. That might explain why some people are predisposed to alcoholism, and find it much harder to kick the habit. [Neuropsychopharmacology]

Beer
Beer is pleasurable [Image credit: ivoutin from Flickr]

Nano-suits could be the new spacesuits -- What if you could be protected from the harsh vacuous environment of space by just an impossibly thin layer, like an invisible micro spacesuit. That's what researchers accidentally discovered when they bombarded a worm with electrons in the vacuum of an electron microscope. The electrons imparted energy onto the outside skin of the worm, causing it to polymerise into a nanoscopic protective layer, allowing the worm to move and survive normally in a vacuum.

Researchers then found they could create artificial nano-suits using compounds coated onto the outside of insects in a similar manner. Scientists think that this kind of nano-suit technology could be adapted to create new spacesuits and other protective gear against the deadly environment of space. An invisible shield, barely the width of a human hair, sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but could turn out to be a very real possibility. [Science]

Space
Could there be a new generation of spacesuits? [Image credit: sfllaw from Flickr]

Flash, and a black hole is born -- Black holes are so named because you can't actually see them. They're black, appearing invisible in space, because they absorb all light and other electromagnetic waves, as well as all matter. However, it seems a burst of neutrinos given off by the formation of a new singularity, as a star simply implodes, might be the key to spotting them. As the neutrinos are ejected, the core of the star suddenly becomes lighter, which in turn fires a shockwave through the star's outer layers. This sends them flying off into space, glowing brightly as they do so. That process creates enough of a flash of light for us to see back here on Earth, allowing us to witness the birth of a new all-consuming black hole. [New Scientist]

A black hole, yesterday [Image credit: NASA]
A black hole, yesterday [Image credit: NASA]

Fancy eating a tree for dinner? -- Scientists have managed to transform indigestible cellulose, what you might call fibre in your diet, into one of our staple foods, starch. Cellulose and starch are both made of chains of glucose, differing only in the way the chains are constructed. Using synthetic enzymes, researchers were able to essentially convert cellulose into starch, which is a far harder prospect than it sounds. The resulting material can then be process into all sorts of things, potentially including food, or a new source of biofuel to keep our engines running. [PNAS]


Source : techradar[dot]com

This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar

This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar

Windows Phone 8 goes low end but not low rent

This week we've looked at the HTC First, the first phone with Facebook Home pre-installed as well as Nokia's bottom-rung Lumia, the 520.

We've also got hands on with the new Kobo reader as well as TomTom's brand new Sport watch.

So let's get stuck in. Here's our round-up of the hottest tech we've played with this week.

Nokia Lumia 520

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.

Nokia Lumia 520

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 review

With the Galaxy Note 8.0, which bridges the space between the Note 2 and Tab 2 10.1, it's clear that Samsung is continuing its approach of throwing out as many devices as it can in an effort to catch as many consumers as it can. The question is, do the customers care about all this subtle differentiation, or is Samsung just creating confusion in an oversaturated market? A scaled up Samsung Galaxy Note 2 it may be, but there are a lot of positives on offer thanks to that larger screen.

Galaxy Note 8.0

HTC First review

Facebook is so big, so everywhere, so omnipresent that it's already on everyone's phone, but apparently that's not enough for the sharing mogul. Now Facebook has decided to completely take over devices with Facebook Home, and has collaborated with HTC to create the HTC First, a phone meant to show just what that experience can be. The First moniker comes from being the first phone with Facebook Home preloaded. It's a well built, unassuming little handset, nowhere near as big, flashy or as fast as the quad-core HTC One.

HTC First

Hands on: TomTom Multi-Sport GPS Watch review

TomTom has always been about getting from A to B in the fastest, simplest way. So the announcement that it would be focusing more on the space in between those points was a surprise to many, despite the fact that TomTom's mapping system makes its GPS watch feel like a no-brainer in many ways. But with wearable tech the current hot topic of discussion, the initial surprise around TomTom's sports watch has rapidly turned into intrigue. So TechRadar got wrist-on and personal to see whether TomTom could bring its solid reputation as a mapping service to the realm of sports tech.

TomTom Multi-Sport GPS

Nikon Coolpix P520 review

Competition in the bridge camera market at the moment is pretty fierce. It's one of the only growing segments in the compact camera market, as users look for something much more advanced than their phone, especially in regards to zoom functionality. It's a bit of an oxymoron that bridge cameras are lumped into the compact genre when, in actuality, many of them are roughly the same size as entry-level DSLRs. Where the difference lies, however, is in the size of the sensor. The Nikon P520 houses an 18 million pixel, 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor. This is the same size as those found in many "normal" compact cameras. However, where this camera, and other cameras of its type, trumps the larger sensored DSLR is the zoom flexibility.

Nikon Coolpix P520

This week's other reviews

Cameras

Nikon Coolpix A review

Panasonic Lumix GF6 review

Nikon Coolpix P330 review

Ricoh GR review

Accessories

Thrustmaster Y-250C review

Klipsch Image ONE (II) review

Chrome Sentinel Laptop Backpack review

SteelSeries World of Warcraft Wireless MMO Mouse review

Mobile phones

Motorola Razr HD review

Samsung Galaxy Mega review

Networking kit

Archos TV Connect review

Devolo dLAN 500 AV Wireless+ review

Speakers

Edifier e10 Exclaim review

Storage

LaCie Blade Runner 4TB review

Transcend Wi-Fi SD Card review

Tablets and ereaders

Archos ChildPad review

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review

Kobo Aura HD review


Source : techradar[dot]com

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