Ofcom will soon be looking for a partner to carry out research into the performance of 3G and 4G networks at the end of year.
A spokesman for the communications regulator told TRPro that it is looking to appoint an external company through a competitive tender in the coming months.
This follows the indication, included in Ofcom's annual report, that it wants to measure the performance of 3G and 4G operators to help businesses and consumers when buying services.
It is planning to look at who deploys the services in which areas and what speeds they achieve. The research is due to be carried out in December and Ofcom is aiming to deliver its report by the spring of 2014.
Metrics
The spokesman said the performance metrics are yet to be determined.
"When we go through the tender process we will look at what different companies can offer," he said. "We will also have a set of base requirements."
The research could provide an early marker on the roll out of 4G services around the UK. So far EE has taken the lead in rolling out a network, but licences have also been granted to Telefonica, Vodafone, Hutchinson 3G and Niche Spectrum Ventures, which is a subsidiary of BT.
You might not have heard about the Oppo Find 5 smartphone, which was announced last year and released around the world in 1Q of this year. While it might not be the most well-known handset, it is rather attractive, reasonably affordable and now is even getting a bit of a processor update for new buyers.
The Oppo Find 5 was first announced with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, Android 4.1.2, 2GB RAM, a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, 16GB of memory (there’s also a 32GB version), a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 2,500mAh battery. And now that it’s getting a Snapdragon 600 processor and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the Oppo Find 5 has reached the same level as many high end handsets out there at the moment.
Unfortunately, the upgraded version is only available for China Mobile. Hopefully the company has plans for making the refreshed Oppo Find 5 available in other markets as well. The international 16GB Find 5 (with S4 Pro) costs $499 and the 32GB version has a price tag of $569. Price will remain the same for the refreshed model.
What do you think of Oppo Find 5′s design, how do you feel it compares to bigger ‘players’ like Samsung, Sony, Apple and HTC?
BlackBerry 10 gets ever so slightly more affordable with the introduction of the BlackBerry Q5 to the Canadian firm's smartphone lineup. But don't go thinking this is a bargain basement offering, because it carries a mid to high tier price tag.
Unveiled at BlackBerry's annual Live conference in Orlando in May 2013, the BlackBerry Q5 was hotly rumoured under the moniker BlackBerry R10, and while the name was a bit of a surprise at launch, pretty much every other detail had been leaked correctly.
It slides in below the fully touchscreen BlackBerry Z10 and its keyboard brethren the BlackBerry Q10, perhaps in a vague attempt to catch the eye of the Curve generation.
What you get on the BlackBerry Q5 is the same, oddly proportioned 3.1-inch, 720p IPS LCD display you find on the BlackBerry Q10, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, microSD slot, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 4G and a 2180mAh battery.
Of course below that rather square screen you'll also find a 35-key physical QWERTY keyboard, which sports isolated keys instead of the side by side layout on the BlackBerry Q10.
Look the BlackBerry Q5 up and down and it's immediately obvious that this isn't a premium device, with a sizeable bezel above and below the screen, and then a chunk of plastic below the keyboard too.
The additional space below the display is actually not a bad thing though, as the upwards swipe required to close applications is made easier with this gap - something that was sorely missing from the Q10.
Pick the Q5 up and its plastic body is very noticeable. It does feel solid, but at the same time the matt gloss plastic rear and chunky dimensions of 120 x 66 x 10.8mm (4.7 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches) do take you back a few years to BlackBerry phones of old.
At 120g (4.2oz) the Q5 is suitably weighted, thankfully, because if it was nearer the 100g (3.5oz) mark you might mistake this for a toy - which isn't totally out of the question anyway.
BlackBerry has said that the Q5 is targeted at the younger generation who generally share content, like to be connected with mates and want their own freedom - although it's not exactly the handset you can see kids showing off to their friends.
The back looks like it should come off, but it doesn't - honest. We were fooled when we saw the Q5 at BlackBerry Live in May, but after a few minutes of trying to yank it apart we were politely told it wasn't possible, so don't bother.
There's no access to that battery then, and when it comes to the micro SIM and microSD slots, you'll find a flap on the left of the handset covering both ports.
We have a couple of bug bears with this set up. Firstly the flap itself, while easy to remove and replace, doesn't exactly fill us with confidence that it will actually protect our cards, or at least keep out some dust.
Push the flap in and it makes a satisfying clicking sound, suggesting you've snapped it snugly into place, but apply the lightest amount of pull to the top and it comes away easily from the BlackBerry Q5, and we can see this filling up with dust and dirt quickly.
Secondly, there's not a great deal of instruction about which way around you should insert the cards, and you'll need at least some finger nails to pop them into place.
Up top you get a headphone jack and the now common-place centralised power/lock key, but unlike the metallic finish found on the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10, the BlackBerry Q5 has been lumbered with a plastic button.
There's more plastic on the right, with the trio of buttons comprising a voice command key sandwiched in between volume rockers.
All are easy to hit with one-handed operation, but it's disappointing that BlackBerry couldn't treat us to at least a little bit of metal.
On the base is a central speaker grille, but no micro USB slot, which is found on the left at the top of the handset - one of our least favourite positions, since it makes it difficult to handle the Q5 when plugged in.
Sure the BlackBerry Q5 comes in some slightly more entertaining colours other than black - you can also pick from white, red and pink - but at the end of the day it's not particularly desirable in terms of looks.
Perhaps we could have overlooked the various design niggles on the BlackBerry Q5 if it sported a more reasonable price tag, but seeing as it doesn't and looking at its competition it's hard not to feel a little cheated here.
Apparently there's something big brewing over in Taiwan as news of the super-sized handset going by the moniker HTC One Max begins to make its way onto the web.
After the success of the HTC One the Taiwanese firm is probably feeling pretty bullish about its chances going forward and it's no surprise that rumours have begun to crop up suggesting it's looking at a One mini and a phablet device codenamed T6.
Update: Leaked documents claiming to be from O2 Germany have provided more fuel for the HTC One Max fire as it appeared alongside the HTC One Mini in a list of products.
We've sifted through all the HTC One Max/HTC T6 talk to bring you a definitive run down of what you might be able to expect from HTC's monster mobile.
HTC One Max release date and price
HTC currently doesn't have any events planned for this year, but that hasn't stopped speculation on a possible HTC One Max release date.
At the moment reports point towards a release towards the end of this year, so the One Max might be one for the Christmas list.
Pricing is equally as unknown for now, but expect to shell out the big bucks for this larger than life handset.
Growing pains
The main attraction on the HTC One Max will be its display which is apparently shaping up to be a mammoth 5.9-inch, full HD affair.
This would dwarf the 5.5-inch, 720p Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but with rumour of a Galaxy Note 3 on the horizon the One Max may find itself matching Samsung's next phablet when it comes to screen size.
Original reports suggested HTC would only give the T6 a modest screen bump, upping if from 4.7- to 5-inches from the HTC One - although those rumours seem to have been laid to rest now.
Anyone for Key Lime Pie?
One of the big surprises with the much talked about HTC One Max surrounds the operating system it'll be running.
Key Lime Pie hasn't even been announced yet so if it is to appear in the HTC T6 then Google's going to have to get a shift on - unless it decides to team up with the Taiwanese manufacturer for a joint launch. Tasty!
Double take
Usually with key phone launches a whole platter of images claiming to depict the handset in question are leaked online, although when it comes to the One Max we've only had one so far in the form of a blueprint.
If the picture does indeed show the HTC One Max then fans of the HTC One will be pleased to learn that it won't really deviate from the flagship's design language.
From the rear, the One Max (or HTC T6 if you want to use the codename) appears to be identical to the handset it's based on.
On the front only minor cosmetic changes show up, with additional width to accommodate the larger display and a shift of the sensors at the top of the device from the left to right side of the upper speaker grille.
Spec me up Scotty
In terms of other specifications for the HTC One Max we only really have The Unlockr report to go on, but it's worth noting the details came via @evleaks, which has a pretty decent track record when it comes to uncovering handsets.
Apparently the One Max will feature a 2.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 2.1MP front camera, UltraPixel rear camera and a sizable 3300mAh battery.
Now those are some pretty tasty specs and it will certainly give the competition a run for its money - but we're going to have to wait and see if they are accurate.
