Phones

Kitkat is 4.4

It looks like Google was pulling some "sleight of hand" on us. Not only did we think the next iteration of Android was going to be Android 5.0, but was also won’t be called Key Lime Pie! According to Sundar Pichai himself, the next version of Android will actually be version 4.4 and shall be called "KitKat" instead of Key Lime Pie. Was it not the Android team themselves  referring to the next Android as Key Lime Pie?

Apparently, after reflecting on this, the folks at Google believe that not enough people know what "Key Lime Pie" is. They decided that a KitKat, which is a bit more universally recognised, would be a better dessert to choose for the next Android codename. John Lagerling, the director of Android partnerships said, "very few people actually know the taste of a key lime pie." He added that the company "decided to reach out to the Nestle folks." An agreement was reached allowing Google’s Andy the Android to use the KitKat name although it’s "not a money-changing-hands kind of deal." A new chocolatey version of Android depiction is breaking onto the net as you read this.

Posted by: Gareth

Archos leak their announcements

Archos have announced their entire lineup of new Android products early. They will be debuting the devices at IFA in Germany next week, but they decided to share details a bit early in a press release. The list of devices is extensive and includes several tablets, a smartphone and potentially a smartwatch. Here’s the full press release below,

Quote:

IFA 2013: ARCHOS Confirms Mobile Connected Strategy with Innovative Tablet and Smartphone Lineup
ARCHOS, a pioneer in Android devices, is pleased to announce its tablet and smartphone strategy for year-end 2013.

Leveraging its four years of Android expertise, ARCHOS has optimised its product development aiming at offering innovative products based on Android and focused into the mobility segment, from tablets to smartphones to connected objects.

"This combination of innovation, value for money and rich product portfolio should allow ARCHOS to further increase its market share in the coming months," said Loic Poirier, CEO of ARCHOS.

CONTINUING TABLET INNOVATION: Powerful, Google certified tablets with HD screens
The Platinum range – featuring Quad-Core processors, sleek Aluminum design, wireless display technology and IPS screens up to 2048 x 1536 running Android 4.2.

The new Gen11 tablet, the ARCHOS 101xs2, is designed for performance, media playback and productivity. Powered by a quad-core processor with HD IPS screen it also features front-facing dual stereo speakers and ARCHOS’ unique magnetic keyboard functionality.

RENEWING THE THEMED TABLET RANGE: products designed for specific use
Unique to the new line of themed devices is a home screen application developed by ARCHOS that curates the more than 1 million apps inside of Google PlayT. Here each user can discover a selection of apps that best fits the purpose of the tablet making it easier for the end user to find the right content.

The new ARCHOS ChildPad range features a user interface designed for children, Google Play filtered for children, full parental controls and will run Android 4.2. Additionally, this range will feature the 101 Childpad designed to bridge the gap from the digital world of the tablet to content in the real world using magnetic figurines.

For gamers, the new ARCHOS GamePad 2 is the perfect combination of Android tablet and gaming console with access to thousands of the latest games. More details on this device to be released soon.

EXPANDING ANDROID EXPERTISE TO 3G TABLETS & SMARTPHONES
Expanding its deep Android expertise and answering user demand, ARCHOS is moving full speed ahead enhancing its existing line of 3G and 3G + tablets.

The new ARCHOS Xenon Range of 3 tablets will feature HD screens, up to Quad-Core CPUs, and will run Android 4.2 offering 3G connected devices cheaper than Apple or Samsung Wi-Fi tablets.

The new ARCHOS Smartphone line will include the Oxygen range, additions to the Platinum range and the Titanium range. All smartphones will feature pure un-skinned Android OS and Google Certification.
The flagship smartphone, the ARCHOS 50 oxygen, features a full HD IPS screen, Quad-Core CPU at 1.5 GHz, 16GB storage, Android 4.2 and 13MP back camera and a 5 MP front camera.

The Titanium range, starting at £99 with a 4 inch device, will feature Dual-Core CPUs, Bluetooth, GPS, Dual SIM card slots, Android 4.2, 5MP back cameras and 0.3 MP front cameras.
Archos will provide further details and unveil this product strategy on their stand at IFA 2013, located in Hall 17, Stand 106.

Further information will also be available on the Archos website upon launch – ARCHOS.

Future plans in the ARCHOS product strategy include enriching its smartphone lineup with the addition of 4G LTE models and to develop a full range of Connected Objects, including a unique Smart Watch concept.

Posted by: Gareth

Samsung Gear smartwatch app leaked

Wearable computing could be the next big technological revolution or it could end up as the next technological red herring. Regardless of which side of that fence you perch, right now Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is the primary device people are talking about in the smartwatch segment of wearable computers. It is widely known that Samsung will be launching their Galaxy Gear smartwatch at their pre-IFA press event on September 4th.

So far, a smattering of details have been hinted at for the device, and more info continues to trickle out. The latest drop of intel is a leaked peek at the companion app which will supposedly come with the Galaxy Gear and allow it to sync up with your other Galaxy devices. A couple of pics of this “Gear Manager” app were recently posted (pictured above). The pics make it clear the Galaxy Gear will have built-in NFC functionality, and will be designed to function with several apps on Samsung phones like the Galaxy S4.

Source: Twitter – @evleaks

Posted by: Gareth

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 now £339.99 from Expansys UK

As the title of this post suggests Expansys UK have the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, which for those of you who aren’t aware is Samsung’s answer to the ‘bigger than Note 2 but smaller than the Note 8 form factor’ Basically if you have huge hands then this is the phone/phablet for you! Otherwise it could basically be used a tablet, which in my opinion wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

The device can be purchased in one of two ways, you can pay the amount in full as you would any other product online but the second option is what’s different with this deal, Expansys have recently added Finance packages to their deals and for this particular device it’s a pretty tasty prospect for anyone looking to buy this phone but don’t necessarily have the funds to do so immediately.

The finance package made available to customers is as follows: Pay £30.60 per month for 10 months, with 0% interest and a exceedingly small £34.00 deposit How good is that?! if only you could buy the major league devices such as the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4 in this way, we would definitely see a lot more of the devices out and about!

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Specification:

• GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
• 4G Network LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 GT-I9205
• Dimensions 167.6 x 88 x 8 mm (6.60 x 3.46 x 0.31 in)
• Weight 199 g (7.02 oz)
• Display Type SC-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours, 720 x 1280 pixels, 6.3 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)
• 3.5mm jack Yes
• Memory Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB
• Internal 8/16 GB, 1.5 GB RAM
• WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE
• NFC
• Infrared port
• USB: microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB On-the-go, USB Host
• Primary Camera: 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
• Secondary Camera: 1.9 MP
• OS Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
• CPU Dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait
• GPU Adreno 305
• GPS, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
• TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
• Battery: Li-Ion 3200 mAh battery

Posted by: Chris

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite Announced

Samsung Mobile UK today announced that customers in the UK can now purchase the ATIV Book 9 Lite from the Samsung Experience Store at Westfield Stratford City and selected retailers, including John Lewis and the Dixons Group. In addition, the ATIV Book 9 Plus will also be available to customers in the UK from the end of August.

Packed full of intelligent features for business travellers, students and those on the move, both devices mean you can consume, create and share content whenever and wherever you are – whether that’s on the commute to work, in a business meeting or on holiday.

Redefining personal computing, the ATIV Book 9 Plus and ATIV Book 9 Lite both boast a sleek and stylish design but also deliver a great performance. Featuring Samsung’s SideSync technology, the new devices allow you to share content between your PC and Samsung smartphone.

Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: "We’re excited to be bringing our ATIV range to the market and giving our customers that chance to enjoy a new kind of personal computing. At Samsung, our ethos is to provide people with more choice, as well as added convenience so they can stay connected at all times, wherever they are."

The ATIV Book 9 Lite is lightweight, less than an inch thick and features a premium finish. It also has a ten-point Windows 8 touchscreen, a Quad Core Processor and a 128GB SSD. The ATIV Book 9 Plus on the other hand, has a sleek aluminium finish and uni-body design. Featuring a Windows 8 optimised touch screen, you can view documents, photos and videos in the highest quality and benefit from 12 hours battery life so you can browse the web and access content for even longer."

The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus to follow later this month.

• Details: ATIV Book 9 Lite
• Display Size: 13.3"
• Resolution: FHD (1920 x 1080) with Windows 8 Optimal resolution of QHD+ (3200 x 1800) with Windows 8.1 when available 1366 x 768 (Touch and non-touch options available)
• Performance: OS Windows 8
• Processor: Core i5 ULT Quad Core Processor (up to 1.4 GHz)
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4400 Shared
• Memory: available capacity varies and storage is less due to phone software 4GB
• Storage: 128GB SSD
• Camera: 720p HD
• Battery Life: 12hours, 8.5hours (Non-touch)
• Dimensions: 319.6×222.9×13.6mm, 324x224x16.9mm (Non-touch)/17.4mm (Touch)
• Weight: 1.39Kg, 1.44Kg(Non-touch)/ 1.58Kg(Touch)
• Colour: Ash Black, Black/ White
• I/O Ports: 2xUSB 3.0, micro HDMI, mini VGA, RJ45 (Dongle), SD, HP/Mic, 3 in 1 Card Reader Slim Security Lock

Post by: Chris

Portable gaming

If you enjoy playing games at home then no doubt you would enjoy playing them while waiting for a train or bus, fortunately there are many devices that allow you to do this these days.

For example the PS Vita and the Nintendo 3DS are great portable gaming consoles, however phones are also a great option for anyone looking to game on the go. With many innovations in the portable gaming world people are now starting to take these smaller games more seriously, with some of the biggest titles and industry coming out of a possible games consoles such as Mario games and uncharted for the PS Vita the portable gaming industry is no longer a small one.

The great thing about these games consoles is just how much innovation goes into making them as in order to get an interactive and different experience out of the consoles they have thought of many different ways in which you can use the consoles play the games. For example both of the PS Vita and the 3DS have touchscreens that let you control the games as well as tilt sensitive gyroscopes inside. All of this together makes for an interesting and fun gaming experience on the go.

But if you don’t want to put out one of these expensive game consoles then your mobile phone is the tool that you need to play games. If it is a modern smartphone like the Sony Xperia Z then no doubt you have an inbuilt App Store that allows you access to thousands of games instantly. If you don’t however then shops such as Phones4U will be more than helpful in your search for a new phone. Modern smartphones have touchscreen  functionality built straight into them so many game developers use the same techniques on these as they would on the bigger portable gaming consoles.

Posted by: Matt

3 Ways Samsung’s Innovations will Change your Smartphones for the Foreseeable Future

You know the drill when it comes to new cell phone technology. You pay for the hottest model every year, but not even a week later, it’s outdated. If you’re ready for real innovation and incredible improvements, keep an eye out for the upcoming Samsung Youm, which will be the first real innovation in smartphone tech, since, well, smartphones came out.

OLED Screens Are Flexible

Here’s the coolest thing about the Samsung Youm: the screen can bend. Using new OLED technology, Samsung has discovered a way to turn your flat, solid phone screen into a flexible multi-use display. You might not think that’s so neat right now, but wait until you realize what this kind of screen can do. Bending in any direction, the Samsung Youm’s screen allows for more screen space and previously impossible angles for all sorts of useful functions, like reading text messages without even picking up the phone.

If you think that’s awesome, then hold on to your hat. This next feature might blow your mind.

It’s a Cell Phone and a Tablet

You already own a lot of gadgets, from your smart phone to your tablet to your e-reader. Wouldn’t it be great if you could combine them all into one device?

An OLED screen is capable of bending, folding, and even rolling, creating an all new range of product styles. Samsung revealed just a couple ideas in a recent Keynote address that could change the cell phone market forever, including a foldable cell phone that can open up to become a tablet. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie set in the distance future, but this technology might become available to consumers this year.

Of course, parents will love this new 2-in-1 tablet style. Tablets are exploding with teens, who still demand the coolest smart phone out there at the same time. Parents will now be able to save a ton of money providing their kids with these useful devices – or maybe just getting one for themselves.

The Youm’s Screen Will Never Shatter

OLED screen technology doesn’t stop at being flexible, however. Because it’s made from special plastic instead of glass, Samsung’s Youm is virtually indestructible. If you’ve ever dropped your smart phone, you know how scary that second before it lands can be, and how relieved you feel if your device escapes unscathed. If you upgrade to the Youm you will never again have to fear cracking or breaking your screen. It’s a phone user’s ultimate dream.

It helps that Samsung’s OLED screen looks great, too. The Youm is much thinner and lighter than any phone on the market right now and still manages to have an incredibly vivid display. The screen can produce its own light, eliminating the need for extra backlight parts and lowering the phone’s power usage.

The Youm is still undergoing research and development, so it might be a while before you can get one for yourself. But now that you know this kind of technology is on the way, you’d better start saving up, and say goodbye to the outdated smart phones of the past.