IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 7/10/2013

Beats music streaming service wants to get down with AT&T

Beats Electronics may be looking to partner with AT&T, according to a report today, as the headphone manufacturer readies its streaming music service, Daisy.

Jimmy Iovine, the company co-founder who isn't Dr. Dre, is said to be talking with executives from major music labels and AT&T, claim sources who spoke to CNET.

Beats is also expected to use technology from MOG, the music on the go subscription service that is bought last year.

The popular Beats brand combined with this proven technology could be an incentive for AT&T and other carriers looking to enter their data-requiring customers into more subscription-based plans.

On the beaten path

A major partnership would also help Beats Electronics establish a foothold in the streaming music industry, where there is already intense competition.

In addition to Apple's upcoming iTunes Radio, there are several well-established subscription-based services available right now.

This includes Spotify, Pandora, Rdio, and Google Music All Access.

The difference, according to the report, is that Beats' Daisy service could use its music industry connections to include playlists designed by humans and not just algorithms.

Having the hottest acts, including widely known DJs, put together mixes would lend Daisy some star power that would make its streaming music rivals jealous.

Read more about the formation of Daisy

41MP isn't the only Lumia 1020 spec to pay attention to

We're packing our bags in preparation for Nokia's event on Thursday, but we may have little surprises left by the time we arrive in New York City.

Bits and pieces of the handset that Windows Phone Vice President Joe Belfiore tittered on Flickr as the Lumia 1020 have been leaking out for some time now, and this afternoon we have even more to hang our hat on.

In a render of unknown origin picked up by WP Central, we see what's purported to be the phone alternately known as Elvis, EOS and Nokia 909 in yellow, white and black.

The phone's ginormous camera sensor is front and center, stamped with "41 megapixels." WP Central claimed the snapper comes with both a Xenon and LED flash, plus packs optical image stabilization (OIS). The addition of the latter, which was missing from the PureView 808 yet introduced in the Lumia 920, is designed help produce sharper images in low light.

Open your shutters

To round out the camera kernels, the handset is said to take images in both 32MP and 5MP with an aspect ratio of 16x9.

The 5MP snap is "over sampled," with seven pixels dropping into a single "super pixel." If super pixel makes you think UltraPixel, we're right there with you. The 1020 can also supposedly take an image at 38MP with a ratio of 4:3.

As for the rest of the specs, we're possibly looking at 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage with no SD card and NFC. Two gigabytes of RAM would be a leap above most Windows Phone 8 handsets, by the way, and should leave ample room for high-res pics.

Camera call

OK, now back to the mainstay of the device.

In addition to OIS, the 1020 also reportedly houses an F2.2 aperture. The Pro Camera app we've heard about before should feature settings for ISO, white balance, manual focus, shutter speed and flash.

Russian site Izvestia spotted what looks to be a camera grip to outfit the new Lumia with, though the accessory is expected to cost an additional $70 (about UK£46, AU76).

For the price, users not only get a way to hold their Lumia with one hand, it's supposedly equipped with a 1,020 mAh battery for on-the-go charging plus microUSB for extra juicing. There's also a slot to insert a tripod mount and a shutter button.

If the 1020 sounds like a phone you want to slip into your pocket (though "slipping" may be more like jamming with that camera sensor), shipments could land in Microsoft Stores as early as July 22, with shipping dates posted later that week.

WP Central noted U.S. carrier AT&T is expected to sell the Lumia by the end of the month. Off-contract pricing sits at $602 (about UK£402, AU$658), the website said.

Blip: Barnes & Noble CEO bows out in wake of de-Nook-inizing

First the Nook and now this: William Lynch is resigning as CEO and director of Barnes & Noble effective immediately.

Lynch's departure is accompanied by a number of executive shifts, with the most notable being Michael Huseby grabbing the helm as CEO of Nook Media and president of B&N. You can read the full swath of suited shuffles here, but you may need a primer to keep track of it all.

Board Chairman Leonard Riggio credited Lynch with transitioning the bookseller "into a leading digital content provider" as well as spearheading the development of its Nook product line. The chairman added that the company is reviewing its current strategic plan and an update on what that looks like is due "when appropriate."

Lynch's resignation comes just a few weeks after the company announced it would cease to manufacture its Nook tablets, instead relying on third-party makers to produce the devices. Where B&N goes from here is anyone's guess, but Mr. Lynch won't be along for the adventure.

More blips!

It's hard to keep track of all the news, but we make it easy with our super yummy blips.

Are these the front and back panels of the heroic Moto X?

Motorola still hasn't shown off its next flagship, the Moto X, but the Android phone's front and back panels appear to have surfaced last Friday anyway.

Shots of the Moto X's detached face and backside appeared on G for Games, which hollered out that the Moto X is "a new concept" for a smartphone.

The Moto X is expected to kickstart a new era for Motorola under Google with unprecedented levels of customization, though so far we've only heard word of cosmetic customization and not the ability to mix and match internal specs or software.

Have it your way

The Moto X has been called "the first smartphone you can design yourself," though again it's unclear what exactly that means.

Kawasaki previously suggested that you can customize the Moto X like a classic Porsche.

The panels shown off in these leaks are reportedly all for the Moto X, despite the two front panels - white and black - looking somewhat different. The logo appears on the black one, for example, but not on the white.

The back panel (below) appears to be made of a soft, rubbery material, though that may turn out to be a customizable feature of the Moto X.

Image credit: G for Games

Motorola's hero

If there's one thing that's not customizable on the Moto X, it may be the device's specs; a previous leak suggested that it will sport a 1.7GHz dual core MSM8960 Pro chip, a 720p display, 2GB of memory, 16GB of storage, 10- and 2-megapixel back and front cameras, and Android 4.2.2.

The Moto X was previously referred to as the Motorola X Phone, but Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside revealed its real name in May.

That's when he called it Motorola's next "hero" phone, adding to the belief that the Moto X will be a major milestone for the company and its Google overlords.

Customizable Moto X not your thing? Another recent Motorola leak suggests the Droid brand may live on!

Apple reportedly still debating fitting the iPad mini 2 with Retina display

Indecisiveness seems to have rankled Apple in production of the iPad mini 2, a new report would have us believe.

According to sometimes-right DigiTimes and its anonymous sources, Cupertino's favorite company has yet to decide if it will equip the next-gen 7.9-inch device with Retina display.

If fortune falls to adopting a Retina screen, the choice could lead to a delayed release as late as the end of the fourth quarter, the publication noted. A delay may not be all that bad, considering criticisms of the current iPad mini's low-end 1024 x 768 resolution.

To Retina or not may be a major question floating around Apple's mind, but apparently the company is being more decisive when it comes to fixing the iPad mini 2 as a bezel-less device. As DigiTimes tells it, Apple's asked its upstream supply partners to downsize the tiny tablet's bezel, taking a cue from HTC and Samsung products.

What, where, when?

This isn't the first we've heard of delays befalling the iPad mini 2, with the iPad 5 thrown in the same breath. With word floating around that both tablets may come later than hoped thanks to a change in production partners, we do have a bit of iPad 5 news from DigiTimes that slightly contradicts that charge.

The Taiwanese publication relayed info that the 9.7 slate is virtually good to go in terms of production.

The tablet's specifications are said to include a Retina display, slimmer bezel, a single LED tube (as opposed to two) and better battery life. Since all the production prep work is reportedly finished on the upstream supplier end, these specifications aren't expected to change.

DigiTimes' sources said that while Apple hasn't released a firm mass production schedule, pilot production is already underway and should be enough to meet initial launch demand. Apple, the sources said, is expected to release shipment estimates at the end of this month or early next, with the iPad 5's public announcement on track for September.

Should we take all this as gospel? No siree, though it certainly gives us something to chew on.

Had enough tech news? We didn't think so - check out the latest HUD from Garmin.

Under the HUD: Garmin's new nav system displays instructions on windshields

Garmin is once again bringing luxury technology to the masses with its latest advancement in portable navigation.

Dubbed the Head-Up Display (HUD), Garmin's new device will work in conjunction with your smartphone navigator to provide turn-by-turn directions right on your windshield.

With HUD, gone is the clunky display unit you might use to hold your current nav system in place, and in its stead will be an overlay of where you're supposed to go next right in front of your eyes.

"HUD redefines the navigation experience by allowing drivers to find their way without taking their eyes off the road," said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales, in a press release.

"Head-up displays currently have their place in select high-end cars, but HUD makes this technology available as an aftermarket accessory for any vehicle, at an affordable price."

Keep your eyes on the road

The HUD communicates wirelessly with your smartphone's compatible Garmin or Navigon app, and displays information like distance to next turn, which direction to go, and your estimated time of arrival on a transparent film on the window or on the attached reflector lens.

The turn-by-turn audio navigation is still handled by your smartphone, though you'll no longer need to look to its screen if you happen to miss what's been said.

Should you need to take a phone call, HUD will continue displaying instructions for the current route uninterrupted.

HUD also tracks speed limits (when available) and your car's speed, and will notify you when you are driving above the limit. It's also got the ability to inform you of where traffic safety cameras are located.

Since it's connected to your smartphone and isn't relying on a default map program, HUD can also update you with traffic delays, and can advise you when to change lanes for you next maneuver.

Garmin's device is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8, and HUD's power adapter also includes a USB port so you can charge your phone while using the device.

The smartphone's audio directions can be set to play through your car via a Bluetooth connection, and any music playing in the car will be dialed down when a new direction prompt occurs.

HUD will be available this summer for $129.99 (UK£129.99), and the Garmin website claims orders will be fulfilled in five to eight weeks.

For what it's worth, Garmin's site also makes note that the HUD hasn't been approved by the Federal Communications Commission yet, and can't be sold in the U.S. until such approval is granted.

Curious which satellite navigation system is the best? Check out our comparison to find the right one for you.

Nikon wants to 'change the concept of cameras,' teases mystery product

Sales of point-and-shoot cameras are falling thanks to the rise of camera-equipped smartphones, but Nikon is not about to go down with that particular ship.

Its expensive digital SLR cameras are doing just fine after all, Nikon President Makoto Kimura told Bloomberg last week.

More importantly, Nikon's got big plans that will "change the concept of cameras," the president said.

Whether that means a Nikon smartphone or something else entirely for now remains a mystery, but Kimura had a little more to say.

Change is hard

"We want to create a product that will change the concept of cameras," said Kimura. "It could be a non-camera consumer product."

A "non-camera" product that "will change the concept of cameras?" If that's not a Nikon smartphone he's hinting at, then we wonder what other consumer products Nikon's engineers are busy strapping cameras to in a secret lab below the Earth's crust. At least, that's how we imagine the company's R&D facilities.

"Rapid expansion of mobile devices is a change in business environment given to us," Kimura further teased.

"Our task going forward is to find an answer to that change."

Low expectations

Nikon is probably not alone in that struggle; Kimura said point-and-shoot camera sales in April and May of 2013 fell a full 25 percent across the industry from the same time in 2012, and that the compact camera market will shrink 12 percent this financial year.

Nikon doesn't divulge quarterly specifics, but its estimates for the first quarter this year were reportedly "fairly low."

With a mysterious ace up its sleeve, could Nikon turn things around?

A Nikon smartphone with a high-end camera inside might struggle to make a mark, especially with devices like Nokia's rumored Lumia 1020 - with its 41-megapixel camera - on the horizon. That might end up being the phone to own for photophiles.

According to Bloomberg, Nikon may expand further by following Canon, Sony and Olympus into production of medical devices.

Compact cameras may be on the decline, but they're far from dead - check out TechRadar's list of the best high-end compact cameras available now!

In Depth: 10 tips to use the GALAXY Note 8.0 as the ultimate communicator

Having a separate phone and tablet is the common mobile tech set-up for many of us in 2013, but there are plenty of perks to having just one clever does-it-all device like the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0.

1. Enjoy one device

The most tangible benefits are the time and money saving. After all, having just one SIM card means you don't need a data connection for both your phone and tablet and therefore only need one contract.

Any hardcore mobile gamers out there will also be familiar with the frustration of having two game saves for the same game, one on your phone, and the other on your tablet.

The Note 8.0 means one set of game saves, one lot of game settings and one game download – so you can spend less time fussing and more time playing, surfing and talking.

2. Hands free kit

Speaking of talking, if you're thinking about using the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 as a primary phone, talking on it is probably the biggest ergonomic challenge that springs to mind.

But it shouldn't be. A simple hands free kit will save you from holding anything to your ear whatsoever.

The Note 8.0 can be coupled with a wired handsfree kit such as the Samsung Stereo headset with mic for just £20, so pick one up and you can hit the ground running.

We would also suggest investing in a Bluetooth headset such as the Samsung HS3000. Costing just £29, this subtle earpiece sits pretty, wire-free, so you can stow your tablet in your bag or purse, and still get calls loud and clear.

3. Bluetooth receiver

Taking Bluetooth to the next level, stereo Bluetooth headphones combine talking with tunes.

A pair like the Samsung HS6000 will set you back £79 RRP, and pair with your Note 8.0 to deliver stereo audio, perfect for movies and games.

What makes the combination even better is the fact that both the Note 8.0 and the HS6000 support aptX lossless audio code.

This means wires or no wires, you can enjoy high quality music from your Note 8.0 on the go.

4. Mightytext

If you don't love typing on a touchscreen as much as we do, Mightytext is one app you have to check out.

Available for free on the Google Play Store, with Mightytext, you can send SMS and MMS messages remotely from a your computer's browser using a full-sized keyboard.

Downloadable as a Chrome extension, Mightytext syncs with your Google account, importing all your contacts automatically so you can get sending in a flash.

The Chrome extension offers multiple views, the option to star text messages and even sports a battery indicator. Definitely one of the best Android apps on the scene.

5. How to become an SMS/MMS ninja

While we're on the subject of text and multimedia messaging, it's worth mentioning, Samsung's messaging has some nifty advanced functionality on the Note 8.0.

With support for Air View thanks to the on board S Pen, you can even preview long messages with a hover.

The tablet's larger-than-phone keyboard is also a piece of cake to type on. It supports gesture input and there's handwriting recognition on-board too for the most natural writing / texting experience out there.

6. WhatsApp Doc?

WhatsApp's meteoric rise to IM supremacy seems to have happened overnight on phones, but you need a SIM enabled device to get the chat app working on tablets.

While this rules out most tablets, it doesn't rule out the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 3G. In fact, the Note 8.0 is WhatsApp's perfect companion.

To recap on the app's core functionality, it lets you send pictures, video and voice clips in addition to emoticon-heavy messages.

This takes full advantage of the keyboard and input methods mentioned earlier, but also maximises the power of the S Pen.

Paired with S Note, Samsung's Note taking app, WhatsApp provides the perfect messaging platform to send doodles, hand written notes or works of art created on the tab itself.

7. Voice control

Samsung and Google both have pre-loaded voice control services on the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 – Google Now and S Voice. While there's a lot of overlap across both voice apps, they have some marked differences.

To access Google Now, you'll need to press and hold the menu button. The app should be your go-to for voice searches. With a handsome interface, search results are presented in a card style system, and the app even works with British accents.

Samsung's voice app, S Voice can be activated with a double tap of the home button. Ask it the weather, it will give you an answer; ask it to take down a memo, it'll do it; ask it to make a call or send a message, you guessed it – S Voice is up to the challenge.

8. Tethering

Just because you don't have a smartphone, it doesn't mean you can't tether.

To clarify, tethering is when a phone or 3G tablet turns into mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. Not all mobile contracts allow tethering, so you'll want to check with your network operator before you start.

To activate it, jump into your settings, choose 'Network' followed by 'Tethering and portable hotspot'.

You can flick tethering on in the following menu, or tweak your tethering settings by changing your network name and your password.

9. Usage meter

With tethering in mind, your contract will more than likely pack a data limit of between 500MB to 1GB.

Tablets tend to chew through data quicker than mobiles thanks to the form factors lending themselves to richer content. Tethering to a laptop is also a sure fire way to rack up those MB.

In order to stay on top of your data usage, hop into the settings. Here, you'll be able to set a data limit so you never have to worry about any nasty data surprises in your monthly bill.

10. Skype

Beyonce wrote a song about it so it must be cool, right?

Video phone apps. There's no shortage of them on the Google Play Store but Skype is still the people's choice.

Available across platforms, Skype both works as a chat app with plain text and also takes advantage of the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0's front facing camera for video calls.

You can video phone a computer, a mobile phone or another tablet and do so over Wi-Fi or 3G. The app even supports file transfers, striking the perfect balance between work and play.

So whether you're looking for a quick natter, to see a loved one face to face or send that all important document, Skype for Android is the last app on our list to help transform your Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 into your primary smartphone.

Bored of Galaxy S4 variants? Samsung may have four Note 3s planned too

Reports emanating from Samsung's South Korean homeland have claimed the company will launch four versions of the forthcoming Galaxy Note 3.

ETNews suggested the range, expected to arrive in September, will launch with various spec options; from a high-end, limited edition model, to a budget model with a scaled back LCD screen.

Top of the range, the report claimed, will be a Galaxy Note 3 featuring a 13-megapixel camera, constructed from "high-quality materials" and boasting an "unbreakable" AMOLED screen.

This may mean Samsung has listened to the masses and moved away from its reliance on plastic in favour of a new material that could challenge rivals like the iPhone 5 and HTC One in terms of build quality.

Cameras and screens

ET News said the rest of the models will keep the plastic body with the second in line also offering a 13-megapixel camera, but rocking a traditional AMOLED screen.

Next up would be a device with 13-megapixel camera and an LCD screen, while cheapest of all would be a device with an 8-megapixel camera.

The report mentions not whether processors, RAM and other specs could vary with each model, but it would be relatively safe to assume there'd be options in that department too if the reports came to fruition.

Spoiling the broth?

While we're treating this report with a healthy dose of scepticism at the moment, it would certainly be no surprise to see Samsung flood the market with Galaxy Note 3 variants.

The company has released multiple versions of its flagship Galaxy S4 handset in recent months, including the outdoor-themed S4 Active and a Frankenstein's monster-style Galaxy S4 Zoom cameraphone.

Samsung seems intent on offering versions of its Galaxy devices to suit every possible sector of the market, but it it risking watering down the popular brand?

Incoming! Windows 8.1 due to manufacturers next month

Windows 8.1 is fresh out of the gate in public preview, and soon manufacturers will be able to get their mitts on Microsoft's updated OS.

Tami Reller, Windows CMO and CFO, outed the news at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference today that a release to manufacturer (RTM) version of W8.1 will arrive in late August.

OEMs can start tinkering with the system jump's bits then, Microsoft noted, prepping PCs in time for debut during the holidays.

The Windows 8.1 Preview has been available for regular folks since June 26, and Microsoft promised more details on how consumers and other customers can get it before long.

8.1 and then some

Though not a radical departure like Windows 8 was from Windows 7, the update codenamed "Blue" has introduced a few features sorely missed, including the return of the Start button.

We've asked Microsoft for figures on downloads of the preview builds of both Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT, and we'll update if we receive any data. So far, the company has stuck to its 100 million licenses of Windows 8 line. We're not expecting much by the way of new information, but hey, it never hurts to ask.

Read all about LG's plans for a Windows Phone 8 handset

Vodafone hides crafty PAYG price hike behind 'simplified' per-minute charges

Vodafone has angered its UK customers by announcing a switch from per-second to per-minute call charges, which are likely to cost subscribers more money.

From August 1, the Guardian reports, if a Vodafone pay as you go customer makes a call to a landline or mobile lasting, for example, 1:02, they will be charged for the two minutes.

In real terms that means a call that previously cost 26p will now cost 50p - a 92 per cent price hike.

The struggling operator is, of course, dressing this up as a benefit for its subscribers, claiming the simplified charges will help users know exactly how many minutes they have left in their accounts.

Gee. Thanks, guys!

Straightforward price hike

A post on the Vodafone website reads: "Calls on Pay as you go are getting simpler from 1 August 2013. No more complicated pricing by the second – just clear, straightforward per minute charges.

"So if your call is a minute and 37 seconds long, it'll be charged as two minutes. That way, you'll always know exactly how many minutes you have left."

Posters on the Vodafone support forum called the move "patronising," while others accused the network of insulting the intelligence of its customers.

One post read: "Please don't patronise us. This is being introduced to make more money for Vodafone, pure and simple. It doesn't make anything simpler other than the fact that PAYG customers will essentially pay more for calls."

Are you a Vodafone customer affected by the transition to per-minute call billing? Feel free to vent your spleen in the comments section below.

Vodafone seems to be annoying plenty of folks just lately, namely EE during the British grand prix last week.

In Depth: GALAXY Power User: 10 reasons why the Note 8.0 and S4 trounce the competition

While speed and specs are what many a smartphone and tablet manufacturer traditionally turn to when they want to make an impact, sometimes you have to go beyond these to truly innovate.

Samsung has blessed both the GALAXY S4 and Note 8.0 with an abundance of specs appeal, but these devices manage to go way beyond mere specifications.

Here we showcase 10 ways the devices are true pioneers, offering features that forge a path in the tech sphere.

1. Dream screen

The screen on the Samsung GALAXY S4 is a true innovator.

GALAXY Note 8.0 and GALAXY S4 power user

Yes, its specs are similar to those of other smartphones around on the market – 1080p, 5 inches in size – but Samsung's display tech has been backed by some truly brilliant boffins.

DisplayMate, a worldwide leader in video diagnostics, used its lab tools to conclude that the GALAXY S4's screen was whiter than any other smartphone, and noted that there was a 25% improvement on power consumption when compared to the GALAXY S3.

Couple this with one of the highest PPI counts around, at 441 per inch, and it positively dazzles.

2. True multi tasking with Multi Window

Now this is really clever: while other phones let you multi-task by, for example, playing music and a game at the same time, the GALAXY S4 smartphone and Note 8.0 tablet allow for true multi-tasking with Samsung's marvellous Multi Window feature.

Your Samsung GALAXY S4 or Note 8.0 will essentially let you run two apps simultaneously on your device in a split-screen view.

So, if you fancy watching a video, you can do this and check Twitter or your emails at the same time. It will also work with things like messaging and Google Maps.

Perfect, then, for those who fancy a bit of true multi-tasking, rather than merely walking and typing on your phone!

3. WatchON on the S4 – a televisual revelation

Samsung's WatchON app on the S4 is something of a televisual revelation.

It is essentially a new search-and-recommendation service that stops you endlessly flicking channels, and it helps you to find TV shows and on-demand video content faster and easier.

WatchON does this by searching through myriad VoD channels and it will also recommend movies and TV shows for you to watch. Couple this with all the info you need about actors, as well as reviews, and what you have is your one-stop shop for TV content.

4. Innovative features: Smart Scroll and Smart Stay

There are plenty of eye-opening GALAXY S4 and Note 8.0 features to choose from – but one that literally uses the eyes is eye-tracking, or Smart Scroll as Samsung has named it on the S4.

An innovation that can only be found on Samsung devices, Smart Scroll eye-tracking tech allows you to scroll through the web without once prodding your handset.

Samsung's Smart Stay tech also appears on the GALAXY Note 8.0, as well as on the S4, which detects your eyes with the front camera so that the screen stays on whenever you are looking at it. Dead handy for movie fans and catch-up TV aficionados!

And if all of that wasn't enough 'hands-free' magic, there is also Samsung's Air View touchless gesture control tech – a true head-turner when down the pub with your mates on a Friday night!

Turn Air View on and you can scroll through certain apps without touching the screen. Again, this is something unique to Samsung's GALAXY device repertoire.

5. S Health software

Phones and portable tablets aren't just for communicating any more, these are also devices that can change lives.

Well, they are if they are the Samsung GALAXY S4. That's because Samsung has baked – healthy baking, obviously – S Health software into the phone, which will chart your daily fitness.

It will count the steps you have walked in a day (trust us, it is a lot easier to let the phone do the counting for you) and help you to become a fitter person.

6. The S Pen on the GALAXY Note 8.0

It is not just the Samsung GALAXY S4 that innovates – the Note 8.0 does as well. One of the most obvious ways it paves the way is with Samsung's pioneering S Pen.

With this remarkably advanced digital input device you can scribble and write, as well as using it for setting up handy shortcuts and previewing things without even touching the screen.

Whether you are an artist or a business person (or both!) you will soon find out that holding an S Pen is the only surefire way to truly get the best out of your handheld tablet device.

7. Reading Mode

One of the popular things to do with any handheld device is to read. But prolonged reading on a digital screen can be something of a strain... until the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0's Reading Mode came along.

An innovation for digital screens, Reading Mode automatically changes the brightness of the screen to make sure you bathe your eyes in the best light. Not only that, you can annotate your ebooks through this feature, too.

8. IR features

Any couch potato will be pleased to know that the Note 8.0 comes with its own built-in infrared LED, which means that by the use of magic – well, a light-emitting diode – you can use the device to change the channels on your TV.

If this wasn't revolutionary enough, then there is also an app – Samsung Peel Smart Remote – that allows you to control myriad TVs in your house. This essentially means that you will never have to worry about losing the TV remote ever again, and it will also make finding your favourite TV shows a blast.

9. Group Play

It may be called Group Play but this service offers up some seriously good technology, allowing you to share and collaborate on content, sharing your favourite tunes with your mates at house parties or work documents between your S4 and the Note 8.0.

Unique to the latest GALAXY devices, Group Play is ideal for those who are using tablets and smartphones for work, with collaboration clearly the theme of this app.

You can also use it for entertainment purposes, though. For example, if you want to share a song to listen to simultaneously with a bunch of friends, Group Play is the ideal way to do this.

10. Dropbox

Samsung's collaboration with Dropbox is one of the many things that elevates it above the competition in the increasingly busy smartphone and tablet markets.

With selected GALAXY devices you get a whopping 50GB of free Dropbox storage for two years.

Not only is Dropbox one of the best ways to share files with others, having the free 50GB means that you can truly use the service as a power user and not worry about your allocated memory being eaten up.

Work this in unison with the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 or S4 and what you have is a truly innovative service that will cost you absolutely nothing for a good few years.

It's not over 'til it's over: BB7 lives on in newly leaked Bold 9720

BlackBerry 10 may be grabbing most of the headlines, but it's the older BlackBerry 7 devices that appear to be keeping the company afloat, as details of a new model recently poked out.

A user agent profile (UAProf) document spotted last week shows some deets for a device called the Bold 9720. It's powered by the company's older BB7 operating system instead of the shiny new BlackBerry 10.

The existence of the phone should come as no surprise: BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said during the company's dismal June 28 quarterly earnings report that sure enough, another BB7 handset was due.

A new BB7 handset may seem like the wrong direction for BlackBerry until you consider that only 2.7 million of the 6.8 million handsets shipped last quarter were actually running the BB10.

Same as it ever was

According to the UAProf document posted by Twitter user @Bla1ze, the BlackBerry Bold 9720 appears to be a fairly typical addition to the manufacturer's Bold lineup.

Running the elder OS 7.1 and sporting the company's legendary QWERTY hardware keyboard with a 480 x 360 screen resolution, the latest Bold seems destined to excite only the BlackBerry faithful.

However, images leaked on the Thai BlackBerry Club show the 9720 borrows a few design cues from the recent BlackBerry Q5, mixed with classic Curve style.

Although BlackBerry has confirmed the existence of the handset, there's no word yet exactly on when and where the Bold 9720 will wind up in the coming months, not to mention for how much.

BlackBerry 7 maybe getting some attention, but PlayBook owners aren't going to have the same luck.

Flickr holds answer to Nokia Lumia 1020 naming mystery

Photos snapped by Windows Phone VP Joe Belfiore seem to confirm that the 41MP Nokia Windows Phone we're all expecting to arrive in New York this week will indeed be called the Nokia Lumia 1020.

Some light detective work revealed that at least two pictures within the photo stream from June 29 have "Nokia Lumia 1020" listed as their source in their EXIF data.

One of the discovered photos has a resolution of 2947 x 1658 pixels (almost 5 megapixels), and the other 2352 x 1568 (3.7 megapixels), suggesting that like the Nokia 808 PureView, the camera is able to shoot at multiple resolutions, as well as following the PureView's tendancy to oversample.

A flickr of truth

The name of Nokia's PureView successor has been the subject of much back-and-forthing, with the Nokia 909, Nokia Lumia 1020 and Nokia EOS all being thrown around as potential monikers.

The data could, of course, be fake, but the fact that the pictures are now hidden from Belfiore's main page makes us suspect otherwise.

TechRadar will be at the July 11 Nokia event, where Nokia promises "41 million reasons to zoom in", so keep all eyes on the site for the news as it breaks. Oh Joe Belfiore, you were so close too.

In Depth: How the GALAXY Note 8.0 is the ultimate e-reader

Tablets are almost perfect reading devices. They pack big, bright screens, plenty of reading apps as well as fast, wireless connectivity.

This means that reading on them is never less than a pleasure, with support for multiple file formats and instant access to thousands of superb downloadable books whenever you're connected to the internet.

We would even go so far as to say the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 is arguably the ultimate e-reader. With a more portable form than the 10-inch tabs on the scene and a lighter, thinner body, Samsung's pre-loaded reading software and support for the wealth of reading apps Android offers, it's got it all.

GALAXY Note 8.0 design: a hand's best friend

Measuring just 7.95mm thick and weighing only 340g, the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 is a hand's best friend.

After all, we all know avid readers spend hours on end with good books, so what good is a book replacement that can't be held for more than fifteen minutes without causing wrist-ache?

Above and beyond being thin and light, the Note 8.0's ergonomic curves means that sharp angles won't dig into the hand. Plus, one final bibliophile bonus, Samsung's super-portable tablet will also fit virtually anywhere a Kindle or thin paperback might. So whether it's a handbag, outer compartment of a laptop bag or backpack, or even a glove box, the Note 8.0 will stow where 10.1-inch tablets simply won't.

Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 screen

The WXGA screen on the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 is also perfect for reading. With LCD screen technology, it produces crisp, pure whites and plenty of detail.

The 1280x800 resolution means its aspect ratio is slightly wider than 16:9 when held in portrait. This additional width more closely resembles a book than narrower tablets out there making for more words to a line and a far more comfortable reading experience.

Finished off with fantastic viewing angles and punchy, vibrant colours, whether you're reading a book, a comic or a web page, the Note 8.0 will look sensational.

Samsung software optimisations

Pull down the Note 8.0's notifications bar and you'll see a toggle to activate Reading mode, exclusive to the Note 8.0.

Adjusting, colour, contrast and brightness, Reading mode works with certain apps to deliver the most comfortable reading experience you can expect from a tablet.

It's worth jumping into the settings to see the apps Reading mode is compatible with. To do this, open the 'Display' sub menu within settings. You can also toggle reading mode off and on here.

To pull up a list of compatible apps, just tap the text next to the toggle.

Samsung's GALAXY Note 8.0 also comes loaded with a Samsung's own Learning Hub app, which, if you're in the mood for firing up those neurons will help you get your head around a range of subjects.

With a number of free samples to choose from not to mention plenty of content you can buy, it's a great way to learn on the go.

Google Play reading apps

Samsung's hardware and software separate the GALAXY Note 8.0 from the rest of the Android pack in terms of reading supremacy, but Google's stock reading apps are also worth a mention – bolstering the Note 8.0's e-reading appeal.

The most obvious Google reading app is Play Books. Connected to your Google account as with all the apps in this section, Play Books opens books downloaded through the Google Play Store.

Google's collection of literature is growing fast with plenty of free and paid content already on board. You can browse for books either on your phone, or using a full web browser and enjoy your library on any Android device connected to your Google account or through a web browser.

Google Play Magazines is one more app Google provides which turns your tablet into a bona fide library – this time, for slightly more frivolous reading.

Whether you're in need of catching up with the latest fashion faux pas to avoid or choosing your next digital camera, Play Magazines offers such renowned titles as Vogue through to What Digital Camera.

The interface is snappy on the Note 8.0's very capable hardware and subscriptions mean you can get magazines automatically delivered to your phone at reduced rates.

Ultimate convenience for the ultimate tablet, but we're not quite done yet.

Comic Book Guys

For any comic book fans out there, both Marvel and DC have their own apps on the Google Play Store and they look fantastic on the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0's eye-popping screen.

The apps themselves are free and come complete with some complementary reading material included, though if you want to get down and dirty with the latest superhero exploits, you'll have to buy new issues.

PDFs? Easy…

Reading a PDF is a piece of cake with the GALAXY Note 8.0's preinstalled Polaris office app. While PDFs historically grind Android phones and tablets to a stutter, with its powerful processor, the Note 8.0 instantly shows off perfectly formatted documents. 

While Polaris should serve the PDF needs of most users, for anyone in need of PDF editing, ezPDF (£2.55) is the app for you. 

Opening files quickly thanks to the Note 8.0's super speedy processor and rendering files accurately is just part of the fun. You can flick through pages with realistic page turn animations and mark-up documents with the Note's S Pen.

You can try out ezPDF Lite for plain Jane reading, and if you want to try your hand at a bit of mobile marking up you can buy the full version.

And that's why the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 is the ultimate e-reader; because the hardware, software and Samsung's unique S Pen functionality come together to deliver something unique and a cut above the rest.

Blip: PS4 controller's light bar has no off button

We've all been drawn to the PS4 controller's glowing light bar like a bunch of tech-hungry moths, though there are still a few questions about the DualShock 4's illuminating new feature.

One such question was over whether the light could be switched off during play, and one keen bean tweeted the query at Sony's Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, who responded with a meticulous and thorough answer - "no".

The light bar connects to the PlayStation camera for motion control but now we know that even if you don't have the camera installed, the controller's battery will still be drained somewhat by the perma-on illumination. Oh well, still looks nice.

More blips

Our blips never switch off either

Review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Fame

Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy Fame is a phone that comes with a celebrity name, but certainly no celebrity price tag. Available SIM-free and unlocked from around £180/US$200 and free on UK contracts starting as low as £10 per month, the Samsung Galaxy Fame will certainly not drain your bank balance.

It is unsurprising that Samsung has the most prolific smartphone sales figures. With Galaxy devices as numerous as stars in the night sky spanning every corner of the market, from the highest end Samsung Galaxy S4 and announced Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, the super-sized Samsung Galaxy Note 2 right through to the ageing Samsung Galaxy S3 before hitting the lowest ends with the Samsung Galaxy Fame and the Samsung Galaxy Young.

This puts it square in contention with the Samsung Galaxy Young, the ageing Samsung Galaxy Ace and Samsung Galaxy Y, as well as the newer LG Optimus L3 2 and Nokia Lumia 520.

Samsung has clearly got a design ethos in mind, one that has been apparent since the Galaxy S3. The Samsung Galaxy S3 was far curvier than its predecessor, with its successor following very much in its footsteps.

With the Samsung Galaxy brand all very much in line, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is positioned at the very bottom, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Young.

With vital statistics sitting at 113.2 x 61.6 x 11.6mm (4.46 x 2.43 x 0.46) in size and 120.6g (4.25oz) in weight, Samsung has created a handset that sits very comfortably in the hand, if a little heavier than expected.

Clues to the smaller price tag are certainly evident from the off, the smaller 3.5-inch screen with a 320 x 480 HVGA resolution and plastic body being the biggest clues.

That said, Samsung has been a fan of using plastics on its devices since the off, with its appearance on its flagship smartphones always being a talking point. On the Samsung Galaxy Fame, the plastic feel fits the phone.

Sticking with the design of the Samsung Galaxy S3, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes in two colours, our review model coming in white, with blue also being available.

A faux metallic band surrounds the bezel, which is noticeably thicker than on premium handsets. The curved back wraps tightly round the back of the Fame, offering a reassuringly snug fit.

As with every modern smartphone, the screen dominates proceedings. The aforementioned HVGA resolution was always going to be a bit of a worry, but its diminutive size goes some way to helping.

Thankfully, the resolution doesn't greatly hinder the phone, since Samsung's screen tech keeping things vivid and a lot brighter than expected.

Elsewhere on the front of the Samsung Galaxy Fame is the traditional Home button, sandwiched between the Menu and Return soft keys. At the opposite end is a metallic speaker, the VGA front-facing camera and a couple of sensors.

Underneath this, Samsung has powered the Galaxy Fame with a single core 1GHz processor, as well as 512MB of RAM. These sit alongside a VGA front-facing camera, 5MP rear snapper (with flash) and 4GB of internal storage, of which a mere 1.95GB is free.

Externally, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with the standard micro USB port at the bottom, sat alongside the microphone, with the 3.5mm headphone jack at the top.

Unsurprisingly, the volume rocker is on the left and the Power/Lock button is directly opposite, on the right-hand side. Being such a small phone, every inch of the screen - as well as every button - was easy to hit one-handed, which is ideal for the younger generation that Samsung seems to be aiming the Galaxy Fame at.

Behind the wrap-around back cover, which sits reassuringly tightly to the back of the Fame, the 1300mAh battery sits over the SIM slot. Thankfully, as with all Samsung Galaxy devices, the Samsung Galaxy Fame also comes equipped with a microSD slot, which even more thankfully is hot-swappable.

The Samsung Galaxy Fame shapes up to be an interesting prospect. The budget market has become increasingly packed with Android phones, with last year's flagship devices slipping down the price scales to sit alongside newly launched tech.

The question is, will the Samsung Galaxy Fame live forever? Or will it crash into the ground while learning to fly?

Interface

Since the very first Samsung Galaxy phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Portal, the Korean firm has been creating and tweaking its TouchWiz overlay.

Samsung has fitted the Samsung Galaxy Fame with Android 4.1.2, treating you to the sweet sugary goodness of Jelly Bean, if not in its latest iteration.

The 1GHz of power underneath the Samsung Galaxy Fame's hood is almost instantly noticeable from the lock screen.

The usefulness of being able to have three apps that can be launched directly from here is somewhat subdued when it takes a couple of seconds to load the camera.

Which apps you choose to launch are customisable, but by default are ChatOn - Samsung's answer to BBM and iMessage - as well as the Google Now search engine and the Camera. Don't go expecting any fancy lock screen animations, such as a ripple, either.

The lack of power wasn't so noticeable once we got past the lock screen. The Samsung Galaxy Fame seemed to flow a lot better. There was a definite hesitation, but nothing frustrating.

TouchWiz has been built to be an intuitive interface, and it succeeds. Everything is simple to use, with Samsung providing some helpful little tips when you first use the Galaxy Fame. The biggest let down of the phone is one that seems to have appeared on a lot of lower-end handsets - namely the lack of an auto brightness feature. We really can't figure this one out.

The dock can only handle three apps alongside the app drawer launcher, given the smaller stature of the screen. This frustration is somewhat alleviated with the ability to create folders and put them in the dock. When creating folders you can't drag icons onto one another, rather you have to long-press and tap folders instead.

Throughout the phone, Samsung's tweaks are evident, no more so than with the widgets. The weather clock widget available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is a very smart affair, reflecting the time and weather conditions based on your location.

Apps and widgets can be accessed via the phone's app drawer on the bottom-right, with long-presses dragging them over onto one of the home screens, and up to seven available. Samsung has also kindly given us the option to hide apps within the app drawer, so apps that can't be removed can at least be hidden.

One of the key features of any Android experience, emulated on later iOS versions, is the notifications bar. Swiping the bar down gives access to the notifications screen, complete with the quick settings that Samsung has put in every TouchWiz iteration.

There are a lot more options available than you may previously have been used to, and as we mentioned before, it moves across every time you open the bar. We could list all the available power saving options, but needless to say they cover GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as the mobile data and an interesting setting known as Blocking Mode.

Blocking Mode disables notifications, including calls from people who aren't on a set list. It can also be set to a timer, making it ideal for when you're asleep.

Elsewhere in the Samsung Galaxy Fame notifications bar is a brightness toggle, as well as the very smartly laid out clock and date in the top-left, opposite access to the phone's settings.

The Android Jelly Bean experience with swiping away notifications and expanding notifications is also present, making it easy to dismiss the spam emails or a Facebook message that you "don't want" when you're at work...

In all, the Samsung Galaxy Fame's interface is a pretty standard Samsung affair. Anybody used to playing with one of the Korean firm's handsets will feel immediately at home. TouchWiz isn't without its faults, but it is right up there with the best, with the Samsung Galaxy Fame's biggest flaw being the single-core heart beating at the centre.

Contacts and calling

Samsung's tweaks extend into the Contacts and Phone apps. This is neither a good nor a bad thing. The intuitive ability to phone or message contacts by side-swiping directly from the contacts list is a big bonus.

Contacts

The Contacts app is little more than a very plain list of contacts. It's by no means an attractive app, but it certainly is very functional.

Android has the ability to pull in all your contacts from a variety of different social accounts.

The two main ones we foresee being of interest - Facebook and Google - are both there, with Samsung continually omitting Twitter. Thankfully, downloading the app from the Play Store resolves this issue.

Each contact is adorned with a profile picture, taken from either the Google assigned one or their Facebook profile picture. The contact list also shows you which accounts are linked to each contact.

Opening up the contact provides that person's details. A tiny low-res picture sits to the left, leaving a massive gap on the right.

This is very disappointing, since the gap is left solely for Google+ updates (for those who have Google+ contacts).

This area could be far better used for Facebook or Twitter updates, or a higher resolution image.

Unfortunately, Samsung's TouchWiz interface has suffered in comparison to other handsets, notably HTC's offerings, since there is very little social integration within the contacts app.

As we mentioned, there are no social updates other than from Google+ (we actually had to think of conversation starters), and merging contacts from multiple accounts had so be done manually.

We could, and have, bemoaned Samsung's contact list for being a bit poorer than other offerings. In reality, it is little more than a very functional app based on the fantastic stock Android offering.

This means that your list of contacts can be sorted into groups, have favourites or widgets, or go so far as assigning different contacts their own individual ringtone and vibration pattern.

Calling

In order to keep its title as a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Fame needs to make phone calls.

Thankfully, unlike higher-level processors and better cameras, this is a feature that Samsung hasn't omitted to keep costs down.

Call quality was as we expected - nothing mind-blowing, but perfectly reasonable.

With no second microphone to speak of, there was no super fancy noise reduction, but that wasn't a hindrance, because all of our contacts were able to hear us well, except in very windy conditions, or with a lot of traffic nearby.

Calling options are also out in force, with the ability to make a second call, access the keypad, put the call on speaker or mute, transfer the call to a bluetooth headset, or end the call all together.

Nothing special there, but we are still glad to see them.

Samsung's biggest winner here is the set of post-calling options. All too often we have made a call and then forgotten to mention something, or have said "I'll text you the details".

The Koreans must have known this, because for a second after the call has ended, there are quick buttons to recall, video call or text that contact. It may be a small feature, but Samsung phones really benefit from it.

Within the Phone app, a large white T9 dialler greets you. Continuing Samsung's functional theme, there is very little to say about the looks.

Thankfully, smart dialling is on offer - typing 323 bringing up both Dad, as well as any contacts with 323 within the phone number.

While many people would consider it a staple of the smartphone diet, its inclusion on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is well received given that it doesn't appear on iOS or Windows handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 520.

With the inclusion of a front-facing camera, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is also able to support video calls.

These can be made normally, although we'd suggest that the majority of conversations will take place over apps such as Skype.

Messaging

With the feature phones of old relying on a very heavy mix of SMS and calls, smart handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy Fame rely more on IM and email services such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Gmail.

If we start with the SMS app, again this is another functional and unattractive app. This is highly disappointing, because LG has shown on the Optimus L3 2 just how nice the app can look.

The blue and yellow bubbles can be changed, as can the background. It's a bit of a shame that one of the others isn't set by default, since we don't see many people actively searching these changes out.

One useful feature of the SMS app is the ability to change the text size by using the volume keys, which is ideal for older users. Given that we see the Samsung Galaxy Fame being heavily targeted and used by much younger audiences, this feature may prove to be a little redundant.

Group messaging is also very easy. For this, selecting the small icon that looks a little like the contacts icon brings up your contacts list, meaning you can choose to text multiple people, even from your list of favourites and recently contacted people.

Because SMS is slowly being replaced by alternate messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, BBM and iMessage, Samsung is keen to get in on the action.

WhatsApp is proving to be very popular across multiple operating systems, and is thankfully available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. BBM has been announced for iOS and Android phones, though Apple's iMessage is unavailable on devices other than iOS-powered ones.

Samsung has also provided its own option, dubbed ChatON. While having all the right ingredients to prove a successful IM app, the large amount of other OEM devices and other IM services, coupled with the lack of contacts we found, make ChatON a little disappointing.

Google Talk has also been replaced with Google Hangouts, its newly branded instant messaging and video calling service.

This service links in with your Google accounts, making it easier to find contacts who are online and available to message. There is also a dedicated Google+ Messenger app, which is highly confusing.

In order to type all the messages, you need a decent keyboard. We can't put our finger on the exact reasons why, but we found that the Samsung Galaxy Fame keyboard was a little sub-par for what we hoped.

The smaller screen makes the whole keyboard a little cramped, and the autocorrect feature is hardly the best we've ever seen.

Samsung's offering does give you continuous input (the Korean firm's answer to Swype) and we were also impressed with the ability to swipe the entire keyboard to the side in order to switch between different keyboard inputs - it's a slightly easier option than finding the tiny button in the corner.

One of the major bonuses of the Samsung Galaxy Fame's screen size is that it means you can use the keyboard one-handed. Unfortunately, the compromise is that it makes it slightly more squashed, which given the poorer autocorrect meant we had to type a lot slower.

On the flip-side, we've commented before that on 4-inch screened phones, landscape typing can be a little more difficult, given the size. The smaller screen on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is the complete opposite, with the screen size being nigh on perfect for two-handed landscape typing.

Email

Email is also well catered for on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, in much the same way that it is on every Android phone on the market. Google has created Gmail and Email apps that are very functional and very easy to use.

The newly updated Gmail app is a far cleaner and more attractive option than before, and is still highly usable. The new colours make it brighter, and it comes packed with all the features that you can get from the desktop version.

The update also throws in contacts' pictures, making the whole app feel clean and well put together. Labelling and archiving emails also shows just how intuitive the Gmail app is.

For other email accounts besides Gmail, the stock Android Email app is available, and is very easy to set up. Pop in your account information and the necessary details are all drawn in automatically. On the odd occasion, you may need to manually input POP or IMAP settings.

Inside the app is just about everything you could wish for from an Email client, including an aggregated inbox to handle multiple accounts.

Internet

As with every Android Jelly Bean device since the Google Nexus 7 tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with both Google Chrome and a stock internet browser.

We've said it before, and we can say it again, that both browsers are pretty much identical, with the stock Android browser having come on in leaps and bounds since its inception.

Unsurprisingly there is no 4G LTE chip in the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Yes you heard that right. Shame really. Well, not really, because the 1GHz internal chip is able to cope with 3G speeds, but the speeds of 4G would still be hampered by the slower clock speed.

The 1GHz internals really do seem to slow the whole internet experience down, more so than we have seen on other, identically specced handsets. The LG Optimus L5 2, for example, has the same size chipset yet provided a much smoother experience.

The screen was also a problem when it came to using the Samsung Galaxy Fame. 3.5 inches is just not sufficient for anything other than very basic use, such as light reading on a mobile site, or checking up on your team's scores on a sports site.

When surfing the net (do they still say that?), we'd recommend the standard internet app for once, even though the Chrome app ties in a lot better across multiple devices and platforms.

That said, both browsers can pull in your saved Google bookmarks if you sign in with your Google account, and both browsers offer incognito browsing too.

Creating and accessing bookmarks is thankfully as simple as it always has been. Next to the small URL bar is a banner with a star, which you tap to gain access.

This brings up the standard bookmarks that come along with the Samsung Galaxy Fame, used to sell you things such as games and ringtones. Below these come the bookmarks imported from your Google account(s).

To create a bookmark, believe it or not, just tap the Create Bookmark bar. This enables you to title your bookmark, and change its save location.

Default is to save it to the Samsung Galaxy Fame only, but you can choose to pop it into any of your Google accounts, so you can access them anywhere.

The bookmarks tab also gives access to your History and saved pages, which collates your browsing history from the past day, and past week. It also intuitively brings up your most visited pages. We don't see a massive need for this last feature, but it might come in handy.

It's a real shame that we couldn't find a way of getting text reflow to work on the Samsung Galaxy Fame - all the methods we could think of, such as a double-tap on the screen, didn't work. There was a certain level of zooming that worked, but the text didn't reflow itself.

A useful feature of the native browser is offline viewing. This is useful to an extent, because pages are saved as images. While functional, this means that there is no ability to open links within the page, even when your data connection returns.

Standard Android options present on the Samsung Galaxy Fame include the ability to select text easily, by long-pressing on an area of text. This brings up two sliders, marking the beginning and end of highlighted text.

These can be adjusted so you can select as much or as little text as needed, then tap again to copy the words you've highlighted to the clipboard, to be pasted into another app.

Elsewhere in the settings there are varying toggles, such as the useful ability to turn off image loading and disable plug-ins, which is ideal for those on restrictive data plans.

Settings also highlights the security features on offer, such as password management and location features.

The internet experience on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is generally very poor. It might just have been our review handset, but we found Chrome almost unusable, as every page we went to load just gave us a black screen.

Speeds over Wi-Fi and 3G connections were generally acceptable, although for serious web browsing, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is definitely not the phone for you.

Camera

For a phone that comes in significantly cheaper than some of its higher-end rivals - such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, Huawei Ascend G510, Sony Xperia J and LG Optimus L5 2 - the Samsung Galaxy Fame also packs in a 5MP rear-facing sensor, complete with a front-facing camera that was notably omitted on the latter of the aforementioned rivals.

Being able to launch the camera from the lock screen initially seems to be a major bonus, one that seems to be making its way over to many smartphone operating systems and interfaces.

The lack of internal grunt is a major problem, however. We swiped to unlock to the camera, and were given the home screen, leading us to believe that we hadn't opened the camera, but then a second later the camera opened.

This is a really frustrating problem. We've seen that it takes a few seconds on other smartphones, but it really did seem to take an age to load the camera app. That funny cat pose, baby's first steps and that pretty butterfly will have long gone before you even get the camera to focus.

The lack of a dedicated shutter button for the camera app is also an annoyance, but one that we have come to accept, since it is so often omitted on smartphone cameras.

We were very happy to find that customisable autofocus points can be selected by tapping on the screen, and we found that the volume rocker can double up as a zoom changer.

There isn't a massive level of zoom available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame - it just goes up to 2x. We know that a digital zoom is hardly worth having anyway, because it reduces the image resolution, but for those who like to use it, only zooming in to 2x is really poor.

In terms of features, the Samsung Galaxy Fame camera has just about all you would expect - a flash, image size, geotagging, three colour effects (black and white, sepia and negative), scene modes, ISO, white balance and a timer.

Generally we found that these features aren't of much use on phone cameras, tending to be for the more serious photographer - someone very unlikely to use the Samsung Galaxy Fame.

Samsung does provide different shooting modes, such as Single Shot, Panorama, Share Shot and Smile Shot. We see the Single Shot being the one you'll most frequently use, because Share Shot shares your photos via Wi-Fi direct connections (something that is only really prevalent on other Samsung Galaxy devices), and Smile Shot is dedicated for portrait pictures.

Click here to see the full resolution image

Video

As with just about every smartphone these days, the Video app here is just a continuation of the camera app. The Samsung Galaxy Fame therefore includes the same black and white, sepia and negative effects alongside white balance and exposure adjustments.

Samsung has also provided the Galaxy Fame with the ability to limit video sizing for MMS, fitting in with the idea that the video isn't designed for the big screen, but more for messaging to friends.

That becomes even clearer when you find out that the video recording is limited to VGA resolution (640 x 480). Video recording is also at 25fps, meaning that action is not always very smooth.

In all, the video app is very lacking. Given that we see the Samsung Galaxy Fame in the mitts of the younger generation, being used at high school to record the day's nonsense, we highly doubt that any other features would have been used anyway.

Having a flash is not only a bonus for the camera, but also for the video. While there is no way of turning the flash on and off while recording the video, you can choose whether you want it or not beforehand. Recording with flash yields very high contrast.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSZmbbL5FEo

Media

Looking at the Samsung Galaxy Fame, it is immediately obvious that media consumption was not at the fore of the designers' minds. The smaller screen being too small, with a lower resolution, makes it a poor choice for watching anything other than short YouTube clips.

Plus the tiny 1.95GB of storage available after Android and others have taken up a chunk of the 4GB memory is uninspiring, though it can be expanded via the phone's micro SD card slot or cloud storage via the Dropbox app.

Music

The Music app is again another basic affair, with some of Samsung's touches popping up. The most notable special touch is the Music Square.

This is a very peculiar piece of tech, one that we have seen before in other phones but that we have very high reservations about nevertheless.

In simple terms, the Samsung Galaxy Fame will sort your music by its mood, so that you can select the appropriate square to match the way you're feeling, and have the phone play songs to match.

Open the music player and you're greeted with a rather fancy stock Android player.

This also brings up a little bar in the notifications area, as it has on Samsung Galaxy phones for years. From here you can play/pause and skip tracks.

We were a little disappointed that plugging in headphones doesn't call up media options, however, given that it is something that we saw on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung S3 Mini.

Samsung's music player is relatively well equipped to play media, with more file types than you can shake a stick at being supported. Samsung list these as MP3, OGG, FLAC, 3GP, MP4, M4A, IMY, MIDI, AMR, AWB, WMA and AAC (ADTS).

There is also a widget to accompany it, which again we were glad to see. Our only slight disappointment was the inability to control it all directly from the lock screen.

Within the Samsung Galaxy Fame's music player are the usual shuffle, skip and repeat functions.

The music player also offers equaliser settings that have been put into a Sound Alive screen, which includes quite a long list of settings, such as Pop, Rock, Jazz through to Virtual 7.1 and Concert Hall. There's even a custom setting, should you really feel the need to go to town with it.

You'd hope that with all of these settings, then, that the Samsung Galaxy Fame would not have trouble with sound quality. We weren't left disappointed.

Sound out of the rear speaker is rather loud, although it can get a little tinny at the highest levels. Plug in a decent set of headphones and the sound quality goes up about five notches. Obviously the quality of your headphones will play a part, but Samsung has got the sound right with Fame.

Video

When it comes to video, we were a little shocked to find that the Samsung Galaxy Fame didn't wish to play our test video. We've found on a few of the lower end handsets that we are greeted with a warning on the desktop showing that the phone might not be able to play the video, but until now they have all managed it anyway.

Thankfully there is the option to convert it, however the estimated conversion time of the 90 minute video was around an hour. We left the video to convert, but in its new WMV format, the Samsung Galaxy Fame was still unable to play the file.

Samsung claims that the Galaxy Fame can play MPEG4, 3GPP, MKV and WebM file types, yet our test video was originally in MP4 format.

The video player itself is a basic affair, offering play, pause and manual selection of timing placements. Don't expect to see pop-up play on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, although with a screen that small we're not entirely surprised or bothered.

Radio and photos

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Fame with an FM radio, however. We found that it had some trouble picking up some of the stations that we expected it to, which was a little disheartening. The app itself is well designed, again being perfectly functional.

The Gallery app is again another functional app.

Tiles show each folder, with the Samsung Galaxy Fame able to pull in our Picasa/Google+ photo albums, though not our Facebook shots.

Editing photos taken on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is, unfortunately, not possible.

Battery life and connectivity

Battery life

When we were told that the Samsung Galaxy Fame was only being graced with a 1300mAh battery, we admit we scoffed a little. Dealing with flagship phones with massive screens must have left us with the idea that massive batteries were the in thing.

When compared alongside the 1540mAh battery offered by the LG Optimus L3 2, the 1300mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy Fame fades a little in comparison. In truth, with a tiny screen and a lower clocked processor, 1300mAh should be more than sufficient. We did find ourselves leaving the screen on maximum brightness most of the time, because the lack of an auto brightness feature meant that we forgot to turn it down.

With the small screen and the low powered processor, the whole use of the phone is geared towards stretching out a longer battery life. Media consumption and game playing were kept to a minimum as the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggled to cope with anything too strenuous, although it coped admirably with our need to update social media accounts and send messages to all of our friends.

When we did throw some gaming in there, we have to say were left wanting. We threw 13 minutes of Temple Run 2 gaming its way, and we found that it ate 10% of the battery. This left us feeling a little let down, especially given that we can see the Samsung Galaxy Fame in the hands of teens - the people who are most likely to play games.

Samsung's TouchWiz interface has meant for a while that there is access to quick settings via the notifications bar. This is a feature that we have long admired, since it enables you to turn off Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and other such battery draining settings at will.

There was, however, no way of viewing the battery percentage in the notifications bar, like we have seen before. It might only be a minor niggle, but we have always found that the little battery icon is never entirely accurate, often showing that there seems to be more charge than there is.

Within the Samsung Galaxy Fame's setting menu, it is also possible to change the duration of the backlight on the capacitive touch buttons, as well as being able to change the screen-on duration. It's only a minor feature, but every little helps.

The 1300mAh battery offering is by no means outstanding. If you intend to use the Samsung Galaxy Fame for gaming (we don't get why you would) or, in reality, anything other than light web browsing and messaging your mates, the Samsung Galaxy Fame starts to struggle, especially in comparison to the LG Optimus L3 2.

Connectivity

When it comes to connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes packed with everything that you could imagine a phone at the bottom end of the market would.

3G/HSUPA is supported to HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA 5.76Mbps, along with Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC, Bluetooth with A2DP support and GPS/GLONASS.

Wi-Fi Direct, which has already been available across Samsung Galaxy phones for a while, is also available.

For those who are unaware of what GLONASS is, it's a Russian developed, slightly less accurate location system, that we've heard is necessary to avoid import taxes to Russia. It does mean that location tracking is even faster.

Connection to a PC is done via the supplied micro USB cable, with file transfer available via mass storage or via digital camera software. Mass storage is the easiest, so you can hook up the Samsung Galaxy Fame as a standard USB storage device for dragging and dropping files. On the Galaxy Fame, Samsung has provided a file manager, meaning that any files you put onto it are easily located.

Samsung also has its proprietary Kies software, should you want a desktop manager for your Galaxy Fame. We've used Kies before, and it's not a bad piece of software. We do think, though, that it is far easier to just drag and drop files using Windows Explorer. Kies is usually necessary for software updates, but we don't see the Samsung Galaxy Fame being treated to any, given its really low price tag.

Maps and apps

Apps

With the Google Play Store pushing Apple further than ever, and holding off the Windows app store too, apps are very easy to get hold of on the Samsung Galaxy Fame.

Usefully, games and apps in the Store are viewable by Top Free, Top Paid, Top Grossing, Top New Free and Top New Paid groups, helping to filter out the excess rubbish.

Pre-installed apps are kept to a minimum, with Samsung's Game and Apps hubs on offer alongside the standard Google offerings in the way of Google+, Hangouts, Gmail, Google Play, Play Music and YouTube, and alongside the Mapping apps such as Maps, Local and Navigation.

The Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with very little in the way of S-inspired apps that have made themselves famous on larger, more powerful Samsung Galaxy handsets. So there's no S Translate, S Travel, S Suggest or S Voice, but there is the S Planner, which is a fancy name for a calendar app.

Facebook also comes pre-installed, making it easier to set the Samsung Galaxy Fame up from the very start. Twitter, however, must be located and downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Dropbox is also included, in order to help relieve the stress on the tiny 1.95GB of storage available from the 4GB that is initially stated.

When it comes to gaming on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, we must again mention the smaller processor. With modern mobile gaming becoming increasingly popular, a theme has emerged, with graphics that compare with last generation consoles. This means that the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggles.

One of our games of choice is Temple Run 2, because it's highly popular, addictive and simple to play, coupled with half-decent graphics. We were pleased to see that we could download it, but the phone took a while to load it - we timed it at 24.6 seconds before it was playable.

In order to download and install apps, Samsung also offers its own app and games centres, creatively titled Games Hub and Samsung Apps. We've seen OEMs input their own stores onto phones before, but we have yet to see a massive point in any of them, because the Google Play Store is so well populated. We were also a little disheartened by the fact that there was no video or books store that we have seen on prior devices, though given the phone's tiny screen, we can see why.

We have no reason to suggest why you shouldn't or wouldn't use the Samsung offerings, since the apps are both clear and easy to use. We'd even go so far as to say that the app is better looking than its Play Store compatriots. Unfortunately it doesn't come as heavily populated, or with as many features.

Being less populated and less used also means that apps come with fewer - or in some cases no - user reviews, so you can't tell whether the app is going to be worth splashing your cash on or not.

Maps

As you have heard it all before, we won't go into much detail with regards to the Google Maps app. If you've used the desktop version, you'll have a fairly good understanding of how the app works and what it can do.

Being possibly the most well-known Google product, after its search function, Google Maps was always going to get a lot of love and attention. As with every iteration on every device, the application is absolutely superb, if hampered by the really poor processor.

GPS lock on was rather snappy, aided by the GLONASS system.

Google Maps also includes Navigation software. We've always been impressed by Google's effort here, not least because it's free. There are other sat nav apps available from the Google Play Store, of course, but when you're in a spot of bother, Google will easily sort you out.

One feature we are fond of is that it taps into traffic data, and can tell you how long your route is set to take in those conditions. This means if you pull to the side of the road - we're safe drivers - you can easily reroute. We'd have liked active rerouting, but for a free app we're not arguing.

Hands on gallery

Official gallery

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Fame is another Galaxy handset designed to sit towards the bottom of the range, competing in the challenging budget smartphone market. This leaves it to play against the likes of the LG Optimus L3 2, the Nokia Lumia 520 and Samsung's other offering, the Samsung Galaxy Young.

As the song goes, we looked, and now we're going to tell you what we saw. Given time though, we really don't see the Samsung Galaxy Fame making us forget the rest.

We liked

If we see it, we like it. We're talking about microSD card support. We put it in our "we liked" section a lot, but that is purely because it is omitted from so many modern smartphones. Having support for microSD cards really boosts the internal storage, of which the Samsung Galaxy Fame has very little.

We also like the TouchWiz interface. It has got a lot better since its early days, increasing to become a highly usable and intuitive UI. It gives Android Jelly Bean a really nice feel, being simple enough for novices, yet with enough features to satisfy more seasoned users too.

The design is also very nice. It sits nicely in the hand, is easy to use one-handed, and fits very well into the existing Samsung Galaxy range, being very much the baby brother to the flagship phones. The plastic feel suits the Samsung Galaxy Fame too, given the much smaller price tag.

NFC is also making its way onto the lower-end phones, so it is nice to see that the Samsung Galaxy Fame is another handset that includes it even at the low end cost.

We disliked

Our biggest bugbear is the processor. We've used phones with a single-core 1GHz processor before, and it wasn't too long ago that they were gracing the likes of the HTC Desire or the Samsung Galaxy S.

They have since popped up in the cheaper devices and been fine, yet the Samsung Galaxy Fame really seems to suffer. Loading the camera app from the lock screen is the biggest culprit, with it taking more than a few seconds to kick into gear.

The tiny screen is also a problem. It is low resolution, has no auto brightness feature, and results in a tiny keyboard. This made it very fiddly to use, and the autocorrect function is not really up to the standard we have come to expect from a modern smartphone.

The camera is also really poor. The 5MP sensor takes decent enough photos in the right lighting conditions, but on a bright sunny day, light areas lose a lot of detail. Video recording is also really poor, with the 640 x 480 VGA resolution not enough for filming anything of note.

Final verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Fame is not a phone that will live forever, and it hasn't quite learned to fly. It is clear from the very outset that Samsung has used the ingredients to create a lower-end smartphone, such as the smaller internal chipset, the smaller screen and the low internal storage.

In doing so the Samsung Galaxy Fame, in a continuation of the Samsung Galaxy range's design, feels a little underpowered. The feel of the Samsung Galaxy Fame, with the TouchWiz interface and external design, is reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, and makes you want to see it as a more expensive handset.

The smaller chipset generally nipped along fairly well when swiping between home screens, but when waking up to the camera or loading slightly larger apps, the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggled really quite noticeably, to the point where we were feeling rather frustrated.

We can see the Samsung Galaxy Fame selling a fair few units, especially given its super low price tag, and we don't see that as a bad thing, given that the majority of users will likely be young, and wanting a way of connecting to Facebook, but for anything more substantial, the handset really struggles.

First reviewed: June 2013

Gary Marshall: Xbox One is becoming a great ad for the PS4

In the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, something terrible happens to an entire town: aliens invade, replacing every human with a doppelgänger.

I think something similar is happening right now, but instead of space aliens the culprit is Sony - and instead of a Californian town, it's replaced everybody involved in selling the Xbox One.

I'm serious. How else can we explain the curious unmarketing campaign Microsoft's running, where every week brings news of yet another reason to get a PS4 instead? With the dust from the pre-owned/always-on tomfoolery only just settling, we now discover that the Xbox One is all about ads.

Advertising execs excepted, hands up who thought: "Well, my Xbox 360 is good and all, but I really wish it was built more with advertising in mind"? Who's just gagging to spend several hundred pounds on a new console, games and an Xbox LIVE sub so that they can interact with carefully selected third parties?

There's only one possible explanation. It's the invasion of the Xbox Snatchers!

Bad ads

According to Microsoft, advertising was an "afterthought" with the Xbox 360: the console's focus was on gaming, not bugging you with ads. Microsoft's goal of playing "a significant role in TV advertising" wasn't really possible until the launch of the New Xbox Experience in 2011, and this time around it's thinking about advertising from the get-go.

Speaking to StickTwiddlers, Xbox Live advertising team members outlined the glorious Kinect-monitored future.

Your console will use Kinect to work out who's in the room and your Xbox LIVE account to mine your demographic information, and it'll use that data to more precisely target advertising. That advertising will be more intrusive than before, too, because we're too good at ignoring ads.

The reason we're so good at ignoring ads is because many of us don't want them, and the reason most of us don't want them is because advertising is often awful: aggressive, invasive, interruptive and often irrelevant.

Done well, advertising is fine, but advertising is often done very, very badly. There's a big difference between a banner telling you there's new DLC for one of your favourite games and an ad that gets in your face or prevents you from doing something - or an ad that tries to tempt your kids to play some hideous branded Kinect "experience".

That prospect's enough to keep me from pre-ordering.

We call the Xbox One a console, but it isn't really: it's Microsoft's latest attempt to take over TV, something it's been trying and largely failing to do since the 1990s - remember WebTV or the parade of Windows Media Centers?

With the Xbox 360, gaming was the priority and ads were an afterthought. With the Xbox One, have those positions been reversed?

Further reading: The Xbox One reversal has only postponed an inevitable DRM future

In-Depth: HTC One Mini release date, news and rumours

The HTC One Mini is looking more and more likely as the rumours surrounding the handset continue to flow thick and fast.

With the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini last year, followed by the Galaxy S4 Mini this year, there's a clear market for cut price flagship smartphones.

The general rule, it seems, with these "mini" versions is they look almost identical to their big brothers but specs are slashed - quad-core becomes dual-core, full HD becomes 720p at best and cameras also take a bit of a beating.

While they may be "mini" in name, they aren't exactly mini in nature with an average screen size of 4.3-inches making these handsets bigger than the iPhone 5 - so you'll probably still need a decent sized pocket for the HTC One Mini.

Rumours of a One Mini handset first arose in April 2013, with early reports name checking the device as the HTC M4.

To help you get an idea of what you might be able to expect from the HTC One Mini we've rounded up all those unruly rumours into our smartphone pen for your perusal.

HTC One Mini release date and price

The trail is pretty cold when it comes to the HTC One Mini release date with no upcoming HTC event to speak of. Early reports suggesting it'll arrive around the same time as the S4 mini have clearly been proven incorrect.

Bloomberg has tentatively suggested that the HTC One Mini release date may be in August, but as of yet we haven't heard anything from the Taiwanese firm about a possibe event.

What we do have in the calendar however is IFA 2013 in Berlin, which could be the perfect platform for the HTC to launch its next smartphone - it might even show up alongside the HTC One Max.

Find out more: HTC One Max release date, news and rumours

If Samsung's pricing regime for its mini handsets is anything to go by then you can expect the HTC One Mini to sport a mid to high-end price tag which will see it go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, Sony Xperia SP, BlackBerry Q5 and Nokia Lumia 820.

HTC One Mini screen

A consistency noticeable through all the various leaks we've seen so far on the HTC One Mini is the screen size.

Back in May notable phone leaker @evleaks mentioned the One Mini would sport a 4.3-inch affair with a 720p resolution, and that news seems to have held true over the past couple of months.

While the 720p display may not sound as fancy as the full HD offering on the HTC One, at the smaller size you'll still be getting a decent picture - just take a look at the Galaxy S4 Mini.

Rival focus: Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini review

HTC One Mini processor

When it comes to power the HTC One Mini looks pretty unlikely to sport the quad-core processor of the One, instead having to settle for a dual-core chip instead.

Later rumours pegged the One Mini as having a Qualcomm-made 1.4GHz dual-core processor, which would put it slightly below the 1.7GHz chip in the Galaxy S4 Mini.

In terms of RAM it seems the One Mini is less likely to miss out, with 2GB quoted by several different sources.

Check out the daddy: HTC One review

HTC One Mini operating system

Most reports seem to point towards Android 4.2 Jelly Bean as the operating system of choice for the HTC One Mini.

Another report went one further and "confirmed" the HTC One Mini would be running Android 4.2.2, with the firm's Sense overlay obviously in play too.

It's probably unlikely that we'll see a Google-Edition of the HTC One Mini which runs the stock version of Android, as we reckon that makeover will be reserved for flagships only.

Mobile OS showdown: iOS 7 vs Android Jelly Bean vs Windows Phone 8 vs BB10

HTC One Mini camera

HTC made a big song and dance about the Ultrapixel camera on the One and its low-light performance, but even the rumour mill has been pretty quiet on the snappers that may adorn the One Mini.

It's not clear whether we'll see the Ultrapixel shenanigans again, or if the Taiwanese firm decides to return to the more conventional megapixel setup - but apparently the One Mini will be able to record full HD video and capture Zoes with its rear camera.

You can probably expect to see a front-facing camera on the One Mini too, as this option is becoming an almost default feature nowadays - even on cheaper handsets.

HTC One Mini more specs

The design of the HTC One Mini is expected to mirror that of the HTC One and, with that in mind, rumours that suggest it'll sport the same dual front-facing speakers are likely to be accurate.

HTC may even stuff in its Boomsound technology into the One Mini alongside the Beats Audio tech which adorns all its smartphones.

It's thought that the One Mini will also carry 16GB of internal storage, but if it sports the same metallic chassis as its older brother the chance of a microSD slot being available is pretty unlikely.

That body may prove a barrier for hardcore battery fans, as the rumoured 1700mAh power pack is likely to be sealed inside the One Mini, never to see the light of day.

HTC One Mini design

The trump card the HTC One Mini may hold over its Samsung rival is its premium body, with multiple reports suggesting the cut-down smartphone will inherit the metallic chassis from its big brother.

That certainly seemed to the case in an early render of the One Mini posted online by @evleaks, which showed the handset with just a few minor differences - such as the position of the flash.

A pretty blurry image then cropped up apparently showing the One Mini sitting next to the HTC One, although the quality of the snap doesn't exactly lend itself to being trustworthy.

The design was then mooted for a third time in a couple of snaps claiming to show the HTC One Mini in black, with the layout matching that of the early render.

LG plotting Windows Phone 8 handset

LG is planning to broaden its otherwise Android-dominated horizons, confirming that the company has a Windows Phone 8 handset in the works.

LG India's managing director Kwon Soon revealed all to Light Reading India, confirming that a phone was currently at the R&D stage.

"At home [in South Korea], we are actually working on our Windows Phone 8 OS powered smartphone," said Kwon, who added that he believed the Windows platform is set to "pick up going ahead".

He also said that the company was still assessing the market opportunity, so this doesn't mean that a new WP8 handset will definitely happen - but LG is clearly more interested than ever.

Takes Kwon to know Kwon

LG has launched Windows Phone handsets in the past but hasn't yet delved into Windows Phone 8, which has been primarily pushed by Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei.

Kwon did say that while a Windows Phone 8 smartphone is in the pipeline, LG will continue to focus on Android. "Android is the major platform globally, given its acceptance and penetration," he said.

LG said back in September that it was still considering the Windows Phone platform, but did not admit to plans for a WP8 smartphone at the time.

Read our review of the LG Optimus G

McAfee completes Stonesoft takeover

Internet security company McAfee has completed its acquisition of Finnish network security specialist Stonesoft.

McAfee has completed its tender offer after receiving the necessary approval of the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy. The deal was earlier valued at $389 million (£261 million).

It said Stonesoft is now within its group and that all of its products and technologies are within the McAfee portfolio. Stonesoft employees are now part of the Network Security Business Unit.

The move beefs up McAfee's offerings in the business network security market to complement its consumer security software. According to Gartner, the business network security market is set to grow at 7% annually to reach $11.4 billion (£7.65 billion) by 2017.

Unified management

Stonesoft made its name with its Security Engine platform, which brings together the management of firewalls, infection prevention security, single socket layers and virtual private networks. McAfee is flagging up the potential of its Next Generation Firewall, which uses Stonesoft technology.

"This acquisition provides McAfee with a clear competitive advantage in the network security space and the industry has taken notice," said Michael DeCesare, president of McAfee.

Blip: 3D stalwart James Cameron disses Hollywood's 3D fetish

We didn't think we'd see the day when James Cameron said a bad word about 3D, but he's basically implied that Hollywood has messed the whole thing up.

"I do not think Hollywood is using the 3D properly," he said at tech forum TagDF, adding that studios are shoe-horning 3D into films that would be perfectly acceptable in 2D and forcing directors to work in 3D when they'd rather not - name-checking Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 along the way.

Humbly, he added, "Avatar changed everything. Good and bad movies - everything has to be in 3D since Avatar."

Yeah, thanks for that.

Read about the time TechRadar met Jimmy C and his many and varied thoughts on 3D

More blips!

If you're not so much of a James Cameron fan (yeah, Titanic. We hear you), sack it off and get involved with some more news blips instead.

Android 4.3 spotted running on HTC One

Here's yet another nod in the direction of Android 4.3 as it appears to cement itself as the next installment of Google's mobile platform, over Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

The next generation of Jelly Bean has been spotted on the Bluetooth SIG site apparently running on the HTC One - the best phone in the world today no less.

Apart from telling us that Android 4.3 Jelly Bean will support version 4.0 of the Bluetooth standard (which is no great surprise), the listing doesn't tell us anything else about the impending update - apart from that it's nearing completion.

Who's first?

We expect the likes of the Google Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 to be among the first to receive the Android 4.3 update, but the recent addition of the Google-edition Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One means these pure Android handsets may also get treated early doors.

According to previous rumours Android 4.3 is set to be a incremental upgrade with minor differences including a refreshed camera application and better notification management.

In terms of an Android 4.3 release date it's still unclear when Google has this pencilled in for, but it should arrive in the next couple of months - so keep your eyes peeled.

Don Mattrick tried to buy Zynga for Xbox while at Microsoft

Don Mattrick's move to Zynga might have been unexpected for some, but it turns out that the Microsoft ex-boss has had his eye on the social gaming site for quite some time.

Mattrick, who was President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, had actually been in negotiations to buy Zynga from as far back as 2010, with talks between him and Zynga founder Mark Pincus going on for quite some time.

Mattrick became interested in Zynga when the Facebook game movement started taking off, and saw an opportunity to bring more social games to the Xbox lineup in the hope that they'd be just as successful on the console.

Things didn't pan out, however, and the conversations were ultimately fruitless for Microsoft. But it seems more certain that Mattrick had been toying with the idea of a move for quite some time, clearly enamored by Zynga's hold over generation Farmville.

Mattrick Reloaded

We can imagine Mattrick is feeling a lot better right now after a pretty hairy few weeks with the Xbox One and all its DRM controversies and U-turning.

Mattrick has taken over from Pincus as CEO of Zynga, with the company hoping to reclaim its position as the number one game creator on Facebook - a title it recently lost to King.com.

Pincus will remain as chairman of the board of directors and as chief product officer. In fact, both Mattrick and Pincus have apparently become pretty tight over the years, and even like to go bike-riding together. There's a nice image to brighten your Monday.

Does Nokia have battery life concerns with flagship Lumia 1020?

The name is still anyone's guess, but the battery inside the hotly tipped Nokia Lumia 1020 (or is that the Nokia 909?) may not be up to much after a charging shell appeared online.

A snap of the accessory was picked up by Russian site Izvestia, and details which accompanied the photo suggested it would provide users with an additional 35 per cent battery life.

Apparently the Nokia-branded accessory packs a 1020mAh battery into the clip on shell, complete with sizeable porthole for that much-rumoured 41MP PureView camera.

Is that it?

That said, 1020mAh is relatively small for an external charging pack, with cases usually packing larger batteries at the expense of a bulkier design.

Usually these cases are produced by third party manufacturers and it seems a little odd that Nokia is making one itself. It raises our suspicions that the Lumia 1020 may struggle to see out a whole day on a single charge.

Luckily all our questions will be answered later this week as Nokia is due to reveal its next flagship smartphone - originally touted as the EOS - in New York on Thursday, and we'll be there to bring you all the latest.

Whet your appetite with a recap of everything we know about the Nokia Lumia 1020 so far

Available Tags:CEO , Apple , iPad , Nikon , GALAXY , Samsung , Windows 8 , Windows , Nokia , PS4 , Xbox , HTC , Windows Phone , Windows Phone 8 , LG , McAfee , 3D , 3D , Android , Microsoft ,

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 7/10/2013

On the beaten path

Open your shutters

Camera call

More blips!

Have it your way

Motorola's hero

What, where, when?

Keep your eyes on the road

Change is hard

Low expectations

1. Enjoy one device

2. Hands free kit

3. Bluetooth receiver

4. Mightytext

5. How to become an SMS/MMS ninja

6. WhatsApp Doc?

7. Voice control

8. Tethering

9. Usage meter

10. Skype

Cameras and screens

Spoiling the broth?

8.1 and then some

Straightforward price hike

1. Dream screen

2. True multi tasking with Multi Window

3. WatchON on the S4 – a televisual revelation

4. Innovative features: Smart Scroll and Smart Stay

5. S Health software

6. The S Pen on the GALAXY Note 8.0

7. Reading Mode

8. IR features

9. Group Play

10. Dropbox

Same as it ever was

A flickr of truth

GALAXY Note 8.0 design: a hand's best friend

Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 screen

Samsung software optimisations

Google Play reading apps

Other reading apps

Comic Book Guys

PDFs? Easy…

More blips

Introduction

Interface

Contacts and calling

Contacts

Calling

Messaging

Email

Internet

Camera

Video

Media

Music

Video

Radio and photos

Battery life and connectivity

Battery life

Connectivity

Maps and apps

Apps

Maps

Hands on gallery

Official gallery

Verdict

We liked

We disliked

Final verdict

Bad ads

HTC One Mini release date and price

HTC One Mini screen

HTC One Mini processor

HTC One Mini operating system

HTC One Mini camera

HTC One Mini more specs

HTC One Mini design