Review: LG 55EA9800
Overview
I was frankly starting to doubt that this day would ever come.I've been shown big-screen OLED TVs at press events and technology shows for so long now without ever actually being able to buy one or even get one to test that I'd started to think the whole OLED 'thing' was basically just pie in the sky.
An AV dream that was never going ultimately going to turn into a hard, commercial reality.
But amazingly OLED TV is finally, properly here. There's a 55-inch set, the LG 55EA9800, sat on our test benches right now.
And not only can you genuinely buy it, but at its current $7,999 price point it's actually a good few grand more affordable than we'd originally expected OLED would be – notwithstanding the fact, of course, that eight grand is hardly bargain bucket stuff when considered against the prices of other normal LED and plasma 55-inch TVs.
OLED glory
Following up on previous OLED demo units, the 55EA9800 uses its OLED tech to deliver a jaw-droppingly svelte body just a couple of millimetres deep over a large quantity of its rear, and a viewing angle well beyond that of normal LED displays.Plus it will also hopefully live up to all those countless demos I mentioned and deliver truly next-generation picture quality. Despite the fact that it's not a 4K screen (much more on this later).
Having failed to this point to be persuaded that the new trend for curving TVs is something worth pursuing, though, we're slightly perturbed to see that the 55EA9800 ports a gently curved design. Hopefully this won't distract too much from the 55EA9800's OLED potential.
Actually, even to this confirmed 'curve sceptic', the 55EA9800's curve has a couple of undeniable immediate benefits up its sleeve. First the curve undoubtedly adds to the set's design appeal. Second it allows the 55EA9800 to support its own weight perfectly stably using just a slim curved transparent stand that merely underlines the set's abundant, actually quite revolutionary attractiveness.
As if the 55EA9800's design wasn't already amazing enough, that transparent 'base' section also contains speakers. See-through speakers.
And before you start thinking to yourself that LG's been at the whisky again, the set's rated at a substantial 40W for audio power – a figure well beyond that enjoyed by most flat TVs. Even those substantially chunkier round the back than the 55EA9800.
Of course, stunning though the 55EA9800, the ability to produce a mind-bendingly slim screen is far from OLED's only trick. For fans of picture quality a far more important OLED benefit is the way the pixels in OLED panels each produce their own light.
Amazing contrast
This means that unlike LCD (but rather like plasma) the OLED picture doesn't inevitably end up as a compromise between an image's dark and light extremities, but is able to express the full dynamic range of a source.Or to put it all more straightforwardly, OLED is capable of producing simply sensational contrast and black level response.
Its self-emissive nature also should help it join plasma in delivering much crisper motion, as there should be minimal response time delay, as well as providing a much wider realistic viewing angle.
In other words, the videophile in me has a heck of a lot to get excited about where the 55EA9800 is concerned. So it's a shame this excitement has a little of the edge taken off it by the fact that a) it's not 4K and b) it's curved.
The former of these issues wouldn't actually be classed as an issue on LG's debut OLED TV if the technology had rolled out a year or two ago, as I'd hoped it was going to. And it's not really fair to expect the very first commercially available OLED TV to support a native 4K pixel count - especially at a price of $8K. But at the same time I can't help the fact that I'm already falling head over heels in love with 4K.
The curve, meanwhile, raises objections based around the grounds that logic would dictate that curving a screen means you need to sit in just the right spot if you want the curve to potentially benefit rather than harm the viewing experience.
Surely if you're not sat in this 'sweet spot', you'd think, the image's geometry will be distractingly 'off'. Plus there's a sense that brands are starting to curve screens just because they can, rather than because doing so takes the picture quality debate forward.
Curved objections
LG, not surprisingly, has a few arguments marshalled in favour of the screen's curved approach. It reckons the curve follows the natural curve of your eye, making images look crisper right into the corners and creating a more immersive field of view that seems to wrap slightly around you.It's even argued that curving a screen actually increases its viewing angle as light is more focussed towards the viewer – though this doesn't really stack up where OLED is concerned, since OLED is itself so beneficial to viewing angles that it doesn't need further assistance from the curve.
Experience of commercial cinemas provides ample proof that curving a screen can be beneficial to really massive screens. But a 55-inch TV?! Hmm.
The 55EA9800 is 3D capable as we'd expect of a modern high-end TV, and just as inevitably uses LG's own passive 3D technique.
There's also a full version of LG's picture menus, complete with ISF-certified calibration menus including colour, gamma and white balance management tools. Plus, of course, the 55EA9800 sports LG's current smart TV system.
This is one of the most content-rich platforms in town, including a strong suite of the all-important video streaming services that make up the heart of any smart TV service.
There are a few too many pointless smaller apps – C-list games, silly infotainment bits and bobs – cluttering up the interface, but the presentation and organisation is attractive and quite effective, if perhaps a little overwhelming. At least until you get used to it.
Doing its best to make using the TV easier, though, is one of LG's excellent 'magic' remote controls. This rather brilliantly provides point and click technology, where you literally just aim it at the option on the screen you want to select, and a nice, tactile 'fly wheel' for speedily scrolling up and down long menus.
Excellent – so much so that it's no great surprise to find arch rival Samsung 'borrowing' the point and click idea for its 2014 TVs.
Picture quality
After so many years of hype, surely it's going to be physically impossible for OLED to live up to our hopes at the first time of asking? Actually, no. It's not impossible at all. In fact, the 55EA9800 makes magical pictures look like the easiest thing in the world.There are so many strong points to its pictures that it's initially hard to try and break them down into their constituent parts to see what's making them tick. But once I'd taken on board the fact that basically pretty much everything works better with OLED, I was finally able to start getting somewhere.
For me, the first thing I always look at when testing a flat panel TV is black level response, as this has tended to be where non-CRT technologies have most struggled to get to grips with the requirements of video (as opposed to PC) playback. And to say the 55EA9800 knocks it out of the park in this critical imaging department would be a colossal understatement.
Black to the future
Essentially, where a dark scene should look pretty much totally black, on the 55EA9800 it really looks pretty much totally black. The grey wash that pervades pretty much every LCD TV technology to some extent is gone, leaving dark scenes looking instantly more believable, immersive and dynamic.Even better, the 55EA9800's extraordinary black levels are so naturally and locally created – right down to individual pixel level – that they don't in any way lead to the sort of severe reduction in shadow detail you have to suffer with normal LED TVs when they try and deliver a half-decent black level. This pixel-level luminance control helps dark scenes look as deep and detailed as bright ones, making it much easier to get truly lost in films that contain lots of dark content.
There's still more to be said about the 55EA9800's contrast performance, too. For instance, OLED's ability to deliver pixel-level luminance precision means there's no need for a dynamic contrast system, so pictures tend to look much more stable in brightness terms than those you get with the dynamic contrast engines found – and often required – on normal LED TVs.
OLED's lack of an 'external' light source like edge LED arrays means too that you don't have to worry about the sort of backlight clouding problems routinely witnessed with edge LED and even (to a lesser extent) direct LED TVs.
Colours
Good black levels are often connected with good colours. So it follows that the colours on a screen with black levels as stunning as those on the 55EA9800 should be nothing short of magnificent. And so it proves. The punch and dynamic range of the colour palette on show is a joy to behold, injecting life into tried and trusted test discs that we'd never really realised was there before.This is not over-saturated 'show off' colour performance, though. There's no sense of colour tones being out of whack or lacking in tonal subtlety and nuance. In fact, the sheer range of colour OLED can handle actually makes colours look more natural rather than less, for all their extra punch.
This fact combines with the imperious black level response and a mesmerisingly intense luminance output, meanwhile, to ensure that subtle deep colours curing dark scenes look as natural as their bright scene counterparts – something normal LED and even plasma TVs can find notoriously difficult to deliver.
Sharpness
Yet more good news – though there is a little twist to this one – concerns the 55EA9800's sharpness. OLED's self-emissive approach means the LG's pictures are almost completely free of the motion blur and lag problems associated with normal LCD technology. Moving images look more or less as crisp as stationary ones – something which inevitably helps the screen do full justice and then some to high quality HD sources.There's a tiny bit of judder around, but it's not heavy. And since it's not heavy, if the judder bothers you, it can be tackled quite nicely by LG's built-in motion processing system as it isn't having to work as hard as it does with non-OLED screens.
The 55EA9800 caps its exhibition of OLED's glories with its viewing angle, which is pretty much limitless in the extent to which you can move down the screen's sides without colour or contrast taking a hit in the way they do quite quickly with LCD TVs.
And as for that curve…
There is a separate limiting factor on the 55EA9800's useful viewing angle range, though: the screen's curve. For if you sit far enough down the side – more than 40 degrees or so – the curve clearly starts to affect the image's geometry, foreshortening content near to you and compressing the image's centre. As well as making the top corner furthest from you seem to bulge out.Obviously none of this is desirable. However, to be fair to the 55EA9800's curve, if you're sat roughly opposite the centre of the screen and not too far away, the way the image gently bends at its edges does strangely make the picture feel slightly more '3D' even when you're only watching in 2D, and also creates the sensation that it's filling slightly more of your field of vision.
What's more, thankfully we found that the rather gentle level of curvature used by the 55EA9800 didn't make the 'sweet spot', from where the curvature doesn't start to negatively affect the image, as small as we'd feared it might.
Overall, while I remain sceptical that curving a 55-inch TV is in any way necessary or even helpful, at least my experience with the 55EA9800 hasn't inspired any genuine curve hate in me.
3D performance
One last element of the 55EA9800's picture performance to consider is its 3D playback. And once again it is, for the most part, a resounding success.OLED's intense brightness naturally provides a great foil for any dimming caused by donning one of the four free pairs of 3D glasses you get with the TV, and the immaculate contrast the 55EA9800 can deliver helps it deliver an unusually precise sense of 3D depth, especially during dark scenes.
Motion looks much less juddery than it tends to with most TVs' 3D playback too, colours lose none of their intensity, and best of all there's practically no crosstalk ghosting noise to worry about so long as you follow the usual passive 3D rule of not watching from a viewing angle more than around 13 degrees above or below the screen.
The only issue I have with the 55EA9800's 3D efforts, in fact, concerns passive 3D's habit of reducing the resolution of native HD 3D sources. Passive 3D's usual issues of jagged curved edges, occasional visible line structure and slight softness with 3D sources seem exaggerated by the gorgeous qualities of OLED's basic picture quality.
No 4K
Actually, having mentioned the slight sense of resolution loss with 3D caused by the use of the passive format, we might as well talk briefly about that other resolution elephant in the room: 4K. Or the lack of 4K where the 55EA9800 is concerned.This does mean that for all the quality OLED makes possible the 55EA9800 simply can't deliver the same detail and texture levels as native 4K TVs can when fed native 4K content. Which is something we just can't ignore now that 4K is really starting to gain traction in the AV world (despite the continuing lack of native 4K content).
Still, while the idea of what 4K OLED might do to the home entertainment world is almost too exciting to contemplate, the fact that the 55EA9800 delivers such amazing picture quality even without being 4K is itself a pretty resounding endorsement of OLED's capabilities.
Usability, sound and value
The 55EA9800 certainly can't be accused of not trying unusually hard to be user-friendly. Especially impressive is the latest version of its Magic Remote concept, which combines excellent, impressively accurate 'point and click' technology with a simple, tactile wheel for scrolling through long menus.The remote fits perfectly in your hand and within seconds even the most technophobic of users should be using it to whizz through the 55EA9800's menus and features as if they'd been born to do it.
LG's onscreen menus are among the more attractive in the TV world too, and generally make it pretty clear where you need to go next in order to achieve a desired end. They also do a quite thoughtful job of screening the most complex adjustments from people who aren't keen (and thus, presumably savvy) enough to seek them out.
The Smart TV menus are perhaps a touch overwhelming as LG seeks to fit into one densely populated 'scrolling' hub screen quantities of stuff that rival brands are increasingly tending to put into completely separate screens. But this is a small point, really, and overall the 55EA9800 is much easier to use than you might expect from a TV of its spec level.
Sound quality
While you struggle to see the 55EA9800's speakers thanks to their small size and see-through design, you can certainly hear them. The power and dynamic range they're capable of producing is pretty incredible all things considered, outperforming the speakers found in many much larger, deeper TVs that use speakers you can, you know, actually SEE.It doubtless helps that the 55EA9800's speakers fire forwards rather than down like those of many other skinny TVs.
The only complaint I might make about the 55EA9800's audio in the circumstances is that the soundstage they produce is a bit narrow – possibly because the TV's curved design forces the speakers at each end of the chassis to face slightly towards each other.
Value
On the one hand – and probably, sadly, the hand that applies to the vast majority of the TV-buying public - $8k is an awful lot of cash to splash on a mere 55-inch television. On the other hand, the 55EA9800 is no ordinary 55-inch television.Its OLED technology makes it both prettier and a better performer than any other HD TV to date, and we could even imagine fans of 4K having their heads turned by the 55EA9800's advantages in every other department bar straight resolution.
It's also worth remembering that when it launched the 55EA9800 was four grand more than it now costs. And when 55-inch OLED TVs were first announced not far off 18 months ago, five-figure prices were being talked about.
Verdict
With its amazing super-slim and subtly curved design and groundbreaking OLED picture reproduction system, there's truly never been a TV quite like the 55EA9800 before.I sincerely hope there will be more like it in the future, though, for its picture quality proves that its beauty is way more than skin deep, serving up picture thrills the likes of which I've genuinely never seen before.
The decision to curve the 55EA9800's screen feels a bit like adding an unnecessary layer of controversy to its mostly seriously tasty proposition, but unless you've got a particularly large family fighting for seating positions the curve shouldn't represent enough of a problem to put you off buying into the 55EA9800's countless other charms.
In fact, only the set's price and lack of 4K resolution count significantly against it.
We liked
The 55EA9800 had me from the very start thanks to the extraordinary slimness of the majority of its rear, and its spectacular if controversial curved sculpting. And my love for it merely grew when it became apparent that in pretty much every important picture area OLED technology simply makes pictures better.We disliked
Given how much I love 4K, it's clearly a shame – if hardly a surprise at this point in OLED's journey – that the 55EA9800 is HD only. Its eight grand entry price is also clearly prohibitive, and it doesn't sport a comprehensive suite of key catch-up TV services.Verdict
The long, long wait is over and vaguely affordable big-screen OLED entertainment has finally arrived. And what style it's arrived in, with the 55EA9800 imperiously rising to the challenge of living up to all the hype OLED has built up around itself over the past three or four years.Apparently OLED screens remain prohibitively difficult to make, leading to everyone bar LG seemingly withdrawing from the OLED market again for the time being. But that loss looks set to be LG's gain, for if it can continue to make OLEDs as outstanding as the 55EA9800, there will surely always be people out there desperate to buy them.
Also consider
If you fancy saving some money but still want to secure yourself some 'miles ahead' picture quality, I think you can still get one of Panasonic's P60ZT65 flagship plasma TVs. If you fancy going this route, though, I suggest you get a shift on.The same goes for what we'd say is the best LED-based full HD TV in town, the Sony 55W905A, with its impressive local dimming system (though this is no match, in truth, for the pinpoint luminance abilities of OLED).
Otherwise your best alternatives in terms of price and cutting edge performance – certainly if you value resolution over contrast - are the Sony 65X9005A 4K/UHD TV and the Samsung UE65F9000 4K/UHD TV set.
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Opinion: Facebook buys Oculus: is this the right move for the leader in VR?
It still hasn't completely sunk in that Facebook bought Oculus, maker of the Oculus Rift VR headset. A social media marriage with virtual reality? It's a head-scratcher that's sure to make the masses furious, confused and compelled to take up arms - meaning we'll probably see a barrage of snarky internet memes for awhile.
The deal struck between the two companies is worth approximately $2 billion,(about £1.2b, AU$2.1b), and an additional $300 million (about £181m, AU$327m) in earn-out cash and stock will be paid if Oculus hits "certain milestones."
With such large sums of dough being doled out, my immediate thought about Facebook buying Oculus is simply that it's an astoundingly bad idea. It reeks of dump trucks full of easy money for a burgeoning start-up, which admittedly makes sense with the big dogs like Sony's Project Morpheus in the picture and Microsoft's wishy-washy VR dabbling.
But in all honesty, virtual reality needs as much time in the limelight as it can get if it wants to stay relevant and not fade away like Nintendo's Virtual Boy, and with the power of Facebook behind it, Oculus is bound to get plenty of air-time. However, relevance doesn't necessarily mean opting for a social media company acquisition is the right answer.
So is it the right move ... or not?
Public opinion of Oculus is generally high thanks to its modest Kickstarter beginnings. We also can't forget Palmer Luckey's early days participating in MTBS forums (Meant to Be Seen) and John Carmack of Doom fame joining the team, furthering the VR startup's popularity. It's a textbook tech fairy tale story about the underdog slowly rising to fame.The same can be said for Facebook's own humble Harvard inception. Both companies have the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the tech industry - but why do we all roll our eyes at the thought of Facebook likes, posts and its numerous layout changes?
There's no doubt that Facebook's numbers are big and that its user base is massive - heck everyone and their grandma is on "the Facebook." Yet the mention of the "F" word leaves a dirty taste in the mouth.
We all use it but we all abuse it, too. The prevalence of social media has become a permanent fixture in our lives, and arguably has been more negative than positive. After all, where else did the selfie generation develop? And the need to post every mundane aspect of a morning routine? Or more seriously, the addictive, alienating effects of being on the site all the time?
This makes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's determination to bring Oculus on board as a means to further the social connection, or in his own words during an analyst call, "connect the world ... in entirely new ways" less exciting than a site redesign.
No one wants to feel that familiar Facebook animosity for a future-forward device that has such promising capabilities. Or, more frankly, we don't want to see Facebook screw up a good thing.
Really. Please don't ruin virtual reality
To be fair, Zuckerberg did say that Oculus will remain an individual operation and will stay in its Irvine, Calif. headquarters to continue tinkering away on the head mounted display. But it's clear that Zuck and Co. have big plans for the device as well since the CEO stated VR has "the potential to be the most social platform ever."He mentioned sports, education, doctors visits and shopping as just a few of the virtual experiences that are a goggle away with an Oculus at home. This does match up with Oculus Rift's own goals - to bring immersive VR to every household - but vision is one thing and execution is another.
We see what Facebook wants, but from how the social media platform has evolved, it just doesn't look very promising.
Regardless, if there's one good thing that must be said, virtual reality is an exciting space that deserves more attention. Meaning if Facebook has to buy Oculus Rift for VR for people to start noticing, so be it. As long as it opens doors for other companies to join the fold and make it big.
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Facebook hits 1 billion mobile monthly active users
Not only is Facebook forking over around $2 billion (about £1.2b, AU$2.1b) for the company that makes Oculus Rift, it's also stepping out with some pretty heady numbers for its longer-standing properties.
First up, Facebook's first true love: mobile. Zuckerberg revealed Facebook now has 1 billion active users on its mobile apps. The company repeated its December 2013 figure of 945 million monthly users just last week, but clearly it was time for an update.
Furthermore, Zuckerberg said that looking at all mobile phone usage, more than 20% of peoples' time is spent on Facebook.
The company has made much of its "mobile first" approach, and it appears to be paying off.
Insta-success
As for Instagram, Facebook's first big payout, the photo sharing service revealed today that it has over 200 million users, with over 50 million of those joining in the last six months.Users sat at 100 million when Facebook purchased the then-tiny team in 2012.
During a call with analysts to discuss the Oculus purchase, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Instagram is "already ahead of where we want it to be."
He assured Facebook won't make multi-billion dollar purchases every few months a regular thing, but with Instagram growing, WhatsApp expected to reach 1 billion people and Oculus Rift's potential as the future of computing, there's certainly some things Zuck is wiling to spend his bucks on.
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Jawbone puts 'Up' a fight with its UP24 fitness tracker
It always seemed a little strange that Jawbone, a company that cut its teeth on the early development of Bluetooth products, would release a device like the Up without integrated Bluetooth.
That's all changed today, with the arrival of the UP24, the successor to last year's UP, which integrates Bluetooth 4.0 for a constant connection to compatible Bluetooth Smart-enabled phones.
The wristband, which features a strikingly similar design to last year's model, with a slight tweak of the external design and a smaller 2.5mm headphone jack for charging, now offers seven days battery as opposed to 10, on account of the integrated wireless functionality.
My Appiness
The strength of the Jawbone tracking solution has always been in the shape of its app for iOS and Android, and the company has extended this for the arrival of the UP24.The new app introduces even more insights to try and persuade you to change habits, including a "Today I will" challenge that tempts you to move more or go to bed earlier in order to improve your overall health.
There's also the ability to retroactively claim your sleep, should you forget to put the device into sleep tracking mode.
A separate app, dubbed UP Coffee, has launched on iOS, which integrates with the full app and offers insights into caffeine consumption in particular.
The new device is available in Australia today through Apple Stores, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi for $179.
- While you wait for our full UP24 review, why not check out the review for the Jawbone UP?
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Intel shows it's serious about wearables, picks up health tracker maker
Intel's recent surge into the burgeoning wearable technology space has been boosted by the purchase of Basis Science, the makers of the Basis Band health and fitness tracker.
The acquisition, reportedly somewhere in the range of $100 million (about £60m, AU$109m), gives Intel immediate traction in the market as it seeks to create a host of smart wearables.
The self-proclaimed 'World's Most Advanced Health Tracker,' the Basis Band is fitted with skin temperature and perspiration sensors and performs functions like measuring the wearer's blood flow and heart rate.
Assisted by iOS, Android and web apps, the Basis Band, which will continue to be sold following the acquisition, can also track the user's sleep, including rapid eye movement sleep and a toss-and-turn count.
Wearable acceleration
At CES 2014, Intel's recently established Devices unit unveiled a host of prototypes that could run on its tiny new Edison platform. This acquisition and the knowledge Basis brings could now accelerate its plans.Of today's purchase, Intel's VP and CM of New Devices Group Mike Bell said: "The acquisition of Basis Science provides immediate entry into the market with a leader in health tracking for wearable devices.
"As we accelerate our position in wearables, we will build upon this foundation to deliver products that bring people greater utility and value. I'm confident that our collective resources and expertise positions us well for the future."
The deal, which was rumoured last month, is expected to be completed sometime between now and the end of June.
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Interview: Virtual reality 'can fundamentally change communication,' says Oculus CEO
Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe is probably eagerly watching the world react to Facebook's acquisition of the company he's largely responsible for in a deal that could weave VR into the very fabric of our social selves.
Based on a conversation we had with him at GDC 2014, he's likely very pleased with the purchase, and not just because of the approx. $2 billion (about £1.2b, AU$2.1b) payout.
"It's going to go far beyond just games," Iribe pronounced to TechRadar about Oculus Rift. "We really believe the ultimate application for this is actually social communications. That's where it's long-term going to go."
Iribe blurted this out in an almost you-have-to-hear-this manner. He was being ushered off to another meeting, but wanted to impart this final promise in Oculus Rift's potential, and perhaps give a little wink to today's $2 billion revelation.
Be anywhere
He continued: "I want to have this conversation with you face-to-face, and I'm in Irvine, [Orange County] and you're in San Francisco or New York or wherever you live. And you believe I'm here and I believe you're there and we have this kind of interaction, but if I went like this [swipes hand forward], I can put my hand through you. But aside from that, my brain would say we're really in whatever space we wanted to be in."And when we hit that, and we'll hit it soon, when we hit that, it can fundamentally change communication. Billions of people communicate, and want communication devices, so that's where we see it going."
A blog post signed by Iribe, Rift inventor Palmer Luckey, CTO John Carmack and the rest of the "team" that went live shortly after the Facebook announcement echoes what Iribe told us, and the CEO made it clear on a call with Mark Zuckerberg that the Oculus' ambitions extend far beyond immersive gaming.
How will we know if selling Oculus to Facebook was the right move to make? We'll see if we can't set up a VR interview with Iribe in a few years' time.
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HTC One (M8) arriving Down Under on April 1
The HTC One (M8) is finally here for you to feast your eyes upon, but when, where and for how much can you pick up and play with the next "World's Best Phone"?
Luckily, the new One is headed to Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, and while pre-orders start today for all three telcos, the phone won't be available in Australia until April 1.
Although outright pricing hasn't been revealed by the telcos, the HTC One (M8) will come Down Under with an RRP of $899.
Over at Telstra, customers can pick up HTC's latest starting at $81 dollars up to $136, depending on plan tier, with the price including the monthly plan cost and handset repayments. You can also add New Phone Feeling to your plan if you want to be able to upgrade your phone after 12 months.
At Vodafone, you'll be able to get the HTC One (M8) for $52 a month on it's lowest plan, with the handset included in its $80 and $100 Red plans. It'll cost an extra $10 a month on its $60 Red plan.
Optus will offer the handset on each of its My Plan tiers as well, with prices starting at $58 up to $105, including monthly handset repayments. The telco has an introductory offer up until April 10 on it's $60 plan, with the handset costing $12 a month on top of the plan price.
HTC One (M8) likes to Play
HTC has also announced the the US will have access to a HTC One (M8) Google Play edition, and pre-orders for this model starting right now through Google's Play Store.The vanilla Android version will be available in silver for US$699, which is about $763, with supported wireless bands include GSM, WCDMA and LTE. There's no word yet on if it will be made to available for Australia.
The Google Play edition will be able to take advantage of the M8's Duo Camera by leveraging HTC's APIs, however the Taiwanese firm didn't have any details on just how Google will accomplish this.
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Updated: Facebook buys Oculus VR for $2 billion
Facebook is purchasing Oculus VR, maker of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.
The deal is worth approximately $2 billion (about £1.2b, AU$2.1b), and an additional $300 million (about £181m, AU$327m) in earn-out cash and stock will be paid for hitting "certain milestones."
In a press release, Facebook highlighted Oculus' leadership in the virtual reality, but noted it plans to help take VR beyond gaming and into spaces like communications, media and entertainment, education and more.
During a call with analysts, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Oculus "has potential to be the most social platform ever."
The company has historically focused on pushing into mobile, and Zuckerberg said more than 20% of peoples' time spent on their phones is spent on Facebook. Now, the social network wants "to start working on the next major computing platform."
"Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're starting to get ready for the platforms of tomorrow," he said.
What happens to Oculus
Oculus VR will stay in its Irvine, Calif. headquarters and will continue making the Oculus Rift. During last week's GDC, the company unveiled its latest version of the headset, Development Kit 2 (DK2).According to Zuckerberg, Oculus' has "big plans" on the immersive gaming front that aren't going away. In fact, Facebook hopes to accelerate them.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. The announcement comes a little over a month after Facebook revealed it was purchasing WhatsApp for a cool $19 billion (about £11.4b, AU$20.7b).
During the investor call, Zuckerberg called the Oculus acquisition "a long-term bet on the future of computing." He said the most exciting future platform development is happening around vision, and referred to Oculus VR as the clear leader in VR.
Facebook seems unphased by the fact that Oculus has yet to ship a commercial Rift headset, or that others, like Sony, are making forays into the VR space.
Zuckerberg said that not only is Oculus "far ahead" of other purveyors of VR, he's ready and willing to see the tech mature over the next 5-10 years.
As for a concern many are likely feeling, Zuckerberg admitted advertising could be a way to monetize Oculus headsets, but is something "we need to figure out down the line." The ability to purchase virtual goods using Rift may also be a money-making option.
Facebook won't try to make a profit off of Oculus Rift "long term," and Zuckerberg described the purchase as really more of "a software and services thing."
In the near term, Zuckerberg said, "the main goal that we have is building out the product, using the different levers that Facebook has to make the product affordable to people, make it ubiquitous and use the different technologies that Facebook has to bring it to market as soon as possible."
Beyond gaming
In a Timeline post, Zuckerberg highlighted Oculus Rift's ability to transport wearers to a new space, one where they feel "actually present" with other people.Building immersive gaming experiences isn't going by the wayside, and Zuckerberg reiterated that his company will help Oculus "build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games."
But games are only the start; Facebook will help turn Oculus into a platform for innumerable other experiences.
"This is really a new communication platform," Zuckerberg wrote. "By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures."
Becoming Facebook's new pet project may not have been conceivable 18 months ago, when Oculus was using foam prototypes to demonstrate its idea. Now it counts more than 75,000 dev kits ordered, and the world's largest social network has its back.
In a blog post, the Oculus team wrote, "Facebook understands the potential for VR," and shares the company's vision for VR to "transform the way we learn, share, play and communicate."
Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said on the call that the new partnership is "one of the most important moments for virtual reality," one that "gives us the best shot at truly changing the world."
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The Phone Show: An in-depth look at the HTC One (M8)
How to you take something that's already brilliant and make it better still? Slap on a few more bells and whistles? Refine the formula, tweaking a bit of everything? Or do you throw the whole lot out and start again from scratch, in hope of reinventing the wheel?
It's no easy feat, and it's something the folks at HTC will have lost sleep over for the past year whilst cooking up the HTC One (M8), which today joins the top of Android's high-end smartphone roster.
In today's very special launch day Phone Show, Gareth Beavis and John McCann have an actual, working One (M8) in the studio and are taking an in-depth look at the fruit of HTC's labours.
We've also got our hands-on review, so be sure to stick around until the end of the show.
- Check out our HTC One (M8) review
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Nvidia Shield scores PC game streaming, Android 4.4 next month
We're only a week away from the calendar turning over to April, but that could feel a whole lot longer for owners of Nvidia's Android-based mobile gaming system now that details have surfaced on what the next update has in store.
TechCrunch has scored details on next month's Nvidia Shield update, which will go live as a free, downloadable update for owners of the company's mobile gaming console on April 2.
The forthcoming update will finally bring the system the latest and greatest Android 4.4 KitKat version of Google's mobile platform, including a refreshed Tegra Zone store to help find game titles optimized for the device.
The April update will also deliver news about future Shield updates right to the Tegra Zone app, along with the added convenience of Bluetooth keyboard and mouse support for those who find the built-in controller too limiting while taking a break from gameplay.
Remote streaming
Nvidia Shield owners will also finally be able to truly get their game on thanks to Remote GameStream, which allows players to wake a LAN-connected PC back home and stream favorite console games to anywhere there's an internet connection.GameStream does come with some moderately hefty requirements for successful remote gameplay, with Nvidia recommending an internet connection capable of at least 5mbps up and down, but players will be able to tweak their quality and framerate settings as needed.
Nvidia is also stepping up efforts to promote the Shield with a $50 (about UK£30, AU$55) discount on the hardware, which brings the price down to a slightly more affordable $199 (about UK£120, AU$217).
Shield players will have more to choose from with more than 100 titles (up from two dozen at launch) currently available, although GameStream will allow remote streaming of any title on your PC, whether Nvidia has optimized it or not.
- Still prefer a console? Check out our review of Microsoft's Xbox One!
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Samsung reportedly prepping a Galaxy S5 Active for Sprint and AT&T
The Galaxy S5 is dust- and water-resistant, but that hasn't alleviated the need for an Active variant, according to one source.
Twitter tipster @evleaks, whose track record with such things is quite impressive, says Samsung's Galaxy S5 Active (model number SM-G870x, which has popped up before) will launch on Sprint and AT&T, "among other carriers."
Like the Galaxy S4 Active, the Galaxy S5 Active will presumably be more rugged than the standard Galaxy S5.
Although considering Samsung has positioned the S5 already as quite rugged it's unclear how exactly it might differentiate an actual Active version.
Something unexpected
Previous speculation has surmised that the Galaxy S5 Active, as well as a Galaxy S5 Zoom to mirror the Galaxy S4 Zoom, will be released in 2014.That tidbit came from a Korean site that claimed to have spoken with sources in the know, but Samsung has yet to chime in with a "yes," "no" or "maybe."
According to the same report, Samsung is hoping that S5 Active sales will ultimately account for 20% or 30% of total global S5 sales.
That would be a huge jump from the 4% of global Galaxy S4 sales that the S4 Active reportedly accounted for, so maybe Samsung has more up its sleeves than simply a more rugged version of the S5.
- Here's what TechRadar thought of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3
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Instagram tests filtering out Foursquare in favour of Facebook Places
Facebook-owned photo sharing app Instagram is testing a new version of its app, which sees the social network's Places platform replace Foursquare as the location provider.
As of this week, some of the app's users will notice the "name this location" tool sees Foursquare replaced by the in-house Facebook Places option.
In a statement, Instagram said users will continue to be able to access Foursquare check-ins, but it's significant that the Facebook is now in the loop.
It would make sense for Facebook to use its own (not quite as) effective platform rather than pass the task and the data onto a company is sees as a competitor in the important check in space.
'Great partner'
Instagram said: "Foursquare is a great partner, and people will continue to be able to share their check-ins to Foursquare from Instagram."We are constantly testing experiences throughout the app to provide the best possible user experience as part of future planning."
As well as offering its own app and check-in services, Foursquare also passes its location expertise to services like Vine, Instagram, Pinterest and Path.
A Foursquare spokesperson said: "We've worked with Facebook and Instagram for a while, and they're great partners.
"Like any company, they're testing new ways to provide a good user experience, however all users can still share check-ins via Instagram."
Instagram says otherwise, but are these tests the beginning of the end for Foursquare location tagging for our filtered snaps?
After snapping up the photo-sharing start-up in 2012, Facebook has slowly made its presence felt, adding advertisements, photo-tagging.
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Nvidia announces new 5K-ready Titan Z graphics card
Nvidia has made the leap to the next generation of graphics cards with the GeForce GTX Titan Z, unveiled at the company's annual GPU Technology Conference.
Like the original GeForce Titan card, the Titan Z is "inspired" by supercomputers like the Cray Titan, for which Nvidia supplied some of the components.
But unlike its single-GPU predecessor, the GeForce Titan Z is a dual-GPU monster with two Kepler units and 12GB of dedicated frame bugger memory.
Nvidia says the Titan Z will help usher in multi-monitor 5K gaming.
The supercomputer under your desk
The Titan Z's two GPUs each feature 2,880 processing cores for a total of 5,760 cores between them.The two units run at the same clock speed, which along with Nvidia's dynamic power balancing reportedly ensures that there's no performance bottleneck.
And low-profile components and ducted baseplate channels make it run cool and stay quiet, the company said.
Nvidia says the Titan Z is perfect for anyone who needs "a supercomputer that you [can] fit under your desk."
But don't place your pre-order just yet - the Titan Z will set you back $3,000 (about £1,800, AU$3,280) when it finally launches at an undisclosed date in the future.
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Nvidia unveils tiny-but-mighty Pascal GPU family
You're familiar with 17th century mathematician Blaise Pascal, right? Of course you are.
The name is about to get a lot more familiar for those who follow Nvidia product roadmap as the Shield maker has announced Pascal as the name of its next line of GPUs.
The new GPU family follows Maxwell and is anchored on three key new features: stacked DRAM, unified memory and NVLink.
Pascal is due to launch in 2016.
What's up with Pascal
Taking a closer look at Pascal's properties, stacked DRAM chips are stacked into dense modules with wide interfaces, and wraps it all inside the same package as the GPU.Pascal will be able to access memory data more quickly, equating to more throughput and efficiency with a more compact chip. For consumers, this means more power in smaller devices, with greater bandwidth, more than double the memory and four times the energy efficiency.
Unified memory will let applications take advantage of both the GPU and CPU. Each part will be able to take advantage of the others memory, relieving developers of the need to allocate resources between the GPU and CPU.
NVLink essentially means a fatter pipe has been constructed between the CPU and GPU, one that lets data flow through at 80GB/second. That's a significant boost over the 16GB/second speeds currently available.
Finally, Nvidia noted the modules it designed for Pascal are one-third the size of standard boards today.
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Developers can now get in on the HTC BlinkFeed action
HTC's latest and greatest flagship smartphone, the HTC One (M8), is at long last officially official, which means it's time to start digging into the nitty-gritty of just what the company's updated Sense user interface has in store for us.
Engadget followed up this morning's HTC media event by detailing how the Taiwanese smartphone maker plans to open its built-in skin ever so slightly by allowing developers of all shapes and sizes to make their content part of the new Sense 6.0.
To accomplish this goal, HTC has delivered a software development kit (SDK), which will allow third party companies to contribute to the tiled stream of data which appears in BlinkFeed on the new HTC One (M8).
HTC appears to be taking baby steps by announcing only two SDK partners at launch: Geolocation-based social network service Foursquare and fitness wearables maker Fitbit.
SDK or bust
Foursquare will deliver location-specific suggestions to the BlinkFeed home screen, essentially an extension of what the dedicated Android app already does with notifications.The inclusion of Fitbit is far more interesting, however, given that it can sidestep the need to slap the company's wearable device onto your wrist and instead tap into the internal sensors of the HTC One (M8).
One such example of Fitbit SDK integration is seeing how many steps you've taken right from BlinkFeed, rather than having to open the standalone app to take a peek.
HTC will have its work cut out for it enlisting additional SDK partners in the months ahead, but the smartphone maker's confirmation that Sense 6.0 will soon be coming to last year's HTC One, HTC One Mini and HTC One Max handsets should encourage developers who might otherwise be on the fence.
- Curious what Apple has in store for us with iPhone 6? We're keeping tabs on it!
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Review: Netgear ReadyNAS RN104
Introduction and performance
There's a general rule of thumb for network attached storage drives: if it's white then it's for home use, while black units are designed for small offices.However, Netgear's ReadyNAS RN104 confuses the issue: its price point is around the same as a home drive, it features a modest processor and memory configuration, and yet it's resplendent in its inky hue.
There's actually good reason for its dark demeanour: externally it's identical to the higher-end ReadyNAS 314, which we looked at last year. NAS companies don't like to break the mould, but this is fortunate since the RN104 gets the 314's better features, such as whisper-quiet operation, four screwless hard drive bays supporting up to 16TB in total, dual gigabit Ethernet ports and even a two-line LED readout. We're rather fond of its chunky safe-like proportions, so it's no bad thing.
Our sample was supplied without drives, but thankfully installing them is a doddle. Each bay has a plastic mount which slips over the drive and holds in place securely when it's slid into the metal chassis. 3.5-inch drives are supported out of the box, but you'll need to invest in a caddy to add 2.5-inch SSDs.
Secure fit
Once the drives are in place they feel secure, and a nice touch here is a small catch that locks the drive bay doors, which when used in conjunction with the Kensington lock port at the rear makes theft a tricky proposition.
Internally, components are stepped down a bit in a manner which fits a home NAS drive at this price point. The processor is a Marvell Armada 370 system on a chip, which is supported by 512MB of memory – both of which are common in home NAS drives, but they're dwarfed by the RN 314's more professional Atom 2.1GHz dual core processor and 2GB of memory.
It's not an issue if you're using the drive for mere storage and streaming, but it can make a difference if you're running it like a small office server with multiple users.
Setting it up is a question of pointing your browser at http://readycloud.netgear.com, which, as usual, renders the included CD-ROM redundant. A nice touch is that the very first step is to set up a ReadyCloud account while you're setting up the drive, which is Netgear's way of accessing the unit from afar. The majority of NAS drives treat your online account and your NAS account as two separate things, but it makes a lot more sense to create both from the word go.
From here Netgear invites you to install the ReadyNAS remote software, which lets you access the finer functions of the router when you're out and about. Installing it on a laptop is a great idea, but it's pretty pointless if you – like us – are accessing your NAS via a desktop PC on the same network.
Netgear also supplies iOS and Android versions of the app, but we'll get to these in a bit.
The Readycloud web interface can be used to access the NAS's file structure and directories, but you'll need to enter the NAS's IP address into your browser to alter deeper settings. It's a unique approach, and pretty smart in the way that it allows users to merely access files without having to go through reams of mind-boggling menus and dialogue boxes. Add in drag-and-drop support for internet browsers and it feels like a NAS drive suited to families who wish to back up and store photos and videos.
Performance and benchmarks
Netgear doesn't include any apps with the RN104, but it's simply a question of installing them via the browser software. Among the 60-odd apps available for the unit are an anti-virus scanner, a Plex media server, surveillance apps and Bittorrent and newsgroup clients for downloading content.
It's great that there's plenty available for the RN104, but the app store could do with a reshuffle to make it easier to browse and to sort the popular apps from the rubbish ones.
The biggest problem with the RN104 is that the further you delve into its settings the more complicated it gets. Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) is supported, which in theory allows the drive to seamlessly act as if it's present on your computer – even if you and it are on different sides of the world. In practice there's no guide to setting it up, and zero explanation of the complexities of creating such a configuration.
It's not quite as bad when it comes to further settings such as Cloud and Accounts, but Netgear does have a tendency to overcomplicate things. ReadyCloud, ReadyDrop and ReadyNas are all, ahem, ready to go, but it's not clear what the difference between each of these is, and how to use them.
Similarly, the Shares menu shows all your folders with little information on what the hell it does. There is a lot of complexity in setting up a home network, and Netgear could really do with paring back its interface.
iOS and Android apps have become a crucial part of the NAS cloud experience, and therefore it's important that Netgear gets these right. However, it couldn't get it more wrong, with file downloads slowing to glacial speeds before dropping out altogether.
Even accessing the web interface is incompatible with mobile browsers – menus are rendered as immovable boxes and there's absolutely no scrolling. We've seen Synology handle on-the-go NAS access far better, and it's ridiculously disappointing that it doesn't even begin to work.
Thankfully, backup – the bread and butter of NAS drives – is one of the RN104's strongest points. You can set folders on your computer to back up to the drive, you can plug in a USB drive and copy its contents across, or you can upload certain folders on the drive to Dropbox.
It's very flexible, and as well as scheduling backups, certain procedures can be assigned to the backup button on the front of the unit, which is especially handy if you want to back up photos on a digital camera without turning your computer on.
We set up our sample drive with two 1TB Western Digital RED drives in a Raid 1 configuration, achieving download speeds averaging 70MB/sec and uploads of 77MB/sec, which is what we'd expect from a drive with these specifications at this price point. Over Wi-Fi it averages 10MB/sec for downloads, but your results may vary depending on your setup.
Media performance is a strong suit, too, with the RN104 happily handling high-definition video streams without any lag or stuttering, and its web interface is quick and responsive to load. If there's not enough storage in the bays, or if you want to copy something from an external drive, the eSATA port proved particularly useful, generating speeds of 30MB/s.
Verdict
One of the biggest benefits of the NAS drive industry is the way it works – it's marginal enough for manufacturers to fill similar bodies with different innards. This definitely works in the RN104's favour as it carries across high end features from drives which cost twice as much, and in terms of connectivity it's the best we've seen for this price.The fact that it takes four drives is also a definite boon – even if you install two, it's nice to know you've got the ability to double your capacity as and when you need it.
We liked
The fact that the RN104's design is copied wholesale from its bigger brothers means that on top of a robust and quiet design you get all the ports you'll ever need. Installation is straightforward and the basics of the software and operation of the router are easy get to grips with, unlike some other NAS drives.We really like the backup features, too, which make copying files and folders a cinch, and it's really simple to customise this process. It's not the fastest drive we've looked at, but its speeds are just right for home users, and its quiet operation makes it a great repository for media files.
We disliked
While it's very easy to get going, you only have to dig beneath the surface a little to realise how over-complicated Netgear has made the RN104. There's little in the way of instructions as to what each setting does, and this is likely to put off casual users.Cloud access and Dropbox-like storage are important facets of a modern NAS drive, but Netgear has seemingly gone out of its way to make what should be simple, ridiculously complex. Worse still is the fact that this is the latest version of the software – we dread to think what its previous iteration was like.
Mobile apps for the device are sluggish and underdeveloped, too, and even browsing via the web on smartphones and tablets isn't navigable.
Verdict
The RN104 is a family NAS in office clothing, which brings with it the benefits of lots of connectivity and slick design. It's fantastic that high-end features such as dual Ethernet ports and eSata connectivity are available.Where it all goes a bit wrong is in the software, which is likely to confuse the target audience with its myriad options and complex menus. Fortunately software is far easier to fix than hardware – it's just a question of whether or not Netgear will update it to make it easier.
There are lots of NAS drives at a similar price point to Netgear's, but what they lack in hardware features they make up for in software and ease of use – and arguably it's the latter which is more important for home users. If Netgear can give the interface an overhaul it would win on both fronts, but as it stands it's an impressive drive let down by frustrating use issues.
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Review: Netgear VueZone
The trouble with most supposedly wireless network cameras (such as the D-Link Wireless N Home Camera DCS-930L or Philips In.Sight) is that while they may connect wirelessly for data, they still need one wire: power. This means that you're limited in where you can place the cameras, because they still need to be connected to the mains.
This is the problem Netgear has set out to solve with its new VueZone system. Here, the cameras are battery powered and can be positioned wherever you like, thanks to some simple but clever hemispherical mounts. These can be either stuck or screwed to the wall. You might think 'battery powered' is a daft idea – who wants to be charging a camera every few days?
Fortunately, Netgear has made a clever trade-off. These cameras aren't designed to be on, recording or monitoring, all the time. Instead, they're only on when you view one via the web or the accompanying iOS or Android app, or when the motion sensors trigger to take snapshots or chunks of video.
As such, Netgear claims you can expect six months' battery life from the set of two CR123 batteries each camera takes, albeit based on 5 minutes' use per day. As should be obvious, then, VueZone isn't a system designed for always-on surveillance systems, the sort you'd find in shops, for example. Rather it's a way for normal folks to check in on pets and kids, to get alerts if someone breaks into your house, or to see if a package you've been expecting has arrived. The potential uses are pretty wide ranging.
You buy the system in a range of configurations – starter packs, if you like – but you can also add to them with accessories: extra cameras (the system supports up to 15), window mounts, infra-red lights and outdoor cases that protect the camera from rain. (The cameras are rated for use from -10° to 50°C.)
We tested VZSX2800, a pack that gives you two cameras – one able to view in the dark, when paired with the accompanying infra-red light – plus the base station and four mounts. Four mounts for two cameras? It makes sense when you remember that these are go-anywhere devices that attach to the mounts magnetically. You could position the four mounts throughout your house and move the two cameras around depending on what you wanted to keep an eye on.
The base station has to connect via Ethernet to your router, and unsurprisingly it too requires power. Range is claimed at 300 feet (with a clear line of sight) which should be easily adequate for many homes. If not, you can add up to two more base stations, although that would require signing up to the top service tier, of which more shortly.
The cameras themselves are about the size of a hen egg. They're light too, even with the batteries inserted. But with a maximum resolution of 640x480 pixels capturing at best three frames per second, the sensors inside them are lacklustre.
The frame-rate doubles if you drop the resolution to 320x240 pixels, but that's very small and nowhere near full-motion video. We don't know what the equivalent ISO rating is for their light sensitivity, but it's got to be a low figure. It's a fixed focus lens from two feet, which is fine, and it's reasonably wide-angle.
There's no optical zoom obviously, and no physical pan or tilt such as you'd find on the Aztech WIPC402. There's no microphone either, so you won't be able to hear what's happening in the remote location, nor use audio prompts such as a baby crying to trigger alerts.
Performance
Let's start with the good stuff. Setup is easy. Having said that, it is a tiny bit fiddly, and we can imagine some less tech-savvy folks having to concentrate and work methodically through the steps. But compared to some network products that have you typing IP addresses into browsers and worse, Netgear has clearly worked hard here to make it as friendly as possible, and it has broadly succeeded.It should take you no more than a quarter of an hour to get the system set up and running – and that's including time looking thoughtfully at corners of rooms to work out where best to position your cameras, not to mention framing them up once everything's linked.
Both the http://my.vuezone.com site and the smartphone apps are easy to use to view your cameras (you don't have to muck about with port forwarding for viewing remotely – it's all handled by your login).
Some might say the latter are a little too basic, but others will appreciate the simplicity involved in viewing your cameras and recorded clips, arming/disarming the motion sensors and tweaking a few trigger, record and alert settings.
While you can't name your cameras or base station through the app, you can however on my.vuezone.com. It's a neat example of thoughtful compromise on Netgear's part – keeping the app clutter-free rather than rammed with options you rarely use.
Sadly, while there's a lot to like about the wirelessness and overall ease of use, the quality of the video just isn't very good. Not only is it low resolution, the images are also noisy and smeary in anything but blazing sunshine.
Netgear tells us that battery life was its primary concern – that HD sensors would draw more power since they need more computing muscle to process. While we can see the logic in that, you have to wonder if the quality of the images from the VueZone system is really sufficient. While the images in the dark aren'tthat bad when paired with the infra-red light, annoyingly its power adapter whistles and whines. (Netgear tells us that's down to the lamp being designed for outdoor as well as indoor use.)
Sensing frustration
It's not just visual quality that's poor either. The motion sensor often triggers quite late, which can leave you struggling to identify people in snapshots or videos.That might not seem a big deal if you just want to make sure the cat hasn't pulled down the curtains while you're at work. But if two-hundred-odd pounds' worth of kit can't help you identify thieves in the event of a break-in then you'll be left counting the cost in more ways than one.
At present, the only kind of alerts the system can send are emails identifiable by a custom subject-line. We'd rather see support for push notifications via the smartphone apps, an idea that Netgear at least seemed open to implementing when we asked them.
There's plenty more that could have been done with the smartphone apps, especially in terms of location awareness. We would have liked a geofencing feature enabling you to arm the motion sensors when you left home (with your smartphone in your pocket) and disarm them when you arrived back again. There are security implications to this, but they're not insurmountable.
(Un)paid plans
Frustratingly, you can't view your cameras on your smartphone if you're on the Basic (free) tier of the VueZone service plan. On Basic, you can have up to two cameras and view them via a desktop web browser, but that's it.The £34.99/year (£3.99/month) Premier tier is what you need to add smartphone viewing. It also adds support for up to five cameras, video email alerts and 250MB of online storage space for video clips and snapshots. (Additionally you can spend £69.99/year or £6.99/month for 500MB, 15 cameras and support for up to three base stations with the Elite plan.)
In the interests of getting this review to you in a timely fashion, we haven't been able to test Netgear's six-month battery life claim, but we did ask the company why it used disposable Lithium batteries rather than rechargeable ones. "Cost and liability" came the reply, citing the comparative risk of rechargeables – which strikes us as a little disingenuous. Still, you can at least buy rechargeable CR123 batteries separately if you don't like the idea of feeding disposable batteries to your cameras.
Verdict
We wanted to like this so much. It's a novel approach, a nicely flexible system, and the setup is pleasantly simple. Basically, we were all set up to laud Netgear for having produced a wireless camera system that was fresh, innovative and welcome.Sadly however, ultimately it left us unsatisfied.
We liked
There's definitely something liberating about being able to position a camera wherever you like and reposition it just as easily. We also have to commend the simplicity of the system, since it's so easy for complication to creep into network devices just because networking is complicated. Not only is it easy to set up, but it's also easy to connect to and expand with additional devices.It's another of VueZone's advantages – with a range of different cameras, mounts and tiers, you can expand your network of cameras organically into different parts of the house. And while it's hardly cheap, neither is it breathtakingly expensive.
We disliked
There are a few things we dislike, but most dislikeable is undoubtedly the quality of the video. In 2014, we shouldn't have to suffer low-res, noisy stills and low-framerate video. Okay, the video isn't atrocious, and it might be enough for you depending on your needs. But it is poor.We were also annoyed that you have to pay a subscription in order to be able to view your cameras on a smartphone, and that the smartphone apps have so much untapped potential – no push notifications and no location-aware smarts.
Verdict
There's a lot of promise here, and some folks at Netgear have obviously cared about this product. Some of our concerns are fixable, either with software updates or by tweaking the business plan.
If you really can't use mains-powered network cameras, at least not without a lot of hassle or expense, and you don't primarily want the system for traditional anti-burglary needs, then you should consider VueZone. But the ropey quality of the video should give everyone else pause.
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Updated: Path of the One: the headline hits and flagship flops from HTC
T-Mobile G1 to the HTC Desire
We've got our first look at the next-generation HTC One (M8), and run it through our rigorous testing process. It's difficult to overstate the importance of this launch for HTC, as it looks to battle back in a market dominated by Apple and Samsung.- Is it five stars? Read our HTC One (M8) review
From the runaway hits of the Desire and Desire HD to the classy but niche HTC One, it's been a tumultuous ride for the manufacturer. Take a trip down memory lane with us as we remember how HTC got to where it is today. There's no mention of Robert Downey Jr., we promise.
T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream
Date of launch: October 2008
Dimensions: 117mm x 55.7mm x 17.1mm
Weight: 158g
Screen size: 3.2 inches, 320 x 480 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 1.0
CPU and RAM: single core 528MHz processor, 192MB RAM
Camera: 3.15 megapixels
HTC's earliest flagship phone was one of the first Android handsets to go on sale — remember that Google's operating system started a long way behind iOS, BlackBerry and even Windows Mbbile. The general consensus was that this was a very good phone indeed, second only to the iPhone 3G in 2008.
Our review listed "an awful lot of reasons to get excited" about it — integrated GPS, the Google-powered mapping capabilities, the open Android Market and *ahem* its slide-out keyboard. Google's Android was off to a flyer, and as TechRadar put it: "The G1 is a stellar phone and points to a future when a phone is as flexible and useful as the PC on your desk."
HTC Magic
Name: HTC Magic
Date of launch: May 2009
Dimensions: 113mm x 55mm x 13.7mm
Weight: 118.5g
Screen size: 3.2 inches, 320 x 480 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 1.5 Cupcake
CPU and RAM: single-core 528MHz, 288MB RAM
Camera: 3.15 megapixel
Half a year after the T-Mobile G1 arrived, HTC was back with another effort. Sporting very similar specs to its predecessor (though with a whopping 96MB of additional RAM), the Magic was a slimmer and lighter animal. Its main purpose in existing seemed to be to ditch the slide-out keypad that the G1 had offered: Android was updated very frequently in the early days, and the freshly baked 1.5 Cupcake had an on-screen keyboard.
Our take on the handset mentioned the improved touchscreen, the increased quality of Google's own apps and the sleekness of the design. The iPhone 3GS appeared a month later, selling 1m units in three days. The HTC Magic took three months to reach the same number, but Android was on the march.
HTC Hero
Date of launch: July 2009
Dimensions: 112m x 56.2mm x 14.4mm
Weight: 135g Screen size: 3.2 inches, 320 x 480 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 1.5 Cupcake
CPU and RAM: single-core 528MHz processor, 288MB RAM
Camera: 5 megapixel
The HTC Hero was the first flagship device from the Taiwanese manufacturer to look something like the modern handsets we see today. That may be partly because it was the first phone to sport HTC's own Sense UI skin on top of Android. Aside from the camera upgrade, the specs were again very similar to the company's earlier efforts, but with multi-touch enabled pinching and zooming, and a standard 3.5mm audio jack finally in place.
We concluded our 2009 review with the assessment that this was the best Android phone to hit the market yet. Even with the iPhone 3GS selling well, HTC's profits and market share rose significantly as the year drew to a close.
HTC Desire
Name: HTC Desire
Date of launch: March 2010
Dimensions: 119mm x 60mm x 11.9mm
Weight: 135g
Screen size: 3.7 inches, 480 x 800 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 2.1 Eclair
CPU and RAM: single-core 1GHz processor, 588MB RAM
Camera: 5 megapixel
HTC's first flagship phone for 2010 was the HTC Desire, and it was responsible for tempting tech-savvy users away from Apple in significant numbers. In the reader survey that we ran on TechRadar at the time, 47 percent of iPhone owners said they were planning to switch to the Desire.
Its appeal was largely down to its powerful specs list, with the 1GHz CPU and 3.7-inch 480 x 800 pixel screen putting it right at the cutting edge for spring 2010. Videos and photos now looked half-decent on a mobile, while it was the first of HTC's phones to launch on a number of networks simultaneously — something that may have given it an edge over the Nexus One, which HTC was also manufacturing.
Desire HD to the new HTC One (M8)
HTC Desire HD
Name: HTC Desire HD
Date of launch: October 2010
Dimensions: 123mm x 68mm x 11.8mm
Weight: 164g Screen size: 4.3 inches, 480 x 800 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 2.2 Froyo
CPU and RAM: single-core 1GHz processor, 768MB RAM
Camera: 8 megapixel
Usually referred to as the big brother of the Desire, the HTC Desire HD helped to confirm 2010 as HTC's best year yet. Back at the start of the decade, you would've thought a 3.7-inch screen was too much, but the Desire HD upped this to a whopping 4.3 inches.
Other improvements included a 8 megapixel camera and the latest 2.2 Froyo version of Android, but it had stiff competition in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S and the iPhone 4.
Our review of the phone was mostly positive, but dodgy battery life (thanks in part to that large screen) meant it wasn't an unqualified success. It certainly proved popular with punters, with several stores running out of stock in the first few months.
HTC Sensation
Date of launch: May 2011
Dimensions: 126.1mm x 65.4mm x 11.3mm
Weight: 148g
Screen size: 4.3 inches, 540 x 960 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread
CPU and RAM: dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 768MB RAM
Camera: 8 megapixel
HTC's "dual-core wonder" turned up in the summer of 2011, earning plaudits for its design and speed in our original review. With that dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, an impressive screen and 1080p video recording capabilities packed inside the 8 megapixel camera, it was well equipped to take on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2, the LG Optimus 2X and the iPhone 4 (the 4S wouldn't appear until October).
The perennial battery life issue did take some of the shine off, and with Samsung upping its game, the HTC Sensation wasn't able to stand out in the way that its 2010 models had.
As usual, HTC remained tight-lipped over sales numbers, but it was the Galaxy S2 that nabbed the TechRadar phone of 2011 award.
HTC One X
Date of launch: May 2012
Dimensions: 134.4mm x 69.9mm x 8.9mm
Weight: 130g
Screen size: 4.7 inches, 720 x 1280 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
CPU and RAM: quad-core 1.5GHz, 1GB RAM
Camera: 8 megapixel
HTC had now settled into a one-flagship-phone-a-year pattern, and in 2012 the company's hopes were riding on the HTC One X. With a quad-core CPU working behind the scenes and 1GB of RAM, HTC was continuing the trend of pushing the limit in terms of internal specs.
Once again we found ourselves impressed with the IPS LCD display and the performance of the phone, which was taking on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3 at the time. "Let's not beat around the bush here: we love the HTC One X," was the verdict we gave, but despite all that it had going for it, the HTC One X couldn't quite claw back the ground that the manufacturer was losing.
HTC One
Date of launch: March 2013
Dimensions: 137.4mm x 68.2mm x 9.3mm
Weight: 143g
Screen size: 4.7 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
CPU and RAM: quad-core 1.7GHz processor, 2GB RAM
Camera: 4 megapixel / Ultrapixel
It was a familiar story for HTC with last year's model: despite getting some rave reviews from the technology press, the HTC One struggled to make an impact in terms of actual sales.
We liked it so much we gave it a five-star review, praising the phone's "wow-factor" design, Sense version of Android and low-light camera performance.
Even a year after its launch, the 4.7-inch full HD display, quad-core processor and smooth metal chassis put most of today's handsets to shame.
Despite all of these plus points, the HTC One never really took off in the face of fierce competition from the Galaxy S4 and the significantly cheaper Nexus 4. HTC would have happily swapped one or two 'Phone of 2013' awards for a few more millions in sales.
HTC One (M8)
Date of launch: March 2014
Dimensions: 146mm x 70.5mm x 9.5mm
Weight: 160g
Screen size: 5 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels
Launch version of Android: Android 4.4.2 KitKat
CPU and RAM: quad-core 2.3GHz processor, 2GB RAM
Camera: 4MP Ultrapixel Duo camera
And so is the new HTC One (M8) good enough? Sales are suffering as Apple and Samsung dominate the handset market, and the company needs a big hit to reverse the slide and become relevant again.
The good news is that this is a phone that pushes the message on again, bringing higher power, clever dual cameras and improved Boomsound, all underneath an amazingly well-designed chassis.
It's at the higher end of the price scale, but that's to be expected, and the fact it's running the latest version of Android, has a great processor and is all packaged in a really nice design.
In terms of the flagship models, it's definitely HTC's best phone to date... and it's going to be hard to see how the brand can top it.
- See what we thought in depth: our full HTC One (M8) review
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Versus: HTC One (M8) vs iPhone 5S
Design, OS and display
The new HTC One (M8) is official and it's one of the best looking smartphones we've laid eyes on, so naturally we've put it up against the equally glamorous iPhone 5S to see how the two style icons compare.Will the Touch ID toting, smaller screened iPhone 5S take your fancy, or will HTC's last mobile marvel win you over with its larger display, dual cameras and booming Boomsound? Read on as we put the two head to head.
- Must read: HTC One (M8) review
Headline Features
As we've already mentioned the key feature which makes the new HTC One (M8) and iPhone 5S stand out from the rest of the mobile crowd is their design.The quality isn't just surface deep however, with both handsets packing powerful processors, the latest operating systems and a wealth of additional features.
You'll find Apple's clever Touch ID fingerprint scanner hidden up the home button on the iPhone 5S, providing an easier and more secure way to unlock the phone and pay for purchases in iTunes and the App Store.
- Must reads: iPhone 5S review | HTC One (M8) review
While the HTC One (M8) negates any fancy fingerprint or retina scanning tech, it does keep the dual front facing BoomSound speakers which have been overhauled from the original One for even better audio quality.
Round the back you get not one, but two camera lenses - more on those in a bit - and on the right side of the One (M8) you'll find a microSD slot. This allows you to build on the 16GB/32GB of internal storage - something you can't do on iPhone.
Design
If design is a core aspect of your smartphone buying process then you'll be fully satisfied with either handsets on show here.Apple has always been known for its premium build quality and the iPhone 5S is no different with its compact metal and glass frame looking as good as it feels.
In an age where the size of smartphones is rapidly getting out of hand, the iPhone 5S comes as welcome relieve to your palm as its manageable dimensions make it easy to hold and slip into a pocket.
The angular edges aren't the most comfortable though, and if you find yourself with 5S in hand for an extended period of time it may start to dig in a bit.
We were thoroughly impressed with the design of the HTC One last year, but somehow the Taiwanese firm has managed to go one better with the One (M8).
Its gently curving back means that even for a big phone (the new HTC One has a 5-inch display versus the 4-inch offering on the 5S) it rests nicely in the palm and the rounded edges are kinder on your hands during extending periods of holding.
Of course the HTC One (M8) is considerably heavier than the 112g iPhone 5S, weighing in at 160g. That might be a bit of a deal breaker for some, but those of you who have already experienced phones such as the Xperia Z1, Lumia 925 or Galaxy S4 you won't have any issues.
We prefer the unibody design of the HTC One (M8) overall as it ties the handset into one neat package, although the iPhone 5S looks and feels just a premium.
OS and UI
In this head to head we have the two biggest mobile operating systems (OS) up against each other - Android and iOS.No prizes for guessing which platform each phone runs, but the HTC One (M8) comes with the freshest flavour of Google's OS - Android 4.4 KitKat. To be more exact the version is 4.4.2, but it doesn't stop there.
HTC has also slapped its brand new Sense 6.0 user interface (UI) over the top to provide that familiar HTC on-screen look and feel.
Sense 6.0 isn't a huge departure from Sense 5.5 which can be found on the HTC One Max, with a few new features such as gesture controls to wake the handset and automatically launch you into an app.
HTC's Sense overlay is one of the most comprehensive on the market and while Android purists may be put off, it's a well honed interface which provides a welcome amount of control.
If having control is your thing you won't be such a big fan of the locked down iOS 7 which is running on the iPhone 5S - it prefers to control you instead.
Now that's not a bad thing as iOS 7 does make many tasks easier than Android and anyone who has bought into Apple previously will feel at home here - it's also super easy to transfer yourself from an old iPhone to the 5S.
iOS 7 saw the biggest shake up in Apple's mobile platform since its conception with a new design and colour, but beneath the layer of gloss it's business as usually with a powerful OS providing you with an excellent user experience.
Screen
The HTC One (M8) is the daddy here with its 5-inch, full HD display boasting a 441ppi, while the iPhone 5S is left with a 640 x 1136 Retina resolution clocking in at 326ppi.Apple has stuck with its Retina display for a few years now and it's been surpassed by pretty much every mobile manufacturer out there. That's not to say it's a poor quality offering, as it still manages to render text and video well, but that's aided by the small 4-inch display.
That 4-inch screen size is fast becoming the default for the entry-level mobile market, and with high-end rivals topping 5 inches and full HD displays you can't help but feel a little short changed when presented with the offering on the iPhone 5S.
The low cost Moto G has a bigger screen than the iPhone 5S, yet the same pixel density - it just doesn't add up.
Especially if you then go straight over to the HTC One (M8) and lay eyes on its full HD resolution which is more defined than the 5S.
The larger screen also makes watching movies and playing games a lot easier, not to mention more enjoyable.
Of course the size may prove too big for some, but the HTC One (M8) is still manageable - it's certainly not as unruly in the hand as the likes of the One Max or Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
Power, battery, camera and verdict
CPU and RAM
When it comes to raw power there is only one winner here on paper - the new HTC One (M8). It sports Qualcomm's latest quad-core chip - the Snapdragon 801 - clocked at 2.3GHz and that's backed up by 2GB of RAM.The iPhone 5S on the other hand sports a 1.3GHz dual-core processor and just 1GB of RAM - but don't let that put you off.
Because iOS 7 only needs to support a handful of devices Apple has managed to optimise the platform to ensure it gets maximum performance from its modest components.
What does this mean? Well it means you're not going to see a great deal of difference in terms of navigation, speed and load times between the iPhone 5S and HTC One (M8).
We did notice that the One (M8) tended to be a shade quicker than the 5S, especially when it came to more intensive tasks such as loading a graphically heavy game, but you're unlikely to be slowed down by either device.
Battery life
With its larger screen and more powerful innards you may well be fearing for the battery inside the HTC One (M8), and to be fair at first we were too - but those fears were quickly extinguished.HTC has squeezed a slightly larger battery into the One (M8) over its predecessor - up from 2300mAh to 2600mAh - but the real star of the show here is the Snapdragon 801 chip.
In our tests we found that even with heavy usage the HTC One (M8) was able to last around a day and a half on a single charge, and if you cut out gaming and movies it'll see out two days.
Move over to the iPhone 5S and things don't look quite so stellar, although it's not bad news.
The current standard we expect from out smartphones is a full day of usage and the 5S delivers that - but that's all the 1560mAh battery gives you.
For those of you who like to carry spare, fully charged batteries in your bag there's some bad news, as neither device offers a removable power pack thanks to the unibody designs of the handsets.
Camera
When it comes to looking at the cameras on the HTC One (M8) and iPhone 5S it gets a bit interesting as on paper neither handset sounds like a top of the range mobile snapper.The iPhone 5S boasts an 8MP camera, while over on the HTC One (M8) you get two sensors on the rear of the device with the main one equivalent to just 4MP. Compare these to the 16MP Galaxy S5, 20.7MP Xperia Z2 and 41MP Lumia 1020 and it appears to be a losing battle.
We found what the iPhone 5S produced the better general images when heading out and about snapping various scenes, but it's in post production where the One (M8) really fights back.
The new One (M8) comes out on top in terms of tricks, with an impressive array of post-capture tools allowing you to easily and quickly create a really unique image.
The best feature here is U-focus, which allows you to select the focus point of an image after the photo has been taken. This means you can choose whether to highlight an object in the foreground, or a landscape in the background.
It's all thanks to the Duo Camera setup on the rear of the new HTC One, where the second, smaller lens only captures depth information, rather than a complete image.
Both devices sport front facing cameras, with the iPhone 5S equipped with a 1.2MP offering for those all important Facetime calls, while the new HTC One boasts a 5MP camera - perfect for a cheeky selfie.
Price
The HTC One (M8) is a high end smartphone and thus commands the same lofty price tag as its predecessor. While £550 (around $650, AU$850) is a lot of money, the new HTC One is no more expensive than its Apple counterpart.In fact the 16GB iPhone 5S, which doesn't feature a microSD card slot, will set you back £549 ($649, AU$869) while the 32GB is £629 ($749, AU$999) and the 64GB variant clocks in at a whopping £709 ($849, AU$1,129) SIM free.
It means the new One (M8) is priced reasonably well and it falls in line with the likes of the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2, while also having the advantage of going on sale before both of them.
Early verdict
So which should you get - the iPhone 5S or the new HTC One (M8)? Well, that's actually up to you rather than us, as both are top quality devices offering rather different experiences.If you're heavily embedded in the Apple ecosystem, have plunged hundreds into iTunes or simply want a more palm and pocket friendly mobile the iPhone 5S is the one for you.
Its glamorous design is just as premium as that of the HTC One (M8)'s, but its more compact chassis makes it easier to transport - although movie watching and gaming aren't quite as good on the smaller, lower resolution 4-inch display.
Anyone looking for a real powerhouse of a mobile they can flaunt in front of their iPhone wielding friends will want to get their hands on the HTC One (M8).
We love its all-metal unibody design, making it look and feel fantastic and that helps justify its lofty price tag a lot better than the all plastic Samsung Galaxy S5.
If we were to choose, we'd nab the new HTC One (M8) over the iPhone 5S - although with a larger iPhone 6 looming on the horizon we could be drawn back to iOS in a few months time.
Watch our full HTC One (M8) video review here:
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Updated: HTC reveals that an HTC One (M8) Google Play edition is coming
Update: The cat's finally out of the bag on the HTC One (M8).
The vanilla Android version will be available in silver for $699 (about £432, AU$764). Supported wireless bands include GSM, WCDMA and LTE.
The Google Play edition will be able to take advantage of the M8's Duo Camera by leveraging HTC's APIs, however the Taiwanese firm didn't have any details on just how Google will accomplish this.
Developer and SIM Unlocked flavors of the phone are also available on htc.com for $649 (£500, AU$900).
Here's our hands-on video with the HTC One (M8):
Original story ...
HTC's doing a stand-up job of keeping its secrets under wraps, having just revealed that there will be a Google Play edition of the HTC One (M8).
Yup, just when we thought we'd seen it all, HTC went and outed the stock Android version of its currently-unannounced new flagship, despite the fact that it'll be going official in just a few hours' time.
"Support for HTC One (M8) Google Play Edition is limited to HTC Photo Edit," reads the description for the HTC Gallery app. Good one, guys.
Nothing on when the pure Android version will be available but we can pretty much take this as confirmation that it's on its way.
- The HTC One (M8) launches today: join us for our live blog!
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Versus: HTC One (M8) vs HTC One (2013)
Key features, screen and CPU
You've walked into your local phone store. You've heard about them fancy-dan HTC phones, but you're greeted suddenly with two models.Both are metal. Both have a fancy overlay with something called Blinkfeed and massive speakers above and below the screen. You quickly discern, using your smartphone detective powers, that one is the HTC One from last year, and the other is the all new HTC One (M8).
Suddenly you're all at sea. You can see there's a price disparity, but man, they both look good. How will you ever work out which one is best for you? DILEMMA, right?
Luckily, you were smart. You either read up ahead of time, or you're in the shop right now reading this on the phone from 2011 that you've finally decided to upgrade. Either way, mop your brow and let us guide you through the process of deciding whether you need the latest HTC One (M8) or whether the still-excellent model from 2013 can do a job for your smartphone life (and save some cash too).
Key features
The phrase 'same but different' has never been so relevant to a phone comparison, as HTC has managed to achieve the feat of keeping most of the heritage of the One and yet update it enough so the One (M8) feels like an entirely new device.
With that in mind, the key features are largely the same, although upgraded in nearly every way. For instance, the Boomsound speakers are present (and prevalent) on both phones, but the newer version is able to pump out sound 25% louder than its predecessor.
It can also manage sound better thanks to a powerful digital signal processing chip, which means it can allow improved mid range and treble tones while making sure everything isn't distorted by bass.
The design between the two devices on show here is both stark and similar at the same time. Both share the same heritage in terms of construction, with a single block of aluminium leading to the final result.
However, the two phones are markedly different in the hand, and that's down to the HTC One (M8) being made of 30% more metal than its predecessor, coming in at over 90% compared to just 70%.
The new One is so tightly packed that it has all the components put in from the front during manufacture - yet it still adds in a microSD slot where the original version was devoid of such expansion.
This is going to be a big deal to a lot of users, although the way in which it's accessed is not so simple: you'll need the same SIM tool in the box to get to the expandable memory as you will the now-smaller nanoSIM.
(Yes, you'll need to get a new SIM card if you're not upgrading from a newer iPhone).
This isn't a huge deal, as the chances are most people will actually only plug in a new memory card once or twice during the lifetime of the phone (and you can upgrade it to 128GB) and it's a good addition to have.
In terms of size, the new HTC One (M8) is taller than last year's version to accommodate the 5-inch screen, which is up from the 4.7-inch option from the year before. It's not a big deal, but will need a slightly longer thumb (or more palm jiggling) to get to the top of the screen.
One area that it's great to see HTC has made an improvement is with the buttons on the top and side of the device - while last year's model had very little travel, the new One (M8) has volume and power keys that are excellent to use and very easy to find without looking.
The headphone port has been moved to the bottom of the phone though - this is annoying for some, who think it's just fine where it is (and offers easier access to the volume keys) but others will appreciate being able to remove the phone from the pocket a little easier when listening to tunes.
Side by side there's no doubt that the new HTC One (M8) has the more impressive and refined design of the two devices - however, the older model is still impressive and shouldn't be discounted just because it uses less metal.
Screen
We've just touched on the screen specs above, but it's worth talking through the differences here in a little more detail.For start, the size of the display has been increased to a five inch screen, up fro the 4.7-inch option on the 2013 model. While the resolution hasn't improved, with both still rocking a Full HD 1080p display, the overall effect isn't diminished, and the new model actually offering a slightly brighter and more vivid display.
Both are Super LCD3, with HTC one of the only manufacturers to use such technology, but it's easily the equal of the Super AMOLED on the Samsung Galaxy range (although not in colour saturation) and is only bettered (possibly) by the excellent screen on the LG G2.
CPU and RAM
Here's something that will fly a little under the radar, but the chipset in the HTC One (M8) is a very strong option indeed.The new phone brings the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 variant, which is great news for a number of reasons. The obvious one is it's faster, but in truth things go a little deeper than that.
While yes, the HTC One (M8) is so much slicker under the finger than last year's model, it's in areas like battery life and camera processing where the enhancements are obvious.
We'll come onto the power management in another section, but trust us when we say the HTC One (M8) can last a lot longer with the Snapdragon 801 compared to the Snapdragon 600 used in last year's model.
Both are packing 2GB of RAM, which is more than enough for a phone of this quality, and allows for all the heavy lifting you'd expect.
The new HTC One (M8) is faster at processing photos and streaming movies from online too, as well as pumping content out to a larger display, and this is all down to the upgrade in the CPU and RAM department.
Battery, camera and verdict
Battery
The battery on the HTC One (M8) is proclaimed as 40% longer lasting than its predecessor, and that's something that needed to happen as it was one of the bigger sticking points of the old version.
To make that happen HTC has added in a 2600mAh battery and combined it with Qualcomm's more efficient Snapdragon 801 chip to make everything last a little bit longer.
On top of that, the HTC One (M8) will also be arriving with Extreme Power Saving Mode, which will allow users to keep their device in a very low drain scenario by limiting the data to only slip in when the screen is on, and allowing access only to the likes of calling, messaging and calculator.
We all need to do sums no matter how much power is left, people.
In practice, the claims actually hold a fair amount of water. The new One (M8) is much, much better at holding its power than last year's version, and a standby drain of 5% every two hours is more than achievable.
If you're looking at this purely as a business phone, meaning you won't be playing games or flipping about with apps or movies all the time, it's highly likely you'd only need to charge every couple of days, even if you use your phone regularly throughout the day.
The HTC One from last year is improved when it comes to battery (compared to when it first launched) with the new Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade helping things again. But it's only a good buy if you're constantly going to be near a charger each day, where the new phone is much more content being plug-free for longer.
Camera
The camera on both phones looks relatively similar from the outside – well, that is apart from the fact the HTC One (M8) has a large extra sensor on the top to provide depth to snaps.This works by clicking in the millisecond you press the shutter key, embedding the metadata into the JPG to allow the handset to work out which areas are foreground and which are not – essentially giving the user complete control over the subject they're actually snapping.
The original device obviously doesn't have the same hardware, but both have the same Ultrapixel technology on board to make the low light pictures look great.
However, while both come in at around 4 megapixels in resolution, meaning zoomed pictures or those blown up on a large screen will look a bit muddy, the new device has a more efficient image processor.
This means, combined with the upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU, images focus and save incredibly quickly, even to microSD storage.
The low light capability of both is still very impressive, but the newer phone understandably is a little more sensitive and can take more pictures at a faster pace.
That said, if you just want a camera that doesn't do more than just take generally good shots and you don't give a hoot about post-capture processing, the first One is a good choice still.
However, the new HTC One is a real step up and one that you should really consider if you're desperate to go with the Taiwanese brand but want to take the better snaps.
Verdict
If you're torn between the HTC One from last year and the new HTC One (M8), then it's a very fine balance and really comes down to price.
The older version is a good deal cheaper now a newer version is on the market, and probably works out slightly better dollar for dollar.
However, do think about what you're signing up to if you go for the still-attractive older model. You've got a much stronger processor on the new device, which leads to better battery life and general use – it's less likely to slow down over your lifetime with it.
That said, the older model still has enough of a feature set to warrant being a viable choice, and is going to get similar software to the new device as well to keep it fresh.
So if you want to save money, 2013's One is a good buy, providing you don't mind no expandable storage, a lower-spec camera and a weaker battery.
The new HTC One (M8) is definitely going to be one of, if not the, phone of 2014, so if you want to make sure you've got one of the best options for the next 24 months, we suggest that's the device to plump for.
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Industry voice: Is the data centre becoming a commodity?
For those working in the fast moving world of cloud computing it is easy to take the somewhat arrogant view that the choice of data centre is irrelevant; that although it is an essential piece of the jigsaw, one data centre is just the same as another when compared to the complexities of differing IAAS and SAAS platforms.
On this basis it is assumed that all the value in the IT chain will migrate to the cloud providers leaving data centres to earn meagre commodity margins.
Say it aint so?
The data centre however is a very long way from being a commodity. A commodity typically has 3 characteristics; the product is the same, the quality is the same and the price is the same.And because the products are interchangeable they are usually bought and sold via efficient spot markets which exactly match supply and demand and which prevent any suppliers earning excessive returns.
Data centre products vary in many ways such as Tier level, space and power capacity, connectivity options, service levels and location.
A good data centre service also needs well trained staff and embedded policies and procedures. These parameters directly affect both the quality of the product and its price although interestingly it is the data centre location more than its quality that dictates price.
Quality as a driver
It is surprising that quality is not the prime driver when you consider the affect of a data centre outage.IT infrastructure is like an inverted pyramid. At the bottom is the cheapest element, the data centre service. It is staggering to think that the cost of this per rack (at NGD at least) is only £20 per day or less.
That £20 rack supports perhaps £50K to £100K of hardware and software (the next layer of the pyramid), which could support the multiple business applications which are fundamental to the efficient running of a multi-million pound corporation or perhaps a cloud ecosystem supporting hundreds of customers (the top level of the pyramid).
So a data centre outage is massively amplified as you go up the stack. An example of this is the recent lawsuit by Sears. In January this year a 5 hour outage at their main data centre was estimated to have cost $1.58m in lost profit.
That's an awful lot of trust to place in a service costing £20 per day and it explains why there hasn't been a "rush to the bottom" in terms of price and quality.
Although the data centre market has seen new aggressive players offering very low pricing most buyers are too cautious (and savvy) to automatically choose the cheapest option. By comparison if a new, cheaper brand of petrol emerged most of us would be happy to use it.
Investment
The data centre market, by its nature, is also a very long way from offering a spot market. For suppliers the high upfront investment and economies of scale inherent in data centre provision mean that data centre capacity cannot be scaled up and down to match demand.Instead data centre operators seek to lock-in customers with long term contracts which will guarantee return on investment. Furthermore the barriers to entry for new suppliers are high.
Not only does a data centre require suitable land, a good power supply and planning permission it demands an upfront investment of well over £10m. This is not for the faint hearted and while there are new entrants they have not changed the market paradigm.
For customers the cost of transition from one data centre to another is so high that they will not move their IT overnight if a new, better and cheaper option comes along. Instead they will wait for a natural break such as a technology refresh (and/or the end of a contract) before moving.
This inefficient and slow moving data centre market explains why the 40 to 50% EBITDA margins of the established data centre players have not been competed away by a rush of new competitors as economic theory would expect.
Cloud service as a commodity
Interestingly cloud services do share some of the characteristics of commodities. One virtual machine is the same as the next, their supply can be scaled up and down and they can be bought and sold on a short term "spot market" basis.Moreover the barriers to entry in cloud services are very low. A fully fledged cloud service can be offered using a single rack, a couple of servers and some storage and with current prices good margins can be made.
As a result there are already hundreds (maybe thousands) of cloud service providers and more are emerging every day. Ironically it may be that cloud services are the next commodity and cloud providers will see their margins competed away while data centres remain relatively unaffected by the new IT world.
- Nick Razey is co-founder and CEO Next Generation Data, owner and operator of Europe's largest data centre, NGD Europe. A physics graduate, MBA holder and Chartered Engineer, Nick has over 25 years' experience in the telecoms industry.
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Nokia teases that we're in for a new Lumia at Build 2014
What's this? An invite from Nokia to an event during Build 2014? Whatever could this mean?
Thankfully we don't have to strain our gray matter too hard. The Finnish phone maker also teased on the invitation to the April 2 event that we're in for "#moreLumia."
"Join us for more" is slathered across the invite, and if this means more hors d'oeuvres in addition to more phones, we're there.
We've heard rumors of new Nokia phones making their way to Microsoft's developer conference, but it seems a little bundle of Lumia is all but confirmed for the early April show.
- For all the latest on the conference, tune in right here: Build 2014
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Versus: HTC One (M8) vs Samsung Galaxy S5: Early view
HTC One (M8) vs Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung is the reigning heavyweight champion on the Android scene, and the Galaxy S5 looks like a return to form after the slightly disappointing S4.The Taiwanese contender has a proud Android pedigree and last year's HTC One was our pick of the smartphone bunch. The HTC One (M8) isn't the catchiest name we've ever heard, but even if the ungainly tag sticks, this is a beautiful-looking device.
If any Android smartphone can mount a credible challenge to Samsung's dominance this year, it's got to be the HTC One (M8).
- Must read: HTC One (M8) review
Headline features
Duking it out for the affections of the mass market means producing phones that have a really wide appeal. All the top Android phones have plenty in common, but the HTC One (M8) does offer a few standout features.Opting out of the megapixel war with ultrapixels, HTC is not afraid to be different. The HTC One (M8) has dual cameras on the back. There's a 4.1 ultrapixel camera with a depth perceiving camera above it, which gives 3D effects and, more importantly, the ability to refocus after taking a shot.
That reassuringly expensive feel and aesthetic will win the One (M8) a lot of friends, and it retains the smart front-facing BoomSound speakers which were universally praised in its predecessor.
A redesigned Sense interface with a stark, flat icon look and a host of time-saving gestures brings HTC bang up to date.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a lot going for it. The company really took the criticism of the S4 to heart and responded by scaling down the huge list of features and dubious software enhancements to focus the S5 on what people really want.
That's why there's a 16MP camera capable of snapping a shot in 0.3 seconds. Samsung also added real-time HDR and a handful of other modes and effects, which have resulted in a very strong-looking camera.
Another big trend in mobile tech right now is fitness tracking. Samsung has improved the S Health app from last year, and added a heart rate sensor - decide for yourself whether that's something you'd want.
Following Sony's lead, the Galaxy S5 is IP67 rated, which means dust poses no threat and it can be submerged at a depth of up to 1 metre for up to 30 minutes.
Design
Its predecessor certainly turned heads and the HTC One (M8) has a similar aluminium body with a really precise, premium feel. HTC understands how to make a gorgeous smartphone that people will fall in love with on sight. It is 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35mm and it weighs in at 160g.
Samsung's decision to stick with the same design language as its galaxy of Galaxy models has grown is harder to justify. The complaints about a cheap, plastic feel now stretch back years, and if you think the textured back resembles a sticking plaster, you're not the only one.
On the other hand, the S5 is lighter and slimmer than its competitor. It weighs 145g and measures 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, but lacks that premium feel that we love on the One (M8).
UI
Both devices feature Google's biscuity goodness in the shape of Android 4.4 KitKat. The One has HTC's Sense 6.0 on top, with some handy new gesture shortcuts and a flatter icon design. The S5 has Samsung's TouchWiz, which offers a huge list of settings to play with (though you might not find all of them very useful).
HTC eschews separate buttons beneath the screen, opting for Google's preference of onscreen keys that can fade away when not in use. Samsung decided to stick with the physical home button and its touch-sensitive wing men.
Both are decent overlays in their own right, in our opinion, and while we're getting used to having all keys on screen, we do like a physical home button.
Screen
The HTC One (M8) has a 5-inch display with a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch screen which is also full HD at 1080p. Technically the One should be slightly sharper, but it isnt easy to tell the difference.The HTC goes for a Super LCD3 option, where Samsung has stayed true to form and gone with a bright and vibrant Super AMOLED HD option instead - this leads to higher colour saturation, but can be tweaked to your own preference.
CPU and RAM
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is packing an impressive 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor backed up by 2GB of RAM. The HTC One (M8) is almost exactly the same with 2GB of RAM, and it's also powered by the quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, although it's clocked at 2.3GHz.We need to put them through their paces and check the benchmarks, but a major gap between them in terms of speed would be a surprise - despite HTC running ahead of the pack in our benchmark tests.
Battery
You'll find a 2,600 mAh battery in the HTC One (M8), while the S5's battery is slightly bigger at 2,800 mAh. The slightly smaller screen and the lower clock speed might help close the gap here.Both phones have a special power-saving mode that will help you prioritize when the battery gets low and squeeze the maximum use from your dwindling juice. The battery in the S5 can be swapped out, but the One (M8) is sealed.
Camera
The cameras are a headline feature for both phones, but the approaches are very different. We have the dual rear camera setup of the HTC One (M8) with a 4.1 ultrapixel camera and a distance measuring camera above it. There's also a 5MP front-facing camera for top quality selfies.
Samsung has gone for a 16MP main camera and a 2.1MP front-facing camera. The S5 is also capable of recording 4K video, while the One tops out at 1080p, something that could prove important to anyone who's taken the 4K plunge with a new TV.
Price
If you want to own either of these smartphones then you'll need to be prepared to part with £550 (about US$900, AU$1,000). Contract deals will vary, but we expect both handsets to be priced very similarly.Early verdict
The HTC One (M8) and the Samsung Galaxy S5 are both impressive, and they need to be. The top of the Android tree is a very competitive space and it's not just HTC aiming to knock Samsung off its perch: Sony, LG, and others are releasing compelling smartphones too.Few devices can match the Galaxy S5's hidden depths, but if you want a piece of tech that even iPhone owners will drool over, the HTC One (M8) cannot be overlooked.
- Will the HTC One (M8) follow its predecessor to the top of our best smartphones chart?
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