Inflame: Will porn do for VR what it did for VHS, DVD and… the internet?
It's the classic technology seller. Porn. It made people want VHS then DVD players, the internet and HD displays, also driving image and video compression and the sale of smartphones – if you believe the salespeople.
But can three-dimensional, fully immersive pornography sell VR headsets to the masses?
Just think. You could look around. Underneath. Up. At the thing you're not supposed to be looking at, you sicko. The possibilities are endless and, according to the maker of Facebook's Oculus Rift headset, there won't be any rules or safeguards in place to stop developers creating and releasing realistic porn scenarios for headsetted PC users.
Not that it would be possible to "ban" anything on Oculus Rift anyway, with plenty of stilted, not-sexy porn demos already available for the dev units.
The OR system is nothing more than a mobile phone screen velcroed onto your head, remember, and not even today's authoritarian fun-hating government can stop people looking at rude things on telephone screens in the comfort of their own homes.
But is it right? Do we need it? And wouldn't it just be a bit terrifying having 3D porn inches away from your face?
Accident or happenstance
Over on Variety, reader Dwarzgarth Blostgat has thought it all through perhaps a bit too much. He explains: "There is no Oculus OS, they don't have an app store (and if they do then I suspect they will block porn apps). But realize the Rift is just an extra monitor to your computer. If you get on the web and go to a porn site no one can stop you from seeing it on your Rift. And if that porn site happens to be a VR augmented web site Oculus will have nothing to do with it."And if that man's wife or partner happens to wonder why his cheeks are so red beneath the personal display he's got strapped tightly over his eyes so that only he can see what they're displaying, it's not his fault it was so easy to completely innocently happen upon VR porn.
It's all part of the ongoing illuminati attempt to pacify humanity, according to commenter Georgw, who explains that sci-fi has already predicted our screen-based demise, saying: "This VR stuff reminds me of a Star Trek Voyager episode where the crew was slowly being taken over after using an alien gift of a VR device that touched (stimulated) there pleasure center. Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the hundreds of other time-wasting, spiritually and morally devoid preoccupations of mankind, we have opened ourselves up to being easily controlled, whether by government or other entities."
To which StarTrekNerd replies, somewhat inevitably: "It was not Voyager it was Star Trek TNG."
My funny fictional anecdote!
The Daily Mail managed to spin this non-news denial-of-nothing out across 1,400 words, also explaining the history of porn and providing many illustrations. Its always-outraged readers piled in, with reader and almost capable writer WinstonSmith posting: "Won't someone think of the children (and their shoddy parents who would buy the headset for their kids at the earliest opportunity to save them from being shunned by the other children in the playground, leading to a life of disappointment and resentment, and then later payback when they are placed in a home)."We think he's comparing it to the iPad and saying he hasn't got one and his children play outside all the time even when it's hailstoning and dark.
And if nothing else, the arrival of porn on VR headsets will update the popular urban myth about being caught in the act of self-abuse for the modern generation.
Reader Captain Sensible is either lying or has been lied to, as he's already relating the predictable VR/porn anecdote of: "I know of someone who that happened to with a device I won't mention here. When he had 'finished' he took the headset off to see his (now ex) fiancee and her parents sat patiently waiting."
3D images or it didn't happen, Captain.
Gushing out
It's the latest step in the pornographisation of mankind, according to commenter DeeeNYV on Cnet. He posted: "Porn will put VR in the fast lane of development. Just like it did for the high speed internet, video streaming and compression, etc. I mean one can argue smartphone screens got bigger because of porn as well. I mean does anyone believe all that robotic engineering going on in Japan isn't because they're trying to build a sex bot?"Imagine that. Facebook buys Japanese sex robot creator, streams in data from the profiles of the people you used to fancy who are on the social site, then, for a small fee, lets you whack on your headset and do what you want with them from the comfort of your own padded VR sex room.
Reader Volker Andrae is already planning the launch of some sort of VR dating site to cater to busy executives after a no-cables-attached remote fling, explaining: "The bigger perspective in my opinion are long distance relationships. Until teleportation becomes a thing a VR device on both ends coupled with some representative ... stimulation devices... might do wonders!"
Facebook to buy Fleshlight? You heard it here first.
Non fiction
The serious readers of Eurogamer saw through this attempt to get "porn" into headlines across the tech news world. Commenter SHPanda says this is not really news as nothing's actually happened or changed -- he's obviously not familiar with how internet news works.He commented: "I don't ever see Apple being questioned if their MacBooks will block porn or if LG's TVs will prevent you from watching x rated videos on them. Same applies, this isn't a closed ecosystem like a games console (even then you can watch porn on them) it's a peripheral device used to display whatever content you choose. Absolute non-story."
Reader Arcam suggests it's only causing such a fuss because Facebook threw all the money at Oculus, meaning it now sits awkwardly alongside cat photos, polite messages from your dad and baby photos from people you once worked with and now maintain a civil but ultimately pointless and doomed friendship with, in the internet sphere – hence hardcore VR porn seems a strange fit in the Facebook product portfolio.
He explains: "with the Facebook connection, I guess some people assumed that Oculus will want total control over what goes on the system. I guess a more informative way of presenting this news would be to say Oculus remains an open platform as previously promised, although that doesn't sound that interesting and doesn't have the word 'porn' in the headline."
We'll give the last word to DeathbyStereo, who has single-handedly killed our passing interest in Oculus Rift rudeness with his question: "Any of you blokes up for some co-op?"
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Week in Gaming: The unlikely but possible return of Shenmue - and why you should never cheat a zombie
The best thing about E3 is watching it from the comfort of your own sofa, in your pants, surrounded by the cheesy dust of whichever crisp brand is your favourite, with the option to shut off the TV and go to sleep whenever you choose. The worst thing about it is the no man's land of news that occurs up to three weeks before, when the game developers start to become more secretive than a spy with a secret, and publishers deny everything, no matter how innocuous ("are you coming to dinner tonight?" "I CAN'T SAY").
So, it's no surprise that it's a little quieter out there than usual, but there's still enough to feed all your news-hungry mouths. Take a look at John Smedley's approach to online cheaters in his zombie survival MMO H1Z1: not only did he and his team make the choice to ban around 25,000 less-than-honest players, he's now playing disappointed parent to their naughty children.
"Dear cheaters," he began in a tweet on Wednesday. "If you want us to even consider your apology a public YouTube apology is necessary. No personal information please. Email me the link." Five people in total submitted apology videos before the deadline, apologising for being bad, bad players, and those five people were admitted back into the game - although Smedley threatened to re-ban one player, who made his video private. That's just more cheating, dude!
The lesson to learn here is that parents need to educate their kids about cheating online. It might not be one of the usual parenting lessons, alongside how to tie your shoelaces and why you can't call strangers mean things, but perhaps it should - else find a strange man on the internet teaching your children about the "consequences". Next time, it'll be a spanking.
Going back to E3, an the rumour mill is starting to really up its momentum. First up, the only game that's more of an industry in-joke than Half-Life 3: Shenmue. After some blurry, leaked photos of some sort of trailer hit the internet, people started wildly extrapolating from the evidence worse than a dodgy scientist with a deadline. "The photo is of a jacket," they screamed. "The guy in Shenmue has a jacket!!!" Obviously, this means not only a sequel, but remastered versions of the originals, too. And if you don't believe me, then you're just a part of their SYSTEM, man. Fight the power.
And finally, in true "...and finally" style, let's wrap up with a story so weird, you can't help but think it's an elaborate PR stunt. Nintendo recently sent out a press release announcing the appointment of a new Sales VP in the US: Doug Bowser ("no relation to the King Koopa and Mario's long-time nemesis"). They greeted the new employee with a bunch of soft toys - including one of Mario and Luigi tied up. I love you, Nintendo.
Join me next week for an in-depth gushfest about how much I love/am terrible at Splatoon. Which reminds me - the final Splatoon Global Testfire kicks off today at 11pm UK/6pm EST/ 3pm PST.
This is a chance for Wii U owners to try out the online matches for free, but for one hour only. It's also your last chance to sample the game online before its release - so don't miss it, yeah?
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Android app support could be about to give Firefox OS a boost
CNET has seen an email from Mozilla Chief Executive Chris Beard that sets out some of the non-profit's new targets for Firefox OS. In particular, it sounds like the organisation's $25 smartphones could be abandoned.
These super-budget smartphones are aimed primarily at developing nations but Beard says they haven't seen "sufficient traction" so far. "We will not pursue all parts of the [$25 phone] program," he writes in the email.
Under a new initiative called Ignite, Mozilla wants to focus on compelling features rather than rock-bottom prices. "We will build phones and connected devices that people want to buy because of the experience, not simply the price," says Beard.
If the app fits
Android app support is an option that Mozilla is going to "explore" according to Beard. It could help increase adoption of Firefox OS as it looks to offer a genuine alternative to Android and iOS.The organisation's focus will remain firmly on web apps and open software development, however. The leaked email mentions improved offline support for these online apps as well as Firefox OS for other devices besides smartphones.
It's already on a number of smart television sets and the more exposure Mozilla can get the better. Whether or not you actually end up using Firefox OS, competition and innovation are vitally important for the mobile landscape as a whole.
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Innovators: Great tech innovators: Gabe Newell
- Age: 52
- Company: Valve
- Best known for: PC gaming, Half Life, Steam, Steam Machine
- Quote: "I'm not sure we're all going to put down our game controllers and pick up touch screens - which is a reasonable view, I'm just not sure I buy into it."
A 52-year-old former Microsoft man, newell made his first fortune in Redmond, but made himself a billionaire by taking the risk of leaving the software giant to set up Valve with Mike Harrington and work on Half-Life, one of the greatest games of all time.
Newell and Valve's ambition extended beyond just making great games however, and the launch of Half Life 2 on the company's proprietary Source engine, allowed Valve to push through a PC game digital distribution and delivery system called Steam, which quickly became ubiquitous and then a store front for the PC as Microsoft turned their attention to Xbox.
Now, Valve is using Steam at the heart of its plan for the next era of gaming with Steam Machines and, yet, it is Newell's first party games that will perhaps define success or failure of that platform and also others (like VR).
And yes - we are talking about Half Life 3.
- In partnership with Microsoft, powered by the HP Spectre 360
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New benchmarks tell us even more about the OnePlus Two
It's not easy trying to develop a flagship smartphone in secret, particularly when testing it out in the real world can leave all kinds of clues on the web. Benchmarking tests spilled some details about the OnePlus Two a couple of days ago, and now we have a fresh set to pore over.
Chinese site Ludashi has the new specs, which point to a device codenamed A2003 - it has a 1920 x 1080 pixel full HD screen, 3GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 810 processor to keep everything running smoothly.
Those internal specs are the same as the earlier leak but the screen resolution is new. It's another piece of the jigsaw to add while we wait for OnePlus to make an official announcement about its new handset.
OnePlus One is...
The leaked benchmarks also tag the phone as having a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel one around the front. That's slightly fewer megapixels for the main snapper than we were expecting based on previous rumours.Hopes are high for the OnePlus Two after the impression left by the OnePlus One - a top-quality handset at a respectable price. It picked up a far-from-shabby 4.5 stars out of 5 in the official TechRadar review.
We don't know anything officially so far except that the phone is on the way. A late 2015 release date has been mooted and the signs point to an invite-only launch, just like the OnePlus One.
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Opinion: Apple must placate angry developers – or slide towards obscurity
Introduction and searching issues
The words 'Apple' and 'developer problems' are not often used together. Ever since the App Store debuted in 2008, Apple has had strong developer ties, handing over cheques for billions of dollars per quarter in exchange for best-in-class apps on their iOS and OS X devices.'iOS First,' the idea that apps are made for iOS before Android, has become a common mantra amongst developers who believe that Apple's control of its ecosystem – there are, at any one time, only a handful of device permutations to develop for – create a better place to work and try out ideas. Numerous hit apps, from Angry Birds to Instagram, started out their life as iPhone-only, using the App Store to propel them to multi-billion dollar success.
Wrath of the developers
But increasingly developers have started to get angry with Apple. The company's iOS app review process causes much controversy, taking weeks to get a single, critical update into the hands of users, creating a rift not just between Apple and developers, but developers and users who have to endure potentially bug-ridden software for a long time before a fix is made available.The App Store, on both iOS and Mac, has undoubtedly been a force for good, spawning many, many businesses and providing a way for a small-time developer to reach millions of customers. But the niggles hold it back from being a truly flourishing relationship.
Google recently unveiled a new app review process that incorporated humans for the first time but, critically, does not force developers to wait weeks for the app to either be accepted or rejected. By using algorithms to flag potential issues – bad code, copyrighted or offensive material – Google's testers only have to focus on the 'bad' apps, rather than wasting time approving the good ones.
Due to the market dynamics of Android and iOS, it's unlikely that vast swathes of developers are going to switch overnight, but it does make the grass on the other side seem a little greener and more appealing, a potentially vast problem for Apple.
Searching woes
Beyond the review process, App Store discovery has been described as "broken," or words to that effect, too many times to count. Searching for apps can yield strange results with some developers deliberately adding popular app names to their app name. Searching for Skype, for example, produces a result for a picture enhancement app, something that is totally unrelated to video calls.Despite acquiring Chomp back in 2012, search and discovery in the App Store is still perennially flawed. Many independent developers not backed by big studios find it hard to get their app out there, usually via a spot on the 'Featured' page which is controlled by Apple. This may seem like a small issue, but Apple should be incredibly wary of how developers see the company – iOS is, in part, great because of its strong and rich app ecosystem, and alienating developers certainly won't help the operating system.
Hardware neglect
One of the more recent issues on Apple's list of worries was discovered by developer Craig Hockenberry, the creator of Twitterrific, the first third-party Twitter app. In a saltily entitled blog post, Hockenberry shone a light on a system process that has bugged many OS X users called "discoveryd".The process isn't new, in fact it's been a problem that has persisted for many users for months and yet Apple has done nothing about it. Hockenberry describes how he provided "tons of documentation to Apple engineering" when he first discovered "discoveryd" in the Yosemite beta, back in early 2015, and yet Cupertino still went ahead and shipped the finished version of the operating system with the same problem.
Alienating developers in this way adds absolutely nothing to Apple's credibility, and could cause long lasting damage in terms of the firm's relationship with these important people. The resurgence of Microsoft could be enough to lure developers away, especially considering the exciting ways in which Windows 10 can be used across multiple devices. Google also benefits from iOS developer apathy, providing a clear alternative to the App Store, albeit a less economically viable one.
Pushing devs into the arms of competitors seems an absolutely idiotic move from Apple's perspective and it's unclear why steps haven't been taken to remedy the situation.
High-end neglect
In some ways, it isn't just software that Apple has neglected. The Mac Pro, the device for the high-end user, was neglected for over three years before receiving an update in 2013. Since 2013, very little has changed and there have been a conspicuous lack of rumours about an update for 2015.Of course, there is still the iMac, a machine which can be tuned up to Mac Pro-style performance and comes with a screen, but the lack of care for high-end users seems to be a symbolic issue for Apple, representative of the company's changing style as it goes forward. It's impossible to force Cupertino into catering for a particular market – especially one as niche as £2,500 ($3,000 in the US, which is around AU$3,750) and up desktops – but Apple as a company was built on a foundation of "the high-end" and ignoring those users seems like bad business.
Slippery slope
While it's unlikely that Apple is facing a coup right now, if the problems do not get solved quickly then the company could be in serious trouble. iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 are both coming up this summer and could provide fixes to these issues, but equally, Apple could choose to ignore the complaints and carry on regardless.The quality of iOS and OS X updates has been the focus of much scrutiny lately with some speculating that in order to push out more features – including a complete redesign in iOS 7 – Apple has sacrificed quality, allowing obvious and annoying bugs into the final versions of the operating systems.
Catering to hundreds of millions of users is hard, but Apple is the biggest company on Earth, and it seems contemptuous of its user base to ignore issues that have a direct impact on products and, ultimately, how the company is perceived. Ignoring users is a slippery slope and we could just be witnessing the beginning of the end, as those who are most committed to the ecosystem are alienated.
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The thrill is gone, but iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 may be more stable
iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 won’t fall far from Apple’s existing tree, as the iPhone, iPad and Mac software updates will reportedly skip flashiness for more stability.
It should come as no surprise that the iPhone’s newest operating system won’t boast a plethora of features as past releases have. Both iOS 7 and iOS 8 were plagued with performance and stability issues over multiple releases and Apple looks to beef up iOS 9’s stability, rather than its wow factor.
However, according to 9to5Mac, iOS 9 will add at least 3 major new features, in addition to the ones we’ve already heard about.
iOS 9 features
The first is a kernel-level feature called “Rootless” that Apple believes will deliver a “huge blow” to all the jailbreakers out there. The report says Rootless will “prevent even administrative-level users from being able to access certain protected files on Apple devices.”Undoubtedly, Apple is still sweating from the heat it caught after the iCloud hack last year that left several celebrities’ private photos as public domain. Most likely in response, “iCloud Drive” will be a part of iOS 9 and will bump up the encryption strength and IMAP sync speed of the cirrostratus storage system.
The final iOS 9 feature detailed in the leak is something called “Trusted Wi-Fi” to increase encryption on wireless networks that may not be on the up-and-up.
Another interesting tidbit in the leak is Apple’s alleged plans to make a “core version” of iOS 9 for older devices, such as the iPhone 4S and the iPad Mini. This strategy would be a pleasant departure from the last few iOS releases, which have been buggy on old devices and ended up either aiming customers toward Apple’s next big thing, or pushing them to find a new handset.
OS X 10.11 add-ons
If these reports are true, the new OS X is getting some performance and stability support, as well as a couple of unique features.The main add-on is an iPhone-esque “Control Center” that will move many menu bar functions to a pane that slides from the left side of your display. This will provide additional control of music and other iOS functions. Although the report says the testing of Control Center has been in flux and may get pushed back.
The new OS X will also feature some small interface tweaks that began with OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
Will we see a departure from recent Apple history with a focus on stability and, intriguingly, legacy compatibility? Owners of yesteryear’s Apple devices would like to think so.
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Apple and IBM MobileFirst apps hit the Apple Watch
Apple Watch is about to take the enterprise by storm after Apple added support for the wearable to some of its IBM MobileFirst apps.
The Cupertino-based firm moved to update its enterprise apps page to reflect the fact that certain apps developed as part of the partnership with IBM, such as Hospital RN, can now be used with the Apple Watch. Hospital RN is an app that allows nurses to do their jobs more efficiently by providing them with on-the-go data and alerts.
Field Connect, an energy and utility app, provides similar functionality for those working in the field. It is designed to give technicians the data they need fast while in the field.
The Incident Alert app for public safety personnel is another that can now be used on the Apple Watch. Incident Alert allows emergency services to access GPS map data, a video feed of an incident, and the position of those affected by the incident at any time.
Joining Salesforce
The two firms first agreed to the marriage last year with a range of different apps that take advantage of IBM's lead in the enterprise space and Apple mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad and now the Apple Watch.Apple and IBM aren't the only companies pushing apps onto the Apple Watch. Salesforce detailed its plans to bring analytics and developer tools to the Apple Watch with three different apps to allow users to take advantage of the cloud based offering.
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Apple TV's rumored local channel service may dash hopes of WWDC unveiling
Apple may venture into unchartered waters with its own TV service, by offering up access to live programming on local channels...eventually.
Re/code reports Apple is looking to set its upcoming Web TV service apart from the competition by giving customers in cities around the US programming from their local channels. Its main rival, Sling, boasts affordable online TV without the cable company hassle at around $20/month, while rumors indicate that Apple plans to price its service in the $30-40 range.
According to one executive familiar with Apple’s plan, the service is meant to have mass appeal, saying, “this is supposed to be for 30 million people.” Wider appeal is certainly a valid strategy for persuading would-be customers to spring for the extra $10-20 a month over Sling.
Patience is a virtue
Apple’s ambitious moves may come at price, as negotiations for local broadcasts are a tangled web of sorting use rights and franchises for every station. If Apple aims to include local programming with its Web TV service, it’s unlikely that we’ll hear its announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference on June 8.The Cupertino company will also be hard-pressed to meet its rumored goal of a fall release for its TV service. Historically, negotiations for local broadcasts and commercials can take months, even years. ABC spent two years getting the rights to local programming to broadcast on its Watch ABC app, which only works in 8 cities.
It’s probable that Apple won’t meet its previous fall deadline for the upcoming Web TV service, but sources close to Apple say the company is optimistic about its eventual launch. Until then, we will just have to buy some rabbit ears and watch our local weatherman the old fashioned way.
Apple’s WWDC starts June 8 at 11am PST and 2pm EST
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Office Now may be Cortana for your work life
Soon, you'll be able to speak to your phone to tell it to "Send my financial presentation deck to Sarah," thanks to a personal Office assistant feature.
Cortana, the digital assistant that will ship with Windows 10, may land in Office in the future to serve as your work assistant. The unannounced feature, now known as Office Now, is said to be a rebrand of the earlier rumored Work Assistant.
How it works
Like Cortana, Office Now is a virtual assistant. However, Office Now will live within Office and can respond to spoken or typed queries, according to leaked screenshots posted by ZDNet. Office Now uses natural language recognition, and users can command it to send or share their files with named colleagues using voice. Other commands include find, open, view, edit, load and email.According to the screenshots, Office Now can search using metadata for file names, file locations, file types and last access dates. Additionally, Office Now can help with scheduling meetings, planning travel and joining conference calls. It will show events that require travel and display information in a UI featuring Cards, similar to Google Now and Delve.
Cross-platform
Information from Twitter user @h0x0d suggests that Office Now will be a cross-platform solution, with plans to arrive on Windows, iOS and Android. This makes sense as Microsoft is leveraging Office as a service. Also, Microsoft has stated that it intends to port Cortana to rival platforms, so making Office Now broadly available to other mobile Office users would fall in line with that strategy.It's possible that Office Now is leveraging the power of Cortana. Microsoft stated that Cortana can be used to drive business intelligence at Ignite 2015, its inaugural enterprise client summit.
"Cortana has an extensibility framework so other third-party providers can connect to Cortana to let me use natural voice commands to extract business information from their systems," Stella Chernyak of the Windows team told TechRadar at Ignite. "It's one thing to use Cortana personally and another when you can join Azure Active Directory to get access and it's so relevant to you. I'm meeting a customer; I can ask Cortana 'what is their profile or what did we talk about last time'."
Office Now may be the first of multiple assistant apps for Microsoft. A job posting for the Bing engineering team uncovered by ZDNet reveals that Microsoft is looking for a scientist interested in working on "Personal Assistants" – note the plural.
"Are you interested in joining the team that has powered natural language understanding for Cortana and Bing and is now at the forefront of Personal Assistants, Productivity, Enterprise and Entertainment products for Microsoft," the posting reads.
In the past, Bill Gates had said that he is involved with work on personal assistant technologies as part of his return to Microsoft.
Via: ZDNet
- Read our review of Office 2016
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HP split will cost billions
Hewlett-Packard will absorb more than $2 billion (around £1.29 billion, or AU$2.56 billion) in costs as part of its move to split the company in two later this year.
Speaking after a lukewarm results release, CEO Meg Whitman told analysts that "dis-synergy" costs for the split will total between $400 million (around £258.3 million, or AU$511 million) and $450 million (around £290.6 million, or AU$575 million) that will be "divided equally between the two companies," according to Fortune.
In addition to that charge it will spend $1.8 billion (around £1.16 billion, or AU$2.3 billion) in restructuring and $950 million (around £613 million, or AU$1.2 billion) in taxes to make sure that the split goes off without a hitch. Although Cathie Lesjak, HP's CFO, went on to explain that splitting the firm in will create "two new efficient" companies and present "significant opportunities for cost reductions" that could total as much as $1 billion (around £650 million, or AU$1.28 billion).
HP, in its current unified form, took $25.5 billion (around £16.4 billion, or AU$32.5 billion) in revenue during Q2 2015, down on the $27.3 billion (around £17.6 billion, or AU$34.8 billion) of the year before.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise is expected to be the stronger of the two new firms and HP's current enterprise group took in $6.56 billion (around £4.24 billion, or AU$8.38 billion) in revenue during the quarter compared to the $6.63 billion (around £4.28 billion, or AU$8.45 billion) it generated last year. Even with this being the case it saw a jump in revenue for its servers to $3.12 billion (around £2.02 billion, or AU$3.999 billion) from $2.83 billion (around £1.83 billion, or AU$3.62 billion) last year and the small drop off can be blamed on the storage and networking products.
Scaling back in China
HP Inc, meanwhile, will be focused on PCs and printers, taking over from the printing and personal systems group. That part of the company saw revenue drop from $14.01 billion (around £9.05 billion, or AU$17.91 billion) last year to $13.19 billion (around £8.52 billion, or AU$16.86 billion) this year due to a weaker than expected performance in the PC sector.Lastly, the firm also announced that it is scaling back it Chinese operations in the face of a drop in demand due to US spying revelations. As part of this move it has sold 51% of its Far East data networking operation to Tsinghua Holdings for $2.3 billion (around £1.49 billion, or AU$2.94 billion) and is hanging on to the parts of the business that are less politically sensitive.
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Review: Vodafone Smart Prime 6
Introduction and design
We're at a time in smartphone evolution when budget phones are actually not all that bad (see also: digital cameras and laptops) – and that means you can save yourself some money without ending up with a real clunker of a handset.Apple and Samsung may hog the limelight, but not everyone cares what a Snapdragon is, or necessarily want to spend the money to get one. Do you want your phone to run first-person shooters smoothly or just cover the basics? There are more people in the latter camp than you might think.
Into that context comes the Vodafone Smart Prime 6, one of the new breed of 'own-brand' phones that the networks are releasing (such as the EE Harrier Mini). Available in the UK, it costs £79 with a pay-as-you-go SIM included.
That's pretty much the cheapest way to get 4G today and you get yourself a 5-inch 720 x 1280 pixel display, 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor and Android 5.0 Lollipop thrown into the mix, too.
If you're really tight for cash, there's a £40 derivative called the Smart First 6: with a poor camera, slower processor, smaller screen and Android KitKat, you're definitely better off paying the extra £39.
The camera is a serviceable 8-megapixel shooter and there's a 2-megapixel model on the front. 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage (expandable via memory card) round out the key specs. I'm not sure of the battery size, but we've asked Vodafone for clarification.
Design
Vodafone isn't going to win any international design awards with the Smart Prime 6, but it's well constructed and feels comfortable to hold. The back panel is nicely finished grey plastic and a metallic trim around the screen adds a small touch of class.You'd struggle to find anything particularly interesting or innovative about the design of the phone. It's nicely rounded and curved at the corners and the build quality suggests you're going to get a good number of years' service from it.
As I've said, the paltry 8GB internal storage can be expanded via microSD card up to an extra 64GB of room, so that's not so much of an issue. You're probably going to need a card if you're at all into your music or movies.
The screen is something of a disappointment – it's not really sharp or bright enough for my liking, but it's usable. You're probably going to want to have it ramped up at maximum brightness most of the time.
It's a world away from something such as the Nexus 6 display, but then you are forking out around one-fifth of the money.
Button and port positions are all standard, with a headphone socket on top and the microUSB connector underneath. The back is removable, but the battery isn't – flipping off the case lets you get at the memory card and SIM card slots.
Key features, performance and battery
Key features
£79 is a steal for a 4G smartphone, and I'd say the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 is money well spent. Display aside, it takes care of all of the basics well, and Lollipop is the best Google-flavoured OS yet by some distance.
Vodafone
includes its own little suite of apps on the phone: Discover (which
looks like special offers and support information), MyWeb (a
Vodafone-flavoured home page for your browser) and Updates
(self-explanatory).You can install additional tools from Vodafone to monitor your account and connection speeds. They're all largely underwhelming and very much optional. There's Smart Flow, too, a collection of live wallpapers.
The only real reason you're going to pick up this phone is if you want the best value for money or you've taken a shine to a Vodafone sales assistant. Does it give you all the basics you need at a rock-bottom price? Absolutely.
Lollipop is actually the real star here – the latest Android upgrade is so polished and comprehensive that you feel you're using a much better phone. Vodafone has done something strange to make the navigation buttons neon blue, but otherwise it's largely untouched, which is good.
Performance
Vodafone's promotional blog post describes the 1.2GHz CPU as "monstrous" – come on Vodafone, you're not fooling anyone – but it gets the job done most of the time.
Trying
to scroll down complex websites does occasionally feel like trying to
scroll through treacle and there is noticeable lag every now and again
when using the phone.I wouldn't exactly describe it as "snappy", but most apps move along at a respectable pace. That said, it feels like the bare minimum for what you'd want to run Lollipop on (probably why the aforementioned Smart First 6 goes back to KitKat).
I didn't dare install any game with serious clout for fear of breaking the review handset (not that there was enough room to install most major games on the internal storage anyway). Endless runner Subway Surfers ran fine – there was no stuttering or crashing there.
Geekbench 3 came back with a multi-core score of 1414 – compare that with the top-of-the-pile Samsung Galaxy S6 at 4846 and that says just about all you need to know performance-wise.
Battery life
I used the Smart Prime 6 in the same way I'd use my normal phone for a couple of days – that is to say, not very much – and usually ended up with around 70-75% battery left at the end of the day.
That's a bit of texting, a bit of web browsing, a couple of YouTube clips (it was lunchtime after all) and a call or two. Even if you're on your phone all the time, you should comfortably make it through a full day – if you're not, it'll last you well into the early hours and the next morning.
It would seem dim, low-resolution screens do have an advantage after all in terms of battery savings, but don't get the wrong impression – this isn't a workhorse that will last you for days.
Our regular battery test – a 90-minute HD video on full brightness – took the phone down from 100% to 90%, which is way up at the top of the charts (the Galaxy S6 went down to 84%, the Moto G dropped all the way to 74%).
With a low-powered CPU and a so-so screen, you'd expect battery life to be decent, but nevertheless it's good to know that the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 can stay juiced for a very respectable length of time.
The essentials and camera
The essentials
As a phone that sticks to the basics, the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 actually does them rather well – calls, texts and web browsing are all neatly taken care of. Of course, all of these operations look better on a QHD screen but you get what you pay for.The stock apps for these essential functions remain largely unchanged from stock Android, though the Messenger app for SMS has been given a red coat of paint in honour of the Vodafone network.
The
keyboard is very much stock Lollipop, too. As always, you can install
something a little bit different if you don't like it, but it worked
well for me. For some reason, Flipboard is to the left of the main home
screen rather than Google Now.In the launcher settings, you can switch between the standard home screen and a simplified version that uses larger icons and fewer options. Presumably, it's for those who are older or less tech-savvy (or both), but it's not something most people will play around with.
If all you're going to use the Smart Prime 6 for is basic phone functions, with a little bit of web surfing and social networking thrown in, then you won't come across any problems.
As well as the standard speaker for calls, there's a single one around the back too, but audio is only OK and nothing more. You can, of course, watch Netflix on this handset but it's not an audio and visual experience you'll be raving about for days afterwards.
Camera
Tie your colours to the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 mast and you know in advance you're not going to be winning any photography competitions with this handset.
An 8-megapixel snapper on an own-brand handset doesn't exactly inspire confidence, and the photos taken by the phone were by and large pretty underwhelming, with details getting blurred and noisy.
The phone struggles particularly with low light, surprise surprise, and though there is an HDR mode to try to lighten up shadows and darken highlights it's not particularly refined – you'd be better off using a desktop application to do the same job.
All that said, what are we really taking mobile photos for anyway? The Smart Prime 6 is fine for quick and dirty social media posts and can even snap a decent picture if the lighting is right.
Shutter speed is fast, the interface is clean and uncluttered (it's actually better than Google's Camera app in that respect) and it's not going to let you down very often. As with every component of this phone, you have to remember the price level we're talking about.
The full HD video clips are fine, too. As with budget phones as a whole, we've now reached a stage where any mobile is going to be at least passable in the camera department, and that's exactly what this is.
Camera samples
Click here to see the full resolution version of this image
Click here to see the full resolution version of this image
Click here to see the full resolution version of this image
Click here to see the full resolution version of this image
Verdict
The Vodafone Smart Prime 6 is an under-powered, ultra-cheap phone that still gives you 4G and Android Lollipop. Is the money you save worth the loss in performance and screen quality? For a lot of people, probably yes.It certainly looks and feels like a more expensive phone than it is, and if you can put up with response times that are a little under par, then it's a great-value option that gives you a close-to-stock Android experience.
We liked
With the EE Harrier priced at £99 this is lowest price you can find for 4G and Lollipop right now, so in terms of value for money it's right at the top end of the market.The design isn't spectacular but the build quality is good and it's a nicely finished phone – you won't feel embarrassed to take it out of your pocket.
Then there's the excellent battery life, helped by the average screen and internal specs. It's not a phone that will have you sweating about trying to find a recharging point.
Lollipop is excellent, too, and Vodafone hasn't messed around with it too much. Being right up-to-date with Android counts for a lot.
We disliked
The screen is a bit of a let-down, though it's good enough for the money you're paying. Some extra brightness and resolution would certainly be welcome.Then there's the performance issues – even on simple tasks you're going to notice a few pauses, and that gets worse the more apps you run. A powerhorse this is not.
Finally the camera, which despite a decent interface and fast operation produces pictures that are very average. If you want great shots you'll need to carry a separate camera with you.
There are other various niggles, but there's nothing to strongly dislike about the Smart Prime 6.
Final verdict
As a tech journalist, I've played around with some of the best phones on the planet and even I'd be tempted by the Smart Prime 6 at this price. For me, the performance is just a little too sluggish to make this a must-buy, but it certainly makes you see those top-end expensive flagships in a different light, and Vodafone deserves credit for that.It can't hold a candle to the iPhones and S6s of this world, but if you go in thinking this is the cheapest 4G phone on the market you're going to come out pleasantly surprised. The fact that Lollipop is here is a big factor, as Google has done wonders with its newest OS.
It's difficult to give the Smart Prime 6 a high score, because it's slow and the screen's uninspiring, but for those shopping around at the bottom end of the market it's well worth shortlisting.
First reviewed: April 2015
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