Google Nexus X preview

Google’s elusive Nexus X, a smartphone the company has yet to officially reveal, but quite obviously exists, is rumoured to launch later this month.

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As usual, internet rumours claim to know almost everything about the phone before it’s even been announced. The Nexus X’s technical specifications are supposedly as follows:
 
5.92-inch display ,2560 x 1440 resolution, 498 ppi,Snapdragon 805 processor
3 GB of RAM
A model with 32 GB of storage
3,200 mAh battery
13 MP rear camera, 4K UHD video capable
2 MP front-facing camera

The Nexus X’s much bigger, 5.92-inch display makes it about an inch larger than the Nexus 5’s screen and has the smartphone’s display size edging into phablet territory. This means the Nexus’ display is even larger than the iPhone 6 Plus’ 5.5-inch screen, which could frustrate users who actually like to fit their cell phone in their front pocket.
 
Google’s Nexus X is also expected to look a lot like Motorola’s flagship phone, the Moto X, only slightly larger and with volume and power buttons that have been shifted down the phone’s body. Since the Moto X is widely regarded as one of the top Android smartphones on the market right now, the Nexus X sharing similarities with Motorola’s flagship phone is definitely not a bad thing.

 
In terms of release date, the Nexus One was released in Jan, 2010, the Nexus S was released in Dec. 2010, the Galaxy Nexus was released in Nov. of 2011, the Nexus 4 was released on Nov. 12 and the Nexus 5 was released in Oct of 2013. If history is set to repeat itself, and it often does when it comes to smartphone release dates, the Nexus X will likely be released sometime in October or early November.
 
If it doesn’t, the Nexus X will definitely be released before the end of Q4 2014. This means we should be able to get our hands on Google’s next flagship smartphone before the end of the holiday season.
 
Rumours have circulated for a while that the Nexus brand would be killed off in favour of Google’s upcoming Android Silver line of smartphones, a program that encourages manufacturers to build high-quality phones featuring a basic version of the Android operating system, giving users a more pure Android experience.
 
nexus x
Popular Android rumour website 9To5Google apparently go their hands on leaked images of the Nexus X. 9To5Google
While Google’s Android Silver line will still launch in Feb. 2015 with an LG device leading the first wave of smartphones, the company also still seems to have plans to continue its Nexus line.
 
The Nexus X will likely be the first smartphone to launch with Android L, also known as Lollipop, although some experts think Android L might be named after a different desert delicacy, Lemon Meringue Pie.
 
The smartphone is also expected to interact closely with Google’s also still unannounced Nexus Gem smartwatch and that both the smartwatch and the Nexus X will be released at the same time and interact together in some way.
 
In terms of price, things are still unclear. Some rumours indicate the Nexus X could cost somewhere between the $350 to $400 range, which means it’ll have a price tag very similar to the Nexus 5’s.
 
Source : fox.com

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Microsoft wants more smartphone market share

Microsoft acquired Nokia’s devices and services unit for $7.2 billion in a transaction that closed last April.

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At the ongoing IFA event in Germany, Microsoft leveraged the fruits of this acquisition with the planned launch of three new smartphones in the coming months.

While Lumia 830 will replace Lumia 820 that was launched last year, Lumia 730 and 735 will replace Lumia 720.

All three new phones have bigger screen size, memory and better cameras compared to the predecessors.

Although the prices for these new phones have not been disclosed yet, we believe that they will be priced similar to the previous models i.e. near $200 for Lumia 730 and 735, and below $350 for Lumia 830.

In this article, we will explore how these launches fits into Microsoft’s strategy to boost its revenues.

Unlike developed countries where smartphone penetration is above 50%, it is below 25% in many developing countries.

While the adoption of smartphones in developed countries fueled the first wave of global growth, strong demand in emerging markets will drive the next phase.

Currently, the sale of sub-$200 smartphones is prevalent in emerging countries, and we believe that with the availability of smartphones offering better functionality than the existing phones, smartphone adoption and penetration can rise.

According to IDC, global smartphone shipments are on the rise and set to surpass 1.2 billion unit mark this year. 

In Q2 2014, smartphone sales edged past the 300 million mark with substantial growth in sub-$200 smartphone.

High smartphone growth is the result of a variety of factors including steep device subsidies from carriers in developed countries, as well as a growing array of sub-$200 smartphones.

Additionally, Reportbuyer.com forecasts smartphone shipments to grow to 3.9 billion by 2018.

Despite the expected increase in smartphone shipments, the expected shipment figure in emerging regions such as Asia-Pacific will be less than 50%.

We believe this presents an excellent opportunity for smartphone manufacturers that have a sizable market share in these regions.

To capitalize on this opportunity, Microsoft, which has rights to market new smartphone under Nokia’s brand name, is launching upgrades to its existing line of Lumia phones.

By doing so, Microsoft hopes to capture a bigger chunk in the highly competitive emerging markets as Nokia’s brand name is still widely recognized in these countries. Currently, Windows phones’ share in smartphone market is 2.5%. 

If Microsoft can increase its market share to 10% by launching feature rich but cheaper smartphones, which have an average cost of $130, it can generate $50 billion in revenues by 2018.

We have $44 price estimate for Microsoft, which is in line with the current market price.

Source : Forbes.com

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Smartphones breathalyzer module

The makers of the new "DrinkMate" for smartphones hope that putting a breathalyzer in a user's pocket will make him or her think twice about getting behind the wheel while drunk.

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Washington D.C.-based Edge Tech Labs claim the "DrinkMate" is the smallest breathalyzer in the world. It measures just 1.8 inches long and weighs an almost non-existent 0.2 oz.

Users connect the breathalyzer to a smartphone's miniUSB charging port and blow into an "innovative air inlet" to get their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level displayed on screen almost instantly.

The DrinkMate claims to have an accuracy of +/- 0.01% BAC at a BAC of 0.02%. Additionally, the device can measure a maximum BAC level up to 0.20% BAC, which should be more than enough for anyone seriously considering a drive home after a night of heavy drinking.

Edge Tech Labs is looking to raise $40,000 on Kickstarter over the next three weeks to help manufacture the tiny device, which costs just $25 for those "early birds" who donate to the project.

A $235 pledge will get a donor ten DrinkMates, while a $3,000 pledge will get the donor a flight to Washington D.C. with hotel accommodations to meet the team behind DrinkMate and learn how the device was created. 

The project has already raised $32,423 of the $40,000 goal from nearly 900 backers with 24 days left.

The breathalyzer is currently only compatible with a select few Android smartphones, including Samsung's Galaxy line, the HTC One, and Motorola's Moto X.

The device makers claim on the product's Kickstarter page that an iPhone version will be developed should the project meet its fundraising goals for the Android platform.

It's easy to imagine how a small, inexpensive breathalyzer could help save lives in states like North Dakota and Montana, which are ranked one and two, respectively, in states with the most deaths related to drunk driving as of 2012, the last year such data is available. 

Source :breitbart.com

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Bigger screen for smartphones

Within two weeks, the smartphone landscape will have changed drastically from where it stands today, with the likely introduction of at least one iPhone 6, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and perhaps a few new models from Motorola, including the rumored Moto x+1.

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What these upcoming flagship phones all have in common is that they're expected to be either big or bigger than their predecessors.

The Galaxy Note 4 will likely stay with the huge 5.7-inch display size now on the Note 3, while the new iPhone will grow to 4.7 inches and the Moto X+1 is rumored to be larger than 5 inches.

Of course, there's also speculation that a larger, 5.5-inch iPhone 6 could also be introduced.

A few years ago, "phablet"-size phones, with screens that creep near or beyond the 5-inch (diagonal) threshold, were chastised for being overgrown, but now any overgrowth seems to be in the worldwide demand for such big-screen phones.

Even Apple -- once notorious for creating and leading markets because hey, Steve Jobs just knows what you want better than you do -- seems ready to capitulate to the trend and supply that demand.

Yes, I know you all have friends and family who love their little phones and bemoan the coming of bigger screens, but increasingly they're swimming against the current of global smartphone fanatics.

"Our data clearly shows that bigger is better for most consumers," the report reads.

In June, RBC Capital Markets surveyed 4,000 consumers and found that 35 percent of people who have no plans to buy an iPhone would change their mind if the iPhone 6 increased its screen size from the current stature of the iPhone 5S.

Also earlier this year, Accenture conducted on online survey of 23,000 consumers in 23 countries and found that nearly half (48 percent) of those who plan to buy a smartphone this year prefer a phablet to a smaller phone

"The phablet screen size is hitting a sweet spot," said David Sovie, managing director of Accenture's Communications, Media and Technology group.

Bigger isn't just a thing in Texas and the rest of the US, either. Earlier this month, CNET reported on a survey that found even folks in emerging economies like Brazil, India, Kenya and Mexico want taller phones.

Oh, and if you're one of those people who feels like a five-inch phone screen is already too much of a handful -- literally! -- another summer survey, from UK-based Netbiscuits, found that six-inch and larger screens are the smartphone category seeing the most growth and that 5- to 5.9-inch screen phones "will increase dramatically" in the US.

Forget Sharknadoes, "Attack of the Monster Phablets" could be coming to a theater or Netflix queue near you.

It also seems that even iPhone fans, who've held strong to their smaller displays as the Samsung Galaxys of the world have gone bigger, crave a little more screen real estate.

Phone buyback site Glyde surveyed 500 people who have recently bought or sold an iPhone on the site about which feature was most important in their next phone purchase.

"23 percent said a larger screen size," a Glyde representative told me in an e-mail. "This is up from 12 percent of people ranking screen size as most important when asked the same question last year."

So, bigger is clearly the direction the smartphone world is going, but if you still don't believe that bigger is also better, there might be one man who can convince you.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently said that even he would like to see an iPhone with a bigger screen.

Fortunately for Woz, it seems like Tim Cook and others are listening.

Source :cnet.com

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samsung s4 reviews

Tech experts have commenced their test drives on the Galaxy S4 and the general sentiment is - the Samsung flagship is fairly good but another Android handset, the HTC One, will surely give it some tough moments.

Samsung S4

The HTC One was announced on 19 February, but might not arrive in shops until April. (Credit: Reuters)

Many were impressed that the GS4 delivers new Smart features, some of which were rollovers from the rousingly successful Galaxy S3, but the overall package seems to fall short of expectations, which are quite high.

It is expected that the GS3 replacement surpass the achievements collected by Samsung last year, among them global sales that so far breached the 40 million mark. Unfortunately, it hard to imagine that the4 GS4 will even replicate such feat, the reviews said.

For Wall Street Journal tech guru Walt Mossberg, the quad-core GS4 (in some markets it would be 8-core on Exynos CPU) is hardly a game changer. He reached that assessment after four days of toying with the Android device.

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"While I admire some of its features, overall, it isn't a game-changer ... It's a good phone, just not a great one," said Mr Mossberg.

He added that some of the new functions were rather confusing than amusing.

The Verge concurs, bemoaning that for all the mouth-watering spec bump ups afforded to the new Galaxy premium phone it is both noisy and complicated.

The GS4 could even pass up as a minor update of the GS3, David Pogue of the New York Times observed.

"The Galaxy is still a beautiful, high-horsepower Android phone. But basically, it's an updated Galaxy S3," his review offered.

While the Samsung handset will not disappoint Android fans, something else would easily deliver the goods with a bonus - sturdier body-build. Jessica Dolcourt of CNET pointed to the HTC One, which takes its pride on casing that is composed of an aluminium unibody chassis plus a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for a reliable screen protection.

HTC's premium the One is the far more impressive phone physically, and has a much fresher interface design to boot," Ms Dolcourt said on her review.

David Pierce of The Verge affirmed that HTC One is the better buy because it "is refined, quiet, comfortable, beautiful, and above all simply pleasant,"

Mr Mossberg argued too that gadget buyers will get more from the One while paying for almost the same price. "The HTC has a handsome, sturdier, aluminium body, dual stereo speakers, an excellent camera, better screen resolution ... and twice the base memory for the same price," he explained.

Source : au.ibtimes.com
Tags : samsumg, technology, smartphone, s4, samsung s4,

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Samsung galaxy note review

Tablets, smartphones and security fears topped our list of most popular stories this week, with the Samsung Galaxy Note in at number one. 


V3 readers were keen to check out the tablet/smartphone hybrid which we rated an impressive four stars thanks to its Super Amoled HD screen and HSPA+ support.


On the same theme, our top 10 tablets and top 10 smartphones to give as Christmas gifts proved popular among V3 readers looking for some advice or ideas for presents for the family.

Samsung galaxy note

Security fears pervaded the top 10 once again, with news of a critical Adobe flaw, a hefty Patch Tuesday from Microsoft and privacy concerns over the latest NFC bank cards all proving popular.


On the smartphone side, news of a Windows Phone SMS bug and Android malware stats also piqued the interest of V3 readers.


Samsung Galaxy Note review
An excellent Android smartphone/tablet hybrid with a handy little stylus 




Source : V3.com
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