New Tablets Surface at Microsoft

The biggest Tablet News since the March release of the New iPad was last week’s unveiling of Surface, Microsoft’s own line of New Tablets based on Windows RT and Windows 8. Both Win 8 Tabs, introduced last week in Los Angeles, were designed and built by Microsoft itself. Price and release date for the new tablets are still question marks.
The Surface Pro and Surface RT versions look very similar, but there are key differences between the two. We’ll first discuss the RT and then point out some of the differences between it and the Microsoft Surface Pro.
Windows RT Surface Tab
As far as specs, the Windows RT Surface Tablet is powered by a yet-to-be-named ARM-based chipset. The new tablet weighs slightly less than 1.5 lbs (676 grams) and features a 10.6-inch, 16:9 ratio high definition screen display under Gorilla Glass II. Both USB 2.0 and HDMI-out ports are integrated into the side of the tablet’s thin 9.3-millimeter case. The magnesium case features a neat pullout kickstand that props up the device on a table or desk while using a keyboard or watching video.
The tablet’s case has a magnetized connector that holds a “Touch Cover” in place. This new, innovative tablet cover appears to be a winner – it’s only 3mm thick and serves double duty as a fully functional multi-touch keyboard and trackpad, The Touch Cover’s keyboard has touch-sensing keys that become inactive when the cover is closed.  Also, there’s “Type Cover”  as an alternative to the Touch Cover that’s a little thicker and features tactile keys that depress.
The MS Surface RT tab will be available with 32-gigabytes or 64-gigabytes of memory. This model appears to be geared for the consumer. It will come with Xbox Live as well as a native app for Netflix. The MS Surface RT will run Metro-style apps, engineered for Windows on ARM. According to Microsoft, its new Metro user interface and Windows 8 will provide the complete mobile solution for tablets. The new tablet will feature front- and rear-facing cameras optimized for Skype, which is owned by Microsoft.
MS Surface Pro Tab
The Windows 8 Pro MS Surface Tablet (or MS Surface Pro) is powered by an i5 processor from Intel. The tablet is a little heavier (903 grams vs 676 grams) and slightly thicker (13.5mm) than the ARM Surface model. Also, its magnesium case features an innovative active vented cooling system to keep help cool the processor. With the Pro version, buyers will have a choice of 64 and 128 gigabytes of memory.
Microsoft seems to be positioning the Surface Pro as an enterprise-grade tablet that doubles as an ultrabook. Using the Intel processor, the Surface Pro will be able to run traditional Windows programs. The Pro’s screen resolution ( 1920×1080 ) is also better than the RT’s, although only cryptic details have emerged

on the RT’s screen resolution so far. There is also better peripheral support with the Pro version – USB 3.0 versus 2.0, DisplayPort, as well as SDXC expansion slot. The Pro tablet will also come with a stylus and a cover that reads writing with pen input and digital ink, sampled at 600 dpi.
Questions, Questions
Although there is much to appreciate about Microsoft’s new Surface tablets, it’s far too early for any definitive conclusion about the two upcoming mobile devices. The tablets are currently in prototype form only.  There’s still no definitive information regarding pricing, battery life, processor speed, etc., and reports are coming in that the Surface will be WiFi only (disheartening if true). Microsoft says the Surface RT tablet will come out around the time Windows 8 ships (which is expected in the fall) and the Pro version will come out three months after that.
Microsoft says pricing for Surface for Windows RT will be similar to ARM-based tablets and the Pro version will be priced similar to ultrabooks.
Another question is how the OEMs and Microsoft Partners will ultimately respond to Microsoft building its own hardware. Prior to Microsoft’s announcement,  At least 12 OEMs had been expected to come out with their own Win 8 Tablets.
Initial assessments of Microsoft Surface have been mixed. For example,  PCWorld’s Ian Paul says early impressions of the tablet are generally positive, but we’ll have to “wait a few months yet to find out if the company’s promises will meet consumer expectations.” ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, however, says he fully expects Surface tablets to make his  end-of-year round-up of “tech flops”.

With so many unanswered questions and potentially 4-5 months to go before the RT version comes out, this upcoming new tablet from Microsoft already has “Saga” written all over it. Stay tuned.

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New Google Tablet – Nexus 7 Tab “Best of Class”

One of the most anticipated new Android Tablets coming out in 2012 – the Google Nexus 7 – has officially launched. The 7 inch Google Nexus Tab with 8GB capacity has a price of $199 (the same cost as the first generation Kindle Fire} and is currently available for order in the Google Play store as well a number of retail outlets. There’s also a 16 GB version with a $249 price tag. UK prices will be a reasonable £159 for 8GB onboard storage and £199 for the 16GB model.
Predictably, there are now growing rumors that there will be a 10-inch Google Nexus Tablet, Nexus 10, coming out before the holidays.
The 7 inch Google-branded tab, manufactured by Asus, provides home screen access to the continuously expanding Google Play, the search giant’s online marketplace/ecosystem that the company has developed and quicly grown to compete more directly with Amazon and Apple media stores.

Google reportedly had initially planned a May release date for the new tab, but decided to push it back in order to provide a better tablet for a lower unit cost — the company wanted to reduce the price from $249 to $199, and that meant design changes. If true, then it was worth the wait because the high performance components and features of the Google Nexus 7 truly separate it from other similar sized and priced Android Tabs currently on the market.  The bar has now been raised in the  smaller, lower-priced Android Tablet arena.
Google New Tab Specifications
This new Android tablet from Google sports a sleek (10.45mm thick) design, a nicely shaped bezel surrounding the screen and a rubberized back with a nubbly, dimpled pattern that provides for a good in-hand feel and makes the Nexus 7 Tab easy to grip. The new tablet weighs just 340g (0.7 pounds). High performance hardware includes a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution HD (216 pixels per inch) back-lit display measuring 7 inches on the diagonal. A Tegra 3 quad-core processor (a powerful chip usually reserved for higher-priced tablets)  powers the New Tab, and a 12 core GPU. Google says the tablet will give around 9 hours of battery life while playing at 720p HD video. Nice.
The new Google Nexus tablet comes ready for videoconferencing, equipped with a low-resolution front-facing web camera, built-in microphone and bluetooth for headset use. The new Nexus tab also has GPS chips for use with navigation software as well as one for near-field communications.  This allows the tablet to directly communicate with some Android phones and tablets as well as some store payment terminals when the tab is tapped against them.

The only features  lacking in the new tab include: no micro SD card slot for expandability/local storage, no back camera for taking photos or videos, and no cellular access. It comes with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n.
Know What I Mean, Jelly Bean?
The Nexus 7 comes with the latest version of the Android operating system – Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean”. This new OS has been finely tuned to run on this new tablet (and Galaxy Nexus smartphones), representing a significant upgrade for an Android-based tablet, providing a wide variety of new features and performance improvements.  Because the much improved “design polish” of the new OS provides a more consistent user interface and experience, this should also likely lead to better designed third-party apps.
 Tablet Has Gaming Edge
To say that the Google Nexus 7 Tab is a game-enabled Android Tab would be an understatement. It has 1GB of RAM, which provides for a smooth gaming experience.  In addition, its quad-core Nexus Tegra 3 CPU and a 12 core GPU allows developers to finally create complex games for this Android market segment. Gaming developer site Gamasutra reports that Google and Nvidia have both indicated that that several leading game companies are currently developing mobile games optimized for the Tegra 3 CPU, thereby further complimenting the tablet’s new hardware.

Shades of Things to Come?
Only two months ago, the headline for a post by Forbes Contributor Todd Hixon asked, “Are Android Tablets Dead?” Things have looked quite dire for the Android Tablet over the past two years, but by the end of his article, Hixon predicted a wave of new, lower-priced products coming out during the fall selling season that could help Android Tablets turn the corner.  With new releases like the new Nexus 7, as well as the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, he most likely will be proven correct. Given its $199 price, there’s very little to complain about Google’s new tablet. It’s an impressive tab that provides good value.  Hopefully this represents shades of things to come for Android in this increasingly aggressive market.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD – 7 & 8.9-Inch Feature-Rich Tablets

Amazon is coming out with two new Kindle Fire Tablets – the HD and HD 8.9″. Both tabs offer a full array of new features over the first Kindle Fire introduced last year. The base Fire remains in Amazon’s expanding stable of tablets and its price has dropped $40, to $159. Although it still has the original tab’s lower resolution 7-inch screen, it now has double the RAM, a 40 percent faster CPU and boasts longer battery life.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD Tablet
The new Kindle Fire HD has a 7-inch display with 1920×800 HD resolution and is available in 16GB and
32GB variations, priced $199 and $249, respectively. The new tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and is equipped with an HD front-facing camera that supports Skype integration, plus the new Amazon tab reportedly will provide the user with 11 hours of battery life. Amazon is indicating its HD tablets, which are outfitted with dual-band Wi-Fi, will receive faster download speeds when compared to the New iPad and Google Nexus 7 Tablet. USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) and Micro-HDMI (micro-D connector) ports are two of its features and the device is also outfitted with an ambient light sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9
With the exception of processor model and screen size, the new 8.9-inch and 7-inch Amazon tablets are essentially the same, spec-for-spec. The HD 8.9 features a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and an 8.9-inch display with 1920×1200 resolution. This model is available in Wi-Fi-only or Wi-Fi + 4G LTE variants. The 4G version will run on AT&T’s LTE network in the U.S. The Wi-Fi only version will cost $299 for 16GB storage and $369 for 32G of storage. Prices for the 4G LTE version is $499 and $599 for 16GB and 32GB, respectively.

New Tablets for Christmas 2012

Amazon knows many parents will soon be looking to buy an appropriate new tablet for children for Christmas 2012. In a brilliant bit of Holiday Season timing, the company’s new HD tablet line will come preloaded with “Kindle FreeTime.” With this new app, parents can limit which apps their kids use and also limit the amount of time they are allowed to use the tablet.

Would you like some ads with those fries?

Advertisements will appear on the lockscreens and home screens of these new tabs. Initially the e-retailer wasn’t offering to remove them for a buy-out price, as it had with its original Kindle Fire. But a few days after its new tablet and eReader media event, Amazon finally came out and said that for $15 owners could opt out of these “special offers”  after registering their device.
This illustrates how new mobile tablet hardware is progressively being made to serve two masters – the owner of the tablet and the tablet’s maker. For Amazon, every new Kindle tablet sold dynamically serves as one more high performance advertising delivery device for the company. Or, it wins a $15 “consolation prize” from those customers who elect not to play.

incremental device improvements bring incremental customer conditioning

But this may actually tell us more about the typical Kindle buyer (and a growing number of other mobile device buyers) than it does the seller. Amazon knows its customers very well. And it knows its market better than anybody because it essentially invented it. We’ll be able to opt-out of the ads for a relatively small cost after accomplishing some time-consuming (like 3-minute) procedure. Like those of us prompted to make a purchase at Fry’s or Best Buy because of a great mail-in rebate offer that we never get around to mailing, Amazon has likely already projected out, by quarter, the tablet customer segment who will convince themselves that they’ll opt out of the ads but never will.

The Soundtrack of our Lives

But a lot of people don’t seem to mind the ads. “Look around,” as Nitrozac and Snaggy has their Jeff Bezos point out to us in their recent Joy of Tech comic. “What once seemed widely annoying and totally unacceptable is now Completely Normal!”
Many musicians have become famous because their unknown song was the soundtrack for a popular ad – a 180-degree shift from not too long ago and propelled even further recently thanks to apps like Shazam. And for those of us who enjoy ADD/OCD-ing our movie-watching experience by incessantly searching for info about the film’s stars, there’s now an app for that –”X-Ray For Movies.” Amazon’s new movie viewer app will let us call up information about an actress, actor and other related info simply by touching the screen as we watch the movie.

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New Galaxy Tab 3 Line & Nexus 7 Refresh Coming Out

Upcoming New Tablets from Samsung (Galaxy Tab 3 line) and Google (Nexus 7 II) will be available very soon. Tomorrow, in fact, (July 7) for Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab lineup of 3 different sized tablets. Although Google has remained mum so far regarding a Nexus 7 Gen2 (Generation II),strong indications are that the company will be coming out with the new model by the end of this month. Google had released the original Google Nexus 7 about this time last year.


Unlike last year, however, besides the iPad and Amazon Kindle Fire, Samsung’s and Google’s upcoming 2013 tablets will be competing with an onslaught of new Android Tablets as well as a growing array of Windows 8 Tablets, including Win8 Tabs from Acer, Dell, Levono and others.
Three Sizes, Prices: Samsung Galax Tab 3 
Samsung’s New Tablet line includes the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, and the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0.
The Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 features a compact size and lightweight design featuring a 7-inch, 1024×600 resolution TFT display. It’s outfitted with the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, a 3-megapixel back-facing camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 1.2-GHz dual-core processor. It has 8GB of storage (plus microSD expansion). Price: $199
The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is being positioned to compete in the e-reader as well as tablet markets. This tab features “reading mode” technology that provides “paperlike readability in various lighting conditions.” It comes with a 1280×800 resolution display (PLS), 5-megapixel back-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 1.5 GB ram and a 1.5-GHz dual-core processor, and runs Android 4.2. Base model has 16 GB internal storage.  Price: $299

Pre-release reviews of the new tabs have been mixed, especially the 10.1, with some early reviewers citing dissatisfaction with the low resolution display for the money

The Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 also has a 1,280×800-pixel resolution display (PLS) and runs Android 4.2. It’s further powered by a 1.6GHz dual-core CPU (Intel’s new Atom Z2560 chipset), and has 1GB of RAM. It includes 16GB of storage, IR Blaster, a micro SD expansion slot and, like the other two in the new Galaxy line, a 3-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. Price: 399 Pre-release reviews of the new tabs have been mixed, especially the 10.1, with some early reviewers citing dissatisfaction with the low resolution display for the money.



Google Nexus 7, 2^nd Generation

Although the company has not publicly released any information, Google’s high-res (323 pixel density) Nexus 7, second generation tablet, is anticipated to be released (or at least announced) by the end of this month.
Mingchi Keo, KGI securities analyst reported (source: AppleInsider) that it will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, 1920 x 1200 7-inch display, 5 megapixel camera for the same price as the original version that came out about this time last year. $199. Sources have told Reuters that Google is aiming to ship as many as eight million of the 7-inch tablets in the second half of the year.
Besides its retina-quality display, sources also says that the new Google tab will be sized very close to or possibly smaller than Apple’s iPad Mini. $199 is far less than Apple’s entry point with its mini at $329. And with its higher resolution screen, better cameras, and larger storage, it’s hard to imagine the new Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 offering any serious competition to the new gen2 Google 7-inch tablet, unless Samsung drops the price significantly and quickly. The generation 1 Nexus 7, however, has lately been receiving reports of a downgrade in performance following extended us, so stay tuned.

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Samsung Galaxy S4

Mystery Caller likes the look of the Samsung Galaxy S4 but with all the recent high-end releases, needs convincing she’s choosing the best phone. How will the networks handle what should be an easy sale?

6: Virgin

Compared to the other networks, Virgin Mobile’s so-called ‘Essential’ tariff is bad value for money

Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 2/5

Total – 17/30

5: Orange

The CSA said: “You will not pay for the 4G. When it launched, tariffs were higher but now they are the same as Orange. You are with Orange.” This was a lie – he made it clear the tariff was 4GEE

Manner – 2/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5

Total – 18/30

 4: Vodafone

My call began with a pre-recorded message: “If you are calling about the Galaxy S4, we are currently out of stock. For more information, visit the website”

Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 3/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 3/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 3/5

Total – 19/30

3: T-Mobile

Lee read my mind, telling me that he understood a £79 upfront cost was a “little off-putting to new customers”

Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5 Overall – 3/5

Total – 24/30

2: Three

Charlene was keen on making a sale and when I declined her offer to call me back, she gave me her direct number

Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5

Total – 25/30

1: O2

Full marks for clarity and O2’s CSA had an excellent phone manner. His sales pitch was tailored to my requirements

Manner – 5/5
Understanding – 5/5
Knowledge – 4/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5

Total – 26/30

 Summary

This issue’s Mystery Caller was a simple test of sales skills – all the knowledge the CSAs needed could be found on a specs sheet or online.

Orange’s CSA was the only one to really fail in this respect, first misleading me about 4G and then seeing unsure about tariff allowances. He most probably would have come last had I not been cut off from Virgin’s Mary.

It was also close between T-Mobile and Vodafone, although the latter had the disadvantage of having the longest potential delay in delivering the handset (14 days).

Three’s CSA was an excellent sales person, encouraging me to buy the handset while not being pushy. She also had the ability to compare handsets. O2 won by one point for asking more questions about my requirements.

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Nokia Lumia 925

This incremental update from the 920 is less bulky than its predecessor, offers impeccable low-light shots and has an incredibly responsive user interface – is it the perfect Windows Phone experience?


The Nokia Lumia 925 is by no means a revolutionary phone, bringing more evolution than revolution to the table, but this should not fool you because this is a phone which has built on the great work of its predecessors.
With the Lumia 925 being an increment change from the 920, you shouldn’t be at all surprised that the phones are quite similar, although we think Nokia has made enough changes to ensure the 925 remains in a category all on its own.
While the 920 was big and bulky, the 925 is a lot slimmer and lighter, thanks to the aluminium design – which is a first for the Lumia range.
Despite all the chopping down, Nokia refused to take out any of the insides of the 920, with the same innards as its predecessor, plus a few notable upgrades.
When picking up the 925, you straight away notice the difference in both size and weight compared to its predecessor. We have to say that this is the first Lumia we have seen that compares to the lightness and thinness of other phones on the market.
While it’s still thicker than a Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and even a Sony Xperia Z, it wasn’t all that noticeable.
In fact, when compared to an Xperia Z, we’d even argue that it felt less bulky, with the device weighing slightly less in our hands.
When compared to the 920, which came in at 10.7mm, it’s no contest, with this just being 8.5mm thick, which makes it a lot more usable in one hand, as well as a lot less noticeable while in your pocket.
The screen isn’t the largest we’ve seen, at just 4.5 inches, and it isn’t HD, but this is a very different screen from the 920’s, with Nokia opting for an AMOLED panel rather than the IPS LCD we saw on the 920.
We think that this is around the perfect size for a phone screen, not too big yet not too small. It would be nice to have an HD screen, but as it stands it’s still a vivid display – just like the one we saw on the 920.
It also has the same PureMotionHD+ technology that Nokia claims reduces latency on animations – something we noticed on the 925, as well as the 920, with the Windows Phone UI being very responsive to touch and incredibly fast.
One issue we had with the screen is the fact that it simply didn’t replicate colours in the same way as the IPS LCD, despite having excellent colour replication, although we have to say they definitely felt brighter as the AMOLED screen really helped the blacks blend into the bezel, meaning the colourful UI of Windows Phone looked a lot more vibrant.
True colours
Nokia has also included a setting where you can change your colour profile, just as you would your ringtone. This enables you to change both the temperature of the colours as well as the saturation, with many pre-installed options available to you, as well as the ability to tweak it manually.
One issue I find with most smartphones is the inability to read the screen in the sunlight, something that was very much present on other flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S4. With the 925 I was surprised by how easy it was to see everything on the screen even in incredibly bright direct sunlight.
If you loved the ability to use gloves in the 920, then that is back with the 925, and yes you can even use your keys, although it isn’t advised.
Under the screen are the same three soft buttons we’ve come to expect from all Windows Phones, although we did notice that when our phone had run out of charge, the Windows start button would flash after you plugged it in. This flashing logo is something we want to see used more, with it flashing for other events such as notifications – something common with Android phones.
People have reported that the 925 has a notification light, as many have noticed that there is a red light in the top right corner, but Nokia has clarified that this is not a light and is simply the proximity sensor.
The soft buttons have seen an improvement over the 920 though, with the lights being a lot brighter when illuminated – we did have some issues with this however, as the lights did not always show up, even when in a completely dark room.
Turn the device around and you’ll notice a familiar material, something Nokia hasn’t abandoned on the 925 – despite encasing it in aluminium. We had the white 925 which looked a lot better, but also picked up dirt a lot more, a possible downside to choosing polycarbonate for the rear panel.
Issues of dirt aside, the 925 looks very nice from behind, with everything seemingly well thought out, from the speaker grill to the slight bump on the camera.
The camera is definitely an important feature of the 925, with Nokia claiming that it can capture “more than your eyes can see”, something you’ll hear a lot more about later.
Also on the back you’ll notice three small dots just above the speaker grill.  This is where one of the differences between the 920 and 925 really stands out – with the 925 losing its wireless charging capabilities as a standalone device. Now if you want to wirelessly charge your 925 you’ll have to buy a separate case which connects to these three dots – something we’ve seen on similar flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Bumpy ride
As far as design goes, it isn’t challenged aesthetically by those three dots, but one place it is challenged is the inclusion of two bumps on the speaker grill – which were noticeable at first, but as we got used to the device, we didn’t even acknowledge their existence.
That said, unlike other flagship devices, the 925 is nowhere near as flat on its rear.
As for the edges of device, they are all nice and smooth, making it feel a lot nicer to hold, although we thought that Nokia felt a little too passionately about putting all the ports in one place, with them all being on the top rather than spread out.
The ports you do get are standard slots for both micro SIM and Micro USB as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.
We do have to applaud Nokia for moving the micro USB slot to the top, as it makes the device a lot more accessible whilst charging, although it was annoyingly positioned being slightly left of centre.
There is no microSD card slot on the 925, with the only remaining features on the side of the device being the buttons for the volume, power and camera functions – something which is also present on every Windows Phone device.
As Nokia has chosen to keep both the left side and bottom of the device free, 920 users may find the 925 a bit of a culture shock, as Nokia has even chosen to put the speakers on the back of the device. This didn’t affect sound too much, although we had to be careful not to cover the grill.
As far as sound quality goes, we were incredibly impressed by the clarity of the sound, although we felt that it could have been slightly louder – especially given the 920’s booming speakers.
It doesn’t have a quad-core processor, nor does it have eye tracking, but the 925 is by no means an unimpressive device when it comes to its ability to perform.
In fact, it performs incredibly well, even in benchmark tests, with the 925 even coping with some intensive 3D games, such as N.O.V.A.
Battery life was also not that terrible – although the 925 didn’t manage to last a full day, it was a notable step up from the 920.
With a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, the Windows Phone UI didn’t struggle at all, switching between apps incredibly quickly with no latency whatsoever – which was also helped by the 1GB of RAM on board.
It wasn’t all coming up roses for the 925, however, with our review unit crashing to the lock screen on occasions. While this wasn’t the biggest issue in the world, as all apps we were running were still going, it often became frustrating and on very rare occasions the phone even restarted itself.

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Sony Xperia Z – big can be beautiful

Sony’s latest is a powerhouse phone which runs like a breeze and has a great screen and good battery life – but it does have design niggles, including a mammoth screen that looks strange on calls

The Xperia Z looks both great and bizarre at the same time. The exterior is a slim, black (or white or purple) tablet vaguely resembling Space Odyssey markers, with no physical buttons on its five-inch screen and measuring 139mm x 71mm.
It does help the phone differentiate itself from other black monoliths, but the device is just too big to hold comfortably when making a call.
Calls and Skype conversations can also come across muffled due to a speaker’s apparent location at the bottom right side of the phone – just where you hold it to take a call if you’re right-handed.
The power button is an odd protruding circle – odd because the rest of the phone is so sleek and the power button just looks ugly. A hard casing (the front and back are tempered glass) which makes it scratch and shatter proof – which our testing also backs up. It stood up to the general wear and tear of life, although it wasn’t immune to a scuff here or there.
The Xperia is a sleek-looking phone, despite these niggles. It’s very thin (7.9mm) and light (146g) and, along with its cover colour detail, helps differentiate it somewhat.
Water, water everywhere
As it is water and dust resistant, each plug has a protective tab you have to remove. These worked fine and slotted into place pretty seamlessly but still felt a bit fragile – could be a problem with wearing out and ripping off for more rugged users.
Dunking the Xperia into a jug of water worked a charm and the phone came out as good as new.
Where the phone really looks good, though, is on its screen. Sony has, quite rightly, emphasised the screen quality, describing it as razor-sharp. For once, this is not marketing hyperbole – this is a fantastic screen.
The Xperia boasts 1,920×1,080 pixels resolution, for a whopping great 443 pixels per inch density – far above rivals. Colours pop, fine detail is superfine and in all, viewing things on the Xperia is a joy. On a test run of movies, colours were clear, detail was particularly fine and the phone handled black reasonably well – a problem the Xperia T used to have.
Hard-wearing hardware
The Xperia Z runs the latest Android, 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It runs a grunty Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, quad core Krait at 1.5GHz, with a healthy 2GB RAM. Needless to say, this phone is oozing raw power – what you need done gets done. It has 16GB on-board storage (expandable to 32GB with a microSD card).
The phone handled any tasks thrown at it, although playing movies saw it heat up slightly around the back. Aside from that, it didn’t have any troubles.
The Xperia Z is also 4G LTE-enabled so if you’re running 4G on EE (or the other networks later in the year), you will be able to get high-speed data and browsing. Sony have also made a big deal about its NFC capabilities, which will allow you to interact with any other Sony product – such as speaker systems, TVs and the soon-to–be-launched Xperia Tablet Z. You can throw music with a tap, clone your phone screen on your TV and even use it as a remote (it has infrared built in).

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Samsung Galaxy Camera – future flash

The future of all cameras: a compact running on a smartphone operating system with a fantastic feature set plus excellent integration with services such as Dropbox and Facebook – it’s just not quite there yet

When Samsung unveiled this camera just before Christmas, many were a bit confused. Why on earth is it putting a smartphone operating system on a camera? Smartphones with cameras have already become advanced enough now to start killing off the cheap compact camera market – why go there?
Samsung has done something ingenious here and presented us with an effective prototype of how all consumer-grade cameras will one day operate. This camera is essentially a Samsung Galaxy S III (quad-core processor and all) stuck on the back of a 21x zoom, 16.3MP camera.
It borrows a lot of ideas from the Nokia PureView 808 cameraphone, but the Galaxy Camera runs the full Android 4.2 OS (rather than the dead-and-buried Symbian). This means it works as well as any smartphone in the market, running all your favourite apps, games and, of course, photo-editing software.

Best camera OS

For this reason alone it is incredibly flexible – instead of being stuck in Nikon or Canon’s locked-down operating systems, this means your Galaxy Camera already has access to your GPS (and Google Maps), Dropbox (for automatic file storage), Facebook and Instagram (for sharing photos).
No more pulling the memory card out of your compact camera, plugging it into your computer, loading up your graphics editing program, resizing and cropping your images, uploading to Facebook, tagging your friends and pressing save.
The Galaxy Camera (GC) lets you do everything, automatically, as soon as you’ve taken the picture. You can do all the editing you like with on-board photo software (or download your own).
The GC has a built in Micro-SD – so the internal memory of 8GB is expandable to 64GB. It also supports 2G, 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi. While it doesn’t have a built-in cellular radio (so no mobile network calls), its connectivity options mean you can use Skype, Viber and WhatsApp to call and text friends and family.
Sounds good so far? Unfortunately, I call this a prototype because I feel it is exactly that – the processor is powerful, but the glasswork isn’t. But Samsung’s effort here definitely points a very clear arrow about where the camera market is going.
Samsung’s camera-focused rivals better sit up and pay attention, or they risk going the way of the Nintendo and Sony handheld gaming machines – killed off by tablets, phone-tablets and smartphones
 running mobile operating systems.

Hardware a mixed bag

The trade-off for this impressive piece of hardware is its usability. Cramming a 1.4GHz quad-core processor (as mentioned earlier, basically a Samsung Galaxy S III minus the cell radio) into a compact camera size doesn’t really work. It is heavy and unwieldy.
Most of this processing power is being used on the smartphone features (and whether you need all those features is debatable). Cameras themselves are actually pretty simple devices, requiring little more than a light sensor to record the world, and then a mechanism for processing and recording it to an SD card.
As a result, the Galaxy Camera is much bigger than a lot of compact cameras, and is much heavier than most smartphones at 300g – the Nokia Lumia 920 (a heavy boy itself) is only 185g. Everyone who picked it up for a play was shocked at how heavy it was.
This is because it is pretty well designed on the outside – it is quite attractive, a high-quality build and made out of a hard, cool plastic that feels metallic.
Unfortunately, corners have been cut – the Xenon flash that pops up is very rinky-dink, and when the lenses are fully extended the camera falls over.


The camera falls over

You didn’t misread that – the camera falls over. The body isn’t balanced against the extended lenses, so anyone who wants to set it up on a table or on a timer will need to use a tripod – it simply falls forwards. This is a pretty appalling design failing – a trade-off for getting that 21x zoom.
The entirety of the back of the camera is taken up with a very clear 4.8-inch, 1,280 x 720 screen. While well illuminated and fairly high resolution, the colours represented are a bit dull.
It is great for playing back photos and videos though – superior to most DSLR camera screens. Unfortunately, there is no viewfinder, so the screen is all you have to shoot with and mostly follows smartphone mechanics (touch the screen to focus). The shutter button on the top of the device zooms.
While so far this seems excellent for casual snappers and travellers, the screen itself is among the worst muck magnets I’ve ever seen. Whereas most smartphones are used in a single- or dual-finger prodding motion, the Camera’s screen means that holding it like a camera often means your hands will smear the screen, and I regularly bumped the settings button with my thumb while trying to line up a shot.
As a smartphone, running apps and the like, the power inside the Camera means it never misses a beat in games or any other app. Photo editing is a breeze with minimal delays. If anything, most delays will come from upload/download times on your internet connection.

Battery life issues

Another trade-off is that the camera needs to boot up like a smartphone or computer, which takes a huge 25 seconds. This makes it useless for a camera as any ‘magic moment’ is lost in that time.
However, if you go into settings and use ‘fast power on’ (which lasts for 24 hours), the turn-on time is instant.
However, much like tablets and smartphones’ ‘always on’ usage – this means your camera is continuously burning through your battery charge. If you plan to take this backpacking or into the jungle for multiple days, tough – either turn it off fully each time (and potentially miss the photo of a lifetime) or have it in ‘always on’ mode and potentially have the charge run out before you get back to civilisation.
Given the point of these smartphone-style features is to enhance photography’s mobility and connectivity, this is a pretty tough call for buyers to make.
During testing of ‘always on’ the camera lasted around 24 hours before needing another charge (combination Wi-Fi and 3G). Powering off and on lasted 2-3 days with sporadic usage. This simply does not match up to any dedicated camera of any kind unfortunately.

Photo customer confusion

The Galaxy Camera’s size suggests that it’s a high-end compact camera, similar to a Canon G1X. It isn’t unfortunately, and is probably more akin to the lowest levels of cheap £100-£200 compacts.
If you want to compare it to smartphone cameras – not terribly fair since it has a full optical set and zoom – it thrashes pretty much all of them in day-to-day situations. But then this is a £400 device that can’t make cellphone calls.
It does have two great features for casual snappers. Firstly, it has an incredibly wide field of view at 4.1mm. This is more than almost every other camera out there (professional or not), and means that everything fits in frame – about as much as your eyesight. The 21x optical zoom is also very useful for
the opposite reason. Again, the trade-off for these two feature sets is the image quality.

Replacement for compacts?

The Galaxy Camera does offer more options than most low-end compacts. If you keep your camera stuck on auto mode, you may never notice. But the Galaxy becomes very useful once you put it on manual and fiddle with the exposure, shutter speed, aperture and the ISO (digital ‘film speed’).
However, while these attributes hurt it as a still camera, it remains a very good video camera. It takes a good 1080p video, plus its size and weight makes it much easier to lug around and shoot decent video. The huge back screen helps immensely for shooting home videos – and this is where I predict the Galaxy Camera could become a sleeper hit. It is streets ahead of most smartphones when it comes to video quality – but again suffers graininess in low light. In moving images, however, this is less noticeable.
It also has a screw mount on its base, so can easily be attached to a dolly or tripod.
In summary, no£400 seems expensive compared to the compact cameras you can get for the same price from Canon, Nikon and Sony.
You can do almost everything you can on your Android smartphone here except cellphone calling (although you can make voice calls through Skype and Viber) – but you get a pop-up flash, 21x zoom and a huge field of view.
Unfortunately, ramming phone components into a camera has left the device a bit bulkier – and the camera components still aren’t as good as dedicated cameras. Until the price comes down, and the bulkiness is shed, normal users will probably be best sticking to their existing compacts and uploading manually. Nikon and Canon beware.

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Vodafone creates new integrated partner programme

Mobile, fixed and IT partners together in converged programme, focusing on increased sales of more products and services across a greater number of business customers

Vodafone has launched a new partner programme that brings together mobile, fixed and IT services channel partners.
The operator made the announcement to 160 partners at an event today at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester.
The new Vodafone Partner Programme, which will consist of around 300 mobile and 100 fixed line partners, will be powered by “substantial investment” in The Vodafone Sales Academy training programme and online sales and services tools.
It will focus on developing the capabilities of partners to deliver more Vodafone products and services to an increased number of UK business customers.
As part of the launch of the new programme, Vodafone is offering a promotion that it said will reward partners with a competitive line rental offer, an offer in terms of line transfers and a competitive rate from landline to Vodafone.
The new programme will run alongside the operator’s current partner programme, which divides dealers into platinum, gold and silver tiers.
Vodafone is spending more than £900 million on its UK network over the next year, which it said will enhance its voice and data infrastructure and create an advanced IP network.
It said this, along with its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for £1 billion last July, means its partners will now be able to offer customers a truly converged fixed and mobile service, enabling more businesses to find better ways of working.
Vodafone UK head of partner services Rob Mukherjee (pictured) said: “With the acquisition of CWW we were able to accelerate our vision of creating a truly integrated fixed, mobile and IT services partner programme. We will continue to work closely with our partners on the new Vodafone Partner Programme to maintain a long-term focus that greatly benefits all parties involved, especially customers.
“We’re looking forward to making this transition with our partners and this event marks the beginning of our journey.”

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Nokia sees Lumia sales surge 32pc in Q2

Shipments of smartphone range  hit an all-time high, but manufacturer’s mobile business still posts a loss of €32 million

Nokia saw sales of its Lumia smartphones rise 32 per cent to 7.4 million units in Q2, but the manufacturer still made a loss of €32 million in its mobile business.
Despite the rise in quarterly shipments, it was down 27 per cent year-on-year from the 10.2 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2012.
Overall, Nokia shipped 61.1 million devices in the quarter, down a percentage point sequentially and 27 per cent year-on-year. Feature phone volumes were down four per cent from Q2 and 27 per cent from last year to 53.7 million units.
Sales were down six per cent from the previous quarter and 32 per cent from the same period last year to €2.72 billion, with smartphone sales static quarter-on-quarter and down 24 per cent from Q2 2012. Feature phone sales fell 12 per cent sequentially and 39 per cent year-on-year to €1.4 billion.
Nokia, which made a profit of €4 million in Q1, made a loss of €32 million in this latest quarter. However, this is still a significant improvement from the €364 million loss made a year ago.
The average selling price (ASP) of its smartphones fell 18 per cent sequentially to €157 while there was also a fall of seven per cent in the ASP of its feature phones to €26.
On a group level, Nokia made a profit of €303 million, up 67 per cent from the €181 million profit it made in Q2. In the same period last year, it made a loss of €325 million. Sales were €5.7 billion, down three per cent sequentially and 24 per cent year-on-year.
In Q3, Nokia is expecting higher mobile sales compared to Q2 due to the wider availability of its Lumia smartphones.
Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop (pictured) said: “We continue to focus on delivering meaningful differentiation to consumers around the world. We are very proud of the recent creations by our Lumia team, from the Lumia 520 – our most affordable Windows Phone 8 product which has enjoyed a strong start in markets like China, France, India, Thailand, the UK, the US and Vietnam – to the Lumia 1020, our star imaging product which we unveiled to the world last week.
“Overall, Lumia volumes grew to 7.4 million in the second quarter, the highest for any quarter so far and showing increasing momentum for the ecosystem. During the third quarter, we expect that our new Lumia products will drive a significant part of our Smart Devices revenue.”

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HTC unveils new compact ‘HTC One Mini’ smartphone

Brand awareness at all time high following HTC One launch – prompting the new lower priced “family” addition Mini 


HTC has unveiled a new smaller and more affordable version of the HTC One, the ‘One Mini.’
The aluminium device goes on sale in August  follows the “success” of the Taiwanese firms flagship HTC One device which launched in March and is currently its largest ranged product, sold in 181 countries and through 583 networks..
The Mini runs on Android 4.2.2 and uses a Micro SIM, and includes a 4.3 inch HD (720×341) touch screen, around half an inch smaller than its predecessor. (pictured below – Mini left)

HTC One Mini (left) measures 132 x 63.2 x 9.25mm
HTC One (right) measures 137.5 x 68.2 x 9.3mm

Features include a dual core processor 1.4GHz (Qualcomm 8930 Snapdragon 400 series) Ultra-Pixel camera (1.2 megapixel front facing), 1080p full HD video recording, latest version of HTC Sense, 4G compatible, WiFi, GPS, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Colour variants include ‘Glacial Silver’ and ‘Stealth Black’.
The device also includes 16 GB internal storage – half that included on the original, and uses a 1800mAh battery providing up to 13.27 hours talk time, and a standby time of up to 692 hours.  Beats Audio, HTC BlinkFeed, BoomSound (front facing speakers) found on the HTC One are also present.
NFC connectivity and the infrared port included on the HTC One have been omitted to accommodate the smaller design.

HTC One Mini between BlackBerry Z10 (left) and iPhone 5 (right)

HTC director of commercialisation product management Graham Wheeler Wheeler described the device as having “all the key pillars” of the One, but in a smaller package.
He added the handset will be priced “two price points” beneath the HTC One and be aimed at a wider addressable market – but still remain a high-end device
Wheeler said: “We really had a great run in terms of the overall affect the HTC One has had on the company.
“We wanted to extend the device family and our addressable market, by launching the mini and taking the key pillars that we talk about on the HTC One and put it together in a smaller package and a more value orientated price point.
“For a device that offers no compromise on experience, it really does offer a great value experience to the consumer.”
HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou added: “The HTC One mini embodies everything that makes the HTC One a success on a smaller but equally eye-catching scale.”

The HTC One Mini  is 9.25mm thick

Brand Awareness: “All time high”

Wheeler also revealed during a preview of the handset, HTC’s brand awareness is at an all time high, on the back of the HTC One, prompting the Mini addition.
He claimed awareness for the brand was current above 80 per cent (although refused to provide comparative details), with its “younger” targeted audience around 87 per cent (again refusing to provide a comparison).
He also claimed 94 percent of HTC One owners would recommend the brand,” with the number of people intending to buy HTC in the next six months doubling.
“Our brand awareness is at an all time high, and the intent to buy is now almost double since the HTC One launched.”

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Virgin prices BlackBerry Q5 at £20pm for existing customers

 

MVNO’s customers using its other services will pay £5 a month less and receive 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data, as well as unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin users

Virgin Media has announced that its TV, broadband and home phone customers can get the BlackBerry Q5 with a bundled deal starting from £20 a month.

The MVNO’s existing customers who choose the smartphone will get £5 off their mobile tariff, unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin Media mobiles and insurance worth £799 a month.

The Starter tariff costs £20 a month for these customers and comes with 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data. Calls to UK landlines are included in the total minutes.

The most expensive tariff, VIP, costs £30 a month for existing customers and offers unlimited mobile minutes, landline calls, texts and data. All are subject to customers signing up to a 24-month contract.

Non-Virgin Media customers will receive the same allowances but pay £5 a month more.

Twelve month contracts are available and cost £10 a month more. Alternatively, the Q5 costs £259.99 on prepay.

The Q5 follows the Z10 and Q10 smartphones to run the BlackBerry 10 platform, which launched in January.

Similar in appearance to the Q10, it has a 3.1-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. It features BlackBerry Time Shift, which lets users take a range of photos and choose the best one, and BlackBerry Story Maker to enable users to create a story and join together multimedia into a film.

It also includes BlackBerry Messenger, which since the launch of the new platform, lets users have video conversations and share screens.

Virgin Media director of mobile Jamie Heywood said: “We’re delighted to offer the BlackBerry Q5 smartphone on our market-leading VIP tariff. There are even more incredible deals, exclusively available for Virgin Media broadband and TV customers, who won’t find a better offer elsewhere.”

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TalkTalk Mobile slashes cost of low-end Huawei smartphones

It is offering the Huawei Ascend Y210 from £1.25 on contract and the Huawei Ascend G510 from £2.50 on contract

TalkTalk Mobile has reduced the contract cost of several Huawei smartphones by 75 per cent.
From today (July 18) the Huawei Ascend Y210 is available from £1.25 on contract with no upfront cost for the first six months, £5 thereafter. TalkTalk’s ‘Small Plan’ includes 100 minutes, 250 texts and 100MB of data.
The entry-level smartphone was released in March and runs the Android operating system. It has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, two megapixel camera and 256MB of internal memory that can be expanded by a further 32GB with a microSD card..
The Huawei Ascend G510, which has a 4.5 inch screen and 1.2GHz dual core processor, costs £2.50 for the first six months and £10 thereafter on the Small Plan. The Medium Plan, which comes with 300 minutes, 3,000 texts and 500MB of data, costs £3.75 on contract.
The Huawei Ascend G330, which has a 4 inch screen and five megapixel camera, costs the same as the Ascend G510 and comes with BBC iPlayer and EA Games preloaded.
TalkTalk mobile director Dan Meader said: “It’s amazing that TalkTalk customers can now enjoy all the benefits of a smartphone, like being able to check emails and look up maps on the go, for less than it costs to catch a bus in most parts of Britain.
“This is another example of TalkTalk and Huawei working together to bring lower prices and better value to British customers.”

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MMS music campaign leads to surge in music sales

Record label Virgin EMI MMS campaign to  promote Swedish DJ track  inspires chart topping results

Music track ‘Wake Me Up’ from Swedish DJ Avicii has today (July 17) topped the iTunes download chart  thanks to a unique MMS marketing campaign.
Record label Virgin EMI partnered with EE, Vodafone and O2 joint venture firm Weve, to send out 100,000 animated MMS messages to music fans.
Customers were selected based on their Weve profile – indicating they would like to receive marketing around dance music.
Messages were sent out at 8am on Sunday, which when opened activated the song as part of a ‘wake me up campaign’ planned by independent media agency the7stars.
Weve said the campaign received its highest ever ‘click through rate’ with 9.8 per cent of people receiving the message going on to listen to the track.
Customers can then click on a link to be directed to the iTunes store where they can download the track. A second campaign to promote the same track will kick off at 8am this Saturday.
Weve marketing director Tony Moretta said: “It’s fantastic to see a major entertainment company like Virgin EMI recognise mobile as the first screen for marketing engagement with key demographics, and that the immediacy and relevance of mobile messaging can really drive consumer behaviour in a big way

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New BlackBerry A10 handset details leaked online

Leaked internal memo appears to show  full specifications of new BB10 handset (full details enclosed) 

BlackBerry is readying the launch of its next BB10 smartphone, the ‘BlackBerry A-10′, according to a leaked document posted online this week (see attached image below).
The post, which appeared on the dedicated BlackBerry news website ‘CrackBerry’, shows a slide said to have come from the Canadian firm, listed as ‘confidential’ and should only be shown ‘under NDA’.
The slide provides full specification of the next instalment, which follows the Z10, Q10 and Q5 all released this year.
Features according to the document include a five-inch screen, NFC, 4G capability, BB10.2 OS, 16GB internal memory expandable by 64GB, 8 megapixel camera (2 megapixel front facing), quad core processor.
BlackBerry declined to comment on the story, stating it does not comment on rumour or speculation.

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Banking apps vital to m-commerce take-off

Research has found UK smartphone users would feel more confident paying for transactions 

using their mobile if they could do so using an app from their bank

Smartphone users in the UK would feel more confident buying goods and services using their mobile if they could do so using applications provided by their bank, research has found.

The Future Foundation report, ‘M-commerce: what consumers want from financial institutions’, found 57 per cent of UK respondents would trust an application provided by their bank to pay for items via their device.

The research also found over 50 per cent of UK respondents are already buying goods on their smartphone.

However, the appetite to manage finances using a mobile is greater elsewhere in Europe than in the UK. Over half of smartphone users in Spain and Germany, 53 per cent and 54 per cent respectively, want to use their phone to research, and organise their finances, while only 48 per cent of UK consumers want to do the same.

Smartphone shoppers in all three countries said they would buy higher-value items if their bank created an app for them to do so.

Mobile payments technology provider Monitise said: “Consumers place a high degree of trust in their bank’s brand and like all payments ecosystems it is this collaboration to create and share in a bigger prize that will be most successful.

“The winning solutions will be built on these partnerships within digital payments and we are very encouraged to see banks, mobile operators and retailers beginning to work together for the consumer.”

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Affordable Mobiles ad banned for misleading delivery claims

The ASA said it was “concerned” to find Affordable Mobiles had incorrectly advertised the 

HTC One silver as in stock and available for next-day delivery

The advertising standards authority (ASA) has banned an advert from mobile phone retailer Affordable Mobiles after it founds claims of next day delivery were “misleading”.

The online retailer, owned by B2B dealer A1 Comms, displayed an advert on its website which said the silver HTC One smartphone was is stock and that anyone who ordered it before 7PM would qualify for free next-day delivery.

The ASA investigated the advert after a consumer complained they had not received the product within the specified delivery time.

In its defence, Affordable Mobiles said the HTC One in silver was in “short supply” due to high demand when it was first released, and that they “had struggled to obtain large amounts of stock for many weeks.”

The retailer said terms and conditions stated the products were subject to availability and that customers would be notified within two days if a product they had ordered was out of stock.

However, the ASA upheld the complaint, saying it was “concerned to note that it was possible for items to be displayed as “in stock” and available for next day delivery, even when the stock in question might not be sufficient to fulfil existing orders.”

The body ruled the advert must not appear again in its current form, and told Affordable Mobiles products should not be displayed as “in stock” or available for next day delivery if they are not.

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Vodafone Smart 3 Review

Vodafone Smart 3 - Design

The Vodafone Smart 3's design brings a certain old-school variety to the budget smartphone scene. Its semi-transparent plastic can be decorated with paper inserts – you can even print your own designs to make the phone your own. It’s a neat trick and one reminiscent of the classic Nokia 3310, may it rest in peace.

The Smart 3 is manufactured on Vodafone’s behalf by French budget phone specialist Alcatel. As such there is more than a hint of Alcatel themed design to it, with the phone’s soft curved edges and a flat back giving a nod to the likes of the Alcatel One Touch Idol X. A slight kick to the base of the phone gives it a striking finish, too.

The Vodafone Smart 3 is by no means slight, measuring in at 10.9mm thick and 136g in weight. Compared with its closest rivals, it is the dessert lover of the budget scene. Although 1.6mm slimmer than the comparatively priced Samsung Galaxy Young, it is 24g heavier. Fortunately, this considerable weight is carried evenly across its 4-inch body, creating a comfortable, reassuring balance in the hand.

The matt finish to the Smart 3’s bumper style plastic edge makes it comfortable and easy to grip, and even helps elevate the otherwise cheap, plastic build of the sub-£100 phone.

Overall, the Vodafone Smart 3 feels safe and secure in the hand. Build quality is not the most reassuring with a lot of creaking and moaning accompanying every use, and we would be concerned about how the phone fared against drops to concrete. But it looks more exciting than its £90 price tag suggests.

Vodafone Smart 3 Screen Quality

The Vodafone Smart 3’s screen is hardly a standout feature, but it’s good enough for a £90 phone. Indeed, the 800 x 480 resolution is a step up on the 480 x 320-pixel screen found on the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Fame, but it’s not the brightest. The screen is meek and washed out in bright, direct sunlight and still feels a little diluted indoors. Colours constantly look pale, too, which means photos, videos and even web pages look pallid and dull. Viewing angles are dire, too. Tilt the phone out of anything but a direct line of sight and the backlighting on the capacitive LCD panel causes shadows and bright haloing.

The responsiveness of the Vodafone Smart 3’s screen is acceptable, however, with swipe and selection gestures responding relatively promptly and with little fuss. Things start to fall apart with multi-finger gestures, however. Attempting usually simple tasks, such as pinch-to-zoom, results in a bitty, laggy experience that lacks the fluidity of even cheaper phones.

For all its faults, though, the Vodafone Smart 3’s 233 pixels-per-inch image density stands out from the crowd. Text and graphics are still noticeably hazy at their edges and images are far from pin-sharp, but the improvement over the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Young (176 PPI) is noticeable from the off.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Key Features: 6.44 inch Full-HD screen; Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz processor; MicroSD card slot Manufacturer: Sony

Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on review

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Following on the heels of the Xperia Z smartphone and Xperia Tablet Z is Sony’s foray into the world of the giant phone or ‘phablet’, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. Weighing in with a Galaxy Note 2 busting 6.44-inch full HD screen, the Xperia Ultra Z is an incredibly slim, waterproof phone and is the first to use the fastest smartphone processor in the world, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra - Design

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra retains the ‘OmniBalance’ design principles that provide the Xperia Z line with its distinctive angular looks, and it squeeze and impressively large screen into a 6.5mm thick body. This is thinner than any other Full HD smartphone, and you can really tell when holding it. Surprisingly for such a large phone (179.4 x 92.2 x 6.5 mm) the Z Ultra is reasonably easy to use one-handed and fits in a back pocket, widthways at least. The top pokes out of the top of anything but the largest pockets, not that you’ll want to keep where you’re likely to sit on it.

It’s made from metal frame sandwiched between two panes of tempered glass and weighs 212g, making it slightly heavier than the competition. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 weighs 183g including stylus, while the Huawei Ascend Mate is also lighter at 198g. Not that you particularly feel the extra weight in your hand. With such a large phone the thinness is more important, and Sony has done a good job keeping the Xperia Z Ultra as slim as possible – with the thin side bezel showing of the screen at its best.

Sony has kept faith with the round power button seen on other Xperia models. This sits in the middle of the right hand side of the phone, making it easily accessible during one-handed use. The volume rocker can be found just underneath, again easy to get to without needing both hands.

Unlike most phones, the 3.5mm headphone jack is on the side of the Xperia Z Ultra. This is exposed, enabling you to plug headphones in without messing about with fiddly flaps. Even though there’s no plug or cover the headphone jack is water-resistant and therefore does not affect the water proofing of the phone.

Other aspects of the design include a contact for wireless charging - a special dock can be purchased separately for this purpose – while flaps cover the microSD and SIM slots, just like the Xperia Z phone and tablet.   

Sony Xperia Z Ultra – Screen

One of the most impressive aspects of the Xperia Z Ultra is its screen. The 6.44-inch full HD screen has great viewing angles and deep, accurate colour reproduction. The dark surroundings in which we were testing made the screen look its best , but also meant we were not able tell how well it performs in sunlight.

Sony has added its Triluminos display technology, previously only available on its Bravia TVs, to the Xperia Z Ultra. This allows the screen to display a wider palette of colours. In our testing the Xperia Z Ultra replicated colour well, particularly reds and skin tones.

Another benefit Triluminos brings to the Z Ultra is X-Reality. X-Reality takes lo-res images and video and optimises it to improve its quality – think up-scaling SD content to HD on a TV. While this wasn’t available to test during our hand-ons it does offer the intriguing potential to sharpen up lower resolution YouTube video and web images. This type of up-scaling requires plenty of power, which leads us nicely into the beast of a processor on the Xperia Z Ultra. 

Sony Xperia Z Ultra – Performance

Touted as the fastest mobile processor ever, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 that powers the Xperia Z Ultra is a quad-core processor running at 2.2GHz. As expected with sort of power behind it, the Z Ultra zips through the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean menus and we found no hint of lag when opening or running apps. Full HD video content also ran very smoothly.

A quick test using the 3D Mark benchmark test, Ice Storm Extreme, saw it score an incredible 11,896. What does that mean in real terms? Well the Galaxy S4 is certainly no slouch, but it can only get to around 6,700 in the same test.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra – Features

The Xperia Z Ultra ups the ante on the water-proofing stakes and is IP55 and IP58 rated. This means that the Ultra can withstand dust and submersion under water. Where it beats the Xperia Z is that the Ultra can go deeper than the 1m limit of its little brother.

The rear camera is an 8-megapixel affair while the front facing camera is 2 megapixel, perfect for video calling but not much else. We’ll be bringing you more about how these perform when we fully review the phone.

 

The Xperia Z family

While the Xperia Z Ultra doesn’t come with a stylus it does allow any pen or pencil to be used as one, impressive considering all other phones require a capacitive stylus to be used. Of course this is a far cry from the pressure sensitive digitisers we are used to on the likes of the Samsung’s Galaxy Note series, but we found writing notes on the Xperia Z Ultra works well. Handwriting recognitions is intelligent, it managed to comprehend even our scrawls with good accuracy.

As a sweetener Sony will offer a £21 voucher plus 30 days free access to Music Unlimited with every purchase of the Z Ultra when it launches later this year.

Sony also announced the SBH52 with the Xperia Z Ultra. This is a 'Smart Bluetooth Handset' that lets you answer calls and view text messages while your phone is in your bag. It is splash proof and also has a built in FM radio with RDS. 

Sony Xperia Z Ultra - Battery Life

The main concern we have with the Xperia Z Ultra is battery life. The 6.44-inch HD screen will doubtless be thirsty and we hope the 3,000mAh battery can cope. The smaller and lower resolution Galaxy Note 2 packs a 3,100mAh battery and has great battery life so we hope the Z Ultra can compare. As with the rest of the Xperia range it will come with Sony’s Battery Stamina Mode to make the most out of battery life.

First Impressions

Sony has entered the large smartphone market with a bang. The Xperia Z Ultra is good-looking, has a great screen and is incredibly slim. We’ll have to see how the Galaxy Note 3 stacks up to it when Samsung finally show it off in Autumn

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ZTE Geek U988S is the first Tegra 4 phone; device is coming to China Mobile

On the lookout for a new smartphone

We've all been there. That glorious time when we're out on the market, looking for a flashy, new smartphone to replace our hugely outdated device. It's a time of joy, excitement and discovery! But even in a saturated and booming market, such as the smartphone one, it's quite surprising how finding what's best for you may prove to be so difficult. My personal experience from a few weeks ago was particularly challenging.

Let me give you some background first.

I'm a long-time iPhone user who recently decided that the moment has come to move on to a more “flexible” and “open” experience. Naturally, there's only one mobile OS that comes to mind in such a case nowadays - Android. Having gotten used to the 'it just works' type of user experience with my iPhone, though, I didn't simply want an Android device. I wanted a high-end, polished product that aimed to deliver a feature-rich, yet streamlined package, so that's why I didn't waste much time choosing and went straight for the Samsung Galaxy S4. After all, how could you go wrong with one of the very best Android handsets out there? The Galaxy S4 has a super high-res screen, awesome camera, future-proof processor... I've made a true no-compromise decision, right? Well, it turns out I was wrong, and while I'm absolutely not trying to convince anyone that the Galaxy S4 isn't a good product, I'll just speak my mind as to why I decided to change it for a seemingly inferior smartphone. And boy am I happy I did so.

Defaulting to Android - not always a good idea

It's not that I wasn't happy with the GS4 at first, but as time went by the joy of getting my hands on this cutting-edge device started to make way for that nagging feeling that you have when you don't belong. Such was my relationship with Samsung's finest. Aside from the few technical issues I had with the phone, such as its poor outdoor visibility and occasional stuttering, the real problem for me was the lack of attention to detail in those areas that I really cared for. Truth be told, I love smartphones, but I rarely play games, watch full-length movies, or use other heavy-duty apps on them. That's mainly because I don't have the time, and when I do have time for some entertainment, I usually prefer the comfort of my desktop. So, my smartphone usage is mostly limited to calling, texting, email, browsing, social networking, as well as the occasional ebook reading and YouTube video watching. Of course, I also use typical smartphone tools such as the calendar, notes and navigation. As you can see, one can argue if I can really call myself a heavy user, as I mostly stick to the basic neсcessities, but the important thing is that I do use them a lot, and I really demand that those core smartphone features are executed as well as possible.

It turned out that the Samsung Galaxy S4, as powerful as it is, is actually the exact opposite of what I needed. Crammed with all kinds of features and options, this is a smartphone that is a jack of all trades, but master of none. While it can run the heaviest 3D games out there, its homescreen UI often stutters. While there are more than five ways to dial a contact, the phonebook itself is a mess. Battery life is also spectacularly short, despite my relatively modest needs. And, of course, while the screen is very big... the phone itself is also very big (just like any other Android flagship), which is definitely not a plus. Encased within a few thin pieces of plastic and full of UI inconsistencies, I realized that there's not much for me in the GS4 beyond its status of a cutting-edge device, which is why I made the decision to jump the Android ship about a month after I got on board. The ability to play various 3D games or install hundreds and hundreds of apps wasn't enough to keep me there, because I rarely took advantage of it.

But where to? “I should probably go back to my iPhone and hope that Apple's going to shake things up with iOS 7 and the next iPhone.” Such was my thinking back then, but then iOS 7 came along and I was somewhat disappointed by the new design direction and the lack of new jaw-dropping features. The redesign was obviously the thing Apple hoped to wow us with, but for me, it didn't work. My anticipation for Apple's upcoming smartphone software was quickly drowned in generic-looking icons and buttons that didn't look like buttons. Oh dear, I needed a new smartphone, but didn't have an idea which way to go.

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Samsung Galaxy Young Review

Key Features: 3.2-inch 320 x 480 pixel screen; 4GB internal memory, microSD slot; 1GHz CPU; Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Manufacturer: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Young review

What is the Samsung Galaxy Young?

The Samsung Galaxy Young is a compact 3.27-inch Android phone that, at a smidge less than £90 on a SIM-free basis, is a true budget phone. It's the smaller sibling to the Samsung Galaxy Fame and the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2.

As its name suggests, it is aimed at the pre-teen, first-time smartphone user who has few demands that will trouble the 1GHz single-core processor. The Young is a very basic phone with a 3-megapixel camera and just 4GB of internal storage.

Having risen to dominate the high-end smartphone sector with the Samsung Galaxy S4, the question now is can Samsung hit similar heights on a budget front? Read on to find out.

Samsung Galaxy Young - Design

The Samsung Galaxy Young has a design similar to a scaled down Samsung Galaxy S3. It is a squat, bulbous little phone that felt dwarfed by our hand compared to huge smartphones that are so common now.

While its 3.27-inch size is small by modern standards, at 12.5mm thick the Young is a bit of a chunker. Weighing in at 112g, it weighs the same as the far superior iPhone 5 but confines this heft to a much smaller space, giving the impression of being considerably heavier than the Apple offering as a result.

The Young’s slightly curved rear makes it fit marginally more comfortably within the hand than the boxy form of the similarly priced LG Optimus L3, with its rounded edges easier and less invasive to hold. Pleasingly, the Samsung Galaxy Young’s plastic build does not make the phone feel particularly fragile either.

Although the considerable thickness can make the handset feel a little clunky and dense, it also ensures the Young does not bend or flex when put under considerable amounts of pressure. This cannot be said about all budget phones. Still, we wouldn’t fancy its chances against a couple of drops to the pavement.

The design of the Samsung Galaxy Young is by no means the most stylish to on a smartphone, but neither is it particularly abrasive on the eye. Its faux metal band, which is actually silver plastic and encompasses the outer edge of the phone, brings an air of elegance and higher-end appeal to the phone.

The Samsung Galaxy Young is available in white, blue, grey and ‘wine red’ colour schemes, which gives it a bit more character than certain budget phones, including the bland, lifeless black slab that is the Huawei Ascend G510.

Samsung Galaxy Young - Screen Quality

The Samsung Galaxy Young’s screen is far from the handset’s standout feature. Indeed, it’s the same disappointing 480 x 320 pixel LCD screen found on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Unlike most smartphone screens, which can display 16.7million colours or more, the Young’s screen is limited to just 256,000 colours. That means photos and videos look dull in comparison to even mid-range smartphones – even web pages don’t look good.

The Young’s screen has a slightly improved sharpness (176 pixels-per-inch to 165) than the Fame, thanks to being marginally smaller (3.27-inches to 3.5-inches). But this minor improvement is barely noticeable to the naked eye and, like its more expensive sibling, the Young provides far from defined and sharp content. App icons and text have blocky, pixelated edges and word heavy web pages have a smeared effect.

For the price, however, the Samsung Galaxy Young’s screen is passable. Where the same screen on the £150 Samsung Galaxy Fame felt like a pitiful offering, on a £90 phone it is just about acceptable. It is a fairly middling offering for the budget smartphone market – it’s a small improvement over the LG Optimus L3’s display, but it’s considerably weaker than the 800 x 480 pixel WVGA screen found on the £90 Vodafone Smart 3.

Brightness is a little lacking and viewing angles are pretty poor but, for the large part, responsiveness to touch is satisfactory. The Young’s screen does, however, feature one touch-based irritation. Its antireflective coating makes the screen feel almost greasy. This is a fairly common issue with budget phones and a sign of cheaper components. Not a total deal breaker, it simply creates a sluggish swipe motion on occasion.

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Acer Liquid E2 Review

Key Features: MediaTek 1.2GHz quad-core CPU; 1GB RAM; Android 4.2.1 OS; 4.5-inch IPS 960 x 540 pixel screen; 8-megapixel camera with LED flash Manufacturer: Acer

Acer Liquid E2 - Design, Connectivity and Screen

What is the Acer Liquid E2?

Acer is a phone-maker whose mobiles aren’t commonly seen on the shelves of the local mobile shop. However, its phones tend to be a bit cheaper than the top names, they barely fiddle with the Android OS at all these days and the Acer Liquid E2 in particular has a solid mid-range feature list. It’s not pretty and its price isn’t quite as aggressive as alternatives from ZTE and Huawei, but the quad-core Acer Liquid E2 is a sound buy if you care more about value than style

Not what you're looking for? Try our best mobile phones 2013 round-up

Acer Liquid E2 – Design

This is a phone that does try to separate itself from the pack looks-wise, but its don't work particularly well.

Rather than using an eye-catching finish or a metal body, the Acer Liquid E2’s look is defined by the two speaker grilles on its rear. They're the first thing you notice, as they are the most brazen we’ve ever seen on a phone.

We get it, Acer, you’re trying to tell us the phone has above-average speakers. However, they do not look good

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The one other bit of design trim is a spot of red up by where your ear sits when taking calls. Thankfully, it’s much subtler than the grilles, but still looks like a bit of a Franken-phone. It looks... incoherent.

From a more practical perspective, the Acer Liquid E2’s dodgy design doesn’t matter a great deal. The speakers don’t spoil the phone’s ergonomics, and handling is perfectly fine. At 10mm thick it's no supermodel slim, but the soft touch plastic battery cover feels nice and smooth on the fingers. It’s not too heavy either, at 140g.

Average height, average weight, ill-advised looks – the Acer Liquid E2 is no beauty. But with a mid-size 4.5-inch screen, its power and volume rocker buttons are small enough to reach comfortably one-handed and – front-on at least – its looks are inoffensively drab. It also has a neat little green/red notification light in the screen surround and light-up soft keys.

Under its removable battery cover is a full-size SIM slot and the microSD memory card slot. With only 4GB of internal memory, a memory card is a must if you want to store music or videos. There’s also a dual-SIM version of the E2, although we’re yet to see whether it’ll be widely distributed in the UK.

 

Acer Liquid E2 – Connectivity

Aside from these slots under the hood, and the headphone jack/microUSB on the phone’s outside, all the Liquid E2’s connections are wireless. And, as you might guess, there’s nothing too advanced going on.

The Acer Liquid E2 does not have 4G or NFC, the two most important recent-ish additions to the roster of mobile phone connections. It does have everything else, though: Bluetooth, GPS, HSPA 3G and Wi-Fi.

Acer Liquid E2 – Screen

The Acer Liquid E2 has a 4.5-inch screen, a step or two below the 5-inch and near-5-inch top-end mobiles of the year, such as the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Although not hugely dissimilar in size, there is quite a gap in screen quality. The Acer Liquid E2 uses an IPS panel, the type of screen used in most higher-end tablets and phones.

Its viewing angles are great – the main design goal behind this type of screen – and image quality is decent. However, there are compromises.

The screen doesn’t have the advanced anti-reflective coating seen in pricier phones, and as such the base ‘black’ of the screen is grey-ish in normal indoors lighting, spoiling the contrast of images. Resolution is fairly low, too.

The Acer Liquid E2’s display is 960 x 540 pixels, resulting in pixel density of 245ppi. That’s a respectable low-to-mid range figure, and it doesn’t leave normal-sized text looking blocky, but it lacks the pristine zingy clarity you’d get with a 720p or 1080p display.

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