Motorola Moto G Phone Review

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The Motorola Moto G is an important phone, for Motorola at least. It’s the first new Motorola phone to be released in the UK in ages, and the first we’ve seen since Google bought Motorola back in 2012. It’s also superb. Thanks to its 720p screen and solid Snapdragon 400 processor, it offers far better specs than any other big-name a phone selling for under £150. If you want a sub-£150 phone, get this one. It's that simple.

ROUNDUP: 10 best cheap phones you can buy

The Moto G is a plastic phone, with a curved back that cares more about feeling good in the hand than being terribly thin or light. At 143g and 11.6mm thick, it’s significantly thicker and heavier than most phones with similar specs. However, for the average buyer this won’t be much of a sacrifice.

The back is smooth and comfy, and as the 4.5-inch screen is smaller than many high-spec Androids (if quite large at the pice), the Motorola Moto G is easy to use one-handed. It might lack the recognisable design of the Razr-series phones, but it offers a level of customisation thanks to an array of available body shells.

Thought removable phone fascias were dead? The Motorola Moto G is trying to bring them back. 19 different backs are available for the phone, coming in all sorts of different colours, and three main types.

There’s the normal one, bundled as standard, flip-style cases like those you can get for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and a back that gives a bit more protection, with chunkier sides and a slight protrusion of around a millimetre in front of the screen. This ensures the glass front of the screen doesn't take the brunt of any drop impact. 

The idea is that the Moto G is not a phone you need a separate case for. We used the phone with the standard black plastic back, and there’s thankfully no hint that the back is meant to be switched.

There’s an inoffensive ordinariness to the Moto G that we think is the right move to make at this price. It’s what rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Ace phones go for, too. There's just one issue: the black case is a magnet for greasy finger marks.

One of the most notable things about the design is something that has no function at all. The Motorola logo sits on the back of the phone sits in a concave indent that just wills you to stroke the thing’s back as if it’s a miaow’ing pet. Completely pointless as it may be, but like the Moto G’s alternative to a comfort blanket it’s an oddly reassuring presence.

ROUNDUP: 10 best Android phones you can buy

Although the Moto G doesn’t quite have the aesthetic purity of the Nexus 5, with both matt and gloss finishes on show and non-colour-matched buttons, it still looks more expensive than it is. This looks like a £250 phone, not a £130 one.

Motorola has employed a water-resistant ‘nano’ layer inside the phone, designed to protect it from light splashes. The design also keeps any power connections away from water, by sealing in the battery. It’s non-removable, which some of you may not like, but finishing touches like mild water resistance are the last things we expect at this price.

There are features missing you’ll often find in more expensive phones, though.  There’s no microSD memory card slot (Motorola says this is not a price issue, though), no NFC, no 4G and no integrated support for wireless screen mirroring.

These are the sacrifices the Moto G has had to make in order to offer such a high-spec screen at such a low price. But they're the right ones. They're features that are relatively little-used by the vast majority of people.

With the entry-level £135 model you get 8GB of internal memory, around 5GB of which is accessible, and there’s a 16GB version that costs £160. While some may complain about not having expandable memory, we’re nevertheless impressed by what Motorola has managed to cram in. Some phones at the price only offer 4GB of internal memory.

The Motorola Moto G is a phone that proves how cheaply a high-quality phone can be made with a bit of aggressiveness and the right decisions. It stands out among its peers as the new 'phone to beat'.

ROUNDUP: 10 best phones you can buy

The Motorola Moto G’s most impressive feature is its screen. This is the first time we’ve seen a 720p screen on a phone that costs less than £140.

This gives the phone the sort of ultra-sharp text and images that we’ve only seen in much more expensive phones to date. 720p resolution stretched across a 4.5-inch display gives a pixel density rating of 329 pixels per inch (ppi). Higher-end Androids may offer 1080p screens these days, but that’s still higher than the ppi rating of the iPhone 5S (326ppi).

Such a sharp screen makes small text easily readable in the browser. It makes 3D games look a lot less ‘jaggy’ than they would on most rivals, too, which tend to have 800 x 480 pixel screens at this price.

Resolution is not everything, but general image quality is good too. The Motorola Moto G uses an IPS display, the same type used in both the HTC One and iPhone 5S, and it's a good one.

Performance is stellar for the price. Colours are well-saturated and vivid, contrast is strong and the evenness of the backlight is on-par with phones costing several times the price. It doesn’t look quite as natural as a top £500 phone’s screen, especially at top brightness, but this is undoubtedly the best phone screen we’ve seen at the price from a major manufacturer.

What’s also seriously impressive is that Motorola has used Gorilla Glass 3 as the screen covering. This toughened glass layer means the phone is less prone to flexing under pressure and scratching than most low-cost phones. Gorilla Glass is not unheard of in the sub-£200 market, though – the LG L7 II and Huawei Ascend G510 have it, although others tend to use ‘unbranded’ toughened glass.

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Verykool s470 Black Pearl

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In any other company's smartphone lineup, the $230 unlocked Black Pearl would be the budget option. For San Diego-based manufacturer Verykool, it's the model premium.

At its price, the Black Pearl is a great value for what you get. It has a crisp screen, fast processor, dual-SIM capability, and few software extras that make it more than just another budget Android handset.

The Black Pearl beats the Verykool Vortex in every way. Though it's the company's most expensive model, at $280, and has a water resistant, rugged exterior, the Vortex is plagued by an out-of-date operating system and an inferior screen.

The Verykool Black Pearl

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Design
Despite its name, nothing about the design of the Black Pearl reminds me of an actual pearl. It has a slightly curved rounded body and slick matte back cover, and comes in two colors, black and white. I tested the black model.

Sizewise, it's nearly identical to the Samsung Galaxy S4, just thicker. Officially, the phone measures 5.4 inches tall, 2.7 inches wide, and 0.4 inch deep. It weighs 5.6 ounces, which makes it feel hefty and solid in my hands.

The smooth polycarbonate back cover wraps around the sides of the phone and there's a speaker grille near the bottom. Remove the cover to reveal the battery, two SIM slots, and a microSD card slot. You need to pull out the battery to access either card slot, which is a pain. The dual SIM slots are stacked one on top of the other, with SIM 1 SIM 2 behind. The Black Pearl uses full-size SIM cards, which, compared with today's standard micro-SIM, is outdated.

You can easily fit the phone into a pocket.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Though overall the phone feels solid, the back cover feels flimsy in places. Occasionally, it would lift up when I plugged in Micro-USB cable. Aside from that, the phone is sturdy. Though there's no official documentation on what kinds of falls it can sustain, I can say that it showed no. damage when I accidentally let it fall about 2 feet onto a hard carpeted floor.

The power button is up top, and is built into the back cover. Next to that is the headphone jack. On the bottom, there is a Micro-USB port for charging.

There's a volume rocker on the left side.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The volume rocker is on the left side and has two raised nubs for volume up and down, making it easy to press without looking at the phone. However, it's a bit too high up on the left side for me to comfortably reach it when I hold the phone up to my ear while on a call.

The Black Pearl sports a 4.7 - inch diagonal HD IPS 1, 280 x 720-pixel-resolution (312 ppi) screen, which is on by with other smartphones with similarly sized displays. I was really impressed by the screen; It looks sharp, crisp, and bright.

Additionally, colors look natural and vibrant. My only criticism is that the display can look a little dim on automatic brightness under normal lighting conditions, but it's remarkably readable in direct sunlight, which is a plus.

OS and features
Though it looks as though the Black Pearl is running a vanilla version of Android Jelly Bean 4.2, there are a few changes. Verykool included a handful of apps, such as a file manager, a notepad app called NoteBook, setup guide, and an app called OOBE (short for out-of-box experience).

OOBE helps you tweak a few system settings and toggle between SIM cards if you're using more than one. You can even change the color of each SIM's signal bars, so you can tell them apart. OOBE is not to be confused with the Quick Start Guide, which gives you an onscreen demo of how to use the phone.

The phone is running Android 4.2.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

There's also a persistent search bar at the top of each home screen that looks just like the standard Google search bar from Ice Cream Sandwich, but when you tap it, it brings up a bare-bones search app that's reminiscent of the Google search widget in Android 2.2 Froyo. This is puzzling, because the phone comes with the most recent version of Google search, which includes Google Now, but you can't get to it from that home screen widget. You also can't get rid of that search bar unless you install a different launcher or flash a new ROM.

In settings, you can quickly change the phone's sound settings by choosing a preset audio profile from General, Silent, Meeting, Outdoor and. You can tweak the settings of General purpose the rest have predetermined settings. For instance, Meeting is vibrate-only, while Outdoor has the loudest ring volume level and also vibrates. You can also add your own profiles and set the volume level, key press sounds, and notification tones. Also switch profiles in the Quick Settings drop-down menu.

In that same audio profile section, there's option to enhance the audio on the earpiece for better sound quality during a phone call, though the differences in call quality with it on and off were negligible.

Lastly, there's a stock Android browser preinstalled which has an extra feature; You can pop out a Web page into a smaller window that hangs out on top of the home screen or other apps. You can't resize the window, which is a bummer, but you can move the view around to see every part of the page. This was neat feature that you can find on Samsung and LG phones as well. It's useful for when you need to reference a tidbit of information from Web site - say a product name or business number - to use elsewhere, such as while sending an email or entering an address into Google Maps.

On the back, there's an 8-megapixel camera.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Camera and video
There's an 8-megapixel main camera on the back of the phone, which protrudes slightly above the back cover. There's also an LED flash right below the lens. Overall, it takes decent pictures, with a few caveats.

In most of my test photos, the Black Pearl's camera struggled to take clear, well-lit shots. Though the camera has an autofocus, with an option to tap the screen to manually focus, close-up shots didn't always turn out sharp. That led to pictures with very small focus areas with anything not in focus looking blurry. Also, the camera had a hard time capturing color variations in close-ups as well.

Here, the camera struggled to show the color variations in the flower's petals.

(Credit: Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

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Huawei Ascend Mate 2 to be 6.1-inch, 1080p monster

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Huawei’s phablet offering looks set for an imminent update, with latest Huawei Ascend Mate 2 rumours suggesting the second-generation device will boast a 6.1-inch, 1080p Full HD display.

With last year’s Huawei Ascend Mate release seeing the smartphone market taken beyond the 6-inch form factor for the first time, the upcoming Huawei Ascend Mate 2 looks set to retain the same 6.1-inch size whilst jumping from a 720p HD, to 1080p Full HD panel.

According to Huawei News, the second-gen Mate, a direct rival to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is also set for a processor and other hardware bumps.

Based on a leaked image of the handset’s settings menus, the Huawei Ascend Mate 2’s specs sheet will see a new 1.6GHz quad-core processor thrown into the mix alongside 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of inbuilt storage.

Despite Android 4.4 KitKat being the latest smartphone software to come from Google, having been rolled out aboard the Google Nexus 5 earlier this month, the second-gen Huawei Mate will reportedly not benefit from the most recent Android OS.

According to the leaked snaps, the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 will run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Although not even the latest iteration of Jelly Bean given Android 4.3, the Mate’s OS will reportedly be skinned with the manufacturer’s latest Emotion UI.

While there is currently no official word on when a Huawei Ascend Mate 2 release date will be held, it is expected that the oversized handset will be introduced at either CES 2014 in January, or MWC 2014 the following month.

Read More: Huawei Ascend P6 review

Via: Engadget

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Google’s Eric Schmidt writes guide on switching from iPhone to Android

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Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has taken the unusual step of writing his own guide to switching from iPhone to Android.

The high-powered Google executive, who was also on the board at Apple as recently as 2009, recently took to Google+ with a post entitled "Eric’s Guide: Converting to Android from iPhone."

Schmidt opens by claiming that "Many of my iPhone friends are converting to Android," before launching a stinging slap to the likes of HTC and LG by omitting them from his casual list of top Android brands.

"The latest high-end phones from Samsung (Galaxy S4), Motorola (Verizon Droid Ultra) and the Nexus 5 (for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) have better screens, are faster, and have a much more intuitive interface," says Schmidt.

He then embarks on a lengthy list of basic tips for new Android owners, including how to move your  Gmail, contacts, and music across from an iPhone. The contacts part in particular is relatively in-depth, and could be useful for some.

At the other end of the useful scale we have tips on how to move your SIM card across ("you may need an adapter), and we particularly liked Schmidt’s advice on how to transfer your apps to your Android phone: "download in the Google Play Store all the applications you normally use (for example, Instagram)." Thanks Eric!

He also manages to take a pop at Safari with the following advice: "Be sure to use Chrome, not Safari; its safer and better in so many ways. And it’s free."

It’s nice to see that all’s well in the ongoing smartphone war.

Next, read Google Glass – the privacy problem and how to solve it.

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BlackBerry Z30

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Everyone knows BlackBerry is in dire straits, but that hasn't stopped the company from taking one more stab at a flagship smartphone. In many ways BlackBerry's latest creation, the BlackBerry Z30, is what the BlackBerry 10 launch device should have been. Unlike the actual BB10 debut product, the smaller Z10, the Z30 is without a doubt the company's biggest, boldest, most advanced gadget yet. Unfortunately, though, this fresh effort from the Canadian handset maker comes way too late. Arriving at just one US carrier, Verizon, this November for $199.99, I fear all those who would have considered the Z30 over iPhones and Android handsets have long since moved to greener pastures.

Sure, the Z30 is compelling. Despite boasting a large 5-inch touch screen, handsome styling, and a high-capacity battery, the device falls short compared with the competition. Specifically the $199.99 Motorola Droid Maxx and $199.99 Samsung Galaxy S4, which, thanks to the growing strength of the Android ecosystem and BlackBerry's uncertain future as a viable company, add up to much better deals on Verizon.

Design
Shaped like your typical rectangular smartphone slab, at first glance I had trouble telling the BlackBerry Z30 apart from the sea of similar-looking Android devices now flooding the market. With its jet-black color scheme, silver accents, and rounded corners, the Z30 could've been crafted by any of today's top handset makers. As a matter of fact, the phone's soft-touch back and subtle striping bears a striking resemblance to the Motorola Droid Maxx. That's a good thing, since I'm fond of the Maxx's nano-coated back and soft-touch textures on phones in general.

Prominent BlackBerry logos, both on the back and on the front below the screen, give the Z30 away as device designed in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Verizon couldn't resist slapping its own moniker on the phone, either, above the display and on the rear, but at least they're stenciled in a modest gray.

On the left side you'll find ports for Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Above the Z30's large 5-inch screen sits the earpiece, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and the iconic red BlackBerry notification light. The phone's left edge houses ports for Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB cables, while on the right you'll find controls for play/pause and volume-up and -down. Rounding out the Z30's bevy of physical buttons is a power key on the top edge next to a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The right side holds controls for volume-up and -down plus play/pause.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

BlackBerry makes sure to tout the Z30's noise cancellation abilities and the fact that its flagship handset boasts not just two but an array of four microphones. The mics ring the phone, one on each of the Z30's four edges, and they complement the device's set of powerful stereo speakers (top and bottom). Indeed, the first time I fired up the music app and piped a tune through the Z30's sound system I was shocked. The volume this phone's tiny drivers can produce is phenomenally loud, with loads more sound than what you get from the HTC One and Motorola Droid Maxx -- both of which have muscular stereo speakers.

Screen
The Z30 is BlackBerry's biggest-screened smartphone yet. It packs a large 5-inch 720p HD resolution display, which the company says has a pixel density of 295 pixels per inch. Of course, that's nowhere near as sharp as the displays on the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, whose full HD screens offer 468ppi and 441ppi, respectively. Still, it's practically gigantic compared with the displays gracing the previous BlackBerry Z10 (4.2-inch) and BlackBerry Q10 (3.1-inch).

The Z30's screen is big but not very bright.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

I have to say, though, that the Z30's display isn't very bright. For instance, the Motorola Droid Maxx, while it has the same 720 HD resolution and OLED screen technology, is much brighter when viewed side by side with the Z30. Still, one benefit of the Z30's OLED hardware is that it has high contrast and wide viewing angles.

Software and interface
A bigger screen isn't the only improvement you'll find on the BlackBerry Z30. The phone's software has been updated as well. The Z30 runs the new BlackBerry 10.2 operating system, which has a few fresh tricks up its sleeve. Along with the familiar Peek gesture that lets you quickly see your messages and the BlackBerry Hub unified inbox, both of which first debuted with BlackBerry 10, there's a new Priority Hub feature.

Priority Hub will pay attention to whom you interact with most, whether on Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, or texts, then will float those conversations up to the top of a Priority Hub view. By default, the criteria for tagging messages as a priority is pretty straightforward. Priority Hub will prioritize (hence the name) conversations from contacts who have the same last name as you or those labeled as highly important. The same goes for messages you select as vitally significant. Simply long-press a conversation in your inbox to slap it with a priority icon (represented by an up arrow) to accomplish this. You can toggle these Priority Hub settings on and off as you see fit.

Use the Peek gesture to check your inbox from any screen and Priority Calling to respond to incoming calls with canned messages.

(Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET)

It seems that every OS is catching notification fever, and BlackBerry 10.2 is no exception. Just like Apple's iOS 7, BB 10.2 now supplies previews of messages as they hit your phone. No matter which app you happen to be in or settings windows you have open, new notifications appear as thin headers across the top of the screen.

Tapping these notifications will launch a full view of the message to read its full contents and respond. Hitting an "x" icon within the notification preview will dismiss it entirely. To quickly handle incoming calls, a new feature called Priority Calling lets you receive caller ID notifications then either accept, dismiss, or respond with a canned reply. BlackBerry Messenger alerts provide the extra option of responding inside the notification itself so you don't have to switch out of the app or menu you're currently viewing.

For all BlackBerry's efforts to breathe life into its smartphone platform, it can't hide the lack of many popular apps gracing its virtual store shelves. Sure, many of the major players have found a home on BB10, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flipboard. The photo-sharing service Instagram isn't available and neither is my current podcast app of choice, Pocketcast.

Keyboard
I know many true BlackBerry adherents out there will bemoan the Z30's lack of a physical keyboard. Even so, from someone who gave up tangible keys years ago for tapping out messages on glass panels, the Z30's software keyboard is one of the best I've used. The bigger screen makes for more comfortable typing than on the smaller Z10, and I also appreciate BB10's impressive predictive text abilities.

The Z30's keyboard is both comfortable and fast.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Able to learn over time what words you're likely working toward, the phone also offers handy suggestions placed over the letter your finger (and eyes) would have to travel to. Flicking upward pushes predicted text into the body of your message. The Z30 also did an admirable job of accurately detecting what keys I hit. The end result is that this gadget lets me type fast and furiously without many errors.

Core components
Powering the Z30's software is a respectably zippy 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and quad-core Adreno graphics. It's the same thing Motorola packs into both the Droid Maxx and Moto X Android handsets.This CPU engine is backed up by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. As I mentioned before, the Z30 also comes equipped with a microSD card slot for extra storage.

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Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 announced with mid-range specs

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Samsung has announced the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 with a large 5.25-inch screen and mid-range specs.

Building on the Samsung Galaxy Grand released in January this year, the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 will be coming to selective markets at some point soon.

Samsung has yet to announce pricing and availability for the 5.25-inch handset, but it will be coming in black, white and pink when it does.

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 Features
The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 has a 5.25-inch 1280 x 720p HD display and runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

It has Samsung’s latest TouchWiz UI on top of this, which includes software features like S Translator, S Travel, Sound & Shot and Story Album.

Under the hood is a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory. This can be bolstered with microSD cards up to 64GB though.

It has an 8-megpaixel rear camera with autofocus and an LED flash, with a secondary 1.9-megapixel camera in the front.

Running on a 2,600mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 has slimmed down in comparison to its predecessor. It now has dimensions of 146.8 x 75.3 x 8.9mm and weighs a reasonable 163g. The previous model was 9.6mm thick and weighed in a little lighter at 162g.

Connectivity wise you’re looking at HSPA and a dual-SIM card slot but there’s no 4G LTE. You do get Wi-Fi and GPS.

There’s no word on whether the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 will come to the UK, but we’ll keep you posted if there’s any news.

Read more: Best smartphones of 2013.

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HTC Desire 500 Phone Review

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Nice, classy designBright and clear screenDecent general performanceCamera slightly inconsistentBattery life a little weakMediocre built-in speaker The HTC Desire 500 is HTC's new mid-range phone, available for around £200 SIM-free, £180 on pre-pay and from £17 or so a month on contract. It has a 4-inch screen, a decent overall spec and a design that far exceeds what we're used to at this price.

On paper it's a very promising phone, though like most mid-range phones it now has the formidable Nexus 5 to contend with, which - although £100 more - is a tempting alternative given it's only £3 a month more on contract. Can the HTC compete?

Watch our HTC Desire 500 video review:

SEE ALSO: 10 best cheap phones you can buy

We like the look of the HTC Desire 500. It comes in three flavours: all black, white with red trim and white with blue trim. Ours is the white and red variant, but each has its charm and the build quality and feel of the phone in the hand are very reassuring. It's plastic, but it feels sturdier and pricier than the Samsung Galaxy S4, though we're not sure if this reflects well on the HTC or badly on the Samsung. Probably the latter.

In any case, it's a classy, svelte and light phone (just 123g) with no annoying protrusions or sharp corners. The only physical buttons are the power/hold button at the top and volume controls on the right. If we have a criticism of the Desire 500's design it's that the volume buttons are hard to locate by feel alone, but it's not a serious problem and we rather like the way they're integrated into the coloured trim, visually.

The only visible connection is the standard miniUSB charging port, but prise off the back and you'll find a microSD card slot. It's a necessity given there's only 4GB onboard, of which just over 3GB is already accounted for before you install any apps.

Wireless connectivity is well catered for thanks to Wi-Fi (802.11n), GPS/AGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, the latter being an impressive addition at this price. There's no space for NFC, but that's hardly a dire omission. That it runs Android 4.1.2 means the Desire 500 is a little behind the times, though this shouldn't put off the average buyer.

SEE ALSO: 10 best Android phones you can buy

Neither should the screen, which is a decent effort. Its 800 x 480 resolution falls short of the pixel squeezing feats of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (440 ppi) or Nexus 5 (445 ppi), but the smaller 4.3-inch frame ensures a reasonable 217 pixels per inch (ppi). You'll see a little fuzziness around text when viewed close-up, but held at a reasonable distance the HTC Desire 500's screen looks good enough.

This is helped by the exceptional brightness and contrast for a phone at this price. The brightness is a particular highlight, no doubt due to the use of an LCD screen as opposed to the AMOLED type seen on some high-end phones. This peak brightness really helps when outdoors, where the Desire 500's screen is easier to use than many cheap phones.

Colour and contrast, meanwhile, don't reach the heights of an AMOLED screen, but are very good for a phone at this price. You'll have no complaints when viewing photos or watching videos.

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LG L1 II Phone Review

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The LG L1 II is an entry-level smartphone and the smaller sibling to the LG L3. It’s a true budget phone that costs £50 SIM-free or £11 a month on contract, has a small 3-inch screen and a basic 1GHz processor. It’s most direct rival is Vodafone Smart Mini. Is the L1 II a bargain or simply just basic? Read on to find out.

SEE ALSO: 5 best cheap smartphones you can buy

The LG L1 II isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing of smartphones, but in the entry-level scene it is one of the most robust. The phone's plastic build, although squat and boxy in design, feels surprisingly solid and sturdy in the hand. The L1 II suffers from no undue bend or creaking when placed under excessive amounts of pressure. In fact it feels considerably more convincing in its design than the high-end flagship likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 or LG G2. What's more, the dimpled, textured design of the plastic body gives the phone a bit of added grip.

This solid build comes at a cost, however, as at 12.2mm thick and 105g in weight, the LG L1 II feels chunky for such a small phone. Actually, the LG L1 II’s design is best described as dense. This additional bulk isn’t all bad, though. Given the phone’s compact size, the increased weight makes it feel reassuring.

Our only serious gripe is that the L1 II’s volume controls fall in the way of your fingers whether holding the phone in your left or right hand. While this is something that is hard to avoid given the phone’s compact nature, it can make the L1 feel a little clumsy. Fortunately, there is enough resistance in the buttons to avoid most accidental presses.

As you would expect on a sub-£50 smartphone, the LG L1 II’s screen quality leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not just poor when compared with more expensive phones, however; the L1 II’s screen is below average compared to many cheap phones, too.

The 3-inch panel features a meagre 240 x 320 pixel resolution and a lowly 133 pixels per inch image. At the same sub-£50 price point, the 3.5-inch Vodafone Mini offers a 320 x 480 pixel resolution display. This might sound like a small difference, but the reality is more noticeable

The LG L1 II's screen quality is frankly dire. Colours are diluted and text is so fuzzy that it’s a considerable strain on the eyes.  Viewing angles are terrible, too – anything off a direct line of sight leaves things appearing even darker and more blurred than before, as if peering through through an muddy puddle.

In its favour, the LG L1 II’s screen is highly responsive. It responds well to all single or multi finger commands in a prompt and seamless fashion. This is good, but it’s small comfort compared to the woeful visual quality.

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HTC One Gold launching in the UK for everyone

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A gold HTC One is coming to UK markets soon, but it won’t be the same as the 18-carat gold MOBO awards exclusive.

You’ll be able to buy your very own gold HTC One soon for a far more reasonable price that if it was really covered in 18-carat gold.

HTC is releasing a gold-coloured version of its flagship HTC One after people got excited about the 18-carat one created especially for winners of the UK MOBO Awards.

“Building on the all metal design of the HTC One, and the recent success of the HTC 18 carat gold MOBO phone, we are excited to have developed our own gold device, offering yet more choice to consumers”, said Philip Blair, HTC EMEA president.

Silver, blue, red and black varieties of the HTC One are already on the market from various retailers, but soon they will be joined by the gold one. It isn’t clear when the gold HTC One will launch or how much it will cost yet.

HTC One Features
The HTC One has a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU with 2GB of RAM and the option of either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

It has a 4.7-inch Full 1080p HD display with a 468ppi image density and is wrapped in a zero-gap aluminium unibody design 9.3mm thick and 143g in weight.

In the rear is an UltraPixel camera with f/2.0, full HD video recording and HTC Zoe photography software. It also has a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling.

With integrated Bluetooth 4.0, 4G and NFC connectivity, the HTC One also offers Beats Audio technology alongside a duo of HTC BoomSound front-facing speakers.

Powered by a 2300mAh battery, the HTC One offers a battery life of around 18 hours for 3G use.

Next, read our HTC One tips and tricks.

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HTC M8 specs leaked in AnTuTu benchmarks

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AppId is over the quota

HTC M8 specs have leaked in a set of AnTuTu benchmarks, revealing the HTC One successor to be quite the powerhouse.

Although it isn’t expected to be released until spring 2014, the rumours surrounding the HTC M8 are coming in thick and fast, with the device’s specs the latest leak.

Currently codenamed the HTC M8, the alleged 2014 HTC flagship will come with a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 graphics.

The HTC M8 may well have the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 processor, which is due to be included in premium smartphones from the “first half of 2014”.

It will have a 5-inch Full 1,920 x 1,080p HD resolution screen, larger than the Full HD 4.7-inch display of the HTC One.

The camera offerings will match that of the HTC One, with a 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera in the rear and a 2.1-megapixel option in front.

The HTC M8 will come with Android 4.4 KitKat pre-installed and we expect it will feature a new HTC Sense 6 UI, building on the latest HTC Sense 5.5 released with the HTC One Max.

According to the benchmarks, the HTC M8 will come with 16GB of internal storage as standard.

Earlier this month, twitter-based serial tipster @evleaks also suggested the HTC M8 will be a 5-inch, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 affair, which further supports the AnTuTu leaks.

The HTC M8 pictures that leaked early in November suggested the HTC One 2 may come with a fingerprint scanner situated above the rear camera. It could also ditch the popular zero-gap aluminium unibody design.

HTC is expected to launch the successor to the HTC One in Q1 2014, with an event tipped for February.

Of course, HTC M8 is bound to be just a codename. The HTC One was called the HTC M7 before it was officially announced.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy S5 release date, news, rumours, specs and price.

Via: AnTuTu.net

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Nokia Lumia 1520 UK release date confirmed

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AppId is over the quota

The Nokia Lumia 1520 UK release date has been confirmed as December 6, with the 6-inch smartphone available from a variety of retailers.

Nokia has announced that the Lumia 1520 will arrive in the UK on December 6. Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4u, O2 and Vodafone UK online will all stock the device from launch.

On contract, the Nokia Lumia 1520 will start at £38 per month. Currently, a SIM-only price is not available.

“The Nokia Lumia 1520 is a stunning device, everyone who tries it instantly fall in love with it which is why it was already received great reviews”, said Conor Pierce, Vice President of Nokia UK and Ireland. “Aside from its unrivalled camera I also see it being hugely popular in the B2B space, where productivity really matters.”

Nokia Lumia 1520 Features
The Nokia Lumia 1520 is the first large-screen, Full 1080p HD Windows Phone 8 smartphone and is delivered within a body with 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7mm dimensions.

It has a 6-inch Full 1080p HD LCD display with ClearBlack technology and runs a super-quick 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM.

In the rear it has a 20-megapixel PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilisation and dual LED flash. It is capable of recording 1080p full HD video at 30fps as well.

The front-facing camera is 1 12.-megapixel affair capable of 720p HD video recording.

With 32GB of internal storage as standard, the Lumia 1520 also has a microSD card slot supporting cards up to 64GB and you’ll also get 7GB of SkyDrive cloud storage.

Powered by a 3,400mAh battery, the 6-inch smartphone runs Windows Phone 8 and will be updated according to Microsoft’s releases.

The Lumia 1520 also has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, NFC and 4G LTE connectivity.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Nokia Lumia 1520.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 update expected in January

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AppId is over the quota

A Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.4 update has been teased, with the software refresh set to be introduced in January.

With Android 4.4 KitKat having been introduced earlier this month aboard the Google Nexus 5, the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks set to be one of the first none-Nexus devices to add the latest iteration of Google’s mobile operating system.

According to a leaked internal Samsung document detailing the company’s Android 4.4 update plans, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will make the jump to KitKat in January, alongside the company’s latest stylus-hosting handset, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

With the most recent flagship phones set to add Android 4.4 at the start of the year, the leaked document has also revealed that last year’s Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will add an Android 4.4 update between March and April of 2014.

Earlier this month the Samsung Galaxy S4 was updated to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, with the software patch adding compatibility with the Samsung Galaxy Gear, the company’s handset-connecting smartwatch device.

With Android 4.4 KitKat bringing a range of new features to compatible handsets, the software refresh sees an all new search incorporating homescreen brought to devices.

Earlier this week, a Google Nexus 4 Android 4.4 update was rolled out. According to Google, the update “adds a number of new features and improves performance.”

Exact updates include “Hangouts, which can now bring all of your SMS and MMS messages alongside your other conversations and video calls.”

Further improvements will see “search for nearby places in the all new phone app, and identify unknown callers with caller ID by Google.”

Next, read all the latest Samsung Galaxy S5 news and rumours

Via: SamMobile

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Honda to introduce iOS integration with 2014 range, unveiling in December

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Honda will be unveiling its iOS in the Car mirroring in December, with the functionality to be included in its 2014 range.

The new iOS integration features will be unveiled in the first week of December, but the 2014 Honda Civic will be the first with the functionality in-built.

Apple and Honda have been working together since 2011 when they initially announce Siri Eyes Free, but it seems new iOS in the Car features will be announced in the next fortnight.

A source close to Honda said the iOS features are “more than just simple mirroring” and instead you’ll be able to control your iOS device using a 7-inch multitouch display built into the car’s dashboard.

Siri Eyes Free allows you to hit a button on the steering wheel to control your iPhone using Siri’s voice controls. You might find this useful for changing the music track or making calls, but Honda’s new iOS in the Car features will apparently go far beyond this.

Honda confirmed mirroring technology would feature in the 2014 Civic when it goes on sale in December via its Twitter account:

“Mirroring technology is available starting with the all-new 2014 Civic – we don’t believe that will be available in the 13 Accords.”

The Japanese motor vehicle company also added that the Siri Eyes Free updates would be available in early December.

“We’re anticipating Siri Eyes Free updates before the beginning of December.”

Apple is also working with Audi, BMW, Chrysler, General Motors, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota to bring Siri Eyes Free to more vehicles.

The Honda iOS in the Car announcements are tipped for a December 4 event.

Next, read our iOS 7 tips and tricks.

Via: 9to5mac

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7 Reasons Why Curved Phones Will Be Awesome

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AppId is over the quota

One word describes the overwhelming reaction that greeted the Samsung Galaxy Round and LG G Flex: meh. Their curved designs have been described as ‘solutions in search of a problem’ while their hefty price tags and limited availability mean they don’t feature on many Christmas lists.

But here’s the thing: I think everyone who dismisses the value of curved phones is wrong and here are the reasons why.

While architects will go on at great length about the increased structural integrity of curves, there is a far simpler reason why curved phones should prove more durable: their screens won’t hit the ground.

Whether you curve a phone screen top to bottom like the G Flex or side to side like the Round, both theoretically protect the glass from being impacted when they slip out your grasp. I say theoretically because drop tests of the G Flex have shown the impact can still easily break the screen, but that primarily comes from the weaker plastic substrates rather than glass used in its construction. This will improve with time.

It can’t come soon enough. A poll in February by MobileInsurance (admittedly a non-neutral source) found 23 per cent of all iPhone owners are walking around with cracked screens, so a form factor that inherently better protects it is a huge advantage. And that’s without mentioning the obvious reduction in day-to-day scratches.

SEE ALSO: 5 best cheap smartphones you can buy

Less face it, phone displays are getting bigger. This is fuelled by our changing usage patterns, which are less focused on phone calls and more on media consumption. The problem is our hands won’t grow to keep up and for most the explosion in 5-inch devices and beyond is a stretch our fingers can’t quite make.

Curved screens address this by bending these hard to reach corners closer to us and that makes hitting the edges and one-handed typing that little bit easier. It won’t solve the problem for anyone with very small hands, but we should embrace every advantage we can get to make big screens easier to use.

Furthermore all this content we are viewing in our phones will look better on a curved screen. The curves are gentle, so any sense of distortion is virtually eliminated, but more importantly curved screens greatly reduce visible reflections and offer greater privacy. The latter is only a problem when crowding people around your phone to view something, but do you buy phones based on whether they create a better experience for you or an occasional audience?

Furthermore the gradual rise of curved TVs is based on testing that found they offered a more immersive experience. We’ll benefit from that on our curved phones while critics who cite the reduced viewing angles curves bring to TVs for large get togethers have no leg to stand on when it comes to phones.

SEE ALSO: 10 best phones you can buy

Here’s a shocking revelation: your face isn’t flat. This is why land line phones traditionally curve to conveniently fit both your ear and mouth and now your curved phone will as well. Of course in being flat for so long smartphone technology has adapted so the distance of a microphone a few inches from your mouth isn’t a major problem, but it still means smartphones are generally terrible for picking up environmental noise.

Curved phones give R&D departments a helping hand. By keeping both the earphone and mic closer to their intended targets better noise cancellation and isolation technologies can be developed. If long-term that can teach people they no longer need to bellow into their handsets in public places, curved phones will have made the world a better place.

Furthermore while you’re speaking on your phone, playing a game, surfing the web or any of the thousands of things you can do on a modern smartphone you’ll also find you are doing it more comfortably with a curved phone.

You only need look at the design of landline phones and games console controllers to know curves fit our hands better. You can also get a better grip on a curved phone, so we shouldn’t drop them as much as the slabs currently in our pockets.

Tilt the Galaxy Round on a table and it will show you the time, date and any notifications you may have. Samsung calls this the ‘Roll Effect’ and while the implementation on the Round is a little slow and limited, there is no doubt that the combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes in modern phones can find some ingenious, context sensitive ways to take advantage of this movement.

Tilt to reject or answer a call on speaker phone, tilt to snooze an alarm, tilt to respond to a specific audio alert, tilt to play/pause music and much more make sense. Apple, Microsoft, Google and third-party developers should have a field day.

SEE ALSO: 10 best Android phones in 2013

Like it or loathe it, smartphones appear to have become the testing ground for most consumer focused tech innovation. Everything from touchscreens and finger friendly user interfaces to compact cameras and the growing trend for incredibly high pixel densities have come through their evolution in smartphones.

Curved screens will be no different and since they will be extremely important in wearable tech, most notably smartwatches, take up in phones can drive their maturation and miniaturisation for the benefit of other devices.

Make no mistake there remain problems with curved phones. Notably their components aren’t all curved inside yet, which can lead to reduced battery sizes (as seen in the Galaxy Round compared to nearly identical Galaxy Note 3), they will wobble on surfaces in planes, trains and cars and at the moment they carry a price premium.

That said, it seems the change is coming. Televisions, monitors, wearables and phones are all areas curved technology is being pushed and latest rumours even suggest Apple is toying with making a curved screen iPhone (possibly to justify an increased screen size?).

Consequently this may be a revolution that is hard to avoid, so try to keep an open mind.

View the original article here

Alcatel One Touch change

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There's no way around it, the Alcatel One Touch Evolve is cheap — both in price and specs. At $99 all-in, it's a bargain smartphone that has a sleek design, but it's held back by an old version of Android, a dim screen, and a lousy fixed-focus camera.

The Evolve, along with the $139 One Touch Fierce, is part of the Alcatel's efforts to bring entry-level budget smartphones to top-tier carriers in the US, something the company hasn't done before. Though the Evolve is a budget device, and I'd expect lower-end specs and features for its price, its poor performance means I still can't recommend it. For a little more money and a lot more performance, look at the LG Optimus F3 or the Nokia Lumia 520/521, three budget phones that are worth the money.

Design
Despite its budget price, the all-black Evolve doesn't look particularly cheap. Compared with the shiny design on the Fierce, this model looks understated with its soft-touch matte back cover and silver accents. There's also a shiny dark detail around the edge, near the screen, which helps elevate the design.

Unfortunately that high-end veneer disappears once you pick it up, because I could feel the back cover move around when I even gently grasped the sides of the device. Though the back cover feels soft in my hands, the phone itself feels boxy.

The Evolve has a soft-touch matte black design on the back.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Measuring just 4.7 inches tall, 2.5 wide, and 0.4 inch wide, the Evolve is small enough to use one-handed without straining to tap any part of the screen. My everyday phone is a much larger phablet, so it feels tiny in my hands, which is a welcome change. It's also heavy for its size at 4.7 ounces, though that didn't bother me.

Up top you'll find the standard power/lock button and a headphone jack, along the right side there's a volume rocker. Unlike most Android phones that have the charging ports at the bottom, the port is on the left side here. That makes the phone awkward to hold in your left hand while its charging.

The headphone jack and power button.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the back, there's a removable battery that covers the SIM and SD card slots. It's a pain to have to remove the battery just to swap in a SD card, which can add up to 32GB of extra storage to supplement the 4GB that's built-in.

Instead of physical buttons, the phone has capacitive hot keys, housed on the bezel below the screen, for the home, back, and menu controls. The only way to tell which button is which is to tap somewhere on that bottom bezel to turn on the backlight, which illuminates the outlines of each hot key.

With only 233 pixels per inch, it's no surprise that the 4-inch 480x800-pixel screen doesn't look sharp, though I was disappointed by how dim it looks even at maximum brightness. Icons, especially the ones designed by Alcatel, look fuzzy, but medium- to large-size text is easy to read. This display supports 16 million colors, and the colors of the icons and wallpapers on the screen look saturated.

The 4-inch screen looks dim and is hard to read in sunlight.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Because the screen itself is highly reflective, it's tough to read in full sunlight. It also collects a lot of smudges, which makes hard to read the screen clearly. You'll want to keep a cleaning cloth handy so you can wipe it down often.

Operating system and features
The Evolve comes with Android Jelly Bean 4.1, which isn't the most recent version of the operating system. However, unless you're very well acquainted with the OS already, you probably won't spot too many differences between 4.1 and the most current version, Android Jelly Bean 4.3.

You will, however, notice Alcatel's custom Android overlay, which has colorful menus and square-shaped icons. Swipe down from the top of screen to reveal the custom notification menu, which has a row of settings where you can toggle Wi-Fi, sound, Bluetooth and more.

Alcatel's modifications remind me of Samsung's TouchWiz overlay, which is too juvenile for my tastes, but the simplistic design here will appeal to anyone who needs a little extra guidance.

Alcatel's custom notifications menu (left) and the stock messaging app.

(Credit: Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET)

All of the standard Google Android apps, such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google+ are preinstalled, and Alcatel opted to use Google Chrome as the default browser instead of the stock Android browser. That's a plus for me, as Google's Chrome is my top-pick mobile browser because you can sync your open tabs to your computer or tablet.

From Alcatel, there is a notes app, a movie studio that lets you edit video, and a special setup wizard that walks you through setting up your phone's language and basic settings, such as WiFi or e-mail. T-Mobile also added its suite of four apps, including Visual Voice-mail and T-Mobile TV. In order to use T-Mobile TV, Visual Voicemail, and Mobile Hotspot, you'll need to pay an extra subscription fee, thought the TV and voice mail apps both have free trials.

The gesture-based keyboard Swype is preinstalled and set as the default keyboard. If you're not familiar, Swype lets you move your finger from letter to letter to input text, instead of tapping on the screen. The keyboard was more exciting several years ago, but now gesture typing is more widespread and is available on the stock Android browser and other apps like Swiftkey.

Camera and video
The Evolve has a 5-megapixel back camera. My major knock against it is that it has a fixed-focus lens, which limits what kinds of photos you can capture.

The 5-megapixel camera has a fixed focus lens that can't take sharp up-close pictures.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

It's because of that fixed focus lens that you can't take sharp up-close photos with this camera. If you tap on the screen while the camera is on, which on most smartphone cameras focuses the lens on that area, it will simply adjust the lighting. There is also no flash, so you'll have to tweak the camera's ISO and exposure levels to compensate for poor lighting conditions.

Indoor shots with a lot of natural light had significant digital noise and there was a glowing halo-like effect over anything that was white. In the standard studio shot, the photo again has noise and looks dark in places. CNET's image gallery shows how other phones handle the studio shot test.

Outdoor shots were a mixed bag; some photos looked natural, while others looked washed out.

In this close-up shot, the camera's fixed focus lens couldn't focus on the mug in the foreground.

(Credit: Sarah Mitroff/CNET)

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Android 4.3 update rolled out

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AppId is over the quota

Despite Google releasing Android 4.4 KitKat aboard the Google Nexus 5 earlier this month, many handsets are still yet to receive the now older update of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

However, Samsung today announced that this older software would be available to owners of the dainty Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, with the launch set to begin in Canada, via the Rogers, Telus and Bell networks.

The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update is a considerable 790 MB in size and includes Samsung’s KNOX services, a security update that allows users to utilise a set of ‘secured’ applications, shielded from harmful malware and viruses.

Further benefits of the 4.3 Jelly Bean update sees the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini made compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch. Bluetooth 4.0 LE smart technology compatibility and OpenGL: ES 3.0 graphics support, are also added enabling a better gaming experience.

With Samsung Galaxy S4 customers reporting cases of substantial battery loss and trouble connecting to Wi-Fi networks since their flagship phones were handed the Android 4.3 update, the Korean manufacturer will be hoping that the 4.3 Jelly Bean update will have a smoother roll out to owners of the Galaxy S4 Mini.

The Android update for the Galaxy S4 Mini is build version 1257MVLUAMK5 and requires a stable Wi-Fi connection and at least 75 per cent charge to install.

Next, read all the latest Samsung Galaxy S5 news and rumours

Via: MobileSyrup

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Nexus 5 to get new Google Now smart features in November 13 update?

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AppId is over the quota

The Google Nexus 5 could be getting a update full of Google Now smart features on November 13.

Although Google has yet to officially announce the update, but it seems an update download date for a host of new Google Now features has been pencilled in for next week.

According to Wired magazine, Google Now will become smarter with the next update, including being able to offer answers back to you, similar to iOS’ Siri.

The update will also allow Google’s flagship to search apps and launch them in order to perform specific tasks.

There will also be an increased number of Google Now cards, all based on your current location.

It does seem strange that Google didn’t offer these features as standard with Android 4.4 KitKat and the Nexus 5, but it will be interesting to see how much functionality is added with the rumoured November 13 update.

Google Nexus 5 Features
Google has jam packed the Nexus 5 will a load of high-end components, which sees the flagship’s price raised to £299.

It has a 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of Ram and is powered by a 2,300mAh Lithium-Polymer battery.

You have the option of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, increased from 8GB and 16GB in the Google Nexus 4. As with smartphone alternatives like the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, it does lack microSD card expansion.

The Nexus 5 has a 4.95-inch 1,920 x 1,080p Full HD display with a 445ppi image density. That screen is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel for a little extra protection.

In the rear, the Nexus 5 has an 8-megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation and has an additional front-facing 1.3-megapixel snapper.

As usual, there’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G and NFC connectivity.

Next, read our Google Nexus 5 vs Nexus 4 comparison.

Via: AndroidAuthority

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Android 4.4 KitKat Phone Review

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AppId is over the quota
Android 4.4 is the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. The first phone it features in is the Google Nexus 5, and we've been using that mobile to find out what's new in Android 4.4, known as KitKat.

SEE ALSO: Google Nexus 5 review

New features win most of the spotlight in any Android update, but one of the most important changes in Android 4.4 KitKat is its new approach to interface design.

The software doesn't look radically different, but there are some quite fundamental, important alterations. The line that used to separate the shortcut icon dock from the rest of the home screen has disappeared, and so have the apps/widgets tabs in the apps menu.

It may sound trivial, but makes Android 4.4 much simpler, visually, than Android 4.3. And this change has clearly been made following some careful thought about how people actually use the system.

SEE ALSO: iOS 7 review

The blunt truth – people don't change widgets much. You generally find a clock you like, and perhaps one or two more utility widgets if you're a bit of a techy fan, and you're done. By filing the widgets menu away, out of plain sight, Google has made the system look a lot more rudimentary, in a good way.

Adding widgets is still easy, though. Hold a finger down on an empty part of a home screen and a wallpaper/widgets menu pops up. We're not yet sure if the widgets tab will remain in the Android 4.4 tablets, though.

You'll also notice that app icons have been given a refresh. They're now a bit curvier, a little bit more cartoony.

SEE ALSO: Nexus 5 vs Nexus 4: what's the difference?

 

Android 4.4 KitKat's friendlier look should make it easier for technophobes to get on with. And its pared-back style is marginally better to use all-round. However, anyone who's used Android recently will feel at home. Basic navigation hasn't changed – it has just been given a bit of an intelligent spring clean.

The notifications bar is very simple compared with that of most custom Android user interfaces, though. There are no feature toggles and no brightness slider on the top level – features we find pretty useful. Instead, getting to these things takes a couple of taps.

Like iOS, Android is also continually merging with its desktop relatives a bit.

There's deep integration with Drive – Google's cloud storage service – and SMS text messaging has been folded into Google Hangouts, the online chat side of the Google Plus social network.

It's a pretty aggressive move that wants to nudge things like Whatsapp out of the picture, but it is terribly easy to use and dead handy if you already have a pretty Google-centric digital life (i.e. you use Gmail).

However, Google has hedged its bets on this one. In the Settings menu there's a separate entry that lets you specify the SMS app you want to use.

As standard, there's only Hangouts in this menu, but you can download others from Google Play. Handcent SMS is a popular one.    

It's not just chat clients that Android 4.4 is trying to squish, either. The pre-installed Google Keep app also wants to take down Evernote.

It lets you make coloured virtual post-its, complete with pictures and audio clips.

It's easy to use, and also lets you create reminders for future events or tasks as well as basic notes. Keep was introduced in March 2013, but it only got more advanced features in August 2013.

For example, you can now set location-based reminders – it'll give you a buzz with the reminder once your phone's GPS realises you're in the right spot.

View the original article here

Nokia Lumia 1520 tipped for November 25 UK launch

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AppId is over the quota

The Nokia Lumia 1520 may start shipping here in the UK on November 25, if one online retailer’s projections are to be believed.

Online phone retailer Unlock Mobile is listing the 6-inch Windows Phone 8 device as being available for pre-order, with the expected arrival date of November 25. Still, pinch of salt, and all that.

The price provided for the phone, incidentally, is £594.98. That might sound like a lot of money on the surface, but perhaps not so much when you consider the Lumia 1520’s prodigious specs.

It’s set to be the very first Windows Phone device with a 1080p display, for one thing. Up to now, Microsoft restrictions have enforced a 720p resolution for all Windows Phone 8 devices, which has left them trailing behind their Android rivals somewhat.

Another first for the platform will be the Nokia Lumia 1520’s quad-core processor - specifically a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800. Again, Windows Phone 8 has up to now supported only dual-core processors.

Elsewhere, the Nokia Lumia 1520 will sport a meaty 20-megapixel PureView camera, and integrated wireless charging will feed its 3,400mAh battery. It’ll be relatively slim for such a large device at 8.9mm thick, while it’ll weigh in at a slightly hefty 209g.

It’ll join a thriving 'phablet' market - that is, devices that are caught somewhere between a phone and a tablet in terms of screen size. The current phablet champ is the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which bears similar specs to the Nokia Lumia 1520.

In our initial hands-on with the device we reckoned that "in a market of super-sized, super-speced smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 1520 has brought the Finnish manufacturer back into the race."

Come November 25, we might have a better idea of whether it can win that race.

Next, read our Nokia Lumia 1020 review.

Via: The Inquirer

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HTC M8 pictures leak online showing off HTC One follow-on

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AppId is over the quota

It seems the new HTC M8 smartphone will be very different to its predecessors the HTC One, HTC One Mini and HTC One Max.

Pictures of the device have leaked online showing a change in design direction that will see the flagship phone adopt an even more high-end appearance.

A pair of photos posted on VR-Zone's Chinese site show a prototype of the phone's outer shell in a metallic blue colour.

The snaps reveal the cover is now a solid wraparound sheet of metal, rather than a front and back with a joining rim like the HTC One's "sandwich" style case.

The device's camera remains in the same location, however there's now an additional unexplained hole in the back of the phone shell approximately a centimetre above it.

Speculation suggests that - if HTC has decided to follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 5s and locate a fingerprint scanner on the phone - it might be positioned in the mystery hole, however it would be awkward to use in that location.

With the HTC One having shaken things up with a 4-Ultrapixel camera, another idea for the hole's use is as the location of a secondary camera, but that seems like an unnecessary addition.

In addition, it's rumoured the newest member of the HTC family will have a 5-5.2 inch screen with 2K resolution, a larger face than the 4.7 inches of the HTC One's 1920 x 1080 pixel LCD screen.

It's said to have 3GB of RAM and carry Sense 6 and will be powered by a Quacomm Snapdragon 800 processor.

The name HTC M8 will only remain during development, before an official name is announced. The HTC One was called the M7 until it's release.

There's no word yet when the new phone will be launched or its name, but it's likely to hits stores in 2014.

Now, read Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One

View the original article here

LG G Flex coming to Europe as pricing is announced

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AppId is over the quota

The LG G Flex will arrive in Europe as early as next month, the flexible phone's South Korean manufacturer has revealed.

Launching in Korea on November 12, the curved and flexible phone will be available in France on mobile network Orange by the end of the year.

The device is being promoted by LG as "the world's first 'real' curved smartphone, an underhand dig at its bitter rival Samsung and the Samsung Galaxy Round, a handset which curves slightly between its left and right edges but is not flexible.

First unveiled in October, LG has now announced the LG G Flex price, saying it will cost 999,900 Korean Won (about £584), slightly less than its competitor's 1.09 million won (£632) price tag.

The 6-inch LG G Flex has a 720p OLED display screen with a banana bend running from top to bottom.

The rounded shape mimics LG's curved LCD TVs, providing a more immersive video experience. It's also thought that it makes the phone ergonomically superior when making calls.

A video leaked by an inside source earlier this week shows that as well as being bent the phone is also bendy. It can be flattened when pushed down on either side.

The sources reports that it takes a "reasonable amount of force" to recreate the effect, so the device won't be floppy but it means its screen is unlikely to shatter when dropped.

In addition to its flexibility the phone has a self-healing protective film on back which heals up surface scratches in minutes.

A chunky 177g, it measures between 7.9mm and 8.7mm thick and is powered by the current Android processor of choice - a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU backed by 2GB of RAM. It has an 13-megapixel camera and runs on a 3,500mAh battery.

Now read about LG's 55-inch curved OLED TV

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Sony Xperia M Phone Review

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AppId is over the quota
Stylish designGood battery lifeDecent speaker qualityJust 2GB of onboard storageAverage camerasDisappointing screen qualityWorking its way through the alphabet, the Sony Xperia M is a 4-inch screen Android smartphone that’s certainly no Xperia Z1 or Japan-bound Xperia Z1f. You don't get the 20.7-megapixel camera or HD screen of those phones, but for £180 what you do get are some pretty decent specs.

The Xperia M also manages to adopt some of the sleek design traits from its more expensive Xperia compatriots to make it a great cheap Android phone.

It's no real surprise that the glass front and back panels on the high end Xperia phones have been swapped for a matte plastic body in the Xperia M. It's closer in look and size to the Xperia L. But the arched back is more subtle on the M it doesn't have the bottom edge jutting out like the Xperia L, used in that phone to accommodate the notification light bar.

If you are planning to take this for a swim or in the bath, you will be sadly disappointed to find out that it's not waterproof like the Z and Z1.

Available in black, white, purple and yellow, the Sony Xperia M incorporates Sony's OmniBalance design giving it an evenly weighted feel in the hand whether you are holding it in portrait or landscape. The bezel is thicker above and below the display and slimmer at the edges to give it a movie-friendly 16:9 screen ratio. 

With its 4-inch display and 124mm height, it feels very similar to the iPhone 5S in the hand. At 9.3mm thick it’s not as slender as Apple's smartphone, but at 115g weighs just 3g more.

On the Xperia X's edge is an aluminium on/off button and standard volume rocker,  next to a dedicated camera button. The microUSB charging port is over on the opposite side of the handset and the good news is the back is removable (from the bottom of the handset) hiding away the battery, micro SIM and microSD card slot.The customisable notification light bar at the bottom of the phone is still present but it's been merged closer into the body to keep things nice and trim.

It’s got a nicer more comfortable feel in the hand compared to the Xperia L and while it lacks some of the more premium design qualities of the Xperia Z and Z1 it’s still a well-built, good looking smartphone. 

With a 4-inch TFT 854x480 screen resolution the Xperia M sits around the two year-old Samsung Galaxy S2 in terms of quality. There's no Trilluminos or X-Reality Bravia engine to give you TV-quality picture and it struggles to deliver the same, vibrant colours as Samsung’s AMOLED display. The 245 ppi pixel density means it's never going to give you Retina-like clarity, but for reading web pages, text is nice and clear. For brightness and colour range, it performs pretty well for a low-end Android phone even if it lacks the sharpness to make it a really great screen.

As can be the case with TFT displays, the Xperia M struggles for visibility when you are outdoors and in bright sunlight. The viewing angles also really suffer resulting in colours looking extremely washed out. 

Similarly priced phones like the Nokia Lumia 520 and the bigger Nokia Lumia 625 are also let down in the screen department. The screen is one of the Xperia M's weakest attributes but for general browsing, watching the odd movie and gaming, it will do the job just fine.

While the Xperia M largely can disappoint on the viewing front, we can have no real complaints about the screen responsiveness. The 4-point multi-touch display reacts well to swiping through homescreens, opening apps and scrolling through settings.

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ZTE Warp 4G (Boost Mobile)

It is generally true that pin off-contract smartphone requires a lot of concessions. Not so with the ZTE $199 Warp 4 G. Displaying a fast 4G LTE data binding, a large 4.5 inch screen and the robust build quality, this compact Android device currently is the shrewdest option on Boost Mobile network. He certainly has done a heck of a lot more sense than splitting over $ 350 for the privilege of owning a Boost-connected Samsung Galaxy S3. Now factor in the Warp 4 G satisfactory long battery life and relatively unmucked-autour-with software Android Jelly Bean and I'm sure you'll forgive from the phone but less-than-stellar processor.

Design
My mouth agape and eyes popped wide open when I first learned of the ZTE Warp 4G price low $199 without contract. This is because when I picked up the device and placed in my hands, it felt fine, I mean really good, an emotion rarely conveyed by handsets in plastic. Not only does the phone have a robust and solid construction that is not bend or flex the textured back is easy to grasp and repels grease and fingerprints. In fact, I prefer his slippery coverage of the Samsung Galaxy S3 support; Boost sells the S3 at a steeper price of $349.99.

ZTE Warp small chassis 4G is compact enough to operate with one hand.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

The chain 4G do not have accents of faux-Silver's most recent smartphones from Samsung, namely the S4 Galaxy and Galaxy Note 3. Despite this, I found the schema of any black color of the sophisticated if a little conservative. Highlights dark grey, almost metallic, ring the Warp 4 G body and add a touch of distinction.

Measures 5.2 inches in height 2.6 inches wide and 0.41 inch thick, the Warp 4 G is absolutely not thin. The Galaxy S3 (5.4x2.8x0.34 inches) is slightly larger, but the profile of the Warp is significantly thicker. Tipping the scales at 4.7 ounces, however, the 4G string has the same exact weight as superphone Samsung 2012.

The Warp 4 G is compact but not ultra-thin.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Above the curvature important 4.5 inch 4 G screen is a 1 megapixel front-facing camera and the notification light. Seat underneath the screen are three capacitive backlit buttons for basic control Android (back, Home and Menu), represented by easy to understand symbols.

The ZTE deform the back surface of the 4G has a nice point textured.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Along the left edge of the phone are two discrete buttons, adjusting the volume up and down. Here, also, is a Micro-USB port to charge the phone and physically connecting to the PC to transfer files. The right side of the device houses a dedicated camera key which commits the Warp 4 G of the imaging system. He awakes not the handset from its slumber, however, to launch the camera approx. up there is the power button in more a headset jack stereo 3.5 mm for connecting wired headsets.

Fans of the battery-swapping, will enjoy the Warp 2, 070mAh removable battery 4G hidden under the back cover of the phone. Separate slots for cards SIM and microSD memory cards are located here as well.

Under the back cover are the slots for cards SIM and microSD and a removable battery.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Screen
ZTE, the manufacturer of the 4G string, decided to go big in terms of size of the screen of the phone. The camera sports a large 4.5 HD LCD Panel in. 720 p (1, 280 x 720 pixels). Although this cannot measure up to the screen 4.8-inch OLED from Samsung Galaxy S3 in terms of color saturation, contrast and viewing angles, it has the same resolution of 720 p.

However, display of the Warp gets decently bright and his IPS LCD technology (in plane switching), does an admirable job to submit photos with very realistic colors and details nicely.

Software and interface
The chain 4G runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, not the latest iteration of Google OS, Android version 4.3. In defense of the Warp, however, none of the other Boost Mobile phones features Android 4.2, and even less 4.3. It is not much more of a difference, not more, in terms of features, between Android 4.1 and 4.2 Android. In addition, the handset software is mostly stock and so pure, with a funky skin or without hindrance of bloatware. It is always a positive trait in my book.

You have five screens home on the 4G string to customize, either by a drop widgets and application shortcuts on. There are a few apps carrier preloaded brand, such as the network of social media focused on youth Air G and the Boost area to access your account or view applications Boost-suggested wireless.

Since the Warp 4 G is a real Android phone, it connects to the vast ecosystem of Google software and services. It's all the usual suspects such as Gmail, Google Search, storefronts Google digital, Play music, video and books, as well as the mobile browser's Chrome. The chain is also linked to the Google game store to download applications from its wide selection of third-party software developers.

Camera
The ZTE Warp 4 G uses a decent but not stellar photo camera with a sensor of 8 megapixel camera and LED flash. Application the phone camera offers many settings, features and shooting modes to choose. Image varies from VGA resolution (640 x 480) all the way up to 8 megapixels (3, 200 x 2, 400). There are also manual settings for ISO, white balance, and exposure, contrast and saturation. The chain has 16 scene modes (not counting the Normal) such as Macro, HDR, rafale and Panorama, just to list a few.

Exterior details were not too strong, but the colors were bright.

(Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET)

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Nokia Lumia 1320 Phone Review

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AppId is over the quota
Key Features: 6-inch 720p HD display; 5-megapixel camera; 1.7GHz dual-core processor

Manufacturer: Nokia

The 6-inch Nokia Lumia 1320 is the mid-range sibling of the Nokia Lumia 1520, and a rival to the HTC One Max. It forgoes headline-grabbing specs in favour of a more affordable price. The Lumia 1320 will cost less than half its big brother, but has a more moderate dual-core CPU and a 720p display, rather than a 1080p one.

We went hands-on with the device to see if the Nokia Lumia 1320 is more bargain or disappointment. Read on to find out which it is.

The Nokia Lumia 1320’s design fits in with the phone’s lower price and reduced specs. That’s not to say it looks bad, though. On the contrary, the phone remains pretty streamlined and sleek, with the two piece body available in a range of colours.

At just 9.8mm thick and 220g in weight, the Nokia Lumia 1320 is not hugely chunky or heavy considering its size. The phone’s rounded edges and plastic body sit comfortably in the hand, although the cheaper materials do feel a little less grippy.

However, the Nokia Lumia 1320 design has a distinctly budget air to it. The phone looks like an oversized Nokia Lumia 620, with round corners giving it a softer, more casual appearance than most high-end Lumias. The phone comes in bright orange, yellow, white and black colours.

Although missing out on the 1080p Full HD display of its big brother the Lumia 1520, the Nokia Lumia 1320’s screen is still reasonably impressive. Yes, in a phone of this size a Full HD panel is preferable, but the 6-inch 720p HD display is still fairly sharp.

Video looks worse than it does on the Lumia 1520, but when scrolling through the Windows Phone menus, the 1320’s screen appears sharp and detailed enough. With a Gorilla Glass 3 top coating, the screen is tough as well as visually appealing.  The relatively low 245 pixels-per-inch image density is noticeable elsewhere, though.

A 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution is nothing to be sniffed at, but it does leave the Lumia 1320 at a major disadvantage when compared with the likes of the similarly-sized HTC One Max or Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Nokia’s ClearBlack display technology has helped enhance the colours of the IPS panel, with bright, vibrant, rich hues sitting alongside deep blacks.

In a similar vein to the phone’s screen, the Nokia Lumia 1320’s performance is reduced, but not completely diminished by, the move back to a dual-core CPU. The Windows Phone platform has to date managed comfortably without quad-core processors, but the quad-core Lumia 1520 changed that.

The Lumia 1320 has a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB of RAM. As we have come to expect from many Lumia phones, this combination is perfectly satisfying without ever setting the world alight.

Launching and running applications left us with no concerns about power shortage, with the dual-core CPU skipping through all tasks with easy. During our brief time with the phone, though, the Nokia Lumia 1320’s performance was marred by one major glitch that crashed the phone.

However, due to the pre-production nature of the test model we do not want to tar the phone’s reputation just yet - further testing will be required. Our full Nokia Lumia 1320 review will be available soon.

Despite the less power hungry components, the Nokia Lumia 1320’s battery is the same size as the 1520’s. The huge 3400mAh Lithium-Ion brick is said to offer 21 hour talk time, so should more than ample see you through a day or two’s use.

Another area where Nokia has cut corners is the phone’s internal storage. There’s just 8GB on board, but this can be expanded via microSD up to 64GB.

A noticeable step back from the 1520, the Nokia Lumia 1320’s camera is a bit of a disappointment. It’s one of the phone’s main drawbacks. Dropping from a 20-megapixel PureView offering to a standard 5-megapixel snapper, the difference is extremely noticeable.

During our hands-on in both an artificially lit demo room and areas of bright, direct sunlight, the small sensor struggled, often producing slightly grainy, noisy shots. What’s more, the shutter felt a little on the slow side and the integrated LED flash was unremarkable. The front camera has a bargain bin VGA sensor.

Having been offered so much by other Lumia branded phone cameras, the Lumia 1320’s camera now feels restrictive and a bit of a let-down. It takes the otherwise pleasing phone back one very considerable step and could be a major stumbling point for some wannabe owners. But then not everyone cares about a phone’s camera.

Nokia’s double-pronged attack on the 6-inch smartphone market is a bold, and slightly confused move. While the Nokia Lumia 1520 dazzles, the cheaper Lumia 1320 is solid without setting the world alight. The cheaper price point will appease too many, but the lower resolution screen and considerably worse camera will always grate with owners.

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Motorola Moto G press picture leaks before November 13 launch event

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The first official-looking press picture of the Motorola Moto G smartphone has been leaked online.

Ahead of the Moto G’s official launch on November 13, an apparently official press image of the upcoming mid-range handset has appeared.

The press picture comes courtesy of notorious tipster @evleaks and bears the tagline “Almost here.”

Motorola issued a formal save the date notice for the Moto G launch event earlier this month, but offered no further details regarding its supposedly mid-range handset.

It will be the cheaper alternative to the innovative flagship Motorola Moto X, which sadly is a US exclusive and won’t be making its way to UK shores.

From the pictures it seems the Moto G will launch in pink, green, blue and white. It will also feature a smooth contour design with angular detailing at the top.

Motorola Moto G Specs
Motorola Moto G specs leaked at the start of this month, revealing that the smartphone will have a 4.7-inch 720p HD display.

It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz, rather than the top end Snapdragon 800 CPU to keep costs lower.

There will be a choice of 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, which is another indicator of the Moto G’s more budget conscious price tag.

The Moto G will also have an 8-megapixel camera in the rear, but we’re unsure of the forward-facing snapper’s specs as yet.

Battery-wise, there’s a 1,950mAh unit, which should offer a fairly average standby time.

Motorola intends to make sure the Moto G is offered for free on a monthly contract basis to make it appealing to consumers.

The Moto X launched in August with DIY cover options and a focus on innovative features and solid design rather than the top-end specs. Some of the Moto X features have made their way into the Google Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat.

Next, read our Google Nexus 5 vs Nexus 4 comparison.

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Google Nexus 5 Phone Review

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Excellent valueGreat performanceDecent low-light camera performanceExcellent screenNon-expandable memoryCamera tends to overexposeMediocre battery lifeThe Google Nexus 5 is the one new Google-branded phone for 2013. It takes over from the Google Nexus 4. And like that phone, it guns for its big-name Android rivals with a super-aggressive price. Offerring excellent performance, a smart design and great value, the Nexus 5 is undoubtedly one of the best phones of the year. Read on to find out why.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Best Mobile Phones

The Google Nexus 5 is made by LG. You probably wouldn't know it unless you spot the little LG logo on the back, though. It has none of the quirky design elements of the LG G2.

This is a deeply pragmatic phone in many respects, in that Google was clearly out to make a mobile that looks and feels great, without any of the flashy, budget-busting bits of a £600 phone like the iPhone 5S. The Google Nexus 5 is arguably much more conservative, design-wise, than the Nexus 4 it replaces.

The Nexus 5 is made of soft touch matt black plastic. It doesn't sound as impressive as the aluminium of the HTC One, but the response from the TrustedReviews team was unanimous – it feels great.

Its back is lightly curved, adding to the hand-friendliness of the silky smooth finish. The Nexus 5 looks good, too. Every part of the phone bar the LED flash is black (a white version is also available), and the lack of any recognisable flashy extras beyond the oversized camera lens housing make it quite a 'pure' design.

It comes across as a much more confident phone than the Nexus 4, with its 'jazz hands' spangly finish and glass rear.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Android Phones

The one issue of such a simple-looking phone is that front-on, it's not that easy to casually tell which way around it is. All navigation keys are part of the screen, so the only indicators are the deeply low-key earpiece speaker and front camera. It's a bit of a phone ninja.

The lack of any flashiness is clear in its construction, too. Although the Nexus 5 does not have a removable back – there's no battery access and no hidden memory card slot – this is not a unibody phone. The back plate and the plastic sides of the phone are two different bits, and there's a clear seam between them.

We imagine this makes the phone easier to construct, and easier to fix. But to pedantic eyes, it's something that shows this phone hasn't been constructed on a limitless budget.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Cheap Mobile Phones

However, handling-wise it's one the nicest phones in its class – beaten only by the slightly smaller HTC One. LG has put a lot of effort into making the Nexus 5 as narrow as possible, making it less of a handful, and it's slim too.

The Nexus 5 is 69mm wide and 8.6mm thick. That's 0.5mm narrower, and 0.7mm thicker than, the Samsung Galaxy S4. Being a budget-conscious phone hasn't resulted in a remotely chunky body, and in-use it leaves the impression of being almost 'all screen' thanks to its super-slim screen bezel. LG has done a fantastic job as manufacturing partner here.

SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 release date, news, rumours, specs and price round-up

Like any 5-inch phone, though, reaching from one end of the screen to the other with a thumb is a bit of a stretch. If you have small hands, we recommend getting your hands on a phone this large before buying any mobile this size.

In common with many phones with non-removable rear panels, the Google Nexus 5 uses a pop-out SIM tray. It takes microSIM cards – now the most commonly used type in high-end phones.

One other hardware feature worth a nod is the well-executed notification LED. It's a multi-colour LED whose light is diffracted slightly to give it a 'glow' effect, and it sits dead centre below the screen. Its low-key style fits in perfectly with the phone's self-assured low-key design. Like so many elements of this phone, it's simple, and it's good.

This isn't a phone that panders to all the demands of the hardcore tech geek brigade, though. There's no dedicated video output (extremely rare these days) and no way to expand upon the 16GB or 32GB of internal memory. We don't think these are significant downsides unless you're looking for a video jukebox phone, though.

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