Visit our other websites:    On CE ... eSP ... Mobile Channels ... ECI news ... rAVe Europe ... Digital Signage News EMEA

Mobile Phones

The Biggest BlackBerry Yet

E-mail Print PDF
The Biggest BlackBerry Yet

The company formerly known as RIM quietly launches the biggest BlackBerry handset yet-- the Z30, with a 5-inch 1280x720 295ppi Super AMOLED display.

It carries a dual-core 1.7GHz processor with quad-core graphics, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, a 2880mAh battery (one the company promises powers up to 25 hours of continuous "mixed use"), "Natural Sound" stereo speakers and wifi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity.

The cameras are similar to those seen in the Z10, being 2MP front-facing and 8MP rear-facing with an f2.2 lens.

Continue reading...

Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, 5S

E-mail Print PDF
Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, 5S

Like clockwork, second week of September brings about the Apple keynote and its customary iDevice launches-- in this year's case, a duo of new iPhones, the 5C and 5S.

Opened, as these things tend to, by CEO Tim Cook the keynote kicked off with talk on the iTunes festival and a new Apple Store before moving on to iOS. Apparently September 2013 sees Apple shipping its 700 millionth iOS device, and the company hopes iOS 7 will become "the world's most popular mobile OS."

But of course the main news is not the update on the venerable iDevice (iPhone 4+, iPad 2+, iPad mini, 5th gen iPod touch) OS, or how the iPhone 5 helped Apple "take [its] iPhone business to an entirely different level." No, the real meat of the keynote is the iPhone 5 replacements-- the multicolour iPhone 5C (in white, pink, green, yellow and blue) and the "forward-thinking" iPhone 5S.

As suggested in earlier rumours, the iPhone 5C is a non-metal (hard-coated polycarbonate) device featuring a 4-inch retina display, A6 processor, 8MP iSight camera and 16/32GB storage. It is "Arsenic-free, mercury-free, and Android-free" (cue laughs from the iFans) and ships with a range of colourful protective silicon cases.

Continue reading...

Alcatel Reveals One Touch Hero at IFA

E-mail Print PDF
Alcatel Reveals One Touch Hero at IFA

Alcatel has one flagship device launch at IFA 2013-- the One Touch Hero, a 6-inch Android 4.2 smartphone complete with stylus and a number of intriguing optional accessories.

Accessories seen at the show include a inductive wireless charging cover, a MagicFlip cover (provides notifications via embedded LED), an E Ink cover (provides a low-power eReader display), a Bluetooth miniature headset accessory (similar to the LG Mini+), a TV Link video adapter and even a pico projector that doubles as a stand.

Meanwhile the included stylus "transforms the phone into a creative enterprise tool," the company claims.

Continue reading...

LG Boosts Displays Further

E-mail Print PDF
LG Boosts Displays Further

LG Display claims it now makes the first Quad HD smartphone display-- a 5.5-inch AH-IPS LCD panel boasting 2560x1440 resolution with 538ppi pixel density, the highest to date.

The panel is 1.21mm thick and just 1.2mm at the bezel, making it also the the slimmest and narrowest panel around. Further LG claims include the use of Low Temperature Poly-Silicon (LTPS) substrate for "superior" 430nit brightness with improved transmittance and larger aperture opening size.

According to the company such displays will allow users to view full-size PC versions of web pages without image distortion, as well as sharper, undistorted text when zooming into the screen.

Continue reading...

10 September 2013: Next iPhone Launch?

E-mail Print PDF
10 September 2013: Next iPhone Launch?

Bring out your calendars and mark the date-- if AllThingsD has it right the next iPhone launch will take place at a 10 September 2013 Apple event.

While not officially confirmed, the September date makes sense. After all, Apple tends to announce new software on the June Worldwide Developers Conference (iOS 7 in the case of WWDC 2013) before launching devices running said software on the following September.

However don't expect anything too revolutionary-- according to the rumour mill the next iPhone might even be called the iPhone 5S, meaning it will be mostly identical to the iPhone 5 but with a few spec upgrades.

Other sources suggest the new iPhone will carry at least one interesting feature. According to 9to5Mac a folder called "BiometricKitUI" lies in the iOS 7 version 4 beta, with references to users swiping a sensor on the home button. Maybe the next iPhone will carry a fingerprint sensor of some kind?

Continue reading...

LG Intros G2 Flagship

E-mail Print PDF
LG Intros G2 Flagship

LG goes for something slightly different with the G2 smartphone flagship-- the first "G" series device featuring a 5.2 inch display and admittedly unusual physical button placement.

Unlike most other smartphones the G2 has all physical buttons (namely the power button and the volume rocker) placed beneath the rear-facing camera instead of the sides. According to LG such a design decision makes one-handed use of a larger smartphone easier while allowing for a thinner-than-usual (2.65mm) bezel.

Spec-wise the G2 aims to impress-- the 5.2-inch IPS display handles 1080p resolutions through a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB RAM, 16 or 32GB internal storage and a 3000mAh battery.

The massive display carries Graphic RAM (GRAM) to reduce energy consumption by up to 26% (on a still frame) and increase overall usage time by around 10%, at least according to LG.

Continue reading...

Moto X: The "True" Google Phone?

E-mail Print PDF
Moto X: The

Motorola Mobility finally reveals the reason why Google shelled out $12.5 billion for it back in 2011-- the Moto X, the first Motorola product designed with Google supervision.

At first glance, the Moto X looks like any other 4.7-inch Android handset, if one carrying what Motorola calls "innovation themes." These include "Touchless Control" (as in voice-activated Google Now functionality), "Active Display" (a low power means of showing alerts on screen without unlocking the device) and "Quick Capture" (two flicks of the wrist activate the camera).

Powering such features is the "X8 Mobile Computing System"-- a custom-built 8-core architecture designed to handle multiple tasks while sipping as little battery life as possible. It consists of a pair of dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Processors, a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU and 2 custom processors (one for natural language, the other for contextual computing).

Continue reading...

The Next Mobile Power Source: Pee...?

E-mail Print PDF
The Next Mobile Power Source: Pee...?

In the future, a bathroom break might involve more than merely relieving yourself-- if the scientists at Bristol Robotics Laboratory have it their way taking a leak will also charge your mobile phone. No, seriously.

A paper titled "Waste to Real Energy: the first MFC powered mobile phone" explains how urine can power "microbial fuel cells" (MFCs), an unusual class of energy converter able turn organic matter into electricity. How? Metabolism, via microorganisms able to literally turn organic matter (such as urine) into electricity.

"We are very excited as this is a world first, no-one has harnessed power from urine to do this so it's an exciting discovery," says Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos, an expert in harnessing unusual power sources via microbial fuel cells. "Using the ultimate waste product as a source of power to produce electricity is about as eco as it gets.”

Continue reading...

Sony Takes on Phablets, Smartwatches

E-mail Print PDF
Sony Takes on Phablets, Smartwatches

The fancy Bulgari Hotel, London hosts not one, not two but three Sony product launches-- the company reveals the Xperia Z Ultra phablet, the SmartWatch 2 and the SBH52 Bluetooth Handset hands-free calling accessory.

The first Sony step in smartphone/tablet hybrid territory, the Xperia Z Ultra is a massive (6.4-inch!) device with sleek "OmniBalance" stylings based on those of the recent crop of Xperia devices. The display handles 1920x1080 resolutions and features Bravia TV technology, while the tempered glass casing is 6.5mm fat and weighs 212g.

Inside are a quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage (expandable via microSD), 3000mAh battery and an 8MP rear-facing camera. The OS of choice is Android 4.2.2, "enhanced" with Sony UI and app additions.

Perhaps realising most customers find making calls on such a gargantuan device slightly awkward in the least Sony offers a companion accessory-- the SBH2 Handset, a Bluetooth receiver one can either clip on clothing or hold like a regular mobile phone.

It pairs with most smartphones via NFC or Bluetooth, features an OLED display for easy call log and text messaging functions and Sony says it is splash-proof.

Continue reading...

Page 21 of 30