Spigen's Samsung Galaxy S6 cases available for pre- order, new renders appear

Do you remember the extraordinary renders of
the soon-to-come Samsung Galaxy S6 that we
showed you the other day? More importantly, do
you recall the case renders that popped up in the
same period?Hopefully, these have successfully
helped you picture the anticipated flagship.
If not, then another prominent case- and
accessory-maker, Spigen, has got you covered
(no pun intended). Its range of nine protective
accessories for the Galaxy S6 are already
available for pre-order from its official site,
priced between $14.99 - $34.99 and available in
a handful of different colors. Well, that's
interesting, but what's more interesting are, of
course, the new renders of the device that intend
to showcase the cases to the fullest.
With each an every day that brings us closer to
March 1 (when Samsung will announce it), it is
becomes more and more certain that the Galaxy
S6 might indeed look like we're suspecting. Take a
gander at the newest Spigen renders right below
(also ignore the iPhone-esque UI in some of the
pictures).

Apple car plans envision release as early as 2020

The big news from the last couple of days is that
more and more evidence mounts up to testify that
Apple is working on a car, and the latest scoop by
Bloomberg reveals that Cupertino might be ready
to unveil the electric vehicle as early as 2020.
The alleged Apple Car (the iCar?) will face
electric vehicle rivals from the likes of Tesla
Model III, the $35,000 sedan that is planned to
come in 2017 and sport a massive, 200-mile
range. The 200-mile range has often been said to
be a milestone, ‘the inflection point’ (in the
words of Steve LeVine) that will bring on electric
cars to a true mainstream level.
Apple certainly has the cash to build out car
operations quickly. With $178 billion in the bank
and a net profit of north of $18 billion in its last
(and strongest so far) quarter, the company
could easily buy out the multi-billion facilities.
With the example set by Tesla, it is now clear
that the barriers for entering the automotive
industry are not as high as one would imagine.
At the same time, many analysts and insiders like
former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassee have
put reports about the Apple Car under serious
doubt saying that the Wall Street Journal (the
publication that first reported on this) is
mistakenly reading Apple’s efforts in building
better car info-tainment with a full-blown car
production. Insiders speaking for WSJ,
Bloomberg, and other media traditionally used by
Apple for its controlled release of its future
plans, however, continue adding more fuel to the
symbolic Apple Car rumor fire.
One disclaimer is due: all reports mention that -
just like with many other prototypes - the Apple
Car is by no means a product that has
guarantees to arrive to market. In the late fall
of 2014, Tim Cook has said in an interview that
Apple has many products in development that had
not even leaked out yet, but the company is not
going to release all of them.
source: Bloomberg

Samsung Galaxy S6 said to come with 16MP Sony IMX240 sensor

The Samsung Galaxy S6 will be unveiled on March
1st at MWC, but details around the ‘next big
thing’ just keep on coming. The latest whisper on
the grapevine reveal that the Galaxy S6 will
allegedly feature a 16-megapixel camera with a
Sony IMX240 sensor. This is the same 16-
megapixel sensor used on at least some Galaxy
Note 4 units, and measures a larger-than-
average, 1/2.6 inches.
The information comes from SamMobile, and - if
true - puts all doubts about whether Samsung
was going to use a 16- or a 20-megapixel sensor
to rest.
Despite featuring the same sensor as in the Note
4, the quality of the images is said to have
improved thanks to multiple tweaks to the lens
and the processing algorithms and other software
on the Galaxy S6. We’ve already heard what
should be the inevitable, the inclusion of a new
manual camera mode where you get to control in-
depth camera settings such as shutter speed
along with earlier available controls over white
balance and ISO.
Samsung has dropped an official hint that
emphasizes how huge of an upgrade to the camera
this is expected to be, so we would not be
surprised to see a wider-aperture lens, or just
one with sharper, better-looking output.

Google sees room for two mobile payment systems on Samsung phones

Samsung and Google have agreed to disagree
before. There was that period about two years
ago when Samsung wanted to show Google who
really was responsible for Android's success and
developed the Tizen OS. Now, following the word
that Samsung has acquired mobile payment
company LoopPay , the two tech titans would
appear to be at odds once again.
Following the word that Samsung had officially
purchased LoopPay, many wondered about
Samsung's commitment to Google Wallet. David
Eun, head of Samsung’s Global Innovation
Center, admitted that Google is an important
strategic partner for Samsung, but also said that
the focus is on Sammy's customers. He said that
the manufacturer is "committed to creating the
different experiences and devices that they (the
customers) want. "
LoopPay and Google Wallet use two different
methods to allow users to make payments by
tapping the phone to a POS terminal. Google
Wallet uses NFC connectivity which limits its use
to retail locations outfitted with NFC. LoopPay's
system is based on the magnetic stripe on the
back of a credit card and doesn't require NFC.
Because most retailers already use a magnetic
stripe swiping terminal, Samsung's new mobile
payment system is already accepted in over 10
million locations, swamping the smaller (but
growing) number that can accept Google Wallet,
Apple Pay and other NFC based systems.
Samsung executives have already said that the
LoopPay system will be available for the Samsung
Galaxy S6 which will be unveiled March 1st at
MWC in Barcelona. That means that the new
flagship might offer two different mobile
payment platforms for users to employ. Tim
Sloane, a payments analyst at Mercator Advisory
Group, says that this could be confusing for some
users.
Surprisingly, Google executives are said to be
okay with all of the duplication. One person
familiar with the company's thinking says that
Google believes that multiple mobile payment apps
can live side-by-side on a single phone.
source: WSJ

Mark Zuckerberg compares Facebook access to critical services like 911

WASHINGTON: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg,
in a recent interview with Bloomberg, compared
access to the social network with access to
critical services like 911.
According to the Verge, Zuckerberg said that
he considered the model to be most similar to is
911 in the US, adding that even if one had not
paid for a phone plan, the person could always
dial 911, and if there is a crime or a health
emergency or a fire, one get basic help.
He said that there should be an equivalent of
this for the internet as well -- where even if
one hasn't paid for a data plan, the person can
get access to basic health information or
education or job tools or basic communication
tools, and it will vary, country by country.

5th consecutive HTC One M9 wallpaper leaked

"Another day, another M9 wallpaper " says custom
Android ROM developer LlabTooFer, as he tweets a
link to a fifth consecutive wallpaper, supposedly
ripped from the HTC One M9's firmware. Cheeky
or not, the dev has managed to get his hands on
a stack of what we guess are at least 10 or 15
built-in walls, and he's been sharing them for a
full work week now. Better yet, we've been
promised to get one for every day until the
announcement of the M9, which is due to take
place on March 1st at MWC 2015.
The new wallpaper (an abstract one) again sports
a resolution of 2160 x 1920, which seemingly
confirms HTC's unwillingness to jump onto the
Quad HD (1440 x 2560) bandwagon. The extra
pixels, if you're wondering, are there so that you
can make the wallpaper scrollable on your
homescreen. Don't worry, though, we have good
reason to believe that HTC is working on at least
two other devices that will offer displays with as
many pixels – the HTC One M9 Plus (suspected),
and a mysterious Desire A55 .
If any of the leaked wallpapers so far catch your
fancy, you can load them up on your current
device by downloading them directly from the
slideshow gallery below. To do so, just zoom into
the picture (double-click or use the +/- buttons
on the bottom right) and then right click > Save
image as.
Enjoy

How to disable Google services and system apps you aren't using on Android (root)

Here at PhoneArena, we've touched down on the
freedom of throwing all those pesky, resource-
eating carrier and vendor bloatware apps in the
bin that's bestowed upon you by a rooted Android
device. When it comes to certain system apps and
services, however, completely uninstalling and
banishing them into oblivion might not be the
best way to slice that cake. What if you uninstall
a vendor app, then come back looking for it in
vain, as it hasn't been put online or inside the
Google Play Store. Or what if uninstalling a
particular services ends up breaking another
app's functionality?
To ensure you have a safe way out of these
swamps, the better option is to disable, or
"freeze" said apps and services, rather than to
outright get rid of them. This shuts them down
completely, but it lets you easily enable them
later on. So we'll show you how to do just that,
using the quick and lethal Disable Service app.
Grab it from the Play Store and we'll take it for
a spin, disabling some unneeded mumbo jumbo
from our Lollipop 5.0.1-running test bunny!

Qualcomm & Samsung have lost no love over their Snapdragon 810 - Galaxy S6 breakup

Qualcomm & Samsung - no love lost over
Snapdragon 810 - Galaxy S6 breakup
By now, it's a public secret that the single,
unnamed "large customer" who ditched the
Snapdragon 810 SoC for its upcoming flagship
smartphone and undermined Qualcomm's earnings
expectations is Samsung. Although losing the
Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge to Sammy's own Exynos 7420
processor is a mighty blow, one would be wrong
to picture Qualcomm dramatizing over it. In fact,
a company of such posture should be expected to
take the loss like a champ and continue acing the
market. Which is what Q-comm seems to be doing
right now!
“We don’t win every handset design with every
OEM and that’s normal for us,” company VP of
marketing Tim McDonough told TrustedReviews,
adding that "We are proud of our products, but
we have a reasonable sense of humility and
realize you don’t win every one all of the time.
That’s normal. If you plan for having 100 per
cent of everything, you’re going to be wrong
very frequently.” Words to live by, folks!
As Qualcomm and its customers are working on
multiple devices simultaneously at any given
moment, the company's relationships with
customers "are not defined by a single handset,"
explained McDonaugh. So even if the chipmaker
missed on one device, it still has plenty more
using its products, which constitutes "a very deep
relationship" and "mutual investment" . We take
that as a hint that Samsung will stay partners
with Qualcomm, unless it starts sticking its
home-grown silicon in everything it produces.
Additionally, McDonaugh suggested that timing
issues could have contributed to its unnamed
customer Samsung's decision. “If you miss the
timing window for a particular handset or the
timing window for a particular customer, or you
take too long going from geography to geography
rolling it out, that can be a make or break thing
for them.” It's not a secret that the first
batches of TSMC-produced Snapdragon 810
chipsets had some kinks that took time to iron
out, which is an especially unwelcome scenario in
the case of a worked-up customer gunning to
unveil not one, but two complex, expensive, bet-
the-house-on-them flagship smartphones as
early as March 1st. Better luck next time,
Qualcomm!

Are They Really The Largest Smartphones On The Planet

As pertains to large-screened smartphones, a
curious sense of insecurity has taken root in the
smartphone industry, and it's not so much about
the size, but rather the way we deal with it.
More specifically, the way we dealt with it in the
past has come to haunt many a tech blogger.
Does anyone remember the 4.65-inch Galaxy
Nexus? The 4.7-inch HTC Titan? These were the
'crazy' phablets of days past. Today, these are
both considered medium-sized flagships. In just a
few short years, we went from being horrified at
the thought of anything exceeding 4 inches, to a
state where those appear tiny, even when
compared to the mini versions of popular top-
shelf models. So, are we in for another round?
Are the below listed giants on path to become the
new standard? Or are we reaching a fundamental
limit? We sure would like to join voices with the
seemingly outraged community, yet we're a tad
jittery, and can't quite muster up the courage to
make a definitive statement, all things
considered. In any case, it does seem like the
phablet category will endure, and, if anything, is
growing more diverse. And ever larger, of course.
So how big is big enough? Six inches, minimum,
at least if you were to ask the creators of the
massive beasts you'll find right below. And after
all, why the heck no? In the end, bar price
considerations, these are small, voice calls-
capable tablets in super-'compact' bodies. And,
fellas, they are here to stay.

Smartphones with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution displays

When we first heard that manufacturers might be
making the transition to even pixel-denser
displays than the flagship industry standard of
1080p, us and the community as a whole were
skeptical of the value proposition. It seemed like
manufacturers are sacrificing precious battery
life for nothing more than bragging rights –
after all, even people with perfect, 20/20 vision
would have a hard time actually spotting a
difference in clarity on such small panels.
Regardless, the Android industry pressed on, and
we currently have about a dozen of high-end,
high-profile devices that offer as many pixels.
Now, while a comparable (in terms of quality)
1080p panel will always draw less power than a
1440p one, as of late, devices of the latter type
have proven capable of providing up to two days
of usage – like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and
the Motorola DROID Turbo, for example. Sure,
those two would have probably clocked an even
better time if they stuck to a 1080p screen, but
it's honestly looking like there's no turning back
at this point. Welcome to the Quad HD era,
everybody!
So which are these device that would dare stand
in the way of extraordinary battery life for
questionable benefits to the observer? Find out
right below!

Samsung declares 2015 the year of wireless charging, pointing at the Galaxy S6

"With our upcoming Galaxy smartphones, users
will be able to enter a new wireless world like
never before ." This is how Samsung's next hint
for the upcoming features of the Galaxy S6 end
in the newest official blog post. After extolling
the evolution of Samsung's mobile phone cameras,
and teasing an excellent S6 shooter, now the
company turns its attention to the rumored
wireless charging.
Blessing us with a unibody phone, which will be a
first for the Galaxy S line, Samsung has
apparently decided to compensate for the sealed
battery compartment with highly efficient
inductive charging for the Galaxy S6 . This might
also have something to do with the famed rich
accessory ecosystem that Samsung is reportedly
prepping around its new flagship. The latest blog
post from Samsung, which shines a spotlight on
the wireless charging standards, history, and
latest developments, is another hint in that
direction, so we can't wait to see how the
company has managed to embed wireless charging
in a metal unibody.

LG reportedly prepping an octa-core 64-bit chipset to take on the Snapdragon 810, it's not a NUCLUN

LG's own NUCLUN chipset has powered just a few
devices up until, most notably the South Korea-
exclusive LG G3 Screen, but reportedly this was
enough to deem it an overheating failure , which
led to lowered sales of the aforementioned
device. This is probably one of the reasons why
we are quite unlikely to witness a NUCLUN-
powered smartphone released worldwide anytime
soon. This probably won't force LG cease the
development and production of its mobile SoCs.
What's more, new reports circulating in South
Korea's air claim that the make of the
noteworthy G3 and G Flex 2 is already prepping a
new piece of 64-bit silicon.
It is allegedly intended to be a Snapdragon 810
rival, similar to Samsung's most recent Exynos
offering, the 7420. Four Cortex-A72 and four
Cortex-A53 are believed to be in the processing
heart of this ARMv8-based chipset, all of which
are most likely churning gears in accordance with
the big.LITTLE architecture. The manufacturer of
this piece of hardware is expected to be TSMC,
which will make use of the 20nm technology.
There are only guesses about the GPU unit inside
this mysterious LG system-on-chip, but
speculations claim it will probably be a Mali one.
Nevertheless, the release date of this SoC has
been tipped to be sometime by the end of 2015,
which might be a little too late considering the
dynamics of the chipset market. Interestingly,
the rumor mill claims that LG has been forging on
yet another chipset, but it too got canceled due
to, once again, excessive overheating.
source: DT.co.kr (translated ) via G4Games

You can take 50MP pictures with your non-rooted OnePlus One, here's how

While we are waiting for OnePlus to release its
Oxygen OS for its sole (for now) champion, the
OnePlus One community has certainly not remained
idle while it's waiting for the OnePlus 2 . If you
have not substituted CyanogenMod 11S for one of
the numerous third-party ROMs available for the
OnePlus One, then you can easily snap 50MP
pictures with your device. That's right, you read
that correctly. What's even better is that you
don't need root access in order to accomplish
this.
How to do this, exactly? It seems that the
camera app from Oppo's ColorOS has been
successfully ported to CyanogenMod 11S. This
particular app allows users to take photos of up
to 50MP in size thanks to an image interpolation
technology. This feature was among the more
head-turning camera features that debuted on a
number of Oppo devices, like the Oppo Find 7 /
Find 7a .
The process of installing the ColorOS camera on
the OnePlus One is pretty simple and
straightforward - just install the app, then
install certain plugins, and you're good to go!
Among the other noteworthy features of this
camera app are: "working 4K recording with
pause/resume support, HDR Recording,
SlowMotion recording, saturation, burst mode,
ISO settings, etc".
If you want to flash the ColorOS camera on your
device, head to the source link for further
instructions.

Windows 10 For Phones-It's not certain that double-height Live tiles will make it to Windows 10 for phones, Microsoft bigwig says

The Technical Preview of Windows 10 for phones
is already out for some users, showcasing the
majority of features that might make it to the
official release of the OS later on. As Windows
fans probably know, among the numerous
novelties of the upcoming platform are the
double-height Live tiles, which are also a part of
the Technical Preview.
Unfortunately, it's not completely sure that these
will arrive alongside the full-fledged Windows 10
for phones later this year. A Microsoft exec,
namely Gabriel Aul, the manager behind Windows
Insiders program, revealed in a recent tweet
that said that the new types of Live tiles are still
being tested and might or might not make it to
the full-fledged release.
@imlochab @BrokeHobo We're still experimenting
with tile options. Even the double tall isn't for
sure. You'll see more and can give feedback
— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) February 17, 2015
Of course, we are hoping that this customization
option will be among the final changelog of
Windows 10 for phones.
source: @GabirelAul via WMPoweruser

VLC 3.0 media player will support Chromecast streaming, changelog reveals

Brace yourselves, VLC 3.0 is coming, and with it
a full Chromecast output support, a changelog
revealed. The popular media player app recently
came out of beta in the Play Store, but was
promptly removed, and is now lurking somewhere
in the shadows, apparently waiting for the big
upgrade straight to VLC 3.0. Now, when and
whether the Chromecast support will be
implemented for Android device lovers to stream
at will, remains to be seen, but the changelog
offers a promising start of the new year for the
millions of VLC fans around the globe.
source: Pocket-lint

Galaxy Note 4 dominates our blind camera comparison, beats a Canon DSLR and the iPhone 6 Plus

So, which one's better at taking photos – a
modern DSLR camera, an iPhone 6 Plus, or a
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 ? That's the question we
wanted to answer with our recent blind camera
comparison, and you might be surprised by the
results we're about to share. Long story short,
votes are greatly in favor of Samsung's phablet.
The Galaxy Note 4 took first place in five out of
six scenes, thus solidifying its name as one of
the best cameraphones in existence. As for the
camera we threw in the race, a Canon EOS 650D,
it lagged quite a bit behind the Note 4 and
Apple's finest.
Now, you're probably wondering how a quality
DSLR lost to a couple of smartphone cameras. The
answer, in our opinion, has a lot to do with what
people perceive as a good-looking image. The
iPhone, for example, usually produces colors that
are warmer than they actually look – colors are
somewhat inaccurate, but very eye-pleasing. In
the meantime, the Galaxy Note 4 adds a hint of
sharpness to its images, thus making details more
pronounced. As for the DSLR camera, we had it
set to automatic settings while shooting. Its RAW
images were exported as JPEG by adding as little
processing as possible, which produced faithful,
yet not-so-catchy photos.
So at the end of the day, is the Samsung Galaxy
Note 4 a better camera than a DSLR? Well, that
depends on your priorities and on how you look at
these two devices. The latter's RAW images look
soft and uninspiring as they are, but can be
made to look as good, if not better than the
Note's – all it takes is a few minutes of simple
editing. The Galaxy Note 4, on the other hand, as
well as the iPhone 6 Plus, take care of all the
post-processing for you – you get a pleasing
picture with as little effort as possible. And we
don't even have to mention that they fit in a
pocket, unlike a DSLR.
Are you surprised by the results from our blind
camera comparison? Or were you expecting to see
a smartphone collecting more votes than a DSLR?
Let us know in the comments!

We changed the LG G3's display resolution to 1080p - we got superb performance and negligible battery life increases

Introduction
The LG G3 is one of our favorite smartphones
from 2014. Back then, it was an awesome product
in many ways, but it was a little broken in some
ways as well. Its problems with getting hot and
straining to perform under heavy processor load,
along with its unimpressive battery life, had
many users pointing their fingers at the
industry's first 5.5-inch 1440x2560 LCD display
as the main culprit. After all, it was an easy
target - it sucked out pixel-pushing horsepower,
while bringing a diminutive improvement in image
clarity over tried and proven 1080p displays.
Later that year, the LG G3's modding and
developer community had flourished, and several
new Quad-HD devices - the Samsung Galaxy Note
4 , Galaxy Note Edge , Moto Droid Turbo , and Meizu
MX4 Pro - were introduced. Obviously, Q-HD was
here to stay, whether we needed it or not!
Meanwhile, modders had rooted the LG G3, and
around that time, the idea of lowering Quad-HD
devices' screen resolution to a more serene 1080p
began making rounds.
What's this idea about? As you probably know, a
screen is comprised of “pixels”. Each pixel is one
point of light, and that one point of light is
capable of representing any color. The idea is to
make the G3's processor and graphics unit deal
with less pixels. The G3's screen resolution is a
fixed 1440x2560 pixels, which means that
normally, the display expects the smartphone to
feed a whopping 3,686,400 pixels to it!
If we force the LG G3 to work in 1080x1920
resolution, the display's fixed resolution will stay
the same, but much less pixels - 2,073,600, to be
precise - will be fed to it. This will result in a
considerable load being taken off the hardware.
It's a bulletproof technique, one that every PC
gamer has applied to coax higher frame rates out
of their rig, for example. But won't that degrade
the image quality? After all, the LG G3's screen
is made exclusively for Quad-HD resolution!
When we force the smartphone into 1080p
resolution, we're making it put 2 million pixels in
a room for 3.7 million pixels. This means the
graphics unit has to stretch those 2m pixels into
occupying space for 3.6m pixels, or the picture
will look wonky. This technique is called
interpolation, and is known to cause the image
quality to degrade. Here's why - when the LG G3
is set to 1440x2560, each of the 3.7 million pixels
it outputs takes exactly one pixel from its
screen. That's a perfect 1-to-1 match. But when
we change the resolution to 1080p, each pixel will
be stretched into 2 pixels or more, and we'll no
longer have that perfect matching. However, we
are still left with many, many pixels that are
crammed into so little physical space (5.5 inches
by diagonal) that the result of interpolation is
barely noticeable.
What we did and how we did it
We took a Korean LG G3 F400S model with 3GB of
RAM, and wiped it into a completely clean state.
Not only there was no data on it, but the
smartphone wouldn't even boot, because it had no
operating system on it. We then flashed original
LG G3 firmware from June 2014, and proceeded to
install all available OTA updates, one by one. We
didn't get Lollipop, but we got our G3 as close to
"stock" as humanly possible. And then, it was
show time!
First, we wanted to measure the performance
again. We ran three passes of AnTuTu, followed
by three passes of GFXBench's Manhattan
Onscreen and T-Rex Onscreen tests. We recorded
the results and calculated the average score -
that's our standard procedure.
Next, we charged up our "newborn" LG G3 F400S
to 100% and ran our proprietary battery test.
The end result was 6 hours and 19 minutes,
negligibly better than the 6 hours and 14 minutes
of our initial LG G3 battery test from 2014.
After we went through that, it was time to show
the LG G3 what we're made of! We rooted it and
installed Nomone Resolution Changer. It's a
simple app that does the job nice and quick. A
few seconds later, our LG G3's display resolution
was brought down to 1080x1920. Then, we
repeated the benchmarks and battery test.
Ready for the big reveal? Here are the results:
LG G3 Benchmark Results
Test Average Score Performance Increase
1440x2560
AnTuTu 32,915 (Total) | 9494 (3D) -
Manhattan Onscreen 7.1 FPS -
T-Rex Onscreen 19 FPS -
PhoneArena Battery Test 6hr, 19min and 0sec -
1080x1920
AnTuTu 41,880 (Total) | 14,136 (3D) 27.24% (Total) | 48.89% (3D)
Manhattan Onscreen 13 FPS 83%
T-Rex Onscreen 30 FPS 57.89%
PhoneArena Battery Test 6hr, 26min and 47sec 7min 47sec (1.97%)
As you can see, the results are stellar! Our 1080p
LG G3 enjoys a near 30% increase in overall
performance. Meanwhile, 3D performance nearly
doubles! The effects are noticeable not only in
synthetic benchmarks, but in actual 3D games
too. You can expect a moderate to substantial
FPS increase in games where the LG G3 normally
struggles, which will lead to smoother graphics.
In addition, the smartphone isn't so quick to
throttle down its CPU and GPU frequencies, and it
stays a lot cooler.

Apple finally granted patent for a VR headgear that it filed back in 2008

Virtual reality headgear have been somewhat
"hot" during the 2014, as two of the larger
names in the industry, Google and Samsung, both
unveiled their takes on the virtual reality
headwear - Google Cardboard and Gear VR,
respectively. From the looks of it, Apple might be
at least considering the idea of making its own
virtual-reality headgear, as it has recently been
granted a patent for a gizmo that is nothing else
but a VR wearable, according to the
accompanying patent images.
Long story short, it's quite similar to Cardboard
and Gear VR, because it requires you to snap in
your iPhone or iPod inside it and enjoy media or
games. According to the patent description, the
unnamed Apple VR wearable comes with both
voice controls and hardware buttons. What's
more, a built-in camera allows users to make use
of a picture-in-picture feature, which will show
them their surroundings while you're playing -
yes, we know, this sounds quite vertigo-
inducing!
Interestingly enough, PatentlyApple claims the
patent has been originally filed all the way back
in 2008, but it has been granted to Cupertino
just recently. We also bet that if Apple is really
forging such a VR gizmo, it will look nothing like
the images in the gallery below. All things
considered, it's advisable to take this with a
teaspoon of sodium chloride. After all, this is
totally not the first time Cupertino has patented
a smart headset - back in 2013, the iPhone maker
received a patent for a similar piece of
gadgetry.

Xiaomi used live crabs and lobsters to test the toughness of its Mi 4 smartphone

Xiaomi recently posted a video on Facebook
showing how its Mi 4 smartphone passed an
unusual toughness test.
The company used live crabs (a freshwater crab,
and a Japanese blue crab), as well as a lobster
against the Mi 4. As you may know, the Xiaomi Mi
4 is a well-made handset that's built around a
stainless steel frame, so it's not surprising that
crab and lobster claws can't damage it - as the
video, embedded below, is showing. Sure, the
lobster's claws are quite powerful, being capable
of breaking glass, but we're talking about metal
here after all.
Naturally, the video caused controversy, as some
commentators pointed out that Xiaomi should not
use animal testing (because that's what this is,
after all) to promote its handset.
Regardless of the way Xiaomi chooses to show us
how tough its device is, if you want to find out
how well this performs as a smartphone, not as
potential food for crabs and lobsters, you should
check out our Mi 4 review here .
Post by Mi.

Google drops email client Sparrow for iOS, looks for migration to Inbox

Google has quietly pulled the plug on its Sparrow
app for iOS (and Mac). After paying less than $25
million for Sparrow in 2012, Google charged $2.99
for the email client in the Apple App Store. While
the wings have been pulled off Sparrow, Google
will continue to support it for those who shelled
out cash to purchase the app. After its debut,
Sparrow become one of the top utility apps for
the iOS platform before tumbling to its current
position as the 842nd most downloaded iOS app
(according to AppAnnie).
Google hopes that those looking for Sparrow, and
current users of it, both migrate over to its
highly regarded Inbox . The latter is a free app
available via invitation only. Inbox helps you sort
your Gmail, snooze it and will even allow you to
retract a sent email before it is read.
Recently, Google said that 70% of Inbox users are
Android owners with 28% rockin' iOS . Google
would like to see the usage data broaden out
more with more iPhone and iPad users installing
the app. You can ask for an Inbox invitation by
emailing your request to inbox@google.com.
source: TechCrunch

Asus intros a new Fonepad 7 with Android 5.0 Lollipop on board

Asus this week announced a brand new Fonepad 7
(model number FE375CL), which runs Android 5.0
Lollipop out of the box, being the company's first
Fonepad to come with this version of Google's OS.
While the new Fonepad doesn't look too different
from the Fonepad 7 FE170CG that was released in
2014, it brings important improvements when it
comes to specs. The device is powered by a quad-
core Intel Atom Z3530 processor clocked at 1.3
GHz, and sports a 7-inch IPS display with 800 x
1200 pixels. It obviously lets you make phone
calls, supporting micro SIM cards, LTE, and 3G
connectivity. Furthermore, the Fonepad 7
features a 2 MP front-facing camera, 5 MP rear
camera, 2 GB of RAM, 8 GB or 16 GB of internal
memory, 5 GB of cloud storage space (for life),
and microSD card slot.
The Fonepad 7 FE375CL weighs 299 grams,
measures 108.9 x 194.3 x 9.8 mm, and comes with
a battery that can provide up to 12 hours of
usage time.
The new Fonepad 7 will be released in Taiwan
first, for prices starting at around $250. Asus
didn't say if it plans to launch the device around
the world, though its presence on the company's
global website (see the source link below)
suggests that it does.

Nexus 5 running Android 5.1 spotted on Geekbench

Back in December, we told you that Android 5.1
could be introduced in February . While we have
seen signs of the update appear now and then,
including today's appearance in the Philippines
powering up new Android One devices, we might
be closer to seeing the update rollout for stock
Android powered Nexus models.
Proof of this comes via the Geekbench benchmark
website where a Nexus 5 was spotted on Monday
with Android 5.1 installed. The update is
supposed to bring back the silent mode that was
taken away in Android 5.0. Other changes
expected include an improved battery life, better
RAM management, and improvements in system
stability. Issues with 'Okay Google ' are removed
as are problems with notifications.
Despite the move from Android 5.0 to Android
5.1, no change is expected in the name of the
build. In the past, we have seen Google go from
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 4.1
Jelly Bean. Perhaps with only 26 letters in the
alphabet, Google is looking to reserve some
letters and desserts for the future. As to when
the update will be officially sent to Nexus models,
it could be sometime before February comes to an
end.
Thanks for the tip!
source: Geekbench , TechTastic.nl (translated)

Officially confirmed: the "new HTC One" will be announced on March 1

While HTC already informed us that it would host
a press event on March 1 at MWC 2015, it didn't
specifically say what it's going to announce then.
Of course, we all know that the company should
present the One M9 on that day. HTC UK is now
confirming that we will indeed see a "new One" on
March 1, though it's not yet ready to also
confirm its name.
According to a tweet sent today by HTC UK,
people will "stare" at the new One. Not long ago,
we showed you some renders based on what it's
believed to be the One M9, and, if that's what
the real handset looks like, then people will indeed
have reasons to stare (in admiration).
The HTC One M9 should sport a 5-inch 1080p
display , and yet it's supposed to be smaller than
the One (M8) - which also features a 5-inch
screen - thanks to the fact that the new handset
has thinner bezels. Other novelties that the One
M9 should bring are a 20 MP rear camera, an
octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, and Android
Lollipop with Sense 7 UI. HTC might also announce
a One M9 Plus, which is expected to offer a 5.2-
inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) display, as well
as a fingerprint sensor.
We assume that at least the regular HTC One M9
will be available to buy shortly after March 1. Are
you waiting for it?
source: HTC UK (Twitter)

AT&T's GoPhone gives pre- paid users more high-speed data to use

Hey, consumers using a pre-paid carrier are
people too. They want the same things that
postpaid subscribers want including the best for
their kids, a good 5 cent cigar, and a losing
season for the New England Patriots. They also
want as much high-speed data each month as
they can get their hands on. While AT&T can't do
much about your kids, cigars and Tom Brady, it
can and did do something about the amount of
high-speed data available each month.
GoPhone subscribers get unlimited talk, text and
data. But once they exceed a certain high-speed
data cap, they are throttled down to 128Kbps for
the remainder of the month. Starting this
Friday, AT&T GoPhone subscribers paying $45 a
month for the 1GB data plan will actually receive
1.5GB of high-speed data. Those paying $60 a
month for the 2.5GB data plan will be given 4GB
of high-speed data. Those with the $60 plan will
also be allowed to make unlimited calls to Mexico.
The two plans include unlimited texts to Mexico,
Canada and over 100 other countries. They also
include access to AT&T's Wi-Fi hot spots. The
extra high-speed data is automatically added to
the $45 and $60 pre-paid accounts, which means
you don't have to call customer service to
activate it.
source: AT&T via Engadget

WSJ: Apple orders as many as 6 million watches from suppliers

With the Apple Watch expected to be launched in
April, a report published on Wednesday says that
the tech titan has ordered as many as 6 million
Apple Watch units from suppliers to be
manufactured during the first quarter. Half of
the timepieces ordered are the entry-level Apple
Watch Sport model, while another third consists
of the mid-range Apple Watch.
The high-end Apple Watch Edition, featuring an
18K gold casing, will be ordered in small amounts
for now. Apple does plan on revving up production
of that pricey model to one million units a month
starting in April. Pricing for this model has not
been revealed yet by Apple, but it could exceed
the $4000 price for the top of the line Mac
computer . These watches will be stored in special
safes at Apple Stores . The safes will be equipped
with the company's MagSafe charging system so
that the watches' batteries could be recharged
overnight. Apple expects heavy demand for the
high-end Apple Watch from China. Pricing for the
Apple Watch will start at $349 for the Sport
model.
While Apple has sent in its Apple Watch orders
with suppliers, these can be changed once Apple
sees which models are selling more than others.
Industry sources say that Apple is sensitive to
matching supply with demand, changing orders
more often than most other tech companies.
Apple apparently sees the same initial demand for
the Apple Watch that it saw for he Apple iPad
when the iOS tablet was first launched in 2010.
Apple sold 7.5 million slates in the first six
months that the iPad was available.
source: WSJ

latest Snapchat-Snapchat working on raising $500 million of funding at a $16 to $19 billion valuation

Want to know how real wealth is made? Consider
the saga of Snapchat. First, some background for
those unfamiliar with the messaging app.
Snapchat is known for the way its users' pictures
and videos 'self-destruct' ten seconds after being
viewed. Trying to become more mainstream, the
app recently hosted the first music video from
Madonna's new album .
Back in 2013, the company raised $60 million at a
'meager' $800 million valuation . Things really
took off just five months later when Facebook
allegedly offered $3 billion for Snapchat. It must
have taken some will power to reject that offer,
and even more to say no to a $4 billion offer
from Google .
The most recent financing round valued Snapchat
at $10 billion. That was in August, a mere 6
months ago. Now, wire service reports say that
Snapchat is looking at raising $500 million at a
whopping $16 to $19 billion valuation. According
to the report, Snapchat brass is talking with
fund managers who are looking to make the
investment.
At a valuation of $19 billion, Snapchat would
trail only Xiaomi and Uber among privately owned
tech firms. Xiaomi, which is rumored to be talking
with investment bankers about an IPO, has a
valuation of $45 billion while Uber is said to be
worth $41 billion. Uber too, is said to be
considering going public.
source: Reuters

The Galaxy S6 Edge passes through AnTuTu, breaks all records and reveals specs

The inevitable has finally happened – the
upcoming Galaxy S6 Edge has been caught making
a pass through the AnTuTu benchmarking suite,
leaving all kinds of meaty intel for us to digest,
not to mention a performance record.
To start off, the specific model of the Galaxy S6
Edge that was spotted was the SM-G925W8, a
mashup of numerals and letters that we're well
acquainted with, and have pretty good reasons to
believe refer to no other than Samsung's next
flagship. More importantly, however, the device
is powered by the octa-core Exynos 7420 – a
Samsung-made chip built on a 14 nm node
(compared to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810, which
is built on a 20 nm one), complemented by an ARM
Mali-T760 GPU.
As for the rest of the specs, we're looking at a
5.1-inch display (Super AMOLED, most likely) with
a super high resolution of 1440 x 2560 (576 ppi),
3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 20-
megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front-
facing selfie snapper. In other words, most of
what we thought we knew based on rumors is
shaping up to be the real deal.
Lastly, and as mentioned, the Galaxy S6 Edge set
a record high, 60,978 score – by far the highest
we've seen. Since AnTuTu is a multi-stage test,
the break-down of the score actually allows us to
spot where the Exynos 7420 improved the most
compared to the older Exynos 5433 – 3D objects
visualization. That's always welcome news,
especially when talking about phones with as
pixel-dense displays (these put an enormous
strain on the processor and GPU).
With Samsung's Unpacked event (set for March
1st) now just a few short weeks away, we expect
to get more and more concrete information on
the Galaxy S6 Edge before it's even made public,
so do stay tuned for more.
UPDATE: This piece previously referred to the SM-
G925W8 as the Galaxy S6, but based on recent,
seemingly credible leaks, we have reason to
believe that it's actually the Galaxy S6 Edge.
Story has been edited to reflect that.

LG G3 - KitKat vs Lollipop UI Comparison

By now, most of you in America should be
enjoying Android 5.0 Lollipop on their LG G3s.
The update was seeded by AT&T recently, and
should be beaming to Sprint handsets as we
speak! We already got this bad boy on our
handsets so we decided to compare its visuals
with the older Android 4.4.2/4.4.4-based
firmware. As you can see for yourselves, not
much has changed at all, which is actually a good
thing. Our impression of the LG G3's stock
interface is that LG adopted a Material Design-
esque aesthetic before we even knew of Material
Design's existence. Remember the white spaces,
bold colors and translucent status bar? All of
that was there before Android 5.0 was
announced, and there wasn't that much to update
at all.
However, those updating to Lollipop will
experience Google's lively new menu animations,
some new fonts in places, a revamped
notifications system (cards & lock screen
notifications), the card-like multitasking menu,
and other Material essentials. The software nav
keys design stays, though, which will be good
news for those of you that considered Google's
new design too minimal.
UI aside, the Lollipop update is behaving very
well. We haven't noticed anything exceptionally
good or bad about its stability and speed, but it's
safe to say LG delivered a finished, polished
Lollipop build to the LG G3. Your mileage may
vary, of course. Some users have reported
crashes, others batteries have been quicker to
drain. But in Android land, it's mostly up to each
individial user and their device - the apps they
install, the maintenance they do, the activities
they do on their smartphones, and other factors
that make it difficult to point the operating
system as the culprit.

Check out the first HTC One M9 wallpaper (1080p screen seemingly confirmed)

Now that we know the final name of HTC's next
flagship smartphone (it's going to be One M9 ,
without parenthesis), how about a wallpaper for
it? HTC ROM developer LlabTooFeR just posted
the image on the left (click for full resolution),
mentioning that it's one of the wallpapers that
will be pre-installed on the One M9 - or HTC
Hima, as it's also known.
The image is a 2160 x 1920 pixels one. This means
that it's a scrollable wallpaper for 1080 x 1920
displays. As reported many times before, the One
M9 should sport a 5-inch 1080p screen, while the
One M9 Plus is supposed to feature a 5.2-inch
Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) screen - for all
those who think 1080p isn't good enough.
HTC is all set to announce the One M9 - and
probably also the One M9 Plus - on March 1 at
MWC 2015. Both new handsets should be powered
by 64-bit, octa-core Snapdragon 810 processors,
while running Android 5.0 Lollipop with Sense 7
UI.
Which of the two new Ones are you looking
forward to checking out? Or maybe both? Let us
know!

5 things you forget that you can do with the Google Chromecast

No doubt, Google has a gold mine with its
Chromecast streaming gadget. The price alone is
pretty incredible when you think about all the
joys and wonders it has to offer. For most
people, however, they only know of the
Chromecast as a dongle that permits them to
stream movies or television shows from Netflix
and Hulu. Beyond that, most folks forget that it
does a whole lot more – like giving your dumb TV
a few smarter functions.
We’ve talked about the Google Chromecast a lot
of late on our site, such as in our article
regarding how you can harness the power of your
mobile device to ditch cable television service .
This time around, though, we’re going to share
with you some cool tricks that you might forget
that the Chromecast is capable of doing. Much
like many other folks who quickly became
enamored by the Chromecast, we primarily found
it useful to use our smartphone to stream
content from our device to our television – such
as initially starting a YouTube video on our
smartphone, and then streaming it over to the
television.
Seriously, the $35 price tag attached to it is
almost unfathomable – more so when we really
think deeply into what it can actually do. Sure, it
still requires our mobile devices to work, but we
find it more functionally sound than some
streaming boxes. To that end, it really shows its
worth when pitted against some other traditional
streaming systems. From the dedicated ones like
the Roku, to video game consoles like the
Playstation 4, the Chromecast might seem faint
and insignificant against them, but when we
factor in its price and incredible features set,
you’ll be blown away at how fully capable it
really is in the long run.

watch video

1.2 billion smartphones sold in 2014, slowdown in growth seen for 2015

According to Germany's GfK, a total of 1.2 billion
smartphones were sold in 2014. That is a gain of
23% for the year. But the market and consumer
information firm sees sales growth dropping to
14% in 2015. That would result in a total of 1.368
billion units sold this year. Interestingly, at the
beginning of 2014 feature phone sales still out
numbered those for smartphones. By the end of
the year, many of those feature phone users had
taken the plunge with an Android smartphone.
GfK tracks sales rather than shipments, and the
data showed that for the fourth quarter sales
surged 43% in Latin America from 25.1 million in
2013, to 36 million in the 2014 quarter. The
Emerging Asian and Pacific market had the next
best quarter, up 37%. That was followed by the
35% gain in the Middle East and Africa. In North
America, fourth quarter smartphone sales rose
31% from 43.6 million in 2013 to 57 million last
year. At 95.1 million units, China had the most
smartphone sales which was flat with the 95
million sold in the prior year. Overall, 346.5
million smartphones were sold in Q4 of 2014 a 19%
hike from 2013's 292 million.
For the entire year, the biggest gain also came
from Latin America. 2014 saw smartphone sales in
the region hit 109.5 million, up 59% from the
68.7 million sold in 2013. That narrowly beat out
the 55% gain year-over-year seen in the
Emerging Asian Pacific market. Central and
Eastern Europe saw its smartphone sales rise
37%. In North America, smartphone sales climbed
28% in 2014 to 177.6 million from 139.1 million.
China had the largest number of smartphones sold
last year at 392.8 million. That was a 9% rise
from the 359 million that were rung up in 2013.
Smartphones with a 5-inch screen or larger saw
sales rise 180% in 2014 and is the reason for the
decline in tablet sales. GfK sees these large-
screened phones as being the largest segment of
the industry in 2015.

Apple inc. -Apple struggling to close a deal in China for Apple Pay

Apple Pay appears headed to China. The release of

the first beta version of iOS 8.3 had Apple Pay

support for China UnionPay. But don't count on

the mobile payment system creating a stir in the

country just yet. An official with the People’s

Bank of China says that Apple has yet to

approach regulators in China about allowing

financial institutions in the country to

participate in the program. Because Apple has yet

to seek out regulatory approval, this official says

"it's unclear whether the product meets the

government's requirements."

Despite the iOS 8.3 beta 1 support for UnionPay,

which is the government run debit and credit

card operator, Apple's relationship with the

outfit is not as close as it would seem to be.

Talks between Apple and UnionPay have hit a

rough patch. Like Apple Pay, UnionPay relies on

NFC for its mobile payment system in China,

which works with a smartphone loaded with a

special China Mobile SIM card. Regulators have

steered clear of the negotiations between Apple

and UnionPay, which both had hoped would be

finished by March. The company has the only NFC

payments network in China.

Apple could decide to strike a deal in China with

Alibaba's Alipay app. The latter uses a QR code

and a fingerprint password developed by Alibaba

and Apple to make a payment. Alipay still uses

UnionPay's NFC network to complete a

transaction. No matter how it is done, Apple Pay

is destined to get into China as the mobile

payment system expands from the U.S. to Canada

and beyond.

source: MarketWatch via MacRumors

Google Launches A Chinese Version Of Its YouTube Channel For Developers

Google is continuing to open its Android platform

to mobile developers in China after it announced

a localized version of its Google Developers

YouTube channel for the country.

The U.S. firm took a major step last

November when it began allowing developers in

China to make money via Android apps —

although only from users based outside of China

— and this new channel will help by increasing

access to information and resources.

The channel is on YouTube — which will mean

it gets disrupted by China’s censorship system ,

unless viewers use a (stable) VPN — and includes

videos from the main developers channel with

Chinese subtitles, as well as original content in

Mandarin.

That English-language Developer Channel has

more than 650,000 subscribers. It’s a useful

resource for developers, covering a range of

topics related to Android, Android Wear, web and

other apps, general developments and

information, and talking points from events like

the Google Developer Conference.

Google Play itself remains blocked in China, and

numerous third-party app stores have risen to

take its place, including 91Wireless, a service

that search giant Baidu bought for $1.9

billion in 2013. But, we live in a global age, and

even though the Play Store is not accessible in

China, developers based in the country can use

it to distribute and sell apps to the hundreds of

millions of Android devices in the rest of the

world.

Google is doubtless missing out on revenue by

not having its app store in China, and a report

from The Information (paywalled) last year

claimed its executives are in discussions with

potential partners and the government with a

view to launching Google Play services there.

There’s been no official comment from Google or

update on this — even if Google Play did make a

controversial return to China, it remains to be

seen how much of an impact such a late arrival

would have.

Printers To Get 3D Soon-World's first 3D printer-cum- scanner unveiled

SAN JOSE: The world's first compact 3D printer-
cum-scanner that can also scan items has been
unveiled at the American Association
Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting
in San Jose, California.
Blacksmith Group start-up at Nanyang
Technological University (NTU) launched
Saturday the user-friendly all-in-one device,
named the Blacksmith Genesis.
The $2,200 device allows users to scan any
item, and then edit the digitized model on the
computer and print it out in 3D, Lester Kok,
assistant manager of NTU's Corporate
Communications Office, told Xinhua news
agency Sunday.
"Most 3D printers sold on the market now are
not really user-friendly as their 3D models and
blueprints usually have to be designed from
scratch on the computer," Kok said, "but
Blacksmith Genesis doesn't require much
knowledge of 3D software."
Unlike other commercial 3D printers, Blacksmith
Genesis uses an innovative rotary platform for
its printing and scanning. This patent-pending
revolving platform allows for true 360-degrees
scanning, and can print items up to 6,650 cubic
cm, twice the size of those printed by other
similar-sized 3D printers in the market.
With a fine resolution of 50 micrometres, the
reproductions will be twice as detailed compared
to other compact 3D printers. Likewise,
scanning of objects with its five megapixel
camera takes only six minutes, twice as fast as
other 3D scanners in the market.
Another unique feature of Blacksmith Genesis is
its remote live monitoring and automatic error
detection using an in-built camera. Users can
also monitor the printing process on their
smartphone from anywhere in the world through
an internet connection, and will be able to
start or stop printing at any time.
"While low-cost 3D printers are accessible to
the public, they are still very hard to
programme and assemble. Having an affordable,
high-quality 3D printer that is easy to use is
what the market is missing and this is where
Blacksmith Group will bridge the gap," Chua
Chee Kai, the mentor for the Blacksmith Group,
said in a press release.
The 3D printer-cum-scanner was created in
Singapore with the help of a crowd-funding
campaign, raising over $80,000, and its US
supporters will be able to get it as early as
March.