Apple has reportedly cut back on ordering more component parts for iPhone 5 handsets, due to 'weaker than expected sales'

Could it be that the global appeal of Apple's smartphones is waning? A report in the Wall Street Journal hints that this might be the case. According to the story, Apple has cut back orders for component parts for iPhone 5 handsets due to 'weaker than expected demand' from consumers. The article cites 'people familiar with the situation' as its sources.

The report goes onto to state the same sources state that Apple's iPhone 5 orders for the period from January to March were half as large as were originally planned for. They told the Wall Street Journal that suppliers were notified of the cut backs last month.

The news not only suggests that consumer interest in the iPhone 5 may be dropping off, but also that Apple's rivals in the smartphone market, such as Samsung and Chinese handset manufacturer Huawei are garnering more of the smartphone markeshare. The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung, for example, has swept up 31.3 per cent of the smartphone marketshare with its Android phones, more than doubling Apple's 14.6 per cent share.



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ZTE has announced plans today at CES to get behind Mozilla’s new Firefox OS for phones, hoping to launch it in on an as of yet unidentified European carrier before 2013 is up..

ZTE, probably best known for creating budget smartphones running either Android or Windows, is the first announced partner to bring Web browser specialists Mozilla’s brand new Firefox OS to market.

According to ZTE’s US chief Cheng Lixin, they are hoping to bring this new flavour of device to a European country first, probably to gauge reaction. No country or carrier has so far been confirmed, but it should be hitting shelves before the year is done.

No specs have so far been shown for the un-named device, but don’t expect quad-core packing phones with 1080p screens as Mozilla has said the Firefox OS will be targeted at emerging markets, at least to begin with.

CES has seen somewhat of a Chinese invasion this year, with ZTE’s compatriots Huawei making quite a splash with a couple of interesting handsets. The Ascend Mate is a tablet sized Android phone touting a gigantic 6.1 inch screen, while the Huawei Ascend D2 is a slightly more pocketable 5-inch device with a Super Retina display.

In a world dominated by Android and iOS, a new mobile operating system could offer manufacturers a chance to have some variety in their line ups. Samsung have recently announced that they too will be building their own OS so they don’t have to rely on Google’s Android.

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Single-handedly resurrecting its own iPhone Lite/Mini rumors from a couple of years ago, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that according to “people briefed on the matter” that Apple is working on a lower-end, cheaper iPhone in an attempt to regain the stranglehold it once had on the smartphone market.

Though Apple hasn’t exactly lost enough ground to consider itself in immediate danger, Android devices — in particular, those produced by Samsung — have certainly taken control of a large chunk of the mobile market, partly due to some Android phones being much less expensive than an iPhone, and partly because some people like having an alternative to what was once the only game in town. If you take a quick look through Apple’s device history, you can see that it has produced cheaper alternatives before: the iPod branched off into the Nano and Shuffle lines, the iMac branched off into the Mac Mini, and late last year the iPad branched off into the iPad Mini. The only two flagship Apple product lines left to branch off into a cheaper “lite” alternative are the iPhone and MacBook, so a cheaper iPhone wouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

So, if Apple is releasing a cheaper iPhone, what features would it cut in order to reduce the price? WSJ is reporting that Apple could switch the body of the phone from aluminum to cheaper polycarbonate plastic. If we’re taking lessons from the iPad Mini, Apple could also avoid including a Retina display in the cheaper iPhone, and reduce the phone’s size a bit as well. It might seem odd for Apple to release a smaller phone right after it finally went the route of the bigger phone with the iPhone 5, but Apple just released a smaller version of its tablet, so a smaller phone isn’t out of the question. Reducing camera quality and storage capacity are also easy targets to help reduce cost, and using the older A5 SoC rather than the iPhone 5′s A6 could also help cut costs.

Apple has never had parallel iPhone models on the market at once, but has instead simply left older models on the market and reduced their price. However, with the iPad Mini and multiple parallel iPod models, Apple does have experience dealing with multiple pillars of the same product.

As for the price? WSJ reports that Apple is looking to offer something cheaper than the iPhone’s $200 on-contact price, though it remains to be seen if an inferior phone gussied up by a shiny new exterior would attract a significant market. If we look to reports of how the iPad Mini is fairing against its bigger, stronger brother, we could see that, yeah, consumers don’t seem to mind less powerful guts inside a pretty body.
You might think that Apple releasing a cheaper iPhone would water down the brand’s value, or perhaps ultimately decrease overall profits if everyone begins buying the cheaper phone instead of the more expensive non-Lite models. However, not even counting Apple’s own history of releasing a Lite version of an already established line, this revision structure has been working for the tech industry for ages — particularly the gaming industry. Sony released at least one “slim” version of each of its consoles, and released two slim versions of the PSP. Microsoft also released a slim version of the Xbox 360. Nintendo recently announced the Wii Mini, and the DS Lite is what helped the DS take off. You don’t even need sales figures to know that this model has been working, because it wouldn’t keep happening if it kept failing.

Wherever these cheaper iPhone rumors lead, just keep in mind that we’ve heard it all before, and even from the same source; that doesn’t mean they aren’t true, and weren’t true then, but you should probably just temper your expectations a bit.


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Google’s Nexus 4 smartphone has been the talk of the tech world for some time now, thanks to its affordable price, impressive specs and distinct lack of availability. Luckily I was able to test the Nexus 4 over the Christmas period thanks to Three UK, who provided me with a review unit so that I could test their new DC-HSDPA network, but more on that later.

First Impressions
I’ll admit that when I first heard news that LG had been chosen to build the latest Nexus smartphone I was more than a little concerned. LG do not have the best track record when it comes to manufacturing flagship Android handsets, but thankfully my concerns were short-lived. Once I had the device in my hands, it was clear that LG had produced an exceptional product worthy of the Nexus moniker.

Design
The build quality is almost second to none, matched only by the iPhone 5, although I still prefer the Nexus 4’s overall design, weight, and dimensions. The iPhone 5, with its sharp lines, narrow display and aluminium frame, feels cold and even a little underwhelming when placed alongside the Nexus 4. With its curved glass display, soft touch black frame and shimmering glass back panel, the Nexus 4 feels solid and, dare I say it, looks more attractive. No doubt Apple fans will scream bloody murder and disagree with my last comment, so I ask that you go and see the Nexus 4 for yourself before you wax lyrical in the comments about Apple’s design chops.
Anyway, moving on. The loudspeaker on the Nexus 4 is clear, although its placement on the back, bottom right corner of the phone, is less than ideal. You have to cup the speaker with your hand when holding the phone in landscape mode to avoid muffling the sound. Placing the Nexus 4 on its back on a flat surface will also muffle the sound considerably. It’s a poor design decision at the end of the day, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a deal-breaker. The headphone audio quality is also very clear and Android’s built-in EQ really helps to refine the sound quality.

Cameras
There are two cameras in the Nexus 4, the rear is an 8 megapixel unit that produces great pictures, especially compared to Google’s previous Nexus phone, which left a lot to be desired in the photography department. It’s not going to replace a full-blown DSLR, but it is on par with an entry-level compact camera. In well-lit conditions the images are excellent, colours are vibrant and realistic, and images are sharp. It does produce quite grainy images in low light conditions compared to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S III and iPhone 5, so if this is a key feature for you, then one of the latter handsets might be more suited to your needs. Overall, the rear camera is pretty good.
The front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera is also very capable. If you’re a fan of Google+ Hangouts or Skype calling, then you’ll really appreciate the Nexus 4’s video call performance when paired with its dual microphones. A group of my friends miss-took the Nexus 4 for a laptop in a Google+ Hangout because the quality was so good.

The Display
The Nexus 4’s solid frame houses a huge 4.7 inch IPS+ LCD display, with a 1280 x 768 resolution, cramming in an impressive 320 pixels per inch. The result is a super-sharp and vibrant display with excellent viewing angles. On par with the arguably best-in-class display found in the HTC One X. Google have moved away from AMOLED display technology in their Nexus phones for the first time in favour of LCD, which offers a brighter panel with more accurate colour reproduction.
Text is crisp and easy to read, high resolution images are vibrant and rich with detail, and high definition video content looks incredible. I’m still taken aback by how good video content looks on the Nexus 4, even after several weeks of daily use.
The reason for this image quality isn’t just due to the display, but also due to the laminating process used to fuse the cover glass and multi-touch sensors together into a single component. This process reduces the gap between the glass and display panel, making images feel like they are right on the surface of the glass, rather than a few layers below.
The Nexus 4 uses Corning’s toughened and scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 2 on both the front and back. I’m not sure if it’s the manufacturing process or some kind of coating, but the surface of the glass is incredibly smooth to the touch. More so than any other touchscreen device I have used in the past. It’s also surprisingly resistant to smudges and fingerprints.
You might be concerned about the glass back, as it could shatter if the phone is dropped. I’m inclined to agree. Gorilla Glass 2 benefits aside, I would definitely recommend a case for the Nexus 4. Even though the glass is flush with the frame, it will still break if dropped from a decent height. There is an official Nexus 4 bumper case available to buy, but I’d still recommend something that also protects the back panel and not just the sides of the phone. That glass back will be expensive to repair.

Storage
The Nexus 4 is available with 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage and there are no expansion slots for external memory. If this isn’t enough space for you then I suggest looking elsewhere, but for the majority of users, 16GB is more than enough. I wouldn’t recommend the 8GB model unless you are budget conscious or store most of your content in the cloud. The phone’s system files share the same storage space, meaning the phone’s usable space is closer to 5GB than 8GB.

The Software
The Nexus 4 runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the latest and greatest version of Google’s mobile operating system. Free from any manufacturer modifications or ‘skins’, this is the purest Android experience available, and is one of the biggest selling points of the Nexus 4. I have already covered Android 4.1 in detail here, but I’ll run through a few of the new features introduced in Android’s latest point release.
First up, the camera app has been redesigned with a nifty contextual menu that is activated simply by placing your thumb on the screen. The camera controls are then spread out in a circle around your thumb. You can select items by moving your thumb and lifting off to activate the given function, such as the new HDR mode, which appears to be unique to the Nexus 4 at the moment.
One of my favourite features of Android 4.2 is the new photosphere mode, which makes it possible to create ‘Street View’ style 360 degree panoramic photographs. You capture every angle of your view with individual pictures and the software intelligently stitches them together to produce a single interactive panoramic image. Here’s an example I took with the Nexus 4 in Bruges to demonstrate.
Google Now, the company’s ‘intelligent personal assistant’ feature, has also been improved. Adding more contextual cards, such as a monthly report of the distance you have walked and cycled over the last 30 days. Cleverly calculated using Android’s location reporting feature. If enabled of course.
Speech recognition in Android 4.2 is orders of magnitude better on the Nexus 4 compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy Nexus. Faster processing and more sensitive microphones play a big part in improving its accuracy. The difference is like night and day, making voice commands and speech-to-text input genuinely useful features, rather than just gimmicks.
Android 4.2 also comes with gesture-based keyboard inputs baked right into the OS. Similar to apps like Swype and SwiftKey, it makes it possible to spell out words with a single swiping gesture, instead of pecking at the keyboard with your thumbs and fingers. It works surprisingly well and I find myself alternating between tap and swipe input methods, depending on each individual word in a message.
The Android lock screen is now accompanied by new lock-screen widgets, making it easier to jumps straight into the camera app, or perhaps glance at your Gmail inbox, without visiting the homepage first. These widgets are a little gimmicky, but can still be quite useful at times. I didn’t like them initially, but they grew on me the more I used the Nexus 4.
Other than the main features noted above, plus some small design tweaks, Android 4.2 is largely the same as 4.1, which is no surprise given that it’s essentially just a point release. Google have also added a new multiple-user account feature, but that is exclusive to tablet devices, and doesn’t currently support phones.

Performance and battery life
Billed as the ‘fastest phone on the planet’ by Google, the Nexus 4 had a lot to live up to. In my experience I found the phone to be very quick indeed, but it’s hard to judge such claims when other phones sport different operating systems with different feature sets.
Thanks to its quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, and generous 2GB of RAM, the Nexus 4 can handle even the most graphically demanding apps with ease. I am yet to come across an app that the Nexus 4 struggles with. Operating system animations and transitions are equally as smooth and snappy.
In my opinion, if it feels fast to you, then that is really all that matters. Who cares what the spec sheets say. Only the most processor intensive games and apps are going to slow your hardware down, but that is always going to be the case, as developers push the latest hardware to its practical limits.
The Nexus 4’s battery life is impressive, especially considering the size of the display. It’ll still struggle to make it through the day if you’re running a lot of processor intensive tasks, but in general use cases, the phone lasted me from morning to evening with a little juice to spare. If you’re planning a long journey that requires satellite navigation, then you will not be so lucky. Like any GPS capable mobile device, satellite navigation will make mincemeat of your battery if used constantly. Make sure you keep it plugged into a suitable power outlet if that is the case.

Connectivity
While on the theme of GPS, the Nexus 4 could pinpoint its location extremely quickly, a feature that was greatly appreciated while I navigated my way around Brussels over the Christmas holidays. Checking my location every few minutes throughout a long day of sightseeing had little impact on battery life. Accurate and responsive positioning is a key feature for me and I was very impressed with the Nexus 4’s capabilities.
The Nexus 4’s 2G and 3G reception is very good and definitely better than that of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus that came before it. Bluetooth, WiFi and NFC all work well, as you’d expect. The Nexus 4 is also capable of wireless charging when paired with an official Nexus wireless dock, but these are not yet available to buy. Alternatively, the Nokia Qi wireless charging dock is compatible with the Nexus 4, so you could always pair the phone with one of those if you’re not willing to wait for an official dock.
Call quality on the Nexus 4 is exceptionally clear thanks to its dual microphones. I did, however,  find the noise cancellation to be a little too aggressive at times, especially in loud environments. The Nexus 4 clips the audio to such a degree that the first word of a sentence is sometimes  stripped out completely, making the audio sound as though the caller is in an area with poor reception.
This can be infuriating at times and I hope Google tweaks the sensitivity in the next point release of Android to fix it. On the other hand, call quality in quiet areas is crystal clear and I have had several people comment on how clear it is during calls. You really have to hear it to believe it. This compensates for the terrible clipping in noisy areas. Well... almost.

DC-HSDPA vs 4G LTE
The Nexus 4 has one final trick up its sleeve, and that is DC-HSDPA connectivity. Without going into great detail, this is a form of 3G technology that enables the Nexus 4 to download at twice the bandwidth of standard HSPA+ devices. It’s a new technology that is currently being rolled out across the UK by all the major networks. I had the chance to test out Three’s DC-HSDPA network using the Nexus 4 and I can confirm that download speeds increase dramatically when connected to their ‘Ultra-fast’ network. Download speeds were, at times, up to twice as fast as the best standard HSPA+ connections I have experienced in the past.
The Nexus 4 does not support 4G LTE, most likely due to battery and pricing constraints, but as I have said in the past, UK 4G coverage is far from widespread, extremely expensive, and restricted by outrageous data caps. Until at least another 12 months have past, DC-HSDPA is, in my opinion, a much better choice for fast and affordable mobile data connectivity right now.

Ecosystem
Over the past several months Google’s Play Store has evolved and matured to become a worthy alternative to Apple’s App Store. Almost every smartphone app worth its salt is now available on either platform. These days many new apps launch on both platforms simultaneously. Both stores are pretty evenly matched when it comes to the major apps, although the iPhone still has a lot more high quality apps to choose from. On the flipside, Android enjoys a wider variety of free, or ad-supported apps, compared to the Apple App Store. This is worth bearing in mind if money is a factor in determining which platform is right for you.
At the end of the day, both platforms are mature, comprehensive and reliable. It’s up to you to decide which one suits you the best.

Wrap Up
Overall, I’d say the Nexus 4 is currently the best smartphone available on the market here in the UK. Android 4.2, combined with the Nexus 4’s powerful hardware, game-changing price and stunning display, is a combination that’s hard to beat. I was so impressed with my Nexus 4 review unit that I purchased a 16GB model for myself, luckily before they ran out of stock.
Google are selling the Nexus 4 unlocked and off-contract for £239 with 8GB of memory and £279 with 16GB. At these prices, it’s hard not to recommend the Nexus 4 to pretty much anyone and everyone looking to buy a smartphone. To put these prices into perspective, a 16GB iPhone 5 (£529) or Galaxy SIII ($500) will set your back nearly twice as much as a 16GB Nexus 4.
If you’re able to part with £279 outright, then you can take advantage of cheaper SIM-only contracts and save a considerable amount of money in the long run. That is, if you can get hold of a Nexus 4 any time soon. The handset is completely sold out on the official Google store at the time of writing, so unless you pay over the odds from a high street store, you might have to wait a few weeks to get hold of one.
The only Android phone that comes close to the Nexus 4 right now is the Samsung Galaxy S III, but the fact that the Nexus 4 runs an unmodified version of Android 4.2, and features DC-HSDPA connectivity, make it the clear winner in my eyes.

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Images taken with the Nikon D3200, top, have more noise than those taken with the D5100, even though the D3200’s sensor has more pixels.

With the coming of the Consumer Electronics Show, camera manufacturers will be trotting out scads of new products, but many are unfortunately falling back on an old marketing strategy.
I have been seeing manufacturers offer ever larger pixel counts for their newer models. For instance Nikon’s D5100 is still in the lineup alongside the newer and less expensive D3200. The D5100 has 16.2 megapixel sensor, the D3200 has a 24.2 megapixel sensor (there are even newer models, but I don’t have them on hand to test).
Shouldn’t that make the D3200 the better camera? Logically maybe. But in fact it doesn’t, which serves to point out why you can’t shop for a camera based on the number of pixels. It’s largely meaningless when it comes to image quality.
In recent years, many manufacturers had stepped stepped away from pushing pixel counts as the primary selling point of a camera, but it’s a measure the public seems to respond to. Now it’s back in a big way.
To demonstrate why pixels are irrelevant, I have taken an ugly but illustrative image of a corner in a darkened room. Low light brings out “noise” in photographs. It’s a kind of grainy unevenness that is generally undesirable although some artists use it for effect. Both photos are taken with the same settings and lens. You can see the grain is more pronounced in the photo from the D3200, which has the higher pixel count.
Why is that? Because at a certain point you’re better off having a larger pixel, which captures better quality information about the light it sees, rather than additional pixels capturing lower quality data.
To be clear, I am not singling out Nikon, or either of these cameras. They are terrific products, and I consider the D5100 one of the better bargains in its price range partly because of its ability to capture quality images in low light.
The point here is that when you are shopping for a camera, concentrate on the type and physical dimensions of the sensor. In that case, larger is better because more surface area means more ability to capture light. And though CCD sensors used to be state-of-the-art, CMOS sensors have largely surpassed them.
If you only remember one thing when shopping for a new camera it’s this: don’t be seduced by a high pixel count.

Nokia’s flagship phone is a big but handsome beast that’s stuffed to bursting with features. In the current vogue for slimmer, smaller phones, it stands out. There are bigger models out there, like the Samsung Galaxy Note II with its 5.55in display, which makes it more like a small tablet than a big phone. But the Lumia 920 has a 4.5in screen, so it’s a surprise that it weighs 2g more than the Note II.

Never mind, once you’ve got past the size and the weight, the Lumia 920 has a lot going on. The display, for a start, is gorgeous. It’s a higher resolution even than the iPhone’s Retina display, managing 332 pixels per inch. In real terms this means a screen that makes text look as sharp as a printed page. And because this is what Nokia calls a Clear Black Display, it’s exceptionally colourful and vivid, into the bargain. This is a tremendous screen and, since it’s what you’ll be looking at most, this is important.
Nokia is known for outstanding build quality, and that’s evident here. Chunky it may be, but it is still a good fit in the hand, thanks to its butter-smooth curved edges. The screen joins to the case so snugly the phone is as pleasing to roll through your fingers as a worry stone. And the fact that it’s made of polycarbonate (that’s plastic to you and me) instead of glass or metal, means it’s more welcoming, even warmer, to the touch.
The design is really just a gentle tweak on the one launched in the Nokia Lumia 800 this time last year, but it works well. This one’s bigger, obviously, and comes in more colours, including eye-catching yellow and red gloss versions.

So anyway, about all those features it’s stuffed with. For a start, you will rarely need to plug this phone in. The battery is big and long-lasting, but additionally this phone comes with wireless charging. You need an optional extra for this, but it’s very satisfying. Just plonk the phone on a suitable pad and it’ll start charging immediately.

The Lumia also has NFC (near field communication), the wireless data connection, so you can play music through NFC-enabled speakers, for instance. With some gadgets you’ll be able to do both at the same time. This is where NFC takes off. Though it was billed as the new technology that will turn our phones into virtual wallets, it’s been slow in reaching any traction. But build it into a set of speakers (like the JBL Powerup Wireless Charging Speaker) and NFC suddenly makes sense. The JBL even has lights which turn on as it senses the phone is nearby, like landing lights to show you where to put the handset.
Then there’s another feature which, every time I use it at this time of year, seems why-doesn’t-everyone-do-this brilliant. You can use the touchscreen with gloves on: handy on skiing holidays or in a British cold snap. It works like this (if you know how capacitive screens work, skip a paragraph: this is Touchscreens 101).
There are two main kinds of touchscreen technologies, resistive and capacitive. Resistive is the pressure-sensitive kind found on many satnavs, Nintendo handheld gaming devices and so on. Resistive is cheaper and responds to pressure from any kind of touch, so gloved hands would work here. But these screens don’t look as sharp.

Capacitive screens are pricier but look much, much better. However, they work in a different way. Capacitive screens have a weak electrical field across them. To register an input you have to interrupt that field with another, ie a human finger. That’s why it doesn’t react to most styluses.
What Nokia has done is to dial up the touchscreen sensitivity so that it can spot your finger at a greater distance, that is, a glove-thickness away. It’s very useful, though if you find it just too responsive, you can dial it down again.

The Lumia 920’s camera is exceptionally good. At 8.7 megapixels it’s slightly higher resolution than most and the extra 0.7 megapixels seems to make all the difference. It uses something called a floating sensor which means that the phone has greater optical image stabilisation. This in turn means that the shutter can stay open longer. All this results in photos that look very sharp and dramatic, even in low light situations – traditionally the Achilles’ heel for smartphone snappers.
There are also special photo effects. Often these are pretty naff but here it includes a cinemagraph effect which mixes still photo and video to create an image where part of the picture is moving. Neat.
Nokia has always had a bunch of keen apps for its Windows Phone handsets and that continues here, including a new augmented reality app (where the image seen by the phone’s camera is supplemented with data overlaid on top). City Lens, it’s called, and it floats details of nearby hotels, restaurants and pubs on the screen.

Nokia has long had downloadable maps on its handsets. That’s here in Nokia Drive which offers turn-by-turn information so your phone becomes a satnav. Even better, because the maps are on the phone, you don’t need a data connection so won’t run into expensive roaming charges overseas. Unless you opt for extra features like traffic information.
And Nokia Music is a free music streaming app. You have to choose from Nokia’s music selection, though, this is pretty good, and there are restrictions on how many tracks you can skip or repeat and so on. But if you like a song, you can buy it with a couple of clicks.
No wonder this phone is so big, there’s a lot in it. Some hands really will find it too big or too heavy, but it offers a tremendous user experience. This is arguably the best smartphone Nokia has built, and probably the most advanced phone available. It mixes solid reliability with moments of surprise and delight.

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It’s so big, you see. In fact, apart from two phones from Samsung which are described as phablets because they’re half-tablet, this is the largest-screen mobile phone ever.

Though to be fair, the specs do it a disservice because when you hold it, it feels big but not ridiculous. Partly that’s because the phone is so slim, and partly because the high-end materials such as the highly tactile shatterproof glass back are so pleasing.

Every detail, down to the aluminium power button, is beautifully crafted – this phone has amazing build quality and looks very premium.

The funny thing is that while Sony and its predecessor Sony Ericsson have made some great phones in their time, those attributes (detail, crafting, build quality, high-end) are much more associated with Sony’s big rival, Apple, and that’s the company Sony’s taking on here.

And, like that other stand-out big phone of recent months, the Nokia Lumia 920, this is a phone that’s so stuffed with features, it’s hard to see where they’ve squeezed them all.

First, it has a screen resolution like you’ve never seen before. The Retina display on current iPhones manages 326 pixels per inch (ppi) and looks glorious. It’s more like a printed page with smooth text and pin-sharp pictures. In normal usage, you can’t pick out individual pixels.

But this takes it to a whole new level. The Xperia Z’s display manages 443ppi and adds even greater realism. It lacks the eye-poppingly bright colour palette of the iPhone but it’s a stunning display.
Second, it’s fast. A quad-core processor means that whatever you throw at it, it manages. Android phones do a lot of multi-tasking, with programs running in the background and this often slows things down. Here, there’s a feeling of a speedy, powerful, responsive phone.

Third, it’s water-resistant. I know, I know, but it’s kind of cool. The headphone socket has a little cap to keep, er, the music dry and other areas are suitably protected. You can put it in two feet of water for half an hour, though I haven’t actually tested this you understand. Anyway, it means there’s no problem texting in the bath, for instance.

Fourth, nobody has made NFC work as well as Sony. NFC, or near field communication, is that contactless data transfer system favoured by many office door-entry systems and Oyster cards. Sony has developed a huge range of headphones, speakers and even a TV remote, that are NFC-responsive. Touch the phone to the portable speaker and the track playing on your phone is suddenly audible in decent quality. Touch the Xperia Z to the TV remote and the video you’re watching on the 5in phone screen starts playing on the telly.
Sony has already launched special tags which use NFC. Touch your phone to the one in your bedroom and it turns the phone to silent and sets the alarm, say.  Tap it on the tag in your car and the mapping app is launched. And so on. NFC is a technology that is about to break through, and 2013 could be its year.
The phone also has a sophisticated battery management set-up so you can kill Facebook updates, say, when juice is running low. And the good thing about having a big screen is there’s room for a bigger battery, too.
But the success of the Xperia Z will depend on how well it can take on the smartphone giants like the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III. On first impressions, Sony has a real chance to turn around its fortunes in the mobile phone world.

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LAS VEGAS: Panasonic pulled the covers off a shiny new tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show here.
If you aren't blown away by the size of the device and its 20in screen, you will be by how vibrant the 3,840 x 2,560-pixel display makes high-res pictures and graphics look. Aspect ratio is 15:10.
This is not a tablet that's going to be spending time inside a handbag or backpack because of its size; and you can carry the 5lb device tucked comfortably under an arm, if you need to move it around the home, office or to a car.

We think the tablet is suited to be a desktop PC replacement. It runs on Microsoft's Windows 8 Pro operating system, has a touchscreen instead of a keyboard and mouse, while a high-resolution digital pen enables natural handwriting input.

Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga said he prefers a 20in screen for consuming online content, such as news portals and pictures. "Desktop PCs are unwieldy for this; I am thinking photo wall and newspaper wall," he laughed.

The tablet is also aimed at photographers and videographers who would want to review their work on a large, high-res display. And it would also be suitable for use in the medical, architecture and advertising fields.

Also, its Microsoft operating system would allow companies to leverage off existing Windows applications for business use, according to the Japanese manufacturer.
Despite the tablet's size, Panasonic points out that it is the lightest and thinnest in its product category.
The heart of the device is an Intel Core i5 3427U (1.8GHz) processor, coupled with an nVidia GeForce graphics chip.

Onboard memory is 4GB, with a maximum of 16GB; and 128GB of SSD (solid state storage) storage.
The is also a slot for a micro SD/SDXC card on the righthand edge of the tablet, where the on/off switch and other controls are located. That is where you will also find a single USB 2.0 port.
Panasonic's tablet supports WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connectivity.
Embedded on the front of the 18.7 x 13.1 x 0.4in device, near the top edge, is a camera that captures high-resolution 720p images.

Plus, you can connect a digital camera to the tablet, using the WiFi feature. The pictures you shoot on the camera will then be stored directly to the tablet.
Battery life is up to two hours on a single charge. Not an issue if the tablet is used as a desktop replacement, or nearby to an electrical socket. 

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Last week, at a press event, Canonical announced Ubuntu Phone OS. This week, they’ve announced when it’ll be available – almost.

Canonical’s Alan Pope has given a statement saying that ‘late February’ will be the time that those lucky people with a Galaxy Nexus (Google’s flagship Android device) can download an installable image for Ubuntu Phone OS. At the same time, as Ubuntu is an open-source operating system, the source code will also be released, meaning users may be able to compile and trial the mobile OS on their own devices (at their own risk). Why the Nexus? Simply as it’s the cleanest Android device (no proprietary software or skins, like HTC’s or Samsung’s) and fully supported and up-to-date by Google, who make Android.

There appears to be a discrepancy, however, as Shuttleworth spoke at the press release last week that the download would be released ‘in the coming weeks.’ February is later than a few weeks. To iron out all the confusing creases, Canonical’s Richard Collins stated: “[allow time to] maximize all the attention we want to gain [with Ubuntu Phone OS]” Of course, that means that they’re fixing it to make it work better, as every technology company wants to do with their new device, but at least it’s something.

As far as specific dates go, ‘late February’ is not, but it’s almost safe to say that the appearance will be made when Canonical the Ubuntu team make their annual appearance at the Mobile World Congress, from 25th – 28th February.

Ubuntu Phone OS – a mobile version of a well-loved desktop operating system with docking capabilities to launch the desktop OS – is a huge leap as far as technology goes. Therefore, one must realise that the version that debuts next month is almost definitely not going to be complete in terms of features.

OMG! Ubuntu! writes that their hands-on with the device had incomplete features, such as a webkit-based browser (similar to Google’s Chrome); and some features hadn’t even made it to deployment, such as a voice-controlled HUD or mobile equivalent of the Ubuntu Software Centre. It may be, as a result, a good idea if you were considering installing the image, to do so for testing purposes only.

It has been noted, though, that the ‘core phone’ features, such as the calling and SMS-ing modules are in working order, fluid and swift.

All we can do now is wait, and we’ll keep you updated with all the latest involving Ubuntu Phone OS. Take a look at a short trailer for Ubuntu Phone OS below, with all its multi-touch and gestures incorporated.

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  In the process of drawing up its quarterly results, Nokia has uncovered some good news to report. The manufacturer says its Lumia portfolio "delivered better than expected results" in Q4, selling 4.4 million units compared to just 2.9 million in Q3. The Asha series also did well, with 9.3 million units shifted. In the same breath, however, the company's accountants warn that Q1 of this year may not be so glowing, due to "seasonality and the competitive environment." All financial results are preliminary at this point -- we'll learn more more when the final report arrives in a couple of weeks.

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      CES 2013 is still the place to be if you are looking for a tech mecca early January each year, and for the first time in history, we have the first crowdsourced gaming tablet in the world that has been turned into reality, coming in the form of the Razer Edge which was designed by gamers, and is specially launched just for gamers. You can call it a tablet, a PC, or a console, there is no real distinction between all three sectors as the Razer Edge is one of them and all of them at once. Razer boasts of it to be the most powerful tablet in the world, and we cannot help but agree to a certain extent.

    Just in case you were wondering how come the Razer Edge looks so familiar, that is because it got its start in life as the highly-acclaimed Project Fiona PC gaming tablet concept which was first introduced at last year’s edition of CES, and it picked up some gongs along the way such as CNET’s “Best of CES 2012” People’s Voice Award, Stuff magazine’s “Hot Stuff” Award, IGN magazine’s “Best of CES” award and Laptop magazine’s “Best of CES award.” Expect the Razer Edge to arrive in North America and Asia Pacific sometime later this year.

    Just what kind of gaming firepower does the Razer Edge come with? Well, it will run on the 3rd generation Intel Core processor alongside an NVIDIA GeForce graphics chipset to perform all the heavy graphical lifting for striking visual clarity, with Windows 8 as the operating system of choice, allowing the widest array of today’s most popular PC games to run natively on the Razer Edge without having to go through the tedious porting process, or to have it optimized or developed from ground up.
There will be two models to choose from – a standard Razer Edge with an Intel Core i5 processor, an NVIDIA GT640M LE GPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 64GB SSD, while the higher end Razer Edge Pro will have a speedier Intel Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA GT640M LE GPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a choice between a 128GB or 256GB SSD. Out later this quarter, the Razer Edge will be priced from $999 upwards.

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A new Galaxy S2 phone is coming to town, though it isn't much different than its predecessor.
Announced today by Samsung, the Galaxy S2 Plus builds upon the S2 by including Android 4.1.2, aka Jelly Bean.

Initially outfitted with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the original S2 received an update to Android 4.0 last June and is finally due up for Android 4.1 sometime soon.

Otherwise, most of the tech specs between the S2 Plus and the original S2 are the same.
Like its precedessor, the S2 Plus will offer a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 4.3-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display. An 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash is on the back, while a 2-MP camera graces the front. But the rear camera now comes with a zero-lag shutter speed that can more easily capture fast-moving objects.

The new phone offers 3G in the form of 21Mbps HSPA+, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0.
The Plus's built-in storage has been trimmed in size to 8GB from the original's 16GB or 32GB. But the new model's SD storage can handle up to 64 gigabytes of data, while the original maxed out at 32GB. The Plus also includes an option for near-field communications support so people can use the phone for mobile payments.


Though the hardware improvements are minimal, the S2 Plus will provide a host of new software features.
The Direct Call feature allows users to automatically dial a call by placing the phone next to their ear. Smart Stay can tell if the user is looking away from the screen and dim it in response. And Smart Alert notifies users of missed events or status updates when they pick up the phone.

A Popup Video feature displays a video anywhere on the screen in a resizable window. S Voice lets users control the phone using just their voice, while Voice Unlock lets them unlock the phone via voice.
Rumors about a Galaxy S2 Plus kicked off almost a year ago. Samsung did release a Plus version of the original Galaxy S phone in 2011.

Samsung didn't reveal a launch date or price for the S2 Plus. CNET contacted the company for more details and will update the story when we hear back.

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      Still have an old Kindle Touch sitting around? You have some new features to play with. Despite replacing it with a brighter son, Amazon is still updating its original touch sensitive e-reader -- outfitting it with a new UI, enhanced parental controls and Whispersync for Voice, which shares bookmarks between audio and text versions of the same digital tome. 

    Amazon's improved the Kindle Touch shopping experience too, adding recommended content offers to users and remembering where they left off in a sample after they purchase the full text. Finally, the company injected the Kindle Touch with better comic and graphic novel navigation -- allowing readers to view their funnybooks panel by panel, rather than by the full page alone. 

   The update will be delivered wirelessly, though users that fancy their USB cable can install the new features the old fashioned way. Check out Amazon's "what's new with Kindle Touch" page for a run down of the update's features.

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