BARCELONA, Spain — I popped by the Nokia booth earlier today to try out the new Nokia X range of handsets and came away unimpressed. The first thing I did was to try customising the user interface, and while Nokia has added a Windows Phone-like skin, the UI was decided sub-par in experience. You can …
Read More »TimeLine Layout
February, 2014
-
27 February
YunTab S5 Android phone uses 3D infrared for secure face unlock
BARCELONA, Spain — Everyone knows how easily you can beat Android’s Face Unlock feature with a simple photograph, but it will take a lot more to crack Chinese smartphone maker YunTab’s solution. Found on the company’s $135 S5 Android-powered smartphone (not to be confused with Samsung’s Galaxy S5), the 5.5-inch handset uses two infrared emitters, a secondary infrared camera to …
Read More » -
27 February
Ford ‘not married’ to Microsoft for next
BARCELONA, Spain — There’s been no shortage of talk and speculation of late surrounding Ford’s relationship with Microsoft. Microsoft has, since the beginning of Sync, provided the software underpinnings that make the infotainment system work. With millions of Sync-equipped vehicles on the road, it’s big business, and with rumors of a switch to QNX making the rounds, that’s potentially bad …
Read More » -
27 February
The monetized future of BBM
BARCELONA, Spain — If anything can keep the good ship BlackBerry sailing, it’s BBM. John Sims is the man charged with taking this slice of the BlackBerry pie and make it do two things — grow and make money. He’s been in the role just two short months, but speaking with CNET on the last day of Mobile World Congress …
Read More » -
27 February
HTC’s next flagship is called The New HTC One
It’s been dubbed the M8 and even the HTC One 2, but now HTC has confirmed the name of its next flagship phone. The successor to the HTC One will just be called The New HTC One. HTC revealed the name in a bizarre teaser trailer ahead of the handset’s unveiling next month. Rest assured: it continues the company’s quirky …
Read More » -
27 February
FCC spectrum auction ends with more than $1.5B in proceeds
The Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction for the so-called H Block concluded Thursday after bids reached the $1.564 billion reserve price that satellite provider Dish Network had promised to pay for the airwaves prior to the auction. The auction, which began on January 22, closed after 167 rounds of bidding. Proceeds of this auction and the upcoming 600MHz TV spectrum …
Read More » -
27 February
Tablets struggle to maintain their identity at Mobile World Congress 2014
Xiomara Blanco/CNET BARCELONA, Spain — The Mobile World Congress 2014 tablet lineup was filled with over-sized phones, undersized “tablets”, and tablet that knew exactly what it was. There’s a palpable feeling coming out of the show that tablet makers are having difficulty deciding what next to do with them. Tablets of Mobile World Congress 2014 (pictures) +8 more See all …
Read More » -
27 February
Google’s Project Ara modular phone could cost just £30
If you’re wondering what has happened to Google’s Project Ara modular mobile project, seeing as Google is selling Motorola to Lenovo, there’s no need to worry. Google has held onto Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group which was the home of Project Ara. And the latest news is that Google intends to start selling the modular smart phone next …
Read More » -
27 February
The chips of Samsung’s Galaxy S5
BARCELONA, Spain — Qualcomm and Samsung are back in the newest Galaxy device, the Galaxy S5. The Korean electronics giant on Monday unveiled its newest flagship phone with a slightly tweaked design and updated specs. The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch display HD screen and a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with a bunch of bells and whistles that are supposed to …
Read More » -
27 February
Acer announces Liquid E3 and Z4 budget Android smarties
Mobile World Congress hasn’t even started yet, but Acer has jumped the gun and announced two budget smarties. The Acer Liquid E3 and Liquid Z4 will be on show at the mobile industry trade show next week, and both are wallet-friendly Android smarties. The E3 is the higher-specced of the two. It has a 4.7-inch, 720p HD screen, a quad-core …
Read More »