Today, the MHL Consortium (Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony and Toshiba) announces that the MHL 3.0 specification has been finalized. According to the consortium, "MHL technology is optimized for mobile and it allows you to send uncompressed high definition video and up to 8 channels of surround sound from your MHL smartphone or tablet to any digital TV or display, all while charging your device."

"With double the bandwidth compared to the previous specification, MHL 3.0 delivers 4K (Ultra HD) resolution and a wider color gamut to create a more brilliant visual experience, solidifying MHL’s growing presence in the living room. By using a bi-directional channel that’s significantly faster than MHL 2, the new specification enables concurrent 4K video and high-speed peripheral support of mass storage and input devices such as a touch screen, keyboard and mouse", says the group.

Continue reading →

The American consumer is very indecisive when it comes to cell phone size. From the iconic "Zack Morris Phone" to Samsung's diminutive "Juke", the trend in size runs the gamut.

This continues with the smartphone craze as two new Android devices are announced for the USA -- the HTC One Mini and the Samsung Galaxy Mega. Both devices aim to fill a need and are defined by their size.

Continue reading →

You may well not have heard of it -- and even if you have, it's even less likely that you've used it -- but Microsoft's Tag service is to close two years from now. In a statement on the Tag website Microsoft says that it is issuing a two year termination notice in accordance with its Terms of Use and that the service can be used as normal for the next 24 months.

For anyone to whom Microsoft Tag is an unfamiliar name, and this is likely to be a large group, this is -- or perhaps was -- Microsoft's alternative to the QR code. Scan a tag from a magazine or advertisement and you can access content such as websites, videos and more.

Continue reading →

It's easy to learn how many iPads and iPhones have been sold -- sales figures are readily available. But this isn’t enough information for advertisers who need to know what type of demographic makes up their potential market. Research by Flurry helps to shine a light on the types of people who own different iOS devices.

A random sample of over 44,000 iOS device owners reveals that 72 percent have an iPhone and 28 percent an iPad. Plotted on a chart, the figures make for interesting reading but, as ever, the most intriguing results are to be found at the extremes.

Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, I discovered a product on Kickstarter called the NFC Ring. It is an interesting concept -- you unlock your NFC-enabled smartphone by tapping it with a ring worn on your finger. Today, Motorola announces a very similar accessory for the Moto X which is called Skip. However, this product is not a piece of jewelry.

According to Motorola, "Skip is a thin, thumb-sized clip that pairs with your Moto X and unlocks it with a simple tap. Wear Skip on your shirt sleeve, shirt hem, belt loop -- wherever it feels most comfortable. It's fast, easy and secure. It provides all the benefits of a PIN without the hassle".

Continue reading →

Smartphones, tablets and other gadgets get updated incredibly fast these days. If you want to stay on the cutting edge, and be assured of always having the latest features, and fastest technology, you need to keep upgrading, which leaves the question of what to do with your old tech.

Sell it on eBay, is a fairly obvious solution and now the auction site has officially opened a new service which will make it even easier to do exactly that. eBay My Gadgets is currently only available on the US version of eBay, but will hopefully be made available internationally soon.

Continue reading →

With the upcoming release of the Jobs biopic Apple is set to be in the spotlight in coming weeks. It's timely then that the Finances Online website has released an interesting report tracing the iPhone’s supply chain.

It makes for fascinating reading. The rare earth minerals used in many of the phone’s components are 90 percent sourced in China and Inner Mongolia. Move up to the component level and the LCD panels, chipset, memory and batteries are all made in Korea. The iPhone 5's innovative display -- which eliminates a layer of glass -- is made by LG for example. The gyroscope that works out which way you’re holding the phone comes from STMicroelectronics, a French/Italian company.

Continue reading →

Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 435 million units in the second quarter of 2013, according to Gartner, notching up a moderate 3.6 percent increase over the 420 million units sold in the same period last year.

The big news however, is smartphone sales finally exceeded those of feature phones, with the former selling 225 million units, up 46.5 percent from the 153 million sold in the second quarter of 2012, and the latter managing just 210 million units for a 21 percent drop year-over-year.

Continue reading →

A survey by Constant Contact shows that mobile devices are more important than ever, particularly to those under the age of 30. The study reveals that 80 percent of smartphone owners say it is "extremely important to be able to read emails" on their mobile devices. But marketers take note -- if an email doesn’t display correctly, it's highly likely it will just get deleted.

High mobile email usage is hardly a revelation in itself, but the way the figures break down is interesting. Predictably it is the 18-30 age bracket that has the highest mobile usage, with 88 percent of users turning to their mobile for emails.

Continue reading →

The days of the CrackBerry are well and truly over. Years of declining sales as smartphone users move to iPhones and Android devices for their telecommunication needs has left the Canadian company floundering. In Europe, BlackBerry handsets account for just 2.2 percent of smartphone sales. In the face of stiff competition in a fierce market, BlackBerry is considering a potential sale in a bid to turn around the company's fortunes.

BlackBerry has seen its market share steadily dropping off over the years. In the second quarter of 2013, this stood as just 2.9 percent, down from 4.9 percent in the same period the previous year. A lot of hope was pinned on the launch of the BB10 platform and IDC's research shows that the company has benefited from steady progress since its release.

Continue reading →

Google's Chromecast streamer may not yet have set the world on fire but it is earning itself quite a following. Part of the device's appeal is its low price -- just $35 for a fairly capable plugin streaming unit -- but there are times when only free will do. CheapCast is a free app that turns virtually any Android phone or tablet (running Android 2.2 or above is the only requirement) into a Chromecast.

The app is a fairly early beta, but in terms of replicating what Chromecast has to offer, it does a reasonably good job. CheapCast does nothing, yet, to address many of the complaints about Chromecast -- such as the inability to easily stream local content -- but it does mimic the Google device's casting capabilities for the likes of YouTube and Google Play.

Continue reading →

Adopting Windows Phone 8, and ditching Android, was one of the most daring decisions that I have ever made in my entire tech life. I am the sort of person who does not warm up to major changes (not my strong suit), especially ones that involve transitioning between two polarizing mobile platforms. But, surprisingly, I gave up the flexibility and versatility of the green droid operating system for the glanceable information and simplicity of Windows Phone. Admittedly, it was not smooth sailing from day one.

The problem is that, in order to fully adjust to the change, something has got to give, namely features that I consider to be essential for a modern-day smartphone operating system. For some they may not matter as much, but others -- like me, and maybe you -- are likely to be left wanting for more. And, no, I am not talking about widgets, themes, root or Instagram (it, however, seems to be the tech media's favorite blaming toy even though there are good third-party alternatives), but rather more down-to-earth, mundane ones.

Continue reading →

I have twice now written of my foray into Windows Phone 8, via the Nokia Lumia 928. During my last article I promised a deep-dive into the platform, but have since reconsidered this, as there is really nothing to say that has not already been written. You know of the apps and the lack of them -- you know the specs and, if you have used a handset, then you know where everything is and how to use it. In short, I would be wasting my breath...ahh...words.

I have resided in the Android world for sometime, first with a Droid X and most recently with the Galaxy Nexus. I remain there in the tablet world, currently owning an Asus MeMO, Kindle Fire HD and the new Nexus 7 -- the latter of which my son relieved me of. I love them all, but my phone of choice has changed.

Continue reading →

Verizon subscribers who are in the market for a free, on-contract smartphone now have two more options to choose from, as the US mobile operator just lowered the price of the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 928 from $99.99 to zero, when purchased alongside a two-year agreement.

It is worth noting that the Windows Phone 8X and the Lumia 928 join the likes of the LG Lucid, Pantech Marauder and Samsung Stratosphere II in being offered for free alongside a two-year contract with big red. Unlike the HTC and Nokia-branded devices, none of the other three handsets are high-end smartphones.

Continue reading →

Chinese electronics company ZTE has announced that it's to start selling its Firefox phone on eBay in the US and the UK. Available only in a fetching shade of orange and unlocked for use on any network the phone will cost $79.99 in the US and £59.99 in the UK.

The ZTE Open offers an affordable smartphone based entirely on open web standards using the Firefox OS. It has all of the functions you'd expect of a smartphone including calls, messaging, email and a camera, plus additional functions like built-in social network integration with Facebook and Twitter, location based services and access to the Firefox Marketplace to download apps.

Continue reading →