Articles about Smartphone

Samsung Galaxy S4 fans, be prepared to use your credit cards because it's pre-order season. A number of UK carriers, including Vodafone, EE and O2 have the new Android smartphone flagship on pre-order today, while in the United States AT&T announced that prospective buyers will have to wait until next month to get their hands on a new Galaxy S4 before it hits online and brick-and-mortar stores.

AT&T revealed that the Galaxy S4 will be available for pre-order starting with April 16 for $249.99 on a two-year contract. The carrier does not specify which model will be offered, but the 32GB Galaxy S4 is a good guess judging by the price of its predecessor at launch, during pre-orders. If 16GB, the price would be $50 higher than Galaxy S3 at launch and what iPhone 5 sells for today.

Continue reading →

¡Hola! Many of us use Google Translate, some on a daily basis. For instance, I follow a few blogs in Reader (a moment of silence please) that are published in languages that are foreign to me. For the most part it works well, but can also lead to some rather amusing results. Now you can get those same laughs from your Android phone, even when you are offline.

Today Google's product manager Minqi Jiang announces that the search giant and mobile operating system developer is "launching offline language packages for Google Translate on Android (2.3 and above) with support for 50 languages, from French and Spanish to Chinese and Arabic".

Continue reading →

Late last night, after sitting stunned before T-Mobile USA's website, I hauled down to the local corporate store to confirm the new Simple Choice plan would really save so much in monthly fees. I was more surprised the shop wasn't overrun by people rushing to take advantage of the new rates.

I still can't believe them. Simple Choice? I am simply stunned. My last phone bill with AT&T, after tax and fees, was about $295 for Mobile Share plan with 10GB data. I tried to reduce to 4GB shared, but an AT&T rep said the bill would be the same ($270 before tax and fees). WTH? At T-Mobile I added three lines with unlimited talk, text and web for $120. I won't move the other two lines until iPhone 5 comes to T-Mobile on April 12. That will add another $70 to the monthly fee, which should work out to about $90 less than AT&T soaks me for now, perhaps more.

Continue reading →

IDC continues to send smoke signals that a blistering fire rages across the planet, sure to scorch the earth where PC manufacturers hoped to plant new computer sales. Emerging markets are engulfed in a blaze of smartphone and tablet adoption that leaves little hope for a desktop or notebook revival. I simply cannot overstate the speed this thing moves.

Eight days ago, the analyst firm revised downward PC shipment forecast for 2013, singling out changing buying patterns among emerging markets. Today IDC reaffirmed the forecast, while releasing final full-year 2012 PC, smartphone and tablet shipments. The data is grim pickings.

Continue reading →

America's fourth-largest carrier finally goes Apple, and you've got to wonder what that means for all the Androids on shelf. T-Mobile USA broke the long-anticipated news this morning, a day after announcing new, unlimited rate plans that ditch subsidies. iPhone comes with 4G LTE roll out in select cities and expanded HSPA+ coverage to the 1900MHz band. Subsidy-free plans, network expansion, iPhone availability and MetroPCS merger are all part of a bold "bet the company" strategy.

T-Mobile will start selling iPhone 5 on April 12, for the lowest upfront-price among major carriers: $99.99. The rest is paid off in monthly payments and for full price of the handset and no contract. Rivals charge $199.99 up front with 24-month contractual commitment and hefty subsidy should customers change carriers before the term expires.

Continue reading →

Born as two flagship devices built on the Windows Phone 8 platform, the HTC Windows Phone 8X and the Nokia Lumia 920 could not be much further apart in delivering two polarizing user experiences. In boxing terms, Windows Phone 8X is the light flyweight and Lumia 920 is the super heavyweight, fighting each other with two different software and hardware skill sets for the "Best Windows Phone 8 smartphone" title.

But this one is a tough nut to crack as there are many aspects to consider. Price, performance, build quality, software and hardware features, dimensions, weight, look and feel, color trim, among others, are all very important when choosing a device that will likely be alongside you for two years. So without further ado, let's pit the two against each other and see how they stack up.

Continue reading →

Today, comScore started a new service that ranks the top U.S. websites by desktop and mobile views -- the latter is a new measurement. Some of them really pop off the chart, with Apple glaring among traditional companies. More than one-third of unique visitors in February accessed the site via mobile device-only. That compares to 5 percent for Microsoft properties. Analysts, bloggers and journalists often portray the fruit-logo company as best representative of the so-called Post-PC era, and Windows' maker the epoch in decline.

The numbers aren't shocking, if you think about them. Windows has little presence on smartphones or tablets. Microsoft mobile OS smartphones share was just 3 percent during fourth quarter, according to Gartner. IDC forecasts Windows tablet market share, based on unit shipments, will be less than 5 percent this year. By comparison, iOS has greater reach, with, according to the company, cumulative shipments exceeding 500 million. Hell, Apple sold 43.5 million iPhones just in Q4, according to Gartner.

Continue reading →

The question is top of my mind as the smartphone arrives in the United States today from AT&T and next week from T-Mobile and Verizon. Did I miss something, or is this an atypical debut? AT&T usually starts sales on Sundays. This is Friday, right? The phone, which launched January 30, could be yours today for around $200 with two-year contractual commitment.

Way back then I asked: "Will you buy BlackBerry Z10?" The responses aren't as interesting as the lack of them. Less than 700 as I write, which is a surprisingly low number for one of my buying polls and for such a hotly-anticipated device. One-third of you say, yes, by the way, "as soon as available", which for Americans is today. Nearly an equal number of respondents will buy immediately or within three months as won't buy at all -- around 43 percent for each.

Continue reading →

Not even during my time as a child opening up presents from under the Christmas tree have I ever been so thrilled and pleased about a new toy as I am today. Some of you may call me a fool for trying to mend a close-to-broken relationship, but I gave Windows Phone 8 another try and purchased a Nokia Lumia 920. And, oh boy, do I feel like a fool for buying the HTC Windows Phone 8X two months ago.

At its core, the Nokia Lumia 920 is still a Windows Phone 8-based smartphone but the overall experience that exudes from using it is totally different compared to what I am used to. The Lumia is bulkier, heavier and better built than most smartphones on the market today, all while telling a different software story than the Windows Phone 8X, which now feels agricultural. Depending on where your preference lies that may either be a desirable trait or big no-no.

Continue reading →

Confession: I've never used Evernote, much to the abash of colleague Alan Buckingham (or so he expressed in group chat a little while ago). But I would use Google Keep, which released today. Russell Holly calls Keep "the not-quite Evernote clone" -- for anyone making bold comparisons.

You tell me. Does this sound familiar, Evernote and OneNote users? "With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what’s important to you", Katherine Kuan, Google software engineer, says. "Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand". She adds: "If it’s more convenient to speak than to type that’s fine -- Keep transcribes voice memos for you automatically. There’s super-fast search to find what you’re looking for and when you’re finished with a note you can archive or delete it".

Continue reading →

It is officially that time of the year -- when grown men call in sick to sit home and watch younger men and women play basketball. In other words, it's March Madness time. While you are watching those games, and possibly cursing your bracket choices, Microsoft would like to have a bit of your attention.

While the company's first big Microsoft mobile viral campaign, known as Smoked by Windows Phone, seemed to pop up everywhere and get all sorts of attention, the latest campaign has kept a much lower profile.

Continue reading →

Microsoft is under heavy fire from disgruntled folks across the web after revealing that Windows Phone 8 will only be supported for 18 months, with the end date July 8, 2014. The news shocked many, generating debate and speculation about what happens after the deadline passes.

In a Twitter post that followed shortly to calm the waters, Microsoft tries to reassure users that the end may not be as near as it seems. The software giant states: "As we’ve said, one benefit of moving to the Windows core is that Windows Phone 8 is upgradeable". Microsoft therefore suggests that current devices running Windows Phone 8 can in fact be upgraded to an upcoming iteration of the smartphone operating system.

Continue reading →

Microsoft is rolling out an updated Skype app for Windows Phone 8 devices featuring integration with the People Hub. The latest move comes nearly two weeks after the software giant teased a similar feature for Outlook.com, which touts Skype integration as "coming soon".

Skype integration with the People Hub is available for devices running Windows Phone 8 version 8.0.10211.204 and newer and is automatically enabled after installing or updating the app. The new Skype app also brings support for HD video calls, video calls in landscape or portrait mode, and additionally allows users to use both cameras.

Continue reading →

On Monday, Japanese smartphone manufacturer Sony announced two new handsets, the Xperia L and Xperia SP, aimed at the low-end and mid-range smartphone markets, respectively.

The Xperia L smartphone is Sony's new low-end offering. The device comes with a 4.3-inch display with an effective resolution of 854 x 480 and is powered by a dual-core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (MSM8230) processor, 1GB of RAM and a 1,700 mAh battery. Other specs include: 8-megapixel back-facing camera with 720p video recording; 0.3MP front-facing camera; 8GB of internal storage; microSD card slot; HSPA+ connectivity: NFC (Near Field Communication); as well as the usual array of sensors.

Continue reading →

Tell me if you can't make the connection here. China is the world's largest market for PCs and during 2012 passed the United States to claim the top spot in smartphones, too. About two thirds of all handsets going into China are smartphones, and there is a long-documented trend in emerging markets where people skip the PC and go right to mobiles as their first connected devices. Handset sales are way up and now IDC says PC shipments are way down going into the People's Republic and will contribute to larger-than-expected decline in global personal computer shipments. You follow where this is going?

IDC says February PC shipments fell below forecasts. The analyst firm had expected a 7.7 percent year-over-year decline for first quarter but now predicts double-digit drop instead. China, which accounted for 21 percent of global PC shipments last year, is a major, but not the only, reason. The analyst firm identifies Chinese New Year, budgets cuts and anti-corruption campaigns as factors, while ignoring the most obvious: Shifting buying patterns.

Continue reading →