The extremely popular and amazing Wii and Gamecube emulator Dolphin which enabled users on Windows, Mac and Linux to enjoy Gamecube and Wii games in 1080p HD (upscaled) is now available on Android.
Although games on the Android port are anything but playable, it’s more like a proof of concept for the time being. Just like when Dolphin started on the PC, the Android versions runs games at a crawling pace with most of them refusing to even start. Bugs and glitches are in the thousands with few features currently usable. Performance upgrades won’t be coming anytime soon till OpenGL ES 3 arrives on the platform, currently the Android version of Dolphin runs completely via the CPU. A short demo of the emulator trying to run Super Smash Bros is below:
Currently in it’s pre-alpha stages, the Android Dolphin emulator is an open source project just like it’s PC counterpart. Hopefully the emulator will be able to run games properly soon. If you want to try the emulator out, you can download it from here.
At the IDF 2013 event in Beijing, smartphone maker ZTE unveiled the not so cleverly named ZTE Geek. An IDF launch naturally hints at the device being Intel x86-driven, which it is. An Intel Atom Z2580 "Clover Trail+" SoC clocked at 2.00 GHz, the same chip that drives Lenovo K900. The chip is backed by 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB internal storage that's expandable with micro-SDHC.
The 5-inch smartphone features an unspectacular yet acceptable 1280 x 720-pixel display resolution, with its display being accented by a curvy Gorilla Glass panel. In the imaging department, you get an 8-megapixel primary camera with LED flash, and a respectable 1-megapixel front-facing one.
Intel's XMM 6260 soft-modem is in-charge of connectivity, which includes UMTS 900/2100, 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and AGPS. Android "Jelly Bean" (not sure if 4.1 or 4.2), is at the helm. Looks-wise, the Geek looks similar to the ZTE Grand S, which the company unveiled at this year's International CES.
Back at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013, Lenovo announced its flagship smartphone, the K900. Looking at its impressive hardware specifications, the 5.5-incher features the next-generation Intel Atom Z2580 "Clover Trail+" dual-core processor with Hyper Threading technology clocked at 2.0 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB memory.
Among other impressive things, the phone has a 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) screen resolution, a 13-megapixel primary camera based on Sony's Exmor BSI sensor, and the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system.
When it comes to performance, the first benchmark score reveal the real power of the latest flagship smartphone from Lenovo. Surprisingly, the device edges out the Samsung Galaxy S IV AnTuTu benchmark test by a small margin.
Looking at other smartphones, like the HTC DROID DNA and the Samsung Galaxy Note II which both use a quad core processors, the K900 achieved about 10,000 higher score.
According to latest rumours, the K900's release date is April 17th and could cost just $480.
Late last week, rumors surfaced of Google being in talks to acquire WhatsApp, with about $1 billion riding on the deal. Either the deal fell through, or Google really never approached WhatApp, with the latter now claiming that's the case.
AllThingsDigital got in touch with WhatsApp, its business development head Neeraj Arora completely denied rumors of the company ever being in talks with Google over its acquisition to the Internet giant, and refused to comment any further.
WhatsApp is an extremely popular cross-platform instant-messaging service for mobiles, its apps for iOS and Android earn the company $0.99 per user, per annum. It allows people across IM platforms to send each other mostly text, but also photos, videos, and locations.
Someone, presumably at one of Foxconn's Apple-contracted foundries, took a picture of what they claim to be the front fascia of the 5th generation iPad. If true, it only supports the rumor of the next-generation iPad design being simply an upscaled iPad Mini.
Unlike today's 9.7-inch iPads, which have uniform bezel thickness framing the screen, the next iPad could feature thicker bezels along its breadths, and thinner ones along its lengths. Joining the dots, one could also speculate next-gen iPad's back to look more similar to that of the very first iPad, with sharper edges, and an overall flatter back.
There are different theories surrounding Apple's next iPad unveiling. Some put it just before Summer, along the sidelines of WWDC '13, other in October.
Here's hoping that's not a child's hand with an iPad mini panel.
Since the turn of the year Nokia has been busy expanding its range of Windows phone 8 hardware that now includes handsets at a variety of price levels, and now the Nokia Lumia 521 has been officially confirmed but the price is still MIA.
We first heard about the Nokia Lumia 521 was heading to T-Mobile back in February and now the carrier has confirmed the device will be available next month, although the company has yet to reveal the pricing for the device.
The handset is the carrier’s version of the Nokia Lumia 520 and could sell unlocked for around $180, and for your money the handset offers entry level access to the WP8 platform that provides users a 4-inch WVGA IPS LCD touchscreen display.
This is powered by a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running at 1GHz that is coupled with 512MB of RAM, and there is 8GB of built in storage that can be expanded further up to 64GB via microSD card.
There is also a 5-megapixel rear facing camera, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS, and a 1,430 mAh battery unit. The Nokia Lumia 521 will be available via T-Mobile retail channels, Wal-Mart, and Microsoft Retail Stores.
Will you be getting the Nokia Lumia 521?
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There have been news reports in the past which suggested that Apple will be outing its next generation iPad in April 2013. However, in a new report DigiTimes claims that Apple will be commencing production of its fifth generation iPad in July or August. The website claims to have got this bit of information from its sources in the Taiwan-based supply chain.
The fifth generation iPad is expected to come with a 9.7-inch screen and is expected to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor. LG Display and Sharp are reportedly engaged in producing the display of the fifth generation iPad while touch panels are being made by TPK.
As per the rumours, the next generation iPad will have thin bezels, much like the iPad mini. There have been plenty of speculations being made in regards to the launch of the next generation of iPad. Some reports point to an October release, while some recent reports suggested an April release.
Apple had introduced the fourth generation iPad along with iPad mini at a special event in San Jose, California on October 23 2012. Apple surprised many by launching the 128GB version of the fourth generation iPad in February 2013.
The grapevine also suggests that Apple is gearing up to launch an iPad mini with Retina display. Alleged pictures of this iPad mini with Retina display were also shared online in February 2012. As per past reports Apple is cutting shipments of iPad mini in the second quarter of 2013. According to this report, the cutback may be as high as 20 percent in April and the shipments may continue to decrease gradually throughout the quarter to bring total shipments to as low as 10 million units during the quarter.
The reason for these cut backs was cited as Apple’s efforts in adjusting its reserves for the next-generation iPad mini, which is likely to be released in the third quarter.
A Review of Samsung Galaxy Mini – a budget smartphone
It has been a while since I have written a review about an entry-level smartphone.Budget smartphones are particularly one of the subjects that caught my interest because they are affordable and still deliver some of the features shared with its big brothers, the expensive, high-end smartphones. My subject on interest in this post is theSamsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570. (Also known as T-Mobile Move and Samsung Galaxy Pop for India market) This model is released in February 2011.
Design:
It is a full touch bar design, compact with flashy colour stripe along the side. It is a “mini” so it has to be small, although with its compact size still appeals to both sexes. It also great for an entry-level smartphone especially for teenagers or adults that don’t really want a bulky phone. It is also perfect for a second phone. The dimension is 110.6 X 60.6 X 12.1mm and weigh only about 106.6g.
Performance and Display:
The display is slightly larger than its cousin –the Galaxy Young. It has a 3.14-inch TFT capacitive touch screen with 256K colours and 240X320 pixels (~127 ppi pixel density) PPI stands for “pixel per inch”. The Mini is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU clocked at 600 MHz which is a little slower than the Galaxy Young’s 832MHz.
It runs on Android OS Froyo V2.2 and upgradable to V2.3 . It is also equipped witj Samsung’s own TouchWiz v3.0 UI.
Applications:
I think the highlight for this phone is its Predictive text input or SWYPE functionality. With this function, a user can write a message quickly by connecting the dots instead of pushing the virtual buttons. Apart from that, the phone also features the following:
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser: HTML
Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support
Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors: Black
SNS integration
MP4/H.264/H.263 player
MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
Organizer
Document viewer/editor
Image/video editor
Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration
Voice memo/dial
Connectivity:
You can connect to the internet either through Wi-Fi or 3G networks. Full data specifications are as follow:
GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
EDGE: Yes
Speed: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth: Yes, v2.1 with A2DP
USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0
Battery:
The battery is a standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh with a stand-by time up to 570 hours and talk time up to 9 hours 30 minutes. The battery life is quite efficient for normal operation but running multitasking and graphics intensive programmes would decrease the talk time estimates.
Audio:
The audio is fine as long as you don’t expect too much from it. It has sound alert types of – vibration, MP3 and WAV ringtones. It is also equipped with a decent loudspeaker and as well as a DNSe sound enhancement, that may improve music quality compared to ordinary phones. It also has a 3.5MM jack that you can use to plug in your favourite earphones, headphones or even portable speakers.
Camera:
The camera is 3.15 MP (2048 X 1536 pixels) which is better than the Galaxy Young’s 2.0 MP. It is able to record videos at QVGA@15fps and fitted with Geo-tagging functionality. Picture quality is decent enough if taken in daylight conditions. Do not try to compare it with its big brother – the Galaxy S II’s 8MP camera! However, pictures are good enough for posting on Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Ergonomics:
The compact design will suit both sexes, easy to carry around and can slip comfortably in your pocket. Those with larger fingers might find it a bit difficult to touch on the virtual keyboard but with enough practice, you might get used to it and eventually love it.
Price:
Advertised price (AP) is around RM520 (US$167) to RM535 (US$174) but if you shop around you might be able to get it at a much lower prices. A quick check on local stores gave me a range of price from RM450 (US$147) to RM530 (US$173).
Samsung Electronics America said on Tuesday that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will hit the North American market this Thursday, April 11. It will be offered through participating offline and online retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy/Best Buy Mobile, h.h. gregg, Newegg, P.C. Richard & Son, Staples and TigerDirect.com. The price? A meaty $399.99.
Sporting an 8-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) screen, Samsung's new Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" tablet packs an Exynos 4412 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.6 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Also thrown into the hardware mix is a 1.3MP camera on the front, a 5MP camera on the back, and a microSD card slot allowing up to 64 GB of extra storage. Dual-band Wireless N connectivity allows the tablet to access 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network channels, if available.
"A mid-sized addition to the Galaxy Note family of products, the Galaxy Note 8.0 has the power and advanced technology to enable multi-tasking at home, at work or on the go," the company said. "The Galaxy Note 8.0 is the perfect size for entertainment and productivity, with unrivaled multimedia performance in a compact format. The S Pen has evolved to improve everyday usability with Air View, and Multi Window now supports more apps to perform tasks simultaneously allowing users to do more."
The Galaxy Note 8.0 is the first tablet to feature Samsung WatchON, a new search and recommendation service for finding TV shows and on-demand video content. The tablet also comes with a built-in IR blaster so that it can be used as a universal remote, and a Multi-Windows functionality so that apps like Facebook, Chrome and Polaris Office (20 supported apps total) can be open on the same screen, side-by-side.
The new 8-inch Samsung tablet also features a Reading Mode which adjusts color and brightness to an optimal level for reading. It also allows users to customize fonts and themes so that ebooks, magazines, documents and Web pages are easy to read. All of this is backed by a 4,600 mAh battery promising up to 9 days of usage time and up to 30 days of standby time.
The Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available this Thursday in white for $399.99. Optional accessories sold separately in mid-April will include Book Covers in white, grey, pink or green, as well as USB and HDMI adapters, and a travel charger that connect via the device’s microUSB port.
You don't necessarily need a touchscreen monitor to use Windows 8, but swiping your finger to invoke the Charms bar is a lot more fun than holding down the Windows key and pressing C. I'll admit that initially I had to force myself to use the new touch gestures, but after a short time with the OS I found myself reaching out to touch even my MacBook Pro's screen.
Since the debut of Microsoft's latest operating system, monitor manufacturers have been working to bring touchscreen support to desktop users. At first it was near impossible to find a display that responded to all the gestures in Windows 8, but now we're able to review three 23-inch models with 10-point multitouch support (meaning the monitors recognize all 10 fingers on both your hands).
We put the three monitors through a gauntlet of tests to find which one offers the best value, quality and feature set to win a spot in your workstation.
Acer T232HL
Acer's T232HL is a 23-inch, 10-point touchscreen LCD monitor with a resolution of 1920 by 1080. It uses environmentally friendly LED backlighting and a high-quality IPS panel for wide viewing angles.
The T232HL offers VGA, HDMI, and DVI inputs. Acer thoughtfully includes cables for each connection type in the shipping box, but we still found the initial setup to be a bit tricky. The T232HL’s stand uses a hinged design that lies flat against the display for shipping. It took a lot of force (and courage) to open the stand, but eventually we were able to pull it into position. A note in the setup guide would go a long way to alleviate fears of snapping the base off your newly purchased monitor. The stand doesn’t allow for height adjustment, pivot, or swivel, but it does tilt back to a 45-degree angle very easily, once you’ve set it up.
Acer's T232HL touchscreen display has the edgiest design aesthetic of the three models we reviewed.
We connected the display via HDMI, and our test PC recognized it automatically as a Windows touchscreen device, booting directly into its native resolution without issue. The T232HL delivered impressive performance as we ran the display through our battery of test images. On our solid-color screens, we found no stuck or dead pixels, and color and brightness were uniform across the screen. Its viewing angle was top notch, losing contrast only at extreme angles. Its glossy surface, which can be problematic in terms of glare, helps to enhance the appearance of photographs. Even gray tones appeared neutral at its default color settings.
While no one would confuse the T232HL with a Retina display, text was legible even at small point sizes. We also watched test clips of HD video, and the action played smoothly without any obvious artifacts. The built-in speakers are okay, if a little tinny. The speakers are located in the back of the display, and they sound like it.
As for touchscreen performance, the T232HL was responsive and accurate. We didn’t have any issues using the gestures, closing open windows, or selecting menu items. The stand’s ability to lean back to a 45-degree angle made the touch features—especially the on-screen keyboard—easier to use for extended periods of time.
Despite a little trouble in our initial setup, the Acer T232HL is a nice display that uses high-quality components. It performed admirably in our text, motion, color, and uniformity tests, and it would definitely be worth considering even without its 10-point touch capabilities.
Acer T232HL, $549 (street price)
Pros:
10-point touchscreen
Wide viewing angle
Accurate colors
Smooth gradients
Cons:
Stand is difficult to set up and offers no height adjustment
Bottom line:
This is a terrific display, but we do wish it allowed height adjustments.
4 stars
LG Flatron 23ET83V-W
The LG Flatron 23ET83V-W is based on a high-quality IPS panel with 1920 by 1080 resolution and an LED backlight. Sporting a white plastic case with a thin black bezel, this glossy-screened monitor connects to your PC via HDMI or VGA.
LGLG's Flatron 23ET83V-W doesn't offer the great off-axis viewing experience we've come to expect from IPS displays.
A red light illuminates a thin, translucent, crescent-shaped plastic tab on the bottom edge of the screen that reflects off the desktop. The tab is not a button, but it sits just below the buttonless touch power control. Although the absence of physical buttons might make for a cleaner, simpler-looking design, we prefer the tactile response of a button. Maybe we’d get used to the menu system over time, but we found ourselves frequently hitting the wrong buttons and having to exit and reenter the menus.
Aside from a few degrees of tilt, the LG display’s stand offers little ergonomic flexibility. You can’t adjust the height, pivot it into portrait mode, or swivel the screen from left to right. Other touchscreen monitors we’ve looked at can lean back farther, making it easier to use touch gestures without having shoulder fatigue setting in immediately.
A quick note about the setup: When attached to an AMD graphics card, the display would boot up underscanned, with about an inch of black space around the screen. The LG’s on-screen menus have an Overscan setting, but turning that from its default off position to on did not fully correct the problem. We had to turn off overscanning on the display and then go to the AMD Catalyst Control panel’s advanced settings and move the overscanning slider to zero. In addition to the unwanted space, the screen was blurry in this underscanned mode, and that affected calibration. When we attached the monitor to a system with an Nvidia-based graphics card, the proper resolution came up automatically and the image filled the screen as expected.
Once we had the screen properly set up, the 23ET83V-W performed well in most of our image tests. We found no stuck or dead pixels, and colors were uniform. Text was legible even at small point sizes, and photographs looked good, although making out details in shadowy areas of the image was hard. In some of the DisplayMate gray-level test patterns, we were unable to see differences in the first few gray-level patches. Switching the display’s Black Level control setting from its default Low to High resolved the issue.
The LG’s viewing angle wasn’t quite as stellar as that of other IPS screens we’ve seen. Color shifts weren’t an issue, but at extreme angles it was harder to see what was on screen. This minor drawback is probably attributable to the touchscreen coating.
Speaking of the touchscreen, the 23ET83V-W performed admirably in that regard. It was responsive and accurate, and we had no problems using Windows 8 touch gestures or closing windows and choosing menu items on the Windows 8 desktop.
The LG Flatron 23ET83V-W is a capable touchscreen display. Its viewing angle isn’t as wide as that of most IPS screens we’ve tested, but is still very good. Its controls were a bit of a hassle to use, and we needed to make adjustments to the black-level settings to help the display look its best. While those are admittedly minor grievances, the monitor’s lack of ergonomic agility could reduce the amount of time you end up using its touch capabilities.
LG Flatron 23ET83V-W, $550 (street price)
Pros:
10-point touch
IPS panel
LED backlight
Cons:
Limited ergonomic flexibility
Black levels require adjustment
Bottom line:
This is a very good display, but its controls are more difficult to use than they should be, and its viewing angles aren't as good as other IPS monitors we've evaluated.
3.5 stars
Viewsonic TD2340
Viewsonic’s TD2340 display is built like a tank, weighing a hefty 20.4 pounds. It features a 23-inch, LED-backlit, IPS panel that delivers a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, and it supports 10 touch points.
The TD2340 has a heavy-duty, dual-hinged base that offers a few inches of height adjustment, the ability to pivot into portrait mode, and even the option to tilt the display down so that it sits completely flat like a tabletop. At a height of 6 inches above the desk, however, the flat orientation seems like an awkward way to work. The best position we found for typing directly on screen using the touch keyboard was tilting the panel back to a 45-degree angle and lifting the bottom-front edge a couple of inches off the desk. This position allowed us to type on the screen without reaching as far, while still being able to keep our physical keyboard and mouse in front of us.
VIEWSONICYou'd never guess by the ViewSonic's TD2340 Frankenstein feet just how limber this display can be.
You can connect the TD2340 to your computer via HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA. To use the touch capabilities, you need a USB connection as well. The on-screen controls are simple and easy to use, which we find refreshing. Button 1 brings up the menus, while button 2 selects with up and down arrows for adjusting color, brightness, contrast, volume from the SRS speakers, the on-screen menu position, and much more.
The TD2340 offers a wide viewing angle, which is helpful if you collaborate with other people around your screen or if you take advantage of the aforementioned flexible stand to position the screen at nonstandard angles. Text was legible even at small point sizes, and colors were uniform across the screen. We found no stuck or dead pixels when testing the display. The glossy screen helps to give photographs more depth, but glare can be an issue. You'll need to consider where, in relation to windows or other fixed light sources, to position a glossy-screen display like the TD2340.
The Viewsonic’s 10-point touch capabilities were impressive. Input was responsive and accurate, and we didn’t have any issues using Windows 8 gestures or maneuvering around the Windows 8 desktop.
Of the Windows 8 touchscreen monitors we’ve evaluated, the Viewsonic TD2340 is the most capable. Its wide viewing angle, its agile yet bulky stand, and numerous little touches such as the SRS speakers, multiple inputs, and easy-to-use menus combine to make the TD2340 a great choice for Windows 8 users. It’s more expensive than some other touchscreen displays, but it earns its price tag.
Viewsonic TD2340, $600 (street price)
Pros:
10-point touchscreen
Wide viewing angles
Versatile stand
DisplayPort
Cons:
Not very attractive
Bulky and heavy
Bottom line:
ViewSonic's TD2340 is more expensive than other monitors in its class, but it delivers enough features and value to warrant the difference.
HTC knows how to make good-looking hardware. I loved the white ceramic body of theHTC One X and Nokia could learn a thing or two about making Windows phones by taking a closer look at the HTC Windows Phone 8X. The company’s latest offering, the HTC One, is a paragon of industrial design: Its chiseled chamfers, rounded edges, and chrome accents are sure to turn more than a few heads when you whip out the phone in public. But the One is more than just a pretty face: HTC packed a lot of power under the phone’s hood, and the handset’s camera benefits from numerous software and hardware tweaks that should excite fans of mobile photography.
A feast for the eyes
JASON CROSSThe HTC One is a well-crafted handset.
The first thing you’ll notice when holding the One is how well it sits in your hand. At 5.4 by 2.7 by 0.4 inches, the phone is larger than Apple’s iPhone 5 but smaller than HTC’s previous handset, the Droid DNA. Though the phone comes with a 4.7-inch display (shades of the Samsung Galaxy S III), the One’s aluminum unibody design and gentle curves compare favorably to the S III’s primarily plastic body. That slick exterior does come at a price, however: The One’s power and volume buttons sit flush with the phone’s chassis—which makes them difficult to press—and the 2300mAh battery is nonremovable. The phone also lacks a microSD card slot, meaning that you’re stuck using the supplied 32GB (or 64GB, if you buy the larger model) of on-board memory to store your photos, apps, music, and movies.
JASON CROSSThe One has two front-facing stereo speakers.
The absence of expandable storage is lamentable, especially since in other respects HTC designed the One to function as a multimedia powerhouse. The One’s 1920-by-1080-pixel display packs 468 pixels per inch, which makes viewing HD content a feast for the eyes. Bordering that gorgeous display are two large, front-facing stereo speakers, which pump out surprisingly loud, clear audio. One big advantage of positioning the speakers on the front of the device rather than on the back is that audio doesn’t get muffled when you set the phone down on a flat surface. I did notice an occasional pop at higher volumes, but the speakers’ sound quality was more than acceptable overall.
The TV app on the HTC One.
If you tend to mislay your TV remote, you’ll appreciate the One’s built-in IR blaster, which lets you use the phone as a universal remote control. The phone has a TV app with a setup wizard that simplifies the task of programming the One to work with your TV, cable box, and home theater. The app also pulls listing information fromPeel, showing which TV shows and movies are currently playing. You can arrange for the phone to remind you when your favorite shows are on and to provide a brief synopsis of specific episodes. I tested the remote functionality of the phone with an LG TV and a Motorola cable box in our office and was surprised at how well the combination worked. Though I was 13 feet away from the cable box, I noticed little or no delay when I changed channels or browsed through the guide. The app is so well made that I almost wish I subscribed to cable...almost.
Built to be social
HTC’s BlinkFeed app.
Another cool bit of software that the One offers is BlinkFeed. HTC is marketing BlinkFeed—which resembles the Live Tiles on Windows Phone to some extent—as a “magical” way to stay up-to-date on your social networks and news feeds, but in reality it’s just a glorified RSS reader that lives on your home screen. You can tie BlinkFeed to your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts so that your friends’ updates show up there; however, clicking an update just kicks you into the corresponding app. You can also instruct BlinkFeed to display news headlines, but the news outlets you can subscribe to are limited to a handful of blogs—though you can subscribe to a catch-all news category like ‘lifestyle’.
Despite using the phone for several days, I never felt inclined to spend much time with BlinkFeed. Though I loaded all of my social accounts into it, I ended up using the stand-alone Twitter and Facebook apps to update my status and to see what my friends were up to. Being able to browse headlines quickly was convenient, but other dedicated apps such as Zite perform better in that regard. Most annoyingly, you can’t turn BlinkFeed off: It always appears as your leftmost home screen, and you can’t get rid of it without installing a different launcher.
UltraPixels make a difference
JASON CROSSThe HTC One has a 4-megapixel camera.
The other features that HTC played up when it announced the phone were the One’s camera and camera software. Rather than perpetuate the myth that the more numerous the megapixels, the better a camera’s image quality, HTC opted in favor of a 4-megapixel camera with larger pixels than those traditionally used in smartphones. These UltraPixels are designed to take in more light, making them better for capturing photos in low-light environments.
After taking the One’s camera out for a spin, I think HTC may be on to something with UltraPixels. The One handled everyday shots well enough, but it excelled at taking photos in areas with less-than-optimal lighting. Photos were less noisy than comparable shots taken with an iPhone 5 or a Nokia Lumia 920 under the same conditions, and the One’s flash didn’t completely wash out the subject. The iPhone 5’s outside shots looked better than the One’s, but the two were more evenly matched on indoor photos.
A sample photo taken with the HTC One.
The One’s biggest advantage over the iPhone, however, is in the number of features that HTC packs into the phone’s native camera app. The default Android camera has various extras built into it already, but HTC seems to have omitted only a kitchen sink app in assembling the One’s camera software: Among the available shooting modes are HDR and panorama; and you can apply filters to your photos without having to resort to third-party apps such as Instagram.
Another noteworthy shooting mode is Zoe. When you activate Zoe, the phone takes up to 20 photos and records about 3. seconds of 1080p video. The feature is designed for action shots, of course, where you’d expect a lot of movement; and you can select and pull additional stills from the 1080p video. Though Zoe mode is a neat extra, I didn’t find much use for it in my day-to-day life. Perhaps very creative people will find some cool uses for the feature.
The processor steps up the power
The One’s many features require a lot of processing power, which the One has in good supply. The One is the first handset to ship with Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, which is supposed to deliver superior graphics and battery life. The phone gracefully handled every app I threw at it, including games like Shadow Gun and Temple Run, though it did get noticeably warm when performing processor-intensive tasks (like gaming) or downloading 20+ apps at once.
The phone’s battery should survive an entire day of normal use (about 9 hours), so you don’t have to worry about the One dying on you in the middle of the day. If you like to play lots of movies or games on your phone, however, you’re well advised to bring along your charger: The One’s high-resolution screen can be a real drain on the battery if left on too long.
We received the Sprint version of the One for testing. (It will also be available on AT&T and T-Mobile.) Call quality over Sprint’s network was solid, with little or no static on either end of the call. Unfortunately, Sprint’s data speeds were somewhat underwhelming. In San Francisco, where we have access to Sprint’s LTE network, I often found myself using the One on Wi-Fi when streaming HD video or downloading large apps. Its performance might improve as Sprint fleshes out its LTE network, but for now don’t expect miracles if you’re a Sprint customer looking to upgrade to the One.
Bottom line
Even with its handful of quirks, the HTC One is among the best Android phones you can buy. Heck, it’s among the best smartphones you can buy, period. A superb design, a beautiful screen, and such extras as the IR blaster and the Zoe camera mode help it stand out from the pack. If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, this is the one to get.
Not a smartphone or operating system. Facebook Home is an interface which transforms an Android device into a welcome device for Facebook.
The speculation is over. Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled Facebook Home and is clear. "We are not building a telephone and we are not building an operating system". Facebook Home is more than just a simple Androidapplication though. It is a group of applications which take advantage of the open mobile OS.
Facebook Home becomes the welcome and locking screen of the smartphone, with the usual Android applications being easy to access in Home with an applications launcher that can easily manage favourite applications.
The central element is a window called Cover Feed. Once the smartphone is turned on, or when the home button is pressed, you will see a screen full of photos and Facebook news feed items. It is for example possible to like photos by clicking on it twice.
When a friend publishes on the users Timeline, a notification is received with the profile photo directly on the welcome screen. If you don’t want to see this then you simply need to drag the notification to the side of the screen and it will no longer be displayed.
While Facebook Home will occupy the role of Facebook on Android, Facebook Messenger is also an important function. It will be supported by Chat Heads so that it can also send and receive SMS messages through the same use as any other Facebook application.
Facebook Home will be available as a free download from the 12th of April from the Google Play portal (initially in the USA and then soon after in other countries). Before other handsets follow, the service will initially be released for five compatible phones: HTC One X and One X+, Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, Samsung Galaxy Note 2. A tablet release will be made available at a later date.
Facebook Home will also come pre-installed on the HTC First smartphone. This LTE model is equipped with a 1 GHz dual core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 4.3 inch screen and 5 mega pixel camera lens. It will be sold in the United States by AT&T for 99.99 dollars.
LG
