LG seem fairly ready to launch the Optimus G Pro later this year. The device features several improvements over the original including a 5-inch 1080p display. Other specs listed are a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro, 13MP camera, and 3000mAh battery. It will launch with Android 4.1.
Is it me, but this sounds like it could be a new device from a number of other companies. Where is the USP?
Temple Run 2 has in 4 days been downloaded 20m times and is top of the grossing app chart.
For a small developer this is great news. I have played this game a few times and it looks superb compared to the first version. I also think the in app purchases are not excessive or required.
Have you played this yet. And what did you think?
The photo below is claimed to be of the new HTC M7. Lets hope there is something unique about this phone, as from the photo it could be any HTC.
Sky’s Sky Go service which allows users to stream content based on their Sky subscription will from this week, for £5 per month, Sky will allow up to four users to download on-demand movies and TV, including exclusive content. Each download will last for a month, but you will be free to download as much as your device can hold.
Sky claims that more than a quarter of its 11 million subscribers use Sky Go already, and believes that Sky Go Extra is the first mobile TV subscription service in the UK and Ireland to offer Hollywood movies to download and watch offline. The WiFi-based platform is Sky’s attempt to capitalise on the success of its on-demand offering.
The Sky announcement will increase the pressure on services such as Netflix and Lovefilm, who do not have access to the same content that Sky secures exclusively from movie studios, as well as the programmes it makes itself.
Sky claims that it offers around 70 of the top 100 films, around six months after their cinema release, and that this is more than its rival subscription services combined.
Question is just how much can you really view on your portable device and would you be tempted.
Have you tried buying a Nexus 4? If you have it was probably out of stock on Google Play.
So whats up? Well Cathy Robin, Head of LG France claims that Google got the demand wrong by 10 times. Google has other theories, but the fact of the matter remains, you can’t just go out or online and order one from Google.
I just wonder if other android manufacturers put pressure on Google not to produce so many as it undercut their devices? Or did Google really misjudge the demand but such a whopping margin.
Whatever the reason or reasons, Google just dont have the slick business skills of selling hardware without chaos. I recall my Nexus 7 experience with Google. That was the most awful experience ever with Google lacking any form of customer service.
What this does show, is if a reasonably priced smartphone is made available, it will sell like hot cakes. This puts pressure on premium pricing brands like the iPhone.
Microsoft has launched Windows 8 and Windows 8 phone. It has come out with iPad killer hardware, but unfinished software and an App Store with poorly built apps.
On the phone front, Nokia has hinted or indirectly threatened it may consider android.
So where does this leave Microsoft. Well firstly it really needs to sort it’s software out and fast. If it doesn’t it will slip into a business only orientated world living off patent fees and business. Similar to what has happened to IBM.
But I hear you shout, it has Xbox. Yes it does. But consoles are a dying breed. The sales are down mainly due to gaming on smartphones. So what does this mean for Microsoft. Well, it really needs to get its Windows phone and Xbox games sorted. That is being able to play Xbox type games on their phones and on their phones only to create a unique selling proposition.
In the technology world, Bill Gates once said, it only takes 18 months for a top company to go out of business due to the fast changing environment. I don’t think Microsoft will go this way, but it might end up being a business to business only company.
Huawei is likely to unveil the Ascend P2 at MWC. The handset is aiming to take the crown as the thinnest smartphone in the world and the most powerful.
The device will sport a 1.8GHz quad-core K3V2 processor produced in-house, a 13 megapixel rear camera, a 1.3 megapixel front camera, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and a 3,000 mAh battery. It also stands to come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, though it’s possible that we could see Android 4.2 by the time it launches.
My main concern about these thin handsets is battery life. I would rather have some extra thickness and have a phone that can lasts more than 2 days.
Whichever company invents battery technology to make a phone last a week, that will be innovation and a credible feature.
Unbelievably Nokia is seeing a slight turnaround with its financial performance, with the Nokia Lumia picking up some traction.
However, it is its own Asha phones that are selling even faster, by a rate of 2 to 1. This shows there is still value in the Nokia Brand and low cost handsets.
Over at xda develpopers a firmware update for the Sony S which includes mirroring, find my phone and a new lock screen.
Other features include a new power standby mode.It is good to see Sony updating last year phones, and hopefully a track record they will now continue to do with their newest phones as well.
This little secret only applies using iOS 6 and the default camera with GPS tagging switched on.
So, you’ve taken a photo allowing the GPS tagging. Well we all know how that works. But did you know the metadata also reveals the direction you were taking the photo. That’s a really neat little secret and normally only available in DLSR cameras.
