The Office of Fair Trading released a 23 page PDF document clamping down on in-app purchases.
The rules kick in from 1st April 2014. Let’s hope we see a fairer and less freemium apps that either rips us off or ruin game play.
Category Archives: Tech News
Sony and Lenovo in talks – details
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Sony Corp and Chinese technology company Lenovo Group are in talks about a possible joint venture to take over Sony’s loss-making Vaio PC business overseas, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.
Looks like Lenovo is on a roll to rule the world. First IBM, then Motorola and now Sony potentially.
Details of the next large iPhone 6 – confirmed humour
The below is just confirmed humour.
Details arrived via a secret sauce in Gavin’s Gadgets inbox of the larger of the 2 new iPhones.
Apple will take the iPad Mini and make it into a phablet phone. Bigger than all it’s competitors, it will have Samsung Note owners quivering in their boots as to how small their phones now look.
Apple’s designs teams decided to go the bigger is better route. More as this confirmed humour develops.
Gizmodo reviews the LG G Flex
“Holding the G Flex to your face is awkward, too, thanks to that 6-inch screen. To put it into context, the G Flex is slightly bigger and heavier than the
Samsung Galaxy Note III. You almost feel like you’re making a call into a turkey leg you bought at the Renaissance fair.”
More at Gizmodo.
Analysts are warped – that’s being polite you understand – Google, Apple and Amazon results are announced and then boom
Apple, Google and Amazon have all posted their financial results over the last 24 hours or so.
Apple produced one of its best quarters yet it’s stock went down 8%, due to analysts not being happy.
Google missed its earnings substantially due to losses at Motorola but it’s shares rose 9%, due to happy analysts.
Amazon also produced a good result despite market conditions but missed a few parameters, so once again analysts were unhappy and it’s shares dropped 5%.
Is it me, but what do analysts know about running major companies in real life, instead of shifting pieces of paper or working computer screens.
Apple – it’s got more cash in the bank than most countries and is still making billions in profits. Not millions. Billions. And it has a captive loyal customer base.
Amazon had revenue of $25.59 billion, and earnings per share of $0.51. The company has operating income of $510 million in the period, up 26% year over year. And that wasn’t enough. So shares dropped 5%.
Google had increases in both revenue and income. For the fourth quarter, Google reported revenues of $16.86 billion, up 17 percent year-over-year. Operating income was $3.92 billion, or 23 percent of revenues. Net income rang in at $3.38 billion, up from $2.89 billion in Q4 2012. The now sold Motorola contributed a $384 million loss in Q4 2013.
These 3 companies are all performing at the top level and yet analysts seem to know better. Hmmm…
Own a Sony QX10 or QX100 Hub Lens – then you might want the Sony SPA-TA1
If you own a QX10 or QX100 hub lens as shown above but have a device or tablet over 85mm in width then Sony has the answer. The SPA-TA1. Due out around April, this is an attachment that comes in different sizes as below.
(Depth × height width ×) size:
(1) about 85 × 65.6 × 33.9Mm
(2) about 106 × 65.6 × 33.9Mm
(3) about 127 × 65.6 × 33.9Mm
(4) about 148 × 65.6 × 33.9 mm
(5) about 169 × 65.6 × 33.9Mm
(6) about 190 × 65.6 × 33.9mm Weight: about 31g ((6) is installed) Material: Plastic
※ The included attachment of DSC-QX100/QX10 shipped with smartphone of 54-75mm width.
Source – Sony Japan
What is going on with smartphone pricing?
Below is a screenshot detailing the pricing for buying a Samsung Note 3 from Amazon (not via a marketplace seller). Look at the price variations. And why the sudden hike now? This hike also applies for accessories too.
Below is the HTC One in Silver.
And now the Sony Xperia Z1.
Just one more. The Nokia Lumia 925. This has seem some huge drops.
The fluctuation in pricing is crazy. If you buy an iPhone from Apple it is the same price pretty much for the whole 12 months.
What’s your views on this?
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact – available now
The Xperia™ Z1 Compact from Sony hits UK stores from today.
· The world’s best premium compact smartphone¹ will be available to purchase in the UK from today
· Get all the best of Sony’s Xperia™ Z1 in a pocket-friendly compact smartphone
· Stylish and durable waterproof2 design in a range of four vibrant colours – white, black, pink and lime.
Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) todayannounces that the Xperia™ Z1 Compact will be released across the UK today. Launched at CES in January 2014, the Xperia™ Z1 Compact offers the very best of Sony technologies from its flagship Xperia™ Z1 in a stylish new compact size.
Catherine Cherry, Marketing Director, Sony Mobile, North West Europe said, “Xperia™ Z1 Compact is a huge statement for Sony. It crams in all the amazing features that made Xperia™ Z1 so popular, creating a new, premium compact category on Android that consumers have been waiting for. With the Xperia™ Z1 Compact, the range of premium products we offer is now broader than ever – something that is key as our market share continues to grow.”
The Xperia™ Z1 Compact sets a new standard in premium smartphones. This dust-resistant and waterproof (IP55 & IP58)2 premium device is both sleek and durable from every angle.
It features Sony’s proven camera technologies to deliver the same level of performance and quality that you would find in a conventional compact digital camera and it comes pre-loaded with a suite of innovative Xperia™ Camera Apps to take your photography experience to a whole new level.
Xperia™ Z1 Compact boasts ultra-fast performance and breathtaking graphics, thanks to the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 processor with 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU and 4G LTE for amazing speed.
Xperia™ Z1 Compact offers seamless access to both online and offline entertainment with Sony’s integrated media apps and also offers the most comprehensive range of innovative companion products and accessories to give you new ways to use and enjoy your smartphone.
Those eagerly anticipating the release of the Xperia™ Z1 compact will be pleased to know that Xperia™ Transfer Mobile3 makes it easier than ever to switch from your existing Android or iOS handset to Xperia™. It’s the simple and easy way to seamlessly transfer your contacts, photos, bookmarks, apps, messages and much more from your old smartphone, swiftly and securely. And better still, no PC is required – simply transfer directly from phone-to-phone using NFC or the supplied cable.
I can’t wait to review this phone so hopefully it won’t be too long.
Available from Clove Technology.
Samsung Galaxy S5 – features leaked – details
Twitter user @evleaks has once again leaked images, this time from the upcoming S5. The APK’s screenshots indicate a finger print scanner software of some kind and improvements in gestures, this time indicating some 3D type of gestures.
Samsung looking to grow its retail operations, expand further into education and declutter their software offerings
Samsung has announced it is expanding with its own stores, 60 of them in Europe, including the UK. Samsung has teamed up with Carphone Warehouse(CPW) in a 5 year deal, whereby 20 CPW stores in the UK will be refitted and maximised to have on display all Samsung’s mobile, tablet and other connected hardware.
The likelihood of CPW providing unbiased advice when it comes to your next upgrade is unknown, but don’t be surprised if you are recommended a Samsung phone.
In all honesty, this could be a positive step to give people the full experience of the products prior to purchase. And then provide the same after sales service as Apple would be the next welcome step.
Samsung has also branched further into the education market tweaking it’s Note 10.1 2014 into an education version which allows access to Google’s special education software and services.
There is also mutterings that as part of the Samsung and Google 10 year cross licensing deal, Samsung might be removing some of its own software that takes up memory and resources.
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