Apple iPhone 6 Specification, Price, Features, Release Date Leaked

Apple iPhone 6 Specs, Price, Features, Release Date Leaked

Apple fans are waiting to see the Apple’s new device, while according to rumors Apple will launch its next iPhone (iPhone 6) with 3D technology.



Specification or Features of iPhone 6 :
Screen:

The iPhone 6 will be launched with 4.8 Retina+ Sharp IGZO display with 1080 HD resolution, according to rumors.
Camera:

Apple bought camera sensor from Sony before suggesting that the new iPhone includes 3.2 megapixel face HD camera and 13 megapixel 3D rear camera.
Processor:

According to rumors, Apple will bring A7 quad-core processor instead of current processor, dual core A6, which is being run on iPhone 5 and in iPad 4.
iPhone 6 eye Tracking:

Apple will deliver some eye tracking motion technology in its next iPhone which allows the users to use the device without touch.
Wi-Fi connectivity:  

Apple iPhone 6 may have 802,11ac wi-fi connectivity.
Wireless Charging:

Apple will probably introduce the wireless charger which would is built to charge multiple devices simultaneously.
iPhone home button:

Apple has a giant Retina+ IGZO display and a “new form factor with no home button, according to Business Insider.
Operating System:

Apple’ next iPhone will run on iOS 7 while iPhone 5 and iPad 4 is still running on iOS 6.
Storage:

Apple has already launch 128 GB storage capacity version of iPad. So we could see a  iPhone with same storage capacity.
Release date:

As far as the release of Apple’s new iPhone 6 is concerned, it is expected to come in the autumn this year.

The features above show Apple is ready to take the challenge of Android devices like Samsung Galaxy S4. But the question is: are they enough to counter high-end Android Devices or not?

Vodafone will launch 4g service in Uk on 29 August 2013

Vodafone will launch 4g service in Uk on 29 August 2013

 Vodafone has revealed that it will launch its 4G service on 29 August to customers in London after investing £900m in the network.

It will roll out to 12 other cities including Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield by the end of the year, the firm said.

Prices for customers will begin at £26 per month for a SIM only deal with a 12-month contract.

Last week O2 announced plans to launch its own 4G service on the same day.

O2's lowest tariff is also £26 per month. EE, the first network to offer the faster mobile internet service, has a base tariff of £21 per month.

Three has said it plans to launch a fourth 4G network before the end of the year.

Bundled content
Vodafone has partnered with the music service Spotify and TV channel Sky Sport for its launch, to offer additional content to its 4G customers.

It is also providing unlimited data-use within the UK for the first three months of contracts, but otherwise imposes the maximum of an eight gigabyte cap. Vodafone said this would help customers pick the right data plan.

Consumer groups have been critical about the fact that only Three has committed itself to offering unlimited data as a long-term option.

All the networks took part in an auction run by regulator Ofcom to buy parts of the 4G spectrum earlier this year.

At the time Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards described the sale as "a positive outcome for competition" in the UK.

"4G coverage will extend far beyond that of existing 3G services, covering 98% of the UK population indoors - and even more when outdoors - which is good news for parts of the country currently underserved by mobile broadband," he said.

Both EE and Vodafone purchased bands in the 2.6GHz range as well as the 800MHz part of the radio spectrum. O2 only bought bands in the lower range.

The 2.6GHz bands delivers faster speeds but across smaller distances. The 800MHz bands - previously used by the TV signals - are best for providing long-distance 4G services and indoor coverage.

"It's not just about speed issue but also capacity," Matthew Howett, an analyst at the telecoms consultancy Ovum, told the BBC earlier.

"The higher frequency spectrum effectively has fatter pipes - you can get more data through them.

"When lots of people are using 4G to do things like streaming high definition video, it's important not just to have the availability of the signal but also that the pipe is wide enough to carry all that traffic."

Best Comparison Between Android 4.3 and Android 4.2.2

Best Comparison Between Android 4.3 and Android 4.2.2

Well, virtually out of nowhere, Android 4.3 surfaced in the past week in the form of a ROM for the Google Edition Samsung Galaxy S4. But when we take a look at it, what’s really changed from Android 4.2? Here’s a little summary of what we’ve found so far.
 The version of the ROM that Android Police have had on their hands for the Galaxy S4 still has a few bugs (always on Wi-Fi? Ugh), but it’s given us some good insight into what we can look forward to when Android 4.3 does finally drop for other devices.  While it will still fall under the same nomenclature of Jelly Bean, 4.3 will have an API version of 18, compared to an API version of 17 for Android 4.2 This means that there will be most likely new interfaces and interactions available for developers to play around with.
Wi-Fi issues
While poking around in the source code, Android Police have discovered some changes to the wireless settings. Even if your slider for Wi-Fi is set to “Off”, the device will still scan the background. Google has indicated in the past that Wi-Fi is not only used for a determination of your devices location, but also for “other purposes. Android Police has therefor speculated that data is still being sent back to Google to expand its own Wi-Fi cards (a composite of Wi-Fi networks in your area).
There is a way to currently shut it off, but you need to do some searching in Advanced Settings.  Once this is done, the device will rely on GPS for location determination, however, it will consume more battery than just using the Wi-Fi option.
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto
First introduced in Android 4.0, Roboto is the system font that Android uses and was designed specifically for ease of readability on smaller displays.  Some minor improvements to this font family have been added in Android 4.3, most notably making the letters slimmer and having more rounded edges.

android 43 robotoThe changes, while small, should be noticeable to users when reading on smaller screens. Roboto on 4.2 in black and Roboto on 4.3 in red.

While the changes are only visible when you do a direct comparison between the old and new Roboto fonts, the overall readability of text on your smartphone device or Android tablet should improve with this change.
Notifications, we meet again
I guess with the update to 4.3, Google has also planned some pretty major changes the Android notification service. It seems that it will be possible for third-party apps to access notifications and interact directly through them and also display a history of notifications that you have received. The former will allow apps a new range of interactions through the notification center, such as deleting e-mail messages without having to open your e-mail app. The latter will be handy should you ever drop out of Wi-Fi or cell reception areas and then come back to find yourself inundated with a plethora of notifications.


notification service android 43Some changes to the notification center is expected, allowing more access for apps.

While it might seem not too ground-breaking, these changes would allows devices (such as a Pebble Smartwatch) more controllability when it comes to notifications and what you can do with them, allowing a more seamless experience and reducing the amount of “double” notifications that you get across devices.
Other features
Some more changes in Android 4.3, as noted by Android Central, have been listed below:

    The camera app has been redesigned with a new UI
    Support for Bluetooth Low Energy
    New Developer Tools (Debugging for non-rectangular clipping, Experimental WebView repeal of USB debugging authorizations)
    In the phone app pauses and waits can be inserted in the dialing string (using the comma and semicolon)
    Also in the Phone App: autocomplete in variable length of tone dialing and DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency)
    For screenshots that are shared via email, the date and time of recordings are automatically packed into the subject

And so, that’s it. And while most of it relates to the version of Android found on the Galaxy, it’s most likely these features will also be available in versions across other devices. No date has been given for an official release (or even announcement) but with the release of more information about the Moto X on July 10th, we could be in for a big surprise.

LG Optimus G Pro Review

LG Optimus G Pro Review: The Fastest Big Phone Out There

Fun fact: In a sprint, the hippo is one of the fastest land mammals, despite also being one of the largest. Similarly, the LG Optimus G Pro is unquestionably one humungoid phone, but it runs about as fast as the top speedsters out there. Whether or not you should consider buying it, however, is up to the elasticity of your fingers.

What Is It?

It's a bigass phone made by LG to compete with Samsung's bigass phone, the Galaxy Note II. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p HD screen, it's running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), and it has Qualcomm's screaming fast quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.7GHz.
Who's It For?

People who want a lot of screen real-estate. People with big hands, or people with small hands who don't mind using two hands on their phones.
LG Optimus G Pro Review: The Fastest Big Phone Out There
Design

It is, frankly, so much like Samsung's Note II that the two could play a Freaky Friday-style prank on their owners.. It's got Samsung's classic rounded, glossy, plastic back. Up front there's a home button that you physically press down, which is flanked by a menu button and a back button. There is a very thin bezel up front, which is a nice look. The biggest difference between it and the Note II is the lack of a built-in stylus. (Above, from left to right: Galaxy Note II, Optimus G Pro, and the Galaxy S4.)
Using It

While the phone is decidedly quick, there's just no getting around how unwieldy it is. One-handing it is a difficult proposition. I have larger-than-average hands, and it's a real strain to get into a position where my thumb can reach both the top and bottom of the screen. It was possible for me, but just barely. It also feels extremely prominent in your pants pocket. Every time I bent down to tie my shoes I was wondering if the screen or my pocket would break.

To be fair to the the Optimus G Pro, these issues aren't unique to this phone. It's a big-phone problem, and one that hasn't stopped people from buying the Galaxy Note or Note II.

The Best Part

It is very, very fast. Right up there with the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. It flies though home screens, app drawers, and opening applications. HD games (such as Dead Trigger) play like butter. It actually feels a little faster than the S4, and just slightly slower than the One.

Tragic Flaw

Good God, LG really needs to smarten up its software or (more preferably) just give up and let Android do its thing. LG's skin is exceptionally unintuitive and bad. Example: The app drawer is just a clutter mass of apps without any order by default. Luckily, you can choose to sort them alphabetically. Unluckily, any new apps you install still get stuck at the back, regardless of alphabetical order. This is dumb. The menu system's layout is perplexing, and the remote control app (it has an IR blaster) is about as good as the app on the HTC One or S4, which is to say, not good.

There's a whole quick menu in the notification panel (boosted from Samsung), quick apps which can hover over your other apps (boosted from Samsung), and even an option that can tell when you're looking at it so the screen stays on (again, boosted from Samsung). What it can't do is something simple like auto-adjust your screen's brightness to the ambient lighting. The option is there, it just doesn't work. At all. The Optimus G Pro's keyboard has the worst auto-correct on any mobile device I've ever used. The one positive is that LG's bad software somehow manages not to slow the phone down at all (can't say the same for Samsung's TouchWiz), but it's still awful. Replacing the homescreen with Nova Launcher and replacing the keyboard with SwiftKey 4 solves some, but not all, of these problems.
This Is Weird...

The phone has a physical button on the upper left side called the QuickButton. By default it's set to take a screen cap of whatever is on screen so you can then draw notes on it with your finger. Pretty much useless. Luckily, you can remap it in the settings so it opens up your camera application, and while it will work as a shutter button, technically, it doesn't have a two-stage press to it, so it doesn't work very well.
Test Notes

    We tested the Optimus G Pro on AT&T's LTE network in NYC and the SF Bay Area, and in both locations it got better than average reception, and solid data speeds when it was on the LTE network. We got 25Mbps downloads and 15Mbps uploads when we had a strong signal.
    The screen is very nice. Text looks great on it, as do videos. It's not as good as the screen on the One or the S4, but it's certainly better than the screen on the Note II, which isn't a surprise given that it's 1080p vs 720p, both at 5.5 inches.
    Despite the king-sized 3140mAh battery, the phone's battery life is fairly middle-of-the-road. That screen sucks up a lot of juice. On days of heavier use, I'd only make it to about 6pm. When I used it less, it'd go well past midnight. Your mileage may vary.
    Despite the 13MP camera in tow, photos are just okay. Shots are reasonably sharp, but colors tend to be washed out, and it really struggles with contrast. It does a better job in low light than the Galaxy S4, but it doesn't come anywhere near the HTC One or Nokia Lumia 900. (Some samples.)

Should I Buy It?
If you're absolutely sold on owning a phone this big, well, it's the best giant phone presently out there. That said, Samsung is bound to release a Galaxy Note III in the months to come, and HTC is rumored to be unveiling a big one, too, so if you can wait, do. Or just get an HTC One or a Galaxy S4. Their screens aren't that much smaller and both phones are infinitely more useable because of simple ergonomics. We'd definitely recommend either of those phones (and the Nexus 4, and the iPhone 5) over the Optimus G Pro. That said, if you want something with size and speed and you want it right now, have at it. [LG]

    LG Optimus G Pro Specs

    Network: AT&T
    OS: Android 4.1 with LG's skin
    CPU: 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600
    Screen: 5.5-inch 1920x1080 IPS LCD (401PPI)
    RAM: 2GB
    Storage: 32GB + micro SD up to 64GB
    Camera: 13MP rear / 2MP front
    Battery: 3149 mAh
    Dimensions: 5.91 x 3.00 x 0.37 inches
    Weight: 5.64 ounces
    Price: Starts at $200 with a two-year contract

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

Since it arrived last year, the Galaxy S III has been the world's best-selling smartphone that wasn't born in Cupertino. An impressive feat, but one that-along with Samsung's Megatron-sized hype-machine-has made for sky-high expectations for the sequel.

Our first impressions of the S4 left us a little cold, but we've now spent a full week getting to know it better. It's definitely one of the best phones you can buy. It's just shame it couldn't stay out of its own way.
What Is It?

Samsung's next great hope of a superphone. It's got a 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen, a superfast quad-core 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB RAM, LTE, NFC, and a 13MP camera. It also has a beefy 2600mAh battery, and an IR blaster for controlling your home entertainment system. It comes running Android 4.2.2 with Samsung's heavy TouchWiz skin on top of it. It should be available on every major U.S. wireless carrier in the next few weeks.
Design

If you're familiar with the Galaxy S III, the S4 will look strikingly familiar. It retains the same rounded-rectangle look, with metal edges and a slippery, finger-print-trapping plastic back that looks like it belongs on a far more downmarket phone. It's at least functional, though; the back is removable, so you can swap out the battery or expand your storage capabilities with a micro SD card. A lot of people prefer that added utility over the more solid-feeling, and more beautiful unibody design of, say, the HTC One.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)


One place Samsung does manage to score design points is growing the screen from 4.8 inches on the Galaxy S III to a full 5.0 inches on the S4, while still making the phone thinner, narrower, and easier to grip. The side bezels are shrunk down to nearly nothing, and the screen takes up almost the entire front of the device. Speaking of the screen, it is easily the nicest Samsung has ever made. The colors (especially blues and greens) really pop, and the 441 pixels per inch ensure that text is super-clear. It's also bright enough to be clearly readable on a bright, sunny day, and the Super AMOLED screen makes the blacks like staring into the abyss.

That being said, we still slightly prefer the screen on the HTC One. There's something about it that looks matte, like a magazine, and colors are more accurate.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

While Nexus phones are moving away from physical buttons for navigation, Samsung has opted to include three of them here. The S4 has capacitive buttons for Menu and Back, and a physical, clickable button for Home. It's wasted space. But worse, the capacitive buttons don't light up until you actually touch them, so if you forget which side is Menu and which is Back you might end up closing out of something unintentionally. Annoying!

The final touch: on top of the device is a super tiny IR blaster for controlling your TV. You'd never even notice it if you weren't looking for it, and you won't look for it.


Using It

As we noted in our original hands-on, the S4 comes packed full of ""features."" There's Air View, which allows you to hover your finger over the screen to see some information without actually clicking. There's Air Gestures, which allows you to wave your hand over the phone to change between tabs or photos. There's Smart Scroll, with which you tilt your device to scroll, instead of using your finger. There's Smart Pause, which will pause a video when you look away from the screen. And there's Group Play, which lets you play a handful of selected video games with friends on the same Wi-Fi network, or use several S4 phones as Sonos-like speakers.

The most important thing you need to know about these features is that you will never use any of them. Ever. Never ever. The end.

Why not? Oh, lots of reasons. Air View only works with Samsung's customized apps-not Gmail, not Chrome-and even then it doesn't work very well. Air Gestures are less accurate and less convenient than just touching the screen. Smart Scroll is totally unreliable, and Smart Pause is totally useless. The only, only justification for any of these features is that you can wave your hand over the phone to answer a call while driving, or, again, maybe if you're addicted to buffalo wings and have an aversion to moist towelettes.

Make no mistake. These ""features"" are nothing more than gimmicks, case studies in why different doesn't always mean better, and can often be worse.

The good news is that you can turn off and/or totally ignore most of these extraneous ""features,"" and when you do, there's a very good phone underneath. It's generally very fast, and HD games like Temple Run: Oz, Inertia HD, and Naught all ran smoothly. The pre-installed sliding keyboard is better than most manufacturer keyboards (looking at you, HTC), with plenty of space between keys and a dedicated number row, but auto-correct has a lot of issues, and we still prefer the keyboard on stock Jelly Bean or SwiftKey 4. The unit we tested was on T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42 network (no T-Mobile LTE in NYC, yet, though this phone will work with it when it rolls out); data speeds were good, and it connected reliably.

There will be a cadre of S4 accessories available (TV adapters and such) at some point, but the only one available at launch is the S View Flip Cover. It's a good-looking cover that adds almost no thickness to your phone by completely replacing the back. The phone can sense when the cover is closed, and it will only light up one little (plastic) window on the front, which should save you a little battery power (when an AMOLED pixel is black it doesn't use any power). You can swipe to accept or dismiss calls even when the cover is closed.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

All of which sounds handy, but it makes the phone more cumbersome to use. It means you have to use two hands when you first pull your phone out, and when it's folded back, there's an extra piece of plastic your camera has to shoot through. It also makes the volume rocker way harder to access. In general, not worth it. Especially for the $60 price tag.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

Camera

In decent lighting, the camera is among the best shooters out there. Images are very sharp and there's a surprising amount of depth of field. Colors are rich, though they border on over-saturation, and video quality is excellent. You can check out plenty of our sample shots here.

We've also included a few comparison images below to give you a sense of how the S4's shooter performs relative to the competition:

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

With Flash

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

No Flash

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: Better, But Not Best (Updated)

Outside

The camera app's mode selection wheel, which was lifted from Samsung's own Galaxy Camera, is the most intuitive method for switching between shooting modes on any smartphone we've tested. It has photos showing you exactly what you're getting, underneath clear text, which eliminates any guesswork.
Like

Battery performance on the S4 is among the best we've seen from smartphones this year, though it's still not anywhere near as everlasting as the RAZR MAXX HD. It's important to note, though, that our testing took place on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network, and not the more power-hungry LTE of Verizon and AT&T (Update: See below for test notes with LTE). With that advantage, it slightly edged out the HTC One by an hour or so on average (which itself does pretty decently).

The S4 did, though, make it to the end of the night without additional charging fairly often, thanks to both the larger battery (2600mAh vs. 2300mAh on the One) and the more economical AMOLED screen, though the processor's higher clock speed taxed it somewhat.

Speaking of which: that screen really is leaps and bounds better than the one on last year's S III. It's very sharp, pretty, and easy to read. The camera app is laid out very nicely, and the included OCR (optical character recognition) software, which can translate written words on the fly, are both examples of app actually done right. Overall, the S4 is definitely a sizable upgrade over the S III. But it's still got its issues.

 Samsung Galaxy S4 Specs

Network: All major U.S. carriers
OS: Android 4.2.2 with TouchWiz UI
CPU: 1.9 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600
Screen: 5-inch 1920x1080 Super AMOLED (441PPI)
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16 or 32GB + micro SD up to 64GB
Camera: 13MP rear / 2MP front
Battery: 2600 mAh Li-Ion
Dimensions: 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches
Weight: 4.59 ounces
Price: Starts at $200 with a two-year contract

Leaked Images of BlackBerry's New A10

Leaked Images of BlackBerry's New A10

 BlackBerry's rumored big shiny new A10 has cropped up in a series of leaked high-res images and it looks... actually kinda nice.

The new phone is rumored to be a bigger and faster flagship smartphone for the company, and these images show the device in more detail than before. It's not dissimilar in style to Samsung's Galaxy S4, though the bottom of the phone also resembles the HTC One with it chrome chin.

The Vietnamese site Tinhte-which often manages to get its paws on phones ahead of launch-has also released a video of the same handset, too. Watch it below.

The A10 is rumored to pack a 5-inch AMOLED display, a dual-core processor, and 2GB of RAM, and there's been suggestion that it could arrive some time before the end of 2013. The accuracy of all this is clearly up for debate-as is whether it can actually help BlackBerry out if its hole. Let's wait and see. [hightechmate]

Nexus 7 Leaks Spills Almost All the Details

New Nexus 7 Leaks Spills Almost All the Details

 We didn't get any new hardware back at Google I/O, but we've heard plenty about a new Nexus 7 on course to be announced sometime this month. Time is running out, but now Engadget has gotten some leaked details that confirm almost everything we've heard so far.

According to the leaked spec sheet screenshot, the new 7's will come with (obviously) a 7-inch screen, a quad-core 1.5GHz CPU, front-facing and external cameras, Android 4.3, wireless charging, and a Slim Port for throwing 1080p content up on your TV.

That mostly lines up with the other rumors we've seen, including the actual updated model that made its way out into the wild the other day. Apparently the new versions will be a little more expensive, at $230 (16GB) and $270 (32GB) a pop, and the only missing peice is whether or not there's a resolution bump to help ease that little hike. Google's got an event coming on the 24th though. You can bet we'll find out soon. [Engadget]

The Moto X Might Have a 4.5-inch Screen and a Back Made from Kevlar

The Moto X Might Have a 4.5-inch Screen and a Back Made from Kevlar

Motorola and Google both don't even care about keeping the Moto X a secret, plastering it on its August 1st announcement invitation and letting Eric Schmidt bandy around with the thing, so hey, don't be surprised if a few details of the phone leaks. The Verge and @evleaks are reporting that the Moto X will have a 4.5-inch display, dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM and a 10-megapixel camera. Oh, and a back shell made from Kevlar.

The Verge also adds that the Moto X will only have 1500mAh of battery oomph and that the 'always listening' feature must be enabled to work. The camera will apparently open upon a flick of the wrist (we'll have to see how well that works in real life before casting judgement).

Are these rumored specs enough to get you excited? [hightechmate]

Sony Xperia i1 "Honami" Specification Leaked

Sony's Xperia i1 "Honami" Specs Leaked

 New leakages have emerged from battleship Xperia, with specs beefing out what we previously knew about the forthcoming Xperia i1 phone, also known under the development name Honami. And also known as a 20-Megapixel whopper.

According to Taiwanese site ePrice, the Xperia i1 features a high-end 20.7-Megapixel ExmorRS camera sensor powered by Sony's Bionz image processing tech, which will be combined with a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series chipset and a 5? 1080p display. That'll make it the most impressive smartphone out there by quite a margin, on paper at least.

There's also something called a "Sony G Lens" mentioned on the spec sheet, which may be some sort of optical zoom or image stabilisation system. Or just a pretty new lens. We should see this latest Sony flagship shown off at the beginning of September, when Sony will be demonstrating its new things at the IFA tech show. [ePrice via Engadget]

HTC One Review: The Beauty Is a Beast (Updated)

HTC One Review: The Beauty Is a Beast (Updated)

Design

The first time you see the One, there's a "Whoa..." moment. And after you hold it, and use it, that astonishment bleeds into awe. The One commands respect. From a hardware design perspective, this phone is unparalleled. It was machined from a solid block on aluminum, each piece taking 200 minutes to carve out. It's pretty light (5.04 ounces) and thin (0.36 inches) but it feels rock solid. The curved back sinks into your palm, while the slightly angled edges help you grip it.

On the front side of the device you find the Super LCD 3 screen nestled under Gorilla Glass 2. It's 1080p (1920x1080 pixels) spread over 4.7-inches, which gives it a heretofore unheard of (in a smartphone, anyway), 468 pixels per inch (PPI), which is excessive bordering on silly. Safe to say, pixels are invisible to the naked eye.

The bezels on the sides of the screen are very thin. Above and below the screen are speaker grates to give you actual stereo sound (more on that in a minute). At the top of the phone sits an 88-degree wide angle front-facing camera, so you don't fill up the frame with your gigantic face when video-chatting. HTC opted to include just two capacitive buttons—Home and Back—though we would have preferred none. The micro USB port on the bottom doubles as an HDMI port (special cable required) for connecting your phone directly to a TV, though you'll also be able to do this wirelessly via Miracast. Speaking of TV, the power button on top the the device doubles as a IR blaster for using your phone as a remote control. All of the hardware buttons are flush (almost too flush) with the phone.

There are a lot of goodies under the hood, too. There's what you'd expect in a contemporary high-end phone: 2GB RAM, 32GB or 64GB storage (unfortunately not expandable), NFC, LTE (on the U.S. versions), Bluetooth, etc. The real star of the show, though, is Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 600. It's a quad-core chip clocked at 1.7GHz, and it's an absolute beast.

There's also HTC's proprietary ImageChip 2 attached to the 4MP rear camera. Yes, just 4MP, that's not a typo. HTC claims it's a totally redesigned imaging system that uses "UltraPixels"—bigger megapixels, basically—which lets in more light. The camera has an f2.0 aperture and optical image stabilization, both of which are impressive for a phone. The battery is a 2300mAh, which is good, but we wish it had something closer to the 3300mAh battery on the RAZR MAXX HD. Then again, that would leave you with a bulkier phone.

HTC One Specs

• Network: All major U.S. carriers (except Verizon)

• OS: Android 4.1 with Sense

• CPU: 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600

• Screen: 4.7-inch 1920x1080 Super LCD 3 (468PPI)

• RAM: 2GB

• Storage: 32GB or 64GB

• Camera: 4MP rear ("UltraPixel")/ 2.1MP front

• Battery: 2300 mAh Li-Ion

• Price: $200/32GB, $300/64GB with a two-year contract

HP New Multi-Touch Graphing Calculator Has Smartphone Aspirations

HP's New Multi-Touch Graphing Calculator Has Smartphone Aspirations

These are exciting times for anyone who's refused to replace their trusty standalone graphing calculator with a similarly capable smartphone or tablet app. Your stubbornness is finally paying off as HP is teasing what appears to be one of the most advanced color touchscreen calculators the scientific world has ever seen. That, or a lame smartphone with a form factor dating back a few years.

The HP Prime is reminiscent of the Porsche-designed Blackberry released a few years ago, but it's of course lacking any and all phone or email functionality. What it does boast is a 3.5-inch multi-touch display, an included library of apps that can presumably be expanded via sideloaded content, and a brushed metal design that screams business, not pleasure. Full details like pricing and availability have yet to be revealed, nor the one question that college students across the country must be asking: can it play games? [YouTube via Chip Chick]

Iron Man Mouse Puts Tony Stark's Head in Your Hand

This Iron Man Mouse Puts Tony Stark's Head in Your Hand

 If you can't quite stretch to a full suit, then maybe you can make do with am Iron Man mouse to satisfy your super hero hankerings.

Built under official Marvel license by Japanese company e-blue, this mouse is-sadly-pretty much like any other mouse: two AA batteries, optical, with a resolution of 1000 dpi. More importantly, the eyes light up. Currently on sale in Japan for $110, it's not clear whether it will be officially launched in the US, so if you're keen you may need to get one imported. [Hightechmate]

The World's First Color 3D Printer Is Even Lovelier Than Its Creations

The World's First Color 3D Printer Is Even Lovelier Than Its Creations



 3D printers have promised to revolutionize manufacturing as we know it, but are we really going to spend the future with such a limited color palette for our 3D creations? Not if botObjects' new full color ProDesk3D printer delivers on its lofty promises.

Instead of being limited to just a handful of colors based on the spools of plastic you've installed, the ProDesk3D uses a unique five-color cartridge system-not like unlike an inkjet printer-that can mix shades on the fly to reproduce the exact tint you need. And the printer's 25-micron dual extruder head should ensure the objects it creates also end up with a high quality finish.

Pricing and availability details are still up in the air, but the company hopes to start delivering the first units sometime in June. And while the ProDesk3D is designed to be one of the easiest 3D printers to use, lets hope the company doesn't completely follow the desktop printing industry with reasonably priced hardware, and outrageously priced replacement cartridges. [botObjects via Inhabitat]

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review : one of the best tablet of Sony

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right

In a time when tablets are becoming increasing similar, it's rare that you pick up a device and have one of those, ""Whoa!"" moments. You relish them when they come, because it means that creativity and innovation still exist in a world of look-alikes. After years of trying and failing with Android tablets, Sony has finally delivered one of those moments.

What Is It?

It's Sony's latest (and definitely greatest) attempt at making a tablet. The company has had some near-hits, like the Xperia Tablet S, and some colossal, bone-breaking failures, like the Sony Tablet P. But finally, at long last, Sony got it together and built itself one excellent piece of hardware. It's of the 10-inch, Android Jelly Bean (4.1, not 4.2) variety. It's got a 1080p screen, Qualcomm's quad-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, two 2GB of RAM, a micro SD card slot, an IR blaster, and oh yeah, it's freaking waterproof! It can stay in up to three feet of water for up to half an hour. Movie time and bath time, together at last.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right
Design

Oh, hello, gorgeous. Simply put, when you first pick up Xperia Tablet Z, you'll think, ""There's no way this thing actually turns on or does anything."" It just feels impossibly thin and light. At 0.27 inches (6.9 millimeters), it is the thinnest tablet in the world (the iPad Mini is 7.2 millimeters, for comparison). At 17.46 ounces (495 grams), it's the lightest full-sized tablet we've seen (the current generation iPad is 23.35 ounces). Not only that, it's perfectly balanced. You can comfortably hold it one-handed in landscape mode. It's even thinner than the Samsung Galaxy S4 (see above), which is one of the thinnest phones out there.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right

The tablet is almost a perfect rectangle, with just barely rounded corners. The back is a matte, brushed plastic, that has an excellent grip to it. It's not going to accidentally slide off your lap on the subway. Sony also did something pretty ingenius with the speakers, too. A lot of tablets stick the speaker holes on the bottom-edge of the tablet, where your lap will muffle them if it's resting on your legs, or they stick the holes on the sides, where your hands will muffle them if you're holding it. Sony put the speakers on the two bottom corners (when holding it landscape), but it put the holes for the speakers on the bottom and the sides, so even if you're covering two of the holes the sound can come out through the other two. Smart, though we still definitely prefer the front-facing speakers on Google's Nexus 10.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right

On the side, it shares the same nubby buttons as the Xperia ZL phone, but while they were kind of ugly on the phone, they're perfectly pleasant on the tablet. They're easy to find, and easy to press. Down on the bottom there are two panels behind sealed doors. One is for the micro SD card slot, and the other is for the micro USB / micro HDMI port, which you can use to change your tablet and/or stream HD video to your TV. There's also an 8MP rear facing camera, which we would encourage you to ignore.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right
Using It

The Xperia Tablet Z is running Sony's custom skin on top of Android. On the plus side, the tablet version of this skin is extremely intuitive to use. Dedicated buttons for Google Now, Voice Search, adding apps/widgets, and the remote control are all very easy to understand. Sony also put in some power management tools that gives you standby times to the tune of many days. Essentially, it turns off your data connection when the screen is off, but you can whitelist apps (like Gmail, for example) so you get important notifications. It's very nicely done.

Sony did, however, put more than a dozen of its own apps on the tablet, many of which are either inferior replacements of the standard Android apps (Sony's Album < Android's Gallery), or services you really don't need (Wi-Fi Checker? Consumers were clamoring for that?). It managed to build a remote control app that works better than any we've used, but it failed to integrate a guide to what's on, like HTC and Samsung did. Sony has an app for that, but it's only compatible with networked devices. Not very helpful.

In terms of day to day usage, we generally threw it in a backpack (usually with no protection) and it was light and thin enough that we literally forgot it was there multiple times and tossed our bag around more roughly than we would have. After a week of such abuse the tablet doesn't have a scratch on it, though we'd definitely still recommend getting a case. We also verified the waterproof claims, taking it into the shower with us and then leaving it submerged in a bath while a video played. One of the Tablet Z's slick tricks is that the touchscreen will actually work reasonably well when wet. You couldn't game with it like that, but it was good enough for controlling basic functions.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right
Like

On the hardware side of things, it's really almost all like. The lightness and thinness really are killer features, and the thing just feels amazing to hold. The 1080p screen with Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine 2 produces some of the most vibrant, and yet most accurate colors we've ever seen on a tablet, especially for things like flowers and landscapes. Battery life was fantastic with Stamina Mode enabled. HD games (such as Dead Trigger) played extremely well, without so much as a hitch.

We absolutely love the waterproof element. It's not a gimmick. It actually makes us feel safe using it pretty much anywhere, in virtually any condition. Because it's dust-proof, too, this is the only tablet we'd want to take with us to the beach, a construction site, or, y'know, Burning Man. A micro HDMI port and an IR blaster are features all tablets should have, and what's not to like about a micro SD card slot?
No Like

While Sony's skin looks very good, it really slows things down. There is noticeable jutter when swiping through home screens, and apps are simply slower to launch than they should be. This is clearly bad optimization, because when we installed Nova Launcher everything got silky smooth. The Snapdragon S4 Pro is an excellent processor (though not as good as the more recent Snapdragon 600 and the upcoming 800), and it should tear through your homescreens with no problems at all, especially since the introduction of Project Butter in stock Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). Speaking of Android 4.1, why is this tablet launching with a version of Android that's a year old? 4.2 has been out since November. Totally unacceptable, and Sony doesn't have the best track record with speedy updates, either.

While we liked the colors on the screen, the blacks are more like grays, and the whites can skew a bit orange. It's also not as bright as other high-end Android tablets (though it was good enough for a bright day), and it's not as high-resolution as the Nexus 10 or the latest iPad, though it's by no means bad. While we praised the implementation of the speakers, the sound is really tinny and just generally crappy. Sony should just buy speaker components from a company that knows how to make good speakers. Y'know, like Sony. Oh... that's weird.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review: Sony Finally Gets One (Mostly) Right
Should I Buy It?

Gripes aside, this is our favorite tablet we've used in a long time. The $500 price point, gives us a bit of pause, though. It's more expensive than the Nexus 10, but it has better guts and performs better (once you get away from the home screen). It's cheaper than the latest iPad, though, and while it doesn't have quite as many tablet optimized apps, that gap is a lot smaller now, and the Xperia Tablet Z's form factor is more impressive than any other tablet out there. Hands down.

While we've really come to value smaller tablets like the Nexus 7 for their portability, watching movies and reading websites is certainly a more pleasurable experience on a 10-inch tablet, and the waterproof/dustproof specs are very tempting. We wish the guts and the software were a little more current, but for the majority of consumers, this is an excellent tablet, and if you've got 500 bucks to spend, there are certainly worse ways to spend it. [Sony]
Sony Xperia Tablet Z Specs

Network: Wi-Fi
OS: Android 4.1 with Sony's UI
CPU: 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro
Screen: 10.1-inch 1920x1200 TFT LCD (224PPI)
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB or 32GB + micro SD up to 64GB
Camera: 8MP rear / 2MP front
Battery: 6000 mAh
Dimensions: 10.47 x 6.77 x 0.27 inches
Weight: 17.46 ounces
Price: $500 for 16GB version / $600 for 32GB

USB Power Meter Tells You Which Devices Will Kill Your Laptop's Battery

USB Power Meter Tells You Which Devices Will Kill Your Laptop's Battery

 When you're traveling and away from a reliable power source, conserving your laptop's battery is of the utmost importance. And knowing which of your USB accessories draws the most juice thanks to this simple $31 power meter-whether it's a wireless adapter, an external drive, or even your phone-will help you max out whatever battery life you've got left.

Working with USB 1, 2, or 3 devices, the power meter has four different modes letting you see a device's power draw in real time, the average amount of power it's using every second, or its maximum and minimum draw during the duration it's been plugged into your computer. There's no stat tracking or uploads to an online database, it's just a quick and dirty way to determine if that USB reading light, or recharging your compact shaver, is sucking more power than you realize.