May 10, 2013
May 9, 2013
Roughly two years ago, Nokia and Microsoft signed a huge deal to revamp mobile for Windows. Nokia was to be the face of the new Windows Phone 7 lineup. In doing so, it seemed Nokia had abandoned its home grown OS roots of Symbian, and their latest project, Meego. Well, today Nokia has announced a new $99 phone running their own Asha platform: The Nokia Asha 501.
So, what does this mean for Nokia's partnership with the boys at Redmond? Not much, short term. Nokia is highly invested in the Windows Phone market, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Despite some minimal success by HTC and Samsung, Nokia's Lumia line is pretty much synonymous with Windows Phone. They have brought many improvements in both app exclusives, and OS integration with Nokia Maps that has entrenched them as the strongest player in Microsoft's stable.
Despite that position, Nokia has actively been developing the Asha operating system. Nokia has realized that Windows Phone currently doesn't have the market share numbers to effectively attack developing markets with a low end, cheaply priced smartphones. We now have a full touchscreen Asha 501, which will join the already announced 210 QWERTY handset revealed last month.
It's easy to jump to the conclusion that Nokia is starting to develop an exit plan for Windows Phone's struggles in the industry, but I think this falls into the game plan set forth by CEO, Stephen Elop, when the Microsoft deal was struck. He was very vocal that Windows Phone was their new flagship platform, but they would continue to sell Symbian, as well as bringing Asha to the fold. It should also not be forgotten that Meego, and its awesome UI, are still a Nokia product, despite Jolla using the open source code to produce Sailfish.
While I don't think Nokia is ready to jump ship, they have obviously been actively adding new platforms to their portfolio. They made a calculated, bold risk to not go with Android to save their brand. However, just because they have chosen Windows Phone, it doesn't mean they are married exclusively to Microsoft. Many see this as a negative move by the company, but I simply find it smart. I find it much in the same liking as Samsung's Tizen division. Despite dominating the Android landscape they are not putting all their chips down on one play of the hand. Companies with the size of Nokia should always be pursuing new innovative products, and not become just another stagnant player in the market.
Source: Nokia
May 8, 2013
In the span of around 20 days back in 2010, two of THE smartphone pioneers were a part of major purchasing agreements in the mobile industry. On April 9, 2010, BlackBerry announced the acquisition of QNX software. This purchase was made to find a new, fresh take on the company’s ailing smartphone lineup. A much bigger splash was made some two weeks later, when HP purchased Palm on April 28. Now, hindsight is 20/20, but I pose the question of why didn’t BlackBerry just buy Palm, or find a way to license webOS?
I must preface this argument with I am not privy to any insider information regarding the boardrooms of either company. My argument going further is strictly that of an end-user’s perspective. This is a hypothetical scenario, that is a result of using both the new BlackBerry 10 and webOS platforms for significant amounts of time over the last 3 years. I have owned some variant of every webOS device that has been released, as well as, a BlackBerry PlayBook for the last 2 years, and Z10 for the last month and a half.My main reasoning here is this: the PlayBook OS and its newest iteration, BB10, are so similar to the existing webOS interface that it seems the easier solution would have been for BlackBerry to use webOS. The PlayBook OS is a complete knock off of the webOS UI. It has drop down menus in the top corners of the screen. Multi-tasking is handled via the same cards metaphor. You even close applications the exact same way, by tossing the cards off the top of the interface. Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem as fluid as webOS. Now, webOS was known for sluggishness at times as well, but it had two years worth of maturity on the PlayBook OS by the time of its release in 2011. webOS still seems snappier, and the Enyo sliding-pane design of a good webOS application is hard to beat. Similar ideas are now seen in many Android applications.
Let’s move past the PlayBook OS and into the new Z10 running BlackBerry 10. While the UI elements of the Z10 are not as blatant as the PlayBook, I still can't help but see webOS everywhere. The Hub is the central nervous system of BlackBerry 10. It attempts to aggregate all your online accounts into one powerful aspect of the operating system. Any former webOS user will immediately see Synergy underlyings in the Hub. Honestly, the Hub does a better job of allowing the user to interact with these accounts than in webOS, but this could have been easily accomplished using Synergy as the base, had BlackBerry chosen to work with Palm.
I would like to close this thinking-out-loud session of mine saying that I like BlackBerry 10. It’s a very good OS, and a huge step up for BlackBerry. I have been using it, and enjoying both my Z10 and PlayBook. However, I can’t help but wonder what could have been if BlackBerry could have found a way to either purchase or license webOS. I know there was a rather large difference in the purchase prices of QNX vs Palm, but with the a more mature option in webOS, BlackBerry could have hit the ground running with a “PlayBook” running webOS 3.0.
It could have been a perfect alliance. Palm was making an innovative UI for mobile, but could never make top-end, compelling hardware. BlackBerry’s predicament was the exact opposite. They were still making solid hardware, but with an outdated operating system. This union would have also joined two great communities. Both the webOS and BlackBerry users, and developers, are some of the best I have ever been around. I wish these two names, once synonymous with the word smartphone, could have found a way to work together.
May 6, 2013
Guest Editorial by Adam Doud of Pocketnow.com
Last week, Twitter maven and webOS community leader @Teckiegirl teased that big news was afoot. On Sunday, April 28th, that news was revealed. Phoenix International Communications was partnering up with Open Mobile Worldwide to bring their Application Compatibility Layer to the HP Touchpad. They launched a kickstarter campaign to bring in necessary funding to finish off the project and bring it to your Touchpad just a hair over two years after it became available for purchase.
ACL (the software, not
the ligament) would allow Android apps to run natively in cards,
just like the dozens and dozens of still-maintained webOS apps
currently available in the catalog. This is very exciting news if you
still happen to own a Touchpad, and you haven't permanently booted it
into Jellybean, and you still want to invest money in a mobile device
that is virtually in the geriatric stage of a mobile lifespan.
Better Late Than Never?
This news would have
been fantastic and downright titillating a year ago, when webOS was
struggling to stay afloat and webOS users by the thousands were
desperately seeking some reason – any reason to continue flipping
cards and stacks and Glimpsing and Angry Birding.
It's almost a shame
considering that a year later when many, many users only consider
webOS a pleasant chapter in their mobile tech memoirs, PIC and OM
have already gained half of the $35,000 asked for as of this writing.
I can only imagine the funding that would have been possible back
when the Touchpad was the number 2 selling tablet just after the
iPad.
The problem was that
Open Mobile showed off their ACL back then and then told everyone,
“You can't have it.” They tried to get HP, then owner of webOS to
license ACL and distribute it on their tablets for the bargain price
of whatever dollars per unit. HP, having already cancelled and
firesaled their tablets, shockingly said, “No” - after they
stopped laughing that is. Open Mobile continued to employ this
winning strategy until PIC entered the picture.
PIC has made other
grand promises to the webOS community since their inception just over
a year ago (or under a year since they became officially official).
PIC brought forth the call for volunteers to come together and bring
a webOS smartphone back to the masses. Later on, they announced
another project to bring webOS to Android as a working app. Those
two projects are still going forward, but now they are bringing ACL
to the Touchpad and webOS 3.0.
Intrigue Inception
All this is very
intriguing news in the world of webOS, a.k.a. the operating system
that just doesn't quit. It's intriguing on many different levels –
so many levels, I'll probably miss one or two.
First, ACL offers the
promise of instantly solving the biggest problem webOS has faced from
the beginning – apps. ACL boasts the ability to bring 500,000 apps
to webOS which is insanely awesome. I toyed with the whole
dual-booting Android thing, but long ago, I pulled Android off and
went back to full time webOS. Put simply, booting from one OS to
another was a major pain in the gluteous. In the end, I opted for an
OS that I liked, rather than the apps. Plus, at the time, I had (and
still have) a Samsung GSIII, so that filled my Android void.
Second, ACL might cause
users to brush the dust off their Touchpads and bring them back into
the fold – insert evil laugh here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not
expecting a webOS revival southern baptist style, but it might be
nice to get some webOS folks out of the woodwork and get it back into
the conversation.
The Impossible Dream
The last level is
incredibly far fetched, and almost too optimistic to put into print,
but let's stroll down fantasy lane for a moment.
LG currently makes
Android phones, most notably the Optimus series and the Google Nexus
4. They are also rumored to be bringing the next iteration of Nexus
to market. Having said that, LG is facing two major competitors in the
Android space – Samsung and HTC, both with arguably far better
offerings than anything LG looks to bring to the table. LG hasn't
really dabbled around much in other spaces, but they find themselves
as the proud papa of an operating system that was once loved by
pretty much every tech writer that tapped a keyboard, and now has a
solution to it's biggest downfall.
LG is also planning to
bring webOS to market – in TV's, but still. They're interested in
the OS enough to pop it onto their TV's, maybe they can be coaxed
into giving it a look as a major league differentiator with a
relatively decent following, should new hardware ever come to bear.
Again, this is not
something I realistically see happening, but it's fun to think about.
Is it better to be third place in a first place operating system, or
first place in a third (ok, fine, fourth) place operating system? I'm
not sure. It probably amounts to about the same thing overall, but If
ACL can be made to work flawlessly on webOS 3.0 then it stands to
reason that it could work with future iterations (if any) of webOS.
Overall, it's really a
damn shame that this movement could not have been the first project
of PIC out of the gate. A year ago, this news would have been
extremely relevant as many webOS faithful were still wondering what
to do next. This may have given the Touchpad and the operating system
enough relevance to fuel a whole new level of interest in the
platform. Now, sadly, I think it's just too little too late.
Final Thoughts
Which is not to say
it's not exciting. It's just exciting to far, far fewer people. But
heck, I'm one of them, so yeah, I'm paying attention. This
kickstarter movement allows webOS faithful to quite literally put
their money where their mouth is. But before I go, allow me to leave
you with the words of a couple of other webOS people, far more
important than I.
In the words of Rod
Whitby of webOS Internals, regarding the Kickstarter campaign:
- It requires PIC to produce an end-user installable product which extends the usable lifetime of the TouchPad by allowing Android 2.3 applications to run on it. This is a make-or-break baptism of fire for PIC. If they pull this off, then they have a track record in place to allow the community to get more interested in their wider goal of producing new webOS devices.
- If (sic) requires OM to deliver on the promises that they have been making for many years, and to actually finish and deliver a product for end-customers. No more hiding behind OEMs - OEM's reputation (at least what is left of it) will be open and bared naked for all to see. If this project does not succeed, OM should throw in the towel and never been seen of again courting a mobile device end-user community.”
(Source: webOS Nation Forums)
And in the words of
Marc Edwards (via private interview):
“We are not just Kickstarting Android apps on the TP, but a lot more webOS development as well, so we're hopeful the community as a whole will embrace the effort and really help us move things forward.”
Adam Doud is a Contributing Editor at pocketnow.com and webOS enthusiast. Follow him on Twitter @DeadTechnology
The Galaxy S4 is the latest and greatest in Samsung's Android arsenal, and starting May 10, you can have it with a little extra storage space. The 32gb variant will be available for purchase for $249.99, with the usual two year agreement.
More info, and order fulfillment, can be found on ATT's website. Well, have you been waiting on this added internal memory to place the SG4 in your shopping cart? Or are you still not swayed to lay down the cash?
Spam 2.0
No one likes email spam right? You only give your email address to family, close friends, and institutions you conduct business with. Yet no matter how great your spam filter is, the junk mail still gets through. The people sending it may call it advertising or direct marketing, but to us it’s just a nuisance we can never seem to fully cleanse ourselves of. It’s one thing to opt in or subscribe to something you might actually be interested in (otherwise known as "bacn", but pronounced bacon), and another to get the totally unsolicited, unrelated junk we affectionately call spam. Luckily we have filters to deal with a good percentage of it.
However, today spam has become more sophisticated. It’s made an evolutionary leap into the popular social networks we use daily; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and the list keeps growing. We used to be able to opt in by liking a brand page, or following our favorite companies. While we can still do that, now we are inundated with ads for brands we didn’t like or follow. They are called “sponsored” posts, and they pollute our timelines and news feeds like garbage in a river. Unlike email though, where your internet service or email provider fights hard to keep spam out of your emails, it’s the social networks serving up the spam.
It’s the Business Model! Duh!!
Why would they shove all this spam down our throats, while taking the risk of annoying and alienating their users? The obvious short answer is money, and not having any other options to keep the lights on. Those massive data collecting servers don’t pay for themselves. Employees don’t volunteer at the social networks. They have bills too. Stuff needs to get paid for. I get it.
But it’s old media thinking. In television, you suffer through 2-3 minutes worth of ads during your favorite shows. In publishing, sometimes the ads are bigger than the news stories, or take up more pages than actual content in the magazines. Now, while you’re catching up with your friends’ and families’ lives, there are ads in between that look so much like a genuine post, you are tempted to click. It makes you pause and double-take to be sure, but sometimes you do click. Add up a few million accidental clicks, and a light bulb stays on. It’s a business model that’s been around for a long time, and one that businesses fall back on when investors start screaming in unison: SHOW ME THE MONEY!
But is it the only way to make money in social networks?
Alternatives
There is another way the social media giants can make money, and deliver a quality product to their customers. It’s sort of an evil word on the web, especially with the unrealistic expectation that all content, and services on the web should be free. The dirty little word is: charge.
I can hear your gasps. Nasty word huh? I also know the reaction most of you have: you would never, ever pay for Facebook or Twitter.
It’s funny, because they know that too. The social networks not only fear you abandoning their services, but they fear actually putting a dollar value on what they offer to you. You might have to actually think about if being able to post publicly to all your friends and family, or upload your party pics is worth $1.99, $5.99, $9.99, or $19.99 per month. Remember the early days of AOL though? People paid and AOL made great money for a while. Didn’t seem odd then to pay for a service. Now people have become a bit spoiled by free stuff, and would rather pay for it with their attention and personal data in exchange for spammy ads.
A company you may not have heard of yet, App.net, is making a bold move, and positioning itself as an ad-free social network. 5 bucks per month or 36 bucks per year gets you spam free socializing. No ads. No fake followers. Just service. Believe it or not, people are signing up and paying to keep the spam out. Not only is the spam kept out, but part of the promise is that personal data is not collected and shared with third parties.
Google is many things to many people, but it’s at its core an advertiser. You would think its social network/social layer, +Google+ would be littered with ads, yet it isn't. It’s clean and elegant. That’s because Google understands that where and when you are served ads is important to the user experience. Google+ is “subsidized” by Google’s search tools from its other properties. If I am actually looking for a car, then yes, by all means, show me relevant car ads. If I am looking at precious, captured moments with my family and friends, that unwanted ad is more annoying than helpful.
I like advertising, and do a bit of it myself. Let me clarify. I like good, relevant, timely advertising that serves a purpose to me. There’s an actual time and place for it, and it’s not when I’m conversing with friends and family. I balked at the idea of paying for a social network at first, but when Tumblr, whose platform I do like, started serving up spam, I began reconsidering my position.
Arguments have been made that some of these social networks have grown too big to fail. Adding spammy ads in timelines won’t scare enough people off to make a dent. Like with everything else, most people will just get used to it.
Are you ok with spam in your social network life? Are you concerned about your information being collected and sold? Would you ever pay for a social network like +App.net ? Would you consider switching to something of a hybrid like +Google+ to get away from ads you don't want?
No one likes email spam right? You only give your email address to family, close friends, and institutions you conduct business with. Yet no matter how great your spam filter is, the junk mail still gets through. The people sending it may call it advertising or direct marketing, but to us it’s just a nuisance we can never seem to fully cleanse ourselves of. It’s one thing to opt in or subscribe to something you might actually be interested in (otherwise known as "bacn", but pronounced bacon), and another to get the totally unsolicited, unrelated junk we affectionately call spam. Luckily we have filters to deal with a good percentage of it.
However, today spam has become more sophisticated. It’s made an evolutionary leap into the popular social networks we use daily; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and the list keeps growing. We used to be able to opt in by liking a brand page, or following our favorite companies. While we can still do that, now we are inundated with ads for brands we didn’t like or follow. They are called “sponsored” posts, and they pollute our timelines and news feeds like garbage in a river. Unlike email though, where your internet service or email provider fights hard to keep spam out of your emails, it’s the social networks serving up the spam.
It’s the Business Model! Duh!!
Why would they shove all this spam down our throats, while taking the risk of annoying and alienating their users? The obvious short answer is money, and not having any other options to keep the lights on. Those massive data collecting servers don’t pay for themselves. Employees don’t volunteer at the social networks. They have bills too. Stuff needs to get paid for. I get it.
But it’s old media thinking. In television, you suffer through 2-3 minutes worth of ads during your favorite shows. In publishing, sometimes the ads are bigger than the news stories, or take up more pages than actual content in the magazines. Now, while you’re catching up with your friends’ and families’ lives, there are ads in between that look so much like a genuine post, you are tempted to click. It makes you pause and double-take to be sure, but sometimes you do click. Add up a few million accidental clicks, and a light bulb stays on. It’s a business model that’s been around for a long time, and one that businesses fall back on when investors start screaming in unison: SHOW ME THE MONEY!
But is it the only way to make money in social networks?
Alternatives
There is another way the social media giants can make money, and deliver a quality product to their customers. It’s sort of an evil word on the web, especially with the unrealistic expectation that all content, and services on the web should be free. The dirty little word is: charge.
I can hear your gasps. Nasty word huh? I also know the reaction most of you have: you would never, ever pay for Facebook or Twitter.
It’s funny, because they know that too. The social networks not only fear you abandoning their services, but they fear actually putting a dollar value on what they offer to you. You might have to actually think about if being able to post publicly to all your friends and family, or upload your party pics is worth $1.99, $5.99, $9.99, or $19.99 per month. Remember the early days of AOL though? People paid and AOL made great money for a while. Didn’t seem odd then to pay for a service. Now people have become a bit spoiled by free stuff, and would rather pay for it with their attention and personal data in exchange for spammy ads.
A company you may not have heard of yet, App.net, is making a bold move, and positioning itself as an ad-free social network. 5 bucks per month or 36 bucks per year gets you spam free socializing. No ads. No fake followers. Just service. Believe it or not, people are signing up and paying to keep the spam out. Not only is the spam kept out, but part of the promise is that personal data is not collected and shared with third parties.
Google is many things to many people, but it’s at its core an advertiser. You would think its social network/social layer, +Google+ would be littered with ads, yet it isn't. It’s clean and elegant. That’s because Google understands that where and when you are served ads is important to the user experience. Google+ is “subsidized” by Google’s search tools from its other properties. If I am actually looking for a car, then yes, by all means, show me relevant car ads. If I am looking at precious, captured moments with my family and friends, that unwanted ad is more annoying than helpful.
I like advertising, and do a bit of it myself. Let me clarify. I like good, relevant, timely advertising that serves a purpose to me. There’s an actual time and place for it, and it’s not when I’m conversing with friends and family. I balked at the idea of paying for a social network at first, but when Tumblr, whose platform I do like, started serving up spam, I began reconsidering my position.
Arguments have been made that some of these social networks have grown too big to fail. Adding spammy ads in timelines won’t scare enough people off to make a dent. Like with everything else, most people will just get used to it.
Are you ok with spam in your social network life? Are you concerned about your information being collected and sold? Would you ever pay for a social network like +App.net ? Would you consider switching to something of a hybrid like +Google+ to get away from ads you don't want?
In this series we round up the technology-based articles from around the web that have caught our eye in the last week. Have something we should know about? Send us a note!
LG, Google at work on new Nexus handset -- report [CNet]
In the "citing people who claim to have knowledge of the matter" department comes a report that Google and LG executives met recently to discuss the development of a new handset. Since Google and LG partnered up on the Nexus 4, could this be the beginnings of the Nexus 5?
Acer Unveils New Breed of Windows Hybrids, Cheap Android Tablet [Mashable]
On May 3, Acer took the wraps off of two Windows hybrid laptops: the Aspire R7 has a touch screen that is attached to a keyboard that allows it to flip over and fold completely flat over the keyboard for a "presentation" mode. The smaller P3 Ultrabook also has a keyboard that folds over to become a tablet.
Google Play coming to Nook HD and Nook HD+ [Android Central]
Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch announced on May 3rd the availability of a software update that will bring Google Play store access to the 7-inch and 9-in tablets. Previously, the tablets had access to a limited number of apps through the B&N online store, but this will significantly improve the availability of popular Android apps like the Chrome browser, Gmail, YouTube, and more.
Instagram launches photo tagging feature on iPhone and Android [The Verge]
Instagram rolled out an update to its iPhone and Android apps that now allows users to tag their friends on photos uploaded to the popular photo sharing site. Once a photo is taken, a new "Add People" button allows you tag friends or places. A notification is then sent to friends who have been tagged. A "Photos of You" button is added to the profile section that includes all of the photos you are tagged in.
Chromebook march continues, Acer and Asus reportedly planning new devices [Pocket-Lint]
Digitimes reported that Acer and Asus are set to launch new Chromebooks in the second half of 2013. The Acer Chromebook is reported to be a 11.6 inch device targeting students and is set to be released in July. The Asus version of its Chromebook is set to be released in the 3rd or 4th quarters of this year.
Jawbone launches an ecosystem for Up, lets other apps tap into your fitness data [The Verge]
Jawbone has launched a new API (Application Programming Interface) that allows other activity tracking apps such as MyFitnessPal, LosIt, and MapMyFitness to automatically tap into the Up's fitness data. The update also allows accessories like weight scales to upload its data to the Up application. Previously, the app included with the Jawbone fitness tracker was closed to these type of services.
In Case You Missed It
Weekly Roundup
LG, Google at work on new Nexus handset -- report [CNet]
In the "citing people who claim to have knowledge of the matter" department comes a report that Google and LG executives met recently to discuss the development of a new handset. Since Google and LG partnered up on the Nexus 4, could this be the beginnings of the Nexus 5?
Acer Unveils New Breed of Windows Hybrids, Cheap Android Tablet [Mashable]
On May 3, Acer took the wraps off of two Windows hybrid laptops: the Aspire R7 has a touch screen that is attached to a keyboard that allows it to flip over and fold completely flat over the keyboard for a "presentation" mode. The smaller P3 Ultrabook also has a keyboard that folds over to become a tablet.
Google Play coming to Nook HD and Nook HD+ [Android Central]
Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch announced on May 3rd the availability of a software update that will bring Google Play store access to the 7-inch and 9-in tablets. Previously, the tablets had access to a limited number of apps through the B&N online store, but this will significantly improve the availability of popular Android apps like the Chrome browser, Gmail, YouTube, and more.
Instagram launches photo tagging feature on iPhone and Android [The Verge]
Instagram rolled out an update to its iPhone and Android apps that now allows users to tag their friends on photos uploaded to the popular photo sharing site. Once a photo is taken, a new "Add People" button allows you tag friends or places. A notification is then sent to friends who have been tagged. A "Photos of You" button is added to the profile section that includes all of the photos you are tagged in.
Chromebook march continues, Acer and Asus reportedly planning new devices [Pocket-Lint]
Digitimes reported that Acer and Asus are set to launch new Chromebooks in the second half of 2013. The Acer Chromebook is reported to be a 11.6 inch device targeting students and is set to be released in July. The Asus version of its Chromebook is set to be released in the 3rd or 4th quarters of this year.
Jawbone launches an ecosystem for Up, lets other apps tap into your fitness data [The Verge]
Jawbone has launched a new API (Application Programming Interface) that allows other activity tracking apps such as MyFitnessPal, LosIt, and MapMyFitness to automatically tap into the Up's fitness data. The update also allows accessories like weight scales to upload its data to the Up application. Previously, the app included with the Jawbone fitness tracker was closed to these type of services.
News from Google
A roundup of various Google services updated ahead of Google I/O May 15-17
- Hangouts Remote Desktop: Tech support with a personal touch [Daniel Caiafa via Google+]
- Add events to Google Calendar from Gmail [Official Gmail Blog]
- More offline Chrome apps arrive: Chrome Web Store previews Packaged Apps [Gigaom]
- Access Google Keep with the new Chrome app [Google Drive Bog]
- Google gets people ready for Glass with new how-to video [The Verge]
- Chrome Office Viewer Opens Microsoft Office Documents in New Tabs [Lifehacker]
- Google Now comes to iPhone and iPad with new Search app update [The Verge]
Odds and Ends
Have you ever missed a call on your phone either because you didn't hear the ring, had it silenced, or missed the visual queue completely? What if your smartphone bent in half right in front of you to let you know a call or message was coming in? Canadian-based MorePhone might have the solution for you sometime in the future:
Source: CNet
May 4, 2013
This picture was taken by a reader of MyNokiaBlog and submitted to them as proof that the Lumia 928 is coming soon. While this photo could be a very clever Photoshop moment, it also might not be. Looking at the image, it looks very real to my untrained eye, from the logos in the corner to the wording underneath the phones.
What do you think? Is this real? Could the 928 be launching so soon that someone slipped up and had the billboard revealed a few days early? Let us know in the comments!
Source: PhoneDog; via MyNokiaBlog
May 2, 2013
We've done away with the plain old default Blogger commenting system and integrated Google Plus commenting for all posts! Scroll down a bit and you'll see what we mean...
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It's a neat way to keep the conversation going. Comments on our Twitter and Facebook pages will remain where they are, but we promise we won't forget about you!
How about giving it a try? Have at it.
May 1, 2013
As you scan our navigation bar up top, you'll see Editorials first, which will be our primary focus as we provide our very own personal insight into the technology news of today. Featured articles will highlight pieces making the biggest news. Xaminations is our fancy little spin on hardware and software reviews - yes, there'll be some of that too. News, How-To's, and Polls round out the rest of the fun.
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As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this article, we're all fans of technology. A couple of us took our punches in the hay days of Palm and webOS, some have refined their tech writing chops on personal blogs, others have done development for mobile OS'es. Heck, we've even got a Google Glass explorer in our midst. No matter our specialty, we're here as fans first and foremost, and we hope you'll join us in our newest endeavor.
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Phone Arena has leaked some nice pics of what looks to be a smaller version of the HTC One. They report that this new handset is the, much rumored, HTC M4. The "mid-range" smartphone is supposedly a 4.3 inch device with very similar design to that of the hit HTC One.
Other notable differences in internals are: 720p display, dual core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage space. Also included, will be the much debated UltraPixel camera technology, as well as, a 1700mAh battery. The handset is rumored to be looking at a launch towards the end of Q2, and should be LTE capable.
I would love to see a smaller variant of the One. The 4.3 inch form factor really is my sweet spot for devices. What do you think? Would a smaller One make you happy? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Phone Arena
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