Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Android Authority

Android Authority


New Netflix family plan allows four simultaneous streaming devices

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 03:22 AM PDT

netflix logo Credit: jennypdx/Flickr 

If the current two simultaneous Netflix streams at the same time is not enough for your household, you’ll be happy to hear that things are about to change with a new $11.99 plan.

According to the quarterly investor letter that Netflix’ CEO Reed Hastings sent out, a new plan will be added “shortly”. The new plan is aimed at customers with large families, that often run into the current limit. The family plan will be available in the U.S. (and, hopefully in the other countries the service has expanded to) and will cost $11.99 (the current two devices plan costs $7.99).

Interestingly enough, Netflix doesn’t expect to see many customers jump at the opportunity of signing up for the extended plan, with the investor letter specifying that the company expects less than 1% of subscribers to take advantage of it.

Another interesting detail revealed in the document is that Netflix plans to launch in another European market during this year’s second half. The country’s name isn’t mentioned, but the letter says more will be revealed during the July earnings call.

Do you plan on getting the new Netflix plan?

3 out of every 10 smartphones sold in Q1 2013 was a Samsung

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:45 AM PDT

Samsung Logo 645px

It's business news time. The Q1 2013 figures for global smartphone sales are in, and there's an unsurprisingly clear winner. According to data collected by DRAMeXchange, a division of global research firm TrendForce, Samsung has yet again come out on top and has managed to maintain its 30% share of the world wide smartphone market.

Overall the smartphone market saw a 9.4% quarter on quarter growth rate from Q4 2012 to Q1 2013, with total shipments reaching 216.4 million units so far this year. So while Samsung's market share held steady, that actually equates to roughly a 9% increase in sales volume. Samsung shipped an estimated 65 million units this quarter, which would mean that 3 in every 10 smartphones sold was a Samsung.

The chart below shows the market share of each company in 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.

marketshare Q1 2013

Unsurprisingly Nokia's market share shrank by another percentage point, continuing the company's gradual decline. Apple also faired rather poorly, witnessing the largest loss of 3.5% in a growing market, yet another sign that the tech giant is struggle to keep pace with Samsung.

DRAMeXchange places Apple's worries on its lack of a decent product line-up. We're still waiting on official details about Apple's next generation of products, but in the mean time Samsung, HTC, Sony, as well as some of Apple's other competitors, have all released their own new flagship handsets and even have more announcements scheduled for later in the year. If Apple doesn't do something to spark consumer interest soon then it risks another dip in its global sales figures.

In fact, virtually every company lost some ground or managed to only hold stable, while the "others" group snatched up 6% increase in its share of the market.

The figures also contain some interesting information about the market in China, where local brands Huawei, Lenovo, and ZTE were all expected to show strong numbers. Contrary to those expectations however, Samsung turned out to also be the leading manufacturer in China, with shipments estimated to be somewhere around 11.7 million units.

This clearly came at the expense of China's domestic brands, which saw a 5-15% decrease in sales in the first quarter. Lenovo in particular saw very disappointing figures; having almost caught up with Samsung by Q2 2012, Lenvovo only managed to shift 7.6 million units in Q1 2013, leaving actual shipments 15% behind the projected figure.

To conclude, Samsung continues to dominate at the expense of other manufacturers. It would probably be fair to say that Samsung’s success stems from its wide range of products which make it competitive in virtually every market, whilst Apple continues to back itself into a corner with a limited range of premium products.

Worryingly for Samsung's competitors, the launch of the Galaxy S4 hasn't even been factored in to these figures yet.  With pre-orders for the Galaxy S4 already running out, it wouldn't surprise me if Samsung pulls out even further ahead by the end of this year.

Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 pre-orders start at Best Buy stores

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:53 AM PDT

verizon samsung galaxy s4

The Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 pre-order process has begun at Best Buy, although you’ll have to pay a visit to one of the retailer’s locations if you want to be part of it.

Readers of Droid-Life and Gotta Be Mobile have received text messages from the retailer, telling them that they can pre-order their Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4, but that the offer was “in store only.” There was no mention of the date when buyers can actually get their hands on the actual device, though.

Still, since Verizon has confirmed the Samsung flagship device for May, buyers are likely to receive it sometime next month (hopefully, earlier than May 30, which was the date listed in a Staples document). No word on price or version, either, but it can’t be too far away from the $199.99 (16 GB version) and $249.99 (32 GB version) AT&T will be selling it for.

Before pre-ordering, make sure you take a look at our Samsung Galaxy S4 review:

You might also want to review the Galaxy S4′s specifications and features, which include a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED display at 1920×1080 pixel resolution, 2GB of RAM, and 16, 32 or 64 GB of storage. All this is powered by either a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa CPU and PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU (international version) or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T CPU and Adreno 320 GPU (US version), running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz Nature UI.

Will you pre-order your Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 at Best Buy? If so, drop us a comment below.

New Google Wallet Merchant Center addresses privacy concerns

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 11:47 PM PDT

Google-WalletBack in February of this year Google came under fire when it was revealed that personal data was sent to developers for every app purchase made, but now Google has started to role out a new version of its Google Wallet Merchant Center that addresses these privacy concerns.

Dan Nolan wrote a blog post called Massive Google Play Privacy Issue where he outlined how he discovered that app developers get the name, suburb and email address of every person who buys one of their apps. In a worst case scenario app developers could harass buyers who left negative feedback or who cancelled a purchase.

The problem is that every Google Play app order is processed as a standard Google wallet transaction and as such the app developers get all of the information (except the postal address) about the buyer. When something physical is bought this is necessary as a delivery address and contact information is needed. But for an app purchase this is too much information.

Google is refreshing the Wallet Merchant Center with a new design which it says will make it easier for sellers to understand their customers and business. Along the way it has changed some of the earning reports and removed the extra private information that doesn’t apply to app purchases. Once the new Merchant Center is fully deployed, developers will no longer receive the customer’s name or email address. The suburb and country does remain as they could be needed for tax purposes.

According to an email which Google sent to Google Wallet merchants, after the upgrade sellers will need to update their business information, including tax information.

Amazon’s brilliant, losing strategy

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 11:30 PM PDT

Amazon pricing

Amazon is, as a company, quite the conundrum. Always being discussed, always making sales… but rarely turning a real profit. They have a foothold in just about every aspect of online shopping, and have been an example of how it's supposed to be done with eCommerce. So how does a company, with no profit or anything in the works touted to revolutionize their business model, intend to be solvent?

They don't… and that's the trick. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, also seems to think he's a magician. He's probably right, too. His recent letter to investors smacked or either prideful ignorance, or boastful brilliance… I'm not sure. Either way, he believes they're on the right path, in spite of typically poor stock performance and continued loss. How can he possibly sell this? By making shareholders believe what they didn't see.

amazon-kindle-jeff-bezos

The Pledge

The magician shows you something ordinary

The letter Bezos penned to investors was expected fodder: positive about Amazon's direction, praising staff, reminiscent of the old days, etc. It was, as most letters of its kind, meant to cheerlead and encourage. That's all normal CEO stuff… when things are good.

The letter was ripe with examples of just how great Amazon is, and what good work they do. He mentions, in a few spots, feedback from customers about how well they were treated. Refunds issues without provocation, or the benefits of Prime membership without additional fees. All very nicely slipped in to bolster the aim and focus of Amazon, which is the customer.

Amazon does a very good job of it, too. Customer service is clearly a priority to them, but to what end? They have general eCommerce in a near choke-hold, yet fail to turn a profit. Bezos, to his credit, seems unfazed by this. That's where it get's interesting.

jeff_bezos

The Turn

The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary.

Logically, you'd think a letter written by a CEO to investors of a company that has, once again, failed to turn a profit would be apologetic. Perhaps that letter would even be amenable to change, and swear to become tractable during their new path to success. That's normal… but this is Jeff Bezos.

Rather than promise a new path to financial success, Bezos claims that's the wrong way to think. The opening lines of his letter read as follows: "As regular readers of this letter will know, our energy at Amazon comes from the desire to impress customers rather than the zeal to best competitors. We don't take a view on which of these approaches is more likely to maximize business success. "

That opener set the tone for a broader illusion, repeatedly hammering home that customer service is the long term gain. Bezos then seemed to try and sell profitability as a short term gain for a long term loss. In another bold move, Bezos likened stock to intelligence, noting "We don't celebrate a 10% increase in the stock price like we celebrate excellent customer experience. We aren't 10% smarter when that happens and conversely aren't 10% dumber when the stock goes the other way."

Investors of Amazon are seemingly being asked to subscribe in blind faith, and to hold out for an unseen future. No mention of a long term growth strategy, or any business model that indicates where they are in the grand scheme. Bezos is touting their efforts and almost damning profitability, all while painting a picture of the delighted customer. That happy customer, loyal to Amazon, who clearly doesn't spend enough.

Perhaps the grandest gesture to this part of the trick is his invitation that Investors blindly come along for the journey. As Bezos puts it, "Our passion for pioneering will drive us to explore narrow passages, and, unavoidably, many will turn out to be blind alleys. But – with a bit of good fortune – there will also be a few that open up into broad avenues." That's an interesting dictum.

By the end of the letter, it's conceivable that the Investor would find themselves entranced, bewildered, and excited for what is to come next. This is precisely where the magician wants his audience at this point. Bezos has mastered his craft… a commendable feat in itself.

amazon-kindle-fire

The Prestige

You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”

This is where Bezos has work to do. We have, time and again, seen the first two acts. Amazon really is fantastic in their focus, which is obviously putting the customer first. For a company of their size, and that reaches so many people, they absolutely have customer service figured out better than their peers. That's where confusion sets in.

Amazon is to online shopping what Kleenex is to facial tissue. A company that is almost single-handedly challenging the brick-and-mortar retailers, yet doesn't have their overhead, is failing. Jeff Bezos may measure success one giddy customer at a time, but the rest of the world does not. Bezos needs to bring Amazon into profitability, and engage in a little bottom-line thinking.

Or does he? After this last round of questionable quarterly profit and loss, stock was up. Amazon outperformed expectations, yet seems to lose money at every turn. This behemoth of a company we call Amazon seems to be succeeding, in spite of itself. Either Bezos is truly a master of his craft, or just a mad genius.

If you weren't completely befuddled by this ruse, there's one more head scratcher for you. In discussing why Amazon doesn't move as swiftly as competitors, Bezos notes "I think long-term thinking squares the circle." That's a cute idiom, and a connotation Amazon is finding the solution to a problem that seems impossible to solve. Or, for Bezos, perhaps a strategy to deflect blame for another day.

We may never know… but we're all impressed.

Gongkai Phone is a $12 cellphone from China, not Android but could inspire DIY smartphone designs

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 07:19 PM PDT

Gongkai phone
As much as we all love having the latest smartphones in our hands, they aren't the cheapest things to own. However, a mobile phone in China is breaking the mould with a retail value of just $12.

Known as the Gongkai, the device is a low-end mobile phone that has just a little bit more than basic features like calling and texting. Whilst the Gongkai phone doesn't have the specs of the HTC One or Sony Xperia Z, the system comes equipped with perks such as Bluetooth, OLED screen and USB ports. As an added feature, it seems the Gongkai phone has a music player.

Gongkai Phone

Inside, the device is powered by two main computing processors: a MediaTek MT6250DA and a Vanchip VC5296. These are at a bare minimum compared to today’s cutting edge specs: 256MHz system speed with 8MB of RAM.

The display is also abysmal compared with today’s five-inchers common in smartphones. It uses an OLED display, but only showing two colors. The screen is very small and is only really good for the basic stuff.

Seeing inside the Gongkai phone

Seeing inside the Gongkai phone

Keeping costs down

The idea behind the Gongkai phone is that it is a device that has been made and meant to be sold as cheaply as possible. To help achieve this, some of its actual components aren't exactly at cutting edge technology. For example, the shell is a plastic case that snaps together to form the body. On top of that, the MediaTek and Vanchip processors are much less powerful than the likes of Snapdragon or Tegra processors found in more advanced phones and electronic devices.

Additionally, the Gongkai phone does not come with the usual subsidy common among American carriers. As with most devices sold in emerging markets, the phone is unlocked when purchased, and it does not come with a contract with any specific provider.

What’s the point here? Even though the Gongkai phone won't send heads spinning with its performance, the pricing shows possibilities in creating an inexpensive device. Judging from the cost estimates for SoC chips, displays and other parts that analysts like IHS iSuppli and iFixIt provide, could it be possible to come up with a cheap but functional smartphone under $20? If Raspberry Pi enthusiasts can build their own DIY casings for the cheap $25 computer, then smartphone enthusiasts can probably do the same thing for a barebones Android device.

New DashClock Extension adds Sound Search for Google, Shazam, SoundHound and more

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 06:32 PM PDT


GoogleSoundSearch

If you’re like me, you’re always finding new music while you’re out and about. No longer are the days where you have to sing the tune over and over again, trying to remember it while you do a Google search, hoping you got the lyrics right. We use popular apps such as Google’s Sound Search, Shazam, SoundHound and these apps get the job done for us, instantly. I also don’t need to tell you that Roman Nurik’s DashClock Widget is extremely popular. Especially, with many big name apps building extension support for this lockscreen and homescreen widget.

Thanks to reddit user fodawim, we can now combine our love for DashClock and our need to discover new music all from the same widget.  Sound Search for DashClcok allows you to quickly search for the song you’re currently listening to using DashClock and your favorite sound searching app. Right now Google Sound Search, Shazam Encore, SoundHound, TrackID, and musiXmatch are all supported.

soundsearch1 soundsearch2

It’s worth mentioning that the developer wasn’t able to pull up Google Ears (Sound Search) directly from DashClock. It will open Google Voice Search. You’ll then have to manually tap the music note that appears as if you were doing a normal Sound Search. SoundHound and Shazam open straight to searching for a song.

AT&T Galaxy S4 release date set for April 27, pre-orders arriving as soon as April 25

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 05:08 PM PDT

samsung galaxy s4 top side aa

In a short Twitter message AT&T has confirmed that the in-store release date for the Galaxy S4 is set for Saturday, April 27:

Starting 4/27, #Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB available in our stores. http://soc.att.com/XRVqUv #GalaxyS4 pic.twitter.com/3uzvDVOqvy

The carrier already has the handset available for pre-order – the 16GB Galaxy S4 version sells for $199.99 with new two-year contracts – but AT&T has failed to specify in its Galaxy S4 pre-order announcement when the device will hit its brick-and-mortar stores.

 att-galaxy-s4-release-date-twitter-1

Furthermore, while AT&T lists April 30 as the ship date for Galaxy S4 pre-orders, it looks like some buyers will get their unit a few days earlier than expected. According to the AT&T notification in the screenshot below, some early Galaxy S4 buyers will be receiving it "as soon as April 25th."

att-galaxy-s4-ship-early-email-1

A few days ago, AT&T posted an April 23 ship date for the Galaxy S4 on the handset's pre-order page, but the date was quickly replaced with the April 30 ship date that was initially offered by the carrier. At the time, we wondered whether it was just a glitch in the system or whether lucky early Galaxy S4 buyers will get their new toy a lot earlier than expected. It now appears that AT&T has indeed managed to ship early at least a few units.

In case you need to know more details about the U.S. Galaxy S4 launch, then check out our handy guide here. Should you need more details about the Galaxy S4 before you decide whether to buy it or not, then check out our thorough review (video available above).

Low-cost smartphones to account for 46% of market by 2018

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 04:34 PM PDT

Sony Xperia Z vs Google Nexus 4 aa (25)

Sure, everyone would like to own the latest and greatest Android handset – Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One are such examples – but many buyers choose instead a budget smartphone or even a feature phone. While budget smartphones account for 28% of the market right now, ABI Research says low-cost smartphone market share is in for a reasonable rise, to 46% of the market by 2018.

Low-cost smartphone shipments are set to grow from 259 million in 2013 to 788 million in 2018. ABI Research identifies a low-cost smartphone to be priced under $250, a mid-range device to cost sub $400 and a high-end device is constituted as anywhere above.

So what does this all mean? Well it could mean two things. For one, people have usually had to pay a premium to get a smooth device with decent specifications. But now as handsets become better and more powerful, we are able to buy devices which suit our needs for less money.

Take the Nexus 4, at $300 it would be labeled a mid-range phone, but I don't think anyone would call it a mid-range device. Some people have come to the conclusion that the specifications on the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One would be wasted on them and as technology progresses, who knows what $250 will get you.

Another factor that could play a part in the blossoming of the low-end market, is the updraft of people moving away from feature phones. Senior analyst Michael Morgan says:

As the feature phone segment continues to lose its battle for relevance, the low-cost smartphone has become the tool for operators seeking to drive increased data revenues.

Although Android is inching towards the one billion activations mark, there still seems to be a great deal of leg room for growth, which is great news for Google. This doesn't mean high-end smartphones will cease to be relevant, as they will continue to play an important role for carriers looking to upgrade their network and bleeding edge technology fans, who will want to have the greatest experience from a smart mobile device.

In fact, the same study reveals that mid-range and high-end handset shipments will also grow in the coming years, from 635 million in 2013 to 925 million in 2018.

Will you be looking to pick up a cheaper smartphone than your last? Raw octa-core power just not a necessity for you? Let us know in the comments.

Is CISPA evil?

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 04:19 PM PDT

CapitalBuilding

CISPA, the bill recently passed in the House of Representatives which aims to usher in a new era of cyber watchdogging, has many concerned. The vague language involved worries us all that it may not be direct enough to be truly effective. More to the point, it may be so vague that nefarious companies will use it to compromise the everyman, and we'll be corralled into a level of compliance we aren't comfortable with.

This bill passed the House last year as well, then died a slow death in the Senate. President Obama's administration has some harsh language for the bill, and has threatened it with veto. Is CISPA just evil, or misunderstood?

CISPA

CISPA, explained

In 1947, a National Security Act was enacted. Signed into effect by President Truman, the bill effectively re-organized our security forces, as well as created the Defense Secretary position. The first Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal, found his powers a bit limiting for what he needed to accomplish. In 1949, the Department of Defense was created to allow Forrestal the governing oversight he needed.

CISPA is an amendment to the National Security Act, which of course didn't imagine or allow for cyber security concerns. The bill describes a cyber security issue as the following: information in the possession of an element of the intelligence community directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to, a system or network of a government or private entity, including information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from either ‘efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network’; or ‘theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.’

The bill goes on, in quick order, to mandate The Director of National Intelligence shall establish procedures to allow elements of the intelligence community to share cyber threat intelligence with private-sector entities and utilities and to encourage the sharing of such intelligence. It dictates that those who information is shared with must have the proper security clearance, with "the need to protect the national security of the united states", and "used by a certified entity in a manner which protects such cyber threat intelligence from unauthorized disclosure."

What about the private sector?

This act marks the first time the government has made a formal attempt to work with private entities on information sharing. Many of us hear that big business and big government will be working in unison, and jump to the conclusion that the government is going to strong-arm the private sector into gathering information, or that companies will coerce the government into doing their dirty work. CISPA safeguards against that.

Section G of the bill reads: Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide additional authority to, or modify an existing authority of, the Department of Defense or the National Security Agency or any other element of the intelligence community to control, modify, require, or otherwise direct the cybersecurity efforts of a private-sector entity or a component of the Federal Government or a State, local, or tribal government. It immediately goes on to note that the bill does not require an information sharing relationship, or that it will alter any existing relationship. It opens doors, but does not force a company through them.

security-breaches

How CISPA defines a threat

We're just going to let CISPA do the talking, here: The term 'cyber threat information' means information directly pertaining to— '(i) a vulnerability of a system or network of a government or private entity; (ii) a threat to the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of a system or network of a government or private entity or any information stored on, processed on, or transiting such a system or network; (iii) efforts to deny access to or degrade, disrupt, or destroy a system or network of a government or private entity; or (iv) efforts to gain unauthorized access to a system or network of a government or private entity, including to gain such unauthorized access for the purpose of exfiltrating information stored on, processed on, or transiting a system or network of a government or private entity.

The act also notes that simply attempting to gain access to a database is not necessarily illegal. In those situations, which likely violate a Terms of Service agreement, the person(s) responsible would not be subject to immediate legal action under CISPA. Should you attempt to otherwise disrupt or alter the system, then you might have a problem.

Why it's scary

While CISPA has some very plain language that aims to create open dialogue versus government oversight, we worry. Can we trust the companies we ensure our information with to keep our best interest at heart? That question is best answered individually, as it boils down to what level of trust you have with the website or entity you have a relationship with.

Some of us also tend not to trust our government, or its regulators. We saw SOPA and PIPA come to fruition, which incensed many, just as CISPA has. With every iteration of a new act or bill, we're left to wonder why this is so important to government. They claim it is in the interest of national security, but is it? Is that a rouse, or legitimate? If the government has specific concerns, we feel those should be addressed specifically.

Time is on our side

CISPA is a vague act, that seems to have a very pervasive effect in mind. It allows for cooperation between government and private entities, and that has some concerned about our fourth amendment. Without a specific, itemized list of worries, we don't know what to think. An attack could come from anywhere, but so could heavy-handed oversight from those entrusted to 'protect' us. Without a properly defined set of parameters, we fear the worst.

If CISPA takes effect, it will take quite a bit of legal precedence to properly define it. Make no mistake, we'll see people tried under CISPA, and probably in short order. It will take cases like those to really identify the scope and breadth of such an act as CISPA. Patience, even though difficult to exercise, is a virtue.

cispa looking glass

Conclusion

Amid the talk of "digital bombs' and or nation being "under attack" lies some salient truth. The hard reality is that we don't know where terrorism or cyber attacks come from, or where they will be next. This is why a bill like CISPA actually needs to be vague and indirect. It's very difficult to fight threats to security, be it national or otherwise, when you've pigeonholed yourself with guidelines that must be followed strictly.

In a time where there are apps and features designed to examine your daily life through the digital footprint you leave, privacy is eroding. As we become more transparent online, we are increasingly through the looking glass. We enjoy the ability to see when our order from Amazon will arrive via Google Now, yet somehow CISPA enrages us.

At the end of the day, CISPA will not affect most people. Most of us don't do or say anything overtly incendiary online, and we certainly don't detail how we're going to shoot up a school. We're not going to be arrested and thrown in Guantanamo for simply speaking our mind, and to assume so is sensationalism at its finest.

If CISPA worries you, do something. Sign a petition, or get hold of your state senator… but please make sure to read it first. Every time you read CISPA in this article, it is a link to the actual bill, so please be sure to read through it if you want a real understanding of what it is. This bill may have passed the House, but it did so under partisan guidance. The Republicans carried it through, just like they did in 2012. If history repeats itself, we won't even have to worry about CISPA passing the Senate. We will, however, have not heard the last of it.

 

Android and Me

Android and Me


Google Glass retail launch still a year away

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 01:35 PM PDT

So you’ve been tuned in to the hype machine for the last year. You’ve seen the unboxings, you’ve read the Google+ Posts, and now you want to know: when can I, a plain ol’ consumer, get my hands on Google Glass? I’m sorry to let you know, you’ve still got another year’s wait ahead of you.

In an interview with BBC Radio, Eric Schmidt made it clear that a retail launch of Google Glass is still “a year-ish away.”

Well, the developers are beginning now. It would be fair to say that there will be thousands of these in use by developers over the next months. And then based on their feedback, we'll make some product changes – and it's probably a year-ish away.Eric SchmidtGoogle

As badly as we’d like to see Glass available to the public at a more affordable price (developer editions run $1,500), a smooth launch of a finished product is much more important. There will surely be handfuls of bugs to sort out from Glass’ current position, and new features introduced as well.

The Next Web is reporting, citing Glass-Apps.org, that a series of gesture-based actions may be added to Glass in the coming months. Found deep in the code for Google’s My Glass app are references to the ability to pinch (in the air) to zoom and control a browser window, and wink to take a picture. While there is a proximity sensor on the inner edge of Glass, some of the features hinted at may require a hardware revision, which would push a retail launch back even further.

Hopefully by I/O 2014, we’ll be talking about how to buy Glass, and what kind of apps to install once you get your hands on one. This year though, we’ll still be salivating at all the fancy Glass demos, hoping to get our hands on one right along with you.

    


LG Optimus G Pro US unveiling set for May 1

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 12:51 PM PDT

As a follow up to an event invitation sent out early last week, LG has announced that their upcoming May 1 event in New York City will showcase the unveiling of the US LG Optimus G Pro.

It’s no secret that Samsung’s Galaxy Note series of devices has captured a fair share of success, but LG isn’t content to sit back and watch Samsung dominate. LG’s answer to the Note II, the Optimus G Pro, will finally launch in the US sometime after its upcoming May 1 unveiling, as announced by LG in a press invite to the event.

The international LG Optimus G Pro is a high-end larger smartphone, featuring a 5.5-inch 1080p HD display, Snapdragon 600, 32GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel camera, Android 4.1 and a 3140 mAh battery. While the US variant will undoubtedly feature region-specific radios, don’t expect much else to change.

LG has found success in Korea with the Optimus G Pro, selling over 500,000 handsets in just 40 days. It took four months for the original Optimus G to sell one million units; LG is on track to easily beat that. Keep an eye out for more LG Optimus G Pro info as May 1st approaches.

    


HTC One Mini in the works? M4 gains metal alloy chassis, could launch late Q2

Posted: 22 Apr 2013 10:25 AM PDT

It’s certainly no secret that the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4 will be battling things out in the high-end smartphone segment, but new details regarding the upcoming HTC M4 could make the mid-range smartphone a huge success. According to the latest rumor, Catcher Technology (current supplier of HTC One’s zero-gap aluminum chassis) has been named the exclusive supplier of the metal-alloy chassis that will be used in the HTC M4. Catcher Technology estimates it will ship 700,000 units in the second quarter, suggesting that the HTC M4 will be on the market before the end of June.

Previously leaked images of the HTC M4 showed the device clad in soft-touch polycarbonate, not a metal-alloy chassis. While some may quickly write off the new rumor because of this discrepancy, we’d like to remind you that multiple leaked images of the HTC M7 depicted a device that was completely different than what was eventually unveiled as the HTC One.

The HTC M4 spec sheet is rumored to feature a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM, 4.3-inch 720p display, 16GB of internal storage, 13 megapixel camera with a f/2.0 lens, 1080p HD video recording and a front-facing 1.6-megapixel shooter. The device is certainly not on the same level as the HTC One, but if HTC manages to add front-facing stereo speakers and cram those specs into a zero-gap aluminum chassis, we suspect the HTC M4 could launch as the HTC One Mini and outclass the rumored Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini in specs, design and build quality.

For now, the HTC M4, its specs and build materials are all classified as rumors. We would love to see HTC take on Samsung with a mid-range HTC One Mini, but we’ll have to wait a few more months for this story to play out.