| Moto X outclasses the iPhone, according to analyst firm Oct 10th 2013, 19:02, by Nate Swanner ABI Research, an analyst firm focussed on "Technology Market Research", has recently made a bold claim regarding the iPhone. More to the point, they say the iPhone is being roundly defeated by none other than the Moto X. 
In a white paper release, ABI notes that the Moto X "trumps Apple in engineering design and creativity". They go on to claim the "IPhone 5c and IPhone 5s, show only minor improvements over last year's iPhone 5 while Motorola Mobility's 3rd quarter offering, the Moto X, shows a number of creative engineering solutions."
ABI goes on to essentially dismiss the iPhone offerings as tired, saying "The iPhone 5c simply sports a new housing material in a variety of colors. The 5s keeps the original housing but adds finger print ID, a sensor hub, and a dual-core 64b processor: all of which have all been seen before. Finger print ID was first introduced in handsets by Motorola a few years back on the ATRIX HD 4G; sensor hubs have been populating most of the new smartphones throughout all of 2013 (STm being one of the popular ones); and the 64b processor is just Apple's way of providing more processing power." In contrast, they praise nearly every aspect of the Moto X, saying "the Moto X features innovations such as always-on voice commands, ergonomic form factor, and a much underrated display are a few of the attributes that set the Moto X a step above the rest." To back these claims up, ABI released info about power draw on the devices. "The A7 processor drew 1100mA during fixed point operations and 520mA during floating point operations. The iPhone 5 drew 485mA and 320mA for the same test." said ABI, but had this to add regarding the Moto X: "features like always-on voice commands typically would draw too much current to be practical, but the Moto X accomplishes the task with 4.5mA allowing the phone to maintain over 200hrs of standby time. The display is a bigger surprise though—the Moto X display draws 68mA at low output levels and only 92mA at high output levels, making it a new standard for high output level current drain." The iPhone 5s draws 80mA and 220mA (~2.5 times as much as the Moto X) while sporting 20% fewer pixels."
|  | LG Google TV reportedly getting update to Android 4.2.2 this Monday Oct 10th 2013, 18:37, by Nate Swanner Having already said their Google TV would get an update in the third quarter of this year, LG is apparently ready to make good on that promise. Via a tipster, we learn that LG customer service is telling users they'll see an update to their service, starting Monday. 
The update, which is said to be an upgrade to Android Jelly Bean, was noted as being the 4.2.2 variety. The upgrade for Google TV was announced at Google I/O this year, but LG was the only company willing to commit to the change. Others, like the Logitech Revue or Vizio CoStar, have been quiet on their upgrade cycle.
On the heels of the Chromecast announcement, many wondered if Google TV was bound for the recycling bin. Google is determined to have both, saying they believe there is room for both in your living room. With hardware partners dragging their feet on upgrades or turning their back on the program altogether, we wonder how true that is. LG seems to be one of the few partners sticking around. If you have an LG Google TV, or LG TV with Google TV built in, look for your update on Monday. It may roll out in one day, but a gradual implementation is expected.
| | Amazon introduces "Login and Pay with Amazon", challenging PayPal Oct 10th 2013, 18:14, by Nate Swanner Amazon has introduced "Login and Pay with Amazon", a mobile payment system designed to get more online stores using the largest online retailer as a clearinghouse for transactions. Via the video, which you can see below, Amazon is positioning itself against the likes of PayPal for your dollars, and the loyalty of retailers. 
Touting their 200 million-plus accounts, Amazon is trying to appeal to a retailers' better judgement: simply use Amazon, and customers will trust the transaction. Going through Amazon also allows retailers to track transactions, offer special discounts, and trace orders and shipments.
Amazon is also using mobile shopping as a platform for their service, noting that it can be used on any device, anywhere, at any time. By asking retailers to use their online payment system, Amazon is attempting to become more than a destination site for online shopping — they want to be online shopping. Of course, incumbents like PayPal and (to a much lesser extent) Square will do their best to keep business, but this is a massive move by Amazon. Creating profiles at various retailers is a bit cumbersome, and with 200 million accounts in-hand, Amazon presents a very strong case. They also have the ability to offer products on their site, which is visited by millions daily. VIA: The Verge
| | Outlook for Android update adds server-side search and more Oct 10th 2013, 17:31, by Robert Nelson An update for the Outlook.com app has recently landed in the Play Store. This update brings a selection of new features and functionality that touches on search, your email archive, vacation auto-responders and aliases. Not to mention, this update also brings a bit of color. While not full-on themes, once updated you will be able to choose from a variety of colors to personalize the look a bit. 
The search improvement is perhaps the most exciting of the bunch. Moving forward, users will be able to search server-side. Basically, this means Outlook.com Android users are no longer restricted to searching only what is on their phone and can now search the entire email archive. This is shown in the above screenshot and as you can see, the local searches appear first with an option to “search more in Outlook.com.” Next up ties in with being able to access all of your mail, but instead of searching we are talking downloading. A new option in the settings will let the user download all mail by selecting “unlimited” in the ‘messages from past’ section. Users can also set this for 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks and 1 month. The alias support is just what one would expect. Outlook for Android users will now be able to send email from an alias, as opposed to be limited to your standard address. This works just like the Windows 8 mail app or using Outlook on the web. Lastly, the vacation replies. These are simple, but should be welcomed for those looking to put the phone down while on vacation. The app allows you to have these replies sent to everyone, or just to people that you have listed in your contact list. Those with Outlook.com already installed can grab the update from the Play Store on their device. Otherwise, the app can be found using this Google Play Store link. SOURCE: Outlook Blog | |
