Samsung may have announced the Galaxy S5 back in February, but the release of the device later on next week is only the first part of the story. Along with the recent specs leak of the Galaxy S5 mini, we now have what appears to be a legitimate glimpse of the Galaxy S5 Zoom, an upgrade on last year's Galaxy S4 Zoom designed specifically for photography aficionados.
Since its announcement at Mobile World Congress in February, we've seen the Galaxy S5 compared with several of the market's foremost devices, including the all-new HTC One M8 and of course, the Galaxy S4. But while it mightn't compare to Samsung's show-piece in terms of size, Apple's iPhone 5s knows how to compete at the very top end of the market, and as such, a lengthy comparison clip has emerged showing how the Galaxy S5 holds up against it's bitter rival's flagship.
Along with the iPhone 5's release back in late 2012, Apple also took the wraps off its new EarPods earphones, which represented a marked improvement upon the previous ear buds in terms of design, audible output, and comfort. Aside from packing a mic and some basic controls, there wasn't really much else to tell about the EarPods, but a new patent filing by the Cupertino company suggests that an accelerometer and beamforming mics could be thrown in to an improved edition, allowing the peripheral to include its very own voice-recognition facility.
No matter what brand of smartphone we pledge our allegiances to, we're all united in the battle against waning battery life. We've all been caught out with a quickly-depleting battery at a time when we desperately need our devices at hand and switched on, and while placing a device into airplane mode does work wonders, it also completely disconnects us from the world. A neat Android tweak called Auto Pilot Mode will throw your device into airplane mode when your signal is down, intermittently checking to see if cellular data has been restored before deactivating airplane mode once again.
Starting with iOS 7, Apple introduced a new security mechanism into all iOS devices that required a user to disable Find My iPhone before an iCloud account could be deleted or the device could be restored. This, of course, requires access to the password associated with that Apple ID. The system was heralded as a great step forward for Apple, but it seems that it is not completely secure, with the discovery of a bug that allows the whole process to be bypassed. More details and video demo can be found right here.
Apple's WWDC event has been confirmed by the company itself, and will commence from the week beginning June 2nd. Tickets will be drawn in the format of a lottery, with developers able to apply up until next Monday, 7th April via the official WWDC site. Thereafter, tickets will be randomly drawn.
Plenty of Windows Phone users had been waiting on the announcement of Windows Phone 8.1 at BUILD 2014, and finally got their wish today as Microsoft reeled off an extensive list of new features soon headed to current Windows Phone 8 devices in the form of a gleaming new update. As well as the likes of Action Center and significant improvements to the lock screen and home screen, one of the key new features of Windows Phone 8.1 is Cortana, the voice assistant that will serve as the software giant’s very own take on Siri, and given the cult status of Apple's digital slave, Microsoft seized upon the opportunity to release a series of clips explaining why Cortana will be better.
To nicely accompany the announcement of Windows Phone 8.1, Nokia today revealed the Lumia 930 smartphone, a slick new flagship handset that the Finnish company is touting as "the best of Microsoft and Lumia." Discover what all the fuss is about as we run through the features, specs and other key details right after the fold!
It's immediately apparent, when checking out the new features of the Windows 8.1 Update 1, that Microsoft is pandering to the large faction of users still running a traditional desktop PC rig. From tweaking the way that the search and power options are accessed to ensuring that Windows Store apps play nicer with the keyboard and mouse, there's no doubt that today's announcement at BUILD 2014 was aimed squarely at the traditionalists. Following the announcement of the new Windows 8.1 Update 1, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson also took the opportunity to showcase how Windows 8.1 will eventually offer users the chance to roll back the clock with the return of the traditional Start Menu.
We can talk about the LG G Pro 2 and the Sony Xperia Z2 when making a case for the recent releases vying for supremacy in the high-end market, but if we're being honest, there are only really two stand-out candidates that can top the pile in 2014; at least, in terms of Android smartphones. Samsung's Galaxy S5, announced at the Mobile World Congress, will be pushed to the limits by the HTC One M8 this year, and with the HTC One M7 having been the closest to competing with the Galaxy S4, early reactions to both devices suggest that the Taiwanese vendor may have well and truly struck gold this time around.
