A number of new research studies into the effectiveness, responsiveness and overall quality of smartphone and tablet touchscreens has found that Apple Inc. is still leading the pack. Mobile ad company Agawi has been putting a number of popular iOS and Android devices through their paces in an attempt to measure the performance of the touchscreen technology on the device, with the results putting the fruit company way ahead of the competition.
There's been a significant amount of speculation whether or not Samsung is on the verge of announcing a device with a curved display. We've been treated to leaked information from internal sources as well as the odd sneak previews of the device for good measure, but now we have official word that the smartphone does indeed exist. Samsung themselves have announced that the Galaxy Round is in production and will be released almost immediately in Korea.
In terms of tech product design, Apple's Jony Ive is arguably the most iconic. The somewhat enigmatic, cult figure of the Cupertino company has not only been responsible for some of the most memorable gadgets of our times, but was also the mastermind behind Apple's recent design overhaul of the iOS mobile operating system. If you cast your minds way back, you might remember the news that Sir Jony would be designing a one-off camera for Leica, and as first seen in November's Vanity Fair, the creation is just about ready.
It's becoming a very common occurrence that prominent revealer of tech goodies Evleaks keeps coming up with legit shots of new devices before they're launched, and with the blogosphere abuzz pertaining Samsung's curved "Galaxy Round" device, that same Twitter handle has come through with the first renders of the elusive device. Set to become the first smartphone with a flexible panel, it will not only be more comfortable when held beside the face for calls, but gaming and watching video clips should also be enhanced. More details, as well as those renders, can be seen after the jump.
We already know that Microsoft is committed to prove themselves as a hardware company. The introduction of the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 in New York last month pretty much confirmed that the Redmond based company aren't planning on licking their original Surface wounds and shying away from a competitive market. October 22nd is the date that was given during that dedicated event, and as the launch date gets ever closer, we are now seeing some Surface 2 promotional videos that show consumers exactly what they'll be getting if they part with their hard earned dollars.
The guys over at the YouTube channel RatedRR make a living destroying some of our favorite gadgets for fun, and having already shown the rather prectable outcome of .50 cal-meets-iPhone-5s, the gang are back causing devastation to the iPhone 5c. As most of you will be aware, the cheaper device is quite similar physically to its flagship counterpart, and aside from a few key internal alterations, the most obvious difference is the fact that it features a plastic shell. Although this is certainly a robust material, it's no match for the .50 cal rifle of the RatedRR team's inventory, and in something of a morbid twist, the whole event was shot using an iPhone 5s.
Google is as serious about its Android smartphone and tablet platform as it can be, and the latest “discovery” by François Beaufort is a definite testament to that. The Chromium expert noted a feature in the latest beta of Google Chrome for desktop that allows developers to control their Android devices directly from their desktop, thanks to an experimental screencast feature that Chrome beta carries.
The newly-released iPhone 5s comes in three distinct colors - a first for the Cupertino company - one of which has been dubbed as the “Gold” iPhone. The champagne colored device does closely resemble a shade of the precious metal, but calling it “Gold” seems to have ticked off some people in Taiwan. Hence, HTC has come up with their own version of a gold HTC One - not just in color, but actually 18-carat gold used for coating the device.
With each new iPhone that Apple releases it doubles up its photo-taking abilities. Supposedly the world's favorite camera, the iPhone needs to be able to take some top shots, especially with the competition heating up - Nokia in particular seems keen to become the smartphone maker of choice for those taking photographs on a daily basis.
Google's Eric Schmidt is no stranger to opening his mouth and having some strange, often outlandish words come out. The man who was famously once described as Google's 'adult supervision' during some of its most successful years, Schmidt has been known to put his foot in his mouth on more than the odd occasion.

