HTC One's Big Brother Shows Up

HTC on Monday announced the HTC One Max, a supersized version of its flagship HTC One Android device.

It sports a 5.9-inch full HD 1080p touchscreen, a fingerprint-scan feature, and an upgrade to HTC's Sense skin -- Sense 5.5 -- among other things.



HTC One Max



"At this size, it appears they're breaking into the phablet market," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld. "They need to do something -- their sales have been really soft."

HTC recently posted its first-ever quarterly financial loss.
Old Wine in a Supersized Bottle

The HTC One Max has the same quad-core 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor as the HTC One.

It will be available in 16-GB or 32-GB versions. Storage can be increased to 64 GB through a microSD card, and purchasers will get an additional 50 GB of cloud storage free on Google Drive.

The device has a 3,300 mAh battery and there's an optional Power Flip Case, which has a 1,200 mAh battery, for extra juice.

A fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone lets users lock or unlock the screen. It can accommodate prints of three fingers, each to launch one app.

The new HTC Sense 5.5 upgraded skin comes with a beefier BlinkFeed, which aggregates news and social media content.

The new version includes customizable topic categories and integration with a number of premium services, including Instagram and Google+. Users will be able to download up to 120 articles into BlinkFeed for offline viewing.

HTC One Max owners will be able to simultaneously shoot photos with the front and rear cameras. A Video Highlights feature combines photos and videos to let users create a mini-movie complete with a visual theme and a soundtrack.

The HTC One Max will be available globally from mid-October, in a color dubbed "Glacial Silver."
Belt-Tightening at HTC

"Like Motorola, HTC seems to be trying for value play [with the HTC One Max,]" Enderle opined. "You get a lot of screen for not a lot of money."

The scanner's positioning could perhaps have been better thought out.

"It's an annoying implementation, but they are clearly making tradeoffs to hit an aggressive price point," Enderle said.






Although Microsoft reportedly has approached HTC to load Windows Phone 8.1 onto its devices, the HTC One Max is an Android-only device.

"With Nokia becoming a division of Microsoft, HTC may be unwilling to go that route," Enderle surmised. "Also, since they're using a lower-performing processor for this phone, they may have issues with Microsoft's new [Windows Phone 8.1] specs, which call for the Snapdragon 800."

Even if HTC did pick up Windows Phone 8.1, "I don't think that's going to save it," Michael Morgan, senior analyst at ABI Research, told TechNewsWorld.

"It's next to impossible to stand just on the hardware business out there, you've got to have a lot more," he pointed out. "If all you're doing is hardware, that's focusing on the loss-leader part of the business, and that's a tough spot to be in."
Phablet Market Growth's Just Fab

Offering a phablet might give HTC a chance at hanging on for a while longer, though.

The phablet market is growing "very strongly," ABI's Morgan said.

In fact, Microsoft's latest upgrade to Windows Phone 8.1, also announced Monday, is aimed at phablets.

IDC has revised its sales figures for tablets downward because of competition from phablets and wearable devices.

HTC has not commented on pricing for the One Max, but "they should slide under LG's and Samsung's prices," Enderle suggested.

That might help the device make a dent in the Asia-Pacific market, where demand is strong.

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Huawei Ascend Y300 review

The Huawei Ascend Y300 originally launched earlier this year at much-touted low price of £60 but you'll be lucky to find it for that now -- it's more likely to be around the £100 mark which, considering its spec, is probably where it should be. 

Design
The Y300 makes no attempt to hide its budget nature and its unlovely chunky black plastic shell makes no attempt to dress itself up as a more expensive device. The 4-inch screen makes for a good size -- big enough to view movies and web pages clearly, but still leaving plenty of room in the pocket. The resolution of 800x480 pixels equates to 233ppi and proves itself to be not bad at all, certainly sharp enough to read fine print on web pages. However, it's not the brightest, and we found it struggled quite a bit when we tried to view it in sunlight.

Huawei Ascend Y300

Huawei

Processor, features and AndroidIt's a bit of a surprise to see a dual-core processor in a phone that barely costs three figures, though it's clocked at 1GHz and backed by just 512MB RAM. It does an okay job, smoothly opening apps, albeit at a slightly leisurely pace, but there didn't appear to be any stuttering, even when we had a clutch of apps running at once.

It launched with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and hasn't yet seen an upgrade to 4.2, let alone the very latest 4.3. That shouldn't be a deal-breaker for aphone in this price range though, since the upgrade differences are fairly minimal. Huawei's Emotion user interface tends to dominate the OS in any case. The home page features a block of windows with essential items like time, date and weather, plus your most popular contacts and a music player. All the other apps are laid out across the various screens (six as standard, expanding to nine), doing away with the need for an app menu, which seems a little odd at first, especially for long-time Android users, though its perhaps more familiar to iPhone owners. 

Huawei Ascend Y300 test photo

Dave Oliver

overburdened with additional features. Still, picture quality isn't bad if you're careful with your light and don't get too ambitious with moving objects. It can record low-res 480p video at 30fps and there's a bog standard VGA camera on the front for video calls.

Memory and batteryThere's just 4GB memory on board and annoyingly, a mere 800MB of that is available for apps, but you can bump up the overall memory by 32GB with a microSD card.

The battery held up fairly well and delivered a good day and a half's worth of steady use, though you can probably get even more if you use the power saving mode, which reduces background data and the phone's haptic feedback.  

ConclusionIt's no looker, it may not be a champ in terms of performance and there's no 4G, but it does have Wi-Fi and GPS, the screen is surprisingly good, the camera is pretty decent and the price is fair enough.

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How to Hide All the Dirty & Potentially Embarrassing Photos & Videos Lingering in Your Android Gallery

Regardless of how great your friends and family are, they'll more than likely go through your photographs if they had the chance. Hell, if my friend were to leave his/her phone lying around, I'd go through it—no doubt.

So, if you want to protect yourself and your embarrassing moments from people like me, follow along below, because I'm going to show you how to easily hide your photos and videos on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device.









Hiding Your Gallery Pics with Gallery Plus

To lock down our pics, we'll be using the free Gallery Plus - Hide Picturesapp from AppMobilePlus, available on Google Play. This makes it easy to password-protect and hide all any tempting pics and videos you may have in your stock gallery








Setting Up the Password Protection

After you download and install the application, you'll be prompted to enter a pattern password (twice), and then a security question (in case you forget the pattern password).

Hiding Photos & Videos Using the Gallery Plus App

Now that you're done inputting your password, it's time to hide some media. To do this from Gallery Plus, you can hold down on an entire folder in Stock Gallery and then press the eye icon with an X through it in order to send it to the Hidden Gallery.


If you only want to hide individual pictures and videos, you can do the same as above—just hold down on the pic/vid you want to hide (until it's checked) and then send it to Hidden Gallery.

Hiding Photos & Videos Right from the Stock Gallery

You can also hide pictures and videos directly from your stock gallery. All you have to do is select what you want to hide, press the share icon, and send it to Gallery Plus. This will send it to the application, and in turn, hide the photograph.

Hiding Gallery Plus from Snooping Eyes

If you want to be even sneakier with your pictures, you can hide Gallery Plus itself. Just head over to Security and then turn Hide icon app on.


Once it's on, you won't be able to open the application, instead showing "Application not installed" on the screen. To open it, just call *#*#123*#*#, which will take you directly to the app.


Note: You can change the access number in the Gallery Plus settings.
Backing Up Photos & Theming Gallery Plus

If you want to back up all of your hidden pictures, you can do that directly through Dropbox (as well as restore pictures). You can also change where the pictures are stored and change a few settings with the slideshow.


Finally, you can add a bit of your personality to Gallery Plus by changing the theme and choosing one of seven different colors.


Overall, it's a fairly easy app that keeps your nosy friends and family at bay. Sure, if one of your nosy friends or family members happens to be an Android hacker, they could probably break into your hidden gallery, but Gallery Plus is enough to deter pretty much everyone else.

If you want to protect more than just your pics, you can try something like HI App Lock to password-protect any app on your Android device, but if it's just pictures your worried about, Gallery Plus gets the job done well.

source

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How to edit posts and comments on Facebook for Android

(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)




Facebook only began allowing users to edit comments on its Web site back in June of last year. You were out of luck if you wanted to edit comments from your Android device, however, until now.

Facebook began rolling out a new update a couple of weeks ago that allowed Android users to finally edit comments and posts. The update should have rolled out to you by now, giving you the ability to make edits from your Android phone or tablet.

To edit a comment, just tap on the comment you want to edit, then choose "Edit Comment." Once you're done editing your comment, tap the Update button and you're all set.
(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)

To edit a post, tap on your post, then choose "Edit Post." After editing your post, tap on the Save button. The next time you select your post, you can also view your edit history by selecting "View Edit History."
(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)



That's it. Now you can instantly edit that embarrassing post, nonsensical autocorrect, or regretful comment without having to wait until you're in front of a computer.

source 

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How to search Google Maps for upcoming events near you

(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)




The latest update to Google Maps is rolling outsome important new features. Multiple destinations is the highlight of the update, finally adding back a feature that existed before the last major update. The new update also adds reservation searches for restaurants, flights and hotels, but the most fun new feature might be the Upcoming Events cards.

Using Google Maps, you can now search for your favorite venue and see what events are coming up there. What's even cooler is searching an entire area for upcoming events.



To search for upcoming musical events near you, search for "music venues" in Google Maps with your city or ZIP code. The venues in the area will then be plotted on the map for you to select.





Click to enlarge.(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)

Select one of the venues to display the venue's card. If that venue supports the Upcoming Events card, you'll see "Upcoming Events" at the bottom, along with the name of the next event.


Click to enlarge.(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)

If you click on the Upcoming Events card, you'll see a list of some of the upcoming events at that venue. Clicking on the event will take you to an external site for more details.


Click to enlarge.(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)

You can also search for comedy clubs and musicals, but sporting events seem to work best when you choose the specific venue.




source

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Has Apple outsmarted Google?

Once allies, now clearly foes, Apple and Google have been in an intense battle to win the hearts and minds of people across the planet. And while Apple has lost its dominance and market-share to Google’s Android, you could argue that the Cupertino-based giant has outsmarted its Mountain View rival.


If we look purely at the numbers then we all know that Google is the clear leader. Relying on various brands, like Samsung and HTC, Android has swamped our markets with phones ranging from the low-cost Galaxy Pocket to the more sophisticated Samsung S3. Samsung has a clear edge on the market.


But while inroads are being made in the mobile arena, Android is still dominated by Apple’s iPad in the tablet market. It’s still the “tablet of choice” for the discerning user and Apple fired three volleys this year with the launch of the “New iPad” in the first quarter of 2012, followed by the “New New iPad” and the iPad Mini.


Google entered the fray itself this year, launching the Nexus 7; low-priced and accessible to the masses.


Which is actually my point.


While we all seem to think that Google and Apple have the same target market, I’d like to suggest that they don’t. Apple firmly remains the world favourite. Thirty-five percent of school students in the US who use a smartphone are using iPhones. Those who use Android wish they were using iPhones (yes, yes, I concede there is a growing group of fandroids out there who prefer Android phones).


But by and large Apple is targeted at the more affluent user. Apple has made very little effort to compete on price. In fact its tablets and phones are substantially more than the Android offerings. While Android offers a range of phones from entry-level to top-spec, Apple chooses to only produce one model at a time. There is no US$100 iPhone (we’re talking cash-prices here).


So why would Apple choose to have only one model?


I do not believe it is as much of elitism and snobbery as it truly is about economics. And this, I believe, is where Apple has outsmarted Google.


When I speak to my friends who are fandroids, they will always bring up the fact that the apps are free. They boast about the “open-source” nature of Android and that apps are readily available. In fact many of them will denounce any app that does not provide a free alternative (even if they are laced with adverts).


Apple fanbois seem to be very different. One of the first things a fanboi will do is link his iTunes account to his iDevice. And then link his credit-card to his iTunes account. While it’s true that there are many, many free apps on the AppStore, the very nature of the iPhone user is to push the button and pay the once off US$1 to remove the irritating adverts.


Because iPhone users have paid a premium for their phones it is not improper to consider they are sitting in a higher LSM bracket. It means they’re more amenable to buying apps. And since the disposable income of this group is so much higher, they are certainly more open to buying apps.


Conversely, the average (and I highlight average) Android user is using a low-specced device. Lower cost, lower LSM group. And far less likely to buy apps on the Google Play store.


So the question about whether Apple or Android is more successful, I believe, cannot simply be reduced to the number of users, but rather the number of economically active users.


In my opinion Apple has strategically targeted the group of people who are more likely to buy apps in the AppStore. Android has gone for sheer numbers, in the vain hope of swallowing out the competitors.


Apple, however, remains resilient. iPhone and iPad sales remain in the millions. And each user is more inclined to buy an app.


Has Apple outsmarted Google? I believe so. It’s not the profit per device sold that matters, but rather what the user is doing with the device. A sneaky strategy, but one that I believe has paid off.

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Samsung Galaxy S II TV

Samsung Galaxy S II TV

Description

The Samsung Galaxy S II TV is a mid-range device with Android 4.2 and comes with a TV receiver. What's more, the phone has 2 SIM card slots. The rest of the specs include a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch 480 x 800 px screen, 5-megapixel rear and 0.3 MP front cameras, 1,500mAh battery and a microSD memory card slot.

DESIGN

• Device type:
  • Smart phone
• OS:
  • Android (4.2)
• Dimensions:
  • 4.77 x 2.47 x 0.39 inches (121.2 x 62.7 x 9.79 mm)
• Weight:
  • 4.23 oz (120 g)
    the average is 4.4 oz (127 g)

DISPLAY

• Physical size:
  • 4.0 inches
• Resolution:
  • 480 x 800 pixels
• Pixel density:
  • 233 ppi
• Technology:
  • TFT
• Colors:
  • 16 777 216
• Touchscreen:
  • • Multi-touch
• Features:
  • Light sensor, Proximity sensor

BATTERY

• Capacity:
  • 1500 mAh

HARDWARE

• Processor:
  • Dual core, 1000 MHz
• Graphics processor:
  • • Yes
• Built-in storage:
  • 4 GB
• Storage expansion:
  • microSD, microSDHC up to 32 GB

CAMERA

• Camera:
  • • 5 megapixels
  • Flash:
    • LED
  • Features:
    • Auto focus
• Camcorder:
  • • Yes
• Front-facing camera:
  • • 0.3 megapixels VGA

MULTIMEDIA

• Music player:
  • Filter by:
    • Album, Artist, Playlists
  • Features:
    • Album art cover, Background playback
• Speakers:
  • Earpiece, Loudspeaker
• YouTube player:
  • Yes
• Broadcast Mobile TV:
  • • Yes

INTERNET BROWSING

• Built-in online services support:
  • YouTube (upload), Picasa

TECHNOLOGY

• GSM:
  • 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• UMTS:
  • 850, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Data:
  • HSPA (unspecified), HSUPA, EDGE, GPRS
• Multiple SIM cards:
  • • 2 slots
• Positioning:
  • GPS, A-GPS
• Navigation:
  • Yes

official source 

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