LUSARAP

The iPhone 6 could come with a larger 5.5-inch display and be unveiled alongside a 1.3-inch Apple iWatch later this year.

The heavily rumoured Samsung Galaxy NotePRO has been officially unveiled at CES 2014, with the new stylus-hosting tablet packing a massive 12.2-inch display.

Samsung Galaxy NotePRO Features

Samsung Galaxy NotePRO Release Date and Price

The latest iPhone 6 rumour reveals the 2014 flagship could come with a 10-megapixel rear camera featuring an improved filter.


According to a Chinese website, the iPhone 6 will feature a slight camera upgrade over the iPhone 5S, bumping the sensor to 10-megapixels.

The Taiwanese supply chain insider sources suggest the iPhone 6 will offer at least 10-megapixels with an f/1.8 aperture.

Apparently, this improved camera will also come with interchangeable resin lenses created by a Japanese company called JSR.

The company has developed a new resin called ARTON, which offers impressive qualities like high heat resistance and is already used in video and digital CMOS camera sensors. ARTON resins are also lighter and thinner than regular IR filters. 

The iPhone 6 could also use the ARTON resins’ ability to minimise the colour shift incurred by CMOS sensors.

Previous rumours suggested the iPhone 6 would retain the 8-megapixel sensor of the iPhone 5S and focus more heavily on other areas of improvements.

Apple’s next flagship is tipped to feature a 4.7-inch display and launch alongside the Apple iWatch later this year.

It should run iOS 8, which is rumoured to heavily focus on healthcare and fitness tracking to tie-in with the iWatch launch.

Earlier this month, “sources briefed on the plans” suggested iOS 8 will come with a new fitness and healthcare app called HealthBook.

HealthBook will reportedly be able to monitor and store fitness and health data like calories burnt, steps taken, miles walked, blood pressure, heart rate and medication alerts.

The iPhone 6 is also expected to build upon the Touch ID fingerprint sensor technology and potentially a sapphire glass display.

Instagram has added a new share option to its desktop website, allowing users to embed photos and videos around the web for the first time.


The company announced the update on Wednesday afternoon, and in doing so hopes to make content more visible beyond the standalone mobile app, Instagram.com website and Facebook and Tumblr where photos can already be shared easily.

The new Share button, which appears to the right of single photo pages (not within the timeline), beneath the like and comment buttons. Clicking it serves up an embed code which can be posted to blogs like Tumblr (beyond direct uploads) and on websites with content publishing software that allow media embedding.

Users arent limited to sharing their own photos, they can also publish those belonging to other users of the service.

In a blog post, Instagram says privacy settings still apply so if your photos are private then no-one will be able to post them around the web. However, if youre happy for your photos to be viewed within the app and not happy for them to potentially be plastered all over the web, you may want to think about setting that profile to private.

Unfortunately theres no middle ground. Your posts are either completely private and viewable onto to those you wish to see them, or theyre totally open to all and sundry.

The company wrote: "As always, you own your photos and videos, and we want to make sure that’s understood no matter where your content appears. Whether you want to embed your video on your blog or a friend wants to feature your photo on a website, everyone will clearly see that your content belongs to you. Your embedded photo or video appears with your Instagram username, and clicking on the Instagram logo will take people to your page on Instagram.com where they can discover more of your photos and videos."

The embed option has been present within Twitter and the newer Vine video app for some time, allowing content curators to showcase interesting items to their audience in a native form.

It seems the Facebook-owned Instagram is determined that there are no features offered by Vine that it cannot.

The Google Nexus 5 will be based on the specs of the incoming LG Optimus G2, with an expected release date in October running Android 5 Key Lime Pie.


It looks like LG will be making the Google Nexus 5, with the upcoming Google flagship packing similar hardware to the LG Optimus G2.

Said to arrive in early October with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie in tow, the Nexus 5 is reportedly being manufactured by LG based on the hardware of the LG Optimus G2, tipped to launch on August 7.

Last year, the Nexus 4 and the LG Optimus G shared the same specs, so it would make sense for the next co-developed Google and LG smartphone to follow the same pattern.

The next Google flagship may have been expected a little earlier, as it was tipped the Nexus 5 release date was near as Nexus 4 units were removed from shelves. However, this latest source says we wont be seeing the Nexus 5 for another three months.

The source of the latest tip, a Korean tech site called Daum, also had a pretty full spec sheet for the LG Optimus G2, which could also shed some light on the Nexus 5 as well.

The LG Optimus G2 is strongly rumoured for an August 7 launch, and if the specs sheet from the Korean tech site is correct, it should have a 5.2-inch IPS screen with a 1920 x 1080p resolution and “zero bezel”.

With a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU, the LG Optimus G2 is said to have 2GB of RAM and a 2700mAh battery.

It should also have a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilisation and run Android 4.2.2 out of the box. This last detail seems rather strange, seeing as the majority of the rumours suggest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is just around the corner.

It won’t have any physical buttons, but should have a rear volume rocker as shown in the clearest LG Optimus G2 images that emerged earlier.

These specs seem to tie in to all the LG Optimus G2 rumours we’ve seen so far, so this may well be a near accurate specs sheet. However, we’ll have to see when LG potentially launches the smartphone at its New York event on August 7.

Further specs for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 have leaked online, seemingly confirming earlier details like a 2K display.

The forthcoming HTC M8, or HTC One 2 as its been coined, hasnt even arrived yet, but theres already word of the inevitable scaled back version for those with smaller pockets.


According to prolific phone leaker @evleaks, the HTC M8 mini will arrive with a 4.5-inch, 720p display. Thats up from the 4.3-inch 720p screen that headlined the HTC One Mini.

Theres also an improvement in the processing department, with a 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, supposedly on-board. The current HTC One Mini also rocked the Snapdragon 400, but with only two cores.

Interestingly, the leakster claims the M8 Mini will have also have the on-screen buttons speculation suggests will be present on the full-size device.

Yeah, M8

In the camera department Mr. Leaks reckons there are 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel ensemble to be found on the HTC M8 Mini, while the HTC Sense 6.0 UI may also be along for the party.

Traditionally, the likes of HTC and Samsung have given it a few months before outing the smaller versions of their flagship handsets and wed expect that to be the case this time also.

However, given this information is out there at this state, its not out of the realms of possibility that HTC could launch both handsets simultaneously.

If HTC does indeed launch a handset branded Mini at 4.5-inches, what does that mean for the iPhone which maxes out at a dinky 4-inches?

Alcatel has announced it will demo the first tablet with iris recognition at MWC 2014 next week.


The tablet concept will be demonstrated as a joint project by Alcatel Onetouch and IriTech at the Barcelona technology conference.

“Ensuring a great user experience is at the heart of how we design software and hardware. We work closely with our partners to develop new approaches like iris scanning and are pleased to demonstrate a working example at Mobile World Congress,” said Dan Dery, CMO at Alcatel OneTouch.

The tablet has a small iris recognition camera embedded within the device, plus an IR LED. This is combined with IriTech’s “highly accurate” iris matching algorithm in order to integrate iris biometrics into the device.

Using IriTech’s technology, the iris recognition can be used to authenticate applications, lock and unlock the device and even encrypt sensitive data that’s for your eyes only.

The concept device should demonstrate how easy it would be to use iris recognition in a tablet or smartphone and how it can be used to make your tech more secure.

“There will be a myriad of applications derived from iris recognition enabled mobile devices. We are glad of this opportunity to prove its feasibility. Our goal for this prototype is to define a new era for iris recognition technology generally and a benchmark for Iritech’s product particularly”, said Daniel Daehoon Kim, CEO of IriTech.

Apparently, Alcatel and IriTech plan to introduce more features for its iris recognition technology including second factor authentication for money transactions made on your device, one-tiime-password generations and even remote vehicle control.

Rumors about the mysterious LG-V510 have been floating around for some time, but that mystery has now been solved - the new LG tablet is officially the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.


Its the first tablet to receive the Google Play Edition branding, LG said in an announcement. Of course, Googles own Nexus 7 runs stock Android, but the G Pad 8.3 is the first GPE machine from an OEM.

One of the the distinctions advantages is that Google Play Edition devices are updated quickly and lack the bloatware with which manufacturers usually stuff devices.

The LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition packs a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip, an 8.3-inch 1920 x 1200 display, and Android 4.4 KitKat. Its a 16GB device, but includes microSD so users can take it up to 64GB of storage. Theres 2GB of RAM, microUSB and a beefy 4,600mAh battery.

In short, the slates specs are basically in line with the original G Pad, and its a few steps up (but only a few) from the Nexus 7.

The new G Pad 8.3 is available today in the US Google Play Store in "indigo black" for $349 (about £212, AU$381), though availability for other countries has not yet been determined.

Cant win em all

This news is directly contrary to what well-known tipster @evleaks said December 9: that the new LG tablet was a Nexus device, which would have rivaled the iPad mini 2.

The @evleaks Twitter account reported that "the LG V510 tablet is indeed a Nexus device," though he conceded that the info was obtained "via tip."

This sent rumors swirling LG was behind the Nexus 8 (to be sure, it still could be), with no indication until earlier today that the LG-V510 was really a Google Play Edition tablet.

Of course we sort of saw this coming - the original LG G Pad 8.3s model number of LG-V500 is very similar to the new devices LG-V510 number.

The new iPad mini and Nexus 7 may want to keep their eyes on LGs new slate; the price is quite competative.

Apple has submitted an extensive Apple iPen patent outlining a stylus with a laser pointer and an audio recorder among other features.

Having unveiled its second-generation device, Huawei has revealed that the 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate was originally designed with a stylus before the input peripheral was scrapped.

It’s no hidden fact that with the amount of personal data that our smartphones today hold, privacy and identity protection is a huge concern. There have been ways around to “lock” your device for a very long time – long before iPhone and Android ever existed – but those phones didn’t really contain as much sensitive personal information as the former, not to mention that smartphones truly became popular and mainstream after these two contenders claimed the market. Hence, privacy concerns are much large scale now.


With Android, you get basic forms of locking the whole device – pattern, PIN, passcode, even facial unlock, but the major issue with these is that once you’re past the main locking mechanism, the whole device in its entirety is exposed. Sure, you can protect your text messages using apps like Go SMS Pro, but what about other areas of your device? What of, say, Gallery, where you may have private photos that you don’t want people snooping around. Maybe you want to hand over your phone to a child and are afraid they may screw up the phone settings? For such instances, App Lock (Smart App Protector) is a good choice.

This free app is one of the most powerful ones around in the Google Play Store of its genre. The app allows you to lock individual apps using passwords, patterns or gestures, and lets you configure a different setting for each locked app, so that knowing one pattern/password wouldn’t jeopardize everything else. Likewise, App Lock can take over your phone locking mechanism, too, whereby allowing you to bypass Android’s native locking system and use App Lock instead. What’s even better is the app’s “fake out” system, where if someone taps a locked app, they’ll see the native Android “this app has stopped working” dialog. You hit OK, and you go back to the home/previous screen, but you tap and keep OK pressed, and you’re asked to enter the password for unlocking the app; pretty useful and neat, isn’t it?

Finally, App Lock can take pictures of someone who tries to unlock your phone without the right password/ pattern/ gesture, so you’ll always know who the culprit was. The app allows locking individual settings as well, such as Bluetooth toggle, Wi-Fi, cellular data etc. A pretty solid and comprehensive overall package, we must say, that left us impressed.

App Lock requires Android 2.0 and above, and can be installed for free at the source link below.
(Download: App Lock for Android on the Google Play Store)

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has been officially unveiled at MWC 2014, with the eagerly awaited handset playing host to an integrated fingerprint scanner and IP67 water and dust resistant certification.


Having been the subject of countless leaks and endless rumours in recent months, the Galaxy S5 has been showcased as a direct follow-on to the market leading Samsung Galaxy S4. Although boasting an inbuilt fingerprint scanner, the phone has missed out on the widely rumoured 2K display.

“We’ve decided to go back to basics with the Galaxy S5 and focus on the features and things that matter the most to our consumers,” Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT and Mobile at Samsung UK said. “People want a smartphone than enhances and enables their mobile life.”

He added: “The Samsung Galaxy S5 represents just that, and we’re excited to see the response of our latest flagship smartphone device.”

Samsung Galaxy S5 Features

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is certainly more of a case of evolution that revolution. On paper though, this evolution looks a marked step up on the S4 in a number of areas.

Like the iPhone 5S and its TouchID sensor, the Galaxy S5’s fingerprint scanner has been built within the handset’s physical home button. The biometric security measure will require users to swipe their finger down over the sensor to unlock the device.

With three separate fingers able to be stored at any one time, the sensor can also be used to make PayPal payments. It is expected that the sensor will gain compatibility with further apps moving forward.

The integrated fingerprint scanner is not the S5’s only new sensor either. On the rear of the device a heart rate monitor features to offer fitness details on the fly. This sensor collaborates with the phone’s improved S Health 3.0 app, working with the integrated pedometer and calorie tracking credentials to offer a broader view on your general well-being.

Viewing your data will be done on the phone’s 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display. Just like the S4, the Galaxy S5 screen features a 1920 x 1080p Full HD resolution.

As expected, the rear camera is a 16-megapixel offering, with the Korean manufacturer pairing it with a secondary, 2-megapixel camera around front. The company has claimed that the new camera will be able to fully focus and capture and image all within less than 0.3 seconds.

Like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 before it, the S5s camera is capable of capturing 4K video at a resolution of 3840 x 2160.

Although the IP76 dust and water resistant coating is sure to keep the phone safe from accidental spills and light drops, charging is going to be a little trickier with a removable flap used to cover the phone’s USB 3.0 connector.

Although a metal bodied design had been tipped, the Galaxy S5 has maintained a plastic form, with the LTE enabled handset powered by the new 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor.

With 2GB of RAM and the option of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage – expandable via microSD to 64GB, the S5 features a 2800mAh Lithium-Ion battery.

The phone lines up at 8.1mm thick and 145g in weight.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date and Price

Despite the Galaxy S5 having been formally unveiled, the phone’s release date and price are still shrouded in much mystery.

So far Samsung has said only that the Samsung Galaxy S5 release date will be held in April.

Update: After the Moto X was spotted in a video earlier today, the upcoming Motorola smartphone has also been papped being used by Eric Schmidt.
The Google chief executive was snapped using the unknown Motorola smartphone that looks exceedingly similar to the leaked rear shot of the Moto X that emerged earlier and can be seen below.



Whats new in the shot of Schmidt with the Moto X is the checkerboard effect on the rear of the smartphone.

It looks like the smartphones rear panel will be made from a solid, matte plastic rather than the shiny version adopted by smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 that cheapens the feel of the handset. 

Original Story:

The Moto X has been caught on video in the hands of a top Motorola executive showcasing the smartphone in the flesh for the first time.

The video was posted on Robert Scoble’s Google Plus account and was taken at an exclusive gathering organised by new Motorola employee Guy Kawasaki, previously thought to be the official launch of the Moto X before that rumour was debunked by Motorola.

In his video of the party he filmed using Google Glass, Scoble managed to catch the Moto X in the hands of the Senior Vice President for Product Management at Motorola, Rick Osterloh.

Now, while we only get a brief glimpse of the Moto X the smartphone seen does tally with the Moto X phone images leaked earlier this month that also showed the rear of the device.

It also looks to have the same curved rear back that is showcased in the latest leaked picture of a fully assembled Moto X that emerged today and is included below.

It has quite a large camera sensor, a flash and below that an embossed Motorola M logo. It also seems to have a rubberised matte finish on the rear, complementing the gloss plastic front panel of the device spotted in the Moto X Clear Pixel camera spec leak.

The Moto X is tipped to have a 4.7-inch 1280 x 768p resolution display, powered by a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU.

Potentially running a very close to stock version of Android 4.3, the Moto X is said to focus on innovative software features to separate it from competitors.

Motorola has already confirmed the existence of the Moto X, the company’s upcoming flagship, and has said it will be the “first smartphone that you can design yourself.”

As of yet we’re not quite sure what that means, but could provide users with a basis body smartphone akin to the Google Nexus 4 that they can then customise the case of.

Apple has reportedly finalised the iPhone 6 design, with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 rival said to be heading to launch with a 4.8-inch display in tow.

Rovio has officially announced the next instalment in its bird flinging game series, Angry Birds Star Wars 2, complete with an interactive toy lineup from Hasbro.


Angry Birds Star Wars 2 will be available across various app stores on September 19, complete with a full range of Star Wars Angry Birds toys that will work in a similar fashion to Skylanders.

“Today we’re extremely excited to announce the arrival of Angry Birds Star Wars 2, launching on September 19 across app stores worldwide”, said Rovio. “The new game will tackle the preview, introducing a wide roster of never-before-seen Angry Birds Star Wars characters. The best part? You’ll get to play with over 30 of them!”

As expected by the Angry Birds Star Wars teaser released at the end of last week, Rovio’s next game will focus on the Star Wars prequel movies including lots of new characters and elements from the films.

We expect that Anakin Skywalker, General Grevious, Darth Maul and Padme Amidala will all get an Angry Birds make-over, but interesting Rovio are declining to comment on whether Jar Jar Binks will be making an appearance.

“At this point we will not comment on rumours or speculation that Jar Jar Binks will be in the game.”

Hasbro will also be launching a range of 30 Angry Birds Star Wars figures that can be scanned into the game, similar to the functionality of Skylanders: Spryo’s Adventure.

Known as Telepods, the toys are around an inch high and are placed onto a plinth which can scan them into the game via the front-facing camera on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 8 devices.

“To compliment this wide lineup of characters, there will also be a line of over 30 collectable Telepods figures from Hasbro. Placing these figures onto your phone or tablet camera will scan your character of choice directly into the game, allowing you to select new characters on the fly.”

Angry Birds Star Wars 2 will also introduce the new “Pork Side” mode that allows players to toss Empire Pigs instead of the birds.

“Stay tuned for more news on Angry Birds Star Wars 2 over the coming weeks; we have some really cool reveals planned! Also, look out for Return of the Jedi in the original Angry Birds Star Wars!”

Apple will reportedly launch a new model of the Apple TV set top box some time in the first half of 2014, and it could come with proper gaming features.

The heavily rumoured Sony Xperia Z1 has been spotted gaining FCC certification and is due to launch in Europe early next year.

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