HTC Desire 700 dual sim battery life test

The HTC Desire 700 dual sim is reporting for battery testing duty with a 2,100 mAh juice pack, the only 200 mAh smaller than what the HTC One has. With a screen of far lower resolution and a far less demanding chipset it actually looks capable of beating its elite stablemate here.

The Desire 700 dual sim is quoted at 582 of stand-by and close to 12 hours of talk time. Can it live up to the claims? Results are inside.

Talk time was the most impressive for the Desire 700 and that’s with two SIMs running. It was 4 minutes shy of 17 hours, which more than surpasses its predicted score. Hat tip for the Desire here – it’s very important for dual sim devices to have good talk time as there’s no use for two SIMs in a dead phone.

Talk time

• Nokia Lumia 1520
  28:34
• Sony Xperia Z1
  26:53
• LG G Flex
  25:19
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  25:12
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  25:02
• LG G2
  25:01
• Oppo N1
  25:01
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  24:23
• BlackBerry Z30
  23:19
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  22:16
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  22:13
• HTC One Max
  22:13
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  21:18
• LG Optimus G Pro
  20:45
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  20:42
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  20:24
• Motorola RAZR i
  20:07
• BlackBerry Q10
  20:00
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  19:54
• Sony Xperia SP
  19:49
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  18:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  18:03
• Sony Xperia ZR
  17:48
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  17:33
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  16:57
• HTC Desire 700 dual sim
  16:56
• LG Nexus 5
  16:40
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  16:40
• Sony Xperia Z
  16:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  15:32
• LG Optimus G
  15:30
• Sony Xperia ZL
  15:22
• Nokia Lumia 720
  15:17
• BlackBerry Q5
  14:31
• Huawei Ascend P6
  14:17
• Oppo Find 5
  14:17
• Google Nexus 4
  14:17
• Moto X
  14:06
• HTC One
  13:38
• HTC One X+
  13:31
• Nokia Lumia 520
  13:33
• Sony Xperia C
  13:29
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  13:10
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  12:45
• LG Optimus GJ
  12:39
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  12:37
• Huawei Ascend P1
  12:30
• Sony Xperia L
  12:30
• HTC Butterfly
  12:18
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  12:14
• HTC One mini
  12:04
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  11:58
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  11:58
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  11:52
• HTC Desire 500
  11:31
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  11:30
• Asus Padfone 2
  11:20
• Acer Liquid E2
  11:07
• HTC Droid DNA
  11:07
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  11:07
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  11:07
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  11:06
• HTC Desire X
  11:03
• Meizu MX3
  11:02
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  11:01
• Apple iPhone 5s
  10:46
• HTC One X (AT&T, LTE)
  10:35
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  10:20
• Apple iPhone 5c
  10:18
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  10:15
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  10:03
• HTC One V
  10:00
• Meizu MX 4-core
  10:00
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  10:00
• HTC One X
  9:57
• HTC One S
  9:42
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  9:40
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  9:32
• HTC Sensation XL
  9:30
• Nokia Lumia 810
  9:05
• Nokia Lumia 710
  9:05
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  9:05
• Motorola Atrix HD
  9:04
• HTC Vivid
  9:02
• Nokia Lumia 920
  8:56
• Nokia Lumia 610
  8:51
• HTC Rhyme
  8:48
• Apple iPhone 5
  8:42
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  8:42
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  8:41
• Meizu MX
  8:39
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  8:35
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  8:28
• Nokia Lumia 800
  8:25
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  8:23
• Nokia Lumia 510
  8:22
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  8:21
• BlackBerry Z10
  8:20
• HTC Desire V
  8:20
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  8:20
• Sony Xperia T
  8:15
• HTC Rezound (LTE)
  8:10
• Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE)
  8:02
• LG Optimus Vu
  7:57
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  7:42
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  7:41
• Apple iPhone 4S
  7:41
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  7:25
• HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE)
  7:21
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  7:14
• Nokia Lumia 820
  7:09
• Sony Xperia acro S
  7:09
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  7:09
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  6:57
• Nokia N9
  6:57
• HTC Radar
  6:53
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  6:53
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  6:52
• Sony Xperia E dual
  6:42
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  6:22
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  5:54
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE)
  5:53
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  5:52
• Sony Xperia P
  5:33
• Nokia 808 PureView
  5:16
• LG Nitro HD (LTE)
  5:16
• HTC Titan II (LTE)
  5:10
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  5:00
• Pantech Burst
  4:46

Web browsing continues the good streak with the Desire 700 dual sim capturing a spot in the top 5 of the table. The actual score is 12 and a half hours, which is impressive by any standard!

Web browsing

• Sony Xperia C
  12:45
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  12:40
• Acer Liquid E2
  12:39
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  12:37
• HTC Desire 700 dual sim
  12:30
• LG G2
  11:22
• HTC One Max
  11:20
• Sony Xperia ZR
  11:20
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  10:10
• BlackBerry Q5
  10:04
• HTC One
  9:58
• Apple iPhone 5s
  9:58
• Apple iPhone 5
  9:56
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  9:47
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  9:40
• LG G Flex
  9:31
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  9:12
• Apple iPad mini
  9:05
• Apple iPhone 5c
  9:05
• Oppo N1
  9:05
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  9:04
• ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
  9:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  8:51
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  8:48
• BlackBerry Q10
  8:42
• Nokia Lumia 810
  8:20
• Asus Padfone 2
  8:20
• Moto X
  8:17
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  8:17
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  8:17
• HTC One mini
  8:12
• Nokia Lumia 610
  8:01
• HTC One X+
  7:56
• Sony Xperia E dual
  7:42
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  7:38
• Nokia Lumia 720
  7:37
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  7:35
• BlackBerry Z30
  7:34
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  7:24
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  7:23
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  7:23
• HTC Radar
  7:17
• Nokia Lumia 520
  7:15
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  7:13
• LG Optimus GJ
  7:11
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  7:10
• Meizu MX3
  7:09
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  7:09
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  7:09
• Nokia Lumia 625
  7:07
• Motorola RAZR i
  7:06
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  6:58
• Apple iPhone 4S
  6:56
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  6:54
• HTC One V
  6:49
• LG Optimus G Pro
  6:40
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  6:40
• Sony Xperia L
  6:40
• HTC Droid DNA
  6:40
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  6:40
• Motorola Atrix HD
  6:40
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  6:40
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  6:38
• Sony Xperia Z
  6:37
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  6:35
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  6:34
• HTC Desire 500
  6:31
• Huawei Ascend P6
  6:30
• BlackBerry Z10
  6:27
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  6:27
• HTC Butterfly
  6:24
• Sony Xperia SP
  6:18
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  6:15
• Nokia Lumia 510
  6:13
• Sony Xperia ZL
  6:04
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  6:01
• Sony Xperia Z1
  5:59
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  5:56
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  5:55
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  5:53
• Pantech Burst
  5:51
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  5:50
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  5:45
• HTC Desire V
  5:44
• HTC Evo 4G LTE
  5:41
• Nokia Lumia 920
  5:40
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  5:34
• Oppo Find 5
  5:33
• Sony Xperia T
  5:33
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  5:33
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  5:28
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
  5:24
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  5:23
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  5:23
• HTC Sensation XL
  5:20
• Meizu MX 4-core
  5:19
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  5:17
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:16
• HTC Rezound
  5:16
• HTC Desire X
  5:16
• LG Optimus G
  5:15
• HTC Rhyme
  5:08
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  5:07
• HTC One X (AT&T)
  5:03
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  4:50
• LG Optimus Vu
  4:49
• HTC Vivid
  4:46
• LG Nexus 5
  4:46
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  4:45
• Meizu MX
  4:35
• Google Nexus 4
  4:34
• Nokia N9
  4:33
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  4:32
• Nokia Lumia 820
  4:24
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  4:24
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  4:20
• HTC One X
  4:18
• Nokia 808 PureView
  4:14
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  4:10
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
  4:10
• Nokia Lumia 800
  4:07
• HTC Titan II (LTE)
  4:05
• HTC One S
  4:03
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  4:02
• LG Nitro HD
  4:00
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  3:59
• Sony Xperia P
  3:59
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:51
• Nokia Lumia 620
  3:50
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  3:47
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  3:35
• Huawei Ascend P1
  3:23
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  3:01

Finally the video playback test yielded quite disappointing result from the Desire 700 dual sim. The Desire 700 dual sim scored just 6 and a half hours and ended up close to many of its HTC siblings. The score is pretty low, particularly considering the web browsing achievement.

Video playback

• LG G Flex
  19:57
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  16:35
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  14:17
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  13:32
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  13:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  13:12
• HTC One Max
  13:11
• Sony Xperia C
  12:53
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  12:52
• Apple iPad mini
  12:51
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  12:51
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  12:32
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  12:31
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  12:30
• BlackBerry Q5
  12:28
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  12:18
• LG G2
  11:51
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  11:29
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  11:27
• BlackBerry Q10
  11:15
• Oppo N1
  11:15
• BlackBerry Z30
  
  10:35
• Apple iPhone 5s
  10:31
• Apple iPhone 5
  10:12
• HTC One
  10:02
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  10:01
• Moto X
  10:01
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  10:00
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  10:00
• Nokia 808 PureView
  9:53
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  9:49
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  9:42
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  9:34
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  9:30
• HTC One S
  9:28
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  9:27
• Apple iPhone 4S
  9:24
• HTC Evo 4G LTE
  9:07
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  8:45
• BlackBerry Z10
  8:44
• LG Optimus G Pro
  8:40
• Nokia N9
  8:40
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  8:34
• HTC Butterfly
  8:28
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  8:25
• LG Optimus GJ
  8:15
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  8:11
• HTC One X+
  8:11
• Motorola RAZR i
  8:11
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  8:00
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  7:55
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  7:52
• HTC Desire 500
  7:50
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  7:46
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  7:45
• Apple iPhone 5c
  7:41
• Asus Padfone 2
  7:38
• Huawei Ascend P1
  7:38
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  7:33
• Acer Liquid E2
  7:30
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  7:30
• Sony Xperia ZR
  7:30
• HTC Droid DNA
  7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
  7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  7:30
• Sony Xperia SP
  7:27
• HTC One mini
  7:23
• Nokia Lumia 610
  7:23
• LG Optimus G
  7:16
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  7:03
• Asus Nexus 7 (2013)
  7:03
• Huawei Ascend P6
  6:55
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  6:54
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  6:49
• Nokia Lumia 720
  6:43
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  6:40
• Meizu MX 4-core
  6:33
• Nokia Lumia 620
  6:32
• Nokia Lumia 625
  6:29
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  6:27
• Sony Xperia E dual
  6:27
• Nokia Lumia 810
  6:27
• HTC Desire V
  6:26
• HTC Desire 700 dual sim
  6:26
• HTC One X (AT&T)
  6:26
• Nokia Lumia 820
  6:25
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  6:25
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  6:24
• Nokia Lumia 510
  6:23
• LG Optimus Vu
  6:23
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  6:21
• Nokia Lumia 920
  6:19
• Sony Xperia Z1
  6:12
• HTC Sensation XL
  6:12
• LG Nexus 5
  6:06
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  6:06
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  6:04
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  6:03
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  6:02
• Sony Xperia T
  6:01
• Motorola Atrix HD
  6:01
• HTC Vivid
  6:00
• HTC Radar
  5:54
• Nokia Lumia 800
  5:52
• Nokia Lumia 520
  5:50
• HTC Titan II
  5:50
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  5:47
• HTC One X
  5:45
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  5:44
• Sony Xperia Z
  5:39
• Meizu MX3
  5:38
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:38
• HTC Desire X
  5:38
• Pantech Burst
  5:38
• Sony Xperia ZL
  5:28
• Meizu MX
  5:27
• HTC Rhyme
  5:23
• HTC One V
  5:20
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  5:18
• Oppo Find 5
  5:18
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
  5:18
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  5:09
• HTC Rezound
  5:03
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  5:02
• Google Nexus 4
  4:55
• Sony Xperia L
  4:44
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  4:30
• Sony Xperia P
  4:30
• LG Nitro HD
  4:17
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  4:14
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  3:28
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:27

So when we round things up and add the stand by time of the Desire 700 dual sim we get a good score of 52 hours of usage in between charges. That’s if you perform and hour of each test we mentioned per day.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

OUYA launches a matte black version of its console with bigger internal storage

Missed out on the white, limited edition 16GB OUYA a while back? Well, there’s hope for you yet, as the team behind the Android gaming system has announced that they’ll be releasing a standard 16GB version.

This particular OUYA will come with a matte black finish, or “anthracite”, as it’s officially called. There are some other improvements to the console as well.

They are bundling it with the improved controller; which means users can enjoy better Bluetooth connection, and more solidly built buttons. The newer console also has a stronger WiFi antenna built in, and a firmware update that improves usability.

If this sounds up your alley, you can pick up the black box for $130.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Best Buy cuts Surface Pro price by $400

Now that we have the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 available the original is seeing its price cut down and Best Buy is leading the charge with a $400 drop leaving the retail price at $500 which is a really good deal.

According to TheVerge the deal is good from Friday to Sunday but a Best Buy sales representative has told CNET it could go all week.

The $500 price tag is getting you a 128 GB Surface Pro with a 10.6″ 1080p touchscreen of the ClearType HD variety, magnesium-like VaporMg body, 720p cameras on either side, a Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM.

Microsoft also has a good deal on its Surface Pro, selling it at $600.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

32GB Nexus 7 (2012) discounted to £99 in the UK

UK retailer Zavvi has slashed the price of the Nexus 7 (2012) 32GB model to £99 – a whopping £80 off its usual retail price. Before you rush to order one yourself, though, be mindful that this is not for a brand-new unit, but for a refurbished one.

Still, Zavvi claims this is a “manufacturer grade A refurb”, which means it should be the next best thing. Shipments will commence on February 3 and it’s not clear how much 2012 Nexus 7′s are in stock.

The latest, 32GB model of the 2013 Nexus 7 costs £239 from the Google Play Store, making the original look like a great value. Granted, you don’t get the higher-resolution display and buffed up internals, but the original Nexus 7 still packs a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset and runs the latest Android 4.4 KitKat.

Follow the source link below to check out the offer and hurry up if you don’t want to miss out.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Evernote beta for Android gains handwriting support

The Evernote’s beta app for Android has gained handwriting support and now lets you scribble down notes or just doodle around, saving everything as is – not transforming your handwriting into neat text like on the Galaxy Note 3 for example.

The update will take its time getting to the official Android app but for now you can test the beta through the Google+ group. The link is down below but you’d need to be patient and wait for the administrators to allow you permission to be in the group as it is private.

The Evernote guys are also working on adding highlights, table support, horizontal ruler and encrypted text support for the app editor, but there’s no saying when those might make it.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

See the Motorola Moto G handle water like a champ

You’d never think that an affordable offering such as the Motorola Moto G with no IP rating or anything will survive being submerged under water for even a few second. When Motorola said it’s wrapping the insides of the phone with a water-resistant nano-coating, many though that’s more of a marketing trick, than anything else.

That’s certainly not the case, as YouTube reviewer Erica Griffin has discovered. In fact the phone dived under water for a nudge over 40 minutes and the result is quite shocking.

The Moto G survived a 15-second dip and was virtually unaffected by it. Then, a 10-minute dive followed, which resulted in a random crashes, but no issues with the overall functionality. The display, camera, loudspeaker, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity were working as if nothing happened.

But Erica didn’t stop here, as she wanted to see what would happen if the Moto G enjoyed a 30-minute bath. Amazingly, after letting the phone dry for a couple of seconds and the water to get out, everything was fully operational. The battery does get a bit warm at some point, but not really hot. Granted, there was some condensation underneath the camera lens, but after a full night’s rest – the Moto G operated as if it were just unboxed.

The upshot is that the Moto G is really fully water-proof and doesn’t mind taking long or short baths every now and then.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

SwiftKey Note now available on iOS

Few days ago we talked about the SwiftKey Note app for iOS, which was leaked on Twitter. Now the app has been officially unveiled and is available for download for free on the iPhone and iPad.

SwiftKey Note is a simple note-taking app for your iOS device. But where it differs from other note-taking app is that it has its own custom keyboard, that uses the same algorithm as the SwiftKey keyboard on Android. This means you will get the same telepathic level of prediction and almost always accurate auto-correct system at your fingertips.

The keyboard mimics the design of the iOS 7 keyboard so iOS users will feel right at home. But once you start typing you’ll see that it provides suggestions to what you’re typing above the keyboard. You can tap on them to complete the word or type something that doesn’t exist in the dictionary and then tap on the word above to save it. There doesn’t seem to be a way to sync your saved words, though, as there is on Android.

SwiftKey has also integrated basic editing features into the keyboard, that can be accessed by swiping sideways on the prediction row. You can make the text bold, italic or underlined, set alignment and also add bullet points.

One of the key features of SwiftKey Note app is that it integrates with Evernote, which means your notes are synced to the cloud and can be accessed again from another device running SwiftKey Note after logging in. SwiftKey could also add more services in the future.

Other than basic note taking abilities, SwiftKey Note is a very simple app, much like the default Notes app or Simplenote. You can’t, for example, add images or videos into your notes. If that’s your thing that you should consider using Evernote instead. The main catch of this app is the keyboard, which you won’t get elsewhere due to Apple not allowing universal third party keyboards in iOS.

As for the keyboard itself, I found the typing experience excellent. I was typing as fast and as carelessly as I can and the keyboard managed to get it right nearly 100 percent of the time unless I hit an odd key, such as the comma or the period. Compared to the stock iOS keyboard, I found the experience only slightly better, but that’s because the stock iOS 7 keyboard itself is fantastic. I did appreciate the presence of a suggestion row though, which is sorely missed on iOS.

SwiftKey eschews some of the Android keyboard’s habits, such as pressing the period key to insert a period and space and instead relies on double tap on Space key to stay consistent with the iOS experience. The keyboard can also be split in two the same way the stock iOS keyboard can. Oddly, though, there is no Flow mode on this keyboard for swiping text on the screen, which would have been a welcome addition.

The SwiftKey Note is an interesting idea albeit not a compelling one. The app itself is very basic to make you not want to consider using it over your current favorite note taking app. The keyboard is terrific but as I mentioned before it is only slightly better than the already excellent iOS 7 keyboard and the lack of Flow doesn’t do it any favors. In the end, I don’t see a lot of reasons why you should have this installed on your iPhone or iPad right now. Maybe with time when it gets more features it would be worthwhile.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Sony QX10/QX100 software update brings new camera settings

Sony has released v2.0 firmware for the QX100/QX100 cameras. One of the key new feature in this update is the change in resolution for video recording. The maximum supported resolution now is 1920×1080, instead of the 1440×1080 in the previous firmware.

Other change is the presence of Shutter Speed Priority shooting mode for the more expensive QX100 to manually control the shutter speed. Both the cameras also get a boost in the maximum supported ISO, with the QX10 now supporting ISO 3200 from ISO 1600 and the QX100 going as high as ISO 12800 from ISO 3200.

You’ll need a special software to download the firmware update. You can find that and the instructions on how to update from the links below.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Next update to Windows 8.1 will allegedly make booting to desktop the default

Continuing its crusade of making a U-turn on pretty much every decision it made recently, Microsoft will now let boot directly to the desktop mode in Windows 8.1 bypassing the generally disliked Metro-style Start screen altogether. Although this feature was added in Windows 8.1, the next update to it will make it the default option.

Microsoft has apparently been taking user feedback into consideration that suggested majority of Windows 8.1 users are still on keyboard and mouse setup and prefer to go to the desktop mode directly instead of the Metro-style interface that is more optimized for touchscreen devices. Because of this Microsoft is slowly making Windows 8.1 more desktop user friendly. They added the Start button back in Windows 8.1 and the next update is said to make Metro-style apps more like desktop apps by letting you pin them to the taskbar and having a close button to quit the app.

Most of the recent updates to Windows 8.1 have been to make it more like Windows 7 rather than adding any new features as such. At the current rate, the next version will probably be called Windows 7 instead of Windows 9.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Traffic Cameras Rife With Bogus Violations, Audit Shows

By Jim Avila
@JimAvilaABC

Serena Marshall
@SerenaMarsh

Jan 30, 2014 5:04pm

It’s the flash out of nowhere — when you don’t expect it, sometimes when you don’t deserve it — cameras set to capture traffic violations.

At an intersection in Baltimore, video shows a driver clearly stopped, but the unmanned speed camera cited the car, with brake lights on and traffic whizzing in front of it, for going 38 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone.

It’s a costly mistake at $40 a ticket, and a pretty common one at that, according to an audit leaked to the Baltimore Sun that has the city council investigating.

An evaluation in 2012 by consultant URS Corp. of the camera system run by Xerox State and Local Solutions found an error rate of more than 10 percent, a figure 40-times higher than initial claims, The Sun reported.

Some individual cameras were off by as much as 50 percent.

Xerox told The Sun it would not comment on the audit and has not returned calls seeking comment from ABC News.

Nationwide, about half the states use traffic cameras. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 501 communities have red light camera programs and 135 communities have speed camera programs as of this month.

The traffic cams are cheaper than radar guns, but class action lawsuits in Ohio and New York attack their reliability.

A small Ohio village was recently ordered by a judge, who called the speed cameras a scam, to repay nearly $1.8 million collected from speeding tickets. And in New York, a class action suit stipulates that the yellow light duration requirement of three seconds was reduced to less time to increase profits.

In Maryland, Steen Johnson videotaped his speed after he received multiple tickets saying he was speeding. The video clearly showed Johnson 10 miles below the limit, but the speed camera ticketed him for 10 miles over.

School teacher Erin Grunden got five tickets near her Maryland school. She took her problem to the math department.

“I was clocked at 51 miles per hour, which a math teacher figured out is physically impossible for me to be going that fast [pulling out of the parking lot],” Grunden said. “I think that the speed cameras are inaccurate.”

Her 10-year-old Honda couldn’t reach that speed in the short distance from school driveway to ticket camera, she said. In all 22 teachers were ticketed in front of the school, and many said what bothers them most is that the private company running the cameras is paid by the ticket.

“If there is one thing we know about the power of markets is that if you give people financial incentives it will change their behavior, and so if you give companies an incentive to ticket more, lo and behold they will ticket more,” said Phineas Baxandall, a senior analyst with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “That is not really what this should be about. This should be about maintaining safety.”

Los Angeles voted in 2012 to stop the cameras altogether. Twelve states in the nation have passed legislation to regulate speed camera enforcement, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, and nine states prohibit the use of red light cameras.

Advocates for motorists say cameras slow people down and that their use is growing.

In Washington, D.C., cameras have been implemented at 32 stop signs, with additional cameras monitoring for failing to clear an intersection, over-sized vehicles on restricted routes, and failure to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

Costing you cash in a flash, even if undeserved, because sometimes the picture doesn’t tell the whole story.

Credit: ABC News

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Arcos outs a new series of tablets: the Neon

Arcos will be releasing three tablets in a new line of products called “Neon.”

The three models are the Arcos 90 Neon, 97 Neon, and 101 Neon. The model numbers coordinate with the screen sizes of each tablet (9.0”, 9.7” and 10.1”, respectively.)

Based on the specs of the tablets, the Neon line seems to be geared towards the lower end. The 90 is rocking a display with an 800×480 resolution, the 97 with 1024×768, and 101 with 1024×600.

On the software side of things, all three of the Neons will come with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, kind of a letdown, considering that Kit-Kat has been out for a little while.

Under the hood, the 90, 97, and 101 are pretty much identical. All of the models have quad core A9 processors (the 90 and 101 run at 1.4GHZ, the 97 at 1.6GHZ), 1GB RAM, 8GB storage with microSD card slots (up to 64GB) front and rear facing cameras, and of course, WiFi.

The tablets will have access to the Google Play Store, so you can start installing applications right out of the box, should you choose to do so. There hasn’t been any official word on pricing and availability for the Neon line, but considering their specs, don’t expect them to break the bank.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Lenovo reveals two Android tablets that are in the works

Since Lenovo has purchased Motorola Mobility from Google, they’re going to be hard at work on a variety of Android devices.

It turns out that the Chinese manufacturer has a pair of tablets on the way: the A3500 and A3300.

Both slates received their Bluetooth SIG certifications. There are photos of the tablets, but they’re not the best quality.

What do we know about the devices? Well the A3500 (above) will have a 7-inch 800×1280 display, built in 3G, 1GB RAM, 5MP primary camera, a 2MP front-facing unit, and a quad core, 1.3GHZ processor.

The A3300 (above) is the lower spec’d one of the two devices. It’s screen resolution is 600×1024, no 3G, 1 GB RAM, a 2MP primary camera, a VGA front-facing one, and a dual-core 1.3GHZ processor.

There’s also word that Lenovo has two other tablets in the works, the A7600 and A5500. Considering their model numbers, the tablets should be better spec’d, but we don’t have any details on the internals of the devices, so anything at this point would be mere speculation.

How do you feel about Lenovo’s greater stake in the Android market. Are you expecting big things from the world’s number two PC manufacturer?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Facebook’s Paper taking on Flipboard and Currents on February 3

Facebook unveiled its own news delivering app called Paper. It’s a minimalist app that’s heavy on eye candy and is mostly swipe-operated. It’s also quite immersive by bringing a full-screen clutter-free interface.

Instead of bringing you your news feed the app will let you chose from a list of curated genres – photography, design, sports, food and science. Big names in said categories will get their fair share of showing off but Facebook also promises to shine a light on emerging voices, letting you subscribe to their feeds as well.

The app will launch exclusively on iOS on February 3, but at this point there’s no word of it making it to other platforms. The date coincides with the release of Facebook’s Creative Labs department, which is expected to churn out more apps in the future.

Apps such as Flipboard and Google Currents have been in the content delivery game for some time now and both have their own set of unique features – letting you receive news in a visually-pleasant way, pioneering intuitive navigation and more. Let’s see if Paper has what it takes to intensify the competition further.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Windows 8.1 tablets get cut down to Android slate prices

In an effort to boost sales and use of their Windows 8.1 tablets, Microsoft has slashed prices on a bunch of devices in the Microsoft store.

The Toshiba Encore, Lenovo Miix 2, went from $299 to $249, and the Dell Venue Pro from $299 to $229. It should also be noted that all of these tabs carry 32GB of storage space.

Probably the most interesting price cut of the bunch is the Venue Pro’s. By pricing the Windows slate at $229, Microsoft is going head to head with Google’s Nexus 7, and offering more storage space in the process; 32GB vs 16GB. In terms of real storage use, however, depending on the applications and the OS partition, this really means an extra 4-6GB for users. The Nexus 7, however, does have a higher resolution screen at 1920×1080, but the Venue Pro’s screen is 1.1” larger than Google’s tablet.

On the processing side, all three of the tables sport an Intel Bay Trail Z3740D chipset, which has an integrated GPU and is praised for its performance across the Windows 8 tablets.

The move by Microsoft becomes more interesting when you consider that they are selling the Dell Venue Pro at a lower price than Dell itself, showing that the company is trying to build the brand of their Microsoft store. Also, by selling the tablets at such low prices to foster faster adoption, chipset maker Intel will also stand to profit. The processor manufacturer enjoys a high margin from tablet chips, so the more people that buy the big pieces of touch tech, the better it is for Intel.

We have yet to see if the price drops will force enough people to adopt Windows 8.1 tablets as their computing vehicle of choice. The big question that remains is can manufacturers create Windows tablets that strike a balance between speedy performance and longer battery life. Do you see 8.1 tablets catching on?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Qualcomm reports record revenues, increases outlook for 2014

Qualcomm, a major player in the mobile market, published its report for the quarter that ended in December. Revenue is up to record levels, but missed analysts’ expectations and net income is down year on year.

Revenue for the quarter was $6.52 billion, up 10% year on year. On that Qualcomm made $1.88 billion in net income, down 2% YoY, with an effective tax rate of 18%.

Qualcomm is known for its Snapdragon chipsets but it’s the modem business that’s the main money maker. Even companies that don’t run Krait processors and Adreno graphics license Qualcomm’s chipsets due to their advanced LTE support (coupled with the various 3G technologies).

Apple does it and now that China Mobile, the country’s biggest carrier is rolling out an LTE network licenses are expected to go up. Based on the strong performance for the quarter, Qualcomm raised the expected revenue for the full year 2014.

Still, it’s China that can cause headaches for the chip maker as it’s no longer the developed countries that drive smartphone adoption. With the world’s most populous country also prefering low-cost solutions like ones offered by MediaTek, Qualcomm is facing some serious pressure.

That said, Qualcomm is reporting 213 million MSM chipsets have been shipped, 17% up year on year and up 12% sequentially. The sales of devices with Qualcomm chipsets totaled $6.6 billion, up 16% YoY. During the quarter an estimated 276-280 million 3G/4G devices with Qualcomm modems were shipped, with an Average Selling Price of $219-$225.

During the quarter Qualcomm spend more on research (both in dollar value and as a percentage of revenue) that the same quarter the previous year.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

IDC: Tablet market in 2013 was doing great, but growth is slowing down

Tablet shipments have been on the rise in 2013, but that shouldn’t surprise anybody. IDC analysts tell us that a total of 217.1 million units were shipped in 2013, which represents a 50.6% YoY growth rate.

Unfortunately, though, the mature markets are already pretty saturated and there is lots of competition so the rate of growth is slowing down. The growth in 2012 over 2011 was a good 87.1%.

Manufacturers are turning their attention to developing markets however high-margin products such as Apple iPads are not doing that well in these regions. The YoY growth for the company of 13.5% was well below the industry average.

Still, in Q4 2013 Apple has remained the top tablet supplier (33.8% market share) by a wide margin with Samsung coming in second with a market share of 18.8%. Amazon (7.6%) is third with Asus (5.1%) and Lenovo (4.4%) following closely.

Apple’s market share was larger in 2012 (38.12%), but Samsung’s been only improving compared to last year (13%).

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that markets such as the U.S. are reaching high levels of consumer saturation and while emerging markets continue to show strong growth this has not been enough to sustain the dramatic worldwide growth rates of years past.” – said Tom Mainelli, Research Director, Tablets, at IDC. .

Overall, it seems 2014 would represent another challenge for tablet makers. Now that the markets have reached noteworthy saturation, Apple and Amazon seem better positioned to continue cashing in, as they are making serious money off apps and content, unlike Samsung, which is mainly making money off the devices themselves.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Slim PS Vita hits the UK on February 7 at £180

Sony launched the slimmer, lighter PlayStation Vita PCH-2000 in Japan late last year and the refreshed portable has now made its way to the UK. Its launch price is lower – £180 (the original launched at £200) – and it features more internal storage and better battery life to boot.

Another change in the PCH-2000 compared to the original is that the 5″ qHD AMOLED has been replaced by an IPS LCD of the same resolution.

Pre-orders for the new PS Vita start tomorrow and the actual launch will be in a week on February 7. The £180 price works out to $300, noticeably pricier than the home market price of 19,000 yen, $185.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Xbox One white and Titanfall edition leak

It seems Microsoft will be releasing two new variants of the Xbox One later this year. One of them will be a white variant of the current console, which is essentially the employee edition that was only given to, well, employees. The white console comes with a matching white controller. It is said to launch around October.

Another variant is a special edition Titanfall bundle, that comes with Titanfall theme decals on the body and controller along with a copy of the game. There are some other rumors as well, including a 1TB variant and a $399 variant without an optical drive. It’s best to take these with a pinch of salt right now, however.

As for wider availability, the Xbox One will allegedly release in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Colombia, Chile and Argentina in April and China, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Israel, India, Indonesia and Egypt in October.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Nintendo to make an app for smartphones

Nintendo has announced that they will be making an app for smartphones. Although far from releasing its games on the mobile platform like everyone wants, this app will at least let you access the Nintendo store from your mobile device.

The Nintendo smartphone app should be similar to the PlayStation and Steam mobile apps, where in it will let log into to your Nintendo Network ID (NNID) and let you purchase games and other content for your Nintendo consoles and access certain other features as well.

Nintendo has been adamant about not releasing its games on the mobile platform, the way several other console makers, particularly SEGA has done in the past. The company hasn’t been doing very well as of late so it remains to be seen how long it can maintain its stance.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Samsung announces tablet made especially for students

Apparently following the more is more philosophy, Samsung USA has revealed that they will be releasing a Galaxy Tab designed for education.

The tab has been created in coordination with the Google Play for Education program.

Available for grades Kindergarten through 12th grade, the education-centric tablet will give students access to specific content created for digital instruction.

We don’t have the nitty-gritty on the “Edu-Tab’s” tech specs yet, but we do know it’ll rock a 10.1” WXGA screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and will have WiFi, a dual-camera set-up, NFC, and Android 4.4, Kit-Kat, right out of the box.

The content that will be pre-loaded on the tablet will all be teacher approved as part of the Google Play for Education program. Additional apps can be purchased with a school PO instead of a customary credit card, as well.

Are you an educator that wants to get this tablet in the hands of your students? You’ll have to wait until April, when the slate drops, to do so.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

The maker of gyroscopic OIS for Nokia makes the component available to other manufacturers

According to a report in The Register, Nokia’s highly-effective gyroscopic OIS tech has become available to other manufacturers on the open market. The tiny part made by ST Microelectronics was previously exclusively available to the Finnish manufacturer.

The dual-axis gyroscope for image stabilization carries the model number L2G2IS. The package has measures of 2.3 x 2.3 x 0.7mm and has mechanics which have been micro-machined in silicon. The part is priced at the substantial for such component $1.70 per unit, and is sold in quantities of 1,000.

According to the source of the report, the clever OIS component might appear in new devices as early as next month during MWC.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Nintendo releases sales figures and it does not look good

It’s no secret that the Wii U hasn’t been exactly flying off the shelves. The official numbers were released from Nintendo and they’re bad.

Only 2.8 million Wii U’s were sold in 2013, which is a paltry sum compared to the numbers that the PS4 and Xbox One accomplished in their first two months.

The PS4 moved 4.2 million units, whereas the Xbox One was able to sell 3 million consoles.

Nintendo shouldn’t feel too bad about the sales of its 3DS, which they were able to sell 12.9 million of.

It still doesn’t change the fact that the legendary Japanese gaming company’s net income has fallen 29.9 percent, totaling to a $98.7 million drop.

As a sign of atonement for the drop in profits, Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata has decided to halve his pay for the next five months. Other Nintendo Board Members will also receive reductions in their salaries ranging from 20-30 percent for the dismal sales period they’ve experienced in 2013.

There have also been rumors that in order to recoup their losses, Nintendo would head to the wonderful world of mobile gaming. However, Nintendo has averred that this will not be the case:

“Nintendo’s intention is not to make Nintendo software available on smart devices and as such, we can confirm that there are no plans to offer mini-games on smartphone devices.”

It’s the wish of CEO Iwata himself to stay away from “mini-games”. Let’s see if the Nintendo team can come up with some fresh ideas for 2014 that will help the system to move more quickly off the shelves. Can they make a repeat of their Blockbuster Wii system? What do you think?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact battery test

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact promises to be everything the big Z1 is except in a smaller package. The reduction in size, however, meant less room for the battery and the Z1 Compact has a 2,300mAh battery compared to a 3,000mAh battery for the big one.

That’s still great for the class – the HTC One mini has a 1,800mAh battery and the two are roughly the same size.

Sony is promising up to 18 hours of talk time, but our tests show that this is a conservative estimate. The Xperia Z1 Compact fell a little short of 21 hours talk time (on a 3G network), which is well above the next mini on the list (S4 mini duos).

The Galaxy S4 mini (single-SIM) and HTC One mini are both around 12-13 hours. The Z1 Compact also did double what the iPhone 5s achieves. As the first proper Android mini flagship, the Z1 Compact offers an alternative for those wanting to switch from iOS but turned back into Apple’s arms by Android’s trend of huge phones.

Talk time

• Nokia Lumia 1520
  28:34
• Sony Xperia Z1
  26:53
• LG G Flex
  25:19
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  25:12
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  25:02
• LG G2
  25:01
• Oppo N1
  25:01
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  24:23
• BlackBerry Z30
  23:19
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  22:16
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  22:13
• HTC One Max
  22:13
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  21:18
• LG Optimus G Pro
  20:45
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  20:42
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  20:24
• Motorola RAZR i
  20:07
• BlackBerry Q10
  20:00
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  19:54
• Sony Xperia SP
  19:49
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  18:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  18:03
• Sony Xperia ZR
  17:48
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  17:33
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  16:57
• LG Nexus 5
  16:40
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  16:40
• Sony Xperia Z
  16:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  15:32
• LG Optimus G
  15:30
• Sony Xperia ZL
  15:22
• Nokia Lumia 720
  15:17
• BlackBerry Q5
  14:31
• Huawei Ascend P6
  14:17
• Oppo Find 5
  14:17
• Google Nexus 4
  14:17
• Moto X
  14:06
• HTC One
  13:38
• HTC One X+
  13:31
• Nokia Lumia 520
  13:33
• Sony Xperia C
  13:29
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  13:10
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  12:45
• LG Optimus GJ
  12:39
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  12:37
• Huawei Ascend P1
  12:30
• Sony Xperia L
  12:30
• HTC Butterfly
  12:18
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  12:14
• HTC One mini
  12:04
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  11:58
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  11:58
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  11:52
• HTC Desire 500
  11:31
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  11:30
• Asus Padfone 2
  11:20
• Acer Liquid E2
  11:07
• HTC Droid DNA
  11:07
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  11:07
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  11:07
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  11:06
• HTC Desire X
  11:03
• Meizu MX3
  11:02
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  11:01
• Apple iPhone 5s
  10:46
• HTC One X (AT&T, LTE)
  10:35
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  10:20
• Apple iPhone 5c
  10:18
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  10:15
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  10:03
• HTC One V
  10:00
• Meizu MX 4-core
  10:00
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  10:00
• HTC One X
  9:57
• HTC One S
  9:42
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  9:40
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  9:32
• HTC Sensation XL
  9:30
• Nokia Lumia 810
  9:05
• Nokia Lumia 710
  9:05
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  9:05
• Motorola Atrix HD
  9:04
• HTC Vivid
  9:02
• Nokia Lumia 920
  8:56
• Nokia Lumia 610
  8:51
• HTC Rhyme
  8:48
• Apple iPhone 5
  8:42
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  8:42
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  8:41
• Meizu MX
  8:39
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  8:35
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  8:28
• Nokia Lumia 800
  8:25
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  8:23
• Nokia Lumia 510
  8:22
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  8:21
• BlackBerry Z10
  8:20
• HTC Desire V
  8:20
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  8:20
• Sony Xperia T
  8:15
• HTC Rezound (LTE)
  8:10
• Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE)
  8:02
• LG Optimus Vu
  7:57
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  7:42
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  7:41
• Apple iPhone 4S
  7:41
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  7:25
• HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE)
  7:21
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  7:14
• Nokia Lumia 820
  7:09
• Sony Xperia acro S
  7:09
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  7:09
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  6:57
• Nokia N9
  6:57
• HTC Radar
  6:53
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  6:53
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  6:52
• Sony Xperia E dual
  6:42
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  6:22
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  5:54
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE)
  5:53
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  5:52
• Sony Xperia P
  5:33
• Nokia 808 PureView
  5:16
• LG Nitro HD (LTE)
  5:16
• HTC Titan II (LTE)
  5:10
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  5:00
• Pantech Burst
  4:46

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact has a smaller screen, which allowed Sony to drop the resolution to 720p without major damage to the screen sharpness. This also upped the battery efficiency in web browsing a great deal, the Z1 Compact is one of the best performers. The Galaxy S4 mini and iPhone 5s both last nearly three hours less. The Xperia Z1 has a bigger battery by around 30%, but the screen surface area is 35% bigger, not to mention that 1080p is nearly twice the pixels of 720p. This means the big Z1 burns through its battery in just under 6 hours.

Web browsing

• Sony Xperia C
  12:45
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  12:40
• Acer Liquid E2
  12:39
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  12:37
• LG G2
  11:22
• HTC One Max
  11:20
• Sony Xperia ZR
  11:20
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  10:10
• BlackBerry Q5
  10:04
• HTC One
  9:58
• Apple iPhone 5s
  9:58
• Apple iPhone 5
  9:56
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  9:47
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  9:40
• LG G Flex
  9:31
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  9:12
• Apple iPad mini
  9:05
• Apple iPhone 5c
  9:05
• Oppo N1
  9:05
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  9:04
• ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
  9:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  8:51
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  8:48
• BlackBerry Q10
  8:42
• Nokia Lumia 810
  8:20
• Asus Padfone 2
  8:20
• Moto X
  8:17
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  8:17
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  8:17
• HTC One mini
  8:12
• Nokia Lumia 610
  8:01
• HTC One X+
  7:56
• Sony Xperia E dual
  7:42
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  7:38
• Nokia Lumia 720
  7:37
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  7:35
• BlackBerry Z30
  7:34
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  7:24
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  7:23
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  7:23
• HTC Radar
  7:17
• Nokia Lumia 520
  7:15
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  7:13
• LG Optimus GJ
  7:11
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  7:10
• Meizu MX3
  7:09
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  7:09
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  7:09
• Nokia Lumia 625
  7:07
• Motorola RAZR i
  7:06
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  6:58
• Apple iPhone 4S
  6:56
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  6:54
• HTC One V
  6:49
• LG Optimus G Pro
  6:40
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  6:40
• Sony Xperia L
  6:40
• HTC Droid DNA
  6:40
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  6:40
• Motorola Atrix HD
  6:40
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  6:40
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  6:38
• Sony Xperia Z
  6:37
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  6:35
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  6:34
• HTC Desire 500
  6:31
• Huawei Ascend P6
  6:30
• BlackBerry Z10
  6:27
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  6:27
• HTC Butterfly
  6:24
• Sony Xperia SP
  6:18
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  6:15
• Nokia Lumia 510
  6:13
• Sony Xperia ZL
  6:04
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  6:01
• Sony Xperia Z1
  5:59
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  5:56
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  5:55
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  5:53
• Pantech Burst
  5:51
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  5:50
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  5:45
• HTC Desire V
  5:44
• HTC Evo 4G LTE
  5:41
• Nokia Lumia 920
  5:40
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  5:34
• Oppo Find 5
  5:33
• Sony Xperia T
  5:33
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  5:33
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  5:28
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
  5:24
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  5:23
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  5:23
• HTC Sensation XL
  5:20
• Meizu MX 4-core
  5:19
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  5:17
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:16
• HTC Rezound
  5:16
• HTC Desire X
  5:16
• LG Optimus G
  5:15
• HTC Rhyme
  5:08
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  5:07
• HTC One X (AT&T)
  5:03
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  4:50
• LG Optimus Vu
  4:49
• HTC Vivid
  4:46
• LG Nexus 5
  4:46
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  4:45
• Meizu MX
  4:35
• Google Nexus 4
  4:34
• Nokia N9
  4:33
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  4:32
• Nokia Lumia 820
  4:24
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  4:24
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  4:20
• HTC One X
  4:18
• Nokia 808 PureView
  4:14
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  4:10
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
  4:10
• Nokia Lumia 800
  4:07
• HTC Titan II (LTE)
  4:05
• HTC One S
  4:03
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  4:02
• LG Nitro HD
  4:00
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  3:59
• Sony Xperia P
  3:59
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:51
• Nokia Lumia 620
  3:50
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  3:47
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  3:35
• Huawei Ascend P1
  3:23
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  3:01

The video playback was problematic on the Xperia Z1 when it launched with Android 4.2.2, but the Xperia Z1 Compact comes with Android 4.3 out of the box and Sony has fixed up its codec support since then. It’s still not perfect though as the video player drained the battery in 10 hours. Note that we test the web browser till the phone dies, while some video players automatically exit at 10% charge so we stop the video test there. Factor in those extra 10% and the video playback time would be roughly on par with the web browsing time.

For what it’s worth, the iPhone 5s rival is less than half an hour ahead and the Xperia Z1 once again turns in a lowly 10 hour score.

Video playback

• LG G Flex
  19:57
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  16:35
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  14:17
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  13:32
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  13:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  13:12
• HTC One Max
  13:11
• Sony Xperia C
  12:53
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  12:52
• Apple iPad mini
  12:51
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  12:51
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  12:32
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  12:31
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  12:30
• BlackBerry Q5
  12:28
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  12:18
• LG G2
  11:51
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  11:29
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  11:27
• BlackBerry Q10
  11:15
• Oppo N1
  11:15
• BlackBerry Z30
  
  10:35
• Apple iPhone 5s
  10:31
• Apple iPhone 5
  10:12
• HTC One
  10:02
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  10:01
• Moto X
  10:01
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  10:00
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  10:00
• Nokia 808 PureView
  9:53
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  9:49
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  9:42
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  9:34
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  9:30
• HTC One S
  9:28
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  9:27
• Apple iPhone 4S
  9:24
• HTC Evo 4G LTE
  9:07
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  8:45
• BlackBerry Z10
  8:44
• LG Optimus G Pro
  8:40
• Nokia N9
  8:40
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  8:34
• HTC Butterfly
  8:28
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  8:25
• LG Optimus GJ
  8:15
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  8:11
• HTC One X+
  8:11
• Motorola RAZR i
  8:11
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  8:00
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  7:55
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  7:52
• HTC Desire 500
  7:50
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  7:46
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  7:45
• Apple iPhone 5c
  7:41
• Asus Padfone 2
  7:38
• Huawei Ascend P1
  7:38
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  7:33
• Acer Liquid E2
  7:30
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  7:30
• Sony Xperia ZR
  7:30
• HTC Droid DNA
  7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
  7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  7:30
• Sony Xperia SP
  7:27
• HTC One mini
  7:23
• Nokia Lumia 610
  7:23
• LG Optimus G
  7:16
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  7:03
• Asus Nexus 7 (2013)
  7:03
• Huawei Ascend P6
  6:55
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  6:54
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  6:49
• Nokia Lumia 720
  6:43
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  6:40
• Meizu MX 4-core
  6:33
• Nokia Lumia 620
  6:32
• Nokia Lumia 625
  6:29
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  6:27
• Sony Xperia E dual
  6:27
• Nokia Lumia 810
  6:27
• HTC Desire V
  6:26
• HTC One X (AT&T)
  6:26
• Nokia Lumia 820
  6:25
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  6:25
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  6:24
• Nokia Lumia 510
  6:23
• LG Optimus Vu
  6:23
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  6:21
• Nokia Lumia 920
  6:19
• Sony Xperia Z1
  6:12
• HTC Sensation XL
  6:12
• LG Nexus 5
  6:06
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  6:06
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  6:04
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  6:03
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  6:02
• Sony Xperia T
  6:01
• Motorola Atrix HD
  6:01
• HTC Vivid
  6:00
• HTC Radar
  5:54
• Nokia Lumia 800
  5:52
• Nokia Lumia 520
  5:50
• HTC Titan II
  5:50
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  5:47
• HTC One X
  5:45
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  5:44
• Sony Xperia Z
  5:39
• Meizu MX3
  5:38
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:38
• HTC Desire X
  5:38
• Pantech Burst
  5:38
• Sony Xperia ZL
  5:28
• Meizu MX
  5:27
• HTC Rhyme
  5:23
• HTC One V
  5:20
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  5:18
• Oppo Find 5
  5:18
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
  5:18
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  5:09
• HTC Rezound
  5:03
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  5:02
• Google Nexus 4
  4:55
• Sony Xperia L
  4:44
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  4:30
• Sony Xperia P
  4:30
• LG Nitro HD
  4:17
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  4:14
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  3:28
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:27

Overall we’re pretty impressed by the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact battery life. Part of that is because Sony managed to cram a relatively large battery in the device. The smaller, 720p screen also helped a good deal here. Sony made no compromises with the chipset and camera for the Z1 Compact and it turns out there’s no compromise with the battery life but an actual improvement instead! The Z1 Compact scores an endurance rating of 65 hours, compared to the 53 hours of the big Xperia Z1.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Microsoft is in trouble for the new OneDrive name

Microsoft seems to have really bad luck with its SkyDrive cloud service. First a UK court ruled out Microsoft is infringing British Sky Broadcasting Group trademark last summer and Microsoft has agreed to change the name.

Just two days ago Microsoft announced the new name of the service – SkyDrive was re-branded to OneDrive. And as of today Microsoft is in trouble once again for the same reason.

As it turns out One.com offers a similar cloud service called Once Cloud Drive and Microsoft is allegedly infringing the One.com trademark. It does sound close, doesn’t it? Naturally, One.com says this will lead to a confusion and the company is now “consulting trademark experts”.

If you “bing” ‘one drive cloud’ the service pops up as the third result – using Google moves it on top of the results. There, I’ve just done the marketing research Microsoft should have done in the first place. Hopefully this awkward situation will be resolved soon.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com