Samsung Galaxy S5 rumor round-up: release date, price and spece
If there's anything in the mobile industry that we can feel certain
about, that's the fact that Samsung is to announce its new flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S5, very, very soon. It is rumored that the South Korean giant is going to be among the first companies in 2014 to unleash a new top-shelf smartphone, and we can't wait to see what it's really going to look like! Well, exactly what it's going to offer, and whether it will have something to truly wow us with... that we don't know, but there is already a good number of rumors, leaks and indications, all of which can be used to paint an almost believable image of the Galaxy S5.
We've already come across tons of leaks dealing with the Galaxy S5's release date, as well as some of its technical characteristics, such as its supposed screen size, CPU and camera, and in we're bringing it all together right here. Feel free to browse through the following slideshow gallery, where you'll learn more about what's going to be one of the most-discussed smartphones of 2014!
Sit on a tube, train or bus of a morning and it’s clear how many people use their mobile phones to play games. Angry Birds’ popularity is built not on excellence but on boredom, and the reason so many similar games have been so successful is that people tend to play a range of games at similar times, or games tend to be fairly easy to finish.
Step forward ‘the PlayStation phone’, the first example of which is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. It uses the same controls as the popular games console and the makers hope that both players and developers will be drawn to it as a new kind of device.
In truth, unfortunately, the Play is still a first version of that ambition, launched in April but still yet to be properly overhauled. But it seems fair to assume that phones with a specific gaming bent are likely to become more common because simply playing via the touchscreen means your fingers are covering the screen too often.
For now, the unique selling point of the Play is that gaming capability. More games are coming and the software is being improved. So if gaming is your thing, it’s surely for you. But if gaming’s really your thing, you might actually be best off getting a games console such as a Nintendo 3DS and a separate phone.
TOKYO -- Everyone seems to want a piece of Japan's defense industry these days. Now that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has adopted a less-restrictive set of principles on arms exports -- effectively ending a decades-old, self-imposed ban on such sales -- foreign companies and governments are exploring opportunities for cooperation. But winning overseas contracts could be a battle for companies long cocooned at home.
Executives of 15 Japanese and French companies gathered last Thursday at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo. The list included big guns such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Airbus Group. They discussed ways to work together under Japan's new "three principles on the transfer of defense equipment," including possible joint development of aircraft and ground systems.
The principles, adopted April 1, state Japan will not export arms if doing so would fuel a conflict or violate United Nations resolutions. They allow transfers when they contribute to international peace or promote Japan's security. And they impose controls over transfers to third parties.
Welcome to the global market
Foreign defense contractors started quietly making contact with their Japanese counterparts after Abe's government launched a review of the arms policy late last year. The government's decision to go ahead and embrace new principles has triggered a flurry of activity.
A Mitsubishi Electric plant in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, has become a popular destination for defense officials and contractor executives from various countries. The British Ministry of Defense has shown particularly strong interest in involving Mitsubishi Electric in development of an air-to-air missile called the Meteor.
This is a nod to the Japanese company's advanced missile technology. The plant in Kamakura is also involved in licensed production of a successor to the Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missile for ships.
The U.S. Department of Defense's research unit, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also appears keen to tap Mitsubishi Electric's technologies.
All this opens up huge possibilities for Japanese defense contractors that have been basically confined to their home market, which is currently worth about 1.6 trillion yen ($15.6 billion) a year. Mitsubishi Heavy, the domestic leader, manages annual defense-related sales of some 300 billion yen, about one-tenth what major companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin ring up.
The overseas defense market is valued at more than 40 trillion yen. If Japanese parts make their way into weapons systems supplied to the U.S. and other armed forces, the windfall could be huge.
Yet Japanese contractors should not get too excited -- they have work to do.
Questionable competitiveness
One issue is their high-cost structures.
An official in charge of the defense segment at major trading house Mitsubishi Corp. got a surprise when he visited Lockheed Martin's fighter aircraft plant in Fort Worth, Texas. He had not expected the production line to be so thoroughly automated.
The plant is producing the F-35 stealth fighter jet. Lasers automatically make holes in the plane's fuselage. Painting is also done by robots.
Japanese contractors have experience with fighter production, thanks to their involvement in the development and production of the F-2. But they have been sheltered. The nation's Ministry of Defense has awarded them most contracts, and they have only delivered products to the ministry. They may have a hard time competing for contracts with foreign rivals that have spent years honing their competitiveness.
Three South Korean conglomerates -- the Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo groups -- found a way to sharpen their competitive edge in 1999. They merged their aerospace divisions to create Korea Aerospace Industries. Since then, KAI has exported military aircraft to other Asian countries.
Apple does this every other year with iPhones -- see the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S. It's a common occurrence in iPads and MacBooks, too: take a familiar form, and repeat. But, in a phone landscape dominated by rapid change, it can feel frustrating, even for a product we loved just 12 months ago. EveniOS 7, Apple's graphically overhauled operating system, feels different but not really all that shocking. Even the new colors -- gold and "space gray" -- are subtler than you realize.
That doesn't mean there aren't changes, but many of them seem like roadwork for the future; a cleverly ingenious under-the-home-button fingerprint sensor, a clearly better camera, majorly upgraded graphics, a motion-tracking M7 coprocessor, and a new A7 processor capable of 64-bit computing are a lot of under-the-hood tweaks. But, after a week of using the iPhone 5S, it's hard to find situations that currently take advantage of these features, except for the fingerprint sensor and camera.
Check back in two months; after new apps emerge, maybe the iPhone 5S will start seeming like a truly new iPhone. But, for now, it's more of refined improvement. The iPhone 5 has gotten better. How much better depends on how fast apps and services can take advantage of the features...or whether we'll be waiting until iOS 8 to see them truly take shape.
Editors' note: Updated September 30, 2013, with expanded M7 fitness-tracking section and hands-on with M7-compatible apps, an additional battery test, and observations on real-use battery after several weeks of use. We will continue to update this review in the coming days, based on subsequent testing. Ratings should be considered tentative, and may evolve as testing continues.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Design: Take the iPhone 5, and add gold (or 'space gray') The iPhone 5 was a somewhat subtle but completely thorough redesign of the iPhone, from screen size to headphone placement. It introduced an aluminum frame, a thinner and lighter build, and came in two colors.
The 5S is a carbon copy, with some new color variations. You can get last year's white/silver color, or "space gray," which matches black glass and a darker gray anodized aluminum. And, yes, there's gold. But it's not like a prop from Liberace's home: it's mellow gold, more a champagne, or a light bronze. Paired with white glass on the back and front, you might have a hard time noticing the gold in the wild unless it was held in the sun. Of the three colors, I liked gray the best: the metal tones might do a better job hiding scratches, too, a problem I saw pop up on last year's all-black iPhone 5.
iPhone 5 and 5S. Can you tell the difference?CNET staff
A year later, the iPhone 5's design still feels sleek and high-end in the 5S, great in the hand, and more compact than most competitor phones. But, it also has a smaller screen (4 inches) than most of itsAndroid cousins. I love using a more compact phone, but competitors have found a way to make larger-screened 4.7-inch phones with excellent feel, like the Moto X, which has nearly edge-to-edge screen across its face. The iPhone 5S has a lot more bezel framing the display, and I couldn't help wondering if that screen couldn't be just a bit bigger.
CNET staff
A larger screen would have really helped this year: not because the competition has it, but because Apple's newest features and apps would put it to good use. I found editing and appreciating the improved photos and video recording, and even playing games, to be challenging; the better that graphics and camera quality get, the more you need a larger screen to appreciate them.
Configurations There's no 128GB iPhone this year; you'll have to once again pick between 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, at the same $199/$299/$399 prices. In the US, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon are the three carriers to offer the iPhone 5S under contract; T-Mobile sells the iPhone 5S in an unlocked, contract-free version that costs $649 for 16GB, $749 for 32GB, and $849 for 64GB.
All versions come with the same A7 processor.
CNET staff
Touch ID: The party-trick tech on the 5S See that little home button down there? It doesn't have a square on it anymore. It's also flat and recessed, not concave. That's practically the only outward-facing indication the iPhone 5S offers to the world, but lurking under the button is the most interesting piece of iPhone tech in quite some time. Unfortunately, it doesn't do as much right now as I wish it could.
"Touch ID" is Apple's fingerprint sensor, a secret sauce of clever scanning technology that amounts to a home button that's now both capacitive and clickable. The fact it does both can be a little disorienting at first, but the clicking is what the home button normally does, while gently touching the sensor activates the fingerprint scan.
CNET staff
Touch ID's simple round button works on a simple press, versus a "swipe" gesture on a lot of previous fingerprint readers. The scanning technology, when it registers your fingerprint, encourages you to press from a variety of angles, so your fingerprint can be read even on its side or on an edge. It's fast: a simple click on the button and the phone unlocks, the scan happening invisibly. Most people won't even know it scanned them, but try another finger and you'll see that it worked.
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A few previous smartphones have added fingerprint sensors before, like theMotorola Atrix, but those were more awkward bars that needed finger-swiping. The Touch ID-enabled home button feels invisible; it works with a tap, can recognize your finger from many angles, and feels like it has less of a fail rate than fingerprint sensors I've used on laptops. It's impressive tech. It worked on all my fingers, and even my toe (I was curious).
Its only limitation, really, is how little Apple has employed Touch ID into the iPhone experience at the moment. Scanning your finger takes the place of entering a passcode in most instances, or entering a password every time you purchase something from the App Store or iTunes. But, that's all Touch ID does for now: it doesn't remember your other passwords on various cloud services, or link to your credit card, or pay for movie tickets via Fandango.
In fact, you'd better remember whatever passcode you used to lock your phone, because Touch ID isn't a pure replacement. If you restart your iPhone, or turn it off and on, or don't use it for 48 hours, it'll ask for your passcode again before allowing fingerprint recognition. That's potentially useful as an extra deterrent for would-be fingerprint thieves, but it proved a little quirky over a week of use. I never knew when the 5S might insist I enter my passcode again.
CNET staff
Worried about a kid pressing his finger down over and over and erasing your phone's memory? Never fear. Touch ID cleverly defaults to asking for a passcode after three fingerprint attempts, and after five bad tries, it requires it. Then you still have 10 passcode attempts before any "erase contents after 10 passcode failures" setting you've possibly enabled kicks in.
How much time does it save? A little, especially since this process skips the "swipe to unlock" gesture. You'll also save a few seconds over entering a passcode. But, in terms of convenience, I really only appreciated it during the day, in those little moments when I quickly needed to hop on my phone.
I have a bigger dream for Touch ID, of its fingerprint scan acting as a password replacement for third-party apps or even a way to make payments, or check in to flights. It could be a mobile wallet killer app, and a companion to Apple's somewhat dormant PassBook app that launched with iOS 6. But those extra features won't be coming anytime soon. Apple currently intends Touch ID and your fingerprint -- which gets encrypted as mathematical data, according to Apple, not an image -- to stay on the A7 chip of the iPhone 5S, out of reach of third-party apps or cloud services. That could be good for added security, but it means Touch ID isn't a magic remember-every-password savior or credit card replacement yet.
That being said, I expect Touch ID to make its way onto every Apple device: iPads next, and eventually Macs. Why not? It's easy to use.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Camera Touch ID may be getting all the headlines lately, but the iPhone 5S' improved camera is probably its biggest selling point. Cameras are no longer afterthoughts on smartphones: they're becoming the most important feature, for many, as they slowly but surely replace point-and-shoot cameras.
If you're getting a new iPhone for its camera, get the 5S. A suite of new and useful upgrades help make the already-good iPhone 5 camera into something even better...but, in a landscape riddled with increasingly impressive phone cameras, the iPhone stands out a little less than before.
Unlike many megapixel-packing smartphones (41-megapixel Lumia 1020, I'm looking at you), the iPhone 5S camera stays at 8 megapixels, the same on paper as last year and even the year before. The sensor, as Apple will proclaim, however, is 15 percent larger: the pixels are physically bigger (1.5 microns), even if there are the same number of them. The camera's aperture is larger (f/2.2). All of these elements add up to better low-light exposure.
All cell phones have special codes associated with them. These codes are used to identify the phone, the phone's owner and the service provider.
Let's say you have a cell phone, you turn it on and someone tries to call you. Here's what happens to the call:
When you first power up the phone, it listens for an SID (see sidebar) on the control channel. The control channel is a special frequency that the phone and base station use to talk to one another about things like call set-up and channel changing. If the phone cannot find any control channels to listen to, it knows it is out of range and displays a "no service" message.
When it receives the SID, the phone compares it to the SID programmed into the phone. If the SIDs match, the phone knows that the cell it is communicating with is part of its home system.
Along with the SID, the phone also transmits a registration request, and the MTSO keeps track of the phone's location in a database -- this way, the MTSO knows which cell you are in when it wants to ring your phone.
The MTSO gets the call, and tries to find you. It looks in its database to see which cell you are in.
The MTSO picks a frequency pair that your phone will use in that cell to take the call.
The MTSO communicates with your phone over the control channel to tell it which frequencies to use, and once your phone and the tower switch on those frequencies, the call is connected. Now, you are talking by two-way radio to a friend.
As you move toward the edge of your cell, your cell's base station notes that your signal strength is diminishing. Meanwhile, the base station in the cell you are moving toward (which is listening and measuring signal strength on all frequencies, not just its own one-seventh) sees your phone's signal strength increasing. The two base stations coordinate with each other through the MTSO, and at some point, your phone gets a signal on a control channel telling it to change frequencies. This handoff switches your phone to the new cell.
As you travel, the signal is passed from cell to cell. Let's say you're on the phone and you move from one cell to another -- but the cell you move into is covered by another service provider, not yours. Instead of dropping the call, it'll actually be handed off to the other service provider.If the SID on the control channel does not match the SID programmed into your phone, then the phone knows it is roaming. The MTSO of the cell that you are roaming in contacts the MTSO of your home system, which then checks its database to confirm that the SID of the phone you are using is valid. Your home system verifies your phone to the local MTSO, which then tracks your phone as you move through its cells. And the amazing thing is that all of this happens within seconds.
The less amazing thing is that you may be charged insane rates for your roaming call. On most phones, the word "roam" will come up on your phone's screen when you leave your provider's coverage area and enter another's. If not, you'd better study your coverage maps carefully -- more than one person has been unpleasantly surprised by the cost of roaming. Check your service contract carefully to find out whether you're paying when you roam. Most of the larger phone companies do not charge for roaming within the U.S., but some of the discount companies do.
Internationally is another story. The roaming rates can be very high, assuming you have a phone that can work in multiple countries. Different countries use different cellular access technologies. More on those technologies later. First, let's get some background on analog cell phone technology so we can understand how the industry has developed.
HTC’s Sensation XL is both sensationally good and sensationally heavy compared to its main rival, the Samsung Galaxy S2. With the extra bulk you do, however, get the superb HTC Sense interface and audio from Beats by Dr Dre - the distinctive headphones are included in the box. All that makes a real difference and means that this is more than a typical Android phone. Contact information is effortlessly integrated with social networking and you can use HTC’s exclusive movie store to buy films direct. With a large screen and full HD, the Sensation is also able to do them justice. It is, in that sense the logical successor to HTC’s hugely popular, superb Desire HD, but with massively improved sound quality.
The Sensation’s two problems, however, are its bulk and its battery life. The former is not a huge problem per se, but compared to other devices HTC needs to do better in future. Of more importance is the battery life, which users will notice flags before the end of the day even in casual usage. It is better than the LG Optimus 3D, but then it isn’t powering all that 3D wizardry.
The overall feeling with HTC is that this is the company that forced others, such as Samsung and Motorola to up their game. From HTC’s perspective, perhaps it’s unfortunate that they succeeded so well.
Google has announced its much-awaited new phone, the Galaxy Nexus, and also released a new version of its Android phone software. Codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0 will be available to existing Android users soon and is available to software developers now. The Galaxy Nexus will launch in November.
Among the Galaxy Nexus’s new features are face recognition, allowing users to unlock their phones simply by looking at the phone’s front camera, a redesigned interface, an improved keyboard and a new application using Near-Field Communications (NFC) that lets two Android handsets share content directly.
The phone also replaces all physical buttons with software-based, moveable equivalents. The change allows a larger, 4.65” screen, which like the previous Nexus S model is slightly curved.
Running a 1.2Ghz processor, the Galaxy Nexus will be made by Samsung and also offers a high-definition display. Although many phones, such as the newly announced Motorola Razr and the Samsung Galaxy SII offer 8 megapixel cameras, the Galaxy Nexus uses a 5mp version.
Writing on the Google Blog, the company’s Senior Vice President of Mobile, Andy Rubin, wrote that “Ice Cream Sandwich makes Android simple and beautiful, and takes the smartphone to beyond smart”. It's that crucial, improved usability that means Android is finally beginning to match the user experience of the iPhone interface.
Score: 4.5 /5
Operating System: Android 4 Screen: 1280x720 4.65” Processor: Dual core, 1.2GHz Battery (Talk time): 6hrs Camera Resolution: 5 Megapixels Weight: 135g Memory: Built in 16gb
Motorola has unveiled a new version of its top-selling handset, the Razr. The new version, which runs Android and is just 7.1mm thin, is the successor to the original clamshell handset that sold more than 130million units after it was launched in 2004.
Available on a number of networks in the UK from November, the device features a Kevlar body, a top-of-the range 4.3” display and a 1.2GHz processor.
The original Razr was initially launched as a high-fashion designer phone, but after the price was lowered it went on to sell in record numbers. It is still the world's best-selling clamshell phone, and featured in popular TV shows such as Lost and Top Gear. A version made for charity was launched by Oprah Winfrey and Bono.
Running Android 2.3.5, the new device also includes a new app called MotoCast, which allows the device to stream or download content such as music, films or files from any computer in the world, so long as it is also using MotoCast.
Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s chairman and chief executive, said that “Motorola Razr is an iconic brand, and one that originally revolutionized the mobile device industry by turning a functional necessity into an object of desire.”
The phone will feature an 8megapixel camera and can record in full 1080p HD video. A new feature called “Smart Actions” will also automate certain settings, so that, for instance, the phone can automatically put itself on silent when the GPS registers that it has entered its owner’s workplace.
The Razr will also be sold with a range of accessories including the laptop-style lapdock made popular by the Motorola Atrix smartphone.
It is expected to retail on tariffs making it free at £35 per month.
BlackBerry and touchscreen haven’t previously been a great match, and truth be told the Torch is by no means the best example on the market when compared to Apple, Android and many others.
With a slide-out keyboard, however, the Torch offers both a genuine BlackBerry experience and a larger canvas. That means it can come close to actually fulfilling BlackBerry’s promise of being great for both business and pleasure.
Unfortunately, the device still lacks apps in the numbers of other platforms; those that are there, however, are perfectly good enough. Universal Search is a handy feature, however: just start typing and the software automatically looks for everything relevant, including contacts, emails and more. If there’s nothing in the device, you’re offered links to Google and other sources.
So the Torch is a very impressive business phone that’s acceptable to also use for listening to music or watching movies. BlackBerry are keen to point out that they are Britain’s best-selling smartphone maker which, thanks to younger users and cheaper prices, they are. But while the Torch is the best BlackBerry on the market at the moment, it’s not the best smartphone.
Full review: Review: BlackBerry Torch 9800
Score: 3/5
Operating System: Blackberry OS Screen: 360x480 3.2” Processor: 624MHz Battery (Talk time): 5.5hrs Camera Resolution: 5 Megapixels Weight: 161g Memory: 4gb plus Micro SD slot
about, that's the fact that Samsung is to announce its new flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S5, very, very soon. It is rumored that the South Korean giant is going to be among the first companies in 2014 to unleash a new top-shelf smartphone, and we can't wait to see what it's really going to look like! Well, exactly what it's going to offer, and whether it will have something to truly wow us with... that we don't know, but there is already a good number of rumors, leaks and indications, all of which can be used to paint an almost believable image of the Galaxy S5.
