Oh HTC. You’ve produced one of the finest Android smartphones ever (seriously, just look at all these reviews), but you’ve faced more than your share of challenges when it came to actually pumping your top-tier One smartphone. As it happens, that may all soon change.

FocusTaiwan reported earlier today that HTC is preparing to pump out more of its wonderful Ones in short order — Jack Tong, the company’s North Asia president, noted that this month’s production capacity for the flagship device is twice that of April, and that surge will only continue into June.

Sounds pretty yawn-worthy, right? Normally I would spend too much time dwelling on the finer points of production capacity, but here’s a device that was launched to widespread praise by an underdog smartphone company some people have written off, and HTC has basically been getting screwed thanks to part shortages for the One’s Ultrapixel camera and a brief injunction due to the HDR microphone it uses. It’s like a perfect storm of headaches for a company that really, really doesn’t need it — one look at its Q1 financials and it’s clear that HTC needed this launch to go as smoothly as possible. It didn’t.

For what it’s worth, HTC hasn’t disclosed how many Ones it’s shipped since it launched earlier this year. Meanwhile, rival Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has become the Korean electronics giant’s fastest moving smartphone — Samsung shipped 6 million units in just over two weeks, and it hopes to cross the 10 million unit threshold by the end of this month. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that Google’s Hugo Barra showed off a version of the S4 at the company’s I/O developer conference that runs a version of Android that’s unfettered by the software bloat that many a reviewer took umbrage at. Company representatives were careful not to call it a Nexus — even though it seems to harbor many of the advantages inherent to the Nexus line like a clean Android build and access to frequent software updates.

As I noted towards the end of my HTC One review, the wireless industry isn’t a meritocracy — the well-executed device doesn’t always wind up saving the day. Hopefully now that some of these production woes have been ironed out we’ll see HTC live to fight another day, but that’s still far from a given.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Google’s big annual developer conference kicks off on Wednesday, and while Android lead Sundar Pichai has downplayed big new announcements at Google I/O this year, we’ve also seen reports that suggest the Nexus line of Google-branded hardware won’t go completely untouched.

Nexus Phones

The rumors suggest that we won’t see a brand new Nexus phone at Google I/O this year, but what we could see instead is a mid-cycle upgrade for the Nexus 4. In fact, the existing version seems tailor-made for a couple quick internal hardware upgrades to inject some fresh life into sales and activate some new buzz around the product, which by most accounts has been selling fairly well, especially when compared to previous Nexus flagship phones.

What we’ve heard indicates that the Google Nexus 4 will appear at I/O boasting a 32GB internal memory upgrade, along with built-in LTE support. There’s an LTE-capable wireless radio built into the current Nexus 4, but it lacks a proper signal amplifier and as such remains officially disabled. Nearer the Nexus 4′s launch, you could activate it with a backdoor hack, but Google quickly shut that down.

Both these spec bumps would be easy enough to accomplish, and are both considered the most noteworthy obvious flaws on an otherwise very impressive device. And a new spy shot making the rounds today backs up earlier claims we might see a white version of the Nexus 4, which so far only ships in black, which could be another factor in convincing new buyers to take the plunge.

It’s not clear how exactly Motorola’s devices will fit into the Nexus line, but it’s also worth mentioning that a new device labeled the “Motorola XT1058″ has just been spotted making its way through the FCC, which suggests it might arrive very soon. What precious little info the filing contains suggests that this could be the fabled XFON we’ve been hearing Motorola is working on for Google, and it could theoretically make an I/O appearance, but this could also be yet another smartphone already on Motorola’s roadmap pre-acquisition, and there’s no guarantee we’ll see it at the show either way.

Nexus Tablets

There’s less buzz around new Nexus tablet hardware making an appearance at I/O, but there are some indications we could see some upgrades there, too. KGI Securities analyst Mingchi Kuo says there’s a brand new Nexus 7 coming, with a high-res, 1920

Google’s I/O developer conference is happening next week in San Francisco, and one of the big questions around what we’ll see there includes hardware. Now KGI securities analyst Mingchi Kuo (via 9to5Google), who unlike other analysts actually has a good track record of predicting things accurately, has let slip that one big reveal will be an updated Nexus 7 tablet, with a 1920 x 1200 7-inch display, a 5 megapixel camera and a new sleek, light design for the same $199 price point as the current version.

The Asus-built tablet will boast a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, a “narrow bezel” screen with pixel density of 323 (pretty close to that of the iPhone 5) and physical dimensions that make it either very close to or even smaller than Apple’s iPad mini. If true, that’ll make it handheld, and with a Retina-quality display, at a price that absolutely undercuts Apple’s $329 entry point with the mini.

Other additions to this model include wireless charging according to Kuo, which would be in keeping with that feature being offered standard with the Nexus 4. Google is using Qi-based induction charging, which means that it’s compatible with a wide range of chargers, and the new Nexus 7 would likely adopt the same tech.

Kuo also looked beyond the I/O conference to what we might see from Google in the coming months, which include some fairly surprising developments. There’s a plan to get Samsung Android-powered notebooks to market, for instance, over the next 3 or 4 months. Intel telegraphed Android-based notebooks via one of its executives in a report last month, as 9to5Google notes, but Kuo says that we won’t see these at I/O since the next major point release of Android, version 5.0, won’t be ready for the show.

Android-based notebooks are a bit of a head-scratcher since Google has already invested a lot in pushing Chrome OS on the desktop, and recent reports suggest Chrome OS might end up powering tablets, too. It seems contrary for Google to continue working on that while also building a version of Android that can power notebooks, but this may just be a case of Google putting bets on multiple horses over the long-term, which makes sense given that the company has repeatedly shown it’s willing to invest in products that end up being failures for the sake of gleaning insights from what went wrong.

Beyond that, Kuo says Google is still working on an a Google TV device which will compete with the existing Apple TV, which sounds like it might be a second, more feature-rich kick at the ill-fated Nexus Q can. Finally, he also says a smart watch device is expected to debut alongside Glass in Google’s wearable computing category, but that this won’t hit mass production until at least next year.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

LG is an Android smartphone OEM that, like many others, finds itself in the shadow of Samsung. But it scored an impressive hit with the Nexus 4, the $300 unlocked Google-branded Android reference phone it released last year, and according to the Korea Times, it’s already working on a follow-up with the search giant.

The new report claims that LG is working on a new Nexus-branded smartphone, and that LG also wants to add to its existing partnership with Google for TV products, and would like to be closely involved in future developments like Google Glass. LG clearly sees the value of being closely associated with Google, as it managed to pull into third place in the global smartphone race in Q1 2013 according to IDC and Juniper.

LG’s Optimus G and the Nexus 4 helped it gain some ground in the smartphone war, although it still trails far behind Samsung and Apple, who hold 32.7 percent and 17.3 percent of the global market respectively, compared to LG’s 4.8 percent. Recent estimates have put sales of both the Optimus G and the Nexus 4 at somewhere north of 1 million, which, while once again trailing devices by LG and Apple, are impressive enough. Especially in the case of the Nexus 4, LG proved that it could make a strong seller out of a line that usually has more limited consumer appeal.

In the past, we’ve seen reports that an LG Nexus 5 was in the works, with the code name “Megalodon.” This isn’t just an upgraded version based on the LG Optimus G Pro, but a truly new device with a very powerful quad-core 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor on board. Recent rumors indicate we might see a Nexus 4 variant at Google I/O in two weeks, with a 32GB storage option and both LTE and CDMA cellular wireless bands on board. The current Nexus 4 maxes out at HSPA+, but it does have an LTE-capable radio, early hacks revealed.

There’s very little downside to LG building a new Nexus device, and Google might be more inclined to let them, given the success of the last one. It’s possible we’ll hear more about this at I/O, but given that the Nexus 4 only arrived late last year, we might have to wait a little longer, too.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Samsung introduced its latest tablet today, the Galaxy Tab 3, and it’s clear that the Tab line is destined to play a distinct second fiddle to the Galaxy Note brand. The Tab 3 sounds like it could’ve been released a year or two ago, with a 7-inch 1024

According to a report in the WSJ, Microsoft is working on a new line-up of its Windows 8-powered Surface tablets that includes a seven inch version of the slate. This small form factor size would enable Microsoft to compete with the likes of the Android-powered Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, as well as Apple’s iOS-based iPad Mini.

The paper quotes a person familiar with the situation saying that while 7-inch tablets were not part of Microsoft’s product plans last year  company executives have realised they need to respond to the growth and popularity of small slates. Which boils down to Redmond is having to play catch up yet again.

Microsoft has previously been tipped to release three new and distinct generations of Surface this year — albeit, none of those prior rumours had pointed to a seven inch device. And perhaps with good reason, as Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg noted via Twitter today the small tablet form factor poses some usability challenges for Microsoft’s full-fat Windows OS. Rival small slates are powered by lighter weight mobile OSes, and while Microsoft has now unified its smartphone (Windows Phone) and desktop OSes on a shared kernel it’s still using ‘desktop’ Windows for tablets.

But it’s not just that computing devices are getting smaller. Shrinkage appears inextricably linked with the market in another way. Gartner put out its figures for worldwide PC shipments for Q1 late yesterday — which show shipments declining to their lowest level since Q2 2009. The analyst says alternative smart connected devices — aka those small smartphones and tablets running lighter weight smartphone OSes — are eroding the traditional PC market.

Global PC shipments totalled 79.2 million units in Q1 2013, which Gartner said was an 11.2% year-on-year decline. All global regions showed a decrease in shipments, with the EMEA region experiencing the steepest decline.

“Consumers are migrating content consumption from PCs to other connected devices, such as tablets and smartphones. Even emerging markets, where PC penetration is low, are not expected to be a strong growth area for PC vendors,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner in a statement.

Microsoft’s Surface tablet straddles the gap between a tablet and a laptop, having a touchscreen and a keyboard cover add-on. But Gartner said touchscreen-based Windows 8 PCs took only a small percentage share of consumer PC shipments in Q1 — owing to their relatively high price.

“Touchscreen-based Ultramobiles [such as Surface Pro] offer PC manufacturers an opportunity to recover market share from media tablets, but Windows 8 PCs with touchscreens accounted for only a small percentage of consumer PC shipments in the first quarter of 2013,” noted Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner in a statement. “The majority of consumers remain unwilling to pay the price premium for touchscreen capabilities on PCs at this stage.”

Android tablet sellers including Google and Amazon have been driving down the cost of seven inch slates — with the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire currently costing from as little $199 and $159 respectively — and that price erosion is likely helping to accelerate the consumer migration away from the traditional PC category. Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet was priced from $499 at launch, while Surface Pro was from $899.

How Microsoft chooses to price any ‘Surface Mini’ will be key to driving sales — and with the iPad mini starting at $329, there is not much scope for Redmond to be able to undercut the small slate competition. Yet it can’t afford for Surface to fail.

As Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told TechCrunch last week, discussing its smart devices forecast: “You need to own consumers in terms of mobile and tablet in order to remain relevant in this market… Consumers have options and consumers are choosing and Microsoft can not take that for granted that they’ll be the one to be chosen.”

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Android users will get the chance to try out the official public release of Facebook Home later this week, but if anyone is really impatient a beta version has leaked and is available to try now (via Verge). MoDaCo has published the beta (which is actually made up of three separate APKs covering the Facebook app itself, a new Messenger app and the Home/launcher app.

Another benefit of the pre-release version of Home, besides getting to try it out early, is that it works on a wide variety of devices beyond the five specified by Facebook as being compatible in the event it held last week to officially announce Facebook Home. The only requirement seems to be that the device has a maximum resolution of 1280

Two years ago, Google’s Vic Gundotra keynoted the company’s 2011 I/O developer conference, and one of the big surprises of the day was the launch of Android@Home, Google’s attempt to corner the home-automation market. At the keynote, Google also showed the first prototype of what would later become the Nexus Q “social streaming media player” that it gave to every I/O 2012 attendee.

Fast forward to today, just a few weeks before the next I/O, and home automation is still clunky and dominated by the same players as before, with the possible exception of Nest. Google has barely mentioned Android@Home since 2011. The Nexus Q never even made it to market after Google “postponed” it just before it was scheduled to launch. Unlike other Google products, both Android@Home and the Nexus Q currently live in no-man’s land where forgotten Google products wait before they are either resurrected or put out on the curb with the rest of its failed products at the next spring cleaning.

While most neglected Google products disappear sooner or later, though, the Nexus Q, which got mostly negative reviews, still lives on an unlinked page on Google Play. The Nexus Q was Google’s first attempt at designing its own hardware, and while the Q was a great hardware product, it felt like it was intentionally held back by its software, which was extremely limited.

The hardware still looks great today, so maybe it will make a return at I/O this year, but hopefully as a fully featured media player with app support that’ll let you run the majority of your Android apps on a TV. I don’t have very high hopes for this, but it’s definitely a possibility, given that its internals were essentially those of a high-end Android phone. When it “postponed” its launch and gave a free Q to everybody who pre-ordered one, Google said it did so because it wanted to make the Q better – and what better time to show how much it has improved it than at I/O 2013?

The Nexus Q was just one piece of Google’s larger Android@Home home-automation vision. Android@Home was supposed to revolutionize home automation and turn Android into the operating system for your home. It would let you control everything from your heating system to your washer and dryer, alarm clock, lightbulbs (Google even had a partner for this “launch”), entertainment system and every other appliance. Since I/O 2011, we haven’t heard anything about Android@Home. Google still features the Accessory Development Kit on its homepage, but that’s less about @Home than about talking to gadgets like a Fitbit over Bluetooth.

Last month, though, Android@Home quietly made a reappearance in Android 4.2.2. The 4.2.2 configuration files, it turns out, mention mesh networks and Android@Home. We’ll likely see the next version of Android at I/O in May, and given this late reappearance of Google’s home-automation framework in its operating system, I’m pretty hopeful that we’ll see it make another keynote appearance this year. If not, look for it in the next list of spring cleaning items, right next to the Nexus Q and Feedburner…

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Google has been on a bit of a roll with its commercials lately, especially for its gadgets. Today, the company unleashed its latest commercial for the Nexus 10, its iPad killer competitor. The video tells the story of a couple who has just found out that they’re having a baby. Google has woven the Nexus 10 Wi-Fi-only device into the story quaintly.

The feature that Google decided to focus the commercial around? Its multi-user Android one. Yes, Google’s competitive advantage is apparently the fact that you can share the device with someone else. Is that enough? Have a look at the commercial:

We’ve talked about Apple needing a “kid-only” and “guest” mode for the iPad, but are these very personal devices something that we want everyone’s grubby little hands on? It sounds good on paper and perhaps in a well-produced commercial. But alas, the answer is yes, people really do want to purchase a device like this and let other members of their family have a play, too.

The great part about having multiple-account capability is that you can pick up the device, log in and then instantly have access to your own home screen and apps. Since Google’s syncing capabilities are pretty robust, you could have a few of these devices sitting around and just log into whichever one is closest to you. Plus, the 10 costs about $399.

Now that Google is settling into its role as a player in the mobile and tablet space, it’s interesting to watch what they pick to focus on. In the video above, you’ll see how they fit Google Play in, watching movies, searches with Google Now, doing Hangouts on Google+ and reading a book. The story is starting to develop for Google’s devices and services.

It’s not all hearts and hugs for Google, as Apple could, and probably will, roll something like this out in the near future. For now it’s an advantage, but Google has to continually roll out features within its OS that are just a bit better than iOS. A complete side-by-side war won’t work; it’s going to have to be incremental upgrades and changes that catch your eye…like sharing your device seamlessly with anyone who wants to use it. This time, you won’t get your iPad back with tabs full of porn on it. Not that it has happened to any of us. Much.

Will we see upgrades at the I/O conference this year for Google’s 10-inch tablet? One can hope. The only problem for me with the Nexus 10 is that outside of my home, it’s pretty useless. Is the 10 perfect? Not even close. Is it better than the iPad? That’s a matter of personal preference. Google just wants to nudge you with some of its own unique features, and that’s smart.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Google’s next reference smartphone is the subject of many rumors over the past few days, but only one stands out as not too outlandish. Phonearena reports that according to a source, the next Nexus could have Nikon camera technology on board, with a “triple sensor” array. The camera is being referred to as the “selling point” of the Nexus 5, the source claims.

The tipster in this case also cites more reasonable specs for the Nexus 5, including a 5-inch display capable of 1080p output, a Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM and 8/16GB storage options. There’s also a beefy 3140 mAh battery on board, which should outlast the current device depending on the power requirements of the display. These refute an earlier claim from AndroidandMe about a super-powered 5.2-inch LG device being next in line for the Nexus name, with a bizarre 3GB of RAM supposedly on board.

By contrast, the more recent Nexus 5 spec report makes much more sense in the context of how Google has iterated its flagship Android device in the past. And the Nikon camera tech also echoes an earlier statement from Google’s Vic Gundotra, who said on Google+ last month that Google is specifically “committed to making Nexus phones insanely great cameras,” teasing that consumers need only “wait and see” to realize the truth of that statement.

The one sour note on the otherwise impressive Nexus 4 from Google released last fall is the camera; reviewers mostly seem to rate it either adequate or sub-par compared to cameras in devices like the iPhone or Android handsets from other OEMs. Accordingly, it makes sense that Google would focus attention on improving the camera in the next Nexus, since that would provide good upgrade incentive for those following the brand, and also help Google better show off Android’s built-in camera features, which is one of the primary purposes of its line of Nexus reference hardware.

Google and Nikon have worked together in the past, including on the Nikon Coolpix S800c, which features an Android-based firmware. Google also acquired Nik software last year, makers of Snapseed, and a company Nikon had previously made a sizable investment in.

The sensor of the new camera will reportedly be a three-sensor affair, which sounds like it could resemble the tech used in HTC’s Ultrapixel or Sigma’s Foveon X3 sensors, by combining three sensor layers, each with a smaller megapixel count, to create a single higher resolution image with better color rendering and light capture. This is still very much a rumor, but it’s an interesting one and definitely seems to be in line with Google’s apparent goals for the Nexus line.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch