Nokia Oro announced: Symbian Anna inside and gold outside

Today Nokia unveiled their new premium handset dubbed the Nokia Oro. The Symbian smartphone will offer a selection of exquisite materials for its exterior, including 18-carat gold plating, sapphire crystal and leather.

That's the second public appearance of the Nokia Oro, after it leaked a few weeks ago. The smartphone sports the latest Anna update of the Symbian operating system and a good set of connectivity options – microUSB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G with HSDPA. There’s also a sweet 3.5” ClearBlack AMOLED screen with nHD resolution on board.

    

Nokia Oro

Designwise the Nokia Oro is an exact copy of the C7 mass-market model, but Nokia has made sure that it won’t get mistaken for its mortal cousin. The company says that the build quality has been improved and the materials used are just screaming expensive.

The 18-carat gold plating used for the frame around the front panel, the keys and the part around the camera lens have been made scratch-resistant so it won’t lose its appeal over time. The leather used for the rest of the back panel comes from premium Scottish stock and the home button is covered by real sapphire crystal, which is said to be 8 times tougher than glassIf you fancy snatching a full-featured smartphone with looks that will clearly state your high social status, you will be able to get the Nokia Oro in Q3 of this year. Europe, China and the Middle East will be the first to get the handset, which will cost in excess of €800 before taxes and subsides.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini specs and photos emerge

Thanks to some anonymous tipster a few images are now available online that show what appears to be a Samsung Galaxy S5 mini. The smartphone looks very similar to a Samsung Galaxy S5, using the same dotted back panel, a heart-rate monitor under the camera lens and even the water-repelling rubber padding underneath the back panel. There even looks to be a fingerprint scanner under the home button.

Looking at the back panel it appears to cover more of edge of the phone compared to the Galaxy S5 and the battery is smaller, which adds some credence to the info that it's a mini version.

While the images can be an elaborate hoax it seems perfectly believable for Samsung to release a mini that so closely resembles the bigger version. And now that the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom has beenofficial since last month and the Galaxy S5 Active is official since today we're pretty sure this one is coming shortly.

  

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini (click to expand)

We've heard about it having a 4.5" display of 720p resolution along with an 8 MP camera, IP67 certification and a heart-rate monitor. We've even seen official support pages.

The device in the images doesn't appear to have a flap cover on top of its microUSB port, which puts a question mark on the water resistance claims.

According to the source, the Galaxy S5 mini will not have a Snapdragon 400 but rather a new, yet unannounced, Exynos 3 Quad (Exynos 3470) chip with a quad-core 1.4 GHz processor with Mali-400 MP4 GPU and 1.5 GB of RAM.

Acer unveils five smartphones, a tablet and a smartband

Acer has gone rampant and unveiled a slew of new device before their expected Computex 2014 debut (starting June 3). Those devices include the Acer Liquid X1, E700, E600, Liquid Jade and Liquid Z200 smartphones, the Liquid Leap smartband and the Iconia 8 tablet. All devices are expected to launch in Q3 of this year.

Now the best-equipped smartphone of the bunch is the Acer Liquid X1. It's an octa-core LTE smartphone with a 5.7-incher at the front and Android KitKat on board. The display is uses the Zero Air Gap technology for lower light reflection, higher contrast and brighter images and has an IPS panel of 720p resolution. The smartphone has a 1.7 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM are embedded into a MediaTek MT6592 SoC. The camera is a 13 MP unit with the impressively-wide f/1.8 aperture, 0.3s autofocus and 1080p video capabilities.

The Liquid X1 has 16 gigs of storage expandable through a microSD card (up to 32 additional gigs) and there's a 2,700 mAh battery on board.

Acer Liquid X1

The Acer Liquid 700 and 600 both have Android KitKat on tap along with microSD card slots for cheap expansion of the storage. The Liquid E700 is the more powerful of the duo. It has a MediaTek MT6582 chipset with a quad-core 1.2 GHz processor, Mali-400 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. It also supports three SIM cards and is powered by a potent 3,500 mAh battery.

The screen of the Liquid E700 is a Zero Air Gap 5" IPS unit of 720p resolution. There's an 8 MP camera with an LED flash on the back as well.

The Acer Liquid E600 has the same size display but of the much lower 480 x 854 pixel resolution. It's powered by a Snapdragon 400 chipset with a quad-core 1.2 GHz processor, the Adreno 305 GPU and 1 GB of RAM. The battery capacity is lower at 2,500 mAh but there's LTE connectivity, which the E700 doesn't offer.

Acer Liquid E700 • Acer Liquid E600

We move on to the Acer Liquid Jade smartphone and Liquid Leap smartband, which Acer showed at an event in April but didn't elaborate too much on what they offer. Well now we know the Liquid Jade has a 720p IPS display of 5" diagonal of the same Zero Air Gap variety. There's a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor with 1 GB of RAM embedded on the MediaTek MT6582 SoC.

The camera is the same 13 MP wide-aperture, fast-focusing unit of the Liquid X1. Finally the battery is a 2,100 mAh unit.

As for the Liquid Leap - it's Acer's first wearable device. It has a 1" touchscreen display and can do fitness tracking, call and SMS notifications. It will be offered in Moonstone White, Mineral Black, Aquamarine, Fragrant Pink, and Vivid Orange colors and is IPX7 certified for water protection up to a meter for as long as 30 minutes.

Acer Liquid Jade and Liquid Leap

The Acer Liquid Z200 is the simplest of the bunch. It has a 4" WVGA screen (480 x 800), 1 GHz dual-core processor inside a MediaTek MT6572M chip. There are 512 MB of RAM, 2 MP fixed-focus camera and a 1,300 mAh battery.

Acer Liquid Z200

The Acer Iconia 8 tab has an 8" Zero Air Gap display of 1080p resolution, stereo speakers and an Intel Atom Z3745 inside. It runs on Android KitKat with very slight customizations.

Samsung’s 7-inch phone spotted at FCC

Ok so calling Samsung’s upcoming 7-inch ‘Galaxy Mega 2’ (the supposed name for the device) a phone isn’t really appropriate: it’s more a tablet with a GSM antenna. There have been some murmurings about the device on the internets, but nothing really concrete with regards to a US release; until now.

The SM-T2558, which is the proper name for the device, made its way through the FCC, which indicates that the ginormous phone/tablet monstrosity may be making its way stateside.

Now before you go and think that this is just a tablet with a sim card slot (like many tablets out there), it should be noted that the Galaxy Mega 2 is a very thin device, like the original Galaxy Mega (which rocked a 6.3” screen), with an enormous touchscreen. Its thinness and naming convention leads us to believe that this 7” device is intended to be a phone; a massive one.

There has also been some talk of this device debuting alongside another 6” Samsung Galaxy phone, probably a phablet with similar specs and a smaller screen (although use of the world ‘small’ with these dimensions is inappropriate).

Samsung is planning a media event that will take place on June 12th, where they’ll present the Galaxy Tab S line of tablets. This handset might very well make an appearance at the event.

Of course none of this is set in stone and these are all rumors, but the FCC spotting is a good indication that this goliath of a phone should be coming to the US.

WP 8.1 powers 5% of Windows Phone devices

A report by AdDuplex shows that Windows Phone 8.1 is quickly gaining traction and is now powering slightly over 5% of the overall WP phone base. The study shows the growth is thanks to the newly registered developer accounts and the market launch of the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635.

Still, Windows Phone 7.x is found on 17.8% of devices, while Windows Phone 8 keeps the top position at 77%. Unsurprisingly, just like at the end of January, the Nokia Lumia 520 is the most popular Windows Phone, but it's losing ground. Back in January, the Lumia 520 boasted a 39% market share, while four months later, it stands at 33.7%.

The second most popular phone is the Windows Phone ecosystem is the Lumia 625 with 6.7%, and theLumia 920 stands close by at 6.2%.

With the Lumia 530 already active in the rumor mill, it'll be interesting to see if it'll be able to achieve the success of its predecessor.

Samsung announces Simband reference health monitor platform, beats Apple to the punch

Samsung's "Voice of the Body" event in San Francisco last night was rumoured to mark the launch of a more health-centric wearable gadget, in order to take some of the shine away from Apple's expected iwatch reveal at WWDC next month. Instead of a replacement for the Gear 2 smartwatch, however, Samsung instead announced SimBand - a developmental reference design that won't actually be making it's way to the public.

Instead, SimBand represents a push towards more useful health monitoring, rather than the generic heart rate and accelerometer readings built into most smart watches and exercise trackers. It monitors in real time, rather than at set intervals, and uses a range of optical, electrical and light-based sensors to measure body temperature, blood flow, respiration, hydration levels, and even glucose concentrations in the blood.

Rather than use a fixed set of sensors, SimBand is entirely modular. The sensor unit can be removed and replaced, which will allow developers to build their own bespoke sensors in order to measure specific metrics, and ensure the device itself isn't made obsolete by changing technology.

As the device is meant to be worn 24/7 in order to continuously monitor your vitals, Samsung designed a clip-on battery charger. Rather than tether yourself to a power outlet, users are able to take the battery pack with them and refuel the band on the move.

SimBand is only half the story, however; Samsung also used the event to introduce the Samsung Architecture Multimedia Interactions platform, otherwise known as SAMI. The cloud-based service takes all the data collected by the SimBand and would make it available to researchers, healthcare professionals and medical scholars in order to help improve fitness on a large scale. Samsung promised that user data would remain secure and that permission would be needed to allow third party access.

SimBand has integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to automatically transfer data to SAMI, most likely through a smartphone, although Samsung has yet to go into specifics.

In order to encourage adoption by developers and health professionals, Samsung will be introducing a $50 million fund that would reward anyone taking part in the company's Digital Health challenge. Beta versions of both Simband and the SAMI APIs will be made available by the end of the year.

The announcement seems deliberately timed to draw attention away from Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), where the iWatch wearable is expected to be revealed. The company has hired several prominent healthcare professionals in the past and it is understood the iWatch will be firmly focussed on fitness 8and wellbeing.

Google Glass release date, price, specs and apps - now on sale

Google Glass is a wearable high-tech pair of spectacles that connects to the internet. It can display information, run apps, take pictures and video and respond to voice commands. With companies currently betting big on smartwatches, Google has gone one step further and believes that soon we'll all be walking around wearing super-intelligent glasses.

We're keeping track of all the latest Google Glass updates including the latest Google Glass news, rumours, price details and release date information. This piece will be regularly updated with the latest news appearing at the top.

GOOGLE GLASS RELEASE DATE

Google Glass is already available on general sale in the US, but it still costs $1,500 (£890). Google said it would continue to sell Glass until stocks ran out as part of its Explorer Programme. The company explained that this version of Glass wasn't the final retail version and that the technology was still in its extended testing period. Glass remains unavailable to people living outside the USA.

Google has previously said that Google Glass will launch "later in 2014". No more specific details than that are available. How widespread that launch will be is up for debate.

The Google Glass Explorer scheme has remained US-only. In its terms Google says you need to be a US resident with a US shipping address and aged 18 or older. It is therefore possible that the full launch of Glass later this year will be US only. There's certainly precedent on Google's part, the company has a history of launching certain services and products in the US first.

GOOGLE GLASS PRICE: HOW MUCH WILL GLASS COST?

At the moment Google Glass is only available as part of Google's Explorer program for a whopping $1,500 (£888). Google has admitted that the full-release version will cost significantly less. It has been speculated that the company will sell Glass for the same as a mid-range smartphone, with a $600 (£355) mooted.

Anyone eager to get their hands on Google Glass early had their chance on 15 April with Google putting it on sale for one day only. Glass ended up selling more than expected, with Google pulling the plug a tad early, but not before lots of keen punters had snapped one up.

As with the Google Glass Explorer program, everyone who purchased one on 15 April paid $1,500. The one-day sale was once again US-only, with Google saying it "wasn't ready" to bring Glass to other countries yet.

In early May a teardown of Google Glass revealed how much it costs Google to make one unit - $79.78 (£47). According to teardown.com the most expensive component in Google Glass is the processor at $13.96 (£8.27) with connectivity parts and non-electric elements also costing around £8. The teardown was conducted on the 16GB model of Google Glass.

Google has said the figure is "absolutely wrong", adding that that Glass costs "significantly more" to produce. In the past Google has said that the consumer version of Google Glass will cost less than the $1500 'explorer' version that is currently being tested.

According to the teardown the battery costs Google just $1.14, while the camera is $5.66. Assembly and testing on each Google Glass sets Google back $2.15.

GOOGLE GLASS TECHNICAL SPECS

Google Glass has just been updated to Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The update has improved battery life and added lots of new features. However Google has removed video calling from Glass, claiming that less than 10 per cent of people were using it.

On the inside Google Glass has 1GB of memory, 16GB of Flash storage and a 5MP camera that can record video at 720p. It also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a micro USB port, GPS, accelerometer, compass and gyroscope. The processor has been reported as a Texas Instruments OMAP 4430, although the clock speed isn't clear.

The 640 x 360 display might seem awful but as it is located to close to your eye it is actually the equivalent of watching a 25in screen from 2.4m away. As a result, it looks a lot higher quality than the resolution suggests.

GOOGLE GLASS FEATURES: WHAT APPS RUN ON GLASS?

Google Glass apps, also known as Glassware, is what will make the specs a hit or a massive failure. Google has done a lot of work on the customised Android operating system. The 'OK Glass' launcher lets you search Google, take a picture, get directions, send messages and emails, make calls, start a Google Hangout and access Google Now for appointments, flight details and bookings.

Scores of third-party apps are also in the works. The New York Times, Twitter, Facebook, Evernote, CNN and dozens of other websites and services have already developed apps for Glass, with more developers popping up all the time.In May it was reported that Google Wallet will soon be launched on Glass, letting people send money using their voice. TechCrunch reports that people will be able to make payments through Google Wallet on Glass by saying "send money". While it will initially only be available to people on Google's corporate network, the Wallet 'glassware' will be released more widely soon.Google Wallet for Glass can be used to quickly send money. Suggested uses include owing a friend or family member money or splitting a bill at a restaurant. In order to transfer money users will need to say "send money" and then swipe through the Wallet interface to select the appropriate options. Google takes a cut of all payments made through Wallet either 30c (18p) or 2.9 per cent, whichever is higher.

DESIGNER VERSIONS OF GOOGLE GLASS

Google has teamed-up with Luxottica, the Italian design firm behind Ray-Ban, Oakley and Vogue-Eyewear. The deal, announced in March, will see Luxottica offer its design expertise to try and make Google Glass appeal to people outside its 'geeky' niche.Google has already revealed prescription frame versions of Glass, with a range of colours and styles available. Google launched four new styles - Bold, Split, Curve and Thin. Two new tinted shade syles, Classic and Edge, were also been added to the range. It is very likely that Google will sell Glass in a variety of looks, from designer shades to more basic frames and a 'standard' Glass model.

GOOGLE GLASS PRIVACY AND SAFETY CONCERNS

Google Glass has already had a major setback in the UK – it is likely to be banned on roads. The Department of Transport has said that it is aware of Glass and considers it unsafe:We are aware of the impending rollout of Google Glass and are in discussion with the Police to ensure that individuals do not use this technology while driving," the DfT said in a statement.Google has attempted to calm fears that Glass will cause a massive invasion of privacy by issuing its 'top 10 Google Glass myths'. In a post on Google+, the company said that glass wasn't a distraction and couldn't record everything.

Google said Glass isn't capable of always recording video as its battery would only last 45 minutes and said that people wouldn't want to record everything they do anyway.Google also said that Glass wasn't just for geeks and was used by people from "all walks of life", including "parents, firefighters, zookeepers, brewmasters, film students, reporters, and doctors". The company said that Glass allowed people to get on with their lives without being "distracted by technology".Google also pointed out that Glass is a terrible spying device because it is on people's faces and has flashy lights. The company also explained that Glass isn't capable of facial recognition.1\o651

Apple testing wireless charging coils, could mean cable-free iWatch charging

Rumours surrounding Apple's much-hypediwatch continue to appear online, with the latest suggesting the device will use wireless charging in order to cut out the need for a dedicated docking cradle.According to a report from Chinese media outletXueqiu, companies based in Shenzen have sent wireless charging coils to Apple for certification, with a view to providing them in volume for the iWatch as soon as they gain approval. This would imply the iWatch will ship with some kind of charging plate, as no current iPhone or iPad includes wireless charging capabilities.Wireless charging seems like a logical progression for wearables, as currently smart watches like Samsung's Gear 2 have to be docked into a charging cradle every few days to fill it back up with juice. The cradle itself is tiny, fiddly to attach and easily lost - something that wouldn't be an issue with a wireless charging plate.Previous rumours indicated Apple was aiming to be able to charge the iWatch from up to one meter from the charging plate; this would be a major improvement over existing wireless charging systems, which have to maintain physical contact with a charging plate in order to make a circuit. Battery life in general is apparently a sticking point for Apple, with prototype devices lasting between one and two days but company executives demanding up to five days of use on a single charge.The report suggests that Apple is looking to launch the iWatch in the second half of this year, which would line up with the September reveal date long expected for theiPhone 6. When it does arrive, the iWatch is expected to contain multiple sensors to let it track health metrics such as heart rate and sleep quality, which will be stored in iOS 8's Healthbook app.

Android Wear notifications revealed

Google's upcoming Android Wear operating system, the custom version of Android designed specifically for wearable gadgets including smartwatches, has been in development for some time, but we've seen little of the user interface. That changed this morning when screenshots of the in-development notifications system were posted online.

Google employee Timothy Jordan posted the screens to the official Android Developers Google+ page, saying "One of the coolest parts of Android Wear is how it extends the Android platform to a new generation of devices out of the box, without any need to update your app. If you have a notification-enabled app, those notifications will generally just work on your new wearable.

"It's striking how useful these notifications are and easy to imagine how much more valuable they could get with a little bit of additional development. With just a few lines of code you can deliver even richer experiences on the wearable by using stacks, pages, and voice replies."

The images show notifications from a range of apps, including Google Play Music, Google Calendar, addictive mobile game Clash of Clans, and alerts from a Nest thermostat - an unsurprising choice considering Google bought the company for $3.2 billion earlier this year.

The notifications appear to mimic the card-based layout seen in the Google Now assistant on Android 4.4 KitKat, with the app icon floating above the message to make it clear what the notification refers to. It's currently unclear whether Google intends the black background to be present in the final product, or if it is merely a placeholder that could be swapped out with the user's choice of wallpaper.

With Android Wear smartwatches from LG and Motorola expected later in the year, we won't have long to wait to find out how the system will work - and whether these designs make it to the finished product

Asus PadFone X hits AT&T on June 6, $199 on contract

AT&T has just announced the exclusive availability of the Asus PadFone X. The smartphone/tablet hybrid is going to pop up on pre-order on June 6, you will be able to order it online or in the AT&T's retail network.

You can have the Asus PadFone X plus its PadFone Station for $199 with a two-year contract. You can also opt for the AT&T Next programs - in that case the PadFone X and its Station cost $22.92 per month on AT&T Next 18 or $29.80/month on AT&T Next 12.

The PadFone X features a 5" IPS 1080p display and runs on the Snapdragon 800 chipset. It also comes with a 13MP rear camera, 16GB expandable storage, LTE connectivity and has the latest Android 4.4 KitKat OS out of the box. Its PadFone Station has a 9" 1980x1200 pixel display, additional 4,990 mAh battery and a front camera.

HTC One Mini 2 now for sale in the UK

The HTC One Mini 2 went up for pre-sale in the UK last week, but wasn’t slated to drop until June 30th. It turns out that you won’t have to wait that long to get the phone in your clutches if you don’t want to.

Phones4U, a UK retailer is carrying the device well ahead of schedule, and it’s available in all of the company’s stores.

Here’s a quick rundown of the Mini 2’s specs: it packs a 4.5” Super LCD2 display with 720 x 1280 resolution, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor with 1GB, and 16GB internal storage with a microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB cards. The One Mini 2’s camera is also a 13MP one, as opposed to its big brother’s duo unit.

What will the phone cost you? Well SIM-free the handset will run £359.95. Of course, there are price breaks if you decided to sign a contract. For example, EE is giving away the Mini 2 for free if you agree to pay £29.99 a month. It’ll get you 1,000 minutes, unlimited SMS, and 1GB of data.

HTC’s original One Mini was a success, time will tell if the Mini 2 will follow in its footsteps.

It’s funny that a device with a 4.5” is considered “Mini” in this day and age.

LG G3 smartphone officially revealed with QHD display, laser auto focus camera

t's official... finally. LG has revealed the G3 smartphone at simultaneous global events, introducing the world's first QHD resolution handset after weeks of leaks, rumours and speculation.

More than a simple upgrade to last year's G2, the G3 is every bit the flagship handset, with features that put the likes of Samsung's Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (m8) to shame.

LG G3 DISPLAY

The G3's headline feature is an incredibly high resolution screen. The 5.5in LCD display has a 2,560x1,440 resolution, making it the highest resolution display ever seen in a commercial smartphone. By squeezing in so many pixels, LG has achieved an unbelievable 538ppi pixel density, almost doubling the amount Apple describes as necessary for a "retina" display.

Each individual pixel is reduced in size by around 44% versus a traditional Full HD resolution screen, helping the company squeeze more pixels into a smartphone screen than any other manufacturer. LG says that the human eye is more than capable of spotting the difference between HD, Full HD and QHD resolutions, and was keen to point out the differences between Samsung's AMOLED screens and the G3's IPS LCD screen.

LG has used it's own unique optimisations, known as 3a, to help keep battery life as high as possible despite the increase in resolution. This system includes adaptive frame rates, dropping frames when displaying still images, adaptive CPU clocking, reducing CPU speeds when running less intensive apps, and adaptive timing control.

LG G3 BUILD QUALITY AND MATERIALS

Despite rumours suggesting the G3 would be made entirely from metal, just like HTC's One m8, in the end LG went for a middle ground - the G3 has a metal-like finish that looks convincing, doesn't attract fingerprints and isn't as slippery as the G2's plastic coating, but isn't as cold to the touch as actual aluminium.

The 146.3x74.7x8.9mm handset has the same rear-facing buttons as the G2, albeit refined with a flatter shape that sits flush to the phone, rather than protruding outwards slightly. By putting the buttons on the back, LG has saved space on the edges of the handset, meaning the screen bezels are impressively slim.

The handset will be arriving in a choice of colours, with metallic black, silk white, shine gold, moon violet and burgundy red all scheduled to arrive at launch. A slightly curved back and edges should mean it stays firmly in your hands, despite the large screen size.

LG G3 PERFORMANCE

Performance comes from a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU running at 2.5GHz, paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage - putting it on par with Samsung's Galaxy S5, the HTC One m8 and the Sony Xperia Z2. There will also be a more powerful variant, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage, but it's currently unclear whether it will see a UK release.

Both models will have a microSD card slot for adding extra capacity, with compatibility with up to 2GB microSD cards - assuming you can actually find someone to sell you a 2GB card.

Finally, the 3,000mAh battery is removable, and should be capable of lasting all day on a single charge.

LG G3 CAMERA

On paper, it seems as though the rear camera has received a minor upgrade over the G2; it has the same 13-megapixel OIS+ optical image stabilisation sensor, now paired with a dual LED flash. Hower, the addition of a laser autofocus system, the first of its kind in a smartphone, will apparently help the handset shoot clearer, faster photos than competing smartphones. It will also shoot Quad HD video, for playback on the handset or a 4K TV.

It arrives with a new Touch and Shoot mode, which strips away all unnecessary icons and UI in order to let you focus on taking great photos rather than fiddling with shooting modes. Making a fist will automatically start a countdown timer, saving you scrabbling for the shutter button when shooting selfies.

The front-facing webcam has seen a bigger upgrade, with a larger 2.1-megapixel sensor and f/2.0 aperture for brighter shots. LG has rebranded it the Selfie Camera, and we imagine it will prove capable for snapchat addicts.

LG G3 SOFTWARE

The G3 runs the latest 4.4 KitKat version of Google's Android operating system, customised with LG's own flat user interface and integrated apps.

Some features will be familiar to anyone that's seen the G Pro 2, with Knock Code unlocking the handset using a pattern of taps rather than drawing a shape or typing in a password.

Others, including smart keyboard, are brand new. It lets you swipe upwards using your left or right thumb to select suggested words, or long-press the spacebar to edit text, which should mean less time spent moving your hands up and down the screen as you type and edit text. Words get bigger while you type them, so you don't have to move your line of sight to check you've got the right word. You can change the height of the keyboard and the keyboard will adapt to your typing style, recognising your movements over time to reduce errors.

Smart Notice is the other major addition. It behaves in a similar manner to Google Now, but focuses more on usability than reminders or notifications. If you send a message during a meeting saying you'll return a call, the handset will remind you later in the day to make sure you don't forget. It suggests when to uninstall apps or delete files you no longer use in order to free up memory or storage, and can remind you to turn on battery saving mode should you run low on charge.

LG G3 UK RELEASE DATE

It will be going on sale in Korea from tomorrow on wards, but LG won't be bringing the G3 to the UK until early July. Although the UK networks have yet to reveal official details, you can expect the likes of EE, Vodafone, Three, O2 and Virgin to all sell the handset on Pay-as-you-Go and monthly contract deals. We're still waiting for an official word on price.

Stay tuned for a hands-on first look, as we get our hands on the G3 before it goes on sale.

Gigabyte GSmart T4

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
	SIM	Dual SIM
	Announced	2014, April
	Status	Available. Released 2014, April

BODY	Dimensions	126 x 62 x 9.8 mm (4.96 x 2.44 x 0.39 in)
	Weight	121 g (4.27 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes, up to 2 fingers

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
	Internal	4 GB, 512 MB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
	Video	Yes
	Secondary	Yes, VGA

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Mediatek MT6572
	CPU	Dual-core 1.3 GHz
	GPU	Mali-400
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, IM
	Browser	HTML
	Radio	FM radio
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White
		- SNS applications - MP3/AAC+/WAV player - MP4/H.264 player - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, - YouTube, Google Talk - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Organizer - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Li-Ion 1400 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 150 h
	Talk time	Up to 4 h 30 min