Huawei Ascend P6 super skinny smartphone official pics and release date leak

More details of the Huawei Ascend P6, potentially the world's slimmest smartphone, have leaked onto the net.

Arch tipster Evleaks posted seemingly official images of the Huawei Ascend P6 on their Twitter account. They appear to confirm the device's improbably slim 6.2mm metal chassis.

The pictures also appear to highlight that Huawei has been paying particular attention to Apple's recent efforts. There's more than a whiff of the iPhone 5 about the Ascend P6, particularly its top and side sections.

We also have an idea of when the Huawei Ascend P6 will be announced. Apparently, Huawei Device Chairman Richard Yu told followers on Chinese social network Sina Weibo that the new P-series device would be revealed at a special event bring held in London on June 18.

The post was swiftly deleted.

Previous rumours suggest that the Huawei Ascend P6 will come with a 4.7-inch HD display, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor backed by 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.

It's also believed that it'll come with a fairly ordinary-sounding 5-megapixel camera, which might have something to do with that impossibly thin chassis.

Huawei's own custom Emotion UI 1.6 will be layered over the Android Jelly Bean OS.

Take a look at our Best Mobile Phones of 2013 round-up to see what the Huawei Ascend P6's key rivals will be.

Via: Engadget

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HTC One Google Edition rumours strengthen

More rumours have emerged concerning the existence of an HTC One with stock Android, this time from the very source that accurately predicted the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition.

Geek's Russell Holly correctly ascertained that Google was going to launch a version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 running the stock Android OS at its Google I/O event last week.

Now he's performing the same crystal ball routine over a possible HTC One Google Edition.

According to "multiple sources," HTC has its own stripped back flagship handset in the works, and a US launch could be imminent. The US-only initial roll-out could mean that Google is once again going to take responsibility for distributing the handset, as it has with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition.

This supports last week's suggestion from a well-informed Twitter tipster that a was headed for launch this summer.

Of course, a couple of the HTC One's key features rely on custom HTC software to operate, so it will be interesting to see if HTC is permitted to apply a light sprinkling of software source, or if the handset will be notably hamstrung.

The HTC One's impressive stereo speakers are boosted by Beats Audio software, while its unusual UltraPixel camera relies on a whole heap of custom software to get the most out of it.

It's worth noting, though, that unlike Samsung, HTC has already launched a phone with stock Android as an option. The ill-fated HTC First may have launched with a customised Facebook skin, but it could easily be disabled to leave a pure Android Jelly Bean experience.

It seems HTC is already facing up to a post-Sense UI world - or at least the option of one. An HTC One with stock Android may be the logical next step.

Read our Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One comparison feature.

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Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet Review

What is the Microsoft Surface Pro?

A tough question. It’s neither a straightforward tablet, nor a tablet/laptop hybrid. It’s more ambitious. The Surface Pro is nothing less than an attempt to create the perfect PC for the ‘Post PC’ era. It’s a tablet you can use at home on the sofa. It’s a PC you can plug into a monitor and use in your (home) office. It’s a laptop replacement that lets you work on planes, trains and anywhere between. It’s a digital canvas you can take notes with on a factory floor or building site. It’s all these things. It wants to be all these things. But is it?

Key features: 10.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution screen; 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 CPU, 4GB RAM; 64GB or 128GB storage; USB 3.0, microSD, mini-DisplayPort; 276.4 x 173 x 13.5mm, 910 grams

Surface Pro vs Surface RT

The Surface Pro’s key features hint at this naked ambition. Its 10.6-inch screen is the same size as the cheaper, £399 Surface RT, but it has an upgraded 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Instead of a weedy Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, it has a laptop-grade 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 processor. Instead of the crippleware Windows RT, it runs full Windows 8 Pro. It adds a mini-DisplayPort port that lets you connect to any monitor at up to 2,560 x 1,600 resolution. Instead of a merely adequate 2GB RAM, it has 4GB.

There are numerous smaller improvements, too. The Surface Pro has a USB 3.0 port, instead of 2.0; the touchscreen supports 10-points of touch rather than 5-points; and it comes with a Wacom digitizer pen, allowing proper pen input and hand writing recognition – a feature many a dodgy iPad stylus attempts to accomplish with little success.

Finally, there’s the keyboard covers – the touch-based Touch Cover (£99) and the traditional Type Cover (£109). They’re important because, while Surface Pro costs £719 (64GB) or £799 (128GB), neither comes with a cover. They really should. A Surface Pro without one of them… well, it isn’t complete. Add £100 or so for your cover of choice and you reach the true price of a Surface Pro.

Surface Pro – Design & Build Quality

Whichever you choose, it’s a hefty price to pay. But at least Microsoft hasn’t skimped on design or materials. Quite the opposite.

Like the Surface RT, the Surface Pro's build quality is exemplary. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the kickstand that flips out to prop the Surface Pro up, and the magnetic clasp that holds your choice of keyboard cover. The stand has a smooth, reassuring action, while the magnetic clasp is so strong you can lift the Surface Pro up by its cover – emphasis on can, we don’t recommend you do.

The Surface Pro looks fantastic, too – more like an actual ‘slate’ than any tablet we’ve seen. But it’s damn heavy. At 910g, the Surface Pro weighs 230g more than the Surface RT, and at 13.5mm the Surface Pro is 4mm thicker, too. It’s 258g heavier and 4mm thicker than the iPad 4, and that’s before you factor in the Touch Cover (214g) or Type Cover (210g).

Now, before Microsoft fans cry bloody murder… yes, neither is a fair comparison. The Surface Pro is basically a laptop in a tablet body, whereas the Surface RT and iPad 4 use low-power processors that can’t run desktop applications like the Surface Pro.

But the Surface Pro’s extra bulk has a couple of important consequences:

1. It’s uncomfortable to use as a tablet for long periods unless you rest it on your arm, leg or other body part, and even then it’s hard to feel comfortable for long.


2. It feels as if you’re carrying an actual laptop in your bag, even if it’s a few hundred grams lighter than a MacBook Air.

Neither problem is insurmountable or intolerable, but it’s a flavour of the awkward balancing act Microsoft’s all-purpose hybrid treads.

A more annoying design oversight is the lack of storage for the stylus, or digitizer pen as Microsoft no doubt prefers people call it. It’s damn annoying.

Indeed, at time of writing we’ve actually lost the pen that came with our Surface Pro, and when we did have it, it was invariably where we were not – i.e. at home when at work and vice versa. You can clip the pen onto a cover when using one, but it’s a poor substitute.

Since we’re on niggles, the magnetic charging connection is fiddly to use – a poor imitation of Apple’s mag-safe connections.

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Popular Gmail client Mailbox goes iPad-friendly

Clever Gmail client Mailbox now on iPad

Mailbox, the uber-popular iOS client for Gmail account holders is now supporting Apple's iPad tablets.

The app encourages users to get their inbox down to zero, by deleting, archiving and moving emails to read at a time of their convenience, but has so far been available to iPhone users only.

The app was recently snapped-up by cloud storage company Dropbox, which helped to clear the backlog of invite requests, and now, with the launch of version 1.3 makes the app universal.

The app makes use of the iPad's extra screen real estate to introduce a tabbed interface, similar to the Apple Mail app for the tablet, where emails are revealed on the right, when selected on the right.

All of the same swiping gestures are still in play, making it easy for users to clear read and unwanted emails from their inbox.

If you're yet to try Mailbox on the iPhone, then we'd definitely recommend giving it a try. It's a great, well-designed, useful tool for bringing down for reducing the clutter in your business or personal accounts, leaving on the messages you have to deal with there and then.

Tried the iPad app yet? Let us know what you think.

Via TUAW

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Microsoft has 'huge' Xbox 360 announcement planned for E3, despite Xbox One launch

Just because Microsoft has announced the Xbox One, doesn't mean the world's best-selling games console has been bought a one-way ticket to the glue factory.

Microsoft has today announced that it has a massive announcement planned for the 8-year-old Xbox 360 at the annual E3 expo in June, where the Xbox One will take centre stage .

Microsoft Game Studios Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer, said: "We have a huge, I think it's huge, [Xbox 360] announcement for E3 that I keep wanting to talk about, but I can't."

Speaking to GameSpot Asia, Spencer hinted that the Xbox 360 will enjoy a long life after the new console is launched, in much the same way that developers continued to support the PS2 long after the PS3 arrived.

He added: "I think the [Xbox 360] is going to be very vibrant for many years."

The company's keynote at E3 will still focus on the Xbox One which was announced on Tuesday.

The company had promised that the launch would be a two-part event, with many of the gaps from the launch event expected to be filled, while a host of new games will also be announced.

Spencer said that event will "surprise people."

What do you think Microsoft has in store for the Xbox 360 at E3? Cheaper hardware? A new design? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Via TechRadar

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Need for Speed: Rivals announced for PS4 and Xbox One

EA Games and developer Ghost Games have announced that Need for Speed: Rivals will be arriving for Xbox One, PS4 and current gen consoles.

The latest instalment to the long running NFS franchise, Need for Speed: Rivals, will feature on the Xbox One and PS4 “later this year”.

The game is in development by EA’s new studio, Ghost Games, and will feature an open world that takes advantage of the next-generation consoles’ cloud gaming functionalities.

Similar to Need for Speed: Most Wanted, NFS: Rivals will take the Cops vs Racer aspect to a new level, allowing gamers to play both sides, level up and unlock new vehicles.

“Rivals is absolutely an open world game. You’ll drive around, find your gameplay in the world, whether its collectibles, or racing, or stunt jumping or going through speed cameras,” said the game’s executive producer, Marcus Nilsson. “It’s a world that’s pretty filled with content, which your friends can seamlessly join in with what you’re doing in the game.”

Powered by EA Games’ new Frostbite 3 engine also behind Battlefield 4, players will be able to drop in and out of the NFS: Rivals world with any online friends using a new feature called AllDrive.

“AllDrive is fundamentally a way for us to destroy the line between single-player and multiplayer,” said Nilsson. “It is a way for you to play the game single-player and go through the world collecting points and levelling up."

"The interesting thing is, we don’t have single-player or multiplayer mode. You have one mode which you choose how to experience.”

The game will introduce 11 car gadgets ranging from turbo boosts to EMPs for the racers, while cops can employ helicopters and roadblocks available at their disposal. Players will also be able to upgrade and customise their vehicles with custom license plates, decals and more.

EA Games has set the Need For Speed: Rivals release date as November 19 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The PS4 and Xbox One release will occur “later this year”.

Anyone pre-ordering the game will receive the Ultimate Cop Pack free of charge. It offers “exclusive access to the Nissan GT-R Black Edition; early access to level 2 gadget technology; and exclusive cop liveries.”

Next, read our roundup of the best games of 2013.

Via: Joystiq

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Sony Bravia KDL-47W805A TV Review

What is the Sony KDL-47W805A?

The Sony KDL-47W805A is a 47-inch set from the second tier of Sony’s new full HD TV range. It differs from the flagship Sony KDL-55W905A W9 series tested recently by not employing Sony’s new Triluminos colour system, not using local dimming in its edge LED lighting and, intriguingly, shifting to a passive 3D system.

In fact, the Sony KDL-47W805A is the first passive 3D TV Sony has ever launched in the UK – a symptom, perhaps, of Sony’s new-found and much-appreciated interest in offering people more choice rather than just trying to make everyone buy what Sony thinks they should buy.

It's available in 42-inch, 55-inch and the 47-inch version reviewed.

Sony KDL-47W805A - Design

As you might expect, the Sony KDL-47W805A picks up the ‘Sense of Quartz’ theme introduced by the W9 series, as it has a narrow, angled and undoubtedly attractive turquoise trim around the TV’s extremities. The set’s bezel is quite slim too – not as tiny as the ones wrapped around the latest Samsung, LG and Panasonic TVs, but it’s certainly trimmer than Sony has tended to go with previous designs.

Also earning the Sony KDL-47W805A style brownie points is its elegant circular loop stand, and the cute ‘intelligence centre’ silver block that rests under the centre of the screen’s bottom edge. It’s in here that Sony has housed the TV’s powerful processing engine – including the latest version of Sony’s esteemed X-Reality PRO system. As with the W9, the colour emitted by LEDs along the Intelligence Centre’s bottom edge changes in response to the source type you’re watching.

The Sony KDL-47W805A connections are satisfactorily numerous, with highlights of four HDMIs, three USBs, and both wireless and wired network connections able to stream content from networked PCs and take you online with Sony’s latest SEN (Sony Entertainment Network) platform.

Some of these connections, surprisingly, stick straight out of the TV rather than being accessed from the side, which could present problems for people wanting to wall-hang the TV. Though in reality most people with modern home entertainment systems should be able to avoid these ‘outy’ connections and stick with the side-mounted ones.

Sony KDL-47W805A - Features

We’ve already covered a few of the Sony KDL-47W805A features, but there’s plenty still left to say. Perhaps the most concerning element of the 47W805A’s specification from a picture quality point of view is its move away from the local dimming edge LED system that served both the Sony KDL-55W905A and Sony KDL55-HX853 models so well. Hopefully this won’t lead to a severe reduction in the screen’s contrast.

The reappearance of Sony’s X-Reality PRO processing engine, though, is very welcome. This proprietary Sony system draws on a huge database of picture quality ‘examples’ to streamline the process of adapting the TV’s video processing to deliver the optimal performance with any source type you chuck at it.

Sony has thoughtfully provided the tools in its much-improved (versus 2012) onscreen menus for tweaking many elements of the X-Reality system, including the extent to which it boosts the resolution of the source it’s working on and the amount of noise filtering it applies.

Sony’s new smart TV interface, meanwhile, is a mixture of good and average. We’ve covered the system in a dedicated Sony Smart TV 2013 review, so we won’t get too deep into it again here.

But briefly, the good stuff concerns the amount of streaming video content available (including the BBC iPlayer, LoveFilm, NetFlix, Sony TV Entertainment, Sony’s Video and Music Unlimited services, and Demand 5), an excellent ‘Fast Zapp’ system for quickly scanning through TV programmes and on-demand content without interrupting your current viewing, and the presentation level of Sony’s TV Side View control/content sharing app for Android and iOS devices.

Sony KDL-47W805A - Interface

Also appreciated during our tests was the second, streamlined remote control Sony ships with the TV, and the way this remote control allows you to mirror on the TV the screen of any NFC-capable second devices you might have – such as the Sony Xperia Z phone – just by tapping the two devices together.

The less impressive stuff concerns the current inability to share what you’re watching on the TV with the screen of your tablet PC or smartphone, and the rather haphazard way all the available apps are ordered in the TV’s onscreen menus, meaning that you sometimes have to scroll through many rows of icons you don’t want to get to the one you do.

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