Nokia shows off foldable OLED displays for future smartphones at SID conference

Nokia’s Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) along with its Japanese subsidiary Advanced Film Device (AFD) showcased two foldable 5.9-inch OLED panels at the annual Display Week conference in San Diego. The companies announced this at the Society for Information Display (SID), an academic conference on display technologies reported Nikkei Tech.

The three-fold display being folded (Image Courtesy: Nikkei Tech)

Among the two displays, one is a single-fold one which can be folded like a book. The other is a three-fold display that can be folded in three. When completely unfolded, the 5.9-inch panels have a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and a pixel density of 249ppi respectively.

The book fold type display can be bent up to a display curvature of 2mm

For the foldable display, colour filter, TFT and OLED layers are sandwiched between two sets of a sealing layer and flexible substrate. According to SEL, the book type and three fold displays can be bent up to a curvature radii of 2mm and 4mm respectively. The displays can be bent over 100,000 times says SEL.

So far we have already seen foldable or bendable displays from LG and Samsung as well. LG was supposed to start mass production towards the end of 2013, whereas Samsung had promised a 5.7-inch flexible display panels around October last year. We have seen theSamsung Round and LG G Flex, but their radius of curvature is nowhere close to what we have seen with Nokia’s book-fold display seen above. Samsung’s Youm display technology is closer in nature to Nokia’s tech than anything else currently in the market.

Nokia hasn’t released any information as to when we will start seeing these kind of displays in the retail markets. With Samsung, LG and now Nokia getting on to the flexible display bandwagon, it is a matter of time before these displays start flooding the market. When that will happen, is anyone’s guess.

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New iOS 7 lock screen flaw opens up iPhones, iPads in seconds

Apple users have been left with yet another lock-screen flaw, which can allow anyone with physical access to an iPhone or iPad running the latest iOS 7 software to access the device where the owner previously left off.

The bug, which was first discovered on YouTube, is relatively simple to replicate.

Once a missed notification is received, flip up the Control Center and enable Airplane Mode. This disables any data in or out of the device. Then, swipe down on the Notification Center and tap the missed call. The device will unlock, prompting you to turn on the radio functions.

However, the caveat is that it only displays the app that was last open on the device before it was locked. If it were the Mail app, the attacker has unfettered access to your emails only. If it were the Settings app, they will have full control over your device options.

Once they leave the app, the device locks again.

This was tested on the iPhone 5s and iPhone 4s both running iOS 7.1.1, the latest version of the mobile software, in the New York newsroom.

This isn't as serious as previous issues with the iOS 7 lock screen as it doesn't give full access to the device, but it's once again yet another issue with a deeply-flawed lock screen — as we have seen before.

Users are advised to disable "Notification View" in the "Notification Center" panel in the device Settings area, to prevent this from working. Alternatively, users can disable the Control Center by going to its area in the Settings, and turning off the "Access to Lock Screen" function.

We reached out to Apple for comment but did not hear back at the time of writing.

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Upcoming Android feature reportedly lets nearby devices automatically interact

Google is said to be working on a new Android feature that allows phones and tablets to automatically connect with devices and places very close around them, according toAndroid Police. The feature, called Nearby, might allow people to easily share information with others or receive deals from stores that they're in. Nearby will reportedly be announced in the near future — possibly at Google's I/O conference later this month.

While it isn't clear exactly what Nearby would be used for, the implication is that your Android phone might be able to easily interact with a friend's phone, or a smart device in your home, or a hidden beacon in a store providing deals. One use will reportedly allow Android users to set a reminder that's triggered the next time they see a specific person.

To do all of this, Android Police reports that every so often Nearby will automatically turn on a device's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and microphone. It's that last signal that would likely be the key to this feature, allowing Android devices to recognize one another based on audio signals imperceptible to the human ear. But that purported feature would also pose big privacy concerns — Google would be automatically opening up and recording audio from your device, after all.Android Police reports that the gathered information would be sent up to Google's servers, which would match devices' recordings and send a signal back telling the devices to connect, without either phone actually getting hold of the recordings though.

Even so, it's a potentially concerning ability, at least without knowing exactly how it's implemented. It's an especially pertinent concern too, as reports of online government surveillance have grown and grown over the last year, including some saying that the NSA is able to access Google's servers. Nearby will reportedly record users' location history as well, though it will allow users to limit who or what their devices will automatically begin interacting with. Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Nearby has the possibility to make phones a whole lot smarter, letting them easily interact with what's around them without any user intervention. Google will certainly have to quell concerns over how it functions though. If it does, we could begin seeing some inventive new apps that figure out how to take advantage of knowing exactly when two people are close together, and it's possible we'll see what that looks like soon.

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4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 cases show us how much bigger Apple’s next iPhones will be

If a dozen independent reports from insiders, analysts and some of the most respected newspapers in the world are to be believed, Apple will launch two completely redesigned iPhones in 2014. The first will be an iPhone 6 that debuts in September with a thinner housing, a 4.7-inch display and a sleek new design. Then, sometime ahead of the holidays, Apple is expected to release a second new iPhone model with a similar look and an even bigger 5.5-inch screen.

We have seen plenty of leaks surrounding these supposed new iPhone models, and the latest one gives us a good idea of just how much bigger Apple’s new iPhones will be compared to the company’s current handsets.

Apple knew all the way back in 2012 that smartphone users wanted larger displays. In an internal slide, Apple admitted that “consumers want what we don’t have,” and it likely began developing iPhone 6 prototypes around that time.

Now, in 2014, we may finally get to see if Apple can follow as well as it leads.

Following a leaked set of schematics that supposedly revealed the exact sizes and designs of both new iPhone models, we have seen a number of leaks that reveal what might be in store from Apple this fall. The latest such leak comes from the CookieCoffeeblog in Thailand, which claims to have procured a pair of next-generation iPhone cases.

A series of photos published on the site show both cases, which are believed to have been made using models that accurately represent the final designs of both 2014 iPhones. The dark pink silicone case seen in the photos is intended for Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model, and the hard plastic case is intended for the 5.5-inch iPhone.

In some photos, you can also see an iPhone 5s placed in a case to illustrate the size difference.

Several leaked photos can be seen below and more details can be found onCookieCoffee, which is linked down in our source section.

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A Windows Phone with Big 6.45 inch Display Unveiled at Computex 2014

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a number of new OEM partners who would adopt the company's Windows Phone OS in their upcoming handsets. Now at the ongoing Computex 2014 keynote, the software giant already showcased new smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1, manufactured by few of its partners, which include Prestigio, BLU, YEZZ and InFocus.

Also surprisingly for most of the Windows Phone fans around the globe, at the same tech show taking place in Taipei, one more Microsoft partner, Wistron showcased its monstrously big smartphone powered by Windows Phone OS. Recommended: Intel At Computex 2014: 6 Major Announcements To Follow Up On The handset named as Wistron Tiger Windows Phone, in fact, measures 6.45 inch screen features a 1080 x 1920 resolution. It is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor from Qualcomm. The smartphone comes with an aluminum build. Recommended: Top 10 Highly Regarded Samsung Smartphones To Buy In India This June 2014 Although, it does not feature navigation and camera buttons, it apparently does come with a dual front-facing speakers and an incredibly thin profile. This handset will be a half-inch bigger that the currently available Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 which measures 6-inches big. But before you start drooling over the news, hold it right there because this is just a reference model that will need to be built by a manufacturer, in order to make it to the marketplace. It will be the first close to a tablet-sized smartphone powered by Windows Phone OS. On the contrary, the Android Market has already received quite a few devices with such big displays like ZTE Nubia X6 and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra both of which measure 6.44 inch screen. But there is no clue as to when and who (OEM) will take up the chance to take this reference design and bring it to us soon. And if in any case you want to take a closer look at the device.

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Micromax’s first Windows Phone 8.1 device to come with a 5-inch full HD screen, Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM and 13MP camera

At this year’s BUILD conference, Microsoftannounced Micromax as one of its latest Windows Phone partners. Now we got some details to add about the upcoming Windows Phone from one of India’s biggest handset makers.

According to Technodify, this will be a high-end device with specs that include a 5-inch full HD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core chip, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. In addition, it will also rock a pair of cameras – 13-megapixel one on the back and 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Windows Phone 8.1 will run the show.

Price wise, Micromax will ask anywhere between 23,000 and 25,000 INR (about $390 to $425) for the SIM-free, unlocked device. As I’m writing this, we’ve no idea whether they plan to sell this Windows Phone outside of India; we’ll let you know if we hear something like that. Stay tuned…

Sony Xperia T3 With 5.3-Inch HD Display and Android 4.4 KitKat Launched

Sony has launched a new mid-range smartphone, the Xperia T3. The Japanese handset maker has announced that the Xperia T3 will be available globally by the end of July, but did not reveal the price.

The company is touting the handset's design and claims that the Sony Xperia T3 is "wrapped in a stainless steel frame." Another highlight feature of the Xperia T3 is that it supports 4G networks; however, it is yet to be seen whether Sony launches the handset with support for 4G LTE networks in India.

The Xperia T3 runs the most recent Android 4.4 KitKat OS out-of-the-box. The handset has been launched in a single SIM variant; although we might see a dual-SIM variant of the Xperia T3 when it releases in India.

The new Android smartphone from Sony features a 5.3-inch HD Triluminos display powered by a BRAVIA Engine 2. The display offers a pixel density of 277ppi. A quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor powers the device, clocked at 1.4GHz, with 1GB of RAM.

It sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and a Sony Exmor RS sensor. The Xperia T3's rear camera comes with features such as scene detection, HDR, face recognition, red-eye reduction, sweep Panorama and geo tagging. It also houses a 1.1-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Xperia T3 comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage, and can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. It supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS/ A-GPS, GPRS/ EDGE, DLNA, NFC, Micro-USB and 3G connectivity options. It is backed by a 2500mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 13 hours of talk time and 688 hours of standby time. It will be available in three colour options including Black, Purple and White.

Commenting on the Xperia T3 launch, Calum MacDougall, Director of Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile Communications said, "Xperia T3 has been crafted with attention to detail for those who know how to appreciate distinctive design in their everyday life. The T3 is packed with the latest beautiful technology from Sony - including leading digital imaging expertise and a vivid HD display - all within a stylish, stainless steel frame. The combination of this beautiful technology and the premium design ensures the T3 immediately stands apart from the competition."

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The Master Plan: Why Samsung Is Ditching Android

Have you heard of bada? Unless you come from technology circles, the likely answer is no.

Bada (screenshot below) was Samsung’s first attempt to ‘do a Tizen’ and make a break for software independence. At the time the company seemed to have no other choice. It was 2008, the first generation iPhone had caught the imagination of the world and Samsung’s only options were Microsoft’s decrepit Windows Phone and Google’s brand new (and decidedly unfinished) Android.

Today Samsung launched the first Tizen phone and it is a beast. It was a long awaited move. A carefully planned tactical counterstrike against Google GOOGL -2.12% in a bid to jump up the food chain. But Google is not the only target.Microsoft MSFT +0.05%, Apple AAPL -0.89%, every smartphone, tablet, smartwatch and smart TV maker are also in Samsung’s sights. And with Tizen Samsung is willing to bet the company on victory .

Development was rushed. Apple had worked on iOS for five years before launching the iPhone but in just two years Samsung announced its first phone, the Wave S8500, running bada. It went on sale in June, developers got access to the SDK (software development kit) just a month earlier.

Despite promises of bada phones, tablets and smart televisions (sound familiar?) it bombed. Technically the OS lives on to this day with a 0.4% share of the handset market, but in 2012 Samsung announced bada would be folded into Tizen. This would wipe out a dreadful mistake, but it was a strategy Samsung had already promised to repeat. And this time the risk it planned to take would be far bigger.

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Which Moto smartphone to buy? Moto E Vs Moto G

New Delhi: Motorola is eyeing and trying to grab a slot in the budget smartphone market. On May 13 2014, Motorola launched Moto E, an affordable smartphone at Rs 6,999 to undercut the existing price competition in the smartphone market. Interestingly, the phone is available only online through Flipkart. Motorola has set the price to compete directly with home-grown brands such as Micromax and Karbonn in this price category.

Another smartphone by Motorola, Moto G was launched in February this year at Rs 12,499 and has set the benchmark for smartphones with good performance, affordability and a decent built.

With the launch of Moto E, the consumers will now be confused between Moto G and Moto E and the company hopes that the sales momentum will continue which was generated with the launch of Moto G. Pricing will be the major factor to decide between the two gadgets.

Moto E is a great buy if you don't want a front facing camera or you don't play graphic intensive games. Go with Moto G if you are a person who uses front camera for video chat or you like to take selfies. Moto E also has dual SIM slot which is a key feature.

Both the smartphones are well-built and durable. The Moto G also has water repellent coating, an additional feature that Moto E lacks.

Moto E comes with just 4GB internal storage and you need to buy a memory card. Moto G, on the other hand, comes with a 8GB storage. Both the phones offer a decent battery life.

Moto E has a 4.3-inch display with 960x540p resolution making it a high quality resolution. It has a 5MP camera. Although, both the smartphones run on Android 4.4(KitKat) OS and offer best software experiences.

Overall, it may be worth shelling few thousands extra to get a Moto G over a Moto E if you want some extra features. But if you're okay with the tradeoffs that the phone makes and would rather save some money, Moto E is great bargain.

Acer pushes out new smartphones for Q3, targeting high to low end

Taiwanese PC maker Acer has made another big push into the smartphone market, and unveiled four new models under its “Liquid” brand that will arrive in the third quarter.

While Acer did not mention product pricing in Friday’s announcement, the four handsets come with both high-level and mid to lower-level specs.

Among them is a new 5.7-inch smartphone, called the Liquid X1, that’s designed for 4G LTE networks, giving it download speeds of up to 150 Mbps. The phone, targeted at the high-end market, has a 1280 by 720 pixel resolution and contains a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel camera in the front.

Inside the Liquid X1 is an 8-core 1.7 GHz processor from Taiwan’s MediaTek, and a 2700 mAh battery. The device itself weighs 160 grams, runs Android 4.4, and has 2GB of RAM, along with 16GB of memory. Acer has included a microSD card slot on the phone for expandable storage.

The Liquid X1, positioned as a so-called “phablet”, comes with a feature called “Acer Zoom Fit” that can adjust the phone’s user interface to a smaller 4-inch size for one-hand operation. In addition, the Liquid X1 offers a splitscreen function, letting users operate different mobile apps at the same time.

On Friday, the PC maker also announced two other Android phones, the Liquid E700 and E600, both of which come with 5-inch screens. In the E700’s case, Acer built the device with a large 3500 mAh battery, and the ability to hold three SIM cards.

The E700 has a screen resolution at 1080 by 720, and uses a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor from MediaTek. It comes with only 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage, but the phone has a microSD card slot for more memory. For picture taking, the E700 has an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The phone’s sibling, the E600, has a more modest screen resolution at 854 by 480 pixels, and comes with a smaller battery at 2500 mAh. Another difference is that the E600 is built for 4G LTE networks, and uses a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor from Qualcomm.

The fourth phone Acer unveiled is a budget Android handset called the Liquid Z200 that’s meant for first-time smartphone users. The no-frills device comes with four preset profiles, including one targeted at younger users and another for the elderly. The profiles offer a simpler layout and streamlined features for quick access to phone calls and text messaging.

In terms of specs, the Z200 has a 4-inch screen at a 800 by 480 resolution. Under the hood is a dual-core 1.0 GHz MediaTek processor, with 4GB of storage and 512MB of RAM. A 2-megapixel camera is located in the back, and the phone has a 1300 mAh battery.

Acer made no mention of what markets the company is targeting, but in the past it released phones to countries in Europe and Asia. With the PC market continuing to shrink, the company is expanding in mobile devices, and earlier this year unveiled its first wearable product, called the Liquid Leap, which will also arrive in the third quarter.

The company has yet to become a major smartphone player. But it is hoping the devices will help drive adoption of its consumer cloud services, called ”Build Your Own Cloud.” These services will let users automatically synchronize files and multimedia between different products, including PCs, smartphones and tablets.

The PC maker is expected to show off the new phones at the Computex trade show in Taipei next week.

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