iPhone 6: 5.5” and 4.7” models will launch together, says analyst

Wonk dismisses talk of separate events

Rumours that Apple could unveil the two versions of the iPhone 6 at separate launch events have been dismissed by a high-profile industry analyst, after probing accessory-makers in China.
Tech-site reports had suggested that battery and screen-manufacturing problems with the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 meant that it may not tip up until much later than the 4.7-inch model.
However, anyone hoping to get their hands on the iPhone phablet sooner rather than later got something of a fillip last week when it was claimed that Apple had discovered a way of making a battery thin and durable enough for the larger phone.

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iPhone 6 and iWatch could showcase new materials, hints Ive

God’s Own Englishman talks product design.

Apple is experimenting with new materials for forthcoming iGadgets, the company’s design don Jonathan Ive has confirmed.
In a New York Times profile of Apple CEO Tim Cook, the tech giant’s head of design Jonathan Ive revealed that recent projects at Cupertino involved working with unspecified constituents that have never before featured in its products.
He told the august US newspaper: “I've worked for the last 15 or 20 years on the most challenging, creative parts of what we do

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iPhone 6: New image leaked

Weibo user claims pic is from Foxconn factory.

A new photo purporting to show Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 6 has been leaked on Chinese micro–blogging site Weibo.
Clearly featuring a new–look handset with a protruding camera lens and iPad mini–style design, the image is said to have been taken at Foxconn’s factory in China.
This isn’t the first leaked photo we’ve seen of the iPhone 6, but it is the first one to have come directly from the production line, if it does indeed prove to be accurate.
Previously leaked images have shown a much thinner handset, which looks more like the current iPod touch than any other Apple product.

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Motorola Moto E vs Nokia Lumia 630

The best budget smartphones in town duke it out in a head to head.

The Moto E and Lumia 630 are two of the newest budget smarties. The Moto E is the successor to the Moto G, and is even more wallet-friendly, costing just £90.
The Lumia 630 was expected to cost the same, but it turns out it’ll cost a few pounds extra, at £99. Unless you snap it up SIM-free directly from Nokia, that is, in which case you're looking at an outlay of £129.
Still, they’re both extremely easy on the wallet, and both boast some very impressive specs for the price. But which should you go for? Read on to find out who’s king of the bargain bin.

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iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S5 price cut with Three World Cup promotion

Upfront fee dropped to £19.66.

Three has trimmed the asking price of flagship phones from Samsung and Apple, as part of a time-limited promotion to tie in with the World Cup.
To mark this year’s fiesta of football and in reference to the last time England knew glory in the tournament, the upfront charge for the 16GB editions of the iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S5 is £19.66.

The deal runs as long as England stay in the World Cup. Which could mean that it ends Tuesday June 24th, which is the date of our boys’ last group. Or, more optimistically, it might end on Sunday July 13th - the date of the final.

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Top 5 key mobile trends for 2014

Joe Minihane channels his inner H G Wells to bring us the shape of tech to come.

With 2013 now consigned to history, we’ve taken the chance to dig out our crystal ball and peer in to see what the next 12 months hold for the world of mobile.
Will phones and tablets still look the same at the end of 2014? Mostly, yes. Will what they do change as the year goes on? Certainly.
Need specifics? Well, here we’ve picked out five key trends which we think will dominate in the next year. Read on and see if you agree with our choices.

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HTC One Two / M8: more specs leak online

Fuller picture emerging of HTC’s make-or-break smartphone.

More key specs for the successor to the HTC One have sneaked their way on to the internet, ahead of the handset’s anticipated emergence at Mobile World Congress (MWC).
According to a Tweet from rock-solid leaker @Evleaks, preliminary specs for the handset take in a mighty Snapdragon MSM8974 processor, as well as the five-inch screen that tech-site rumours have assured us will be on board since November.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 to land at CES, hints official blog

Can they get it right this time, though?

Tech-site chatter that a sequel to the Galaxy Gear could land from Samsung at this month’s CES tech expo looks a bit more credible today, after the gadget-maker’s official blog dropped some heavy hints about its plans for the event.
In a heads-up post about CES to the Samsung faithful, the phone-maker initially alludes to the Galaxy Gear smartwatch’s arrival at IFA in Berlin late last year.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 metal build confirmed by Vice President?

VP gets loose-lipped at cocktail party.

Rumours that Samsung will opt for a premium metal build for the Galaxy S5 looked a smidgeon more nailed-on today, with the news that the company’s Vice President has been spilling the beans about its plans at what sounds like a boozy soiree.
A report in the Korean press claims that Dong-hoon Chang, Samsung’s Vice President and Head of Design Strategy, revealed (almost) all at a New Year’s Eve party at Seoul’s Shilla Hotel.

According to the site, Dong-hoon told the great and good assembled that the Galaxy S5 will indeed be made out of “new material”. That chimes with long-standing rumours that the next-gen Galaxy S smartphone will ditch the range’s plastic construction for a metal frame.

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Samsung backing wrong horse with flexible Galaxy phone, suggests survey

Punters won’t bend to whims of phone-maker, it seems.

Samsung may want to reconsider pinning its hopes on flexible phones or reserve the tech for devices other than its flagship handsets, after a study revealed strong levels of antipathy towards the nascent technology among punters.
After years of speculation, the handset-maker brought the first-ever curved screen smartphone to market earlier this year in the form of the Galaxy Round.

Samsung, which has shown off bendy smartphone prototypes at trade shows for some time now, is expected to make good on its tentative foray into the flexi-phone market by following up the Round with a bendable smartphone later this year.

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