LG G Pro Lite gets official

Phablet unveiled.

LG has given the official nod to the recently leaked G Pro Lite device. The super-sized phablet packs in average-sounding specs, pitting it against the slightly cheaper Samsung Galaxy Mega, as opposed to its Korean rival’s new, high-end Galaxy Note 3.
The Android 4.1.2-powered phone's key feature is the 5.5-inch display. That’s more than ample for watching movies on the move, although the 960x540 resolution doesn’t exactly excite. Sure, things will look sharp, but they’ll be well short of the HD standard we’ve come to expect.
There’s also an 8-megapixel snapper round the back, while under the bonnet there's 1GB of RAM and a 1GHz dual-core processor to keep things ticking along. That’s pretty sluggish by today’s standards, but should at least ensure the G Pro Lite is cheap.

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Google Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 Kit Kat dropping October 15th?

Google clearing the decks for double-whammy.

The future of the Android platform will hove into view next week, rumours suggest, amid chatter that October 15th will see the unveiling of the fifth-gen Nexus phone alongside all-new smartphone software.
Talk doing the rounds among developers at the Google Launchpad event indicates that the Nexus 5 and Android 4.4, aka Kit Kat, will show their faces at a press event in New York next Tuesday.
A double-whammy of announcements is entirely in keeping with Google’s previous form. The search giant typically uses new Nexus devices to showcase freshly baked versions of Android and set standards for manufacturing partners who base their handsets on the OS.

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BlackBerry sale: why it's descended into farce

Things have taken a turn for the ridiculous in Ontario.

For a once-great company, BlackBerry is really making a hash of its sale.
While Nokia bowed out gracefully, fixing up its inevitable deal with Microsoft with minimal fanfare, the deal to sell BlackBerry is becoming much like the launch of its products: Drawn-out and tedious.
After seemingly arranging a deal to sell to key investor Fairfax Financial, the company said others would be welcome to bid.
It then turned out it had spoken to Google and attempted to draw Samsung and LG into a battle for its patents and enterprise network.
That’s understandable. Analysts have said already that the company is worth far more broken-up than as a single entity.
But now Fairfax appears to be struggling to raise the necessary $4.7 billion to push its deal through.
And to make things worse, Mike Lazaridis, the man who founded the company but oversaw its descent into irrelevance, says he wants to buy the company.

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iOS 7 blocks unofficial Lightning cables

Third-party peripherals given the heave-ho.

iPhone owners will no longer be able to use unofficial Lightning cables to charge their handsets, reports reveal, with the news that Apple’s new software renders them incompatible.
According to 9 to 5 Mac, iOS 7 blocks third-party cables from charging iKits that use the newish dock standard. That's the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Official Apple cables pack a chip as a means of authentication.
It’s not clear if all non-certified cables are affected all the time. However, an unreliable charger isn’t much use, given how rubs smartphone batteries are in the first place.
That’s especially the case in light of the fact that some iPhone 5 users are apparently experiencing longevity problems since downloading iOS 7.

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iPhone 5 and 4S to be discontinued to make way for iPhone 5S and iPhone 6?

Current-gen model to go the way of all flesh?

The iPhone 5 may not be long for this world, it has emerged, amid speculation that the handset could be phased out when new models land later this year.
According to Korean site ET News, whose scoop was brought to the western world by MacRumors, the current-generation iPhone, plus the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, are being dropped to make way for the new standard iPhone and the low-cost model.

Apple’s move is partly aimed at allowing it to phase out its trad iPhone connector and ensure the newer standard it adopted last year is used across its smartphone range.
The iPhone 5 will apparently be joining the older Apple kits in the phone graveyard because the touchscreen it uses is not “suitable for low-volume production", making the handset unviable as a mid-range or low-cost option.

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iPhone 5s and 5c: Five key differences between them

Colours, cameras, cases and more.

Apple made history this week by announcing not one but two new iPhones. But which one is right for you?
We've put together a list of the main differences between them, so you can decide which to make room for in your pocket.

1 Price

The 5c was rumoured to be a budget iPhone, but that turned out to be off the mark.
It'll set you back £469 SIM-free, or starting at £30 on contract (though you'll have to shell out £32 a month for two years). And that's the more affordable of the two new additions to the iPhone range.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.
The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

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BlackBerry co-founders keen on takeover bid

Lazaridis rises.

Mike Lazaradis, the erstwhile-BlackBerry CEO, company-founder and the man who oversaw BlackBerry's rise and fall, is said to be readying a takeover bid for the company.
Partnering with co-founder Doug Fregin, Lazaradis has asked Goldman Sachs to help find potential backers for a $4.7 billion deal. That’s according to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US.
The men already own an 8% stake in the failing mobile-maker. They started the firm in 1984, with Lazaradis helping it to become dominant in the pre-iPhone era.
However, his and co-CEO Jim Balsillie’s blasé approach to the threats of Apple and Google helped turn BlackBery into the tech world’s biggest basket case.

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iPhone 6 could feature Liquidmetal exterior

Very metal.

Changes could be afoot when it comes to the iPhone’s build quality, it has emerged, amid signs that Apple could ditch the glass and aluminium construction of the current-gen model for Liquidmetal.
Rumours that Liquidmetal would figure in a future iPhone have been circulating since April last year. The alloy is favoured by Apple because it is less scratch-prone than glass but still offers the same silky smooth surfaces.

However, speculation that a LiquidMetal iPhone is an idea whose time may have come got fresh legs today after a site discovered a patent awarded to Crucible Intellectual Property. This is the inauspicious-sounding company at the heart of Apple’s licensing deal with LiquidMetal Technologies.
The patent details a fresh approach to production, which has until now been restricted to SIM ejector tools. This is due to unspecified manufacturing challenges, of the sort that LiquidMetal inventor Dr Atakan Peker outlined last year.
How viable the new method is for mass production of devices isn’t clear. But while it’s unlikely that the next iPhone will debut the technology, there’s a very good chance that Apple will feature LiquidMetal for iPhones some time in the future.
Under the terms of its agreement with LiquidMetal Technologies, which was signed in 2010, Apple has exclusive rights to use the technology.

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Microsoft: Nokia deal won’t affect other Windows Phone partners

Really?

Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia will not affect other mobile makers’ Windows Phone plans. That’s according to Big M executive vice president of operating systems, Terry Myerson, who says the tie-up will help build the third place OS’s market share.
In a post on the Official Windows Blog, Myerson writes, “Today’s announcement doesn’t change [our approach] – acquiring Nokia’s Devices group will help make the market for all Windows Phones, from Microsoft or our OEM partners.”
“We have exciting ideas, and so do our OEM partners. Our partners bring innovation, diversity and scale to Windows.”

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