Mobile Phones News Blog

Augmented reality is a technology that combines the real world with digital information. It gives users the impression that they are interacting with real and physical objects. The technology itself is not exactly new and is being used in a varied of applications from GPS systems to fitness apps.

There are numerous cool augmented reality apps already in the market. However, not all are perfect or match expectations. While many have unshakeable image recognition technologies, getting real time information or even recognising objects and colours is still a challenge.

Future

The future of augmented reality seems to be more inclined towards haptics and tactile feedback (which uses sense of touch).

Earlier, Senseg, which claims mastery over such technology, had demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show, haptic technology that allowed users to feel their apps on the touchscreen by manipulating an electric field. With the technology, users will now be able to feel bumps and ridges, and also figure out which areas are more rough than others. The company believes if users are able to get the feel of anything other than glass, it would be a better experience.

The company demonstrated an Android tablet with a touchscreen, which had different textures on it. Users get used to such a touchscreen quickly and may not want to go back to a regular touchscreen. Senseg has deliberately made the effect subtle so it doesn’t distract the users while making its presence clearly felt. The company is still working on different kind of sensations.

Another app from application developer CrowdOptic may point towards a new trend in augmented reality apps. The new technology of CrowdOptic focuses on crowds, such as in concert or sports events.

When the camera of the smartphone is pointed at a player during a sporting event, it displays real time information about the player and the game. The details and context can also be shared through different social networks. So far, getting information on moving objects through augmented reality apps was not possible.

World’s largest handset maker, Apple may come out with the fifth generation iPhone 5 this summer (April), according to a report published on a website.

Quoting sources at Foxconn, which manufacturers iPhone for Apple, the website (9to5mac.com) said, “We received word from a reliable source at Foxconn in China that the iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is now gearing for production. The source said various sample devices are also floating around (they vary slightly from one another), so it is impossible to tell which one will be the final.”

As per the report, the Apple iPhone 5 may have a 4 inch display and would have a different form factor (design) than its older cousins (iPhone 4S and 3G S etc). The upcoming device would be longer and wider, the report added.

Despite the rise of Android, Apple has managed to keep growing. Infact, according to a research, Apple has managed to grow its market share last year significantly to become the world’s largest handset maker. The release of iPhone 5 is expected to give its sales a further boost.

Apple’s iPhone 4S was launched in India in November 2011, a month after it was released in the USA. So, if the company releases iPhone 5 in April, we can expect it to come to India probably by June.

The Samsung Galaxy S II was one of the few smartphones to challenge the iPhone 4, and now its sequel is giving the iPhone 5 a run for its money in the release rumour stakes too.

Like the iPhone 5, the Galaxy S III has at least two potential release windows, and conflicting rumours point to both.

Here’s some background. The Galaxy S II was announced during Mobile World Congress 2011, making it only a short leap to assume the Galaxy S III would be coming during the 2012 show. The rumours more-or-less backed this up, and we all settled back to wait for some quad-core Galaxy goodness in late February.

But then, a rumour saying Samsung was having second thoughts about releasing the phone at the show appeared, all due to the lengthy approval process the device needs to go through to make it to the USA. The Galaxy S II didn’t appear there until September 2011, presumably causing worry for Samsung’s bean-counters should it happen again.

Instead of telling the US networks to hurry it along, the launch was said to have been delayed until summer, when all the marketing and promotion could be done at the same time. A sensible and financially sound decision, but one driven by the power carriers have over the market in the USA.

Now here’s the latest: Samsung is ‘still reviewing’ the plan for MWC and the launch of the Galaxy S III, according to a Samsung executive answering a question during an earnings call. This means two things – that a Samsung exec has accidentally confirmed the Galaxy S III, and that it could still be there at Mobile World Congress.

We wonder how many more times this rumour will flip-flop between now and 27 February.

The next version of HTC’s Android user interface, Sense, is expected to be launched alongside the HTC Ville and HTC Edge, two of the candidates for an unveiling at Mobile World Congress next month.

It has been almost a year since HTC Sense reached version 3.0, and although it was upgraded to Sense 3.5 at the time of the Sensation XL and Rhyme’s launch, it’s now due for a more serious work-over.

The team at PocketNow has been given a sneaky hands-on with Sense 4.0, and has revealed some of the new features.  The interface has been given a new look, which is described as ‘mature, functional and more approachable’ than previous versions. With Sense being the most obvious of all the manufacturer interfaces, this can only be a good thing.

Interestingly, HTC has extended their relationship with online storage service DropBox, and will be offering 50GB of free space when users first set up their new device.  This puts iCloud’s 5GB and even Windows Skydrive’s 25GB allowance to shame, and is likely to be a huge attraction.

Other new features include Beats Audio, previously restricted to HTC’s own music player, being made available for all third-party apps, an updated email client, a burst-mode for the camera to eliminate pictures spoiled by someone blinking at the wrong moment, and a ‘reader’ feature in the browser to highlight the text and hide the surrounding page.

A guest mode will also be added, letting others use your phone but with limited access to certain apps and all your private data.

Both the dual-core Ville and the quad-core Edge are said to be ready for an April launch, making an MWC 2012 announcement very likely.

Huawei is expected to unveil the new Diamond smartphone series running Google Android at the Mobile World Congress 2012. The company has sent out invites for a press conference scheduled to be held on February 26, a day before the MWC 2012 begins.

The event invite, which tech blog Ubergizmo has, mentions the launch of the “smartest, fastest and most high-performing smartphone” but gives no specific details.

Earlier this month, Huawei had announced the world’s slimmest (6.68 mm) Android smartphone – Ascend P1 S along with LTE enabled Ascend P1.

Though there are no details available, the new Diamond series of handsets are expected to be in the high-end segment. These handsets will house a fast dual-core mobile processor, large touchscreen display with Gorilla Glass, an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. There are no details whether the new Diamond series will come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich pre-loaded.

Ascend P1 S and Ascend P1 have already set the bar high for the company and expectations have been raised to make both available sooner. Next month, Huawei is also expected to unveil its Android 4.0 Huawei Honor handset in India.

Huawei surprised everyone with the slimmest Android smartphone and it will indeed be a big surprise if the company unveils a smartphone with quad-core mobile processor!

Yet another copyright lawsuit has hit the tech world after Motorola Mobility instigated proceedings to seek damages from Apple for a number of patent infringements. What’s particularly interesting about this case however is that word appears to have been given by Motorola’s parent company Google for the action to take place.

According to the terms of agreement in operation for an impending buyout of Motorola Mobility by Google, the former mobile giant would be unable to pursue any courtroom action concerning infringement of intellectual property – unless given written permission by its parent company – which in this case, indicates that Google explicitly gave the go-ahead for Motorola Mobility to take legal measures.

With the release of the iPhone 4S in October, Motorola’s stance on the issue of patent infringement led it to seek additional claims in ongoing litigation against the Cupertino-based tech firm. After some delays and errors in judgement, it was finally ruled that Motorola would not be able to supplement its original suit with any charges levied at the 4S’ alleged infringement.

Following on from this ruling the legal agreement between Motorola and Google was put into place, a condition of which was that the former could not initiate any legal action without the express permission of the latter.

Now that this case has emerged – with the legal precedent in tow – it definitely looks as if Google have personally unleashed their new acquisition on Apple; a move that has just about avoided any direct legal tussle between the two warring factions.