Samsung launches largest Galaxy phone in India

Earlier this week, Samsung launched the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Galaxy Mega 6.3 in India. To date, these are the largest smartphones to be launched by the South Korean electronics giant in India, as it feels there is a demand for oversized smartphones in developing nations.

As the names suggest, the screen size for the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Mega 6.3 are 5.8 and 6.3 inches, respectively. According to TechGig.com, the former is priced at INR 25,100 (US$447.20) and the latter is priced at INR 31,490 rupees (US$561.10).

The bigger-screen handset will be available by the middle of June, while the smaller one will be available within one week.

Both are mid-range Samsung devices as the Mega 5.8 is powered by a dual-core processor running at 1.4GHz with 1.5GB of RAM. Internal storage is limited to just 8GB, but with the microSD expansion card slot, it can reach up to 64GB. The resolution is 540x960 pixels with a primary rear 8-megapixel (MP) camera and front 1.9-MP camera. It also runs Google Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS and weights just 182 grams.

By comparison, the Mega 6.3 is powered by a dual-core processor running at 1.7GHz with 1.5GB of RAM. Internal storage is 16GB and, like the 5.8 variant, also has rear 8-MP and front 1.9-MP cameras. Screen resolution, however, is 720 pixels and is encased in a super LCD screen, while the 5.8 variant uses only a TFT display.

Now the time has come for Indian consumers to decide between the trade offs of having larger smartphones or tablets with slightly larger screens and more features. If anything, the trend of making device smaller and more compact for consumers appears to be reversing. The question is how will consumers embrace this new growth spurt?

After all, it's much easier to store your basic mobile phone in your pocket versus these new range of devices that have become larger because of their screen size.

Evernote beefs up security with two-step verification and access controls

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AppId is over the quota

Evernote was hacked a couple of months ago, requiring all of its users to reset their passwords. This shook my confidence in the online note-taking and archiving service, which I use to store lots of personal information. 

I am pleased to report that Evernote announced three new security features to ensure the security and privacy of our data.

The three new security features include two-step verification (two-factor authentication), access history, and authorized applications. Let's take a closer look at these new security features.

This method of security is designed to help keep your account secure if someone happens to obtain and enter your password. In addition to just your password, a verification code is required and that comes to you via a text message or app on your phone. Thus, someone would have to have both your password and your phone to hack into your account.

Evernote also states they will give you a set of one-time backup codes in case you are traveling or do not have access to your phone and need to enter a verification code.

Two-step verification is optional and before you enable it make sure you have access to your selected secondary verification method or you could be locked out of your account. This security level is available to Evernote Premium and Evernote Business user only. As they refine and establish the process, they will open it up to free account users.

Evernote warns that you may find partner apps stop working with two-step verification. If that happens, you need to set up application passwords for each app in the security section of Evernote.

My bank has an access history list where it shows when and from where my online account was accessed for a certain period of time. Evernote now lets you view your access history for the past 30 days. Access history includes all versions of Evernote, which is important for someone like me who uses Evernote on a number of computers, tablets, and smartphones.

If you lose your computer or phone, you can attempt to wipe it remotely before the thief gets your data. With the new Evernote security settings, you can view where you have Evernote installed and remotely revoke access on that computer or phone. The next time you launch Evernote on that device you will need to enter your password.

I am pleased to see Evernote take security and privacy seriously and offer up the latest and greatest tools for maintaining control of our data. With the new reminder functionality for iOS, Evernote is becoming vital to my daily work flow and my confidence in data security is fully restored.

Asus double down with transformer book Trio

Image credit: Asus

Asus kicked off the hybrid craze with the first transformer Tablet and laptop dock running Android. It has constantly repeated product line, up through the impressive transformers Prime model. It is now taking it to a whole new level with transformer book Trio just Unveiled at Computex Taipei with both Android and Windows 8 inside.

See also: Asus transformer book Trio running Windows 7 and Android simultaneously

Transformer book Trio is an Android tablet that previous transformer models but there the similarity ends. When the Tablet is connected to laptop though, who looks a lot like previous models, the trio becomes a full-fledged laptop Windows 8 due to full hardware complement inside the doll.

Asus has essentially built an Android tablet with all standard hardware in Slate, and also put a decent PC system in the laptop though. The two operating systems can be switched as required via a simple solution, as reported by Engadget's Dana Wollman. Running Windows as you want and switch to Android when it makes more sense.

Windows 7 compatible hardware in the dock is not typical of hybrids as the trio rocks a new Haswell Core i7 that connects to a 1 TB hard drive. The massive storage is augmented by 16 GB storage space in the tablet. An Intel Atom run the Android side instead of the usual ARM solutions. Both the Tablet and laptop dock has batteries that together probably give decent battery life.

Transformer book trio will undoubtedly be expensive due to the latest Intel processor and the dual nature of the hardware. It is essentially two complete systems in one and it is probably not one of them will be free.

Image credit: Lenovo

Some say that this dual system is a new category, but Lenovo did back in 2010 with its U1 hybrid. I vividly remember stepping into a large room at the Mirage Hotel during CES this year and that my eyes are drawn to the U1 in spite of all the systems on display.

U1 first appeared when Android was just a gleam in the eye of Andy Rubin's growing so Lenovo put its Skylight UI, a special Linux variant, if you want to run the tablet. However, U1 Laptop had a full Intel-based Windows PC inside, much like transformer Prime trio.

What impressed me so much with the U1 was how the system automatically switched from Windows to the roof window when the tablet was removed from the bridge. It was not only the rapid transition which was impressive, it was the fact that the two OSes inside the laptop was constantly communicates. This made it possible to pick up exactly where you were when an OS handed off control to another.

My mind was blown when I was watching a YouTube video on the laptop in Windows Tablet away from the dock, and had a seamless OS switch that had the same video playing at exactly the same place! The same crossing was possible in the browser which was fantastic.

Lenovo U1 does not take to the market as expected next year, and be replaced by skylight UI on Android, which was becoming more mainstream. I don't think the model ever made it to the United States, either.

The Asus transformer book Trio looks to be a fantastic Windows 7 laptop that becomes an Android tablet on demand. This is really versatile, even if Windows 8 is designed to handle both laptops and tablets so it is not clear what the benefits will have Android on demand. Maybe all the Android apps in Play Store becomes plus to justify what will certainly be an expensive solution. We have to wait and see how well the trio works until the 3rd quarter release date.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini: Are smaller screen smartphones in demand?

Samsung announced the Galaxy S4 Mini with a 4.3-inch display. Its big brother — the S4 — sports a 5-inch display, but many people still find such devices too big for daily use.

(Image: Samsung)

The current trend in smartphones is to go big, with many new high-end models sporting 4.7-inch to 5.5-inch displays. That's fine if you are data-centric and have big hands and pockets. However, there are still many people who want a smaller phone.

Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S4 Mini and it will be interesting to see if this smaller brother enjoys the S4's level of success.

I can understand the desire for a smaller display device. I remember a time when people thought the limit for smartphones was going to be 4.3 inches. I am satisfied with my 4.7-inch HTC One and 4.5-inch Lumia 920, but the 5.5-inch Note II is definitely not that convenient to carry around for communications and doesn't go with me everywhere as the smaller devices do.

With the popularity and rise in 7- to 8-inch tablets, we may soon see a trend of people going back to these smaller display devices paired with small tablets. There are rumors of an HTC One Mini and a device with the HTC One build quality — and a 4-inch display could be a very attractive offering.

The Galaxy S4 Mini is not an S4 and has many reduced specifications, including the display quality, camera resolution, battery size, internal storage, and processor speed.

The Galaxy S4 Mini has very limited internal storage (5GB available); since Android doesn't let you install applications to the microSD card, you will be limited by how many applications you can have on the device. The S4 Mini also has a dual-core processor and — given that Android performance is related to processor speed — it is unlikely that you will see the kind of responsiveness you can find on optimized Windows Phone devices.

People may be willing to accept some reduction in performance with their desired smaller display, but I wonder where that lower limit is. I wrote about low-cost Lumia smartphones a couple days ago and how they offer more to the consumer than older generation iPhones and low-cost Android devices. The display of the Lumia 521 is 4 inches and the 82x series on carriers is 4.3 inches. If you want a smaller display device, I recommend you look at one of these Lumia devices.

Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.

Mobile Nations announces Talk Mobile 2013, launching June 3rd

Summary: The four mobile OS-specific sites of the Mobile Nations group are kicking off a new event to engage readers in the discussion of 10 mobile-related topics.

(Image: Mobile Nations)

Many of us mobile enthusiasts tend to follow many sites, particularly those that focus on our operating system of choice. Since I am fairly device-agnostic, I follow all four of the Mobile Nations sites: iMore, Android Central, CrackBerry, and WPCentral. The editors of Mobile Nations sites announced Talk Mobile 2013 that will carry on a conversation on 10 mobile topics for the next several months.

As stated in the press release:

Covering ten highly relevant topics, Talk Mobile will address the issues facing modern platform makers and manufacturers, carriers and service providers, developers and designers, and power users and casual users alike. Topics range from mobile gaming to photography to social to security.

Talk Mobile will bring together mobile industry experts, influencers, pundits, enthusiasts, and fans from around the world to engage in meaningful conversations about important topics in mobile today. A total of 50 Talk Mobile features will be published over the next several months. Each day's feature will simultaneously reach each Mobile Nations site, with Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone communities each having an equal voice in the conversation.

They recently brought Cali Lewis and John Pozadzides of GeekBeat.TV to New York to film content for Talk Mobile 2013. The two will moderate the start of each feature with a roundtable discussion of the Mobile Nations site editors Phil Nickinson, Kevin Michaluk, Rene Ritchie, and Daniel Rubino. The Talk Mobile 2013 event grew from the Smartphone Round Robin events we used to hold where editors from each site would try out other platforms and write about their experiences.

I served as the editor of Nokia Experts for two years, but then Nokia gave up on Symbian and moved to Windows Phone so I decided to stay focused on blogs here at ZDNet. It's great to see the success over at Mobile Nations and the editors, like many other mobile website editors, are my friends and colleagues.

Android poised to overtake iOS in tablet platform share

 iPad mini expected to overtake full-sized iPad in shipments by the June quarter, while Android is poised to overtake iOS in the tablet market share. (Image: CNET)

Despite Apple's success in the tablet market in recent years, Android is poised to overtake iOS in the tablet platform space, according to ABI Research.

The research firm cited China as the wildcard variable in the ongoing tablet platform race. While the region is passionate about Apple's brand and the masses' ability to afford new technology, smaller Android-based tablets are becoming increasingly popular.

Enterprises appear torn between the cheap Android devices that cut down on IT budgets, but the simplicity and the security benefits that the iPad and iPad mini offer. But prosumers and SMB-minded folk are likely keeping $200 and under tablets on the table, and keeping Android relevant in both emerging and developed markets.  

"It's inevitable that Android tablets will overtake iOS-powered slates, though we see no single vendor challenging Apple’s dominance anytime soon," said ABI Research senior practice director Jeff Orr. 

While Android continues to spin in China, a massive population of still mostly untapped revenue for firms like Google and Apple, iPad popularity has reached its peak as well as a saturation point.

According to recent IDC figures, Apple had just shy of half the overall tablet shipments for the first quarter. That is, not because the company doesn't have its own slimmed-down tablet. Of course, it has the iPad mini.

But Android's platform share is far higher on two fronts: it has a greater platform spread with more Android-based devices, and many of those devices are 7-inches or less, just as the iPad mini is.

Apple's tablet growth is beginning to slow. Its overall market share is dipping quarter-over-quarter. Also, Apple's Mac sales are suffering as a result of the iPad explosion, leading to an eventual and potential ding for two of the company's major revenue-making divisions.

The average selling price has been moving down-market since Android tablets began to undercut the iPad — not just in price but physical size. (Remember, the iPad mini was in reaction to smaller Android tablets, rather than the other way around.)

In line with IDC's latest research, published on Tuesday, that claims smaller tablet screens would ultimately end up dominating the market — with 8-inch or less displays taking around 57 percent of the market by 2017 — ABI Research agrees.

"Expect iPad minis to become the predominant iPad model after the June quarter," Orr added.

HTC One with Nexus User Experience coming to Play Store on June 26

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AppId is over the quota
Summary: The HTC One with Sense is excellent, but many have been asking for a Google Edition. Like the Galaxy S4, a Google Edition HTC One will be launching soon.

(Image: HTC)

Last week I wrote that an HTC One without Sense is not an HTC One. I still feel that way. HTC confirmed today that they are indeed launching an HTC One with Nexus Experience and I think that is fine since it gives people the choice that they have been asking for.

This HTC One with Nexus Experience may help people see the strength of HTC Sense on a device like the One. At $599, it is priced less than the Google Edition Galaxy S4 and may be a big advantage for HTC.

Last week I wrote a list of several things that may be lost in a Nexus User Experience device and am very curious to see what the Google Edition provides. One thing it will provide is updates through Google, which alone may be worth the cost of entry.

The official HTC statement about the HTC One with Nexus User Experience is:

A special edition of the new HTC One running stock Android will be exclusively available through the Google Play store in the United States starting on June 26th. This edition pairs the all-metal unibody design, low-light capabilities of the UltraPixel camera and dual front-facing stereo speakers of the new HTC One with the stock version of the latest Android software, Jelly Bean 4.2.2.

While having a Google Edition will satisfy people who don't like Sense, I would also like to hear HTC state that an update for loyal HTC One owners is coming that provides Jelly Bean 4.2.2, accessibility access fixes, Zoe capture/upload directory fixes, and other minor updates to refine the current HTC One with Sense.

This Google Edition HTC One will be a GSM device and will not support the HSPA+ network on T-Mobile. It will have the same radios as the current Developer Edition, which does have AT&T and T-Mobile LTE support with AT&T HSPA+ support.

Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.