09.Apple Watch face off: which smartwatch should you buy?

Ahead of the Apple Watch launch on 9 March, Sophie Curtis compares the best of the other smartwatches on the market

The Apple Watch is due to launch next week, promising to propel smartwatches into the mainstream. But Apple's Watch will be joining an already crowded market, with many smartwatch makers currently on their second or third edition.

Some of these devices excel in battery life, others in usability; some work independently from smartphones while others need to be contantly connected; some are beautiful items intended as objects of desire, while others focus on functionality and affordability.

If you're trying to work out which smartwatch to buy, you first need to work out what you want from it. Here The Telegraph rates the current batch of devices, based on a range of different criteria:

Best for battery: Pebble Time Steel
Compatible with: iPhone and Android
Price: $250 (£163) on Kickstarter or $299 (£195) thereafter

The Pebble Time Steel is the first 'premium' device from smartwatch maker Pebble Technology. Announced at Mobile World Congress, the device is made from stainless steel with a colour e-paper display and a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass lens. It has a built-in microphone for quick voice replies and notes, and is water resistant. It also runs Pebble's new timeline interface, which organises information chronologically. Most importantly, however, it boasts a battery life of up to 10 days, blowing most other smartwatches out of the water.

Best for design: LG Watch Urbane 
Compatible with: Any Android smartphone
Price: Unknown

Source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/watch/11448976/Apple-Watch-face-off-which-smartwatch-should-you-buy.html

10.LG To Launch Flagship LG G4 And A Mystery Premium Phone

Mobile World Congress 2015 has sought us a lot of interesting phones and plans from companies, keeping us tech nerds entertained for the past few days.
After Samsung and HTC unveiled their latest flagship smartphones at MWC, LG has instead announced plans to launch the LG G4 and a new high-end flagship that will “stand above the G series.”
“We are planning to release a product that stands above the G series,” Cho Jun-ho, head of LG’s mobile business said at the Mobile World Congress. “It will be launched during the second half of this year.”
It is being speculated that the new LG series will use more premium materials like metal and glass, along with an additional in-house processor modeled for the handset. The LG G4, which is the successor to the flagship LG G3, is most likely to be announced in April, while the company seeks to regain its position as number three in the smartphone market share.
“We aim to have our smartphone sales grow 20 percent on-year in 2015,” Cho added. “If the popularity of the G2 and the G3 continues through the G4, we expect to grab a meaningful third-place presence.”
Word is also rife that LG is considering to equip the G4 with a fingerprint scanner. As Apple and Samsung have already incorporated features like Payment and biometrics in their devices, LG feels a little left out and has decided to step into testing with biometric verification.

“LG Electronics has recently decided to deploy a fingerprint sensor on its next flagship smartphone and the scanner will be placed at the back of the device,” as the company “has been left behind in the race for fintech (portmanteau of finance and technology) as it has continued to postpone the adoption of fingerprint technology.”

HTC had unveiled its 2015 flagship smartphone, HTC One M9, at the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona. The smartphone is encased in an aluminum unibody, garnished with pretty awesome specs which are sure to sell like hot cakes once HTC One M9 becomes available at all four major U.S. carriers later this month.

Samsung also debuted its flagship next-generation Galaxy S6

Source:

http://techfrag.com/2015/03/06/lg-launch-flagship-lg-g4-mystery-premium-phone/

08.M.W.C. - Honorable mentions:

Huawei's circular Android Wear watch is fine, but nothing special. Unless! Unless it turns out to be dirt cheap. We'll see!

Huawei's Android Wear Watch Is Handsome, But Still Too Bulky

Huawei is launching not one but three wearables this year at Mobile World Congress, and the new…Read more

Sony's Xperia Z4 tablet is about as slick and slim as 10-inch Android tablets get, if you are still into 10-inch Android tablets. Also, it's vaguely Surface-y with its new keyboard accessory!

Xperia Z4 Tablet: Slick and Slim, With Laptop Aspirations

There's a new tablet in town. It's the new Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet and yeah, it's…Read more

LG's mid-ranged smartphones are going to have slightly curved screens, which is a way to make mid-range a little more fun.

LG's Bringing Curved Screens To Its Cheaper Phones, Because Why Not

That curve on LG Flex's screen might seem like a total gimmick, even if it's pretty rad.…Read more

Meanwhile, Sony's new Xperia M4 Aqua is everything a cheap phone should be. Waterproof and two day battery, count me in. 

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Hands-On: Proper Waterproofing, Two Day Battery

With the Xperia Z4 smartphone nowhere to be seen at MWC 2015 (even if its tablet cousin is knocking …Read more

BlackBerry teased a phone with curved edges and a slide out keyboard. OK! Sure!

Blackberry Is Bringing Back the Slider Phone Because Sure Why Not

When square phones don't quite work and suing Ryan Seacrest is taking too long, what's a…Read more

HTC's new One M9 seems like a fine little improvement on its existing flagship, but with nothing super special or exciting to speak of.

HTC One M9: Definitely Better But So Much the Same

This is the new HTC One, the third in a line of phones that got Android devices to adopt metal…Read more

You can read about allllll of our Mobile World Congress coverage here.

09.Best of M.W.C. - A 200G.B. microS.D. card

No, there is no slot in the new Galaxy S6 for a microSD, but if there was, you could slam this ridiculously large 200GB one from Sandisk in there. Would you need to? God no. 200GB? What is wrong with you? But hey if you're a hoarder, go nuts I guess.

SanDisk Squeezes 200GB Into a Tiny microSD Card

Stop for a second and take a look at the fingernail on your baby finger. That's roughly the…Read more





Source:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

10. Best of M.W.C. - Huawei's super weird fitness band but also ear-piece thing

This one gets inclusion not because it looks good but because it's bonkers. Huawei's new TalkBand B2 is a voice-controlled fitness tracker that looks like it could be on the decent side of mediocre, but its trick where it turns into a Bluetooth ear-piece is juuuust wacky enough to make it worth mentioning. Something you'll want to buy? Probably not. Something you'll want to see? For sure.

Huawei TalkBand B2: Half Fitness Band, Half Earpiece, All Bizarre

Huawei is betting (again) on wearables—who's not! And alongside its new Android Wear watch,…Read more

Source:

http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

01. Best of M.W.C. - LG's pretty slick LTE watch

Want to make phone calls from your wrist like Dick Tracy? Maybe, maybe not. But if you're even slightly inclined, LG's new LG Urbane LTE looks like the best bet. It's a little bulky, but no Samsung Gear S, and interestingly enough, it runs WebOS instead of Android Wear. It's probably pretty expensive, so you probably won't want to buy it, but always-connected smartwatches are getting better looking for sure.

LG Watch Urbane: LTE On Your Wrist Never Looked So Good

Smartwatches are still trying desperately to be cool. LG's latest attempt at pulling it off is …Read more


Source:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

02.Best of M.W.C. - HP's new transforming ultrabook

Yes, we've all seen transforming ultrabooks before, but HP's new Spectre x360 looks to be of the best. Combining lovely build quality and low price—like we've seen in the new Dell XPS 13—with the ability to backflip into a tablet, HP's new ultrabook looks like a promising go-to for transforming computers, but for maybe a troubling battery life.

HP’s Spectre x360 Might Be The Best Transforming Laptop I’ve Ever Seen

Milled aluminum. All-day battery life. Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. A bitchin' keyboard,…Read more



Source:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

03.Best of M.W.C. - Microsoft's folding keyboard for Android and iOS

Microsoft has been doing great work making terrific things for the devices you already use whether it be an email app, or a physical hardware. This lovely little folding keyboard for Android and iOS is an example. Sleek and thin, like the ever improving Surface keyboards, it's a great little typepad for those on the go who also don't want a dang Surface.

Microsoft's Folding Keyboard for iOS and Android Is a Razor-Thin Beauty

Imagine a keyboard that you can carry around like a wallet—almost as thin as paper, just a few…Read more




Source:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

04.Best of M.W.C. - HTC and Valve's badass new virtual reality headset

There are more virtual reality headsets than we could ever need, but few of them really matter. The new HTC Vive is one of them. A partnership between HTC and gaming goliath Valve, this new Oculus competitor has mind-blowingly good screens, can track you around the living room, and comes with some sort of as-yet-unknown VR controller. All that, and it's coming out this year. The war for VR just started in earnest.

HTC Vive: This Is Valve's Virtual Reality Headset

Just the other day we heard that Valve is getting ready to put out its SteamVR headset. HTC is…Read more





Source:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

05.Best of MWC - The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge

New flagship Samsung smartphones are obviously going to be a big deal, but this year it's even more of a shakeup than usual. The Galaxy S5 was boring and band-aid-y butthe Galaxy S6 is new, fresh and purty. No, it doesn't have a removable battery anymore, but its design has improved a ton. That, and its crazy sibling—the Galaxy S6 Edge—is a weirdo curved phone you might actually want.

Galaxy S6 Hands-On: Samsung's Got a Whole New Look

The Galaxy S6 is unlike any smartphone that Samsung has ever made. How, you ask? Let me count the…Read more

Your New Galaxy S6 Will Have a Built-In Expiration Date

Your smartphone's battery life won't last forever. Today, your digital companion might…Read more

Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge Is Awesomely Weird But Weirdly Awesome

For years, a smartphone's main selling points were faster processors and better screens. But…Read more





Source:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-of-mobile-world-congress-2015-1689135694

07.What's Samsung thinking? Four things we learned at MWC

   BARCELONA -- Samsung's annual Unpacked event is more than just a flashy coming-out party for its flagship smartphones and wearables. It also gives us great insight into the highly competitive market for mobile devices, and Samsung's place in the constellation.
You might call it the State of the Union address from Samsung Mobile CEO President JK Shin.
   So what did we learn this year? What's important to Samsung?
   Battery life is still critical. We're still pining for our smartphones to last an entire day on a single charge, and Samsung has made it clear that it wants to help. Last year, it introduced its own Ultra Low-Power Mode, which, like a government shutdown, slashed all non-essential services so that the phone could limp along with basic communications until you find a power outlet. It was a great idea that didn't pan out.

   This year, Samsung tacitly admitted that it has no silver bullet for the all-day battery conundrum. Instead, it focused on making charging as painless as possible. It added Quick Charge to juice up the Galaxy S6 faster -- twice as fast, the company says, as the iPhone 6. And it also built in new wireless charging capability, a technology that gained a lot of momentum at the show.

   Mobile payments. Last year, Samsung dabbled with an early form of mobile payments on the Galaxy S5. It let you charge stuff to your PayPal account, which protected it with its all-new fingerprint scanner. Now it appears that Apple Pay, which quickly has emerged as a force in mobile payments, is motivating Samsung to double down.
Samsung Pay, coming this summer, will be built around LoopPay, a recent Samsung acquisition. It will use NFC, or near-field communications, just like Apple Pay and Google Wallet. But it can also mimic magnetic stripes, which could help it leapfrog competitors by supporting older payment systems as well.
   Better cameras. That's plural -- the front-facing camera as well as the rear-facing unit. The Galaxy S5 enjoyed a major camera upgrade, with 16 megapixels, HDR capabilities and editing enhancements. For the Galaxy S6, Samsung bumped the oft-ignored front-facing camera to 5 megapixels from 2 MP in the S5 -- and it also added HDR for better selfies in high-contrast settings. And it improved low-light performance.

More@
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/samsung-mobile-world-congress-jk-shin-apple/24414173/