LG Optimus G Pro 5-inch phone is real, Optimus G UK-bound

LG's rumoured 5-inch monster smart phone has been made official. The LG Optimus G Pro (rolls off the tongue and into the heart) is a 1080p palm-wrecker powered by a mighty 1.7GHz quad-core processor.

The existence of the mammoth mobile was confirmed by Japanese network NTT Docomo, with an April release date for our pals in Japan. Discerning details through the fog of Google translate is tricky, but Japanese site Ktai Watch has a little more information.

There's currently no word on a worldwide release, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this gigantic phone rocking up in Europe, especially as LG has confirmed the 4.7-inch LG Optimus G will be getting a wider release than its current US, Canada, Korean and Japan confines.

I asked LG if that broader debut included the UK, and was told that as far as it knows, "UK is also included in Optimus G launching countries list". Stay tuned for information on prices and release dates, though with the Optimus G Pro now official, you may want to save your pennies and hope the 5-inch model makes it to Britain.

We'll likely hear more on both devices at Mobile World Congress, which kicks off in late February in Barcelona. CNET will be present in force, so keep your eyes peeled for all the latest.

A year ago you'd have struggled to find an Android fan who gave more than one hoot about LG's Android offering, but since delivering the near-perfect Nexus 4 into our grasping mitts (well, a few of us anyway), the South Korean company is feeling much more interesting.

iPhone 6 news, rumours, specs and release date

There's a new breed of iPhone on the way, code-named “iPhone Math”, according to the rumour mill. There is a good chance that this could be the iPhone 6, a partner to the iPhone 5S, and may even launch at exactly the same time.

This article is based on rumour. We'll update it as more information becomes available.

iPhone 6 = iPhone Math?
The raison d'etre of the iPhone Math, which we'll refer to from now on as the iPhone 6, is that it has a larger screen. 4.8 inches across rather than the four inches of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, it competes rather more directly with the Samsung Galaxy S4, the iPhone series's key rival for 2013.

This screen size creates a number of crucial problems, though. The iPhone 6 needs to maintain compatibility with existing apps, and can't significantly drop pixel density, especially if it's to be a “higher-end” alternative to the iPhone 5S.

If Apple was to simply blow-up the screen of the iPhone 5 to 4.8 inches, pixel density would be 306dpi. That's a solid figure, but less than the 326 of the aged iPhone 4, and more crucially well below the 440dpi of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Even if there's little discernible difference, we doubt whether Apple would make do with such a “low” pixel density.

The other issue is that Apple can't simply make its resolution a bit higher. In the past, Apple has doubled the horizontal and vertical resolutions of its devices when upping resolution. This let the iPhone 4 and the iPad 3 simple double-up on pixels when running apps designed for previous-generation models. Such a move assured near-flawless backwards compatibility.

To pull off the same trick in the iPhone 6, Apple would need to ramp-up resolution to either 2,272 x 1,280 (if it uses the iPhone 5 screen aspect ratio) or 1,920 x 1,280 (if it is to use the iPhone 5S screen aspect. This will result in pixel density of a Samsung Galaxy S4-beating 543dpi, or 480dpi. These may sound impossibly high, but the latter in particular is not far off the 1,920 x 1,080 pixels of the latest 5-inch 1080p phones.

Also, the iPhone 6 is likely to use a new screen technology, Sharp's IGZO. This is an LCD-based panel tech designed for high screen resolutions, and high power efficiency. It's cheaper to produce than current low-temperature polysilicon iPhone 5 screens. IGZO is also flexible.

However, this “iPhone Math” rumour is new, and doesn't deserve all that much weight. The iPhone 6 will come, but will it arrive this year, and will it be a 4.8-inch device? That's the part we can't be so sure of.

We'll be back with more iPhone 6 and iPhone Math news as it appears.

Samsung Galaxy Note II: Top six features

Samsung Galaxy Note II is here. After a season of rumours and leaks, Samsung unveiled its second phablet device in a pre-IFA press event at Berlin. Set to go on sale starting October in 128 markets across the globe, Note II brings quite a few software improvements that were not present in the original Galaxy Note device.
Let's take a look at these features.

Air View: Going beyond the floating touch by Sony, Samsung has included something called Air View on Note II. Air View allows users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it. The company claims that it will enable users to skip multiple steps to quickly search and view more information.

Popup Note: Another interesting addition to Note II is Popup Note; it extends the concept of Popup Play, which lets users open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere on the screen.

Quick Command: According to the Korean manufacturer, the new feature Quick Command lets users quickly activate frequently used apps using the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed.

Screen Recorder: If you want a desktop style screencaster, Screen Recorder on Note II is there to help. It lets users record a whole sequence of actions taken on their Note II screen.

Easy Clip: In order to help users make better memos, Samsung has released Easy Chip, which enables users to instantly outline and crop any content on the screen in any shape to save, share or paste. By simply pressing the dedicated S Pen button, the S Pen magically recognizes that users want to clip or edit the selected content on the screen.

Idea Visualizer: It allows users to easily add illustrations by handwriting keywords on the S Note. It provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords.

50 Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Tips and Tricks - Gadgets, Gimmicks and Connectivity

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Gadgets and Gimmicks


Motion control
Here's one we're not big fans of, but some of you may like it. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 lets you control things like the photo gallery and the navigation of you home screens using the accelerometer - by tilting your phone, basically. You can turn it off, though, and it's set to "off" as standard. Phew.

Face unlock
A bit Minority Report, this one. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can scan your face to unlock your phone. It takes a picture of your mug, remembers the basic geometry of it and then scans your face whenever you try and unlock the phone. It works pretty well, but as a security measure is about as flimsy as the padlock on a filofax.



Smart Stay
The last user-facing camera gimmick is one that sounds kinda neat in principle. It scans for your eyes to check if you're reading, and if it spots them, Smart Stay stops the backlight from turning off. It's designed to make reading on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 a good deal less frustrating. It's a feature you'll find in the Settings menu.

Jelly Bean easter egg
The Jelly Bean easter egg has made it in the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Go to Settings menu > About device and tap on the Android version number entry. You'll be transported to a screen with a picture of a giant jelly bean on it. Hold your finger down on said jelly bean and the screen will fill up with dozens of the blighters, which you can flick around. Pure joy.

Arrange your music by moods
The music player of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 features a fun little extra called Music square. This scans through your music library, arranging the tracks by mood - passionate, calm, exciting, joyful or a little in-between. Tap a block in the 5x5 square grid and you'll be greeted with a tune to match your mood.

Read the full Samsung Galaxy Note 2 review >

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Storage

Expandable storage - where to get it cheap
If you're out to spend as little as possible (and the Note 2 doesn't come cheap as it is), your best bet is to buy the cheapest 16GB model, and supplement any other storage needs with a microSD card. Top retailers for bargain basement-price memory cards include 7DayShop and Ebuyer. A 32GB microSD card these days will set you back less than £15 if you shop hard enough.

Flush the cache for extra memory
If you find yourself running low on memory, you can easily delete the cache and temporary files of any apps you have installed. To do this, go to the Applications Manager section within settings and tap on an app to see how much memory it's leeching. There will be buttons to wipe the cache and data for the app here.

Comes with 50GB of dropbox storage
Cloud storage is the future - you may not like it, but you may as well embrace it. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 owners get to benefit from 50GB of free cloud storage from one of the best providers out there - Dropbox. There are Dropbox apps for mobiles, tablets and computers, and it honestly works like a dream. If this won't convert you, nothing will. You only normally get 2GB of free from Dropbox, making it a pretty sweet deal.

Don't sync, drag 'n' drop
If you chose to go Android rather than opting for an iPhone, there's a good chance that the open-ness of the platform had something to do with it. Samsung is keen on trying to make its users adopt the Kies desktop software, but it's actually completely unnecessary. Plug the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 into a computer with a microUSB cable and it'll show up as a media player drive, which you can drag and drop all kinds of files onto. Transfer speeds are impressively fast too.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Contacts

Nab contacts from Facebook and Twitter
When we first got our Samsung Galaxy Note 2 in, it didn't have any of the usual social apps installed. Even if you're not a massive mobile Facebook-er, it's worth giving the app a download because it lets you harvest contacts from the network, making populating your contacts book a good deal easier.

Blocking Mode
Do you have a bug-a-boo stalking you? Is there a creep who keeps calling? The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 lets you keep them away with the blocking mode. It restricts notifications and calls from all but your approved contacts - and that can be at all times, or just during the hours you choose.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Camera and Video

Use HDR mode in mixed lighting - or all the time
The 8-megapixel sensor of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is pretty good on its own, but the neat camera app ups its skills significantly. One of our favourite bonus bits is the HDR mode. This effectively combines multiple exposure in a single shot to bring out extra detail in shadows. Both the HDR and normal shots are saved, meaning there's very little downside - other than that taking shots is a little bit slower.

Check out slow and fast motion modes
Nestled within the menus of the video camera app are fast and slow motion modes, capturing either more or fewer frames per second than normal. It's not quite the 120fps mode you get in some dedicated cameras, but will come in handy if you're trying to video a sports event, for example.

Don't forget video effects
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 doesn't have the fun face-distorting video effects you get with a vanilla Jelly Bean phone, but it does have a range of funky filters. There are colour pop modes, extracting all but certain shades from your videos, and the cartoon filter is perfect for some arty rotoscope-style vids.

Give the exposure longer time than the sound effect suggests
Each time you take a photo, a shutter sound plays in the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. However, we found that occasionally the phone needs a little bit longer to attain a solid focus. Hold still for an extra half-second for good measure.

Get vid previews with Air View
Using Air View, if you hold the pen over the transport bar of a movie clip in the media player, you'll be given a preview of what's going on in the film at that point. It makes finding the right part of a film or TV ep a doddle.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Connectivity

Don't go over you allowance, with Data Usage
A staple Android feature is the Data Usage counter. This can be found within the Settings menu, and it monitors your data usage, showing it as a colourful graph. You can use it to cut off your mobile data connection once you reach a certain limit, to ensure you won't get charged by your carrier.

Wi-Fi sync with Kies
We've already endorsed drag 'n' drop file transfers over Kies sync'ing, but if you're a Kies fan, don't forget that you can also sync wirelessly. To set this feature up, scroll to the bottom of the More Settings sub-menu, where you'll find the Kies via Wi-Fi option.

S Beam
A feature introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S3, S Beam uses a mixture of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct to let you transfer files between compatible Samsung phones. You just need to tap the phones together to get them playing. S Beam needs to be switched on, though, from within the Wireless and Networks menu.

NFC lets you buy coffee
The NFC connectivity of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 also let you buy small items such as cups of coffee, sandwiches and the like. Several big high street chains have taken the NFC plunge, including Starbucks and EAT, using apps to let you dump credit onto your phone.



Share screens with AllShare Cast
AllShare used to be just about sending a video file from, say, your phone to your Blu-ray player. But now it does a lot more. AllShare Cast lets you send your Galaxy Note 2's screen contents to another display, a bit like AirPlay Mirroring.

Forget Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct is better
Wi-Fi Direct is tied into the S Beam transfer feature, but you can also use it easily on its own. This is a version of Wi-Fi that doesn't need an internet connection, as it can hook-up directly with another compatible device. It some ways it's a successor to Bluetooth, letting you transfer files, and at a much greater speed than old Bluetooth could handle.

Watch your 4G
If you want to get a 4G-capable Note 2, be aware that the LTE edition is separate from the standard one. EE says it'll stock the LTE Galaxy Note 2 from October 15.

The Sony Xperia V is here for review, dual-core Krait, HD screen and water resistance in tow

We like the trend of capable smartphones, which can stand a little dip in the bath or pool and live to tell the story, without the sacrifice of the good looks.



Out of this very same mold comes the Sony Xperia V, sporting a dual-core Krait processor, a 13 MP FullHD-capable camera and IP67 certification. We’ve got the video after the break.

Android Jelly Bean will come eventually and didn’t make it to the Xperia V out of the box so Ice Cream Sandwich will have to do for now.

Tasks are covered by two 1.5 GHz Krait cores and a gig of RAM while graphics rely on the Adreno 225 GPU.

Sony has covered the Xperia V with its extensive custom launcher that features the Walkman music player, Album gallery, Camera app and much more.

Here’s our video demo of the Xperia V.



An obvious believer in the Xperia arc legacy, the Xperia V features an arched back design and a flat front surface.

Aside from the front-facing glass screen the smartphone relies mainly on plastic for its enclosure.

That’s not to say we dislike its matte finish that is no friend to smudges and fingerprints or the back panel’s rubbery feel.


Sony Xperia V live images

The Xperia V isn’t a contender for the big leagues anymore, that place is reserved for the likes of the Xperia Z. But it still looks the part and brings to the market a solid feature set with a water-resisting twist.

Stay tuned for our in-depth review.

Samsung Galaxy Music leak shows budget music phone

A fresh batch of leaked images are hot from the oven, wafting a whiff of a new addition to Samsung's Galaxy range our way. Before you get too excited about an S3 replacement, the leaked slides show off a music-focused mobile with specs to suit a very modest budget.

The new blower is detailed in what appears to be leaked marketing shots, unearthed by SamMobile, along with a full specification list. The phone will apparently offer a 3-inch screen with a 240x320-pixel resolution, along with a single-core 850MHz processor under the hood.

Those aren't exactly top-end specs and they certainly don't compare to the flagship S3's 720p screen and quad-core chip, but this phone is evidently aimed firmly at a young audience. It packs speakers at the top and bottom of the handset to help make your music sound a little meatier than it would with standard built-in speakers.

That does, of course, mean that the backs of our nation's buses are likely to be polluted with the irritating sound of tinny dance music. Fingers crossed Samsung bundles it with decent headphones, or at least makes the battery life so poor it can't get through more than two plays of Call Me Maybe.

It's running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which isn't the latest version of Android, but that can be forgiven on a budget phone like this. It has an internal memory of only 4GB, which is pitiful, especially if it's designed to store and play music. But it does at least house a microSD card slot to expand the storage with an extra 32GB.

There's no word on how much this phone is likely to cost, but if it wants to set up home in a kid's pocket, it shouldn't cost more than £150 on pay as you go. Samsung has an official event planned for 11 October in Germany, so make sure to keep it CNET UK for all the latest news.

Does the Galaxy Music excite you? Do you love nothing more than to play your music aloud from your phone on the train? Do you look forward to people throwing coffee at you? Let me know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.

Car Windshield Mount for Sony Xperia S

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