Smartphone and Tablet PC sales in the UK have plummeted when compared to last year, though according to the firm responsible for the data it’s neither a surprise not a cause for concern.

Global Smartphone and tablet PC shipments may be accelerating by the day, but for one reason or another, things aren’t looking quite so rosy in the UK. Going by the predictions of a leading national consultancy firm, Smartphone sales will be down 11% compared to last year and tablet PCs are faring even worse, with a 14% plummet on last year’s sales volume.

For the first quarts of the year, CCS noted that Smartphone shipments had fallen by a massive 20% compared to the same three-month period in 2013. Tablet PCs suffered a similar fate, managed to fall in sales volumes by a full 17% after several months of huge gains.

It’s not all doom and gloom however…at least for fondleslabs anyway…as the folks at CCS insist it’s just something of a temporary hiccup. In fact, the firm believes that once tablet PCs really begin making their way into UK corporate markets, annual sales by the year 2017 will be around TWIC what they are today.

“We warned back in December that the spectacular tablet growth we’ve been seeing in the last two years was unsustainable,” said CCS’ forecasting director, Marina Koytcheva.

“With replacement rates for tablets slower than those of smartphones, a temporary lull was inevitable.”

As for the cause of the stall – CCS reckons is all comes down to the way in which Smartphones have for the time being at least peaked. They blame device manufacturers for not bringing anything to the table significant enough to persuade current-gen Smartphone owners to upgrade. What’s more, Smartphone owners in general are becoming more and more concerned with cost-effectiveness and are foregoing additional expense when and where possible.

“This is a double whammy for device manufacturers,” said research chief for CCS, Ben Wood.

“No one anticipated we’d see so much pressure on both tablet and smartphone sales at the same time. In response to slowing sales consumer electronics companies will be tempted to step up their marketing efforts and spoil buyers with a wealth of attractive promotions and bundles,”

“Early signs of this have already emerged, with cheap tablets or wearables being thrown in with a smartphone sale to sweeten the deal”.

Inside sources at Redmond have spoken of their concern that up to 13,000 jobs could be at risk, though Microsoft is yet to make any kind of announcement on possible redundancies following its takeover of Nokia.

Nokia was bought out by Microsoft a couple of months ago now for a pretty significant $7.2 billion sum. However, despite the fact that close to 25,000 new workers joined Redmond’s ranks and that things haven’t been going ideally, the company is yet to make clear whether any jobs are at risk and how many.

A new report from GigaOM suggests that employees working for both Microsoft and its new Nokia arm remain hugely concerned as to how secure or otherwise their jobs are.

“Look, Steve Ballmer buys Nokia and adds 25,000 people and a business that makes no money, so do the math,” the report quotes an unnamed Microsoft ‘insider’ as saying.

Prior to his departure, Ballmer did make it clear that the takeover would involve a great deal of departmental integration, which in the world of big business is something of a byword for inevitable redundancies.

“Finance, Legal, HR, Communications, DX / Evangelism, Customer Care and Business Development will integrate functionally at Microsoft,” wrote Ballmer in an email last fall.

“Sourcing, customer logistics and supply chain will be part of Stephen’s Devices organization. ICM / IT will also integrate functionally for traditional IT roles.”

No official comment has yet been issued by Microsoft as to the likelihood of layoffs, but company insiders are speculating that up to 10% of the entire combined workforce could be facing the boot. With over 127,000 employees now on the Redmond payroll, this equates to near 13,000 potential job cuts.

Having faced a pretty fierce tirade from female gamers insisting the time has come to diversify lead characters in popular gaming franchises, Ubisoft has promised that Far Cry 4 will be literally ‘teeming’ with women.

Calling all feminists – the makers of Far Cry 4 have confirmed that the forthcoming installment of the franchise will be packed to the rafters with women. Not that any of said women with be playable of course, but Alex Hutchinson has at least promised that all manner of female characters will pop up in the storyline and play a crucial role in the game as a whole.

He said Ubisoft “We tried very hard to make sure of the four main antagonists, half of them are women, which is cool, said the Far Cry 4 director in an Outside Xbox interview.

“On your side, one of the main leaders of the rebel faction is a woman, half the rebels that fight with you are women. It’s packed to the gills with women,”

“They’re everywhere, just like life.”

Just last month, Alex admitted that he and the team behind Far Cry 4 came within “inches” of including playable female characters in the upcoming title’s cooperative mode. As for the reason this didn’t happen, he said it came down to simple logistics and timing issues – the “workload” was just too high to branch out any further.

Ubisoft took a bit of a battering over recent weeks and months for pretty much excluding female characters from many of its leading titles. During E3 last month, the gaming firm accepted that steps needed to be taken to restore some semblance of balance, though exactly when diversity will genuinely make its mark on gaming franchises like Far Cry remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hutchinson used the same interview to dispel a million and one myths that the main character in Far Cry 4 will be none other than Pagan Min’s son.

“We didn’t want a villain who’s just shaking his fist at you and threatening to kill you and murder your family, and the inevitability of you shotgunning him in the face,” he said.

“And neither did we want someone who didn’t know you at all. We wanted you to actually sort of have a secret history in this country.”

Far Cry 4 is coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC as of November 18 this year.

A new GFX Bench listing has laid bare the unannounced Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 in all its mid-range glory – a 5.9-inch gap-filler to keep us busy before the main event in September.

We’re still waiting for official word on the status of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but in the meantime we’re to be thrown another bone to chew on – the Galaxy Mega 2.

Destined to be the next supersized addition to Samsung’s already sizeable Phablet arsenal, the Galaxy Mega 2 has leaked its way out of the woodwork once again…this time in the form of a GFX Bench listing. And if it turns out to be genuine, the Mega 2 could be one of the first mobile devices from Samsung to sport a nifty 64-bit CPU.

According to the as-yet unverified listing, the device is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU and also features an Adreno 306 GPU. 2GB of RAM should keep things moving along nicely, while the 720p touchscreen have been taken up from 5.8-inches to 5.9-inches. Other snippets served up by the leak include a 12-megapixel camera to the rear, a 4.7-megapixel front-facing camera for the self-obsessed selfie crowd, 8GB of expandable storage, NFC and Android 4.4.3 KitKat.

It’s also speculated that Samsung’s fingerprint security scanner might make it into the mix, but this will most likely depend on whether the Mega 2 is launched as a budget-busting pocket-pleaser…aka a cheap mid-ranger.

There’s little else to go on right now other than the suggestion that the Galaxy Mega 4 will touch down in the weeks running up the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in September.

Sony has released a new video snippet of its upcoming H1Z1 survival MMO, which for the first time lifts the lid on a series of gameplay feature.

For those hardly able to contain themselves ahead of the launch of H1Z1 later this year, Sony has been good enough to release a new video trailer with some genuine snippets of gameplay. The first new-generation zombie survival MMO of its kind, we now at least know that driving and crafting will play a role in the final build of H1Z1.

Those in attendance at E3 last month may have already seen the early demo of the game, but this is the first time it’s been shared in all its glory online. The folks behind the game have unsurprisingly admitted that inspiration came from the likes of The Walking Dead and DayZ, though have reaffirmed on multiple occasions that they intend for it to become its own unique story in totally unique world.

The Early Access PC version of H1Z1 will be out later this year at a price of $20, though if you can bear to hold out a little longer it will eventually launch as a fully free-to-play title.

Sony’s recent update 4.60 has enabled gamers to use wireless DualShock 4 control pads with PlayStation 3 consoles…albeit with a few pesky limitations.

Good news for those still having trouble making a true transition to next-generation console gaming – you can now use your wireless PlayStation 4 controller with your trusty PS3 console. Admittedly not the most exciting news in the world given how USB charge cables facilitated the same thing from day one, but still…convenient stuff nonetheless!

Update 4.60 has made it possible to use DualShock 4 controllers on the PS3 with no cables and the good news it it’s easy to sort out.

As for the bad news, the DualShock 4’s Sixaxis tilt controls, vibration and PlayStation buttons remain redundant for the time being – the PS button for turning the console on and off however is operational.

Here’s the post from Reddit describing exactly how to get your PS4 pad up and running for PS3 use:

1. Select “Manage Bluetooth Devices” under “Accessory Settings” in the PS3 settings menu.
2. Select “Register New Device,” then start the PS3’s Bluetooth scanning.
3. While it’s scanning, press and hold the share and PS buttons on the DualShock 4 at the same time until the light bar starts blinking.
4. The PS3 should then detect the controller, which will appear as “Wireless Controller.’
5. Select the controller and complete the pairing.

And there you have it – cross-generation gaming at its finest!

Reports suggest that Apple’s next-generation lineup of iPhones and iPads could join its MacBook computer range with high-end CPUs manufactured by Intel.

There’s an interesting rumor doing the rounds this week that Apple is about to further its partnership with Intel in a pretty enormous way.

It’s already become something of a no-brainer that the next round of MacBook Air and MacBook pro notebook computers will be powered by Intel’s latest Broadwell processors. With the new SoC under the hood, Apple will undoubtedly be able to build not only the first Retina MacBook Air, but also the thinnest Air to date with maximized battery life and exceptional performance to boot.

But that was always something a given – what’s really interesting is the suggestion that Apple has no intention of limiting Intel’s involvement to its notebook range only. Instead, reports suggest that Qualcomm may be given its marching orders following the launch of the iPhone 6, with future iPhone processors destined to carry Intel’s branding.

Could we be looking at an Intel-powered iPhone 7 and iPad Air 3?

Of course, the iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 are too close to launch for Intel to have anything to do with their makeup whatsoever, but next year’s hardware lineup is a different story altogether. Rumors persist of Apple looking to break the 4K barrier with its iPads next year and it could prove to be that Intel’s chips hold the key.

Of course, Apple has yet to pass comment on any matters pertaining to even this year’s devices, so chances of hearing anything concrete on the Intel story are for the time-being zilch.

Still, food for thought if nothing else.

From AT&T exclusivity to simple competition across Android and iOS markets, Amazon’s Fire phone may not pack enough firepower to realistically stand a chance in the real world.

Amazon’s first every Fire phone had been hyped for years, wowed the crowds at its unveiling and promising an arsenal of unique features never seen before in a Smartphone. So with this being the case, why are so many analysts and observers alike speaking so pessimistically about its chances?

There’s no denying the Fire phone is an impressive addition to the market – it’s not often we see anything that isn’t just a carbon copy of everything else. However, Amazon may have made one or two…or three…fatal mistakes in the Fire phones design and launch that could see it fall victim to industry leaders like so many before it.

First of all comes the AT&T exclusivity – it’s all well and good siding with a single carrier in order to garner its full support and marketing push, but at the same time you just end up shunning vast swathes of the consumer population. There are far too many people across the US that have already built and affinity with T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, US Cellular and so on to even think about switching – especially not for a device that’s yet to prove its worth.

And for those keen on AT&T’s way of doing business, the Amazon Fire phone costs a pretty painful $199 with a two-year service agreement. Or if you’d rather take it home unlocked and contract-free, you’re looking at an outlay of $650. Now, not only is this a dangerously higher price than the majority of Android and iOS market leaders – even the LG G3 doesn’t cost this much – but you’re shelling out to-dollar for access to a vastly inferior app and content library than those of Google and Apple.

What’s more, you’ll also find yourself pretty much joined at the hip to Amazon’s stuff and their stuff alone – these kinds of devices are less all-round pocket computers and more 24/7 product catalogues.

And finally, the next three months or so are expected to bring around the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime, the Google Nexus 6, the US version of the LG G3, the Sony Xperia Z3, the HTC One M8 Prime and the iPhone 6 to name just a few of the newbies. And guess what – the vast majority will cost the same $199 on-contract, they’re guaranteed to hit more than one major carrier and their off-contract prices may be even lower than that of the Fire phone.

Good look Bezos…you’re gonna need it!

The world’s first Smartphone designed to be fully protected against NSA hacks has sold out just two days after going on sale, solidifying the importance of privacy for mobile device users.

If there was ever any doubt as to how important security is to the modern Smartphone user, the Silent Circle Blackphone has quashed it once and for all. The first device of its kind in the world to be designed 100% hacker and surveillance-proof, the $629 has already managed to sell out completely.

Despite having only begun shipping on Monday this week, Silent Circle confirmed that the initial batch of Blackphone devices had flown out at a rate they just couldn’t keep up with. As of now, the next orders are being taken for another round of shipment now scheduled to begin on July 14.

Silent Circle was inspired to build the Blackphone following the sensational revelations of Edward Snowden, who basically broadcast to the world how the NSA does what it wants with the phone calls and communications of anyone it sets its sights on. The Blackphone completely blocks all such tapping and surveillance activities with extraordinary security and encryption.

And it’s not just an uber-safe brick either – the device features a 2GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4i quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 720p 4.7-inch touchscreen, an 8-megapixel camera and an overhauled build of Google’s Android KitKat.

Chances are we won’t be seeing a GTA movie in the near future, but for the time being feast your eyes on this one-off real-life trailer remake for GTA 5.

The idea of a Grand Theft Auto movie was never a realistic one…not really. The kind of stuff you lot get up to in GTA 5 has no place on the silver screen and there isn’t a certification high enough to slap on what would be the mother of all horror shows. And as for the idea of going easy on the sex and violence, well…it’s not like doing so would really do the franchise any real justice.

So the Grand Theft Auto movie is out of the question, but this hasn’t stopped some of the game’s more hardcore/obsessive fans remaking the official trailer for GTA 5 in real life. Yes it’s a bizarre thing to do and yes they’ve clearly got too much time on their hands, but this doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s one of the coolest clips EVER!

We have Zapruder Pictures from Spain to thank for the clip, which takes the first 2012 trailer for GTA 5 and brings it to life like never before. The attention to detail is pretty mind-blowing from start to finish – so much so that Rockstar Games even called the thing “awesome”.

We won’t bang on about how great GTA 5 is or how many squillion dollars it made in its first 35-seconds on sale – we’ll just let you have a look at the video and see what all the fuss is about.