A new concept mockup of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 features a series of aesthetic changes to the device’s outer-design language that are as impressive as they are necessary.

There’s been a steady stream of leaks and tip-offs on the subject of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as of late…some of which have been less exciting than others. The idea of the device sporting the same dimpled plastic back-plate as the Galaxy S5 and the same color choices is about as thrilling as a root canal, which is why we’re more inclined to side with the weird and wonderful concepts thrown out by the imaginative types.

After all, realism can be so overrated.

Taking everything we (think we) know about the Note 4 thus far, Rishi Ramesh has gone ahead and produced the mockup you see here. The first thing that stands out is the joyful fact that it doesn’t look like the Galaxy S5 and nor does it appear to be wrapped in plastic. Usually when we’re waiting for the launch of such a pivotal device it’s all about the hardware, but in Samsung’s case they’re so late to the metallic Smartphone party that little matters more this time around.

He’s clearly taken a few snippet of the standard design language for the Note series to date and sprinkled in a little LG G3 for good measure, but there’s no denying the slim-bezeled beauty is a looker.

What’s perhaps most interesting about this year’s installment of the Galaxy Note is that for the first time in the history of history, it may well have to hold its own against Apple’s first ever Phablet. There’s talk of the 5.5-inch iPhone Air being held back to late Q4 or even Q1 next year, but in any case the Cupertio combatant represents a pretty pleasing alternative to the fourth-generation Note.

We’ll have to see how forcefully Samsung throws down the gauntlet…fingers crossed for the end of plastic jackets!

Chinese clone gurus have once again come up with a pre-launch copy of the upcoming iPhone, which despite being wholly illegal in every respect is undeniably impressive.

So today brings good news for anyone that just cannot wait for the iPhone 6 to be released – Wico has already worked its way with a fully-functional iPhone 6 clone. Admittedly the device is in fact running Android rather than any build of iOS, but it’s not as if they exactly had permission from Apple to go ahead with the build.

Here’s a video showing off the clone in all its dodgy glory:

And here’s another just to get the point across – there’s no denying it’s a pretty striking replica:

 

Such is the attention to detail that a fair few experts believe that the clone could easily pass as the real deal…assuming of course its Android OS wasn’t spotted. It’s not identical across the board however as a few things like the headphone jack and volume buttons miss the mark somewhat, but unless you’re something of an iPhone obsessive that can spot these kinds of things at a glance, you’d be hard-pressed to call its bluff.

Of course, the fact that it rips off the iPhone wholesale, sports the Apple logo and claims to be “Designed by Apple in California” makes it dodgier than dodgy and not a device that will ever see the light of day in the US…legally. But still, it’s hard not to be impressed by what these crooks can up with these days – it’s just a shame they can’t put their clear skills to better use.

Another leak purportedly showing the mid-end LG G3 S in all its glory depicts a device with zero visible design changes and all manner of calorie-cuts under the hood.

Mention the idea of the LG G3 S to most and chances are they’ll dream up and even more epic version of the already biblical QHD flagship. However, if an unofficial listing for the wholly unannounced devices is anything to go by, it could in fact turn out to be something of a mini-me.

Another leak has made its way onto the web, indirectly suggesting that LG intends to milk the living hell out of the G3 with a fair few different variants. In in this instance, the G3 S appears to be modeled largely around the standard version of the device, though with one or two traits either stepped-back on or left out of the equation altogether.

Nothing’s yet been confirmed, but reports suggest that the slightly lower-end G3 will not in fact feature a 2K Ultra-HD panel like its bigger brother, but will instead take two steps backward into 720p HD territory. The panel itself will also be reduced in size to 5-inches, there’s a less astonishing 1.2GHz quad-core processor under the hood and RAM is limited to just 1GB. Both of the cameras are said to have been knocked down a peg or two, weighing in at 8-megapixels to the rear and 1.3-megapixels up-front. You’ll also take home no more than 8GB of closet space for files, though this can mercifully be increased with a micro-SD card.

On the whole therefor it’s a pretty mid-range tale and one that’s in many ways on par with the LG G2, which continues to be one of the firm’s strongest performers for frugal followers of the brand. As such, the success or otherwise of the G3 S will likely be determined by its price and the timing of its launch.

That is, assuming it even exists in the first place.

 

There’s still no sign of the legendarily elusive Surface Mini tablet, but Microsoft has at least confirmed that a new wave of ultra-cheap Windows-based laptop PCs and tablets is on the horizon.

So it’s becoming clearer by the day that the Microsoft Surface Mini tablet has either been trashed altogether or won’t be with us for some time…as sad as it is plainly obvious. Despair not however as while an own-brand slate with the tiniest of price tags may be off the cards for the time being, there’s at least one 7-inch Windows slate heading our way that will set you back less than $100.

Only a buck less, but still…better than a kick in the rear.

Kevin Turner, as in the COO of the Redmond software monster, made the announcement on Monday at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington D.C. Surface was of course off the radar entirely, but he did at least talk up a couple of new device ventures with HP, which would culminate in the launch of a new $199 laptop and a $99 tablet PC.

The laptop is seems is out to take a swipe at the growing Chromebook market, while the cheapo Windows tablet PC could see the OS find its way into the hands of the masses on a whole new level.

No official details were revealed as to the specs and features any of the devices will carry, though they made it pretty clear that the range in its entirety would hit the shelves in plenty of time for Christmas shopping sprees.

Mr. Turner also took the opportunity to highlight the many ways in which a Chromebook is inferior to a Windows PC – most of which you really can’t argue with. From offline work to peripherals to full versions of popular software suites and so on and so forth, it’s clear Microsoft and Co. aren’t taking any prisoners in the fight-back against the ongoing Chromebook onslaught.

Which of course bodes well for us folk on this side of the equation as it means Windows laptops and netbooks are set to become cheaper than ever before over the months and years to come.

Cheers for that, Google!

Further price cuts on the Nexus 5 Smartphone are fuelling rumors that the QHD Nexus 6 could soon be announced by Google – perhaps for a dual-launch with Android L?

There’s no better sign that a new Smartphone is on the horizon like that of a random series of price-cuts on current models. Not that it doesn’t happen pretty much every day, but when we start to see money being slashed off a device like the Google Nexus 5, we can’t help but pay attention.

The latest drop in price slapped on the Nexus 5 comes by way of eBay – $15 off the 16GB version may not sound like a big deal, but it’s just the latest in a long line of slow but steady clearance deals making their way into the mix. And the more deals we see, the more likely it is we’ll be seeing the launch of the Nexus 6 in the very near future.

As it stands, all signs are pointing to an October launch for the Nexus 6 – the smoking gun of course being the fall rollout of Android L. It’s highly unlikely that the newest and most heavily overhauled version of Android to date will debut without a brand-new device to show it off to its full potential, just as it’s unlikely that a new Nexus device will launch with a months-old OS at the helm.

So by putting two and two together, it’s pretty easy to work out that both will share the same release date – that being mid-October.

In terms of specs and features, the general impression is one of Google once again striving to hit the highest-end of hardware for its new flagship, while at the same time keeping costs to a minimum. However, early price projections don’t exactly add up when squared-off against rumors specifications.

For example, the Nexus 6 is widely tipped to boast a QHD 2K Ultra-HD touchscreen of 5.5-inches, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB or storage space and a 20-megapixel primary camera. All well and good, but if this is the case we really can’t see it selling for an off-contract price of $349 as reports continue to suggest.

Still, fingers crossed they somehow make it happen.

The US Senate has effectively given the green light to US cell phone owners to unlock their devices if they want to, after a change in the rules back in January that infuriated most of the nation.

It’s not often that the US Senate wins applause for displaying genuine common sense and logical thinking – today brings a rare example of exactly such behavior. With zero fuss or opposition to the idea, a bill has been passed which means that if a mobile phone owners decides that he or she would like to have their device unlocked from its primary network or carrier, they’re wholly entitled to do so.

“I applaud the Senate for so quickly passing the bipartisan Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which puts consumers first and promotes competition in the wireless phone marketplace,” wrote Senator Patrick Leahy in a response, the chap responsible for penning the bill.

“With the Senate’s swift action last night, just days after the Judiciary Committee approved the measure, I hope the House will soon take up and pass our bill so that consumers will be able to use their existing cell phones on the wireless carrier of their choice.”

It wasn’t long ago that it was totally legal and within the rights of anyone to unlock a Smartphone. However, a change in the rulebook in January saw it become effectively illegal to unlock handsets, which of course triggered a gigantic backlash from pretty much every sensible member of the consumer public.

From the FCC to device resellers to the everyday Smartphone owner, everyone kicked off and…if we’re honest…most completely ignored the new rule anyone. After all, it’s not like it was fair, logical or enforceable.

But rather than getting bogged down in a rant, let’s just offer a fair and polite nod of appreciation to the Senate for the kind of rule-reversal we don’t see too many of.

Executives for Asus have spoken with pride of the firm’s latest ZenFone series, which has sold upward of 40,000 units in India in less than four days on the shelves.

Asus may not be the first name that comes to mind when it comes to the most prestigious Smartphone on the market, but things are starting to look up for the Taiwanese tech firm. Certain markets appear to be warming to the brand’s offerings in a big way, with the newly launched Asus ZenFone 5 having got off to a pretty storming start in India.

Four days into its Indian market campaign, the latest ZenFone series has chalked up sales of no less than 40,000 units.

“The reaction from the Indian masses has been astonishing owing to our partnership with Flipkart and our offline channels,” said ASUS India boss Peter Chang.

“It is surprising to see that the product has reached to 300 cities immediately post launch.”

Generally associated with somewhat out-of-the-box concepts like the PadFone and the FonePad, Asus came out of nowhere to deliver a new range of Smartphone that pack a serious wallop in value for money stakes. The biggest seller to date has been the 5-inch version of the ZenFone 5, which shares the  same core specs and features as its counterparts.

Powered by an Intel Atom dual-core CPU clocked at 1.6GHz, the device also features 2GB of RAM, a 720p HD touchscreen, an 8-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel shooter up front and storage  options of 8GB and 16GB – both of which can be expanded with micro-SD.

As for prices, the 4-inch version starts from the equivalent of about $99, the 5-inch option comes in at $160 and the 6-incher around the $280 mark.

Asus calls the ZenFone 5 the ‘best Android Smartphone on the market’ which may be pushing things a little too far, but in terms of bang-for-buck it’s a pretty sweet deal to say the least.

 

The rumor mill has already started doing its stuff with next year’s iPhone 7, dreaming up all manner of outlandish hardware including a 4K display panel and an all-glass outer casing.

Well it wasn’t as if the rumor mill was going to wait long to start talking up the iPhone 7, but to be honest we didn’t think we’d be hearing about it this soon. We frankly still have no idea what to expect from the iPhone 6, the iPhone Air or the iWatch, but those with more time on their hands than patience are already looking forward to what Apple could throw out next time around.

And if even half of their predictions materialize, we’re in for some serious hardware and design changes come late 2015.

First of all, the general consensus is that if Apple goes ahead with the launch of the 5.5-inch iPhone Air, the iPhone 7 will actually be called the iPhone 6S or the Air 2. Not that the moniker is goes by will be the most important detail in any way, as it’s how the Cupertino bunch will carry the thing forward in hardware-stakes that really counts.

In terms of size, chances are the 2015 iPhone won’t grow a great deal from this year’s model, so it’s safe to say that 4.7-inches will remain the chosen sweet-spot. However, while this year’s device is likely to hit the new 2K QHD standard, there’s ongoing talk of the iPhone 7 taking things right up to the 4K mark. Major tech firms have been experimenting with 4K Smartphone screens for some time now and the introduction of 64-bit mobile CPUs with huge servings of RAM have combined to make 4K a very real possibility.

Still on the subject of screens, a recent patent filing traced back to the Cupertino clan referenced a new kind of fused-glass technology that could see the entire outer-case of a future iPhone transformed into one gigantic touchscreen with no bezels or seams. The practical benefits of such a wrap-around screen are of course debatable, but to be the first device to ever stray into such territory would of course work in the iPhone 7’s favor.

Other than this it’s the usual tale of more power under the hood, a camera that at long last breaks the 10-megapixel barrier and all the goodies served up by iOS 9.

And if any of the above holds true, you can’t blame folk for being rather excited about it all!

Experts from Microsoft have insisted that it remains a sensible idea for the greater good to continue using easily-hackable passwords on low-risk websites and to reuse said passwords for multiple accounts.

The vast majority of major technology companies have over recent weeks and months been stepping up their campaigns to urge and encourage the use of ultra-strong passwords. Those favoring the old standards of “Password” or “123456” or “ABCDEF” for example have been near-universally panned for their blatant flouting of common sense advice, as too have those reusing the same passwords over and over again.

So, why it is that Microsoft is now insisting that part of safe-practice for password use should indeed include the reuse of passwords across multiple sites?

Once a hacker gains entry to a site using a password, chances are they’ll then try it out on every other site linked to the primary site to try and gain entry…password reuse being to blame if they manage it. However, a trio of bigwigs from Microsoft have made the somewhat surprising call for web users to continue using repeat-password approaches in certain scenarios.

According to Cormac Herley and Dinei Florencio who teamed up with Carleton University’s Paul C. van Oorschot, as far as low-risk websites are concerned then password reuse is both ok and to some extent encouraged. They insist that when there’s nothing of value to protect then it’s more than acceptable to reuse simple passwords – the really meaty passwords by contrast being saved for high-risk sites.

“The rapid decline of password complexity as recall difficulty increases suggests that, far from being unallowable, password re-use is a necessary and sensible tool in managing a portfolio,” they advised.

“Re-use appears unavoidable if complexity]must remain above some minimum and effort below some maximum.”

And there you have it – save the tricky stuff for your banks and business sites, but feel free to go back to easy and truly-hackable passwords for any sites that don’t count for jack…Redmond says it’s fine!