Android Police has managed to get its hands on a system dump for the upcoming “Facebook Phone” this Thursday. And while there will be a physical device announced, it seems “Facebook Home” is a really customized launcher, eventually destined for a wide variety of handsets. More »
The big winners in the three-month period ending in February in terms of smartphone share globally and in the U.S. were Android and Windows Phone, according to Kantar Worldpanel, with BlackBerry experiencing significant declines in consumer interest and iOS remaining fairly level in most markets. The bad news for BlackBerry is that it saw its smartphone OS share decline even in the U.K., where it launched BB10 and its new hardware at the end of January.
Windows Phone isn’t really posing a threat to iOS or Android, which continue to dominate smartphone share is all markets, but it is starting to pull away from BlackBerry and Symbian when it comes to making a strong showing as a third place contender. In the U.S., Windows accounted for 4.1 percent of smartphone sales in the three-month period ending February 2013, up from 2.7 percent for the year-ago quarter. BlackBerry, by contrast, represented only 0.7 percent of smartphone sales in the U.S. according to Kantar, down from 3.6 percent during the same time in 2012.
In the U.K., BlackBerry slid from 16.8 percent of all smartphone sales in the three-month period ending in February last year, to just 5.1 percent of sales for the same span in 2013. That’s a drop of 11.u7 percentage points, during a period that included a full month of BB10 device sales. BlackBerry itself claimed 1 million devices shipped for its most recent fiscal quarter, which included BB10 launches in Canada and the U.K., but when pressed about how much of that represented actual sales, execs hedged and noted that it was “sort of” closer to between two-thirds and three-quarters of that 1 million figure on its investor conference call.
Android’s performance has likewise been strong, with big increases in many markets, including Great Britain, Germany, and Mexico. And while iOS remains relatively stable, with either small slides or gains across the board, it isn’t losing significant ground to the competition in any market: Android is eating space given up by legacy players like Symbian, which in most cases is dropping share quicker than BlackBerry. BlackBerry has the most to lose, however, since Symbian is no longer being actively developed. We’ll see if the gradual worldwide rollout of BB10 can reverse some of the losses being reported by Kantar in the coming months.
Few things are more precious, intimate and personal than the data on your smartphone, which explains why you wipe it before sending it off to a recycler or selling it on eBay, right? Problem is, even if you do everything …
Cast your memory back to last summer. Sweep away memories of iPhone 5 leaks galore, and you might remember that the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) asked the FCC to reevaluate its radiation limits for mobile phones. Now a few seasons later, the FCC has finally wrapped up a report that responds to the GAO, and there are no changes to its RF radiation levels in sight because it feels comfortable with its current caps. “We continue to have confidence in the current exposure limits, and note that more recent international standards have a similar basis,” reads the report. However, given that its guidelines were adopted in 1996, new research on radiation and the proliferation of mobile devices, the FCC would like some feedback regarding its restrictions. It’s put out a call for comments from concerned parties and even federal health and safety bodies.
Though the freshly-released document didn’t rock the proverbial boat, it made one change worth noting. The pinna (outer ear) is now classified an extremity, which means the FCC allows devices to hit the tissue with more radiation. Feel like poring through 201 pages of regulatory minutiae? Click the source link below for the commission’s full dossier.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: The Verge
Source: FCC
Our cell phones go with us just about everywhere: at school, work, in our pocket, in bed. Those who have been around long enough will have heard ever-changing stances on the health safety of the handsets, with some claiming that the radiation causes brain tumors and others claiming that there are no health problems associated with phone use. All was quiet on the health front until last year, when the government said it was time to take another look at acceptable RF levels.
In 2012, the Government Accountability Office released a report after spending a year researching the health aspects of cell phone usage that stated the radiation limit needed to be reevaluated, the first time such a required had been made in nearly two decades. At the time of the report, the FCC had the SAR (specific absorption rate) set at 1.6W/kg.
The FCC reevaluated the radiation limit after the report was published, and has now published its own response, in which it states that the SAR limit is staying the same as it has been for many years. However, all is not staying unchanged. Per the report, the outer part of the ear has been reclassified as an extremity, a designation that legally allows it to absorb more radiation under current specifications.
The effects of cell phone radiation on humans is mostly unknown, but is typically regarded to be safe and to not cause some of the speculated conditions that populate conspiracy boards. Still, more research is needed on RF radiation and its potential health effects, something that could be prodded by the ever-increasing use of smartphones in our digital, mobile world.
[via The Verge]
FCC looks into cell phone radiation, decides to keep limitations same as before is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Next week, Facebook is going to show us its “new home on Android.” What does that mean? We’re not sure—we could be days away from The Facebook Phone, or just a lovely new life-consuming app. But here are our best bets for what Zuck has up his Androidy sleeves. More »
The HTC Droid DNA and Motorola’s Droid RAZR HD/RAZR MAXX HD are all sweet handsets. The DNA of course has an edge in terms of screen and display while the RAZRs’ battery lives are unmatched in the Android ecosystem. Sure the HTC One will be frickin’ awesome when it does eventually show up but “later this spring” is just too long to wait. So, if you had a phone upgrade coming your way this weekend—as I do—and the iOS option is right out, which phone would you choose? More »
The HTC One is hands-down the most beautiful Android phone we’ve ever seen, so it should come as no surprise that it doesn’t come apart nicely. The folks over at iFixit gave it a shot and had One hell of a time getting the guts out so you won’t have to. And you shouldn’t try; it’s a nightmare. More »
Apparently, Nexus 4 owners have been having some issues keeping their new phone from flying off their desk and ending up on the floor. Because of the rear glass panel, the phone can slide around fairly easily depending on the type of surface it’s on. However, Google redesigned the phone just slightly to prevent unnecessary sliding.
According to German site MobiFlip, the new Nexus 4 features two small nubs towards the bottom of the phone, where the glass meets the edge. These small nubs raise the back of the device just slightly off of the surface to prevent it from sliding around and possibly falling onto the floor causing any kind of damage.
The small nubs also allow the sound coming out of the phone’s speaker to be louder when the device is laid on its back. They’re barely noticeable, but they can make a huge difference in several ways. On top of that, the camera’s lens has been updated as well, with less area around the lens being exposed. We’re not sure if this was because the old lens wasn’t working as efficiently, or if it’s just a simple design tweak that had nothing to do with the camera itself.
Overall, it’s nice to see Google still focusing on the Nexus 4 and improving the hardware even though the phone has already been released. However, those who already own the phone are out of luck, and you’ll have to resort to the bumper case to get a similar effect. However, for those still thinking about buying a Nexus 4, your unit may come with the new changes.
[via Android Central]
Google updates Nexus 4 design with small nubs, new camera lens is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We all know that texting while driving is dangerous, but it turns out that almost half of all commuters in the US admitted to doing it anyway, according to a survey conducted by AT&T. Not only do 49% of commuters text while driving, but 98% said that texting while driving is dangerous and that they probably shouldn’t do it.
What’s perhaps more surprising is that out of all the teenagers surveyed, 43% of them admitted to texting behind the wheel, which is lower than the 49% of the older folks. Of course, that doesn’t make the situation better — 43% of teenagers is still 43% of teenagers who text while driving, so the statistics don’t look good either way.
However, with the advancement of technology, commuters are able to use hands-free systems if they want to use their phones while driving. However, as we’ve pointed out before, hands-free systems may not be all that much better. A study showed that hands-free systems can still distract drivers by taking their mind off the road.
It’s never a good idea to multi-task while driving. Even having your morning coffee can distract you from the road. It only takes a split second for something to happen, and by then it could already be too late. While you may think that you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to take a sip of coffee, your mind itself gets distracted and can reduce your reaction time significantly.
[via Android Community]
Nearly half of all commuters admit to texting while driving is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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