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While much attention is being focused on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 release date, latest reports have suggested Samsung is set to launch a new Windows Phone powered handset.

Sony has initiated its own smartphone tracking service called My Xperia, enabling you to monitor the whereabouts of you handset when its lost or stolen.


The service was launched in beta earlier in the year, but only for Nordic countries. Now Sony has announced on its official blog that My Xperia is rolling out worldwide over the next few weeks.

My Xperia is described as a "remote security app" that can protect your personal data as well as tracking your phone.

Users of Sony Xperia devices from 2012 or 2013 can access the service by signing into myxperia.sonymobile.com with your Google ID.

From the central interface that you encounter here, you can do a number of things. For one, you can remotely sound an alert on your phone, ignoring silent mode and waking the screen from sleep.

You can also locate your phone on a map, lock it to keep your personal data safe an ping the phone a message with contact details, should it simply be lost.

The most drastic thing you can do with this new My Xperia tool, though, is to remotely wipe  the data stored on your phone and SD card.

My Xperia is essentially a belated answer to Apples own Find My iPhone service, which launched three years ago.

Google has yet to provide its own equivalent service for the Android platform, though there are a number of third party apps on the Google Play Store that do the same thing, such as Lookout Security & Antivirus and Avasts similar Mobile Security & Antivirus.

Phone battery always dying on you? The OnBeat Solar Headphones could be the perfect solution to your smartphone woes.



















A UK-based Kickstarter campaign is trying to raise funds for a pair of solar-powered headphones that can charge smartphones and tablets in the sun.

The OnBeat Solar Headphones work via a flexible solar panel that covers the entire headband to soak up the rays. This channels the solar energy to a pair of Lithium ion batteries located inside the ear cups.

When its not sunny outside, theres also a USB connection so you can hook your tablet or smartphone and charge it via a PC.

OnBeat claims that the headphones will provide a full battery recharge for a mobile phone however the company fails to provide evidence of the charging performance for specific devices.

In terms of the standard headphone specs, the OnBeat headphones feature 40mm drivers, have a frequency response of 20hz to 20,000Khz and include an integrated remote to control the volume.

OnBeat is searching for £200,000 and with 29 days to go has reached just under £8,000. At the bottom of the pledging scale if you give £5 you can get a mention on the website. If you chip in £89 or more you’ll get a pair of the headphones sent to you if they successfuly launch.

The headphones will end up costing around £119 and an estimated delivery date of February 2014 suggests you will have to wait until next year to see the first pair. You can find out more on the OnBeat Solar headphones Kickstarter page.

A Flappy Bird Windows Phone app is on the way as developers confirm the latest app-based gaming sensation will spread its wings away from its iOS and Android foundations next week.

The Windows Phone operating system will soon be capable of being run on existing Android hardware, Microsoft has confirmed.


Teasing upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 features during MWC 2014, Microsoft has revealed that the forthcoming platform update will see system requirements for the Windows Phone OS changed. As such, manufacturers will be able to port the Windows Phone OS to existing Android hardware.

With Microsoft having recently offered Windows Phone 8.1 update hints, Greg Sullivan, Microsoft’s Director of Windows Phone has discussed in further detail with TrustedReviews the effects this will have on the platform, not just for consumers but manufacturers too.

Detailing some of the upcoming improvements, he revealed that the Windows Phone 8.1 update, which is still to be officially named, will see “support for Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 and 400 chipsets” added.

On top of this, the reworked OS will allow “support for soft keys so that you don’t have to have physical hardware buttons.”

Looking to the larger benefits of these seemingly small changes, Sullivan stated: “One of the important things there is that an OEM can now take a device – an existing device that they are shipping with Android on it today – and install Windows Phone on it.”

He added: “They can leverage and get scale with their investments, they don’t have to go and build a separate thing that costs more, it’s going to eliminate a lot of barriers and make it more efficient and economically feasible for more OEMs to get into that business.”

The Director of Windows Phone went on to tell us: “There is a change in how we are engaging our OEM partners.

“With Windows Phone 8, we shrunk the number of OEMs we worked with relative to Windows 7.5. That was intentional as we knew we were going to the new Kernal underneath and we wanted to focus our engineering resources on fewer OEMs to make sure that we got it right.

“Now we can turn our attention to growing the ecosystem, growing the install base, and having a wider range of support for new devices.”

Despite claiming big things are in store for the future of Windows Phone, the third OS as it has widely become known, was scarcely represented at Mobile World Congress this week.

With a mass of Android handsets and a fleet of Firefox OS devices unveiled, Microsoft’s mobile OS was completely overlooked by leading manufacturers.

Your Android smartphone has all the photographic and processing power youll need to snap up those docs and get them into the cloud where they belong.

Here are a few mobile document scanning solutions we put through their paces.

1. CamScanner

2. Document Scanner

3. Droid Scan Pro PDF

4. Scan to PDF

New images of the Nokia Android UI have leaked online, with some suggesting they contain a launch date clue.

Your smartphone is more precious than your wallet, your keys and in some cases, your actual computer when it comes to sensitive information - but we all have that nagging guilt that we dont do enough to protect our devices beyond perhaps having a four digit pass code.


Thankfully we are here to help with some top-level tips to help make your phone more secure, protecting those all important messages and images that you dont want falling into the wrong hands.

With around 314 mobiles stolen a day on the streets of London, the risk of things getting out is extremely high.

Of course if youre looking to keep your phone safe from international spies, or snooping networks, you can always check out the BlackPhone... but if youre just the average smartphone user who wants to be a little safer, follow some of our tips below.

1. Update your software

Whether you are running iOS, Android or Windows Phone we will always advise you to grab the latest version of the OS available. This can be a little difficult with Android updates often taking a little while to go through manufacturer and network testing but is well worth it.

Part of the reason we suggest grabbing the latest OS is because it comes with all the added bonuses whether its the Control Center of iOS7 or the clear bars on Android KitKat, but also because a lot of security loopholes will have been closed.

These updates dont just pop up in major iterations either; Apple is currently pushing out iOS 7.0.6 in order to close a problem associated with using Apple devices on an unsecured network.

Most manufacturers allow you to set your phone to check for updates automatically, so always make sure this box is ticked.

2. Use a secure lock screen

It seems almost nonsensical in this day and age to not have a basic password on your lock screen, even if it is a basic one. One of the first things wed suggest is to navigate into your devices security settings and enable a pass lock.

There are obvious benefits to having even a basic lock, but whilst face lock of Android might seem fun it isnt the most secure system out there, with many Google devices rating the effectiveness of each security system so you can make an informed choice.

Pattern unlocks and pins are some of the most secure but if you can handle the hassle wed always suggest a full alphanumeric password. Also ensure that any boxes that say "make passwords visible" are also unticked.

If you want to take it one step further then wed also recommend changing your pass code regularly in case someone spots what youve typed in over your shoulder.

3. Install antivirus software

One of the biggest threats that could see data leaked is the less-than-humble virus. The problem isnt as widespread as on desktop computers, and if you dont download dodgy software chances are that within a 2 year contract you wont come across anything malicious, but there is still a credible threat out there.

The problem appears to be less hazardous for iPhones thanks to Apples strict controlling of the App store.

The open source nature of Android makes it a lot more vulnerable, as malicious apps can be sideloaded onto the device without being checked by Google. In both cases this is something that can be countered through the use of mobile Antivirus software.

The likes of McAfee, AVG and Lookout grace both the iOS App Store and the Google Play store for added security, but obviously be careful of any apps that seem a little suspicious.

If youre really worried check out the manufacturers website as most will come with a link to their mobile app.

4. Disable apps from untrusted sources and dont root or jailbreak

Whilst it can often be a nice idea to download and install apps that arent found on the App Store or Google Play Store, these apps tend to be the ones that are less secure. Google, Apple and Microsoft, as well as the likes of BlackBerry, keep tabs on the apps that are on their app portals.

This means apps that contain malicious code are likely to have been removed before you install them.

Rooting your Android phone or jailbreaking your iPhone can also prove really dangerous, especially if you dont know what youre doing. This is because it breaks down your OS and provides you access to the basic code within and if you can get access, malicious code has a much easier route to making changes too.

If youre more familiar with the world of rooting and jailbreaking then youll have taken measures to ensure the security of your device - so make sure youre certain you know what you want when altering your handset.

5. Use lock code apps and vaults

One thing that can be particularly important for protecting vital messages and pictures is to add a second layer of security. If youve got a pass code that somehow manages to get into the wrong hands then all your data could potentially be at risk.

With another app you can then add another layer of security by protecting apps with a second code. Vault apps also allow you to be safe by storing all the files that you want to secure within a dedicated area of your device or on an SD card, as well as being able to wipe the data after unsuccessful log in attempts.

Samsungs new Galaxy S5 features a fingerprint scanner to hide certain parts of your phone too - it might not be the easiest thing to use, but at least you can be doubly secure that nobody can get into the places you want hidden.

For more than two decades, ever since DOS and Windows 3.1x, dual-booting has been restricted to hardcore enthusiasts who found being able to boot from one or more operating systems convenient and useful.


If the presentation by Microsofts Joe Belfiore last week in Barcelona is an indication of how the mobile market will evolve, were about to see a comeback of dual booting with Android and Windows Phone sitting on the same phone.

The push is likely to come from Microsoft for whom this might be one of the biggest punts of its long history, similar to putting Internet Explorer into Windows 95.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

The gist of the later part of Belfiores presentation is that Microsoft is working closely with hardware partners to make sure that there is little or no change needed to get a smartphone (or indeed any ARM-based devices) to run Windows Phone or Android.

X86 devices like PCs, laptops and servers run Windows or Linux (or indeed MacOS X) indiscriminately and theres no reason why that shouldnt be the case for smartphones in general.

This is a logical step that is likely to be more helpful to Microsoft than Android - and this tacit agreement will end up being most detrimental to Apple.

How bold is too bold?

It seems likely that Microsoft may encourage partners to offer dual-boot as standard on all Android smartphones by offering Windows Phone for free or for a huge discount.

The cynical among us might suggest that as well as offering Windows Phone for free (or at a low cost), Microsoft will slash the fees associated with cross licensing agreements signed with scores of manufacturers of Android devices to persuade them to put Windows Phone prominently on the Android phone (perhaps on the boot screen).

Either solution will cost money but would enable Microsoft to get Windows into the hands of potentially tens of millions of Android users.

It will hope that they will try Windows Phone and be so enamoured of it that they eventually switch to a solely Windows Phone device or continue to use the two platforms altogether.

This would help Microsoft expand the number of smartphones running Windows Phone exponentially and we might even see Microsoft-backed versions of Android without Googles services (similar to what Nokia is doing), something which would be something of an ironic move.

As always though, the more competition in a market, the more likely innovation will thrive.

The business allure of dual-booting

So whats the point of dual-booting for consumers? Most end-users and consumers are unlikely to gain much from the exercise, depending on how dual-booting devices are pitched to the mainstream.

But there is a category of users for whom this will be a godsend and that is the business/enterprise audience.
Having Windows 8 Embedded or Windows Phone 8 plus Android on a sleek smartphone that can be used both for work and leisure will be an attractive proposal to some.

Microsofts mobile platform offers easy access to Office 365, Active Directory and the entire Windows ecosystem (including Xbox) and is an incredibly attractive alternative to BlackBerry.

Thats the theory many think Redmond will follow because the other option is to see Windows Phone stuck as the third choice after Android and iOS, and seeing numbers of shipped (but not sold) units increase over time.

Piggy-backing on Googles Android is definitely not an ego-boosting move for Microsoft but it is by far the most pragmatic.

It is also one that can yield great results reasonably quickly, which is what Satya Nadella needs at the moment to stamp his authority on the company.

LG is working on a phone that runs the Windows Phone 8 operating system, with the handset currently at R&D phase.


According to Indian website Lightreading.in, LG is in the process of making its first Windows Phone 8 mobile.

LG India MD Soon H Kwon says that “we are actually working on our Windows Phone 8 OS powered smartphone,” although had no specific release plans to share about the device.

Although LG produced one of the first Windows Phone 7 mobiles, in the shape of the LG Optimus 7, this phone – if released – will be the first Windows Phone 8 handset to come from the company.

Kwon explained the company’s renewed interest in the Microsoft platform, saying “we believe that Windows will pick up going ahead, as Microsoft is pumping efforts into it.”

The future of Windows Phone 8

Reports on the future of Windows Phone vary wildly depending on where you look, though.

A Canalys report released in June 2013 suggests that Windows Phone will have a fairly healthy 12.7 per cent share of the mobile market by 2017. However, the latest figures show Windows Phone’s share shrinking.

Recent comScore stats analysing US mobile market share drop from 3.2 per cent to just 3 per cent between Q1 2013 and Q2 2013 – from bad to (slightly) worse.

To date, the highest-profile Windows Phone devices have come from Nokia. Its Lumia-series mobiles such as the Lumia 925 and Lumia 800 have been given far greater marketing support than any other Windows Phone handsets.

LG Phones

Although LG is considered a diminishing star in the mobile firmament by some, its production of the Google Nexus 4 has actually seen its market share rise in the last year.

It mobile market share in Q1 2013 was 4.9 per cent, up from 3.2 per cent in Q1 2012. However, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech says LG’s increase in share is “almost solely driven” by the Nexus 4.

The most obvious issue – the Google Nexus 4 is not universally recognised as an ‘LG’ phone.

Google’s next phone was initially expected to be made by Motorola, the mobile arm of which was bought by Google in 2012.

However, reports surfacing as recently as a month ago suggest LG will be behind the Google Nexus 5. Perhaps LG’s mobile fortunes are set to continue.

The Nokia Android “Normandy” phone is rumoured to be called the Nokia X at launch.

Screenshots from the Windows Phone 8.1 Action Centre have leaked online showing off the incoming notifications centre.



















A slide from an official Microsoft presentation has been leaked showcasing the Windows Phone 8.1 Action Centre notification hub.

The leaked slide calls the Action Centre a “central location to surface missed notifications.”

Microsoft is preparing Windows Phone 8.1 as the first major update to the Windows Phone 8 mobile OS, and this genuine Microsoft PowerPoint presentation slide suggests the notification centre is one of the main features.

According to the screenshots there will be two layers to the Windows Phone 8.1 Action Centre. The first level, revealed by a short swipe from the top of the screen, offers access to four basic quick settings. These will be shortcuts to settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and something that’s called Driving mode.

All four of the basic shortcuts are customisable, so you can cater them to your most used settings toggles.

The secondary level to the Action Centre offers access to the full list of toasts and notifications from apps, similar to that offered by the notifications centres in Android and iOS devices.

Apparently, “apps can intelligently manage notifications [to] silently add, update and delete notifications”.

We’re not quite sure how this will function, but we guess that if you go into a related app manually the notifications will disappear accordingly.

Earlier this month, icons for the Windows Phone 8.1 Cortana voice assistant were leaked online, revealing some of its upcoming features.

The icons suggest that Cortana will be able to complete tasks ranging from basic ones like alarms, sending messages and searching the web right the way through to more complex tasks like alerting you to heavy traffic on your route, giving directions and even taking notes for you.

Windows Phone 8.1 is set to be officially unveiled during the Microsoft Build Conference in April.