The month in tech: Blackberry’s newest offering and AT&T plots 5G rollout this year

BlackBerry Mobile has unveiled its new smartphone, BlackBerry Motion, which combines a midrange chipset, a 5.5-inch 1080p screen and robust battery performance of two days on a single charge.Like the BlackBerry KEYone, Motion has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset with Adreno 506 GPU and 32GB of storage. It also comes with 4GB of RAM and a massive 4,000mAh battery. The device has Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0, meaning it reaches 50% charge in under an hour.

The phone’s main camera is a standard 12MP f/2.0 affair, which includes fast-focus, phase detection auto-focus, a dual-tone LED flash and 4K video at 30 frames per second. Motion, which runs on Android 7.1.2, also keeps data safe with a Lockermode feature that allows you to securely store your most sensitive files.

Position tracking

Samsung’s new mixed reality headset is designed to blend the real world with the expanding digital world, building on the advances of Microsoft HoloLens. One of the benefits of the HMD Odyssey is that the headset offers movement tracking without the need for external sensors with built-in cameras and sensors tracking the matching motion controllers. Priced at £368, the HMD Odyssey is the most expensive Windows MR headset but it offers large dual AMOLED displays at 3.5 inches and a high resolution of 1400 x 1600.

At 110 degrees, the field of view is wider than its competitors. Like all Windows MR headsets, the Odyssey tracks head and controller motion with two front-mounted cameras. To operate the headset, users plug in the Odyssey’s USB and HDMI cables and launch a Mixed Reality Portal. To draw a boundary, the user drags the headset around the available space. It detects visual features that it can use as reference points and calculates your motion based on them.

HMD Odyssey is the most expensive Windows MR headset to date

Revamped design

Elsewhere, Chinese firm Xiaomi has reworked its original Mi Mix design with the new Mi Mix 2 sporting a more refined bezel- less appearance. The Mix 2 is 7mm shorter and 6.4mm narrower than its predecessor and is 24g lighter than the original Mi Mix. The fingerprint scanner is located at the rear of the handset with the 12MP camera above it. The bottom edge of the device is home to the USB Type-C port and one of two speakers.

The phone has super-fast performance with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset and comes with 6GB of RAM in the base model. Like many other Android handset makers, Xiaomi has installed its own user interface skin over the top of Google’s core mobile OS. MIUI offers deep customisation capabilities including the creation of a ‘second space’ for the installation of more than one copy of the same app.

Super resolution

LG has announced it is showcasing its new 88-inch 8K TV at this month’s CES show in Las Vegas. The TV’s 8K resolution, at 7,680 x 4,320 pixels, is four times that of 4K and 16 times more than the standard full-HD, 1,080 x 1,920-pixel resolution. The Korean electronics giant has also revealed that select 2018 televisions will feature Google Assistant built-in, which enables users to issue voice commands directly via the remote.

LG’s intelligent voice control with integrated Google Assistant will enable users to control TV functions as well as search from information taken from the Electronic Program Guide. The manufacturer says users can issue commands such as “search for the soundtrack of this movie” or “turn off the TV when this programme is over”. The TVs will also be compatible with Amazon Echo devices, although commands will be more limited and the power on/off won’t be supported.

Flexible Surface

Microsoft’s Surface Book 2 laptop comes with the latest Intel i5 or i7 processors with a slimmer and more curved design than its predecessor. The screen pops off so it can be used as a tablet or you can flip it around and dock it back on the keyboard to be used as a touchscreen easel. As well as the drawing and note-taking capabilities, it’s a capable gaming machine as it can pair in viewing mode with an Xbox One controller.

Analysis: Slowing the pace

Apple has dominated the headlines this month after admitting it had slowed down some ageing iPhone models. According to The Telegraph, Apple admitted that it limited the processing power of iPhone 6, 6S and 7 models using a software update to help fix a glitch with ageing batteries and to protect internal phone components.

The tech giant has since offered customers the chance to buy replacement batteries at a reduced price of £25 as opposed to the usual £79. Originally Apple had said phones needed to pass a diagnostic test at an Apple Store to check eligibility for a new battery at the lower price. It has since removed this stipulation in a bid to gain back customer support. As part of its reconciliation efforts, Apple also said it would introduce new tools for iOS in 2018 to help customers keep better track of their iPhone’s battery life.

In a post on its website, it said: “We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologise. First and foremost, we have never – and would never – do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.” However, despite its apology the tech giant is facing a raft of lawsuits from iPhone owners in US states such as California, New York and Illinois as well as two in Israel and France. The lawsuits cover contract law claims saying that Apple had harmed something the consumer owned and wasn’t transparent about it as well as consumer protection violations.

In France, a consumer rights group filed a suit that accuses Apple of degrading its old phones to sell new ones, which is illegal in the country. According to Halte à l’Obsolescence Programmée, the maximum penalty for companies found guilty under French law is two years in prison, a fine of €300,000, and 5% of the company’s annual turnover. While Apple grapples to win back customer faith, other phone manufacturers have spoken out to allay customer fears. Samsung, LG, Motorola and HTC have all confirmed that they do not slow down phones with older batteries. “Never have, never will,” LG said in a statement to Phone Arena.

Tech World: 

Roomba, the robotic vacuum, will have an indoor WiFi mapping feature added to its iRobot app later this month. The WiFi coverage map feature means WiFi-enabled Roombas will be able to produce a map of indoor signals, highlighting weaker areas and signal dead zones. The WiFi map will identify if a room has a spotty connection and if owners need to reposition their router, get a new one or a range extender. The WiFi map feature will only be available to Roomba 900 series users due to the model’s mapping capabilities. Also, LG has unveiled a trio of new robots designed to help carry items ranging from drinks to suitcases. LG’s new CLOi range includes the CLOi porter robot that can carry luggage and handle express check-in and check-out services.

Roomba to have an indoor WiFi mapping feature added to its iRobot app

Crimewatch

A UK police force is exploring ways to allow residents to report crimes via their Amazon Echo devices. Police in Lancashire are investigating ways to use Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers to send out crime bulletins to local residents, alert them to wanted suspects in the area and to let victims and witnesses report crimes.

“If we can reduce demand into our call centres via the use of voice recognition or voice-enabled technology and actually give the community the information they need without them needing to ring into the police, then that’s massive,” Rob Flanagan, the Lancashire force’s innovation lead, said at a College of Policing conference, according to a report from TechSpot.

Out with the old

Messaging platform WhatsApp has ended support for older phone operating systems including Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10. On its website, WhatsApp states: “These platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer OS version, or to a newer Android running OS 4.0+, iPhone running iOS 7+, or Windows Phone 8.1+ so that you can continue using WhatsApp.” The firm says it’s not possible to transfer chat history between platforms but you can attach your chat history to an email.

Poor service

The head of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission has called for urgent action to tackle poor mobile phone coverage after a new study found that 30% of the UK landmass could not send texts or make calls on all four mobile networks. Lord Adonis has written to telecoms regulator Ofcom, which carried out the study, pressing for action to be taken. The study also found that one million UK homes have poor broadband access and large parts of the UK still have no 4G coverage. Lord Adonis insisted that the regulator should “put all options on the table” to improve mobile phone coverage between now and the next mobile spectrum being auctioned – including possible legal and regulatory changes.

He added it was “deplorable” that large parts of the country are still not receiving the minimum signal needed simply to make a quick phone call. Lord Adonis said that while there are plans to improve coverage, including rollout of the next mobile spectrum within the next three years, immediate action is required before then to boost services in the short-term. His suggestions for improving and increasing coverage include mobile mast sharing, using unused spectrum and the introduction of roaming between network providers.

In related news, telecoms giant AT&T has revealed plans to roll out mobile 5G in 12 markets this year, following the finalisation of international wireless standards. “5G will change the way we live, work and enjoy entertainment,” said Melissa Arnoldi, president, AT&T Technology and Operations. “We’re moving quickly to begin deploying mobile 5G this year and start unlocking the future of connectivity for consumers and businesses. With faster speeds and ultra-low latency, 5G will ultimately deliver and enhance experiences like virtual reality, future driverless cars, immersive 4K video and more.”