ZTE Grand S name-checked by CES 2013 website

The official CES 2013 website has given us a helping hand by revealing the ZTE Grand S smartphone, which is set to be the firm's flagship device.

Only yesterday we reported that ZTE's global chief design director had confirmed the Chinese manufacturer would launch a high-end handset at the Las Vegas-based show in January – and we now know what the device will be called.

Take a gander at the Exhibitor Press Events Schedule for Tuesday and at 1.30pm PST you'll notice the "Introducing the ZTE Grand S" event.

World's thinnest 5-incher

Click through to the event details and we're given some more clues as to what we can expect from the Grand S, including an impressive display and slender frame.

"ZTE's first FHD smartphone is also the world's thinnest for 5-inch FHD smartphones.

"Made of ceramic and featuring traditional Chinese style, the Grand S is the perfect phone for the fashionable set."

There has been a host of rumours surrounding various manufacturers working on 5-inch devices to challenge the popular Samsung Galaxy Note 2, and HTC has already officially unveiled its J Butterfly/Droid DNA/Butterfly around the world with a variety of names to keep us all on our toes.

We've contacted ZTE to see if we can find out any more details on the Grand S, but rest assured we'll get the full lowdown on the handset live from the show in January.

From CES

Samsung exec wants to emulate Apple's strengths, uses rival's products

Samsung and Apple may not be the best of friends, but that doesn't mean employees from either company don't see the merit in their rival's tech.

Despite being the top phone manufacturer during the third quarter of 2012, at least one of Samsung's executives believes there's more to be learned from Apple's practices.

In an interview with MIT Technology Review, Samsung's Chief Strategy Officer Young Sohn talked about how envious he was of Apple's iCloud, even going so far as to admit he uses Apple devices outside the office.

What's more, Sohn believes a critical point in Samsung's future relies on creating an open ecosystem like iCloud if the company hopes to have continued success.

It's better on the cloud

Samsung has just built two new research and development facilities in Silicon Valley, and Sohn revealed what he hoped those new branches would accomplish.

"We make really great devices," Sohn said. "But actually if you think of our future, it's in answering the question of how we put it all together and how we manage the data that's coming out of these devices and encourage the innovation ecosystem for our platforms."

Sohn added that Samsung would be looking into critical growth areas like cloud and mobile ecosystem technologies.

All of this would be to better emulate the strengths of Apple, which Sohn believes lie in the unified ecosystem iCloud provides.

"If you look at the strengths of Apple, in a way it's not the product per se. It's that consumers like their ecosystem such as iCloud," Sohn stated.

"[The Samsung Galaxy Nexus] is a better phone, in my view. It's a better display. It's faster. But eventually the connected ecosystem is really critical."

Unlike Apple, Samsung's devices are very single-minded according to Sohn, and that's an area he hopes to address soon.

"[If] you think about our experiences, it's device-centric," Sohn related. "It's experienced by itself. It's not experienced in a connected way. So we think we can provide a lot more things than what we are doing today with an open ecosystem with our partners."

Samsung is rumored to introduce a radical brand makeover at CES 2013, and indicated that consumers should expect "something new" at the convention.

Whether that includes some of the ideas Sohn presented in his interview remains to be seen, but at least there are only a few more weeks until we find out just what Samsung has in store for the future.

Via The Verge, MIT Technology Review

Samsung denies employing underage workers at Chinese plant

Samsung has dismissed claims by labour advocates that it employed underage workers at a factory in China.

On Friday, the China Labor Group issued a press release claiming that Samsung's extensive audit process had been ineffective and that more illegal workers had been discovered at the HTNS Shenzhen plant.

"Perhaps the most alarming violation is the use of child workers at HTNS. CLW's investigator met at least three girls who were under the age of 16, which is the legal definition of child labor in China," the release alleged.

However, Samsung released a statement claiming it had interviewed one of the employees and verified that they are of the legal age.

Zero tolerance

In a statement to Bloomberg, the South Korean company wrote: "We have confirmed that there are no underage workers employed.

"Samsung holds itself and its supplier companies to the highest standards and maintains a zero tolerance policy on child labor."

The denial comes as the likes of Apple and Samsung come under ever-increasing scrutiny over alleged labour abuses in the Chinese factories that manufacturer their best-selling products.

Samsung began an independent auditing process of its manufacturing facilities in September and claims that 90 per cent of its components are manufactured in-house, amid "world-class working conditions."

Via Bloomberg

Apple shares drop further following tepid iPhone 5 launch in China

Apple stock is now down 30 per cent on the high water mark it set earlier this year, after the iPhone 5 failed to provoke excitement upon its launch in China.

Shares closed at $509.79 (UK£315.31, AUD$482.28) on the NASDAQ index on Friday and had fallen as low as $505.58 (UK£312.71, AUD$478.30) during the day.

That's a considerable drop from the record $705.07 (UK£436.10, AUD$667.02) the company reached on September 19, but still up 26 per cent on the year.

The continued fall follows a lukewarm reception for the iPhone 5 in China, following its launch on Friday, likely due to the expensive premium Apple places on its products.

Only 48m?

As a result, two leading industry analysts cut their forecasts for iPhone and iPad shipments during the forthcoming January-March quarter.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek now expects Apple to ship just (perhaps the most outlandish use of the word 'just' ever) 48 million iPhones during the period. The previous estimate was 52 million.

UBS Investment Research also cut its 12-month stock price target amid the lowered expectations.

UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said: "Some of our Chinese sources do not expect the iPhone 5 to do as well as the iPhone 4S."

Via Reuters

Windows Phone 7.8 leaked for Nokia Lumia range

The Windows Phone 7.8 update for Nokia Lumia phones has been leaked this weekend ahead of its expected release early next year.

The update, which brings some of the features present on the higher-powered Windows Phone 8 software, has become unofficially available through the Navifirm site.

Owners of the Nokia Lumia 900, Lumia 800, Lumia 710, Lumia 610 and Lumia 510 can upgrade from Windows Phone 7.5, if they're comfortable going through the unofficial portals.

Those who have already 'flashed' the device and upgraded to 7.8 are experiencing features like Live Tiles of varying sizes and the ability to make Google the default search engine within the IE app.

Smooth transition

The last official word we heard from Microsoft came on Nov. 28 when it claimed it was working hard to roll out the update, but it wouldn't be until the first few months of next year.

"We know you're eager to get the Windows Phone 7.8 update, and we want you to know that we're working closely with our hardware and carrier partners to get it tested, approved, and rolled out to as many devices as possible in early 2013," the company said.

"As we work to quickly get this in the hands of our loyal users, we're also striving to deliver a high-quality release and ensure a smooth transition for our widely expanded services."

Windows Phone 7.8 was announced back in June in the hope of bridging the gap for existing handsets that were not eligible for an upgrade to Windows Phone 8.

Via My Nokia Blog

Samsung denies employing underage workers at Chinese plant

Samsung has dismissed claims by labour advocates that it employed underage workers at a factory in China.

On Friday, the China Labor Group issued a press release claiming that Samsung's extensive audit process had been ineffective and that more illegal workers had been discovered at the HTNS Shenzhen plant.

"Perhaps the most alarming violation is the use of child workers at HTNS. CLW's investigator met at least three girls who were under the age of 16, which is the legal definition of child labor in China," the release alleged.

However, Samsung released a statement claiming it had interviewed one of the employees and verified that they are of the legal age.

Zero tolerance

In a statement to Bloomberg, the South Korean company wrote: "We have confirmed that there are no underage workers employed.

"Samsung holds itself and its supplier companies to the highest standards and maintains a zero tolerance policy on child labor."

The denial comes as the likes of Apple and Samsung come under ever-increasing scrutiny over alleged labour abuses in the Chinese factories that manufacturer their best-selling products.

Samsung began an independent auditing process of its manufacturing facilities in September and claims that 90 per cent of its components are manufactured in-house, amid "world-class working conditions."

Via Bloomberg

Apple shares drop further following tepid iPhone 5 launch in China

Apple stock is now down 30 per cent on the high water mark it set earlier this year, after the iPhone 5 failed to provoke excitement upon its launch in China.

Shares closed at $509.79 (UK£315.31, AUD$482.28) on the NASDAQ index on Friday and had fallen as low as $505.58 (UK£312.71, AUD$478.30) during the day.

That's a considerable drop from the record $705.07 (UK£436.10, AUD$667.02) the company reached on September 19, but still up 26 per cent on the year.

The continued fall follows a lukewarm reception for the iPhone 5 in China, following its launch on Friday, likely due to the expensive premium Apple places on its products.

Only 48m?

As a result, two leading industry analysts cut their forecasts for iPhone and iPad shipments during the forthcoming January-March quarter.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek now expects Apple to ship just (perhaps the most outlandish use of the word 'just' ever) 48 million iPhones during the period. The previous estimate was 52 million.

UBS Investment Research also cut its 12-month stock price target amid the lowered expectations.

UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said: "Some of our Chinese sources do not expect the iPhone 5 to do as well as the iPhone 4S."

Via Reuters

Google Nexus 4 now available on Three as O2 exclusivity ends

The sought-after Google Nexus 4 smartphone is now available to buy from UK network Three.

The 4.7-inch, Android Jelly Bean handset had been solely available through the Google Play Store and on contract through a one-month exclusive with rival network O2.

That period has now come to an end, meaning Three subscribers can pick up the handset for £35 a month over two years, plus a £29 one-off fee for the phone.

With users struggling to get a Nexus 4 directly from Google in time for Christmas, the Three contract offer, which includes unlimited data, will be a good test of just how popular this device really is.

Cost ineffective

Most of the buzz around the Google Nexus 4, made by LG and unveiled at the end of October, was surrounding the price.

Google has been offering the 8GB model for just £239, while the 16GB version is only £279 SIM-free.

Early supplies were extinguished within half an hour, while those who were able to snap up a device when new stocks arrived face a wait of over a month for their handsets.

Three's offering works out at £870 over the two year contact, so there's no bargain whatsoever to be had. We'll see whether it was the cost or the fine feature set that was luring smartphone fanciers to the Nexus 4.

Via Trusted Reviews