GLBenchmark has struck again, listing the specs for another device that has yet to be officially announced: Acer's V350 smartphone.
The Acer V350 appeared in GLBenchmark's listings recently, though exactly when is unclear.
However, reports of the unannounced Acer smartphone began arriving on Friday.
Given its specs, it seems the V350 will be Acer's flagship device for 2013.
Acer V350 specs
The benchmark profile pegs the Acer V350 with a 1280 x 720 display that's likely more than 4 inches in size.
Pair that with Qualcomm's 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor - the same one that powers Samsung's Galaxy S3 - and you've got an impressive device.
The Acer V350's specs also include Android 4.1.2: Jelly Bean right out of the box, a first for the Taiwanese manufacturer.
More leaks at Acer
Acer's ship has sprung leaks left and right in the last week, with the Acer V360 and Iconia B1 tablet inadvertently revealed in addition to the V350.
Despite the names, the Acer V350's hardware appears to be superior to the V360's 4.5-inch 950 x 540 resolution display and 1GHz dual-core chip.
What's more, the V360 will run on Jelly Bean jus as the V350 does.
The Iconia B1, on the other hand, is a budget-priced 7-inch Android Jelly Bean tablet expected to launch at CES 2013 or the Mobile World Congress next year.
The V350 and V360 could make appearances at CES as well, so stay tuned - TechRadar will be there live to bring you all the big announcements.
Apple's latest iOS 6 patch may have cured Wi-Fi issues plaguing iPhone 5 and iPad mini users, but the update now appears to be causing battery life headaches for others.
CNET reported Friday that this week's iOS 6.0.2 update may be one step forward and two steps back for some owners of the latest iPhone.
Beginning Wednesday, a handful of users flocked to Apple's support discussion forums with complaints of substantially shorter battery life following the iOS 6.0.2 update released the day before.
"Today I barely used my phone at all, and I noticed I was down to 40 percent after three hours of being off the charger," one iPhone 5 owner remarked, referring to it as "a significant change in battery drain."
Wi-Fi to blame?
Curiously, the battery drain appears to only affect the iPhone 5 and not the iPad mini, which was also updated to iOS 6.0.2 this week; other devices didn't receive the minor update.
Initial speculation points to a change in Wi-Fi antenna behavior under iOS 6.0.2, although this theory doesn't explain why most iPhone 5 devices - and all iPad mini tablets - remain unaffected.
The battery drain may be tough for Apple to nail down since it affects a small yet growing set of users, compared to prior updates where such issues were more widespread.
Apple has yet to comment on the matter, which could remain unresolved through the holiday break and into the new uear should engineers be unable to pinpoint the problem quickly.
Apple has the leading smartphone operating system in the United States according to new data released today, but the same sales charts show that Google is taking a bite of Apple's pie throughout Europe.
"Apple has reached a major milestone in the U.S. by passing the 50% share mark for the first time," said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
His report cites the iPhone 5 launch as a boost to the company's improved marketshare, lifting Apple to 53.3 percent of sales this year from 3.58 percent last year.
"Further gains [are] expected to be made during December," which is good news for Apple... in the United States.
Stay Calm and carry an Android
Apple isn't having as much luck in Europe, however, giving Google chairman Eric Schmidt more reason to gloat over what he calls a cold war between the two companies.
Android's marketshare is now 61 percent there, which is nearly a 10 percent increase from last year's 51.8 percent in the EU5.
In France, Android handsets saw a 9.4 percent jump compared to Apple's more modest 4.4 percent gain.
Germany was home to a 7.2 percent Android sales bump, while iPhone's gains barely registered with a .03 percent increase.
iPhone's marketshare was down in Italy and Spain, and non-European countries Australia and Brazil. The contrast was starkest in Spain, where Apple controlled 2.5 percent fewer smartphone sales than last year, while Android lept up a significant 25.4 percent.
Great Britain was the only European country in the report where Apple cut into Google's lead. iPhone sales increased 5.3 percent compared to Android's bump of 4.9 percent.
Of course, Google still controls this market, with the newewst numbers standing at 51.5 percent for Android handsets and 36.1 percent for the iPhone during the 12-week reporting period.
Apple, Google dominate app downloads
Apple and Google were both winners on their respective mobile operating systems when it comes to dominating app installs.
Publishers with the top app downloads in 2012 were Apple on iOS and Google on Android, according to a report compiled by Distimo analyst Gert Jan Spriensma.
With six iPad apps and seven iPhone apps, averaging $7.43, Apple landed the number one spot on its own App Store charts.
Apple's Garage Band app was cited as a "popular app example" in the analysts' 2012 recap, finishing ahead of game developer Gameloft in second, and Google in third.
Google narrowed the gap on Apple's App Store charts. Its recently released maps app experienced 10 million downloads in the first 48 hours and is favored in the Google Maps vs App Maps war.
Google did manage to pull off a first-place finish in the same report's analysis of top Google Play downloads. Facebook checked in at No. 2, while Angry Birds publisher Rovio slingshot its way to No. 3.
More Google vs. Apple to come
Apple's marketshare have grown tremendously in the U.S. in 2012 due in part to the iPhone 5, but the Apple vs. Google fight will rage on.
Google's more affordable smartphones are driving its numbers up in Europe and the company is set to top one billion Android activations by next year.
On top of that, according to another previously released report, Android is at a 75 percent worldwide marketshare.
With some saying that without Google, Apple would be nothing, there's clearly more "app-athy" to come in 2013.
If a new report from the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, Google will soon take charge of its own branded smartphones and tablets.
According to the WSJ, Google and Motorola are now working on a new project dubbed the "X Phone," with a planned "X Tablet" to follow once the new smartphone is completed.
Motorola will still create Droids during this developmental stage, as the X Phone will be its own separate product.
Prior to this rumored new device, Google had let other companies develop the hardware for its Nexus brand, including the Samsung Nexus 4 and Asus Nexus 7.
Google's X man
Believed to be heading up the X Phone is former Google product manager, Lior Ron, who has a bit of experience with mapping.
Apparently, Google doesn't wish to emulate the same troubles Apple had with its recent mapping software, and has put one of its top men in charge.
The reports also indicated the focus of the X Phone would be on providing consumers with an impressive, high-quality camera and the software to back it up.
That software is believed to include image and gesture-recognition technology from Motorola's recent acquisition, Viewdle.
Though actual specifications were on short supply, there is speculation bendable screens and ceramic materials were used to make the X Phone more durable.
Whether or not the final phone ends up using such a design remains to be seen, but it appears Google is willing to try new tactics to create an attractive smartphone.
Unexpected
Just a few short weeks ago, Google's CEO Larry Page said it was too soon for a Motorola-branded Nexus device.
Page also stated Google was evaluating the development of "amazing innovative devices," and it appears he was telling the truth on both counts.
With all attention focused on the idea of a Motorola Nexus, no one was expecting Google to be working with its recently purchased manufacturer on an entirely new line-up.
There's no telling how long it will be until the X Phone is revealed to the public, but Google entering the smartphone arena with its own potential devices is a major step.
TechRadar has reached out to Google, and will update this story if and when they reply.
If a new report from the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, Google will soon be taking charge of its own branded smartphones and tablets.
According to the WSJ, Google and Motorola are now working on a new project dubbed the "X Phone," with a planned "X Tablet" to follow once the new smartphone is completed.
Motorola will still be creating Droids during this developmental stage, as the X Phone will be its own separate product.
Prior to this rumored new device, Google had let other companies develop the hardware for its Nexus brand, including the Samsung Nexus 4 and Asus Nexus 7.
Google's X man
Believed to be heading up the X Phone is former Google product manager, Lior Ron, who has a bit of experience with mapping.
Apparently Google doesn't wish to emulate the same troubles Apple had with its recent mapping software, and has put one of its top men in charge.
The reports also indicated the focus of the X Phone would be on providing consumers with an impressive, high-quality camera and the software to back it up.
That software is believed to include image and gesture-recognition technology from Motorola's recent acquisition, Viewdle.
Though actual specifications were on short supply, there is speculation bendable screens and ceramic materials were being used to make the X Phone more durable.
Whether or not the final phone ends up using such a design remains to be seen, but it appears Google is willing to try new tactics to create an attractive smartphone.
Unexpected
Just a few short weeks ago, Google's CEO Larry Page said it was too soon for a Motorola-branded Nexus device.
Page also stated Google was evaluating the development of "amazing innovative devices," and it appears he was telling the truth on both counts.
With all attention focused on the idea of a Motorola Nexus, no one was expecting Google to be working with its recently purchased manufacturer on an entirely new line-up.
There's no telling how long it will be until the X Phone is revealed to the public, but Google entering the smartphone arena with its own potential devices is a major step.
TechRadar has reached out to Google, and will update this story if and when they reply.
Whatever Asus has cooking is starting to bubble to the surface, as blurry, but purportedly official, shots reveal a new 7-inch tablet sans Nexus branding.
Russian retailer ogo1.ru has a listing for the Asus ME172V, complete with the first blurry images of the 7-inch tablet.
The tablet is shown in both black and white, with casing strikingly similar to the Nexus 7. The chief difference being that the ME172V only bears an Asus logo on the back rather than the word Nexus appearing anywhere.
The differences between the ME172V and Nexus 7 become greater when looking under the hood, as the new tablet features a 1024 x 600 resolution display along with 16GB of storage, an 800Mhz CPU, 1GB of RAM, and Android 4.1.
From Russia with specs
Last month Asus seemed to confirm that it was working on a lower-end 7-inch tablet independent of the Nexus line.
The same ME172V tablet model also began appearing on benchmarks around that time, with system specs consistent with the Russian listing.
The ME172V is a step down compared to the Nexus 7, with a 1200 x 800 HD IPS display and Tegra 3 quad-core 1.3Ghz CPU. However, if priced appropriately the ME172V could prove to be an excellent budget tablet option
The Russian shop lists the ME172V as available for pre-order for 6,990 rubles (US $226, UK £140, AU $217), and estimates it should start shipping in January. That price isn't exactly competitive with the Nexus 7, so hopefully Asus has something more budget-friendly in mind for when the tablet is officially confirmed.
Apple's latest iOS 6 patch may have cured Wi-Fi issues plaguing iPhone 5 and iPad mini users, but the update now appears to be causing battery life headaches for others.
CNET reported Friday that this week's iOS 6.0.2 update may be one step forward and two steps back for some owners of the latest iPhone 5.
Beginning Wednesday, a handful of users flocked to Apple's support discussion forums with complaints of substantially shorter battery life following the iOS 6.0.2 update released the day before.
"Today I barely used my phone at all, and I noticed I was down to 40 percent after three hours of being off the charger," one iPhone 5 owner remarked, referring to it as "a significant change in battery drain."
Wi-Fi to blame?
Curiously, the battery drain appears to only affect the iPhone 5 and not the iPad mini, which was also updated to iOS 6.0.2 this week; other devices did not receive the minor update.
Initial speculation points to a change in Wi-Fi antenna behavior under iOS 6.0.2, although this theory doesn't explain why most iPhone 5 devices - and all iPad mini tablets - remain unaffected.
The battery drain may be tough for Apple to nail down since it affects a small (but growing) set of users, compared to prior updates where such issues were more widespread.
Apple has yet to comment on the matter, which could remain unresolved through the holiday break and into the New Year should engineers be unable to pinpoint the problem quickly.
Update: BlackBerry 10 (or BB10) is still under development and not yet a finished product, but we've checked out an almost-final version of the user interface, which is pretty close to perfection, according to RIM - but we'll let you be the judge by checking out our findings below.
Delayed until early 2013, the first BB10 devices should land in January– although we're now hearing it could be as late as March and RIM is now saying it will arrive during the first quarter of the year.
We saw the near-final version of BlackBerry 10 running on the new Dev Alpha B handset, building on the other test units and newer devices we've seen in the past.
The Dev Alpha B handset has been seeded to select BlackBerry developers, to aid them in their quest to produce applications for the new platform.
RIM has already handed out over 5,000 of the original Dev Alpha devices, and we wouldn't be surprised if the new handset gets the same sort of circulation.
We've also heard about the first Dev handset to sport RIM's famous Qwerty keyboard. Known as the Dev Alpha C, this will be the first handset with physical keyboard to run BlackBerry 10.
1,500 Dev Alpha C handsets will be winging their way to the hardcore BB10 developers before the official launch on January 31, so apps can be tweaked to work on the smaller screened phone.
BB 10 sees the implementation of a whole new user interface, with RIM doing away with the familiar BlackBerry system we're all used to, in favour of something which resembles the likes of Android and iOS, although with its own unique features.
With BlackBerry 10, RIM has merged homescreens, widgets, app lists and a unified inbox into one slick interface, offering up an easy-to-navigate user experience.
Lock screen
The lock screen shows notifications for alarms and unread messages on the left plus your upcoming meetings as well as the date and time, with a button to launch the camera straight from the lock screen to grab a quick snap.
You unlock the phone by sliding your thumb up the screen and from there slide from anywhere on screen and the handset starts to draw in around where you slide so if you just want a quick peek at the information in one area of the screen, you can just drag to show it and then let go – with the device remaining locked (more on that in 'Peek' mode below).
Home screen
The main homescreen comprises of 'Active Frames', technically mini-applications, which give you an overview of information from a particular app and launch the full version when tapped.
Users can select up to eight of these active frames, which arrange themselves in order of most recently used, with the latest app appearing in the top left position.
A maximum of four frames are shown on the screen at any one time, and if you scroll down and you'll be able to view the others – the display in order of use allows you to jump quickly between your recent applications.
RIM tell us that any application, even third party ones, will be able to appear as an 'Active Frame' on the BB10 homescreen, which is excellent news for anyone left frustrated by the limited widget options on Android or live tiles on Windows Phone.
For those of you who may be concerned that these 'Active Frames' could be both data and battery intensive, Research in Motion assures us that this is not the case, with the QNX core of BlackBerry 10 providing efficient power management, and the frames only downloading the minimum amount of data required for them to update.
Interface
Swiping from right to left will take you to the app list, with 16 apps on the screen at any one time – if you have more than 16 apps additional pages are added and can be accessed by swiping the same way again – familiar territory for iOS and Android users.
At the bottom of both the homescreen and app list you'll notice a shortcut bar, with quick links to the phone, search and camera applications – allowing you to quickly jump to these regularly used features.
There's a pleasant fading animation as you flick between pages, and you'll see the previous page of apps fade away to the side of the screen, to be replaced by the new page.
The idea behind BB 10 is that it Flows... which is the phrase RIM is using mercilessly to describe the new OS.
Further screenshots of the BlackBerry 10 interface have appeared online, showing off official social networking apps from all of the big players, plus a voice control feature which will likely challenge Apple's Siri and Google Voice on Android.
Notifications
The whole Flow concept really comes to life when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen – this minimises the current app/screen you're viewing and shows new notifications counts down the left hand side, including new emails, BBMs, texts and social media messages.
If you continue the slide to the right, the unified 'Hub' application can be previewed – allowing you to 'peek' at your messages.
Complete the slide and you'll open the hub fully, otherwise you'll be returned to the page you were viewing before the little red light on your handset started to flash.
This means you can easily see who has just messaged you without having to close down your current application, and knowing who it's from allows you to make a decision on whether or not to answer them straight away or continue with what you were doing originally.
BlackBerry Hub
When we say all, we mean all, as the unified inbox, or the 'Hub' as RIM likes to refer to it as, can deal with multiple email accounts, text messages, BBM, call history, third party messaging apps such as Whats App and a whole host of social networks including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Of course, with so many accounts feeding into the handset, the more popular among us will be quickly inundated with notifications from various different channels, and this is where the peek idea makes it easy to see when you've got anything new to look at.
To make the reams of messages easier to manage place your finger on the title in the bottom left corner of the message centre and pull across to reveal a list of all the accounts you have linked up and then select the one you're interested in – this will then populate the Hub which notifications from just that source.
There are also various options which can be selected for a particular message, hold down on the communication in question and a slim column of tools will pop up to the right for you to choose from, including reply, forward and delete.
Drag down from the top of the message centre and the Hub will automatically pull in your calendar events for that day in the top half of the screen, allowing you to quickly see what you've got on without having to launch the full calendar app.
Peek
Peek works much better when you get your head around all the gestures - however it may prove to be overly complex for some users, although RIM will be providing video tutorials on its BB10 handsets during the initial set up phase when you switch the phone on for the first time.
Having the 'peek' idea work the same way in so many applications helps you get used to it as well (though we don't yet know how well third-party applications will be able to do the same thing, although RIM has said it's developed nearly every API asked for when it comes to developers, and they have full access to the Peek code).
When you do get into a message or an appointment, you can see more information about the people involved in a way that will be familiar to BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 users; you can see who you know in common, what messages you've exchanged or recent social network updates.
It's a new look for the 'flow' between different apps and information sources that BlackBerry has always been good at, but with a fresh modern look on a much larger screens.
Personal and Work modes
Sweep down on the home screen or an app list page and you'll see Personal and Work buttons that let you switch between the two BlackBerry Balance modes.
In Personal, you can install any apps you want, send any email, save any file and so on, working in a partition that's encrypted for privacy but not locked down in any way.
If you use your BlackBerry for work though, you'll also have a Work partition that's also encrypted but completely separate and can be locked down if that's what the company wants.
Drag down on the screen, pick Work mode and all your personal apps disappear – so you can't accidentally copy a work file into your personal cloud storage account.
Your company can have complete control of this work section, giving you as much, or as little freedom within this area as they see fit – and everything in Work mode is fully secured, with remote wipe available just it case your handset goes astray.
However work won't be able see what files you have on your personal area when they're managing it, because your personal partition is encrypted.
BB10 in work and personal modes
Select Work mode and you'll be prompted to enter a password before gaining access to your protected area, which means prying eyes won't be able to steal a glimpse at all your company secrets. Phew.
Work mode still features the same UI as found in Personal mode, with all the flow and peek activity present, allowing you to perform some slick, one-handed operations.
Other apps use the swipe-down motion in a different way, allowing to function like a menu key - for instance the mapping app allows you to change accounts or settings with a quick finger flick.
Cascades
Then there's Cascades, a new navigation system cooked up by RIM especially for BB10, allowing for quick multitasking from within applications.
The example we've seen is in the messaging app - open an email it will display full screen, but drag your finger from left to right and the message will slide with you, revealing the inbox below.
This means if you get a new message in the middle of reading an email, you can check who it's from without having to close the application – similar to the notification bar on Android and also now iOS.
If you were to open an attachment from the email, a PDF document in the case of our demo, pulling to the side to view the cascade will show the app's layers stacked up – a more visual paper trail, if you will.
It's certainly an intuitive feature that we found to work smoothly on the development handset – but it will be interesting to see how this feature is embedded into other applications and if it will have the same pleasing results.
New App world
BlackBerry App World is also getting a makeover with a cleaner, more intuitive design ready to show off all the apps RIM is pushing developers so hard to make in time for launch.
As well as offering applications, the new App World will also provide music and videos to purchase and download – allowing BlackBerry 10 handsets the chance to compete with the likes of Google Play, iTunes and the Apple App Store.
There's a sperate version of BlackBerry AppWorld where your company can offer specific work apps – like an app that uses the NFC chip in your BlackBerry to unlock the door to the office, as well as locking out applications they don't deem suitable for using while at work.
Keyboard
BlackBerry handsets are famous for their physical boards and RIM is keen to bring this typing experience to its BB10 touchscreen smartphones with its own offering.
Visually the keyboard looks similar to the stock Android offering, but each row of keys is separated with a silver line, or 'fret' – which is supposed to reflect the metal strips between buttons on the Bold range, such as the Bold 9790 and Bold 9900.
Next word prediction, auto-correct and spell check are all common features on smartphones today and RIM has spent some time developing its own system to offer an efficient typing experience.
It sees next-word suggestions appear above the character the word begins with, and if it's the word you want to use, you just need to swipe up over the word and it will be added to your sentence.
As with many offerings these days, the keyboard will learn your style of writing, meaning it will be able to suggest better words the more you use your phone.
RIM reckons that heavy users will quickly see a marked improvement once they start using the keyboard, as BlackBerry 10 will only take a couple of days to learn their style of writing.
Another interesting feature is that the keyboard can support up to three languages at any one time, so if you're writing in English it will offer up English words as suggestions, but suddenly switch to tapping out French, even in the same message, and the BB10 board can detect the change in tongue and adjust its recommendations accordingly - smart.
We found the keyboard to be fairly accurate and relatively well spaced, but for those of you used to the physical buttons of a traditional BlackBerry it will take some getting used to.
Camera
RIM is making a big song and dance about its BB 10 camera application as well, especially the 'Time Shift' feature, which allows you to select the perfect smile of your subject after taking the photo.
Fire up the camera app (from the lock screen if you so wish), which was relatively quick to open on the Dev Alpha B device, select 'Time Shift' mode and snap your subject, and the app will then search for faces in the image.
Once a face is located in a photo, you can tap it and literally roll back time to find the point at which your friend had their eyes open and the perfect grin.
If there are multiple people in your snap, you can individually adjust each person, however during our demo we found 'Time Shift' struggled in lower lighting conditions, subjects face's need to be illuminated well for the camera to detect their mugs.
'Time Shift' did take several seconds after the photo was taken to detect faces and offer us the chance to tweak the image, but this could be down to the fact it's running on a development build of the BB10 software, and speed could be improved in the final product.
Of course the camera can take standard photos and record video alongside the 'Time Shift' function, which itself is an impressive function, but we wonder how much we'd actually use it day to day.
Browser
The BlackBerry browser has also had a refresh for BB10, bringing it in line with the minimalist style of current offerings on other devices, and the location of the URL bar at the bottom of the page is reminiscent of Internet Explorer on Windows Phone.
Even though Adobe has already ditched future support and upgrades of its Flash platform, RIM has made sure it's built in support for the dying format, allowing you to access all your favourite Flash built sites and videos of Korean men dancing on invisible horses.
There seems to be a partnership with a particular search engine, allowing you to search via the URL bar, as well as pulling info into other applications, but RIM are currently not in the position to disclose whether they've opted for Google, Bing or something a little more left field.
Sweep from left to right while in the browser and the 'peek' functionality comes into play again, this time showing various internet-centric options such as History, Bookmarks, New Tab and currently opened tabs.
There's also a Reader mode built into the new browser, which lifts article text and images from a web page and displays it in a more manageable and easy to read format, stripping out fancy ads, menu bars and any other clutter which gets in the way of actually reading something.
Comparison tests have shown the BlackBerry 10 web browser to be faster than its equivalent on Apple's iOS 6 and the new version of Windows Phone - we'll reserve proper judgement until we have a final handset in our sweaty palm, but at least this is a positive sign.
Battery life
As we've mentioned briefly earlier on, RIM is promising that BlackBerry 10 will help to deliver decent battery life, even with the big touchscreen and those lovely 'Active Frames'.
RIM has even gone as far to say that's its two BB 10 launch devices, one fully-touchscreen and the other sporting the famous Qwerty keyboard, will offer up a full days battery life, thanks to a lot of hard work by the QNX team on power management in the core of the BlackBerry 10 platform.
Obviously we were unable to put this claim to the test during our brief hands on viewing, but we'll be sure to push the new BB10 devices to their limits once we get our review units in.
Early verdict
Although the BlackBerry 10 operating system is in development, we must say that we were impressed with how smooth and slick the interface felt under out fingers – seamlessly zipping around without fuss.
BlackBerry assured us that is smooth experience would still be present in the final product, thanks to the clever integration of the HTML 5 system, which optimises the performance of the software. We certainly hope they're right.
There are plenty of features of BB 10 that are exciting - the gestures work very, very well after a few minutes, the powerful messaging ecosystem is still there and even the on screen keyboard is great.
What does strike you about the new OS is how the phone is so integrated - Facebook, Twitter, Email are all available, connected to your friends or easy to share to throughout the phone.
It's a much more complex OS than iOS or Windows Phone, but there are only so many ways to re-invent the smartphone wheel; in the case of BB 10, RIM has gone for usable power over rows of easy to use icons.
It's a bold move, and one technophiles will love. If the hardware is decent too, there may be enough BB fans out there willing to use the finger-flicking platform... but with so many things to learn, it will take some serious and quick eduction to get users up to speed.
It's often said that God works in mysterious ways. And for those who believe in the afterlife, the thought that the late Steve Jobs may have been upstairs whispering into the ear of the big man isn't hard to imagine.
After all, it's been a busy year for the South Koreans, from innovating to litigating - and finding $1bn down the back of the sofa to pay a fine to Apple.
How things has changed since Samsung came onto the scene years ago with the dual-screen A300. Now, they're, debatably, the market leader in tech.
Here, we take a look at their highs and lows of 2012.
Samsung's Highs
1. The Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note 10.1
Love them, or hate them, there's no denying that 2012 has given us probably the best portfolio we've seen from Samsung.
When the much-anticipated Galaxy S3 was announced earlier this year, it wasn't at CES or MWC like its peers.
The Galaxy S3 – TechRadar's phone of the year, so far
Such was the excitement around it, Samsung was able to hold its own event, taking a cue from arch-rival Apple, because it was so confident the crowds would come specifically to see what was on offer.
The day of launch came and we were there to see the queue at the Samsung store in Stratford. It may not have been iPhone length, but it was pretty big.
It's still at the top of our list as best phone. The punters agree – Samsung managed to ship 18 million of the things in the third quarter of this year.
And don't get us started on the Note 2, which we reviewed and found to be one of the best devices out there.
Even the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet has managed to sell impressively – despite having a fairly lower-resolution screen than those we've grown accustomed to.
2. Beating Apple (to an extent)
Naturally, this annoyed Apple.
Remember how Steve Jobs threatened to "go thermonuclear" on Android because he felt it was a stolen product? Well, as Samsung got bigger, Jobs' ire (and that of Apple after his demise) appeared to shift less from Google and more to Samsung.
Things like S-Voice didn't help the issue (come on – who thinks that isn't Siri rebadged and made into a more rubbish product?)
The legal toing and froing has made us dizzy and reminiscent of a game of ping-pong, with a £652m ($1.05bn) fine in place of the ball.
But the sweetest part of Samsung's fight will have been the victory it scored in forcing Apple to publish an apology on its website. Not just tucked away anywhere as was originally the deal – but on the UK front page, no less. Ouch! And it's still there, for all to see as they head to Apple online to buy their Christmas presents. Double ouch!
3. Giving us the first Galaxy Camera
Nobody (even Cupertino) could accuse Samsung of not being innovative.
Sure, a lot of things in Android (and TouchWiz) are similar to those found in iOS, and vice versa. Who invented them is a whole other story.
But the newly launched Galaxy Camera has been a great creation.
Snap Happy – The Galaxy Camera, allowing peeping toms to Instagram their naughty snaps
Again, Wi-Fi enabled cameras aren't new – but one running 3G and Android?! Now, that is cool.
Remember, this isn't a phone with a great camera. It's a great camera with a phone added on. Or, at least, the phone functionality - without the calls bit.
Naturally, it's more of a niche device – and it's hardly sleek or cheap - but the thought of being able to edit your phones on the go and even mix up a bit of Instagram action, then tweet or Facebook them, is truly marvellous. We're currently working on our detailed review – but early indications are that it's a belter.
4. Getting a new boss
And it's not just new products hitting the shelves; it's new people at the top too. Never ones to accuse companies of nepotism, we wouldn't dream of saying that Jay Y. Lee's recent appointment to vice president has anything to do with the fact that he is the son of the chairman.
In fact, his dad, Lee Kun Hee has been the big cheese there for the last 25 years – meaning old Junior will have learned from the best. And the news went down well within Sammy circles – meaning there's every chance Jay Y. Lee will continue to build on Samsung's incredible success.
5. Golden publicity
At London 2012 the world was watching and Samsung had a front-row seat as one of the main sponsors, meaning it got even more publicity worldwide.
The partnership was highly evident during the games – and tickets to events were even given to those early adopters of the Galaxy S3 if they bought direct from a Samsung store.
A golden endorsement even came from Goldenballs himself, David Beckham, as recently as late November, when he refused to answer a reporter's iPhone at a press conference because it wasn't a Samsung product. The video went viral. PR doesn't get better than this.
Samsung's Lows
1. Losing out on key partnerships
It's not been a great year for some of Samsung's partnerships though.
Apple and Samsung have long held a deal where Samsung supplies parts to Cupertino, including memory chips. But Apple was reported to be cutting its reliance on its bitter rival amid the court action that has had the two sides at such odds.
Samsung's had to make up with orders from its own handset division and so, even though it's making huge profits on its phones, it'll be taking a hit on components, which can't be great for balance sheets.
Not only that, but Google went with rival South Koreans, LG, for their latest phone offering - the Nexus 4.
While Samsung did manage to secure a Nexus tablet deal, it will have been a bitter blow after successfully holding the Nexus contract with Google for nearly two years, giving us the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus handsets in that time.
2. Confusion over Ativ S
Samsung has also been struggling with other product lines.
Yes, Android is going great guns, but remember that motto, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket'? Yup – that's one Samsung could be learning from, as the firm's Windows Phone 8 offerings seem to have been given the B-Class treatment.
In fact, the debut Windows Phone 8 handset from the firm has been delayed until January, according to Carphone Warehouse, which means that it's missing out on that key Christmas market. Especially galling, considering offerings from the likes of Nokia and HTC are on the shelves and that by the time the Ativ S does grace us with its presence, it's going to be nothing special in most eyes.
The unloved sibling: The Ativ S has seen more delays than London Bridge station
3. Dropping fail
You know those videos that show idiots smashing up phones that we would kill to have? Yeah, those. Well, despite our personal feelings, there was something voyeuristic about seeing which would come out top when dropped onto a hard floor.
It made sense to pitch the Galaxy S3 against the new kid iPhone 5 and, sadly for Samsung, in most cases - surprisingly - the iPhone 5 proved to be more of a hard man. It's not what we'd have expected considering the weight and materials used in both, but the proof is all over the web.
And don't say that it doesn't matter because you take care of your phone – we do too. And all the casing and protection made no difference when we dropped our S3 on a concrete floor last week, shattering the screen. Cue tears, rants, emptying of bank accounts and insurance claims!
4. Security fears
And it's not just the physical side where Apple came out top, but the security element, too. Yep, we know Apple has long prided itself on that walled-garden approach when it comes to apps (for non-jail-broken devices), which means you're not susceptible to viruses, compared to Android.
But the fear was stoked earlier this year when it was revealed that Samsung devices in particular contained a specific line of code, thanks to TouchWiz, which made them vulnerable to nasty people and their nasty plans to do bad things to your phone if they so wished. There weren't reports of any handsets actually being exploited – but Samsung was forced to rush out a fix and the publicity wouldn't have done it any favours.
5. Being blinged up – badly
You remember that scene from ET where a young Drew Barrymore gets her hands on him and dresses him up? Yeah, that feeling when you see someone walking a cat in a pair of mini Ugg boots or pushing a pooch in a pram? That's how lots felt when they saw what Swarovski had done to the Galaxy S3.
The crystal kings got their hands on a model and rushed out this concept for those with more money than sense. Yours for a snip at £2,099 - but bad news for the wallet. At least you get a free case with it though – so the spirit of Christmas is alive and well.
Bling tidy – but imagine the insurance premium on this!
The UK Government's decision to allow us to make copies of the films, TV, books and music that we buy could have massive repercussions, but will we now reach the nirvana of being able to easily transfer our DVDs and Blu-rays onto our computers, phones and tablets?
The simple answer is no.
Although the government will make it legal for us to make copies for personal use of our media - it will not make it legal for people to break the DRM - or more accurately TPM (Technical Protection Measures) that currently makes it difficult to 'rip' your DVDs.
That's because a digital file without a TPM in place would be extremely easy to make multiple copies of and share with other people - something that the music world has been battling against for years.
"The supply and use of equipment to circumvent technological measures is…illegal in UK and European law in recognition of the damage it can cause," explains the government report.
CD side of life
So putting a CD in your computer and making digital copies (ripping) is legal because there is no TPM restricting this, but ripping a DVD, eBook or Blu-ray with TPM for personal use would still be illegal, not because you aren't allowed a copy of the content you have bought, but because it is illegal for you to remove the TPM without permission.
The government seems aware that this is a major issue, pointing out that TPM already prevents, for example, making accessible copies for the disabled, but adds - somewhat cryptically; "of the permitted acts considered in this document, private copying is the exception: the UK has a choice as to whether to provide a means of access."
So it's up to the government if it will allow you to remove the TPM on the film that you bought on DVD, but its legislation will soon say that it's your right to make copies of that content.
You could, as the document suggests, make a complaint to the Secretary of State (SoS) that you own that content and the copyright holder is restricting you from making a copy for personal use, but don't hold your breath for ruling in your favour.
"It is important to note that the SoS cannot simply authorise a user to circumvent TPMs; it would not be lawful under the Copyright Directive," adds the Government statement.
"Possible outcomes of a SoS intervention would include a direction to the user to purchase an existing digital copy that was usable for the purpose required, or that a rights holder provide the user with a particular excerpt from a work."
Not fair
The first half of that statement is the salient one, you may well find that any complaint brings a response of a link to the relevant page on iTunes where you can spend more of your money to buy a digital copy of something you already own on DVD.
And who thinks that's fair? The rights holders of course.
What that means for consumers is that it is a free pass for rights holders to charge what they want for digital copies, meaning the farcical situation where you can buy a DVD for significantly less than a digital version will continue.
Because music is not behind a TPM, cheap CDs mean that there is market pressure that keeps prices of music tracks and whole albums relatively low. If you cannot copy your DVD easily that pressure is not there for film and television programmes.
The government has essentially made something legal which most people would have been surprised was illegal at all, and missed the opportunity to provide a significantly fairer framework for modern day digital content.
Nokia and RIM have avoided any unpleasant legal action after agreeing a settlement regarding various patents.
The two firms have been sparring of late over various patent legalities, but court has been avoided as with the BlackBerry manufacturer signing off payments to its Finnish counterpart.
It means that RIM will have to fork out a one-off payment – amount undisclosed – to Nokia, followed by a series of on-going cash injections into the Finn's coffers to avoid any future issues.
All your money are belong to Nokia
Nokia has confirmed that all legal action against RIM has been withdrawn in the US, Canada and the UK, and is keen to point out that the payments are "all from RIM to Nokia." Zing!
RIM will be trying to avoid any sort of legal scuffle in the run-up to the launch of BlackBerry 10 on January 31, which it hopes can turn its fortunes around as it has lost significant ground in the mobile market.
Yesterday RIM released its finical report for the third quarter for the year, and while it managed to post a profit, it did lose 1 million users – the rot needs to stop, and fast.
The digital, personalized news magazine Flipboard made the jump to Android tablets Thursday.
Flipboard found its new home just days before the holidays, when Flipboard Head of International Development Eric Alexander expects an influx of Android tablets to arrive under trees and in stockings.
Alexander said in a statement, "As more people buy Android tablets for themselves or others over the holidays, we wanted to make sure Flipboard is part of their tablet experience and deliver on a top request from our readers," as reported by CNET.
Flipboard began life as an iOS app over two years ago, and over the summer it became available for Android smartphones, Amazon's Kindle Fire line and Barnes and Noble's Nook e-readers.
Your personal digital magazine
Flipboard serves as a visual aggregator for both "world news" and "social news," according to its official Google Play page description.
Users can sign into their various social accounts and tell Flipboard what subjects they care about (i.e. video games, marine biology, etc.).
Flipboard then creates a custom e-zine tailored to your tastes, pulling news, photos and updates from sources ranging from the BBC, National Geographic and The Verge to Instagram and Twitter.
And best of all, Flipboard is free on all platforms.
Flipboard goes big
The new Android tablet Flipboard app sports custom page layouts for the devices' wider screens, which will reportedly make room for longer article excerpts and other improvements.
According to CNET, Flipboard has been working with Samsung for a year to ensure that the app is up-to-snuff on Samsung's numerous Android tablets.
In August, Flipboard celebrated its second anniversary and revealed that it had 20 million users.
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