Film in HD with your phone underwater
Last week was a busy one. From Google’s revelation that it will release its own version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 to Nokia’s slimmer and shinier new Lumia, the 925, and BlackBerry’s budget phone the Q5, it was announcements galore for smartphone lovers. But the most interesting was Sony’s unveiling of its cool Xperia ZR, which basically allows you to take your smartphone below the surface and into the pool. The 4.6-incher can film underwater in full HD via its 13-megapixel camera. Powered by Android, the ZR is slightly smaller than the 5-inch Xperia Z, which was launched earlier this year. You can’t take it into the sea though, as salt water will corrode the phone. To be available between July and September. No price details yet.
No tablet app for BBM on iOS and Android
After last week’s announcement that the BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, will (finally) be available outside of BlackBerry devices and on iOS and Android-powered phones, executives have said those using tablets on the new platforms will have to wait a little longer. “At this point it is iOS and Android, and that’s iOS phones running iOS 6 and higher,” Vivek Bhardwaj, Head of the BlackBerry Software Portfolio told TrustedReviews.com. “Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is. If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.” BBM for iOS and Android will be available this summer, for free.
Windows Phone beats BlackBerry OS
Speaking of BlackBerry, the company just lost its previous position in global operating system rankings to Microsoft’s Windows Phone, despite its swanky new OS and devices. In a recently released report by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Windows Phone accounted for 3.2 per cent of the global OS market share in the first half of this year, while the BlackBerry OS share stood at 2.9 per cent. Of course, Android remained king at 75 per cent while Apple’s iOS retained its second place with 17.3 per cent. This basically means 92.3 per cent of all smartphones shipped so far this year are powered by either Android or iOS.
Serious sound
Danish audio experts Bang & Olufsen have taken the wraps of its brand new home theatre speaker system the BeoLab 14. Featuring four satellite speakers and one sub-woofer, the system comes with the same edgy and very Bang & Olufsen aesthetic, which is both practical as it is beautiful to look at. There’s no doubt it will sound great, but what’s nice about the BeoLab 14 is that the satellite speakers can merge themselves with your home décor and blend in, whether you want to hang them, stick them to a wall or just let them stand. The system costs around Dh14,000 in the UK but no official word yet on how much it will be here in the UAE. To find out when it’s in store, call 04-339 93 14.
