LG wants developers to create some more Friends for the G5

When you're marketing a smartphone as being 'modular' while only actually offering up one additional plug-in module for it in some markets, you know you've got a problem. And thankfully LG seems to have realized it's in this exact situation with the G5 and its so-calledFriends.

At the unveiling of the handset, the Korean company also presented two plug-in Friends, the Cam Plus and the Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play (yet only the former will be available in all of the G5's launch markets). Now though it wants developers to come up with more such modules for the G5.

For that purpose, LG is holding a developer-focused event in San Francisco on April 15 (which is this Friday). That's where it will show people how to create hardware that's compatible with the G5. The company also plans to launch a dedicated online marketplace for the G5 Friends, helping devs sell the products they come up with.

There's a pretty big caveat here, though. LG won't simply be allowing anyone to create an accessory for the G5. In fact, you'll need to co-develop your product with the Korean smartphone maker. LG says it will "carefully review all submitted ideas and select the best ones to be co-developed by LG and the idea proposer together based on the mutual agreement". And if you're wondering why it feels the need to be a part of the process, it's all because any such plug-in accessory "affects smartphone's performance and design significantly".

AT&T won't sell the HTC 10, Bell gets an exclusive in Canada

The just-unveiled HTC 10 will unfortunately not be sold by AT&T in the US. It's still headed to the other three of the 'big four' carriers stateside in due course, however - so you'll soon be able to pick one up from Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile.

And if you love AT&T and crave an HTC 10 at the same time, there's a choice for you too, albeit a rather expensive one. See, the unlocked model that HTC is selling through its own US online store is compatible with AT&T's network, so no one's stopping you from purchasing one for $699.99 outright and then using it on that particular carrier. There's also an option to use PayPal Credit to get 12-month 0% interest financing, keep that in mind.

Moving on up to the north, the HTC 10's exclusive carrier partner in Canada is Bell. So you'll only be able to buy one with a contract from that company, which will only be offering the phone in Glacier Silver. If you happen to have another carrier of choice, once again you can turn to HTC's website and purchase an unlocked unit for CAD 999 (in Glacier Silver or Carbon Grey). This version is compatible with Telus, Rogers, Bell, Koodo, Fido, Virgin Mobile, Wind Mobile, Videotron, and Sasktel.

Snapdragon 652 variant of the LG G5 named G5 SE

We have been hearing about a variant of the LG G5 with a Snapdragon 652 and 3GB RAM headed for Latin America. We have also heard about an LG G5 SE. Turns out, the two are the same.

As we had learned before, the only differences between the two is the slower chipset on the SE and 3GB RAM versus 4GB on the standard G5. Everything else about the two phones is similar, including the design, which explains why the Quick Cover we saw before claimed to fit both devices.

Apart from Latin America, the phone will also be available in China, and CIS countries.

HTC 10 Lifestyle is the flagship for some unlucky regions

The HTC 10 Lifestyle will stand in place of the proper HTC 10 in some parts of the world, India so far confirmed. Much like the LG G5 in certain regions, the HTC 10 Lifestyle comes with a Snapdragon 652 chipset, where the Snapdragon 820 should have been, and it only gets 3GB of RAM and a single 32GB storage option.

The other downgrade is LTE speed, but it comes as part of the chipset package. As opposed to the HTC 10's Cat.9 (450Mbps down, 50Mbps up), the 10 Lifestyle only gets Cat.6 (300Mbps/50Mbps).

The rest is thankfully all the same. That includes the 5.2-inch QHD Super LCD 5 display and class-leading camera setup. On the back that means a 12MP UltraPixel 2 shooter with 1.55 micron pixels, f/1.8 aperture, and optical image stabilization. Selfies get the OIS treatment too (that's a first), resolution is 5MP and aperture is f/1.8 too.

The HTC 10 Lifestyle measures 145.9 x 71.9 x 9.0mm and weighs 161g, which, you guessed it, is the same as the proper HTC 10. Battery capacity is 3,000mAh, there's Quick Charge 3.0 support and a rapid is bundled, so at least HTC didn't skimp on that.

We're still waiting on detailed info on price and availability and an exhaustive list of the countries where the HTC 10 Lifestyle will be sold instead of the real deal.

HTC 10 available now, here are the US and European prices

Did you see that blur? It was the HTC 10 becoming instantly available - from unofficial to on sale in a blink of an eye. Here are the prices and carrier offers in several countries.

Note that there's no storage mentioned so we assume only the 32GB phone is available.

USA

The unlocked phone goes for $700 and is available in Gray and Silver. The phone is available in AT&T and T-Mobile flavors, but you get no subsidy.

UK

£570 is the cost, no carrier deals. There is a third color - Gold.

Germany

Converting to Old Continent banknotes, the HTC 10 costs €700 in Germany. You can get the phone from O2 on contract (24 months x €30), or SIM-free from Sparhandy or Notebooksbilliger.

France

The currency rate must be different in France, 'cause it's €750 over there.

Austria, Finland, Italy, Spain

France shouldn't complain since these countries will have to pay even more - €800.

Sweden

No price yet, "Coming soon.

HTC 10 arrives with 12MP UltraPixel camera, BoomSound speakers

HTC went off the right track, but now it's going back to the glory days of the HTC One. The new phone is called HTC 10 and we like to read the "10" in binary, making this the HTC Two in a way.

The HTC 10 resurrects the UltraPixel name properly - a 12MP sensor with large pixels (1.55µm), a bright f/1.8 aperture, OIS and Laser AF. The camera can shoot 12-bit RAW, 4K 2160p videos and Hi-Res audio.

For the first time ever, the front-facing camera has optical image stabilization too. The camera itself has a 5MP sensor (1.34µm pixels) and f/1.8 aperture.

The BoomSound name is reborn again, instead of stereo speakers the pair works as a two-way speaker - tweeter (high frequencies) and woofer (low frequencies). Each speaker has its own amp. Going even further back in time to the days of the Desire, you get a premium headset in the box - with 70% oversized drivers and Hi-Res audio certification meaning they cover twice the frequency range.

The design of the HTC 10 is a follow-up to the One A9, which itself was based on the One. You can see the family resemblance in the capacitive Back and App switcher keys (except this time HTC didn't leave out the third button) and especially on the back.

The HTC 10 has a 5.2" screen with QHD resolution (1,440 x 2,560px), it's a Super LCD 5 with a curved edge Gorilla Glass. It launches with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on a Snapdragon 820 chipset with 4GB of RAM. You get a choice of 32GB storage ($700) and 64GB, both feature microSD a slot if you need more. Inside is a 3,000mAh battery that can be charged up to 50% in 30 minutes thanks to Quick Charge 3.0.

Watch the HTC 10 unveiling here

HTC decided on telepresence for the unveiling of the new HTC 10 instead of an in-person presentation. The stream starts 1 pm London time, 8 am New York time and 8 pm Taipei time.

We'll embed the stream here when it starts available so that it's easier to find.

Update: no livestream it seems, but here's a 12 minute announcment video.

By the way, several hours after the event is over, HTC will let us play with the 10 unit so we'll have first-hand impressions of the device later on.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 and 8.0 updated with S652 chipsets

Samsung covertly launched tweaked versions of its Galaxy Tab S2 tablets, these moving to the Snapdragon 652 chipset. Both tablets will launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow (the original started with Android 5.0).

Both have Super AMOLED screens with an iPad-like 1536 x 2048px resolution, 8MP/1440p cameras and Samsung is selling keyboards if you want a more productive experience.

Anyway, the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 is priced at €550 and you get LTE connectivity and 32GB storage. The Tab S2 8.0 tablet starts at €450 for the Wi-Fi only version (32GB) and goes up to€480 if you want LTE.

Those are the German prices, presumably availability will expand across the rest of the EU soon.

A couple of months ago those were spotted in benchmarks and reported as the Galaxy Tab S3, but it seems that Samsung didn't deem the changes important enough to bump the version number.

HTC 10 has native AirPlay audio streaming support

The HTC 10 finally became official earlier today, as you may know, following weeks upon weeks of leaks. One thing about the phone that wasn't leaked, though, has to do with Apple's AirPlay.

Specifically, it turns out that the HTC 10 features built-in native support for AirPlay, following in the footsteps of Xiaomi's Android-powered smartphones before it. There's just one big caveat: it's only for audio streaming.

Still, while you're in any music app on the HTC 10, just do a three finger swipe-up gesture to bring up the HTC Connect overlay. Since AirPlay support is built in, the AirPlay devices nearby will be listed and you can connect to them with one tap. This goes for Apple TVs, yes, but also AirPlay-enabled speakers.

Incidentally, HTC Connect also supports other protocols such as Bluetooth, DLNA, and Miracast, but adding AirPlay to the list is quite significant for the Android world, especially since Xiaomi's wares aren't officially sold in most places. Hopefully more and more device makers will follow suit.

HTC 10 promo videos detail design and features

Excited about the HTC 10? You'd be glad to hear that the company has outed a plethora of videos for you to see its latest flagship from every angle. Now, you may want to grab some snacks, because it's quite a journey.

First, check out what the company's President of Smartphone Connected Devices Chialin Chang has to say about the HTC 10.

Now, let's take a look at the phone's design and crafstmanship.

Finally, here's a playlist of 7 videos from fans, who share their experience, thoughts and first impressions of the HTC 10.

DxOmark tests HTC 10 camera, tied for the top spot

DxOmark has published an overview of the camera of the just-announced HTC 10, and it immediately takes top spot. That is, tied at number one with the Galaxy S7 edge, both scoring 88 points out of 100.

In still shooting the HTC 10 gets praise from DXO Labs for both detail preservation and autofocus speed and accuracy in all conditions. Exposure and noise reduction in low-light have been deemed good, while white balance is only "generally" so. The reviewers are less excited about the corner sharpness (or lack thereof) and the occasional blown out highlights.

The video camera gets high marks for stabilization and exposure, and oddly white balance and color rendering score higher than in stills. On the downside, the phone struggles with walking movements, which tend to leave some residual motion. Focus failures when panning were also observed.

The camera of the HTC 10 is a 12MP UltraPixel 2-branded unit with a BSI sensor and pixels measuring 1.55μm. The imager sits behind an f/1.8 lens and also has optical image stabilization.

Gartner, IDC: PC shipments in decline for Q1 2016

IDC has released PC shipment data for the first quarter of the year and the numbers show the market is still in decline. For the period worldwide PC shipments totaled 60.6 million units, a year-on-year decline of 11.5%. IDC says the decline is due to the early phases of Windows 10 enterprise upgrades as well as weak consumer demand.

Gartner also reports similar information for the decline of the PC market, but with a slightly less dramatic 9.5% fall. This is the sixth consecutive quarter in which PC sales are plummeting.

Among the main culprits for the fall of PC sales are the soaring smartphone market. Still, Lenovo, HP and Dell remain at the top of the PC vendor market for last quarter.

Here's some raw data from both companies.

Gartner Q1 2016 PC shipment data

IDC Q1 2016 PC shipment data

The future may not be that bad if both Gartner and IDC predictions come true. Thanks to Windows 10 consumers are believed to be tempted to change or upgrade their existing PC. However, we'll have to wait for the second half of the year to check if these predictions hold any water.