Big phone companies have begun to sell the vast troves of data they gather about their subscribers' locations, travels and Web-browsing habits.
The information provides a powerful tool for marketers but raises new privacy concerns. Even as Americans browsing the Internet grow more accustomed to having every move tracked, combining that information with a detailed accounting of their movements in the real world has long been considered particularly sensitive.

'It's the collection that's the scary part, not the business use.'

- Chris Soghoian, a privacy specialist at the American Civil Liberties Union

The new offerings are also evidence of a shift in the relationship between carriers and their subscribers. Instead of merely offering customers a trusted conduit for communication, carriers are coming to see subscribers as sources of data that can be mined for profit, a practice more common among providers of free online services like Google and Facebook.
When a Verizon Wireless customer navigates to a website on her smartphone today, information about that website, her location and her demographic background may end up as a data point in a product called Precision Market Insights. The product, which Verizon launched in October 2012 after trial runs, offers businesses like malls, stadiums and billboard owners statistics about the activities and backgrounds of cellphone users in particular locations.
Several European mobile-network operators have launched similar efforts. This week, German software giant SAP is introducing a service that will gather smartphone-use and location data from wireless carriers and offer it to marketing firms.
Carriers acknowledge the sensitivity of the data. But as advertisers and marketers seek more detailed information about potential customers and the telecom industry seeks new streams of revenue amid a maturing cellphone market, big phone companies have started to tiptoe in.

Did you take the plunge on your first smartphone recently? Congratulations! You're holding a lot of power and possibilities in your fingertips.
Of course, that can be a little overwhelming, too. There are well over 700,000 apps in both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Take a deep breath! You don't need to dive in all at once. Here's your starter kit. These 10 apps work with the iPhone and Android smartphones. They won't cost you a thing, but you'll use them every day.
As you're getting to know your new phone, give them a download. You'll be very glad you did. And if you're a seasoned smartphone user but haven't tried these apps, what are you waiting for?

Chrome -
 One of the most overlooked but vital apps you'll want to download is a good browser, and Google Chrome is one of the best! Your iPhone didn't come with it out of the box, and inexplicably, your Android phone probably didn't either!
This mobile browser is fast, secure and customizable. You can sync it with your desktop Chrome to import all your bookmarks, favorites and passwords. It also has incognito mode for private browsing! You'll be doing a lot of browsing with your new smartphone so you might as well do it right.

Google Maps -
 The days of being stranded in an unfamiliar part of town asking for directions are over. Google Maps is your go-to tool for all things geographic.
You can find driving directions, walking directions, public transit maps and more. Or just search for nearby points of interest! Maps collaborates with your phone's built-in GPS sensors to pinpoint your location.

Facebook -
 With 1 billion users, Facebook could be called the official social network of humanity, and it's available as an app for smartphones.
You'll be able to see your newsfeed, upload photos and videos, and post updates wherever you go! Everything you love about Facebook is available in the mobile app and streamlined for the palm of your hand.

YouTube -
 Who doesn't love watching fun and amazing videos online? Your smartphone can do that with both hands tied behind its back - if it had hands. All of YouTube's 2 billion videos can be seen on YouTube's official smartphone app. You can even use this app to record, upload, edit and share videos right from your mobile device!

Onavo Extend -
 All that YouTube watching is going eat up a big chunk of your monthly cellular data plan. Your best bet is to use Wi-Fi when you can, but when you can't there's Onavo Extend.
This free app automatically compresses the data you send and receive to get up to five times more data out of your plan. It also monitors usage and gives you reports on which apps are hogging your precious data.

Kindle -
 You don't need a Kindle e-reader to read Amazon e-books. Your smartphone can run Amazon's Kindle app. Now you can read your electronic library on your mobile device.
Download free books or purchase them from right inside the app. You can highlight and make notes and you'll never lose your place even when switching between devices. That's because all your e-books are synced to your Amazon account.

Skype -
Wait a second, why would you need an app for making phone calls on your phone? Doesn't it do that already? Well, sort of.
Skype lets you make video calls, which your phone may not be equipped to do out of the box. Plus, you can make video or voice calls for free to other Skype users around the world, over either cellular or Wi-Fi. You can even text for free using Skype instant message.

Carbonite Mobile -
 Your mobile phone is going to fill up with precious photos and videos very quickly. Unfortunately, your phone is susceptible to theft, hackers and accidental damage.
Make sure your precious data is safe! Carbonite Mobile automatically backs up your photos and videos to its secure servers for free.
Plus, on Android smartphones, Carbonite Mobile can track a lost or stolen smartphone and wipe your sensitive data remotely.
Full disclosure: Carbonite is one of my advertisers. But I'm also a satisfied, long-time customer.

Angry Birds Star Wars -
 Let's be honest: One of the real reasons you wanted a smartphone was the games! The Angry Birds series is the most popular of them all!
The latest twist on this mobile classic is as fun and addicting as ever. And with dozens of levels and expansions, it will be a while before you get bored!

Flashlight LED HD -
 Did you know your smartphone can also be used for creative and unconventional purposes? For instance, there are apps that allow you to control the camera's flash or screen brightness to turn your gadget into a makeshift flashlight!
Flashlight LED HD is one such app, and it's a trustworthy one - other flashlight apps have been known to steal your data. This app is bright and works well for finding your way in the dark, but be wary! It can drain your battery fast.

Shopping for a new smartphone can be overwhelming. Even after you’ve chosen a wireless carrier, there are so many phones – many of which look almost the same – that you might not know where to begin. The choice is made even more difficult by the constantly shifting sands of the smartphone marketplace and this year has already seen a number of major new players enter the fray. So how do you sort through it all? Look no further, as Gizmag breaks down the top smartphones of (early) 2013.
If we included every smartphone, you’d need to read this on a wall-sized computer. So we narrowed it down to a field of eight. They are (pictured, left to right):

• Samsung Galaxy S 4
• HTC One
• Apple iPhone 5
• LG Optimus G Pro
• BlackBerry Z10
• Sony Xperia Z
• LG/Google Nexus 4
• Samsung Galaxy Note II

We tried to include at least one phone from the biggest manufacturers. The biggest omission is Nokia and Windows Phone, but stay tuned for separate comparisons that give Lumia phones some love.
Specs aren’t everything, but they can suggest what a device can do. We organize our comparison by the measurable, but we also try to put our fingers on those harder-to-define intangibles. If a phone is greater (or lesser) than the sum of its parts, we want you to know that too.
So, without further ado, let’s break down the top smartphones of early 2013.

Size

For this comparison, we’re lumping smartphones and phablets together. You could argue that half of these phones are phablets, but the Galaxy Note II and Optimus G Pro are the only two that are no-question, through-and-through phablets.
The iPhone 5 looks positively puny in this group. BlackBerry’s Z10 isn’t much bigger. This is where the balance of hand size to screen size comes into play:
Are you uncomfortable holding a giganto-phone? Then the iPhone might be the best bet for you. Don’t mind some bulk if it gives you more screen real estate? Then phablet ahoy, matey.
If you’re still on the fence, hop into a store, pick a few of these up, and see how they feel in hand. And don’t be afraid to refer back to Gizmag when the wide-eyed salesperson tries to push you in a commission-friendly direction.

Build

Glass, aluminum, or plastic? Those are your choices when it comes to external build materials. The build of the phone’s chassis can affect how it feels in hand. Since you might be gripping this phone in your hand for the next two years, it’s an important consideration.

Weight

The iPhone 5 is – by far – the lightest phone in this group. If you want something that will disappear in your pocket, it wins that prize hands-down.
The Note II and Optimus G Pro – the fabulous phablets of the group – are the heaviest. Considering their hulking sizes, though, they should still feel relatively light. The Galaxy S4 also feels extremely light when you take its size into account.

Display

In the last few months, the pixel counts in high-end smartphones shot into the stratosphere. The only caveat is that your eyes probably won’t notice a huge difference between 330 pixels per inch (PPI) and 430 PPI. It’s extremely sharp vs. ridiculously sharp.
If you want the very best display at any size, then the HTC One probably wins that prize. The Galaxy S4 is right up there too. Even the Note 2 – with the lowest pixel density in this group – doesn't have a bad screen.
If you aren't so picky about display quality, then your decision may come down to size. Here too the iPhone is the smallest, and the two phablets the biggest – they each sport an enormous 5.5 inches of real estate.

Processor

Much like screen size, the iPhone and BlackBerry are the only throwbacks to the days of dual core processing. We wouldn’t worry too much about performance with either of those phones though. Their hardware/software integration (made by the same company) helps them to squeeze more performance out of a dual core chip than you might expect.
The Galaxy S 4 has two processors listed, because that will vary depending on where you live. U.S. customers get the quad core version, and much of the rest of the world will get the octa core (yes, eight cores) edition.
Honestly, we wouldn’t worry too much about this category. Like pixel density, processing has gone past the point of concern. Every phone in this batch is going to be very fast ... some just push that a little farther. There are much bigger differences to think about – like size, software, and app selection.
... but with that said, the octa-core version of the Galaxy S 4 is the fastest phone in the world right now. The quad-core version is probably the second fastest, with the HTC One hot on its heels.

RAM

It’s 2 GB of RAM across the board, with the iPhone 5 the lone exception. Again, though, there isn’t much to worry about with it – the Apple integration between phone and software makes performance zippy and smooth.

Storage

Do you keep full-length HD movies, thousands of photos, and console-quality games on your phone? If so, you’ll want to max out your storage.
For most customers, though, 16 GB is probably a safe mark to shoot for. Remember you can store lots of apps and data in the cloud, so it isn’t likely you’ll need to have everything stored on your phone all the time.
Also remember that the phones with microSD slots let you store much more than their internal memory suggests. Typically you can add up to 64 GB with an SD card.

Cameras

Take these numbers with grains of salt. When you’re making an easy-to-digest visual about camera specs, megapixel count is the best metric to use.
But it’s an imperfect measurement. Sensors, pixel sizes, lenses, and lots of other factors also play into actual image quality. The HTC One, for example, has a crummy megapixel count, but it uses larger pixels. So image quality might be quite good.
The best way to make up your mind here is to take some shots yourself, and look at them on a high-res display. Failing that, look at some full-resolution sample shots in reviews from Gizmag or another reputable tech site.

Battery

Here’s another spec that’s not exactly cut-and-dry. The amount of juice a phone holds is extremely important. But processor, display resolution, and software can also play into actual battery life.
There shouldn’t be much to worry about with any of these phones. With regular use, they should all last a full day.
Several of them also have removable batteries: the Galaxy S 4, Optimus G Pro, BlackBerry Z10, and Galaxy Note II. Notice anything? Yep, it’s the phones with plastic bodies: a nice bonus that aluminum and glass phones don’t provide.

Wireless

LTE – the fastest and best 4G technology – is now the norm with high-end smartphones.
The lone holdout here is the Nexus 4. The politics of selling a phone without carrier intervention led to Google passing on LTE. If it’s available in your area, though, the Nexus 4’s HSPA+ is a pretty fast 4G network in its own right.
It’s possible some of the other phones here won’t ship with LTE radios in your region. The best avenue here is to check with your local carrier.
The best questions to ask: “does the phone I want have LTE radios?” and “Does my area have LTE coverage?” Failing that, “is HSPA+ available?” If the answer to all of these questions is no, then you’ll be stuck with 3G (or worse) speeds.

Software

This is one of the most important questions to ask in your smartphone buying decision. Do you want iOS, Android, Windows Phone (not included in this edition of our guide) or BlackBerry?
... and if you choose Android, which manufacturer-specific software do you prefer? Samsung has TouchWiz, HTC has Sense, LG has its own Optimus flavor, and Nexus devices run “pure Google” (stock) Android. Each offers something a little different on top of the Android core.
Each platform also comes with its own app store:
Apple’s iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play Store have the best selections. Apple’s is still a little better for games. It also often favors simple, user-friendly apps with minimalist designs. Google Play has a leg up with customization-oriented apps and tweaks that Apple wouldn’t allow in its store.
BlackBerry’s App World and the Windows Phone Store have a lot of catching up to do. Finding your favorite apps might be a crapshoot in their app stores.
Mobile operating systems have come a long way, and get better every year. We’d recommend tuning out all the fanboy fanaticism and playing around with each. Find your favorite, then narrow down your search from there.

Release cycle

Most device-making companies like to keep their plans secret. And for good reason. If customers know that a new iPhone is coming in September, they’re less likely to buy the old model in July. Secrecy has financial ramifications.
But you can often make a pretty solid guess just by looking at the older version’s release date. If a phone gets upgraded once a year, the safe money is on its follow-up arriving at around the same time. The dates above show when all of these smartphones originally shipped.
The Galaxy S 4, HTC One, and Optimus G Pro are still hot off the press, so it’s a safe bet we won’t see their follow-ups for quite a while. But we could see a new iPhone and Galaxy Note by August or September of this year.
The older phones listed here are still among the cream of the crop. But this is something to keep in mind, especially since newer models usually ring up for the same prices that their predecessors sold for.

Intangibles

So what about everything else? Those harder-to-define intangibles, and extra goodies that each phone brings to the table? Let’s break down a few things to consider about each phone.

The Galaxy S 4 has a ridiculous amount of new software features. Some of them might be gimmicky, but you don’t have to use any of them – so no harm done, right? Some of the more notable S4 features are Smart Scroll (scroll emails and web pages with facial recognition), Smart Pause (automatically pause a video when you look away), and S Translator (translate foreign tongues in real time).

The HTC One probably won't come close to outselling the Galaxy S 4, but that doesn’t mean it’s an inferior phone. Some have knocked Samsung for sticking with a plastic design and relatively minor updates for the Galaxy S 4. Many of those same people are cheering HTC for the One’s bold new design, amazing screen, and terrific user experience. It’s one hell of an effort from a company that desperately needs a hit. We think it and the GS4 are in a league of their own, battling for Smartphone of the Year honors.

Then there’s the iPhone 5. Apple’s recent “troubles” have been blown out of proportion, but I think that stems from a general impression that its product line is growing stale. The iPhone – once the revolutionary groundbreaker in the field – has become the solid, reliable, “you know what to expect” candidate. Still, millions of customers embrace this familiarity. The iPhone is smooth, simple, and easy to use. It may no longer be on the forefront of innovation (at least for the time being) ... but everything just works.

Of the two 5.5-inch phablets, the Optimus G Pro has the better specs: 1080p screen, faster processor, higher-res camera. But it is missing a stylus, making for a very different experience than using the Note 2. If you want cutting-edge specs and a stylus, you might want to wait for the inevitable Galaxy Note 3.

BlackBerry finally delivered an iPhone/Android competitor in 2013, with the Z10. It runs BlackBerry’s slick new OS, BB10. Apart from the company’s reputation for business use and security, it offers some cool gesture controls. No home button, no on-screen navigation keys. Just a few simple swipes to get where you’re going. Gesture controls aren’t for everyone. But once you get the hang of them, you can get a nice swipe-centric workflow going.

Sony’s Xperia Z (and its U.S.-bound sibling, the Xperia ZL) got a lot of buzz at CES 2013, but got quickly overshadowed by the One and Galaxy S4. It’s still a solid Android phone, though. Its killer feature just might be its water and dust resistance. You can soak it in a bowl of water for half an hour, and it will come out as good as new. You won’t want to try that with any of these other phones.

The Nexus 4 just might be the best dollar-for-dollar buy on this list. You can order one from Google Play for US$300. Yes, that’s the off-contract price. No commitments or subsidies: just a terrific stock Android phone with no strings attached.

As we already touched on briefly, the Galaxy Note II is the only smartphone/phablet on this list that uses a stylus. Samsung did some truly innovative things with its S Pen. Scribble notes from anywhere. Scroll through pages by hovering the stylus over your screen. Take full advantage of the huge display by opening multiple apps in multiple windows. The Note 2 is a productivity beast, but also pretty fun to boot.

Wrap-up

The Smartphone market moves quickly. Six months ago, we did a similar comparison – and most of the phones were different. If we do another one six months from now, there will probably be an entirely new line of high-end phones competing for your dollars.
The bottom line is that there will never be one single phone that’s the be-all-end-all for everyone. Even if it looks like there is, something else will come along a month or two later to push it out of the spotlight. Technology is always moving on to something bigger, better, faster, stronger.
So find a phone that you love, and enjoy your two years (or however long) you spend with it. Hopefully this guide makes it a little easier to find one worthy of that long-term relationship.
... and if you want more on the two biggest Android phones of the year, check out our in-depth – and hands-on – comparison of the Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

With Installous gone, you are probably trying to look for Installous substitutes that can help you install IPA files onto your iPhone or iPad without messing around with the non-working Installous, AppSync etc. 

Interestingly, there are a few methods to get this working.

Note that we never recommend using cracked apps or those downloaded .ipa files other than for testing, or trying out before you purchase them from the App Store. We know that devs put a lot of effort in creating these apps. If you are unsure if the app would be worth the expense, you try it out but if you find that you are using it, make sure you pay the developer.

Let’s dive right in with that graceful mindset.

SSH: Winscp/CyberDuck

SSH-ing into your iPhone can also be done via tools like Winscp/Cyberduck.
SSH is a long process but it’s one of the surest ways of installing apps on your iPhone without Installous or iTunes. Briefly, the steps involved are:

Step 1: Open your SSH program (Winscp/Cyberduck etc.)

Step 2: Enter the IP address of your iPhone/iDevice into the “host” field (Settings -> Wifi -> Tap the blue icon next to the network you are on and you will get your IP address)

Step 3: Now, enter ‘root’ for username and ‘alpine’ for password (if alpine does not work, use ‘dottie’)

Step 4: After this is done, you will have to extra the “.app” folder from your IPA file. To do this:

• Rename the IPA file to “somename.app.zip” (note the .app.zip part) -> open the zip file -> open Payload folder -> extract the .app folder to your desktop

Step 5: After extracting the folder, drag and drop that into your iPhone’s /stash/Application folder (which you can access from the SSH client)

Step 6: Once copied, right-click the .app folder and change permissions to 0777 (all checked).

Step 7: After that’s done, respring your iPhone and you’ll get the app on your device!

i-Funbox

iFunbox is a simple and interactive way to SSH into your iPhone. This allows you to explore the device’s file system (files and folders) and then edit or modify the contents. Effectively, you’ll use iFunbox to transfer music, photos, ringtones etc. But then you can also use iFunbox to install IPA files.

To do this, you have to:

• Install and open iFunbox
• Connect your iPhone/iPad via USB to your computer
• Select your iDevice from within iFunbox
• Click on “Install IPA” in iFunbox
• Choose the .ipa file that you want to install
• iFunbox will do the rest and notify
• Respring iPhone to start using the app

Note: It’s said that you need AppSync to sync/use the app but we’ve seen that iFunbox works just fine without it either. In case you need AppSync, try getting it from Roberto’s repo. (our post on Hackulo.us Alternative Repo for AppSync)
  

 

Deb File + iFile

Perhaps, the simplest method is to get a .deb file and use iFile to install apps to your iPhone directly.

For this method though, you’ll need to get the .deb files instead of .ipa files. You can use services like iDeb to convert them.

• In Cydia, search and install iFile
• In Safari, search for .deb file of the app you are looking for and download it to your iPhone
• Tap on the downloaded file and then select ‘Open in iFile’
• When iFile opens the .deb file, tap on “Installer”
• iFile will install the file. Respring your device.
• The app should be up there on your iPhone

Lets come straight to the point , there is an app named GlobalTalk , which is available on android and iOS , provides free calling all over the world.

So how to get free minutes and start calling?

Simple just install the app , the app is free of charge and enjoy free calling

Android Play Link - GlobalTalk - voip free phone calls 

iTunes Link - GlobalTalk - voip free phone calls 

Hey guys I have seen many people searching for a cracked version of WhatsApp for iOS , Android, Symbian Devices. So in this post I will be posting all the three platforms WhatsApp Messenger for Free and fully cracked :)

Download Link of WhatsApp For Android Version 2.9.5484 
   
Download Link of WhatsApp For Symbian Version 2.9.6

Download Link of WhatsApp For iOS Version 2.8.7

To get started, the country you reside in will determine the type of HTC One X deals you will find, and these deals will most probably vary on factors such as Data usage, phone calls, and messaging, handset, and landline rentals. It is best to carefully choose a deal that perfectly matches your daily usage and needs. If you browse more on your HTC One X than messaging or calling, then it's advisable that you should go for a deal that offer unlimited data usage on monthly basis.

Key Features
Looking at the HTC One X phone itself, one can describe this flagship phone as one of the best of its kind. Its 4.7inch LCD display as well as the 1.5GHz quad core processor helps it create the perfect usage environment for the phone. HTC One X is completed with a powerful 1080p video recording, 8MP camera, and a 32GB Internal memory that can be extended with a Micros SD slot.

Contract Deals
Most of the HTC One X deals come in three types of contracts; 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months and so on. The obvious case is the 24 month contract costs less than other types of contracts because the contract length is longer than others. In most cases, the 24-month HTC One X deals costs somewhere between 20$ and 50$ and this comes with between 100 - 300 minutes of talk time, and up to 500MB data bundle usage plus unlimited texts. Other contract deals {mostly the 12 months and 18 months deals} come with the same benefits but would costs more because of their shorter contract lengths.

Getting The Best HTC One X Deals
In order to get the best HTC One X deals, you will need to pay the websites a visit and check out all the service providers and check out what it is they can offer. Always keep in mind that the best HTC One X deals for you is the one that adequately takes care of the features you most often use on your mobile phone. If you spend more time browsing the internet, it would be wise to always go for deals that offer extra data bundles on its contract. Service provider websites will provide you with key elements that you can use in calculating your rates of data usage, messaging and other features that you use more often.

One of the leading Smartphone manufacturers, Apple, is indeed hell bent on dominating the Smartphone market. One would expect them to at least hold off on manufacturing a new phone so soon after their last release. Well, it seems that is not part of their ethos. Only 6 months after iPhone 5 was released, fresh rumors were hitting the market that a new iPhone was in the process of being manufactured. If this rumor was true then the most probable phone to expect is iPhone 5S. This assumption is largely based on their past trend of releasing the 'S' range soon after the original model.
The rumors are not all centered on iPhone 5S, there are some who believe that Apple is working on iPhone 6. This is not impossible as it would be an appropriate response to Samsung's Galaxy S4. However, iPhone 5S is the more likely of the two. As it was in the previous 'S' phones: iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S, the changes that would be made to the phone are not drastic enough to deem it a new phone altogether. iPhone 5S should have a few hardware improvements and some software tweaks but nothing too major.

iPhone 5S: Release Date
Rumors concerning the release date of iPhone 5S are all over the place with some saying that we should expect a spring 2013 release and some arguing that it will be much later than that. The most consistent rumor, and this is what we can bank on, is that iPhone 5S will be released in 2013. Some of the sources are claiming that the manufacturing process of iPhone 5S began in March, and as such we should expect a June release.

iPhone 5S: Display
Apple is going to fit a Super HD screen on iPhone 5S, and according to the China Times, it will also feature a 'Touch on Display' with a 10-Point multi touch panel. It should, however, be noted that China Times have not always hit the mark with their speculations.

iPhone 5S: Design
As earlier noted, the design of iPhone 5S is not expected to veer so much from the course taken by iPhone 5. The chassis is definitely going to be the same, unless Apple has a wild card up their sleeves which is somewhat unlikely.
It has however been rumored that Apple are seeking to procure a cheaper plastic from their usual preference. This, of course, is set to reduce the cost of the phone they would be making. There are, however, rumors that suggest that this move has nothing to do with iPhone 5S. In fact, many are of the belief that Apple are working on a cheaper brand dubbed iPhone Math. The story is that this phone is designed to cater to the needs of a different market base for Apple's usual customers.

iPhone 5S: Camera
iPhone 5S will feature a 13MP camera and a bigger and brighter flash. This is according to the update received on iLounge earlier in the year. This update is a significant step from the 8MP on iPhone 5, but it will not wow many people as we have already seen a similar feature on Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One.

iPhone 5S: NFC
In the past, many analysts have said that Apple will eventually make the switch to NFC and Apple has proved them wrong every time. In fact, iPhone 5 featured passbook which is an almost similar feature. Nevertheless, rumors now suggest that Apple will make the switch with iPhone 5S.
In addition to the NFC, it is expected that iPhone 5S will incorporate a finger print scanner in iPhone 5S. This rumor is backed by Apple's move of purchasing the mobile security firm AuthenTec. The fingerprint scanner is a feature that was expected to be on iPhone 6 but we might see an early test run on iPhone 5S.

iPhone 5S: Software
According to some sources, Apple has already started testing iOS 7 on some devices. Therefore, we could expect a pleasant surprise on iPhone 5S as the Smartphone could run on iOS 7.

iPhone 5S: Wireless Charging
Rumor has it that Apple has had a breakthrough in the wireless charging technology as they recently filed for a patent on the same technology. Therefore, we could expect iPhone 5S to feature wireless charging which would be super convenient.
While these rumored could as well be unfounded, stay tuned to get the latest rumors on iPhone 5S.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is a cross breed between any smart-phone, and a tablet. It is bigger, better and in many ways smarter than most phones in the market today. One can navigate quickly and the screen is big enough to make life much simpler for you.
The Galaxy Note II capitalizes on 3 things that are 1. browse, 2. capture, 3. share.
In this new generation, a phone is much more than just a communication device. It is your office, your work, your entertainer, your organizer, your data storage area, and much more.

Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 features the Exynos 1.6 GHz quad-core processor. With this processor, designed for LTE networks, we can see how great performance comes into play.
For the first time in history, the Galaxy Note II offers Android 4.1, also known as the Jelly Bean. With its 5.5" HD Super AMOLED touch screen, it provides super visualization that features a 16:9 aspect ratio. This aspect ratio is the standard ratio for HD movie industries.
Moreover, this smart-phone has great multitasking capabilities and quick screen transition and browsing speed, that's without considering its impressive download speed.
It features 2 GB internal RAM and 16 GB of on-board file storage. In addition, one may add up to a 64 GB of memory Micro SD card. The battery on this phone promises a 24% longer life span than its previous version, and it is slightly lighter as well.
Additionally, this device holds additional security features that safeguards sensitive data and communications.
Another feature I really love about this phone is the S Pen. There is nothing new about having a pen for all sorts of pad, but the new cool features about this pen is its finer drawing capabilities, and the fact that it calls you every time you forget to return it back in its socket. That way you'll never lose it.

Sharing
Besides the ability to multitask, this smart-phone provides you with sharing capabilities. You get Popup Note, Popup Video, and Popup Browser that helps you switch between applications with great ease, and the S Beam and Share Shot help deliver files to friends instantly.

Verdict
Samsung couldn't jeopardize releasing the Galaxy Note II without substantially improving the version from the original Galaxy Note. It has, and will make a lot of Samsung Smartphone users very happy this holiday season.

There is no doubt that the best 3 mobile deals you can't resist are the ones that offer the best flexibilities, in terms of monthly payments, Data usage, flexible messaging and subsidized Tariffs on Phone calls.

The 24-month contract deal
The 24 month deal is one of the best 3 mobile deals you can't resist, and the main reason is that, you are billed much less on monthly basis than someone who opts for the 12-month or 18-month contract deal. With the 24 month contract deal, you have access to unlimited text messaging and unlimited Data usage. Instead of paying some where close to 50$ or more a month for a 12-month deal, why not opt for the 24-month contract and pay around half of that amount for 2 years.

Unlimited Data Transfer
One of the problems many mobile phone users have with their service providers is the inability to transfer unused data from one month to the other. It makes a lot of sense when a service provider allows you to carry-over unused data and unused text messaging. By this you get your well paid for extra data to use at the long run. Depending on the package you choose, most service providers often place a limit of between 100MB and 1GB on the amount of data their customers can use on monthly basis, most customers do not approve of such especially when they have to download many apps, files and media contents.

Unlimited Talk time
About the unlimited talk time, it is one of the best 3 mobile deals you can't resist. Those who spend most of their time on phone calls will prefer these types of deals to any other kind but it is hard to find a service provider that wouldn't place limits on the number of minutes to be spend making phone calls per month.
Most mobile service providers will offer their customers certain discounts that vary between 10% to 90% at different times of the day, these are referred to as the "peak" and "off peak" periods. Unlimited talk time deals are usually included in all kinds of packages regardless of the duration of the contracts.
Finally and in short, to conclude on this issue, the best 3 mobile deals are the ones that can offer higher returns or value on your monthly bills, for instance, more data usage, more messaging, and lower call rates.

Apple has released the iOS 6.1.4 update that offers an updated audio profile for the speakerphone on the iPhone 5. This essentially means that it makes changes related to how voice is delivered through the speakerphone during a call.

The 11.5MB update has been released only for the iPhone 5. Apple just mentions that the update brings an 'updated audio profile for speakerphone' and offers no other details. The update can be downloaded over the air on the iOS devices or via iTunes on computers.

In March, Apple had released the iOS 6.1.3 update to fix the bug that allowed anyone to bypass a password protected lock screen by following a few simple steps employing the use of the power and home button, and the phone's emergency call feature. The update also brought improvements to Apple Maps in Japan and was available for iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S, iPhone 5, all iPads following iPad 2 and all iPod touch devices after the 4th generation iPod touch.

Interestingly, the update also included a patch for blocking the popular 'evasi0n' hacking tool that lets users jailbreak their iPhones. Apple had acknowledged the same in the Security notes released with the update and had credited evad3rs for discovering four out of the six bugs that the 6.1.3 update fixes. This means that you won't be able to jailbreak your device till a new hack is discovered if you update it.

Apple had earlier released the 6.1.2 update to fix problems related to iOS devices overloading Exchange servers after being updated to iOS 6.1 due to issues with calendar sync. It had also released the 6.1.1 update for iPhone 4S users to fix network connectivity issues.

Apple had released the iOS 6.1 update in January to enable 36 iPhone carriers and 23 iPad carriers around the world to provide access to the faster LTE networks offered in many locations. It also enabled movie ticket purchases through Fandango via Apple's voice-assistant Siri in the US, and individual song downloads from iCloud for iTunes Match subscribers

I've seen Android phones get better and more powerful over the years, as Google and phone manufacturers pack devices with more and more features. There comes a time, though, when less is more. I'm afraid we've reached that time.Samsung's new Galaxy S4 smartphone is an excellent device from a hardware standpoint. Measuring 5 inches diagonally, the screen is slightly larger than that on its predecessor, the Galaxy S III. Yet the S4 is a tad lighter and smaller overall. The S4's display is also much sharper, at 441 pixels per inch compared with 272 on the S III. The S4 has one of the sharpest screens out there.
The Android operating system it runs is excellent, too, and in recent years the Google-made system has become a healthy competitor to Apple's iOS system for iPhones. Like most Android phones, the S4 comes with a suite of useful Google apps, including Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and the voice assistant Google Now. Because Google lets device makers customize Android to suit their needs, Samsung and others have been adding their own distinguishing features.
And that's the source of the problem. Packed with bags of tricks, phones have become way too complicated for many people to use. In some cases it's because these custom features work only some of the time. In other cases, you're confronted with too many ways to do similar things.
As much as Apple can be criticized for exerting control over what goes on its iPhones, it wins on simplicity. There are no competing agendas - just Apple's.
By contrast, Android has turned into a free-for-all. For instance, the Sprint version of the S4 phone has at least four different ways to watch video - one that comes standard with Android, one added by Sprint and two added by Samsung. Some content works with one but not the others.
And to watch video on one of the Samsung apps, the one called Samsung Hub, you have to navigate through two screens trying to sell you video that I couldn't get to work on the other apps. As much as it adds to the clutter, Samsung would rather you use its service and not the standard Android one. That way, Samsung rather than Google gets revenue from video sales. Samsung Electronics Co. has its own app store, too, to rival Google's own Play store on the same device.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't consider buying the S4.
Another highly praised phone, HTC One(Review I Pictures), has a lot of clutter as well. The display on the One is slightly smaller than S4's, but it has a higher resolution. The One sounds better, too, with front-facing speakers, while the S4 has a speaker on the back. The One might be the one for you if you watch a lot of video and listen to a lot of music. But the One feels heavier and bulkier, and its battery holds less charge than the S4.
The four national wireless carriers, plus U.S. Cellular, Leap Wireless' Cricket and C Spire, will sell the S4 in the United States. Release dates vary, and some will start this week. Expect to pay $150 to $250 up front with two-year contracts (T-Mobile calls them installment plans as it markets contract-free service).
(Also see: Samsung Galaxy S4 contract-free US price revealed)
Despite my complaints with all the add-ons on the S4, a number of them show promise
Easy Mode
It's not entirely new, as the S III and the Galaxy Note 2 have it, too. But Samsung makes that option more prominent when people set up the S4 for the first time. Icons in Easy Mode are larger, so you are less likely to hit the wrong one and have to figure out how to go back. You also get fewer choices for customizing the phone and using its camera, so there's less confusion about which to pick. Easy Mode isn't as easy to use as I would have liked, though, because features and settings from the regular mode creep in now and then.
Multi Window
Again, this feature isn't entirely new, but it's the first time I noticed it. It allows you to run two apps side by side, the way you've long been able to on traditional computers. That means I can keep up with Facebook on the top half of the screen, as I send email from the bottom half about all the dumb things my friends are saying on Facebook. Unfortunately, it works with a limited number of apps. Foursquare and Instagram aren't among them. And I needed an online video tutorial to figure it out.
Air View
When you point to an email or calendar entry with your finger, you see contents pop up in a bubble. That way, you don't have to open the entry and find the back button to return to what you were doing. Samsung has this feature on the Galaxy Note 2 phone, but that's designed for use with a stylus. On the S4, you simply hover over the entry with your finger. I wish it would work with more apps. For instance, you can use it with Android's generic email app, but you can't on the one made specifically for Gmail.
All of these would benefit from being part of Android rather than an add-on from Samsung. Easy Mode would truly be easy if it were designed from the start that way rather than as something that couldn't fully separate itself from the main Android. More apps would work with Multi Window and Air View if they were standard features, not ones app makers have to adapt for one by one.
And then there are some features that got in the way

• I mentioned the competing ways to watch video and buy apps.

• Another is Smart Pause, which automatically pauses video when your look away from the screen. The phone's front camera detects your eyes. Smart, but the feature also pauses the video when you cover your eyes, say, to avoid a gory scene in a horror movie. It's as if the phone is forcing you to look. And there are few times my eyes are glued to video. I typically multitask and watch video while doing other things.

• Smart Scroll detects the tilt of your head or the phone to automatically scroll text, such as when you're reading a long article on a Web browser. Smart, but it sometimes scrolls past what I want to read. It's difficult to move the text back without touching the screen, something Smart Scroll is supposed to eliminate. And at times, I have to keep my neck up in an uncomfortable position to stop scrolling.

• With Air Gesture, you wave your hand over a sensor for such tasks as browsing a photo album or scrolling through text. I can see it being useful when you need to answer a call while driving (not that you should), but I had difficulty getting the phone to respond properly with photos and Web pages. It reminds me of automated water faucets that won't let me wash my hands no matter how much motion I make.

Fortunately, the phone comes with many of these features already turned off, and you can turn off others you don't need or want. It took me a while to figure out that the Wi-Fi connection on my phone kept mysteriously turning on by itself because of some feature called Smart Mode. So Smart Mode is now off. Group Play is a feature that lets you share music and photos with other S4 users on the same Wi-Fi network. But I don't know of any S4 users, and it doesn't work with Group Play on the S III. I couldn't uninstall the app, so I buried that in a new folder called Junk.
The S4 has plenty of other features I could dismiss. Some might like the camera's ability to erase a stray individual out of photos or to combine several images of motion into a single shot. But I'm a purist, and I'm not a fan of manipulating images. And the feature for using the phone as a TV remote control? That's what remote controls are for.
I shouldn't have to spend a lot of time customizing the phone to turn off or hide what I don't want. Many people never change the default settings. I've been using the S III as my main phone since July, and I've rarely found a need to reach into its bag of tricks. I simply want a phone that is easy to use.
The S4 can be that, but first you must figure out how to hide all its gimmicks

The BlackBerry has finally caught up to the world of touch-screen smartphones. It took time - six years, from the launch of the first iPhone - and it may be too late to save the company that makes it. But the BlackBerry deserves to be taken seriously again.Why? Because the new BlackBerry Q10 is a successful marriage of the modern touch-screen smartphone and the iconic BlackBerry keyboard.
Though it can be hard to remember, the keyboard used to be a standard feature on smartphones, before the iPhone wiped our minds with its vision of touch-screen Utopia.
Since then, keyboards have been disappearing from smartphones. Physical keyboards just didn't fit into the design mold set by the iPhone. Palm Inc. created a credible, innovative smartphone with a physical keyboard, but it was a slide-out version, which made the keyboard seem like a burden and an afterthought. There have also been Android phones with physical keyboards, but they haven't been very good, and they've mostly disappeared.
Meanwhile, BlackBerry has continued to make well-designed phones with physical keyboards. But until now, it hasn't gotten the software running them quite right. Even with physical keyboards, modern phones need touch screens to control movies, games and other tasks beyond the BlackBerry's roots in messaging. BlackBerry has experimented with touch screens, but has been partly hamstrung by the pre-touch foundations of its operating system.
After numerous delays, BlackBerry finally came out with a modern operating system this year, the BlackBerry 10 (Review). The company considers it crucial to its future, as the BlackBerry seeks to recapture relevance lost to the iPhone and Android devices.
RIM's first phone with the new software, the BlackBerry Z10 (Review | Pictures), is a touch-only device. With the Q10, we really get to see how it works with a keyboard.
On BlackBerrys, the keyboard has always been about more than filling in text fields, and the new operating system takes that further. If you want to send a tweet about what you're eating for lunch, just pick up the phone, unlock it and type "tweet Turkey sandwich again today." Hit Enter, and now the world knows about your boring fare before you've even had a bite.
Just as you can on some older BlackBerrys, you can also launch applications by typing. If you want to play "Angry Birds," instead of flicking through screens to look for the icon, you can just start typing "Ang" and the game icon pops up. Again, that's fast.
The keyboard is handy for music, too. If you're in the apps screen, just start typing the name of the song or artist you're looking for, and up it comes.
I haven't used a keyboard-equipped phone in years, but the Q10 makes it very tempting. There's no getting around it: it's a faster, more accurate way to type, even compared with innovations such as Swype, which lets you "type" by swiping your finger from letter to letter.
The keyboard eats up space that could be devoted to a bigger screen, of course. But BlackBerry has saved some space by eliminating the big buttons that resided between the screen and the keyboard on older BlackBerrys. This results in a larger, square screen. It's very sharp and colorful, too. To some extent, the screen compensates for its small size with a high resolution, which allows it to present a lot of information, as long as you're willing to hold it close and read small type.
U.S. phone companies haven't yet said when they'll sell the Q10, but expect it by the end of May for about $250 with a two-year contract. It's coming to BlackBerry's home country of Canada on May 1.
The BlackBerry 10 software made its debut a few months ago on the touch-only Z10. The new operating system is a welcome change, not just for BlackBerry users. It's very quick to get around the phone, and it seldom leaves me baffled the way many incarnations of Android do. It's laser-focused on giving you access to email, texts and other means of communication, as opposed to music, movies and games.
One of the coolest features is the "peek." From any application, you can swipe your thumb up from the bottom of the screen, then right, to slide the application slightly off the screen. That reveals the messaging "Hub," which gathers your communications. At a glance, you can see which accounts have new messages. If you want, you can slide the app farther to the right, getting you into the Hub to read and write. Swipe left, and you're back to where you were.
The interface takes time to get used to, and it doesn't have the simple immediacy of the iPhone. But once you learn it, you can positively zip between tasks.
The downside to the new operating system is its relative dearth of third-party software. There are applications for Facebook, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. A Skype app out will be out soon. But there isn't any app for Netflix, Amazon or eBay. There are no Google apps, either. The selection of games is particularly poor. There's only one incarnation of "Angry Birds," and that's "Star Wars."
I also encountered one glitch while using the Q10 for a few days: I was unable to type my response to one email. Leaving it and going back into it did not help until the next day. That's the kind of problem that's going to frustrate BlackBerry users, so I hope it's a rare one, and one the company fixes soon with a software update.
That aside, the Q10 is likely to be attractive to the BlackBerry faithful. It deserves to lure some people over from Androids and iPhones as well. The keyboard makes the Q10 a good complement to a tablet. Use the bigger screen for entertainment, surfing and gaming, and the BlackBerry for messaging.
When I reviewed the Z10 model in January, I found I couldn't point to anything about it that would make me say: "Forget those other phones: you have to buy this one." I can for the Q10. If you value a keyboard, this is the one to get.

Why would a company with billions of dollars in the bank - and no plans for a large investment - decide to borrow billions more?A decade ago, that was a question some short-sellers were asking about Parmalat, the Italian food company that had seemed to be coining money.
It turned out that the answer was not a happy one: The cash was not real. The auditors had been fooled. A huge fraud was being perpetrated.
Now it is a question that could be asked about Apple. Its March 30 balance sheet shows $145 billion in cash and marketable securities. But this week it borrowed $17 billion in the largest corporate bond offering ever.
The answer for Apple is a more comforting one for investors, if not for those of us who pay taxes. The cash is real. But Apple has been a pioneer in tactics to avoid paying taxes to Uncle Sam. To distribute the cash to its owners would force it to pay taxes. So it borrows instead to buy back shares and increase its stock dividend.
The borrowings were at incredibly low interest rates, as low as 0.51 percent for three-year notes and topping out at 3.88 percent for 30-year bonds. And those interest payments will be tax-deductible.
Isn't that nice of the government? Borrow money to avoid paying taxes, and reduce your tax bill even further.
Could this become the incident that brings on public outrage over our inequitable corporate tax system? Some companies actually pay something close to the nominal 35 percent U.S. corporate income tax rate. Those unfortunate companies tend to be in businesses like retailing. But companies with a lot of intellectual property - notably technology and pharmaceutical companies - get away with paying a fraction of that amount, if they pay any taxes at all.
Anger at such tax avoidance - we're talking about presumably legal tax strategies, by the way - has been boiling in Europe, particularly in Britain.
It got so bad that late last year Starbucks promised to pay an extra 10 million pounds - about $16 million - in 2013 and 2014 above what it would normally have had to pay in British income taxes. What it would normally have paid is zero, because Starbucks claims its British subsidiary loses money. Of course, that subsidiary pays a lot for coffee sold to it by a profitable Starbucks subsidiary in Switzerland, and pays a large royalty for the right to use the company's intellectual property to another subsidiary in the Netherlands. Starbucks said it understood that its customers were angry that it paid no taxes in Britain.
Starbucks could get away with paying no taxes in Britain, and Apple can get away with paying little in the United States relative to the profit it makes, thanks to what Edward D. Kleinbard, a law professor at the University of Southern California and a former chief of staff at the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, calls "stateless income," in which multinational companies arrange to direct the bulk of their profits to low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions in which they may actually have only minimal operations.
Transfer pricing is an issue in all multinational companies and can be used to move profits from one country to another, but it is especially hard for countries to monitor prices on intellectual property, like patents and copyrights. There is unlikely to be a real market for that information, so challenging a company's pricing is difficult.
"It is easy to transfer the intellectual property to tax havens at a low price," said Martin A. Sullivan, the chief economist of Tax Analysts, the publisher of Tax Notes. "When a foreign subsidiary pays a low price for this property, and collects royalties, it will have big profits."
The United States, at least theoretically, taxes companies on their global profits. But taxes on overseas income are deferred until the profits are sent back to the United States.
The company makes no secret of the fact it has not paid taxes on a large part of its profits.
"We are continuing to generate significant cash offshore, and repatriating this cash will result in significant tax consequences under current U.S. tax law," the company's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, said last week.
A company spokesman says the company paid $6 billion in federal income taxes last year, and "several billion dollars in income taxes within the U.S. in 2011." It is a testament to how profitable the company is that it would still face "significant tax consequences" if it used the cash it has to buy back stock.
There is something ridiculous about a tax system that encourages a U.S. company to invest abroad rather than in the United States. But that is what we have.
"The fundamental problem we have in trying to tax corporations is that corporations are global," says Eric Toder, co-director of the Tax Policy Center in Washington. "It is very, very hard for national entities to tax entities that are global, particularly when it is hard to know where their income originates."
In principle, there are two ways the United States could get out of the current mess. The first, proposed by President John F. Kennedy more than 50 years ago, is to end the deferral. Companies would owe taxes on profits when they made them. There would be, of course, credits for taxes paid overseas, but if a company made money and did not otherwise pay taxes on it, it would owe them to the United States. After it paid the taxes, it could move the money wherever it wished without tax consequences.
President Barack Obama has not gone that far, but he has suggested immediate taxation of foreign profits earned in tax havens, defined as countries with very low tax rates.
Some international companies hate that idea, of course. They warn that we would risk making U.S. multinational corporations uncompetitive with other multinationals, and perhaps encourage some of them to change nationality.
The other way is to move to what is called a territorial system, one in which countries tax only profits earned in those countries. Apple would then be free to bring the money home whenever it wanted, tax-free. But without doing something about the ease with which companies manage to claim profits are made wherever it is most convenient, that would simply be a recipe for giving up on collecting tax revenue.
Companies around the world have done a good job of persuading countries to lower tax rates. Back in the 1980s, the U.S. corporate tax rate of 34 percent was among the lowest in the world. Now the 35 percent U.S. tax rate on corporate income is among the highest. In this country, notwithstanding the high rate, the corporate income tax now brings in about 18 percent of all income tax revenue, with individuals paying the rest. That is half the share corporations paid when Dwight Eisenhower was president.
There seems to be something of a consensus developing around the idea that the U.S. rate should be lowered. Both Obama and Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, say they want to do that without reducing government revenue, but they disagree on most details. Camp likes the territorial idea, but he concedes that we would have to do something about the ease with which companies move income from country to country.
In fact, the need for such a rate reduction is not as clear as it might be. Reuven Avi-Yonah, a tax law professor at the University of Michigan, studied the taxes paid by the 100 largest U.S. and European multinationals and found that, on average, the Americans paid lower rates.
Avi-Yonah says he thinks developed countries should cooperate and enact similar rules. He compares that to the American Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal for U.S. companies to bribe foreign governments. U.S. companies used to say that was unfair, but now most developed countries have similar laws.
Something like that may be growing a little more likely. At the request of the Group of 20 governments, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is doing a study called Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.
In Europe, where budget problems have grown drastically, there seems to be a growing understanding that governments must raise a certain amount of revenue and a belief that if one sector manages to avoid paying taxes, that means other sectors must pay more. That led to the anti-Starbucks demonstrations in Britain. In this country, there is little sign of similar attitudes, let alone a belief that those who find ways to twist the laws to avoid paying taxes are being unpatriotic.
If that belief were to become widespread, Apple and similar companies might find that their success in avoiding taxes was making them unpopular with other taxpayers - people whom Apple wants to be its customers.