Windows Phone aims to be business friendly and it’s apps like Nokia Conference that make it so. The app is still in beta, but it’s getting closer to proper release – it’s currently at v0.9.5. The app takes out the hassle of joining a conference call, on a WP8-running Lumia it’s as easy as saying “conference join.”

The phone will figure out what call it needs to join based on your schedule. With the latest update, the app can handle recurring calls too, not just ones you got an invite for. Conference also integrates with Microsoft Lync and will launch the app automatically if your company uses it. Read more »

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is a big device, no question about it, it even makes the Galaxy S4 look compact. We already have a feel for the Mega 6.3 from its preview and we’re working on a full review. But before that’s done, we have to ask – does the battery live up to the “mega” monicker?

We’ve seen great battery efficiency from dual-core Snapdragon chipsets and the 3,200mAh battery has plenty of juice. So, it all comes down to the screen – and what a screen it is, it measures 6.3″ in diagonal and its surface area is only 23% smaller than a 7″ tablet (assuming a 16:10 screen for the tablet, like the Nexus 7). Read more »

A deluge of new laptops hit after Intel announced its next generation Core processors and Sony unveiled the spiritual successor of the Vaio Z (and P to some extent), the Vaio Pro, plus a new Vaio Duo.

The Sony Vaio Pro comes in 13.3″ and 11.6″ versions, both targeting “lightest laptop with touch, ever” for their respective sizes, thanks to a carbon fiber build. The big one weighs 1,060g, while the small one tips the scale at just 871g. Read more »

Eye-Fi cards bring some “smarts” to digital cameras, which haven’t really experienced a functionality boom like smartphones have. If price was the only thing keeping you from getting one, then have a look at the new Eye-Fi Mobi.

Just like the pricier Pro X2 card, the Mobi creates a Wi-Fi network that you can connect to with your iOS or Android device where the Eye-fi app will automatically download the photos. You can then browse the photos, edit them with your image editor of choice and share them on your favorite social network. Read more »

The Asus Fonepad raised a lot of eyebrows when it was announced – a 7″ tablet with phone aspirations, which was too underpowered to gain major traction. Yet the company seems undeterred as it today announced the Asus Fonepad Note, a 6″ phablet.

Just like the original Fonepad, this is an Intel-powered Android device but the specs are a lot more alluring. Read more »

Holo fans are probably still a little hung over after finding out that the Galaxy S4 Google Edition wasn’t an accident – HTC is doing it too with the One. So, the two arguably best Android phones are getting a pure Android option, but what does that mean in terms of proprietary functionality?

Android Police asked HTC who sent back a detailed reply. Read more »

Windows 8 made sweeping changes to the traditional Windows UI and that made many people unhappy. Well, they’ll be glad to hear that with the free Windows 8.1 update (formerly ‘Blue’), Microsoft has listened to their demands and made big improvements to the interface.

Perhaps the change that will draw the most attention at first is the Start button – yes, it’s back, yay! But don’t get too excited, the Start menu is still dead, the button is just an always-visible way to launch the Start screen (to be fair, that disappearing charm annoyed the hell out of me). Read more »

Bloggers from WinP.cn have gotten hold of a Nokia Lumia 925 and did a quick low-light shootout with its predecessor, the Lumia 920. They also checked the differences between the screens of the two (the 925 uses the new AMOLED screen, while the 920 has an IPS LCD).

Reportedly, the Lumia 925 offers sharper images with better white balance and less glare. Part of that is due to the new lens design – a 6 element lens for the 925 versus a 5 element lens for the 920. Shutter lag has also been reduced. Read more »

Styluses have had a bit of a revival in recent years. Now a curious rumor suggests that a 6.4″ Sony phablet codenamed Xperia L4 will go back further in time and use the predecessor of the stylus – a regular pencil. There’s not a lot of info on the L4, certainly nothing we can confirm, but it’s still an interesting rumor.

The S Pen for the Galaxy Note family adds things like pressure sensitivity and detection from a distance so it has found a place in the current finger-centric world. Will anyone want to use a pencil (or a pen)? Read more »

Experian Marketing Services has studied how Americans use their smartphones and has uncovered some curious differences between Android and iOS. On average, a smartphone owner would use their phone for 58 minutes each day.

This is where the first difference between the two platforms comes in – iPhone users spend an hour and 15 minutes on their phone on average, while Android users spend less than 50 minutes. Read more »

Qualcomm has a special app called BatteryGuru that optimizes power usage on phones with Snapdragon chipsets and it just graduated out of beta. It’s an easy to use app as it does its own thing – it spends a couple of days in the background learning your usage habits and then gets in control of things like Wi-Fi, which apps are allowed to run in the background, and so forth.

BatteryGuru learns the locations of the Wi-Fi networks you use and powers off Wi-Fi connectivity when you’re away from them. Read more »

Apple higher-ups always say “We’re never going to do X” and later they go and do X anyway – the company was claiming that 9.7″ is the perfect screen size for a tablet and then went and released a smaller, 7.9″ tablet. Can the same happen in the other direction, a tablet with a bigger screen?

Korean site ETNews thinks yes and claims Apple plans to launch an iPad Maxi (no, it’s not going to be called that) in the first half of next year. The publication also suggests that Apple is already talking to parts suppliers that will make the screens. Read more »

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a split personality – it’s either powered by a Snapdragon 600 chipset (the I9505) or by Samsung’s own Exynos 5 Octa (the I9500). It took a while before it became clear which model goes to which country, but now it’s time to find out the answer to a more important question – does it matter?

Typically, Samsung uses Qualcomm chipsets for its US models (due to the chipsets built-in LTE support) and sold their Exynos smartphones elsewhere. Now, the situation is different and the Snapdragon-based model is more common, perhaps due to low manufacturing capacity for the new eight core Exynos chipset. Read more »

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z had to cross a river to get to our office… okay, it didn’t but it that wouldn’t have troubled it thanks to its IP57 certification. That’s not the only specs the Z tablet shares with the Z phone either, the slender OmniBalance design gives the tablet a unique look.

The Xperia Tablet Z is only 6.9mm thick and weighs under 500g, it’s a pretty impressive device to hold in your hand. Read more »

The Nokia Lumia 928 brought something we hadn’t seen in a while – xenon flash – but it’s a Verizon exclusive, others are getting the thinner, but LED flash only Lumia 925. As it turns out, however, you can get the Lumia 928 working on a GSM network too.

Reddit user volvoshine is reporting that a Lumia 928 worked on AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks after adding the proper access points. That works because Verizon’s phones come with unlocked GSM connectivity for roaming purposes, but there are a few caveats. Read more »