Samsung Galaxy S5: The most interesting rumours out there

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is already the subject of plenty of rumours about its super high-res screen, 64-bit CPU and more. Here's a list of what's the buzz around the Galaxy S5.

Even though it's just been a couple of months since the Galaxy S4 launched, we've already started seeing rumours about its successor- the Galaxy S5. These rumours point to a better display, faster processor, an evolved chipset and even a retina scanner. Let's take a look at some of these rumours:

The Galaxy S5 may have a QHD display
According to these rumours, Samsung will be applying QHD (quad-HD) tech onto their smart phone next year (not to be confused with qHD which points to a resolution of 960x540 pixels). The rumours state that Samsung has already developed the technology and is now figuring out a way to mass produce it. Flagship smartphones today sport displays with full HD resolution (1920x1280) while QHD resolution is 2560x1440 pixels, which is about four times the number of pixels than on a full HD display. Samsung is expected to reveal the first QHD smart phone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February according to internal sources.
PLS LCD displays for Galaxy S5
According to the Korean media, Samsung is considering using PLS LCD displays on next year's flagships like the Galaxy S5 and Note 4, in order to reduce production costs by almost 20%. Samsung already uses PLS LCDs on its tablets such as the Nexus 10 and the Galaxy Note 10.1, and the company is now considering adopting the technology for its phones as well.
Samsung Galaxy S5 64-bit CPU
The rumors are also on about Samsung launching the S5 with a 64-bit processor, thanks to an ARM executive spilling the beans on how Samsung had picked up a new ARM chip for 2014. CNET reported that during a presentation at Samsung's Analyst Day in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung revealed a two-prong approach in creating a 64-bit chip: first develop a 64-bit chip based on ARM's design, and then develop its own "optimized" 64-bit CPU core design. This approach was revealed by Stephen Woo, president of System LSI at Samsung Electronics, although a specific time frame for the custom core was not provided.
Samsung Galaxy S5 rumored to pack 14nm Exynos 6 chipset
A report in Korean media has emerged that potentially sheds light on the CPU of the yet to be revealed Samsung Galaxy S5. Reportedly, the next generation Samsung Galaxy S smartphone will pack an Exynos 6 CPU with 14nm architecture and 64-bit support. The current generation uses 28nm process, while previous rumors have suggested that Samsung is working on 20nm architecture.
Eye scanner on the Galaxy S5
The next Samsung smartphone will have both fingerprint sensors and iris scanners for security, according to ZDNet Korea. Samsung integrated eye-tracking tech into the Galaxy S4, so it would make sense that the company was looking for a way to add a security element to the mix as well.

Rugged Water-And-Dust Proof S5
Sources have told Korean publication ETNews that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be waterproof and dustproof similar to the Galaxy S4 Active. The Galaxy S4 Active debuted shortly after the original Galaxy S4, to rave reviews, much to Samsung’s surprise, reportedly. It appears customers appreciated the incorporation of metal into the Galaxy S4 Active design, which gives it a more premium look in comparison to Samsung’s other polycarbonate-encased devices.
Samsung Galaxy S5 operating system
All previous headlining Galaxy S handsets have sported the Android operating system and we don't expect that to change with the Galaxy S5. Google's latest version of its mobile platform, Android 4.4 KitKat, is launched in October 2013, so it's highly likely this will be the version of choice for the Galaxy S5 come March. There's a rumor that throws a spanner in the works though, suggesting that Samsung will offer the Galaxy S5 in both Android and its homebrewn Tizen variants.

Nexus 5 cases and skins

Got a brand new Nexus 5? Planning to get one soon? Here are the best cases and skins that should go a long way in ensuring that your Nexus 5 is protected and stays in good shape all the way.

Your new Google Nexus 5 needs protection and there are enough cases, skins and vinyls in the market that promise to protect your device against scratches, bumps and the occasional rough use. We list the best Nexus 5 cases that you should consider before you arrive on the perfect solution to protect your device.

Nexus 5 Bumper Case- The official Nexus 5 case

The official Nexus 5 case is probably the most popular and a safe bet for protecting your Google Nexus 5. It is sold by Google on the official Google Play Store India for Rs. 2,499. Unlike the Nexus 4 case the Nexus 5 case is a hard plastic shell that covers the entire back of the device along with protection at the edges. The case feels premium and does offer assurance of protecting the device against accidental falls. Also, only the black and yellow cases were in stock last we checked while the grey and bright red versions weren’t.

Price: Rs. 2,499
Buy from the Play Store

LG QuickCover for Nexus 5

Even the “QuickCover” case for Nexus 5 can be purchased via the Google Play store for Rs. 3,299. This full body protection case is expensive and it also offers more compared to the bumper case mentioned above. While the overall protection offered by this case is better, it does add more bulk and weight to the device. One minor niggle with the case is that hardware volume controls are difficult to access when you are on a call (and the front flap is open).

Price: Rs. 3,299
Buy from the Play Store

Capdase Back Cover for Google Nexus 5

This is a very basic cover from a popular brand. This case offers edge and corner protection but leaves the top and bottom front edge of the Nexus 5 unprotected. Recommended if you want a very basic level of protection that primarily protects the Nexus 5’s back surface and does not cost too much.

Price: Rs. 799
Buy from Flipkart

Spigen Nexus 5 Ultra-Thin Air case

This case is highly recommended if you want the least obtrusive transparent case for your Nexus 5. Recommended for those who are looking for basic protection against scratches while retaining the looks and the slim form factor design of the Nexus 5. Spigen does not sell directly in India via their website, but you can buy it from Amazon India or Flipkart via importers. Spigen also has a few more Nexus 5 cases, offering varied levels of protection and styling, check them out on the official site.

Price: Rs. 1,749
Buy from Amazon India

GADGET SHIELDZ Nexus 5 full body protection shield

Gadget Shieldz are high-quality protective films that cover the entire body of the device, offering protection against scratches and scuffs. While these films cannot save your device from cracking in case of an accidental fall, they promise to keep your gadget protected against scratches.

Price: Rs. 429
Buy from the Gadget Shieldz site

More cases

Nexus 5 Cruzerlite Android Experience Case: If you are looking for something different

Nexus 5 Poly Carbonate Armour case: For extra protection, when you aren’t concerned with conserving the looks of the Nexus 5

Google Nexus 5

The sleek Google Nexus 5, running on Android KitKat, is an absolute treat to use.

Simplicity is a difficult trait to achieve. More so when you are using it to market a product. But Google seems to have this thing down pat. Those who have used a ‘Nexus’ or a ‘Play Edition’ smartphone will know what I’m talking about. Imagine a smartphone with no frills, no annoying animations, no bloatware. Just the things you need day in, day out, packaged in a really simple body. That’s what the new Nexus 5 is all about. I stayed glued to it for a couple of weeks and here’s why.

Build

Apple might be the queen bee of design, but that doesn’t mean the others don’t know how to do ‘minimalism’ right. Look at the Nexus 5 and you’ll know what I mean. When I hold the phone up, it’s just a plain, sleek, sexy block of black staring back. No buttons, no controls, no recesses, no protrusions. The essential ones – power and volume – are designated either side of the phone; the 3.5 mm jack to the top and the micro-USB slot to the bottom. There’s virtually nothing standing between you and the phone.

With an almost-5-inch display, the Nexus 5 is the largest in the Nexus smartphone lineup. The screen is pretty good – it has a 1920x1080-pixel resolution, just like the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The display is great to read on although personally I prefer reading either on a monochromatic reader like the Paperwhite or at least on a slightly larger screen. However, the display was good enough to have me hooked on to multiple articles on Pocket (formerly Read It Later) for about 20-30 minutes at a stretch. 

A bite of KitKat

Stock Android is pure joy to use, especially if you are already a fan of Android. It’s the very first device to run on Android KitKat (Version 4.4). KitKat integrates your SMSes and hangouts, so at times it might get a bit confusing. I ended up pinging someone online thinking I was sending them an SMS and vice versa. To help matters, there’ll be a “via SMS” next to the SMS timestamp. If you can’t see it, then it was sent via Hangout (formerly Google Talk).

Google’s voice recognition is hands-down one of the best of its kind. There was seldom an instance when the “Ok Google” command let me down. The best is that it understands a neutral “Indian” accent so you don’ have to fake another one. I just said “Ok Google, call Mama” for the phone to dial my mom. I could just ask “Okay Google, how big is Chennai?” and pat came the reply “181 square kilometres” in voice as well as with text displayed on the screen.

The new phone app automatically prioritises your contacts based on the people you talk to the most. You can also search for nearby places and businesses, your contacts, or people in your Google Apps domain although the businesses bit has a lot of ground to cover before it can become trustworthy enough to replace JustDial for you. As part of its improvement, sometimes the app will ask you if the number you just sourced from its database was the correct one.

One of the more crucial areas where the Nexus 5 struggles to match up to its competitors is its imaging capabilities. It’s equipped with an 8-megapixel camera which manages to take decent pictures, but is nowhere close to delivering the kind of experience that an iPhone 5S or an HTC One does. If you’ve used the Nexus 4 already, you’ll know how bad a shutter lag it suffered from. The Nexus 5 is a slight improvement upon that but it still doesn’t have the quickest capture time. The photos too are average, a bit grainy at times. But considering the fact that it’s at the end of the day just a mobile camera and you probably won’t use it to shoot a professional portfolio, it should satisfy your selfie needs and more. 

Performance

The battery life on the Nexus 5 again is a huge improvement on the Nexus 4. With continuous app usage, intermittently checking WhatsApp and Gmail, and about 5-6 voice calls every day, the Nexus 5 would still be left with some charge at the end of the day. If you have been austere with the usage, you could probably stretch it to two working days.

With 2GB of RAM, multitasking is pretty seamless. Except, when I used it the first two days, a couple of apps such as Google Chrome, crashed on me a couple of times. For the rest of the duration of the review I didn’t have any issues.

Media junkies should keep in mind that the Nexus 5 doesn’t come with a micro-SD slot for extra storage. So, if you love having all your media on the phone, go for the 32GB version.

The Nexus 5 is a brilliant phone for those who need a smartphone for its functionality. Its simplistic looks don’t hurt either. The phone, for the most part, handles multi-tasking with ease and is great for media consumption - be it movies, apps or books. The battery life is on par with most other smartphones in the market, so you’ll probably have to have the charger on hand wherever you go. The camera is not the best money can buy, but it does its job as a smartphone snapper. And more than anything, this is the best, purest form of Android that money can buy.

Rs 28,999

Love – Great display, good build

Hate – Mediocre camera, prone to typos

Top 10 Windows Phone Games

For all those who thought that no good games existed on the Windows Phone 8 Platform, here are our top 10 recommendations.

Windows Phone 8 is starting to really shine lately, getting some much needed love from app developers. The latest additions were the Instagram app and the 500px app, with the former being a much awaited release. While apps are essential to the platform gaining traction with its fanbase, so are games. If you've been wondering what are the best games to acquire for your latest Windows Phone Device, here is the definitive list.

Halo: Spartan Assault
Price: Rs. 360
Download Here
Halo pretty much single-handedly shot the Xbox to fame, with the game going through its first trilogy, then moving studios, but still garnering major love from its fans. Microsoft has extended the love from the console to the cellphone, allowing gamers to enjoy the Halo experience across devices now with Halo: Spartan Assault, a top-down shooter.

Tetris Blitz
Price: Free
Download Here
A classic for all those who grew up in the 90's, Tetris Blitz is published by EA for the Windows Phone store, is free and is mostly definitely a must have for anyone using a Windows Phone device. It offers hours upon hours of incredible fun. Don't just take our word for it though, download the game and play it!

Modern Combat 4
Price: Rs. 160
Download Here
Any shooter-heads in here? If so, MC4 is the best shooter available on WP8. Inspired heavily by the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games, MC4 is engaging from the very beginning, tossing you into a heavy fire fight right from the start.

Temple Run 2
Price: Free
Download Here
The very popular endless runner finally lands on the WP8 platform and so what if it's eight months late? The important thing is that it's here, so you don't have to be envious of your iOS and Android wielding brethren.

Rayman Jungle Run
Price: Rs.55
Download Here
A classic from the good old days, Rayman Jungle Run is actually a brilliant runner that throws up some serious challenges as you go along. This isn't a mindless runner, but involves extremely quick reflexes and a little bit of strategy too.

Subway Surfer
Price: Free
Download Here
Another favourite runner of the masses finally makes an appearance on the Windows Phone Store. This is one of our favourite runners simply because while the game play remains exactly the same, the game's environments change according to the season, festivities, and even geographical locations. It's like getting a new game, but at the same time, not.

NFS: Hot Pursuit
Price: Rs. 55
Download Here
Racing anyone? NFS Hot Pursuit has remained one of the best and most visually stunning games available on the WP Store for quite some time now. It brings the usual excitement and craziness that has become the signature of all Need for Speed games, with the added excitement of high speed chases.

Mirror's Edge
Price: Rs. 160
Download Here
Get down with some intense Parkour on your Windows Phone with Mirror's Edge. The action-adventure game puts you in the shoes of Faith Connors – an underground “Runner” who must bolt into action to stop a deadly threat in a “perfect society” full of sinister surveillance and relentless pursuers.

Asphalt 8: Airborne
Price: Rs. 55
Download Here
The ultimate in racing experience, Asphalt 8: Airborne is all about over-the-top racing shenanigans, with some of the most drool worthy cars you will ever see. It's not just the visuals and the cars, but even the soundtrack of this game that's just simply amazing.

Angry Birds: Star Wars II
Price: Rs. 55
Download Here
If you don't like Angry Birds, chances are, one of them is headed right for where you're sitting. Probably one of those exploding ones too! Angry Birds Star Wars II is one of our favourite games in the franchise and if you've ever thought of buying a game, this should most definitely be it. A crazy number of levels, lots of amazing birds, but most importantly, the ability to choose the Dark Side! Who wouldn't love that?