Today Acer announced a new member of its lineup of mid-range
Android smartphones. The smartphone is called Liquid E1 and is basically a trimmed down version of the CloudMobile S500.

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, the Acer Liquid E1 runs with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean out of box. It's sporting a 4.5-inch display of qHD resolution (960 x 540 pixels) and boasts an 5MP auto-focus primary camera with LED flash at the back and a 0.3MP video-chat camera at the front.


The Liquid E1 dimensions are spot on for a midranger at 132 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm with a weight of 130 grams. Popping the stylishly designed back cover open reveals a somewhat underwhelming battery with a capacity of 1760mAh. Acer says that it should be good for up to 8 hours of talk time and around 400 hours of waiting patiently in standby.
The Liquid E1 also features an FM receiver, microSD card slot and the usual array of sensors. Judging from those official shots, we really like the Liquid E1 design, particularly on the dark grey version with red accents.

Annoyingly, pricing and availability are still only known to Acer.

The iPhone effectively replaced digital cameras and GPS devices, and now Escort MobileTV extends its reach to portable televisions. The MobileTV accessory works with iPhones and iPads, letting them receive broadcast television signals from the Dyle television network.
The MobileTV, essentially identical to the previously reviewed Elgato EyeTV Mobile, is a blocky little device with a 30-pin iPhone connector on one end and an antenna on the other. Despite the 30-pin connector, Escort says it needs an iPhone 4 or newer, ruling out its use with earlier iPhones. Likewise, it will only work with the fourth-generation iPod Touch or newer, but supports all iPads. For newer iOS devices, it needs the 30-pin-to-Lightning adapter.
There is also a Mini-USB port for charging on the end of the MobileTV accessory, as the device relies on an internal battery. A red LED on the black device shows when it is charging.
Connected to an iPhone or iPad, it sits neatly in the connector, adding its minimal, approximately 2x2-inch bulk. Hooking it up through a Lightning adapter to a newer iOS device makes it stick out a bit farther, and the whole apparatus feels more prone to being knocked loose.
Free app required
By itself, the MobileTV accessory does not do anything, as it needs the IDTV app to show television broadcasts on an iOS device. This app is free from the App Store, and available for iPhone or iPad.
However, the MobileTV and the IDTV app may not be enough to turn your iOS device into a portable television. It also needs to be within the Dyle television network's coverage area. Dyle includes a convenient coverage map on its Web site, which also shows which channels are available in each area.
Never heard of the Dyle television network? This service retransmits existing television network programming as a digital signal for mobile devices. The MobileTV will receive programming only from Dyle, and is not able to pick up any other over-the-air broadcasts. Dyle promises to offer access to its network free of charge through 2013.
This means the MobileTV can only get the channels Dyle carries, which in the San Francisco Bay Area is limited to five. From our testing, that meant Fox affiliate KTVU, NBC affiliate KNTV, independent KICU, Telemundo affiliate KSTS, and Qubo affiliate KXPX. New York appears to be the biggest market with eight broadcasters, including MyTV, and three local independents.
Channel scanning
After a couple of setup screens, the IDTV app scanned for available channels. On our first test, performed within our sixth-floor office, it only came up with four of the five available. During a second test, outside in San Francisco, it found only four again, although a different set of channels. Although the IDTV app saves the channels it finds, it does not automatically rescan for channels every time you start it up or change location. You will have to run a manual scan to find available channels in different areas.

iPhone rumors are like flies at a summer picnic: they're nearly unstoppable. Collected in one batch are all the iPhone 5S/6 rumors CNET has reported so far, with some commentary on where these rumors came from.
We always have long wish lists for newer features and further redesigns, but the bottom line is this: nobody knows exactly what we'll get until Tim Cook reveals it on stage later this year.
That said, we've got plenty of educated guesses. With that caveat firmly in place:
Likely:
Odds are strong that the immediate successor to the iPhone 5 will debut in the summer to autumn time frame (June to October). The release will all but certainly coincide with the availability of iOS 7. Moreover, if it follows Apple's previous history, the new iPhone will have the same design but with tweaked innards, in the spirit of the iPhone 4S and 3GS.
Beyond those obvious notes, the areas that seem most ripe for updating on the "iPhone 5S" would be the resolution of the cameras. And now that there's a 128GB iPad, maybe there will finally be a 128GB iPhone option, too.
Unknown:
Everything else is pretty much a crapshoot. A bigger screen? CEO Tim Cook says no -- but saying one thing and doing the opposite would hardly be a first for Apple. Beyond a screen size change, though, Apple could also go with a different technology -- say, Igzo or OLED.
There are plenty of other unknowns, too. Will there be another iPhone that debuts before a fall model? Could the iPhone product line split into several differently sized models? Will an affordable "new" budget-line iPhone emerge? Will Apple finally add NFC to the iPhone, as part of a new mobile payments scheme? Anything could happen. Or not.
As more rumors emerge, they'll be added here.
The rumors thus far:
January 29, 2013
Low-cost iPhone will be like a plastic iPhone 5, claims site
The much-rumored budget iPhone will borrow many elements from the current model but use a plastic design, says iLounge. The site claims the budget phone will be something like a fusion of the iPhone 5 and fifth-gen iPod Touch.
January 27, 2013
Images of alleged next-gen iPhone components surface
A French blog posts images of what it says are speaker components for the next round of Apple smartphones, what it calls an iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. Blurry, close-up shots of speaker components don't tell much of a story, though.
January 25, 2013
iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini rumors afoot: Upgraded iPhone rear camera
According to another iLounge report, the iPhone 5S will feature a 13-megapixel rear camera from Sony.
January 22, 2013
Renderings tease what a 4.8-inch iPhone would look like
Continuing along the rumor that Apple is preparing an even larger-screened iPhone for 2014 (see below), Russian Apple news site Apple Digger created renderings of what such a device would look like. This is speculation on top of rumor.
January 22, 2013
Bigger iPhone still coming -- just not this year, report says
If you're holding out for a 5-inch iPhone, you might have to wait until 2014, a new report from DigiTimes (which must be taken with a whole shaker of salt) claims.
January 22, 2013
Rumor: 4.8-inch iPhone to debut in June
A Google translation from the Chinese language Commercial Times points to a larger-screened iPhone in time for the Worldewide Developers Conference. While it's a sketchy rumor, it seems reasonable that Apple will get serious about taking on smartphones like Samsung's 4.8-inch Galaxy S3.

We have been hearing
a lot of information about the new Samsung Galaxy S4 over the last few days, earlier today we heard that the Galaxy S4 would feature new display technology and now we have some details on a couple of new features that may be headed to Samsung’s Galaxy S4.
Samsung has filed for two new trademarks in Europe, both trademarks are for application software for smartphones, tablets and computers, they are called Eye Scroll and Eye Pause.

Samsung filed the trademark requests with the European Union just a few days ago on the 21st of January, and whilst there are no details with the filings on what these two new trademarks will actually do, their names give us a possible idea on what they will be used for.
If the Samsung Galaxy S4 does comes with these new features, then we suspect that it will use some sort of eye tracking technology , for example with Eye Pause, if you are watching a video, and your eyes move away from the display to look at something else the feature could possibly pause the video you were watching.
With regards to the Eye Scroll feature, this could be used when you are browsing a web page on your device, as your eyes scroll down the screen display, then the tracking technology could take you to the next part of the web page.
Of course these two functions have yet to be announced by Samsung, and there were no details with the patent filings, so these are just a guess at what these trademarks may cover.

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Intel is finally opening its wings and spreading its mobile influence to Africa, as Kenya's Safaricom has officially introduced the Yolo phone. The device, which will be the very first Intel-powered smartphone on the continent, will be priced at Kshs 10,999 ($126) and bundled with 500MB of data. The handset supports HSPA+ network connectivity and packs a Z2420 Atom processor that reaches speeds of up to 1.2GHz. If that CPU sounds familiar, it should, because it's the same "Lexington" chip that we sampled a few weeks back at CES. As for the rest of the Yolo's specs, you'll be looking at Android 4.0 on a 3.5-inch display and snapping pictures with a 5-megapixel shooter capable of recording 1080p HD video. Not looking to compete with top-shelf handsets, Safaricom hopes to catch the eye of frugal first-time buyers with this budget-friendly device. If you fit the bill, you may want to check out the Yolo as soon as possible -- after all, your phone only lives once.

Australian digital accessory designers
and manufacturers Cygnett have released a series of iPhone and iPod covers featuring designs from world-famous and iconic artists.  The ICON Art Series was inspired by Cygnett’s passion for creativity, art and design.
World-renowned Australian Aboriginal artist Ronnie Tjampitjimpa was one of three artists chosen for the ICON Art Series accessories. A fully-initiated Pintupi man, Tjampitjinpa is considered an innovator and one of the grand masters of the Central and Western Desert Art movement.