Google’s showing no signs of slowing its pace of Android development, with Android 4.0 appearing on the Galaxy Nexus late in 2011, followed in July of 2012 by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release that arrived powering the super Nexus 7.

But, forward-looking, update-obsessed people that we are, we can’t help but imagine how Google’s going to maintain the pace of innovation in its next version of its mobile OS, Android 5.0.

All we know so far is that Google’s working away on the K release of Android, which it’s developing under the dessert-related codename of Key Lime Pie. Regarding the version number, it’s likely that the Key Lime Pie moniker will be given to Android 5.0. We thought we might find out on 29 October 2012but as yet there is no official word from Google.

So now as we wait on official news of the Android 5.0 release date and features, we can start to pull together the Key Lime Pie rumours from around the web, with the first sighting of Android 5.0 on a benchmarking website, apparently running on a Sony smartphone. There has previously been speculation that Sony is in line to produce the next Nexus phone, which may lend some credence to this rumour.

Android 5.0 release date

Google has announced that its next developer conference – Google IO -will take place from May 15 to May 17 2013, a month earlier than 2012′s June dates. Given that Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at 2012′s IO conference, it’s not unreasonable to expect to see Android 5.0 at this year’s event.

On 31 January, a Google IO showing of Android 5.0 looked more likely when screengrabs of a Qualcomm roadmap were leaked, showing Android 5.0 as breaking cover between April and June 2013.

On 24 April 2013, we read that Key Lime Pie may not make its debut at Google IO after all. Apparently, “trusty internal sources” told a site called Gadgetronica (a site we hadn’t previously heard of) that Google has decided to delay Android 5.0 for two to four months to give hardware makers the chance to properly roll out Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

At the time, we said to take this rumour with a pinch of salt, as even if Google decides not to ship the finished build of Android 5.0 until later in the year, that doesn’t preclude the company from talking up the new OS at what is, after all, a developer-focused conference.

However, the notion of Key Lime Pie being off the menu at Google IO raised itself again on 26 April when Android 4.3 surfaced in server logs over at Android Police. Those log entries supposedly came from Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 devices running an updated version of Jelly Bean – Android 4.3 – and apparently the IP addresses of those devices trace back to Google HQ. So might that point to a delayed Android 5.0 arrival?

And on 13 May, we got our (almost certain) confirmation that there would be no serving of Key Lime Pie at Google IO from Sundar Pichai, Google’s new head of Android. Pichai told Wired that this year’s IO is “not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system”. Boo! “Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this IO on all the kinds of things we’re doing for developers so that they can write better things,” he added.

Android 5.0 phones

Rumours of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was speculation that this phone would be sporting Key Lime Pie, but sources who spoke to AndroidAndMe correctly claimed that the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4 would be running Android Jelly Bean.

While the Nexus 4 didn’t appear with a helping of Key Lime Pie,speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggests that theMotorola X Phone is the Android 5.0-toting handset that will be revealed at Google IO. According to a post on the DroidForums website, the phone will also feature a virtually bezel-free, edge-to-edge, 5-inch display.

The same leaked Qualcomm documents cited above also made mention of a two new Snapdragon devices, one of which will be, unsurprisingly, a new Nexus phone.

That Nexus phone is most likely the Google Nexus 5, though we’d be surprised to see it break cover at Google IO, given that the Nexus 4 only went on sale at the end of 2012.

On Monday 18 March, supposed images of the Nexus 5 surfaced, with the handset apparently being manufactured by LG. If the accompanying specs, leaked along with the photo by the anonymous source, are true, then the Nexus 5 will feature a 5.2-inch, 1920 x 1080 OLED display, 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 3GB of RAM.

While a sighting of the Nexus 5 at Google IO is unlikely, rumours that we wrote up on 19 April reckon that there will be an Android 5.0-powered Nexus 4 launched at the event. Apparently, the revised handset will also feature 4G capability and improved storage of 32GB.

Android 5.0 tablets

The original Nexus 7 tablet was unveiled at Google IO 2012, so it’s possible that we’ll see a refreshed Nexus 7 2 at Google IO 2013. The speculation is that Google will team up with Asus for this, as it did with the original Nexus 7. We expect an upgraded display on the new Nexus 7 tablet, while Digitimes is reporting that the 2nd generation Nexus 7 will have 3G service and and range in price from $149 to $199.

Samsung’s Android 5.0 upgrades

Although Samsung is yet to officially confirm its Android 5.0 schedule, a SamMobile source is claiming to know which phones and tablets will be getting the Key Lime Pie upgrade. According to the source, the devices set to receive the upgrade are the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2,Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1.

Android 5.0 features

For 24 hours, it seemed as though the first kinda, sorta confirmed feature for Android 5.0 was a Google Now widget, which briefly appeared in a screenshot on the company’s support forum before being taken down. As it was so hurriedly pulled, many people assumed it was slated for the big five-o and accidentally revealed early.

As it happened, the following day, on 13 February 2013, the Google Now widget rolled out to Jelly Bean.

On 28 February 2013, we learned from Android Central that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel, which gives rise to the notion that this kernel might make it into Android 5. One improvement that the 3.8 kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which would mean a snappier phone with better multitasking.

Android Geeks has reported that Google Babble will debut on Key Lime Pie. Babble is, apparently, Google’s in-development cross-platform service and app with the aim of unifying its various chat services which include Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger, Chat for Google Drive and Chat on Google+.

Android Geeks’ source also said that Google Babble will be supported by devices running Android 2.3 and above, which would make sense given that Google will want as many people as possible on the platform.

A screenshot that we were sent from a Google employee on 8 Aprilconfirms that not only is this unified chat service on the way, but that it is now called Google Babel not Babble. Babel will come with a bunch of new emoticons and Google+ built-in so you can jump from Babel chat to hangout. A leaked Google memo on 10 April provided a few more juicy details including talk of a new UI and synced conversations between mobile and desktop.

Following an 18 April tear-down of the Google Glass app MyGlass by Android Police, it now looks as though there may be an iOS Games Center-like service coming to Android 5.0.

Android Police found references in the code to functionality that doesn’t exist in Glass, which suggests that developers accidentally shipped the full suite of Google Play Services with the Android application package.

The files in the package contained references to real-time and turn-based multiplayer, in-game chat, achievements, leaderboards, invitations and game lobbies.

So it seems that Google Games (or whatever it ends up being called) is real, and we may find out more about it – and whether it will ship with Key Lime Pie – during the Google I/O conference. As Android Police points out “It being including in a shipping product suggests that it’s finished and freely floating around Google HQ.”

Android 5.0 interface

While this is pure speculation, we’re wondering whether Android 5.0 might bring with it a brighter interface, moving away from the Holo Dark themethat came with Android 4.0.

Google Now brought with it a clearer look with cleaner fonts, andscreenshots of Google Play 4.0 show Google’s app market taking on similar design cues. Is this a hint at a brighter, airier look for Key Lime Pie?

Our Android 5.0 wishlist

While we wait on more Key Lime Pie features to be revealed and scour the web for more Android 5.0 news, TechRadar writer Gary Cutlack has been thinking about what we want to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Hopefully the new mobile OS will feature some of these things…

1. Performance Profiles

It’s bit of a fuss managing your mobile before bed time. Switching off the sound, turning off data, activating airplane mode and so on, so what Android 5.0 really needs is a simple way of managing performance, and therefore power use, automatically.

We’ve been given a taste of this with Blocking Mode in Samsung’s Jelly Bean update on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 but we’d like to see the functionality expanded.

Something like a Gaming mode for max power delivery, an Overnight low-power state for slumbering on minimal power and maybe a Reading mode for no bothersome data connections and a super-low backlight.

Some hardware makers put their own little automated tools in, such as the excellent Smart Actions found within Motorola’s RAZR interface, but it’d be great to see Google give us a simple way to manage states.

Another little power strip style widget for phone performance profiles would be an easy way to do it.

2. Better multiple device support

Google already does quite a good job of supporting serious Android nerds who own several phones and tablets, but there are some holes in its coverage that are rather frustrating.

Take the Videos app which manages your film downloads through the Play Store. Start watching a film on one Android device and you’re limited to resuming your film session on that same unit, making it impossible to switch from phone to tablet mid-film.

You can switch between phone and web site players to resume watching, but surely Google ought to understand its fans often have a couple of phones and tabs on the go and fix this for Android Key Lime Pie?

3. Enhanced social network support

Android doesn’t really do much for social network users out of the box, with most of the fancy social widgets and features coming from the hardware makers through their own custom skins.

Sony integrates Facebook brilliantly in its phones, and even LG makes a great social network aggregator widget that incorporates Facebook and Twitter – so why are there no cool aggregator apps as part of the standard Android setup?

Yes, Google does a great job of pushing Google+, but, no offence, there are many other more widely used networks that ought to be a little better “baked in” to Android.

4. Line-drawing keyboard options

Another area where the manufacturers have taken a big leap ahead of Google is in integrating clever alternate text entry options in their keyboards. HTC and Sony both offer their own takes on the Swype style of line-drawing text input, which is a nice option to have for getting your words onto a telephone. Get it into Android 5.0 and give us the choice.

UPDATE: Google heard us and this feature appeared in Android 4.2.

5. A video chat app

How odd is it that Google’s put a front-facing camera on the Nexus 7 and most hardware manufacturers do the same on their phones and tablets, yet most ship without any form of common video chat app?

You have to download Skype and hope it works, or find some other downloadable app solution. Why isn’t there a Google Live See My Face Chat app of some sort as part of Android? Is it because we’re too ugly? Is that what you’re saying, Google?

6. Multi-select in the contacts

The Android contacts section is pretty useful, but it could be managed a little better. What if you have the idea of emailing or texting a handful of your friends? The way that’s currently done is by emailing one, then adding the rest individually. Some sort of checkbox system that let users scroll through names and create a mailing list on the fly through the contacts listing in Android Key Lime Pie would make this much easier.

7. Cross-device SMS sync

If you’re a constant SIM swapper with more than one phone on the go, chances are you’ve lost track of your text messages at some point. Google stores these on the phone rather than the SIM card, so it’d be nice if our texts could be either backed up to the SIM, the SD card, or beamed up to the magical invisible cloud of data, for easy and consistent access across multiple devices.

8. A “Never Update” option

This would annoy developers so is unlikely to happen, but it’d be nice if we could refuse app updates permanently in Android 5.0, just in case we’d rather stick with a current version of a tool than be forced to upgrade.

Sure, you can set apps to manual update and then just ignore the update prompt forever, but it’d be nice to know we can keep a favoured version of an app without accidentally updating it. Some of us are still using the beta Times app, for example, which has given free access for a year.

9. App preview/freebie codes

Something Apple’s been doing for ages and ages is using a promo code system to distribute free or review versions of apps. It even makes doing little competitions to drum up publicity for apps much easier, so why’s there no similar scheme for Android?

It might encourage developers to stop going down the ad-covered/freemium route if they could charge for an app but still give it away to friends and fans through a promo code system.

10. Final whinges and requests…

It’s be nice to be able to sort the Settings screen by alphabetical order, too, or by most commonly used or personal preference, as Android’s so packed with a huge list of options these days it’s a big old list to scroll through and pick out what you need.

Plus could we have a percentage count for the battery in the Notifications bar for Android 5.0? Just so we know a bit more info than the vague emptying battery icon.

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-5-0-key-lime-pie-release-date-news-and-rumours-1091500

The newly released Wii-U has received a second price cut in as many months. With it’s initial release six months ago of £299 has now dropped a further £50 to £199 at local supermarket ASDA. There cut the price of each model by £50 in March. Other retailers quickly followed suit, slashing the price of the struggling games console.

What do 9-11, Tsunami and Katrina have in common? These are all disasters, tragic events where people die, lose their loved ones, or everything they have. In times like these, good people pull together to help the survivors in any way they can, including online donations. Scammers set up fake charity websites and steal the money donated to the victims of disasters.

If your request for donation came via email, there is a chance of it being a phishing attempt. Do not click on the link in the email and volunteer your bank account or credit card information.

Your best bet is to contact the recognized charitable organization directly by phone or their website.

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/scamsandidentitytheft/ss/top10inetscams_7.htm

There is another ‘world’s fastest single GPU’ recently made available to buy, Nvidia’s Titan.

The GK110 chip which the Titan is based on was released in May 2012 specifically designed for supercomputers. Unfortunately, this puts the Titan at a distinct disadvantage before we even start looking at any of the impressive specifications Nvidia have managed to cram into a single consumer card.

The GK110 chip contains a massive 7 billion transistors, double the amount of the previous title holder, the GTX 680, yet only delivers approximately a 50% performance increase over the lower valued card. This must mean that some of the extra 3.5 billion transistors are simply not designed for gaming situations, more for high level number crunching.

At a cost of around £800 or $1000, the Titan has been marketed at either the extreme system builder or those who simply want the best and aren’t too bothered about the cost.

Performance figures and statistics are the most popular choice of comparing graphics cards and systems, and the Titan is no exception.

As you can see, the Titan storms ahead in just pure numbers, but numbers aren’t all the story. Another important point for most is performance per pound or bang for buck, and in comparison to the 680 wouldn’t be touched with a bargepole. At twice the price yet only a 50% performance boost, we would only recommend this sort of purchase for a plaything for ultra-hardcore gamers or the greatly wealthy.

Nvidia is marketing the Titan as a luxury product, and the styling definitely mirrors this. With the exterior made of premium grade caste aluminium and a clear polycarbonate viewing window for the nickel-plated heatsink fins and a fantastic green-illuminated ‘GEFORCE GTX’ logo on the upper edge of the card, making it perfect for windowed cases. The fan itself has an ‘Iron Man’ look about it with the homepage showing the card suspended above something similar looking to the Arc Reactor.

Nvidia state that “GTX TITAN’s innovative vapour chamber technology uses water to transfer heat away through the process of evaporation. An extended fin-stack allows maximum area to transfer heat out of the system and keep it running cool. Together, they give you extreme gaming performance without extreme temperatures.

Its streamlined airflow design keeps GTX TITAN whisper-quiet for a more immersive gaming experience. The fan’s precise control software also minimizes disruptions by gradually increasing its speed. With acoustics like this, you’re always in stealth mode.” Something being said about almost every card, and only time will tell if these claims turn out to be true or fabricated. We have seen before that manufacturers have such big claims that can only be met under the strictest of circumstances and under such abnormal conditions that any end-user is highly unlikely to see comparable results.

On the whole, the Titan shows great signs of technology increase, however given the fact it is double the price of a GTX 680 and only gives 50% of an increase gives it a worrying undertone that advancements are starting to slowdown and aren’t as driven as they once were. We hope that tis is not the case and the Titan was just a stepping stone to further greatness

These scams are most active during the summer months. You receive an email with the offer to get amazingly low fares to some exotic destination but you must book it today or the offer expires that evening. If you call, you’ll find out the travel is free but the hotel rates are highly overpriced.

Some can offer you rock-bottom prices but hide certain high fees until you “sign on the dotted line”. Others, in order to give you the “free” something, will make you sit through a timeshare pitch at the destination. Still others can just take your money and deliver nothing.

Also, getting your refund, should you decide to cancel, is usually a lost cause, often called a nightmare or mission-impossible.

Your best strategy is to book your trip in person, through a reputable travel agency or proven legitimate online service like Travelocity or Expedia.

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/scamsandidentitytheft/ss/top10inetscams.htm

South Korea will be the first to get their hands on LG’s new 55 inch curved OLED TV.
LG Electronics says it will begin deliveries of curved OLED television sets next month, making it the first to offer such a product to the public. The use of organic light-emitting diodes allows screens to be made thinner and more flexible than before. The 55in (140cm) model will cost 15m won ($13,550; £8,725) and is initially limited to sales in South Korea. One analyst said that being first to market gave LG “bragging rights”, but suggested demand would be limited. LG Electronics and its rival Samsung Electronics both showed off curved OLED TV prototypes at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, but did not announce release dates at the time. The two businesses are part of larger conglomerates that have separate divisions manufacturing their own television display panels. Many of their competitors buy in the components from third parties, making it harder for them to claim such an exclusive.

‘Imax experience’

OLED or organic light emitting diode technology is based on carbon-based materials that convert electricity into light.

While LCD screens need a backlight to illuminate their crystals, OLED does not need a separate light source. This allows the newer type of TVs to be made thinner, lighter and more energy-efficient than other technologies, as well as offering the advantage of deeper blacks, something well sought after in the TV market. In addition, the OLEDs can be fabricated onto a flexible plastic substrate rather than a rigid glass layer, making it easier to manufacture them into a curved screen. This has allowed LG to market the new EA9800 model as being only 4.3mm (0.17in) thick, weighing 17kg (37.5lb) and offering an “Imax-cinema-like” viewing experience.

“With more than five years research behind developing the optimum curvature, the entire screen surface is equidistant from the viewer’s eyes, eliminating the problem of screen-edge visual distortion and loss of detail,” the company said in a press release.

Marketing tool

IHS Screen Digest, a market research firm used by television manufacturers, said it expected Samsung to follow with a similar product soon, although it noted that teething troubles with making large OLED TVs was likely to keep their prices high and output low in the near future. The firm’s senior analyst Ed Border added that, in the short term, curved TVs were likely to be more valuable as a promotional tool rather than a profit-making product to their makers. ”There’s certain content which is great to see in different ways, but for a lot of what’s on TV seeing it curved is not necessarily going to improve the experience that much,” he said. ”But I think being curved is a good way of pushing the OLED technology to consumers and acting as a marketing tool. ”Looking forward, I think there will still be room for flatscreen TVs, especially if you are thinking of hanging an OLED screen on the wall or just want to buy a cheaper LCD set.” LG said it was now accepting orders for the curved TV set in South Korea, and would announce the timing and pricing of versions for markets elsewhere “in the months ahead”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22335776

A classic pyramid scheme: you get an email with a list of names, you are asked to send 5 dollars (or so) by mail to the person whose name is at the top of the list, add your own name to the bottom, and forward the updated list to a number of other people.

The author of this scam letter painstakingly explains that, if more and more people join this chain, when it’s your turn to receive the money, you might even become a millionaire!

Bear in mind that, most times, the list of names is manipulated to keep the top name (the creator of the scam, or his friends) on top, permanently.

As with the previously circulating snail-mail version of this chain, the email edition is just as illegal. Should you choose to participate, you risk being charged with fraud – definitely not something you want on your record, or resume.

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/scamsandidentitytheft/ss/top10inetscams.htm

You can now get Microsoft’s latest and greatest on a charming little phone, the Nokia Lumia 620 with a 3.8-inch screen that costs just £150.

The good;

Cheap phones need cheap materials – but Nokia’s managed to use them to its advantage and the robust Nokia Lumia 620 is a great piece of hardware. It’s not especially thin, so Nokia gave it a curved shape with a flat top that disguises this. It’s made of plastic, so you get a range of different coloured shells to snap on. You can tell Nokia’s put some serious thought into the Lumia 620’s design, from the positioning of the power button to the fact that the changeable covers have the headphone jack built into them so it won’t break when you switch. And though the 3.8-inch screen is small, it’s sharp, easy to use one handed, and seems to take up most of the front face because it’s placed so close to the top edge. The Nokia Lumia 620, which runs Windows Phone 8, can do almost anything its bigger brothers, the 820 and 920 can – including video chat via a front facing camera.

The bad;

when the price is this low, the camera’s not great. The mediocre five megapixel camera on the back is far from the PureView sensor on the top of the line Nokia Lumia 920. But you expected that, right? There’s also the issue of apps for Windows Phone 8. While many services are covered in one form or another these days, Windows Phone isn’t a top priority for many developers – and updates aren’t frequent. It’s not a platform that can do everything, where iOS and Android can be. But If you’re paying this little – and you can bet the cost will fall even further – your options are limited. iPhones don’t come cheap, so that leaves Android – and all those £50 Google phones are garbage, By contrast, the Windows Phone is a breath of fresh air. On the dual-core 1GHz processor, the Windows Phone never ever stalls, and Microsoft’ proved extremely good at delivering software updates so you can bet the Lumia 620 will stay on the cutting edge for a while.

the bottom line;

Put simply, this is the best budget smartphone. this is simply the best option if you want apps without breaking the bank – by a very, very long way.

The Nokia Lumia 620 is available to buy now on Three

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadgets/phones/nokia-lumia-620

The 4 pics 1 word app has been taking Facebook and Twitter feeds by storm recently as users constantly upload photos of questions they are stuck on.

In each level, four pictures are displayed and they all have something in common, the aim of the game is to guess what it is that they have in common by using the letter tiles provided to guess the word, like a mix of Scrabble and Pictionary. The puzzles are randomised to stop cheaters, but only slightly, as they come up in basically the same order. Some levels are ridiculously easy, like the one shown, but some can have you stumped for a long time.

The first few levels are easy to get you sucked into the game but they progressively get more difficult, but as help, there is the little green bomb icon, which offers help, in the form

of removing some wrong letter tiles, or revealing a letter in the word, but these cost coins, coins which you gain through completing questions and also the Facebook button, which will share the level to your friends for an answer.

The app isn’t social, so you cant partner up with friends and you cant link your progress to anywhere else you download it.

It’s very easy to get addicted to 4 pics 1 word, but it doesn’t hold your interest when you get stuck on the hard parts, you either need to annoy your friends with updates or pay to progress, and since there is no way to skip or get a new puzzle, it probably wont be a favourite app for long.

By James Whitfield

Yes, the Phonepad. Not to be confused with the Asus Fonepad , relative unknown EICUS has got a brand new gizmo for you Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3 owners that will transform your phone into a whopping 10.1-inch tablet with the help of a clever dock. Who needs an iPad?

Merging the two worlds of phones and tablets, the Phonepad lets you control your S2 or S3 as if it’s a tablet by simply docking it. Pop it in and voilà, your phone’s screen is mirrored on the larger 10-inch display turning into a makeshift tablet/netbook.

There’s no need for any extra data plans as you can use your phone’s data connection to get your internet fix, all on a larger screen. The display can be swivelled around so you can share what’s on screen with friends, or you can angle it so you can get your gaming on with the bundled PlayStation-style controller.

When your phone is docked in the Phonepad, it can also charge it up if you’re running low on juice and the Phonepad itself can run for eight-hours. The Phonepad comes in two different flavours, one for the Galaxy S2 and one for the Galaxy S3, but both are priced at £149.99 and will hit shops in July.

Reckon this is a must-have accessory for your Galaxy phone, or are you holding out for a real tablet? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/gadget-news/phonepad-turn-your-samsung-smartphone-into-a-tablet-and-console