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Processor wars are still on if you are not aware and each of the two major manufacturers is trying to outdo the other in market-share. In your own opinion which processor family have the best products in terms of quality, robustness, power. stability durability and price

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is currently the top, big name Galaxy S device on the market but it won’t be forever. In fact, rumors have already started to reveal its successor, a device that is currently being dubbed the Samsung Galaxy S5. And while much of the device remains firmly in the shadows, there are still some reasons why buyers might want to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S5 to arrive. In April, Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy S4, its latest and greatest Galaxy S smartphone and a device that replaced the Galaxy S3 on shelves. For months, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has reigned as not only one of the top Samsung smartphones but also one of the top overall smartphones on the market. And it will remain a top device into 2014 thanks to its hardware, its powerful software, Samsung’s software support, and a declining price tag. The Samsung Galaxy S4′s reign as Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S smartphone will come to an end though and already, we’re seeing rumors that suggest that another big time release is on the way. For weeks now, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been rumored and we’ve seen everything from its display, to its processor, to its release date, to the amount of RAM on board seep to the surface, teasing holiday smartphone shoppers. And many shoppers have likely started to wonder the same thing: “Should I wait for the Samsung Galaxy S5?” Every situation is going to be different but there are some reasons why many consumers will want to think about waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S5, rather than buying a brand new smartphone right now or in the early goings of 2014. Here, we take a look at five reasons why waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S5 is going to be a smart idea, for some. Galaxy S5 Release in Four Months Deciding whether the wait for a smartphone or not is easily one of the hardest decisions that a smartphone buyer will come across during the process of moving to another smartphone. That’s because companies have shifted into a policy of releasing one or two hero handsets per year, leaving consumers with a wide gap between releases. Fortunately, shoppers aren’t going to have to wait all that long for a Galaxy S5 release. Rumors currently point to a launch within the first three months of the year, be it January, February or March. Release date rumors point to a release either in the first quarter of the year or by the end of April. We’ve heard about this time frame, time and time again, and thus, we have reason to believe that it’s going to be accurate. Samsung is likely going to be dealing with a large screen iPhone next year in the iPhone 6 so getting its flagship out sooner rather than later makes a lot of sense. What this means is that buyers probably have a three to four month wait for the Samsung Galaxy S5, which, when it comes to smartphones, isn’t all that long. Those waiting for the iPhone 6 or the Nexus 6 are in for a much longer wait. With rumors pointing to a number of big time upgrades, upgrades that will likely be worth the wait, users that can wait will probably want to wait a few months for the Galaxy S5 to arrive. If at that point the device isn’t impressive, there will not only be a ton of cheap options from 2013 but there should be some Galaxy S5 rivals available as well. Longer & Better Support If the relatively short wait isn’t convincing enough, consider this. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is about to turn a year old. That means that it’s almost used up a year of software support, a year that will have seen Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and quite possibly, Android 4.4 KitKat as well. Android 4.4 KitKat is rumored for the early part of the year. And while it likely has a little bit left in the tank, devices are typically supported for 18 months or so, the Galaxy S5, a device that will likely be coming in just a few months, will feature lengthier support. This is something that buyers will need to consider, particularly those that like to get a ton of mileage out of their smartphone. The Galaxy S5 will more than likely get support for a year longer than a device like the Galaxy S4. It will also likely get longer support than devices like the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S3, and a vast majority of the Android smartphones on the market. Software support is one of the most important things to consider when buying a smartphone, especially since hardware is so blurred these days. So keep that in mind while looking into the Galaxy S5 and the smartphones that are already out on shelves. If longevity isn’t sounding appetizing, consider the speed at which the Galaxy S5 will get updated. Samsung always puts its newer flagships at the front of the list when it comes to new updates while older devices typically are weeks, if not months behind. Those looking for speedy updates should consider waiting for the Galaxy S5 as it will get updated much faster than any of Samsung’s other devices. Latest Software Speaking of software, another perk of waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S5 is that buyers are going to get a device that is outfitted with the latest software. That means the latest software from Google, as in Android 4.4 KitKat, and the latest software from Samsung, as in the latest features for its TouchWiz user interface. Those who buy into an older smartphone like the Galaxy S4 or the Galaxy S3, will have to wait for Android 4.4 KitKat to arrive. And we’ve pointed out numerous times, this can be an agonizing process. Furthermore, neither one of those devices will get the full feature set from Samsung’s updated version of TouchWiz that will surely arrive on board the Galaxy S5. We still aren’t sure what will be on board the Galaxy S5, software-wise, but Samsung always outfits its flagships with unique software. Some of those features will trickle down to its older devices, but not all. The Galaxy S5, unlike Samsung’s older devices, will also stand to get the most improvements from future Galaxy devices, devices like the Galaxy Note 4. The updates for devices like the Galaxy S4 won’t be as substantial. Better Hardware Another reason that buyers might want to consider waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S5 are the numerous hardware upgrades that will almost certainly be on board the device when it arrives. Rumors are flying around, suggesting some big time upgrades, but we don’t need rumors to know where Samsung will be making some tweaks. Year-after-year, Samsung outfits its devices with a new, more powerful processor. The Galaxy S5 is almost certainly going to be coming with a 64-bit processor, which will not only put it on par with the iPhone 5s, but it will lead to better performance overall. We will likely see the company put at least 3GB of RAM in there as well, something that will greatly boost performance over a device like the Galaxy S4. Rumors suggest that a 16MP camera will be on board. That’s not confirmed but it does make sense. Samsung can no longer get away with putting the same camera sensor on its flagship phones. Not with its competitors upgrading every year, not when the Galaxy S4 camera isn’t the gold standard. Expect Samsung to tweak the camera so that it’s an improvement over the Galaxy S4′s, Galaxy S3′s and even the Galaxy Note 3′s. We don’t expect the processor, the amount of RAM and the processor to be the only upgrades that Samsung bestows upon the Galaxy S5 either. The important thing here is that the Galaxy S5 will more than likely be one of Samsung’s most powerful devices yet. And that’s huge for people that love to multitask, play games and get a full day of use out of their device. Design Improvements Finally, the last reason to consider waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S5. For years, Samsung enthusiasts have been campaigning for a premium design, one that competes with the likes of the HTC One series and the iPhone. People are tired of plastic. While we’ve heard rumors about a metal Galaxy S smartphone before, we haven’t seen them emerge in the frequency that we’ve seen them emerge for the Galaxy S5. For weeks now, there have been rumors suggesting that there will be at least one version of the Galaxy S5 that comes with a premium build. Perhaps, it will be made of metal. The Galaxy Note 3 uses LDS antenna tech to help slim down the overall phone. The Galaxy S5 back may look similar. Even if that doesn’t pan out, Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones always feature design improvements over the previous versions of the device. One rumor suggests that the Galaxy S5 could be up to .5mm thinner than the Galaxy S4. Samsung always tries to improve its designs and we expect not different from the Galaxy S5 and that means that those who are interested in something new, fresh and potentially metal, will want to think about waiting. So again, every situation is going to be different, but for those looking for reasons to wait, those are something to think about.

By Craig Lloyd | 01/01/2014 The iPhone 5s has only been out for a few months, but talk about the next model is already kicking in high gear as we make our way into 2014. We have no idea what Apple has in store for the next-generation iPhone, but leaks, rumors and concepts are already being thrown around. Unfortunately, it’s a little too early for production leaks to show up, so there aren’t any spy photos of the hardware of the so-called iPhone 6, but from what we’ve been hearing from the grapevine, we have an idea of what the next iPhone might look like and what kind of features it could potentially pack when it inevitably launches at some point in 2014. Hardware SpecsIt’s rumored that the iPhone 6 will sport a larger display, most likely around 4.8-inch display (or as large as 6 inches) in order to become more relevant in the smartphone market, where 4.8-inch handsets are pretty much the norm at this point. Of course, the current 4-inch display on the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 aren’t any less relevant by any means, but Apple might be feeling the need to up the screen size in order to compete more with Android handsets. Then again, Apple has never felt any pressure to play “catch up” with other phone manufacturers. Plus, the reports suggest that Apple is merely just testing bigger displays, which doesn’t really mean a whole lot, since companies test all sorts of things that never make it to production. Rumors are also pointing to a curved display on the next iPhone, with the screen possibly wrapping around the edges, but this seems a bit too far-fetched at this point. We don’t see the use for a screen that wraps around edges per se, but a curved display (similar to past Nexus devices) could be in the cards. As for CPU, RAM, GPU, etc., there aren’t many details about that yet, but it’s pretty much guaranteed that we’ll see improved performance across the board. Currently, the iPhone 5s sports an A7 dual-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz with 1GB of RAM. It’s possible we could see a quad-core processor make its way into the iPhone for the first time with double the RAM to go with it. But if there’s one thing we know about the iPhone and iOS, it’s that the two work together so well that the phone can be blazing fast without much performance power compared to some flagship Android devices. With that said, we’ll most likely see improvements to the CPU, but it may not match the Nexus 5′s Qualcomm 800 2.3GHz quad-core processor if you’re looking at numbers. DesignThe design of the iPhone 6 is so up-in-the-air that there aren’t any reliable renders to go off of yet, and as mentioned earlier, it’s a bit early for production spy shots to make their way into the ether, so we can’t get a good idea of what the design of the iPhone 6 will be. However, seeing as how this is an all-new generation after the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6 will most likely include a brand new design, considering that the iPhone is up for a new design anyway. The handset saw new designs with the iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, while the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4s and iPhone 5s were incremental updates that were pretty minor. We’ve already seen a lot of nifty concept art pieces of the iPhone 6, some of which we would love to be the real design of the next iPhone, but it’s most likely that none of the concepts we see will be very accurate, so at this point, we’re only left to dream. FeaturesWhen we think about what features could come with the iPhone 6, the first thing that comes to mind is gestures, and that’s because Apple recently bought PrimeSense, which was the company that developed the original Kinect technology for the Xbox 360. We’re not sure exactly what to expect from this, but it’s possible that we could see hover gestures make its way to the new iPhone, similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S series. The iPhone 6 also might be when we finally see NFC included with the iPhone for the first time. The number of Android devices with NFC has exponentially grown over the last few years and the growth isn’t slowing down, either, as uses for NFC continue to grow. However, the iPhone has been one big device that hasn’t adopted NFC yet, and it’s not said whether or not Apple will put it in the iPhone 6. However, patents from Apple have referred to the possibility of an iWallet digital payment system that could take advantage of NFC. Of course, plenty of patents never see the light of day, but considering how mobile payments and NFC have taken off, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple get in on the action. Wireless charging is another feature that we could see in the iPhone 6, with reports and that the next Apple handset might include it, thanks to some patents that Apple has filed. Wireless charging is still a fairly new innovation, and not many devices come with it by default. But that number is continually growing and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the iPhone gain wireless charging this time around. Release DateWe’ve heard reports that the iPhone 6 could release as early as June, but if the past three years are any indication, it’s most likely that the next iPhone will launch at some point in the fall of 2014. Past iPhones have indeed been released in June, including the very first iPhone back in 2007, but Apple hasn’t used that release cycle for three years now. Of course, there’s always the chance that the company could go back to a June release schedule, but it seems a fall release is doing well, considering that it’s the precursor to the holiday shopping season. PriceDon’t expect the iPhone 6 to cost any less than what the iPhone currently costs. The current handset is priced at $199 on-contract for the 16GB model and it goes up $100 for double the storage tier. Off contract, you can get it starting at $650. We expect the iPhone 6 to cost the same when it launches later in 2014, unless Apple adds some extraordinary feature to the iPhone that will force the company to raise the cost just a bit to, say, $249 — similar to how the Retina-equipped iPad mini costs $70 more than what the first-gen iPad mini was priced at.

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Metal body design? Nope. Eye-wateringly crisp 2K+ display? Nuh-uh. Overhauled Android interface? Only a little. After all the rumors and hype, the Samsung Galaxy S5 revealed with much fanfare at Mobile World Congress on Monday is more an iteration on the Galaxy S line than the fresh, whiz-bang package we'd all come to hope for and even expect. Yes, it has a fingerprint scanner, and a heart rate sensor, too, not to mention Android 4.4 KitKat and a roster of muscular specs. From what I've seen, the Galaxy S5 shapes up to be an excellent device that will keep Samsung at or near the top of the smartphone heap. Yet the been-there, done-that design isn't novel enough to trample rivals the way Samsung might hope. Samsung still has a ways to go to re-inspire jaded followers and fans. And those who value luxury materials and crafted designs over Samsung's stamped-out phones should keep the door open for Apple's iPhone 6 and HTC's forthcoming sequel to the beautiful HTC One. Design: More of the same In designing the Galaxy S5, Samsung didn't go very far for inspiration. In fact, the Galaxy S5's body looks even more like the Galaxy S4 than the GS4 looked like the GS3. It has rounded edges, the same steep sides with shiny and ridged silvery trim, and a slightly more rounded central home button shape to the S4's more rectangular outline. The back panel motif is different, I'll give Samsung that. Tiny dimples cover the rear, and in addition to white and black (oh excuse me, Charcoal Black and Shimmery White), the GS5 will also launch in enticing copper and bright blue. Not every market or carrier will sell each shade, but at least Samsung has decided to expand its color palette to some more lively hues. At the end of the day, the phone still feels like it always has: plastic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if Samsung is at all striving for loftier ambitions, it hasn't reached those heights. Samsung has also slightly redesigned the Micro-USB housing on the bottom of the phone; it now has a cover. Up top the IR blaster makes its triumphant return, and on the back, the heart rate monitor cleverly integrates with the camera's LED flash. Samsung will initially launch the Galaxy S5 in four colors. (Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET) The GS5 is only a fraction larger than the Galaxy S4 -- 5.1 inches versus the GS4's 5-inch display. This new phone, too, has a 1080p HD AMOLED display, so the screen's pixel density will be just a breath looser, though you'll never notice the difference. The Galaxy S5 measures 142mm by 72.5mm by 8.1mm -- or 5.59 inches tall by 2.85 inches wide by 0.32-inch deep -- and weighs 145 grams, or 5.1 ounces. It's taller and heavier than the Galaxy S4 as a result of its extra hardware. Break out the supersoakers, kids. Feedback about the waterproof Galaxy S4 Active prompted Samsung to make the Galaxy S5 waterproof and dust-proof in alliance with military spec IP67, which means that it can take a bath for up to 30 minutes at about 3 feet down. TouchWiz gets a facelift We'd heard rumors that Samsung was overhauling the TouchWiz interface that rides over Android, something I've been wanting for a long time now. While the changes aren't sweeping, there are some tweaks that freshen up the look and feel, and it's the one area that gets a complete visual redo. Samsung reskinned a few menus, like this Setting menu, for the Galaxy S5. (Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET) Of course, you'll want to know that the GS5 runs Android 4.4 KitKat and has all the same functions as Android's OS. It also carries over Galaxy S4 elements like the expandable quick access settings in the notification tray. What is different is mostly subtle, like a Google services folder loaded onto the home screen of the demo unit I saw, and new icons in the notifications panel, including new quick access buttons for Quick Connect and S Finder. Likewise, the homepage overview you see when pinching in on a home screen now appears as panels, not a grid. You still swipe right in the app tray for your list of programs and widgets. Any rumors of Samsung cutting back on its own apps have been greatly exaggerated, at least in this phone. Exploring the Galaxy S5's features Samsung Hub looks like it has changed names to Samsung apps, as has WatchOn to SmartRemote; my demo unit still has S Health, S Voice, S Planner, S Note, and the Knox security app. One area was drastically altered: the Settings Menu. Instead of settings broken out into four tabs, you see a vertically scrolling menu of round icons that float over a black backdrop, organized by collapsible sub-categories. It's the boldest new design, but I find the infinitely scrolling list a lot more space-consuming and visually confusing than the GS4's tidy tabs. Another new area is a Kid's Mode, which creates a sandbox for tykes to play with approved apps while keeping the rest of the phone's contents out of bounds. Core components Samsung has blessed its GS5 with top-of-the-line specs befitting a flagship device. There's the 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 chipset for a start, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera (up from 13 megapixels), and a 2-megapixel sensor on the front. A 2,800mAh battery may not be the largest in all of smartphonedom, but it's a little larger than the Galaxy S4's 2,600mAh ticker. Then again, the new phone is a bit bigger, too. Samsung says that its Ultra Power Saving Mode will double battery life when you're running low. It also promises 21 hours of talk time and over 16 days of standby time on a single charge. As in past years, there are 16GB and 32GB storage options, with an SD card that supports up to 128GB. Other incidentals include 2GB RAM, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB 3, Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy, and support for the fifth-generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard for faster Wi-Fi delivery. In fact, Samsung says that its Galaxy S5 will combine Wi-Fi and LTE to download items even faster, theoretically up to 600-650Mbps. (They're calling this marvel Download Booster.) Fingerprint and heart rate scanners Following in the footsteps of Apple, HTC, and Motorola (the way distant footsteps), the Samsung Galaxy S5 has its own fingerprint scanner for unlocking privileges and mobile payments. The scanner integrates into the screen above the home button, so that you swipe your finger down half over the bottom portion of the display and home button. You can add profiles for three fingerprints, and you get a backup password in case the identification fails. The fingerprint reader scans your finger eight times before crystallizing your profile. I locked and unlocked the phone at least a dozen times. It worked well most of the time, but didn't read my finger in every case. You do need to keep your finger centered on the screen, which would make thumb swiping more of a challenge. I didn't see it set up on a phone, but this partnership with PayPal means that Galaxy S5 owners will be able to authenticate transactions with the brief press of a finger after signing onto PayPal's program. Fitness fiends get a friend in the heart-rate monitor that's part and parcel with the camera flash. You hold your finger over it to take your pulse; the area glows red when activated when you launch it from the S Health 3.0 app. As a reminder, S Health also gives you a pedometer, fitness coach, and exercise tracker. You wouldn't know it, but there's a heart rate monitor built into that camera flash. (Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET) Camera and video Samsung's cameras are typically very good, especially for outdoor shots. What hasn't typically been so great is low light. Samsung didn't address that in the briefing we got here at MWC, but the company did tout a whole mess of new fun performance boosts and software trinkets. The one I care about most is the lickety-split autofocus, just 0.3 second, which Samsung cites as being three times faster than autofocus on the Galaxy S4. This is due to the addition of what Samsung calls Phase Detection autofocus, a feature usually found in DSLR cameras making its first appearance in a smartphone. That means you'll have a higher success rate capturing the moment with squirmy dogs and kids. A new on-screen control comes to the camera app, and it's a pretty good one. Tap it and you're turning on real-time HDR, so you can preview the results before committing. It works for stills, video, and even burst mode pictures, thanks to an extra chip within. Samsung also notes that the GS5 uses a more sophisticated HDR technology that makes images look even better. Selective focus is a post-editing trick that Samsung gives you, and on that you may find familiar if you've seen the Lytro and the Nokia Lumia 1020. With it, you'll set the area of focus after you take a photo, say for a shallow or long depth of field. There's also a new tool called Virtual Tour, which cobbles together a 360-degree view. It isn't clear yet how this might differ from Google's Photo Sphere. It looks like Samsung took a hint from Windows Phone OS with this last highlight, the ability to download other modes to and through the native camera app. When can I get it and how much does it cost? Samsung will sell the Galaxy S5 on April 11 in over 150 countries. In the US, it will come to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular. You'll also be able to pick it up at retail stores like Best Buy, Amazon, Costco, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Target, and Walmart. We are still waiting on pricing details, which carriers and retailers will release on their own. How does it stack up? It may not be the most exciting new smartphone there is, but from what I've seen so far, the Galaxy S5 earns keeps Samsung's legacy of high-end Samsung smartphones strong. The specs are high end, and enough has changed on the hardware and software fronts to seem worthy of an upgrade when your contract runs its course. However, those tiring of Samsung design sameness and looking for a radical new look and feel don't have as many reasons to stay if they aren't moved by the phone's fingerprint scanner or heart monitor. Samsung, perhaps a victim of its own hype machine, opens the door for phone buyers to hold off making plans until HTC announces its One 2. We'll keep you posted with what else we learn about the Galaxy S5. In the meantime, catch all the mobile news from Mobile World Congress 2014.

(Credit: Vivo) With all this talk of the Samsung Galaxy S5's rumored 2K HD display, it's easy to forget that a lesser-known Chinese device-maker paved the way first. The Vivo Xplay 3S was, in fact, the first 2,560x1,440-pixel smartphone. Introduced in China in late December 2013, it houses a 6-inch LCD 2K HD display with a whopping 490-pixel density that's sure to become the norm for large, high-end phones in the near future. The Vivo Xplay 3S has a 2K screen The upmarket handset also features an Android 4.3 OS, a fingerprint scanner on the back panel, and a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. Its 5-megapixel front-facing camera complements the 13-megapixel shooter in the rear, and Vivo has added a layer to its camera app to give its front-facing shooter a few more onscreen controls than you ordinarily see. A unibody device, the Xplay 3S comes with 32GB of onboard storage and a 3,200mAh battery. It'll work with GSM voice technology (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), UMTS (850/1900/2100MHz), and various types of LTE: (1800/band 3; 2600/band 7; 1900/band 39; 2300/band 40; and 2600/band 38 MHz). These specs are going to start sounding very familiar as 2014 goes on. Expect to also see smartphones with flexible displays, like the LG G Flex, and with 64-bit computing, as seen on the iPhone 5S.

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Microsoft has confirmed reports of a recently active attack that surreptitiously installed malware on computers running a fully patched version 10 of the Internet Explorer browser. The attacks also work on IE 9, the company warned The zero-day exploit was served on vfw[.]org, the official website for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, according to a blog post published Thursday afternoon by security firm FireEye. The people behind the attack compromised the VFW website and then embedded an iframe tag that silently loaded a page on another site that hosted the exploit. While FireEye researchers didn't identify the second site, Aviv Raff, chief technology officer of Israel-based security firm Seculert, said it was aliststatus[.]com. He provided the screenshot above, which he said showed the exploit in action. The FireEye researchers wrote: After compromising the VFW website, the attackers added an iframe into the beginning of the website’s HTML code that loads the attacker’s page in the background. The attacker’s HTML/JavaScript page runs a Flash object, which orchestrates the remainder of the exploit. The exploit includes calling back to the IE 10 vulnerability trigger, which is embedded in the JavaScript. Specifically, visitors to the VFW website were silently redirected through an iframe to the exploit at www.[REDACTED].com/Data/img/img.html. The attackers, who appear to be the same ones behind at least two other recent zero-day attacks, were able to exploit the underlying "use after free" bug in a way that modified memory at a specified address. That allowed them to bypass address space layout randomization (ASLR), a technique for minimizing the damage exploits can have by randomizing the memory locations where objects are loaded. By preventing attackers from knowing where in memory their malicious code will reside, ASLR greatly reduces the chances an exploit will succeed. The attackers behind this most recent exploit were able to modify arbitrary memory addresses, allowing them to bypass the ASLR protection. FireEye said techniques used in the exploit and resulting malware contained similarities to two other recent zero-day campaigns, including one called Operation Deputy Dog and another dubbed Operation Ephemeral Hydra. FireEye has branded this latest attack Operation SnowMan. "Microsoft is aware of limited, targeted attacks against Internet Explorer 9 and 10," a spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail send Thursday night. "As our investigation continues, we recommend customers upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 for added protection. The Thursday afternoon post fleshes out a bare-bones advisory FireEye published earlier in the day. For the time being, people should avoid using IE 10 whenever possible, at least until more information becomes available. In general, people who must use IE for compatibility reasons should already use IE version 11, since it has security protections not available in earlier releases. People should also strongly consider switching to another browser altogether. Google Chrome has long received high marks for security, as has Mozilla Firefox.

The support for Windows XP ends 8 april 2014. Will you upgrade to supported system or stick arround with XP?

Neither Microsoft, Nokia, nor anyone else should fork Android. It’s unforkable. As happens from time to time, the suggestion has been made that Microsoft cancel Windows Phone, and instead fork Android. It's not the first time this suggestion has been made. It's probably not the last, either. It's a poor idea. Google has worked to make Android functionally unforkable, with no practical way to simultaneously fork the platform and take advantage of its related strengths: abundant developers, and abundant applications. The outline of the "Microsoft should fork Android" argument is as follows: Windows Phone doesn't have huge developer buy-in or sales success, but Android has both. By forking Android, Microsoft could provide unique value—corporate integration with things like Exchange, Active Directory, and System Center or InTune; full Office support; a polished user experience—and make the platform depend on its own cloud services (Bing, Bing Maps, Azure) rather than Google's. But simultaneously, it would still have access to all the Android applications that people depend on. The result should be a platform that's somehow more attractive to consumers, by virtue of the Android brand and all those Android apps, more attractive to developers thanks to the Android APIs, and cheaper for Microsoft to develop, since core operating system development can be left to Google. Where this falls down is that there's no good way to use the Android platform this way. It's not designed for it. In fact, with each new Android release, Google is making a forked operating system less and less viable. Not-very-open source Broadly speaking, Google produces two big chunks of code. The first is the Android Open Source Platform (AOSP) codebase. This provides the basic bones of a smartphone operating system: it includes Android's version of the Linux kernel, the Dalvik virtual machine, and portions of the basic user interface (settings app, notification panel, lock screen). This part is licensed under a mix of the GPL and Apache license. Google produces periodic code release of these open source parts, though has been criticized for performing the actual development largely behind closed doors. The second chunk is called the Google Mobile Services (GMS). (Or at least, sometimes it's called GMS. Sometimes it's called just Google Services, and sometimes it's Google Play or Google Play Apps; GMS is what it's called in the code, though, so that seems to be the most common name). This has two big portions. The Google Play Services provides a wealth of APIs and system services: APIs for Google Maps, Location, and in-app purchasing; Google+ integration; Remote Wipe; Malware scanning; and more. Then there's the Play Store collection of apps: Search, Gmail, Chrome, Maps, and many more. The GMS has a few important features. GMS isn't open source. Anyone can take AOSP and slap it on a phone. That's not true of GMS. To get GMS, the device has to meet certain technical requirements (performance, screen resolution, and so on), and it has to pass validation. Though Google says that the GMS suite is itself free, the validation process isn't, with reports that it costs around $0.75 per device. GMS also seems not to be divisible: if your phone passes the GMS validation and can include GMS, it includes everything: both Play Services, and the various Google-branded apps that use those services. Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary Android is open—except for all the good parts. The split between AOSP and GMS is not constant, either. Google has slowly been migrating more and more functionality to GMS. For example, in the latest Nexus 5, the core phone user interface—the thing that you use to launch apps and show icons—has been rolled into the GMS Search app. Similarly, APIs have made the move. AOSP contains a location API, but GMS contains a newer, better one, with additional features. Google encourages developers to use the GMS API, and the AOSP Location API mostly dates back to Android 1.0, and hasn't seen any substantial changes since Android 1.5. The result is that many third-party applications are not merely "Android" applications: they're GMS applications, and won't run without the proprietary, non-open Google software. Four ways to do Android There are four ways that hardware builders can use Android on their phones. The first is the way that Google really wants companies to use Android: by relying both on AOSP and GMS. Pass the certification, include all the Google services and Google apps. That's what companies like Samsung and HTC and LG do. Going this route still provides some facility for the OEM to customize. OEMs can provide their own apps to sit alongside the Google ones, for example. It appears that Google isn't completely happy about this—there are reports that the company recently made an agreement with Samsung whereby Samsung would reduce the amount of customization of the user interface and deprioritize or remove its apps that competed directly with Google-branded equivalents. Taking this path provides the best compatibility with third-party applications by ensuring that they have both AOSP and GMS APIs available to them. It also provides the most consistent experience: in spite of the various customizations that are done, it means that Google's apps will be available, and those apps will work the same way on any AOSP+GMS device. It also cedes most control to Google, and that level of control will only grow. Each new release increases the level of integration with Google's own services, and Google is moving more and more new functionality to GMS, leaving AOSP a barebones husk. At the other end of the spectrum, you can ignore GMS entirely. Ship a phone with AOSP and perhaps some custom software on top of it to make the experience a little less rough for users, and call the job done. At the very cheapest end of the market, there are companies doing precisely this; it's abundant in China, in particular. If they choose, OEMs can provide their own stores and other services to fill the many, many gaps that omitting GMS leaves, but they're always at a disadvantage relative to GMS devices, because they won't be compatible with any third-party applications that use GMS' APIs. That's not a small category, either, since features such as in-app purchasing are in GMS. The third option is the one that spans the two: ship a device with AOSP, and an equivalent to GMS that provides new implementations of substantially the same APIs. Provide workalike replacements for services such as location and mapping, but plumb into Microsoft services rather than Google ones. No company has really gone down this route. The closest is Amazon, which provides near-drop-in replacements for some Google APIs (in particular mapping), but which hasn't even begun to keep pace with GMS development in general. Technically, however, a company with sufficient development resources could provide its own GMS replacement. The overhead would be not insignificant, especially as—to ensure optimal compatibility—the replacement would have to replicate not just correct functioning, but any bugs or quirks of the GMS implementation. There are also lots of little awkward aspects of the GMS API; it includes such capabilities as "share with Google+" which few companies have any real counterpart to. Another example: there is an API for handling turn-based multiplayer gaming. A company could implement this API and have its own server infrastructure for managing the gaming sessions, but obviously these gaming sessions would be completely separate from Google's gaming sessions, fragmenting the player base in a way that game developers are unlikely to be keen on. As an added bonus, should the ultimate resolution of Google's long-running legal battle with Oracle be that APIs are, in fact, copyrightable, this kind of wholesale reimplementation of GMS would become legally actionable. Google could, if it chose to, shut it down through the courts. To these three options, one could perhaps add a fourth: use AOSP to provide a few essential services—support for hardware, telephony, and so on—but then build an entirely new platform and APIs to run on it. Aspects of Amazon's API support would fall into this category, with some of its APIs covering the same ground as GMS APIs, but in a completely different, incompatible way. It's not clear, however, that any manufacturer has entirely embraced this path, though one might argue that Ubuntu for Android is similar, at least in spirit. You can have compatibility or control: Not both The first of these options—AOSP with GMS—is the only option that provides the full Android experience. It's the only one that ensures developers can transfer their skills perfectly, the only one that ensures that the full breadth and variety of Android software is available. However, it's clearly not a good option for Microsoft, given that it would almost entirely cede control of the platform to Google—and judging by the advertising company's track record, it would cede even more control with each new Android release. The second option—AOSP with a few extra custom extras—has the upside of providing an opportunity for Microsoft to integrate its own services. It would support some Android software, though exactly how much is unclear. It would certainly mean omitting any high-profile title using in-app purchasing, so, say, Plants vs. Zombies 2 or the latest iteration of Angry Birds would be out. If one were building a feature phone platform, this may be a somewhat reasonable path to take. When the phone is only really built for running the built-in apps (camera, browser, e-mail) the fact that many Android apps would be incompatible doesn't really matter. The rumors of a Nokia-built Android phone suggest this kind of approach: AOSP under the hood, but with Nokia services, not Google ones, on top. This approach also probably works acceptably for ultra-low-end devices where compatibility isn't such a big deal, which accounts for much of the Chinese AOSP market. But for Microsoft, this would be missing the point: the company already has a platform that's not compatible with the latest and greatest high profile apps. It doesn't need another one. However, it's important to understand just how deficient this kind of device would be. Google has pushed very significant pieces of functionality into GMS, including messaging and the Chrome browser. The AOSP counterparts are buggy, feature deprived, and by at least some accounts, barely maintained. If a company wants to use AOSP without GMS, it has a lot of work to do if it wants to produce a high quality experience. The open source parts just aren't good enough. Amazon's Kindle experience also demonstrates how even having an Android-like AOSP-derived platform is challenging. Kindle doesn't have the latest and greatest Android games, because their various developers haven't bothered making non-GMS versions of their games, even though the Kindle platform is very similar to Google's. In other words, the application challenge already faced by Windows Phone isn't solved by using AOSP. The only way to solve the application issue is to be not merely an AOSP platform but a GMS platform. The third option—AOSP with a home-grown GMS equivalent—would solve this, but it would also maximize the development effort required by the forker. Providing equivalents to every GMS capability ensures at least that users get a decent experience. It would also reinstate the software compatibility that AOSP without GMS forfeits. But this is a huge undertaking. For Microsoft, the effort required to build a GMS workalike on top of AOSP is going to be comparable to the effort required to build the Windows Phone shell and APIs on top of Windows. In fact, it's likely to be somewhat greater: Microsoft already has, for example, a browser engine that runs on Windows. It doesn't have one that runs on AOSP. Moreover, it still implicitly gives Google control over the platform. Various aspects of how Android is used are determined by the underlying APIs: sharing between applications, for example, is done in a particular Android way. Any platform using Android in this way would have only a limited ability to take the platform in a different direction from the one Google chose. The fourth option—use AOSP with an entirely new software stack on top—gives freedom and flexibility, but to what end? The kernel isn't the important bit. Microsoft already has a smartphone kernel. Windows Phone 8 already uses it. And strikingly, for Microsoft, ditching Windows Phone doesn't mean that the company can ditch development of this kernel. It's already being developed—for Windows! The kernel isn't the hard part. Fork off If Android were an open platform in the way that Firefox OS or Ubuntu for smartphones were an open platform, the forking suggestion would make more sense. The AOSP/GMS split wouldn't exist. Everything would be in AOSP, so piecemeal substitution of back-end services without having to reinvent vast tracts of code and without any major compatibility implications would be practical. But it isn't. Not only is it not this kind of an open platform, but Google is actively working to make it functionally less open with each new release. The result is that a forker has to make a choice: they can give Google control and get the all the upsides of the platform, or they can snatch control from Google and get almost none of them. Android isn't designed to be forked. With GMS, Google has deliberately designed Android to resist forking. Suggestions that Microsoft scrap its own operating system in favor of such a fork simply betray a lack of understanding of the way Google has built the Android platform.

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