Did you know that the Nexus 4 actually has LTE functionality? The absolute truth is that yes, it does in fact have LTE, no matter what Google or anyone else may try to tell you. There are plenty of reasons as to why Google doesn’t advertise the LTE functionality and why they try to make it harder for you to enable it. I’ll tell you all of this as well as how to get LTE enabled, how to go back to a stock, non-LTE configuration, and any other important information that you need to be aware of at any point of the process.

Why Is LTE Disabled?

The Nexus 4 contains LTE functionality because it contains the same radio chip as the LG Optimus G. However, LTE is not advertised for the Nexus 4 because, although it has the radio for it, it doesn’t have the corresponding antenna to make full use out of the signal (one of the reasons why it was so relatively cheap). As such, Google/LG did not ask for LTE to be certified by the FCC, so LTE is not an approved feature for the phone. Some could say that using LTE on the phone would be illegal because it was not certified by the FCC, but I haven’t heard of a single person getting in trouble for using LTE on the Nexus 4 — and there are plenty of people who already do it.

The LTE functionality on the Nexus 4 was first discovered through a simple trick that anyone could do to turn the radio’s mode from WCDMA/GSM to LTE/WCDMA/GSM (where LTE is self-explanatory, WCDMA is 3G/HSPA+ data, and GSM is 2G data and voice capabilities). This trick remained functional until February 2013, when Google pushed the Android 4.2.2 update and along with it a new software radio that made accessing the LTE features of the radio impossible (the setting wouldn’t stick).

Disclaimers

Getting LTE back on the Nexus 4 requires quite a bit of work, but it could very well be worth all of the work. There are a few things you need to be aware of before you can even consider going through the process of enabling LTE on the device:

• There is no single way of enabling LTE on the Nexus 4. There are many different ways that work, but the way I’m describing in this article will give you the easiest process with the best chances and the least amount of headaches afterwards.
• Enabling LTE via the process I describe will completely wipe your phone. Back up your data!
• If you have upgraded to Android 4.3 already, it will downgrade you back to Android 4.2.2 until CyanogenMod comes out with the first builds of CM 10.2. The current stable builds at the time of writing are CM 10.1 which are based on Android 4.2.2.
• LTE functionality is restored by flashing an older software radio to the device as the newer software radios disabled LTE. The reason why a certain build of CyanogenMod is being flashed is because it contains a handful of fixes to have the LTE settings stick as well as prevent a possible issue with no audio during phone calls.
• The Nexus 4 only has support for LTE on Band 4 (AWS). In the US, T-Mobile is the only carrier that reliably uses this band for its LTE offerings. In rare cases, AT&T also uses Band 4, but it’s safer to assume this is not the case in your area. For other areas around the world, check with your carrier.
• Battery life is not guaranteed while using LTE, but I’ve had pretty positive experiences with it. A stronger signal usually translates into longer battery life.

Enabling LTE

With all of this information in mind, are you still ready to proceed? If so, you’ll need to create a folder somewhere on your computer and download the following files:

• An unofficial build of CyanogenMod which contains LTE-specific cherry-picks. Just go to the first post in the thread and expand the Downloads section. I’d recommend downloading the latest stable build rather than a nightly build.
• An LTE-ready software radio. Any radio from the linked post that doesn’t have LTE disabled will do, but I recommend that you use the .33 radio.
• The latest version of ClockworkMod Recovery for the Google Nexus 4. I recommend getting the regular recovery rather than the touch recovery because it prevents you from accidentally touching an option you didn’t want.
• The Google Apps package. You do want Gmail, Play Store, etc., right? Get the version for the corresponding build of CyanogenMod (at the time of writing, 10.1)

Besides these files, you’re also going to need to install the Android Tools onto your computer. These provide utilities such as adb and fastboot that you’ll need for your computer to be able to communicate with your phone. Searching for Android tools in Linux repositories should be easy, while Windows and Mac OS X users should look up documentation on how to find, install, and use the tools. The following instructions will be for Linux users, but Windows and Mac OS X commands will most likely be very similar to these. If you aren’t able to look up the documentation for your operating system for these tools or get them to work, you may want to think again about messing with your phone. If you do everything correctly, things will go smooth; do something wrong and you can find yourself acquainted with a new paperweight.

The CyanogenMod build and the Google Apps package should be in .zip format — no need to extract anything from those. The software radio and the recovery image should be in an .img format, so extract those if they’re still in a .zip file.

Now, follow these instructions step-by-step. Be sure to double check everything before continuing to the next step. Again, these commands will be specifically for Linux users but users of other operating systems should be able to use very similar commands.

1. Connect your phone to your computer (with Android Tools installed) via a USB cable.
2. Turn your phone off, then turn it on again by holding the Volume Down and Power buttons. You should see a new screen — this is called the fastboot screen.

1. On your computer, open up a command terminal, use the cd command to go to the directory with all of the needed files, and type: sudo fastboot devices. If something besides a blank appears, your computer has detected the phone and you may proceed.
2. Type into the terminal: sudo fastboot oem unlock
3. Should this command work, your phone should now prompt you about unlocking the bootloader. This will allow you to flash all of the other software, but it will wipe everything on your phone! Agree by using the Volume buttons to navigate, and the Power button to “enter”, then continue.
4. Type into the terminal: sudo fastboot flash recovery my_recovery_file.bin. This command will write the new recovery image to your phone. Of course, replace my_recovery_file.img with the actual name of the recovery image.
5. Before we switch over to using the recovery, we’ll also flash the older software radio by typing this command into the terminal: sudo fastboot flash radio my_radio_file.img. Again, replace my_radio_file.img with the actual name of the software radio.
6. Now, reboot your phone into fastboot mode again, and then use the Volume buttons to switch between different options at the top of the screen, and use the Power button once you see ‘Recovery”.

You have now replaced the Recovery with something else that will make installing the rest of the software easier.

If you’re in the new Recovery, you should see an orange circle with a hat on it. To install the rest, do the following on your phone (with it still attached to your computer via a USB cable):

1. Choose “wipe data/factory reset”
2. Go back to the main menu of the recovery, then choose “install zip from sideload”
3. On the computer, type into your computer’s terminal the command: adb sideload cm_xxxx.zip. Of course, replace cm_xxxx.zip with the actual name of the CyanogenMod file you downloaded.
4. Once installation completes, repeat step 2 and then type into your computer’s terminal: adb sideload gapps_xxxx.zip. Replace gapps_xxxx.zip with the actual name of the Google Apps package.
5. Once you have done all of this, choose “reboot system now” from the main menu on your phone, and let your new LTE-ready Android installation load!

Post-Process Tips

After you go through Android’s initial setup process, there are a few more things you need to be aware of:

1. Because the phone’s battery stats were deleted during this process, you can make the battery indicator more accurate by calibrating the battery. This is done by draining the battery until your phone shuts off, then keep attempting to turn on your phone (and letting it shut down again) until it finally doesn’t want to on any more. Then plug your phone into a power source and immediately turn it on. It’ll then be able to record at what levels the battery is at “0%” and “100%”. This is best done overnight so that the phone is plugged in an entire night to ensure that it is indeed fully charged. Otherwise, the phone might indicate it’s fully charged when it really isn’t yet.
2. Ensure that the phone is indeed now looking for an LTE signal. You can do this by going into the phone’s system settings, choosing More under Wireless & Networks, and then Mobile Networks. The option labeled Network Mode should read “Preferred network mode: LTE/GSM/WCDMA”. If not, click on it to change the setting.
3. T-Mobile US users: You need to ensure that the phone is using the LTE APN settings rather than the old APN settings. The phone should automatically choose this based on what’s available in your area during the first boot, so this is even more important if you do this in an area where LTE isn’t available yet. Go into the phone’s system settings, choose More under Wireless & Networks, then Mobile Networks, and finally Access Point Names. The unofficial build of CyanogenMod you installed has 4 APNs built-in, so choose the APN labeled T-Mobile US LTE by clicking on its respective radio button.
4. If your area has an LTE signal, your phone should pick it up within a few minutes. Do note that the phone automatically switches to 3G/HSPA+ during voice calls. This is normal if your carrier does not yet support VoLTE (Voice over LTE), which most don’t, including T-Mobile US.
5. Do not update your version of Android through the included CyanogenMod updater. It will pull official CyanogenMod packages rather than the unofficial LTE-enabled build we used, which in turn would remove the stickiness of the LTE settings.

You should now have LTE on your Nexus 4, hoorah!

I’ve noticed quite a bit of speed improvements by using LTE, and it can help future-proof your Nexus 4 to make it last even longer than you originally thought.

Returning to Stock Android

If for whatever reason you want to go back to the official stock version of Android which doesn’t include LTE (such as if LTE didn’t give you as big of an improvement, if you don’t like CyanongenMod, or if you’re planning on selling your Nexus 4), it’s fairly easy to get your phone back to a factory state. Be warned that this will wipe your device again. You’ll need to head over to Google’s Android Developer Images site and download the latest version for the Nexus 4 “mako/occam”. I’d recommend just choosing the latest (Android 4.3 at the time of writing) because there’s little reason to stick with an earlier release. Once the download completes, move the two included .img files from the .zip into a separate folder, and then open the secondary .zip and move those .img files into the same separate folder as well.

Then, boot your phone into fastboot mode, connect it to your computer via a USB cable, open up a command terminal on your computer, and “cd” into the separate folder containing all the .img files. Then type in the following commands:

1. sudo fastboot devices (to make sure that the computer sees your Nexus 4)
2. sudo fastboot flash bootloader bootloader_xxxx.img (Replace bootloader_xxxx.img with the actual file name)
3. sudo fastboot reboot-bootloader
4. sudo fastboot flash radio radio_xxxx.img (Replace radio_xxxx.img with the actual file name. For Android 4.3, the version should end in a .84)
5. sudo fastboot reboot-bootloader
6. sudo fastboot flash system system.img
7. sudo fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
8. sudo fastboot flash boot boot.img
9. sudo fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
10. sudo fastboot format cache (to remove any old traces of the old system)
11. OPTIONAL: sudo fastboot oem lock (this re-locks the bootloader to prevent future tinkering with the device, i.e. forces you to “unlock” the bootloader again and wipe the device before tinkering)
12. sudo fasboot reboot

You should now be booting into a completely Google-official build of Android for the Nexus 4.

Conclusion

Being able to enable LTE for the Nexus 4 is fantastic, and can surely benefit you wherever it’s available. Like I said, it does take a lot of effort to get going, but I’m pretty happy with its LTE capabilities. I get great data speeds, and it convinced me that I can keep my Nexus 4 for a lot longer rather than dropping it now to get an LTE-enabled (and advertised) phone.

Any feedback on LTE on the Nexus 4?  Show us your data speeds after enabling LTE!

Are you thinking of purchasing a new or used smartphone or computer? This new device might suffer from a fault or defect. Before you take the plunge, there’s a variety of stress-tests and diagnostics you should perform. While you absolutely must test used electronics, even brand new smartphones and computers can suffer from defects that you may not notice until after a 30-day return policy expires. To this end, testing all newly acquired equipment remains extremely important.

The basic idea of “stress-testing” your devices is to force the CPU to work as hard as possible – if any internal component possesses a defect, stress testing will likely break the device. While not for everyone – particularly those uncomfortable with breaking their device—stress testing provides a great way of discovering potential future issues with the hardware.

This article details several methods of vetting a new or used device on Windows and Android. It covers a selection of mobile apps and desktop programs that can effectively identify problems before you encounter them. Additionally, I detail some of my methods for analyzing used and new electronics.

How To Check An Android Smartphone For Problems

Diagnostic methods for Android devices: The diagnostic method used on a Smartphone differs between new and used devices. A new phone likely comes with some kind of warranty period, whereas a used phone purchased from Craigslist comes with only the warning: caveat emptor, i.e. let the buyer beware. Any diagnostic method should conform to whether or not you’re under warranty.

Because of the complexity in manufacturing modern electronics, oftentimes not all components on a smartphone will work – for most phones you can only test the SIM card slot, SD card slot and USB port. The phone’s sensors, such as the gyroscope or accelerometer, can’t be examined or tested through physical inspection. Fortunately, you can install software capable of scanning your device’s sensors. Two of the best apps for checking your phone out are Android Sensor Box and Elixir 2.

Applications

• Android Sensor Box: After you install and run the app, the start screen essentially shows each of the sensors of your phone. Disabled components will show a red circle with a line through it over the icon. Broken components, when tested, will show erroneous sensor readings. For example, if you use the “Orientation Sensor” and the bubbles don’t move at all, it means the sensor is either broken or miscalibrated. On a used phone, if you don’t need the sensor, it gives you a tack to negotiate for a lower price.

• Elixir 2: It only provides a readout of the function sensors – but even so, it’s an amazing program. Erez did an excellent breakdown of Elixir 2’s functions, which range from providing sensor analysis to a detailed breakdown of internal hardware components. It’s actually a one-stop shop for vetting an Android handset.
• Stability Test: This Android stress test application will run your CPU at the highest possible frequency. While you definitely don’t want to leave the device running overnight, approximately 30 minutes of testing should prove a device’s reliability. If the devices reboots or crashes under testing, it’s a good sign something is wrong. If it breaks, well, thank god for that warranty.

If you frequent Craigslist, as I do, you know that buying used provides one of the best means of acquiring a good smartphone for cheap. It’s also a great way to get ripped off, particularly if you don’t check the phone’s functionality. Although you probably won’t be stress-testing a phone in the presence of its owner, you can use such software as Elixir 2 to make sure you’re not buying a knock-off. You can also use Android Sensor Box to examine your device for potentially dead sensors. However, be aware that not all devices include all the available sensors. Before testing, make sure you know which sensors your phone employs (a Google search will reveal this).

How To Check A Windows Computer For Problems

Diagnostic Methods for Windows computers: New or used computers mostly use the same diagnostic methods. While you won’t be stress testing, or performing a serious diagnostic on a laptop off of Craigslist, you can still test all its ports to make sure you’re not buying something with defective ports. A useful software to run on a used computer is CPU-Z, which will tell you whether or not you’re buying what the seller claims – CPU-Z can reveal the internal components of a computer, including CPU, hard drive and RAM.

Of course, you will also check all the ports on the computer. To do so will require that you bring along a USB flash drive, potentially an SD card and whatever other ports the laptop comes equipped with, such as a PC card, PS2 mouse and SD card.

If you purchased a computer brand new, you have a great deal of options for testing it out within your warranty period. Out of the many applications out there, I suggest using a stress test using Prime95.

Applications

• Prime95: As with smartphones, a computer is only as strong as its weakest component. Stress testing runs the system at its absolute peak and if anything is defective, it will likely fail. Using Prime95 is ridiculously easy — just start the software up and let it run for an an hour on a desktop and around a half hour on a laptop. Don’t let it run overnight, as running your computer at its peak for extended periods can cause serious, permanent damage.

• Stopping Prime95: Also be aware that the program will not stop unless you select “Test -> Stop” from the menu bar. If you don’t stop Prime95, your computer will run very slowly. If you leave it on for too long, it may cause actual damage.

• Bootable USB or disk: There’s a variety of software available that will perform boot time scans of your computer’s internal components. Parts that you will want to scan, in particular, are RAM, your hard drive and your CPU. Unfortunately, some components can’t be easily examined for potential problems, such as your motherboard and power supply. Out of all the many USB bootable diagnostic tools available, I cannot suggest Parted Magic enough. It includes all manner of hardware diagnostic tools. Justin wrote an excellent review and guide about this hardware Diagnostics toolbox on a Live CD, which is a must read for those looking to perform PC hardware analysis.
• CPU-Z: Software exists that can provide a readout of your internal components. This provides great utility for those seeking to verify the internal components of a laptop or desktop PC. Pay close attention to the “CPU” and “Memory” tabs. These will indicate the true CPU clockspeed and amount of RAM installed on your system. You may also wish to check the Graphics tab, if your system also includes a graphics processor. For those of you looking for additional troubleshooting tips for your graphics card, read Ryan’s great article on the subject of troubleshooting annoying video problems. It covers GPU stress testing methods, as well, which can be used to stress test GPUs.

Overall, a good analysis method will combine diagnostic software with stress testing. Even though desktops can take quite a bit of stress before breaking, remember to not run the stress test software for more than an hour or two. And for God’s sake, use common sense.

Conclusion

For those of you seeking to purchase new or used electronics, strongly consider a combination of diagnostic and stress testing software to weed out potential lemons. As many consumers know, most faulty electronics fail within the first year of ownership. Stress testing and diagnostic software may save you a great deal of money.

I can personally vouch for this method. Stress testing successfully weeded out a lemon Asus laptop, well within the warranty period. Handling returns within the first 30-days of a purchase, for most major retailers, is much easier than dealing with the factory warranty, which oftentimes requires that you pay for return shipping.

Anyone else use a rigorous examination process of new or newly purchased used devices? Let us know in the comments.

 

Samsung's Galaxy S4

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Samsung kept its firm lead over Apple in the smartphone arena last quarter, though both companies saw their shares drop.

For the second quarter, Samsung's slice of the global smartphone market inched down to 30.4 percent from 32.2 percent a year ago, IDC said in a report released Thursday. However, shipments jumped to 72.4 million from 50.3 million over the same period.

The surge in shipments came hot on the heels of the debut of the Galaxy S4. But the Galaxy S3 also picked up buyers thanks to price discounts ahead of the launch of its successor, IDC said.

Apple's smartphone market share last quarter fell to 13.1 percent from 16.6 percent for the prior year's quarter. Shipments rose to 31.2 million from 26 million, marking the company's second-lowest year-over-year iPhone growth rate in almost four years.

IDC pegged the slower growth on buyers holding off on purchases ahead of the iPhone 5S. IDC expects shipment growth to rise once Apple kicks off its rumored low-cost iPhone and expands into prepaid markets later this year.

Other smartphone makers, such as LG, Lenovo, and ZTE, saw growth in both ... [Read more]

Just weeks after we put the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini through its paces, we're looking at the HTC One mini, another attempt to shrink a flagship down into a smaller (and cheaper) package. As you'd expect, the 4.3-inch mini looks much like the full-sized version, and that goes for both the hardware and software. In addition to its similar-looking aluminum-and-plastic frame you'll find both a 4-megapixel Ultrapixel camera sensor and HTC's Sense 5 UI, meaning automatic video highlights, Zoe and BlinkFeed all make an appearance here as well. There are, however, a few hardware drawbacks compared to the original, with the IR blaster, optical image stabilization on the camera and NFC stripped out for space- and cost-saving reasons. Can HTC launch a mid-range phone that won't get lost between similarly priced offerings and last year's discounted flagships? We'll try to reason that out after the break.

Hardware

The physical similarities to the HTC One are glaringly obvious -- and it's a huge part of the mini's appeal. HTC is certainly not the only phone maker trying to inject some flagship charm into its cheaper handsets. Borrowing much of the design language first seen in the One, the mini is mostly wrapped in aluminum. The front panels are actually slightly rougher than the surface of the original model, although the backing has the same smooth finish. However, it doesn't sport the matte seam of plastic we saw on the original One; instead. it has a glossy white all-plastic frame, reminiscent of last year's unibody One X.

The physical similarities to the HTC One are glaringly obvious -- and it's a huge part of the mini's appeal.

The body still follows the same palm-friendly curve, although both the camera unit and flash are center-aligned on the back this time around. There are also two white plastic lines breaking up the all-aluminum cover, ensuring the unit's antennae work and also creating the illusion that you might be handling the pricier flagship model. The volume rocker on the right edge is now comprised of two keys, but they're still thankfully made of metal -- no nasty metal-finish paint here. That plastic edging is visible on the front, so unfortunately you won't get the same chamfered aluminum edge as the One. That's a shame, as that chamfering was one of the design flourishes we loved most on the original.

HTC's BoomSound speakers lie beneath micro-drilled holes both above and below the screen, bringing plenty of oomph, as advertised. Prolonged listening through the smartphone won't grate on the ears, although the sound quality isn't quite as bass-rich as the One. HTC also snuck in a single LED notification light into the top speaker -- one of the more refined ways we've seen light-up reminders integrated into smartphone design. The not-quite-standard Android button layout remains, with a HTC logo separating back and home keys. As it's running Android 4.2.2, however, HTC now offers you the option to switch some of the menu button functionality to the home key, launching Google Now with a swipe and accessing the options menu within apps.

But the mini has something on its big brother: it's arguably a better size. We could grasp the device, slip it into pockets, bag side pouches and use it one-handed without any issue. Reaching with a thumb on larger screens (and reducing your hold on the device in the process) increases the chances that those hundreds of dollars you just sank into a new smartphone will end up a splintered chalk outline on the concrete. We're enjoying this apparent return of more sensibly sized handsets, although it's something you may not appreciate until you switch from a larger to a smaller phone for a sustained period.

Now about that screen: the 4.3-inch display beams out Android at a resolution of 720p. That means, then, that there are fewer pixels than the One, but it's still leagues ahead of its qHD rivals. We're more than happy to drop down to this resolution from 1080p, especially when it's been accompanied by a reduction in screen size. In fact, it appears to be identical to the display found on HTC's Facebook experiment, the First. Same resolution, same size and, well, same conclusions. HTC uses SuperLCD2 tech, which gives pretty accurate color reproduction and it's easy to share pictures and videos with strong image quality at off-angles. Our only complaint is that we wish it were a little less reflective and a little more readable in sunlight.

Underneath the screen, there's a dual-core, 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 processor (another component that made an appearance in the HTC First), along with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. Given that the One mini is completely sealed, there's no opportunity to expand storage through a microSD card, but it's a pretty respectable chunk of storage for a phone below the flagship level.

There are some features that didn't make it to the One mini, however, and our biggest regret is the loss of the IR blaster. Yep, I'm one of those people who's begun to ignore my AA-powered TV controllers and navigate through channels and TV menus almost exclusively on an IR-capable Android device -- whether it's a Galaxy S 4, HTC One or Xperia Tablet Z. I inadvertently tried to launch the remote app several times while working on this review and while it's not a hardware feature everyone was going to use, I already miss it. Remote functionality would also have made a great talking point when going up against rival devices. NFC didn't make the cut either. If that (and maybe the IR blaster) were the only omissions, we'd be okay with the minor price difference. However, there's also the reduced screen resolution, the lesser processor, reduced storage and RAM, and the lack of optical image stabilization, which is supposed to work in tandem with HTC's Ultrapixel camera to improve shots. That's quite the list of cuts.

Camera

The HTC One mini packs largely the same camera sensor as the debut One model. The technical spec sheet says it's a backside illuminated sensor paired with an f/2.0 lens -- both good things. In case you missed all the discussion earlier this year, HTC's Ultrapixel camera might take a bit of explaining. The maximum image resolution is capped at four megapixels, but it's not all about the pixels. The way HTC created this camera sensor offers a larger area for light to bounce off and the opportunity for more light to hit it. This means you'll get better low-light shots and less noise; less flecks of blue and red in your nighttime photos.

The One mini can capture 1080p video (even in HDR) and you can see how it fares in our demo clip below -- the white birds are a little too washed out during the clip. The camera's dynamic range has issues keeping the light levels properly balanced, unfortunately. However, video recording was responsive enough to capture butterflies in flight.

Our sample shots also hint at strong performance. In fact, compared to last year's major smartphones and the current mid-range phones, the mini could place in the top three -- regardless of pixel count. Unfortunately, it doesn't have optical image stabilization (and a few of our shots visibly demonstrated this) but HTC's Ultrapixel camera holds onto its Lumia-baiting skills in low-light photography.

A quick flurry of photos taken in a dim bar at night showed lots of detail and minimal noise. However, the lack of OIS is presumably why our One mini pictures were a bit less sharp than what we got with the One. With bright lighting, some shots were often washed out, regardless of whether we used the HDR mode. The front-facing camera here is a perfectly serviceable 1.6-megapixel shooter, although the lack of the wide-angle lens seen on both the HTC One and Windows Phone 8X is a bit of a shame and constrains how many friends you'll be able to cram into your selfies.

Software

Blinkfeed, Zoe and HTC's addicted automated video highlight reel feature make the One mini feel like the original. Running on Android 4.2.2 (and packing some software additions that the flagship also recently received), HTC's restyled Sense has grown on us. Sure, it's still divisive, but the black-and-white scheme is understated and the added functionality includes things we actually use -- something we can't say about the raft of new features that Samsung throws into its yearly flagships. There are some smaller additions in this latest version of Android that we'd like to mention in passing, including a percentage battery level indicator in the status bar and a quick-setting panel (with toggles for WiFi, Bluetooth and more), which you can access by dragging two fingers down from that status bar. Finally, HTC's matched a feature that's long been available on Nexus devices.

We're still not completely sold on Blinkfeed; we'd prefer instead to make stock Android screen our de facto home base. The topics and services available to add to the news and social feed haven't noticeably changed (or expanded) since HTC launched the service. All told, it still feels like a protracted way for us to browse through social network content; some efforts to curate or focus on popular tweets, like Twitter does itself in its own discovery tab, would have been welcome.

On to the good stuff. HTC has refined the camera option menus making access to different settings easier and adding a new file format to its Zoe captures (a video and still-frame combination), ensuring that any Google+, SkyDrive or Dropbox account you own no longer gets filled with lots of similar-looking shots. Video Highlight options have now been expanded to include six extra themes. Even more importantly, perhaps, you can now add your own music, as BlackBerry Z10 users have been doing on BB10.

Within the camera app itself, you can also now lock exposure and focus on the viewfinder screen. Press-and-holding will fix both, and you can also unlock with a subsequent tap, expanding your options for nailing that shot. In an attempt to ameliorate the loss of optical image stabilization, HTC has added a software-based feature to reduce shakiness. Unfortunately, using it leads to a significant drop in the level of detail. We'd recommend you use the camera without it -- we did. We'd also like to mention HTC's Sync service, which stores apps, WiFi passwords, home screen layouts and more within a Dropbox file. Thanks to this, we were able to transfer our smartphone settings from an older HTC One without a hitch. This setup also offers a stress-free way of recovering your phone's layout and content should you ever lose (or have to replace) the hardware itself.

Battery life and performance

Smaller phone, smaller screen and yes, smaller battery. At 1,800mAh, we wondered where that would place the device when it came to lasting out the day. In our video looping test, with brightness at 50 percent and social networks polling at 15-minute intervals, we got just over six hours. It's a bit disappointing, frankly. While it's a half-hour less than the full-sized HTC One managed, we were hoping that a drop in resolution and screen size would translate to battery savings. Even during more casual use, we'd have to plug it in after around 10 hours' use. Be prepared to have a charger close at hand.

	HTC One mini	Samsung GS4 Mini	HTC One
Quadrant 2.0	5,200	7,250	12,495
Vellamo 2.0	2,118	1,980	2,429
AnTuTu 3.2	10,048	13,732	25,140
SunSpider 1.0 (ms)	1,442	1,142	769
GFXBenchmark Egypt 2.5 HD Offscreen (fps)	15	17	16
CF-Bench	6,543	13,646	13,342
SunSpider: lower scores are better

There's no shortage of phones to pit agains the One mini, but we settled for a competitor (Samsung's Galaxy S4 Mini) and the original HTC One running very similar software. The S4 Mini is powered by a faster-clocked 1.7GHz dual-core processor with 500MB of extra RAM, and it performed substantially better than the One mini on several of our benchmark tests. Still, as is often the case with synthetic benchmarks, other tests put the One mini ahead. In use, we found that the phone's responsiveness was mostly on par with the original One. It didn't take any more time to process video highlight clips or capture photos, despite the differences in hardware. Browsing the web on Android phones in recent years has become a more consistent experience; indeed, the One mini gave us swift page loads and responsive scrolling even on media-heavy sites.

The mini packs the right LTE bands for EE in the UK (Band 3) while also including tri-band HSPA on this European model (900/1900/2100 MHz), offering speeds of up to 42Mbps down. In speed tests on LTE, we logged downloads just short of 10Mbps, with uploads reaching about the same speeds, if not better. Voice calls were also clear, and the secondary mic helped to dampen background noise when we were using the One mini as, well, a phone.

Wrap-up

The HTC One mini is the most appealing non-flagship smartphone we've seen in a while. And that's saying a lot: there are more choices than ever, with recent screen and processor improvements now adding incremental improvements across the board. Ultimately, it all comes down to the pricing here. The One mini is a beautiful phone that feels and often handles like a top-tier model, even if it isn't quite as classy as the One flagship. In the UK, Carphone Warehouse has priced the One mini at £380 (roughly $580), or free on contract at £27 per month. The bigger One costs only £100 more off-contract, or free from £33 per month. Is that a big enough pricing gap to win over discerning shoppers? Probably not.

All told, the mini still bests rival middleweight phones in several ways, with the similarly sized, similarly priced Galaxy S4 Mini making for an easy comparison. The One mini's 720p screen is way ahead of the qHD screen found on Samsung' Galaxy S4 Mini, while the build quality and styling is a cut above the competition. There's also the excellent camera and software additions HTC has made -- all points in the One mini's favor. For most people, the drawbacks (no optical image stabilization, IR blaster, NFC, lower screen resolution and storage) will outweigh the price saving compared to the original One, but the mini remains a strong phone in its own right. If only it were a little cheaper.

I was recently on holiday and one day found myself with a bit of spare time waiting for my family outside a wildlife park. Feeling the boredom, I decided to browse the web on my Nokia Lumia 920 and try to find something interesting to watch.

Now, I could have used the YouTube or BBC iPlayer apps; I could have relied on many other apps but instead I decided to have a browser-only mobile experience. The results, sadly, were mixed – the problem being that Windows Phone doesn’t support Adobe Flash.

Although the Internet Explorer mobile app has HTML5 support, if you want to enjoy media streamed using Flash you’re stuck. The alternative is to use HTML5 or apps from the Windows Phone Store that offer the media you’re looking for, streamed to your phone.

So why is Adobe Flash unavailable on Windows Phone, and why must you use an app?

Flash for Mobiles: The Current Situation

The first nail in the coffin for Adobe Flash mobile support came from Apple when the technology giant began restricting deployment of Flash-based apps on the iPhone and later the iPad. This was initially done under the auspices of improved security for users, but may well have been aimed more at blocking developers from releasing Flash games that can be played without the user accessing the Appstore.

Following this, in 2011, Adobe announced that Flash support would be withdrawn for mobile devices. Although it is still possible to install and run Flash on Android there is no more development of the technology for anything other than Windows and Mac OS X.

However, despite all of this, Microsoft was very interested in having a version of Flash developed by Adobe to run on Windows 8 (specifically in the Modern tile based interface). As Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are quite closely related, it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that an official Flash app might arrive at some point.

Until then, however…

Watch Flash Videos on Windows Phone 8 with Apps

In order to enjoy Flash video clips and streaming websites on Windows Phone, you will probably need to use an app.

There are various popular video site apps for Windows Phone, such as YouTube (there are several of these), Vimeo, Dailymotion and BBC iPlayer. Each of these is free, simple to use and brings video streaming to your phone without Flash.

In addition, the Flash Videos app extends the number of Flash-based video streaming websites to include a wider selection of content types. However, this app isn’t free – you’ll need to spend $4.99 at the Windows Phone Store to use it, but it is very highly rated.

(Incidentally, beware of a dreadful app called Adobe Flash which is, despite the name, nothing of the sort. Rather, it is a collection of Adobe Flash-themed news feeds!)

Enjoy Streaming Video with HTML5

As mentioned above, Internet Explorer 10 mobile on Windows Phone 8 has good HTML5 support. This means you can enjoy videos that are streamed using this method. Many of the apps above also use HTML5 streaming.

You can try out HTML5 streaming for Windows Phone 8 devices by heading to the YouTube HTML5 opt-in at www.youtube.com/html5. Here you can join by tapping the Join the HTML5 trial button – but make a note of the items that are supported by Windows Phone, as illustrated here.

Once you have opted in, browse YouTube and find a video to view. The clip will open in your phone’s video player, streamed via HTML5. Note that you will have to have Desktop version selected as your website preference in Settings > Applications > Internet Explorer. Also note that YouTube advises that some videos with ads are not yet supported.

For more information on how HTML5 is supported on Windows Phone (and other platforms) head to http://mobilehtml5.org/. Meanwhile Joel’s article What Is HTML5, And How Does It Change The Way I Browse? explains exactly what HTML5 is and its impact on the web or get started learning HTML5 with our brand new guide written by Matthew.

What About Playing Flash Games?

Enjoy browser-based Flash games, perhaps in Facebook or one of the many Flash gaming sites?

Forget it – on Windows Phone, these websites cannot be used as the Flash-based game content simply won’t run. Unlike Android and iOS, there are few apps that can take the place of these browser based games – no Farmville or Mafia Wars, for instance.

If you’re an avid gamer, of course, there is little reason to want to play Flash games on Windows Phone, when you have access to a library of Xbox Live titles, your Xbox Gamertag and all of the achievements and points that come with them!

Conclusion: Want Flash on Windows Phone? Use Apps or Forget It!

The state of Flash for mobile platforms is one of decline. Indeed, it is fascinating to see such a widely used piece of software become overlooked and replaced in this way. Very few applications and utilities can claim to have been so widely used, but it does seem that Flash is on the way out – we’re currently enjoying its final days, thanks to the arrival of HTML5.

So, if you want to view Flash videos on Windows Phone 8, use an app that will stream the videos using a different platform. If you want Flash gaming on the same mobile device, forget it and start browsing the ever-growing Windows Phone Store instead.

With iOS banning Flash and Adobe withdrawing support for mobile devices while planning new ways to support HTML5, there is absolutely no reason for a Windows Phone device to support this increasingly archaic system.

Are you excited about HTML5 or do you mourn the departure of Flash? Let us know in the comments what could ease your the transition!

They say the best camera is the one you have with you. In the case of the Nokia Lumia 1020, you might as well be carrying a high-end point-and-shoot in your pocket, as the phone’s 41-megapixel camera outclasses the shooters on both the Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 by a good long mile.

Nokia has always emphasized its phones’ camera capabilities, and the Lumia 1020 is no exception: Along with the crazy megapixel count, the phone features a custom camera app that has functions never before seen on a smartphone. But for all these advancements, the Lumia 1020 sometimes feels rough around the edges, and a handful of problems keep it from attaining perfection.

A familiar look

Michael Homnick

The Nokia Lumia 1020 (not to be mistaken for the Nokia Lumia 920).

The Lumia 1020 is essentially a Lumia 920 with a better camera tacked onto the back. The phones share some design elements—such as a rounded chassis and a large, 4.5-inch screen—although the 1020 doesn’t feel as chunky when you hold it in your hand. This phone is slimmer than the 920, but the camera on the rear of the 1020 protrudes a bit and can make the handset feel awkward while it’s resting in your pocket. That isn’t a deal breaker, necessarily. It’s just something to keep in mind if you tend to wear skinny jeans. (The camera housing will dig into your thigh every time you sit down.)

Michael Homnick

The rear camera on the Lumia 1020 sticks out a considerable amount.

The Lumia 1020 boasts a display resolution of 1280 by 768, which would have been fine had the phone launched a year ago. Nowadays, with everyone and their mom making smartphones touting 1080p displays, it’s disappointing that Microsoft has yet to update the Windows Phone OS to support higher resolutions. The screen on the Lumia 1020 is acceptable for watching movies or playing games, but it would have been nice to have a sharper display available for viewing photos shot with the phone’s impressive camera. The Lumia 1020 could have been the first Windows Phone with a 1080p display, and the fact that it isn’t feels like a missed opportunity for both Nokia and Microsoft.

Overall, the Lumia 1020 is extremely well built, and it probably could survive its fair share of drops and spills. I would still take special care with the camera module, though, as a well-timed drop could be all it takes to damage the sensor inside and make your handset just another Windows Phone.

Old guts

Looks aren’t the only thing the Lumia 1020 has in common with its 920 predecessor: Aside from a slight bump in RAM, the two phones use the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and ship with 32GB of internal storage. Although the Windows Phone OS runs fine on this somewhat antiquated hardware, I found that taking a lot of photos and videos would cause the phone to become notably hot to the touch. The two games I played, Jetpack Joyride and Radiant, worked flawlessly but didn’t look as good as their iOS or Android counterparts.

Call quality over AT&T’s network in San Francisco was good, with no hints of hiss or static. Obviously call quality will vary depending on where you live, so be sure to consult coverage maps to make sure you aren’t in an AT&T dead zone. The phone’s 2000mAh battery held up through an entire day’s use, though I noticed the charge level drop rapidly the moment I started taking photos. Packing a charger may be worthwhile if you’re going sightseeing and planning on using the phone as your primary means of capturing memories.

Desperate for Instagram

You know your app store is in bad shape when an app that displays a photo is beating out Amazon.

Perhaps the biggest drawback of the Lumia 1020 is that it uses Microsoft’s mobile OS. Although Windows Phone 8 runs buttery smooth, going through the Windows Phone Store in search of apps is downright depressing: A lot of the top-rated offerings are either apps made by Microsoft or games that have been ported over from iOS. I thought it was amusing that one app in the top-ranked section, when I checked the store, was designed to display a photo of the iOS home screen so that you could “trick” your friends into thinking you had an iPhone. Wow.

Although Nokia bundles a number of useful camera and photo apps with the Lumia 1020 (more on those in a bit), trying to find anything worthwhile in the store is a fruitless endeavor. At the time I searched, I saw a number of third-party apps that let you access services such as Instagram and Vine, but they just don’t work as well as the real deal. Right now, the Lumia 1020 is one official Instagram app away from being the best smartphone for photos, period. Only time will tell if such an app ever makes its way to the platform.

A first-rate camera

I could go on and on about how good the camera on the Lumia 1020 is, but maybe it’s better if I show you a picture instead.

Taken with the Nokia Lumia 1020.

When you take a photo, you actually end up with two images—one at full resolution and a 5-megapixel resampling of that image. The Lumia 1020 creates the 5-megapixel version so that you can share the photo via email, through text, or over your social networks, as trying to upload an album full of 10MB-plus images over a cellular connection would be a huge pain. You get access to both versions of your photos when you plug the phone into your computer, but you have no real way to access both images directly from the phone. Deleting an image from your camera roll deletes both the full-resolution photo and the 5-megapixel resampling, so you’ll need to hook the phone up to a computer if you want to save one versus the other.

Another photo shot with the Nokia Lumia 1020.

The Lumia 1020 comes with three separate camera apps: the standard Windows Phone Camera app, Nokia Pro Cam, and Nokia Smart Cam. Holding down the phone’s physical camera button automatically launches Nokia Pro Cam, and I couldn’t find any way to change this default in the phone’s settings. Not that you’d want to use anything other than Pro Cam, anyway: The app lets you adjust your camera’s ISO and shutter speed, and even features a rudimentary manual-focus mode. The biggest drawback to using Pro Cam, however, is that it’s slow to launch and often requires a few seconds to start up fully. It also takes a considerable amount of time to save and process photos, meaning that you have noticeable downtime between shots.

Nokia’s Smart Cam app lets you take pictures like this one.

Nokia Smart Cam is similar to the Zoe shooting mode on the HTC One. Smart Cam takes multiple photos in rapid succession and gives you options to remove unwanted objects from the scene. Smart Cam also comes in handy with group shots, because you can meld those multiple photos together to create a single image in which everyone in the group is smiling and has their eyes open. The app works pretty well, but you’ll need to make sure that you’re holding very still while taking photos—the slightest movement can throw off the process, leaving you with a bunch of mediocre images.

Bottom line

Michael Homnick

The Nokia Lumia 1020 faces an uphill battle: Not only is it competing against heavyweights such as the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5, but it is also fighting against the stigma surrounding the Windows Phone OS. The Lumia 1020 is an excellent phone with one of the best all-around cameras out there, but its AT&T exclusivity and older hardware make it a hard sell. If you’re an AT&T customer who has been curious about Windows Phone, I strongly urge you to pick up the Lumia 1020. For everyone else, you’ll have to ask yourself whether a fancy camera and the struggling Windows Phone ecosystem are enough to break your contract over.