Mobile

Yearning for more from BlackBerry 10's Evernote experience? You got it. The service just updated its native BB10 app with improved performance, more security and a small collection of overdue features. Namely, Evernote has given users the ability to share notes from within the app, both to friends and with other apps installed on the device. The reverse works too: data from other Apps can be shared and saved to Evernote using BB10's regular share dialogue. Premium users can also save their notebooks for offline use, and the introduction of a new lock feature secures content with a four-digit passcode. Oh, and the team has enabled Universal Search too, which lets users search their Evernote account from anywhere on the device. Game changing features? Maybe not, but we won't scoff at the update. Check out the company's official blog for more details.

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Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission has ruled that Apple's been naughty rather than nice this holiday week, fining it for 20 million Taiwan dollars (around $670,000) after it specified pricing to iPhone carriers. Once Apple sells distribution rights to an iPhone stockist, it has no right to dictate how much carriers and companies sell the devices for. According to the FTC's statement: "Through the email correspondence between Apple and these three telecom companies we discovered the companies submit their pricing plans to Apple to be approved or confirmed before the products hit the market." The iPhone maker will be able to appeal the ruling, although according to the WSJ, it could face a fine of up to $50 million Taiwan dollars if it doesn't comply.

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Chinese phone maker Gionee has just released the Elife E7 mini version of its mega-spec'd 5.5-inch, 1080p Elife E7 phone, but it resembles its larger sibling in name only. First off, the 13-megapizel camera and flash are on a swivel at the top, Oppo N1-style. The specifications are otherwise a step down, starting with the 4.7-inch, 720p screen and continuing with the 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6592 CPU (instead of a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 800) and 1GB of RAM in lieu of 3GB. It also sports 16GB of storage, dual-SIM 3G capability and Android 4.2. Still, the folks at FoneArena, who got their hands on one during its launch in India, said it feels just as premium as the Elife E7 and it looks to have skipped the fingerprint-prone glossy finish of that model. Though it likely won't arrive in the US, selfie self-portrait lovers in India will be able to grab it for 18,999 (about $310). For more pics, hit the source.

[Image credit: FoneArena]

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Google isn't about to remain idle while the Apple- and Microsoft-led "Rockstar" patent group sues numerous Android partners. The search giant has quietly filed a declaratory judgment complaint asking a San Jose court to rule that the company (and therefore, the Android ecosystem) doesn't infringe seven of Rockstar's patents. As GigaOM notes, Google isn't mincing words -- the firm accuses Rockstar of "placing a cloud" over Android and harassing a large part of the technology industry. The legal action doesn't necessarily amount to fighting fire with fire, though. Declaratory judgment complaints frequently represent attempts to score an early victory, rather than the first line of defense; Google likely has more up its sleeve if this tactic doesn't work.

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Android users don't have to look blankly at their iPad- and Xbox-using friends whenever they talk about Catfish anymore, now that the MTV app has arrived on Google Play. It offers on-demand streaming of recent episodes from select series, but only for subscribers of participating cable providers. The list of cable companies is quite lengthy (it includes AT&T U-Verse, Time Warner and Verizon FiOS, among others) but it's missing some notable ones like DISH, at least for now. Unlucky folks who can't access full episodes can always watch trailers and look at companion content for MTV Shows, including polls and behind-the-scene tidbits. Or, you know, they can look for their video fix elsewhere instead -- some of those other sources even come with actual music videos.

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The availability of an iOS 7 jailbreak may have caught the Cydia team off-guard, but not for long. Jay Freeman and fellow developers have just updated their unofficial app platform to match Apple's minimalist look. It's more than just a cosmetic upgrade, too, as it includes iOS 7's swipe-based navigation and appears to run faster. Individual app writers will still have to update their code for everything to run smoothly, but jailbreak users who've just been waiting for an OS-native Cydia will want to check for the update today.

[Image credit: iOS Hacker]

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Watch out, AT&T and Verizon: Japanese telecom SoftBank could soon a close deal to buy T-Mobile, according to the Nikkei news service. SoftBank apparently hopes to acquire a majority of T-Mobile's shares via its own US subsidiary, Sprint, as soon as next spring. The estimated price tag? More than two trillion yen, or some $19 billion. Of course, there will be several legal hoops to jump through, including approval from the FCC and the Department of Justice. If the deal gets the green light, though, the top four mobile carriers in the US will shrink to three, with the combined might of Sprint and T-Mobile posing a bigger threat to heavyweights AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Stay tuned!

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Sony's second-generation SmartWatch may not have impressed the critics, but those lukewarm feelings haven't deterred the company from making another wearable. The FCC has revealed that Sony is testing a "BT Wrist Notifier" with the model number SWR10, which sounds like a step beyond the SW2 code used for the current model. Beyond that, however, the documents just show that the device packs NFC and Bluetooth -- but if it's passed through the commission, it can't be too far away from a real announcement. You never know, maybe we'll see it at that big trade show in less than a fortnight.

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Much as we admired the potential of the YotaPhone in our recent review, we just couldn't overlook its lack of support for popular e-reading platforms like Amazon Kindle and Google Books. That problem hasn't been solved just yet, but things are starting to move in the right direction: the dual-display handset has now been made to work with an alternative (and relatively popular) e-reading app called FBReader. This app will let you display and swipe through Word and .rtf documents on the E Ink panel, as well as unencrypted .epub and .mobi e-book formats of the sort that are traded in smaller e-book stores and some shadier, copyright-dodging parts of the web. PDF files should also be supported by the next version of FBReader, which is currently in beta. Meanwhile, Yota Devices tells us that it's "discussing potential collaboration" with Amazon in order to bring about Kindle support, which, if it happens, would be nothing short of a breakthrough.

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Rumors surfaced just days ago of Nokia-built Windows Phone 8.1 devices for the developing world, and you may already be looking at one of them today... or rather, its home screen. Frequent tipster @evleaks has posted what's reportedly a screenshot from the Moneypenny, the all-touch device from those earlier rumors. In addition to showing on-screen navigation keys, the image supports claims that the Moneypenny is the first dual-SIM Windows Phone -- an important gesture toward markets like China and India, where multi-line support is a big selling point. There aren't many other clues in picture, although the "6:30" in the corner may allude to a Lumia 630 name. Whatever Nokia might call the handset, we wouldn't expect it anytime soon; assuming the Moneypenny exists in the first place, we likely won't hear anything official about it until Microsoft reveals Windows Phone 8.1.

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HP has long vowed that it would revive its smartphone efforts, and it may be near that comeback -- just not with the fanfare that some were hoping for. The Information claims that the company is weeks away from releasing a slew of phone-capable 6- and 7-inch Android tablets that would target developing markets, like China and India. They wouldn't cost more than $250 off-contract, and they would reportedly be recycled designs from manufacturers like Pegatron and Quanta. While HP isn't commenting on the rumor, it's safe to say that major smartphone makers wouldn't be losing sleep over the potential launch. The tipsters suggest that HP would instead be testing the waters -- it would enter fast-growing mobile markets while it works on original hardware, corporate apps and carrier deals that would be necessary in more established areas.

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2013 continues to be a downer year for the company formerly known as Research In Motion. The Wall Street Journal has just uncovered a tidbit in BlackBerry's latest earnings report that states two unreleased phones had to be cancelled due to poor sales of its existing handsets. Apparently code-named Cafe and Kopi, they were slated to be sold as budget phones for emerging markets but had to be nixed to "mitigate the identified inventory risk." This comes on the heels of BlackBerry's announcement that it's partnering up with FoxConn for device manufacturing and canceling its annual conference in order to save costs. It all seems rather dire, but the Wall Street Journal also reports that the company is still working on a couple of higher-end handsets internally code-named Ontario and Windermere. Whether or not those phones will see the light of day, however, remains to be seen.

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It's tough to stand out in the mid-range Android crowd, but Oppo may have found a way to separate itself from the pack. Its newly launched R1 smartphone carries a gold-effect metal frame that adds a touch of class around the 5-inch screen. Camera quality may also lure in a few buyers. The R1 carries a bright 8-megapixel, f/2.0 aperture shooter like that in the R819, and there's an upgraded 5-megapixel camera at the front. No one will mistake Oppo's latest hardware for a flagship, though. There's a modest 1.3GHz, quad-core MediaTek chip inside, and neither the 720p display resolution nor the 16GB of non-expandable storage will please video lovers. The real obstacle for some may be the price -- the R1 sells for ¥2,498 ($411) in its native China, which is a lot to pay when the Vivo X3 offers slightly better performance in a slimmer design.

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Sony started delivering Android 4.3 updates to the shiny new Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra last week, and today it's rolling out those improvements to (slightly) older devices. The Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z are all getting both Google's not-quite-newest OS as well as a host of improved Sony apps, including Smart Social Camera and Walkman software. Xperia Tablet Z owners may appreciate the update most of all -- they can implement restricted profiles that give users private settings and storage. Sony hasn't said how long the upgrade will take, but don't be surprised if your Xperia gets a gift of its own this holiday.

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Windows Phone-toting Facebook users no longer have to worry about missing an important conversation or party update. A revamped Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 lets socialites pin seemingly any Facebook content to the home screen as a Live Tile, including chats, events, groups, pages and photo albums. The app's redesigned main Live Tile also shows wall updates, and Microsoft has spent time bolstering both the language support and overall performance. Whether or not you need to watch your friend activity like a hawk, there's enough here to justify swinging by the Windows Phone Store for an upgrade.

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