Image Courtesy of Apple

Despite being notoriously secretive, it has been reported that Apple would like to add facial recognition technology to its iOS devices at some point in the future.

The news came about after the manufacture filed another technology patent. The patent was actually filed in June 2010, but it has only come to light now. The aim is apparently to enable a person’s face to be recognised without using too much computing power.

But how will it work?

According to one expert, facial recognition is “a method performed by an image processor, the method comprising: processing a captured image of a face of a user seeking to access a resource by conforming a subset of the captured face image to a reference model, the reference model corresponding to a high information portion of human faces.”

If this has confused you somewhat, then you are probably not alone.

Basically what this gobbledygook means is that a comparison is made of two images of a person. If they are similar enough then the face is recognised.

As expected, Apple refuses to expand on whether future devices such as its iPhones will include facial recognition technology. However, he fact they have filed a patent (plus the fact the company has allowed information about it to be ‘leaked’) does seem to indicate they maybe looking at this seriously.

Modern day phones are no longer simple communication gadgets. Over the last few years they have become mobile computers. Consequently, adding facial recognition is a natural addition.

If you are at all into being green then this will interest you. A British student has designed the first mobile handset made from Bamboo.

Called ADzero, the new smartphone is expected to be officially launched later in the year. It will be yet another Android phones.

Bamboo is fast becoming one of the 21^st century’s eco products. It can be grown in almost any environment bar the harshest places, such as the Arctic. The bamboo grown by the student from Middlesex is four years old and was treated to improve its durability.

Interestingly the student behind the invention, Kieron-Scott Woodhouse, said he did it not for environmental reasons but because he was fed up with the design of every other handset, which he considered boring.

However, bamboo is a fantastic product that has now been realised as a great alternative to cutting down trees or using other scarce mineral resources. As bamboo is also fully biodegradable it is a much more eco-friendly alternative to plastic, which is often used in the manufacture of smartphones.

Kieron-Scott said “Bamboo may seem like a strange material to use for a phone, but it’s actually extremely strong and very durable, perfect qualities for this kind of application.”

Kieron-Scott is currently studying design technology. His tutor Dr Andy Bardill, who is also Middlesex’s University product design and engineering director of programmes, said “The web has opened up the highly competitive design sphere and enabled those with talent to get noticed more easily. Kieron is a remarkable designer.”

Before it has even been officially launched, it appears that RIM’s latest flagship smartphone – the BlackBerry London – has had a facelift.

Apparently the new handset, which will run RIM’s latest BlackBerry platform BlackBerry 10, has had its ‘metallic look’ completely revamped. RIM apparently decided to go with the supposedly modern look used by most devices nowadays.

RIM is undergoing some substantial changes at the moment, starting with the former co-Chief Executive Officers resigning from the board. Consequently, it isn’t surprising the company has taken a fresh look at what it is doing.

The company also made a decision – a wise one according to some analysts – to focus on just a small handful of devices to get RIM back to where it was before its troubles. The result of this exercise is focusing on the BlackBerry London.

RIM, however, has not as yet revealed any further details of this device, and the ‘new look’ is only the latest images spotted, so even that could change in the future.

One suggestion though is the BlackBerry London is being designed principally for the British market rather than the global or even European markets. How true this rumour is again cannot be confirmed, but it is a definite possibility.

It is also said that variations of the London are being developed to fit in with other markets. For instance, the BlackBerry Lisbon would be for the Portuguese market, and so on.

The only thing known about the London at the moment is that it features a 1.5GHz dual core processor.

Although there is no definitive date when Apple’s iPhone 5 will arrive (if it does), there is already talk that Near Field Communication (NFC) will be available on the new upgrade.

You could be forgiven for thinking that we have been here before, but this time the news appears to have come from a reliable source – MasterCard.

NFC is new technology that allows smartphone users to do a great many things from locking and opening doors without keys to paying for products and services directly from the handset. Called contactless payments, it is something that has been talked about a lot but is not completely part of our way of life yet. That could be about change soon, according to Ed McLaughlin, an executive at MasterCard. We’re rapidly moving to a world beyond plastic. In many ways, plastic is just convenient packaging,” he told Fast Company.

He added “The timeline is always as rapid as it makes sense for consumers. That’s a combination of having a critical mass of the merchants, which is what you’re seeing right now, and getting devices into the hands of consumers. I don’t know of a handset manufacturer that isn’t in process of making sure their stuff is PayPass ready.”

The iPhone 5, which everyone expected to be launched last year, was rumoured to have NFC technology included. However, not only were experts surprised that a relatively small update to the iPhone, namely the 4S, was released, they were also confounded when Apple actually withdrew its support for NFC early last year.

With Google’s Nexus handset already featuring NFC, it can’t be long before Apple’s iPhone does.

It has been reported that the Asian mobile phone manufacturer Samsung is being investigated over allegations the company abused Apple.

It seems the EU Commission has decided to open an anti-trust case against the Korean giant, as they feel Samsung may have broken rules on unfair competition.

A spokesperson for the EU Commission said “The opening of proceedings means that the Commission will examine the case as a matter of priority.”

Apple and Samsung have been in a bitter patent dispute for many months now. Apple has accused Samsung (among many other companies, it has to be said) of infringing its patented technology. Samsung, however, has reciprocated by accusing Apple of the same.

Some feel the dispute is more about Apple’s hatred of the Android operating system; since Samsung uses this platform on most of its handsets, the South Korean firm is an easy target.

A number of recent legal challenges by Apple have found in favour of the iPhone maker, so it is not that surprising that the European Union would want to take a look at Samsung’s role in the disputes.

According to German technology consultant Florian Mueller, Samsung and others may now have to start thinking twice before using any technology that it hasn’t patented itself. He said “Even though Samsung is at this stage the only company to be investigated over this issue, other suspected abusers could face similar inquiries anytime.”

Up to now Samsung has refused to comment on the EU investigation, but if found guilty it could spell more trouble.

If you are a T-Mobile contract customer, this may interest you.

Nicknamed ‘The Full Monty’, the new 24-month contract gives you unlimited calls, text and data. The cost, however, depends on how much you are prepared to pay. The tariff starts at £36 with other monthly contract prices being £41, £46 and £61 respectively.

It seems the difference in price relates to whether or not you choose to get an iPhone 4S device. For instance, you pay the lowest tariff cost if you pay £99 for the 16GB version, whereas the 32GB iPhone is free at £61.

Other manufacturers’ handsets are also available for free, including the HTC Sensation XE and the Samsung Galaxy S II.

You should also be aware that there is a restriction of 2,000 minutes of free ‘other calls’ available on the lowest cost tariff.

Interestingly, if you decide to take up this new tariff offer by T-Mobile then this will entitle you to receive free unlimited Wi-fi using BT’s Openzone and existing T-Mobile hotspots.

It has been reported that when asked how T-Mobile intends handling the potentially increased data load this new Fully Monty tariff could cause, one of the company’s management said that joining with Orange has enabled T-Mobile to offset any problems the tariff could cause. However, he did point out that Orange had no plans to offer its customers a similar tariff deal.

Current contract T-Mobile customers can also migrate to the Full Monty, although a free handset won’t be available. SIM only customers cannot avail themselves of this deal.

It has been reported that the Padfone, a combination of a smartphone and tablet developed by Asus, will be on show at the Mobile World Conference (MWC) in February.

This unusual device is apparently a smartphone that doubles up as a tablet when fitted into a housing.

Asus announced it was developing this unique gadget about nine months ago, but since then nothing was heard. Many analysts thought it was probably a joke, but it seems not. The manufacturer decided to announce its launch just before last Christmas.

So what does the Padfone comprise?

The smartphone element is a 4.3-inch device and is said to sport a Tegra CPU, although there is a rumour going around that the device’s microprocessor is in fact a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960.

The tablet bit is apparently a 10.1-inch Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) handset. Other than this, specifications are rather thin on the ground, but all will no doubt be revealed on the 27th February at the MWC.

Rumour seems to be the in thing at the moment with yet another manufacturer keeping everyone guessing.

It seems that a new Samsung device has been spotted on the net, but many analysts are not entirely sure that that is what has actually been seen. Samsung has said it is manufacturing the Galaxy S3, but so far the company appears to have put commentators on a proverbial merry-go-round and not actually told anyone anything of use.

No one is even sure that the Galaxy S3 will even debut at the MWC.

Not if the new CEO of RIM, Thorsten Heins, gets his way. He recently condemned the idea.

Speaking with CrackBerry.com, Mr. Heins said: “Just take a look where the Android OEMs are. Take a look at their recent announcements and what you will immediately see is there is just no room for differentiation because they are all the same.”

Many analysts also agree with the assessment. While it has been said both systems – BlackBerry and Android – have similarities, this doesn’t mean that RIM needs to adopt Android to be successful. Rather, it’s the fact that they are sufficiently different that enables the BlackBerry to stand alone.

However other analysts believe that RIM needs to diversify its operations, and adopting Android on some of its devices may be the way to do it. Last year the company had a torrid time of it; market share dropped and the share price tumbled after the outage debacle during the summer.

Yet, on the whole, RIM management is not despondent and believes the company can turn its issues around quickly. Before stepping down, RIM’s co-CEO Jim Balsillie said “We are pleased to report record shipments and financial performance in fiscal 2011.”

Referring to the BlackBerry operating system, Mr. Balsillie commented that all companies, and RIM is no different, hit the technological buffers from time to time. As such, this doesn’t mean the business should pack it in or be sold in order for it to develop in the future.

In the wake of falling profits, management at HTC decided recently to change their approach. Rather than focusing on budget and medium range devices, the Asian company has decided to put most of its energy into developing high-end smartphones.

Speaking with reporters Phil Robinson, who heads HTC’s UK division, said that the company want to start developing just a handful of higher quality smartphones that inevitably will attract a higher profit margin. It also signals a new marketing approach: focusing on a richer type of consumer who is prepared to pay a higher price for a better handset.

Why the change in approach?

Analysts believe HTC has taken a leaf out of Apple’s books. Apple has always focused on developing products that are not just of the highest quality but also command a high price. Apple customers are prepared to pay that price, so HTC management figures it is a market they cannot afford to ignore.

Other analysts, however, believe trying to compete with Apple on its own ground could be risky.

In other news, fellow Asian company LG electronics has said that it intends unveiling the LG CX 2 at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress. The LG CX 2 is the firm’s latest 3D smartphone.

What’s so special about this new device? Well, it is an Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) device and not an Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It is also said to feature a Texas Instruments OMAP 1.2GHz dual core processor, and an 800×480 pixel (WVGA) NOVA glasses-less 3D display.

The branded handset manufactured by LG Electronics on behalf of the fashion company Prada will be in Phones4U shops by today.

It seems that the deal between the mobile phone retailer and LG Electronics is a partial exclusivity deal. That is, Phones4U will have first bite of the Prada 3.0 cherry before any other retailer in Britain. How long this will last isn’t known.

So, if this ticks your box, what can expect from any Phones4U deal?

The handset is available at £31 per month and features a 4.3-inch NOVA display, an 8-megapixel camera, a dual core 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. It is powered by Android Gingerbread rather than Ice Cream Sandwich, although no doubt it will be upgradeable.

As the smartphone is a fashion accessory as well as a machine, the back is made from Saffiano leather-style material.

In other news, Hewlett Packard (HP) has apparently reincarnated its mobile phone operating system – WebOS. Rather than using it to create its own products, HP has decided to make the platform open source. The expected date for this is either the third or fourth quarter.

It seems that that this new approach to offering WebOS is the third time in almost as many years. However, HP is confident this time that going open source is the best solution rather than burying it completely.

“HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community,” said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at HP.