this week

Quechua announces a rugged 5" smartphone

Quechua in association with Archos has unveiled a rugged smartphone. The handset is designed with an active lifestyle in mind and is resistant to shock, mud, water, sand, cold and snow.

Quechua's newest smartphone is IP 54 certified and is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and has 1GB of RAM on a Qualcomm chipset. The rugged device is built around a 5-inch display and offers a 5 megapixel main camera and 4 GB of internal memory that can be expanded via microSD card slot.
The smartphone runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and packs a 3,500mAh battery, which according to the company lasts for about 22 hours on calling.
Quechua's rugged smartphone is priced at €230 (about $313). Unfortunately, there is no word on the availability of the device at the moment.

Xolo unveils Q500, a dual-SIM Android phone

Xolo unveiled a new addition to its smartphone lineup. The Xolo Q500 is an affordable, compact dual-SIM Android phone, which has a 4" screen and measures 118.5 x 63 x 10.7mm.
The screen has WVGA resolution for 233ppi pixel density. The Q500 is powered by a Snapdragon MSM8225Q S4 Play chipset with four Cortex-A5 cores running at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 203 GPU. The phone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
On the connectivity side, the Xolo Q500 offers two SIM cards with 3G with HSPA (7.2Mbps downlink, 5.76Mbps uplink). There's also Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS and FM radio.
The Xolo Q500 has a 5MP camera on the back that can shoot 720p videos and a VGA camera on the front.
A cool software trick lets you snap a photo with Hindi text that will be automatically translated into English. You can have the phone read the translation out loud too. This feature is called X-TransPic and will be available on other Snapdragon-based Xolo phones.
The Q500 packs 4GB of storage that can be expanded with a microSD card (up to 32GB). The battery has 1,450mAh capacity.
The Xolo Q500 is priced INR 7,999 ($130) and is available right now in India.

Nokia Moneypenny Dual SIM Windows Phone 8.1 handset reportedly in the works

Nokia Normandy, a large screen Asha phone leaked a couple of days back, now evleaks has hinted that the Nokia smartphone codenamed Moneypenny would come with dual-SIM support. The twitter user already revealed that the Nokia Goldfinger and Moneypenny would be the first Windows Phone Blue devices. Windows Phone Blue is the codename for Windows Phone 8.1, which would see a drastic change unlike the GDR updates.
The Nokia smartphone codenamed Goldfinger is also rumored run on Windows Phone 8.1 Blue and come with 3D Touch features using a hardware sensors to detect interactions, according to a recent report. Windows Phone 8.1 is rumored to come with  actionable notifications, notification center, and a Siri-like personal digital assistant.
We still don’t have the specifications of the dual-SIM Nokia phone, but evleaks reports that the phone would launch in emerging markets such as India, which is already flooded with budget dual SIM Android smartphones. Hope we can see these new smartphone at the MWC 2014 next year, where Nokia is expected to show off range of Windows Phone and Asha devices.

HTC announces Desire 700, 501 and dual-SIM 601 in Taiwan

HTC has announced the Desire 700 dual sim, the company’s latest smartphone in the Desire series in Taiwan. It packs a  5-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixels)  display, powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It has a 8-megapixel camera on the back with LED flash, BSI sensor, 28mm lens, F 2.0 aperture, HTC Zoe and 1080p video recording and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor. It has HTC BlinkFeed home screen and HTC BoomSound with Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers similar to the HTC Desire 600 dual sim.
HTC Desire 700 dual sim specifications

• 5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) display
• 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor
• Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Dual SIM (3G + 2G)
• 8MP rear camera with LED Flash, BSI Sensor, 1080p video recording
• 2.1 MP front-facing camera with BSI Sensor
• 3.5 mm headset jack
• HTC BlinkFeed
• 10.3 mm thick and weighs 149 grams
• HTC BoomSound, Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
• 1GB DDR2 RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 64GB with micro SD
• 3G, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS with a-GPS
• 2100 mAh removable battery

The HTC Desire 700 dual sim is priced in Taiwan at NT$ 13900 (~Rs. 29250) and would be exclusively available from the Taiwanese carrier Chunghwa Telecom in December. No word on global launch it.

HTC Desire 501

If the 700 is a HTC One alternative, then the Desire 501 looks up to the HTC One mini. It has a 4.3" WVGA screen, dual-core 1.15GHz processor (almost certainly not a Krait, maybe it's a Cortex-A6 like the Desire 500).


The phone has the same 8MP/2.1MP camera combo as the 700 along with HTC ImageChip, but strangely no Zoe support. There's no stereo speakers on the front either.
Still, the Desire 501 is like the 700 in several other aspects, it has 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage with a microSD expansion slot and a 2,100mAh battery. This gives the phone several weapons over the One mini (card slot, bigger battery) but the screen is no match for the 720p LCD on the mini, nor is the CPU up to par with the Krait-based chipset.
The 501 is not a dual-SIM phone, you can look to the very similar HTC Desire 500 for that.
The phone will cost NTD 9,900 ($330) in Taiwan.

HTC Desire 601

The HTC Desire 601 is already official, but now it also got a dual-SIM version. The phone is a 4.5" version of the 701, with almost the exact same feature set except that the main camera has been demoted to a 5MP/1080p shooter and the internal storage has been halved to 4GB (the microSD card slot is still in place).


There's dual-SIM support, front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers and a quad-core 1.2GHz processor.
This one is priced NTD 10,900 ($370).
HTC also showed off the Desire 300, but there's nothing new about that. It's the cheapest of the bunch, costing NTD 7,900 ($270).
There's no indication of which (if any) of these phones will be available worldwide and when.

Acer C720P Chromebook goes official with a touchscreen on board

Acer took the wraps off a new member of its Chromebook lineup. Carrying the model number C720P, the newcomer puts an Intel Haswell Chip, an 11.6” 1366 x 768 touchscreen, and affordable price tag under the same roof.

The Acer C720P is only the second Chromebook to sport a touchscreen behind Google’s own Chromebook Pixel. With a $299.99 price tag however, Acer’s offering undercuts the Chromebook royalty by a cool $1,000.
Like its sibling announced earlier this month, the Acer C720P Chromebook features Intel’s Celeron 2955U Haswell CPU. The latter is good for 7.5 hours of battery life. There are two gigs of RAM on board, 32GB of built-in storage, and 100GB of free Google Drive for two years. Wi-Fi a/b/g/n handles the internet connectivity.
The rest of the Acer C720P specs include HD webcam, USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, HDMI port, and stereo speakers. The notebook weighs 2.98 pounds (1.35kg) and sports a waistline of 0.78” (19.8mm).
The Acer C720P will be available in early December at BestBuy, Amazon, and directly from the manufacturer.

Nokia Lumia 525 with 4-inch IPS display, dual-core processor and 1GB RAM announced

Nokia has just announced the Lumia 525, their new affordable Lumia Windows Phone 8 handset and the successor of the Lumia 520 that was launched earlier this year. It has a 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) display at 235 ppi, super sensitive touch for finger nail and glove use and is powered by a 1 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor. It has a 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with 720p HD video recording, packs 1GB of RAM and a 1430 mAh battery.


Nokia Lumia 525 Specifications

• 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) IPS display
• 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor (MSM8227) with Adreno 305 GPU
• Windows Phone 8 OS with Lumia Black
• 5MP Auto Focus camera with 720p HD video recording
• 9.9 mm thick and weighs 124g
• 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, up to 64GB expandable memory with microSD
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS / aGPS
• 1430mAh battery

The Nokia Lumia 525 comes in Orange, White and Yellow colors. It also has exchangeable back covers. Pricing and availability should be available soon.

Gionee Elife E7 with 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 processor, 16MP camera announced

Gionee has officially launched the Elife E7, the company’s latest flagship smartphone at an event in Shanghai, China. It has a 5.5-inch (1920  x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS touch screen display based on One Glass Solution from JDI with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and a 2.33mm ultra-narrow frame, powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 processor for the 3G version and the LTE version has a 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon MSM8974AC processor It runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) with Amigo 2.0 UI.

It packs a 16-megapixel auto focus rear camera with 1/2.3″ 1.34 µm Largan M8 sensor, 5 element Sapphire Lens and a 8-megapixel auto focus front-facing camera. It comes in two variants, 2GB RAM with 16GB internal memory and 3GB RAM with 32GB internal memory. It has new ways to wakeup the screen such as Double Tap, Black Screen Gesture that lets you draw the gestures on the black screen to go to customized apps and Voice Control.
Gionee Elife E7 specifications

• 5.5-inch (1920  x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS touch screen OGS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
• 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 processor / 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon MSM8974AC (LTE) with Adreno 330 GPU
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) with Amigo 2.0 UI
• 16MP auto focus camera, LED flash, 1/2.3″ 1.34 µm sensor, Sapphire lens, 1080p video recording
• 8MP auto focus front-facing camera
• Dimensions – 150.6 x 75.0 x 9.5mm-6.2mm; Weight: 150 grams
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 3 microphones for noise cancellation
• 2GB RAM with 16GB internal memory / 3 GB RAM with 32GB internal memory
• LTE/3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, USB,OTG, NFC
• 2500 mAh built-in battery

The Elife E7 comes in Meteor Black, Ceramic White, Blue, Green, Orange and Red colors and is priced at 2,699 Chinese Yuan (~Rs.27665) for the 16GB variant and the 32GB variant is priced at 3,199 Chinese Yuan (~Rs. 32790). It would be available for pre-order in China later this month and would go on sale on December 12th. The Gionee Elife E7L with LTE support would be available in the first quarter of 2014 priced at 3,499 Chinese Yuan (~Rs. 35800).
The Elife E7 would launch globally in the early 2014. Gionne has also announced that the company would launch the E7 mini with a Mediatek octa-core chipset

Nokia Normandy leaks out alongside another Asha handset

A duo of unannounced members of the Nokia Asha family made the rounds on Twitter, courtesy of @evleaks. The first handset from the duo is codenamed Nokia Normandy, while the other one’s alias is yet to be revealed.
At a quick glance, the Nokia Normandy appears bound to take the Lumia design to the Asha range. There’s no info on the specs of the device, though it looks bound to take a spot at the top of the Nokia Asha family.

The unnamed Nokia Asha on the other hand, sports a rather unusual design. There’s no info on its specs at the moment.

The Nokia Normandy and its mysterious sidekick are yet to be announced. We’ll update you with more details as soon as we get them.

Apple officially acquires the 3D sensor tech company PrimeSense

Apple confirmed its acquisition of the 3D sensor technology company PrimeSense. Based in Israel, the company is responsible for the Kinect sensor of the Xbox 360.

Apple reportedly paid close to $360 million for PrimeSense. The aforementioned amount is higher than a previously floated sum which was in the vicinity of $300 to $350 million.
At this point, there’s no word on what Apple’s intentions for using the PrimeSense tech are. Speculation on possible implementations ranges from future Apple TV products, all the way to mobile devices.

Mass-market HTC One in Gold goes official

This just in - a golden-colored HTC One becomes official, courtesy of HTC itself. This isn't the 24-carat Gold Genie version, nor the 18-carat MOBO one. This is a gold-colored aluminum HTC One


The device will join the new Blue and Red and the classic Silver and Black on the shelves. Underneath the newly colored is just a champagne-colored HTC One with a 1080p 4.7" screen, quad-core Snapdragon 600 and 4 MP camera with Ultrapixels and OIS.

CyanogenMod 11 ROM based on Android 4.4 KitKat hits the Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung will be releasing an official Android 4.4 KitKat software update for its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone. Nevertheless, if you don’t want to wait until January, today a CyanogenMod 11 ROM based on the latest version of Android has been released for the phone.

The ROM is in currently in Alpha, so it’s only suitable for enthusiasts and people who are willing to help with finding (and fixing) bugs. Currently, the bug list is quite long, but that’s understandable. Some of the most annoying bugs includes non-working screen auto-rotation, low microphone volume and no video recording.
Furthermore, some apps experience problems with storage, there’s no haptic feedback and images don’t get displayed in the gallery. There are more bugs, but they’ll be surely get fixed over time.
The good news is that users are reporting that the ART runtime is running flawlessly and improves performance quite a bit. If you’re eager to get your hands on the unofficial CyanogenMod 11 alpha ROM and experience pure Android 4.4 KitKat on your Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9500) follow the source link below. Instructions on how to install it await you there, too.

Samsung announces Galaxy Grand 2

Samsung has announced the new Galaxy Grand 2 smartphone that features several improvements over its predecessor. To start off, it features a new design that is similar to the new Galaxy Note 3 with a stitching pattern around the faux leather back.
On the front is a new 5.25-inch LCD with a resolution of 1280x720, an improvement over the WVGA display on the previous model. On the inside, the Galaxy Grand 2 runs on a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage space with a microSD card slot. The battery has been upgraded and now has a capacity of 2,600mAh.
The larger display means the new model is slightly taller and wider than its predecessor. It still has a dual-SIM slot and the same 8 megapixel camera on the back. The Galaxy Grand 2 comes with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
The phone will be available primarily in white, with black and pink offered in select regions.

Alcatel Idol X+ pictures and specs surface

The Alcatel Idol X+ is going to run on MediaTek’s newly announced chipset, which features the world’s first true octa-core CPU. Its screen size resolution hasn’t been officially confirmed, but given that its Idol X predecessor already hit the 1080p mark, we wouldn’t expect anything less from the Idol X+. The camera is also expected to retain the same 13 megapixel resolution.

Alcatel Idol X+ photos
TCL has confirmed that it will be partnering with Chinese online retailer JD.com for the launch of the Alcatel Idol X+, but hasn't said anything about pricing or availability dates just yet. We are also still in the dark regarding eventual global release of the smartphone.

this week

LG Odin 2.2 GHz octa-core mobile processor prepped for G2 and G Pad successors

LG is apparently indeed testing a mobile chipset of its own, codenamed Odin, in both a quad-core and octa-core versions. The chips should sport Cortex-A15 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz, and a big.LITTLE configuration with four powerful Cortex-A15s, and four frugal Cortex-A7s, clocked at 1.7 GHz.Last time we heard about Odin, the numbers were 1.7 GHz, and 1.2 GHz, respectively, and it was supposed to appear in the G2, but apparently LG has decided to make its Odin series more futureproof when they are ready for prime time. Given what Qualcomm announced with the 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 805 the other day, we can't blame LG for the shot at perfectionism.

Mali-T604/T624 and T720/T760 are cited by the source as GPU candidates for the Odin series, but we'd chalk the last ones to wishful thinking, as T760 was just announced by ARM three weeks ago, and we doubt we'll see it in a chipset that is already in the engineering test phase.

The Mali-T604/T624 GPU is said to be clocked at the respectable 600 MHz, which would mean a pretty good performance, and with TSMC tasked to produce the Odin chipset with its 28nm process, we can be certain the power envelope will stay in decent limits, too.

The quad-core Odin is rumored to go in LG electronics like Smart TVs, while the big.LITTLE octa-core chipset is said to make its way in LG's flagship smartphones next year, as well as a rumored G Pad tablet successor.

64-bit Intel Bay Trail chips to be in Windows tablets next year, maybe Android

We've all known for a while that 64-bit processors are coming to Android soon enough, and of course it won't just be Qualcomm and Samsung getting into that chipset arena. Intel wants to be part of the conversation when it comes to mobile processors, even though it hasn't been in many devices outside of Windows 8 tablets.

At an investor meeting today, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said that next year there will be Windows tablets running on its 64-bit Bay Trail processors. The first to market will be tablets running the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1, and after that will come Android tablets although it is unclear if those will be using the 64-bit processors. Krzanich says the Android tablets could start at just $150, which doesn't sound like a device that would use a 64-bit processor. In all, Intel is hoping to see 40 million tablets shipped with its processors in 2014.

This whole move started with Apple's 64-bit A7, and 64-bit optimized iOS 7, although very few iOS apps are optimized and of course the biggest benefit of 64-bit is in allowing for more than 4GB of RAM, and iOS devices have just 1GB. On the other side of things, the Android kernel is optimized for 64-bit because it inherited that from Linux. But the OS and apps aren't optimized yet (though Intel says it is working on a 64-bit version of Android 4.4), and no Android devices have hit the 4GB RAM mark, although that should happen soon enough.

The company best set up for the 64-bit push in mobile is Microsoft, because it is bringing down full Windows to tablets. Windows RT and Windows Phone aren't 64-bit optimized (and don't really need to be just yet), but Windows 8 certainly is and there are tons of legacy apps for Windows that have been optimized for 64-bit processors for years now.

Waze hits Windows Phone as the Store reaches 190,000 apps

Following the launch of the popular photo sharing app Instagram for Windows Phone, popular traffic and navigation app Waze has gone out of closed beta and is now available for download from the platform’s app store.

Waze, which was acquired by Google, brings crowd-sourced real-time information for road conditions, shortcuts, traffic jams and gas prices. If you want to try out Waze on your Windows Phone, follow the source link to download the app for free.
Meanwhile, the Windows Phone Store itself has some good news of its own. The app marketplace has surpassed the190,000 apps milestone. Daily, an average of 500 new apps are added. So far, the Windows Phone Store has accumulated 3 billion downloads with currently daily downloads now exceeding 10 million. Monthly revenue from paid apps is also up to 181% over last year, when Windows Phone 8 was released. The app downloads since then has also increased by a staggering 290%.

Motorola to bring Android 4.4 KitKat to 10 of its smartphones

Motorola wasn't among the first companies to announce its Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade plans even though it is owned by Google. It seems the wait was worth it though, as the Motorola's support website shows 10 smartphones will be getting the KitKat treatment next year.
Motorola's latest Moto X and its Developer's Edition will be getting Android 4.4 KitKat everywhere. Verizon's Moto X update rollout has already begun, while the other carriers will be getting it very soon.
Somewhat surprisingly, the dated Motorola Electrify M for US Cellular and ATRIX HD for AT&T will be getting Android 4.4 KitKat as well. Oddly enough though the ATRIX HD Developer's Edition won't get the same treatment and will remain stuck on Jelly Bean.
Verizon's DROID Ultra, DROID Maxx, DROID Mini, DROID RAZR HD, DROID RAZR Maxx HD, and DROID RAZR M will be all getting Android 4.4 KitKat. Now this is some great news to all Motorola users on Verizon contracts.


More good news for Developer edition owners - the RAZR HD and RAZR M Developer editions will both be receiving KitKat down the road.
There is nothing on the timing of the updates just yet, but we guess Motorola will announce its plans as the updates' development advances.
Those who own an older Motorola device on some of the US carriers are eligible for the Motorola Trade Up program. You can return your old Motorola smartphone and get a $100 rebate on a new Jelly Bean-running Moto handset that will be later updated to KitKat.

Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 805 with Adreno 420 GPU

Qualcomm has announced today a new generation Snapdragon 805 chipset with better 2.5GHz quad-core processor and 4K graphics.
The Snapdragon 805 delivers 4K display support in addition to the 4K video recording support, which was already available on the Snapdragon 800. More interestingly, the new chipset features a brand new Adreno 420 GPU, which has 40% more processing power than the previous generation Adreno 330 chips.
The latest Snapdragon 805 chipset also comes with an improved quad-core processor. The cores have a new Krait 450 architecture and have a maximum clock speed of 2.5GHz and memory bandwidth of up to 25.6GB/s. The Krait 450 is still a 32-bit processor, so we guess there is one more generation hardware to pass before Qualcomm outs 64-bit processor cores.
Qualcomm has also embedded a completely new modem called Gobi 9x35. It's manufactured on a 20nm process and is smaller, more power efficient, and, of course, faster. It supports LTE Category 4, dual-band WiFi ac and even allows 4K video streaming via Wi-Fi.

Finally the new Snapdragon 805 chipset incorporates a new dedicated camera processor, which will significantly increase camera speed and might even help boost image quality. It also uses the gyro sensor to stabilize the captured photos.
Qualcomm is ready to mass produce the Snapdragon 805 chips and we should see them in commercial devices in the first half of next year (the first ones will probably debut at CES in January and MWC in February).
The Snapdragon 805 seems like a decent upgrade over the Snapdragon 800, but we are yet to see if it will be able to dominate the competition the way its predecessor did.

MediaTek unveils MT6592 true octa-core processor

MediaTek has officially taken wraps of its newest chipset, dubbed MT6592, which is a true octa-core solution for the mobile platform. The MT6592 features an advanced eight-core processor that is said to have a better balance between performance and the power consumption.
MediaTek's latest addition is designed to deliver a premium gaming experience, advanced multi-tasking, and enhanced web browsing performance for high-end smartphones and tablets. The chipset is built on the 28nm architecture with each of its eight cores capable of clocking up to 2GHz.

The advanced MediaTek scheduling algorithm will monitor the temperature and the power consumption of the SoC to make sure that chip delivers optimum performance. There's a multimedia subsystem with a quad-core graphics engine and a video playback system that supports up to 4K Ultra-HD playphone. The chipset can also support up to a 16 megapixel camera and fullHD display.
Furthermore, MediaTek's ClearMotion technology converts the 24/30 fps video to 60fps and ensures smoother playback. An advanced multi-mode cellular modem is incorporated in the MT6592 along with the dual-band 801.11n Wi-Fi, Miracast screen-sharing, Bluetooth, GPS and an FM tuner.
MediaTek MT6592-powered smartphones running on Android Jelly Bean are expected by the end of this year, while devices with Android KitKat will make it to the market in early 2014.

Nokia shareholders approve Microsoft deal

The Microsoft and Nokia deal has been put to vote by Nokia's shareholders today and 99.7% of them approved it. This means Microsoft is now allowed to proceed with the acquisition.

If everything goes as planned, Microsoft will acquire Nokia Devices and Services early next year for $7.2 billion and Stephen Elop will return back to Microsoft. He is also on the shortlist to succeed Steve Ballmer's as a CEO of the company.
The CEO candidates reportedly includes Stephen Elop, Ford's CEO Alan Mulally, former Skype president Tony Bates, and the executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group - Satya Nadella. Alan Mulally later stated he has no plans to leave the company though.
Nokia's Lumia and Asha brands will be owned by Microsoft once the deal is complete, while Nokia patents will be licensed to Microsoft for the next 10 years. Microsoft hasn't revealed any plans for the future of the division yet.
It will be very interesting to see who will be Microsoft's next CEO. If this is indeed Stephen Elop, we might see Microsoft selling its Xbox business and killing the Bing services. Steve Ballmer still has future plans for those, so it is uncertain if Elop will be able to do what he wants though.
Anyway, while the Nokia Devices and Services future is yet to be decided, one thing seems certain - the division is going to Microsoft next year.

ZTE announces Nubia Z5S and Nubia Z5S Mini

ZTE has officially announced the Nubia Z5S and the Nubia Z5S Mini smartphones. With the new additions, ZTE will be looking to strengthen its position in the world's largest smartphone market.
ZTE Nubia Z5S is the company's latest flagship smartphone, which sports a 1080p Sharp IGZO display. The smartphone packs a punch with its 2.3 GHz Krait 400 CPU on along with 2 GB of RAM on a Snapdragon 800 chipset. There's also support for LTE connectivity.

The Z5S comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera with OS, which also has the ability to shoot 4K video and slow motion videos at 120fps. The 5 megapixel front shooter completes the camera department. The handset runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and the juice for it is provided by a 2,300mAh battery.
The ZTE Nubia Z5S Mini is a more compact and more affordable smartphone, sharing the design of the Nubia Z5. The Z5S Mini is just 7.6mm thick and weighs 120g. The mid-range smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.7 GHz and features 2 GB of RAM for trouble-free multi-tasking.

Just like the Z5S, the mini variant too has a 13 megapixel rear camera, but there is no optical image stabilization. The device will come with 16 or 32 GB internal storage and there is no microSD slot. Lastly, Nubia Z5S Mini runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and supports LTE connectivity.
The 3G model of the ZTE Nubia Z5S with 16GB memory is priced at CNY1,999 (about $328) in China, while the 32 GB LTE variant costs CNY3,456 (about $567). The 16 GB version of the Z5S mini 3G carries a price tag of CNY1,499 (about $246) and the 32 GB LTE option can be yours for CNY2,345 (about $348). There's no word of an international launch just yet, though.

Galaxy S5 might sport a 5"+ 2560x1440 AMOLED screen, leaked Samsung Display CEO presentation hints

We heard through the grapevine during Samsung's Analyst Day not long ago that the company might be releasing a 560ppi mobile display next year, which we immediately thought would be a perfect fit for a flagship phone like the Galaxy S5 or even an eventual Note 4.

There were no reporters allowed during the Analyst Day presentations given by Samsung head honchos, so most of the rumors what's in the pipeline were hearsay from Korean analysts that were present at the events. Now, however, we have the whole presentation of Samsung Display's CEO Kinam Kim leaking out, and on slide number 11 below 2014 is clearly marked as the year Samsung will reach 560ppi phone displays, and of the Super AMOLED variety at that.

Next up in the lofty goals is making such displays with plastic substrate, like on the Galaxy Round, but mass producing such panels is probably some time off still. Nevertheless, a 560ppi AMOLED screen on the Galaxy S5 would be pretty amazing, as it would mean resolutions in the 2600x1440 pixels ballpark at a 5.3" size. That's roughly the so-called WQHD resolution that you see mentioned in one of the slides as ready for next year, whose standard is exactly a 2560x1440 resolution, or 3.7 million pixels at your disposal on a small phone screen, pretty crazy.

Not that we have any problem with the current Full HD 1080p screens, but if the new panels also sport some fancy new energy-saving tech like during the jump from 720p to 1080p screens, we are all for it. In any case, this is just speculation at this point, though we doubt that if Samsung has heard plans for 2600x1440ppi smartphone screens from competitors, it will leave next year's flagships to chance.

Meanwhile, Samsung has some great plans for bendable, foldable, and even stretchable displays going forward, on anything from wearables, through cars, to fashion even. The whole presentation can be found at the source link, but take a look below at the handpicked slides from it, which refer to mobile displays, and marvel at what's ahead. In any case, it looks like Vivo's Xplay 3S phone might hit the market with a WQHD display first, but it won't be the only one for long

ARM and Samsung putting final touches on a 64-bit Exynos, 128-bit mobile chips fleshed out, too

A "senior ARM official" has confirmed for Korean media that the chip architecture developer has been working with Samsung to bring a 64-bit processor to its smartphones and tablets next year.

The CPU should belong to Samsung's Exynos family, and is likely planned as a direct response to the 64-bit Apple A7 chipset, as found in the iPhone 5s and the new iPads. “Executives from Samsung and ARM had a meeting today. They discussed the ARM 64-bit chip, which is expected to be used in Samsung’s smartphone next year,” were the senior manager's exact words.

Cortex-M processors, for devices such as a smart home system, have been discussed during the meeting as well, where ARM’s executive vice president of commercial and global development, Antonio Viana, has allegedly been present. The insider also noted that 128-bit processors are being bandied about at ARM as a possibility, but not until two years from now.

ZTE to offer a Windows Phone model and a smartwatch in 2014

Chinese manufacturer ZTE will be joining other manufacturers in the smartwatch race, starting with the launch of more than one timepiece next year. A published report in the Financial Times on Monday quotes  ZTE's executive vice president He Shiyou as saying that "ZTE wearable smartwatches will be launched as early as the first quarter." Apple is expected to release its iWatch device sometime next year with a smartwatch also due from HTC. The ZTE executive added that the company is thinking about producing connected glasses in the future, similar to Google Glass.
With ZTE ranked as either the fourth or fifth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, depending on who is doing the counting, Shiyou said that the company wants to break into the top three.To reach this goal, ZTE will be focusing on higher-end smartphones instead of low-priced feature phones and entry-level Android handsets. ZTE will also start producing Windows Phone powered handsets once Microsoft completes its acquisition of Nokia. Microsoft brass recently visited ZTE to assure the Chinese based manufacturer that it wants a wide range of handset manufacturers producing Windows Phone flavored models.

"The next three years will be critical for ZTE’s devices business. There is a window of opportunity to push ZTE into the top three in terms of market share."-He Shiyou, executive VP, ZTE

He Shiyou also made comments bound to start a number of rumors. The ZTE executive said that the company is considering making an acquisition or merger to add to its market share in the smartphone industry. Shiyou would not name any specific targets. BlackBerry would seem out of the question considering that the Canadian government has no intention of allowing a Chinese corporation to purchase the troubled handset manufacturer. There is speculation that a Lenovo led bid for BlackBerry was blocked by the Canadian government.

Nokia details the Assertive Display tech on Lumia 1520, says that's the best mobile screen it's ever done

The Lumia 1520 elevates the excellent mobile displays on the Lumia range to a whole new level, thanks to the Assertive Display technology utilized, which we saw recently to be leaps and bounds ahead in terms of outdoor visibility in comparison with the iPhone 5, Xperia Z Ultra and Note 3.

We already had Nokia's High Brightness Mode and Sunlight Readability Algorithms on flagship Lumias, which could pump up an OLED display to the unprecedented 600 nits, and achieve stellar outdoor visibility, coupled with Nokia's ClearBlack filter tech.

Assertive Display, a technology developed by Apica, is a whole different approach, which adjusts the image on the screen in real time, depending on the lighting conditions and the image displayed, just as our eyes work, constantly adjusting to the environment around. "If the content on the screen is darker on the right than on the left, the pixels on each side will be stimulated differently to each other to maximize both visibility and quality," says Nokia.

That's a pretty granular level of detail we are reaching here, but the Finns also confirm that the Lumia 1520 will adjust perfectly not only outdoors, but inside too, dimming each pixel to the appropriate level. This way you won't burn your retinas when you have to check on something in the middle of the night while in bed, for instance. Nokia has chosen to place this technology in a rather niche phablet device like the Lumia 1520, but we hope to see it in future flagships too, now that the future is so closely tied with Microsoft's Windows Phone efforts.

128 GB Meizu MX3 goes on sale in China

Meizu unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the MX3 a while ago. Back then, the company had also announced the availability of the 128GB model along with the 16, 32 and 64GB versions.
The 128GB model of the Meizu MX3, is the first smartphone to feature such an extensive internal storage (although 128GB was achievable with the help of a microSD slot earlier), is now available in China for a price of CNY3,999 (about $660).

However, the 128GB variant of the Octa-core smartphone works only on the TD-SCDMA networks, which means that the device will be functional only on the Chinese mobile networks for now. Unfortunately, there is no word on the global availability of the 128GB variant.
Meanwhile, if want to know more about the Meizu MX3, head to our detailed review to learn all its secrets.

Nokia Lumia 929 said to hit Verizon Wireless on November 21

A word got out that the yet to be announced Nokia Lumia 929 is going to hit the Verizon shelves this week, on November 21. The Windows Phone 8 powerhouse is rumored to launch alongside the Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet.

The Nokia Lumia 929 has made a few of unscheduled appearances, but it is yet to go official. The Windows Phone handset is expected to feature the same specs as the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet, except for the 5” 1080p display.

Microsoft files patent application for "Quiet Time" feature

Microsoft has filed a patent application for a system that can be used to prevent a teenager's phone from making phone calls while behind the wheel of a moving car, or prevent audio from coming out of the speakers of a phone inside a movie theater. Called "Quiet Time," the feature could prevent phone calls from being made during certain times of the day, or while at certain locations.
Based on diagrams from the patent application, a block could be placed on a phone based on a certain time period. The example in one diagram shows a phone in "Quiet Time" from 11pm to 7am, while calls would be allowed only to Mom or Dad or to 911. "QuietTime" might also be implemented in houses of worship, movie theaters or businesses and those walking into such locations could find their phones' audio and communication features disabled while in the affected location. The feature would be disabled when a quieted device bumps with the main mobile device.
In another scenario, parents could set up the "Quiet Time" function before their child gets into the car and drives. One setting could lock the phone and prevent phone calls from being made or received and will unlock when the driver pulls over. A motion sensor would determine if the phone is in a moving vehicle. Calls to Mom or Dad or 911 only, would be allowed. Other options lock a teen driver's phone if the parents are not in the car while a more experienced teen driver might be allowed to use the phone using hands-free technology.
Microsoft filed this application with the USPTO in Q4 of 2012 which means we have no idea when this technology might actually be seen on a Windows Phone.

More details on QHD Vivo Xplay 3S emerge

The Vivo Xplay 3S is shaping up to be a Galaxy Note 3 killer. A new batch of leaked specs reveal more about the mysterious phone with a 5.5" QHD screen (2,560 x 1,440). That resolution (4x 720p) requires a beefy GPU.
The chipset is a Snapdragon 800 with Adreno 330 and it's the 8974AB version, which has the GPU clocked at 550MHz instead of 450MHz, which is the norm in most Snapdragon 800-powered devices (including the Note 3). There's 3GB of RAM too.
The device will have a camera of unknown resolution with an f/1.8 aperture. There's also a built-in Hi-Fi audio chip" and USB 3.0 connectivity (which is unique to the Note 3 among pocketable devices).
Other connectivity includes 4G LTE – of the international and Chinese varieties.
The Vivo Xplay 3S is yet to be officially announced but rumors point to a launch in the first half of next year.

Octa-core Ascend P6S confirmed by Huawei president

The Huawei Ascend P6 is not only one of the slimmest, but also among the best looking smartphones around. It is also a pretty decent smartphone with the only part of its hardware that wasn’t quite impressive being the chipset, which tended to deliver more heat that actual processing power.
The Chinese manufacturer has obviously acknowledged that as it’s now preparing to release an upgraded version of the smartphone featuring a new chipset with an octa-core CPU. The news was delivered by the company’s president Xu Xin Quan through the Weibo blogging platform.
Powering the upcoming Huawei Ascend P6S will be another custom designed SoC that will come to replace the K3V2 on the company’s products. It will come will a true-octa core processor, meaning that all cores will be able to operate simultaneously, unlike the current crop of Samsung Exynos chipsets which only allow up to four cores to work at a time.
The rest of the Ascend P6S specifications remain unknown, but the naming suggests that it won’t be a huge upgrade over the Ascend P6 (pictured above). We also have no information just yet on pricing and launch dates for the new smartphone

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Xolo launches new Q1000 Opus with Broadcom chipset

Xolo just announced the Q1000 Opus, a version of the already available Xolo Q1000. It has a 5" 720p screen and a quad-core chipset. The Opus doesn’t seem to be a dual-SIM phone like the regular Q1000.
Another difference is that the chipset used is made by Broadcom rather than MediaTek, though both feature quad-core Cortex-A7 CPUs running at 1.2GHz. There is a difference in the GPUs though, the Broadcom chipset uses a VideoCore GPU rather than a PowerVR SGX544.
The Xolo Q1000 Opus has HSPA+, Wi-Fi connectivity with Miracast for wireless TV-out, plus GPS and GLONASS positioning. Unfortunately, that's all the info available on the phone right now.
The Opus will be available for sale by the end of this month, pricing info is not available yet.
Xolo is keen to point out that this marks a new partnership for chipset supply – the company also has devices with MediaTek, Nvidia and Intel chipsets.

WP 8.1 Blue to premiere on Nokia Goldfinger and Moneypenny

While Nokia and Microsoft are yet to roll out the GDR3 update with Lumia Black customizations, the rumor mill is already looking ahead for the next year's WP 8.1 Blue release.
The WP 8.1 Blue has been in the rumorland for a while and all reports so far suggest it will finally bring notification center, better multi-tasking and a Siri-like Cortana voice assistant. The WP 8.1 is expected to be announced at the upcoming MWC in Barcelona early next year.
The famous @evleaks tipster struck again today with another juicy rumor - the upcoming WP 8.1 Blue will debut on two Lumia devices codenamed Goldfinger and Moneypenny. There are no specifications of either of those provided just yet, but it is believed the Goldfinger will be the flagship model with the Nokia's long developed "3D Touch" technology.


The 3D Touch is something similar to Galaxy S4's Air Gestures, but it will be much more advanced. Different dedicated hardware sensor will track and recognize your hand movements for advanced gesture controls.

Jolla to go on sale on November 27

The Jolla phone is finally coming to the market. Starting from November 27, you will be able to snatch the first Sailfish OS smartphone as long as you live in Helsinki, Finland.
The smartphone will cost €399, which is a little steep but brings a refreshing, gesture-based UI, open operating system, fresh color options (9 in total), the ability to choose which apps come preinstalled and more.


Jolla announced the news on Twitter, where it also confirmed that it has selected Finnish carrier DNA as partner for the Jolla phone launch.

"The world's first #Jolla phone will be sold on Nov 27 in Helsinki" by @DNA_fi
— Jolla (@JollaHQ) November 14, 2013

The Jolla will rocka 4.5" qHD (960 x 540) display, dual-core 1.4 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, LTE, expandable 16 GB storage and 8 MP camera among other things. The handset went through the BrowserMark 2 benchmark, scoring a higher-than-expected 1370 points. The Jolla packs the Sailfish Browser 1, which uses the Gecko Engine 20.0, on which Firefox for mobile is based too. According to the authors of the benchmark, the Gecko engine isn't particularly great in the test, so the higher than expected score points to great efficiency of the underlying Sailfish OS.

Motorola Moto G is official with a 4.5" 720p display

At a special event today, Motorola officially announced the Moto G - a mid-range smartphone designed to bring the acclaimed Moto X user experience to a lower price point. It's built around a 4.5" 720p edge-to-edge display that's covered in Gorilla Glass 3 for extra protection against scratches and drops. Motorola has even wrapped the insides of the Moto G with a water-resistant nano-coating.

Under the hood of the Motorola Moto G ticks a Snapdragon 400 chipset with a quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 processor, Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM. Sadly, it doesn't run the latest Android 4.4 KitKat version out of the box, but comes with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Motorola states the Moto G will get Android 4.4 KitKat in January 2014.
The main camera is at the back of the Moto G and is a 5MP shooter that does only 720p video recording. Below it sits an LED flash, while on its left is the phone's speaker. The secondary front-facing shooter is 1.3MP. 

Motorola boasts that it has obsessively worked on the software side of the Moto G so that it's faster in answering and making calls and booting up. In fact, it says the phone is faster than the Galaxy S4 when it comes to those basic tasks. The Motorola Moto G also packs FM Radio.
Below the curved back cover lies a 1,950mAh Li-Ion battery. Motorola boasts an all-day long battery life. Compared to the iPhone 5s, Motorola says the Moto G flaunts a 30% longer talk time. Internal storage is just 8GB or 16GB with no microSD card expansion option.
The Motorola Moto G comes with an attractive $179 price tag for the 8GB version, while the 16GB variant costs $20 more. The phone launches today in Brazil and parts of Europe and will also be available in a dual-SIM variant. Motorola plans to launch the phone in a total of 30 countries, including the US and on 60 different carriers by the beginning of 2014.
The back of the Moto G is removable and Motorola provides a variety of colored backs including black, white, dark and light blue, pink, yellow and red. Other accessories include flip covers and colored protective cases in addition to JBL wireless speakers.

Jolla smartphones to feature Nokia HERE maps

Jolla announced today it has successfully integrated Nokia HERE maps as the default navigation app of Sailfish OS. The Finnish company also says its OS will get access to thousands of Android apps thanks to the Yandex.Store marketplace

Just yesterday, the Tizen Association got the word out that the Samsung and Intel co-developed Tizen OS will also incorporate Nokia HERE maps as the navigation of choice. The Jolla agreement to license the Nokia HERE business will provide map data as well as local information from over 190 countries.
“We are excited that HERE is providing its leading positioning services for Sailfish OS and that our maps application will be powered by HERE cloud services. This will help us deliver the optimal mobile maps experience to our customers,” says Jolla CEO, Tomi Pienimäki.
As for the support for Android applications, Jolla said that the Yandex.Store has over 85,000 apps in over 17 categories. Some important and popular apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Viber and games like Angry Birds are available there.
Jolla recently unveiled more specifications of its upcoming smartphone. The global pre-order for the Jolla phone is over, but Finns can still book one for €100. The total price of the handset is €400 (including VAT, the phone is unlocked).

Official CyanogenMod installer is now available in the Google Play Store

As promised, the developers from CyanogenMod Inc. released an installer to help users with flashing the company’s popular Android ROMs on their device. The app is currently available for free in the Google Play Store.

The app requires companion desktop software which is available to download on Windows PCs for free. Combined, the desktop software and mobile app should make installing a CyanogenMod ROM a breeze. Of course, the user’s Android smartphone must be on the list compatible devices to get the special treatment.
You can download the CyanogenMod installer in the Google Play Store right now. Feel free to share your experience with us by dropping us a line in the comments section.

Lenovo Vibe Z is a dual-SIM, 1080p phablet

Lenovo announced the Vibe Z – a 5.5" phablet with dual-SIM functionality. The device packs a Snapdragon 800 chipset and a Sony Exmor RS camera and runs a custom Android-based ROM.
The screen on the Lenovo Vibe Z is a 5.5" IPS LCD of 1080p resolution (400ppi). It's powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset (quad-core Krait at 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU).


The Vibe Z is a dual-SIM device and will come in several versions - specific configurations for Chinese operators, plus a GSM + 4G LTE version for the international market.
The phablet uses a Sony IMX135 camera with a 1/3.06" Exmor-RS sensor with 13MP resolution and a fast f/1.8 lens. Lenovo is promising great low-light performance with the backside illuminated sensor, wide aperture and proprietary image processing algorithms, not to mention the dual-LED flash. The front-facing camera has a wide-angle lens, 84°.
Lenovo has created special flip covers for the Vibe Z that look like the S View Covers from Samsung and Quick Window cases from LG. Except the Lenovo case has a special area to slide to answer or decline an incoming call.


The Lenovo Vibe Z is the big brother of the MediaTek-based Vibe X (a 5", 1080p phone). While not as thin as the X, the Vibe Z is still pretty slender at 7.9mm. It will be available for pre-order in China soon, details on the international release are yet to be announced.

Tizen OS gets 36 new partners

The Tizen Association announced today it is has started partnering with 36 major companies, which will bring a broader support for the Tizen OS at launch. The list includes notable tech companies, game publishers, electronic giants and mobile carriers.

This is great news for the Tizen platform and gives it a lot of potential for when it finally becomes commercially available. Yesterday, news broke that Tizen 3.0 will be available in the third quarter of 2014, so there’s quite some time remaining until it gets adoption beyond developers.
The mobile operating system that is jointly developed by Samsung and Intel is currently powering the Samsung NX300M mirrorless camera, with the first Tizen smartphone yet to get its announcement.
Here’s the full list of the 36 companies in question:

• 11 Bit Studios
• ACCESS
• appbackr
• AppCarousel
• ArtSpark Holdings
• Celsys Inc.
• Citymaps
• Crucial Tec
• eBay
• F@N Communications
• Goo Technologies
• HERE, a Nokia business
• HI Corporation
• Igalia S.L.
• KeyPoint Technologies
• KONAMI
• Konantech
• McAfee Mobica
• Monotype Imaging Inc.
• Mutecsoft
• Neos Corporation
• NTT Data MSE
• Open Mobile
• Panasonic
• PCPhase
• Quixey
• Reaktor Fusion
• Sharp
• Symphony Teleca
• Systena
• The Weather Channel
• Tieto
• TrendMicro
• TuneIn Radio
• YoYo Games

As you can see, there are some important players in this list like Panasonic, eBay, Sharp and McAfee. By the look of things, Tizen seems to be gaining more and more traction by the day. Sadly, it’s taking longer than expected to materialize in a consumer-oriented device and that might turn out to be a very costly delay.

Karbonn announces 1080p Titanium X

Karbonn, the Indian smartphone manufacturer has announced its latest device, the Titanium X.


Titanium X sports a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. The smartphone features a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash, 5 -megapixel front shooter and supports NFC.
Karbonn's newest addition runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and the juice for the smartphone comes from a 2,300mAh battery. Unfortunately, there's no information about the RAM available on board.
Karbonn Titanium X is expected to go on sale shortly, but it's pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Sony Xperia Z1S shows up briefly on Sony's site

The Sony Xperia Z1S, aka Xperia Z1 mini, leaks started as soon as it became clear that the Xperia Z1 f will be exclusive to Japan. Now the Xperia Z1S has cropped up on an official Sony site in another country, which lends support to the rumors of an international launch (note that the page has since been taken down).


Unfortunately, that country is China and plenty of makers (Sony included) have phones exclusive to China, so this isn't a strong confirmation of a global launch. Still, we won't have to torture ourselves with a long will-they-won't-they as rumors indicate that the Sony Xperia Z1S will be unveiled on November 12 in Shanghai (that's tomorrow!).
Note that the S in Xperia Z1S is officially styled as superscript, but we'll skip that in the interest of readability.
A quick refresher for those who haven’t been following the rumor mill, the Xperia Z1S is rumored to have a compact 4.3" 720p screen and the full set of specs that made the Xperia Z1 so good – a 20.7MP 1/2.3" sensor, a Snapdragon 800 chipset and an IP58 rating. This would make it the first proper flagship mini, something the HTC One mini and Samsung Galaxy S4 mini failed to achieve.

this week

Lenovo launches IdeaPad Flex, a dual-mode Windows 8 notebook PC

Lenovo has officially taken wraps of IdeaPad Flex, a dual-mode notebook PC with a 10 point multitouch feature. Lenovo’s newest addition comes with an ability to flip 300 degrees to instantly switch between laptop and stand modes.

With the laptop mode, you get the integrated keyboard and a touchpad, while the stand model is designed for touch usage and social functionality.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex sports a 14-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The notebook measures 343 x 250 x 21nn and weighs about 2 kilograms.
The Flex runs Windows 8 and is powered by a 4th generation Intel core i3 processor along 4 GB of RAM. The NVIDIA GeForce GT740M completes the graphics department. IdeaPad Flex also features a 720P camera, Dolby advanced audio certified speakers and a wide range of connectivity options.
The juice for the portable computer comes from a 48Wh battery, which according to the company lasts for about 6 hours of 1080p video playback.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex will be up for grabs in Black with Silver Grey edge color combination starting at $680.

Xolo Q2000 goes official, 5.5-inch display in tow

Xolo has officially unveiled the Q2000, a mid-range phablet with a 5.5" 720p screen. The device runs Android 4.2 Jelly Beans on a 1.2 GHz MediaTek quad-core processor with 1 GB of RAM. There's 8GB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 32 GB via microSD card slot.

Xolo Q2000 also houses a 13 megapixel rear camera with LED flash. The camera app features scene detection and tuning, HDR, face recognition, vertical and horizontal panorama.
Furthermore, the phablet packs a relatively small 2,600mAh battery that offers 17 hours of talk time on 2G and 12 hours on 3G. Xolo's newest offering measures 156 x 77.8 x 9.8 mm and weighs about 180 grams.
Xolo Q2000 is priced at INR 14,999 (about $240) and will be available in Black.

Limited edition Oppo N1 with CyanogenMod gets announced

Oppo announced that it will sell a limited edition of its N1 flagship with CyanogenMod out of the box. The smartphone will be available next month for the same price as the regular N1.

As expected, the CyanogenMod version of the Oppo N1 will support all the device’s features, including its tricked out camera. Furthermore, the device will come with unique retail box (as seen in the photo above) which includes a special case to go with other CyanogenMod specific accessories.
The “regular” Oppo N1 will not be left out of the CyanogenMod party as well. The device will come with the ROM pre-loaded, so users will be able to flash it right out of the box.

Samsung reaffirms its support for Tizen, sheds light on its future

A report in Korean media emerged, shedding light on Samsung’s future plans for Tizen. According to the head of Samsung Electronics’ visual display unit, the OS represents a “significant investment” for Samsung, and much progress has been achieved in its development.


The company’s executive further iterated that a Tizen smartphone will be released before any other device. However, the launch of Samsung’s first handset has been pushed for 2014, not this year as initially expected.
On a couple of different occasions recently, we saw the Samsung Z9005 Redwood appear with Tizen on board. The smartphone however, is a developer-only device.

Sony reveals its Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade plans

Google officially announced the 4.4 KitKat a couple of days and today, Sony has revealed its Android upgrade roadmap. In an official blog post, the Japanese manufacturer has also announced its plans with the 4.3 Jelly Bean roll out.
As promised, Sony will be bringing the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean to its Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia SP, Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia Z1 and the Xperia Tablet Z. The software roll-out will begin from next month and as usual, the upgrades will seed region by region.


The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean upgrade list just doesn't end with the top-tier smartphones. Sony has confirmed that Xperia T, Xperia TX and the Xperia V will be upgraded to 4.3 Jelly Bean.
Sony is also the first smartphone manufacturer to break the news about its Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade cycle. For now, the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra and the Xperia Tablet Z will be in the queue to get the latest 4.4 KitKat update.
Google has already announced that the 4.4 KitKat is designed to scale and automatically fit on the devices with as little as 512 MB of RAM. So, the update might eventually make it to a numerous Xperia devices, but no further model names have been confirmed at the moment.

Google debuts ART in KitKat, aims to change Android

Here's something you probably haven't even heard of yet. It's a little something that Google engineers have been working on for over two years, which will change the very way your Android smartphone runs apps.
ART, which is short for Android Runtime, aims to replace Dalvik and change the way your Android-powered smartphone runs. Dalvik is the one responsible for running apps on Android. Its runtime uses the JIT complier (Just-In-Time) to interpret bycode, which is a partial version of the original application code. ART uses the AOT process (Ahead-Of-Time) and basically pre-compiling the bycode into machine language the moment an app is installed, making them in essence native apps.


This will eliminate the need for a virtual machine or interpreting code, which will cut startup times greatly. Currently ART is in experimental stages but you can still enable it on your KitKat Nexus device by going to Settings > Developer options > Select runtime. Keep in mind that this will require a reboot and will take about 10 minutes to boot all apps up again. Also don't try this on other AOSP builds right now as it makes the OS crash and become unusable.
Initial observations show that execution time on most apps has been cut in half. And once Google gets around to making ART official, the runtime process would be market ready and much faster.
The compromises with this method of running apps is that each app would take a longer time to install, which isn't ideal if you're coming from a backup and are waiting for loads of apps to install. Also the app would consume more storage because the bycode is being fully compiled - around 10% to 20% more.
Still if ART proves ready for prime time it would promise better app loading times, increased battery life and superior multitasking.

Future Samsung devices will pack house-made CPUs, 560ppi displays

Samsung’s mobile devices will feature house-made CPU core and displays with 560ppi in the near future. The word arrived during today's conference call, where the company’s executive team spoke about what lies ahead.

The move of CPU core production in house will be a particularly important shift for Samsung, as currently, the company’s chipsets feature CPU cores licensed from ARM. It will be accomplished in two-steps – Samsung will first develop 64-bit cores based on ARM designs and then move to its own.
Mobile displays were another hot topic of conversation during the analyst event. Next year, Samsung will out RGB AMOLED displays with a pixel density of 560ppi. Combined with the targeted WQHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), the aforementioned pixel density points at a display with a 5.25” diagonal coming our way (quite adequate for a Samsung Galaxy S5 we’d say).

Furthermore, Samsung will out mobile devices with 4K displays in 2015. With a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, those screens will represent a huge leap compared to the 1080p units which are in fashion today.

Archos announces 101 XS 2 Android tablet

Archos has launched a new large Android tablet, the 101 XS 2. It has a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution IPS display and Archos Coverboard keyboard that snaps magnetically to the tablet and acts as a cover, keyboard and a kickstand.

On the inside is a quad-core Cortex A9 CPU clocked at 1.6GHz and Mali 400 MP4 GPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage space with microSD card. The tablet has 2 megapixel cameras on the front and back. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The Archos 101 XS 2 will be available in December in the UK for £249.99.

Verizon Ellipsis 7 with quad-core processor goes official

After appearing in rumorland, the Verizon Ellipsis is now official. Verizon’s first tablet is 4G LTE enabled and will rub its shoulders against the likes of Google nexus 7.

As the name suggests, Verizon’s Ellipsis is a 7-inch slate with a 720p IPS LCD display. The tablet is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and there is 8 GB of internal storage which can be expanded via microSD card slot.
Verizon Ellipsis runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box and will be eligible for future OS updates. Lastly, the juice for the slate comes from a 4,000mAh battery.
Verizon’s newest addition to the tablet club is priced at $249. However, you can get one for $149 if you purchase it with a two-year contract.

Google announces Helpouts

Google Helpouts is a brand new service from Google that will let you get help on any topic you want from real people over the internet through a video call. The service offers you a bunch of topics to choose from and you can also type in what you need help with.

Helpouts then presents you with options that match your query. You will see a list of Helpouts that you can choose from that best match your query, with the name of the people who will be conducting the call. You can start a Helpout call with the person immediately or schedule it for later.
Most of the Helpouts are paid and you will be paying from $1 onwards (I’ve seen some costing over $100 per call) depending upon the person you will be contacting. Some Helpouts are free but those are few and far between.

Nikon has announced a new member of their high-end FX format DSLR

Nikon has announced a new member of their high-end FX format DSLRs. The Nikon Df straddles the line between a classic Nikon camera designed around the lines of the old Nikon ‘F’ series of 35mm film cameras and a modern day DSLR.

On the outside, the Df is all retro. The body is made out of magnesium alloy and leather. On the top sits a roof mounted pentaprism with a hotshoe. The camera comes with a smattering of mechanical dials to adjust everything, from ISO to exposure compensation, release mode and exposure mode and a body mounted shutter button with threaded release port. The Df is being released with the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Special Edition lens that is designed to match the look of the camera.

On the inside, the Df is basically the previously launched Nikon D4. It has the same 16.2 megapixel full-frame FX format CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 12,800, expandable up to 204,800. The 39-point auto-focus system, however, has been borrowed from the Nikon D610. The Df also has a high resolution 921k dot 3.2-inch LCD on the back. One thing missing from the Df, however, is a video recording mode.
The Nikon Df will be available in black and silver for $2,749.95 (body only) and for $2,999.95 with the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Special Edition lens later this month.

Nokia is reportedly working on a compact Windows RT tablet dubbed Illusionist

As the Nokia Lumia 2520 enjoys its fair share of attention, a report on the company’s second Windows RT tablet made the rounds. Allegedly, an 8” Windows RT slate dubbed Nokia Illusionist is in development.

Reportedly the Nokia Illusionist will be released in early 2014 with Qualcomm silicon on board. The slate will slot perfectly in the range between the 10” Nokia Lumia 2520 and the 6” Lumia 1520 Phablet.
Unsurprisingly, the upcoming 8” Lumia tablet will sport similar design to the 2520 (think a stretched Lumia smartphone). The device is said to sport a lower model number than the one of its larger relative.

HGST creates helium-filled HDDs with 6TB capacity

HDDs are still kings when it comes to capacity (especially if you look at GB/$ ratio) and HGST, a Western Digital subsidiary, has been working hard to ensure that this remains the case. The company’s new helium-filled Ultrastar He6 HDDs have 6TB capacity, 50% more than the 4TB of current drives.

The helium-based design has other advantages too – the gas is significantly less dense than air, which results in less friction and lower operating temperature for the drive. Helium-filled HDDs spinning at 7,200RPM run 5 degrees cooler than conventional HDDs.
They use up to 23% less power too, which is another major consideration for datacenters. HGST plans to sell to server and storage array manufactures. Netflix, a client of HGST, says these two factors will play a big role in optimizing the video streaming servers of the company.
Anyway, the Ultrastar He6 is the same size as conventional 4TB drives but fits seven platters instead of five, which helps increase the storage capacity. The He6 drives are also lighter (no, not because helium is lighter than air), which will be good for laptops so here’s hoping the company brings its helium design to 2.5″ drives, too.

Nokia Lumia 525 gets certified in China, new images appear

The Nokia Lumia 525 has bouncing around in rumorland by its codename "Glee" for quite a while now. The upcoming device will be the replacement for the hugely successful Lumia 520, and naturally, the smartphone is set to compete strongly in the midrange sector.
We now have the first leaked images of the Lumia 520 successor, which comes from China's mobile certification agency TENAA, which is equivalent to the FCC in the US.

According to the certification, the Lumia 525 is said to be a music oriented smartphone. The hardware specifications of the device are rumored to be similar to what we found on the Lumia 520, except for the RAM being boosted from 512MB to 1GB.
Sources say the Nokia Lumia 525 will be announced by the end of the year and the smartphone will be available in White, Yellow, Black and Orange color options.

Samsung deals with Nokia on patents for another 5 years

Samsung and Nokia have agreed to extend their patent agreement for another 5 years, granting the Korean tech giant access to Nokia phone patents until 2019. Samsung will pay additional compensation for patent use for the period starting January 1, 2014 (which is when the previous agreement was scheduled to end).


The exact amount of compensation is expected to be settled in a separate binding arbitration scheduled for 2015. Nokia expects the arbitration to save significant transaction costs related to licensing disputes between the two companies.
The patent extension sheds some light on Nokia's plans after the Microsoft acquisition, namely that the company will continue to make money on smartphones by "actively managing its patent portfolio and licensing activities," which are not part of the Microsoft deal.

Motorola posts teaser page for upcoming Moto G midranger

The Moto G existence has officially been confirmed by Motorola and Google but all we're getting right now is a teaser. The official announcement will take place on November 13, which is next Wednesday.



We received a new tip from an employee of a UK-based retailer with the photo below. Our tipster was told not to put up the tag until November 25, which makes the 25th the likely launch date for the Moto G.
From past leaks we know that the Moto G is a cheaper alternative to the Moto X. It will have a 4.5" 720p screen with Gorilla Glass, quad-core Snapdragon chipset (perhaps a 200 with quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7), 5MP camera with 720p video, and 8GB of storage. The G will run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean instead of 4.4 KitKat (though this rumor is from before the KitKat announcement).
According to a tip we received, the Moto G will cost just £135 off contract (that's $215 or €160).
The teaser page for the Moto G shows a globe, which may indicate a worldwide launch (the tip from the UK helps too). This is welcome news considering the Moto X is next to impossible to find outside the US.

Qualcomm to introduce Adreno 400 in 2014

Qualcomm's Adreno 330 GPU that powers the Snapdragon 800 is currently one of the most successful and powerful on the market. However, Qualcomm won't settle with resting on its laurels and the popular chipmaker is already working on its successor, the Adreno 400. The new GPU series is expected to debut alongside a new Snapdragon chipset.
In the past, Qualcomm has showcased its new innovations at CES and the company might well continue to do that early next year in the 2014 edition of the Consumer Electronic Show.


The Adreno 400 is said to come out with a significant boost to its graphic performance. However, if rumors are to be trusted, the Adreno 400 will not support OpenCL.
Currently, the Adreno 330 has the ability to push 3.6 Gigapixels per second. Naturally, the next iteration of the GPU is expected to be a lot quicker than that.
However, please keep in mind that there is no official word from Qualcomm just yet, so take all this information with a pinch of salt.