Xiaomi Hongmi 1s goes official with Snapdragon 400 SoC
The Chinese designer and manufacturer of mobile phones Xiaomi unveiled its latest entry-level proposition – the Hongmi 1s. The Android smartphone will be available for pre-order in China on February 20 for ¥799 ($130).
The biggest difference between the Xiaomi Hongmi 1s and its predecessor it’s the chipset. The newcomer has ditched the Mediatek MT6589T SoC for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 with 1.6GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 305 GPU.
The Xiaomi Hongmi 1s packs a gig of RAM and 8GB of built-in memory which can be further expanded via microSD card slot. The screen is a 4.7” IPS unit with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. Out of the box, the device will boot Android 4.3 Jelly Bean dressed in Xiaomi’s MIUI V5 interface.
The camera of the Hongmi 1s is an 8MP unit with f/2.2 and LED flash, capable of capturing 1080p videos. The front-facing camera is a 1.6MP unit. Connectivity options include dual-SIM (one GSM and one WCDMA), Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS + GLONASS.
The physical measures of the Hongmi 1s are 137 x 69 x 9.9mm, while its weight tips the scale at 158 grams. The device is powered by a user-replaceable 2,000 mAh battery.
At a quick glance, the Xiaomi Hongmi 1s offers a lot of hardware for the money. The device offers beefier specs than the popular Moto G for a lot less cash.
Microsoft starts rolling out update for the Xbox One
Microsoft has started rolling out a new software update for the Xbox One gaming console. The update will be downloaded automatically by your console when you switch it off and it goes into a low-power state.
The latest update brings with it several additions and improvements. One of them is the ability to see and manage the storage space left on your Xbox One. Microsoft has also made it easier to manage your download queue with separate queues for My Apps and My Games. There is also a new battery power indicator for the controller that appears on the homescreen at the bottom right corner. You can now also connect a USB keyboard to your Xbox One.
Other changes in this update include:
- Ability to delete game and application save data
- Improved installation and DLC management
- Improved UI for accessing friends, achievements, messages, and party chat
- Game DVR app to be included in the Xbox OneGuide as an app channel
- Update to the boot progress indicators for system update
- Improve consistency of UX for update & install progress
- Improved NAT detection
- Network Troubleshooter improvements
- Blu-ray quality improvements
- Significant performance and stability improvements
Rumored upcoming Android-powered Nokia phone to cost $110
The rumored budget range Nokia device that's expected to run Android codenamed "Normandy" will supposedly make its way to market at the very competitive price of around $110.
But before you get too excited, the Normandy will supposedly not be able to access Google Play, and instead will run its own app store powered by Nokia, featuring popular Android offerings such as Skype, Facebook, Twitter and others.
Recent leaks regarding the low-cost droid - also known as the Nokia X - reveal that it'll follow the Asha design language, and feature a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon SoC, 4GB of memoery, 512MB of RAM, and a 5MP shooter.
Nokia has scheduled a press event for the first day of MWC this month - February 24. Be sure to check back with us then for the expected announcements from all major vendors.
Microsoft sells 200 million Windows 8 licenses
Microsoft has revealed that the company managed to sell 200 million licenses of its latest Windows 8 operating system. The number consists only of licenses that Microsoft sells to OEMs to install on their system and not fresh copies that customers can buy off the shelf or online.
While the number might seem large, the truth is it is actually lower than that of Windows 7. Microsoft revealed in May last year that they sold 100 million licenses and now 16 months from the launch of the OS, they hit the 200 million mark. In comparison, Microsoft sold 240 million licenses of Windows 7 in the first year alone.
It’s clear then that Windows 8 isn’t doing as well as its predecessor and is actually getting worse with every passing day. Another thing to remember that these are licenses purchased in bulk by the OEMs and don’t reflect actual copies being used by the customer. So while it still counts as a sale for Microsoft, not all of them are actually in use.
Microsoft released Windows 8.1 last year and will soon be releasing Windows 8.1 Update 1 to help alleviate some of the problems had with the original Windows 8 but it seems customers are fast losing interest. Add to that the general drop in PC sales and things don’t look too great for Windows or Microsoft in general.
Tizen Association has 15 new team members
The Tizen Association Partner Program has added 15 new members to their team.
They are comprised of application developers, mobile software management vendors, major telecom companies, and mobile game publishers.
The new members are going to become a major part of Tizen Association Meetings, become involved with the Tizen Road Map, and involve themselves with Working Groups.
Here’s a quote from the Tizen Association on their progress and plans for the future:
“Tizen allows vendors and operators the freedom and flexibility to decide what type of service is best provided to the end-users,” said Ryoichi Sugimura, a Tizen Association Board Member from NTT DOCOMO. “We are gaining support from all segments of the connected device ecosystem, as more organizations realize the opportunity in providing smart phones and connected devices globally from the high-end to the low-end of the market. The convergence of knowledge will make Tizen a catalyst for providing more innovation not just in smart phones – every vendor and operator will have the ability to provide a huge variety of customizable services to their customer.”And here’s a list of the new members of team Tizen:
•AccuWeather
•Acrodea
•Baidu
•CloudStreet
•Cyberlightning
•DynAgility
•Gamevil
•Inside Secure
•Ixonos
•Nomovok
•Piceasoft
•Red Bend Software
•SoftBank Mobile
•Sprint
•ZTE
Currently, Tizen’s partners include Panasonic, McAffee, KONAMI, eBay, and others.
Do you feel better about Tizen’s chances of making it in the mobile OS space now that they have a few more players backing them up? Or do you think the mobile OS is doomed to failure?
‘Universal Store’ for Windows and Windows Phone leaked
the Universal Store that will allow users to download the same applications for their Windows desktop and Windows Phone handsets.
Well Twitter user, @AngelWZR has a leak that all but confirms Microsoft’s plan to implement their “Universal Applications.”
The leaked image shows a slide that tells developers they have the capacity now to create applications that work for both the Windows OS and Windows Phone devices. There’s a ‘Shared Solution’ template that developers can use, as well as shared developer and test tools for the apps, which gives us even more evidence that a unified application solution is on the horizon.
The second leaked slide indicates that a huge percentage, 80%, to be exact, of the XAML can be used across both the Windows and Windows Phone platforms. The other 20% seems to be for customizing the appearance and superficial behaviors of the applications.
We can also gather from the slides that two AppX packages are created once the application is complete. So it’s more than likely that Microsoft will do away with its current XAP packaging format.
If these sources and all of the recent murmurs are to be believed, then it looks like Microsoft is pushing harder and harder to bridge the gap between their desktop and mobile devices. It sounds like a great idea in theory, however, how will consumers react? So far, the Surface hasn’t really been working all too well for Microsoft, which was supposed to be a unified approach mobile/tablet computing. Users also aren’t too happy with the Windows 8 interface, so it may not be the best idea for Microsoft to force their tile-centric approach onto consumers.
If they can make it work, however, they will definitely be on to something. Do you think Microsoft has what it takes to unify desktop and mobile computing experiences?
Toshiba outs 5TB 7200rpm enterprise HDDs
Toshiba has officially launched its new 5TB enterprise HDDs from the MG04 series spinning at 7200rpm. Designed for the mid-range servers and cloud applications in mind, the new Toshiba MG04 HDD is based on 1TB platters and comes in 2TB, 3TB, 4TB as well as 5TB variants.
The MG04 HDDs feature 7200 spindle-speed and either 64MB or 128MB cache. Naturally, they utilize the SAS-6Gb/s interface (as opposed to ATA-6GB/s) and are quite power efficient. Maximum power consumption is rated at 11.3W, while in idle the drives consume between 6W and 6.2W.
Digging into the specs sheet, we find the MG04 series of disks support 4K advanced format sector technology in addition to optional persistent write cache, which helps protect data against sudden power loss.
Toshiba will begin shipping the new hard drives this month, but pricing isn’t yet detailed. Western Digital and Seagate are hard at work to bring their high-capacity HDDs to the market as well. Both of them will be 6TB, so Toshiba won’t stay at the top for long.
Sony Xperia T,TX, and V get Android 4.3 update
If you have a Sony Xperia T, TX, or V smartphone, then you can update your device's firmware to 9.2.A.0.295 today, according to Sony's official site.The global availability of the software package should be available soon for all three of the aforementioned Sony handsets.
If you want to see if the update is available in your region, check out the update pages for the Xperia T, Xperia TX, and Xperia V.
The latest update reportedly gives users a new white, user interface, and a smoother graphical user experience. It also packs an updated Sony home launcher, improved battery life, security patches, and update media applications.
It's good to see that Sony is taking a proactive approach to providing their updates with speed. If they stay on top of their game, then it might curry favor with consumers.
Do you have an Xperia T, V, or TX phone? If so, were you able to get your update? Let us know how it's working out for you in the comments.
Lenovo CEO confident he can turn Motorola around
Regarding Lenovo's recent acquisition of Motorola, CEO Yang Yuanqing claims that his company's long term business model will enable the Chinese tech giant to turn Motorola's fortunes around fairly quickly. That's despite the parallel finalization of the acquisition of IBM's low-end server division .Understandably, skeptics would argue that if Google, with all of its resources, was unable to do it, then how does Lenovo plan on getting it done, in only a few quarters at that?
According to Yang, the company will be able to save a significant amount by immediately lowering material costs and global scaling. They also plan on introducing more Motorola products, particularly in emerging markets like China, where he claims the Motorola brand will be recognized and embraced by customers.
This will likely result in more entry-level devices, but if they're anything similar to the Moto G - without a doubt the budget device of the season last year - then we're all for it. Yang assures us that the company will continue to publish premium devices as well under the Motorola brand, so a Moto X sequel might be somewhere down the road as well.
Part of the reason why Google failed to turn Motorola around was due to the fairly limited market availability of its smartphones. Lenovo's position as a global distributor may be just what the doctor ordered, just as long as Lenovo didn't bite off more than it can chew with two large scale acquisitions at the same time
Microsoft considers bringing Android apps to Windows and Windows Phone
According to a report in The Verge, Microsoft is considering bringing support for Android applications to Windows and Windows Phone. Planning for the radical move is said to be ongoing and in early stages.
If materialized, the shift in strategy will aim to counter the lack of popular apps available on Microsoft’s OS platforms. Despite featuring mainstream titles such as Flipboard and Instagram, Windows Phone still lacks many of the popular iOS and Android apps and games.
Microsoft threw a lot of efforts in luring developers to create apps for Windows Phone. However, the OS is still well behind iOS and Android as their choice of platform.
To make the process work, Microsoft will need to make installing Android apps on Windows Phone an easy exercise. BlueStacks – a company which enables users to run Android apps in Windows environment might be the key factor on this instance.
In addition to increasing the WP market share and device shipments, Android support will also help Microsoft raise the profile of, and build consumer base for its enterprise and cloud services such as OneDrive. The upcoming Nokia X will employ similar tactics as well.
Everything considered, a final decision on the matter will be left to the newly appointed CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella.
LG G Pro 2 with 5.9-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB RAM announced
LG has finally unveiled the most expected G Pro 2 smartphone ahead of MWC 2014, as it promised last week. It has a 5.9-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display with 3.3mm slim bezel and 77.2% screen-to-body ratio, powered by a 2.26 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, OIS+, 4K Ultra HD video recording, Slow motion video recording at 120 FPS and has a range of camera features such as Magic Focus, Natural Flash, Flash for Selfie, Burst Shot and more.
It has a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. It has high-power 1W Hi-Fi sound that is 30% louder than G Pro. You have Knock ON tap to wake up option. Now you can customize the number of taps from two to eight to unlock the phone with Knock Code. The Content Lock option lets you lock files, photos, videos and memos with a unique password.
It has rear mounted power button and volume keys, similar to LG G2 and the G Flex. You also have mini view to shrinking the display to a size ranging from 3.4 inches to 4.7 inches for a comfortable one-handed usage. The dual browser lets you run two separate browser windows on the screen.
LG G Pro 2 specifications
- 5.9-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display with slim bezel
- 2.26 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with Adreno 330 GPU
- Android 4.4 (KitKat)
- Dimensions – 157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3mm, weight: 172g
- 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, OIS+, 4K video recording, Slow motion video at 120 fps
- 2.1 MP front-facing camera
- 3GB DDR3 RAM, 16GB / 32GB of internal memory, micro SD card slot
- LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, GPS / aGPS, NFC, SlimPort
- 3200 mAh battery (removable)
Nokia Lumia Icon heads to Verizon, packs Snapdragon 800 processor & 5 inch 1080p display
The long rumored Nokia Lumia Icon has
finally been announced and it packs quite a punch. The device that is
exclusive to Verizon, combines the specifications of the Lumia 1520 with
the size of the Nokia Lumia 928. The phone sports a 5 inch OLED display
with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. Packed into the five inch frame
this gives it a pixel density of 441ppi. The dimensions of the phone are
fairly svelte at 5.39” x 2.79” x 0.39” inches while the weight comes in
at 166 grams. The Lumia Icon is wrapped in a metallic shell with
ceramic keys which should help it look and feel decidedly less plasticky
compared to the Lumia 928.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 5.39” x 2.79” x 0.39”
- Weight: 166grams
- 5″ OLED display, 1920 x 1080 resolution, 441ppi
- 2.2Ghz Snapdragon 800 processor
- 20MP PureView camera with 4 microphones
- 2GB RAM, 32GB storage
- 2420 mAh battery
Under the hood you’ll spot a 2.2Ghz Quad
Core Snapdragon 800 processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The camera is the
same 20MP PureView unit from the Lumia 1520 that continues to impress.
You get optical image stabilization and all the oversampling benefits as
well as four microphones to capture omnidirectional audio in stereo.
While there’s no micro SD card slot, you do get 32GB of built in
storage. The battery is on the lower end with the capacity being 2,420
mAh however the phone does include built in Qi based wireless charging.
The phone will be available on Verizon starting 20th February and will
be priced at $199 on a two year contract.
Apple again claimed to out 4.7" and 5.5" iPhones in September, iPhone 5c to be phased out
The kicker is that those prototypes, that are increasingly mentioned as the final screen diagonals Apple is employing for this year's iPhones, have had panels made of sapphire glass. The sapphire rumor was just shot down yesterday,
however, with analysts saying it will be too costly for Apple to put
such screens on the millions of handsets it will sell, so it will keep
the tough cover for its iWatch that will eventually measure less than 2
inches across.
"They have to tackle the phablet market. People want bigger screens now,"
commented the insider. Captain Obvious also added that the new
iPhone(s) will be announced in September, and April will be the month
for "freezing" the final design, then ramping up component production.
The iPhone 5c will apparently be phased out, they mention, and the 5s
will take its place, but with slightly altered chassis materials.
As for the sloping or curved display rumors for the new iPhone(s)? "The screens will be flat. Apple doesn't do anything until Samsung does it, and then they improve upon it," mused other insiders, which we can file in the random comments section, given the fact of the Galaxy Round.
Canon announces EOS 1200D entry-level DSLR camera
Canon has announced the new EOS 1200D DSLR (also known as Rebel T5 in the US), their latest entry-level DSLR that replaces the previous 1100D. Just like the 1100D, the 1200D is aimed at first time DSLR buyers and tries to dumb things down considerably by focusing on easy to use presets and simple menus.
The 1200D uses an 18 megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor and DIGIC-4 processor. It has an ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 12800) and a nine-point auto focus system. You can shoot images in burst mode at 3fps or a 1080p video at 30fps.
As mentioned before, the focus here is on making the camera easy to use, so Canon has placed scene settings right on the mode dial. The default Auto mode will automatically select the right scene for you, so in most cases you don’t even have to bother changing the scene and can just use the 1200D as a point-and-shoot camera and still get significantly better results than any point-and-shoot camera.
The Canon EOS 1200D is releasing this month with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens for $549.99 in the US.
Canon announces PowerShot G1 X Mark II digital camera
Canon has announced the new PowerShot G1 X Mark II digital camera, the latest in their series of G-series cameras that are high-end point-and-shoot cameras for those who are a bit more serious about photography. The G1 X Mark II has new optics and sensor along with connectivity options such as NFC and Wi-Fi.
Inside the G1 X Mark II is a new 1.5-inch, 12.8 megapixel 3:2 aspect ratio CMOS sensor, which is way bigger than what you get in most point-and-shoot cameras, and even bigger than the 1-inch sensor in Sony’s excellent RX100 II. The camera has a range of ISO 100-12,800 and with a sensor that large you should be able to get fairly usable images even at the upper ISO limit. The camera has a 31 point AF system for quick focusing.
On the lens side, the G1 X Mark II has a f2.0-f3.9 (24-120mm zoom equivalent) 5x optical zoom lens. The wide aperture allows you to have soft focus background or bokeh in your pictures, along with being able to get more light in. There are also two control rings around the lens, a step ring for customizable settings such as aperture and shutter speed and a continuous ring for manual focusing.
The G1 X Mark II can capture images in 14-bit RAW along with JPEG and record videos in 1080p30. The camera also has several modes designed specifically to capture stars in a still image or a time-lapse movie.
On the back, the G1 X Mark II has a tilting, 3.0-inch full touch 1040k dot LCD that tilts 180 degrees up and 45 degrees down. It also has WI-Fi and NFC connectivity, which lets you quickly transfer images to an Android smartphone or tablet using Canon’s mobile app. You can also use your smartphone or tablet to remotely control the camera from a short distance.
The Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II is priced at $799.99 and will go on sale in April. The camera is targeted at those who’d like something that offers close to DSLR level performance and features in a smaller size. It looks like Sony might just have a serious rival to the RX100 II.
Sony announces the mirrorless a6000 and claims the world’s fastest auto focus
Sony has announced the replacement of its popular NEX-6 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The new a6000 has got a 24MP APS-C sized sensor (up from 16MP on the NEX-6) and brand new Hybrid AF system, which combines the best of the both worlds of phase-detection and contrast-detection auto focus systems. The faster phase-detect points now cover 92% of the frame and provide for what Sony calls “the world’s fastest autofocus”.
But that’s not all, as the Sony a6000 can shoot up to 11fps – and that’s with tracking continuous autofocus turned on.
Sony’s new hybrid auto focus system pairs “a phase-detection AF sensor with an extremely wide autofocus coverage area – 179 focal points – with a high-precision contrast-detection AF”, and the company says that makes it faster (and more versatile) than some professional DSLR cameras.
The Sony a6000 also has an OLED Tru-Finder (that’s Sony for viewfinder) of 1.4M dots resolution, which turns on automatically thanks to a proximity sensor. There is also a built-in flash, Wi-Fi and NFC for one-touch pairing and image transfer to NFC-enabled Android smartphones. Both Android and iOS smart devices can also be used as a remote for the camera with live image preview and instant shot reviewing
The ISO can go up to 25.600, which is the same as on the NEX-6, but here the low-light performance is said to be improved thanks to the new image sensor.
The camera can shoot AVCHD videos in resolution of up to 1920 x 1080 pixels (60p, 24p) and MPEG-4 videos in 1080p@30fps. The new auto focus system benefits video recording too and the Sony a6000 allows aspiring videographers to fine tune the sensitivity of the auto focus system during video recording.
Enjoy this Sony a6000 quick look video below:
The Sony a6000 camera will be available in April 2014 for about $800 in a kit with Sony’s 16-50mm zoom lens. The body will be be sold separately as well for around $650.
Nokia to release Lumia 930 and 630/635
According to Nextleaks (another mobile phone rumor Twitter account, a la Evleaks), Nokia is planning to release the Lumia 930, 630, and 635 smartphones.They should be officially announced at Mobile World Congress, which begins on February 24th.
The 930 is the higher spec'd of the devices, packing a quad-core 2.2GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, a 4.5” 1920x1080 resolution display, microSD card slot, 16GB of internal storage, 20MP camera, and a 2700mAh battery.
The 630/635 is the successor to the Lumia 620. They're both mid-range handsets, with the 635 reportedly being a dual-sim variant of the two. These phones will be sporting 4.3” WVGA displays, 8GB internal storage plus microSD card slots, 1GB RAM, dual-core 1.7GHz CPUs, 8MP cameras, and 2000mAh batteries.
There's also been talk that the Nokia Lumia ICON and Lumia 1820 will be making their debuts at MWC, along with some other unnamed Nokia devices. But again, these are rumors so nothing is official.
Are you excited to see what Nokia will bring to the table in Barcelona at the end of the month?
Mid-range HTC Desire 8 press photo and specs leak
The first official photo of the as of yet unofficial HTC Desire 8 leaked courtesy of Chinese website MyDrivers. Some of the phone's specs also surfaced hinting the upper mid-range nature of the device.
The HTC Desire 8 is rumored to feature a 5.5" display of unspecified resolution, which is the largest HTC has given a non-flagship device to date. At the back of the plastic body sits a 13MP snapper with LED flash, while a 5MP takes care of video chatting and selfies photography at the front.
With dual-SIM functionality on board, the Desire 8 will be available in red, yellow, orange, cyan and white. As you can see from the photo above, HTC has given the phone dual front speaker setup.
Yet more hints from the leaked press shot are the missing hardware capacitive buttons, which means that the Desire 8 will be following the M8's lead and adopt on-screen navigation buttons.
The HTC Desire 8 is expected to be announced on March 18 in Beijing, but here's hoping we meet it sooner in Barcelona later this month.
Samsung Galaxy S5 tipped to come with bezel-free display
According to a report by The Korea Herald citing industry sources, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will launch with a bezel-free display. The Korean giant has reportedly been working on the technology since 2012.
The yet to be revealed smartphone is also said to feature a fingerprint scanner – right in line with previous reports. The fingerprint reader is reportedly embedded in the display and will only be available at its bottom left and right sides. Screen panels with full support for fingerprint scanning are tipped for the second half of this year.
Furthermore, the next generation Samsung Galaxy S will reportedly be even slimmer than its predecessor. The feat will be achieved via a new display panel technology which will replace the currently used four-layer setup featuring indium tin oxide.
In addition to making the smartphone slimmer, the new display technology will bring improved energy efficiency and viewing accuracy. According to an image of Galaxy S5's alleged retail box, the phone's display will be a 5.25" unit with QHD (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) resolution.
Samsung Galaxy S5 will be officially unveiled in less than two weeks, on February 24 in Barcelona. We will be there live, so be sure to tune in for the full scoop on the flagship.
Windows Phone 8.1 SDK promises a ton of updates
The Windows Phone 8.1 SDK has leaked and it brings a bevy of software updates and added features.
The new layout looks like a bit like a combination of Windows RT and Windows Phone; the lines are blurring between the two platforms.
Microsoft has been murmuring about sharing applications across mobile and OS platforms, or rather, creating “universal apps”, for a while now. This would mean that the same applications you would use on Windows 8, would be available right on your smartphone. At least, in theory.
Now 8.1 isn’t exactly Windows RT, but, it does seem like Microsoft is making a push towards having applications work on all Microsoft devices. What lends more to this idea is Microsoft’s changing 8.1′s installation files to the .appx packaging format, which is the same format that Windows 8 uses. The signs sure are plenty.
New to 8.1 is the ability to change your default messaging application, a la Android. There’s also a “Battery Power Sense” feature, support for VPNs, and the re-naming of SkyDrive: it’s now called OneDrive in the OS. There’s also a “Storage Sense” feature that has been added, which allows users to install applications to SD cards.
Noticeably gone is the Music+Video application, it isn’t in 8.1. Instead, there are two separate applications: one for Videos and another for Music.
Multi-tasking has been added in Windows 8.1. There isn’t much known about the application, however, developers are reporting that its akin to Windows 8, instead of an application quitting when you hit the back button, it just chills out in the background. Swiping down now closes apps, so there’s no need to tap the close button anymore.
The camera has received an upgrade as well: burst mode, in addition to video recording and good old-fashioned still photography.
There’s some interesting news to report about accounts: it seems that the option to add a Facebook account is strangely missing. There’s an option to add an iCloud account, and Twitter is there, so it may be that Microsoft is looking to distance itself from Facebook as it’s doing with the Windows 8.1 desktop OS.
Internet Explorer is also enjoying an update to version 11 in 8.1. Developers have said that YouTube videos play differently in the new browser now, and don’t default to the fullscreen mode as in previous iterations.
MS is also adding on-screen buttons to Windows Phone 8.1. This means that there is a possibility for Windows Phone devices in the future to be made without any physical buttons; just on-screen controls.
There hasn’t been any word on WP’s voice assistant, Cortana, in the 8.1 OS, but there are some little tidbits that suggest Microsoft is going all-in with Cortana. Developers who are working with the SDK have reported that the search button doesn’t work and any attempt to use Bing ends up giving them error messages.
Windows Phone 8.1 will be revealed at the Microsoft Build 2014 conference this April, where a full preview of the OS will be given.
Stay tuned for more news on Windows Phone 8.1; it looks like Microsoft is definitely putting a lot of thought and effort into their latest mobile OS.
Dual-OS Geeksphone Revolution pricing and availability confirmed
Details on the pricing and the official availability of the recently announced, dual-OS booting Geeksphone Revolution got out. The Intel-based smartphone will be available on February 20 for €289 ($394).
The device’s manufacturer has hinted that there will be an early-bird discount for the most eager. For a limited time, the device will be offered for €269 ($367) online only.
The Geeksphone Revolution boots Android 4.2.2 and Firefox OS 1.3 via Boot2Gecko. The device’s specs include 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 4.7” qHD IPS display, 4GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot, and 8MP camera.
At a quick glance, pricing of the Geeksphone Revolution appears to carry a hefty premium for the dual-OS capability. It is up to the marketplace to decide if the smartphone is worth it.
Samsung Galaxy Mega Plus with quad-core CPU lands in China
Samsung Galaxy Mega Plus quietly appeared on the manufacture’s official website in China. Sporting the model name I9152P, the dual-SIM GSM/WCDMA+ phablet is an updated version of Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU of unknown make.
The rest of the Samsung Galaxy Mega Plus’ specs include a 5.8” qHD (960 x 540 pixels) display, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, and a microSD card slot. There is an 8MP camera on the back of the handset and a 1.9MP front-facing unit. The OS on tap is a TouchWiz-ed Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
The measures of the Samsung Galaxy Mega Plus are 162.6 x 82.4 x 8.99mm, while its weight tips the scale at 183.5 grams. The phablet is powered by a 2,600mAh battery.
There is no word on availability of the Samsung Galaxy Mega Plus in more markets.
An alleged photo of the Samsung Galaxy S5 box reveals the specs
The evidence that the Galaxy S5 will be unveiled at the MWC is mounting fast – now there's an alleged photo of the box the new flagship will come in. Samsung boxes feature key specs on the back and an anonymous tipster claims to have snapped a photo of the Galaxy S5 package.The specs listed align with previous rumors. The chipset has a quad-core CPU at 2.5GHz and LTE Cat. 4 (150Mbps downlink). This is certainly a Snapdragon chipset and we're possibly looking at the Snapdragon 800 8974AC variety, which packs Krait 400 at 2.46GHz. The box also promises 3GB RAM, same as the Galaxy Note 3 (as can be expected).
Moving on, the screen is listed as 5.25" QHD (2,560 x 1,600), which is precisely what the latest rumors have been saying. That would push the pixel density to 560ppi, but keep in mind this is likely a PenTile Super AMOLED, so it should have a noticeable visual improvement over the current 5" 440ppi screen.
Same goes for the camera - a 20MP shooter, which is in line with the leaked 16MP photo that had 16:9 aspect ratio (20MP is at 4:3). Strangely, the video capture is just 1080p, we were expecting UHD like the Galaxy Note 3.
The final bit of specifications that the box reveals is Android 4.4 KitKat (no surprise here) and a 3,000mAh battery. There's not a peep about the body material (metal or plastic?).
Keep in mind that this box could have been Photoshopped, but nothing it shows is particularly surprising (perhaps aside from the video capture). The Unpacked 5 event (5, get it?) will be held at 20:20 CET on February 24 in Barcelona. We'll be reporting live from there and you can join in via livestream.
KitKat-based Cyanogen CM 11 M3 now available for download
The development of CyanogenMod 11 is going strong and as of today M3 releases are available for download, bringing us one step closer to reaching Release Candidate status.
Built on top of Android 4.4 KitKat, CyanogenMod 11 is slowly but surely crawling to a large number of devices. The CM 11 M3 snapshots are already available for the Google Nexus 5 and 7 (2013) as well as the LG G2. Other devices will be added as soon as their respective developers are ready to commit the code.
Head up to the source link below, which will take you to CyanogenMod’s download page. There you can find if your devices have been treated to the latest M3 builds of CM 11.
Sony D6503 Sirius KitKat lockscreen UI leaks
Yesterday, we saw some screenshots from the upcoming Sony D6503 ‘Sirius’ smartphone, said to unveil at the MWC 2014. The screenshots showed us the camera interface with the option to record videos in 4K and 1080p60 and stills in 20 and 15 megapixel.
Today, we have the screenshots of the lockscreen interface on the D6503. The lockscreen has been redesigned in KitKat to display the album art fullscreen but Sony is sticking to its own interface design, showing the album art in a tiny square next to the playback controls. One new addition is the progress bar to skip through the track and the addition of camera button at the bottom.
One another revelation by the person handling the prototype device is that the phone lacks support for Android runtime or ART. It remains to be seen if this is a temporary omission or a conscious decision by Sony to prevent people from running apps on ART, which can occasionally give unexpected results.
We’ll be posting more details about this phone as we find out.
Meet the Sigma dp Quattro line of cameras
Sigma’s new dp line of cameras may resemble projectors, but they’ve been designed that way for a purpose: better grip and handling.
Ergonomics aren’t the only boasted improvements on their newest line-up of cameras, however.
There are three new cameras in the Sigma dp Quattro series: the dp1, dp2, and dp3. Each of the three cameras in the line-up sports a Foveon X3 20MP sensor, an upgrade from its previous 15.3MP unit. The new line also has better battery life in addition to taking higher resolution photos.
You should be able to take pictures more quickly with the latest line-up, thanks to the speedier TRUE III image processor that’s on board. Lens-wise, the dp1 and dp3 will have 19mm wide-angle and 50mm telephoto optics. The dp2 will come with a 30mm f/2.8 lens.
Pricing hasn’t been announced for the new line, but expect to pay a pretty penny for them.
ARM announces Cortex-A17 mid-range processor
ARM has unveiled a new mobile processor - the Cortex-A17. It's the successor of the popular Cortex-A9 and offers 60% performance boost and supports big.LITTLE task switching. The latter will allow Cortex-A17 cores to be paired with other Cortex processors, such as the low-power Cortex-A7.
The new architecture can be used for up to quad-core CPUs on its own and OEMs can even add up to four Cortex-A7 cores for an octa-core chip. ARM designed this processor for various devices such as smartphones and tablets, smart TVs, set-top-boxes and even car systems and the company expects to see it embedded in various solutions in 2015.
ARM suggests the manufacturers to use its own Mali-T720 graphics with the Cortex-A17 processor, but this isn't a mandatory requirement so we may as well see it paired with Broadcomm and PowerVR GPUs.
If everything goes right, we'll start seeing Cortex-A17 powered devices in 2015.
MediaTek outs a high-end octa-core CPU with LTE support
MediaTek has just announced its new MT6595 octa-core chip which it will rival directly Qualcomm's 800 and 805 chipsets, for a place in premium LTE handsets.The company is fresh off the release of its latest octa-core offering which it has marketed as "true octa-core" - capable of running all eight cores simultaneously, rather than only four at a time like Samsung's chip. Now, its latest SoC is set to sport four of the brand new Cortex-A17 cores running at 2.2-2.5GHz and four 1.7GHz A7 cores.
The chip will run using ARM's big.LITTLE technology alongside HMP, while the Cortex-A17 architecture is expected to provide with up to a 60% performance increase over Cortex-A9. Also, like its MT6592 predecessor, the new chip will feature 4K2K video recording and playback.
MediaTek has thrown the gauntlet and claimed its octa-core solution will be faster and more power efficient than Samsung's Exynos chip. This leaves conditions ripe for a rebuttal by the Korean giant and this month's MWC conference in Barcelona.
Samsung Windows Phone, “Huron” confirmed for Verizon
Looks like the FCC spilled the beans on the Samsung Huron. The Verizon bound Windows Phone's model number is SM-W750V, and it will carry Verizon's LTE bands. This means that the phone will most likely be released soon.The FCC report doesn't detail much about the phone, save that it will have dual-band WiFi, Global 3G antennas, Bluetooth, and NFC.
Evleaks released some information regarding the aesthetics of the device: expect the Huron to look like a Galaxy S4. It's safe to assume that a lot of the same hardware features on the S4 will make an appearance on the Huron as well: 2GB RAM, 13MP primary camera, Quad-Core CPU, and a 5” 1080x1920 display.
The Huron will certainly be filling a niche in Verizon's Windows Phone roster. Big Red has WP handsets, but nothing that can really be considered high-end, or anywhere near the level that the Huron is promising.
The only phone on Verizon's network that can contend with the Huron in specs will be the upcoming Nokia ICON 929; with its 20MP Pureview camera and 5-inch 1080p display, Windows Phone loving Verizon customers will have some pretty interesting choices lined up in the near future.
Any Verizon customers here excited for the Huron?
Windows Phone 8.1 notification center screenshots leak
The Windows Phone 8.1 update is expected to come in a couple of months, bringing the widely requested notification center to the Microsoft platform. Yet, until now, we didn’t have a very good idea of what it will look like.
This changed today, though, thanks to a couple of leaked screenshots that allegedly come from an internal Microsoft document. It shows that the notification center will actually be called Action center and will contain connectivity toggles in addition to notifications.
According to the leaked slide, apps will be able to intelligently managed those notifications – i.e. they will be able to silently add to the list, update and even delete notifications before you have read them if they are no longer relevant. The screenshots also confirm the upcoming option to get the battery percentage displayed at the top of the screen, next to the battery icon.
The Windows Phone 8.1 update is expected to be officially announced at the Microsoft Build conference at the start of April. Naturally, we’ll be bringing you all the details from the event as it unfolds, so don’t forget to come back when the time comes.
Lenovo announces A628T with 5" screen in China
Lenovo has officially taken wraps of its A628T mid-range smartphone in China. With the newest addition, the company will be looking to attract young audiences during the Valentine's Day sales in the country.
Lenovo A628T sports a 5-inch display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. The smartphone is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6582M processor along with 512 MB of RAM. The other hardware specs include a 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing shooter and 4 GB of internal memory with the ability to expand it via microSD card.
The mid-range smartphone has dual-SIM slots and runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Lastly, the juice for the device comes from a 2,000mAh battery. Lenovo A628T is available in bright red color option from China Mobile, but there is no word on how much it costs.
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