Windows Phone 8.5 is already in the works as WP 8.1 launch nears
The Windows Phone emulator has been very generous in providing under the hood information of Microsoft's mobile OS. Besides the countless clues regarding the scheduled for April update to Windows Phone 8, the emulator has obviously a lot more to share - particularly an interesting bit of info about the next-generation iteration of the OS dubbed Windows Phone 8.5.TimeMe developer has encountered an interesting tooltip in the WP Emulator, which indicates that secondary live tiles may no longer be available in Windows Phone 8.5. Check out the exact tooltip message below.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the secondary live tile will disappear entirely, but most probably the API may be altered or completely rewritten to allow new functionality. In any case, Microsoft plans to change the start screen in Windows Phone 8.5.
In addition, Windows Phone 8.1 will allow developers to choose a shorter update period for their Live Tiles. Currently, the update happens every 30 minutes, but Windows Phone 8.1 will introduce a shorter update period of 1 minute.
Microsoft is holding their BUILD developer conference in April. There, the software giant will spill all the beans of the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1, which is scheduled to hit devices this spring.
New Nokia Lumia 630 press pic surfaces
The Nokia Lumia 630 will give the entry-level segment of Nokia’s lineup a big boost. New rendered images give us the clearest look at the device to date and it could easily pass for one of the new Nokia X devices.While similar, the Lumia 630 will offer better specs - a 4.3” WVGA screen, Snapdragon 400 chipset with a 1.7GHz processor and 1GB RAM.
The Lumia 635 version will feature LTE connectivity, putting it well ahead of other affordable phones. The base 630 model will be a dual-SIM phone, a first for Windows Phone, because dual-SIM support will only come with the WP8.1 update.
Note that the back of the phone lacks a flash for the camera (with rumored resolution of 8MP). The Lumia 620 did have a flash, while the 520/525 models do not. This is a strange thing to downgrade this aspect, considering all the other major bumps in specs, but as with all rumors nothing is certain.
Nokia reportedly has an event scheduled for April 19 where we expect to see the Lumia 930, the GSM version of the Lumia Icon (perhaps with a smaller screen), and the Lumia 630/635.
Corning announces production shift from Japan to Korea
Corning, the company that manufactures the Gorilla Glass protection on your smartphones has announced that it is moving its production of Gorilla Glass from Shizuoka, Japan to its facility in Asan, Korea. Corning expects the entire production shift to be completed by 2015.
Speaking at the announcement, James P. Clappin, president, Corning Glass Technologies, said, “This transfer of production reinforces Corning’s belief, which we previously communicated, that the annual synergies anticipated with the acquisition of CPM can reach approximately $100 million in 2015 and potentially increase in the future. A significant portion of these synergies is expected to come from the optimization of Corning’s global manufacturing footprint, as in this transfer of Gorilla Glass production to CPM announced today.”
HTC Desire 310 with 4.5-inch display, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor officially announced
It has HTC BlinkFeed home screen and video highlights features. The Chinese variant for China Unicom had dual SIM support, but no sign of dual SIM support in the one.
HTC Desire 310 Specifications
- 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) touch screen IPS display
- 1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6582M processor
- Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
- 5MP rear camera with 1080p Full HD video recording
- 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
- 11.25 mm thick and weighs 140 grams
- 3.5mm audio jack
- 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
- 3G (HSDPA: 21 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS, MHL
- 2000 mAh battery
Nokia Lumia 930 coming on April 19
Nokia announced its Android-powered phones at the Mobile World Congress, but the rumored Lumia 930 and Lumia 630/635 were nowhere to be seen. Nokia might be saving those for a separate event on April 19.News of the event comes from popular rumor source @evleaks. The date might not be a coincidence – two weeks earlier, Microsoft will be holding the BUILD conference. It is expected to bring Windows Phone 8.1 with the Cortana virtual assistant and Start screen backgrounds.
According to rumors, the Lumia 930 will be similar to the Lumia Icon / 929 but for GSM networks and possibly with a 4.5" screen instead of a 5" one. The Lumia 630/635 will succeed the Lumia 620 and offer slightly higher-end specs than the 525, including dual-SIM (WP8.1 is supposed to add support for it).
iOS 7.1 to hit iDevices before March 11
Apple is gearing to bring the first major update to its iOS 7 software any day now. John Gruber from Apple-centric blog Daring Fireball has learned that the update will include an app which will stream performances from the iTunes Festival.
The latter, dubbed SXSW, kicks off in six days on March 11 in Austin, Texas, and the app which Gruber has heard about will apparently work only on iOS 7.1. This mean the app has just six days to make it to the App Store and the update should arrive before it.
The festival's kick off date also suggests that Apple will seed iOS 7.1 any day now and right on the rumor track.
The first-ever iTunes Festival will host performances such as Coldplay, Soundgarden, Kendrick Lamar and others so the app might come in pretty handy.
Microsoft to announce DirectX 12 on March 20
Microsoft will be giving game developers a closer look at the next version of its graphics API set on March 20 at Game Developer Conference or GDC. Microsoft didn’t reveal much about it right now and all we know for sure is that AMD, Intel, NVIDIA and Qualcomm are onboard with it right now.
But while Microsoft did not reveal much on its website, the GDC schedule for the DirectX event does give a good hint at what we can expect. According to the description, it seems DirectX 12 will offer lower-level access to hardware, similar to AMD’s Mantle API. Having low-level access to your hardware means you are able to get the most out of it and make better use of it.
Although DirectX 12 will be announced later this month, it is not expected to release until next year. Considering Microsoft usually releases major version of DirectX with new versions of Windows, we could see it arrive with Windows 9 next year. DirectX 12 will also be in future versions of Windows Phone and will supports the same features as on the desktop version of Windows, so a game made for DirectX 12 on Windows will technically run on Windows Phone.
We’ll find out more details couple of weeks from now when DirectX 12 is announced.
Latest Oppo Find 7 teaser confirms two display versions
The latest Oppo Find 7 teaser officially confirmed that the device will be available with two different display resolutions. As previously rumored they include Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) and QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels).
Oppo Find 7 latest batch of teasers (click to enlarge)
Rumor has it that the version of the smartphone with a QHD display will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC and 3GB of RAM. The lesser model with 1080p display on the other hand, is tipped to ship with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 silicon and 2GB of RAM.
In addition to a duo of available screen sizes, Oppo Find 7 will have a removable battery. If yesterday’s leak pans out, the device’s camera is also going to be quite a stunner.
Oppo Find 7 will be officially unveiled on March 19 in Beijing. Be sure to tune in for the full scoop on the upcoming device.
LG G Flex to get 4K video recording as part of KitKat update
An anonymous tip containing a leaked User Agent profile of the LG G Flex suggest the phone is going to get 4K video recording as part of its Android 4.4 KitKat update.
A screenshot of the User Agent profile in question reveals all the video recording modes that the LG G Flex is going to support, and 2160p is among them. The exact schedule of the Android 4.4 KitKat update isn't yet known.
SIM-free prices in the UK run pretty high – Amazon UK is asking £590, while Expansys is running the pre-order at £690. Phones4u has a news article about the G Flex coming to the UK but no pricing yet.
We also dug up the LG G Flex in Germany for some euro prices - €850 from Amazon. There's also an offer from NotebooksBillinger at €900. There are a few cheaper offerings - €750 on Amazon France but that's for the South Korean model (F340), which doesn't guarantee LTE compatibility.
Snapdragon 800-powered Galaxy Note 3 Neo launches in Korea
Samsung's official Korean website has announced the availability of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo. It has been on sale across the country since March 3.What's interesting though is the fact that the LTE-A version of the smartphone selling in South Korea is actually powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset. Or at least that's what the official specs suggest.
According to the specs sheet provided by Samsung Tomorrow, the Note 3 Neo features a quad-core 2.3GHz processor. This can't be the Exynos 5 Hexa (obviously), nor can it be the Snapdragon 400 one, which powers the 3G Note 3 Neo (its Cortex-A7 CPU can't go above 1.7GHz.). This leaves us with Snapdragon 800 chipset and its quad-core 2.3GHz Krait 400 processor.
This isn't the first time we see Samsung releases such an upgraded model. It has done the same with the Galaxy S4 (S600) flagship last year. Shortly after its launch Samsung has released another S800-powered version that was made available in South Korea first, followed by limited availability in other markets.
Hopefully Samsung reduces such fragmentation with future devices, because it does make picking a device harder than it should be, not to mention that it certainly causes buyer's remorse in those who didn't wait a couple of weeks for the updated units.
Karbonn Mobiles tipped to launch dual-OS smartphone
According to a report in The Times of India, the local manufacturer Karbonn Mobiles will release a dual-OS smartphone. Set to launch in June, the handset will bring Android and Windows Phone under the same roof.
Karbonn Mobile has signed a license agreement with Microsoft which allows it to manufacture Windows Phone devices. Recently, the Redmond giant eased its licensing regulations and opened up the Windows Phone platform to more players.
Bringing Android and Windows Phone together surely makes for a slightly odd couple due to the rivalry between the two ecosystems, as well as the similar functionality they offer. We surely are curious to see the market’s reaction to such OS mashup in a device.
Leaked image suggests Oppo Find 7 will have 50 megapixel camera
It seems Oppo is turning the dial all the way to eleven with the upcoming Oppo Find 7. After mentioning a 5.5-inch, 2560x1440 resolution display in one of the teaser images in the past (along with a 5.0-inch, 1920x1080 version) and running the new Snapdragon 801 SoC, the latest bit of spec to leak is a 50 megapixels camera. Yes, 50 megapixels.
The phone will be announced in Beijing on March 19 and we'll find out more about it then.
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