this week

Nokia tipped to unveil a total of six new devices on October 22

Nokia is holding an event dubbed Innovation Reinvented in Abu Dhabi on October 22 and according to sources close to the company's plans, the Finns are preparing to unveil a total of six devices.

At least two of them are going to be "new Lumias." Most probably, one of them is going to be the Nokia Lumia 1520 6-inch phablet that has been leaking recently. The other Lumia is allegedly the Nokia tablet, which is also going to be part of the Lumia family of products.
Additionally, there are going to be a set of accessories that'll also debut in Abu Dhabi. One of them, according to the TheVerge source is going to be "pretty special." No further details have been given, but we guess the rest of the devices will be budget mobile phones from the Asha series.
Nokia has been gradually revealing more information regarding its upcoming October 22 event. The start time of the event is yet to be confirmed.

Samsung ISOCELL image sensor likely to star in the Galaxy S5

Samsung has unveiled its latest CMOS image sensor, promising substantially increased light sensitivity. Dubbed ISOCELL, Samsung says its new imager produces photos with higher color fidelity thanks to its improved control of electron absorption.

The company states that all of these enhancements make the ISOCELL CMOS sensor suitable for its upcoming line of smartphones and tablets. As a result, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the Samsung Galaxy S5 camera feature an ISOCELL image sensor.
The ISOCELL image sensor is the result of consumer desire for increased camera resolution as well as the quality of the photos without making the camera overly large. Pixels need to get smaller while at the same time preserving their performance. Samsung camera gurus compare the ISOCELL technology to FSI and BSI sensors in their inability to preserve pixel quality while shrinking its size at the same time.

Previous sensor technology developments focused on improving the light absorption of each pixel, and have progressed pixel technology from FSI (Front Side Illumination) to BSI (Back Side Illumination) which places photodiode at the top to maximize photoelectric efficiency. While being very effective at the time, this BSI technology also faced limitations in improving image quality as pixel sizes continued to decrease.

The first Samsung image sensor to adopt the new ISOCELL technology carries the model number S5K4H5YB and is an 8MP one with 1.12μ ISOCELL pixel size. The sensor is currently being sampled by Samsung customers and is expected to hit mass production in Q4 2013.

iPhone 5s chipset detailed, 1.3GHz CPU, PowerVR Series 6 GPU

the new iPhone 5s runs on a new Apple A7 SoC that utilizes a 64-bit processor. This new CPU turns out to be a dual-core unit clocked at 1.3GHz and uses the latest ARM v8 64-bit cores. Apple's new cores are called Cyclone and the whole SoC is manufactured by Samsung on its 28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process.

The GPU in charge is the quad-core PowerVR (Series 6) G6430, which supports OpenGL 3.0, DirectX 10 and OpenCL 1.x. It's currently among the best of the market and eats benchmarks for breakfast.
Apple kept the RAM amount the same - 1GB, though the RAM used in the iPhone 5s is of the newer LPDDR3 variety, compared to the LPDDR2 embedded in the iPhone 5 and 5c.
Finally, the modem chips are made by Qualcomm. If you want to know more about their model numbers and other embedded controllers just head over to the source link below.
So, as expected, Apple is currently using the latest pieces of available technology for its flagship. There are no other smartphones that utilize the new ARM v8 cores (Cortex A53 and Cortex A57 are yet to come) yet and the new Series 6 of Imagination's PowerVR GPU's is making its official debut

Oppo N1 announced with 5.9-inch fullHD display and Color OS

Oppo has just announced its latest smartphone in a special event in Beijing, China. It's called the Oppo N1 and runs the latest version of the company's home-brewed Color OS based on Android 4.2.

The Oppo N1 is built around a 5.9" IPS display of full HD resolution, which equals out to a pixel density of 377 pixels per inch. The display is super sensitive and allows you to use gloves and even pens, just like the Sony Xperia Z1.
Below the display there are 3 capacitive Android keys - back, home and menu. The whole phone is made of plastic and will be available in two color options - black and white. The Oppo N1 sports either 16GB or 32GB of internal memory, but sadly, there's no microSD card slot.
The Oppo N1 measures 170.7 x 82.6 x 9mm, which is just a bit thicker than the Galaxy Note 3 (8.3mm), and weighs 213 grams. The phone is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
The back of the Oppo N1 is especially interesting. Firstly, there sits the 13MP camera with CMOS sensor and f/2.0 aperture and Oppo's specially-designed in partnership with Fujitsu IPS imaging chip. Oppo dubs the N1 as the first Android smartphone to feature 6 piece lens design. The whole camera module rotates 206 degrees allowing it to act as a front-facing camera as well.
Oppo says the swivel mechanism of the N1's camera has been put through 100,000 times of rotating in a durability test. This means the Oppo N1's camera can be swivelled 40 times a day for 7 years and it'll be as good as new.

Oppo has also created special plug lens. Not to be confused with Sony's QX100 and QX10 camera modules, Oppo's lens are like usual plug-in lenses that attach to the phone. Oppo boasts it only takes 0.6 seconds for the camera to fire and shoot a photo.
Secondly, the area below the camera is touch sensitive. The feature is called O-Touch and depending on the gesture that you make, the phone is can either play next song, browse the web or do a custom action. For example you can long touch the back of the phone while the camera app is on and it'll take a shot with the front facing camera. The supported gestures are long press, sliding and double tapping.
Oppo has also made a special bluetooth camera accessory dubbed O-Click. It is essentially a remote control for the camera and can operate within 50 meters away from the phone - perfect for self group shots. It's also included in the retail box of the Oppo N1.
Right below the camera there's a dual LED flash, while on top of the phone you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack. Below the back cover sits a 3610 mAh battery, which is respectable for a phone with such size.
On the connectivity side, the Oppo N1 sports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. Oppo has partnered with two of the major NFC payment systems in China to allow paying for transportation as well as other goods just by using the N1.
The Oppo N1 will be priced at $571 (3498 CNY). China Mobile customers can already pre-order the Oppo N1 and expect it to arrive some time October. Oppo is yet to announce exact dates for worldwide availability.
Lastly, at the event Oppo announced their rumored partnership with Cyanogen. While no further details were given, the Oppo N1 is going to be able to run pure Android thanks to CyanogenMod. It's speculated that customers will be able to choose between Color OS and CyanogenMod upon ordering the N1 from the Oppo website.

Google Search now powered by a Hummingbird

Google celebrates its 15th anniversary by announcing that it's changed its underlying search algorithm -- again.

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Google kicked off its 15th anniversary a day early by once more invading its original headquarters in Susan Wojcicki's former garage at 232 Santa Margarita Ave. Along with a hearty pat on the back, the company revealed that it's changed the engine that drives its queries.
The new engine, called Hummingbird, is the first change to Google's core algorithm since the launch of Caffeine in 2010. Hummingbird, said Amit Singhal, Google senior vice president and one of its earliest employees, affects 90 percent of searches with Google worldwide.
"When I joined Google, people would be amazed when a simple query for a Web site would work. As they became more comfortable, they began to ask more complex questions. Hummingbird," he said, "is the result of that foundational rethink."
Singhal was careful to note that while page ranking and indexing are bound together in a search engine, Caffeine focused more on the ranking side of the algorithm. Hummingbird is more about indexing.
"Hummingbird gave us an opportunity after years of building to rethink how we use the power of these things," he said, referring to Google Search features old and new. He had previously noted that as Google has added features to the search engine such as autocomplete, synonym recognition, voice recognition, precaching, universal search, and contextual recognition, searching itself has gotten easier.
Google may not be afraid to examine its engineering of search, but Wocjicki, who's now a senior vice president of marketing at Google, said that the company's central values haven't changed.
She reiterated what she called the company's three commitments. Google, she explained, has always been focused on building great search for its users, on reaching a global audience, and on what she called "thinking big."
"When we were here and a small, tiny company, we were thinking big. It's just that not as many people were listening," she said. "Today, we're looking at projects like Glass, or Loon for access, or driverless cars."
Wocjicki recalled how even when Google only had seven employees, there was a whiteboard in the back room that read, "Google Worldwide Headquarters."
"Even though a lot of things are different with Google, the core is really the same," she said.

Can iOS 7 induce motion sickness?

Some users trying out the new parallax and zoom features are getting sick to their stomach, experiencing vertigo, headaches and nausea. Some are comparing it to getting car sick. The experience has been making some iPhone owners so ill, that they have resorted to downgrading back to iOS 6.

With the new parallax feature, iOS 7 users can have the screen appear as though they are head on, even if the screen is tilted in another direction. The zoom feature works when accessing applications. The zoom feature can not be disabled but the parallax feature can be shut off. Go to the Accessibility menu in iOS 7. Choose "Reduce Motion" and you should be able to eliminate that effect.

For those sensitive to such things, this is no joke. Some have complained about having to go home from work because of severe vertigo. The complaints are similar to what those who used the HTC EVO 3D used to report after viewing the stereoscopic screen for hours.

You can no longer downgrade from iOS 7 to iOS 6

After a significant period of testing, Apple's overhauled iOS 7 has made the move and gone public and official. As with any major software rework, there was no shortage of bugs (some bigger than others), nor was there a lack of complaints about the new look of the OS. At PhoneArena we're overall happy with the new iteration of iOS – it sure is a work in progress and needs some tweaking, but the change was definitely needed, and for the better.

As always, however, there are those who don't quite like the new OS and want to revert back to iOS 6. Whether their concerns are strictly related to the new design, or they simply suddenly found out just how old their iPhone 4 is getting (the oldest iPhone to support the new OS), due to the significantly more animation-heavy iOS 7, they're simply not given a voice. Said more explicitly, in a typical Apple fashion the plug has been pulled on iOS 6 officially, meaning that whatever ways you could find to revert back will no longer work. That's not to say you can't revert back to it at all, it's just that Cupertino has stopped signing older firmware, meaning that you won't have access to essentials, such as the iTunes store.

Some of you will be quick to demonize Apple for this, and we fully get it – we're, after all, enthusiastic proponents of choice. On the other hand, Apple has traditionally kept OS fragmentation to a minimum thanks to a strong hand approach like this -- a good thing for a number of reason, like an overall better and more targeted support for our iPhones.

European group finds a way to get around the Touch ID on Apple iPhone 5s

Saying that the hardest part about hacking the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the Apple iPhone 5s was finding an iPhone 5s to use, the Chaos Computer Club has found a way to circumvent the new fingerprint sensor on the latest full-featured iPhone. The process requires someone to take a picture of a person's fingerprints at 2400 DPI and then print it at 1200 DPI. The image is used to make a latex sheet that is used to trick the Touch ID sensor.The bottom line is not to count on the Touch ID sensor to protect your more important information such as the number of your secret Swiss bank account. Granted, this is not a quick 1-2-3 process, but on the other hand there are not enough hurdles to prevent someone from doing it. The actual process dates back to 2004 showing you how elementary it is to fool the Touch ID sensor on the Apple iPhone 5s.

Moto X beats out iPhone 5S, 5C, and Galaxy S4 for durability

Apple fanboys and Samsung believers aren't going to like this: Google's Moto X has been crowned the king of durability.
The latest "breakability" score by protection plan company SquareTrade claims Moto X is the best surviving smartphone when it comes to drops, slides, and water dunks. Coming in second place is Apple's iPhone 5S, then Apple's iPhone 5C, and lastly Samsung's Galaxy S4. SquareTrade only tested these four smartphones, so its unclear how other brands and models would rate.

BlackBerry's problems affect Taiwan manufacturers

After announcing on Friday that it would write off nearly $1 billion worth of BlackBerry Z10 models, some Taiwan handset manufacturers are affected by the Canadian manufacturer's decision to leave the consumer market. For example, ODM/OEM Wistron is expected to have its orders from BlackBerry reduced by half as BlackBerry cuts its line up from 6 models to 4. That will consist of 2 high-end and 2 entry-level phones.
Other suppliers such as keypad producers Silitech and Ichia will both be less affected by BlackBerry's plans since they have already started cutting back on their reliance to orders from the Waterloo based firm. Sales to BlackBerry represent only 10% of each company's revenues.
Sources close to the situation say that BlackBerry has started taking deliveries of its first 5 inch model, the BlackBerry Z30. But initial orders for the most powerful Berry ever from the Canadian handset provider are lower than the initial orders placed by BlackBerry for the BlackBerry Z10 back in Q1. But back then, the BlackBerry 10 platform was untested and there was real hope that BlackBerry had come up with a winning OS. But after announcing its intention to do the write off, it certainly looks like the whole BlackBerry 10 platform has not been the success that was hoped for.

Remotely lock your Android device with Android Device Manager  

                

Early last month, Android users received a gift from Google called the Android Device Manager. Used in combination with an app that you install on your Android phone, the Device Manager allows you to have your phone ring at maximum volume, just in case you lost it in your couch. It also allows you to track the device in real time so that if the phone is lifted by a thief, you can track him and your phone to his lair inside the third stall in the mens' room inside Grand Central Station. And in case you're worried that this master criminal who stole your phone is going to discover your Fantasy Football draft secrets, you can wipe the data completely clean off the phone.

Google has added another very important feature that enhances the safety of your Android model. Now, the Android Device Manager will remotely lock your Android phone. This actually helps you delay that gut wrenching moment when you wipe all data off your phone. With the remote lock, you can buy some time to find the device before you go with the nuclear option.

With the new feature, it doesn't matter if your Android handset is locked down using a pattern, PIN or other method. The Device Manager will override it and allow you to create a new password that will be used to open the handset once it is back in your possession, if it ever is. The feature will also allow you to turn off the screen if it's on. Just make sure that under the security section for settings, the Android Device Manager is listed as a Device administrator.

AppSeed turns your sketches into functioning app prototypes 

In a bid to streamline the app creation process, Canadian design studio Transmitter has created AppSeed — an app that uses real-time computer vision to automate the process of turning a two-dimensional sketch into a functioning prototype right on your device.
It looks super easy to use. You draw the page elements inside two crop marks and then photograph the sketch with your phone's camera. The app then identifies the crop marks and automatically sizes the sketch to fit the screen. It also identifies separate enclosed-space elements on the page — the user can then go through and choose, from a drop-down menu, the element type, such as a map, a button or a text input field.
"The secret sauce behind AppSeed is the use of computer vision to search your sketch and isolate individual elements," the team said. "Specifically, we use the wonderful OpenCV to isolate lines and drawn shapes within your sketches. We then use our own algorithms to identify the UI elements. These are generally identified because they follow a visual pattern (for example, an enclosed rectangle can be taken as a button). That drawn element is then copied from the original image and made into a button with the drawn shape as its up state."
Once you have a prototype on your phone, you can export it as an HTML5 app or send it to Photoshop via PS Connection, which will separate out all the elements into their own layers for individual editing.
This will allow designers and developers to showcase their ideas to clients, co-workers and backers without having to undergo the fiddly middle process of manually coding an app from design to prototype.
Initially, AppSeed will be available for iOS, with an Android version further down the line, should the project reach its stretch goals.
The app alone is being offered as a reward for the CA$8 pledge tier, and you can get the app and sketchbook combo for CA$30. For CA$40, you can also get five crop-mark whiteboard stickers. Head over to the AppSeed Kickstarter page for more information.

Samsung in 'final stages' with a 64-bit Exynos processor, prime candidate for the Galaxy S5

Samsung won't be far behind Apple with a 64-bit mobile chipset, it seems, as Korean media is reporting its own Exynos line has a 64-bit SoC in final stages of development, most likely utilizing the scorching ARM Cortex-A50 architecture, whose advantages you can see in the slideshow below.After it became clear that Samsung is still producing the A7, and the Koreans chimed in they are all for doubling the mobile chipset bits, it was a matter of time before we learn such an Exynos is indeed in the pipeline, and we might see it in the next flagship, the Galaxy S5. This chip is meant for smartphones as well as tablets, said the Samsung source, cited by the publication.

The 64-bit architecture has its advantages before the 32-bit, and these are not only the much higher amount of addressable RAM it allows, but also multitasking and overall productivity shenanigans. Its power will really shine when software gets written from the ground up to take advantage, and what better way to push developers than actually have flagship phones and tablets with the tech already on the market.

this week

Samsung built A7 processor rocks the new Apple iPhone 5s

Samsung has provided many of the parts for the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad over the years. But this year, there were some who believed that Apple had reached an agreement with TSMC to replace Samsung as the provider of the A7 processor that drives the Apple iPhone 5s. But apparently that deal won't ttake affect until 2014. The recent tear down of the new full-feature iPhone 5s that we told you about a couple of days ago, revealed that the A7 comes from Samsung using its 28nm process. Apple and Samsung are the tech world's version of the  Hatfields and McCoys.

The rivalry between the two is pretty intense, and yet Apple relies on Samsung for key parts used in the device that is its most important. This is akin to having Pepsi fill up those famous little glass Coke bottles. While both sides are eager in a courtroom setting to appear as though they hate each other's guts, somewhere there is a Samsung rep and an Apple parts buyer who can always get together and shake hands on a deal.

Specs for Jolla, the first Sailfish OS smartphone, are now official

The Jolla smartphone is definitely one those 'alternative' projects that we're secretly rooting for, and we can't wait to see if the Sailfish OS will manage to cause ripples in the established state of affairs. If it does, however, it certainly won't be because of impressive hardware or a low price point. Rather, the company has decided to narrow it down to a great experience, and really stylish hardware -- the Jolla smartphone is a looker.

So, specs. As we said, Jolla has no intention of getting into the hardware wars currently raging in the high-end tier. Instead, the specs include a far more conservative dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon clocked at 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of microSD-expandable storage. Along comes a rear 8MP Auto-Focus camera with an LED flash, and a 2MP snapper taking the front. The handset is powered by the aforementioned Sailfish OS, which Jolla promises will feature compatibility with Android apps1, and a 2100mAh user-replaceable cell. Last, but not least, the display is a rather underwhelming 4.5-inch qHD panel, meaning a resolution of 960x540, so it's pretty fair to say it represents possibly the weakest link in Jolla's specs list.

BlackBerry Z30 is now official, runs BB10.2 out of the box

BlackBerry has just announced the Z30 - the smartphone with the largest touchscreen it has even put into production. Moreover, it's the first BlackBerry to ship with the company's latest version of BB 10 OS.

The BlackBerry Z30 is built around a 5" Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. This makes the pixel density meter stop at 295 ppi. In its core, the Z30 is powered by a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset and 2GB of RAM.
Behind the battery back cover lies a 2,880mAh battery and measures 140.7 x 72 x 9.4mm. The larger battery found in the Z30 hasn't made it much thicker than the Z10 - the difference is just 0.1mm. The BlackBerry Z30 supports LTE as well as dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.
The back of the Z30 holds an 8MP camera with an f/2.2 lens and 1080p video recording capabilities. Video chatting has been taken care of with an 2MP front-facing snapper, which records 720p video.
As we mentioned, the BlackBerry Z30 runs BB 10 OS version 10.2 out of the box. It brings some improvements to the BlackBerry ecosystem including BB Priority Hub, message previews in the lockscreen as well as Wi-Fi Direct support, multiple alarms and standard Unicode emojis.
BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 users would be happy to know that the company will be launching the BB 10 version 10.2 update in mid-October. There might be some delays, which would be due to carrier approval of the update.
BlackBerry hasn't specified any pricing or availability information just yet, but the Z30 is expected to hit the UK as early as next week. We'll keep you posted when more information becomes available.

NVIDIA Tegra Note tablet platform goes official

NVIDIA took the wraps off the 7” Tegra Note complete tablet platform. Designed by the chip manufacturer, the Tegra Note will be brought to market by NVIDIA’s partners with a starting suggested retail price of $199.

Unsurprisingly, the NVIDIA Tegra Note is powered by a Tegra 4 SoC with quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU and 72-core GeForce GPU. NVIDIA claims that the slate will be the most powerful seven incher when it hits the shelves.
The most impressive bit of the Tegra Note’s spec sheet is the inclusion of a stylus. Based on NVIDIA’s own DirectStylus tech, the gadget will offer superb response, and will come bundled with a number of apps which will utilize it.
The rest of the Tegra Note’s specs include a 7” IPS display with the rather underwhelming resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, 5MP camera, VGA front-facing unit, 16GB of built-in storage, and microSD card slot. The tablet will also feature built-in stereo speakers with bass-reflex port.
There’s no word on the Android version of the NVIDIA Tegra Note. NVIDIA however, claims that it will be the latest version of the OS. The chip manufacturer will also be in charge of the software updates – they will be provided OTA.
NVIDIA Tegra Note based tablets will be launched by a number of hardware manufacturers which include the likes of ASUS, Toshiba, HP, XOLO, etc. The first slates will be available in the coming months.

Jolla's Sailfish OS now compatible with Android hardware

                                      

Finnish-based Jolla, responsible for the MeeGo-spinoff that is the Sailfish OS, has today announced that it has hit a major milestone by achieving compatibility with both Android apps, and the hardware that usually powers Google's OS.                       

This will definitely make Sailfish a considerably more enticing option for  manufactures that would usually think long and hard before getting involved with a new OS. And Android's sheer popularity, while a part of the equation, is hardly the sole reason for OEMs' abstinence from experimenting – as great as the OS itself may be, in the end it's only as good as its app ecosystem is extensive. In the case of Jolla and its nascent Sailfish OS, the aforementioned problem should prove to be much less of an issue, seeing as the company is already boasting that ultra-popular apps such as Spotify, WhatsApp and Instagram are fully functional on Sailfish. This has the potential to convince quite a few more manufacturers to give Sailfish a spin.

Nikon 1 AW1 is first lens-swapping all weather camera

Behold the Nikon 1 AW1: braving all that the elements can throw at it, the rowdy AW1 is the first waterproof, all-action, super-toughened interchangeable lens camera.

The lens-swapping AW1 -- I like to think it stands for All Weather -- can go swimming down to 15m, survive a plunge to the floor from heights of up to 2m, and stay chilled to temperatures of -10 degrees C.
As well as being waterproof, shockproof and freeze-proof, the new Nikon is rubber-sealed and dustproof to stop sand, grit, or a particularly untidy flat from ruining your camera.
An O-ring protects the lens mount, so water and general crud can't sneak in there.
Inside the well 'ard shell is a 14.2-megapixel CX-format CMOS sensor. Based on the Nikon 1 system of interchangeable-lens system cameras, the AW1 shoots bursts at speeds of up to 60 frames per second, and can fire off 15fps while autofocusing.
The AW1 launches today with a pair of new water, shock and freeze-proof Nikkor AW lenses. With an 11-27.5mm f/3.5–5.6 lens the AW1 costs £750, and with a 10mm lens as well, the AW1 will set you back £950.

Nokia 108 and 108 Dual SIM are official, carry a VGA camera

Nokia continues its march in the affordable phone market with today's official announcement of the Nokia 108 and 108 Dual SIM - its latest camera-rocking feature phone.

The Nokia 108 sports a 0.3MP fixed focus camera of VGA resolution, which the company says is perfect "for people purchasing their first-ever camera phone." Additionally, the handset features a microSD card slot, supporting cards of up to 32GB. The software side of the phone offers an MP3 player, a FM radio as well as the legendary Snake game.
The Nokia 108 is quite compact and measures 110.4 x 47 x 13.5mm and weighs just a hair under 70 grams. At the front, there's a 1.8" 64k color LCD display with a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels.
Nokia says the 950mAh battery is good for 31 days of standby, 13.8 hours of 2G talk time as well as nearly 41 hours of music playback.
Here's a promo video of the Nokia 108:
At launch, the Nokia 108 will be available in red, white and black, with yellow and cyan to follow later on. Both the Nokia 108 and Nokia 108 Dual SIM will rock a price tag of just $29 (excluding taxes and subsidies). Expect Nokia's latest feature phone to start shipping some time in Q4 this year.

this week

Specs leak for the Sony Xperia Z2, code named Avatar

The Sony Xperia Z caused quite a ruckus at CES early this year, with its ability to be submerged in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. The device is even available from a U.S. carrier, T-Mobile. Since then, we've seen the humungous Sony Xperia Z Ultra launched and the introduction of the Sony Xperia Z1, the first in a new line of "One Sony" camera-centric smartphones.  That would mean that the Sony Xperia Z is getting a little long in the tooth and is due to be replaced in Sony's line up.That's where our story begins. A source claiming to be close to the situation (no, not the Jersey Shore cast member) revealed what he says are the specs to the Sony Xperia Z2 (C770X). The phone is code named Avatar and is equipped with a 5.2 inch IGZO Triluminuous Display with a 500ppi pixel density. If true, this would top the current industry leader, which is the 468ppi on the 4.7 inch HTC One. The silicon inside the phone would be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 Chipset and a multitasker's wet dream, 3GB of RAM, would be on board.The 20.7MP rear-facing camera would support 4K video capture and a 3200mAh cell would keep the lights on. And the Sony Xperia Z2 would give you a break as it said to run on Android 4.4 Kit Kat. Expect the new model to be on display at CES 2014 where it will have some pretty big shoes to fill.

Nokia was testing Android on its Lumias before the Microsoft acquisition, could it have worked out?

This has been blowing up on the Internet for the past few hours. New York Times reporter Nick Wingfield initially had this scoop that Nokia was testing Android on its Lumia range of devices as a “Plan B” if Windows Phone completely fails to take off. Yes, Nokia was indeed testing Android on its Lumias and it is speculated that it might have been a possibility in light of growing tensions between the two companies, with Microsoft failing to deliver features at a pace Nokia wanted it to. It is believed that this would have played a role in pushing Microsoft to acquire Nokia, but not a huge one, as insiders say that Microsoft was aware of this early on in the partnership.

In a nutshell, Nokia was testing Android on its Lumia phones as plan B. That said, today morning Tom Warren from the Verge brings us new information that Nokia was also looking at options to switch to Android in the low end, with the Asha range. Apparently, there was a team of people tasked with testing Android on its low end devices, running a project codenamed “MView” a short form for Mountain View, a place where Google HQ is located. Sources seemed to have told that this was actually in plans to launch around 2014. Not only that, Nokia also apparently tried forking Android, just like Amazon did with their Kindle Fire devices.
The most surprising aspect of these bits of information is that all the Android plans had been going on ever since Nokia jumped ship to Windows Phone on the 11th of February, 2011. If the Microsoft deal had not gone through, could Nokia have eventually gone Android? On both the high end as well as the low end? But the most important question is, could it have worked out for Nokia?
Spoiler alert: 90% it would not have worked out, and I can tell you why. There are two possibilities to be dealt with here -
What if Nokia had gone Android instead of Windows Phone in 2011
Nokia was in a terrible state in 2010, let alone 2011. Of course people were still buying their device in droves, but that was not due to ground breaking technology or something. The best seller was the Nokia 5230, a S60V5 based device. Let that sink in for a moment.
Not only that, lets take a look at how Nokia was, in the hardware situation. It had 680 MHz ARM11 chips as the new specification when other OEMs had already moved to 1 GHz Cortex A8 processors(N900 was a rebel with a 800 MHz A8). The display resolution was 640×360 when most of the OEMs had already moved to 800×480 six months back. Nokia and Qualcomm had a huge patent battle going on, so Nokia had stuck with TI and Broadcom, one is almost non-existent now and the other gets through in really less number of Android devices.
In February 2011, had Nokia gone Android, the hardware would have still sucked, assuming it was the same good old Nokia that did Symbian. The software situation was even worse. Symbian was failing hard, as it took over an year(after September 2010) just to implement a home screen that moved with the finger. It took the same full year for a portrait keyboard which eventually was bad even after release. These are just tiny bits but a huge deal for user experience, that too in 2011. So, simply said, Nokia sucked at rapidly innovating in hardware as well as software. What would have happened if Nokia had gone Android then? Pretty much a failure, UNLESS Nokia had something vastly different in execution, in partnerships, in work culture and above everything, software. Android at that time required OEMs to add features and make skins to introduce their own differentiations. Could Nokia have afforded to take that software risk again? Nope.
What if Nokia had gone Android in 2014
This is a far more plausible scenario if Nokia had considered forking Android just for its low end devices. It could have done wonders for Nokia as a company, with a lot of devices sold, but it creates another problem. How the low end effect works is, the buyer always aspires to own a device from the same brand at a higher price later on, that’s how the business works and that’s why Nokia still make a LOT of low end devices. This is a major problem with the Asha 501 too, they just can’t convert *all* those users to a massively different OS that is Windows Phone. It just feels alien compared to the Asha 501.
So, the pressure will be back on Nokia to produce Lumias based on Android, which again, would have introduced massive headaches in Nokia scrambling to change their whole branding, the company’s overall image, which is a very distrusting thing to do, like they had done with Windows Phone. It turned out bad for them once, it would have turned out bad for them again. And not just that, they now had to make their own software too, because.. take an example – Here Maps was a big asset Nokia couldn’t give up, which is a direct competitor to Google, and that indirectly means – forking.
Forking means Nokia doing their own additions, and since they would obviously want to create differentiation, they would want to add more features, making it look a lot like what I had described in the earlier scenario(What they did with Symbian). For all we know, Nokia could have been one of those Android OEMs which never releases updates to its older devices or launches devices based on older version when the Nexus’s of this world were three versions ahead. It just wouldn’t have worked out. Again, this is under assumption that Nokia was still the same company we knew, when it ran Symbian and made the time consuming Meego.
Overall, both the above possibilities point to the fact that whatever Nokia tried, it could have gone spectacularly bad. And all this while I have totally discounted the overarching dominance of the vertically integrated Samsung, which Nokia says that they already predicted that the dominance would be unbeatable due to the single most important – “vertical integration” factor. Am not saying Windows Phone worked out for Nokia, I am just saying that even Android wouldn’t have worked out. But then, I might be totally wrong too, so I leave a generous 10% of my opinions’ accuracy to the benefit of doubt.
That said, What do YOU think? Could Android have worked out for Nokia? Why and how? Let us know in the comments section below.

Google announced that ASUS and Toshiba have jumped on the Chrome OS bandwagon

Google has announced that ASUS and Toshiba have jumped on the Chrome OS bandwagon. The two companies join Samsung, Acer, HP and Lenovo to make a total of six manufacturers who have turned their attention to Google’s infant computer OS.

Additionally, new laptops boasting Haswell CPUs are out as well. ASUS has debuted on the Chrome OS scene with its own Chromebox, while Toshiba has a Chromebook. Acer and HP have updated their Chromebook and Chromebook14 laptops with Haswell chips as well.
Sadly, any further specifications on all devices aren’t available at the moment. On the upshot, Google has hinted what each of the products will feature. Acer’s latest generation Chromebook will be all about lightness and mobility, while Toshiba’s Chromebook will bring “versatility and portability”. The ASUS Chromebox shapes up to pack the hardware of the third-generation Samsung Chromebox, but in a much smaller form factor.
You can see that HP’s Chromebook14 is in white, but the company says the notebook will flaunt a number of color options when it becomes available. It’s going to cost $299.99 and pack a 16GB solid-state hard drive for local storage and 100GB of free Google Drive cloud storage for two years. There’s also an HDMI port, one USB 2.0 as well as one USB 3.0 port.
We suspect Google will release more information regarding pricing, availability and specifications of all those products once they’re ready for prime time.

Samsung to add 64-bit CPUs to its 2014 flagships

Samsung's CEO JK Shin announced the company will start using 64-bit processors on its "next smartphones". This most probably means the 2014 flagships, such as the Galaxy S5, will be getting the new processors.

This announcement follows hot on the heels of Apple's recent event that brought us the iPhone 5S with a 64-bit CPU. But while Apple did optimize the iOS 7 for 64-bit processors, Android OS is yet to support such thing.
The 64-bit CPUs are a must-have for devices with 4GB or more RAM and there is a chance Android 4.4 KitKat brings 64-bit support. There is also a probability Samsung unveils a flagship with 4GB of RAM next year, since the Note 3 already has 3GB.

Asus announces the Transformer Book T100 Windows 8.1 hybrid $349

Asus showed off the budget entry Transformer Book T100, which is a Windows 8.1 hybrid device.

Where the T300 is a high-end 13.3-inch Windows tablet/laptop, and the Trio is an Android/Windows hybrid, the T100 is a more simple affair. It is, as the name suggests, a lower-end version of the T300. The T100 will feature a 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 IPS display, a quad-core Intel Atom Bay Trail processor rated for about 11 hours of use, 2GB of RAM, and an included keyboard dock.

The T100 will come in two storage sizes. The 32GB will start at $349, and the 64GB model will be just $399. And, as we said, these devices do run full Windows 8.1, and further prove that Windows RT is pointless, with Windows 8.1 devices at this price point. The Asus Transformer Book T100 is expected in stores on October 18th.

Apple iPhone 5S announced: first 64-bit chip in a phone and fingerprint sensor included

Apple iPhone 5S has just gotten official. The new iPhone 5S is all about improvements under the hood as it keeps virtually the same design as the iPhone 5. But boy are those improvements big - the new iPhone 5S comes with a brand new Apple A7 chip, the first ever 64-bit chip on a phone. with the new home button having a biometrics finger print sensor, but there are also other interesting additions. One is the gold colour variant(Gold, Slate and Silver are the three new colours), which again, was perfectly accurate from the leaks and the other is the new Apple A7 and M7 chips. The iPhone 5S also brings an updated camera and revamped internals, read on to find out what the iPhone 5S is all about.

The Apple A7 is the first 64-bit mobile processor that has 2X the performance of the previous generation. The M7 on the other hand is a co-processor that can detect motion using a trio of sensors – Accelerometer, Compass and Gyroscope. Developers will be able to take advantage of it using their APIs.
Moving onto battery life, Apple stated that the standby time will be better than the iPhone 5 at 250 hours while you can do with 10 hours of browsing on LTE.
The camera also has been updated, says Apple. It now uses a new five element Apple-designed lens with a F2.2 Aperture. It has a 15% larger active area when compared to the older one. The pixels are of 1.5 microns in size, in comparison to the 2.0 microns on the HTC One and 1.1 microns on the several other sensors.
The pixel size bump is pretty huge and should benefit the already impressive performance we have seen from Apple iPhone cameras. In terms of software, the camera software can now do super fast AF with 15 zone metering, all automatically. There is also a new dual LED flash, with one producing the cool light while the other produces a warm light, basically to counteract the weird white balance the LED flash induces on photos.
Interesting implementation from apple here. Apple also introduces Auto image stabilization to the camera, which works by taking a burst of 10 pictures in a second and picks the best one from the lot. Not that new, but Apple’s implementations are always interesting.
Slow motion video is also coming to the iPhone, with 720p 120 fps video capture. Pro Tip – Samsung just announced this for the Note 3 recently. The photo samples Apple showed at the Keynote looked really impressive, as usual.
Biometrics are finally going mainstream with the iPhone 5S. The home button now has a finger print sensor. It’s called Touch ID and resides inside the home button. It is 170 microns thin, senses 500 ppi and even scans your sub-dermial skin layers. The demo established that Touch ID is highly accurate.
The pricing is at 199$ for 16GB and 299$ for 32 GB while at a high 399$ for the 64 GB version. All on a two year contract. There are cases too, the similar silicon case covers that launched with the iPhone 5C, and is available at a higher $39 with different colour variants.
The new iPhone 5s will be available for pre-order on the 13th of September in the US and a week later in some other parts of the world

Apple announces the iPhone 5C: 4-inch Retina display

Apple has for the first time announced a second new iPhone model: the iPhone 5C. As rumored, the device has a polycarbonate design, which Apple says is made from a single part save the front panel (the whole of which is a multitouch surface) and reinforced with a steel structure that Apple says was made using a new construction method. It's "beautifully, unapologetically plastic," according to Apple's Phil Schiller.
As for specs, you'll get the same 4-inch Retina display as the iPhone 5 (full sRGB), plus an A6 processor, LTE and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and an 8-megapixel, backside-illuminated camera with a 5-element lens. A new front-facing camera also promises better performance in low light. Available in blue, white, pink, yellow and green, the 5C will set you back $99 on a two-year contract for the 16GB version, or $199 for the 32GB. Apple has also designed some new cases to match, which will set you back $29 apiece.

Samsung announces true octa-core for its Exynos chips

Samsung has unveiled the latest refresh to its Exynos 5 chipsets. Bringing what the Koreans call Heterogeneous Multi-Processing (HMP), the new Exynos 5 Octa big.LITTLE chip (that powers the likes of its Galaxy S4 flagship) can now run on all of its cores simultaneously. This comes after criticisms from rival chipmakers that the Exynos 5410 and 5420 can't be considered true octa-core SoCs.
HMP will give the chipset the ability to use the cores in any desired combination. Until now you could either have four low-power Cortex-A7 cores for low priority tasks, or the four high-performance Cortex-A15 cores for high priority tasks.
Samsung hopes to deploy the new Exynos 5 Octa big.LITTLE HMP solution in Q4 of this year. The company has remained mum on whether that means existing big.LITTLE chips will get that capability via a software update, though, or if it only applies to upcoming Exynos 5 products.

Motorola DROID 5 with hardware QWERTY, 4.3" 720p screen leaks

QWERTY-packing smartphones may be in for a bit of a revival as photos of the Motorola DROID 5 leaked along with some specs. In the photos, the DROID 5 is next to the Motorola Photon Q and the leaked specs make it out to be a small upgrade over the old phone.
The screen of the DROID 5 is clearly the same size as the 4.3" screen of its predecessor, with rumors promising a resolution update to 720p (342ppi). That's the same as the DROID Mini screen.

Leaked photos of the Motorola DROID 5
Then there's the characteristic slide-out QWERTY keyboard with 5 rows of buttons. The phone is reportedly powered by a Snapdragon MSM8960 chipset (dual-core Krait, 1GB RAM, Adreno 225), the same chipset as the Photon Q but a nice upgrade over the DROID 4.
There are a few new features like NFC and wireless charging (the coil for which can be seen in one of the photos). The Motorola DROID 5 will have 16GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot.
If the rumors pan out, Moto's next phone to be announced might not cause as much excitement as the Moto X. Then again, the return of hardware QWERTY might be just enough to do the trick.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 unveiled, brings premium heavy-duty body for $1,399

Olympus has outed its new Micro Four Thirds camera flagship called E-M1. It brings along a 16.3 MP Live MOS sensor with on-chip phase detection, promising faster focusing. There’s also a new electronic viewfinder, touch-sensitive tilting LCD and rugged body capable of withstanding water, dust and freezing temperatures.

The Olympus E-M1 will become available in October with a body-only price of $1399.99/£1299.99. UK customers that pre-order prior to launch have a chance to get the HLD-7 battery grip for free.
The premium E-M1 ILC by Olympus will also carry Wi-Fi connectivity built into its magnesium alloy body. Its sensor has an ISO range of 100-25600 and sensor-shift stabilization, while the AF system is said to be able to deliver faster focus with legacy lenses using the optional MMF-3 adapter.

Seagate announces 500 GB HDD for mobile devices

Seagate has officially taken the wraps off its new Ultra Mobile HDD that is designed exclusively for mobile devices. The hard drive is integrated with Seagate’s Mobile Enablement Kit, which also includes Seagate’s Dynamic Data Drive software technology.

The newest storage solution will deliver up to 7x the storage capacity of the conventional 64GB drives, while matching the power consumption, performance and reliability of a flash device.
Seagate’s new Mobile Enablement Kit is said to bring PC-like storage capacity and help manufacturers to make thinner and lighter tablets. The popular HDD maker has also worked on couple of key areas like shock management, heat, vibration and gyroscopic motion in order to deliver the best experience.
The Ultra Mobile HDD uses Dynamic Data Driver software address and its intelligent caching design reduces power consumption and improves its overall performance. With up to 500GB of memory, one can potentially store up to 100,000 photos, 125,000 songs or 62 hours of high-definition video and movies on their mobile devices.

Dell announces M4800, M6800 Precision laptops built for business pros 

Dell updated its Precision workstations laptops, the M4800 and M6800, one up their predecessors in all the right places. That means 4th gen Haswell Core i5 and i7 silicon (with or without vPro), and the latest AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro graphics, depending upon your preference. Additionally, the M4800 comes with a 400-nit, 15.6-inch 3,200 x 1,800 IGZO display, the same pixel-packed screen last seen on its M3800 sibling. The M6800, meanwhile, gets just a 1920 x 1080 LCD, but it comes with Wacom 10-finger multitouch capability to make up for its lack of pixels.
Both laptops can be had with up to 32GB of memory, and the 17-inch model comes with four bays that can be stuffed with up to 3.5TB of spinning or solid state storage (M4800 buyers get a mere three bays for a max of 2.5TB). As with the previous models, both laptops get up to a nine-cell 97Wh battery and users can double the juice by adding on a same-sized external slice power pack. Oh, and IT pros can pick which OS they'd like: Windows 7 or 8, and either Red Hat or Ubuntu Linux. You can dig into all the nitty-gritty customization options in the PR below, but we'll tell you here what you really want to know: the M4800 starts at $1,249, while the M6800 can be yours for $1,599.

Newkia: a Nokia on Android

Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's handset business has certainly ensured that the media has a ton to talk about for a long time to come. Unpleasant as the current turn of events may be for some, when one door closes, another opens, as the saying goes. Thomas Zilliacus, now former Asia-Pacific CEO of Nokia appears to have taken the above to heart, and is planning big for his newly-founded company dubbed Newkia.
The cheesy name aside, Zilliacus is promising to push (and, hopefully, deliver) on an idea that smartphone fans and watchers alike have been contemplating for a long while now – the solid hardware of Nokia, married to the unmatched success of Android. Of course, the smartphone industry has proved to be a highly contested area, and unfortunately for nascent Newkia and the like, it's mostly the really giant companies that turn a profit. Naturally, therefore, before we even entertain the admittedly compelling idea, one has to ask how on earth will the ex-Nokian make a headway in an industry largely unwelcoming of newcomers. Simple, really – apart from already having a team of senior former Nokian executives on board, the Fin has also unanimously stated that he'll be poaching talent from Nokia, among others. Moreover, Zilliacus claims that the chosen team of execs is mainly comprised of those people he considers were not given enough voice and were sidelined by those, whom he deems culpable of the current predicament the Finnish manufacturer finds itself in:

“Well I think it's a good deal for Microsoft, but I think it's a disaster, or rather the result of a disastrous strategic error on Nokia's side in going for the Windows Operating system 3 years ago. So it is, in a way, a natural end to a sad story, but it opens up a lot of new opportunities”, Zilliacus said when asked why he's unapproving of the Microsoft deal.

Asked about whether he sees Windows Phone, in particular, as the cause of Nokia's ongoing demise, we're glad to see that the boss of the new company isn't as short-sighted. According to him, Nokia's problems started way before Elop and his team took the reins over at Nokia:

“Nokia's problems started long before Stephen Elop came on board. Nokia became simply too arrogant, Nokia's management thought they knew the markets better than the markets knew themselves, and did not, therefore, change anything in [the] winning concept – the market changed, and the winning concept was no longer winning. However, when Stephen Elop became the CEO, Nokia was still the world's market leader, and I think Nokia's position today would be a lot stronger had Nokia not decided to go for Windows [Phone] alone.”

Asked why he sees Windows Phone as such a problem, Zilliacus regurgitated a very familiar tune: the OS is not bad overall, but the surrounding ecosystem of apps continues to lag behind – a compromise that consumers are still unwilling to make.
With the above in mind, and you can see the full interview for yourself below, what should we make of this? Frankly, we wouldn't be at all surprised to see a positive reaction to the news, but one with a lot of reservation – as good as this all sounds, and as well as Zilliacus paints the level of preparedness of Newkia, it'll take an actual, tangible (and quality) device to really capture the attention of consumers and the media as a whole.

Apple iPhone 5S new features of the seventh generation iPhone

The new iPhone is coming in less than a month on September 10th, and rumors and leaks are pouring on us from all sides. What should you believe and what not? One thing is clear - the Apple iPhone 5S will be better and more powerful than the current iPhone 5, so you’d better save your money and wait for it.
First, let’s make it clear that the new iPhone 5S will look just like the current iPhone 5. Traditionally, Apple is changing the design of iPhones once every two years, so a redesign is due only next year. Most changes will thus happen under the hood. We have summarized them all right below, take a look.

• Fingerprint scanner built inside new ‘sapphire’ home key

• New Apple A7 chip with 1GB of RAM

• 12-megapixel camera with dual LED flash

• iPhone 5S in... gold

• Maybe a 128GB version

• NFC

this week: IFA 2013

Alcatel One Touch Pop C1, C3, C5 and C7 Android 4.2 smartphones announced

Alcatel One Touch has announced range of smartphone in the Pop series, the Pop C1, Pop C3, Pop C5, and Pop C7 at the IFA 2013 in Berlin. These are aimed at youth and offers simplicity and style, says the company. These come in range of display sizes, colors and accessories. All the new Pop C-Series phones run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).
The Pop C1 has a 3.5 (320×480 pixels), powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor. It comes in range of stylish colors including neon green and pink.

The Pop C3 has a 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) display and comes with a 3.2-megapixel rear camera. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor. It comes in range colors and has colorful protective covers.

The Pop C5 has a 4.5-inch display, powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor and has a 5 megapixel rear camera and a front-facing camera.

The Pop C7 has a 5-inch display, powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and packs a 5-megapixel rear camera along with a front-facing camera.

Nokia Lumia 1520, leaked in a press image

The Nokia Lumia 1520 has finally leaked in full glory. We saw the 1080p GDR3 screenshot, we saw the aluminium case and the bezels, and then we saw the phone’s rather huge front in another leaked image, but this time, thanks to the leakmeister EVleaks, we have a full press image. From the looks of it, it is definitely made in polycarbonate, with the design closely resembling the Lumia 925, and the device is… just massive. If you don’t think it’s huge, just take a look at the Windows shortcut capacitive keys. It is also nice to see that the phone has really thin bezels.

Previously, it was claimed that the screen size would be 6 inches, which seems to pretty much a fact after so many leaks. With 1080p support added to Windows Phone 8 in the GDR3 release, Microsoft has thought adding a column of medium sized tiles would make a good idea of utilizing real estate. But I think they are very wrong this time, the screen looks too busy and cluttered to make it a clean experience, which Windows Phone WAS known for.
Other rumoured specs include a Quad Core Snapdragon CPU, a 20.7 Megapixel camera(like the Xperia Z1?). But ever since the Microsoft Nokia acquisition announcement, we have a doubt that if this will be a Nokia branded phone or a Microsoft branded Lumia? Our bet is on it still being Nokia branded as the deal will be closing only by 2014, but the marketing message should slightly vary, with more emphasis on Lumia rather than Nokia. The GDR3 update is said to launch with the Lumia 1520, which we hope will bring some much needed improvements like a simple rotation lock, different volume profiles. Lets not kid ourselves though, Microsoft might just give us nothing in this update, because that’s how it has been till now.
That said, lets see what Nokia has for us this month, as an event is rumoured to happen on the 26th of September. Will this see the announcements of the Lumia 1520 and the Nokia tablet? We’ll find out real soon.

Intex Aqua HD with 4.7-inch HD display, quad-core processor announced

Intex launched the Aqua i7, the company’s flagship Android smartphone earlier this week, Aqua HD  that appeared on the official website on the same. The phone is now available from online retailer Infibeam in India. It has a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD capacitive touch screen display, powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589 processor and runs on Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel font-facing camera.

Intex Aqua HD specifications

• 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD capacitive touch screen display with corning gorilla glass protection
• 1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589 processor
• Dual SIM (GSM + WCDMA)
• Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, 1080p video recording
• 5MP front-facing camera
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory (923MB user memory), expandable memory upto  32GB with MicroSD
• 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS/A-GPS
• 1800 mAh battery

The Intex Aqua HD comes in Black and White colors and is priced at Rs. 15,900.

Lenovo S5000 with 7-inch HD display, quad-core processor and Android 4.2 announced

Lenovo has announced the S5000, a new tablet in the S series. It has a 7-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) wide-viewing angle display, powered by a 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Media Tek 8389 processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera. It is just 7.9mm thick and weighs 246 grams.  It has rear speakers and packs a 3450 mAh battery that offers up to 8 hours of  continuous WiFi browsing. It comes with 3G SIM support and voice calling and also available in WiFi-only variant.

Lenovo S5000 specifications

• 7-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) multitouch display with 178-degree viewing angle
• 1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek MTK 8389  processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
• 7.9mm thick and weighs 246 grams
• 5MP auto focus rear camera
• 1.6MP front-facing camera
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 3G HSPA+ (optional), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, USB OTG
• 1GB RAM, 16GB internal memory
• 3450 mAh battery

The Lenovo S5000 is priced at 199 Euros for the 16GB WiFi version and the 3G version is priced at 249 Euros. It would be available in 4Q 2013.

Lenovo Vibe X announced, 5-inch 1080p display in a 6.9mm thin and 121g light body

Lenovo has announced the Vibe X, the company’s latest smartphone at the IFA 2013. It has a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS “20/20 Vision” display at 440 PPI  for sharp images with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, BSI sensor and has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with 88 degree wide angle lens. There is also a photo application to view and organize images, option to create puzzles and customize specific games from the photos, choose custom settings and filters and instant photo and video sharing.
It has premium polycarbonate body, advanced mold and  laser-engraved 3D tactile finish. It is just 6.9mm and weighs just 121 grams. We will bring you the hands on impressions of the device soon.
Lenovo Vibe X specifications

• 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
• 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 13MP auto focus camera with LED Flash, 1080p Full HD video recording
• 5MP front-facing camera with 88 degree wide angle len
• 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth with A2DP, aGPS
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 2GB RAM, 16GB / 32GB internal memory
• 2000 mAh battery

The Vibe X would be available in China starting in October and in countries where Lenovo smartphones are sold beginning in December. It would not be available in Europe. Lenovo did not reveal any details about the price yet.

Xiaomi Mi3 with 5-inch 1080p display, Nvidia Tegra 4 / Snapdragon 800 processor announced

Xiaomi has announced the most expected Mi3, successor of the Mi2 that was launched last year. It has a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display with 441 PPI, based one-glass solution (OGS) ultra-sensitive touch that lets you use the phone even when it’s wet or while wearing gloves. It comes with 1.8 GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor with 72 core GeForce GPU for the TD-SCDMA variant and 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM 8974AB) processor with Adreno 330 GPU for the WCDMA / CDMA2000 version. It runs on MIUI v5 on top of Android. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with Sony Exmor RS BSI sensor, 28mm lens with f/2.2 aperture and a 2-megapixel BSI front-facing camera with 30mm lens. Both the cameras can record videos at 1080p full HD resolution.Xiaomi Mi3 specifications

• 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display with 441 PPI resolution with Corning Gorilla glass protection
•  1.8 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor / 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM 8974AB) processor
• Dimensions – 114mm×72mm×8.1mm, weight: 145g
• MIUI V5 on top of Android
• 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, Sony Exmor BSI sensor,  f/2.2 aperture, 1080p full HD video recording
• 2MP front-facing camera with BSI sensor,  f/2.2 aperture, 1080p full HD video recording
• 2GB DDR3 RAM, 16 / 64 GB internal memory
• 3G, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz),   WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and NFC
• 3050mAh battery

The Xiaomi Mi3 comes in range of colors and  is priced at 1999 Chinese Yuan ($327) for the 16GB version and the 64GB version costs 2499  Chinese Yuan ($408).

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro ups the resolution to 3200 x 1800, has an auto-flattening keyboard in tablet mode

 

The Yoga 2 Pro ups the ante with a 13.3″ touchscreen of 3200 x 1800 (previously 1600 x 900) resolution resulting in an insane 276 ppi. The slate also runs on the fourth-gen Intel Core i7 Haswell processor and promises a battery life up to 9 hours.
The new Yoga 2 Pro is 15.5 mm thick (compared to a 17.1 mm thick Yoga of old) and now weighs 1.39 kg.

In case you’re not already acquainted with the Yoga – it’s Lenovo’s flexible ultrabook, that has an adjustable screen, that flips all the way round the back of the device into a tablet mode. In this mode the resulting tablet has the screen on one side, and the keyboard on the other. Going further with the same design, on the Yoga 2 Pro Lenovo has made the keyboard auto sink into its bed once you flip the notebook in tablet mode.

Sony announces Android 4.1 powered Walkman F886 music player

Sony has showcased its latest music player, the Walkman F886 at the on-going IFA consumer electronics exhibition in Berlin, Germany. The highlight of the newest addition is the high-resolution audio system along with its Android operating system.

With Sony Walkman F886 you can enjoy high-quality music and also share it among your friends without having to break a sweat, thanks to the built-in Bluetooth radio. The one-touch NFC connectivity allows you to pair your gadget to another NFC enabled device and stream your favourite music.
The Walkman F886 sports a 4-inch TRILUMINOUS display and has 32 GB of inbuilt memory. The portable music player runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the Wi-Fi connectivity option gives access to a wide range of applications that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

As always, the Walkman music player comes with a superior audio decoding capabilities of up to 192 KHz/24 bit. The device also supports S-Master HX digital amplifier for distortion and noise reduction in order to provide the said high-quality audio. The Digital Sound Enhancement Engine in the Walkman player restores high-range sound that is allegedly often lost in digital compression. Furthermore, the built-in noise reduction feature blocks 98% of the ambient noise while playing the music over earphones.
Another important aspect of a music player is its battery, which according to Sony lasts for about 35 hours on MP3 playback or for about 26 hours on Hi-Res audio.
Unfortunately, there is no word on the pricing and availability details of the impressive portable music player

Samsung announces the world's first curved UHD TVs at IFA 2013

 Samsung unveiled the world's first 'Curved UHD TV' in 65- and 55-inch - The Curved UHD TV combines superior technology and curved form factor to deliver a more immersive viewing experience

 With the Curved UHD TV, Samsung puts an end to the debate over technological superiority
BERLIN, GERMANY – Sept. 5, 2013 – Samsung Electronics showed its leadership in the UHD TV market today by unveiling the first Curved UHD TV in the world at IFA 2013, the largest consumer electronics tradeshow in Europe.
The 55- and 65-inch Curved UHD TV deliver unrivaled picture quality due to the combination of UHD TV's great details and curved shape providing a more immersive experience and enhanced sense of presence.
"We introduced the world's first "Curved UHD TV" at IFA 2013 to meet various consumer expectations waiting for next new generation TV technology," said EVP Hyun-suk Kim, head of the Visual Display business at Samsung Electronics. "This will be a milestone opening a new era of next generation TV by invigorating UHD TV Realizing curved UHD TV is more difficult to produce than curved OLED TV due to the panel characteristics. The world's first curved UHD TV proved Samsung's unbeatable position in TV technology once again.
Given that UHD TV market is still at its initial stage, Samsung's will release the Curved UHD TV to market based on consumer response and market demands.
The Curved UHD TV joins a growing Samsung line up of UHD TVs including 110 inches to 98-, 85-, 65- and 55-inch models. This extensive line up of UHD TVs confirms that the next generation of television technology has begun in earnest.
The Curved UHD TV follows the company's recent release of the Curved OLED TV that launched across the world including South Korea and U.S. after it was initially unveiled at CES 2013 earlier this year

Qualcomm announces new Toq smartwatch for Android smartphones

Qualcomm announced its own smartwatch, called the Toq. Pronounced as “talk”, the Qualcomm Toq pairs with your existing Android smartphone and brings all your notifications where you can see them at a glance.

The main feature of the Qualcomm Toq is the unique Mirasol display. Developed by Qualcomm, Mirasol is a type of interferometric modulator display that works without the need of a backlight. Just like e-paper displays, Mirasol displays can stay on constantly without requiring power and are perfectly visible even under bright sunlight. But Mirasol goes one step ahead of current e-paper displays and is capable of displaying full color and it also uses the ambient light as a backlight, thus significantly reducing the power consumption.
While Samsung claimed a battery life of around 25 hours for the Galaxy Gear, the Mirasol display on the Qualcomm Toq allows it to run for around three days on a single charge.
The Qualcomm Toq pairs with your Android smartphone (requires Android 4.0.3 and above) and pulls your notifications, while also letting you pick up calls, read messages, control music, etc. The Toq uses a buttonless design and relies completely on the display for interaction.
Qualcomm also has an optional pair of wireless Bluetooth headset that works with the Toq. The headset has two speaker modules that plug into each ear with no wires connecting them. They pair with the watch and you can answer calls and listen to music on them and control them through the watch.
Both the Toq and the wireless headset supports wireless charging, To charge the watch, simply place it in its case. The case also has provision to charge the headset so you don’t need additional chargers.
The Qualcomm Toq is expected to go on sale in the middle of next month and will sell for around $300.

Asus MeMO Pad 8 with 8-inch HD display, 1.6 GHz quad-core processor announced

Asus has announced the MeMo Pad 8 (ME180A) at the IFA 2013 in Berlin. It has a 8-inch (1280 x 800) LED-backlit HD IPS display, powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with 720p HD video recording and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has dual speakers with ASUS SonicMaster audio technology for enhanced audio output. 
It is just 127mm from side to side and weighs only 350g, offering 30% more screen space than a 7-inch tablet.
Asus MeMO Pad 8 specifications

• 8-inch (1280 x 800) HD LED Backlit IPS multi-touch display
• 1.6 GHz quad-core processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 5MP rear camera with 720p HD video recording
• 1.2MP HD front-facing camera
• 9.95mm thick and weighs 350 grams
• 8 GB / 16GB internal memory, MicroSD card slot
• Accelerometer and e-compass
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, micro USB
• 3,950 mAh battery with up to 9 hours of battery life

The Asus MeMO Pad 8 comes in Grey, White and Pink colors.  It also comes with optional protective TriCover case made from durable synthetic materials similar to the Fonepad 7. No word pricing or the availability yet.

Sony new Action Cam with enhanced performance and features announced

Sony has officially announced a new Action Cam model – HDR AS30V. The latest model is said to offer high-performance and a few new features like easy share via Wi-Fi, NFC one-touch remote, GPS, high resolution images and optional wearable live-view remote.

Sony’s Action Cam HRD-AS30V, the point-of-view video camera is designed exclusively to shoot full HD 1080p videos comes with an advanced design and optics. The Action Cam will come with a ruggedized waterproof housing, which is 35% lighter and 25% smaller than the previous models.
The latest addition also brings GPS on-board and the cam can now capture images at 11.9 megapixels along with its interval still recording mode. The Exmor R CMOS sensor at the back grabs all the attention with its ability to shoot FullHD videos and capture beautiful images.
With Action Cam HRD-AS30V, you can now select your recording modes likes FullHD for fast-moving action, STD HD, SD VGA or the two slow motion modes. Furthermore, you can make use of the built-in Wi-Fi that works with Sony’s PlayMemories app to share the content to a smartphone or a tablet.
Sony’s newest Action Cam also comes with SteadyShot image stabilization along with the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens to capture all the action. The camera also has an expandable memory and comes with an HDMI output.
Last but not the least, the Action cam comes with a wide range of mounting attachments and it now includes Chest Mount Harness, Roll Bar Mount and Universal Head Mount kit.
The HDR-AS30V Action Camera will be available, starting from later this month and will cost you $299.99.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with 5.7inch Full HD display announced

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was announced at the IFA 2013 in Berlin, Germany. The Galaxy Note 3 comes with a 5.7inch Full HD Super AMOLED display. Just like their flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 3 will come in two variants – the international variant sporting the Exynos Octa chipset and the USA variant sporting the Snapdragon 800 SoC. Both the variants will come with 3GB RAM and will have 16/32/64GB variants and a microSD card slot.

Like the usual Samsung premium devices, the Galaxy Note 3 is packed with a plethora of software features that include Samsung’s trademark Multi-Window, Smart Stay, Smart scroll, smart rotate, S-Beam, Air View. Like any other Note device, the Note 3 will also come with Samsung’s S-Pen stylus which is advanced. It will come with Samsung’s latest Samsung Knox for security features.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Specifications

• 5.7-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super AMOLED display
• 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 LTE / 1.9GHz Exynos Octa-Core
• Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
• 13MP camera BSI Sensor with High CRI LED flash with Smart Stabilizer
• UHD 4K video recording 30fps(Only Snapdragon version) / 1080p 60fps / Slow motion 720p HD 120fps
• 2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
• 3.5mm audio jack with UHQA, FM Radio with RDS
• 3GB RAM,  32/64GB internal memory, Upto 64GB expandable memory via microSD card
• 4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ GLONASS, MHL, NFC, IR blaster
• 3200mAh Battery

The Galaxy Note 3 will be available in Jet Black, Classic White and Blush Pink colors at launch and it will come with a wide variety of exchangeable back covers.
There is no word on pricing yet, but the Galaxy Note 3 will be available as soon as September 25th across 140 countries.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition announced

Samsung announced Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 at the IFA 2013. It is a huge upgrade over the original Note 10.1 which was launched in 2012.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition comes with a high resolution 2560×1600 SC LCD display making it similar to the Samsung Nexus 10. The Galaxy Note 10.1 will launch with Android 4.3 Jellybean along with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI and features complete with S-Pen. Along with the improved display, the Note 10.1 will be powered by Samsung’s Exynos Octa-core processor clocked at 1.9GHz and it will have 3GB of RAM exactly like Galaxy Note 3. The Note 10.1 will come with a 8MP camera at the back and 2MP camera at the front.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Specifications

• 10.1inch High resolution 2560×1600 display
• 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC / 1.9GHz Exynos Octa SoC
• 3GB RAM
• 16/32/64GB internal storage and microSD card slot
• Android 4.3 Jellybean
• Samsung TouchWiz UI with tons of features and S-Pen
• 8220mAh battery
• 3.5mm Audio jack and support for UHQA(Ultra High Quality Audio)
• Stereo Speakers
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, AllShareCast, BT4.0, USB2.0, GPS and GLONASS
• 8MP rear camera with BSI and 2MP front camera

Along with the high-end specifications and high resolution display, the Galaxy Note 10.1 will be packed with Samsung’s wide range of software features that include S-Pen and S-Note.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 will be available in three variants – WiFi only, WiFi+3G and WiFi+LTE and it will come in two colors – Jet Black and Class White. There is no word on pricing yet, but the device is expected to go on sale in Q3, 2013.

Samsung Galaxy Gear with 1.63inch display announced

Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch finally went official at the IFA 2013 event in Berlin, Germany. The Galaxy Gear was one of the most expected devices at the Samsung Unpacked 2. Galaxy Gear smart watch comes with a 1.63inch 320×320 pixels AMOLED display.

In terms of design, the front of the Galaxy Gear is dominated by the display and it is surrounded by metal frame (unusual for Samsung). The strap on the smart watch is made of rubber and as predicted by the rumors, there is a camera that is built onto the strap. The Galaxy Gear isn’t anything on its own and it mainly serves as a companion for your smartphone. The Galaxy Gear is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth.
Since only the latest version of Android (4.3 Jellybean) supports Low energy bluetooth profile, the number of compatible devices is expected to be limited at launch.
When connected to a smartphone, the Galaxy Gear will have the ability to receive calls, take voice memos and it will display all the notifications from your smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch Specifications

• 800MHz Single core processor
• 1.63inch 320×320 AMOLED display ( 277ppi)
• 1.9MP AutoFocus camera with BSI sensor
• 720p playback and recording
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 4GB internal memory + 512MB RAM
• 315mAh battery

The Galaxy Gear smart watch will be available in six different colors at launch - Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green.
There is no word on pricing yet, but the Galaxy Gear will be launching along with Galaxy Note 3 on September 25th across 140 countries.

Sony Xperia Z1 with 5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 processor, 20.7 MP camera announced

Sony has just announced the Xperia Z1, the company’s latest flagship phone at the IFA 2013. It has a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Triluminos Display with with X-Reality engine that would offer rich, natural colours, powered by 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 20.7-megapixel rear camera with Sony G lens with a 27mm wide angle f/2.0 aperture custom 1/2.3″ Sony Exmor RS image sensor, BIONZ image processing engine, , 1080p video recording and a 2-megapixel 1080p front-facing camera. It is 8.5mm thick and weighs 170 grams.
It has IP55 / IP58 rating for dust and water resistance. It comes with range of camera applications including Social live to broadcast live from the phone to Facebook, Info-eye which is a visual search application that offers info about landmarks, books and more from the live camera, the Timeshift burst mode takes 61 images in 2 seconds before and after you press the shutter and the AR effecsts act as a overlay a selection of fun, customizable animation using Sony’s AR augmented reailty tech.
It comes pre-loaded with integrated PlayMemories Online, a cloud-based image and video service, All-Sync feature that offers unlimited instant auto uploads.

Sony Xperia Z1 specifications

• 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Triluminos Display with X-Reality for Mobiles
• 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974 (LTE) or MSM8274 (HSPA+)) processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Single Aluminium frame with tempered glass on the front and back
• 20.7MP Primary Camera with Exmos RS sensor, HDR photos & videos, 1080p video recording.
• 2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
• 6.5mm thick and weighs 212 grams
• IP55 / IP58 rating for dust and water resistance
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio with RDS
• 2GB RAM,  16GB internal memory, Upto 64GB expandable memory via microSD card
• 4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi 820.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with APT-X, GPS/ GLONASS, MHL, NFC
• 3000mAh Battery with STAMINA mode

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra comes in Black, White and Purple colors. It would go on sale globally from September 2013. No word on pricing yet.

Sony’s QX100 and QX10 attachable cameras announced

Sony’s attachable camera modules, the CyberShot QX100 and QX10

The QX devices are cameras that have been stripped down to the basics – lens, sensor and power to keep it all going.
You tap the camera to an NFC enabled Xperia phone and it pairs automatically with it. Presumably you’ll need special app for that to work, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this app will be available for any Android.
After the pairing is done, the QX camera streams the viewfinder image to the phone over Wi-Fi where you get all the controls you’re used to, including manual controls. You can either attach the QX camera to the phone

ASUS announces Transformer Book Windows 8 tablet convertible

Asus announced the new tablet convertible which runs full Windows 8 and allows you to detach the screen from the keyboard to use it as a tablet.

The ASUS Transformer Book T300 is a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 tablet hooked to a keyboard dock (or a 13.3-inch 1080p laptop with detachable tablet display, if you prefer). It runs full Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro, and the best news of all is that it is powered by Intel's new Haswell chipset (it will come in i3, i5, and i7 models), which should mean pretty solid battery life. ASUS says the device will get "up to eight hours battery life", but it doesn't distinguish the tablet battery life from when it's hooked to the keyboard, so we're not sure what to expect there.

The device has a similar design to the Transformer Pad, and will come with "up to 8GB of RAM", your choice of 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of SSD storage, and both a front 720p camera, and rear 1080p camera. Most of the ports will be in the tablet, which will feature 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 (optional), USB 3.0 port, Micro-HDMI 1.4 port, microSD card slot, and 3.5mm headphone/mic jacks. The keyboard dock only has USB 3.0 ports. The entire unit will weigh 1.9kg (~4.2lbs), or the tablet alone will be a hefty 1.1kg (~2.4lbs). 

No word yet on pricing or availability.

Asus FonePad 7 announced with Intel Z2560 1.6GHz chip

Asus has just stormed into IFA with a torrential rain of mobile devices. Among them are two new FonePads, gadgets that are on the border between a phone and a tablet: the Asus FonePad Note 6 and the Asus FonePad 7. The index in the name stands for the screen size, so we’re looking at a 6-inch and a 7-inch device, and they come with pretty narrow bezels and Intel inside.Asus’ Jonney Shih introduced the FonePad 7 as a phablet, but it’s really more of a tablet with phone functionality, and now it comes in a new and upgraded version.The FonePad 7 leans decidedly towards the affordable - it packs a 7-inch display with a resoultion of 1280 x 800 pixels, runs on the older Intel Z2560 1.6GHz chip and has less RAM.
On a positive note, Asus still managed to include stereo front speakers, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a 5-megapixel rear and a 1.2MP front cameras, and battery capable of running for 10 hours on a single charge.

The device will also sport cellular connectivity and come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models. It’s 340 grams heavy and 10.5mm thick.

Asus FonePad Note 6 announced with new Intel Atom Z2580 dual-core chip

The Asus FonePad Note 6 is the smaller of the two and you could easily mistake this for a phone. It’s a ‘FonePad’ in Asus terms, but with a small bezels, other manufacturers have named such devices phablets with no hesitation.Now, the FonePad Note 6 is not a light or a thin device - it weighs 210 grams and measures 10.3mm. It also comes with a built-in stylus, a full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel display and runs on a brand new Intel Atom Z2580 dual-core chip with Hyperthreading. It’s an impressive device all around. The screen is sharp and luminant with brightness reaching the above average 450 nits. The Intel chip comes with 2GB of RAM, and the FonePad Note 6 features Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

Camera-wise, the device comes with an 8-megapixel rear shooter and 1.2MP front one. There is 16GB or 32GB of expandable internal storage. The battery is a pretty solid 3200mAh one.

Sony announced the world's first curved LED TV

Sony introduced the world's first curved screen LED television, model KDL-65S990A. Available in October at Sony Stores and select electronics retailers nationwide for $3,999.99, the KDL-65S990A provides an all-in-one cinematic experience for the home, combining a subtly curved visual panel with Sony's acclaimed TRILUMINOS® Display color system for accurate, deep, vibrant colors, and a powerful angled surround sound speaker system to complete the home theater like never before.

The unique curved screen of the Sony KDL-65S990A creates a new way for viewers to experience their favorite movies, sporting events, television programming and video games. The edge-to-edge curved construction is engineered to provide a greater sense of the picture's depth of feel, and allows for a wider viewing angle so there is not a bad seat in the house.
The KDL-65S990A features TRILUMINOS® Display, a color technology unique to Sony, and creates incredibly true, natural shades of colors – just the way directors, cinematographers and producers want viewers to see them. Hard-to-reproduce reds, greens and blues are displayed beautifully, so landscapes and seascapes look more vivid, richer and more intense. Faces look better, too, with satisfyingly natural skin tones. It's all thanks to a new-generation TV panel that makes colors pure and more distinct; giving images a heightened texture and a true, life-like feel to everything you watch.
Sony's X-Reality™ PRO picture engine allows the KDL-65S990A to present stunning picture quality with a wide range of detail, whether viewers are watching movies on Blu-ray Disc, regular cable or satellite TV broadcasts, web videos or low-resolution smartphone clips. Sony's latest-generation processing engine analyzes, cleans and refines images, restoring beautiful results from any source with more natural detail, richer colors and high contrast. The latest Sony innovations in its Reality Creation database and Super Resolution processing optimize images for incredible detail and sharpness, in both 2D and 3D.
Precisely-angled surround sound powerfully rich and immersive
The KDL-65S990A contains Sony's powerful signal processing technologies which transform any audio source into surround sound. Additionally, the S990A features a 4-channel Multi-angle Live Speaker configuration that provides sound you might expect from a dedicated surround sound system, enhancing your viewing experience. A total of eight front facing speakers (six front and two surround) are angled in multiple directions for a surround sound experience that is superior to a conventional slim, "flat panel" TV.
The inward facing speakers are precisely angled to deliver specific sounds, such as voice dialogue, directly towards viewers while the outwards angled speakers push sound outwards to fill the room and wrap audiences with clear, full-range surround sound, powered by Sony's power signal processing S-Force Front Surround technology. This Multi-angle Live speaker construction also features dedicated tweeters to create smooth, rich, satisfying audio with little distortion.
New ways to use your TV with Smart Connect
The KDL-65S990A also incorporates Smart Connect, Sony's solution for enhancing cross-device connectivity between BRAVIA® televisions and smartphones or tablets (Android™/iOS). With consumers increasingly using smartphones to take pictures and tablet devices to surf the web, Sony has developed new features such as One-Touch Mirroring and the TV SideView™ app to allow users to enjoy sharing and browsing experiences on their large screen TVs.
By briefly touching an NFC-capable phone to the One Touch remote control, users can instantly establish a simple wireless connection with the TV allowing them to view the content on their smartphone's screen on their BRAVIA® television.
TV SideView is an app allowing individuals to use their smartphone or tablet (Android/iOS) and Sony VAIO® (Windows8) as a second screen to increase their enjoyment while watching TV. The application will allow viewers to explore a variety of content from social networks like Facebook and effortlessly control BRAVIA television, as well as learn more about the movies and shows being watched.

Sony announces the VAIO Tap 21 with a 1080p display

Sony's tabletop Windows 8 slate  VAIO Tap 21, the follow-up packs a slightly larger, 21.5-inch display, and its design is more sophisticated, to boot.
In addition to boosting the PC's dimensions by an inch and a half, Sony's bumped up the touchscreen's resolution from 1,600 x 900 to a full 1,920 x 1,080. It's still an IPS panel, as the impressive viewing angles made clear in our hands-on time, and it still offers software programs such as Family Paint to take advantage of the 10-point multitouch. What's more, the company says it made the Tap 21 50 percent thinner than its predecessor, and we're looking at about eight pounds versus ten. Processor options include Core i5 and Core i7 Haswell chips, and the Tap 21 will be available with an SSD or hybrid hard drive.

Alcatel One Touch Evo 8HD tablet with 8 inch HD display, Aluminium build announced

Along with a few Android handsets, Alcatel has also unveiled a new Aluminum tablet – Evo 8HD. The Alcatel Evo 8HD is a sleek and stylish tablet with aluminum build and reasonably slim waistline.

The Alcatel Evo 8HD comes with a 8-inch HD display, powered by a 1.6GHz dual-core Rockchip RK3066 processor and runs on Android 4.2 Jellybean. There is 1GB of RAM onboard and the Evo 8HD has only 4GB internal storage, but there is a microSD card slot that supports microSD cards upto 64GB. At the back of the device, we have a 3MP camera and on the front, we have a 2 MP camera. The Evo 8HD houses a 4160 mAh battery.

Going by the specifications of the tablet, it is aimed at mid-range markets. The thing that will differentiate Evo 8HD from other tablets is its aluminum build and its wide range of accessories. There are a couple of accessories like the LED MagicFlip cover that will display notifications directly on the flip cover and a simpler magnetic cover. A 3G/4G module is also available that can be attached to the tablet giving it connectivity on the go.

HDMI 2.0 officially announced: 18Gbps bandwidth, 60fps 4K, 32 channel audio 

HDMI Licensing are announcing HDMI 2.0 officially. Arriving just in time for the wide rollout of a new generation of Ultra HDTVs, it adds a few key capabilities to the connection standard. With a bandwidth capacity of up to 18Gbps, it has enough room to carry 3,840 x 2,160 resolution video at up to 60fps. It also has support for up to 32 audio channels, "dynamic auto lipsync" and additional CEC extensions. The connector itself is unchanged, which is good for backwards compatibility but may disappoint anyone hoping for something sturdier to support all of those suddenly-popular dongles. The cables won't change either, as the group claims current high-speed Category 2 wires can handle the increased bandwidth. Some companies have suggested upgrade paths for their UHDTVs already on the market -- hopefully we'll find out more about those plans this week at IFA 2013.

Alcatel One Touch Idol X announced, 5-inch 1080p display in a 6.9mm thin titanium alloy frame

Alcatel One Touch has announced the One Touch Idol X, the company’s latest flagship smartphone. It has a 5-inch (1920 x 1280 pixels) 2.4mm edge-to-edge capacitive touch screen IPS display with 170 degrees wide viewing angles. The display is based on one-glass solution (OGS) that reduces the phone’s thickness and has Dragontrail Glass for protection. It is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13.1-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5cm macro lens, 1080p video recording and a 2-megapixel 1080p front-facing camera. 

It has a Titanium alloy frame that reduces the weight of the phone to just 130 grams and the is just 6.9mm thick. It also comes in dual SIM variant with 16GB of internal memory, but the micro SD card slot is present only in the 8GB single SIM variant. Other features include Flip to mute, TV link and more.
Alcatel One Touch Idol X specifications

• 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display with Dragontrail Glass protection
• 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Dual SIM (Optional)
• 13MP auto focus camera with LED Flash, 1080p Full HD video recording
• 2MP front-facing camera
• 3G (DC-HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio with RDS
• 2GB RAM, 8GB (single SIM) / 16GB (dual SIM) internal memory, expandable memory
• 2000 mAh battery

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X comes in Slate, Flash Red and Flash Yellow Colors. It is already on sale in several countries and would soon go on sale globally.

Alcatel One Touch Hero phablet announced

The Alcatel One Touch Hero is the company's first Android smartphone to pack a 6" display. It boasts a resolution of 1080p and uses IPS technology. Under the hood, there's a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU coupled by 2GB of RAM. Sadly, the company hasn't disclosed its make yet.

At the back of the Hero, Alcatel has opted for a 13 MP shooter capable of full HD video recording and backed by an LED flash. A 2MP snapper takes care of video chatting at the front.
Under the back cover, there's a 3400mAh battery and a microSD card slot for expanding the built-in storage, which is either 16GB of 32GB.
However, the Alcatel One Touch Hero is much more than your regular hard-to-wield smartphone thanks to its accessories. Firstly, the company has developed a desk stand that doubles as a pico-projector. It's capable of outputting 12 lumens worth of light output and projects an image larger than 70 inches.
Then, there's the E-Ink cover, which adds an intriguing extra E-ink layer on top of the Hero's display. Just like the pico-projector accessory, the E-Ink cover connects to the Hero via the pins on the back of the phablet. Alcatel has announced a second cover dubbed MagicFlip, which only adds LED lights to notify you of new notifications.
Finally, the last Hero accessory worth mentioning is the Bluetooth-enabled feature phone. Yes, the Hero enjoys a feature phone as an accessory (think HTC Mini). It's capable of not only placing and receiving phone calls, but also receive texts and sync the Hero's phonebook and calendar entries.
Alcatel is yet to announce the One Touch Hero's pricing and availability.

Alcatel One Idol Alpha announced

Alcatel one Idol Alpha is the mid-range smartphone spectrum with its 4.7" IPS display of 720p resolution. Thanks to the 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, the Idol Alpha will probably offer some respectable performance as well.

Alcatel is quite proud of the Idol Alpha's design, which mixes a metal case with quite curvy, translucent edges. It's reasonably thin as well with a waistline of only 7.5mm. Those translucent edges also light up when there are new notifications or the phone is charging and playing video (much like Sony's Ambilight LED).

The company hasn't shared much more regarding the Idol Alpha's specifications. Among the unknowns are its price and date of availability.

HTC Desire 601 with its 4.5-inch screen 1.4Ghz dual-core Snapdragon 400 chipset announced

HTC Desire 601 with its 4.5-inch screen seems really closely related to the HTC Desire 600 dual sim, however this one only has a single SIM slot. At 9.88mm, the Desire 601 is thicker than the Desire 600 dual sim but it has a beefier battery at 2100mAh. Not only that, but it also has a speedier 1.4Ghz dual-core Snapdragon 400 chipset with 1GB RAM.

Thanks to the faster processor, the Desire 601 offers LTE and HSPA+ 42Mbps connectivity, as well as HTC's proprietary software features - HTC Zoe and the Video Highlights in the Gallery - which were first introduced on the HTC One family of smartphones. HTC Zoe automatically captures short 3-second video clips to accompany each still shot, while the Video Highlights in the Gallery automatically creates 30-second video montages of the clips and stills taken at a particular place or event.
Funnily, the 5MP camera on the HTC Desire 601 has higher resolution than that of the HTC One flagship, but this one doesn't make use of the much touted Ultrapixels. The regular 5MP camera however has some of the One's tricks such as Sequence shot, Always Smile, Object Removal and VideoPic. It uses a 1/4" BSI sensor with a wide F/2.0 aperture and a 28mm wide lens and is helped by HTC's in-house image processing chip, called HTC ImageChip.
In terms of video recording, the Desire 601 offers capture up to 1080p, but lower resolution video can be shot in slow motion with variable speed playback..Unfortunately, the battery is not removable.
HTC Desire 601 specifications

• 4.5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) pixels display
• 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• Android 4.2.2  (Jelly Beam)
• 5MP rear camera with LED Flash, f2.0 aperture, 28mm lens, BSI Sensor, 1080p video recording
• 0.3MP front-facing camera
• 3.5 mm headset jack
• HTC BlinkFeed, HTC BoomSound, Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
• 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 64GB with micro SD
• 4G LTE / 3G (HSDPA up to 42 Mbps), WiFi  802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS + GLONASS
• 2100 mAh battery

The HTC Desire 601 comes in White, Black and Red colors and would launch in select markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa from mobile operators and major retailers in October 2013. No word on pricing yet.

HTC Desire 300 with 4.3-inch WVGA Screen 1Ghz dual-core Snapragon S4 announced

The HTC Desire 300 has a 4.3-inch WVGA screen and a 1Ghz dual-core Snapragon S4 chipset with 512MB RAM.

HTC Desire 300 may not use HTC Zoe, but it comes with Blinkfeed, which turns your smartphone's homescreen into a dynamic list of titles and social network updates.
HTC Desire 300 specifications

• 4.3-inch (800 x480 pixels) display
• 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• Android Jelly Bean OS with Sense UI
• 5MP auto focus rear camera with f/2.8 aperture and 34 mm lens
• 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera
• 10.12mm thick and weighs 120 grams
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage and expandable up to 64GB with microSD
• 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps) , Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS /aGPS
• 1650 mAh battery

The HTC Desire 300 comes in White and Black colors and would launch in select markets in October 2013. No word on pricing yet.

Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s devices & services business, license Nokia’s patents and mapping services

In a surprising fashion, Microsoft has reached a deal to acquire Nokia's devices and services units. The deal will also include the Finnish company's patents and mapping services.

Microsoft Corporation and Nokia Corporation today announced that the Boards of Directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, license Nokia’s patents, and license and use Nokia’s mapping services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia’s patents, for a total transaction price of EUR 5.44 billion in cash. Microsoft will draw upon its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia’s shareholders, regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.However, the patent deal between Espoo and Redmond isn't exclusive and the Finns are free to license their patents to other companies as well.

Building on the partnership with Nokia announced in February 2011 and the increasing success of Nokia’s Lumia smartphones, Microsoft aims to accelerate the growth of its share and profit in mobile devices through faster innovation, increased synergies, and unified branding and marketing. For Nokia, this transaction is expected to be significantly accretive to earnings, strengthen its financial position, and provide a solid basis for future investment in its continuing businesses.
The deal will see Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop return to Microsoft, where he will head the Devices division. Risto Siilasmaa will be Nokia's CEO on an interim basis going forward.
Once the deal closes, 32,000 people will transfer to Microsoft. Out of those, 4,700 are in Finland, while 18,300 are directly involved in manufacturing and assembly of products worldwide.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, after it goes through the usual round of regulatory approvals.

Verizon to acquire Vodafone for $130B, will gain full control of Verizon Wireless

It's officially official. Verizon has confirmed that the rumored deal that would have Verizon buying out Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless is going to happen. Verizon has agreed to pay $130 billion in cash and stock to buyout Vodafone, which would finally give Verizon full control of Verizon Wireless.

In an official statement on the deal, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said:

This transaction will enhance value across platforms and allow Verizon to operate more efficiently, so we can continue to focus on producing more seamless and integrated products and solutions for our customers. We believe full ownership will provide increased opportunities in the enterprise and consumer wireline markets.

Vodafone first invested in Verizon Wireless back in 1999, when it bought a 45% stake in the company for $70 billion. Verizon is expecting that this deal to buyout Vodafone will be completed as soon as Q1 2014, depending on any regulatory investigations.

Meizu announced Meizu MX3 with Exynos 5 Octa and 8MP

Meizu has officially announced its latest flagship smartphone, dubbed MX3. Meizu's newest addition packs a punch with its powerful hardware and brings a touch of class with its Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-based Flyme 3.0 user interface, which is said to bring 324 updated interactions and 1,579 new visual features.
Meizu MX3 comes with a 5.1-inch display with an unusual 1800 x 1080 pixels resolution and just a 2.9mm of screen bezel. The smartphone measures 139 x 71.9 x 9.1 mm and weighs about 143 grams.

Under the hood is an Exynos 5 Octa chipset that has four Cortex A15 cores running at 1.6 GHz along with the quad Cortex A7 clocked at 1.2 GHz. MX3 also features 2 GB of RAM, a Sony-made 8 megapixel sensor that comes with f/2.0 lens, zero-delay image stabilization and Fujitsu's ISP to enable capture speeds up to 20fps. The 2-megapixel front facing shooter completes the camera department.
Meizu MX3 is equipped with Wolfson audio chip that gives 113dB signal-to-noise ratio with a low distortion rate of 0.002%. The Dirac HD codec and a dedicated audio amplifier are also present along with the triple-mic setup for a better voice clarity.

Meizu's latest smartphone comes with a wide range of connectivity options that include NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.
The juice for the elegant device is provided by a 2,400mAh battery, which according to the company lasts 9 hours on 3G browsing, 10 hours on Wi-Fi or 7 hours on 1080p video playback.
Meizu MX3 will be available in 16, 32, 64 and 128 GB of memory options and the device will be up for grabs starting from CNY2,499 (about $410) and reaching CNY3,999 (about $650) for the 128GB version. Unfortunately, there is no word on the global availability of the smartphone.

Acer announces the first 4K-capable smartphone - Liquid S2

Acer announced the first smartphone with 4K video recording support - the Liquid S2. The device comes running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset with a quad-core 2.2 GHz processor and 2GB of RAM.

At the front you get a 6" Full HD IPS display (368 ppi) covered in Gorilla Glass 3, while inside a 3300 mAh battery provides the juice. The 16 gigs of storage is expandable by a whopping 128 GB thanks to the microSD card slot.
The main camera on board is a 13 MP unit with a 28 mm wide-angle lens and a back-side illuminated sensor. The front cam features an ultra-wide 88-degree 24 mm BSI sensor of 2 MP resolution and 1080p video recording. Speaking of which the Acer Liquid S2 can capture 4K UHD (Ultra HD) video along with high-framerate Full HD (60 fps) and slow motion video.
There's a panorama mode that produces up to 27 MP shots, quick first shot lets you capture an image straight off the unlock screen.
The Acer Liquid S2 footprint measures 166 x 86 mm and the phablet is 8.99mm thick. There's 4G LTE support, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi ac/a/b/g/n as well as the usual connectivity goodies - 3G and GPS.
The Acer Liquid S2 will launch at the end of October across Europe, but there's no word on specific countries availability or price just yet.

Acer announces 24-inch Android all-in-one powered by Tegra 3

The pre-IFA festivities from Acer continue, as the company has just announced the DA241HL, a 24″ Android-powered all-in-one featuring a quad-core Tegra 3 processor.

The AiO operates on the Android 4.2 build, which allows you to enjoy the latest games and apps in all their glory on the fullHD 24-inch display.
The Tegra 3 chip is usually found in mobile devices, but it makes sense for Acer to put it in this large-screened touch panel as it’s already optimized to work with the Android platform. The 4.2 Android release also features multi-user support, meaning that it can support custom settings and apps for up to 5 individual users.
The DA241HL comes with MHL connectivity and an HDMI port, meaning that it can connect to a PC to become a 2-point touch display as well.
Look for the Acer DA241HL in mid-October with a starting price of €429.

Acer announces T272HUL 27″ WQHD LED touchscreen display at IFA

Acer is on a roll with new announcements at the IFA (which is actually yet to start). Among the long range of products they announced today is the Acer T272HUL monitor.

First of all, the T272HUL has a 27-inch WQHD VA panel, which means it has a resolution of 2,560×1,440, which is four times the resolution of a 720p panel. Secondly, it is a touchscreen panel with 10 point mult-touch support, so it will work great with Windows 8.
The T272HUL has a 2 megapixel front camera with microphone for video calls, dual 2W speakers, dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4 input, along with three USB 3.0 ports. The T272HUL also supports wall mounting.
The Acer T272HUL is priced at €799 and will go on sale later this month.

Acer updates Aspire R7 notebook with Haswell processor and Active Pen stylus

Acer announced the Aspire R7 notebook a few months back with the unique Ezel hinge that allowed it to be folded in various ways and be used as a notebook or a tablet. Acer is now updating the Aspire R7 at IFA with some new hardware features to keep it up to date.

First of all, the Aspire R7 gets the latest generation Intel Core series processor, commonly known as the Haswell series. It also features up to 12GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive (or 256GB SSD) for storage, along with a backlit keyboard and Windows 8.1.
The other addition is the presence of the Acer Active Pen stylus, which lets you get more out of the 15.6-inch 1080p touchscreen panel. The stylus is pressure sensitive for more accurate input and can also be used with gesture controls.
In other news, Acer has also updated the Aspire E1 series notebooks with 10 point multi-touch displays. You also get the option of Intel fourth generation processor or AMD A-series processors, NVIDIA GT720M, NVIDIA GT740M and AMD Radeon™ HD 8000M options on the 15.6-inch models and NVIDIA GT720M on the 14-inch model.
The Aspire R7 will be available in Europe, Middle East and Africa in Q4 2013 for €999. The Aspire E1 will be available mid-October for €399.

Acer announces quad-core Iconia A3 10″ tablet

Acer announced its Iconia A3 10″ tablet in both Wi-Fi and 3G versions.

The slate is running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on a 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU. The 10″ display is of IPS variety and features a modest 1280 x 800 pixel resolution resulting in a pixel density of 149ppi.
The Acer Iconia A3 boasts what the company calls optimal speaker placemen for great audio experience, which is further enhanced by the Dolby Digital Plus chip on board. It provides a 5.1-channel surround sound experience on headphones. The tablet will be offered in a couple of storage options – 16GB and 32GB – both of which have microSD card slot for further memory expansion.
The battery capacity isn’t specified, but Acer claims 9 hours of video playback, which sounds about right for a tablet of this size. At the back of the tablet, there’s a 5MP camera capable of shooting full HD video, in case you have no other device next to you to do the job.
The company has backed some pretty neat extras on the software side. Most notable of which are the Acer IntelliSpin and Acer Touch WakeApp. The IntelliSpin feature ensures that the tablet’s screen will continue to rotate to match the tablet’s orientation when turned even when lying flat. The Touch WakeApp functionality provides users with fast access to their favorite apps straight from sleep mode.
The Acer Iconia A3 16GB Wi-Fi version will be available in Europe, Middle East and Africa early October with a starting price of €249, while the 3G version will come out in early November for €299.

Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2 image leaks

Samsung is working on a 12.2″ tablet. Back in June the Korean site ETNews revealed that such device is on the way. Then in July the popular tipster evleaks tweeted about a Samsung SM-P900 12.2-inch slate running on Exynos 5 Octa chipset and having a 2560 x 1600 pixel screen.

Today we get to see the first render of this SM-P900 tablet, which is supposed to be dubbed Galaxy Note 12.2.
There is no new details on the specs besides this first picture. Since the slate will supposedly join the Note lineup, we should expect S-Pen support and various stylus-enabled apps that Samsung is usually providing as part of the TouchWiz UI.
If the device is real we guess it will go official around the IFA expo in a few days.