Samsung launches dual-SIM version of the Galaxy Note 3
Samsung has just launched the dual-SIM version of the Galaxy Note 3 phablet. Most of the recent Galaxies received a dual-SIM treatment shortly after release and the Galaxy Note 3 is no exception.The first country to get the dual-SIM Galaxy Note 3 is China, though the gadget is carrier unlocked and can be exported and used on other countries around the world. You should check, of course, the supported network bands and be careful where you activate the device.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Dual-SIM is also based on the Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chipset, just like the international N9005 model, which means it is probably LTE-capable as well.
The dual-SIM Galaxy Note 3 costs €735 in Asia, which sounds about right since its international single-SIM models is priced at €700. There is no info on official pricing and availability, nor there is even a press note announcing the dual-SIM version. We expect the device to expand its market reach in the next few months though.
Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note 3 won't get true octa-core update
Samsung recently brought the true octa-core performance to its Exynos chips. The Exynos 5 Octa big.LITTLE chip, which is currently powering the Galaxy S4 and Note 3, was also expected to gain the ability to run all of its cores simultaneously via an update.
However, Samsung's senior technical expert, Oleg Artamonov has confirmed that both flagship devices will not get the true octa-core update. The reason quoted is power consumption and heat dissipation of 8 cores will be higher than 4 cores, which will affect the stability and reliability of the performance of the big.LITTLE chip.
However, Samsung will be releasing a revised Exynos chipset that fits into the heat requirements even when all the 8 cores are in operation.
The executive also revealed that the company will be upgrading their older models to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean this fall.
HTC One Max leaks with a microSD card, removable back
The HTC One Max has leaked over in China sporting a removable back panel and a microSD card underneath. We've already seen a similar HTC One device, which also had a second SIM card but this HTC One Max appears to be single SIM.We also get a new glance of the One Max next to a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 but the information says the HTC phablet has a 5.7" screen and not the rumored 5.9-incher along with 16 GB storage (and not 32 GB).
HTC One Max leaked photos
The HTC One Max may appear on October 17 officially and thus far is quoted as having the same 4 MP camera as the HTC One, Snapdragon 800 chip along with a fingerprint scanner on its back.
Android 4.4 screenshots surface, show off new camera UI
Google unveiled its latest Android build, version 4.4 KitKat exactly one month ago, and today we have some screenshots of exactly what's been updated.As with the other incremental updates since version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the updates of the latest build are almost exclusively under the hood. Nevertheless, some of the latest inclusions are more noticeable, like the updated camera interface.
The leaked images are likely a bit dated - or Google simply hasn't gotten around to changing the build name - as there are several mentions of Key Lime Pie rather than KitKat.
In the Settings menu, you'll find new integration for a Printing and Payments system, which brings wireless NFC payment to the main Android architecture, rather than relying on third party apps. Looks like the same will be done with printer support. Then comes Miracast, which will let you screencast your device to a supported TV.
Like we said, UI changes are mostly minor, although animations are reportedly much smoother.
A few additional Google apps are set to come preloaded on KitKat - Drive and Keep. The first lets you access your documents on Google's cloud storage service, while Keep is used for note-taking.
The camera UI now features Instagram-like previews of your applied filters. There's also a print menu that allows you to save your image as a PDF, or print to a local or network printer. There are options for paper size, colors, orientation and number of copies.
Android 4.4 KitKat may become available as early as this month, with the release of the new Nexus 5.
Vertu Constellation puts mid-range Android in luxury garbs
Vertu has turned to Android whereas its former parent company Nokia
went Windows Phone exclusive. The luxury phone maker has created its
second Android-powered phone, the Constellation.Each Vertu Constellation is handmade by a single craftsman in England. It's constructed out of grade 5 titanium and draped upholstered in fine calf leather from "one of Europe’s oldest tanneries." The leather will come in five different colors.
As for tech specs, the Constellation is – dare we say it – reasonable. It has a 4.3" 720p screen (342ppi) that doesn’t bother with bourgeois scratch-resistant glass and goes for sapphire instead. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 S4 Pro – dual-core Krait CPU at 1.7GHz and Adreno 320 (similar to the Moto X chipset). It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean too, which is fairly recent.
It has a 13MP camera on the back and a 1.3MP shooter on the front and comes with either 32GB or 64GB storage. It lacks LTE connectivity, but you get unlimited Wi-Fi worldwide from iPass. The only spec that is on the weak side is the battery – it has only 1,800mAh capacity.
Select Vertu boutiques will carry the Constellation starting this month. This one's cheaper than the previous model (with lower specs), the Vertu Ti. The Constellation will set you back €4,900 / $6,600. We're guessing that's for the 32GB version.
Qualcomm VP: Apple A7 chip is a marketing gimmick
One
of the major features of the recently announced Apple iPhone 5s is the
company's own A7 chip and its 64-bit nature. However, according to
Qualcomm's senior vice president and head of marketing Anand
Chandrasekher, the 64-bit architecture of the A7 chip is a "marketing
gimmick.""I think they are doing a marketing gimmick. There’s zero benefit a consumer gets from that," states Chandrasekher. He acknowledges that the 64-bit processor enables the use of more than 4GB of RAM, but this isn't relevant in the iPhone 5s' case.
As a result, consumers get "zero benefit" from the 64-bit A7 chip. It's the OS developers, who are going to require the 64-bit feature at some point in time, according to Chandrasekher.
Gimmick or not, the Apple A7 chip proved itself to be quite potent when we put it through its paces in our benchmark tests. Check out our Apple iPhone 5s review to see just how fast it is and how it fares against the competition.
The exec revealed that Qualcomm is also working to release a 64-bit mobile processor, as it makes sense from an "engineering efficiency standpoint." He didn't specify an exact timeframe on when those chips will make it to the market.
The shots fired from Qualcomm are reminiscent of how Samsung and Nvidia reacted back in 2012, when Apple announced their A5X chip at the then new iPad announcement event. Nvidia was unhappy with Apple's allegedly untrue statement that its quad-core GPU is faster than Nvidia's ultra-low voltage GeForce GPU found in the Tegra 3.
Samsung and LG to unveil curved OLED phones this month
Word out of Korea is that both local tech giants, Samsung and LG, will each be unveiling flexible display devices in October.Samsung has officially confirmed a curved display smartphones, reportedly a Galaxy Note 3 Active model, which could be announced as soon as next week. LG meanwhile, are taking it a step further with their new LG Z series (Z as in Z-axis), featuring a concave display, likely of fullHD resolution. The Z series flagship is allegedly already in production, and is expected to launch this month.
Both smartphones are expected to be released in limited quantities as neither manufacturer has the capabilities to mass produce flexible displays yet.
Samsung quietly releases Galaxy Star Pro, forgets to announce it
Samsung has released its newest entry level smartphone named Galaxy Star Pro in the Indian market but it appears someone forgot to make an official announcement of it.Samsung Galaxy Star Pro is an Android smartphone for beginners, which comes with an affordable price tag. The hardware specifications of the device are not very exciting with the star upfront being a 4-inch display of 480 x 800 pixel resolution.
The Dual-SIM Galaxy Star Pro is powered by a 1 GHz Cortex A5 processor along with 512 MB of RAM and features a 2 megapixel rear camera, 4 GB of internal memory with the ability to expand via microSD card slot.
Samsung's affordable offering supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but lacks 3G connectivity. The device runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the juice for it is provided by a 1,500mAh battery, which according to the company lasts for about 15 hours on call or up to 370 hours of standby time.
Samsung Galaxy Star Pro is currently available in India and costs INR6,989 (about USD$111).
Nokia Glee is the Lumia 525, to star the next WP budget line-up
The Nokia Lumia 525 is the official name of the recently rumored Nokia Glee, according to a tweet by evleaks. The Lumia 525 is the replacement of the hugely successful Lumia 520 and, naturally, is going to be a budget Windows Phone handset.
The Nokia Lumia 520 was launched in February this year and is one of the reasons Windows Phone marks a growth in its market share in Europe.
As a result, The Nokia Lumia 525 is going to aim and build on the foundation that the Lumia 520 has set throughout the year. Happily, the phone has undergone the popular GFXBenchmark test suite, which gives us a glimpse at its specs. It's going to be powered by a 1GHz dual-core Krait CPU and an Adreno 305 GPU (probably the on the Qualcomm MSM8227 chipset). The Lumia 520 is running Windows Phone 8 on the very same platform.
Furthermore, the display is reported to pack a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, again the same as the Lumia 520. Screen size isn't provided from the benchmark website.
It's all but confirmed that the Finns are going to announce the Lumia 525 at their upcoming event on October 22 in Abu Dhabi. Alongside it, the company is rumored to announce five more devices. Those are expected to include the Lumia 1520, the Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet, as well as new members from the Asha family of phones.
Fujitsu Arrow Tab FJT21 with multi-user fingerprint reader goes official
Fujitsu has officially announced its latest Arrow Tab, the FJT21. The newest member of the Android tablet club packs a punch with its powerful hardware and is probably the first tablet to feature a fingerprint scanner.
The Fujitsu FJT21 sports a LCD display of 10.1-inch 2,560 x 1,600 pixels resolution that is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. It is powered by a monstrous Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz along with 2GB of RAM.
The 8-megapixel sensor at the back and the 1.3-megapixel front facing shooter complete the camera department. There are also 64GB of inbuilt memory, which can be expanded via microSD card slot.
Fujitsu’s newest Arrow Tab is equipped with LTE bands and supports a wide range of connectivity options. The slate runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and the juice for the tablet is provided by a 9,600mAh battery.
The Fujitsu Arrow Tab FJT21 is expected to go on sale in Japan by the end of November. However, there is no word on pricing or potential global availability at the moment.
Jolla unveils more specs of its upcoming smartphone
The dual-core 1.4GHz processor and 1GB RAM in the phone are on a Snapdragon chipset and while Jolla didn’t give its exact model number, it's probably a SoC similar to the one in the HTC One mini.
The 4.5" qHD (960 x 540 pixels) screen will be of the IPS LCD variety and will feature 6-point multi-touch and Gorilla Glass 2 protection. There will be an RGB indicator too. The 8MP back camera and 2MP front-facing camera have two mics for sound recording and noise reduction.
On the connectivity side, there's Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, A-GPS with GLONASS, NFC and I2C for connectivity with extensions, which sounds pretty interesting. The only extension that Jolla has shown so far is the exchangeable back cover, but with I2C there are plenty of options to expand (e.g. a keyboard wouldn’t need to connect over Bluetooth).
The 2,100mAh battery is rated at 7.7/5.5 hours of 2G/3G talk time respectively and 500 hours of standby. Finally, the dimensions of the Jolla phone are 131 x 68 x 9.9mm and the weight is 141g.
The global pre-order for the Jolla is over, but Finns can still book one for €100. The total price of the handset is €400 (including VAT, the phone is unlocked).
Nokia Lumia 929 coming to Verizon in November
Nokia is planning to announce the Lumia 929 for Verizon later this month. Expected to go on sale in November, this handset is similar to the Lumia 1520 for AT&T that was leaked earlier but with a few key differences.
The device will be sold in black and white and possibly in a red color as well. The off-contract price is said to be $500, much less than the $599 price for the Lumia 1520.
Archos refreshes its Platinum lineup with a trio of Android tablets
After launching the Platinum line in the beginning of this year, Archos pulled the cover of three new members with updated internals. The ARCHOS 97b Platinum HD, ARCHOS 101 Platinum and ARCHOS 80b Platinum aid to take on the established players on the market by sporting a lower price tag to go with premium looks.
Leading the way is the ARCHOS 97b Platinum HD pictured above. The slate is an update of the Archos 97 Platinum with more powerful SoC which includes a Quad-Core ARM Cortex A9 CPU clocked at 1.6GHz. The rest of the specs include a 9.7” IPS display with an iPad Retina-like resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, duo of 2MP cameras on the front and back, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of built in memory, and microSD card slot. The tablet boots Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The Archos 101 Platinum HD sports the same specs as the 97b, but comes with a 10.1” IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.
Finally, there’s the entry-level ARCHOS 80b Platinum. The late sports the same SoC and most specs as its larger siblings, but comes with an 8” IPS display with the lowly resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. It also sports less RAM with only a gig on board.
The ARCHOS 97b Platinum HD, ARCHOS 101 Platinum and ARCHOS 80b Platinum will be available in October, priced at $299.99, $269.99, and $199.99 respectively. While the 97b Platinum can somewhat make a case for itself by undercutting the Apple iPad by $200 for somewhat similar specs, both the 101 Platinum and the 80b Platinum face an uphill battle by sitting right in the price range of the 2013 ASUS Nexus 7.
Lenovo Vibe Z with 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 goes official
After announcing the Lenovo Vibe X at IFA 2013, the company has added a second member to the Vibe family dubbed Vibe Z.
The Lenovo Vibe Z was previously known as K910 and sports a metal body and a design similar to the Vibe X, which the company hopes to appeal to the younger demographic outside China.
The Lenovo Vibe Z sports a 5.5" display of 1080p resolution. The phone is powered by the a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. As you'd imagine, this configuration runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean without problems.
At the back, there's a 13MP camera with LED flash, which is similar to the one found on the Lenovo Vibe X. At the front, there's a 5MP snapper. The phone measures just 6.9mm thick, but battery size hasn't been detailed yet.
Lenovo has announced its plans to update the device to Android 4.4 KitKat in the future. Specific plans aren't yet revealed, as isn't the pricing and availability of the Vibe Z.
Dell delivers XPS 15 ultrabook with FullHD display or Quad HD+ 3200 x 1800 touchscreen
We like ultrabooks that go for portability without sacrificing performance. And we really, really like them when they come made from high-grade materials like carbon fiber and magnesium. Add a screen that go great distances with resolution and technology and we are in love.
If you’re like us then you should check out the new Dell XPS 15. It comes in either 15.6″ 1080p glory with a Core i5 processor and integrated graphics for $1,499 or with a Quad HD+ (that’s 3200 x 1800 pixels) touchscreen that goes for around 235 ppi across the 15.6″ panel, quad-core i7 Haswell chip and dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT750M GPU, 16 gigs of RAM, 512 GB SSD for a price that’s yet to be confirmed.
The device is expected to start shipping in the US on October 18 with Windows 8.1 professional and we’d like to know the exact price it will be coming with.
The logical rival for the XPS 15 is the 15″ Retina MacBook Pro and that costs north of $2 thousand. All well, no-compromises ultrabooks are expensive, there’s no two ways about it.
Dell announces Android and Windows based Venue tablets
Dell recently revived the ill-fated Venue brand for their tablets. Today, the company has launched four new tablets under the Venue brand, two of which run Android and the other two Windows 8.
The Android based Venue 7 and Venue 8 are basic budget tablets, with each having a 1280×800 resolution IPS LCD and Intel Atom Z2580 SoC with 2GHz dual-core CPU. The Venue 7 will have 16GB internal memory and the Venue 8 (pictured above) will have a choice between 16 and 32, with both models having a microSD card slot.
The Venue 7 and Venue 8 will have Android 4.2.2 at launch and are said to be upgradable to Android 4.4 KitKat. They will be available in 4G and Wi-Fi-only configurations from October 18, starting at $150 for the Venue 7 and $180 for the Venue 8.
As for the Windows models, The Venue 8 Pro has an 8-inch, 1280×800 resolution IPS display, Intel quad-core Atom “Bay Trail” processor, 32/64GB storage space with microSD card slot and Windows 8.1. The Venue 8 Pro will be priced at $300 when it releases in October 18.
Lastly, there is the flagship Venue 11 Pro, which competes with the Microsoft Surface Pro. It’s a 11-inch tablet with a 1920×1080 resolution display, Intel Atom “Bay Trail” processor with optional Intel Core i3 or i5 “Haswell” processor, 2GB RAM (supports up to 8GB), 32GB storage space (expandable up to 256GB), USB 3.0 port, 11 hour battery life and runs Windows 8.1.
You can get it with an optional soft keyboard cover, a keyboard dock or a docking station with additional ports. The keyboard dock also has its own built-in battery for extended battery life.
The Venue 11 Pro will go on sale on November 7 starting at $500.
LG G Pro Lite Dual to have stylus, lower-end screen and chipset
The dual-SIM LG G Pro Lite Dual will reportedly have a 5.5" IPS screen like its single-SIM sibling, but that screen will only have qHD resolution (540 x 960 pixels) with half the pixel density. But it's the chipset that got the greatest cutback – instead of a Snapdragon 600, the G Pro Lite Dual will have only a dual-core 1GHz processor, according to the new leak. It will have 1GB of RAM (down from 2GB) and 8GB built-in storage (down from 16GB/32GB) with a microSD card slot.
The phablet will run Android 4.1.2 with LG's customizations (KnockOn, Guest mode, etc.) and will pack an 8MP camera with a BSI sensor. There will also be an FM radio and a 3,140mAh battery (same as the Optimus G Pro). The dimensions will be almost identical, 150.2 x 76.9 x 9.5mm (there's no info on weight).
The phone will launch in Russia mid-October at RUR13,000 (around $400 and half the price of the Optimus G Pro in Russia), where it will compete against the likes of Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos, Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Sony Xperia C.
Samsung to manufacture 30-40% of Apple’s upcoming A8 chip
While the freshly announced, 64-bit CPU toting iPhone 5s
is enjoying its time under the spotlight, a report has emerged,
potentially shedding light on the production of Apple’s next generation
mobile SoC. According to Korean media, Samsung will handle the
manufacturing of around 30 and 40% of the upcoming Apple A8 chip which
will find a spot in future iOS devices.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is said to handle the rest of the chips’ production. Apple reportedly wanted TSMC to handle the entire A8 chip manufacturing process. However, the challenges associated with the production of state of the art 20nm chips necessitated the involvement of Samsung in the process.
There has been no official confirmation from any of the parties involved in the deal. The rumor however, falls in line with previous reports about Apple’s intent to diversify its chain of suppliers.
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