While we've seen specifications and an alleged design for the upcoming HTC M8 flagship, details for the presumed HTC M8 mini version have been nonexistent - until now.
The famed EvLeaks is out with specifications for the smaller HTC M8 brethren, claiming it will be a 4.5-inch handset with buttons on screen, rather than capacitive buttons like on the 4.3-inch HTC One minicurrently available.
A press shot for the HTC M8 mini hasn't leaked, but if the HTC One and HTC One mini are anything to go off of, the HTC M8 and HTC M8 mini will pack a similar design. EvLeaks says the mini handset will feature a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, expandable microSD card memory, Bluetooth 4.0, KitKat Android 4.4.2, and Sense 6.0 software.
EvLeaks didn't provide word when the HTC M8 mini may launch or pricing, but we'll certainly be looking for more details.
The full-sized HTC M8 is currently tipped for a late-March unveiling in New York City. The mini version could be announced there as well, or shortly after for customers who maybe won't prefer the HTC M8's 5-inch phablet size.
Source: Twitter (EvLeaks)
Apple's upcoming and anticipated iOS 7.1 update will be arriving in March, according to 9to5Mac. Apple released the fifth beta to developers earlier this week and hopefully the GM will be out soon.
iOS 7.1 is expected to bring several changes across the board to the OS. A lot of them are UI changes, such as a new dialer, redesigned Slide to Unlock UI, redesigned Caps Lock and Backspace keys on keyboard, ability to remove parallax effect on wallpaper without disabling all motion effects, and a few other tweaks here and there.
Apple has also improved performance compared to the current 7.0.4. On the new iPads, for example, the latest beta is a lot smoother, to the point where it's hard to tell which is the beta and which is the stable release. There are also going to be the usual bug fixes.
Hopefully, the update comes out soon as iOS 7 is in need of some fixing in its current version.
Source
Sony has started rolling out firmware update for the Xperia Z, ZL and ZR smartphones. This update is based upon Android 4.3 and brings with it several improvements to Bluetooth connectivity, battery, YouTube app and other software.
firmware rolling for #Xperia Z, ZL & ZR (Tablet Z eta next week) – brings BT connectivity, battery, YouTube app improvements & more— Sony Xperia News (@SonyMobileNews) February 7, 2014
The update will soon be available for the Xperia Tablet Z as well, with the ETA to be announced some time next week.
Source
Nokia US has posted an interesting teaser video on its YouTube account, asking if we’ve heard what’s coming. The short clip ends with the Windows Phone logo, giving away the nature of the upcoming announcement, but we didn’t get a specific date for it.
Given the number of times the Nokia Lumia 929 Icon has leaked, it’s very hard to look beyond it when searching for the possible device behind this teaser. The handset and its rumored PureView branding also align nicely with the message of the video – “See and hear what you’ve been missing”. The high-resolution cameras and wide dynamic range microphones used in PureView device are have been the center to a lot of Nokia promo campaigns.
Previous rumors pointed to a launch on February 5 or March 5 for the Nokia Lumia 929 Icon. The first of those dates has obviously passed now, but an announcement in the next few days would come just in time for a market release in the beginning of March.
We’ll keep our eyes peels and bring you all the details about whatever Nokia is going to announce.
Aio Wireless, the prepaid carrier owned by AT&T, has added three new smartphones to its lineup. The Motorola Moto G can be purchased for $149.99, the Nokia Lumia 520 is priced at $99.99, and the ZTE Sonata 4G can be bought for $79.99. The latter handset is available today while the other two can be purchased starting February 14th.
The Motorola Moto G is a value priced handset that runs Android 4.4, offers a 4.5 inch screen with 720 x 1280 resolution, and is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor with a 5MP camera around back. Ironically, the phone was designed to compete in the entry-level niche where the Nokia Lumia 520 has been cleaning up.
The Windows Phone powered Nokia Lumia 520 offers a 4 inch screen with 480 x 800 resolution, and is powered by a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro with a 5MP rear-facing snapper. The ZTE Sonata 4G is an Android model with specs similar to the Lumia 520, except that it includes a faster dual-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon S4 and has twice the RAM at 1GB.
Aio offers three plans. The basic plan is $40 a month with unlimited talk, text and data (500MB of high speed data). The smart plan is $50 a month for unlimited talk, text and data (2.5GB of the high speed stuff). For $60 a month, Aio gives you unlimited talk, text and data (5GB high speed). If you agree to an Auto Pay program, you can get a discount from the carrier.
The ZTE Sonata 4G is now available from Aio
source: Aio via Phonescoop
The Motorola Moto G is now available from U.S.Cellular. Including a $90 mail-in rebate, the price of the phone is reduced to $99.99. And that price is without a two-year contract. The Motorola Moto G is equipped with a 4.5 inch screen with resolution of 720 x 1280. A quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 is under the hood with 1GB of RAM on board. 8GB of native storage is included, although we should point out that the phone lacks a microSD slot. The back and front cameras weigh in at 5MP and 1.3MP respectively. A 2070mAh battery powers the whole shebang, and Android 4.4 is pre-installed.
The Motorola Moto G can be customized through the use of the removable rear cover. Replaceable back covers called shells are available in different colors to match your outfit. Keep in mind that even though the back cover does come off, the battery is not removable. And in addition to the usual 15GB of free cloud storage from Google Drive, Moto G buyers get an additional 50GB of cloud storage free.
We would be remiss if we didn't tell you that while you will save $90 from the rebate, you might have to spend as much as $50 to activate the phone on the carrier's pipeline. Regardless, it still works out cheaper than the $189.99 pre-rebate price of the phone from U.S. Cellular.
The Motorola Moto G is now available from U.S. Cellular for $99.99 after rebate
source: U.S.Cellular via TechRadar
Canadian carrier Rogers has updated its OS Upgrade support page on its website, and guess what? It's good news for those who use the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in Rogers' neighborhood. The page now shows the Android 4.4 KitKat update "coming soon" for both top-shelf devices. The page also reveals that the HTC One mini will be receiving Android 4.4 late this month. According to a leaked HTC update roadmap we passed along last month, the byte-sized version of the HTC One will receive Android 4.4.2 and Sense 5.5.
Android flavored handsets aren't the only models getting updated at Jolly Rogers. Coming soon is the GDR3 update for a couple of Windows Phone 8 handsets. The models that will soon be updated are the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Samsung ATIV S. Among the new features will be one that allows Data Sense to block streaming in the background while roaming. Stopping the ol' data meter from running while roaming could save you enough money to make Scrooge McDuck envious.
Rogers' web site reveals OS update schedule for a few phones
source: Rogers via MobileSyrup
The quad-core Huawei MediaPad X1 tablet (which could be seen as a competitor to the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HDX) has appeared for the first time in a real photo, sitting next to Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3. Since the MediaPad X1 sports a 7-inch display, it’s obviously significantly larger than the Note. Still, its narrow bezels allow it to remain compact.
As we already reported, the X1’s 7-inch screen has 1200 x 1920 pixels, offering a 323 ppi density. Other features should include LTE (optional), Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a 1.6GHz quad-core HiSilicon 910 processor, 5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, and 2GB of RAM. The tablet weighs 239 grams and is only 7.5mm thin.
It’s said that Huawei might launch the MediaPad X1 around the world soon, offering it in two color versions: white and black. However, nothing is confirmed at this point.
source: Weibo via Blog of Mobile (translated)
Smartphone cameras have been improving at a rapid pace, and while the field owes credit to many, it is Nokia, and as of late -- Sony -- that are at the helm. Every year, we're treated to larger sensors, more and bigger pixels, larger apertures, OIS, and more features than we can count. But one thing has been missing for a long while now, and that's proper zoom. After all, many a situation necessitate that you either get closer, or miss the shot, and in those cases you're pretty much done for if you have to rely on the traditional digital zoom. Sure, the objects do appear closer, but the price is often a prohibitive loss of detail, as the images are upscaled to the desired resolution with no regard to the actual resolution. Well, thanks to the giant sensors on the Nokia Lumia 1020 and Sony Xperia Z1/Z1 Compact, zoom is no longer a problem. But instead of opting for bulky and noisy zoom lens (Galaxy S4 Zoom), they both rely on their massive resolution in order to get what we call 'lossless' zoom.
So what's lossless zoom, then? In simple terms, it means that zooming into a scene will only result in a negligible loss in quality. Think of it this way: if your camera shoots a picture in a RAW format, the resulting file will contain all the available information for the photo. But the file will be larger, which is why formats, such as JPEG are common -- they reduce the size of the file, but also the quality of the picture. JPEG is irreversibly 'lossy'. On the other hand, a format like PNG is considered 'lossless' -- information about your photo won't be sacrificed at the alter. Digital to lossless zoom is what JPEG is to PNG. Sort of. But how does it work in practice?
Starting with the Nokia 808 PureView, the fabled Finnish manufacturer has been increasing its lead in the camera department ever since. Equipped with a humongous 41-megapixel sensor, the 808 PV is still a beast to this date. As you can guess, much of the underlying tech behind the newer, Lumia 1020, was inherited from the 808. Lossless zoom is one of them. Some of you probably don't know this, but despite its massive sensor, the Lumia 1020 typically snaps 5-megapixel photos. Those are not comparable to your everyday 5-megapixel shooter, though, as they have been 'oversampled', meaning that you get 5 million 'super pixels'. These are created by combining information from neighboring pixels, and melding it into one, high-definition pixel. In result, stills are less blurry and noisy, and they're not as prone to artifacts.
But back to zoom -- it's only lossless because there is such an abundance of pixels, as we said -- 34MP/38MP in 16:9/4:3 aspect ratios, respectively. So, instead of upscaling when the level of zoom exceeds the set resolution, the Lumia 1020 can zoom up to x4 in Full HD, without any considerable loss in clarity. As there are less and less extra pixels available as you crank up the zoom, the level of oversampling goes down as you zoom farther and farther, until it reaches zero at x6 zoom in 720p, for example. No further lossless zooming is possible at that point, as the level of zoom will go beyond the capabilities of the sensor, and it'll have to upscale the shots, sacrificing detail. Best of all, since only the central part of the optics is being used during zooming, optical and geometric distortions, and vignetting, are all minimal.
We've talked quite a bit about Nokia, but that's only because the Sony Xperia Z1 and Z1 Compact and their 20.7-megapixel G Sensor go for much the same approach. And while the Z1 snaps 8-megapixel shots by default, the massive resolution still allows it crank up the zoom up to x1.8 times, without any significant loss in clarity. So not as impressive, nor as potent, but still a noteworthy feature.
At the end of the day, while it's good to have the technical side of this down (especially if you're a self-proclaimed photography buff), all you really need to remember is that these two cameraphones will let you zoom into your chosen scene without any considerable drops in performance.
reference: Nokia [1], [2], Sony
The Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 Mini Black Edition handsets were announced for release in Russia without a UK release planned. Now Samsung has announced the Black Editions are coming to the UK.
The Black Editions are essentially the same as the current S4 and S4 Mini but with a faux leather backs and black bezels. The Black Editions come pre-loaded with eight wallpapers for home and lock screens along with new exclusive ringtones.
The Galaxy S4 is the GT-I9505 variant with a Qualcomm chip, meaning it has a 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor. The S4 also has a 5-inch Full HD screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 13MP front-facing camera, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It will cost 23,202 Ruble in Russia. UK pricing has not been announced.
As for the S4 Mini, it has the same 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400 processor. Other S4 Mini specs include a 4.3-inch qHD screen, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 8MP front-facing camera, 1,900mAh battery, and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. This will cost 16,216 Ruble and also has not got a UK price yet.
Both devices should be released by Mobile World Congress on 24 Febraury where Samsung is expected to announce the new Galaxy S5.
There have been many rumors circulating about the LG G Pro 2 smartphone. The launch of the device was previously tipped to happen sometime this month. We mentioned earlier this week that the smartphone was tipped to use some new tech for the camera inside.
That smartphone camera is expected to use new OIS Plus image stabilization technology. It’s unclear exactly how the new OIS Plus tech will differ from the OIS technology LG used previously.
We are anxious to hear all the details on the LG G Pro 2; this will be the flagship device forLG. All we have to go on so far are rumors on the device. It is interesting that LG plans to unveil the smartphone well ahead of MWC 2014 where the device is expected to be seen for the first time officially.
There will be a flurry of new smartphone announcements at the show; it seems LG doesn't want to get buried in the rush. Rumors continue to expect the G Pro 2 will use a 6-inch screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM and support LTE Advanced networks. The camera is expected to be a 13MP unit.
SOURCE: Android Community
Google is allegedly working on an 8-inch Nexus tablet in collaboration with Asus, and that device should replace the current 7-inch Nexus 7, according to DigiTimes’ Taiwan-based sources. The Nexus 8 (as it could be called) is expected to launch at the end of April, and will ship in around 2 million units, according to the sources.
The reason for the switch to a larger form factor lies in the lower than expected sales of the 2013 Nexus 7 and pressure from smartphones with large displays.
The Nexus 7 has accumulated sales of around 3 million units, way below expectations, according to the sources. The share of compact tablets (with 7 to 8-inch displays) have grown when compared to full-sized 10-inch devices, and competition has increased.
Phablets like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 have also boomed in popularity, and with the small difference in screen size between them and 7-inch tablets, the reasons for buying a tablet have grown less strong.
source: DigiTimes
The Sofica team, makers of the CamSpeed camera benchmark, spotted the Nokia RM-980, a.k.a. Nokia X, a.k.a. Normandy in their database of results. They shared some specs that were recorded but are not normally displayed with the benchmark results.
The Nokia X that did the benchmark was the dual-SIM version and the detected camera was a 3MP fixed-focus shooter.
Nokia RM-980 (Nokia X dual sim) spotted in CamSpeed, Camera 2048x1536 Fixed focus, Android 4.1.2 https://t.co/KJky2CZAsb— Sofica Ltd (@SoficaLtd) February 6, 2014
Rumors until now claimed a 5MP camera, meaning they could be wrong or the single and dual-SIM versions have different cameras. It's also possible that unfinished software prevented the benchmark from detecting the camera resolution properly.
The Nokia X ran Android 4.1.2, though it won't be pure Android but will feature Nokia customizations. Other specs for the phone include a 4" WVGA screen, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 4GB storage and a microSD card slot. Unfortunately, there's no info on what kind of video the camera will record.
The phone is supposed to launch as an Asha device in March. It even looks like an Asha.
Source | Via
Google's $35 Chromecast dongle made it cheap and easy to show off YouTube videos on your TV. Now, the company sees another narrow window of opportunity for Chrome: teleconferencing. "Audioconferencing takes pain to a completely new level," says Caesar Sengupta, VP of product development for Chrome. Today, the company plans to fix that with a $999 kit that uses a souped-up Intel Core i7 Google Chromebox and $250-a-year Google cloud services to make setup as painless as possible. "It takes minutes to go from a full packaged box to a meeting room that's ready to go," says the exec.
The Chromebox for Meetings package comes with a collection of off-the-shelf components, including a Logitech HD webcam, a Jabra speakerphone, and a Boxee-like remote control with a keyboard on the back. It uses Google+ Hangouts for video chat such that any Gmail user can join a meeting from any laptop, tablet, or smartphone anywhere in the world. Conference organizers can start and attendees can join a meeting with a single button press on the remote control, or even remotely.
Once a meeting room is set up with one of the Chromeboxes over ethernet or Wi-Fi, says Sengupta, there will also be no confusion over when the meeting room is in use: the service syncs with Google Calendar (or, in the future, with a Microsoft Exchange plug-in) to prominently display the schedule of upcoming meetings, and allow a user to start a new meeting just by typing a new meeting name into the terminal with the keyboard on the back of the remote.
The system also tries to address pain points of meetings running too long, by reminding speakers when the next meeting is scheduled to begin, highlights users who are currently speaking, and will notify people who speak up if they happen to be muted to avoid embarassment. While the software is free for the first year, the company plans to charge a $250 annual management and support fee per device to maintain the service and provide 24/7 assistance.
"IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN KISSED BY YOUR CFO BEFORE, HERE’S YOUR CHANCE."
While $999 might seem a little expensive for a Chromebox kit and some off-the-shelf teleconferencing components, particularly when such a box retails for $179 without the pricy Core i7 chip, Sengupta reminded press that competing enterprise teleconferencing solutions can cost quite a bit, allowing companies to purchase many Chromebox for Meeting packages for the price of an executive teleconferencing solution. "If you've never been kissed by your CFO before, here's your chance," he quipped. Sengupta says the Core i7 processor is necessary to process and encrypt many simultaneous streams locally, and that normal Chromeboxes won't be able to host the service as a result.
Chromebox for Meetings is available today in the US with Chromebox hardware from Asus, with HP and Dell adding hardware in the coming months. Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Spain, UK and New Zealand availability is coming later this year, according to the company.
When asked by press at the product unveiling, Sengupta said the new Chromebox for Meetings shouldn't be construed as a plan to expand the Chrome hardware business to other platforms per se. "We don't really think of this as just a way to enter a new space for us, we saw this problem that needed to be addressed," he replied.
"We're always on the lookout for problems that exist in the market today."
Already available in the US unlocked, as well as via Verizon and Boost Mobile, Motorola’s affordable Moto G might land at U.S. Cellular in the near future.
According to a screenshot revealed by Android Central, U.S. Cellular will start selling the Motor G to its no-contract customers on February 10 - for a price that hasn’t been disclosed. Verizon is currently selling the Moto G off contract for only $99.99, so maybe US Cellular’s version will be priced similarly.
The Moto G should have Android 4.4 KitKat on board when it launches at U.S. Cellular and, of course, it'll bring all the nice features we’re already familiar with: a 4.5-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixels, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 5MP rear camera, 1GB of RAM, 8GB / 16GB of internal memory, and a 2,070 mAh battery. At less than $200, no contract required, the Moto G is a steal, and you’ll have a really hard time finding a better smartphone in the same price range.
As you may have heard, Google agreed to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo (subject to regulatory approval) - but this shouldn’t affect current Motorola products in any way.
source: Android Central
Today, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory joined the cutting edge of laser research, receiving $45 million dollars to build a laser system of unprecedented power for a European Union project outside of Prague. The project, called ELI-Beamlines, is developing something called a "High repetition-rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System" (HAPLS), which employs short, frequent bursts of intensely high-powered lasers reaching power greater than 1,000,000,000,000,000 watts. If successful, it will be the most powerful laser ever constructed.
With funds in place, construction is expected to begin immediately. The Czech Institute Of Physics will help to construct the device at Livermore until it can be completed and shipped to the Beamlines facility in Dolni Brezany in 2016. After that, the project will open up to the research community at large. Researchers expect the laser's unique energy density to enable new projects in medical imaging, particle acceleration, and quantum physics, among other fields. See an official EFI-Beamlines video describing the project below.
Yes, folks, this is real life. In an interview with Wired, at the Apps World North America conference, Steve Wozniak revealed his belief that Apple should create a phone using Google's Android operating system. According to him, "There's nothing that would keep Apple out of the Android market as a secondary phone market ... We could play in two arenas at the same time." As Wired's Mat Honan notes, the idea of such a handset wouldn't be technically impossible, but anyone who's familiar with the Apple of today knows that the chances of this actually happening are slim to none.
"We [Apple] could compete very well. People like the precious looks of stylings and manufacturing that we do in our product compared to the other Android offerings," Wozniak stated during the interview. Of course, this isn't the first time(and very likely won't be the last) in which the great, legendary Woz has spoken openly about his thoughts on Apple- and Android-related affairs -- still, it's always interesting to hear his perspective on the tech industry. Wozniak also spoke toWired about the film Her, Moore's Law and even why he thinks the Cupertino company has yet to release a smartwatch or TV. You can check out the full interview right here.
The GSA organization just released a map of the next LTE milestone reached - deployment in 100 countries worldwide. You only need to take one look at the map to determine that LTE is going mainstream.
There are currently 268 commercially available 4G LTE networks, and GSA forecast this number to reach the whopping 350+ carriers by the end of the year. another interesting tidbit is that almost half of those networks are using the LTE1800 band, and in total the LTE subscribers are closing in on the 160 million mark.
The phones and tablets with the widest LTE band support are currently made by Apple, as it has to sell one and the same product across the globe, so its iPhones and iPads sport a record number of bands coverage inside their tiny Qualcomm radios.
The iPhone 5s and 5c models sold on Sprint offer 13-band LTE support, including the valuable LTE1800. The record, however, goes to the newest iPads - the Air and the mini - which cover 21 bands, so theoretically you can use them with fast download speeds in most of the countries you see painted in red on this map above.
source: GSA
