Author: James Gray

More evidence of the hotly anticipated Galaxy S 4 Active has found its way to the internet today in the form of an AT&T-ready variant that went through the FCC’s approval process. While this doesn’t guarantee that it will be on AT&T’s network, it includes the same four LTE bandwidths found in the majority of AT&T smartphones. Unfortunately this doesn’t reveal any details about whats under the hood, but we do know that the device will have a downgraded processor and judging by photos and a brief video, a sleek and obviously water and dust-proof body. No word on a release date but judging by the information we have and various rumors we shouldn’t be waiting much longer.

Source: FCC

Come comment on this article: FCC approves AT&T variant of Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active with LTE

Keeping with the trend of smartphones aimed at Chinese women, Lenovo has announced the S820, a sleek red device with soft curves and a smooth velvet finish. Unlike recent offerings from Oppo (namely the MeituKiss and the Ulike 2) this device is a bit more gender neutral than the previous S720, even if Lenovo are targeting it almost exclusively at women. Hit the break for a video of the phone in action and a gallery of its gorgeous body.

The device features a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 4.7-inch, 720p resolution IPS display. On the inside it will have a 1.2GHz quad-core MT6589 SoC with 1GB RAM and 4GB of expandable internal storage. Also included is a 2,000mAh battery and dual SIM slots (WCDMA 2100 and GSM 900/1800/1900). The device runs Android 4.2 Jellybean and is available for pre-order at the source below until June 2nd, starting at ¥1,999 (about $330).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: Engadget
Source: Lenovo

Come comment on this article: Lenovo unveils dual-sim S820, a female-oriented device for the Chinese market

In a piece in Focus Taiwan, analyst Laura Chen of BNP Paribas Securities Taiwan Ltd talked about HTC’s successes in the first half of the year and praised their plans for the second half, revealing some details in the meantime. While this isn’t official information, Chen seems to know what she’s talking about as a lot of her information fits perfectly with earlier rumors, all but confirming a June release for the HTC M4 and a fall release for the new version of the HTC Butterfly (currently called the Butterfly S).

Chen also mentions another flagship device with a 5.9-inch screen and an “upgraded” CPU (maybe the Snapdragon 800?), which we will presume to be the HTC One with a bigger screen as we’ve reported before. She also reveals that the Butterfly S will be aimed at Asian, European, Middle Eastern and African markets, while the M4 will likely be released worldwide.

As we have gathered from other rumors, both new devices will feature BoomSound speakers, 2 GB of RAM an UltraPixel camera and Sense 5 (featuring BlinkFeed among other software). The Butterfly S will ship with a full HD display and a body presumably similar to the original Butterfly. The M4 will have a smaller, 4.3-inch 720p resolution display and a weaker dual-core processor with 16 GB of internal storage.

While none of these rumors have been verified by HTC just yet, an official confirmation is inevitable. Let us know in the comments if either of these devices interest you and stay tuned for more information as we get it.

Source: Focus Taiwan

Come comment on this article: HTC M4 set for a June release date with the Butterfly 2 to follow in the third quarter of 2013

Do you live in Switzerland, want a Samsung Galaxy S 4 and have a large attention span? If you answered yes to all of those questions, you may be able to win Samsung’s latest flagship by merely staring at it’s gorgeous screen for one hour. Swiss carrier Swisscom has teamed up with Samsung to bring a very cool challenge to various Swiss cities. Participants will be asked to stare at the S 4 for one hour straight and if their concentration is broken, they are disqualified.

Cheating is impossible, as the S 4′s Smart Stay feature (which keeps the screen on as long as the user is looking at it) will be used to monitor the competition. If that sounds too easy, the competition’s organizer have set up a number of distractions including obnoxious actors, motorcycles revving engines and burning rubber and many more.

While the May 16th date of the competition has passed (as seen in the video below) there are three more challenges coming up in Lucerne, Schwanenplatz on May 28, Berne, Waisenhausplatz on May 29, and Lausanne Place de l’Europe, on May 30. Hit the source  for information on registration.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: Swiss carrier Swisscom teams up with Samsung to give away Galaxy S 4s in the world’s most intense staring contest

For those of you excited to get your hands on the Sony Xperia Tablet Z tomorrow, it looks like you’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. According to the official Sony Store and Newegg the new launch date is May 29th. B&H is expecting to have it on June 4th and Amazon lists it as “temporarily out of stock.” Anyone out there planning on picking this gorgeous tablet up?

Source: Xperia Blog

Come comment on this article: Sony’s upcoming Xperia Tablet Z launch delayed by a week

As stated in the Google Glass Terms of Sale, it is absolutely forbidden for a user to sell their pair of Google Glass Explorer Edition. So, in a display of blatant disregard and price inflation, one crafty user is selling their pair for $6,000 on Craigslist. While Google did put some measurements in place to keep the early models from changing hands, Google does not plan on bricking any of the Explorer devices.

The post featured photos of the box and the Glass in its original packaging and appears to be the real deal. Whether or not they are functional is another question entirely. The poster has come up with a nifty way around the Glass’s one personal account limit by connecting the device to an empty account, which will also be sold/transferred to the prospective buyer.

What do you think? Would you pay $6,000 to have the coolest new gadget before everyone else, or would you prefer to wait until next year when it is formally released to the public. Let us know in the comments!

Source: CNET

Come comment on this article: Google Glass Explorer Edition shows up on Craigslist for $6,000

Considering Samsung cleaned house in the first quarter of 2013, it comes as no surprise that Samsung has sold over 10,000,000 Galaxy S 4s since April 26th. Unsurprisingly, this puts the S 4 at the top of the list for the years highest selling phones, easily beating the S 3s record of 10,000,000 units in 50 days.

As if the world needs more reasons to buy the S 4, Samsung has announced four new colors for the device for release this summer. In addition to Blue Arctic and Red Aurora (pictured above), Samsung also has plans for a Purple Mirage and a Brown Autumn variant. The S 4 will also be available in 45 more markets by the end of the year, making the wildly popular handset available in 155 countries.

Source: Samsung

Come comment on this article: Samsung sells over 10 million S 4s and announces four new colors for summer

Samsung’s fabled flexible displays are one of the most hotly anticipated technological developments in recent memory, and today MobiLeaks has brought us a leaked concept showing off one such display. As you can see in the picture, this leak is a full render of a new Samsung 10″ tablet, and if thats not enough, the leak came with some specs too. The flexible screen is a full 1080p HD resolution (1920×1080 pixels) and has a front facing 3-megapixel camera. Inside is Samsung’s very own Exynos 5 Octa processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, an 8000 mAh battery and 16 or 32 GB storage options, expandable via a microSD card slot.

Come comment on this article: Samsung tablet concept with flexible display leaks with specs

As we’ve reported multiple times before, Samsung has big plans to release multiple variants of their newest flagship, the Galaxy S 4, to serve various purposes. The water and dust proof variant just ran through the GFX Benchmark site and we now have more information on the device including its official name, the Galaxy S 4 J Active.  There will be two models of the J Active, one presumably for AT&T (SGH-I537) and another for European markets (GT-I9295). 

The J Active will share a lot of similarities with the S 4 including a TouchWiz themed Android 4.2.2, the same gorgeous FHD screen and 2 GB of RAM. One very noticeable difference is the processor. Where the S 4 used either the Snapdragon 600 or Samsung’s own Exynos 5 Octa depending on which version you got, the J Active will pack a quad-core 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus(MSM8960) processor. While it is an odd decision on Samsung’s part to downgrade the processor and nothing else, the Snapdragon S4 is still a great processor and should do a fine job running the device.

The J Active will join the S 4 Mini and the S 4 Zoom sometime this summer and it will be exciting to see what else Samsung has up its sleeve.

Source: GFX Benchmark
Via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: Waterproof S 4 variant shows up in benchmark with downgraded processor, dubbed the Galaxy S 4 J Active

As we reported before, over 900 million Android-powered smartphones have been activated since the platform’s debut in 2007. While its no surprise that Samsung leads the herd over HTC, LG and Sony (among other competitors), it may come as a shock just how much they dominate by. According to a report by Strategy Analytics, Samsung captured 95% of Android’s profit in the first quarter of 2013. 

The report states that Android made $5.3 billion dollars in the first quarter, with Samsung making $5.1 billion off Android-powered handsets in that same time period. That comes to 94.7% of the profit share, and those figures don’t include tablets. While some question Samsung’s tactics, such as using all plastic hardware and producing multiple phones every year, something is clearly working for them.

In second place, LG accounted for 2.5% of the profit share, while all other manufacturers (including HTC, Sony, Pantech and many more) accounted for the last 2.7%. Samsung’s incredible numbers led to one more startling realization: Strategy Analytics’ Director Neil Mawston believes Samsung now makes more money from Android than Google.

Source: Strategy Analytics

Come comment on this article: Samsung grabs 95% of global Android smartphone profits in Q1 2013

In a recent piece on Focus Taiwan, Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said HTC will double production for its recent flagship, the HTC One. Tong also mentioned the company’s older device, the HTC Butterfly, has seen sales rise since the company lowered the price of the device in Asian markets. To help sales further, the Butterfly will soon receive an update to Sense 5.0, as featured on the aforementioned HTC One. The update will include the Sense 5.0 user interface, the BlinkFeed home screen feed and improvements to the camera, among other additions. 

While the Butterfly may not be the hottest phone around right now, it did have many early adopters thanks to a good combination of hardware and the first commercially available smartphone with a 1080p display. No official date has been announced but its safe to assume that Butterfly users will get a taste of Sense 5.0 within the month.

Source: Android Beat

Come comment on this article: HTC sales increase for One and Butterfly, Butterfly to receive Sense 5.0 update

ZTE is no stranger to Intel’s up-and-coming CloverTrail+ project, including one of Intel’s chips in the ZTE Geek we reported on about a month ago. Today we bring you Intel and ZTE’s newest collaboration, dubbed the ZTE Grand X2 In. The Grand X2 In is a sleek purple device with a 4.5-inch, 720p display. It runs Android Jellybean and is powered by Intel’s 2GHz Atom Z2580 chip. Also under the hood is 1GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1-megapixel front-facing camera. While this phone is not going to compete with today’s flagships, it does have some features that set it apart, most notably the aforementioned camera. Capable of 24 frames-per-second, zero shutter lag and image stabilization, the camera alone puts this mid-range offering ahead of many other comparable devices. Hit the break for the full press release. 

Global Premiere of ZTE Grand X2 In – ZTE’s Flagship Smartphone That’s as Quick as You

BusinessWire — May 15, 2013 — ZTE today introduced the ZTE Grand X2 In smartphone with Intel Inside® at the MedPi conference in Monaco. Featuring the Intel® Atom™ Processor Z2580 with up to 2GHz, Android Jelly Bean OS, an advanced 8MP camera and 1080p movie and video play back, the ZTE Grand X2 In provides high quality experience for the demanding and value conscious user.

The ZTE Grand X2 In provides instant performance with its advanced dual core Intel® Atom™ Processor Z2580 with hyper-threading running on the Android Jelly Bean operating system. Users can enjoy faster webpage loads, application launch times and content download times, as well as amazing graphics capabilities and responsive multitasking.

ZTE’s new flagship smartphone also boasts an 8MP socially-smart camera with one of the shortest shot-to-shot times on the market, capable of up to 24 frames per second and no shutter lag. It secures a high image quality in challenging environments with real-time 2x axis stabilisation, and face and smart scene recognition.

The ZTE Grand X2 In’s 4.5 inch HD display is optimised by ZTE’s My-Pop function for easy-to-use one-handed operation and IPS technology that prevents screen picture distortion. It also offers a seamless engineered body with soft-touch finish and a 0.7mm slim screen touch panel for a slimmer design. For those who like to share their experiences, the ZTE Grand X2 In features built-in Audio enhancementtechnology and Wireless Display (WiDi) which enables wireless streaming between connected media devices.

“We are proud to announce the ZTE Grand X2 In smartphone pursuing our multi-year strategic collaboration with Intel,” said William Chhao, Terminal Director at ZTE France. “The ZTE Grand X2 In is set to build on the success of the ZTE Grand X In, our first flagship smartphone in Europe to feature Intel Inside, and further increase ZTE’s growth in the high-performance smartphone market segment.”

“We are excited to extend our collaboration with ZTE on their latest innovative platform, the new Grand X2 In,” said Helmut Vogler, Vice President and General Manager of Mobile and Wireless Sales at Intel. “Our teams have worked together to harness the power of the Intel® Atom™ processor Z2580 to create a high performance smartphone with market-leading features and long battery life. The Grand X2 In will provide an excellent choice for consumers in fast growing smartphone market.”

The smartphone was created for the tech savvy, brand and market aware customers and allows them to own cutting-edge technology.

The ZTE Grand X2 In will be available in Europe in Q3 2013 with both key operators and channel partners. The launch of Grand X2 In will strengthen ZTE’s smartphone market share and brand awareness with consumers.

Key specifications

OS: Android Jelly Bean
Display: 4.5-inch(1280 × 720)
Camera: 8MP AF Flash/1MP
Processor: Intel® Atom™ Z2580 with up to 2.0GHz
Memory: 8GB ROM; 1GB RAM
MicroSD: Up to 32GB
Battery: 2000 mAh

ZTE will be demonstrating the Grand X2 IN handset at the MedPi conference in Monaco, at booth J66 from 14-17 May 2013.

Come comment on this article: ZTE reveals Grand X2 In with Intel CloverTrail+ processor capable of taking 24 photos per second

Pre-paid carriers are getting more and more high-end phones every day, and StraightTalk is no different now that they offer the Samsung Galaxy S III. A user on HowardForums posted a photo of the Galaxy S III’s StraightTalk retail packaging, and as of now you can purchase it directly from StraighTalk’s website. The phone is unbranded and comes at the very reasonable price of $439.99. Aside from StraightTalk’s website, the S III should be available at Wal-Mart soon.

Now for the bad news, the device runs on Sprint’s CDMA-LTE network. If you live in an urban area this should pose no problems, but Sprint’s service is notoriously spotty outside of cities and its LTE coverage is still sparse in comparison to Verizon and AT&T. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but considering the carrier (StraightTalk) uses multiple networks depending on what phone you have, its unfortunate that StraighTalk customer’s first LTE experience will have to be on Sprint’s network.

Source: HowardForums

Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy S III comes to StraightTalk using Sprint’s LTE network

While the Play Store has no shortage of emulators and knockoffs of classic games, karate-adventure Karateka Classic will be available to play tomorrow (May 16th) for the first time since the 80s in its complete, remastered glory. Perform cool jump kicks and save the princess in an unparalleled retro setting for just a dollar when Karateka launches on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store tomorrow.

To add to the awesome throwback feel players have the option of revisiting Karateka on a monochrome screen with the sound of floppy disks sputtering along in the background. Hit the break for a trailer and remember to grab Karateka tomorrow when it launches!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Karateka Official Site

Come comment on this article: Karateka Classic: Director’s Cut launches tomorrow for Android and iOS for a buck

For those of you who have the AT&T version of the HTC One, HTC has released their excellent backup tool (fittingly named HTC Backup) as a standalone application on the Play Store. For whatever reason AT&T did not include this backup tool with their version of the One, opting to use Google’s standard backup function.

Now One users can get HTC Backup from the Play Store for free. Once downloaded all you need to do is sign in with your HTC account and let the app back up and restore your phone through Dropbox. Again, if you do not have the AT&T variant of HTC’s flagship device then this is irrelevant to you. Hit the break for a Play Store link and let us know in the comments what you think of HTC’s tool.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: HTC Backup now available for AT&T users as free download from Google Play

Former Nokia consultant Heikki Sarajarvi loves everything about being out at sea. Unfortunately, four of his smartphones didn’t share the enthusiasm and all fell apart from sea-spray alone. Sarajarvi, fed up by wimpy smartphones, enlisted the help of sixteen others (including eight former Nokia employees) to form Adaia. Adaia’s sole purpose is to build a sea-ready Android phone that still looks slick and performs well.

Come comment on this article: Former Nokia consultant launches Adaia, aiming to make the first fully seaworthy Android phone

Google is planning to introduce a new subscription-based streaming music service to compete with Spotify and other similar services. The feature will be integrated into Google Play and could be introduced as early as this morning at Google I/O, Google’s annual developer-centric conference.

Come comment on this article: Google planning to launch subscription-based music service to compete with Spotify

While a handful of rumors regarding the hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note III have been floating around the internet, the most speculation has been given to the device’s screen. Early rumors predicted that we’d see Samsung’s first flexible display, but with delays getting those to market it looks like that will not be the case. A report by an investment firm in South Korea says that the display on the Note III will be a 6-inch, non-flexible AMOLED screen, debunking other rumors that Samsung may introduce the world’s first plastic OLED display.

In the report it is speculated that Samsung is not ready to mass produce flexible OLED displays and are currently only capable of manufacturing 24,000 screens a month. LG, who had also hinted at a flexible device by year’s end, is reportedly also having problems mass-producing their flexible display. 

Aside from the display, the Note III is rumored to have an Exynos Octa-core processor clocked at 2GHz for the A15 processor and 1.7GHz  for the A7 processor, 3 GB of RAM, and runs Android 4.2.2. It is likely to be revealed at IFA 2013 in Berlin with a possible launch in the third quarter of this year.

Source: OLED-Display
Via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy Note III to ship with a 6-inch, non-flexible glass OLED display

As AT&T brings more LTE coverage to more markets, they plan to roll out support for voice-over-LTE, or VoLTE, to select markets by the end of the year. VoLTE will use AT&T’s LTE towers to convert conversations into data packets over an IP network, allowing for not just higher quality calls but also video calling and enhanced messaging services.

AT&T currently has LTE coverage in 212 markets and expects to cover 90% of the country by the end of the year. Calls over the standard UMTS network will still be available when VoLTE is not, or if a device does not support it. It should be noted that these calls will use data, and probably not a small amount. For customers on shared data plans, this could potentially force you into a higher data bracket.

Unfortunately current hardware is still not quite fit for VoLTE, which causes the CPU to heat up and the battery to drain. However it is inevitable that we will see more development from manufacturers in that field before AT&T starts rolling out the service nationwide.

While there’s no word on where VoLTE will launch first, its safe to assume it will be in AT&T’s biggest markets. AT&T CEO Bill Smith has hinted that this will be left to the marketing department to decide.

Source: Light Reading
Via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: AT&T plans to launch Voice-Over-LTE (VoLTE) service this year

Another image of LG’s mysterious new device has made its way onto the internet today. This one comes courtesy of the infamous @evleaks twitter account and shows the device’s almost non-existent bezel. While nothing can be for certain, this is almost definitely the same device we got a glimpse of last week. It is probably safe to assume this is LG’s follow up to the Optimus G, although some more excitable folks believe it to be the next Nexus device.

Regardless of what it is, it is shaping up to be a gorgeous device with a very minimal design. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as we learn more, and don’t forget to hit the break for last week’s image in case you missed it.

Source: @evleaks

Come comment on this article: Another leaked image of mysterious new LG phone with almost non-existent bezel