Author: Roy Alugbue

The HTC One is one hell of a smartphone— but its premium build and cost may be a bit out of reach for many customers. So with that in mind, HTC is quietly working on a stripped down version the device behind the scenes called the 608t. Design-wise, this mysterious new toy certainly mirrors One features including dual-stereo speakers on the front of the device, as well as a similar button layout. Of course the similarities end there as this Jelly Bean-powered smartphone features “modest” guts including a quad-core chip + 1GB of RAM, a 4.5-inch LCD display with a 960 x 540 (qHD?) display and an 8MP camera. Not too shabby HTC. Not too shabby.

Now for the part that you all want to know— the pricing and availability. While we don’t know the cost as of yet, the leak certainly suggests that this device will at least be headed for Chinese markets in the near-future. For those of us out in the States, there’s no word on if the 608t will ever make it out to our shores, maybe HTC will surprise us and unveil this device in the US at some point sooner than later.

source: Ameblo (Jp)

Come comment on this article: HTC 608t smartphone outed, brings a whole lot of One in a more affordable package

It’s certainly no secret that Sony plans to take over the mobile world, so it should come as no surprise that it has introduced what can be seen as some revolutionary technology. It went ahead and revealed its Triluminous display technology which aims to enhance the display of various devices to levels never seen before. Essentially, Triluminous display technology utilizes quantum dots (otherwise known as nanocrystals) that are so small, they have quantum properties and emits light just at preset wavelengths. The effect of this process i the significant enhancement of display factors like a larger color gamut to improved brightness and contrast.

Sony certainly can’t wait for this technology to arrive on its Xperia line of smartphones too. Here’s a Sony insider highlighting the important plans Sony has for this technology:

“During the interview, the heads of Sony Philippines likewise confirmed that Triluminos display will definitely come to the Sony Xperia smartphone line. This is cool because, as of writing, Sony is still using TFT panel even in its top of the line handset releases, including Sony Xperia Z. Triluminos will be the Japanese company’s answer to display technologies being offered by other companies like Retina Display and SuperAMOLED”.

source: techpinas
via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: Sony introduces its Triluminous display technology, aims to square off direction again Super AMOLED and Retina Display technologies

If you know Samsung when it comes to its tablets (or any of its devices), then you’ll know that it is not happy unless it has unleashed an onslaught of various models for the masses. Following the newly unveiled Galaxy Tab 3, it’s looking like Samsung will have no fewer than 4 additional tablet models— the Galaxy Tab Duos 7.0, Galaxy Tab AMOLED 8.0, Galaxy Tab 11 and the Nexus 11— that will arrive for 2013. Each tablet model will range from 7-inch to 11-inch models and come jam-packed with features like rumored expandable microSD slots and 2MP front-facing cameras. The real intriguing device among the bunch is the Nexus 11— which will build upon the largely successful Nexus 10 and is possibly slated to feature an octa-core processor and wait for it— a microSD slot capable of up to 64GB of extra memory. Considering Google is pretty strict with microSD slots on its Nexus line, we’ll go ahead and hold our breath until it actually happens.

Hit the flip to see the full list and specs of each upcoming device.

Samsung Galaxy Tab DUOS 7.0
– 7.0” PLS LCD 600 x 1024
– 3 Megapixel (back)
– 2 Megapixel (front)
– Dual-core
– DUAL SIM
– Micro SD 32 GB

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.0
– 8.0” AMOLED 1080p
– 5 Megapixel
– 2 Megapixel
– Quad-core A9 (Exynos 4412)
– Micro SD 64 GB
* Samsung need to solve AMOLED burning problem first.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 11
– 11” Super PLS TFT
– 8 Megapixel
– 2 Megapixel
– Dual-Core A15 (Exynos 5250)
– Micro SD 64 GB

NEXUS 11*
– 11” Super PLS TFT
– 8 Megapixel
– 2 Megapixel
– Octa-Core A15 / A7 (Exynos 5410)
– Micro SD 64 GB (Rumoured)
* Needs to get approvement from Google (Worlds first Octa-Core tablet)

source: SamMobile

Come comment on this article: Samsung rumored to bring 4 additional tablets for 2013

Why hello there Samsung Galaxy Mega, we meet again! The behemoth member of Samsung’s happy family has just been caught tip-toeing through the FCC hallways— this time in 4G LTE colors. This special Galaxy Mega 6.3-based model— which is identified as the GT-i9205— has the usual frequencies including a standard LTE Band 5, full GSM frequencies and of course, WiFi. Generally speaking— whenever a new device such as the Galaxy Mega is caught at the FCC, it’s usually an indicator that the device is very much on the way for an imminent arrival.

Here’s hoping that those of us here in the States will be able to see the large device at some point soon.

source: FCC
via: Engadget

Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 caught creeping through the FCC with LTE frequencies

LG has officially unveiled its latest mid-range device— the Optimus F5 smartphone. Sandwiched in between devices such as the Optimum G (Pro) and the Optimus L9 series, the Optimus F5 arrives with modest features such as a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch IPS display, 2,150mAh battery and Android 4.1.2 running the show. Oh and while the device doesn’t have much to scream at, it at least features 4G LTE, which allows customers to enjoy the simple pleasures of fast internet data on their handsets. The Optimus F5′s trump card compared to other mid-rangers is the inclusion of custom LG software like QSlide and Live Zooming running the show.

So now that the device is out in the open, it’s time to give the most eager details— its availability. As of now, the device is expected to arrive in French retailers on April 29th, while other markets will follow shortly after. While there’s no overt mention of when we can expect to see the device out here in the States, we’ve already seen indications suggesting that it won’t be long for Verizon customers to see this puppy as well.

Hit the break for the full presser.

Come comment on this article: LG unleashes its Optimus F5 smartphone, headed for France on April 29th

An enterprising and ambitious individual has already achieved root access for the Google Glass “eyeset” device. Cydia’s Jay Freeman recently took to Twitter and proclaimed his root success story, while also sharing a photo to the general public as proof for you non-believers out there. We’re surprised that this feat was achievable since you know… Google is pretty strict with the few developer versions that are out there and all. Then again, since the few Glass units out there are intended for the few elite individuals out there, it probably should have been expected that Google would be fairly lenient and allow for certain things to be accessible— at least for now.

There’s no word yet on what will come next now that root is enabled, but we’re certainly excited to hear— errr see any potential possibilities.

source: Jay Freeman Twitter
via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: Google Glass already rooted and ready for primetime

It looks like AT&T isn’t going to be the only one to have the smooth HTC One smartphone in sexy black clothing. Sprint went ahead and listed that variant of the flagship device on its website as available for purchase now. The little puppy will run potential customers $550 outright— or there of course the option of taking advantage of additional savings which would bring the total cost to a hair under 100 bucks. There’s no exact word on how long it will take the black One to ship to customers’ front doors, but we’d imagine lucky recipients would receive them soon… very soon.

Hit the source link to check out the black version for yourself. Or if black doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can always grab the original silver version for the same price too.

source: Sprint HTC One Black | Silver

Come comment on this article: Sprint officially lists the black HTC One smartphone on its website

Admit it— sure it’s going to be fun watching the upcoming Iron Man 3, but you probably have one heck of an itch to be like him, right? Well Gameloft is giving all gamers the chance to live out the fantasy of being Tony Stark by unleashing the official Iron Man 3 video game in the Play Store. The game features non-stop action and places players right into the action which includes fighting against the deadly A.I.M. forces and fighting arch-enemies such as Crimson Dynamo— all across tons of missions and the ability to customize your character with items such as up to 18 different suits or upgrading your armor. Oh and best of all— smooth and easy-to-use swipe controls, so all gamers should be able to pick up and play right away.

The game is available for all Gingerbread+ users in the Play Store— you you’ll want to ensure you have some precious real estate on your device’s memory as it requires a hefty 795MB to operate. If you’re OK with that and are ready to get in on the action, head on down to the Play Store and grab the game today.

Play Store Download link

Come comment on this article: Iron Man 3 game hits Android devices, gives all gamers a chance to be their inner Tony Stark

It appears that Samsung’s well-known entrant into the enterprise world is set to encounter a slight delay with its arrival. Expected to arrive as early as this upcoming Saturday alongside the Galaxy S 4′s official release for AT&T, Samsung decided that its Knox software is not quite ready for primetime and needs to undergo further testing to ensure it will operate smoothly for various Sammy devices— regardless of wireless carriers. As a result, there are sources that are now claiming that Samsung plans on pushing Knox’s launch until sometime July.

Regardless of the delay, Samsung will continue its push for a full-fledged assault on the enterprise world with its Knox software. Samsung expects to release its security software alongside some variations of its Galaxy devices this year— all in the hopes of taking some of the ever-growing enterprise market share. Let’s just hope that some of the more traditional rivals are ready for Samsung’s imminent arrival.

source: New York Times

Come comment on this article: Samsung to delay the launch of its security software for Galaxy smartphones

While we have an idea of when other carriers will open up the pre-orders for what should be this year’s hottest smartphone, Verizon has finally come clean and announced when its customers can expect the Galaxy S 4 to arrive in its stores. Using its Twitter page, Big Red will officially start taking in pre-orders for the device from this Thursday, April 25th, with the store being available in stores from May 30th. The 16GB version of the smartphone certainly won’t come cheap as it’ll launch for a standard $200 or if you’re feeling lucky… $650 full price.

Let’s just hope that Verizon is able to keep up with demand because after all, we’re pretty sure it doesn’t want to be like other wireless carriers and let us down by delaying the smartphone’s launch.

source: Verizon Wireless Twitter I | II

Come comment on this article: Verizon confirms Samsung Galaxy S 4 pre-orders will begin on April 25th

After many years and countless betas, Swype is officially official and now live in the Play Store. In case you’re not familiar— Swype is a keyboard alternative for Android devices that gives users the option to enter words onto a device’s screen either by the standard method of typing, talking or well… swyping letters to make words on the screen. The release of Swype also comes jam-packed with features such as Living Language which updates your phone’s dictionary with the latest words that all the young kids use, Next Word Prediction which helps to complete your sentences and lots of keyboard themes to choose from. Oh and you tablet users out there don’t fret— the makers of Swype included 3 different tablet modes to choose from which helps to make life just a little easier for you— especially if you’re on a behemoth of a tablet.

As part of the app’s official release, Nuance Communications is offering the app in the Play Store for a mere 99 cents— but for a limited time only. So those of you Froyo+ smartphone and tablet users who have been itching to try a sweet keyboard alternative have no excuse not to try it out today.

Play Store Download link

Come comment on this article: Swype officially out of beta and now available in the Play Store

Is the HTC One X smartphone not going to get a taste of Key Lime Pie? It certainly appears to be the case as a mysterious tweet from an insider indicated that HTC would be providing the Android 4.2.2 update as its final update for the smartphone— not the Android 5.0 update that was expected by the masses.What’s even more baffling is there’s no reasoning for why the update wouldn’t hit the device either. Could it be a potential delay of the Android 5.0 launch by Google? What about memory limitations for Sense + Android 5.0? Perhaps the real likelihood is well, it might be too much work to try and stuff new software into increasingly “outdated technology”. It sucks, but that’s likely the real culprit… if it’s true that is.

Naturally we will need to wait for the official word from HTC before we can jump to any real speculation that is. On the flipside, at least reports are indicating the Android 4.2.2 + Sense 5 update will hit devices from July. A bit of a silver lining for One X owners we suppose.

source: LlabTooFer Twitter | Gotta Be Mobile

Come comment on this article: HTC expected to get Android 4.2.2 update in July… but no further updates after that

Sure we have seen some smartphones tout some impressive toucheless control features, but those type of devices come at a king’s ransom— so they may not be accessible to a wider range of customers. Fortunately Pantech quickly realized that the technology should be available to a wider range of customers and has introduced its brand-new Perception smartphone. The device is a typical mid-ranger which features Ice Cream Sandwich loaded up, a dual-core Snapdragon chip, 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD display, an 8MP camera + 2MP FFC and 16 gigs of on-board storage. Sure those may be ho-hum to the masses— but the real ace in Pantech’s cards is the arrival of Motion Sense technology on the Perception. The technology allows users of the device to do things like wave their hands to answer calls or moving your finger up and down to scroll up and down through a list. Pretty awesome.

This smartphone is set for arrival on Verizon’s wireless network on April 25th, which should make customers of that network happy, but customers of other networks a wee bit sad. But if you are on Big Red’s network— the great thing about the Perception smartphone and its Motion Sense technology is the impressive price it will arrive at: $99 on-contract (after a $50 mail-in-rebate). You can find more deets when you hit the source link.

source: Verizon

Come comment on this article: Verizon announces the Pantech Perception smartphone, brings touchless controls for a modest price

It’s no surprise that budget-level smartphones are beginning to gain the favor of consumers worldwide, but it appears there is an imminent explosion of budget-level devices in the coming years. A recent trend by research firm ABIresearch concludes that shipments of sub-$250 phones will grow from 259 million in 2013 to a whopping 788 million in 2018; conversely, mid-level (sub-$400) and high-level ($400+) smartphone shipments are expected to grow from 635 million to 925 million between 2013 and 2018. The reason? Well, it’s quite simple really— budget smartphones continue to see an impressive boom in emerging markets, such as African and Asian countries. Additionally, budget smartphones continue to act as a bridge between the few of you out there who are still on a dumbphone, allowing for more advanced features for a modest to reasonable price. Here’s senior practice director Jeff Orr sharing his thoughts:

“As smartphone penetration moves from early adopters to mass-market and laggard consumer segments, the smartphone as a product will be less dependent on technical superiority, and more dependent on reliability and value.” 

Still, ABIresearch is quick to point out the importance and relevance of the mid and high-level smartphones. It points out that “premium smartphones tend to carry the most advanced wireless connectivity and operators who are upgrading their network want to ensure that the handsets running on their network can deliver the best possible experience and customer satisfaction“. So in other words— budget-level devices tend to operate on 3G-esque speeds, while mid and high-level devices tend to offer items like LTE. Oh and don’t forget, people do love things like those awesome displays and nifty personal assistants that help make life easier and all.

source: Business Week

Come comment on this article: Budget smartphones to experience explosive growth and account for 46% of all smartphone shipments by 2018

Huawei’s latest mid-range device has officially been outed for the masses. The device— identified as the A199— comes jam-packed with the usual allotment of goodies including a smooth 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2 gigs of RAM, a 720p 5-inch IPS display, 2,150mAh battery and an 8MP camera (plus 1.3MP front-facer for good measure). Best of all— Huawei managed to stuff the pieces into a fairly slim package— as the A199 will arrive in a 8.9mm package weighing at a mere 160g.

One major item to note is the device’s dual-SIM capabilities— which pretty much implies the device won’t make it Stateside… at least anytime soon. We’ll be sure to provide more launch details which will include the pricing and availability as we hear them.

source: Huawei
via: Engadget

Come comment on this article: Huawei introduces the mid-range A199 smartphone, brings dual-SIM capability and Jelly Bean in a light package

Could the end of broken displays truly be upon us? It appears that Samsung is certainly working hard behind the scenes for that to be a reality. Early rumors are reporting that with Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy S III smartphone, the manufacturing giant is also planning on bringing a major first to the industry— the world’s first plastic OLED display. Early details highlight this breakthrough display will not only be light in capacity, but will also be of a RGB stripe variety and arrive on the Galaxy Note III in a 5.99-inch display capacity.

Unfortunately, we have yet to see any news about what the exact resolution of this plastic display will arrive in, as well as if Samsung will be able to produce enough display units to meet demand of the Galaxy Note III— but we’ll be sure to keep you all posted as we get additional details.

source: SamMobile

Come comment on this article: Samsung to introduce the world’s first plastic OLED display on the upcoming Galaxy Note III?

So it’s looking like that supposed “new Samsung design” concept is not going to be such a big deal after all. The gang at SamMobile officially confirmed through its insider that the photo that evleaks recently leaked out is not only inaccurate, but the leak represented in all actuality a Galaxy S 4 developer model. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since Samsung has recently moved towards a more general type of design for its devices which include sleek and rounded corners— not boxy edges.

All of you Samsung purists can go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief now.

source: SamMobile

Come comment on this article: Insider confirms that recent “design guidelines” of upcoming Samsung devices are inaccurate

It just seems like the “minor disagreement” between Samsung and Apple will never end. News has surfaced that the two manufacturing giants filed a joint case management document with the Northern District of California court which aims to regulate what is presented and argued against in the upcoming trial, such as the number of patents identified involved in select devices. For now, each company agrees that the case will be limited to 5 patents each, though Apple wants a maximum of 12 claims, while Samsung slightly disagree and wants to limit the claim to 8 instead. Additionally, the upcoming trial currently indicates there are 16 devices involved, with Samsung arguing it should be far fewer, of course.

But regardless of what disagreements Samsung and Apple will make clear in court, we’re sure that Judge Lucy Koh will be eagerly awaiting to hear them.

source: FOSS Patents

Come comment on this article: Samsung and Apple file joint document for upcoming 2014 trial

You remember that mysterious HTC smartphone we have been talking about lately? You know— the one that’s supposed to be a prettier version of the One smartphone? Well it appears that we are finally getting more concrete details about the device… and boy is this mysterious toy shaping up to be a real beauty. According to the serial (but mildly inconsistent) leaker DigiTimes, the M4 is not only going to be a revision of the existing One smartphone, but it will be made out of a metal-alloy chassis produced by Catcher Technology— all in the hopes of avoiding a supply issue kind of like what we saw with the One.

While the One smartphone will likely sell like hotcakes, HTC expects its M4  to sell well regardless. Additional reports are indicating that HTC is expected to start shipments in June, with around 700,000 devices aiming to arrive in the second quarter.

source: DigiTimes

Come comment on this article: HTC M4 expected to feature full metal chassis and arrive June

It appears that Samsung is certainly on the way to ensuring the Galaxy S 4 smartphone makes an epic splash upon its arrival in a matter of time from now. As you already know, Samsung will unleash two different versions of the Galaxy S 4: one in a Snapdragon variant and another in a Exynos variant— all in the hopes of reaching as many worldwide markets as possible. Because of this notion, DigiTimes reports that Samsung wants to ship 10 million Galaxy S 4 units in the last week of April, while also expecting to sell 30 million Galaxy S 4 units in the first 3 months.

Ladies and gents, if you think the Galaxy S III sales were a success, get ready for a bigger bang with the Galaxy S 4.

source: DigiTimes

Come comment on this article: Samsung to ship as many as 10 million Galaxy S 4 units during the initial launch, 30 million units within the first 3 months