Category: Mobile

It’s not often that we hear speculation about wireless carriers actually charging customers less for wireless data services, but Cisco CEO John Chambers seems to think that it’s really going to happen in the near future. AllThingsD reports that Chambers told the D: All Things Digital conference on Wednesday that new developments in wireless transport will let carriers aggressively lower their prices as expansions in Wi-Fi capabilities will help absorb increased traffic from wireless devices over the next several years.

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A flood of rumors and leaks have suggested that Samsung is preparing to release two new smartphones in the coming weeks. According to a report from Hi-Tech.Mail.Ru, the Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy S4 Active will debut alongside the Galaxy S4 mini at Samsung’s press event next month. The Galaxy S4 Zoom will reportedly be similar to the mini with a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1.6GHz dual-core processor, a microSD slot and 8GB of RAM. The selling point, however, will be the smartphone’s massive 16-megapixel rear camera with 10x optical zoom. The Galaxy S4 Active is said to be smilar to the normal Galaxy S4, although it will be both water and dust resistant. The handset will reportedly be equipped with a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD slot and an 8-megapixel rear camera. Samsung will reportedly announce both smartphones at a press event on June 20th in London.

Verizon will release its second BlackBerry 10 smartphone next week. Not to be outdone by T-Mobile, which also announced a launch date for the Q10 this week, Verizon on Thursday opened preorders for the new QWERTY-equipped BlackBerry smartphone. In addition to BlackBerry’s signature keyboard, the handset features a 3.1-inch Super AMOLED 720 x 720 pixel resolution display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The smartphone also includes 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, NFC, a microSD slot and a 2,100 mAh battery. BGR recently reviewed the Q10 and found it to be a decent option for those users who still require a full physical keyboard. The BlackBerry Q10 will be available from Verizon on June 6th for $199 with a new two-year agreement.

Now that HTC has perhaps regained some confidence with the launch of its critically acclaimed HTC One smartphone, the company is reportedly moving more aggressively into Samsung’s territory by releasing its very own phablet. According to Evleaks, who has been accurate with mobile rumors in the past, HTC is preparing to launch a smartphone that’s currently code-named T6 and that features a 5.9-inch full HD 1080p display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and an ultrapixel rear camera.

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Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone quickly became the fastest-selling Android phone in history when Samsung announced that channel sales had reached 10 million units in under one month. That breakneck pace will surely slow down over time, but industry watchers see Samsung’s latest hero phone racking up some pretty huge numbers — according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue, Galaxy S4 sales will hit 80 million units this year.

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Apple has hired at least a dozen former graphics engineers from semiconductor maker AMD, MacRumors reported, citing new employees’ LinkedIn profiles. The company reportedly hired a number of graphics architects, hardware engineers and others after AMD laid off numerous employees this past January. Recent job postings reveal that Apple is building an advanced team of chip engineers for its Orlando Design Center, and is currently seeking a manager to lead the “Orlando GPU team” and “deliver high quality IP to specification and on schedule.” Apple debuted the iPad in 2010 with its first custom designed mobile processor, the A4 chip, and since then the company has continued to develop more of its technology in-house.

Just a few months ago, Vine was mostly dismissed as a painful hipster affectation. A service that revolves around taking 6-second video clips and sharing them with the world does sound like a flash in the pan. But something fascinating happened over the past couple of months: Vine became one of the biggest app market growth stories in recent history.

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Google’s Android and Chrome boss Sundar Pichai confirmed that Google has no plans to abandon its Nexus program. The executive confirmed at the AllThingsD: D11 conference on Thursday that Google will continue to make dedicated Nexus hardware with its manufacturing partners. He noted that the idea of the Nexus program was to not only “guide the ecosystem,” but also to push hardware to a new level. The news comes after Pichai revealed a new Google Edition of the HTC One that runs a stock version of Android. The smartphone will be the second non-Nexus device running stock Android that is offered through Google Play. The company previously announced a Google Edition version of the Galaxy S4 at its I/O Developers Conference earlier this month. Both phones will launch on June 26th.

Among the announcements Android and Chrome boss Sundar Pichai had in store for D11, he announced that Google’s new All Access streaming music service will soon be available on iOS devices. Google does not currently offer a Google Music app for iOS, and users instead rely on a variety of available third-party apps. Within the next few weeks, however, Pichai said that Google will finally be rolling out its own app for the iPhone and iPad, and it will include Google’s All Access functionality, which allows users to pay $9.99 per month (or $7.99 per month for those who started their free trials in May) for unlimited access to Google’s entire music library.

While speaking on stage at the D11 conference in San Francisco, Google’s Android and Chrome boss Sundar Pichai confirmed that HTC will soon launch a new version of the HTC One that features a stock build of Android. The handset will be available unlocked for $599 beginning June 26th just like the stock edition of Samsung’s Galaxy S4, and it will work on both AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, including 4G LTE support. The new One will initially only be available in the U.S., and it will ship with 32GB of internal storage.

Google will make another mobile phone available with stock Android soon. Sundar Pichai, SVP of Android, Chrome, and Apps, announced at the D11 Conference that the company will sell the HTC One Google Edition for $599 on the Google Play store, beginning June 26.

Google has previously announced the availability of the Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock Android through the Play Store, which will retail for $649. That device was announced during I/O, with availability also set for June 26.

“We’re developing a user experience that scales across the world[…],” Pichai said, explaining why the Google Edition devices are now a priority for the company. “We’re making Android the operating system that is consistent across all of these devices.”

“The challenge is related to what is great about Android […] The scale and scope of Android is pretty breathtaking,” Pichai explained further. “From a Google perspective, we care about how users use Android and the user experience.”

HTC has already offered a similar device through its own online retail store, the HTC One Developer Edition. The Developer Edition is a $649.99 device that has 64GB of onboard storage, plus an unlocked bootloader. The new Google Play version of the One will differ in that it will also offer stock Android, and updates that arrive in time with those issued for Nexus devices and the Play version of the Galaxy S4. The Developer Edition also ships with Jelly Bean 4.1, but the HTC One Google Edition will ship with Jelly Bean 4.2.2. Also, the Google version will carry 32GB of internal storage instead of the 64 from the dev model. The Google HTC One works with GSM cellular networks.

HTC says it will continue to offer the Developer Edition direct from its own website, but the $599 Google Edition, with its GSM network support and initial U.S.-only availability, is probably the better buy for developers looking to not only try out the hardware but also stay up-to-date on the very latest from Google’s OS.

The HTC One has already been well-received by critics, and offering it with a stock Android experience is sure to be a hit with a specific audience. It’s also impressive that it will cost $50 less than the competition from Samsung. But now that Google is clearly interested in expanding the so-called “Nexus Experience” beyond its own line of co-branded devices like the Nexus 4 from manufacturer LG, it’ll be interesting to see what role those “blessed” handsets will have in the future, or whether “Nexus” becomes more of a designation than a specific device line.

Flexible displays are set to become the next big thing in the mobile industry. Big name companies such as LG and Samsung are exploring the idea of making smartphones with bendable and unbreakable screens that could debut early next year. Now, a recently published patent application dug up by AppleInsider suggests that Apple is also exploring the idea of incorporating a flexible display into future iPhone models, however it would do so in a different way than competitors.

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When it comes to Google Glass, Rackspace’s startup liaison officer Robert Scoble is likely best known for his somewhat disturbing shower photo. He is also quickly becoming one of the most outspoken advocates for Google’s connected eyewear. While most seem to think Glass is a niche product at best, Scoble thinks it’s the future. To be fair, he seems to be overly enthusiastic about each and every new product or service he covers, which is a big part of his charm. Scoble is even more outspoken than usual when it comes to Glass though, and this week he felt compelled to respond to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s criticisms issued during an appearance at D11.

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Sure, Facebook Home has been flooded with one-star reviews on Google Play and its first flagship phone, the HTC First, will likely go down as one of 2013’s biggest bombs. That doesn’t mean Facebook plans to abandon Home anytime soon, however, and AllThingsD reports that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday defended the company’s first attempt at creating a Facebook-centric overlay of the Android home screen.

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Motorola boss Dennis Woodside on Thursday finally confirmed the existence of the Moto X, the first Motorola smartphone that will launch with heavy influence from Google. Few details were shared by the executive while on stage at the D11 conference, but the tidbits he did offer were very intriguing. Woodside said the phone will be manufactured in the United States in a Fort Worth, Texas facility that used to build Nokia handsets. He also said the Moto X will feature two processors and numerous sensors that help the handset respond to context. For example, it will know when the user is driving a car, or when the phone is taken out of a pocket. Finally, he said the Moto X will launch by October and will be available across several carriers. As great as all this sounds, will any of it matter?

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Samsung on Thursday announced preliminary details surrounding an upcoming new version of its popular Galaxy S4 smartphone, the Galaxy S4 mini. The S4 mini is a mid-range variant of the wildly successful flagship phone, and it features much more manageable sizing. Key specs include a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, available 4G LTE and Android Jelly Bean. No launch details or pricing have been announced, but Samsung will reveal additional information during a press conference on June 20th. Samsung’s press release follows below.

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In a somewhat curious move, Apple discontinued its fourth-generation iPod touch early Thursday morning and replaced it with a new model. The updated entry-level iPod touch is almost exactly like the standard fifth-generation model, but it sheds the rear iSight camera. It is also only available with one color option (silver) whereas other iPod touch models come in five different colors. Apple’s earlier fifth-generation models are available with either 32GB or 64GB of storage, but the new version ships with 16GB of internal storage. The new entry-level iPod touch costs $229 and is available for purchase immediately.

Apple today dropped a mid-cycle refresh of the iPod touch, its iOS-based iPod, with 16GB of storage on board and without a rear camera, for $229. This slots in its existing lineup between the refreshed, fifth-generation iPod touch, which has a rear camera (and a loop for attaching a wristband), and the iPod nano.

The new iPod still has the same 4-inch Retina display you’ll find on the existing iPod touch and the iPhone, but it only comes in one color, black and silver, and it replaces the 16GB fourth generation leftover which Apple had offered since introducing the fifth-generation touch, presumably to fill the price gap between it and the 32GB $299 model of that lineup. The fourth gen models had been available for $199 for 16GB, and $249 for 32 GB, so this threads the needle between those two options in terms of price point.

You’ll still get the front-facing FaceTime camera, with 720p HD video recording on this device, the same A5 processor, and the same battery life. The new iPod touch variant is actually .06 ounces lighter than the existing versions, however, which is probably the weight of the rear camera module component. It also boasts the same Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi capabilities as the fifth-gen device.

As MacRumors points out, this refresh was actually predicted by KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an impressive track record on products so far, though he also predicted an 8GB model, too. Still, the fact that he nailed the lack of a camera and the price point on the 16GB model is impressive.

Apple has seemed more open to making changes that go beyond internal specs on products mid-update cycle, including the iMac, which got a VESA-compatible variant earlier this year. I suspect that Apple needed its component and manufacturing costs to get to a point where this version would become viable in terms of its margin expectations, and also that it probably benefitted from clearing the supply lines of the fourth generation model by waiting this long to introduce this variant, but it still might be indicative of a new way Apple is thinking about product releases.

Samsung has officially confirmed the Galaxy S4 Mini, following a brief leak earlier this month. The new handset takes the name of its current flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, but couples it with more mid-range specs to extend the reach of the flagship brand to a larger pool of consumers. It’s a strategy Samsung also deployed with its prior flagship, the Galaxy S3, taking the wraps off a Galaxy S3 Mini last year.

Indeed, Samsung’s overall smartphone strategy is about producing scores of iterations at various price points and screen sizes in order to saturate the market with as much of its hardware as possible. A strategy that, coupled with its massive marketing budget, continues to be extremely successful for the Korean electronics giant, making it far harder for other Android OEMs such as HTC to compete with their far more modest device portfolios.

As with the majority of Samsung’s devices, design wise you’d be hard pressed to distinguish the Galaxy S4 Mini from any other recent Samsung device. Its smaller size being the most distinguishing feature vs the flagship S4. The Mini has a 4.3″ qHD Super AMOLED display vs the 5″ pane on the flagship S4. At 4.3″ the Mini is not actually that small, certainly not compared to some of Samsung’s budget devices, but the target here is users who might not be comfortable with the phablet-sized screen of Samsung’s current flagship but still want something flashy enough to look like a flagship.

Under the hood, the S4 Mini has a 1.7 GHz dual-core chip, rather than the quad-/octa-core of its big brother. There’s 8GB of internal memory and 1.5GB of RAM. The rear camera is 8MP and the front-facing lens is 1.9MP.  Samsung says it will be offering a 4G version of the device, as well as a 3G and dual-SIM version — based on what makes sense for each market.

Features wise, Samsung says the S4 Mini supports “many” of the same features as found on the flagship S4 — including Sound&Shot, Panorama Shot and Story Album, on the camera software side. Other confirmed apps include Group Play, ChatON, S Translator and WatchON. The Mini clearly lacks the full gamut of software services poured onto Samsung’s flagship but most smartphone buyers aren’t going to be fussed about a few lacking apps, especially as the Mini’s price-tag should also be a bit more modest.

There’s no official word on pricing or a full list of confirmed market availability — but expect the S4 Mini to land wherever the S4 has, and certainly to head to the U.S. and the U.K.

We have already seen photos of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S4 mini leak online, but now several new details about the unannounced smartphone have seemingly been revealed. German blog All About Samsung has posted images of what it claims to be screenshots from the Galaxy S4 mini, and they show the device’s specs as compiled by benchmark testing app AnTuTu. According to data displayed by the test application, the Galaxy S4 mini features a dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1.5GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera, a 540 x 960-pixel display with a pixel density of 240 ppi, and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 mini is expected to be unveiled during a press conference on June 20th. Screenshots from the Galaxy S4 mini follow below.

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