Gionee's 5.3-inch GPad-G2 Phablet with Quad-Core Processor to Hit Indian Market in May

Gionee's 5.3-inch GPad-G2 Phablet with Quad-Core Processor to Hit Indian Market in May

Chinese smartphone maker Gionee announced another smartphone for the Indian market dubbed GPad-G2,

Gionee which forayed into the sub-continent market with its mid-range Dream D1 will officially launch the GPad-G2 phablet in the first week of May. The price of the handset will be revealed at the launch event. The device is Gionee's third offering to the country.

On the specifications front, GPad-G2 sports a 5.3-inch qHD display with 960 x 540 pixel resolution and is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core Cortex A7 processor. It comes with PowerVR Series5XT GPU and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

Other specifications include 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front facing camera and 3000 mAh battery.

GPad-G2 comes with preinstalled apps such as Facebook, NQ Security, Twitter, YouTube and many more. The device will be available in graphite black and white colour variants. Gionee will launch the phone in India with freebies such as a 16GB microSD card, screen guard and Flip leather case.

Earlier this month, the company had launched its Gionee P1 smartphone in India for Rs 4,999.

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Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S4 Duos launches with Exynos 5 Octa chip

Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S4 Duos launches with Exynos 5 Octa chip

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Duos is the dual-SIM version of Samsung’s 2013 flagship and it has now gone on sale in Asia under the Samsung I9502 model name. Overall, the single biggest difference from the standard S4 model is the inclusion of two SIM cards slots, it is otherwise almost completely identical to the international Galaxy S4. 

The Galaxy S4 Duos features the same gorgeous 5-inch 1080p full HD Super AMOLED screen and runs on an Exynos 5 Octa chip with each of the cores clocked at 1.6GHz.

Otherwise, here is a quick rundown of the technical specs of the S4 Duos:

5” 1080 x 1920 Super AMOLED screen

Exynos 5 Octa @ 1.6GHz

PowerVR SGX 544MP3 graphics with 2GB of RAM

13-megapixel camera recording 1080p videos at 30fps 

2.1-megapixel front camera

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s new TouchWiz UX 2.0 

Samsung’s Smart Features: Smart Stay, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll and Smart Pause, Air Gestures, S Voice, S Health and S Translator.

Samsung has also launched another Galaxy S4 model for China, the I9506, running on the Snapdragon 600 processor and with TD-SCDMA 3G connectivity.

source: Samsung

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Samsung Galaxy S4 root exploit already available

Samsung Galaxy S4 root exploit already available

The same kernel cracker that brought us the ability to gain access to the bootloader of the Motorola Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX, RAZR M and Atrix HD has done his work again and paved the way to gain root access to your brand new shiny Galaxy S4 if you want.

This root exploit will work for Snapdragon equipped Samsung Galaxy S4 devices which means devices sold in the US, the UK and a few other countries.

The process itself is pretty simple, but it is worth reminding folks that since there are no recovery or stock images available, your S4 might become a handy paperweight if you break it in the process. OTA updates to the device will also undo the root access. The warranty on the device will also likely turn to dust and blow away. 

You can get to the exploit package via the XDA source link below. Here are the instructions as outlined by the developer: 

Extract the entire contents of the zip file.

If you are using Windows, ensure you have installed the latest Samsung USB drivers available for your phone.

Ensure USB Debugging mode is enabled on your device.

Connect your device to your PC via USB.

If you are using Windows, navigate to the extracted directory and execute "run.bat". If you are using Linux or OS X, navigate to the extracted directory in a terminal and execute "./run.sh".

Approve the ADB connection from your PC on your device.

Read through the forum posts as well to pick up any hints along the way. 

sources: XDA Developers via Droid Life

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Comparison of iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Specifications

Comparison of iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Specifications

Apple has finally officially released today the exciting long time iPhone 5 smartphone, appearance and specifications are almost and previously circulated sorta, and therefore less of a mystery. iPhone 5 biggest reform of course is the introduction of a larger four-inch screen, and finally to follow up a 16:9 aspect ratio, the fuselage width remains the same as the with iPhone 4s/iPhone 4, and therefore still suitable for a single hand operation.

Comparison with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, the new screen lengthened the upper and lower range (can be seen from the chart can to accommodate an APP icon), the new screen 1136x640 pixels (iPhone 4 compared to 960x640 3:2 ratio) only the upper and lower pixel resolution remained 326ppi Retina level, color saturation is increased by 44%. But what is surprising is the iPhone 5 is not only the thickness of the body than the iPhone 4S thin by 18%, weight decreased by 20%, have to admire the design of the Apple foundry technology standards. iPhone 5 also switch to the dual-core A6 processor computing performance and graphics capabilities are A5 processor twice. Most importantly, the battery life than the iPhone 4S increase the number of web browsing time can be stretched to 8-10 hours (iPhone 4s for 6-9 hours), is also improved 4s The criticism electrical problems.

Concern specifications can not help but notice the iPhone 5 Another important new features: 4G LTE support, so the smartphone battlefield officially pulled the 4G era of high-speed transmission (not to use the 4G smartphone Come with me than the specification). iPhone 5 maximum download speeds of up to 100Mbps, much higher compared to the previous HSPA + 21Mbps (of course, also system vendors support).

The details of the iPhone 5 also made some changes, such as switching to a new Lightning connector, of course, through the adapter using the old 30pin connector. But the new connector pin symmetrical, regardless of the pros and cons can be inserted, do not worry edge of errors broken equipment. The iPhone 5 also attach the the new EarPods headset microphone, more suitable for all ears to wear.

The following is the iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Specifications comparison.

Specification	iPhone 5	iPhone 4s
Processor	Dual-core A6	Dual-core A5 (1GHz)
Exterior dimensions	123.8x58.6x 7.6mm , Black / White	115.2x58.6x9.3mm, Black / White
Body weight	112g	140g
Screen	4 inch 1136x640 Retina 326dpi, contrast 500cd/m2 brightness , 800:1	3.5-inch 960x640 Retina 326dpi contrast 500cd/m2 brightness , 800:1
Memory	16GB, 32GB, 64GB
4G	4G LTE	No
3G/GSM	UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA quad-band GSM / EDGE four frequency CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800/1900)
Wi-Fi	802.11 b / g / n (2.4GHz, 5GHz )	802.11 b / g / n (2.4GHz)
GPS	A-GPS, electronic compass
Camera	8MP, LED flash back-illuminated CMOS five-lens group
Video	1920x1080 30fps strengthen anti-shake video camera	The 1920x1080 30fps anti-shake
Front lens	1.2MP, 720p	VGA
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0
SIM card	nano SIM	micro SIM
Inductor	Three-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, close to the sensor, light sensor
Battery life	3G talk: 8hr Standby: 225hr 3G/LTE Internet: the 8hr WiFi Internet access: 10hr video playback: 10hr music player: 40hr	3G talk: 8hr standby: 200hr 3G Internet access: the 6hr WiFi Internet: 9hr video playback: 10hr music player: 40hr
The launch tied about price	16GB: U.S. $ 199 32GB: U.S. $ 299 64GB: U.S. $ 399
Time to market (first wave)	2012/9/21	10/14/2011
Other	Move to brand new EarPods headphone below to switch to Lightning connector headphone jack

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Samsung GALAXY S4 stand-alone $ 21900 Listed

Samsung GALAXY S4 stand-alone $ 21900 Listed

Samsung Electronics to redefine the future of mobile devices, to sense your heart and life confidant pioneering concept to launch flagship new machine GALAXY S4, leading the user experience living facilities, entertainment, health management and well-being of the relationship between the wisdom of life. Samsung today announced GALAXY S4 full pre-order the official start, the major telecom and retailers' efforts to co-site blessing, to lead the consumer first to enter the era of ultra-induction wisdom; live demonstration of mobile phones around the Galaxy S4 become an integral part of the perfect life confidant ! 

General Manager of Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Wen Hsing-hyun said: "Samsung has repeatedly broken the limit of science and technology, and a deep understanding of consumer demand, all the creative inspiration are born insight into consumer demand, we hope to help users simplify their lives through GALAXY S4 series from of affection between family and friends, and concerned about their quality of life, so that the interaction between people become more interesting, more colorful life. 

Duwei Yu, general manager of Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Department, said: "Samsung GALAXY S4 with ultra-sensing smart technology and advanced hardware and software features let this flagship of confidence, we are quite grateful to the consumers and the major carriers and distribution the support and affirmation of the path, look forward to again this year to draw on all partners with leading technology trends, create consumer word of mouth. " open Samsung smartphone milestone first "organic perception of the first "organic "design to create the perfect living confidant Galaxy S4 perception (Sensory Organic) "design concept, and give a new definition of mobile communication products, smart phones are not just communication tools, but to accompany the series from about consumers' lives, work and social activities. Use interface, ultra-sensitive operation to add more life convenience, multiple photos and community interaction to enhance the enjoyment of life, smartphone users' health began to care about life, and trying to draw people together for the user the distance between the a straight cis arc appearance from nature designed to make a full range of hardware and software features, appearance and internal the Galaxy S4 success to become the perfect life of every user confidant.

GALAXY S4 lead the ultra-sense wisdom of age to make life simple joy and comprehensiveness 

Samsung Galaxy S4 unique induction wisdom, the epoch-making gestures function, create unlimited convenience in life; such as "Air View suspension Preview, users can your finger on the phone screen up preview the message, S Planner application. "Air Gesture suspended gesture" the more by waving gesture to replace music and photos; bobbing up and down through the gestures to manipulate web page screen, e-mail and receive calls. In addition, the "Smart Pause wisdom pause" and "Smart Scroll wisdom scroll" can detect whether the user is in the Watch Phone screen, and Browse Videos or page through a more convenient way. The new "S Health Healthy Living" (Note 1) more random mastered the consumer healthy life; "S Translator" support transnational instant communication, the perfect series interpersonal relationship. 

Unique photos and sharing entertainment at any time record touched with joy 

Galaxy S4 unique "Dual Camera Dual Lens Photography", allowing users while taking advantage of the front and rear camera lens to take pictures, the photographer can easily at any time into the mirror. In addition, the drama "Drama Shot Burst feature can capture continuous action within a specific time, integration in a photo, to keep all details of the action," Sound & Shot the sound Photo can record sound, make your photos more vivid. In addition to the shooting functions, the story of "The Story Album Album feature may be based on shooting time, place or holiday, automatic integration in the different themes of the album. "Group Play Entertainment shared feature, you can no Wi-Fi or mobile phone signal conditions, enjoy shared with friends around music, games, photos and documents brought omnipresent the surprise and omnipotent interesting life 

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Sony Xperia ZL review

Sony Xperia ZL review

Introduction

Having finally scored a homerun, and a desperately needed one at that, Sony is keen to bring another hitter off the bench. And they sure hope it's the Cadillac-driving kind. The Japanese mean business - and the Xperia Z did its best to get that point across. The Xperia ZL now has plenty of momentum to build on but a certain weight of expectations too.

The double-backup is something Samsung has been doing for a couple of years now with a Galaxy S flagship in the spring followed by a Note phablet at the end of summer. Sony's going for what looks more like a one-two punch with the glass-clad, water-proof Xperia Z and the more compact, less extravagant, but just as premium Xperia ZL. The timeframe for their arrival to market has been shortened too - pretty much a must, considering that chipset is only getting older.

   
Sony Xperia ZL

Sony needs users to like the ZL, because the Z probably won't make it on its own. On paper, the Xperia ZL has all the trimmings of its sibling save for the IP57 certification. And it should be just as capable as most other flagships of the latest generation. Here go the specs.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE
• 5" 16M-color 1080p capacitive touchscreen of 441ppi, Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
• Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean with custom UI
• Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB of RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
• 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, HDR
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR mode, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 2 MP front camera, 1080p video recording
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
• MHL-enabled microUSB port
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Shorter footprint than most 5” smartphones

Main disadvantage

• Non user-replaceable battery
• Uninspiring camera performance
• Notably thicker than Xperia Z
• Dubious back panel build quality and aesthetics

If you're after a FullHD five-incher the Xperia ZL is the most compact handset that fits the bill. The difference, of course, is by no means huge but having a smaller footprint than the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a great achievement. On the other hand, a 10 mm thick body is nothing to brag about. Yet, if that's the price for getting a proper shutter key and an Infrared port, it should be fine for most people.

Anyway, Sony opted for two distinct versions of a 2013 flagship and then had to sit down and think about how to make them... distinct. Having a more compact option of what's virtually the same package as the flagship makes every bit of sense. But is it worth the extra millimeters around the waistline?

It was probably important to Sony to send a clear message that what's on offer is essentially the same package - the difference boils down to size, choice of finish and waterproofing or not. A sensible plastic case doesn't look half as good as glass but has its advantages. Water resistance is a great asset but not everyone needs it. Plus... a proper shutter key, half press and all, is something we always welcome in a cameraphone.

Source

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Phablet sales expected to reach 150 million in the next five years, Windows gear to get in the mix

Phablet sales expected to reach 150 million in the next five years, Windows gear to get in the mix

Transparency Market Research just published its "Phablets and Superphones Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2012 - 2018" report, and it is a doozy for CEO Tim Cook, who yesterday said there are too many tradeoffs with big-screen phones for Apple to pursue this market immediately.

The research firm concludes that the total market for "superphones and phablets" will reach the astounding 825 million units by 2018, making it a $116 billion industry. "Phablet" they define as any handset with screen size 5-7", and 1 GHz or faster processor, so we guess "superphone" is anything fast enough with a screen 4.99" and below.

Phablets are expected to grow as a percentage of total, from 12% now, to 30% in 2018, but we are most interested in this nugget of info the research firm is sharing: "The market for Windows based phablets is expected to grow at a significant rate, with an expected CAGR of 58.8% from 2012 to 2018, which can be primarily attributed to the introduction of new Windows based phablets by manufacturers such as Nokia, HTC, Sony, and ZTE among others."

Wait, what now? Granted, we've already heard that Nokia is prepping a big-screen Lumia of sorts, and HTC has its Windows Phone line, too, but Sony? In any case, five years is a long time to make any final predictions in the breakneck world of mobile

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Sony Xperia P, Go and E dual to get Jelly Bean this week

Sony Xperia P, Go and E dual to get Jelly Bean this week

Sony is finally ready with the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean updates for Xperia P, Xperia go and Xperia E dual smartphones. The rollout will start later this week.

The update process is gradual, as usual, and should be completed by the end of May.

The Jelly Bean updates, in addition to bringing the power of Project Butter and Google Now, include STAMINA mode for the battery, a new application tray, additional homescreen panes, and updated Walkman, Album and Movies multimedia apps.

As for the long overdue Jelly Bean updates for the Xperia S, as well as the Xperia SL, Xperia ion and acro S - Sony promises to start the rollout by the end of May. Let's hope so!

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LG Optimus G Pro coming soon to India, to cost around Rs 40,000

LG Optimus G Pro coming soon to India, to cost around Rs 40,000

LG is slated to launch its flagship phone, the Optimus G Pro in India later this year. This was announced at the LG Tech Show 2013, held at Delhi yesterday. The phone is expected to be available not later than August 2013 and will be priced around Rs 40,000, which seems to be the new price threshold for flagship phones. At this price, the G Pro will be LG's most expensive phone in the market. The Optimus G Pro is the successor to the Optimus G which was launched in February this year. The Optimus G is currently retailing for under Rs 33,000.

 

The Optimus G Pro is an impressive device with a 5.5 inch IPS screen that has a pixel density of around 401 pixels per inch and can play 1080p videos. It is powered by a 1.7 Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and sports 2GB of RAM. Other impressive features include 32 GB on-board memory and a micro-SD slot that allows for expansion up to 64 GB. LG has pitched this phone to go head on against Samsung’s Galaxy Note range and with the current specifications the phone is no pushover.

Both the cameras on the phone are capable of shooting 1080p full-HD videos at a frame rate of 30 fps (frames per second). The back facing camera is a 13 MP shooter while the front-facing one is at 2.1 MP. The phone is powered by a beefy 3140 mAh battery, which would be necessary given the specs that are packed in. It also sports a removable back-cover which its immediate predecessor the Optimus G lacked. The LG Optimus G Pro supports 4G LTE but we aren’t sure if it will support the LTE band in India. 

The LG phone that Indians have been clamouring for is the Nexus 4, which spec-for-spec is a near replica of the Optimus G, except for the camera and some other minor changes. The Nexus 4 however isn’t anywhere

on the horizon and it is highly unlikely that LG would ever release this phone officially in India. It seems that there is a tug-of-war between Google and LG as to who will launch this phone here. The only Google device available via the Google Play Store in India is the Nexus 7 tablet. For those willing to take a punt on the grey market, the 16 GB version of the Nexus 4 is said to be selling for around Rs 24,000.

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Acer outs Liquid E2, quad-core processor inside

Acer outs Liquid E2, quad-core processor inside

Acer Liquid E2 is now official. The smartphone is intended for the European market and offers top-notch performance thanks to the quad-core processor inside and optional dual-SIM telephony.

The Liquid E2 packs a 4.5-inch qHD (sigh) IPS display and is powered by the MediaTek MT6589 platform with a quad-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 processor, PowerVR SGX544MP graphics and 1GB of RAM. There are 4 gigs of internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot too.

Acer Liquid E2 offers an 8MP rear camera with 1080p@30fps video recording plus a 2MP front-facing snapper for video chats. The connectivity department covers the basics - HSPA+ support (up to 42Mbps HSDPA), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS with A-GPS and FM radio.

Acer has equipped the Liquid E2 with stereo speakers and DTS sound enhancement for the audiophiles.

Acer will release the Liquid E2 in mid-May in Belgium, Netherlands, Ukraine, France, followed by Spain, UK, Italy, Germany and Russia with a suggested retail price of just €229. The price of the dual-SIM model is yet to be revealed. Liquid E2 will launch in black and white versions. There is no info whether the device will become available in other countries later.

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Asus launches the 7-inch FonePad in India for Rs 15,999

Asus launches the 7-inch FonePad in India for Rs 15,999

Asus has launched its new tablet – the FonePad – and has priced it at Rs 15,999. The tablet will be hitting store shelves in the next couple of days. The special thing about the tablet is that Asus has teamed up with Intel to bring the world’s first Android-based tablet with x86 architecture.

The tablet has a 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Under the hood, it’s powered by a  1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor, with a PowerVR GC540 GPU handling the graphics side of things. It has 1GB of RAM, so multi-tasking won’t be that big of an issue.

The FonePad doesn’t have any rear camera, but it is equipped with a 1.2 megapixel front facing camera that can record videos at 720p. The tablet is equipped with 16GB of internal memory and sports a microSD card slot with memory being expandable up to 32GB. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.

The connectivity is where the name FonePad comes into play. Unlike other tablets with micro SIM slots that are used only to access 3G, the FonePad lets you use it as a full-fledged phone, much like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2.

The FonePad was originally shown off back in February at this year's CES. The Asus Fonepad has a metallic design, weighs 340g and is 10.4mm thick.

The Asus Fonepad comes with a number of exclusive Asus productivity apps: Floating App for easy management of running apps and multi-tasking; SuperNote Lite for handwritten notes and drawing; and WebStorage Office Online for Microsoft Office-compatible document editing on the move. Fonepad users also get 5GB of free lifetime Asus WebStorage for syncing and sharing data with other devices.

Two new optional accessories are also available for the Fonepad. VersaSleeve 7 is a wraparound cover with a folding design that both protects the Fonepad and props up the screen in two different positions for typing and watching video. Turn Case is a lightweight, hard-shell case for Fonepad that features a soft interior to keep the screen clean, besides being a built-in stand that places the screen at a perfect angle for watching video.

"It is ideal to have a larger screen with entertainment, social media and other online activities now playing an increasingly important part in our mobile lifestyles," said Jonney Shih, Chairman, Asus, during CES 2013. "The incorporation of 3G mobile data with full telephony support makes the Fonepad a perfect combination of tablet and phone in one single device."

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Samsung Galaxy Note III rumoured to have plastic OLED display

Samsung Galaxy Note III rumoured to have plastic OLED display

Rumours have popped up about the display of the Samsung Galaxy Note III. The rumour, according to SamMobile, states that the next-gen phablet will have the world's first plastic OLED display. Rumours also state that the Note III will have a massive 5.99-inch display.

Because it is made of plastic, the display will be much thinner than other OLED displays. This will give Samsung much more room inside the phone to add extra things, like a bigger battery, for example. Having a screen made of plastic might also make it more durable than the current glass display. It will also make the phone lighter than its contemporaries.

While the display may be made of plastic, the rest of the handset willhave a metal body, much like HTC's flagship, the One. According to an earlier report, Samsung was planning on using a metal body for the S4, but decided to stick to plastic so as to have a smoother production pipeline. However, the company hopes to ship fewer Galaxy Note 3s in comparison to its S4 sales estimates. And for this, the metal design could become viable.

Other specifications of the Galaxy Note 3 were also revealed. According to the information, the Note 3 will have a 6-inch full HD AMOLED display along with all the TouchWiz features from the Galaxy S4. Interestingly, the source points out that the phablet will have even more Samsung-developed features than the S4. It will also share the S4’s Exynos 5 Octa CPU and LTE chip. Looks like Samsung will include the same or a similar 13-megapixel camera on the back. The source also claims that the Note 3 will be running the latest version of Android, which could very well be Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

Earlier, rumours stated that the phone will have the S Orb software pre-installed on it. Much like Android's default Photo Sphere, the S Orb will let users take pictures of everything around them and stitch them up into one big spherical panorama.

Once it makes its debut on the Note 3, it is also rumoured that Samsung will bring S Orb to its other devices, especially the S4. It might even make its way to older devices from 2012, like the Note II or the S3.

S Orb was originally speculated to make its debut alongside the S4 announcement, but Samsung made no mention of it. It is likely that the feature is still under development and the company hasn't managed to fix all of its bugs yet. As with all rumours, it is also likely that none of this may actually be true.

As far as hardware is concerned, Samsung will likely bring an improved S-Pen stylus with the Note 3. The Galaxy Note 8.0, which was announced at February’s MWC, has a pen that can also operate the capacitive buttons on the tablet. This will most likely be carried over for the next Note smartphone as well.

The Note series can be largely credited for making phablets a feasible proposition. The first Note was an unusually big handset for its time, but now phones with displays measuring 5 inches and larger have become ubiquitous. The Note 2 perfected some of the tricks that the Note could perform and the S-Pen became an even more powerful navigational tool. The company also expanded the Note portfolio by launching two tablets, the Galaxy Note 10.1 (Note 810 in India) and the Note 8.0 (Note 510 in India).

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Spice announces Stellar Pinnacle Pro with 5MP front camera for Rs 14,990

Spice announces Stellar Pinnacle Pro with 5MP front camera for Rs 14,990

Spice has unveiled the Stellar Pinnacle Pro Mi 535, the company’s first quad-core smartphone. The phone is set to be available from the end of April for a price tag of Rs 14,990. The company has tied up with retailer Saholic for an exclusive pre-order offer for the smartphone from April 23 onwards.

One of the standout features of the Pinnacle Pro is that it will have a 5MP front-facing camera with wide-angle view, which will come in handy for group video chats. The Mi 535 is a step up from the Stellar Pinnacle Mi 530, which also had a 5-megapixel front camera. The phone is powered by a quad-core processor by Mediatek. The MT6589 processor is clocked at 1.2GHz. Surprisingly, for a low-cost handset, the Pinnacle Pro will launch with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Pinnacle Pro comes with 1GB of RAM


According to Spice, the Pinnacle Pro comes “in a sleek body, (with) elegant contours and an impressive stylish design.” Keeping with the phablet craze, Spice has outfitted the Pinnacle Pro with a massive 5.3-inch display. Disappointingly, the resolution of the IPS display is a mere 960 x 540 pixels.

The Pinnacle Pro will ship with 16GB of internal storage, but users can add a further 32GB thanks to the microSD card slot. In terms of battery life, buyers of the Pinnacle Pro will likely see a full day’s usage thanks to the healthy 2550 mAh Li-ion-Polymer battery.

Around the back is an 8 megapixel autofocus camera, which comes with an LED flash for low-light photography. Spice has also packed in apps for shooting panoramas as well specialised apps such as Hi Camera for better control of all camera settings.

Key specs of the Stellar Pinnacle Pro Mi-535 are:
5.3-inch IPS display with qHD resolution
Dual SIM, 3G, GPRS/EDGE
Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi tethering and hotspot
Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
8 megapixel autofocus rear camera and 5 megapixel wide-angle front camera
16GB internal storage with expandable memory up to 32GB

Commenting on the launch, Mr. T M Ramakrishnan, CEO, Devices, Spice, said, “Stellar Pinnacle (Mi 530) received tremendous response from the consumers since its launch in January this year. We have set a new benchmark in the industry by adding a 5MP front camera, enabling group video chats. The 1.2 GHz quad-core processor coupled with the latest version of Android will give an enhanced user experience.”

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Sony launches the Android Open Source Project for Xperia Z

Sony launches the Android Open Source Project for Xperia Z

Sony has announced that it has created an Android Open Source Project for its current flagship handset - the Xperia Z. This essentially means that you can freely download the source code for the handset and contribute to it by making your own ROMs. As a bonus, it also helps Sony verify contributions to AOSP on the MSM8064 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro platform. Check out the video demo of AOSP Xperia Z:

           

OSP for the Xperia Z is maintained by Johan Redestig and Björn Andersson, who also maintain the AOSP for the Xperia S. You can check out the source code for AOSP for Xperia Z on Sony's GitHub.

The company is also providing some binaries on Sony Developer World. These binaries include hardware drivers that are specific to the chipset. Since some of the binaries are proprietary files provided by Qualcomm, you can grab the Xperia Z binaries after accepting an EULA that state how the files can be used and what limitations exist.

At the moment, the SD-card, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, LED light and the sensors of the Xperia Z AOSP are working. The modem and the camera are also working, as seen in the video, but the binaries for these aren't available. The company plans to release binaries for NFC soon.

The Xperia Z is available in India for a price of Rs 38,990. At that price, it’s a great choice as it comes with a powerful Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core CPU. It also has 2GB of RAM and Adreno 320 GPU.

Here’s a look at the key specs of the Xperia Z:

5-inch TFT LCD with a 1920 x 1080p resolution, 441 PPI
LTE, Cat3, up to 100 Mbps DL, HSPA+, GPRS/EDGE
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspotGPS with A-GPS support
Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
NFC
13 megapixel camera with HDR video recording, image stabilisation, Sony 3D Sweep Panorama; 2-megapixel front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
16GB internal storage with microSD card slot

The Xperia Z has a non-removable 2330 mAh battery. Sony’s proprietary Stamina Mode technology should help in increasing battery life by throttling data-hogging apps when in standby mode.

Sony had released a software update for the Xperia Z back in March. It was released to fix a weird bug in the phone, which would turn off the phone and only a hard reset (power + volume up) would get it started again.

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Apple pulls in $43.6 billion in revenue and $9.5 billion in profit in Q2 2013

Apple pulls in $43.6 billion in revenue and $9.5 billion in profit in Q2 2013

Apple announced their earnings for the quarter gone by. The quarterly earnings of the Cupertino-based gadget maker added up to $43.6 billion and the company also reported $9.5 billion in profits. This news is bound to provide some relief for the company that has seen huge erosion in share value since September 2012, having lost over $280 billion in market-cap since then.

The investor worries, however, persist as Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones this quarter, which is relatively flat as the company had sold 35.1 million phones in the same quarter last year. The Mac sales, which include desktop as well as the Macbook range, were flat as well, with 4 million units sold and iPod sales were down. Revenues were boosted by an increase in iPad sales which at 19.5 million units sold showed a significant increase from 11.8 million units a year ago.

The insanely profitable company has seen its margins come under pressure as sales of lower margin items like the iPad mini registered higher than expected sales. Due to this the company reported a gross margin of 37.5%, a big drop from the 47.4% it reported last year.
What could spook the investors further are the projections that Apple has offered for the next quarter. The company is estimating revenue to drop to between $33.5 billion - $35.5 billion and its gross margins to reduce further. Another drag on the growth is customers opting for devices from Samsung and other makers that run on Google’s Android operating system.

With iPhones accounting for 42% of all revenue and iPads accounting for 16%, many are expecting Apple to offer newer product categories this year. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the company was indeed working on this. "We've got a lot more surprises in the works," Cook said. "Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services that we can't wait to introduce in the fall and into 2014. We continue to be very confident in our future product plans." Although he didn’t give out any specifics, many are expecting Apple to deliver a ‘smartwatch’ this year. The much-rumoured television by Apple, which Steve Jobs had claimed to have cracked, could also be a reality.

Also announced today was what the company called the biggest share repurchase in history as Apple said that it would have returned $100 billion to investors via buy-backs and dividends thorough 2015. The company will be returning at least $55 billion in cash through dividends to compensate for the battering the company's stock has taken over the last few months

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Reliance announces free Twitter access for prepaid GSM subscribers

Reliance announces free Twitter access for prepaid GSM subscribers in India

Reliance Communications has announced a partnership with Twitter in India to launch a first-of-its-kind prepaid plan that will give prepaid GSM subscribers unlimited access to the micro-blogging site.

The "Reliance Twitter Access Pack" will be applicable for all Reliance GSM subscribers in the country. This means Reliance is the first Indian telecom operator to partner with Twitter on the new "Twitter Access" programme. Reliance GSM prepaid customers across the country can now follow their favourite celebrities, tweeters and friends thanks to the unlimited Twitter access without paying any extra data consumption charges.

In addition, GSM prepaid subscribers will also receive live updates on cricket matches and can express their opinion during the IPL season. The Reliance Twitter Access Pack is a promotional offer for a period of 90 days, which was initiated specifically for the cricket season. The pack comes bundled for all new Reliance GSM prepaid subscribers. Getting started on the pack is as simple as visiting the Twitter website or mobile site through the Reliance prepaid phone or device.

As part of the Twitter Access programme, the social network will customise the Twitter app too, with every customer able to view a message saying access to Twitter is free of charge with Reliance Mobile. Users will be notified about additional data consumption charges only if they visit an external link while browsing updates on Twitter. 

Commenting on the launch, Nilanjan Mukherjee, Wireless - Chief Revenue Officer, Reliance Communications, said, “We are delighted to be the first operator to partner with Twitter in India on Twitter Access and offer the first of its kind unlimited Twitter access on our superior network. Our partnership with Twitter in India further strengthens our offering on the social media platform and is in line with our continuous efforts to offer innovative products with incredible affordability for our customers.”

Mukherjee said that the service will “provide a compelling new experience to customers using smartphones for accessing social media across the country.” He added: “We are hoping this offer to trigger a significant shift of cricket enthusiasts using smartphones to our superior network.”

"We are pleased to partner with Reliance Communications to offer its subscribers a unique opportunity to use Twitter to follow the people and organisations they care about. Whether it's hearing the latest news, connecting with cricket stars in real time, or laughing at the day's best jokes, it's all possible on Twitter,” said Jana Messerschmidt, Vice President, Business Development and Platform, Twitter.

All existing Reliance GSM prepaid subscribers can activate the Twitter Access Pack by sending “ACT Twitter” to 53739 as an SMS or by dialing *777*30# from their respective smartphones.

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Android activations reach 1.5 million per day

Android activation figures are some of Google's favorite numbers and something they never forgets to mention at any event. Last time we heard about it, the company was doing 1.4 million activations, which was just last month.

Now, Eric Schmidt has revealed that they have reached the 1.5 million milestone and that the company is on track to reach the one billion total activated devices by the end of the year.
For those who are still wondering what exactly counts as an activation, it is when you get a new Android device and log into it with your Google account. There would be several devices out there that were purchased but never logged in, so they won't be counted in this number. Also, not every device that was activated would be in use any more.

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Mobile malware has grown by 163% in 2012, 95% of it targetted Android

Mobile service provider NQ Mobile today released a study of malware covering 2012, using data gathered from the company’s Security Labs. It found that malware threats in general on mobile platforms grew 163 percent in 2012, totally more than 65,000 identified distinct forms of app repackaging, malicious URLs and SMS phishing (also known as smishing). The attacks were mostly geared towards Android devices, which was the platform of choice for almost 95 percent of threats identified by NQ.

Trends indicate we’ll only see more attacks, and more creative ones, according to NQ. In February, security researchers identified a new type of malware that uses an Android device as a launch platform for infecting a target computer via USB connection, the company said. That remains limited to only a few identified infected handsets, but it’s a troubling attack vector that could pose plenty of problems down the road if it becomes more sophisticated. In a release, NQ Mobile co-CEO Omar Khans said that what’s needed is a system that can detect threats in advance of infection and prevent them, something which so far hasn’t really been widely available.

NQ Mobile’s report found that more than 32.8 million Android devices were infected over the course of 2012, up more than 200 percent from 2011. Of course, the general Android device population grew massively over the course of the year – a recent ABI Research study indicates that there will be over 798 million active Android devices by the end of the year, compared to around 300 million as of early in 2012. And the U.S., despite having a large chunk of the overall user population, is actually further down the list in terms of target countries, with just 9.8 percent of infected devices, compared to 25.5 percent in China, 19.4 percent in India and 17.9 percent in Russia.

continue to rise as it takes over popularity from PCs as a way for users to connect, and there’s little that can be done about that save ensuring that users take the same precautions on mobile that they would on those platforms. The problem may be more complicated on mobile operating systems, however, due to fragmentation, which NQ says contributes to weaker security for users running older versions of Android like Gingerbread. App sideloading and a user population that’s skewing younger every year is also contributing to a rise in potential security risks, the company says.

NQ’s data indicates that Android is a big risk for malware, but iOS has also recently come under fire for free apps that leak more personal data than on other platforms. Overall, mobile security is likely to be a growing concern, and one that could potentially become more complicated as the pace of improvements to mobile tech increases and our usage of those devices grows higher still. For now, common sense is probably the best defense against security threats, but a more unified Android platform would help to limit malware problems as well as significantly improve developers’ lives.

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T-Mobile to launch HTC One on April 24th !

We already know that T-Mobile plans on launching the Samsung Galaxy S4 on May 1st. How do we know that? Because T-Mobile already told us so! But what about the HTC One, the other major Android release at the moment? According to a leaked planogram (think of a schematic diagram for a store), the Taiwan based manufacturer's new flagship model will launch via T-Mobile on April 24th. And one week later, out will pop the Samsung Galaxy S4. The only downside to this plan is that it would appear from the planogram that not every T-Mobile store will be receiving the HTC One at the same time

For those who prefer to make their purchase online, The carrier is giving away a free car kit to those who buy the phone online. Right now, the carrier is just accepting pre-registrations for the phone however, which means that if you send your email address in to T-Mobile, they will alert you when the phone is ready to be purchased, which apparently will be April 24th.

Both AT&T and Sprint are in the midst of their pre-order periods. Both of those carriers will be launching the device on April 19th. The 32GB model will be $199.99 with a signed two year contract at both carriers. AT&T will have an exclusive on the 64GB variant of the device. Meanwhile, T-Mobile will be asking for a $99.99 down payment with the balance due in monthly installments over 24 months.

source: TmoNews

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Firefox OS due to launch in June in limited regions

This year is expected to bring a number of new entries to the mobile ecosystem which has been dominated by Android (in numbers), and iOS (in media visibility). Ubuntu Phone and Tizen are expected to launch later in the year, but the first new addition will be one that we haven't really seen much of: Firefox OS. And, new word says that Firefox OS will launch in June in select regions.

According to Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs who spoke at the AllThingsD Dive Into Mobile conference today, Firefox OS will launch this summer, starting in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain, and Venezuela. As you can see from that list, Mozilla is still focusing on a number of emerging markets for its launch.

Kovacs said that the rollout plan would work something like a beta test, and once the OS ecosystem had been built up more, Firefox OS would launch in the US. Sprint has already gone on record saying it would be open to supporting the new platform.

For more on what Mr. Kovacs had to say, check out the full interview he did with Walt Mossberg below.

source: AllThingsD via BusinessInsider

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Facebook talking to Apple and Microsoft about offering Facebook Home on their mobile platforms

It seems like the possibility of success is pretty remote, but regardless, it seems that Facebook is talking to Apple and Microsoft about offering Facebook Home on their mobile platforms. Facebook Home currently only exists on Android, which is the only platform that allows the customization to make Facebook Home possible, but Facebook wants to branch out if possible.

According to Adam Mosseri, Facebook's director of product, there are talks that are ongoing between the social network and both Apple and Microsoft, but nothing has been finalized. As you would expect in the much more tightly controlled worlds of iOS and Windows Phone, it probably won't be possible to offer the version of Home that we see on Android. Mosseri said:
It may or may not be Home. We could also just bring some of the design values to the iOS app. That might be how it ends up. Or we could build just the lock screen. Maybe then it’s not called Home, it’s called something else.

So, it could be a very different product, and may not even be called Home. At the very least, bringing over the design aesthetic would be nice, because we were pleasantly surprised by how immersive and engaging Facebook Home's Cover Feed turned out to be.

source: Bloomberg via The Next Web

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Google Voice gets rare update for Android

You may have thought that this day would never come, but it has: Google Voice for Android has been updated. Google Voice is one of Google's more overlooked products, both by users and by the company itself. The app has gotten so little attention from Google that some have wondered whether or not it would see the same fate as Google Reader, but we never bought into that negative thinking.

The changelog for Google Voice doesn't really help too much though, and says that the only update to the app is that it will now have "improved reliability of SMS delivery". That is nice, because there were too many errors sending texts before.

However, Android Police has dug into the APK code and found another addition which will allow other apps to check on Google Voice's configuration settings. It's unclear what functionality this would be used for. Obviously, people want to assume that it has something to do with Babel, but we can't say that for sure.

source: Google Play via Android Polic

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Demand for smartphones and tablets will cause the display market to grow to $71.5 billion in 2016

According to research firm DisplaySearch, the flat panel display (FPD) market is going to grow to $71.5 billion in 2016, thanks to increasing demand for smartphones, tablets and other personal computers with touchscreens. Hiroshi Hayase from DisplaySearch said that screen makers are starting to recognize this new lucrative market, causing them to introduce new innovations and create a highly-competitive landscape - a recipe for a thriving business ecosystem.

Right now, Samsung Display is the leader in the market of small and medium displays, largely thanks to the amazing success of its Galaxy S smartphones, which make use of the company's AMOLED screen technology. Following Samsung Display are Japan Display, Sharp and LG Display, all of which concentrate on producing LCD screens, which is the most widely used screen technology in phones and tablets.

The competitive landscape has caused manufacturers to come up with new and improved technologies like the high-resolution AMOLED and IPS LCD panels that we're enjoying today. What's really amazing is that only a few years back, such screen quality was simply unthinkable, as displays were much less impressive across a variety of aspects like contrast, color reproduction, viewing angles and resolution. Now that today's touch displays in mobile devices are way better, we're very close to calling them perfect. Could screen makers prove us wrong and continue to come up with even better inventions in the future?

via: Digitimes

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Tablet sales to reach US$64 billion in 2013, up 28% as tide turns to Android

Apple popularized the tablet form factor with its iPad and in 2012 it dominated the industry, shipping 60% of all tablets, while Android tablets accounted for 37%.

But companies like Samsung and Amazon continue growing sales, and market researchers ABI claim the momentum is changing.

"The tide is definitely turning toward Android-based tablets, though Apple will not slouch as it feels the competition approaching," Jeff Orr, mobile devices senior practice director at ABI, said. "The iPad mini was a timely introduction in 2012, though ABI Research remains cautious about the bottom line impact this is having for Apple. The first quarter of 2013 should be the first time when production was able to meet market demand and a better sense of how much 9.7-inch iPad volume has switched to the smaller, lower-cost mini will be understood."

Samsung is - of course - the contender. The company has enjoyed huge success of its Galaxy smartphone lineup and that popularity is expected to show in tablets this year.

"A well-executed Samsung tablet strategy could double the company's market share this year," Orr said.

This year, nearly 150 million tablets are expected to ship worldwide. That makes it a $64 billion industry with a huge 28% growth since last year.

source: DigiTimes

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XDA allows Facebook Home to run on most Android device without root

Facebook Home has been relegated to use only on certain devices in certain regions. It was quickly found that if you were in an unsupported region, you could simply sideload the app, and be fine, but the unsupported devices issue took a bit more work to overcome. It has taken developers at XDA a bit under a day to modify the APK, but now you can run Home on any device you'd like.

Best of all, this hack doesn't require that you have root access unless your device has Facebook baked-in. If not, all you have to do is download the modified APKs, remove Facebook and Facebook Messenger, then reinstall things in order. First, install the official Facebook app, then the modified Home APK and optionally Messenger. Enable Facebook Home in the Facebook app settings, reboot and you're ready to go.

Word from the XDA forum is that the apps work on a ton of different devices, including the Nexus 7.

Source: XDA Developers

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iPhone 5 with gold and diamonds surfaces, costs $15.3 million

Stuart Hughes, a Liverpool-based jeweller had earlier built a diamond iPhone 4, Platinum MacBook Air and Gold iPad 2. Now, the enthusiast has built an iPhone 5 with gold and diamonds, making it the world's most expensive smartphone.

            


According to the designer, the custom made iPhone 5 took him 9 weeks to build and the complete device has been made by hand. The outside casing of the smartphone is said to be made up for 24-carat gold, while the home button consists of 26-carat black diamond.

             

The Apple logo and the corners of the smartphone are built using the white diamonds. The device is encrusted with 600 precious stones, out of which, 53 are housed in the Apple logo at the back. The world's most expensive smartphone was ordered by a Chinese based businessman, who owns the black diamond that went into the construction.

The special luxuries edition of iPhone 5 costs £10 million (about $15.3 million) (836955900.00 Indian Rupee). However, there are simpler versions of the device too, which is made of gold and goes for the much easier to swallow $33,800.

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Nokia Lumia 720 goes up for pre-order in India

The Nokia Lumia 720 has appeared for pre-order on Indian online store Flipkart for a price of ₹18,999, which is approximately $347. The interesting, thing though, is that Nokia is yet to announce the price of the phone officially in India, and so far it has only appeared on the Nokia India website.

A couple of days ago we saw the Lumia 720 go up for sale in Russia for approximately $485. Thankfully, the Indian pricing of the phone is more suitable for a device with its specifications.
To recap some of the specs of the Lumia 720, it has a 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 resolution display, dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 6.1 megapixel camera with 720p video recording, 8GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 512MB RAM and 2,000mAh battery.

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