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YotaPhone review

2013-12-24T02:05:00.000-08:00

Yota Devices has announced that the YotaPhone is now on sale, offering the best of both - but we don't mean Hovis. Instead, meet the device that brings the smartphone and eBook reader together.

We first saw the YotaPhone at CES 2013 and our first impressions were that it was a good idea. Now we have had a proper play and we go hands-on with the final device, that's now on sale in various countries around the world.

Design and build

In terms of design, the YotaPhone is sleek, comfortable to hold and a good size for one-handed operation. The E Ink rear display has a soft and warm to touch matt finish, making it pleasant to hold and we quite like it.

From the front of the device, it isn't anything out of the ordinary but when you flip it over you get the camera lens and YotaPhone logo with the E Ink display, which we liked the design of, it looks great.

The YotaPhone changes in width from the top to the bottom, which actually makes for a good feature and offers something a little different to what is currently available on other devices.

The build of the YotaPhone itself feels solid and we don't suspect you will be disappointed with what you get for your money with this device. It measures 133.6 x 67 x 9.99mm and carries a weight of 146g, which feels light enough but certainly not cheap.

Alongside the dual displays, you'll feel like you have a premium device in your hand and the design is something the company should be proud of.

Displays

The main feature of the YotaPhone is its dual screens and we were impressed with the 4.3-inch E Ink display on the rear. It gives you what you would expect it to and everything from Twitter to a map is clear in the grey scale image presented. The rear display offers a 360 x 640 resolution, which doesn't provide an exceptionally sharp image, but the detail on maps is pretty clear, better when zoomed in, and reading is easy. E Ink is known for great contrast and that's what you get here.

When it comes to the front display, the YotaPhone has a 4.3-inch 1280 x 720 pixel LCD screen. That puts it in the middle of the park for current Android devices, but at 341ppi, it's sharp enough. The colours were bright and the image looked good, but we weren’t hugely impressed with the viewing angles.

The whites weren't particularly white, and when we placed it alongside the Moto G, the latest Motorola handset came out on top. We really like the idea of being able to customise the E Ink display, whether it be adding a picture to have as your wallpaper, or including certain widgets such as time, date and weather.

It is relatively simple to do, despite the handset we played with being in Russian, and if you have a certain image you want on your main display, you can have it on your rear display too, which is a nice touch.

Both displays can function simultaneously and they both come with gesture control panels for dual control.

Performance

Running on the Android 4.2.2 operating system and a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, the YotaPhone is slightly behind the majority of premium smartphones in terms of numbers on the spec sheet.

When it comes to the operating of the device, Yota Devices has gone for its own gesture-based system with four main commands rather than the standard three-button keys on the majority of Android smartphones.

The gestures include a right-to-left swipe to return home and a two-finger swipe from the top to the bottom of the main LCD to send the screen image or app to the E Ink screen on the rear, both of which we struggled with from time-to-time for a speedy response. Things seemed a little sluggish.

Moving between pages when reading on the E Ink display wasn't quite as seamless as we hoped for either, but it could just be something that takes some practice. It's worth bearing in mind we were comparing it to our experience of reading with Kindle, where page turning is much easier and faster in comparison although with time, this might be different.

However, we found the device was smooth and quick to react for every day tasks such as switching between apps and opening different features, as well as switching between the displays, which is done in the top right-hand corner.

Camera

We didn't have a great deal of time to play with the 12-megapixel rear-facing camera but from the short period we did have with it, the YotaPhone seemed to provide some decent shots.

When we snapped an image, the final result appeared on the E Ink display, showing those we had taken the picture of what they looked like in black and white. We didn't expect it and it's a good touch.

Although we didn't have a chance to get a selfie in, the front camera is only 1-megapixel which is slightly less than most other smartphones available, so it might not be such a good performer: something we'll examine in more detail when we bring you a full review.

Battery life and memory

The YotaPhone has an 1800mAh battery under its hood, along with 32GB storage. There is no microSD slot for further storage expansion but when it comes to battery life, Yota Devices claims this handset will have seven to ten times the battery life of other smartphones in reading mode. That comes down to the display technology being used here, as E Ink is very sparing with power consumption.

Naturally we weren't able to test the battery in the time we had with the device but we love the idea that you can have an address, map or other information on the E Ink display even when the phone has run out of juice.

Built in apps

The YotaPhone comes with a number of built-in apps such as a real-time calendar, Bookmate for reading and MapsWithMe to feature on the E-Ink display.

However standard apps are also compatible and social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter can be mirrored on the lower-power consumption screen to update in real time so you'll always know what is going on.

There is one slight problem if you are an avid Kindle or Barnes & Noble fan, in that the respective apps don't have the right-hand corner functionality built-in and therefore you won't be able to read your books from these apps on the E Ink display, only the main LCD display. This is a shame but Yota Device's CEO, Vlad Martynov, did say it could be something that is available on its second generation of YotaPhone, due to come out in the later part of next year.

Conclusion

CEO Martynov concluded the launch of the YotaPhone with the statement "we truly believe smartphones will never be the same after the YotaPhone launch" and in fairness it has at least put a different perspective on things. It is set to be priced around €499, heading towards the premium end of the Android market and you get quite a lot of smartphone for your money.

We really love the design of the YotaPhone and we think the idea of E Ink screen is great, especially as you can have a piece of information like a map or address when your battery has died. Yota Devices have patents for software allowing you to switch between the displays and the design itself, so it might be a while before another device like this is released.

The gestures could take a while to get used to, and while we found them a little slow at times, it might be a different matter after a little practice. With no Kindle app support as yet, it could be worth waiting to see what the next generation YotaPhone brings. But if you can't wait that long and fancy a smartphone that is a little different, then it's worth giving this device a go, but bear in mind there's strong competition on all sides, with higher spec models at the same price, or very capable models that are more affordable. The real sell here is that second screen and how well you can put it to use.

Rumor: Apple iPhone 6

2013-12-24T01:45:00.002-08:00

Apple’s next-generation iPhone 6 will finally match up to its key Android rivals and pack a 5-inch, Full HD 1080p display. That’s according to new rumours emerging from Japan.

The move to a larger screen would not be a huge surprise. Apple is said to have been testing larger, phablet-style phones for months, with a slew of stories of 6-inch devices emanating from supply-chain sources throughout the summer.

This new piece of tittle tattle, though, says a 5-inch number is nailed-on. While Mac Fan’s sources' credentials as sources of juicy info remain unclear, it's undoubtedly fair to say that a device of that size wouldn’t be seen as too large by most consumers.

The magazine also claims the iPhone 6 will launch in September 2014. That seems almost a given, what with the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 arriving in the same timeframe in the past two years.

Expect to hear plenty more gossip about Apple’s next iPhone as 2014 looms into view.

Samsung Galaxy S5: launch point to early 2014

2013-12-24T01:42:00.000-08:00

Samsung’s much-hyped Galaxy S5 could be launched as soon as February, if a new report from the tech giant’s native Korea is to be believed.

Samsung is looking to unleash the device ahead of the first anniversary of the Galaxy S4, which falls next April. Recent rumours have suggested that slow sales of that handset may have caused Sammy to bring forward plans for its new flagship.

Interestingly, the report serves up some juicy new morsels about the phone. Word is it’ll come in two variants: One a metal-chassis packing effort with a flexible screen; the other a plastic model with a regular display.

Specs-wise, both phones will come loaded with a blisteringly fast octa-core processor, Android 4.4 KitKat, 3GB of RAM and a 5-inch display. The same report claims that Samsung could launch the sequel to its Galaxy Gear smart watch at the same time.

A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.

The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

Interestingly given the rash of criticism Samsung copped for the Galaxy S3 and S4's 'cheap-feeling' plastic construction, the creator of the concept imagines the S5 packing a lavish unibody aluminium build, which is waterproof and dustproof.

That’s something that’s not totally out of the question in the light of Samsung’s attempt to give the recently launched Note 3 a more premium feel by incorporating a leather back panel. It's also consistent with rumours that metal casings were considered for the S4, before being rejected due to manufacturing issues.

And of course because this is strictly in the realms of fantasy, this handset's spec sheet is wonderfully lavish. Think: 16-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, a 2GHz Exynos 5 OctaCore processor and Android 4.4 Kit Kat out of the box.

Not enough for you? It's also home to quad-surround speakers, wireless charging and a 3,200mAh Li-ion battery that delivers “50% more battery life than the current Galaxy S4”. With smartphones’ disappointing longevity remaining the industry’s dirty little secret, the latter is something that we'd welcome.

For what it's worth, we really like the design. Not least because it deviates from the big-black-slab school of phone design that's all-too dominant right now.

Production of the Galaxy S5 will apparently ramp up at the start of the New Year, with a potential release at or around Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona next February.

Samsung’s next flagship - Galaxy S5

2013-12-24T01:07:00.002-08:00

Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S5, is expected to break cover early next year. It was earlier believed to follow the same time line as its predecessor, most likely unveiling around April or May of 2014. Word around the web is that the handset will in fact be released sooner than earlier anticipated. Starting from March and April, its expected release date has crawled even closer - rumour has it that the phone will be unveiled as early as January 2014. If not at the CES in January, we might just see the device at the MWC due to be held in Barcelona in February. Even if Samsung does opt for a standalone event to launch its next smartphone, the Galaxy S5 should ideally be out by Q1 2014.

Build Quality

The Galaxy S5 is said to boast of a premium metal casing and a durability that is made possible with its waterproof coating. In fact, Samsung is apparently prepping its handset with either an aluminum chassis or a carbon fiber one. Either ways, we are hopeful of seeing a Samsung flagship that is not plasticy looking.

Given the way it has designed the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung may give the Galaxy S5 straighter lines and smaller curves as well, complete with ultra thin bezels and a thin body. In fact, Samsung might be giving its next flagship a design over haul, doing away with the now dated curved edges of the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy S4 (and every other Samsung device that has followed them). The Galaxy S5 might come with a squarer, less rounded form factor that's even sleeker than before. Combined with its rumoured metal frame, the new design should give the handset a premium, sophisticated feel.

Operating System

The phone will most likely run the latest build of the Android operating system at its launch. Of course, it is expected to pack in a host of Samsung’s own add-ons as well, including it gesture and voice activated controls. Word around the web is that Samsung might build the Galaxy S5 with the Tizen operating system as well but given that the platform is still in the nascent stages of development for commercial use, we don't think this is very likely.

Processor and RAM

The power behind the flagship is said to be a 64-bit processor. As Trusted Reviewsquotes Samsung stating, the phone, though ulta modern, will not sport an integrated fingerprint scanner. Though earlier leaks suggested that Samsung was giving the Galaxy S5 a 3 GB RAM, new rumours point at a larger 4 GB RAM. Given that the handset's 64-bit processor can handle bigger RAMs without breaking a sweat, a 4 GB RAM of the Galaxy S5 is a very real possibility. The entire updated architecture is sure to take the smartphone to new heights of efficiency and speed. The handset is expected to be slimmer than before and offer better power management and an extended battery life as well.

Camera

The camera set-up on the device is said to include a 16-megapixel primary sensor. The phone should ideally come with a well developed front facing sensor too. There have been conflicting reports about whether or not the handset will pack in the functionality of OIS. Earlier rumours did point at OIS technology being present on the handset but new leaks suggest otherwise. In the day and age of sophisticated 41 and 20-megapixel sensors, it would make sense for Samsung to give its flagship a feature like OIS - it would want to stay on top in every aspect of the game, surely. AsTechradar suggests, the phone will at least pack in Samsung's new CMOS image sensor ISOCELL, making for some rich, detailed imagery.

Storage

Samsung is known for its storage generosity and it is unlikely to change its memory options on its new device. We are very likely to see the new flagship retail in variants of 16, 32 and 64 GB of internal memory, each with the ability to expand the same externally by another 64 GB.

Price

Since it will sport a premium build and a metal casing, word around the tech world is that Samsung’s next flagship will be priced at a print point that’s higher than its predecessors. Early estimates suggest a figure close to or higher than $650.

Top 10 upcoming handsets in 2014

2013-12-24T01:02:00.000-08:00

1. Samsung Galaxy S5: Samsung's next flagship promises to take smartphoning to new heights with its new-age features. Believed to be powered by a 64-bit processor, it is said to house an architecture of 16 cores and a RAM of 3/4 GB. Other rumoured goodies on the phone include a 32 multitouch screen, a water proof casing, wireless charging and an eye scanning sensor.

Samsung is expected to finally do away with its plasticy form factor and give the Galaxy S5 a carbon fiber or an aluminum casing. Powered by Android's latest operating system, the flagship is speculated to be equipped with a 16-megapixel primary camera, complete with OIS.

2. Apple iPhone 6: Apple is rumoured to unveil its next iPhone earlier than usual next year. If all those leaks are to be believed, the iPhone 6 might break cover as early as May of 2014. Leaving its 64-bit processor and its Touch ID unchanged, Apple is expected to give its new handset a bigger screen and possibly even a curved display, along with a larger RAM. Storage options are said to remain the same on the new flagship, which will of course carry the next iOS build out of the box.

Like the Galaxy S5, gaze detection technology on the iPhone 6 is believed to make the handset more power efficient than before. Rumour has it that Apple may finally go in for a Full HD display on its next flagship, as well as up its cores to four and its camera to a 12 or a 13-megapixel one.

3. HTC M8: HTC is hoping to catch up in the smartphone race in a big way with its next flagship, codenamed M8. The handset reportedly boasts of a premium build quality with its slim wraparound metal body. The 5-inch smartphone supposedly packs in a 2K resolution of 2048 × 1080 pixels. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.2 GHz 800 processor and a 3 GB RAM apparently power the device along with Android 4.4 KitKat and Sense 6.0. The handset most certainly houses an Ultra Pixel camera and rumour has it that it even sports the ability to take 3D snapshots. Of course, the phone comes with a fingerprint sensor as well.

4. Sony Xperia Z2 Avatar: Sony is all set to lead the smartphone market with its display and its camera technologies. Taking on from where the well endowed Xperia Z1 left off, the Xperia Z2 Avatar supposedly runs on a 3 GB RAM, Android 4.4 KitKat and a Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. The handset is expected to sport a resolution of a whooping 506ppi while its 20.7-megapixel primary camera reportedly comes equipped with a Xenon flash. As with some of Sony's other handsets, the Xperia Z2 is most likely to pack in water and dust resistance along with a premium build quality.

5. Nokia Lumia 1820: Nokia is rumoured to give its new imaging flagship a metal unibody design and a Lytro-style camera that allows users to change the focus after they have clicked a photograph. The Lumia 1820 is powered by Windows Phone 8.1 and is believed to come with Microsoft's Siri-like personal assistant Cortana built-in. We expect to see a Full HD display and a powerful processor on the device as well.

6. Sony Xperia Z1s: The Xperia Z1s is reported to carry all that Xperia Z1 goodness in a sleek, compact form. Sony's new Android handset is said to pack in a 4.3-inch HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, a 2 GB RAM and an internal storage of 16 GB. Sony has reportedly given its newbie a 20-megapixel Sony Exmor RS rear camera and a 2-megapixel Sony Exmor R front sensor, along with a 2,300 mAh battery.

7. HTC Butterfly 2: HTC is reportedly prepping the successor to the Butterfly with a 5.2-inch Full HD display. Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor, the handset is believed to be waterproof. Though other details about the handset are as yet unknown, given that the Butterfly was such a formidable device, the Butterfly 2 will be even better equipped than its predecessor as far as specs and features go. Of course, the Android handset will also pack in an Ultra Pixel camera and BoomSound stereo speakers.

8. BlackBerry Z50: BlackBerry is hoping to win a few hearts of its own with its next flagship, the BB Z50 touch phone. The Canadian tech giant is reportedly prepping its newbie for a late 2014 release and has given it a large 5.2-inch screen with a Full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. Though not much about the handset is known as yet, it is believed to run on a quad-core processor and will be powered by BlackBerry's newest and most improved operating system at the time of its release.

9. BlackBerry Q30: Those who prefer a QWERTY keypad on their handsets can wait it out for the BB Q30. BlackBerry is expected to release its new QWERTY handset in the latter part of 2014 and give it features like a 2.3 GHz processor, a 4-inch touchscreen display and a 3 GB RAM. Running on BlackBerry's latest operating system, the phone's forte is of course it's easy to type on and use keyboard.

10. Huawei Glory 4: If you are looking out for an inexpensive yet functional Android handset, Huawei's next offering might be just right for you. The Glory 4 reportedly runs on a powerful 'true' octa-core set-up and packs in features like a 4.7-inch HD display, a 1 GB RAM, an 8-megapixel camera and Huawei's Emotion 2.0 UI. Huawei's new handset is rumoured to offer users a pretty functional mid-range smartphoning experience under $150, approximately Rs. 9,300.

Motorola Moto G US Version now in India

2013-12-08T05:24:00.003-08:00

The Motorola Moto G may probably hit the Indian markets in Jan 2014, but if you cannot wait you can buy the Moto G from ebay.in. The online store has the ‘G’ listed – 8GB version for Rs. 15,990 and the 16GB version for Rs. 17,990.

The Moto G handset will be shipped from United States, it supports Global GSM i.e. any GSM SIM card will work. Shipping is free but it could take few days to weeks to get the handset delivered in India. After sales support could be an issue in case the device has some problems. Shipping is free, so in all you pay Rs. 15,990 and Rs. 17,990 depending on storage options.

The Motorola G runs on Android 4.3 with 8GB /16GB storage options. There is 1GB on-board RAM. This handset is powered by 1.2GHz quad core processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400) with Adreno 305 GPU. Screen is 4.5 inches with HD resolution (1280x720p). Other features are 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4 and GPS. This is single SIM handset and also includes a 1.3MP front camera and 5MP rear camera with LED flash. Battery is 2070 mAh capacity.

The Moto G is yet to make its way into the Indian Markets but is available on ebay.in. For the price it surely will give tough competition to budget quad core handsets that are already quite popular.

Huawei Ascend P6S with Octa Core unveiled

2013-12-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

Huawei will soon launch Huawei Ascend P6S and upgraded version of Ascend P6. The Ascend P6S will come powered by Octa Core chipset and will run on the latest Android 4.4 OS.

Huawei president Xu Xin Quan did confirm the Ascend P6S via Weibo, however the exact specifications and the pricing details has not yet been disclosed. All that we know is that it will be with true Octa Core chipset.

Reference to True Octa Core (8 core) could probably point out at the MediaTek MT6592 chipset. In fact this is the latest hot stuff that many manufactures are looking forward to. We are not sure if and when the Huawei Ascend P6S will be available in India and its price tag.

For now Intex has already announced its plan to launch their Octa core handset in India. It is a matter of few weeks / month and if you are planning to buy a new smartphone and ready to spend over Rs. 18,000 it would be wise to wait for the 8 core smartphones.

Intex i17 6 inch Phablet with MT6592 octa core processor launched

2013-12-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

A few days back Intex had revealed that they will soon launch an octa core device. In fact yesterday they did launch the Intex i17 model with a 6 inch HD screen and powered by MediaTek octa core chipset.

The Intex i17 will be priced at under Rs. 20,000 – looks quite tempting. This Phablet comes loaded with 1.7GHz Octa core MT6592 chispet with Mali 450 MP4 GPU clocked at 700MHz. The IPS touchscreen is 6 inches supporting resolution of 1280×720 pixels.

There is 13MP rear auto focus camera with full HD recording and LED flash support. A front camera of 5MP can be used for self shot or video chats. The handset is pretty slim with a 7mm thickness. Android 4.2 runs the show with 2GB RAM and 16GB / 32GB optional storage. Other features are 3G, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth, dual Yamaha speakers and GPS.

A 2300 mAh battery should get the handset going for a full day with moderate usage. The Intex i17 will hit the stores next year in Jan 2014. Price will be under Rs. 20,000 for the 16GB version.

Upcoming new Samsung galaxy S5 flagship features

2013-12-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

The report suggests that Samsung is done with the most complex tasks of the development process and is now dealing with technicalities and logistics. The Korean ittoday.co.kr hasn't specified if the chip is already undergoing sampling, but that should start soon if it hasn't already.

The upcoming flagship is said to feature a next-gen Exynos 6 CPU with 14nm architecture and 64-bit support. Alongside it, the next generation Samsung Exynos CPU is said to feature ARM's big.LITTLE octa-core configuration with Cortex-A53/A57 cores. All eight cores will reportedly be able to operate simultaneously using half as much power as the currently available Exynos 5420.

Reportedly, the next generation of the popular smartphone will come with and eye-scanning sensor.

The abovementioned feature will give users the opportunity to unlock their smartphone with their eyes. Samsung is allegedly already hard at work on the high-security bit of tech, though there’s no word on how it is going to work.

The Samsung Galaxy S5, as it's widely expected to be called, will be mass-produced from January onwards, according to Korean site ETNews. The site quotes "industry sources" as saying the new phone will be launched and begin shipping to customers in either February or March, running Android 4.4 KitKat. It will also apparently be launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smart watch.

While it's almost inevitable that Samsung will bring out a successor to the Galaxy S4 some time next year, it has only been 10 months since that phone's launch. There was a similar 10-month gap between the launch of the Galaxy S III and the S4; Samsung has had another big-name launch since the S4, though, in the Galaxy Note 3.

Whenever Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone is launched, you can expect a swathe of innovative but largely superfluous features, like those that defined the Galaxy S4. The Galaxy S5 might also get the same curved OLED screen as the Galaxy Round.

ETNews' report also suggests the Galaxy S5 will have a 4000mAh battery, a 64-bit processor, 3GB of RAM and a 560ppi screen. Samsung will have to make some astonishing technical leaps to make all of these rumours come true in a 5-inch smartphone; the Galaxy S4, for example, only packed a 2600mAh battery, while the 5.7-inch Note 3 only saw a capacity increase to 3200mAh.

All new Galaxy S5

2013-12-02T12:09:00.001-08:00

Samsung's strategy as early as next January, the smartphone 'Galaxy S5 (tentative name) entered into a `mass production. Given the production schedule from February to March is expected to debut in the market. Whilst Samsung has entered mass production in March-April every year in May the year before and after the launch of the strategy, as were smartphones compared to three months ahead of schedule. The flagship model in the smartphone market impact can be reduced and shortened product life cycles are increasingly being interpreted as measures for response.According to industry sources, the 27th Samsung Galaxy S5 Wireless Division has recently developed a project for the `K` team to organize and , Jan. 20 next year aimed at mass production and parts procurement plan for pursuing material.initial production plant in Gumi is in charge of a full-scale mass production of domestic yenpong factory in Vietnam in charge. Previous sales target of 70% of the Galaxy S4 is known. Galaxy S4-market sales target on hold too high, do not repeat the experience wihaeseoda failed. initial production is expected in January 800000-1000000, mass production in February amounted to a mere 6,000,000. Production based on sales in March at the level of 8 to 10 million expected to be determined. referred to as the brains of a smartphone application processor (AP) and a Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Electronics was decided two kinds of excimer North Octavia. Applying a 64-bit ARM Cortex operations and increase graphics performance. Based on the same AP, the external display, such as the case of the premium models with different component parts and the general model is released in two varieties.

Premium Model 5 inch flexible active matrix (AM) organic light emitting diode (OLED) display and a metal case and applying a high-quality image to be strengthened. General Model 5 inch AM OLED flat panel display, plastic case and adopts the configuration is similar to other materials and parts. Operating system (OS) is Android 4.4 kitkaet. Megapixel front-back 1,600-megapixel Full HD · Auto Focus (AF) · 3GB Mobile Camera Module D-RAM, 4000 ㎃ h capacity, and is equipped with a battery. S5 Samsung Galaxy line sales target and increase sales, but peripherals, accessories . The flagship model of reduced sales to offset the impact of peripherals and accessories you want to strategy. Samsung Electronics Wireless Division I recently purchased four new groups to partner in charge of the production of peripherals, accessories being excavated. Removable rear casing Near Field Communication (NFC), a wireless antenna, heat sink attach the charger to sell 30000-6 won. S5 Galaxy 2 is a gear with plans to launch the Galaxy. Peripherals, as well as two new Galaxy lineup gear seems to be enhanced. SAMSUNG official "gear Galaxy 2 is about 15% to 20% thinner than previous production will further enhance the portability and convenience," said, "you can enjoy in conjunction with the Galaxy S5 Games, entertainment and health care functions will come after another with peripherals, accessories, "he said.

Jolla smartphone with new Sailfish OS

2013-12-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

The first handset from Finnish smartphone startup Jolla is simply called Jolla. This phone has been some two years in the making - a timeframe that testifies to the complexity of building handset hardware and a new mobile platform, not to mention rallying developers and achieving Android compatibility. So really two years ain't bad for a plucky startup whose members used to work for erstwhile king-of-the-mobile-world, Nokia, and left to do what that phone maker decided it couldn't: make a go of MeeGo as an alternative to Google's all-consuming Android.

What was MeeGo on Nokia's N9 is now Sailfish on Jolla's eponymous handset. The Jollaphone finally launched on Wednesday, in Helsinki, with the first 450 devices taken home mainly by those who had already registered their interest via a pre-sales campaign. Jolla is now shipping handsets to other pre-orderers throughout Europe. The top three countries for pre-sales were, in order of popularity, Finland (as you'd expect), Germany and the U.K.

The Jolla phone hardware reforms the standard smartphone slab into an attractive plastic sandwich, as if two blocks of different coloured liquorice have been smacked together. The back piece - which was plain white on the above demo device but comes in bright pink for Finnish carrier DNA's first batch of the phones, and in customisable colours in future when Jolla starts direct sales via its own website - is known as The Other Half.

Like Jolla's software The Other Half is intended as an extensible platform - with connectors built into the back of the phone for power and a bus connection for data transfer allowing for Other Halves that could incorporate a physical Qwerty keyboard, for instance, or a weather station sensor or even an e-ink screen, as well as the NFC-powered software theme-swapping supported by the current crop of shells.

“Putting something like a keyboard is expected,” said Jolla co-founder Marc Dillon. “We are working on the developers kit so that anybody can do this… We're working on accessories, and we expect third parties to work on accessories.”

The standard Jolla handset (i.e. with a not-too-fancy Other Half) is a nice size and weight in the hand - neither too big to be overbearing, nor too hefty or lightweight to feel unpleasant to hold. On paper, its specs come across as relatively mid-range - with a 4.5″ display, a dual-core chip, 4G, an 8MP camera plus 16GB of internal memory expandable via microSD card. But differentiating on phone hardware specs is not what Jolla is all about.

Its difference lies in the MeeGo-derived Sailfish software platform, and an open philosophy that wants developers - and other companies - to come in and build all sorts of software and hardware extensions atop this platform. The Jolla phone is a showcase for what Jolla the startup can do - tl;dr: see here what we built for ourselves, why not let us build something for you?

“You can't really have an operating system without a spearhead device, and although we've been talking to almost everybody that's in the mobile space over the last two years, almost every kind of manufacturer, I think they've all been waiting to see what we actually are capable of,” Dillon.

“Because if you just look, people wise, then we're really small compared to these guys. Their coffee budget is probably as much as we've spent to create this device!… So now they have a way to judge our capabilities by taking a real device and looking at it, and seeing what it does.”

Despite this b2b sales pitch, Jolla is committed to its own consumer play too - believing there is appetite for something new and different to shake up the samey-same smartphone space.

Dillon said about 80% of those who pre-ordered its handset earlier this year - in some instances without putting any down money down - have been converted into sales. Jolla hasn't confirmed exactly how many devices were pre-ordered, saying only that it was a “typical” sized production batch - of up to 50,000 units. But it did take in €1 million's worth of sales on the phone's launch day, according to Dillon.

Doing a back-of-an-envelope calculation, by dividing that figure by the phone's standard €399 price-tag, equates to 2,500 Jolla handsets sold in one day. Albeit, the pre-sales campaign muddies the water a little. Either way, generating €1 million in revenue in a day ain't bad for a new kid on the phone block.

Indeed, getting a smartphone to market when you're a startup of 80+ full-time employees, not an electronics behemoth like Apple or Samsung, is a monumental achievement in itself. But it is also just the start for Jolla. Now the even harder work of community building kicks off in earnest - if it's to turn one phone into a whole new-wave open mobile movement.

Passion projects attract fans. And Jolla is clearly a passion project for Dillon, who tells me he personally shook the hand of everyone standing in line in Helsinki's Narinkka Square for Wednesday's Jolla launch. And for all the ex-Nokians who made the decision to leave to carry on developing a platform that Nokia was abandoning.

Jolla's early buyers are also clearly passionate about the potential of (another) homegrown mobile platform. The question is whether Jolla can build a community beyond these nostalgic origins. Dillon argues it's already doing that - and that the launch event was characterised by a broad spectrum of interest.

“There was everyone from high school students to retired people. There were men and women, different nationalities - there was of course a lot of Finns, being Finland, but there was also people had come in from some other countries,” he said.

“That was one of the things that we were actually curious about. Usually you have a set of early adopters for a new technology platform - we seem to break that. We had a very wide demographic who was taking our first device.”

I believe that people are looking for something different. Imagine if you could only buy two car choices in the world.

Why does he think Jolla is attracting diversity? “I think that the reason that people have had a lot of interest in us is there's this David vs Goliath thing but also the fact that instead of just being a corporate face we're coming out as people and we're interested in people, and we are people, and I think there's been a personal connection that we've made with a lot of people.

“And I believe that people are looking for something different. Imagine if you could only buy two car choices in the world. People can only buy what's offered to them - and they've have had the same kind of experience for five years. So there's a curiosity to see what happens next.”

But launches are by their nature exciting. The everyday reality of technology is that people crave the unexciting stuff too - functionality, reliability, stability, simplicity, (app) familiarity, and so on. Those are areas where Jolla has work to do. Its new mobile platform is inevitably an oxymoron: it's both shiny and rough round the edges.

The Jolla UI is different to Android and iOS, excitingly so, to the point where you can feel its potential to offer something fluid, flexible and freeing to use. It also generally feels fast and responsive - although there is a small lag when opening or switching between apps, and progress bars pop up for certain actions which you might not expect, such as deleting a single photo.

But it's inevitably still got a lot of kinks to iron out, including actual bugs that cause apps to crash or mess up, but also counterintuitive quirks - things not always working as you'd expect. One of the biggest challenges for Jolla is undoubtedly the learning curve its newness demands of users now fully embedded with icon-based, back-button-sign-posted mainstream user interfaces.

Navigating around Jolla's UI requires a different set of gestures to iOS and Android; there's no back button, there are very few buttons at all - it's more push and pull, more like BlackBerry 10 or even Windows Phone, with gestures for peeking at content, and pulling in more stuff lurking off screen. (Of course Jolla would say its interface is Unlike all the rest.)

Other gestures close or minimise apps - the latter being displayed as small widgets on the homescreen which you can also interact with, if the developer has added in such functionality. So, for instance, you can refresh a webpage from the browser widget or command it open a new tab, or dive right in to search for an app on Jolla's app store just by swiping left (or right) on the corresponding homescreen widget.

To navigate generally, the user has to follow subtle clues - such as a glowing bar that sometimes appears at the top or bottom of the screen or a menu, to signify there's a list of actions that can be dragged on screen and selected within the same movement; or breadcrumbs of dots that appear at the top corner of the screen, which signify there are other screens' worth of content waiting to be swiped into view.

Getting the hang of these elements is not the work of days, but it does take patience and a willingness to learn something new - something Jolla unfortunately can't take for granted. Users also have to contend with Sailfish gestures being combined with Android nav elements (such as the Android back button and recent apps key) when running Android apps. Which dilutes Sailfish's signposts with the very Android paradigms it's hoping to supersede.

“We got rid of the home button - so we did eliminate one of them, but the back button, unfortunately, even though we have our own forward and back solution the [Android] applications still [use] so we still have to have those buttons,” said Dillon.

Jolla is working on getting a community portal rolled out to its website, which will include a forum where users can help each other out with queries - to supplement its already launched online care channel. It's also making a series of how to videos to explain Sailfish navigation and gestures. And will be staffing a variety of social media contact points where people might be looking for answers, says Dillon. Plus there's an on-device tutorial that walks users through the gesture basics.

All of this will certainly help, but getting people to switch from something they know to something different is by definition pushing water uphill - as Microsoft's long hard slog to get Windows Phone to stick underlines.

Then of course there is the big challenge for any ‘other' platform: the app gap that won't go away. Even with Android compatibility - and Yandex's app store preloaded - Jolla is inevitably starting a long way behind the Android-powered competition. In terms of native Sailfish apps (accessed via the Jolla store), there are but a handful at launch - I counted about 28 on the device, which includes basic stuff like an email client and a document viewer. There's also no support for paid Sailfish apps, as yet, but that important developer incentive is coming down the line.

And then Yandex's Android store presents only a smaller sub-set (apparently 85,000) of the apps Android users get on Google Play (one million+), so inevitably a lot of titles you'd find on bog standard Android are not on these shelves. (And while you may be able to sideload some Android apps, there's no guarantee of smooth or even workable compatibility with Sailfish).

Even tapping directly into the Android apps on the preloaded Yandex Store isn't a guarantee of smooth results as there are ongoing compatibility issues at this (early) point. Notably, the Android runtime sometimes spontaneously takes over the interface, dragging the user back to an Android app they had quit out of, as if Mountain View is wrestling back control from this open mobile upstart.

Compatibility issues also mean Android apps can appear buggy, with elements failing to correctly mesh with native Sailfish elements such as the keyboard, or degrading the experience so the app feels sluggish. On the other hand, other Android apps - such as Twitter - seemed to perform ok during my hands on so it's not all bad. But it is inconsistent, and Jolla's Dillon concedes the startup does have work to do on the Android compatibility front.

Regardless of myriad consumer-facing challenges, he says Jolla is in it for the long haul. It's committed to providing its early adopters with a device that improves and continues to evolve, rather than hardware that withers on the vine (as Nokia's N9 did). “The most important thing for us is that we continue to add value for everyone that bought this,” he said. “What features we do next, we believe the consumers should have a say in what the priorities are - and we will continue to deliver new features via the software.”

Jolla apparently has enough funding to sustain that effort too - with an alliance of industry backers committing to buoy up Sailfish to the tune of €200 million. Back in February Jolla itself also took in a €1 million investment from a Hong Kong based telecoms & mining firm, China Fortune, in exchange for 6.25% of the company. Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and Baidu have also been floated as future potential partners for Jolla - albeit that might just be wishful thinking at this point.

Jolla co-founder Sami Pienimäki said the company's already spent about €20 million getting to the starting point of being able to release its first handset, running the Sailfish OS. How much more it may need to nurture and build out an ecosystem to really get Sailfish moving remains to be seen.

But why might other mobile makers want to use Jolla's software to power their own devices? ”Just using Sailfish is a differentiator already because we were able to take a fresh look and do something new,” said Dillon, when I pose this question. “We [also] have no competing services, or no required embedded services” - a veiled reference to how Google tries to keep its Android OEMs (and developers) in line, by dangling the carrot of access to its Play store.

Beyond ‘not being Android', Dillon argues that Sailfish is a place where the next wave of mobile innovation can occur - a liberal space for experimentation, for forming a way beyond the status quo of segmented services and individual apps consumed in a cacophonous pick'n'mix. Somewhere where smarter, more unified and better targeted services can be developed.

This is just the beginning of how I believe mobile's going to start to break this application barrier.

“What I think the platforms are going to do - and where a real differentiation is going to occur - is when services start to get integrated here [on the homescreen] and not just sticking your application and embedding it into the device but actually connecting multiple applications together to make a more seamless experience,”.

Instead of users harvesting data from multiple apps and places individually within a device, Dillon envisages a platform where more and more apps plug into each other to funnel data to where it's needed rather than sitting in separate silos that the user is required to visit.

“I don't want to deal with events the second that they happen all of the time, so when I look [at my Jolla phone] I see that there's these phone calls that I've made, so there's a constant reminder that these are the people in my life at the moment that I'm communicating with… The same with messages… or email… This is just the beginning of how I believe mobile's going to start to break this application barrier,” he said.

“These kinds of synergies between things is just starting, so that you don't have to cross apps all the time,” he added. ”What we're doing is we're creating a place where these things - well beyond what I can think of or tell you today - are going to occur.

“The openness of the platform lets a developer, a company, an entrepreneur, a new business take something from the user experience all the way down to the hardware, the metal, the silicon - across to one or more Internet services, and provide something that is going to connect a user to one or more services that are locally relevant, that are important to you right now and not spammy.”

All that is for the uncertain future. For now, Jolla has shown a startup can make a smartphone. So it's already proven a lot of its doubters wrong. It's also positioned itself to take up the baton from Nokia, as THE Finnish mobile maker - just as Nokia prepares to give up that role (by selling its Devices & Services unit to Microsoft). Which is cruel or opportune timing, depending on your perspective.

Building a new smartphone on a new platform is already an impressive achievement. But Jolla isn't about to stop and admire the view. This startup has no intention of letting a single lovingly crafted handset remain its crowning glory. Onward Sails!

Pebble smartwatch

2013-01-10T20:41:00.001-08:00

You may already be acquainted with the Pebble smartwatch. One of the best and most successful ideas to have come out of Kickstarter, the watch was an instant hit with a lot of smartphone owners for being able to pair with your phone and display important information on its e-paper display.

Now, after some delays, the watch is finally ready and will be shipping out to the Kickstarter backers starting January 23.

In case you don’t know much about the Pebble, it is a Bluetooth-based smartwatch that pairs with your smartphone and shows messages and calls directly on its screen as they arrive. It even lets you control the music playback on your phone without you having to take it out of your pocket. The watch can also interact with any third-party app you may have on your smartphone, if the app allows this functionality.

The Pebble has an e-paper display which saves power compared to an LCD and has a backlight for seeing it in the dark. It comes with multiple clock faces and you can use the SDK to create more. It has a simple interface that can be accessed from the four buttons on the side and there is a MagSafe-style magnetic charging port as well. The Pebble watch is said to receive regular updates in the future, which will be pushed wirelessly to it through the companion app on your iOS or Android smartphone.

Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1 Android tablet

2013-01-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Panasonic is all business and no play at CES this year. The company made a splash with a Windows 8 Pro slate and an ICS-powered 7″ tablet that goes by the name Toughbook JT-B1

Being mobile-loving as we are we decided to have a closer look at the JT-B1 and we’ve got the hands-on below.

As suggested by those official images and the specs sheet the thing is built like a tank and feels every bit as rugged as you would expect from just such a device.

The screen isn’t anything special, though, and we did notice that it’s not as responsive as we would have liked. It could be due to the pre-release status of the units available at the Panasonic booth, but we suspect the extra tough glass protection has something to do with that too.

The Panasonic JT-B1 up front

The whole tablet feels much larger than your typical 7-incher and is very thick, but that’s hardly shocking news. The weight is also pretty badly affected by the added armor, making this one of the hardest to wield 7-inchers.

Archos 97

2013-01-10T20:38:00.001-08:00

Built around a 9.7" IPS display, pushing an iPad-eqsue resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels (264 PPI), the Archos 97 Platinum packs a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, which help the slate run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean very decently.

And if the quad-core processor and Retina-like display didn't sound great already, the Archos 97 Platinum is going to retail for the very un-Apple-like $329. Sounds like a great deal indeed.

With such price, however, you have to sacrifice something and in the 97 Platinum's case that's the build quality. The slate doesn't feel too bad in your hands, but the lock/power and volume rocker buttons feel really cheap.

The Archos 97 Platinum

There are two 2MP camera at the front and back of the slate. We think Archos could have saved the trouble of placing a main camera at the back and slash the price even further. Built-in storage is quite limited at 8GB, but luckily it's expandable via the microSD slot.

ZTE Firefox OS smartphone

2013-01-10T20:36:00.002-08:00

ZTE and Mozilla are on track to reveal a collaboration effort that would be debuting in Brazil and later come to Europe. The two companies are working to bring the first Firefox OS-powered smartphone and are in talks with an unknown European carrier.

The information comes directly from Cheng Lixin, Chief Executive Officer of ZTE USA. He also shared that ZTE could unveil a Firefox OS smartphone in the US, depending on the demand and interest. “If that is ready and if consumer studies support that data, then we may launch one in U.S. also this year.”, he said.

Jay Sullivan, Vice President of products at Mozilla, shared that the software company is working with China-based manufacturer TCL (which owns the Alcatel One Touch brand), ZTE and Qualcomm on making devices with Firefox OS. Chairman of TCL, Tomson Li Dongsheng confirmed that the company is in business with Mozilla. These reports align with what we previously heard.

Firefox OS will first launch entry-level smartphones with the intent on tackling the dominance of Android in that market. We've already seen promising early shots of the OS and its app Marketplace.

Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra

2013-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

Move over RAZR, there is a new ultra-thin Android smartphone entering the stage. The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra measures in at a slim 6.45mm thin (not including the camera hump).

What else do you get with a thin form factor? Well, we find a 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek processor which manages Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. That little hump which protrudes from the thin profile is an 8MP camera. On the front, is a 1.3MP camera with 720p recording capability and a 4.7-inch HD AMOLED display.

The Idol Ultra has 13.3GB of storage and does not have any microSD support. This is a quad-band GSM device with HSPA support on 850/1900MHz, which would make it work nicely on AT&T's network, but there was no carrier announcement. Not only was there no carrier announcement, there was no release date or price point revealed either, such was the trend for all the devices Alcatel had on display at CES 2013.

Alcatel One Touch Scribe X

2013-01-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

The Alcatel One Touch Scribe X is the manufacturer's premium handset, featuring a quad-core processor, HD display and a stylus, just like its Scribe HD cousin.

What separates the Scribe X from the Scribe HD? The MediaTek CPU has a small bump in specs, measuring at 1.4GHz. The camera has a bump as well, coming in at 12MP versus the HD's 8MP shooter. There is a nice sized battery on board at 2,500mAh which should provide adequate power to navigate through the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which is on board.

The form factor and build quality is apparent when holding the Scribe X. It joins other high-end Android devices in the 5-inch display realm. Unfortunately, Alcatel had no dates, prices or carriers to link to this nice looking device. PhoneArena.com is on the list to get word about any pending release of the Scribe X, or any of the other One Touch smartphones coming from Alcatel.

HTC One SV Review

2013-01-10T20:30:00.001-08:00

We have nothing bad to say about the way the earpiece performs. In fact, calls taken with the HTC One SV sound great – loud and natural, without any traces of noise or static. The microphone, however, could have been a bit better than that. On the other side of the line, voices are distinguishable, yet slightly muffled, probably due to the presence of a secondary microphone, which filters a fair amount of the background noise.

There's a 1,800mAh removable battery powering the HTC One SV, but the maker has not published any official information as to how long it should last on a single charge. That mostly depends on your usage habits, as well as on whether LTE connectivity is being actively used. Judging by what we got out of it during our testing, you should expect it to last at least one single day, as long as you don't push it too much.

Not bad, HTC, not bad. The smarthpone that you've crafted may be a bit rough around the edges, but it is still a very solid Android offering, and the presence of LTE connectivity is, of course, more than welcome. Whoever picks the HTC One SV up will be pleased by the excellent performance driving it and delighted by its outstanding appearance.

Yet let us not forget that the HTC One SV belongs to the mid-range category, although one might assume it is a high-end handset prior to actually using it. In other words, there are some compromises that an One SV owner should learn to live with, among which are the relatively low-res display and the not-so-amazing 5-megapixel camera.

PROS

LTE connectivity
Slim, light, good-looking smartphone
Excellent performance

CONS

Camera leaves room for improvement
Unimpressive screen resolution of 800 by 480 pixels

ZTE Nubia Z7

2013-01-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

Ready for a rumor that is as wild as a bobcat? Well, you better have a salt shaker nearby. GizChina reports that ZTE is already working on a new flagship Android smartphone called the Nubia Z7. As a side note, the ZTE Nubia Z5 is currently among the best that the company has to offer, packing a 5-inch 1080p display, 13MP camera, and a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro system-on-a-chip. So, what could possibly make the ZTE Nubia Z7 even better? Well, let's start with its sheer size.

According to the sources of today's rumor, the ZTE Nubia Z7 will have a 6.3-inch display with a jaw-dropping resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels. Only weeks ago, a handset of this size would have seemed ridiculous, but since Huawei already has the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate on display, the existence of a smartphone with a screen a fifth of an inch bigger doesn't seem all that unlikely. But the list of mind-blowing (yet far from confirmed) specs does not end here. It is speculated that ZTE will equip the Nubia Z7 with an 8-core processor running at 1.4GHz. Interestingly, this isn't the first time we hear about the possibility of an 8-core CPU landing inside a ZTE smartphone, so the rumor might be onto something. The tipster also mentions the presence of a Mali-T658 GPU, 16MP camera, 4,000mAh battery, 128GB of storage and LTE radio. Supposedly, the ZTE Nubia Z7 will come running Android 5.0.

All of this seems way too good to be true, so we'll label this rumor as highly dubious. Even if this ZTE Nubia Z7 is real, albeit only on a conceptual level, it would be extremely unlikely for it to materialize anytime soon given the fact that it is supposed to run Android 5.0.

BlackBerry Z10 specs

2013-01-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

While the Z10 name and many of the specs are still not 100% confirmed, a couple specifications appear to be a certainty. If you have seen any of the specifications from the Dev Alpha devices, many of these are not too different.

The countdown winds down, we have plenty to look forward to, RIM claims there will be 70,000 apps available at launch, we know the screen will be 1280x768 and 4.2-inches along with LTE connectivity. We also know it will have a removable battery. Here is how the rest of the specs are going to possibly shake out:

Processor: Dual Core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4470; Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 (US and Canada)
Radio: Quad Band HSPA+ / UMTS (850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz); Quad Band GSM / GPRS (850/900/1800MHz); Quad Band LTE Bands 2,4,5,13,17 (700, 850,1700, 1900MHz)
Display: 4.2-inch; 1280x768; 356PPI; 24 Bit Color; 15:9 ratio
Camera: 8MP Auto Focus; 2MP Front Facing; Flash; 1080p Video Recording
Memory: 2GB RAM; 16GB Internal Storage; Hot Swappable microSD Slot
WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n; 2.4 & 5GHz
GPS: Autonomous; A-GPS
Battery: 1800mAh Removable
Sensors: Ambient Light Detector; Accelerometer; Magnetometer; Gyroscope; Face Detect for phone calls
Connectivity: NFC; microUSB; microHDMI-Out; Bluetooth 4.0 LE (low energy)

Today, it was apparently confirmed that the device will have 2GB of RAM though BBIN.in is stating that everything is confirmed except the processors. At the rate information is leaking out about the new BlackBerry 10 devices, we are sure to know more of the story before things are unveiled on January 30th.

Samsung Galaxy S IV Rumour

2013-01-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Samsung Galaxy S IV will not make an official debut at the Consumer Electronics Show that kicks off in just a couple of days in Las Vegas. That’s no surprise as Samsung is widely expected to announce its new Android flagship around April this year, but what could be a slight surprise is that early models of the Galaxy S IV will be at the show, but under tight supervision and behind closed doors for only a few top executives to see, according to South Korean website MT.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Lee is allegedly the person who will be at CES and the one to show the upcoming Galaxy S IV to carriers and other high-profile partners.

Moreover, the report goes on to once again say the Samsung Galaxy S IV will indeed have a 5-inch 1080p display and run on Samsung’s Exynos 5440, a quad-core ARM Cortex A15-based chip.

This might sound a bit strange to you, but what the Samsung executive will be showing is likely a non-final prototype of the S IV to partners that will need some information about that device before they decide how much of it they would want, and so on. All of this is ordinary, and is going behind the scenes, without the end-user hearing much. At least we know that Samsung is ready with some kind of a prototype to show off, and that’s already something.

What’s more interesting, is that we even saw a leaked picture of the Galaxy S IV, stripped off the physical buttons. That could be an interesting decision to keep the device at around the same dimensions and relatively comfortable for one-handed use despite the larger screen.

Sony Xperia Z vs HTC Droid DNA vs Samsung Galaxy S III specs comparison

2013-01-10T20:14:00.001-08:00

DESIGN
	Samsung Galaxy S III	Sony Xperia Z	HTC Droid DNA
OS	Android (4.1.2, 4.1.1, 4.0.4) TouchWiz UX UI	Android (4.1.2)	Android (4.1.1) Sense 4+ UI
Dimensions	5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 inches (136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm)	5.47 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches (139 x 71 x 7.9 mm)	5.55 x 2.78 x 0.38 inches (141 x 70.5 x 9.73 mm)
Weight	4.69 oz (133 g) the average is 4.3 oz (124 g)	5.15 oz (146 g) the average is 4.3 oz (124 g)	4.87 oz (138 g) the average is 4.3 oz (124 g)
Side Keys	Left: Volume control Right: Lock/Unlock key		Right: Volume control
Rugged		Water (Water), Dust proof
IP certified		IP 57
Colors	Black, Brown, Pink, Blue, Red, White, Gray

DISPLAY
Physical size	4.80 inches	5 inches	5 inches
Resolution	720 x 1280 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels
Pixel density	306 ppi	441 ppi	441 ppi
Technology	Super AMOLED	TFT	S-LCD 3
Colors	16 777 216	16 777 216	16 777 216
Touchscreen	Capacitive, Multi-touch	Capacitive, Multi-touch	Capacitive, Multi-touch
Features	Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass	Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass	Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass

BATTERY
Talk time	22.50 hours the average is 9 h (554 min)	11.00 hours the average is 9 h (554 min)	12.80 hours the average is 9 h (554 min)
Stand-by time	34.6 days (830 hours) the average is 19 days (464 h)	22.9 days (550 hours) the average is 19 days (464 h)	14.7 days (353 hours) the average is 19 days (464 h)
Talk time (3G)	11.60 hours the average is 8 h (483 min)
Stand-by time (3G)	32.1 days (770 hours) the average is 19 days (467 h)
Capacity	2100 mAh	2330 mAh	2020 mAh

HARDWARE
System chip	Samsung Exynos 4 (4412)	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064
Processor	Quad core, 1400 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9	Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait	Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait
Graphics processor	ARM Mali-400/MP4	Adreno 320	Adreno 320
System memory	1024 MB RAM (Dual-channel) / LPDDR2	2048 MB RAM (Dual-channel)	2048 MB RAM (Dual-channel, 533 MHz) / DDR2
Built-in storage	32 GB	16 GB	16 GB
Storage expansion	microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 64 GB	microSD, microSDHC up to 32 GB

CAMERA
Camera	8 megapixels, Immobile	13.1 megapixels, Immobile	8 megapixels, Immobile
Flash	LED	LED	LED
Aperture size	F2.6		F2.0
Focal length (35mm equivalent)			28mm
Features	Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), CMOS image sensor, Auto focus, Face detection, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Burst mode, Geo tagging, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Panorama, Scenes, Effects, Self-timer	Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), Auto focus, Touch to focus, Digital image stabilization, Face detection, Geo tagging, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Panorama, Scenes, Effects, Self-timer	Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), Auto focus, Face detection, Exposure compensation, White balance presets, Burst mode, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Panorama, Scenes
Camcorder	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps)	1920x1080 (1080p HD)	1920x1080 (1080p HD)
Features	Video calling, Digital image stabilization	Video calling	Video calling
Front-facing camera	1.9 megapixels	2.2 megapixels	2.1 megapixels
Video capture	1920x1080 (1080p HD)	1920x1080 (1080p HD)	1920x1080 (1080p HD)

TECHNOLOGY
CDMA			800, 1900 MHz
GSM	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
UMTS	850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz	850, 900, 2100 MHz	850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE		800 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz	700 MHz Class 17
Data	HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS	LTE, HSPA (unspecified), UMTS, EDGE, GPRS	LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s, LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s, HSPA (unspecified), UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, EV-DO Rev.A
Micro SIM	Yes		Yes
Global Roaming	Yes	Yes
Positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, E911
Navigation	Turn-by-turn navigation, Voice navigation, Points of interest (POI)	Yes	Turn-by-turn navigation

Sony Xperia Z price

2013-01-10T19:03:00.001-08:00

The Sony Xperia Z is a water and dust resistant cream of the crop smartphone that still manages to deliver outstanding design, and while we knew almost everything about, one thing remained a mystery - its price. Now, UK retailer Clove has finally shed light on the Xperia Z price and it will be £440 with no value-added tax and £528 with VAT included.

That’s roughly in line with the price of the Samsung Galaxy Note II at the carrier, so if we were to judge by this similarity, the Xperia Z should carry a similar price to the new Note in the States and Europe as well.

The release date is once again confirmed to be March 1st, and then you’d be able to purchase a black or white Xperia Z.

5” 1080 x 1920 full HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
13 MP Exmor RS rear camera, 2.2 megapixel front camera
Dust and water resistant (IP55 & IP57) with a durable glass display
Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core 1.5GHz processor
16GB internal memory, expandable via microSD
2GB RAM
4G LTE support

Samsung Galaxy S IV leaks out!!!

2013-01-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

The picture that you have been staring at on this page is said to be a leaked press shot of theSamsung Galaxy S IV, sent out by someone who is allegedly a Samsung insider. Design-wise, the phone does look very similar to the Samsung Galaxy S III, but you can see that there is no home button on the device meaning on-screen buttons will be seen with the next flagship Android handset from Samsung. Another thing that really stands out is the amazing diet that Mr. Bezel has gone on. That is one thin bezel and the large screen is about as edge-to-edge as it gets.

The rumored specs include the 4.99 inch Super AMOLED Full HD screen with 1080 x 1920 resolution which should provde a pixel density of around 441ppi. Under the hood is a powerful quad-core 2GHz Exynos 5450 processor with 2GB of RAM aboard. The Mali-T658 GPU crunches the graphics and the rear and front cameras weigh in at 13MP and 2MP respectively. Android 4.2.1 is pre-installed on the phone, right out of the box.

Belkin's wireless Wemo light switch

2013-01-10T02:37:00.000-08:00

Belkin is showing off the latest advancements in its Wemo Home Control system, a system that takes advantage of home Wi-Fi networks instead of proprietary communication protocols to make home automation simpler. For starters, the company is planning to release an Android app for devices running Ice Cream Sandwich or higher that will let people control their Wemo-connected appliances. There's also a new Wemo light switch, which is set to launch in the summer alongside the Android app — you can install it in place of a standard light switch and control it with Belkin's Wemo apps. Like other Wemo products, the new light switch can be controlled over Wi-Fi or mobile networks, and it appeared to work just as expected in the quick demo we got at Belkin's CEO booth.

Belkin also announced a new plan to integrate with home appliances from companies like Sunbeam, Crock-pot, Mr. Coffee, and Oster. These future devices will have Wemo built-in, so Belkin's remote will let you control them without having to plug into the Wemo outlet. Between these forthcoming products, Wemo's integration with IFTTT, and the upcoming Android app, Wemo should be even easier to integrate into consumers' homes.