Following the Xperia Z smartphone, Sony had announced that developers would be able to unlock and install custom ROMs on the Xperia Tablet Z. CynogenMod, known for its custom ROMs, have released a test build of its CynogenMod 10.1 ROM which is reported to be working fine without any major bugs. The nighty builds (updated almost every day) would also be released soon. Note that the Tablet Z does not come unlocked out-of-the-box and needs unlocking through Sony’s Portal which would void the device’s warranty.

via [UberGizmo]

If you have read about or seen a super computer, you would know that they use a liquid circuit as coolers for the heat generated from their processors. But liquid cooling on a smartphone? The NEC Medias X 06E is the first one to do so.

The Medias X 06E uses a liquid cooling circuit (see diagram in video below) behind the screen and around the processor. It transfers heat away from the processor through repeated evaporation and condensation.

The phone also has some impressive specs to boast of like 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, 4.7-inch OLED screen and a impressive 13.1 megapixel camera. It would be available in Japan sometime in June.

Do you believe liquid cooling on a smartphone is an overdo or the next essential feature with increasing Gigahertz in smartphones? Tell us in the comments.

via [Mashable]

Micromax Canvas A111 did appear in some leaked shots a few days back but since had been under the covers. Still unannounced, but the phone has gone on sale for INR 12999 on Snapdeal. Here is our quick take if its worth the tag.

Now called the Micromax Canvas Doodle, the A111 looks like Micromax’s take on the Samsung Note series. The phone sports a stylus but there isn’t much info available on what ‘more’ it does (except being an alternative to finger touch) or where it fits on the phone or if it has any dedicated software. Unfortunately, all that is known of the stylus is the picture above.

On the specs sheet though, the phone looks like an upgrade to Micromax Canvas 2. It sports a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 5.3 inch qHD display and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS out of the box. The rear snapper is 8MP and the front is a 0.3MP. Of the 4GB ROM, 1.22 GB is available which can be further expanded upto 32GB through a microSD card. The dual-sim GSM phone has all standard connectivity options. The only disappointing feature on the spec sheet is 512MB RAM which could have been bettered to atleast 1GB.

At INR 12999, Micromax Canvas Doodle is a good mid-range phone that comes with a free stylus

While many might have buried their desire of owning the LG Nexus 4 or fulfilled it through other means like ebay or getting it from US, a considerable number of Android fanboys still await its launch in India.

We might have heard this before and we are hearing it yet again but with more details this time, that the Nexus 4 is finally coming to India in May. With its recent Pakistan launch, the word around tech lanes is that the Nexus 4 would soon cross border. Also, the phone now has a speculated price tag of Rs.25,000 for the 16GB version.

Google is rumored to unveil the Nexus 5 or an upgraded version of Nexus 4 at the Google I/O this month. Are you still waiting for the Nexus 4 or have you moved on to other options. Also, if its launched finally, would you grab it or now wait for the next Nexus? Tell us in the comments.

In a quest for larger displays, looks like Samsung just forgot where to stop. After 5.5 incher Galaxy Note I and II, Samsung is taking the phablet devices to a larger screen size.

Rumored for quite some time, the Galaxy Mega series finally got the official word. Samsung announced the ridiculously larger or as BGR.in calls it “larger-than-your-dead” devices yesterday. The first of the two called the Galaxy Mega 5.8 sports a 5.8″ qHD display while the latter 6.3 incher HD displayed is called Galaxy Mega 6.3.

Both the devices would run on Android 4.2 and take power from a dual-core processor and 1.5GB of RAM. Both sport an 8 megapixel snapper on the rear and a 1.9 megapixel snapper up front.

The Mega series doesn’t come as a competition to any phones available in the market or any other Samsung phone. But it does bring the ‘branded’ devices in phone sizes currently made available only by cheap Chinese makers.

via [BGR.in]

With the Galaxy S4 now official, its time we get a sneek peek at the next wave of Samsung devices in the form of rumors, leaked images and speculations. And what better way to begin than the Galaxy S4 mini.

Spotted by Sammobile, the images of what appear to be a smaller version of Galaxy S4 have been posted by twitter user Ermek. Reported to be sporting a 4.3″ Super AMOLED qHD display, 1.6GHz dual-core processor and Android 4.2.2, the S4 mini is expected to be launched in June / July.

This is not the first time the Galaxy s4 mini has surfaced in rumors. Earlier, under details leaked of Sammy’s Project J, there were reports of a Galaxy S4 mini in the making. A dual-SIM version is also in news which would be named Galaxy S4 mini Duos.

BlackBerry‘s flagship device the Z10  is now available on AT&T in the US. The runs RIM’s latest BlackBerry 10 operating system and features a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 4.2″ 1280X768 resolution display, 8 MegaPixel camera and 16GB of internal memory plus microSD expansion.

BlackBerry announced at midnight the availability of the Z10 on BestBuy stores through its official twitter account. The phone would cost $199 with a two-year contract.

The Z10 would also be available on T-Mobile and Verizon sometime in April. A BlackBerry OS 10 device with physical QWERTY Q10 is also rumored to be headed to Sprint sometime this year.

Lava’s Xolo brand is expanding its wings by adding new phones almost every week. The latest being Xolo B700, a budget Android phone with 1GHz dual-core processor, 4.3″ IPS display and 3450 mAh battery. The phone is priced at Rs. 8,999 and is available at online retailer Flipkart.

Other specifications of the phone include Android 4.0 ICS, 4GB internal memory with microSD expansion upto 32GB, 5MP rear snapper and 0.3 MP snapper at the front. Connectivity options include the usual Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, GPS and microUSB PC connectivity and charging.

Xolo is Lava’s first phone in the ‘B’ series while earlier it has ‘X’, ‘Z’ and ‘A’ series. We are sure Lava would introduce more of the ‘B’ series (or what we suppose is the ‘Budget’ series) phones in coming weeks.

After a plethora of rumors, speculations and leaks Samsung finally unveiled the Galaxy S IV and in no time looks to position it on top of best smartphones in 2013. On the spec sheet, it sure is.

The 5 incher has an incredibly high resolution of 1920×1080 and at a pixel density of 441 ppi the Full HD Super AMOLED looks acutely sharp. With the S IV’s bezel occupying very little space, it is touted to be the most handy 5 inch phone yet.

On the inside is 2GB of RAM, 13 Mega Pixel camera, a 2MP front camera, 2600 mAh battery and micro SD support along with 16, 32 and 64GB internal memory variants. Sammy is still keeping mum on the processor and says it would be change according to regional versions. But it is broadly believed to be an 8-core processor for non-US versions and 4-core Snapdragon in the US.

On the software front, it would run Android Jelly Bean with latest version of Touch Wiz UI on top. Samsung has added numerous features which mostly try to differentiate the S IV from other Android offerings than being actually useful to the end user.

These include the Smart Scroll which earlier was rumored to be a eye tracking scroll, but the user actually needs to tilt the phone forward or backward to scroll up or down the pages. Smart Pause pauses video as soon you look away and resumes play when you look back at the phone.  S Health is a health tracker which tracks your steps, stairs climbed, temperature and humidity. Air View comes from the Note II where it shows previews of pictures, email, texts etc as you hover over them. S Translator is a translation service that does text and voice translations in various languages. Group Play allows sharing files and playing upto 8 multiplayer games over NFC.

Overall, Galaxy S IV is a full blown packaged offering. S IV’s success still rests on how it prices the device as the rivals HTC and LG are already up with similar offering and might cut prices as soon as Sammy announces the pricing. The Samsung Galaxy S IV is expected to hit the shelves sometime in Q2 of this year.

MWC might be over but Huawei isn’t done yet. After announcing the Ascend D2 at MWC, looks like Huawei left some window open for the Ascend G710 to peep out and drop some Pictures at the gates of infamous Evleaks.

Ascend G710 would be a mid-range 5 incher sporting a 720p resolution and powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor. No details of any other specs or the pricing and availability are known yet. From the pictures though, the Ascend G710 shows capacitive buttons at the bottom and a premium metallic finish at the back. We’ll keep you posted as G710 peeks out through some window again or when Huawei drops some official word.

via [Engadget]