June 20, 2013
Sony’s upcoming phablet ‘Yuga’ may be its next flagship device
With a plethora of phablet releases in the last few weeks, Sony seems to have decided that it will not be left behind in the race. Specs have been leaked for a new upcoming phablet device on Sony’s User-Agent profile, according to sources.
The phablet’s name is not clear as yet and is being recognized by model numbers C6502, C6503, C6506 and C660X and codename Odin. Also known as Yuga, the device is rumoured to feature a 5.0-inch Full HD touchscreen display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
The device is said to run a Quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with a possible clock-rate of 1.5GHz. 2GB of RAM will also be part of the chip while the phablet will be powered by Google’s latest operating system Android Jelly Bean.
GSMArena reports:
Given the massive amount of pixels involved though, it is highly unlikely that the unit will be sized below 5″. A recent announcement from Japan Display Inc. regarding the start of mass production of 5″ TFT-LCD IPS display modules with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution and pixel density of 443ppi points in this direction.
There is no official confirmation from Sony so far, but the rumoured flagship is expected to be announced early next year.
Source: GSMArena | IntoMobile
HTC J Butterfly (a.k.a HTC DLX) announced in Japan, phablet comes with 5.0-inch Full HD display
HTC has officially announced its much rumoured phablet HTC J Butterfly in Japan. The device was previously being referred to as HTC DLX or HTC One X 5.
The phablet was widely speculated-about in the last few weeks. We reported earlier that its rumoured name – HTC DLX, could just be a pre-release codename and it now seems that it was indeed the case as the device was showcased at a press event by HTC in Tokyo and unveiled as J Butterfly. The name seems to be inspired by its very distinct colour combination schemes especially for red and black model.
HTC J Butterfly builds on its predecessor’s specs. The 4.3-inch of previous HTC J model has been replaced with an all-new 5.0-inch Super LCD3 HD touchscreen panel with a high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and an incredible pixel density of 440 ppi. With this addition HTC lands itself into the growing phablet market.
The device features a 1.5GHz Quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, the latest by Google. It comes with a huge 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory. Other key specs include – 8MP primary Full HD camera, 2MP front camera, LTE connectivity, NFC, IPX5 rating and a 2020mAh battery.
HTC J Butterfly is expected to be launched by the end of the year.
Source: TechCrunch
Huawei Ascend W1 specs leaked out, smartphone to run Windows Phone 8
Looks like Windows Phone 8 party is getting bigger and better. Chinese company Huawei is the latest mobile manufacturer to jump on the WP8 bandwagon with an upcoming Ascend series smartphone.
The smartphone is known as Huawei Ascend W1, pictures for which have been leaked on the internet along with some very juicy specs. The details, as expected, have come from a Chinese source. According to the source, the smartphone will run on a 1.2GHz Dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor on a Qualcomm chipset. The chip’s architecture will include a 400MHz graphics unit and 512MB RAM.
Huawei Ascend W1 is rumoured to come with 4GB of internal memory, however it is still unclear if there will be a microSD card slot for memory extension. As far as overall design is concerned, it is a rectangular bar-form device featuring a 4.0-inch WVGA touchscreen.
Commenting on the size of the screen, TheDroidGuy observed:
Basically, it is one of the few Windows Phone 8 devices to come in smaller size.
This indicates that Huawei Ascend W1 could be an entry-level Windows Phone 8 device, which may actually turn out to be a pretty smart move by Huawei, since phones announced by HTC, Samsung and Nokia are all flagship WP8 smartphones.
Some sources are claiming that a 5MP primary camera will be on board as well, but this could not be confirmed by either TheDroidGuy or the Chinese tipster.
It added:
Luckily, owners of this device won’t have to recharge it every 4 or 5 hours. With a battery having 2000mAh power, Ascend W1 could reach up to 10 hours of straight usage…
Last month Huawei’s chairman of devices, Yu Chengdong (Richard Yu) dropped a hint on popular Chinese blog Weibo about Huawei releasing Ascend W1 soon after WP8 launch.
Source: TheDroidGuy
Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 8 on October 29 2012
The wait is finally coming to an end as we are less than two weeks away from the official launch of Microsoft’s much awaited new mobile operating system Windows Phone 8.
The new operating system boasts a lot of really cool features including an all-new start screen that was featured during the launch ceremonies for the next generation Nokia Lumia smartphones Lumia 920 and Lumia 820. The OS also introduces support for multi-core processors, something which its predecessor was not built to provide. This essentially means that we’ll be seeing a lot many WP8 based dual-core and quad-core phones in the next few months.
You can read more here about some key features for Windows Phone 8 previewed by Microsoft at the joint Nokia-Microsoft event in New York last month.
Microsoft has already sent out invitations for an October 29 launch event that will be held in the United Kingdom. The invites read “Meet Windows Phone 8″.
Commenting about the event, PCAuthority wrote:
Also scheduled that day is another Microsoft event in the US.
It further added:
… the 4G-enabled Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 may be shown off alongside other details of Microsoft’s high-speed mobile broadband strategy.
In addition to Nokia, Samsung and HTC will also be releasing their Windows Phone 8 handsets soon afterwards.
Source: PCAuthority
Google Play Magazines launched in Australia
Internet giant Google has officially launched its new service Magazines on Google Play in Australia. The new service aims to bring users’ favourite magazines right to their Android devices.
Magazines on Google Play is a service for all Android platforms that provides digital versions of the best magazines in the world. Google actively pursues top publishers and has entered into contractual agreements with them to get the latest publications off the shelf and bring them to users online where they can enjoy all the news, reviews and gossip on their mobile devices.
Commenting about Google Play Magazines in Australia, PCAuthority wrote:
Titles are available from major Australian publishers such as Haymarket Media, ACP Magazines and Pacific Magazines, as well as from numerous publishers overseas, and you can buy magazines per issue or on a subscription basis.
These digital magazines can easily be read on a variety of Android smartphones as well as tablets. All users need to do is download and install Google Play Magazines app. The app offers customizable features such as text mode, interactive mode with videos and slideshows and much more. Once setup, users can then select and subscribe to their favourite magazines in an independent magazine database section on Google Play. Furthermore, users can also read these magazines on their desktop or laptop computers using Web Reader in Google Chrome browser.
Source: PCAuthority
BlackBerry Aristo and BlackBerry Laguna specs surface, both to feature new BlackBerry 10 OS
With the final quarter of 2012 in progress, more and more specs are being leaked for upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS based smartphones. The latest two being BlackBerry Aristo and BlackBerry Laguna.
The first one is BlackBerry Aristo, which, judging by the specs, seems to be a potential flagship smartphone for the Canadian handset manufacturer RIM. The sleek 8.85mm thin phone is said to operate on a powerful 1.5GHz Quad-core Snapdragon processor made by Qualcomm. The chip will include a sizable RAM of 2GB. The phone will come with a 4.65-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, the biggest by BlackBerry thus far.
Other expected features of the phone include – Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, 8.0 Megapixel Full HD primary camera, 2.0 Megapixel front HD camera, microUSB, microHDMI, 16GB internal storage, microSD card slot and 2800mAh battery.
The second BlackBerry 10 smartphone is being called BlackBerry Laguna. The L-series phone will come with a 4.2-inch touchscreen having a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels and a pixel density of 355ppi. It will also run a Qualcomm processor with Dual-core clock rate of 1.5GHz and 1GB RAM. Other key specs of the device include – Wi-Fi direct, NFC, LTE support, 8.0 Megapixels Full HD primary camera, 16GB of internal memory, microSD card slot and an 1800mAh battery.
The smartphones are expected for release in the first quarter of 2013, after BlackBerry 10 OS is officially introduced by RIM.
Samsung expected to unveil Galaxy S3 Mini today
Samsung is hosting a media event in Germany today and it is almost certain that it will unveil the smaller version of its current flagship smartphone Galaxy S3.
A week earlier, Samsung sent out limited invites to the German media for a press conference, but no information was given regarding the agenda of the event. Only yesterday, Samsung’s chief JK Shin was reported to have confirmed that Samsung will be introducing the Galaxy S3 Mini on October 11, 2012.
CNET quoted Shin as saying:
There’s a lot of demand for a 4-inch screen device in Europe. Some may call it an entry-level device, but we call it ‘mini’.
The statement clearly indicates the size of its touchscreen display which is said to use the Super AMOLED technology. Although, it is smaller than the 4.8-inch screen of Galaxy S3, 4.0-inch is – by no means – entry level. Even Apple’s latest iPhone 5 provides a 4.0-inch screen.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is said to feature a 1GHz Dual-core processor and will come with Google’s latest version of Android OS v4.1 (Jelly Bean), which is a huge plus since the original Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with Android OS v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) pre-installed.
It is expected that Galaxy S3 Mini will have the same 1GB RAM as provided in its elder sibling. The phone will offer 16GB of internal memory with a microSD memory card slot for memory extension up to 32GB. It is also likely that the device will be NFC-enabled to make sharing simple. Other features of the upcoming smartphone will include – 5.0 Megapixel primary camera, 800 x 400 pixels screen resolution and 1500mAh battery.
Do you think the Galaxy S3 Mini can give iPhone 5 a run for its money?
HTC DLX specs leaked, phablet to feature Quad-core chip and Android Jelly Bean OS
Details regarding an upcoming phablet from HTC have been leaked over an anonymous Twitter account that has proved to be a dependable source in the past.
For the time being the rumoured device is being called HTC DLX, which could be a pre-release codename. It is poised to herald HTC’s foray into the phablet market as HTC’s flagship phone. HTC DLX will come with a big 5.0-inch Full HD 1080p touchscreen display. The resolution of the screen is likely to be 1920 x 1080 pixels with a high 480 ppi pixel density, which means that all images and movies will be displayed in vivid detail.
HTC DLX is expected to feature a powerful Quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor on a Qualcomm chipset along with 1.5GB RAM and will be powered by Google’s latest version of Android Jelly Bean operating system. According to the specs leaked on Twitter, the version is said to be v4.1.2.
The device is also rumoured to sport a 12.0 Megapixel primary camera. Other specs likely to make it to the final product include 16GB internal memory, 2.0 Megapixel front camera and a non remvable 2500mAh battery. Some other sources are also claiming the inclusion of NFC and Adreno 320 graphics processing unit.
Source: @Football4PDA via AndroidAuthority
LG to manufacture Google’s next Nexus smartphone, Quad-core processor on the cards
According to reports, Google is collaborating with LG to bring the next Nexus smartphone to the market. It is very likely that the new Nexus phone will come with a Quad-core chip for the first time.
The phone is being called LG Optimus G Nexus for now. PCAdvisor has revealed some key specs ahead of its official introduction. According to the information made available, the phone is expected to feature a powerful Snapdragon S4 processor on a Quad-core chipset. This is a huge leap from previous Galaxy Nexus models which operate on Dual-core processors. It is also likely that the device will provide 2GB of RAM.
LG Optimus G Nexus will model a True HD IPS capacitive touchscreen with a screen resolution of 1280x 768 pixels. Although, no information is available as yet regarding the size of its screen, it is believed that the 4.65-inch screen size of the current Google Nexus phone will be maintained.
The phone will also introduce Google’s latest v4.2 of Android Jelly Bean operating system. As for internal memory, the phone may come with 8GB and/or 16GB versions, but there will be no support for an external memory card. An 8.0 Megapixel primary autofocus camera with HD recording capability will be available as well. Other key features will include – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, front camera and wireless charging.
Regarding the launch date for LG Optimus G Nexus, PCAdvisor wrote:
Reports suggest it will be revealed at the end of the month or possibly in November.
Source: PCAdvisor
Study reveals BlackBerry PlayBook safest tablet for mobile computing
A new study from a UK based holistic security services company has revealed that RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is among the safest and most secure tablets available for mobile computing and data protection.
Context Information Security disclosed a detailed report explaining about data security offered by popular tablets. They concluded that BlackBerry PlayBook is the best tablet when it comes to protecting corporate data. This should come as a welcome relief to RIM, which has historically prided itself as the best in enterprise-level data security through BlackBerry phones.
According to the report, titled “A Hard Pill to Swallow?”, BlackBerry PlayBook was the sole tablet among competitors iPad and Galaxy Tab, that made it impossible to acquire privileged access. The other tablets had loopholes with untethered jailbreaks and were compromised. Furthermore, during CIS’s testing, PlayBook successfully blocked all attempts to intrude software updates. Its bridge software to connect to BlackBerry phone stores data in a work file, encrypts it using Bridge work key, which is stored in RAM. When the connection between devices is closed, the key is deleted and no decryption is possible.
The report read:
The BlackBerry PlayBook was found to be far more advanced in its level of readiness for the Bring Your Own Device era than either of the other two tablets. The Balance architecture, in combination with the Bridge application, appears to provide excellent logical and data separation between work and personal modes.
BlackBerry PlayBook is a compact yet powerful 7.0-inch tablet. It operates on a 1GHz Dual-core processor along with 1GB RAM and is powered by BlackBerry Tablet OS. The device sports 5.0 Megapixel primary and 3.0 Megapixel front HD cameras. It offers HDMI support to stream multimedia from the tablet to any digital TV. Other key features include Wi-Fi connectivity, HTML5 & Adobe Flash support and a huge 64GB internal memory.
Source: ContextInformationSecurity via TechNewsDaily
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