There have been strong indications that Apple is moving to a smaller dock connector on the next iPhone. Alongside various leaks showing parts of the phone, we now have a photograph of what is believed to be the USB cable of the next generation device. The USB cable comes with said smaller dock connector.
Continue reading “iPhone 5 dock cable with smaller connector spotted”
SamMobile reports that Samsung will not be launching any new Bada phones in the second half of 2012. The popular manufacturer intends to focus more on Windows Phone 8 alongside its staple Android devices. Bada Phones were last shown by the Korean manufacturer at IFA 2011 in Berlin.
Continue reading “No more Bada phones, Samsung to increase focus on Android, Windows Phone 8”
ZTE, one of the two major Chinese handset vendors, the other being Huawei, is well known for making budget Android phones. The “Blade”, which first launched in September 2010 in the UK as the “Orange San Francisco“, proved to be a smash hit because it offered people the full Android experience for less than 100 British pounds. About a year later the “Blade II” came out, offering a faster processor and a newer version (2.3 Gingerbread) of Android. Now as far as we know ZTE has yet to annonce the “Blade III”, which is why this writer was a bit shocked to see it on his local electronics dealer’s website. Assuming the specifications are correct, it’s basically the “Blade II”, but with a cleaner design, Android 4.0 on-board, and luckily the same budget price. Some quick Googling reveals that sites in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark list the “Blade III” as having a 4 inch screen, which goes against the claimed 3.5 inches on the Finnish website. It should also be noted that the Finnish website lists Samsung as the manufacturer of the “Blade III”, so believe who you want to believe. Continue reading “Is this the yet to be announced ZTE Blade III?”
Skype for iPhone and iPad has been updated to version 4.1 that brings new features such as Photo Sharing and visual improvements. There is no file size limit for sharing photos, so you can share high-res photos easily. The previous Skype 4.0 update in May brought new features. Continue reading “Skype for iPhone and iPad v4.1 update brings Photo Sharing and improvements”
MTS has launched 3 new Android phones MTag 351, MTS MTag 352 and MTS MTag 281 that comes bundled with Unlimited data plans and unlimited on-net (MTS to MTS) local calls for 3 months. All these phones are powered by 800 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 Processor and run on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). These support CDMA network with EVDO data speeds up to 3.1 Mbps. Continue reading “MTS launches MTag 351, MTag 352 and MTag 281 Android phones with bundled offers”
Acer has announced 2 new phones, Liquid Gallant and Liquid Gallant Duo. The Liquid Gallant is Single SIM and Liquid Gallant Duo is a Dual-SIM variant that share similar specs. The Liquid Gallant Duo was spotted at Expansys last month at a price of 149 GBP (US$230) but later removed. These phones come with a 4.3-inch (960×540) display, 1GHz processor and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It has 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash. These phones have power button on the back of the phone to access it comfortably. Continue reading “Acer Liquid Gallant and Liquid Gallant Duo with 4.3-inch display, Android 4.0 announced”
MTS has launched new voice and data offers for this Onam for their customers in the Kerala just like last year. These includes, free talk time on purchase of MTS color handset and free internet usage with MTS MBlaze data card for both the MTS pre-paid and post-paid customers in Kerala. Continue reading “MTS launches Special Onam Voice and Data offers for Kerala customers”
When Samsung announced the Galaxy S III in May, the company showed off two color variants. One called “Marble White”, the other called “Pebble Blue”. All of us wondered whether or not we’d see some more choice, and it wasn’t too long until the American operator AT&T announced they’d be offering it in “Garnet Red”. Which leads us to yet another question: Would the rest of the world get a chance to own the scarlet version of the latest Galaxy? Earlier today this writer checked the website of his local consumer electronics store and noticed that the red Samsung Galaxy S III was available for preorder. After a quick Google search, this writer also discovered that the German website Areamobile wrote an article today saying that O2 would begin offering the red Galaxy S III in Germany next month. So it’s safe to say that yes, the red version of Samsung’s 2012 flagship device will be available outside the United States.
We should also note that there’s another color variant due to be launched shortly, one that should appeal to a more conservative audience: black. Images of the black Galaxy S III have been leaked thanks to TechnoBuffalo, and we hate to tell you this, but it’s damn near the shiniest mobile phone we’ve ever seen. We wish companies would offer their customers a choice of matte colors, but it’s starting to look like he who makes the flashiest phone wins.
On the other side of the coin, we’re happy that Samsung is joining Nokia in exploring the use of additional colors. Nokia’s 808 PureView had a red option, and let’s not forget about the incredibly handsome blue Lumia 800. Are more handset vendors going to open up to exanding their selection of hues?
Time will tell.
Sony has officially launched the Xperia ion, their new smartphone in the Xperia line-up. It comes with 500MB of free 3G data per month for 3 months and 200 minutes of Mobile TV (through appXtra application) for a period of 2 months. This offer is valid till 30th Nov 2012. It went on sale from online retailer in India earlier this month. It has 4.55-inch (1280 x 720 pixels ) HD Reality display and comes with 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. It runs on run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Continue reading “Sony Xperia ion officially launched in India for Rs. 36,999”
Handset manufacturers have traditionally been quite averse to bootloader unlocking but efforts have been made by certain manufacturers to support the developer community. Joining the bandwagon is Motorola who are going to provide an officially sanctioned bootloader unlock on their devices akin to HTC Dev.
Continue reading “Motorola enables bootloader unlocking for selected devices”
Apple gets a lot of heat for coming out with just one phone every 12 months, but it’s a strategy that has served them well when it comes to offering customers a portfolio of devices. If money is no object, simply buy the newest iPhone. If you want a “midrange” iPhone, get last year’s model. And if you’re really broke, but still want in on some iOS action, buy the two year old iPhone. Samsung is roughly doing the same thing with the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy S II. The former retails for roughly 550 Euros depending on which country you’re in, while the latter is nearly 200 Euros cheaper.
Rumor has it that during the fourth quarter of this year Samsung is going to release two devices that will further expand the Galaxy S family of smartphones. First up is the Galaxy S II Plus. As you can see from the photos above, it’s basically the Galaxy S III from the front, but with that famous Galaxy S II bump on the back. Spec wise you can expect a 1.5 GHz dual core Exynos chip, 1 GB of RAM, 4.5 inch screen, and an 8 megapixel camera. If we had to make a bet, we’d say that the 1.5 GHz chip inside is the new 32 nanometer Exynos 4 Dual, which is essentially a shrunken down and overclocked version of the 45 nanometer Exynos 4 Dual that was in the Galaxy S II.
Next up is the Galaxy S III Mini. We don’t have any photos of the device, but here’s the alleged spec sheet: dual core processor, 5 megapixel camera, 4 inch screen. According to The Droid Guy, the Galaxy S III Mini will cost roughly $200 while the Galaxy S II Plus will cost around $350.
We should know more about these devices, should they even exist, in a couple of months.
Sony announced back-illuminated stacked 8MP and 13MP CMOS image sensors for smartphones and tablets back in January. Now they have announced that they would start shipping these starting from October 2012. The IMX135 type 1/3.06 model with 13.13 effective mega pixels and the IMX134 type 1/4 model with 8.08 effective mega pixels would feature RGBW coding function and HDR (High Dynamic Range) movie function. Continue reading “Sony to ship Exmor RS CMOS image sensors for Smartphones and Tablets starting from October”
Galatta cinema news app is now available for BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices as they promised last month. This app offers latest news about movies, music, movie stars and much more in the Indian movie world including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. It also offers news from Hollywood movie industry. Continue reading “Galatta cinema news app now available for BlackBerry and Windows Phone”
A few months back Nokia launched its next generation line of accessories a highlight of which was the Luna headset. The tiny little bluetooth headset is available in a wide range of colors to match your handset or personality.
Finally we got a chance to get our hands on the NFC enabled headset. Read on for a quick review of the BH-220 headset. Continue reading “Nokia Luna Headset Review”
Nokia launched an amazing phone last year called the N9. It ran a Linux based operating system called MeeGo, it didn’t have any front facing buttons, it had a perfectly sized 3.9 inch screen, and the press absolutely fell in love it. So much so that Stephen Elop decided to kill the N9 shortly after it shipped because he wanted the world to pay attention to the company’s Windows Phone lineup. In fact, the Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 are basically the N9, but with Microsoft’s software on-board.
Since MeeGo was effectively killed, those who worked on the OS had a tough decision to make: Keep working for Nokia, but on projects they really couldn’t care less about, or leave the company and try to start their own thing. This is how Jolla was born. The company is based in Helsinki, has roughly 50 employees, and their goal is to announce a phone by the end of this year. Last month I sat down with the CEO, Jussi Hurmola, and had a 20 minute chat with him. You can listen to or read that interview here.
One of the questions I asked him then and the question that’s been on everyone’s mind since is how will Jolla be competitive without an app ecosystem? According to Arctic Startup, who quotes the Finnish publication 3T, Jolla’s CEO says that his OS will run HTML5 apps, Qt apps, and something that hasn’t been confirmed until today: Android applications. This will be enabled via a software project called ACL (application compatibility layer).
And the news doesn’t stop there. Jolla’s CEO has also confirmed that their first phone will have a 3.5 inch screen. Is that a dangerous thing to do in today’s market? Maybe, but Jolla is crazy enough that it might just work!
[Image Credit: Screenshot from this video]
Update 2: Jolla has unveiled their first device running Sailfish OS.
Update: Arctic Startup now says the phone will have a screen larger than 3.5 inches. Before they reported that it would be exactly 3.5 inches.
