News | Fone Arena - Part 2605

Carrier unlocking to be illegal in the United States starting January 26

It’s always hard to imagine how people are putting up with carrier restrictions in countries like the United States of America. While we Indians have been more than blessed with carrier independent phones from get go, it’s now apparently getting harder in the other side of the planet. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act(DMCA) had termed manual user level unlocking of phones illegal in October last year, but had provided a 90 day window for getting the phones unlocked. That 90 day window is getting over on January 26 this year, and from that day on, user unlocking of any phone will be termed illegal.

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Nokia Drive+ Beta now available for all Windows Phone 8 devices

Microsoft and Nokia has announced that Nokia Drive+ Beta would be available for all the Windows Phone 8 devices, apart from the existing Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices in select countries. The Nokia Drive+ navigation app was introduced along with the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 exclusively. Continue reading “Nokia Drive+ Beta now available for all Windows Phone 8 devices”

RIM launches BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

Research In Motion (RIM) has launched BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, Enterprise Mobility Management Solution that offers device management, security, and mobile applications management for BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry smartphones including the BlackBerry 10 smartphones. It also provides a single console for managing BlackBerry, Android and iOS devices. Continue reading “RIM launches BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10”

Apple reports $54.5 billion revenue in Q1 2013, 47.8 million iPhones, 22.9 million iPads sold

Apple has reported record quarterly revenue of $54.5 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, equivalent to $13.81 per diluted share in their earnings for the Q1 2013 that ended December 29, 2012. The company has reported 18% increase in revenue YoY. The international sales in this quarter is 61% of the quarter’s revenue. Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones, 22.9 million iPads, 12.7 million iPods and 4.1 million Macs during the quarter. Apple introduced the iPad mini and the new 4th generation iPad with A6X chip and lightning port in the last quarter. Continue reading “Apple reports $54.5 billion revenue in Q1 2013, 47.8 million iPhones, 22.9 million iPads sold”

Spice Stellar Virtuoso Mi495 review

The Spice Stellar Virtuoso Mi495 is the latest addition to the particularly hot category of entry level Android smartphones. With a large screen, good build quality and potent specifications, the phone brings a lot to the table. But is it sufficient to stand out from its competition ? Read on to find out.

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Lava Xolo A500 with 4-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 launched for Rs. 6999

Lava has launched the Xolo A500, new Android smartphone in the A series. The company launched the A800 and A700 few months back powered by dual-core MediaTek processor, but this has a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It comes with a 4-inch (480 × 800 pixels) display and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It has a 5MP rear camera with LED Flash and a 0.3MP front-facing camera for video calling. It has Dual SIM support similar to other Xolo A series smartphones. Continue reading “Lava Xolo A500 with 4-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 launched for Rs. 6999”

Nokia Lumia Your Wish is my App contest receives over 35,000 app ideas

Nokia India has announced that the Nokia Lumia Your Wish is my App contest has received over 35,000 app ideas across India. The contest saw several idea submissions around topics based on daily lives such as women security, productivity, grooming, food, health & well being, said Gerard Rego, Director – Developer Experience, Nokia India. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia Your Wish is my App contest receives over 35,000 app ideas”

Samsung Galaxy S2 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update starts rolling out

Samsung has started rolling out Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) update for the international version of the Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) starting from Spain. Samsung is rolling out the Android 4.1.2 update for the S2 directly, skipping the Android 4.1.1 that rolled out for the Galaxy S3 back in September starting from Poland, and rolled out in India in November. Android 4.1.2 update for the Galaxy S3 is yet to roll out in India. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S2 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update starts rolling out”

Mozilla unveils new Firefox OS developer preview phones – Keon and Peak

Mozilla just unveiled the first Firefox OS developer preview devices, Keon and Peak, that were developed in partnership with Geeksphone. The Firefox OS has been around for a while in beta form since its announcement way back in 2011. The Firefox OS is a HTML5 based mobile operating system which is entirely open source and accomplishes complete hardware control for HTML5 apps on phone. The UI was revealed last year and it received a lukewarm response. Adding to the growing list of open source operating systems on phones, Firefox has now taken the next step by launching developer preview devices which will mean that they are serious about the most important aspect of a smartphone, apps.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 image surface, confirmed for MWC

First image of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 has surfaced online, specifications of the Note 8.0 (GT-N5100) surfaced last week. Samsung CEO JK Shin confirmed the Galaxy Note 8.0 for MWC 2013 unveiling yesterday. According to this image, Note 8.0 looks like an enlarged version of the Galaxy S3, which differs from the design of the Galaxy Note 10.1. It would include the S Pen stylus support similar to the Galaxy Note 10.1 (Note 800) and would also have a ear piece for voice calling, similar to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (Tab 2 310). Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 image surface, confirmed for MWC”

BlackBerry World Conference renamed as BlackBerry Live

RIM has announced that the BlackBerry World conference would be renamed as BlackBerry Live from this year. At the BlackBerry Jam Asia last November, RIM announced that the BlackBerry App World application marketplace would be rebranded to the BlackBerry World, which had seen the transition starting from yesterday with Videos and Music expected soon. Continue reading “BlackBerry World Conference renamed as BlackBerry Live”

LG Optimus G global roll out starts this month, launching in over 50 countries

LG has announced that the Optimus G would be rolled out in over 50 countries starting this month. The LG Optimus G was announced back in August, which went on sale in Korea in September 2012, and also launched in United States, Canada and Japan last year. The LG Optimus G Pro, successor of the Optimus G was announced in Japan earlier today, but no details about the global launch for that device yet. Continue reading “LG Optimus G global roll out starts this month, launching in over 50 countries”

Byond launches B51 and B54 Dual SIM Android phones

Byond Tech has launched B51 and B54 Dual SIM Android phones powered by a 1GHz processor. The Byond B51 comes with a 3.5-inch (320 x 480 Pixels) capacitive touch screen, while the Byond B54 has a 4.0-inch (480 x 800 Pixels) capacitive touch screen display. These run on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Both these phones have a 3MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. The Byond B54 comes with 4 GB Memory Card with pre-loaded content. Byond Tech launched the B63 with a 4.3-inch qHD screen and Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) last week. Continue reading “Byond launches B51 and B54 Dual SIM Android phones”

Samsung to offer free flip cover, 2GB data and more with Galaxy Grand

Samsung launched the Galaxy Grand (GT-I9082) in India today at Rs. 21,500 (MRP). At the launch event, Samsung announced that the Grand would come with Premium Flip Cover in the box and 2GB free data per month for Vodafone customers, valid for 2 months from the date of activation as an introductory offer. Consumers who purchase the phone can also download Music and Stream Movies through ‘My Series’ which has range of services including myMovies, myMusic , myMobileTV , myStation, myReader and myEducation. Continue reading “Samsung to offer free flip cover, 2GB data and more with Galaxy Grand”

Samsung Galaxy Grand with 5 inch display, Dual SIM and Android 4.1 JellyBean launched at Rs.21500

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Grand in India at a launch event in Delhi. The Galaxy Grand packs a really big 5 inch display and is powered by a 1.2 GHz Dual Core Processor. If you notice in the above photo , you can find the Duos branding on the top right of the phone which is found on Samsung’s Dual SIM devices. The Galaxy Grand does offer Dual SIM functionality and Samsung is calling it Smart Dual SIM. The Galaxy Grand has been priced at Rs.21500 MRP

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