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Motorola launched the Dual SIM variant of the Moto G in Malaysia, Australia and some Asian countries last month, before launching it in India yesterday. The Android 4.4.2 update was first released for the single SIM US variant first, back in December and it started rolling out in Europe, again for the single SIM variant last month. Now the dual SIM version of the Moto G has received the KitKat update in Malaysia and Taiwan.
At the launch Motorola has promised that the Indian dual SIM variant would get the KitKat update in coming weeks. This update brings new phone dialer, printing, Android KitKat features such as restyled status and navigation bars, full-screen mode, color emoji, smarter power use, new camera features, including the most expected manual focus and exposure control and more.
Check out complete changelog of the update below.
Android 4.4, KitKat – Enhancements such as restyled status and navigation bars, a new full-screen mode, color emoji support, improved closed captioning support, stronger security, smarter power use, and more tools and capabilities for better app development.
Phone dialer – Improved phone app with the ability to look up contacts directly from the dial pad, see and tap frequent contacts, and search your corporate directory easily.
Camera – ...
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Mozilla showed off Firefox Launcher for Android, the company's upcoming launcher at the InContext Conference in San Francisco yesterday. This is a has a contextual mobile interface and uses EverythingMe's contextual adaptive app search for a personalized and customizable Web experience.
Firefox invested in Everything.me, a Israeli-based contextual computing startup back in 2012. The company launched EverythingMe Launcher in 2013, which got updated to version 2.0 recently, that brought Smart Folders with predication and more new features. Looks like the upcoming Firefox launcher would be based on the EverythingMe Launcher.
Regarding the upcoming launcher Firefox said,
We’re working together to deliver the best mobile Web experience to people everywhere – regardless of location, platform or device. We are happy to expand our work together with this new product to give people more smart, easy and innovative ways to personalize their Web experience and meet their needs in any context. Firefox Launcher for Android makes it easy to discover the content you want in any moment and is optimized for the way you use your phone.
Beta testing for the Firefox Launcher would soon, and we will let you know once the app is available.
BlackBerry has updatedthe BBM app for Android and iPhone with new Find Friends feature that lets you add people you know who are using BBM. This detects which contacts in your smartphone’s contact list are already using BBM, so that you quickly send then an invite.
You can also invite contacts that are not available on BBM, to download the app with an email or SMS invite. Last month's BBM Beta update for Android brings BBM Voice and Channels. BlackBerry already promised that it would bring BBM Voice for Android and iOS this month in the BBM 2.0 update.
BlackBerry did not confirm if it would roll out the BBM 2.0 update for both the platforms with this month, but the voice features are likely to roll out later this month. Video feature would be available soon. The new update for iPhone is now live, and the Android app would get the update later this week.
About 8 months after the Q1000 launch, Xolo is all set to launch the Q1010. The phone has been listed on Flipkart and has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display at 295 PPI, but the MT6589 processor has been replaced by 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor. It runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, BSI sensor and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The design of the phone reminds us of the Q2000. It has dual SIM support with dual standby and packs a 2250 mAh battery.
Xolo Q1010 specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display at 295 PPI
1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor with 500 MHz Mali 400MP2 GPU
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
8MP rear camera with LED Flash, BSI sensor
2MP front-facing camera
8.3 mm thick
3.5mm audio jack
Full HD 1080p video playback
1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
3G (HSDPA: 21 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, USB OTG
2250 mAh battery
Xolo Q1010 comes in Black color. The listing says coming soon without any price tag, but it is expected to go on sale later this month.
Few days after it was listed on the official website, Xolo has officially launched the A500 Club, the company's first smartphone with dual front-facing speakers. It has a 4-inch (480×800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display based on One Glass Solution (OGS) technology, powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT 6572 processor with Mali 400 MP GPU and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean).
It packs a a 5.0-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera. It also has 18 new camera modes that lets you add different effects to images and a Smart Selfie feature to take selfies with face and smile recognition and voice prompt. It has dual SIM support with dual standby similar to other Xolo smartphones.
Xolo A500 Club specifications
4-inch (480×800 pixels) capacitive touch screen OGS display
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
1.3 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT 6572 processor with Mali 400 GPU
Dual SIM
5MP rear Camera with LED flash, HD video recording
0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
9.3 mm thick
HD video playback
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with MicroSD
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, GPS
1400 mAh battery
The Xolo A500 Clubcomes in White color and is priced at Rs. 7,099.
LG G Flex, the world's first curved flexible smartphone has finally made its way into India, with a price tag of Rs. 69,999, as we previously revealed. The bendable 6 inch device had taken the world by storm when it was officially announced last year, with a curved flexible display, a self healing back and the curved flexible battery being its highlights. Taking cues from LG's own TV lineup, the curved OLED screen on the G Flex offers a panoramic movie watching experience up close, in landscape, and a better voice audibility during calls. These are the two main reasons why the curved screen exists, but it also has a flexible body overall and really thin bezels with G2-like buttons on the back, making it really unique. This is touted as LG's most forward thinking phone yet, and definitely makes for a good showcase of technology, which LG hopes, will set the precedent for other future devices to come.
After the success of G2 and Nexus 5, LG continues its onslaught, but with innovation rather than going for the mass market formula. But even then, the G Flex is not just a concept showcase, it is also a very usable present-day ...
Sony Corporation today reported net profit of 27 billion yen ($266 million) profit for its third quarter that ended December 31st 2013. It has come back from a loss of 19.3 billion yen ($196.65 million) in its previous quarter. Smartphones sales increased by 44.8% in the quarter compared to Q3 FY12, which helped to improve the sales. Sony manged to ship 10.7 million Xperia smartphones in the quarter, even though it is not in the top 5 list of smartphone vendors by shipments as reported by IDC recently. This is more than 0.7 million units more compared to previous last quarter.
Check out the consolidated Q3 results by different segments. The mobile phone and communication sector alone accounted for 461.5 billion yen in the quarter. Smartphone sales and the PlayStation 4 sales were the main reason for the profit. It saw 4.2 million units of PlayStation 4 sales and 9.7 million in software title sales.
Earlier today Sony announced that it plans to sell its Vaio PC business and is talking with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners regarding it. It is aiming to reach an agreement by the end of March. It also plans to Lay off 5,000 employees by March 2015
Motorola is being thrown here and there in terms of ownership - first they were owned by Google and now they are in the hands of a Chinese manufacturer, Lenovo. After being acquired by Google, Motorola has managed to deliver two near stock Android smartphones - Moto X and Moto G. The Moto X was exclusively made for US while the Moto G was made for emerging countries. Moto G was launched in India on February 5th, 2014. They were just recently acquired by Lenovo.
With the MWC due in three weeks, Motorola has announced that it will be holding a press event at MWC 2014. There have been no rumors or leaks regarding any upcoming Motorola devices yet and we will be more than shocked if they unveil any device at MWC 2014. The press event is most likely to be an update of their business as the invite claims.
The event will have the presence of Motorola's executive board members including the CEO Dennis Woodside. Motorola may reveal more information about their acquisition by Lenovo.
When Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat on their latest flagship Google Nexus 5, they showcased the then Google Experience launcher that was exclusive to Nexus 5. Google Experience launcher brought along the goodness of Google Now right into the homescreen. With Google Experience launcher, you were just a swipe away from accessing Google Now which provides contextual information cards.
Google Experience launcher has been a unique experience so far and available only on Google Nexus 5, but looks like things are about to change. Google renaming the launcher as Google Now launcher makes more sense because Google Now powers the search and it will make even more sense when(if) they make it available in Play Store.
Though the Google Now launcher may not be available in the Play Store yet, you can get the Google Now launcher on your Android smartphone by following the steps below.
1. Get the GoogleHome.apk and install it. [Download Link]
2. Update Google Search to the latest version. [Download Link]
3. Set the Google Now Launcher as your new launcher.
4. Walk through the setup.
Via
Opera has updated the beta version of Opera browser for Android to version 20 that brings a lot of new features including WebRTC (Real-Time Communications support) that lets the browser communicate peer-to-peer with encryption without plugins. Firefox for Android got the WebRTC support recently. This update also brings new article ticker on speed dial, simple search feature that auto completes your search results, option select phone, classic or tablet layout and more.
New features in Opera 20 beta for Android
Updated Chromium to version 32
New simple search feature
WebRTC support (requires new permissions)
support for HTML5 Vibration API (requires new permissions)
Discover teaser on Speed dial page, which can be removed just like a normal speed dial
Ability to configure UI layout: Switch between phone, tablet and classic UI
Improved download manager: Downloads now appear in Android notification bar
Various stability improvements
With the simple search, the + will be replaced by a magnifier/search symbol in phone UI. This also brings new Google search features in off-road mode, these include,
Input field on page will be hidden.
A translated prefix, f.ex. "Images:" will be present if a category has been selected.
If the user is only changing the search terms, keeping the prefix, the search should be performed using the same category.
By ...
Among many other trends, Samsung also started this "mini" variant trend, of its single flagship device in its portfolio. The idea was to offer a small screened version of the much loved flagship, at a lesser price that everyone can afford. This trend was followed by HTC with their One mini and even Sony, with their Z1 compact, which is possibly the best implementation without compromises till date. In that line of "mini" devices, we now have our own Micromax with their "mini" version of the popular flagship - Canvas Turbo. Appropriately named the Micromax Canvas Turbo mini A200, the phone takes its screen size and the specs a notch down, to compete with devices in a different price segment. Announced some time back for a price of Rs. 14,490, how does the Canvas Turbo look and what does it bring? Lets find out in our unboxing video -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFpI2IJQgU
Like the Canvas Turbo and the Canvas 4, the Turbo mini too comes in a similarly designed box, that takes inspiration from none other than Apple. Micromax had stepped up its quality in box contents too, with flat wire cables, a good set of ear phones and more, but even those accessories ...
Motorola launched the Dual SIM variant of the Moto G in Malaysia, Australia and some Asian countries last month, before launching it in India yesterday. The Android 4.4.2 update was first released for the single SIM US variant first, back in December and it started rolling out in Europe, again for the single SIM variant last month. Now the dual SIM version of the Moto G has received the KitKat update in Malaysia and Taiwan.
At the launch Motorola has promised that the Indian dual SIM variant would get the KitKat update in coming weeks. This update brings new phone dialer, printing, Android KitKat features such as restyled status and navigation bars, full-screen mode, color emoji, smarter power use, new camera features, including the most expected manual focus and exposure control and more.
Check out complete changelog of the update below.
Android 4.4, KitKat – Enhancements such as restyled status and navigation bars, a new full-screen mode, color emoji support, improved closed captioning support, stronger security, smarter power use, and more tools and capabilities for better app development.
Phone dialer – Improved phone app with the ability to look up contacts directly from the dial pad, see and tap frequent contacts, and search your corporate directory easily.
Camera – ...
LG G Flex, the pioneering flexible phone with a curved screen, was officially launched in India yesterday. This is out and out a technological showcase product from LG, with innovations like a flexible display, body and battery brought to the table. It also features all the high end features that one would expect from a flagship device, but is also a phablet with a 6" screen. Basically, this is the pinnacle of LG's engineering prowess, which might actually end up setting the precedent for a whole lot of devices in the future. The Indian variant we have here, is priced at a sky high Rs.69,999/- which is unattainable for most. With that price tag, apart from the device itself, what does the G Flex pack in terms of box contents? We unbox the device to find out -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFASnC7qD6M
As you can see in the video, there is not much to say about the box contents, they are pretty standard for a high end phone, but it is still good to note that it ships with the Quad Beat in-ear headset. Here are the box contents laid out in a single pic -
Box contents
LG G Flex in Titanium Silver colour
Micro USB cable
LG ...
LG launched the G Flex, the company's first smartphone with a curved display in India yesterday. We brought you the unboxing of the device earlier today, here we have the benchmarks of the smartphone. The device is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) 28nm HPm Krait 400 CPU clocked at 2.27 GHz with Adreno 330 GPU, similar to the LG G2 and the Nexus 5. Let's check out the performance in a range of synthetic benchmark tests.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MKVpvYVqMY
Quadrant Benchmark
The G Flex scores 20326 points in Quadrant, better than the LG G2.
AnTuTu Benchmark 4
The G Flex tops the AnTuTu Benchmark 4 benchmark by scoring 36423 points.
Vellamo 2.0 HTML5
It scores close to 3000 points in the Vellamo 2 HTML5 browser benchmark.
Vellamo 2.0 Metal
The G Flex scores 1209 points in the Vellamo 2 Metal CPU Subsystem performance test.
Linpack Single Thread
It managed to clock around 453 MFLOPS in the Linpack Single Thread benchmark.
Linpack Multi-Thread
In the Linpack Multi-Thread benchmark, the G Flex managed to clock around 856 MFLOPS.
SunSpider JavaScript benchmark
It clocked 745.5 ms in the SunSpider benchmark, almost similar to the LG G2.
NenaMark 2
It clocked 60 fps in the NenaMark 2 GPU benchmark.
GFXBench 2.7 T-Rex (On screen)
In the GFXBench 2.7 T-Rex OnScreen benchmark, it clocked 33 fps, better than the Nexus 5.
Basemark ...
HTC is rumored to be announcing the HTC M8, HTC One successor, at the end of March 2014. A couple of days back, a photo revealing the back side of the phone was leaked online and today, we have a leak about its software from a more reliable leakster - @evleaks.
Evleaks twitter account has tweeted a snapshot from what could be the home screen of HTC M8. The dimensions of the screenshot are 1023x1820 which are close to a 1920x1080 Full HD resolution(the difference being taken up by on screen buttons). As seen from the screen shot, HTC haven't done much with the UI and it closely resembles their existing Blinkfeed interface.
In terms of specifications, the HTC M8 is rumored to sport the following
5inch Full HD 1080p display
Snapdragon 805/800 SoC
3GB RAM
Two cameras on the back with dual-LED flash
Android 4.4 KitKat with Sense 6
Solid aluminum unibody design
These are the rumored specifications and only when HTC announces it officially, we can confirm it.
LG has scheduled an event in Korea on February 13th, reports the ZDNET Korea. The invite just says knock-knock knockin' on, which doesn't reveal what we could see at the event. The LG G2 had Knock ON, double tap to wake up feature, which was very useful to unlock the phone since the phone had rear buttons. So the G Pro 2 would obviously have this feature. According to the leaked images, the G Pro 2 would also have rear-mounted power button and volume keys.
Last week LG confirmed that it would launch the LG G Pro 2, successor of the LG G Pro later this month. According to recent rumors, the G Pro 2 would feature a 5.9-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) full HD display with a screen-to-body ratio of 77.2%, with 0.4 mm thin side bezel. It would also have a powerful speaker.
Earlier this week LG confirmed that the G Pro 2 would feature a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, OIS Plus, 4K video recording and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. According to earlier rumors, the LG G Pro 2 is rumored to come with a Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM, Android 4.4 KitKat and LTE-A support.
The ...
After the Samsung and Asus, HP has announced their first Chrombox, a compact PC that runs Google's Chrome OS. Even LG launched the Chromebase at the CES 2014, which is an All-in-One desktop, but the Chromebox comes only with the desktop unit, just like Apple's Mac mini.
The Chrombox is powered by a 4th generation Intel processor based on Haswell micro-architecture, which is more than enough to run Chrome OS. HP also offers a high-end variant of the Chromebox that would come with a 4th gen Intel Core i7 processor. As usual, you have HDMI, DisplayPort, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and USB 3.0 ports for connectivity. Since it has both HDMI and a DisplayPort, you connect it to two monitors.
It also supports a standard VESA mount if you want to attach the little computer to the back of a display. Still no word on RAM or storage yet. A lot of hardware partners are coming up with their own Chromebox with almost similar specifications and a slightly different design, just like Chromebooks.
The HP Chromebox comes in Smoke Silver, Ocean Turquoise, Snow White and Twinkle Black colors. No word on pricing yet, but HP has promised that it would be available in the US ...
GT Advanced, manufacturer of sapphire crystal components for Apple is ramping up production. According to SEC Filings, the company entered a partnership with Apple last year which came with an exclusivity clause for "Consumer Electronics Products". The company currently manufactures sapphire crystal components like Apple Touch ID fingerprint readers and caps for camera sensors. GT Advanced already has 518 sapphire crystal furnace units and has placed orders for 420 additional units.
GT Advanced has put in orders for Intego's Sirius Sapphire Display Inspection Tool components which are meant to analyze display grade sapphire crystal. The tools will make sure that the production is of very high quality, ensure high yield. The facility that is currently operating out of Mesa, Arizona has enough capacity to manufacture between 103-116 million panels with the 518 furnace units that it already has. With the additional 420 units on order, the company will bump up production by between 84 to 94 million screen covers. GT Advanced has also placed in an order for 100 tons of graphite that is used to fire up the furnace. There is indication that this production will go towards a critical new component that is believed to be the larger display ...
HTC, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer, is facing a lot of heat and competition from other companies in the Android smartphone market and so they may have set their eyes on the tablet market "again". HTC had previously entered the tablet market and met with little success with two of its tablets - HTC Flyer and HTC JetStream. According to rumors, HTC is all set to make a return into the tablet market with the next generation Nexus tablets.
According to Commercial Times who did not quote a source, HTC has won orders from Google to produce the next high end Nexus tablets that will start shipping by Q3, 2014. When asked about this, HTC declined to comment and that is the usual scenario with most companies.
Google's Nexus tablets are fancied for a couple of reasons - direct updates from Google and their affordable pricing. HTC's tablets were hardly known outside the tech industry because of its huge price tag and when we are hearing rumors that HTC will be the one producing the next generation Nexus tablets, the pricing factor may not be as affordable as it was when Asus produced the first two generation of Nexus 7. These are only ...
After its flagship Oppo N1, Oppo has launched the Oppo Neo, a mid-range smartphone in India. It was first announced in Indonesia and packs a 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA IPS sensitive touch screen with glove mode, powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.2-based Color ROM. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera without flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
It also has 3G connectivity and Smart Dual SIM feature. The frame is made of high-end materials and has Quick Reach mode that lets you draw a pattern on the screen and double tap on the display to launch apps easily. The Gesture panel lets you customize your patterns.
Oppo Neo specifications
4.5-inch (854 ×480 pixels) FWVGA capacitive touch sceen display
Android 4.2 (ColorOS)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
1.3 GHz dual-core processor
5MP Auto Focus rear Camera
2MP front-facing camera
9.2mm thick and weighs 130g
3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS
512MB RAM, 4GB of internal memory, Expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
1900 mAh battery
The Oppo Neo comes in Black and White colors and is priced at Rs. 11,990 (MRP) in India. It would go on sale soon.
HTC started rolling out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update in parts of Europe, including Nordic region last week. Now the Indian variant has started getting the KitKat update. Back in November HTC promised that it would roll out the Android 4.4 Kitkat update for the HTC One users in EMEA countries (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) starting from January-end. Even though Asia was not in the roll out list, it has arrived in India even before some European countries.
The new software update (v4.20.707.7) for the HTC One brings
Android 4.4.2 update
Cloud print service
Security enhancements
New Bluetooth profiles to support more media interactions
Improved memory management
HTC has finally decided to remove Adobe Flash support in the stock HTC web browser, since it has switched to Google’s Chromium engine, which was mentioned in the changelog for Europe.
The Android 4.4.2 for the HTC One is available as a OTA update in India, which is 330.06MB. Other Asian countries have also started getting the KitKat update for the single SIM version. It is not clear when the HTC One Dual SIM would get the KitKat update in India.
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