Acer will make a Windows Phone after the OS hits 15% in EU
Acer's smartphone strategy is currently focused solely on making Android smartphones but that may change if Windows Phone reaches 15% market share in Europe. The company's VP of Smartphones Allen Burnes said in an interview that Acer wants to see more demand from consumers on WP before they take risks with Microsoft's OS.
The Acer Allegro is the only WP smartphone the company has made so far. Now, almost three years from its launch, the company still hasn't made a second one, but that may change sooner than you think.
According to a recent report by ABI Research, WP sales have more than doubled in a year. Reports from Strategy Analytics and Kantar World Panel also share similar data.
Not everyone shares Acer's vision on Windows Phone, though. Sony has been rumored to be currently in talks with Microsoft to make a Windows Phone under the Vaio brand. An official photo of an upcoming Samsung WP has also leaked just yesterday.
Google targets $50 entry price tag for Project Ara smartphone
According to a report in Time, Google’s project Ara smartphone could arrive in early 2015 with an entry price tag of $50. The search giant retained the team behind the project when it sold Motorola to Lenovo last month.
The affordable price is said to include the most basic setup with Wi-Fi, but no cellular connection. Additional modules will cost extra. Multiple models may be available when the device is launched.
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group told Time that Project Ara will come in three different sizes which will cover everything from a pocket-friendly device to a full-blown phablet. Size of the devices will reportedly not be customizable.
As expected, Project Ara will be built around an endoskeleton which will be supplied by Google. This way, the search giant will be able to maintain tight control over the platform.
According to the report, the prototype of a Project Ara main unit with added modules is 9.7 mm thick. With larger batteries planned, the thickness of a full setup is expected to remain in the ballpark of 10mm.
Project Ara will also likely be visually customizable. ATAP is working with 3D printer tech to allow users to change the look and the materials of their device.
More info on who will be making additional Project Ara modules is expected soon. We already told you that Google will be holding a dedicated conference on its brainchild in mid-April.
There is a lot of work to be done before Project Ara becomes reality, though is certainly exciting to know that Google is working on it. We will be keeping a close eye on any developments.
MWC 2014 wrap-up: the best of the biggest mobile event this year
We're on our way out of the MWC grounds. The biggest mobile tech event of the first half of teh year is over. While last year we left slightly disappointed, this year was full of excitement with several flagship launches, several new tablets and plenty of wearables, too.
Before we say goodbye, we have time slow down and review the highlights of the frantic week behind us.
Samsung
Samsung's announcement brought the hotly anticipated Galaxy S successor. The Galaxy S5 improves on the S4 on all counts, with water-resistance, big camera sensor with 4K video capture, fingerprint and heart rate sensors as the headlining features.
The slightly bigger screen (just 0.1") and faster processor were a bit less exciting (S4 Advance has Snapdragon 800 versus the 801 of the S5).
Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung also brought out Tizen devices - three smartwatches - but the only Tizen phone was a prototype that will never see store shelves.
Sony
Sony was the other big player to unveil its flagship - the Xperia Z2 builds on its predecessor with 4K video capture, bigger screen (0.2" more) and lighter, but bigger, body. Sony has publicly adopted the two flagship updates per year, so this is really for Xperia Z owners. Z1 owners will probably have their upgrade later this year.
Sony Xperia Z2 • Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet LTE
Sony also revamped its tablet - the Xperia Z2 Tablet is the thinnest Android tablet around and it's so light and pretty, it's a serious rival to the iPad Air. As other Z devices, it's water resistant.
Nokia
Nokia had no flagship to show, but its event brought a big shift in strategy - the now Microsoft-owned phone division made Android-powered devices, three of them. Of course, former CEO and future Microsoft head of tech Stephen Elop made sure to stress that the Nokia X family uses Microsoft and Nokia services, not Google's.
Nokia X • Nokia X+ • Nokia XL
You can read our thoughts on Nokia's deviation from the Windows Phone-centric smartphone approach here.
LG
LG unveiled the G2 sidekicks - the G Pro 2 phablet and the G2 mini compact phone - a couple of weeks before the MWC, but this was our first face to face meeting with the new gadgets. While the G Pro 2 is a serious challenger to the Galaxy Note 3, the G2 mini has some drawbacks - it's not much smaller than the G2 and its specs are thoroughly mid-range. And we thought that after the Xperia Z1 Compact, things were turning around for small flagships.
LG G Pro 2 • LG G2 mini
HTC
HTC didn't put too much effort into the MWC - the ailing manufacturer only brought the Desire 816 phablet and that was only a dummy. We guess HTC is saving its ace for the end of March when the HTC One successor will be unveiled.
The HTC One itself won the Best Smartphone award at the MWC.
HTC Desire 816
Huawei
Huawei brought a "don't call it a mini" compact version of its Ascend P6 phone, the G6. The company also threw down the glove, challenging the Nexus 7 (2013) with the LTE and voice call enabled MediaPad X1.
The company also showed an innovative wearable, the TalkBand B1. It's a Bluetooth headset that can be worn as a smartwatch thanks to a clever wrist band.
Huawei Ascend G6 • Huawei MediaPad X1
Lenovo
The Lenovo S850 smartphone and Toga Tablet 10 HD+ stand out on Lenovo's roster. The S850 is a mid-range 5" phone with a 13MP camera and a plastic finish meant to feel and look like glass, while the Yoga tablet updates its predecessor with a 1,920 x 1,200px screen.
Lenovo S850 • Lenovo Yoga 10+
Acer
Acer had no flagship to show, but the mid-range Liquid E3 and entry-level Liquid Z4 will have to do until the next Liquid S flagship comes out.
Acer Liquid E3 • Acer Liquid Z4
ZTE
ZTE showed the second generation Grand Memo tablet, now with LTE. The screen grew to 6", though the chipset was demoted from a Snapdragon 800 to a 400. ZTE also had a couple of Firefox OS phones on display.
ZTE Grand Memo II LTE • ZTE Open II • ZTE Open C
Alcatel
Speaking of Firefox OS phones, Alcatel had a whole gaggle of them, there's even a 7" tablet. Alcatel had the most new devices in general, but the most interesting Android devices are the Idol 2 S and Idol 2 Mini / 2 Mini S.
The Pop Fit is an interesting device too - a tiny, entry-level Android phone that can come on a run with you thanks to the arm band (and its small size, of course).
Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 S • Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini • Alcatel One Touch Idol 2 Mini S
Others
A few devices from lesser known makers also deserve a shout out. The Blackphone addresses hot issues of today - privacy and electronic security - while the New YotaPhone tries to revolutionize phone design with two screen (the second one being an e-paper display).
The Gionee Elife S5.5 is the thinnest smartphone yet, just 5.55mm thick.
Gionee Elife E7 • Gionee Elife S5.5
Other intersecting developments came from SanDisk, like the first 128GB microSD card (which the latest flagships support). This NAND storage progress was, of course, accompanied by bigger embeddable storage chips for phones and tablets.
SanDisk also unveiled external storage for your phone or tablet, the Dual Ultra USB Drive. It plugs into USB OTG enabled devices and provides between 16GB and 64GB of extra storage. It has a handy full size USB end for plugging into computers too.
While Apple wasn't at the MWC (it never is), the awards committee honored the Cupertino tech giant with the Best Tablet award for the iPad Air.
Third-party apps can use Samsung's fingerprint scanner
In a not so surprising move Samsung released its latest flagship with a fingerprint scanner just as rumors suggested. The home button on the Galaxy S5 does more than just unlocking the phone though.
Samsung is also providing its fingerprint scanner information for use with other apps so developers can, for example, replace passwords with biometric print data.
This is done with the Pass API, released as part of the Galaxy S5 development kit. PayPal is the first to utilize the open API and will allow confirming payments via fingerprint on the Galaxy S5.
Apple on the other side held its fingerprint scanning information under lock and key inside the A7 chip and only allows data to be shared (read used) with its own services (like iTunes, iBooks, etc.).
Some might argue the latter is a safer approach amid constant raiding of online-accessible personal information. On the other hand the fingerprint scanner opens a world of possibility and enhanced usability.
What say you, loyal readers? And while you're mulling it, here's our hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Sony Xperia Z2 will be flagship for half the year
Speaking to Japanese K-Tai.Impress Sony Mobile's Creative Director, Director of Product Planning and UX General Manager, Yoshiro Kurozumi addresses the early rise to the throne by the Xperia Z2 and why he thinks a half a year upgrade cycle is a better fit for this industry.
According to him, in order to maintain a flagship, you must upgrade faster and went on to confirm that the Xperia Z2 will likely be Sony's flagship for the first half of 2014.
He also went on to comment about design, saying Sony doesn't want to rely on a single design, which could mean the company will perhaps move away from its OmniBalance design, which has dominated the Xperia Z, Z1 and Z2 (compacts and ultras included).
And while we can extrapulate from Mr. Kurozumi's words that Sony will be releasing its next flagship somewhere between Q3 and Q4 of 2014 and it may feature a new design, we truly hope Sony will at least continue to update its Z and Z1 flagships for the sake of those users, invested in said devices (all of which are awaiting Android 4.4 KitKat).
Samsung Huron for Verizon to be called ATIV SE
Samsung Huron for Verizon has been confirmed via the GFXBenchmark's database and @evleaks tweets. Huron is supposed to be a Windows Phone 8.1 running device headed to Verizon this spring.
According to the latest info, courtesy once again of the notorious @evleaks, Samsung codenamed Huron will be called ATIV SE. Since Verizon is already offering the first ATIV, we guess the SE might be short for Second Edition.
Anyway, Samsung ATIV SE is rumored to pack either a 4.3" 720p or a 5" 1080p display. It should be running on a quad-core Snapdragon processor with 2GB RAM and a 13MP camera.
As the latest rumor has it the ATIV SE will come with the latest available Windows Phone 8.1 OS. This means it will most probably launch in April or later, after the Microsoft's BUILD conference where the WP 8.1 is going to premiere.
Google announces Project Ara conference on April 15-16
Google is keenly working on Project Ara, a new endeavor to build a modular smartphone, which was started while Motorola was part of the company, and Google has scheduled an Ara Developers' Conference on April 15-16.
The event will take place in Mountain View, California, and will be streamed online to the whole world. In fact, Google claims that Project Ara is designed for 6 billion people. This indicates that Android maker may be working on a highly affordable modular phone for the masses.
However, everything surrounding Ara has been kept under strict secrecy and nothing has leaked so far.
Google reveals that it has its focus on releasing an alpha version of the Ara Module Developers' Kit (MDK), which will hit the web as a free and open platform specification reference. It will guide and contain developers through everything that's necessary to get them familiar on how to develop an Ara module.
The company wants developers and companies of "all shapes and sizes" to give project Ara a whirl. We'll see what Google has got in store for its modular phone concept in mid-April.
Source • Source (2) | Via
Carrier SFR reveals KitKat update plans for LG G2, Xperia phones
French carrier SFR has posted the Android 4.4 KitKat update plans for the LG G2 and the flagship Sony Xperia phones.
The 4.4.2 update for LG's flagship will arrive over the air on March 3. Note that the KitKat update for the AT&T G2 and Korean G2 is already available, but this should get the ball rolling for all G2's with no update yet.
The current Sony flagship models – Xperia Z1, Z1 Compact and Z Ultra – will get KitKat in April. The Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra were updated to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean in mid-December (Z1 Compact launched with 4.3).
Note that this update schedule applies for SFR and your carrier might be on a different schedule.
Boeing Black is a highly secure and modular Android smartphone
Boeing has announced a new Android smartphone called the Boeing Black with security and modular design in mind. The hardware and the software on the phone is built from the grounds up for securely storing and transmitting data especially for the US defense and security community.
You get features like disk encryption, hardware root of trust, hardware crpto engine, embedded secure components, trusted platform modules and secure boot to safeguard your data. The phone will even go as far as to delete the data if it detects some is trying to break open the casing of the device.
The design is also modular to some extent, so you can remove the back cover and attach various modules such as extended battery, satellite transceivers, advanced location tracking sensors, etc.
On the specification side, the Boeing Black has a 4.3-inch, qHD display, 1.2GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, microSD card slot, dual SIM support, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, 1590mAh battery and an unspecified version of Android.
No pricing or availability details have been revealed, yet.
Iphone 6 to have Sapphire coating but no May release
Apple and Gorilla Glass will be parting ways with the release of their iPhone 6, as the Cupertino-based tech giant will be switching to sapphire screen-coating for their next line of smartphones.
Sapphire coating has been used in high-end watches for a while due to its high-durability and scratch-resistance.
Currently, sapphire coating has only been used on iPhone camera lenses and the iPhone 5s fingerprint sensor. The upcoming iWatch will supposedly enjoy sapphire coating as well.
And the company behind Apple's sapphire coating, GT Advanced, stands to make a pretty penny from their deal. They are looking at $500-$700 Million for the first six months, since coating a display with sapphire costs 3-4 times more than coating it with Gorilla Glass (which only costs $3 per screen).
Although the specific number of displays GT Advanced will be producing isn't known, we do know they haven't produced enough to make a May shipment date of the iPhone 6. Analysts believe that, based on GT Advanced's shipments, that the iPhone 6 will be ready for sale come September 2014.
Anyone excited to see how the sapphire displays will hold up on the iPhone 6?
Mediatek to launch its own hexa-core chipset - MT6591
Beside working on two Cortex-A53-based chipsets and on the reportedly super-fast octa-core Mediatek MT6595, the company obviously has a hexa-core chipset in the pipeline, too. Yup, that's a six-core chipset, much like the just announced Samsung's Exynos 5260 Hexa.
The new chip is called the Mediatek MT6591 and it should already be in production, unlike the previous chipsets that we mentioned. The roadmap reveals that these would enter into production no earlier than the second half of the year.
The roadmap was leaked on the Chinese social network Weibo. It's unclear whether this hexa-core chipset will be using ARM's big.LITTLE architecture like the Samsung Exynos Hexa, but most likely it won't.
Nokia X series phones won't reach the US, Canada, Korea, or Japan
Jussi Nevanlinna, VP for Mobile Phone marketing, officially confirmed for Nokia Conversations that the three devices, which make up Nokia's X series, won't be available in the North America, Canada, Korea, and Japan.
Jussi Nevanlinna, VP for Mobile Phone marketing at the Global Mobile Awards 2014 (Photo: GSMA)
When they announced the Nokia X series back the other day, Nokia's official press materials only mentioned launch dates for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. So up until now it wasn't clear whether the devices will reach other key markets such as the US, Canada, Korea, and Japan.
Then again, perhaps those markets are too developed for low-cost smartphones to make a dent on the grand picture. On the other hand a 5-inch Android smartphone that cheap, made by one of the world's most renowned manufacturers, would not go unnoticed no matter the country.
As a reminder, the Nokia X should be available right away for €89. The Nokia X+ (€99) and Nokia XL (€109) will launch in early Q2 2014.
But that's not all. Jussi Nevanlinna says we should expect even more Nokia X smartophones later this year. These will push the price points even further down.
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is available for pre-order, here are the prices
Following in the footsteps of the Xperia Z2, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is available for pre-order. We made the rounds and collected the prices of the tablet around Europe. The launch date will be in April, the same time frame as the the Z2 phone.
The good news is that it's cheaper than the phone in most places – in the UK, it's £500 (€610) both from Sony's official web site and from Clove UK. This is for the 16GB Wi-Fi only version.
The price in Germany is €500 (and €650 from Sony's official web site). Note that these are pre-order prices and might change in time for the launch. The 32GB Wi-Fi model is €550, the 16GB LTE model is €650.
In France and the Netherlands the Xperia Z2 tablet is €630, €670 in Sweden (SEK 5 995,00) and €700 in Spain and Poland (PLN 2 899). These prices are from the official site, so it's possible that regional stores have it cheaper (like in Germany). If you find such a store, drop a link in the comments!
Samsung announces Exynos 5422 Octa and Exynos 5260 Hexa
It has begun a tradition Samsung to out two models of its top-tier devices. The Galaxy S4 was the first to get a Snapdragon and an Exynos version, followed by the Galaxy Note 3. Now the Galaxy S5 is getting a similar treatment as well. The Exynos 5 Octa chipset, even though it didn't become as popular as Samsung probably hoped for, is still quite a capable chipset with flagship performance.
In an attempt to popularize its Exynos SoC, Samsung has recently started to power the non-LTE models of its slates (the Galaxy Tab and Note Pro series). We already met with some of those and their performance turned out great.
Today Samsung has introduced the newest revision of the Exynos 5 Octa system-on-chip - the Exynos 5422 Octa. It has four Cortex-A15 cores clocked at 2.1GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores @ 1.5GHz. This is a good 200MHz upgrade over the previous Exynos 5420 SoC. The 5422, naturally, uses the big.LITTLE ARM architecture, but comes with Samsung's own tweak - HMP (Heterogeneous Multi Processing) technology. The HMP allows the device to utilize any combination of cores, even all eight, at once.
There is nothing official on the GPU inside the new Exynos Octa revision, but we guess it is the same as the 5420 chip - Mali-T628.
Samsung has also detailed the Exynos 5260 Hexa chipset, we already met on the Galaxy Note 3 Neo. It offers two Cortex-A15 @ 1.7GHz cores and four Cortex-A7 @ 1.3GHz cores. The processor supports big.LITTLE with HMP, so the device can use all six cores simultaneously.
Samsung once again didn't specify the GPU, but we already know from the Note 3 Neo that Mali-T624 is in charge of the graphics department.
Both new platforms support displays up to 2560x1600 pixels resolution. The Exynos 5422 Octa also supports 4K video playback and recording, while the Exynos 5260 Hexa offers Full HD @ 60fps playback/recording.
Exynos 5422 Octa will enter mass production by the end of March, while the Hexa model is already in mass production.
Samsung has also introduced its newest 16MP and 13MP (16:9) ISOCELL CMOS camera sensors. Both offers 1.12µm big ISOCELL pixels and 1080p video recording. The 16MP sensor is capable of 1080p@60 fps capturing plus burst mode at 16MP at 60fps and will enter mass production this quarter. The 13MP one supports 13MP burst mode at 30fps and will be available in Q2, 2014.
Samsung Galaxy S5 is probably using the new 16MP ISOCELL sensor, so we can't wait to get our hands on a retail unit to do a thorough test.
Moto G is the most successful Motorola smartphone yet
The budget-friendly Moto G is Motorola’s “most successful, highest-selling smartphone”. Rick Osterloh, the senior vice president of product management in Motorola revealed the news at an MWC press dinner.
Motorola’s SVP went on to mention that the company makes money on every Moto G it sells. The profits are said to increase even further after the completion of the company’s acquisition by Lenovo.
The news should hardly catch anyone by surprise. With a combination of premium build quality, timely OS updates, and affordable price tag, the smartphone was well-received in every market where it was launched.
Furthermore, Motorola dropped a hint on the arrival of an updated Moto X. The smartphone is said to arrive in late summer like its predecessor did last year.
Motorola also announced expanded availability of the Moto Maker customization tool for Moto X. It will arrive in UK and Germany in Q2 this year. The Moto X will also arrive in India and Australia in the coming weeks, though there’s no word on whether it will be customizable.
MWC: HTC One awarded Best Smartphone, iPad Air - best tablet
The GSM Association organizes the annual Mobile World Congress and along with it the traditional Global Mobile Awards (its 19th edition this year). More than 175 independent analysts, journalists, academics and subject matter experts throughout the world participated in the judging process. The entry deadline for those was November 29, 2013, so it's generally last year's products that get awarded.
There's a multitude of categories, some of which may sound pretty obscure unless you are in the telco business, so we've shortlisted the few categories that we think would matter most to mobile phone enthusiasts such as ourselves.
The HTC One was named the Best Smartphone in the past year. Last year it was the Samsung Galaxy SIII. The other nominees, which were considered, were the Apple iPhone 5S, the LG G2, the Lumia 1020 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
"The HTC One remained one of the most advanced smartphones throughout 2013. Its great design and excellent user interface continue to provide a differentiated user experience, standing out from the competition."
The Nokia Lumia 520 was announced as the Best Low-Cost Smartphone (sub-$150 wholesale price). The rest of the considered nominees were all Android smartphones and included the Lenovo A390T, the Samsung Galaxy Young, the Sony Xperia E, and the Xiaomi Hongmi.
"A smartphone that hasn’t compromised on quality – a trailblazer for Nokia’s low-cost efforts."
The Nokia 105 was announced Best Entry-level or Featurephone. The other nominees were the Nokia 208, the Nokia 515, the Nokia Asha 210, and the Nokia Asha 503. Last year the winner was the Nokia Asha 305.
"Outstanding value for money, with impressive durability and battery life, this is driving mobile penetration into further markets."
The Apple iPad Air was pointed as the Best Mobile Tablet. At last year's awards it was the original Google Nexus 7 made by Asus. The other nominees were the Apple iPad mini 2, the Google Nexus 7 (2013) and the Sony Xperia Tablet Z.
"The iPad Air packs class-leading performance in an attractive and svelte frame, while its ecosystem has an undisputed advantage in the number of format-optimized apps."
LG was named Most Innovative Device Manufacturer of the Year. Last year that was Samsung.
"Impressive across the board with ground-breaking innovation – LG is flexing its technological muscle."
The US-built FiLIP wearable locator and phone watch for kids, sold exclusively by AT&T in the US, was announced as the Best Mobile-Enabled Consumer Electronics Device. Sony's SmartWatch 2 was among the nominated. Last year this category was won by the Samsung Galaxy Camera.
"The FiLIP is a new breed of self-reliant wearable device that is a simple way for kids to reach their parents, and for parents to find their children quickly and easily. FiLIP affords parents peace of mind with the ability to quickly call and locate their children. This is a really well designed product fulfilling a clear market need and making a complex solution very simple for the user."
As for the mobile app awards, DEVICE 6 was announced as the Best Entertainment App (Gaming, Music, Sports, Video), CityMapper was called the Best Overall Mobile App, while CamMe was named the Most Innovative Mobile App.
You can check out the full list of winners here.
Be sure to check back with us tomorrow, February 26, as that's when the Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2014 will be announced!
Nokia says 75% of all Android apps are compatible with Nokia X
Nokia X, X+ and XL all went official yesterday and Nokia is already trying to attract developers to its latest platform. The trio is running on a stripped-down version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean missing on all Google Services.
Nokia has modified the entire user interface to mimic Asha's Fastlane plus it has created a proprietary application store. There is also a dedicated SDK and porting tools, which basically will make all incompatible Android apps compatible for the platform. Those apps requiring Google Services or linking to such, will be redirected to their Nokia/Microsoft analogues.
So, now that all documentation and tools are out, Nokia wants developers to submit their apk files to the Nokia Store. Nokia claims a good 75% of all Android apps currently available require no modification, while the rest should undergo a little retouch. The porting process should not take more than 8 hours though, according to Nokia.
There is even a tool, which will determine if your app is compatible with Nokia X or not, so you don't have to worry about doing all the test process by yourself.
You can find everything you need to test and port your Android app to Nokia X right here.
Xperia Z2 goes on pre-order, here are the prices
The Sony Xperia Z2 was announced at the MWC yesterday and is up for pre-order right away. Here are some of the prices and timeframes we've collected from several sites.
First off, the Xperia Z2 is available for pre-order from Sony Mobile's own site. All country-specific sites we tried promise a delivery in April, but prices vary quite a bit.
In the UK, it's £600 (€730), but Clove UK lists it at £564 with the first stock expected in April. This website does have a note, saying the official price and availability are yet to be confirmed.
In Germany, Sony's web store offers the Z2 at €600 and there are also several other online retailers, who have it at the same price.
In the Netherlands the phone is €650 and PLN 2,800 (€675) in Poland. That's still better than France, Italy and Spain where the Xperia Z2 flagship is €700. In Sweden, it's SEK 6,000 - €810!
In the US, the Sony Xperia Z2 should be available commitment-free from T-Mobile at $600.
Check out our first impressions of Sony's new flagship, straight from the MWC.
Nokia Lumia 620 finally gets Lumia Black update
The youthful Nokia Lumia 620 is finally getting the Lumia Black treatment. The update has been rolling out on other WP8-running Lumias globally since the beginning of January. Lumia 720 was the most recent phone to join the Lumia Black bandwagon a month ago.
Various reports from Finland and the Netherlands suggest Lumia 620 is getting the WP8 GDR3 + Lumia Black combo update. It is the last phone to get it, but still users will be more than happy to install it.
Nokia Black builds on top of Windows Phone GDR3 and brings various improvements. From GDR3, it gets Bluetooth 4.0 LE support and the ability to close apps from the app switcher menu, there's a rotation lock too.
From the Nokia goodies, there's a new Drive mode, Nokia Storyteller and the new Nokia Camera app (if not installed already). There are two new colors for the night mode of the Glance screen. Glance notifications are available as well. Since the device only has 512MB RAM, it will miss out on Nokia Refocus and Nokia Beamer.
We guess update notifications will start popping up soon on every Lumia 620 smartphone out there.
Samsung announces Galaxy S5 US market availability
Samsung announced details on the US availability of the Galaxy S5. The Android flagship will make its way to the United States in April, joined by the Samsung Gear family of wearable accessories.
Unsurprisingly, the list of US carriers which will officially carry the smartphone is extensive. It includes AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular.
Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be available in major retailers such as BestBuy, Amazon, Costco, RadioShack, etc. The Samsung Gear family will be available through carrier and retail channels.
Pricing of the smartphone is yet to be confirmed. We reckon that it will be somewhere in the ballpark of $199.99 with a two-year contract. The increasingly popular monthly installment payment options are also certain to be available.
You can find out all about the Samsung Galaxy S5 in our extensive hands-on.
Watch the Samsung Unpacked 5 press conference here
Samsung's dedicated press event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is about to get underway. There is less than an hour left before we see the global market leader announce its latest flagship smartphone and you can watch all the action live here.
Apart from the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S5, the company might showcase a couple of new tablets and wearable products.
The press event is scheduled to begin at 8 PM CET (7 PM GMT), and you can watch how things unfold right here, without even having to leave our site.
Security-heavy Blackphone is now available for pre-order
The security-heavy Blackphone which was officially announced last month is now available for pre-order with a price tag of $629. Orders of the device will begin shipping in June.
Developed by Silent Circle and Geeksphone, the Blackphone runs a heavily modified Android build called PrivatOS. The OS allows users to take full control of their communications’ privacy and security.
A quick look at the listed specs of the Blackphone reveals that its pricing carries a notable premium for the added privacy and security features. They include 4.7” HD IPS display, 2GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, and 8MP camera. Connectivity options include LTE, HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS.
HTC unleashes Desire 816 and Desire 610 in the mid-range
HTC’s press event at the MWC pulled the curtain on two new midrange smartphones named Desire 816 and Desire 610. The Desire 816 will be taking charge of the company’s updated midrange lineup, with the latter serving as the more compact alternative.
HTC Desire 816
The latest addition to the Desire club measures 156.6 x 78.7 x 7.99mm and weighs about 165g. The Desire 816 looks a lot like the company's flagship smartphone, the HTC One. With the new device, HTC is looking to offer an extremely competitive device at an affordable price point.
HTC's new midrange phablet has a 5.5” screen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The Desire 816 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with a 1.6GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 305 GPU. The 1.5GB of RAM will allow trouble-free multi-tasking, while the 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD, will try and fit in all your content.
HTC has put a 13MP camera at the back of the device and, with a 5MP front facer, the quality of selfies is bound to rise.
The connectivity options on the Desire 816 include GSM/GPRS/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA+/4G LTE. Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct are also on board.
HTC's latest phablet comes with Sense 5.5 out of the box and the device is powered by a 2,600mAh battery. The Desire 816 will be up for grabs in black, white, orange, mild green, dark blue and grey color options when it hits the stores in April.
HTC Desire 610
The Desire 610 comes with a more compact 4.7-inch qHD display. Under the hood, there is a Snapdragon 400 processor with four Kraits running at 1.2 GHz, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 64GB via a microSD card.
There’s an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.3 megapixel front facing unit. As usual, there is a wide range of connectivity options, including support for 4G LTE networks.
The HTC Desire 610 runs on Android Jelly Bean with the company's proprietary Sense UI and packs a 2,040mAh battery. The smartphone will be available across Europe in May.
Asus shows two new Fonepad 7 versions
Asus didn’t have a big event like it did at CES, but the company still unveiled one new device. It's not entirely new, it's two new versions of the Asus Fonepad 7.
The first one brings LTE, which was missing from the original model. It's still powered by an Intel Atom Z2560 processor at 1.6GHz and has stereo speakers on the front.
Two new Asus Fonepad 7 versions that look the same as the original
The second version stays on 3G, but goes down a notch in terms of chipset – it uses a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2520 instead.
The company also had the PadFone, PadFone mini and ZenFone at its MWC booth too.