Apple releases iOS 7.1.2 and OS X 10.9.4 updates

Apple has released the iOS 7.1.2 update. The update brings with it some bug fixes and security updates.

The update includes:

• Improved iBeacon connectivity and stability


• Fixes a bug with data transfer for some 3rd party accessories, including barcode scanners


• Corrects an issue with data protection class of Mail attachments

The update is around 28-30MB depending upon the device, if you download on the device itself.

Along with iOS, Apple also pushed an update for OS X, bumping it to 10.9.4. This one has more useful changes and something you'd actually notice, including:

• Fixes an issue that prevented some Macs from automatically connecting to known Wi-Fi networks


• Fixes issue causing the background or Apple logo to appear incorrectly on startup


• Improves the reliability of waking from sleep


• Includes Safari 7.0.5

The 10.9.4 update is around 90MB and can be downloaded from the Mac App Store.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 review: Splashing colors

LG announces KitKat updates for older Optimus models

LG Brazil, obviously not too busy caught up in World Cup festivities, announced on Facebook that several older model LG Optimus devices will receive Android 4.4.2 KitKat updates. This will bring them in line with their more recent descendants like the G3 and G2.

The LG Optimus G, now almost 2 years old, is scheduled to be running KitKat by the end of August. The more recent Optimus G Pro is slated to get the update a month earlier, in July.

Certain other LG models, like the L7 II and dual-SIM G Pro Lite models will also receive the update by years' end. Others won't be so lucky, as devices like the LG Optimus 4X HD and LG Optimus F5 will not be getting updated to Android 4.4 KitKat.

For more on what Android 4.4 KitKat brings to LG's Optimus UI, check out our latest review on the LG G3.

Thanks, Srdjan, for the tip!

It took one second for Xiaomi to sell 10K RedMi Notes

Xiaomi has, for the lack of a better word, killing it in the sales department, and the RedMi Note is just another crazy example of how in-demand the Chinese manufacturer's products are.

The RedMi Note phablet managed to sell 10,000 units in just a second in Taiwan, which is nothing short of astounding. Xiaomi also boasted that they had received reservations for 40,000 RedMi Notes in 12 hours, which doesn't account for the total amount of reservations that were made since June 20th.

This is a good sign for the Chinese Manufacturer. Their phones have been selling out consistently in China, and if they can continue their momentum in Taiwan as well, then they should be able to see similar results in other Asian markets.

Many potential buyers were left out in the cold, as they complained that the phones were sold out before their browser's web page could even fully refresh. Despite consumer frustration, there isn't any doubt that Xiaomi's marketing strategy is working. By driving up demand for their products, Xiaomi has made purchasing their phones an ordeal that customers are willing to endure, so long as they are able to secure one of the company's (usually) high-spec'd, low-priced handsets.

Source

Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 shows its specs in a benchmark

The successor to the original Galaxy Mega line is clearly in the works at Samsung. The Galaxy Mega 2 has had most of its important specs leaked because a pre-production unit has been put through the paces of a well known graphics benchmark.

Previously we had heard that the Mega 2 would come with a 6-inch display, but now it seems the actual screen size will be 5.9 inches. Not a big difference, either way.

The Galaxy Mega 2 will also have 720p HD resolution, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a 12 MP rear camera, and a 5 MP front shooter for selfies. You should also expect to see a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC.

The handset will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset that comes with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU and an Adreno 306 GPU. This is in fact the first Qualcomm chipset that's 64-bit, and it was announced back in December of last year.

As you may have gathered from its CPU's frequency, this isn't a high-end System-on-a-Chip however. Rather it aims to compete in the midrange segment, and as such it seems to be a good fit for the Samsung Galaxy Mega 2.

The exact device that got tested runs Android 4.4.3 KitKat and bears the model number SM-G7508, which means this particular variation might be headed to China (based on the company's previous use of "8" at the end of model designations).

Fret not, though, for the Galaxy Mega 2 should get a proper international release too - though going by SM-G750 in that case.

Source | Via (in Dutch)

Samsung is testing a Galaxy S5 running Tizen

Samsung finally made its first ever smartphone running Tizen official at the beginning of this month. That said, the Samsung Z may not be the only Tizen-powered handset to arrive from the Korean behemoth this year.

According to an Indian import tracking website, three units of a Galaxy S5 model running Tizen have recently made it to Samsung for testing purposes.

Now this may be nothing, or it may signify that Samsung is getting ready to release a variation of the Galaxy S5 that comes with Tizen preinstalled.

The price of each testing unit of this Tizen-running Galaxy S5 is said to be INR 54,404, which is a lot - around $905, to be exact. But that could be lowered if such a device is ever going to be sold.

Other details aren't available yet. And unless more information about the Galaxy S5 with Tizen gets leaked, you probably shouldn't view this as certainly coming to market.

Compared to the Samsung Z, the Galaxy S5 has a bigger and more pixel-packed screen, a higher-res rear camera, a processor that's clocked 200 MHz higher, and a battery that has 200 mAh of extra capacity. So it's not like there wouldn't be a place in Samsung's portfolio for a device running Tizen yet sporting the S5's specs.

Source | Via

iPhone 6 dummy units roughly depict its design, rumor says

As we get closer to the fall, more and more things about the upcoming Apple iPhone 6 get leaked. Over the past few weeks, we've seen many instances of dummy units getting photographed in various poses.

Though while looking at those you may have wondered how close these mockups are to the actual design of the new iPhone.

iPhone 6 mockups

Pretty close, it seems, if the latest report from Japan is to be believed. The dummies do give a decent indication of the general design traits of the iPhone 6, but there are some areas in which they fall short.

For example, according to someone who claims to have had access to the smartphone's design, the white stripes that have been prominent on the back of the mockups will not be a part of the final look of the iPhone 6.

Furthermore, Apple's next handset should come with a slightly curved display which will fit perfectly inside the aluminum casing, allowing for a seamless transition from one material to the other (unlike what's happened with the iPhone 5S which has a sharp edge where the screen meets the metal).

Finally, the Home button in the dummy units doesn't fit perfectly, and that's something that will obviously be different in shipping iPhone 6 models - as you'd expect given Apple's reputation for obsessive attention to detail.

Source (in Japanese) | Via

Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 goes official

Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy Ace 4 with a 4.5" display, 1.0 GHz dual-core processor and TouchWiz Essence interface on top of Android 4.4 KitKat.

TouchWiz Essence is a simplified part of the TouchWiz interface that should that we're yet to see explained.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 4

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 doesn't tread away from the usual Ace design language but does offer a textured finish on the back.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 4

There's not much else in terms of specs or availability and price but we'll keep our eyes open and ears on the ground and will update once we hear more.

Source

Samsung outs Galaxy Core II, Galaxy Young 2 and Galaxy Star 2

Samsung announced today the Galaxy Core II, Galaxy Young 2 and Galaxy Star 2, the successors to some of the best-selling affordable droids last year.

Samsung Galaxy Core II

Samsung Galaxy Core II is the most powerful device among the newly announced phones. It comes with a 4.5" WVGA display and runs on a quad-core 1.2GHz processor. The rest of the specs include 768MB of RAM, 4GB expandable storage, a 5MP rear camera with a LED flash, a VGA front snapper, and a 2,000mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy Core II offers fast 3G connectivity with 21Mbps downlink, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with GLONASS and FM radio. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and will become available in White and Black flavors.

Samsung Galaxy Young 2

Samsung Galaxy Young 2 is a very little fella with a 3.5" HVGA display and it is powered by a 1.0GHz single-core processor. It comes with half a gig RAM, 4GB expandable memory, a 3MP fixed-focus rear camera, and a 1,300 mAh battery.

Galaxy Young 2 is running on KitKat too, and has the same connectivity package as the Core II - 3G, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi N, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM radio. It will come in white and iris charcoal colors.

Samsung Galaxy Star 2

The Galaxy Star 2 should be even cheaper than the Young 2. It is pretty much the same phone though skipping the 3G connectivity and downgrading the rear camera to 2MP. The rest is the same - a 3.5" HVGA display, a 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage with a microSD slot.

Just like the Young 2, the Star 2 offers dual-SIM, Wi-Fi N, GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio. The Android version in charge of operations is still 4.4 KitKat. You will be able to get the Galaxy Star 2 in white and iris charcoal paintjobs, too.

Availability

Samsung is yet to detail the pricing and availability any of the three smartphones.

Source

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini to go on sale mid-July

According to a source close to Sammobile the anticipated Samsung Galaxy S5 mini will hit retail shelves around the middle of July. That's not far from now and makes us wonder if Samsung will unveil its new mini with style and a whole event or merely announce it on its website.

We didn't get any info about the Galaxy S5 mini price or market availability. What we do know is how the device looks and its main specs. It's said to carry over the IP67 certification of its bigger brother, the Samsung Galaxy S5, along with the heart-rate monitor on the back, fingerprint scanner under the home button and the design.

The screen is said to be a 4.5" Super AMOLED unit of 720p resolution, while the camera allegedly has an 8 MP sensor. 1.5 GB of RAM along with a yet unannounced Exynos 3 chipset with a quad-core Cortex-A7 processor running at 1.4 GHz and Mali-400 GPU take care of computing.

We really hope the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini not only looks but feels similar to its flagship Galaxy S5 counterpart - we really need minis that pack serious hardware under the hood.

Source

Samsung Galaxy Core Mini 4G for China Mobile goes official

Samsung China has unveiled the Galaxy Core Mini 4G, a portable single-SIM smartphone running Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box.

The Samsung Galaxy Core Mini 4G featuers a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and 1.5GB of RAM. The chipset, while not officially stated, is probably the Snapdragon 200 and the CPU in question is the Cortex-A7. Additionally, the 8GB of internal storage is expandable via the phone's microSD card slot.

The display of the phone is 4.3" LCD with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels (217 ppi). The phone measures 127.8 x 66.2 x 10.6 mm and weighs 136 grams.

At the back of the Core Mini 4G, there's a 5MP camera with LED flash capable of recording 720p videos. There's no front-facing camera, though.

Currently, the phone is exclusive to China Mobile and is unclear whether there are plans for a wider release.

Source

A leaked HTC roadmap details future firmware updates

We love leaked roadmaps. The popular tipster LlabTooFeR is giving us another spicy document detailing the upcoming firmware updates for the latest HTC smartphones.

The recently announced and launched Android 4.4.4 KitKat revision will become available this summer on the five latest One devices - One, One mini, One (E8), One mini 2 and One (M8). The dual SIM flavor of the original One (M7) won't be getting the Android 4.4.4 though.

HTC Sense v6.0 is coming to the KitKat-running HTC One mini in July. The update was previously confirmed and will begin rolling out any moment now.

Finally, the recently announced Android L is under evaluation for a plethora of HTC smartphones - One (M8), One (M8) GPE, One (M8) Dual SIM, One mini 2, One (E8), One, One GPE, One Dual SIM, One Max, One mini, Butterfly S, Desire 816 and Desire 610. The Android L compatible devices will be announced this Fall with proper release dates for the new firmware.

We've seen already such roadmaps turn out the real deal and LlabTooFeR has a good track record. So, if you own some of these HTC smartphones, you should probably put some trust into this roadmap.

Source

LG G3 Beat leaks, is a mini G3 with a 5" display

The definition of the word "mini" in the mobile phone world is constantly evolving. Take the LG G3 Beat, that was just leaked, which is one such "mini" phone; but it packs a 5" screen. To put this into perspective, the Nexus 5 has a 4.95" display; the Moto X, a 4.7" one.

The Beat, visually, looks like a slightly shrunken down LG G3; and even though it carries the "mini" moniker, there's certainly nothing subpar about the phone's specifications. The G3 Beat has 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage with a microSD card slot, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 8MP camera, 4G LTE, a 2500mAh battery, and it runs on Android 4.4.2 out of the box.

The G3 Beat should be priced at around 2,500 yuan, which comes out to a little more than $400 SIM free. An official release date for the device hasn't been given, but don't expect it to be too far off from the G3's purported Mid-July release date.

Source

Exclusive: Xolo prepping a new phone, will have a new Hive UI

We just got hold of an image of Xolo’s upcoming flagship smartphone and our inside contact who is involved with the development has also sent us a screenshot of the company’s brand new UI that will debut on the new phone.

Talking about the phone itself, it is said to sport a 5-inch HD display and features Gorilla Glass 3 screen protection. Under the hood lies an octa-core processor with 2GB of RAM to offer smooth performance.

Our insider tells us that with the new UI, the company is trying to give the much needed freedom to all its consumers. The new ROM that provides a unique set of features and enhancements over the stock Android will allow you to interact and engage amongst your fellow users and with the company's developers itself. Xolo Hive will give you an exclusive opportunity to put across what features you need on your smartphone and eventually get them.

(click to enlarge)

Apart from these features, we also get to know that the new ROM will based on Android KitKat and comes out with new set of icons, dedicated media console and newly designed control panel among other graphically improvements.

Xolo is also said to be working with a designer community to create exclusive themes for its new UI. The Indian manufacturer, who is gearing up to compete against the likes of other global manufacturers, will open a new store and will allow users to download all the exclusive content.

Lastly, our source tell us that the new smartphone along with the brand new UI will launch somewhere in the second week of July.

Do you like the look of Xolo’s new UI? Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments section.

Special thanks to our tipster!

Nokia Lumia 930 up for pre-order in the Netherlands at E500

Blackberry Passport caught out and about

There's been a lot of leaks and images of the Blackberry Passport recently, but not many shots of the device in the wild, until now.

Not only did someone snap a picture of the Passport, but there's even a quick video clip showing the device's browser in action.

What can we tell from the photos? Well, for one, the Passport looks like a pretty big device. It absolutely eclipses the iPhone 4 (as shown in the photo). The keyboard does look a little cramped on the bottom of the phone. Although this is understandable, (how else were they going to make space for all of that screen?) it doesn't look like it will provide for the most comfortable typing experience.

The poster of the images also confirmed some specs: the Passport will have a 3450mAh non-removable battery, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 1440x1440 LCD display, and microSD and SIM card slots that load from the top.

The hardware specs of the Passport are certainly enticing, but they may not be enough to pull Blackberry out of its fall from grace. Also, considering the nearly defunct form factor of the Passport, it is difficult to imagine that anyone aside from corporate road warriors appreciating this device.

Source

LG G3 may hit T-Mobile USA in mid-July

Week 25 in review: Android L, Android One program, Nokia X2

The Week In Review is our series meant to recap all the major announcements of the week, which you might have missed. Week 25 of 2014 was yet another busy ride with plenty of new announcements so you are in for a long read.

This week's highlight is definitely the Google's I/O conference. Android L developer's preview was announced there, but the OS official name (Lollipop?) and version number will be revealed later this year. Android L brings various changes to the UI, with refreshed status bar, dialer and just about every other system apps. Google has also redesigned the transition animations so they look cooler and more natural. The notifications and Google Chrome have been upgraded as well.

Google also announced the Android One smartphone program that strives to provide a unified feature set tailored-made for the market the phone is launching in. Sundar Pichai shared that Micromax, Spice and Karbonn are the first participants into the Android One initiative.

Android Wear was also detailed and its full SDK made available. Motorola launched a demo video of its highly anticipated Moto 360, LG revealed the specs of its G Watch, while Samsung announced the Android Wear-powered Gear Live smartwatch.

Microsoft managed to steal some spotlight too. The company announced the Nokia X2 and the new X Platform 2.0 based on Android 4.3. The new software boasts more functional multitasking, the option to see most used apps and updated Fastlane. The free HERE Maps subscription for voice-guided navigation is also present, while notification drawer now packs a refreshed shortcut menu.

Unfortunately, Nokia X, X+ and XL will not be updated to X Platform 2.0 because of the hardware limitations. Microsoft has promised, though, it will keep updating the original X Platform.

The Windows family has grown bigger throughout the past week with the AllView's Impera lineup - the Windows Phone 8.1-powered smartphones Impera S and Impera I, plus the Windows 8.1-based 8" Impera I8 tablet. Those three gadgets surely seems like great offers and the low prices were possible thanks to Microsoft dropping all licensing fees for Windows on sub-9" devices.

Allview Impera i • Allview Impera S

Huawei brought the Honor 6 flagship this week. It is s built around a 5" 1080p screen from JDI, and powered by the company's home-brewed Kirin 920 chipset. The SoC is comparable with Samsung's Exynos octa-core chipsets with four Cortex-A15 cores and four Cortex-A7 cores, plus Mali-T624. Unlike the Exynos, the Kirin 920 supports LTE Cat. 6 for up to 300Mbps downlink speeds (as fast as dual-channel Wi-Fi 802.11n).

Huawei Honor 6

Quite expectedly Samsung Galaxy F and Galaxy Note 4 made rounds in the rumorland. The Note 4 is now rumored to launch on September 25, but is tipped to pack a 12MP OIS camera contradicting to previous rumors about 16 or 20MP sensors. Meanwhile the Galaxy F leaked in yet another render.

You bet the iPhone 6 was in the news again. This time we heard Apple's upcoming 5.5" version of the flagship is rumored to come with an OIS camera and 128GB flavor, while the 4.7" edition won't have those options. And while we are talking Apple, this week also saw the iOS 7.1.1 jailbreak.

Nokia by Microsoft branding allegedly incoming

According to renowned industry leakster @evleaks, Microsoft's licensing deal with Nokia is going to produce a new branding name called "Nokia by Microsoft". The companies are said to be in the final stages of the talks, but smartphones aren't the only Microsoft products to go through branding alteration.

The company would also drop its Surface moniker. Microsoft will replace its tablet branding name with the Lumia one. This does seem like a puzzling step, considering Microsoft's investment in the Surface tablet line-up, but perhaps it didn't pay off.

There is no official evidence on these rumored changes. Two months ago the Nokia-Microsoft deal officially closed, amounting to €5.44 billion.

Source

Xolo's first Windows Phone 8.1 phone weighs just 100g

Xolo's first Windows Phone 8.1 handset is upon us and has an interesting key selling point - its weight.

The device claims to be the lightest Windows Phone smartphone ever at just 100g but has probably overlooked the recently unveiled Allview Impera i, announced a couple of days ago, which weighs in at just 98.9 g.

The Xolo WIN Q900s has a lot in common with the Impera i - there's the Snapdragon 200 chipset with 1.2 GHz processor cores, 1 GB of RAM with 8 GB of storage expandable via a microSD card slot. The cameras are an LED-enabled 8 MP main and 2 MP front-facing one. The Xolo WIN Q900s also has support for two SIM cards.

Xolo is launching the WIN Q900s in India in collaboration with local retailer Snapdeal which offers the device on pre-order at a discounted price of INR9,999 (around €122) but the phone was quickly sold out of the available 5000 units.

Xolo is expected to start selling the device at the price of INR11,999 (€146) in mid-July.

Source | Via

Nokia Lumia 930 to come discounted at O2 Germany

The Nokia Lumia 930 may soon become available through O2 Germany for a lower price. The carrier will reportedly be offering the Lumia 930 for €519 which is lower than the around €550 expected price of the device in Germany.

The Nokia Lumia 930 has already been posted for pre-order in the country (along with France) but the expected shipping dates haven't yet been confirmed. Previously it was speculated the Lumia 930 will ship around June 19 but that now looks like July 10.

Pre-orders for the Lumia 930 have also launched in Italy for the even higher price of €599 through Microsoft's online retail channels.

This puts the Windows Phone 8.1 handset at a disadvantage against devices like the HTC One (M8) or Samsung Galaxy S5 as they have improved chipsets and cost a little less. And as Microsoft scrambles around with the release there are even QHD droids about to land.

Source

Counterclockwise: Nokia N9, iPhone 4, Nexus 7, WP8

This is the new edition of Counterclockwise, where we'll be taking a look at all of the most significant news articles that happened during this week over the past several years. The last week of June has seen plenty of hardware announcements from Nokia, while the last couple of years also saw the aftermath of Google I/O and all the Android update and Nexus hubbub around it. Even Apple and Microsoft have had their share of early summer glory.

Exactly 6 years ago, in 2008, a quartet of devices were launched by Nokia. The Supernova series, composed of the 7610, 7510, 7310, and 7210, were a reflection of a Finnish company at the apex of its dominance in the realm of cell phones.

Nokia Supernova series

Three years later, with things already starting to decline for the Finnish company, many attempts were made to right the ship: a trio of feature phones, the C2-02, C2-03, and C2-06 hoped to bring life back into an aging Nokia S40 interface, a Nokia N5 image showing what the company hoped would replace the archaic Symbian S60 5th edition OS, and even a big introduction in the form of the Nokia N9 running the now defunct MeeGo OS. As we know, none of these were enough to ultimately save Nokia and Microsoft had to step in.

In what would ultimately end up being the future (and a grim one at that) of Nokia devices, the first Windows Phone 7-powered Nokia device was announced by Stephen Elop. Codenamed the Nokia Sea Ray, the device would ultimately turn out to be the Nokia Lumia 800.

Nokia Sea Ray running on Windows Phone 7 Mango

Jumping back to 2010, the iPhone 4 marked the last iPhone launch to be held by Apple in the summer period, and it was quite eventful. Yellow spots on the just-introduced Retina display, reception issues, and even some trite responses from Steve Jobs himself highlighted what turned out to be Apple's bumpiest launch to date.

2012 saw the strengthening of Android in a big way, thanks to the launch of Google's first tablet in the form of the Nexus 7, alongside Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Microsoft revealed its new version of Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8. The OS was redesigned by 720p resolution, microSD support, and multi-core chipset support.

Also, the Samsung Galaxy S III was one of the most popular droids of its time, although it too had a fair share of infamy due to certain exploding units.

The Galaxy S III was not without its hiccups

Finally, this time last year we saw our first look at both the Samsung Galaxy Note III and the Apple iPhone 5S, two devices that would turn out to be quite robust offerings from the top two global smartphone manufacturers.