Android Community |
- Huawei Ascend P2 image leak gives a look at the camera and colors
- AT&T roaming agreement brings free Wi-Fi for UK travelers
- HTC One benchmarks through the roof – sets the bar high
- WSJ: Google “developing plans” to launch US based retail stores
- Canonical unveils Ubuntu for tablets
- HTC One vs. HTC One X: Should you upgrade?
- HTC One Hands-On
- HTC One Trade-Up program offers $100 back for those who pre-order
- HTC One to launch with Boom Sound, Zoe and other buzz words
- HTC details Sense TV and Blinkfeed for the One series
- No Verizon HTC One among 185 operator launch blast
- HTC One: 4MP UltraPixel camera, 4.7-inch 1080p display, due March
- HTC One spotted in the wild in line for HTC One event
- LG’s latest MWC teaser hints at F, G, L and V-series phones
- Samsung announced a Wi-Fi only Galaxy Camera
- NVIDIA Phoenix smartphone platform revealed with Tegra 4i quad-core
- NVIDIA Tegra 4i announced, 2.3 GHz quad-core and 4G LTE for all
- Samsung Galaxy S IV event ‘confirmed’ for March 14th, and Galaxy Note 8.0
- HTC Rezound and Incredible 2 “device enhancement” updates coming soon
- Iriver announces the 7-inch WOWtab with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
| Huawei Ascend P2 image leak gives a look at the camera and colors Posted: 19 Feb 2013 11:00 AM PST Another series of images have surfaced for the yet to be announced Huawei Ascend P2 smartphone. This latest round of images are offering a look at the handset from a few angles, and join the previous leaks which have included everything from renders, to in-the-wild style to one that tipped the handset as being water-resistant. As for today, the images are showing the camera and the capacitive buttons as well as the power button and volume rocker.
Nothing all that surprising here, the power button and volume rocker are on the right hand side of the phone. The top is sporting the 3.5mm headphone jack and the capacitive buttons include Menu, Home and Back. There is also a look at the backside which shows the 13.0 megapixel camera with what appears to be a dual-LED flash. Of course, the obvious is there in the color — the handset is shown in both black and white. Previous leaks have said the Ascend P2 will arrive sporting an IP54 certification which means it will be dust- and water-resistant. Specs are looking to include a 4.7-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.8GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 8/16GB of internal storage space, a 3000 mAh battery and Jelly Bean. We haven’t seen much in terms of additional storage, however with a cap of 16GB internal, a memory card slot would be nice to see.
As of now we are expecting Huawei to make an official announcement during Mobile World Congress which is set to kick off in Barcelona fairly soon. Also, while these leaks haven’t been as widespread, we have also seen some previous chatter about an Ascend P2 Mini. This one was said to have a 4.0-inch display along with the same exterior looks. [via GizChina] |
| AT&T roaming agreement brings free Wi-Fi for UK travelers Posted: 19 Feb 2013 10:26 AM PST We are used to seeing expansion announcements from the carriers. In fact, it was earlier this month when AT&T detailed their latest 4G LTE expansion plans. As of today though, we have word of coverage for AT&T customers that happen to be visiting the UK. The one catch, we are talking Wi-Fi hotspot coverage as opposed to cellular.
Needless to say, AT&T has recently inked a deal with The Cloud which will give access to roughly 16,000 wireless hotspots across the UK. There are some catches though. For one, this free Wi-Fi hotspot offer will only apply to those AT&T customers that are on an international plan. That sort of takes some of the free away, however this is still a perk that is above what was previously available. Basically, eligible customers will be able to access those hotspots using the AT&T Wi-Fi International app which can be found in the Google Play Store. The other catch, users will have a data limit placed upon them. It would have been nicer to see this announced with unlimited access, however those using any of The Cloud hotspots will be capped at 1GB. On the flip side, we suspect even a low 1GB cap may be enough to help ease the cost and/or worry about roaming on a cellular network. Bottom line here, if you are an AT&T user (with an international plan) and find yourself traveling in the UK — make sure you have the app downloaded ahead of time and take advantage of this Wi-Fi offer. After all, while 1GB may not be the ideal limit, it should be more than enough to take care of some communication needs such as email and maybe even a voice or video call using Skype or something similar. [via The Next Web] |
| HTC One benchmarks through the roof – sets the bar high Posted: 19 Feb 2013 09:44 AM PST For those who missed all of the excitement this morning, HTC just announced their brand new smartphone for 2013 that will be arriving on multiple carriers throughout the world. The new HTC One is their flagship product, and is powered by the absolute latest 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 series processor from Qualcomm. Since we haven’t seen benchmarks of that processor yet, and the One is brand new, check out the device blasting to the top spot scoring over 12,000 in Quadrant.
Yes you read that right. The HTC One scored 12,400 in Quadrant, blasting to the top spot with the highest score we’ve seen to date on a stock smartphone. Don’t forget that this is also pre-production software and will probably be even better, and more polished come release date in mid March. Since we love benchmarks, we snagged one quickly of both Quadrant and Sunspider for your enjoyment. Just for a little comparison. Last years HTC One X with the last-gen 1.5 GHz dual-core scored in the 4,500 range. Then the latest Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core in the LG Optimus G and Nexus 4 barely breaks 7,000. Even NVIDIA’s latest Tegra 3 quad-core overclocked to highly unstable speeds barely broke the 8,000 barrier — which was impressive and unseen before a few months ago. So the new HTC One and Qualcomm’s extremely impressive Snapdragon 600 nearly triples the performance from their last generation smartphone. I/O is an important part of benchmarks, and here it’s clearly through the freaking roof. Well, basically everything is through the roof. Can you say King of the Hill! Qualcomm has an even faster Snapdragon 800 series coming this fall, but for the first half of the year this new Snapdragon 600 series looks to do some serious damage. Just as we mentioned above, it looks like the HTC One and Snapdragon 600 has just set the bar — and set it pretty high.    Device Info
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| WSJ: Google “developing plans” to launch US based retail stores Posted: 19 Feb 2013 09:44 AM PST While the plans appear to be far from complete, some additional Google retail store chatter has surfaced. Last week we saw details coming from the 9to5Google blog and today we have further corroboration coming from The Wall Street Journal. Basically, the WSJ is reporting that Google “has been developing plans to launch retail stores.”
The details are coming by way of people familiar with the matter and while this further confirmation is nice to see, there are still plenty of questions that remain unanswered. We still have yet to see exactly what Google plans to push in these stores. The obvious guess would be a mix of hardware and software. After all, a retail store would be a great way to showcase the Nexus smartphones and tablets. Not to mention Project Glass, the Chromebooks and Google TV. We also have yet to see details of possible locations. So far these early details have lacked anything solid in terms of where or when the stores may be opening. There was however mention that Google may not be opening any this year. Of course, Google has yet to offer an official comment on the matter. If nothing else, these retail stores could be an extension of what we have already seen Google do with the Chromebooks. If you remember, they have had dedicated areas set up in larger retail stores such as Best Buy in the US and Dixons Retail in the UK. And for the geekier in the audience, maybe Google will even sell some other items such as Google or Android branded clothing such as t-shirts and sweatshirts. Bottom line here, while we are beginning to see more Google retail store chatter, these are early details at best and should be considered rumor at this point in time. [via WSJ] |
| Canonical unveils Ubuntu for tablets Posted: 19 Feb 2013 09:15 AM PST Canonical began teasing a tablet yesterday. The teaser arrived in the form of a countdown timer with the words “tick, tock, tablet time.” And well, that timer has since finished and it looks like Canonical has introduced Ubuntu for tablets. There is nothing to download just yet, however they have said that a developer preview would be available beginning on February 21.
Basically, the developer preview edition of Ubuntu for tablets is launching at the same time as Ubuntu for smartphones. Similar to the smartphone release, the tablet release will bring focus to the Nexus tablets. Specifically, the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. There are other similarities as well. For example, as we saw with Ubuntu for smartphones, the tablet release will use all edges of the screen with the left being for apps, the top for access to the settings and system services, the bottom for control over apps and the right being for the Side Stage.
Side Stage is a new feature that focuses on multi-tasking and is just as the name would imply, a sort of stage on the side. The demo shows the stage as being easily scrollable with your thumb. The size of the stage can also be adjusted to give more, or less room for viewing. That is just one of the features of Ubuntu for tablets though, Canonical is also touting effortless navigation and defense-ready security with hopes to bring a higher bar for tablet design and a “new standard for the post-PC era.” And if that was not enough, Ubuntu for tablets is described as being the “cleanest, freshest, most beautiful tablet experience around.” Perhaps key here, Canonical is pushing this all towards being a unified experience from the smartphone in your pocket, to the tablet in your hand, to a desktop experience or media center/gaming experience in the living room. Sounds a bit bold, but nonetheless interesting. While we still have some time before a more stable release comes available, Canonical will have these developer previews on display during Mobile World Congress, at which time we hope to get a bit more information. [via Ubuntu] |
| HTC One vs. HTC One X: Should you upgrade? Posted: 19 Feb 2013 08:34 AM PST As we had been expecting, HTC has unveiled the One smartphone this morning. This was the handset previously dubbed the M7. Codename aside though, lets take a look at this newly announced HTC One as compared to the previous, the HTC One X. They are both running Android and they both have 4.7-inch displays, however they are pretty different otherwise.
Just to begin with, the HTC One is sporting a 1080p display, as opposed to the 720p display on the One X. Of course, that is just one of the many differences between the two. The One also has a faster processor, double the RAM, extra internal storage and the latest version of Android with the latest Sense user interface. For the HTC One we are talking a quad-core 1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM and 32/64GB of storage space. A step up in every aspect. Bigger changes aside, the HTC One also has a 2300 mAh battery as compared to the 1800 mAh battery in the One X. Putting the hardware specs aside, HTC appears to have put quite a bit of effort into improving every aspect of this phone. For example, the One has sound enhancements. These are what HTC is referring to as BoomSound which includes amplified dual-front facing speakers along with an HDR microphone and Sense Voice. The HTC One also has Zoe and BlinkFeed. Bottom line here, while some of the software features may eventually roll-out to the One X, we cannot help but overlook the increase in the specs. Simply put, the HTC One is a nice step up. While we understand those not being able to upgrade if you are stuck in a lengthy agreement, we do offer a reminder about the trade-up program for those who can. HTC is giving a $100 prepaid Visa card to those who upgrade to the One. Finally, those who are curious about the HTC One will likely want to check out our hands-on. Device Info
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| Posted: 19 Feb 2013 08:24 AM PST Look out, Samsung, because HTC is gunning for you in 2013. The HTC One takes a sensibly non-traditional route to success, opting out of the megapixel race for one, and instead focusing on where, the company insists, users will actually see the most benefit. That’s not to say superlatives are in short supply: an incredible 1080p 4.7-inch display, beautiful aluminum construction, and swift 1.7GHz quadcore all take their place inside the cool, crisp chassis.
HTC has a track record of solid phones, but the One kicks it up a level. We could tell you about the incredibly time-consuming and complex production process – which starts off with a chunk of aluminum alloy HTC has specially created for its purposes, then runs it through several stages of CNC machining, pauses to inject matte-finish plastic (white for the silver One; black for the black One), and then finishes off with a final shaping to ensure both metal and plastic are perfectly aligned – but it’s how it feels in your hand that’s most memorable. HTC points out that metal has a privileged place when it comes to how we perceive value, because of the headaches inherent in refining it and the fact that it’s cold to the touch, and that weighty, premium-feel mass adds up to a handset that’s great to hold. It’s also not too big, despite the 4.7-inch screen. HTC has kept the 1080p resolution from the Butterfly and DROID DNA, but the LCD panel itself is apparently brighter and sharper; it’s also more comfortable to use, and the minimal bezels – with just a little space reserved underneath for the capacitive Home and Back keys HTC insists on using – mean it’s not too great a stretch to reach across with your thumb. The precision drilling we’ve seen HTC use before makes a reappearance on the One, now punching out holes for the stereo speakers that flank the display.
HTC is particularly proud of those speakers, which have clever floating membrane drivers that automatically adjust power depending on how close to distortion the audio is. They also get roughly twice the space to work in than rival phones, thanks to extra large speaker chambers; in fact, HTC claims, they’re around 4x as loud as some other handsets. We had a chance to try the One out ahead of today’s launch, and they’re certainly powerful, with a surprising amount of bass: HTC has fitted a pair of Beats Audio amps, one for the speakers and one for the headphone socket. Yes we still have Beats! It’s tough not to be impressed when you look at the One’s display, even if you’ve spent some time with the DROID DNA. The slight reduction in size doesn’t impact usability – videos and webpages still look great, and sufficiently vast – while colors are bright and accurate and viewing angles incredibly broad. Sense 5 has been polished back to 2D iconography, ditching most of the extraneous 3D effects and layering that had come to clutter more recent iterations of the HTC UI, and the One is all the better for it.
HTC has stuck to Google’s UI guidelines, so there are pivots where tabs once were, and a healthy dose of Roboto font, most noticeably in the new BlinkFeed homescreen. Although we were dubious of that initially, it’s actually quite a good distraction during those moments of downtime: more important alerts, like messages, missed calls, new emails and the like, are still flagged up in the traditional way, in the Android notification bar, but more ephemeral things such as Twitter and Facebook content simply gets spooled in with the flow of news. Without offline caching – HTC says it’s coming, but currently BlinkFeed auto-refreshes every couple of hours when you’re on WiFi and manually when you’re on cellular data – BlinkFeed isn’t going to help you out when you’re suddenly left offline on a plane or in an elevator; the full body of the news isn’t downloaded until you tap it, only the headline and the image. Still, the whole thing is responsive, thanks to some server-side processing on HTC’s part, and we can see ourselves flicking through a few screens of BlinkFeed content when we’ve a couple of minutes to kill. It’ll be all the more useful when other apps start feeding content into it, and when HTC gets Google+ and Google Now integration up and running. Google Now’s suggestion tiles would be particularly welcome, for instance. Then there’s the camera. HTC is taking a big risk with 4-megapixels, betting that its “UltraPixel” explanation that more light is of greater importance than more pixels will convince would-be buyers enough to give the One a chance. We spent some extended time with the phone ahead of today’s launch and, even on non-final software, the potential for lower-light photography with the One is clear. In side-by-side conditions with some of the best-selling phones out today, the One showed how it could take shots in poorly lit rooms and still show clear detail, whereas its competitors struggled to climb out of the murk.
We’ll need more time with the One (and final software) before we can come anywhere close to a final judgement, but the principle HTC has gone with is certainly solid. In just about all of our recent smartphone reviews we’ve praised regular light performance but bemoaned the quality when things get dim – even if you’re just moving indoors – and so anything that addresses that we’re hopeful about. Zoe may well be a harder sell, if only because explaining why people might need brief video clips along with their burst photography is going to be tough. As a gimmick, it’s eye-catching, and the effects you can do with the cluster of stills – such as picking out faces from different images and then piecing them together with everybody’s best expressions – are handy, but it’s really the sort of thing that requires an extended play to see the appeal of. Maybe we’re easily impressed, but the One’s ability to create an instant, automatic mash-up of your photo, video, and Zoe content, and re-edit it on-the-fly, complete with music, effects, and transitions, is impressive, considering it’s all being done on a smartphone. If your friends and family are anything like ours, thirty seconds of highlights from our “great weekend away!” is probably just about all they can stomach. Less convincing is the TV app, which serves as a reasonable universal remote though lacks finesse in its first iteration. If your viewing is limited to what’s on live TV, then it works well – being able to hide channels you never look at is handy, and it certainly saves scrolling through channels or memorizing their numbers – but it ignores everything on your DVR, and you really need a MediaLink if you want to mix on-demand shows in there as well (and even with that there’s no Netflix support yet). Nonetheless, we’re mighty excited about the HTC One overall. The phone looks great, feels great, runs fast, and has just about every feature we could demand of it, bar wireless charging (which still, we have to say, feels like a gimmick). Sense 5 finally feels like a return to original form – adding something other than just aesthetic change for its own sake – and HTC’s decision to buck the trend with the One’s camera, although making its marketing message a whole lot tougher, looks set to pay dividends where it matters: in the photos and videos it actually shoots. HTC will need to stay sharp if it wants to compete on promotion (Samsung and Apple have the big wallets there) but if ever there was a device we really wanted to see succeed, the HTC One is probably it.                 Device Info
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| HTC One Trade-Up program offers $100 back for those who pre-order Posted: 19 Feb 2013 08:15 AM PST HTC is aiming to make the new One smartphone their most impressive launch ever. It will be available in mid March on multiple US and global carriers all around the same time, has top-tier specs that almost no other phone (for now) can touch, and now they’ve announced a new HTC One trade-up program. Yup, they’ll give you $100 back when you trade in your old phone and buy the new HTC One.
It’s simple really, the HTC One is their best smartphone to date. Today they said it’s not the best phone on the market currently, instead going big and claiming it’s the “best smartphone ever created” in general. They want to prove that by giving those who trade in their old and outdated device for the new One $100 cash-back. Basically if you send them your old and aging smartphone, no matter what it is, they’ll give you up to $100 back once you prove you’ve purchased the new HTC One. We don’t have the details regarding what devices will earn you a certain dollar, but most likely anything fairly recent will earn that $100 VISA card direct from HTC. It’s that easy. Send them a proof of purchase once you’ve received the impressive and beautiful new HTC One along with your old device, and then HTC will send you back up to $100 to spend as you choose. For those interested in the trade-in program, or the One in general you’ll want to start by clicking here. Stay tuned for our live hands-on pictures and video coming soon! |
| HTC One to launch with Boom Sound, Zoe and other buzz words Posted: 19 Feb 2013 08:04 AM PST The HTC One event is underway and while we are seeing the usual details in terms of specs, we are also hearing quite a few new terms. In this case, terms such as Boom Sound and Zoe. These are two of the goodies that will be launching with the HTC One. In addition, we are also seeing talk of HDR sound recording and a new HTC developed music player.
Beginning first with the Boom Sound, this one appears to be fairly simple — HTC has said this will include a pair of front-facing speakers that are able to deliver true stereo sound that is amplified with Beats Audio. This apparently is not the only sound related feature of the HTC One. Moving to the next and we have that HDR sound recording. This comes in with another pair, this time a pair of microphones. HTC notes the HDR sound recording as being able to capture clear and undistorted audio. Perhaps a bit nicer for those looking to make voice calls, HTC has said this will allow for in-call volume and frequency adjustments. Basically, it looks like HTC has paid attention to the sound, both the incoming and outgoing.
Otherwise, the HTC developed music player has a neat feature. One that we suspect fans of lyrics will enjoy. The app uses the cloud to deliver lyrics to your handset. In addition to lyrics, the player will also offer other details on the song and artist. Finally, we have Zoe. This arrives as what HTC is calling a new age of photography. Zoe will combine sill images and short video clips. The mixes will include regular still images with HD video and once you have them arranged, you can have them cut together in a highlight reel with music, transition and other effects. Device Info
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| HTC details Sense TV and Blinkfeed for the One series Posted: 19 Feb 2013 07:47 AM PST Today HTC has just unveiled their new smartphone, the HTC One. Today’s event is finally under way and the folks from HTC are sharing all sorts of exciting and fun things. While they’ve already announced an all new device, a redesigned and useful “new Sense” and more. We’ve now learned part of that new Sense experience includes what they’re calling Blinkfeed, and the new Sense TV. More details below.
For starters, as you’ve seen in all the leaked images over the past few weeks as well as our official press images from earlier today, the front of the device is covered in little tiles. Think of these as content creators. HTC has over 1,400 content providers on board to deliver live updates right to our homescreens. Think of this almost like Flipboard, only for HTC devices. Or if you really want to get specific, LiveTiles like Windows Phone 8. It’s a great idea and is a collection of widgets sharing information on sports, stocks, news, and anything else. Almost like Google Now, only right on your homescreen. This is called the Blinkfeed. You can check it with the blink of an eye from the elevator, or anything else for that matter. We’ll have more details on this shortly. Then they’ve just announced Sense TV. And just as you expected, let’s you control your entertainment center with the One. Yes it has an IR Blaster! I feel like I’m talking about Neo from the Matrix by calling it — The One. Basically you’ll be able to share anything on your display to your HDTV with ease using the new Sense TV. As you know, this is all happening live on stage so we’ll report back with more details soon. Stay tuned for our hands-on pictures and video!    |
| No Verizon HTC One among 185 operator launch blast Posted: 19 Feb 2013 07:25 AM PST Verizon Wireless will not join AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint in picking up the HTC One in the US, where the phone is expected to launch mid-March, as carriers worldwide confirm their intentions toward the new Android flagship. Verizon’s network is conspicuously absent from the run-down of North American support, which also includes Cincinnati Bell and Best Buy in the US, and Rogers, Bell, TELUS, and Virgin Mobile in Canada.
No official word from either Verizon or HTC has been given as to the carrier’s absence from the list, though it’s possible that it comes down to a reluctance to rebrand the device a “DROID” phone in keeping with the rest of Verizon’s line-up. Whether that means another version is in the pipeline is unclear. As for the rest of the world, it’s an ambitious launch plan. HTC says more than 185 operators have signed up to the One, covering more than 80 countries and regions. In the UK, it’ll be offered on EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, T-Mobile, and Orange – though only support LTE on EE initially, with the 4G carrier already confirming it’ll be priced at £69.99 ($108) on a £41 per month, 24 month package (1GB mobile data; unlimited UK calls and texts). Further afield, there’s broad support in mainland Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, in addition to carriers in Latin America and even China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. HTC tells us it’s the most launch-day carrier support its had for a device ever, and that the phone will begin to ship in March. |
| HTC One: 4MP UltraPixel camera, 4.7-inch 1080p display, due March Posted: 19 Feb 2013 07:25 AM PST HTC is back, and the HTC One looks set to take no prisoners. Wrapping top-tier specifications in a crisp, premium-feel aluminum chassis, the One refuses to join the megapixel race and instead strikes out alone, with a 4-megapixel equivalent camera that uses “UltraPixel” technology to serve up everyday shots that, HTC insists, will easily outclass its rivals with bigger numbers on paper.
It’s a numbers game in many respects, so here are the One’s key stats: a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quadcore processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage, a 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm body (tapering to 5mm at the edges) CNC’d from a solid slab of specially formulated aluminum alloy, 4-megapixel camera on the back, 2.1-megapixels on the front with an 88-degree wide-angle lens, and a 4.7-inch 1080p Full HD LCD3 display. Don’t forget the LTE, HPSA+, WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR, or the 2,400 mAh battery, either. There are some obvious criticisms – no microSD card slot or removable battery, for instance, or wireless charging – but HTC is aiming to squash them with its innovative software, 25GB of free Dropbox storage, and general good looks. The One puts HTC Sense 5 on top of Android Jelly Bean (4.1 at launch, with 4.2 promised shortly after) and kicks off what HTC insists is a new age of photography with “Zoe”, blending stills and short video clips. Offered alongside regular stills and Full HD video, Zoe is a combination of twenty full-resolution stills – five before you hit the button, fifteen after – and a 1080p 3.6s video clip – 0.6s before; 3s after – from which you can clip individual frames, juggle faces between images to piece together the best expressions of the bunch, or remove rogue objects. HTC’s updated Gallery app shows looping Zoe clips in the thumbnail view, and the One will automatically cut them together into a 30s “Highlight reel” complete with background music, transitions, and effects; hit Remix and you’ll get another unique cut, each of which can be exported as an MP4. Six themes are available out the of box, but HTC will add to that later, as well as the ability to use your own music.
Stills may only be 4-megapixels, but HTC believes its “UltraPixel” approach means they’ll be better than any other smartphone can manage. Rather than squeezing more individual pixels onto a sensor, the One packs huge individual pixels – 2 x 2 micrometers, or almost double some 8-megapixel rivals – which absorb similarly huge quantities of light. HTC says the One’s camera takes in 313-percent more light than a 13-megapixel camera (such as you might find in the Sony Xperia Z), and that means better low-light photos and less blur. It also allows HTC to fit in optical image stabilization, and all the processing is done to RAW data by HTC’s latest ImageChip 2. Completed Zoes and Highlight Reels can be shared online through HTC Zoe Share, an online gallery that saves the combination of 30s compilation and up to ten Zoes/stills for up to thirty days. That’s part of HTC’s new software and services portfolio for the One, the most obvious of which is the BlinkFeed. Reminiscent of Flipboard, BlinkFeed takes over as the new default homescreen in Sense (though you can change that to the traditional homescreen, complete with a redesigned app launcher) and pulls in news from various online sources, plus your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr accounts. BlinkFeed acts as a gateway to other apps and the browser, not trying to replace the default Facebook, Twitter, and other apps, but serving up what HTC calls “snackable” content for users obsessed with unlocking their phones and checking for the latest news. It will offer thousands of feeds (though not the ability to add your own RSS feeds, at least not initially) that can be selected by topic or source, and intersperse them with local content from the phone. Eventually, HTC aims to allow a choice over which app individual links open in (so you don’t have to use the default Twitter app, for instance) as well as adding offline caching.
HTC’s other big software addition is the new TV app, powered by Peel. That uses a dynamically updating EPG and an infrared blaster built into the power button to show what’s on TV now and next, and automatically change to the correct channel whether you’re watching through your TV’s own tuner, your cable box, or DirecTV box. There’s also limited on-demand access, which can be streamed directly to your TV if you have HTC’s MediaLink box. Planned updates include Netflix support, as well as the ability to learn from your viewing habits and make suggestions; they should be more timely than HTC’s traditional upgrades, since all of the native apps can now be updated independently of the core OS. That allows HTC to implement more progressive tweaks, rather than wait until carriers are finally ready to push out one huge ROM. HTC has to get phones into consumers hands before it can think about that, though. The plan is to get the One on sale in mid-March, preferably before Samsung gets the Galaxy S4 onto shelves.      Device Info
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| HTC One spotted in the wild in line for HTC One event Posted: 19 Feb 2013 07:20 AM PST We’re here folks! Live and ready to rock in New York City for the official announcement and unveiling of the much anticipated HTC One smartphone. The event is also going on over in London too, and our sister site SlashGear is also there live for any additional news or goodness from HTC this morning. Get ready for all the excitement guys!
HTC will be announcing what we’ve been following as the HTC M7, but it will simply be called the HTC One. We’ve seen various leaks, and the official press images leaked this morning too — as you can see below. We already know essentially everything surrounding this device, but I’m sure HTC will have a few tricks up their sleeve. With an impressive 4.7-inch 1080p HD diplay, quad-core power, 2GB of RAM, and everything else surrounding the “ultrapixel” camera this should be an impressive smartphone. Add in the launch on multiple carriers across the world just like Samsung’s done with their Galaxy devices, and we’re in for a treat.
There was some speculation yesterday that HTC might have a tablet brewing too, but we’ll just have to wait and see. We’ll be covering all the information live as it happens, and you won’t want to miss our hands-on pictures, videos and thoughts as soon as the event unfolds. Stay right here at AndroidCommunity for all the details. |
| LG’s latest MWC teaser hints at F, G, L and V-series phones Posted: 19 Feb 2013 07:11 AM PST Coming off the recent Optimus L Series II and Optimus G Pro details from LG, it looks like they have dropped another Mobile World Congress teaser. This teaser arrives in video format and has been posted on the official YouTube channel for LG. The video reveals hints of four series of phones — the F, G, L and V-series.
Given the recent LG news, we have seen at least some of the details for these series. The L-series would appear to be the L Series II that we recently saw. The G-Series seems a bit lighter on details at the moment, however it seems to reason that it will at least include the Optimus G Pro. We are curious to see which other devices end up in the G-Series however. As fas as the video goes, LG notes the L-Series as being for style and the G-Series as being for greatness. Both seem appropriate given what we have already seen. Moving over to the other series, LG noted the F as being for freedom and the V as being for view. Otherwise, the video measures in at just 48 seconds in length and as we often see, leaves just as many questions as we had before. If nothing else, this video does explain the “4″ from the MWC event invite. Not to mention, it does appear as if LG is doing fairly well in terms of building up the hype for their Mobile World Congress announcement. The good part here is that MWC will kick off on February 25 which means we do not have all that long of a wait before we get answers to the questions we have. And remember, Android Community will be in Barcelona to bring you the news when it arrives. |
| Samsung announced a Wi-Fi only Galaxy Camera Posted: 19 Feb 2013 06:33 AM PST While Samsung has had a cellular connected Galaxy Camera available, they have just today unveiled a second model. This latest model keeps the same features, however there is one key difference — this latest is Wi-Fi only. The camera is dubbed the Galaxy Camera (Wi-Fi) and will arrive running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Despite the official word coming from Samsung, they have yet to offer some of the more important details. You know, the price and a release date. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Camera (Wi-Fi) will be a “more affordable” option for those who “don’t need the always-connected benefit of the Galaxy Camera.” Give that we know this model will be lower priced, however how much lower remains the question.
In the meantime, lets review some of the specs and other details about the camera. First, as this is running Jelly Bean, you will have access to Google Play which means plenty of options in terms of apps. The camera itself has a 4.8-inch HD Super Clear Touch display quad-core 1.4GHz processor, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, a 1650 mAh battery, 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. The Galaxy Camera also has a 16.3 megapixel sensor with a 21x optical zoom. Not to mention, the many software perks including Voice Control, Slow Motion Video, Photo Wizard, Video Editor, Share Shot, Auto Upload and a remote viewfinder. Bottom line here, with the exception of the cellular connectivity, this is the same Galaxy Camera that you have already come to love (or hate). Given the proximity to Mobile World Congress, we are hoping to get a bit more information at that time. [via Samsung] |
| NVIDIA Phoenix smartphone platform revealed with Tegra 4i quad-core Posted: 19 Feb 2013 06:02 AM PST Earlier today NVIDIA announced their all new Tegra 4i quad-core 4G LTE integrated mobile processor, but they weren’t finished with their news. Last year NVIDIA released the KAI tablet platform which gave customers and OEMs a reference guide for which they could quickly design and release Tegra 3 tablets to the market for cheap, much like the Nexus 7 tablet for $199. Today they’ve announced the same plan for smartphones. Meet the NVIDIA “Phoenix” reference platform.
Today NVIDIA has introduced what they’re calling the “Phoenix” reference smartphone platform for the new Tegra 4i quad-core processor. This new platform has been released for many different reasons. Just like NVIDIA KAI, it should help device makers get their products to the market even quicker. This should help us see multiple Tegra 4i quad-core smartphones hit the scene later this year. Not only that, but it’s also the platform in which NVIDIA will use to demonstrate the unique features, performance, and technology inside their new Tegra 4i processor. Essentially Phoenix will be a blueprint that phone OEMs can use to follow and design upcoming Tegra 4i powered smartphones in a quick, effective, and cheap manor. In the end prices will be lower, and devices will hit the market sooner using Phoenix. They’ll also be up to par in terms of NVIDIA’s standards, because they’ll follow a better design guideline.
While all the details aren’t confirmed at this point. Their reference Phoenix platform will include 5-inch and beyond 1920 x 1080p displays, 13 megapixel cameras, ultra-thin smartphones, and of course 2.3 GHz quad-core processors and 2GB of RAM using the Tegra 4i processor under the hood. While 5-inch 1080p screens are cutting edge right now, later this year when the T4i hits the market they will be more of a mainstream product, and NVIDIA hopes the Phoenix platform will enable smaller manufacturers to offer powerful and cheap Tegra 4i smartphones. Earlier this year we mentioned NVIDIA white-label tablets and smartphones headed to the market soon. Which would basically be rebranded smartphones and tablets from NVIDIA offered by smaller manufacturers. While that might be in the cards eventually, that isn’t what we have here. The KAI and Phoenix platforms are just blueprints for manufacturers to follow, not actual products built by NVIDIA and sold to 3rd parties. It looks like towards the end of the year 1080p quad-core smartphones with impressive specs, thin designs, and 4G LTE will be arriving by the dozens all within the $100-$299 range unsubsidized (outright), thanks to NVIDIA and their Phoenix platform. We’ll have more details and hands-on as soon as possible from Mobile World Congress next week.    |
| NVIDIA Tegra 4i announced, 2.3 GHz quad-core and 4G LTE for all Posted: 19 Feb 2013 06:00 AM PST Back at CES the folks from NVIDIA finally announced the much anticipated successor to their popular Tegra 3 quad-core processor. That being their new and improved Cortex-A15 quad-core Tegra 4 superchip. Today however NVIDIA has just announced another quad-core processor for the Tegra family. It’s called the Tegra 4i and is geared for the mass smartphone market with integrated 4G LTE.
For those who are confused and saying, “what, isn’t the Tegra 4 LTE?” and the answer would be yes. The Tegra 4 is an extremely powerful quad-core processor and also works with NVIDIA’s Icera 500 chipset for 4G LTE, but it’s not integrated – it’s an option. They needed all the space they could get to add the 72 GPU cores to the 4 Cortex-A15 cores in the T4. With the newly announced Tegra 4i you’ll get a slightly underpowered Tegra 4 with 4G LTE completely integrated into one processor, or system on chip. Similar to the Qualcomm Snapdragon series, the Tegra 4i now has LTE integrated under one roof. The 2.3 GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4i is half the size of competitors integrated 4G LTE quad-core chipsets, which will help on battery life, and as you can see is blazing along at a pretty fast speed. Add in NVIDIA’s usual 4-plus-1 dedicated 5th power saving processing core — you have one impressive sounding chipset. The goal with the Tegra 4i is the mass market smartphone. Then their more powerful Tegra 4 will be for “superphones and tablets.”
Interestingly enough, the Tegra 4i is not a Cortex-A15 based processor. Instead they’ve used four newest generation A9 processors (think Tegra 3 but better) and added all the features and benefits of the Tegra 4, then integrated 4G LTE support. It can be a bit confusing but essentially this is their processor to take on the Snapdragon S4 Pro and other 4G LTE integrated options. NVIDIA’s added all their next generation camera features from the T4 into the new Tegra 4i, which they’ve named Chimera. One new feature aside from the “always-on HDR” is full panoramic HDR photos. Those should be neat. It should be available later than we’d like, which is by the end of 2013 to power the “mass market” of smartphones. We’ll have more details, a hands-on look, and performance tests from Mobile World Congress next week so stay tuned.     |
| Samsung Galaxy S IV event ‘confirmed’ for March 14th, and Galaxy Note 8.0 Posted: 18 Feb 2013 03:51 PM PST We’ve been hearing a few different reports and rumors surrounding Samsung‘s upcoming and highly anticipated flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV. The March 14th date has been tossed around a few times, then again reported this afternoon by the highly respected Eldar Murtazin on Twitter. Now according to The Verge that date is ‘definitely’ the day they’ll unveil the new device, and possibly even the Galaxy Note 8.0 too.
Murtazin has been right in the past with Samsung announcements, although wasn’t accurate on his Galaxy S III predictions. Now we’re hearing the March 14th announcement and event for the Galaxy S IV is confirmed according to him, SamMobile, as well as sources extremely close to Samsung — at least according to The Verge. Their source went as far as to say March 14 will ‘definitely’ be the day.
If you look closely they calmly mention “one or more” new devices being announced. Then according to their reports and source, the Galaxy S IV will closely resemble the upcoming Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet. Interestingly enough they go as far as to say the Galaxy Note 8.0 looks nothing like the leaks. Leading us to believe those devices that have leaked are either fake, or like the Galaxy S III were in a casing to disguise the real design. This also confirms the Note 8.0 is indeed coming, and coming soon. We’re expecting the Galaxy Note 8.0 to be a big part of their event during Mobile World Congress next week, then follow that up with the Galaxy S IV on March 14th as reported. The details also confirm Samsung will be hosting a big event in NYC for the next Galaxy smartphone, instead of overseas. Just as we expected, it’s all about secrecy and hiding the final designs here with Samsung. We’ll know all the details soon enough, but for now they are still a tightly guarded secret. [via The Verge] |
| HTC Rezound and Incredible 2 “device enhancement” updates coming soon Posted: 18 Feb 2013 02:28 PM PST The folks HTC have been on a roll lately regarding updates for older devices. We’ve been seeing multiple HTC smartphones get updates, and today can confirm a few over on Verizon Wireless will soon see OTA updates too. Both the HTC Rezound and the DROID Incredible 2 have what HTC calls a “device enhancement” software improvement that should be arriving soon.
According to Droid-Life, Verizon posted up the details and changelog information for both smartphones this weekend. Which means the updates will probably land before the end of the week. Usually Verizon posts update details on their support pages full of information, but these only list “HTC Device Enhancement” for what’s new. So we don’t have any details really. While Rezound owners are still patiently awaiting an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and the Incredible 2 probably won’t see any future OS updates, we’d still like to know what’s new here. The Incredible 2 update is quite large coming in at over 32MB in size, and will most likely have a few bug fixes and security updates. On the other hand the Rezound update is minimal and probably only security patches of some sort.
All the details can be found here for the Rezound, and here for the Incredible 2. These don’t look to be any more than a few bugs and improvements and we don’t anticipate any new features worth mentioning. Either way be on the lookout for an update and drop us a comment when it shows up. Enjoy! |
| Iriver announces the 7-inch WOWtab with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Posted: 18 Feb 2013 02:03 PM PST Iriver has officially unveiled their latest Android tablet, the 7-inch WOWtab. While we are not sure we could classify this as a tablet that isn’t worthy of any attention, we are not all that certain it lives up to the wow in the name. Basically, in terms of specs, the Iriver WOWtab is along the lines of the Nexus 7. The issue we take with that is the Nexus 7 has been around for sometime now while the WOWtab is just now seeing a release.
Anyway, the Iriver WOWtab is sporting a 7-inch 1280 x 800 IPS display, quad-core 1.2GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Other hardware specs include 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. That last one of course, is a plus as compared to the Nexus 7. The WOWtab will also have a 4000 mAh battery as well as GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, a front-facing camera and microUSB.The tablet will measure in at 194 (W) x 122 (L) x 10.6mm, weigh in at 338 grams. Otherwise, those making the purchase can also expect to find a pair of speakers on the back along with the basics to include a 3.5mm headphone jack, power button and volume rocker.
The one catch in all this, so far the tablet looks to only be available for those in Korea. Iriver has the WOWtab priced at 248,000 won which would translate to roughly $230 in terms of US dollars. Needless to say, as we have seen in the past, direct currency translations do not always line up quite so nicely. Bottom line here, if you live outside of Korea and happen to be digging the WOWtab, you could either look for an importer or go the easier route and simply pick up a Nexus 7. [via Liliputing] |
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