Google Android News Android Forums |
- Amazon to revamp Kindle Fire line with higher resolution displays and new design
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series of tablets now available nationwide
- Sony Smartwatch 2 UK availability pushed back until September
- T-Mobile could announce ‘Anytime Upgrades’ plan tomorrow
- Google releases patch to fix Bluebox security threat, users await OEMs and carriers for updates
- HTC Butterfly gets Android 4.2.2, Sense 5
- Latest Motorola X leak shows a dual-SIM variant is likely on the way
- Rumor: Motorola set to launch European variant of the X Smartphone in Q4, will give it Nexus-esque pricing in the process
- Latest Android distribution shows Jelly Bean up to 37.9%, Ice Cream Sandwich slides to 23%
- Moto X to incorporate clear pixel technology in camera hardware
| Amazon to revamp Kindle Fire line with higher resolution displays and new design Posted: 09 Jul 2013 11:35 AM PDT
After the tablet craze started, Amazon jumped and and built a solid tablet lineup with the Kindle Fire, which is still one of the most dominant Android tablets in the market today, and according to BGR Amazon is going to make some major improvements to their tablets by the end of the year to stay competitive. There will be three new tablets to replace current models on the market, which includes the Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, and Kindle Fire HD 8.9″. The biggest improvements will be the screen resolutions. The Kindle Fire is getting bumped up from a 1,024 x 600 screen to a 1,280 x 800 screen, the Kindle Fire HD is getting a new 1,920 x 1200 panel, and the 8.9″ version of the Kindle Fire is jumping from a 1,920 x 1200 resolution to a whopping 2,560 x 1,600, like what we’ve seen in the Nexus 10 tablets. The key difference here, though, is the Kindle Fire has a smaller screen than the Nexus 10, which makes it all the more impressive. In addition to the significantly better screens, the tablets are said to be receiving a design overhaul, including less rounded corners and a more angled aesthetic. The power and volume buttons are also supposedly moving to the back slope of the device as opposed to the sides of the tab. It’s definitely going to be a bold change for Amazon’s successful lineup, but hopefully the changes will be well received. Of course, Amazon didn’t sell tons of these tablets based on flagship specs. The biggest draw of the Kindle Fire tablets is the extremely affordable price tags, with the base Kindle Fire running $159 and the HD 8.9″ costing $269, or $399 with LTE. Amazon is supposedly working hard to keep the new tablets in those same price points to stay competitive, and I could definitely see some other specs (internal storage space, anyone?) getting axed to keep prices low. I’m sure it won’t be too much longer before we hear more details about these new devices, though. source: BGR
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series of tablets now available nationwide Posted: 09 Jul 2013 10:39 AM PDT
In case you’ve forgotten— the latest additions to the Samsung Galaxy Tab family are officially here with the arrival of the full Galaxy Tab 3 series of tablets. While each tablet model bears an uncanny resemblance to the Galaxy S 4 per se, the new tablets come in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch varieties— allowing for topnotch flexibility for a wide range of customers by including items such as a built-in IR blaster and expandable memory up to 64GB for each model. Oh and Sammy went ahead and tossed in some nice goodies for added measure:
Don’t think all of the cool content will cost you a pretty penny either. Samsung is offering some pretty competitive pricing too as the tablets are priced at $199, $299 and $399, respectively, so the Korean giant is placing a bet that all that nice content and freebies will be enough to woo in customers by the masses. More deets can be found once you hit the break and check out the full press release.
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Sony Smartwatch 2 UK availability pushed back until September Posted: 09 Jul 2013 09:49 AM PDT
Originally, Clove in the UK listed Sony’s brand new smartwatch with a July 15th availability despite Sony saying the smartwatch would be available later in the year. Now Clove has moved that July 15th date back a few weeks to September 9th, claiming the original information they received from Sony was incorrect. It’s kind of a “he said, she said” situation, but at least that gives everyone a little more time to preorder the device. And anyone on the fence about preordering one will definitely have a better look at the smartwatch at IFA, which is that same week that the device is slated to go on sale. source: Android Central
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| T-Mobile could announce ‘Anytime Upgrades’ plan tomorrow Posted: 09 Jul 2013 08:24 AM PDT
T-Mobile has a little event tomorrow which is widely believed to be phase 2 of the UNCarrier plan as well as the Sony Xperia Z and Nokia Lumia 925. What is phase 2 of the UNCarrier plan going to entail? Well TMONews uncovered a survey that T-Mobile conducted with some of their customers back in February and the goal was to find out if they would be interested in the ability to upgrade more often. This is actually something CNet also hinted at back in March. The plan would allow customers the ability to upgrade anytime with a possible limit of twice per year. It would also require a membership fee. If T-Mobile does in fact unveil something like this, it will sure give them yet another edge over Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. Unfortunately their overall coverage is still lacking. It will be interesting to see what the fee will be and if this will end up more of a money maker for T-Mobile rather than an advantage for the consumer. How many people will actually sign up for it, but “forget” to upgrade. I know our readers won’t “forget”, but imagine T-Mobile sales associates pushing this plan on mainstream consumers. I can see a lot of people signing up, but never bothering with the upgrades. source: TMONews
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Google releases patch to fix Bluebox security threat, users await OEMs and carriers for updates Posted: 09 Jul 2013 07:41 AM PDT
Last week we told you about a new security threat that was uncovered by Bluebox. It was actually uncovered several months ago and Google was informed about it in February. At the time of the posting, Google didn’t make a comment, but it appears Google did indeed patch the hole back in March. Gina Scigliano, Google’s Android Communications Manager, did “confirm that a patch has been provided to our partners – some OEMs, like Samsung, are already shipping the fix to the Android devices.” There is only one problem. The patch is in the hands of the OEMs and it’s up to them to update devices. Anyone want to take a guess as to how long it will take for all Android devices to receive the update? Have no fear because there hasn’t been one case of the exploit taking place. Google regularly scans the Play Store for such things and nothing has popped up. source: ZDNet
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| HTC Butterfly gets Android 4.2.2, Sense 5 Posted: 09 Jul 2013 07:21 AM PDT
Earlier, HTC said that some of their features on Sense 5 would be exclusive to the HTC One, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Blinkfeed, as it’s part of the Butterfly update. The update obviously isn’t yet available for the DNA, but the way things are going, don’t be surprised if it is soon. Source: Engadget
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Latest Motorola X leak shows a dual-SIM variant is likely on the way Posted: 09 Jul 2013 07:09 AM PDT
Boy oh boy— if we didn’t know any better, we’d think that Google is purposely trying to tease the public since we keep seeing all these different leaks of its upcoming X smartphone. As you can see in the photo above, the back and front plates of the X smartphone seems to indicate that there will be a dual-SIM set up, thanks to the SIM 1 and SIM 2 identifiers located at the top and bottom sections of the plates. In addition, it appears there are some cosmetic or physical differences with the dual-SIM model as well. A second leaked photo shows 3 different colors of the single-SIM X’s body, while highlighting the placement of the speaker on those three cases is on the opposite side of than where the speaker is located on the dual SIM model.
At this rate, Google might as well just go ahead and show us the final product already. Sheesh. source: NWE
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2013 06:11 AM PDT
So you think Google’s Nexus line of smartphones are impressive in setting the bar for quality phones at affordable prices eh? Well you’re about to even more impressed at this tidbit of news from ADSL Zone: Google’s Motorola unit is rumored to bring a variation of its imminent X smartphone that will arrive in Europe for an astounding 250 Euros (roughly $250 here in the States). Moreover, Europe’s version of the X smartphone will have a different name than the U.S. version and will be completely subsidized— meaning European customers will be able to take advantage of the low price point without having to be locked under contract for a period of time. Of course this is all hearsay for now and there’s no word on when exactly the new version will arrive (all indications are pointing to a “Q4 release”), but if this is true— then Google is certainly positioning itself to take over the smartphone world… one country at a time. source: ADSL Zone
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Latest Android distribution shows Jelly Bean up to 37.9%, Ice Cream Sandwich slides to 23% Posted: 08 Jul 2013 11:31 PM PDT
It’s that time of the month when we get to see how well different versions of Android are doing, and the numbers look pretty good for Jelly Bean. Last month, Jelly Bean devices accounted for 33% of Android devices, which has improved about 5% to 38%. Ice Cream Sandwich devices slipped a bit over 2% to account for 23.3%, and Gingerbread devices are holding strong at 34.1%, although it’s worth mentioning that Gingerbread devices on API level 9 have disappeared completely. Overall, Google holding out on Android 4.3 is definitely helping Android manufactures slowly catch up their devices to current software, which I’m sure has been the intended effect. Hopefully we’ll see this trend continue next month, too. source: Android Developers
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| Moto X to incorporate clear pixel technology in camera hardware Posted: 08 Jul 2013 08:22 PM PDT
According to Taylor Wimberly of Android and Me, the new Moto X Phone is going to come with some new technology to raise the stakes in terms of camera performance for a smartphone. The clear pixel technology the device is said to use is based on some technology patented by Kodak back in 2005. Although it has been around a few years, this appears to be the first known use in a smartphone. “Clear pixel” refers to a new method for sensing light by a camera. The traditional way for a camera to detect light is by using red, green and blue pixels in the sensor, with each pixel only capable of detecting light in its specific color range. Thus, only one-third of the light is detected for any given pixel. The clear pixel is a sensor that is capable of detecting light on all wavelengths. This makes it much better at detecting light, especially in low light conditions. This technology can be contrasted with the HTC One‘s UltraPixel technology that is also engineered to be more sensitive to light. However, where the UltraPixel is ultimately a 4MP camera, the Moto X clear pixel camera maintains an image resolution of 10MP. source: +Taylor Wimberly
Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android News, Rumours, and Updates To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment