| Android 4.4 Kit Kat rumors suggest an Android TV connection Oct 24th 2013, 15:00, by Robert Nelson There has been plenty of chatter around Android 4.4 Kit Kat, however while we are seeing some differences as compared to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, there hasn’t been anything really major. Well, according to a new report coming out of Korea, Kit Kit may arrive with more of a focus on larger screens. And by larger screens, we are not hearing anything about tablets, but about televisions. 
The report was published on Korea IT News and makes mention of how “Google seeks to become the dominant TV platform provider with its next OS ‘Kit Kat.” This all seems to go back to an earlier report that was published by GigaOm, about Google looking to rebrand Google TV as Android TV. To follow up, this new report suggests that LG has already received word of the rebranding and have received guidelines for Android TV. There was also mention of how unnamed industry insiders have said Google claims the “next OS has greatly improved its utilization in TV.” Anyway, the important part here is to remember this is rumor and speculation. Key, Google has yet to confirm any of this. With that in mind, there could be some truth here. Given the amount of Kit Kat leaks we have seen, one would suspect a big smartphone or tablet feature would have come out by now. That could suggest this next update will be the connection between mobile devices and televisions, sort of unifying Google TV with Android and having that come out as Android TV. But then, going with the same logic, why have we yet to see any killer new features that are television related leak? VIA: unwired view |  | Motorola DVX tipped to arrive as the Moto G Oct 24th 2013, 14:33, by Robert Nelson A Motorola trademark filing was discovered earlier in the week. At the time there was little more than how Motorola had trademarked the name Moto G. As we often see on the web, when the details are light, the speculation goes into overdrive. In this case there was talk of everything from the Moto G being a Google Edition Moto X to the possibility of something headed towards Verizon Wireless. 
Well, while Motorola has yet to announce anything official, there are some additional rumors. This latest bit comes by way of the New Cell Phones blog who are reporting based on the “extremely reliable Motorola device leaker Houdabao. According to the leak, the Moto G is going to be the official name of the Motorola DVX. The Motorola DVX has yet to be officially announced, however it has been the subject on numerous rumors and leaks. So far there has been talk of the DVX being a low-cost alternative to the Moto X. There has been details about how the DVX would feature removable back panels for easy color swapping and interestingly enough, powered by the same X8 found in the Moto X. Other still rumored specs of the Motorola DVX (Moto G) are said to include a 4.5-inch display, dualSIM support and a low off-contract price point. We have seen talk of the DVX heading to Republic Wireless in the US, but otherwise, most of the talk has centered around the handset heading towards emerging markets. VIA: phoneArena | | Polaroid iM1836 micro 4/3 interchangeable lens camera now available Oct 24th 2013, 14:12, by Robert Nelson The Polaroid iM1836 camera was the subject of numerous leaks and was then officially unveiled in January, during CES. At the time Polaroid had said the camera would be arriving during the first quarter of the year and with a price point of $399. Anyway, Polaroid has finally announced the availability. The iM1836 is available today and actually priced a bit lower than originally expected. 
The camera has arrived at $299 and will be available by way of Amazon and Walmart. Polaroid is promising the iM1836 will deliver “D-SLR quality and flexibility but with the simplicity, affordability and convenience of a point-and-shoot camera.” That aside, what we can say is the Polaroid iM1836 is a micro 4/3 body with an interchangeable lens setup. The camera is 18.1 megapixel and the feature set includes a 3.5-inch touchscreen along with WiFi, Bluetooth and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. As for the interchangeable lens bit, the iM1836 ships with a 10-30mm lens to get started with. Polaroid also mentioned that a 500mm telephoto lens will be available in November and a 50mm lens will be available in the early part of 2014. 
So far Polaroid hasn’t offered anything in terms of pricing for those additional lenses. Users can also expect HDMI out for connecting to a television or other external display, a headphone out to monitor audio when filming and your basic SD card slot for memory. The video will record at 1920 x 1080 and thanks to the camera running Android — there will be some software goodies included. Those include Face Auto Exposure and panoramic images. There will also be blink detection and a pop-up flash. Lastly, it looks like the camera will be available in one color — silver, and it will measure in at 4.2 x 1 x 2.5 inches. | | Samsung patent filing details Google Glass competitor Oct 24th 2013, 13:33, by Robert Nelson A Samsung patent filing has recently been discovered for a pair of “sport glasses.” This particular filing is coming out of Korea and was registered in October. More to the point though, the fling included some basic details along with a few sketches. These appear like they are similar to Google Glass and the filing mentions smartphone connectivity as well as some of the functionality. 
There was mention of these glasses having integrated earphones that would allow the user to take calls and also listen to music. Touching back to the smartphone connectivity and it looks like these will be serving as a second screen for the purpose of incoming alerts and messages. There was also mention of camera lens. 
The sketches appear to highlight these features. There are some similarities and based on the sketches, some obvious differences compared to Google Glass. There is one point that stands out at the moment — this appear to have a bit more emphasis on design and the sporty aspect, which is something that Google put less effort into with the Explorer Edition Glass. Samsung declined to comment with a spokesperson mentioning they do not offer anything on future product plans. Whether these become a product in the future remains to be seen, however considering Samsung has recently released the Galaxy Gear smartwatch we suppose them testing other wearables should not be all that surprising. 
Looking at the sketches and there appears to be another item worth questioning — the cable coming out of the sides and running down the back. One could assume this would be a charging cable, however there was no mention of how these connect with the smartphone in the filing. We can only hope this is an early prototype and that cable will be removable and only for charging if these should end up in the hands of consumers. SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal | |
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