| AT&T launching first VoLTE smartphone later this year Oct 8th 2013, 18:58, by Robert Nelson Recent talk coming from AT&T points towards the first VoLTE smartphone arriving sometime later this year. This little detail was mentioned by a senior AT&T executive and otherwise, the specifics were left to be a mystery. There wasn’t anything said about the particular device, aside from that it will bring VoLTE support. 
The AT&T VoLTE story sounds rather familiar to comments that we heard coming from Verizon Wireless earlier in the year. Back in August, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo spoke about how the first VoLTE-capable phone would be arriving late in 2013. We did get a bit more detail from Verizon though, Shammo mentioned how this particular device would also support CDMA as fallback. VoLTE devices aside, AT&T (as well as Verizon Wireless) are not expected to have the VoLTE network commercially available until 2014. In the case of AT&T we are looking at sometime in 2014. Verizon had said the network would be arriving in the first half of 2014. Shifting back to AT&T, these comments were coming by way of Krish Prabhu, who is the president of AT&T Labs. Prabhu noted that he believes there “might be a VoLTE-compliant device for the holidays this year.” Further comments coming from Prabhu touched on how AT&T is currently doing network upgrade testing for VoLTE “right now” and that VoLTE will be able to provide an HD voice experience for customers who are using VoLTE handsets on both ends of the call. In addition to the promise of VoLTE, Prabhu also spoke about LTE Advanced. In this case, it was said that AT&T is ready to upgrade the entire LTE network through a software update, as long as the vendors are able to “deliver what they promised.” This in short, means the network will be upgraded to LTE Advanced Release 10 and also, that an LTE Advanced device would be required to take full advantage. SOURCE: Fierce Wireless |  | Chrome OS may be getting folders, much like Android Oct 8th 2013, 18:35, by Nate Swanner As Chrome and Android start to trade utilities, one very important Android feature may be coming to your Chromebook. OMGChrome! has spotted a few bug reports that suggest the ability to create folders for Chrome apps is coming. 
Currently, all Chrome apps sit directly in an app drawer, unless pinned to the desktop. Users can move icons around, but much like iOS, they're not well organized, and can't be separated adequately for many. With folders, Chrome gets a much needed organizational upgrade.
One bug report, which can be found in the Chromium code base, is listed as "Add UI support for creating app list folder by drag-drop an app list item on it another app list item or a folder." From that, we can glean that the Android-esque ability to drag one app on top of another is currently being worked out for Chrome. As for aesthetics, there is mention of that. While Android enjoys a tiled view for folders, the Chrome look may be a bit flatter. A bug report notes "Create app list folder UI with the top 4 app list items grouped in 2×2 tile and inside the grayed circle as shown in [mock up]", which OMGChrome! has gone ahead and imagined for us as seen above. As with many bugs, no word on when it's coming, or even if it's coming, but we'd like to think something as cross-platform as this would find its way onto our Chromebooks at some point, hopefully very soon.
| | Nexus 5 release date, pricing listed on Japanese site Oct 8th 2013, 18:23, by Nate Swanner Japanese retailer Gekko & Co. may have tipped Google's cap for them, inadvertently releasing pricing and availability info for the Nexus 5. They note a "booking start time", which we'll take as a preorder date, of today. They also note the availability of the device is November 14th, but that may not be for worldwide launch. 
The site also lists specs for the newest Nexus, which fall in line with the previously leaked service manual. Most notably the contested dimensions — which mimic the Nexus 4 — are listed, though the FCC filing had different dimensional specs altogether.
As for price, we are left with a much higher cost than previously reported. At 44,600 and 49,800 yen respectively for the 16 and 32GB models, it's a bit higher than the $299/399 split we heard previously. The current exchange rate would put those devices at $460 and $513. We should note that devices which make their way to other markets don't always carry a similar price point to the ones we see stateside. 
Happily, we see that the different battery sizes are there, with both 2300 and 3000mAh batteries listed. Where we find fault is in the listing title, which notes the Nexus 5 is a "tentative name". That leads us to believe Gekko & Co. has either jumped the gun and listed a device based on the leaked service manual, or Google simply hasn't let their purveyors know what the device will be named. To our mind, the interesting part is the release date. We've heard November, but not quite a specific date for that month. With no official word on an announcement date, we can't even argue for a solid timeframe for availability. VIA: G for Games
| | Nexus 7 2013 official cases arrive in the Play Store Oct 8th 2013, 17:51, by Robert Nelson Official Nexus 7 sleeve style cases arrived in the Play Store within weeks of when the tablet was originally announced. And as of today, it looks like those who picked up the 2013 edition Nexus 7 now have another case option available. Well, as there are numerous third party cases available, we should clarify this latest is an official offering and available by way of the Play Store. 
What we have is the “Nexus 7 (2013) Case” and it is available in a variety of colors. Google has this case listed in black, white with red, gray with blue and gray with red. Regardless of the color, this case will set you back $49.99 plus any tax and shipping. Google is touting this one as being “a case (almost) as smart as your Nexus 7″ and it is custom-molded with microsuede. Specifically, the cover is microsuede and it can also be used as a stand. The case will allow for a few viewing options depending on the way you fold the cover over. Basically, you can fold it so the tablet sits at a decent typing angle, or have it sitting tall for a better viewing angle. Using this case will add an extra 118.7 grams to the weight of your tablet and Google appears to be taking shots at those previously mentioned third party cases. 
With this Play Store product listing, it was mentioned this case is “for Google, by Google.” To take that out a bit further, Google notes how it is “frustrating to get a case that doesn’t really work with your device, especially if it’s something you use every day.” From here they mention these cases are made to the exact specifications (read; the custom-molding) and they also have a Google flag “as a little salute to perfect fits.” 
Lastly, those still on the fence about the Nexus 7 (2013) may benefit from our earlier published review. SOURCE: Play Store | | HTC Sense 5.5 leaked screenshots show Blinkfeed, camera updates Oct 8th 2013, 17:35, by Nate Swanner Blog Android-Revolution-HD has posted some shots they say are the new HTC Sense 5.5, and offer us a glimpse at what may be coming. A native ability to turn Blinkfeed off will entice many, but there are also some camera tweaks to make the HTC skin more attractive to customers. 
With Sense 5.5, HTC may just be giving us something we've wanted from the start. A native way to turn Blinkfeed off would have been great for Sense 5.0, considering the forced news feed put some off. There were workarounds for getting Blinkfeed to go away, but this baked-in toggle is helpful for those who just want it to go away.
The camera is said to add "dual shot" and panorama modes as well. Dual shot may be a front/rear shot, as Samsung touts on their newer devices, but there's no explanation for it. Panorama is, well, panorama. Not much to tell you about that, except that HTC really should have had that a long time ago. Panorama shots with Ultrapixels should be impressive, but we wonder why there is a designation between "Panorama+" and "Sweep Panorama". Perhaps "sweep" is the traditional shot we're used to taking, and the other mode is set pics that are stitched together. 
No word on when this will hit the streets, but it could be a good selling point for the forthcoming HTC One Max. We'd like to think HTC will make it available for the One immediately, but their history of device support is spotty, so we won't hold our breath.
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