Thursday, June 27, 2013

Android Authority

Android Authority


Source code released for Google Play Editions, questions raised over software updates

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:41 AM PDT

HTC One Google EditionNow that stock Android versions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 are available directly from Google Play, Google has created a mirror of the GPL licensed source code that is used for the initial factory state of these Google Play Edition devices.

From a marketing point of view, pundits have been asking what is the difference between a Nexus devices (like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7) and a Google Play Edition – since both devices run stock Android (well almost) and can be bought via Google’s online store. The answer, it would appear, can be found among the developer chit-chat.

Having announced the source code mirror, Jean-Baptiste M. “JBQ” Queru was asked if all the proprietary binaries needed to build a working version of the stock firmware would be available from Google. The answer – no!

OK, what about any plans to release stock firmware images, like the ones for the Nexus devices? According to JBQ, Google has nothing planned.

This then begs the question about future software updates? How will these devices receive the latest version of Android? What happens when Google releases Android 4.3 or Android 5.0? Will these Google Play Editions get instant updates like the Nexus devices? It doesn’t look like it.

Since OEMs like Samsung and HTC don’t have a very good track record when it comes to releasing upgrades to Android, this new twist could be worrying for those looking for a cleaner Android experience on one of these handsets.

According to Droid Life, which has been in contact with some public relations folks over at Google, the Google Play Editions won’t get new software releases as quickly as Nexus devices, but the updates should come out shortly after an official Android release.

On background, we will be working very closely with Samsung and HTC on future software updates for these devices and they will receive software updates shortly after a new version is released.

Of course, what “shortly after” means is any ones guess, but let us hope that this is measured in days rather than months!

And so there is the difference. The release of the source code, binaries and stock firmware images for Nexus devices are handled by Google and new Android versions are pushed out via the Android Open Source Project. For Google Play Editions, Android updates are handled via Samsung and HTC. All the propitiatory stuff remains in the hands of the respective OEMs and any decisions to release stock images or the driver binaries remains solely theirs.

Does this taint your desire for a Google Play Edition of the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4 or is their use of stock Android the most important point for you?

    


CyanogenMod adds encrypted messaging to help beat the NSA

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:34 PM PDT

CyanogenModIn light of the recent surveillance scandals that have hit the USA and to some extent the UK, the key developers for the CyanogenMod project have been adding some new privacy features to the alternative Android firmware. First, the Run in Incognito Mode, which limits as apps access to your personal data at a system level, has now been integrated into the nightly builds under its new name of Privacy Guard. Even more interestingly, Koushik Dutta has started to integrate a secure (encrypted) messaging service for devices running CM.

The philosophy behind the new  PushSms app/plugin, which is still under heavy development, is that the encryption should be handled in the background without the user needing to worry about how it works. The idea is that all messages exchanged between two CyanogenMod devices will be encrypted end to end and sent over Google Cloud Messaging. Since the encryption is build into the bowls of CyanogenMod, it works transparently, even with third party apps. Dutta has done some extensive testing with apps like GoSMS to check that the encryption happens for all messages, regardless of how they are sent.

This new privacy feature in CyanogenMod works because of some clever changes in the telephony framework. Now SMS messages can now be intercepted, encrypted and then sent via the Google Cloud Messaging service if needed.

According to Dutta, this is how Apple’s iMessage works and it is reckoned that governments aren’t able to spy on iMessage traffic. The use of encryption over iMessage is transparent as iOS encrypts the messages automatically when they are sent between two Apple users. SMS is only used when needed.

What do you think? Clearly the CyanogenMod changes are brilliant, but shouldn’t Google be doing something like this in stock Android?

    


Google Play Edition phones contain new Camera, live wallpaper, and boot animation

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 08:02 PM PDT

google-edition-handsets

If you thought the version of Android installed on the Google Play Editions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One would be identical to AOSP, think again. Reviewers at some media outlets able to get their hands on test units noted a few, relatively minor differences between stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and the software pre-installed on the Google Play Edition phones. Though not much more than subtle UI enhancements, the incongruities are worth a quick look.

Camera

google-play-edition-camera-app

Perhaps the most obvious change is the camera app. Though lacking in new functionality, the Google Play Edition APK features an improved user interface. The new design allows for easier selection of options that could, more often than not, be obscured by users' thumbs.

It's unclear why Google decided to update Camera in Google Play Edition phones. Some speculate the move may herald the separation of yet another core app from the Android operating system; Google could choose to make Camera available through Google Play, allowing users with smartphones no longer supported by manufactures to continue to receive updates.

Wallpaper

phase-beam-red

 Google Play Edition phones come with a new default background: a red-themed Phase Beam live wallpaper. It's possible we'll see this in the next Nexus.

Boot Animation

Google's made a unique boot animation for Google Play Edition phones. It's the iOS Google+ app's refresh animation, and does a good job of differentiating the special HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 from their vanilla, Nexus, and rooted cousins.

So, what does this all mean for AOSP? Nothing much, really. The camera app is more than likely either (1) going to be released in the Play store, or (2) coming in a future version of Android. Google hasn't officially released the red Phase Beam wallpaper for download, but third parties have already made identical backgrounds. And boot animations have always differed from one phone to another. These differences are not cause for alarm – they just are. Android's open. In time, every Nexus and Play Edition phone will be on equal footing, software-wise.

    


FingerQ: A case that provides the ultimate in security

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:36 PM PDT

fingerq_s3case CNET Asia

What's mobile security worth to you?

If you said 'about fifty bucks', you may be in luck! Hong Kong company FingerQ has designed a number of cases for popular devices which utilize a fingerprint scan to add a layer of protection. Much like the same feature you see on many PCs, the small scanner requires that you slide a finger over it to add a layer of protection to your phone.

The order of the day is safety, and the cases provide that much.

While a fingerprint may seem like enough security, the cases are meant to work in unison with existing OS security. You would have to scan your fingerprint, then use whatever means you use to secure your device (lock code, facial recognition, etc.). The real interest may not come with total device security, but in-app protection.

With the case, software must be downloaded to work with your current operating system and apps. While there is no indication if the cases and security software will work with any app, they do note that each app can be assigned a scan. So, if you wanted to lock down your picture gallery or browser, you would simply set a security level on those devices to ask for a scan before opening them.

The one major function FingerQ is quick to highlight is their chat application, which allows for encrypted messages to be sent to other FingerQ users. Messages and pictures require a scan before being sent or viewed, which can be tedious.

The order of the day is safety, and the cases provide that much. Working in unison with your device, the cases won't work with another device, and can't simply be removed to bypass the security features. This makes a stolen device nearly useless, and allows us to better control who sees our important info. If for some reason the device is separated from the case, a security password can be set to override the fingerprint scan.

The cases will be available in July, and are said to retail between $40 and $60 here in the US.

CNET Asia

    


Over 1 million American Android users have installed adware

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:28 PM PDT

Lookout adware stats

How secure is your Android phone, really? If the statistics released by today by mobile security firm Lookout are to be believed, some smartphone owners are more security conscious than others. According to the company's estimates, over 1 million American Android users have unwittingly installed adware. (Lookout defines adware as apps that display overly obtrusive advertising, harvest "personally identifiable information," or "perform unexpected actions" as a result of user interaction.) Even more discouraging, the company says about 6.5 percent of the free applications available in the Google Play store contain adware. Assuming that’s accurate, a simple calculation using Google’s most recent Play store app count reveals that just over 55,000 applications contain harmful code.

Lookout's statistics provide a detailed look at the percentage of adware contained certain categories of apps available from the Google Play store. Free Personalization applications are the worst offenders: 26 percent have adware of some kind. Social apps fare far better, with only 2 percent of free applications incorporating adware. Free games are somewhere in the middle, with 9 percent containing adware.

More Lookout adware stats

The numbers from Lookout are worrisome, but not unexpected. Bitdefender, a mobile security software maker, said in May that adware targeting Android increased by 35 percent in the United States and 61 percent globally. Earlier this week, Juniper Networks released a report that broke down mobile adware's distribution by platform. Android took the dubious crown, with 92 percent of threats running on the operating system.

In a post on Lookout's blog, Lookout product manager Jeremy Linden stressed the need for mobile advertising companies to "protect user privacy and excellent user experience." He suggested unscrupulous ad frameworks that "[capture] personal information" without asking and "[modify] phone settings and desktop" without permission harm the integrity of the smartphone ecosystem. Linden wrote, "People need to trust and feel comfortable on their smartphones and tablets in order to use them!"

    


India is now the third largest Smartphone market in the world

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:02 PM PDT

india flag Sudhamshu

India, second only to China in population, has passed Japan to become the third largest smartphone market on earth. Trailing only China and the U.S., India now sits comfortably behind the two market leaders, and is experiencing a huge uptick in sales growth across the smartphone board.

Android is used on about 90% of hardware made for India last quarter.

With a liberalized economy, more post-secondary education, and a rapidly growing middle class, Indians are seeing themselves with more disposable income. That income leaves Indians the ability to have nicer toys like smartphones, which itself is a booming market.

India is known for fragmentation (they have 22 official languages, and nearly 400 living languages), but also keen to embrace it. That sets the pace for device manufacturing close to home, and brand loyalty to those Indian manufacturers. A name like Micromax or Karbonn may mean nothing to us here in the United States, but they are crucial to India. As a local manufacturer, Micromax has a stealthy distribution chain throughout India, and a leg-up on outside competitors. There are over 100 mobile device brands available in India, and a majority of them are names unfamiliar to our ears.

The booming smartphone market also lends itself to many smaller network providers. India is both densely populated and sparsely traversed, meaning the chances for coverage can be limited to local carriers. There are 14 major carriers listed for India, including two state owned providers. None have over 180 million subscribers, but the middle class is expected to hit about 250 million by 2015, roughly 20 percent of the overall population.

The smartphone market in India is expanding at about 160% annually, compared to overall world growth of about 40%. If you're doing to math, India is growing over four times as fast as everyone else, even outpacing China (86% growth year over year), and lapping the US handily (19%).

The real fun news in all of this? Android is used on about 90% of hardware made for India last quarter.

    


Who are the top mobile device manufacturers in Western Europe? You may be surprised.

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 05:08 PM PDT

Western Europe

You've got Samsung, Apple, and everyone else. No matter where you go, Samsung and Apple dominate the smartphone landscape. In Western Europe, there is a new challenger to the throne, and it's one we're happy to have.

Sony shipped the third most mobile devices during the first quarter of 2013. They moved 3.2 million handhelds, which puts them in third place. Samsung shipped a daunting 14.3 million units, and Apple checked in with 6.2 million iPhones distributed.

As for market share, Samsung commands the landscape with 45%.

While 3.2 million devices puts them in distant third, we'd like to consider their place in the smartphone market last year. This time last year, they were next to oblivion, teetering on mobile extinction. A renewed focus and dedication to their craft gave us the Xperia line, and the upcoming Xperia Z Ultra is a nice piece of hardware.

Another surprise may be LG, who shipped 2.4 million devices. If you look at sales this time last year for both Sony and LG, they have doubled up or better; moving 1.6 and 0.5 million units, respectively. HTC didn't crack the top 5, instead being relegated to "other" along with the other smaller players in Western Europe.

As for market share, Samsung commands the landscape with 45%. Apple gets 20%, and Sony commands about 10%. That's nearly double for Sony, but Apple shipped less units versus Q1 2012, and gave up about 5% market share. The only ones who were down this year versus last were Apple, Nokia, and the "others"–all posting double-digit differences.

The really interesting tidbit to take away might be Nokia, who shipped nearly one million less handsets. In Q1 2012 they sent 2.3 million units, and only 1.6 million this quarter. At least in Western Europe, their dedication to Windows phone seems to be working out for everyone else involved.

Samsung-Apple-Sony-smartphone-market-Western

    


The Best Strategy Games for Android! (video)

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 03:56 PM PDT

best strategy games for android

Strategy games are launched all the time, but the good ones seem to last forever. That raises a question. Which strategy games are the good ones on Android? They may be hard to find due to wide availability of strategy games, but we’ve gone to the Google Play Store in search of some of the best ones, and we’re here today to tell you about them.

If you like strategy games that move at a slower pace, there’s an option here for you. If you like fast-paced action, old school strategy games, or even complex strategy games, there’s surely something on this list that you’ll find enjoyable.

As usual, if you’re in a rush, jump straight to the video, otherwise, stick with us as we take a closer look at some of these awesome strategy games!

Great Big War Game

Great Big Strategy Game Screenshot

Not all great strategy games need memorable or catch names. One such example is Great Big War game, a fun strategy game that’s been around for some time now. The basic premise is to use a number of troops and vehicles to destroy your opponent.

Each individual unit has their own strengths and weaknesses, so you need to pay attention to which ones you use, where, and when. Campaign mode, along with all of the singleplayer modes, are a lot of fun. However, we had the most fun with this game during online multiplayer sessions, where you send moves back and forth, similar to a chess game.

Graphically, there are a lot of cartoon-like elements, which are really awesome, though, that’s ultimately up to you to decide. There’s also a lot humorous dialogue attached to units. So between the cartoon-like graphics and silly dialogue, you’re in for a fun time in Great Big War Game!

Get it on Google Play


Landgrabbers

Landgrabbers Screenshot

Landgrabbers is all about quickness as opposed to strategy tactics. You play as a small army based in one spot where you have to send troops to other places that need to be conquered. From there, you’ll use those conquered placed as staging points for further attacks.

As you can see, the premise of the game is quite simple. Getting the rank of lieutenant in every map can be achieved easily, however, gaining ranks beyond that can prove to be quite a difficulty. Matches go by in just a couple of minutes, so this is the perfect game to play in sessions if you’re on lunch break or something.

All in all, it’s a really fun game, and we loved the quickness aspect of it. Sure, there aren’t a lot of strategy tactics involved, but that doesn’t mean the game isn’t challenging.

Get it on Google Play


Ninja Village

Ninja Village Screenshot

Our long time viewers may be familiar with this particular game, as we featured it in our Best Apps of the Month before. Ninja village has elements of both a building sim and a strategy game. It may sound cheesy at first, but it’s actually quite challenging and addictive.

The main story has a time limit of about 17 hours. However, even if you don’t make it by then, you can still continue the game. You build your village and use the resources to continue bolstering your ninja army. As you might expect, your ninja army is there to beat up other, ninja armies.

Graphically, there isn’t anything special here. In this case, however, the game remains a lot of fun, thanks to the various elements of gameplay.

Get it on Google Play


Time of Exploration

Time of Exploration Screenshot

Remember when we said there was something on this list for old school gamers? Well, here it is! Time of Exploration is a unique, fun text based game. This particular strategy game lets you creating a whole civilization by building things as necessary to help your economy improve.

Being a text based game, there are no graphics whatsoever. So if that sort of thing matters to you, it might be best to shy away from this particular title. Otherwise, Time of Exploration is a very challenging strategy game, and it makes you think more than it makes you watch.

The depth of this game is truly impressive, despite its lack of graphical content. If you can get past its text based elements, you’re in for a lot of fun with this strategy game.

Get it on Google Play


Warlords RTS

Warlords RTS Screenshot

Last, but certainly not least, is Warlords RTS. This strategy title revolves around a central hero that you go from mission to mission with. It’s also quite similar to a tower defense game, as there is a castle that you must defend and one that needs to be destroyed. However, Warlords RTS certainly doesn’t play like a tower defense game.

You play as a hero, and as the battle goes on, you earn coins. These coins are used to summon minions, which is needed to kill the enemy and raze their buildings. However, you do have to be quite careful. If the enemy ever gets behind you and destroy’s your castle, it’s game over.

Get it on Google Play


Video

Wrap up

Strategy_Leaderboard_ARTICLE

If you take a look at our leaderboard (image above) you can see how these strategy games stack up with one another. Keep in mind that this isn’t how we rate them, it’s solely based off of Google Play Ratings, so there isn’t any bias on our part.

Strategy games is a difficult list to put together because of the loose definition of strategy and the various sub genre’s that fall into the category. For example, we didn’t include any tower defense games because that deserves a list of its own. I won’t even begin to mention the sheer amount of strategy titles there is to go through, too.

Due to the sheer amount of strategy games out there, there’s always one good one that everybody loves, but didn’t make it to the list. If you’ve got a favorite strategy game, whether it be rated low or high, tell us about it in the comments!

    


Nvidia Shield delayed to July, component issue to blame

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 02:10 PM PDT

Nvidia Shield Hands On 1600 aa

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day the Nvidia Shield finally launched to retail. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen so soon after all.

Nvidia has now officially confirmed that the device will instead ship sometime in July.

So what gives here? Apparently the company ran into a third-party mechanical component issue and promises they are working around the clock to get things up to snuff.

Here's part of an official statement from Nvidia’s blog, which further explaining the situation:

We're grateful for all the enthusiasm that's been expressed for SHIELD, our new portable gaming device. And we're eager to get it into your hands. But we won't do that until it's fully up to the exacting standards that NVIDIA's known for. And some final quality-assurance testing has just turned up a mechanical issue that we're not happy with.

The good news here is that Nvidia is actually takes quality control seriously. The bad news is that a scorned gamer can be quite unforgiving.

While many Nvidia fans will take this delay in stride, there will probably be at least some cancellations, especially with the next-gen home consoles just around the corner.

Still, with a recent price cut to $299 and the ability to play streamed PC games, there will be folks willing to wait just a little bit longer to get their hands on the unique handheld console. It’s also nice to see a company that actually wants to get things right BEFORE their products reach customers.

Nvidia just better make sure that when the Shield does arrive there are absolutely no major flaws, as consumers are likely going to be a heck of a lot less forgiving now that Nvidia has already had to delay the device for Q&A purposes.

What do you think of the Nvidia Shield, interested or not?

    


Rumor: Motorola Droid RAZR Ultra and RAZR M Ultra coming to Verizon

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 01:30 PM PDT

motorola -X-Phone

It's been a big day for Motorola-related news so far. Not only have we seen what is allegedly the Sprint version of the Moto X, we also got our first peak at Motorola's new Google-influenced logo.

The day isn't over yet, and now we bring word of the Motorola Droid RAZR Ultra and Razr M Ultra. The latest news comes to us from the well-known and highly accurate @evleaks.

It seems to be a little odd that Motorola would continue pushing its Droid RAZR line with Google guiding the company towards a "new direction" – but considering the Droid RAZR's past success, we can't say we are totally surprised to hear that Verizon and Motorola are teaming up once again for new DROID branded devices.

evleaks-motorola-tweet

As you see in the tweet above, we don't receive any real information besides a simple 'confirmation' that new Motorola Droid RAZR handsets are on their way. This leaves us rather curious as to what exactly we should expect with the new Ultra handsets.

Are the Razr Ultra and Razr M Ultra the Verizon versions of the Moto X project? Or will their still be a completely separate Moto X Verizon handset?

Current rumors suggest that the Moto X's launch could be imminent, so it's possible that the cross-carrier Motorola handset could still be coming to Verizon, with the Razr Ultra and RAZR Ultra M sticking to the traditional fall release schedule.

Unfortunately, @evleaks hint of what is to come leaves us with more questions than answers. The good news is that once these kinds of 'leaks' start surfacing, we can expect plenty more in the days and weeks to come.

What do you think, would you like to see a refreshed Droid RAZR series from Verizon or not?

    


Google Search update has some great new features

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 12:34 PM PDT

Google Search Update

Google Search got a healthy update today, adding all kinds of cool little features.

We'll start with TV, which may have the coolest use case for everyday life. If you've ever watched a show, and seen an actor you can't quite place, Google has you covered. If your TV is internet ready, and both your mobile device and TV are on the same network connection, you've got it made. In Google Now, a card with the title "Listen for a TV show" will allow you to get info about what you're watching in real time, without entering any data. Maybe that actor was on a really great show you used to love, but can't quite remember the name. Google Now may just give you their complete resume of roles (like IMDB), allowing you to start connecting dots.

Google Offers is also getting a little Google Now handshake, allowing you to access saved offers. If you find a good deal in Offers, Google Now will remind you of the offers you save when you get near the location. This has been a feature in Offers for a while, but the update brings that functionality to Now.

Google Music

To round out the update, there are two more cool features. You can now play music using voice commands, making All Access that much cooler. Any song you want, anytime you ask it to be played. While it may default to YouTube, as it did for me, you can click on the icon and it will give you a choice of apps from which to play the song. The Play Music controls were then in the notification bar drop down menu, like they would be if I played the song from Play Music itself.

The last, but maybe the most useful, is something called "Voice action tips". While no information is readily available about that one, it seems as though Google Now will advise you as to which commands are best to achieve what you'd like. It would be next to impossible for Google to readily appreciate how each person may try to accomplish tasks, but a little tutorial on best practises is a great way to go.

Do you have the update yet? What do you think of the features?

    


Galaxy S4 and HTC One “Google Play Edition” handsets have landed!

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:55 AM PDT

google-edition-handsets

As expected, the big day has come! You can now get your hands on the stock Android-powered HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4 directly from Google Play.

You might notice that Google is now officially calling the handsets “Google Play Edition” devices. This is interesting, considering we previously had it on good word from Google that they were referring to these units as "Nexus Experience" devices. Whatever the reason for the name change, we are still very excited to see manufacturers embracing the idea of pure Android handsets that provide an experience similar to a Nexus device.

The only potential downside to the Google Play edition handsets is that you don't get custom software designed to make the most out of the flagship hardware. This includes things like the lack of IR support out of the box, no HTC Zoe, no Blink Feed and none of Samsung's special software features.

Of course for those of us that prefer pure Android, the Google Play edition handsets will still certainly be worth the minor sacrifices. And then there are also 3rd party apps and customizations that can help bring some of these ‘missing’ features back.

So how much will the Google Play Editions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 set you back? The 32GB HTC One is available now for $599, and the 16GB Galaxy S4 is $649.

If you live in the United States, you can start ordering either handset starting today, with Google promising to ship by July 9th. Just remember that Google doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to online ordering – so a little patience might be needed to make it through the whole ordeal.

So how about it, which Google Play edition handset are you planning on picking up?

    


New Motorola logo has a lot to say

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:05 AM PDT

New Motorola Logo

It’s not official, but it’s there. On the tech week website, tucked way at the bottom, is a new Motorola logo. We’ve seen variants of the Motorola logo before, but this one has a twist. This one may mean something.

Gone is the bright red warning sign with the familiar "M" staring at you so menacingly. The Motorola logo, which had been around for as long as most can remember, is born again. A bright purple replaces the red, and the lowercase font below suggests a friendlier, more approachable company. Even the sharp "M" looks gentler.

If that sounds like marketing nonsense, it is. The most important part of the new logo is not the color, or colors if The Verge is right with the "alternate" logo. It's not a font choice, or sizing, or even retaining brand recognition.

It's that last line, at the very bottom.

Since purchasing the handset maker, Google has kept them at a comfortable distance. Vowing to operate them as a separate company, Google was cautious in not appearing to show favoritism. Though the immediate appointment of Dennis Woodside to CEO of Motorola didn't do them any favors, Google has since allowed Motorola to operate with minimal involvement or oversight.

While that will probably still be the case, branding Motorola as a Google company shows quite a bit of support from the mothership. We've long wondered when Google would start to acknowledge Motorola as a subsidiary, rather than a company they happen to have ownership of. Google purchased Motorola for patent protection, though those patents haven't been as lucrative as they may have thought. There is clearly an aspect of manufacturing control, but Google hasn't had input on a consumer device from Motorola yet.

Whatever their reason for acquiring Motorola, Google is now staking claim to them, as they should.

    


T-Mobile’s Huawei Prism II made official, available today for $116 outright

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:04 AM PDT

t-mobile-huawei-prism-ii
T-Mobile’s new low-cost unlimited plans have been met with great news, but paying $599 for a phone outright just to take advantage of the new plans can be difficult. However, T-Mobile’s Huawei Prism II, a low-end Android device, is now available, for $116 outright, which will let you test the T-Mobile waters without much regret.

The Prism II, the successor to the original model, Prism, features a 3.5-inch HVGA 480 x 320 display, a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of on-board storage, a 1,750 mAh battery, and a 3.2-megapixel rear shooter. As for software, the device is running Jelly Bean 4.1.2.

HVGA, the only resolution supported by Android until version 1.5, with today’s standards, would be hard to live with. However, keep in mind that the Prism II is a low-end budget smartphone, not a device that you should really do all of your media consumption on, especially if you’re used to a higher resolution.

It’s not a high-end device, but for those that don’t have much cash to spend or simply want to test another network, the Prism II will serve you well.

    


Sony Honami (Xperia i1) allegedly shows up in new image

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 10:57 AM PDT

honami

Sony recently released its long-rumored Sony Xperia Z Ultra, bringing us the biggest, baddest 6+-inch phone the world has ever seen. Sony isn’t done bringing us new goodies just yet, as rumors still suggest that the Sony Honami – aka Sony i1 – will also be arriving sometime in Q3 of this year.

While we've heard quite a bit about the Sony Honami, we've yet to see the device, until today. Thanks to Brazilian site Techtudo we finally get to lay our eyes on what is allegedly the Sony Xperia i1.

xperia-techtudo

In the image, the handset is placed beside the Xperia ZQ (Brazil's version of the ZL) and the Xperia Z Ultra. As you can see, the phone appears to be a bit larger than the 5-inch ZL, though obviously quite a bit smaller than the Z Ultra. This suggests the phone might be a little bigger than 5-inches, though that seems to go against past rumored specs.

Then again, Techtudo does note that this is non-final hardware and could be subject to change. We also don't have any photos of the front, so it's possible that this prototype is packing just a 5-inch display after all.

As always, keep in mind that the photo images could be faked and nothing is 'confirmed' until Sony says so.

Outside of a 5(ish) inch display, what else do we know about the Honami i1? Based on previous rumors, the phone is believed to feature a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM, a 3,000 mAh battery, NFC, 32GB storage, microSD, 4G LTE, IR tech, Bluetooth 4.0, shatterproof front glass and a 20MP back camera.

If the specs and features prove real, the Sony Xperia i1 could end up giving us a similar experience to the Z Ultra, albeit in smaller package. If you were impressed by the Z Ultra but not so interested in its massive display, you will certainly want to keep your eye out for more information on this one.

    


Sony Xperia Z Ultra up for pre-order for €679 through Amazon Germany

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:39 AM PDT

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Yesterday pricing details from Sony France and Sony Netherlands surfaced, suggesting that the Sony Xperia Z Ultra would cost roughly €700 in Europe. Now we also have word on the phone’s price in Germany. You can pre-order the device from Amazon Germany right now, with a slightly-lower price of €679, or about $885.69.

No beating around the bush here, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is an expensive handset. The question is whether the Z Ultra is worth such a price tag. For some, the answer will certainly be yes.

With a 6.4-inch Full HD display, the Z Ultra isn’t your typical smartphone. Sony's big-screen beauty is more than capable of replacing a traditional 7-inch tablet, effectively giving you both a tablet and a smartphone in one convenient package.

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra also is rather impressive when it comes to its hardware, powered by a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB RAM. Other specs include an 8MP back cam, 16GB storage, microSD and a 3,000 mAh battery.

Sony's Z Ultra might not be perfect, but it is certainly the most powerful device in its class and sets a new standard for 5.5-inch+ handsets.

If you’re worried about the price, just remember that you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune to get the Z Ultra. The phone will likely arrive at much lower upfront pricing for those that are willing to sign a two-year contract.

As for when you will be able to get your hands on the phone? The device is expected to arrive to Europe in Q3 of this year, and hopefully will launch in the North American market sometime shortly thereafter.

What do you think, do you plan on nabbing the Sony Xperia Z Ultra when it arrives to your local market?

    


Imagination Technologies takes aim at ARM, reveals new “Warrior” CPU core

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:35 AM PDT

Imagination Technologies MIPS

Well this is just typical, the day after I finish the processor round-up for the past few months, someone comes along with a big new announcement. Imagination Technologies has just released some information on a new range of CPU cores which will be introduced before the end of the year.

Following the company's recent $100 million acquisition of MIPS, Imagination Technologies has been working on a new range of CPU cores known as the MIPS Series 5, or if you prefer the codename – Warrior.

Imagination Technologies is already a big player in the mobile hardware market; it produces the PowerVR range of graphics processors used in a number of smartphone SoCs, such as the new Exynos 5 Octa which powers the Galaxy S4. These new processor cores will be based entirely on the MIPS architecture which, when combined with its own GPU technologies, could offer some serious competition to ARM and Intel, providing that the performance is up to scratch.

Currently all of the big mobile chip manufactures, with the exception of Intel, are using or licensing ARM's architectures, but Imagination Tech's new CPU cores will offer handset developers another alternative to the traditional ARM setup, which actually could potentially worry Intel more than ARM.

MIPS Series 5 Warrior

Details on the specifics of the new architecture are brief at the moment, but we do know that the processors will be available in the traditional single, dual, and quad-core setups, so no eight core monster on the horizon at the moment. The company will be targeting everything from low end devices to high performance pieces of hardware.

Interestingly, the new cores will have the option of utilizing MIPS multithreading (MT) technology. MIPS’ multi-threading is somewhat similar to the Hyper-threading technology used in some on Intel's processors, which, put simply, makes a single processor core appear as two separate cores to the operating system. The goal being to improve multi-threaded performance, whilst being more energy efficient and cheaper to implement than using two real processor cores.

The Warrior CPUs will also come in 34-bit and 64-bit variants, which is in line with what we are expecting from the next generation of ARM Cortex-A50 processors as well.

I'm personally looking forward to the shake-up that this could cause in the mobile processor market, it's certainly going to be interesting to see how this all unfolds.


Imagination reveals key elements of its new MIPS CPU roadmap

MIPS Aptiv generation updated; new 32/64-bit MIPS ‘Warrior’ generation added to roadmap

London, UK – 26 June, 2013 – Imagination Technologies (IMG.L), a leading multimedia, processor,communications and cloud technologies company, announces new details about its current and future MIPS CPU portfolio.

Imagination has updated its current portfolio of MIPS Aptiv cores, extending each of the Aptiv families with new core configurations. In addition, later this year Imagination will start rolling out an entire generation of new MIPS CPUs, including 32-bit and 64-bit cores. The new MIPS Series5 generation of CPU cores, codenamed ‘Warrior,’ will incorporate new architectural features and provide best-inclass performance and efficiency for a wide range of applications.

New in MIPS Aptiv

Imagination has extended the award-winning MIPS Aptiv generation of cores, adding a very smallfootprint single-core version to the interAptiv family and a floating point version to the microAptiv family. The high-performance proAptiv, multi-threaded interAptiv and compact microAptiv families of cores, are all available in refined, validated configurations offering industry-leading low power and efficiency for today’s designs.

• The proAptiv family comes in configurations from single through to six-core versions with optional hardware floating point.
• The interAptiv family includes hardware multi-threading and now comes in single-, dual- and quad-core configurations with optional floating point. The new single-core version of interAptiv removes the extra logic associated with multi-core coherency and L2 cache controller, providing a highly-efficient, multi-threaded single-core processor.
• The microAptiv family is available in versions targeting microcontrollers and deeply embedded processors, and now incorporates an optional hardware floating point unit for applications including electric metering and motor control.

MIPS Roadmap

Imagination will introduce next-generation MIPS ‘Warrior’ cores later this year. Details of the cores are already being shared with key MIPS customers. The ‘Warrior’ generation of cores will include 32-bit and 64-bit variants with a focus on superior performance efficiency across the high-end, mid-range and entry-level/microcontroller CPUs. These cores are based on the heritage of MIPS, the industry’s most efficient RISC architecture, targeted to deliver the best performance and lowest power consumption in a given silicon area.

Building on the true 32-bit and 64-bit instruction set compatibility of MIPS, ‘Warrior’ cores will provide binary compatibility from the entry-level to the high-end. 64-bit ‘Warrior’ cores have no need for excess ‘baggage’ to execute legacy 32-bit code, and the broad range of tools and applications built for the 64-bit MIPS architecture over the past 20+ years will seamlessly work with ‘Warrior’ cores.

Key ‘Warrior’ features will include:

• Hardware virtualization across the entire range of cores, providing compelling benefits for applications from compute-intense enterprise environments to energy efficient mobile platforms
• MIPS hardware multi-threading technology, enabling better overall throughput, quality of service (QoS), and power/performance efficiency in select ‘Warrior’ cores
• Imagination’s unique, extensible and highly scalable security framework for applications including content protection on mobile devices, secure networking protocols and payment services
• MIPS SIMD architecture (MSA), built on instructions designed to be easily supported within high-level languages such as C or OpenCL for fast and simple development of new code, as well as leverage of existing code
• A consistent and comprehensive toolchain across the ‘Warrior’ series for fast, easy development and debugging

MIPS – the choice in CPU IP

Hossein Yassaie, CEO, Imagination, says: “The industry is longing for a choice in the CPU market, and we are making MIPS a clear and superior alternative. We have an outstanding range of cores available today and that will be complemented by our forthcoming ‘Warrior’ cores, which will provide levels of performance, efficiency and functionality that go beyond other offerings in the market.

“As we share Imagination’s comprehensive, market-leading MIPS core roadmap with customers worldwide, we are receiving an overwhelmingly positive response. With MIPS, we are creating a solution that a wide range of customers can benefit from and commit to for the long term, across applications ranging from tiny embedded devices to 64-bit many-core products for networking and beyond. We are confident that as we roll out the technologies on our MIPS roadmap, we will change the landscape for CPU IP.”

Says J. Scott Gardner, senior analyst, The Linley Group / Microprocessor Report: “The MIPS Aptiv CPU core portfolio was named the ‘Best Processor IP of 2012′ in The Linley Group’s annual Analysts’ Choice Awards, as a broad portfolio spanning virtually every processor category. The MIPS ‘Warrior’ generation is designed to include an even greater range of functionality to address rapidly changing markets. If Imagination does as great a job with the new MIPS generation as it has done with PowerVR GPUs, then the industry will have another strong player in the CPU IP space.”

Since completing the MIPS acquisition earlier this year, Imagination has completed integration of its CPU engineering teams, nearly doubling the resources working on leading-edge MIPS CPU development. The company is deploying significant investments in MIPS development, including tools, compilers, debuggers, operating systems, software and more. Imagination is developing the MIPS presence in key segments such as mobile by continuing to grow the MIPS ecosystem, and by exploiting open operating systems and emerging trends toward architecture neutrality and portability.

About MIPS processors

Imagination’s family of MIPS processors are ideal for products where ultra low-power, compact silicon area and a high level of integration are required. MIPS processor IP cores and architectures range from ultra-low power 32-bit microcontrollers to scalable 32-bit and 64-bit multi-core solutions for advanced application and network processing platforms. Based on a heritage built and continuously innovated over more than three decades, Imagination’s MIPS architecture is the industry’s most efficient RISC architecture, delivering the best performance and lowest power consumption in a given silicon area. SoC designers can use this efficiency advantage for significant cost and power savings, or to implement additional cores to deliver a performance advantage in the same power, thermal and area budget.

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination Technologies – a global leader in multimedia, processor, communication and cloud technologies – creates and licenses market-leading processor solutions including graphics, video, vision, CPU and embedded processing, multi-standard communications, cross-platform V.VoIP and VoLTE and cloud connectivity. These silicon and software intellectual property (IP) solutions for systems-on-chip (SoC) are complemented by an extensive portfolio of software, tools and ecosystems. Target markets include mobile phone, connected home consumer, mobile and tablet computing, in-car electronics, networking, telecoms, health, smart energy and connected sensors.

Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, network operators and OEM/ODMs. Corporate headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide. See: www.imgtec.com.

    


Sony Xperia ion Jelly Bean update now available for download

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:33 AM PDT

Sony Xperia ion update
The subject of the Sony Xperia ion‘s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update was first brought up about eight months ago, when Sony released an official list of handsets scheduled to get the highly-desired software change. Today we finally get to see the long-awaited update become a reality.

According to reports first gathered by Xperia Blog, the official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update for the Xperia ion — which is build version 6.2.B.0.211 — is now available at last. Sony has already started pushing out the software upgrade for Xperia ion users, which means they will finally get to enjoy the features that are already available in many of Sony’s other Xperia phones, not to mention the current flagship Sony Xperia Z.

If you have a Sony Xperia ion and your handset still hasn’t been updated to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean yet, your next move should be to get on the companion software as quickly as possible. Some users have reported that the update took care of the occasional lag while navigating certain parts of the operating system, while others say that some lag-related issues still haven’t been fixed.

In any case, the best way to find out what the new software really does is by experiencing it for yourself. Talk to us in the comments if you have any problems (only those related to the phone and the software, of course).

    


Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini receives July 1st release date at Phones 4U

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 07:59 AM PDT

Galaxy S4 Mini

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has already been stated for release in just over a weeks time, but now a new release date has appeared here in the UK. Mobile retailer Phones 4U has the handset listed on its website for pre-orders with the delivery date set for the 1st of July, so it will actually arrive a few days ahead of the expected July 5th release date.

For a quick recap, the handset comes with a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) Super AMOLED display, 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of memory (5GB available to the user), a microSD expansion slot with support for up to 64GB of memory, a 8-megapixel camera with TouchWiz camera features, 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, a 1900mAh battery, and Android 4.2.2. Oh, and don't forget all the NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and LTE network support as well.

Interestingly, the price for the SIM free version is set for £419.95, which puts the smartphone within the price range of the more impressive Xperia Z (£479.95 at Phones 4U) or HTC One, and directly up against the older Samsung Galaxy S3 (£399.95) in terms of cost.

This seems a little expensive for a phone which is less powerful than the quad-core competitors in the similar price bracket, so you'll have to weigh up whether or not it's worth the money for some of the handsets unique features and smaller size, or if it’s better to opt for extra power in the processor department and the additional screen space available with competing devices.

Of course, the launch price is likely to fall in the weeks following the handset’s release, so you should be able to pick one up a little cheaper if you're happy to wait, and there are always contract offers available as well.

    


Back To Basics: Screen technology explained

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 07:32 AM PDT

Android Authority Back to Basics

This week's edition of Back To Basics is going to focus on the part of your device that you're spending almost all your time looking at. It's time to talk screen technology.

No two displays are the same, but there are a few guidelines that can help you choose the right screen for you. From the screen resolution, pixel density, type of display, to even the size, there are a lot of factors that determine whether a display is good or not, but fear not, read on as we explain what to look for in a smartphone or tablet display.

Screen resolution and pixel density

The first thing you might hear about your display is the screen resolution and pixel density or PPI (pixels per inch). Due to the vast size and price range of Android devices, there are a wide variety of screen resolutions, so we'll cover the most popular ones.

Screen resolutions are commonly written as width x height (e.g: 800 x 480 means that the display is 800 pixels wide, and 480 pixels tall). Here are some of the most popular screen resolutions:

  • 240×320: This screen resolution is most commonly used on really small screens, and/or on budget phones.
  • 320×480: This screen resolution is also used on really small screens (sub 4-inch), and/or on budget phones.
  • 480×800 (WVGA) : A few years ago this was the premier screen resolution and as such was found on many high-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2, but now it’s usually reserved for mid-range smartphones with displays that are smaller than 5-inches.
  • 960×540 (qHD): This was also a high-end screen resolution a few years ago, but is now reserved for mid-range smartphones.
  • 1280×720 (HD/720P): To be classified as a high-end smartphone last year you would need a HD display. Some mid-range and high-end smartphones and tablets will be found with this screen resolution.
  • 1920×1080 (Full HD/1080P): Usually reserved for TV's, Full HD smartphones have come up in a big way this year. A Full HD display is currently exclusively available on high-end smartphones and tablets.
  • 2560×1600 (WQXGA): This is an insanely high resolution which is currently found on the Nexus 10, and is exclusively available on high-end tablets.
The Nexus 10 comes with an insanely high resolution.

The Nexus 10 comes with an insanely high resolution.

When it comes to screen resolution there are a lot of factors. On smaller displays and cheaper smartphones you'll see lower screen resolutions, and on larger displays or high-end devices you'll see higher screen resolutions.

Pixel densities are important when it comes to the overall sharpness or the display, which is important for reading web pages or e-books. Pixel densities vary due to the screen resolution and size. If the display is large, but the resolution is low, the PPI (pixel per inch) count will be lower.

A pixel density higher than 300 PPI is great, a pixel density lower than 100 PPI is considered poor, and a pixel density between 200 and 300 PPI is considered reasonable.

It's a widely held belief that a pixel density above 300 PPI is considered great, and most won't be able to see any jagged lines, or pixels. A pixel density lower than 200 is considered poor and is usually found on low-end devices, and a pixel density between 300 and 200 is considered reasonable and is usually found on mid-range devices

What is an LCD display?

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, and is the most popular display type for mobile devices. This is due to its relatively low power consumption and good image quality.

TFT Display

The most popular type of LCD display is the TFT display, which stands for Thin Film Transistor display. This display tends to be the best type of mobile LCD displays.

TFT displays provide greater contrast and improve response time, however are more expensive, and less power efficient.

It has a transistor next to every pixel, and therefore allows each individual pixel to be turned on and off. This improves response time and provides greater contrast than other types of LCD displays. However, they also tend to be the most expensive, and less power efficient.

IPS panels

Some high-end smartphones and tablets use an IPS (In-plane switching) panel which is a type of TFT panel, but improves upon some of the drawbacks of a regular TFT LCD panel. IPS panels produce consistent and accurate color from all angles. Therefore, they have wider viewing angles than regular TFT displays, which is great for people who watch videos with a group of friends.

Super LCD

Manufactured by Samsung, but used mostly by HTC, Super LCD is a display technology which removes the air gap between the outer glass and the display elements. This reduces the glare, and also consumes less power and has better outdoor visibility than regular LCD screens.

htc one vs sony xperia z both standing aa

The Super LCD3 display of the HTC One on the left, and the TFT display of the Xperia Z on the right.

The latest version of Super LCD is Super LCD3 and is said to consume less power than previous versions. It is found on the HTC Butterfly, HTC Droid DNA and HTC One.

What is an OLED display?

OLED stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode, and an OLED display consists of organic polymer which lights up when charged with electricity. It offers many advantages over LCD displays as it is thinner, brighter, more power efficient and provides wider viewing angles. They also provide much better contrast and response times.

The most popular type of OLED panels on mobile devices is AMOLED technology. AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode and is even more power efficient than standard OLED displays.

The largest manufacturer of AMOLED displays is Samsung, which markets its displays under the Super AMOLED moniker. Most of Samsung's high-end and flagship smartphones use Super AMOLED panels, however some use LCD panels.

samsung_oled_pentile_matrix_comparison

Comparison of a conventional subpixel structure, and the PenTile Matrix structure.

Samsung has sometimes used a PenTile matrix on its displays. This uses two subpixels inside every pixel in a RGBG (Red-Green-Blue-Green) structure, instead of the standard RGB (Red-Green-Blue) structure. Some have criticized PenTile displays for overall fuzziness, but most agree that at higher pixel densities the fuzziness is not apparent. The PenTile matrix is used by Samsung for longer life of display, as the blue subpixel degrades faster than the other subpixels in OLED panels.

AMOLED VS LCD: Which is for you?

Both display technologies offer advantages and disadvantages. AMOLED screens have higher contrasts and deeper, true blacks, but LCD's tend to offer more accurate colors. While AMOLED displays are brighter, LCD panels can be viewed more easily under direct sunlight.

AMOLED displays tend to be more power efficient overall, however, LCD panels are more power efficient when it comes to displaying web pages. AMOLED screens have better viewing angles, but LCD panels tend to be sharper on lower resolution panels thanks to the use of the RGB structure instead of PenTile RGBG.

Outdoor shot (daylight); screens on max brightness; screens reflecting sunlight

The Galaxy S4 (left) uses a Super AMOLED display and the HTC One (right) uses a Super LCD3 display.

Of course, people looking for a budget smartphone won't find many devices utilising AMOLED displays (unless they are older Samsung Galaxy S smartphones), so they would be looking at LCD panels. People looking for mid-range devices will face the same situation, however, there are a few devices available using AMOLED displays. In the high-end market for smartphones there is a bigger question on which display technology is best.

Wrap up

Overall, it depends on whether you prefer the true blacks and high contrast of AMOLED displays or the accurate colors and direct sunlight performance of an LCD panel. In the tablet market there is no doubt as to which display you should use, since the tablet market almost exclusively uses LCD panels.

If you'd like a direct comparison between smartphone displays you can check out some of these links:

We'll be back next week with another edition of the Back to Basics series, but if you have a question about Android, head over to our AA Q&A page, where our team will answer your questions every Wednesday, or just drop your questions in the comments below and I'll be happy to respond.

    


7 best dual-SIM Android phones

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:58 AM PDT

sim card vodafone Jonathan Ah Kit

Whether or not two heads are actually better than one is a subject that we may not be able to cover in this post, but one thing we know for sure is that dual-SIM phones are useful. Otherwise, they wouldn’t still be around. And yet, as we all know, they still are.

From its humble beginnings, which started in a seemingly silly aftermarket peripheral, the dual-SIM phone has now become all but the norm. In fact, the dual-SIM feature is now so important that even existing models are being updated to add it on as part of “refresh” models.

With all of that in mind, we bring you a list of what we consider the best dual-SIM smartphones that belong in the world of Android. Read on to get started.

Acer Liquid S1

Acer Liquid S1
Taiwan-based Acer has been dealing in smartphones for quite a long time, and yet it has managed to completely shy away from the ever-so-interesting phablet market segment — until now.

Its first attempt at making an extra large handset comes in the form of the Liquid S1, which sadly isn’t water-resistant as its name might suggest, but boasts a 5.7-inch HD touchscreen display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and yes, dual SIM card support.

With a release date scheduled to happen sometime in Q3 2013, the Acer Liquid S1 is set to become one of the most inexpensive large screen smartphones ever made to date.

Acer Liquid S1 Specs

  • Display: 5.7-inches, 720×1280 pixels (258 ppi pixel density)
  • Camera: 8-megapixel rear auto-focus camera, 1080p video recording
  • SoC: MTK 6589 with 1.5GHz quad-core CPU and PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU
  • Memory: 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage + microSD (up to 32GB)
  • OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Float UI
  • Battery: 2,400mAh battery (removable)

Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0

Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0
Calling it a dual-SIM phone with dual-BSI cameras is probably the fastest way to describe the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 (also available in India as the Xolo Q100). In truth, of course, it also has a bunch of other things going for it besides those.

Its highlight features include a 5-inch 720p HD IPS screen that’s covered with scratch-resistant Asahi DragonTrail glass, a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, and Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. Managing apps and media may be a bit tricky with it since it only has less than 2GB of user-available storage, but at least it supports microSD cards for added memory.

Considering its $200 price tag, even buying a new card shouldn’t be an issue at all.

Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 Specs

  • Display: 5-inch IPS LCD, 720×1280 pixels, coated by DragonTrail Glass
  • Camera: 12-megapixel BSI rear camera, 2-megapixel BSI front camera
  • SoC: 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6859
  • Memory: 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage + microSD card support (up to 32GB(
  • OS: Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
  • Battery: 2,100 mAh battery (removable)

HTC One Dual SIM

HTC One Stealth Black 5 1600 aa
Take HTC‘s current flagship Android handset and add a dual SIM feature to it. As far as smartphone origins go, that’s pretty much it for the HTC One Dual SIM. It comes with all the features that have so far made the original a worldwide hit — not to mention an award-winner — and it also has the ability to run two SIM cards at the same time.

If this phone has any faults at all, it’s probably the sub-5-inch touchscreen display as well as the expensive price tag (it is said that its retail price in Russia is the equivalent of $960). Although surely if you think HTC-brand quality is worth paying for, then you may see nothing wrong with how it’s priced.

HTC One Dual SIM Specs

  • Display: 4.7-inches, Super LCD3, 1080×1920 pixels (469 ppi pixel density)
  • Camera: 4-megapixel Ultrapixel camera, 1080p video recording, HDR video
  • SoC: 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 and Adreno 320
  • Memory: 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage + microSD (up to 64GB)
  • OS: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Sense 5, upgradeable to Android 4.2.2
  • Battery: 2,300mAh battery (non-removable)

Huawei Ascend P6

huawei-ascend-p6
If you’re into thin smartphones, the 6.2mm Ascend P6 should be right up your alley. And yes, it offers dual SIM card support, too. On top of all that, it’s a fairly feature-rich mid-range Android handset, including such extras as Dolby Digital Plus audio and USB OTG.

The design might remind you of some other well-known smartphone models, but make no mistake: this is an Android device through and through. It even comes with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean pre-installed. A few things might be missing, such as NFC and 4G LTE, but at least that’s how you know the 2,000mAh battery should last for at least a day with moderate use.

Slimness and overall portability both matter a lot in smartphones, to be sure, and for that the Huawei Ascend P6 is worth a look.

Huawei Ascend P6 Specs

  • Display: 4.7-inches, 720×1280 pixels (312 ppi pixel density)
  • Camera: 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p video recording, 5-megapixel front camera
  • SoC: 1.5GHz quad-core Huawei KV32
  • Memory: 2GB RAM, 8GB internal storage + microSD (up to 32GB)
  • OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Emotion UI
  • Battery: 2,000mAh battery

Karbonn S5 Titanium

Karbonn S5 Titanium
The S5 Titanium from Karbonn makes its way onto our list thanks to its use of a 5-inch qHD IPS screen, along with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor on a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. The all-black design somehow looks refreshing, and the conventional positioning of capacitive touch buttons also help it win points in the design department.

The rest of this phone just barely impresses. But what’s important is that it doesn’t disappoint whether you care about screen size, memory, camera performance, or even connectivity. Well, maybe it could have used a slightly bigger battery. That, and more internal storage.

Karbonn S5 Titanium Specs

  • Display: 5-inch IPS LCD, 540×960 pixels (220 ppi pixel density)
  • Camera: 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera
  • SoC: 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8225Q Snapdragon with Adreno 203
  • Memory: 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage + microSD (up to 32GB)
  • OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • Battery: 2,000mAh battery (non-removable)

Micromax A115 Canvas 3D

Micromax A115 Canvas 3D
The Micromax A115 Canvas 3D phone stands out from all the other 5-inch screen-equipped models on this list because of its 3D capacitive touchscreen display. It falls short of being a formidable mid-range phone, with features like a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 512MB RAM, but at the very least it comes with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean pre-installed.

The rest of this phone’s specs are at about the same level as some of today’s latest models — 4GB storage, 5MP camera, 2,000mAh battery — so with that it becomes easier to forgive some of its shortcomings. Besides, what other manufacturer has a back cover-printed logo that’s ready to give you a first bump at a moment’s notice? Only Micromax, and we respect them for that.

Micromax A115 Canvas 3D Specs

  • Display: 5-inch 3D capacitive touch, 480×800 pixels (187 ppi pixel density)
  • Camera: 5-megapixel rear auto-focus camera with LED flash
  • SoC: 1.2GHz dual-core MTK 6577
  • Memory: 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage + microSD (up to 32GB)
  • OS: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
  • Battery: 2,000mAh battery (non-removable)

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 I9150

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8
We saved the beast for last with this one — the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 barely reaches the 6-inch territory, but you know it’s big. It’s not the biggest phone Samsung has ever made (or probably ever will make), but it comes with just the right amount of power, not to mention the combination of size and utility, to make it through to this list.

If you find that 1GB of RAM just isn’t enough, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 has an extra 500MB to spare. And it’s also pre-packaged with a 2,600mAh battery, appropriately sized for a phone of its stature.

People who are torn between large-size phones and tablets will probably see this as a kind of perfect mix. It could be the phone you deserve, and possibly even the one you need right now. And if so, we’re sure Samsung would just be all too glad to take your order.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 I9150 Specs

  • Display: 5.8-inches, 540×960 pixels (190 ppi pixel density)
  • Camera: 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p video recording
  • SoC: 1.4GHz dual-core CPU
  • Memory: 1.5GB RAM, 8GB internal storage + microSD (up to 64GB)
  • OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
  • Battery: 2,600mAh battery (non-removable)

Are you aware of any other dual SIM phones that we haven’t mentioned? Which of the ones listed here are your favorites? Tell us about it in the comments!

    


Samsung’s share price falls to a nine month low

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:40 AM PDT

Samsung Logo

Samsung stock holders have been having a hard time lately. Earlier in the month, the company lost over $12 billion off its market valuation after investors downgraded the company's sales prospects for the new Galaxy S4 once it was discovered that Samsung had reduced its part orders for the flagship handset.

Unfortunately for anyone still holding the stock, Samsung's share price fell more than 3 percent during trading on the Korean stock exchange earlier in the day, before rebounding slightly resulting in a 2.8% decline come the close of the trading session.

Samsung stock price June 26

A view of the continuous decline in Samsung’s share price this month, beginning June 7th. Source: Google Finance

This marks a new nine month low for the company's stock, amid rumors that Samsung will be reporting lower than expected earnings between April and June. Today's close also brings the total decline to a rather worrying 17% since the initial market gap down on June 7th, which is the biggest week on week sell-off in Samsung's stock in more than a year.

Perhaps even more worryingly for Samsung, announcements of new handsets have done little to alleviate the troubled stock. New versions of the Galaxy S4, like the Active and the Mini variations, do not appear to have boosted investor confidence in Samsung's future sales, and more innovative products like the ATIV Q convertible tablet/laptop don't seem to have made an impact either.

It seems like a lot of the bearish sentiment on Samsung's stock is being led by concerns about Samsung's up coming sales figures, which many are expecting to fall below their estimates. If the company can surprise investors, or the results turn out not to be as bad as many have now anticipated, then there's a chance that the stock could rebound. But if not then it will be interesting to see what happens to the value of Samsung's stock, as we know from past experience that big tech companies are particularly vulnerable to prolonged stock sell-offs.

    


Android Authority Q & A #004 – June 26, 2013

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 04:35 AM PDT

android-authority-q-and-a-06-26-2013-thumbnail

Welcome to another installment of Android Authority Q & A. Each week we take questions from you, our wonderful readers and viewers, and answer them both here and in video form on our YouTube channel.

In a hurry or don’t like to read? Skip right to the video.

Q:

Ryan asks: When is the HTC Butterfly s release date? Will it be coming to any US Carriers?

A:

To answer the first question, the HTC Butterfly s will be released in certain markets in Asia during July, with other markets following afterwards.

HTC Butterfly S

When it comes to the U.S., we don’t know anything yet. People are excited about the phone–that’s for sure–but we don’t know if it will be released in the U.S., or if it might be released with a slightly different configuration and name, like the Droid DNA was.


Q:

Gabriel asks: Will the Sony Xperia Z come to more carriers than just T-Mobile?

A:

So far, the only confirmed carrier that we know of is T-Mobile. Whether or not it comes to any other carriers will likely have a lot to do with how popular the device is. That will also decide what carriers it might come to. AT&T would be fairly easy, while Sony would have to add support for CDMA and different frequencies for Verizon or Sprint.

xperia-z-winner


Q:

Kannan asks: Will the Samsung Galaxy S5 be released with a flexible OLED display in the near future?

A:

It’s definitely a possibility. Samsung was showing off a phone with a flexible display at CES 2013, and LG is reported to have a phone with a flexible display likely to come out in late 2013. While we don’t know if we’ll actually see that this year or if it will be delayed a bit, flexible displays are definitely on the way. It just depends what your definition of “near future” is.


Q:

Emilio asks: How can I have something like HTC BlinkFeed on my Galaxy S3?

HTC One Review

A:

While it’s not exactly like BlinkFeed, there is an app called SO.HO (it stands for social home) that does something similar. The rating isn’t the highest at 3.8 stars in the Play Store, but it seems that people either really like it or really hate it. SO.HO is about the only option I could find, so it might be worth a try.


Q:

Marty says: I live in a rural area and use Verizon. Once the HTC One is released on Verizon, which phone will have better reception: the HTC One or the Samsung Galaxy S4?

A:

The HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 both use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset which, in addition to providing the CPU and GPU, also provides the radios used in each device. Because of this, reception should be near-identical with both devices. Of course, there are things inherent in the design of the phones that can alter reception a bit, but this shouldn’t be enough to be a dealbreaker for either phone.


Q:

Rawand asks: Is there a way to connect both a keyboard and mouse to an Android device? I’ve already tried a USB OTG Cable, but it has only one slot, so I can only connect one thing at a time.

USBcable

A:

Yes, there is a way, and it’s fairly easy. You’ll just need to pick up a USB hub and plug that into your OTG cable. Make sure to pick up a USB hub with an external power supply so you don’t have to worry about the devices you hook up trying to draw power from the device’s USB port.


Video

Join us next week for more questions and, of course, more answers! If you would like to, head over to the Q & A page to ask us some questions of your own.

    


Xperia Z Ultra design inspired by a passport, Sony’s Jun Katsunuma says

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 04:27 AM PDT

Xperia Z Ultra

Sony's Product Design Director Jun Katsunuma explained in an interview the design principles behind the latest smartphone announced by the company, the supersized Xperia Z Ultra.

From the looks of it, it seems that Sony is interested in applying some of the same design principles to multiple devices, while keeping in place differentiating elements for each of them:

At Sony, we need to bring some of that message with consistency. The Xperia Z, the Xperia Tablet Z and the Xperia Z Ultra are very strong in consistency, but of course, they have different propositions. So that's how we decide to use some different materials, different pigmentation and sometimes construction. Based on this product and based on our one design language, we really do some differentiation but with high consistency.
Jun Katsunuma
Engadget

Obviously, the Xperia Z Ultra is immediately compared to the Xperia Z smartphone and the Xperia Tablet Z tablet, Sony's others 2013 flagship devices. But Jun told Engadget that the Xperia Z Ultra is not just a bigger version of the Xperia Z handset, as it features some unique elements.

When talking about the size (particularly width and thinness), “Jun said it was simply a matter of finding the largest panel that he could fit into the width plus a similar thickness of a passport,” which is something that travelers carry around, right next to a pen, which can be used as a stylus.

When looking at U.S. passport we found out that it measures 5 x 3.5 inches (or 127 x 88.9 mm) – that's height and width when passport is closed. Comparatively, the Xperia Z Ultra measures 7.06 x 3.63 inches (or 179.4 x 92.2 mm), so it's actually similar in width with a passport, although overall it’s a lot bigger than one. The thickness of the Xperia Z Ultra (0.26 inches or 6.5mm) is probably comparable to a passport’s thickness.

Xperia Z Ultra

Jun explained that the Xperia Z Ultra uses aluminum in the side plates instead of the plastic or PMMA (transparent thermoplastic) used on other devices, which makes possible the "super thinness" of the device.

When it comes to color options, the Xperia Z Ultra will be available in black, white and purple, just like the Xperia Z, but the purple version will not get the same "glittery purple paint" as the Xperia Z – in case any of that matters to smartphone buyers.

More importantly, the Xperia Z Ultra does not come with Gorilla Glass, but the "glass on the new phone is just as strong," according to Jun and his team.

That said, the Xperia Z Ultra is definitely a very interesting device when it comes to design and sports some interesting features, so the competition better make sure it's ready for some tough competition in the supersized smartphone department.

Are you buying the Xperia Z Ultra this year?

    


T-Mobile promises LTE-Advanced features this year, but don’t get too excited about it

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 04:13 AM PDT

T-Mobile Logo Credit: StockMonkeys

Speaking at an event organized by the Light Reading Mobile industry publication, a T-Mobile executive revealed that the carrier plans to enable some "LTE-Advanced features" in the near future.

However, Dave Mayo, SVP at T-Mobile, failed to specify which features of the LTE-Advanced standard will be enabled in 2013, or the scale on which the new features will be deployed.

Most likely, T-Mo will deploy the technology  called "carrier aggregation", which is a technique that allows network operators to bond two or more disparate swaths of spectrum, in order to ensure higher network speeds.

Carrier aggregation is just one of the technologies that make up the LTE-Advanced standard, which is a major revision to the current generation LTE, widely used in the US and around the world. The implementation of all the features in the LTE-Advanced would allow theoretical download speeds of up to 1Gbps for stationary use, though that depends on the carrier having 200 MHz of wireless spectrum, which is not feasible in many markets around the world.

4G_LTE_WEB_en Teliasonera

So, does this mean that T-Mobile users will get LTE-Advanced speeds in the following months? Absolutely not. Just like 4G, a term that carriers used liberally, to the point it became meaningless from a technical point of view, LTE-Advanced is more of a marketing term than a clearly-defined technical standard. Because of that, carriers, phone manufacturers, and component makers get to cherry pick some of the features in the standard, like carrier aggregation, and proceed to brag about their LTE-Advanced compatible products or services.

T-Mobile may be implementing carrier aggregation this year, and perhaps some other features from the LTE-A package, but that doesn't mean its network will magically become LTE-A, and thus superior to those of Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. Rather than that, the deployment of carrier aggregation would be just one step on the long road to LTE-Advanced speeds.

Meanwhile in South Korea, SK Telecom switched on today the world's first LTE-Advanced service, with a revamped version of the Galaxy S4 being the first commercial device compatible with the service.

Expect more companies to throw around the term LTE-Advanced, and know that, for now, it's just a buzzword. For a more detailed explanation of what exactly LTE-Advanced is read this post from my colleague Robert Triggs, and, for a rundown on how the term LTE-Advanced is being used and abused, check out this piece from GigaOM's Kevin Fitchard.