Friday, September 20, 2013

Android World Update # Android 4.3 build for the Moto X leaks from test device

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Android 4.3 build for the Moto X leaks from test device
Sep 20th 2013, 18:16, by Andrew Martonik

Moto X

Bugs still apparent but camera performance is reportedly improved

While Moto X users seem to be getting along just fine with their current build of Android 4.2, we're always looking for something new — and we now have a purported leak of Android 4.3 for the device. The leak comes by way of a purported build pulled from a "test" phone" that was running the latest software.

We certainly expected that Android 4.3 was in testing for the Moto X, and the poster over at XDA indicates that this build is still far from final. They claim that the build seems to be slower than the current Android 4.2.2 that's shipping on the phone, but that the camera seems to be improved over what's available now.

In order to flash this leaked build onto your device you'll need to have an unlocked bootloader and a little bit of time. There is currently a download link with all of the files necessary to fastboot flash it onto your device, provided you're handy with that sort of thing. As always, proceed with caution when trying out experimental or test firmware.

Source: XDA; Thanks, Rick!


    






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Android World Update # It’s official: the Oppo N1 will be the first Cyanogen, Inc. device

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thumbnail It's official: the Oppo N1 will be the first Cyanogen, Inc. device
Sep 20th 2013, 16:46, by Nate Swanner

Oppo N1 announcement

When Cyanogen decided to incorporate, they also noted they'd be partnering with an OEM to showcase their OS. Speculation ran wild as to who would be brave enough to help Cyanogen challenge for the number three spot behind Android and iOS.

While not technically making it known just yet, Steve Kondik, founder and CFO of Cyanogen, stars in a very short video on the Oppo YouTube channel (below). In the video, he notes he'll be at the Oppo event in Beijing, and has "exciting news" for us.

It looks as though Cyanogen Inc. will be partnering with Oppo to bring us their OS on the N1 smartphone, set to make its debut on September 23rd. While Oppo isn't well known outside of the Asian market, their Find 5 handset was well received by our Josh Vergara. A beautiful screen, with some nice hardware nuances. Their UI could use some improvements, and who better than Cyanogen to take that burden from them?

The partnership could be a boon for both parties: Cyanogen needs an OEM to let them show off their OS, and Oppo could use some energy to get their name out there. Oppo doesn't have a strong UI for Android, and Cyanogen always delivers something great. It's definitely unusual to have the OS and OEM apart from one another, but in this case, it could be perfect.

We'll be looking forward to just what Cyanogen has in store for us on the 23rd. If you're curious, be sure to check back here for all your Cyanogen/Oppo news!

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Android World Update # First HTC One Max camera samples, more info on the fingerprint reader

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thumbnail First HTC One Max camera samples, more info on the fingerprint reader
Sep 20th 2013, 16:46, by Bogdan Petrovan

htc one max leak weibo (9)

The cat is out of the bag for the HTC One Max. We've already seen the device in two revealing hands-on leaks this week, but we expect even more details about the upcoming 5.9-inch smartphone to surface in the following days. That's because Weibo user TD Zhijia has a Chinese version of the HTC One Max on hand and he is not afraid to show it.

The latest information originating from the Chinese leaker concerns the fingerprint sensor and the UltraPixel camera of the phone. TD Zhijia claims that the fingerprint sensor on the One Max has worked surprisingly well over several days of testing. The recognition rate is supposedly "very high" and the system rarely acted up. That's certainly encouraging to hear – one of the reasons fingerprint-based authentication in consumer devices didn't take off in the past was the flaky recognition, that frustrated, rather than delighted users.

Next, it's the HTC One Max' camera. TD Zhijia provides a few sample shots allegedly taken with the HTC One Max. However, they are nothing special and they were not uploaded at their full resolution (which is apparently, still 4MP), so we can't really form an opinion based on them.

htc one max camera sample (1) htc one max camera sample (2) htc one max camera sample (3)

As a caveat, remember that this device is likely a non-final variant of the One Max version bound for China Mobile. With that said, are you impressed with what we learned so far about the HTC One Max?

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Android World Update # Android and Me

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Review: HTC One mini
Sep 20th 2013, 16:58, by Nick Gray

There may be only a handful of top-tier Android phones on the market at one time, but the mid-range market is constancy flooded with handsets. True, most of these devices feature forgettable designs and specs which would do more good at the bottom of a trash can than inside a phone. But the HTC One mini is one of the few mid-range phones that stands out in the crowd. Its design and software features match up nicely with the HTC One, but does the One mini offer enough to make a name for itself in the mid-range crowd?

Hardware design

Since the introduction of the HTC EVO 4G, Android manufacturers have been in a race to produce the largest and most powerful device imaginable. At the time of its introduction, the HTC EVO 4G with its 4.3-inch was massive. While size is an absolute, our perception of size is relative and changes over time. Enter the HTC One mini. As the name implies, the phone is a miniature version of the HTC One, but the phone’s footprint is nearly the same as that of the HTC EVO 4G. The reason HTC can get away with calling this phone a mini is because our perception of large phones has changed. A phone with a 4.3-inch display is relatively small when you consider that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 5-inch display, the Note 3 has 5.7-inch display and Sony Xperia Z Ultra pushed the limit of what’s a true phone at 6.3-inches. Throw all these phones in a pile and you’ll easily see that the HTC One mini is, relatively, mini.

To build the HTC One mini, HTC took the design concept of the HTC One and shrunk it down to hold a 4.3-inch display. The HTC One mini used the same premium quality as the HTC One, and the aluminum construction of the device feels superb in the hand.

htc-one-mini (1) htc-one-mini (2) htc-one-mini (3) htc-one-mini (4) htc-one-mini (5) htc-one-mini (6) htc-one-mini (7) htc-one-mini (8)

Unfortunately, the size difference between the HTC One mini and HTC One isn’t immediately noticeable. The main reason for this is due to the phone’s front-facing stereo speakers, which sit above and below the display. The speaker panels are the same heights as those on the HTC One, and the bezel above the One mini’s display is also larger than its full-sized counterpart. All in all, the HTC One mini is only 6.5mm shorter than its big brother.

Specifications

The HTC One mini comes equipped with a 4.7-inch 720p display (341 PPI), a 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, an Ultrapixel BSI sensor (pixel size 2.0 µm, sensor size 1/3″) imaging sensor with HTC ImageChip 2, F2.0 aperture and 28 mm lens, 1080p Full HD video recording with HDR Video and a front-facing 1.6 MP camera with BSI sensor and 720p video capture. Other features include a 1800 mAh batery, dual frontal BoomSound stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers with Beats Audio, Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.

The phone isn’t going to be competing directly with this year’s flagship phones from Samsung, LG or Sony, but it’s specs align nicely with those of the Motorola Droid Mini and the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini.

Battery

The HTC One mini features a an average sized 1800 mAh battery built into the phone. Proponents of removable batteries may raise a red flag, but we really don’t see too much of an issue. In the two weeks I spent with the HTC One mini, I never felt like the phone was lacking in lasting power. Under regular use, the HTC One mini will easily make it through an entire work day (12-14 hours) without needing to be recharged. Power users who constantly check multiple email accounts, play games and keep a close eye on social media should be able to get 9-10 hours of up time.

Camera

htc-one-mini (9)

HTC wanted to make a statement with the HTC One by introducing Ultrapixel to the world. Since the One mini is considered a “One” phone from HTC, it also includes an Ultrapixel camera. Technically, Ultrapixel is just a marketing term to hide the fact that the HTC One mini’s camera features a 4 megapixel imaging sensor. No, that's not a typo – the HTC One mini's main camera is only capable of capturing images at 2688 1520 pixels. That's half the pixel count of what the HTC One X is capable of and less than a third of the pixels used to capture images on Samsung's Galaxy S 4.

While the larger Ultrapixels produce amazing low-light images and do an incredible job of freezing time in its tracks, the HTC One mini smaller pixel count does have its down sides. Since there's less data being captured with each image, there's less detail to work with if you want to zoom in or crop the image. In most instances, having a smaller picture isn’t a huge deal, because we mostly share our pictures online through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

IMAG0017 IMAG0026_BURST017 IMAG0027 IMAG0030 IMAG0043 IMAG0045 IMAG0047 IMAG0048 IMAG0053 IMAG0062 IMAG0075 IMAG0079_BURST002_COVER IMAG0083_BURST013_COVER IMAG0087 IMAG0088 IMAG0092_BURST002_COVER

While the imaging sensor on the HTC One and One mini are the same, the mini does lack optical image stabilization. The lack of OIS wasn’t immediately noticeable when using the One mini to take pictures outdoors, but I’d suggest using burst mode if you want to make sure you capture blur-free indoor images.

Performance

Since most of us always want the biggest and fastest phone, you may be wondering if a device with a 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM is even usable in this day and age. The HTC One mini may not be the fastest smartphone on the block, but the Snapdragon 400 gives the phone just enough power to keep up with the rigorous demands of the average smartphone user.

Those who love to play games on their Android phone will certainly enjoy using the HTC One mini. The phone was able to tear through games like Reaper, Kingdom Rush and Samurai versus Zombies Defense 2 without missing a beat. The HTC One mini was actually able to load up a few games and start game play faster than the HTC One. When it comes to regular use, the HTC One mini is as smooth as silk.

Display

The HTC One mini is not the first phone to feature a 4.3-inch 1280×720 Super LCD3 display (HTC was the first to introduce a 4.3-inch 720p display with the HTC Rezound), but we can confidently say that it puts all other phones with 4.3-inch display to shame. Color tones are perfect and viewing angles are so good, you won’t shudder at the thought of using a phone with an AMOLED display. As much as we’d like to find something bad to say about the HTC One mini’s display, we simply can’t.

4. Software

As you might expect, the HTC One mini is running on HTC Sense with Android 4.2.2 as a base. While the One mini is not HTC’s flagship phone, it is running newer software than what you can find on the HTC One (at least here in the US). With smooth performance, a great new music app and a customizable app drawer, there’s a lot to like with Sense 5. But if you ask HTC, the main attraction of the latest version of Sense is BlinkFeed – a FlipBoard inspired news and social media aggregator which lives to the left of your phone’s home screen. Technically, there are a few apps on the Play Store that can do what BlinkFeed does, but I found myself using it to keep up with random news and social media updates from Facebook and Instagram; I rarely open those apps unless I am posting a picture.

The second feature worth mentioning is Video Highlights. We all love to capture and share pictures and videos with our smartphones, so HTC thought it would be a great idea to allow users to share multiple pictures and images in a more creative way. Video highlights are 30 second video clips created on the fly using your videos and pictures. Simply open the HTC One's gallery app, sort images by Events, choose one of the 12 preset themes (you can even add in your own music), and you're set to go. It’s hard to capture the mood of an event or an afternoon with your kids in the park with a single shot. Video Highlights brings your media to life and makes it extremely easy to share.

BoomSound

htc-one-mini (4)

Like dozens of its predecessors, the HTC One mini comes with Beats Audio on the back and a few software enhancements, but HTC chose to take the audio experience of the HTC One mini to the next level with hardware. While the vast majority of today's smartphones feature a single mono speaker on the back, HTC has equipped the One mini amplifier-enhanced front-facing stereo speakers. The BoomSound branding of the speakers is a bit pretentious, but it does capture the essence of the audio experience delivered by the HTC One mini. Watching movie trailers on YouTube or listening to your favorite songs is actually enjoyable with stereo audio on the HTC One mini. The audio experience is so good that we expect other Android OEMs to follow in HTC’s footsteps next year.

HTC One mini8.0 / 10

At $475 from Negri Electronics for an unlocked HTC One mini or $99.99 from AT&T with a two-year contract, the HTC One mini is certainly not a steal. But due to its design, construction, software and camera features, the HTC One mini easily outclasses the DROID mini and the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini. The HTC One has been hailed as one of the best Android phones of 2013, and we think the phone does live up to its name. Yes, the HTC One mini could be a bit smaller and a slightly larger battery would be nice, but those are comments from a nit picky power user. If you’re a power user, we still recommend the HTC One, but the One mini is an incredible option for first-time smartphone buyers or for that elusive consumer who still thinks that the smartphone experience is not enhanced by a larger display.

If you really want a smaller phone, the HTC One mini is currently the best option on the market.

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