Mobile Devices - Page 139

LG has announced its new G3 Screen smartphone, but something much more interesting is being launched simultaneously: LG's new "NUCLUN" processor. LG's new chip is an 8-core processor built on ARM's big.LITTLE technology, featuring four 1.5GHz cores, with four 1.2GHz cores.

The faster 1.5GHz cores will be doing the heavy lifting while the four 1.2GHz cores will be doing all of the less processor-intensive stuff. LG says that NUCLUN is "designed to support the next generation of 4G networks, LTE-A Cat.6, for maximum download speeds of up to 225Mbps while retaining backward compatibility with current LTE networks". LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company President and CEO, Dr. Jong-seok Park, said: "NUCLUN opens up a new chapter in LG's history of innovation in the mobile industry. With this in-house solution, we will be able to achieve better vertical integration and further diversity our product strategy against stronger competition. NUCLUN will give us greater flexibility in our mobile strategy going forward".

As for the G3 Screen, we have a 5.9-inch Full HD IPS-based panel, the aforementioned and very impressive sounding NUCLUN processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board flash expandable through microSD, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with OIS backed up by a 2.1-megapixel camera for selfies, Android 4.4 KitKat, and a 3000mAh battery. We have the super-fast LTE-A Cat.6 connectivity, and when it comes to size we have 157.8 x 81.8 x 9.5mm (or 6.1 x 0.3 x 0.37 inches), and 182g (or 0.4 lbs).

Sony continues to struggle in the smartphone market, and plans to drop its low-end smartphone offerings in China, Central America, South America, and additional select emerging markets. Looking ahead, Sony wants to focus on high-end devices sold in the United States, Japan and Europe, according to the unnamed sources.

The Japanese company might cut its smartphone sales target again in 2014, with a Q2 earnings call scheduled for October 31. The company previously said it hoped to sell 50 million smartphones throughout the year, but that figure was cut to 43 million in July.

The technology world has evolved at a rapid pace, and Sony has largely been unable to keep pace with rivals. Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi all surpassed Sony device sales, as the cheaper Chinese rivals provide cheaper phones that have risen in popularity.

Samsung has been itching to get into that enterprise and government market, and thanks to the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP), a joint activity of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Samsung is now approved and has a handful of its Galaxy devices on the Commercial Solutions for Classified program listing.

These devices include the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, Galaxy Tab S 10.5, and the Galaxy IPSEC Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client. All of these devices feature Samsung's Knox technology, which is a security platform that allows users to use their smartphones and tablets for both work, and personal purposes. Samsung's CEO and President of IT and Mobile Business, JK Shin, said "The inclusion of Samsung mobile devices on the CSfC list proves the unmatched security of Samsung Galaxy devices supported by the Knox platform".

This move isn't a massive one, but it's a step towards something that could spell change for Samsung. A company that sells hundreds of million of handsets, Apple's biggest competitor by far, is now dealing with the government on NSA-approved smartphones and tablets with true government-ready security.

Ubisoft is nowhere to be found when it comes to the new iPad Air 2 from Apple, especially with crazy, insane numbers like 120FPS. But, the full specs on the new iPad Air 2 show that there are some big upgrades in Apple's thinner iPad Air, especially when you consider there was nothing but a Touch ID addition to the 'new' iPad mini 3.

We have an iPad Air 2 that is 18% thinner than the iPad Air, at just 6.1mm, Apple's new A8X processor backed up by the M8 co-processor, 120FPS video recording abilities with its 8-megapixel iSight camera, Touch ID, and more. We have it at 9.4 inches high (or 240mm), and 6.6 inches wide (or 169.5mm), up to 10 hours of battery life, and AirPlay Mirroring (photos, audio and video out) to Apple TV (second-generation or later).

Apple's new iPad Air 2 will be available for pre-order on Apple's website starting tomorrow, October 17, starting at $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 64GB model, and $699 for the 128GB model.

Google announced Android 5.0 Lollipop yesterday, which launched alongside the soon-to-be released Nexus 6 smartphone, Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player.

NVIDIA has taken to its Facebook page to announce that its Shield Tablet is "Ready for Android 5.0 Lollipop" and that "Android 5.0 Lollipop and more is coming to NVIDIA SHIELD tablet". I'm sure we'll hear more about it soon, but it's great to see NVIDIA jumping out right away pledging support for Google's latest mobile OS.

While the headlines are always about Samsung, Google and Apple, there is a much bigger part of the pie that is currently being eyed at: China. Lenovo and Xiaomi are the two most recognizable brands in the region, but Lenovo is hungry for more.

The company is about to create an entire new smartphone brand for the Chinese market, something that will be much more official in April 2015. The new brand will focus on branded applications, consumer engagement, and selling devices online - making it easier for Chinese customers to get online, and after a few clicks, have a device shipped out to them. Lenovo will still sell Lenovo-branded smartphones through local carriers and retailers, but this new brand will compliment its main brand in the country.

Google has announced the first device to be based on its new Android TV platform: Nexus Player. Google's new Nexus Player is a set-top streaming box that had the company working with ASUS on, and will be Google's first take on getting into your lounge room, properly.

The Nexus Player looks like a puck, and is around 4.7 inches in diameter, with a tiny remote that has just a few buttons on it. The remote will feature a microphone, so you can do voice searches through the Nexus Player, which is a nice touch. Inside of the Nexus Player is 8GB of internal flash storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi for streaming content, and there's also a game controller that is sold separately.

Google is selling the Nexus Player at $99, with its game controller to be made available for $39. The company will be selling the Nexus Player exclusively through its Play Store, with pre-orders starting on Friday.

Another highly rumored, and now finally here device, is the new Nexus 9. Google had some massive announcements today, including Android 5.0 Lollipop, the new Nexus 6 smartphone, the Nexus Player, and now the Nexus 9 tablet.

Google's new Nexus 9 tablet is made by HTC, and powered by NVIDIA's super-impressive Tegra K1 processor. It features an 8.9-inch QVGA, or 2048x1536 display, with a ratio of 4:3, which is an interesting turn, as we usually see 16:9 displays. HTC has provided its BoomSound speaker technology into the Nexus 9, which is joined by NVIDIA's 64-bit, Tegra K1 processor. We also have 2GB of RAM, and three different models to choose from.

Starting with the 16GB Nexus 9, priced at $399, moving up to the 32GB for $479 and if you want to walk around with an 8.9-inch tablet in your bag with LTE abilities, the 32GB LTE model will cost $599. Google will be launching the Nexus 9 in 29 countries over the next couple of weeks, and when talking about the new 4:3 form factor, Google said that the Nexus 9 is "small enough to easily carry around in one hand, yet big enough to work on".

After months of teasing, the Nexus 6 is now official. The Nexus 6 is the beginning of a new line of devices that is ready to showcase Android 5.0, which was also just announced. The biggest news here is that Google did indeed go for the large 6-inch screen size, but we're going to talk about that a little later.

The 6-inch display features a QHD resolution, so we have 2560x1440, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 805 processor, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with OIS, a 2-megapixel selfie-snapper, 3220mAh battery that should ensure all-day battery life (especially with that QHD panel), two-front facing speakers and it comes in two sizes: 32GB and 64GB. Two colors are on offer for the Nexus 6: blue, or white.

One of the key parts of the new Nexus 6, if not the biggest, would be that it arrives with stock Android 5.0 Lollipop. Lollipop introduces some nice new technologies and features, such as a battery saving feature that will extend a Lollipop-powered device's battery by up to 90 minutes. Also, thanks to Motorola building the new Nexus 6, the smartphone includes Motorola's Turbo Chargers, which will charge the phone up with six hours worth of use, in just 15 minutes.

In ZAGG's Device Damage Study for June 2014, the company held a seven-minute online survey with 768 US residents who currently own, and use a smartphone or tablet. The data secured from this adventure showed some very interesting statistics, with 23% of people worried about losing, or having their smartphone stolen.

Cracked screens came in second with 16%, while breaking it or damaging it in general came in third with 15%. Out of the smartphone users who had their handset damaged, 38% of those said the damage happened from a drop or fall, with 26% saying they had some form of water damage. The water damage is interesting, as this splits into four categories: fell in water, got wet, spilled drink/fell in drink, and fell in toilet. 6% of those who participated in the study said they dropped their smartphone in the toilet.

ZAGG's study showed that from the 768 people who took part in this research, 49% of those with damaged phones either replaced the handset completely, or had it fixed. Another scary number is that 48% of those in the study were still using a damaged smartphone, which is close to the same number as those who actually have a protective case on their phone.

The next-generation of lithium-ion batteries is really going to ensure that users get all-day, and even more battery life out of their devices. A team of researchers in Singapore have developed this improved lithium-ion battery tech, which is capable of recharging a battery to 70% in just two minutes, yes: 120 seconds.

The clinch, is that this isn't a new battery technology, but it improves on the existing technology that is used. The improvements are coming from a form of nanostructures, where instead of traditional graphite used to create the lithium-ion battery's anode, this new technology uses a cheap titanium dioxide gel, which is a similar material to that used in sunscreen, that absorbs UV rays.

The scientists have discovered a way to turn these compounds into nanostructures that super-speed the charging process, with this change making lithium-ion batteries capable of charging 20x faster, and lasting up to 20x longer. Associate Professor Chen Xiaodong of Nanyang Technological University said in a release "With our nanotechnology, electric cars would be able to increase their range dramatically with just five minutes of charging, which is on par with the time needed to pump petrol for current cars". The researchers hope to have this technology on the market within two years, which should be perfect timing for our next, next-gen smartphones and electric cars.

Lenovo took the wraps off of its Broadwell-powered Yoga 3 Pro earlier today, but the company unveiled two other devices, with the second being the new Yoga Tablet 2 Pro.

The new Yoga Tablet 2 Pro is a 13-inch, Android-powered slate that features a built-in projector. Yes, a built-in projector, that is capable of firing out a 16:9 high resolution image, or video, that Lenovo is pushing as the ultimate entertainment device. Considering the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro features a 2560x1440 QHD display and 8-watt sound system with subwoofer, we can see why.

How much will this bad boy set you back? $799? $999? Just $499... for a 13-inch tablet with a 2560x1440 display, 8-watt sound system, and built-in projector. Yikes, Apple/Samsung/Google/LG/HTC/Motorola/world.

HTC has made its Desire Eye smartphone official, confirming that the best selfie-taking smartphone is now here, featuring dual 13-megapixel cameras. That's right, a 13-megapixel camera graces the rear, which isn't too special, but the 13-megapixel up front should have selfie-taking lovers opening their Eyes at this smartphone, geddit?

The new Desire Eye features a 5.2-inch Full HD display, 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM. 16GB of flash storage expandable by microSD, and then of course, the dual 13-megapixel cameras. Both of the 13-megapixel cameras feature wide-angle lenses, and dual-LED flashes. Stereo BoomSound speakers are found on the Desire Eye, three microphones, a 2,400mAh battery, and Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

HTC wasn't scared of the fact that the new Desire Eye is made from plastic, but it's not cheap according to BGR who attended the Double Exposure event. The site reports that "the Desire Eye has a smooth and sleek design that is surprisingly impressive. There are no seams despite the band of color that surrounds the perimeter of the handset, and it feels good in the hand despite its large size". One of the stand out features on the Desire Eye is the new camera software, which comes with six main add-ons which make the selfie-taking experience, well, better.

Apple has announced a new media event scheduled for next week, with the October 16 event to be held at the Town Hall auditorium at Apple's Cupertino-based HQ. The company has now sent out media events, but probably not ComputerBild.de, with the tagline of "It's been way too long".

What can we expect Apple to unveil at the event? We should see some new iPads unveiled, with the iPad Air 2, and maybe a new iPad mini. Updated iMacs should also be introduced, sporting a high-resolution Retina display. We should also see the company tease the final overview of OS X Yosemite, before it hits the public.

Someone has been sent an iPhone 6 prototype 'accidentally', with the person throwing it up to eBay straight away with a starting bid of $999. The Beverly Hills, California based iPhone 6 owner has offered free shipping if the price exceeds $4,000 - but at the time of writing, the current bid was a massive $58,660.

The iPhone 6 prototype does not feature FCC markets on the rear of the device, or a model number, and its Lightning port is red - proving that it is indeed a prototype. iOS 8 isn't on the device, with the iPhone 6 sitting in Developer Mode. 'kimberlyk1018' has said on the eBay page: "This device is being sold as is. I cannot guarantee that it will make calls or that the camera will work. However I can guarantee you that the device is a 64gb iPhone 6 which was sent to me from Verizon. The device comes with the box, charger, headphones and wall charger as well as all the paperwork. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. This is a once in a life time opportunity for you to take a part of".

But, $58,660 for the iPhone 6 prototype? How many of the recent bids would you say are Apple's bids to get their prototype back?

We've been hearing many more teases about the Nexus 9 than we have about the Nexus 6, with HTC reportedly behind the construction of Google's upcoming, and hopefully Android L-powered slate.

The Nexus 9 has now hit the FCC, leaving behind some details on what we can expect. The tablet appears as the 0P82100, but the filing doesn't offer too much that we don't already know. The filing itself is what we needed, to know that it is indeed, real. We can expect NVIDIA to be powering the Nexus 9 with its Tegra K1 processor, 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and cellular options, built into a beautiful aluminium frame.

We will hear it all on October 8, at HTC's Double Exposure event, where we should also hear about the Desire Eye smartphone, which features 13-megapixel front-facing camera, and HTC's upcoming action camera, that will fight directly against GoPro's newly announced Hero4.

We know that HTC is preparing to unveil new smartphones, and maybe an action camera, on October 8 - just days away. But now there is a leak that is showing off HTC's purported new smartphone, the Desire Eye, which features a massive 13-megapixel front-facing camera.

Desire Eye is mostly a mid-range handset, with a 5.2-inch 1080p display, quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board flash storage. What makes it unique, is that Desire Eye will reportedly feature a 13-megapixel cameras on both the front, and rear of the device. HTC should unveil the Desire Eye in a couple of days time at its "Double Exposure" event.

For those out there with much more money to splash on a new smartphone, Vertu has just unveiled its new Aster smartphone, a mid-tier, titanium-built, Android-powered smartphone with a whopping $6,900 price tag.

What do you get for close to $7,000? A 4.7-inch 1080p display, 5.1-inch 117-carat sapphire screen, 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 chip, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2.1-megapixel front facer, with the rear-facing snapper certified by Hasselblad, the company who had its technology in the cameras in the 1969 Moon landing.

64GB of internal flash storage, a 2,275mAh battery, front stereo speakers, NFC, Qi wireless charging, and LTE also make the cut. Vertu's CEO said: "Vertu is not here to follow general mass market mobile trends; our technology is leading edge but it doesn't have to be bleeding edge. The same goes for the physical design of Vertu products. The nature of our customers and of our products mean that we have to develop what is right for them, not follow generic broader industry design themes that may be more fleeting than those of the luxury market". The CEO added: "Many of our customers desire and appreciate compact size Vertu products that comfortably fit the inside the pocket of a well-tailored suit or in an expensive clutch bag".

Now that the new iPhones are here, the talk about the next iPhone has begun. Samsung is reportedly being tapped by Apple to make its A9 processor, the successor to the A8 found in the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Samsung is expected to use its 14nm process, which the company should surely handle since it made 30% of all A8 processors, sharing manufacturing work with TSMC. Samsung is offering up Apple's next processor built on 14nm FinFet technology, which should provide 15% smaller space compared to the current 20nm, as well as providing 20% more power, and 35% more power efficiency.

We should hear more about the A9 processor soon, but who would be surprised with a new iPhone announcement in the next six months?

Within the next four months, Apple would've launched its new iPhone into 115 countries and regions, but in order to meet the insane demand of its new flagship smartphone, Foxconn is having to hire even more workers at its Chinese plants to keep up with demand.

The news is coming from DigiTimes, with Foxconn not commenting on the report, but supply chain sources have told DigiTimes that Foxconn is "aggressively recruiting workers" to work on the new iPhones. Considering Apple have sold over 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones in the first three days alone, we should expect there to be tens of millions sold before the holidays.

In just three weeks time, on October 17, Apple will open up sales of the new iPhone in China, which is the world's largest market. This will be a big test not only for Apple, but for Foxconn and China itself. Foxconn has reportedly been having issues employing more staff after all of the negative press the company receives from its various issues, which has forced the company to host hiring events to keep up with the demand of its manufacturing.