Mobile Devices - Page 158

Computex Taipei 2013 - We got a chance to visit some folks at Intel at the Grand Hyatt earlier today where we were of course given a media tour of some of Intel's new Haswell solutions and upcoming Baytrail systems, that is the chip that is likely to become the next-generation Atom.

Towards the end of the media tour, Intel's engineer Francois Piednoel pulled out a prototype Intel Baytrail Android reference / mock-up tablet showing that Intel mean business when it comes to graphics for the next-gen chips. Intel is often mocked for its graphics performance on its processors, and they know that, but it seems like they are working hard to change that trend.

Francois's baby was shown running SkyCastle 2 fairly smooth at I'd estimate an FPS of around 30 - 40 FPS - he actually had the FPS ticker blocked with an Intel sticker, so we couldn't check for sure. Take FPS out of the equation for a moment and get this fact - the game was running fairly well at a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440.

Computex Taipei 2013 - Something I haven't played with as the Mobile Devices Editor for this awesome website we all know and love, is an Intel-powered smartphone. Nor have I played with a Lenovo device, but that's what Computex is here for, right?

We stopped by the Intel booth earlier today in the Nangang halls, checking out their wicked touchscreen-capable bus shelter, but something else that caught our eye was Lenovo's K900 smartphone. What is the Lenovo K900 you ask? Well, it's the first smartphone in the world to feature Intel's Clover Trail+ processor, which is a dual-core processor clocking in at 2GHz. The K900 has 2GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch 1920x1080-pixel display, 16GB of internal flash storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera backed up by a 2-megapixel front facer, and runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean.

Impressions? Not that great. It felt, to me, sluggish, and that was just sliding between the home screens. I think I'd need a true play on it, but it's hard to get a "feel" for smartphone performance without using it on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully we'll get some Lenovo samples in the near future and we can bring you a full review on the Clover Trail+-based smartphone.

Computex Taipei 2013 - Expanding the line up of products, Patriot today showed off it's latest devices to hit in the form of the Fuel+ mobile rechargeable batteries. Carrying the same name throughout the three chargers that took our fancy included the 1500mAh unit designed or Apple users thanks to the built-in Lightning connector; something that we're still not really seeing from a lot of companies.

This particular unit simply sits on the bottom of your device and has the ability to not only charge your device but also be charged at the same time. You can see we've got quite a small foot print to the device due to the smaller 1500 mAh battery but for people who want to make sure they've got enough power during the day. It's a great little option.

If you're looking for something a little larger in terms of power and flexibility the below units might be just what you're looking for with options of 2000 mAh and 3000 mAh for single USB ported units and larger 5200 mAh to 9000 mAh options for dual USB port options.

We have been hearing rumors of a low-cost iPhone for almost six months now and today it appears those rumors may just hold more weight than we originally thought. Images of the low-cost iPhone have surfaced on a Chinese social networking site.

If legitimate, the images show off a device that looks very similar to the iPhone 3G with a round, very smooth plastic back. This would make a lot of sense as Apple already has the tooling, molds, and most of the design on hand. All they would need to do is update the hardware, which would result in massive savings that they can then pass along to the customer.

Keep in mind that rumors are just that and this new leak looks much different than the leaked shell we saw two months ago. However, this new image does appear to show the device using Apple's new smaller connector so that adds some weight to the rumor. TweakTown wants to know what you think about the idea of a new low-cost iPhone. Is there simply no market for such a device with so many good Android phones being available at a low price? Let us know in the comments!

Motorola's CEO, Dennis Woodside, has confirmed that the rumored X Phone is real. He adds that the device will be made right here in the United States. The device will be Motorola's flagship device and is called the Moto X. It will make use of an OLED screen.

The device will be built-in Texas in a 480,000-square-foot facility currently making Nokia devices. Woodside cheerfully announced that the Moto X will be the first smartphone to be built-in the United States. He added that breakability and battery life are two main focuses for the device.

Woodside had the phone in his pocket while doing the interview, but refused to show it. Android's Sundar Pinchai has seen the device, but Woodside said that Motorola is the same as any Android vendor. "We're hiring out of Google, but once you come to Motorola you give up your Google badge. It really is separate."

HTC are up and down right now, as the company have been bleeding employees for a while, but have seen a horizon of success with their One smartphone. But if DigiTimes' article is correct, maybe we could see HTC turn things around with a new smartphone made from amorphous metal alloy.

The 'Liquidmetal' smartphone would debut later in the year, and will see HTC partner up with Taiwanese chassis maker Jabon International to help manufacture the device. If HTC can make it to the market with their Liquidmetal smartphone, it could light a fire under Apple who were interested in using Liquidmetal for future iPhone's. HTC have reportedly started hiring chassis manufacturing experts to help incorporate the technology into future products.

Last year it was reported that Apple would switch from their reliance on their biggest competitor, Samsung, for their displays and shift to others like LG Display or AU Optronics. Well folks, it seems that Apple is considering new contracts with Samsung for displays in the future.

Korean site ETNews.com is reporting that Apple would resume purchasing LCD's from Samsung Display, as the South Korean giant are better equipped to keep up with Apple's high demand:

A May 27th filing at Bluetooth SIG has pulled back the wool a little further on the upcoming Nexus 7 refresh. The ASUS built "7" has been given the model number ME370T and should feature a new high resolution screen.

The refreshed Nexus 7 is said to be getting a Full HD 1920x180 7-inch LTPS display and will run a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core chipset. While the new display will be a nice feature, the device is listed as running the JWR11 firmware, which is highly speculated to be Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

Reports say that tablet suppliers are hinting at a July release, but no pricing information or further specifications on features like cameras, internal storage, storage slots, battery ratings or accessories have been leaked thus far. The new display would make it the first 7-inch class tablet to feature a true full HD display.

Looking to get an iPad but don't want to pay full retail price? Check out Apple's refurbished store. In fact, just today, Apple lowered the prices on its refurbished iPads to that almost every model is now at a 15 percent discount compared to a brand-new model.

The changes, as noted by MacRumors, are as follows for the iPad mini:

For the fourth-generation iPad, changes are as follows:

After selling more than 10 million units in less than 30 days, Samsung is releasing its flagship, the Galaxy S4 in several new colors, including Blue Arctic, Red Aurora, Purple Mirage and Brown Autumn. This morning we are learning that AT&T will have exclusive rights to the Red Aurora version as it did with the burgundy version of the Galaxy S3.

These new colored models feature all of the same hardware and the existing Galaxy S4 models, and it is unknown at this time as to which carriers will be getting the remaining three colors. AT&T has opened up pre-orders for the Red Aurora model and will begin shipping on June 14th.

The exclusive Red Aurora model will run you $199.99, which is the same price as existing Galaxy S4 models at AT&T, and at the moment, only the 16GB version will get the new color treatment. Personally I prefer a black smartphone, but I will admit that the brushed aluminum look of the HTC One is beginning to grow on me.

Some ex-Nokia staffers have created a company called Jolla, who have just unveiled their first smartphone designed to run an OS called Sailfish. Sailfish is a Meego-inspired OS, with Jolla believing that their self-titled mobile phone will be one of the hot new mid- to high-end smartphones.

Jolla will feature a 4.5-inch Estrada display, a dual-core processor which we don't know of yet, 16GB of internal flash storage, microSD for expandable storage, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. On the front we have a front-facing camera of course, and 4G LTE support in some countries. Jolla will feature no buttons on the front whatsoever, and will arrive with a two-tone removable back shell that the company calls The Other Half.

The Jolla is available for pre-order, with pre-order customers to receive a voucher worth 100 euros that will be taken off of the totla price of the phone once it ships. Jolla will go on sale in Q4 for around $513 (399 euros) and will drop in Europe before jumping over to other countries.

After just one month of being on the market, Samsung has announced that it will sell its 10 millionth Galaxy S4 sometime next week. While that may not sound very impressive, consider that it took Samsung almost double that time to sell 10 million Galaxy S3 devices after launch.

Going even further back, five months passed before 10 million Galaxy S2 smartphones were sold. Like it or not, Samsung is the new Apple, albeit with less overpriced hardware and more feature rich smartphones. Industry analysts say that Samsung managed to capture 95 percent of the $5.3 billion in profit that Android generated market wide in the first quarter of 2013.

Samsung earns more off of Android than Google does, and while you may think that would shake Google to the core, it has done quite the opposite. Google could not be more happy, and to prove this point, we saw the search giant unveil its own version of the Galaxy S4 during the Google I/O keynote earlier this week.

The folks over at Analogix were kind enough to send me over to Shanghai, China to attend its SlimPort Summit 2013 here at the lovely Marriott City Center hotel. You've got the brief introduction, now let's dig in deep for a bit and talk about SlimPort.

If you don't like reading, hit play on the embedded video above. What is SlimPort? Today at the event I heard a few different variations to the definition of SlimPort. I'd like to explain it in my own words. SlimPort is a technology standard that is use to easily get more out of your smart device and connect it up with one simple cable to a larger, secondary display via VGA, HDMI or DisplayPort.

Analogix is the company responsible for creating SlimPort and the company is one that is a semiconductor and has its roots in display and digital media. One of its biggest projects right now is SlimPort, a relatively new standard that has already had quite a lot of success in the market. You can already find SlimPort technology in popular devices including the Google Nexus 4 smartphone, LG Optimus G Pro smartphone, Fujitsu Stylistic QH582 Windows 8 tablet and the ASUS PadFone Infinity Android tablet. Analogix is working hard currently on securing more design wins, and while I didn't hear any specific brands or models, I'm told to expect more in the next 2 or 3 weeks, and more throughout the year. Analogix are working hard to cement SlimPort as a standard, cable and connector for many years to come.

According to PayPal's chief information security officer, the upcoming iPhone 5S will feature an integrated fingerprint scanner. This isn't the first time we've heard this rumor, but it's the first time it has come from a decently credible source.

While it remains to be seen if this will come true, Apple recently purchased AuthenTec, a company that specializes in mobile and network security. Combine that with various other pieces of data and it starts looking like the iPhone 5S will come with a scanner. However, it's a decent idea to remain somewhat skeptical for at least a while longer.

Microsoft has issued patches for both of its existing Surface tablet lines as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday. The patches aim to boost wireless performance, enable PXE boot, and various other stability concerns. The updates continue Microsoft's current trend of releasing monthly updates for the Surface tablets.

The Surface Pro is receiving the following updates and fixes:

The Surface RT is receiving the following updates and fixes:

Nokia made the Lumia 925 official today at an event in London. The Lumia 925 is an updated Lumia 920 and is one of Nokia's first devices to feature an aluminum shell. This is a marked improvement in durability and tangible feel. Aluminum makes the device feel so much more like a premium device.

The screen is a 4.5-inch AMOLED display capable of a 1,280x768 resolution. It's covered in Gorilla Glass 2 to protect from scratches. The camera is 8.7MP, as rumors suggested it would be, and is of the OIS variety. While the Lumia 925 doesn't come with a Xenon flash, it does feature software enhancements ssuch as Smart Cam, Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus.

The CPU is a dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 clocked at 1.5GHz. This is the same CPU that was used in the older Lumia 920. It's coupled with 1GB of RAM and a 2,000mAh battery, both of which remain the same as the Lumia 920. The new device is thinner than the older Lumia 920, but lacks the wireless charging capabilities of the older device.

We've been hearing that Samsung plans to release several variants of the popular Galaxy S4. One of the main variants that keeps popping up is the Galaxy S4 Mini, a smaller version of the S4 that is easier on the pockets and wallet. According to documents from Samsung and Korea Investment & Securities, the S4 Mini will be released in the next few weeks.

According to the documents, the S4 Mini will feature a 1.6GHz dual-core Exynos 5210 coupled with 1GB of RAM for 3G devices and 2GB of RAM for LTE devices. It will feature 32GB of internal storage, Android 4.0, and a 4.3-inch qHD(540x960) Super AMOLED screen. The camera is said to be an 8MP sensor and battery capacity is pegged at 2,100mAh.

For now, this remains a rumor as nothing official has been confirmed. As with all rumors, take this with a grain of salt. However, the details look to be about right for the S4 Mini.

The tiny magnets inside of the iPad are capable of turning off implanted defibrillators if the iPad is left on the chest, something that was discovered by a fourteen-year-old.

This isn't a problem for most, and even those with pacemakers, but if you were using your iPad in bed and had a pacemaker, and fell asleep - well, ther could be a serious issue. Gianna Chen discovered the problem as part of a science fair project that didn't win first place, instead, she'll be presenting her findings to 8,000 doctors at a meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society in Denver. Bloomberg reported the news, adding:

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities has come out and said that Google will unveil a next-generation Nexus 7 tablet at Google I/O next week. The analyst also reveals some potential, and quite surprising specs on the device.

The Nexus 7 will still reportedly be made by ASUS, and will feature:

The best bit that we have here is the price - just $199. If Google can achieve this price, it'll completely kill the iPad mini in virtually all aspects.

How much does the new flagship Galaxy S4 from Samsung cost to build? According to research firm IHS, just $237. This could be because most of the components sourced for the S4 are from Samsung themselves.

IHS analyst Vincent Leung said: "Samsung's strength is this ability to in-source to itself. They just keep adding to the list of components that they can supply to themselves". The international version of the Galaxy S4, the one that features the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa SoC, costs just $28 per chip. The US version, which features the Qualcomm-made Snapdragon processor, has an estimated cost of $20.

There are at least four versions of the Galaxy S4 being made, with two versions headed to the United States. The two US-bound versions feature a Fujitsu image processor that adds $1.50 to the cost of the phone, with the Korean version having its image processing handled by the on-board Exynos processor. The display and touchscreen are made by Samsung and cost $75, while the 32GB of on-board flash memory costs $28.