Micromax outs Canvas Doodle 2 affordable quad-core droid

Micromax has unveiled the latest addition to its smartphone lineup, dubbed Canvas Doodle 2. The device will retail for INR19,990 (approximately $310) and will be available throughout India starting today.

The Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 has a 5.7" IPS LCD with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, which results in a density of around 257 ppi. Te Canvas Doodle 2 is powered by a MediaTek 6589 chipset with quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU and 1GB of RAM. A 2600 mAh battery powers the whole thing.

  
Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 • the stylus

It runs on Android 4.2.1. Imaging is handled by a 12 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front-facing one. There's also 1080p video recording. There are 16 GB of internal storage, which sadly appear to not be expandable.

Equipped with a stylus, which comes in the retail package, the Canvas Doodle 2 lets you... well, doodle over pictures with the M!Doodle app. There's also a flip cover accessory, which moonlights as a kick-stand.

The Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 comes with M!Doodle, M!Live, M!Zone and M!Security preinstalled among other apps. On a more absurd note you can blow on the device to wake it up and also shake it if you want to appear more normal.

Samsung preps 16MP OIS camera, won't premiere on Note III

A new report coming from Korea reveals Samsung is working on a 16MP camera module with optical image stabilization. The new sensor is intended to be used in company's upcoming Galaxy flagships.

Unfortunately Samsung's suppliers won't make enough sensors in time for the Galaxy Note III release. This means that the new camera will most probably premiere with the Galaxy S5 next year according to the report.

Samsung already has a smartphone with a 16MP OIS camera - the Galaxy S4 Zoom - but it's a hybrid device with 10x optical zoom and therefore it's pretty huge.

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note III next month in Berlin, so we'll know soon enough if those new sensors will make it to the phablet or not.

Source (in Korean) | Via

Moto X hits AT&T stores as the Moto Maker site also goes live

Motorola's recently announced Moto X flagship smartphone is the first to be developed entirely under Google's supervision. The smartphone is now available from AT&T in USA and the 16GB variant of the device costs you $199 and the 32GB unit is priced at $249, both with a two-year contract.

The unlocked version of the Moto X will also be up for grabs and the SIM-free variant carries a price tag of $580.

The Moto Maker customization site is also live now. It allows you to choose the color combination for your Moto X along with its storage space and the matching accessories. The site also offers you to link your Google account even before the smartphone is shipped to you.

However, the service is not offering online purchases just yet. The Moto Maker's engraving feature will not be initially available due to some technical difficulties.

Stay tuned for our detailed Moto X review, which will come out later tonight.

Source 1 | Source 2

Sony Xperia Z1 press image and metal chassis leaks

The Sony Xperia Z1, erstwhile known as 'Honami', has leaked once again, this time through a press image. This latest image shows the device in three colors: black, white and purple.

The colors are identical to the ones the Xperia Z is sold in and the device itself looks remarkably similar.

One major difference between the exterior of the Z and the Z1, however, is the metal frame that runs around the device. It's unclear whether the metal acts are merely the frame for the device or also doubles up as the antenna as on the iPhone.

The Xperia Z1 is Sony's upcoming flagship Android smartphone that has been rumored for quite some time now. It is said to have a 5.0-inch FullHD display, quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM, 20 megapixel camera and all the bells and whistles you expect from a flagship Android device these days.

The Xperia Z1 is expected to be announced officially at an event in Berlin on September 4.

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Samsung describes what each of the nine sensors on the Galaxy S4 does

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the most feature-rich smartphones around, and it duly packs a wide array of sensors. Samsung published an image that explains what each sensor does and what feature uses it.

There are the standard sensors that have been around since smartphones first appeared, like an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and proximity sensor. But then there are unusual sensors like a humidity sensor (used by S Health to calculate “comfort level”), and others.

Here’s the image in question:

The barometer is used for quicker GPS locks, but it can also accurately calculate how many calories you’ve burned if you’re going up a hill. The gesture sensor is separate from the proximity sensor and is, of course, used for Air Gestures.

You can also read the full press release for more details on the individual sensors. For example, there are interesting tidbits like a special Micro Controller Unit (MCU) that only wakes up the powerful CPU if it’s needed. The MCU can control the sensors itself, so Samsung says the Galaxy S4 is very battery efficient despite having so many sensors.

Source | Via

Samsung Galaxy S4 with Exynos 5 processor gets rooted ahead of its global launch

Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone is yet to go sale and the developers at XDA forums have already managed to gain root access on the smartphone. The tech enthusiasts have found a way to root theGalaxy S4, which runs on the Exynos 5 octa-core processor, while the root for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset version is yet to come.

Samsung Galaxy S4 can be rooted with a ROM, which is packed with ROOT&Busybox image. You can flash that using Odin and gain root access on your smartphone in just a few minutes.

Unfortunately, most of the devices in the first Galaxy S4 batch is said to come out with the Qualcomm powered Snapdragon 600 processors. However, we expect the developers to come up with the methods to root the Snapdragon version of the smartphone in the coming days.

Keep in mind that rooting or flashing any custom ROMs on your smartphone involves some risk and would void your warranty. So, please continue with the instructions from the source link below only if you are sure about what you are doing.

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Alleged Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Plus images and specs leak, might be called Galaxy S Tab

Two images supposedly showing the Samsung GT-P8200 Galaxy Tab 3 Plus slate leaked today. The tablet’s design looks much like the Galaxy Note 8.0 and features the new Galaxy S4 lockscreen wallpaper.

The rumors go even further suggesting Samsung might change the lineup’s moniker.

The slate is supposed to pack a 10-inch 2560×1600 pixels (300ppi) SuperAMOLED Pentile or PLS LCD display. Samsung’s own Exynos 5410 Octa chipset should be powering the Tab – a 1.6GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 and a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processors, 2GB LPDDR3 RAM and PowerVR SGX 544MP3 graphics.

The rest of the rumored specs include an 8MP rear camera with 1080p video, a 2MP front snapper, 32/64GB internal storage expandable via a microSD card slot, an IR blaster and a 9000mAh battery unit.

As the rumor has it Samsung might change the naming convention for the new Galaxy Tab 3 lineup and call it Galaxy S Tab after the successful Galaxy S smartphones. I guess we’ll have to wait for the official announcement to shed more light on this.

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Windows Phone apps on the rise in the coming year

In a survey done by the Aberdeen Group, some 348 enterprise application developers were asked which mobile platforms they've released or were planning on releasing their products to.

While iOS and Android were unsurprisingly at the top of the chart, Microsoft's mobile OS's saw some great responses by developers, with the Windows Phone and Surface Tablet having 25% and 35%, respectively, of developers planning on releasing apps within the next 12 months.

Aberdeen ties this rise with the growing emergence of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the corporate world. Samsung has been heavily promoting that campaign hoping that it will help boost the sales of devices like the Galaxy Note II.

In light of what looks like a bright future for Microsoft, the news is not so good for BlackBerry. Despite the release of the BlackBerry 10 OS, businesses have all but lost faith in the Canadian company, due to their oft-delayed operating system, and unclear plans for the future, especially in regard to its PlayBook tablet.

Source | Via

Sony Xperia SP and Xperia L to go on sale in UK this month

Sony extended its collection of mid-range smartphones with the launch of Xperia SP and the Xperia L to its budget line up. Previously we only knew the smartphones will launch in Q2, but the good news is that we will only have to wait until the end of this month to get them in UK, according to a listing from some online retailers.

The Sony Xperia SP and Xperia L have been listed as "expected in April" at the Carphone Warehouse's website. Clove is also expecting to get its first stock this month.

These early listing point to a price tag of £323(about $490) for the Sony Xperia SP, while the Xperia L is expected to be priced around £234 (about $355).

And while you are waiting for the stock to arrive, feel free to check out our first hands-on impressions ofSony Xperia SP and Sony Xperia L.

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Here are the launch dates for Galaxy S4 in Eastern Europe

A global launch of a smartphone is no easy task – there are long lists of which country gets what and when. The latest list (courtesy of SamMobile) about the Samsung Galaxy S4 is about the Eastern European launch of the flagship droid (including Russia and the Ukraine).

The Galaxy S4 is split into two versions – 3G and LTE. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely clear if those are the Exynos 5 Octa and Snapdragon 600 or some mix of the two. Both chipsets support LTE. The earlier rumors suggested the Exynos version will be the one sold in both Russia and the Ukraine, you can consult the list for the rest of the countries.

Both color versions – Black Mist and White Frost – will arrive at the same time. Also, the 32GB version seems to have been dropped – you get either the 16GB version or go for broke with the 64GB. The microSD card slot means storage is easy to expand, so you must really need huge amounts of storage to go for the 64GB units.

Anyway, here’s the list:

• Galaxy S4 3G 16 GB – Week 16
• Galaxy S4 3G 32 GB – DROPPED
• Galaxy S4 3G 64 GB – Week 24

• Galaxy S4 LTE 16 GB – Week 21
• Galaxy S4 LTE 32 GB – DROPPED
• Galaxy S4 LTE 64 GB – Week 24

Week 16 is April 15-21, Week 21 is May 20-26 and Week 24 is June 10-16.

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Samsung Galaxy Mega handsets with 5.8" and 6.3" screens coming

Samsung is preparing to introduce a new series of Galaxy devices carrying the Mega moniker, a report by SamMobile suggests.

The information comes from an inside source, who confirmed that two Galaxy Mega smartphones are in the works. The first is codenamed Galaxy Mega 5.8 with a model number GT-I9152. Obviously, we are talking about a handset with 5.8-inch display and the model number pointing to its dual-SIM nature.

More interestingly, the second one is carrying the codename Galaxy Mega 6.3, which hints at a 6.3-inch display - the same as the Galaxy Note III is rumored to pack. However, the model number GT-I9200 doesn't correspond with Samsung Galaxy Note naming convention Nxxxx (Galaxy Note II N7100, Galaxy Note N7000), so it will most likely lack S Pen functionality.

Everything should be revealed once those two phones get out of Samsung's factories. The Galaxy Mega 5.8 should do so around the end of May, start of June (week 22, as per SamMobile), while the Galaxy Mega 6.3 around mid-June (week 25).

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Samsung Galaxy Note III rumored to launch in US with 5.9" display

Samsung Galaxy Note III, the potential successor of the popular Galaxy Note II phablet was said to come out with a whopping 5.9" display. Now, an executive from one of the main parts suppliers for the company has confirmed the screen size.

According to a report from Korea Times, the next generation Galaxy Note will launch in the United States as confirmed by the local suppliers. The report also claims that the South Korean manufacturer will be showing off its Galaxy Note III concept to the US carrier AT&T in the coming days.

Samsung Galaxy Note III is also rumored to sport the latest OLED technology for the display, which is expected to offer a full HD resolution.

The successor of the Galaxy Note II is expected to be launched by the end of August, falling in line with the IFA 2013, but Samsung might chose to skip the show and hold its own Unpacked event in the US as it did for the Galaxy S4.

Source | Via

Exynos 5210 chipset in the works, to power the Galaxy S4 mini

Samsung has unveiled only two Exynos 5 chipsets so far – the 5250 Dual in the Nexus 10 and the 5410 Octa in some variants of the Galaxy S4 – but there seems to be a third one in development, the Exynos 5210. To spice things up, there’s a rumor going around that this will be the chipset used in the Galaxy S4 mini.

Linux dev tools were committed to Free-electrons.com for a smdk5210 development kit. The model number also appears in anAOSP port on GitHub where “Exynos 5210” is mentioned by name.

The Samsung Exynos naming scheme marks the generation with the first digit and the number of cores with the second.

So the Exynos 5210 is in the same generation as the two Cortex-A15 based chipsets and is a dual-core model. Note that the Exynos 5 Octa is marked 5410, but uses ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture and has four Cortex-A15s and four Cortex-A7s with only one group of four works at the same time.

It’s unclear if the 5210 will be a big.LITTLE with four physical CPU cores that work as a dual-core processor (switching between a fast dual-core and an energy efficient one) or just pack to A15s like the 5250. The GPU is also unknown, for this generation Samsung has used both Mali and PowerVR, so it’s anyone’s guess.

Naturally, the rumor mill linked the Exynos 5210 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini. So far we know that it will have a 4.3” qHD Super AMOLED screen and run Android 4.2.2 on a dual-core 1.6GHz processor – the same clockspeed as the Cortex-A15s in the I9500 Galaxy S4, the A7s run at 1.2GHz.

Keep in mind that there will be an LTE version of the Galaxy S4 mini, which might switch to Snapdragon, like the I9505 Galaxy S4.

Source | Via

Galaxy S4 mini appears on official website, LTE version confimed

The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini will have four different versions, according to info spotted by Twitter userst7761. He found the I9190 model number on Samsung’s support page, along with three other I919X devices.

One is the I9192, the dual-SIM version that was promised by the initial leak. The other point to an LTE version, the I9195, and a China version, the I9198. This is judging by the final digit of the model number, Samsung’s naming scheme is fairly consistent here (though there are exceptions).

Anyway, the only other info we have on the Galaxy S4 mini is that it will have a 4.3” Super AMOLED screen of qHD resolution (540 x 960 pixels, 256ppi) and it will run Android 4.2.2 on a 1.6GHz dual-core processor.

The official announcement of the Galaxy S4 mini is should happen around June or July this year. The info on Samsung’s support page identifying the I9190 seems to have been taken down now, but we’ll be on the lookout for more info.

Source | Via (in Italian)

First Samsung Galaxy S4 mini live photos appear

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 now official, it's time for the rest of the new generation Galaxy devices to start making an appearance. It turns out the first one to break ground is the Galaxy S4 mini.

SamMobile has got hold of some live photos of the smartphone, which reveals a design quite similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4. The photos below confirm that the S4 mini will even feature the back cover design of its bigger brother.

The Galaxy S4 mini (GT-I9190) will be available in a dual-SIM version as well (probably carrying the Galaxy S4 mini duos moniker and GT-I9192 model number).

    
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini live photos

Despite its name and resemblance to Samsung's flagship, the Galaxy S4 mini allegedly won't pack a monster of a CPU, but rather a 1.6GHz dual-core CPU and a 4.3" Super AMOLED display of qHD resolution (960x540 pixels, 256ppi).

It's slightly bigger than the ongoing Galaxy S III mini, which features a 4" display of WVGA resolution. Unfortunately, the S4 mini's CPU type isn't known at this point, but what's known from the photos above is that the smartphone will run what's currently the latest version of Android -4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

According to the source the Galaxy S4 mini is expected to make its debut in June or July this year.

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Sony Xperia Z gets an update, fixes sudden-death issue

Sony is now seeding the first update for the Xperia Z (C6603) flagship. Its build number is 10.1.A.1.434, the Android version stays 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and the Kernel seems to be the same - 3.4.0.

Even though there is no official change log for this unexpected update, rumors have it the new release addresses the sudden-death issue plaguing random Xperia Z (C6603) units. So, while it doesn't add any extra functionality, the update might save quite a lot of trouble for many Xperia Z owners out there.

Sony is releasing the update in stages both via the PC Companion app and over-the-air. You should check both for the update and if it isn't available for you already, it should pop up in a few days.

If you are of the impatient kind, you can follow the source link to download the update and proceed to flash it manually but, since doing so will void your warranty, you better make sure you know what you are doing.

Source | Via

Google releases new ad for the Nexus 10

Google has been releasing some amazing ads lately, especially for their Nexus devices. And the latest ad for the Nexus 10 takes things up a notch.

The ad shows a couple about to have a baby. The focus of the ad is on the ‘shareability’ of the Nexus 10, and how you can have multiple user accounts on the tablet, use it for reading, watching movies, social networking, video calling and how two can people do all this from a single device.

The reason this ad is so great is because not only is it touching but also shows the product off very well, which should be the point of an advertisement after all. This is something that many companies such as Microsoft and Samsung miss entirely with their ads that are either too flashy or designed to make fun of other products rather than showcase their own. Most importantly, this ad would make you want to buy the Nexus 10, now that you know what all it can do.

I hope we see more such great ads from Google in future, and from other companies as well, for that matter. Meanwhile, you can watch it below.

Gmail for Android update brings notification screen shortcuts

Google has updated the Android version of the Gmail app and has added a very useful new feature for Jelly Bean users. As you may know, Jelly Bean features expanded notifications, which allows applications to integrate additional functionality within the notification screen, a feature the Gmail app now takes advantage of.

If you have a device running Jelly Bean, you will notice Gmail notifications now have a reply and archive button within the notification screen itself. This way, you don’t have to launch the app to reply, for instance, and can do it from the notification screen directly. By default you see Reply all and Archive options but if you prefer you can switch from Archive to Delete.

Other changes, which are available from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich onwards include faster search experience, even when you are offline and the usual bug fixes and performance improvements. Android 2.2 and above devices also get new Labels API for third-party developers.

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Snapdragon 600 based Samsung Galaxy S4 is twice as fast as Galaxy S III and iPhone 5, easily beats HTC One too

Yesterday we got some potentially bad news for Europe – that the Galaxy S4 version in sold in Sweden will use the Snapdragon 600 chipset instead of the Exynos 5 Octa that geeks were hoping for. The same version will be sold in North America. However, then we saw some reassuring benchmarks and now we can add one more.

Primate Labs, makers of the Geekbench app took interest in the Samsung Galaxy S4 performance and made a chart to see how the new Galaxy flagship performs. Using data from a benchmark run by Android Authority, the Primate Labs chart shows that the S4 is over twice as fast as its predecessor.

It also beats the HTC One, which uses the same chipset though at a lower clockspeed (1.7GHz for the HTC, 1.9GHz for the Samsung). As for competition from other platforms, the Apple iPhone 5 scores almost the same as the BlackBerry Z10, both with about half the score of the Galaxy S4.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 used for the benchmark is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, meaning it uses slightly updated Krait 300 cores compared to the BlackBerry Z10 and the LG Nexus 4. Also note that the Galaxy S4 used for the benchmark has not been running finalized software.

As Primate Labs points out, the iPhone 5 will be updated soon and the iPhone 5S will improve performance and we’ll have to wait and see how it stacks up. But the Z10 is it for BlackBerry, their other model coming this year, the Q10, uses a lower-end chipset.

Shame that we don’t have a score for the Galaxy S4 version with an Exynos 5 Octa – the Cortex-A15 cores are supposed to blow the Kraits out of the water, battery willing.

Source | Via

Galaxy S III and Note II to get Android 5.0, S II ends at 4.2.2

Today we got some spicy information concerning all Samsung Galaxy owners, regardless of the type of gadget they have - a smartphone or a slate. It's a list showing which devices will be getting the Android 5.0 and which will end with the upcoming Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update.

So, the smartphones to end their life cycle with at Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean are:

• GT-I9080 – Galaxy Grand
• GT-I9082 – Galaxy Grand DUOS
• GT-I8160 – Galaxy Ace 2
• GT-I8190 – Galaxy S III mini
• GT-I8530 – Galaxy Beam
• GT-I8730 – Galaxy Express
• GT-I9070 – Galaxy S Advance
• GT-I9100 – Galaxy S II
• GT-I9105 – Galaxy S II Plus
• GT-I9260 – Galaxy Premier
• GT-N7000 – Galaxy Note
• GT-S6310 – Galaxy Young
• GT-S6312 – Galaxy Young DUOS
• GT-S6810 – Galaxy Fame
• GT-S7710 – Galaxy X Cover 2

Even though 4.2.2 version will be the last Android upgrade for those, let's not forget how old some of them actually are and how many previous updates they've got (this will be the third major update for the Galaxy S II). And when you think about the update policy of other manufacturers (if it even exists), Samsung did a commendable job keeping its high-end devices up to date.

Now comes the list with the devices which will get Android 5.0 and possibly even more updates.

• GT-I9300 – Galaxy S III
• GT-I9305 – Galaxy S III LTE
• GT-I9500 – Galaxy S 4
• GT-I9505 – Galaxy S 4 LTE
• GT-N5100 – Galaxy Note 8.0
• GT-N5105 – Galaxy Note 8.0 LTE
• GT-N5110 – Galaxy Note 8.0 Wi-Fi
• GT-N7100 – Galaxy Note II
• GT-N7105 – Galaxy Note II LTE
• GT-N8000 – Galaxy Note 10.1
• GT-N8005 – Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE
• GT-N8010 – Galaxy Note 10.1 Wi-Fi

Once again we want to remind you this list is not official, though it is claimed to come from a company's insider. You should always take such leaks with a pinch of salt, as we do.

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