Intel Corp., the world’s largest maker of microprocessors, has been selling various system-on-chips for mobile devices for years now. Unfortunately, it hasn't been that successful with the smartphones and tablets market. But the company remains optimistic and has given itself some pretty aggressive targets. This year Intel plans to sell …
Read More »Samsung and SK Hynix Unveil Next-Gen LPDDR4 Memory
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, two leading manufacturers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), this week introduced next-generation LPDDR4 memory for mobile devices. The two companies have already shipped samples of the new mobile DRAM to leading designers of mobile system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. Samsung’s and SK Hynix’s first LPDDR4 chips …
Read More »Nokia begins Windows Phone 7.8 rollout
As we expected it to, Windows Phone 7.8 is now rolling out to existing Windows Phone 7.x users. Nokia has announced that the update will start to rollout today to the Lumia 510, Lumia 610, Lumia 710, Lumia 800 and Lumia 900. The updates are dependent on carriers and given …
Read More »Samsung debuts value-driven 4G LTE equipped Galaxy Express
Samsung knows it holds a strong and influential position on the top of the Android food-chain and has today announced a value-driven handset equipped with 4G LTE. The Galaxy Express looks more or less like the very successful Galaxy S III in terms of its styling. The Express has quad-band 4G LTE support (800/900/1800/2600) as well …
Read More »Windows Phone 8 reference design to allow for lower-cost devices
Android's huge growth hasn't been solely caused by flagship devices such as Samsung's Galaxy S III. Much of the platform's success is also owed to lower-cost devices such as the ASUS Nexus 7 and various other value-orientated devices. Thus far, this is a market that Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has …
Read More »Samsung announces Galaxy Xcover 2
Samsung has today announced the successor to the rugged Galaxy xCover Android smartphone that we reviewed last year. The Xcover 2 is better in just about every area over its predecessor and given our impressions of the original this can only be a good thing. The Xcover 2's primary appeal is to those …
Read More »Nokia confirms the death of Symbian
The end of Symbian has been coming for a while now and in Nokia's Q4 2012 earnings report that Finnish company has finally confirmed it. Nokia says that the 808 PureView, which was announced nearly a year ago, will be the last Symbian device from them. “During our transition to …
Read More »Google’s ‘X Phone’ could debut at Google I/O in May
Ever since Google took over Motorola in May 2012 rumours have circulated about the possibility of a smartphone collaboration between the now-merged companies. Better known as the ‘X Phone', the device would be a fully in-house smartphone offering from Google. Since 2010 Google has contacted various Android device manufacturers including HTC, Samsung, …
Read More »LG Nexus 4 to hit Australian shelves next month
After being revealed last last year, LG's Nexus 4 has more than its fair share of supply problems. Due to massive demand arising from the low asking price of $299 USD for the 8 GB model, availability has been rather scarce. In Australia stock allocated to Google Play Store sales …
Read More »The first Firefox OS phones have been revealed
Mozilla's Firefox OS was announced last year in an attempt to introduce a new major operating system to the ever-growing smartphone market. Retail hardware is on the horizon and today the first two developer orientated devices have been announced to go on sale next month. The low-end Keon device has …
Read More »Huawei hopes to make a statement in Europe with the Ascend G615
Chinese mobile brand Huawei has yet to truly break through into the European smartphone market but has made a clear statement to do so with the Ascend G615. The mid-high end Android smartphones packs in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with an update to Jelly Bean being made available soon after launch. …
Read More »Windows Phone 7.8 roll-out to commence January 31
In mid-November last year we heard that Microsoft will commence the Windows Phone 7.8 roll-out for first and second generation handsets by the end of the year. For reasons unknown this schedule was pushed back and the latest date appears to be January 31st. Windows Phone Colombia has informed users …
Read More »ASUS is “interested in making Windows Phones”
ASUS has revealed in a recent interview that the Taiwanese company who is typically better known for PC components and laptops are looking into producing smartphones based on Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. In the interview Benson Lin, corporate vice president of mobile communication products at ASUS says that they are …
Read More »LG planning a return to Windows Phone?
LG was an original Windows Phone 7 partner way back when the platform originally launched in late 2010 but apart from a couple of launch day devices we have yet to see a follow-up Windows Phone device from them. Now, new rumours suggest that the Korean company will debut a …
Read More »Huawei Ascend W2 scheduled for MWC debut
Throughout the second half of 2012 there were several rumours surrounding two Windows Phone handsets from Huawei. One of these devices, the Ascend W1, was announced last week at CES in Las Vegas. The Ascend W1 is their modest low to mid-range offering. The other, as yet unannounced handset is …
Read More »Samsung refreshes the Galaxy S II with a ‘Plus’ version
The original Galaxy S II from Samsung was a brilliant device and looking back it is undoubtedly one of the handsets that started to make the general public refer to smartphones as “smartphones” over “iPhones”. Obviously Samsung is out to seek as much attention possible on their wave at the …
Read More »Huawei joins the Windows Phone 8 platform with the Ascend W1
After numerous leaks in the past, Huawei has made official its first Windows Phone 8 offering on the first day of CES. The low to mid range device should offer Huawei's traditional value for money retail pricing. The device itself will be available in China and Russia this month before …
Read More »Samsung will launch multiple Tizen devices this year
Tizen is another open source mobile platform, similar to Google's Android, that is instead maintained by a primary decision making group. As you might have guessed from the title, one half of this governing body is Samsung; the other is Intel. Other partners include Huawei, Panasonic and the United States' …
Read More »Official Sony Xperia Z press shot leaks days ahead of announcement
We first heard about the Sony Yuga back in early November and even then it was apparent that phones like it would set the trend for 2013. A press shot of the device has leaked online revealing its launch name will be the Xperia Z. The smartphone on the left …
Read More »HTC reportedly cans idea for larger Windows Phone
Thus far HTC have announced and released two Windows Phone 8 devices; the Windows Phone 8S by HTC and Windows Phone 8X by HTC. Both devices are somewhat small by today's standard and neither carry specifications worthy of a true flagship. Back in late June specifications were leaked for a …
Read More »The HTC Butterfly is not headed to Europe afterall
After being announced nearly two weeks ago, it has been revealed that the ‘international' model of HTC's 1080p flagship device is not destined for European markets. Japanese and United States variants have already been announced and released in the form of the J Butterfly and Droid DNA. Right now, the …
Read More »The Nokia Lumia 920’s refresh rate is 5.4x quicker than the iPhone 5
When you are in the market for a new smartphone we always look at the size of the display and often the resolution but never the refresh rate of the chosen panel. While the size of the display may have the most obvious effect on the usability and more than …
Read More »Nokia survey reveals possible Windows Phone 7.8 features
With Windows Phone 7.8 currently rumoured for an early 2013 release following the launch of Windows Phone 8, we are gradually starting to get a better idea of what features Microsoft will include in the watered-down version of its flagship mobile platform. We have known for quite a while now …
Read More »Oppo launches the Find 5, complete with 1080p display
Oppo is an emerging phone manufacturer right out of China and today they have officially announced the Find 5; a device that is set to define what a flagship smartphone should be in 2013. The sleek design is not just a decent exterior hiding poor internal hardware. The Find 5 has a …
Read More »Let the rumours begin: Samsung Galaxy S IV to have unbreakable display
While the Samsung Galaxy S III has only been with us for the better part of a year, its successor is currently being rumoured for an April 2013 debut. If common sense prevails Samsung's next generation flagship will be known as the Galaxy S IV and could include some previously unseen technology. …
Read More »HTC Butterfly announced, introduces 1080p displays to the masses
Following the announcement of the HTC J Butterfly in October for the Japanese market we knew that a global version was bound to be on its way. HTC has today announced the Butterfly for international markets. The most notable feature of the Butterfly is undoubtedly the 5 inch, 1080p Super …
Read More »Sony announces the budget Xperia E Android smartphone
Android smartphone manufacturers often use the line “in order to retain the best performance the -insert device here- will not be updated to the latest version of Android”. It's a quote we are all too familiar with and while we don't expect it to change, Sony has today announced the …
Read More »Nokia unveils the “most affordable” Windows Phone 8 device
In order to appeal to as many demographics and markets as possible, Nokia has today unveiled the “most affordable” Windows Phone 8 device to date. The device will be better known as the Nokia Lumia 620 and continues with Nokia's trend of offering a device in as many colours as …
Read More »Windows Phone app downloads have doubled since WP8 debut
A recent tweet from the Senior Director of the Windows Phone Apps Team, Todd Brix, announced some good news for Windows Phone followers. Brix said that since the launch of Windows Phone 8 in November the number of application downloads, as well as developer revenue has more than doubled. These …
Read More »Windows Phone 8 ported to the HTC HD2
The HTC HD2, first released in late 2009 is undoubtedly the smartphone that will never die. In its latest accomplishment, Windows Phone 8 has been ported to the device. It is also worth keeping in mind the HD2 originally launched with Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. The feat has been accomplished …
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