Monday 30 May 2011
BlackBerry Curve 9370 a.k.a. Apollo poses for a photo shoot
BlackBerry has some hard time keeping its still unannounced phones private. The BlackBerry Curve 9370, previously known as Apollo, leaks today in series of shots and a lengthy demo video.
The Curve 9370 a.k.a. Apollo has leaked twice before - via a BlackBerry OS7 ROM and later with anpress-quality picture and specifications.
Today the guys over Tinhte.vn brought us another surprise - lots of excellent live shots of the BlackBerry Curve 9370. See for yourself:
BlackBerry Curve 9370
But that's not everything they've got in the bag for us. You can enjoy quite a thorough video demonstrating both the hardware and software side of things.
What we know so far is the Curve 9370 will pack an 800MHz processor, a HVGA screen, 512MB RAM, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and a complete connectivity package with Wi-Fi N and NFC. It runs on BlackBerry OS7.
BlackBerry Curve 9370
We guess the official announcement should happen soon. According to the source, the Curve 9370 is scheduled for an August release.
BlackBerry Curve 9370
Asus unveils Padphone droid with tablet dock, MeMO 3D tablet
At Computex, Asus announced a phone with half a tablet and a tablet with half a phone. The Padphone that leaked earlier today is official, although its specs haven’t been finalized yet and then there’s the MeMO tablet with a glasses-free 3D screen and phone-like Bluetooth gadget.
Leaked photos of the Asus Padphone barely entered the rumor mill and it’s already official (this happens a week after theinitial teaser). Asus showed only a mockup at Computex as the design for the gadget hasn’t been finalized yet.
Here’s the deal (if the name hasn’t given it away yet) – it’s an Android phone with 4.3” screen that inserts into a 10.1” tablet. Not much is clear about the Padphone, aside from Asus hinting it will run Ice Cream Sandwich, which makes sense since that’s the Android version that is supposed to unify the phone and tablet Android branches.
Anyway, the tablet is just a dock – it displays the phone’s UI on its bigger screen and provides a big battery, speakers and some extra ports. The phone has a microHDMI and microUSB ports that hook up to the tablet to output the screen image and charge the phone and there’s a 5MP camera on the back (with a hole at the back of the tablet dock so that you can still take photos).
Here are a couple of promo videos that show the Asus Padphone (computer generated) action (remember it’s still at the mockup stage).
Hey wait, was that Internet Explorer 8 on the tablet dock’s screen on this second video (1:36)? What?
We’ve already seen a netbook dock for an Android phone (Motorola’s Atrix and dock) and Asus’ own Transformer tablet sort of turns into a netbook with its keyboard dock. Now the Asus Padphone is another variation on the theme. Asus say it should be out for Christmas and judging by the Transformer’s price tag, there’s a chance it will have a decent price too.
Next up is the Asus Eee Pad MeMO 3D. It’s a 7” Android tablet with a glasses-free 3D IPS display with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? It reportedly runs Android Honeycomb on a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU. Unlike the Padphone, Asus showed an actual working prototype.
Here’s the deal though – there’s a Bluetooth remote that can control the MeMO 3D and you can actually take calls on it like a phone. It’s got a transparent screen too, to increase the “cool” factor. Of course, if you want to use the remote (called “MeMIC”) as a phone, the MeMO 3D will have to be in Bluetooth range (10m at best).
Engadget shot a hands-on video with the Eee Pad MeMO 3D, and here it is:
HTC device, running WP7 and sporting a 12 MP snapper
Eldar Murtazin has gotten hold of a yet unknown HTC device, running WP7 and sporting a 12 MP snapper on its back. He's even prepared two photos of the phone along with a video demo of the Mango 7.1 update, running on this HTC phone. You can watch it below, if you're curious.
The phone itself shares some looks with the HTC Trophy, namely the huge earpiece grill HTC seems to like so much and the overall form factor. Also there's a thin silver trim running around the display to add to the overall premium look of the handset.
The photos show the camera app on the unknown HTC device, clearly proving it has indeed a 12 MP sensor inside. That would mean that Windows Phone 7 will finally up the ante in the camera department and second that HTC may be on its way to producing a decent cameraphone (finally).
When we got wind of this new handset by HTC, HTC Bresson immediately came to mind, but that one was rumored to bring a 16 MP camera to the megapixel race track. Obviously, HTC won't stop at 12MP.
As for the Mango update, it looks to be working very smoothly on the HTC X. There's a walkthrough of the entire UI but to get the explanations, you'd need to dust off your Russian.
PS: Eldar Murtazin had this to say on his Twitter account: "I like 12 megapixel camera on WP7 - support RAW, some additional settings. Quality is not bad at all. Will compare with N8 tomorrow". Excited? Yeah we are too and will keep you posted.
Samsung Galaxy S II I9101 spotted in the wild, could be the NFC one
Another version of the Samsung's Galaxy S II has leaked, this time in a bunch of blurry photos. It goes under I9101 model name and looks just like the I9100 Galaxy S II. It could be the NFC version that's supposed to ship in June to UK and other select markets to support the introduction of NFC services.
For all we know, in addition to the original I9100 Galaxy S II smartphone, Samsung is preparing two more rumored versions to expand its market expansion. The first one is the I9103, which should be based on the Tegra2 chipset, while the other one is the NFC-capable Galaxy S II.
Since we know nothing about the I9101, we suppose it should be the NFC-enabled Galaxy S II. The forum user who posted the pictures claims the device is stuck on the boot screen, so there is no information on its specs.
Anyway, at least we know there is another Galaxy S II on the way and we guess it should be announced soon.
You can check out this video that shows the NFC-enabled version of the Galaxy S II in action:
In case you don't to wait the NFC-capable Galaxy S II, you could always get the standard edition and give it the sticker treatment.
Samsung Galaxy S II, fastest selling smartphone in Korea
The Samsung Galaxy S II has already been blazing a trail in its homeland of South Korea, but its just passed another impressive landmark. It had already surpassed all previous pre-orders for Samsung in Korea and had doubled that of the iPhone 4.
Now, in its first month alone its sold over 1 million units which makes it the fastest selling smartphone ever in Korea. It's predecessor the Galaxy S took a full 70 days to hit that magic number and the S II promised great things early on when it passed 100,000 units by day three, doubled that by day eight and hit half a million in two weeks.
Part of the S II's one-upmanship over iPhone 4 came about as the Galaxy S II didn't suffer carrier support problems. KT were originally the only carrier for the iPhone until this month when SK picked it up as well. Despite this, it's still a great success for Samsung and one they no doubt hope to reproduce elsewhere with their S II family in the US and the S II's availability across Europe.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 gets an update, not the one you expected
Sony Ericsson has just released another update for its Xperia X10 former flagship. It’s not the Gingerbread release everyone was hoping for, but it seems to be a pretty major one nonetheless. There are plenty of changes brought and all early adopters claim to notice a substantial improvement in performance.
The update is version number is 2.1.B.0.1 and it seems to boost screen responsiveness and general performance with the effects being most prominent in Timescape. There’s also a new baseband in the package, which reportedly benefits signal strength and in-call sound quality. Switching between 2G and 3G networks is now said to be faster and initiating a call takes shorter time.
Some have noticed a change in battery life for the better (but then others claim that it’s worse) and there’s now voice search integration just about anywhere where you can need it – search bar, browser etc.
A pretty major change is the system-wide availability of multi-touch. The X10 got official multi-touch support with its previous update, but that only worked in some of the apps.
On the visual side of things Sony Ericsson introduced minor tweaks to the notification area, dialer pad and status bar. New animations have also appeared around the interface and they seem to be smoother than before.
Hackers will be pleased to know that the rooting solution from previous ROMs is compatible with this new one, so you won’t be losing control over your system by updating.
So what are you waiting for – go check out if the update has become officially available to your area. If it hasn’t you can always follow the source link to the XDA-developers forum, where you can find instructions on how to flash it manually. Mind you, you should only do this if you really know what you are doing.
ASUS Padfone leaks before its official launch
This is certainly on of the few devices released lately, whose main highlight is located on its back. Say hello to the ASUS Padfone, people - the company's first smartphone with a tablet included as an accessory.
As you can see from the picture above, the package consists of two pieces - an Android running ASUS phone which docks inside a tablet when necessary.
The full spec sheet of the device/s will be unveiled at the Computex show beginning tomorrow, or in the coming days. Currently there is no info on them. The entire concept of a phone which gets plugged into a tablet though, is more than enough to get us seriously excited.
Earlier this week, ASUS teased us with an image of the upcoming Padfone which left us wondering what it might be. Now that we already know, there is nothing left but to wait for the official announcement and the full spec sheet of this exciting new Android device.
Nokia ORO visits the FCC, on its way to a US release
It's been a busy week for Nokia's latest creation - the ORO. First, the fancy dressed smartphone got officially announced, then it appeared in an interview as Nokia CEO's phone of choice. It also paid a visit to FCC to get tested and approved for usage in the United States.
This occurrence seems more than logical, since the ORO, like its mortal cousin, the Nokia C7, sports a penta-band 3G support which includes both AT&T and T-Mobile frequencies.
We don't expect the device to be offered by either of the above mentioned U.S. networks (after all, T-Mobile already sells the Nokia C7 under the Astound name), so availability directly from Nokia USA is most likely.
Blackberry Torch 2 UPDATE, more images and video footage
Following on from Thursday's Blackberry Torch 2 spy shots, this latest offering gives us a few more sharper images that really show off in greater detail what we can expect from the look of the device. Not only that, the boys at Techno Buffalo have managed to give it a quick video walk-around too.
To reiterate, the Torch 2 is really an exercise in hardware. The design is almost unchanged from theoriginal say for the metallic body panels and the higher resolution 3.2" 480 x 640 display on the outside. Its processor runs at a far more acceptable 1.2GHz clock, paired with an upped 768MB of RAM and internal storage checks in at 8GB with expandable memory via an SD card. The Torch 2 shares the original's 5MP camera but video recording has now been boosted to 720p HD as well and the back panel also houses an NFC chip now too.
Proof of BB OS 7 • Keyboard • 5MP Camera with LED Flash • The lock and mute keys
Using the Torch 2 most notably shows off the new Blackberry OS 7 which the video below demonstrates.
Next Google Nexus will be either HTC, or LG built
The Nexus line is the true and original Google phone and we've seen two already. And now we came across a photo of a third Nexus phone in its testing stage. The phone looks HTC-made and lacks the menu/home/back/search keys. It will probably run Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest Android version.
The photo doesn't show much, except a generic phone design, but the information, given to TechHog.com is pretty juicy and intriguing. It seems a Google developer sent this in and reportedly said that the next Google phone will feature some amazing specs. It will most definitely feature the latest (yet unseen) Android version, which integrates with Honeycomb (hence the lack of additional keys under the display), has a HDPA+ and Sprint CDMA (which would mean an early or exclusive appearance at US telecom Sprint), front-facing camera and a rumored first appearance in December this year, along with Ice Cream Sandwich itself.
That's about it for specs and as for the name, it's not given yet but it may not be Nexus 3. It's still undecided. The Nexus phone line isn't a mainstream gadget on its own. It's made to carry the latest software version, in order for it to be a platform for dev testing. And in the case of the original Nexus One it had an HTC twin brother in the face of the Desire. The Nexus S had one in the Galaxy S so we're hoping this yet unannounced 3rd Nexus to have a global market brother as well.
We'll keep track of the matter and update as soon as news becomes available. Rumors so far suggest that either HTC or LG will make the phone.
Nokia starts iDoalotmore campaign in India, seriously?m
Nokia started a new campaign to promote its latest Symbian gadgets in India called iDoalotmore. It starts just a day after Apple launched the iPhone 4 there and is available on Nokia's official pages and billboards across the country.
The iDoalotmore campaign surely targets the potential iPhone 4 buyers in India and wants them to jump on Symbian instead. Are we the only ones that find the concept of such an aggressive anti-campaign not fit for the biggest cellphone manufacturer in the world?
The campaign accents fall on Nokia Maps, Music, Camera and Video, Video Calling, Apps and USB on the go. The models featured in the campaign may all have a trick or two that bests the iPhone 4, but iDoalotmore from a Symbian smartphone, really?
The Xperia PLAY finally available at O2 UK, white one too
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play generated a lot of hype for a phone with a single core CPU in the year 2011. We guess that has something to do with the PlayStation blood it has running in its veins. Now the phone is finally available from O2 UK, after several delays. And they've got an exclusive white color as well. The phone will cost you nothing on a contract and 430 quid if you want it commitment-free.
O2 has talked on the exclusive white PlayStation phone before, bragging about it, even though they had a significant delay of their 1 April release. Then there was the rumor that the Play will hit O2 shops in June, which finally turns out untrue as it's already online at the O2 store as we speak.
The Xperia Play comes with a single core 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 512 MB RAM, 5 MP autofocus camera and a slide-out gaming pad. If you're interested in how this bad boy handles why not check out our full review?
Nokia to continue support for Symbian at least till 2016
Ever since Nokia announced that they will be shifting from Symbian to Windows Phone 7 as their primary smartphone platform, there has been unrest among the Symbian community regarding the future of their favorite platform. So in order to put these fears to rest once and for all, Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop addressed the issue in an interview with Nokia Conversations blog.
In the interview, Elop categorically stated that investment in Symbian will continue even as they transition to Windows Phone 7 as their primary smartphone platform and that software updates to Symbian devices will continue at least till the year 2016.
What this means is that if you were thinking of picking up that N8 but you were unsure how long will the device be supported by the manufacturer, you now have the answer. 2016 is a good five years away from now and you will most likely change your device before Nokia drops support for Symbian, if they do at all.
In the video below, Stephen Elop addresses the aforementioned issue, along with the change in the direction of the company, about China becoming the hub of Nokia's innovation, the kind of people that Nokia is looking to hire and which phone does he personally use.
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