Rumors on iPhone 7 Specs and Release Date

Rumors say that "iPhone 7" or "iPhone 6s" will be released this October. It is believed that it will  host a 4.7 inch display with up to 2K resolution. Users will be able to watch full-HD movies on their device and even more clearly items on the display.  iPhone 7 will have stronger design to resist bending. 

Additionally, the Apple Watch feature that was recently introduced to the latest version of Macbook will likely be on the forthcoming iPhone. 

It is believed that iPhone 7 will host the e-SIM feature.The SIM card will support the use of multiple carriers, allowing the users to switch networks as they will, not by replacing the SIM card, but via the device's user interface. This will make it easier to switch between carriers such as Verizon and AT&T.

We could also see iOS 9 introduced into the iPhone 7. Below you may see the new iPhone's casing and screw hole placement.

Google Nexus Android 5.0.1 Lollipop Update Confirmed

After three weeks since the release of Android Lollipop 5.0, Google has now confirmed the Android Lollipop 5.0.1 update for Nexus 9, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. The change it brings is an increase to the memory allocation for video playback on Nexus 7 which had several problem on YouTube .

The first users who received the update said the problem is solved. Also, on Android Lollipop 5.0 there was the risk of erasing all the device's data after several failed attempts to enter the correct password. Since every tap is an "attempt," a few taps can delete everything on the device. 5.0.1 fixes this by only recognizing unlock attempts that reach the minimum length of a pattern, which is four dots.

At the moment, Lollipop is not widely installed on devices. The latest statistics provided by Google which are related to what versions of software come to Google Store, Lollipop had failed to have a significant percentage and fluctuated within the category of below 0.1%.

Google gave the official figures of Android for November as it usually does, so we have a fairly clear picture of the versions of the operating system. The numbers show that Android 4.4 KitKat is at 33.9% of devices visited Google Play Store from 24 November to December 1.

Last month KitKat was at 30.2% of all devices. However, the most widespread version of Android is Jelly Bean (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) as it is at 48.7% of the devices. Jelly Bean lost ground from KitKat but a lot of Jelly Bean devices will not get other updates. 

Android Ice Cream Sandwich (7.8%), Android Gingerbread (9.1%) and Android Froyo (0.5%) continue to be listed on Google's lists, but Android 5.0 Lollipop is nowhere to be found. As Google suggests, its Android versions that are below 0.1% are not included in the table.

Samsung prompted early launch due to iPhone 6's initial weekend on sale

Apple has officially confirmed a total of 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales during their initial weekend on sale. This is a new record for an iPhone launch, besting the 9 million iPhone 5s and 5c sales from that launch last year, and the 5 million new iPhone 5 devices sold in 2012. This was definitely something that Samsung could not ignore, and as a result it has decided to speed up the release date of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. 

Thus, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will finally be released in Korea on September 26 instead of early October as originally planned by the three major providers, SK Telecom, KT and Uplus. It will then debut in the U.S. on Oct. 17. The company's moves will allow it to beat Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to market in those two countries.

Samsung aims to score 15 million sales for the first 30 days of marketing Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Within the first week Samsung will distribute 3.75 million devices to the market. It is worth noting that last year Samsung distributed 10 million Samsung Galaxy Note 3 during the first 2 months, so the target of 15 million within 30 days is quite optimistic. 

A Samsung marketing executive said that the positive reception of the new iPhone 6 from the public, was what pushed Samsung to reveal the Note 4 earlier than it had planned, and that Samsung would pursue a very aggressive policy to promote its phablet. The executive also admitted that Samsung is extremely pressured by the new larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. 

This year's Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the cheapest Galaxy Note so far, with a suggested price of $ 919 in Korea, compared to the first Galaxy Note that was sold for $ 960 and the Galaxy Note 2 and 3 that were of $ 1,038 and $ 1,018 worth respectively.

iPhone 6 4.7″ and iPhone Air 5.5″ with a 1900 mAh and a 2500 mAh battery respectively

Lately all the rumors and leaks that we see for the upcoming iPhone 6 which will be published in two versions focus more on rendersand less on the technical characteristics. Today we heard about the new devices' batteries.

Chinese media reports say that the battery on the small 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will be somewhere between 1800 mAh and 1900 mAh. The 5.5-inch iPhone or iPhone Air will have a 2500 mAh battery.

That means more battery capacity than the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C batteries that have 1560 mAh and 1510 mAh respectively. However, it remains to be seen whether they will be efficient batteries for displays of this size, since similar Android devices come with larger batteries.

For example, the 4.7-inch LG G2 Mini,  comes with a 2440 mAh battery. The Motorola Moto X has the same screen size and a 2200 mAh battery. The 5.5 inch LG G3 has a 3000 mAh battery while the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has a 3200 mAh battery.

However,these are rumors that have not yet been confirmed. If proven true, Samsung can continue the "Wall huggers" joke shown on the following video.

Smartphone priced at $20 by ARM

Smartphones are constantly getting cheaper. ARM, headquarted in Cambridge, UK, said in a slide at their Tech Day that it can produce a smartphone until the end of 2014 that will be priced at $20. 

The smartphone will feature a single core Cortex-A5 processor and will be able to connect to 2.5G (EDGE) networks. 

According to AMR, we could see more third-world countries connecting to the internet through their phones. We will have to see how this plays out over the next months and whether ARM’s $20 smartphone will become a reality.

Knock Code: LG's unlock method better than Apple's and Samsung's fingerprint scanners

LG wants to present to consumers their own way of locking a device which is rather special and would be classified as user-friendly and safe.

The unlock method is called Knock Code and is here to replace all other ways of unlocking a device, from the simplest such as pin to the most special as fingerprint unlock.

Knock Code, as one realizes from its name, is based on "knocking" with the finger on the screen of a locked phone to unlock it. Each user has the ability to tap anywhere on the screen a personal, unique combination of taps, activating and unlocking the device with ease even with one hand.

LG decided to work innovatively for the user by offering the ability of safe storage of personal data, as well as ease of access. The Knock Code may consist of 2 to 8 taps, creating over 80,000 possible combinations. From the plethora of combinations, the user can create combinations that are quite simple to very complex. All you need to do is envision a 2x2 grid on the screen, tap in your selected Knock Code, and you’ll be taken directly to your home screen, saving the extra step of unlocking it while using Knock On.

Other companies, such as Apple with the iPhone 5S and Samsung with the Samsung Galaxy S5 use fingerprint scanners on their flagships. However, recent researches indicate that 20% of users using Fingerprint Scanner are not satisfied with the efficiency of the detector and have to repeat the process since the scanners are affected by external factors such as temperature or dust. Biometric technology used by companies today is not able to distinguish a real from a artificial fingerprint.

In addition, the use of password to unlock the screen can be easily visible by a stranger.

As a result, Knock Code is the solution to all these problems while being easy to use, fast, free from the need for a specific position of the user during the introduction of the code. This solution needs no expensive equipment. LG already incorporates the Knock Code in the new L Series III and will soon be available for most smartphones through upgrades including the series G, thus converting the safety of the smartphone an affordable luxury for most users.

LG G Watch with OLED display, water resistant and "always on"

The official LG site for the "smart" watch G Watch, says it will run on the operating system Android Wear and will become available in the second quarter of 2014. It is expected to have a 1.65 inch display and 4 GB internal memory.

The G Watch will be released in two colors: black and gold, also called «Stealth Black» and «Champagne Gold».

The watch is water resistant and dust-proof, while it will offer an application called Google Search which will offer «useful information when you need it the most». Moreover, it has a color screen that will be in permanent operation, with OLED display, so the battery cannot be exhausted that easy. Permanent operation screens aren't something all smartwatches offer. The displays of Samsung's Gear line of wearables, go dark after a few moments in order to conserve power. 

Charge your smartphone in just 30 seconds

Charging your mobile is a recurring daily and lengthy process that nobody likes, especially during daytime. The solution comes from Israel where a startup called StoreDot comes to our help.

What they did is to make a device that can charge your mobile's battery in just 30 seconds. StoreDot demonstrated their charger by placing it on a nearly-dead Samsung Galaxy S3 and letting it work its magic. As claimed, the battery went from 27% to 100% in just 26 seconds.

The company is part of the nanotechnology department of the University of Tel Aviv and was introduced at the conference Think Next (Microsoft). The battery is derived entirely from bio-organic materials including nanocrystals made from peptides and chains of amino acids. Bio-organic materials have the potential to be much safer than today's batteries, which are primarily composed of heavy metals like cadmium or lithium. The technology is based on "nanodots" (tiny magnets) that despite their small size, can store a larger load.  As shown in the video, plugging the prototype with a mobile Samsung, it fully charges in 26 seconds.

Despite the fact that this charger would be the ideal solution for everyone, it is not expected to enter mass production until 2016. However, StoreDot has gathered 6.25 million in funding so far.

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is here

At the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Samsung's new flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S5 was presented.

Its design remains very close to that of previous models like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, with poly-carbonate material and significantly changing the back cover of the device, from a glossy plastic battery cover to a dimpled soft-touch finish. 

The screen is super Amoled, 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) and has grown by one inch compared to the previous model, reaching 5.1 inches. The Home Button, has been added with a detection sensor fingerprint lock / unlock.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 features a quad-core processor, clocked at 2,5 GHz with 2 GB internal memory and a choice between 16 and 32 GB of storage. Memory can be expanded up to 64 GB, using a microSD.

Camera's resolution is 16 megapixels and records 4K video at 30 frames per second. According to Samsung, the new device has the fastest autofocus in the world with a time of focusing only 0.3 seconds. In addition, the front camera has a 2,1 megapixels resolution.

The device runs the latest version of the OS by Google, the Android 4.4.2 KitKat and is waterproof and offers protection against dust.

Powered by a 2800 mAh battery which allows up to 390 hours standby time and 21 hours of talk time.

In terms of connectivity, it has all the modern protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, NFC and infrared, and can be connected to a wide number of 4G LTE frequencies.

Finally, S5 has speedometer , gyro , compass , barometer sensor motion detection and heartbeats detector.
It comes in 4 different colors (black, white, blue and gold).

Comparing to Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S5 has full HD 1080p display instead of UHD, 3GB RAM instead of 2GB RAM, and 4MP more of camera resolution.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo, press photos leaked

Soon to be announced is the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo (or Lite). The device is now available for pre-ordering in Belgium with a starting price of 599 euros ($812). Sammobile has official photos of Note 3 Neo as well as some valid information about its technical characteristics.

According to Sammobile, Note 3 Neo will have a 5.55 "Super AMOLED display  with a resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels, 2GB memory RAM, Camera 8 Megapixel, 3100 mAh battery and some of the pen-enabled functions of Note 3 such as the Command Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write, S Finder, Pen Window, S Note, Multi Window, new Easy Clip and Direct Pen Input.

The official announcement of the Galaxy Note 3 Neo might happen any time soon. Worst case scenario, it will be officially revealed at the Mobile World Congress, which kicks off on February 24 in Barcelona.

Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition with Android 4.4 KitKat available now for $649

Sony announced the Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition, which is based on the latest version of the operating system of Google, Android 4.4 KitKat and is available through the Google Play store in the United States for $ 649. Sony, since 2012, provides the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) for Xperia devices, to use and contribute to the technical community of open source. Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition is according to the company, another chapter of its work to support the Android open source community.

The smartphone is based on the original Sony Xperia Z Ultra, so there are no changes to technical features. Therefore, it comes with a 1,900x1,080 full HD display; a 2.2 quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor; 2GB of RAM; a rear 8MP camera featuring Sony's Exmor RS sensor; a 2MP front camera; 16GB of storage; a 3,000mAh battery and weights 212gr. 

Google says the Sony Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition ships within one to two business days. The same day with the release of Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition, LG joined Google's online store with LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition 

LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition with Android 4.4, or KitKat

A few months ago rumors said a "Nexus" tablet with an 8 inch screen display would be released. Recently we were informed that this is a device with the name LG-V510. Finally, the tablet is manufactured by LG and sold by the Google Play store and is called LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition. Thus, there will be no Nexus 8. Not yet.

The LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition is exactly the same with LG G Pad 8.3, except for the software, that is Android 4.4, or KitKat. Therefore, it comes with a 1,900x1,200 full HD IPS display 273 ppi; a 1.7 quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor; ; 2GB of RAM; a rear 5MP camera and a 1.3MP front  camera;16GB of storage and a 4,600mAh battery.

The price of the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition is $349. Note that it is the only "Google Play Edition" tablet at the online store of Google, and for now solely sold in the United States. Yesterday, Google also announced the Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition for $649.

Motorola Moto G. Available in the UK, Brasil and Germany.

Two days after its announcement, the Motorola Moto G is available in the UK. Moto G has a 4.5inch  720p hd screen, a 5 megapixel rear camera, a 1.3MP front one, runs the latest version of the Android operating system (Android Jellybean), and does not support 4G. Motorola has used Gorilla Glass 3 as the screen covering, which means the phone is less prone to flexing under pressure and scratching than most low-cost phones. A UK retailer offers it with a white back cover free, although this particular offer is valid for orders online. The back cover can be replaced by choosing one of 19 different colors. Still there is no information on when this accessory will be available.

Several stores in the UK have Moto G 8GB Sim Free Smartphone - Black in stock at a cost of  £135 (contract-free) . That makes it slightly cheaper than the Galaxy S3 Mini, HTC Desire X and Sony Xperia M.

The same day of the release, Moto G was available in Brazil, and two days later in the UK and Germany. It will be released in the U.S. in January, while in a few days it will be sold in Canada.

ZTE Grand S Flex, with quad-core processor S4 Plus and 5 inch HD display

Chinese manufacturer ZTE announced the Grand S Flex soon to be released in six European countries, Germany , Finland , Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain. The Grand S Flex features the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus SoC (MSM8930) with dual-core Krait processor clocked at 1,2 GHz, 1GB RAM LPDDR2 and Adreno 305 graphics. It has 16GB of memory that cannot be expanded via microSD memory card.

Grand S Flex's battery has a capacity of 2300mAh and  runs on Android 4.1.2. The European version of the device supported 4G LTE networks. It is also equipped with WiFi 802.11n, WiFi Direct, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and FM Radio. The front features a 1 Megapixel camera while the rear camera has an 8.0 Megapixels resolution, LED flash and video resolution 1080p. It will cost 300 euros approximately.

ZTE Grand S Flex Specs
Operating System : Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
Processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8930 1.2GHz dual core
GPU: Adreno 305
Memory RAM: 1GB
4G LTE
Display: 5 inch , LCD IPS, 1280 × 720 pixels
Rear Camera : 8.0 Megapixel, LED flash, 1080p video
Front camera : 1.0 Megapixel
Built-in memory : 16GB
Memory Card : No
WiFi 802.11n, WiFi Direct, FM Radio, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, micro USB2.0, DLNA
Battery : 2300 mAh
Dimensions : 143x70x8.9 mm .
Weight : 130 g.

LG G Flex, the first 'real' curved smartphone

LG has officially revealed the new G Flex the first "real" curved smartphone. According to preliminary information it will be released  in Korea next month and the three major local mobile operators. Unfortunately, the company does not know whether it will be released in other countries any time soon. However, LG mentioned that this model will be released as an experimental model in order to determine whether it will appeal to the public.

The LG G Flex incorporates a 6 inch display with HD 1280 × 720 pixels resolution, and OLED technology. Inside we find the well-known Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset (2,2 GHz) and a 2GB RAM, while the camera has a sensor with a resolution of 13 MP. Technologies such as DLNA, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11ac are supported. The battery's capacity is 3500mAh.

On the back and the bottom of the camera there are volume controls and among them the on / off power key, an arrangement similar to that of the LG G2. However LG G Flex has two LEDs, with different colors.

Like the LG G2, G Flex can record and reproduce high quality sound, has the Knock-On feature (double-tap to wake) and there are special animations depending on how you unlock the smartphone. According to the press release of the Korean company, G Flex features a special coating of a material self-healing, which "cures" within a few minutes.

New Update for Sony Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra

Sony Mobile announced that it launched a new update available for the Xperia Z1 (v14.1.G.2.257) and Xperia Z Ultra. The update enhances the performance of the devices, while it also corrects issues related to performance, screen improvement (Xperia Z Ultra) and camera (Xperia Z1). Below you can see the most important updates:

Improvements for both devices
• re-calibration on the screen to improve viewing angles
• Better energy management for greater autonomy
• Improvements related to email Exchange for faster email synchronization, etc.

Improvements to Xperia Z1
• Improved algorithms in camera for best overall performance
• Improved platform Smart Social Camera with improvements in Xperia Camera app and Burst Mode, Superior Auto, AR Effect and Sweep Panorama.

Improvements to Xperia Z Ultra
• Optimize sensitivity touch gestures both with fingers and with stylus, with metallic pens etc.

Those who can not perform the update OTA (Over-The-Air), they can use the Sony PC Companion application from their computer.

LG G Pro Lite, Officially revealed

LG lifts the veil of mystery covering the LG G Pro Lite, bringing forth another phablet with a 5.5 inches display 960 × 540 pixels resolution. Embedded will be a dual-core processor MediaTek, which is clocked at 1 GHz. and 1 GB RAM.

The internal storage is extended by using microSD cards, while there is an 8 Megapixel camera on the rear. This phablet is 9.4 mm thin and weights 161 g. There is a built-in stylus and will be double-SIM. The stylus will be accompanied with applications for writing on the screen. The commercial release will begin from Latin America and then it will be released in Asia , Russia, China , India and the Middle East.

LG G Pro Lite Specs
Operating System : Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2
Processor : MediaTek MT6577 1 GHz dual-core
GPU:?
Memory RAM: 1 GB
3G / HSPA
Display: 5.5 inch, 960 × 540 pixels
Camera : 8 Megapixel
Secondary camera : 1.3 Megapixel
Built-in memory : 8 GB
Memory card : micro SD
Wi-Fi Direct, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, USB, FM Radio
Battery : 3140 mAh
Dimensions : 150.2 × 76.9 × 9.4 mm .
Weight: 161 g

HTC One Max will include Beats Audio

Even though the Beats By Dr. Dre in not cooperating with HTC anymore, the new HTC One Max will be equipped with the Beats audio technology according to the chairman of Beats, Luke Wood. That means that One Max will be doing very well as far as the audio is concerned. Wood also notes that his company still has 25% investments in HTC along with a commercial deal with the Taiwanese manufacturer, therefore this cooperation will continue in other devices of HTC.

Wood sees with positive eye cooperation with HTC from which considers the Beats Audio took quite useful conclusions, stressing that the company is very pleased with the way in which sounds are devices that worked. Beats' president also predicts that soon enough, manufacturers will stop putting headphones on their smartphones, as consumers will want to upgrade their headphones with after market products of better quality.

MSI W20, a Fanless Windows 8 tablet

MSI has introduced a Windows 8 tablet, with an AMD A4 processor, that manages to function without having a cooling system. The MSI W20 is powered by a single chip with very low power consumption, the AMD A4 1200 dual, and a 11.6 inch display.

The screen resolution is 1366 × 768 pixels with IPS technology and has 2 GB memory RAM, 128GB internal memory and AMD Radeon 8180 gaphics chipset. It is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and has a 3478 mAh battery which is able to run up to 9 hours. Its dimensions are 309x195x10 mm and weights 679.5 g. Its pricing is not known yet.

Four new android tablets by HP

Rumors wanted HP to deal exclusively with Windows Phone, but HP is preparing to present 4 new tablets with Android OS, introduced in late 2013. The first tablet, named HP Slate 8 Pro, has a 7.98 inches display with 1600 × 1200 pixels resolution, with a pixel density above 250 ppi and a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Slate 8 Pro will be equipped with the new Tegra 4 of Nvidia, and will be equipped with 8 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front for video calling. Regarding the sound, HP has equipped its tablets with Beats Audio. It will also have micro HDMI output for direct connection to TVs and projectors and will accept additional memory via micro SD slot.

.
The next 2 tablets of the company, Slate 7 HD and Slate 10 HD have the same hardware except for the display, which is 7inch and 10 inch respectively. Their screen resolution is 1280 × 800 pixels, with  215 and 150 ppi pixel density respectively. These two tablets will be within the 200-300 U.S. Dollars price range.

Finally, the HP Slate 7 Extreme, will have a Tegra 4 processor with 1280 × 800 pixels resolution, 16 GB internal memory, and a stylus. The Slate 7 Extreme, may be released with 5 megapixel rear camera and VGA in the front and 16 GB internal memory for file storage.