Itching to get Cyanogenmod installed on your new HTC One? You won’t have to wait too much longer. According to a Google Plus post, Cyanogenmod’s GitHub site has repos set up for the One, and nightlies should begin building for the AT&T and Sprint version of the device “relatively soon.” They’ve updated the CM Wiki with pages for the HTC One to offer a little support and info for when the nightlies do begin building. We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as they’re available.
source: Google Plus
Security and privacy are two huge issues with smartphones, and anything connected to the internet, really. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Google unveiled a five-year plan towards increased device security on Wednesday. This roadmap has Google breaking away from its traditional user sign-in process on devices, and instead replaces with an extremely secure, once-per-device-log-in. By replacing traditional passwords with complex authentication codes, a device can register itself with Google and keep the owner of an account from having to repeatedly sign in to their Google account multiple times. » Read the rest
Everyone knew Samsung was offering different variants of the Galaxy S 4 based on region, but according to an IHS iSupply teardown, that difference goes a little deeper than just the CPU.
According to the teardown, the US variant of the phone uses a separate Fujitsu image processor to handle functions such as the eye tracking and scrolling features that Samsung has heavily promoted. The reason behind this is that the Snapdragon S600 apparently couldn’t handle the processor intensive tasks alone, so Samsung improvised. The Exynos version of the phone doesn’t have the extra processor. Overall, it’s not really a huge deal, as most users probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway. And, honestly, that’s a pretty smart move by Samsung to make both versions of the device perform roughly the same.
The teardown also revealed that the US version uses different hardware for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc., although I’m sure that had more to do with cost and availability than performance.
source: iSupply
via: ComputerWorld
Carmageddon was a game made in the late 90′s that saw it’s share of banning and censorship around the globe, and in case you were interested, it’s now available on your Android device thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. This is the game’s first major release since an early 2000′s console port to the Nintendo 64, and for the first day, it’s going to be free. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t allow free apps to turn into paid apps in the Play Store, so after the 24 hours are up, the promo version will be pulled from the store and therefore won’t receive any updates. You can still opt for the paid version or use the demo version afterwards if you want to get updates to the app.
So if you want to test drive the game before you make a full purchase, hit the links after the break to check it out. Don’t wait too long, though.
Huawei has been in hot water with the US government recently after being accused of posing a major security threat to the US, along with other Chinese company ZTE. Ren Zhengfei, found of Huawei and still CEO of the company, has come out and denied any links to cyber threats to the US and denied any improper links to the Chinese government. Now, this is a pretty big deal because Ren has spend the past 26 years at Huawei avoiding the press.
Ren went on to say that Huawei equipment is barely used in US networks at all. Huawei has never sold equipment to any major US carriers or to a US government agency, which undermines the accusations by the US government. So while those accusations don’t necessarily hurt Huawei’s business in the US, it does in turn cause other countries to be more skeptical about using Huawei equipment, which has been the case in Australia and Canada. Hopefully this all gets sorted out sooner or later.
source: Yahoo
2013 is shaping up to be a great year for Sony’s mobile division. The Xperia A has slid through the FCC, and it appears to be a cousin of the Xperia Z, except for one key difference; a removable battery. Aside from that, the rest of the device looks the same, including the five inch screen and the sturdy power button, as well as most of the internal specs, including the 13 megapixel shooter and 16 GB internal storage. It’s obviously a bit thicker to allow that removable battery, but close enough. One thing that wasn’t mentioned, however, was the processor. I’d be a little surprised to see Sony launch a flagship variant like this with the Xperia Z’s S4 Pro, especially if they’re trying to compete with Samsung, HTC, and LG. Regardless, as soon as anything shows up on the radar, we’ll be sure to let you know.
source: FCC
via: Engadget
According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung has run into a problem at the end of March; they almost have too much money. Samsung’s net profit rose 42% in March 2013, and after calculating debt and everything, they’re left with about $28.5 billion. That is an extremely large pile of money. That figure has tripled in the past year. Samsung’s mobile division accounted for about 74% of that rise in profit, which is a pretty staggering statistic when you consider all the televisions, components, and appliances Samsung makes.
Analysts expect Samsung to put that money into investing in different areas of its businesses, and possibly give shareholders higher returns. Samsung has stated that they will make ”investments sustainable for areas like facilities, R&D, and marketing that will help the company solidify or boost competitiveness,” which I think is a pretty typical, safe answer. Rest assured, I think we can all say Samsung is likely going to beef up it’s Galaxy line of mobile devices, as it’s the biggest cash cow for the company right now.
source: Wall Street Journal
For some buyers, the ability to repair a device can make or break a sale. Being able to make simple repairs on your stuff is always nice, but many manufacturers are going with new hardware that’s extremely difficult to fix in order to cut costs and keep devices small. Fortunately, the Ouya console doesn’t have that problem. According to iFixit, the Android powered game console is a very straightforward, cleanly assembled device. All the components are easily removed and easily tucked back into the device. This is also good news for people who like to take apart their electronics for thorough cleaning. All of this nets the Ouya a 9 out of 10 on the repairability scale.
One thing that stood out is that the Ouya is actually weighed down with small metal balls. There’s five weights to keep the device balanced against cables from pulling it off a table or desk. In an age of light, portable electronics, seeing a device intentionally add weight is definitely out of the ordinary.
source: iFixit
Like the Galaxy Note 8.0, but not really fond of that white color? Samsung is reportedly prepping a “Brown Black” version of the device for a mid-June release. Unfortunately, they didn’t release any sort of pictures, and Brown Black is a pretty ambiguous name for a color, especially since Samsung made both a brown and black version of the Galaxy S III. Either way, more options is always a good thing. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any leaks of the new color for the tablet.
source: SamMobile
According to SamMobile, Samsung will be releasing their newly unveiled Galaxy Tab 3 this week in Eastern Europe. The 3G/WiFi model can be expected around June 10th. The 8.0 and 10.1 models of the Galaxy Tab 3 are expected to drop around June 3rd, with the 3G models of those just a few weeks after that.
These aren’t the high end tablets Samsung is expected to bring to market this year, but the Galaxy Tab line has always been a mid-range series of tabs, which isn’t a bad thing. No word on American availability, but I’m sure it won’t take too much longer. Anybody planning on picking up one of these tablets?
source: SamMobile