First photo taken from the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Zoom surfaces online

by James Gray on
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While Samsung hasn’t officially announced the multiple rumored variants of its recent Galaxy S 4 flagship, it is likely they will launch as soon as next month. The most recent leak is apparently the first photo from its cameraphone variant, the SM-C101, also known as the Galaxy S 4 Zoom, which was recently spotted in Bluetooth SIG. The phone will prominently feature a 16-megapixel camera with a massive 10x optical zoom.

There is still no word on what this device will pack internally, but some have speculated that it will be similar to the recently leaked Galaxy S 4 Mini so as not to hurt the S 4′s sales. The S 4 Zoom will join the S 4 Mini, S 4 Mega and the water and dust-proof S 4 Activ with release dates this summer.  » Read the rest

Sony unveils Xperia ZR, a mid to high-end waterproof device made for underwater photography

by James Gray on
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Sony released specs today regarding its newest addition to the Xperia Z family today in the form of the Xperia ZR. The ZR packs many of the same components and waterproof capabilities as the Xperia Z, putting it in the mid to high-end range. Sony’s putting a lot of emphasis on the ZR’s higher IP rating (IP55 and IP58 as opposed to the Z’s IP55 and IP57), which makes it perfect for those HD recordings of your underwater adventures.

Powering Sony’s new aquatic handset is the Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5 GHz quad-core processor also found on the Xperia Z and ZL. Rounding out the internals are 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and a microSD slot. The display measures out at 4.55-inches with 720p resolution. On the back they put a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor RS camera with an LED flash and “burst mode” capable of taking 15 frames per second.

» Read the rest

T-Mobile rolling out Android 4.1.2 update to Samsung Galaxy S III customers

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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If you’re a T-Mobile customer who owns a Samsung Galaxy S III, you’ll be happy to learn that an update should be arriving very soon for your device, in the form of Android 4.1.2. The only issue is that we’re not really sure of what the update includes (other than multi-window support), as T-Mobile has yet to update their support page.

However, we do know that the update adds two new apps, including Paper Artist and Group Play. It also supposedly adds T-Mobile’s new “4G” logo to the phone’s notification bar. The update is a full 187MB and according to reports, owners started receiving the update as early as 3AM this morning.

Let us know how the update is if you got it, and we’ll let you guys know some more information as soon as T-Mobile updates their support page.

source: TMONews

 

Another white Nexus 4 appears in the wild, preparing for a Google I/O release?

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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Another shot of the white Nexus 4 has surfaced, which seems to backup earlier photos of a white Nexus 4 we reported to you back in January. But as we near Google I/O 2013, we’re expecting an official announcement (or maybe even a release) of the device, hopefully with some bumped up specs.

This time, the device ended up in the hands of Google+ user Ervin Sue, who obtained the phone on a buy and sell website. Although the outer hardware looks to be the same (aside from color), we’re hopeful that Google at least adds a modern Snapdragon 600 processor and 4G LTE.

When Google I/O starts in a couple of days we’ll be sure to have some more information— but until then, you’ll just have to be patient!

Source: Ervin Sue

 

 

Consumer preferences towards larger smartphone screens on the rise

by James Gray on
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According to a new report by Strategy Analytics, existing smartphone users in the second half of 2012 were most likely to be interested in devices with a screen size between 4.2-inches and 4.7-inches. These statistics show an increase from a similar study done in the second half of 2011 where the preferred screen size was 4.3-inches.

Those who intended on buying their first smartphone showed a preference towards slightly smaller screens, while most current smartphone owners were interested in an increase over their current device. Males preferred slightly larger screens than females, and current brand ownership made an impact on preference as well. Nearly all participants in the study showed a preference for their next device to have a larger screen size than their current handset.

Source: Strategy Analytics

Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini pictures leaked, smaller and less-powerful version of its bigger brother

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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Just two days ago we let you know that the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini was just around the corner, and now there are pictures to back that up. As we said before, the phone will most likely be announced later this month alongside the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Activ, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Zoom.

As you can see from the pictures, the Galaxy S 4 Mini is just a smaller version of the original Galaxy S 4, but with mid-range hardware. Instead of a 5-inch screen with a 441 ppi pixel density, the Galaxy S 4 Mini features a 4.3-inch display with only a 256 ppi pixel density. Also, instead of the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor in the Galaxy S 4, the Galaxy S 4 Mini will only have a dual core 1.6GHz processor on-board.

We’ll keep a lookout for any more information on the device and update you as any news comes in.

Source: Sina Weibo
Via: Phone Arena

Samsung Galaxy S 4 in ‘Blue Arctic’ color spotted in Japan

by Aditya Thawardas on
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Until now we had only seen the Galaxy S 4 available in white frost and black mist, but Japanese provider DoCoMo will apparently have a new color variant available for their customers. Promotional materials by DoCoMo show a “Blue Arctic” version, shown above, expected to be announced on May 15 and available next month.

We knew Samsung would eventually release more colors for the phone as they did with the S3 — the question was just when. It will be interesting to see if and when the “Blue Arctic” version will arrive in other markets. The Galaxy S 4 Activ has been rumored to come in a metallic orange color - could that make its way to the regular S4 as well?

Source: Rbmen
Via: SamMobile

AT&T plans to launch Voice-Over-LTE (VoLTE) service this year

by James Gray on
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As AT&T brings more LTE coverage to more markets, they plan to roll out support for voice-over-LTE, or VoLTE, to select markets by the end of the year. VoLTE will use AT&T’s LTE towers to convert conversations into data packets over an IP network, allowing for not just higher quality calls but also video calling and enhanced messaging services.

AT&T currently has LTE coverage in 212 markets and expects to cover 90% of the country by the end of the year. Calls over the standard UMTS network will still be available when VoLTE is not, or if a device does not support it. It should be noted that these calls will use data, and probably not a small amount. For customers on shared data plans, this could potentially force you into a higher data bracket.

» Read the rest

Google Play Games leaked ahead of I/O, includes Google+ integration and cloud-based saving

by Aditya Thawardas on
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Back in April we told you about the possibility of an Android game network to rival iOS’s Game Center, and today we have many more details to share. Our friends at Android Police have discovered and torn down the APK for Google Play Services v3.1.36, which is a massive update slowly making its way to devices right now.

When Google MyGlass was torn down last month, we learned that the game-center service would include multiplayer, in-game chat, leaderboards, invitations, lobbies, and achievements. This teardown of the Google Play Games APK shows that cloud-based game saving and notifications will also be included. The cloud-based universal game saving will sync across all devices based on your Google account.
» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 6 – May 12, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. Google I/O is next week and we have the full scoop on the new and improved Nexus 7. Rumors say the Motorola X phone is scrapped for the time being, but a recent FCC filing seems to indicate it might actually be sooner rather than later. We weren’t expecting to see it announced next week, but could we get a surprise? Google Babel is expected to be unveiled under the “Hangouts” name, and recent developments support that Google will unveil an updated Nexus 4 with LTE.  Lastly, Google will unveil cloud sync gaming with Play Games. There were a lot of new apps, including a couple of reviews as well. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

How to remove apps from the Google Play Store ‘My Apps’ list

How to make a Drama Shot or Sequence Shot on the HTC One

Reviews

Boulder Dash XL [Brain & Puzzle]

» Read the rest