Qualcomm previews next-gen 2,560 by 1,440 Mirasol display

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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With the kick-off of SID Display Week 2013 in Vancouver came some pretty neat new concepts from Qualcomm. The company demoed a 1.5-inch panel embedded on the top of an “always-on” smartphone and on the face of a smartwatch.

Perhaps the most interesting display was a 5.1-inch panel with a spectacular 2,560 by 1,440 (577 ppi) resolution. While up close, the images seem much more crisp than on the current top-of-the-line displays, the colors don’t quite pop like they do on other handsets. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. The screen has a 6x power advantage over current LED and OLED displays. This means that your phone could go days without charging. But don’t get over excited, because Qualcomm says that this technology is still a few years from mass-production. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what else the future brings for smartphone technology.

Source: Engadget 

HTC’s Chief Product Officer departs and former Product Strategy Manager tells everyone to quit

by Robert Nazarian on
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HTC has had it woes over the last couple of years and the hope is that the beginning of the end will be the HTC One. That could be the case, but it seems that either HTC is cleaning themselves of some employees or they are leaving on their own.  Chief Product Officer Kouji Kodera, communications chief Jason Gordon, global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, director of digital marketing John Starkweather, and product strategy manager Eric Lin have all recently departed. In the case of Eric Lin, he tweeted, “To all my friends still at @HTC - just quit. leave now. it’s tough to do, but you’ll be so much happier, I swear.”

Is HTC finally hitting bottom? Unfortunately until they figure out that consumers buy products based on features, not quality, things won’t change too much. HTC has been making great phones, and yours truly bought one, but unfortunately I’m not the demographic. Mainstream consumers are and HTC needs to take care of them in order to succeed.

sources: AllThingsD, @ericL

Qi wireless charging solution for Samsung Galaxy S 4 now available for pre-order

by Robert Nazarian on
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So you already own the Galaxy S 4, but want a wireless charging solution. Samsung still hasn’t released their version yet, but Mobile Fun in the UK has a solution for you that is available for pre-order now. The charging pad goes for $53.99 and is already available now. It will actually work out of the box with other Qi compatible phones such as the Nexus 4 and the DROID DNA.

If you own a Galaxy S 4, you will need to also buy their wireless charging cover that will replace your current back battery cover. This goes for $37.99 and is available in both black and white. The good news is that these covers will work with any Qi charging pad, so if you already own one, you will only need to buy a cover. Unfortunately they aren’t in stock yet, but if you pre-order now, it should arrive at your doorstep in about 4 to 6 weeks. Hit the break for a short demo video and links to get your order in.

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 21, 2013

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With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Reviews

Bowling Paradise [Sports]

Apps

Flickr launches new Android app and hands out 1-terabyte of free storage

Webkit-powered Opera browser now available in the Play Store

Ingress game gets update with new features

Carriers

Three tri-band LTE devices announced by Sprint for this summer

Verizon and Samsung hosting Galaxy S 4 promotional event Thursday in New York City

» Read the rest

Caterpillar launches incredibly durable Cat B15 Android phone in North America

by Aditya Thawardas on
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caterpillar_cat_b15Caterpillar – yes the same Caterpillar that manufactures construction equipment – has created a tough and rugged phone for users who work and play in extreme conditions. We told you about the Cat B15 in February, and now the phone designed to be the ”most progressive, durable and rugged device available on the market” is ready to launch in North America.

The dust-proof and scratch resistant phone can survive drops up to 5.9 feet, and can be submerged in water as deep as 3.2 feet for up to 30 minutes without a problem. The 4-inch touchscreen display on the Cat B15 can even be used with wet fingers and can operate in temperatures from -4° to 131° F. Of course, it’s a smartphone after all, and comes with Jelly Bean 4.1, a dual-core 1GHz processor, and 4GB of internal memory.  Pretty impressive.

The phone is available online now at $349. You can read all of the specifications  after the break. » Read the rest

Three tri-band LTE devices announced by Sprint for this summer

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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Tri_Band_LTE_Devices_SprintSprint has recently announced three mobile broadband devices for those now in the vicinity of Sprint’s ongoing LTE rollout. The three devices include Novatel’s MiFi 500 LTE, the Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot, and 341U USB dongle— they are expected to be available by the summer. Sprint also hinted at tri-band LTE phones from Samsung and LG to follow. Hit the break for the full press release. » Read the rest

Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy S 4 bootloader hacked, boots custom recovery

by Harrison Kaminsky on
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Dan Rosenberg sent out a tweet this morning letting his followers know that he had successfully booted a custom recovery onto the Verizon version of the Galaxy S 4 and he is looking forward to the release.

If you’re going to be getting your Galaxy S 4 in the coming days you should keep a lookout for this method. We’ll be sure to update you once it’s public but we don’t know how long it will take for Verizon to issue a patch.

Source: Dan Rosenberg (@drjbliss)

Via: Droid Life

Samsung Galaxy S 4 with stock Android to launch only in US

by Aditya Thawardas on
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google_edition_galaxy_s4Google has confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S 4 with stock Android that was announced at last week’s I/O will launch only in the United States. Again, the phone that will run for $650 will come with a stock version of Android 4.2 with the bootloader unlocked, making it a perfect device for developers.

Google did not say that the phone will never be available overseas, just that it will initially be launched only in the US, so there is still hope for the “Google edition” fans around the world.

Source: CNET UK

 

Verizon and Samsung hosting Galaxy S 4 promotional event Thursday in New York City

by Aditya Thawardas on
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Samsung and Verizon Wireless are holding a promotional event in New York City to celebrate the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S 4, which will be in stores for the first time on on Thursday. The event will be held from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm on Thursday at the Bryant Park Verizon Wireless store on West 42nd Street in NYC.

Customers who purchase a Galaxy S 4 at the event will receive a free flipcover in their choice of black, white, pink, blue or green, while supplies last. The flipcovers can also be customized with etching in various themes and designs. Attendees can also participate in the “Samsung Galaxy Challenge” to test their current phone against the S4 for a chance to win a $25 Verizon gift card.

LG Optimus Pro G confirmed for May 30th ImaGination event in Macau

by Jeff Causey on
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LG will be holding an ImaGination Begins event next week in Macau, where it has been confirmed the company will announce the LG Optimus G Pro for some new Asian markets. The device is currently available in the U.S. through AT&T and has been released in the Korean and Japanese markets. There was some thought that LG might release the Optimus GK, a smaller version of the Optimus G Pro, at the event.

source: Android Central