Hands on with the Alcatel Scribe HSPA+ Smartphone [Video]


 

One of the more stunning revelations at CES has been the intriguing, yet attractive Alcatel Scribe X HSPA+ smartphone. Right off the bat, you can see the device’s large, but gorgeous 5-inch 1080p display which demonstrates the fluidity of the quad-core MediaTek processor in all its wonderful glory. In addition to seeing the gorgeous (and welcomed near-stock Android UI), we can see one of the big features that’s highlighted as the device is fitted with its special smart cover accessory.

The Scribe HSPA+ is due to arrive in stores and retailers shortly, while the Scribe HD-LTE will land on shelves by year’s end. To see the humble, but impressive device– hit the break to check out the video.


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Qualcomm Announces New Snapdragon Chips, Highlights Clear Intention To Trump The Competition… Again


 

Not intent on letting NVIDIA grab all the attention here at CES, Qualcomm has introduced a pair of new processors called the Snapdragon 600 and 800 series. First off the bat, the 600 models will feature some incredible specs including a quad-core Krait 300 CPU at speeds up to a whopping 1.9GHz, an Adreno 320 GPU and will offer up to 40% better performance than the Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. Sure the 600 series chips sound like they’ll be beastly as heck— but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Qualcomm.  The 800 models will take specs a step further and include a quad-core Krait 400 CPU at speeds up to a sizzling 2.3GHz, an Adreno 330 GPU, UltraHD resolution support (4096 × 2304), full support for DTS-HD, Dolby Digital Plus and 7.1 surround sound and wait for it— up to 75% better performance than the Snapdragon S4 Pro chip. Incredible.

Just when you think the Snapdragon S4 Pro reaches the pinnacle— Qualcomm comes out of the blue and ups the ante yet again. The Snapdragon 600 series of chips are expected to be available in devices by Q2 of this year, while we’ll see Snapdragon 800 series are expected to be available by the year’s end. Hopefully you all can contain yourselves— but in the meantime, check out the presser after you hit the break. Oh and don’t forget to check out our continuous coverage of CES by clicking here.


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Huawei launches Ascend Mate, packs quad-core CPU and 6.1 inch screen


Huawei’s Ascend Mate was a pretty highly anticipated device leading up to CES this year, and now Huawei’s made it official. The monster of a phone packs a 720p, 6.1-inch display, a Huawei-manufactured quad-core chip, and an extremely generous 4,050 mAh battery. Because it’s no fun to have a big phone if it dies within three days off the charger, right? On top of that, the Ascend Mate will feature dual-band antennas for WiFi, which helps quite a bit when dealing with data caps. This beast will hit Chinese shelves in February, and other countries in March. No word on what other countries that’ll be, but hopefully this device gets the attention it deserves. Hit the break below for the press release, and be sure to check out the rest of our CES coverage here.


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Alcatel One Touch Announces Scribe X And Scribe HD-LTE Smartphones, Both Come Out With 5-Inch 1080p HD Displays


 

Alcatel is intent on making a major splash at CES this week by not only revamping its brand perception from consumers, but waging war against other smartphone manufacturers in the ever-growing 5-inch smartphone market. The modest manufacturer has announced a couple of not-so-modest devices called the One Touch Scribe X and the One Touch Scribe HD-LTE. Each device will come fully loaded as they will feature a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, a full 5-inch 1080p HD display and a 12MP camera for starters. The main difference: the Scribe HD-LTE will feature an LTE radio on-board, while the Scribe X will not. Additionally, each smartphone will be complimented by some pretty neat accessories, which promise to greatly enhance the overall entertainment potential and capabilities

Looks like Alcatel is certainly on its way to bringing a compelling device that will take on the likes of HTC and other manufacturers out there. You’ll find more deets of the announcement when you hit the break and check out the full presser.

 

For all our CES coverage click here.


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NVIDIA Announces The New Tegra 4 Processor Bringing Even More Quad-Core Goodness And GeForce Grid Which Brings Cloud-Based High Quality Graphics To All


It’s been a long time coming, but NVIDIA has finally unveiled its latest addition to its chipset family and “GeForce Experience” by introducing the world to the Tegra 4 processor. As indicated before, the world’s first speedy ARM 15-based quad-core all-in-one chip will feature an astoundingly efficient 28nm process (which happens to match the Snapdragon S4 Pro chip), 72 GPU cores and the ability to handle a 2,560 x 1600 resolution at 120Hz. The neat thing is that we’ll all see the same type of DDR memory and 4 + 1 architecture as found in the Tegra 3 chip, so we can expect to see incredibly responsive and fluid performance in everything from gaming to just the swiping from screen to screen in an efficient manner. Oh and for those of you that care about looking towards the future— the Tegra 4 has full LTE support.

Additionally, NVIDIA also announced its NVIDIA Grid cloud computing tool. NVIDIA Grid allows for any sort of smart devices from TVs to Android devices to run high-quality graphics and games all based off of the cloud. Essentially— users will open the app and through high quality servers that host specialized graphic cores, the same users will be able to play all sorts of high quality apps and games in awesome video and rendering quality thanks to a basic internet connection. This means that users won’t need to worry about having a device with an old built-in graphics unit anymore since it won’t be doing the dirty work of having to render high-quality video— the cores on the NVIDIA Grid servers will do all the dirty work for you.

Full press release after the break:


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LG Rumored To Announce Optimus G2 At CES Next Week, Will Come Decked Out At 5.5-Inches And Feature A 1080p Display


 

Hot off the heels of having a very successful 2012 campaign, LG is set to come into 2013 with a bang by introducing a new flagship device to the masses as early as next week. According to DigiTimes, the Korean manufacturer has developed the Optimus G2 smartphone, which is a full 5.5-inch device featuring a 1080p display and newly minted Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Prime MSM8974 chip. Although additional details are slim for now, it appears that LG is clearly intent stealing all of the phablet attention as we’re also expecting to see offerings from Huawei and Sony as well.

Ladies and gentlemen– let the next round of the phablet wars begin. Let’s just hope Samsung is ready for what looks to be an exciting battle.

source: DigiTimes

Sony Xperia Z And ZL Smartphones Appear In Subtle Press Shots


 

It’s a new year so it’s officially time to see some new devices— and Sony has delivered by releasing some press shots of a few new additions to its Xperia line of smartphones. Thanks to a couple of listings on Sony Japan’s website, we finally have been treated to images of the Xperia Z “Yuga” and Xperia ZL “Odin” smartphones. While there are no concrete details of each device’s features, earlier rumors have indicated both will feature 5-inch 1080p LCD displays, quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processors, 2 gigs of RAM and a 13-megapixel Exmor RS sensor on the rear. The main difference between the two? The Xperia ZL looks to be a bit smaller and more compact than the Xperia Z.

So now that the cat has been let out of the bag, it should be too long before we the devices in person at CES next week— which Talk Android will be at in full force by the way.

source: Engadget

ZTE blows the door down with the beautiful and beastly Grand S with 5-inch 1080p display, Quad-core S4 CPU, 13MP camera


ZTE has never been known for high quality phones, but  today the Chinese manufacturer pulled out all the stops and unveiled a new and stunningly beautiful super phone known as the Grand S. The unveiling comes a few weeks earlier than the big electronics trade show, CES, and is bound to make a big splash. This is truly a top-of-the line phone in every respect. The Grand S sports a 5-inch 1080p display, a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (APQ8064) processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 2,500 mAh battery, and a 13MP camera all squeezed into an extremely svelte body coming in at only 6.9mm thin. It’s rumored to be built out of some sort of super-strong ceramic material and has a highly futuristic design with clean lines and nice curves. Best of all, it is said to come at a pretty affordable $450 (after exchange rates). We’ll know more at CES and will hopefully get some hands on time with this beast of a phone. If you want to see some more images, hit the break.  Does the Grand S change your view of ZTE? Will you buy one? 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty awesome year for Android enthusiasts!


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Samsung Galaxy S IV Unofficially Rendered, Invites The World To Take A Sneak Peek Into The Future


 

As the world patiently awaits for the “Next Big Thing” from Samsung, some ambitious folks took some time to give us an idea of what to possibly expect from Samsung’s next superphone. A recent hands-on video has surfaced which is more or less giving us a teaser of what the Galaxy S IV should bring including a thin profile complimented with an incredible 2GHz quad-core processor, full 1080p AMOLED display, 13MP camera and Android 5.0— aka Key Lime Pie. The real kicker isn’t just what’s inside of the device, it’s the potential accessories that may accompany the device. The hands-on video highlights what looks to be a revolutionary keyboard dock: a “projection laser keyboard dock” that beams a keyboard layout to whatever surface it’s sitting on and can be typed on— as if it was a real keyboard in front of you.

Naturally viewers of the video should take extreme caution: the hands-on video is by no means real or what the Galaxy S IV will look like. All it is really is a sort of wish-list of items that would make it more awesome than other phones out there.

I know you’re all itching to see what all this potential hubbub is about, so be sure to hit past the break to check out the video.


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