The Sony Xperia Z Ultra was officially launched just moments ago and Sony, as is its tradition, has promptly posted its first promo videos on YouTube.
The Big Screen, Big Entertainment video is Sony’s roundup of the Xperia Z Ultra’s mouth-watering features. The X Reality display for richer colors and great sharpness, the water-resistance and its uses (naturally there’s a pool involved), Sony has even got a smart cover-type accessory in the video. Check it out after the break.
Here goes the video itself – it’s almost 2 minutes but worth it.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra features a 6.4″ X Reality display of 1080p resolution resulting in around 344 pixels per inch and is the first official device to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset. That kind of specs certainly make the first Sony phablet one of the devices to keep an eye on in the second half of the year.
Posted in:
Xperia
|
Samsung announced its ATIV Q convertible notebook capable of dual-booting Windows 8 and Android thanks to its 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U CPU. The new generation Intel Haswell CPUs are impressive on paper, but how would ATIV Q’s processor fare on the Android AnTuTu benchmark?
Thankfully, ePrice have asked the same question and have put the Intel Core i5 chip through the AnTuTu hoops to find out. Moreover, this is the first time ever that a Haswell chip has been benchmarked on the Android mobile operating system.
The results are simply breathtaking – the Intel Core i5-4200U running at 1.6GHz scored 54861 points. To give you some perspective the leaked Samsung Galaxy S4 with LTE and its 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 under the hood scored just 24179.
Nevertheless, the result of the Core i5-4200U is impressive whichever way you look at it. Even more so, when you consider the 3200 x 1800 pixels that the display of the ATIV Q is pushing.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
Samsung announced its ATIV Q convertible notebook capable of dual-booting Windows 8 and Android thanks to its 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U CPU. The new generation Intel Haswell CPUs are impressive on paper, but how would ATIV Q’s processor fare on the Android AnTuTu benchmark?
Thankfully, ePrice have asked the same question and have put the Intel Core i5 chip through the AnTuTu hoops to find out. Moreover, this is the first time ever that a Haswell chip has been benchmarked on the Android mobile operating system.
The results are simply breathtaking – the Intel Core i5-4200U running at 1.6GHz scored 54861 points. To give you some perspective the leaked Samsung Galaxy S4 with LTE and its 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 under the hood scored just 24179.
Nevertheless, the result of the Core i5-4200U is impressive whichever way you look at it. Even more so, when you consider the 3200 x 1800 pixels that the display of the ATIV Q is pushing.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra was officially launched just moments ago and Sony, as is its tradition, has promptly posted its first promo videos on YouTube.
The Big Screen, Big Entertainment video is Sony’s roundup of the Xperia Z Ultra’s mouth-watering features. The X Reality display for richer colors and great sharpness, the water-resistance and its uses (naturally there’s a pool involved), Sony has even got a smart cover-type accessory in the video. Check it out after the break.
Here goes the video itself – it’s almost 2 minutes but worth it.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra features a 6.4″ X Reality display of 1080p resolution resulting in around 344 pixels per inch and is the first official device to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset. That kind of specs certainly make the first Sony phablet one of the devices to keep an eye on in the second half of the year.
Posted in:
Xperia
|
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is one of the several Galaxy S4 variations but is the one (so far) that stays the closest to the original specs of the S4 flagship. And just like other S4 variations it brings something new to the table, an IP67 certification in this case.
What that means is that the Sony Xperia Z is no longer the only 5″ 1080p flagship that is waterproof. Who would have thought there would be competition among phones that can play the latest 3D games in full glory and then shoot video under water?
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is based on the I9505, meaning it uses a Snapdragon 600 chipset with the Krait cores clocked at 1.9GHz. It also runs Android 4.2.2 with TouchWiz 5 and all the software goodies Samsung developed for the S4.
This includes the WatchON remote control app, Group Play and even Multi-window – a big 5″ screen and a powerful chipset are used to their full potential when you run two apps simultaneously.
Two things did get downgraded – the screen and the camera. You still get a 5″ 1080p screen, but it’s a TFT LCD rather than Super AMOLED (bad for contrast, good for OLED haters) and the camera is an 8MP shooter instead of 13MP.
One thing that has changed since the preview is the plastic on the back. Now it’s glossy, but it used to be matte with a grooved pattern that gave it good grip. This is a phone that’s supposed to be usable wet and the glossy plastic feels a little too slippery for our taste.
That’s only the beginning of the story – we still have to run benchmarks, do battery tests, examine the screen more closely and do everything else we skipped over in the preview.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is one of the several Galaxy S4 variations but is the one (so far) that stays the closest to the original specs of the S4 flagship. And just like other S4 variations it brings something new to the table, an IP67 certification in this case.
What that means is that the Sony Xperia Z is no longer the only 5″ 1080p flagship that is waterproof. Who would have thought there would be competition among phones that can play the latest 3D games in full glory and then shoot video under water?
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is based on the I9505, meaning it uses a Snapdragon 600 chipset with the Krait cores clocked at 1.9GHz. It also runs Android 4.2.2 with TouchWiz 5 and all the software goodies Samsung developed for the S4.
This includes the WatchON remote control app, Group Play and even Multi-window – a big 5″ screen and a powerful chipset are used to their full potential when you run two apps simultaneously.
Two things did get downgraded – the screen and the camera. You still get a 5″ 1080p screen, but it’s a TFT LCD rather than Super AMOLED (bad for contrast, good for OLED haters) and the camera is an 8MP shooter instead of 13MP.
One thing that has changed since the preview is the plastic on the back. Now it’s glossy, but it used to be matte with a grooved pattern that gave it good grip. This is a phone that’s supposed to be usable wet and the glossy plastic feels a little too slippery for our taste.
That’s only the beginning of the story – we still have to run benchmarks, do battery tests, examine the screen more closely and do everything else we skipped over in the preview.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
The recently released Nokia Lumia 925, which is basically a Lumia 920 in a new thinner and lighter shell, but also a supposedly improved camera lens. The last bit is probably why Nokia chose to focus on the imaging capabilities of its new flagship in its latest ad video.
Featuring a bunch of zombies, we have to admit the promo clip is quite cool.
The new Lumia 925 ad makes fun of the zombie faces (white faces and red eyes) that other smartphones’ flashes cause in low light. Good thing that the Lumia 925 itself has OIS, so it doesn’t always need to activate the flash. Now the benefits of the OIS for shooting low-light portraits are dubious, as the technology is better suited for other tasks, but that’s not the point here.
Enjoy the video!
You can check our preview of the Nokia Lumia 925 right here.
The recently released Nokia Lumia 925, which is basically a Lumia 920 in a new thinner and lighter shell, but also a supposedly improved camera lens. The last bit is probably why Nokia chose to focus on the imaging capabilities of its new flagship in its latest ad video.
Featuring a bunch of zombies, we have to admit the promo clip is quite cool.
The new Lumia 925 ad makes fun of the zombie faces (white faces and red eyes) that other smartphones’ flashes cause in low light. Good thing that the Lumia 925 itself has OIS, so it doesn’t always need to activate the flash. Now the benefits of the OIS for shooting low-light portraits are dubious, as the technology is better suited for other tasks, but that’s not the point here.
Enjoy the video!
You can check our preview of the Nokia Lumia 925 right here.
Unquestionably, the exclusive apps are part of the charm of the Nokia smartphones, over their WP8 competitors. As you would imagine apps such as Nokia Drive, Nokia Here Maps and Nokia Music are unavailable for owners of non-Nokia smartphones running Microsoft’s OS. Up until now.
WPDang has found a simple exploit giving users access to all Nokia WP8 applications in the Microsoft Windows Store. While a bit risky, the hack include routing your traffic through a Chinese proxy server, which fools the Windows Store into thinking your smartphone is Lumia-branded.
Here’s the full description below.
- Ensure your device has no Wi-Fi or mobile data connection switched on.
- Close Windows Phone Store app – including background processes.
- Assign APN proxy for your primary WiFi connection: 117.135.139.179, port 8888. (Tap the connected network to edit its properties, select “enable proxy”).
- Connect via the WiFi proxy, open up Windows Phone Store, search for Lumia-exclusive apps by name. You now be able to find the Nokia-exclusive apps but do not download at this point, just click on app description.
- Switch back to your WiFi settings, remove the proxy and return to the Windows Phone Store to download.
Naturally, we suspect Nokia and Microsoft are going to promptly issue a patch that’ll fix this, so swiftly try it if you are interested. Keep in mind though, that sending all your traffic through a proxy you know nothing about might jeopardize your privacy.
Posted in:
Nokia
|
Unquestionably, the exclusive apps are part of the charm of the Nokia smartphones, over their WP8 competitors. As you would imagine apps such as Nokia Drive, Nokia Here Maps and Nokia Music are unavailable for owners of non-Nokia smartphones running Microsoft’s OS. Up until now.
WPDang has found a simple exploit giving users access to all Nokia WP8 applications in the Microsoft Windows Store. While a bit risky, the hack include routing your traffic through a Chinese proxy server, which fools the Windows Store into thinking your smartphone is Lumia-branded.
Here’s the full description below.
- Ensure your device has no Wi-Fi or mobile data connection switched on.
- Close Windows Phone Store app – including background processes.
- Assign APN proxy for your primary WiFi connection: 117.135.139.179, port 8888. (Tap the connected network to edit its properties, select “enable proxy”).
- Connect via the WiFi proxy, open up Windows Phone Store, search for Lumia-exclusive apps by name. You now be able to find the Nokia-exclusive apps but do not download at this point, just click on app description.
- Switch back to your WiFi settings, remove the proxy and return to the Windows Phone Store to download.
Naturally, we suspect Nokia and Microsoft are going to promptly issue a patch that’ll fix this, so swiftly try it if you are interested. Keep in mind though, that sending all your traffic through a proxy you know nothing about might jeopardize your privacy.
Posted in:
Nokia
|
When Google’s Hugo Barra announced at the Google I/O 2013 that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be offered directly from the Play Store as a “Google Play Edition” device running stock Android, many people got really excited. Later on, HTC also jumped on the bandwagon with the HTC One, giving you a choice between two excellently spec’d smartphones that offer the Nexus experience.
As planned, the devices went on sale on June 26 and almost immediately, an alleged Galaxy S4 I9505G unit was discovered that runs on the yet unannounced Android 4.3 Jelly Bean instead of the official Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Shortly after, a ROM that any regular Galaxy S4 owner with a Snapdragon 600 (yes, including the regular TouchWiz version) can flash popped up.
And here we are today, presenting you a Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9505) turned into a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition (I9505G) running the leaked ROM 4.3. So, how does it feel and what’s new?
Right after you power on the stock Android-loving Galaxy S4, you notice the new Android boot animation with the Google logo prominently flashing. Then, you’re greeted with a special-made live wallpaper for the Google Play Edition duo dubbed Sun Beam. It’s essentially the same as the Phase Beam, but is done in fire red. Welcome to stock Android 4.3 territory.
Depending on where you come from (TouchWiz 4.2 or vanilla Android 4.2) the user interface can feel either completely different or virtually unchanged. There are five homescreen panes that can’t be deleted nor moved like on the rest of the Nexus family. The notification drawer still has a shortcut for the quick settings and the bottom dock holds four customizable app shortcuts and the app drawer icon. In a word – stock Android user interface.
However, there are a few changes here and there. Google Keep for example now comes preloaded, as does Google Hangouts (replacing Google Talk). Google Now is now at version 2.6.7.721924 and as now comes with support for two new types of cards – TV and Offers.
The other notable change is the new camera interface, which is much more usable. When you tap on the screen to change the settings, there’s a new arch above your finger that shows the quick settings – HDR, Exposure, Flash and jump to the front-facing camera. There’s a settings button, too, which shows more options in a similarly visual fashion.
We’ve made a hands-on video of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Check it out below.
It’s not known at this point if this leaked Android 4.3 that’s running on our Galaxy S4 is even real – it might be an elaborate prank by a skillful developer who fused the leaked camera and gallery apps to the regular 4.2 ROM of the Galaxy S4 Nexus edition and modded the about screen to say 4.3. Or it might be targeted at OEMs to give them time to prepare their custom Android builds with the latest APIs.
We’ll know soon enough, as Google and people more familiar with the inner workings of Android speak out. Either way, the ROM is performing nicely, so at the very least it will give you a chance to make turn your regular Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 into a Google Edition one in a few easy steps.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
When Google’s Hugo Barra announced at the Google I/O 2013 that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be offered directly from the Play Store as a “Google Play Edition” device running stock Android, many people got really excited. Later on, HTC also jumped on the bandwagon with the HTC One, giving you a choice between two excellently spec’d smartphones that offer the Nexus experience.
As planned, the devices went on sale on June 26 and almost immediately, an alleged Galaxy S4 I9505G unit was discovered that runs on the yet unannounced Android 4.3 Jelly Bean instead of the official Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Shortly after, a ROM that any regular Galaxy S4 owner with a Snapdragon 600 (yes, including the regular TouchWiz version) can flash popped up.
And here we are today, presenting you a Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9505) turned into a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition (I9505G) running the leaked ROM 4.3. So, how does it feel and what’s new?
Right after you power on the stock Android-loving Galaxy S4, you notice the new Android boot animation with the Google logo prominently flashing. Then, you’re greeted with a special-made live wallpaper for the Google Play Edition duo dubbed Sun Beam. It’s essentially the same as the Phase Beam, but is done in fire red. Welcome to stock Android 4.3 territory.
Depending on where you come from (TouchWiz 4.2 or vanilla Android 4.2) the user interface can feel either completely different or virtually unchanged. There are five homescreen panes that can’t be deleted nor moved like on the rest of the Nexus family. The notification drawer still has a shortcut for the quick settings and the bottom dock holds four customizable app shortcuts and the app drawer icon. In a word – stock Android user interface.
However, there are a few changes here and there. Google Keep for example now comes preloaded, as does Google Hangouts (replacing Google Talk). Google Now is now at version 2.6.7.721924 and as now comes with support for two new types of cards – TV and Offers.
The other notable change is the new camera interface, which is much more usable. When you tap on the screen to change the settings, there’s a new arch above your finger that shows the quick settings – HDR, Exposure, Flash and jump to the front-facing camera. There’s a settings button, too, which shows more options in a similarly visual fashion.
We’ve made a hands-on video of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Check it out below.
It’s not known at this point if this leaked Android 4.3 that’s running on our Galaxy S4 is even real – it might be an elaborate prank by a skillful developer who fused the leaked camera and gallery apps to the regular 4.2 ROM of the Galaxy S4 Nexus edition and modded the about screen to say 4.3. Or it might be targeted at OEMs to give them time to prepare their custom Android builds with the latest APIs.
We’ll know soon enough, as Google and people more familiar with the inner workings of Android speak out. Either way, the ROM is performing nicely, so at the very least it will give you a chance to make turn your regular Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 into a Google Edition one in a few easy steps.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
The newly announced Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A packs a fast Snapdragon 800 chipset (earlybenchmarks look great) and an LTE-Advanced modem, allowing downloads of up to 150Mbps. That’s faster than the regular S4, but by how much? Samsung posted a video putting the two head to head to demonstrate the difference.
The tests were run in different locations and times of day. The two smartphones had to download different files – install an app from the Play Store or download a large video file.
The video is in Korean, but after the 30 second intro things should be clear enough. The video shows the download progress bars of the two phones magnified and the size of the download.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A beats the S4 with LTE quite easily – more that you would expect from the numbers – LTE-Advanced is Cat. 4 (150Mbps down, 50Mbps up), while LTE is Cat. 3 (100Mbps down and 50Mbps up).
I’m not sure how this video is supposed to quell the complaints of people who already bought the S4, but now want the newer, faster model. Still, here’s hoping the phone gets an international launch soon.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
The newly announced Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A packs a fast Snapdragon 800 chipset (earlybenchmarks look great) and an LTE-Advanced modem, allowing downloads of up to 150Mbps. That’s faster than the regular S4, but by how much? Samsung posted a video putting the two head to head to demonstrate the difference.
The tests were run in different locations and times of day. The two smartphones had to download different files – install an app from the Play Store or download a large video file.
The video is in Korean, but after the 30 second intro things should be clear enough. The video shows the download progress bars of the two phones magnified and the size of the download.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A beats the S4 with LTE quite easily – more that you would expect from the numbers – LTE-Advanced is Cat. 4 (150Mbps down, 50Mbps up), while LTE is Cat. 3 (100Mbps down and 50Mbps up).
I’m not sure how this video is supposed to quell the complaints of people who already bought the S4, but now want the newer, faster model. Still, here’s hoping the phone gets an international launch soon.
Posted in:
Samsung
|
Nokia may have just snatched a Guinness record away from Sony – for the video wall made up of most smartphones. Using 200 Nokia Lumia 820 phones, Nokia Developer Champion Rudy Huyn created the installation and showcased it at the Microsoft BUILD conference. Sony’s wall was made up of 196 Xperia ZL phones.
The phones were arranged in 8 rows of 25 phones and were all controlled from a single Lumia phone. Together, they showed an animated display of live tiles for a selection of Windows Phone apps and also an interactive map with Bing Maps.
You can check out a cool GIF animation of the video wall over at Nokia Conversations (was it shot with the Cinemagraph lens?). Anyway, you can also check out this video of an early test using a random assortment of 28 Windows Phone handsets.
If you want to see the installation live then you better hurry – today is BUILD’s last day. Attendees can visit the game section of the ‘Big Room’ where the installation is located. There’s no mention of a Guinness record though, I wonder what that’s about.
Posted in:
Nokia
|
Nokia may have just snatched a Guinness record away from Sony – for the video wall made up of most smartphones. Using 200 Nokia Lumia 820 phones, Nokia Developer Champion Rudy Huyn created the installation and showcased it at the Microsoft BUILD conference. Sony’s wall was made up of 196 Xperia ZL phones.
The phones were arranged in 8 rows of 25 phones and were all controlled from a single Lumia phone. Together, they showed an animated display of live tiles for a selection of Windows Phone apps and also an interactive map with Bing Maps.
You can check out a cool GIF animation of the video wall over at Nokia Conversations (was it shot with the Cinemagraph lens?). Anyway, you can also check out this video of an early test using a random assortment of 28 Windows Phone handsets.
If you want to see the installation live then you better hurry – today is BUILD’s last day. Attendees can visit the game section of the ‘Big Room’ where the installation is located. There’s no mention of a Guinness record though, I wonder what that’s about.
Posted in:
Nokia
|
Along with its launch on the Google Play store, the kernel source code for the HTC One “Google Edition” has been released on HTCDev.
Also revealed is that the device won’t be receiving its Android updates directly from Google, since it is not technically a Nexus device. The same applies to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition.
One of the main advantages of Nexus devices is that they’ll always be the first to get any Android releases, and that they’ll be “pure” Android versions, with no added modifications from the manufacturer.
While lack of direct updates from Google may sound like a bit of a downer, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, several small tweaks with added functionality have been implemented by the manufacturer, like the addition of Beats audio support on the HTC One, which is not found in the 100% pure AOSP.
Also, we’re fairly removed from the days when manufacturers took significantly longer than Google to push the latest Android versions to their devices, and what are typically the most time consuming middlemen of all when it comes to receiving updates – carriers – are out of the picture.
So, while Nexus users will still have the purest version of Android out there first, Google dition devices shouldn’t be too far behind – although we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out in practice.
Meanwhile, you can get your hands on the HTC One Google Play edition kernel source here.
Along with its launch on the Google Play store, the kernel source code for the HTC One “Google Edition” has been released on HTCDev.
Also revealed is that the device won’t be receiving its Android updates directly from Google, since it is not technically a Nexus device. The same applies to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition.
One of the main advantages of Nexus devices is that they’ll always be the first to get any Android releases, and that they’ll be “pure” Android versions, with no added modifications from the manufacturer.
While lack of direct updates from Google may sound like a bit of a downer, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, several small tweaks with added functionality have been implemented by the manufacturer, like the addition of Beats audio support on the HTC One, which is not found in the 100% pure AOSP.
Also, we’re fairly removed from the days when manufacturers took significantly longer than Google to push the latest Android versions to their devices, and what are typically the most time consuming middlemen of all when it comes to receiving updates – carriers – are out of the picture.
So, while Nexus users will still have the purest version of Android out there first, Google dition devices shouldn’t be too far behind – although we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out in practice.
Meanwhile, you can get your hands on the HTC One Google Play edition kernel source here.
To capitalize on its global rollout on June 24, Nokia has launched a new TV ad for its latest featurephone, the Nokia Asha 501.
Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of the Asha 501 is its numerous garish color schemes, which Nokia shows off in their latest ad. We can’t help but get reminded of those old iPod commercials – except in color.
Undoubtedly, Nokia hopes to garner as much attention as possible to its budget-range Asha platform, which is doing great at keeping it afloat until Windows Phone gathers more traction.
Be sure to check back with us soon, as the our review on the Asha 501 is just around the corner! Meanwhile, take a look at our hands-on.
Posted in:
Nokia
|
To capitalize on its global rollout on June 24, Nokia has launched a new TV ad for its latest featurephone, the Nokia Asha 501.
Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of the Asha 501 is its numerous garish color schemes, which Nokia shows off in their latest ad. We can’t help but get reminded of those old iPod commercials – except in color.
Undoubtedly, Nokia hopes to garner as much attention as possible to its budget-range Asha platform, which is doing great at keeping it afloat until Windows Phone gathers more traction.
Be sure to check back with us soon, as the our review on the Asha 501 is just around the corner! Meanwhile, take a look at our hands-on.
Posted in:
Nokia
|
The Xperia Z Ultra was announced yesterday and we were quick on our feet on giving you an extensive hands-on of Sony’s phablet. However, we simply didn’t have the time to film the smartphone on camera as extensively as we’d liked. Luckily, Lutz Herkner of Mobilewatch managed to get a prototype of the device and give it a thorough hands-on treatment.
Covering all the basics, Herkner goes through all the major features and gives valuable insight on each of them. There’s even a detailed screen comparison between the Xperia Z Ultra’s 6.4″ 1080p TFT Triluminos display and Xperia Z’s 5″ 1080p TFT display.
Additionally, the Xperia Z Ultra is compared with another phablet in the face of the Huawei Mate. Sadly, the Galaxy Mega 6.3 couldn’t make it, but the Huawei phablet still serves as good reference. Check out the 16:00-minute video to get your Xperia Z Ultra fix.
Posted in:
Xperia
|