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Bloomberg supports suggestion of Note Edge style wraparound display on Samsung Galaxy S6

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Bloomberg is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be released in two versions, one of them with a wraparound screen similar to the Note Edge but curving around both left and right sides of the display.

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release two new versions of its top-tier Galaxy smartphone next month, including a model with a display covering three sides, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter […] The second model to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Spain will only have a front-facing display.

Earlier claimed renders had also suggested a curved screen, though with some confusion about whether the wraparound would be on only one side, like the Edge, or both sides as now claimed by Bloomberg … 
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NVIDIA Shield Tablet and wireless controller with gaming focus officially unveiled

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After weeks of leaks, rumors and speculation, the NVIDIA Shield Tablet and Wireless Controller have officially been announced this morning. NVIDIA posted a series of videos on their YouTube channel promoting the new device with the slogan “high-performance gaming everywhere”.

In terms of aesthetics, the device looks like we imagined. It features dual 5MP cameras, dual front-facing stereo speakers, and an 8-inch, 1920×1200 display. The specs under the hood are equally impressive. The device boasts an NVIDIA Tegra K1 GPU, an ARM Cortex A15 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, and 2GB of RAM.

In terms of pricing, there are two different models of the device. A 16GB WiFi variant and a 32GB WiFi + LTE version, selling for $299 and $399, respectively.  Both models will ship for a July 29th release. 
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Sony announces 4K capable Xperia Z2 waterproof phone & tablet, fitness band and mid-range M2 phone

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The Sony Xperia Z2 waterproof phone with 4K video recording

Sony announced four new products at Mobile World Congress: two new Xperia phones, a matching tablet and a fitness band.

The Xperia Z2, the replacement for its Z1 waterproof phone, adds 4K video recording, SteadyShot image-stabilisation, digital noise-cancelling stereo mics and what the company describes as its ‘brightest and most vivid’ LED display. We first got wind of the 4K video capabilities last month via a screengrab of the camera app … 
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Rumored Samsung Galaxy S5 specs say both metal and plastic versions, as per iPhone

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The Samsung Galaxy S5, expected to be announced in March and released in April, will come in two variants, a higher-spec one in a metal case and a lower-spec one in a plastic case, claims SamMobile, citing an anonymous ‘insider.’

First, let’s get the most mysterious thing about the Galaxy S5 out of the way: Yes, it will come in both metal and plastic versions as has been rumored, with the metal version costing around 800 Euros and the plastic model coming in at around 650 Euros … 
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Smartphone chip race is on as Qualcomm goes 4K and MediaTek announces faster rival

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If there is one inescapable fact when buying the latest, greatest tech it’s that whatever you buy today will soon be made obsolete by something launched tomorrow.

Today’s flagship Android devices come with Snapdragon 600 or 800 CPUs. As of today, that’s old hat, as chipmaker Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon 805 Ultra HD replacement. This – together with its on-board Adreno 420 GPU – will play 4K video and run at up to 2.5GHz.

But even that may soon pale against the chip announced by rival chipmaker MediaTek (via Engadget) … 
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Is this next year’s HTC flagship handset? Claimed M8 photos leak

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The photographic qualities leave a lot to be desired, but if the Chinese forum Baidu is to be believed, this is the casing for HTC’s successor to the HTC One, codenamed the M8 (the HTC One was codenamed M7).

The hole above the camera is believed to be for a fingerprint sensor, already found in the HTC One Max. The rumor mill says the specs will be a Snapdragon 800 CPU with 3GB of RAM. Generally-reliable source @evleaks says it will be the first handset to run Sense 6.0 … 
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Samsung announces ‘Galaxy Golden’, a $700 dual-screen flip-phone for Korea

Fit for a Saudi prince, Samsung today made things official for another new flip-phone for the Korean market. While it’s unlikely to steal any of Apple’s thunder ahead of the launch of the much rumored gold iPhone expected early next month, Samsung is branding the dual-screen device as the “Samsung Galaxy Golden.” For what it’s worth, the exterior of the device appears to be closer to bronze in color than gold. It appears Samsung plans on having some success with the clamshell design in markets outside the US, as the announcement follows the launch of another new Android based flip-phone earlier this month and rumors of the ‘Galaxy Folder’ arriving soon. Specs include two 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screens, a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU, 8 megapixel camera, FM radio, and Android 4.2. The Galaxy Golden will sell for around 790,000 won, which equals approximately $700 US.

HTC launching low-cost One variant by the end of June

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If you love the HTC One but are not so keen on its price-tag, HTC may have the solution in the form of a lower-cost variant currently code-named the M4 (the HTC One was code-named M7).

Phone Arena says the handset is almost identical in appearance to the HTC One, but smaller, using cheaper materials and with a lower-spec – a similar approach to that taken by Samsung with its S III mini version of its then flagship S III. Or perhaps in the previous generation – where the HTC One S was the mini version of the One X.

M4 reportedly steps down the processing power, to just a dual core CPU, and storage is just 16GB, but RAM is still a healthy 2GB, and the camera also contains HTC’s lauded (but somewhat controversial) UltraPixel technology. With less powerful components come less stringent power needs, and in this case, HTC has allegedly opted for a 1700mAh, non-removable battery.

The handset is said to have a 4.3-inch 720p display, LTE and is expected to run Jelly Bean 4.2, a step up from the One’s 4.1.

Images & specs for Sony’s 5-inch, full HD Yuga smartphone surface

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We have been hearing a lot of rumors about Sony’s unannounced “Yuga C6603” smartphone, and today Russian site Mobile-review.com posted images of the 5-inch, Android 4.1.2 powered device. According to the report, which also includes a number of benchmark tests, the Sony Yuga’s packs in a full HD (1,920 x 1,080) 5-inch display with 440 ppi and Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine. The display also features on-screen buttons running along the bottom. Other specs include 2GBs of RAM, LTE, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, Adreno 320 graphics, USB Host support, and micro HDMI and microSD for support up to 128GB. This could definitely be an interesting flagship device for Sony in 2013. It’s also sporting a 12 megapixel camera according to the site.

Head over to Mobile-review for more images and benchmarks. We’ll be keeping our eyes out for the device early next month at CES. 
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New Chrome Stable release improves battery life and website permission control

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Googler Ami Fischman, a self-dubbed “Watt Wrangler”, just announced a new battery-saving Chrome Stable release.

“We recently enabled GPU-accelerated video decoding for Chrome on Windows,” wrote Fischman on the official Google Chrome blog. “Dedicated graphics chips draw far less power than a computer’s CPU, so using GPU-accelerated video decoding while watching videos can increase battery life significantly.”

Fischman noted test results show batteries last 25 percent longer with GPU-accelerated video decoding switched on. So now, Chrome users on Windows can watch more YouTube videos, as Fischman noted, without worrying about dwindling battery life.

Chrome users can even access website permissions, such as geolocation, much more easily with the new release:

This saves you from having to dig through settings pages to find these permissions. Now, simply click on the page/lock icon next to a website’s address in the omnibox to see a list of permissions and tweak them as you wish.

This latest release also includes an option to send a “do not track” request to websites and web services. The effectiveness of such requests is dependent on how websites and services respond, so Google is working with others on a common way to respond to these requests in the future.


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Leaked press shots of Android-powered Sony Xperia tablet surface online [Photos]

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A few press images of the Sony Xperia manifested online before its expected IFA unveiling in September and just days after a slew of leaked slides on the tablet emerged via a German website.

Android Guys first spotted the latest high-res leaks on the XDA Developers Forum. The forum’s contributor noted the device offers a Tegra3 CPU, 1-megapixel front-facing camera, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 6000 mAh battery, and a magnesium-aluminum alloy body.

The 16GB Experia will apparently sell, according to the XDA thread, for $399.99, while the 32GB and 64GB models cost an additional $100 and $200 respectively, but previous reports for the tablet indicated a slightly higher price scheme.

More rumored specs include Android 4.0 or later, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and a 8.8mm aluminum shell that is 42 percent thinner than the Tablet S. The slim design is certainly a draw, but that dramatic bezel pictured above is a completely different story.

The full gallery is below.


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Toshiba boasts new 13.3-inch ICS tablet with TV tuner in Germany

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Toshiba unveiled the new 13.3-inch-display AT330 tablet in Germany, and it has one very unique feature: a TV tuner.

Techfokus said the Japanese electronics manufacturer showcased its latest device at Toshiba World 2012 in Bonn. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich slate employs a Tegra 3 quad-core CPU, but its most interesting highlight is a TV tuner and an antennae that extends from body…


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Nvidia’s “Kal-El” quad-core tablet coming in the fall, phone to be announced at CES 2012

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Nvidia’s quad-core test tablet code named “Kal-El” is set to launch in s tablet this coming fall. Kal-El’s speed, named after Superman, is said to be 5x the speed of the Tegra 2, Nvidia’s current dual-core CPU on the market. Nvidia tells AndroidCentral:

“Project Kal-El-powered tablets are coming this Fall, and phones around the CES 2012 timeframe.”

That translates to phones in Spring or summer. Originally, Nvidia said at CES 2011 we were going to see the tablet in August, but we’ve learned to never go off a company’s timeframe. Will the Kal-El be dubbed Tegra 3?

Check out AndroidCentral’s video of the Kal-El below:


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Droid 3 running Gingerbread, qHD display, with speedy graphics

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The Droid 3, likely pictured above, is getting a little more real this weekend as someone holding one of these beauts decided to run it through the NenaMark1 Benchmarking results (below).

The Results:  The Droid 3’s Texas Instrument’s dual-core 1GHz OMAP4430 CPU boasts a PowerVR SGX 540 GPU, same 960×540/4-inch screen as the Motorola Atrix and is running Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread.  Also codenamed Solana, the model is known to be a XT862.

Since these guys are being benchmarked, a release is likely coming soon – perhaps alongside the Droid X2 which is also expected to debut on May 26th with a qHD 4.3-inch screen and a Tegra 2.   Neither of these devices look to be LTE, so we’re still waiting on a rebranded Bionic?


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