Archos unveils a duo of affordable Helium series smartphones

Archos took the wraps off a duo of affordable Android smartphones. The Archos 50 Helium 4G and 45 Helium 4G both offer Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and LTE connectivity on the cheap.

Design-wise, the 50 and 45 Helium are nearly identical. Under the hood, the two devices feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipsets with quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex A7 CPUs, Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM, micro SD card slots, and quad-band 4G/LTE radios.

Archos 50 Helium 4G official photos

The biggest difference between the two devices has to do with their displays. The 50 Helium 4G packs a 5" 720p screen, while the 45 sports a 4.5" WVGA unit.

Archos 45 Helium 4G official photos

Furthermore, the Helium 50 also comes with 8GB of internal memory, as opposed to the 4GB for its smaller sibling, though both feature microSD card slots. The Helium 50 unsurprisingly has a larger battery too: 2,000mAh versus 1,700mAh for the Helium 45.

The Helium 50 has an edge over its relative in the camera department as well. It sports a duo of 8MP and 2MP cameras, compared to a 5MP and VGA back and front-facing units for the Helium 45.

The Archos 50 Helium 50 4G and 45 Helium 4G are priced at $249.99 and $199.99 respectively. The duo of smartphones will be showcased at CES 2014 in Las Vegas next week.

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Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/archos_announces_affordable_helium_series-news-7468.php

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Nokia waves final goodbye to MeeGo and Symbian

Nokia announced in October it will be ending all developer support for MeeGo and Symbian on January 1, 2014. Well, the deadline has passed and the Ovi Store won't accept any more apps.

Nokia announced the end of the era via the official Symbian Team account on Twitter.

That was it; we are officially closed. Thank you all for the past years!

— Symbian Signed Team (@SymbianSigned) January 2, 2014

In case you've missed the news, the dropped MeeGo/Symbian support and app publishing means developers will be no longer capable of pushing new apps or updates in the Ovi Store. They will continue to receive revenue from their apps, of course, and all currently available apps in the Store will remain available for download.

So, if you are interested the Ovi Store is still open and your device isn't rendered worthless just yet. But maybe, just maybe, it's about time you jumped ship.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_waves_goodbye_to_meego_and_symbian-news-7467.php

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Samsung curved screen patent might point to Galaxy Note 4 or S5

Could finally give Samsung a reason to flaunt its curves

Samsung is so bent on reducing the amount of bezel on its devices, it may actually bend its next Galaxy Note or Galaxy S smartphone.

New sketches from the US Patent and Trademark Office indicate that the company is interested in manufacturing a phone with curvature that slopes at the sides.

This would make the device look as if it contains no bezel on the sides, according to Samsung Today.

It's being speculated that the Samsung patent could be applied to either the unannounced Galaxy Note 4 or the Galaxy S5, both of which are expected to be announced later this year.

No buttons, but the pen S mightier

If used, this patent filed in August, would be a new way for Samsung to incorporates its curved phone technology, as it appears to be different from the Galaxy Round.

The illustrations match more of what is expected from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 successor, even though the follow-up to the Galaxy S4 is thought to be launching first.

The drawings map out where the S Pen fits in at the bottom of the device. So far, the stylus has only appeared in Samsung's Galaxy Note line of smartphones and tablets.

Surprisingly, the on-paper concept didn't make room for any buttons on the front of the device, opting for an elongating the screen and a near-zero-bezel design.

Other possible Galaxy Note 4 features

A curved screen isn't the only feature that could come to the Galaxy Note 4. It's possible that the unconfirmed phone will have a 20 megapixel camera and long-distance wireless charging too.

There's also a rumor that both the Galaxy S5 and Note 4 have will ditch their predecessor's AMOLED displays in favor of more cost-effective LCD screens.

Samsung didn't respond to TechRadar's inquiry into today's patent discovered, but we'll update this story when the company responds to the news.

• Read: HTC M8 specs spouted, point yet again to juicy follow-up

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-curved-screen-patent-might-point-to-galaxy-note-4-or-s5-1211757

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