Today’s All New HTC One leak comes from China. An extensive photo gallery of the device appeared on the local social network Weibo.
The photos showcase the device from different angles with China Mobile carrier branding. A few shots of the All New One alongside the HTC One Max phablet also give us a better idea about the upcoming handset’s proportions.
The All New HTC One will be officially revealed this month, on March 25. We will be covering the launch live, so be sure to tune in for extensive hands-on and first impressions from the device.
The upcoming OnePlus One droid has made yet another appearance before its official announcement, paying the Antutu benchmark a visit. The most prominent member of the Cyanogen Mod team, the guys behind the handset’s ROM, shared a screenshots with its performance in the popular benchmark.
Even though the name of the device wasn’t explicitly confirmed, that fact the post was reshared by the official OnePlus account tells you everything there is to know here.
So now that we know what the device is, let’s focus on the score. 36,715 points is an excellent achievement, topping the Galaxy Note 3’s result even though the two handset share the same chipset – Snapdragon 800. Obviously the CM ROM is somewhat lighter than TouchWiz and leaves some extra processing power at the user’s disposal.
As previously confirmed, the OnePlus One will go on sale in its first 10 markets in Q2 (which starts in less than a month). The pricing is confirmed to be below $400, but that’s probably before local taxes are applied.
Marvel has bestowed some new superpowers on its Marvel Unlimited app for iOS, integrating the adaptive audio technology it has been working on in its secret evil lairs for over a year.
Starting with five issues of Captain America: The Winter Solder, the company is adding cover-to-cover soundtracks with the hope of upping the drama and improving the reading experience for fans.
The adaptive part comes through gauging how fast readers progress through the panels. If users spend a long time on a particular panel, the music will loop. Skip forward and it will seamlessly segue to the next part of the score.
Other changes to the new app, which is available now, sees Marvel shift from HTML 5 to native iOS code for faster transitions. The Android version of the app is close too.
More blips!
There's no adaptive audio with these blips, but they're still essential reading.
Google Now Launcher has arrived, but you will be forgiven if you don't know much about it.
We are scratching our heads as to why Google Now Launcher was actually launched with minimal fanfare and a low-profile Google+ post. All we can say is: don't let the low-key launch fool you as this is one of Google's most important apps in years.
Not only is the new Google Now Launcher a cracking bit of software, it's also the future of Android.
It is also a little bit of a secret - not much is know about Google Now Launcher and some are confused as to why you would actually need it on your phone.
That's why we have tried the launcher for ourselves and are here to tell you everything you need to know about the app that adds more Google to your Android phone...
What exactly is Google Now Launcher?
On an Android phone, the launcher is basically the maître d': it's the bit of software that welcomes you onto the phone, is in charge of the home screen, and does the behind-the-scenes launching of any apps. It's in charge of the layout of arguably the most important and frequently seen bits of the operating system, and as such is quite important.
It also tends to vary a fair bit between different Android-running phones. Vanilla Android, as released by Google, has a 'stock' launcher, but most third-party manufacturers like Samsung, Sony or HTC tend to use a software 'skin' on top of Android, which changes a bunch of things, including the launcher.
But, because this is Android, switching your launcher is pretty easy – hustle over to the Play Store, and there's innumerable free launchers just vying for your attention.
The Google Now Launcher, then, isn't a unique app – it goes in to bat against an already established market of other options, like the venerable Nova and Apex launchers that were around back when phones had trackballs and short trousers.
Where the Google Now Launcher is different is that it's the first time Google's released the stock Android launcher for download on the Play Store (with some caveats, which we'll mention later). This means that anyone with a device running Android 4.x can have the same experience that's previously only been available on the Nexus 5.
For those who need Google *Now*
The Google Now Launcher does pretty much what it says on the tin – it puts Google's personal assistant-cum-mind-reader, Now, front and centre on your phone. Google Now, in case you're not familiar, is the Google service that is meant to give you personalised information, without you even having to ask for it, in the form of 'cards' that pop up in your notification tray.
Now has existed on every Android device since July 2012 and Android 4.1, but to access it, you have to hold the home button, then swipe your thumb upwards: not exactly the most taxing gesture, truth be told, but it means that you only discover Google Now if you're specifically looking for it.
The Now Launcher changes that: your cards are now accessible through a simple left-swipe from your main homescreen page (which, by complete coincidence, is exactly how Spotlight search used to be accessed in iOS). It's a minor cosmetic change, for sure, but it makes Now far more prominent in the Android operating system, and is a clear sign that Google sees Now as being a tool for the general public, not the tech-blog-frequenting minority.
It's not all cosmetic changes, though. The biggest functional change the Now Launcher brings to the table is an always-on voice capability, like that found in the MotoX. Rather than having to tap a mic button to initiate voice command (as you had to do previously in Android), just preface your question with "Okay Google", and you can query the world's biggest search engine with whatever's bugging you.
Samsung has launched an updated version of its 17-month old Galaxy S III mini. It's called Samsung Galaxy S III mini Value Edition and is already on sale in the Netherlands.
Samsung Galaxy S III mini Value Edition
The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini Value editions offers faster dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 processor and newer Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean version. The rest of the specs remain intact.
The Value Edition has quietly hit the shelves in the Netherlands last week and costs about €180. There is no info on if this overclocked edition will hit other markets as well.
Two popular Android smartphones has been brought recently to the latest version of the OS - 4.4 KitKat. Sony has launched the official KitKat update for the Xperia Z Ultra phablet.
The first device to get it is apparently the C6833 LTE model in Hong Kong. The new firmware is available only over the air for now, but we expect Sony to launch it soon via its PC Companion. We also hope other markets will be joining Hong Kong soon enough.
HTC has also begun seeding the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Butterfly S. The smartphone received Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.5 in January, but it seems HTC has been already working hard on the KitKat firmware.
The KitKat update will bring on your Butterfly S the latest Android OS, Cloud Print Service, Security enhancements, new Bluetooth profiles, but will remove the support for Adobe Flash in the default web browser. Bummer indeed, but it isn't that unexpected since Android no longer supports it. The new firmware is available over the air and weighs about 740MB.
