WSJ: Nokia will release its first Android device this month

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nokia will release its first Android smartphone this month. Known as Nokia Normandy, the low-cost handset will reportedly be showcased during MWC in Barcelona.

According to WSJ’s sources, Nokia was hard at work on the device while Microsoft was performing due diligence prior to its acquisition of the Finnish company. The smartphone will allegedly go official as Nokia X.

Unsurprisingly, the smartphone is tipped to launch without Google Play support, similarly to Amazon’s Kindle products. Instead, it will be focused on services provided by Microsoft and Nokia. In line with recent leaks, the UI of the upcoming smartphone is also said to be closely related to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.

Rumored specs of the Nokia X include dual-core Snapdragon 200 SoC, dual-SIM, 4” WVGA display, 4GB of built-in memory, and 512MB of RAM. The handset will reportedly be priced in line with Nokia Asha devices.

All things considered, The Wall Street Journal report reaffirms the already floating batch of rumors. We are quite curious to find out how the device’s launch will affect the sales of Nokia’s popular low-end Windows Phone devices such as the Lumia 520 and 525. Nokia Lumia 520 in particular is responsible for 30% of all Windows Phone sales.

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Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/wsj_nokia_will_release_its_first_android_device_this_month-news-7782.php

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iTunes Radio international roll out officially starts in Australia, UK to follow?

Eminem's new LP featured in the 'first play' section of iTunes Radio

Apple's iTunes Radio service is now officially available in Australia, marking the first time the customised radio service has been available outside of the United States.

In a press release sent out to the Aussie media, the company announced the availability on devices running iOS 7, the set top box and PCs and Macs with the latest version of iTunes.

The internet radio service, which rivals similar offerings from Spotify, Pandora and more, rolled out in the United States in September 2013, alongside the launch of iOS 7.

It allows users to create free radio stations based on songs and artists, as well as access stations created by Apple and guest musicians.

There's also 'first listens' where albums from the likes of Eminem have made debuts and the opportunity to add songs to an iTunes wishlist where they can be purchased to own.

UK-bound?

Since Apple launched iTunes Radio in the United States, Apple users have patiently waited the international roll-out.

There have been a few false starts, with the service becoming briefly available to a few iTunes users in the UK and Canada in recent weeks.

Will the Australian launch mean an arrival in Blighty to give Spotify a run for its money is imminent? We've reached out to Apple and will update this story should a response be forthcoming.

• Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" Radio looking to take the fight to iTunes Radio. It's another Apple vs Google showdown.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/itunes-radio-international-roll-out-officially-starts-in-australia-uk-to-follow--1223308

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Nokia's 'Normandy' Android phone to debut this month without Google Play?

Alleged photos of the Nokia Normandy Android phone (credit: @evleaks)

The Nokia "Normandy," the long-rumored Nokia Android phone, will be officially announced at MWC 2014, says a new report.

The Nokia Normandy will also be released in February, The Wall Street Journal reports.

But apparently the Normandy will be specially tailored so that some Google features won't be promoted as heavily as they might be on a traditional Android phone - you know, one not made by a company now owned by Microsoft.

That means no Google Play store, and the Normandy will instead feature a selection of apps created by Nokia and Microsoft, like Here maps and Mix Radio, plus a Nokia app store full of Android apps, the site's sources said.

Let's be practical

Nokia has long been focused on Windows Phone, but its work on an Android handset has been rumored for months. The Normandy's debut at MWC has even been touched on before.

However, ever since Microsoft picked up the Finnish phone maker for $7.4 billion (about £4.4 billion, AU$7.9 billion) in 2013, the Nokia Android phone's fate has presumably been up in the air.

Considering it was never officially announced to begin with, it seemed Microsoft could put its foot down at any time and cancel it altogether.

But the WSJ report says Nokia's engineers were working on the Android phone long before Microsoft began conducting due diligence leading up to the purchase, and the Windows company will reportedly let it continue all the way to retail.

The reason for that? Pragmatism, apparently. If the phone is debuting in a matter of weeks, then the legwork was likely completed months ago, and Microsoft would likely rather make some money off of it - even if it does run Android - then scrap it entirely and throw away all of Nokia's hard work.

• Speaking of Android, here's everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy S5

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/nokia-s-normandy-android-phone-could-debut-this-month-without-google-play-1223300

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Blackberry Ontario caught speeding in Geekbench benchmarks

Is Ontario BlackBerry's next smartphone?

The rumored Blackberry handset code named Ontario has appeared in a leaked Geekbench benchmarking site.

As revealed by the test Ontario will run with BlackBerry OS 10.3, a 2.15GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800, and 2GB RAM.

As BlackBerry previously announced it does not have plans to leave the smartphone businesses having inked a deal with Foxconn to produce cheaper handsets. The manufacturing contract agreement would have the Chinese company create devices while Blackberry supplied the software.

The high-contender

N4BB later confirmed the leaked benchmark, speaking with sources that said the phone would be part of Blackberry's O-series of smartphones.

Earlier last September BlackBerry revealed its older version 7 smartphones were actually outselling its high-end 10 devices causing the company to hemorrhage revenue.

It seems all but likely that Blackberry is continuing to go for only the high-end and low-end markets with the Ontario aiming squarely for the affordable spectrum.

Besides Ontario, N4BB's other sources say the struggling phone maker is still planning on using the more potent 2.5GHz Snapdragon MSM8994 chip. The higher-end chip is built octa-core 64-bit architecture with an Adreno 430 GPU and 4GB of RAM.

For now all we have on BlackBerry's future is a bunch of benchmarks and early reports, hopefully there will be some real smartphones to see soon. Until then stay tuned for more.

• The smartphone world is getting busy, the LG G Pro 2 might jump the MWC 2014 gun for an earlier showing

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/blackberry-ontario-caught-speeding-in-geekbench-benchmarks-1223293

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Huawei smartwatch is a go for MWC 2014

Nipping at ZTE's smartwatch lead

At the rate Apple is going, it may very well be the last maker of consumer electronics to introduce a smartwatch now that China's Huawei is reportedly readying their own device set to unveil later this month.

WSJ.D reported Monday that another contender for the smartwatch crown is planning to step into the ring during this year's Mobile World Congress event, which kicks off in Barcelona, Spain on February 24.

A spokeswoman for China-based Huawei Technologies declined to elaborate on the company's smartwatch plans, which will make their debut alongside a new smartphone and two new tablets at the annual mobile conference.

One thing's for sure, however: The smartphone Huawei plans to announce won't be a sequel to the Ascend P6, instead choosing to hold a separate launch event for the company's next-generation flagship handset.

Tick-tock

The burgeoning smartwatch market continues to make headlines, with Sony, Pebble, Samsung and others duking it out amidst rumors that Apple will soon jump into the fray with its own Bluetooth-connected wearable for the wrist.

Although Huawei is ranked third behind Samsung and Apple as a major player in the global smartphone market, the Chinese vendor has little brand recognition for anything but networking gear outside of its home turf.

Huawei took the wraps off a video game console called the Tron at last month's Consumer Electronics Show, but now plans to follow rival Chinese manufacturer ZTE into the wearables market.

Ironically, smartwatches appear to be a "market" in name only thus far: Canalys recently claimed a mere 500,000 such devices would ship globally last year, but expected that figure to mushroom to five million in 2014 - assuming major players like Apple, Google and Microsoft decide to join the fray.

• Get a glimpse of what the Samsung Galaxy S5 might have in store for us!

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/other-devices/huawei-becomes-latest-manufacturer-to-join-smartwatch-craze-1223281

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Exciting LG G Pro 2 specs confirmed by AnTuTu scorecard

LG G Pro 2 existence was confirmed earlier this year by a few live pictures of the device. The G Pro 2 has the G2 looks but comes with a bigger 6" display. It should go live at a press event scheduled to take place on February 13 in Korea.

Today, just three days ahead of the official premiere, the LG G Pro 2 specs leaked via AnTuTu's database. It seems someone has put the two G Pro 2 units (Korea-bound F350L/F350K and the international D837 version) through the benchmark and you can check both the specs and the scores of the upcoming gadget.

LG G pro 2 on AnTuTu

The LG G Pro 2 is now confirmed to come with a 6" 1080p display and be powered by the Snapdragon 800 chipset (four Krait 400 at 2.26GHz, Adreno 330 and 3GB of RAM). The Android version ticking inside is 4.4 KitKat. The camera info is also out now - 13MP main shooter and a 2MP front-facing snapper.

Here is hoping the LG G Pro 2 will do better on the market than its predecessor which never reached its full potential.

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Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/exciting_lg_g_pro_2_specs_confirmed_by_antutu_scorecard-news-7781.php

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LG G Pro 2 to beat MWC rabble with early launch

Your move Samsung...

Remember when LG announced that the LG G Pro 2 would be making its debut this month and everyone figured that that meant it would show its massive face at MWC?

Apparently that rather reasonable assumption was way off and we're set to see it a lot sooner, February 13 in fact.

An invitation posted by ZDNet shows an event this Thursday between 10:30am and 1pm in Seoul prefaced with the line "Knock-knock knockin' on", a reference the knock-on feature that originally graced the LG G2.

3..2..GO!

A pre-MWC launch would certainly guarantee LG's latest flagship more attention than getting lost amidst the MWC noise.

It would also give the G Pro 2 an 11-day head start over its Korean rival the Galaxy S5.

Little snippets of information, including the 13MP camera with "OIS plus" technology, Ultra HD video recording and a 1W speaker, have already got us salivating over a handset expected to sport a 6-inch screen.

Whether the LG G Pro 2 decides to step into the limelight on Thursday or at MWC 2014 you can guarantee that we're going to bring you all the latest gossip so don't go anywhere.

• What else should you expect from MWC 2014?

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/lg-g-pro-2-to-beat-mwc-rabble-with-early-launch-1223178

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