CyanogenMod founder leaves Samsung, praises S4, disses TouchWiz on his way out

CyanogenMod creator Steve Kondik's Google+ profile picture (credit: Google+) Steve Kondik, the creator of CyanogenMod who was scooped up by Samsung in 2011, has left the Korean company. He announced his departure with zero fanfare in a Google+ post, where he declined to discuss the details of his time there, his reasons for leaving, or his plans for the...

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Most Galaxy S4 phones to reportedly use quadcore, not octacore CPU

Opting against the octacore That much-hyped octacore processor in the Samsung Galaxy S4 won't actually be available in most versions of the April-bound handset, according to a report out of South Korea today. Instead, 70 percent of the first 10 million Galaxy S4 smartphones will opt for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU, a quadcore processor, said the report...

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Huawei is working on a quad-core Cortex-A15 1080p flagship?

Today some interesting rumors originating from China have surfaced. The local manufacturer Huawei is reportedly working on a direct Galaxy S4 competitor with a 4.9-inch 1080p display and a quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A15 processor. The rest of the rumored specs include 2GB of RAM, Mali T604 GPU, a 13MP snapper and a 2600mAh battery unit. The mysterious device is supposed...

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Nexus 5 to skimp on screen tech but soup up camera, battery life?

Will the Nexus 5 be a little bit smaller? Really? Google's upcoming Nexus 5 may not be the massive Full HD-screened smartphone you're looking for. The word comes from PhoneArena, whose tipster reckons that Google will leave the mega-screens to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and downsize the Nexus 5's display to 4.5 inches. The source also reckons...

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Xperia ZL up for pre-order in US, contract free from $720

The Sony Xperia ZL is up for pre-order in the US from Sony's own retail store. The device comes in two unlocked options - an HSPA version that's up for $720 contract-free and a 4G-enabled $760 one. The latter works on LTE bands 2, 4, 5 and 17, so it should, in theory, be usable on AT&T's network. The 4G variant should begin shipping to users starting April 8. ...

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HTC One release date and price: where can you get it?

The HTC One features an aluminium body, 4.7-inch HD screen and intriguing camera tech The HTC One is one of the world's best phones - but amid talks of delays to shipping and unconfirmed pricing, when will you actually be able to buy one? Don't worry - we've spent some time browsing the relevant catalogues and come up with the prices, plans and pontifications...

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Huawei could be readying another powerful Samsung Galaxy S4 rival

The Ascend D2 may be over before it's properly begun Huawei may be putting the finishing touches to a Samsung Galaxy S4 challenger as details leak on a new high-powered handset. According to Chinese website mobile163, Huawei is planning another quad-core handset which is set to launch in April. The report suggests the currently nameless device will pack...

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Free phone calls hit Facebook Messenger for iOS in the UK

Facebook? Phonebook, more like Facebook Messenger users on iOS can now make free phone calls to their Facebook pals from within the app. If text just won't get across what you want to say while IMing in Facebook Messenger, you can hit the 'I' button to see the option to make a free call to your buddy. It'll only work from within individual conversations...

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Snapdragon 600 to power 70% of the first Galaxy S4 batch

Latest reports suggest Samsung will use Snapdragon 600 chips in 70% of the first Galaxy S4 batch. This was already confirmed by the leaked list showing the availability of the two Galaxy S4 versions around the globe. In case you need a refresh, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be sold in two flavors - the Exynos 5 Octa-powered I9500 and the Snapdragon 600-powered I9505....

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Samsung Galaxy Note III rumored to launch in US with 5.9" display

Samsung Galaxy Note III, the potential successor of the popular Galaxy Note II phablet was said to come out with a whopping 5.9" display. Now, an executive from one of the main parts suppliers for the company has confirmed the screen size. According to a report from Korea Times, the next generation Galaxy Note will launch in the United States as confirmed by...

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Samsung Galaxy S4 mini may arrive in four different guises

One, two, three, four - Four Samsung Galaxy S4 minis It looks like the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini may arrive in four different guises, with the variants apparently leaked on the Korean firm's website. We saw the Galaxy S3 mini launched a few months after the flagship Galaxy S3 last year as Samsung looked to offer a cheaper alternative to its headline product,...

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Exynos 5210 chipset in the works, to power the Galaxy S4 mini

Samsung has unveiled only two Exynos 5 chipsets so far – the 5250 Dual in the Nexus 10 and the 5410 Octa in some variants of the Galaxy S4 – but there seems to be a third one in development, the Exynos 5210. To spice things up, there’s a rumor going around that this will be the chipset used in the Galaxy S4 mini. Linux dev tools were committed to Free-electrons.com...

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