LG Optimus GK with 5" 1080p display goes official in Korea

LG officially took the wraps of the Optimus GK Android smartphone. Made for the Korean carrier KT, the newcomer packs all the functionality of the LG Optimus G Pro, but in a smaller body with a 5" display.

Like its bigger brother, the LG Optimus GK is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset, whose four CPUs tick at 1.7GHz. There is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in memory on board, which can be further expanded via a microSD card slot. The display is a 5" Full HD IPS unit with a pixel density of 441ppi. A 3100mAh battery, 13MP main camera, and a 2MP front-facing snapper complete the highlights of the handset's spec sheet. The OS of the device is Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

Pricing of the LG Optimus GK is yet to be announced. There's no word on international availability just yet.

Source (in Korean)

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_gk_with_5_1080p_display_goes_official_in_korea_-news-5936.php

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The smartphone revolution is complete! Sales top feature phones for first time

Samsung has helped to put smartphones on top for the first time

In our tech-focused minds its sometimes easy to forget that not everyone is packing a cutting edge, top of the range smartphone in their jeans pocket or even wants one.

So when IDC announced on Friday that sales of smartphones had overtaken feature phones for the first time ever, our initial reaction was 'wait is that just happening now?'

Apparently so, according to the research company 51.6 per cent of the 418.6 million handsets shipped during the first three months of 2013 were smartphones.

The figures state that smartphone shipments went up a whopping 42 percent compared with the same period of 2012, bringing the figure to more than 216 million in total.

Samsung way on top

"Phone users want computers in their pockets. The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away," wrote said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC.

Naturally, it's Samsung who've driven the lion's share of the increase, with an incredible 32.7 per cent of all smartphone shipments during the quarter.

That's nearly double Apple's tally of 17.3 per cent during the same period, while LG was way back in third place, according to IDC's figures.

So now smartphones have finally taken the lead over their call-and-text happy low-spec rivals we can finally stop talking about the smartphone revolution. Which brings us to the next question.... What's next?

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/the-smartphone-revolution-is-complete-as-sales-top-feature-phones-for-first-time-1147533

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LG Optimus F5 to begin European roll out in France on April 29

French to get the first crack at the Optimus F5

LG's Optimus F5 handset has been sitting tight since its unveiling at Mobile World Congress in February, but the company is finally ready to unleash it on the world, or at least parts of it.

The mid-range, LTE-enabled handset will arrive in France on April 29, the company announced in a press release this weekend, before heading around other unspecified parts of the continent.

The Android 4.1 device has a 4.3-inch IPS display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera, 8GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM and a hefty 2150mAh battery

The handset is primarily aimed at new 4G LTE markets to enable those on smaller budgets to reap the benefits of faster speeds, without spending the earth on the handset.

US or UK on the launch list?

Following the French launch, LG says roll outs in Central America, Asia and South America will follow.

Whether a UK and US launch will also be on the agenda remains to be seen, but the Korean giant recently said it was hoping to re-enter the UK market with 4G-enabled phones with a quickness.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/lg-optimus-f5-to-begin-european-roll-out-in-france-on-april-29-1147526

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Weird Obama bug is the latest issue to plague Apple's iMessage app

Another iMessage bug spotted

The Apple iMessage client for iPhone and Mac OS X is apparently experiencing a strange bug which omits the last word of a sentence when specific phrases are in use.

Oddly, any message involving President Barack Obama or the phrase 'The best prize is a surprise' will leave out the last word of the message for both the sender and recipient.

Instead of the word there'll be a series of spaces, however if users copy and paste the message rather than typing it, the message appears as it should.

Strangely enough, it seems the issue is not affecting the iMessage client for iPad users.

Series of issues

This isn't the first issue to plague the Apple-to-Apple messaging service in recent months. There have been a number of iCloud outages which have rendered the service useless for hours at a time.

Just last month we reported on an issue that saw certain iOS developers targetted by DDoS attacks that forced the iMessage app to crash.

Another security loophole allowed the entire iMessage archive to be accessed simply by placing the sim card in a different iPhone.

Earlier this month, on the other hand, one expert stated that iMessage was so secure that not even the authorities could decrypt messages.

This latest instance is certainly the least serious of those listed, but we can imagine leaving the last word off any message may alter the meaning of such texts. Especially those involving the president!

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/weird-obama-bug-is-the-latest-issue-to-plague-apple-s-imessage-app-1147520

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Alleged image of Samsung Galaxy Note III appears online

The rumors of the next generation Samsung Galaxy Note phablet are growing thick and fast. An alleged image of the Galaxy Note III phablet has appeared online, sporting a 5.9-inch display.

According to a report from MyDrivers, the upcoming Galaxy Note phablet will feature a Full HD display and packs a punch with the company's own Exynos 5410 Octa processor, with the four powerful Cortex A15 chips clocked at 2.0 GHz, and the remaining four power-saving Cortex A7 chips running at 1.7 GHz.

Samsung Galaxy Note III is said to come with 3 GB of RAM and will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Furthermore, the phablet is rumored to be unveiled during IFA 2013.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/alleged_image_of_samsung_galaxy_note_iii_appears_online-news-5935.php

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HTC One to get new mics after the current stocks are exhausted

HTC has clarified that the injunction filed by Nokia for the dual-membrane microphone in its flagship smartphone in The Netherlands is against STMicroelectronics (a supplier of components to HTC) and not against the Taiwanese company itself.

According to the statement for the preliminary injunction, the microphone in the HTC One will be manufactured exclusively for the Nokia smartphones for a limited time, but HTC believes that this won't affect the sales of its latest flagship.

In an official press release, HTC confirms that Nokia's attempt to obtain a recall of microphones already sold to the company has failed, since there was no way for the Taiwanese to know about the Nokia and ST Microelectronics agreement. That's why the ruling against the STM states that HTC can continue to use the microphones that in its inventory.

HTC will be working on an improved microphone designs and will make sure to get another supplier for when its inventory of STM microphones is exhausted.

Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_to_get_new_mics_after_the_current_stocks_are_exhausted-news-5934.php

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More Samsung Galaxy S4 Exynos 5 Octa benchmarks surface

The fourth generation Galaxy S smartphone was launched with two different processor variants, one with Snapdragon 600 chipset on board and the other with the company’s own Exynos 5 Octa platform. The folks at FoneArena have got their hands on the Exynos 5 variant of the device and put the smartphone through quite a few synthetic benchmark tests.

As the name suggests, the Octa-core variant of Galaxy S4 has eight processing cores, with the four powerful Cortex A15 chips clocked at 1.6 GHz and the four power-saving Cortex A7 chips running at 1.2 GHz.

The benchmark tests involved Quadrant, AnTuTu, Vellamo and GLBenchmark, which covers pretty much every component of the device.

The Exynos 5 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 is right at the top of the Quadrant benchmark and has a huge lead over its other competitors which include HTC One and Sony Xperia Z.

The latest flagship smartphone from Samsung failed to beat the HTC One in the AnTuTu benchmark 2.9. However, the Galaxy S4 device managed to aggregate 28,018 points in the AnTuTu 3.0 benchmark, whereas the HTC One managed only 24,259 points.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is right behind the HTC Butterfly in the Vellamo 1.0 browser benchmark tests with a score of 2461 points.

Next up is the GL Benchmark tests and at the onscreen evaluation, the Galaxy S4 managed to top all competitors with its PowerVR SGX544MP3 GPU clocked at 533 MHz. The device scored an impressive 39 fps in the test.

Thanks Pankaj Lalla, for sending this in!

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/more_samsung_galaxy_s4_exynos_5_octa_benchmarks_surface-news-5933.php

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