BlackBerry promises to be relentless in quest to become top dog

BB's gonna get ya

There certainly seems to be a lot of fire in the BlackBerry belly as the Canadian firm looks to become a dominant force in the mobile market once again.

The company starting to branch out in an attempt to control a bigger chunk of the market with the news that BBM will be available on iOS and Android devices from this summer, plus the fact that the BES 10.1 backend system will allow companies to control iOS and Android devices on top of BlackBerry handsets.

BlackBerry realises that a lot of its customers aren't aware of everything the firm can offer, and a degree of education needs to happen in order to increase awareness of the brand and its services.

Don't stop me now

Rob Orr, BlackBerry's UK Managing Director told TechRadar: "people need to understand that BlackBerry is able to, and the best in class at providing a secure VPN on an iPad.

"That's something that's probably not at the forefront of people's minds, so we're getting out there to tell people what we're doing and why we're doing it."

Talking about what's next for BlackBerry Orr said: "We're just going to keep going. We're going to be relentless, listen to our customers, engage with them and build the true reality of our mobile computing platform."

This sentiment echoed what BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said during his keynote presentation at BlackBerry Live in Orlando, explaining that the firm is "committed to making BB 10 the platform which will take the mobile industry to the next level."

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/blackberry-promises-to-be-relentless-in-quest-to-become-top-dog-1151666

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Google announces a Nexus-ized version of the Samsung Galaxy S4

Google's take on the Galaxy S4

Google today announced its very own take on the Samsung Galaxy S4 during the Google IO developers conference.

The device runs stock Android 4.2 with the same software that runs on the Nexus 4 - meaning it's essentially an S4 without the TouchWiz touch.

It will cost $649 unlocked (with an unlocked bootloader) on both AT&T and T-Mobile and house 16GB of storage. Users can pick it up starting Jun 26 via the Google Play Store.

"It's Google's take on Android," Huge Barra of Google said.

Developing...

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/google-announces-its-own-version-of-the-samsung-galaxy-s4-1151319

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Google to start selling the Galaxy S4 running stock Android

At the annual Google I/O developer conference today, Google has announced the planned released of a Samsung Galaxy S4 running stock Android (AOSP).

Just as rumored earlier today, the phone will be free of TouchWiz modifications. It will be selling directly through Google Play and it will enjoy timely Android updates just like all Nexus devices. Best of all, it will have an unlocked bootloader for that extra flexibility.

This Google edition of the Galaxy S4 will be selling in the US starting from June 26 without a contract and with no carrier subsidy. The retail price will be $649 and its LTE radio will support both the AT&T and T-Mobile US network.

So far we don't know whether there are some changes in specs. We suppose that at least the proprietary "smart" software features designed by Samsung will be gone along with TouchWiz.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/google_announces_the_galaxy_s4_google_edition-news-6049.php

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ZTE Grand X2 announced with 2GHz dual-core Intel Atom CPU

ZTE has officially unveiled the Grand X2 smartphone at the MedPi conference in Monaco. The device features the Intel Atom Z2580 processor and comes with an advanced camera.

ZTE Grand X2 sports a 4.5-inch HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The smartphones is powered by a 2 GHz Intel dual-core processor with x86 architecture along with 1 GB of RAM. ZTE Grand X2 flagship has an 8 megapixel rear camera, 1 megapixel front facing camera and 8 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded via microSD card slot.

The Grand X2 runs on Android Jelly Bean and the smartphone is powered by a 2,000mAh battery. The camera on the ZTE Grand X2 is capable of shooting up to 24 frames per second with no shutter lag and the real-time 2x axis stabilization allows you to get blur-free shots in challenging environment.

The ZTE Grand X2 will be available in Europe in Q3 2013, but there is no word on the pricing of the smartphone as of now.

Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_grand_x2_goes_official_with_clover_trail_atom_processor-news-6048.php

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Watch the Google I/O conference live feed right here

Google's annual I/O event, a forum for developers where everything Google is discussed, is about to start.

In years past, Google has taken the opportunity to announce exciting new devices and Android developments at I/O, so we're eager to hear what they have in store this time around.

We've got the live stream for you right here:

While you wait, be sure to check out the I/O website.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/watch_the_google_i_o_conference_live_feed_right_here-news-6046.php

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Android hits 900 million activations, Google reveals at Google IO

Google announces another Android achievement

Google announced during its Google IO keynote in San Francisco this morning that Android hit 900 million activated users in 2013.

Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome, and apps, took the stage to announce the milestone during the keynote.

Pichair focused on Google's dual dominance in browsers and mobile through Android and Chrome. He said the possibility for developers to build thousands of third-party apps is what really excites Google.

Developing...

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/android-hits-900-million-activations-1151340

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Samsung Galaxy S4 mini leaks in new photos

Samsung may have managed to keep the Galaxy S4 under wraps until the premiere, but it seems the company isn't even trying to keep the Galaxy S4 mini a secret. The device entered our rumor mill in April, a few days later we saw its face and yesterday we even learned more about its chipset.

Today, we were treated to a new batch of live images of the upcoming smartphone. You can clearly see it the Galaxy S4 mini uses a design very similar to its bigger brother, the Galaxy S4.

Samsung Galaxy I9195 Mini

Judging by the homescreen, we bet the Galaxy S4 mini is running on the same Android 4.2.2 version and TouchWiz UX 5.0 as the Galaxy S4 flagship. We can see the S4 mini supports eye-tracking (the icon next to the network bars), so we might even see the awesome Air gestures, too.

So far we know the Galaxy S4 mini will be powered by Samsung's own Exynos 5210 chipset with a dual-core 1.6GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. The rest of the specs include a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, an 8MP rear camera with dual-video recording, and at least 8GB internal storage expandable via a microSD card slot.

The official announcement is expected to happen by the end of this month.

Source (in Bulgarian)| Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/fullblown_samsung_galaxy_s4_mini_leaks_in_highres_photos-news-6047.php

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Android 4.3 shows up on Google developers website

Less than an hour to go until the Google I/O 2013 kicks off and the search giant is obviously finding it quite hard to keep all its upcoming announcements under wraps. The Android version 4.3 has briefly showed up on the Google developers website.

A webpage detailing the security enhancements in Android 4.3 was uploaded, and Google's own web crawlers have caught it, leading to it being displayed it in the search results. That's as sure a sign as it gets that Google is planning to unwrap 4.3, and at the Moscone Center.

The Android release goes without a name in the search result, so it's unclear whether Google will call it Key Lime Pie or retain the Jelly Bean name.

Rumors have it that the next iteration of Android is going to feature Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and OpenGL for Embedded Systems 3.0 graphics specification. The most crucial part of the new Android version is going to probably be app data synchronization, though. Such option has appeared on the account sync settings menu on various phones even ahead of the Google I/O event start.

Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/android_43_shows_up_on_google_developers_website-news-6045.php

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White LG Nexus 4 says hello again, this time from Dubai

The white LG Nexus 4 is walking the rumorland since January this year, but it appears lately the smartphone isn't even trying to hide from the public.

The Snow White Nexus 4 was showcased in Dubai and there is a video to prove it. It appears the Nexus 4 was the same as its black sibling, running on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

If the video is not enough for you to prove a white Nexus 4 is indeed in the works, this will probably do the job. A new hardware revision of the device was approved by the Bluetooth SIG. The revision v1.1 bears the same model number 3G LG-E960, but supports Bluetooth 4.0.

Since the Bluetooth 4.0 support will be provided via a software update for the original Nexus 4, we suppose the tested device was the leaked white version. We guess it might be one of the announcements at the Google I/O, which kicks off in a few hours.

Meanwhile, the LG Nexus 4 will be finally hitting the shelves in India by the end of May. It costs INR 29,990 (about €365) and it's already available on pre-order.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Via
Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/white_lg_nexus_4_says_hello_again_this_time_from_dubai-news-6044.php

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NEC Medias X has a water-cooled Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset

Well, this is a first – NEC just unveiled a phone, the NEC Medias X 06E, which features a water-cooled Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset. Yes, you read that right. It's a head pipe system rather than one with an active water pump, but still it promises to keep those four 1.7GHz Krait cores and the Adreno 320 GPU running cool with ease.

NEC Medias X 06E • the LED lighting and the charm * the water cooling system

If you're thinking this is some sort of niche phone for tech geeks you'd be wrong – the Medias X 06E is actually geared towards women. Its 3.5mm audio jack has an RGB notification LED and you can plug in a sort of jewel accessory to make it look cool (something like HTC Rhyme's cube charm).

That aside, the specs are actually pretty nice – a 4.7" OLED screen with 720p resolution, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, 13.1MP Exmor RS camera, and an IP58 certification, which allows the NEC Medias X 06E to dive deeper than 1m of water (IP57 phones can only go 1m deep).

The Medias X 06E will launch on NTT DoCoMo this June.

Source (in Japanese) | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nec_medias_x_has_a_watercooled_snapdragon_s4_pro_chipset-news-6043.php

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Bye bye battery: EE adds 4G to the Glastonbury line-up

Yoink!

Ah, it's the age old festival debate: rinse your battery or brag efficiently on social networks about what an amazing time you're having?

EE just upped the stakes by confirming that it'll be providing 4G at Glastonbury this year. Maybe invest in a top-up charger and some comprehensive phone insurance before you go, yeah?

More blips!

We bet that the rest of our blips look good on the dancefloor.

• Prepare yourself for Glass with this cool simulator
• Samsung Galaxy S4 chills out with Blue Arctic colour option
• The first music video from space really is a Space Oddity

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/bye-bye-battery-ee-adds-4g-to-the-glastonbury-line-up-1151545

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Sony Xperia Z gets firmware update, improves camera quality

Sony has just released a new firmware update for the Xperia Z flagship. It's still based on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, but brings quite a lot of improvements.

The most notable change is the improved camera quality. The Sony fans probably remember the Xperia Z burst samples had better processing than the ones captured in regular (Auto) mode.

Maj 10.1.1.A.1.253 (4.1.2) en cours de déploiement pour les Xperia Z "nus".Tue May 14 13:05:44 via TweetDeck Sony Xperia FR
SonyXperiaFR

It seems Sony has tweaked the imaging algorithm and now the camera samples look much better.

Burst Mode • Normal Auto Mode
Samples courtesy of vainqueur from XDA Developers

Other changes include system performance improvements as well as re-calibrated screen colors and white balance settings. There's also a new Mini Apps icon, new keyboard skin, new design for some widgets, notification light on/off toggle, the soft. Finally the navigation keys background color has been changed to black from grey.

There is no official change log yet, so some other changes might be present. The update is available over the air and its version number is 10.1.1.A.1.253.

As usual the update roll out is gradual, so it may take a while before the new build reaches you.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z_gets_firmware_update_improves_camera_quality-news-6041.php

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BlackBerry connects instant messaging to Microsoft

Making more use of the Hub

BlackBerry has extended the business functions of its BlackBerry 10 system with new messaging functions and an analytics tool for app developers.

It has added a new feature to its BlackBerry Enterprise Service with a free update to its Enterprise Instant Messaging, enabling BlackBerry 10 smartphone users to communicate over Microsoft Lync and Office Communication Server and IBM Lotus Sametime.

The BlackBerry Enterprise IM 3.0 app supports presence, one-to-one and multi-party instant messaging. Messages are integrated within the BlackBerry Hub, and it's possible to use the BlackBerry Balance function to separate business messages from personal apps and content.

Frank Cotter, Vice President of Mobile Computing at BlackBerry, said the move is designed to give remote workers access to various systems to make them more responsive to colleagues.

Analytics move

BlackBerry has also announced that by the end of June it will be ready to release Flurry Analytics, a tool that developers can integrate with their apps for access to user data. It provides developers with a consolidated dashboard across a number of platforms to provide information such as audience demographics, customer acquisition and user engagement.

The moves are part of a broadening of the capabilities of BlackBerry platforms. At this week's BlackBerry World event it has announced plans to launch its messaging application on iOS and Android and unveiled a new developer toolkit.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/blackberry-connects-instant-messaging-to-microsoft-1151525

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Is Samsung working on a stock Android version of the Galaxy S4?

While it's quite unlikely that we'll see a new Nexus phone at this year's Google I/O, which starts later today, Samsung might have a surprise in store – a pure Android version of the Galaxy S4 flagship, a "Google Edition".

This phone will reportedly drop the company's TouchWiz modifications and use the stock AOSP version instead. Now, we should note that this is an unlikely pipedream, but it would be a great option to have.

Except, there are problems – Samsung has put a lot of custom software on the Galaxy S4, but it's there to run a lot of the custom hardware and features. Air View, Air Gestures, IR remote, Adobe RGB screen mode, Multi-window and so on, all rely on Samsung's proprietary software. Many of the camera features too (though Android's stock Photo Sphere will make a good replacement for 360 photo).

The S4 as it is now runs Android 4.2.2, the latest version available as of today, so at least Samsung has that bit covered. Though without the complications of TouchWiz, software upgrades will potentially come a lot more quickly.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition will launch in June on T-Mobile, or so say the rumors. We have our fingers crossed, but it's still an unlikely thing to happen.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/is_samsung_working_on_a_stock_android_version_of_the_galaxy_s4-news-6040.php

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Samsung Galaxy S4 already hits 6 million sales

4 million S4s in 4 days 4 real

Fortuitous news from the Samsung camp today as an exec has claimed that six million Samsung Galaxy S4s were sold by 10 May.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 technically hit the market on April 26 2013, and four million handsets were shipped to supply chains by the end of the month - although presumably Samsung began shipping the handset to retailers ahead of that date.

Who knows if anyone at Samsung could have foretold that the S4 would break the internal records set by the Galaxy S3 which hit three million shipments in, conveniently, three weeks.

The chatty exec went on to force the point, telling Korean paper Chosun that "As of Friday [May 10], we have sold more than 6 million units, and we predict that we could break the 10-million mark by as early as the end of this month."

All aboard the friend ship

It's a little unclear over whether that six million figure is actual sales or just shipments, which muddies these 'early figures' - although there's no doubt the S4 is selling like rock cakes made of molten lava.

While shifting phones is something of Samsung's forte, it could be there's no word on how many S4s have actually been exchanged for cash yet.

But we wouldn't be surprised if it equals or breaks the S3's record of 20 million sales in 100 days.

After all, in our Samsung Galaxy S4 review we deemed it to be the best Samsung phone to date, and a solid 4.5 star phone. Unfortunately for Samsung, it didn't quite manage to topple the HTC One which retains its title as Best Phone In the World Today - for now.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s4-already-hits-6-million-sales-1151486

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Samsung ships 6 million Galaxy S4's, breaks own record

There was never any doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S4 would be a runaway success in the market. The only question was would it be able to beat the record of its super popular predecessor.

The Korean company has managed to ship over six million units of its flagship smartphone by last Friday - just two weeks after the handset got its launch. As was to be expected, the majority of those sales (4 million) occurred in the first four days after the market release of the Galaxy S4, but the rate of sales since has been great as well.

If the Samsung Galaxy S4 can keep up the pace, its manufacturer will certainly be able to meet its goal of shipping 10 million units in the first month alone. The sales rate has easily shattered the previous Samsung records set by its predecessors.

The Samsung Galaxy S III took 21 days to reach the 3 million milestone, while the Galaxy S II needed 55 days. The original Galaxy S had registered 3 million sales a full 85 days since its release. So, despite the fierce competition that the Samsung Galaxy S4 faced in the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z, it is selling several times faster than its predecessor and tens of times better than the early Galaxy S's.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_shiped_6_million_galaxy_s4_units_broke_own_record-news-6039.php

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