Microsoft rumored to be working hard on the Surface RT 2, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Book tablets

A new rumor links Microsoft with the production of the Surface RT 2 and the Surface Pro2 tablets, plus a new model named the Surface Book, all potentially being prepared for a late 2013 launch.

Here’s a new rumor to mark down under the seems a bit early column, cross referenced with probably inevitable file — Microsoft is in the process of speccing up the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets, along with creating a new entry into its not-as-burgeoning-as-it-hoped Windows tablet business, named the Surface Book.

The rumor suggests these new tablets are being prepared for a 2013 launch, therefore solid information on the devices is thin at the moment, and just as the Surface wasn’t well received by many of Microsoft’s partners, an expanded range isn’t likely to win it many new friends either.

The source of the rumor is the Twitter account MS_Nerd, home of the partially retired serial leaker of all things Microsoft related. As for the rumor’s validity, you can take it as MS_Nerd intended, saying in a Reddit AMA “I’m not pulling things out of my behind, I have always said I’m not giving you straight up facts. Nothing I have ever said was claimed to be official.” Keep all that in mind as we head into the meat of the latest leak.

There are three possible new Surface products. The first could be a follow-up to the existing Surface RT, but with a slightly smaller 8.6-inch screen size and a Qualcomm processor instead of the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip seen in the current Surface. The Surface Pro 2 may have an 11.6-inch screen and will abandon Intel power for an AMD Temash chip. Finally, there’s the Surface Book, which makes it sound like a convertible-style tablet, which is said to boast a big 14.6-inch screen and an Intel Haswell processor.

Out this time next year?

There’s enough information here to do a little digging, starting with the Haswell and Tamesh processors. AMD’s Tamesh chip is the rumored successor to its current low-power Hondo processor seen in tablets, but it’s not expected to be out until late 2013. Intel’s Haswell is another low-power processor designed for tablets and ultrabooks, and won’t start appearing until mid-2013 at the earliest.

As the Surface RT has only recently gone on sale, and the Surface Pro has been tentatively given a January 2013 release date, talk of their replacements seems premature. The Surface Book is a new line, and therefore could arrive earlier than the Surface sequels, which fits with the possible processor release dates.

Microsoft, like any other hardware manufacturer will almost certainly be working on updated models though, and an announcement somewhere around the one-year anniversary of the original launch would be traditional, meaning Surface 2 tablets could be out just in time to catch next year’s holiday-season shoppers.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/microsoft-surface-rt-2-surface-pro-2-and-surface-book-rumored/

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Sony to announce Jelly Bean update schedule in mid-December

Sony has used its official Twitter account about to shed some light on the upcoming Jelly Bean updates for its smartphone lineup. The company revealed that it will be announcing the detailed schedule in mid-December.

@UsmanSyedMahmud Hey, thanks for stopping by - we'll be back with more detailed timings and info on this by mid-December.Wed Nov 21 14:48:27 via web Sony Xperia News
SonyMobileNews

Sony already announced which phones will be updated to Jelly Bean - the Xperia T, TX, V, S, acro S, ion, P, go and J. All of these were released within 2012. There will be no Jelly Bean treatment for the 2011 phones.

We also already know that the Xperia T, TX and V will get the update in mid-Q1 2013, which is February around the time the MWC kicks off.

This means Sony will give us release dates (or weeks) for the rest of the Xperia 2012 gang in mid-December. It's also then that we'll learn the fate of the Xperia sola, U, miro, go, tipo and the neo L.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_to_announce_jelly_bean_update_schedule_in_middecember-news-5152.php

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Sony Xperia U Jelly Bean update on its way

It's U and Jelly Bean

It seems that Sony has really got its update process in order, as the Xperia U could be next up for Jelly Bean.

The Sony Xperia U is quickly becoming a favourite at the lower end of the price market, and has already been given an update to Android 4.0.

But according to Sony Mobile in Italy the Xperia U is set to get the next version as well.

Of course, it's worth noting that this is only from its Facebook feed in response to a user question about the phone, and is also translated from Italian (as you can see below, courtesy of Google Translate).

We've had a word with Sony Mobile to see if there's anything approaching official confirmation as yet, but it seems there's a good chance that this budget phone could be getting Jelly Bean soon.

This announcement comes following news that Sony has jumped to second place in the UK Android market, with 500,000 phones sold compared to HTC's 440,000 over the past few months according to IDC.

The combination of James Bond marketing as the 'official' phone of Skyfall for the Xperia T and HTC's sales dwindling inexplicably has seen the upturn in fortunes for the Japanese firm.

Although it's not going to take the number one slot any time soon; Samsung's sales of 3.2 million seem to be pretty unassailable for now.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-u-jelly-bean-update-on-its-way-1116810

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Samsung Galaxy Pocket Plus headed towards Europe soon

A leaked ROM has revealed that Samsung is preparing to announce a Plus version of the Galaxy Pocket.

The Samsung Galaxy Pocket will soon be replaced with a Plus edition

Carrying the model number GT-S5301, there isn't much yet known about Galaxy Pocket Plus except it's going to run Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. This should bring a whiff of hope to current Galaxy Pocket owners, as they might get a taste of the ICS action eventually.

The leaked ROM dates back to October and is specially built for Belgium users, meaning the device should break ground in Europe fairly soon. Specifications are yet to be disclosed, but the little fellow would do nicely with a processor bump and a bit more RAM.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_pocket_plus_headed_towards_europe_soon-news-5151.php

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Nokia puts end to ridiculous Android speculation

It's Here, but it isn't Android

A Nokia exec has taken to Twitter to dismiss the possibility it could be about to make an Android phone.

The ever-reliable internet rumour mill was veritably smoking with news that Nokia could be joining the Android brigade thanks to a job posting that was then made private.

The listing asked for a "Principal Software Engineer, Embedded Linux Middleware" which many questioned was the Finnish firm lining up a smartphone using the world's most popular smartphone OS.

A billion dollars says otherwise

Doug Dawson, head of Nokia's media relations, posted on Twitter to confirm this was nothing more than an extension of the company's efforts with its new Here location platform:

'Hi. Our recently posted job is linked to our HERE Maps support for other platforms, including iOS and Android. Nothing more.'

The fact that many sites – TechRadar included – took such an angle should have seemed a bit suspect, given Microsoft is giving Nokia a hefty whack of revenue to run its Windows Phone platform on its handsets.

So it's good news all round: Nokia won't be jumping ship from Windows Phone, the Here platform is getting some welcome attention and everything else is as it was. That's settled, then.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/nokia-puts-end-to-ridiculous-android-speculation-1116788

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Nokia to 55-piece orchestra: ‘Can you record some new ringtones for us, please?’

When the conductor of the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra got a call from Nokia asking if his musicians could record some ringtones, he likely responded with words to the effect of "Eh?"

When Nokia executives discovered that a survey of mobile phone users revealed that classical music ringtones were among their favorite, the handset maker decided to hire an entire orchestra to help record some original ditties of its own.

Before enlisting the services of Slovakia’s 55-piece Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Nokia called upon its in-house sound designers to come up with 25 tunes which could be given the orchestral treatment.

“The 25 original pieces, called ‘miniatures’, were composed by five Nokia Design in-house sound designers,” Nokia Sound Design team member Aleksi Eeben said recently.

He added, “We started exploring the idea through contemporary classical and film music. However, the final result was original pieces that are distinctively ring tones: they are short, and they all have a functional sounds element.”

Audio production company Epic Sound also worked with Nokia’s sound designers to create the ringtones. Epic Sound’s Asbjoern Andersen said Nokia had “done lots of pioneering work to innovate and evolve sound on mobile phones. And I think bringing in a living, breathing orchestra really takes this to the next level.”

Anderson continued, “The Nokia mobile sounds are heard around a billion times a day, so a lot of work is put into ensuring that they would stand repeated listening in a lot of different environments and to give the products a unique, organic sound you don’t normally hear on mobile devices.”

Lasting between 14 and 53 seconds, some of the ringtones – such as Shimmering, Dewdrop and the curiously titled Bird Box – can already be found preinstalled on the recently released Nokia 820 and 920 smartphones, with more Nokia handsets getting them in the coming months.

So how about it – do you think Nokia’s hiring of a symphony orchestra was a smart move to help it stand out from the crowd, a sign that it’s prepared to go the extra mile to please owners of its handsets  – or simply a pointless gimmick which users of its devices won’t be particularly bothered about.

[via Telegraph] [Image: Stokkete / Shutterstock]

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/nokia-to-55-piece-orchestra-can-you-record-some-new-ringtones-for-us-please/

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Bad news for HTC fans: No HTC 8S for the U.S, while the HTC One VX gets delayed

News on the arrival of two as-yet unreleased HTC phones has come out this week, the first being the HTC 8S Windows Phone and the second, the AT&T-bound HTC One VX.

Some new information regarding two missing in action HTC smartphones has emerged. The Android HTC One VX and the Windows Phone HTC 8S are the phones in question, the former being announced by AT&T recently, while the latter has remained missing since its launch several months ago. Sadly, the news isn’t overwhelmingly positive in either case.

Let’s start with the One VX. In mid-November, it was made available as a pre-order through AT&T, where it was scheduled to launch on November 16 for just $50 with a two-year contract. Not a bad price considering it has a 4.5-inch screen, a dual-core Snapdragon processor and 4G LTE connectivity. However, the One VX didn’t arrive as planned, and according to an AT&T spokesperson, it will now be ready for sale from December 7 instead.

So, from an unfortunate delay we come to even more unfortunate news about the HTC 8S. The sister Windows Phone to the HTC 8X range-topper, the 8S has been absent from release schedules since its announcement back in September. HTC has issued a statement clarifying why, saying “The Windows Phone 8X is our signature Windows Phone available at AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon in the U.S. With our focus on the Windows Phone 8X, the Windows Phone 8S is not currently planned for distribution in the U.S. market.” As a reminder, the HTC 8S is equipped with a 720p, 4-inch screen, a 1GHz dual-core processor and perhaps best of all, a microSD card slot to expand its 4GB of internal storage memory.

The HTC 8S already has a choppy record when it comes to getting itself into stores. Like the U.S., the HTC 8X was the UK’s first Windows Phone 8 device to go on sale, but the 8S was plagued with delays, finally being put up as a pre-order by several online retailers as well as networks such as Vodafone at the end of November. The phone should start to ship later this week, and it has been priced around £230, or $360.

Without the HTC 8S making it onto U.S. networks, Windows Phone 8 is lacking in choice for buyers not wanting a top-of-the-range phone. The Nokia Lumia 820 and its variants, the Lumia 810 and Lumia 822, are the only options until the second wave of Windows Phone 8 handsets are announced next year, when Huawei is expected to launch a cut-price model of its own. Until then, those on a budget will have to look at Android for their smartphone thrills, or hope Verizon comes up with a free-on-contract Windows Phone handset as it has teased.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/htc-one-vx-att-debut-delay-htc-8s-abandoned-for-u-s/

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