Samsung says it will ship 510 million phones in 2013

Boosted by what has undoubtedly been a spectacular sales year, Samsung is predicting an even stronger 2013. The Korean giant expects to ship a total of 510 million handsets this year.

Of that total, some 390 million are expected to be smartphones, while the remainder will be of the feature phone variety. The smartphones will mostly belong to the Android-powered Galaxy series, but should also include a larger number of Windows Phone 8 devices.

The lion's share of devices will be produced in Samsung's Vietnamese factory, where some 240 million devices are expected to be manufactured. An additional 170 million units are expected to come out of China, followed by 40 million and 20 million in Korea and India, respectively.

One of the devices that can potentially help achieve the bold 2013 predictions is the upcoming GT-i9600, which recently leaked on the Nenamark 2 site. If the results are to be believed, the upcoming device will feature a 1.4 GHz processor of an unspecified number of cores, HD display, and Mali-400 MP graphics, all on Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2.

The score of 58.5 fps is close to the 60fps screen limit so it doesn't really say much in regards to the performance of the device. Almost all recent top and even some mid-range devices tend to max out the NenaMark 2 benchmark, which is capped at 60 fps.

We'll let you know when we get more information on the I9600 - if the leak turns out to be legitimate, of course.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Via 1 | Via 2

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_says_it_will_ship_510_million_phones_in_2013-news-5273.php

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iPhone 6 and iOS 7 show up in developer logs

iOS 6 has had its day

Developers have started seeing some new versions of both Apple hardware and software pop up in app usage logs, including the iPhone 6 and the iOS 7.

Making an appearance as the iPhone 6,1 and originating from an IP address within Apple's Cupertino HQ, the logs suggest that the next iPhone may not be known as the iPhone 5S after all.

The current iPhone 5 shows up similarly as iPhone 5,1 (and iPhone 5,2 depending on what LTE/4G abilities each model has), so it stands to reason that the next iPhone will follow suit.

Name game

The new version number for iOS is a little less surprising - the identifier iOS 7 doesn't shock us although hopefully its vastly improved battery management will.

Unfortunately, although it seems Apple is testing the new soft- and hardware already, there are no clues as to what upgrades we can expect to come out of Cupertino.

If past experience is anything to go by, we may get a bit of a look at iOS 7 at WWDC in June 2013.

The iPhone 6, meanwhile, is more likely to see a September release date as its older be-fived sibling showed up in Autumn of 2012 although it's possible that Apple will whip the new handset out in June instead - it does like to keep us all on our toes.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-6-and-ios-7-show-up-in-developer-logs-1122074

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Apple to replace Samsung with TSMC for the A6X chips

We got new reports of Apple working towards breaking the ties with Samsung. The company is reportedly moving the production of quad-core A6X chips out of Samsung's factories. It's no secret the Korean company has been doing lots of manufacturing work for Apple, but the fierce patent war the two companies are having over the past two years is obviously having its consequences.

The company to take over the production of the quad-core A6X chips is TSMC - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. It's the world's largest independent semiconductor manufacturer.

TSMC will begin trial production during Q1 of this year, probably to try and convince Apple that it can deliver the required amount of chips. A few months ago there were rumors Apple will be switching to TSMC's 20nm manufacturing process, so we can expect the new chips or the ones to follow to be manufactured using the 20nm process.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_to_replace_samsung_with_tsmc_for_the_a6x_chips-news-5272.php

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Trio of handset leaks confirms Huawei's high-end onslaught

Huawei setting sights on the high-end market

Huawei is set to announce a wave of new smartphones at CES 2013 next week and we're seeing more leaks surrounding its probable new handsets.

This time round we've got another glimpse of the Huawei W1, Ascend D2 and Ascend Mate, all of which see the Chinese firm go a bit more up market than its current array of mid- and low-end phones.

First up is the long awaited Windows Phone 8 device from Huawei, which is currently being referred to as the Ascend W1. The handset is expected to feature a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch display and 2,000mAh battery which will see it rival the HTC 8S and Nokia Lumia 820.

Huawei Ascend W1

In keeping with the colourful tradition of Windows Phone the latest image leak shows the Ascend W1 in four hues; white, black, blue and pink.

What's that coming over the hill?

Next up is the hotly rumoured monster handset known as the Huawei Ascend Mate which will, according to reports, sport a ginormous 6-inch 720p display giving the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 a run for its super-sized money. The same phone was also seen being displayed in a shop in China by a Huawei bigwig, so it seems nailed on this is happening.

Other rumours suggest the Android-toting Ascend Mate will pack in a beefy 1.8GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a huge 3,800mAh battery into a body 9.9mm thin.

Lastly is the Huawei Ascend D2 which itself packs a big 5-inch full HD display, putting it in direct competition with the much rumoured Sony Xperia Z, and from the latest press shot leak it sports a design which reminds us of the popular Samsung Galaxy S2.

Hopefully all will be revealed next week at CES 2013 and TechRadar will be in attendance at the Huawei press conference to bring you all the latest news as it happens.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/trio-of-handset-leaks-confirms-huaweis-high-end-onslaught-1122063

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Big-screen Sony Xperia Z and ZL phones leaked ahead of CES unveiling

Sony's new flagship Android smartphones, named the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, have been leaked in picture form with just days to go before their potential unveiling during CES 2013.

Sony hasn’t been able to keep its two new flagship Android phones secret ahead of CES 2013, as a picture of the pair has sneaked out just days before the beginning of the Las Vegas show. The phones are identified as the Xperia Z (seen above on the left) and Xperia ZL, and have previously been leaked as the Yuga and Odin respectively. As both images were discovered on a SonyMobile.com website they’re almost certainly genuine, plus the device names make up part of the URL, so there’s a good chance these will turn out to be correct too.

While both the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL have appeared before, we’re still not sure of the exact specification of either, however it’s possible the Xperia ZL/Odin is a more compact variant of the full-size Xperia Z/Yuga. In the past, the addition of an L in a Sony smartphone model name hasn’t signified anything other than a gentle warm-over of the specs, such as in the case of the Xperia S and Xperia SL, but how this approach would work with two devices launched at the same time remains to be seen.

We’re expecting the Xperia Z to be Sony’s 5-inch, 1080p smartphone effort which will be driven by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor – also a first for Sony, after it swore off quad-core chips for 2012. A 13-megapixel camera – as seen on the Xperia T, Xperia TL and its variants – is likely to sit on the rear of the big-screen device, plus we can see a forward facing video call lens on both phones in the new pictures. Oddly, the Xperia ZL’s video call lens is in the bottom right-hand corner of the chassis; a most unusual position. Google Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is the most obvious candidate for the operating system.

So when will we get to see these two new Sony smartphones? The company has scheduled a press conference at CES 2013 for 5pm local time on January 7, and in previous years it has announced several top-of-the-range devices. We’ll be there to bring you all the latest news.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sony-xperia-z-and-zl-leaked-ahead-of-ces-unveiling/

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Sony Xperia Z and ZL pop up on official site

The Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL could arrive next week

It looks like Sony has inadvertently revealed two flagship handsets on its website, after press shots of the Sony Xperia Z and Sony Xperia ZL were uncovered.

We've already seen numerousreports surrounding a 5-inch handset dubbed the Xperia Yuga, which is thought to be the production name for the Xperia Z – so the photo on the Japanese firm's site is certainly plausible.

Taking a look at the image name it confirms the Sony Xperia Z will be an Android handset (no shock there) and the phone looks very similar to previous leaks including that oversized power/lock key on the side.

Double trouble

Back in October we saw various rumours talking about a Sony Odin handset sporting a full HD display which morphed into the Xperia Yuga, but Odin isn't dead as it apparently lives on in the form of the Sony Xperia ZL.

According to the picture the ZL sports a slightly different design to the Xperia Z, with a compact chassis resembling the Sony Xperia Go and an oddly placed front facing camera in the bottom right corner.

Latest reports suggest the Xperia Z (and probably ZL) will pack a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 5-inch 1080p display, 2GB of RAM and rear 13MP camera, but we'll know if this is true when Sony announces its new line up at CES 2013 next week, or at MWC 2013 in February.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z-and-zl-pop-up-on-official-site-1122053

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Bad timing: Apple launches ad for iPhone’s Do Not Disturb mode on the same day it’s hit by a bug

Oops! Apple has released an ad for the iPhone's Do Not Disturb feature – which allows users to silence calls, alerts and notifications between scheduled times – on the very day that it's hit by a bug.

If you’re going to put out an ad, you’re at the very least going to want to check that the product you’re shouting about actually works properly.

You see, Apple has just launched an ad for iOS 6’s Do Not Disturb feature, which allows you to silence calls, alerts and notifications between scheduled times.

The trouble is, for many iPhone users waking up on New Year’s Day – and also January 2 – the feature is still showing as enabled (with the crescent-moon icon displayed at the top of the screen) despite being outside of the scheduled times. This means users won’t be alerted to potentially important incoming calls or announcements, depending on how they’ve configured the feature.

While Apple might argue it was simply helping us to get some extra sleep on January 1 following the likely excesses of the previous evening, it appears the bug is not going away, with some iOS users reporting the continuation of the issue into January 2 (and quite possibly beyond).

The problem came to light via posts on a number of forums, though it appears it’s not affecting all iOS users.

As for the ad, talk about bad timing. The 30-second production (below), released on January 1, features tennis stars – and sisters – Venus and Serena Williams. It involves narrator Jeff Daniels having “a really cool dream” about him playing table tennis against the pair. It’s so cool, he says, that he doesn’t want to be disturbed. Cue explanation of the Do Not Disturb feature.

Until Apple issues a fix, users of Do Not Disturb affected by the bug will have to operate it manually by jumping over to the Settings menu on their iOS device and switching it on and off there.

[Featured image: Oria / Shutterstock]

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-launches-ad-for-iphones-do-not-disturb-mode-as-its-hit-by-a-bug/

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