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 a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 4.9-inch full HD display, 2GB of RAM, 13MP camera and a 2,600mAh.

Again, again, I love repetition

It also claims Huawei will pack all this tech into a body which is just 6.3mm thick, which makes us fear the handset in question could be pretty bezel-heavy to compensate.

If true, it's a slightly puzzling decision from the Chinese firm as it's already announced two quad-core handsets this year, with the 5-inch Ascend D2 breaking cover at CES 2013 and the 4.7-inch Ascend P2 arriving at MWC 2013.

The advantage of Huawei releasing another flagship smartphone is that it will be thrown into the minds of consumers again, and if it's priced cheaper than the Galaxy S4 it may well tempt some away from Samsung's offering.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/huawei-could-be-readying-another-powerful-samsung-galaxy-s4-rival-1140340

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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 so there's no conference calling - but you can leave voicemails if you're snubbed by friends who don't answer.

Like

The service should work over your 3G or 4G connection as well as over Wi-Fi, assuming that you have decent signal and neither your nor the person you're calling's network has disabled the service.

Facebook already rolled the free calling feature out to iOS users in the US and Canada earlier this year, so UK users can now chat trans-Atlantically for free.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/free-phone-calls-hit-facebook-messenger-for-ios-in-the-uk-1140323

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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. The "octa" units are reserved for Asia and Africa and few European countries that don't have wide LTE availability just yet.

According to the reports coming from Samsung's homeland, the company is having issues with the Exynos 5 Octa production and there was no chance for it to meet the tremendous demand of the flagship. So the Snapdragon 600 switch was necessary, and the reach of the I9505 model was expanded beyond the US borders to most of the developed markets.

We already met the Snapdragon 600-powered Galaxy S4 and it turned out to be the fastest phone currently available, so no one should worry about the performance of the device. It's a beast that easily outruns the competition. And we are yet to see how those four 1.6GHz Cortex-A15 cores within the Exynos 5 Octa chipset are doing compared to the four 1.9GHz Krait 300.

Samsung has already announced the Exynos 5 Octa chipset will enter mass production in Q2 this year, which probably suggest the octa-core Galaxy S4 will get wider availability in June or July.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/snapdragon_600_to_power_70_of_the_first_galaxy_s4_batch-news-5755.php

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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 the local suppliers. The report also claims that the South Korean manufacturer will be showing off its Galaxy Note III concept to the US carrier AT&T in the coming days.

Samsung Galaxy Note III is also rumored to sport the latest OLED technology for the display, which is expected to offer a full HD resolution.

The successor of the Galaxy Note II is expected to be launched by the end of August, falling in line with the IFA 2013, but Samsung might chose to skip the show and hold its own Unpacked event in the US as it did for the Galaxy S4.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_iii_rumored_to_launch_in_us_with_59_display-news-5754.php

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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, and it's expected to do the same this year with the Galaxy S4.

An eagled-eyed Twitter user spotted the details on Samsung's website, and this was then picked up by Japanese site Blue Ringer Men.

Mini but mighty

According to the listing Samsung is planning dual-SIM (GT-I9192), 4G (GT-I9195) and China-specific (GT-I9198) Galaxy S4 mini handsets alongside the stock version - which looks to be carrying the ID GT-I9190.

Rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini will sport a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display and come running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean - giving it a slight boost over the S3 mini.

The likelihood of you seeing more than one of these iterations in a mobile store near you is pretty low as Samsung will send certain variants to specific markets - so if you have a hankering for a dual-SIM S4 mini you might be out of luck depending on where you live.

If the Galaxy S4 mini does come to fruition it's expected to hit stores in June or July, although Samsung is yet to confirm whether the handset is in production or even in the pipeline.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s4-mini-may-arrive-in-four-different-guises-1140304

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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 for a smdk5210 development kit. The model number also appears in an AOSP port on GitHub where “Exynos 5210” is mentioned by name.

The Samsung Exynos naming scheme marks the generation with the first digit and the number of cores with the second.

So the Exynos 5210 is in the same generation as the two Cortex-A15 based chipsets and is a dual-core model. Note that the Exynos 5 Octa is marked 5410, but uses ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture and has four Cortex-A15s and four Cortex-A7s with only one group of four works at the same time.

It’s unclear if the 5210 will be a big.LITTLE with four physical CPU cores that work as a dual-core processor (switching between a fast dual-core and an energy efficient one) or just pack to A15s like the 5250. The GPU is also unknown, for this generation Samsung has used both Mali and PowerVR, so it’s anyone’s guess.

Naturally, the rumor mill linked the Exynos 5210 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini. So far we know that it will have a 4.3” qHD Super AMOLED screen and run Android 4.2.2 on a dual-core 1.6GHz processor – the same clockspeed as the Cortex-A15s in the I9500 Galaxy S4, the A7s run at 1.2GHz.

Keep in mind that there will be an LTE version of the Galaxy S4 mini, which might switch to Snapdragon, like the I9505 Galaxy S4.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/exynos_5210_chipset_in_the_works_might_power_the_galaxy_s4_mini-news-5753.php

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ASUS offering replacement for bricked PadFone 2

It seems a small group of ASUS PadFone 2 users are experiencing issues with their device, where the phone shuts down and refuses to switch on anymore.

This issue is mostly being observed by those who purchased their PadFone 2 from Taiwan, although users in Singapore seem to be facing this issue as well.

Thankfully, ASUS is well aware of this issue and they have released a statement confirming it. The issue seems to be with the firmware and the eMMC on the affected devices but ASUS will be replacing the affected devices. If you have one of the affected devices, you should contact your nearest ASUS service center immediately.

Source 1 • Source 2

Thanks for the tip, Safal.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/asus_offering_replacement_for_bricked_padfone_2-news-5752.php

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