Jelly Bean set to be bigger than Gingerbread in under a month

About time!

Android has forever been baited for its slow upgrade cycle and leaving many users stuck on older iterations, but the dominance of Android 2.3 (aka Gingerbread) is set to come to an end in less than a month.

The latest figures are out for Android version market share and Jelly Bean has witnessed a 5.5 per cent increase to 33 per cent - closing the gap on the leader Gingerbread which has slipped to 36.5 per cent.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has also witnessed a small decline, down to 25.6 percent from 27.5 at the last count - and at this rate Jelly Bean will be the most used version come July. Better late than never.

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Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/jelly-bean-set-to-be-bigger-than-gingerbread-in-under-a-month-1156414

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Intel introduces new quad-core Atom with built-in LTE

Intel introduced the first major upgrade to its Atom line of mobile chipsets with the Bay Trail-T SoC, which features a new microarchitecture and Intel's brand new LTE modem.

The new microarchitecture is called Silvermont and is built on a 22nm process, matching Intel's new Haswell chips. It promises either a 3x performance increase or a 5x energy saving over the current Atoms, depending on what's needed.

The performance increase will come in the form of better single-threaded performance and up to 8 CPU cores, though the first chipset will be quad-core.

The Bay Trail chips will be used in tablets (both Android and Windows 8.1) including 2-in-1 tablets that will launch this holiday season at $399, but also entry level laptops and even desktops. The mobile solutions target 8+ hours of battery life on a 30Wh battery and a 10.1" screen (measured by playing a 1080p@30fps video).

Speaking of video, Intel's chips have support for 4K video decoding and promise great performance for 3D games, but there's no info on the GPU itself.

Smartphones are also in the cards with the Merrifield platform, which is also built on a 22nm process. Intel showcased a reference platform at Computex 2013 but gave no timeline for when such smartphones will hit the market.

The new XMM 7160 modem will be built into some Bay Trail chipsets for global LTE roaming at low power usage. That challenges Qualcomm's dominance in the field, though the Snapdragon maker isn’t standing still either.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/intel_introduces_new_quadcore_atom_with_builtin_lte-news-6156.php

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Sony Xperia M rocks up as fully-featured budget blower

Definitely one to keep an eye on

There's a new smartphone in the Japanese firm's stable and it's arrived in the form of the Sony Xperia M.

We've already seen Sony launch the Xperia SP, Xperia L and flagship Xperia Z this year and the triplets have now become quads with the new baby of the range.

Sony is keen to point out the Xpera M arrives at "a new price point" for the firm, although it fails to tell us what that price will actually be. What we do know is it will be available worldwide from Q3 this year.

Spec-tacular?

The Sony Xperia M isn't going to cost you the earth, although don't think that means it skimps on specs with a 4-inch 854 x 480 display, 1GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and 5MP rear camera with HDR mode.

It's not all good news however, with the puny 4GB of internal storage actually only giving you 2GB of available space - although there is a microSD slot - and the VGA front facing snapper isn't going to give you the best mug shots.

A common theme with Sony handsets of late are their vast array of connectivity options and the Xperia M is no different boasting Wi-Fi, aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, DLNA and a microUSB slot, plus there's the choice of single and dual-SIM variants.

Strong on paper

There's a 1750mAh battery housed in the 124 x 62 x 9.3 mm chassis, which comes in black, white, purple and yellow hues, and at 115g the Xperia M shouldn't be overly cumbersome.

So on paper at least, the Sony Xperia M is shaping up to be a decent contender at the bottom end of the market, but without knowing the price or having used the handset we'll reserve judgement for now.

• In the market for a budget smartphone? Then check out our best cheap smartphones list.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-m-rocks-up-as-fully-featured-budget-blower-1156404

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Qualcomm outs WP8-loving quad- core Snapdragon 400 with LTE

Qualcomm has just announced a quad-core edition of its Snapdragon 400 chip, which comes with full LTE support. The chipmaker says the new quad-core Snapdragon 400 is fully compatible with Android and Windows Phone 8, making it the first quad-core CPU available for the Microsoft mobile OS.

This would not only bring Windows Phone 8 back in the game in terms of the number of cores in the handsets it runs on, but also give it cool connectivity features. The chief among them is 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is currently only to be found in the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. The rest of the connectivity features include 42Mbps HSPA+, China's TD-SCDMA, Bluetooth, FM, and NFC.

The Snapdragon 400 itself is comprised of four Cortex-A7 CPU cores each clocked at 1.2GHz. This placed the chip in the company's lower mid-range spectrum of products and is targeted at emerging markets.

Speaking of availability, expect the chip to make its debut around the end of the year. Qualcomm will also showcase a reference design tablet that'll be powered by the Snapdragon 400 to demo its computing prowess.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/qualcomm_outs_quadcore_snapdragon_400_with_lte-news-6155.php

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Intel reckons these are the chips you're looking for

Chip off the old block

Intel has launched a handful of new processors at Computex 2013 in Taipei, with a focus on smartphones and tablets.

First up, the Intel Atom Merrifield chip has been specifically designed for smartphones. The firm claims they will bring increased performance and prolonged battery life.

The 22nm Merrifield processor also includes a sensor hub which will allow handsets to provide users with personalised services - although Intel didn't reveal what sensors this covers.

While it sounds all well and good, we will have to wait until next year before manufacturers start shipping handsets with Merrifield inside.

Fast, 4G tablets

It's not just smartphones that are getting some Intel loving: the company is also launching two new chips aimed at the growing tablet market.

The first chip will appear in tablets later this year, and the 22nm quad-core Atom SoC (aka Bay Trail-T) is apparently capable of delivering more than double the graphical output than the current generation of processors.

It supports both the Android and Windows 8.1 operating systems, and Intel claims it is capable of providing 8 hours of battery life and weeks of standby - although we'll reserve judgement until we see it in action.

Finally Intel has also shifted some of its focus onto the 4G market with its quad-core XMM 7160 chip, which takes the "world's smallest and lowest-power multi-mode LTE solution" title - a bit of a mouthful, but well done Intel.

There's currently no word on when we'll see the 4G chip hit tablets, but we'll be keeping an eye out for products sporting Intel's new offerings.

• Confused between ARM and Intel? Check out our comparison and find out which one is best for you

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/intel-reckons-these-are-the-chips-you-re-looking-for-1156377

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Sony introduces dual-core Xperia M and Xperia M dual

Sony Xperia M has just gone official. It packs a 4.0-inch TFT display of FWVGA resolution and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus chipset featuring a 1GHz dual-core Krait processor, Adreno 305 graphics and 1GB of RAM.

Sony Xperia M also comes with a 5MP camera using an Exmor RS sensor and capable of 720p video recording, a 0.3MP front snapper for video chats, and 4 GB of expandable storage.

Sony Xperia M

The Sony Xperia M connectivity package includes dual-band Wi-Fi, 3G with HSPA, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and FM radio. Sony is advertising the Xperia M as a phone with "magical one-touch functions" thanks to its NFC connectivity and dedicated sharing apps.

Sony Xperia M runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Sony's proprietary skin on top of it. It will be available in four color versions - Black, White, Purple and Lime.

A dual-SIM version of Xperia M is also going to be available. The Xperia M dual has the same specs, except for the extra SIM slot and the lack of Lime color option.

Both Xperia M and Xperia M dual will hit the shelves in Q3 this year, but their pricing is yet to be announced.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_introduces_nfcenabled_xperia_m_and_xperia_m_dual-news-6154.php

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Is this really the iOS7 that will revolutionise your iPhone?

Apple needs to do more to stay at the sharp end

With WWDC 2013 just around the corner, a supposed image of the new iOS7 has leaked out – but how real is it?

The leak comes from iDownloadBlog, which isn't the usual place we come across these kinds of stories, and the fuzzy nature of the picture makes it difficult to tell what's really going on in the screenshot.

Sir Jony Ive, the man with the magic Cupertino design pen, is leading the charge to overhaul Apple's mobile OS for iPad and iPhone, and is meant to be making a more 'flat' design, dropping the shadows and extra detail in favour of something more simplistic.

Credit: iDownloadBlog

Not even evolutionary

That's the case here, but we were expecting something a lot more revolutionary from Apple as it bids to be a fresh competitor to the slew of Android phones that are dominating the market.

The camera icon looks pretty similar to before, and the Newsstand icon is almost identical, which lends credence to the theory this is a fake shot. However, this is likely to be an early build (something corroborated by the more trustworthy 9to5Mac, which Tweeted a screenshot of the same picture and said this wasn't the final version) and will therefore not have all the expected elements.

There are other issues though: the size of the gap between the top of the phone and the apps, and the size seems to hint at a dodgy photoshop at times.

But as we're so close to the event it's very difficult to tell what's real and what isn't – if this is the eventual style for iOS then it doesn't look like it's going to be much of a change, which is sorely needed, especially if Apple is going to bring out an iPhone 5S as per usual.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/is-this-really-the-ios7-that-will-revolutionise-your-iphone--1156361

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