An alleged photo of the Samsung Galaxy S5 box reveals the specs

The evidence that the Galaxy S5 will be unveiled at the MWC is mounting fast – now there's an alleged photo of the box the new flagship will come in. Samsung boxes feature key specs on the back and an anonymous tipster claims to have snapped a photo of the Galaxy S5 package.

The specs listed align with previous rumors. The chipset has a quad-core CPU at 2.5GHz and LTE Cat. 4 (150Mbps downlink). This is certainly a Snapdragon chipset and we're possibly looking at the Snapdragon 800 8974AC variety, which packs Krait 400 at 2.46GHz. The box also promises 3GB RAM, same as the Galaxy Note 3 (as can be expected).

Moving on, the screen is listed as 5.25" QHD (2,560 x 1,600), which is precisely what the latest rumors have been saying. That would push the pixel density to 560ppi, but keep in mind this is likely a PenTile Super AMOLED, so it should have a noticeable visual improvement over the current 5" 440ppi screen.

Same goes for the camera - a 20MP shooter, which is in line with the leaked 16MP photo that had 16:9 aspect ratio (20MP is at 4:3). Strangely, the video capture is just 1080p, we were expecting UHD like the Galaxy Note 3.

The final bit of specifications that the box reveals is Android 4.4 KitKat (no surprise here) and a 3,000mAh battery. There's not a peep about the body material (metal or plastic?).

Keep in mind that this box could have been Photoshopped, but nothing it shows is particularly surprising (perhaps aside from the video capture). The Unpacked 5 event (5, get it?) will be held at 20:20 CET on February 24 in Barcelona. We'll be reporting live from there and you can join in via livestream.

Thanks to Mike for sending this in!

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/an_alleged_photo_of_the_samsung_galaxy_s5_box_reveals_the_specs-news-7788.php

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It's your fault that Flappy Bird is dead

RIP

You. It's your fault that Flappy Bird is gone.

You took something that was meant as a quick five minute distraction, and you turned it into a rage-inducing competition to see who could waste the most time.

"I just wanted to create a game that people could enjoy for a few minutes," creator Nguyen Ha Dong told the WSJ. "It was just too addictive, that was the main negative. So I took it down."

You couldn't just settle for a high score of zero, could you. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS.

More blips!

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• Xbox Kinect is keeping the peace on the Korean border

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/it-s-your-fault-that-flappy-bird-is-dead-1223567

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ARM announces Cortex-A17 mid-range processor

ARM has unveiled a new mobile processor - the Cortex-A17. It's the successor of the popular Cortex-A9 and offers 60% performance boost and supports big.LITTLE task switching. The latter will allow Cortex-A17 cores to be paired with other Cortex processors, such as the low-power Cortex-A7.

The new architecture can be used for up to quad-core CPUs on its own and OEMs can even add up to four Cortex-A7 cores for an octa-core chip. ARM designed this processor for various devices such as smartphones and tablets, smart TVs, set-top-boxes and even car systems and the company expects to see it embedded in various solutions in 2015.

ARM suggests the manufacturers to use its own Mali-T720 graphics with the Cortex-A17 processor, but this isn't a mandatory requirement so we may as well see it paired with Broadcomm and PowerVR GPUs.

If everything goes right, we'll start seeing Cortex-A17 powered devices in 2015.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/arm_announces_cortexa17_midrange_processor-news-7786.php

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The LG G2 Mini seems to be having an identity crisis

This but smaller?

A phone that might well be the LG G2 Mini has popped up on not one, but two websites, and despite having 'Mini' in the name it could actually be pretty big.

First up a device with the model name LG D6218 (thought to be one of the G2 Mini's model numbers) is listed on the FCC's database.

The listing states that it's 65.8mm wide and 128.8mm tall, which would mean it's only slightly smaller than the LG G2 and gives it almost identical dimensions to the LG Optimus L9 II, a phone which has a 4.7-inch display.

The FCC listing doesn't say much else, though it does mention that the handset will have a removable battery.

The LG G2 Mini also seems to have appeared on Bluetooth Special Interest Group's website. This time it has the model number D6220, but both are thought to be the G2 mini.

The listing is even less enlightening than the FCC one, but with the handset popping up on both these sites it's likely to be launched before long.

Big is the new small

We'd heard initially that the LG G2 Mini might be as big as 4.7 inches and if true it would be the same size as the HTC One and substantially bigger than the 4.3-inch Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini or Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.

Previous rumours also point to it running Android 4.4 and having a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, which could give it a similar amount of power to the LG G2.

In other words the LG G2 Mini looks to be a big, powerful, high-end handset. If that all turns out to be true then LG might want to rethink the name.

• We might see the LG G2 Mini at MWC. Check out what else is on the agenda.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/the-lg-g2-mini-seems-to-be-having-an-identity-crisis-1223492

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MediaTek outs a high-end octa-core CPU with LTE support

MediaTek has just announced its new MT6595 octa-core chip which it will rival directly Qualcomm's 800 and 805 chipsets, for a place in premium LTE handsets.

The company is fresh off the release of its latest octa-core offering which it has marketed as "true octa-core" - capable of running all eight cores simultaneously, rather than only four at a time like Samsung's chip. Now, its latest SoC is set to sport four of the brand new Cortex-A17 cores running at 2.2-2.5GHz and four 1.7GHz A7 cores.

The chip will run using ARM's big.LITTLE technology alongside HMP, while the Cortex-A17 architecture is expected to provide with up to a 60% performance increase over Cortex-A9. Also, like its MT6592 predecessor, the new chip will feature 4K2K video recording and playback.

MediaTek has thrown the gauntlet and claimed its octa-core solution will be faster and more power efficient than Samsung's Exynos chip. This leaves conditions ripe for a rebuttal by the Korean giant and this month's MWC conference in Barcelona. Be sure to check back with us then!

Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/mediatek_to_out_another_new_high_range_octacore_cpu-news-7785.php

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Samsung teases new Galaxy S5 UI in Unpacked event invitation

Samsung will be holding the Unpacked 5 event in Barcelona on the 24th, the company reminds us with a teaser posted on Twitter. The teaser contains a number of generic features, presumably ones embodied in the company's new phone. They all line up fairly well with what the Galaxy S5 should be, but could also be describing another flagship.

Still, "Unpacked 5" is pretty suggestive of the Galaxy S5. By the way, the superscript symbols after the words is 5 rather than S. We had to look closely to make sure (if it was an S, it would have been a dead giveaway).

The teaser boasts things like speed and Samsung is already using 150Mbps Cat. 4 LTE, then there's outdoor (the Galaxy S4 has sensors for pressure, temperature and humidity, used for the fitness app), privacy (KNOX) and so on.

As we said, this could well be any Samsung flagship – the round icons used for the teaser are probably more characteristic of Tizen rather than TouchWiz (unless Samsung changes the style for the new TouchWiz).

We'll have our answer in less than two weeks – the event starts at 20:00 CET and will be livestreamed. We will be on site too for extra details.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_teases_unpacked_5_event-news-7784.php

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Samsung Galaxy Star Trios with triple SIMs unveiled in Brazil

Just six days ago LG has unveiled the Optimus L1 II Tri (yes, we still giggle at the name). It's a low-end triple SIM smartphone for Brazil and will hit the shelves soon for $127.

Today Samsung announced a competing triple SIM smartphone for Brazil as well. It's called Galaxy Star Trios and seems to feature the same specs as the Optimus L1 II Tri. The Star Trios packs a 3.1" QVGA display and runs on the Qualcomm MSM7225A Snapdragon S1 chipset with a single-core 1GHz processor, Adreno 200 GPU and 512MR RAM.

Samsung Galaxy Star Trios

Other notable specs of the Galaxy Star Trios include a 2MP rear camera, 4GB expandable storage, 3G connectivity with HSPA support, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 1,300 mAh battery. The phone runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

There Samsung Galaxy Star Trios is already on sale in Brazil for $165. We expect to see it in other emerging markets later this year too, but nothing is official just yet.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_star_trios_with_triple_sims_headed_to_brazil-news-7783.php

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