Motorola recruitment drive hints at the X Phone being prepped for Google I/O launch

Motorola’s rumored X Phone project – its first smartphone made with new owner Google – could be in the final stages of preparation, and it could be revealed during Google I/O in May.

It looks like we’ve got proof Motorola is working on a device with the codename X Phone, as the company is actively recruiting for new staff to work on the project. A job advertisement was spotted on LinkedIn with the title, “Senior Director Product Management, X-Phone,” then subsequently on Motorola’s own career site too. While the listing has now been pulled from LinkedIn, it still exists on Motorola’s website, just without the mention of the X Phone.

The X Phone, in case you need a reminder, is rumored to be the first device on which Google will collaborate with Motorola, a company it acquired last year. Motorola has been slowly working through the hardware it already had lined up for release prior to its sale, a process expected to last a few more months yet. Once all those are out of the way, it can concentrate on new and exciting co-projects with Google.

Unfortunately, the job description didn’t give anything away about the X Phone’s possible specification or any super secret features, but it did state the successful candidate would be working on a, “Next generation smartphone platform.” We’ve heard the X Phone won’t be a Nexus device as we know it, but will have a new interface designed by Motorola that has Nexus-like qualities.

Extended battery and tough body shell

Some of the duties the successful Product Management candidate will be performing include supervising carrier customization requirements, scheduling maintenance updates and working closely with the marketing team. These sound like tasks saved for the closing stages of a new product launch, lending further weight to the possibility of a mid-May reveal for the X Phone at Google I/O.

Some may be wondering why Motorola would leave hiring what sounds like a key member of the team until the last minute. A check of LinkedIn reveals many Motorola members of staff with a similar job title, and this vacancy could be due to an internal reshuffle, promotion or the result of someone leaving the company.

Motorola was one of the topics up for discussion during Google’s earnings call at the end of January, where CEO Larry Page chatted about the need for longer battery life and improved durability from our smartphones, and hinted Motorola was already hard at work on solving these very problems. The X Phone had already been linked with addressing these issues.

Android 5.0 and Sony’s Exmor RS camera sensor also rumored

So what about the X Phone’s other specifications? PhoneArena has received a comprehensive tip which adds some detail and expands on the existing theories regarding the X Phone’s feature list. The battery and tough exterior duties will be fulfilled by two staples of past Motorola spec sheets, the 3000mAh battery (variations of which have been used inside Motorola MAXX smartphones) and a kevlar body shell.

The screen could be around 4.8-inches to 5-inches in size and the processor should have four cores, while the camera may use one of Sony’s new Exmor RS sensors, which recently made its debut in the Xperia Z. As for the operating system, the X Phone could be used to mark the first appearance of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

Motorola badly needs a flagship phone to show the world it can keep up with Samsung, LG and HTC. Could the X Phone be the one? We may find out on May 15 at Google I/O.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/motorola-recruitment-drive-hints-at-x-phone-launch-preparations/

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LG Optimus 4X HD finally getting Jelly Bean?

Jelly Bean is on it's way to the Optimus 4X HD

Plucky LG Optimus 4X HD owners may finally be treated to the Android Jelly Bean upgrade in the next month or so.

Italian site Caotic claims to have received an email from an LG representative who said the Jelly Bean update will hit "during the first quarter of 2013" on the Optimus 4X HD.

The update will apparently be pushed out to European handsets during this timescale, with no word currently on its availability for Optimus 4X HD owners in other regions.

Better late than never

The Optimus 4X HD doesn't have the best punctuality record arriving on the market several months after its closet rivals the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X.

It has since been beaten to the Android Jelly Bean punch as well by both handsets, with HTC also managing to squeeze out an updated version of its flagship device – the One X+.

And let's not forget the LG-made Nexus 4 which launched the Jelly Bean OS and sported a significantly cheaper price tag than the 4X HD when it launched.

It's a shame as we really liked the handset and in our LG Optimus 4X HD review it managed an impressive four and a half out of five stars, we just wish it had made an appearance at around the same time as the competition.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/lg-optimus-4x-hd-finally-getting-jelly-bean-1128803

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Sony Xperia Z gets officially priced in the United Kingdom

It looks like the highly anticipated Sony Xperia Z is inching even closer to the UK market. The company's Android flagship has appeared for with a "coming soon" status and a price in Sony's official online store in the United Kingdom.

As you can see in the screenshot above, overly anxious users will have to part with £529 ($839; €617). The price includes all applicable taxes. Customers who pre-register will receive an email notification when the device becomes available.

The price tag surely appears eye-watering at a glance, but the Sony Xperia Z brings a lot of smartphone goodness to the table. You can see our hands-on impressions from the device here.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z_gets_officially_priced_in_the_united_kingdom_-news-5458.php

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HTC M7 to go on sale from March 8, new color option revealed

HTC will be holding two press conferences simultaneously in New York and London on February 19. According to numerous leaks the Taiwanese company will reveal its latest M7 flagship smartphone at those.

Now a new rumor has it that the HTC M7 is expected to go on sale starting from March 8. Unfortunately, there are no confirmations on which carriers will have the device up for grabs. Earlier we heard the smartphone will be available in UK and the rest of Europe before it reaches the US.

The launch date aligns well with the earlier leaks and HTC is allegedly working on manufacturing about 4-5 million units of M7 in the Q1 of 2013.

If this new info comes out correct the M7 will be made available in Black and Silver/White color variants.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_m7_will_go_on_sale_from_march_new_color_options_detailed_-news-5457.php

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X Phone outed by Motorola LinkedIn job listing

Google's job poster needs to learn how to keep secrets, spell 'Management'

A Motorola job listing that requires experience is no surprise, but the same cannot be said if that ad includes another "X" word, the X Phone, Google's rumored Motorola smartphone.

Sure enough, someone from the company posted a LinkedIn ad looking for "Senior Director of Project Management, X Phone" candidates for its Sunnyvale, CA offices.

Google must have realized its mistake, as the job ad has been pulled and replaced with a simple message: "Sr Director Product Managment (sic), X-Phone at Motorola Mobility. The job you're looking for is no longer active."

A similar job ad, minus the revealing X Phone title, is still available via Motorola's official careers website.

Motorola X Phone rumored specs, announcement

The details of the LinkedIn version of the ad were captured by Phandroid. Sadly, compared to the blunt X Phone job title, the description remained vague, offering no hard specs or release date.

Be that as it may, this was the first, albeit unintended, admission from Google that the X Phone does exist. Previously, the codename for the Google-Motorola smartphone was only a rumor.

Conjecture has the X Phone's specs debuting the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie OS update, and sporting a virtually bezel-less edge-to-edge 5-inch display.

With the Google I/O conference coming up in May, the mysterious X Phone could make an appearance along with Motorola's first tablet under Google, the X Tablet.

In the meantime, TechRadar will keep its eyes open for more X Phone or even X Tablet listings, and maybe even a Google human resources job listing, just in case this unintended reveal happens again.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/x-phone-outed-by-motorola-linkedin-job-listing-1128767

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iPad still dominates tablet sales, but Android makes some inroads

IDC has released its report on the state of the tablet market, and it’s showing some surprising growth for some companies, as well as stagnation for others.

IDC has released the latest report from its Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, which analyzes the performance of top vendors and manufacturers of tablets all over the world. According to the report, tablet sales are up 75 percent from a year ago, along with some serious growth from Samsung and Asus. Apple is still number one, and has seen its market share slide significantly since peaking last year.

Apple’s still holds 43 percent of the tablet market, which is still more than its four closest competitors combined. While the market share for the iPad Maker was nearly 65 percent last year, its market share has slid with the introduction of more tablets and an increasing number of competitors. Apple still sold 48 percent more tablets than during Q4 of last year, and is confident in its new iPad Mini and iPad 5 for 2013.

Despite Apple’s gains, it’s clear that both Samsung and Asus have been eating away at its market share. Samsung has been eyeing Apple’s spot at the top for some time, and has quickly jumped ahead of Amazon in 2012 to take the number two spot in market share. With a 263 percent increase in sales year over year, Samsung is working to close the distance between it and Apple. Another surprising amount of growth came from Asus, maker of Google’s Nexus 7. Asus saw a whopping 402 percent increase in sales year over year, which is certainly attributed to the success of Google’s Nexus series, which uses Asus hardware to fuel the  flagship product.

In the end this, data simply show it’s just the beginning for all of these tablet makers. Apple’s still, far and ahead, the leader, but its competitors are starting to show a little steam. Barnes & Noble has found its way back into the top five despite shrinking sales, which gives some faith into the future of the company amid Amazon’s stagnating market share. As 2013 unfolds, all of these companies, among dozens of others, will continue to adapt to win the hearts of consumers everywhere.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/idc-q4-2012-tablet-market-share/

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Critics be damned, the BlackBerry Z10 is a knockout

BlackBerry takes a risk with its latest smartphone design, and breaks some understood conventions of the typical mobile device.

BlackBerry is, and will probably continue to be, a polarizing name in the mobile industry. After a long run as the darling of the business world, BlackBerry became everyone’s favorite punching bag in 2012. Once a status symbol, owning a BlackBerry device like the Bold or Curve is now a source of embarrassment. Those QWERTY devices were stunners though, compared to the so-bad-it-was-offensive BlackBerry Storm or the garish Torch – Frankenstein’s monster of smartphones. But 2013 brings with it a new start for BlackBerry with brand new hardware and a reconstructed operating system, both with a renewed focus on attractive and functional design.

The Hardware

Early reviews have pegged it as bland or boring, but the critics are wrong. The Z10 is a knockout. It looks like it’s been pulled straight out of a science fiction flick. The edge-to-edge screen makes it look positively futuristic while its top competition, the iPhone 5, looks like a half-hearted update to a three-year-old design.

Let’s get down to specifics. BlackBerry has learned from its mistakes. The company has discarded its past love of chrome accents and leather and stripped the Z10 of excess details. By minimalizing the casing, and making it only visible on the top and bottom of the display, it makes the screen even more of a focus as the center of the device. The Z10 is all about the display and BlackBerry captured this truth very well, putting the emphasis where it belongs.

The design is understated, yes, and that’s probably why so many people may find it boring. But it isn’t dull; it is practical, utilitarian, and quite comfortable. There are no bells and whistles, no blinking lights, and no capacitive buttons ever-present at the bottom. The casing reaches down from the top and up from the bottom only to hold the screen together. The back is unadorned, only broken by the iconic BlackBerry logo. It is what a smartphone should look like, no useless embellishments for the sake of “design,” but instead a device meant to handle your virtual life.

This approach to design is refreshing. To compare it to bigger players out there, Nokia’s Lumia 920 puts huge emphasis on hardware flourishes that can be distracting. The 920 is bulky and features a heavily promoted camera. It is difficult to interact with the device without being distracted by its physical features. It is the same with cheaper-feeling devices like the Galaxy S3 with its plastic body detracting from the software experience, a glossy exterior that shines with greasy fingerprints.

We refuse to praise the Q10 with attached keyboard because it is more of the same from the company and feels like a compulsory device rather than an exciting one. We will say that the Q10 is a welcome update to the once-great BlackBerry Bold, but it’s no more than a slicker version of what has come before. Just download SwiftKey and be done with it already.

The Software

Never in a million billion years would we have expected to be impressed with BlackBerry 10 enough to mention it in an article applauding design. But the Canadian smartphone-maker has done something new here, pushing the reliance on touch gestures for navigation to a whole new level while challenging some conventions in the industry.

For starters, the homescreen for BB10 is a 4×4 grid of your recent apps, breaking from the tradition of first showing users a list of installed apps. Touch an app to open it up and swipe up from the bottom to return home – there is no main button to do that for you. And there doesn’t need to be. From the recent apps, you can swipe from the left or right to access different functions. Swipe to the right and you’ll see the expected, seemingly unavoidable, app grid with all of the apps you’ve downloaded from BlackBerry World, which already has 70,000 apps on it. Swipe to the left and you’ll find the Hub, BlackBerry’s answer to the notification center, and it does the job well. The Hub keeps a time-sensitive list of actions you’ve performed, pulling in BBM, text messaging, email, Twitter, etc., to catch you up. A context menu, usually depicting quick settings, can be pulled down from the top of the screen. There is also an interesting, though gimmicky, feature called Peek that literally lets you glance at what you were doing previously.

The touch-centric user interface is how we’ve always wanted smartphones to work. Using capacitive buttons is cheap, buying into archaic remnants of a time when fingers and screens hadn’t met yet. Reaching the homescreen by flicking upwards is a succinct gesture that also reflects a real world action like you are tossing the app off the screen or pushing it off your virtual desk. The remaining gestures are equally simple, reminiscent of Windows 8, with swipes from each edge of the screen doing something specific. Questions of stability and speed aside, BB 10 has implemented compelling work here.

Of course, we still haven’t done a full review – but that doesn’t change the solid ideas being presented. Whether or not BB10 succeeds in revamping the dying brand, we can’t say BlackBerry didn’t give it 100 percent. The BlackBerry Z10 is gorgeous and a bold (not “Bold”) step forward for the company now known simply as BlackBerry.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/blackberry-z10-is-a-knockout/

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