New tiers added as Ubuntu Edge crowdfunding passes $5m

The Ubuntu Edge could be worth the price

Canonical has added three new pricing tiers to its Ubuntu Edge crowdfunding campaign, which already surpassed 5 million (£3.25m, AU$5.44m) in just a few days.

If that sounds like a lot, it's because it is - but it's only a fraction of the $32 million (£20.8m, AU$34.8m) Canonical is seeking to fund its high-end new smartphone on Indiegogo.

The $600 (£390, AU$653) price point - which allowed 5,000 backers to secure the phone for themselves when it launches - sold out practically immediately, so they've added $625 (£406, AU$680), $675 (£439, AU$734), and $725 (£471, AU$789) tiers as well.

The next-lowest pricing tier after $600 was previously $830 (£540, AU$903), and Canonical is likely trying to rope in more low-level customers while it's still riding the wave of buzz from its initial announcement.

Get 'em while they're hot

Like the original $600 tier, each of the new price points gets backers a pre-order Ubuntu Edge smartphone.

All three have 1,250 slots available, though Canonical will offer more and more sub-$830 spots as the campaign continues.

The Ubuntu Edge is designed to be more powerful than anything that's being offered on the smartphone market today, including flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, iPhone 5, and Lumia 928.

With 4GB of RAM, dual LTE receivers, 128GB of storage, and likely a 4.5-inch display made of pure sapphire crystal, it may well succeed.

That of course depends on Canonical actually raising that $32 million, which seems only slightly less insane now that the campaign has reached $5 million in just a few days.

The company plans currently to make just 40,000 of the high-end Ubuntu Edge smartphones, with other, low- to mid-tier phones running Ubuntu possibly coming afterward.

• Curious about the inspiration behind the Ubuntu Edge? Canonical founder and space tourist Mark Shuttleworth has an anecdote about NASA for you.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/new-tiers-added-as-ubuntu-edge-crowdfunding-passes-5m-1168373

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2GB of RAM? Pah! Samsung outs 3GB memory unit, may debut in Galaxy Note 3

Samsung's 3G chips will bring about a 'generational shift' (credit: Engadget)

The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 3 could be thundering along at an almighty pace thanks to a new 3GB memory unit announced by the Korean company on Wednesday.

The company's new low-power LPDDR3 chip has now entered mass production with Samsung promising to slide it into devices during the second half of 2013.

With the Note 3 heavily tipped for a pre-IFA arrival on September 4, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that famed phablet may be the first to benefit from the improvement in memory tech.

Samsung has promised PC-like performance and a "generational shift" from the current 2GB packages, which resides within handsets like the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S4 smartphone.

Better, thinner, faster

Among the benefits, Samsung promises smoother full HD video streaming, faster multitasking and support for faster 4G LTE-Advanced data.

The thinner chipset, built on 20-nanometer architecture, will also free up more space for larger batteries in slimmer phones, the company said, adding credence to reports suggesting the Note 3 will be more slender.

"Three gigabyte mobile DRAM will be adopted in the most up-to-date, high-end smartphones starting in the second half of this year − an initial adoption that will expand to most high-end smartphones worldwide next year," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung.

As well the likelihood it'll appear in the Galaxy Note 3, that statement seems to confirm the Samsung Galaxy S5 will also boast 3GB of RAM.

• Samsung's next gen phones are going to have pretty sweet innards. Check out this new version of the Exynos 5 Octa eight-core processor.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/2gb-of-ram-pah-samsung-outs-3gb-memory-unit-may-debut-in-galaxy-note-3-1168344

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Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 get Android 4.3 today

Google officially announced the latest version of Android operating system, 4.3, at its event today. The newest version of Android is a minor upgrade over the currently present Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS and brings restricted profiles, a few other minor features along with a bunch of performance enhancements.

As one can expect, the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS will be first available on Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. What might come as a slightly surprise is that you won't even have to wait a day - the update will start rolling today.

After the roll-out to the Nexus line-up, the latest Android release will be seeded to the Google Play Editions of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. We got no time frame for that, but we were promised it will be happening soon.

The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean software update will be available over-the-air (OTA) so keep an eye for that notification.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nexus_4_nexus_7_and_nexus_10_to_get_android_43_today-news-6456.php

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Android 4.3 unveiled with improved multi-user support

Android 4.3 has officially been announced – it's been in the wild on Google Play Edition devices for a while, but the unveiling was put off for today. So, what's new? Well, 4.3 is a minor upgrade so it brings minor improvements and refines the user experience, rather than delivering game-changing features.

Multi-user support was introduced in 4.2 and it's updated in 4.3 with the new restricted profiles. A restricted profile can limit what content and apps can be used – even limit in-app stuff like what levels of a game can be played.

The suite of stock apps has been updated - Hangouts now officially replaces Talk and Keep is available out of the box. The Drive, Chrome and Maps applications have been revamped too.

The way Android handles notifications has been changed too. For one, you can view your notification history. Also, third party apps have access to notifications, which will help smart watches and apps that sync notifications across devices.

There are plenty of changes under the hood too. OpenGL ES 3.0 is now supported (Google presented impressive improvements in 3D game graphics) and the graphics stack should be faster overall. For games, Google unveiled the Google Play Games app, which lets you keep track of what your friends are playing and a leader board of achievements in the game.

The "master key" exploit has been incorporated into Android 4.3, of course.

Bluetooth 4.0 with Low Energy mode (low power usage and longer range for low-bandwidth accessories like those fitness tracking gadgets) is now supported in stock Android. Before, each maker had to roll its own drivers. Also for Bluetooth, AVRCP 1.3 is supported, meaning the phone can stream metadata about the currently playing song to the wireless speakers (or your car's stereo).

Wi-Fi can be kept on at all times to determine your position, even when you toggle it off.

A new hardware-based encryption for DRM has been added so content providers will be more willing to stream high-quality content. A new Netflix app is among the first to make use of this and streams 1080p video (it's now available in the Play Store).

An Android 4.3 update will be available on Nexus devices from the Galaxy Nexus up (4, 7, 10, you name it). Google Play devices - Galaxy S4 and Nexus One Google Play Edition will get the update soon too.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/android_43_unveiled_with_improvements_all_around-news-6455.php

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HTC 'reviewing' Android 4.3, can't say what products will get it yet

Jelly Beans all round? We hope so

Google has just unveiled its latest version of Android, an iterative update to Jelly Bean known as Android 4.3 - and HTC is eying it with interest.

Unfortunately, HTC couldn't tell us if or when Android 4.3 would come to the HTC range, nor which handsets would be in line for the update, despite Google itself confirming that the Google Edition HTC One would be getting the update "soon".

But HTC's senior global online communications manager Jeff Gordon told us, "We're reviewing Android 4.3 to see how this update fits into our plans."

HTC Dream

The company hopes to have more info for us soon - and we hope that info will be, "Yeah, sure, we'll be bringing Android 4.3 to the whole line-up... tomorrow!"

Hey, a tech site can dream. Realistically, there'll be a bit of a wait before we see Android 4.3 land on any HTC handsets, likewise Samsung, LG and the rest of the crew.

What we do know is that the new Nexus 7 will be the first new device to come with Android 4.3, while the Neuxs 4, old Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy Nexus handsets should be receiving the update from today, with the Google Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google Edition HTC One next in line.

• Want to know more about Android 4.3? All the details are handily laid out here

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/htc-reviewing-android-4-3-can-t-say-what-products-will-get-it-yet-1168310

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New Nexus 7 brings WUXGA screen, quad-core Krait CPU

The Google event brought the new Nexus 7 II. It's a 7" tablet running pure Android 4.3 and improves the screen and chipset over the first generation Nexus tablet. The base price is set at $230, a little higher than the $200 (both prices are for the respective 16GB model).

So, what do you get for the extra $30? A 1900 x 1200 screen with 320ppi pixel density (50% more than the first Nexus 7 and more than even the Nexus 10) for one. It's the highest resolution 7" display on a tablet.

You also get the chipset from the Nexus 4 – Snapdragon S4 Pro with quad-core Krait processor at 1.5GHz, 2GB RAM and Adreno 320, a sizable update over the Tegra 3 chipset.

While the display size was kept the same, the new Nexus 7 is smaller. Google and Asus shaved off 1.8mm off the thickness, 2.8mm of the bezels on either sides and reduced the weight by 50g. Google kept well-liked the soft touch back.

There's also a back-facing camera – a 5MP shooter that can also record 1080p video joins the 1.2MP front-facing camera of the first Nexus 7. Other changes include an LED notification light on the front and SlimPort, which means you can get HD video out of the microUSB port.

Other connectivity features are dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 (Android 4.3 adds native support for 4.0 + LE) and NFC. Wireless charging is also supported.

Google announced the Wi-Fi and 4G LTE models of the Nexus 7 from the get go this time around. One device will be able to use 4G from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, no different versions required.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/new_nexus_7_brings_wuxga_screen_nexus_4_chipset-news-6454.php

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Android 4.3 release date, news and rumours

What do you want Android 4.3 to bring?

We're all waiting for the next big iteration of Android to hit us and while we already know it's going to be dubbed Key Lime Pie, it turns out Google isn't quite finished with Jelly Bean as Android 4.3 the next update on the horizon.

Google is currently announcing the changes this new operating system will bring at the moment, so stay tuned to see all the information on the launch of Android 4.3 and the new Nexus 7, as well as any other fancy news.

Here's a round-up of the new features of Android 4.3:

Multi-user ability was added to 4.2, but with the new version you can now customise things on a user level, allowing parental controls and a lock on apps if needed through 'personal spaces'.

Apps have to be optimised to work in this way, but parental control will be much more stringent with the new version of Jelly Bean.

Bluetooth smart technology (Bluetooth low energy as it's also known) is now supported, allowing apps to connect to the low-power sensors that are all the rage in fitness technology these days.

More to follow...

Android 4.3 release date

As we've mentioned Google hasn't officially announced anything on its next version of Android, so we don't have any firm release date just yet.

Many believed that Android 4.3 Jelly Bean would make an appearance at the search giant's annual IO conference which took place in May, but sadly no such announcement was made.

Apparently Android 4.3 was at the Google IO show however, with one reporter claiming he was able to get hands on with the software on a white Nexus 4 - although his prediction that 4.3 Jelly Bean would arrive on June 10 has turned out to be false.

This hasn't stopped the rumours popping up however with many suggesting we will be seeing it sooner rather than later with a July/August launch mooted.

Android 4.3 devices

Google is likely going to treat its own-brand devices to the Android 4.3 update first, with the likes of the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Galaxy Nexus all in line for the new software early doors.

As well as apparently running on a Nexus 4 at Google IO, Android 4.3 was also spotted on another Nexus 4 at Mobile Expo 2013 in Taiwan.

It's supposedly also shown up on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus after some leaked Bluetooth SIG reports from recent tests showed the aging handset being put through its paces once again - possibly because it has a new OS on board.

Some Google employees have also been a little lax when it comes to covering their tracks with another Nexus 4 and a Nexus 7 spotted in server logs running version 4.3.

There's also a suggestion that Android 4.3 will coincide with the release of the Moto X. A preview video showed off a host of new software features that might suggest that the 'Googorola' flagship will tote 4.3.

Android 4.3 upgrades and features

As we've mentioned the Android 4.3 update, if it actually exists, won't bring us a totally new operating system - instead you can expect some minor tweaks here and there.

One area which looks to be getting some serious attention from Google is the camera app, with snaps taken at Mobile Expo in Taiwan claiming to show the new design for Android 4.3.

While icons such as the shutter key and settings appear to be the same, the circular menu has been ditched in favour of an arc towards the bottom of the screen.

Update: Another shot of the camera app has been spied alongside a couple of other screenshots claiming to be from the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean software.

Credit: SamMobile

Update: It looks as though Google will be giving the notification system a bit of love with tweaks to the service allowing apps to access notifications with the ability to read, dismiss and activate buttons on them.

Other than that news on new features is thin on the ground, but we'll be updating this article when we hear more.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-4-3-jelly-bean-1160480

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