Google to opt for Qualcomm processors in next Nexus 7?

   Qualcomm may well have their processors in lots of phones, primarily because of the way their chips offer manufacturers the best of connectivity and power. At the moment though, Qualcomm doesn't have too much of a presence in the Android tablet arena and Qualcomm have admitted themselves that they are a bit behind Nvidia's Tegra range when it comes to tablets.

   With that in mind it is interesting to hear rumours that Google is considering switching to Snapdragon processors for the refresh of the Nexus 7, which is also supposedly going to arrive with a full HD 1920 x 1080 p display!

   Analysts believe that the processor will swap out last years Tegra 3, not for a Tegra 4 chip, but for one of Qualcomm's APQ8064's:

“Supply chain conversations indicate two reasons for Google’s selection of the Snapdragon APQ8064 over Tegra 4: competitive pricing, and a decision to single-source the application processor and 3G/4G modem to simplify logistics and create a fully pin-compatible platform interface.”

   If the rumours are to be believed then we can expect Google to show off the new Nexus 7 at Google I/O in May this year!
Via UnwiredView.

Via UnwiredView.

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20/08/2012

Jolla to introduce Android app compatibility and some more news on their phone!

   We've covered Jolla mobile quite a few times here on TheTechFella and regular readers will know that the company are in the middle of creating a MeeGo powered phone. One of the fundamental problems with MeeGo or any new OS, is that there is a severe lack of apps. Apps recently have become one of the key selling points to any phone buyer.

   Jolla seems to appreciate this and, according to ArcticStartup, the company plans to utilize Android's app ecosystem to ensure there is a lot of apps for their future buyers. This information comes from a recent interview between Jussi Hurmola, the CEO of Jolla and Tero Lehto from Finnish 3T publication, where the latter asked the former how he plans to tackle the problem of building an app ecosystem for a phone. Hurmola reportedly said he plans to use Android apps (but he didn't want to officially announce that yet) as well as Qt and HTML5-applications all through OpenMobile's ACL (application compatibility layer). 

   Hurmola also promised a new UI which is 'more modern' than both Android's and iOS' so if they can live up to that then they may have a challenger on their hands! Another tasty little tidbit was that the device will have a screen larger than 3.5" so everything is sounding promising at the moment!

   Given the huge support MeeGo generated when Nokia announced their N9, Jolla may well have a chance. But, it'll be interesting to see what their device looks like when it gets announced later this autumn, that device will literally make or break this company!

In other news:

• As part of the restructuring of OnLive, the streaming gaming provider has laid off half of their workforce and OnLive all of tyheir their assets will now become part of 'a newly-formed company'. This will mean that HTC's infrequently mentioned $40 million investment will be lost and that'll be another round of bad news for the companies accountants!

• 500,000 Android users in China have been infected with a malware called SMSZombie. Thankfully for those of us outside of China this isn't too big of an issue because the malware exploits a vulnerability in China Mobile's payment systems so it shouldn't affect people in other parts of the world!

• Apple and Samsung have almost finished testifying in their cases and the jury is poised to start deliberating, but the pair were given one last chance to talk it out. Guess what! There was no agreement so far, but Bloomberg believes that the CEOs of both companies, Tim Cook and Kwon Oh Hyun, will hold a telephone conference call to see if any resolution can be agreed before we give full power to the jury. 

•  LG's Optimus Vu will soon be heading outside of Japan and South Korean and will land in the USA and 'select countries' in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. The 'phablet' will be refreshed with a Quad-core Tegra 3 processor for most people but the US version will have a 1.5Ghz Snapdragon S4 processor. All we know about availability or pricing is that these will be ready for September!

• Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 10.1 has been taken apart by iFixit and they've decided that should anything go wrong with the device it'll be nice and easy to repair! Unlike the new Retina Macbooks and the latest iPad, both of which iFixit criticised for the low likelihood of a successful repair.

• Netflix has been on a recent world wide march lately as they've rolled out there service throughout some Western parts of Europe and announce Scandinavian availability is coming soon. And it seems that this is coming good for the company because they've announced today that they have already managed to rack up a million subscibers throughout the UK and Ireland! Not bad going!

• On a similar theme Barnes and Noble have announced that they too will be bringing their lines of eReaders and content to the UK starting from this autumn. Their address will be nook.com.uk if and when they get their storefront up and running!

• And finally, the Galaxy S3-esque device pictured below is supposedly te upcoming Galaxy player and a full list of specs is available on the picture below! And hopefully the device will make an appearance at IFA in a couple of weeks!

 

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10/07/2012

Samsung's Exynos 5 Dual processor gets detailed!

   This is the new processor from Samsung and you want this in your next device!!! The new chipset features a pair of Cortex-A15 cores for insane mobile power. The SoC is built on 32nm production techniques and this particular version rocks two 1.7GHz cores and has support for screen resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 WQXGA. 

   The screen resolution limit itself is quite interesting because there have been endless rumours that Samsung is preparing an 11.8-inch tablet with that specific resolution! The processor will be capable of 1080p 60fps hardware deceleration and 3D graphics. Don't worry about support either there's; USB 3.0, SATA3, OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenCL support, plus the ability to beam your content to wireless displays. 

   And best of all Samsung has managed to reduce power consumption. They've got energy usage down 30-percent when compared to 45nm chips. Included in that are specific power-saving routines for those energy-hungry displays in your latest gadget.

   Unfortunately we haven't got any news what devices will be featuring this processor but it'll probably be next years range of phones and tablets!

In other news:

• Acer has today reiterated their commitment to Windows 8 tablets but has pleaded that Microsoft make sure their Surface tablets have a higher price point so that Acer can target the lower price ranges. Essentially Acer knows how much people expect to pay for tablets and it doesn't want Microsoft to steal their traditional market!

• Microsoft has had a bit of a naming crisis since 'Metro' was found to be taken by other companies. Instead of 'Windows 8 design' the software giant has told employees to call Windows 8's look 'modern UI design'. Perhaps that one won't stick!

• HTC has just got around to updating their flagship smartphone the HTC One X to a newer version of Android.  The OTA update will be a version of Android 4.0.4 and will land on the international version of the HTC One X starting today. The update includes several new features and overall tweaks to the operating system. One key change is a large change to Sense; the remapping of the multitasking key.

• Lenovo has reportedly signed a deal with Nvidia to make some Windows tablets with Nvidia Tegra 3 processors inside. Unsurprisingly the OS will be the RT version of Windows 8 but the big news is that the tablets will be in the same form as Asus' Transformer range!

• There have been rumours today that RIM are a potential takeover target for IBM. We can definitely see some sense if this was to happen, both business minded companies and both still have a place. We'll let you know as soon as we hear any more!

• Benchmarks have emerged of a new Sony phone codenamed LT25 “Tsubasa”, with sources speaking to the Xperia Blog suggesting that the smartphone will find a home on numerous carriers throughout the world. There's set to be both LTE and HSPA+ models of the phone available, with specs said to include a 720p screen, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and LTE connectivity but that's all the details we've got at the moment.

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08/08/2012

HTC Endeavour C2 set to be a HTC One X refresh.

   Last week we got wind that an improved version of the HTC One X was going to land on T-Mobile USA. The rumored device is expect to have a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 chip and the new device will get a software bump to Jelly Bean. Stuff.tv has apparently confirmed that HTC is planning something and the new phone will be more akin to the HTC One X and it's got the codename “Endeavour C2.” This is interesting because the HTC One X started with the Endeavour codename, so we're only expecting a minor refresh.

   The new, improved version will likely retain its NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset, but it will be clocked slightly higher, somewhere near 1.7Ghz. The battery has already been targeted as an area for improvement. Hopefully there will be a battery capacity increase and a new set of colour options for the fashion conscious.

   Interestingly, the tip says that Beats headphones will be bundled with the device, despite HTC trying to stop that trend. Stuff also reported that all current HTC accessories will continue to work without any trouble with the new model, so this won't be a radical departure from the current line up. Meanwhile, HTC will add ClearVoice to “improve call quality”, which sounds similar to HD Voice offered on certain carriers’ handsets.

    The last change will be HTC Watch 2; it's an improved version of the company’s video streaming service and will be bundled with the new handset. Pricing hasn’t been finalized, but Stuff believes UK carriers will offer the refreshed model on tariffs £5 more expensive than the current HTC One X. The handset is expected to be released around October 1st, just in time to square off with the Galaxy Note II and the next iPhone.

In other news:

• T-Mobile UK has today confirmed that people who sign up to the Full Monty plan from now on will NOT be able to tether on their plan. Thankfully people already on the plan can continue to tether!
• OUYA adds Namco Bandai, Plex, and four controller support to their fledgling console. Don't forget you have until midnight tonight to pledge your support if you want to get one of the first batch of OUYA's!!!
• Samsung will reportedly make use of a 5.5-inch AMOLED panel in the Galaxy Note II, but the panel will be a new unbreakable plane display. This will allow the South Korean manufacturer to reduce the thickness of the phone and better guarantee longevity, possibly leaving room for a larger battery.
• Android and iOS are now on 85% of smartphones that ship. We expect the rest is Blackberries and a couple of Windows Phone devices too!
• MetroPCS in the USA is the first company to introduce voice over LTE.
• Apple has decided to freeze their password resets over the phone after the revelations from the Wired  that showed how easy it was for hackers to access Amazon and Apple accounts without much effort.
• Crytek has confirmed that Timesplitters 4 will be delayed for a while because fan interest 'isn't high enough yet', but don't despair because it will arrive at some point!
• Microsoft Surface 2's  might just have been revealed in job listings. It seems the company is wasting no time in getting the ball rolling on the next iteration of Surface devices. A dozen Microsoft job ads have been discovered by TechRadar and all relate to future versions of the tablets. Microsoft, for its part, maintains that the only Surface devices are the two tablets that have been announced, but that doesn't mean it hasn't started planning for the future.
• iOS 6's latest beta appears to confirm that the next iPhone will have a 640 x 1136 screen resolution. The clever guys over at 9-5Mac have dug around and found the resolution renders perfectly and everything is starting to fall into place.

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12/07/2012

HTC's rumoured tablet might be the HTC Vertex HD.

   The device above is the rumoured HTC Vertex and it's slated to replace the ageing HTC Flyer and Jetstream. The device above has had a few specs leaked by the usual benchmarking websites; there's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor onboard. This device also appears to be working with a 10.1-inch display with HD resolution at WXGA 1280 x 800 pixels. 

   The cameras are currently appearing as a 2MP and 1MP back and front facing cameras. Although, we believe these are only temporary pieces of hardware and they'll likely be replaced before we hear anything official! There's some good connectivity options too; Bluetooth 4.0 is onboard, as is Beats Audio in two separate drivers.

   This is something we're looking forward to seeing given HTC's short history of well built and appealing tablets!

In other news:

• Next gen Kindles have reportedly been facing a few delays after issues with screen production and in particular their screen light settings.
• Amazon's rumoured phone might be coming a step closer today after Amazon announced they've snapped up Windows Phone's ex app guru.
• O2 have now fixed the issues they've been facing over the past few days!
• Yahoo have confirmed there has been a hack of 400k accounts!
• If you've ordered a Nexus 7 from Ebuyer it looks like your order may well be on it's way to you at the moment!
• Samsung Galaxy Note II is slated to be announced on August the 30th!
• Samsung also reportedly shifted 6.5million Galaxy S3's in Q2!
• While we're on the subject Samsung's Smart TV's will be getting a helping of Angry Birds soon as Sammy and Rovio have teamed up again!
• ZTE have announced that they will release a Gaming handset next week so keep it locked!
• Rovio have announced a new game; Amazing Alex! It's a great game and it's well worth the 64p for the normal version! The HD version will set you back about £1.90 but it might be worth it!

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30/05/2012

Benchmark again hints at a Nexus tablet.

   Early this morning the news broke that someone somewhere had noticed a listing on Rightware's Power Board benchmarking test. In 11th place was sitting a device under the name 'Nexus 7', which does appear to confirm rumours Google is creating a 7" device.

   The listing also gives some hints about the rest of the specs inside this device; we have a quad-core Tegra3 processor, a 720p HD screen and it's supposedly running a software build named JRN51B which we expect is a build of Android 4.1 and more specifically this could be a Jelly Bean flavored build of Android.

   With the device being tested daily by someone it looks like we might not have too long to wait!

Sony releases 2 new 'lifeproof' devices.

Xperia Go.

   The first of these two devices is the Xperia Go and as the name suggests it'll be prepare for most of what you throw at it. The device will arrive in the United States as the Xperia advance and it's the smaller of the two, with a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, 1GHz dual-core processor and a 5-megapixel camera. The good stuff however, starts here, the device be used when your fingers are wet, something most touchscreens definitely can't do, it meets the IP67 dust and water resistance standard, which is better than most ruggedized phones manage! Unfortunately, it also runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box, though Sony says there’s an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade in the pipeline, strange that they can't do ICS straight from the off.

   All of this comes along with 8GB of internal storage, USB Host support, a 1265mAh built-in battery and a microSD card slot. Twinned with 512MB of RAM and either triband or dualband UMTS/HSPA depending on where you reside. Sony will kindly give you 50GB of Box cloud storage if you choose to take the plunge before the end of the year; the Xperia Go is slated to hit shelves in three colours; black, white and yellow in Q3 2012.

Xperia Acro S.

   The second device is essentially the Xperia S in disguise, complete with a similar or probably the samet 4.3-inches (1280 x 720) screen which is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core and a 12-megapixel camera that Sony claims is ready to shoot in under a second.

   The device is also PlayStation Certified and has 1080p HD video recording (although it's 720p from the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera) and Ice Cream Sandwich is available from launch (woo!). Sony’s got some special camera tech on show here in the Exmor R variety, whatever that does?! You've got your usual assortment of HDMI, GPS, GLONASS, NFC and USB. Finally, it has a non-removanle 1910mAh battery pack and it has quadband HSPA+ connectivity.  It will be available in black, white and pink in Q3 2012.

In other news:

• It has been rumoured that Sony are looking to acquire a cloud gaming service, such as OnLive and Gaikai in a bid to increase their gaming prowess in the mobile world.
• Microsoft has started being a bit cleverer with it's newly acquired Skype, offering it to Manufacturers for preinstallation.
• Twitter is planning to improve the performance of it's site, so we all get Tweeting even faster.
• The Nokia Lumia 610 has officially launched in the UK and we have an exact figure on how many app WONT work on it and the exact percentage is 1.6% of Windows Phone apps, so actually quite a lot, bad times.
• Apple has been pushing manufacturing in the USA this week at All Things D!
• They've also reaffirmed that they won't be making any Transformer-esque devices any time soon.
• Verizon's Galaxy Nexus is expected to be getting its build of Android 4.0.4 very soon!!!

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25/05/2012

HP lose Enyo developers from the Open WebOS project.

   Google have today pinched the developers of Enyo from HP in a bid to boost their mobile HTML5 prowess, particularly in Android and ChromeOS. Although, initial rumours suggested most of the team had jumped ship it turns out that it's roughly only a dozen individuals who have actually gone, but importantly project leader Matt McNulty has made the trip too.

   Despite this exodus HP insists the Open WebOS plans are still on track to meet their January timeline, so this obviously isn't a surprise to the company. HP had this to say about Enyo:

“We’re pleased with the traction Enyo has gained to date and plan to continue its development along with the open source community....The Open webOS project is on schedule and we remain committed to the roadmap announced in January.”

Sony announces there won't be ICS for Xperia Play.

(My post from Coolsmartphone!)

   Yesterday the interwebs came alive with rumours that the Xperia Play wouldn’t be getting an update to ICS because it was sneakily left out of a press picture detailing Sony’s update plans. Today unfortunately the rumours have come true; Sony have come out and announced the Xperia Play won’t be getting updated to Android 4.0 after all.

   You might be surprised to hear this news given that Sony have invested a great deal of time testing and even going as far as releasing a developer beta rom for the device. But, their exact words are that ‘a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich’. So there we have it folks sometimes it’s in your best interests not to update phones… Hmmm haven’t we heard that somewhere else before?! Motorola we’re looking at you.

   As for the rest of you who own Sony devices from 2011, don’t worry the company expects all of you to get your dose of ICS in the near future, if you haven’t already.

   Do you agree companies should really try a lot hard or do you think there is a concern that ICS won’t run well because it does sound like they’ve really tried here? Sound off in the comments or head over to the forums.

    The full quote given to Slashgear is below:

   “In regards to Xperia PLAY, after extensive in house testing with our developer teams and working with our partners, we have concluded that a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich – therefore, we will not make the Android 4.0 upgrade available for Xperia PLAY.

   This decision was also verified when we received similar feedback from the developer community; both experienced developers and advanced users, along with game content providers following our ICS beta ROM for unlocked Xperia PLAY smartphones.

   Our priority has and always will be, to provide the best possible user experience on Xperia smartphones. In this instance the ICS upgrade would have compromised stability, where we look to ensure a quality gaming experience with games optimized and developed for Xperia PLAY”

In other news:

• Apps on Google Play can now have in-app subscriptions!
• Any suggestions of cross-platform BBM have been scrapped today, so you will have to have a Blackberry to use this feature, but if not you've always got ChatON which is available on every platform!
• If you've pre-ordered a Galaxy S3 it might land on your doorstep a few days early, they have been across the UK so far!
• Nvidia has said there will be 30 Tegra 3 phones coming before the end of the year! Quite intriguing!!!
• Facebook has bizarrely released a Facebook camera app, which to all intents and purposes is an Instagram rival. Strange!!
• Apple have filed a patent for... wait for it... an I-Pen. So when we thought cheap rip offs were going out of fashion it seems Apple is just about to start. Just remember who came up with this reinvention first Apple, yep Samsung with the S-Pen. At least they had the decency to give a nod to Samsung's naming convention!

Deals, deals, deals!!!

1. The HTC Explorer is going cheap if you get it new, £80 on pay-as-you-go. Click Here.
2. Expansys have the Galaxy Tab 10.1" at least £50 cheaper than anywhere else with it going for £269.99. The White version is here. And this is the Black version.

There's hundreds more at the moment. Argos, Clove, Expansys and ASDA are amongst your best bets for everything from tablets to TV's you can get a steal in the summer!

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23/05/2012

Samsung look to tweak Galaxy Note 10.1?

   The 10.1" Galaxy Note was a great looking little device, but it looks like Samsung feels it needs to up it's game, which is probably a good idea actually, I myself said they very distinctly average when they launched.

   Today it has been rumoured that the tablet will be getting thinner as well as having an update to the processor, giving it a bump to the Galaxy S3's quad-core Exynos chip, instead of a mere dual-core processor. There's also rumoured to be a new S-Pen slot as well in a Galaxy Note-esque fashion.

   As soon as we get an official word from Samsung I'll be sure to keep you in the loop.

Nvidia highlight 'Kai' again, wants to give you $199 quad-core tablets.

   The Asus Eee-pad MeMo could and maybe would be the most perfect Android tablet, with it's 7" form factor and an ultra powerful quad-core processor. Unfortunately though, we have seen little or nothing of this tablet since Asus suggested it'd come to the world soon. 

   However, Nvidia have again reiterated that they are committed to producing a quad-core tablet for less than $200 and with a little bit of 'scret sauce' from the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor while somehow managing to make it considerably cheaper. So hopefully we can see this become a reality in the very near future.

In other news:

• Lenovo manages to turn the tide by posting a 46% profit surge.
• Acer Iconia A510 Olympic Tab to launch in UK next month.
• MySpace is set to relaunch later in 2012.
• IBM blocks Siri over fears sensitive information may lapse into unwanted hands.
• Sony and Samsung are enforcing minimum pricing on their tv's in a desperate bid to protect their profits.
• Samsung releases Galaxy Note source code.
• Facebook are testing a new Timeline layout.
• Xbox 360 may face a ban in the USA over Motorola patents.

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