Mobile Price: January 2013

BlackBerry Z10 global pricing and availability detailed

BlackBerry has revealed the pricing and availability details of its BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, which was released a while ago. The smartphone will head to all the key world markets including UK, Canada and UAE.

BlackBerry Z10 will be available in UK, starting from tomorrow and the smartphone will be available on pay monthly contracts and Pay as you Go plans from EE, OS, Vodafone, Phones 4u, BT, 3UK and from the Carphone Warehouse. Pricing of the device will vary from carrier to carrier, although the BlackBerry Z10 will be available fully subsidized on monthly pay contracts on all of them.

In UK, the Carphone Warehouse will offer the Z10 for free on contracts of £36 per month on most the major networks. Furthermore, Vodafone offers the latest BlackBerry Z10 for £29 on the £42 monthly rental plan, which includes unlimited calling and texts along with 2GB of internet. The device is up for grabs at free of cost for £47 monthly plan or £69 one-time payment on the £37 monthly plan.

The long awaited, highly anticipated Windows Phone 7.8 update has made its way to the first generation Nokia Lumia smartphones. Users of the aforementioned devices should be receiving notification for the new OS version's availability in the coming weeks. The update will be installed via Microsoft Zune desktop software.

Windows Phone 7.8 brings a host of upgrades to the table. They include a brand new homescreen with more customization options, camera extras, and a host of performance enhancements for the first members of the Nokia Lumia lineup.

The LG Optimus L7 is getting a sequel with improved specs and dual-SIM capabilities to boot. The LG Optimus L7 II Dual updates the design a bit, going for a less angular look and has moved to capacitive keys only.

The regular Back / Home / Menu keys are joined by a SIM switch key for easy toggling between the two SIM cards.

The Optimus L7 II Dual keeps the 4.3” IPS LCD screen of the original but bumps up the CPU spec to 1GHz dual-core (of unknown architecture) and adds a better camera that shoots 8MP stills and 720p videos. The phone will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box and comes with LG's home-brewed QSlide, QuickMemo and QuickTranslator software.

The Galaxy Express is Samsung's new affordable LTE handset

Samsung has just announced the latest member in its Galaxy range of Android device, the Galaxy Express. In case the name sounds familiar, it's because Samsung has already used it before for a phone available on AT&T's network in the US. This international version is mostly the same with just a handful of differences.

The new Galaxy Express has a 4.5-inch, 800 x 480 resolution, Super AMOLED Plus display, same as the AT&T version, but instead of a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor it has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor of unknown origin.

Other than that it still has a 5 megapixel rear camera with 720p video recording and 1.3 megapixel front camera, 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal memory with microSD card slot, MHL, NFC, A-GPS + GLONASS, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Samsung's suite of features such as AllShare Play, S Beam and the various Samsung Hubs and a 2,000mAh battery. And of course, it has 4G LTE connectivity, which is the main selling point.

Galaxy Pop is a quad-core version of Galaxy Premier for Korea

Remember the Galaxy Premier we met with a few months ago? It is a Jelly Bean droid based on the dual-core TI-OMAP 4470 SoC and packs a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD display. Back then it looked like a downgraded version of the Galaxy S III to us.

Well, the Premier is now launching in South Korea, but instead of the dual-core TI-OMAP SoC, it's powered by the Galaxy S III's quad-core (1.4GHz) Exynos 4412, and it is now called the Galaxy Pop.

The Galaxy Pop's model number is SHV-E220 and except for the chipset, the rest of the specs stay the same - a 4.65-inch 720p Super AMOLED screen, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera, and 8 or 16 GB internal storage expandable via a microSD card slot.

Japanese retail stores have started displaying demo units of the hotly anticipated Sony Xperia Z. What's more, there's now an exact date when sales will start, and that's February 9.

Mind you, that date counts only for Sony's home market, and not the European, where the device isexpected to land in March or late February. The information comes from TalkAndroid, so take it with a grain of salt, as Sony hasn't yet officially confirmed anything.

Still, having demo units in the retail store is as sure a sign can we get that the Xperia Z launch date is near. Sony's latest flagship generated serious buzz at CES 2013 earlier in the month and has left many consumers eager to get their hands on it.

Karbonn S1 Titanium has gone official in India. It’s a quad-core smartphone running on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The S1 Titanium is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz processor - almost certainly the MediaTek-made one with the Cortex-A7 architecture. The smartphone comes with a 4.5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) IPS display, 1GB of RAM, 4GB internal storage expandable via a microSD card slot, a 5MP rear camera with a LED flash and a VGA front one.

The Karbonn S1 Titanium is a dual-SIM phone with quad-band GSM support with EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and FM radio.

The BlackBerry Z10, which is all set to make it to the grand stage this week has been the talk of the town lately. After we got to see some press images of the smartphone and got treated to a tutorial of its OS we not got to learn more about the pricing. The price tag of the BlackBerry Z10 was revealed by a screenshot of a major retailer's inventory system.

According to the Carphone Warehouse, the BlackBerry Z10 will cost £480 (about $760). The listing in the company's database clearly shows the pricing of the white variant of the smartphone and the attached BLAZ10WHI product code too aligns nicely with the earlier leaks from the retailer.
The leaked price is said to be for a SIM-free version and the smartphone will naturally be available for far less on contract.

Pantech Vega No 6 goes official in South Korea

Pantech has unveiled yet another excitingly sounding smartphone from the Vega lineup. Unfortunately, just like most of its siblings the Vega No 6 as the new device is called will remain exclusive to South Korea. It packs a 5.9-inch 1080p display and is powered by a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait processor.

The Pantech Vega No 6 also offers 2GB or RAM and generous 32GB internal storage, which can be expanded further through the microSD card slot. A 13MP primary camera and a 2MP front-facing snapper take care of your photography and video-chat needs.

The connectivity department of the Vega No 6 has everything - from Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi and USB for local transfers to LTE for high-speed internet access on the go.
Pantech Vega No 6 runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean skinned with Pantech's own Flux UX. It will launch on all three South Korean carriers in February. It will cost KRW849,000 (about €580/$780) SIM-free, but if

A lot of rumours have been heard lately saying that HTC is pulling itself out from the Android starting range but those have finally been denied as the Taiwanese company has just announced a new budget phone for the market, The HTC Desire U.
To keep the pricing down, HTC has opted for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich instead of Android Jelly Bean. Also instead of a dual-core processor, this phone runs on a single-core 1GHz processor.
In terms of design, the Desire U fits in nicely . On front, this new device features a 4.0-inch with 800 x 480 resolution display.
HTC packs 5 megapixel camera on the back with WVGA video recording, Beats Audio with the battery capacity of 1,650mAh.

Samsung has just unveiled the widely rumoured Galaxy Xcover 2 — only one month before Mobile World Congress 2013 trade fair.
Samsung has improved all the specs of its predecessor (Xcover S5690), from a bigger screen to a more powerful processor.
Weighing 149 grams, The Galaxy Xcover 2 boasts a 4” WVGA TFT screen measuring 130.5 x 67.7 x 12 mm that is quite bigger than its predecessor. Following the Xcover S5690, the new Galaxy Xcover 2 is a rugged smartphone that is shock and dustproof, in addition to being IP67 certified; consequently, it’s waterproof and can function in up to three feet of water while being able to stay there for half an hour due to a battery cover lock that provides additional protection against dropping.
A dedicated camera key, meanwhile, has made it possible for underwater photography.
On hardware front, it has dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 4 GB of built-in memory along with a micro SD card which can be expanded up to 32 GB. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz customizations and Samsung Hub, including the latest apps and services such as Readers Hub, Video hub, Game Hub and Music Hub.
In this new device, Samsung has given 5MP main camera with LED flash which can shoot 720p video and there’s a dedicated shutter key including a front-facing VGA camera.
Connectivity options for this includes 3G with 14.4Mbps HSDPA and 5.76Mbps HSUPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS + GLONASS along with 1700 mAh battery capacity which offers a stand-by time of up to 570 hours.

Medal of Honor and Famed Call of Duty Video Games Banned in Pakistan

The worldwide acclaimed Call of Duty: Black Ops II and (the lesser acknowledged) Medal of Honor: Warfighter are banned in Pakistan for showing the country in a critically wrong way. Both first-person shooters are based in Pakistan, which is included among other countries.

A statement issued by The Audio Cassette Traders and Manufacturers Association (APCDACTM) has detailed that why it took the serious decision coupled with a warning to the retailers and shopkeepers selling these video games. The statement released by them reads:

“The Association has always boycotted these types of films and games. These (games) have been developed against the country’s national unity and sanctity.
The games (“Medal of Honor: Warfighter” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops II”) have been developed against Pakistan, and the association has completely banned their sale.
Shopkeepers are warned and will be responsible for the consequences if found purchasing or selling these games.”

Saleem Memon, the President of this association has said that these games show the country in a ‘very poor light’ and that they have been getting a lot of complaints from gamers ever since the game went on sale at the end of 2012. The games portray the country as the hub of all terrorist activity in the world.
The Medal of Honor: Warfighter, the more controversial of the two even begins “at an undisclosed ship dock in Karachi”. The game also showcases the player as fighting with the terrorists in the streets of the metropolitan city and even escaping the ISI, the renowned intelligence agency of the country.

The rumors of next generation iPad and iPhone are already starting to pick up steam. According to the latest report from iLounge, the iPhone 5S is said to enter mass production in July.

Note the start of the mass production is usually a few months before the actual announcement, so Apple can fill up its warehouses ahead of the launch weekend.

The report also says that the company's tablet lineup refresh is coming in October. The iPad mini with Retina display is reportedly codenamed J84, while the iPad 5 is dubbed J72. Apple's rumored next-gen iPads are expected to retain the design of their predecessors, but the mini should be getting a Retina display. It's anyone's guess what kind of upgrades will come with the iPad 5.

As for the iPhone 5S - it is expected to include a faster processor and a Sony-made 13 megapixel camera sensor. Furthermore, the device is rumored to feature an improved rear LED flash. The iPhone 5S versions are codenamed N51 and N53 and predictably the device will have similar design to the iPhone 5.

The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has launched a remote control device for its Butterfly smartphone. HTC Mini, an NFC-enabled remote control, is now offered in China alongside its flagship device.

HTC Mini connects to the device through Bluetooth and helps you make calls without actually having to take your smartphones out of your pocket.

HTC Mini uses NFC to pair with the smartphone and serves as a remote terminal after that. The Mini can also show messages, calendar entries and call logs on its monochrome display.

HTC Mini can also be used to navigate through menus when the smartphone is plugged into your HDTV.

Samsung announces Galaxy Duos I8262 for the Chinese market

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Duos I8262 smartphone in China. The device has been designed exclusively for the local market and is unlikely to ever become available elsewhere. The Galaxy Duos I8262 will be powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and as the name suggests will have a couple of SIM slots.

The smartphone sports a 4.3-inch, 480 x 800 pixel display, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 768 MB RAM. The Galaxy Duos I8262 also features a 5 megapixel rear camera, 4 GB storage, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, Wi-Fi, microUSB port and a 1,700mAh battery.

BlackBerry Z10 SIM-free pricing to be about £480

According to the Carphone Warehouse, the BlackBerry Z10 will cost £480 (about $760). The listing in the company's database clearly shows the pricing of the white variant of the smartphone and the attached BLAZ10WHI product code too aligns nicely with the earlier leaks from the retailer.

The leaked price is said to be for a SIM-free version and the smartphone will naturally be available for far less on contract.

Lava International, the company that released the world's first Intel Atom-based smartphone in India - the XOLO X900 - is now set to launch the new XOLO X500. The new handset is based on Intel's new Atom processor, formerly known as 'Lexington', designed specifically for low-cost smartphones.

The Atom Z2420 on the X500 is clocked at 1.2GHz and uses Intel's Hyper-Threading technology, which theoretically doubles the processor cores per physical core, making it more efficient. It also uses PowerVR SGX540 GPU, good enough for casual gaming and 1080p video playback.

The XOLO X500 has a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 resolution display, 512MB of RAM, 4GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 5 megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and 7fps burst mode, 1,500mAh battery, dual-SIM card support and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Acer officially unveils the stylish Liquid E1 mid-ranger

Today Acer announced a new member of its lineup of mid-range Android smartphones. The smartphone is called Liquid E1 and is basically a trimmed down version of the CloudMobile S500.

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, the Acer Liquid E1 runs with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean out of box. It's sporting a 4.5-inch display of qHD resolution (960 x 540 pixels) and boasts an 5MP auto-focus primary camera with LED flash at the back and a 0.3MP video-chat camera at the front.
The Liquid E1 dimensions are spot on for a midranger at 132 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm with a weight of 130 grams. Popping the stylishly designed back cover open reveals a somewhat underwhelming battery with a capacity of 1760mAh. Acer says that it should be good for up to 8 hours of talk time and around 400 hours of waiting patiently in standby.
The Liquid E1 also features an FM receiver, microSD card slot and the usual array of sensors. Judging from those official shots, we really like the Liquid E1 design, particularly on the dark grey version with red accents.

Symbian is officially dead, 808 PureView is the last of its kind

We all knew this was eventually coming, but it's now official. Symbian on Nokia is dead.
Nokia managed to send off the once might platform in style. The 808 PureView will go down in history as the last Symbian device by the Finnish manufacturer.

Nokia announced the news alongside its great Q4 results today, which showed $585 million profit and $10.83 billion in revenue.
During our transition to Windows Phone through 2012, we continued to ship devices based on Symbian. The Nokia 808 PureView, a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-2012, was the last Symbian device from Nokia.
Symbian OS on Nokia devices has played a key part in the smartphone game over the past ten years, but its significance was severely reduced once the touchscreen revolution started. Some of the most notable phones to come out of Nokia were powered by Symbian - beginning with the 9210 Communicator. The Nokia E61 started a messenger phone hype that peaked with the E71, making Symbian OS the only viable competitor to the then-strong BlackBerry portfolio of messengers.
Then came the cameraphone era, which gave birth to devices like the Nokia N95, which was widely regarded as the king of the smartphone hill in its day. The Nokia N8 came at a time when Symbian was rapidly sliding into irrelevancy but still made a huge splash among camera-lovers with its large sensor and superb image quality. Heck we loved snapping photos with it and it's still the most popular smartphone in our database with over 25 million hits.

When Nokia officially announced the budget-minded Lumia 505, it was widely believed to be an exclusive to the launch exclusively at carrier Telcel in Mexico. However, those rumors have now been refuted as the Lumia 505 went available in a number of other South American countries.
The Windows Phone 7.8-running smartphone will hit the shelves in Colombia, Chile and Peru in the near future. In all of these countries the Nokia Lumia 505 will be offered by the carrier Claro.
Exact launch dates for the new countries hasn't been specified, but they shouldn't be too far away. Pricing is still not confirmed either, but the MXN 3,499 Mexican cost should be a pretty reference.

The US International Trade Commission will review ruling, which could lead to an import ban on few devices from Samsung.

The ITC will be reviewing the preliminary ruling, which found the Samsung smartphones and few tablets breaching upon the four patents held by Apple. The final verdict on the case was supposed to be come by March 27 and now that date is very likely to be rescheduled due to the trade body's review.

Samsung's hope of continuing its dominance in the mobile market relies heavily on the decision from the International Trade commission. However, the company remains confident that the commission will ultimately rule in its favor.

Verizon Wireless to launch DROID RAZR M in pink

Verizon has been offering the DROID RAZR M for a while now, but the carrier is all set to launch a new color variant of the smartphone. The pink DROID RAZR M will be debuting alongside the Samsung Ativ Odyssey, which will also be coming to Verizon tomorrow.

The pink DROID RAZR M is designed with the upcoming Valentine's Day in mind. The device will be made available through online and retail stores beginning on January 24. The handset will be priced at $99.99 along with the standard two year agreement.
The Motorola DROID RAZR M sports a 4.3" Super AMOLED Advanced display and packs a 1.5 GHz dual-core Krait processor along with 1 GB of RAM. DROID RAZR M also offers an 8 megapixel rear

Verizon sells 6.2 million iPhones in the holiday quarter

Verizon Wireless has activated as many as 9.8 million smartphones in the recently ended Q4 and according to Verizon's chief financial officer Mr. Fran Shammo, the 6.2 million of those were iPhones. Surprisingly, the report says that only half of those were able to take advantage of Verizon's LTE network, suggesting that the other half consisted of iPhone 4S and 4.

Predictably, the bulk of the remaining 3.6 million smartphones activated during the quarter were Android devices. Of those 95% tapped into the 4G LTE network, attracting a larger consumer base.
Verizon's investments in its LTE network has surely paid off, with more than 7.3 million 4G devices being sold in this quarter alone. Furthermore, more than half of the total Verizon data traffic now travels over its last-gen network.

Nokia to release a 38MP WP EOS phone this year

The Nokia 808 PureView was the company’s first PureView smartphone and it still holds the throne as the best cameraphone out there, despite the Lumia 920 challenge. It seems that this is about to change though as the company's Windows Phone camp is going to get its own PureView device.

According to the information that The Verge acquired, the device will include a sensor similar to the one inside the 808 PureView and the whole device will be made of aluminum. The latter coincides with the rumor for another upcoiming high-end Nokia Catwalk that’s also going to be made out of aluminum, according to previous reports.

The EOS is going to a high-end Lumia device, but isn’t clear whether it’s the aforementioned Catwalk, that’s going to replace the Lumia 920, or if it’s going to be a completely different animal.

Meizu MX2 launches on China Unicom

Meizu and China Unicom have entered a partnership to sell the Meizu MX2 on contract in China. The phone goes on sale from today and is available on multiple contracts.

You can go for the free phone plan, in which you have to pay ¥226 per month and ¥2,699 prepaid for two-years or ¥156 per month and ¥2,699 prepaid for three years. There is also a bonus credit deal, where the phone is sold for ¥2,699 with a two year contract of at least ¥66 per month but you get bonus credit toppings of ¥5,800.

NEC launched the Medias W N-05E for Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo on Tuesday, and it's definitely one of the most interesting smartphones we've seen.

Its specs are fairly standard: Android 4.1, a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, an 8-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage memory that's expandable via microSD cards.

What makes the phone stand out is its two 4.3-inch LCD screens, both with a 540x960 pixel resolution. The device can be folded in such a way that it shows only one screen, but when users need extra space, they can open both and enjoy all that added visual real estate.

What's more, users can stretch one app over both screens, or run different apps on each screen.

The Medias W will be available in Japan this April. What do you think of a two-screen smartphone? Would you use it? Share your thoughts in the comments, below.

LG: Nexus 4 production will pick up next month

Ever since the day the Nexus 4 was officially made available, Google and LG have been struggling to keep up with demand. Google has recently blamed LG for the Nexus 4 scarcity, but according to LG, production was in accordance with figures provided by Google.

As such, LG France blames Google for the current shortage, since the predictions given by Google on the basis of previous Nexus sales turned out to be lower than the actual demand. LG France has since increased the production scale and expects the "market strain" to be gone by next month.

The Sharp Aqous EX SH-04E ladies smartphone has been launched in cooperation with NTT DOCOMO in Japan. The smartphone will be equipped with a 4.5" 720p HD, S-CG Silicon TFT LCD display.

The Aqous EX SH-04E will be powered by Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5 GHz Quad Core processor along with 2 GB of RAM. The device has a 13 MP camera and comes with 16 GB of internal memory, and will feature Android 4.1 Jelly Bean powered by a 2000 mAh battery.

Predictably, the ladies phone comes pre-loaded with a reality application, which captures the user's face and allows them to try some Shiseido cosmetics like eye shadow, lipstick, and others. Unfortunately, there are no official confirmations on the pricing of the device yet,

Samsung Galaxy Grand, which was announced in December 2012, has now received its official announcement in India. The 5" smartphone with dual-SIM functionality has been priced at Rs. 21500 (about $400).

Samsung Galaxy Grand features a 5" WVGA TFT display and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core processor along with 1 GB of RAM. The smartphone has an 8 MP camera with LED flash at the back and a 2 MP shooter in the front.

The dual-SIM smartphone offers 8GB of storage and supports memory expansion up to 64GB via the microSD card slot. Samsung Galaxy Grand runs on a 2100mAH battery and comes with few cool home-backed features like S Voice, Direct call, Smart alert, Popup play along with the Multi-View functionality, which allows the users to access two apps simultaneously.

Furthermore, the handset's auto forwarding option will automatically divert incoming calls on the other SIM to the primary SIM, if when you are in a call.

Alleged images of HTC M7 with Sense 5.0 leak

We have been hearing about HTC's upcoming flagship, known only as the M7 for now, for quite some time now. We have seen the leaked specifications as well as an early render. Now we have what are allegedly the actual pictures of the device.

One look at these pictures and you'll notice this particular phone looks nothing like the render we saw in the past, which looked more like the BlackBerry L-series device. This one has more in common with current HTC devices, such as the DROID DNA.

In the front we can see that HTC has once again opted to go with physical keys below the display. HTC has this time rearranged the order of the buttons with the Home and multitasking key having switched places. The display itself doesn't seem particularly large, which falls in line with the rumors of it being 4.7-inches in size. Above that lie the earpiece and the front facing camera.

The back looks similar once again to the DROID DNA, but the flash has moved over to the left of the camera lens and there doesn't seem to be an additional LED notification light, although a hole for the secondary microphone is clearly visible near the top right.

Huawei announces quad-core Ascend G615 droid for Germany

Huawei introduced a new quad-core Android phone to the German market, the Huawei Ascend G615. It’s very similar to the Ascend D quad in terms of specs – 4.5” IPS LCD screen with 720p resolution (326ppi), Android 4.0 with an incoming Jelly Bean update, HiSilicon K3V2 chipset (4x Cortex-A9 at 1.4GHz, 1GB RAM and HiSilicon GPU) along with an 8MP / 1080p camera.

The G615 is cheaper than the Ascend D quad XL – it will be sold at €300, while the older model goes for around €380. The battery is not quite as big though (2,150mAh vs. 2,600mAh) and it’s slightly thicker and heavier, the Ascend G615 measures 134 x 67.5 x 10.5mm and weighs 145g.

The rest of the specs include 8GB of built-in memory, microSD card slot (take that, Nexus 4), Dolby Digital Plus audio tech, 3G with 21Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. The G615 will be available in Black and White and uses old fashioned miniSIMs.

The Micromax A110 (a.k.a. Canvas 2) is the most popular phone in our database and it just got a successor. Meet the Micromax A116 Canvas HD – a dual-SIM Android phone with a 5” 720p IPS screen, quad-core processor and affordable price.
The 5" screen is a marked improvement over the A110 – the new model has 294ppi pixel density, up from 196ppi. The chipset is a big step forward too, the MediaTek MT6589 packs a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM and the PowerVR Series 5XT GPU.
The Micromax A116 Canvas HD runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (with a 4.2 update to come), packs an 8MP main camera and VGA front-facing camera and has 4GB of built-in storage (plus a microSD card slot). Connectivity is handled by 3G GSM, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS. The battery capacity is 2,100mAh.
The Micromax A116 will launch in India next month for 15,000 rupees ($280) in brick and mortar stores

Huawei Ascend W1 was announced back at CES, a day after company's Android flagships got official. The Ascend W1 runs on Windows Phone 8 but relies on attractive price tag, rather than high-end specs to impress customers.

The Ascend W1 is now available in China, Huawei's home country, and is the cheapest WP8-powered smartphone there. It costs ¥1599 (about $260), which is good ¥400 cheaper than the Chinese version of the Lumia 620 (about $320).

If you are on to the Ascend W1 you can have it even cheaper - if you order it right now you'll automatically get a ¥100 discount while supplies last.

Huawei Ascend W1 will become available in other countries, including the UK, before the end of Q1 of this year.

LG may be back as the second top phone manufacturer in the US

Yup, after years of poor performance in the mobile phone sector, LG may actually be back on track. We last heard that they've sold some 55 million handsets in 2012, even though their Optimus G was not doing terribly well, selling only 1 million units during the first 4 months of its availability.

But hey, perhaps due to the incredible popularity of the competitively priced and Google-sanctioned LG Nexus 4 (pictured left), LG managed to outgrow Apple's 13% US market share.

According to Counterpoint Research, LG actually scored a market share of 14% in the US. Now how's that for a comeback? We are yet to see where this would take them in the quarter that lies ahead.

Of course, we would advise anyone at LG to wait for a second confirmation from another market research agency before popping up that champagne.

ANDROID LATEST CODES AND HACKS

ANDROID LATEST CODES AND HACKS
Hello guys,
Good Evening,
Today I am back with latest Android code and hack collection which are very important in our daily Life!!!
I am Going to post all working code!!

Secret codes for Android mobile operating system:
Phone and Battery information Code:
##4636##
Factory Data reset Code:
##7780##
Full Factory Format Code:
27673855# (Dangerous)
GTalk Service Monitor Code:
##8255##
Camera Firmware settings Code :
##34971539##
Service mode Codes:
##197328640##
This code can be used to enter into Service mode. You can run various tests and change settings in the service mode.
WLAN, GPS and Bluetooth Test Codes:
WLAN test (Use"Menu" button to start various tests) :
##232339##
or
##526##
or
##528##
Shows WiFi MAC address :
##232338##
GPS test :
##1472365##
Another GPS test : ##1575##
Bluetooth test : ##232331##
Shows Bluetooth device address : ##232337##
Codes to launch various Factory Tests:
Packet Loopback:
##0283##
LCD test :
##0##
Melody test:
##0673##
or
##0289##
Device test(Vibration test and BackLight test) :
##0842##
Touch screen version :
##2663##
Touch screen test:
##2664##
Proximity sensor test :
##0588##
RAM version :
##3264##
Codes to get Firmware version information:
PDA, Phone, H/W, RFCallDate : ##49862650468##*
PDA and Phone :
##1234##
FTA SW Version :
##1111##
FTA HW Version :
##2222##
PDA, Phone, CSC, Build Time, Changelist number :
##44336##

US Galaxy Note 10.1 gets Android Jelly Bean and Premium Suite upgrade

The US owners of the Galaxy Note 10.1 are in for a treat today – the tablet is about to join in on the Jelly Bean fun its European cousin has been having for a while now.

The Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy Note 10.1 also comes with the Premium Suite Upgrade, which means it’s not a mere update of the operating system but it also delivers a pack of new features to the tablet owners. The new stuff should provide improved performance, enhanced S Pen Functionality and fully resizable apps.

The update is only available for the Wi-Fi version of the Galaxy Note 10.1. Besides the latest version of Android, some of the features the update brings are the following:

Multi Window mode for opening multiple apps side by side (not only two as in Dual View)
Air View gives you a preview of an item’s content just by hovering over it with the S-pen
You can now write directly on your emails and send hand-written notes
You can execute commands just by drawing shortcuts on the screen
S-Note now works in landscape mode
You can now record the process of your sketching in S-Note
You can unlock the tablet just by taking out the stylus

Dual SIM Samsung Galaxy Grand to hit Europe in February

Samsung Ukraine has spilled the beans on the pricing and availability of the upcoming 5" Galaxy Grand smartphone.Announced back in December last year, the Grand is going to land in Europe in February. Ukraine is going to be the first country to get it and there, the phone will sell for €409 ($547).

This seems a bit too high of a price for a smartphone which packs a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory (wexpandable via the microSD card slot). Additionally, the 5" LCD display only offers WVGA resolution.

The Oppo Find 5 is one of the phones that’re leading the 5” 1080p craze and Oppo is already taking pre-orders for it in its home country, China. Priced at 2,998 Chinese yuan ($480), the Find 5 can challenges flagships from HTC (the DROID DNA / Butterfly) and Sony (the Xperia Z).

Anyway, Chinese pre-orders will be fulfilled on January 29. That’s for the 16GB. There will be a 32GB version too, though pricing for this one hasn’t been announced in China yet.

Elsewhere, the 16GB version will be $500 and the 32GB version will be $570. You can check the list of countries that will be getting it here.

So, any takers? For comparison, an HTC DROID DNA for Verizon will set you back $600 without a contract (it has 16GB storage and “only” an 8MP camera), but it has HTC’s brand name behind it. It is pricier outside the US

Last week we heard plenty of rumors about Apple having cut orders for the new iPhone 5 due to lower than expected demand. While it has gone as far as to affect Apple's stock prices, it may not have been entirely true. According to one analyst Apple were able to ship some 52 million iPhone units in Q4.
While main product lines like the iPhone and iPad are expected to remain strong, specific devices within those lines may fall short of expected sales.35 million of the iPhones sold were of the iPhone 5 variety, while the iPhone 4S and 4 followed with 9.5 million and 7.3 million, respectively.

We first learned about the existence of Galaxy Pocket Plus back in December. We knew it will be a refreshed version of the original Pocket and will run on Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Today we can shed some light on the specs too. According to the leaked info the Pocket Plus will get a hardware update too - the processor will be upgraded to 850 MHz and presumably a new architecture (from 832 MHz), the RAM jumps to 512 MB (from 384 MB) and the internal storage goes from 3 GB to 4 GB.

The rest of the specs are pretty much the same - a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, a 2MP snapper, quad-band GSM/dual-band 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio and a microSD card slot.

LG might start making Windows Phone 8 handsets again

LG Optimus 7 was one of the first Windows Phone 7 handsets… and one of the last LG-made WP handsets. The LG is not one of the four companies that make WP8 phones either, but a new rumor suggests that’s about to change.

Korea Times talked to an LG partner, who says that the Korean company is looking to boost sales by as much as 40% (from 55 million for 2012 to 75 million), with smartphones making up the bulk of it (around 10 million per quarter, 45 million in total).

To do that, LG will be releasing new Optimus handsets, including ones that run Windows Phone 8. The unnamed partner also says that we’ll be seeing a 5.5” FullHD device from LG at the MWC, but didn’t specify if it’s an Android or a WP8 phone.

We have already seen the rumored specifications for the HTC M7, the company's upcoming flagship device and supposedly a replacement for the One X. Now we have a rendered image to go with it.The rendered image looks strikingly similar to the BlackBerry L-series device that we have seen in the past, which itself sort of looks like the iPhone 5. The display is flanked by two colored plastic portions on the top and the bottom. Both areas have a rather pronounced grille area, with the top also housing the front facing camera and the various sensors. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we have for now.

The specs, as we had learned before, include a 4.7-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution display with an incredible 468 ppi pixel density, 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage space, 13 megapixel, f/2.0 rear camera and 2 megapixel front facing camera with 1080p video recording.

After it slipped under our radar at CES last week, the Huawei Ascend G510 is once again making its internet rounds. This time the photos come from a Huawei event in the Czech Republic, where the company showcased its latest mid-range offering again. Built around a 4.5-inch IPS display with a WVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels), the G510 packs a 1.2GHz dual-core Mediatek MT6577 chip with PowerVR SGX531 GPU and 512MB of RAM. The phone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and sports tow cameras, a 5MP with LED flash at the back and a 0.3MP at the front.

The G510 measures 134 x 64.7 x 9.9 mm and weighs 150 grams. The internal storage is merely 4GB, but it is expandable via the microSD card slot. Sadly, the battery isn't anything to write home about with its capacity of 1,700mAh.Unlike the Ascend G520, which is destined for the Chinese market only, the Ascend G510 is going to hit Europe and eventually more markets.

Just ten days after the HTC Butterfly hit Australian shores, now the 5", 1080p smartphone is finally making its way to Europe's stores, specifically those in Russia. The device should make the Russians quite happy as they are the first in Europe to have the opportunity to purchase the first Android smartphone with a full HD display.

The price however is a little steep at €692 (RUR27,990). Having in mind though, that smartphones in Russia tend to be a bit overpriced, we expect the HTC Butterfly to sell for less when it finally makes its way to Western Europe.

That kind of cash gets you a 5.0" Super LCD3 screen of FullHD resolution and Gorilla Glass 2 protection for it. Inside there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 SoC with a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait CPU and Adreno 320 GPU as well as 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (with a microSD card slot).

Phil Schiller dismisses rumors of Apple making a cheap iPhone

We have been hearing rumors of Apple working on a cheaper iPhone, something that is backed by both The Wall Street Journal as well as Bloomberg. But it seems that may not be the case after all. In an interview with China's Shanghai Evening News, Senior Vice President Worldwide Marketing at Apple - Phil Schiller - said that “Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones [in China], this will never be the future of Apple’s products".

While this comes across as a clear dismissal of the rumors, it won't be the first time when Apple said that they were not going to do something and then basically do that thing later on. Then again, with Apple's

Nokia launches Lumia 920 and 820 in India, 620 coming in February

Nokia is launching its Lumia 920 flagship in India today alongside the Lumia 820. The phones will be available in brick and mortar stores as well as through Nokia's online store with free shipping starting tomorrow and will cost $697 and $504 (RS 38,199 and RS 27,599)respectively.

The budget Windows Phone 8 offering Lumia 620 will be available in India from February but the price and exact date aren't available just yet.

The Lumia 920 isn't exactly on the cheap side - you could get a Galaxy S III for less and a Galaxy Note II for about the same. The Lumia flagman is, however, cheaper than a brand new iPhone 5.

HTC's Windows Phone 8X and 8S, which are the other available WP8 smartphones in India are also priced lower, but that's to be expected given their more modest specs sheets.

To refresh your memory the Lumia 920 has a 4.5" ClearBlack IPS display on tap with the PureMotion HD+ technology, which ensures higher framerates for lower motion blur. There's an 8.7 MP snapper on the back with PureView technology for enhanced low-light performance and Carl Zeiss optics. The device is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 with two 1.5 GHz Krait cores.

The Lumia 820 uses a lower-grade dual-core Krait chip, 8 MP camera with 1080p video recording and a 4.3" ClearBlack AMOLED display of WVGA (480 x 800) resolution.

Windows Phone 8 'Portico' update rolls out to Lumia 920 and 820

The AT&T version of the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 received the Windows Phone 'Portico' update back in December, along with the HTC 8X. The same update has now started rolling out to the international version of the Nokia handsets.

The Portico update brings with it some much needed improvements to the performance of these devices. Nokia has improved the camera performance with this update, reducing the blur in some of the daylight images. Along with that this update also brings with it the ability to keep the device connected to the Wi-Fi even when the screen switches off, ability to reject calls with an SMS and Select All and drafts functionality for SMS.

Titanium Gray Samsung Galaxy Premier launched in Taiwan

You may remember the Samsung Galaxy Premier that was announced back in October last month. The phone has a 4.65-inch, HD Super AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera and Android Jelly Bean, and is essentially a variation of Google's Galaxy Nexus, also manufactured by Samsung.

The phone has now gone on sale in Taiwan, where it is being sold in a new color called Titanium Gray, as seen above. The phone is now available for purchase for 15,900 Taiwanese Dollars, which is approximately US$549. The phone is expected to go on sale shortly in other Asian markets.

LG Optimus G Pro with a 5" 1080p screen leaks

The LG Optimus G is one of the most powerful phones on the market right now and it got the honor of being the basis of the latest Google Nexus phone. Yet, LG may already be working on an improved version, the LG Optimus G Pro.

Blog of Mobile came upon some info that points to the Optimus G Pro joining the 5” 1080p fight. The quad Krait CPU will be clocked at 1.7GHz (up from 1.5GHz) and the battery capacity has been bumped up to 3000mAh. It might also pack an IR port, similar to the Sony Xperia ZL.

The rest is pretty much the same – 13MP camera, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, LTE connectivity, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC, wallet and a couple of digital TV standards (presumably, those won’t make it to the worldwide version).

The LG Optimus G Pro will measure 139 x 70 x 10mm and weigh 160g according to rumors.

Nokia Lumia 620 is now available in Russia. It costs about €300 (11990 RUB) and, is the most affordable Windows Phone 8-powered smartphone by the Finnish company yet.

It is available on the official Nokia Store for Russia in all of its color versions (white, black, yellow, green and magenta colors).

We already had a close encounter with the Nokia Lumia 620 in green and you can find everything we learned from it right here.

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