Project Ara Chief Designer Dan Makoski leaves Google

Chief Designer of Project Ara - Dan Makoski - has left Google.

Makoski has been working at Google/Motorola since 2012 and is quitting now after his two year contract with the company ended. Why he chose not to renew his contract with Google is not known. Makoski is will now be working as VP of Design at Capital One.Makoski has been a major part of designing Project Ara and worked on it since the beginning. For those not aware, Project Ara is the first modular phone concept we have seen from a major manufacturer and something that is actually close to becoming a reality. However, with the chief designer now gone, it remains to be seen what direction the product design takes.

Microsoft and Canon strike patent cross-licensing deal

Software giant Microsoft and imaging giant Canon have struck a cross-licensing patent deal that affects "a broad range of products and services each company offers, including certain digital imaging and mobile consumer products".

While details on the specific devices and services aren't given and we have no specific information on individual patents the deal makes for interesting prospects.

Microsoft could use Canon's patents and software knowledge for improving the PureView technology itbought from Nokia or perhaps Canon could launch a smart camera running on Windows Phone.

Then again this deal could just be a reassurance that neither company will have patent disputes with the other. Or it could mean that the two platforms will be made to play nicer with each other - Canon cameras with Windows devices (smartphones, PCs, tablets).

New iPhone 6 launch date rumored as front glass panel leaks

From China today comes a new rumored announcement date, alongside a purported release date as well as pricing information (at least for the mainland).

Furthermore, what you can see below is said to be the upcoming 4.7-inch iPhone's front glass panel that goes atop the display. It's been made to star in a photo shoot, getting compared to the glass of the iPhone 5S (in the first two images), and even Apple's current flagship smartphone itself (in the next two).

 

iPhone 6 front glass panel

This gives us an idea about how the 4.7" iPhone 6 will fare, size-wise, against its predecessor. The new glass panel is thinner than the one used in the iPhone 5S, which is what you'd expect given the technological advances in the field.

The edges of the iPhone 6's glass front are rounded, and that may have to do with them seamlessly 'blending' into the metal frame of the handset - to supposedly allow for easier one-hand use of the biggest iPhone yet.

The iPhone 6 is now rumored to get official on September 15, with a release on September 25 - at least in China. A while back a German carrier leaked September 19 as the launch date over there, and both things may be true. Apple is known to do staged rollouts of its devices across the world, so perhaps the 'first wave' of countries (US included) will get it on the 19th, and the next wave (of which China will apparently be a part of) will have it six days later.

On the other hand, the Chinese media report on the matter specifically mentions that China will be in the "first list". So do take all of this with a pinch of salt.

In terms of pricing, the 4.7-inch iPhone will start at exactly as much as the iPhone 5S currently does. That's CNY 5,288 ($851) in China, but prices vary across markets.

The 5.5" variation of the iPhone 6 will reportedly go by the name iPhone Air and it will be sold for CNY 5,998 with 16GB of built-in storage. That's around $965 at the current exchange rates, so in the US you should probably expect this bigger handset to cost around $100 more than its smaller sibling.

In China, the new devices are likely to be carried by both China Mobile and China Unicom.

New iPhone 6 launch date rumored as front glass panel leaks

The iPhone 6 rumors aren't going to stop anytime soon, but by now you've probably gotten used to that idea.

From China today comes a new rumored announcement date, alongside a purported release date as well as pricing information (at least for the mainland).

Furthermore, what you can see below is said to be the upcoming 4.7-inch iPhone's front glass panel that goes atop the display. It's been made to star in a photo shoot, getting compared to the glass of the iPhone 5S (in the first two images), and even Apple's current flagship smartphone itself (in the next two).

 

iPhone 6 front glass panel

This gives us an idea about how the 4.7" iPhone 6 will fare, size-wise, against its predecessor. The new glass panel is thinner than the one used in the iPhone 5S, which is what you'd expect given the technological advances in the field.

The edges of the iPhone 6's glass front are rounded, and that may have to do with them seamlessly 'blending' into the metal frame of the handset - to supposedly allow for easier one-hand use of the biggest iPhone yet.

The iPhone 6 is now rumored to get official on September 15, with a release on September 25 - at least in China. A while back a German carrier leaked September 19 as the launch date over there, and both things may be true. Apple is known to do staged rollouts of its devices across the world, so perhaps the 'first wave' of countries (US included) will get it on the 19th, and the next wave (of which China will apparently be a part of) will have it six days later.

On the other hand, the Chinese media report on the matter specifically mentions that China will be in the "first list". So do take all of this with a pinch of salt.

In terms of pricing, the 4.7-inch iPhone will start at exactly as much as the iPhone 5S currently does. That's CNY 5,288 ($851) in China, but prices vary across markets.

The 5.5" variation of the iPhone 6 will reportedly go by the name iPhone Air and it will be sold for CNY 5,998 with 16GB of built-in storage. That's around $965 at the current exchange rates, so in the US you should probably expect this bigger handset to cost around $100 more than its smaller sibling.

In China, the new devices are likely to be carried by both China Mobile and China Unicom.

XOLO Q1011 with Android 4.4 KitKat now out in India

Indian phone maker XOLO has unveiled a new device today. The Q1011 may or may not serve as a follow-up to the Q1010, coming with a different design but mostly similar specs. One thing's for certain, though - the new handset is already up for grabs at Amazon India.

It's priced at Rs. 9,999, which at the current exchange rates means $166 or €122.

So you may be wondering what exactly you get for that low price. The XOLO Q1011 comes with a 5-inch touchscreen with 720p resolution, as well as a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM.

On the back there's an 8MP BSI camera with LED flash, and a 2MP snapper takes care of selfies. The phone has dual-SIM support and 4GB of internal storage that's expandable via microSD cards. A 2250 mAh Li-Po battery keeps things running smoothly, and Android 4.4 KitKat comes preinstalled.

The XOLO Q1011 is definitely all about affordability, though its specs are surprisingly decent for the price.

Nokia X2 Dual SIM

Also known as Nokia X2 RM-1013, Nokia X2DS

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
	SIM	Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
	Announced	2014, June
	Status	Available. Released 2014, June

BODY	Dimensions	121.7 x 68.3 x 11.1 mm, 87.4 cc (4.79 x 2.69 x 0.44 in)
	Weight	150 g (5.29 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Scratch-resistant glass
		- ClearBlack display - Nokia X platform 2.0 UI

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
	Internal	4 GB, 1 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Up to 85.6 kbps
	EDGE	Up to 236.8 kbps
	Speed	HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, HS
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	1/4'' sensor size, geo-tagging, touch focus
	Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes, VGA, 480p

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8210 Snapdragon 200
	CPU	Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
	GPU	Adreno 302
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support, GLONASS, Beidou
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Glossy green, orange black, yellow, white, matt dark grey
		- 7GB free OneDrive storage - SNS integration - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - Photo editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery (BV-5S)
	Stand-by	Up to 552 h
	Talk time	Up to 10 h (2G) / Up to 13 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 86 h

HTC is working on bringing Android L to the One line fast

Google has just announced the Android L developer preview, which will become available to download tomorrow. However, the new version of the mobile OS will only be finalized in a few months, it seems.

So it's going to be quite a wait until you'll see this on your smartphone. But now HTC has contacted us to bring you some good news: at least this phone maker won't extend your waiting period by too much.

If you have either the One (M8) or the original One from last year, you can expect to see updates to Android L start rolling out within 90 days of when the smartphone maker receives final software from Google.

Shortly after that, other, unnamed One family members will also receive the new bits, along with select additional devices (probably a Desire-branded phone or two, if we're lucky).

The 90-day commitment is akin to what HTC has done for the One last year when Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat. And since the company kept its promise then, there's no reason to think it won't this time around.