Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Google Play store drops GPE smartphones for Android Wear

The Google Play Edition smartphones are out of the Play Store and in their place Google has the Nexus 5, 7 and 10 as well as LG's G Watch and Samsung's Gear Live - both running Android Wear OS.
It seems Google is done with the HTC OneSamsung Galaxy S4Moto GLG G Pad 8.3 and Sony Xperia Ultra Google Play Edition devices with only a few of them still available in certain countries' Play Store.



Android Wear is getting the podium to itself amid serious rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition to challenge the HTC One (M8) Google Play Edition.
There's also a charger for the LG G Watch available under its product page as a standalone accessory costing $19.99.

Xiaomi announces the Redmi Note 4G with a Snapdragon 400

Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Note 4G, an LTE-enabled version of the Redmi Note launched back in March.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G features a Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400 with a quad-core 1.6GHz CPU and 2GB of RAM. Its non-LTE sibling packs a MediaTek MT6592 chipset with an octa-core 1.7GHz CPU. Internal storage 8GB and it's backed up by a microSD card slot that supports up to 64GB cards.



The phone is only offered in a single-SIM configuration, unlike the 3G version, which sports two SIM card slots. The phone runs Android 4.4.2 kitKat with MIUI v.5.0.
At the back of the Redmi Note 4G sits a 13MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture and LED flash. Below the back cover lies a 3,200mAh battery and the screen remains the same 5.5" IPS of 720p resolution. Dimensions are unchanged, too, at 154 x 78.7 x 9.5mm.



The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G will be offered in black and white with the company also offering colorful protective sleeves. It will carry the same price as its predecessor, about $162 (CNY 999). The phone should launch in China soon, as well as in Malaysia.

XOLO 8X-1000 with HIVE official, coming to India next week

The XOLO 8X-1000 is now official with a 5" 720p display of 294ppi, 8MP Sony Exmor R camera with f/2.0 aperture, Mediatek MT6592M chipset with a true octa-core 1.4 GHz processor and a quad-core Mali-450MP4 graphics chip. There's also 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a microSD card slot that supports up to 32 additional gigs.The XOLO 8X-1000 packs a 1,920 mAh battery and glass on its front and back. The front glass panel is made out of ASAHI Dragontrail glass while the back is Corning's Gorilla Glass.
  
XOLO 8X-1000

XOLO also announced the official launch of its HIVE OS that's built around Android 4.4 KitKat. The company says the UI is "Made in India, Made for India" and has some unique aspects to it.First off HIVE allows customer access, letting users become a part of the developer team and share ideas. The best-voted ideas are going to be pushed as new features via over-the-air updates and the users that came up with the idea are going to secure themselves exclusive credits and win digital content or merchandise.HIVE has two exclusive apps for its users - Connect and Edge. Connect will allow users to report bugs while Edge will give them a selection of themes, ringtones and wallpapers from a number of Indian designers. Users will also be able to create content themselves.
   
HIVE OS

The XOLO 8X-1000 will launch across XOLO-authorized outlets in India starting next week for the price of INR 13,999 (around €170). You can find out more in its product page.

LG G3 Stylus gets detailed, won't be high-end

Yesterday the upcoming LG G3 Stylus got leaked by the Korean company itself, through a promotional video for the recently announced G3 Beat. And today we get a few actual details about LG's stylus-touting phablet.By all accounts, it looks like this won't be a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (which will get official on September 3). At least not when it comes to specs.of a mid-range offering.

Hence, the G3 Stylus may come with a 5.7-inch 720p touchscreen, an 8 MP rear camera, a 1.3 MP front snapper, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of built-in storage.At the helm will be a yet unknown 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 4G LTE support will be in tow, and the G3 Stylus shall run Android 4.4 KitKat from the day it launches.The new smartphone's mid-range character has seemingly been confirmed in South Korea by "an industry source who is familiar with the matter", who claims that its "overall specifications will be slightly downgraded compared with the G3".So there you have it. While the G3 Stylus won't go head to head with the Galaxy Note 4 in specs, it should obviously be much cheaper than Samsung's device, and that may count for some people. And let's not forget that it will have a stylus too, like its name says.

T-Mobile's Sony Xperia Z1s finally gets KitKat update


The internationally sold Sony Xperia Z1 started receiving its update to Android 4.4 KitKat back in March. T-Mobile's version of the phone, however, has so far been stuck on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.Thankfully that's changed today, since the KitKat update for the Xperia Z1s has finally began its rollout. Furthermore, it will take the handset directly to Android 4.4.4, which is currently the latest version of Google's mobile operating system.To update, unfortunately you need a computer with Sony's PC Companion software installed, as this isn't an over-the-air rollout. Your phone will probably notify you about the update, but it will tell you to use a PC for the actual procedure.After applying the update, you'll be on build number 14.4.B.0.37. The new software brings with it a new launcher, new themes, a customized keyboard, transparent navigation and status bars, white status bar icons, a bunch of upgraded Sony apps, a new boot animation, and a more responsive touchscreen.

iPhone 6 unveiling date to be September 9


The much anticipated official introduction of the next generation iPhone is bound to take place on Tuesday, September 9, according to some new information revealed today.Previously, we were working with the assumption that the grand unveiling would come sometime in mid-September, based on a rumor from last month.At its big gathering on September 9, Apple is widely expected to announce the incredibly oft-leaked iPhone 6. That said, it's still unclear whether we'll see both sizes of the smartphone getting unveiled then. Some recent mumblings have suggested that Apple could choose to make the bigger, 5.5-inch model official at a later point before the end of the year.The latest iPhone-related rumor claims that the phablet version of the device will get a beefier processor than the smaller, 4.7-inch handset. In any case, both SKUs should feature the Apple A8 chipset, higher-res screens, as well as other small hardware improvements. The jury's still out on whether the much talked about sapphire display will be found in both smartphones, or just one of them.For what it's worth, Apple has declined to comment on this new report.

All-blue Samsung Galaxy S5 lands in the US on August 17

Best Buy has just announced that it will exclusively sell an all-blue version of the Samsung Galaxy S5starting on Sunday, August 17. The hue is still called Electric Blue, but unlike the color of the same name that's already available internationally, Best Buy's iteration will feature a blue front fascia as well. The already outed blue Galaxy S5 has a black front.


If you're in the US and are interested in picking up a Samsung Galaxy S5 in Electric Blue, know that Best Buy will be offering it with contracts from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.The price you'll have to pay for the phone if you grab yours before August 23 will be just $99, which is $100 less than the recommended retail price for the shades that are already on sale at the aforementioned carriers. You'll also be able to use each carrier's respective installment plan to get the device, and if you go that route Best Buy will throw in a $100 gift card for each activation.
Members of My Best Buy can buy the blue Galaxy S5 starting on August 15, online or in stores.If you want to learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S5, make sure you read our review.