HTC M8 could feature 5-megapixel front-facing camera

A new HTC M8 detail could make it the perfect phone for the selfie-obsessed crowd. If the latest rumor from @Llabtoofer turns out to be accurate, the HTC M8 will be getting a 5-megapixel front-facing camera — a considerable step up from to the HTC One’s 2.1-megapixel front shooter. A 5-megapixel front-facing camera may sound like overkill to some, but it has the potential to be a very important selling point for a large portion of the smartphone-buying population.

If the HTC pairs the 88 degree wide-angle lens from the HTC One with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera sensor on the HTC M8, the phone could turn into the must-have gadget of the year for tweens, teens and young adults. The launch of the HTC M8 may still be over a month out, but we won’t hold it against you if all the recent news about the device has gotten you a little excited.

Red Nexus 5 now available from UK Google Play Store

Google has officially revealed a red version of its fantastic Nexus 5 smartphone, and in a spot of good news for UK customers, it is available to buy from the British Google Play store.

Whereas many of the latest additions to the Google Play store, including the LG G Pad and Xperia Z Ultra Google Play edition tablets only went on sale in the US, the red Nexus 5 has arrived in the UK store.

For £299, you get the same 5in, 1,920x1,080 Full HD display, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and the latest 4.4 KitKat version of Google's Android operating system, except with a bright red outer shell rather than the white and black finish the handset originally launched in. Based on Google's images, it appears that the new handset also has red sides and a red phone earpiece, whereas the white model only had a white rear.

Google clearly has plenty of handsets in stock, as the store listing indicates delivery will take just 1-2 days. Australia, Canada, France, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the US also get the new red model, with prices varying by region. According to manufacturer LG, other European countries will soon be getting the new model too. Both 16GB and 32GB models are available, with the larger capacity model demanding a £40 price premium.

To coincide with the launch, Google has also taken 25% off selected cases, bumpers and sleeves for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 tablet.

Jelly Bean spills onto 60 percent of Android devices

Android Jelly Bean continues to flavor more Android devices.

Analyzing Google Play data from the seven days ending Tuesday, Google's Android developer dashboard pegged Jelly Bean's collective reach at about 60.5 percent. Breaking down those beans, 4.1.x held the highest share with 35.5 percent, followed by 4.2.x with 16.3 percent and Android 4.3 with 8.9 percent

Among other Android versions, Gingerbread retained second place with a 20 percent cut of the action, while Ice Cream Sandwich covered 16.1 percent of all Android devices. The newest Android flavor, KitKat, clawed its way to a 1.8 percent share.

Google's December stats showed KitKat on 1.1 percent of all Android devices tracked at Google Play, which means its gains have been slow so far. But more device makers and mobile carriers have been announcing KitKat updates, so the newest version of Android should see faster growth as 2014 progresses.

LG G Pro 2 to feature 0.4mm bezel, report says

LG Electronics' upcoming G Pro 2 will feature an extremely thin bezel, making the face of the device feel as though it's all display, according to a new report.

The handset, which will succeed the somewhat popular Optimus G Pro, will have a bezel measuring just 0.4mm, according to a report out of Korea from FNNews. If that's the case, more than 77 percent of the device's face will be covered with display.The report is the second rumor in as many days surrounding the highly anticipated handset. On Tuesday, LG said in a blog post that the G Pro 2 will come with a 13-megapixel camera featuring optical image stabilization. The same feature is available in the HTC One and Nokia's Lumia 1020, among others.

According to Android Headlines, which earlierreported on the bezel size, the G Pro 2 could ship with a display that measures 5.7 inches. That large display, coupled with the thin bezel, should make the screen look exceedingly large.

LG has kept most of the details on the G Pro 2 close to the vest. The company is expected to show off all the handset's features at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month.

Possible Ascend P7 design renders leak

Huawei's Ascend P6 phone was praised for its slim profile while still maintaining top of the line specs. The handset's successor, the P7, has yet to be officially released, but we do know a few things about the device; namely its leaked technical specs. We may also have some leaked image renders of the smartphone, straight from China.

From the renders, it looks very similar to the P6 with its angular lines. The bezel also appears to have been trimmed down (to make room for the reportedly larger screen).

The P7 is supposed to go on sale sometime in April, so it will only be a couple of months before we see whether or not the renders coincide with the actual design of the phone.

Here's a recap of the purported specs that the P7 will have: 4G LTE, Android Kit Kat out of the box, a 2,460mAh battery, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage with a microSD card slot, 13MP primary camera and an 8MP front unit, and a 1.6GHz quad-core processor. The P7 is also expected to have its screen size bumped up to 5”, with full 1080p.

Are you excited to snatch up Huawei's upcoming flagship, should the rumored design and specs turn out to be real?

LG Optimus L1 II Tri has three SIMs inside it

LG is releasing a triple-SIM smartphone for the Brazilian market - the Optimus L1 II Tri (yes, LG one two three). The handset is pretty low key with a 3" QVGA (240 x 320), 1 GHz processor and 512 MB RAM. Interestingly, all three of its SIMs support 3G connectivity, though.

The LG Optimus L1 II Tri has a SIM switch button on its front as well as a 2 MP camera on the back with an accompanying Cheese shot feature (take pictures with voice commands). The battery is a 1,540 mAh unit and tasks are handled via an LG-skinned Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. There are also 4 GB of internal storage extendable via the microSD card slot.

There's also Radio recording with Time Machine support, which means the smartphone buffers the track and will record songs off the radio, even before you hit the key. The smart software behind this can even remove a Radio host's voice from a song.

   

LG Optimus L1 II Tri

The LG Optimus L1 II Tri will come in black, pink and white and will cost around $127. We're sure other emerging markets would want to have this one but there's no word on availability outside of Brazil for now.

Mid-range Blu Life Pure Mini with 4.5" screen goes official

Blu has extended its family of mid-range smartphones with the introduction of Life Pure Mini. The latest addition from the company is said to be designed from a single piece of polycarbonate using the CNC technology.

   

The Life Pure Mini sports a 4.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The device is powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz along with 1 GB of RAM. Furthermore, the smartphone features an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing shooter, 16 GB of internal memory and a wide range of connectivity options.

Blu Life Pure Mini measures 130 x 64.4 x 8.9mm and weighs about 149 grams, which is a bit heavy for a 4.5-inch smartphone. The device runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and packs a 3,000mAh non-removable battery, which according to the company lasts for about 35 hours of average usage.

The Blu Life Pure Mini is priced at $249 and the smartphone will be up for grabs in matte black or polished white finish.