On Tuesday Tim Cook hosted an Apple event in Cupertino that introduced not one but two new iPhones. Also, Apple’s next-gen mobile operating system iOS 7 now has a release date and the company’s productivity suite and creative apps are about to become even more popular. Let’s dive in, shall we? Continue reading Apple announces colorful iPhone 5c, secure iPhone 5s & dates iOS 7
On top of the three new Droids detailed last week, Motorola–a Google company!–dropped another new smartphone into consumers’ laps. While the 2013 Droids are Verizon Wireless exclusives, the newly announced Moto X is coming to all major U.S. carriers. What also sets the Moto X apart from its cousins is that it’s highly customizable in the looks department. Motorola is developing a website called Moto Maker that will allow customers to personalize their handsets before ordering them. Specifically, prospective buyers will be able to select from a wide range of colors to paint the back plate and accents of the phone; Moto claims over 2,000 combinations are possible. The front plate, meanwhile, can be made black or white. Additionally you can add a signature to the back of the device. Internally, you can customize the memory (16GB or 32GB) and even set a personal wake-up message and wallpaper before it ships to your door. Before checkout, you can also choose a case, matching headphones by Sol Republic, and a wall charger featuring two USB ports to boot.
Sadly, yes, there is one catch. All of this exciting customization (as well as the option to upgrade memory to 32GB) through Moto Maker is exclusive to AT&T customers. Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular customers will have to choose from a stock black or white handset. Lame! Since Moto X’s specs and Android functionalities are so similar to that of the 2013 Droids’, the Moto Maker personalization is this device’s major selling point. The fact that it won’t be available to all carriers is downright disappointing.
The Moto X sports a 4.7 inch AMOLED 720p (316 ppi) display and is powered by Android 4.2.2 running on Motorola’s X8 mobile computing system. There’s a 10MP shooter on the rear and a 2MP front-facing one and they both support 1080p video capture. A 2200mAh battery promises “mixed usage” up to 24 hours. The most fascinating bit about the Moto X’s design is that it’s the first smartphone to be wholly manufactured in the United States. After you customize your phone through Moto Maker, it will be shipped to you within four days direct from an assembly line in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Software-wise, the latest version of Android Jelly Bean brings the following to Moto X: Touchless Control (say “Ok Google Now…” to wake up the device and perform a function), Active Display (the device will intermittently reveal important information (i.e. the time, new notifications) without you having to press to the wake up button), and Quick Capture (with two twists of your wrist you can access the camera to shoot stills or video).
Moto X is coming to the US, Canada, and Latin America in late August/early September at $199. AT&T subscribers can upgrade to a 32GB model for an extra $50. Click after the break to watch the Moto Maker experience and see the Moto X in action. Continue reading Meet Moto X, the smartphone designed by you and assembled in the USA
Meet the Droid Mini, Droid Ultra, and Droid Maxx.
The Mini, as its name makes obvious, is the smallest of the bunch sporting an edge-to-edge 4.3-inch TFT display with an HD resolution of 1280 x 720. Inside there’s a Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System (that is a 1.7GHz dual-core processor with a 400MHz quad-core GPU, natural language processor, and contextual computing processor), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, a 10-megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, and a 2000mAh Li–Ion battery for up to 28 hours of usage or up to 14 days of standby time.
Verizon is calling the Ultra “thinnest 4G LTE smartphone available” measuring 7.18mm thin. It rocks a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with an HD rez of 1280 x 720. It packs a Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System inside (that is a 1.7GHz dual-core processor with a 400MHz quad-core GPU, natural language processor, and contextual computing processor). 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard memory is standard here, too, as is a 10MP shooter with HD video capture and the 2130mAh battery (up to 28 hours usage or up to 13 days standby time).
And then there’s the Maxx. Its specs are nearly identical to the Ultra’s expect for its heftier size thanks to an extremely large battery. The non-removable 3500mAh battery promises up to 48 hours of usage (that’s two days!) or 25 days standby. Also, the Maxx has double the internal memory at 32GB. The Maxx also touts built-in wireless charging compatible with a charging pad sold separately.
All the new Droids are made with DuPont Kevlar fiber unibody design and Corning Gorilla Glass. The 4G LTE enabled phones run the latest version of Android, that is 4.2 Jelly Bean, featuring new software enhancements including Droid Command Center (an exclusive homescreen widget for users to easily access notifications for text messages, missed calls, battery level and weather), Droid Zap (a new way to share pictures with nearby Droid users), hands-free voice activation (Droid users can wake up their phones by saying “OK Google Now” and telling it what to do next), and Wireless Display (users can mirror what’s on the screen onto a Miracast-enabled HDTV).
The three Droids by Motorola are up for preorder today. After signing a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless, the Droid Mini can be yours for $99.99, available August 29. The Droid Ultra (made in black and red) and Droid Maxx both go on sale August 20 at $199.99 and $299.99, respectively. Pix in the gallery below. PR after the break.
Continue reading Verizon intros three new Droids into the fold
The latest member to join the Droid smartphone family is the Droid DNA by HTC and it’s the most powerful one yet. Right off the bat you’ll notice its 5-inch, true 1080p HD super LCD 3 display (440 pixels per inch) with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, specifically a quad-core 1.5GHz CPU that’s paired with a high-performance GPU. Android’s latest and greatest Jelly Bean operating system comes preinstalled along with HTC Sense 4+. The backside camera specs go like this: 8-megapixel f/2.0 28mm wide-angle lens, 5-level automatic flash, backside illuminated sensor (BSI), superfast autofocus, 1080p HD video capture. The 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera features f/2.0 88-degree ultra-wide angle lens and also captures full HD video. Beats Audio is on board, as is “a unique, 2.55-volt, built-in headset amplifier and dedicated amp for the external rear-speaker to help boost the audio signal to deliver crystal clear sound with less distortion, even at maximum volume.” WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC are here as well. It is 4G LTE capable. It packs a 2,020mAh battery. And as far as measurements go, the DNA is 9.73mm thick and weighs 4.86 ounces.
The Droid DNA is arguably the best and most powerful handset Verizon Wireless offers today. Well, technically it releases Wednesday, November 21st, but you can preorder it now if you like. Sign a new two-year contract and it’s yours for a reasonable $199.99. PR after the break. Continue reading Powerful Droid DNA by HTC coming to Verizon this month at $200
On the same day that Microsoft launched Windows Phone 8 and detailed a hardware lineup, Google decided to announce new hardware along with a new version Android.
Google leaves it up to many third party smartphone manufacturers to develop devices to run Android. Once in a while, however, the search engine likes to inject its own cream into the crop with devices branded Nexus. The next smartphone featuring vanilla Android is the Nexus 4 and it’s a collaboration between Google and LG this time. Here are the hard specs: 4.7-inch WXGA True HD IPS Plus display (1280 x 768 resolution, 320ppi) with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor; 2GB RAM; 8 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video recording and 1.3 megapixel front camera; 2,100mAh battery promising 15.3 hours talk time and 390 hours of standby; 8GB and 16GB storage capacities; WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth; supports NFC and wireless charging; ports include Micro USB, SlimPort HDMI, and 3.5mm headphone jack; it’s 9.1mm thin and weighs 139g; and it supports 3G (WCDMA) and HSPA+ networks. The Nexus 4 comes loaded with the latest version of Android (Jelly Bean 4.2) and it releases November 13 at $299 (8GB) and $349 (16GB); it will be sold as an unlocked device at those prices in the Google Play store. Buy the 16GB model from T-Mobile with a new two-year contract and you can get it for a more affordable $199. On launch day it will be available in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia and it’ll start to roll out to Europe, Central/South Americas, Asia, CIS and the Middle East beginning in late November.
Google is already in the tablet game with the Nexus 7, and today they’ve decided to up their game with an even larger slate to directly compete with Apple’s iPad. A collaboration with Samsung, the Nexus 10 packs–you guessed it–a 10.055-inch WQXGA display with an incredible 2560 x 1600 resolution (300 ppi) and Corning Gorilla Glass 2 coat of protection. Other specs include: dual-core Cortex A15-based 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos 5250 processor; Mali T604 GPU; 2GB RAM; 5 megapixel rear camera and 1.9 megapixel front camera; front-facing stereo speakers; 9000 mAh battery promising 9 hours of continuous video playback and 500 hours of standby; 16GB and 32GB storage capacities; WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth; supports NFC; ports include Micro USB, Magnetic Pogo pin charger, Micro HDMI, and 3.5mm headphone jack; and it’s 8.9mm thin and weighs 603g. The Nexus 10 too comes preinstalled with Jelly Bean 4.2 and it releases November 13 at $399 (8GB) and $499 (16GB); these slates are WiFi-only.
Google’s original Nexus 7 slate is seeing an update. The 8GB model is no longer offered; in its place are 16GB ($199) and 32GB ($249) flavors. Available today are those WiFi-only models, and come November 13 a 32GB model with WiFi and HSPA+ data (with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US) will sell for $299.
In addition to announcing a new smartphone and tablet, Google injected new life into Android with the latest version of Jelly Bean 4.2. Photo Sphere allows you to take pictures in every direction and stitch them together for immersive panoramic images; Gesture Typing brings Swype-like interaction to the virtual keyboard; support for multiple user accounts gives your friends and family their own personal spaces on a single device (this feature is limited to tablets only running v4.2); Daydream allows you to personalize your screensaver with photos and news; and Google Now and Google Search have been updated with more cards and an enhanced interface, respectively. For more, click the source link below. (Update: The Google Search app for iOS has been updated with improved voice search that rivals Siri. Download here, video demo after the break.)
And just like that, Google has their very own lineup of Android-powered Nexus devices in three different sizes. Get a closer look at the Nexus 4 phone and Nexus 10 tablet in the galleries embedded above; after the break there’s video.
[Via Google 1, 2] Continue reading Google intros Nexus 4 smartphone, Nexus 10 tablet running the updated Android Jelly Bean 4.2
Three days after the Windows 8 release, today Microsoft formally launched Windows Phone 8 into the world. This summer Microsoft fleshed out most of the new features and enhancements that come bundled with the new mobile OS. At the company’s launch event, however, they shed light on a few more tricks up the OS’ sleek sleeve.
Live Apps: At the heart of Windows Phone is Live Tiles. They fill up the Start Screen and they serve two important objectives. They make your phone personal; you can easily rearrange and resize apps and other icons to your heart’s content. In addition, they are connected to the Internet and are regularly updated with the latest information; this institutes a glance-and-go mentality that Microsoft has been pushing since the ringing in of Windows Phone 7. Live Tiles are personal and informational. In WP8, the lock screen is getting a similar treatment with Live Apps. If a Live App is enabled, simply wake your phone up from sleep and you’ll instantly be provided with personalized updated information without digging for it. For example, make CNN or ESPN your Live App and when you check your phone’s lock screen you will be provided with the latest news headline or sports scores without virtually any effort.
Kid’s Corner: This is a neat feature currently exclusive to WP8. In essence, Kid’s Corner is a guest account that you can personalize for your kids or friends or colleagues. There are times when your kids want to steal your phone to play Angry Birds but you are hesitant to let them fool around with it because they might accidentally change settings or mess around with your inbox and other critical information. With Kid’s Corner, you can create a separate Start Screen environment for them to play around in. In Settings, you can choose exactly what apps, games, music, and video gets made accessible for them. Once you password-protect your phone, your personal account will remain untouched and they’ll be forced to swipe to the left and then up to unlock and enter the guest account known as Kid’s Corner.
Rooms: WP8 provides private spaces for you to interact and communicate with your close friends and family. You can create a Room that consists of your small circle of friends and only those invited to it will be able to view and share information inside it. In addition to a private chat room, a Room also allows shared calendars, notes, and photos. Most of the features in Room are exclusive to WP8 devices, but Microsoft says “some aspects” will work across other smartphones as well.
Data Sense: Microsoft is working with mobile carriers to help you keep track of your data usage since the days of “unlimited data” have come and gone. Data Sense is an app that “helps conserve your data allowance by compressing Web images, deferring data tasks to free Wi-Fi, and automatically adjusting your usage as you get closer to your plan limits.” Verizon will be the first to enable Data Sense, and Microsoft says others will join the initiative next year.
Integrated Skype: Since Microsoft bought Skype, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the communication app will be fully integrated with WP8 when it arrives on the platform soon. You can make and receive Skype calls just like you would a regular phone call, and your Skype contacts are integrated in the People (contacts) hub for easy access.
A growing app marketplace: Since WP7 was announced many developers have hopped on board to support the mobile OS. Currently the Windows Phone Store is home to 120,000 apps. Though this number is low compared to Apple and Android’s offerings, Microsoft is hopeful even more developers will start to pick up the slack and contribute to a growing app marketplace. This holiday season a bunch of popular apps are joining the WP fold such as Angry Birds Star Wars, Cut the Rope Experiments, Disney’s Where’s My Water, LivingSocial, Temple Run, Urbanspoon, “and many more,” promises Microsoft. And early next year, Pandora is coming too with one year of ad-free streaming music to-boot.
With all the software features out of the way, the next logical talking point is hardware. Microsoft has partnered with Nokia, HTC, and Samsung as hardware launch partners for WP8. AT&T will carry the Nokia Lumia 920, the Lumia 820, and the Windows Phone 8X by HTC in November; pricing is TBA. Verizon will carry the Windows Phone 8X by HTC for $199.99 with a two-year contract and the Nokia Lumia 822 (exclusive to Verizon) for $99.99 next month. Another VZW exclusive, the Samsung ATIV Odyssey, will release in December. And lastly T-Mobile will also sell the Windows Phone 8X by HTC (16GB) at $149.99 and the Nokia Lumia 810 at $99.99; these release November 14. The fourth U.S. carrier Sprint is sitting this round out.
If you’re looking for a different kind of mobile experience, Windows Phone 8 is the way to go. With a sleek, modern user interface and an equally attractive hardware selection it isn’t hard to recommend you check out Microsoft’s latest offering. The one (albiet major) drawback is developer support and the app catalog, but if the Store continues to grow at the pace Microsoft is hinting at today then they might just have a mobile platform to finally compete against the likes of iOS and Android.
After the break, Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore gives you an extensive tour of Windows Phone 8.
[Via Microsoft] Continue reading Windows Phone 8 fully fleshed out, smartphones releasing next month
To say Apple’s latest iPhone is popular is a huge understatement. In a press release outed on Monday, Apple reported that over five million iPhone 5s were sold in three days over the course of the device’s launch weekend (Friday, September 21 to Sunday the 23rd). Two million of them were preordered in the first 24 hours. In addition, Apple shares that over 100 million devices have been updated to iOS 6 since its September 19 debut.
“Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”
To restate what Cook said in his obligatory quote, the press release admits: “Demand for iPhone 5 exceeded the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders have been shipped to customers, many are scheduled to be shipped in October.”
Today the iPhone 5 is available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore,and the UK. On September 28 it goes on sale in 22 more countries and by the end of the year it will be sold in over 100 countries. This is only the beginning for the smartphone to beat. Jump after the break for the full PR.
[Via Apple 1, 2] Continue reading Apple sells over 5 million iPhone 5s during launch weekend
Following Nokia’s Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, HTC unveiled their Windows Phone 8 flagship device, Windows Phone 8X and a budget-friendly mid-range model, Windows Phone 8S.
The 8X sports a 4.3-inch (1280 x 720) Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2 protection with a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB RAM, 16GB of storage, a rear-facing 8 megapixel camera featuring a CMOS sensor with backside illumination, an f/2.0 aperture, 28mm lens, and a dedicated imaging chip, and a front-facing 2.1 megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and 88 degree ultra-wide angle. Both cameras can shoot 1080p video. NFC, Beats Audio, a 1,800mAh Li-ion battery, and LTE support are built-in. The 8X will come in a variety of colors including California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red, and Limelight Yellow when it ships this November. AT&T and T-Mobile have confirmed they will carry HTC’s flagship WP8 device at that time.
And then there’s the mid-ranger, the 8S. This model packs a 4-inch WVGA LCD screen with Gorilla Glass, a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage with microSD expandability, and there’s a 5 megapixel camera ’round back with support for 720p video recording but you won’t find a front-facing shooter here. A slightly less powerful 1,700 mAh battery gives the thing juice. The 8S will also ship this November in following hues: Domino, Fiesta Red, Atlantic Blue, and High-Rise Gray.
When release dates, pricing, and exact carrier support become apparent, you will be notified. Over and out.
On Wednesday Apple unveiled the next-generation iPhone and it’s called the iPhone 5. They also used their stage time to discuss iTunes+iPod, showing off a redesigned iTunes Store for iOS, a simplified version of iTunes for desktop, and showcasing the next-generation iPod nano and touch. We begin with the top story…
iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 is a beautiful piece of hardware made entirely of glass and aluminum. It’s the thinnest and lightest iPhone to date, measuring at 7.6mm thin (that’s 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S) and weighing 112 grams (20% lighter than the 4S). Apple’s calling it “the world’s thinnest smartphone.” The screen has grown for the first time to 4-inches, boasting a Retina display with 326 pixels per inch and a resolution of 1136×640. The additional screen real estate allows for a fifth row of apps in the home screen, and all of Apple’s apps take advantage of it. Third party apps will see the letterbox effect, but developers can easily tweak their apps to also fill up the screen properly. The iPhone 5 also features 44% more color saturation than it’s predecessor and integrated touch sensors in the screen make it 30% thinner than before outputting a sharper image and less glare in sunlight.
The bigger screen is just the tip of the iceberg. The new iPhone packs ultrafast wireless with built-in GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, and, yes, LTE. In the U.S., LTE will be provided by Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. A single chip does voice and data; also inside is a single radio chip and a dynamic antenna. 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi is there as well.
The newly designed-by-Apple A6 chip features a CPU that’s 2x faster than before, with 2x faster graphics as well. The chip itself is 22% smaller than the previous A5 processor. Apple managed to make battery life better, too. It goes like this: 8 hours of 3G talk time, 3G browsing, and LTE browsing; 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing and video playback; 40 hours of music playback; and 225 hours of standby time.
Both the back-facing iSight camera and the front-facing FaceTime camera have been upgraded. The iSight cam features an 8 megapixel sensor (3264×2448) with backside illumination, hybrid IR filter, five-element lens, and fast f/2.4 aperture. The 25% smaller design also boasts a dynamic low light mode, spatial noise reduction, a smart filter for improved color matching, better low-light performance, and faster photo capture (40% faster than the 4S). 1080p HD video recording is still here with improved video stabilization, face detection, and the ability to take photos while recording video. The back-facing camera can also take panoramic shots now thanks to a simple enhancement in the Camera app in iOS 6. Moving to the front side, the FaceTime camera takes 1.2 megapixel photos, shoots 720p HD video, and features backside illumination, face detection, and FaceTime over cellular (with Verizon and Sprint only).
Audio is better with three built-in microphones located in the front, back, and bottom of the phone. The improved speaker design is 20% smaller than before and features a five magnet transducer, a noise-canceling earpiece, and wideband audio for better phone call performance.
Say goodbye to the nearly decade old 30-pin dock connector. Apple announced the new Lightning connector that is found in the iPhone 5. It’s 80% smaller than its predecessor, it’s all-digital with an 8-signal design and adaptive interface with improved durability and get this–it’s reversible, meaning you can plug it into the bottom of your device face up or down. Apple will sell a 30-pin to Lightning adapter for those who own accessories like sound docks that were strictly designed with the 30-pin connector in mind.
Apple spent time detailing the next version of their mobile OS, and you can read all about iOS 6 right here. It brings Apple-designed Maps, the new app Passbook, and enhancements to Notification Center, Safari, Mail, Photos, and Siri (among over 250 new features) to the iPhone and its brethren. It’s available as a free upgrade to iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, 3rd-gen iPad, iPad 2, and 4th-gen iPod touch owners on September 19.
Now it’s time to talk pricing and availability. The iPhone 5 features a two-tone exterior and will come in two hues: black/slate and white/silver. It’s priced exactly like the 4S was: $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB), $399 (64GB). It’s available for preorder starting Friday, September 14 and ships one week later on September 21 in the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. A week after that it releases in 20 more countries, and by December it will ship in 100 countries with 240 carriers around the world. In other news, the iPhone 4 (8GB) is free and the iPhone 4S (16GB) is dropping to $99 effective immediately.
Following in Nokia’s footsteps, on Wednesday Motorola announced three new additions to its Droid RAZR smartphone lineup. Let’s start with the most basic of the bunch denoted M and work our way to the long-lasting beast of a phone known as MAXX.
The Motorola RAZR M features an edge-to-edge 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) Super AMOLED Advanced display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera that can record 1080p video, a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, and an NFC chip. The compact, Kelvar strong 4G LTE phone is available September 12 for an affordable $99 after a $50 rebate and signing a new two-year contract with Verizon Wireless. It’s up for preorder today.
The RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD boast a larger 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED HD display, the same 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 8 megapixel shooter, front-facing camera, NFC chip, 4G LTE, and Gorilla Glass and Kelvar protection. The main difference between these two siblings is battery life. While the HD packs a decently sized 2,500mAh battery, the MAXX HD runs off a massive 3,300mAh battery that promises 32 hours of standard usability (13 hours of straight video playback, 21 hours of continuous talk time, 8 hours of web browsing over 4G LTE). Exact pricing and availability have not been shared at this time, but Moto says customers can expect the HD and MAXX HD to release “before the holidays” with VZW.
In addition, Motorola has specified that all three smartphones will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board and they will be upgradeable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean by the end of the year. Pics in the galleries below (in the order M, HD, MAX HD), and there’s video and PR after the break.
Update (10/14): Verizon has specified that the Droid RAZR HD & RAZR MAXX HD will go on sale October 18.
[Via Motorola; Engadget 1, 2, 3] Continue reading Motorola expands its Droid RAZR family with RAZR M, RAZR HD & RAZR MAXX HD smartphones
On Wednesday Nokia and Microsoft held a joint event announcing two new Lumia smartphones that will run the next-gen mobile operating system Windows Phone 8. The new flagship WP8 device is dubbed the Nokia Lumia 920 and its specs are as follows: 4.5-inch (1280 x 768) display, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB memory, back-facing 8.7 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, Carl Zeiss optics, LED flash, and 1080p video recording capability, front-facing camera, integrated 2000mAh battery with wireless charging support. All of this is housed inside a polycarbonate shell that comes in a variety of colors including black, grey, red, yellow, and white. Nokia is touting the phone’s “PureMotion HD+” display as the company’s “brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchscreen (the screen will accept input even if the user is wearing protective gloves);” the “PureView” back-facing camera that uses “advanced floating lens technology” that promises to capture clearer and brighter pictures even in low light situations; and the phone’s wireless charging functionality based on the Qi wireless standard. Place your phone down on a charging surface and it will automagically begin to regain battery life. Nokia will release its own wireless charing platforms and the company is also working with third parties such as Fatboy to sell portable wireless charging pillows. To kickstart the initiative, Nokia has partnered with The Coffee Bean and Virgin Atlantic to install wireless charing stations in countertops and airport lounges.
Also announced at the event is the mid-range alternative Nokia Lumia 820. It sports a smaller 4.3-inch (800 x 480) ClearBlack OLED display, only 8GB of storage (but there’s microSD expandability up to 32GB), a non-PureView 8 megapixel back-facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED flash, and a smaller 1650mAh battery. It packs the same 1.5GHz dual-core processor as it’s bigger sibling, a VGA front-facing camera, and there is support for wireless charging. Users will have the ability to swap out their polycarbonate back cover for a wireless charging-capable one. The Lumia 820 comes in an even great variety of bright colors like red, yellow, grey, cyan, purple, white, and black.
Nokia has not specified pricing and release date information for either device. LTE and HSPA+ variants of the 920 and 820 “are expected to start shipping in select markets later in the year,” says the company’s press release. What you’re left with now are photos of the sleek phones in the galleries below (the 920 above, the 820 below), plus two intro videos and official PR after the break.
[Via Microsoft; Engadget 1, 2] Continue reading Nokia announces new Windows Phone flagship device Lumia 920 and the mid-range Lumia 820
Get ready for a mouthful. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE by HTC is now available on Verizon Wireless. Phew! Now, spec time. The latest Droid sports a 4-inch (960×540) super LCD qHD display and is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. An eight megapixel rear-facing camera comes complete with autofocus, LED flash, BSI, f/2.2 and 28mm lens, and a front-facing camera enables video chat. As its name indicates, this Droid takes advantage of Verizon’s speedy 4G data and it can act as a mobile hotspot and share its 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is on board, as is the latest version of HTC’s customizable skin Sense 4. You can order one direct from VZW for a cool $149.99 after a $50 rebate once you sign the dotted line for a new two-year contract. Look in the gallery below to view the handset at various angles. PR, per usual, is after the break; and so is a video!
[Via Verizon] Continue reading HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE available today on VZW for $149.99