Nokia Lumia PureView with Windows Phone 8 Packs 41MP Camera and Dual-Core CPU

Nokia 808 PureView is not even available on the market, yet rumors on allegedly new Windows Phone devices integrating the PureView camera technology have already started to emerge.

The guys over at IT168 claim they got new information and even some specs details on an unannounced Nokia Lumia PureView smartphone. According to them, the shots were taken during a Nokia presentation, but they might be as well fakes.

However, IT168 confirms that the phone that appears in these pictures is just a concept design, which means the final product may look entirely different.

This seems valid enough as the phone looks to be too curvy and less attractive than the original Nokia 808 PureView Symbian smartphone.

Due to the fact that Windows Phone 7 does not support such a powerful camera sensor, the Lumia PureView is said to run Windows Phone 8 (Apollo) instead. 

Additional proof consists in the Windows touch-sensitive button in the middle that features the new design of the Apollo OS.

As we mentioned earlier, the device is packed with an impressive 41-megapixel camera with Carl-Zeiss lens and PureView imaging technology, which can capture full HD (1080p) videos with Nokia’s Rich Recording Technology.

Furthermore, the smartphone sports a large 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen (curved glass) display that supports HD resolution (no other details are available).

On the inside, the Lumia PureView is equipped with some kind of dual core processor manufactured by Qualcomm and an Adreno 320 graphics processing unit.

Curios enough, the folks at AndroSym highlight the fact that there’s only one processor that features the Adreno 320 GPU, and that’s the new Qualcomm MSM8960 Pro Snapdragon 4 with 1.5 GHz dual core Krait processor.

For the time being, there is no indication that this is a real device. But, as the source of the leak has already stated, this is a concept phone that might or might not make it to the market. After all, Nokia confirmed plans to bring the PureView technology to its Lumia series.

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Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs Out on April 23, 2012

We brought you the launch date of the AMD Trinity APUs and, now, we get to tell you when the Intel Ivy Bridge series of CPUs is finally going to show. 

After being delayed by a few months (and let's not even get into what the “broken” CPUs are all about), the next-generation chips will come out on April 23 (2012), according to Chinese VR-Zone. 

Previously, the most accurate estimate was that the processors would be formally unleashed between April 22 and 28, while mass availability was scheduled for April 29. 

We think the newest report means that the products really will start selling on that day, but you never know. 

It should be mentioned that the list of upcoming models doesn't include the Core i5-3550S or the low-power i5-3570T and i7-3770T. 

On the bright side, the prices of $182-$320 (139-245 Euro) seem to be $2-$12 lower than initially thought (1.52-9 Euro).

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Sony Preps New Xperia Model with 4.3’’ Screen

Sony Mobile Communication is reportedly getting ready for the launch of yet another high-end Android-based smartphone sometime in the second half of the current year. 

Rumor has it that the new device would be included in the company’s Xperia family of phones. Similarly to some of the latest models in the series, it should sport a large touchscreen display. 

Sony Mobile’s Xperia lineup is already highly popular all around the world, and the launch of new handsets should increase its appeal. 

Just like Xperia S and Xperia ion before it, the new Sony mobile phone should pack a large 4.3-inch touchscreen, rumor has it. 

Moreover, the report, coming from China Times, suggests that the panel would be AMOLED, and that it would be developed by Taiwan-based AU Optronics. 

Sony reportedly found the company’s offering fit to use in the upcoming smartphone, and will make all the necessary announcements on the matter sometime in the second half of this year. 

Little is known on the new device for the time being, and it appears that Sony hasn’t yet decided on a name for it. 

The features and capabilities of this device are still shrouded in mystery, and so is a potential release date or price. 

AU Optronics is currently delivering displays of all kinds and sizes to other large manufacturers around the world as well, including Apple, Acer, LG, and Samsung, a recent article on UnwiredView points out. 

Sony, which took over Sony Ericsson in the beginning of this year after announcing an agreement to buy Ericsson’s stake in the joint venture last fall, is determined to gain more market share on the smartphone segment, and already confirmed plans for new, highly appealing Xperia models. 

At the same time, the company is working on making its existing devices more appealing than before, through rolling-out software updates for its users.

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AMD Trinity APUs Set for May 15 Release (2012)

Advanced micro Devices has been praising its upcoming collection of Accelerated Processing Units, and now we know exactly when we'll be able to tell for sure if the chips are really all they're cracked up to be.  

We'll get it out there before people start fidgeting with impatience: the Trinity series of APUs will be launched on May 15, 2012, or so SWEClockers says. 

We can only hope that there won't be any last minute delays. 

As successors to the Llano, the next-generation chips will have higher clock frequencies, while sticking to the same thermal envelope as them. 

We can even tell you just how much better Trinity will run, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we already have. 

A couple of days ago, we covered the performance advantage in graphics (56%) and productivity (29%). 

The information came from one of AMD's own marketing slides, which will presumably be formally unleashed upon the world when the company holds its press conference. 

For those who want a summary of the most important assets of Trinity, the APUs are based on “Piledriver” CPU modules and have Radeon HD 6000 graphics with AVX, AES-NI, SSE4.2, and DirectX 11.1 support, among other things. 

We actually have some information on the A8-4500M, plus some benchmark results, but the clock speeds are still unknown. 

It figures that the Sunnyvale, California-based company would stubbornly keep a lid on the relevant data, although we're willing to bet the numbers will become known somehow earlier than the formal unveiling, even if only by just a few days. Until then, those interested can go here to look at the benchmark we mentioned earlier. 

In related news, the low-power mobile Trinity APUs will take a little longer to arrive. The report places their formal launch in June, but the exact day is unspecified.

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Apple Adds Canon EOS 5D Mark III to Supported (RAW) Cameras

Canon’s new EOS 5D Mark III digital SLR camera is now fully supported by Apple’s iPhoto ‘11 and Aperture 3, thanks to a recent software update pushed by Apple this week.

Since digital camera RAW formats retain more image information than traditional JPEGs, they can produce better results when used with imaging applications such as Aperture and iPhoto, which is why Apple continually adds support for the newest hardware.

OS X Lion provides system-level support for digital camera RAW formats from hundreds of cameras but, up until yesterday, canon’s new DSLR was not supported.

Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.12 takes care of that omission, adding RAW image compatibility for the EOS 5D Mark III to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11.

Canon describes its camera, stating that “With supercharged EOS performance and stunning full frame, high-resolution image capture, the EOS 5D Mark III is designed to perform.”

“Special optical technologies like the 61-Point High Density Reticular AF and an extended ISO range of 100-25600 (expandable to 50 (L), 51200 (H1) and 102400 (H2) make the EOS 5D Mark III ideal for shooting weddings in the studio or out in the field, and great for still photography,” says Canon.

Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.12 goes onto machines running Mac OS X 10.6.8 and OS X Lion 10.7 or later, and supports several languages, including Deutsch, English, Français, Español, Italiano, Nederlands, and Chinese.

As usual, Apple directs customers to KB article HT4757 for more information on supported RAW formats.

There, customers learn that Apple’s last Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update (3.11) added support for the Nikon D800. Before that, Update 3.10 had added support for a total eight new cameras, and prior to that, OS X 10.7.3 itself had added compatibility with almost a dozen new DSLRs.

Download Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.12 (Free)

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In Light of BackDoor.Flashback.39, OS X Gains Second Java Update

After rolling out Java for OS X Lion 2012-001 and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 7 with the sole purpose of addressing a number of vulnerabilities, Apple this week released a second update, soon after several security vendors issued advisories detailing the numerous variants of the BackDoor.Flashback trojan.

Java for OS X 2012-002 is being offered via Software Update to OS X Lion users (no confirmation from Snow Leopard users yet), with Apple stating that the update “delivers improved compatibility, security, and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_31.”

“Please quit any web browsers and Java applications before installing this update,” says Apple. Customers are directed to the same KB articles that documented Java for OS X 2012-001 a day before:

“Multiple vulnerabilities exist in Java 1.6.0_29, the most serious of which may allow an untrusted Java applet to execute arbitrary code outside the Java sandbox. Visiting a web page containing a maliciously crafted untrusted Java applet may lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user. These issues are addressed by updating to Java version 1.6.0_31.”

More information on this flaw can be found at the Java website. Java for OS X 2012-002 is a 66.6 MB download.

Earlier this week, security software vendor Dr. Web issued an advisory to warn that over 600,000 machines running Mac OS X had been infected, as part of a botnet on April 4.

The firm said these reported case of infections only comprised a segment of the botnet set up by means of BackDoor.Flashback.39.

Most infected computers were discovered in the United States (56.6%, or 303,449 infected hosts), followed by Canada (19.8%, or 106,379 infected computers), the UK (12.8% or 68,577 cases of infection) and Australia with (6.1% or 32,527 infections).

“Doctor Web recommends Mac users to download and install a security update released by Apple to prevent infection of their systems by BackDoor.Flashback.39,” said the company.

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MSI Super RAID Makes GT70 Gaming Notebook Work at 928 MB/s

Micro-Star International's GT70 gaming notebook might look like any other gaming portable PC at first glance, but a certain entry on the spec sheet makes it stand apart. 

The MSI GT70 uses something called Super RAID, a storage technology that puts an interesting spin on solid state drive use in notebooks. 

Gaming machines often have 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, or an HDD and an SSD, with or without SSD caching. 

That way, they can achieve read and write speeds much higher than what a pure HDD setups manage. 

With Super RAID, though, the company uses one hard disk drive and, in place of the second HDD, a Super RAID card that has two mSATA SSDs plugged into a small PCB. 

The solid state drives in the photos are SanDisk-made, probably the U100 series. 

With a capacity of 64 GB each, their individual performance isn't all that extraordinary, for NAND Flash anyway: 450 MB/s read and 220 MB/s write. 

Fortunately, the individual performance isn't what we're interested in: MSI's Super RAID somehow reaches an average 928.6MB/s with a burst rate of 1,997.2MB/s in HD Tune Pro 5.00. 

All this comes in half the space needed by a second HDD, so we can safely say that, even with the added cost, MSI is onto something here. 

The rest of the laptop components are pretty much what people would expect from a 17.3-inch gaming beast, though we don't have all the specifics. 

An Intel Ivy Bridge CPU (no, not one of the “broken” ones) is backed up by a lot of RAM (not certain how much) and an NVIDIA GeForce 600-series mobile GPU (graphics processing unit). 

We'll have to wait until the official announcement for the rest (RAM, web connectivity, I/O, software, warranty, etc.). People should just keep in mind that Super RAID will probably add a bit more to the price than the common alternatives.

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EVO 3D Successor Spotted in Video Presentation for EVO 4G LTE

This week, HTC announced the upcoming availability of EVO 4G LTE, its latest smartphone for the wireless carrier Sprint. 

The new device is expected to become available for purchase sometime in the second quarter of 2012, featuring a price tag of $199.99 (around 150 Euro). 

The behind the scenes video that HTC made available with the new smartphone also featured another device from the Taiwanese handset vendor, one that was not made official as of now. 

The phone appears to pack two cameras on the back, which would suggest that the company is working on the release of a successor for the EVO 3D smartphone launched last year. 

According to The Verge, the handset might either never arrive on the market, or it could be launched as the 3D-capable flavor of the new EVO 4G LTE.

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BlackBerry World 2012 Mobile Conference Guide App Now Available for Download

BlackBerry avid fans who are planning to attend this year's Blackberry World 2012 conference can rest assured they will know almost everything there is to know about this event.

There's a new mobile application that provides users access to all the details regarding the conference schedule and sponsors, speakers, maps and more.

Simply dubbed “Conference Guide: BlackBerry World 2012,” this piece of software is fully compatible with all devices running BlackBerry 5.0 OS and up, including the PlayBook tablet.

Furthermore, the application can also be used during the event to fill out surveys and connect with other people attending the conference. 

Every time there are schedule changes, the application will automatically update and sync with the user's conference calendar in the My Scheduler tool on the PC.

Keep in mind that premium features, such as session scheduling and event messages are only available for registered attendees. “Conference Guide: BlackBerry World 2012” is now available as a free download via App World.

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Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds Lumix GF5 Camera

Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds camera line has gained a new member, one that is, at heart, a refined GF3 (the third to have been added to this collection).

The name Panasonic chose to give the newcomer is Lumix GF5. The item will sell alongside the GF3, at least for a while.

We'll not bruise our brains thinking about how the two will manage to coexist, given their relatively similar looks. Instead, we'll give a rundown of what makes the GF5 tick.

A 12.1-megapixel sensor lies at the so-called heart of the item.

This Live MOS image sensor, together with Panasonic's Venus Engine with Multi-process Noise Reduction, can capture 920k-dot resolution images (GF3 has 469k dots) and 1080i Full HD videos.

In addition to all this, focusing is done based on Contrast AF (full-area focusing is supported) and Pinpoint AF (enlarges the point of focus for higher scene selection accuracy).

Furthermore, Panasonic tossed in a bunch of onboard filter modes, like Soft Focus, Cross Process, Low Key, Toy Effect, Star Filter, Dynamic Monochrome, Impressive Art and One Point Color.

Not only that, but shooting modes can be changed as well (4fps full resolution burst photography, iA+ automatic mode, etc.).

"Panasonic expects the LUMIX GF5 to please photo enthusiasts and budding photographers that are looking for the next step from the traditional point-and-shoot camera," said Christopher Rice, senior product manager, imaging, Panasonic Consumer Marketing Company of North America. 

"The camera's host of shooting options makes photography even more artistic, yet easy for users of any experience level. The powerful Venus Engine and sensor allows the camera to achieve exceptional photo quality in a range of shooting environments."

Panasonic's Lumix GF5 will start selling this year (at some unspecified time), for $599 (455.44 Euro) or $749 with a 14-42mm power zoom lens (570 Euro).

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