Western Digital My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge

Western Digital may never turn wireless networking products into a primary revenue source, but that doesn't mean it can't excel at making such things. The My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge show that clearly.

Essentially, these two provide buyers with the benefits of the more or less best 802.11ac wireless technology on the market at the moment, plus the WD exclusive FasTrack technology. For those unfamiliar with FasTrack, the technology identifies when high-bandwidth entertainment services like Netflix, YouTube, online games and Skype are started. In such cases, the network grants them priority, so that communication and gameplay may proceed without lag or image stutter, or anything else. Taking into account the 450 (2 GHz band) + 1300 (5 GHz) Megabits per second (Mbps), that means very smooth sailing at all hours, provided the servers on the other end of the Internet aren't overloaded or crashed of course.

That said, the range of the My Net AC1300 router is of 30 to 75 feet (10 to 22 meters) and the My Net AC Bridge lets owners convert up to four devices (smart TVs, Blu-ray disk players, media players, game consoles, etc.) from wired-Ethernet to wireless. "The recent introduction of our My Net family of routers brought several new breakthroughs to the market, including our acclaimed FasTrack prioritization technology, amazingly simple setup and the My Net N900 Central router with storage," states Scott Vouri, general manager for WD's connected life solutions group.

"The My Net AC1300 and My Net AC WiFi Bridge build on those breakthroughs, setting a new standard for wireless speeds and delivering maximum HD streaming performance for our customers, while driving multiple devices on the home network at the same time." My Net AC1300 Router and My Net AC Bridge are shipping through certain US retailers and online at wdstore.com. The former is priced at $189.99 / 149-189.99 Euro, while the latter ships for $149.99 / 117-149.99 Euro.

Western Digital dual-band Wi-Fi router
Image credits to Western Digital

Read more »

RIM BlackBerry 10 Smartphones to Arrive on Shelves in February

January 30, 2013, will be an important day for Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion, as the company will unveil to the world its next-gen mobile operating system, the BlackBerry 10 platform.

Also on that day, we’ll have the chance to have a look at the very first smartphones powered by the new OS version, though it seems that they won’t become available for purchase right away. RIM has already confirmed that it would be showcasing two BlackBerry 10 smartphones on January 30, but did not provide specific info on when they would arrive on shelves. However, a recent article on SFGate notes that these handsets will not be pushed to shelves until February, although RIM will strive to have them released as soon as possible. Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear reportedly said that the company is determined to start selling these smartphones within 30 days of the BlackBerry 10’s launch event. This means that they should hit shelves by the end of February, even if they won’t benefit from simultaneous availability all around the world.

Not too long ago, the handset vendor also said that it was working with over 50 wireless carriers around the world on the testing of BlackBerry 10 devices, which should ensure a widespread availability of the new platform release. However, RIM still has to provide specific info on the countries that will be able to acquire the new devices in the beginning. The company has lost significant market share in the past year, and is expected to lose even more before the new operating system arrives on shelves. According to the latest report from Gartner, RIM has sold only 8.9 million devices in the third quarter of the year, which allowed it to grab the third position on the smartphone OS market, with a 5.3 percent market share.

BlackBerry 10 devices
Image credits to BerryReview

Read more »

LG F260S Benchmark Emerges in NenaMark

A new Android-based smartphone from LG has been spotted on the NenaMark website, after being benchmarked with Google’s Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system loaded on it.

The handset was seen there with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor packed inside (a Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon CPU, according to Blog of Mobile), and with a Qualcomm Adreno 225 GPU next to it. Moreover, the listing unveiled the fact that LG packed the new device with a 1280 x 720 pixel display.

The phone is also said to pack LTE/W-CDMA/GSM connectivity, and is expected to arrive on shelves at SK Telecom. Unfortunately, no other info on what this smartphone might be all about has emerged until now, but more should be unveiled soon, so keep an eye on this space for updates on the matter.

New LG smartphone spotted in NenaMark
Image credits to NenaMark

Read more »

Huawei Ascend Y210-0151 Receives FCC Approvals

A new Huawei smartphone is heading for the market in the United States, and has already received the necessary approvals from the Federal Communication Commission, namely the HUAWEI Ascend Y210-0151.

The handset was spotted at the FCC with support for W-CDMA 850 (V) MHz, W-CDMA 1900 (II) MHz, GSM 850 MHz and GSM 1900 MHz bands, as well as with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n IEEE connectivity capabilities. Apparently, the device sports a 1750mAh battery inside, and might be announced with the market name of HUAWEI Ascend Y210.

Specific info on what the handset might include in terms of hardware and software was not made available for the time being. The phone was listed on the FCC website today and can be seen on this page. Stay tuned for more details on it.

HUAWEI Ascend Y210-0151
Image credits to FCC via Blog of Mobile

Read more »

Samsung GT-I9082 Receives Wi-Fi Certification

A new Android-based smartphone from Samsung is getting ready to make an official appearance on shelves, it seems, with model number Samsung GT-I9082 attached to it.

Nothing has been officially announced on the new mobile phone as of now, but the device has already emerged over at the Wi-Fi Alliance, which confirms it as a smartphone. According to Blog of Mobile, the new smartphone will hit the market with a 1.2GHz processor packed inside (most probably a dual-core CPU).

Moreover, the handset is said to be running under Google’s Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system at the moment. Apart from the fact that it will sport Wi-Fi capabilities (in the 2.4GHz band) nothing else is known on the new device. However, more should emerge on it as its release date approaches, so stay tuned to learn the news.

Samsung GT-I9082 Wi-Fi Certification
Image credits to WiFi Alliance

Read more »

Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 Now Available in the US

Following their official release in various markets around the world, the new Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 devices are now available for purchase in the United States as well. 

The Nexus 4 is listed in Google’s Play Store with a price tag of $349.00 next to it for the 16GB model, and at $299 for the 8GB flavor. As for Nexus 10, it was made available for purchase at $399 with 16GB of internal memory, and at $499 with 32GB of storage inside.

The 32GB flavor of Nexus 7 was also put up for purchase today, at $249. Moreover, Google added the 3G-enabled Nexus 7 device to the online portal, at $299. The tablet is being sold unlocked, but comes with an AT&T SIM inside. Based on the experience other users have had with the purchase of these Nexus devices today, we could say that those willing to grab them should hurry up.

Nexus 4
Image credits to Google Play Store

Nexus 7
Image credits to Google Play Store

Nexus 10
Image credits to Google Play Store

Read more »

Verizon Wireless DROID DNA by HTC, Now on Pre-Order at $199.99

Today, mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless and Taiwanese handset vendor HTC have announced a new addition to the popular DROID lineup, said to be the ultimate DROID, built as part of a tight collaboration between the two companies.

During an event in New York City, the two companies announced the upcoming availability of Droid DNA by HTC, a 5-inch high-end smartphone that will provide users with access to the wireless carrier’s fast 4G LTE network. Capable of delivering a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, the new smartphone comes with a 440 pixels per inch density and is also capable of recording videos in full HD resolution. Moreover, the new mobile phone was announced with a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor packed inside, which should result in great performance capabilities being delivered to its users. The smartphone will hit shelves with 2GB of RAM, which adds to the overall performance capabilities of the phone, making it one of the best there is.

At the same time, the smartphone is the first to bring wireless charging capabilities to the DROID series, while also packing an integrated LTE chip inside. The new DROID DNA, which has been rumored for quite some time now, actually, comes with a powerful camera on the back, with F2.0 lens and an 88 degree wide angle, face detection, smile capture, and HDR. At the moment, the new mobile phone is powered by Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, with the HTC Sense 4+ UI loaded on top, which brings along its own set of new features, including a new way of managing photo albums and the option to copy photos from one album to another.

Beats Audio technology has been included in the device as well, with 2 built-in amplifiers, one for the headphones, and another for the speaker. Even with top-of-the-line specs inside, the phone is still said to be slimmer than the Galaxy S III. Verizon also confirmed that DROID DNA by HTC would become available for purchase starting with November 21, and that it would sport a price tag of $199.99 with the signing of a two-year contract. The smartphone is available for pre-order at the wireless carrier starting today.

DROID DNA by HTC
Images credits to The Verge

Read more »

CyanogenMod 10.1 to Bring Android 4.2 to Devices

Today, CyanogenMod officially confirmed plans to start working on the development of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-based builds as soon as the source code is made available for download.

The team of enthusiasts behind the project has just released a new version of the CM10 builds, part of their monthly M-series releases, which is considered very close to stable, though it is not a final release just yet. While focusing on discovering and resolving any bugs that might have been included in CM10, they will also be looking at features and enhancements that will arrive on devices along with the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean platform. They also confirmed that the upcoming release would not be dubbed CyanogenMod 11, but that it would become available as CM10.1 instead. “Android 4.2 is getting the OTA treatment from the powers that be. We eagerly await the source to hit the AOSP repos,” a recent post on Google+ reads. “When it does, we will begin the task of defining what is new, what has changed, and what CM features should stay (or go).”

The team has already had a closer look at the new platform release, and is considering the removal of some of their own features from the upcoming builds. The move is said to have been determined by the fact that Google has already made its own enhancements on those fields, and the CM-specific features were seen as no longer needed. “We already anticipate removing the CM enhancements to the Clock app (Google made their own), and enhancing the Quick Settings (most likely not porting over the Notification Power Widgets),” the team explains. “However, these assessments are preliminary, and won't be finalized until MR1, or whatever tag is used, gets has the source to go with it.”

There’s no telling on how long it will take for the new builds to start arriving, since it all depends on when Google releases the aforementioned code.

CyanogenMod confirms CM10.1 builds based on Android 4.2
Image credits to CyanogenMod

Read more »

CyanogenMod 10 Stable Now Available for Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II and Optimus Black

CyanogenMod 10 has just hit final release status and is now available for download for Android enthusiasts, fans, modders and developers alike. The latest version of CyanogenMod 10 is stable and can be installed with no fear of critical issues.

For the time being, the CyanogenMod team released only a limited number of builds, so those who own other Android devices than the ones supported will have to wait a bit longer. The stable version of CyanogenMod 10 is now available for download for Samsung Galaxy S II LTE (AT&T), Samsung Galaxy S III (Verizon Wireless and Sprint), as well as LG Optimus Black. Check it out here.

According to developers, more build for additional Android devices will be released in the following days, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

CyanogenMod logo
Image credits to CyanogenMod

Read more »

Meizu MX2 Set for Launch on November 27

Meizu is gearing up for the release of a new flagship handset, the MX2, and has already sent out press invites for the launch event.

The company will make the new smartphone official on November 27 during an event planned for Beijing, but it hasn’t provided specific info on specs and features for the time being. According to some rumors on the matter, the device will hit shelves with a screen smaller than 5 inches, and with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, much better than the original.

Engadget suggests that the phone might be either 4.57-inch or 4.8-inch large, and that it will sport a pixel density of 330ppi or 312ppi, respectively, which would fall in line with the company’s statement that there’s no point in launching it with a 400ppi or higher pixel density.

Meizu MX2
Images credits to engadget

Read more »