Intel Haswell Launch Set for Computex

With all the leaks and reports about Intel's next-generation central processing units, some people were nursing hopes that they would see at least a few of the chips in stores this quarter (Q1 2013). Newer information suggests such hopes are unfounded.

Truth be told, Intel never actually said it would release Haswell processors so early. The ETA (estimated time of arrival) was March-May. Now, though, a report from VR-Zone says that the release has been delayed. Either that, or all the rumors about a March launch were incorrect. Intel is now on a path that will conclude with the release of Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs between May 27 and June 7. This year's edition of Computex, taking place in Taipei, Taiwan, will be the stage. Retailers have been told to delay advertising the launch until June 2. On the mobile processor market, there will be three chipsets: Intel QM87, HM87 and HM86. Compatible with them are the Core i7-4930MX, i7-4900MQ, i7-4800MQ, i7-4702HQ, i7-4702MQ, i7-4700HQ, and i7-4700MQ, among others.

The list of desktop processors and chipsets is even longer. The Intel Z87 is the strongest motherboard platform (OC-ready), followed by H87, Q87, Q85, and B85. The Core i5 series is composed of the i5-4670K, i5-4670, i5-4670S, i5-4670T, i5-4570, i5-4570S, i5-4570T, i5-4430, and i5-4430S. The Core i7 CPU line includes Core i7-4770K flagship product, i7-4770, i7-4770S and i7-4770T. All desktop components rely on the LGA 1150 socket, just like Ivy Bridge (third-generation, 22nm) used LGA 1155. Between now and March, motherboard manufacturers are the only ones that might still leak information. Sources from the supply chain may provide some information as well. Until then, people interested in the CPU collection can go here and read everything published about them so far, and what unofficial sources let slip over the past few months.

Intel Haswell leaked information
Image credits to VR-Zone

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Nokia Will Close Open Connection to Nokia Firmware Repository (Navifirm)

Bad news for Nokia users, starting next month a Nokia Online login will be required to access Navifirm.

In an official bulletin leaked to Smartmobil, Nokia says:

IMPORTANT NEWS BULLETIN 12-21-2012 FROM NOKIA:

Nokia will close open connection to Nokia Firmware Repository during January 2013 and Implement access control.

After this, the Nokia Online login is required to access Nokia Firmware Repository.

During transition phase (December 2012 - January 2013), both open and restricted channels are open, but the open channel will be closed at the end of January 2013

After this, application updates and device software downloading are possible only by using the latest software releases with service NOL login supported.

At the moment there are no details what kind of account will be needed to access Nokia's Firmware Repository, so it's better to grab the latest firmware images for your device by the end of the month.

Navifirm Plus screeenshot
Image credits to Marco Bellino

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Ubuntu Phone OS in Action [Hands-on demo]

As you all know, Canonical unveiled today, January 2, their gesture-based phone operating system based on the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution.

Many websites are already posting various articles related to this interesting piece of news, but it looks like The Verge has the first hands-on video with the Ubuntu OS for smartphones, as you can see in the video above. Ubuntu OS for phones is a mobile operating system based on Ubuntu Linux, especially designed for smartphones like Galaxy Nexus, which is also the only supported device, at the moment.

Those of you who will attend the CES event next week in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, which will take place between 8 and 11 January, will have the opportunity to see a live demonstration of Ubuntu on phones. More detailed information and pictures with the Ubuntu operating system for Android smartphones can be found on the official website.

The first demo of the new Ubuntu phone operating system. Read The Verge's full coverage of the newly announced OS right here: http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/2/3827922/ubuntu-phone-os-announcement
Video credits to TheVerge

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iPhone 5S: Different Screen Sizes, Multi-Color Choices [Predicted by Topeka Capital Markets]

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White kicks off his predictions for 2013 with a research note on Apple with a particular focus on the rumored iPhone 5S which the analyst believes will sport multiple variations in screen sizes and color.

Weighing in on the declining AAPL stock price, White says “We believe tax-related selling was largely to blame for the downward bias in the stock price as we exited 2012 and this created a negative news cycle around Apple that we believe will be broken as we enter 2013.” The analyst working with Topeka Capital Markets believes “there is still plenty to look forward to at Apple, including the potential for greater choices (i.e., colors, sizes) around the next iPhone in 2013, combined with accelerating momentum with the iPad mini and continued strength with the iPad franchise at large.” The next-generation iPhone will represent a big leap from earlier models in terms of technical specifications, according to White, cited by BGR. “Our checks indicate that the next iPhone will have more choices for customers,” the analyst writes.

He adds, “This entails an expansion in both the color patterns and screen sizes with the next iPhone (i.e., likely called the iPhone 5S) that we currently believe will be launched in May/June with certain supply production starting in March/April.” Echoing a belief shared by many voices in the tech media, White says the phone will be available in five different colors: pink, yellow, blue, white & silver and black & slate. Perhaps more interestingly, the analyst also believes the iPhone 5S will come in two different screen sizes, a first for Apple.

“Our checks are also indicating that the next iPhone will offer customers more choice in terms of screen size,” he said. White argues that Apple has never offered multiple screen sizes for a single model, even though the company offers a 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 and a 3.5-inch display on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. “We believe this is about to change with the next iPhone offering different screen sizes that we believe will allow Apple to better bifurcate the market and expand its reach,” he writes.

Multi-color iPhone 5
Image credits to anostyle.com

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Ubuntu for Smartphones Announced [Video]

Canonical is becoming one of the biggest players in today’s market and goes head to head with Apple and Google by launching Ubuntu for smartphones.

We can’t really say it’s much of a surprise, but still, Ubuntu going to smartphones is one of the few directions left for Canonical. According to Canonical, Ubuntu uniquely gives handset OEMs and mobile operators the ability to converge phone, PC and thin client into a single enterprise superphone. "We expect Ubuntu to be popular in the enterprise market, enabling customers to provision a single secure device for all PC, thin client and phone functions. Ubuntu is already the most widely used Linux enterprise desktop, with customers in a wide range of sectors focused on security, cost and manageability" said Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical. Canonical is also targeting basic smartphones that are used just for their simple functions such as email, SMS and Web.

Ubuntu for smartphones has a few features that will set it apart from the direct competition, Google and its Android OS. The interface will allow thumb gestures from all four edges of the screen, enabling uses to find content and switch between apps faster than other phones, voice and text commands in any application, it has HTML5 support, and users can personalize the art on the welcome screen. Canonical also offers some incentives for the potential Ubuntu phone buyers, such as a cloud service, Ubuntu One, providing storage and media services. The company also thinks that by offering a single family of products, for PC, TV and phones, it will greatly benefit the customer.

"We are defining a new era of convergence in technology, with one unified operating system that underpins cloud computing, data centers, PCs and consumer electronics" says Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and VP Products at Canonical. The new QML-based Ubuntu SDK also insures that an application developed for Ubuntu will run both on PC and the phone. Ubuntu phones are not yet available for purchase, but Canonical is ready to work with partners and expects to ship the first models by the end of 2013.

Ubuntu phones
Image credits to Ubuntu

Watch Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth explain Ubuntu's mobile strategy and what it offers industry partners.
Video credits to celebrateubuntu

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Nokia Spamfilter (Call & SMS Blocker) Exclusively Pre-Loaded on Chinese Version of Lumia 920 and 820

One of the most sought after features for Chinese mobile users, call and SMS blocker has finally made its way onto Windows Phone devices.

Unfortunately, Chinese users are the ones that will get this important feature on Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 devices. According to WPCentral, Chinese customers who purchased a Lumia 920 or Lumia 820 smartphone were pleasantly surprised to find out both devices come with Nokia Spamfilter, which offers the following features:

• Block callers per mobile numbers;
• Block all SMS from specific sender;
• Dynamically block SMS containing specified keywords;
• Update the keyword database online for said SMS blocking;
• View all blocked calls and messages;
• Trace the geographic origin of specific phone numbers (only works for mobile numbers, precise to municipality and carrier).

Nokia Spamfilter seems to be “technically powered by Tencent Inc.” and, hopefully, will make it to Lumia 920 and 820 devices available in other regions as well.

Nokia Spamfilter screenshots
Image credits to WPDang

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GParted Live 0.14.1-6 Able to Boot on Windows 8 PCs

On December 28, 2012, Curtis Gedak had the pleasure of announcing a new stable release of the GParted Live CD operating system, which can be used for hard drive partitioning tasks.

Being based on the latest build (23-12-2012) of Debian Sid and powered by Linux kernel 3.2.35-2, the GParted Live CD 0.14.1-6 distribution brings the amazing and improved GParted 0.14.1 application, and a handful of improvements. However, the biggest feature of the GParted Live CD 0.14.1-6 Linux operating system is that it can now be booted from newer Windows 8 machines, thanks to the support for the uEFI firmware. “The GParted team is proud to announce a new stable release of GParted Live. The big news with this release is the added ability to boot the live image on uEFI firmware computers, while maintaining boot ability on traditional PC/BIOS computers. This means that GParted Live can now boot on newer Windows 8 computers.” “In addition to supporting uEFI firmware, two more GNU/Linux operating system images have been released: i686-PAE (Physical Address Extension) and AMD64 (X86-64). These new images permit addressing more than 4 gigabytes of RAM, and enable using multiple processor cores.” said Curtis Gedak in the official release announcement.

The Gparted Live CD is a bare-bones Linux distribution designed with a single purpose in mind, get GParted working. Everything is set up to allow users to boot up from a CD or USB and be able to use GParted to manage a system's disks. GParted Live 0.14.1-6 is distributed as minimal Live ISO images, supporting both 32-bit (PAE) and 64-bit architectures. The new ISO images support more than 4 GB of RAM and processors with multiple cores.

Download GParted LiveCD 0.14.1-6 (ISO) 32-bit [133 MB] via Sourceforge
Download GParted LiveCD 0.14.1-6 (ISO) 64-bit [134 MB] via Sourceforge

GParted Live CD
Image credits to DistroWatch

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Sony Xperia ZL (Odin) Press Photo

Previously known as Sony Xperia Odin, the Xperia ZL is expected to be launched on January 7, one day ahead of Consumer Electronics Show 2013 (CES) opening.

Although some of the phone's specs leaked several weeks ago, the Xperia ZL's design was still a mystery until today. It looks like the folks at XperiaBlog recently uncovered the first press photo of the Xperia ZL directly from Sony's servers. The smartphone is said to ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, along with a powerful 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB of RAM.

The Xperia ZL is also rumored to boast a huge 5-inch full HD (1080p) capacitive touchscreen display and a 13-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS sensor. The front-facing camera of the device is weirdly placed on the bottom instead of the upper side, as seen in the leaked picture. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Sony Xperia ZL
Image credits to Sony

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Huawei Ascend Mate Official Press Photo

One of the most anticipated Android smartphones, the Ascend Mate has just been unveiled in official photos.

The folks over at evleaks via UnwiredView have just published the first press render of the upcoming phablet. Manufactured by Huawei, the Ascend Mate is said to boast a huge 6.1-inch HD (720p) capacitive touchscreen display. In addition, the smartphone will drain energy from a high-capacity 3800 mAh Li-Ion battery. Hardware-wise, the device will pack a quad-core K3V2 processor clocked at 1.8 GHz, which is complemented by 2GB of RAM.

It will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box and will sports an impressive 13-megapixel rear camera with autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording. Huawei Ascend Mate is expected to be officially announced next week at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013 trade fair, in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Huawei Ascend Mate
Image credits to evleaks via UnwiredView

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Sony Xperia Z Press Photo

With less than a week left until its official release, the first press photo of the Sony Xperia Z has just been leaked.

Formerly known as Sony Xperia Yuga, the next high-end Android smartphone is slated for a January 7 release, one day ahead of Consumer Electronics Show 2013 opening. Courtesy to the folks over at evleaks via UnwiredView, we now know how the Xperia Z will look like. As for the specs, we're still waiting for official word that might confirm what leaked in the past few months.

Sony Xperia Z will boast a 13-megapixel rear photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording, as well as a secondary front-facing camera. The phone will be powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and will pack a quad-core processor.

Sony Xperia Z
Image credits to evleaks via UnwiredView

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