Nokia Lumia 505 with Windows Phone 7.8 Unboxing

Nokia announced the upcoming availability of the Lumia 505 a few weeks ago. Sadly, the smartphone is only available in Mexico at Telcel, but we can expect the device to go on sale in other countries as well.

The Lumia 505 is the first smartphone to come with Windows Phone 7.8 out of the box. Other handsets powered by previous versions of the platform will receive the update in the following days. The smartphone has just been released in Mexico and the folks at GuerreroMovil published an unboxing video showing the phone in action.

Nokia Lumia 505 sports a 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution, and features Corning Gorilla Glass coating. In addition, the device boasts an impressive 8-megapixel rear camera and packs an 800 MHz single core processor, 256MB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory.

Conozcan el primer smartphone diseñado en exclusiva por Telcel y Nokia para el mercado Mexicano.
El nuevo Nokia Lumia 505.
Características:
· Windows Phone 7.8
· Pantalla ClearBlack Super AMOLED de 3.7'' (800 x 480 px)
· Vidrio Esculpido antirayaduras
· Cámara de 8 mp
· WiFi Hotspot
· 4GB Internos + 7GB en SkyDrive
· 3G, Bluetooth, A-GPS
· RAM 256 MB 
· Batería 1300 mAh
· Radio FM
· Full Touch
Disponible Ya con Guerrero
Video credits to Guerrero Movil

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Philips W8355 Coming Soon with Dual-SIM, 5.3-Inch Display and Dual-Core CPU

Although Philips is less known for its smartphones, it appears that the company plans to launch a new Android phone, the W8355.

The main selling points of the smartphone are dual-SIM capability and the large 5.3-inch qHD capacitive touchscreen that displays 960 x 540 pixels resolution. The bad news is Philips W8355 ships with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system out of the box, and is unlikely to receive a Jelly Bean upgrade after launch. According to UnwiredView, Philips W8355 will be launched in China initially, but other regions might get it as well.

It is also worth mentioning the smartphone is powered by a dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz, which is complemented by 512MB of RAM. The W8355 sports a 5-megapixel rear photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and video recording, as well as 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Philips W8355
Image credits to Bluetooth SIG

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Windows RT Jailbreak Tool Released [Video Tutorial]

A few days ago we heard the news about the Windows RT jailbreak and now a jailbreak tool for Windows RT has been release.

How to jailbreak you Microsoft Surface with Windows RT? Check the video tutorial after the break. Note that this jailbreak is tethered, which means that it will last till you reboot your device, you will need to run the exploit after every reboot.

The jailbreak was confirmed by Microsoft saying that it "applaud the ingenuity of the folks who worked this out and the hard work they did to document it," but also that “the scenario outlined is not a security vulnerability and does not pose a threat to Windows RT users." Happy jailbreaking! via XDA-Developers.

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Full tutorial: http://www.shinysurface.com/2013/01/10/how-to-jailbreak-the-microsoft-surface-with-windows-rt/

Name: How to jailbreak the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT

Description: A video tutorial that shows how to jailbreak the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT so that you can easily run unsigned apps not originating from the WIndows Store.

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Video credits to SurfaceMovie

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Nokia Lumia 820/920 Now Shipping with Windows Phone 8 Portico

Nokia and Microsoft promised a few months ago an update to Nokia Lumia 820 and 920 will improve some of the phone's features and will fix some of the bugs found in Windows Phone 8.

Dubbed Portico, the first Windows Phone 8 update was rolled out a few weeks ago to Nokia Lumia 920 units in the United States and Canada. The Finnish company announced the rest of the world will receive the Portico update beginning February 2, though we're not sure if it will be launched at the same time in all regions.

However, it appears that Nokia has already decided to ship all Lumia 920 units with Windows Phone 8 out of the box, the folks over at WPCentral claim. Windows Phone 8 Portico adds lots of stability fixes and camera improvements, as well as performance enhancements. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Nokia Lumia 820 "About phone" (screenshot)
Image credits to WPCentral

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Swype for Symbian Beta Updated, Brings Bug Fixes

A new flavor of the Swype for Symbian application is now available for download through the Nokia Beta Labs website, namely version 2.1.4436.

Pushed out on January 11, the new app release arrives on handsets with a series of fixes for issues that were previously found to affect users’ experience with it. The application is available for download for all devices running under Symbian^3, Anna and Belle platforms, and can be downloaded through the Nokia Suite application too.

This is a beta release of the app, which cannot be found in the official Nokia Store portal, but only via the Beta Labs. “We've made a small patch for those of you who've experienced the timeout on S^3 and S60. We'll be watching the forums so reach out if you experience any problems. Thanks Symbian Swypers for all of your dedication, and I hope your Swyping finger isn't too lazy from the holiday feasting,” the team announced.

Swype Beta for Symbian
Image credits to MyNokiaBlog

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Impressive Results of Intel-Powered Lenovo K900 Benchmark

Chinese company unveiled the Lenovo K900 a few days ago at Consumer Electronics Show 2013 (CES), in Las Vegas, but the handset maker did not disclose any details on the phone’s pricing options.

We do know that the K900 will be launched in China sometime in April, but we suspect that the smartphone will be released in other countries soon after. Anyway, until we know more on the handset’s availability, let’s see how it performs in benchmarks. The folks at Tech Authors are among the first to publish some (real?) benchmark results for Lenovo K900. The smartphone scored around 27000 points in AnTuTu, which is about one third better than the most powerful quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processors. The phone was tested running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, though the final version has been confirmed to ship with Android 4.2, which might improve K900’s performance even further.

As PhoneArena notes, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which packs an Exynos 4412 processor with four cores, scored a bit more above 14000 points. Furthermore, GSM Insider also reports on an interesting benchmark comparison between Lenovo K900 and XiaoMi Phone 2. The results of the K900 are almost similar with the ones published by the folks over at Tech Authors, so even if the scores seem unbelievably high, they must be real. XiaoMi Phone 2 almost reached 22000 points in AnTuTu benchmark, whereas Lenovo K900 exceeded the 25000 milestone. Intel’s Clover Trail+ chipset seems to be extremely powerful in comparison with other SoC’s available on the market these days.

Lenovo K900 is powered by a 2GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2580 processor, which is complemented by a PowerVR SGX 544MP graphics processing unit and 2GB of RAM. The Z2580 packs two core and four threads and is likely to be embedded in other handsets as well.

Lenovo K900 AnTuTu benchmark results
Image credits to Tech Authors / GSM Insider

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ST-Ericsson NovaThor L8580 Quad-Core Mobile CPU Announced

ST-Ericsson is yet another chip maker who brought to the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas a new processor designed for mobile devices, namely the NovaThor L8580.

Unveiled as a quad-core CPU, the new NovaThor L8580 is said to be the fastest mobile processor with LTE connectivity packed inside, while featuring far less power needs than similar products. Featuring four Cortex-A9 cores, the new chipset is said to be on par with Samsung’s Exynos 4 Quad series. The new ST-Ericsson processor can be clocked all the way up to 2.5 GHz, while featuring 0.6 V power consumption.

The CPU also features built-in PowerVR SGX544 graphics from Imagination Technologies, along with support for LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, and EDGE connectivity. It also provides support for 1080p Full HD video recording and playback. The chip is expected to arrive on shelves in devices before the end of this year.

ST-Ericsson logo
Image credits to ST-Ericsson

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No Offline Navigation for Nokia Maps 3.06 with Latest Map Data

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has confirmed an issue with its Nokia Maps 3.06 app on Symbian devices that also have the latest map data installed.

Released in December last year, the newest map data from Nokia (namely 0.2.47.103) would cause Navigation in Nokia Maps to not launch when in offline mode. Furthermore, Nokia confirms that users are provided with the following error message: “Car navigation cannot start at this location.”

The company says that it is currently looking into the matter, and proposes a temporary fix for the issue. “The workaround is to set Maps in online mode, navigation will then start properly,” the company notes. Undoubtedly, an official fix will be delivered soon, yet the company hasn’t provided specific info on when that might happen for the time being.

Nokia Maps
Image credits to Nokia

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An 8-Core Galaxy S IV Is Closer to Reality Now

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung has been long rumored to bring to the market a successor to its Galaxy S III flagship device that would sport next-gen hardware specifications, but that handset seems now closer to becoming reality.

Dubbed Galaxy S IV, the smartphone was rumored to arrive on shelves with an 8-core processor packed inside, as well as with a flexible touchscreen display, specs that now seem very likely to make it inside such a device. At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung unveiled to the world the rumored 8-core mobile processor, the Exynos 5 Octa, which might indeed power the Galaxy S IV, although nothing has been officially confirmed on this as of now. Destined specifically for high-end smartphones, the new chip can deliver far better performance capabilities when compared to the company’s previous-generation mobile processors (which packed only 4 cores), while also said to significantly reduce power consumption.

For the time being, Samsung did not unveil specific info on when the new processor would arrive on the market, nor on devices that are bound to feature it, but it’s safe to assume that the company will pack it inside one of its next-generation Galaxy handsets. Whether that phone will indeed be the aforementioned Galaxy S IV or not, it remains to be seen. The good news, however, is that such a phone is coming. As for the possible presence of a flexible screen on Samsung’s next flagship model, things don’t seem so farfetched either.

Samsung’s YOUM Flexible OLED panel, demoed at CES 2013 as well, is expected to enable a new generation of devices to be brought to the market. Samsung themselves loaded it on a prototype, having the screen stretching over the phone’s edge, enabling new functionality for users. Previous reports on Galaxy S IV also suggested that Samsung might be set to pack it with 2GB of RAM inside, a 5-inch display and a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, specs that are in line with what some of the latest smartphones out there already feature. 

Running under Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, Samsung’s flagship device should be unveiled to the world in the first half of this year. According to previous reports, Samsung might have it ready for launch in March, while being set to make it official in April or May this year. Hopefully, the company will bring it to shelves sooner rather than later, but stay tuned to learn the news.

Alleged Samsung Galaxy S IV leaked photo
Image credits to SamMobile

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Acer Plans Better “Retina-Class” Displays for Certain Laptops

Acer has done its best to change from a quantity-focused laptop maker to a quality-focused one, and it hasn't had much to brag about yet, but maybe 2013 will be the time of rebound for it.

At the very least, the purported plans for the notebook market, where Acer draws most of its revenue from, seem solid. Of course, things may still go sour, but there are only so many tactics one can take for promoting laptops. Since everyone, consumers and IT companies alike, seems to be gushing over displays with resolutions beyond Full HD, Acer decided to do the same. This year (2013), there should be quite a few special laptops equipped with “retina-class” screens. That is to say, displays with a native resolution of 2880 x 1620 pixels. Not exactly the same resolution as on Apple's MacBook Pro laptops, but close enough. For those that need that remark elaborated upon, Apple was the one that actually caused “Retina displays” to become a marketing term.

The MacBook Pro 15-inch has a screen of 2880 x 1800 pixels, while the Pro 13.3-inch has a 2560 x 1600 screen. PC World website is where all this information comes from. Acer, sadly, has chosen to withhold the list of laptops that will feature high-end panels. The number may even be larger than some would expect, since the LCDs can simply be added to all notebooks as a high-end option. Granted, Acer doesn't have many high-end products, having focused on low-end and mid-range electronics devices over the past decade. Nevertheless, as we said, the company has been changing its aims and, thus, a different tactic will be attempted this year.

On a related note, Acer may decide on “retina” panels when making monitors and all-in-one PCs as well. The 23-inch and 27-inch sizes would do well with the resolution.

Select Acer laptops getting Retina displays
Image credits to Acer

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