Nokia RM-877 with 768 x 1280 pixels HD Display Spotted, Possibly Coming to AT&T as Nokia EOS

Lots of new information about Nokia's roadmap for 2013 emerged in the last 24 hours. It appears that the Finnish company plans to unleash at least two new high-end smartphones this summer, Nokia Catwalk and Nokia EOS.

We reported earlier today on Nokia Catwalk's leaked specs sheet, and now it looks like there are new details on the other smartphone that is supposed to arrive on the market in the coming month, Nokia EOS. Alan Mendelevich of AdDuplex claims he found a new device called Nokia RM-877_nam_att_205, which features a HD (768 x 1280 pixels) display of unknown size.

The unannounced smartphone will be launched in the United States via AT&T, but it's unclear whether or not this device will be exclusive to the carrier. There's a possibility that this Nokia RM-877 is the rumored EOS, featuring a 41-megapixel camera. However, until more details emerge we can't say for sure the 41-megapixel monster will arrive at AT&T this summer.

Nokia Lumia 920
Image credits to Nokia

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Google May Be Looking to Buy WhatsApp

The mobile space has shaken things up quite a bit. While giants like Google or Facebook aren't doing too bad in the space, considering how big they are, that's not much of an achievement. At the same time, several mobile first or mobile only services have grown quite big and powerful.

Instagram is one example, Facebook snatched it up for what seemed a huge price, but it was probably well worth it. Google has mostly relied on its own products on the mobile front, with a few exceptions. But it may be looking to make a big move and acquire the rather popular messaging app WhatsApp. Digital Trends says it has sources saying the two companies are negotiating an acquisition and that WhatsApp may be worth over $1 billion, €768 million.

It's no secret that there are plenty of companies interested in WhatsApp, Facebook was one of the at one point. So Google could at least be talking to WhatsApp. But that doesn't necessarily mean an acquisition is impending, especially since it's working on its own messaging app, Babble or Babel, to be unveiled next month.

Whatsapp logo
Image credits to Whatsapp

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BlackBerry OS 10.1 Gets Fully Detailed Ahead of Its Official Release

Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry is expected to bring to the market an updated BlackBerry 10 operating system on its BlackBerry Q10, one that will supposedly hit devices as BlackBerry OS 10.1.

The company has already made the BlackBerry 10.1 SDK available for download through its developer website, so that applications could be built for it, but hasn’t delivered specific details on when the new platform release might actually hit devices, nor on what it will bring along. However, courtesy of a recent article on bbin, we can have a look at the full list of features and enhancements that BlackBerry Q10 users will be able to take advantage of in the new OS update. There will be Mnemonic phone dialing capabilities included in the platform, so that users could dial phone numbers by name or number, along with Out-of-Box-Experience software updates, with these tasks now being performed in the background, while people can still use the phone.

Furthermore, users will benefit from keyboard and application shortcuts on their devices, as can be seen in the first image below, as well as from Dark theme support in apps such as Calendar, Contacts, BlackBerry Remember, BBM, Text message conversations, Search, Adobe Reader and File Manager. BlackBerry Q10 users will also enjoy Word Prediction on their devices, set to work in a similar way as the virtual keyboard on the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone does, with three predicted words appearing at the bottom of the screen.  Additionally, there will be a Type N Go feature included in the new OS flavor, providing Q10 users with access to BlackBerry 10 functionality using the physical keyboard, it seems. It all starts with the pressing of the Space bar to initiate search, and it continues through typing the wanted commands.

Some of the supported Type N Go Commands include BBM a contact, BBM Videocall a contact, Email a contact, SMS/MMS a contact, Call a contact, Update Facebook status, Update Twitter status, Create a note, Set alarm/timer, Play music, and Map an address/place. BlackBerry OS 10.1 will also arrive on devices with BlackBerry Balance, as well as with Cross Domain Email Warnings, a Corporate Liable feature, and support for BlackBerry Smart Card Reader 2.0. Apparently, BlackBerry also warns that not all applications available in the BlackBerry World might recognize the OLED high resolution (720 x 720 pixels) display on the Q10, and that users might not receive the expected experience when installing such apps.

Blackberry Q10
Image credits to RIM

BlackBerry 10.1

Image credits to bbin

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Nokia Catwalk Specs Leak: 4.5-Inch OCTA-OLED Display, 8.7MP Camera, Dual-Core CPU

There's been a lot of rumors surrounding the upcoming Nokia roadmap for 2013. According to the latest hearsay, the Finnish company plans to launch at least two high-end smartphones in the next few months.

The first smartphone rumored to be unveiled at this year's Mobile World Congress 2013 is the Nokia Catwalk. Unfortunately, Nokia decided to delay this top-tier smartphone and bring two mid- to low-end Windows Phone 8 devices into the mix, the Lumia 520 and Lumia 720. Today, Italian mobile guru Flavio, the same person who predicted Nokia Catwalk and Nokia EOS, another high-end smartphone, will be announced at MWC2013, now claims he's the lucky owner of a Nokia Catwalk specs sheet. According to him, both Nokia Catwalk and Nokia EOS do exist, but they have been delayed due to unknown reasons.   Currently Nokia Catwalk and Nokia EOS are set to be officially unveiled on May 15 and will go on sale in June or early July.

Obviously, both smartphones are powered by Windows Phone 8, but the EOS will be the better featured as the device is said to boast a 41-megapixel rear-facing camera. On the other hand, Nokia Catwalk will pack an 8.7-megapixel photo snapper, featuring f2.0 OIS. It will be equipped with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM. It appears Nokia Catwalk is Lumia 920's successor but with different design. The former will be manufactured entirely from aluminum (i.e. HTC One, Asus Padfone Infinity), while the latter is made of polycarbonate. Because of this change, Nokia Catwalk will be around 50g lighter than Lumia 920 and about 2.3mm thinner. All in all, Catwalk measures 129 x 71 x 8.4mm and weighs only 132g (battery included).

Furthermore, Nokia Catwalk has a 4.5-inch octaOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports 768 x 1280 pixels resolution. According to Flavio: “OCTA is a development of Samsung Mobile Display. OCTA – On-Cell Touch Active-Matrix Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED).” Last but not least, the smartphone will be powered by a 2,000 mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery, which has yet to be rated by Nokia. There are no details on which carriers will offer the Nokia Catwalk, but the latest hearsay point to a possible release at T-Mobile USA. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Nokia Lumia 920
Image credits to Nokia

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Intex Aqua Wonder 2 Quad-Core Smartphone Coming to India on April 15

Aqua Wonder 2 is the name of the next high-end smartphone that Indian company Intex plans to launch in the next few weeks.

According to NDTVGadgets, the smartphone is expected to hit shelves on April 15 and will be available for purchase at all major retailers across the country. Although Intex did not announce the phone’s official price tag, it stated that Aqua Wonder 2 wouldn’t cost more than Rs 10,000 outright, which is about $180 or €140. Intex Aqua Wonder 2 will ship with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box and will be packed with popular applications and services, including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, WhatsApp Messenger, Nimbuzz and Facebook. Unfortunately, even though the hype around the upcoming Intex smartphone is pretty high, Aqua Wonder 2 is far from being impressive when it comes to hardware specs.  However, given the fact that the smartphone will cost less than Rs 10,000, we could say it is a good alternative to more expensive brands.

Intex Aqua Wonder 2 comes equipped with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6589 processor, 512MB of RAM and 2GB of internal memory, which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD memory card. The phone sports a more than decent 4.5-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display that supports 540 x 960 pixels resolution. On the back, Aqua Wonder 2 boasts an enhanced 8-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus, dual LED flash and video recording. It also packs a secondary 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls and a 1800 mAh Li-Ion battery, which has yet to be rated by the manufacturer. Last but not least, Intex Aqua Wonder 2 offers dual-SIM capability, along with Wi-Fi and built-in GPS. In the same piece of news, Intex has confirmed that it will launch two more quad-core smartphones in India in the coming months, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Intex Aqua Wonder 2 ad
Image credits to AndroidOS

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Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 Qualcomm Snapdragon 600-Powered Gets Rooted

Following reports that the Exynos 5 Octa flavor of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone has been rooted, info on a similar move made on the Snapdragon 600 version of the device also emerged online.

The root was achieved on the Galaxy S 4 GT-I9505 running under XXUAMD2 firmware (dated April 2, it seems), and proof of that has been published on the XDA-Developers forum. In fact, the necessary tools to root the handset have already been made available for download, in the form of a .tar.md5 file, which can be flashed on the smartphone as PDA using Odin (repartition should not be checked).

As this post on Google+ reads, the one thing that is uncertain for the time being is whether the aforementioned firmware version will be loaded on the handset when it hits shelves (which would make the phone rootable from day one).

Samsung Galaxy S4
Image credits to Samsung

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This is How to Transfer Files from Ubuntu to Android

The following tutorial will teach Ubuntu users how to transfer files from their Linux operating system to an Android powered device (phone or tablet) using a tool called gMTP.

If you are a Linux fan, it’s a very good chance that you also own an Android powered devices, such as a tablet or mobile phone. We know that copying files from your Android device(s) should be an easy thing, but sometimes it’s not. That’s way we thought of writing this short but helpful tutorial, which will teach you how to easily transfer files from your Ubuntu installation to your pretty Android mobile device. So, enough with the chitchat, let’s get started, shall we? Open a Terminal by hitting the CTRL+ALT+T key combination and type the following command to install  a few necessary packages:

sudo apt-get -y install mtp-tools mtpfs gmtp

You probably know the drill already: hit the Enter key after typing the command above, enter your password when asked and wait for the installation to finish. Now, when the installation is completed, close the Terminal window and connect the Android device to the PC or laptop, using the USB cable it came with (yes, the one used for charging your device). On your Android device (tested with the default Android OS), drag down the status bar and tap the USB icon. Make sure that there is a check mark next to MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), not PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol).

On your Ubuntu desktop, open Unity, search for "gmtp" - without quotes - and launch it by clicking on the icon. Click the” Connect" button and you should see the contents of the storage of your Android tablet/smartphone.

Default interface gMTP
Image credits to gmtp.sourceforge.net/

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Facebook Home for Android Now Official

Today, Facebook announced a new set of applications for the Android operating system, called Facebook Home and set to bring a new social experience to devices running under Google's mobile OS.

The new set of apps will arrive in the Google Play Store and will be available for download for users with the current Facebook app for Android. Just as previous rumors suggested, Facebook Home will work as a launcher on Android, with a homescreen experience focused on Cover Feed, which will deliver a feed of stories and photos from friends. There will be no chrome, no logo, but only content for users to enjoy.

Additionally, there will be a new messaging app available as part of Facebook Home, called Chat Heads, which will enable users to engage into conversations while still remaining focused on what they were doing. Facebook Home will arrive on Android phones on April 12, and will be released on HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II at first, with HTC One and Galaxy S 4 expected to receive it soon as well, while also set to land on tablet PCs in a few months.

Facebook Home for Android
Images credits to Facebook

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Intel NUC Ultra-Small PC with Haswell Core i5 CPU Ready

The NUC (next unit of computing) mini personal computer from Intel will, like so many other PCs, be upgraded as soon as Chipzilla launches its newest CPU series, in June or later.

NUC is Intel's attempt to start making a name for itself on the market for full-feature PCs, even though it is actually a barebone. The problem with the current configurations is that they are just too expensive, even five months after they first debuted. The ones equipped with Core i3 CPUs sell for $280 / 280 Euro to $310 / 310 Euro, while the ones using Celeron CPUs are priced at $170 / 170 Euro. Ideally, when Intel launches new Haswell CPUs, or upgrades the NUC with Ivy Bridge Core i5 chips, the prices would stay the same, or maybe even go lower. Knowing Intel's habit of bullishly sticking to its prices, however, we fear there is just as high a chance for the tags to go even higher. It is LogicSupply that said the update was coming, and we don't have a reason to disbelieve the claims as of yet.

Since only the chips will be replaced, the hardware will be the same small mainboard, a pair of DDR3 SO-DIMM memory slots, an mSATA solid-state drive, a mini PCI Express Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module, two HDMI outputs and 1 Gigabit Ethernet. There is another barebone model, called DC3217BY, which has a single HDMI output and replaces the Gigabit Ethernet for Thunderbolt. Curiously, analog audio is absent from both (DP or TB ports for audio output are employed instead). And with having to buy memory and an SSD on top of everything, the final NUC prices will reach $330 / 330 Euro to $470 / 470 Euro, which makes one wonder why not buy a tablet instead. Then again, the NUC is much stronger, runs Windows and is quite small itself (4.59x 4.41 x 1.55 inches / 116.6 x 112 x 39 mm), so it should still charm people.

Intel NUC
Image credits to Intel

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ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Black Motherboard

Anyone who saw the ROG Rampage IV Extreme knows just what kind of overpowered motherboard it is, even among high-end platforms.

The Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand is basically defined by overkill really. Still, whether in spite or because of that overkill, the hardware usually has no trouble selling. Occasionally, this makes ASUS think it is a good idea to refresh them, like now: the ROG Rampage IV Extreme has been colored black, and given the name Rampage IV Extreme Black. The PCB and most everything on it (not counting the silver/grey contacts, of course) are black, with just a few red accents thrown into the mix.

For those not familiar with the Rampage IV Extreme, the motherboard supports Core i7 Intel CPUs (LGA 2011 socket, X79 chipset), 64 GB of memory (quad-channel DDR3 memory), four-way SLI/CrossFire multi-gpu setups and overclocking. Pricing and availability are still to be announced. via Cowcotland.

ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Black
Image credits to Cowcotland

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