Canonical's Ubuntu Edge Phone Will Run Windows Office Apps

Canonical has announced its next generation phone, Ubuntu Edge, and users now have a general understanding of the product, but one feature has been grossly overlooked.

Ubuntu Edge will be the first product to achieve true convergence between PC and a mobile device, if the crowd-funding project presided by Canonical succeeds. Beyond the great technical specifications and the dual-boot option between Android and Ubuntu OS, another interesting feature has gone relatively unnoticed.

“For enterprise users who are already running their desktop in the cloud, here’s something amazing. Ubuntu for Android even supports thin-client access to cloud-hosted Windows applications like Microsoft Office,” stated Leann Ogasaware, the leader of the Ubuntu kernel team for Canonical. If this features manages to garner enough support, it might inspire other companies to follow their lead and realize more than a simple convergence.

Ubuntu for Android
Image credits to Canonical

Read more »

Oppo Find 7 Now on Pre-Order, Cost $699 (€530)

Chinese mobile phone maker Oppo appears set to make the long-rumored Oppo Find 7 smartphone official in the not-too-distant future, and the device has already emerged on a retailer’s website as available for pre-order.

The smartphone can be seen on this page at $699 (€530), contract free, and rumor has it that this might be the actual price tag that the device will sport when made available for purchase. Oppo Find 7 is listed there with a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor packed inside, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory, a 4000mAh battery inside, and Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean platform loaded on top.

The smartphone is also said to pack a 5-inch touchscreen display capable of delivering a full HD resolution, as well as with a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, paired with an 8MP front camera.

Oppo Find 7 now listed on pre-order
Image credits to OppoMart

Read more »

Motorola Moto X to Cost $299 (€227), Contract-Free

Moto X, the upcoming new Android-based smartphone from Motorola, is expected to arrive on shelves in the not too distant future with a price tag of only $299 (€227) attached to it, contract-free.

This is the cost that the 16GB flavor of the device will sport, while the 32GB model is expected to be priced at $349 (€265), a recent article on PhoneArena notes. However, it seems that the handset will be a bit more expensive in Europe, as its pricing will start at €299 ($394) there, with the 32GB version costing €349 ($460).

Motorola’s new mobile phone should be launched officially on August 1, while expected to become available for purchase in the United States later that month. Moto X might arrive in other markets around the world a bit later.

Moto X
Image credits to @evleaks

Read more »

New Leaked Photos of BlackBerry A10 Emerge

Before the end of this year, Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry should bring to the market a new flagship smartphone running under the BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The device might land on the market as BlackBerry A10, and it can be admired in a new set of leaked photos. Available courtesy of Twitter user @nvthanh1994, said leaked images provide us with a clear look at both the front and the back of the smartphone, enabling us to make a good idea of what BlackBerry will offer to their users next.

As CrackBerry notes, the upcoming device appears to feature a back plate rounded to the sides, and not flat, as previously suggested. Furthermore, the smartphone’s bottom and top bezels appear to be rounded at the corners, with a silver bottom and a black top. No specific info on when the new device might become official has emerged until now, but BlackBerry should unveil it in a matter of months, so stay tuned.

BlackBerry A10
Images credits to @nvthanh1994

Read more »

Motorola to Pack DROID MAXX with a 3500mAh Battery

Mobile phone maker Motorola has been rumored lately to plan the release of new handsets in Verizon’s popular DROID series, including the DROID MAXX, DROID Ultra, and DROID Mini.

Some more details on these devices are now available. According to info that emerged over at Android Police, the DROID MAXX will hit shelves with a large, 3500mAh battery packed inside, which should result in long usage times. The DROID Ultra is expected to sport a 2130mAh battery, while the DROID Mini will include a 2000mAh battery. Furthermore, FCC documents confirmed that all three handsets will arrive on the market with Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity, as well as with NFC capabilities.

Apparently, all three handsets should become official in less than a day, so stay tuned for further details on their capabilities.

Motorola's DROID MAXX to pack a 3500mAh battery
Image credits to Motorola

Read more »

Nokia Explains the Lumia 1020 Build and Materials

Lumia 1020, the latest Windows Phone 8 device from Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia, is the first in the company’s Lumia series to arrive on shelves with a 41-megapixel photo snapper on the back, but it packs more than just camera capabilities, the company claims.

In a recent post on Nokia Conversations, the handset vendor took its time to talk about the build of the device, while also detailing the materials used for it, and the color options that users will enjoy. The handset will arrive on shelves in three different color variants, namely yellow, white, and black, options that represent a reflection of the people who could find the imaging capabilities of the device appealing, Nokia says. “We wanted to keep it as a focused selection of colours. It’s an approach that will appeal to camera enthusiasts who are, perhaps, used to a black, but open to a rich color like yellow,” says Jaana Beidler from Nokia Design.

In Nokia’s vision, the yellow color should prove a highly appealing choice for young users who are also interested in cutting edge technologies. “For them, the yellow is a little more energetic and expressive; it’s a unique Nokia character,” Jaana Beidler continued. Nokia also notes that all three color flavors come with a matte finish, due to the character and the quality feel that it is capable of offering over the gloss finish. The handset was also improved to be anti-fingerprint and dirt-resistant. “We looked at and tested both matt and gloss finishes. However, the matt looked and lent itself very well to the three colors,” says Jaana.

Nokia also notes that Lumia 1020 was never meant to pack the metallic stripe that Lumia 925 was launched with, although the feature was welcomed on the already available smartphone. Furthermore, the phone maker notes that the color runs through the whole polycarbonate, and is not applied after the production process, which ensures that the color doesn’t show scratches. Lumia 1020 also comes with an aluminum camera detail, with a black matte finish, while also packing Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection over the touchscreen display, which is curved at the edges so as to fit the industrial design of the device. The keys on the side are also aluminum. “The overall feel is that the Lumia 1020 is comfortable and luxurious to hold in your hand. However, it’s also designed to be tough and resistant to everyday use and abuse,” said blog post concludes.

Nokia Lumia 1020
Image credits to Nokia

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy S III Seen Running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

Samsung Galaxy S III, last year’s flagship smartphone from South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics, has been rumored not long ago to be getting a taste of the Android 4.3 OS later this year, skipping the Android 4.2.2 version, and a newly leaked photo to prove that is now available.

Apparently, Samsung has already started testing the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system flavor on its smartphone, and the photo shows the Galaxy S III unit of a Samsung employee working at the company’s R&D center in India, as temefy reports. Rumor has it that Samsung is also hard at work with the building of the Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy Note II smartphone.

The handset vendor is expected to make the new platform release available for the owners of its newer Android smartphones as well, including the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note III (Galaxy Mega, Galaxy S4 Zoom, Active, and mini might also receive it).

Samsung Galaxy S III running Android 4.3
Image credits to temefy

Read more »

Photos of Nexus 7 II, Shows Android 4.3’s Default Wallpaper

Soon, Asus and Google should make official a new tablet PC in the popular Nexus lineup, none other than the long rumored successor of the Nexus 7, and some more photos with the device are now available for your viewing pleasure.

The slate is expected to arrive on the market with Google’s Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system loaded on top, and the newly leaked photos with it, available courtesy of Android Police, allegedly show the default wallpaper that the new OS version will pack inside. The new set of leaked shots also show the device from more angles, offering a better view of what Asus and Google might make official in two days, during a press event set for July 24.

The tablet should include a 1.5GHz quad-core processor inside, a 7-inch screen capable of a 1920x1200-pixel resolution, and 16GB / 32GB of internal memory.

Second-gen Nexus 7
Images credits to Android Police

Read more »

Moto X Full Phone Specs Unveiled via Benchmarks and Photos

Moto X, the upcoming new Android-based smartphone from Motorola, is getting closer to making an official appearance, and more info on its hardware specifications is now available, courtesy of a new leak.

The handset has emerged online in a series of photos that show benchmarking results for it, along with the full details on the hardware that Motorola will pack inside it. For those out of the loop, we should note that Motorola is expected to bring the new device to the market with a 4.7-inch 720x1184-pixel resolution. Furthermore, the handset packs a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4 Pro MSM8960DT processor inside, paired with an Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Additionally, the handset is said to feature 16GB of internal memory, along with Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac connectivity, NFC, and a 2200 mAh battery inside. Unfortunately, Motorola did not include a microSD memory card slot with this phone. On the back, the Motorola X smartphone, which reportedly sports the model number XT1058 and the codename of Ghost (it is expected to arrive on the market in the US on AT&T’s network), will sport a 10.5-megapixel photo snapper with flash.

Moto X will pack a 2.1MP front-facing camera to enable users to make video calls while on the go, and will run under Google’s Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. As Android Police notes, the mobile phone managed to score around 18.7k in AnTuTu, while reaching a score of 7.1k in 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme. Overall, the Moto X is shaping up as an appealing device, especially for those looking for performance inside an affordable device, yet it will be no high-end smartphone, that’s for sure. Rumor has it that Motorola might be set to make the new Android-based device official as soon as this week, during a press event set for July 24, so stay tuned to learn more on it.

Moto X
Images credits to Android Police

Read more »

Moto X Spotted in Black and White Flavor

Mobile phone maker Motorola has been teasing for the last few months the upcoming availability of a new Android-based device, namely the Moto X, which can now be admired in a new set of leaked photos.

Two press shots with the device have emerged on the web over the weekend, coming from @TheUnlockr and @evleaks and providing us with a better glimpse at what Motorola has in store for us. The smartphone is expected to be released with the stock variant of Google’s Android operating system loaded on top, though it appears that Motorola will pack it with a series of UI tweaks as well, albeit subtle ones.

No info on when the device might be unveiled has been provided as of now, but Motorola is known to have already started testing it internally, which suggests that it should not be too long before it will make it official.

Moto X
Image credits to evleaks

Moto X
Image credits to theunlockr

Moto X
Image credits to evleaks

Read more »