New Leaked Screenshots Confirm Windows 8.1 Build 9374

While Microsoft revealed that Blue is only an internal designation for the company's “future set of plans,” new screenshots that reached the web a couple of hours ago confirm that the Redmond-based technology giant has almost completed the development of the first preview version.

These fresh screenshots published by Microsoft Portal do not provide any new details, but they do confirm that Windows 8.1 Pro Preview is currently tested by select partners, which could be an indication that a public beta is indeed in the pipeline for a June release. According to some previous reports, Microsoft might launch the first beta version of Windows 8.1 this summer, most likely at the BUILD developer conference in June, as this could be the perfect occasion to get in touch with developers and collect feedback.

As for the final release, Microsoft might introduce it in August or September, almost two months after the unveiling of the preview build.

Windows 8.1 Pro Preview is currently tested by select partners
Image credits to Microsoft Portal

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Pantech Vega Iron IM-A870 Photos and Specs Emerges

One of the smartphones that South Korean mobile phone maker Pantech is expected to make official in the not too distant future is the Pantech IM-A870, now rumored to arrive on shelves as Vega Iron.

The handset has already emerged only in benchmarks and at various certification forums, and should become official as soon as April 18, new reports on the matter suggest. The mobile phone is expected to hit the market with some appealing hardware specifications packed inside, capable of competing with high-end devices such as Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG Optimus G Pro, it seems. Apparently, Pantech has already confirmed the upcoming launch on April 18, though no specific info on its hardware specs have been officially unveiled. The guys over at Daum, however, have managed to learn more on the matter, and report that the new device will feature a 5-inch screen capable of delivering a full HD resolution, and that it will be powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor. Furthermore, the device is expected to arrive on shelves with 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, and a 2150 mAh battery. Vega Iron runs under Google's Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

Other specs of the Pantech Vega Iron IM-A870 include LTE connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC, and a smaller body when compared to Galaxy S4 (it measures 136.3 x 67.7 x 8.8 mm, while Samsung’s smartphone measures 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm), UnwiredView reports. These specs appear to have been confirmed by another website, vegaviet, which also came up with a series of allegedly leaked press photos with the device, which show that it might be launched in both Black and White flavors. The handset in these images features a square design, and seems to fit the teaser image that Daum has published, though it still remains to be seen whether this is indeed the real smartphone or not. Everything will be made official in a matter of days, so stay tuned to learn the news.

Pantech Vega Iron IM-A870
Images credits to vegaviet

Pantech Vega Iron IM-A870
Images credits to daum

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Download Facebook Home APK for Unsupported Devices

The Facebook Home APK leaked online a few hours after the official application hit Google Play. This is extremely useful for all Android users out there, as Facebook only made it available in the United States.

However, the folks at Modaco extracted the Facebook Home APK file and made it available for all those in other countries than the US. But what about Android enthusiasts who own unsupported devices. For those who don't know yet, Facebook Home is only compatible with several devices, such as HTC One, HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Well, that won't be a problem as Paul O'Brian of Modaco found a way to patch the files necessary to run Facebook Home on unsupported devices and made it available for download. For more details on how to download and install this APK file head over to Modaco.

Facebook Home for Android
Image credits to Facebook

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Facebook Home APK File Now Available for Download

Within hours after Facebook Home has been launched on Google Play, the extracted APK file of the application has been published online.

As expected, Facebook released its launcher on April 12, but the application is only available for a limited number of smartphones and it can only be installed by US users. Fortunately, the Paul O'Brien from Modaco managed to extract the APK file, so that other Android users who do not live in the United States can download and install it. Before attempting to install Facebook Home make sure you have the latest version of Facebook and Facebook Messenger applications already on the device.

Keep in mind that this APK file will only work on the following devices: HTC One, HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II and Samsung Galaxy S4. For more details on how to install and download the Facebook Home APK file head over to the original thread.

Facebook Home supported devices
Image  credits to Facebook

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Samsung Series 9 Premium Ultrabook Finally on Sale

Samsung formally introduced the Series 9 Premium ultrabook back in March, but the product didn't start selling right away. Only now have shipments begun to be carried out, as revealed by a press release.

Series 9 Premium is closer to the core concept of an ultrabook than, say, the VivoBook S500, which has a large screen (for such laptops) and even a full numpad. That is to say, Series 9 Premium measures 13.3 inches in diagonal (versus 15.6) and is a lot more expensive: $1,399.99 / 1,067 – 1,399.99 Euro versus $750 / 571 – 750 Euro. We would call it an overpriced model, if it weren't for the entire bunch of other ultrabooks that cost the same, or close to that sum. The money will earn buyers, in addition to the Full HD display (1920 x 1080 pixels) with Samsung SuperBright technology (300 nit brightness), an Intel Core i7-3537U central processing unit (CPU). The chip has a clock speed of 2 GHz and is assisted by 4 GB of DDR3 RAM (random access memory). Storage (128 GB) is provided by a solid-state drive, while the rest of the feature set is no different from that of all other notebooks: Wi-Fi, speakers (two 1.5W) a 1.3 megapixel webcam, LAN, USB, etc.

All the hardware runs on the energy provided by a battery that can last for up to 5.8 hours. Given all this, we can only assume that the large price is caused by the CPU, the solid-state drive and, since Samsung had a special section in its press release for it, the display. Speaking of which, the SuperBright matte LCD can reproduce up to 16 million colors and has a wide viewing angle. As for the case, the laptop is half an inch thin (12.7 mm) and, together with everything inside, weighs 2.5 pounds (1.13 kilos). “Key components such as the display panel, keyboard, motherboard, cables, fans and battery have been customized with precision to fit into the Series 9's ultra-thin body,” Samsung writes.

Samsung Series 9 Premium
Image credits to Samsung

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Motorola X Phone Official Announcement Postponed Until “August or Later”

Bad news for Motorola and Android fans, as Google seems to have delayed the official reveal of the X Phone until late summer.

Last time reported that Motorola X Phone, the device was scheduled for a May/June unveil, probably at Google I/O or a few weeks later. Apparently Google is not happy with the development of the X Phone and decided to postpone the official announcement until “August or later.” As PhoneArena reports citing sources close to the matter, Motorola X Phone is still in the early phases of development, which means that, by the time it goes official, everything that we know about the phone might be changed. So far, Motorola seems to be aiming at a 4.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with full HD (1080p) support and a very thin bezel.  There already are a few prototypes available, but each seems to have slightly different specs. For example, one of the prototypes spotted several weeks ago did not have microSD card slot for memory expansion.

The device was powered by Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system with few customizations, though the final product is expected to be fully customizable. Rumor has it that Motorola X Phone will be the first in a series of customizable smartphones, a concept that Google and Motorola wish to introduce in the next couple of months. Future models in the X series will be different depending on the owner, who will be able to choose the phone’s hardware and the material it will made of (metal, carbon fiber, or plastic). There will be lots of color options to choose from as well. The new timeframe for the Motorola X Phone reveal comes in line with initial rumors that suggested Google plans to put it on sale in Q4 2013, but this can change if the search giant is not happy with how the things are going with the development of the device. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Motorola Mobility logo
Image credits to Motorola Mobility

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Nokia’s Double Tap to Awake Showcased [Video]

One of the features that Nokia’s Lumia phones have been rumored to receive in the not too distant future is the ability to wake up the device through double tapping on its screen when in sleep mode.

The feature was previously said to arrive in a future software update for Windows Phone 8 Lumia handsets, and it has already been spotted out there, WPCentral reports. In fact, the news site also shot a video to showcase the feature, and you can have a look at it above. According to them, the update will arrive on devices as firmware PR2.0 and will bring some other enhancements as well, including an optional always-on clock.

A “Smart Camera” feature is also expected to arrive on Lumia smartphones as part of the update, some sort of a Lens app, similar with Smart Shoot, but with more options packed inside.

Double tap to awake and an on-screen clock are just 2 of the new features coming to the Nokia's Lumia devices. Here's a sneak peek. http://www.wpcentral.com/exclusive-look-nokia-double-tap-awake-clock-lumia-920
Video credits to WMExperts

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Pantech to Launch 5-Inch “Bezel-Less” IM-A870 Soon

Pantech, the third largest mobile phone maker in South Korea, is reportedly gearing up for the release of a new smartphone that would help it better compete with Samsung and LG, namely the Pantech IM-A870.

The handset has already been spotted in leaked benchmarks a while ago, and has yet to be officially confirmed, but ETNews claims that it will be unveiled soon, with specs in line with those of Galaxy S4. The mobile phone is reportedly set to arrive on the market with a 5-inch touchscreen display on the front, and that it will be “bezel-less.”

Furthermore, the smartphone should include a quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU when released, and is expected to become official as part of Pantech’s Vega R series. Running under Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, the Pantech IM-A870 might become official at the end of this month, UnwiredView reports. Stay tuned for more on the matter.

Pantech logo
Image credits to Pantech

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Huawei EDGE Flagship Smartphone Is Made Entirely of Aluminum

Chinese handset maker Huawei has been surprisingly successful in switching its focus on high-end devices. Well-known for its budget-friendly smartphones, Huawei launched some interesting Android phones in the last few years.

The folks at PhoneArena report that an unannounced Huawei flagship smartphone has just been spotted today at Nowhereelse and it looks amazing, to say the least. Dubbed Huawei EDGE, the smartphone features an aluminum body and is only 6.3mm thick. It sports a stunning 4.9-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080 x 1920 pixels) resolution. No word on the processor, but Huawei EDGE is expected to be equipped with 2GB of RAM, 16GB/32GB of internal memory, and 2600 mAh Li-Ion battery.

It is also worth mentioning that it will ship with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box and will pack an impressive 13-megapixel rear-facing camera. There are no details on the superphone’s availability and pricing options, but we expect more info to emerge in the following weeks, so stay tuned.

Huawei EDGE
Images credits to nowhereelse.fr

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Intel DZ87KL-75K, Intel's Last and Best Desktop Motherboard

Back in January, Intel decided to back out of the motherboard market. Then, in March, orders were cut by 80%.

The company doesn't plan to go quietly, however. In fact, it has prepared what is clearly the strongest desktop motherboard in its lineup to date: DZ87KL-75K. Based on the Haswell Z87 Lynx Point chipset, it has serious memory, expansion and processing potential.

All it takes to put it to good use is a bunch of DDR3 modules, one or two graphics cards, an Intel CPU (preferably one of those set for June release) and, of course, a big enough case to put everything in. The folks at VR-Zone have posted a photo of the product, and the full specs. We've included both in the gallery below, for your convenience.

Intel DZ87KL-75K
Images credits to Intel

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