Intel Prepares to Drop Atom Brand Name

Anyone who has previously heard that Intel was planning on dropping the Atom brand name may have thought they've heard wrong.

They didn't though. Intel really is planning on that, according to Digitimes. It won't happen right away, but neither will the Santa Clara, California-based company be dawdling. Intel will stop releasing processors from the Atom line at some point in the fourth quarter of 2014. After that, the entry-level market will be covered by Celeron and Pentium CPUs instead.

To clarify, Intel isn't dropping any CPU architecture, only the brand, for whatever reason. I suppose the lack of demand for presumably weak and not-worth-it Atom units warrants this. Meanwhile, Intel will preserve the reputation of Pentium and Celeron chips by releasing Haswell-based models as well, and units based on subsequent architectures.

Intel prepares to drop Atom brand
Image credits to Intel

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 Now Available in the US for $300/€230

Officially unveiled last month, Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 has just hit shelves in the United States. The smartphone is expected to arrive in the UK as well, but the first stocks are slated for September.

As GSMArena reports, the Galaxy Ace 3 is now available for purchase via Popular Electronics for only $300/€230 outright. Negri Electronics is about to start offering the smartphone as well for a bit cheaper, $280/ €215. Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 is powered by Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box and packs a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor.

The smartphone sports a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution. It also features 1GB of RAM and 4/8 GB of internal memory. There will be three versions of Galaxy Ace 3 up for grabs in the following weeks: Galaxy Ace 3 S7270 (3G), Galaxy Ace 3 S7275 (LTE) and Galaxy Ace 3 S7272 (dual-SIM).

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
Image credits to Samsung

Read more »

Garmin USA 2.5 for iOS Adds Themes, Performance Improvements

Navigation expert Garmin has released an updated version of its US-centric mapping application which includes themes and stability improvements.

Garmin is the first iPhone navigation app to include the company’s exclusive photoReal images of complex junctions to help users navigate with ease. The software offers rich mapping with detailed 3D buildings and landmarks, as well as lane guidance, speed/red light camera alerts, and many other advanced features for drivers.

Users of Garmin USA 2.5 will be able to choose from many different map themes to make their iOS navigation easier on the eyes. The update further includes various stability improvements and bug fixes to smoothen out your experience. Garmin USA is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation), and iPad, and requires iOS 5.1 or later.

Garmin USA screenshots
Image credits to Garmin

Read more »

HTC One Mini Gets Certified in China, Appears in Live Photos

More pictures of the smaller version of HTC One have just leaked online, along with some details on the phone’s specs sheet.

Furthermore, GSMArena reports that the phone has just received certification in China and is likely to go official in the next couple of weeks. According to the latest rumors, HTC One mini will be launched with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box and a decent enough 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. The smartphone is said to pack 1GB of RAM, an Adreno 305 graphics processing unit and a 4 UltraPixel rear camera. HTC One mini sports a 4.3-inch HD (720p) capacitive touchscreen display, as well as 16 GB of internal memory.

Unfortunately, there is no confirmation on the microSD card slot for memory expansion, so we must assume that storage is non-expandable. Stay tuned for more details on this one.

HTC One Mini
Image credits to Tenaa

Read more »

Sony Xperia Z Ultra Arriving in the UK on September 6

The newest Android flagship smartphone coming from Sony, the Xperia Z Ultra, has already been confirmed for the UK, though information on availability has been a bit scarce until recently.

The smartphone is expected to arrive in the UK via major carriers and retailers, so Sony fans will surely get to choose their favorite network. At least one major UK-based retailer, Expansys, will start offering the Sony Xperia Z Ultra on September 6. According to AndroidCentral, Expansys has just confirmed that it will receive the first stock of Xperia Z Ultra units on the said date. Those who wish to purchase the white or black version of Sony Xperia Z Ultra via Expanys will have to come up with no less than £640 outright, which is about €740 or $975. For the time being, the handset is up for pre-order at Expansys for this price, but as we approach its release, it might go cheaper.

GSMArena also reports that Clove UK has just announced that the first stock of Xperia Z Ultra is expected in the week commencing September 13. Both black and white variants of the smartphone will be available for purchase. Clove offers the Xperia Z Ultra a bit cheaper than Expansys, as customers will be able to pick it up for £600 (€695/$915). Those who can afford this monstrous phablet will get a huge device featuring a 6.4-inch full HD (1080p) capacitive touchscreen display that packs Triluminos technology and scratch resistant glass. Hardware-wise, the smartphone packs a powerful 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory.

On the back, the phone boasts an enhanced 8-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus and full HD (1080p) video recording. Sadly, the phone lacks any type of LED flash, so night pictures are out of the question.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra
Image credits to Sony

Read more »

Red Nokia Lumia 1020 Option for AT&T Customers

Nokia has announced that the Lumia 1020 will be available from AT&T later this month for only $299.99 (€229) with a new two-year agreement.

The Finnish company has confirmed that the smartphone will be available in black, white and yellow, though some Nokia fans have expected the handset maker to allow them to purchase the Lumia 1020 in cyan and red as well. Although cyan and red Lumia 1020 have yet to be announced, evleaks has just published the press image of Nokia’s flagship smartphone in red.

At this point, there’s no telling if the red color will be an option for AT&T customers who want to pick up the Nokia Lumia 1020 next month. However, if the photo is genuine, we should expect the carrier to reveal the new color pretty soon, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Red Nokia Lumia 1020
Image credits to evleaks

Read more »

Acer Upcoming Products, Acer TA2 with NVIDIA Tegra 4

Besides the fact that Tegra 3-based tablets aren't old or weak enough to warrant updates, there is also another reason why Tegra 4 isn't likely to sell: pricing.

That's right, as far as mobile platforms go, Tegra 4 is expensive. It's a large part of the reason why NVIDIA has even made the Tegra 4i. Anyway, that doesn't mean there won't be devices based on the platform. In fact, Acer has one such device, the TA2 tablet, getting ready to go through the door. With the full name TA272HUL (or codename anyway), the product has shown up in GFXBench’s database. No clue yet what the real, final name will be, but the display, at least, will be good: 2560 x 1344 pixels, or maybe 2560 x 1600 or 2560 x 1440.

Ultimately, it depends on the aspect ratio that Acer finds most suitable for whatever demographic it is aiming the tablet at (consumers, multimedia lovers, business users, etc.). No indication of how large the slate will be, unfortunately.

Acer TA2 tablet inbound
Image credits to Acer

Read more »

ZTE Nubia Z5 Mini with 4.7-Inch Screen

Today, Chinese mobile phone maker ZTE has officially announced a new smartphone running under Google’s Android operating system, namely the Nubia Z5 mini.

The smartphone was unveiled with a 4.7-inch touchscreen capable of delivering a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, as well as with a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor packed inside. The specs list of the new device also includes 2GB of RAM, along with a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, and a 5MP front camera for making video calls.

The handset comes with Google’s Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system loaded on top right from the beginning, 16GB of internal memory, microSD memory card slot, and a 2300mAh battery. The smartphone arrives on shelves with support for 3G networks and WiFi connectivity, and features a price tag of 1888 Yuan ($308 / €235), gizchina reports.

ZTE Nubia Z5 mini
Images credits to Sina Weibo via GizChina

Read more »

Oppo Plans Windows Phone 8-Based Find 5 Version

Chinese mobile phone maker Oppo is reportedly getting ready for the launch of a Windows Phone 8-based device, one that would land on shelves as a new flavor of the Find 5 smartphone.

In fact, it appears that the company’s Social Marketing Director Li Ying Ming has already posted on Sina Weibo a series of mock-up photos that show the flagship device running under Windows Phone 8, which gives more power to said rumor. Given that these are only mock-up photos, it’s not fully confirmed that the company is indeed planning the launch of said device, so we’ll have to wait for an official announcement on the matter to be sure.

However, as liverside notes, this is not the first time that the company is rumored to plan the launch of a handset powered by Microsoft’s mobile operating system, and things might pan out in the end.

Oppo teases Windows Phone 8 device
Image credits to Sina Weibo via Liverside

Read more »

iPhone 5S Specs Leaked: 4” IGZO Display, 12MP Camera, Quad-Core GPU

New photos and, more importantly, hardware specifications of the iPhone 5S have reportedly leaked from the Chinese supply chain.

Obtained by EXP Review, a Chinese hardware site (which is currently experiencing some downtime for obvious reasons) and dished out by ExtremeTech, both the photos and the specs seem on par with the latest industry chatter. The phone looks identical to the iPhone 5, meaning the 5S will be a regular incremental update (as expected), while the technical specifications go roughly like this: 4-inch (1136×640) IGZO display; 2GB of RAM; quad-core PowerVR SGX544MP4 GPU; dual-core CPU clocked a bit higher than the current A6; NFC; fingerprint scanner.

I wouldn’t get my hopes up for that NFC bit if Apple sticks with metal for the chassis (you know, NFC doesn’t go well together with aluminum), but the rest of the specs seem plausible, if not probable. The photos are certainly tantalizing, but not if you consider the high probability that these are nothing more than Chinese knockoffs destined to run Android. I'm skeptical, but there you have it.

Alleged iPhone 5S chassis
Image credits to EXP Review via ExtremeTech

Read more »