HTC Nexus 8 with Tegra K1 Processor Leaks Out with Specs, Image and Price

By now you are probably aware Google’s I/O conference is scheduled to begin this week. And one of the hottest products we’re expecting to see appearing into the world is the Nexus 8 tablet.

Rumors proclaiming the existence of the slate have been intensifying in the past few weeks, but we still didn’t know the exact coordinates related to the tablet. The Nexus 8 is quite eagerly expected especially since LG’s Ken Hong announced the company won’t be making the next Nexus phone. So it appears the future of the Nexus line lies with the 8-incher that’s supposedly going to be unveiled in a few days. In anticipation of the big event, Android Police managed to get a hold of hot info detailing specs and pricing of the device. On top of that we get to see a picture of the tablet that has been nicknamed HTC Volantis (Flounder). Ok. So you’re probably extremely curious of the specifications, because the rumors couldn’t agree so far on what the Nexus 8 will come equipped with.

Well it appears the slate will offer a superior 2048 x 1440 (281 ppi) resolution and draw life from – listen to this – NVIDIA’s Logan 64-bit processor (Tegra K1). This is contrary to what earlier reports claimed. First off, word on the street had it Google’s new slate will take advantage of the Moorefield 64-bit platform, but then another story surfaced claiming the chip inside will be Qualcomm’s. Incidentally, this weekend we argued in a story that the NVIDIA Tegra K1 chip might see success if implemented in tablets not smartphones. For the time being, Xiaomi’s MiPad is the only tablet taking advantage of the chip architecture, but Google’s Project Tango Dev Kits are also equipped with this particular platform. And with Google and HTC adopting the Tegra K1, NVIDIA might be headed on the right path. The device will be fitted with 2GB of RAM and either 16GB/32GB of internal storage. Two cameras will complete the picture, in the form of 8MP OIS main camera and 3MP front facing camera.

The slate’s stereo speakers will live in front and the tablet will take advantage of the aluminum zero-gap construction. As for proportions, the Nexus 8 will be 8.91x5.98x0.31 inches / 22.63x15.9x0.79cm. The tablet will weigh 418 g / 14.74 ounces or 427 g / 15.1 ounces if we’re talking about the LTE version. By comparison the Nexus 7 (2013) weights 290 g / 10.1 ounces and 299 g / 10.5 ounces for the LTE model. Anyway, things get a little bit complicated when we take a look at the photo where some incongruities can be spotted. For starters, the front-facing speakers are nowhere in sight and the casing doesn’t really bring about aluminum zero-gap construction vibes. We’re either looking at an earlier model or the information might as well be fake. There’s also info about the pricing of the device. Apparently the tablet will sell for $399 / €293 when it comes to the 16GB version and $499 / €367 for the 32GB version. The LTE model will certainly be the more expensive one, taking you back with $600 / €441. So would you pay this amount of money for HTC Volantis?

Image showing the purporting Nexus 8
Image credits to AndroidPolice

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This is why NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 Chips Have a Chance To Succeed in Tablets, Not Smartphones

NVIDIA has been in the industry of performance processors and graphic cards for some time now, carving a place for itself in the ecosystem.

But NVIDIA wants to go beyond what has been considered traditionally their territory. The company is currently focusing a lot of its efforts into its mobile division. Granted, things might have started slowly for the chip-maker, at first because some of its earlier products ended up in unknown devices such as the Microsoft Zune but slowly the company picked itself up and started catering to tablets and Android gaming consoles. The company also pushed out a tablet of its own and based on the time we spend with it, we can say the Tegra Note 7 is quite a great product, coming at a super affordable price-tag. However, NVIDIA chips haven’t seen much success in the smartphone department. Some of you might be familiar with the Tegra 4i program which was the company’s attempt to infiltrate the ecosystem, but sadly the project attracted quite a few partners and only a few truly interesting products were launched under the banner, like the LG G2 Mini.

But even if at one point, NVIDIA was said to be abandoning the smartphone race in order to keep focusing on what it was getting pretty good at, meaning tablets, a new rumor recently surfaced claiming otherwise. Apparently, NVIDIA is not ready to call it quits and will be trying to penetrate the smartphone world with high-end performance focused models with 4G LTE. But will this be a success story? A big reason why we don’t see NVIDIA chips in smartphones too often is due to their pretty high cost. NVIDIA’s current Tegra K1 chip (both 32-bit and 64-bit) comes equipped with an ICERA modem, which significantly bumps up the price of the processor. On the other hand, the competition like Qualcomm integrates modems within their chips.

And NVIDIA hasn’t much to brag about when it comes to its smartphone portfolio, so companies like the one mentioned above might have the upper hand just because they are a more common presence on the market. However, all is not lost for the company’s mobile ambitions. The Tegra K1 might still be put to good use, but in tablets. Strangely enough, even as the chip architecture has been made available for a while now and proven to provide excellent performance, not a lot of device makers have readily jumped at the opportunity equip their products with the new Tegra. Most recently, Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi introduced what could be called the first tablet running the platform. The device looks like a plastic colorful copy of the iPad mini with Retina display and offers great specs for a bargain price ($275 / €201).

But this tablet isn’t currently being sold in the US just yet. Nevertheless, Google seems to have adopted the chip platform for its Project Tango Tablet Developer Kit. The effort, which aims to bring 3D mapping capabilities to tablets might bring about huge benefits for NVIDIA, if Tango manages to carve its way to the mainstream. Also, word on the street has it, NVIDIA might be making its way to the heart of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets, which are the retail giant’s most popular products to date. Another huge push forward for NVIDIA if that were to happen. Last but not least, NVIDIA will most likely soon launch the next-gen Tegra Note 7 which will certainly take advantage of the new chip. We have seen the tablet appear in benchmarks before and if all the above things add, we might see NVIDIA become quite a player in the tablet chip ecosystem.

NVIDIA Tegra K1 chips might become popular in tablets
Image credits to Teechbapp

Xiaomi's MiPad is one of the few tablets running a Tegra K1
Image credits to Xiaomi

Google is also giving Tegra K1 a go
Image credits to Liliputing

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Nexus 6 Might Sport a 5.5-Inch Screen

Later this year, Google might unveil to the world a new handset in the Nexus series of smartphones, supposedly called Nexus 6 and expected to be the last device in the lineup, and some more info on it is now available.

According to a recent article on Ausdroid, Nexus 6 is indeed in the works and should make an official appearance on shelves sometime in October or November, which would be one year after the release of Nexus 5. Moreover, the news site claims that the upcoming device will sport a large, 5.5-inch touchscreen, similar to that available on LG G3 today. The one thing that hasn’t been confirmed as of now is whether the phone will boast the same Quad HD resolution that LG’s flagship phone offers. Furthermore, it also remains to be seen whether the handset will be based on LG G3 (as the comparison above suggests), or will be coming from a completely different vendor.

Earlier this week, an LG official said that the company won’t be building the Nexus 6, which means that, despite having a 5.5-inch screen, the upcoming phone will have nothing in common with LG G3. At the same time, it remains to be seen whether the upcoming handset will be the last in the Nexus series, as previously reported. Apparently, Google will launch a follow-up program next year, in the form of Android Silver, and will include only top-of-the-line devices in it.

LG Nexus 5
Image credits to Google

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Model Number List Leaks

Later this year, South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics is expected to make official a new device in the popular Galaxy Note series of phones, and the full list of model numbers that this smartphone will sport appears to have leaked online.

Supposedly called Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the device has been rumored a few times before to arrive on the market in multiple iterations, with different internal storage options and more than one screen variant. The aforementioned model number list, available courtesy of @evleaks, confirms that the smartphone will be released in the United States on the networks of major carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint (SPR), and T-Mobile (TMB). Moreover, it shows that users in the country might receive only the 32GB variant of the mobile phone, as Samsung won’t launch the 16GB model here as well. As mentioned above, Galaxy Note 4 emerged online a few times before, and some of those reports on it have already confirmed the fact that it would feature model number SM-N910x. The newly-leaked list not only confirms that, but it also shows that previous speculation on various iterations of the device destined for specific carriers will pan out. Overall, 22 different Galaxy Note 4 models are expected to arrive on the market.

For example, we can see the SM-N910A model for AT&T in the US, along with SM-N910F, which might be the international variant of the handset, and other flavors of the phone, destined for different carriers in various markets out there. Moreover, the SM-N910C and SM-N910S versions of the handset that were spotted yesterday in leaked benchmarks are also included in the list, supposedly confirming that they are real. One thing that should be noted here, however, is the fact that there’s no official confirmation on the existence of Galaxy Note 4 as of now, and that we should take the info above with a grain of salt. In the meantime, however, we should note that the handset is expected launch with a 5.7-inch touchscreen display capable of delivering a Quad HD resolution, and that both Exynos and Snapdragon 805 flavors of the phone are expected to arrive on the market.

Moreover, rumor has it that the smartphone will include 3GB of RAM when launched, along with the aforementioned 16GB/32GB internal memory options, and a microSD card slot for storage expansion. The phone should feature a 16-megapixel camera on the back, capable of recording videos in 4K resolution, along with an upgraded front camera for making video calls. The latest version of Android should also be included on the handset.

Galaxy Note 4 model number list
Image credits to evleaks

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Huawei G621-TL00 Spotted Online with 64-Bit CPU

As it turns out, Samsung might not be the only mobile phone maker out there set to launch a 64-bit smartphone in the near future, as Chinese phone maker Huawei is also preparing such a device.

Featuring model number Huawei G621-TL00, the smartphone has been spotted in AnTuTu with a Snapdragon 410 processor (a quad-core Cortex-A53) and Adreno 306 graphics inside. Should the info that said benchmark has unveiled on this smartphone pan out, we’ll see it released with 1GB of RAM inside, as well as with 8GB of internal memory, a recent post on hk-android.info reads. Moreover, the handset is said to be destined for the Chinese market, featuring 4G TD-LTE connectivity and the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system loaded on top.

At the same time, Huawei G621-TL00 is expected to arrive on shelves with a 5-inch touchscreen display capable of delivering a 720p resolution, as well as with a 5-megapixel camera on the back. A 2MP front camera should also be included. No official confirmation on the smartphone has been provided as of now, yet the hardware specs rumored for it don’t seem far-fetched, and chances are that it will make an official appearance with all of the capabilities mentioned above in the not-too-distant future. Stay tuned for more on this.

Huawei G621-TL00
Image credits to AnTuTu via hk-android.info

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Full Specs of Sony Xperia Z2a Now Available

One of the devices that Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Mobile made official earlier this year is the Xperia Z2a, which was announced for the market in Taiwan, but which hasn’t been fully detailed as of now.

When unveiling plans to release the mobile phone in Taiwan, Sony confirmed only some of the hardware specs that it would feature when made available for purchase, such as its 5-inch full HD screen, but left other specs shrouded in mystery. However, a recent article on GSM Arena claims that all of the capabilities and features of the device have been fully unveiled today, and that they are accompanied by a press photo of it. Apparently, the new phone was launched in Taiwan with all of the hardware specs that Sony Xperia ZL2 will sport when released on the market in Japan later this year. This would include the aforementioned 5-inch IPS touchscreen display that can deliver a 1080p resolution, as well as a 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 (Krait 400) processor inside.

Moreover, the mobile phone will become available for purchase with Adreno 330 graphics and 3GB of RAM, as well as with 16GB of internal memory, and support for up to 128GB of external storage via a microSD memory card slot. On the back, the mobile phone sports a 20.7-megapixel camera with LED flash, auto-focus and support for recording videos in 4K resolution. A VGA front camera for making video calls was also included in the package. Connectivity-wise, the smartphone features support for 4G LTE networks, as well as the usual Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi hotspot, and DLNA capabilities. A built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS for navigation purposes is also available inside the device. The Sony Xperia Z2a will arrive on the market with a non-removable Li-Ion 3000mAh battery inside, capable of delivering up to 19 hours of talk time, or up to 740 hours of standby time.

Announced in Black, White, and Turquoise color versions, the Sony Xperia Z2a runs under the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system version right from the start. However, it also features Sony’s own customizations and exclusive applications loaded on top. The same as the Zperia Z2 before it, the new mobile phone will arrive on the market with a dust- and water-resistant body, with IP55/IP58 certification, despite the fact that it sports a plastic back cover, and not a glass one, the same as its predecessor. According to Sony, users in Taiwan will be able to purchase the new mobile phone starting next month, yet specific info on its availability date and pricing has yet to be offered.

Sony Xperia Z2a
Image credits to NDTV Gadget

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Samsung SM-G510F with 64-Bit CPU Benchmarked

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics has been long rumored to plan on bringing to the market a handset powered by a 64-bit processor, and the device appears to have made an appearance in benchmarks today.

According to a recent post on oudetelefooninleveren.eu, a certain Samsung SM-G510F smartphone made an appearance in a series of benchmarking databases with a Snapdragon 410 chipset inside, and is expected to be launched as the first 64-bit phone from the handset vendor. Moreover, the mobile phone was spotted there with a 4.8-inch touchscreen display capable of delivering a qHD resolution, as well as with Adreno 306 graphics. According to the available info on the smartphone, Samsung will release it with 1GB of RAM inside, as well as with 8GB of internal memory.

Moreover, the yet unannounced smartphone appears to sport an 8-megapixel camera on the back, with full HD video recording capabilities, along with a 5MP front camera for making video calls while on the go. The usual set of connectivity options and sensors should also be included inside the phone, along with the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system. No official confirmation on the matter has been provided as of now, and we’ll take the info above with a grain of salt for the time being. Stay tuned for more on the matter.

Samsung SM-G510F with 64-bit processor
Image credits to oudetelefooninleveren.eu

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Make Your Ubuntu and Debian Look-like Windows 8 with a Single Click

There is no love between Linux and Windows users, but that doesn't stop Linux users to transform their operating system until it looks like the latest Windows 8. In fact, the WinAte theme is actually perfect for this task.

Getting a Linux OS to look like Windows is not a novelty. It's something done for many years, probably before the launch of Windows XP. Themes and tools that can do this very simple transformation have been round for a long time, although they seem to have diminished in number in the past few years. The WinAte - Windows 7/8 Theme pack is actually one of the few left that still provide an adequate solution, although it's not quite as easy to install as it used to. The developer does provide a script to install it, but it also come with some interesting requirements. “My goal is to provide an easy way to migrate from Windows 7/8 to GNU/Linux, without having a high end pc. Everything is done using the less resource-intensive software available, always trying to keep as much functionality as possible. It is meant to be used in LXDE/Openbox, so don't expect to have neither rounded corners nor exactly the same look and feel as in Windows. That's not even a secondary goal.”

“With this brand-new WinAte - Windows 7/8 Transformation Pack for LXDE - you will be able to get all the icons and overall appearance of Windows to your GNU/Linux box, without spending lots of resources nor having to adapt old Gnome 2 themes,” said the designer, Nicolás Hermosilla. It's very important to know that this pack has been optimized for Debian 8 (Jessie) and it could work with older versions. It's also compatible with Ubuntu, but only if the users get LXDE and the Compton PPA. In order to get the all the pieces in place you will need to have the following dependencies met: LXPanel, LXSession (>= 0.4.9, icons, gtk theme and cursor), PCManFM (wallpaper), Compton, Openbox, and SLiM (for login screen).

Installing the theme shouldn't pose any problems, not even to regular users that haven’t done this before. As a caveat though, users have to know that it this pack will not work with Lubuntu and the developer has no intention to make it work. More details about this release can be found on the gnome.org website and you can download the archive from the same place.

WinAte-master-Win7-Win8 Theme
Image credits to gnome.org

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BlackBerry Confirms BBM for Windows Phone to be Launched in July

Finally, some good news for Windows Phone fans, as BlackBerry has just confirmed that it will bring its BBM service to Microsoft’s mobile platform in July.

Although we have known that BBM will arrive on Windows Phone this summer, BlackBerry did no share any details on when exactly it would be available, so now at least we have a timeframe to look for the application. The information has been confirmed by BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen during the company’s earning calls, CrackBerry reports. Along with this short statement, Chen also shared some info on the number of users that BBM now has and what BlackBerry’s future plans regarding the instant messaging service are. Well, it appears that BlackBerry Messenger now has 160 million registered users. However, he has also confirmed that BBM has only 85 million active monthly users. While the number may seem high at first glance, let’s not forget that WhatsApp has recently announced that it has reached the 450 million active users milestone, while WeChat and Facebook Messenger have a few hundred million active users as well.

Competition is tough on the instant messaging market, but BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen is optimistic and says that he expects the number of active users for BBM to rise once the application launches on Windows Phone platform. This does make sense, but the increase will not really threaten its rivals’ market shares. According to Chen, once BBM for Windows Phone gets released, the instant messaging service should reach 100 million active monthly users. BlackBerry Messenger was received with tremendous excitement by both Android and iOS users last year when it got released on Google Play and App Store. However, the applications are still not on par with BBM for BlackBerry, which is one of the reasons that the Canadian company lost quite a few users who turned to other alternatives like WhatsApp, Snapchat or even Facebook Messenger.

The good news is that BlackBerry is working hard to bring the missing features on both Android and iOS platforms in the next couple of months. Here is hoping that that will happen sooner rather than later. On a side note, John Chen also stated during the earning calls that if BlackBerry managed to ship 10 million smartphones in a year, the company’s mobile phones division would be profitable. He also confirmed that this was the model that BlackBerry would try to follow in the coming months and years. This should put an end to BlackBerry fans’ worries about the company’s survival, at least for a while.

BBM logo
Image credits to BlackBerry

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LG F460L Emerges with Snapdragon 805 CPU, LG F490L with Odin Chipset

One of the smartphones that South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics is expected to bring to the market in the coming months is a premium flavor of the LG G3, which appears to have been confirmed with a Snapdragon 805 processor inside.

The handset has been spotted online with model number LG F460L attached to it and with the codename of Tiger, while said to feature the Qualcomm APQ8084 chipset inside, which suggests that it could be released as the upgraded flavor of LG G3. Moreover, the handset is said to sport a quad-core Krait 450 CPU, along with Adreno 420 graphics, and obi True 4G LTE (MDM9635) Modem. Moreover, it also includes support for LP-DDR3 memory, as mylgphones points out. At the same time, the yet unannounced mobile phone is said to sport a Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) touchscreen display, which would perfectly be in line with the rumor that it is a new flavor of LG G3.

The specs list of this handset also includes 3GB of RAM, along with 16GB of internal memory, and a 13-megapixel camera on the back. Moreover, the handset runs under the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system. Basically, the only difference between the new handset, model LG F460, and the LG G3, which was launched as LG F400, is the fact that they sport different chipsets inside. However, no official confirmation on whether this is indeed the Snapdragon 805-based flavor of the flagship phone has been provided as of now, and we’ll take the info above with a grain of salt. On the other hand, you should keep in mind the fact that LG has been long rumored to plan the release of this LG G3 Prime model, which would allow it to better compete against two new handsets from Samsung, namely Galaxy S5 LTE-A, and Galaxy F.

In the meantime, however, we should note that another unannounced smartphone from LG has popped online recently, allegedly featuring model number LG F490L. According to info coming from Twitter user @UpLeaks, the handset will arrive on the market with LG’s Odin processor packed inside, yet no further details on the device have been provided as of now, and we'll take the info with a grain of salt. The South Korean vendor has been long rumored to plan the release of such a handset, yet the company appears to have delayed plans on the matter, without offering specific info on when it might launch the smartphone. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before both LG F460L and LG F490L are formally introduced, so keep an eye on this space to learn more on the matter.

LG's Snapdragon 805 G3 model spotted as F460L
Image credits to LG

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