Microsoft gets supply right: Surface 2 pre-orders

We have no idea how many Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets Microsoft had produced for pre-orders, so it's hard to say how impressed we should be with this news, but it is good to see that Microsoft got its supply numbers right this time around. One of the biggest stories regarding Microsoft from this past year was how the company supremely overestimated the demand for the original Surface RT tablet. The company ended up with $900 million in unsold devices, and that is considered a reason why Steve Ballmer has announced his retirement. 

This time around, Microsoft and Ballmer have gotten it right, it seems. Microsoft has announced that Surface 2 pre-orders have begun selling out. According to Surface General Manager Brian Hall, the pre-order stock of the 64GB model of the Surface 2 and the 256GB and 512GB models of the Surface Pro 2 are "close to selling out" after being up for pre-order for just about one week. 

The blog post goes on to say that there will be "limited availability" of Surface 2 and Pro 2 tablets, so Microsoft is recommending pre-orders. Of course, Microsoft is likely keeping availability limited to ensure it doesn't end up with more unsold stock on hand. The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets will be hitting stores on October 22nd.

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Vertu Constellation puts Android in luxury garbs

Vertu has turned to Android whereas its former parent company Nokia went Windows Phone exclusive. The luxury phonemaker has created its second Android-powered phone, the Constellation. Each Vertu Constellation is handmade by a single craftsman in England. It's constructed out of grade 5 titanium and draped upholstered in fine calf leather from "one of Europe’s oldest tanneries." The leather will come in five different colors.
As for tech specs, the Constellation is – dare we say it – reasonable. It has a 4.3" 720p screen (342ppi) that doesn’t bother with bourgeois scratch-resistant glass and goes for sapphire instead. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 S4 Pro – dual-core Krait CPU at 1.7GHz and Adreno 320 (similar to the Moto X chipset). It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean too, which is fairly recent.  It has a 13MP camera on the back and a 1.3MP shooter on the front and comes with either 32GB or 64GB storage. It lacks LTE connectivity, but you get unlimited Wi-Fi worldwide from iPass. The only spec that is on the weak side is the battery – it has only 1,800mAh capacity.
Select Vertu boutiques will carry the Constellation starting this month. This one's cheaper than the previous model (with lower specs), the Vertu Ti. The Constellation will set you back €4,900 / $6,600. We're guessing that's for the 32GB version.

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Microsoft Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 tablets now

Microsoft started accepting pre-orders for its latest tablets – the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. Both models are now available from the company's online store, expected to ship on or around October 22.
Price-wise, all is as expected. The Windows 8.1 RT powered Microsoft Surface 2 with 32GB of storage is priced at $449, while the 64GB model costs $100 extra. As for the Windows 8.1 Pro variant, the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 starts at $899. That gets you 64GB of SSD storage and 4GB of RAM, but there's an option to get a 128GB SSD instead for an additional $100.
Currently, the top Surface Pro 2 model – the one with a 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM – isn't available. Those who are interested in it and don't mind its $1799 price tag have the option to sign up for an email alert when the tablet is ready to be pre-ordered.

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IPhone 5s chipset detailed, 1.3GHz CPU

Thanks to the guys over Chipworks and their detailed inspection of the board of the iPhone 5s, we now know the full specifications of the chipset of Apple's latest flagship.
As you probably know since day one, the new iPhone 5s runs on a new Apple A7 SoC that utilizes a 64-bit processor. This new CPU turns out to be a dual-core unit clocked at 1.3GHz and uses the latest ARM v8 64-bit cores. Apple's new cores are called Cyclone and the whole SoC is manufactured by Samsung on its 28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process. The GPU in charge is the quad-core PowerVR (Series 6) G6430, which supports OpenGL 3.0, DirectX 10 and OpenCL 1.x. It's currently among the best of the market and eats benchmarks for breakfast.
Apple kept the RAM amount the same - 1GB, though the RAM used in the iPhone 5s is of the newer LPDDR3 variety, compared to the LPDDR2 embedded in the iPhone 5 and 5c.
Finally, the modem chips are made by Qualcomm. If you want to know more about their model numbers and other embedded controllers just head over to the source link below.
So, as expected, Apple is currently using the latest pieces of available technology for its flagship. There are no other smartphones that utilize the new ARM v8 cores (Cortex A53 and Cortex A57 are yet to come) yet and the new Series 6 of Imagination's PowerVR GPU's is making its official debut, too.

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Apple sells 9 million iPhone 5s and 5c units

Apple prides itself on its opening weekend sales each year and there's always that word record somewhere to be found. This year Apple boasts 9 million sold iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units in the first weekend.

Apple didn't provide specifics on which iPhone sold how many, but the two new iPhones combined for a significantly larger win over last year's 5 million iPhone 5 units opening weekend. Also iOS 7 is now running on more than 200 million devices, making it one of the fastest updates in history. The updated OS launched just two days before the new iPhones.

Apple is reporting low supply for the new iPhone 5s flagship, with many online orders expecting to be shipped in the coming weeks.

Be sure to check back with us soon for a detailed look at the iPhone 5s and 5c.

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New iOS 7 vulnerability lets you bypass lockscreen

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 7, is already avaiable to iPhone and iPad users and we now hear of the first (fairly significant) userland exploit. This one lets people bypass the phone's passcode lockscreen via the phone's new control center feature.

Many users have since confirmed the bug. To make use of the exploit, you swipe up from the lockscreen to access the new control center and open the alarm clock. You hold the power/lock button for while, which brings up the option to power it off. You cancel that but at this point you can double-tap the home button and open up the phone's multitasking screen, which gives you access to the camera and stored photos, as well any logged-in email and social networking accounts.
The trick requires a very specific double-tap on the home button, namely a short press followed by a long press.
An Apple spokesperson has since confirmed that the company is aware of the issue, and plans on fixing it by means of a software update.
This follows another reported leak which involves disabling the "Find my iPhone" feature, even if the device is locked. Potential thieves can disable the location feature by enabling airplane mode via the Siri virtual assistant - accessible even through the lockscreen.
While you're waiting for a hotfix from Apple, you can eliminate the vulnerability by disabling access to the control center from your lockscreen via the settings menu.

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AT&T outs year-old Samsung Galaxy S III mini

Almost an year after its release in October last year, the Samsung Galaxy S III mini is finally making its first appearance on AT&T's network. The device is going on pre-order tomorrow and it will be shipping on September 27 for the symbolic price of only 99 cents on a two-year service contract.
The Samsung Galaxy S III mini features LTE connectivity, a 4" WVGA (480 x 800) Super AMOLED display and a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor with 1 GB of RAM.
AT&T is launching the Galaxy S III mini for those looking for a smartphone on a budget and seeing as how the latest mini, the Galaxy S4 mini isn't yet available on the network we guess the S III mini was the second best choice.

You can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S III mini starting tomorrow from here.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra arrives a day earlier in UK

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The Sony Xperia Z Ultra screen measures 6.4-inches in diagonal, which makes it borderline tablet, if you ask us, but below 7 inches, it still technically qualifies as a phablet.
Categorization aside, our UK readers will be glad to know, that online store Clove has just announced they already have both the white and black version of the Xperia Z Ultra in stock after having fulfilled all their pre-orders.
The handset retails for £612, bundled with the Sony SBH20 stereo Bluetooth headset and for a limited time only, a free Sony SmartWatch 2.
Last time we heard, the phablet was supposed to launch on September 13 in the UK, so it seems it's a day early.

We also managed to find a Vodafone deal for the Xperia Z Ultra through Phones4U, which offers the phone bundled with a Sony dock and a case.
O2 also has it in stock now, either directly or via CarphoneWarehouse. It's available for £599.99 commitment-free.
We recently reviewed the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and we found it to be an excellent piece of kit, save for the below average loudspeaker performance and the lack of a camera flash. Other than that, it's got a razor-thin 6.5mm profile, an impressive screen (much better quality than the one on the Xperia Z), great talk times, a nice camera, an awesome preforming 2.2Ghz Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2 gigs of RAM and a solid audio output quality. And of course, its IP58 certification means it's one of the few portable devices to be truly water tight - good even for swimming.
Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with any of these stores and we do not endorse purchasing through any of them. We are merely researching the most popular options and these are not necessarily the best deals available. By all means, shop around before you commit to buying your Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

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Dual-SIM Nokia Lumia 720 allegedly in development

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The famous tipster evleaks says there is a chance Nokia is working on a dual-SIM Lumia 720. Unfortunately that's all we get at this point.

    Dual-SIM Lumia 720 may be on the way.
    — @evleaks (@evleaks) September 11, 2013

If this turns out to be indeed the truth, then this will be the first dual-SIM Windows Phone ever released.
Nokia Lumia 720 was launched in April. It's a sleek device available in five different colors and running on a 1GHz dual-core Krait processor. The rest of the specs include a 4.3" IPS Clear Black WVGA display, a 6.1MP Carl Zeiss camera with 720p video recording, 512MB RAM, optional wireless charging support, and various connectivity options sans LTE.
Currently the Lumia 720 costs about €250 and but the dual-SIM model availability and pricing is yet to be confirmed.

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Apple iPhone 5s to cost more than its predecessor in Europe

Apple finally announced its next-generation iPhone along with the iPhone 5c at yesterday's event. Back at the event, the Cupertino guys announced the subsidized pricing of its newest smartphones in the United States, but didn't say anything about unlocked pricing for other regions.
Well, the pricing details of the iPhone 5s for the European market are no longer a mystery, as the prices have appeared in the official Apple stores around the old continent. The 16GB model of the iPhone 5s will be up for grabs for £549, while the 32GB variant costs you £629 and the 64GB version is priced at £709. Surprisingly, the iPhone 5s costs more than its predecessor, - upping each step by £20. That's the second year in a row that Apple has upped the entry fee for the iPhone game, after the iPhone 5 launch price was £30 higher than the iPhone 4S before it.

The pricing of the iPhone has been increased for the rest of the Europe as well. The iPhone 5s will now cost €699 for the 16GB variant, while the iPhone 5 was up for grabs at a price point of €679.
Of course, the newest iPhone will be available for a much cheaper price with a carrier contract, but the details for those are yet to be announced.
The iPhone 5s along with iPhone 5c will be available in UK, France and Germany from September 20 with the rest of Europe to follow until the end of the year.
In case you missed yesterday's Apple event, you can check out our complete coverage here

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evleaks backtracks: LG D820 might still be the LG Nexus 5

Here is an interesting turn of events. First we got lots of rumors LG will be once again manufacturing the next Google smartphone - the Nexus 5. Then we get to see the LG D820 leaking through the FCC, so many people decided this is indeed the Nexus 5.

Unfortunately, the usually very reliable evleaks tweeted the LG D820 is in fact just the CDMA version of the LG G2 falgship, not the next Nexus device.

Well, today evleaks has retracted his previous statement, saying that it looks like he was wrong.

    Happy to say it looks like I was wrong about the LG D820/D821...
    — @evleaks (@evleaks) September 11, 2013

We guess this means the LG D820 is actually the Nexus 5. How about that?!
We'll know for sure next month when Google is expected to announce its next phone and chosen manufacturer

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Alleged iPhone 5S specs

There's a reference to video framerate being bumped to 120fps from 60fps though we're not sure what that's about (the iPhone 5 can't shoot 1080p @ 60fps). Other than that video recording and the front-facing camera are the same.
The rumored fingerprint sensor is mentioned and the battery life is marked as improved to 250 hours of standby, up from 225 hours. The battery capacity is the same, so this is presumably due to the new chipset. The chipset (quite as expected) has been bumped to Apple A7, but there are no details what that entails (quad-core? higher clockspeed?).
Of course, there's no way to confirm any of those specs but since all of them are evolutionary steps, we'd say they are probably close to the truth (or at least not widely inaccurate). You can join us tomorrow and find out the true specs of the next iPhone(s).
Thanks to Kshitiz for sending this in!

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ASUS New Transformer Pad TF701T hands-on

Asus made its New Transformer Pad TF701T official at IFA 2013, the first slate announced with a 1.9 GHz Tegra 4 processor, and we managed to get a brief hands-on time with the device.

Specs

Tegra 4 is touted it as the world's fastest quad-core Cortex-A15 processor with 72-core GPU. In addition, you get 2 GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB onboard storage with microSD (tablet), and SD (dock) card slots for memory expansion. hat is not the only high-end component of the tablet, though - it has a luminant 10.1" 2560x1600 pixels (300ppi) display of Sharp's IGZO variety, and we can attest this panel tech is everything it's touted to be - bright screen with wide viewing angles, allowing ultra high resolutions with very low power consumption.

Design

Despite the premium metallic chassis, the tablet sports just 585g of weight, though the load on your wrist becomes more significant with the keyboard dock attached, while the 263 x 180.8 x 8.9 mm dimensions are a bit on the thicker side this day and age of sub-8mm slates. The dock sports a separate battery pack, with which the tablet can last up to 17 hours overall, a very good achievement, and a testament to the frugality of the IGZO display tech. he key travel is a bit shallow and mushy as is very often the case with these docks, but the touchpad is rather responsive, and this time you get a fast USB 3.0 port, plus the powerful processor allows for a cool 4K video output via the HDMI port, so no complaints. A 5 MP camera is etched pretty in the metallic back and the whole New Transformer Pad exudes a cool, premium feeling when you hold it in your hands. The tablet is scheduled to arrive this quarter, at around a $399 price tag, and the keyboard dock will run you a Benjamin extra if you want it, which is a pretty reasonable pricing scheme for the top-shelf components of this Android 4.2 slate

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Alcatel One Touch Hero phablet and Idol Alpha are official

Alcatel has unveiled a second wave of its Android smartphones today. Following the announcement of the One Touch Idol S and Idol Mini, the phone maker has today presented the One Touch Hero phablet and the Idol Alpha Android smartphones. Alcatel One Touch Hero The Alcatel One Touch Hero is the company's first Android smartphone to pack a 6" display. It boasts a resolution of 1080p and uses IPS technology. Under the hood, there's a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU coupled by 2GB of RAM. Sadly, the company hasn't disclosed its make yet.
At the back of the Hero, Alcatel has opted for a 13 MP shooter capable of full HD video recording and backed by an LED flash. A 2MP snapper takes care of video chatting at the front.
Under the back cover, there's a 3400mAh battery and a microSD card slot for expanding the built-in storage, which is either 16GB of 32GB.
However, the Alcatel One Touch Hero is much more than your regular hard-to-wield smartphone thanks to its accessories. Firstly, the company has developed a desk stand that doubles as a pico-projector. It's capable of outputting 12 lumens worth of light output and projects an image larger than 70 inches.  Then, there's the E-Ink cover, which adds an intriguing extra E-ink layer on top of the Hero's display. Just like the pico-projector accessory, the E-Ink cover connects to the Hero via the pins on the back of the phablet. Alcatel has announced a second cover dubbed MagicFlip, which only adds LED lights to notify you of new notifications.
Finally, the last Hero accessory worth mentioning is the Bluetooth-enabled feature phone. Yes, the Hero enjoys a feature phone as an accessory (think HTC Mini). It's capable of not only placing and receiving phone calls, but also receive texts and sync the Hero's phonebook and calendar entries.
Alcatel is yet to announce the One Touch Hero's pricing and availability.
Alcatel One Idol Alpha As for the Alcatel One Touch Idol Alpha, it's aimed towards the mid-range smartphone spectrum with its 4.7" IPS display of 720p resolution. Thanks to the 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, the Idol Alpha will probably offer some respectable performance as well.
Alcatel is quite proud of the Idol Alpha's design, which mixes a metal case with quite curvy, translucent edges. It's reasonably thin as well with a waistline of only 7.5mm. Those translucent edges also light up when there are new notifications or the phone is charging and playing video (much like Sony's Ambilight LED).  The company hasn't shared much more regarding the Idol Alpha's specifications. Among the unknowns are its price and date of availability, but we'll keep our ears pointed when new information pops up.

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Motorola Moto X goes live with X8 chipset, 4.7" AMOLED screen

Motorola has officially taken the wraps off the Moto X - the first phone that has been entirely developed under the supervision of Google. It's also the company's first phone in a while to be fully assembled in the USA.
The Motorola Moto X is build around a 4.7" AMOLED display with full RGB matrix and 720p resolution. This results in a pixel density of 316 ppi. The screen is protected by a new type of Gorilla Glass, which is dubbed Magic Glass due to its curves towards the edges of the phone.
On the inside, the Motorola Moto X features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with dual 1.7GHz Krait cores, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Internal storage is 16GB or 32GB depending on the version you choose but there's no card slot for further expansion. Just like the latest DROID line-up, the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset is part of the Motorola X8 board, which also includes a natural language processor and contextual computing processor.
The Moto X camera has a 10MP sensor and uses the ClearPixel technology for superior low-light performance. Every other green portion of the Bayer filter array, which sits in front of the image sensor, is replaced by a clear one, allowing more light to reach the sensor.
On the software side, the camera offers HDR, burst shots and panorama. The Moto X can also shoot full HD videos at 30fps and there are features like face detection and geo-tagging on board. At the front, there's a 2MP camera capable of 1080p video recording that serves for video-chatting purposes.
Motorola has gone great lengths to make the Moto X a truly customizable phone. Customers can choose whether the front panel to be black or white, as well as the color of the back panel from 18 options. There's also a third customizable area called accent - it covers the camera rim and side buttons. Further customization includes adding a name or short message on the back of the phone as choosing a Google account and wallpaper to come preinstalled on the device.
The Motorola Moto X runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which at first glance looks as clean as stock, but Motorola has added a few touches of its own. One of them is the Active Display feature, which makes use of the OLED screen and brings a snippet of information (the time, new messages and voicemail) on a blank black screen. Think of it as an Android version of Nokia's Glance Screen feature.
Motorola has also preinstalled a transfer app called Migrate. It allows you to transfer your photos, videos, SIM contacts and even call and text history from any Android phone running Android 2.2 or higher.
Because of the curved back, the Motorola Moto X thickness varies from 5.6 to 10.4mm. The phone has a pretty decent footprint for its 4.7" display - 129.3 x 65.3mm with a weight of the very acceptable 130 grams.
Below the customizable back panel sits a 2200mAh battery, which Motorola rates at 13 hours of 3G talk time and up to 24 hours of mixed usage endurance.
The Motorola Moto X a will be available on the five largest carriers in the USA - AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular. It will cost $200 for the 16GB version and $250 for the 32GB units, both with a two-year contract.

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