Sony Xperia Z1 name confirmed at IFA

So, this is it. With just an hour left until Sony's IFA 2013 press-conference begins, we now have a confirmation of the name of the company's new flagship. Yes, the long-rumored Honami i1 will indeed be called 'Xperia Z1', and that's absolutely official, because we were able to spot the name on one of the walls inside of Sony's booth. Company reps aren't willing to let us in just yet, but nevertheless, here's this little peek inside. 

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Did Google "accidentally" leak a new Nexus smartphone?

It looks like the Android 4.4 KitKat statue is not the only thing revealed by Google today. A mysterious smartphone, sporting a large Nexus logo on its back has made an unscheduled appearance as well. The mysterious smartphone you see in the photo above appeared in the video which showcases the Android 4.4 KitKat statue's placement in Google's campus.

Google has subsequently made the YouTube video private, thus further strengthening the feeling that we are indeed looking at the real deal. The yet to be revealed device sports a look which closely resembles that of the latest Nexus 7. It includes a large, landscape-oriented Nexus logo, as well as similar matte finish and camera placement. Furthermore, a Google employee with a Nexus 4 standing beside the person with the unannounced handset helps us notice the size difference between the two devices. Rumors suggest that the next Nexus smartphone will be made by LG using the powerful G2 as a base. We doubt it will be a long wait before we find out.

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Official: the HTC One and One mini coming in blue

Today HTC dropped the curtain off two new smartphones, but it also announced a new color for the HTC One and One mini. Called Vivid Blue, the new color option will become available this quarter, which is rather vague as a launch estimate but at least the color is now official.
We've already seen the leaked image of the blue HTC One. But here is the official one. What we didn't know back when we reported that, was that the One mini will be in on the blue fun, too. hat's more, the HTC One mini seems to enjoy even more of it than its bigger brother as it's even more distinctly blue on the front. nfortunately, the availability for the blue HTC One and HTC One mini will be region-specific, which is even more vague than the release estimate of Q4 this year.

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Best new Android, iPhone and Windows Phone games for August 2013

August was a mind-blowing month for mobile gamers. Asphalt 8: Airborne blew our minds with its high-paced arcade racing action, Plants vs Zombies 2 launched on iOS and it is another instant tower defense classic, and the legendary Contra: Evolution launched on Android and iOS.

Even god-forgotten Windows Phone gamers saw the light at the end of the tunnel as Gameloft announced it will bring its 15 hottest titles to Microsoft’s mobile platform. If we had to sum up the platform situation as per games, iOS is still getting the new titles first and with a timely advantage. Despite Google’s advantage in the pure quantity of apps, it seems Apple still gets major developers’ attention first. All in all, though, this month we are seeing some amazing games arrive to mobile.

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Spigen posts a Samsung Galaxy Note III render on its website

A Samsung Galaxy Note III teaser with a rendered image of the device has been posted on Spigen's website. Spigen, in case you haven't heard the name, is a company that manufactures cases for a huge variety of smartphones. So, out of the blue Spigen has published a teaser image of the upcoming Galaxy Note III phablet that is going to be unveiled on September 4.

The render definitely looks plausible and while there's no way to know if it's the real deal, it probably bears quite a lot of resemblance to the final product. The Galaxy Note III is rumored to pack a 5.7" 1080p Super AMOLED display and run on Snapdragon 800 or Exynos 5420 chipset depending on your region. It will offer 3GB of RAM, a 13MP sharpshooter, expandable 16/32/64GB storage and LTE connectivity. A huge 3200 mAh battery will power the monster and, naturally, you can expect an integrated S-Pen. The third generation Samsung Galaxy Note will go official next month, on September 4 in Berlin. We will be live at the unveiling, so be sure to tune in for the full scoop on the phablet.

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Cheaper Galaxy Note III with LCD and 8MP cam is in the works

The latest rumors coming from Korea suggest Samsung is trying to lower the cost of the Galaxy Note III phablet for the emerging markets by replacing some internals with cheaper components. To achieve a price cut, the Galaxy Note III will lose the Super AMOLED screen in favor of a regular LCD unit plus the camera will be downgraded to an 8MP one.

Thanks to those sacrifices, Samsung will be able to launch the Galaxy Note III phablet at a cheaper price point in the emerging markets.According to the etnews report, those new LCD/8MP Galaxy Note III phablets are 30% of the entire first batch of Notes III that is currently manufacturing in Samsung's factories. We admire Samsung putting efforts to make the Note III available to more customers, though we hope if indeed true, Samsung would still launch the top-shelf model in those countries too so people have a choice. Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note III on September 4 in Berlin and we'll be there to cover the event as it unfolds.

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HTC Working on Custom OS for China

HTC is developing a mobile operating system specifically for the Chinese market, reports The Wall Street Journal. The operating system is expected to have deep ties to web services and apps that are popular in China, such as Weibo. HTC is undertaking the effort, according to the Journal, to improve its market position in China. HTC began selling devices under its own brand name in China only as recently as 2010. The move is meant to help HTC improve its ties with the Chinese government and Chinese businesses as much as it is to sell more handsets to Chinese consumers. It is not clear whether the OS is something HTC built entirely from scratch or if it is based on an existing platform, such as Android or BrewMP. Prototypes of the OS are already being tested. The OS, which has been under development for about two years, is expected to launch by the end of the year. HTC did not comment on the Journal's article. HTC is not alone in developing its own operating system. Samsung, for example, worked on both Bada and Tizen.

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Goophone to offer Apple iPhone 5C clone for $99?

Back in March, the Goophone i5S was released in China for $150, powered by a dual-core 1GHz MediaTek SoC with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of native storage. This was the manufacturer's knock off of the Apple iPhone 5S. Goophone now plans on bringing its knock off of the Apple iPhone 5C to the market next month with the Goophone i5C. This model has not been introduced, but leaked specs call for the device to feature a 4 inch screen with resolution of 540 x 960 and a dual-core 1.2GHz MediaTek MTK6572 processor on board. 1GB of RAM is along for the ride along with 4GB of native storage. The back and front-facing cameras will be 8MP and 2MP respectively. The Goophone i5C supports quad-band GSM with 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. The 2000mAh battery allows up to 5 hours of talk time. Android 4.2 is pre-installed and the phone is going to be priced at $99. Since this model has not yet been unwrapped, the picture of the phone that accompanies this article is a mockup.

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Sony Honami mockup confirms Sony Xperia Z1 name

As we get closer to the September 4th introduction of Sony's two interchangeable camera lens for the Apple iPhone and Android, there also is the little matter of that new camera-centric phone that the Japanese OEM is expected to introduce on that very same day. For what seems like forever, we have heard this model referred to as the Sony i1 Honami, That is, until recently when various leaks have revealed the true name of the device to be the Sony Xperia Z1. That name is confirmed in a photograph showing mockups of Sony's three flagship models. We have the current Android flagship, the Sony Xperia Z, the 6.4 inch phablet called the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, and the third model looks like the phone we called the Sony i1 Honami, except that is has a different name on the screen, the Sony Xperia Z1. T-Mobile currently offers the Sony Xperia Z in the U.S. It should be interesting to see if sales of that model are strong enough for the mobile operator to consider bringing a carrier branded Sony Xperia Z1 to the states, if given the opportunity. As it stands, the Sony Xperia Z1 could be in for some competition in Asia from Oppo as the quirky Chinese manufacturer is expected to launch its own camera-centric Oppo N1 on September 23rd. With a 20.7 MP rear-facing camera on the Xperia Z1, Sony will be looking to compete against the Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom.

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HTC launches Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5 update for the One X

HTC has just launched an Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update with its Sense 5 user interface for the HTC One X. For now, only the unlocked European version of the smartphone can benefit from the update, but the rest of the One X owners should get it in the coming weeks. With Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5 UI, the HTC One X gets features like Blinkfeed, Lockscreen widgets, as well as the Quick settings panel. The latter brings access to 12 different settings with a single swipe. Another user interface enhancement, albeit minor, is the battery level percent indicator next to the battery icon in the status bar.
The gallery app has been also overhauled with video highlights, which come with 12 different themes. There's also auto exposure and autofocus lock available in the camera app. Lastly, the music app enjoys the got visualization with live lyrics. The Android 4.2.2 update for the HTC One X weighs at 380 megabytes and brings the software version of the device to 4.18.401.2.
HTC has been launching quite a lot of updates for its Android smartphones this summer. Just the week before, the company issued the very same update for the HTC One X+. In July, the company started seeding Android 4.2.2 for its flagship HTC One, and just a day after that the Butterfly got the Android 4.2.2 treatment.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra gets its first update

Sony recently announced its Xperia Z Ultra phablet and the 6.4-inch beast with its Snapdragon 800 chipset is by far the most powerful device in the current market. Sony is yet to launch its monstrous phablet outside of Asia, but the company has already rolled out a firmware update for it. The latest firmware for the Sony Xperia Z Ultra has a July 19 build date and is pretty minor. There is no change log available, so it appears it was all about squashing some of the bugs that were spotted after the market release.
The firmware update is currently available on the PC companion and is not seeding over-the-air (OTA). Sony has officially announced that the Xperia Z Ultra will be getting the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update, but that's going to come later on with another update.
By the way, we have already got our hands on the gigantic Sony Xperia Z Ultra and you can check out hands-on impressions here.

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Front panel and innards of the iPhone 5C leak

Hours after the purported camera module of the cheaper Apple iPhone 5C got snapped, now photos of the phone's display and framing have surfaced. Said parts of the rumored cheaper iPhone 5C have been leaked by a company called Chinese C Technology. It claims that there are minor differences between the iPhone 5 and the device they claim is the affordable iPhone 5C. The inside wiring is one of them, in addition to the all-plastic build.
We've already seen the plastic casing of the iPhone 5C on video as well as the different color variations that allegedly Apple is going to launch it in. Naturally, if you've been following the topic, you've also seen a lot more leaks regarding the low-cost Apple smartphone, as well as renders showing how it would look like based on the information available. Naturally, there is no official confirmation from Apple just yet. Even worse, Apple has repeatedly denied that it's working on a more affordable iPhone, so you'll have to judge for yourself whether the leaks and reports are to be believed.

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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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Samsung Galaxy S4 Active with Snapdragon 800 seemingly confirmed by benchmarks

Several weeks ago, an upgraded variant of the Samsung Galaxy S4 was announced officially. It is currently on sale on the South Korean market, packing a speedy Snapdragon 800 chip and offering blazing-fast LTE-Advanced connectivity. This, however, won't be the only handset by Samsung to get a refresh. If the clues contained in this benchmark result spotted on GFXbench are to be trusted, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, which happens to be a water-resistant sibling of the S4, is next in line for the treatment. The presence of an MSM8974 chip is clearly stated in the listing, while the model name is mentioned in both the "fingerprint" and "device" strings.  Sadly, this upgraded Samsung Galaxy S4 Active model we're dealing with isn't meant to launch globally, as far as we can tell.

It appears that this is a handset made for SK Telecom – the very same mobile operator that is now selling the aforementioned LTE-A Galaxy S4 smartphone in South Korea. Nevertheless, we've been hearing rumors about a possible worldwide release of the latter, so who knows, perhaps the Snapdragon 800 variant of the S4 Active might get a broader rollout as well one day. We'll keep you informed as we learn more on the matter. If this smartphone is meant to see the light of day, its official announcement might be right around the corner.

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Xiaomi unveils quad-core Red Rice droid as Hongmi

Xiaomi has announced the long rumored Red Rice smartphone. Its official name is Hongmi which is Chinese for... well, red rice. Xiaomi Hongmi packs a 4.7-inch 720p IPS display with 312ppi density, protected by a Gorilla Glass 2. The Hongmi is powered by Mediatek's MT6589 chipset featuring a quad-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 processor, PowerVR SGX544 graphics and 1GB of RAM. Other notable features are the 4GB storage plus a microSD card slot, and a 2000 mAh battery. The phone comes with an 8MP BSI Samsung-made rear camera with 1.4ųm pixels for improved low-light performance and 28mm wide five-element lens. The Hongmi is capable of shooting 1080p videos. There is also a 1.3MP front snapper for video chats. Xiaomi Hongmi is dual-SIM handset with support for GSM/3G and TD-SCDMA networks on both SIM slots. The Hongmi is running on the proprietary MIUI V5 launcher on top of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Here comes the best part of the news - the Xiaomi Hongmi costs only CNY799 which equals a few cents less than €99.

The phone is already available on pre-order in China at QZone and is going to start shipping on August 12.  There are three flavors you can choose between - Black, Chinese Red and Metallic Gray. The battery cover is exchangeable and you can opt for additional blue, green and yellow panels. Unfortunately the Xiaomi Hongmi is highly unlikely to leave China. We'll keep you updated if we hear something about international availability, though.


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Nokia Lumia 1020 gets internals revealed in first teardown

Nokia and Windows Phone have certainly received their fair share of flak lately. Still, one can't help but marvel at the very impressive hardware package Nokia was able to squeeze into the modest frame of its latest Lumia 1020 flagship. The Nokia Lumia 1020 is a marked improvement over its predecessor, the Lumia 920, in almost every aspect. Most importantly the new smartphone features the impressive 41MP Pureview camera sensor, double the RAM, and retains all of the connectivity features, while actually reducing the measurements and shedding nearly 30 grams off its waistline.

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BlackBerry officially issues the BB10.1 OS Maintenance release

Today, BlackBerry starts seeding a new Maintenance release to its BB 10.1 OS. The update has a version number of v10.1.0.4537 and it’s a bug-and-fixes update that only adds a handful of truly new features.
Back in May, we saw BlackBerry announce the official availability of the BlackBerry 10.1 update to the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone (the Q10 already had it at launch). Now, the company has a second go at this one, refining the user experience and adding some minor new features.
Both the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 are able to receive the new update over Wi-Fi. Interestingly, the BlackBerry Q5 smartphone is not mentioned in the changelog.
Of course, availability is region-specific and the 10.1 Maintenance release will initially be available only to customers in the Asia Pacific, Canada, and EMEA.
Latin America users will be able to update in 2-3 weeks, while customers in the US will have to wait even longer, until the end of summer.

The most notable new features include:
A new next/previous message navigation gesture;
Two factor authentication for Twitter and LinkedIn;
A search field in BlackBerry Remember; Support for unlock with simple (numeric) passwords such as a PIN;
A new IT policy allows work and personal accounts in the BlackBerry Hub to be separated;
Input support for Simplified and Traditional Chinese;
Input and UI translation for Korean;
BlackBerry World app gets several UI enhancements, including a Wishlist;
Latest versions of the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn apps.

You can read the full changelog over at BlackBerry’s website as well. Also our fellow tech journalists from CrackBerry.com already have a nice walkthrough of the new stuff on video.

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iOS 7 beta 4 links surface, Gold Master to come in September?

If you're a developer (or have registered your iDevice as a developer device) then you could be getting iOS 7 beta 4 (build number 11a4435d) today as the links have surfaced on Apple's Dev site. The links have been since pulled but are expected to return soon. Also according to sources Apple could be releasing just two more betas before an eligible Gold Master version arrives to devs this September with Apple about to start testing a GM release internally.
It's likely the rumors are true as we expect a new iPhone device (or devices, perhaps?) to arrive in the second half of September, and that one will certainly sport a ready version of iOS 7.

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The Nokia PR2.0 Amber update full changelog appears

The PR2.0 codenamed Amber update for Nokia Lumia 920 and its WP8 siblings is in the rumorland for quite some time and is highly anticipated by all owners. In case you own a Lumia 920/820/720/620/520 you are probably curious what to expect with the upcoming update.
The Amber update contains the official Windows Phone 8 GDR2 update that is coming later this year to every WP8 smartphone. There are a number of features that will remain exclusive to the Lumia lineup, though.
As luck would have it the guys from nokiawindowsphone.pl managed to get their hands on the complete changelog of the PR2.0 Amber and shared it with the rest of us.
Glance Screen: Clock Charging indicator / low battery Indicator for silent / vibra mode, night mode (change color for night time). OFF by default.
Smart camera capture the best moment: Accidental remove unwanted objects from the scene. Select the best shot and precise moment. Sequense take a group of images with advanced face, smile and blink detection. The, best 'face for each person is automatically selected into a single, best' shot.
FM Radio: Be ready to tune your favorite station - FM Radio is BACK! Store your favorite stations for the next time.
Flip: Flip to silence the phone to turn it silence.
Data Sense: Managing your data flow monitor and control data usage. Optimally compressing web traffic.
Find your closest hotspot: Enriched web services (for operators).
HERE branding Location & Commerce
Here Maps v3.4: Your compass is a discovery What's New: Increased venue map coverage Favorites saved in HERE Maps now sync across all HERE experiences Personalized Live Tile options: Pin and Pin destination to start a place to start as favorite Pin Pin to start a place category to start
Here Drive + v2.2: The open road made easy What's New: Sync favorite places with other apps HERE and here.com Customize your map to display relevant points of interest, dry as restaurants, gas stations, and more one-tap access to speed limit Alert options right from the dashboard Personalized Live Tile options: Pin to Start a destination (one tap gives driving directions to That destination)
Here Transit v3.5: Now arriving: the best way across town What's New: Access your favorites through your searches Display nearby stations directly on a map opens Transit Maps to display more route options Transit Maps opens to display the battles navigation options Personalized Live Tile: Pin a destination like Home, Work, or School to start (one tap shows public transit routes and times to get there from wherever you are)
And these are some of the features part of the Windows Phone 8 GDR2 update.
Xbox Music facilitated selection, procurement and pinning music. Also for fans of music are provided to display more detailed metadata (eg information about the songs and albums), and made other improvements.
You can listen to FM radio: FM radio directly in the heart of Music + Video. (This is not available in some phones).
Data Sense: Sense With the service date have complete control over the amount of data sent over the phone. You can impose a limit corresponding to your subscription or simply keep track of which applications send much data. (Not all mobile operators offer the service offering Sense).
Application: Skype applications to support VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), for example, Lync and Skype now gained greater stability and efficiency of operations.
Comfort: Internet Explorer web browsing will be greatly improved by better compliance with HTML 5
Other improvements includes many other improvements of Windows Phone.

The Amber update is available out of box on the Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020. We expect it to hit the other compatible smartphones in a month or two.

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