Samsung Exynos 5420 Octa with ARM Mail T628 GPU announced...

Samsung has unveiled an upgraded Exynos 5420 Octa chip as they announced last week. The new Exynos Chip is faster that the previous 5410 chip that was announced at the CES 2012 earlier this year. The Exynos 5420 Octa chip has fours Cortex A15 chips clocked at 1.8 GHz and four Cortex A7 chips running at 1.3 GHz in a big.LITTLE processing implementation. The first Exynos 5410 Octa chip used in the global variant of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is also based on Samsung’s ARM big.LITTLE architecture with four Cortex A15 chips clocked at 1.6 GHz and four Cortex A7 chips running at 1.2 GHz.

The main difference between these chips is the GPU. The Exynos  5410 Octa used a tri-core PowerVR SGX544MP3 GPU and the new 5420 Octa uses a six-core ARM Mali T628 MP6 GPU. Samsung claims that the CPU performance would be 20 percent greater and the GPU performance would be two times greater than the first Exynos 5 Octa chip. It also has support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and Full Profile Open CL 1.1 for multi-layer rendering in gaming, post-processing, sharing of photos and video and multi-tasking operations. The first Exynos 5 Octa chip is based on 28nm High K Metal Gate Process technology, so this is also likely to be based on the same technology.

The new Exynos 5 Octa processor also features a memory bandwidth of 14.9 gigabytes per second paired with a dual-channel LPDDR3 at 933MHz, better thab the Exynos 5120 Octa which has a memory bandwidth of 12.8 gigabytes per second with a dual-channel LPDDR3 memory at 800MHz. It support full HD at 60 frames per second for 1080p video recording and playback.

The new Exynos 5420  Octa is currently in sampling stage and the mass-production is expected in August. Since the Galaxy Note 3 is expected later this year, it is likely to be powered by the new Exynos 5 Octa chip.

HTC Desire 500 with 4.3-inch display, quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor announced

HTC has announced the Desire 500, a mid-range Android smartphone in Taiwan. It has a 4.3-inch  (480 × 800 pixels) display, powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor and runs on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) with Sense 5. It has a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and BSI sensor and a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor. It has BlinkFeed and Video Highlight software and comes with Beats Audio support, but it lacks BoomSound that was present in the Desire 600. It also comes with Dual SIM and NFC support based on the region.

HTC Desire 500 specifications

• 4.3-inch (480 × 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
• 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 Processor
• Dual SIM (Optional)
• 8MP Auto Focus rear Camera with LED flash, 1/3.2″ sensor, F 2.0 aprture, BSI Sensor, 720p video recording
• 1.6MP front-facing camera with BSI sensor
• 3.5mm audio jack, Beats Audio
• 3G (HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS, NFC (Optional)
• 1GB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, Expandable memory up to 64GB with micro SD
• 1800 mAh battery

The HTC Desire 500 is priced at 11,900 New Taiwan Dollar (~Rs. 23,755) and would go on sale in Taiwan on August 1st. Since the phone has been listed on the global HTC website we can expect the phone to launch in global markets.

Galaxy Note III...Coming Soon

http://aatoozz.blogspot.in/

5.7" display, 13MP camera, Exynos 5 Octa and more..

The Samsung Galaxy Note III is a device that we're looking forward to, as Samsung has managed to prove that there's market for phablets - you just have to do (market) it right. The company has also re-convinced many people that there's still use for a stylus, if done (marketed) properly, and that's no small feat. For a couple of months or so now, we've been gathering all kinds of intriguing details about the upcoming Note III, which is to be unveiled at IFA 2013 in September.

HTC One mini ....Coming Soon

http://aatoozz.blogspot.in/

The HTC One is certainly one of the smartphones of the year and has come a long way towards helping the Taiwanese company out of its financial woes. It was only logical then that HTC will try to capitalize on that success by bringing the same formula to other parts of its portfolio. We already got the upscaled version with the Butterfly S, so now it's time to shrink the design with the HC One mini.

HTC One mini at a glance:

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 132x 63.2 x 9.3 mm, 122 g
• Display: 4.3" 16M-color 720p (720 x 1280 pixels) Super LCD 2 capacitive touchscreen, 341ppi pixel density; Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Dual-core 1.4 GHz Krait 300, 1GB RAM, Adreno 305
• OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense 5
• Memory: 16GB storage
• Camera: 4 megapixel auto-focus camera with ultra-pixels; LED flash
• Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps with HDR
• Front camera: 1.6MP front-facing camera; 720p@30fps video
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL and USB host, GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack
• Battery: 1,800mAh Li-Po
• Misc: Aluminum unibod with polycarbonate frame, Beats Audio, BoomSound stereo speakers on the front, HTC Zoe
• Some might frown at the idea that a 4.3" smartphone qualifies as mini, but the truth is this size hits a sweet spot. It has enough screen estate to provide enjoyable multimedia and gaming experience as well as enable decent productivity, yet it still allows a smartphone to fit into virtually every pocket.
  And the 720p resolution is just right too - the Galaxy S4 mini screen is also 4.3" big but the qHD resolution and 256ppi pixel density spoil the premium feel somewhat. The plastic body didn't help the One mini competitor either.
  This is important - there are plenty of mid-range reasonably compact phones already. What we want (and really hope HTC has delivered here) is a compact phone with high-end specs. The HTC One mini spells out premium with an aluminum unibody design and UltraPixel camera with dedicated ImageChip 2, plus BoomSound (stereo speakers on the front with a dedicated amp).
  HTC has delivered the best software it has too - Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box with Sense 5. The Sense customizations include the BlinkFeed news and social media aggregator, Zoe camera and Video highlights.

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini was announced a month after the Galaxy S4 flagship hit the shelves worldwide. The mini version is powered by a less capable dual-core Snapdragon 400 chipset but still runs on the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean skinned with Samsung’s own TouchWiz and promises the same solid smartphone experience as the flagship.

 

We did an extended preview at the announcement day, but now we get finally to meet with the final unit and do a complete review.

So, Galaxy S4 mini features a smaller 4.3″ qHD Super AMOLED screen. Two 1.7GHz Krait cores tick inside accompanied by Adreno 305 graphics and 1.5GB of RAM. There is an 8MP camera as well.

The mini version has the same design and colors as the flagship, though it offers better handling due to its more compact body.

Galaxy S4 mini did lose a few software goodies as well – Air View, Air Gestures, Multi-View, S-Health and some camera modes are missing.

As the tradition goes, we’ve prepared a short demo video for you. Enjoy!

Nokia Lumia 625 brings a 4.7" screen, LTE to the masses

http://aatoozz.blogspot.in/

Nokia's teaser from yesterday promised something big for today and it delivered, sort of. The Nokia Lumia 625 is an entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset with a rather big (for the class) screen – 4.7".

That's not groundbreaking, though as the WP7-powered HTC Titan had a 4.7" screen back in 2011. The Lumia 625 is mostly a stretched out 620 with some additional extras.

The Nokia Lumia 625 has a 4.7" IPS LCD with WVGA resolution (480 x 800, 201ppi) and "2.25D" curved Gorilla Glass 2 ("2.5D" has curved edges, we guess "2.25D" means less curvy"). The screen packs Nokia's proprietary image tuning options that let you change the color profile. It has super sensitive touch too, meaning it works with gloves and fingernails.

The phone measures 133.3 x 72.3 x 9.3mm and weighs 159g, roughly the dimensions of the One X, but 29g heavier.

The Nokia Lumia 625 continues the WP tradition of having entry-level phones with fairly high specs (compared to Android's entry level). It packs a dual-core Krait processor at 1.2GHz, 512MB RAM and 8GB of built-in storage, expandable with a microSD card slot.

There's HSPA+ and 4G LTE connectivity, along with Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + LE and GPS + GLONASS for positioning. Nokia's HERE mapping suit is on board with HERE Drive beta (it gives you free offline GPS navigation for one country).

The main camera is a 5MP shooter that can capture 1080p video and the front-facing camera has VGA resolution. There's an LED flash and one HD mic. Other goodies include Smart Camera and FM radio, meaning the Lumia 625 comes with the Amber update. Free Nokia Music subscription is also included.

The Nokia Lumia 625 will launch in China, Europe, Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa and Latin America in Q3 2013 in a variety of colors (orange, yellow, bright green, white and black), with exchangeable semitransparent shells to easily switch colors (just like the 620).

In the UK, the Lumia 625 is expected in September for £200 though EE, Vodafone and O2 as well as retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U. Elsewhere the price will be €220 before taxes and subsidies.

Lumia 1020 spotted on Nokia's Indian website

http://aatoozz.blogspot.in/.

  Nokia has more-or-less confirmed that the recently-unveiled Lumia 1020 will definitely be making its way to India. Details about the smartphone have popped up on Nokia’s Indianwebsite. However, there is no price tag or definitive release date anywhere on the page. There is, however, an option that lets those who are interested in the smartphone to sign up and be notified when the Lumia 1020 hits Indian shores.

When the phone was unveiled, Nokia had announced that the phone will first launch on US carrier AT&T this 26th and is priced $299.99 (Approx Rs 18,000) for a two-year contract.

Everything else can wait, first let’s talk about this camera. The 41 megapixel camera is making a second appearance in Nokia’s portfolio after the inaugural Pureview phone, 808. This Windows Phone 8 device has the second-generation sensor. Nokia claims this is the largest back side illuminated (BSI) sensor available on a smartphone.

The Lumia 1020 also boasts of Nokia’s second-generation optical image stabilisation (OIS) engine, Zeiss optics with a 6-lens array. There’s a manual shutter and xenon flash too, to help things along. The camera can shoot full HD video at 30 fps with impressive numbers for lossless zoom – 4x in 1080p, 6x in 720p. Manual controls include flash, focus, ISO, shutter speed, white balance and exposure. On the software side of things, Nokia Pro Camera brings some new editing tools to adjust pictures after the fact.

As for the rest, this one is exactly like the Lumia 920 or the Lumia 925 after that. It comes with a 4.5-inch AMOLED 720p display protected by Gorilla Glass 3 – and that’s glove-friendly.  It also has the same processor as those Lumia smartphones - a dual-core Snapdragon S4 clocked at 1.5Ghz. AT&T customers get 50GB of cloud storage, but the Lumia 1020 comes with 32GB of internal memory.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra could hit India on July 31

http://aatoozz.blogspot.in/

  Sony unveiled its latest flagship Android smartphone, the Xperia Z Ultra, last month and recently made it available for pre-order in Hong Kong as well. Now, the smartphone has made an appearance on online shopping portal Saholic as well. Though the availability details have not been revealed yet, reports point out to a possible availability date of July 31 in India. 

The price at which the handset will be made available in the sub-continent has not been revealed either, but going by the current pre-booking price of HK$ 6,198 (or Rs 50,000) in Hong Kong, it can be assumed that that the Xperia Z Ultra will be priced around the same in India as well.

Looking at the specifications of the phone, the Xperia Z Ultra comes with a 6.4-inch display that packs full HD Triluminos technology for providing better visuals, according to the company. The smartphone sports Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system running the show. Internally, the smartphone is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor.

Dimension-wise, the phone measures a slim 6.5 mm thickness and weighs a surprising 212 grams. Keeping in mind the display size as well as the powerful processor, this is quite good. The smartphone makes use of an aluminium chassis instead of the plastic one seen in Xperia Z for added durability. The smartphone also features 2GB of RAM as well as an Adreno 330 GPU.

One of the coolest features of the Xperia Z Ultra may be its ability to shoot videos and images underwater, according to the company. Optics-wise, the smartphone comes with an 8 megapixel primary camera and a 2 megapixel front shooter which features Exmor RS for mobile, as well as HDR for both photos and film. Additionally, the phone comes with a Superior Auto mode, which will automatically enable HDR and noise reduction wherever needed. Connectivity is taken care of with the smartphone supporting NFC, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 as well as FM radio with RDS. 

Here's a quick look at what the Sony Xperia Z Ultra will be packing:

•      6.4-inch full-HD display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels
•     2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
•     2GB of RAM
•     16GB of internal storage
•     8 megapixel rear camera
•     2 megapixel front camera
•     Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, DLNA
•     3000 mAh battery
•     Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)

Galaxy S4 zoom up for pre-order on Samsung India website for Rs 29,390..

  The Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom smartphone is finally up for pre-order on the Samsung India             website for Rs 29,390 – the smartphone was launched at Rs 29,900. After officially announcing it last    month, Samsung Electronics finally launched the Galaxy S4 zoom smartphone in India this month    alongside the Galaxy S4 mini. 

The smartphone boasts of features like 10x optical zoom, 16MP CMOS Sensor, OIS and Xenon flash. The smartphone is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and is fuelled by a 2330 mAh battery.

Here is a quick look at the main specs of the Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom:

• 4.3 inch qHD sAMOLED screen with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.0 (LE)
• 16MP rear camera with 10x optical zoom, Sub (Front) 1.9MP camera
• GPS with A-GPS for Google Maps
• 8GB internal memory + microSD slot for memory expansion up to 64GB

The Galaxy S4 zoom smartphone runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.2. It includes Touchwiz as on the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, which can help you fully customise various aspects of your device, including the lock screen and notification bar.

The S4 zoom features a Zoom Ring that can be used to access the Galaxy S4 Zoom’s key features. When you’re in the middle of a phone call and you see something you absolutely have to share, a quick twist of the Zoom Ring will activate the In-call Photo Share feature that allows you to capture and send an image directly via MMS to whoever you are talking to. In addition to that, the Zoom Ring can be used to activate the Quick Launch and Shortcut features for access to multiple camera modes, including Auto, Gallery and Smart Mode. It is available in white and black colours