Nokia Lumia Flame, a 710 replacement, in the works?

Tags: Nokia, Windows Phone, Touch UI, Rumors

Nokia led the Windows Phone 8 assault with two high-end parts - the Lumia 920 and 820 - with rumors that mid- and low-end parts will launch early next year. The first of these devices to enter the rumor mill was the Zeal with cut down 820 specs, now there's the Flame.

According to The Verge, the Nokia Lumia Flame will be a Windows Phone 8 device with a 4" screen (judging by the 820, it will likely have WVGA resolution). The chipset is said to be the same one as in the Zeal - dual-core 1GHz processor and 512MB RAM.

Other known specs on the Flame is a 5MP camera and 4GB of built-in storage with a microSD card slot.

While the Zeal and Flame will take over from the Lumia 710, there's also talk of a Lumia Glory to replace the 610. It is said to be a Windows Phone 7.8 device, not 8, and have a 4" screen, 800MHz CPU and 256MB RAM.

The three phones - Zeal, Flame and Glory - are expected in the first quarter of next year.

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HTC announces One SC, SU and dual-SIM ST for China

Tags: HTC, Android, Touch UI, Dual SIM

HTC unveiled three exclusive droids for China Mobile - the One SC, One SU and the dual-SIM One ST. They all run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich skinned with HTC Sense 4.0 UI.

HTC One ST

Let’s start with the one we already met yesterday – the One ST. As it turned out, the previous leak turned out perfectly accurate. The One ST packs a 4.3-inch SuperLCD2 WVGA display and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor. The specs sheet continues with 1GB RAM, 4GB storage, 5MP camera (BSI sensor, F2.0, LED flash) with 720p video recording, Beats Audio and a microSD slot.

  
HTC One ST

The One ST is a dual-SIM phone with support for dual-standby. It also supports 3G with HSPA+ networks but only on the primary SIM card.

HTC One ST will be available in three colors – white, red and black. No word on the pricing and the availability yet.

HTC One SC and One SU

HTC One SC and One SU share identical specifications but different designs. They both have 4.3-inch WVGA displays, 1GHz dual-core processors, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage, 5MP camera (BSI sensor, F2.0, LED flash) with 720p video recording, HSPA+ connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, Beats Audio and a microSD slot. Yes, these specs are also identical to the One ST, sans the dual-SIM functionality.

  
HTC One SC

The One SC has a rather extravagant design, while the One SU is a standard HTC affair.

  
HTC One SU

The pricing and the availability of the One SU and SC is also TBA.

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The HTC One X+ and the HTC 8X leak online

Tags: HTC, Windows Phone, Touch UI, Rumors, Android

HTC is holding a press event on September 19, but it seems it couldn’t keep the curtain over the TBA phones.

The Twitter user Football4PDA (obviously a reputable XDA dev) spilled the beans on the HTC’s next flagships.

The first one is the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean-running One X+. The smartphone is based on the latest quad-core Tegra 3 AP37 chipset with a quad-core 1.6GHz processor, which is capable of running at 1.7GHz in single core mode.

The rest of the specs include 1GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, 134.36 x 69.9 x 9.3 mm measurements and 129g of weight. Those measurements are pretty good indications for a 5-inch or so HD (or more) display. HTC Sense 4.5 UI is expected to run on top of Android Jelly Bean.

The next revealed device is the HTC 8X (C620a model name), based on Windows Phone 8. The phone packs a 4.3-inch HD display and runs on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (Krait, perhaps). Other notable features are the 1 gig of RAM; the 16 gigs of internal storage; the 8MP camera with 28mm wide angle lens and bright, F2.0 aperture and 1080p video recording; and “ultra-wide angle” front camera; NFC and Beats Audio.

There is an asterisk next to the 16GB storage, which either indicates the presence of a microSD slot, or HTC will promote the 7GB SkyDrive cloud storage.

We guess the event on September 19 will be all about those two fellas.

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Apple cuts back chip orders from Samsung, the war rages on

Tags: Nokia, Windows Phone, Touch UI, Rumors

You are all aware of the recent major US patent lawsuit involving Apple and Samsung. So far their patent quarrels had not have any impact on their component supply deal, which has Samsung provide most of the memory chips that Apple uses in its mobile device.

According to Reuters and several other news outlets, all citing anonymous sources, with the iPhone 5, Apple is now steering away from Samsung as its main chip supplier. Instead, the company is looking to strengthen its supplies from competing chip manufacturers such as Toshiba, Elpida and Hynix.

Photo by Reuters

So what are we witnessing here? Is it that Apple is getting ready for a long war, or it's just that it doesn't like to do any further business with Samsung?

It could also be that Samsung is using its chip manufacturing deal as a leverage in their patent brawls across the world or just on the contrary, it's Apple that's using the cutting back of the orders as a leverage. Apple is supposedly Samsung’s largest components client with estimates pointing that their deal is supposedly bringing billions in yearly revenue. Well, we may never learn the truth.

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Nokia Lumia 920 to start selling in only 8-10 weeks time

Tags: Nokia, Windows Phone, Touch UI, Rumors

The Nokia Lumia 920 is a marvelous piece of technology. Nokia has really put its back into making the smartphone standout in several respects such as the extraordinary display and the innovative camera.

Update 1: We already have some expected retail prices for both the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820. At least in Germany, the Lumia 920 should retail for €600 SIM-free, while the Lumia 820 should go for €450 SIM-free.

Update 2: We also heard that AT&T will be getting the Nokia Lumia 920 on November 2. Is that the date when Windows Phone 8 will be revealed in full?

Among the last pieces of info that we didn't know about it was its availability schedule (and price, of course, but that we have too, now). We heard Steve Ballmer saying we are going to see a lot more of Windows Phone 8 in the next month or two, but here's some insider info on the availability of the Lumia 920.

An anonymous source from an Eastern European carrier has whispered to Reuters that they will start selling the Lumia 920 in mid-November, while Western European countries should be getting it even sooner, in the first half of November. When you think about it, November 1 is only 8 weeks from now. Wow, this summer's end is really closing in fast. But we digress.

The release of the Lumia 920 cannot come fast enough. We can't wait to put it through its paces in our obstacle reviewing course.

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A Dual SIM Galaxy Note II in the works, leaks in China?

Tags: Samsung, Android, Touch UI, Rumors

Dual SIM phones have never been high-end products so you can imagine our surprise when we first saw this leak. A dual SIM Galaxy Note II? Even for the Chinese market, this is really hard to believe. And yet, here we are with all this wonderful photo evidence.

Of course, this could as well be one of the very elaborate fakes China is known for. You never know with these things.

  
The Galaxy Note II as a Dual SIM phone

According the source, this here device is made specifically for China Unicom and has the same specs as the international Note II.

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China-bound dual-SIM HTC One ST leaks ahead of announcement

Tags: HTC, Android, Touch UI, Rumors

HTC One ST is a dual-SIM smartphone intended for the China Mobile network. It packs a 4.3-inch WVGA display and runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor.

The rest of the known specs include a 9.25mm thin profile and 115g of weight. Beats Audio enhancement is also on board.

   
HTC One ST

The One ST is supposed to run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich skinned with HTC Sense 4.0 UI.

There is an NY HTC event coming up on September 19, but we guess this fella will be a topic of another announcement. But looking at all these official pictures, it shouldn't take long for it to break cover.

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Samsung launches Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy Y Duos Lite

Tags: Samsung, Android, Touch UI

Samsung announced the Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy Y Duos Lite for India. Both smartphones have already been announced on the international market as the Galaxy S Duos S7562 and Galaxy Pocket Duos S5302.

Galaxy S Duos

The Galaxy S Duos is Samsung’s best dual-SIM droid up to date. It runs on a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A5 processor with Adreno 200 graphics, and packs a 4-inch WVGA TFT touchscreen, 5MP camera with VGA video recording, 768MB RAM, 4GB storage and the usual connectivity options.

Samsung Galaxy S Duos

The Galaxy S Duos supports 3G with HSPA on both SIM cards, but you can’t have two data connections simultaneously.

The handset also features Smart Dual SIM function which allows you to take calls from one of the SIM cards while the other is active as well. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is in charge of the Galaxy S Duos.

Unfortunately, the dual-SIM handset doesn't come with the SuperAMOLED screen of its original and has a regular LCD screen instead.

Samsung Galaxy S Duos will hit India soon at Rs. 17900 or €256. We guess the European price should be about the same. Price-wise, it's about the same price segment as the HTC Desire V, its direct competitor.

Galaxy Y Duos Lite (Galaxy Pocket Duos)

The Galaxy Y Duos Lite is the Indian version of the Galaxy Pocket Duos. It is a less capable fella with a 2.8-inch QVGA capacitive touchscreen, an 832MHz processor, a 2MP snapper, 3GB internal storage and 3G support only on the primary SIM card. The Android OS ticking inside is 2.3 Gingerbread, but it also supports the Smart Dual SIM function we mentioned above.

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite

The Galaxy Y Duos price is just Rs. 6990 or €100.

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