Phones

Qualcomm has expanded the Snapdragon 200 line-up with new set of SoCs (System On Chip) with the new Adreno 302 GPU. Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 200 chip at the CES 2013 back in January and detailed the features of the 8225Q and 8625Q it in February. The new 8x10 and 8x12 processors have ARM Cortex A7 CPUs, based on 28nm process technology and has support for HSPA+ (up to 21Mbps) and TD-SCDMA. The 8610 and 8210 would have dual-core CPUs and the 8612 and 8212 would come with dual-core CPUs, all clocked at 1.2 GHz per core and Adreno 302 GPU. Qualcomm would also release Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD) versions of the processors. Highlights of the Snapdragon 200 (8x10 and 8x12) processors Up to 1.2 GHz dual-core or quad-core Cortex A7 CPU Adreno 302 GPU, LPDDR2 RAM Up to 720p HD display Support for up to 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and up to a 5-megapixel front-facing camera Dual SIM, Dual Standby, and Dual SIM, Dual Active, and Tri SIM Tri Standby support IZat Location functionality for accurate auto and pedestrian navigation and indoor location capabilities for advanced location-based services Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0 Support for the latest Android, Windows Phone and Firefox operating systems These Snapdragon 200 processor and the Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD) counterparts would be available in late 2013. Source: Qualcomm

Normally within a few months after the latest Apple iPhone model has been released to the world we start to see numerous leaks and speculation to what might be coming next, and this can often include cases for announced products being produced early. It is widely believed that Apple will be offering a minor upgrade to the device this year and release an iPhone 5S, but some design plans again indicate a budget model is in the works. It seems that accessory manufactures have already started to produce cases for a budget iPhone based on some designs that have allegedly come from Apple. The device is supposedly called iPhone Lite and comes with a slightly thicker form factor with curved edges, and sources in the industry believe the blue prints are the real deal. The device if accurate will look similar to the current iPhone model with the same sized display with the home button and FaceTime camera in the same positions, but will be slightly wider and taller than the iPhone 5S. These plans are suggesting that the flagship iPhone model for this year will mainly use the same design as the iPhone 5, while the budget model will be 0.8mm thicker with its back edges rounded off. The design details for the iPhone Lite fit in with previous rumours about a budget smartphone being in the works and show the device is using a single LED flash to accompany the camera while the iPhone 5S will use a dual flash. Chinese case makers have manufactured accessories in the past that didn’t fit in with the design that was eventually released to the public, and we have been seeing a steady stream of alleged components for the iPhone 5S leaking out recently. It is thought that any new iPhone model will arrive around September and in the meantime we can expect to see these apparent leaks increasing in number. Source: AppleInsider.

Logitech released availability and pricing information for the Harmony Ultimate Hub as a stand alone product this evening, and the device is expected in August 2013 and will retail for $100. The Ultimate Hub is used in conjunction with an Android app to turn your Android or iOS device into a universal remote. The Hub, which is designed to sit in and among your home entertainment equipment acts as a bridge, allowing commands sent over Wifi from your device to be output ar IR/RF commands to operate video and audio components, like the ones commonly found in living rooms all over the world. Those familiar with the current Harmony line of universal remotes know that programming can be entered to control just about any device. In addition, Logitech has announced that they will not be selling off the Harmony line of products, saying a surge in momentum since unveiling the Harmony Ultimate makes retaining ownership in the best interest of their shareholders. Previously, the Hub was only available as part of a more expensive package with a bundled smart remote. Now, users who would just rather use their phone can save a little money. The full press release is after the break. read more

LG Electronics and Qualcomm Incorporated has announced that the next generation Optimus G successor in the Optimus line-up would be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor (MSM8974). Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 800 processor was announced at the CES 2013 earlier this year and the benchmarks of the Snapdragon 800 blows the other competitors out of water. LG was the first manufacturer to use the Snapdragon 600 chip on their Optimus G Pro that would launch in India soon. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors on the Optimus smartphones would support  rich graphics and outstanding battery efficiency apart from the superior performance.  It is capable of carrier aggregation that would allow LTE to be even faster by maximizing spectrum bandwidth to increase data speeds and reduce latency. The Snapdragon 800 processor is 75% better performance than the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and offer higher speeds with Krait 400 CPUs and the new Adreno 330 GPU delivers up to 50% increase in graphics performance, offers Video capture, playback and display in Ultra HD format, four times higher density than 1080p HD, has HD multichannel audio with DTS-HD and Dolby Digital Plus for enhanced audio .The IZAT location technology combines multiple location services into a single high performance navigation system for auto and pedestrian applications. LG did ...

This evening, Verizon began pushing out a new update for the Samsung Galaxy S3 as build VRBMF1. After pulling the previous update (build VRBMD3) because it caused severe connectivity issues, we would imagine that this new update will help return the device to normal. Verizon and Samsung were supposedly working on a fix – hopefully this is it. [...] Verizon Pushing Out VRBMF1 Update to... Click the post title to continue through and join the conversation!

judgecorp writes "In a move reminiscent of the 1960s Cold War days, Presidents Obama and Putin have set up a hotline between their respective cyber-security authorities, to defuse any possible crises and prevent them from escalating into an online equivalent of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 'We recognise that threats to or in the use of ICTs include political-military and criminal threats, as well as threats of a terrorist nature, and are some of the most serious national and international security challenges we face in the 21st Century,' a joint statement from the presidents read." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The jailbreak community is always looking to improve upon and add to their existing functionality of stock apps such as Camera, podcasts and Reminders. You can?t ignore that tweaks add options to stock apps that may have never been introduced otherwise. For adding firepower to the stock Reminders app, the Cydia Store has received CallReminders, a new jailbreak app that allows you to make reminders with calling information of a contact and also embed them. This allows you to make calls without exiting the reminders app and opening up the phone book separately. After downloading and installing the tweak, a new menu is going to be created in the stock Settings app. There are no technical options to configure, and only a simple field is added by the name ‘Delimiter’. This field can be used to enter a character/symbol that you want to use to separate the name of a particular contact from the rest of the information of the reminder. You’re going to see quotation marks under Delimiter by default, and anything you write under the quotation marks will appear is the name of the contact. When you select an entry using the Reminders app that features a delimiter, there will be a dialog box popping up, giving you the option to make a call to that contact. The tweak, however, faces limitation if you have more than one contact with the same name as it doesn’t separately lists who’s who. Apart from this limitation, the functionality is simple. CallReminders is a free of charge download and is available at the Cydia Store. You can find it through the BigBoss repository. It works on iOS 5 and above. This article, CallReminders Adds Direct Contact Shortcuts To iOS Reminders App, was originally published at simonblog.com.

Looking for an inexpensive way to take great pictures under low light-conditions? How about purchasing the Verizon version of the Nokia Lumia 928 for just $29.99; that is the deal that Amazon now has for the Windows Phone 8 flavored handset that is exclusive to Big Red in the U.S. And all you need to do is sign a two-year contract...Photos:

At the risk of stating the obvious, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission thinks that it should be legal to unlock your cell phone. Ars Technica reports that new FCC chairman Tom Wheeler told the Senate Commerce Committee during his nomination hearing this week that he would like to see the current ban on unlocking cell phones overturned. What's more, he criticized the Library of Congress's decision last fall to deny consumers the right to unlock their phones and bring them to different carriers and said it was an example of overreach.Continue reading...

Earlier this evening, LG (finally) announced the successor to the Optimus G. While the phone was not explicitly named in LG's press release, we can only assume it will be the Optimus G2, the phone we've been hoping for for some time now. LG and Qualcomm remind us in the release that the Snapdragon 800 boasts up to 75% better performance than the Optimus G's S4 Pro, along with 4G LTE Carrier Aggregation (by which data speeds are made "even faster"), better battery life, Ultra HD video capture, and support for displays up to 2560x2480, among other things. Not much else is known about the device (like, say, its actual appearance or when it'll be available), but we'll certainly keep you posted. Done With This Post? You Might Also Like These:Qualcomm To Integrate 802.11ac Into Snapdragon S4 - Get Ready For 433Mbps Wi-Fi On Your Phone [CES 2013] Qualcomm Announces Next Generation Snapdragon Mobile Processors With A New Naming Scheme LG Officially Announces The Optimus G – Headed For Korea Next Month With Global Release To Follow LG Refreshes Highish Mid-Range With The Optimus F5 And Optimus F7 Handsets LG And Qualcomm Announce 'Next G Series Smartphone' With Snapdragon 800 Processor was written by the awesome team at Android Police.