Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini reportedly appears on official Samsung website

Yesterday, photos were posted to Twitter revealing the Galaxy S4 Mini. However, another image was posted to Twitter today reportedly revealing four Galaxy S4 Mini model listings on the Samsung support website.

Italian publication Android Caotic (source below) reports that the GT-I9190 is the standard Galaxy S4 Mini model while the GT-I9192 is the dual-SIM version. The GT-I9195 is reportedly the LTE variant and the GT-I9198 seems to be a model being made for China.

This, of course, has not been confirmed by Samsung, so it’d be best to treat it as a rumor for now. On the other hand, it would be highly possible that four Galaxy S4 Mini models exist considering Samsung often makes multiple models for different markets.

According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S4 Mini is expected to have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD 960 × 540 display with a pixel density of 256ppi. It is also said to have a 1.6GHz dual-core processor and is running the latest version of Android, 4.2.2.

Read More

iPhone 5S will bring back 'one more thing,' analyst says

Not wowed by the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4? One analyst says never fear -- Apple is preparing a killer feature for the iPhone 5S that will crush the notion that smartphones are becoming a commodity product like so many soybeans traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (or smartypants similes on gadget blogs).

If you've been paying attention to the almost monthly march of big-time smartphone releases for the past year and a half, you may have noticed a pattern. Each new iPhone, Android flagship, and even the Lumia and BlackBerry, is faster, more powerful, and prettier than the last with a few gimmicky features that raise eyebrows for a few weeks, but no game-changing innovation.

For a few great glory years there, Apple was the company to count on for a great new killer feature in the form of Steve Jobs' infamous "one more thing." In fact, arguably the last time we were all abuzz with a groundbreaking new phone feature was when the iPhone 4S was introduced with Siri about a year and a half ago. And even Siri didn't end up quite catching fire and creating a nation of silly people talking to their phones all day.

But Katy Huberty -- who covers enterprise systems and PC hardware for Morgan Stanley and is a frequent Apple watcher -- says the smartphone renaissance isn't over just yet. Speaking on CNBC today, she said that while Apple (specifically its stock price) is in a bit of a funk, she predicts a comeback powered by some hot new software features on the next new iPhone:

You saw the Samsung Galaxy S4 come out last week, that shows you the innovation cards are up for grabs. What is lacking in (the S4) is a killer feature. We think that's where Apple will surprise this year. This (iPhone) 5S cycle this year will be about a killer feature that drives consumers increasingly to the platform...

OK, sounds good, but a quick reality check. If you're Apple and you're in a bit of a quiet period with a slumping stock price and your chief competitor has been bathing in headlines over its latest release for several days, it's pretty easy to simply put out the word that you're planning something non-specifically cool.

But it's also interesting that we seem to be talking about a software-based feature. Perhaps smartphone hardware is becoming more like those ubiquitous soybeans, carrying the same amount of diversity and excitement as a chunk of tofu.

Regardless, now the pressure is on Apple to dig deep and come up with something sweet. I'm rooting for some wicked smartphone karaoke software. What killer feature would you like to see in the next iPhone?

Read More

Release of Ashton Kutcher's Steve Jobs film pushed back

The release of "Jobs," the first film about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs since his death in 2011, has been pushed back, its creators said today.

The film -- which was set for an April 19 release -- will now be released at another time, and likely for marketing reasons, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, which is not to be confused with a separate production penned by "The Social Network" and "The West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin, stars Ashton Kutcher as Jobs. The movie covers the years 1971 through 2000. That bit of Jobs' history includes the founding of Apple, as well as his ouster, the forming of NeXT and Pixar, and then his return to the company when Apple acquired NeXT.

Along with Kutcher, the movie stars Matthew Modine as former Apple CEO John Sculley, Josh Gad as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and "The Help" star Ahna O'Reilly playing Chris-Ann Brennan, Jobs' girlfriend and the mother of his daughter Lisa. Other cast members include J.K. Simmons and Kevin Dunn, who will play venture capitalist Arthur Rock and former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, respectively."Jobs", which was originally called "jOBS," premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews. Many critics found fault in the story but not necessarily Kutcher's performance as the iconic CEO. 

Kutcher and Gad appeared at this year's Macworld conference to promote the picture shortly after its Sundance debut. Gad noted that he was swayed to join the project after receiving a lengthly call from Kutcher, and proceeded to take computer programming courses to get into character. Since then, there has been no official trailer for the film, and its official movie Web site appears to still be under construction.

Read More

Battlefield 4 reveal set for March 26

According to an official invitation sent to Gamespot, Electronic Arts and DICE plan to "celebrate a new era of Battlefield" at an upcoming Battlefield 4 event in San Francisco on March 26 at 7 p.m. PT. The event occurs during the 2013 Game Developers Conference that takes place from March 25-29.

For those craving more information about the upcoming shooter, well, there isn't much to work with at the moment.

On the unofficial side of the coin, gaming blog Kotaku leaked a supposed image from BF4's box art, which features a tank and a highly detailed armored male character with a sniper rifle and pistol. The blue and orange color scheme (commonly seen in BF3) makes a return, and one of the in-set pictures that floats near the solider could depict Shanghai's skyline -- perhaps indicating a larger Chinese presence in the upcoming game.What we do know is that Dice plans to release a Battlefield 4 beta this fall, and that during a call with investors last month, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said the game looked "stunning" on the PlayStation 4.

Read More

Galaxy Note 3 display size possibly outed by Samsung’s new Game pad

Not only did Samsung announce the Galaxy S4 last night, but the Korean tech giant alsoannounced a truck load of accessories that will be available for it. One of those accessories may have unveiled the display size of the rumored Galaxy Note 3.
One of the accessories that will be accompanying the Galaxy S4 is the Game Pad, which makes game playing easier with an adjustable clamp and controller functionality. That clamp is able to scale up to 6.3-inches, which is interesting since Samsung, at the time of writing, does not offer a device that is 6.3-inches in size.

Is it just a coincidence though? No it isn’t  When Samsung, or any manufacturer, makes a product, it goes through a heavy and thorough design process, which means that the Game Pad’s adjustable clamp can scale to 6.3-inches for a reason.
Samsung, of course, will not confirm or deny the rumor, but a 6.3-inch display on the Galaxy Note 3 does fall in line with other rumors. We’ll likely see a Galaxy Note 3 unveiling in August at IFA in Berlin, Germany, which is where the Korean tech giant announced the Galaxy Note 2.

Read More

Samsung Africa announces Galaxy Star and Galaxy Pocket Neo

 

Samsung announced two new devices at the Samsung Forum in South Africa — the Galaxy Pocket Neo and the Galaxy Star.
Both handset’s are entry-level Android phones that are running off of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Pricing hasn’t been announced just yet, but both phones shouldn’t cost much based off of the specs they’re touting.
The Samsung Galaxy Star only has 2G/EDGE connectivity and sports a 3-inch QVGA display, 512MB of RAM, a 2MP camera, dual-SIM support and has 4GB of internal storage.
The Samsung Galaxy Pocket Neo has support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA and sports a 3-inch QVGA display, an 850MHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 2MP camera, dual-SIM support and 4GB of internal storage.
Availability information remains to be announced, but taking a look at the specs on these devices, it seems like they’re slated for emerging markets. We probably won’t see them in more popular markets like the U.S. and Europe.

Read More

Facebook hashtags will soon be official, according to Wall Street Journal report

 

Some day, people will remember Facebook as the social networking giant that it is today, and they will say, “Remember when hashtags on Facebook were not a thing? Yeah, those were the days.”
It hasn’t happened yet, but Facebook will indeed introduce hashtags as a feature that its users can use — and possibly abuse — if a recently published report on the Wall Street Journal is to be believed. Apparently, Facebook is currently looking into incorporating hashtags as its battle with microblogging site Twitter rages on.
According to sources cited in the above-mentioned report on the WSJ, Facebook hashtags are currently in the testing phase. And much like the original, Twitter-based counterpart, Facebook hashtags will be used to group similar content on the same topics.
Even now, Facebook users are already using hashtags, despite the fact that they don’t really do anything at all. Except maybe make short, indirect, and “witty” statements that could otherwise only be shared via typing out complete sentences. If Facebook does indeed decide to finally add hashtags as a feature at some point in the future, then it would perhaps be put to much better use by Facebook users.
At the moment, the hashtag-as-a-way-of-grouping-content feature only really works with its originator, Twitter, as well as online photo sharing site Instagram, which Facebook famouslybought for $1 billion back in April 2012.

Read More

Full HD Neo N003 phone slated for April release, due out in two versions worth $145 and up

We know, today’s Samsung’s special day and nobody can steal the spotlight from the “next best thing”. And God knows LG’s trying. But how about pausing the endless GS4 rumor mill for just a second to hear a few extra details about the recently leaked Neo N003?
You know the Neo N003, right? The 5-inch Full HD beast that was rumored to come to China for an unbelievable starting price of $145. Well, as it turns out, more pundits are confirming both its existence and budget friendliness.
Also, we have the first unofficial ETA – April. Obviously, the thing is still only slated for a China release, but export policies tend to be more permissive than before, so we can at least hope to see a couple of retailers shipping it outside Chinese borders.
The Neo N003 is to come in two slightly different versions, one dubbed “Youth” and one “Premium”. Both will boast the same brilliant 1,080p IPS panel with Corning Gorilla Glass and run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.

The similarities unfortunately extend to the CPU (a quad-core 1.2 GHz Mediatek MT6589 unit for each), while the amount of RAM and on-board storage seem to be the most critical differences. The Youth will be packing 1 gig of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory, while the Premium will double the RAM and quadruple the storage.
A 13 MP snapper with a Sony sensor will be fitted on the back of both phones, while on the front you’ll be getting a very nice 3 MP cam on the Premium and only a 0.3 MP on the Youth. Finally, both Neos are to pack hefty 3,000 mAh batteries, Yamaha speakers and some kind of noise reduction technology.
As for pricing, the Neo N003 Youth is to cost 899 Yuan ($144) off-contract, while the Premium should go for 400 Yuan extra ($207 in total). That’s mighty cheap, even by Chinese standards, isn’t it?

Read More

We’ll be live from the Galaxy S4 launch in New York

We’re just a few hours away from the moment the Samsung Galaxy S4 is introduced to the world. Android Authority will be live at the New York Samsung Unpacked 2013 launch event.

Just in case today it’s your first day on the Internet in the last three months or so, Samsung will unveil tonight the Galaxy S4, at an Unpacked event that promises to be grandiose. How grandiose? Well, Samsung booked the huge Radio City Music Hall in New York, a venue that usually hosts party conventions, movie premieres, and Grammy awards.

Just so you can’t miss it, Samsung plastered Galaxy S4 ads all over Times Square (prompting some cheeky photobombing from LG) and has done its best to drum up the excitement.

Android Authority will be attending the Samsung Unpacked 2013 Galaxy S4 launch event through Kris Wouk and Joshua Vergara. The guys will be bringing you the news as it happens, hands-on photos and video with the star of the night, and our traditional Versus posts pitching the Galaxy S4 against the hottest devices of the moment.

You’ll be able to watch the event livestream right here, and Josh and Kris will keep you updated on the pulse of the event on our live blog.

The event starts at:

• 7PM EDT
• 4PM PDT
• 11PM GMT
• 12AM CET
• 2AM EET
• 4:30AM IST
• 8AM KST
• 10AM AUS

Stay tuned on AA through the day because we’ll be bringing you some of the mostcomprehensive Galaxy S4 coverage online. Learn everything there is to know about the GS4here. Did I mention we’re giving one away?

Sound off in the comments. How excited are you over the Galaxy S4?

Read More

Jelly Bean update reportedly rolling out in late March for Sony’s Xperia S

After several mediocre years in the Android décor, Sony finally has a shot at becoming one of the greats, courtesy of the splendid Xperia Z and ZL. And yet not all the company’s attention is focused on the high-end duo, with a couple of mid-rangers expected to land soon.
Meanwhile, last year’s Xperia line-up continues to be spoiled. It was only a week ago we heard the first reports of Jelly Bean rolling out to the humble J, with the more impressive TL getting the same butter treatment a couple of days back.
And while we feared Sony would have too much on its plate to also worry about the one year-old Xperia S, that doesn’t seem to be the case. At all. In fact, the early 2012 flagship might actually get its own Android 4.1 Jelly Bean bump earlier than planned – in late March.

That’s based on a tweet sent out by Sony Mobile Germany, so you could say it’s official information. Then again, we know how tricky “social media” can be nowadays, meaning the ETA is definitely not set in stone yet.
Worst-case scenario, Sony’s German branch is wrong and we go back to the old schedule, according to which the Xperia S was due for an update in April. Which would still not be awful, would it?
Now how about some Android 4.2 upgrades, Sony? Also, some 4.1 love for the TX would be welcomed. And the P and U. Anyone want to add something to the wishlist?

Read More

LG mimicks Samsung Galaxy S4 Times Square ad campaign, makes it about the Optimus G instead

It was pretty bold of Samsung to pick New York City as Galaxy S4’s debut stage, but after the booming GS3 and Note 2 hits we expected nothing less. Sammy is going after Apple again and what better way to start a global charge than subduing the “enemy” on its home turf?

You’d think the entire NYC was drooling over the S4 prospect by now, given the mighty ad campaign kicked into gear a while ago in Times Square. However, if Apple doesn’t usually like to engage in bitter anti-competition marketing, someone else does – LG.

And you know what they say, it’s all about location, location, location. Case in point, even if LG is the one mimicking Samsung’s ads, the Optimus makers might look better in the eyes of unsuspecting New York locals just by having their billboards placed on top of the competition’s.

Of course, the increased brightness also helps, making Samsung’s “Be Ready 4 The Next Galaxy” message look old and dusty. It’s almost like the below ad is on the verge of being removed, while the one on top is flashy and shiny enough to make you think of the future.

Now, don’t get us wrong. We’re not defending LG. In fact, that “LG Optimus G is here 4 you now” message is pretty bland and unoriginal. We’ve also stopped caring for this kind of trolling marketing a while ago (unless Apple is the one being trolled, in which case all bets are off).

But will it be effective? Most likely, yeah. Even if we’re talking about no more than a dozen people who’ll be seeing both ads and think “hey, how about I look into that Optimus G some more?”. Or another few hundreds who’ll simply miss the S4 ad because of the shinier LG one.

And at the end of the day that’s all that matters in this “take no prisoners” smartphone war. It doesn’t have to be elegant or classy if it works. Agreed? Is LG a clever or a lame troll?

Read More

Asus releases official Android 4.2.1 OTA for the Transformer Pad 300

Those of you who have unlocked the bootloaders of your Asus Transformer Pad 300s probably didn’t receive the Android 4.2 update when it started rolling out earlier this month. But now, there is no need to feel left out.

If you felt the need to try out the official OTA update straight from Asus’ servers, the company has now released the full 4.2.1 ROM for the TF300. This comes with all the standard performance improvements and bug fixes you would expect from an update. It also includes all the standard Android 4.2 features like lockscreen widgets, quick settings, multi-ser capabilities and more.

The update comes for three versions of the device, so make sure you choose the right one before flashing. They all weigh in at around 500MB, so you might want to start the download a little in advance if your Internet connection is not the fastest one around. However, if you are still on 4.1 and thinking about upgrading, I would also consider this ROM which you just might have come across.

Chances are you will be very pleased with it, as so many of us have been before. I do believe the overall experience after updating should be silky smooth, as Asus has generally been very reliable in the update department. Head over to the source link to try it yourself, and do let us know how the update is working on your device.

Read More

Inside the Galaxy S4: Samsung doing dueling silicon again?

If the Samsung Galaxy S4 follows in the same path as the S3, we should see two variants of the Android phone with different internals.

Like the S3, the international version of the S4 will likely carry Samsung silicon, while an LTE version in the U.S. opts for a Qualcomm processor.

While we won't know until Thursday what's inside precisely (and we may initially only know the precise specs of the international version), there are two candidates based on reports, includingone from J.P. Morgan.

Whatever the case, there's no doubt the S4's high-resolution 5-inch class screen (possibly 1,920x1,080 resolution) will need plenty of horsepower to manage all of those pixels.

Samsung internals: 

It's highly likely that, like the S3 before it, the international version of the S4 will pack Samsung's newest chip from the Exynos line.

And there's one candidate that gets mentioned often. That would be the Exynos 5 Octa 8-core processor. Eight processor cores sound like a lot for a phone considering most Intel laptops only have two processing cores.

But the Exynos 5 Octa uses something called big.LITTLE. In other words, there are four "big" high-performance cores (up to 1.8GHz) and four "little" power-efficient cores (up to 1.2GHz), referred to as Cortex A15 and A7, respectively.

ARM, the chip's designer, describes the Cortex A15 as suited for "heavy workloads," like gaming, and the Cortex A7 for doing more mundane workloads, such as managing operating system activities.

And remember, being an ARM chip design, each individual ARM core hardly matches an Intel i7 core in performance.

Qualcomm internals:

 One candidate for the Qualcomm processor is the quad-core Snapdragon 600. The 600's cores can run at speeds of up to 1.9GHz and it is expected to also appear in LG's future 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro.

The Snapdragon 600, however, doesn't integrate a modem (though Qualcomm or another vendor can provide a 3G/LTE modem separately). For a Qualcomm quad-core chip, that won't happen until the LTE-capable Snapdragon 800, which won't be available commercially until much later. (And note the Galaxy S3's U.S. version used a Snapdragon S4 that did integrate a modem.)

This is all speculation of course but on the eve of the Galaxy S4's announcement, there's plenty of that going around.

Read More

Twitter releases its handcrafted Windows 8 app

he Twitter for Windows 8 app has finally hit Microsoft's Windows Store. The social networkannounced today that it was launching the new app, which was uniquely tailored for Windows 8devices.

Besides the usual Home, Connect, Discover, and Me tabs, the Windows 8 app has a host of other features. There's Snap view, which lets users adjust the size of the Twitter app and use other apps alongside it. Photos can also be expanded or shown in a photo gallery. There are two new charms -- Share and Search -- which let users tweet or search from any app. And, finally, there are Twitter Live Tiles and notifications that are on-view no matter which app is running.

"Twitter for Windows 8 brings you all the design, features and functionality of Twitter combined with the fast and fluid technology of Windows 8," Twitter says in its app description.

Despite having apps for most major platforms, Twitter has never been on Windows for PC. The microblogging site announced it was working on a native Windows 8 app back in October but has been mum on the project ever since. Over the past year, Twitter has been making a push to create a consistent experience across as many platforms as possible, be it the Web, iOS,Android, OS X, BlackBerry, and even the Windows Phone.

Read More