Android in March: going from 4.2 JB straight to 4.4 KitKat

Another month, another Android platform distribution update by Google. The big news is that in March this year Android 4.4 KitKat has crossed the 5% mark, while everything pre-4.1 declined.

Some vestigial Froyo devices still hang around at 1%, Gingerbread now holds under 20%, while Ice Cream Sandwich and 4.1 Jelly Bean declined.

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean rose a bit and is now well ahead of ICS. That's interesting because version 4.3 stayed in place since January, suggesting that makers are leapfrogging 4.3 and going straight to 4.4 (LG for one is doing this).

With KitKat on the rise and Jelly Bean mostly staying in place, OpenGL ES 2.0 support actually declined a bit, while OpenGL ES 3.0 inched forward. This is important for game devs who might be considering using the more advanced graphics features - they can now reach 10.5% of all Androids.

The Sony Xperia Z2 is known to be available in Europe and parts of Asia and today we can count North America in the list of regions where Sony's flagship is going to sell. Bell Canada is going to start offering the device to its customers starting in May. There's no information on pricing just yet, but it's logical for Bell to price the Xperia Z2 as the rest of its current batch of Android flagships - CAD $200 with contract. Sony is yet to announce its plans for U.S. availability and pricing. As we reported at the end of March, Sony is experiencing supply chain problems with the Xperia Z2. In the UK, Sony says all pre-orders have been fulfilled, but there'll be some shortage in stock nevertheless. The Sony Xperia Z2 costs £540 off-contract, while monthly taxes for 2-year plans are £42 get you the phone for free. The TV deal is from Vodafone, while Unlocked Mobiles offer a free wireless speaker, noise-cancelling headphones and digital content with a pre-order

The Sony Xperia Z2 is known to be available in Europe and parts of Asia and today we can count North America in the list of regions where Sony's flagship is going to sell. Bell Canada is going to start offering the device to its customers starting in May.

There's no information on pricing just yet, but it's logical for Bell to price the Xperia Z2 as the rest of its current batch of Android flagships - CAD $200 with contract.

Sony is yet to announce its plans for U.S. availability and pricing.

As we reported at the end of March, Sony is experiencing supply chain problems with the Xperia Z2. In the UK, Sony says all pre-orders have been fulfilled, but there'll be some shortage in stock nevertheless.

The Sony Xperia Z2 costs £540 off-contract, while monthly taxes for 2-year plans are £42 get you the phone for free. The TV deal is from Vodafone, while Unlocked Mobiles offer a free wireless speaker, noise-cancelling headphones and digital content with a pre-order

Apple iPhone 6 tipped to retain 8 MP resolution

Sources with some knowledge of the matter suggest that Apple will not be interested in increasing the megapixel count of its next iPhone smartphone camera. Instead Apple will likely focus on improving the lens system and image quality.

Previous rumors suggested the iPhone 6 camera may be bumped to 10 MP with a faster F/1.8 aperture(the iPhone 5s is currently sporting an F/2.2 lens) so perhaps the aperture will remain.

Rumors are circulating that Apple will use swappable resin lenses for its iPhone 6. Other rumors have suggested optical image stabilization but seeing how Apple is doing some clever gyro-based software tricks in the iPhone 5s to avoid OIS it seems unlikely the company will change its mind in the next flagship.

If Apple indeed retains the 8 MP resolution which debuted on the iPhone 4S camera, it will go against the current trend of manufacturer increasing megapixel count in their smartphones' cameras recently.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo 13 MP sensor shipments are higher than any other resolution - expected to be 65% of all high resolution components by the end of the year. The raise in demand is expected to continue well into 2015. According to Ming-Chi Kuo Sony has a 65.7% share of the market for 13+ MP sensors.

Sony is expected to produce a new 21 MP 1/2.4" sensor for the last quarter of the year. Could it star in the Xperia Z3? It seems likely considering Sony's six month flagship cycle.

TechnoPedia Expo. smartphone shopping guide: March 2014

Introduction

We're back with our latest smartphone shopper's guide, and our first for 2014! In this edition we'll see which new devices announced at the MWC made the cut as good buys, next to some former flagships that have had their price reduced - without losing much value - to become sleeper picks in the upper midrange category.

As before, we're splitting up the guide by price category, starting with sub-€100 smartphones and going all the way to the top shelf stuff.

Here are the price categories we'll be looking at:

• Under €100
• €100 - €200
• €200 - €300
• €300 - €400
• €400 - €500
• €500 and above

Price drops from many top manufacturers have resulted in a lot a movement between the ranks. The sub-€100 segment features some incredible deals on Android and Windows Phone smartphones, while the fresh batch of high-end models from MWC means some great deals on former flagships.

Before we jump in, a word on the technical side of things, and what it takes to make the cut. In terms of computing power, a dual-core processor is passable, but entry level phones make do with just one core (there are only a few of those in this guide though). Having a Krait-based Snapdragon dual-core chipset or just about any quad-core chipset is a guarantee for proper performance in the lowest price bracket.

For screens, anything under 200ppi is pretty poor (usually screens on budget phones), 200-300ppi is good but not great, and anything over 300ppi is eye-popping quality and differences get near impossible to spot with the naked eye. For cameras, you want at least 5MP for stills and 720p for video, though budget phones settle for 3 or less megapixel stills and VGA video (think 4:3 DVD quality).

Also, keep in mind that we're looking at off-contract prices. On-contract devices come cheap but get you saddled with an expensive plan for a year or two, which masks the true price of the device. Besides, carrier subsidies vary across markets, so since we are catering for a varied international audience, we can't really provide information that will be relevant to everyone.

We've also omitted any phones with limited market availability, as we want to make sure that you'll actually be able to buy the phones listed here in the coming month or two, rather than just read about them.

Google announces Android Wear, LG is making a smartwatch

Google has announced it is working on Android Wear - a special Android version for wearable devices. Naturally the first target group of Android Wear is smartwatches, but the OS focus will expand to even more gadgets soon.

Android Wear is a special miniature version of the popular mobile OS that will allow you to interact with your wearable via voice commands and you will receive straight answers both on-screen and as voice feedback. Here is what Android Wear can do for you:

• Useful information when you need it most. Android Wear shows you info and suggestions you need, right when you need them. The wide variety of Android applications means you’ll receive the latest posts and updates from your favorite social apps, chats from your preferred messaging apps, notifications from shopping, news and photography apps, and more.
• Straight answers to spoken questions. Just say “Ok Google” to ask questions, like how many calories are in an avocado, what time your flight leaves, and the score of the game. Or say “Ok Google” to get stuff done, like calling a taxi, sending a text, making a restaurant reservation or setting an alarm.
• The ability to better monitor your health and fitness. Hit your exercise goals with reminders and fitness summaries from Android Wear. Your favorite fitness apps can give you real-time speed, distance and time information on your wrist for your run, cycle or walk.
• Your key to a multiscreen world. Android Wear lets you access and control other devices from your wrist. Just say “Ok Google” to fire up a music playlist on your phone, or cast your favorite movie to your TV. There’s a lot of possibilities here so we’re eager to see what developers build.

And here is the official promo video, which looks really nice. It shows a watch from LG (the square one) and a watch from Motorola (the round one).

A developer preview is already available right here. Developers can download it and tweak their existing apps to work with Android Wear. Google says many of them will probably require little to no additional updates.

Google has already partnered up with manufacturers such as Asus, HTC, LG and Samsung, plus chipmakers such as Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek and Qualcomm. Android Wear-powered smartwatches are already in the works and will hit the market later this year.

Previous rumors saying LG will be making a Google-powered smartwatch turned out being the truth. LG has announced the LG G Watch, co-developed with Google, just minutes after Android Wear went official.

The rumors were spot on with the specs - the LG G Watch features a 1.65" screen with a 280 x 280 resolution, 512MB RAM and 4GB of built-in storage. The smartwatch will go on sale in Q2 this year.

Motorola and Flipkart launch the Moto X in India

After many months of waiting and a few weeks of teasing, Motorola finally launched the Moto X in India. As with the Moto G, Motorola has once again chosen to partner with online retailer Flipkart, who will be selling the Moto X exclusively in India.

Flipkart will be selling the Moto X in five colors in India, with the woven black and woven white options available starting today and the rest arriving later. The phone will only be offered in 16GB capacity and is priced at INR 23,999 ($393). The wooden back versions will also be offered in future and will be priced atINR 25,999 ($425) for the same 16GB capacity.

Flipkart also has some launch day offers in store, including INR 1,000 cachback for those who purchase on a 6-month EMI, flat 70% off on Moto X cases if purchased along with the phone, and 10 random lucky customers will get 100% cashback on their purchase.

In case you have forgotten about the specifications of the phone, the Moto X has a 4.7-inch, 1280x720 resolution AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC with dual-core 1.7GHz Krait CPU, quad-core Adreno 320 GPU, a natural language processor and a contextual computing processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage memory (non-expandable), 4G LTE, 10 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera, 2200mAh battery and Android 4.4.2 KitKat.

Oppo Find 7 is official with QHD display and Snapdragon 801 SoC

Just as planned today Oppo made the Find 7 official at a dedicated launch evet. The Oppo Find 7 is the first smartphone to pack a 5.5" QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) display making for the astonishing pixel density of 538ppi.

Oppo has been able to push so many pixels in 5.5" display thanks to a technology it calls Super Screen 2.0. The display is covered by Gorilla Glass 3 for extra protection and can be operated with wet hands.

Under the hood of the beastly Find 7 lies a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC chipset, the same as the Galaxy S5. There's also 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU plus 32GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot.

At the back of the Oppo Find 7 is a 13MP Sony IMX214 CMOS with a F/2.0 lens and LED flash. It is capable of recording 4K video and 720p slow-motion clips at 120fps. There's also an interesting mode called Super Zoom. It takes 10 photos and merges them into a single 50MP image.

  

Oppo's latest flagship is also available with a 5.5" 1080p display. Its internals have been slightly downgraded compared to the QHD display version of the phone.

The "lower-resolution" version of the Find 7 will be powered by a Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AB chipset (with a quad-core Krait CPU clocked at 2.3GHz), 2GB of RAM and will pack 16GB of expandable internal storage.

The QHD Oppo 7 packs a 3000mAh battery, while the fullHD version makes do with a 2800mAh one. Oppo touts a new technology dubbed VOOC, which is capable of charging the battery to 75% in 30 minutes, which is really impressive.

ColorOS 1.2 is what powers the Oppo Find 7. The company announced it has struck a deal with the Bank of China enabling the Find 7 to make NFC-based payments to more than 250 POS-enabled stores.

Oppo has also turned special attention to the audio characteristics of the phone. It packs special MaxxAudio speakers, which are said to deliver great bass. It comes with a special app dubbed MaxxEq, which will allow you to fine tune the sound as you desire. We are yet to see if Oppo's MaxxAudio is comparable to the HTC BoomSound soon enough.

Oppo is pricing the QHD Find 7 at 3,498 CNY, which roughly equals 565 USD, while the fullHD version carries a 2998 CNY price tag, or about 480 USD.

Details of entry-level KitKat Android Samsung G310 surface

Tags: Samsung, Android, Rumors

Android 4.4 KitKat supports fairly low-end devices with as little as 512MB. It wasn’t meant for aging devices though, instead it was to enable affordable new handsets. One of those will be the Samsung G310.

It was certified by the FCC, showrf up on import manifests on Zauba, a NenaMark 2 benchmark and there’s a user agent profile. Stringing the info from all these together, here’s what we get.

The Samsung G310 will have a 4” WVGA screen (480 x 800 pixels). It will run Android 4.4.2 on a Broadcom chipset with two Cortex-A9 cores @ 1.2GHz and a VideoCore IV GPU.

On the connectivity side there’s optional dual-SIM, Wi-Fi b/g/n (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 + LE and NFC. The battery is a 5.7Wh, 3.8V unit meaning 1,500mAh capacity. The device's footprint measures 121 x 62.7mm.

There's no launch date or pricing info yet, not even a spy shot of the device. Still, if the Samsung G310 is already in testing, we probably won't have to wait long.

HTC One gets a software update in Europe, Wi-Fi bug squashed

HTC updated its European HTC One models to Android 4.4.2 KitKat a month ago and the latest version brought all the improvements from Android 4.4.2 along with the latest Sense 5.5 UI. Along with all the goodies, the firmware also came with a fair share of bugs that resulted in some user experience issues.

Now, the company has rolled out a minor software update that fixes all the known bugs from the previous release. The update takes the version to 4.19.401.11 and brings "support for more routers". Previously there were reports of unstable Wi-Fi connection, so we assume what this means is the issue squashes that bug.

If you happen to own a European HTC One, then we suggest you to download the 205MB update and install it immediately to improve the performance of your device. In case you missed the notification, then you can manually check for the update by heading to Settings > About phone > Software updates.

Samsung teases a "new level" announcement for tomorrow

Samsung Russia is teasing a new phone on Twitter - a “device on a new level” that will be unveiled tomorrow. The image shows a portion of the devices back painted in a bright color.

There are five color dots above the date, one of which matches the color of the back. It’s safe to assume those represent the color options for the new device. But what is it?

The Galaxy S5 is already available for pre-order, so what’s this new level Samsung is alluding to? The Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom is one option, another is the Samsung G310. A Samsung official denied the existence of the premium Galaxy F, but that’s not a guarantee.

Note that the teaser is only on Samsung Russia’s account so this will be a regional launch and could be for a device that’s already available elsewhere.

HTC One 2014 to hit stores minutes after premiere

The All New HTC One, a.k.a. HTC One M8, or as we decided to call it - HTC One 2014 - is going to be announced on March 25 at simultaneous events in London and New York. We already know probably everything there is to know about the upcoming flagship, but we are still hoping HTC has managed to keep at least some details under wraps.

Carphone Warehouse has just announced it will receive the first stock of HTC One 2014 units minutes after the official premiere in London, straight from the event's venue. It will be deployed over six stores in London and you will be able to purchase it from there until supplies last.

The selected stores to get the first HTC One 2014 units released on the market are Westfield Stratford, Westfield White City, Oxford Circus, Centrepoint, Tottenham Court Road and Carphone Warehouse at Selfridges. They will all be hosting special events in celebration of the new flagship arrival.

Carphone Warehouse also promises customers will be able to order the HTC One 2014 on the phone the same afternoon the announcement event kicks in - March 25 at 4PM GMT. It will become available for order both online and retail shortly after (probably a few days) the premiere.

Oppo is prepping a 5-inch Oppo N1 mini version

Tags: Oppo, Android, Rumors

Oppo N1 was announced last September and released a month later. Even though its Snapdragon 600 chipset is not the fastest available system-on-chip on the market, the flagship has lots of niceties to offer. There is the swivel 13MP camera, the rear touch-sensitive panel, the O-Click accessory and even the official CyanogenMod release you can opt for.

Now Oppo is reportedly working on a mini version of the 5.9" N1 that will retain the same design. It should be called Oppo N1 mini and will come with a 5" display (not quite your usual mini, then). Other tipped specs include an octa-core processor, which means the N1 mini will probably run on the MediaTek's latest SoC or it could be Samsung's newest Exynos 5 Octa generation.

As the rumor has it, the Oppo N1 mini will be available in LTE and non-LTE versions and will launch in May or June. If this information is true, we guess the official announcement should happen in the upcoming weeks. What we know with more certainty is that Oppo will finally introduce its long rumored Find 7 flagship tomorrow

Save $100 with the Lumia 1520 and 50% on a flip cover

Thinking about picking up a Nokia Lumia 1520? Well the Microsoft Store has a deal for you.

You can get a $100 bill credit and 50% off the phone’s flip cover. There are some stipulations, however.

First off, you need to be a new AT&T customer. You’ll be getting $100 credit towards your bill payments and not off the phablet itself. The 1520 is $99 for a two-year contract agreement, so you will be getting the handset for free, essentially, if you decide to become a dedicated AT&T customer for 24 months.

The 4G LTE capable Lumia 1520 packs a 6” full HD screen, a 20MP pureview camera, 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage, and a quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor.

If you’re looking to pick one of these up, are in the US, and don’t mind shacking up with AT&T

Google said to be working on an 8.9″ Nexus tablet

Google may follow the trend and launch an 8.9″ tablet as its first tablet project for this year, reports Digitimes. The affordable 7″ form factor is dominant at the moment, but makers have been experimenting with various sizes for a while.

This includes Samsung’s 12.2″ tablets, while Asus is reportedly working on a 13.3″ tablet based on an Intel chipset and a dual-boot setup.

Back to the Nexus, earlier rumors talked of a Nexus 8 with an Intel Bay Trail-T chipset, but now it seems plans have shifted to a Nexus 9 with an 8.9″ screen instead. This might mean we won’t be seeing another Nexus 10 soon.

The Google I/O conference is scheduled for June 25, which may be when the search giant unveils the new tablet.

Weekend poll: LG G Pro 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 3

We’re writing an LG G Pro 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 article, but before we are done we decided to get some input from you, our readers. Both phablets pack some of the best technology available on the market, they are very evenly matched.

We have several key categories – design, screen, software and camera – for you to vote on.

Samsung really upped its game with the Galaxy Note 3 and its leather-bound looks, but LG’s minimal bezel design looks quite good too. The LG G Pro 2 also features the unique positioning of the power key and volume rocker on the back.

Despite its slender bezels, the LG G Pro 2 is the bigger device because it has the bigger screen – a 5.9″ True IPS+ LCD with 1080p resolution. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 relies on the company’s Super AMOLED – a 5.7″ 1080p unit.

LG and Samsung have almost reached feature parity with their custom interfaces – Optimus and TouchWiz respectively. Both have split-screen multitasking and floating apps, plus various other enhancements over stock Android. Neither follows the flat design philosophy, though TouchWiz does try. Optimus UI meanwhile is as colorful and detailed as it gets.

Both phablets have 13MP cameras, but which one takes the better photos? Here are two 100% photo crops, one from each device. The LG G Pro 2 has a wider field of view, but other than that seems almost on par with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

Both devices also shoot 2160p video, we have crops for that too. Here both seem almost identical again, though the LG has the advantage of an optical image stabilization. We’ll be trying that out against the digital stabilization of the Samsung in our versus article.

This is an early glimpse of the versus article, but we’d love to hear your opinions on the matter too.

Live images of Oppo Find 7 appear ahead of its unveiling

Oppo's upcoming flagship, the Find 7 is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the tech industry. While the company's teasers have been revealing most of the details, we also have leaks pouring in regularly confirming almost all the aspects of the upcoming Find 7.

We have already seen the official photos of the smartphone and now live images of the Find 7 have surfaced ahead of its unveiling. The leaked images show us the slim bezels, a familiar user interface and the back of the smartphone.

   

Oppo has already confirmed that the device will be up for grabs in two versions - one with FHD display and the other with QHD screen. The higher resolution model is expected to feature a Snapdragon 801 SoC and 3 GB of RAM, while the other version is tipped to ship with Snapdragon 800 silicon and 2 GB of RAM.

Oppo Find 7 will have a removable battery and at least one version of the upcoming flagship is rumored to house a whopping 50MP camera.

The official announcement of the Find 7 will happen 5 days from now. As always, you can rely on us to bring you all the latest updates from the event. So, do remember to check back with us when the time comes.

Samsung launches Galaxy S4 Black Edition in UK, costs £500

Samsung introduced a new variant of its Galaxy S4 smartphone named Black Edition a month ago and the company had said that the device would go on sale in selected markets. One of those regions to offer the gorgeous looking new Galaxy S4 variant is the UK.

Samsung has officially launched the Black Edition of Galaxy S4 in the Britain and the smartphone will be available exclusively from Phones4U for a whopping price tag of £500 (about $830).

The original version of the Galaxy S4 costs £325 (about $540) in the UK and despite the notable improvement in design, the Black Edition is hardly a sensible purchase. Moreover, the upcoming Galaxy S5 flagship is also said to be priced around £500 (about $830) in the UK, which means that you could probably end up buying the latest Galaxy S smartphone for the same amount instead of grabbing a previous generation device.

The faux-leather back is what differentiates the Black Edition from the original version. The new variant also comes with new wallpapers and several new and exclusive ringtones, but that's definitely not something worth paying the extra £175.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom to have a 19MP camera, 4.8" screen

Samsung is going forward with the Zoom line of camera phones – the Galaxy S5 Zoom has arrived at the GFXBench database, revealing several key specs. The device has the model number SM-C115 and has been in testing since earlier this year.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom has a 19MP main camera that can record 1080p video, at least that's what the benchmark managed to detect. There's a front-facing 2MP / 1080p camera too.

The camera / phone hybrid also has a 4.8" 720p screen, probably a Super AMOLED. It's powered by aSamsung Exynos 5 Hexa chipset, the same as in the Galaxy Note 3 Neo. The GFXBench detected a 1.3GHz clockspeed, which should be the four Cortex-A7 cores. The two Cortex-A15s run at 1.7GHz. The chipset also packs 2GB RAM and a Mali-624 GPU.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom ran Android 4.4.2 and by the looks of it, it will have 16GB of built-in storage with a big chunk reserved for the OS and TouchWiz. The device will feature NFC connectivity and, of course, a SIM card slot. We're betting on a microSD card slot too.

Samsung CEO denies a more premium Galaxy S5 in the works

The rumors about an upcoming premium version of the newly announced Galaxy S5 flagship has emerged shortly after the official premiere. The new model was rumored to pack a 4K display and a metal body.

In 2013 we saw similar rumors about an upcoming Galaxy F lineup that was supposed to replace the Galaxy S top models. The Galaxy F was also rumored to ditch the plastic panels in favor of metal. So one thing led to another and the alleged premium Galaxy S5 version began to be referred as the first Galaxy F model.

Well, if you hoped for such an upgrade, Samsung's CEO J.K. Shin says there are no plans of launching a more premium model of the Galaxy S5. The one thing we could expect though is a new Galaxy Note model this fall.

So, if we are to trust J.K. Shin, the Galaxy F/Galaxy S5 premium is indeed just a fans' daydream. After all there is not a single leaked piece of info revealing pictures, specs, or details about such a device.

Nokia X scores 1 million pre-orders in China

Nokia's first Android smartphone, the Nokia X has been the talk of the town ever since its introduction at this year's Mobile World Congress. The Nokia X has already gone on sale in countries like India andMalaysia and the device was available for pre-ordering in China.

Nokia has taken to its Weibo account to reveal that the pre-orders for the Nokia X smartphone in China have already reached 1 million in just about 4 days. The Finnish company isn't making any predictions for the overall sales figure in China, but the firm is confident of capturing a fair share of Chinese market with its latest affordable offering.

Nokia X will begin to ship across the country on March 25, so there are still few weeks to go before we get to know the final pre-order figures.

If you are wondering what the Nokia X is all about, then do check our hands on impressions of the forked Android Nokia device to know more about it.