Unknows Motorola Device Leaked, Possibly the new "X-Phone"

The X-Phone is supposed to be Google's cream of the crop, going for no compromises, and going all out on upgrades and customization. From multiple colors, build materials, and storage, this is the one device are many looking forward to. With Google I/O only a few weeks away, leaks of a new Motorola device have now been pictured.

Now this device has been encased in a shell to protect the actual look of the device, but still bears a resemblance to the Nexus 4 thanks to its slight wide corners, you can definitely tell there was some Google influence here. While there are references to AT&T such as "AT&T" written in the notification tray, and with AT&T written on the back it could signal that Google is going to move to more carriers other than T-Mobile to expand their reach.

While the device is still in its shell, it's suspiciously labeled "XFON" (see image below) which could hint that this could be the AT&T variant of the X-Phone that many have been looking for. While no confirmations can be made, all we can do is wait until Google I/O on the 15th to get the full story.

Source: Android Central

AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4 Bootloader Unlocked

Many AT&T Galaxy S4 owners were very disappointed that their flagship phone was riddled with the issue of a locked bootloader, meaning any desires of flashing a custom ROM were destroyed. Though root access was gained on all the S4 variants on the U.S carriers, it still meant you were limited to Samsung's own flavor of Android. 

Luckily this has changed thanks to Dan Rosenberg  who had tweeted an image earlier today showing an unlocked bootloader running on the AT&T S4. Dan had also confirmed that it has allowed him flash custom recoveries and kernels (and of course, ROMs). He's also certain that his method should work for Verizon's variant of the S4 as well. Though he hasn't released any unlocking software yet, in fear that the carriers may plug up the hole before launch. This should pave the way for ROM development and bring even more features to the S4. 

Source: XDA

Snapdargon 800 to go in to Mass Production in May

Qualcomm is back at it again, announcing that their successor to the Snapdragon 600 will go in to mass production in May. Other than the higher number SKU, the Snapdragon 800 features a boatload of newer features compared to the 600.

First off it runs at a ridiculous clock speed of 2.3Ghz, but it compensates for the huge power drain by running the speed of each core at a different speed and sometimes shutting a few cores completely down, the CPU is able to keep the horsepower, without sacrificing battery life. The higher clock speed is also enhanced through the new Krait 400 architecture. It also ships with an upgraded GPU. It now comes with a Adreno 330 which supports 4K video playback, but at the time 4K hasn't taken off so you won't be needing it anytime soon.

While no device has been announced running the new SoC, it seems pretty likely that HTC will have a mid-year refresh like they had with the One X and One X+, and as always Samsung will be waiting with another Galaxy.

Source: Techno Buffalo

Samsung UNPACKED 2013 Full Summary

Didn't watch the UNPACKED event? No worries we've got you covered. This article will summarize everything that happened during the conference and some of the key items about the S4.

The show started off following "Jeremy Maxwell's" story, and with JK Shin taking the reins for the announcement. Of course he goes on with the usual innovation speech, and how the new S4 changes lives. And this time it wasn't all just gimmicks. Samsung has been trying really hard now to change their image of a copy cat to an image of an innovator. Something Apple has had for a long time.

The S4

So lets get to the main attraction of the show, the S4 came with all the usual spec bumps you would expect, yet squeezing it all in to 7.9mm frame, only .3mm away from the iPhone 5. This is something that Samsung is sure to be proud of. But let's not get carried away, the S4 is dominated by a 5" 1080p AMOLED display. Remember this isn't an AMOLED Plus panel meaning that the screen still uses the PenTile matrix. But at 441 ppi it shouldn't be an issue.

Connectivity

On the connectivity side, this phone is loaded, with WiFi in the a, b, g, n, and ac flavors, and Bluetooth of the 4.0 variety, this is certainly an updated handset. This phone also has support for 3G and a handful of 4G bands and is expected to roll out on to 327 mobile operators world wide. An IR blaster is also integrated into the device. And the occasional MHL 2.0 in the Micro USB.

Performance

Though the CPU was never officially announced, the International variant is expected to have an Exynos 5440 with eight cores, four A15 cores and four A7 cores. While the U.S. variant is expected to have a Snapdragon 600. This time both variants will ship with 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The S4 comes with either 16/32/64GB included all of which are expandable with the help of a MicroSD slot. The optics on this polycarbonate slate feature a rear facing 13MP camera and a 2MP front facing. The battery has been bumped up to a 2,600 mAh capacity, which is only 500 mAh away from the Note 2. The S4 comes loaded with all the usual sensors, yet it also has some odd ones as well, featuring a temperature and humidity sensor.

Colors and Accessories 

The phone only comes in two colors right now; Black Mist and White Frost. It will also launch with a variety of accessories, including a pouch, flip cover, protective case, and S View Cover. The S View Cover has an integrated transparent cut out, the cut out is used to show notifications and other information when the cover is on.

Software

Samsung has put a lot of effort in to their software trying to make TouchWiz helpful instead of a nuisance. Below is a list of software features highlighted in the announcement.

1. Smart Scroll - Tracks your eye so you can scroll without touching the display
2. Air View - Allows you to hover your finger over the display to open up previews 
3. Sound and Shot - Essentially attaches a audio clip to an image
4. S Translator - Spoken and written translation in nine languages
5. Group Play - A feature from the Nexus Q taken further, allows you to create a group playlist and let certain people gain access to certain speakers
6. Samsung Knox - Splits your phone in to two partitions, one for work and one for personal use
7. Dual Camera - Takes videos and pictures using both cameras and inserting both streams into one video or picture
8. Drama Shot - Takes 100 pictures in four seconds and stitches them together
9. Eraser - Speeds up the camera's shutter and allows you to remover subjects from the background
10. Dual Video Call - Streams a feed from both cameras to a person in a video call
11. Air Gesture - Allows you to use the phone without touching the display

Wrap - Up

Obviously Samsung is trying hard now to wriggle in to Apple's market share. The S3 gained iPhone owners' interest and now the S4 is supposed to gain their attention and hopefully their two-year contracts. But Samsung is creating an ecosystem of their own. By branding everything with a "S" it's reminiscent of branding that Apple does. Instead of a "S" there's an "i", this may cause a problem for Google, since Samsung already holds a large amount of influence on Android, they essentially control most of Google's paying market share. If Samsung decides to create their own app store and media marketplace like Amazon has now, it may spell trouble for Google. But for now the S4 seems to show that Samsung will keep on innovating and hopefully convert some iPhone users to Android.

Google X-Phone ready for this spring

Last year, rumors began about a X-Phone – a device to be produced by Google and its Motorola division. Unlike the Nexus phones, which ran Android software, but were manufactured by other companies, the X-Phone would be entirely Google. In December, the Wall Street Journal said the device was "a marquee handset with cutting-edge features." Another way to put that is that it was something for Samsung and Apple to watch out for. A few weeks later, a new report on the X-Phone emerged, and said the device is ready for a May 2013 launch. According to a forum thread spotted by Droid Life, the X-Phone will be at the Google I/O conference in the spring, and unveiled in July.

Google has 12 to 18 months of existing devices from Motorola, but once those months are up, they can do as they please.

Google CEO Larry Page framed a few features he'd like to see on the next Google phones – "Battery life is a huge issue," said Page, according to The Verge. "You shouldn't have to worry about constantly recharging your phone. When you drop your phone, it shouldn't go splat. Everything should be a ton faster and easier. There’s real potential to invent new and better experiences."

Google has not yet acknowledged the existence of an X-Phone. 

Source: CSMonitor

Temple Run 2 available for iOS, coming to Android within week

Temple Run 2 has just made its way on to the iOS App Store, but it doesn't look like Android users will have to wait as long as they did for its predecessor. In an interview with Imangi co-founder Keith Shepherd says the game is almost done and expects it to come to the Play Store next week, but he also says "with these things, you never know." Android users should be very thankful though, however; Microsoft promised that the original Temple Run would come to Windows Phone at an event way back on October 29th, but unfortunately that release never happened. 

Source: Droid-Life

Kite Tablet runs both Android 4.0 and Ubuntu 12.04

DaVinci Mobile Technology is now accepting pre-orders for its Full-HD Kite tablet. This European slab features a gorgeous 10.1-inch 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, a Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core processor, 32GB of internal storage, a VGA front-facing camera and a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera. While having some decent specs, the main selling-point for this device is that it dual-boots Ubuntu 12.04 for ARM and Android 4.0. Us Americans will never know if it will hit U.S. soil, but our European friends can get their hands on one of these for €309 (about $413 USD).