Rumours

Is Samsung Galaxy S4 imminent?

Once again there are plenty of rumours circulating about the possible (likely) Samsung Galaxy S4. There is no denying the massive popularity of the Galaxy S3, and the S2 before it,  so it only makes sense that Samsung would attempt to keep the momentum going with another iteration of the product family.

So the latest ‘information’ about the S4 is that it will have a 5″ FullHD Super AMOLED Plus screen with a pixel density eclipsing the retina displays from Apple. A Samsung Exynos Processor, that’s 8 cores, 4 Cortex A15 CPU’s and 4 A7’s. So designed to save power when you have light duty tasks but that can then be ramped up when performance is required. There’ll likely be 2GB ram and 32GB and 64GB memory models in the mix.

With the way the rest of the industry is going we can expect the S4 camera to be something like 12 or 13 megapixels simply to keep up with the 13MP offerings from the likes of Sony with the Xperia Z. Although I do wonder when we’ll be able to stop talking about megapixels and concentrate on optics and image quality!

MWC starts next week so I would expect to hear some big announcements from Samsung throughout that event but personally I think that we’ll hear about the S4 during the keynote.

Watch this space!

Posted by: Matt

New Nexus 10 coming?

The Nexus 10 has been a hot-selling product, as far as 10-inch Android tablets are concerned. New rumours suggest, Google wants to increase that success even further by introducing an enhanced version at MWC next month. The current version pushes a 2560×1600 resolution 10-inch display with a dual-core 1.7GHz Cortex A15-based Samsung Exynos 5 chip, and quad-core Mali-T604 GPU. Despite the power of this internal hardware, there are times when the system lags while trying to push graphics to that amazing resolution. Apparently, Google has taken note of this and intends to improve things.
According to the latest Intel, this new version will come with a quad-core or better CPU (unspecified at this time), and will come with an 8-core T628 GPU, designed to speed things along greatly. According to these folks, they were privy to the newest prototype of this "enhanced Nexus 10" device, and they indicated the difference was "night and day." This is something we will definitely be looking out for at MWC this year. We are crossing our fingers on this one, because it is always nice to see things get better!

Posted by: Gareth

Possible new Nexus devices from LG?

The rumour-mill is amping up already this year. The latest "intel" suggests that LG will again build the next Nexus smartphone, the Nexus 5. Supposedly, this new Nexus device will come with some greatly improved specs. Here’s a breakdown:

• 5" Full HD screen
• NVIDIA Tegra 4
• 2 GB of RAM
• 13 MP camera
• 3 MP front-facer
• 8 or 16 GB of storage (price for the 8 GB versions to start at $299 again)

Nexus 10 user manual leaked?

Apparently some pics of the soon-to-be-released Samsung/Google Nexus 10 Tablet manual have just been released. While a manual is hardly as exciting as pics of the actual device, they potentially confirm the existence of the device and seemingly validate all the previous rumours. Of course, it could all be fake, but creating a whole user-manual seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through just to pull off a hoax.

We only have to wait until Monday to find out for sure. Although these pics of the manual don’t confirm this, supposedly the display for this next Nexus tablet device will surpass the quality of the Retina display in the 3rd Gen iPad. Just had to point that out.

Source: NexusTablets.net via CNET

Posted by: Gareth

Russian LG Nexus review appears online

It would appear that Russian site Onliner.by has managed to somehow get a hold of one and has done a full review of what is now known as the LG Nexus 4.

Unfortunately the entire site is in Russia and so with the help of Google Translate, we are able to read most of this review. The review is of a prototype version of the LG Nexus 4 so the reviewer suffered from some initial problems with the device. The device is 134 × 69,2 × 9,2 mm, weighs 139g making it smaller than the Galaxy Nexus. Other remarks include no pogo pins for accessories, there is a multi-colored LED notification, micro SIM slot is on the left side, the back completely smooth and glossy, and the sides of the device are made from a matte black rubberized plastic. Most of this could be speculation from the rumour mill and unconfirmed pictures.

Could this be the iPhone 5?

When it comes to all things iPhone there’s never a shortage of rumours or alleged ‘leaks’ of information but ever since the widespread disappointment that was the iPhone 4S the internet seems to have exploded with iPhone 5 photos and claims from all manor of sources claiming to have the scoop on Apple’s next super phone.

However, a couple of new photos have come along which look to be about the most plausible images we’ve seen so far.

Have a look at these photos (Via Stuff) and they appear to show a larger device with a wider screen whilst retaining all of the existing design queues.

Make your own mind up but time will tell if this really is the new iPhone 5! 🙂

Nexus 10 anyone?

Rumour has it Google may be looking at making new a 10-Inch tablet in the near future. DigiTimes recently reported that Google is already prepping a Nexus 10, a name for namesake, and their partners, Wintek and AU Optronics, will supply the display panels. These panels will supposedly be made of the same OGS (One Glass Solution) material that is in the brand new Nexus 7 tablet. Here’s a quote with some details,

Quote:

Google also reportedly plans to launch a 10-inch tablet with touch panels to come from AU Optronics (AUO) and Wintek, making Wintek the largest touch panel supplier for Google, said the sources.
Wintek has been shipping OGS touch panels to a number of clients, and expects OGS to become mainstream in 2013, said company chairman Hyley Huang, estimating that 26.5 million notebooks are expected to adopt touch panels in 2013.

Although, these are the same manufacturers that are making the display for the brand new Nexus 7 tablet, just about anything quoted from DigiTimes should be taken with a pinch of salt. These reports could simply be hopes and dreams on the part of the manufacturers. 
Of course, if the Nexus 7 is a huge hit, as many market analysts are predicting, then Google may shift gears and try to compete more directly against the iPad. If they can get enough brand-trust built up, they may be able to start taking a large slice of Apple’s tablet market.

Posted by: Gareth

Has HTC’s Windows Phone 8 roadmap been leaked already?

It was only yesterday that HTC confirmed their ongoing support for Windows Phone 8 and it looks like their roadmap of devices may well have been leaked already, according to The Verge. Clearly the below is subject to confirmation and as we have seen in the past names change so these may just be working titles.

Starting at the bottom of the range, there’s "Rio," featuring a 4-inch WVGA display, 14.4Mbps HSPA, and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video capture. There’s only 512MB on board, but the processor isn’t bad – expect a Qualcomm MSM8227, a member of the company’s Snapdragon S4 Plus line. One step up from Rio is the "Accord," which swaps in a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2, an 8-megapixel sensor with 1080p capture, 42Mbps HSPA+, NFC support, and 1GB of RAM atop a slightly beefier dual-core processor (tentatively an MSM8260A, though that may change).

Finally, the big guns: "Zenith" is expected to have a 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2 with the same 8-megapixel sensor as the Accord, 42Mbps HSPA+, and an unnamed quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon (it looks like the Zenith and Accord may share a similar relationship to the One X and One S at retail). All three devices are slated to ship this year, with Rio and Accord coming in October and Zenith launching sometime in the fourth quarter. Clearly, those dates are very loose at this point and subject to slippage depending on a wide variety of factors, many of which are outside HTC’s control – but if we were to get some truly terrific, competitive Windows Phone 8 hardware in 2012, that clearly wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Source: The Verge

Posted by: James

Google Nexus Tablet delayed

Rumour has it the Google Nexus tablet may be delayed until July. According to the reports, the delay is likely caused by some design changes that are meant to bring the cost down from one of the suggested $250 price-points. Apparently, the specs still include the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. Further speculation suggests that we may see this new tablet announced at Google I/O and probably be available as a "free" gift for attendees.

If it turns out to be true that it is delayed to reduce costs and get it to a lower price-point, then that means that it really was originally slated for the $250 pricing. If so, it almost makes you wonder of some of the rumours of a $150 Google Nexus created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Badly kept secrets can sell devices faster.

Posted by: Gareth

Samsung Galaxy SIII image leaked

A friend of a Samsung employee has posted a possible image of the proposed Samsung Galaxy SIII. They have also provided a few details about the phone. Believe it or not, this is still a few rumour. 
It has a 4.7 inch screen that nearly takes up the whole phone, but some bezel space was needed for the camera, speakers, microphone and so cases would fit on it. He said it WILL be HD and have a ceramic “micro arc oxidation” back. The screen is Super Amoled Plus with HD. The camera is a 12 megapixel with flash, 2gb of ram and it is exactly 8 millimetres thick. No bump this time around, just “smooth”. 2250 mAh battery, but no wireless charging.

Looks too good to be true. If it is then there will be a few happy people out there.

Posted by: Gareth