Manufacturers
Sony shows it is serious about Firefox OS; releases preview ROM for Xperia E
Just a couple of days ago, we heard about Sony’s plans to develop Firefox OS smartphones in partnership with telecom operator Telefonica and now the Japanese manufacturer has come forward to show that it is actually serious about these plans.
Company has released a Firefox OS based experimental ROM for its budget smartphone Xperia E. Available for download, it is meant for advanced users and developers only, as majority of important daily use functions are currently not working.
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Google is worried by Samsung’s dominance: Report
Google is reportedly getting worried by Samsung’s rise in Android smartphone market. The search giant fears that the Korean manufacturer has become so big that it might try to renegotiate their deal, reports Wall Street Journal.
Journal writes that concerns regarding this increased dominance of Samsung are openly discussed in Mountain View. Android boss Andy Rubin has apparently acknowledged this concern at an internal Google event last fall and noted that Samsung could become a threat if it continues to gain more ground.
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Sony, LG & Huawei partner Mozilla for Firefox OS phones
Mozilla came to Mobile World Congress 2013 with a lot of news including information about its new handset partners. Company announced that Huawei and LG are the latest manufacturers to join its initiative and will release Firefox OS based smartphones later this year. We are now also hearing that Sony will another entrant in Firefox OS arena and it has partnered with telecom operator Telefonica to pool resources for a Firefox OS smartphone in 2014.
Sony has been focusing only on Android for the last few years, but hasn’t really seen much of success but it sees a big chunk of smartphone market in emerging countries and wants to tap that using Firefox OS phones.
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Intel announces Clover Trail+ platform with dual-core Atom processors
After teasing the Clover Trail platform at CES, Intel has now officially taken the wraps of this chip platform at MWC 2013. Intel claims that Clover Trail+ will bring industry-leading performance with low-power and long battery life to Android smartphones.
“The platform’s 32nm dual core Intel Atom Processors – Z2580, Z2560, Z2520- are available in speeds up to 2.0 GHz, 1.6 GHz and 1.2GHz, respectively. The processor also features support for Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, supporting four simultaneous application threads and further enhancing the overall efficiency of the Atom cores,” Intel noted in a press release.
The Clover Trail+ processors also include Intel Graphics Media Accelerator engine with a graphics core supporting up to 533MHz.
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, 400 processors detailed
Qualcomm has posted the details pertaining to new SoCs for entry and mid-range smartphones/tablets today. Dubbed as Snapdragon 200 and Snapdragon 400, these processors will be seen in several Android devices later this year.
According to Qualcomm, Snapdragon 200 processors include quad ARM Cortex-A5 CPUs up to 1.4GHz per core, along with Adreno 203 GPU. These SoCs support HD video playback, CDMA multimode/UMTS modem options, dual-sim dual standby and upto 8 megapixels camera.
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NVIDIA unveils Tegra 4i SoC, along with Phoenix reference smartphone
NVIDIA is finally ready with its first SoC with integrated LTE modem – Tegra 4i. Until today, all the NVIDIA processors like Tegra 3, Tegra 2 or even Tegra 4 required separate modems to provide LTE connectivity, which was increasingly becoming a downside for the company in the age of LTE smartphones.
NVIDIA Tegra 4i is based on ARM’s R4 Cortex-A9 architecture with four CPU cores + one power saver core and supports max clock speed of 2.3GHz. It also comes with 60GPU cores and supports display resolution of up to 1920x1200p resolution. It might not a provide power like Tegra 4, which is based on A15 architecture and supports 4K resolution, it has more than enough power for current generation of high-end smartphone and most importantly, it has in-built LTE modem.
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LG teases MWC Android line-up in video
LG isn’t done teasing its Mobile World Congress offerings just yet. Company today released a video, in which it was shown teasing L, G, V and F series smartphones.
We have already seen the announcement for new L-series smartphones, but they will be showcased at MWC for the first time. Next, LG has also announced G Pro, which is what company’s G-series seems to be.
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Samsung planning to build 100 million Galaxy S IV phones: Analyst
Samsung Galaxy S IV mock-up
We already know that Samsung Galaxy S IV is likely to be a huge hit, but what is Samsung expecting from this Galaxy S III successor. Looks like Samsung is way ahead of us. According to Peter Misek from Jefferies & Company, Samsung plans to build 100 million Galaxy S IV smartphones.
“The enormous 100 million S4 build plan (we estimate the S3 sold 60M) is leading some suppliers to say that they will reallocate resources away from Apple,” he wrote in a memo to his clients.
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LG ships 15 million Optimus L-series smartphones
LG has announced today that it has shipped 15 million L-series smartphones since their debut last year. These shipment numbers come just days after company’s officially revealed the L-series II devices, which will be showcased at MWC 2013 and starting selling as soon as this week.
The Korean manufacturer noted in a press release that for the last two months, it has been selling one L-series smartphone every second. LG currently retails six Android smartphones in its L-series including Optimus L3 (single and dual-SIM versions), L5 (single and dual-SIM versions), L7 and L9.
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What is Samsung India launching on Feb 14 – Galaxy Fame or Galaxy S III Mini
Samsung India has scheduled a press event on February 14 in New Delhi. There is no official confirmation on what is Samsung going to launch on the day, but there are a few candidates.
Company’s event invite comes with a tag-line “Now your world is open,” which is cryptic and does not reveal anything, but if the invite image is any indication – we are putting our money on recently announced Galaxy Fame.
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