Huawei Ascend Mate 2 4G hands-on

Huawei has just unveiled its new Ascend Mate 2 phablet here at CES 2014, and we've got all the juicy details for you to sink your teeth into.

The Huawei Ascend Mate 2 hands-on shots
The changes are mostly cosmetic with this second generation, as Huawei has managed to squeeze in the same 6.1" 720p screen, 2GB of RAM, and 4050 mAh battery into a package that cuts 2.5mm in height, 1mm in width, and is 0.4mm thinner.

LG Nexus 5 review: Back to the future

Introduction

Nexus phone releases are timed to let Google have the last word - and what a way to have it! A phone that matches any flagship on specs and premieres the latest OS version, but costs barely half as much as some of them. The Nexus 5 promises a great finale to yet another exciting smartphone season and it's not only the droids that stand to attention.
This could have been a deja-vu moment for everybody but the fifth gen Google phone will probably have to work harder than ever. There's already a bunch of Snapdragon-800-powered Android flagships, while Qualcomm's latest is ticking inside Windows Phone-powered devices by Nokia too and Apple has the new 64-bit A7 chipset.
On a second thought, Nexus phones have never been too keen on getting into the skirmish, keeping their distance, aloof and somewhat out of touch, nothing to prove to anyone. The best of Google on your homescreen - that's what it's all about - and at a price that's almost too good to be true.


Nexus 5 official photos

Windows Phones smartphones achieved record sales in Q4

Microsoft has announced that they've seen record sales of Windows Phone handsets during the holiday season. The tech super-giant had this to say:

"We’ve seen record sales of Windows Phone this holiday worldwide, nearly doubling phone sales during Christmas week (YOY). In the third quarter this year, according to IDC, Windows Phone reinforced its position as a top three smartphone operating system and was the fastest-growing platform among the leading operating systems with 156% year-over-year gain. Windows Phone is the #2 smartphone operating system in 14 markets, and shipped more units than iPhone in 24 markets in Q3. Our portfolio continues to expand: from award-winning flagship devices like the Nokia Lumia 928/1020/1520, to affordable new innovations like the Lumia 520/625/1320 and Huawei W1/W2."

Motorola to bring another smartphone to EU next week

Motorola is planning to add a new smartphone to its European family of products. The company has sent out invites for a special event in London, UK on January 14, where it'll launch the new device.

HTC M8 rumored to be called One+

Although it may not bethe most original of names, HTC's newest flagship phone is rumored to be called the One+.
Evleaks released details about HTC's M8 yesterday: namely that it will have a 4.9 inch Full HD display and a Snapdragon 800 processor under the hood. However, popular XDA member, Mike1986, indicates that the M8 is indeed the One+, and has a list of rumored specs that go into greater detail and suggest that the One+ will be a much better spec'd device than previously thought.

Beats sale helps HTC turn to profit in Q4

HTC posted its Q4 report and the numbers are worse than expected with the company’s struggles in the market continuing. The Taiwanese recorded a second successive quarter of operating loss, bleeding $52 million through its core business.
However, the sale of its stake in Beats, helped bring the bottom number in the black. Net profit stood at $10 million, which is better than the $99.9 million lost in the previous quarter, but short of analyst estimates of $24.3 million in profit. The number is also significantly lower than it was in Q4 of 2012 - $34 million.

Galaxy Note 3 Lite UAprof reveals 720p screen

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Lite leaks continue as its alleged launch date approaches – the more affordable phablet is supposedly already being made in the factories and the LTE version will launch in Week 12 this year (that's mid-March).
The User Agent profile for the N750 has leaked giving us some more concrete details about the device. The screen will have 720p resolution (earlier rumors point to 5.5-5.7" LCD) and the phablet will run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

Keep in mind that the rumored model numbers for the Note 3 Lite are N7500 for the 3G version and N7505 for the LTE version. N750 is either a collective name for both (UAprofs don't show things like LTE) or it refers to the 3G version. Either way, the screen specs and OS version should be the same for both devices.
CES starts next week and MWC a month after that and there's always the possibility of a dedicated Unpacked event from Samsung to officially unveil the Galaxy Note 3 Lite.
Source | Via

Samsung launches Galaxy Note 3 Rose Gold edition in Korea

Samsung recently unveiled two new colors of its Galaxy Note 3 flagship. This brings the total number of available color options for the phablet to five - Black, White, Pink, Red and Rose Gold.



The Merlot Red edition of the Galaxy Note 3 went on sale in South Korea a while ago and now, the global market leader has introduced the Rose Gold variant in its home country. The new hue will go on sale next week and Samsung is throwing in a car charger and a back cover for its early adopters.
Samsung' new color variants of the Galaxy Note 3 will be available globally, but there is no official word on when exactly.
Via

Apple strikes a deal to offer the iPhone on China Mobile

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Apple has struck a deal with China Mobile to officially sell the iPhone on the carrier. The deal is said to have the Apple iPhone devices available on the carrier’s shelves later this month – around December 18.

Pantech Vega Secret Up goes official

Pantech has unveiled the Vega Secret Up - a high-end phablet with a 5.6" 1080p display and Snapdragon 800 chipset under the hood. As usual, you'll get four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.3GHz, Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM.

The rest of the specs include a 13MP rear camera, 16GB internal storage and a 3,150mAh battery. The Android version in charge of operations is 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

There are some interesting features make the Pantech Vega Secret Up special though. First you get native FLAC support plus Qualcomm DRE audio technology for even richer dynamic range.

Another cool bit is the fingerprint scanner for improved security.

Finally, Pantech says the display is privacy protected, meaning nobody but the user will be able to see what's happening on the screen. It will be interesting to see how exactly Pantech implemented this.

Pantech will be selling a special flip case that will amplify the phone's sound and will be vibrating with different sounds and volumes. Pantech claims the case amplifier effect will be the same as the one in a concert hall.

Pantech Vega Secret Up will be available in black and white colors and it will go on sale in Korea this month. There is no word on pricing or international availability just yet.

Source | Via

Samsung announces Galaxy Win Pro mid-ranger

Having gone unannounced until now, the Samsung Galaxy Win Pro has popped up on the Korean manufacturer's China web portal today.

   

Android 4.3 firmware for Galaxy S4 now available for download

A leaked road map revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be getting the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean upgrade this month and now, a test firmware for the fourth-generation Galaxy S smartphone has been leaked.

LG G Flex curved smartphone press images leak out

LG’s upcoming curved smartphone has emerged in a trio of leaked press photos. Going by the name LG G Flex, the device will reportedly go official at some point next month.

Samsung Galaxy S III running Android 4.3 pictured

The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean firmware for the Galaxy S4 is now available for downloading and the official roll out might just be around the corner. Now, that the latest upgrades for the flagship smartphone is out of the way, Galaxy S III is the obvious choice for next Samsung device to get the Android 4.3 treatment.

It looks like Samsung has already started testing out the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean firmware for its Galaxy S III smartphone. This was confirmed by a couple of leaked images, showing the handset running on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS.

HTC One Max with 5.9" 1080p display, Snapdragon 600 unveiled

HTC has just announced One Max phablet. It packs a 5.9" 1080p IPS display and is powered by the Snapdragon 600 chipset with a 1.7GHz quad-core Krait 300 processor, Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM.

   
HTC One Max official images

Just like the original One, HTC One Max features a 4MP UltraPixel camera on its back capable of 1080p@30fps and 720p@60fps video capturing, but there is no optical image stabilization this time.

The HTC One Max comes with the iconic aluminum shell that premiered with the original One. This time around its back panel is removable and there's a microSD card slot for expanding the 16GB of built-in storage lying underneath.

The battery is still not user-replaceable. However, its ample 3,300 mAh capacity is said to be enough for up 28 hours of talk time or 585 hours of stand-by so you are unlikely to worry about that too much.

HTC One Max also comes with a fingerprint sensor on its back. You can unlock the device by just swiping your finger on the small square sensor below the camera. HTC has also enabled quick app launch, which means that you can make the One Max automatically start an app of your choice depending on the finger you use for unlocking it.

HTC One Max runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense 5.5 UI on top. There is no Beats Audio support but the stereo BoomSound speakers are on board, bigger and louder than ever.

HTC One Max is going to hit the European and Asian markets by the end of this week, with the US (where Spring and Verizon will be carrying the One Max) following before the end of the year. The exact pricing is yet to be revealed, though.

HTC is prepping a special lineup of accessories for the One Max including a capacitive aluminum stylus, a Power Flip Case that brings an additional 1,200 mAh of battery juice, HTC Fetch accessory for easy location of the device and the recently announced BoomBass speaker.

  
HTC One Max accessories - Power Flip Case, capacitive stylus, BoomBass speaker, Fetch

Here go a few live photos of the HTC One Max that we captured for you. You can find even more of those in our blog, along with the One Max official promo video. And stay tuned for our in-depth review, which is coming shortly.

   
HTC One Max live photos

Smartphone market in South Korea expected to decline

Strategy Analytics has released a report stating that the South Korean smartphone market is expected to mark a decline in 2013.

The reason behind the negative market growth, according to the agency is the smartphone saturation. More specifically, the market is expected to contract by 14 percent compared to 2012. Due to the smartphone market decline, around 26.3 million units will be sold in 2013 compared to 30.7 million last year.

While it's unclear what sales data was used by the report, it does make sense that once smartphones reach a certain level of penetration, their rapid sales growth would stop. And South Korea has been at the forefront of the smartphone wave for several years now, so it was bound to hit the invisible ceiling sooner than the other markets.

Local manufacturers Samsung and LG have expressed their plans to sell approximately 10 million units of their Note 3 and G2 smartphones, respectively, by the end of the year. We'll be yet to see if the under performing smartphone market in their homeland will affect their plans.

Source

WP GDR3 goes official with 1080p, Snapdragon 800 support

Microsoft has finally announced the much anticipated GDR3 update for its Windows Phone smartphone 8 platform. Its rollout will begin over the coming weeks but will take "several months" to complete. We're yet to find out specifics about device update eligibility but we're guessing Nokia's higher-end Lumia range and HTC's 8X and 8S seem certain.

We saw quite a few leaks prior to the official announcement and it seems sources were mostly correct.

GDR3 brings support for larger displays (5 and 6-inch) with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The quad-core Snapdragon 800 is also now given the green light for debuting on Windows Phone.

HTC One Max to be exclusive to Vodafone in the UK

HTC officially announced its first phablet, the One Max today. The Taiwanese manufacturer did not reveal much about the availability and the pricing details of the phablet, but they are no longer a mystery.

Vodafone will be getting exclusive access to the HTC One Max in the UK, where the phablet will be up for grabs later this week. The carrier offers the One Max with a 24-month Vodafone Red 4G-ready plan, charging you £49 upfront and £47 per month.

Blue HTC One now hits the UK, blue One mini to follow soon

HTC put out beautiful blue versions of the One and One mini but they are exclusive to certain retailers. In the UK that retailer is Carphone Warehouse, who just put up the blue HTC One on sale while the One mini will come later this month.

Nexus 5 leaves nothing to imagination in a hands-on video

After letting us catch a glimpse of Android 4.4 KitKat and some of its new features a couple of days back, Google Nexus 5 made another unofficial appearance. This time around the upcoming LG-made smartphone left nothing to imagination by starring in an extensive, seven-minute long hands-on video.