Motorola X not a phone, but a brand to rival the Galaxy lineup

Up until recently, the rumors regarding the Motorola X Phone suggested it was a single device that the Google-acquired smartphone maker was working on. However, the online gossip from a Motorola insider says that Motorola X will be brand, similar to the Samsung Galaxy.

Allegedly, this is going to be the first Motorola lineup on which Google is going to have a direct influence. That's why the first smartphone from the X lineup is set to be announced at this years Google I/O and hit the shelves in June.

More interestingly, the handset will be available for purchase through the Google Play Store in addition to the usual carrier and retail stores. Motorola will reportedly guarantee at least one full Android version update after the phone has been purchased and will take care of the update process itself, and not the carrier.

Take the next rumor with a grain of salt, as it sounds really unlikely. According to the insider Motorola will allow customers to customize their X-branded phone prior to purchasing it. Theyll be able to specify how much RAM and internal storage they like. Motorola is said to guarantee the custom devices to be delivered in a week.

Additionally, users can opt in to have their bootloader unlocked and SIM configured for use on any carrier. The rumor goes as far as to suggest Motorola will allow you to preload custom wallpapers, ringtones, apps and contacts before the device arrives at your doorstep, much like the HTC Get Started program.

Finally, since the device is said to land in the Play Store, its going to be highly subsidized by Google, matching the base Nexus 4s price of $299. Google I/O 2013 starts May 15, so well have to wait and see for ourselves what Google and Motorola have got in store.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 US price revealed, 16GB model to cost $579

At the official Galaxy S4 announcement in New York on Thursday, Samsung Mobile chief JK Shin mentioned the phone will hit store shelves at the end of April, but didn't say anything about the pricing.

Well, the beans have been sort of unintentionally spilled by the companys website in the terms and conditions of an ongoing giveaway. There, each of the 48 Galaxy S4 phones that are up for grabs has been listed with an approximate retail value of $579.

However, the price is most probably before taxes, which are added at the point of sale. Still, the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S4 would be cheaper than the Apple iPhone 5, which currently retails for $649 SIM-free.

The official pricing of the S4 hasnt been confirmed by Samsung yet so don't take it for granted, but $579 isnt too far off what the Galaxy S3 cost last year when it was officially launched so.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 demand 40% higher than Galaxy S III's in UK

The UK retailer Phones4U announced an interesting detail about the consumer interest in the newly unveiled Galaxy S4. Apparently the number of customers who registered their interest in the Samsung latest flagship is 40% higher than the number of those who inquired about the Galaxy S III in the first 48 hours. It seems the retailer has launched its campaign a day before the official announcement as it probably did the last year.

The CCO of Phones4U went on to say "The anticipation surrounding the next Samsung Galaxy has been astounding and it has already received the most pre-registrations at Phones 4U of any other smartphone launch in 2013". He also suggests the Galaxy S4 might turn the "biggest selling smartphone of 2013".

The Galaxy S III did break sales records last year and has already manged to ship 50 million units worldwide. It seems the Galaxy S 4 has the potential to beat those numbers.

Samsung will launch the Galaxy S4 in late April. Meanwhile you can check out first hand impressions of the smartphone right here.

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Nokia announce software updates for Nokia Lumia 920, 820 and 620

Nokia will be releasing a new software update for its Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 smartphones in the coming days. The update is coming with the version number 1232.5957.1308.00xx and comes with stability and performance improvements.

The update also enhances the display stability during a call along with the improved automatic display brightness adjustment.

Nokia Lumia 620 will also be receiving a software update soon (version 1030.6407.1308.00xx). The refreshed operating system will include the improved touch behaviour and the update also enhances the system stability and camera picture quality (including a corrected camera exposure when the flash is used in bright lighting).

Unfortunately, there is no official confirmation on the roll out schedule, but we expect the new software update to start seeding in the coming days.

Thanks Siyolo, for sending this in!

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European LG Optimus L9 gets the Jelly Bean treatment

LG is rolling out the Jelly Bean update for the Optimus L9 throughout Europe. The update is currently available in the Baltics region, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and for the European Open devices.

The LG Optimus L9 mid-ranger was launched back in November last year and already went through our review routine. It features a 4.7-inch qHD IPS display and is based on the TI OMAP 4430 chipset with a dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 processor, PowerVR SGX540 GPU and 1GB of RAM. There is a 5MP snapper with 1080p video recording and 4GB of internal storage expandable via a microSD card slot.

The Jelly Bean update comes less than four months after the phone hit the market, which is probably a first for the manufacturer. It's available via OTA or via the LG Update tool and weighs 575MB. It brings Project Butter UI optimizations and Google Now to the Optimus L9.

In case you haven't been notified on the update just yet, you can check the source link for instruction for manual installation.

It's still unclear if the dual-SIM model will be getting the update as well.

Thanks you, Alfas, for sending this in!

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Samsung Electronics appoints two new CEOs, now has three

Two of Samsung's highest ranked executives - the presidents Boo-keun Yoon and J.K. Shin - have now been announced as co-CEOs of Samsung Electronics.

This move stems from acknowledging the three true pillars of Samsung's business and the need for their respective leaders to stand on equally high level in the corporate ladder.

The three co-CEOs (left to right): Oh-Hyun Kwon J.K. Shin Boo-keun Yoon

So far president Boo-keun Yoon took care of Samsung's TV and appliance business, while president J.K. Shin oversaw the operations in the mobile field. These two will continue to manage their respective fields, but will do so as co-CEOs.

The new appointments recognize the strong performance of President Yoon and President Shin. Under President Yoon, Samsungs TV business maintained and solidified its global leadership position after becoming global No. 1 in 2006. Under President Shin, Samsungs mobile business posted significant growth and attained global No.1 position in smartphones in 2011 and in overall mobile phones in 2012.

They are now ranked equally high as the current CEO and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics - Oh-Hyun Kwon. Besides being a CEO, he is also directly in charge of the Device Solutions. That's the Samsung branch, which takes care of component manufacturing - such as memory, chipsets and LEDs. Kwon was himself appointed CEO only eight months ago.

Of course, the head of Samsung Electronics remains Lee Kun-hee, the company's Chairman. He is the son of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull, and his own son - Lee Jae-yong (a.k.a. Jay Y. Lee), a current vice chairman and COO himself - is dubbed as the heir apparent to the chairmanship.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 set to release in the UK on April 26

The latest Galaxy flagship from Samsung, the S4, is set to hit a wide range of UK carriers. O2, EE, Orange, T-Mobile, Three, Vodafone and Tesco Mobile will be selling the devices, as well as a bunch of online retailers including Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U.

While none have confirmed the price as of yet, the all-important day for future Samsung Galaxy S4 owners will be April 26. Preorders from EE, Orange, and T-Mobile will begin on March 28, and the device should be good to go on EE's LTE network the moment you buy it.

Three also promises 4G connectivity for no extra charge, although you'll have to wait a few months before its LTE network goes live.

For more on the Samsung S4, check out our hands-on from yesterday's launch event.

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