Nokia Asha 305 review: Smarter 2gether

Introduction

The Nokia Asha 305 is easily one of the cheapest phones with two SIMs and a touchscreen, the closest Android being almost twice as expensive. Price may be the biggest advantage this phone has over the competition but you'd better be prepared for more than a few surprises.

Nokia Asha 305 official photos

With the new Asha touch interface, an updated browser and access to the Nokia store, the Asha 305 promises a near smartphone-like experience. And that's on top of the dual-SIM capabilities, including a hot-swappable SIM slot and a dedicated SIM management app that lets you configure how calling, texting and data are juggled between cards.

Key features

• Dual-band GSM, GPRS, EDGE
• Dual SIM dual stand-by, SIM hot-swap
• S40-based Asha touch interface
• 3" WQVGA resistive touchscreen, ~155 pixel density
• Multi-touch in the gallery and Nokia Maps
• Display auto-rotation
• Nokia Browser 2.0
• Nokia store and 40 EA games for free
• 2 MP camera
• microSD card support (up to 32 GB)
• Complimentary 2 GB microSD card in the box
• Bluetooth v2.1 (with A2DP)
• Standard microUSB port, charging
• 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Excellent loudspeaker performance

Main disadvantages

• Interface slows down at times, due to low RAM
• Poor screen quality
• Resistive touchscreen feels awkward
• Fixed-focus camera
• QCIF video recording
• No smart dialing

A package like the Asha 305 is built on the not so solid ground of compromise. You get a low-resolution resistive screen and the still camera and camcorder are of the lowest quality. Yet, even the resistive screen can do a multi-touch trick: the so-called multipoint touch enables pinch zooming in the gallery.

The actual touchscreen experience is on a level unseen before in S40 - soft keys are almost completely out of the equation. Of course you'll have to bear with occasional lags and poor response on the resistive unit. On the other hand, the pull-down notifications and quick settings, along with the advanced side-scrollable homescreen make this feel a lot more convenient and user-friendly.

Even little things like screen auto-rotation and a landscape QWERTY keyboard make a lot of difference compared to last time we saw a full-touch S40 on the Nokia C2-03.

The Nokia Asha 305 at HQ

There will be more on the interface coming up, but not before we've had a proper look at the hardware. We start with unboxing on the next page.

Sony LT30i 'Mint' to be called Xperia T, certification reveals

The Sony Xperia LT30i Mint is yet to become official, but it has been a frequent visitor to our news section, it even got a lengthy preview. While it wore its unofficial guise in those appearances, it went in for DLNA certification under its official name.

DLNA's web site list the phone as Sony Xperia T - making it a member of the single letter Xperia club. Just a quick reminder, the phone has a 4.3" 720p screen, 1.5GHz dual-core Krait processor and a 13MP camera.

We tried to figure out if there's any pattern behind the letters, but gave up pretty quickly - T comes after S (as it should, being the newer model), but then comes U and that is a lower-end device than either of those two. Things get even more confusing when you consider the upcoming Xperia SL, which has two letters.

Anyway, the DLNA certification doesnt give us much other than the name - DLNA capabilities are common among Android phones, Xperias included.

So, we'll probably just have to wait until August 29, when Sony is holding an event just before IFA starts. The Sony LT30i Xperia T is one of the likely candidates to be announced at that event, along with a few others.

Source (PDF)

IFA 2012 schedule is out, see what you can expect and when

Berlin's IFA 2012 is right around the corner and this year it is going to take place from August 31 to September 5. But those are the days when the exhibition will be opened for the public. The really interesting part are the few days before that when most manufacturers will hold press-only events and the Berlin's Messe grounds will be opened only to those with press passes.

Here's the schedule for those pre-IFA press days. Let's take a look at which companies will be there and when they'll have their press conferences and product announcements.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

• 03:00pm - 04:00pm: Panasonic is expected to unveil a new Android smartphone at this years' IFA. The smartphone will be walking in the footsteps of the Eluga and the Eluga Power, which were announced at this year's MWC back in February. Perhaps, we'll see some other AV product announcements, as well, including a new mirrorless camera.
• 04:00pm - 05:00pm: Sony plans to unveil the Xperia S refresh - the recently caught in the wild Sony Xperia SL (LT26ii), the Xperia LT29i Hayabusa and finally, the LT30i 'Mint', which as as we recently learned , will go by the name of Xperia T. This will be one of the most interesting IFA's press conferences, for sure.
• 07:00pm - 08:00pm: Samsung already has a lot of people excited about its upcoming Galaxy Note 2 announcement. The 5.5-inch phoneblet is one of the most anticipated Android devices to come out in the second half of the year.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

• 11:00am - 12:00pm: Samsung is holding a second press conference the day after its dedicated Unpacked event. This one, we presume, is going to show off products from the company's home appliances divisions.
• 01:00pm - 02:30pm: Lenovo will be quite busy too, come the end of the month. Starting off with the IdeaTab A2105 phoneblet, the company is also expected to showcase two new tablets - the 7-inch IdeaTab A2107 and the 9-inch IdeaTab A2109.
• 03:00pm - 05:00pm: LG has been really quiet about its upcoming IFA 2012 press conference. The company already launched its flagship Android smartphone, the 4X HD. However, they are likely to use the exhibition to showcase all of its 2012 smartphones, rather than unveil new ones. We'll surely see new stuff in the TV/home appliance department.

That's what's ahead for us all at this year's IFA edition. We'll be there to cover it live for you.

You can check out the full schedule in the source link below. Keep in mind the quoted times are in Berlin's CET time zone (which is GMT+2 in the summer).

Which press conference are you looking forward the most?

Source

LG Optimus L3 Dual now available for €120

Indian online retailer flipkart.com has put up for sale the LG Optimus L3 E405 for 8299 INR, or 120.

The L3 features a 3MP camera, 800 MHz processor, 384MB of RAM, and 1 GB of internal memory all running on a 1500 mAh battery. The OS will be Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and we doubt it will be getting an ICS update.

The dual-SIM variant of the L3 is virtually identical to its single-SIM predecessor, with the only exception being the hardware home button is replaced by four capacitive keys instead. In addition to the three standard Android ones, the fourth one toggles the active SIM.

The LG Optimus L3 Dual is expected to rival Samsung's budget Android forays into the dual-SIM market, namely the Galaxy Y Duos and Galaxy Ace Duos.

Source | Via

HTC posts Q2 report, revenue bounces back up from weak Q1

The numbers of Q2 are in and it seems HTC have bounced back from a weak first quarter, though the numbers are still down compared to last year. The company is pleased with its performance in Asia, North America and EMEA.

Revenues totaled $3 billion, down 26.8% from last year's $4.1 billion but up from Q1 of this year. Operating profit went up quarter on quarter to $273 million, but that's a 57.4% drop compared to Q2 2011. The operating margin was 9%.

During Q2, HTC launched the Desire V for the tree largest carriers in China and thinks it can become a major player on the Chinese market. Yesterday's report from Canalys points to a 389% growth in shipments in China for HTC year over year. Sales for Asia met HTC's expectations thanks to the One series.

In North America, HTC launched the EVO 4G LTE and DROID Incredible 4G LTE and hired Mike Woodward, former AT&T Vice President of Consumer Wireless Devices, who will be responsible for companys sales, marketing and operations for the US and Canada markets. HTC's products are reportedly well received by carriers and the company underlined they will focus on consumer preference.

Anyway, looking towards the future, HTC predicts revenue of between $2.3 billion and $2.7 billion in Q3 and an operating margin of 7%.

If you're interested in more numbers on HTC financial quarter, check out their report over here (PDF).

Source (PDF)

US Galaxy Note 10.1 shipping to retailers ahead of announcement?

The US Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is expected to be announced at the Samsung US event on August 15 but US retailers are already receiving units. The model number of the recent stock is the same as the European variety so perhaps what we're witnessing is the first wave of availability of the international Galaxy Note 10.1, and not the US spec device.

US retailer CT-Miami sent us some unboxing pictures of the Note 10.1 they have. The specs include a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution display, 6.5mm S Pen stylus, quad-core 1.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB built-in memory, 5 megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, 3G+GPS, a 7000mAh battery and an IR LED to use the tablet as a remote control.

What's more interesting is that these specs and the model number printed on the box indicate that this is the European model, which makes us curious as to why the American retailers are getting it. There is no LTE support and the HSPA bands will only work with AT&T's HSPA network.

Meanwhile, another US retailer - Negri Electronics - tweeted earlier today a similary photo of an unboxed picture of the Galaxy Note 10.1 and mentioned that it ships 8/3, although it's not clear to whom the device is shipping on that day.

The New Samsung Note 10.1 in the flesh! Ships 8/3 #BeforeFirst twitter.com/NegriElectroni

Negri Electronics(@NegriElectronic) August 2, 2012

It's either that the retailers are getting their stock before the alleged launch event on August 15 or as we already said, those are the first available international Galaxy Note 10.1 units (officially, it's still has a Coming Soon status). So far however, we haven't found retailers on our side of the ocean that have the tablet.

Samsung never confirmed that their August event in the US is dedicated on the Galaxy Note 10.1, but if it is, we guess they will show a proper US spec model that even has LTE support.

Source

Early screenshots of Firefox OS revealed

• definately not

sorry to burst you're bubble, but you couldn't be MORE wrong. Look at maemo, meego, microsoft, tizen, bada, symbian... they all have icons and quick launch/short cuts, but none of them look the same. This is so identical to android and iOS that peopl...

• Reply
• 2012-08-02 14:46
• Mfxa

Motorola announces Electrify 2 and Defy XT for U.S. Cellular

Motorola has announce two new Android smartphones - the Electrify 2 and the Defy XT - for the U.S. Cellular in the, well, US.

The Electrify is the successor to last year's Electrify, also known as the Photon 4G, but it is closer to the current Atrix HD. The two look a lot similar but the Electrify 2 cuts down on certain things. For example, it has a 4.3-inch qHD display compared to the 4.5-inch HD display on the Atrix HD. It also get a slower 1.2GHz dual-core processor (no specific ship mentioned but it's probably the OMAP 4430 from the RAZR).

Other features include an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, 1GB RAM, 8GB built-in memory, 8.4mm thickness, Keblar back, splash resistant body, Android 4.0 and 1,780mAh battery.

The Motorola Electrify 2 is now on sale for $199 with a $100 mail-in rebate. At that price you'd have to wonder why you would buy a phone that has less features than the Atrix HD instead of the Atrix HD itself, which sells for the same price on AT&T.

Moving on to the Defy XT, this one gets a 3.7-inch high resolution display, 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, FWVGA (854 x 480) video recording, 512MB RAM, 1GB ROM and the same rugged body that the Defy series is known for. Unfortunately, this phone will be launching with Android 2.3, Gingerbread, which is simply unacceptable today.

The Motorola Defy XT will go on sale tomorrow, although no price information is available at the moment.

Source

Samsung starts 64GB NAND memory mass production for mobiles

The more internal memory mobile devices have, the better. But speed is just as important as capacity and Samsung are betting on both with its latest NAND memory chips.

Currently entering in mass production, the new high-speed embedded memory (eMMC) flash chips will be offered in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties. They'll be manufactured under the eMMC Pro Class 1500 specification, which boasts some... well, ballistic speeds.

Those flash chips are rated for speeds of 140MB/s read transfer and 50MB/s write transfer, which has never been achieved before. They are result of an engineering mix of a 64-gigabit NAND with a toggle DDR2.0 interface, all built using the 20nm manufacturing process. These chips are also the first of their kind to support the JEDEC e-MMC v4.5 specification.

Naturally, it'll be put into future premium smartphones and tablets. If we had to guess, we'd say the company's Galaxy Note 2 may be the first device to rock the new storage chip, but only time will tell.

Source | Via

HTC EVO 3D for Sprint gets treated to an ICS update

HTC's ageing EVO 3D for Sprint Wireless just got treated to the long-awaited update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The major OS upgrade is available as an over-the-air download.

Unsurprisingly, the ICS update for the EVO 3D for Sprint does not include the HTC Sense 4.0 UI. Due to the older hardware of the device, its users will have to make do with Sense 3.6 on top of all the Android ICS functionality.

Update: It looks like the HTC EVO Design 4G is also receiving the update.

The update should bring about numerous performance and stability improvements, as well as Face unlock, homescreen folders, and better browser and camera interfaces.

If you haven't get a notification for the update already, simply head into settings and check for updates from there. As usual, it's recommended to enable WiFi for over-the-air updates.

Source | Update: Source

Sony Xperia go review: Get out, get wet

Introduction

The Sony Xperia go is not a phone to keep on a short leash. Not your kind of phone either if you'd say no to a dip in the pool because you are expecting an important call. The Sony Xperia go lets you join the fun. The midrange package that Sony just brought to the market aims to offer plenty of bang for your buck - and a bang of a time.

The Sony Xperia go official pictures

The Xperia go is a smartphone that you don't need to constantly look after. The little rugged droid will have you covered in situations very few other phones will put up with, let alone survive. Drop it or sink it, the Xperia go will take it without a flinch. And there's more where that came from. Here's the short version of what the Xperia go is all about.

Key features

• IP67 certified for dust and water resistance, wet-finger tracking
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 3.5" 16M-color LED-backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen of HVGA resolution (320 x 480 pixels) at around 165 ppi
• Bravia Mobile engine
• Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread
• Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400 GPU, NovaThor U8500 chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera, single LED flashlight, geotagging, image stabilization, smile detection, touch focus
• 720p video @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot functionality and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, Wisepilot navigation
• microSD slot (32GB supported, 2GB card included)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor, notification LED
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• TrackID music recognition
• Relevant package of apps
• MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Adobe Flash support

Main disadvantages

• No ICS out of the box
• Screen resolution a bit low by today's standards
• No arm case and wrist strap in the bundle (ala the Sony Ericsson Xperia active)- available in the Xperia go "Sports Edition"
• No hardware camera shutter key
• No secondary camera, no video calls
• Loudspeaker has below average performance
• No DivX/XviD video support, 1080p video playback is a no go, too
• No ANT+ support for connection to sports peripherals (unlike the Xperia active)

Now, who said you can only have two out of the three if you're after compact size, rugged build and performance under the same roof. The Sony Xperia go has the brains to go with the toughness and is still compact enough to carry around and slip into any pocket.

To make it even better, Sony has addressed two of the main issues we had with the predecessor - the Xperia active. There's now a capable dual-core chipset under the hood and the screen has grown to the far more usable 3.5". We could have probably used some extra pixels, but the Xperia go sounds like a package that's hard to beat as it is.

The Sony Xperia go at HQ

All we need to do now is make sure its real-life performance can cash the checks written by the spec sheet. The unboxing and hardware overview follow right after the break.

Sony is yet to decide which 2011 Xperia phones will get Jelly Bean

When a Sony spokesman let it slip that the company wouldn't update its 2011 Xperia Android smartphones to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, users got upset. Big time!

But now it's time to turn that frown upside down, for Sony has released an official statement that this information was given "in error". The company says it's still researching which of the devices will actually get to receive the tasty Jell Bean update.

We are actively investigating Android OS upgrades for all devices, but in the meantime, our Ice Cream Sandwich rollout for Xperia S and 2011 Xperia smartphones continues as planned.

This is great news for owners of 2011 Xperia devices like the Xperia Arc and Xperia Mini Pro. All there's left to do now is wait and believe in Sony, though at that rate, we wouldn't expect ay update earlier than the holiday season.

Source | Via

Sony Xperia LT29i Hayabusa previewed before launch

The Sony Xperia LT29i Hayabusa (the international version of the Xperia GX) has teased the rumor mill with a few spy shots of the device and a couple of camera samples, but now someone at ePrice got their hands on an engineering sample and did an extensive preview of the phone, complete with 13MP camera samples. It's a bit odd, but the prototype bears the "Sony Ericsson" logo.

Anyway, the Hayabusa is 8.6mm thick - a hair thinner than the Xperia arc - and features a similar curved back. The weight is reported at 127g. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 with a dual-core Krait processor, which will run at 1.5GHz at launch (the engineering sample is underclocked to 918MHz), 1GB of RAM and Adreno 225 GPU.

Sony Xperia LT29i Hayabusa takes design cues from its Xperia arc granddaddy

The screen is a 4.6" LCD with 720p resolution and there are no physical keys on the front. Here it's shown next to that of the HTC One X and exhibits color shifting when viewed at an angle (this is typical of Xperia phones).

Screen comparison: Xperia Hayabusa vs. One X

The XPERIA logo below the screen is illuminated and even pulses in rhythm when there' music.

The XPERIA logo is illuminated

The Sony Xperia LT29i Hayabusa runs a customized version of Android 4.0.4. Check out the video below, which shows the task switcher that also launches floating widgets (similar to the mini apps in Samsung's tablets). The task switcher is at 1:30, but the rest is pretty interesting too.

The star of the show is at the back - a 13MP camera with LED flash that can record FullHD video. The camera samples look really good, though there's no decent video sample (only one shot in the dark and heavily compressed by the video sharing service).

Sony Xperia LT29i Hayabusa camera samples

Also on the back is a noise cancelling microphone and an NFC antenna. Below the back cover is a 1700mAh battery plus SIM and microSD card slots. Unlike some Xperia devices of late, the battery is removable, which is a relief.

The SIM and microSD card slots the NFC antenna is on the back cover

We don't know for certain when the Sony Xperia LT29i Hayabusa will launch - the Xperia GX (that's the Japanese version of the phone) will launch on August 9 according to rumors, but the Hayabusa may come out as late as October.

Source (in Chinese) | Via

AT&T launches Pantech Renue QWERTY phone for $69.99

AT&T has released a new budget phone from Pantech called the Renue. This feature phone runs on Qualcomm's BREW platform and has basic features such as 3.2-inch QVGA toucscreen display and a 3 megapixel rear camera.

The Renue also has a built-in QWERTY keypad, which should make typing out those status messages on Facebook or Twitter easier and a rugged body that with MIL Spec 810 G standards for resistance to dust and sand, temperature and humidity, shock, vibration, and radiation.

Other features include an FM radio, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G connectivity and even turn by turn voice navigation using GPS and AT&T's preloaded apps.

The Pantech Renue is on sale right now and can be purchased for $69.99 on a two year contract (with a $50 mail-in rebate).

Source

Reuters and AllThingsD confirm an Apple event for September 12

We were seriously considering turning a deaf ear to yesterday's rumors about Apple shifting their expected launch date to September 12, much like we did with that August launch rumor.

Still, we decided to run the story and today, the rumor is getting even more supporting evidence thanks to Reuters and AllThingsD, who claim independently that unnamed sources of theirs confirm the speculated date.

Yesterday, we heard both from iMore and iLounge that come mid-September we'll see Apple unveil their next iPhone, their next iPod Touch, an update to the iPod Nano and a refresh of the iPad, including a smaller, sub-8-inch version of the popular slate.

Mockup by BlackPool Creative

Today, AllThingsD are adding that a source of theirs has also confirmed there will be an event in the week starting on September 10. A Wednesday event is highly probable, so the date of September 12 is a safe bet.

Reuters too, chime in with a confirmation, thanks to "a source familiar with the plan", but they also add that the date is not set in stone and is still a subject to change.

The announcement of the next iPhone is one of most anticipated industry events and the next iteration (be it called iPhone 5 or else) is expected to have a larger, 4-inch screen, a new, smaller connectivity port and an audio jack shifted to its bottom.

Via

Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Verizon is now free on contract

A Samsung Galaxy Nexus for $350 off-contract is quite a deal, but Verizon users who don't mind signing a new 2-year contract can get it for free. Don't go to Verizon's web site though, as it still lists the phone at $99 with contract.

Instead, head over to Best Buy or Amazon - they both offer the purebred droid for free. Best Buy prices the Galaxy Nexus at $0 whether your signing a new contract or upgrading, while Amazon Wireless sells it for free with new contracts and for $50 for upgrades.

LetsTalk and Wirefly also offer the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Verizon, but its price tag there reads $50.

If you find another $0 deal, don't forget to share it with your fellow readers in our comment section below.

By the way, the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus was recently invited to the CyanogenMod 10 party - the port is still in the early stages so you can expect a lot of bugs. You can read the developer's Google Plus post for info on how to get CM10 for Verizon's Galaxy Nexus.

Via

Samsung reveal plans for two future Windows Phones

A look at some of the documents shown in the Apple vs. Samsung trial shows Samsung has two new Windows Phone devices in the works.

Both are set to feature the dual-core MSM8960 chipset, as well as support for HSPA+ 21Mbits and LTE.

The Odyssey will sport a 4.65" Super AMOLED screen of HD resolution, as well as an 8 MP rear-facing camera accompanied by a 2MP front-facer. Samsung have also confirmed support for NFC on this device.

The Marco will be the lesser of the two offerings, with a 4-inch Super AMOLED of 800 x 480 pixel resolution, and a 5 MP main camera alongside a 2MP front-facing one.

The court document indicates that the two devices will be released in Q4 of 2012.

Source

ZTE Flash headed to Sprint, has dual-core Krait and 12MP camera

According to a leaked promo, Sprint is about to offer an impressive new droid called ZTE Flash. Its an LTE-enabled smartphone running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The ZTE Flash is supposed to be powered by the Snapdragon S4 platform a 1.5GHz dual-core Krait, Adreno 225 graphics and 1GB of RAM. The rest of the specs include a 4.5-inch IPS HD screen with Gorilla Glass, a 12.6 megapixel camera with LED flash, a 1MP front snapper for video chats and 8GB internal memory (expandable via a microSD slot).

In addition to the LTE support ZTE Flash comes with NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and proper CDMA support for Sprint's network.

The ZTE Flash is rumored to launch on October 14 and there is no info on the pricing yet.

Source Via

Here's why the HTC Desire HD won't get Android ICS

With last week's announcement that the highly revered HTC Desire HD won't receive an official update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich causing quite a stir, the Taiwanese company has posted the reasons for the decision in its blog. The biggest issue according to HTC, has been the risk of users losing their personal data during the update process.

Apparently, the larger size of Android ICS would require repartitioning the handset's internal space and, therefore, cause the abovementioned danger. HTC considered reducing the overall size of the package, but came to the conclusion that such a move would impact the phone's functionality, so, alas, the decision was taken to leave the Desire HD in the land of Gingerbread. Sounds like a lame excuse to us, what do you say?

Update, July 29: Our readers (thanks, Uzair) were quick to point out, the XDA community has already made available for the Desire HD an ICS ROM based on Cyanogenmod 9 and a Jelly Bean ROM, based on the beta Cyanogenmod 10.

Source | Via