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Sony’s Q1 FY13 results out, mobile sales increase by 36% YoY

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Looks like Sony is back in the game, especially in mobile! The Japanese company has just reported its first quarter FY 2013 results and has beaten expectations set by analysts. The increased performance is due to, you guessed right, its mobile division. While it posted huge operating losses last year, the division has gained 36% YoY, posting an operating income of 60 million USD. The company's overall net profits stand at a small 35 million USD, which is not huge by any means, but posting profits after struggling for the past year should be encouraging for the consumer electronics giant. The mobile division was specifically boosted by the flagship devices like Xperia Z and Xperia ZL making their presence felt in major markets. The Xperia Z, although a lack luster product when compared with the other flagships, seems to have sold well, thanks to the widespread marketing. Also, this has increased the overall ASP, translating into better revenues for the company. The same division also saw a rise in the shipments of its mobile camera sensors with various companies opting to use its products. Shipping a total of 9.6 million units this quarter, Sony is ahead of Nokia and is almost as ...

Sony Xperia Z Ultra gets its first software update

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Sony Mobile has started rolling out the first firmware update v14.1.B.0.471 for the recently launched Xperia Z Ultra (C6802). The stock firmware is 14.1.B.0.461, so this might be a minor change. The baseband version and the kernel version has a minor change. The new firmware has a build date of July 19th. There is no changelog so this might be a an update to fix some bugs and improve the performance of the device. We did not notice any changes or any new apps on the device after the update. Last week Sony announced the list of devices that would get the Android 4.3 update. Since the Z Ultra is the flagship device. It is also present in the list. It has promised faster upgrade times, but did not reveal any time frame. Hope the Z Ultra would get the update soon. The update is not available over-the-air (OTA). You need to connect the device to a PC or Mac and update it via PC Companion on Windows/ Bridge for Mac. No details about the size of the update either. Did you get this update on your Xperia Z Ultra ?  Did you notice any changes or performance improvements ? Let us know !

BlackBerry Messenger for Android shows up online in leaked images

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BlackBerry had announced it's intentions to introduce its wildly popular messenger service to the Android and iOS platforms earlier this year. We've been hearing rumors of a late summer release and if our sources are to be trusted, the application will see a release in the coming weeks on both the platforms. Ahead of the release, screenshots from the Android build of the application have been leaked online. Not only is BlackBerry testing the application internally, it is also looking at inviting selected BBM users to test out the application. The leaked screenshots of the Android build indicate that the app is functionally complete and is undergoing testing to detect and fix bugs. The advent of cross platform BBM would obliterate one of the most popular reasons for users to stick to a BlackBerry device. It'll be interesting to see how the troubled smartphone manufacturer spins this in its favor. Are you excited to enjoy BBM on your Android or iOS device ? Sound off in the comments below and be sure to tell us why you prefer it over the dozens of other alternatives. [Via- BlackBerry OS]

Sony Xperia Honami new images and camera UI leaks out

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Sony Xperia Honami is expected to be the company's next flagship model and the distinguishing feature on this device is expected to be its 20MP camera. A live picture of the Honami's camera UI has leaked on the internet along with fresh images of the device. Rumors of the 20-megapixel camera phone surfaced back in April.  The new leak shows 'X’ placeholders for the camera specs (resolution and focal length). The picture above is the camera UI of the Sony Xperia Honami. According to the picture, the 20MP sensor on the device is confirmed. The UI shows the various resolutions at which the phone can capture image. According to the rumors, Sony Xperia Honami will be the first smartphone to house 4K video recording. The expected SoC in the device is Snapdragon 800. According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 800 is capable of recording and playback of 4K video. Hence this rumor doesn't look like a long shot. Another images shows magnetic docking pins on the side. A photo sample has also been leaked but there is no EXIF since the images has been uploaded on Facebook. These images are said to be taken from a very early prototype. Sony is expected to announce the device ...

Google Chromecast Unboxing and Demo

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Google launched the Chromecast last week and we already managed to get hold of this interesting device on FoneArena. So what does a Chromecast do ? It is basically a dongle for your TV which lets you watch online video and more on your large screen TV. You can watch Youtube , Netflix ,  Google Play movies and your Chrome brower tab on your large screen TV using this tiny little dongle which connects to it using the standard HDMI socket.Most modern TVs would draw power from the HDMI itself but certain older ones like mine would require external power. Nice that  Google has decided to include a HDMI extender and also a power solution in the box. Watch the unboxing and a short demo in the video below httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csAuKHAcV1A Box Contents Chromecast dongle HDMI extender micro USB cable AC wall adapter (110-240V) User manual and safety, warranty information Support for Android , iOS , Windows and Mac OS X How does the Chromecast work ? Setting up the device was easy. I had to plug it into my TV using the supplied HDMI extender as my I did not have much space on my TV access panel. Then i realized my TV was around 3 years old ,  it ...

Moto X announced with 4.7″ 720p AMOLED display, personalization options

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The much awaited handset developed as a culmination of the take over of Motorola by Google is finally out and it seems to live up to the buzz generated by it. The specifications are through and through mid range but that is not the highlight. Motorola has focussed on every day performance, battery life and of course personalization & customization over top of the line specs. The phone is powered by Motorola's X8 Mobile Computing System that pairs two 1.7Ghz Dual Core Krait CPUs, an Adreno 320 GPU and custom processors dedicated to Natural Language Processing, Contextual Computing including handling the phone's multiple sensors. There's also 2GB of RAM. The screen is a 4.7" 720p AMOLED panel.The battery unit is just 2,200 mAh but Motorola has made optimizations to allow the Moto X to last up to 24 hours. The camera unit at the back is 10MP and brings another term to the mix called Clear Pixel. The Moto X has a 1/2.5" 1.4 um 10 MP sensor with an f2.4 lens. The front camera on the other hand is a standard 2MP shooter. Connectivity options include the standard Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, GPS and GLONASS, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, Miracast ...

Samsung offers heavy discount as part of Friendship Day offer

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To cash in on the popularity of Friendship Day amongst the youth, Samsung is offering a heavy discount on some of  its most popular handsets. Starting from August 1st to 31st, the smartphone manufacturer will subsidize the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S Duos, Galaxy Core and Galaxy Mega 5.8 handsets. The discounts are on some of the most popular devices across categories. The discounted price points are listed below. Galaxy S4′s price reduced to Rs. 34,500 from Rs. 41,500 and it is available with zero percent EMI for 12 months(Rs. 2,875 per month) Galaxy Mega 5.8′s price reduced to Rs. 23,400 from Rs. 25,100 and it comes with a zero percent 6month EMI at Rs. 3,900 per month Galaxy Core will be available for Rs. 13,200 compared to the original price point of Rs. 15,690. The entry level Galaxy S Duos is being priced at Rs. 9,990 instead of Rs. 12,190 for the duration of the offer. As mentioned earlier, the offer will be valid from 1st to 31st August. The revised pricing of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is after exchange of your old handset. Other phones part of the offer do not require any exchange.

LG unveils QuadBeat 2 earphones for the G2 ahead of launch

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LG unveiled the Quick Window accessory for the G2 last week. Now the company has revealed the QuadBeat 2 earphones, successor of the LG QuadBeat headset that was first introduced with the Optimus G. The new headset would have different nozzle structure from its predecessor that is angled, which would make you comfortable even if it's worn for a long time. It also has urn-shaped ear tip that prevents problems of bass leaking. It has buttons for Play / Pause (On/Off Call) function and buttons for Volume Up and Volume Down. The buttons are now much better and are comfortable to press that gives a perfect feel when it's actually pressed. The audio quality has also been improved. It offers balanced bass and treble (Tonal Balance). LG QuadBeat 2 earphones specifications Earphone Type: Canal Driver: Dynamic Unit The maximum rated power: 20mW Sensitivity: 97dB (at 3mW) Frequency band: 20Hz ~ 20kHz Impedance: 24 ohm Jack: 3.5 mm Buttons: 3 Key (calls, volume control) The LG G2 would be unveiled on August 7th at an event in New York. LG had already confirmed that the device would come with a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and have LTE-Advanced support in select markets. The QuadBeat 2 earphones would come in Black and White colors. It would come ...

HTC One Max with 5.9-inch display spotted in the wild

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Huge phones are becoming common these days and Huawei were the first to go big with their Ascend Mate having a 6.1inch at the start of the year, Samsung followed it up with their Mega series(5.8inch and 6.3inch) and Sony recently joined the club with the biggest of them all - Sony Xperia Z Ultra with a 6.44inch display. There have been leaks indicating that HTC has been working on a big phablet as well which is expected to be a big version of the company's flagship - HTC One.  The HTC One Max has leaked online indicating a 5.9inch display and it looks exactly like a bigger version of the HTC One with the same design and industrial build quality. The One Max, codenamed T6, is rumored to have a 5.9inch Full HD display. The surprising thing about the One Max is its extremely slim bezel on the sides and is expected to be just 9.4mm thin. The leaked image doesn't include a stylus, but the touch-screen is expected to be super-sensitive like the one on Xperia Z Ultra allowing the users to use any pointy tool as a stylus. Rumored specifications of the HTC One Max include a 5.9inch Full HD ...

Micromax A34 with 3.95-inch display, 1 GHz processor now available for Rs. 4399

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Micromax A34, a new entry-level Android smartphone is now available in India from online retailer Flipkart. It has a 3.95-inch (320 x 480 Pixels) capacitive touch screen display, powered by a 1 GHz processor and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It has Dual SIM support with dual standy similar to other Micromax smartphones. It has a 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash. Earlier this year Micromax launched the A35 Blot with a 4-inch WVGA display and a front-facing camera. It is not clear why Micromax is launching phones running on Gingerbread when other OEMs like Intex and Lava are launching entry-level phones running on Android 4.2. Micromax A34 specifications 3.95-inch (320 x 480 Pixels) capacitive touch screen display 1 GHz processor Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) OS 2MP rear camera with LED flash 3.5mm audio jack 2G (EDGE),Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, micro USB 256MB RAM, 165MB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with microSD 1350 mAh battery with up to 4 hours talk time, up to 120h standby The Micromax A34 is priced at Rs. 4,399. It comes in Black Color.

HTC Desire 600 Dual SIM Review

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The HTC Desire 600 is the Taiwanese company's play in the dual SIM handset segment of the market. The Android 4.1 based handset combines the design philosophy behind devices like the HTC Butterfly, One and combines it with mid range specifications to create a value proposition. Does it succeed in making a case for itself ? Read on our review to find out. Design The design of the HTC Desire 600 is simultaneously fresh and yet similar. It takes the most recognizable parts of the HTC One and Butterfly to create a unique identity that both looks and feels great. The construction is soft touch plastic with a brushed aluminum style edge.The handset combines a black bezel with a red speaker lining to give it distinctive look.  The front of the phone has a 4.5 inch Super LCD2 type screen. The resolution is 960x540 and this results in a pixel density of 244.71 PPI. While a 720p screen would have been appreciated, the Super LCD2 panel makes up for it with excellent color rendering. The text appears to float on the screen but can look blurred around the edges. As seen above, sunlight visibility is satisfactory and so are viewing angles. [gallery ids="77403,77402,77401"] Because ...

Acer Liquid Z3 with 3.5-inch display, dual-core processor and Android 4.2 announced

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Acer has unveiled the Liquid Z3, successor of the Liquid Z2 that was launched earlier this year. It has a 3.5-inch (480 x 320 pixels) capacitive touch screen display, powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor and comes with  dual SIM support depending on the region. It runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and comes with a 3-megapixel rear camera without flash. It also comes with Quick Mode profiles such as Basic Mode for youngsters with call and text functions, Senior Mode with Messages, radio, weather, magnify, clock, quick call contacts, Classic mode with simple and organized layout for first time smartphone users and Keypad mode for people who primarily use voice and need their keypad right away. It also has AcerCloud app. Acer Liquid Z3 specifications  3.5-inch (480 x 320 pixels) capacitive touch screen display 1 GHz dual-core processor Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS 10.4mm thick and weighs 120g 3MP rear  camera 3G (HSPA+ 21 Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR and aGPS Dual SIM (optional) 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB 1500mAh battery The Acer Liquid Z3 comes in Rock Black and Classic White and is priced at 99 Euros. It would be available in Belgium, Netherlands, Ukraine, France, Spain, UK, Italy, Germany and Russia starting from mid-August. It would also come with ...

Obama administration vetoes Apple iPhones/iPads import ban, South Korea concerned

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In a turn of events for the Samsung-Apple patent controversy, US president Barack Obama's administration has vetoed an import and sales ban on some Apple iPhones and iPads, upending a legal upper hand for Samsung. This is reportedly the first time since 1987 that a presidential administration has vetoed a ban by the country's own International Trade Commission. This has raised a few eyebrows in the far east, in South Korea, where the media criticized the USA for protecting Apple. The above mentioned ITC ban on some Apple iPhones and iPads is said to have caused a lot of tech industry lobbying with the president's administration, which eventually ended up with this veto. This hasn't gone well with the South Korean company, which is well connected with the government there, and hence has raised concerns over protectionism displayed by the USA. "We express concerns about the negative impact that such a decision would have on the protection of patent rights," the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, said in a statement." The initial lobbying that took place was for convincing the administration that Samsung had insisted on Apple infringing "standards essential" patents that are supposed to be widely available for all companies to ...

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 Vs Huawei Ascend Mate

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Huawei was the first company to step into the 6inch + phablet category with Ascend Mate. The Huawei Ascend Mate was announced way back in January during the CES 2013, but the phablet has been available in India only since June. Samsung's biggest phablet until the Mega series arrived was their Galaxy Note 2 with a 5.5inch display that we compared with the Ascend Mate recently. To expand the phablet portfolio and to compete in the larger phablet race, Samsung launched two new phablets - Mega 5.8 and Mega 6.3 . Let's check out how the Galaxy Mega 5.8 fares against the Huawei Ascend Mate. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbD0x4QFvPM Design, Build Quality In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 looks like any other Galaxy device and it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish Samsung Galaxy phones these days. The Galaxy Mega 5.8 follows the design language of the company's flagship - S4 with a textured pattern all over the device and an all plastic build. The plastic rim that runs across the device is also quite similar. The Huawei Ascend Mate on the other hand takes a slightly different approach with a more conventional rectangular build with very small rounded corners. The Huawei Ascend Mate ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 event confirmed for September 4th in Berlin

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Samsung has just announced the Samsung Unpacked 2013 Episode 2, where the company is expected to unveil the new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 3. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4 at the first Unpacked event on March 14th in New York. The Episode 2 would happen in Berlin on September 4th ahead of the IFA.  Back in March there were reports that the Galaxy Note 3 would launch at IFA next month since all the other Galaxy Note devices were unveiled at IFA. Last week a Korean website revealed that 4th September as the launch date for the Note 3. Even  though the Samsung's Invite doesn't say it as Note 3. It hints that it is the Next Note by mentioning "Note the date". Samsung had launched both the first and second generation Galaxy Note devices at IFAs in 2011 and 2012. So there is a huge expectation for the the Next Note. According to earlier rumors the Note 3 is expected to come with a 5.7-inch Full HD Super AMOLED, 13MP camera and Android JB OS. It is expected to pack the latest Exynos 5 Octa 5420 and Snapdragon 800 processor based on the region and 3GB of RAM. It is also expected to come with LTE advanced (LTE-A) ...

Fly F40+ with 4.0-inch display, 1 GHz processor launched for Rs. 4999

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Fly has launched the F40+, the company's latest entry-level smartphones in the F series. The Fly F351 with 3.5-inch display, 1 GHz processor launched last month. This one has a 4-inch WVGA display, powered by a 1 GHz processor and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It has a 3-megapixel rear camera and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with dual SIM with dual standby and has 2G (EDGE) support similar to the F351, however this one has 512MB of RAM and packs a 1400 mAh battery. Commenting on the launch, Rahul Goel, Chief Executive Officer, Fly Mobile, India said, The market is inclined towards Smartphones more than ever. Amidst myriad high end smartphones taking over the market, the common man is still waiting for an affordable option that can make his life easy. We have designed Fly F40+ to fulfill this dream of the people. Fly has always manufactured products that bring a change in people’s life and we will continue to do so to add value to the community. Fly F40+ specifications 4.0-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display 1 GHz processor Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread) OS 3 MP rear camera 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio 2G (EDGE), Bluetooth 3.0 ...

New Nexus 7 2013 Unboxing

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The all the new Nexus 7 2013 edition just landed at FoneArena and we thought we will bring you one of the first unboxings from India.The new Nexus 7 is priced at $229 and has gone on sale in the US and is expected to come soon to India but not in the immediate future.Like the previous Nexus 7 , this tablet is also manufactured by Asus for Google and sold by Google directly.The main highlights of the 2013 Nexus 7 are the design including the massive Full HD display and the change from a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor to a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. This Nexus 7 is the first Android device to ship with Android 4.3 JellyBean out of the box which is now also available for several other devices. Here is the video of the unboxing below httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh93yB3mktw The packaging is pretty simple but strikingly different from the previous gen Nexus 7. The box has blue written all over it and it is also a lot thinner than the previous Nexus 7 box. Box Contents Nexus 7 with 3950 mAh battery and 16GB of internal storage(11.9GB usable) AC adapter microUSB cable Warranty and Safety information in both french and english Initial Impressions The device totally feels ...

HTC Fetch BL A100 Navigation Tag spotted on Clove UK

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HTC Fetch has been rumored for a while as an upcoming accessory by the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. The accessory has now shown up at UK based retailer, Clove's website alongside a small image that gives us a few clues as to what it might be.   The retailer mentions that it is a GPS enabled tracking tag that will let you track your belongings using your smartphone. It is believed that it will be possible to track the location of the tag using both a smartphone app and a website. Considering the competition in this space employs NFC and Bluetooth, operate only at close range we are quite curious to see the presence of GPS in the tag. The HTC Fetch priced at £24.99 could prove to be quite a successful product by combining a low price, small size and a fair amount of functionality. We'd definitely pick up a few to attach to luggage and keys. [Via - Clove UK]

Samsung to offer BBM in Samsung App Store on Galaxy devices in Africa

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Samsung today announced its plans to offer BBM on its self branded application store that comes pre-installed on its Galaxy range of Android devices. The move will start off first in Africa which is still a heavy user of BBM services. We expect the application to be available on their app store in other territories as well. “BBM provides one of the best and most robust mobile messaging experiences today. BBM has always set the standard for mobile instant messaging and we are thrilled to bring this experience to Samsung customers across Africa,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President BBM at BlackBerry. Samsung mentions that BBM on its devices will offer multi-person chat and BBM groups as well. We really don't expect Samsung devices to be getting any exclusive features here. BBM will be available globally towards the end of summer and given the announcement by Samsung, we feel that the application might launch sooner rather than later. In case you don't have a Samsung device, fret not as the application will most definitely be made available via the Google Play store. iOS users will also be able to get in the action as the application will be a cross platform release ...

HTC Big Things Ahead teaser hints at upcoming One Max

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HTC has started teasing their upcoming One Max smartphone. The company has posted a new Vine video on the official Twitter page with a tag line Big Things Ahead. Even though this doesn't feature any device, their Instagram video clearly shows a large device, as you can see in the image above. The company has also shared a video on their YouTube Channel that shows a device similar to the HTC One. HTC teased the One Mini last month with an infographic, and it was officially announced couple of days later. So the One Max is likely to be announced soon. The One Max with a 5.9-inch display surfaced earlier this week in China. According to earlier rumors, the One Max is expected to feature a 5.9-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) full HD display, powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and run on Android 4.3 or later with enhanced HTC Sense UI with new BlinkFeed with more content, better customization and offline support. It is expected to come with a UltraPixel rear camera with LED Flash, OIS, BoomSound speakers and Beats audio support support  similar to the HTC One. Other features include, 2.1 MP front-facing camera with wide-angle lens, 2 GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, microSD card ...
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