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ZTE Grand X2 In official with Clover Trail+ Atom processor, takes photos at 24 frames per second
While Intel's Clover Trail+ Atom platform has been slow-moving so far, with only a handful of noteworthy unveilings, it just got a big shot in the arm through the official launch of ZTE's Grand X2 In. The 4.5-inch, 720p Jelly Bean phone is smaller than the Geek we saw not long ago, but it still carries that 2GHz Atom Z2580 inside -- and it's quite the screamer for shutterbugs between its 24 frames per second burst shooting, zero shutter lag and image stabilization. It otherwise sits in the middle of the road like its ancestor, carrying an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1-megapixel front camera, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. We're digging that soft-touch purple finish, though. Europeans should receive the Grand X2 In sometime in the third quarter of the year; there's no word on launches elsewhere, but you can be sure that we're interested in giving this x86 headliner a proper shakedown.
Intel launches dual-core Clover Trail+ mobile Atom processors
Intel teased a dual-core Clover Trail+ earlier this year at CES 2013, and now it's revealed the rest of the story on the new Atom-based mobile processors at MWC 2013 in Barcelona. While based on the same 32nm architecture of the previous Medfield generation, the new Z2580, Z2560 and Z2520 chips will pack dual 2.0GHz, 1.6GHz and 1.2Ghz CPU cores, respectively, along with two PowerVR SGX 544 GPU cores. That should make the new chip a lot more competitive than the previous generation, performance-wise, though battery life may suffer next to 28nm chips from the likes of Qualcomm. Still, Intel says that the new chips will burn less juice at idle than Medfield, meaning cell life could vary widely depending on usage. On the radio side, Intel's at last bringing support for 42Mbps DC-HSPA+ along with 11.5 Mbps HSUPA cat 7 with its XMM 6360 silicon, but there'll still be no multimode (on-chip) LTE support for now. However, it also launched its new XMM 7160 radio as a separate chip, supporting 15 LTE bands along with HSPA+ and saying that it'll appear on its upcoming 22nm SoC chips -- which the company said were on track to arrive by the end of the year. Finally, Intel flaunted a new Clover Trail+ reference design, featuring a Z2580 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a max 256GB(!) of NAND, WUXGA support (1,920 x 1,200) and a rear 16-megapixel camera. Hopefully, there'll be a large battery to go along with all that -- check the PR after the break for more.
Lenovo K900 is the first Intel Clover Trail+ phone, boasts 5.5-inch 1080p screen and 13MP cam (hands-on)
Much like how Lenovo's K800 was unveiled as the first Intel Medfield phone last CES, this year the manufacturer pulled another first with the K900, powered by Intel's recently-announced Clover Trail+ platform (likely an Atom Z2580 clocked at 2GHz). For those who missed the Intel keynote, Clover Trail+ is the much improved yet still secretive successor to the relatively quiet Medfield, though it is odd that Lenovo only says "the forthcoming Intel Atom processor platform for smartphones" instead of just "Clover Trail+" in the press release. Anyhow, said Android device comes with many mouth-watering features: 5.5-inch 1080p IPS display, Gorilla Glass 2, 13-megapixel F1.8 camera with dual flash, and a front-facing imager with an 88-degree super wide viewing angle. 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage add to the package. As with many Lenovo phones, there will also be three capacitive touch buttons below the screen. All of this goodness comes in a handsome 6.9mm-thick body that consists of stainless steel alloy plus polycarbonate, and together they weigh just 162g. Little else has been unveiled about the K900 so far, but it'll be available in China from April. Update: We've just gotten up close and personal with the Lenovo K900 and it's certainly an impressive piece of kit. This 5.5-inch 1080p device touts a low magnetic property steel in combination with polycarbonate to offer users lavish style without compromising on antenna reception. Depending on the model -- four colors in all -- users will be treated to a striped brushing or, in the case of the Diamond Plate model, a very reflective gem-like design on back. For more of these first impressions of Lenovo's K900, follow on after the break. Joseph Volpe, Ben Gilbert and Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Intel details Medfield plans, announces a trio of phone-friendly Atoms
The age of Medfield is upon us. At Mobile World Congress Intel took the wraps off its smartphone platform, ditched the code name and gave us some details on three different Atom chips destined for handsets. The Z2460 is currently shipping and serves as the heart of the reference platform that devices from Lenovo, Orange, Lava and ZTE are based on. The processor can hit clock speeds of 2GHz and packs an Intel XMM 6260 HSPA+ radio. The next generation part, dubbed the Z2580 will supposedly double performance and gets upgraded to an XMM 7160, which adds LTE to its cellular arsenal. Down the road Chipzilla also plans to introduce a "value smartphone" processor, dubbed the Z2000. Clocked at only 1GHz and going with a 6265 HSPA+ radio, the goal is to power Android phones that can be sold for less than $150 -- unsubsidized. Sounds crazy, but it's true. To bring this vision to fruition Intel has added Orange, ZTE, Lava and Visa to its list of partners. Check out the PR after the break for more details.
