Mobile Miscellany: week of October 7th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a sneak peek of HTC Sense 5.5, along with an exclusive HTC One in Vivid Blue to Carphone Warehouse and the beta release of Nokia Glance Background for Lumia smartphones. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of October 7th, 2013.
Nokia Glance gains background imagery
In exchange for a bit more battery drain, Lumia users can now gussy up their smartphone with the beta release of Glance Background. This should be familiar territory for users of Sleeping Screen on Nokia's older Symbian platform, as the app allows users to choose up to four images to showcase on the Glance screen, which provides the time and simple notifications while in a low-power state. Glance Background requires the Amber software update from Nokia, and isn't supported by the Lumia 625 or 520, but you should otherwise be in good shape to check it out. [All About Windows Phone]
HTC Sense 5.5 leaks with custom quick settings
Thanks to custom ROM developer mike1986, we're now able to see a handful of the changes that HTC is cooking up for the Sense 5.5 release. First and foremost, the company is building a customizable quick settings menu, which allows users to reposition the various options such as airplane mode, auto rotate, brightness and WiFi hotspot. Sense 5.5 will also gain a new 'Do Not Disturb' mode -- also accessible from the quick settings panel -- along with the ability to disable BlinkFeed. Changes are also in store for the camera app, which introduces two new functions called Panorama+ and Dual capture, along with new emoji in the keyboard and a redesigned app switcher. [Android Revolution HD]
HTC One arrives in Vivid Blue at Carphone Warehouse
Following on the heels of Best Buy, UK shoppers now have a blue version of the HTC One to call their own. The color is described as Vivid Blue, which is close to teal and features light blue accent stripes. Carphone Warehouse is currently offering the Vivid Blue model as an exclusive, which is available for £490 outright or free on contracts of £32 or more per month -- certainly more affordable than the 18 carat gold option. [Android Central]
Other random tidbits
Evidence from TmoNews suggests that the Galaxy Mega 6.3 is in the pipeline for MetroPCS. [TmoNews]
The Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 is now available with LTE at Sprint for $50 on-contract. [BusinessWire]
The Samsung SGH-T399 (codename Garda) has leaked for T-Mobile, which will ship with Android 4.2.2 and a WVGA display of unknown size. [@evleaks (Twitter)]
According to Krish Prabhu, president of AT&T Labs, the carrier will likely have a VoLTE-ready handset on the market for the holiday shopping season. [FierceWireless]
As an option for custom ROM enthusiasts, Samsung's US support page currently states that a Galaxy Note 3 Developer Edition for Verizon will soon be available. [Android Central]
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