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Lenovo S920 and S820 leak, could pack Android 4.2.1, quad-core CPUs and dual-SIM slots
Lenovo's still far from a boldfaced name when it comes to Android smartphones. Its Clover Trail+-packing K900 aside, the company's mobile focus tends to skew towards the lower-end. And so it seems the company's prepping two new Jelly Bean handsets for the Asian market, the purported S920 (pictured above) and S820, judging by a few leaked blurrycam shots over on MyDrivers.com. From what we can see, the devices appear to share a similar slim, rounded edge design language with a rear-facing camera protruding prominently on back. According to the rumored specs, both are tipped to rely on MediaTek's quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC, include dual-SIM support and run Android 4.2.1 (skinned, of course). It's not clear what resolution Lenovo has in store for the phones, but if the S920's 5.3-inch screen size proves true, it's likely to be of the 720p variety. The S820 is more of an unknown, but the Chinese site maintains it's meant for a more fashionable, female demo. Here's to hoping it launches with a charm dongle. Remember that?
Marvell announces PXA1088 quad-core SoC for globetrotting phones and tablets
Marvell made waves last year with its 802.11ac wireless chips, but the company's looking to make a splash in 2013 with a new quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 SoC. Called the PXA1088, the new silicon's calling card -- other than those four CPU cores -- is its ability to beam 3G data to mobile devices anywhere in the world thanks to auto-roaming and compatibility with 21Mbps HSPA+, TD-HSPA+, EDGE, and WCDMA networks. In addition to those cellular radios, it also has an Avastar 88W8777 chip that brings WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM radio, plus it has a GPS and GLONASS location processor on board. Worldwide connectivity isn't the PXA1088's only trick, either. It's got some serious video chops thanks to a hardware 1080p encoder and decoder, and a GPU from Vivante compliant with OpenGL ES 2.0 and 1.1 as well as OpenVG 1.1. Can't wait to get your grubby mitts on a phone packing Marvell's latest? The company tells us that several well-known OEMs will be rolling out devices with the PXA1088 in the first half of the year. Of course, we're hoping to see a few of them ourselves next week at Mobile World Congress, so stay tuned.
LG's 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro is the first with a Snapdragon 600 quad-core CPU
LG finally showed off the XL 5.5-inch version of its upcoming Optimus G Pro at the end of a Facebook promo last week, and now it's revealed a launch date in Korea, more specs and a window for arrival in North America. Also of note? Its CPU is the just-announced quad-core Snapdragon 600 running at 1.7Ghz. Announced at CES, the 600 is supposed to be a milder upgrade (compared to the potentially 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800) to its predecessor, the powerful S4 Pro. New software tweaks include a dual record that uses both cameras simultaneously and VR Panorama that appears to be similar to Google's Photo Sphere stitching. Besides the expanded 1080p screen and updated internals, the larger version also sports a slightly larger battery than the Japanese version announced previously by NTT Docomo with 3,140mAh compared to 3,000, but keeps the 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, microSDXC slot and LTE. The phone will be released on local carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on Wednesday for 968,000 won ($897), while a North American launch is mentioned for Q2 along with the Japanese release. We'll find out more about this phone -- and likely a few others -- at MWC 2013 later this week, for now check out the press release after the break for more specs.
Little Chilli LA-M1 outshines other QRD-based quad-core budget phones, we go hands-on
Spotted outside the auditorium at Qualcomm's China QRD (Qualcomm Reference Design) Summit earlier today were a handful of -- surprise, surprise -- QRD-based smartphones from China, several of which featured the Cortex-A5-based quad-core MSM8x25Q announced back in September. The usual suspects were there in the quad-core lot: Yulong had its Coolpad 5890 (EVDO) and Coolpad 7268 (UMTS), along with Hisense's U958 (UMTS) and Tianyu's K-Touch U86 (UMTS). These all fall within the so-called "¥1,000 ($160) phone" category and yet they are also gifted with a second SIM slot. But what really got our attention was Beidou's Little Chilli LA-M1, which also does dual-SIM (UMTS) but packs an OGS gapless IPS display, while the others came with an LCD panel of obviously lesser quality. Read on to learn more about this mysterious phone, as well as checking out our hands-on photos of the other aforementioned quad-core QRD phones.
ZTE Grand S gets a fat sister: a V987 with 5-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core chip
It was only a matter of time before ZTE came out with another device that would use the same design language as its much anticipated Grand S, so we weren't at all surprised when this Android 4.1.2 sister device popped up on the Chinese regulatory database. Like the aforementioned flagship, this upcoming V987 also sports a 5-inch gapless display, except it is capped at a 720p resolution. Naturally, the rest of the phone is built with a smaller budget in mind: the 13-megapixel camera is sized down to eight megapixels, and the original 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro is replaced by an unknown 1.2GHz quad-core chip (hopefully the MediaTek MT6589). That said, there's dual-SIM support (WCDMA plus GSM) and a removable 2,500mAh battery -- much bigger than the Grand S' built-in 1,780mAh cell -- here, so it'll be interesting to see how well the V987 will outsell the Grand S.
Samsung's 55-inch OLED 3D HDTV eyes-on: one set, multiple views
Look closely at the image above. See that clear portion depicting a food fight? That's coming through the right lens of dedicated eyewear made specifically for Samsung's 55-inch OLED Multi-View HDTV. The sleek, silver-trimmed 1080p set, recently unveiled at CES 2013, utilizes a quad-core processor and 240Hz refresh rate to send specific "firing patterns" to a user's eyewear that's then filtered out by swapping the input control (A /B) located above the left ear. The actual 3D effect varies from an artificial seeming emphasis on layers of depth, to the more traditional, and quite impressive, "in your face" immersive experience. Multiple input configurations are also possible, allowing users in the same room to watch either two separate 3D images, one 3D plus two 2D images or four 2D images simultaneously. So, basically, you can keep playing your PS3 while a loved one watches Homeland. The 55-inch set also comes equipped with an inbuilt webcam that's tucked just behind the top front panel and supports Samsung's Smart Hub. Pricing hasn't been made known at this time, but you should see the Multi-View set hit retail sometime mid-July 2013. Brad Molen contributed to this post.
AMD announces Temash, Kabini, Richland, and Kaveri APUs at CES 2013 (video)
AMD's press event here in Vegas just wrapped up, and if there's a single acronym to describe everything that we witnessed, it's this: APU. The two highlights were codenamed Temash and Kabini, two products that the company is touting as its first true system-on-chip APUs. In fact, each of 'em will launch as the "industry's first quad-core x86 SoCs" in the first half of 2013. It also took the wraps off of Richland, an APU that's presently shipping to OEMs and promises to deliver "more than 20 percent to up to 40 percent over the previous generation of AMD A-Series APUs." The outfit will be bundling Richland will new software for consumers such as eyeSight-enabled gesture and facial-recognition, while the follow-on will be the 28nm APU codenamed "Kaveri" -- a device that should ship to customers during the second half of 2013. We're also told that AMD's newest silicon will be used in various HP Sleekbooks and Vizio's 11.6-inch APU-powered tablet, two Vizio ultrathin laptops, and a 24-inch AIO desktop. Hungry for more? The full release is after the break.
Sony Xperia ZL hands-on: an alternate 5-inch 1080p, quad-core take on 'premium'
You can't fault Sony for trying. After announcing its renewed focus on mobile back in 2012, the company's consistently issued thoughtful hardware for the global marketplace. But its collective efforts have yet to spark the "emotional" storm company CEO Kaz Hirai seems to be striving for. Well, if the smiles on our faces are any indication, Sony may have a bonafide hit on its hands with the Xperia ZL. Introduced officially at its CES 2013 event, the 5-inch Android Jelly Bean handset bears nigh identical specs to its larger, more "premium" big brother: the Xperia Z. With a scratch-resistant 1080p TFT Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 13-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS sensor, the ZL sits comfortably in the high-end range. We spent a bit of time exploring the device and gauging its ability to evoke kando -- that Japanese term for an emotional reaction spurred by quality experiences -- so join us after the break to see how it fares and meter our level of excitement. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Samsung 2013 LCDs and plasmas revealed: quad core CPU, new menus and more
As a leading manufacturer of HDTVs, Samsung has predictably returned to CES with a heaping armful of new displays of both the plasma and LCD variety. There are many common factors across the higher end models, including new A15 quad-core 1.35GHz CPUs that claim a 3.6x speed boost over last year's dual cores. That extra horsepower isn't being wasted either, as this year's sets are the first to decode HEVC video, and also feature improved voice control with natural voice commands, better recognition of gestures with support for two-handed gestures, pinch to zoom and more. All are due during the first half of 2013 and include Samsung's AllShare DLNA client, as well as the S-Recommendation lists to help you find things to watch. The F8500 series plasma features brighter whites and blacker blacks as well as other picture quality enhancements compared to years past and is available in three sizes; 51, 60 and 64 inches. The flagship F7500 LED 3D TV is available in 46, 55 and 60-inches, while its bigger brother, the F8000 series, does what it can do and adds a built-in camera and mic; and is available in five sizes ranging up to 75-inches. Like the higher end 2012 Samsung HDTVs, the new models also feature a Smart Evolution slot for future expansion. Owners of last year's sets will be able to pick up a Smart Evolution Kit and add the new features of this years models without replacing their TV.
Huawei Ascend D2 official: 5-inch 1080p display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, Android Jelly Bean
Huawei's daring to dream big -- at least, that's what prior leaks regarding its latest Android lineup have seemed to indicate. And here at CES 2013, the company's finally formally introduced the Ascend D2, referred to by company Chairman Richard Yu as the "dream phone." Its top shelf specs -- 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.5GHz K3V2 CPU, Android Jelly Bean, 13-megapixel rear camera and 3,000mAh battery -- certainly merit that distinction, but as pie in the sky smartphone ambitions go, its 6.1-inch stablemate, the Ascend Mate, takes the cake. But for more details on the Ascend 2, join us after the break. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Nubia Z5 unveiled in China with quad-core chip, 5-inch 1080p display and 7.6mm thickness
Much like many Chinese smartphone brands these days, ZTE sub-brand Nubia had prematurely given away the main selling points of its Z5 ahead of its Beijing launch today, but there were still some surprises. As you probably already know, here's yet another five-inch 1080p Android phone featuring Qualcomm's 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064, 2GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage, along with a 13-megapixel F2.2 main camera (with five-element optics by Konica Minolta, plus separate touch focus and touch exposure in the app) and a two-megapixel front-facing camera. For multimedia consumption, the Z5 supports WiFi Display and MHL output should you wish to beam content to a larger screen; whereas on the audio side you are spoiled with either Yamaha or Dolby Digital Plus. But wait, there's more! %Gallery-174115% %Gallery-174118%
Oppo Find 5 to hit more international markets in Q1 2013, adds a $569 32GB model
Ho ho ho! Even on this special day, the folks at Oppo decided to drop a bomb on its "Ofans." According to a fresh teaser on its Facebook page, not only will Oppo be offering the $499 16GB version of the quad-core, five-inch 1080p Find 5 in the US (as we already knew), but there'll also be a 32GB flavor for $569. What's more, the image also lists many additional countries: Canada, UK, Spain, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, Malaysia, Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Greece, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Japan and Hong Kong. Just to be sure, we reached out to Oppo and were told that it's aiming to hit all these markets within Q1 next year; and better yet, it'll try to do that as close to the early-January China launch as possible. Sounds like the company's pushing for a global online retail channel (the blurred out URL probably indicates that it'll be a centralized website), and it'll be interesting to compare its performance to Xiaomi's more humble attempt closer to home. Update: We've been told that this is only a partial list, so fret not if your country isn't there.
Huawei's 6.1-inch 1080p Ascend Mate flaunted by exec, leaves little surprise for CES (update: 720p only)
How big is too big? Well, that's clearly not Huawei's concern, as it's about to introduce a 6.1-inch 1080p Android phone at CES. But even two weeks (before the company's CES press day) is too much for the impatient Richard Yu, who went ahead and whipped out his beastly device in front of fans at a Huawei store in Guangzhou yesterday -- there's a video of the intimate moment after the break. According to earlier rumors, the Ascend Mate will feature a 1.8GHz HiSilicon K3V3 quad-core chip, along with a massive 4,000mAh battery, 9.9mm thickness and a price tag of just under ¥3,000 (about $480). Yu wrote on Sina Weibo saying the final specs may differ slightly, but the 43-year-old executive did add that the 361ppi display is of LTPS (low temperature polysilicon) nature. As with the Ascend W1 and the Ascend D2, all will be unveiled at CES. Update: Now that the Ascend Mate has been announced, we can confirm that its 6.1-inch display only has a 720p resolution. [Image credit: fengse (Sina Weibo)]
Huawei's Ascend W1 and D2 confirmed for CES, Richard Yu expresses worry over the latter
Huawei's first-ever Windows Phone, the Ascend W1, is no stranger to us at this point, but no one's been certain about its debut until now. After mourning his daughter's two stolen ducks on Sina Weibo, Senior Vice President Richard Yu said not only will his company formally introduce its WP8 device at CES next month, but it'll also be showing off its Android-powered Ascend D2 (pictured center and right). Interestingly, Yu also expressed concern that the D2 "Dream Phone" will be too expensive to produce due to the powerful specs: five-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.5GHz chip (undoubtedly Huawei's very own K3V2), 13-megapixel camera and 3,000mAh battery -- all according to leaked info from an internal event from late October, as well as a recent filing in the TENAA database. Don't worry, Richard, just give us a decent price tag and we'll be all over you.
Inevitable: Oppo Find 5 meets Xiaomi Phone 2 and Meizu MX2
With all three major Chinese phone makers now showing their quad-core cards, it's only natural for us to take a friendly portrait of their latest flagships: from left to right we have the Meizu MX2 (due December 19th), the Xiaomi Phone 2 (already out) and the freshly announced Oppo Find 5 (due January). At 8.86mm thick, the Find 5 is subtly slimmer than our two other 10.2mm-thick phones when compared visually, but the five-inch 1080p screen is clearly a winner in terms of size and pixel density -- the latter is made more obvious by the fine details on the tactfully designed icons; just too bad you won't be able to fit much 1080p video content into the 16GB built-in storage. As for aesthetics, we're currently leaning towards the Find 5 for its less obvious bezel around the glass panel, and the phone's shape is also a nice change from the usual rectangle-with-evenly-rounded-corners form factor. Still, the feel and contour of the Meizu MX2's crystal back cover gave the most comfortable grip out of the three, only to be hampered by the Flyme OS' eccentric UX. Obviously, we shall do a more detailed comparison once we have our review unit, so stay tuned.
Oppo Find 5 hands-on (updated with video)
Being our first time at an Oppo launch event, we were truly blown away by the efforts put into the quality show. And luckily, we can say the same for the phone itself. The Find 5 uses the same gorgeous five-inch 1080p screen as HTC's Droid DNA and Butterfly, but what really blew us away was the new phone's solid build quality -- a huge improvement from the older Finder we brought along, though the latter did achieve a 6.65mm thickness, whereas the new one comes in at 8.8mm thick. The Find 5's shape and feel also reminded us of Sony's Xperia S. It'll be about a month before Oppo pushes its new phone into various markets, so it'll be awhile before we get a review unit to test the various features. For now, enjoy our hands-on photos below. Update: Check out our hands-on video after the break! %Gallery-173178%
Oppo launches Find 5, touts 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core and 13MP camera
At last, the wait is over for Oppo's latest flagship device. Launched in Beijing earlier, the Find 5 comes with pretty much all the top ingredients in the current market -- many of which had been teased by the company multiple times already: 5-inch 1080p display, Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chip with 2GB RAM, a 2,500mAh battery and Android 4.1.2. There's also NFC, and on top of that, the Find 5 will come with two NFC tags (remember LG's Optimus LTE Tag and Sony's SmartTags?) plus a special version of Sina Weibo that uses the phone's NFC to let users instantly follow each other. The 13-megapixel, 5fps camera on the back isn't just about numbers, as it also packs fast hardware-enabled HDR for both photos and video! Oppo claims it's the first in the mobile industry to carry this awesome feature. Additionally, the main camera can capture slow motion of up to 120fps, though it isn't clear whether the resolution is reduced to achieve this. On the other side of the device there's also a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, which beats most phones these days. Audio-wise the Find 5 features Dirac HD, a technology that's embraced by the likes of BMW, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Datasat; making Oppo the first mobile phone brand to join the party. The included earphones are fine-tuned for Dirac, naturally. Alas, much like the Droid DNA, this Chinese superphone also suffers from the lack of microSD expansion, so users may struggle to fully appreciate the 441ppi screen with just 16GB of built-in storage. As for pricing, we already know that the US will offer the Find 5 for $499, and luckily, it'll just be ¥2,998 or about $480 in China, but it'll be about a month before the phone reaches its various markets, including the US. Stay tuned for our hands-on, and there's also a press release after the break for the time being. Update: Our hands-on is up!
MediaTek launches world's first quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC, we go hands-on (video)
There's a new player in the quad-core SoC game and it's called the MT6589. MediaTek announced today that it's launching the world's first quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC and gave us the opportunity to take it for a spin -- in prototype form, of course. The MT6589, which includes the aforementioned quad-core Cortex A7 1GHz+ CPU, also features a PowerVR Series5XT GPU, high-performance multimedia support (13MP / 3D camera, 1080p video and display, Miracast) and a built-in 42Mbps HSPA+ / TD-SCDMA-capable dual-SIM dual-active radio. By combining competitive performance with high thermal efficiency and low power consumption in an affordable package, MediaTek's new chip is well suited for a wide-range of smartphones and tablets running Jelly Bean and beyond. The MT6589 will be available in devices starting Q1 2013. Check out the gallery below and hit the break for our impressions and benchmarks plus MediaTek's videos and PR.
Allwinner throws A20 dual-core and A31-quad-core processors into ARM fray
Whimsically monikered Chinese chip-maker Allwinner has added a pair of ARM Cortex-A7 processors to its lineup supporting Android 4.2 or higher systems. The A20 is a dual-core design with 512KB L2 cache, dual-core Mali 400 graphics and 2160p HD video playback support, while the quad-core A31 packs a 1MB cache, PowerVR SGX 544 graphics and UHDTV (4k) video decoding talents. The A20 is pin compatible with its Linux-hobbyist favorite sibling, the A10 -- meaning devices such as the MK802 mini-PC using that chip could likely be upgraded by manufacturers on the cheap. However, the more powerful A31 seems destined for higher-end Android or Windows RT devices only, considering its beefier PowerVR graphics. On top of the extra zip, licensor Imagination Technologies keeps its source code cards close to the chest -- likely ruling out Linux for that chip.
Oppo Find 5 spec sheet pops up, heading to US for $499 unsubsidized
Quad-core APQ8064 chip: check. 5-inch 1080p display: check. That's right, it's the Oppo Find 5 again, but this time we're seeing the phone's full spec sheet courtesy of the manufacturer's overly simple US website -- we've already verified this with our contacts. Apart from the fact that Oppo will be selling the much anticipated Find 5 in the US, the product page also lists an unsubsidized price of just $499, which isn't bad when you look at the $600 HTC Droid DNA off contract. The specs also mention Android 4.1.2, a 2,500mAh battery, NFC, 16GB of built-in storage and 2GB of RAM, as well as compatibility with T-Mobile and AT&T's 3G networks. Now all we need are some pictures, but we'll even get to touch it at the Beijing launch event next Wednesday.
