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LG's extra-large G Pro 2 packs a 4K video camera and knock code unlock feature
Looks like LG wants to get out ahead of all the smartphone news soon to come from Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, as the South Korean company has officially announced the G Pro 2. As prior leaks indicated, it's a larger version of the original G Pro -- it packs a 5.9-inch screen, as opposed to its predecessor's 5.5-inch panel. That means the G Pro 2 matches Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 in terms of size and it packs the same 1,920 x 1,080 resolution display. Additionally, it has an evolution of the G Pro's knock-to-unlock feature that allows you to unlock and power up the phone by tapping on the screen in a specific cadence. LG's latest also has an optically stabilized, 13-megapixel camera and 32GB to store your photos and any 4K or 120 frames per second HD video you can shoot. Plus, it'll ship with Android's latest version 4.4 (KitKat) and can be had in three colors: white, silver and black. Naturally, LG has declined to give us a price or a ship date for its new flagship here in the States, but hopefully they'll give up all those details and more at MWC.
Broadcom's new chips could put fast LTE in your budget smartphone
While entry-level smartphones are getting to be quite good these days, few of them have fast LTE; many have to make do with either basic LTE or 3G. If Broadcom is successful with its just-revealed M320 and M340 system-on-chip designs, though, advanced 4G could soon be very affordable. The new chips respectively bundle dual- and quad-core processors with 150 Mbps LTE radios, making it easier for small firms to ship cheap handsets (Broadcom expects sub-$300 pricing) with speedy internet access. They're already integrated with Android 4.4 KitKat, too, so companies don't always have to fuss over software support. Broadcom isn't saying when phones with the new chips will reach the market, but it's currently delivering sample units to "leading" manufacturers.
The Moto G lands on US Cellular for $99 sans contract
The Moto G is the best cheap Android phone you can get your hands on, and now you've got another way to nab one. US Cellular today confirmed what a blurry screenshot told us yesterday: the 8GB model will hit store shelves on February 10. Just can't wait? Those with itchy trigger fingers can order one online now for $99, just like you can at Verizon. It's almost the same Moto G we fell for in our review, albeit with Android 4.4 KitKat instead of the Jelly Bean build the phone first shipped with. Just remember that you won't be able to hop on the carrier's LTE network - despite a solid spec sheet, the G (sadly) lacks LTE support. You can't unlock the thing since it's technically Motorola's CDMA variant, but hey: a good deal's a good deal.
Verizon's HTC One is finally getting a taste of KitKat
Well, that was quick. Just a few hours after an HTC product manager tweeted the good news, Verizon Wireless customers have found that the much-anticipated KitKat update is landing on their HTC Ones. Start mashing that software update button if you haven't already, friends. In addition to Android 4.4.2, the update also packs a handful of performance improvements and HTC's Sense 5.5 UI. Fans of the HTC One Max are already familiar with HTC's new Sense tweaks -- BlinkFeed is more easily customizable, the Gallery and Music apps have gotten a facelift, and there's a new Do Not Disturb mode for those private moments -- but it's nice to see them trickle down onto a slightly smaller handset. For those of you keeping score, Sprint earlier this week became the first major US carrier to update the One with KitKat. That leaves just AT&T and T-Mobile to push through the update, but sadly, there's still no word on when they'll follow through.
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro and Tab Pro series coming to US February 13th (updated)
Looks like Office Depot wasn't messing with us when it began offering pre-orders of Samsung's brand-new 12.2-inch tablet ahead of its official US launch; it just jumped the gun a bit. As it turns out, the entire litany of Samsung's Galaxy tablets announced at CES -- which include the 12.2-inch Note Pro and all three sizes in the Tab Pro series -- will be available stateside on February 13th. (Update: it appears that the 12.2-inch Tab Pro won't actually hit the market until March, but everything else will be available on Feb 13th.) Just in case you're worried about hordes of people trying to grab one as a last-minute Valentine's Day present, you can also pre-order any of the products starting right now through one of several online retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, Fry's, Newegg and others. There's no word on any carrier agreements yet, however, and it appears that all four models are WiFi-only. (Update: Samsung confirms that an LTE edition of the Note Pro 12.2 will come to Verizon Wireless later this quarter.) Pricing varies wildly depending on which model you're getting. Starting at the low end of the spectrum, you can grab the 8.4-inch Tab Pro (16GB) for $400; the 10.1-inch Tab Pro (16GB) for $500; and the 12.2-inch Tab Pro (32GB) for $650. Last but not least, the productivity powerhouse itself -- the Note Pro -- can be yours for $750 (32GB) or $850 (64GB). Additionally, the devices come with 50GB Dropbox space for two years, a $25 Google Play credit, three-month trial Hulu Plus subscription, six months of Cisco WebEx Premium 8 and a year subscription with Bloomberg Businessweek. Samsung also confirms that the new tablets are still outfitted with Magazine UX, which means these products haven't been affected by the company's rumored deal with Google. According to reports from last week, Samsung agreed to tone down the amount of customization and special features in its Android devices. Naturally, if this does happen, we expect it to be a while before it finally takes effect.
HTC One for Sprint gets its KitKat update a little early
HTC must feel that it's best to underpromise and overdeliver. While the company told American One owners that they wouldn't get KitKat on time, the 535MB Android upgrade is already available on Sprint; eager subscribers just have to check for an update to start downloading. More patient types can wait until February 11th, when the carrier will begin pushing the OS to all users. There's no word of an accelerated launch on other US networks, so Sprint customers may be sitting pretty for the next couple of weeks. [Thanks, Mike]
HTC to deliver KitKat to One owners a couple weeks late (updated)
HTC pledged to put KitKat on One handsets in the US 90 days after the newest version of Android's release, but today, the company revealed that it's going to miss its target date. While things looked to be on schedule as late as last week -- when the company pushed the final software out to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon -- it appears that certification process is taking longer than expected (HTC One owners outside the US may experience a more timely rollout, namely in the Nordics, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Ukraine, Middle East and North Africa regions). There is a silver lining to be found, however. The delay should only last a week or two according to HTC Americas President Jason Mackenzie, and, of course you can keep an eye on the firm's Software Update page. That way you One owners will know precisely when you're able to break off a bit of KitKat for yourselves. Update: We should mention that the update's already rolling out to folks in Scandanavia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Ukraine, Middle East and North Africa, with more to come.
HTC One will get KitKat certification in the US next week
Eighty-four days. That's how long it's been since HTC announced its intent to bring Android 4.4 KitKat to all North American versions of the One within 90 days. With just six days left to go on the countdown, HTC just tweeted on its US account that the final software has finally entered the hallowed carrier labs for testing and will be certified (and, we hope, rolled out) sometime next week. Of course, the process is now essentially under the control of individual mobile operators, so let's hope that they don't make liars out of HTC -- we've had Wednesday circled on our Sense calendars for quite some time now.
Adobe redesigns Photoshop Express for Android, makes it compatible with KitKat
On mobile devices, Photoshop Express is one of Adobe's most crowd-pleasing applications. Now, to make things better for Android users, the software maker has released a completely revamped version of its handy app. Aside from being friendly with the latest flavor of Android, KitKat, the Photoshop Express app's been tweaked to access/process images from an SD card in much faster fashion. Adobe states that the goal of this update was to bring the most popular features front and center, including things like Looks, Corrections, cropping, red eye reduction and a bunch of other useful tools. There's also the debut on Android of Adobe's new engine for rendering photos (which the company says is great for handling large files), as well as integration with its own photo service, Revel. And hey, above all, it still won't cost you a dime to download it to your device.
Leaked software suggests Sony's next flagship phone will record 4K video
With shots of a new Sony smartphone surfacing ahead of a possible reveal at next month's Mobile World Congress, we guessed it wouldn't be long until we laid eyes on the software powering it. XperiaBlog got its hands on an Android 4.4.2 KitKat build for the Xperia D6503 (rumored codename Sirius), providing us with an overview of the new UI and a list of possible features coming to Sony's next Android flagship. The headline-grabbing tweaks include options to record 4K and high frame-rate video, utilize Smart backlight controls (similar to Samsung's Smart stay feature), two home launchers for better accessibility, advanced call handling options and a new built-in answering machine. Head over to XperiaBlog for the complete lowdown on the KitKat-centric features expected to make their debut in Sony's Z1 successor and possibly other high-end handsets in the Xperia range.
Moto G Google Play edition now available for $180
The Moto G now has an official Google Play Edition. The device, which just popped up on the Google Play Store, is available for $180 (8GB) or $200 (16GB). Just like we've seen on other Google Play edition devices, the Moto G will offer the same specs as the GSM version along with a stock version of Android 4.4 KitKat. It'll be compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile here in the US, although it doesn't appear to offer AWS support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. We're still waiting to hear details about its availability in other parts of the world. Head to the source link to grab one of your very own.
HTC confirms One X and X+ won't be upgraded to Android 4.3 or higher
It looks like Android 4.2.2 will be the end of the upgrade roadmap for the HTC One X and X+, two of the company's primary flagship phones in 2012. The phone maker tweeted out -- and later confirmed to the press -- that neither handset will be upgraded to Android 4.3 or anything newer. As frustrating as this announcement is, we don't consider ourselves shocked: the original One X launched nearly two years ago, and we speculate that the 15-month-old X+'s Tegra 3 processor may have been the reason for its fate. Take a look at HTC's official statement below. We can confirm that the HTC One X and One X+ will not receive further Android OS updates beyond Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5. We realize this news will be met with disappointment by some, but our customers should feel confident that we have designed both devices to be optimized with our amazing camera and audio experiences.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 begins Android 4.4 KitKat rollout in Poland
Sometimes, even the most massive of updates have humble beginnings. This is the case with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, a device that offered Android 4.3 Jelly Bean upon its debut. We all figured it was just a matter of time before an upgrade to 4.4 KitKat became available to users, and it appears Samsung is now ready to offer it -- albeit, on a rather small scale starting in Poland. According to SamMobile, Polish Note 3 owners (for the Snapdragon 800 quad-core version, at least) can now sideload the update through the manufacturer's Kies software. This is a pretty quiet and restrictive launch, so Samsung hasn't officially made any announcements, but we have a feeling that the company's limiting the rollout at first to ensure all of the possible bugs have been squashed prior to worldwide availability.
Jelly Bean claims 59.1 percent of Android device share as KitKat inches forward
Google has released its first Android device share data for 2014, and it's now clear that many users are flocking to a newer OS version... just not the latest version. While the shiny new KitKat release did climb to 1.4 percent of active devices in January, Jelly Bean was the real winner -- the older software jumped from 54.5 percent in December to 59.1 percent this month. There's no real mystery as to what happened, though. KitKat remains limited to mostly Google hardware, whether it's the Nexus line or Motorola phones; we haven't quite reached that point where large numbers of third-party devices either get KitKat upgrades or ship with the revision pre-installed. That surge may come soon, however, and the team in Mountain View can at least take comfort in knowing that over 60 percent of Android's active customer base is reasonably up to speed.
The 6.8-inch Hisense X1 smartphone is basically a tablet and it's coming to the US this summer (updated: video)
There's big, there's b-i-g and then there's "oh my god, are you [redacted] kidding me this is [redacted] BIG!" That's pretty much how we felt when we first laid our eyes and outstretched hand on Hisense's X1, a 6.8-inch Android smartphone first introduced at this year's CES. You wouldn't be wrong for thinking it's a tablet -- it pretty much unofficially is and depending on your taste and needs, that could be a good thing. The X1, which is slated to launch in China before the US, comes outfitted with what we'd expect from a high-end smartphone: Snapdragon 800, 13-megapixel camera, 1080p IPS display, 3,900mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat. So the performance and shine are there, but its dimensions stop it just short of being practical in daily use. With Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 powering the X1, the overall user experience zips along smoothly and briskly. There's hardly any hesitation when effecting input actions, accessing the app drawer or launching applications. And viewing angles are also excellent, owing to that IPS display. As you can see from our gallery (demo video to come soon), the X1's also running a light skin atop Android, but it's not so cluttered as to make the phone confusing and nearly unusable a la Samsung's TouchWiz. Though the X1 model we previewed was on running 4.3 Jelly Bean, Hisense reps assured us it would ship with KitKat onboard.
Moto G becomes the first non-Nexus phone in the UK to get Android 4.4 KitKat
If you laid out a mere £135 in the UK for a Moto G sans contract, you now have another reason to feel smug: your handset is the first to get KitKat in Britain, apart from Google's Nexus devices. The company just announced that all users of the handset in the UK can now grab Android 4.4.2 and all that it entails -- like better speed and security, a full-screen mode, gallery photo editing and, love it or not, the new Hangouts. If your Moto G hasn't notified you yet about the new version, you can manually update it now -- to see how, check the source.
Polaroid's Q-series Android tablets offer a taste of KitKat starting at $129
Polaroid isn't known as a technology vanguard, but it's showing a little forward thinking today with the launch of three budget tablets. The 7-inch Q7 (pictured below), 8-inch Q8 (above) and 10.1-inch Q10 all run Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, giving them a slight edge over more advanced devices that are still running older software. Not that they'll be especially noteworthy otherwise. All three ship with unnamed (but likely low-end) quad-core processors, and HDMI video is the only real standout feature. You may forgive the modest specs when you see the pricing, however. The Q series will sell at prices between $129 and $179 when it ships in the spring, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to try Google's latest mobile OS.
Moto G gets KitKat, improved camera features in the US
Given that Motorola's budget-friendly Moto G launched just last month, you would have figured the mid-range smartphone would have packed some KitKat. Sadly, it did not, but Mountain View's hardware arm began rolling out Android 4.4.2 to select owners today. If you purchased your Moto G from Amazon or on Motorola.com in the US, it's time to snag that update. Devices sold through carriers and in other regions will get some love "soon." The company's also offering up the same camera update that hit Moto X devices last week, enabling tap to focus and expose, locked exposure for panoramas and support for additional languages. Those camera enhancements will also be making their way to Droid Mini, Maxx and Ultra.
Verizon's 2013 Droid line now does KitKat
Maybe it was the marketing or the battery life, or just an aggressively convincing Verizon rep -- but whatever the reason, you chose a 2013 Droid over Motorola's fine Moto X. And then, maybe you kicked yourself as you watched Verizon update the Moto X to KitKat while your handset sat neglected like the red-eyed stepchild it is. Oh chin up, because KitKat's finally coming to the Droid line as of today. Yes, that means owners of the Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini should start seeing that Android 4.4 update hit their devices. Although cool your jets on the System Update refreshes because it's "being pushed out in phases." We know the wait can be painful, but take comfort in knowing you're almost in the clear.
Cover's context-aware Android lock screen launches on Google Play (video)
Context-sensitive interfaces like Aviate and Google Now are on the rise in the Android world, and Cover is taking advantage of that spotlight by releasing its dynamic lock screen on Google Play as a public beta. The updated front end works much as it did in the invitation-only test, automatically changing app shortcuts and settings as you move from place to place. It's also easy to peek into apps or switch between them. Most of the improvements lie below the surface, Cover says -- the new version maintains an app's exact state while peeking, improves KitKat compatibility, includes tutorials and offers more customization. Whether or not you're a Cover veteran, you're now just a click or two away from trying the updated software for yourself.
