Samsung Galaxy S5 on AT&T gets Lollipop update too

Yesterday AT&T started rolling out the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Samsung Galaxy S4. A bit odd was the fact that the newer Galaxy S5 hadn't yet received the Android version bump at that point, and usually older devices get updates later than their successors.

Regardless, AT&T is now doing right by the owners of Galaxy S5 units purchased from its stores. The Android 5.0 Lollipop update is now officially on the way to AT&T's Galaxy S5 as well.

As you can see from the screengrab to the left, it's a pretty hefty 1.4GB download, so you must use Wi-Fi to get it. That is, of course, if you've already been notified about its availability. If that hasn't happened yet, don't worry – it will within a few days, as the rollout is staged.

If you can't wait that much, you are able to manually check for the update by going to Settings > System > About device > Software update.

After applying the update you'll be running Android 5.0 Lollipop, build LRX21T.G900AUCU3BOC4. According to AT&T's notes for this release, nothing carrier-specific has been added. Every new thing you'll see after updating is part of Samsung's interpretation of Android Lollipop.

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Apple’s iOS 8.3 is now out for all supported devices

After a few betas for developers and a couple of public beta releases for consumers, iOS 8.3 has been finalized by Apple. The new software version is now in the process of rolling out to all supported mobile devices.

iOS 8.3 brings with it a very large number of bug fixes, but also some new features. Among these is a new emoji picker, new diversified emoji, wireless CarPlay support, two-factor authentication for Google accounts, and Apple Pay functionality enabled for the China UnionPay network.

A few apps have received minor updates too, for example Passbook, Messages, and Photos. Siri got new languages and the ability to make calls via the speakerphone. You can now download free apps without having to enter your Apple password.

Previously, iOS 8.1 brought support for Apple Pay, and iOS 8.2 incorporated all the bits necessary for the mobile OS to work with the Apple Watch. An update to iOS 8.4 could already be in the works, perhaps including Apple's upcoming streaming music service.

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HTC Desire 626G+ gets announced for India

Today HTC has unveiled a new smartphone for the Indian market. It's called Desire 626G+ and all appearances point toward it being just a regional variant of the Desire 626 – which HTC launched in its home market of Taiwan back in February.

As you may have inferred from the Desire branding, this is a midrange offering, not a flagship device (HTC has, however, announced one of those too earlier today).

The Desire 626G+ comes with a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 1.7 GHz octa-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD), a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP selfie unit, and a 2,000 mAh battery.

The phone has dual-SIM support, no 4G LTE though – it tops out at 21Mbps HSPA. That's basically the biggest difference between this and the Desire 626, which does have LTE capabilities. The exact chipset isn't named in HTC's documents, but it's probably the MediaTek MT6752 – based on the CPU frequency and the fact that the Desire 626 uses this SoC.

As for software, you get HTC Sense on top of Android, but the exact version employed is unclear. Again, if we go by the Desire 626, it should be Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

HTC has decided to price the Desire 626G+ at INR 16,900, which right now means $271 or €250. That's quite a bit more than what the Desire 626 goes for in Taiwan – namely around $190. Anyway, the new handset will be offered in two color versions, Blue Lagoon and White Birch. It should become available in India in the near…

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Android in March: Lollipop inches past 5 percent

Another month has passed and the statistics are out for the Android versions distribution. The data is gathered over a seven day period prior to the release and the chart is based on the number of the devices that have visited the Google Play Store over that time span.

With manufacturers gradually ramping up Lollipop builds for their smartphones, it's no wonder that Android 5.0 has reached a 5-percent market share. Even the latest 5.1 installment has made it to the chart, albeit at a tiny 0.4%.

Meanwhile KitKat still holds the largest share at 41.4%, an increase by 0.5 points over last months' figures. It's at the expense of previous Jelly Bean builds – some manufacturers are still rolling out KitKat updates for those.

Older releases of Google's OS are still going strong with both Ice Cream Sandwich and Gingerbread ahead of Lollipop in terms of popularity. The oldest OS version, still compatible with the current Play Store App – 2.2 Froyo – gets the same share as the latest 5.1…

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Samsung Galaxy J5 and J7 specs leak

The Galaxy J-series is part of Samsung's recent mobile portfolio expansion and representative of the new, single-letter naming convention, which could finally put some order in the manufacturer's lineup. Currently, we have only seen one member of the J-line – the Galaxy J1, but naming conventions and a few Samsung trademarks have led us to expect a higher-specked J3, J5 and J7 model.

New information has surfaced on the matter and a fresh rumor gives us a glimpse of the alleged specs sheets of the J5 (SM-J500F) and J7 (SM-J700F). It states, that the smaller, J5, will be equipped with a 5.0-inch HD LCD display and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC with 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. A microSD card slot is also thrown in the mix and the whole thing is powered by a 2600 mAh battery. The body weighs 149g and has a thickness of 8.5mm.

The beefier Galaxy J7 will, allegedly, have a 5.5-inch HD LCD screen, the same amount of ram and a choice between 4GB and 8GB for storage. The processor, however, will be an octa-core Marvel PXA1936 chip, clocked at either 1.2 GHz or 1.5 GHz. The device also has a beefier battery at 3000 mAh and is slightly heavier at 170g, but also thinner with a 7.9mm profile.

Both devices should also share a camera setup, consisting of a 13-megapixel main shooter and a 5MP secondary one, but an 8-megapixel option is not out of the question. 4G LTE connectivity will most likely be present on J-series phones as well and they should run Android 5.1 out of the…

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Sony Xperia Z4 leaked case confirms controls placement

The Sony Xperia Z4 is set to complete this year's flagship team when it launches sometime in the summer. It will come bearing few surprises though, as the device was already leaked in press images, as well as spotted live, multiple times.

In another round of revealing photos, we now get to see a set of bumper cases for Sony's upcoming high-end device. Case manufacturers are by necessity a step or two ahead of the general public and often provide valuable intel on future devices.

This time the cases bring yet another confirmation on the omission of the magnetic charging connector, as you certainly wouldn't want to remove your case for each charging session. Apparently it was deemed unnecessary, now that the microUSB port has gone flapless and delivers the hassle-free charging, that the magnetic solution was there for.

Sony Xperia Z4 bumper cases

Other than that, the controls placement is also as previously expected, with a central cutout for the power button on the right side. Next to it is volume rocker, and the dedicated camera shutter button is further down, towards the end.

None of this has much bearing on the actual launch of the handset, though. If anything, we can hope that the quantity of leaks suggests a nearing…

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 with a new 64-bit chipset

Samsung has been testing an updated version of the Galaxy Tab 4 family for quite some time. The Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 was the first spotted running a brand new CPU and now rumors about the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 following suit have been confirmed.

The update in question has to do with the chipset. The old Snapdragon 400 is being swapped with a new 64-bit 410 model. While this is no major performance upgrade, the newer silicon is 64-bit, thus futureproofing the device and preparing it for the benefits of a Lollipop update. The rest of the specs sheet remains completely unchanged and so does the price tag. The device still comes with 1.5GB of RAM and a spacious but low-res 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display.
#twitter-widget-0 {width: 590px !important;}
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 VE 10.1 (Value Edition) SM-T533: old = "new", only change is Snapdragon 410. design & specs same http://ift.tt/1JnF1MZ Roland Quandt (@rquandt) April 7, 2015

This only leaves one member or the Tab 4 family to wallow in the 32-bit realm, but chances are the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, smallest of the bunch, will be getting the same treatment pretty soon as well. The update will undoubtedly extend the lifecycle of all three devices and might just hint that Samsung isn't planning a new Tab 5 series quite yet.

Thanks for the tip…

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Asus to launch three ZenFone 2 models in India on April 23

Asus has finally started sending out invites for the launch of the ZenFone 2 on April 23. Scheduled launch will happen in the country’s capital – New Delhi, and hopefully all models will be shown. On April 21, the ZenFone 2 will be launched in Malaysia as reported earlier.

The Taiwanese company teases in its invite – World’s First 4GB smartphone. For India, three different models will be introduced but there is no clue on the pricing yet.

The cheapest variant will be the ZenFone 2 ZE500CL with a 5-inch 720p display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 mobile SoC, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, and 2,500 mAh battery.

A little higher than that is the ZenFone 2 ZE550ML with a 5.5-inch 720p display, 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 SoC, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 13MP camera with dual-LED flash, 5MP front camera, and 3,000 mAh battery.

Finally, the top model – ZenFone 2 ZE551ML – packs a 5.5" 1080p display, a more capable 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 SoC, 4GB RAM and NFC.

To know more about the ZenFone 2 models, take a look a our hands-on…

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Huawei devices to start getting Lollipop next month

Huawei is one of the companies lagging behind in the roll out of the Android 5.0 Lollipop update. Yet the Chinese company is bringing some good news now, as it has put up a list of smartphones pegged to get the Lollipop update starting next month. Of course, the updates will be rolled out in phases.

The Ascend Mate7 will be the first to get Lollipop, followed by the Ascend P7 and Ascend Mate 2. There are some devices which will be upgraded directly to Lollipop from current Jelly Bean state.

It is surprising that the freshly introduced Honor 6 Plus and Honor 4X will have to wait for the Lollipop update until sometime in August. It is going to be a long wait for Huawei device owners for the Lollipop update wrapped in the Emotion UI, but at least now we know it's coming.

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Lollipop for Xperia Z3 Dual, Z1, Z1 Compact, Z Ultra due next week

Sony is already rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for its Xperia Z2 and Z2 tablet across different regions. In the mean time, the company has promised to release the Lollipop update for the Xperia Z3 Dual, Z1, Z1 Compact and Z Ultra devices the next week.

2/2 #Xperia Z3 Dual, Z1, Z1 Compact and Z Ultra next week, followed shortly after by T2 Ultra & C3. Then Z Series – more on timings soon.— Sony Xperia News (@SonyMobileNews) April 7, 2015

Following that, Sony will release the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update for the T2 Ultra and C3 smartphones. And finally, the company will roll out the update for the original Z series phones – Z, ZL, ZR and Z…

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