Alleged wallpaper from the upcoming HTC One M9 made the rounds on Twitter. The image seems to confirm that the Taiwanese manufacturer’s next flagship will pack 1080p display.

HTC One M9 wallpaper (click to view in full size)

The image has a size of 1920 x 2160 pixels. It reveals that users will be able to make the wallpaper scrollable if they desire.

HTC One M9 will debut in less than two weeks, on March 1 in Barcelona. Rumored specs of the smartphone include 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, 3GB of RAM, and Android 5.0 Lollipop….

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Today two new devices have become available to purchase in India. These are the Microsoft Lumia 532, in its dual-SIM iteration, and the 32GB HTC Nexus 9 with 4G LTE support baked in.

The Lumia 532's launch isn't a surprise, and it follows in the footsteps of the Lumia 435, which went on sale in the subcontinent just last week.

The phone (pictured above) can be bought for INR 6,499, which means around $104 or €92, so it's pretty affordable. Then again, its specs aren't stellar by any measure.

It comes with a 4-inch 480×800 touchscreen, a 5 MP rear camera, a VGA front-facing unit, 1GB of RAM, as well as 8GB of expandable internal storage. It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 200 chipset, with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Adreno 302 GPU. The handset has a 1,560 mAh battery and it runs Windows Phone 8.1.

The HTC-made Nexus 9 has been out in India for a while now, but so far only in the Wi-Fi-only version. Now though you can purchase a 4G LTE capable variation of the tablet too, if you so wish.

You'll have to head to Amazon for this, and be ready to part with no less than INR 43,073. That's about $692 or €610. At least you're getting 32GB of storage too, which is the maximum possible for this device.

The LTE Nexus 9 is otherwise identical to the model sans mobile data connectivity. So you're getting the same 8.9-inch 2,048×1,536 touchscreen, Nvidia Tegra K1 SoC with dual-core 2.3 GHz Denver CPU, 2GB of RAM, 8MP primary camera with LED flash, 1.6MP front snapper, and the 6,700 mAh battery. Like its sibling, the Nexus 9 LTE runs Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Source 1 • Source…

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Last week we told you that Samsung is allegedly busy working on a couple of successors for last year's Galaxy Tab S line of tablets with Super AMOLED touchscreens. And today we get a couple of details about them, revealed through a new rumor on the matter.

Apparently we should expect the new Tab S tablets to come in 8" and 9.7" options. Those are different screen size measurements compared to their predecessors, which are offered in 8.4" and 10.5" versions. The change has to do with Samsung using 4:3 aspect ratios for the Tab S2's displays, just like Apple always has, and like Google has with its Nexus 9 tablet.

Previously we'd heard about another duo of upcoming Samsung tablets with 4:3 aspect ratios, the Galaxy Tab A and A Plus. So now it seems that those weren't just a test case for the new aspect ratio – Samsung has already decided to use it for more devices.

Since the aspect ratio will change, the Tab S2 line will sport different resolutions compared to the original Tab S units. Exactly what those will be is unknown at this point.

But what we do know, according to the same rumor, is that both the Tab S2 8.0 and the Tab S2 9.7 will be thinner than the Apple iPad Air 2. That device's thickness comes in at just 6.1mm. Furthermore, the new tablets will employ metal frames, in order to make them have a premium…

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As we approach its big unveiling on March 1, more and more details about the Samsung Galaxy S6 are allegedly revealed. Today it's time to take a look at the upcoming flagship's battery capacity.

According to some information coming from South Korea, it looks like Samsung will only fit a 2,600 mAh cell into the Galaxy S6. That's 200 mAh smaller than the one found inside its predecessor, the Galaxy S5.

If true (and that's a big if), this isn't great news. Sure, Samsung is set to use its new Exynos 7 Octa chipset in the S6, and because that's made on a 14nm process it should be quite battery friendly. On the other hand, though, the trend lately has been to increase battery size from one generation of a flagship smartphone to the next, not the other way around. Even if Samsung somehow manages to make the Galaxy S6 with a 2,600 mAh cell last as long as the Galaxy S5 with a 2,800 mAh battery, people might still wonder why the Korean company thought that would be enough.

The S6's rumored metal construction and Samsung's thinness war with Apple may have played their part in this situation. Past mumblings did say that the Galaxy S6 would support wireless charging from the get-go, so at least it will be easier to charge throughout the day if you'll need to.

Obviously though, take this with a pinch of salt for now. The source of this rumor goes on to list some other specs for the Galaxy S6, some of which don't line up with what we previously heard. It's said that the device will pack a 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED touchscreen and 3GB of RAM – both things that have been rumored before. But the rear camera will apparently be a 16 MP unit with OIS, and not the 20 MP one that's made the rounds up until now.

Source (in Korean) |…

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Today AT&T has surely made some BlackBerry fans happy. The carrier finally decided to unveil its release date for both the BlackBerry Passport and the Classic. It's going to be February 20, so we're just a few days away from these devices' debut at a US carrier.

Elsewhere they've been available for months, but soon you'll have the option to purchase one of them even if you love long-term contracts with carriers.

AT&T first said it would carry the Passport back in September of 2014, so this has been a very long time coming. The Canadian smartphone maker even redesigned that handset just for AT&T, giving it rounded corners at the specific request of the carrier.

The Passport will be offered by AT&T for $199.99 with a classic two-year agreement, or $649.99 without a contract. If you use the company's Next installment scheme, you pay $0 upfront, then followed by either 20 monthly payments of $32.50, or 24 monthly installments of $27.09, or 30 monthly payments of $21.67.

The BlackBerry Classic will cost $49.99 with a new two-year service agreement, or $419.99 with no annual commitment. With Next, once again you pay $0 down, and then you can choose between the same three installment plans. If you opt for the shortest, you'll hand out $21 per month for 20 months. Or there's the option of paying $17.50 per month for 24 months, or $14 each month for 30…

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The first Fonepad premiered in 2013, nearly a year after the game-changing Nexus 7, which Asus made for Google. The Taiwanese got another contract to work on an upgrade and they did well to keep the momentum…

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News has come today that Sprint has started seeding Android 5.0 to its own LG G3 units. This is definitely good news for eager US users, as Lollipop has been around for the handset in Europe since December last year.

This new update comes only days after AT&T updated their own units. The package is already being seeded and according to Sprint will bring the following benefits to the handset:

Material Design for fluid animation, multicolored themes and 3D views
More efficient battery use
Android™ TV support
Notifications on the lock screen and customizable options with prioritized notifications for events, reminders, messages and calls
Updated Lock Screen features allow users to quickly access notifications and active apps
Enhanced low vision and color blind capabilities for added Accessibility
Integrated location menu enables users to easily activate GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile networks, while simultaneously checking the battery usage of apps running location service capabilities
Enhanced Messaging with Google Hangouts™ support for SMS and MMS and a larger assortment of updated Emoji icons
Upgraded Google Mobile Service™ apps automatically back up photos and video and can open, view, rename and share Google Docs and files

We have already had a chance to play around with Lollipop on the G3 and found that like many other smartphones the LG also behaves quite differently in performance benchmarks. If you are interested in what potential gains the OTA can bring you, take a quick look at our extensive post on the matter, as well as our equally thorough investigation of battery life with the new version.

For anyone on Sprint still not getting the update notification, check for it through the settings menu.

Source |…

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Tizen had to repeat first grade a couple of times, but now it's finally on a phone, the Samsung Z1. The handset launched in mid-January this year and by the end of the month had sold 50,000 units. Since then the number had grown to 100,000.

So far the Z1 is available in India and Bangladesh, markets where local makers found great success with super-affordable handsets. The Tizen phone sells for INR 5,700 in India and BDT 6,900 in Bangladesh ($90 or so, depending on exchange rates).

The Samsung Z1 launched in Bangladesh on February 3 and has already moved 20,000 units there. Business Korea estimates that the Tizen phone accounted for 1% of sales for the month, based on 7.5 million phones sold a month in the two markets.

Not bad numbers for an OS that some considered stillborn. Samsung has set up servers to help developers run tests in South Korea, the US, Britain and Poland, suggesting a path to future expansions in availability.

Source |…

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Case manufacturers have become a reliable source of intel on future smartphones, and Amazon is currently flooded with optional protection for the yet-to-be-announced HTC One (M9) flagship. Unlike the case with the Samsung Galaxy S6 where precise dimensions were stated, HTC's covers are less revealing.

HTC One (M9) cases

One thing that appears certain at this point it the lack of a dual camera, as the back of all cases sports a single large cutout for the lens and flash arrangement. That was a common theme of all previous leaks, so we can can safely assume that HTC will go with a conventional camera this time around.

While the back has been pretty much settled, a few manufacturers seem to have missed the memo on the new speakers design. Some of the models have carried over the One (M8) grille placement in the renders instead of the thin slits towards the edges, that are believed to feature in the next generation.

It's unlikely they've mass produced the wrong case, though. More realistically, companies have chosen the safe side and stuck with an official image of the predecessor, instead of breaching confidentiality agreements and revealing something ahead of launch.

A hat-tip to our reader Maimuna Belgaumwala for the info!

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Little can be said about Vertu that hasn't already been said. Their exquisite take on extremely luxurious handsets has more or less transformed the company into a synonym for high stature. Their long history made them the most instantly recognizable name in the business, which is why we generally love to gaze at every new creation they put out no matter how ridiculously overpriced and unobtainable it is for the better part of us.

The latest creation of the British company is a member of the Signature Touch line. Just like the rest of the collection the handset combines current technology with extremely high-end design, materials and naturally enough price.

The new addition comes bearing the name "Pure Jet Red Gold" which mostly explains what the phone is about. It is pretty much identical to the rest of the lineup in terms of internals, but now comes with what Vertu consider a classier and cleaner style, namely with only gold in accents instead of "overly gaudy" precious stones.

The company goes on to emphasize that although the Pure Jet Red Gold does not bear some special sign of exclusivity, like the Jet Calf edition or the Vertu for Bentley edition it is just as classy, while screaming "I am simply that rich", so no compromises in this department were made.

The phone itself is constructed from Grade 5 titanium and black PVD-coated titanium for the back side. It also sports what Vertu refer to as 'fine-mill' leather from the Alpine region where calves are apparently more exclusive.

On the hardware side the Vertu is pretty much identical to its siblings. It has the same 4.7-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 801 SoC with a quad-core Krait 400 CPU and 2GB of RAM. The screen is made of sapphire crystal, which besides being quite expensive should provide more than excellent protection. A full rundown of the hardware can be found on our specs page.

The handset currently goes for $21,900, which is hopefully enough to make a clear social statement otherwise Vertu might lose some of its prospective clientele with its new "clean" design…

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