The successor to the midrange Lumia 1320 phablet is closely approaching. Apparently Microsoft is preparing its launch in India, as evidenced by dummy import documents. What is likely going to be called Lumia 1330/1335 will hit the market in no less than three color schemes.

Orange will be the lead color, outnumbering the rest 7 to 1. Less striking options are white and cyan, and the latter we've already seen, if only only as a back cover.

Globally speaking, the upcoming midranger will exist in multiple variants, and three are known so far. Intel on two of those comes from FCC database, showing the regulator has green-lighted the RM-1065 and RM-1064 models.

The former is the more exciting one, as it will pack dual SIM capability and support LTE. The RM-1064 will be largely the same device, only ditching the second SIM card. The RM-1062, that will arrive in India, as evidenced by the 8,000 units, will lose the 4G connectivity.

We previously reported on the alleged specs of the Lumia 1330/1335 range. A Snapdragon 400 chipset will be paired with a single gig of RAM, but a generous 32GB of built-in storage will be available.

We are yet to see if that will result in the loss of the microSD slot or there will be some sort of second SIM or microSD dilemma. The screen size will be reduced to 5.7 inches, compared to the predecessor's 6 inches, leaving the inevitable Lumia 1520 heir undisturbed at the top.

The import document naturally reveals no price or availability details.

Via 1…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1Ckv6Co
via IFTTT

Following the numerous leaks, Samsung is about to launch of the Galaxy Grand 3 smartphone in India. The phone appeared later last year in TENAA and little before that went through benchmark testing.

The Samsung Galaxy Grand 3 is teased as “The grandest ever” and is expected to go on sale via Snapdeal. However, a specific time frame for the launch isn’t given at this stage.

Samsung has upgraded its big-sized mid-ranger all around. The 5.25″ display boasts 720p resolution and under the hood, there’s a Snapdragon 410 chipset with a quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU running at 1.2GHz, 1.5GB of RAM and Adreno 306 GPU. The phone will ship with Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box.

The Galaxy Grand 3 retains the 5MP selfie camera of the Grand Prime but upgrades the main camera to 13MP stills. Both cameras can record 1080p video. There is 12GB user-available storage, with 4GB going to Android and TouchWiz. Unsurprisingly, Samsung Galaxy Grand 3 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. Its measures are 146 x 74.8 x 7.95 mm, while its weight tips the scale at 140…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1J0hmFY
via IFTTT

The Lumia 1020 and 925 are finally getting the long-awaited Denim update in select European markets. Today Microsoft confirmed that the roll-out has officially begun but as usual it might take some time to reach every device out there. Different carrier update schedules can affect availability just as much as geographical location.

One of our readers from Hungary has already provided us with a screenshot of the OTA and everything seems to check out. So if you own a Lumia 1020 or Lumia 925 be sure to check regularly over the next few days for the update package and report back with any interesting findings.

News has already surfaced that O2 in the UK will start updating their units today, but things can get a little messy when searching for availability. The US Lumia 1020 for instance is available exclusively through AT&T and they are yet to share any information on update plans.

In case you find it hard to make sense of it all, Microsoft is providing nicely organized version tables for their smartphones, that let users see if the handset they own is eligible for the Denim update and if not what is the latest Windows Phone package they can get. The lists can be accessed according to region from the links below:

Africa
Asia Pacific
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America

Microsoft has also provided a concise change log of update. Cortana is of course center stage, but there are also a lot of little improvements in the two device's behavior.

Latest software release for Nokia Lumia 925 is Lumia Denim (3051.50009.1451.10xx/8.10.14226.359)

Cortana, the most personal digital assistant, is now available also in the UK and China. New features for Cortana include improved natural language, car kit integration for contacts using Bluetooth, snooze reminders, and calendar improvements. Cortana even does character impersonations upon request.
Organise and further personalise your start screen easily. Group apps into a folder on the start screen, rename the folder, and rearrange tiles inside the folder for greater personalisation.
Improved Glance screen with Bing Weather or Bing Health & Fitness data, in addition to time and date, notifications, and app data.
Updates to the Lumia Storyteller and Lumia Selfie apps. Available from Store.
Connect and browse even faster with improved download speeds on mobile websites.
Install phone updates more easily by scheduling them for a time that works best for you.
Additional improvements to stability, battery performance, push notifications, WiFi connectivity, consumer VPN support, Apps Corner, merging and forwarding text messages, custom snooze times in the Alarms app, Store Live Tile (available in the US only), and more.

Latest software release for Nokia Lumia 1020 is Lumia Denim (3051.50009.1451.1xxx/8.10.14226.359)

Cortana, the most personal digital assistant, is now available also in the UK and China. New features for Cortana include improved natural language, car kit integration for contacts using Bluetooth, snooze reminders, and calendar improvements. Cortana even does character impersonations upon request.
Organise and further personalise your start screen easily. Group apps into a folder on the start screen, rename the folder, and rearrange tiles inside the folder for greater personalisation.
Improved Glance screen with Bing Weather or Bing Health & Fitness data, in addition to time and date, notifications, and app data.
Updates to the Lumia Storyteller and Lumia Selfie apps. Available from Store.
Connect and browse even faster with improved download speeds on mobile websites.
Install phone updates more easily by scheduling them for a time that works best for you.
Additional improvements to stability, battery performance, push notifications, WiFi connectivity, consumer VPN support, Apps Corner, merging and forwarding text messages, custom snooze times in the Alarms app, Store Live Tile (available in the US only), and more.

Thanks for the tip Raul T

Source |…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1vmOxYH
via IFTTT

Samsung has started rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Galaxy Note 4 in South Korea.

The update is currently available only for the Exynos variant of the Note 4 on the SK Telecom network, but it should be available on other carriers shortly.

The update can be downloaded right now from Samsung Kies desktop application, with the OTA download arriving later.

The Note 4 Lollipop update started rolling out yesterday, with Poland being the first country to get it. It should be rolling out in other regions…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/16WEpQg
via IFTTT

Soak test over, now the Motorola Moto E is getting Lollipop for real. Joining the entry level handset is the flagship Motorola Moto Maxx. The Moto E update got a quick soak test in Brazil and India, while the Moto Maxx was tested in Brazil again and in Mexico.

Motorola hasn’t opened the floodgates though, the updates are continuing to roll out slowly to small test groups at first. If everything goes well, the update will expand to more users.

Moto E users should check that the Motorola Update Services on their phone is the latest version. It's on the Play Store so go do that while you wait for Android 5.0 Lollipop to come around.

Both Moto G generations have already received the update, as has the second-gen Moto X. The original Moto X is still waiting though, it turns out that unique chipset is slowing things…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1CYiNkF
via IFTTT

The Kodak IM5 Android smartphone, which was announced early last month, will first be launched in the UK. The device, costing £189.98 ($289), is up for pre-order on Clove, and is expected to be in stock in late March or early April, the British retailer says.

Specifications-wise, the device is powered by an unnamed 1.7 GHz octa-core processor, and sports a 5-inch 720p touchscreen. It has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory (expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD card), and runs Android 4.4 KitKat (with a Lollipop update on the cards).

In terms of camera, the smartphone features a 13 MP rear unit with LED flash, a 5 MP front snapper. You'll also get an app that will allow you to quickly edit photos, share them on social media, or directly print…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1vmFlDI
via IFTTT

Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4G, which was launched in India back in December last year, is now available for purchase on e-commerce website Flipkart without any registration.

Although the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has said that it is now making enough units of the device, and can sell it without any flash sale, it's highly likely that the move was made because the phablet's demand in the market has gone down, given the fact that it did not sell out during its last flash sale that took place on February 10.

The news comes just a couple of days after the Mi 4 sold out in just 15 seconds during its first flash sale in the country. The 64GB variant of the device will go on sale on February…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1zxpbYQ
via IFTTT

We have in our anxious reviewer hands the current top-dog of the Asus 7-inch crowd, the Memo Pad 7 ME572C. The Asus naming convention doesn’t help much in identifying specific models and one must resort to alphanumeric internal designations to differentiate it from the more humble Memo Pad 7 ME176C.

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1ApFkoE
via IFTTT

BlackBerry gave its flagship smartphone a price cut for Valentine’s Day. The squarish BlackBerry Passport is available with $100 off in the United States and $125 off in Canada.

The discount is available directly in the Canadian manufacturer’s official online store. It will run through Monday, February 16. All three colors of the handset are available – black, white, and red.

BlackBerry’s promo pricing means that you can pick up a Passport for as low as $499 in the United States (in black or white). The more eye-catching red color goes for $599.

Source…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1EZIdiu
via IFTTT

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is working on a new device. This has been revealed thanks to TENAA, the Chinese equivalent to the FCC. The Vivo Y929 has passed through TENAA's regulatory process, and as usually happens in such cases, a couple of images have resulted, showing the handset for the first time.

Thankfully though, the pictures aren't all, as we also get to find out details about the phone's specs.

The Vivo Y929 will come with a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP front snapper, dual-SIM support (dual-standby), and a 2,000 mAh battery. It will be 4G LTE-capable, and will sport 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, which may be expanded through the use of microSD cards.

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset with a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, so although unnamed we're probably looking at the Snapdragon 410. It runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Vivo's FunTouch OS 2.0 on top. Its dimensions are 143.6 x 71.1 x 6.67 mm, so it's pretty thin for this day and age, and it weighs just 128g.

It will be priced at CNY 2,198, which is insanely expensive for the Chinese market given those specs. That amount currently translates into approximately $351 or €311. The metal frame and the fact that both the front and the back of this device are coated in Gorilla Glass 3 may persuade some to purchase it based solely on looks, but otherwise it's unlikely to become a best seller. And we're not sure it will ever officially be offered in other parts of the world.

Source (in Chinese) |…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1AcURte
via IFTTT