Nokia to reveal ‘Sirius’, a Snapdragon 800-powered Windows RT tablet on September 26

Is Nokia about to enter the tablet space? Well, yes. According to the latest report from The Verge, Nokia is planning to launch a Windows RT tablet come September 26 — that’s one full month away! Their source says that the tablet, codenamed ‘Sirius’, resembles Nokia’s Windows Phone devices, which is hardly a surprise. The body will be allegedly given bright color treatments just like its smartphone counterparts and sport a large (by today’s standards anyway) 10.1-inch display with 1920x1080 full HD resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor along with 2GB of RAM, and LTE connectivity.

Nokia will also include a microSD card slot in addition to the 32GB internal storage, a micro HDMI port, and a micro USB port supposedly for charging it. A 6 megapixel rear-facing camera (similar to the Nokia 720’s?) will also be making an appearance, together with a 2 megapixel one on the front for video calling and such.

‘Sirius’ will be reportedly priced similar to the iPad, which retails for $499 (P23,990 here) in the US. A separate keyboard which can charge the device when attached, among other accessories will be also made available at launch.

Do you think a Windows RT tablet from Nokia will become successful? With the fate the Surface RT has faced, I say otherwise. But we’ll have to see, and we’re only months away from that.

Source: The Verge

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Nokia ‘Bandit’ with 6-inch 1080p screen coming soon

Who likes large-screened phones? You? Great. Who likes Windows Phone? You again? Well, you might be in for a treat soon.

Reports have surfaced online that Nokia is planning to come up with a Lumia device with a rather large 6-inch screen. According to The Verge, the new Nokia Lumia, codenamed ‘Bandit’, is already under testing. It is said to be having a 1080p display and will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which I suppose is the Snapdragon 600 or 800.

Furthermore, the Nokia ‘Bandit’ is reported to sport a rear camera that is ‘at least 20 megapixels’ with a small bump just like on the Lumia 925 while at the same time maintaining a sleek and lightweight profile made of polycarbonate.

The ‘Bandit’ will reportedly ship with the new Windows Phone GDR3 update which brings support for 1080p devices as well as some minor changes such as additional row of tiles on the Start screen, a rotation lock option (finally!), driving mode, and minor UI changes.

Source: The Verge

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Apple’s alleged budget iPhone appears in high-resolution photos and video

What are you seeing above is Apple’s alleged budget plastic iPhone. News and rumors has been circulating around for a few months already and it looks like it is really happening.

A company called Techdy claims to have got hold of what seems to be a shell for the plastic iPhone. They even went further and fit a ‘display assembly into the new budget iPhone’s rear shell’. They note that the display fits just fine with the shell of the plastic iPhone.

“As can be seen from the images above, all the rumors about the low-cost plastic iPhone seem to be true. The budget iPhone will be made substantially from plastic (we can feel it’s actually polycarbonate material). It will have a 4” screen, like the iPhone 5, and interestingly, the budget iPhone actually has a shape that’s similar to Apple’s original iPod. When we hold the budget iPhone in our hands, the plastic chassis does not feel cheap at all. Unlike the plastic build quality of the Samsung Galaxy phones, the plastic material used on the budget iPhone feels more sturdy.”

The plastic iPhone has also appeared in leaked photos in the past few days and comes in several colors like red, green, yellow, blue, and white.

Sources: Nowhereelse.fr (1) (2), Techdy

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Rumor: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to receive Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Plus update in July along with the Galaxy S4

Calling all the owners of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2! An anonymous source has just tipped us on an upcoming and anticipated update for the Galaxy Note 2.

In a screenshot of what seems to be an internal document from a carrier, it is revealed that the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean ‘Plus’ update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE (for this carrier, at least) is expected to be approved on July 22, followed by the general release on August 8. The document says that the carrier is awaiting the submission of the update from Samsung, which is expected on July 8.

Now this is what’s interesting. International and unlocked models from Samsung normally receive updates well ahead of time than those being offered by big-name carriers like AT&T, Vodafone, and many others. If we are to follow this leaked document, it is possible that unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note 2 models will get the Android 4.2.2 update in July.

The document also reveals that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will get the same Jelly Bean ‘Plus’ update at the same timeframe. There was no mention of any schedule for the Galaxy S3, however.

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Globe to reportedly offer the LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 soon

It seems like that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 may be joining Globe Telecom’s array of LTE smartphones as they gear to launch the LTE version of the 5.5-inch phablet in the Philippines soon, an anonymous source has told Mister Jonjon.

The second generation Galaxy Note was launched by Samsung in the country October of last year. All three Philippine carriers are also offering it with their postpaid plans. If Globe’s plans are anything to go by, I expect the Galaxy Note 2 LTE (which has a GT-N7105 model number by the way) to be offered on Plan 1,799 which includes unlimited data and P800 consumable with a P4,800 cash-out. It may be also offered completely free on Plan 2,499 and up.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 sports a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD screen, a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, a 3,100 mAh battery, an 8 Megapixels camera with a 1.9 Megapixel one on the front, and runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. An update to version 4.2.2 is already planned in the coming months.

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Instagram coming to Windows Phone 8?

Rumors broke out a few days ago suggesting that Instagram might really launch on Windows Phone. It started when the Instagram icon was spotted plastered on the screen on a carrier promotion banner at Portugal. The icon could just be erroneously Photoshopped on the render, as with many other cases.

But today, another news surfaced from Chinese website WPDang, which has been somewhat accurate in the past, which claims that they have been tipped by an anonymous source that says Instagram for Windows Phone is currently under development and is indeed ‘landing shortly’. Perhaps to spice it up, there will be an extra filter than the iOS and Android versions that will be exclusive to the Windows Phone version.

Lastly, the site further says that Instagram will be initially exclusive to Nokia Lumia devices and will be only available to Windows Phone 8.

Sources: WPCentral, WPDang

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Globe to offer DSL and Fiber connections at lower prices? P1,299 for 20Mbps?

YugaTech got hold of a confidential document from Globe which details the new proposed DSL and Fiber pricing. An anonymous source has told them that Globe Telecom is finalizing deals and negotiations with local media companies to bundle Internet TV services too.

The new alleged pricing for the Tattoo@Home plans seems to have gotten a nose dive, with the entry-level 1Mbps plan only costing P299 per month. Some existing plans got huge bumps in the connection speed too. Take the Plan 1299 as an example, which now has speeds of up to 20Mbps from 2Mbps today.

The Internet and TV plans start at P2,099 per month for 40Mbps and costs as much as P4,099 for 100Mbps. it will supposedly have up to 70 channels.

Of course, take this with a grain of salt. The price adjustments are too significant for Globe to offer, though not exactly extra-ordinary. ISP’s in the other countries offer home internet connections for low monthly prices already. For instance, British Telecommunications (BT) in the UK charges £26/month (~P1,700) for its 76Mbps Infinity 2 service and £35/month (~P2,300) for it's 100Mbps Infinity service.

However, if this is true, Globe will definitely give PLDT a run for its money. At the present, Globe offers Fiber, through it's Tattoo Torque brand, for P4,299 for 10Mbps, P6,299 for 15Mbps, P14,999 for 50Mbps, and P19,999 for the 100Mbps plan. On the other hand, PLDT Fibr has monthly charges of P3,500 for 8Mbps, P5,800 for 20Mbps, P8,800 for 50Mbps, and P20,000 for 100Mbps.

UPDATE: These plans are not true, according to a representative from Globe.

Source: YugaTech

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First image of the HTC M7 leaks out

UnwiredView, thru the infamous @evleaks, got hold of an allegedly render of HTC’s flagship smartphone for 2013, the HTC M7.

The image you see above is the front (I initially thought it’s the back part) face of the device, with the earpiece on the top, and the front-facing camera and other sensors on its opposite sides. The loudspeaker seems to have been moved to the front of the device, which should alleviate the muffling of the sound that’s plaguing other devices with the loudspeakers on the back.

The image reportedly came from an internal instructional video for SIM card installation, thus the missing branding and other details. The HTC M7 is expected to pack a 4.7-inch 1080p full HD screen and a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, supposedly the S4 Pro from Qualcomm. UnwiredView also says HTC added an IR port on the top of the device just beside the power button.

The HTC M7 is expected to be announced at the Mobile Word Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this February. It will reportedly come with a price tag just upwards of $600.

Is it just me or it looks like the back face of the iPhone 5?

Source: UnwiredView

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Rumor: Nexus 4 production halted by LG, successor likely to launch next month

Rumor has it that LG has halted the production of the just-launched Nexus 4, the flagship smartphone of Google under its Nexus brand of devices. International Business Times quotes LG Senior Vice President James Fisher as saying that the Nexus 4 is just "the first of many" Nexus products the company is working on, which hints LG and Google might be already working on the successor of the Nexus 4.

Fisher further added that "at Mobile World Congress next month and throughout the year, you'll see us bring to market more tier-one premium handsets in various screen sizes." The successor of the Nexus 4 is expected to launch along Google’s next version of Android, the Key Lime Pie.

If that is the case, well I feel sorry for the early adopters of the Nexus 4, and even more for the ones whose orders are only about to ship.

Source: International Business Times

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