The Lumia 2520 isn't Nokia's First Tablet, Check Out the Lost Ones Here!

Last week, Nokia announced its “first” Windows tablet, the Lumia 2520. (Not many would’ve even given that aspect attention.) This means that while the Lumia 2520 is the company’s first tablet in years, it is far from being the first one.

If you’re a Nokia fan, you already know about following devices that were marketed by Nokia as “Internet tablets”; these lost products started coming to market during 2005 with the 770. The last one (N900) came in 2009.

What’s more interesting is that all of them came with a resistive touchscreen, two years before Apple popularised the technology in portable devices.

Nokia 770 (2005)

Nokia’s first Internet tablet ran on Maemo, the Linux-based OS and had a 4.1 inch resistive touchscreen which got input from a stylus. Apart from that, it had a 252Mhz processor, 64 MB RAM and 128 MB expandable memory.

The resultant was a slow device which got scathing reviews. Long forgotten.

Nokia N800 (2007)

The next attempt came just days after the original iPhone came. Despite this, the N800 is probably the most neglected Nokia product from the top-end N-series.

Having a 4.1 inch resistive touchscreen again, this time it came with an underclocked 330 Mhz processor, 128 MB RAM, 64 MB expandable storage and upgraded Meamo OS. At least the thing worked this time, getting 3.5 stars out of 5 from Cnet.

Nokia N810 (2007)

The N810 was the last Nokia product which got marketed as an Internet tablet and this time, it came with several big changes. Nokia N810 featured a more pocketable design plus a slide-out backlit keyboard.

The 4.1 inch resistive touchscreen display was still there, but it had 2 GB expandable memory, newer Maemo OS and a VGA camera this time. It was powered by a 400 Mhz processor on top of a 128 MB RAM. This product too got forgotten, however.

Nokia N900 (2009)

The N900 wasn’t an internet tablet only, it was a phone and it ran on the same Maemo OS. In my opinion, that telephone functionality is the reason why the N900 is a reasonably popular device because you see, a Nokia product without a SIM card slot isn’t quite Nokia enough. Therefore, even the Lumia 2520 and the Nokia Booklet 3G come with with SIM card functionality.

The touchscreen was smaller at 3.5 inches and it borrowed the same bizarre keyboard from the N97 but the N900 came with a Cortex A8 processor, 256 MB RAM, 32 GB storage and a 5 megapixel front camera. At the time of its release, it was among the most powerful phones on the market.

But its greatest legacy was its ability to run almost everything you threw at it. From Android to Windows Mobile, everything you throw at it runs. Hell, there are even tutorials of full-fledged Windows running on the device. This amazing capability will keep the N900 alive for a long time to come.

These all internet tablets are obsolete and discontinued now and the future lies in Lumia 2520 and Windows. Pretty much all of these “lost” devices were failures and it will be worth watching whether the 2520 will change that.

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Google Reveals the Motorola Moto X

Google’s acquisition of Motorola happened quite a lot of time ago and nothing serious had been achieved from the partnership yet, but the two companies have finally done something unique with the Moto X. The much-hyped smartphone is not the most high-end smartphone you’ll see but is undoubtedly the most customizable.

To start with, the Moto X comes with a 4.7 inch AMOLED display with 720p HD resolution. The reason why the flagship-norm 1080p wasn’t chosen was because “it would just suck the battery and nobody would know the difference”. That’s right to some extent, especially since anything more than 300ppi is useless. It is protected by a new breed of Gorilla Glass dubbed “Magic Glass” and is a bit curved on its edges.

Under the hood, the phone packs a Qualcomm SnapDragon S4 Pro SoC, dual-core 1.7Ghz Krait CPU and Adreno 320 GPU. Motorola’s new power-efficient X8 chip is also there. The amount of RAM in the phone is 2 GB and the storage capacity will be 16 or 32 gigs, non-expandable.

The back boasts a 10 megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD video at 30fps, LED Flash and HDR. A 2 megapixel Full HD camera is at the front too. Talking of fronts and backs, the phone is really customizable.

Firstly, the phone is made of high-quality plastic. The back is curved which makes the Moto X fairly usable with one hand. It’s 10.4mm at its thickest point and 5.4mm on the edges. It weighs 130g.

The phone’s front panel is either black or white but the back comes in a mind-blowing range of 18 colors. Three special versions made of wood will be available later. The further customizations are done via the Moto Maker site. You can also customize the accent colors and the color of the charger & NFC speaker there. Overall, 2000 customizations can be made with Moto Maker.

But wait, the software is also a beneficiary here. You’ll be able to choose the color of the phone’s wallpaper and add your Google ID via Moto Maker. Still, if you don’t like the end result much, Google will also replace your phone within 2 weeks. The service won’t be available until next year though.

Here are the specs of the Moto X:

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 4.7 inch AMOLED display with 720p resolution
• 5.4mm thick at its thinnest point and 10.4 on its thickest
• 130g heavy
• 1.7 Ghz dual-core Krait CPU with Qualcomm SnapDragon S4 Pro SoC
• Adreno 320 GPU
• 2 GB RAM with 16/32 GB non-expandable storage
• 10 megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD video
• 2 megapixel 1080p camera
• Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band Wifi, microUSB 2.0, GPS
• Mind boggling customizations via Moto Maker
• 2200 mAh battery

The phone will be available via a contract in late August. International availability will start from Canada later on. While this phone is lacking a bit of pace on the hardware side, the great customizations alone will find it customers. The Moto X makes even the Lumia series look dull.

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Over Two-Thirds of All Tablets Shipped Last Quarter Were Android

Continuing its dominance from smartphones, Android has certainly started to increase its lead drastically in the tablet market too.

According to a new report by Strategy Analytics, out of the 51.7 million tablets shipped in the last quarter, about 67% of tablets ran on Android OS. iOS-running iPads largely lagged competition at 28%.

Microsoft’s Windows-running tablets also saw an increase in their marketshare, making up for about 4.5% of the shipments in the last quarter.

By statistics, Android has made a mammoth leap from last year. In the same time period of 2012, Google and its OEMs had managed to attain a marketshare of 51.4% compared to Apple’s share of 47.2%. What’s critical here however, is that not only Apple’s marketshare, its sales dropped too, in Q2 of 2013 compared to 2012.

Overall, the tablet shipments of 36.2 million were substantially higher than the 24.6 million units shipped in the same quarter of the year before.

If you also combine the shipments of so-called “White-box” or the unbranded tablets, the sales reached a staggering 51.2 million units. While these figures definitely can’t match the sales of the smartphone market, these are certainly respectable in their own right.

More details in below table:

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Google Announces the new Nexus 7, Quad-Core, HD Screen for $230

The original Google Nexus 7 was unarguably one of the most widely acclaimed gadgets of 2012. Among the numerous reasons of its success, was the fact that it came at a price tag which made it accessible to almost everybody.

Now, after one year, Google has made the successor to the Nexus 7 official. The new Nexus 7 comes with several new, important features, including a better and more portable design, better internals, a hugely-better display and rear-camera.

The display of the original Nexus 7 was already fine with a resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels but Google has upped it even further, monumentally, to 1200 x 1920 pixels. Protection is carried out by Corning Gorilla Glass.

It comes with radically improved hardware now. The storage options have been made better, from 8 and 16 GB versions to 16 and 32 GB. The amount of RAM is also increased to 2 GB from 1. As for the processor, the new Nexus 7 comes with a new quad-core SnapDragon S4 Pro processor, clocked at 1.5Ghz on a Krait CPU, up from a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

Last year’s Nexus 7 came with only a front-camera as a rear one might have increased costs. This year, that was possible so the new Nexus 7 boasts a 5 megapixel camera at the back, capable of doing 1080p Full HD video. To be honest, a rear-camera on a tablet doesn’t make much sense but its definitely better than having nothing at all.

The tablet is also much more portable. Its a full 50g lighter and 1.8mm thinner than last year’s offering. The bezels are also trimmed down by 2.75mm.

Here are the specifications of the tablet:

• Latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
• 7 inch display with resolution of 1200 x 1920 pixels
• Corning Gorilla Glass protection and 10-point touchscreen
• 8.7 mm thick
• 290g heavy
• 1.5 Ghz quad-core SnapDragon S4 Pro processor and Adreno 320 GPU
• 2 GB RAM and 16/32 GB non-expandable storage
• 5 megapixel rear-camera with 1080p Full HD video
• 1.2 megapixel front-camera
• Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC, HDMI
• Support for Wireless Charging and Google Wallet
• 3950 mAh battery
• Available in Black

The new Nexus 7 is a bit pricier compared to the last year’s offering. The 16 GB version costs $230 now while the 32 GB is available for $270. That’s more expensive compared to last year’s tablets which costs $200 (8 GB) and $250 (16 GB). But you simply can’t ignore the fact that this year’s models come with twice the storage capacity, much, much better power under the hood and a monumentally better display. And because of these, the price difference is more than justified.

The new Nexus 7 will hit the markets worldwide in the starting of the next month. The best all-round 7 inch slate on the market just got even better!

At its announcement, Google called the original Nexus 7 the tablet which started the domination of Android in the tablet scene. Will the new Nexus 7 turn that domination into an undisputed lead until the arrival of its successor? That remains to be seen.

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LG Optimus G Pro Launched in Pakistan

Hot on the heels of the success of Optimus G, LG Electronics (LG) will introduce the newest addition to the G family in Pakistan. With the largest display yet to appear on an LG smartphone, the 4G LTE-equipped Optimus G Pro with 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display and new UX features was developed to meet the growing demand for smartphones with large screens.

The Full HD IPS display on the Optimus G Pro — developed in partnership with LG Display — delivers 1920 x 1080 pixels at 400ppi. The smartphone offers the largest battery capacity in its class at 3,140mAh, allowing for Full HD viewing enjoyment for hours on end. And with an improved 13MP rear and 2.1MP front camera, users can also capture images and videos in Full HD, the same quality found on high definition TVs.

The Optimus G Pro also comes with advanced UX features developed specifically for the device, such as Dual Recording and Virtual Reality (VR) Panorama. Dual Recording allows users to capture video with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously for a unique picture-in-picture experience. And VR Panorama allows shots of entire horizontal and vertical environments for a full 360^o view. Creative and innovative UX features popular with Optimus G users have been added to the Optimus G Pro, such as an upgraded QSlide, Live Zooming and QuickMemo.

“The Optimus G Pro was developed specifically to deliver vivid and superb picture quality in a large display smartphone form factor,” said Mr. D.Y. Kim, President of LG Electronics, Gulf FZE. “We will continue to expand our position in the premium LTE smartphone segment with our superior display technology and unique user experience.”

LG’s Optimus G Pro is one of the most advanced smartphones currently on the market. It was recently honored with the Best LTE Device/Handset Award at LTE World Summit 2013 in recognition of the device’s industry-leading performance and features. The smartphone was also recognized soon after its debut at Mobile World Congress 2013 by the red dot design awards for excellence in the field of design.

Optimus G Pro Key Specifications:

• Chipset: 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm^® Snapdragon™ 600 Processor
• RAM: 2GB DDR
• Internal Memory: 16GB
• Display: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 400ppi)
• Camera: Rear 13.0MP with LED Flash / Front 2.1MP
• OS: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• Battery: 3,140mAh (removable / wireless charging capable)
• Size: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm

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Nokia Lumia 625 is a Mid-Range Windows Phone with 4.7 Inch Screen

Until now, the biggest Lumia available were the Lumia 920, Lumia 925 and 928 which came with a 4.5 inch display but Nokia is upping its recurring standard by announcing the Lumia 625 which comes with a 4.7 inch screen, despite being a mid-range device.

“With our largest smartphone screen to date, the Nokia Lumia 625 is a perfect example of how Nokia is delivering leading smartphone innovation and experiences at every price point,” said Jo Harlow, executive vice president, Nokia Smart Devices.

The phone runs on Windows Phone 8 and also supports 4G LTE.

The 4.7 inch display comes with a WVGA resolution of 800 x 480 pixels and a pixel density of 201ppi, by far not the best. It’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2 and is an IPS LCD unit.

On the hardware side, the phone features a 1.2Ghz dual-core SnapDragon processor with Adreno 305 processor. It also comes with 8 GB of internal storage and 512 MB RAM. The storage is expandable, thanks to a microSD card slot.

The camera at the back is a 5 megapixel unit, capable of doing 1080p video recording and is accompanied by an LED Flash.

On the connectivity front, the phone features 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Wi-Fi and GPS.

The Nokia Lumia 625 also provides many innovations found in the recently announced flagship Nokia Lumia 1020. These include a range of integrated camera applications like Nokia Smart Camera, offering handy features like removing unwanted objects from pictures, and Nokia Cinema graph, which turns photos into living memories with added movement.

Here are the full specs of the phone:

• Microsoft Windows Phone 8
• 4.7 inch IPS LCD display with WVGA resolution (201ppi)
• Super-sensitive multi-touch touchscreen
• Weight: 159g
• 9.2mm thick
• 1.2Ghz dual-core SnapDragon processor
• Adreno 305 GPU
• 512 MB RAM with 8 GB expandable storage
• 5 megapixel camera with LED Flash and 1080p Full HD video
• 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Wi-Fi-Hotspot, GPS
• Available in yellow, green, white, orange and black
• 2000 mAh battery

The phone will hit the world in the third quarter of 2013 for a reasonable price tag of $290. In this range, it will face stiff competition of a number of smartphones including Samsung Galaxy Grand so it will be a strict matter of Windows Phone vs Android while buying this one.

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Samsung Announces Galaxy S4 Mini

Samsung yesterday announced the compact with many of the advance features of Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S4 Mini.

Samsung is marketing S4 Mini as powerful yet compact version of company’s bestselling smartphone, Galaxy S4.

Samsung galaxy S4 mini comes with 4.3 inch qHD Super AMOLED screen and runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on top of Samsung’s extensive TouchWiz customizations.

The Galaxy S4 mini boasts powerful performance, equipped with a 1.7GHz dual core processor. It comes along with a 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1.9-megapixel HD front-facing camera.

Here are the complete specs for Galaxy S4 Mini:

• Processor: 1.7 GHz Dual-Core Processor
• OS: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Display: 4.3”qHD (16:9 wide view) Super AMOLED
• Dimension: 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.94mm, 107g (3G Dual SIM version:108g)
• Memory: 8GB Internal memory (User Memory approximately 5GB) ＋ microSD (up to 64GB), 1.5GB RAM
• Camera:
  • Rear : 8 megapixel
  • Front: 1.9 megapixel
  • Camera Features: Sound & Shot, Night(Low Light Shot), Best Photo, Best Face, Beauty Face(include Live Beauty), HDR (High Dynamic Range), Panorama, Sports, Continuous Shot
• Connectivity:
  • WiFi 5.0GHz a/b/g/n
  • GPS ＋ GLONASS
  • Bluetooth® v4.0 (LE), NFC(LTE version only)
  • IR LED (Remote Control)
• Sensor: Accelerometer, Light, Proximity, Gyro, Magnetic
• Battery: 1,900mAh
• Other features:
  • Group Play: Share Music, Share Picture, Share Document,
  • Play Games
  • Story Album, S Translator
  • S Travel (TripAdvisor), S Voice™,
  • S Health (Downloadable from Samsung Apps)
  • Samsung Adapt Display, Samsung Adapt Sound
  • Safety Assistance, Samsung Link, Screen Mirroring, HomeSync, Smart Switch
  • Samsung KNOX

Samsung hasn’t released any info regarding the availability or price of S4 Mini.

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Nokia Lumia 928 pictures

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Galaxy S4 is the first smartphone to support Verizon's upcoming LTE expansion (update)

The first smartphone to take advantage of Verizon's upcoming AWS spectrum is already out in the wild. Bloomberg reports that Samsung's Galaxy S4 will be able to support AWS on Verizon when it launches later this year. The phone will require a software update to activate support for the spectrum, which is being used to increase LTE coverage in different areas. Verizon announced that devices with AWS support would ship by July — likely before the network itself launches — and it's certainly met that deadline.

However, Verizon has taken its time in rolling out the new spectrum. While the company has continued to purchase licenses, it only recently announced that it intends to have some of the AWS spectrum up and running by the end of this year. According toBloomberg, that launch will begin in major cities, including New York, where network congestion has become a problem as more consumers adopt LTE.

Update: Verizon tells us that the Lumia 928 and the BlackBerry Q10 will also support AWS when the spectrum launches later this year. Like the Galaxy S4, both devices will require a software update to make this happen. And while these will be the first smartphones running on the expanded network, the carrier currently has five other devices with support built in, including two mobile hotspots and two Samsung tablets.

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HTC Unveils Dual SIM the Desire 600 Smartphone

HTC has announced the Desire 600, a dual-SIM, Android Powered mid-range phone that will boost Sense 5 UI to offer you a taste of HTC One at a lower price.

Powered by a 1.2 Ghz quad-core processor, HTC Desire 600 comes with 4.5 Inch display and an 8 megapixel rear camera with 2 megapixel front facing camera for video calling.

HTC Desire 600 will be a perfect device for music lovers because of its front facing speakers – Just like HTC One – that come with Beats Audio integration.

HTC Desire 600 offers HTC BlinkFeed and HTC BoomSound, most recently launched as part of the award-winning new HTC One.

The HTC Desire 600 will be available from June with global availability, but starting off with Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East. Price isn’t announced yet.

Here are the specs for the phone:

• OS: Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8625Q Snapdragon 200
• CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A5
• GPU: Adreno 203

• Design:
  • Dimensions: 5.31 x 2.64 x 0.37 in
  • Weight: 130 g
• Display:
  • Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • 540 x 960 pixels, 4.5 inches (~245 ppi pixel density)
• Memory:
  • Card slot: No
  • Internal: 8 GB, 1 GB RAM
• Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA, v4.0 with A2DP, NFC, Infrared port, microUSB v2.0
• Camera:
  • Primary: 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
  • Secondary: 1.6 MP
• Battery:
  • Li-Ion 1860 mAh battery
  • Stand-by: Up to 539 h (2G) / Up to 577 h (3G)
  • Talk time: Up to 11 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 11 h (3G)

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iPhone 5S to land in June 2013 with NFC and Super HD Retina+ display Also, more colours and storage.

Apple’s seventh-generation smartphone will be a major update, boasting substantially better specs than its predecessor, an analyst has forecast.

According to Peter Misek of Jefferies, the handset informally dubbed the iPhone 5S will feature a camera and a screen rocking a so-called “super HD” resolution, which we can only assume means higher than 1080p (the iPhone 5 features a ‘sub-HD’ resolution of 1136 x 640).

Moreover, the display - which may be even labelled ‘Retina+’ to reflect the increased pixel count - is also likely to be an IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) variety. This, and we’re paraphrasing Wikipedia here, enables smaller pixels for a higher resolution display than the amorphous silicon typically used for the active layer of an LCD screen.

Fret not, Misek also predicts the 5S will be equipped with bigger battery to cope with the extra drain on juice. Makes sense. But then again, he also reckons that Near Field Communication might finally make an appearance. So take these prophecies for what you will.

The handset is expected to land sometime in June or July, which may seem odd given Apple has opted for an autumn release cycle for the last two iPhones, but some analysts believe that a summer launch may be inevitable after sales of the iPhone took a dive in the two quarters before the release of the latest model.

Another mooted update – or improvement, depending on how you look at it – is the possibility of a 128GB model, and perhaps less plausibly, six to eight colour variants like the iPod touch, which, we think is a bit too far-fetched.

Rumours have been doing the rounds that Apple has already ordered a ‘trial production’ of the iPhone 5S in a relatively small batch of 50-100k units and is expected to go into volume production in the first quarter of 2013, which would make a summer launch very much possible.

Via:

Business Insider

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Android Tops Sales Charts in Q1 with 30 % Smartphones From Samsung Only

Gartner has released stats for smartphone and mobile phones sales for first quarter 2013, according to which Android smartphones grabbed 75 percent share from total smartphone sales, while Samsung sold 30 percent of these smartphones in first three months of current year.

Out of total 210 million smartphones sold in first quarter, 156 million devices were running on Android platform.

Smartphones sales grew by 50 percent or 63 million units during first quarter, as compared with duration last year, and reached 210 million units. This is almost half of overall mobile phones’ sales that stood at 425 million units.

Gartner said that more than half of the phones, i.e. 226 million unit were sold in Asia Pacific only.

Samsung remained the top mobile phone seller. Its share of smartphones reached 30.8 percent, up 3.2 percentage points from the first quarter of 2012. Samsung is poised to further strengthen its position with recently launched Galaxy S4.

Nokia’s mobile phones share dropped by 4.9 percent, naturally due to lesser sales of feature phone during the quarter. Nokia sold 5.1 million units of Windows phones.

Check below tables for more details:

Vendor Wise Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales in 1Q13 (Thousands of Units)

Company	1Q13 Units	1Q13 Market Share (%)	1Q12 Units	1Q12 Market Share (%)
Samsung	100,657.7	23.6	89,284.6	21.1
Nokia	63,215.2	14.8	83,162.5	19.7
Apple	38,331.8	9.0	33,120.5	7.8
LG Electronics	15,615.8	3.7	14,720.4	3.5
ZTE	14,606.6	3.4	17,379.7	4.1
Huawei Technologies	11,114.8	2.6	10,796.1	2.6
TCL Communication	8,515.9	2.0	7,396.6	1.7
Sony Mobile Communications	7,955.5	1.9	7,898.4	1.9
Lenovo	7,778.9	1.8	5,820.6	1.4
Yulong	7,478.8	1.8	3,146.6	0.7
Others	150,550.6	35.4	150,229.40	35.5
Total	425,821.6	100.0	422,955.4	100.0

OS Wise Worldwide Smartphone Sales in 1Q13 (Thousands of Units)

Operating System	1Q13 Units	1Q13 Market Share (%)	1Q12 Units	1Q12 Market Share (%)
Android	156,186.0	74.4	83,684.4	56.9
iOS	38,331.8	18.2	33,120.5	22.5
BlackBerry	6,218.6	3.0	9,939.3	6.8
Microsoft	5,989.2	2.9	2,722.5	1.9
Bada	1,370.8	0.7	3,843.7	2.6
Symbian	1,349.4	0.6	12,466.9	8.5
Others	600.3	0.3	1,242.9	0.8
Total	210,046.1	100.0	147,020.2	100.0

Vendor Wise Worldwide Smartphone Sales – 1Q13 (Thousands of Units)

Company	1Q13 Units	1Q13 Market Share (%)	1Q12 Units	1Q12 Market Share (%)
Samsung	64,740.0	30.8	40,612.8	27.6
Apple	38,331.8	18.2	33,120.5	22.5
LG Electronics	10,080.4	4.8	4,961.4	3.4
Huawei Technologies	9,334.2	4.4	5,269.6	3.6
ZTE	7,883.3	3.8	4,518.9	3.1
Others	79,676.4	37.9	58,537.0	39.8
Total	210,046.1	100.0	147,020.2	100.0

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