Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S III (SCH-i939D) Spotted in China

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung has already registered impressive success with its Galaxy S III smartphone, but appears set to grab even more market share with it, thus working on packing more features inside new models.

The Galaxy S III i939D recently spotted in China is one such example, as the device is said to hit shelves with support for two SIM cards at the same time. Featuring model number Samsung SCH-i939D, the device will provide support for GSM and CDMA SIM cards (one of each kind), while featuring the same appearance and specs as the original Galaxy S III. Thus, those who choose to purchase the new mobile phone will be able to enjoy the same 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD touchscreen display on its front, along with the quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos 4412 processor packed inside. Furthermore, the dual-SIM flavor of Galaxy S III will include 1GB of RAM when launched in China, and will be powered by Google’s Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

On the back, the new smartphone model will pack an 8-megapixel photo snapper with flash and support for full HD video recording, complemented by a 1.9MP camera on the front, great for making video calls while on the go. The new device is expected to become available for purchase in the local markets sometime in December, yet no specific info on its price tag has been provided as of yet. For those out of the loop, we should note that Samsung has been also said to plan the release of a dual-SIM Galaxy Note II model in China in the not too distant future. According to UnwiredView, there’s a chance that these handsets will never be launched in other markets around the world, yet Samsung has to confirm any specific plans on their availability.

Samsung Galaxy S III SCH-i939D
Image credits to IT168

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Oppo Find 5 Launch in China on December 12

Android fans in China will be happy to know Oppo Find 5, the latest masterpiece of the Chinese handset maker, will be launched on December 12.

Although the Oppo Find 5 was expected to go on sale in the Mainland by the end of November, it looks like the Chinese company confirmed the phone for a December release. This puts it in the same timeline with HTC J Butterfly, though the Taiwanese company’s 5-inch smartphone will be initially launched in Japan. The smartphone is said to boast an amazing 5.0-inch capacitive touchscreen with full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution and 441ppi. And this is not the only strong point of the Oppo Find 5. Even though Oppo has yet to provide details on the Find 5 specs sheet, rumor has it the smartphone will be equipped with a powerful quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, probably clocked at 1.5 GHz. In addition, the Oppo Find 5 is said to pack no less than 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of internal memory.

Word is Oppo plans to release multiple versions of the Find 5 with different amounts of storage, but this has yet to be confirmed, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter. The Find 5 was initially rumored to be only 6.9mm thin, but latest reports indicated the smartphone might be around 8-9mm thick. Anyway, we also know it will boast an impressive 12-megapixel rear photo snapper, along with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls. Surprisingly, Oppo Find 5 will come with Qi Wireless Charging, a technology similar to that included with Lumia 920.

Last but not least, the smartphone will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, and will be available for around 3,000 yuan outright, which is about $485/€365.

Oppo Find 5 launch ad
Image credits to Weibo

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Oppo Ulike 2 is World’s First Phone to Feature 5MP Front-Facing Camera

After releasing world’s thinnest smartphone, the original Oppo Find, the Chinese handset maker Oppo is back with another interesting device, the Ulike 2.

According to IT168, Oppo Ulike 2 is dubbed the first smartphone to feature a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. We don't remember any other handset that packs such a secondary camera, so Oppo might have seen the opportunity here and announced the Ulike 2. The smartphone has yet to be launched on the market, but rumor has it that the smartphone is aimed at women and features a “mirror-like” casing.

The device will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system onboard, along with a more than decent 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports 540 x 960 pixels resolution. The Ulike 2 will be powered by a dual-core processor, which will be complemented by 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. An 8-megapixel rear camera will be included as well.

Oppo Ulike 2
Image credits to IT168

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Fastest Western Digital HDDs Now in 4TB Size

Western Digital already has a number of hard disk drive units with the capacity of 4 TB, but its strongest series has only now come to include members offering this illustrious capacity.

The platter speed of 7,200 RPM (rotations per minute), the cache of 64 MB and the SATA 6 Gbps (SATA III) connectivity isn't what gives the drives their high performance. The dual processors are part of the main reason (double data processing), while the Dual Actuator Technology is the other half. Essentially, a hard disk drive with dual actuator technology has two actuators that improve positional accuracy over data tracks. Like the dual processors, this enhances performance. With 4 TB capacities now available to customers to choose from, the 3.5-inch WD Black HDD series has once again strengthened its position as WD's best storage devices (barring SSDs of course). In addition to all that has been mentioned so far, the WD Black 4TB gets IntelliSeek technology support, a technology that calculates optimum seek speeds, for lower power draw, noise and vibration.

Additionally, StableTrac secures the motor shaft at both ends, reducing system-induced vibration further and stabilizing platters (accurate data tracking during read and write operations). Furthermore, the NoTouch ramp load technology prevents the recording head from ever touching the disks (minimizes wear and prevents damage when jostling the drive, while one is traveling). "Maximizing the features and functionality of power computing applications such as gaming, multimedia and video editing, the new WD Black 4 TB hard drives offer capacity and performance—without compromise," said Matt Rutledge, vice president of WD's client storage group. WD doesn't specify exactly what the transfer speeds are here, but they probably don't have much of an equal, save perhaps among Seagate's and Toshiba's best. The price of the WD Black 4 TB GB (model WD4001FAEX) is of $339 / 339 Euro.

WD Black 4TB HDD
Image credits to Western Digital

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Nokia Explains Lumia 920 Screen Resolution

Lumia 920, the first smartphone that Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia unveiled to the world with the new Windows Phone 8 operating system loaded on it, comes to the market with a PureMotion HD+ screen, which is said to be the fastest in the world.

Furthermore, Nokia also says that the screen is the most sensitive available on a smartphone today, and that it can also deliver good sunlight visibility. However, it seems that this screen’s resolution is yet another great feature that Nokia is set to bet on, this also being the main reason for which the company has named it PureMotion HD+. “For the record, the Lumia 920 display has a resolution of 332 pixels per inch (PPI) and a HD+ pixel count of 1280×768,” a post on Nokia Conversations explains. “Why HD+? HD is commonly understood to mean 1280x720p pixels. With the Lumia 920’s 1280×768, it has 7% more pixels on the screen giving you the possibility to see more content on the screen at once – hence the plus.”

Nokia Lumia 920’s screen also sports a 15:9 aspect ratio (while many companies are adopting 16:9), since it is expected to deliver a great balance between what can be done on the screen and what can be seen there. “The 15:9 aspect ratio was an intentional choice because we felt that it provided the best balance between touch usability and how much content you can see on the screen,” explains Jussi Ropo, Nokia’s senior technology manager. The screen will provide users with all the details they want to see in a photo, while also enabling them to operate the smartphone with a single hand. The screen will also offer a better experience to all users, enabling them to see more of a web page without having to scroll or zoom in, Nokia explains.

“I think the beauty is that we have it all in one package. That was maybe our greatest challenge. It is easier to make a really fast screen that doesn’t look great outdoors, or a great outdoors screen but it doesn’t have a high resolution and so forth,” Jussi added.

Nokia Lumia 920
Image credits to Nokia

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Verizon’s Special Edition Red DROID RAZR MAXX HD

Mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless was said not too long ago to plan the release of a special edition DROID RAZR MAXX HD smartphone for its employees, and the first photo with that device has emerged online.

The handset has been dressed up in Red, the same as the special edition versions of Windows Phone 8X and DROID DNA will be, a recent post on Droid-life notes. Apparently, Verizon had the “LIMITED EDITION” tag imprinted on each device, and also individually numbered each smartphone.

The back of the phone shows red lines replacing the grey ones available on the retail units, while the power button of the device was also colored in red. Unfortunately, the smartphone will be available in its new color only to wireless carrier’s employees, though it will certainly leave users wanting one.

Special Edition Red DROID RAZR MAXX HD
Images credits to Droid-Life

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LG Nexus 4 Tastes Custom Android ROM

Nexus 4, the latest Google smartphone out there and the first to arrive on shelves with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean loaded on it right from the start, has just got its first custom ROM available for download.

The handset has been rooted not too long ago, and those who would like to install the new software on it will have to get through that process (which will void warranty). Called JellyTime, the custom ROM is said to be completely functional, though it seems that it is still work in progress.

Those who are interested in taking it for a spin are advised to back up all of their data before proceeding. They should also note that they will be the only ones held responsible, should anything happen with the device during flashing. All the necessary info on the new ROM can be found on this thread on XDA-Developers.

LG Nexus 4
Image credits to Google

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New Live Photos of BlackBerry 10 L-Series Handset

There’s roughly two months left until Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion makes its first BlackBerry 10 smartphones official, yet we can already make an idea of what they might look like, courtesy of leaked photos.

New such leaked images are now available for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of CrackBerry forum members, who found them on Chinese website weibo. The upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphone was photographed from various angles, while also being compared to a Bold 9700 device, yet no new details on the specs and capabilities it will arrive on shelves packed with have been provided.

However, more details on the smartphone, as well as on the operating system loaded on it, should become available in the not too distant future, so stay tuned to learn more on this.

BlackBerry 10 L-Series
Images credits to Weibo

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Samsung Galaxy S II Plus with Jelly Bean in Q1 2013

It looks like Samsung will launch the long-rumored Galaxy S II Plus after all. Although the smartphone was initially scheduled to be released this fall, the South Korean company decided to postpone it.

According to SammyHub, the main reason behind Samsung’s decision to delay the smartphone is the fact that the company wanted to launch the Galaxy S III mini and Galaxy Premier Android phones around the same timeline. However, rumor has it that Samsung is ready to release the Galaxy S II Plus by the end of the year or in early Q1 2013. No word on the exact launch date or pricing options, but more details might surface in the following weeks. Samsung Galaxy S II Plus will be available in Chic White and Dark Blue, but will only feature 8GB of internal memory. For the time being, Samsung takes into consideration only one version of Galaxy S II Plus, so Android enthusiasts might want to prepare to purchase a microSD memory card for additional storage. The good news is Samsung Galaxy S II Plus will ship with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, integrated with the company’s TouchWiz Nature UX interface. Although the smartphone might be officially unveiled in late December or early January, Samsung will start shipping the Chic White Galaxy S II Plus from week 3, while the Dark Blue version will be available from week 5.

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus is expected to be priced somewhere between the Galaxy S III mini and Galaxy Premier, though we will know more as soon as details on the phone’s specs sheet emerge. Apparently there’s no specs sheet for the moment, which means Samsung is still in the process of adding the phone’s hardware. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Samsung Galaxy S logo
Image credits to Samsung

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CyanogenMod Starts Android 4.2-Based CM 10.1

With the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean code already released in AOSP, it was only a matter of time before modders started offering info on their development of custom ROMs based on it.

CyanogenMod has already started the process of merging Android 4.2 in their builds, and has already came up with an mr1-staging branch in their github repos to make the merger as easy as possible. “mr1-staging is not meant to be compile-able, its only purpose is to be a staging grounds for our core work. Chances are, it is useless for independent builders,” the team explains in a Google+ post. “Once staging is done in mr1-staging, we will push all that code to a ‘CM10.’ branch, and eventually back to our primary ‘jellybean’ branch.” Through this approach, the team wants to make sure that they bring the next releases as upgrades for the CM 10.0 code. “Patches from gerrit will be accepted towards CM 10.1, but for now, please have patience while we work through mr1-staging,” the team notes.

Android 4.2 did arrive with a variety of updates inside, that change the manner in which the implementation of features in the next CM releases will be made. The initial CM10.1 branch will be created with a strong focus on Telephony Split, Multi-User, Quick Settings, and Lock-Screen Widgets, for example. The upcoming builds will also sport the MMS enhancements that users are already accustomed with, including Emoji support, sms split, gestures and templates, and quick messaging (but no MMS auto retrieve, as Google fixed that). At the moment, users can download and install on their devices CM 10.0 (Android 4.1.2) builds, which have been nearing the stable status lately. “CM 10.0 (4.1.2) code is in jellybean-stable, if you are working on a bug-fix for the last stable release, patches should be submitted against that branch. If/when we do another 4.1.2 release (ie CM 10.0.x), it will originate from code in this branch,” the team explains.

CyanogenMod logo
Image credits to CyanogenMod

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