90% of Smartphones in China Powered by Android

Google’s Android operating system is highly popular among smartphone users in China, a recent report unveils.

The platform is said have been loaded on nine out of ten smartphones sold in the country during the third quarter of the year. There were over 49.17 million smartphones sold in the country in the timeframe, which marked a decrease both quarterly and yearly, data coming from Analysys International shows, according to DigiTimes. Apple’s iOS platform came in second in the three-month period, with 4.2 percent market share, while Symbian was placed third, with 2.4 percent share.

According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), there were 1.095 billion mobile subscribers in the country at the end of October this year (up 13.63 percent compared to last year), a figure that represents 80.6 percent of the country’s total population.

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Image credits to Google

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BlackBerry 10 Accessories List Emerge Online

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 smartphones won’t arrive on shelves alone, but they will be accompanied by various accessories as well.

A leaked slideshow that emerged over at BerryBlog.hu shows that RIM is already preparing various cases for these devices, along with replacement batteries and more. Said list shows accessories such as a BlackBerry 10 Transform Shell, BB10 Flip Shell, Holster and BB10 Leather Pocket, along with BB10 LS-1 Battery and BB10 Battery Charging Bundle. Furthermore, there is a BB10 Multimedia Dock, listed there, which is said to be a charging dock similar to those available for the Storm and Torch devices.

Furthermore, the leaked slide unveils the fact that RIM will make some of these accessories available in a multitude of colors, including (Red, Grey, Black and White. Unfortunately, no specific info on release dates and pricing has been provided as of now.

BlackBerry 10 Accessories
Image credits to BerryBlog.hu

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Sony, Other Vendors Plan MT6589-Based Handsets for 2013

Japanese mobile phone maker Sony has been long rumored to plan the release of a nice range of high-end smartphones next year, but it seems that the company will focus on the low end of the market as well.

In addition to flagship handsets such as Odin, Yuga and Dogo, Sony is also said to plan the release of a quad-core smartphone for the budget-friendly users. Furthermore, the latest reports on the matter suggest that the company might actually pack the handset with a MediaTek MT6589 quad-core chipset inside, while including it in the popular Xperia series. The Chinese chip maker has already made its new product official, and various smartphone makers, Sony included, were fast to pick it up. Rumor has it that Sony has already received MT6589 samples for testing, and that it decided to build a platform for its mobile devices based on the new chip.

Sony won’t be the only phone maker to adopt the chipset, it seems. Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, TCL and LG are also said to have plans for devices powered by the processor. TCL, for example, is said to plan the release of a 4.5-inch smartphone capable of HD resolution and which would also include 2GB of RAM, while running under Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Lenovo’s quad-core smartphone should be released as an entry-level device as well, packing a 4.5-inch 960 x 540 screen and a clock speed of 1.2GHz. Furthermore, Zopo is rumored to pack the processor inside its so-called “Leader Max” device, which will boast a 5.7-inch 1080p HD display, 2GB RAM, 8MP or higher camera, and Android Jelly Bean.

A certain Neo N03 smartphone is also rumored to arrive with a quad-core 1.3GHz MT6589 CPU inside, 1GB of RAM, and a 5.3-inch touchscreen display. It should pack a 12-megapixel photo snapper on the back. For the time being, there’s no confirmation available on the upcoming availability of these devices, but more should emerge soon.

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Image credits to Sony

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RIM BlackBerry 10 Camera [Video Demo]

Users interested in learning a few more details on what the upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system will have to offer to them can now have a look at a video demo of the platform’s camera, embedded above.

Research In Motion’s Arun Kumar, senior product manager, Multimedia at BlackBerry, is the one to offer details on what to expect in terms of imaging capabilities from the new mobile operating system, which is set to be officially launched on January 30, 2013.

The video below provides us with a glimpse at how the time-shift feature that BlackBerry 10 camera will arrive with works, and also offers some other details on the application. According to RIM, HD video recording capabilities will also be available for those who adopt BlackBerry 10, so as to enable them to capture every important moment in their lives.

Donny from Inside BlackBerry blog sat down with Arun Kumar, Senior Product Manager, Multimedia at BlackBerry, to take a deeper dive into the BlackBerry 10 camera: http://blogs.blackberry.com/2012/11/blackberry-10-camera-video/ . The new BlackBerry 10 camera will feature a time-shift mode HD video recording and more
Video credits to BlackBerry

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Samsung Galaxy S IV and New Galaxy Note II Model to be Launched Next Year

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung has managed to climb at the top of the smartphone market with its Android-based Galaxy models, and it seems that new devices that will help the company remain there will land on shelves soon.

Among them, there will be a new smartphone in the popular Galaxy S lineup, one that has already been rumored to hit shelves as Galaxy S IV. According to SamMobile, the smartphone will be part of Samsung’s so-called Project J initiative, and will be announced in the second quarter of the next year. Previously, the device was said to be set for an official unveiling at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with an expected release date of March-April. However, it seems that Samsung might actually delay it a bit, just as it did with Galaxy S III this year (the smartphone was launched in May). No official confirmation on the matter has emerged so far, nor did info on the hardware specs of the Galaxy S IV make it online. Based on previous rumors on this device, however, we should expect it to hit the market with a quad-core processor inside, a full HD touchscreen (supposedly of more than 5 inches), and a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back.

In addition to this smartphone, Samsung is also rumored to plan the release of a new flavor of Galaxy Note II, packing lower specs than the original handset. The market name of this phone is unknown at the moment, and the same applies to its hardware specifications, it seems. The new device model is expected to be released in Europe, and might not feature the S-Pen functionality that made its predecessors so popular. No other details on the handset’s capabilities and specs have been provided as of yet, but keep an eye on this space for additional info on the matter.

Samsung to launch Galaxy S IV and new Galaxy Note II model next year
Image credits to SamMobile

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RIM Demoed BlackBerry 10 OS [New Video]

Last week, during the BlackBerry Jam Asia conference, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion unveiled to the world a few more details on its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, and also demoed some of the platform’s new features and capabilities.

We have already had the chance to take a look at the new BlackBerry World for the platform (the rebranded BlackBerry App World), as well as at the Contacts App in the OS, and the BlackBerry Hub, but there are even more features that users are sure to enjoy in the platform.

Although a bit blurry, the video embedded above, available courtesy of Amanz.my, offers more details on the features and capabilities of BlackBerry 10, so have a look at it to learn more on RIM’s plans for the future. However, you won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of the OS until late Q1 2013, as RIM will launch BB 10 only on January 30.

Video credits to AmanzNetwork

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Samsung GT-N5100 Spotted in NenaMark, Supposedly 7’’ Galaxy Note

Samsung’s Galaxy Note series of phablets is already highly popular among end users, although released right from the start with a focus on a niche market.

Following the release of the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note last year, Samsung pushed to shelves a successor this fall, with an even larger screen on the front, namely the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II. However, it seems that a 7-inch device in the series is also nearing its availability, and that it has just made an appearance on the NenaMark benchmarking website. Featuring model number Samsung GT-N5100, the device is said to be running under Google’s Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system at the moment, though it might actually be launched with the newer Android 4.2 platform loaded on it. What’s interesting to note is that, while previously the slate was spotted with an 800 x 1280 WXGA display, the listing on NenaMark shows only a 1280 x 720 pixel screen. At the same time, the benchmarking unveils the fact that Samsung might pack the new device with a 1,6GHz processor inside, most probably a quad-core CPU.

The tablet will also sport an ARM Mali-400 GPU inside, which might suggest that a quad-core Exynos 4412 chip will be powering it, just as previous rumors on the matter pointed out. Although Samsung hasn’t provided specific info on the new device as of yet, rumor has it that it might make it official in the not too distant future. With CES and MWC nearing fast, it should not come too much as a surprise if the South Korean phone maker actually made the new member of the Galaxy Note family official at one of these events. For the time being, however, we’ll simply have to sit tight and wait for confirmation on the device to emerge to learn whether it will indeed be released with the above rumored hardware packed inside or not.

Samsung GT-N5100 in NenaMark
Image credits to NenaMark

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Nokia: We Are Not Working on Android Devices

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia is not working on a smartphone running under Android – at least this is what Doug Dawson, Media Relations head for Nokia, said on Twitter yesterday.

His statement comes shortly after various rumors regarding such plans coming from the handset vendor made it to the web, fueled by a job listing that the company had published on LinkedIn. The announcement stated that Nokia was looking to hire Linux engineers for the development of future products, yet it did not offer specific info on what these would be all about.

Doug Dawson confirmed on Twitter that the job ad was related to Nokia’s plans to bring the HERE mapping service to Android, and nothing more. “Hi. Our recently posted job is linked to our HERE Maps support for other platforms, including iOS and Android. Nothing more,” he said.

Nokia logo
Image credits to Nokia

Nokia tweets
Image credits to Twitter

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Samsung SCH-S960L Spotted in GLBenchmark with 1.5 Ghz Dual-Core and Jelly Bean

With the Galaxy Note II just launched on the market, Samsung now prepares new Android smartphones.

There have been lots of unannounced devices that leaked in the past couple of weeks, but the handset maker is still mum on their launch date. The folks over at Techkiddy have just uncovered an unheard of Samsung SCH-S960L in GLBenchmark. The smartphone is powered by Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system and packs a dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 Plus processor clocked at 1.5 GHz.

In addition, the device is said to carry an Adreno 225 graphics processing unit and an HD (1280 x 720 pixels) resolution display of unknown size. That's about all we know about SCH-S960L, but we expect more details to emerge closer to launch, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Samsung SCH-S960L GLBenchmark result
Image credits to GLBenchmark

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