Huawei Ascend D2 Disassembled, Shows Waterproof Capabilities

At CES 2013 in Las Vegas, Chinese mobile phone maker Huawei has made official the Ascend D2, its latest flagship Android-based handset, which has already landed on shelves in China, while set to hit the market in other countries soon. The device packs a wide range of high-end features, starting with its large 5-inch screen and the quad-core processor inside, and going all the way up to waterproof features. The phone looks appealing on the outside, but its inner parts can also seem of interest to enthusiasts, and the photo attached to this article (courtesy of weibo) should feed their curiosity. In addition to said 1080p Full HD screen and quad-core processor, the smartphone also features 2GB of RAM inside, and a 13-megapixel...

Read more »

Nokia CEO: No Android Plans – Only Windows Phone and Asha

Today, Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of the last year, and posted Lumia sales of 4.4 million units for the time frame, which helped it regain profitability. Given that the Windows Phone OS and devices running under it are just starting to pick up pace on the market, the company claims that it remains committed to driving innovation together with Microsoft. Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO, reiterated this during the company’s earnings call earlier today, suggesting that the vendor had no plans on trying its luck in the Android segment of the market. Moving forth, the company will continue to focus on the release of new Windows Phone devices, while also working on expanding the reach...

Read more »

VIA ARMTiGO A800, World's Smallest ARM Computer For Now

Miniature computers can be used in many scenarios, and this is the main thing that VIA is banking on in its quest to promote the ARMTiGO small form factor ARM computer. For consumers, things as large as HTPCs (home-theater personal computers) and even small desktops qualify as SFF systems (small form factor). The term has a different meaning on the rest of the industry though. Small really does mean small when it comes to health care technology, digital signage, surveillance and other embedded applications. VIA's latest ARM PC definitely qualifies as an SFF computer, and it should do fine in all of the above fields, as well as hotel automation. In fact, according to VIA, this is the smallest embedded ARM system for embedded uses....

Read more »

Android Trojan Responsible for China’s Largest Botnet Is Based on Backscript Malware

Earlier this month, we learned that a piece of malware called Android.Troj.mdk (MDK) was responsible for the largest mobile botnet China had ever seen, with over 1 million devices being infected. Experts from Symantec say that MDK is actually a new version of an older threat, Android.Backscript. Researchers have found that the codes of the two malicious elements are very similar and they both use the same certificate to sign APKs. The main difference is that the new variant uses an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to encrypt data. After it’s installed onto a smartphone, the Trojan collects user information, downloads additional malware, and generates adware. In addition, it also allows its master to remotely control the infected...

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Live Pictures

We’ve already got it confirmed that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet next month at Mobile World Congress 2013. There are some rumors pointing to a possible March release on the market, though we’re still waiting for Samsung to confirm these speculations as well. Until then, the folks at SamMobile spotted the first live pictures showing the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet in action. The pictures were posted by Italian blog dday, which also lists some of the slate’s features. It appears that Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will ship with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean platform out of the box and will be powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor. Furthermore, the tablet will pack 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, microSD card slot for memory...

Read more »

LG U560 Ultrabook

Intel may have a precise set of guidelines for what is an ultrabook and what isn't, but LG doesn't mind bending them a bit if it means it can provide a higher functionality to its customers. The results of its latest experiments is the laptop mentioned in the title, the U560, which is, true enough, a bit thinner and a standard notebook, but not by much. For those that want the specific dimensions, the ultrabook measures 0.82 inches in thickness (20.82 mm) and weighs 4.3 pounds (1.95 kilograms). The reason it is so heavy is twofold: for one thing, the item has a discrete GPU (graphics processing unit), rather than relying exclusively on whatever integrated graphics chip lies in the CPU (central processing unit). The support page...

Read more »

Nokia 808 PureView May Be the Last Symbian Phone Ever

Finish handset manufacturer Nokia has just published its quarterly earnings for the last three months of 2012 and things seem to be looking good for the first time. It appears that the company successfully completed the transition to Windows Phone platform and that is shown in the figures as well. However, there is some bad news for Nokia fans who still favor Symbian platform over Windows Phone operating system. According to Nokia, the PureView 808 will be the last Symbian device launched by the company: “During our transition to Windows Phone through 2012, we continued to ship devices based on Symbian. The Nokia 808 PureView, a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-2012, was the last...

Read more »

Samsung Expects Galaxy S IV Sold 10 Million Per Month

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung has yet to confirm plans on bringing a new Android-based flagship smartphone to the market in the first half of the year, yet more rumors on the matter are now available. According to a recent post on mt.co.kr, the company is expecting the new device to be highly popular among mobile phone users. The phone, supposedly called Galaxy S IV, might see sales of around 10 million units a month, the news site notes, adding that the South Korean handset vendor has already prepared the first batch of parts for the big launch, which should take place sometime in April. Suppliers have already received orders for various components of the device, a sign that the handset vendor is getting ready to make...

Read more »