Lava XOLO A1000, 5-Inch Display and Jelly Bean Coming to India

The unannounce Lava XOLO A1000 smartphone, recently been spotted in India. Will ship this February 18 in India

The folks over at FoneArena were lucky enough to get their hands on this high-end Android smartphone and they’ve already published some pictures showing the device. First of all, XOLO A1000 is not an Intel-based smartphone as we have originally thought. The handset is equipped with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Mediatek MT6577 processor, as well as 1GB of RAM. Another selling point of the phone is the large 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution.

On the back, XOLO A1000 boasts an impressive 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, while in the front there’s a secondary VGA camera for video calls. It also comes with dual-SIM connectivity and a pretty decent 2100 mAh Li-Ion battery. According to NDTV, Lava will ship the XOLO A1000 with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean of the box, as soon as February 18.

Lava XOLO A1000
Image credits to FoneArena

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LG Optimus L5 II and Optimus L7 II Emerge in GLBenchmarks

South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics is reportedly gearing up for the launch of new Android-based devices before the end of this month, and some more info on the capabilities of two of these smartphones is now available.

Both handsets have been spotted in the GLBenchmark database recently, as LG E455 and LG P715, while expected to arrive on shelves as Optimus L5 II and Optimus L7 II, respectively. The LG Optimus L7 II, supposedly the high-end smartphone in the series, has managed to top 475 Frames (4.2 Fps) in the benchmark, while LG Optimus L5 II has reached only 275 Frames (2.4 Fps).

As PhoneArena notes, while the successor of Optimus L7 will land on shelves with an Adreno 203 GPU inside, the Optimus L5 II will be powered by PowerVR SGX 531 graphics. LG has yet to officially confirm such details on them.

LG Optimus L5 II

LG Optimus L7 II
Images credits to GLBenchmark

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Download iOS 6.1.1 Official Release Now

Apple has released iOS 6.1.1 Software Update, a bug-fix release targeted at “cellular performance and reliability for iPhone 4S.”

After Vodafone’s mass text message warning against iOS 6.1 and AOL’s restrictive move to disable calendar functions, Apple has promptly addressed the bugs affecting wireless connectivity on iPhone 4S handsets. Available via OTA (over-the-air), iOS 6.1.1 Software Update “fixes an issue that could impact cellular performance and reliability for iPhone 4S,” reads a technical note posted minutes ago on Apple’s Support site.

The update is available for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. iOS 6.1.1 contains all the new features delivered in iOS 6.1. Hackers have recently confirmed that iOS 6.1.1 doesn’t patch the jailbreak exploits in evasi0n.

iOS 6.1.1 Software Update
Image credits to Apple

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New Huawei Ascend P2 Hands-On Photo

One of the highly appealing smartphones that Chinese mobile phone maker Huawei is expected to bring to the market in the not too distant future is the Ascend P2, which is currently rumored to make an official appearance at the MWC 2013 show in Barcelona later this month.

A new photo allegedly depicting the yet unannounced Android-based smartphone is now available for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of cnbeta. Just as previously rumored, the smartphone is expected to land on shelves with waterproof capabilities, while also sporting dustproof features, in line with the IP54 standards, gizchina notes in a recent article.

Ascend P2 is expected to be launched as the next flagship Android-based smartphone from Huawei, at least for the P series. The company has already launched highly appealing Android smartphones this year, including the Ascend D2 and the Ascend Mate.

Huawei Ascend P2
Image credits to cnbeta via GizChina

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HighPoint RocketU 1144CM RAID Card

Portable storage devices come in handy often, so it might help to have a means to connect them to a PC without crowding the motherboard's USB ports.

The new RAID hos bus adapter from HighPoint, called RocketU 1144CM, does that and more. It has four USB 3.0 ports, each one capable of handling any external SSD, HDD or drive enclosure. Each port has its own USB 3.0 controller though, which means that the fastest SATA performance possible over USB is available to all drives connected, instead of splitting the bandwidth. There is also the matter of RAID support, which turns four connected drives into a single partition.

The four 5 Gbps links become a single 20 Mbps connection in such situations. HighPoint made the RocketU 1144CM USB 3.0 RAID HBA for Apple's Mac OS X 10.8x Mountain Lion, so Mac owners can rejoice. RAID 0, 1 and JBOD levels are selectable. The price is of $149.99 / 112.10 Euro.

HighPoint RocketU 1144CM RAID Card
Image credits to HighPoint

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ASUS GeForce Titan: GK110 GPU, Same Clocks as GTX 690, 512-Bit Interface

NVIDIA may have a tight lid on its GeForce Titan graphics card, but its OEMs don't seem to. ASUS, at least, has leaked quite a bit of information on it.

In all fairness, though, it isn't ASUS so much, but online retailers and random forum visitors. Last week we got a tentative description of the performance, but now we have new information, some of which contradicts previous reports. While no one is denying that the Titan will have 6 GB of GDDR5 VRAm and GPU boost technology, new online listings say the memory interface will not be of 384 bits, but of 512 bits.

Then we have the completely new information about the clock speed of the GK110 GPU: 915 MHz base clock, 1019 MHz boost (6 GHz for the RAM). Quite a bit above the previously reported 732 MHz. This is all that bears mentioning at this time. We will keep an ear to the ground for more data.

GeForce GTX Titan initial picture
Image credits to WCCFtech

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Samsung Galaxy S III Wireless Charging Pad / Qi-Compatible Wireless Charging Plate Spotted at the FCC

Wireless charging is an oddball in the tech industry, since it uses electromagnetic waves to restore the energy of compatible gadgets but doesn't really allow for distance.

That is to say, wireless charging devices are basically small pads or plates that phones or other gadgets need to lie on for hours at a time. Still, the idea has merit in terms of removing the potential problem of insufficient power outlets for adapters. That said, the Federal Communications Commission has just approved the application for such a plate. Bearing Samsung's brand, it was made according to the Qi standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium. It has a distance of 40 mm (1.6 inches). It is composed of a power transmission pad and a compatible receiver. Magnetic induction will occur once a compatible gadget is placed on the white power transmission pad.

According to the documents published by the Federal Communications Commission, the Pad will arrive on shelves with a LED indicator, meant to notify users on the status of phone’s battery. As Techkiddy notes, a green led will blink while the phone is charging, and will remain on when the process is completed. Should there be an error during the charging process, a red led will start blinking. Rumor has it that Samsung might bring the Wireless Charging Pad for Galaxy S III at the MWC 2013.

Galaxy S III Wireless Charging Pad/Samsung Qi pad
Image credits to FCC

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HTC One (M7) Press Photo

February 19 should prove a great day for HTC enthusiasts, as the Taiwanese handset vendor might make the long-rumored HTC M7 official then as the HTC One, with the same design as seen in the photo above.

The shot, available courtesy of evleaks, is allegedly a leaked press photo of the device, showing not only the outer design that HTC would pack it with, but also offering a glimpse at the interface it might sport when released on shelves. Nothing has been officially confirmed on this device for the time being, but most of the latest rumors have suggested that it would be launched as the HTC One, and that it would also sport a new, innovative camera sensor.

Recently, HTC has touted a new camera and audio experience for its users, and this press shot with HTC One appears to confirm that, based on the massive speaker and mic grill on the handset's front.

HTC One (M7)
Image credits to evleaks on Twitter

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