Xiaomi Preparing 7-Inch Tablet

Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi is reportedly getting ready for making a debut in the tablet market, and is already testing a device for that.

The slate is said to sport a 7-inch touchscreen display, and might make an official appearance on August 16, alongside other new devices from Xiaomi. The first prototypes of the yet unannounced slate are currently undergoing testing at Foxconn, it seems, which raises questions regarding the emergence of a final flavor on the aforementioned date.

According to GizChina, the upcoming device should run a version of MIUI, and might be priced at only 999 Yuan (around $162 / €125). August 16 might also bring to the spotlight a new flagship smartphone from the handset vendor, none other than the long-rumored Xiaomi Mi3, along with other new products, such as a Smart TV.

Xiaomi Mi Pad slate
Image credits to GizChina

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Android 4.3 Comes with Always-On Wi-Fi, Updated Roboto Typeface

Android 4.3, the next flavor of Google’s mobile operating system, hasn’t been officially unveiled as of now, but more and more info on what it is bound to bring along is now available, courtesy of a leaked build that emerged earlier this week for the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone.

Among the changes included in the upcoming OS release, still part of the Jelly Bean branch, the guys over at Android Police discovered new Wi-Fi power settings. The most important change there would be the fact that applications will be allowed to search for a WiFi connection even if WiFi was turned off. "To improve location accuracy and for other purposes, Google and other apps may scan for nearby networks, even when Wi-Fi is off. If you don't want this to happen, go to Advanced > Scanning always available," code string in Android 4.3 reads. As can be seen, users will be provided with the option to completely turn off WiFi, should they not agree with this kind of behavior from apps on their devices.

Additionally, the leaked Android 4.3 build that said news site took for a spin also showed an updated Roboto typeface. Apparently, the Roboto files in the ROM were much bigger than those in Android 4.2.2, up 30 percent, which is easily explained by the presence of no less than 15 extra glyphs in it. But this is not all, as Roboto also got a facelift in Android 4.3, with a wide range of changes included into it, making the typeface more refined, balanced, and dynamic than before, Android Police unveils. Apparently, both Roboto Regular and Roboto Thin were modified in the new operating system flavor, accompanied by punctuation marks as well, it seems. After bring launched in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Roboto appears set to become smoother and more balanced in the new platform release, and might see more changes in future OS flavors.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean packs a redesigned Roboto typeface
Image credits to Google

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Sony Xperia i1 Honami Spotted in Leaked Official Press Shots

Sony Xperia i1 Honami, the long rumored flagship smartphone from the Japanese handset vendor Sony, has made another appearance online, this time in a set of leaked press photos, it seems.

The photos, spotted over at the XDA-Developers, show the device with an aluminum frame wrapped around its body, as well as with a dedicated camera button, something that was spotted in previously leaked shots with the device as well. Furthermore, the mobile phone is said to pack a 20-megapixel photo snapper on the back, capable of recording 4k videos, something that no other handset available on the market at the moment can. For the time being, however, there’s no telling on whether the leaked shots are indeed real, so we’ll take them with a grain of salt until an official announcement is made on the matter. Apparently, said leaked photos show the International flavor of the device, though there is also a Japanese flavor of Sony Honami set to arrive on shelves, with one photo allegedly confirming that as well.

Expected to arrive on shelves as Xperia i1, the smartphone is said to include a 5-inch full HD touchscreen display, along with a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor inside, and 2GB of RAM. As Techkiddy notes, the upcoming handset might be launched in 16GB and 32GB flavors, with a microSD memory card slot also included, for storage expansion. The specifications list of the new device is also said to include dust, water and shock resistance, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and LTE support, a metal and glass body, and a 3000mAh battery. Sony’s Xperia i1 might hit shelves running under Google’s Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system loaded, as well as with the mobile phone maker’s own user interface loaded on top.

Rumor has it that Sony will officially announce the smartphone on July 4, during a press event announced for France, so stay tuned to learn more on the matter.

Sony Xperia i1 Honami
Images credits to XDA-Developers via techkiddy

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