LG Releases Three New LG G3 Promo Videos

South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics has already confirmed plans to make its next flagship Android-based smartphone official on May 27, and the company has started to tease more of the phone’s features and capabilities.

Today, the vendor has published three new promo videos for the LG G3, in an attempt to provide some more details on its camera, outer design, and display. As previously rumored, the mobile phone will arrive on the market with a 13-megapixel camera that will be accompanied by a new laser auto-focus system, and the first clip embedded below appears to confirm that. The second video is meant to offer a closer look at the handset’s outer design, which once again confirms the metallic brushed finish that previously leaked photos with the G3 have unveiled.

As for the third clip, it appears set to show more on what the 5.5-inch Quad HD touchscreen display of LG G3 will have to offer to its users. The videos are short, but they do make us want to see more of the smartphone. With all of the necessary details on it set to become official as soon as the next week, keep an eye on this space to learn more on the matter.

LG G3 promo video
Image credits to Youtube

G3 TVC Teaser - Camera편
G3 광고 속 힌트의 답을 찾아주세요.
www.LGG3event.com
추첨을 통해서 푸짐한 선물을 드립니다~
www.lgmobile.co.kr/microsite/LGG3/index.jsp


G3 TVC Teaser - Design편
G3 광고 속 힌트의 답을 찾아주세요.
www.LGG3event.com
추첨을 통해서 푸짐한 선물을 드립니다~
www.lgmobile.co.kr/microsite/LGG3/index.jsp

G3 TVC Teaser - Display편
G3 광고 속 힌트의 답을 찾아주세요.
www.LGG3event.com
추첨을 통해서 푸짐한 선물을 드립니다~
www.lgmobile.co.kr/microsite/LGG3/index.jsp

Videos credits to LGMobile KR

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Sony D2403 Is Another Mid-Range Smartphone with 4.7-Inch Display, Quad-Core CPU

Sony Mobile is one of the few major handset makers that have announced several mid-range Android smartphones this year, but some of them are yet to be released on the market.

Only Samsung and probably LG have announced that they will release a similar (or higher) number of smartphones in the first half of the year. Those who did not find any of the mid-range Android smartphones announced by Sony Mobile appealing enough will be pleased to know that the Japanese company is readying yet another mid-range handset. Dubbed Sony D2403, the smartphone has just appeared at GFXBench benchmarking website and judging by the specs listed, it’s aimed at the mid-range handset market. As always, we recommend our readers to take the information with a grain of salt until Sony goes official with the announcement. If you’re not bothered by the fact that this might be a prototype unit being tested by a lucky Android fan, then know that the Sony D2403 is powered by KitKat 4.4.2 operating system.

Specs-wise, Sony D2403 is listed as having a large 4.7-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports qHD (540 x 960 pixels) resolution. On the inside, the smartphone is said to pack a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and an Adreno 305 graphics processing unit. Unfortunately, the amount of RAM of the D2403 is not listed, but we suspect that the phone will have at least 1GB of RAM inside. However, we do know that Sony D2403 packs 16GB of internal memory. Again, there’s no mention of microSD card slot, so there’s no telling if users will be able to further expand storage. Another piece of information unveiled by 3D graphics performance of Sony D403 is the fact that the mid-range Android smartphone will pack an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, LED flash, HDR and full HD (1080p) video recording.

The smartphone also sports a secondary VGA front-facing camera for video calls. The usual range of sensors is included as well, such as: accelerometer, compass, lightsensor, NFC (Near Field Communication) and proximity. Sony D2403 will offer Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS with A-GPS support, among other connectivity options. This seems to be a single-SIM smartphone that lacks barometer and gyroscope. Sadly, nothing else is revealed in the benchmarking app, but we suspect that more details, including photos, will emerge in the coming weeks. We will keep an eye out for more details on the Sony D2403, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Sony D2403 3D graphics performance
Image credits to GFXbench

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Huawei Ascend D3 Spotted in Benchmark, Specs Unveiled

One of the smartphones that Chinese mobile phone maker Huawei was rumored earlier this year to plan on releasing in the Ascend D series was the Ascend D3, and some more info on it is now available.

The handset, supposedly called Huawei Ascend D3, has reportedly emerged in AnTuTu, in the form of Huawei H300, and it appears set to land on shelves with an octa-core processor inside. Apparently, this will be a 1.8 GHz K3V3 chipset from Huawei themselves and will pack a quad-core Cortex A7 COU and a quad-core Cortex A15 processor, in a big.LITTLE setup. Moreover, the chip is said to sport the Mali T628 GPU, which will make it highly similar to MediaTek’s own octa-core processor. At the same time, the upcoming mobile phone is said to arrive on the market with 2GB of dual channel DDR3 RAM, as well as with 16GB of internal memory. The yet unannounced Huawei Ascend D3 is also rumored to sport a full HD touchscreen display, though the actual size of the screen hasn’t been provided as of now.

On the back, the upcoming mobile phone should sport a 13-megapixel camera, which should be able to record videos at least in full HD resolution. It will be accompanied by a 5-megapixel front camera for making video calls while on the go. According to info coming from Chinese website cnbeta, the new mobile phone will also hit shelves with a design similar to that of BlackBerry Z10, though no further details on the matter have been provided as of now. However, as GSMDome notes, the Huawei Ascend D3 is expected to run under the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system out of the box. Most probably, Huawei will also load its own user interface on top of the platform, just as it did with other phones in the Ascend series. Apparently, the Chinese mobile phone maker might be determined to release the new phone with a price tag of only 2888 yuan attached to it, which would make it a highly appealing device, that’s for sure.

What hasn’t been unveiled on this smartphone as of now, however, is when exactly we might see it released on shelves and which markets will receive it. We can assume that it will be launched in China first, though Huawei should launch it in other countries as well soon after, the same as it did with its predecessors. Hopefully, more on this will emerge sooner rather than later, so stay tuned to learn the news.

Huawei Ascend D3 AnTuTu Benchmark Result

Huawei Ascend D3
Images credits to cnbeta

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Finally, a Wireless Charging Technology that Works Across Rooms

Wireless charging technology isn’t as awesome as it sounds. Sure, it’s wireless, but it’s also range-less: you have to put the device on a pad and leave it there for energy to be recovered.

Soon, though, this will no longer be the case. Not if Energous has its way, and I’m pretty sure it will have the world eating from the palm of its hand soon enough. After all, when a company solves a problem that the MIT hasn’t been able to overcome (although it might have been due to focus on other things), you know you’re looking at something potentially world-changing. Energous has introduced WattUp, a wireless charging technology that can charge from a distance. All you need to do is connect the phone, or whatever, to an external receiver, or put it in a special protective case and leave it there for a while. Sure, it’s not the same as having the technology embedded in your phone, but it’s a big step forward.

A WattUp transmitter was shown capable of recharging smartphones, and there’s even a WattUp app that detects if any wireless charging devices exist in the area. The range is of 10 feet / 3 meters. Presumably, a phone case with WattUp would cost $75 / €75 to $125 / €125, while a primary transmitter, the source as it were, would go for $300 / €300. Not sure how many years it will take for retail availability to ramp up though. No word on adapters for stuff like the Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch, but I’m sure they won’t be left out.

Energous WattUp used in a coffee shop
Image credits to Energous

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How to Update Windows XP After End of Support

Microsoft officially pulled the plug on Windows XP on April 8, so machines running it no longer receive updates and security patches, which basically makes the operating system vulnerable to attacks once a critical vulnerability is found.

Redmond has been saying pretty much the same thing for months, warning that users who aren’t upgrading could be exposed to attacks, but it turns out that there’s still a way to get updates on Windows XP despite end of support. A trick published on a German forum claims that tweaking Windows XP in order to be identified by the Windows Update service as Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 could do the trick and help everyone that’s yet to upgrade to keep their computers fully protected. The differences between Windows XP and Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 aren’t too big, so if you continue to receive updates for the latter even if you’re running the first, you should be all secure. Here’s an excerpt from Microsoft’s product FAQ regarding the differences between the two OS versions:

Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 contains the following Embedded Enabling Features:

• File-Based Write Filter (FBWF), which redirects writes to disk to RAM and helps protect the underlying OS image.
• USB Boot, which allows installation from a USB key.
• Office productivity applications are not licensed to be run on POSReady.
• POS for .NET is included with POSReady.
• POSReady does not contain Help files, which reduces its footprint.
• Both products use the same management software.

There’s also another catch. While Windows XP support was officially stopped on April 8, Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 will continue to get patches until April 9, 2019, so your computer could still get updates for 5 more years unless Microsoft blocks this trick. So here are the steps to tweak Windows XP and make Windows Update servers think that they are dealing with an embedded version:

Right-click anywhere on your computer and create a new text document. Give it any name and change the extension to .reg. Right-click it again and click “Edit.” In the Notepad window that shows up, paste the following code and then save it:

CODE:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

Reboot your computer and check for updates once again. With some luck, plenty of new updates should be available for download. Keep in mind that Microsoft might very well block this trick in some other ways, but it’s still worth a try if you’re yet to upgrade.

Windows XP can still receive updates after end of support
Image credits to Microsoft

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