Sony Says it Will Introduce Phone Running Firefox OS in 2014

In partnership with wireless carrier Telefonica, Sony said it wants to introduce a phone running Firefox OS by next year. The multi-year agreement will see Sony flex its Android muscles, but more interesting is how the partnership wants to explore development of the fledgling Firefox OS—not something in the Windows Phone camp—which has more freely reared its head at Mobile World Congress.

Sony said the decision to explore Firefox OS is so it can “deliver the premium user experience that Sony’s consumers expect.” We won’t know how, exactly, Sony’s Firefox efforts will translate into a premium experience until 2014, but the company’s backing of Mozilla’s OS is certainly a big one, and shows it wants to capture emerging markets.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Galaxy S IV Announcement Set for March 14

Its official, the Galaxy S IV will be unveiled in New York City on March 14.

After numerous rumors, Samsung has officially announced an Unpacked event for March 14 in New York City. Seeing as the slogan is “Ready 4 the Show,” we feel confident that this is indeed the launch event for the Galaxy S IV.

The event will kick off at 7 p.m. Eastern time, and you will be able to watch the livestream at YouTube.com/SamsungMobile. TechnoBuffalo will also be in attendance so be sure to check in for all of the live coverage of the event.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Nokia Unveils Lumia 720 and Lumia 520

Nokia took the stage during Mobile World Congress 2013 to unveil two new entry-level Windows Phone 8 handsets.

The Lumia 720 will launch in March of this year and features a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8227 processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a microSD card slot for adding additional storage, a 4.3-inch ClearBlack display with a WVGA resolution, a 6.7-megapixel camera, a “Skype HD Wide Angle” front-facing camera for video chat with a 1.3-megapixel resolution, a 2,000mAh battery and more. It will launch in red, yellow, cyan and black in matte and in a glossy white color.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Huawei Reveals the World’s Fastest 4G LTE Smartphone

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today introduced the HUAWEI Ascend P2, the world’s fastest smartphone, at the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC). The Ascend P2 features a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and LTE Cat 4 providing an ultrafast web experience with download speeds of up to 150 Mbps. Continuing the fashion legacy of the Ascend P-series, it is only 8.4mm slim with an infinity edge 4.7-inch IPS HD in-cell touch display with second-generation Corning® Gorilla® Glass, and will be available in black and white.

“Ascend P2 is the perfect combination of elegance and power, and further proof that there’s no need to compromise when desiring a perfect smartphone. It is evidence of the outstanding smartphone experiences and great technology that we are committed to bringing to consumers globally,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group.

The HUAWEI Ascend P2 will be on sale in France through Orange in June 2013.  

“We’re pleased to be working with Huawei again to enable our customers to have easier and faster access to all their favorite content,” said Yves Maitre, Senior Vice President, Mobile Multimedia & Devices, Orange. “We are impressed by the design and look forward to putting the Ascend P2 into the hands of consumers as soon as possible.”

“The technological capabilities of the HUAWEI Ascend P2 will enable our customers to have the fastest access to all their content, with speeds up to 150 Mbps on our brand new 4G network,” said Florence Paour, Device Marketing Director, Orange France.

The HUAWEI Ascend P2 runs on the Android 4.1 operating system, with Huawei’s own Emotion UI 1.5. Powered by a 2420 mAh battery and 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, the Ascend P2 downloads HD movies in minutes, and loads online videos, web pages, songs or e-Books in seconds. Huawei’s proprietary ‘swift sharing’ supports uploads and downloads two to three times faster than other smartphones in a Wi-Fi environment. With its NFC module*, Ascend P2 enables e-payments and can act as an electronic ticket. Huawei's unique Quick Power Control (QPC) and Automated Discontinuous Reception (ADRX) power-saving technologies, reduces power consumption by 30% and charging time by more than 25% compared to other smartphones.

Continuing the fashion focus of Huawei’s Ascend P smartphones, HUAWEI Ascend P2 evokes the image of an infinity pool with its seamless, elegant design and curvy contours. Using in-cell technology, its LCD 4.7-inch IPS HD touchscreen is an impressive 8.4mm slim. Its ‘magic touch’ feature provides enhanced screen responsiveness even with gloves, and instant keyword translation and Wikipedia searches can now be done on a single window with ‘smart reading’. The screen also calibrates its brightness automatically under any light conditions, allowing users to perform any function, under any light.  

The HUAWEI Ascend P2 provides optimal photo and video features including a 13 MP BSI rear-facing camera with HDR, and a 1.3 MP front-facing camera to support self-portrait and video shooting. A dedicated camera key on the side of the phone also allows instant access to picture taking, click once for the camera to be activated and another time to take the shot. With Huawei’s advanced camera algorithm, high-definition images can be captured even in backlit conditions. Auto adjustment modes further enable Ascend P2 to produce photos that rival professional cameras.

The Huawei Emotion UI*, available on the Ascend P2 is easy to use and customize. The UniHome function combines home panels with the main menu, while Huawei’s patent-pending Me Widget better utilizes screen real-estate by combining all the information and functions you need in a single, customizable widget. Emotion UI is also pre-installed with a smartphone housekeeper function to support real-time data traffic tracking, automatic blacklisting and blocking, periodical system cleaning, and spontaneous exiting of idle programs and cache cleanup, in addition to anti-virus, energy saving, privacy protection, software management, and more. 

For more information, visit Huawei Device online: www.huaweidevice.com

Do Mobile Phones Pose a Health Hazard?

The mobile phone has become one of the biggest necessities that a person could own and the one thing people are still debating about is the issue of what health hazards that your modern day mobile phone could cause to the human body.

Many people are concerned about the low levels of radiofrequency energy that mobile phones emit, and how the radiation could cause cancer or other serious health problems. Many studies have been conducted over the past 15 years by scientists who are looking at the effects on the human body caused from the frequency of the mobile phone, but the studies have failed to prove that any frequency from the handheld device has any impact on the said person's health.

Studies show that almost 80 million mobile phones in the UK are in operation, therefore the threat of causing any damage to your health directly from the mobile is one in which each corporation must consider as part of their business module. With times changing, the modern day mobile phone has a considerable amount of data flowing through it compared to 5 years ago. 

Ed Yong, who is head of the health information at Cancer Research UK, has released information to the global population in which he states that despite the dramatic rise in mobile phone sales since the 1980s, the rate of brain cancer has not increased at the same rate as the production and usage of the handheld device has.

There is not yet enough known information to completely rule out the risk of health implications due to using a mobile phone, but very little research suggests that this could be the case.

What do you think about this controversy? Post your thoughts below.

Vodafone, O2 and Three win 4G, but auction falls £1.2bn short

O2, Vodafone and Three have all won slices of 4G spectrum, meaning networks other than EE can begin rolling out speedy data services this year.

This morning Ofcom confirmed that after more than 50 rounds of bidding, every major UK network has walked away from the now-concluded 4G auction with barrelfuls of bandwidth, including spectrum that was freed up in the TV digital switchover.

Vodafone was the biggest bidder, splashing out nearly £800m for a pair of 10MHz slices in the 800MHz band, as well as other bits of bandwidth that will enable it to offer faster mobile data to customers. BT was the lowest bidder, but managed to nab some bandwidth.

Although EE is already running a 4G network using 1,800MHz bandwidth it already owned, the operator -- which owns Orange and T-Mobile -- paid just shy of £600m to pick up even more spectrum.

It's hoped that more networks offering 4G will cause a price war that results in cheaper tariffs for phone buyers. Three has fired the first shot already, promising that it will roll its 4G network into existing coverage, without raising prices.

Meagre cash for Britain

Ofcom boss Ed Richards called the auction's result a "positive outcome for competition in the UK", but the amount of cash generated by bidding networks was substantially lower than expected, which is bad news for the UK.

The total cash generated was £2.34bn. That's nothing to sneeze at, but is well short of the £3.5bn the auction was expected to raise. Moreover, Chancellor George Osborne had already factored the expected sum into the nation's budget this year, making it appear that the UK's deficit would fall in 2013. That leaves the treasury £1.2bn short of its expected target. Take it away, Picard.

[Source: CNET]

Nokia Music+ now live for US Lumia owners

After launching the service across the pond just a few short days ago, Nokia's now ready to make Music+ available for the US -- confirming to us today its availability on Yankee soil. To recap, the paid subscription service ramps up the free app's offerings with higher quality audio, unlimited offline downloads and Mix Radio skips, multiple device use, as well as lyrics -- all for $4/mo. It's a significantly cheaper alternative to other freemium music streaming servicescurrently available in the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem. So, if you've recently gone Lumia, you might want to check it out.

[Source: Engadget]

HTC One – Everything You Need To Know

You can worry all you want about specs, the number of megapixels and the density of a screen, but what ultimately matters is the experience. How does a phone improve your life, make communicating with the people you care about most easier? With the HTC One, the company covered what is by now becoming the standardized specs: big Full HD screen, fast processor, LTE, etc.

But the company has also introduced new features it hopes will change the way you interact with your super phone. By including BlinkFeed, you’ll have at-a-glance access to all your favorite social and news content, so you’re always up to speed. And with these so-called UltraPixels, HTC has engineered a better way to capture life’s moments, no matter how well lit the scene is.

It’s these thoughtful touches that make specs secondary, and shows that HTC, despite the company’s struggles, can craft a pretty darn good device. We’re excited to spend more time with this amazing-looking handset. Until then, stay tuned for more HTC One coverage.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Xperia Z now on sale at Sony Mobile France store

It looks like Germany isn't the only country getting an early chance to pick up the Sony Xperia Z. The phone has just gone up for sale on the Sony Mobile France online store. Purchased SIM-free, the 5-inch, 1080p-toting handset will set French buyers back €649 -- that's not cheap, but nor is it significantly more expensive than the average high-end smartphone.

The phone is available in black and white -- the purple version isn't being offered unlocked, as it's exclusive to the SFR network in France.

The Xperia Z should start appearing in brick-and-mortar stores before long, starting with the Sony Store in Berlin. Other European territories are expected to follow around the end of the month.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

LG finally reveals Optimus G Pro specs, price, availability

Update: LG expects to begin rolling out the new Optimus G Pro in overseas territories including the U.S. during the second quarter.

LG technically officially announced the Optimus G Pro for the Korean market a few days ago, but now we've got all of the gritty details on the device. As we saw before, the new device will sport a full HD 1080x1920 5.5-inch (that's 400 ppi) display, with seemingly tiny bezels. Under that screen will be a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (SDcard expandable) and a removable 3,140mAh battery with wireless charging support. We're looking at 13MP rear and 2MP front cameras, LTE connectivity and shipping software of Android 4.1.2 with LG's latest UX customizations.

The press release indicates availability of "next week" for the Korean market. Pricing is quoted at 968,000 won, which with a quick currency exchange calculation is just shy of $900 (although that's not always indicative of eventual U.S. pricing). The Optimus G Pro will be on display at MWC in just a week, so you can bet we'll have our hands on one soon.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Samsung Introduces REX Feature Phones to Take on Nokia’s Asha Devices

Samsung recently announced a new line of Java-based feature phones that will likely launch in emerging markets and compete head-to-head with Nokia’s Asha line of devices. There are four phones in the REX series, including the REX 90, REX 80, REX 70 and REX 60. All of thephones sport Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface and offer support for using two SIMs at the same time.

The REX 90 has a 3.5-inch display, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a microSD card slot that supports up to 32GB of storage. The REX 80 is similar but has a smaller 3-inch display and can only support up to 16GB of additional storage. The REX 70 has a similar 3-inch display but a lower-resolution 2-megapixel camera. Finally, the REX 60 has just a 2.8-inch screen and a 1.3-megapixel camera. All of the phones only support EDGE networks, so they’re definitely going into brand new cell markets where faster 3G and 4G technology doesn’t yet exist.

“As the number one mobile leader and innovator, we are committed to developing the best possible mobile solutions to suit all lifestyles and budgets, which is why we are so excited to launch the REX series across a number of the world’s fastest growing markets,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “REX devices are designed to seamlessly prioritize and consolidate essential mobile functions that matter most to customers across diverse markets. The result is an extraordinary end-to-end mobile experience with the best value for money.”

Samsung didn’t discuss pricing, but we imagine these device will sell for well under $100.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo - Read the full story here]

Black HTC One leaks ahead of Tuesday's launch

Another day, another HTC One leak. This time we get a look at the handset in black, courtesy of Unwired View.

Design-wise, it looks identical to the silver model we already spied. The images on the screen are different too, with this one listing New York as the home city, whereas the silver one had London. HTC will hold events in both London and New York on Tuesday, so expect to see the phone launched then.

HTC has opted for a two-button layout below the screen, while most handsets that runAndroid 4.1 Jelly Bean -- like the Nexus 4 -- have three. Or maybe the HTC logo could double as a button.

HTC has punted out numerous teasers concerning the One. Here are the videos spliced together in a 20-second clip, viaPhone Arena.

[Source: CNET- Read the full story here]