HTC has been watching the popularity of smartphones in China very closely, and we can expect to see a number of low cost, Chinese-only Android phones from the Taiwanese phone maker over the coming year.

The first to launch are the HTC Desire Q and P, both of which are dual-core smartphones with 1GB RAM, 8 mega-pixel cameras, SD card readers and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The major difference between the two phones is that the Q offers users a low-cost 4-inch display, while the P has a larger 4.2-inch WVGA panel and a price tag of $365.

We honestly don’t think many Chinese phone fans will be too excited about the Desire Q and P, as local phone makers are producing quad-core , Full 1080, Android 4.2 handsets with 13 mega-pixel cameras for just $160. What do you think of these two ‘budget’ handsets?

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The concept is similar to the Sony Tablet P, and allows for either two apps to run at once utilizing their own screens, or taking up both screens for a larger view of things.

Currently only certain apps such as Google Maps, the web browser and media players make use of the dual-screen function. The ability to fold the phone in half and share videos, and photos with people sitting opposite sounds particularly useful, and could be used in future games (Connect 4, Battleships etc).

The Medias W is currently only available in Japan, and it seems as though this dual-screen wonder might stay that way for sometime to come. What do you think, would you be interested in seeing such a device ship outside of Japan or do you feel that this is a very niche product with limited real world use potential?

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ZTE, along with Huawei, Oppo and HTC are among the first to enter the 5-inch Android smartphone market. However, their first offering isn’t a range topping 1080p quad-core beast but rather low-cost dual-core offering.

While ZTE does have some stunning looking 5-inch quad-core phones in the pipelines such as the Nubia Z5, they have chosen to test the waters first with the U887, which offers all the looks of the more powerful offerings but at a much lower price point.

Under the 5-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, ZTE has chosen Mediatek’s 1.2Ghz MT6577 dual-core CPU to run things along with 512MB, hardly trail blazing but enough to get the job done for most users. The rear camera on the U887 is a 5MP sensor, while the front is a self portrait-friendly 3MP camera.

If the dual-core, 512mb power of the ZTE U887 doesn’t quite tickle your taste buds, then you might want to keep your eyes out for news of ZTE’s Nubia Z5 which will launch this Friday (21st December) and is rumoured of come equipped with a 5-inch 1080 x 1920 display, quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM and 12 mega-pixel camera.

The post ZTE U887 5-inch Dual-core Phablet on a Budget appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It starts with the screen. The original Note had a 5.3-inch 800×1280 (285ppi) Sumer AMOLED touchscreen, whereas the new Note II has a larger 5.5-inch 720×1280 display. It’s physically bigger but actually has fewer pixels (267ppi). This is because they’ve changed the aspect ratio, which changes the outward dimensions of the phone too. The new Note II is a little longer than the original (151.1mm vs 146.9mm), but it’s actually narrower (80.5mm vs 83mm) and thinner (9.4mm vs 9.7mm).

The overall design borrows a lot from the Galaxy S III too, so you lose the textured back of the Galaxy Note in favor of a slippery “river rock” like back on the Note II.

The new Note II is more powerful with a quad-core 1.6GHz processor compared to the 1.4GHz dual core in the original, though it retains the same 2GB of RAM. The Note II ships with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, whereas the original shipped with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, though a Jelly Bean upgrade is available. Naturally, they both use Samsung’s TouchWiz UI too.

The S Pen smart stylus is still here–as will be the case with the entire Note lineup–but it’s gained a few tricks, like Wacom-style “hovering” functionality. The Note II does have some additional features though, like a custom menu for one-handed operation of the dial pad, as well as some features borrowed from the S3, like Smart Stay. The battery is bigger (3100mAh vs 2500mAh) too, helping to improve battery life.

If you already have the original Samsung Galaxy Note, there isn’t as much of a motivation to upgrade to the Note II. However, if you’re looking to enter the phablet arena for the first time, I’d skip the OG Note and head straight to the Galaxy Note II. It’s a beast of a device.

The post What’s Different? Samsung Galaxy Note 2 vs. Galaxy Note appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This is not with some sort of jailbroken overclocking hack. Instead, the “new” clock speed comes from an updated version of Geekbench (v.2.3.6) that has been upgraded to better identify the true clock speed of the Apple A6 processor. Earlier tests run with an earlier build of Geekbench showed the A6 running at 1.02GHz. Given this, does this mean that the “real” clock speed is 1.3GHz?

Maybe. Maybe not. It is possible that the Apple A6 chip has been configured to dynamically “overclock” itself or even simply adjust its clock speed within its normal range depending on the current load. According to 9to5Mac, the A6 can “downclock” itself as low as 550MHz too. This would help to provide better battery life, of course, but it can ramp up to 1.3GHz when the performance demands require it. At least we know that it has dual CPU cores and three GPU cores, based on a recent dissection of the A6.

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The Sony Xperia NXT family of smartphones is making its way to the United States market and it’s coming in no fewer than three different flavors: the Xperia S, Xperia P and Xperia U. Variations of these phones have already been made available to international markets, so it’s not like they’re bringing a lot of high powered novelty to the mobile table.

The most expensive of the bunch at $559.99 outright, is the Sony Xperia S powered by a dual-core Snapdragon 1.5GHz processor, 1B of RAM, and the Sony Mobile Bravia Engine. Android 2.3 is overlaid with Sony’s Timescape UI. Rounding out the specs are the 12MP camera, 4.3-inch 720p display, and standard 1750mAh battery. Look for it in black or white.

Next, the Sony Xperia P ($479.99) will ship in silver, red and black. It gets a dual core 1GHz processor, 4.0-inch 540×960 pixel display, Android 2.3 with Timescape, 8MP camera, and Sony WhiteMagic technlogy.

Sony Xperia U at $299.99 unlocked, is by far the cheapest of the bunch. It’s also the smallest with its 3.5-inch display, but you still get a 1GHz dual core processor and Android 2.3. An upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS is being planned, as is also the case with the P.

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The 2012 MacBook Air retains much the same skinny dimensions as its predecessor, but it gets bumped to Intel Ivy Bridge processors, up to a 2GHz dual-core Core i7. That’s not as fast as the quad-core chips going into the Pro, but you are getting a significantly lighter and thinner package. The Ivy Bridge processor is accompanied by up to 8GB of 1600MHz RAM and “60% faster graphics.” You don’t get discrete graphics though, as the Intel HD Graphics 4000 is still integrated.

Speed is one thing, but you still want storage. The updated MacBook Air has the option of having up to 512GB of flash memory. You’ll also find two USB 3.0 ports, along with the Thunderbolt port. Rounding out the specs are WiFi-n and Bluetooth 4.0, along with the same 5-7 hour battery life. Of course, like the new MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Air also gets MagSafe 2.

There’s no Retina Display on board, unsurprisingly, so the 11-inch model gets a 1366×768 resolution whereas the 13-inch gets a 1440×900 pixel resolution. Prices start at $999 and $1199, respectively.

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They’ve gone big and powerful for this outing, inserting a 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2, a dual core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4, 1GB of RAM, Android 4.0 ICS, HTC Sense 4.0 UI, 8MP camera, a discrete camera button, and a signature kickstand on the back (in eye-popping red!) for good measure. For the most part, this phone is quite similar to the HTC One X that we’ve already seen.

Some early impressions appear to be positive, calling this “probably Sprint’s best phone in quite a while.” Performance is mostly snappy, being described as “buttery smooth” for the most part. It is a little “unwieldy” due to its size, but it does have a “remarkably solid feel to it” despite its lighter weight.

Pre-orders begin on May 7 with the price set for $199 on contract when the HTC EVO 4G LTE ships later on in Q2.

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Yesterday, we talked about a rumor about Sprint’s version of the HTC One X. And today, it’s about another device from the company’s One series, the HTC One S. The folks over at TmoNews appear to have got their hands on a web document which shows off the release date of the One S on T-Mobile’s network as April 22^nd.

As you can see in the above image, it’s written “sell the HTC One S on launch day”. Therefore if it’s the real thing, it might be meant for associates or retail employees. But the above said day is a Sunday, which is certainly an odd day for a phone to be launched. But the carrier has released mobile phones on Sundays in the past, so it’s not too odd.

The HTC One X and One V will reportedly be available in Asia on April 2^nd. So the rumored 22^nd of April launch date is a possibility and you might agree that T-Mobile could use a new flagship phone as soon as possible. The Galaxy S Blaze 4G is cool, but we believe that many customers will go after the pretty looking One S, which when launched will be one of the most powerful phones on T-Mobile.

Just a refresher, the One S boasts a 4.3-inch qHD AMOLED display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Sense 4.0, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an 8-megapixel rear camera with the company’s highly praised F/2.0 lens.

The post HTC One S Is Headed to T-Mobile On April 22nd? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While HTC has plans to release their newly unveiled S4 powered One S (T-Mobile) and One X (AT&T version) within the next two months, Microsoft is reportedly busy testing a Windows Phone 8 smartphone, which is intended for Sprint’s network, with the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset. The new info comes to us courtesy of the folks over at The Verge who were apparently tipped off by “sources familiar with the company’s plans”.

According to The Verge, at least one Windows Phone 8 handset will arrive later this year and the company is hoping that their device will exhibit impressive performance with the chip onboard as the S4 has been proven to be better than Samsung’s Galaxy S II (Exynos) and Motorola’s Droid 4 (TI OMAP) via many tests.

Reportedly, Sprint is interested in a Windows Phone 8 handset equipped with the chip and won’t be launching any new Windows phones before the introduction of WP8. The carrier has also contacted Nokia for sharing their LTE specifications.

But it is not known whether Microsoft will be checking out the quad-core Tegra 3 processor on the global version of the HTC One X. Although Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 has done remarkably well on previous tests, the latest benchmarks of the HTC One series show that the Tegra 3 is on par with S4 in processing power, and it actually is better when it comes to graphics performance.

The idea of multi-core processor support for future Windows Phones can never be pushed aside after this leak. And Qualcomm, when asked about the possibility of Windows Phone S4 devices, gave out answers that suggest they know about Microsoft’s tests.

We will keep you updated on the matter, so stay tuned.

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