Hasta La Gadget!

Google’s Nexus devices are favored by some Android users due to the stock Android experience. However the Nexus 4 when compared to the Samsung Galaxy S4 pales in comparison in terms of specs and features, and we expect that many Android users will flock over to the Galaxy S4 and ultimately root and flash a custom ROM on their device to rid themselves of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. If that is your plan and you were eyeing CyanogenMod as being your custom ROM of choice, you might want to start looking elsewhere because according to the team behind CyanogenMod, they claim that they will not be supporting the Galaxy S4.

Nobody at Team Hacksung (the team behind Galaxy S2, Note, S3, Note2, G Tabs… official CM ports) plans to buy it, neither develop for it. There are two variants which will be a pain to maintain, [and] the bugs we have on the S3 will probably be there on S4, too (camera), and we all know Samsung ability to release sources while staying in line with mainline. Yes Qualcomm releases sources, but Exynos sources we had were far from [working on] actual Galaxy products. I’m pretty sure the same will happen for this one.

That’s a uniform “no” from us.

Of course we expect that there might be other custom ROMs out there that you can flash on the Galaxy S4, but considering that CyanogenMod is probably one of the most popular custom ROMs out there, this will no doubt be a bummer for would-be Galaxy S4 owners.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Black Oppo Find 5 Spotted In Images, Nexus 5 Press Render Is A Fake,

The Samsung Galaxy S4 was announced just last week and while we have yet to get our hands on the device for a full review, our initial hands-on left us pretty happy. However thanks to early benchmark results, it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S4 has enough power under its hood to give smartphones today a run for their money. The benchmark results were calculated using Geekbench 2, and based on the scores, the Galaxy S4 managed to beat out phones like the recent HTC One, the iPhone 5, the Blackberry Z10 and even its predecessor, the Galaxy S3, although we expected that in the latter case otherwise it wouldn’t make much sense, would it?

Of course there are some discrepancies in the devices since they all don’t use the same chipsets, such as the HTC one whose Snapdragon 600 chipset is clocked at 200MHz slower than the Galaxy S4, and the iPhone 5 which uses an entirely different chipset altogether. Like we said these benchmark scores are pretty early on and there are probably other tests that could and should be conducted in order to provide a fairer assessment, so be sure to stay tuned for our full and comprehensive review! However in the meantime what do you guys make of these results?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry Performs ‘At Last’ Terribly To Celebrate BB10 US Launch, T-Mobile Hints At Going Contract-Less On March 26,

There have been all sorts of rumors lately about the Google Nexus 5. The latest being that the Nexus 5 is going to come with a revolutionary Nikon camera on board. Nikon is one of the market leaders in camera technology and their alleged collaboration with Google in order to manufacture a camera for a mobile device is actually quite interesting. It could pave the way for disruptive innovation in mobile camera technology. (more…)

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It’s official: The Samsung Galaxy S4 will support Qi wireless charging but only through an optional backplate. When the Samsung Galaxy S4 launched last week, Engadget spied several Qi wireless charging accessories. This of course lead to wide-eyed speculation since Samsung had forgotten to mention this little tidbit during their elaborate dog and pony show. Thankfully Qi just took to the wires to clear the air.

From the press release,

The new Samsung Galaxy S4 uses the Qi wireless charging standard in its optional back battery cover and wireless charging pad accessories, as demonstrated at Samsung Unpacked 2013. The accessories are fully compatible with all Qi chargers and Qi-compatible phones.

No further details were given including release date and price. Still, just that little bit resolves the confusion surrounding the device.

This partnership, Samsung and Qi, comes as a bit of surprise. Samsung has long stood with Qualcomm as founding members of the Alliance for Wireless Power. This system uses over-the-air charging called A4WP. Digitimes first reported this switch last week before the S4′s unveiling. And since the two wireless platforms use different wavelengths, they’re incompatible.

Qi is currently used by products produced by Blackberry, ConvenientPower, Delphi Automotive Systems, Energizer, Haier Group, Hitachi Maxell HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Samsung, Sony, TDK Corporation, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, and Verizon Wireless. And they’re all compatible. Even the Nexus 4 charging orb could be used to charge an S4 equipped with a Qi backplate.

Now that Samsung’s latest superphone supports Qi, expect to see a wide-range of comptible hardware. Fire up your 3D printers, makers. It’s time to make some accessories.

[Image via Engadget]

When Samsung announced the Galaxy S4, they revealed that it should be arriving towards the end of April, however pricing of the device was yet to be determined, or at least shared by Samsung. Considering that the device would be priced differently depending on region and carrier, we guess that’s one of the reasons Samsung did not share that particular detail. However it has been spotted on the terms and conditions page of Samsung’s website for the giveaway of the Samsung Galaxy S4, that in the small print it reads that the “approximate retail value” of the Galaxy S4 is at $579.

Assuming that this is the case, even after tax the Galaxy S4 would be cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 5 which is priced at $649 SIM-free. This price is also a SIM-free price, meaning that you will not be tied to any particular carrier and you can switch to any carrier as you please. Granted it is a good deal more than what you would pay on contract, but we guess some customers prefer the freedom and flexibility. In any case since Samsung did not announce any official pricing just yet, we wouldn’t place too much emphasis on this price for now.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Nexus 5 With Revolutionary Nikon Camera Rumored, Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 To Get Android 5.0? [Rumor],