First we saw a supposed leak of the next iPhone’s nano-SIM tray, and now we’re seeing alleged photos of the nano-SIM itself. iFun posted an image of what it says is a new T-Mobile nano-SIM that has just started arriving at the German carrier. The package apparently came with a message telling carriers that these SIMs are for smartphones about to go on the market, and that they’re not to be given to customers — yet. Cupertino, of course, tweaked its nano-SIM design earlier this year, and this photo does come ahead of an Apple announcement event rumored for next week.
If you’re waiting for the next generation of RIM‘s software-toting smartphone, you’ll be glad to see the BlackBerry 10 L-Series appearing tonight in a single leaked photo and a hands-on video that’ll have you freaking out. You’ll be seeing a Battery, a SIM card, and more all-touch interface action than you can handle. The battery is an LS1 1800mAh meaning this device is more than likely near-complete and ready for prime-time action and the software is looking quite square.
Inside you’ll see a standard set of apps right on the home screen including Music, Videos, Maps, App World, Text Messaging, BBM, Calendar, Browser, and Contacts. Have a peek at the video first, complete with lots of blurring going on around the edges. This hands-on video also shows off StoryMaker, FocalPoint, and a few more apps you may well have never heard of before. FocalPoint specifically has been tipped to be related to RIM’s recent acquisition of JayCut – made for video editing.
The photo you see at the head of this post shows DocsToGo and Facebook, meaning you’ll be able to edit documents while you’re thinking about heading to the social network to tap your life away. Of course Facebook is a surprising addition to the previously “confirmed” set of apps for the next generation BlackBerry 10 operating system for RIM, more because Facebook’s current state of affairs on Android is less than fabulous and less because RIM is still slightly down in the dumps. Facebook’s current market value appears to be having no baring on how much they dedicate themselves to a variety of mobile operating systems.
The video comes from BlackBerry Italia where they’ve had a keen eye on the spy reports as well – take it all with a grain of salt, of course! Have a peek at our BlackBerry 10 tag to see additional leaks on the devices appearing soon with the software onboard and get pumped up about RIM’s next big effort for the mobile space! Also keep an eye out for two big waves of BlackBerry-toting devices, the N series and the L series, both of them ready for touch action well into the future – or so RIM hopes!
It’s tough to ignore that the Zune era at Microsoft is quickly winding to a close. That doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be out of options for syncing a Windows Phone’s contents by the time the Zune desktop app fades away, however. A tip to The Verge has shown a companion app for Windows 8 users that will reportedly load the first time a Windows Phone 8 device syncs up, giving a fully Metro-friendly place to transfer any media. Windows 7 would get its own parallel, just in case some of us aren’t willing or able to upgrade our PCs in concert. The replacement desktop apps could be available at about the same time as the Windows Phone 8 launch, if the claims are at all accurate — which might leave less than two months before one more vestige of Microsoft’s MP3 player days goes away.
Those of you hankering for another look at the incoming Firefox OS will be happy with this next piece of news. Engadget is playing host to a collection of leaked images that show off the Firefox OS Marketplace, giving us an idea of how we’ll shop for apps using the OS. Of course, we use the term “shop” loosely since all of the apps that appear in the images are being offered for free, but what can you do?
The fact that all of the apps pictured are available for free suggests that Mozilla has yet to work out a pricing scheme (or payment methods) for the Marketplace, but with the OS not launching until 2013, it has time to figure that out. Naturally, a number of apps will be available for the reasonable price of absolutely nothing, but expect to see some paid apps on offer as well.
The Firefox OS Markerplace is obviously geared toward easy searching, and like most app stores, selecting an app you’re interested in will take you to a page that offers descriptions and ratings. The Marketplace looks a little rough around the edges in this early state, but for the most part it also looks like Mozilla has almost everything in place. This suggests that Mozilla is pretty far along in the production of the Marketplace, which is something to get excited about if you’re looking forward to Firefox OS.
That being said, keep in mind that the Marketplace as we see it today could change – perhaps radically – by the time Firefox OS is released. Speaking of that, we don’t have a solid release date yet, as Mozilla is sticking to an “early 2013″ release window for the first Firefox OS devices, which will be coming from Telefonica. Be sure to peruse our story timeline below for more information on Firefox OS!
It isn’t a good day for Capcom, as the publisher has confirmed that a small number of stolen copies of Resident Evil 6 have been sold in some Polish stores. These bum sales come almost exactly a month before the game was slated to hit shelves. The good news is that the early sales seem to be pretty small scale, but still, a situation like this is one that a publisher doesn’t want to find itself in.
In a statement to Eurogamer today, the company confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the sale of Resident Evil 6 after reports surfaced last week that claimed some retailers were selling the title early. Capcom then confirmed that at least a few copies of Resident Evil 6 had been sold, saying “At this time, all we can add is that it would appear this unfortunate incident is limited to a small quantity of stolen copies of the German USK PlayStation 3 version of the game.”
One of those copies popped up on eBay with a starting bid of €478.78 and a buyout price of €1,196.71. The auction has since been ended by the seller, and it seems that he or she didn’t know that the copy they had was stolen, as the description says that the game is “legit” and was purchased “legally from the store.” Just in case you were wondering, the seller wasn’t able to net any bids before they closed the auction.
Eurogamer says that its unknown how many stolen copies were sold, but since the reports only seem to be about one or two stores in Poland, it probably isn’t that many. Capcom’s investigation seems to be ongoing despite the fact that it can confirm that stolen copies have been sold, so we’ll probably be finding out more about this soon. Keep it tuned here to SlashGear, and in the meantime, tell us: do you like Resident Evil so much that you’d drop €1,200 to get RE 6 a month early?
That was quick: we’d heard rumors through The Verge of wireless charging coming to the repeatedly leaked Lumia 920 alongside a pseudo-PureView camera, and the mysterious @evleaks has come through with what looks to be press photos showing the wireless charging pad in action. As long as they’re more than just wild imaginings, they reveal a puck-like surface that could juice up both the Lumia 920 and the less ambitious 820. We don’t know much more about the charger, although it’s expected to use Qi and wouldn’t limit the phones and pad to coupling solely with each other. We’ll know the bigger picture on September 5th; in the meantime, check after the break for a bonus picture showing both Windows Phone 8 devices with an unnamed Bluetooth headset (likely a Luna variant) that might join the charger in Nokia’s accessory line.
We’ve wondered if LG’s L-series style phones, like the Optimus L7, would ever reach the US; we just didn’t think LG would be the one to leak its own plans. Astute watchers at Smartphenom caught both a since-pulled LG product page and a brochure that have inadvertently confirmed the bigger (though not biggest) model in the Android 4.0 budget line arriving on US Cellular as the Splendor. The American voyage doesn’t involve much of an overhaul, mind you — the switch to the CDMA network and a conspicuous carrier logo are the biggest changes to the 4.3-inch handset. No word has emerged as to just how soon the Splendor will appear or how much it will cost, although the official documents and the L7’s budget nature could put it in stores relatively soon with a low price tag.
An image of Nokia’s wireless charging pad for the upcoming Lumia Windows Phone 8 refreshed range has leaked, seemingly confirming that not only the flagship model will support cable-free recharging. Shared by evleaks, and coming only hours after whispers that the Lumia 920 PureView would have wireless charging, the image shows a roughly phone-sized puck onto which the handset drops.
No further detail has been given on the accessory, but there’s presumably a magnet inside to keep the Lumia in place. Interestingly, the image shows both the leaked Lumia 920 PureView and the Lumia 820 using the dock – the two phones are slightly different in design – which indicates Nokia isn’t leaving wireless charging solely for its new flagship.
Wireless charging has been attempted before, both by manufacturers like Palm/HP and by third-party accessory companies, though has failed to reach a tipping point. Nokia, as a sizable player in the phone business – albeit one that has seen smartphone share dwindle in recent years – could push the technology to the next level.
According to previous rumors, Nokia’s wireless charging will be compliant with the Qi system, meaning owners of the updated Lumias won’t be limited solely to the Finn’s own charging puck. Meanwhile, a second new image shows both handsets with a matching yellow Bluetooth earpiece.
We’ll find out more when we head to New York City on Wednesday, September 5, to join Microsoft and Nokia as they unveil the new Windows Phone 8 Lumia line-up.
It seems like Apple’s getting pretty bad at keeping its secrets. Either that, or people are just getting better at uncovering them. While they don’t have a complete, working phone, the folks over at China’s iColorOS somehow managed to get their hands on various parts of the iPhone 5 to assemble their very own version of the device.
By parts, we mean the exterior stuff like the case and metal plates because I’m sure no one would be able to leave Apple HQ with the actual insides of an iPhone 5 and live to tell the world about it. (I’m kidding. I think.)
Here’s what the leaked images prove:
The iPhone 5 has a bigger screen compared to its predecessor – around 0.5 inches larger, providing a true 16×9 aspect ratio for video content.
It’s going to come with a smaller dock port, so say goodbye to the 30-pin dock.
The FaceTime camera has been re-positioned to somewhere on top of the ear receiver.
The earphone jack has been moved to the bottom of the device, by the speakers.
Of course, the exterior of the iPhone 5 tells us nothing about what’s going on under the hood, like whether or not it’s running a new A6 chip or the same A5 from the current iPad, nor does it tell us about the display’s resolution, or any other hardware improvements, like the hotly-anticipated 4G connectivity. Guess we’ll just have to wait until Apple’s September 12 event for the full reveal.
Nokia‘s Lumia 920 PureView Windows Phone 8 handset, expected to be unveiled officially in New York on Wednesday, will feature wireless charging and an 8-megapixel camera, according to new leaks. The flagship device, press photos of which apparently leaked late last month, will support the Qi wireless power standard according to The Verge‘s sources, for easier recharging.
That will work using a magnetic strip embedded in the back of the Lumia 920, and will be compatible with other Qi-certified wireless charging devices. We’ve seen smartphones feature wireless power before – notably Palm/HP’s webOS handsets – but the technology has yet to see a significant boost in the marketplace.
Other specifications include a 1.5GHz dual-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM, the tipsters say, along with 32GB of internal storage. The display will measure in at 4.5-inches and run at HD resolution (presumably 1280 x 720), and be topped by a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.
However, while Nokia will apparently use its PureView branding on the Lumia 920, the handset won’t get anywhere near the 41-megapixel camera of the 808 PureView. Instead, the 8-megapixel shooter will supposedly be paired with a new image stabilization system, as well as a new camera software.
That’s because PureView isn’t just about raw megapixels but the technology Nokia combines to improve mobile photography. The 808 PureView is successful because it uses clever software that uses multiple clusters of pixels to produce more accurate stills: each pixel in its default, 5-megapixel images combine data from seven pixels on the sensor, allowing the handset to throw out any glitches and get more accurate colors.
It’s not clear if Nokia will therefore be setting the Lumia 920 PureView’s default resolution to 5- or even 2-megapixels – the 808 PureView produced incredible shots, for instance, even at 2MP – or if this branding is a fudge of marketing and capabilities. We’ll know more on September 5, when SlashGear covers the Nokia/Microsoft event!
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By parts, we mean the exterior stuff like the case and metal plates because I’m sure no one would be able to leave Apple HQ with the actual insides of an iPhone 5 and live to tell the world about it. (I’m kidding. I think.)
