Hasta La Gadget!

How does a US carrier get around AT&T’s exclusivity of the Lumia 920? Why, it releases an exclusive of its own, of course. News of the Lumia 928 is probably familiar to many of you, which has been rumored (and spotted in inventory systems) as an upscale Windows Phone for Verizon. Now, things just got real, as @evleaks has just released the first glimpse of the Lumia 928, and adorned in black, we’re quite sure that Batman would approve. Naturally, Big Red’s branding adorns both the front and back of the device, but at least there’s a modicum of restraint. This being Nokia’s second Windows Phone outing on Verizon, we’re crossing our fingers that the phone was spared a beating with the ugly stick. We’ll reserve judgment until we can get our grubby mitts on one.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia, Verizon

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Source: @evleaks (Twitter)

Microsoft’s Windows Blue will launch as Windows 8.1, new leaks suggest, not Windows 9 as some have predicted, with the top-level branding still expected to be Windows 8. The update, tipped to be released to manufacturing this August, will stick closely to Microsoft’s existing OS branding, sources tell ZDNet, though as per previous nomenclature around Windows Phone, will make only minor reference to the .1 incremental change.

According to Twitter’s Roman L. and the screenshot from Winforum.eu he posted above, meanwhile, Microsoft has already begun referring to Windows 8.1 (or, in this case, 8.1 Pro) by the Windows 8 name in its latest builds. The screenshot apparently comes from build 9375, and if legitimate is one of the more recent 8.1 escapees.

Windows 8 won’t be the only platform to get a splash of color, either. According to the source, Windows RT – the version of the OS designed for ARM-based processors, and most notably used on the Microsoft Surface tablet – will also get a Blue update. That will be referred to as Windows RT 8.1, it’s suggested.

Microsoft has previously confirmed that Blue is a Windows update, but beyond that has been tight-lipped on what exactly PC users can expect. It’s unclear whether the .1 update will be a paid one or not, too.

However, leaks earlier this year did flesh out the rumors with some feature possibilities, including extra personalization support, new split-screen layout support, and a range of new preloaded apps.

Windows Blue is Windows 8.1 insider claims (and expect it in a few months time) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Aereo, the would-be cable-disrupting streaming TV service that puts a PVR in the cloud, has been holding clandestine talks with AT&T, Dish Network, and others in an attempt to significantly broaden its availability, insiders claim. Currently available only in NYC, and stung with legal challenges from angry content owners and broadcasters, Aereo has been hunting new distribution methods such as direct-to-phone, sources tell the WSJ, though any eventual deal hangs in part of whether the start-up’s service can continue.

Launched a little over a year ago, Aereo basically takes free-to-air TV content and rebroadcasts it as an internet stream. Subscribers are charged a fee – from $1 a day, for the commitment-averse, or through monthly or annual plans – for DVR functionality as well as access to two tuners for simultaneously watching and recording content.

However, even before it launched, Aereo was in the broadcasters’ legal sights. An initial lawsuit claiming the service broke laws by re-encoding content using its tiny antenna clusters was seen off, but the war is by no means over. A ruling in the appeals court is expected imminently, though a final settling of the arguments could be years off.

That uncertainty is apparently giving some potential partners pause for thought. According to the insiders, DirecTV considered partnering with Aereo, but opted not to after reviewing the legal situation. Dish Network, meanwhile, is another potential suitor, having already denied plans to buy Aereo, but conceded that it is following the service with interest.

As for AT&T, no confirmation was given, but sources say the talks are around AT&T selling broadband and/or mobile broadband that would be paired with Aereo service. Meanwhile, Aereo has supposedly approached a number of cable channel providers – at least two others, the sources say – in order to pay for access to select content, though no deals beyond the initial Bloomberg TV agreement have been inked.

Aereo in AT&T and DISH deal talks amid broadcaster fury is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re seeing the reports today of a “confidential presentation” making a case for Foxconn creating the iPhone 5S in time for June 2013, you’ll know how vague leaks can get. What we’re seeing here is an information source that points us toward a launch of the next iPhone well within the bounds of predictability with Apple’s past launches and suggests a couple extra doozies we can just as easily dismiss as believe outright. The report seems to have been delivered to TechCrunch where their source says they’ve got information so specific, it’s like nothing a source of their caliber has had before.

The source, they say, is a manufacturer operating out of Shenzhen, China, and is likely set to release some iPhone-friendly accessories at the launch of the next model. What’s not entirely clear is how the information they possess seems to be so pinpointed. Where every launch of the iPhone (or any Apple product, for that matter), has accessory makers only getting Apple certification of products after the device they’ve revealed is shown to the public.

In this case, Apple is said to be working directly with Foxconn and this one manufacturer of products (again, likely accessories), to be revealed right as the iPhone 5S is revealed, launched as it is launched.

You can read this one of two ways. On one hand, we could be looking at a whole new age for Apple where they’ve become willing to work with manufacturers of devices and accessories that function with Apple-manufactured hardware at a level more extensive than basic Apple certification. On the other hand, it could all be bunk.

Have a peek at our iPhone 5S timeline below to see if this device rings a bell for you before it’s revealed later this year!

iPhone 5S tip suggests rather unique Apple launch is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Another day, another @evleaks leak. This time it’s a pair of official product shots of the ZTE V987 we saw back in January, and apparently the official name here is the Grand X Quad — not quite as elegant-sounding as the more powerful Grand S, perhaps. That’s pretty much it from the mysterious leakster, but thanks to TENAA’s database, we already know most of the specs from last time: 5-inch 720p gapless display, 1.2GHz quad-core chip, 8-megapixel camera, dual-SIM support (WCDMA plus GSM) and a removable 2,500mAh battery. Assuming this Grand X Quad will be sold cheaper, we’d imagine it’d do pretty well if it features the same build quality as its sister device — we’ll let you guys know once we get to do a hands-on, naturally.

Update: Well this is weird. It turns out that ZTE’s been very quietly selling this budget phone for ¥1,699 or about $270 in China since late February, though availability is very limited by the looks of it. No wonder ZTE didn’t even bother with a press release.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Engadget Chinese

Source: @evleaks (Twitter)