Hasta La Gadget!

It seems a limited edition 18 carat gold One just isn’t enough for HTC. Today, the Taiwanese smartphone maker unveiled another golden variant of its Android flagship, swapping the soft and expensive exterior of its MOBO-themed One for a familiar aluminum chassis. We first saw the front half of HTC’s latest variant in September, suggesting the company would make a fifth color available alongside its silver, black, blue and red designs. As for specs, there’s no change internally, which means it’s still powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 processor and features the same 4-megapixel UltraPixel sensor. The latest variant does come late to the game, with Apple’s gold iPhone 5s enjoying huge demand and Samsung launching the Galaxy S 4 gold edition, albeit in limited markets. HTC says the device will be available across Europe with a number of partners — when we hear more, we’ll let you know.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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The Galaxy Grand 2 is another big Samsung phone (5.25 inches this time), but while it might share the screen-size with the Galaxy Note family, there are a few hardware changes that make this handset more middleweight than flagship. There’s 8GB of base storage, with microSD expansion up to 64GB, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor and no stylus. The rear-facing 8-megapixel camera also might not stand up to comparisons against the higher pixel-count varieties. Compared to the original Galaxy Grand, which housed a limp 800 x 480 WVGA screen, the sequel’s incrementally bigger display now cranks that up to a passable 720p. The phone will also arrive running Android 4.3, in white, black and pink color options. There’s still no LTE on the model, but (at least?) there’s dual-SIM slots which means the smartphone is likely to make a global roll-out at a presumably moderate price. When we hear the specifics, we’ll let you know.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Samsung Mobile

After launching on iOS and Android almost a year ago, the mobile version of Redbox Instant by Verizon has finally arrived in the Windows Phone Store. Aside from a few cosmetic changes and added Live Tile support, the new app works exactly like its cross-platform counterparts, offering movie streaming and maps to nearby Redbox kiosks. An $8 monthly subscription also covers the rental fees for up to four DVDs, although customers can upgrade to Blu-ray discs for an additional dollar. The bad news is that the app’s exclusive to Nokia’s Lumia range right now — plebes with other WP8 devices will have to wait until the end of January for general availability.

Filed under: Misc, HD, Mobile, Nokia, Verizon

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Source: Nokia, MarketWatch, Windows Phone

GPS turn-by-turn directions are staid and boring, whether they are relayed by a male or female voice. Waze wants to give us what we really want, which is, quite naturally, driving directions delivered with the gravitas only Hollywood actors can bring. To that end, the social navigation company has partnered up with Universal Pictures to deliver some cross-promotional synergy that’ll have actors in forthcoming films acting as your virtual co-pilot. The first such star of the silver screen is comedian Kevin Hart (promoting the aptly titled film Ride Along), and you can get a taste of what Waze will be like with Hart telling you where to go in the video after the break.

Filed under: GPS, Software, Mobile

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Via: VentureBeat

Canonical’s been working for years to turn Ubuntu into a universal OS for whatever sized screen you use, be it of the television, desktop or mobile variety. Recently, the company showed off the next step in this evolution: unified icon designs for mobile and desktop Ubuntu implementations. In keeping with current UI trends, the new icons have flatter, more stylized appearance when compared to the old desktop iconography. System tiles are less colorful and more reserved in appearance, while apps and folders have been punched up with a flashier look to set them apart visually. Of course, the new icons won’t actually make their way into a Ubuntu for awhile, as the goal is to get them into the 14.04 release for mobile (13.10 is the current version). Should you want more background on the production of the new icons, there’s an hour-long video discussing it after the break. Don’t forget the popcorn.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Source: OMG! Ubuntu!