Samsung Galaxy Mega hits FCC again, this time with LTE

Samsung Galaxy Mega hits FCC again, this time with LTE

Better start working on those powerball exercises. If Samsung’s Galaxy Mega was the thing you thought your life was missing, it’s just landed at the FCC. Yeah, we know this isn’t the first time, but this second go-round it’s the LTE-sporting GT-i9205 model. The usual lab tests show little that we didn’t know already — unless you didn’t know it had LTE Band 5, dual band WiFi, NFC or GSM 850 / 1900. As the 5.8-inch isn’t 4G-enabled, this means we’re looking at the bigger 6.3-inch version, but still no word on if, when or how a version might land on US shores. Still no harm in limbering up, though, is there?

Update: Upon further inspection, this variant only uses LTE band 5 (850MHz), which no US carrier currently uses. It’s very unlikely this I9205 variant will hit the US.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: FCC

Clipr sends pasted text to your phone via SMS with a press of a button

Clipr sends pasted text to your phone via SMS with a press of a button

If you’ve ever wanted to send some text from your computer to your phone, you usually have to go with a dedicated app like Evernote, with a mobile app required at the other end. With the new version of Clipr for Mac, however, all you need to do is enter your phone number in the settings and the info will magically appear on your mobile device via SMS — just press the command key when selecting a clip and away it’ll go. Right now all major US carriers are supported, with the promise of more to come. For the uninitiated, Clipr is a clipboard manager that works with your computer’s existing copy and paste system without any special key combos. Bear in mind that while the app itself is free, the aforementioned SMS feature costs $0.99 extra. Still, at least this particular clip-inspired helper looks to be a lot better than, you know, that other one.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: Clipr (Mac App Store)

Engadget Mobile Podcast 178 – 04.26.13

Engadget Mobile Podcast 178 - 04.26.13

New phones usually enjoy a big comfortable seat in the limelight when they land. This week, however, there’s a lot less elbow room thanks to the recent deluge. But, despite much more muscular competition, that cheeky Asha 210, still manages to get in there first. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen, Joseph Volpe

Producer: James Trew

Music: TychoCoastal Brake (Ghostly International)

Hear the podcast

Filed under: ,

Comments

Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S 4 launches in China with an Exynos 5 Octa inside

Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S 4 launches in China with an Exynos 5 Octa inside

Remember the leaked GT-i9502, that dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy S 4 that ultimately confirmed many rumors? That smartphone at last exists beyond a collection of photos, as Samsung just launched it for China Unicom customers. The support for an extra cellular line is naturally the highlight, although there’s another perk for GS4 connoisseurs: the i9502 has the same 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor as the i9500, which might eke out more performance than the Snapdragon 600 models. There isn’t any word on whether or not the i9502 edition will leave China, although we wouldn’t count on European or North American editions when there isn’t LTE inside to please 4G-obsessed carriers.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: GSMArena

Source: Samsung (translated)

Viber exploit lets attackers bypass Android lock screens, for now (video)

Viber exploit lets users bypass Android lock screens, a fix is on the way video

If you’re an Android user who prefers Viber for VoIP and messaging, you may not want to leave your phone unattended in the near future. Bkav Internet Security has discovered an exploit that will bypass the lock screen on Android phones new and old (including the Nexus 4) as long as pop-up notifications are active. While the exact actions vary from phone to phone, all that’s really needed is an incoming message or two, a handful of taps and the back button to reach the home screen. App users can disable the pop-ups as a short-term workaround, although they thankfully won’t have to do that for long when Viber promises that a patch is on the way. There’s only a small chance that a malicious attacker will both get their mitts on your phone and know that you’ve got Viber installed, but we’d advise against using statistical probability as a security measure.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Bkav

Full Samsung Knox launch delayed until a ‘later date’

Full launch of Samsung Knox delayed until a 'later date'

The Galaxy S 4 launch was also supposed to mark the release of Knox, Samsung’s plan to balance home life and work through software. Unfortunately, Galaxy owners will have to live slightly off-kilter for a while longer — the company has officially delayed full Knox service to a “later date.” While the GS 4 ships with the necessary underpinnings, both distributors and providers have to fall into place before the suite is completely ready. Samsung hasn’t officially said when it expects Knox to arrive in earnest, although the New York Times claims that it may appear as late as July. Whether or not that’s true, the setback adds to what’s becoming a hitch-prone debut for Samsung’s 2013 Android flagship.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: New York Times

Facebook Messenger for Android: now with free stickers

Facebook adds a helping of cheese to Messenger with stickers

Emojis not giving that missive the right oomph? A Facebook Messenger for Android update has brought stickers into that mix with characters like cats and aliens, lending your chat head conversation just the right dose of nuance. It popped up yesterday as a hidden feature, but now you can download the final version at Google Play (at the source) — then, just click on the smiley icon in the text input box to start dropping the cute bombs.

Filed under: , , , ,

Comments

Via: Phandroid

Source: Facebook (Google Play)

Selfridges to get Blackberry Q10 ahead of official UK launch, available this Friday for £580

Selfridges gets exclusive threeday UK Blackberry Q10 window, grab it for 580 starting this Friday

The keyboard lover’s BlackBerry is on its way, and the first place to sell it will be none other than our old favorite, Selfridges. The UK department store will carry a black version of the Blackberry Q10 exclusively between April 26th and April 28th, according to a tweet from Blackberry UK, well before other retailers. You can pre-order it now for £580 (at the source) or, if you’d like to meet other people who also love keyboards, grab one at the store starting Friday.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: Pocket Lint

Source: Selfridges

Virgin Media outlines Galaxy S 4 pricing, starts at £31 per month with £99 down

Samsung Galaxy S 4 angle

We’ve seen a few UK carriers show their cards ahead of the Galaxy S 4 launch this weekend, but MVNO Virgin Media has been slightly coy with details compared to bigger peers like EE and Vodafone. Better late than never, we suppose: the provider has outlined just how much we’ll have to spend to get Samsung’s flagship. Customers who have Virgin broadband or TV services can pay the same £31 per month as their EE counterparts, getting a lower £99 device cost and insurance in exchange for a more limited service that includes 200 minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of data. When mobile-only customers have to pay £5 more per month, though, we’d think carefully about signing up just for the sake of the GS 4. There are better deals afoot if you’re not already a loyal Virgin customer.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: Virgin Media

Sony posts its first AOSP build for the Xperia Z (video)

AOSP comes to the Xperia Z through Sony's GitHub video

Sony is quickly developing a reputation as the tinkerer’s phone maker of choice: it took on responsibility for maintaining AOSP on the Xperia S even when Google couldn’t. Today, it’s proving that commitment to open software by releasing an Android 4.2.2-based AOSP build for one of its 2013 flagships, the Xperia Z. The initial public version is rough and has to go without proprietary camera and cellular drivers, although it does support Bluetooth, GPS, SD storage, WiFi and a host of sensors. Developers and other experimenters can grab the necessary code on GitHub; the rest of us can stick to marginally safer CyanogenMod nightlies.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Source: GitHub