Hasta La Gadget!

This week the folks at Acer have revealed several new Haswell-toting computers and a surprise entry in the mobile world: a brand new “phablet”. This Acer Liquid S1 delivers what Acer itself refers to as a phablet form-factor, bringing a 5.7-inch display with HD 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. Inside is a near-vanilla (but not quite) Android 4.2 Jelly Bean experience with a quad-core Mediatek processor and 1GB of RAM. This machine is meant to embody Acer’s aim to reach the cloud with a rather unique entry into the handheld mobile environment.

This device is being pushed with AcerCloud Docs, allowing documents and files of many different formats to be sent to, viewed, and edited from the smartphone itself. This device also works with wireless display an print features that’ll be ready to roll with 4th generation Intel Core (Haswell) features – WiDi being one of them.

One of the more unique features in this phone on top of Android is a “Float User Interface”. This feature has the user press a key that brings up a “Float Apps” shortcut – from there they’ll be seeing apps on a transparent screen floating above whatever app is open. With this function you’ll be able to work with a limited number of apps that can be open an used above your main app in a sort of “ghost” mode: maps, calculator, notes, and your main camera.

There’s also a Float Caller notification that allows a mini-window to appear. From this mini-window, the user is able to take the call, dismiss it, or reply to it with a quick message.

This device works with a front-facing camera with an 88-degree wide viewing angle, a 24mm lens, and button-less shooting – saying “cheese” will take a snap. Entertainment features include Studio Sound with DTS technology, live sharing with Acer’s 2-way Live Screen app, and HD streaming and playback for video and photo display.

This machine works with 8GB of internal storage but has a microSD card slot for 32GB storage expansion, and the whole device is right around the size of the Samsung Galaxy Note II.

This machine is currently appearing with Bluetooth, Wifi, and 3G connectivity, which means it’s not necessarily going to be hitting the USA any time soon. The functions, on the other hand – we can dream! You’ll be seeing this machine in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and Russia for right around 329 Euro, or $430 converted USD.

Acer Liquid S1 brings 5.7-inch self-proclaimed “phablet” to market is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As the next Samsung press event approaches, device names have been appearing here and there both with and without specifications attached. In this case it’s the inevitable Samsung Galaxy Note III, complete with its code-name SM-N9000 riding in the source code of Samsung Kazakhstan, of all places, along with some other rumored devices. Here we also see the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, 8.0, and 7.0, along with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Zoom – a replacement for the Samsung Galaxy Camera.

The Samsung Galaxy line of smartphone-sized devices has been an apparent success for the brand, bringing on a second round last year (two years ago the original Galaxy Note was introduced), along with two sizes of Galaxy Note tablets. As the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 appeared with styling not unlike that of the GALAXY S 4, Samsung all but guaranteed the release of another new Galaxy Note “phablet”.

According to this leak, all we can really tell is that the device exists – or will exist soon. If history tells us anything, it suggests that this machine will be revealed at one of two places. The first and more sensible place would be at the June 20th event Samsung has planned for new Galaxy and ATIV devices. The second place the Galaxy Note III could be revealed is at IFA 2013 – the original Galaxy Note was born there, as was the second, so there’s always a chance that Samsung might stick to tradition.

Samsung has been turning toward a model in which they announce their hero devices at their own, separate events over the past year or so, so sticking with IFA and going it alone (in this already announced event) for the Galaxy Note III are just as likely possibilities as one another.

he Samsung Galaxy Note III has been strongly suggested by SamMobile to work with a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 5.99-inch display with 1080p resolution, and a 13-megapixel camera. Inside we’ll either find Android 4.2.2 or Android 4.3, depending on when the device is released – with Samsung’s TouchWiz over the top, of course. Then it goes without saying that the Note III will work with the newest in Samsung’s S-Pen technology.

VIA: Techtastic

Galaxy Note III appears in Samsung code aside Tab 3, Galaxy Zoom is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

US Cellular isn’t just looking to spice up its device roster with the ATIV Odyssey. We’ve obtained documents that point to LG’s upper mid-range Android smartphone, the Optimus F7, also reaching the carrier in the near future. Outside of the unintrusive branding on the back, it’s a very straightforward port: the F7 should still carry its 4.7-inch qHD screen, LTE data, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an 8MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front camera. The materials we’ve seen make no mention of launch details, although we’re not expecting either a long wait or a high price.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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In December, word surfaced that ZTE would be showing off the Grand S, which was being hailed as the world’s thinnest phablet, at CES 2013. Such was the case, and we got our hands on the giant smartphone back in January. Since hitting shelves, some feedback of the smartphone has been of the critical variety, with some consumers taking issue with the small non-removable battery. Such complaints have been addressed with the Grand S Flex.

The folks over at Frandroid, a French Android-centric website, got their hands on two ZTE smartphones, one being the ZTE Grand S Flex, and the other being a handset called the ZTE Blade G, which is the next generation of the ZTE Blade smartphone. They posted some pictures of both handsets, which you can check out in the gallery below to get an idea of their size and style.

The ZTE Grand S phablet sadly did not have the kind of battery you’d expect to find in a phablet, offering a low-capacity 1780mAh battery, something depleted quickly by the hardware and screen size of the handset. Things will be improved on the ZTE Grand S Flex, however, which is said to feature a girth-expanding 2300mAh battery.

On the flipside, we also see the update to the ZTE Blade, simply dubbed the ZTE Blade G. This handset is black in the photographs, though it is possible other colors will be offered. According to Frandroid, the smartphone features a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, as well as 512MB of RAM, and a 4.5-inch display with a lowish resolution of 854 x 480. The battery is a decent 2000mAh.

The specs for the ZTE Blade G aren’t eye-catching, but they’re certainly decent and point towards what we’re guessing will be a price tag on the lower side of things. The ZTE Grand S Flex is reportedly slated for launch in France this upcoming September, with no word on other locations. The ZTE Blade G, on the other hand, will be launched sometime this summer.

SOURCE: Unwired Review

ZTE Grand S Flex and Blade G images and specs surface is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While the HTC One appears as a Google Edition and rumors persist of a Verizon model popping up soon, an image has appeared today that suggests an “M4″ model might not be far behind. While the HTC One is part of a hero smartphone strategy that has HTC fulfilling their aim to centralize their aim in one ideal design, the M4 has appeared in system code and here, today, as a fully realized model – albeit in a blurry photo, too.

The similarities between this smaller machine and the original HTC One – if this photo ends up being legitimate – begin with the units basic look. You’ve still got one large glass pane up front, silver speaker grilles above and below, and the back, HTC, home button arrangement. The display has been suggested to be coming in at a slightly more conservative size than the HTC One’s, here at 4.3-inches with 720p resolution.

This machine has been tipped to be coming with a plastic rim, speaker grilles that are a bit less wide than the original, and another “UltraPixel” camera on the back. This release would continue to work with the newest version of HTC’s Sense user interface and would have a processor of unknown made and power under the hood.

And the image certainly does seem to be too good to be true, doesn’t it? It’s quite possible that we’re looking at a collection of hand-crafted forgeries here, just as possible as it is that the entire image has been photoshopped and amped-up from previous releases.

Also appearing in this photo is a massive Sony device rumored earlier this year as an oversized “Togari” model, complete with 1080p display at 6.44-inches. This machine has an aesthetic not unlike that of the Sony XPERIA Z, mind you, but its ultra-thinness does seem a bit suspect.

Then there’s that massive Nokia device in the background. While it could just as easily be a sort of flattened-out HTC Windows Phone 8X, it’s suggested by the leakster himself that it’s a 1080p Lumia from Nokia. This image also suggests that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 will be allowing a third column of live tiles in the near future – getting closer, and closer, and closer to icons the size of those on other operating systems.

VIA: Engadget
SOURCE: Dahny El Perro

HTC M4 “HTC One mini” leaked aside 1080p Nokia Lumia and oversized Sony is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.