The next-generation LG Optimus G has been shown off once again before its full launch which will almost certainly be taking place extremely soon – here in a video spot from Korea. This video advertisement shows the device being worked with and played with by a set of happy customers and appears to fit rather well in their hands as they make use of its ultra-powerful processor. Inside you’ll find the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor we’ve had a peek at just weeks ago and up front you’ll be jamming with a massive 4.7-inch display.
This device works with 1280 x 768 True HD IPS+ across its 4.7-inch screen and will be popping up with 2GB of RAM under the hood. LG is bringing the fire this time around with a styling not unlike the LG Intuition with its rubbery back and simple black outline but brings with it a smartphone-sized experience. Qualcomm will be holding this device up as a hero as well as it’s the first to be coming to the market with its 1.5GHz quad-core architecture.
This device’s advertisement video spot shows off how the device works with 4G LTE and an ultra-powerful camera, likely 8 megapixels or larger. What we’ve heard thus far on the camera front as a possibility is a 13-megapixel shooter on the back, but we’ll know the full truth only when the device is officially unveiled! For now we’ve only to watch and enjoy the device as a fun experience without specification confirmation.
Check the timeline below to see more information on the LG Optimus G before it pops up in full motion soon and very soon!
If you’re ready for the next generation of Qualcomm processor-packing smartphone action, LG has you covered – a press invite has been sent out teasing us all with the future ability to “live without boundaries.” This event will very likely be showing off the LG Optimus G here in the United States, complete with the Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon S4 APQ8064. This processor takes the excellence of the dual-core S4 we’ve seen in devices like the HTC One series and the Samsung Galaxy S III (in the USA) and boosts up the power with double the CPU architecture – beastly!
The LG Optimus G is a device that’s been confirmed not only to exist but to be working with the processor mentioned above. This device’s design looks rather similar to the final form of the LG Intuition – a device we’re reviewing right this minute – including a rubbery back and a single speaker grill as well as a corner-sitting camera lens. This device appears rather simple otherwise, save for the in-cell touch technology, of course.
In-cell touch allows the device’s touchscreen technology and the display to be integrated into one unit, allowing the whole device to be much thinner. This smartphone uses a tiny 3mm bezel for near edge-to-edge display action, with the display being a True HD (1280 x 768 pixel resolution) IPS+ LCD. Fabulousness is ready here soon in the USA one way or another, but the device has already been announced else where too – NTT Docomo in Japan and on unnamed carriers in Korea as well.
Check our LG Optimus G timeline below and stay tuned on the 19th of this month for more information on LG’s next generation of smartphone power!
The DROID RAZR M was revealed at the event where Googler and relatively new CEO of Motorola Dennis Woodside spoke about the “new plan” for the company – a plan that’s starting right here. We got a brief DROID RAZR M hands-on experience at the event and found that it was a surprisingly powerful-feeling device for its status under the DROID RAZR HD devices sitting nearby. With its near-edge-to-edge 4.3-inch display, it’s tried-and-true fabulously powerful dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor under the hood, and a collection of protective elements throughout this device’s chassis that make it, again, an ideal phone for today’s mobile landscape – just as the original DROID RAZR should have been (and still is, for many happy users, to be fair).
Have a peek at some hands-on walkthrough time here with the DROID RAZR M and see if it and the review text (and photos) above and below answer every question you’ve got about the device. If you find yourself still sitting with quandaries at the end of the post, please feel free to post in the comments section. We’ll do our best to expand where necessary!
Hardware
When I traveled from New York City to Minneapolis the day that I was handed the DROID RAZR M, I carried it in my pocket through three airports and dropped it at least 5 times. I’m clumsy. Because of the protective features Motorola was and is being up front about in this device and the other RAZR devices as well, I thought about how awesome it was that the M bounced around and didn’t show a scratch. Of course it’s partially really good advertising, and I can be a sucker for great promotion, but there’s quite a bit of reality in the pitch as well: there are more protective components here than there are fragile bits.
You’ve got Corning Gorilla Glass across the front, one big flat panel. The back of the device is mostly made up of of a panel of DuPont KEVLAR fiber, the rim of the device is either white or black hard plastic, and the frame is made of aircraft-grade aluminum. Inside you’ve also got water-repellent nanocoating, so you’re good in the rain and if you splash a bit of coffee over the top of the device.
The device does not work with legacy accessories that connect with the microUSB and microHDMI combination as seen on our review of the Motorola Lapdock 100 – here with the RAZR M, you’ve just got a microUSB port and that’s it. You’ve also got a standard headphone jack at the top of the device, power button and volume rocker on the right, and a door on the left also with a microSIM and microSD card slot as well.
The device is palm-sized and will be basically the closest device in size and shape to the upcoming iPhone 5 – which will certainly be carried by Verizon once it appears as well. The display will likely be a similar size as well, and the display will be comparable without a doubt. Beyond the basics, on the other hand, these two devices will not be compared unless Verizon workers are asked which device has Android and is basically the same size as the iPhone. More than likely you won’t find a lot of people entering the store with that comparison needing to be made.
Also note – there’s no other device on the market that looks or feels like this. Outside the other RAZR and Motorola devices that’ve been out in the last few months, (like the ATRIX HD), of course. That back panel assures you you’re working with Motorola hardware.
Software
There’s a collection of applications here that you could feel a number of ways about. If you thought that having Google own Motorola meant that they’d be releasing devices with only the Google standard set like the Nexus lineup does, you were wrong. If you’re looking for a device that you very well could potentially work with without needing to download any additional apps, this is it. Have a peek at the full collection of apps coming out of the box here:
You’ve got a “Verizon 4G LTE Edition” of Color here, this app being a social networking connection to photos and videos – including streaming live video via Facebook. Apps like Audible and IMDb as well as NFL Mobile will connect you to media from all directions, Zappos and Slacker Radio and Viewdini also bring you physical product shopping, streaming radio, and video listings. This device also comes with a suite of Amazon apps including Amazon for Amazon.com shopping, Amazon Kindle for ebooks, Amazon MP3, and the Amazon Appstore. What’s interesting here is that while previous Amazon-toting Android devices have worked with Bing rather than Google search, this device uses Google and has the Google Play store as well. You get the best of both worlds.
This device works with Smart Actions like several Motorola devices before, this app able to do things like detect when you’re in a certain area (GPS located) and turn your device’s brightness down. You can turn your sounds down when you enter a meeting (according to your Google calendar event), you can set a notification to pop up to remind you to charge your phone at a certain time of day, and you can turn off data sync when you’re asleep – amongst many others. You’ve also got Voice Commands and Voice Search as provided by Google’s newest Android systems. Note here that this device has been guaranteed to get Jelly Bean by Motorola, but that it currently uses Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich provides you with a Recent Apps button so you can easily switch between apps on the go. It also brings a notifications pull-down menu that’s accessible from your lockscreen as well as your homescreen – there’s a quick access button there to get to your full settings as well. There’s a new feature brought on by Motorola here as well which, when you pull your homescreen over to the right, you get a Quick Settings menu with on/off switches for GPS, Mobile Data, Bluetooth, and other oddities as well.
Below: Motorola includes an easy start guide for anyone unfamiliar with Android in general but especially with their unique user interface. They’ve made it specific to this device, too, with perfectly pointed arrows at the buttons outside the display.
Motorola’s user interface works well here with Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich features, not being overbearing as it was back when it was called MotoBlur. Here we’ve got a collection of easy-to-understand icons in your settings menu, features that are well placed (like the previously mentioned Quick Settings menu), and what’s not a rather quick software build as it works with Qualcomm’s processor. Have a peek at a few benchmark results here as well to see how it adds up compared to the rest of your smartphone and tablet favorites.
Camera
The camera is rather nice – certainly not the most excellent beast in the mobile field right this minute, but more than reasonable for the promises Motorola has made for the device. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 processor has architecture dedicated to image processing specifically, also, so it’s certainly helping out at least a little bit. Have a peek at some examples of photos and video as captured by the DROID RAZR M and see what 1080p video and 8 megapixel photos look like here.
Battery and Data Speed
The battery is a massive 2000mAh and, in combination with the amazing ability of the Snapdragon S4 to keep itself on low-demand while the device is asleep, you’ll have so much standby time that you’ll freak out. See here first what happens when you use the device moderately – lots and lots of time.
Then have a peek at what happens when you turn the device’s display up to full brightness. This chart shows how quickly you can drain the battery – note that this isn’t entirely unique to this device, you can make this happen with the right combination of high-demand apps and display power and data transfer and all that good stuff at once. What you should pay attention to here though is the flatline at the end – when the death drop ends, that’s where I turned the brightness of the display to “auto.”
The DROID RAZR M works with Verizon’s 4G LTE data network and has proven itself as a rather fabulous internet beast – the danger here will be that you get too addicted to the speed and end up using your whole data allowance in the course of a few days. That’s been known to happen with some people, you know. Have a peek here at a set of data speed readings from both New York City (including LaGuardia Airport – also in the demo video above), and Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Wrap-up
This is a rather fun addition to the Motorola collection of smartphones, and Verizon will be better for it having it in the Droid universe as well. You’ll find yourself enjoying the DROID RAZR M’s near-edge-to-edge display especially, with bright, sharp, and colorful delivery yours for the taking. The processor under the hood is more than powerful enough to handle any app, game, or video you’ve got or will get in the next few years on Android, and the whole user interface is quite slick.
This device is made to be its own little beast, not part of the docking and mirroring universe that Motorola smartphones have been almost exclusively for the past year. Because of that, you’ll have lower cost ($99.99 USD with a 2-year contract), and the device can be smaller as well. The battery inside this device is thinned-out in a way that makes it non-removable as well – the same situation as the original DROID RAZR too.
So you’ve got a smartphone that’s not made to come apart and certainly isn’t made to be part of the Motorola lineup from the year previous to this season. This is indeed part of the “new plan” spoken about by Dennis Woodside as Motorola’s tie with Google keeps the company flying high into the future. We’re excited to see if the DROID RAZR HD and HD MAXX are up to snuff as well – soon enough!
Are you familiar with the ADR930LVW from Pantech? Well, you’d be excused for never having heard of it, but given that it’s just popped up at the FCC, you might be getting to know it soon. Typically, details are sparse, but a bit of sniffing around suggests that this will be rolling with Verizon friendly LTE (which might also explain the “VW” in the product name). There’s mention of NFC too, along with the obligatory WiFi and Bluetooth furnishings. The handset is rumored to also be touting a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 and a 720p HD display, which sounds perfectly believable to us. But until this breaks cover, be it as the ADR930LVW, or codename Premia V — or indeed as anything else — we’ll just have to wait and see.
HTC’s plans for Windows Phone 8 may be filling out fast. We saw XDA-Developer member Football4PDA post a schematic of the Accord less than a week ago, and today he’s posting what could be more concrete information. Supposedly, HTC’s inaugural device might be named the 8X — not quite as charming, but definitely simple. More importantly, the software in the claimed leak suggests the company will bring a trace of Sense UI style to the home screen, rather than having to relegate it to the HTC Hub: a live tile would bring the oversized clock and weather that One owners know so well. Just don’t anticipate a flagship device here. If the specifications are real, the 8X would bear more in common with the Droid Incredible 4G LTE, sharing its 1.2GHz dual-core chip, 8-megapixel rear camera, Beats Audio and NFC while picking up a slightly larger 4.3-inch screen and 16GB of storage. Our main question centers around the unveiling. While HTC has an event lined up for later this month, there’s no guarantee that the 8X will show up at that gathering or even launch side-by-side with Windows Phone 8 itself.
It would appear that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 processor line is making the rounds this year at IFA 2012, today appearing in both Samsung and Dell’s Windows RT tablets. The first of these is the Samsung ATIV Tab 10-inch tablet (check out our hands-on experience) with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and an 8.9mm thin body. Then there’s the Dell XPS 10 which we got eyes-on time with this week as well – complete with 10-inch multi-touch display and keyboard dock for converting the device into a notebook.
With the Samsung ATIV Tab you’re getting a 570 gram tablet with USB 2.0, microHDMI out, a microSD card slot that can hold up to 64GB cards, and both front and rear cameras. The rear-facing camera is 5 megapixels strong while the front-facing camera comes in at 1.9 megapixels. You’ve also got Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11n WiFi Direct, NFC, and GPS under the hood. Qualcomm notes specifically that the 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor in this device will allow you to play 1080p videos “while lasting all-day on a single battery charge.” Sounds like a win!
The Dell XPS 10 is the manufacturer’s first Windows RT tablet, complete with the premium computing promise that comes with the whole XPS line. This device has a 10-inch display that, just like the ATIV Tab, is fully touch sensitive, and has lovely “enhanced” viewing angles. This device presents a high-quality experience on its own, but has double the battery time and one whole heck of a lot more typing potential with its QWERTY keyboard dock attached.
Qualcomm notes specifically for the Dell XPS 10 that especially when you’ve got the device’s keyboard dock attached with extra battery power, the Snapdragon S4 processor inside will provide you with all-day action without a charge due to fabulous power management. The Snapdragon S4 processor is working with Windows RT here to provide a full day’s battery time in many devices with days of standby without a charge – just what you’ve always wanted in a Windows tablet machine!
A brand new HTC device has been revealed with several of the features that make the HTC One series a “Hero” set of phones, here in a more modest package with the HTC Desire X. This device works with a 4-inch 480 x 800 pixel super LCD display and a 1Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor from Qualcomm and comes with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. This device also comes with the newest software the manufacturer has to offer with their user interface Sense 4.0.
This device will appear with 4GB of internal storage and 768 MB of RAM. You’ll also be getting 25GB of cloud storage free with Dropbox for two years. You’ll be able to expand your memory with this device’s included microSD card slot as well by 32GB. The HTC Desire X has a 3.5mm headphone jack with which you’ll be accessing Beats Audio high quality sound delivery.
Beats Audio continues to be a part of the HTC experience with enhanced Bluetooth 4.0 stereo audio quality – APT-X CODEC for BT A2DP included. You’ve also got HD voice here (if your chosen mobile network allows it) and FM radio. Also under the hood is a proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and G-sensor. The battery in this device is a lovely 1650 mAh unit that HTC says will bring you 10 hours of talk time in 3G or 20 hours in 2G, with 34 days of standby if you’re using 3G or 31 days using 2G – strange!
This device is also able to connect with a standard 5-pin microUSB cord – included in the box – and is DNLA compliant for sireless media streaming. You’ve got wi-fi connectivity in addition to 2G and 3G and Bluetooth 4.0 here allows you PBAP as well for phonebook access from your brand new car kit – we’ll see more about that situation soon.
Then there’s the camera – here with the HTC ImageChip, the same one included in the HTC One series for awesome media capturing abilities, you’ll be rolling hard with your 5 megapixel camera. Your camera also uses a F2.0 aperture, wide angle 28 mm lens, and an LED flash with SmartFlash. This SmartFlash functionality allows five level of flash that are automatically set by your camera detecting distance to the objects at hand.
Your camera also has a BSI sensor, one-press continuous shooting with up to two frames per second, face and smile detection, geo tagging, and WVGA video recording. This camera also has the ability to work with intelligent group shot mode, Video Pic (allowing photos while you’re capturing video), and Instant Capture. This device allows you to access your camera from the lockscreen and shoot quick so you never miss a shot!
Stay tuned as we check this device out up close and personal here on SlashGear soon – meanwhile check out the HTC One tag to see the history of that lineup, and compare it to the Desire X as you do so!
Just in case you didn’t catch it in the whirlwind of announcements that were laid down today at IFA 2012 by Samsung, Qualcomm has announced that their ultra-powerful Snapdragon S4 processor lineup will be bringing the heat to the ATIV S smartphone and ATIV Tab tablet. The ATIV Tab tablet running Windows RT while the ATIV S is set to be one of the very first Windows Phone 8 devices to hit the market this Fall. The Qualcomm team’s Snapdragon lineup also remains the only set of processor to power Windows Phone, 100% of them, the whole world over.
With the Qualcomm Snapdragon line of processor, it’s assured by the manufacturer that the user is getting “seamless integration and collaboration between hardware, software, and services.” This is of course because Qualcomm manufactures other gear inside the devices they have their processors in as well, and offer software solutions for sharing and media wizardry of all kinds. With Windows RT (the mobile tablet version of Windows 8) on this Samsung tablet and Windows Phone 8 on the ATIV S, you’ll have a full Qualcomm experience in both next-level hardware universes.
Have a peek at our Samsung tag link for more information on everything that’s been revealed today, and stay tuned to our IFA 2012 portal as well to make sure you’ve got information on everything that’s going down all week. We’ll have hands-on with devices of all kinds, Samsung and Qualcomm included, throughout the week!
Just announced by LG, the Optimus G has been already unveiled in Japan and schedule to hit stores later this October or November! The Optimus G, a Snapdragon Quad Core LTE Phone will be sold as the Optimus G L-01E in Japan alongside four other devices including the : AQUOS PHONE si SH-01E a full-feature compact smartphone with thin-framed 4.1-inch display to maximize screen, 12.1-megapixel camera and advanced “ProPix” processor for brilliant, high-definition images and running on a 1.5GHz Dual …
It seems the newest member of HTC’s mid-range smartphone line-up — previously known as the Proto — is actually the Desire X, according to several Scandinavian retailers (see coverage). Also, Hong Kong blog ePrice, who gave the new model the blurrycam treatment, claims that the specs line up with all the rumors: a 4-inch, 800 x 480 display, Android 4.0 with Sense 4.0, Beats Audio, dual-core 1GHz processor and 5-megapixel camera. HTC should formally out the phone this week at IFA, but its European presence and similarity to the China-only New Desire V means it’s likely an international version — without the continental sticker shock.
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