News & Reviews:   smartphone

While Nokia has been cosying up with Pelican Imaging, Samsung have reportedly been doing the same with SGL Group which specializes in carbon-based materials like carbon-fiber composites and graphite. This has led to rumours that maybe instead of metal, the next Samsung Smartphone may instead use graphite or carbon-fiber composites, both of which are relatively easier and faster to produce than a metal unibody chassis, while being super tough at the same time. Check out the quotes from both parties below:

SGL Group’s carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as very good electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength combined with low weight. Products from SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive and chemical industries as well as in the semiconductor, solar and LED sectors and in lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also being used increasingly in the wind power, aerospace and defense industries.

Perhaps looking to capitalize on the HTC One's success, HTC have been rumoured to be looking into releasing a Windows Phone powered HTC One. According to tipsters, this new Windows Phone HTC One won't be exactly the same as the original HTC One with a screen between 4 and 5 inches.

This version could take the way of the upcoming HTC One Mini which retains the metal chassis, UltraPixel camera and front-facing Beats Audio speakers. We feel that since most Windows Phone smartphones seem to be packing dual-SIM capabilities it would be a good idea for HTC to just take the China-only version instead (which comes with dual-SIM and a removable battery). No news on when exactly it would be available but it is expected in Q3 of 2013 before the holidays and it should also pack in Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8.1 mobile operating system as well.

Imagine an x86 tablet doing a benchmark for Android devices like AnTuTu and you'll get some pretty high scores. Imagine that with the Samsung ATIV Q, one of the most powerful x86 based tablets in existance and you'll get AnTuTu scores that beat out everything else in the market. Thanks to the dual nature of the Samsung ATIV Q it was able to run the AnTuTu Benchmark and got an AnTuTu score of 54861. So far, the highest AnTuTu score was previously Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 devices with AnTuTu scores of around 33000 points.

Of course, this is by no means a fair apples vs oranges comparison since the Samsung ATIV Q is packing a very fast Intel Core i5 and 4GB of RAM while even the fastest smartphone is still limited to 2GB of RAM and a much more energy efficient processor and chipset. Will we ever see Intel Core i5's in Smartphones or smaller sized tablets? Probably not, as for that market, Intel is using the Atom based Silvermont range which have so far still not beaten the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800. It does point towards a more promising future for Intel in mobile (and more powerful devices for us) if they manage to pull off the same sort of performance for the processors meant for the mobile market.

Smartphone game maker Klab, Inc has made a deal with Microsoft that may soon allow us to play Xbox and Windows PC games (under the Microsoft banner) to be ported over to iOS and Android devices. According to rumours, these games may soon be available for iOS and Android later in 2013. So far the first game scheduled to come from this deal is rumoured to be "Age of Empires" and it is expected to be free to play (or perhaps just the first few levels).

While Windows Phone does have access to Xbox games in general, the selection of titles for the Windows Phone platform is relatviely limited. If this deal does go through well, and there are a whole bunch of things which can go wrong (too difficult to port over, bad port, too much like an emulator etc.) then we can expect even more games from other platforms or brands perhaps making their way to iOS and Android devices in the not so far future. Stay tuned, we'll keep you posted.

Sony has brought a number of SmartWatches out for consumers from 2010 to 2012. However, not many have sold (perhaps due to very high prices and limited functionality). However, with a number other competitors looking to make smartwatches of their own, Sony are looking to release a new SmartWatch pretty soon. In tweets released recently, Sony have teased a statistic from BI Intelligence stating that "1/3 smartphone users want smart wrist wear" and an image of the previous Sony SmartWatch while hinting that they may release this new Sony SmartWatch at the Mobile Asia Expo, due from 26 June 2013 to 28 June 2013 in Shanghai. No other teasers or other data were available so stay tuned for further developments.

While Intel already made the big launch for their Haswell or 4th Generation Intel Core Processors back during Computex Taipei 2013, they recently launched the new processor range officially in Malaysia. For those who don't follow Intel that closely, the new 4th Generation Intel Core Processors codenamed Haswell, bring a number of new features to the table which include:

• a new single System-on-chip (SOC) design
• 50% longer battery life
• lower power requirements
• built-in graphics on par with entry and mid-range discrete graphic cards
• 4K video decode
• better Intel vPro business scurity

While the confirmation isn't exactly official, a leaked manual for a Snapdragon 800 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone has recently surfaced from Samsung's own download center. This is probably about as close to 'official' confirmation we can get for this smartphone with the model number SHV-E330S. According to tech specs within the manual, the smartphone is using a new Qualcomm MSM8974 chipset with four Krait 400 CPU cores, an Adreno 330 GPU and LTE-Advanced support. While the name hasn't been confirmed yet, all of these specs point towards the rumoured upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Plus which has all of the features listed.

The Samsung ATIV Q Hybrid Tablet combines the best of two worlds from two different categories by combining a tablet with an ultrabook and Windows 8 with Android in one single device. Featuring a multi-mode hinge on the keyboard part, the ATIV Q can be used as a tablet, a notebook computer, a touchscreen desktop and a floating display. It is also no slouch in terms of tech specs which include:

• 4th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor
• Intel HD Graphics 4400
• 4GB DDR3L RAM
• 128GB SSD
• Camera (720p HD)
• 13.3-inch Touch display (3200 x 1800 pixels, 275ppi)
• Supports S Pen (1024 levels sensitivity)
• 327.0 x 217.8 x 13.9mm thick | 1.29kg
• Battery (Up to 9 hours)
• Supports 1x USB3.0, 1x USB2.0, HDMI, RJ45 (dongle), HP/Mic combo, micro SD
• Windows 8 + Android

While this doesn't really come as a surprise (since it was revealed in one of their music videos) Samsung is now offering the Samsung Galaxy S4 in 5 colours which include:

• Blue Arctic
• Purple Mirage
• Red Aurora
• Brown Autumn
• Pink Twilight

The colours were revealed at their Samsung Premiere 2013 event, but you can already see 4 of the colours from their main Samsung site here. No news when exactly these colours will be made available but we're guessing they could be here in Malaysia in a couple of weeks or so, although Samsung usually release their Pink coloured smartphones as limited editions.

LG has confirmed that they will start mass production of flexible displays for Q4 of 2013. In a newspaper report, the company said that they will be making OLED displays that support ultra-high definitions (like the curved 4K display LG showed off at CES 2013). These panels will be produced at their Paju factory in Korea.

"We will apply a 4.5th generation glass-cutting technology for the OLED flexible displays. Monthly capacity for the line was set as 12,000 sheets."