Droid Worldwide Weekly 03/05/13 – Lenovo K900, Samsung Galaxy S 4, Optimus F5 and More!

 Samsung Galaxy S 4 Launches with Exynos 5 Octa in India and in China

 There’s been a lot of buzz recently over which territories will get to enjoy the Galaxy S 4 with the Exynos 5 Octa-Core CPU. Well, India and China are two of those places! In China the device is launching with dual-SIM capabilities as well. Both devices in China and India will be clocked at 1.6 Ghz and outperforms the Snapdragon 600 version quite handily. Indians will remember Samsung’s launch of the Galaxy S 4 well, thanks to their rendition of Gangnam Style, video below if you didn’t catch it the first time around:

First Look at Lenovo’s K900 Packaging!

 The K900 is a fierce phone, not only is it built out of premium materials and extremely thin, but it comes with a super-fast Intel CPU as well. Now, the phone destined for China has had its packaging shown off in some photos for all to see. 

LG’s Optimus F5 Launching Globally Starting with France

If you’re not familiar with the Optimus F5, it’s a 4.3-inch device from LG that comes packing some decent – if not mid-range – specs like the following: a 4.3-inch IPS display with 256 ppi and 960 x 540 resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, 4G LTE support, 5-megapixel camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 2150mAh battery and Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2. It’s been announced by LG that the device will start to launch all around the globe starting with France right about now, there’s no word on pricing just yet but it should be relatively affordable. After France, it will be launching in the following territories: South and Central America, Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Huawei’s P6-U06 Leaks Out, Just 6.18mm Thin 

 In the past week, we all thought that the Chinese manufacturer would be launching the world’s thinnest smartphone but, it wasn’t to be and the Huawei P6-U06 is just a little too thick to take that crown. The device should be hitting Chinese shelves soon though. 

HTC’s 608t Spied with Stereo Speakers, Could Launch in China Soon

While the HTC One is a great device, it’s perhaps too expensive for most people and so HTC are boiling these features like BoomSound into their more budget-minded devices. The 608t is a rumored device that is listed to have support for all the major Chinese carriers and could be shipping with a quad-core CPU and an 8-megapixel camera.

Who Wants a Projector in Their Android Tablet? Well, Promate Has Made One! 

Chinese manufacturer Promate has a much better for sharing your content than simply plugging in your tablet to your TV over a trifling HDMI cable but, to actually project from your tablet itself. Of course, for something like this to have been put into a tablet, there had to be shortcuts and the first of which is the projector itself, it has a resolution of just 854 x 480 and the tablet is not the best Android tablet in the world. Packing the following inside: a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, expandable with a microSD card and a 7-inch 1,024×600-pixel display. Would you like to project a 100-inch image from your tablet? Because now you can!


Lenovo’s K900 to Hit India Soon as Well!

China aren’t going to have all the fun when it comes to the incredible Lenovo K900, it’s apparently going to be launching in India real soon as well! The device should be launching May 10th with a price of RS 25,000. That’s a decent price for a smartphone with specs like these:

• 5.5-inch 1080p IPS display
• 2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom chip
• 13-megapixel rear camera with dual flash/ 2-megapixel front-facing camera
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB of storage
• Weight: 5.7 ounces
• Thickness: 6.9mm

Huawei Honor 3 Could be Launching Soon Will All-Metal Build

Recently, there was a leak regarding a smartphone from Huawei that was encased in metal, now it’s thought to be the Honor 3 from Huawei. Word came from the CSO of Huawei on Sina Weibo. Featuring the new K3V3 HiSilicon, a Mali T658 GPU and a 1080p HD screen, this looks like a device to look forward to! More info next week!

Gionee GPad G2 To Launch Soon in India

The Gionee GPad G2 is to launch soon in India, it’s a quality looking device that is to come packed with specs and features for a reasonable price. It’s said to be launching in the first week of May, so expect it any time now! This is definitely going to be a device for those that like their smartphones on the large side, as well as those with a love for music. Thanks to the custom Yamaha DTS system, the GPad G2 should sound really nice! Take a look at the specs below:

• 5.3-inch (960 × 540 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
• 1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU
• Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean)
• Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
• 8 MP auto focus camera with LED Flash, 720p HD video recording
• 2 MP front-facing camera
• 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and aGPS
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 1GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB
• 3000 mAh battery

Facebook launches Trusted Contacts, help from friends if your account gets hacked

Facebook launched two-factor authentication almost two years ago, but this week the social networking service is improving its security a little further. After an initial limited test phase in 2011, Facebook is launching Trusted Contacts globally on Thursday, a way to recover access to your account through friends that you trust. The feature works by selecting between three to five friends to add to the Trusted Contacts list. If your account gets compromised or you forget your password, these friends can help by supplying security codes.

It's an alternative to answering security questions or attempting to fill out web forms to recover accounts, but you'll have to pick your contacts wisely. Facebook will send the codes directly to a friend to then distribute to an account owner, so it's open to abuse if you pick a friend who enjoys the occasional prank. Either way, it's the digital form of leaving a spare key with a neighbor and it's an additional approach to help tackle the rise of phishing scams. You can enable Trusted Contacts in the security section of Facebook's account settings.

Samsung Galaxy Win Duos, Galaxy Fame Duos Go On Sale In India

After launching it’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4 and the new 8-inch tablet, the Galaxy Note 510 in the Indian market, South Korean smartphone maker, Samsung has turned towards the mid-range and entry level segment and launched the Samsung Galaxy Win and Galaxy Fame smartphones in the country. 

Both the smartphones are now available via Snapdeal and while the Galaxy Win is priced at Rs.17,900, the Galaxy Fame comes at a price of Rs.10,900. 

Starting with the Samsung Galaxy Win, the smartphone packs in a 4.7-inch screen with WVGA TFT display. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor. The smartphone will come with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, which can be expanded further by up to 32GB via microSD card.

The dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy Win runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and houses a 2,000mAh battery. For camera, there is a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera. Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy Win include 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. 

Coming to the Samsung Galaxy Fame Duos, it is an entry-level dual-SIM smartphone from Samsung and features a 3.5-inch HVGA display. The Galaxy Fame Duos is powered by a 1GHz processor paired with 512MB of RAM and gets 4GB of internal storage along with micro-SD card slot which supports storage expansion by up to 32GB.

The Samsung Galaxy Fame houses a 5 megapixel rear camera along with a VGA camera at the front for video calling. The smartphone comes with various connectivity options like 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and packs-in a 1,300 mAh battery.

With the launch of new devices at every price point in the last one week, it looks like Samsung is quite eager to enhance it’s dominance in the Indian smartphone segment. 

Microsoft Releases Facebook Beta For Windows Phone, Features High-Resolution Photos, Timeline And More

Facebook for Windows Phone, while maintaining a nice design, has always lagged behind its iOS and Android counterparts for features.

Microsoft is launching a new version of its Facebook app today in beta, bringing many of the most highly-requested features to Windows Phone users. Not only is the design a better compromise between the company’s existing mobile apps and the Windows Phone design guidelines, but it offers Timeline support, high-resolution images and post sharing.

Instead of showing a tiny preview, the beta Facebook app now allows pics embedded inside a post to take up all the horizontal screen estate. Basically the shots can take advantage of large high-resolution displays.

The new app supports left- and right-side sliding bars, much like Android and iOS, and they open smoothly with a swipe from either side. Any page, including specific timelines, the messaging folder or even specific brand pages, can be pinned to the home screen for easy access, and the app still supports using images from albums as lock screen art. Toast notifications are said to be more reliable as well.

“Once you’ve put the beta app through its paces, we hope you’ll pass along bug reports, feature requests, and other feedback by going to Settings>About in the app”, Microsoft says. “You can also post a Store review. Your comments and suggestions will inform future releases”.

While the beta is not quite stable, and cannot be found by searching in the Windows Store, it will go a long way to alleviating some of that cross-platform envy Windows Phone users have been feeling lately. No word on whether Chat Heads are coming to Windows Phone any time soon, but having native Facebook Messenger support from the Messages app should suffice for now. The beta will be installed alongside your current Facebook app until it comes out of beta.

[Windows Phone Blog]

The LumiTab combines a tablet and a portable projector for the first time

We've witnessed a few modest attempts by some manufacturers to put pico-projectors in phones, with the most notable example being Samsung's Galaxy Beam, but needless to say, these products haven't managed to generate any real buzz. But just because phones with projectors haven't gained any momentum doesn't mean that tablets with projectors won't! Or at least, that seems to be what Promate is thinking, as it has just announced the LumiTab - the first tablet... with a built-in pico-projector!
In contrast to the Galaxy Beam's 15 lumen projector, the one in the LumiaTab should be much stronger with its 35 lumen. The tablet should be capable of projecting an image as big as 100" in diagonal, hopefully without too much degradation in quality. Obviously, the LumiTab will be mainly geared towards the professional crowd out there, but also towards the adventurous geeks who'd like to experiment and play with the portable projector technology.

Besides the projector, the LumiTab will be just a standard mid-range 7" tablet with a lowly resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The good news is that it'll come straight with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. However, exactly when the Promate LumiTab is going to come will have to remain a mystery for now.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in learning more about the Samsung Galaxy Beam, feel free to check ourreview out!

[Phone arena]

Opera Releases India-Centric State Of The Android Mobile Web Report

Opera Software has released it’s State of the Android Mobile Web report, which takes a closer look into the mobile browsing behavior of these smartphone users in India. The report shows a steady growth rate in the number of Indians using mobile devices to get online. This growth is fueled by the various affordable smartphones that are available in the country at present. 

Opera Mini has the largest number of users in India and in the past one year, Opera Mini users in the country have increased by 136.6%, resulting in 19% of the total Opera Mini users coming from India, out of which 12% users are on Android.

Some of the key highlights of the report include the fact that around 21.7% of all data used by Opera Mini’s Android users is for Facebook, with Google being a distant second at 5.8%, followed by ESPNcricinfo at 1.7%. Also, about 50% of the top hundred domains visited by Opera Mini’s Android users, were related to news and information, search, price comparison and e-commerce.

Unsurprisingly, Samsung tops in the list of Android devices used to access the web via Opera Mini, with a whooping 9 out of 10 top Android devices coming from the stables of Samsung. The report adds that taking into account the top-100 Android devices of Indian Opera Mini users, Samsung tops the charts with a market share of 31%,  followed by Sony and Micromax at 23% and 15% respectively.

Finally, the report suggests that India, in general, loves low-cost Android smartphones, as 9 out of the top 10 smartphones cost less than Rs.10,000, while the only device in the top-10 costing greater that Rs.10,000 is the Samsung Galaxy S2. 

HTC M4 Press Shot Leaked, Just A Smaller HTC One?

The HTC One is a beautiful phone – certainly the best that the company has produced. According to a post by the reputable Evleaks, HTC will be bringing the same quality of design to those looking seeking a mid-range device. This is the same strategy they did with the HTC One X and the One S.

This picture above, which has leaked online before, is of an all-aluminum device that currently goes by the code name of the “HTC M4″ (before the HTC One launched it was known as the M7). It’s reminiscent of the flagship One, but the specs have been scaled down. The HTC M4 reportedly sports a 4.3-inch 720p display, dual-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM and an UltraPixel camera.

Rumour has it that the upcoming HTC M4 will land on shelves with a 1700 mAh, non-removable battery packed inside, and that it will be released with Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean loaded on top right from the start.

The HTC M4 is expected to be announced sometime “near the end of the second quarter.” If true, you can almost expect availability in India, but no official word. 

PhoneArena, the site posting the picture, also says that the HTC M4 will have 4G LTE capabilities, but likens it to the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini.

For the time being, however, no official info on the smartphone has been provided, and it remains to be seen whether the rumored hardware specs mentioned above will indeed pan out. More details on the upcoming HTC M4 smartphone should emerge soon, so stay tuned to learn the news.

[PhoneArena]