NEW MOBILE RELEASES 2013

THE WAVE OF NEW HANDSET RELEASES 2012

Yes indeed… Christmas is coming… Can you think of a better gift that shows how much you care than a decent smartphone?

“Now we can WhatsApp each other, babe… Isn’t that fantastic?”

What’s happening?

INTEL & MOTOROLA ON THE EDGE
Goodness me! Motorola just recently launched their new Droid RAZR range in New York (and all have iPhone 5 beating specs)! And it seems as though they are going to launch a new product here in London on the 18 September! Now is it possible that it’s going to be a European version of the Droid RAZR M with the Intel processor instead of the Qualcomm S4? There was this hype surrounding a bezel-free handset that consists of all glass! I am sure that it can be done, but I think from that I have seen of the Droid RAZR M this is as far as Motorola are able to take it!

There again, why would Motorola make such a big deal of the London launch? They must be aware that we can find out information on the Netweb, right? You can see the New York event via YouTube! Maybe they are going to launch a new model for real? That would be weird if it turns out to be the Droid RAZR M after the anticipation they are creating! Yep, like a true tech-fan I am a little excited to know what this new handset is about!

But I don’t want to get your hopes up too! A part of me thinks that it will be the Droid RAZR M with an Intel processor!

I have to say that I am baffled by Motorola’s output! Don’t get me wrong the latest Droid RAZR family is excellent – especially the Droid RAZR HD Maxx, but I was expecting some groundbreaking designs from them! I guess this is why I am hoping for Motorola to break the mould, escape the boundaries come September 18! Perhaps if this is indeed the RAZR M with Intel inside then it could very well be that the other two phones will be released with the Intel chip instead of Qualcomm! Don’t fall off the edge of your seats!  

COME SKYFALL

Y’know what? I have never considered a Sony handset before… I was put off by a Sony Ericson that I had a few years back… It’s funny what a previous experience can do! It’s also why I haven’t considered a Nokia of late… Anyway, Sony will drop their Android Xperia T around 27-29 September. The handset will be featured in the new James Bond movie, ‘Skyfall’ – don’t get me started… All I can say about ‘Skyfall’ is that it appears to be an unwelcome return to the tongue-in-cheek Bond of old! Oh well… …yes, I have an opinion on just about everything! Ha ha!

The spec on the Xperia T looks fairly good…

SCREEN
4.6" - scratch-resistant TFT, 16 million colours, 1280 x 720 pixels

SYSTEM & PROCESSOR
Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260-A Dual Core processor

BATTERY
Talk time (up to): 7 hours
Standby time (up to): 450 hours
Music listening time (up to): 16 hours
Video playback time (up to): 5 hours

CAMERA
13 megapixel camera with auto focus
16x digital zoom, pulsed LED flash

What can I say? Critically, I wonder why Jelly Bean Android 4.1 isn’t on it… …I expect it will be upgraded in due time. The camera looks good, it’s not clear how many megapixels you get with the front facing camera. It has a dual-core when the competition are touting quad! Hmmm, what else? Nope! Nothing else critical that I can say other than it seems to be a budget conscious handset with strong multimedia features with the main 13MP camera and ability to shoot full HD video! Sony should know how to deliver a decent camera on a handset! Oh, I know… Will it be compatible with 4G LTE? It doesn’t appear to be the case.

It also features NFC (near field communication) for easy file sharing and there’s a way to beam your video content to a TV via Screen Mirroring based on certified WiFi Miracast (expected in late 2012). You will need an Adapter for your TV to enable Screen Mirroring. Otherwise there is a minHDMI port to connect to your TV! Plus you will get 50BG of cloud storage space from Box! Nice!

Again, being critical of the latest iPhone 5, you should have observed that it is incapable of NFC! I honestly can’t tell you enough that I find the iPhone 5 so backward! If you are thinking about shelling out for an iPhone 5 you ought to definitely wait to see what else is coming on the market! Certainly, I would hang on for the possibility of the next Nexus handset or handsets come November 5! 

OPPO
Gosh! Gee! Yes, there’s a new member to the Open Handset Alliance (OHA): Oppo! If you didn’t know, Oppo are a Chinese based telecommunications corporation looking to establish itself in the US and Europe markets! I mentioned in the ‘iDecieve’ blog that Oppp has the prestige title of the world’s thinnest handset! Well, they have several handset models that could be this year’s surprise innovative manufacturer after Samsung and HTC – in fact the way HTC are going at the moment there’s every Opportunity (I couldn’t resist) that they could leapfrog over HTC! Why? Ok… I will tell you why! Grab some coffee…

CONCEPT
From the little I have seen of their products they look very, very appealing! They look like the concept models that you see budding designers release in anticipation of iPhone (wishful thinking in the case of the iPhone) and Galaxy models. So, I can see Apple wetting their panties again over some of the Oppo range! Apple will somehow try to claim that the designs are theirs! I know I know… …it’s not me, it’s Apple – that’s their modus operandi! But in any event Apple designers can’t possibly claim that the Oppo Finder X907 looks similar to iPhone concept designs – especially when taking the latest iPhone into consideration: they only have one design (they’ve just elongated it)!

Oppo handsets have the desirability factor because they look stunning! They look as though they can take the market by storm! It’s just a matter of when their products will come to the US and European marketplace.

The Find 5 is a 5" phablet sporting a true full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, boasting a brilliant 441 ppi pixel density. I believe that this is the highest ppi pixel density handset in the world; the Retina display comes in at an impressive 326 ppi! Again, there's no word of when it'll be coming to the UK or US. It is said to have the following: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. It could be that it'll have 2GB of RAM as well as 16 GB of storage and possibly an 8MP camera at the back. When it is released it is set to give the Galaxy Note II a run for its money!

However, sometimes it’s not all about the hardware. Uh-uh! It’s about what these babies can do! For example the Galaxy Note II has an enhanced S Pen that gives the user a deeper level of interaction, if that’s not enough there’s also a suite of software that combines text, images and video into a PDF document that exists on no other handset! If you are familiar with the workings of the Galaxy SIII then you will know how practical Samsung makes its premium handsets! I would love for the Note II to have a full HD screen resolution, etc but it’s about functionality. What do you want from your handset?

Another aspect to the Find 5 is whether it’ll be 4G LTE ready. There are no other details at this moment!

We’re stepped into the realms of Science Fiction in terms of the amazing things a phone can do besides making calls!

I would like to know what makes the Finder 5 unique in its software! 

HP BENDER
Through the tech grapevine, there’s yet another rumour that HP is going to release a smartphone of its own soon! Remember their now defunct WebOS? I guess not many people do, WebOS is a distant memory and now HP appear to be ready to enter the smartphone arena once more! Codenamed, Bender (presumably after the loveable rogue robot on Futurama) is said to feature a screen resolution of 1366 x 720 with 1.5 GHz on each of its Snapdragon CPU cores. Dual or quad? No idea at this stage…Or could Bender be a tablet? Stay tuned! 

HTC 5” TABLET
Rumours are circulating that HTC are about to drop a 5” tablet or phablet! I would imagine that after the success of Samsung’s Galaxy Note, HTC and other manufacturers are looking to get piece of that action! It could be that they will be revealing this new phablet 19 September! Only two days to find out!

Freedom of Choice!

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Best wishes!