Sony launches Xperia Z3+: same as Japan’s Xperia Z4, almost the same as Xperia Z3
Sony’s Xperia Z4 may make a lot of sense for Japan, but the company received a ton of flak over the questionable decision to release a new generation of the Xperia series with just token upgrades compared to the Z3. Some suggested Sony should have pulled an Apple and kept the Z3 name a bit longer, and that’s exactly what the Japanese company is doing with the new Xperia Z3+.
Launched today without fanfare, and set for a June release, the Xperia Z3+ is, put simply, the Xperia Z4 by another name. A more modest name, in line with the minimal changes that the device brings compared to the Xperia Z3.
The Xperia Z3+ is smaller than the previous gen, with a 6.9 millimeter profile, though the slimdown comes at the cost of reduced battery capacity, from 3,100 to 2,900 mAh. The hit in battery life may be offset by the Snapdragon 810 processor, which is, in theory, less thirsty than the Snapdragon 801 powering the Z3.
The screen remains the same great 5.2-inch Full HD LCD, while Sony relocated the USB port down to the bottom of the device and did away with the magnetic charging pins. That should make for a cleaner design, thanks to the absence of the plastic flap, though the Z3+ preserves the IP65/68-rated water and dust resistance.
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The camera remains the same great 20.7MP we loved on the Xperia Z3, but the front shooter was upgraded to 5MP, in line with what the selfie-loving crowd demands from current smartphones.
The Xperia Z3+ runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, a version that should be familiar to Xperia Z series device owners who have been receiving the same update over the last couple of months.
The Xperia Z3+ is coming this summer, but we don’t have an official price tag yet. We’d be very surprised if there was any difference compared to the Z3.
There you have it: with the Xperia Z3+, Sony appears to be trying to placate critics and fans upset disappointed by the Xperia Z4. It’s not clear if Sony chose the Z3+ moniker after the Z4’s chilly reception, though we wouldn’t be surprised.
There’s nothing new or exciting about the new Xperia Z3+, and that amps up the expectation for the next generation of the series. Hopefully, the Xperia Z3+ is just a stopgap meant to keep the Xperia line in the spotlight while Sony works on the real upgrade coming – we hope – this autumn. Thoughts?
Samsung unveils 10nm FinFET manufacturing plans
Samsung may have only recently rolled out its own 14nm chips in its new Galaxy S6 smartphone, but now the growing semiconductor company has revealed a few details about its plans to shrink processor manufacturing down to 10nm.
Samsung says that the processing node will be in full production by the end of 2016 and will offer “significant power, area and performance advantages” over existing nodes. No other specs, details, or product plans were given.
TSMC, the largest player in the industry, is also planning to have its own 10nm manufacturing ready late next year, and is likely keen to edge out any advantage it can gain after been beaten by Samsung to 16/14nm this year. Intel is also in the race to 10nm and is expected to be ahead of the rest in development, but has remained silent about its plans.
As well as producing smaller versions of its Exynos mobile SoC line-up, Samsung may also pick up large 14nm orders from other companies later this year. By beating TSMC to market this year, both Apple and Qualcomm are rumored to be turning to Samsung’s foundries for their new chips. Similar orders could carry over to 10nm too, so long as Samsung has the capacity to cater for multiple major device launches.
“Samsung made a big gamble on 14nm FinFet… they’ve closed the gap significantly with TSMC,” – International Business Strategies CEO Handel Jones
Just last month Samsung gave out further details about its 14nm roadmap. Samsung now has two fabs in South Korea, one in Austin Texas, and a Global Foundries fab in New York State up and running using its 14nm process. Although the company still hasn’t given out any numbers on yields, volumes or the number of designs planning to use the process.
The time spent on 14nm and 16nm nodes is expected to be relatively short, as foundries look set to move over to the cheaper, more efficient 10nm process so quickly.
Samsung’s latest patent describes a dual-booting machine (again)
Despite the best of intentions, often times intellectual property laws may get in the way of potential products. Such was the sad fate that befell the Samsung Ativ Q, a device from 2013 that turned many heads for its high resolution screen and dual-booting of Windows 8 and Android. While this promising pipe-dream might be yesterday’s listful lament, it would appear Samsung is not done with the convertible form factor. Thanks to the team at Patently Mobile, the following is now upon us:
The schematic seen here is supposedly for a dual booting device. The premise is quite simple in theory: the computer runs Windows, but if you place a compatible Samsung mobile phone (the “phablet”) into the docking area, the OS would switch to Android. Interestingly enough, this is far from the first attempt at such a product, as Asus had the Transformer Book V last year, and a similar idea was employed way back in 2011 with the Moto Atrix 4G Lapdock (minus the inclusion of Windows of course).
Samsung
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As Patently Mobile rightly mentions, the potential gain for Samsung here would be quite high, all the more so if Apple will truly bring a 12 inch+ ‘iPad Pro” to market this year. By developing a product like this, the company could instantly be established in the business productivity segment, something that it arguably tried last year with the release of the Galaxy Tab PRO series. This would be a much more aggressive take however, when you factor in the presence of Windows in-and-of-itself, as well as Samsung’s recent partnership with Microsoft to pre-install Office apps onto Galaxy phones and tablets in key markets. Microsoft would, in turn, also stand to benefit as well as it could potentially be selling Windows licenses to every single Galaxy Note owner.
While a patent application might be nothing more than an idea put down on paper to protect, Samsung’s commitment to reinvent itself this year is clear (see the Galaxy S6/TouchWiz) and there is the aforementioned fact that it has already sought to release a dual-booting device to begin with.
With all this said, there’s a rumored reason dual-booting Android/Windows were announced, but not actually released. Both Google and Microsoft were reportedly unhappy with the idea, and that may be the biggest obstacle in transforming this patent into a commercial product.
Sony’s Xperia Z3+ is a familiar flagship
Sony announced the Xperia Z4 for Japan last month, but this isn’t it. Well it is, but internationally Sony wants it to be known as the Xperia Z3+. Truth be told, that’s a more appropriate name for the phone, given the incremental upgrade it represents over last year’s model. The Z3+ may look virtually identical to its predecessor, but internally it has almost everything you’d expect from a 2015 flagship.
Let’s start with what hasn’t changed: the 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display. Our review of the Z3 found it to be excellent, and HTC also stuck with its 1080p unit this year, but there’s no hiding from the fact that Samsung and LG have higher resolution units in their latest flagships. The Z3’s 20.7-megapixel main camera is also carried over, with Sony focusing its attention on an all-new 5-megapixel selfie cam, which represents a solid upgrade from last year’s 2-megapixel shooter.
As you’d expect, the Z3+ is powered by Qualcomm’s best, the octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor paired with 3GB of RAM, which should keep Android 5.0 chugging away nicely when compared to the Z3’s 801. In order to reduce the Z3+’s dimensions (it’s 6.9mm thick, compared to 7.3mm last year) the battery has been cut from 3,100Ah to 2,900mAh. Hopefully the 810’s four low-power cores will mean that reduction won’t affect real-world battery life — Sony isn’t sharing usage figures yet, only declaring “up to two-day battery life.”
You probably noticed already just how similar the Z3+ looks to the Z3, but there’s one change worth talking about. The micro-USB port has moved from the top left, down to the bottom of the phone — no longer hidden behind a fiddly cap. Sony says this new capless port doesn’t affect the phone’s IP65/68 dust and waterproofing certifications. The magnetic charging pins, which used to live just below the charging port, have also been removed in pursuit of “an overall more seamless and minimalist design.”
The Z3+ will be available this summer at an unknown price — we’d imagine it’ll sell for about the same as the Z3 at launch. Last year’s model was very well received, but Sony was still blown away by its competitors in terms of sales. Given Sony’s two most-prominent rivals in the west, Samsung and Apple, have taken big leaps forward with the S6, S6 Edge, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it’s difficult to see the Z3+ making much of a dent in either’s profits. Sony is in a holding pattern with its smartphone business. It needed to do something big with this latest flagship, but is instead offering yet another moderate upgrade. Maybe next year.
Roku brings smarter search features to UK set-top boxes
Roku faces growing competition in the UK, but for now its streaming set-top boxes are still some of the best on the market. To help it fend off Apple, Amazon, Google and others, the company is introducing new software features and an upgraded Roku 2 player. The biggest addition is Roku Search, which lets you quickly see which streaming services have a particular movie or TV show in their library. Only Netflix, Snagfilms and Popcornflix support the feature at the moment, but Roku says it hopes to integrate more in the future. In addition, you can now search for actors and directors, as well as streaming services available in the Roku Channel Store. Finally, the new Roku Feed gives you updates about upcoming movies and when they’ll be available to watch via on-demand services.
These software tweaks are rolling out to all Roku hardware, including the new and improved Roku 2. The £70 set-top box is nearly identical to the premium Roku 3 — the only difference is that the latter boasts an upgraded remote with voice search and a headphone jack. If neither of these features interest you, the Roku 2 is arguably the better purchase, and puts it directly in contention with Google’s Nexus Player and Amazon’s Fire TV.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Via: TNW
Source: Roku
Microsoft cheaps out after Nokia phone saves a life
There are plenty of tales on how Nokia phones — now under Microsoft — have saved people’s lives, with the latest one coming from China, where a man managed to survive a collapsed wall courtesy of his Lumia 920 earlier this month. As recalled by the lucky survivor himself, Mr. Geng Ming instinctively covered his head with his trusty Windows Phone device, which managed to soften the blow from the heavy wall. Microsoft China caught wind of this story and was kind enough to replace Geng’s old flagship phone with a new model. Nope, not a Lumia 930, but a brand spanking new Lumia 640 XL. We don’t blame Geng for looking so emotionless here.
Geng describing how he used his Lumia 920 to shield his head from the collapsing wall.
To be fair, it’s no secret that Microsoft only focuses on the entry to mid-level mobile markets these days, but why make yourself look silly by replacing an old flagship with a new but much cheaper mid-ranger? As far as PR stunts go, that’s schoolboy error, as called out by many folks in the Sina Weibo thread. Besides, it’s not like Microsoft won’t be returning to the high-end market, if the rumors are true.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: ePrice
Source: Sina Weibo
Two Nexus smartphones in 2015, rumours say, and no tablets on the horizon
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We’ve been hearing conflicting rumours in the past few weeks regarding which manufacturer could be making Nexus smartphones this year. Huawei and LG are the two front runners, however, a rumour today has perhaps made the discussion a little easier – according to said rumour, there will be two Nexus smartphones in 2015 due out around October, one from Huawei, and one from LG. Now wasn’t that easy?
These devices are allegedly codenamed the LG “Angler” and Huawei “Bullhead“, and I’m sure we’re all hoping these devices don’t take inspiration from their namesake because both those fish are hideous. Joking aside, the LG device is expected to be a 5.2-inch device with a Snapdragon 808 processor and 2,700mAh battery and the Huawei a 5.7-inch device with Snapdragon 810 and 3,500mAh battery, which fits in with previous rumours which say that the Huawei device will be based on the yet-to-be-announced Ascend Mate 8. Another point worth noting from this rumours is that there will be no tablet to replace the Nexus 9 this year.
What do you think about having two Nexus smartphones in 2015? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Police via TalkAndroid
The post Two Nexus smartphones in 2015, rumours say, and no tablets on the horizon appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Two Nexus phones in 2015, but no Nexus tablet according to rumor
As Google I/O draws near, just two days away now, the rumor and expectation mills are churning at full force. The latest expectation is that Google will bring two new Nexus phones to market this year, but no new tablet is on the immediate horizon.
These rumors sound fairly plausible, we have already heard that Huawei is building a Nexus phone, a 5.7-inch monster with code name Bullhead. I’ll leave you with the previous coverage for more details, but we expect to see the device later in the fall with the Snapdragon 810 SoC and a nice big 3,500mAh battery.
The new phone rumor is for another LG built Nexus device. Clocking in with a 5.2-inch display, the LG Angler looks like it may be fairly similar to the LG G4 with the Snapdragon 808 SoC. Speculation is early on this one though, specs are bound to change, and many components have not been chosen yet. With the general idea being that this LG phone is the proper successor to the Nexus 5, we do not expect top rung specs, just an overall solid experience.
Finally, do you like your Nexus 7 or Nexus 9? I hope so, since you may be stuck with it for another year before another Nexus tablet is introduced. We can always hope for a surprise, but at this point, there are no Nexus tablets in the rumor mill. Although the Nexus 7 has been removed from the Google Store, the Nexus 9 is still up for sale, offering you a solid Android tablet experience and the latest version of the Android OS (finally.)
I think I’ve mentioned this, these are purely rumor at this stage. We can’t help but send you over to Android Police where this new rumor of an LG Nexus phone comes from.
Stay tuned for more to come, we will be on the ground at Google I/O 2015, May 28-29, that’s Thursday and Friday in San Francisco. We hope you are as excited as we are to see the next chapters in the history of Nexus.
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What do you think about a new smaller form factor Nexus phone? Is a 5.2-inch display the right size for you?
All of Logitech’s hub-based Harmony remotes now control your home
You no longer have to be quite so picky about which of Logitech’s Harmony remotes you use to control your smart home. The company is trotting out an update that gives the Harmony Ultimate Hub the same home automation support as the Home Hub. Once you’ve upgraded, you can use the Harmony Ultimate, Smart Control or Smart Keyboard to flick on the lights or change the temperature without leaving the couch. You’ll need to own all those connected devices for this software to make a difference — it’s not a free update in the strictest sense, then — but it’s nice to know that your home theater remote is suddenly that much more powerful.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Household, HD
Source: Logitech
The Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man edition has landed, check out the unboxing video
After a brief teasing, the Iron Man edition of the Galaxy S6 Edge has arrived, and it’s every bit as flashy as we expected it to be.
The Iron Man Galaxy S6 Edge features a Tony Stark approved red and gold paint scheme, complete with the likeness of the titular hero on its back. Other than the new colors, this limited edition appears to be identical to the regular version of the S6 Edge (64GB), while the device comes preloaded with the Iron Man theme from the Samsung store (you can switch to the default one if you think it’s too much).
The Galaxy S6 Iron Man limited edition comes in a red box that looks nice enough to keep around as decoration, and the box includes an “arc reactor” wireless charger and a clear plastic case.
Now for the bad news: Samsung only mentioned South Korea, China, and Hong Kong in its official announcement. The limited edition Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man will land in South Korea tomorrow, May 27, and in the other two markets next month. It’s possible that the lack of info on other countries is just an omission, but it’s more likely that Samsung hasn’t planned for a wide release for the Iron Mad-themed device. No details on the price yet.
So, now that it’s here, what do you think of the Iron Man Galaxy S6 Edge? What other Avengers would you like to get their own limited edition?
Samsung Introduces Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition
Samsung Electronics announced the Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition in collaboration with Marvel. Samsung and Marvel have come together in celebration of the technological innovation and creative visual storytelling in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron to introduce this limited edition of the Galaxy S6 edge.
“We are excited to be able to offer our world-class Galaxy S6 edge smartphone designed especially for Iron Man fans through our continued collaboration with Marvel,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. “The limited edition Iron Man Galaxy S6 edge embodies the power of the iconic Avenger with a dual-curved edge design and advanced features that will provide Marvel fans with the ultimate entertainment experience.”
The Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition package is equipped with a vibrant red and gold Iron Man-themed Galaxy S6 edge including 64GB of storage and matching wireless charger, as well as a clear cover that enhances the device’s exclusive design.
The Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition will be available in Korea on May 27, 2015, with China and Hong Kong in June.
Full details and product images are available at www.samsungmobilepress.com or www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/avengers/
AIVAnet 