| Nokia Lumia 610 hands-on (video) Feb 27th 2012, 11:10 Nokia's stand at Mobile World Congress is more of a city than a dingy old booth -- it's absolutely massive, and full of Lumias and PureViews and Ashas (oh my!). As we continue to dissect the entire thing, our adventure has taken us to the Lumia 610. This particular handset is a bit of an anomaly in the mobile world: it's getting a lot of attention not because it's an amazingly powerful and highly specced device, but rather because it's considered a low-ender. It's not too often that this kind of thing happens, considering we often treat budget phones as non-influential, but we envision a device like the Lumia 610 having a dramatic impact on the scope of Windows Phone in global market share and public exposure. Why could such a simple smartphone make waves at a show crowded with star-studded beauties like Nokia's own 808 PureView or the HTC One X? Because it's among the first to feature Microsoft's latest Windows Phone build. Contrary to our expectations coming into the show, it's not being referred to as Tango -- something that perplexed us during our liveblog of Nokia's event this morning -- but rather a minor refresh that will reach out to every Windows Phone. The update, still considered part of Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango), opens the door for devices running on 256MB of RAM and offers a few other goodies, such as allowing ringtones, videos, audio files and multiple JPEGs on one MMS. The update will also bring compatibility to Chinese mobile operators and plenty more regional availability. That's a major reason why the Lumia 610 is getting so much attention -- it may be the first Windows Phone experience for several regions that don't already have the OS. It may be obvious that the specs are nothing to write home about. Quite opposite, in fact. But that's not what Nokia's gunning for with the 610, is it? Nay, this one is ever so humble, with its 800MHz Snapdragon S1 CPU, 5MP rear AF camera with LED flash, 3.7-inch WVGA TFT display, 1,300mAh battery and quad-band GSM / EDGE / WCDMA. The build is definitely inexpensive plastic, with chrome edges and a soft-touch back. In other words, keep a firm grip on it at all times. All in all, it feels rather comfortable to hold, though. Its overall performance is precisely on par with the intended price range here. But don't just read our words about the phone -- behold with your own eyes the Lumia 610 with the help of our photos and videos below. Continue reading Nokia Lumia 610 hands-on (video) Nokia Lumia 610 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | ZTE Orbit is (another) budget Windows Phone: 4-inch display, 1GHz processor, 4GB storage Feb 27th 2012, 10:51 Remember the ZTE Tania? Well, the Orbit has similar specs, a nicer name and is destined for "major markets" around the world. There's a 4-inch 800 x 480 screen, a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm processor, 5-megapixel camera, 4GB of onboard storage and a full 512MB of RAM. HSDPA data flows at up to 7.2Mbps, while there's also an FM radio, a full complement of sensors, DLNA and NFC. It's scheduled to become available in the second quarter of this year, likely around the same time that the Tania hits the UK. Press release after the break. Continue reading ZTE Orbit is (another) budget Windows Phone: 4-inch display, 1GHz processor, 4GB storage ZTE Orbit is (another) budget Windows Phone: 4-inch display, 1GHz processor, 4GB storage originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Opera announces revamped Store, Mini Next and Mobile 12 at MWC (video) Feb 27th 2012, 10:14  Opera's crying "mobile" and letting slip the dogs of browsing here at MWC 2012 with a slew of announcements to please serious web-users. Opera Mini and Opera Mobile 12 have been released today -- the former designed to run on Java-based feature phones, now includes deeper integration to Facebook and Twitter to provide fully-featured social networking for those incapable of downloading apps. Meanwhile, Opera Mobile 12 now includes Ragnarök, the company's HTML5 parser to provide better web apps and advanced functionality as well as WebGL for Android Phones -- which now also get an infinite-scrolling speed dial front page for regularly visited websites. At the same time, it's pushing out a revamped App store based on technology acquired when Opera bought Handster back in September. It's the fifth largest app store by quantity, with 55,000 apps available, although its currently in trouble for offering developers apps to other platforms without the developers permission. After the break we've got a short video and some PR for you to peruse, like carrion men, groaning for burial. Continue reading Opera announces revamped Store, Mini Next and Mobile 12 at MWC (video) Opera announces revamped Store, Mini Next and Mobile 12 at MWC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Android Central |  Opera | Email this | Comments | | ASUS Padfone hands-on (video) Feb 27th 2012, 10:08 We're here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and ASUS just formally unveiled the shape-shifting Padfone -- just like it said it would. Even more than raw specs, what makes the phone striking are its accompanying accessories. Sure, you could use it as a standalone 4.3-inch handset, but it will also be sold with a so-called station that effectively turns it into a 10-inch tablet -- not unlike how you can slip certain Moto handsets inside the company's netbook-like Lapdocks. It will also be sold with an optional keyboard dock (just like the Prime) and -- get this -- a stylus that doubles as a receiver for when you receive phone calls. We elbowed our way to the front of a pack of voracious tech journalists, and stole a few minutes of hands-on time with both the handset and its various accoutrements. Join us past the break for some early impressions and a duo of videos. Continue reading ASUS Padfone hands-on (video) ASUS Padfone hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | ZTE Era flagship phone brings Tegra 3, 4.3-inch qHD display, 7.8mm chassis Feb 27th 2012, 09:51 We're just about to get hands-on with ZTE's latest high-spec ICS phone, the Era, but in the meantime here's a heads-up on the main credentials. The guts are all NVIDIA, with a Tegra 3 quad-core processor and an Icera HSPA+ modem. The display has 960 x 540 pixels spread over 4.3-inches of real estate, housed in a razor-like 7.8mm-thick (0.31-inch) slab. The 8GB of onboard memory is expandable via microSD, while there's also HD Voice and Dolby sound processing. ZTE will be looking to release the Era in the second half of this year, and says it's counting on the handset to help it become a "top three handset provider by 2015." More big words in the PR after the break. Continue reading ZTE Era flagship phone brings Tegra 3, 4.3-inch qHD display, 7.8mm chassis ZTE Era flagship phone brings Tegra 3, 4.3-inch qHD display, 7.8mm chassis originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | ASUS outs lower-end Transformer Pad 300 tablet with 16GB of storage and 1280 x 800 display Feb 27th 2012, 09:36 Remember when we said ASUS was adding another tablet to its stable? Let's bump that number to an even two. ASUS just announced the Transformer Pad 300, a lower-end match to the new Infinity Series (and also made a quick appearance earlier this month). Hilariously (if rapidly aging gadgets can ever be funny), the 300 is, for all intents and purposes, the original Transformer Prime -- until recently the most lustworthy tablet. So far as we can tell, the only differences are that it offers different color choices (blue, white and red), a slightly downgraded display and optional LTE. Once again, it has a Tegra 3 chip, 8MP / 2MP cameras, HDMI and a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 IPS display. Interestingly, this guy has a regular 'ole IPS screen, not the 600-nit Super IPS+ panel used on the original Prime and the new Infinity Pad. The 300 also comes with a fixed 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), whereas the original Prime packed 32GB at the lower end. Still, ASUS won't skimp on some things: it ships with ICS, like its brother, and promises up to 10 hours of battery life (that's 15 with the optional keyboard dock, which is an hour less than what the Infinity Series claims). No word yet on availability, so expect some further announcements in the coming months with pricing specific to different regions. Continue reading ASUS outs lower-end Transformer Pad 300 tablet with 16GB of storage and 1280 x 800 display ASUS outs lower-end Transformer Pad 300 tablet with 16GB of storage and 1280 x 800 display originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | ASUS Padfone formally unveiled: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon S4 CPU, ICS, HSPA+, coming in April Feb 27th 2012, 09:26 Just like it said it would, ASUS has formally unveiled its versatile, form-changing Padfone at Mobile World Congress. There are two stories here, and they're both quite compelling, frankly. On the one hand, you've got yet another high-end device, with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, Snapdragon's new dual-core S4 chip, an Adreno 225 GPU, Ice Cream Sandwich and an 8-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash and f/2.2, autofocusing lens. (The front camera records at VGA resolution.) Other specs include 16 to 64GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, GPS, A-GPS, a gyroscope, 1,520mAh battery and a compass. Connectivity options include WCDMA (900, 2100 MHz), EDGE / GPRS / GSM (850, 1800 and 1900 MHz) and HSPA+, with theoretical download speeds topping out at 42Mbps. Barring LTE, we wouldn't expect much less from a flagship launched at the world's premier wireless show. But those are just specs. If you focus solely on its chip and 9.2mm-thick frame you'd be missing its most distinguishing attribute: it's ability to parade around in tablet's clothing (albeit, with the help of some optional, still-unpriced accessories.) Taking a cue from Motorola's Lapdock-friendly handsets, the Padfone can slide into an optional station that effectively allows you to use it as if it were a 10.1-inch tablet. Like the optional docks sold alongside ASUS' Transformer tablets, the station not only improves the ergonomics, but also extends the battery life -- in this case, by nine-fold. Speaking of keyboard docks, ASUS will be selling one for this product, too, so that you can tuck that 10-inch phone-tablet into something with a full physical keyboard. Finally, there's that guy you see up there, which looks like a stylus (and is!), but also doubles as a headset for receiving calls. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future. And when can you make it yours? ASUS confirmed that the Padfone will ship in April. Unfortunately, the company stopped short of revealing any pricing, so you'll have to stay tuned for some country-specific details. For now, though, we're planning on getting hands-on with the device as soon as we can, giving you a much closer look than we were able to when we spied a prototype back at CES. Continue reading ASUS Padfone formally unveiled: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon S4 CPU, ICS, HSPA+, coming in April ASUS Padfone formally unveiled: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon S4 CPU, ICS, HSPA+, coming in April originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | ASUS rebrands its tablets 'Transformer Pads,' announces the high-end Infinity Series with either Tegra 3 or Snapdragon's S4 chip Feb 27th 2012, 09:20  Yes, another one. Less than four months after announcing the original T201 Transformer Prime and slightly modified TF700T, ASUS is adding uno má s to the collection. And don't be fooled by the name: though the company is rebranding its tablet line "Transformer Pads," the newly announced Infinity Series looks a lot like a product we've already seen. Essentially, it's the TF700T with a dual-core Qualcomm MSM 8960 Snapdragon S4 CPU and an optional LTE radio. Now, before you gasp that ASUS has ditched NVIDIA, hear this: there will still be a Tegra 3 option, but that's just the WiFi-only version; the 3G / 4G versions will pack the S4 chip. Additionally, there will be a lower-end 16GB option (the TF700T was only available in 32GB and 64GB flavors). Otherwise, the specs are the same, including a quad-core Tegra 3 SoC, dual 8MP / 2MP cameras, 1GB of RAM, HDMI and a 10.1-inch, 1920 x 1200, Super IPS+ Gorilla Glass display. This time around, it has Gorilla Glass 2, but that's a mild spec bump indeed. Unlike the original Prime, which shipped with Honeycomb but updated to Ice Cream Sandwich shortly after going on sale, the Infinity Pad will run Android 4.0 out of the box. It also comes with 8GB of free lifetime ASUS WebStorage and is rated for 10 hours of battery life (16 with that signature keyboard dock, sold separately). No word yet on pricing or availability. In any case, though, we wouldn't be surprised if ASUS gave birth to another tablet between now and then. Continue reading ASUS rebrands its tablets 'Transformer Pads,' announces the high-end Infinity Series with either Tegra 3 or Snapdragon's S4 chip ASUS rebrands its tablets 'Transformer Pads,' announces the high-end Infinity Series with either Tegra 3 or Snapdragon's S4 chip originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft lowers hardware requirements, opens Marketplace to 23 more countries Feb 27th 2012, 09:19 If there was a theme for today's Nokia keynote, and, by extension, Microsoft's plans for Windows Phone, it's that the OS is being targeted toward lower-spec phones worldwide. The SDK update that'll soon roll out to developers will include an emulator for developers to ensure their apps work on devices like the Lumia 610 that only has 256MB RAM. The company's promising that nearly all apps will work on the cheaper hardware, promising that fragmentation will be kept to a minimum. Any app that runs poorly on the slimmer hardware will be flagged as unsuitable in the Marketplace. Speaking of which, Microsoft has announced it'll be rolling it out to a further 23 countries shortly including China, the UAE and much of Eastern Europe -- increasing the total market reach by up to 60 percent. Microsoft lowers hardware requirements, opens Marketplace to 23 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Microsoft, (2) | Email this | Comments | |
