Omio News Blog

Omio Mobile Phone News Weekly Newsletter –29th April – 3rd May

The week started with Omio reported on the Samsung Galaxy Note III picture leaking, with specs. BlackBerry mobile phones are to get free unlimited worldwide calls, and the Q10 sells out in two hours. We updated our article on the best Samsung Galaxy S4 deals and prices, where the handset become available in stores. The next version of Android still to be called Jelly Bean, and British Telecom to re-enter mobile phone market, with 4G with O2. Another piece was updated, with the new Samsung Galaxy S4 to be waterproof and dustproof – as the Wall Street Journal confirms is it be called the S4 active. Google Now comes to Apple iPhone and Apple iPad, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 was announced, with a 7-inch screen.

Earlier on in the week, 4G EE became accessible in 12 more places. The Apple iPhone 5S is to arrive in July, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Marvel Iron Man 3 mobile phone case became available, with glowing NFC Arc Reactor. The Samsung Nexus 11 tablet leaked, and new Sony flagship mobile phones is to feature 6.44-inch screen and 20-megapixel camera. The Apple iOS 7 is a change from other iOS versions, in that it is simpler and flatter.

Midweek, an analyst states the Apple iPhone with a larger screen is coming in June. BlackBerry’s Q10 is to sell tens of millions, and tablets won’t be around soon. Apple iPhone games are to use an external game’s controller. Virgin Media launches VIP tariff, with free 0845 calling. Omio updated the article, HTC ‘M4′ One junior arriving in June, with metal-alloy body – with its picture. Apple iOS 7 is to work with cars. Orange drops its animal tariffs, where T-Mobile is to copy Orange.

Towards the end of the week, we noted the Apple iOS 7 is to dramatically change, and Samsung Galaxy Note III is to feature an eight core processor and eight core GPU. Jelly Bean is now running on nearly a third of all Android products. We published Nokia Lumia 520 vs Nokia Lumia 620 vs Nokia Lumia 720 vs Nokia Lumia 820 vs Nokia Lumia 920: compared in pictures. Microsoft is to announce 7-inch and 9-inch Surface tablets in June.

And we wrote, Want to buy a new BlackBerry style QWERTY keyboard mobile phone for under £5?

At the end of the week, the Motorola X ‘XFON’ mobile phone pictures leaked. Apple iTunes is to hit 50 billion downloads and the company is giving away $10,000. BlackBerry users hit with another service problem; a new Nokia Lumia mobile phone to be exclusively sold with one UK network, and LG is working on Google Nexus 5 Android mobile phone.

BlackBerry 7.1 OS users can get 10 free applications, by simply upgrading.

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The biggest story of the week came from Apple, which is reportedly going to open pre-ordering of the purported Apple iPhone 5S in June, with delivery starting the following month.

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The next most significant piece was when Apple is thought to be releasing iOS 7 with some major changes to the way iOS currently looks.

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The third largest news item came from Sony Mobile, which is believed to be working on its next flagship handsets for the second half of this year, where one of them will have a phablet style display.

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The following most significant story was when Google was thought to be working on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, as its next version of the mobile device operating system and not Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie – according to a recent report.

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The fifth biggest piece was Motorola seeing photos outed of its yet-to-be-announced Android handset – with the name XFON – indicating it is the rumoured hero Motorola X Phone device.

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The next most significant news came when LG was said to be responsible for the purported upcoming Google Nexus 5, according to a recent report.

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The seventh largest story was Samsung having more detailed specifications leak surrounding its rumoured upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note III phablet, relating to CPU and graphics processor.

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The following most significant item came from the Samsung of its 2012 tablet leaking – the Samsung Galaxy Note III – along with its specifications.

It now appears that the image used was a fake, but its source had confirmed the company is working on three prototypes, where this isn’t one of them.

One of these has the design of the S4, and another a different set-up, and the last – a flexible display

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The penultimate piece of news was when Apple made public that its iTunes store will be hitting the download figure of 50 billion soon, where it is going to award someone a $10,000 App Store gift card– after it hits the 50th billion downloaded app

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Lastly, Samsung has officially unveiled its Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 tablet series, with the 7-inch 1,024 x 600 screen-based version..

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Motorola X ‘XFON’ mobile phone pictures leak

Google owned company Motorola has seen photos outed of its yet-to-be-announced Android handset – with the name XFON – indicating it is the rumoured hero Motorola X Phone mobile.

These images have been published over Twitter by the renowned Twipster @evleaks, who has a credible history of leaking accurate information – ahead of schedule.

PhoneArena has confirmed with its own source that these pictures are real.

That title also notes that it has the codename of Ghost, although the pictures don’t show a great deal – due to the black non-disclosure case, hiding its design.

A form factor that is thought to contain a 4.7-inch 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, running a stock version of Android, with 20 different colour choices of case.

The image at the bottom of this article has been established to be the rear panel, said to be polycarbonate and not the usual Moto Kevlar inclusion.

A sticker on the case contains the blurred out wording XFON ATT, indicating Motorola X Phone for the AT&T network.

That network has also been confirmed by the publication’s source, along with Verizon – and with a July release.

Motorola’s senior marketing director for EMEA, Marcus Frost, said to us at Mobile World Congress “We’ve for some really cool stuff to share with you soon”, hinting that it is coming to the UK.

Motorola X mobile phone delayed to August

Google owned company Motorola is reportedly now going to ship its rumoured Motorola X Android handset, much later than expected.

This information comes from an article on the mobile phone news website phoneArena, citing one of its sources.

It notes the original plans were to release the device late June or July, but the new word is that it has slipped back to August – or even later.

There is no explanation to why this has happened in the piece, only that the delay has occurred.

The source does state that it is still in its early prototype phase, which could be the reason, as a more complete version would have been expected by now.

It is thought to have a full high definition 1080p display, in the same way as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z sports.

This is on a 4.7-inch screen, with a thin bezel.

There is believed to be the absence of a microSD card, but that might relate to the prototype and not the finished product.

The device seen was running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which was quoted to be not pure stock, with some small changes onboard.

Omio hoped that it would be unveiled at the Google I/O event in May, which normally heralds in a new version of Android – although this seems unlikely now.

Motorola specs leak online, with a due date of November

Google owned company Motorola has seen specifications outed of its purported Motorola X mobile phone, along with its expected released month.

This news comes from phoneArena, which has been contacted by an unnamed source that providing this info.

That person has informed the title Motorola X will have a 4.8-inch screen, made from Sapphire glass.

It is thought to be three times harder to break than Gorilla Glass, which is used in a number of handsets around today.

Powered the X is said to be a quad-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. That CPU was announced at Las Vegas’ CES this year, and is capable of UltraHD/4K video capture – at three times the pixel count as 1080p.

The mobile is noted to have a 4,000mAh battery, providing all-day power. It is also believed to have rubber bumpers on the corners, while the back is made of carbon fibre – with the whole device being water resistant (possibly splash guard coated).

Other rumours surrounding the Motorola X are that it will be a series of mobile phones, which we reported on here, and that it would be customisable.

Stay tuned to Omio and we’ll bring you more on this, as and when news comes our way.

Motorola X to be a range of mobile phones, with customisable hardware

Google owned company Motorola’s much rumoured X phone is now believed to be a series of handsets, according to a recent report.

The Android and Me website has published these details, which it has learned from an ‘old time friend’.

That rumour will put the company on par with the likes of Samsung and its Galaxy range, Sony with the Xperias and HTC, with the One series.

The title also has it that the first X phone will be released in June, which does tie-in with the Google I/O event happening around the same time.

This info roll-out does not stop there, as it has learned that the X line of products will be sold through an online store – in much the same way as the Nexus devices can be purchased, from Google.

Those handsets will be customisable, from the amount of RAM and internal storage – to the colour of the device (think DELL).

Motorola first X mobile is also said to be an octo-core, where the Android updates will be coming from them – and not the carrier.

That is while Google and Moto will heavily subsidise the mobile phones, in the same way as the Nexus products.

Stay tuned to Omio, and we’ll bring you more on these rumours as and when they come our way.

Omio Mobile Phone Weekly Newsletter – 11th March – 15th March

The week began with Omio reporting the HTC Myst #UL was leaked: the 2013 Facebook mobile phone. O2 is already selling second hand BlackBerry Z10 mobile phones for £11, and Samsung’s Galaxy S4 pictures leak. Samsung Galaxy S4 is to have Sony Xperia screen tech and PHOLED display. We updated our article on the Samsung Galaxy S4 specs leak, with a second video posted online – and the Nokia Lumia Windows Phone mobile is now, for only £10.

Earlier on in the week, Samsung Galaxy S4 picture was released by Samsung, and a hands-on video was posted online. Nokia Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 became available to order, free voice calls came to the BlackBerry OS. And we exclusive published the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 benchmark results.

Midweek, HTC Desire C is now available for £8 a month, on Orange. HTC One will be arriving 2nd of April. Samsung Galaxy S4 registration opened at Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4u, Three, Vodafone – and EE. Android Jelly Bean Google Now is coming to Apple iOS devices. Vodafone drops Samsung Galaxy S3 cost ahead of Galaxy S4 launch, and a new unknown Motorola Android mobile phone has been seen online. Omio published HTC One: unboxing and hands-on walkthrough in pictures.

Towards the end of the week, Samsung Galaxy S4 best quality photos leaked. We ran a guest post from Phones 4u – Sony Xperia Z vs HTC One vs BlackBerry Z10 – 2013 Flagship Phone Fray! LG mobile phones are to get a Samsung Galaxy feature. Samsung Galaxy S4 features caught on video: floating touch, SmartPause, unlock screen and Internet browsing. Omio brought out the HTC One: unboxing and hands-on video walkthrough. Samsung Galaxy S4 rumour and speculation was rounded up. Samsung Galaxy S4 was unveiled with 4G LTE, 5-inch screen, octa-core 1.6GHz CPU and a dual capture camera.

At the end of the week, we published Samsung Galaxy S4 official pictures, and video walkthrough, the S4’s accessories in pictures. Samsung Galaxy S4 features are coming to Samsung Galaxy S3. Windows Phone 7.8 roll out resumes, with tile bug fix. Samsung Tizen mobile phone is coming in August, and we rounded up all the Samsung Galaxy S4: mobile phone industry reactions.

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The biggest story of the week came from Samsung, launching its flagship Galaxy S4 mobile phone, with a full high-definition 5-inch screen, a octa-core 1.6GHz processor and a 13-megapixel camera – withdual-capture capabilities.

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The next most significant piece was HTC reportedly faced delivery delays on its flagship HTC One mobile phone, which is now shipping on the 2nd of April.

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The third largest news item came when HTC had specifications appeared on-line of a handset called Myst #UL, which is thought to be its upcoming Facebook phone – following on from the HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa.

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The following most significant story was Omio exclusively publishing  benchmarking results for the Samsung Galaxy S4 mobile phone, confirming model name, screen size, processor, RAM, memory and version of Android.

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The fifth biggest piece was when O2 began selling refurbished versions of the BlackBerry Z10, on £11 a month contracts.

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The next most significant news came Google reportedly saw a video posted online of the Android Jelly Bean Google Now assistant, only for the Apple iPhone and iPad.

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The seventh largest story was Unlocked-Mobiles.com opening the pre-ordering of the two new Nokia Windows Phone 8 handsets – the Lumia 720 and 520, for £294.98 and £159.98, respectively.

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The following most significant item came when Motorola’s yet-to-be-announced handset appear online, in a hands-on video and images – with a possible design influence from its parent company.

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The penultimate piece of news was Microsoft starting to redeploy the Windows Phone 7.8 OS, after it paused the update rolling out – due to an error.

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Lastly, Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has had its entry level Lumia 510 priced up at Tesco, on a £10 a month contract or for £85, without a 24-month contract.

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New unknown Motorola Android mobile phone seen online

Google owned company Motorola has seen a yet-to-be-announced handset appear online, in a hands-on video and images – with a possible design influence from its parent company.

At Mobile World Congress, Marcus Frost, Senior Marketing Director, EMEA at Motorola Mobility told us “We’re working on some cool stuff” – this could be that very mobile phone

There is a rumoured Motorola X handset coming this year, which could be launched at the Google I/O 2013 event, but it isn’t thought to be that device.

Vietnamese website Tinh.te has published hands-on video and images, along with a related article – as covered by tech news site The Verge.

It notes that it doesn’t have the appearance of the recent Kevlar-coated RAZR Motorola phones of late, as seen on the RAZR HD and RAZR i.

This is along with adding that it doesn’t look much more like a mid-range handset, and the subtle M logo is welcomed change to the regular Motorola wording.

Omio believes that the look of the device, with its more rounded edges, gives the appearance of the Nexus 4. That is compared to the squarer LG Optimus G version, which contains the same hardware (perhaps the design influence by Google).

Motorola did hint to us that the cool stuff will be soon, and to watch this space.

UPDATE: Motorola RAZR HD mobile phone is coming to the UK – available with Expansys, 11th of February

Online SIM free mobile phone retailer Clove has opened the pre-ordering of the Motorola RAZR HD handset, which has a cost attached of £396.

Motorola’s RAZR HD was announced in September 2012, along with the RAZR M -in New York. The latter found its way to the UK in October, albeit in a slightly different format.

Read more…

Motorola X Phone confirmed

Solely owned Google company Motorola has had its purported X phone confirmed in a job posting on LinkedIn – advertising for a senior position to look after that device.

Motorola Mobility is recruiting for a Senior Director of Project Manager, for X-Phone. This mobile is thought to be the first device from the collaboration of Google and Motorola, since the Internet search engine acquired the company.

We reported on this handset late January, which is rumoured to have a 5-inch screen, edge-to-edge display.

And it is believed to be unveiled at the Google I/O conference in May. This traditionally is the launching stage for a new version of Android and a Nexus device.

X-Phone isn’t a Nexus product, but it is expected to run from the purported Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

This news comes from an article on the Google OS news website Phandroid, although the listing has since been taken down from LinkedIn.

That job advert is really the first evidence we have seen that the phone exists, other than rumours and speculation on various websites.

Stay tuned to Omio and we’ll bring you more on this device, as and when more news comes our way.

Motorola X with Key Lime Pie launching at Google I/O

Solely owned Google company Motorola is reportedly going to unveil a 5-inch screen based mobile phone in May, featuring the next version of Android.

It is said that this will have an edge-to-edge display, in much the same way as the Motorola RAZR i handset – which arrived powered by a 2GHz Intel chip.

This news comes from a posting to Droidforums.net, with information obtained by an unnamed source.

The purported Motorola X is said to be unveiled at the Google I/O event, which is taking place between the 15th of May and the 17th. The 2012 event saw Android 4.1 Jelly Bean announced, along with the Nexus 7.

The website notes that the X won’t be a Nexus device, but will be the first device to ship with the rumoured upcoming Android 5.0 OS – thought to be called Key Lime Pie.

Google traditionally launches a new OS at this or a similar event, where Android 5.0 is believed to be a key feature of the show.

Omio has been waiting to see what would be produced from Google acquiring Motorola, where this could be what we have been waiting for: their first mobile phone.