Xperia Z2 goes on pre-order, here are the prices

The Sony Xperia Z2 was announced at the MWC yesterday and is up for pre-order right away. Here are some of the prices and timeframes we've collected from several sites.

First off, the Xperia Z2 is available for pre-order from Sony Mobile's own site. All country-specific sites we tried promise a delivery in April, but prices vary quite a bit from them.

In the UK, it's £600 (€730), but Clove UK lists it at £564 with the first stock expected in April. The side does have a note saying the official price and availability are yet to be confirmed.

In Germany, Sony's site offers the Z2 at €600, but several other sites have it at the same price.

In the Netherlands the phone is €650 and PLN 2,800, €675, in Poland. That's still better than France, Italy and Spain where the Xperia Z2 flagship is €700. In Sweden, it's SEK 6,000 - €810!

In the US, the Sony Xperia Z2 should be available from T-Mobile at $600.

Check out our first impressions of Sony's new flagship, straight from the MWC.

}

Nokia Lumia 620 finally gets Lumia Black update

The youthful Nokia Lumia 620 is finally getting the Lumia Black treatment. The update has been rolling out on other WP8-running Lumias globally since the beginning of January. Lumia 720 was the most recent phone to join the Lumia Black bandwagon a month ago.

Various reports from Finland and the Netherlands suggest Lumia 620 is getting the WP8 GDR3 + Lumia Black combo update. It is the last phone to get it, but still users will be more than happy to install it.

Nokia Black builds on top of Windows Phone GDR3 and brings various improvements. From GDR3, it gets Bluetooth 4.0 LE support and the ability to close apps from the app switcher menu, there's a rotation lock too.

From the Nokia goodies, there's a new Drive mode, Nokia Storyteller and the new Nokia Camera app (if not installed already). There are two new colors for the night mode of the Glance screen. Glance notifications are available as well. Since the device only has 512MB RAM, it will miss out on Nokia Refocus and Nokia Beamer.

We guess update notifications will start popping up soon on every Lumia 620 smartphone out there.

Source

}

BlackBerry unveils the Z3 and the Q20

BlackBerry has announced a new duo of smartphones at the MWC 2014 - the BlackBerry Z3 and the BlackBery Q20.

The BlackBerry Z3 is a full-touch smartphone with a 5" display and runs BlackBerry OS 10.2.1. BlackBerry CEO John Chen says that this is the first phone to come up with the strategic partnership with Foxconn.

Sadly, that's all we know on the phone's hardware so far since BlackBerry hasn't unveiled any more specs.

Update: specifications of the Z3 came in and the 5" display boasts a qHD resolution and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 chipset and 1.5GB of RAM. Internal storage is 8GB, but there's no information if there's a microSD card slot available.

At the back, there's a 5MP camera, while at the front there's a 1.1MP one. Music lovers would also like the fact that the Z3 features an FM Radio, too.

The phone will hit Indonesia in April and will cost less than $200 off contract.

As for the BlackBerry Q20, the company has gone back to its roots and the phone features a physical QWERTY keyboard and a trackpad. It seems, the BlackBerry wants to attract some of its core fans back and offers them a phone they'll be productive with.

Here’s a quote from John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO at BlackBerry regarding the Q20.

"In my first 90 days on the job, I consistently heard from our ardent BlackBerry customers that the hard buttons and trackpad are an essential part of the BlackBerry QWERTY experience, that made their BlackBerry smartphone their go-to productivity tool. I want these customers to know that we heard them, and this new smartphone will be for them. Today, we’re delighted to announce the new BlackBerry Q20 smartphone, which is designed to give you the distinct experience that every BlackBerry QWERTY loyalist and high-productivity business customer absolutely loves. With the BlackBerry Q20 smartphone, you’ll get the familiar hard buttons and trackpad that you want, along with the best email service, the best keyboard experience and the best battery life possible."

The Menu, Back, Send and End buttons and the trackpad will be made an integral part of the device and user interface and in conjunction with the 3.5" display, BlackBerry says the phone will offer the best email experience on the market. The company also states that the Q20 will be made of premium materials, which will result in reliability and durability, but doesn't specify which ones.

We wish BlackBerry had disclosed more details, but that's not the case. We'll keep you posted for any new information that comes up. Hopefully BlackBerry will shed more light on the specs soon enough.

Source • Source (2)

}

Samsung Galaxy S5 to also have a octacore Exynos variant

Yesterday's Samsung Galaxy S5 event had one curious omission. If you looked at the spec sheet you'd notice that the company was seemingly only offering the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC for its latest flagship with the usual Exynos variant nowhere to be found.

Turns out, there will be an Exynos variant of the Galaxy S5. According to a blog post by Samsung (which has now been redacted for some reason), the company will offer a 2.1GHz octacore variant of the Exynos SoC for the Galaxy S5.

It is unclear whether this will be limited to select markets or if Samsung will adopt its previous strategy of keeping the Qualcomm model US exclusive and offer the Exynos model in all other regions. If that is the case, hopefully the Exynos model won't lack any major features, such as 4K video recording, the way it did on the Galaxy Note 3.

The exact Exynos model is unknown. We will probably find out more when Samsung announces it officially, along with its availability on the S5.

Source (removed) • Via

}

Samsung announces Galaxy S5 US market availability

Samsung announced details on the US availability of the Galaxy S5. The Android flagship will make its way to the United States in April, joined by the Samsung Gear family of wearable accessories.

Unsurprisingly, the list of US carriers which will officially carry the smartphone is extensive. It includes AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular.

Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be available in major retailers such as BestBuy, Amazon, Costco, RadioShack, etc. The Samsung Gear family will be available through carrier and retail channels.

Pricing of the smartphone is yet to be confirmed. We reckon that it will be somewhere in the ballpark of $199.99 with a two-year contract. The increasingly popular monthly installment payment options are also certain to be available.

You can find out all about the Samsung Galaxy S5 in our extensive hands-on.

}

MWC 2014: Samsung Galaxy S5

GSMArena team, 24 February 2014.

Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is official - and it's not what we expected. Rumors got a few details right, but not the whole picture, obviously. After so many updates and sequels to the S4, it's perhaps not all that surprising that the S5 feels like a small step forward.

Samsung Galaxy S5 at a glance:

• General: 2G, 3G and 4G LTE connectivity


• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone


• Dimensions: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145 g


• Display: 5.1" 16M-color Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (431ppi)


• Chipset: Snapdragon 800 MSM8974-AC


• CPU: 2.5GHz Krait 400


• GPU: Adreno 330


• RAM: 2GB


• OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)


• Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot


• Still camera: 16 megapixel auto-focus camera


• Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording


• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 3.0 with MHL, GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, Infrared port


• Battery: 2800mAh


• Misc: Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor, humidity sensor, temperature sensor

The screen grew up only a bit and it kept the 1080p resolution rather than going to QHD. The camera update also shows restraint - a 16MP shooter with 1080p video capture, not the 20MP/2160p monster some rumors saw coming.

Samsung does maintain the clockspeed advantage with a rare Snapdragon 800 chipset and while the fingerprint scanner was no surprise, the heart rate monitor certainly is.

TouchWiz was a bit of a surprise too. We got pumped up for a brand new flat version of Samsung's custom UI, but the reality is closer to what we saw on the new Galaxy Pro tablets.

Samsung Galaxy S5

The back of the device is a new iteration of Samsung's leather-like plastic, with what looks like perforated holes. It only looks like it though, the Galaxy S5 is IP67 certified - we don't expect to see a Galaxy S5 Active.

Like we said, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is in part what we expected and a bit of a surprise. What is it though that sets it apart from the Galaxy S4 Advance with the leather back?

}

Samsung unveils Galaxy S5 with 5.1-inch screen

One of the highest-caliber debuts at this year’s MWC, the Samsung Galaxy S5 was just unveiled at the Unpacked 5 event. The flagship opens a new chapter in Samsung's design – the back is still leather-like, but with a brand new look.

We’re looking at a longer feature list fifth year in a row – IP67 certification is a big one and so are the fingerprint sensor and heart rate monitor.

The core features too were duly updated to put the Galaxy S5 ahead of its S4 predecessor – a 5.1" Super AMOLED screen of 1080p resolution, Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2GB of RAM, 150Mbps LTE and a 16MP camera.

The camera only records 1080p video, much to the disappointment of everyone who took rumors to heart. With the new chipset and camera sensor, we were kinda expecting 2160p too.

Another thing that didn’t turn out as whispered was TouchWiz – it's new and based on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, but not as flat as some Holo fans would have hoped.

No switch to on-screen buttons either – the Galaxy S5 has three keys below the screen, this time an App Switcher button replacing the Menu key.

Check out our hands-on for more info.

}