As the month comes to an end, here comes more and more leaks regarding the alleged upcoming devices from Samsung – the Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy S4 Active. In the latest rumor mill is a set of images of the rumored Samsung Galaxy S4 Active that touts almost the same goodness as the Galaxy S4, but a rugged water- and dust-proof exterior for all those, like me, who cannot last a week without dropping your phone at least once.

According to the leaked images, the device carries the same design language with the recent line of Galaxy smartphones, except that it has a different casing (possibly made out of a “tougher” material that is hopefully not plastic), and three physical buttons at the front as opposed to one on the original S4, hit the break for one more image.

In the specifications department, just days ago, the Galaxy S4 Active made an appearance in the GFX benchmark site, revealing some pretty interesting specs. First up, unlike previous rumors, the S4 Active will pack a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 1080p display, and will run on Android 4.2.2 out of the box with TouchWiz interface. True enough, according to the specifications in the latest leak, the Active does indeed come with a quad-core Qualcomm processor , a full HD display resolution though, the 480ppi suggests that it might pack a slightly smaller display; the S4 has a 441ppi display. Finally, according to the tipster from GSMArena, the S4 Active will have an 8MP rear camera.

How many of you are actually waiting for this?

(Source: GSMArena, PhoneArena)

Not too long after the official launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the company said that it will release a software update for the Galaxy S3, which will bring in most of the new features that are not hardware-dependent and if you’ve been waiting for it, here it is, the leaked version at least.

Thanks to insiders from Sammobile, they have received the Android 4.2.2 software update for the Samsung Galaxy SIII which brings several Galaxy S4 features such as an updated lockscreen, the new Settings menu, and many more. The update is available for download though, it’s an unofficial and incomplete version. Android 4.2.2 is still under testing phase by Samsung and is expected to be made available in June 2013 but if you are adventurous enough and do not wish to wait, hit the source link for more information.

Meanwhile for the rest of us, Android 4.2.2 for the Samsung Galaxy SIII comes with new enhancements such as:

• New S4 Lockscreen: Multiple Widgets, new unlock effect, ability to change clock size and set a personal message
• New Screen modes: Adapt display and Professional Photo
• Daydream
• Driving mode
• Actionable notifications
• New additions in Notification Center
• Completely revamped Settings UI
• Addition of Voice controls
• Gallery modes with white background
• Full-screen Samsung apps
• New S-Voice
• New smart switch widgets

(Source: Sammobile)

Now that Maxis has finally taken the covers off its HTC One phone bundling, as always, check out a telco price comparison from us. The flagship HTC smartphone that boasts an impressive design, a whole list of new features, as well as the one-of-a-kind Ultrapixel camera is now available in Malaysia, as well as from major local telcos – DiGi, U Mobile, Celcom and Maxis. Get it from as low as RM1,269 from DiGi, as low as RM1,488 from U Mobile, as low as RM1,428 from Celcom, or as low as RM1,299 from Maxis, when you sign up for a 12-, 18- or 24-months contract from the telco; contract duration differs from telco to telco.

We’ve broken down the price according to monthly commitment so depending on what you can afford on a monthly basis, so hit the break for the comparisons.

Monthly Commitment below RM80

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Monthly Commitment ranging from RM80 to RM100

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Monthly commitment ranging from RM100 to RM150

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Monthly commitment above RM140

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Cheapest device price

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So “the other half” has been revealed. And, after speculation from fans that went a little over the top, it was perhaps somewhat deflating to know that this “other half” Jolla is referring to is…you. Ahead of its Jolla Love Day launch event in Helsinki, Jolla has revamped its website and finally showed the world its first-ever Sailfish smartphone. Simply called the Jolla, the company expects to ship the device by the end of this year.

Article continues after the break.

At the heart of Jolla is what it is calling a movement. The device is being unveiled many months ahead of its expected shipment date to allow for a co-creation campaign, aimed at further collaboration with the community. After all, the Sailfish operating system running on the Jolla is derived from the Mer and Nemo community projects.

Interestingly, it appears that the main visual feature of the Jolla is the interchangeable back covers that changes the fonts, colours, tones, profiles and even the functionality of the device – presumably using an NFC chip embedded on the “other half”. Compared to the wildly speculated detachable QWERTY keyboard, it is quite a bummer.

Visually, the Jolla is reminiscent of the Nokia N9, its spiritual forefather. However, the Jolla features two distinct layers that symbolize the two halves of the Jolla movement. The materials used for the Jolla, however, are not yet disclosed.

Specs wise, the Jolla is powered by a dual-core processor, a 4.5-inch “Estrade” display, 8MP autofocus rear camera, 16GB expandable storage, a user-replaceable battery, and also 4G LTE connectivity (varies by market). If the specs sheet above seems inadequate, there are two reasons behind it: firstly, the Sailfish operating system does not require plenty of processing power to run efficiently; second, the Jolla is still in pre-order phase, hence the specification may be changed later on.

Crucially, Sailfish supports Android apps and will run them natively. Availability, as mentioned previously, will be via Jolla’s own app store. However, the question of which apps will be supported remains unanswered as yet.

Jolla has also officially opened its pre-order campaign, offering three distinct pre-order packages at three prices. The first, limited to only several European countries, consists of the Jolla, the Other Half, a limited edition Jolla t-shirt, a €100 (roughly RM390) voucher that can be redeemed to lower the purchase price when it ships later this year and a priority number that ensures they are the first owners of the Jolla. The other two packages is available for all to order globally, but is not as lucrative as the first.

The Jolla will retail at €399 (roughly RM1560) and the company expects to ship the device by the end of this year – in line with its initial Christmas/Chinese New Year timeframe.

We can expect a lot more information to be revealed about the Jolla at the launch event later tonight at 12.30am at this link. For more information about Jolla and its neww smartphone, head on to its official website at jolla.com.

Last week in Japan, NEC announced the Medias X 06E smartphone. Only available for the Japanese market, the NEC Medias X 06E sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.7GHz quad-core processor, a 4.7-inch 720p OLED screen, a Sony Exmor RS for Mobile 13MP camera, and is liquid-cooled as well.

Wait, what?

Similar to the pricey high-end desktops for enthusiasts, the Medias X 06E has a heatpipe that funnels heat away from the processor – possibly making it the first ever liquid cooled smartphone. Also, the graphite sheet placed parallel to the motherboard further reduces the heat emanating from the NEC smartphone.

Funny thing is, the Medias 06E isn’t the most powerfully-specced smartphone in the market. The decision to add this liquid-cooling feature becomes a little more bewildering when one considers the fact that NEC is marketing this smartphone as a female-oriented device – complete with the dangly charms that looks like they fit into the 3.5mm audio jack.

Welcome to Japan.

(Sources: NEC, Mashable, The Verge)

After receiving invites from Acer Malaysia and Yes 4G/Google/Samsung, here comes yet another press event on this coming Wednesday that you might want to take note. Hailing from LG Malaysia and Brightstar, we are starting to think if there’s something special about 22 May for local tech industry that we are not aware of.

Judging from the press invite, we might be looking at the launch event for LG Optimus G (E975), LG Optimus L9 (P768e) and the dual-SIM version of LG Optimus L5 II (E455). This is further strengthen by the appearance of all three devices as the most recent additions to the company’s listing on SIRIM’s database.

The latest entries on SIRIM’s database for Brightstar.

Out of these three device, only LG Optimus L5 II can be considered as a recent device since it was announced during MWC 2013. Both LG Optimus L9 and Optimus G [here's our review of the device] were launched back in 2012 which made us wonder what took LG so long to bring them to Malaysia with the risk of these devices being deemed as outdated by consumers even though they might have possessed capable hardware and features in their own rights.

On another hand, will we be able to see more up-to-date LG smartphones such as LG Optimus G Pro or the rumoured Optimus G2 at the event? Regardless of that, we are still going to be there to see what LG and Brighstar have to announce this coming Wednesday. So, stay tuned.

Rumors have been brewing for quite some time now that major companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! were interested in buying out Tumblr, and it looks like Yahoo! has gotten it, for USD$1.1 billion, cash. Earlier yesterday, it has been reported that the Yahoo! board has approved the deal and the CEO of Yahoo!, Marissa Mayer, will be hosting an event later today in New York, to make the official announcement.

We don’t know for sure what Yahoo! plan to do with Tumblr, but according to reports, David Karp, the CEO of Tumblr, will receive a load of cash, stay at Yahoo! for at least 4 years, and retain control over the service.

Whatever it is, we should be finding out for sure later today.

(Source: AllThingsD, Engadget)

Last week at the Google I/O developer conference, Google announced a revamped Google+ featuring a brand new Hangouts app which now becomes a full-featured messaging service, integrating the current Google Talk app with support for emoji, video calls and group chats.

And, in true Google style, the developers have added six Easter Eggs that can be used in any Hangout chat. With the Easter Eggs, users can trigger a shy dinosaur to hide behind a house, an angry mob or even a pony to run across the chat box. Also, users can use the Easter Egg commands to change the background colour of the text box.

On the other hand, what Google gives it also takes in equal measure. It appears that those who have upgraded to the new Hangouts app have lost the ability to make or receive Google Voice calls within the desktop Gmail client. Gmail users in the US have been particularly hit hard by the omission, as Google Voice also supported free calls within the US. One workaround for this would be the option to revert to the old Google Talk service, which should buy the company some time as it goes ahead with its promise of adding support for new features to the Hangouts app.

(Source: The Verge (1), (2))

Your smartphone could be powered by the latest and greatest processor, run on the most updated operating system and pack the most powerful camera, but none of them is useful if you do not have an equally good battery to compliment them. Over the weekend, Intel announced the winners from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and one of them is an 18-year old Eesha Khare (leftmost), who won USD$50,000 for creating a Supercapacitor that could charge up a battery in a matter of seconds.

Don’t get too happy yet though, at its initial stage, the Supercapacitor only works on LED lights, according to Eesha Khare, all she did was place the battery to charge for a mere 20-seconds, it was able to light an LED device. On top of super fast charging, it also allows for 10,000 recharge cycles, 10 times more than normal batteries.

Alright now, somebody please hire her so they can utilize this technology on phone batteries, as soon as possible.

(Source: Gizmodo, Intel)

First introduced at MWC 2013 alongside Nokia Lumia 520 and Lumia 720 as well as Nokia 105, the new Nokia 301 has just landed in Malaysia. In case you are somehow lost between many devices that Nokia has launched for the past five months, the 301 is a feature phone that includes a number of functionality that worth a mention such as the rather unique voice-guided self-shot mode for its 3.2-megapixels rear camera.

The 3.5G HSPA-enabled phone also includes panorama and sequential shot modes. Several data and social orriented such as Nokia Xpress Browser, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and eBuddy are also pre-loaded into Nokia 301.

Priced at RM 289, the new Nokia 301 has already arrived at retail stores in Klang Valley while consumers in other parts of Malaysia should be able to see it by the end of the week. To learn more about the device, head on to www.nokia.com.