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Samsung Galaxy Grand Max to be launched in Korea

Courtesy of the Samsung-specific Sam Mobile website, we are getting our first look at a very new Samsung Galaxy Grand Max – a phablet that will be launched in Korea, with no news yet if the gadget maker is bringing the said device to the international market.

The Galaxy Grand Max – code numbered the SM-G720N0 – will have a 5.2-inch HD display (720p), powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB RAM, 16GB internal storage. The device will be thin for a phablet, that is, 7.9mm thin and will have a 13MP/ 5MP camera combo. Even with Android Lollipop out, this device will unfortunately come with Android 4.4 KitKat pre-installed, with no information if a Lollipop update is forthcoming, but it should be.

Samsung-Galaxy-Grand-Max-SM-G720N0

The Galaxy Grand Max will have 2,500mAh battery, and this particular model will have LTE connectivity. We see this device in the pics together with the Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7, both heavily covered by our reports before.

Samsung-Galaxy-A7-SM-A700SKL

Is this something that would help the Samsung cause, re-building what was once a dominant lead in the smartphone industry? The device is obviously not a flagship level device, but is firmly targeted at the mid-tier market. Time will tell.

VIA: Sam Mobile

Rumored HTC Hima reportedly appears on AnTuTu

Our source for last week’s rumored spec list for the upcoming HTC “Hima” phone has come up with seemingly stronger evidence for the rumors regarding the specs of said phone – now the rumored HTC flagship device has apparently made an appearance at the databases of AnTuTu, the benchmarking outfit. Now let us see what we can learn from the specs shown here.

The AnTuTu appearance somewhat confirms that the new device – named in the picture as “HTC6535LVW (hima)” – sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, and also confirms the 3GB RAM from the earlier spec list. The Snapdragon 810 SoC isn’t really ready for primetime yet, but it’s good to see that HTC is taking that leap to move forward to the next generation 64-bit processor.

htc_hima_an_leak

The display is also marked at 5 inches in 1920x1080 resolution (full HD), same as in the rumored spec list. Lastly, the device in the AnTuTu data is running Android 5.0.1 Lollipop – though it obviously is not able to confirm if the device will actually be running the rumored Sense 7.0 interface on top of Android 5.0.

So there you have it – it is not solid information as of yet, but things are going in the right direction for this new HTC device. We hope to see more of it as 2015 approaches.

VIA: @Upleaks

Samsung Announces Galaxy Note 4 Refresh with Super Fast LTE

Samsung is preparing its hardware to get some real LTE speeds. The Korean OEM has announced an improved version of the popular flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which will be shipped with powerful hardware and shouldn’t be afraid of an extremely fast LTE connection.

The new Note 4 has been armed with LTE Advanced Tri-Band with Carrier Aggregation. This fancy technology allows the phone to download files at speeds upwards of 300 Mb/s. Needless to say, such speed is but a dream for most people in the world who can’t even achieve such speeds on wired connections. According to Anandtech, the new Note 4 will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC. This newest beast by Qualcomm is the only currently available SoC capable of running this latest LTE technology. This also mean that Samsung begins its 64-bit era and we should see more handsets with 64-bit CPUs.

The standard Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which was released in October of this year, features a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 APQ8084 clocked at 2.7GHz. In certain markets, the existing Note 4 ships with Samsung’s Exynos 5433 which has four Cortex-A53 cores and four Cortex-A57 cores in a big.LITTLE configuration. Samsung has switched to a 20 nm manufacturing process for the refresh, however, and despite the increase in speed, we should see a reduction of upwards of 25% battery consumption in light tasks when compared with previous models.

It remains to be seen whether the revamped Note 4 will be available outside Korea, but such lovely specs will lovely cause some to import the new device.

[via Anandtech]

The post Samsung Announces Galaxy Note 4 Refresh with Super Fast LTE appeared first on xda-developers.

Limefuel LP200X 20,000 mAh battery is back with a discount [DEALS]

Batteries. We can never have enough of them. Especially when our increasing smartphone and tablet use drain our little power buddies faster than you can say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". Luckily, accessory makers like Limefuel are one the case and its heavyweight LP200X is back on the table. And like before, the offer comes with an equally heavyweight 58 percent discount, giving you the confidence to burn through your reserves without worrying about burning a hole through your wallet.

With a battery capacity of 20,000 mAh and two USB ports that lets you charge two devices at the same time, what's not to like? Perhaps the $85 price tag? No sweat! This sweet battery pack is available with at 58 percent off, ending you with only a $34.99 expenditure. Not that bad if you're smartphone is hungry for power like any high-end smartphone these days.

Let's put things again in perspective. The Samsung Galaxy S5's battery is a 2,800 mAh one. A bit of rudimentary math would tell you that you can charge up the smartphone fully at least 7 times. And that's just with the Galaxy S5 alone. Though you'll have fewer charging cycles, you can charge up a lot more even simultaneously if you have more devices to feed.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the Limefuel LP200X while it's still hot at Android Community Deals!

Android Community Deals is brought to you in cooperation with StackSocial. Generated revenue helps fund this site. Deals are curated by StackSocial and are not representative of the opinions of the Android Community staff.

Android One Expands with the Symphony Roar A50

The Android One announcement was one of the highlights of this past year’s Google I/O conference. Google decided to create an entire category of devices that are set to conquer developing countries in various parts of Asia. The program was originally launched in India, and then expanded to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Bangladeshi carrier Bangalink has announced a new device in the Android One arsenal.

This new device is named the Symphony Roar A50, and will be available by the middle of January for BDT 8,700 (~$111). The device will ship with a 8 GB microSD card and 1 GB of free 3G data transfer for the first month (primarily for OS upgrades and app downloads). For the next 5 months, users will get 300 MB of free 3G data. Sounds like a good deal to us!

Here’s a full hardware and software specification of Symphony Roar A50:

Band Mode	Dual GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHzWCDMA 900/2100 MHz
Processor	Cortex A7 Quad Core 1.3 GHz
Android OS	4.4.4 KITKAT
Display	4.5” FWVGA IPS (480 x 854)
Touch Panel	5 Point Capacitive Touchscreen
RAM	1 GB
Internal Memory	8 GB
Camera	2MP+5MP Auto Focus with Flash Light
Connectivity	3G/HSDPA/EDGE/WiFi 802.11 b.g.n/GPS
Battery	1780 mAh
Earphone	3.5 mm jack
Application	Google Chrome, Calculator, Calendar, Compass, Clock, Media Player, FM Radio, Maps, Video & Audio recorder, Email, PlayStore
Software	Runs an up-to-date version of Android and automatically gets new releases up to 2 years
Hardware	Engineered to give faster, smoother, more responsive experience
Apps	Built in Google Maps, YouTube and Google Play plus millions more available

Android One is definitely an interesting program, which gives users a chance to taste AOSP on budget friendly handsets. What do you think of Symphony Roar A50? Are you going to get this phone? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

[via Techetron]

The post Android One Expands with the Symphony Roar A50 appeared first on xda-developers.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Receives Functional Lollipop Port

The Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo is without a doubt a pretty nice device. Released in April 2014, this phone is essentially a re-designed version of the Samsung Galaxy S III with 1.5 GB of RAM and KitKat right out of the box. It’s not that popular as its older brother, but this phone is still a nice option if you are looking for wallet friendly handset.

Samsung isn’t planning to officially update the Galaxy S3 Neo to Lollipop. This isn’t a big surprise, but fear not because XDA Senior Member Rox released a highly functional unofficial port of CyanogenMod 12 for the device. This ROM can be considered as a daily driver, as only minor defects remain. NFC isn’t working properly due to lack of driver sources and audio in calls on the second SIM of the dual-SIM version doesn’t work. These flaws aren’t deal breakers, and you can kiss the KitKat goodbye and flash some Lollipop goodness.

To flash the ROM you must follow the standard procedure, which is entering the recovery mode and applying the update. ClockworkMod is the preferred recovery for the GT-I9300I users. If you are coming from Jelly Bean or KitKat, the factory reset is required.

Do you have a Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo in your pocket? Visit the development thread to give your device some Lollipop sweetness.

The post Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Receives Functional Lollipop Port appeared first on xda-developers.

Shift app lets you create your own photo filters combo

There are hundreds perhaps thousands of photo and camera apps out there but most of the filters are already prepared for you. You just need to choose one to make a photo look as if it was taken by a professional photographer. That's the wonder of mobile photography. Point, shoot, and choose a filter for a pro-looking image you could probably submit to NatGeo. Up until today, there's not one app that allows you to make your own photo filter. But here comes the Shift, a new app that lets you create your own set of filters you can save for future use.

With a single tap of a button, you can make your own stylish effects: light leaks, vintage, gritty textures, and high contrast black and white. Use the slider controls to adjust the color and intensity. With the three touch points placed on the screen, you can position effect before saving your custom filter.

You can also build a filter library by storing all your custom photo filters there. Don't forget to use the Favorite button to save the filters.

Developed by Pixite LLC, the Shift app is a first of its own but I don't doubt other similar apps will follow. It's only a matter of time before other developers work on their versions or at least update their current photo filter apps and add customization features.