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Sony Xperia M2 Aqua takes waterproofing to budget level

Sony is announcing a new smartphone. Actually, it's partly a rehash of an existing smartphone. The Xperia M2 Aqua is everything that its name suggests: a variant of a mid-tier device that was announced early this year, blessed with Sony's popular dust and water proof ratings.

In all aspects save one, this is the same Xperia M2, meaning that you really get what you pay for. It doesn't boast of high-end specs but just has enough power, with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 and 1 GB of RAM, to get you through the day. The Exmor RS-toting 8 megapixel camera might be decent for taking pictures and videos, but viewing the same from the 4.8-inch qHD, meaning 960x540, screen might not be an equally pleasant experience. Still, the 2,300 mAh battery is sure to last you longer than most high-end devices, especially considering the lower specs. The Xperia M2 itself just started getting is Android KitKat update, but luckily this one comes with Android 4.4 right out of the box.

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Of course, the selling point of this model is the new waterproof features. Sony boasts of a score of IP65/IP68, claiming it to be the highest found on a smartphone. Definitely the highest for a consumer-grade one. And Sony definitely takes waterproofing seriously. Just last week, an Xperia Z2, which has an even lower IP rating, was rescued from its watery grave after spending 6 weeks on the seabed and was still miraculously alive. Imagine how much more torture the Xperia M2 Aqua can take. Or you don't have to imagine. Just play one of these underwater games if you ever get a chance to get your hands on one and find out for yourself.

The Sony Xperia M2 Aqua will be available in black and white color options. No pricing detail has been disclosed yet, but availability will start from Autumn this year. Target markets include Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe, with no mention of any plans to bring the device to the US.

SOURCE: Sony

HTC Butterfly 2 officially announced, but limited availability

As what we have seen in the last rumor, HTC has officially announced that it is bringing the J Butterfly HTL23 to other regions as Butterfly 2. The Butterfly 2 and the Japan edition are the same in specs, except there won’t be WiMAX2+ or LTE Advance support in the Butterfly 2.

Available in Rouge, Canvas and Indigo color, the HTC Butterfly 2 features a Duo Camera system, and HTC BoomSound with dual front speakers – boosted with JBL LiveStage digital signal processing. According to the official specifications, the Duo Camera is using a 13MP f/2.0 camera sensor as primary camera, additional depth information is recorded simultaneously by a separate camera sensor on top. THe secondary camera sensor should be a 2MP camera sensor, if it is the same as the J Butterfly HTL23.

The additional depth information allows you to have more post-photo editing fun, which includes changing the picture focal point (UFocus) or applying special effects with the built in Foregrounder tool. There is also a dual tone flash LED, plus another 5 megapixel front facing camera. The front facing camera is not only good for selfies with higher resolution, but it is also able to capture Full HD video and HDR photos.

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Other hardware specs remain the same. The Butterfly 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz quad core processor (MSM8974AC), comes with 5-inch Full HD S-LCD3 display, IPX5/IPX7 waterproof, IP5X dust proof, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage and microSDXC card slot. It is nice to see the microUSB port and headphone jack are designed without using a water resistant cover to achieve the IP57 protection.

HTC Butterfly 2 specifications:

- OS: Android 4.4.x KitKat

- Size: 145.4 x 70.2 x 9.99 mm

- Weight: 151g

- Display: 5" Full HD SLCD 3

- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz quad core

- RAM: 2GB

- Internal Storage: 16/32GB, MicroSDXC card slot

- Camera: 13MP f/2.0 + 2MP Duo camera, 5MP front facing camera

- Dual tone flash LED

- Connectivity: WiFi a/b/g/n/ac / Bluetooth 4.0 / NFC

- Battery: 2700 mAh

- Talk time: Up to 23.9 hours for 3G

- Standby time: Up to 643 hours for 3G

- Others: Barometer sensor, 4G LTE, Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Unfortunately, HTC has decided to ship the Butterfly 2 in selected countries. It will be launched first in Taiwan on September 2nd, and then in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Pricing for Butterfly 2, including the J Butterfly HTL23 is not revealed yet.

Asus to reportedly launch unusual-sized tablets

With the tablet market growing and getting too crowded as OEMs launch new ones almost every quarter, it takes something a bit unusual to get people to pay attention to it. Based on listings that were reportedly seen on the GFXBench database, Taiwanese brand Asus may just be launching two new tablets that are not the usual size that we’ve gotten used to with a lot of those in the market.

The listings on the site show tablets called Asus K01E, a 9.4-inch tablet and an Asus K01B, a much bigger device at 14.2 inches. The smaller one could either be part of their MemoPad lineup or the Asus Transformer Pad family. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processors and Adreno 320 graphics, same as the 2013 Google Nexus 7 which was also designed by Asus. The specs also indicate that it has 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage and has a display of 1280x800 pixels. The rear camera is at 2MP and the front-facing one is at 0.3MP, which is not really impressive for tablets.

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The 14.2-inch is unusually large for a tablet so we can assume that just like the others in the Transformer Pad family, it will work with a keyboard dock so that you can turn it into a notebook. But if there is no keyboard option, then it just might also be just a really large tablet. It has the same processor and graphics card, but has slightly better specs than the K01E. It has a 1920x1200 pixel display with 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The camera is 5MP for the main and 1.2MP for the front (we said just slightly better). Unlike the smaller model, the K01B has ambient light sensor so that the brightness can adjust automatically.

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There is still no confirmation whether these tablets are real. But we’ll probably find out by the first week of September during the IFA in Berlin and if there is more to these Android tablets than what is shown in their spec sheets.

VIA: Liliputing

Amazon Fire Phone has improved battery life in new update

While Amazon’s first smartphone, the Fire Phone, may have underwhelmed those who were expecting something at par with its competitors in the market, it is considered a work in progress and may yet find its stride in later versions. An update the software of the current phone promises better battery life (a must for all devices now) as well as a slew of other new features that should please the early adaptors who already have gotten themselves the Fire Phone.

Fire OS 3.5.1 brings with it dozens of system upgrades that would enable your smartphone to have longer battery life. It also now allows you to quickly switch between apps and close running apps just by double pressing the home button, not the long press which is how other Android phones usually do it. You can also now make app grid collections, which are folders to house or group certain apps or certain content from the grid itself. If you have too many apps already, you can now pin the ones you use the most to the home carousel so that it would be easier to find them.

In terms of multi-media functions, there are also slight improvements with this update. You can now use 11 images to create lenticular photos instead of the previous 3. You can also share higher-resolution videos to your friends through MMS (may have additional charges with your carrier) or through email. In terms of email, if you receive notification of an email that you don’t want to read, you can delete it directly from the home screen so that your inbox will not be clogged with unwanted email.

Given how Amazon Kindle Fire has slowly grown on tablet users (especially those who use it primarily as a reading device), the Fire Phone (or at least its later versions) may still surprise the smartphone market later on. For now, users might be pleased with the continued rollout of improvements on the software side at least. You can update your phone directly through the settings or manually download the updated Fire OS from Amazon.

SOURCE: Amazon

Root access achieved on LG G3 via Stump Root app

XDA senior developer “jcase” – the same guy who tweeted the makers of Blackphone last week during DefCon that he had rooted the security and privacy-leaning Android device – together with a couple more developers (IOMonster, AutoPrime, PlayfulGod) calling themselves Team Codefire has just outed an app that gives root access to LG current flagship phone, the G3.

The app, called “Stump Root” is now able to give root access to LG G3 phones from Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. While root was already attained via PurpleDrake for AT&T and T-Mobile units, the Verizon model was still not rooted until Team Codefire and the Stump Root app.

As per usual, rooting a device will entail low level changes to one’s device. It is highly recommended that you back-up your phone (data, apps, etc.) in any way possible before attempting to root your device. Team Codefire has given their guarantees that using the Stump Root app should not lead to data loss of any kind, but as they say, anything is possible.

If you are interested in the Stump Root app, check out the source link for the app's official thread at XDA. Look for the download link within the first few posts of the thread. Enjoy!

SOURCE: XDA

Cabinet Beta, Sliding Explorer give a foretaste of Android L

Android has a lot of file managers, many of them offering more power to what is already a power tool. But they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and those file managers do not always meet the aesthetic taste buds of some users. Those users might want to give these two updated file managers a whirl, as they offer some superpower but look nice to boot, thanks to a dash of Material Design.

Of the two, Cabinet Beta is more representative of Google's new design language even at first glance. That's in part to the use of the almost iconic blue and pink color scheme that seems to be used for most of the Material Design examples. But even beyond the colors you immediately get a feel of the paper and pen metaphor prescribed in Material Design, especially with the presence of the floating button for adding files and folders. Cabinet Beta, however, isn't all show. It doesn't come with all the bells and whistles that more powerful file managers boast of, but it has enough to get things done: root access, SFTP, quick folder shortcuts, and an easy multi-select feature enabled by tapping on the file or folder's icon. As a bonus, Cabinet is also open source software.

Sliding Explorer has a longer list of features but might give off a less than Material feel. That said, it shares many of the design features of Cabinet, like multi-select via icon previews. Sliding Explorer shares many of the same features, including root access and a way to mark folders as favorites in the slide out side panel. However, it does add some interesting features, like handling of ZIP files, cloud printing (Android 4.4 and above), and even DashClock extension.

Both file managers focus on simplicity without getting bogged down with too many options, and so it isn't surprising to see a dearth of configuration options in the apps' settings. That said, that might actually appeal to some segment of the Android community. For those who do hear the call of these file managers but would rather not have any Material flavor, they do allow for minor tweaks, like switching to a dark theme and turning off status and navigation bar translucency, to give the apps a less Andorid L look.

Download: Cabinet Beta, Sliding Explorer on Google Play Store

Flippr lets you use your widgets from any app

Widgets on our smartphones have definitely made our lives easier by offering us certain shortcuts to the apps that we love to use. However, one limitation is that we can mostly access them through our home screen only, and in this age when we want things faster and easier, it is a few added steps towards playing music, reading emails or checking your schedule for the week. One developer had the brilliant idea to create an app that will make using widgets even quicker and easier.

Flippr app simply has one basic function: to let you use your installed widgets without going to the home screen. Whatever app you’re using, whether browsing through the web or playing a game, if you suddenly have the need to look at your calendar, then you don’t need to exit your current app to access it. All you need is to click on a small bubble that will expand and show you all the widgets that you have on your smartphone.

Just tap the bubble, swipe your finger horizontally in order to go through the available widgets. You can even organise them into groups, just like you would organise your regular apps, so that it would be easier to sort through them and find the widget that you need, especially if you have a lot of them installed. You would need to swipe vertically in order to switch from one group to another. You can also customize the size and position of the bubble so that it will not interfere with the use of your other apps.

However, the app doesn’t work properly for now when it comes to OEM-specific widgets. You can get Flippr for free from the Google Play Store. There is also a pro version available where you can have unlimited number of widgets and groups to include in your bubble. You can also customize the animation of your bubble as well as the background of your widgets.