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Samsung Galaxy S3 given an Android KitKat lifeline

Not too long ago, Samsung made a decision that the international version of the Samsung Galaxy SIII (I9300) – one of its most popular phones ever – is not going to get an official TouchWiz Android 4.4 KitKat update. Cue the sound of millions of hearts of Galaxy SIII owners breaking, as most of them were really still hoping against hope that it would happen. Now the Galaxy SIII is given a lifeline through community development by “arter97”, an XDA Senior Member, with a port from a Korean SIII variant that had an official KitKat update.



Of course, there are a lot of AOSP ROMs that could give the Galaxy SIII a KitKat feel, but it seems like nothing beats the official TouchWiz look. The Korean variant in question was the E210S – with 2GB of RAM and LTE – was updated to Android 4.4.4, and this is what was ported for the I9300 international model. Take a peek at the screenshots below.


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There were bugs that kept the port from being stable – SMS messaging issues, signal issues, and the like – but an updated version 2 has come out fixing those things. What is really notable about this port was that it was done in just a few hours, when Samsung was dillydallying over putting out a KitKat update because the Galaxy SIII international version had only 1GB of RAM. For comparison, we know of a lot of entry level phones that run KitKat smoothly on just 1GB of RAM.


If you want to join the fun, check out the original XDA forum thread here, and do tell us about your revived, reinvigorated Galaxy SIII. Version 2 of the build is now up, so it’s a much more functional port. We don’t have to remind you that backups are ALWAYS necessary, so don’t forget to do that before you go flashing your firmware.


SOURCE: XDA


HP 10 Plus tablet shows up at Amazon, no official announcement

It was a while back when we wrote about a bunch of tablets that HP was planning to launch – one of those tablets has dropped at the Amazon website with little in the way of a formal announcement. Looks like HP is trying to sneak the HP 10 Plus by us, although we don’t really know what good that will achieve.



The HP 10 Plus is one of the more robust tablets in terms of specs from that group we initially announced. The tablet features an Allwinner A31 ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core processor turning at 1Ghz, not really a solid choice for a branded tablet. At least it is supported by 2GB or RAM. The screen is a 10.1-inch Full HD display, and there’s a 5MP/2MP camera combo for those who can’t help taking pictures even with their tablets.


The curious spec is that the tablet only runs WiFi 802.11n, where most tablets, even the cheap ones will be a/b/g/n/ac. It’s not immediately clear why this is, but it can be that HP tried to cut some costs with this tablet. At least, the tablet runs Android 4.4.2 Kitkat – not the latest, but certainly better than the lower versions.


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The tablet is priced at USD$279.00 at Amazon, a drop from the rumored USD$320 pricing that was initially bandied about. It’s not really a bad tablet, but the 1Ghz core speed on your quad-core processor is bound to affect the smoothness of processes and apps you run on the tablet. Check out the tablet at Amazon here.


VIA: Android Headlines





Ironclad Tactics is a lane-driven turn-based robot game

Ironclad Tactics is a nice fusion of a number of elements that logically shouldn’t work together – but they rather do. On the whole, it is a lane-driven game in the manner of “Plants vs. Zombies” – only that it is set in a fictional re-fighting of the US Civil War, with robots! Yes, you heard us right.



We haven’t mentioned that at the core, this is also a card-collecting game – you get to battle as one of the sides of the aforementioned historic war with robots from cards that you collect throughout the game. The action in your lanes runs in real-time, but you have to wait for action points to add up so that you can deploy more units from your card collection.




While the issue of the Civil War is no laughing matter, the game developer has found a way to lighten up the mood by the way of comic book-like panels that move the story along. The main campaign’s storyline revolves around the inventor of the robots from the North, and you unlock cards as you go along.


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The description says very loudly “no ridiculous in-app purchases” – although the Google Play Store displays the game as “with in-app purchases”. That is not an oxymoron, as there is a good bit of content before the free campaign ends and you have to purchase the full game for USD$3.99, as well as two additional campaigns available for USD$2.99. Check out the game via Google Play Store.


VIA: Android World





Sony Xperia Z3 flagship device gets a full teardown

For gearheads and tinkerers, nothing is more exciting than a teardown – picking out the nuts and bolts of a system and getting to the heart of a device. Sony’s newest flagship – the Xperia Z3, recently launched at the IFA 2014 trade show in Berlin – gets a full teardown, revealing the innards of the premium device.



Powering the Xperia Z3 is the Snapdragon 801 SoC that seems to be the favorite of most manufacturers these days for their flagship devices. That is supported by a very generous 3GB of RAM which pushes pixels to a 5.2-inch Full HD 1920x1080 display. The internal storage of the device that was torn down is 16GB, and the device’s storage is usually expandable via microSD to 128GB.


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The teardown was straightforward, the only challenge being the Xperia Z3’s unibody design and the IP68 grade waterproofing, the latter meaning that most seams of the device has some sort of rubberized sealant. With a little heat and a prying tool, you can gain entry to the device via the backplate, and everything should be straight forward from there (unlike the Samsung Galaxy Alpha’s “screen first” entry).


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The parts are modular to the core, and so replacement of parts should be easier once you have gotten past the back plate. The phone’s design is compact, meaning that you have to be careful with cables and elements which have very specific placements. But if you do teardowns for a living, the Sony Xperia Z3 should be a normal day at work.


SOURCE: eWiseTech





HTC Desire Eye leaked, with ‘ultimate selfie’ front camera

We were just talking about the HTC One M8 Eye yesterday, but it seems that HTC is going one over everybody else with the HTC Desire Eye. This was leaked by @upleaks via Twitter, and there are some photos and specs that give a little light to may actually be the “ultimate selfie” device of this current generation of smartphones.



The HTC Desire Eye will be packing some serious hardware, if the leak can be confirmed. We might be looking at a phone that will sport the current generation favorite – the Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor (2.3Ghz) supported by 2GB of RAM pushing pixels to a 5.2-inch Full HD 1080p screen. Those are flagship level specs at this point folks. The leak also points to 32GB of internal storage and a removable 2400mAh battery.


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But the kicker here will always be the selfie cam. This device is reportedly packing a 13MP/13MP camera combo – with the front-facing cam just as great as the back camera (can’t call it the “main camera” now because of that). The front cam will also have auto-focus and all good stuff you don’t usually have with your selfie camera.


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Add this to the momentum building for what is also a camera-related product by HTC – a mobile personal camera to invade GoPro’s market – then we might be in for a great event on the rumored October 8 launch date. Time to get a little bit excited, as that date is just a few days away.


SOURCE: @upleaks





Tower Dwellers needs you to defend a fantasy kingdom

It was the Gandalf the Grey who said to a fire-breathing Balrog that "You shall not pass." But a new Android game (that doesn't have anything to do with Lord of the Rings) is taking up this battle cry as they depend on you, the mobile gamer, to not let the enemy pass as you try to reclaim their fantasy kingdom, one tower at a time. Welcome to the world of the Tower Dwellers.



A once thriving fantasy kingdom has been overrun by the forces of darkness. It is now your duty to lead an army of survivors to free your lands from the invaders. You need to build different towers and auxilliary buildings and let your warriors defend your property. And don't worry, you've got good magic on your side which you can use to assist your strategic armies as they fight your enemies. The game has a non-linear progression so you have the freedom to choose whatever direction or which territory to conquer, depending on the levels that you've unlocked.


The game also has an encyclopedia sandbox mode where you can practice your army building and attacking strategy before unleasing it in the main game mode. The graphics aren't state-of-the-art but is still pretty good considering. The warriors are cute, although you might hesitate sending them into battle since they are mighty adorable.


What makes the game a bit more interesting than other tower building and defense games is that while you're playing it, there's a funny narrated tale to go along with it. In fact, the developers have composed an ode just for you which you can find at the game app page on the Google Play Store where you can download Tower Dwellers for free.




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Flat Out gem matching arcade game hits Google Play

Some of the most popular games on mobile devices are gem-matching games. If that sort of game is something you like, a new gem matcher has hit Google Play called Flat Out. This game is described as a fast-paced gem matching arcade game.



Players will complete puzzles by connecting sequences of gems to refuel. The more fuel players capture, the further they go, and the faster the game gets forcing players to connect longer sequences to keep fuel levels high.


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Flat Out includes eight map packs right out of the box. Flat Out requires Android 2.3 or higher to play and is currently on version 6. The last update happened a couple weeks ago and the game is 12MB in size.


So far, Google Play says that it has 100-500 installs and it is rated for everyone. Flat Out was developed by Smashed Crab Studio.


SOURCE: Google Play


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