Alcatel rumored to be resurrecting Palm for new markets

Do you still remember your very first personal digital assistant, back when cellphones were still in its analog phase? Chances are, if you grew up in the late 90s, early 2000s, you probably had a Palm Pilot to help you digitally make sense of your life. Of course eventually, Palm died a quiet death, with HP (which acquired the company in 2010) dealing the final blow in the US market. But now speculation is ripe that Palm will be resurrected by Alcatel OneTouch, based on patent documents and website trails.

If you go to mynewpalm.com (which the original palm.com now redirects), there is now a looped video of the slogan "Smart move", which is what Alcatel OneTouch uses as its brand platform. The slogan is accompanied by Palm's classic orange logo, which has led others to speculate that it will be making a comeback. A Filipino webOS (the platform that Palm devices eventually used) user tried to trace who owns the website and based on archive.org records, the new incarnation started on November 12 of last year, even if it has existed since 2003. The domain owner is Wide Progress Global Limited, a shelf company registered in Hong Kong.

Wide Progress is also now the owner of the Palm trademark and service marks, which also includes other brand names like Palm Centro, Palm Pre and the original company name "Palm Computing". TCL Communications, which owns Alcatel OneTouch, has its vice president Nicolas Zibell's name included in the 18-page document posted on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

Aside from this connection, there are no official announcements yet as to whether Palm and Alcatel OneTouch will be merging or if TCL will be creating a new product line. But the rumors are a welcome New Year's treat for those who believe that the webOS is still the best (or at least one of the best) mobile OS and is now being used as an OS for smart TVs like LG.

VIA: MakaPalm

iPad Air clone runs Android KitKat, Windows 8.1

I'm not really a fan of clones because I feel they are violating copyright and infringes on many legal things. But then again, seeing popular gadgets being cloned is interesting because most of them can be funny. Apple gadget look-a-likes running Android are nothing new so this Android-powered iPad Air clone is not really surprising. The iPad Air is still pricey but the design is one of the best in tablets today ( not that Apple's design has really changed over the years). If you dig the iPad Air but is a hardcore Android fan, you can get this alternative from China for only $193.

Officially called as the Onda V919 3G Air, this iPad Air-like tablet is not bad for a mobile device that is under $200. The basic model already boasts of 64GB built-in storage and 3G cellular data connectivity (sorry, no 4G LTE yet). It doesn't only run Android 4.4 KitKat. It's dual booting so you can switch between Android 4.4 and Windows 8.1. Of course, it won't run iOS so don't expect to hack the tablet and run iOS apps.

Specs of the Onda V919 3G Air include a 9.7-inch 4:3 display screen, 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution, aluminum unibody, 5 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, 2.16GHz 64-bit Intel Bay Trail-T Z3736F quad-core solution, 2GB RAM, microSD card slot, and WCDMA band support. There's really no 4G LTE band support but the tablet is good enough for its affordable price.

SOURCE: Tmall

Story Timeline

• HDC One clones HTC with a quad-core and Jelly Bean for $160


• Pressy, the "almighty Android button" cloned by Xiaomi [Updated]


• iPhone 6 clone "demo" leaks, running on Android KitKat

Artists inspired by cities in limited edition Xperia Z3 series

If you're a bit bored with the original casing of your Xperia Z3 devices, the folks over at Sony have a solution for you (but probably if you live in Germany). They commissioned 3 artists to create artworks to adorn the back casings of the Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Compact, and the Xperia Z3 Compact Tablet, inspired by three major cities. However, these are very limited editions and will only be available in Berlin.

Called the "Stadt Talente" (translated literally means city talent), the project brought 3 artists to create artwork inspired by their respective cities, which would then be engraved in the Xperia Z3 devices. Vesa Tapani Sammalisto was commissioned to recreate Berlin through illustrations for Sony's flagship Xperia Z3. For the Xperia Z3 Compact, Shinpei Hasegawa, an art director for a Japanese ad agency, used Tokyo as his inspiration. Freelance illustrator and graphics designer Jan Feliks Kallwejt meanwhile made artwork representing Warsaw which was then used as the Xperia Z3 Compact Tablet's back cover.

The Xperia Z3 is available in four colors (white, black, gold, light green) while the Xperia Z3 Compact has four colors as well (white, black, orange, light green). The Xperia Z3 Compact Tablet meanwhile only has two colors available: white and black. Aside from the design at the back, there are no other differences between the normal version of the Xperia Z3 devices.

However, don't get over-excited yet to possess one of these beautiful babies, since Sony only produced 33 of each and it can only be bought in Germany. If you have any way of purchasing one though, you better head on over to their site (if you understand German of course) and get one.

SOURCE: Xperia Blog

Samsung to discontinue Galaxy Alpha, focus on mid-range

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone found more than a few buyers who liked the design of the device despite the high-end price tag. A report has surfaced out of Korean that claims Samsung is discontinuing the Galaxy Alpha smartphone. Rather than selling high-end devices like the Alpha, the report claims Samsung will focus on mid-range devices.

You can bet that Samsung will continue to offer the Galaxy S range of devices in the high-end, those continue to be popular with users. The rumor claims that Samsung will replace the Alpha with a new A-line starting with a device called the Galaxy A5.

The Galaxy A5 will have lesser specs than the Alpha unit for sure, but will also carry a lesser price to boot. The Galaxy A5 is tipped to sell for around $360. We don’t have a full spec sheet on the A5 at this time.

Word is that the Galaxy A5 will land in Korea next month. There is no exact launch date and rumors claim that the launch could push into February as well. Perhaps this is the time to get hands on a Galaxy Alpha if you have been holding off. It’s unclear if the Alpha will see a price cut to move leftover inventory.

SOURCE: SlashGear

This Indecisive Smartphone Can Run Android, Windows, or Firefox OS

Not sure what mobile operating system to settle down and start a life with? The new Alcatel Pixi 3 doesn't know either, so it can run everything: Windows Phone, Firefox OS, or Android.

Read more...

Tweak Your Kernel Parameters with Kernel Adiutor

The vast majority of custom kernels allow various modifications like selecting your governor, adjusting the maximum clock frequency, and much more. These paramters can be changed by executing commands through ADB or by using one of the kernel control applications created by various kernel developers here on XDA.

Applications that let you change kernel settings are often limited to a few basic options or are paid-only. If you are looking for a free app with nice design and a long list of settings to change, XDA Recognized Developer and Contributor Grarak might have something that can come in handy. Kernel Adiutor is an application that manages kernel parameters on rooted devices with Android 4.0 or newer.

This app can adjust the following settings: CPU (Frequency, Governor, Voltages), GPU (Frequency, Governor), Screen (Color Calibration [RGB]), I/O Scheduler, Kernel Samepage Merging, Low Memory Killer (Minfree settings), and Virtual Machine. Settings are also grouped in the nice looking menu in order to prevent the experience from becoming too overwhelming.

Before using this app, please note that setting some values may cause instability to your system or even cause hardware damage. In other words, please use this application with caution.

If your kernel developer hasn’t provided an application to control kernel parameters, this app is definitely a nice option to try out. You can download the app or contribute to its development by visiting the Kernel Adiutor application thread.

The post Tweak Your Kernel Parameters with Kernel Adiutor appeared first on xda-developers.

OnePlus intros non-Cyanogen ROM, still on alpha

OnePlus may be having some issues in India but it's not stopping the young Chinese phone manufacturer to work on new projects. We knew that it was working on a new ROM and OnePlus forum members were even asked to name it via a contest a couple of weeks ago. OnePlus is finally launching its own custom ROM although it's not the final version yet. According to the company, the early build doesn't have any extras aside from the AOSP Lollipop stock features.

OnePlus is building upon the base and will improve on that and do some customizations before the official release of the ROM. The company wants to keep it as simple as possible but is still customizable for any user. Living up with the "Never Settle" tagline, OnePlus certainly wants to give the best for the consumers.

Instructions for installation have been provided by OnePlus. If you're interested about the new ROM, you can install it yourself but make sure you follow each and every step carefully--at your own risk. Remember that this is just the alpha build so don't expect too much. Developers at OnePlus says TWRP recovery must be installed on your device first. Highly recommended is to have Google Mobile Services installed as well. The alpha build doesn't have a built-in recovery feature so you may have to reflash TWRP onto your device according to OnePlus.

Here are the steps on how to install:

1.) Download Oneplus_community.zip. Copy file to your smartphone. Place the file inside the TWRP folder if you have it installed. If you're using a Mac, feel free to use Android File Transfer.

2.) Boot into TWRP recovery. Hold the the power and and volume down buttons at the same time on your OnePlus One phone.

3.) Wipe and do a factory reset in the recovery interface. This will clean your data, cache, and Dalvik. Don't forget to back up your files.

4.) Go to install and find the zip after the wipe. Confirm flash to show the ROM.

5.) Clear cache. Install GApps if you have it then reboot smartphone.

6.) See the new ROM and start using it.

(View complete instructions HERE)

SOURCE: OnePlus