More rumored specs of the Sony Xperia Z4 leaked

Late last year, we were talking about rumors of Sony crazily launching its next flagship phone, the Sony Xperia Z4, in January at CES 2015 in Las Vegas. Fortunately for us, CES has come and gone, and the world is still a bit sane as we know it – no launch from Sony in January. But more and more rumors point to an unveiling in March at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – as more info about the specs of the Xperia Z4 continue to leak out.

This new leak seems to confirm that the Z4 will continue with its predecessor’s design language, keeping the metal frame but adding some colors therein. Sony has never been one to back away from flamboyant colors, so it will be interesting to see if we see more colorful designs – a blue fuselage version has been rumored – in the Xperia Z4.

The Sony Xperia Z4 is also rumored to have a specialized waterproof micro USB port. The problem Sony had – especially with the Xperia line pushing for water-resistant and waterproof standards – is that a metal micro USB element usually suffered if the waterproofing cover leaked and/or was damaged. It would be interesting to see how Sony remedied that issue.

Lastly, the Xperia Z4 is reportedly keeping its 5.2-inch Full HD TRILUMINOS display – but rumors say there will be a 2K resolution version to be released in the US. This has both good and bad sides. The good thing is that with Sony’s history of amazing display quality, the 2K TRILUMINOS display would probably be nothing short of stunning. The bad side is that the battery needs to keep up with the higher power consumption of lighting up more pixels. In this case, Full HD doesn’t seem so bad.

Are you guys excited for the new Xperia Z4? Or is it just too soon after the Xperia Z3 launch late last year?

VIA: Eprice

Story Timeline

• Sony hypes CES 2015 presence with probable Xperia Z4 launch


• Sony Xperia Z4 Compact, Z4 Ultra leaked specs revealed


• Leak shows an insanely powerful Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet Ultra

HTC HD2 boots up with Android 5.0 Lollipop

Apart from the Nexus S, there’s another device that has received a long list of upgraded Android versions – this is the HTC Leo, more popularly known as the HTC HD2. This is a testament to the versatile hardware build of the device that years after its release, it is still able to boot and run Android 5.0.

The HTC HD2 was released in November 2009, which puts the device at a tad over 5 years at this point. It was designed to run the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS, but during the 5 years until today, people have been flashing the device with everything from Firefox OS, Windows RT, Ubuntu Touch, and Android, making the device an absolute favorite for aftermarket programmers to support. The hardware spec list is modest by today’s standards, but has stood the test of time – a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1Ghz processor supported by less than 500MB of RAM and an Adreno 200 GPU chip.

XDA member “macs18max” has made the breakthrough in the device, continuing its legacy by successfully booting and running an Android 5.0 Lollipop ROM on it. The ROM is of course still a simplistic one, with only the display and audio working at this time. But the support team is working to make this ROM a stable one.

If you want to see the progress of the team, or just wonder in amazement at the fact that an HTC HD2 was able to boot up with Lollipop, head on over to the official XDA thread here.

SOURCE: XDA

Story Timeline

• Nexus S gets a Sense 4.0 port: worlds are colliding


• HTC HD2 can't be stopped: gets Sense 4.0 ROM


• HTC HD2 receives Sense 5 ROM

Vikaura wants to bring data from your phone into the world around you

One of the reasons that many people choose to use a smartwatch is so they can get data in the form of notifications from their smartphone without having to dig it out. A new product has debuted that will allow users to get data from their phone in their world and it's designed to hang on a wall or sit on a shelf. The product is called Vikaura.

Vikaura is a display that uses an E ink screen and has linking functionality with your smartphone via an app that runs on the device. The link between the app and the Vikaura display is made via Bluetooth allowing you to send data from your smartphone to the Vikaura screen.

Thanks to the E Ink screen and its power sipping nature, the people behind Vikaura say that the screens can show thousands of updates before they need to be charged. With no wires, the screens can be placed just about anywhere.

Apps for smartphones are offered for Android devices and iOS. Users can subscribe to feeds that will automatically push data to the screen without you needing to do anything. Vikaura is on Kickstarter now seeking $125,000 and has raised almost $15,000 with 22 days to go. A pledge of $99 or more will get you a 4-inch Vikaura screen, a 6-inch screen is offered for $129, and a 9.7-inch unit for $199.

SOURCE: Kickstarter

LEGO ULTRA AGENTS fight anew against Antimatter in Astor City

There are a lot of LEGO-themed games on the Google Play Store but you don't have to waste your time on all of them. You just need to choose one game or two games to focus on. After the 'LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga', download this LEGO ULTRA AGENTS Antimatter and see what the Ultra Agents are up to in a new base, wearing new gear, and fighting new enemies. The Ultra Agents thought they had already finished the Super Villains wreaking havoc in Astor City but looks like the battle isn't over as the Antimatter has come, ready to use bring more destruction by using powerful henchmen and weapons.

The new LEGO ULTRA AGENTS features interactive graphic episodes, new exciting games, and new clues to help you discover Astor City. For the best ultra agents, there are new fantastic vehicles, gadgets, and equipment you can use all throughout the game. To discover more amazing secrets, The LEGO Group, developer of the game will be adding ULTRA AGENTS APP BRICK gadgets.

So ULTRA AGENT, are you ready to start your new mission?

Download LEGO ULTRA AGENTS Antimatter from the Google Play Store

Story Timeline

• Angry Bird Star Wars II gets new chapter with latest update


• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic finally on Android


• Amazon App Store releases 'LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga'

Amazon App Store releases ‘LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga’

Finally, the LEGO Star Wars : The Complete Saga game is now ready for Android. Warner Bros has released the app as we greeted that new year. However, the app is only available on the Amazon App Store, at least for now. It should be downloadable from the Google Play Store soon. Of course, you can always download the app directly from Amazon and install on your phone so you'll understand the gameplay of the very famous Star Wars saga.

The LEGO Star Wars : The Complete Saga can run on only a few Android devices. They are as follows: Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, S5, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Note 2, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, LG G Pad 8.3, HTC One, Kindle Fire HD 7", Kindle Fire HDX 7", Kindle Fire HD 8.9", Kindle Fire HDX 8.9", LG G Pad 8.3, Sony Xperia Z, and Xperia Tablet Z.

This one already has a sequel, the 'LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy', but it's highly recommended that you play the original episodes first. The bricks will be with you as you try to finish and enjoy the game. Make sure though that you have at least 1.44GB of free space on your smartphone or Android tablet. You can also download it directly to your computer and then simply sync. Doing this will only require 735MB of space on your mobile device, and as long you are updated to the latest Android OS. The app may still have stability issues but nothing major that can't be fixed with a simple restart of the device or just closing the background apps running.

Inside the game, there are 36 story mode levels plus some bonus content the gamer can enjoy. Any Star Wars fanatic will enjoy this game because a number of the famous scenes in the movie can be played. Witness Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi fight and be Jedi Knight or even Sith Lord. There are also different Challange modes, Arcade Levels, and Bounty Hunter missions.

You can also choose from more than 120 characters. Be Han Solo, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, or Luke Skywalker as you wish. Will you be on the light side or the dark side? Whatever your decision will be, may the Force be with you.

SOURCE: Amazon

Story Timeline

• Lego Fusion mixing physical bricks with a virtual world


• The Force is strong in LEGO Star Wars Yoda Chronicles game


• LEGO Creator Islands lets you build all things awesome

Google Translate app for phones to turn recognized languages into text automatically

Google is set to offer an update to the Google translate application that will make it much easier for people to have conversations even if they don’t speak the same language. Right now, the Translate app is able to give written translations in 90 languages and users can hear spoken translations in a few languages.

The new update will allow the app to automatically recognize if someone is speaking a popular language and automatically turn that into written text. Microsoft is doing something similar with Skype where it can translate languages on the fly if they are recognized.

As you might imagine there are some translation issues. Anyone who has ever used a speech recognition device knows that this type of software is prone to errors. Apparently, Skype makes its share of errors, but is able to correct those errors over time and with repetitions of the word.

For now, a few thousand people have access to the new service on Skype. The service is learning from its time with these folks before it is rolled out to all 40,000 users of Skype. One downside to this sort of translation service is that users have to consent to have their conversations recorded and many people don’t like that.

SOURCE: NYT

2-Bit Cowboy is a nostalgic and fun Western-style platformer

Many of you old school gamers still wax nostalgic about the way games looked like on your old Nintendo Gameboy. Well, Crescent Moon Games has just the thing for you, 2-bit Cowboy is a platformer complete with the classic Nintendo Gameboy game color scheme.

Humble Bundle fans will remember that Crescent Moon Games recently made the game available with a bundle. But if you missed getting it, the outfit is now making it available via Google Play Store for some classic platforming action.

You may think that the game is all nostalgia and no punch, but we suggest you give it a try – you might be in for a surprise. 2-bit Cowboy is a slick arcade game that just plays on the nostalgia bit with (you guessed it) 2-bit graphics. If you remember those portable games you used to play, this will give you a hip trip down gaming memory lane.

The game’s objective is to clean up your town by completing challenges, collecting loot (a cowboy needs his gear, y’awl), and taking down the game’s baddies. As the game progresses, players earn rewards for doing jobs. You can pick either a cowboy or cowgirl look, and customize your sheriff to your 2-bit heart’s content. For a platformer, 2-bit Cowboy sure is a content-packed game. Take it from the source link for around USD$1.00.

DOWNLOAD: Google Play Store