MWC 2013: Nokia Lumia 720

The Nokia Lumia 720, announced together with the Lumia 520, is probably not Nokia's 2013 flagship smartphone, or maybe it is. Based on its specs, I don't think it is. Anyway, the Lumia 720 is almost like the 520, only with a front facing camera and a bit larger screen. The processors in both devices are the same. They both sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processors and both are clocked at 1GHz. As always, the design of the Lumia 720 is great. I like its industrial look and this device's camera actually sports Carl Zeiss optics, which is one of the selling point of Nokia.

MWC 2013: Nokia Lumia 520

Of course, the Finnish phonemaker is at MWC 2013 to announced their own smartphones. Adding more Lumias into their portfolio, Nokia has announced two, this is the Nokia Lumia 520. Like most Nokia Lumias, this and the other one, has amazing hardware design. Running on Windows Phone 8, the Lumia 520 is aimed for those who have fun on their smartphones. The Lumia 520 is expected to start shipping to stores by March arriving first in Hong Kong and in Vietnam.

MWC 2013: HP Slate 7 - Android-based tablet

HP, has finally given in. At MWC 2013, they have announced their first tablet that runs on Android. The HP Slate 7, is apparently a 7-incher device with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean breathing inside it. With regards to its specs, it's a decent tablet. It packs a dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, and a 3MP rear facing camera. Of course like all Android devices, it will be featuring all the amazing stuff that Android has to offer. So, let me say this to HP, after their sale of the WebOS, welcome to Android!

MWC 2013: The Lenovo A1000, A3000 and the S6000

Lenovo outs 3 new Android tablets at MWC 2013. First, we have the Lenovo A1000. They have, apparently, departed from naming their tablets as IdeaPad or IdeaTab, for reasons I do not know of. Anyway, the A1000 is built to give its users great audio quality. With regards to the tablet's specs, it runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and sports a 1.2GHz MTK dual-core processor. It carries 16GB of internal storage with expandable storage of up to 32GB via the microSD card slot. The device's display is a 7-incher with a resolution of 1024x600. And of course Dolby Digital Plus integrated into the device.

The Huawei Ascend P2

A day before MWC 2013 officially kicks off, Huawei has unveiled to the world the Ascend P2. As noted by UV, the device is not the Chinese company's flagship Android device. Their flagship, according to the same source was announced at CES 2013, the Ascend D2 (which I was not able to post about). Anyway, the Ascend P2. The device is expected to be launched in the second quarter of this year. 

Chrome 25 now available for download!

Google has promoted Chrome 25 to the stable world and is now available for download. One of the things they have added into this version of Chrome is Voice recognition support to web apps. This is something I don't really use but for some, this is great news. The thing I like is the "No more silent extension installs". I hate this now that Chrome 25 is here, this is great! You ever experienced a time when you install a software on your Windows PC and then that software has a Chrome extension that immediately appears or gets installed on your Chrome? Well, Google does not allow that in Chrome 25 anymore. If you want that software's extension to be installed on Chrome, then you will have to permit it. Some of these extensions can actually be disabled during the installation process of the software on your PC but sometimes they don't have that. You can now update your Chromes to Chrome 25 by download it here.

Ubuntu for Tablets announced - "Cleanest, freshest, most beautiful tablet experience around"

Ubuntu unviels the new face in the mobile OS market, Ubuntu for Tablets. This is already a late post, since the developer preview of the OS was already available since Feb. 21. I have to say, Ubuntu did a great job on this OS. Fluid, smooth, elegant, and base on the video, it works. The OS is said to focus on Nexus devices for now, the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. This OS will definitely have a fighting chance compared to MeeGo's attempt of eating a bit of the marketshare. We will have to wait when Ubuntu will eventually make this available to the public (if it is not available yet). Anyway, for now, watch the video from Ubuntu showing us how amazing this OS will be.

HTC unveils their 2013 Android flagship smartphone - The HTC One

HTC, earlier, announced their newest Android flagship smartphone, the HTC One. No, I won't say anything against the design of the phone, because I think it is brilliant. This is a company struggling for market share but is still up there with the best of the Android phonemakers. The HTC One, packs a lot of new features, take for example the 4MP rear facing camera. Dubbed as UltraPixels, is better understood if you read on SlashGear's explanation of it. Other things in the HTC One includes BlinkFeed which is the new look for HTCs. Most, if not all, Android smartphones have homescreens that you swipe left to right to go to the next screen. With BlinkFeed, it's up and down. Imagine Windows Phone and yes, the "tiles" are live.

Nokia announced the Windows Phone 7.8 update for the Lumia line

Nokia has officially made the Windows Phone 7.8 update for the Nokia Lumia 505, 510, 610, 710, 800, and 900 available for download. Remember that this update, apparently, is not Windows Phone 8 but will pretty much be like Windows Phone 8. These Lumias were announced back in 2012 and like what Nokia already promised will update these phones into 7.8. Anyway, for those who uses one of these devices, you need Zune software (for Windows) or the Windows Phone App (Mac). Enjoy the update! 

LG outs the LG Optimus G Pro - 5.5-incher beast

Forget about the Optimus Vu, LG has announced in South Korea their newest smartphone and probably their most powerful ever, the LG Optimus G Pro. Yup, like what it's name suggests, this device  looks like the Optimus G, only bigger and meaner. This is the world's first device to pack Qualcomm's newest and meanest processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600. This device will surely be announced and unveiled to the world at MWC 2013.

UK: Clove confirms pricing and availability of the Sony Xperia Z accepts pre-orders now

Clove UK has confirmed that Sony Mobile's 2013 flagship smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z, will start shipping on February 28th. The Sony Xperia Z was announced by Sony Mobile back in January as their first ever quad-core smartphone that packs a really good punch to its competition. The plus on this device is, aside from the brilliant design, the fact that it is dust and water proof. Anyway, Clove has also confirmed the price of the device and they will be selling it for £522 (VAT inclusive). For those who wants to pre-order their Xperia Zs now, head over here.

Sony Mobile starts rolling out the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update to their 2012 Xperia phones

Sony Mobile has officially announced and has actually started rolling out the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update to their 2012 Xperia line of smartphones. The phonemaker, albeit a bit late on this, at least they have finally sent it out. The updates should start arriving to unlocked Xperia smartphones starting today. For those who got their devices via a carrier might have to wait for a longer time since the update that Sony released will still have to pass through the carrier's inspections and customization. Also the update will not arrive at the same time, it will also vary depending on what part of the world you are in. For more information about the update you can visit Sony Mobile's Update page.

PHIL: Windows Phone 7.8 rolls out to the Nokia Lumia 800

During the time Microsoft was introducing to the world Windows Phone 8, they made it clear that previous Windows Phone smartphones won't get the latest version of the OS but rather they will get Windows Phone 7.8. WP 7.8 is that version of the Windows Phone that is still Windows Phone 7 but looks and has features taken from Windows Phone 8. Think of it as like a bridge before you get to the land of WP8. Anyway, in the Philippines, the WP 7.8 update has started rolling out to the Nokia Lumia 800 (Nokia's first flagship Windows Phone device). For those of you who owns that device, you can download the update via your PC or Mac, just run Zune and connect your device.

The BlackBerry Z10 -- BlackBerry back on track?

This, I should say, is BlackBerry's flagship device. The BlackBerry Z10. Yup, this is the device that made rounds on the internet for months now and here it is finally! Runnin on BlackBerry's new BB 10 OS and a 4.3" display, the BlackBerry Z10 is definitely the company's flagship device for 2013. Now, what BlackBerry is doing right now is what Microsoft is doing with Windows Phone. They will not really try to compete directly with iOS or Android for 1 major reason, they have their own ecosystem that is definitely a substitute or alternative to iOS or Android even if they have lesser specs per se. Probably the OS does not need quad-core processing or whatever. With these new phones (the BB Q10), I am hoping that BlackBerry is on the right track in going back on top of the smartphone wars.

BlackBerry announced the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone running on BlackBerry 10 OS

There are actually 3 news that RIM announced during the day they finally outed BlackBerry 10 and their new smartphones. First, the Canadian phonemaker has slashed RIM and renamed themselves as BlackBerry. That makes sense actually since not everybody knows what Research in Motion is. Second, is the new BlackBerry OS, dubbed as BlackBerry 10 and is here to finally compete (up front) with the two giants, iOS and Android. Lastly, their two new BB 10 running smartphones. We will first have the BlackBerry Q10. The first BlackBerry 10 smartphone that sports a physical QWERTY keyboard (the feature that everybody loves from BlackBerry). According to the company's global website, the smartphone has yet to get a launch date neither the price.

Samsung announced the Galaxy Express mid-range 4G LTE Android smartphone

Samsung adds another mid-range Android smartphone to their 4G LTE portfolio by announcing the Samsung Galaxy Express. It's a smartphone that carries the design aesthetics of the Galaxy S III but on a smaller profile. The Galaxy Express sports a 4.3" WVGA Super AMOLED display which gives it a pixel density of just 207 pixels per inch. But that would be not that noticeable and should not really bother you that much assuming you are really conscious about resolutions. Anyway, the Korean-giant has not given information about when they will launch the device neither its price. 

Pantech announced the Vega No.6 phablet

Pantech, a South Korean phone maker (3rd largest in the country), announced a Galaxy Note killer. Dubbed as the Pantech Vega No. 6, it packs a huge 5.9" touchscreen display. Pantech is scheduled to launch this big phablet in it's home turf by February via South Korea's carriers. Anyway, the Pantech Vega No. 6 sports Qualcomm's Snapdragon dual-core processor which will be powering the whole device and its 1080p Full HD display.

ZTE announced the ZTE V81

ZTE has announced, ahead of Samsung, their own 8-incher tablet. Dubbed as the ZTE V81, it packs an 8-inch display powered by a dual-core processor and running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. So far, there is no word yet on when ZTE plans to launch the device and actually start selling it neither is its price. Expect that ZTE will be showcasing this device at MWC 2013 which is just around the corner.