Sunday, June 16, 2013

An end to mobile phone roaming ‘bill shock’ in Europe by next year? Not likely

Consumers will next year be able to use their mobile phones across the European Union for the same price as at home, it is planned, after officials voted to fast-track major reforms of telecoms regulation.

Rejoice readers who live in the European Union! Soon you'll be able to pay the same rate for calls you make while traveling the 27 countries in the EU as you do at home. According to the UK newspaper the Telegraph, the European Union has announced an end to mobile roaming charges in 2014 as part of a package of major telecom reforms.
Roaming fees for voice calls, texts and internet access will effectively be completely scrapped under the proposals, which are part of a broader effort to create a single European telecoms market. The group of 27 European Commissioners voted in Brussels on Tuesday to drive the package through in time for the European elections in May next year, to come into force as soon as 1 July 2014 For those living outside of the European Union, roaming charges will still apply, howeverThe proposed change comes as the European Commission hopes to consolidate carriers and encourage investment. Across Europe’s 27 member countries there are some 100 carriers, many of which are owned by the same parent company (such as Deutsch Telekom). “There are around 100 operators in Europe and only four in the U.S. That’s not sustainable if we’re going to have a single market and investment. [...] The aim is a single market, but if it means we get fewer, stronger operators, that’s good,” one source told The Telegraph.As noted above, the planned change could come into effect as soon as July 1, 2014. We’ll keep you updated with further information concerning this story as we receive it.



LG Optimus GJ officially announced in Taiwan

LG Optimus GJ Waterproof phone with 4.7-inch HD display, quad-core processor 

LG Optimus GJ
LG has announced the Optimus GJ (E975W), the company’s first waterproof smartphone in Taiwan. It has similar specs as the Optimus G including a 4.7-inch (1280 x 768 pixels) True HD IPS + Display and is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) processor. It has IPX7 ratings for water resistance. It runs on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) and packs a 13-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. It is slightly thicker than the Optimus G at 9.39 grams but it lighter than it at 141 grams. Even though this is a waterproof phone, this has a removable cover and replaceable battery.
LG Optimus GJ  Specifications
  •  4.7-inch (1280 x 768 pixels) True HD IPS + Display
  • Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
  • 1.5 GHz quad-core processor Qualcomm APQ 8064 processor with Adreno 320 GPU
  • Dimensions – 136.9 x 68.9 x 9.39, Weight – 141.2 grams
  • 13MP camera with an LED flash,
  • 1.3MP front-facing camera
  • 2GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB internel memory expandable memory up to 64GB with microSD
  • 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, MHL, GPS / aGPS
  • 2280 mAh battery
The LG Optimus GJ comes in Glittering Red and Black colors. It is priced at 17900 New Taiwan Dollar (~US$ 598) and is expected to go on sale in Taiwan in June 2013.



Sony Xperia ZR reviews,specs and features

Xperia™ ZR

Sony Xperia ZR has a 4.6" HD Reality Display.
Sony hasn’t had a truly stunning smartphone for a while, but the Xperia Z should qualify - at least on paper. It sports a 5-inch 1080p (441ppi) display on top of a 1.5GHz Snapdragon quad-core S4 processor and 2GB of RAM alongside an impressive 13MP camera that’s also HD video-capable. It’s 4G LTE 1,800MHz and NFC capable as well. 

It has a solid, understated design that’s only slightly marred by an odd power button on the right-hand side. Every other connection hides behind a flap because the Xperia Z is both dust- and water-resistant. It scores well in Android benchmarks, managing 2,127 in GeekBench 2 and 6438 in Quadrant, and Sony wisely hasn’t cluttered the design with lots of its own crapware either. The camera is generally very good, although the app can be slow to start up, even from the Android lock screen. 

So why don’t we unreservedly love it? It’s simply because the battery life is very poor. Sony tries to combat this with some aggressive power management utilities, but these generally work around turning off services when the screen is locked. That’s fine if you don’t mind waiting while it reconnects to a network to get all your emails, tweets, messages and other online tools. It’s a pity as otherwise, this is a top-notch phone. If you’re always in reach of a charger, it’s a great buy; if you’re truly mobile, you’re going to have to switch off services or realise halfway through the day that your Xperia Z has gone completely flat.

Features
GENERAL2G NetworkGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions
3G NetworkHSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100 - C5503
 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - C5502
4G NetworkLTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 - C5503
SIMMicro-SIM
Announced2013, May
StatusComing soon. Exp. release 2013, June
BODYDimensions131.3 x 67.3 x 10.5 mm (5.17 x 2.65 x 0.41 in)
Weight138 g (4.87 oz)
 - IP58 certified - dust and water proof
- Water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes
DISPLAYTypeTFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size720 x 1280 pixels, 4.55 inches (~323 ppi pixel density)
MultitouchYes, up to 10 fingers
ProtectionShatter proof and scratch-resistant glass
 - Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
SOUNDAlert typesVibration; MP3 ringtones
LoudspeakerYes
3.5mm jackYes
MEMORYCard slotmicroSD, up to 32 GB
Internal8 GB, 2 GB RAM
DATAGPRSUp to 107 kbps
EDGEUp to 296 kbps
SpeedHSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
BluetoothYes, v4.0 with A2DP
NFCYes
USBYes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL)
CAMERAPrimary13.1 MP, 4128x3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
FeaturesGeo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilization, HDR, sweep panorama
VideoYes, 1080p@30fps, HDR
SecondaryYes, VGA
FEATURESOSAndroid OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064
CPUQuad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
GPUAdreno 320
SensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
MessagingSMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
BrowserHTML5
RadioStereo FM radio with RDS
GPSYes, with A-GPS support
JavaYes, via Java MIDP emulator
ColorsBlack, White, Pink, Mint
 - SNS integration
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
- MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/Flac player
- Document viewer
- Photo viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial
- Predictive text input
battery Li-ion 2300 mAh battery
Stand-byUp to 470 h (2G) / Up to 520 h (3G)
Talk timeUp to 11 h (2G) / Up to 13 h (3G)
Music playUp to 45 h



Samsung Galaxy Note 3 seems to be releasing soon at samsung




The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has made another possible appearance on Samsung’s website in the form of a model number, SM-N900J, the second time in recent days that the new, rumored smartphone has been thought to have touched down on the company’s website.
Samsung is heavily rumored to be bringing a new Galaxy Note device to shelves sometime later this year and rumors have suggested that that device is the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, a massive 5.9-inch phablet that features a number of upgrades to both hardware and to the device’s software. An announcement isn’t expected until far later this year but already, we’re seeing signs of the Galaxy Note 3′s presence.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3: Release date

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has broken cover with a suspected release date of 2013, but when can we expect to see this phablet emerge?
Samsung has said it is switching focus at the beginning of 2013 to concentrate on its OLEDdisplays - in small, medium and large formats. Moving its staff away from LCD and onto OLED development could mean it will be ready for production much sooner than previous rumours.
We think a Q3 2013 release could be on the cards - slightly later than its 2012 Galaxy Note August release date, but developing a 6.3-inch OLED display can't be easy work!
As of early March 2013, the current rumour, which allegedly comes straight from the mouth of a Samsung 'official', says that the Korean phone-maker will launch the Galaxy Note 3 in 'the latter half of the year'. It's worth mentioning that the Galaxy Note 2 emerged at IFA 2012. The annual show takes place in September, which falls in-line neatly with that latter half of 2013 rumour.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 might be arriving earlier than previously expected with new rumours pointing to a mid-June launch.
It was thought the Galaxy Note 3 would arrive at IFA 2013 in Berlin this September, just as the Galaxy Note 2 did at the same event in 2012. However, Samsung’s profile has continually been on the up since then and the Galaxy Note range has proven one of its most popular brands. Viewed in this context a standalone event makes sense.