HTC Hima Ace allegedly cancelled, replaced by Desire A55

The HTC rumor mill keeps on spinning as the latest piece of information from @upleaks points out that HTC might have ditched the Hima Ace, a.k.a. a the One (M9) Plus. The company plans to make the phone enter the Desire family instead in the form of the recently leaked Desire A55. The information from @upleaks isn't backed up by any evidence, but if the Hima Ace is indeed cancelled and replaced to the Desire family, it will mean the One will be left without a phablet. As it was earlier leaked, the HTC Desire A55 has a 5.5-inch, QHD display, MediaTek MT6795 octa-core 64-bit chipset, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and a 20 megapixel rear camera. Previous rumors suggested that the phone will look like the One (M9), but will boast a plastic build instead of metal one. The phone will be available in White Rose Gold, Gray, and Brown Gold colors. The phone will get its own Dot View case. There will be two variants, a single SIM one for EMEA markets and dual SIM for Asian...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_hima_ace_gets_cancelled_and_replaced_by_a55-news-11019.php

HTC One (M9) to pack dual 20MP cams at the back, 4MP UP at front

A trustworthy LaptopMedia insider close to HTC has spilled the beans on the camera department of the upcoming HTC One (M9). He says with certainty the new One (M9) will feature two 20MP camera sensors at the back, a dual setup similar to the one introduced with the previous One (M8) flagship. The flash should be dual-tone dual-LED flash, just like before. The insider source also confirms HTC won't be giving up on the UltraPixel technology and it will use a 4MP UP sensor for the front camera, intended for selfies (as in HTC Desire 826). HTC One (M9) is expected to pack a 5" 1080p display and run on the latest generation Snapdragon 810 chipset with an octa-core processor, Adreno 430 graphics and 3GB of RAM. Android Lollipop plus HTC Sense 7.0 will be in charge of operations HTC has scheduled an "Utopia in progress" event in the beginning of March. We expect the One (M9) and, hopefully, the One (M9) Plus to premiere in...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m9_to_pack_dual_20mp_cams_at_the_back_4mp_ultrapixel_at_front-news-11018.php

Sony's MWC conference will probably be held on March 2

With MWC just a month away preparations are well underway in the mobile world for the biggest mobile venue of the year. Major players are all expected to hit hard with anticipated flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One (M9). Sony will undoubtedly also be present in Barcelona and reliable sources point towards March 2 as the date for the conference. Naturally fans are eager to hear more about the Japanese company's next high-end device, presumably the Xperia Z4, but it seems that the handset might not make an appearance at the event. Information on the Sony flagship has been scarce at best, which only further proves that the device is still a long way off. We do have some general idea of the specs sheet on the Xperia Z4, which should be rocking a Snapdragon 801 SoC, a 5.5-inch display and as much as 4GB of RAM. Other rumors point towards two resolution options, including Full HD and QHD panels for the future smartphone. Hopefully Sony will change its plans and decide to push the Xperia Z4 along faster to meet the MWC deadline, which seems feasible enough, considering the phone recently got certified by Japanese wireless authority. If plans don't' take a sharp turn Sony will continue to pitch the Xperia Z3 as its flagship. This might be the reason why the manufacturer recently announced a purple variant of the device, just to keep things fresh. The Japanese manufacturer has traditionally kept to an end-of-March release scheme for its premium models, but insider sources now point to a summer release for the next generation flagship. This is surely associated to some extent with Sony's continuing struggle to keep up with competition in the face of Apple and Samsung. According to Reuters, the company intends to further shrink its smartphone business by an additional 30% by cutting 1000 jobs by March 2016. There has even been talk of selling the phone business, but for now we can keep hoping that the tech giant still has a bright future on the mobile front and will continue its popular Xperia...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/sonys_mwc_conference_will_probably_be_held_on_march_2-news-11017.php

Huawei P8's specifications, price, and launch date leaked

Just a couple of days after there were reports that the Huawei P8 will be announced at a special event in April, the device's specs, price, and launch date have been revealed on Weibo. As per the leaked information, the Ascend P7 successor will be powered by Huawei's latest Kirin 930 chipset, which is the first to be made using 16nm process technology. It will sport a 5.2″ Full HD screen as well as dual cameras from the Honor 6 Plus (the device might even get an upgrade to dual-13MP main cameras), and will pack a 2600mAH battery. Further, the leak also suggests that the P8 will come with double sided gorilla glass 3 protection and a ceramic uni-body design. At 6mm, it is said to be thinner than the iPhone 6, which is 6.9mm thick. The device will be priced at RMB2,999($480), and will be unveiled on April 15 in London. It was earlier rumored to be released at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) scheduled for early next...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_p8_specs_price_and_launch_date_leaked-news-11016.php

HTC A55 Desire series phone with flagship-level specs leaks

HTC has another high-end device in the making, that should be announced with the M9 at MWC. The A55, as it is known for now, will be a Desire series device, but still packs some amazing specifications. According to upleaks, the A55 has a 5.5-inch, QHD display, MediaTek MT6795 octa-core 64-bit chipset, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 20 megapixel rear camera, 13 megapixel or 4 UltraPixel front camera. BoomSound speakers, Bluetooth 4.1, less than 3000mAh battery. and Sense 7.0 on top of Android 5.0. The phone will be available in White Rose Gold, Gray, and Brown Gold colors. The phone will get its own Dot View case. There will be two variants, a single SIM one for EMEA markets and dual SIM for Asian...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_a55_desire_series_phone_with_flagshiplevel_specs_leaks-news-11015.php

Huawei says 4K on smartphones isn't worth the battery drain

Chinese manufacturer Huawei has made it clear that it won't be using 4K displays in its smartphones in the near future. According to the company's President of the Handset Product Line Kevin Ho, the advanced displays would result in a major compromises to battery life, something which the company isn't willing to accept. "4K needs a lot of power, so if you use it you have to make compromises. A 4K display on a smartphone may give you half a day of battery life but a 2K display can give you maybe one day or more," Ho said. "4K has four times the pixels of Full HD so the power consumption is maybe 4 or 8 times as much as Full HD so the smartphone has to have compromises with battery life." Ho also asserted that while 4K looks impressive on large screens, it's difficult to tell the difference between 4K and 2K on a smaller smartphone display of five to six inches. However, he didn't completely rule out the possibility of 4K devices in the future. "I don't want to say there's no chance for 4K on smartphones, but we need to think about compromise and whether our eyes can tell the...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_says_4k_on_smartphones_isnt_worth_the_battery_drain-news-11014.php