LG announces global rollout of its latest curved smartphone G Flex 2

LG has announced the global rollout of its second curved Android smartphone the G Flex 2, which was unveiled last month at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The company said major carriers in the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Germany and the UK will be among the first to offer the smartphone, adding that key markets in North and South America, Europe, and Asia will announce the start of sales in the weeks following MWC, which ends on March 5. If you aren't already aware, the G Flex 2 is already available for purchase in the company's home country of South Korea, where it launched late last month. The device is up for pre-order in the UK, and will go on sale in Singapore starting March 14. Over in the US, the smartphone will be available through Sprint on March 13. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_announces_global_rollout_of_its_curved_smartphone_g_flex_2-news-11315.php

Android and iOS together account for 96.3% of smartphone market

Android and iOS combined accounted for a whopping 96.3% of all smartphone shipments worldwide in 2014, up from 93.8% in the prior year, according to a latest report from the market research firm IDC. Individually, Google's mobile operating system captured 81.5% of the market, up from 78.7% in 2013, while Apple's mobile OS claimed 14.8%, down slightly from 15.1% the year prior. "Many of the same drivers were in play for Android and iOS to tighten their grip on the market," said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "A combination of strong end-user demand, refreshed product portfolios, and the availability of low-cost devices - particularly for Android - drove volumes higher." As for the rest of the players in the market, Microsoft's Windows Phone had the smallest year-over-year increase among the leading operating systems, growing just 4.2%, while BlackBerry saw its year-on-year growth decline by 69.8%. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/android_and_ios_together_account_for_963_of__smartphone_market-news-11314.php

Sony Xperia Z4 tablet with 2K display leaks out

Unannounced Sony Xperia Z4 tablet with 2K display leaked out. The slate made a premature appearance in Sony's Xperia Lounge Android application and was quickly taken down. The sole leaked image of the device reveals Xperia Z3-like design with rounded metal edges. Considering Sony's track record, we are all but certain that the device will carry IP rating for water and dust resistance. Aside the 2K display, there is no word on the specs of the Xperia Z4 tablet. The diagonal of the screen will likely be in the 10" ballpark. The leaked Xperia Lounge screenshot suggests that the tablet will make its official debut next week during MWC in Barcelona. We will be covering the event live, so be sure to tune in to find out all about Sony's latest hardware. Source...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z4_tablet_with_2k_display_leaks_out-news-11313.php

Leaked HTC One (M9) promo videos go live

Hot on the heels of the leaked press renders earlier today, a series of HTC One (M9) promo videos also made the rounds on the web. In line with past leaks, the videos leave nothing to imagination. The first from trio of clips showcase the design of the upcoming smartphone, as well a number of its hardware highlights. Key features of HTC One (M9) include metal body with two-tone finish, UltraPixel front-facing camera, 20MP main snapper, and BoomSound speakers with Dolby Surround. The remaining two videos focused on the Sense-d Android 5.0 of the device and its brand new camera. HTC has added a number of improvements to its latest custom UI like improved BlinkFeed and the ability to create your own theme among others. HTC One (M9) will debut this Sunday, on March 1 in Barcelona. Be sure to tune in to find out everything about the Taiwanese manufacturer's new flagship. Via...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/leaked_htc_one_m9_promo_videos_go_live_-news-11312.php

LG G Flex 2 is now up for pre-order in the UK

The LG G Flex 2 is now being offered on pre-order in the UK. We knew this would happen, but we were expecting pre-orders to debut on February 28, which is this Saturday. However, Carphone Warehouse has decided to jump the gun on this one. The well known retailer is giving you the opportunity to pre-order the G Flex 2 with contracts from Vodafone, O2, and EE. The handset can be yours for free with plans starting at £34.50 per month. For that amount Vodafone will give you 600 any network UK minutes, unlimited texts, and 1GB of 4G data. Obviously though, there are many more options, going as high as £58.50 per month. That particular plan is also at Vodafone, and it brings you unlimited minutes and texts along with 10GB of 4G data each month. If you pre-order a G Flex 2, Carphone Warehouse is throwing in the LG P7 Bluetooth speaker and Circle case for free. This bundle is apparently a £150 value. Pre-orders are currently expected to start shipping during or before the week commencing on March 16. So you still have some waiting to do if you're after the G Flex 2 in the UK. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g_flex_2_is_now_up_for_preorder_in_the_uk-news-11311.php

9.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has specs revealed

Samsung is working on successors for its Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and Galaxy Tab S 10.5 tablets, as we've told you before. There will be two devices in the Tab S2 line too, but they will have different sizes - because Samsung has this time around opted to use 4:3 aspect ratios, favored by Apple for all of its iPads, and by Google recently for the Nexus 9. So far we've only known that the new Tab S devices would have Super AMOLED touchscreens just like their predecessors, and that they are going to be thinner than any iPad ever. Now though we have a pretty complete list of specs for the bigger, 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2. This is because someone testing such a device has decided to run a benchmark on it. And that benchmark stores information about the products that run it. So the bigger Tab S2 will sport a touchscreen with 2,048x1,536 resolution (like recent iPads and the Nexus 9), 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, an 8MP rear camera, and a 2MP front snapper. Ignore the 9.6" listing for screen size, as this particular benchmark can get that wrong sometimes. It also likes to underreport camera resolutions, which is why it says the rear unit in the Tab S2 is 7MP. As for RAM and storage, we assume it gives us free space. The Tab S2 runs Android 5.0.2 at the moment, and it's powered by one of Samsung's own Exynos chipsets, which has a big.LITTLE CPU configuration, with four Cortex-A57 cores and four Cortex-A53 ones. The maximum clock speed is 1.9 GHz. The GPU is a hexa-core Mali-T760MP6. So the SoC has been updated from the Exynos 5420 in the original Tab S tablets, which had older Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 cores. Meanwhile, the RAM amount has stayed the same, as have the cameras. The Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 will reportedly have a metal frame, and it's rumored to weigh just 407g, and come with the following dimensions: 237.1 x 168.8 x 5.4 mm. That would make it smaller than the iPad Air 2 in every respect, and lighter too. Source | Via (in...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/97inch_samsung_galaxy_tab_s2_has_specs_revealed-news-11310.php