Barnes & Noble unveils the 9.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab E Nook

Book store chain Barnes & Noble has announced the latest tablet in its Nook line today. And like the last few offerings to bear the Nook brand, this is also nothing more than a rebranded Samsung tablet. The new model is the Galaxy Tab E Nook, and it's based on the 9.6-inch Galaxy Tab E. It comes with Nook Profiles, which let you customize the on-device experience for any family member. Lots of relevant kid-friendly content is promised, so parents shouldn't have a hard time finding stuff for their children. Of course the tablet comes with the Nook store preinstalled, which boasts over 4 million books, 110,000 children's books, and 100 bestselling US magazines available for subscriptions or single sales. If you buy a Galaxy Tab E Nook before the end of the year, you'll get $5 in credit to build your Nook library. And if you trade-in another tablet, you can save up to $200. The Galaxy Tab E Nook is priced at $249.99, and you can find it in Barnes & Noble stores and online. If you trade-in an old Nook device you'll get $50 off, and if you trade-in "select iPad, Kindle, and Samsung tablets" you'll receive a $25-200 credit, potentially lowering the price of the new device all the way to $49.99. The hardware is identical to what you can find in the non-Nook branded Samsung Galaxy Tab E 9.6. So you get a 9.6-inch 1,280x800 touchscreen, a 5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-facing unit, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and a 5,000 mAh...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/barnes___noble_unveils_the_96inch_samsung_galaxy_tab_e_nook-news-14366.php

Samsung rumored to implement in-house GPU in 2017-2018

It's not news that Samsung is building its own GPU to complement home-grown Mongoose CPU cores already in testing. It's the only logical step after in-house SoCs have evolved from a regional option to a global chipset of choice with the Exynos 7420 in the entire 2015 flagship lineup. According to a Korean source outed on Chinese social site Weibo, this said new GPU will make it to production devices in 2017 or 2018. We're looking at a Galaxy S8/S9 here, unless Samsung decides to abandon its current naming scheme, or changes the update cycle. There's an intermediate step before it gets there, though, and that's HAS or Heterogeneous System Architecture. The concept relies on integrating the CPU and GPU on the same bus which will result in a significant graphics performance boost and overall speed improvements. This step of the roadmap still includes ARM's standard Mali GPUs. Mind you, a few months ago insiders claimed that Samsung is pushing in-house GPUs some 5 years further down the road, so who do we believe now? Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_rumored_to_implement_inhouse_gpu_in_20172018-news-14365.php

The Samsung Galaxy S7 might actually have three processor variants

Although still quite a few months away, the Galaxy S7 is already exciting the tech world and stirring up controversy. Samsung reassured fans that the absence of a Qualcomm chipset in the S6 lineup isn't the end of the two parties partnership and by all accounts it seem that the Korean giant's next flagship will once again have a Snapdragon version, probably the Snapdragon 820. In a new development, however, the S7 might actually come with three different chipset options. One of those should be the Exynos 8890 - already spotted in a few benchmark scores. According to an industry source, the third option will also be an in-house chip - the Exynos 7422. You might remember that it was initially rumored to power the Note5, but that never came to pass. Still, it appears that Samsung hasn't abandoned the project and might equip the Indian version of the Galaxy S7 with it. Presumably with the added bonus of a lower price tag. As for the Snapdragon 820, it is said to hit China and US markets, leaving the Exynos 8899 in Korea, Japan and Europe. If this comes to pass, it will be a Samsung first and could potentially add a lot of confusion to the next Galaxy flagship, which will almost certainly also be offered in an edged variant. There has even been talk of a 5.7-inch Galaxy S7 variant, but that seems quite unlikely, as it would effectively collide markets with the Note...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/the_samsung_galaxy_s7_might_actually_have_three_processor_variants-news-14363.php

Huawei announces Honor 7 and Honor Z1 Band in India

Huawei has announced the Honor 7 for the Indian market. The phone is priced at INR 22,999 ($354) and will be available exclusively through Flipkart starting October 15. The Honor 7 has a full metal body, 5.2-inch Full HD LCD, HiSilicon Kirin 935 processor with octa-core (2.2GHz Cortex-A53 x 4 + 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 x 4) CPU and Mali-T628 MP4 GPU, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage with microSD support, 20 megapixel rear camera (Sony IMX230) with phase detection autofocus and two-tone LED flash, 1080p video, 8 megapixel front camera, 3100mAh battery, and fingerprint sensor. Huawei is also launching the Honor Band Z1 in India, which is priced at INR 5,499 ($85). It's a fitness band with a circular OLED display, dust and water resistance, and works with both, iOS and Android. The Band Z1 will be available by the end of...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_announces_honor_7_and_honor_z1_band_in_india-news-14364.php

10,000 Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact owners can test drive Android Marshmallow

This way for the Marshmallow trial. Sony's Concept for Android initiative will allow 10,000 Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact owners to beta test Android's new major version. The new software is built on feedback Sony received from the initiative launched earlier this year. If you want in, you'll have to check in with the Concept Sign-up app. It's first come, first serve so there's an element of urgency. Note that the test is limited to select European countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Ireland or Germany. If you're selected for the test, you'll get a notification in the next few weeks. The software should start rolling out soon after that. Sony plans to update the Z3 family (including the Tablet Compact), the Xperia Z2 and Z2 Tablet and several other devices to Android 6.0...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/10000_xperia_z3_and_z3_compact_owners_can_test_drive_android_marshmallow-news-14362.php

Genuine leather backs for Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL from Mozo

You may have missed it yesterday because it wasn't shown off on stage, but apparently the new Lumia 950 and 950 XL flagships will be easily customizable with back covers. Finnish accessory maker Mozo already has an interesting lineup of back that include genuine leather. They replace the existing back case on the phones and fully support Qi wireless charging and NFC. They are not cheap though, €48/£40-€60/£50 is what you're looking at. Mozo cases: a choice between genuine leather or rubberized coating We saw some of the cases at the event yesterday...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/genuine_leather_backs_for_microsoft_lumia_950_and_950_xl_from_mozo-news-14360.php