Heart 401AB is an oddly-shaped, Japan-only feature phone

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Infobar A03, we encountered yet another Japan-only mobile phone with odd design. Meet the Heart 401AB - a feature phone whose shape matches the name it sports. As impossible as it might sound these days, the handset you see above can only handle phone calls - there's no SMS functionality or internet connectivity on board. Heart 401AB will be available in March on the Japanese carrier Ymobile. The latter utilizes PHS network, which is mostly voice calls. The specs of the phone are headed by a 128×36 dot display, phonebook with 100 entries, and support for hands-free handset. Heart 401AB will ship with heart-shaped charger that's as gaudy as the phone itself. In case you still find the device a tad too subtle, a Sailor Moon edition will offer even more visual flare. Source (in Japanese) |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/heart_401ab_is_an_oddly_shaped_japan_only_feature_phone-news-10844.php

Samsung tests new 7-inch tablet, bigger ones could be 4:3

Last week we told you about a few purported new tablets that Samsung was rumored to be working on. Their model numbers leaked, but today we have another yet unheard of slate making its way to India for testing purposes. The Samsung SM-T239 has a 7-inch 1,280x800 touchscreen, and mobile data connectivity (since it sports a SIM card slot). Judging by the model number at play this could be the 7-inch version of the Galaxy Tab 5. That fact is seemingly backed up by a user agent profile for the device, which tells us it sports a 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU. This could be part of the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset, seen in many recent lower-end offerings right and left. If this is the Galaxy Tab 5 7.0, then it may be joined in Samsung's lineup by bigger models which will have 4:3 aspect ratio displays. The 4:3 aspect ratio has been used by every iPad ever released, though for quite a while the Android world seemed more focused on 16:10. That's starting to change after the release of the 4:3 Nexus 9, and Samsung may want to follow Google's lead on this. So a new rumor claims that the company's next slates will employ the same aspect ratio as the Nexus 9. The previously leaked SM-T35x and SM-P35x could be 8-inch devices in this situation, while the SM-T55x and SM-P55x might be 9.7-inch offerings. Either way, all of these tablets are apparently going to be powered by the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC. The SM-Tx5x models may get branded as Galaxy Tab 5, while the SM-Px5x might be new entry-level Note-branded tablets. Don't expect them too soon, though - they're only due to see the light of day in Q2 or Q3. On the plus side, this means they'll launch running Android 5.0 Lollipop, so there's that. As for the SM-T239, this looks set to stay with the 16:10 form factor, for whatever reason. Source 1 • Source 2 | Via (in...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_tests_new_7inch_tablet_bigger_ones_could_be_43-news-10843.php

HP announces three new Android tablets, including a 12" beast

HP has just pulled the curtains on a trio of Android, coming in three different sizes. HP Pro Slate 12 The centerpiece of the announcement is the Android duo, the Pro Slate 12 and Pro Slate 8, slates in the truest of senses. The larger 12.3-inch model actually has a lower resolution at 1600x1200 pixels, resulting in a rather mediocre by today's standards 163ppi. The Pro Slate 8 offers a much better 324ppi on its 7.9-inch 1536x2048 pixel screen. Pro Slate 12 • Pro Slate 8 • Duet Pen Both tablets boot Android KitKat and are be powered by the Snapdragon 800 chipset, accompanied by 2GB of RAM. What's more intriguing is HP's Duet Pen which will be a part of the Slates package. The innovative stylus implementation allows the user to draw on any surface, with the result automatically transferred to the tablet. A more traditional stylus experience is offered by the Pro Slate 10 EE. It isequipped with tan Intel Atom 1.33GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 10.1-inch 1280x800 pixel screen. Pro Slate 10...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/hp_annouces_multiple_tablets_a_massive_12inch_android_slate-news-10842.php

Samsung dominated smartphone shipments in 2014

In the year 2014 the world saw an increased number of smartphones shipped but overall little change in the top three vendors. Samsung has been the leader for some time now but is seeing its market share slowly reduced by the likes of tough competition. Year over year Samsung's market share has shrunk by 4.5 percentage points and TrendForce's prediction is that the top smartphone maker will lose another 1.4 percentage points by this time next year. The second place is again reserved for Apple, which sits more firmly with just 0.2% lost year over year. Lenovo is once again in third but it's only able to claim that position thanks to the acquisition of Motorola, which added a 3% share of its own. Huawei and LG have fought over fourth place for awhile now but LG managed to come out on top in TrendForce's yearly numbers and reclaim the spot with just 0.1%. Overall shipments in 2014 are 1.2 billion units - up from 2013's 927.2 million. In the projection for next year Samsung, Apple and Lenovo are expected to hold onto their positions but Chinese makers like Xiaomi and Huawei will surpass LG and move closer to Lenovo. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_dominated_smartphone_shipments_in_2014-news-10841.php

Meizu MX4 Pro finally leaves China, enters Malaysia

The Meizu MX4 Pro is at last breaking the borders of its home Chinese market and will be available for purchase in Malaysia, starting next month. Malaysian standardization organization SIRIM has granted approval of the handset on January 17, hinting at the imminent market launch. The MX4 Pro is the company's latest top-of-the-line offering, a notch above the already solid MX4 model. The 5.5 QHD handset packs an Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset, 3GB of RAM and a choice of 16/32/64GB of non-expandable storage. Be sure to check out our recent review of the device, where it got praised for its solid build, beautiful screen and excellent camera and audio output, among other things. The MX4 Pro will hit the stores at an official price of 1,499 Malaysian Ringgit for the 16GB edition which roughly translates to...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/meizu_mx4_pro_finally_leaves_china_enters_malaysia-news-10840.php

Mysterious Xiaomi Mi Note Plus shows up on Antutu

Xiaomi caused quite a stir last week with the release of its two phablets, the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro. Now we learn that a third member of the lineup, dubbed Mi Note Plus, is in the works according to an entry in Antutu's database. Alongside the name of the device, specs are also revealed. The chipset must be the Snapdragon 810, given away by the octa-core processor and Adreno 430 GPU. The display resolution is 1440x2560 pixels on an undisclosed screen size, camera is 13MP and the device runs on Android 5.0. Overall the figures are identical to the Mi Note Pro, which poses the question whether the Mi Note Plus wasn't simply a working title of the said device. Alternatively, it might be a new tablet, although the 16:9 aspect ratio is a rarity for tablets, which normally go with 16:10 or 4:3 screens. It couldn't be the rumored Xiaomi Arch model with dual edge display, because it should have more horizontal pixels than the regular QHD. It's pure speculation at this point, but if an actual new device is in development, more info will start popping up sooner rather than...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/mysterious_xiaomi_mi_note_plus_showed_up_on_antutu-news-10839.php