BlackBerry Classic makes it to Verizon on February 26

Yesterday Verizon announced that it would start selling the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime on February 26, which is this Thursday. Now it turns out that it won't be the only new device launching on that day, as it will be joined by the BlackBerry Classic. The smartphone with a physical QWERTY keyboard and that 'classic BlackBerry' form factor (hence the name) is already up for grabs at AT&T, and now Verizon is getting ready to release it too. The Classic will cost $99.99 (after a $50 mail-in rebate) with a new two-year contract at Big Red. If you don't want to shell out anything upfront, there's also the option of using Verizon's Edge installment plans, if you're eligible. Do note that the February 26 launch is only valid for online purchases. The BlackBerry Classic will be in stock in physical Verizon stores starting on March 5. The phone has a 3.5-inch 720x720 touchscreen, an 8MP rear camera with LED flash, a 2MP front-facing unit, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage (expandable via microSD), and a 2,500 mAh battery. At the helm is a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, and the device runs BlackBerry OS...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_classic_makes_it_to_verizon_on_february_26-news-11309.php

HTC One (M9) seemingly shown in press renders

Naturally, information about the HTC One (M9) has been leaking a lot lately, since the Taiwanese company's next flagship smartphone is due to be made official this Sunday. Now though, we may have the clearest look yet at the One (M9). What you see below (click on the thumbnails for full size images) are a couple of pictures that seem to show two different promotional materials for the One (M9). HTC One (M9) They come from a source that has leaked stuff in the past, so they could be legit. On the other hand, they may not, so don't take anything for granted just yet. If these are the real deal and have been taken straight from HTC, then it looks like the company opted to mostly keep the front design of the One (M8), and not change it as some past rumors have told us. So the BoomSound speakers are as evident as they've always been, and not tucked away under a couple of Nexus 9-like small grilles. The big black bar holding the HTC logo and nothing else is also here to stay, contradicting some earlier speculation which claimed it would be gone in the One (M9). While the front of the phone is incredibly similar to its predecessor, the back features the same bigger camera and dual-LED flash assembly we've seen countless times so far - and no Duo Camera, of course. So at least in this respect all the rumors were true, as it turns out. That is, if what we're looking at here really is the One (M9). This leak tells us nothing about specs, but the handset should sport a 5-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 20.7MP rear camera, a 4MP (possibly UltraPixel) front camera, 3GB of RAM, and a 2,900 mAh battery. Running the show will be Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC with a CPU coming with four Cortex-A57 cores clocked at up to 2GHz, and four Cortex-A53 ones that only go up to 1.5GHz. The One (M9) will run Android 5.0 Lollipop. Source 1 • Source...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m9_seemingly_shown_in_press_renders-news-11308.php

Color e-paper Pebble Time smart watch is now live on Kickstarter

Pebble managed to build up a formidable reputation on the smartwatch market that started well before the recent hype for wearable devices. The company has always tried to set itself apart from the crowd with interesting technology and design decisions. The company's latest creation is definitely on the same page. Right now it is up on Kickstarter and available quantities are quickly depleting. The new wrist companion is called the Pebble Time, a name that references its new timeline interface. This is a central concept for the wearable with the most important information laid out chronologically. Going up in the GUI cycles through notifications, messages, previous workout data and basically everything you have already done during the day, while going down reveals the things you can look ahead to, like reminders and weather forecast. Like previous generations, the Pebble Time features an always-on, backlit e-paper display both for improved sunlight legibility and power efficiency. This time however the screen is color and while not as sharp as modern LCD or OLED screens, it has a lot going for it. Mostly, it allows the watch to deliver up to 7 days of battery life and a water-resistant chassis. The Pebble Time will also come with full backwards compatibility, so each one of the over 6,500 apps will be able to run on the new hardware out of the box. As far as customization goes, the watch comes with a standard 22mm watch band, so the sky is the limit. The frame itself will initially be available in black, white and red along with a matching silicone band. Another cool new addition in the Pebble is a built-in microphone. It can be used for replying to notifications and also taking voice notes. Voice typing is also quite present with initial support for most major messengers, like Hangouts, Gmail, Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp. The Pebble Time comes with support for Android 4.0+ as well as iOS 8 and up. The Kickstarter project is really going strong with the initial 500,000 goal already surpassed four times in an hour. If you manage to catch an early-bird special The Pebble team also promises to send you a special engraved unit as a little gesture of appreciation for all the support. So if you have your heart set on a new Pebble smartwatch hurry on to the source link and grab yours at a special price of $179 (there was also a $159 perk, but that's now gone). Or you can always wait until the smoke settles in May and grab it for a retail price of $199....

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/pebble_time_smart_watch_is_now_live_on_kickstarter-news-11307.php

New HTC One (M9) renders surface with a batch of cases

With just a few days left to MWC 2015 rumors are flying all over the place about the next batch of flagship devices. Samsung has definitely been stealing the spotlight with its much-anticipated Galaxy S6 and its edged variant, but HTC is also generating a lot of heat. Expectations are equally high for the HTC One (M9) handset, which is set to debut at the Barcelona venue. Case manufacturers have been a plentiful source of renders and details of device appearance and dimensions and the One (M9) is no exception. Today brings a brand new set of cases for the yet to be announced smartphone along with a beautiful render of the device itself. The four bumpers don't really reveal a lot about the new device, but seem to prove the camera and flash setup on the back that we have seen in previous leaks as well as the button position on the right side of the device. They are all up for preorder and will ship starting April 3, which might also give a rough indication of the phone's release. A couple of days ago we reported on another more substantial leak for the One (M9) from an online listing. This brought a lot of new information about specs as well as device pictures in two colors. Looking at the front of these photo, alongside the Spigen renders we can't help but notice the difference camera position, but case makers are generally not provided with information outside basic dimensions and controls placements so the render is probably just an artistic decision. As far as specs go the One (M9) should feature a 5-inch display 1080p display, an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset with 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board storage and up to 128GB microSD expansion support. Measuring 9.61 mm thick, One (M9) will run Android 5.0 Lollipop with HTC Sense 7. In the front is a 4MP UltraPixel camera and at the back is a 20MP camera with dual-LED flash. HTC has packed 2,900mAh battery to power this smartphone. However, none of this has been officially confirmed by HTC yet so we will just have to wait for March 1 and see what the Taiwanese manufacturer really has in store. Thanks for the tip Dr...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/new_htc_one_m9_renders_surface_with_a_badge_of_cases-news-11306.php

HTC teases new BoomSound speakers for One (M9)

The new HTC One (M9) is barely a week away and according to rumors will bring a new speaker design, perhaps one based on the Nexus 9 speakers. HTC has started its teaser campaign with a short 12 second video that features stop-animated boom box. The tweet reads "Get your hands on bigger boom," suggesting that the new speakers will be more powerful. Rumors claim that the HTC One (M9) speaker grill will be part of the protective glass over the screen, removing the black bar that made the previous One phones taller than phones with similarly-sized screens. Get your hands on bigger boom #ComingSoon #6days #MWC15 https://t.co/UTpE5tAY4E— HTC Ireland (@HTCIreland) February 23, 2015 This video is from HTC Ireland, while HTC USA tweeted this: Rumor has it: BoomSound on the HTC [letter][number] is SO [adverb] powerful that it'll [verb] your [noun] off. [interjection], bro. #madlib— HTC USA (@HTCUSA) February 23, 2015 We can easily fill in the blanks, but we'll have to wait until March 1 to have a...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_teases_new_boomsound_speakers_for_one_m9-news-11305.php

Samsung will supply DDR4 RAM modules for LG and Apple

Samsung is truly a formidable giant in the tech world and this is definitely not confined to mobile devices. The Korean company makes a huge part of its profit from chip sales and buying silicon from Samsung is a pretty common practice in the business. Apple for one has had a long history of relying on the Korean company for its mobile CPU chips and paying heftily for them on an annual basis, despite all the rivalry and legal issues on consumer markets. A new report from the Korean Times has come out today stating that Samsung has struck yet another major supply deal. This time it is for the LPDDR4 RAM module that the company created way back in 2013. This new memory standard is increasingly gaining popularity and has already appeared in LG's latest flagship device - the LG G Flex 2. It is quickly becoming the norm and consequently LG has signed up to receive all of the aforementioned module it needs from Samsung. The report also states that Samsung will manufacture 50% and perhaps even more of DDR4 modules for future Apple devices. As some of you surely remember, the Korean giant recently announced a new kind of memory module, dubbed ePoP (embedded package on package), which stacks RAM and internal storage into a single chip. That technology is also sure to catch on quick and might even find its way into the iPhone 6s. Under the agreement, Samsung will start providing LG Electronics with 100 percent mobile DRAM chips it needs for LG G4 smartphone, which will be unveiled in April. Also, Samsung will handle at least half of the amount that Apple needs for its new iPhone ― tentatively named iPhone 6S Fabricated on the 20nm manufacturing process, the new mobile LPDDR4 chips are 50% faster than the fastest LPDDR3 memory on the market, while also consuming 40% less power at 1.1 volts. The data transfer speeds the new chips can go as high as 3,200Mbps per pin - twice the speed of currently produced 20nm LPDDR3 DRAM. The report also mentions that about 70% of Apple's A9 chips, intended for the future iPhone 7 will also be manufactured by no other than Samsung and with recent developments around in-house Exynos chips and possible plans to offer them to third-party manufacturers as well all lay out a pretty favorable future for the Korean giant on the ever-growing global silicon market. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_will_supply_ddr4_ram_modules_for_lg_and_apple-news-11303.php