The panel, spotted by Engadget at display-centric expo SID 2013, was being demonstrated as part of a generic smartphone mockup, though Qualcomm was keen to point out that it was not in any sense a final product. In fact, the new screen itself is still a few more years out altogether, with the mirasol team working on the technology.

First impressions even at this early stage seem to suggest that the user-experience of mirasol is little changed, despite the step up in resolution. The reflective display technology – which uses ambient light to make the screen brighter – gives graphics “a silvery tint” Engadget reports, while colors are more muted than on LCD or OLED.

However, it’s the resolution and power consumption that are particularly special. Qualcomm says the new screen consumes 6x less electricity than a comparative LCD or OLED panel, which means longer runtimes off smaller batteries, and overall thinner and lighter phones.

mirasol has been a work-in-progress for Qualcomm for some years. Built upon the same theory that makes a butterfly’s wings iridescent, the technology uses pixels made up of what are effectively tiny mirrors, selectively reflecting light back out of the display according to the primary colors. Unlike LCD screens, which require active backlighting, or OLED, the pixels of which produce their own light, mirasol has no backlighting at all, and is in fact clearer and brighter the more light lands on it. Qualcomm has also produced versions with front illumination, for use in low-light situations.

That makes it ideal for ereaders and low-power phones and tablets, but Qualcomm has struggled to make an impact on those markets. A small number of ereaders have launched with the color e-paper display, but the big sellers in the segment have stuck with monochrome displays from industry heavyweight E Ink. Meanwhile, delays in creating panels capable of showing smooth video playback, and a perception issue caused by the muted colors, has also held back the technology.

It’s mirasol’s production hiccups that have proved most disastrous, however, and are what triggered a rethink by Qualcomm last year. Then, CEO Paul Jacobs said the company was “now focusing on licensing our next-generation mirasol display technology and will directly commercialize only certain mirasol products.”

The fruits of the company’s research include this 5.1-inch screen, along with a 1.5-inch panel which Qualcomm was showing built into a smartwatch concept. The latter may be closer to launch than its bigger sibling; Qualcomm said that it is expected to show up in commercial devices “soon” from third-parties.

It was just one year ago that Google I/O 2012 revealed the Google Nexus 7 originally, giving it there to every developer attendee so that they might develop games and apps for the device with ease. That original Google Nexus 7 remains on sale today with the specifications it came with in the first place.

The original Google Nexus 7 worked with a 7-inch IPS LCD display at 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, that ending up bringing on a 216 PPI screen density. This device was 198.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm large and was released in both wifi-only and 3G-capable iterations, having Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS inside. The original Nexus 7 worked with 8GB of internal storage – this was quickly upgraded to 16GB of internal storage in the smallest, standard model, while another 32GB internal storage iteration was released as well.

Perhaps most important of all, this original Nexus 7 was – before it was scooped up by Google – an ASUS/NVIDIA collaboration. As a low-cost quad-core processor-toting tablet, NVIDIA had it announced at CES 2012 with ASUS without a formal release date. This device was quickly spotted by Google and brought on as an exclusive release under the company’s Nexus brand. Fun fact: we also predicted this collaboration – albeit with the wrong price attached.

This ASUS Eee Pad MeMO was announced with NVIDIA’s own Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside and continued to carry that processor through to its re-naming as the Google Nexus 7. In an analyst report with 9to5Google by Mingchi Kuo from KGI securities today, the new Google 7 tablet will be bringing with it a quad-core Qualcomm processor.

The processor this new Nexus 7 is tipped to bring with it is the same APQ8064 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor carried by the Google Nexus 4, the current hero smartphone for Google (manufactured by LG). This would be a relatively major blow to NVIDIA as the Nexus 7 allowed their chipset to reach a relatively large cross-section of users over the past year.

This new Nexus 7 would be manufactured by ASUS as the first iteration was and will have 7-inch LTPS display with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution. That puts the density of this display at 323 PPI, far greater than the original device. This new Nexus 7 is also suggested to be coming with a thinner bezel than before, Qi standard wireless charging, and a back-facing camera sitting at 5-megapixels strong.

We’ll know one way or the other next week – if Google is aiming to re-introduce the Nexus 7 with new specifications for this year, Google I/O 2013 is the ideal place to do it. Stick with SlashGear in our Google I/O portal for more information on the event and head to our Facebook event page to sign up to remind yourself to join us!

Rubinstein has worked for some of the biggest companies in the technology industry, he was previously senior vice president and general manager of the Palm Global Business Unit. He acted as executive chairman for Palm in 2007 where he was involved with webOS. He also acted as CEO of Palm in June of 2009 until HP purchased it in 2010.

Perhaps the most famous position that Rubenstein held was at Apple where he ran the iPod division and is said to have been instrumental in creating the iPod and the iPod ecosystem. Rubinstein is also a member of the Amazon.com board.

Considering how webOS failed at every turn, Rubinstein doesn’t appear to have been tarnished by the failure. QUALCOMM CEO Paul E Jacobs says that the company is extremely pleased to welcome Jon as a board member.

[via QUALCOMM]

Hardware

This smartphone is a rather interesting amalgamation of plastic and glass. It feels thin and smooth to the touch – the back is a single sheet of hard plastic without pattern while the front has a single pane of reinforced glass. The front has three capacitive buttons, not quite jumping in on the trend Google has been pushing with on-screen buttons quite yet.

The display up front of this device is a 5-inch 1080p panel all but hidden by the black bezel that surrounds it. While the display is on you can certainly tell where it begins and ends, but whatever OPPO has done to equalize the quality of black in the bezel surrounding the display while off and the screen itself is working. While on, this display kicks in 441 PPI, equaling that of the Sony XPERIA Z and the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and narrowly missing the current density winner: the HTC One (468 PPI).

The back of this smartphone is solidly attached to its front – there’s no removable or replaceable battery here. This device is certainly not built to be winning any repairability contests due to its one-piece presentation, but you will feel as though OPPO created a solid package when you’re working with it.

The touchscreen on this device works just as well as any other top-tier device and the viewing angles are generally OK. With IPS LCD technology backing up the OPPO Find 5, you’ll certainly be able to see what you’re doing outside, but don’t jump in to direct sunlight too often or expect a family of four to gather around from all angles to see the same image – it’s good, but it’s not perfect.

This device works with NFC both for reading and writing – as most embedded NFC sensors do. What’s impressive about the OPPO Find 5 for NFC is its built-in NFC writing software. Pre-sets and a set of two NFC tags in the box make for an entertaining out-of-box experience to be sure.

The audio experience on this device is great for a back-facing speaker setup. The HTC One takes the rest of the smartphone world to lunch with its Boomsound speakers on their own, but with both of them facing the user, straight out from around the display of the smartphone, they make the rest of the smartphone world sound like a mistake was made. Unfortunately OPPO’s main onboard speaker is, indeed, back-facing.

Software

OPPO creates an ever-so-slightly interesting software experience here on top of Android, bringing in a sort of candy-coated collection of app icons that remind one of the first plays Samsung had at Android back with the first Galaxy and TouchWiz 1.0. It’s not the same iOS-esque game here, on the other hand, with the rest of the changes keeping well in the Android world with screen transitions and lockscreen elements only otherwise seen in user-customized 3rd party homescreen replacement apps.

Below you’ll see our hands-on demonstration of the OPPO Find 5′s software build – take note of the speed at which apps load and/or don’t load – this isn’t an experience that’s as optimized for Android as the Nexus 4 is, but general everyday use is perfectly decent.

According to chats we’ve had with users already owning this device – and users like you bringing on the comments – we’re to understand that carriers working with this device have had an easy time upgrading software, working with the device for software fixes, and offering good service in general. Generally that’s not an issue with a big-brand smartphone (not always, but generally), but with a still-relatively-small group like OPPO, it’s encouraging to hear and read.

Below you’ll also find some benchmark results from the OPPO Find 5 with its most up-to-date software. Again, this device isn’t going to win any beastly smartphone battles, but it gets the job done. This device isn’t going to be the best on the market if you’re looking for a top-tier gaming experience, but for media consumption and capture and everyday non-game app activities, you’ll be par for the course.

Camera

The camera on the OPPO Find 5 can create some excellent photos and video but actually capturing them seemed to be above-average difficult. This machine works with an Exmor RS sensor with 13 megapixels of power on its back, this allowing for some rather excellent shots if you’re willing to take the time to capture them. The examples below should show you a wide variety of examples from our time with the device – good and bad.

Have a peek at some other reviews done by me, Chris Burns, to check on your humble reviewer’s ability to take quality shots if you’re suspicious of the images appearing here. If you’re the kind of person who rests their camera on still surfaces when you’re taking photos, you’ll get good photos. It’s as simple as that.

Also have a peek at some video here to see what we’ve captured in a regular test-quality situation. We’ve made similar runs at this arena in the past with devices of all kinds – compare at will!

Battery

You’ll want to download some battery optimization software if you’re planning on getting a full day’s use out of this machine. Unlike some of the big-name devices we’ve worked with towing the same processor here from Qualcomm, this device can really knock a battery out easily. Though the same is true for any device that’s got a display as bright and as sharp as this in keeping the brightness on auto, apps of all kinds seem to drain the OPPO Find 5 a bit quicker than they should.

Owning the OPPO Find 5

Reviewing this device was bittersweet, if only because I knew we’d not be seeing a lot of readers here that’d actually be able to use this device in the end. It’s a smartphone being sold in China with no plans for overseas release. That said, it’s refreshing to see such a company doing such a top-notch job when the only other devices with such a solid package on the market today have been made by one of five companies.

Right this minute you’ll be able to find the OPPO Find 5 for between $499.99 and $600 USD unlocked and carrier free. Make sure you know your SIM card will work before you pick one up and let us know how you like it!

Wrap-up

The OPPO Find 5 is not a Samsung Galaxy device, nor is it an iPhone. It’s not a Motorola hardcore delivery, nor is it an LG powerhouse, or a Google Nexus device for that matter. It’s not the HTC One and it’s certainly not a Sony device. Instead you’ve got a unique approach from OPPO in a package that’s certainly going to stay strong in owners’ pockets for extended periods.

And the end result of OPPO’s efforts are a bright spot for the company – this device, packaging to final smartphone build, make the case for this brands’ future. Keep an eye out for future OPPO releases and count them in as a brand to be reckoned with in the next few years across the pond – hopefully beyond China, too.

The codename for this device has been tipped as “Ghost”, this attaching itself well to the many times we’ve seen it in half-views and rumor mills thus far. The most recent source to come forth with information about this device has hit up PhoneArena with word that the device leaked earlier this week was, indeed, a masked in-case edition of the XFON being prepped for final release this summer. It’s also clear, according to this most recent set of suggestions, that the device isn’t a Google Nexus handset.

The Qualcomm RF360 radio will likely be inside this device complete with global 4G LTE compatibility, this radio having been introduced back in February to do such a thing. The release window for this radio fits well with that of the XFON, with the first products suggested for integration pushing out in the first half of 2013.

This device is tipped to be coming in a diverse array of case colors and makeups, with at least two versions popping up in leaked photos in the last few weeks. One was black, this one bringing on a durable polycarbonate shell instead of Motorola’s recent must-have Kevlar backing – this seen in the DROID RAZR series from start to finish. The second does indeed have what appears to be a Kevlar-like backing that spans the casing from top to bottom – across the back, that is.

This smartphone has been suggested to be being tested in a slightly different configuration than its final release, with a 720p resolution display being utilized as the form factor – the rest of the hardware, that is – is solidified. The final release is said to be coming in at 4.7-inches and 1080p, ringing in at a rather HTC One-like setup. Inside it’s said this device will work with a nearly-stock version of Android with minor Motorola modifications.

While past Google I/O developer conferences have been home to Nexus device reveals in a large way, it’s possible that this device will pop its head out for Google greatness at the keynote on the first day. Check it out as SlashGear heads to Google I/O 2013 starting on the 15th of May – coming up quick!

QUALCOMM senior project manager Yufei Wang was on hand this week at a media event held in Beijing, China. During that event, the project manager confirmed that the Snapdragon 800 would be entering mass production in late May. The project manager was willing to confirm that the Snapdragon 800 was going into mass production, he offered no details on what devices consumers can expect to see the new SoC used in.

QUALCOMM also declined to allow anyone in attendance at the meeting event to run benchmarks on prototype mobile devices using the new 800. However, the manufacturer did indicate that benchmarks will be available in June. Hallmarks of the new Snapdragon 800 include a more powerful Krait 400 architecture allowing the processor operating at up to 2.3 GHz.

The SoC is also built with robust power management capabilities, including the ability to operate the four cores on different core frequencies. That means if you only need one or two cores running at full 2.3 GHz, the other cores can sit idle to save power. Snapdragon 800 also uses a new Adreno 330 graphics processor supporting 30 FPS 4K playback.

[via Engadget]

The company’s operating income came in at $1.88 billion, which is up 24% from a year ago, but it’s down from $2.1 billion during the previous quarter. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said that the company “delivered another strong quarter as the worldwide adoption of smartphones continues.”

The company launched its new Snapdragon 600 and 800 chipsets during the quarter, which are being put to use most-notably in the US version of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and the HTC First “Facebook phone.” Jacobs says that the company is “seeing strong traction” with the processors, and they “expect healthy growth in 3G and 3G/4G multimode devices around the world.”

As for shipments of Qualcomm chipsets, MSM-model chip shipments were at 173 million units for the quarter, which is up 14% from the same quarter last year, and down 5% from the previous quarter. As for Q3 2013, Qualcomm expects to bring in between $5.8 billion and $6.3 billion, and expects to ship between 163 million and 173 million MSM chips.

News of the Vega Iron comes from South Korea with word that the smartphone could launch as early as next week. Of course with the announcement coming next week as well, we must take a wild guess and say that it’s not the actual store availability that’s coming next week, but the announcement only. Along with this tip comes a suggestion that the Vega will not be rounded off as its predecessors have been, but a sharp rectangular visage – maybe even bringing some “Nokia-esque” color casings with it as well.

Under the hood it’s suggested that the Pantech Vega Iron will be bringing a massive 5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. This beast is said to be powered by a rather big 2150mAh battery while it features a 13 megapixel camera on its back. Inside you’ll find what some sources suggest will be the Snapdragon 600 while other suggest the Snapdragon 800, both of these being quad-core processors of note, and in either case a 2GB bit of RAM to back it all up.

Have a peek in the timeline below and get pumped up for this release – everybody’s joining in on the massive smartphone with powerful processor party! Everyone in the whole entire world, for sure!

[via MyDrivers]

Qualcomm announced that it’ll be working with the MLB over the next two years to implement WiFi improvements to each of the 30 MLB stadiums to assess the level of WiFi coverage. The company said that select stadium reviews are underway as we speak, with the rest of fleet getting improvements over the next two years.

Qualcomm noted that WiFi traffic has been on the rise at MLB ballparks, and the company will not only figure out ways to improve WiFi coverage in stadiums, but also figure out new ways to deliver helpful and interesting content to spectators during the game. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, and it’s not said how much upgrades will cost.

Qualcomm will also be working with carriers to improve 3G and 4G coverage in and around MLB stadiums. Frankly, improved wireless coverage is becoming more of a must at high-traffic areas like sports stadiums. With the growing amount of connected smartphones making their way into the hands of sports fans, stadiums will need to compensate by offering better WiFi coverage during the games.

In that approach, the existing Nexus 7 would be discontinued altogether, in favor of the new Snapdragon-powered model. However, the sources say, another possibility is that the new Nexus 7 could be priced at $199, and the existing version discounted so as to remain competitive in the budget end of the market.

Either strategy would undercut the iPad mini, not to mention ratchet up the pressure on other Android-based models such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Google is believed to have stuck with ASUS for manufacturing duties, but jumped ship from NVIDIA’s chipset to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon range, according to the leaks.

That would put the updated Nexus 7 on the same silicon path as the Nexus 4, the LG-made Google smartphone, and leave the Nexus 10 tablet – which currently uses Samsung’s quadcore Exynos chipset – as the odd one out in the line-up.

Google’s hope is that it can almost double sales of the Nexus 7 year-on-year: industry estimates put sales in the second half of 2012 at around 4.6m, a number the company is aiming to boost to 6-8m before 2013 is out. One possibility is that Google will reveal the updated Nexus 7 at Google I/O, its annual developer event, this year set to take place from May 15.

BRAIN stands for Basic Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, and through this initiative, scientists will be searching for new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders such as autism, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, and schizophrenia. Straight from the White House press room you’ll find this rather upbeat video narrated by the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins.

The full White House Fact Sheet on BRAIN includes a paragraph or two on the first “public-private partnerships” in this effort, it including several institutions you may have heard of before.

Public-private partnerships: Federal research agencies will partner with companies, foundations, and private research institutions that are also investing in relevant neuroscience research, such as the Allen Institute, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Kavli Foundation, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Qualcomm will be amongst those companies aiming to make a big push for BRAIN in both their internal efforts as well as through a co-development agreement with the Brain Corporation. The Brain Corporation is a private company that aims to develop brain-based mathematical algorithms, visual systems, and, with Qualcomm, “specialized neuromorphic hardware” that will one day bring “smart consumer products utilizing artificial nervous systems.” Rather exciting!

“Qualcomm supports today’s exciting announcement of the Basic Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, which aims to develop and implement new tools to collect and process large scale brain activity and to develop a theoretical framework to understand this brain activity. The BRAIN Initiative will necessitate stimulation and recording of an unprecedented number of neurons, requiring real-time data processing.

These goals will be facilitated by wireless data collection. Given Qualcomm’s rich heritage in wireless communications, we are well positioned to make contributions to the BRAIN Initiative. Furthermore, modeling of the functional connectivity of the brain will be a challenging task. Qualcomm is developing a neural simulation accelerator (Neuromorphic hardware) that can potentially enable large scale, real-time neural simulations, as well as a comprehensive software tool suite that will enable rapid development and analysis of neural models.

The Qualcomm Research team includes neuroscientists and applied mathematicians with a background in multi-unit cortical recordings and neural network modeling. Our innovations have included development of new mathematical models of processing and learning in neurons. In addition to Qualcomm’s internal efforts, we have a co-development agreement and an investment in the Brain Corporation (www.braincorporation.com ), with whom we are working on these initiatives. In sum, we have a vested interest in the success of the BRAIN Initiative, and we hope to apply new insights gained from the BRAIN Initiative to our development efforts concerning scalable Neuromorphic hardware.” – Matt Grob, CTO of Qualcomm

Sound line a positive set of moves to you? Let us know what you think of the BRAIN initiative and Qualcomm’s efforts to keep science powered up!

As you’ll know well by the looks we’ve had at the LG Optimus G Pro, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor is an absolute beast. It’s the second-highest most powerful processor Qualcomm makes today – so great, both the HTC One and the Samsung GALAXY S 4 have opted to employ it. Then there’s the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, a step up, a quad-core processor intended only for the most dominant devices of this generation, complete with a fabulous Adreno 330 GPU for graphics superiority.

That’s the processor we’re seeing here in the GLBenchmark results found today to be showing the LG D801. This is a device that’ll be hitting up T-Mobile to start with, bringing with it a set of specifications that’ll blow your mind.

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• T-Mobile 4G LTE
• 1080 x 1794 pixel display
• MSM8974 (aka Snapdragon 800)

The benchmark list you see above also shows the “HTC 6435LVW” – note here that this is the HTC DROID DNA, while the LG E975 below it (with the same score) is the LG Optimus G (the original.) Right along with it is the LG Optimus G Pro which gets a similar score because of its massive display – note that the DROID DNA and the LG Optimus G Pro should, by all means, be getting different scores because the G Pro has a more advanced processor – but again, this isn’t an all-encompassing benchmark, it’s only showing Offscreen 1080p processing – no worries!

Have a peek at our archive of bits and pieces surrounding this upcoming LG Optimus G2 as it makes its way to T-Mobile soon – stay tuned!

While this release has not yet been confirmed (nor, according to Engadget, has it been denied), but given the release lineup of the past few Galaxy smartphones, a mini version of this “4″ hero is almost a given. The original suggestion comes from Bloomberg where, in an extended report, say they’re pretty sure the GALAXY S 4 mini will be released rather quickly after the GALAXY S 4 goes on sale.

Inside the GALAXY S 4 mini, the following specifications have been tipped. We’re expecting that the processor will be made by Qualcomm – likely a Snapdragon S4 Pro, similar to the Google Nexus 4.

Samsung GALAXY S 4 mini:

• 4.3-inch display (lower than 1080p)
• Dual-core 1.6Ghz processor
• 8 megapixel back-facing camera
• 2 megapixel front-facing camera
• Plastic body, Gorilla Glass 3 on front
• Removable battery
• microSD card slot capable of using 64GB cards

This machine will follow up on the GALAXY S 4 in markets such as the UK and Japan while the USA will see an off-contract iteration for sure, with carrier possibilities less likely. With the release of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 we’ll once again see a multi-carrier release almost at the same time, while each carrier’s unique release dates are flowing in as we speak. Have a peek at the timeline below for more info!

And don’t forget to check our Samsung GALAXY S 4 hands-on experience for the in-depth action you desire!

Foxconn wants to be one of Sharp’s investors as well, and the two parties have been in talks for quite a while. However, Sharp had stated at a press conference held on March 14th that talks with Foxconn are falling through. Foxconn responded by saying that its trying everything it can to secure a deal with Sharp. The two have been very satisfied with their joint LCD fabrication plant located in Sakai, Japan.

Many have speculated that Sharp is hesitant in sealing any deal with Foxconn because it’s currently looking to obtain loans from banks. With Samsung’s and Qualcomm’s investments behind it, Sharp believes it has a much higher chance to convince banks that giving it a loan is a great idea. With the bank loans, Sharp doesn’t necessarily need another investor on its back telling it what to do.

Sharp’s business is very important to many manufacturers. It provides displays for a variety of technology, including laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. Apple had spent $2.3 billion more on Sharp’s displays than it had expected in Q4 2012. Horace Dediu, an analyst whose primary focus is Apple and mobile phones, stated that if Sharp did file for bankruptcy, Apple’s production capacity may be jeopardized. He believes that “Apple’s late and unprecedented expenditure was to secure this asset.” Sharp’s investors have helped the company stay up-and-running, despite the huge losses it had suffered last November.

[via Tom's Hardware]

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 is one of two monstrously powerful quad-core processors the company has revealed this year alone. The other is the Snapdragon 800, a System-on-Chip that’s only thus far been revealed to be carried by the ZTE Grand Memo, a device whose USA release schedule is still not quite solidified. You’ll find more information on the Snapdragon 800′s implementation on the ZTE Grand Memo in our Mobile World Congress 2013 report.

The Snapdragon 600 and 800 were revealed back in the first week of 2013 in a full report detailing how they’ll be appearing on smartphones (and perhaps tablets) throughout the year. As in previous iterations of the Snapdragon SoC, image processing continues to be a high point – have a peek at our LG Optimsu G Pro Photo Tour from Barcelona during Mobile World Congress 2013 as well for a view of how well the device does with the big Q under the hood.

As for the Samsung GALAXY S 4, the Snapdragon 600 will be appearing with a fantastically large performance increase over its predecessors. Compared to the Snapdragon S4 Pro, Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 600 offers a whopping 40% performance increase – the previous Galaxy smartphone had the Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, a step below the S4 Pro, so you can imagine this GALAXY S 4 will be delivering quite the beastly bump compared to last year.

“ The Snapdragon 600 processor helps consumers do more on their mobile devices, providing seamless app switching, high-speed Web browsing, email connectivity, GPS, multimedia, fast gaming, social networking and 4G/LTE connectivity.” – Qualcomm

As it was with the Samsung Galaxy S III, this GALAXY S 4 model will be coming out with different processors in different regions. Inside the USA you’ll be seeing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor while in most (if not all) regions outside the states you’ll find the Samsung Exynos “Octa” processor with 8 CPU cores (4 active, 4 backup). We’ll be interested to see how these two builds compare to one another once they’re both out on the market without a doubt!

Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional insight on the release of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 as well as a set of hands-on experiences and comparisons to other recent smartphone hero models. Stay tuned for more on Qualcomm as well in our fabulous Qualcomm tag portal, too!

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 we’re going to see first and foremost a massive 4.99 (or straight up 5) inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. That’s Full HD, if you were wondering, and a pixels per inch ratio that’s on-par with the densest devices on the market today. In contrast you’ll find the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 revealed last week with 189PPI – not too next-level, but still perfectly nice when you’re right up next to it with your face.

Inside you’ll find a real next-level processor in the Exynos 5250. This is Samsung’s quad-core processor -but tips have also suggested that the “OCTA” Exynos processor revealed back during CES 2013 could make its debut here as well. Interestingly enough, we’ve also heard that Qualcomm may be sitting inside. This would follow the trend with the Samsung Galaxy S III working with an Exynos processor outside the USA and Qualcomm taking the reigns inside – here a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 SoC clocked at 1.7Ghz rolling out inside the states.

That same processor exists inside the HTC One revealed less than a month ago. Now we’ve got a real battle on our hands, complete with a 13 megapixel camera on the Galaxy S III to take on the HTC One’s UltraPixel camera technology. The Samsung Galaxy S IV is also being foretold to work with a microSD card slot capable of working with up to 64GB cards and that it’ll be coming in at least two colors: black and white. Of course there will be multiple internal storage size iterations of this device, at least 16, 32, and 64GB versions depending on which carrier you go with – and whatever they offer.

We’ll be having a peek at this device in all its glory soon, and very soon – stick with SlashGear from here until March 14th to see the big bang – and of course afterward when we give it the full once-over in a full review. This device has a lot to live up to, coming after one of the best selling smartphones of all time and continuing the lineup of Samsung’s most successful device ever – get pumped!

Samsung may not have brought the Galaxy S4 to MWC – we’ll have to wait until mid-March to see that – but the company still had one of the largest stands of the show. It’s key new product was the Galaxy Note 8.0, slotting in-between the Note II and the Note 10.1, and taking on the iPad mini. What’s interesting is that, while Samsung has been accused of slavishly copying Apple, the Note 8.0 does have a distinct difference from the Apple slate in the shape of the S Pen stylus.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 hands-on:

Over at LG, the company was unabashed at taking on the Note II with its new Optimus G Pro, a 5.5-inch slab of beautiful LCD display and 13-megapixel camera tech. No stylus – though the Korean-spec demo units did have a fetching pull-out antenna for the digital TV tuner – but a 1080p display and speedy processor. LG fleshed out its cheaper models with new L series and F series devices, though it had spoiled the surprise some by pre-announcing them ahead of this week’s show.

Nokia had been more secretive, and so its new phones – the Lumia 520 and 720, taking the Windows Phone 8 range to five, and some cheap devices, the 105 and 301 – came as a moderate surprise. On the smartphone side, Nokia’s range is starting to look more and more thought through, though we’re still sticking with our stance that the Lumia 620 is the best of the bunch. Meanwhile, Nokia hit new price lows with the 105, a €15 ($20) handset ideal for developing markets and festival-goers alike, yet which didn’t abandon the company’s distinctive color schemes.

We also had a chance to sit down with some of Nokia’s top-level executives, and quizzed them on what little they’d spill on the roadmap (don’t hold your breath for a QWERTY Lumia any time soon) as well as their predictions for wearables and smart sensors.

Plucky upstarts ZTE and Huawei brought a brace of new devices along to Barcelona, though the reaction proved mixed. The ZTE Grand Memo played the big-screen card, overstepping the LG Optimus G Pro with a 5.7-inch screen, though arguably undermined it by opting for 720p resolution. Huawei made a similar schoolboy error with its Ascend P2, rocking high-end specifications everywhere but the number of pixels. ASUS, meanwhile, opted to go for confusion above all else, with the similarly-named FonePad and Padfone Infinit continuing to push the company’s modular strategy.

At the low-end, Firefox OS made its play for the developing market, with votes of support from eighteen operators worldwide and new handsets from Alcatel among others. At first glance, however, we’re less than impressed. The HTML5-based platform is sluggish on the cheap hardware, and it’s tough to see how – even with web apps – Mozilla plans to flesh out its portfolio in a way that legitimately challenges the ever-cheaper Android behemoth.

In chips, Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 600 and 800 came out to flex their muscles, and were found in a number of the higher-profile phones of the week. NVIDIA had some chip news too, though the most exciting phone to use the new Tegra 4 was the Phoenix Developer Platform smartphone, which will allow coders and manufacturers to get to grips with Tegra 4i before it arrives later in 2013.

NVIDA Phoenix Developer Platform hands-on:

After two years of incredible public stands, Google took a more clandestine approach at Barcelona this year, holding a few private meetings rather than pushing people down an Android-themed slide like in 2012. We caught up with director of Android design experience Matias Duarte to talk Google Now and how it might just be the future of Android, as well as how it helped shape Google Glass. Duarte, unsurprisingly, has strong ambitions for Android, going so far as describing it as the “OS for humanity.”

Nonetheless, while MWC had its gems, the show felt more humble than in previous years. The new venue, a sprawling flow of halls joined by a serpentine hallway, is certainly far improved over the old location, but where the Congress of years past has seen flagships debut and companies stake their reputation, this year it felt a little like those same firms were holding their breath; saving their energies for individual events where they alone could control the news.

On a broader note, however, it’ll be interesting to see how the trade show calendar weathers the change in product launch strategy over the rest of the year. While smaller shows will happen in-between now and September, many eyes will be IFA 2013 early that month. The past few years, Samsung has used the Berlin show to debut several high-profile products – the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy Camera in 2012, for instance – but with the Korean firm withholding its big launches from CES and MWC, it’s unclear whether the Germans will get a headline-maker or not.

All this is just a sample of our coverage from this week; you can find all of our Mobile World Congress 2013 content in the show hub.

Rob Chandhok has a rather impressive selection of titles at Qualcomm, including first and foremost being the President of Qualcomm Internet Services. Chandhok is also President of the Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc., as well as the Senior Vice President of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. – and our talk with him this week comes via Barcelona, where we’re exploring the globe’s greatest new wireless bits and pieces courtesy of Mobile World Congress 2013. Chandhok was keen to speak about the reasons AllJoyn will be an important point of interest for consumers in the near future – and why the whole platform is open source.

Chandhook made it all clear: “If we work on a video protocol – we haven’t announced that specifically just yet, but you can see how the following to audio [which we've just announced] would be video – and I want to show slides, I would want it to be: If I’m in the same room as the projector, I want to have [wireless, instant] access to the projector. We think we know how to do some of those experiences. But we also know that we’re not going to be the only people that do those sorts of experiences, and that’s why we want this to be an open platform.”

At one end of the equation there’s developers who Qualcomm wants to work with the AllJoyn platform and create amazing connected experiences. On the other end, there’s the hardware manufacturers that Qualcomm wants to be on board with integrating AllJoyn connectivity and functionality into their products – then everyone can connect. And the fact that this platform is open source is key from start to finish.

“It’s a little bit atypical for Qualcomm to say ‘here’s something that we’re going to open source,’ but if you heard Paul Jacobs yesterday in his keynote, he was very clear about how committed the company is to the open source platform. And the reason is simple. For Qualcomm, it’s more useful for things to be connected. It’s really straightforward.”

Chandhok made it clear that if a developer were to want to create a project using AllJoyn on a competitor to Qualcomm’s hardware, and said to him (representing Qualcomm) “will you help me?” He’d have to say “no – I’ll give you a solution based on our products, I will differentiate and I will compete based on the quality of our product. But the ecosystem has to be open in order for there to be an ecosystem.”

Several sets of possibilities and were discussed as well, including the possibility of products hitting the market with AllJoyn integrated by the holiday season of 2013 – near the end of the year, that is. AllJoyn is being pushed as an ingredient brand, one that, like Bluetooth or NFC, is included in the list of awesome connectivity features a device has embedded. To make this reality possible with AllJoyn as a real technology on the market, the AllJoyn Alliance exists to first seek out and hook up with and help out hardware manufacturers as well as developers to integrate across the board.

Then comes marketing to the public, making the AllJoyn mark something that people will look for in products in many products – and not just televisions, speakers, and smartphones. Devices like refrigerators and ovens are being discussed by Qualcomm as being connected as well, all of this creating the Internet of Everything that’s quickly becoming a reality, here and now. While devices like refrigerators, they having a rather long lifetime in the wild, will see slower adoption of AllJoyn services, Chandhok made a very general guess – not quite a prediction – at AllJoyn proliferation in 2 to 3 years.

There’s a growing expectation out there now, noted Chandhok, by consumers that their devices will continue to become more intelligent – all of their devices, even the ones that’ve never really been all that intelligent in the first place. The simplest way to put how AllJoyn will take part in this expectation, Chandhok made clear, is ti make AllJoyn useful. “If it’s useful, users will want it. if it’s annoying, users wont want it.”

Speaking this week on the topic of Vertical Disruption in the mobile industry, Jacobs made it clear that “disruption” was too negative to be comfortable to go forth with. Instead it was Mobile Enablement that Jacobs decided to focus on. Qualcomm’s vision of a Digital 6th Sense was re-outlined as a user interface for the world – for the things in your life that don’t otherwise have one.

With this Digital 6th Sense comes the new concept Qualcomm first spoke about earlier today – The Internet of Everything. The AllJoyn collection of connectivity technology – an update for which was also announced today – is at the heart of Qualcomm’s push for a connected world. For the world where an Internet of Everything is made real.

As far as disruption goes, Jacobs reminded the audience that smartphone shipments were twice the number of PC shipments through 2012 (according to a Gartner study published earlier this month). It’s through this wireless world that we connect – this is Qualcomm’s message.

Both healthcare and education were spoken about as two of the most important areas for innovation that Qualcomm is working with. The technology for the enablement of services created by the open source community to boost the abilities of educators, students, doctors, and everyday citizens – all comes through AllJoyn through the future.

Stay tuned the rest of this week in our fabulous Mobile World Congress 2013 tag portal for more information on Qualcomm and the rest of the wireless universe from across the planet. You’ll find more up to the minute news action and hands-on experiences than you can throw a stick at!

The “4S” concept spoken about this week by ZTE doesn’t necessarily mean that the company will be moving forward with devices with a “4S” in the name, but that their aim in the market will be living by those four pillars of strength. With the ZTE Grand Memo, the team employs – first of all – ZTE Assistant with power savings and Security.

Next you’ll find ZTE Drive for Safety – you’ll never be lost with this ZTE-branded navigation system. For Sound you’ve got Dolby Digital Plus technology – blasting forth from the device’s back-facing speaker. ZTE continues their dedication to creating amazing products with a first-ever integration of Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile processor.

With this integration, ZTE becomes the sole manufacturer with an announcement out of a device with such a set of powerful innards. This along with the device’s own unique user interface Mi•Pop over Android will create not just a great experience for the user, but one they’ll not find anywhere else.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see other recent Qualcomm Snapdragon-related posts from the recent past and have a tap with the ZTE tag portal for more information on the releases of this OeM this week. Also be sure to follow along with SlashGear this whole week with the Mobile World Congress 2013 tag portal for more hands-on and up to the minute news action than you can handle!

The Padfone Inifinity Station works with a 10.1-inch Full HD tis plat as well, with a 1920 x 1280 pixel resolution. This device has a 13 megapixel camera on the back, 2 megapixels up front with an f2.0 aperture on both sides. You’ll get 100 shots out of the back at 8fps – wild!

Customer Happiness 2.0 is the new way ASUS is pushing this device – or these devices, as it were. This device is the epitome of what ASUS is pushing as a dual-purpose device, and a connected world. You’ll have everything you need, too, with ASUS’ own aoCloud, also revealed this week. This software allows cloud-stored media able to be accessed on any device – even non-ASUS devices, mind you. The phone works with an NFC antenna made up of the Padfone logo – an oddity to be sure.

You’ll also get a massively powerful quad-core 1.6Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor under the hood. This is such a big deal that this device gets this processor at this point in the year that Qualcomm’s own CEO Paul Jacobs stepped on the stage at Mobile World Congress to talk it up. He was joined on stage by the CEO of China Unicom as well, they being one of the first – if not the first – to be onboard with carrying the device in the wild.

You’ll also get 2GB DRAM, 64GB Flash Storage, and 4G LTE connectivity. Also included with your purchase of this device is 64GB of cloud storage with ASUS’ own cloud services.

The Padfone Infinity is made to bring ASUS’ own Audio Wizard to the forefront as well. This is a bit of software made to optimize your sound based on the type of media you’re working with. You’ll be choosing how you want everything to sound – at it’s base, this is a set of pre-made levels. This device also has ASUS-guaranteed excellent sound from this device’s speakers as well – all 18mm of them on the tablet bit of this equation.

And all of this will be available for 999 Euro. That means it’ll be just a bit more than $1,000 in the USA – sound alright to you?

Meanwhile stay tuned with SlashGear for Mobile World Congress 2013 through our massive MWC 2013 tag portal. We’ll be here all week long!

The new platform is the first embedded, mobile computing solution supporting LTE carrier aggregation and LTE Category 4 with peak data rates of up to 150 Mbps. The unveiling of the new platform marks the arrival of the company’s third-generation 4G LTE embedded chips. QUALCOMM says that its new chipset platform will enable thinner, lighter, and better connected mobile computing devices running a range of operating systems including Android, Windows 8, Windows RT, and iOS.

The new platform also supports a variety of modules for thin form factors including PCI Express Mini Card, PCI Express M.2, and LGA. The Gobi MDM9x25 embedded platform also features an integrated GPS receiver supporting GLONASS. QUALCOMM says that the chipset begin sampling to module vendors late last year.

Commercial device launches using the chipset will begin in the second half of this year. The new platform will be used by Fujitsu, Lenovo, Panasonic, Huawei, Novatel Wireless, and others. Support for multiple LTE frequencies and one ship is a good thing for consumers because it means you can travel and still have access to fast connectivity just about anywhere you go.

[via Qualcomm]

Several main pillars of the AllJoyn universe are being listed this week, with Qualcomm expecting to release “fully functional versions of these core services” in a completely open source license way. Through the developer-friendly AllJoyn.org you’ll be able to find tools for the following services immediately if not rather soon:

• Notifications
• Onboarding
• Control
• Audio Streaming

In the Notifications package you’ve got Qualcomm supporting “a standard way” for devices you program for to both send and receive notifications – text, image, and multimedia included. You’ll be creating an intermediary with the Onboarding service with AllJoyn, this intermediary able to be programmed to, in turn, configure simple smart devices – “headless” included. The intermediary can be a smartphone application if you like, and the end goal can be for that headless beast to work on you personal network with ease.

Qualcomm is pushing Control with AllJoyn, here letting us know that you’ll be given the tools to allow devices to export their control interfaces from top to bottom – graphics included. From one to another to the other, this smart universe continues to be cross-platform. Then there’s Audio Streaming, including an interoperable and open wireless protocol for streaming music – from any device to any device.

Each of these core services is being announced as being upstreamed by May 2013 into the AllJoyn open source project. Integrated support – like magic – is expected by the company to be integrated into “many” platforms and products made with Qualcomm Technologies innards as well from this point forward. And that’s the beauty of it for everyday users – you don’t have to put in any effort at all – it’ll all just work for you, presto! Developer magic.

Fun fact: Audio Streaming is being brought to you in part by the DoubleTwist Corporation – a group we saw an awesome Android sync demo with back two years ago at Mobile World Congress 2011 for Android Community (and that’s where we are again today to hear this Qualcomm set of announcements). We’ve since seen doubleTwist push forth quite a few awesome bits and pieces since then!

We’re checking out Qualcomm and the rest of the smart device and service environment this week at Mobile World Congress 2013. To follow along with Qualcomm information specifically, head over to our [Qualcomm tag] and stick to it like glue. If you want the full Mobile World Congress flow – hands-on, up-to-the-minute news updates, and more – you’ll want to hit the [MWC 2013 tag] right now – and throughout the week!

In past years we’ve seen reveals of such memorable devices as the Samsung Galaxy S II, the HTC One series (in the X, S, and V), and who can forget the Facebook Phone fad? We’ve seen services from processor manufacturers steal the show – Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and even Texas Instruments made waves last year with processor CPU core multiplication madness – more on the first two below.

Then there are beastly groups like Google who have never failed to make monster appearances – over the past several years they’ve all but dominated the smartphone and tablet showing across MWC, and this year’s show will certainly show the company’s Android power once again – count the number of devices we see with Android running on them and you’ll feel the rumble clearly. Don’t count out Windows Phone 8 and oddities in the feature phone segment – Nokia in particular we’ll be watching with great interest.

If you’ll have a peek at the Mobile World Congress 2013 tag (through the portal link in the first paragraph of this post) you’ll find that quite a few companies have hinted that they’ll either be releasing new products or will be allowing the press (that’s us) to get our hands on previously announced products for the first time. LG will be a company to watch with more than a couple smartphones appearing in teasers – one, after another, after another – and will deliver quite a show if last year’s double-handful of selections are any indicator. Samsung will be appearing at the show as well, but like last year, will likely be saving their hero smartphone announcements for a completely separate event – they’ve already announced the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 here as well.

The HTC crew have let the cat out of the bag a bit early this year. With a full-scale announcement of the HTC One (the new smartphone with that newly simplified name) in both New York City and London this past week, we can expect to have another set of in-hand looks at the device, but beyond that, any other release from the group will be a surprise. Sony too will have some surprises up their sleeves with several devices already having been shown by the time CES 2013 was through.

The manufacturer crew at Huawei have been rather open about their move to push across the earth with several rather interesting smartphones and slightly-larger-than-smartphone devices this year. They’ve traditionally had a rather impressive show of force at MWC so we’re expecting them to continue the flow with at least one more device this week. Less than a week ago it was revealed that ZTE will be continuing their line of first-to-market device setups with an NVIDIA Tegra 4-toting smartphone – the first smartphone in the world to have been announced with such a processor.

NVIDIA is a group we’ll be keeping a keen eye on this year due to their incoming Tegra 4 and Tegra 4i processor lineup. At CES 2013, NVIDIA proved the show to be of continued importance to the public with several pivotal announcements including the first official reveal of their next-generation SoC Tegra 4, a renewed push for cloud gaming support with NVIDIA GRID, and a showing of their first consumer product – Project SHIELD. We’re expecting this extremely visible mobile company to bum-rush the show with Tegra news, device and software demonstrations, and a general green-colored wave of excitement.

Then there’s Qualcomm, mobile chipmakers and pushers of technological breakthroughs for smartphones and tablets alike. We’ve got several events lined up with Qualcomm to bring you Snapdragon news, hands-on experiences, and person-to-person chats that’ll allow you to get deep into the mind of the machine. With Qualcomm revealing their Snapdragon 800 hero SoC (also found in the HTC One) to bust out the coming year with solutions for every kind of device, large and small, this company will be appearing prevalently throughout the week.

So stick around! The action continues the whole week through!

That’s down to a selection of chips that are actually up to 50-percent smaller than the current models, despite adding in far more band support. Power consumption has also been reduced, with Qualcomm claiming up to a 30-percent saving, while heat output is also cut.

Radio performance takes advantage of Qualcomm’s new dynamic antenna matching tuner (QFE15xx), which is the first ever to be able to automatically adjust the antenna performance depending on environmental constraints and how the user is actually holding the device. Effective not only for 4G use but 2G/3G, across the 700-2700MHz bands, the new tuner works alongside an integrated power amplifier and antenna switch that’s easier to install and accomodate on tight circuit boards.

Finally, there’s the RF POP QFE27EE, a stacked chipset combining a multiband power amp and antenna switch, the SAW filters, and duplexes. It will be interchangeable, too, allowing for manufacturers to choose between creating devices that work on a smaller subset of LTE frequencies – such as for specific carriers or regions – or a broad, global-roaming LTE implementation.

The huge increase in frequencies selected by 4G carriers worldwide has broken the market for devices down into an array of incompatible phones. Handsets like the iPhone 5, for instance, come in three different variants – outwardly identical, but with differing radio and antenna implementations - suited to different sets of networks, and the expectation that 3G device users had of being able to simply swap SIM cards and get up and running on a different carrier no longer applies.

For Qualcomm and manufacturers, meanwhile, the new RF360 radio is a way to simplify production: now a single SKU can be offered – potentially tailored by software and RF POP selection to suit the whims of carrier lock-down – rather than multiple iterations of the same device. The first products to use the RF360 Front End Solution will show up in 2013.

These RF chips also feature numerous industry firsts, including the first envelope power tracker for smartphones, as well as “a dynamic antenna matching tuner, an integrated power amplifier-antenna switch, and a 3D-RF packaging solution incorporating key front end components.” Essentially, these chips reduce power consumption and improve RF performance, while also reducing the size of the RF chips by up to 50% compared to current offerings, allowing for thinner devices.

The envelope power tracker inside the chip is designed to reduce power consumption by up to 30% and dissipate heat a lot better than previous-generation chips. The dynamic antenna matching tuner extends antenna range to operate over more frequency bands and spectrums, and the integrated power amp and antenna switch also has a smaller hardware footprint, and is the first of its kind to implement the power amp and antenna switch in one chip, allowing phone makers to develop thinner devices.

As for when we should expect new devices packing this new technology, Qualcomm says that devices featuring the complete Qualcomm RF360 Solution are expected to be launched sometime in the second half of this year. Of course, we’ll be at Mobile World Congress in just a few days, where we may hear more from Qualcomm at that time. Stay tuned.

[via Android Community]

There’s already a collection of Quick Charge 1.0 device out in the wild today, each of them working with Snapdragon processor. This is a Qualcomm technology, so you can expect many device to be working with it in the future as well. Many HTC devices in the past have been working with Quick Charge 1.0, and the HTC One is a device that’ll be busting out with Quick Charge 2.0 in the very near future. Quick Charge 2.0 comes embedded in all smartphones and tablets working with the next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor under the hood.

This technology resides in both the device and the AC/DC wall charger you’re using day to day. Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 is offered as a standalone IC solution (outside the Snapdragon 800) or as part of the Snapdragon 800 processor’s power management integrated circuit (PMIC). According to Qualcomm, devices they’d tested before Quick Charge 2.0 technology was embedded took 7 hours to charge compared to 3 hours after the switch.

The great thing about Quick Charge 2.0 is the fact that Qualcomm is working – right this minute – with AC/DC chipset suppliers to “fully enable the power supply ecosystem.” In other words, you’ll be using Quick Charge 2.0 and might not even know it. In addition, while Quick Charge 1.0 was made primarily for mobile devices, Quick Charge 2.0 will be ramping up to 60 watts of power when needed, both improving charge times for mobile devices and getting powerful enough to charge up notebooks, too.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional Qualcomm insights from the past week and get pumped up about Mobile World Congress 2013 and more Qualcomm action than you can handle. Hit up our Mobile World Congress 2013 tag portal for more information right this minute!

With Snapdragon Voice Activation, your smartphone will have the ability to have an “always on” feature so it’ll always be listening for your voice. That way whenever you want the phone to wake up and do things for you, you wont have to touch it at all. THis will be coming in the Snapdragon 800 series of processors and will be able to work even if your smartphone had been in airplane mode, standby, or a variety of sleep modes.

Connecting with the smartphone (or tablet)’s/HLOS voice natural user interface, you’ll be working with your phone without a tap in the very near future. This solution has been pushed by Qualcomm as a secure and low-power feature that’ll be able to work only with the voice of the owner of the device. Of course if you’ve got a twin that’s got the same voice modulation as you, you might be in for a surprise – but what are the odds?

Qualcomm is also making it clear this week that “over 55 Snapdragon 800-powered devices” are already in development. That means one whole heck of a lot of mega-powerful smartphones and tablets over the next few months. Can’t wait!

Have a peek at the timeline below for more Qualcomm action as we ramp up to Mobile World Congress 2013 starting in less than a week!

The Snapdragon 400 comes in two options. The first option is a 1.7GHz dual-core Krait CPU that offers aSMP (Aysnchronous Symmetric Multiprocessing) for great performance with efficient battery usage. The second option is a 1.4GHz quad-core A7 CPU that’s aimed solely at entry-level devices. Both of the Snapdragon 400 options will feature an Adreno 305 GPU to enable fast and smooth performance for 3D gaming and power-hungry apps, as well as fast web browsing. The Snapdragon 400 processors will support cameras of up to 13.5MP, premium audio, 1080p video capture and playback, and Miracast, which will allow you to stream content from your mobile device to any HDTV. It will utilize LPDDR2 or LPDDR3 RAM (Low Power Double Data Rate) that will optimize the Snapdragon 400 for great performance and battery usage. It supports 42Mbps HSPA+, W+G CDMA, dual-sim capabilities, and TDSCDMA.

The Snapdragon 200 processors are aimed solely at the entry-level smartphone market. There is only one option for the Snapdragon 200 processors. It will feature a 1.4GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A5 processor, Hexagon QDSP5, Adreno 203 GPU, support for LPDDR2 RAM, HD video playback, dual-sim capabilities, and support for cameras up to 8MP.

Both processors will be starting a new generation of entry-level and mid-tier smartphones. Now consumers will have the option to purchase smartphones that are both cost-friendly, yet not terrible in performance. These Snapdragon processors are expected to be released sometime around mid-2013.

The point Qualcomm is trying to make here is that with mobile data – provided by their chipsets and modems, of course – the world is a much more fabulous place. Each time a smartphone is used to access the site shown to the user via the billboard, an odd event happened thusly. With each of these events, joy was brought – and brought hard!

Above you’ll see a full highlight reel. Below you’ll find a horse-drawn carriage coming to pick up a couple that’s in love. Isn’t it so kind of Qualcomm to provide them with a service like this for free?

Next you’ll find a lovely yellow pick-up vehicle followed by a bright shiny silver ride – Lamborghini to the rescue! Without a smartphone and a web connection at the bus stop, these rather random people would never have been given a free ride – Qualcomm’s point is made rather clear.

Next you’ll see a “SEEN IT ALL?” campaign bringing up a wheel-connected sled-dog ride coming up on the bus stop with free rides for those that call it. After that there’s a bit of a puppy surprise as well – Qualcomm brings the cute!

We’ll be seeing Qualcomm at Mobile World Congress this year – starting in a little less than a week! You’ll want to jump in on all the action through our Mobile World Congress 2013 portal and see the Qualcomm action from start to finish!

Comparing the individual markers inside the total you’ll find a CPU score of 37,304, Memory at 10,922, and I/O at a staggering 10,566. Those are massive scores, on all accounts. The Nexus 4 comes in at CPU: 10,687, Mem: 7,612, and I/O: 4,340 if you’d like to know. With the HTC One’s combination of four Krait 300 CPU cores at 1.7GHz, an Adreno 320 GPU, and a performance boost well over the Snapdragon S4 Pro, this will very likely be the most impressive smartphone processor-wise you’ll have ever experienced.

We’ve also had a look at Sunspider working with the standard web browser on the device. Here we get a lovely 1195.2ms as a final result, this compared with the HTC One X+ (1215.4ms) and the Samsung Galaxy S III (1082.2ms) shows that web browsing is pretty much the same as it’s been over the past year. Then again – as above – this is not final software and anything could happen before the HTC One is released inside March, 2013. It should also be noted that the speed of the rendering on the HTC One (as well as the others here) were done at different times and under different conditions – so take it all with a bit of straw.

Also have a peek at our timeline below filled with hands-on experiences with the HTC One, complete with details from each of this device’s new features. With the HTC One, the company may well be entering a new age. One in which a single device really, truly is the hero – could it possibly be?

The 4.2-inch display for the Z10 costs around $26.50. The 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor costs about $23.50. The 8MP rear-facing camera and 2MP front-facing camera totals about $15. The 16GB internal storage costs around $9.00. The other components, including the battery, communication chips, and RAM total $21.00. Finally, the casing, as well as the other small electronics included in the Z10 total around $59.00. All of this adds up to $154.

The Blackberry Z10 is slightly more expensive to create compared to the iPhone 5, which costs about $139 to make. But in the Z10′s defense, the Z10 has a bigger, higher resolution screen, more RAM, and a bigger battery. Blackberry hasn’t released how much the unsubsidized price for the Blackberry Z10 yet, so we can’t really determine how much profit Blackberry makes off each phone.

The Blackberry Z10 won’t launch in the U.S. until March, and it has been confirmed, at least by Verizon Wireless, that the device will retail with a subsidized price of $199.99. Blackberry is hoping that with its new OS overhaul, it will be able to compete in a market that it once used to dominate. While many people are loving the new UI that comes with the Blackberry 10 OS, it will still be hard for Blackberry to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung, who is rumored to be announcing its new, highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S IV on March 15th.

[via CNN Money]

With the HTC One it would appear that we’re going to see two different colors right out of the gate, including the white/silver version we saw earlier this week and the black we’re seeing today. This black version has been leaked courtesy of Unwired View’s @evleaks, the same source as the white/silver version. One point you really should be noting here is that this device works with a wholly unique two-button setup – not seen on any Android smartphone in the past.

This device is being tipped as coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint all at once, each of them coming together some time in early March. Verizon has been tipped to be getting this device in a slightly different configuration on the 22nd of March as well, perhaps as a refresh of the DROID DNA. The release price for the HTC One has been tipped as $199 USD for a 32GB internal storage version and $299 USD for a 64GB version, both versions being priced the same on each of the three carriers besides Verizon.

The specifications for this device remain quite standard through the leaked ranks, those being a 4.7-inch full HD display with a quad-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor under the hood. This device is also tipped to be coming with enhanced photography, videography, and audio support as well. Stay tuned to SlashGear for more information as we head to the big HTC event next week in NYC – we’ll be there with bells on!

[via Android Community]

The device we’re seeing here is an extension of the excellence we’ve already seen both inside and outside of the United States with the LG Optimus G. That device worked with the first quad-core processor in a smartphone to hit the United States and also became the basis for the design of the multi-national ultra-popular Google Nexus 4. With sales of the LG-made Nexus 4 and Optimus G remaining strong several months after release, LG clearly hopes to extend their success through to Spring.

This LG Optimus G Pro comes with a beastly 3,140 mAh battery that’ll last you all night long and will be popping up with a 13 megapixel camera on its back. Inside you’ll also find 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot for memory extension. This device is bringing on native 4G LTE connectivity for South Korean carriers as well.

BONUS: This device will be coming in Platinum White and Indego Black via NTT Docomo – how those shades differ from regular white and black, we do not know!

Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the LG Optimus G series and be sure to check out the other bits LG has revealed this week. The LG Optimus L7 II, L5II, and L3 II have all been shown off to take on the 2013 mainstream market. We’ll be getting our hands on these devices without a doubt when we head to Mobile World Congress 2013 – join us later this month!

[via Unwired View]

Where TI was previously a mainstay for processors and chips in BlackBerry phones, the Z10 instead looks to Qualcomm for its 1.5GHz dualcore processor, 3G/LTE modem, GPU, power management chip, GPS, and more. TI is relegated to providing the WiFi/Bluetooth/FM combo chip, while Samsung donates the flash memory and RAM.

Perhaps more interesting than the origin of the components is the decision process BlackBerry (nee RIM) seemingly made in how they were combined, something which is supposedly strongly reminiscent of Samsung’s assembly strategy with the Galaxy series. Various parts – from the processor that’s also in the LTE Galaxy S III, to the new WCD9310 audio codec in the same phone – seem to indicate that BlackBerry certainly knows who its key rivals are.

“It’s not certain if these decisions the designers made on what semiconductors, ICs and other modules to use were by design or by accident” UBM concludes, “but based on the relative success of the Samsung Galaxy S3, it isn’t a bad model to draw from.”

If you’re more interested in how the BlackBerry Z10 – and BlackBerry 10 as a platform – performs when the phone is in one piece, check out our full review.

[via Gizmodo]

This LG Optimus Pro+ device (as it’s temporarily being code-named here) will be appearing in China with a fabulous 5.5-inch HD display with IPS LCD technology running at a monstrous 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. With 2GB of RAM under the hood, this Optimus G Pro+ would be bringing the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor once again, this time clocked at 1.7GHz per core with all the best connectivity to back it all up.

Also inside you’ll find 32GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot capable of holding 32GB cards (with the possibility of 64GB cards before this device hits the market), and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box. This device will also be appearing with a 13 megapixel camera on the back, 2.1 megapixel camera on the front, and a 3140 mAh battery inside.

Of course this device will be working with NFC as well as Bluetooth 4.0 and will be revealed soon. While it’s not officially been announced by LG, we’re expecting to see this model at Mobile World Congress 2013. Catch us there in Barcelona later this month in our fabulous MWC 2013 tag portal!

[via PhoneArena; via Android Community]

Uplinq is as Qualcomm claims it, “the wireless industry’s only cross-platform developer’s conference”, and it’s now been expanded to three full days. This set of events will be featuring here in 2013 a series of professionals from all angles – developers, manufacturers, operators, and technology providers alike. This set of events will show a cross-platform look at the wireless industry from not just a series of perspectives, but the specific perspectives you’ll find valuable to your business.

Qualcomm’s Uplinq series of events is made for “all members of the value chain”, as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Qualcomm Anand Chandrasekher makes clear, and “Feedback from last year’s attendees has us adding more technical sessions and further enhancing the business development programs we will be offering at Uplinq 2013.” It’s basically going to be one big technology high-five for everyone who’s responsible for creating, delivering, or supporting the industry from top to bottom!

Have a peek at our Uplinq collection to see what we’ve seen in the past from Qualcomm’s premiere developer conference. This event has shown us everything from the tiniest in-device speaker amplifications to the largest previews of Qualcomm technologies for the future. Camera demonstrations with sword fighters, device previews from top manufacturers, and up close and personal action in the Snapdragon environment – hot stuff!

Interestingly enough, the Qualcomm technology we’re using here in this app isn’t limited to the Qualcomm processor you may or may not have in your smartphone or tablet device. Instead its built in to the app itself, allowing you to use the app on essentially any iOS or Android device you’ve got on hand. This app takes you diving directly into the Star Trek universe with a selection of media bits you unlock yourself, each available right out of the box or revealed at a later date as we drive closer to the final release of the movie itself.

The original announcement of this app took place back on January 7th at CES 2013 where Qualcomm’s CEO Paul E Jacobs made it clear that the company here demonstrates the ability to “harness the power of the smartphone to bridge the digital and physical world” with Gimbal! In addition to collecting images with your smart device’s camera, you’ll be playing sounds with your computer that your smartphone hears and recognizes and actually moving out into the real world (outside your office or home) to find the full collection of locks.

This app uses a geofencing function that has you heading to specific GPS-based lock points – and the Star Trek Into Darkness movie itself down the line. This app currently brings a series of photos and video to the viewer that they’d otherwise (for the most part) be able to grab online if they know where to look – but the finding of everything is fun, and the content can be used as wallpapers, lock screens, and more, and it’s all sized appropriate to the device you’ve got on hand – iPhone 5 for us here in this test.

The real reason you’re going to want to download this app is to stay up to date on Star Trek Into Darkness news straight from the source and to attain exclusive opportunities you wont be able to get anywhere else. You can get this app right this minute for free from the iTunes App Store or the Google Play App Store by heading to the Star Trek Movie website right this minute. You can also simply search for “Star Trek App” and poof! There it will be – believe it or not!

Star Trek Into Darkness will be released to theaters in May 17th, 2013, and you’ll be blown away by everything inside it. Without a doubt. Stay tuned to our Star Trek tag portal for more information and news updates galore up until and through that time too!

Both sources familiar with the matter and multiple reports have stated that the leaked Qualcomm slides contain information about it and Google’s plans over the coming months. Among the plans is a spring 2013 K-release of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. The mobile operating system itself is also detailed in the leaks.

Of course, while it is nice to get confirmation, this isn’t the most surprising batch of information to ever leak. Google’s upcoming I/O event is when new iterations of Android are announced, and nothing had suggested that wouldn’t be the case for Key Lime Pie. The event will take place on May 15 through 17.

Whether the leaked information was taken down because of the Google materials it contained, or because of the Qualcomm data (or perhaps both) is unknown. If the quick suppression of the leaks indicate anything, though, it is that the information they contained is true – companies don’t often go to such efforts to eradicate leaks that contain false info, after all.

[via Android Community]

Of course, there were plenty of other headlines to cover throughout the day, with Dropbox announcing a new feature called Documents Preview. Speaking of Dropbox, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer had some not-so-nice things to say about the service today. Zynga’s chief game designer has left the company after four years, while Twitter has improved photo and video viewing in its website interface. Nintendo slashed its Wii U sales predictions today, and the white Nexus 4 took some time to pose for the camera once again.

A trio of Galaxy Tab user agent profile worked their way into the spotlight today, and Toyota has recalled 1.1 million vehicles. Rovio was spotted teasing its new “Escape from Hoth” update to Angry Birds Star Wars, and Netflix is planning at least five new shows a year to compete with HBO. A giant asteroid will be zooming past the Earth on February 15, while Apple has secured a trademark for the layout and design of its stores.

Qualcomm shared quarterly earnings today, as did Facebook, Electronic Arts, and Lenovo. IBM’s Watson will soon be heading off to his first university, while a new trailer for INJUSTICE: Gods Among Us dropped today. Foursquare delivered a bunch of different Best of Foursquare lists today, while Ticketmaster has announced that it will be ditching CAPTCHA. Finally tonight, Cory Gunther spends some quality time with 2014 KIA Forte, Chris Burns delivers his review of the Acer Iconia W510, and Chris Davies asks if RIM even realizes what went wrong with its business. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of your night folks!