ZTE launches single-chip LTE smartphone Grand X LTE (T82)

 
Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer ZTE launched its first single-chip LTE smartphone today at CommunicAsia2012. Officially branded as the ZTE Grand X LTE (T82), the single-chip LTE smartphone harnesses the MSM8960 chip from Qualcomm. ZTE said that the phone will sport a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU and an 8 mega-pixel rear-facing camera that supports 1080p HD video, as well as a front-facing camera that supports 720p HD video calls. Apart from the aforementioned specs, the Grand X LTE will be Wi-Fi capable and will run Android 4.0.

"We are the first company to use the single-chip solution in a handset. The Grand series products are our high-end flagship offerings this year. ZTE aims to enhance its profile in the high-end market with the Grand series of smart terminals,” said He Shiyou, Executive Vice President of ZTE. The Grand X LTE will be available in Asia and Europe sometime in Q3 this year. As for the Android device's corresponding price, it remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more details.

Nokia 808 PureView announced for US, available soon through Amazon at $699

Color us surprised - or whatever the antonym of that word may be - but Nokia has announced the availability of its 41-megapixel 808 PureView smartphone for the United States, which will be distributed through Amazon. If you've been patiently waiting for your opportunity to wield this highly competent cameraphone for yourself, just know that you can soon stake your claim in line: pre-orders are set to begin later this week, and you can sign up on Nokia's website to receive that all-important notification. As for price, expect to pay $699 outright for this bulbous beauty, which offers support for AT&T's 3G network here in the US.

HTC One S with 1.7GHz Processor Released In India

HTC has just announced the availability of their new Android smartphone ‘One S' in India. Unlike the US version, the Indian version of the HTC One S comes with a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor. The rest of the specs remain the same as the US version, it features the same 4.3-inch 960 x 540 Super AMOLED touchscreen display, a 1GB RAM, a 16GB of storage, a VGA front-facing camera, an 8MP rear-facing camera and runs on Android 4.0 OS. The HTC One S is available for purchase in India via Saholic for 33,000 INR (about $590). [Product Page]

LG Optimus L5 E610 officially debuts in Europe this month, will have dual SIM capabilities in some markets

Announced in February, at the same time with the Optimus L7 and Optimus L3 (which are already available), the LG Optimus L5 E610 is finally ready to be released around the world.

According to LG, the L5 will make its debut this month in Europe - first in Germany, the UK, and France. After that, the smartphone will be introduced in the CIS, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.

Part of the L-Style series, the L5 measures 118.3 x 66.5 x 9.5 mm, runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and features a 4 inch HVGA (480 x 320) display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, 5MP rear camera, 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory, and MicroSD card support. In some markets (Asia and Latin America), the Optimus L5 will have dual SIM capabilities.

The price of the Optimus L5 hasn't been announced. Amazon Germany says the handset cost €199 - but the final price will certainly be lower, since the Optimus L7 (which has more advanced features) currently costs €199, too.

ZTE announces Grand X LTE for Europe and Asia Pacific

You probably don't put too much thought into how many chips it takes to get your smartphone on an LTE network, but just in case you were curious, ZTE's upcoming Grand X LTE (T82) will only need one. Qualcomm's MSM8960 makes the Grand X LTE ZTE's first single-chip LTE handset, and the firm is very proud. If processor cores and hardware stats are more your concern, however, rest easy knowing the Grand X packs a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a delectable serving of Android 4.0. Details on the slab's price and release date are scarce, but it should hit Europe and Asia Pacific in the third quarter.

Nokia 808 PureView smartphone now official in the US

 I know that we talked about the availability of the Nokia 808 PureView smartphone Stateside earlier today, but here is the official announcement – where it will be available in an unlocked format – not to metion unsubsidized through Amazon.com. Those living in the US will be able to pick up the Nokia 808 PureView for a rather hefty $699 (considering how it is unlocked, that is the fair price one pays in other countries that also offer unlocked devices), where it will see action with a compatible SIM card from AT&T. It will, of course, work nice with T-Mobile's network, but that would limit you to just 2G speeds. Just to recap, the Nokia 808 PureView comes with a 41-megapixel sensor that offers the highest performance Carl Zeiss optics ever, in addition to Nokia's brand-new pixel oversampling technology.

PureView technology would mean being able to shoot typically sized images, while oversampling is used to merge up to seven pixels into a single "pure" pixel, while removing visual noise that is found on other mobile phone cameras. Apart from that, you are able to zoom in up to 3X without having to lose any of the details in your images. This means there are no artificially created pixels in your picture.

Apart from that, there is also a full HD 1080p video recording which is capable of playing back your video in 4X lossless zoom, and is also the world's first use of Nokia Rich Recording. This allows you to make audio recording at quality levels of a CD, which was previously made possible only with external microphones. Pre-sales begin on Amazon.com later this week.

Oppo Finder 6.65mm Android Smartphone

 

Measuring at just 6.65mm thin, the Oppo Finder is claimed to be one of the ultra-thin Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones in the world. The Oppo Finder is currently available for pre-order in China for 2,498 Yuan ($393). For your info, the Oppo Finder features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 1GB of RAM, a 16GB of internal storage space, a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. [Product Page]

ZTE announces Grand X LTE for Europe and Asia Pacific

You probably don't put too much thought into how many chips it takes to get your smartphone on an LTE network, but just in case you were curious, ZTE's upcoming Grand X LTE (T82) will only need one. Qualcomm's MSM8960 makes the Grand X LTE ZTE's first single-chip LTE handset, and the firm is very proud. If processor cores and hardware stats are more your concern, however, rest easy knowing the Grand X packs a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a delectable serving of Android 4.0. Details on the slab's price and release date are scarce, but it should hit Europe and Asia Pacific in the third quarter.