Nokia N9 updated to MeeGo PR1.3, boasts 1,000 improvements

MeeGo isn't quite dead, and Nokia N9 users are getting another update pushed to their phone to prove it. PR1.3, a firmware refresh that's been in the works at least since 1.2 was released a few months ago, has finally been made official. But this is no simple bug fix — the latest version of MeeGo offers an impressive 1,000 “quality improvements, including mail, Facebook and Twitter.” Some of the actual boosts involve camera feature enhancements, higher volume, NFC fixes, better video decoding and more precise copy and paste.

According to Nokia's official support page, the update will also provide several network and connectivity enhancements. The 203MB OTA download is now beginning to roll out, starting with unbranded devices and branching out from there. Continue past the break for the full statement from Nokia.

As you might have noted already, we have now started rolling out a new update for N9 to 40.2012.21-3. This software release brings you over 1000 quality improvements, including Mail, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as several small network and connectivity improvements. For more information on the update, you can check out http://swipe.nokia.com/.

UK judge rules HTC doesn't violate Apple's patents, invalidates Cupertino's claims

 Well, Apple had a few legal victories over the last couple of weeks, but it's just been handed a significant defeat by Judge Christopher Floyd. The UK court handed down a ruling that HTC does not violate four Apple patents, including the infamous slide-to-unlock claim. What's more, the judge ruled that three of the four patents in question were not valid, among them the aforementioned unlocking design. The only one of the four patents that stood at the end of the day was related to scrolling through images in the photo management app, but HTC did not infringe upon the claim. This follows the ITC refusing an emergency ban on HTC products in the US. Don't think you've heard the last of slide-to-unlock, however. As HTC, Apple and Samsung have repeatedly shown, they're just as interested in competing in the court room as they are on store shelves (if not more so).

Samsung Galaxy Chat brings Nature UX to the messaging crowd

We didn't have to wait long to find out what Samsung would do with the GT-B5330 we saw just a day ago: meet the much more elegantly-titled Galaxy Chat. The finished product is Samsung's first phone outside of the Galaxy S III to carry the Nature UX layer, but takes it in a very message-happy direction with a QWERTY keyboard, a bundled copy of Quick Office and a dedicated key for ChatON that reminds us of the BlackBerry Curve 9320′s BBM shortcut. Not that you'd confuse the two otherwise, as the Galaxy Chat's 3-inch, 480 x 320 touchscreen and 4GB of built-in storage (plus a microSD slot) are decided steps up. About our only letdowns relative to the category are the 2-megapixel, flashless camera at the back and the difficulty some will have in getting their hands on Samsung's first keyboard-touting Android 4.0 phone. Unlike the global blitz we saw with the Galaxy S III, the Chat is launching in Spain this month and will exclude some large swaths of the Earth when it goes worldwide later on, leaving out Africa, North America and Russia.

Dual-core Huawei Ascend D1 launching tomorrow in China

While its Ascend D Quad will not be out until August, or maybe even September, Huawei has another high-end Ascend D smartphone that's ready to hit the shelves: the Huawei Ascend D1.

The D1 isn't too different from the D quad, the only major change being that it comes with a dual-core processor (1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460) instead of a quad-core one. Other than that, it features Android 4.0 ICS, a 4.5 inch IPS+ HD display (made by Toshiba), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, HSPA, GPS, Dolby Digital Plus sound, 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash and 1080p video recording, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, MicroSD card support, and an 8.9mm thin body.

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.