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Dual-Core Snapdragon S4 Confirmed for Verizon Galaxy S3?
For everyone who has been hoping to get their hands on the quad-core variant of the Galaxy S3, it seems that some evidence has surfaced that Verizon will be carrying a dual-core Snapdragon S4 variant which is said to be supporting LTE connectivity. This is not the first time there has been information pointing in the same direction. Previous indications that led to Verizon getting the dual-core version as opposed to the quad-core one was an early NenaMark2 benchmark which showed a SCH-I535 with a 1.5GHz dual-core S4. If the information is to be officially confirmed, the purported reason for what seems to be a downgrade is because of 4G LTE connectivity that the Exynos 4 quad-core processor does not offer.
We use the term downgrade ironically, because if the information from the benchmark does point to a dual-core Samsung Galaxy S3, the Adreno 225 GPU in the dual-core Snapdragon processor beat the Mali-400MP on the quad-core Exynos processor by a couple of frames. Of course that might not be entirely accurate due to the pre-release software as well as the Galaxy S3 screen which is capped at 60 frames per second. To add yet another confusing detail to the mix, what seems to be yet another Samsung Galaxy S3 variant known as the SCH-I939 popped up in the NenaMark website and judging by the model number, it seems that reports have indicated that the device is meant for the Chinese market to succeed the I929 Galaxy S2 Duos with the identical quad-core Exynos 4 chipset on the international version.
The Fairphone 2 was first unveiled in June earlier this year, where this particular handset carried a modular design while featuring majority of its components that have been sourced from conflict-free mines. It seems that this particular handset that you can purchase with a clear conscience has begun to ship to those who happen to live across Europe.
Fairphone announced in a blog post, “It’s been almost two years in the making, and some of the earliest buyers have been patiently waiting since July to receive their new phones. As community manager, I want to personally welcome the new batch of Fairphone owners to our community.” The initial 1,000 units are tipped to ship this month, before the other pre-orders follow in January 2016.
In terms of hardware specifications, the Fairphone 2 will run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, has a 5″ 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, with Android 5.1 Lollipop in tow. It will be a dual SIM capable handset with a microSD memory card slot and plays nice with 4G LTE networks, retailing for approximately €525 a pop.
It looks like the upcoming flagship model from Xiaomi will feature NFC support, at least based on a document that was released by China UnionPay. Just in case you are scratching your head and wondering who China UnionPay is, they happen to be the only domestic payment gateway supplier and card organization, and hence, to see them offer detailed support concerning the newly released NFC-based payment system points to the very real possibility of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 featuring NFC capability.
After all, the Xiaomi Mi 3 was also mentioned on the list, which so happens to feature NFC, and there is no mention of the Xiaomi Mi 4 which does not come with NFC. Still, such a new payment system would be the ideal tool to see the reintroduction of NFC to the flagship model.
OnePlus did make an announcement in the previous month that the Ceramic variant of the OnePlus X will be released on November 24. True to their word, they did exactly that – although only a pitiful number of units were made available, and not only that, this was through a charity auction. Thankfully for the rest of the masses who are on the lookout for this device, it has gone on sale officially already.
Needless to say, this particular variant is available only by an invitation, although do bear in mind that standard OnePlus X invites are not good here – you will still need to snag yourself a specific Ceramic variant invite before you make a purchase. OnePlus is also on the lookout to offer additional methods of picking up this smartphone, although no further details were revealed.
The OnePlus X Ceramic will be available only in select markets, where among them include Europe, India, and Hong Kong. To date, we do know that OnePlus had made only 10,000 units of the handset available. A case of the early bird getting the proverbial worm here?