KB-Technologies

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact owners have found an original way to solve a commonly-occurring flash bleed problem. The resourceful bunch resolved the issue by simply swapping the plastic back cover of the device with that of its Japan-only sibling, the Sony Xperia Z1 f . The glass back cover of the Sony Xperia Z1 f can be found online for less than $20. Unsurprisingly, it fits perfectly on the Xperia Z1 Compact. The only difference between the two covers is that Japanese market offering has a small SO-02F branding in place of the large Xperia logo of the international version. It makes the compact handset look even more understated in my opinion. In addition to fixing the flash performance issues of you precious Xperia Z1 Compact, opting for a glass cover can provide visual flare as well. A contrasting black cover on a white device like the one you see above spruces up the appearance of the device while retaining a stock Sony Xperia look. What do you think? Is orderi...

So you want to try out Jolla’s mobile operating system, but don’t feel like it’s a practical decision to shell out a bunch of cash for an entirely new device? Well there’s good news for you: it’s possible to port Sailfish to Android devices, as a video has surfaced on the internet showing a Nexus 5 rocking the mobile OS. The Nexus 5 isn’t the only Android device that can run Sailfish. Martin Brook previously ported it to the Nexus One, Nexus 4, and the Galaxy S3. Brook worked with Siteshwar Vashish to get the unofficial Jolla mobile OS port on the Nexus 5. But just because this Nexus 5 port is unofficial, doesn’t mean that Jolla doesn’t want you flashing your Android devices with their mobile software. In fact, they released Sailfish OS flash images specifically for the Nexus 4. Jolla also has plans to release a Hardware Adaptation Development Kit (HADK). The kit should be available in a few weeks and will let CyanogenMod 10.1 users create Sailfish OS ports for the...

Are you a Viber user? Well you may want to be a little more careful about what you say over the popular smartphone messaging service. New reports reveal that Viber actually gives up user data: both messages and phone calls. The research was conducted by the University of New Haven. User data is stored on Viber’s servers, but the data is unencrypted and anyone who has a link to the data can access it. No passwords. No protection, just open access to anyone who wants to see it. “The data is stored on Viber’s server in an unencrypted manner. There is also no authentication method used, so anybody who has access to these links can look at this data, retrieve this data, and do whatever they want with it. “ Viber isn’t the only culprit in the mobile messaging game: Whatsapp was also found to have severe vulnerabilities which can easily be exploited. Using simple traffic sniffing tools, both Viber and Whatsapp user data were extrapolated with little difficulty. Viber ...

When the Raspberry Pi was released, hackers and tinkerers around the world rejoiced at all of the wonderful things they would be able to accomplish with the little $40 computer that could. You can add create a working cell phone to the list of amazing feats that the Raspberry Pi is capable of. David Hunt was able to turn the Pi, along with a few other additional parts, into a fully functional smartphone (the PiPhone) for about $150. Now it definitely isn’t a looker, nor is it the most svelte of devices, but it is fully capable of making phone calls, which David demonstrates in the video. Again, it might not be the most practical of solutions (the Moto G retails for $180 unlocked), it is pretty neat to know that you can create a cell phone out of the tiny computer.

Apple Stores in the US have started getting stock of a newer version of the MacBook Air that should go on sale soon. Unfortunately, this isn’t the major update we have been waiting for but just a tiny spec bump, perhaps the last update for this generation before the major update by the end of the year. The latest update features a very slightly faster version of Intel’s CPU, with the standard clock speed getting boosted from the current 1.3GHz to 1.4GHz. The Turbo Boost speed has gone up from 2.6GHz to 2.7GHz. The rest of the specifications remain identical for now, including the display, design, memory and price. Apple likely won’t even mention the fact that the models have been updated. The updated models are expected to go sale today in the US (and soon everywhere else). Update: The updated model is now on the US store and has a $100 price cut across the board.

Microsoft, with the help of its hardware partners, is making a $1 billion donation to schools in the United States to help them modernize and buy desktop PCs. The PCs in question are under $300 each, and that’s where the help of the company’s hardware partners in the face of Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, and Toshiba is felt most. Microsoft’s Education CTO Cameron Evans told CNET that because of the donation, he hopes that the children will become loyal Windows fans in the future. However, currently the focus is helping them have access to better technology, which will improve the quality of education. “ As much technology as we’ve brought into schools in the last 30 years, there hasn’t been significant change, ” Evans added. This generous donation comes as a good addition to the White House plan to gear up 99 percent of students with access to high-speed Internet within the next five years. Here’s hoping more students across the globe have such ...

Starting on May 1 Nokia will have a new CEO – Rajeev Suri. Suri has been with Nokia since 1995 and has been the CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks (now rebranded Nokia Networks) since October 2009. Considering Nokia Networks is the big bread earner in the new Nokia, the one after the sale of the phone division, the choice makes sense. “As Nokia opens this new chapter, the Nokia Board and I are confident that Rajeev is the right person to lead the company forward,” said Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors. Siilasmaa served a sinterim CEO, but will go back to his Chairman position on May 1. The interim president, Timo Ihamuotila, will step down from that position and will focus on his position as Executive Vice President and Group CFO. Nokia’s remaining operations invested €2.5 billion in research and development last year. There are plans for a €5 billion “capital structure optimization program.” Hit the source link for more details on the progra...

Popcorn Time, which debuted a few weeks ago as a service providing torrent streaming for movies and TV shows, was promptly taken down due to obvious legal issues. Now, the service is back up with the promise that it will “never be taken down” again. Better yet, a new Android and updated desktop versions are just around the corner. Currently available as a beta for Mac, PC, and Linux desktops, the service lets you browse for programs and movies using large thumbnail galleries, while letting you pick a torrent with the number of seeds or quality you’re looking for. Streaming obviously depends on your internet connection and the health of the torrent, but the service lets you pick from a selection of subtitles in numerous different languages. The upcoming Android version has some great potential, as you could download a show while at work, and then cast it to your TV when you get home. We’re not sure PT’s ambitious promise of never being taken down will last long, b...

Sony is working on a strange experiment – EvolutionUI. A “gamified” UI for Android smartphones that enables new features as you unlocks achievements. You read that right – getting to use more advanced features on a phone could become similar to leveling up in a game. “This topic is getting more and more popular, and it’s no surprise – people learn how to play games much more easily than they learn to use applications,” says Sony and points to badges on sites such as Stack Overflow and Foursquare. Here’s a video demo of a prototype gamified homescreen. After you open an app five times (any app), you’ll gain access to all apps. Putting five shortcuts on the homescreen gives you access to more than one homescreen pane (obviously, you need to unlock the first achievement before doing this). There’s more to EvolutionUI than the video showed. Experience points (XP) will be tracked for any action the user makes, e.g. 1 XP for opening an app, 10 XP for making a call. Af...

LG is going to launch the G Watch this June with a pricetag of €199 in Europe (probably $199 in the US). LG France has confirmed the information to the news outlet Lesnumeriques . It’s almost certain that the G Watch is going to be the base for the first Google Nexus smartwatch , which too will run the recently announced Android Wear OS . The G watch’s display is going to be always on and packs a resolution of 280 x 280 pixels. Last week, LG uncovered a new Champagne Gold color to join the Stealth Black, which was showed at the official announcement of the watch. The G Watch is also rumored to sport 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.

Available as: Samsung Galaxy K zoom with 3G Samsung Galaxy K zoom SM-C115 with 3G & LTE Also known as Samsung Galaxy S5 zoom General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - all versions 4G Network LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 - SM-C115 SIM Micro-SIM Announced 2014, April Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2014, Q2 Body Dimensions 137.5 x 70.8 x 16.6 mm (5.41 x 2.79 x 0.65 in) Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) Display Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (~306 ppi pixel density) Multitouch Yes Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Sound Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones Loudspeaker Yes 3.5mm jack Yes Memory Card slot microSD, up to 64 GB Internal 8 GB, 2 GB RAM Data GPRS Yes EDGE Yes Speed HSDPA, 42 Mbps, HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL WL...

The Samsung device that goes by the model number SM-G750 has popped up again on an Indian import database site Zauba . We've seen the model number before and speculations suggest it could turn out be the Galaxy S5 Neo . In its previous leak it sported a screen resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and an 2.3 GHz CPU. Though the new leak we gather some new information - the screen size is slated as a 5.1" - the same as the Galaxy S5. The SM-G750 is listed as SM-G750A, SM-G750F and SM-G750H - probably regional options for different markets. Previously it was though the SM-G750 is the Galaxy S5 mini but that goes by the name of SM-G800 and sports a 4.5" display . Sadly that's all the info we get at this point. Hopefully the Galaxy S5 Neo goes official and we get some solid information soon.

Nokia posted an operating profit of €304 million (11.4% of net sales) in the first quarter of this year, up from €254 million (8.1% of net sales) for the same quarter. This will be the last but one quarter with the phone division on Nokia's books – it spent the month of April with the Finns, but as of a few days ago it's part of Microsoft. This may be sad news for fans, but financially it's good news for Nokia. The phone division (now labeled "discontinued operations"), brought in €1.93 billion with an operating loss of €326 million. That's a decline in sales from €2.77 billion, but an increase in loss from €120 million. Nokia's Continuing operations totaled €2.67 billion with an operating profit of €242 million. Most of the cash came from Nokia Networks - €2.33 billion (17% down from €2.8 billion in the year ago quarter). HERE brought in €209 million in revenue (down from €216 million a year ago) with an operating profit of €10 mi...

The European Commission made a landmark ruling on Tuesday regarding an infringement claim by Motorola against Apple regarding the use of a standard-essential patent it had licensed. The Commission decreed that smartphone and tablet makers could no longer seek injunctions against rivals they had signed patent licensing agreements with, a step that should significantly reduce patent wars within the confines of the EU. In light of the numerous legal disputes with rival manufacturer Apple, the EU's anti-trust enforcement office has also accepted an agreement from Samsung Electronics not to seek injunctions against rivals it currently licenses patents from. The Commission also ordered Motorola to resolve its legal disputes with the Cupertino company outside of the courtrooms through arbitration. Jaoquin Almunia, the European commissioner in charge of anti-trust enforcement, said decisively that patent wars should not come at the expense of consumers. "W...

The European launch of the new Sony Xperia Z2 flagship was pushed from mid-April to May and May is fast approaching. UK retailers have started lining it up to launch. Sony's official web site claims deliveries are expected to start at the beginning of May. Carphone Warehouse warns of limited pre-launch stock but expects to have the Xperia Z2 in its stores on right on May 1. That's ahead of Clove UK's goal of shipping on May 9. Clove's offer includes £200 of free stuff – a Sony SRS-BTM8 Bluetooth speaker, MDR-NC31EM noise-cancelling headphones, 6 digital movie downloads and 30 days of Sony Music Unlimited. Carrier EE has set the delivery date "within 28 days," while Vodafone is still claiming April 14 (which clearly didn’t pan out). We tried checking elsewhere in Europe, the most accurate shipping date info we could find was "in 4-6 weeks" (one store even had a warning "shipping date unknown"). The Canadian ...

Two new Android 4.4 KitKat updates are now seeding Stateside. LG is now upgrading the G Flex on Sprint, while Samsung is doing the same for the Galaxy Note 10.1. The firmware update for the curved LG smartphone brings performance improvements, updated status and navigation bars, improved battery life, Knock Code feature and cloud printing. The update process is gradual though it has already begun and should be completed by May 7. Samsung is also rolling out an Android 4.4 KitKat update. It's for the Verizon's Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and includes faster multi-tasking, could printing, multi-user mode and immersive mode (automatic full screen mode). There are also the usual bug fixes. Both updates are available over-the-air or via manufacturers' dedicated update tools.

At an event in New York City, Sprint and HTC took the wraps of a special edition One (M8) Harman/Kardon. The previously leaked , premium audio-centric smartphone will be sold exclusively on Sprint Wireless in the United States in a black/gold color scheme. As expected, the biggest change which the Harman/Kardon M8 brings is enhanced audio experience. The handset offers lossless HD audio via a 24 bit/192kHz DAC. The latter delivers roughly six times the information of compact disc music and 60 times the information of an MP3 or streaming music source when playing FLAC files. HTC One (M8) Harman/Kardon edition official photos Furthermore, the special edition device will ship with Harman Clari-Fi application. Available for the first time in a mobile device, the app “rebuilds” a track’s audio quality which was lost during its compression. The rest of the device’s specs have remained unchanged. The HTC One (M8) Harman/Kardon edition totes a Qualcomm Snapdrag...

Strategy Analytics has released its latest report on the smartphone market. The smartphone shipments worldwide throughout the Q1 this year grew 33% annually setting another record with 281 million units. The mobile phone shipments (including featurephones and smartphones) also grew by 9.4% to 407.9 units shipped globally. Even though the smartphone shipments are growing rapidly, the top manufacturers are losing market share in favor of the second-tier ones. Samsung keeps its first place in the smartphone market with 31.2% share, dropping 1.2% down from Q1 last year. Apple also lost 2.2% share and is now holding 15.3% at the second place. Huawei kept its third place with minor boost, while Lenovo shipments grew by 0.8%. Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) Q1 '13 Q1 '14 Samsung 69.4 89.0 Apple 37.4 43.7 Huawei 10.1 13.4 Lenovo 8.4 13.3 Others 88.7 125.6 ...

Samsung announced today it has begun mass producing of the industry’s first 3-bit NAND-based SSD designed specifically for servers and large data centers. The new 3-bit NAND technology is going to enable data centers operate more efficiently and manage heavy workload better. Ultimately, this would benefit complex queries common with social networking, web browsing and email. The new PM853T SSD will be available in 240GB, 480GB and 960GB sizes and will deliver a 30% boost in manufacturing efficiency compared to 2-bit NAND SSDs. The new drive is capable of reaching 530MB/s of sequential read speed and 420MB/s sequential write. It also will read data randomly at 90,000 IOPS and handle sustained random writes at 14,000 IOPS. Pricing isn’t yet known, but it should be cheaper than currently existing drives of the same capacity. In December last year, the company announced its first 1TB mSATA SSD . Currently, Amazon UK sales it for a nudge below £400, so the 960GB flavor o...

A leaked video demo reveals the HP Slatebook 14 – an Android-powered laptop with a 14″ 1080p touchscreen. It’s not a hybrid (detachable tablet + keyboard dock) like the Slatebook X2 , nor is it a dual-boot device, it’s pure Android. The specs are a bit unclear, but the video is promising a slim and lightweight design. Without the need for a second battery behind the screen like on the Slatebook X2, this new device should be thinner than 20mm. It’s positioned as an affordable device, though so we shouldn’t expect anything too cheap. The body seems to be made of polycarbonate and will likely be available in bright colors. The HP Slatebook 14 features a 1080p screen, but a cheaper version with a lower screen resolution might be available too. It will be powered by Tegra 4 with rumored 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, expandable via a microSD card slot. The Android version is unclear, but it’s rumored to be 4.2 Jelly Bean. There are also three full size USB 2.0 ports, a full-si...

Nokia joined Microsoft last Friday officially but since today is the first working day after the agreement was done Microsoft has issued an ad on YouTube that portrays the big happy family as Not Like Everybody Else. In the ad Microsoft is the colorful person out of a crowd of black and white street-dwellers in a black and white murky world. As he moves along, being cool and different he sees another colorful person (naturally using a Nokia slate) and finally at the end of the ad we see the colorful protagonist through our own point of view (suggesting perhaps we’re black and white as well). Microsoft has had it fair share of ads on YouTube and elsewhere – some good , others cool and bizarre or funny but Nokia just kills it every , single time and then some . Nokia does great ads even when it doesn’t mock its competition . We hope those ads continue to entertain us. Here’s the ad itself. And if you’re interested what the #MoreColorful tag at the end o...

The original Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 slate was released in August, 2012, initially running on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung released only one firmware update during the past two years flavoring the tablet with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS. Nowadays there are already two new Note tablets – Note 10.1 2014 Edition and Note Pro 12.2, but as it turns out the pioneer was not forgotten. A leaked official test firmware suggests Samsung is almost ready to release an official Android 4.4 KitKat update for the original Galaxy Note 10.1. The test firmware was assembled from different leaks and may not be stable. But it is an official pre-release update that won’t increase your binary counter or void your warranty. Of course, if you brick your device while updating – this will VOID the warranty. The update is compatible with Galaxy Note 10.1 N8000 model and its build date is April 23. You can hit the source link below for download instructions. Note that the off...

Tizen is alive , but unfortunately delayed yet again . However, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel for the joint Intel-Samsung developed OS, as according to a TizenIndonesia , Tizen is going to get its smartphone debut some time in May. The first official smartphone running Tizen would launch in Russia next month, with Brazil and other developing markets coming next. Additionally, Yoon Han-kil, senior vice president of Samsung's product strategy team said to Reuters that at least two smartphones running Tizen are just around the corner. The first would be a high-end model, not unlike the Samsung Galaxy S4 , while the second would be a mid-range model. However, Yoon says that we should expect both products around the end of the second quarter. So, while Samsung may announce the Tizen smartphones in May, chances are they won't launch until June. There have been a bunch live photos of Tizen smartphones - the latest being the Samsung SM-Z9005 . It...

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 SIM Micro-SIM Announced 2014, February Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2014, May Body Dimensions 140 x 72.8 x 9.3 mm (5.51 x 2.87 x 0.37 in) Weight 164 g (5.78 oz) Display Type Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 540 x 960 pixels, 5.0 inches (~220 ppi pixel density) Multitouch Yes Sound Alert types Vibration, MP3 ringtones Loudspeaker Yes 3.5mm jack Yes Memory Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB Internal 8 GB, 1.5 GB RAM Data GPRS Yes EDGE Yes Speed HSPA+ WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE NFC Yes USB Yes, microUSB v2.0 Camera Primary 5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash Features Geo-tagging Video Yes, 1080p Secondary Yes, 1.1 MP, 720p Features OS BlackBerry 10.2.1 OS Chipset Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon 400 CPU Du...

LG Optimus L III series was unveiled prior to the MWC in Barcelona last February. The first three members of the new lineup were showcased on the expo - L40, L70 and L90. Today LG Indonesia has announced another handset to join the Optimus L III mid-rangers - the LG L80. The device leaked just a few hours ago in live pictures and specs , but now we know it is already official and we van even show you some live pictures. LG L80 live pictures LG L80 features a 5" WVGA IPS display and runs on a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm chipset with 1GB of RAM. It comes with a 5MP rear camera with LED flash, 4GB expandable storage and a 2,540 mAh battery. LG L80 has the same connectivity package as most of its siblings - optional dual-SIM support, 3G with HSPA on SIM1, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM radio. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS with company's proprietary Optimus UI on top of it. Naturally, LG's latest software feature - Knock Code is on board, too....

LG Optimus L III series was unveiled prior to the MWC in Barcelona last February. The first three members of the new lineup were showcased on the expo - L40, L70 and L90. Today LG Indonesia has announced another handset to join the Optimus L III mid-rangers - the LG L80. The device leaked just a few hours ago in live pictures and specs , but now we know it is already official and we van even show you some live pictures. LG L80 live pictures LG L80 features a 5" WVGA IPS display and runs on a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm chipset with 1GB of RAM. It comes with a 5MP rear camera with LED flash, 4GB expandable storage and a 2,540 mAh battery. LG L80 has the same connectivity package as most of its siblings - optional dual-SIM support, 3G with HSPA on SIM1, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM radio. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS with company's proprietary Optimus UI on top of it. Naturally, LG's latest software feature - Knock Code is on board, too....

Global analytics company Kantar Worldpanel has released its latest global smartphone market share report for the 3-month period ending in March 2014. The data shows what's the distribution of Android, Windows Phone, iOS and BlackBerry in terms of overall market penetration in Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain (EU5) as well as in the US, China, Australia and Japan. Starting with EU5, Windows Phone managed to gain 1.6 percent points year-over-year. Italy, which traditionally is a strong WP market , saw the largest growth by Microsoft's mobile OS with 13.9% (3.0 percent points more than the same period in 2013). Windows Phone marks the least progress in Germany - 0.5 percent points up from March 2013. Android is doing quite well there though jumping from 73.6% to 77.0% share. Italy too is seeing a rise of Android with a 70.7% market share up from 62.5% last year. Spain is another interesting market, where Android marks a decrease of 5.1 percent points from...

Samsung is having an event tomorrow where the company is expected to announce the tentatively named Galaxy K device, the successor to last year's Galaxy S4 zoom. The company has now put up a video on Instagram that zooms into the Red Dot Design Museum, with the caption 'Meet #TheNextGALAXY. Join us for a live update on April 29 at 11AM SGT'. The zoom in the video looks like a hint at the optical zoom in the phone, although the choice of having the Red Dot Design Museum in the video may not just be a coincidence. We will find out more tomorrow.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has been having issues with its camera – namely, it stops working after a cryptic warning. Samsung has issued a statement saying the issue affects only a very limited number of devices. The company declined to specify an exact number, but apparently the problem wasn’t confined to the US and Verizon, but affected a few other countries as well. According to the statement, the problem was caused by "complications" in the ROM, specifically in the parts responsible for the camera. Samsung has taken steps to prevent this problem reoccurring in newly built devices. Samsung is expecting lower profits for the first quarter of this year than the same period in the year before. That would be a second quarter of lower profits in a row (Q4 2013 saw a 6% dip in operating profits compared to 2012).

The Xiaomi Mi3 was launched back in September and it has always been known for offering plenty of bang for your buck. To maintain that reputation today the company has announced new prices, which considerably cheaper than before. Xiaomi has slashed the price of the 16GB Mi3 from $327 to $270, while the 64GB model retails for $320 shortly after the company announced that it intends to bring the Mi3 outside of China. By the end of 2014, you should be able to buy the phone in India, Brazil, and Russia as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. The device is available with two different chipsets - you can either get a Tegra 4 with four Cortex-A15 cores or a Snapdragon 800 with four Krait 400 cores at 2.2 GHz each. Currently, the Tegra 4 model is available on China Mobile, while the Snapdragon 800 is sold on China Unicom. The device is very slender at 144mm×72mm×8.1mm and weighs only 145 g. it has a 5" 1080p IPS ...