MasHD Blog

As Computex approaches, so too do the teasers for devices like this action-figure representation of a device ASUS will be showing off. Here the proof is in the pudding as the letters N6-TE tie in with ASUS common past and the Android toy itself. It begins with the letter N and the toy has the most easily recognizable representation of a pen – this means the device will have a “note” functionality and more than likely a capacitive pen built-in. As the ASUS FonePad we saw earlier this year  worked with a Nexus 7 form factor and the ability to make telephone calls appeared, so did ASUS’ willingness to make said calls on multiple devices. This new N6 machine shows its ability to work as a telephone with the Android toy’s right arm – again, in as obvious a manner as possible showing that it works as a phone. As this toy teaser is called DROID MARK II, there’s also the possibility that this machine is mean to be the FonePad II, bringing with it a 6-inch display rather than a 7 an...

With the announcement of a stock Android Galaxy S 4 and a just-announced HTC One Google Edition , many people are fearing that Google is quietly shutting down the Nexus program and will simply just put stock Android on a few devices. However, Google’s Sundar Pichai says that the Nexus program will continue, and we should see more Nexus devices coming in the future. Pichai, who is Google’s senior vice president of Android, Chrome, and Apps, said during an interview at the D11 conference that “the goal behind Nexus was to guide the ecosystem, but that will continue as well,” confirming that Google has more Nexus devices planned to release in the future. As far as what those devices will be, no one knows really. Our latest clue was a small form-factor tablet that appeared in one of Google’s videos, hinting to the possibility that it could be the next-generation Nexus 7 tablet. Of course, we’re taking these kinds of these with grains of salt, but we certainly have our hawk peepers o...

A suspected glimpse of what was at first believed to be a brand new version of the Nexus 7 has instead been revealed to be a tablet made by ZTE. Inside a Google-made promotion for Google Maps exploring Central Park appeared a little-known 7-inch tablet that could very well have been Google’s next-generation handheld tablet. Just this morning, though, the truth has come out. While the possibility of a new Nexus 7 – probably with a new name, mind you – is still in the mix for this summer season, the tablet in this video is actually a ZTE machine. The ZTE Optik is a black and grey 7-inch display-toting tablet working with Android 3.2 Honeycomb. It’s got a relatively large bezel, as you can see, and comes in at 7.63 inches tall by 4.72 inches wide, with a depth of 0.45 inches You’ll find this tablet appearing at right around 0:53 into the video. In short – this device looked interesting enough to be used for this Google video spot, but it’s certainly a step down – or at least to th...

Speaking to Walt Mossberg at D11 this morning, Google's Sundar Pichai offered glorious news for anyone who loves the HTC One but craves an untouched Android experience: he confirmed that there is indeed a stock Android 4.2.2 version of the flagship device One coming, and it will be fully unlocked for T-Mobile and AT&T at the solid price of $599. It'll go on sale in the Google Play Store on June 26th, the same date as its $649 counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 stock edition. The new version of the device -- which will be sold in the US initially -- will come SIM-unlocked, with an unlocked bootloader and 32GB storage. In terms of radios, it will offer quadband LTE (700/850/AWS/1900), triband HSPA+ (850/1900/2100) and the usual quadband GSM / EDGE. Of course, going with a pure Android device. ( Engadget /AllthingsD )

Apple has sold more than 100m of its iPod touch PMPs, the company has confirmed, with the latest variant on the best-selling media player being revealed earlier today. The touchscreen gadget launched in its first generation back in 2007, and has since sold in excess of 100 million units, Apple told The Loop; this morning, a $229 16GB iPod touch with a 4-inch Retina display was made official. The new model marks the demise of the 3.5-inch iPod touch, which Apple had kept around following the launch of the 5th-gen 4-inch model to cater to the entry level market. However, there are a few compromises to be made to hit that price, not least the removal of the rear 5-megapixel iSight camera. Apple’s cheapest iPod touch also loses the lanyard ring, and is only available in the single color: metallic silver. At the last count – back in July 2012 – Apple said it had sold 82m of the iPod touch. It’s an impressive climb in the intervening period, particularly given widespread industry pre...

Motorola‘s big vision for mobile isn’t just the Moto X smartphone: the company also has wearable, tattoo-embedded, and even swallowable gadgets in the pipeline. Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group chief Regina Dugan – former DARPA chief – showed up at D11 sporting an electronic tattoo that could be worn on the skin for a week at a time, and used to cut through the numerous authentication processes we go through every day. The tattoos rely on a new, stretchable electronics system that can keep working even as it flexes on the wearer’s arm. As Dugan says, while criticisms of wearables like smartwatches include suggestions that young people won’t want to wear them – something Tim Cook commented on – it’s much more likely that the demographic would want to use a digital tattoo. It’s not the only high-tech security system Motorola’s group is looking at. “I take a vitamin every morning: what if I could take an authentication vitamin?” Dugan asked, before whipping out a...

Apple has quietly revealed a new iPod touch, a 16GB model with a 4-inch Retina display and a $229 price tag, though it loses some of its siblings more advanced features, such as the rear camera. The new 16GB iPod touch finally replaces the last-gen 3.5-inch version which Apple had kept around in 16GB and 32GB forms to cater to the more affordable end of the market This new model has a dual-core Apple A5 processor and steps up to a FaceTime HD camera on the front. Apple also throws in a set of its EarPods headphones, and of course the display runs at Retina resolution just as per the latest 4-inch iPhone and iPod touch. However, there’s been a compromise or two to make the price point. Most obvious is the omission of a rear camera, with the 5-megapixel iSight camera of the regular 4-inch iPod touch being dropped to save money. The lanyard loop on the existing model has also been left off of this cheaper version, though whether that will prove too frustrating to buyers is questio...

Samsung has revealed the Galaxy S4 Mini, the widely-anticipated smaller version of the Galaxy S 4, packing a 4.3-inch display, dualcore processor, and an 8-megapixel main camera. Set to hit shelves in LTE, 3G, and 3G dual-SIM forms, depending on country, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini shrinks its full-sized sibling’s screen down to qHD resolution from Full HD, and has only a 1.7GHz dualcore chip rather than the quadcore of the bigger phone. However, that makes for a more pocketable device, trimmed to 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.94 mm and 107g for the new Mini phone. Above the display there’s a 1.9-megapixel camera, and Samsung’s various camera editing features – such as Best Photo, HDR, and Panorama – are also included. In fact, many of the Galaxy S 4′s software enhancements will also be included on the Galaxy S4 Mini, with S Voice, S Translator, Group Play, and WatchON, the latter of which gets to use the Mini’s built-in infrared abilities. Underneath TouchWiz there’s Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean,...

After countless leaks and speculation the folks from Google and LG finally made the white LG Nexus 4 official. It’s the same Nexus we know and love, with a nice new paint job. After plenty of talk at Google I/O about a white model with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean getting announced we were excited, but it’s still just on 4.2.2, for now at least This morning Google announced the White Nexus 4, and we should be seeing it hit the Play Store with a brand new matching white bumper case starting tomorrow, May 29th. We’ve seen the phone multiple times, and it’s essentially the exact same smartphone, but we’ll talk a look anyways. Obviously as some of you may notice, the device isn’t completely white. Instead the back and sides have a nice rubbery white paint job, while Google opted to keep the front fascia black. Some like it, some don’t, but at least we have the option. Then the same popular bumper case is now available in white and would even look good on that Black Nexus 4. Take a peek at bo...

Apple CEO Tim Cook‘s full interview on the D: All Things Digital stage has been posted, with the 80-minute long video showing the chief exec weighing in on wearable s, taxes, and more. Cook’s appearance – and grilling at the hands of Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher – saw the Apple CEO relatively tight-lipped on the sort of breaking news his interviewers were digging for, though he did drop hints about a new iOS version at WWDC 2013 next month. Some of Cook’s attitudes suggest an Apple at odds with Google’s approach to mobile computing, with comments about Glass lacking in broad appeal. Instead, Cook says, he sees more value in more single-purpose wearables, namechecking Nike’s Fuelband as an example (it’s worth noting that Cook also sits on the Nike board). Elsewhere, Cook commented on Apple’s lack of a social network – something the chief exec doesn’t think the company really needs – and dropped some hints about the incoming new version of iOS. That’s believed to be due for unv...

The next wave of Samsung devices is washing in as a London event announced earlier today clues the public in, miniature photo style. The Samsung Galaxy Note III will quite likely be up for announcement as it’s been appearing in benchmarks here and there and has historically appeared not long after a Galaxy smartphone hero device in the past. Meanwhile the company has Windows 8 notebooks and a brand new Galaxy Camera to show as well. This Samsung event is sure to be packed with announcements that expand the company’s collection of Android and Windows devices with a real possibility for Tizen appearing on the tail end. Guesses surrounding the actual invite card have centered on these three items: 1. Galaxy Note III 2. ATIV Ultrabooks (Series 7) 3. Galaxy S 4 ZOOM The third entry has appeared in UAProf listings, passed on by Mobileaks as a replacement for the Samsung Galaxy Camera, here coming with software features that mix it in well with the GALAXY S 4 lineup. This camera wil...

Computex is slowly creeping up on us, as it starts toward the beginning of next month, and ASUS appears to be going all out with new products at the event, constantly teasing new hardware that the company has up its sleeves. This time around, we’re not sure exactly what they’re teasing, but they note how the new product will “move you.” The image teaser that ASUS posted on their Google+ page is a close up of what is probably the new device that they’ll be releasing at Computex this year. From the looks of it, it appears to be made of brushed aluminum like many of their current devices, and sports a circular shape of some kind. Many commenters on the Google+ post say that it’ll have something to do with music or audio, perhaps some sort of sound system, but we’re not sure if the “move you” teaser is supposed to be taken literally or figuratively. If meant literally, then definitely some sort of fitness product similar to Fitbit, Nike, or Jawbone, but from the image provided, it do...

Samsung Sells 10 million S4's while HTC sells 5 million One's  According to the Wall Street Journal, an unnamed HTC executive has revealed that the company has sold roughly 5 million units of the HTC One since the device went on sale in late March. At this time, orders for the HTC One still exceed HTC’s production capacity, but that issue is expected to be resolved by the end of May. Orders are pretty good so far and are still more than what we can supply. This is partly due to the shortage of components. When the issue is resolved next month, we will have a better idea if it's doing really well or not,  EXECUTIVE - HTC Shipping 5 million HTC Ones may sound impressive, but we expect Samsung is unimpressed. The Korean manufacturer has announced that they have already shipped 10 million Galaxy S4s, breaking the 50 day record it took Samsung to ship the same number of Galaxy SIIIs. To celebrate this grand achievement  Samsung will be launching the S4 in four new col...

HTC’s 2013 Androids have thus far been generally higher-end devices. Sure, the First is no One, but specs like that 4.3-inch 720p screen make it clear that this is no bargain-basement model. We all knew that trend couldn’t last forever, and sure enough, we’re now getting a look at some lesser Androids to help fill out HTC’s handset lineup, upon the discovery of evidence pointing to both the Desire 200 and Desire 600. The first thing you should notice is the naming: gone are the days of the Desire C and Desire V, replaced with a system reminiscent of Nokia, or even Qualcomm and its SoC offerings. As you should be able to tell from the numbering, the Desire 200 looks to be the lower-end of the pair. The phone shows up in a Taiwanese database as HTC’s model 102e. There’s a chance this guy could be the same G2 we saw specs for back in February. If that’s indeed the case, look for a 1GHz SoC, 3.5-inch HVGA display, 512MB of RAM, and a five-megapixel main camera. Things look a bit be...

LG has announced the LG Optimus GJ, a waterproof Android handset, jumping into the pool alongside the likes of the Sony Xperia ZR. It offers IXP5 and IPX7 certification. The handset features a 4.7-inch IPS display, protected with Corning Gorilla Glass, with a 1280 x 720 resolution, along with a powerful 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2GB of RAM. There's 16GB of storage which can be expanded with up to 62GB of microSD and, as you can take the back cover off, you can access the 2280mAh battery to swap it out on those long days. There's a 13-megapixel camera on the rear, and a 1.3-megapixel one on the front. You'll be able to capture 1080p video, as you'd expect, along with the usual Android 4.1 features and functions. In terms of dimensions you're looking at 139.6 x 68.9 x 9.39mm and a weight of 141.2g, so despite the waterproofing, this doesn't look like a handset that's too bulky. Those specs, it has to be said, closely match th...

Smartphone startup Jolla has revealed its first device, the Sailfish-powered Jolla, expected to ship by the end of the year. Running the MeeGo-derived OS on a dualcore processor, the Jolla phone packs a 4.5-inch display and heavily gesture-centric UI, as well as 4G connectivity and an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash. There’s also 16GB of internal storage, along with a microSD card slot. The battery is user-accessible, for speedy switch-overs, and there’s some clever intelligence which can recognize which back-cover you clip back on. Thanks to that, the Jolla can automatically change the color-scheme – as well as fonts, ringtones, profiles, and more – of its interface to match the color of its casing; a little gimmicky, perhaps, but it’s likely to go down well with those who remember Nokia’s XpressOn covers from the pre-smartphone days. Jolla is calling the system “the Other Half” and will offer multiple different casing finishes. Any new platform needs apps, and Jolla is p...

Acer’s Iconia W3, the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet, has quietly cropped up at the company’s site, confirming the smaller slate and promising a full eight hours of runtime. Rumored since April, the Acer Iconia W3-810 is now listed on the company’s Finnish site, running full Windows 8 Pro on an Intel Atom Z2760 processor and with an 8.1-inch WXGA screen That chip is paired with 2GB of RAM and up to 64GB of flash storage. The Clover Trail chip has Intel GMA 3650 graphics, driving the 1280 x 768 WXGA multitouch display. Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and a micro USB 2.0 port; there’s also a microHDMI output for hooking up an external display. A 2-megapixel webcam is also included. That Bluetooth connection could be used for hooking up a wireless keyboard, but Acer will also offer a detachable keyboard dock into which the Iconia W3 will slot. The snap-on ‘board is wider than the tablet itself, which means Acer can include full-sized keys. Acer will offer two va...

Hisense, a company known for making budget Chinese tablets, will soon be releasing their Android tablets stateside. Late last month a new Hisense Sero 7 tablet was spotted clearing the FCC here in the US, and today we have all the details. Their first official Google Play certified Android tablet to go on sale stateside is pretty impressive. It has more to offer than the Nexus 7, and only comes in at $99. Read on for more details on this exclusive first look. Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader we’re getting the first official details, specs, and pictures of what is called the Hisense Sero 7 Pro. This tablet aims to deliver Nexus 7 like performance to the masses for only $99, and will be hitting retailers like Walmart shortly. According to our tipster, it’s already for sale extremely early at some select Walmart stores. The Hisense Sero 7 Pro is a pretty impressive tablet in every sense of the word, especially given the price. You’ll be enjoying a 7-inch 1280 x 800 IPS HD display, and ...

A new report claims that Google intends to launch its next-gen Android OS version next month alongside a new Nexus 4 version The white Nexus 4 is said to hit the Google Play Store on June 10, at which point Android 4.3 would also be released. Android and Me has apparently managed to get some hands-on time with the white Nexus 4 which appears to be a “carbon copy of the previous Nexus 4, just with a different color casing.” Therefore, this white Nexus 4 model doesn’t appear to be that 32GB Nexus 4 LTE model that appeared in various rumors. We've seen the white Nexus 4 in a bunch of photos in the days leading to Google I/O, with one set of images revealing that the handset spotted at a mobile event in Dubai had the same FCC ID as the regular black version. At the time, we wondered whether this was the upgraded Nexus 4 version we mentioned before, or whether it was a special Google I/O edition meant to arrive in the hands of developers – since then we learned that Google gav...

Love it or hate it, HTC is fully behind their Android skin, Sense. With each upgrade it is promised to be slimmer and easier to use, but still people complain about it getting in the way of their phone. Sense 5 debuted with their newest flagship the HTC One this year, but according to an HTC ROM developer, Sense 5 is upcoming for last year’s device, the One X. If this is true, HTC also plans to bring two of the highest profile features from this year’s device back to the One X as well. The curated social news-stream BlinkFeed and the awesome camera feature Zoes are planned to be included in this update as well. With an update of this size however, it could be a while before we see it on the international version of the One X and even longer before any US versions of the device see it. If we hear anything, we will be sure to keep you posted. (DroidLife)

cover Mashdroid is our blog's  independent magazine which is issued every month (most of the time) as a free PDF download , although we are not expecting thousands of downloads , we will  be very pleased if you increased the download count by atleast one , TOPICS COVERED IN THIS ISSUE *BBM for Android and iOS *Archos Chefpad *HP Slatebook X2 *Barnes and Noble Nook HD and HD+ *Sony Xperia ZR *Acer Iconia A1-810 *Nvidia SHIELD *Google I/O 2013 *Samsung Galaxy S4 -Developer edition File size -2.7 mb click here to download page 4 page 6 page 10 

In Monaco earlier today, ZTE officially unveiled its ZTE Grand X2 In Intel-powered flagship smartphone, once again eschewing its stigma of peddling lower-end handsets by offering an all-around high end smartphone slated for release in Europe this autumn for an unspecified amount. There’s no word yet whether this handset will make its way to the US. Perhaps the ZTE Grand X2 In’s greatest claim to fame is the hardware found under its hood – a dual-core Intel Atom Z2580 2GHz processor, as well as 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM (storage expansion available via microSD up to 32GB). The Intel-Inside aspect aside, the handset also has a higher-end display, measuring in at 4.5-inches with an HD 1280 x 720 resolution. The phone runs Android Jelly Bean. Another notable feature on the Grand X2 In is its 8-megapixel rear camera, which – in addition to offering 1080p recording – also features a rapid-shot mode capable of up to 24-frames-per-second without shutter lag. There’s also smart scene...

Sometimes you need a laptop, and sometimes you need a tablet. Such is the philosophy behind detachable PCs, with the newly unveiled HP Split x2 being one of two announced today, with the HP SlateBook x2 being the other. With a 13.3-inch HD display, it’s big enough for a variety of tasks, yet still small enough to tote around sans-body as a tablet. Read on for the full details; we’ve got a video for you after the jump With the HP Split x2, consumers get a 13.3-inch high-definition touchscreen display that can be detached from the base, which contains an extra optional hard drive for additional storage on top of the storage in the detachable unit. As with the dual hard drives, there are dual batteries for “ultramobility,” all of it wrapped up in a soft-coated shell to keep fingerprints to a minimum. Under the hood, users will find a 3rd-generation Intel Core processor (Core i3 and Core i5 options) and up to 8GB of RAM, while audio is provided via Beats Audio and HP Connected Music....

It would appear that NVIDIA is ready to power HP’s newest attempt at converging the mobile and desktop worlds with a transforming notebook/tablet machine called the HP SlateBook x2. This device works with a 10.1-inch HP touchscreen display, an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor under the hood, and a version of Android that’s all but vanilla. Taking on the mantle brought up with the ASUS Transformer tablet/notebooks many seasons before, here HP attempts to make Android an all-day OS. Inside this device you’ve got 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot that allows you to expand memory by 32GB, and 2GB of RAM. You’ll also be able to work with full-sized SD cards in a slot separate from the smaller cards. Inside both the slate itself and the keyboard dock you’ll find batteries ready to bring on a rather massive amount of up-time. Sound will be handled by HP’s implementation of DTS Sound+, which sounds nice, but this device’s speakers continue to suffer from the dreaded back-facing synd...

During BlackBerry‘s Live event in Florida today, the company announced that its popular BlackBerry Messenger service (a.k.a. BBM) will be heading to iOS and Android later this summer. The app will support cross-platform messaging, meaning that users on BlackBerry can talk with iOS and Android users with the BBM app. The BBM app will support all iOS devices running iOS 6 and higher, as well as Android devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and higher. BlackBerry said that it would be bringing some of the same features of BBM over to iOS and Android, including groups functionality, as well as voice features and screen sharing in later releases. BlackBerry also announced what they’re calling BBM Channels, which is a new social feature for BBM that will allow companies and celebrities to create a fan page of sorts that BBM users can follow. Whenever a BBM Channel gets updated with new content, users who follow these pages will see notifications for the updates in BlackBerry ...

The Adam II features a 10.1-inch screen and is cheaper, better performing, and has a secondary black and white display on the side that the original Adam tablet lacked. The resolution of that 10.1-inch screen is 1280 x 800 and it uses IPS technology. The secondary black and white screen on the side is a LCD display and is used for notifications. The heart of the tablet is a 1.5 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The tablet runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for the operating system. The dual core processor is paired with 1 GB of RAM and the tablet has integrated Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth. Other features include a front camera and a rear camera, both with two-megapixel resolution. The internal battery has 6000 mAh of power promising 10 hours of battery life per charge. Rumors originally tipped the price for the Adam II to be $220. However, reports have now indicated that the rumored $220 price is incorrect. Official pricing hasn’t been announced at this time. This tablet is ex...