MasHD Blog

With the launch of the Nexus 5 on the cards next month, we’re beginning to get a brief idea of what to expect, thanks mainly to the plethora of leaks. And a new leak has now suggested that the Nexus 5 might come with support for nano SIM cards. Nano SIM cards have been a standard on Apple devices since the iPhone 5 last year, so it’s not new to the market by any means. This revelation comes from Ukrainian carrier Life which claims that it will provide nano SIM cards for its customers with smartphones like the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, Nexus 5 or other Android 4.4 smartphones. That’s a little odd as the Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 aren’t official yet, but it should serve as confirmation as it is coming straight from the carrier. The LG made Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 are due for an announcement in mid-October, so there’s still a couple of weeks left until anything goes official. It seems logical that the Nexus 5 would come with a nano SIM card and it wouldn’t surprise me if it becomes a stan...

Although Blackberry lists it at $449 , The Z10 costs $350 if you buy from a retail store  Following poor quarterly earnings, we assume BlackBerry is preparing to move a serious amount of smartphones to bounce back. The company has shown the first signs of that with a new listing on its website selling both the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 unlocked, no-contract or specific carrier required. Think of this like a Google Play Nexus program-like move. The BlackBerry Z10 is available in both white and black for $449 (£278). It features a 4.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, 16GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, 1800 mAh battery, 8-megapixel rear-camera, 2-megapixel front-camera, NFC, LTE, and all the goodies like Bluetooth. The BlackBerry Q10 runs a little higher at $549 in white and black. It's aimed at users who love a physical keyboard, featuring a 3.1-inch Super AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2GB of RAM,...

Well look what we have here. The image below is believed to be leaked from NTT DoCoMo showing the Japanese specifications of the Sony Xperia Z1 (SO-01F) as well as a new handset the Sony Xperia Z1 f (SO-02F). The latter is believed to be the ‘Honami mini’ that has been rumoured heavily since the Xperia Z1 was announced. Yes, this brochure leak may be fake, but it fits with previous NTT DoCoMo documentation we have seen. If there are any Japanese readers out there, please have a look below and let us know if anything suggests this could be fake. The specs of the Xperia Z1 f are listed against the Xperia Z1 and there is even a small image of the phone that shows it will come in black, white, pink and yellow. The spec sheet reveals that the Xperia Z1 f (SO-02F) will have the same 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset found in the Xperia Z1 (SO-01F). It will come with a 4.3-inch display with 720 x 1280 resolution, 16GB internal storage, 2GB RAM, a 2300mAh battery, the same 20.7MP rea...

The Lenovo Vibe Z was previously known as K910 and sports a metal body and a design similar to the Vibe X, which the company hopes to appeal to the younger demographic outside China. The Lenovo Vibe Z sports a 5.5" display of 1080p resolution. The phone is powered by the a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. As you'd imagine, this configuration runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean without problems. At the back, there's a 13MP camera with LED flash, which is similar to the one found on the Lenovo Vibe X. At the front, there's a 5MP snapper. The phone measures just 6.9mm thick, but battery size hasn't been detailed yet. Lenovo has announced its plans to update the device to Android 4.4 KitKat in the future. Specific plans aren't yet revealed, as isn't the pricing and availability of the Vibe Z. ( GSMArena )

 A week after the Nokia Asha 500 emerged, another member of the Finnish manufacturer also made an unscheduled appearance. The Nokia Asha 502 leaked out in a press image, showcasing is attractively designed body in six different colors. Unsurprisingly, the Nokia Asha 502 looks a lot like the Asha 500. The 502 however sports a camera with an LED flash. The Nokia Asha 500 has to do without one. There’s no word on the specs of the Nokia Asha 502. Dual-SIM functionality and Wi-Fi are unsurprisingly present. The Nokia Asha software platform which we experienced in our Asha 501 review also appears to have been refreshed. The Nokia Asha 502 is expected to break cover next month, on October 22 at Nokia World in Abu Dhabi. The event will be quite interesting, as Nokia is expected to unveil six new devices, including a Lumia phablet and Windows RT tablet.(GSMArena)

Exhibit A -Some Gold phones from Samsung's Past   Some pundits have been wading into Samsung for "copying Apple" by  releasing a gold version of its Galaxy S IV right after Apple released and then quickly sold out of its gold iPhone 5S. "If recent reports are correct, the demand for the gold version is higher than Apple expected. Of course Samsung wanted in on the action," wrote TechCrunch. Cult of Android cheekily asks: "does this company [Samsung] have any shame?" The main theme appears to be that Samsung blatantly copied Apple's glorious winning strategy by releasing a gold Galaxy S IV right after Apple. But if we are going to get into a juvenile peeing contest about gold plated phones, it may surprise commentators to discover it was Apple that copied Samsung. Exhibit B - Apple's Gold color iPhone 5S Exhibit C - Samsung's Gold Galaxy S4  Samsung released a gold smartphone in August, weeks before the gold iPhone 5S ...

Nokia‘s much-rumored tablet has appeared at the FCC undergoing LTE testing, with the Finnish company almost completely squeezing out references to the form factor of what’s expected to be a Windows RT based machine. Listed as the Nokia RX-114, the device makes no mention of its design until the final page, when it’s outed as a tablet. It’s expected to be among a rumored six new devices to be shown off for the first time on October 22nd Details on the slate, at least from this FCC filing, are unclear. However, the agency has put its wireless radios through the usual test processes, confirming which types of cellular connectivity – and which bands are supported – are present. It’s a reasonably full house, too, with LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 13, and 17 all included, making for 4G compatibility with both Verizon and AT&T’s networks, not to mention T-Mobile USA. There’s also HSPA+ and GSM/EDGE for areas without LTE service. Untested, of course, are the other hardware specifications, t...

London-based tech start-up ROLI has introduced a new musical instrument line that should get musicians and audiophiles salivating. The “Seaboard” is a continuous-touch keyboard with curved “keywaves” (instead of keys) that flow into one another like waves on the sea (thus the name.) This overcomes the step-function limitations of a traditional keyboard, letting musicians bend and select pitches with absolute precision, analogous in principle to a fretless stringed instrument like a violin. The only other on-board control is a “Sounddial” resembling an iPod click wheel that allows for continuous preset indexing and fine-tuning. To all you who are concerned about the instrument’s ability to produce tones in pitch: by playing on the tops of the keywaves, you can play it like a normal piano. The keys, which use subtractive — rather than reactive — synthesis, are instantaneously touch-sensitive. As with any new instrument, the Seaboard takes practice. (ROLI has released a few online demos...

The U.S. Department of Energy, with the help of researchers at Stanford University and other public and private institutions, have demonstrated the ability of a chip no larger than a grain of rice to accelerate particles 10 times faster than a conventional particle accelerator can do alone. The chip, which is specially nano-fabricated of fused silica, has the potential to drastically scale down the machinery necessary for particle research, security scanners, medical devices and other technology. The global effect of this advance could be just as revolutionary as silicon was. However, it may take some time before scientists can collect and snap together all the puzzle pieces of this technology. Although the specially ridged inner channel of the chip can intensify by many factors the energy of a particle in the later stages of acceleration, a conventional particle accelerator (such as the Large Hadron Collider, Fermilab or CERN of dubious “God particle” fame) is still needed to get th...

On August 11, 2011, HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre announced their “more than” partnership to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers. HTC bought a 50% stake in the company which was later on, in July 2012, diminished to 25% after Beats bought back half of it. On August 19, 2013, we heard rumors that Beats might be considering buying back the rest (the remaining 25%), and, apparently, the rumors turned out to be true. $265 million is what Beats will pay to HTC for the remaining 25% and will put an end to the two-year partnership. HTC phones equipped with Beats Audio technology — among which, the most iconic, the HTC One — were often times subject to mixed reviews and polarizing feedback as far as the audio quality is concerned. Some believed the extra audio decoding and software enhancements that go with it delivered a superior audio experience, while others dismissed it as an “EQ-only”-solution.( PocketNow )

When it comes to leaks of iPad mini 2 hardware, we haven’t exactly been left wanting. Indeed, along with the iPad 5, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to check out components attributed to this year’s mini refresh. While we’ve had enough chances to see the tablet’s rear panel, more recently rumors have been talking about what might be happening around front, with the suggestion that Apple could be giving its new tablets the same Touch ID fingerprint scanner we find in the iPhone 5S. Today we might just get our first evidence confirming that idea, as well as a look at a possible gold version of the iPad mini 2. The images above and below sure do seem to reflect an iPad mini 2 design with the same metal-ringed home button from the iPhone 5S. While we can’t discount the possibility that this is a well-done fake, it certainly looks plausible enough, and fitting in with those earlier rumors is just the icing on the cake. Given the popularity the gold iPhone 5S is experiencing, it’s al...

Galaxy Note 3 owners are going to have limited options when it comes to using their smartphone on another continent. According to Android Authority, Samsung has region locked both the American and European models of the Note 3, allowing them to only work within limited areas by default. For the European version, that's largely all of Europe, while the American version includes North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Samsung has confirmed details of the European lock to GigaOm, but we haven't heard back on confirmation about the American model. Though the Note 3 will be able to connect to foreign networks, it won't be able to do so simply through using a foreign network's SIM card like usual — instead, Note 3 owners will have to pay their local carrier's international roaming fees in order to tap into wireless networks on another continent. Android Authority reports that both Note 3 models explain this through stickers on their packaging, whi...

Legendary open source video playback application VLC — widely known for compatibility with a huge number of file formats — received a noteworthy update today. Version 2.1 includes improved audio processing, including proper and complete support for surround sound output. But most notably, this is the first version of VLC to offer 4K playback, though it's still in its preliminary stages. It's still incredibly difficult to find videos at such high resolution, but with a number of 4K TVs and monitors on the market there is certainly some interest. VideoLAN has also updated its Android and iOS ports of VLC, with the former now offering support for far more devices than in the past. There are also new "partial ports" of VLC for Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, and the "Metro" interface in Windows 8 and 8.1. Among a list of improvements, video playback itself should be tightened up on mobile devices.( TheVerge )

If you’re a Windows user you probably wondered why Microsoft and Bill Gates made some of the decisions they did with the operating system. One of the strange, and at times annoying, decisions that Microsoft and Gates made early on in Windows development was to force users to use the Ctrl+Alt+Del key sequence. That key sequence was originally designed to reboot the computer as a way to log into Windows. Gates recently spoke at a fund-raising campaign at Harvard for the Harvard Campaign where David Rubenstein asked him an interesting question. Rubenstein said: Why, when I want to turn on my software and computer, do I need to have three fingers on Control, Alt, Delete? Who’s idea was that? Gates went on to explain the thought process that went behind the keystroke combination during the early days of the Windows operating system. Gates noted that something needed to be done using the keyboard to signal to a “very low level of the software” to bring in the operating system as the us...

Sony has crammed several new media players into its Walkman lineup aimed at music fans who want to take their collection with the go. The new media players include the NW-ZX1 and three different colors of players that fall into the NW-F880 family. These players run the Android operating system making them able to do more than just play music The NW-F880 series comes in pink, black, white, and a turquoise blue color. There three different storage capacities available in the family including 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB. Those players are model numbers NW-F885, NW-F886, and NW-F887 respectively. No matter the color or storage capacity choosen, they all support 24-bit/192 kHz lossless audio formats including FLAC and WAV. The players also have hardware buttons on the side for playback controls for users with the screen to control the music. The F880 series also has the Sony S-Master HX digital amp. The other player running the Android operating system the Sony has unveiled is the NW-ZX1....

Nokia making fun of the Gold iPhone ,same thing can happen again If you’re a big fan of Samsung Galaxy smartphones, you may be interested to hear that Samsung has announced the Galaxy S4 is available in a couple of new colors. Both of the new colors share the same gold accent trim with gold around the sides and around the home button on the bottom of the screen In addition to having the gold touches, one of the phones has brown around the screen and the other has pink. The official name for the colors is gold brown and pink gold. The two new colors were announced by Samsung Gulf Electronics via Facebook. Initially these two new colors will be available in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa only. Other than the color change, nothing else about the devices has been modified. The smartphones continue with a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a five-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080p resolution. These two new gold colors go into the line along with the black, white,...

The Samsung Galaxy Note phablets are some of the best-selling smart devices around – the original Note has around 10 million sales to date, while the outgoing Note II has reached 30 million. There numbers come from general manager of Samsung Taiwan's mobile communication team Andy Tu. This sounds about right as JK Shin himself (Samsung Mobile's chief) said that the Galaxy Note line has sold over 38 million a couple of weeks ago. The Galaxy Note II has come a long way since it sold 3 million units a month after launch and reached 5 million units sold another month later. The pace is accelerating, however, as the original Note took until March 2012 to hit the 2 million mark and it launched in October 2011. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the new Galaxy Note 3 will see a similar jump in sales but we're waiting for the quarterly report from Samsung to see if the phablet will be mentioned alongside the Galaxy S4 as one of the hottest sellers (the S4 passed 20 million a...

image -  tech.fortune.cnn.com Jeff Bezos posted yet another “Dear Customers” letter to the front page of Amazon.com announcing the new Kindle Fire lineup – that’s great advertising right there. The lineup consists of three tablets – the 8.9″ Fire HDX, the 7″ Fire HDX and the 7″ Fire HD. Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ is the most interesting of the pack, going after Nexus 10s and iPads alike. It packs a Snapdragon 800 chipset and a 2,560 x 1,600 screen with 339ppi density and 100% sRGB coverage. It is 7.9mm thick and weighs 383g for the 4G version – the Fire HDX 8.9″ is available with 4G connectivity from AT&T and Verizon (both cost $480) and Wi-Fi only ($380). Those prices are for the tablet with “Special Offers” (a.k.a. ads), add $15 if you want to remove them. Also, the storage starts at 16GB (non-expandable, and a tight 8.8GB user available), but there are bigger versions too – 32GB (25.6GB user available) and 64GB (54.3GB). Add $50 for each...

Valve has revealed SteamOS, the operating system that will power its upcoming living room initiative. According to Valve's site, "SteamOS combines the rock-solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience built for the big screen. It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines." "We’ve come to the conclusion that the environment best suited to delivering value to customers is an operating system built around Steam itself," the site continues. SteamOS will tie in with Steam, and "you don’t have to give up your favorite games, your online friends, and all the Steam features you love just to play on the big screen. SteamOS, running on any living room machine, will provide access to the best games and user-generated content available. Valve says Steam OS has "achieved significant performance increases in graphics processing, and we’re now targeting audio performance and reductions in input latency ...

Earlier this month we mentioned the CuBox-i series small form factor computers when they first surfaced. At the time we knew pretty much all the hardware details on the machines, but we didn’t know exactly how much they would cost or when they would be available. More details have surfaced this week and the computers can be pre-ordered right now. The CuBox-i series includes the i1, i2, i2ultra, and i4pro computers. All versions are based on the Freescale i.MX6 SoC and are available in a variety of configurations. Some configurations use single core processors while dual and quad-core ARM processors operating at 1 GHz are available. The machines support open-source software including the latest versions of Linux in various distributions, XBMC Media Center, and Android 4.2.2. All the machines are packed inside of a very small enclosure measuring 2 x 2 x 2-inches. The entry-level CuBox-i1 uses a single core processor running at 1 GHz with 512 MB of RAM and optional Wi-Fi. Storage is h...

There’s little doubt now that the world understands Apple’s design language so well that those with the ability to replicate it have more power than they know what to do with. Case in point: a falsified advertisement for iOS 7 that suggests the software update can make an iPhone waterproof. People fell for it, hook, line, and sunken smartphone. What you’re about to see is a large image – you may want to right-click and open it up if you’ve not already done so. This image was made by a comedy-seeking fan of the Apple way of doing graphic design for presentations of iDevices and software. What they’ve done is a bang-up job of suggesting iOS 7 will bring waterproofing abilities to your iPhone. If you did not already realize – there’s no software upgrade that can do this for a device that doesn’t already have the ability to repel water. That’s not a technology that exists. Sources like Buzzfeed and The Telegraph show users on both side of the situation at this point, one of them...

Five years ago today, Google and T-Mobile took the stage at a press event in NYC to unveil the T-Mobile G1 (made by HTC) as the first device to run Android. As you all know now, Android is the number 1 mobile operating system in the game across the globe, and it’s not really even close at this point. But to think in 2008 that the original G1 would be the starting point to what we have now, is almost unimaginable. Certainly, there were those who had the vision to see its eventual power, but boy have we come a long way. In a post to his G+ account, T-Mobile Sr. product manager Des Smith talks about the G1 launch, the weeks leading up to its unveiling, testing prototypes the night before, and eventually participating in the press event that included the recently-departed Andy Rubin on stage, along with a surprise appearance by Sergey Brin and Larry Page on rollerblades. Oh, and 3G, people! 3G! We weren’t around for the G1 unveiling, as we got our start during the original DROID lau...

HTC is allegedly working on an Octa-core variant of its current flagship smartphone, the HTC One. According to a new report, the upcoming version of the metallic beauty will also feature 3 GB of RAM. The HTC One with Octa-core processor is also said to come with a couple of software tweaks One of the major software additions include the clear audio option, which enhances the audio performance and improves the clarity during calls. If the rumors are to be trusted, the upcoming HTC One variant will feature more antennas to cover all networks across US, Europe and Asia. Apart from the above additions the other hardware specifications remain similar to the original model, which comes with a 4.7-inch display, UltraPixel camera and a 2,300mAh battery. Unfortunately, there is no official confirmation at the moment, so take the rumor with a pinch of salt.( GSMArena )

In this time of Tribulation , Blackberry's Hero device  failed to make a impression and lead to a loss of $1Billion  For the second time in as many trading days, shares of BlackBerry were halted in advance of some big news from the company. Today's news is no less big. BlackBerry has just announced that it's signed a letter of intent agreement for a sale of the company valued at $4.7 billion to a consortium led by Fairfax Financial (the company's largest shareholder). Pending due diligence that's expected to be completed by November 4th, the deal would see BlackBerry go private, with shareholders each receiving $9 per share in cash. In a statement, Fairfax Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa said, "we believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees," adding, "we can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company...

Microsoft has announced new lineup of accessories to accompany the new Surfaces. The new Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2 are thinner, more rigid and with backlit keys. It Touch Cover 2 now has 1092 sensors compared to just 82 in the first Touch Cover and a proximity sensor for automatic backlighting is available on both. The new Touch and Type Covers 2 will be available in cyan, purple, magenta, and black. There is also the new Power Cover that is just like the Type Cover 2, but comes with extra battery behind the keys. It will supposedly give you 2.5 times more power on your Surface 2 slate. It will cost $199.99 and will launch in early 2014. Microsoft is also offering car chargers, wireless adapters for the covers, and even a new Arc Touch Mouse that now connects through Bluetooth and without a receiver that usually occupies an USB slot. Finally, there is the Surface Remix project, an attachable cover that targets musicians. You can learn more about it right here . Source - G...

Microsoft has just announced its second generation Surface tablets – the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro. Both slates are thinner, faster and lighter, with better displays, USB 3.0-enabled, and powered by the latest 8.1 version of Windows 8 RT and Windows 8 Pro. As expected Microsoft is also launching a new lineup of Surface accessories including a new Type Cover with backlit keys. Microsoft Surface 2 The new Surface 2 slate is powered by NVIDIA’s latest Tegra 4 chipset with a quad-core 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 processor, GeForce 72-core GPU and 2GB of RAM. The display also got a major upgrade: it’s now a 10.6″ ClearType 1080p display with 5-point multi-touch support. According to Microsoft the Surface 2 is up to 4x faster than the original Surface slate, offers 25% more battery life (10 hours of video playback, 7-15 days on stand-by), and features a 5x better camera and 2x faster bus and Wi-Fi speeds. The rest of the Surface 2 specs include Wi-Fi a/b/g/n support, Bluetooth 4.0, an...