MasHD Blog

Google Play devices wern't successful as Google hoped them to be . The traditional handsets without custom interfaces were sold at original cost and the prices rarely dropped , and though it was technically a Nexus , the update schedule fell into the hands of the equipment manufacturer .The Google play edition phones however are still available , but some old models have been replaced as of today . The Sony Xperia ZU ,HTC One M7 and LG's GPad 8.3 are axed from Google's store while the 2013 Motorola Moto G google play edition is still kept alive . The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google play edition will be replaced by the S5 Google play edition once it arrives . The S5 GPE will join the ranks along side the HTC One M8 GPE and the Moto G in the Google Play store , but hopefully ,other OEM's will send their successors to the store once they are available Written by Rakitha for MasHD Article may be used in other blogs,but please be sure to link this article as a source GSMAre...

With a lifespan of over a year , the Samsung Galaxy S4 was device that gave amoung reviewers and customers mixed feelings when they first touched the glossy plastic , to be honest we didn't like it either , but now even after the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been launched , Samsung has decided to keep its old flagship alive by launching a special "Black Edition", although the name usually tally's with Mercedes and AMG , the Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition is basically the same standard Galaxy s4 with a gunmetal black finish and a Note 3 type faux stitching which will surely win more hearts than the glossy plastic pannel available on the standard version . Sadly with all these improvements we still can't recomend this over the newer Galaxy S5 or the stock S4 because this being a "Speciale" has a absurd price of £500 (about $830) which is more expensive than the stock S4 - £325 (about $540) and the Recently launched Galaxy S5 ,£500 (about $830) Source ...

Samsung has a tradition of releasing special versions of some of its devices with floral patterns, the so called La Fleur editions. The latest edition to the line is the Galaxy S4 mini La Fleur, which follows in the footsteps of the S III mini from January this year. This version of the phone is based on the Red Aurora color but features a big floral pattern on its back and a smaller one on the front, above the camera. Other than that, the specs are the same – 4.3" qHD Super AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 400 chipset, 8MP/1080p camera and a 1,900mAh battery. The phone will be available in January next year at a €417 price point. The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini La Fleur was shown in Germany, but besides that there's no info on which countries will get it. If you're looking for a Valentine's day gift, there's a pink Galaxy S4 mini too. GSMArena

A newly leaked schedule reveals which will be the first Samsung devices to get Android 4.4 KitKat. As you could expected the first to get the new Android version are this and last year flagships - Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 will get the KitKat treatment just two months from now - in January, 2014. The 2012 ex-flagships Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III will be getting KitKat in March or April 2014. The new Android 4.4 KitKat improves the UI performance thanks to its Project Svelte - the successor of Project Butter. This means all devices to be update with KitKat will become smoother and faster than ever, with even better multi-tasking and improved RAM management. We are sure Samsung will bring a few goodies to its TouchWiz UI, too. There is no official confirmation on the roadmap and we can't verify if this document is indeed the real deal, so you should take this info with a healthy pinch of salt. GSMAren...

A new version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active smartphone carrying the model number GT-I8580 has been tipped to be in the works by Samsung. The new Galaxy S4 Active is believed to be a lower performing version of the original device intended to sell at a lower price point. No official comments on the device been made by Samsung but some specifications and an image have surfaced online. The device is said to use a 4.65-inch display. The I8580 is tipped to use an unspecified a dual-core 1.2 GHz SoC featuring an Adreno 305 GPU. That unspecified SoC could possibly be the Snapdragon 400 but that is unknown at this time. The I8580 will feature 1 GB of RAM and the resolution for the 4.65-inch screen is tipped at 800 x 480. The pixel density for the screen is said to be 200 ppi. Leaked details indicate the rear camera will have five-megapixel resolution with a 0.3-megapixel front camera. The operating system for the device is Android 4.2. Details gleaned from Tenna indicate the smartphone...

With reports last week revealing that some networks are seeing 30 per cent return rates of Samsung’s latest flagship phone due to continuing Samsung Galaxy S4 battery problems, the manufacturer has promised to rectify the issue with free replacement batteries. In a statement provided to TrustedReviews, Samsung has stated: "We are aware of this issue, which has affected a limited number of customers.” An official spokesperson for the company added: “We ask all affected customers to please visit their nearest Samsung Electronics service centre, where they can receive a replacement battery for free of charge. We remain committed to providing the best possible user experience for our customers." Despite the phone having only been on sale for six months, reports out of Germany last week claimed that a number of Samsung Galaxy S4 owners have already been reporting issues with severe battery drain and even swollen batteries. “A trusted contact who is sitting right at the s...

Well, it looks Samsung is following in HTC’s footsteps and finding ways to make it hard for users to root and flash custom software on its devices. According to well-known developer Chainfire, the Galaxy Note 3 comes with eFUSE technology for the KNOX security suite. What is eFUSE? Well, it’s a technology that allows reprogramming a read-only memory chip in real-time, even though such chips come with hard-coded code that cannot be generally changed after manufacturing. When flashing unofficial software on the device, the status of the system and KNOX is switched to CUSTOM while increasing a binary flash counter, which helps Samsung find out whether the device has been tampered with. However, while Chainfire’s TriangleAway app has let users switch the status back to official and reset the flash counter until now, the KNOX status is based on eFUSE – basically, once you flash custom kernels or root the Note 3, the KNOX code gets rewritten, and this constitutes hardware damage. Apparen...

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 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,...

We’ve been talking about the Galaxy S 4 family of phones for weeks, and now the GS4, the GS4 Active, and the GS4 mini are all official. The one that continues to remain unannounced is still the biggest mystery of them all, the Galaxy S 4 Zoom. From the start, we’ve struggled to positively ID the device as a smartphone or an Android-running camera, and though we’ve been strongly leading towards the “phone” side in recent weeks, rumors continued to play both sides. Today, we may be able to put that business to rest, getting our first look at what just might be the GS4 Zoom. As you can see, it appears to be a thicker version of the Galaxy S 4 Mini, along with a big lens on the back with optical zoom and a hardware shutter button. Honestly, though, it doesn’t really seem that far removed from a point-and-shoot version of the Galaxy Camera, which is possibly what led to all the confusion. We’d still love to get a full-on look at the phone’s rear and that all-important lens, but this i...

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,...

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...

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 

Rumors have been circulating that Samsung is getting ready to launch some other smartphones based on its popular Galaxy S 4 smartphone. One of the rumors that keeps circulating is that a smartphone called the Galaxy S 4 Zoom (SM-C1010 or SM-C101) will be coming to market. Some information has turned up over on the Bluetooth SIG website that appears to confirm that phone is in fact the works. Bluetooth SIG is the special-interest group that certifies products that use Bluetooth technology. That means just about everything that hits the market rolls through their hands at one time or another. The latest device to surface in documents on the website of the Bluetooth SIG is called the Samsung Mobile Phone SM-C101. That SM-C101 is the part number that’s been rumored to go along with the Galaxy S 4 Zoom. The documentation on the website doesn’t exactly offer a lot of details on the smartphone, but it does appear to confirm that the device is real and coming. Luckily, the rumors that h...

The Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone will be available initially in two color options only but Canadian carrier Telus revealed in its press release that additional color options for the handset will arrive “later this year.” The Galaxy S4 can be pre-ordered in Canada from various carriers including Bell, Rogers, Telus, Videotron and Virgin, but, like in other markets where the device is available for pre-order, early buyers can only choose from two color flavors: Black Mist and White Frost. Those of you not happy to buy either a black or white Galaxy S4 version should know certainly keep tabs on Telus, as the carrier may offer the handset in additional colors later down the road. From the press release: At Canadian launch, two color options will be available – Black Mist and White Frost; with additional color options to follow later this year. Similarly, the Galaxy S3 was available in only two color versions at launch, Pebble Blue and Marble White, but Samsung launched the handset...

Android users love speed , especially in benchmarks , well in that case , the latest results from the Galaxy S4 ( Exynos Octa ) will surely put a smile on evry speed loving Android fan out there . The S4  although its still behind the Tegra 4 in terms of raw power , still managed to leave the hotshot android devices such as the HTC One and the Xperia Z in the dust with a score of 27417  on Antutu and 12726 on Quadrant  . hopefully the 27,000 benchmark  will probably end up near the 30,000 mark once the GS4 gets more software updates .

The Samsung Galaxy S4 won’t be out until the end of April and manufacturers are already taking a crack at it. Thanks to a tip from  Caotic.it, we found out that Chinese manufacturer Sunle has cloned the Galaxy S4, calling the creation the S400. It’ll cost around $220 USD and will be available in China starting April 5. Available in black or white, the specs are actually pretty solid: 5-inch IPS HD display at 1280 x 720 1.2GHz Mediatek MTK6859 quad-core processor 1GB RAM 8GB internal storage with support up to 32GB 8-megapixel rear-facing camera 3-megapixel front-facing camera 3G, Bluetooth, GPS Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean 2100 mAh battery As with any smartphone or device from relatively unknown manufacturers, quality is always a concern. With Samsung more popular than ever, many companies will do whatever they can to get a slice of the Android marketplace, even if that means shameless ripoffs

It looks like Samsung is developing a new SoC known as the Exynos 5210, which is part of their Exynos 5 Series. Details are unknown but it’s thought to feature ARM’s big.LITTLE technology in a Quad-Core structure, equipped with Dual Cortex-A15 Cores and Dual Cortex-A7 cores. The Exynos 5210 could also be just a Dual-Core Cortex-A15 SoC. There is also a high possibility that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini could use the Exynos 5210 processor. As the Galaxy S4 features ARM’s big.LITTLE technology in an Octa-Core configurations the Galaxy S4 Mini could feature ARM’s big.LITTLE technology in a Quad-Core structure. The device will have a 4.3″ Super AMOLED qHD display with a pixel density of 256ppi and based on TW Nature UX 2.0 running on Android 4.2.2. The Dual-SIM variant (GT-i9192) of the device is rumoured to feature a Dual-Core processor whereas the HSPA+ Variant (GT-I9190) variant is rumoured to feature a Quad-Core processor. The Galaxy S4 mini is expected to be launched during summer...

One of the most debated Samsung Galaxy S4 stories preceding the official unveiling was the one related to the processor or processors powering the “next big thing”. Some sources told us the S4 was going to come in a single Exynos 5 Octa-based version, others that there will be a Snapdragon 600 model too, while a few even said the Snapdragon variant was going to be the only one. And then Sammy made the 5-incher official, but for some reason decided to keep part of the mystery going. Two GS4 versions were announced, but nothing about the splitting of the world was mentioned, so we were left guessing. Naturally, we thought Sammy would be employing the same strategy used on the S3, meaning North America was to get the Snapdragon GS4, while the rest of the world was in for the Exynos treat. It would have made perfect sense, only it won’t happen that way. Instead, most likely to make sure there won’t be any supply shortages, Samsung will be launching the Qualcomm version in many cou...

Following recent speculation across the blogosphere , Samsung has this morning confirmed to us that UK consumers will get the quad-core Snapdragon 600-powered Galaxy S4, rather than the octa-core Exynos 5 variant. That's contrary to the original press release sent out to UK media last week, which suggested the opposite. Here's the updated statement from Samsung -- “Samsung Galaxy S 4 is equipped with a 1.9GHz Quad-core AP or a 1.6GHz Octa-core AP. The selection of AP varies by markets. In the UK the Galaxy S 4 will be available as a 4G device with a 1.9GHz Quad Core Processor". via - AndroidCentral