Samsung patches security hole in Galaxy S4

If you own a Galaxy S4 or Galaxy Tab 3, it's time to change your password.

MediaTest Digital, a company which tests security of mobile devices and software, was able to elicit sensitive user data from Samsung accounts. Names, email addresses, and passwords were all at risk.

MediaTest took the news to Heise Security - a tech news outlet based in Germany. The media was able to confirm that the hole did in fact exist by extracting user's private data from Samsung accounts as well. Heise took this information to Samsung, and the Korean manufacturer responded to the problem immediately. Only 5 days after receiving the report, the Korean giant announced publicly that the security hole has been fixed. There is no word on follow up tests to verify whether or not the patch has actually been made though.

MediaTest was able to find the chink in Samsung's digital armor by connecting to the same WiFi network as the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Tab 3. What makes this such a harrowing breach is that if someone were to gain access to a person's Samsung account, not only would they have access to that user's personal information, but they would also be able to record and track a user's movements and see all of the locations that they've recently visited. Additionally, they can lock a user out of their device and redirect calls.

To be on the safe side, Samsung users should reset their passwords. You can do that right now by visiting the Samsung Account site.

Samsung to unveil its first Tizen OS smartphone at MWC 2014

The wait for Samsung to officially announce the first Tizen smartphone might be over soon. The Korean company, in cooperation with Intel (also a member of the Tizen alliance) have sent out invites for a press event in February. More specifically, it's going to take place a day before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona officially kicks off.

The invite doesn't specify the type of device that both companies will unveil, but it does say Samsung will show off Tizen OS running on actual devices. The event will also offer a glimpse at "the major milestones that the Tizen project has hit since last year's event."

According to analyst Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight, Samsung has to show commercial devices at the Mobile World Congress. This would solidify Samsung's mobile foundation, and give it a backup to its smartphone business in case Android takes a turn for the worse.

Back in November, 36 companies chose to back Tizen, including Panasonic, eBay, Sharp, McAfee, and Intel just to name a few. For a look at Tizen OS and what sort of features it brings to the table, you can check out this developer hands-on video.

We'll find out more about what new stuff Samsung and Intel have been cooking up on February 23 when the event is scheduled. Mobile World Congress 2014 will take place in Barcelona from February 24 through 27, so be sure to check back with us then for full coverage.

Sony Xperia Z1F goes on sale in Japan, Z1S launch is upon us

Sony Xperia Z1F is now available at NTT DoCoMo's stores all over Japan in black, white, pink and lime flavors. The Z1F is the smaller sibling of the popular Z1 flagship featuring pretty much the same design and specs save for the display, which is now a 4.3" 720p unit and the battery that only has a 2,300 mAh capacity.

The Snapdragon 800 chipset, the 20.7MP camera and the 16GB internal storage plus the dust and water protection are all still present though.

The international mini version of Xperia Z1 has been in the rumorland for quite some time. Since the Xperia Z1F announcement as part of the NTT DoCoMo's winter lineup, numerous leaks have emerged for its global Xperia Z1S sibling. The device is expected to be virtually the same as the Japanese Xperia Z1F.

We already saw Xperia Z1S official pictures, camera samples, live photos and UI screenshots, it evenpassed through USA's FCC. The Xperia Z1S is reportedly going to be announced at Sony's CES press event on January 6 in Las Vegas.

Samsung introduces red Galaxy Note 3 in South Korea

December 19 marks the date that South Korean carrier SKT will begin carrying the new Merlot Red color scheme for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

The new red color joins Jet Black, Classic White, and Blush Pink, and brings the total color options of the Galaxy Note 3 in Samsung's home market to four.

There is no word just yet on when the new color variant will be available internationally, but it shouldn't take too long.

Galaxy S4 and Note 3 will get Android 4.4 in late January

French carrier SFR released details on the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3. The carrier broke the news for the 4.3 update of the Galaxy S4 and S III, which rolled outjust recently.

The South Korean smartphone maker is mum on 4.4 update details, but SFR says the update will arrive in late January or early February next year. The global rollout is presumably coming in a similar time frame.

The Google Play Edition of the Galaxy S4 already has Android 4.4.2, but that has fewer modifications, which speeds things along.

Non-GPE devices like the LG G2 are already getting their 4.4 update. Other companies, like Sony, haveofficially confirmed which phones will be getting KitKat, but have yet to unveil the release date (the Xperia Z Ultra GPE has 4.4.2 already though and the Xperia L was graced with an AOSP build).

Android 4.3 update starts rolling out for Galaxy S III, again

We are starting to lose count of the number of times Samsung has issued and then pulled back an update for one of their Galaxy smartphones. The S III similarly had started receiving the Android 4.3 update in some parts of the world but then Samsung pulled the update and then sent another 4.1.2 update in its place instead.

Now the 4.3 update is rolling out once again in several parts of the world. In the US, both Verizon and Cricket have pushed the update for their devices. Internationally, the update is now being pushed to some devices in Europe and should be out in other regions as well in some time.

In a time when some of the phones are receiving 4.4 update, it is nothing short of disgraceful that a one year old flagship device is still running 4.1. Samsung has never really had a history of updating its phones on time but this time they have truly let their customers down. You'd think that the biggest smartphone manufacturer would know better.

Meizu has plans to begin selling devices in the United States

The Chinese manufacturer of Android smartphones Meizu announced that it has plans to enter the US market. The company expressed its intentions in a short press release.

According to Meizu, “there’s room in the U.S. market for another player”. Currently, the company’s characterful and well-equipped offerings are available only via online resellers.

As a first step of its long-time strategy for the US market, Meizu will exhibit its lineup of the devices during CES 2014. We will be there live, so we’ll keep you posted on what’s coming.

Oppo R1 leaks in live photos, specs in tow

The Oppo R1, formerly known as the R829T, was teased by the Chinese maker not too long ago, showing us the first live photo of the phone. Luckily, the wait for another glimpse at the phone didn't take that long thanks to a batch of hands-on photos done by anonymous source.

The photos show the Oppo R1 from every angle and reveal the glass back, which Oppo teased. The phone also features a metal frame, similar to the Find 5 and N1, which should bring some extra toughness.

The volume rocker and Power/Lock buttons are also made of metal. At the bottom, there's a microUSB port coupled with a neatly designed speaker grill. On the right, there's the volume rocker, while on the left sits the Power/Lock key.

     
Oppo R1 hands-on photos

Unfortunately, there's a protective casing around the phone, which prevents us from seeing the R1 in its full glory.

Anyway, we did spot that the camera and LED flash are situated on the top left corner with earlier rumors pointing at a 8MP snapper. The Oppo R829T will be powered by a MediaTek MT6582 chipset (quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU at 1.3GHz) with 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

The man behind the photos says the R1 measures just 7.1mm thick. Below the 5" display of 720p resolution there are the 3 Android capacitive touch buttons.

  
Oppo R1 hands-on photos

Pricing and availability haven't been confirmed. We guess Oppo will wait for 2014 to roll in and then officially announce its mid-range R1.

The UK will be getting Pink Galaxy S4 in January

Shopping for the end of the year holidays is almost over, time to plan ahead for the ones that come next year. Like Valentine's day, for example. Which is why UK retailer Phones4u has already announced that it will be exclusively be offering the Samsung Galaxy S4 in Pink early next year.

The color option comes in addition to the standard White and Blue colors and the, uh, other Blue color. Phones4u claims this means it offers the widest range of color options in the UK.

Anyway, the pink Galaxy S4 will be available for pre-order starting in early January 2014 for new contracts and upgrades. The phone will be free with a £33 contract (3G data) or £38 (4G data). The choice of carriers is Vodafone, E, Orange and T-Mobile.

Phones4u will also throw in a wireless speaker – the retailer doesn’t specify make or model, saying only it usually costs £120.

UK users who want a pink Samsung Galaxy phone, but find the Galaxy S4 either too small or too big, can check out the pink Galaxy Note 3 and pink Galaxy S4 mini.

HTC Desire 501 dual sim announced in India

HTC unveiled three phones at the end of last month, two of which were dual-SIMs. The exception was the HTC Desire 501, but it turns out that its dual-SIM version was just a few weeks late.

The HTC India website now lists the HTC Desire 501 dual sim as "coming soon". The phone is a more affordable HTC One mini alternative with a 4.3" WVGA screen, dual-core 1.15GHz processor (likely a Cortex-A7) with 1GB RAM running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Sense 4.0 on top.

The Desire 501 dual sim has two microSIM card slots with dual-active support – you can switch lines or use data during a call. Only one SIM is 3G-enabled, it does 14.4Mbps downlink with HSDPA.

Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with Apt-X and NFC. The 501 dual sim packs an 8MP back camera and 2.1MP front-facing camera, both of which have f/2.0 apertures. The main camera can record 720p video and uses HTC's ImageChip technology.

The phone has 8GB of built-in storage expandable with microSD cards. The whole thing is powered by a 2,100mAh battery.

There's no official word on availability and pricing, but the Desire 501 dual sim is so far only listed on HTC India's site.

Thanks goes to sourabh for the tip!

Optional bamboo back cover for the Moto X is now available

An optional bamboo back cover for the Moto X is now available to order in the Moto Maker customization tool. The natural wood option costs an additional $100 over the regular back cover for the handset.

Initial quantities of the bamboo back cover for the Moto X will be limited. Motorola will ship the first devices sporting the fashionable back plate in January.

The bamboo back is available on all carrier versions of the Moto X, as well as the unlocked version of the device.

gsmarena

Sony Z Ultra GPE gets Android 4.4.2

After Android 4.4.2 KitKat update made its way to the LG G Pad 8.3, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, today it's rolling out to the Sony Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition as well.

The update comes with a number of bug fixes, with the most notable one being the fix, which now allows you to uninstall apps downloaded from the Google Play Store. Prior to the update, users attempting to uninstall such apps had the whole UI restarting, but now this bug is gone.

The bug when accessing the Security section in the smartphone's settings is gone and a known problem with Google Now voice commands is also taken care of.

The firmware update starts rolling out from today and weighs 444MB so it may take a bit longer to download.

Amazon drops Nokia Lumia 520 for AT&T GoPhone to $50

The Nokia Lumia 520 is subject to yet another price cut. This one comes from Amazon, which dropped the entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset for just $50 on AT&T's GoPhone pre-paid plan. That's with free shipping too. This is the same price as the initial Microsoft Store deal, but that was later changed to $60 (before taxes). $50 is a great deal for a phone with a 4" WVGA screen and dual-core Krait, no wonder the Nokia Lumia 520 is the most popular WP8 device by far (it accounts for over a quarter of all Windows Phone devices, including WP7). Other deals include a Lumia 521 for T-Mobile for $80 from Walmart and Amazon and 521 for MetroPCS for $90 from Amazon and Best Buy.

Metal-clad Samsung Galaxy J goes official in Taiwan

The Samsung Galaxy J, a Galaxy S4 LTE-A version with a metal body, has launched in Japan and following a number of leaks it is now official for Taiwan. Here's the first promo video from Samsung Taiwan:

The phone, which presumably is here to test the waters for a metal Galaxy S5, costs TWD 21,900 unlocked ($740) and will be available next week in Red and White. The Samsung Galaxy J will also be available on contract with the four major Taiwan carriers starting at TWD7,990 ($300) with TWD 1300 ($45) monthly tax.

The Galaxy J packs a 5" 1080p Super AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 800 chipset (quad-core Krait 400 @ 2.3GHz, Adreno 330), 3GB RAM (rather than 2GB on the regular S4 LTE-A) and a 13MP camera.

Thanks to Rohit for sending this in!

gsmarena

Apple wants $22 million from Samsung for legal fees

It seems that the patent wars are far from over. Years ago, when Samsung's Galaxy product line began to seriously compete with the iPhone, Apple brought the Korean manufacturer to court. In the course of their legal battles, Apple has forked over $60 million in legal fees and expects to be reimbursed for part of that amount: a cool $22 million.

The two tech giants are scheduled to begin duking it out on January 30 with regards to this issue. This is yet another development in this already long and complicated case. But it doesn't stop there.

Samsung is appealing the original ruling to award Apple $1.05 billion, which was subsequently cut down by $450 million. In the damages retrial last month, it was ruled that Samsung would have to shell out $290 million to the Cupertino tech giant, bringing the total amount to about $740 million.

It looks like there isn't an end in sight to the legal battles between these two companies. Samsung's newer models are already being charged with patent infringement by Apple. Judge Lucy Koh will preside over the case, as she has been involved with it since the beginning.

Samsung considers KitKat update for entry-level smartphones

Samsung's plans for updating its high-end tier of smartphones have already been unveiled and we know the Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy S4 are getting Android 4.4 KitKat in January. As it turns out, though, the manufacturer is considering also bringing the latest version of Android to its more affordable droids.

A leaked internal document shows that Samsung is investigating the Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy S3 mini,Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy Core, Galaxy Fame, Galaxy Ace 2 and the Galaxy Fresh to see if they are capable of running KitKat smoothly. As you might known the latest iteration of the Google OS lowers the minimum RAM requirement to just 512MB, but that's not including the custom TouchWiz skin that Samsung preinstalls on its smartphone.

Mind you, as per the leaked slide, Samsung is just investigating the compatibility and hasn't officially announced any firm plans.

Despite this, the news is great for owners of entry-level Samsung phones. Sony is also considering smartphones such as the Sony Xperia SP and Xperia ZR

Press renders of ASUS Padfone Mini leak ahead of its unveiling

ASUS will allegedly be officially announcing the Padfone Mini at a dedicated event in Taiwan on December 11. The press images of the upcoming device from the company have been leaked well ahead of its unveiling, though.

The leaked shots come from the popular tipster @evleaks and show us the 4.3" smartphone and its 7" tablet dock. The smartphone will slide into the tablet in a portrait mode, which makes the tablet look similar to the Nexus 7.

The 4.3" smartphone is expected to feature a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, while the 7" tablet will sport a 1280 x 800 pixel display. ASUS Padfone Mini is also rumored to pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor along with 1 GB of RAM and is said to run on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

For now, there is no word on the pricing and availability of the ASUS Padfone Mini, but we will know more about the device, when it goes official.

gsmarena

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Oppo Find 7 to bring Snapdragon 805 chipset

We've already heard that Oppo was working on the Find 7, and that the device is going to have some top-shelf specs. It turns out though that the upcoming handset's hardware might be even more impressive than previously estimated.

Under the hood the Find 7 is rumored to sport 3 GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 805 chipset. For context, most of the current top Android flagships boast 2 GB of RAM and Snapdragon 800.

Also the Find 7's processor has been purportedly bumped up from the Snapdragon 800 to the 2.5ghz, 805 processor. It's worth noting that the 805 will most probably come packed with a 4G LTE radio, meaning that the Find 7 could very well be the company's first phone with LTE support. If these internal specs turn out to be true, the Find 7 will certainly be at the top of the smartphone food chain.

Mobile movie watchers will love this extra bit of news: the Find 7's screen is also rumored to have grown: from 5.0" to 5.7" , with a 2560x1440 pixel resolution.

Stay tuned for more news on what is shaping to be one of the most exciting Android phones to date.

Press image of T-Mobile bound LG Optimus F3Q leaks

The press image of LG's newest smartphone with slide-out QWERTY keypad, named Optimus F3Q has been leaked, courtesy of @evleaks.

LG Optimus F3Q will be exclusively offered by T-Mobile, but there is no word on when the magenta carrier will start selling it.

The specification information and the pricing details of the Optimus F3Q are scarce at the moment, but the device is rumored to sport a 4-inch display with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

T-Mobile's upcoming addition will compete against the likes of Verizon's LG Enact, when the smartphones goes official.