Sony Xperia E4g

Sony Xperia E4g

Design- and specs-wise, the Xperia E4g is similar to the Xperia E4. Some of the few differences between the two devices is the slightly more powerful 1.5GHz quad-core SoC that can be found inside the Xperia E4g, an upgrade over the 1.3GHz one in the regular Xperia E4, and the LTE connectivity on board of the newcomer. The Xperia E4g also comes with a smaller display - a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels.



Pros

Big display (4.7 inches)
Quad core processor
Fast mobile data support (4G)

Cons

Low pixel density screen (234 ppi)
Too little RAM memory (1024 MB RAM)
Battery is not user replaceable
Low-resolution camera (5 megapixels)

Sony announces the affordable Xperia E4g with LTE connectivity on board

Sony announces the affordable Xperia E4g with LTE connectivity on board

Earlier last month, Sony unveiled the Xperia E4 entrant, an entry-level device that flashed what might end up being Sony's refreshment of its OmniBalance design language (if it decides to stick to churning out smartphones, that is). The humble low-end device came with no LTE on board, but today Sony rights that wrong as it has just announced the Xperia E4g.

Design- and specs-wise, the Xperia E4g is similar to the Xperia E4. Some of the few differences between the two devices are the chipset (a 1.5GHz quad-core MediatTek MT6732 chipset) and just as we mentioned, the LTE connectivity on board of the newcomer.

The Xperia E4g also comes with a smaller display - a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. Naturally, this leads to different dimensions (133 x 71 x 10.8 mm for the E4g vs 137 x 74.6 x 10.5 mm for the E4).

“Xperia E4 set out to bring many of the premium features people expect of Sony to lower-tier devices; Xperia E4g brings that same quality and ease of use – but with super-fast 4G LTE connectivity”, stated Tony McNulty, Value Category Business Management VP with Sony.

Similar to the Xperia E4, the Xperia E4g won't make be sold in the USA. It will launch in other markets starting this April, with a price tag gravitating near the €129 mark (~$145) before taxes and rebates. Similar to the Xperia E4, the Xperia E4g will also have a dual-SIM version. Source

Samsung’s smartphone sales share nosedives to new lows in Q4, Apple picks up the slack

Samsung’s smartphone sales share nosedives to new lows in Q4, Apple picks up the slack

Research firm Strategy Analytics is ready with its end smartphone sales report for the last quarter, and things aren't looking pretty for Samsung, on account of the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus crusade, as well as the Chinese smartphones riseup.

It turns out that Samsung's share of the world's smartphone market sales dipped to just 10% in the previous quarter. Yes, you read that right, just one in 10 smartphones sold in Q4 were Samsung ones, according to Strategy Analytics, regardless of the company's numerous lines and models. Apple, on the other hand, accounted for 48.9% of all smartphones then.

When it comes to revenue, Samsung still did fine, though - flying high on the Note 4 sales, it hauled home 17%, but Apple took the lion's share of the rest. Samsung hasn't seen a smartphone market share this low since the end of 2011, when the iPhone 4s was introduced. By the time the Galaxy S3 was outed in 2013, though, Samsung Electronics got almost breathing down Apple's neck with 34.1% of the global sales, against 34.2% for the Cupertino team.

For the whole 2014, Apple outpaced Samsung again with 37.6% versus 25.1%, and both left LG as a distant third with its 4.3%, followed by Huawei with 3.8 percent, Sony with 3.7 percent, and Xiaomi with 3.3 percent. Samsung's slump is expected to halt this year, buoyed by the expectations for success of the Galaxy S6, whose announcement is just a few days away. Source

Spigen launches cases for the Galaxy S6 Edge, depicts just one curved side

Spigen launches cases for the Galaxy S6 Edge, depicts just one curved side

Well, we've gawked at Galaxy S6 cases for a while now, carefully inspecting every render, and looking for signs of the phone's design under every curve. However, there have been no such offerings for the Galaxy S6 Edge (come on, we know it's coming) up until now.

Famous case maker Spigen has launched 7 Galaxy S6 Edge cases, all available for preorder now, and have adorned their page with renders of how said products look. The images depict the phone as having only one curved side, despite the fact that it was often rumored to be rounded off on both sides.

So, could this be correct? We wouldn't jump to conclusions – the phone face we see in Spigen's renders is most obviously a Galaxy Note Edge with a fresh UI and wallpaper photoshopped on it. We're not saying that Spigen is devilishly trying to deceive people – these renders are probably just placeholders, so potential customers would have a better idea of what they are buying. We wouldn't jump to conclusions that they mean anything about the Galaxy S6 Edge's appearance, and we'd suggest you don't listen to anxious speculators as well.

Anyway, MWC, ergo – Samsung's Unpacked event, is less than a week away, so we will have more clarity on what the new Edge looks like very, very soon. Source

Samsung Galaxy S6 gets a possible launch date for India, to be released in April

Samsung Galaxy S6 gets a possible launch date for India, to be released in April

March 1 is just around the corner and for Samsung fans this day will be nothing short of a celebration - the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge will be unveiled on this date in a pre-MWC event. The official announcement day and hour are no mystery anymore, and neither are the possible specs and unique design features of the smartphone, but what we are not yet aware od is the global release date for the top-tier handsets Samsung has in the pipeline.

A recent report claims that similar to last year Samsung will release its flagship champion(s) will arrive on the Indian market in early-to-mid April, in the second week of the month. While this rumor does not necessarily mean that the flagship will arrive on all other markets in the similar period, it's somewhat hinting that this might be the case. Indian customers will be able to pre-order the Galaxy S6 starting mid-March.

Back in 2014, Samsung released its Galaxy S5 in more than 150 countries on April 11, so we won't be surprised at all if the same thing happens this year as well. Well, we wouldn't bet our money on April 11, 2015, in particular, but the global release of the Galaxy S6 and probably the S6 Edge will likely take place in the same time period.

As far as availability is concerned, we already know that AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile will be carrying the device. Verizon has not yet posted its own take on the multi-colored Galaxy S6 teaser, but we are more than certain Big Red will offer Samsung's next flagship, too. Source

Samsung signs mega deals to supply DDR4 RAM for the iPhone 6S and the LG G4

Samsung signs mega deals to supply DDR4 RAM for the iPhone 6S and the LG G4

Apple and LG have inked multibillion deals with Samsung to supply next-gen RAM modules in their upcoming flagships, tentatively named LG G4 and Apple iPhone 6S (or iPhone 7). That's the word out of Korean media, though the publication doesn't spell out exactly what type of random access memory will Samsung supply to those two mobile juggernauts by the boatloads.

Samsung recently announced it has started mass production of next generation DDR4 RAM, made with the 20nm process, as well as "stackable" 3 GB RAM/32 GB storage combo, which, however, is DDR3. Our bet is on the DDR4 undertaking, as we doubt Apple would settle for anything less than that for the iPhone 7, while LG already outed the first phone with DDR4 RAM our - the G Flex 2 - so it's hard to imagine the G4 won't be equipped with the same tech.

"Under the agreement, Samsung will start providing LG Electronics with 100 percent mobile DRAM chips it needs for LG G4 smartphone, which will be unveiled in April. Also, Samsung will handle at least half of the amount that Apple needs for its new iPhone ― tentatively named iPhone 6S," said one industry source.

So what's the advantage of DDR4 over DDR3 that's in current flagships? Well, the new DRAM type offers twice the density and the I/O performance, for starters, and Samsung is offering it built with its frugal 20nm production method, what's not to like here. In addition, the publication confirms that Samsung will be supplying no less than 70% of Apple's upcoming A9 chipset that is slated to go into the iPhone 7, so the future looks bright for Samsung's chip businesses. Source

Stock Lollipop vs Samsung TouchWiz vs HTC Sense vs LG UI: Interface comparison

Stock Lollipop vs Samsung TouchWiz vs HTC Sense vs LG UI: Interface comparison

The original, Google version of Android 5.0 Lollipop has been around for months now, but it wasn't until recently that manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and LG, finally started pushing an over-the-air update that saw their own proprietary overlays move to the newer firmware. At the same time, unfortunately, companies like Sony are still stuck on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, so it'll be a while longer until we get to see an Xperia-themed take on Lollipop.

But even if you're well-versed in the above-mentioned makers' custom Android skins, it's quite possible that you are wondering what exactly the differences boil down to now that they've made the move to Lollipop. Overall, we've got to say that despite having their own style and adhering to different design philosophies, we're starting to notice some more uniformity in the way their respective Android flavors look and even function. This doesn't mean that they don't differ wildly in certain regards, though, as you'll be able to see for yourself right below.

We took a number of interface screenshots on our resident Motorola Nexus 6 (stock Android), Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (TouchWiz), HTC One M8 (Sense), and LG G3 (LG UI), so that you can contrast and compare. Take a look. Source