Samsung Galaxy S6 import docs point to 5" screen

Day by day, the pieces of the Samsung Galaxy S6 are coming together. The latest evidence of the phone's alleged specs comes from Indian import tracking website Zauba, which lists that two units of the phone have entered the countries for testing and evaluation purposes. The units carry the model number SM-G920A and packs a 5-inch display.

That's 0.1 inches smaller display than the outgoing Samsung Galaxy S5, which will be the first time in the flagship's history its display has shrunk. In any way, previous evidence from the Samsung UAProf webpage confirms the phone will pack a QHD resolution.

The Zauba page also reveals the phone's import price, which is $405 (INR 25,169). However, that won't bee the phone's price given that recent history. Additional specifications of the phone entail an Exynos 7420 chipset with octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, and 20MP camera.

A couple of days ago, we caught a glimpse of the phone in an allegedly official case images from Spigen. The case maker outed four cases for the phone showing its back with the camera and heart rate sensor location. Furthermore, back texture looks to stay the same as the Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy S6 is rumored to pack a metal frame, akin to the Galaxy Alpha. Yesterday, schematics of the phone's design popped up revealing the exact dimensions of the device - 143.5 x 70.7 x 7.2mm. If true, then the phone is a tad taller, but narrower and quite thinner than the Galaxy S5 (142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm).

We'll have all of the Galaxy S6 information once the phone goes official. Samsung is expected to make it so at MWC in Barcelona at the beginning of March.

Huawei says 4K on smartphones isn't worth the battery drain

Chinese manufacturer Huawei has made it clear that it won’t be using 4K displays in its smartphones in the near future. According to the company’s President of the Handset Product Line Kevin Ho, the advanced displays would result in a major compromises to battery life, something which the company isn’t willing to accept.

“4K needs a lot of power, so if you use it you have to make compromises. A 4K display on a smartphone may give you half a day of battery life but a 2K display can give you maybe one day or more,” Ho said. “4K has four times the pixels of Full HD so the power consumption is maybe 4 or 8 times as much as Full HD so the smartphone has to have compromises with battery life.”

Ho also asserted that while 4K looks impressive on large screens, it’s difficult to tell the difference between 4K and 2K on a smaller smartphone display of five to six inches.

However, he didn’t completely rule out the possibility of 4K devices in the future. “I don’t want to say there’s no chance for 4K on smartphones, but we need to think about compromise and whether our eyes can tell the difference.”

HTC A55 Desire series phone with flagship-level specs leaks

HTC has another high-end device in the making, that should be announced with the M9 at MWC. The A55, as it is known for now, will be a Desire series device, but still packs some amazing specifications.

According to upleaks, the A55 has a 5.5-inch, QHD display, MediaTek MT6795 octa-core 64-bit chipset, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 20 megapixel rear camera, 13 megapixel or 4 UltraPixel front camera. BoomSound speakers, Bluetooth 4.1, less than 3000mAh battery. and Sense 7.0 on top of Android 5.0.

The phone will be available in White Rose Gold, Gray, and Brown Gold colors. The phone will get its own Dot View case. There will be two variants, a single SIM one for EMEA markets and dual SIM for Asian markets.

Source gsmarena

Check out this week's smartphone announcements

The week opened with the announcement of the low-end Asus ZenFone C. It's a minor update to last year's ZenFone 4, retaining the Intel chipset with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Screen size has seen a slight bump to 4.5 inches, requiring an increase in battery capacity to 2,100mAh.

Wednesday was rather eventful, with Meizu's highly-anticipated press conference. The Meizu m1 was unveiled, packing a 5-inch 720p screen and respectable hardware in a colorful body, all for $110. Camera department is where the m1 offers the most bang for its buck, offering a 13MP main sensor and a 5MP selfie snapper.

The ZTE Blade S6 is a more capable LTE-enabled 5-incher rocking a Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. A 13MP/5MP camera combo adds up to a respectable $250 midrange package.

The HTC Desire 526+G slides in between the last two, pricewise. For $170 the Taiwanese company will sell you a 4.7-inch qHD screen, a 1.7GHz octa-core processor, coupled with a single gig of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. A 16GB version is available for a nominal price increase.

Samsung unveiled a new smartphone as well, pushing its range to even lower grounds. The entry-level Galaxy J1 packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a modest 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory, thankfully expandable. The new base model runs KitKat on a 4.3-inch screen.

Motorola quietly launched an LTE-enabled version of the current Moto G, dubbed Moto G 4G (2015). Offering vanilla Android experience and timely updates, the new handset offers dual-sim functionality and retains the hardware of the non-4G version.

As always, we've set up a convenient list of links below for you examine all of the above in more detail.

Motorola Moto G 4G (2015)

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Samsung Galaxy J1

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ZTE Blade S6

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HTC Desire 526G+ dual sim

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Meizu m1

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Asus Zenfone C ZC451CG

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Research says iPads and smartphones may damage toddlers' brains Journal findings warn that using a tablet or smartphone to divert a child’s attention could be detrimental to ‘their social-emotional development’

 Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine found that use of interactive screen time under 30 months could also impair a child’s development of the skills needed for maths and science. Photograph: Alamy

Using a smartphone or iPad to pacify a toddler may impede their ability to learn self control, new research has shown.

The research also says heavy use of mobile devices at a very young age is having an untold impact on children’s development and behaviour.

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine expressed alarm that though the adverse effects of television and video on very small children is well understood, society’s understanding of the impact of mobile devices on the pre-school brain has been far outpaced by how much children are already using them.

The researchers warned that using a tablet or smartphone to divert a child’s attention could be detrimental to “their social-emotional development”.

“If these devices become the predominant method to calm and distract young children, will they be able to develop their own internal mechanisms of self-regulation?” the scientists asked.

Use of interactive screen time below three years of age could also impair a child’s development of the skills needed for maths and science, they found.

Jenny Radesky, clinical instructor in developmental-behavioural pediatrics at BU School of Medicine, published her team’s research findings in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She urged parents to increase “direct human to human interaction” with their offspring.

Radesky encouraged more “unplugged” family interaction in general and suggested young children may benefit from “a designated family hour” of quality time spent with relatives – without any television and mobile devices being involved.

The researchers pointed out that while there is plenty of expert evidence that children under 30 months cannot learn as well from television and videos as they can from human interaction, there has been insufficient investigation into whether interactive applications on mobile devices produce a similar result.

Radesky questioned whether the use of smartphones and tablets could interfere with the ability to develop empathy and problem-solving skills and elements of social interaction that are typically learned during unstructured play and communication with peers.

Playing with building blocks may help a toddler more with early maths skills than interactive electronic gadgets, the researchers found.

“These devices may replace the hands-on activities important for the development of sensorimotor and visual-motor skills, which are important for the learning and application of maths and science,” Radesky said.

There is evidence that well-researched early-learning television programmes, such as Sesame Street, and electronic books and learn-to-read applications on mobile devices can help vocabulary and reading comprehension, the team found, but only once children are much closer to school age.

Radesky recommended that parents try applications before considering allowing a child to use them.

“At this time there are more questions than answers when it comes to mobile media,” she said.