ZTE Grand X2 In – 4.5″ Intel powered Jelly Bean phone

ZTE has announced a new relatively high-end Android phone, with its ZTE Grand X2 In combining a 4.5″ 1280 x 720 resolution display with an Intel Atom Z2580 mobile chipset clocked at 2GHz. You also get 1GB of RAM and dual cameras (8MP and 1MP), plus 8GB of RAM you can augment with an SD card.

There’s a 2,000MaH capacity battery inside it. And there’s going to be a blue one, which looks like this:

zte grand x in 2

Looks relatively unskinned, too. Could live with that. The Grand X2 In will hit Europe in Q3 of this year. Here’s the thing:

Global premiere of ZTE Grand X2 In – ZTE’s flagship smartphone that’s as quick as you

With Intel Inside®, Android Jelly Bean and best-in-class camera, ZTE’s new flagship smartphone promises instant performance

15th May 2013, MONACO – ZTE today introduced the ZTE Grand X2 In smartphone with Intel Inside® at the MedPi conference in Monaco. Featuring the Intel® Atom™ Processor Z2580 with up to 2GHz, Android Jelly Bean OS, an advanced 8MP camera and 1080p movie and video play back, the ZTE Grand X2 In provides high quality experience for the demanding and value conscious user.

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STATS: Android device activations now at 900 million

Google used its I/O 2013 developer event to update us all on the progress of its Android baby, putting together a fancy graphic to illustrate the format’s continuing level of insane growth. In summary, Google’s seen some 900,000,000 separate Android phones and tablets activated around the world to date. That’s loads.

Google also says its counted some 48 billion separate app installs since launch. That is also loads. Here’s the graphic:

900-million

Revenue per user in terms of what we spend in the Play Store is also up by 2.5 times over the last year, which, lest we be under any allusions, is what it’s really all about.

White Huawei Ascend P2 a Phones 4U exclusive

Mobile specialist Phones 4U has announced plans to stock a white version of the quad-core Huawei Ascend P2, which it’ll be selling in the UK exclusively. The retailer’s site currently has a whopping great information page up filling everyone in on the phone’s tech specs, plus lots of official shots of the whiter hardware. Just when you think a Huawei phone can’t get any better, they go and make it… better.

There’s still no news of an actual launch date for the Ascend P2, though, so all we have to go on is Huawei’s own June projection.

ascend-p2-white

It’s going to be a good summer. As long as it’s less than £200 unlocked.

STATS: Samsung dominant in Q1, LG doubles smartphone market share

Yet more analysis of the global mobile phone scene has come to the usual, inevitable conclusion — that Samsung is crushing everyone. Into a SMOOTH PULP. Data published by Gartner claims Samsung took 23.6% of all phone sales (dumb and smart) in the first quarter of 2013, way ahead of surprise second place manufacturer Nokia.

Apple’s down in third position, with LG doing rather well for itself in fourth place in the overall combined smart and feature phone sales league table. Here’s the data:

2013-phone-sales-stats

So that’s 425 million phones sold around the world in the first three months of the year, with Samsung making very nearly a quarter of all of them. And things are even better for Samsung in terms of smartphone market share…

2013-smartphone-sales-stats

…where it took nearly 31% of all sales over the first three months of 2013. And that’s before the S4 arrived. Madness. Good to see LG’s smartphone sales numbers doubling, too, almost certainly thanks to the success of the Nexus 4.

Service Saver helps you escape motorway journey RIP OFF HELL

This is one of the best ideas for an app we’ve encountered for a long time. Service Saver is designed for UK motorway travellers, pointing out nearby off-motorway supermarkets, and therefore enabling drivers to avoid the MISERY that is paying £3.49 for a cup of tea and £4.69 for a limp egg mayo sandwich in some hellish service station. Google Maps integration simply directs you to the nearest supermarket instead. Result.

There’s a free version of the app too, which, according to user reviews, works perfectly well but is a little vague when it comes to naming the actual brand of supermarket…

service-saver-android-app-1 service-saver-android-app-2

…but still gets the job done. And, as plenty of users point out, filling up your car at supermarket cost rather than service station prices should mean the app pays for itself on your first trip. And you can earn your Nectar points, too.

Sony Xperia ZR – waterproof 4.6″ model with 13megapixel camera

Sony’s just announced the Xperia ZR today, a phone that, despite the model name, differs from the popular Xperia Z quite significantly. The Xperia ZR is a slightly smaller 4.6″ model, powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core S4 Pro chipset, which is clocked at 1.5GHz and works alongside an LTE-friendly radio for 4G connectivity.

The BIG THING is that it’s properly waterproof, not just water resistant, with Sony claiming the chunky Xperia ZR is able to be “submerged in 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes” and still work. It’s for those who want a bit of additional peace of mind about not voiding warranties through accidental moisture incidents. Here it is:

sony-xperia-zr

Plus there’s a 13megapixel camera inside. The Xperia ZR will begin to appear during Q2 of this year, says Sony. Here’s the thing:

The new Xperia™ ZR waterproof* smartphone with superior Sony engineering

13th May 2013, London – Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) today introduces the new Xperia ZR featuring the highest level of water-resistance for capturing photos and Full HD videos underwater. This Android smartphone offers leading technology and content with a 4.6” HD Reality display, 13 megapixel fast capture camera, Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ S4 Pro quad-core 1.5 GHz processor, and 4G LTE.

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View from the Train explains what you’re whizzing through/past

View from the Train is a new Android app developed by Scottish Natural Heritage, designed to encourage you to LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW while travelling by train through the Scottish countryside, instead of staring at your phone for the duration of the trip.

The app is sort of a virtual Michael Portillo, offering wildlife tips, historical snippets, poetry and photography of the regions you’re passing through as you go, augmented with commentary from “experts and enthusiasts” about the areas. Here it is:

view-from-the-train-android-1 view-from-the-train-android-3

view-from-the-train-android-4 view-from-the-train-android-2

Well, we thought it sounded quite clever anyway. Try it here if you’re anywhere near, in, or planning to go to, Scotland, and are using a train as your main method of movement.

SEGA SALE: After Burner Climax and House of the Dead reduced this weekend

If you’re a lapsed SEGA fan too disillusioned with the state of its modern product even to spend £2.39 on an Android version of After Burner Climax, here’s some good news for you, Gary — the game’s been discounted to just 77p as part of a weekend promotion. We don’t know why. It just has. It’s Mother’s Day in America this weekend, but that can’t be the reason.

Also, the newly released House of the Dead spin-off Overkill is part of the weekend discount deals, seeing its price LITERALLY SLASHED from £3.88 to £2.34…

after-burner-discounted

…which lessens the risk of taking a punt to see if the games (a) work on our phones and (b) are in the slightest bit good. After Burner is here and House of the Dead is here. Buy them and play them in five years time on your Nexus 14, at least.

Motorola RAZRi now on Three UK, from £17 a month

Mobile network Three is continuing to expand its serious/business relationship with mobile manufacturer Motorola, with the RAZRi joining the old Defy+ in being sold through the network today. Prices start at £17 on the cheapest tariff, rising to £23 for a “free” RAZRi and connection to the network’s unlimited data tariff, or more if you’d like to bump up your calling minutes allowance.

For a relatively new phone with a 4.3″ display and 2GHz Intel chipset, that’s not a bad deal if you want a phone that’s a bit different from what everyone else is being continuously distracted by.

razr-i-three

Odd how Three and Motorola are now best friends. We can’t help but wonder if helping shift these older models is part of an agreement in return for a Three exclusive on something big and new from Motorola farther down the line?

Flick Golf! Free launches on Android today

More than half-decent developer Full Fat has released an alternate version of its Flick Golf! game on the Play Store today, which it’s calling Flick Golf! Free. You can probably guess what’s different about this one.

The game includes friend score leaderboards and the ability to “Play the same game on any device” which, we assume, means you can have it installed on a phone and tablet and use the same save data to progress on both devices. We guess. Here it is:

flick-golf-free-android-1 flick-golf-free-android-2

Looking nice. Flick Golf! Free is a 36MB download and is on Google Play here.

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