My Crappy Life | Syed ™

Maxis being the first to offer 4G LTE service in Malaysia has finally announced its 4G LTE smart phone bundling. Initially Maxis 4G LTE was only launched with its Wireless Broadband service offering. There are 2 devices being offered – Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC One XL which both supports 2600MHz frequency.

The 4.5″ Nokia Lumia 920 is offered as low as RM1,099 while the 4.7″ HTC One XL will be offered from as low as RM1,199. Both devices will be tied with either Maxis SurfMore 75 or TalkMore 78 with 3GB bolt on data plan. The HTC One XL looks identical with its One X sibling but instead it runs on dual-core Qualcomm Krait processor as opposed to the One X’s Quad Core Tegra 3 processor. The devices will be available at Maxis centres at KLCC and TTDI.

In terms of speeds, Maxis 4G LTE offers up to 75Mbps with average speeds hovering around 10-30Mbps. Currently its 4G LTE coverage is limited to Klang Valley including areas such as TTDI, Damansara Utama, Desa Sri Hartamas, Bandar Puchong Jaya, Bandar Sunway and Putrajaya with more areas to be covered soon.





(source)

Galaxy Ace 2 is a popular mid-scale smartphone that has attracted many for its affordability and features. There have been reports that Samsung will update the Ace 2's firmware, which will enable some functions and fix some of the glitches of its current firmware and already, the Galaxy Ace 2's loayl patrons are anticipating the upgrade.

Samsung pre-released the Jelly Bean firmware for the Galaxy Ace 2 today and provided screenshots to tease fans and enthusiasts. Users can update to Jelly Bean on March or April. Some of the Samsung smartphones such as the Galaxy series, namely, Beam, Music, Ace Plus, Mini 2, and Chat have also been reported to be possibly upgraded earlier on. Furthermore, all of these units will already feature the full touch interface, TouchWiz Nature UX, along with other devices by Samsung that run on Android operating system.



(Source)

The Samsung Galaxy S II which is turning 2 years old might be dated but that’s not stopping it from getting the latest updates. Earlier on, the Exynos based Galaxy S II (9100 non-G model) has received its Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update but those owning the TI-based 9100G model had to wait a little longer.



Samsung hasn’t forgotten the Galaxy S II 9100G owners and they have been reported to start rolling out Android 4.1.2 updates to these models as well. According to Sammobile, the new update brings a host of new improvements including a smoother UI experience and revamped skin similar to the latest Galaxy S III and Note II. So far there’s no exact roll out dates by countries but we suggest 9100G owners to check for updates now or in the next couple of weeks.



(Source)

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google and Motorola are working together to produce an “X Phone” and “X Tablet” for 2013 release. The devices are said to be separate from the Droid line of products, which leads us to believe they could be sold under the Nexus brand.

Dennis Woodside, new Motorola Mobility CEO, told the Wall Street Journal that his company is “investing in a team and a technology that will do something quite different than the current approaches.” He admits that Motorola has ”fallen under hard times,” but it “now has the support of a shareholder in Google that has resources to do big things.”

Google CEO Larry Page is reported to have told the Motorola team to “think big” and wants them to reach the scale of Samsung Mobile’s business. People familiar with the matter said Page has ”promised a significant marketing budget for the unit.”

Details are limited, but Motorola is said to be working on “top-notch features for the phone’s camera and photo software.” Neither Motorola or the Nexus brand has ever been known for great cameras, so this would be an exciting development if true. Motorola is also said to be exploring the use of a “bendable screen and materials such as ceramics”, but they have “run into obstacles associated with manufacturing and supply-chain management.”

A person familiar with Motorola’s plans said they will incorporate new imaging and gesture-recognition features from Viewdle, a company they acquired earlier this year. Viewdle says their computer vision technology “showcases the power of your smartphone through camera-based innovations in augmented reality, device interaction, media management, gaming, and social networking.” Check out the video clip below for a preview of Viewdle’s technology.



We are huge fans of the Nexus brand, so it will be interesting to see what Motorola and Google come up with. Motorola has already demonstrated a focus on improving battery life, and it’s nice to hear that their camera technology will receive some upgrades.

(source)

Acer may be something of a leaky ship. Just days after we saw the supposed V360 smartphone pose for the camera, a possibly related V350 model has reportedly shown up in GLBenchmark's results. Despite the lower number in the naming scheme, the device put through testing looks to be the higher-end of the two. It jumps to a 720p screen, a speedier 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and even a slightly newer Android 4.1.2 build of Jelly Bean. Without a peek at other details, we don't know what else if anything might be upgraded over the V360, or if this is indeed a real device -- benchmarks aren't definitive proof, after all. If history is an indicator, though, we could get full details of the V350 near Mobile World Congress in February, like with past devices. We just hope Acer is timelier about actually getting to market this time around.



(source)