Samsung gets official with the Galaxy Premier: 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED, 8MP camera, GS III styling

If Samsung took a wrong turn with its brand-diluting Galaxy S III Mini, then the much-leaked Galaxy Premier is where it gets back on track. The phone keeps the outward visage of the Galaxy S III and makes only modest sacrifices in order to reach a wider audience. These include a slightly shrunken 4.65-inch screen, which still blazes away with a full 720 x 1,280 Super AMOLED panel, an acceptable dual-core 1.5 GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor, 1GB of RAM and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The cameras haven't been messed with -- we're still looking at an 8-megapixel rear and a 1.9-megapixel front-facer -- while connectivity includes Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. So far, the phone has only been made official in the Ukraine, where it's been pegged for a November release and priced at 5,555 Ukrainian hryvnias -- an exotic-sounding figure that very roughly translates to $680.

[Source: Engadget]

HTC AND MICROSOFT ANNOUNCE AVAILABILITY OF SIGNATURE WINDOWS PHONES

HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced that its signature Windows Phone 8 offerings will be ranged by all of its operator, retail and distribution partners. The Windows Phone 8X by HTC is available for pre order immediately and will be in-store from the 2^nd November from selected partners.

Unveiled last month, HTC’s Windows Phone 8X and 8S boast fresh and innovative designs which blend the virtual world of the Windows Phone Live Tiles experience with bold, vibrant and colourful physical designs.

“It’s fantastic to see the excitement surrounding our Windows Phone 8 devices,” says Phil Roberson, UK & Ireland Executive Director of HTC. “This is the first time HTC Windows Phone device have had full UK distribution. The level of interest is a testament to our deliberate Windows Phone design strategy and the inclusion of HTC’s iconic feature set.”

Windows Phone 8X and 8S by HTC are the only Windows smartphones with Beats Audio, which delivers authentic, studio-quality sound with deeper bass and crisp vocals, whether you’re listening to music, playing a game or watching a video. They also feature amazing camera capabilities which allow people to capture spontaneous action quickly and easily, even if the phone is locked. 

Partners stocking both Windows Phone 8X and 8S by HTC include Three, Orange, T-Mobile, O2, Virgin Media, Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u, Brightpoint and Brightstar Tech Data.Pre-order is now available at Phones4u, Three and Carphone Warehouse.

Microsoft announces Skype app for Windows Phone 8 with new UI, deep People Hub integration

Last week, if you recall, Microsoft announced Skype for Windows 8, a touch-friendly app that appeared in the Windows Store the same day Win 8 went on sale. Now, with Windows Phone 8 getting its big reveal, the company is following up with a WP8 version, which Microsoft says is coming soon. Like the new Windows 8 app, it runs in the background, delivering push notifications even when you're looking at something else. In particular, now that Windows Phone allows for three different tile sizes, you can view the Skype tile in small, medium or large formats, with the largest displaying your latest message. (All tile sizes show an unread message count.)

[Source: Engadget - Click here to read the full story]

Windows Phone 8 handset UK availability and pricing detailed: free starting from £21 per month

We've heard how Windows Phone 8 is all about you, and seen all the devices bearing the new OS at launch. What's left, however, is where you can get one on the other side of the pond and, more importantly, how much it's going to cost you. Nokia has separately announced that both the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 will be launching in the UK (and France) later this week. More specifically, though, it looks like every UK carrier will be getting at least three handsets, with the almost-ready-to-launch EE getting both of HTC and Nokia's handset pairs. We've got all the (current) pricing details and availability dates after the break.

[Source: Engadget - Click here to read the full story]

Google officially lands deal with Warner Music Group

Make no mistake -- landing a deal for streaming with Warner Music Group is no easy chore. Search for 'Red Hot Chili Peppers' on programs like MOG, and you'll probably be sorely disappointed in what results are returned. Tucked within Google's Nexus blowout this morning was this nugget: the search giant has finally nailed down a deal with Warner, who will be "adding its full music catalog with new songs coming each day." In other words, this completes the puzzle necessary for Google to confess that it's "working with all of the major record labels globally," with this particular deal paving the way for acts like Green Day, Madonna, Neil Young and RHCP to appear soon in the Play Store. Specifics on which artists are coming when remain elusive, but feel free to refresh like mad if you're so inclined.

[Source: Engadget]

Pandora app gets major redesign on Android and iOS with new social features

Numerically, going from version 3.2 of an app to 4.0 makes much more sense than starting at 1.7. But, Pandora won't let a little thing like logic stand in its way. Today both the iOS and Android editions of the internet radio app are being updated to 4.0, regardless of the latter's lagging version number. 4.0 brings with it a significant refresh of the UI which Pandora bills as "uniform," though we'd call them feature equivalent instead. "Uniform" implies that the apps look exactly the same, when in fact they adhere to the to the design language of their respective platforms. In addition to a new look there's a lot of new capabilities baked in, including quicker access to genre stations and the ability to rename stations you've created. There's also a new personal music profile that offers a detailed timeline of your listening habits, which you can share with others. (You can also keep your profile private, just in case you're embarrassed about that Quad City DJ's station you're always listening to.) The new social angle is highlighted with a music feed page that lets you see what your friends and people with similar tastes are listening too. Hit up Google Play and iTunes to update now, and don't miss the gallery below and the PR after the break.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple executive shakeup: Scott Forstall and John Browett are leaving the company

Huge news out of Apple today, as its senior vice president of iOS software, Scott Forstall, will leave the company next year after putting in some 15 years. Furthermore, John Browett -- head of Apple retail -- is also on his way out. The memo was delivered late today, on a day that is littered with other news that the company may hope will bury the bulk of it -- and, on a day where trading on the New York Stock Exchange is halted due to Hurricane Sandy. It's practically a given that Forstall is taking the brunt of the impact from its decision to forge ahead with an obviously subpar Maps application, all while trumpeting it as one of the pillars of iOS 6 during his keynote speech at WWDC 2012. The introduction of Siri as a beta product is also on Forstall, and we all know what happens to executives who flub something related to iPhone....

[Source: Engadget - Click here to read the full story]

Google removes Nexus Q from landing page, further distances itself from a curious launch

Google had already yanked the "In Stock" status from its Nexus Q as we awaited a re-envisioning of its purpose, but today's Nexus launch is making it ever clearer that we may never hear from the bizarre orb again. Launched in July with an almost unbelievably small set of features, it took but a few weeks for Google to postpone the proper launch while sending free units to those who pre-ordered. Now, its placement on the Nexus landing page has been removed entirely, with the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 roaming the page alone. The Q's placement in the Play Store remains, but an ominous "This device is not for sale at this time" message accompanies it. Google had not returned a request for comment at the time of this article's publication, but we'll update should we hear back.

Update: Google returned a comment, but it's certainly not much to go on: "We don't have anything to share at this time."

[Source: Engadget]

AUO builds cellphone display with 'world's thinnest border'

Is that 3mm bezel getting you down? AUO says it has created the "world's narrowest" smartphone border on a new 4.46-inch 720P touch display -- just a single millimeter in width. That would put it in the same league as LG's Cinema Screen TVs, but in a smaller form factor, allowing manufacturers to reduce handset sizes without losing screen area. In related news, AUO also says it's developing Advanced Hyper-Viewing Angle (AHVA) tech, along with small form-factor IGZO displays, and that it's started shipping 4.97-inch 1920 x 1080, 443ppi screens. If all that means we have to squint less at our display, let the pixel density wars rage on.

[Source: Engadget]

Steve Ballmer returns triumphantly to Microsoft ads for Windows Phone 8, now with less Crazy Eddie

The last time we saw Steve Ballmer star in a commercial for Microsoft, he was extolling the virtues of a 286-based PC running the glory that was Windows 1.0 -- in 1986. You can imagine the surprise we got 26 years later when Microsoft premiered an ad featuring the now-CEO during its Windows Phone 8 event. If you were expecting that same kind of unbridled enthusiasm Crazy Eddie once used to hawk underpriced TVs, you may be either pleased or disappointed. It's a very level-headed and well-spoken Ballmer this time around, with the executive calmly highlighting the advice he gets through his HTC Windows Phone 8X from people like his wife and a certain Billy G. Besides evoking nostalgia, the pitch is an illustration of what Windows Phone's live tiles can do as well as a reflection of Microsoft coming full circle -- as it was two decades ago, Redmond is fighting for market attention at a time when new interface concepts are challenging its main business. We're just glad there's fewer plaid business suits in 2012.

[Source: Engadget]

Chrome Remote Desktop comes out of beta, adds real-time audio feed for Windows users

After a year of living in beta, Chrome Remote Desktop is finally ready for primetime. Similar to other screen sharing services like LogMeIn and Splashtop, Chrome Remote Desktop lets you access other computers remotely. Of course, it is special to the Chrome browser, and by extension, the Chrome OS. The latest version of the app adds a couple of new features like a real-time audio feed for Windows users and the ability to copy-and-paste between remote and local computers. You can use this with any Chrome browser of course, but it could prove especially useful for those with Chromebooks, as you can easily communicate with a presumably storage-laden home PC while still toting around a lightweight notebook.

[Source: Engadget]

Sony goes Red-hunting with PMW-F55 and PMW-F5 pro CineAlta 4K Super 35mm sensor camcorders

Having seen some of its high-end cinema camera thunder stolen by the likes of Red and Arri, Sony has just launched a pair of CineAlta PL-mount cameras with brand new Super 35mm sensors: The PMW-F5 and PMW-F55. Though both pack 4K CMOS imagers, the similarities grind to a halt there -- the higher-end PMW-F55 has a global shutter, wider color gamut and can output 4k along with 2k and HD video, while the PMW-F5 is a strictly 2k and HD model with a rolling shutter. Depending on the level of quality you want, there are several ways to capture video to each camcorder. MPEG-4 H.264 video or Sony's SR MPEG-4 SStP can be recorded onto Sony's new SxS PRO+ media, or if RAW quality is desired, there's the new AXS-R5 Access Memory System for 2K / 4K RAW capture -- which will also work with the current NEX-FS700. Using the latter system, the PMW-F5 is capable of grabbing up to 120fps slow motion RAW video, while the PMW-F55 could capture 240fps, putting it squarely in Epic-X territory. The new camcorders will arrive in February 2013, and while Sony hasn't outed pricing yet, it'll likely be under the flagship 4k CineAlta F65's formidable $65k sticker. Check the PR after the break to get the entire technical skinny.

[Source: Engadget]