Just days after unveiling the stylish-looking Urbane smartwatch, LG has announced a second model. The Urbane LTE runs software based on WebOS, rather than Android Wear, and doesn't require a phone connection at all—it takes its own SIM and can make and receive calls.We've seen smartwatches that can operate as standalone devices before—notably the Samsung Gear S—but this is the first to offer high-speed 4G LTE connectivity. In terms of physical looks, it's very similar to the Android Wear Urbane, which itself takes its cues from the LG G Watch R.LG's decision to release a smartwatch without Android Wear isn't a complete surprise, with various leaks to that effect over the last 12 months. At CES in January, an unnamed company executive told the Wall Street Journal that "we're going to slowly try to build an ecosystem around areas we can have more control over."Whatever LG's intentions to wrestle control away from Google, it had little choice but to develop its own software for the Urbane LTE: Android Wear remains dependent on a connected smartphone. Samsung's Gear S, the most direct competitor to the LG Urbane LTE, runs on the South Korean company's own Tizen OS.LG describes its new smartwatch software as the "LG Wearable Platform operating system, developed specifically for the company's proprietary wearable products." It doesn't mention WebOS by name—and LG has played down the WebOS angle to the Verge—but it would be a surprise if the firm was working on two completely separate OSes.The Urbane LTE also features NFC, for mobile payments and identification services, and health-tracking sensors including a heart rate monitor. Both Urbane smartwatches are appearing at Mobile World Congress next week where we should learn more about the software on board.It remains to be seen just how many users jump for a smartwatch that doesn't need a smartphone. While there are certain scenarios where it comes in useful—like a morning jog—only having a 1.3-inch screen would severely restrict productivity on the go.Independent research organization The Smartwatch Group estimates thatSamsung sold 1.56 million smartwatches in 2014, but didn't say how many Gear Ses are in that figure. Independent startups are trying the same trick too; the Neptune Duo (not yet released) will also be able to make and take calls from the wrist.While it's feasible that smartwatches could become more dominant for phone calls and notifications on the go (particularly in combination with Bluetooth headphones), for almost anything else—browsing the Web, typing out emails, looking through photos—the small screen size is a crippling disadvantage.
Showing posts with label lte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lte. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2015
The new technology, called LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U), works by taking advantage of unlicensed spectrum on the 5GHz band instead of licensed and controlled spectrum — typically in lower frequencies — traditionally used by phones. One of the main concerns some may have with this technology is how it will affect current Wi-Fi networks that run on the 5GHz band. Qualcomm says:
In order for LTE-U to provide maximum benefit, it must operate harmoniously alongside billions of existing Wi-Fi devices. Qualcomm Technologies is working to integrate LTE and Wi-Fi at the system level, and employs a robust set of protection features to promote the best possible co-existence between LTE-U and Wi-Fi networks. These innovations are designed to ensure users can connect to the Internet however they prefer, while operators can make unified use of all available spectrum to increase capacity. This is designed to result in easier and cost-effective network deployment and operations for carriers and a seamless experience for their consumers.
The company also says that its LTE-U solutions, which include a new RF transciever and small cell SoC will allow users to take advantage of better performance than either LTE or Wi-Fi by themselves.The company plans to show the technology off at Mobile World Congress next week, where it will hold demonstrations using its user test equipment. As far as availability, the company says that it expects LTE-U integrated SoCs to be available in the second half of 2015 — the question then will be how long before phone makers and carriers want to integrate it into their own plans.
Source: Qualcomm
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Recognised XDA contributor, Danvdh has released a custom build for the LTE variant of Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505), powered by quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. The custom build is based on the latest official Android 4.4.2 KOT49H KitKat firmware for the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition with model number GT-I9505G.
The developer has added a few optimisations to the ROM and necessary tools to give it the features of an AOSP ROM. As Google Edition does not use open source proprietary, features like Bluetooth and camera should work way better out of the box.
Android 4.4.2 Google Edition ROM is available for Galaxy S4 LTE I9505.
Android 4.4.2 Google Play Edition ROM features
Latest 4.4.2 Google Edition (Extremely clean ROM base made by me)
No rom branding - I don't flash my name around in the settings menu anywhere, keeping it stock AOSP
Rooted
Ktoonsez kernel
Busybox
CM Manual brightness values (minimum brightness of 10 (down from 40) available on the slider
Improved CM Autobrightness values (Samsucks autobrightness disabled)
removed home button lag
ART compatible
Inverted phone app (The way it should have been!)
Inverted contacts
Inverted 4.4.2 mms with quick reply from source + odexed for speed (stock mms optional flash)
Inverted 4.4.2 email from source
Google edition gallery can now delete from ext storage
Zip aligned
No extra bloat
Nova launcher (lightest launcher available, lots of features, only 3mb!)
Ships with latest xposed
Gravity box module included (This will give you a TON of extra tweaks only found in AOSP roms, and they work!)
Status bar tweaks
Notification panel tweaks
Battery icon
Hardware key assignments
CRT on/off
Expandable volume panel
Advanced reboot menu
Transparency settings
Disable/Enable CRT
Lockscreen quick pin unlock
Customize lock screen targets
Adjustable clear all recent apps button
Enable all rotations
XuiMod module
List view animations
AOKP Animation control
Battery bar
CM weather widget
Fast, simple and built from a clean 4.4.2 system dump by myself
To know more about the Google Edition ROM features and changelog, navigate to the development thread.
Galaxy S4 users who wish to install Android 4.4.2 KOT49H KitKat AOSP Google Play Edition ROM on their devices may follow our step-by-step guide.
IBTimes UK reminds its readers that it will not be held liable for any damage to the device. Before following the guide, users are advised to verify their devices meet following set of requirements.
Pre-requisites
1) Install USB Drivers for Galaxy S4 to transfer files between the Android device and the computer.
2) Enable USB Debugging Mode on the phone to connect it with the computer and use Android SDK with it. [Navigate to Settings>> About phone. Tap on Build Number several times until a message appears saying 'You are now a Developer.' Now enable USB Debugging Mode by navigating to Settings>> Developer Options.]
3) As the tutorial might wipe out all data of the phone, create backup. If the device is having any custom recovery such as ClockworkMod or, TWRP then backup data using the same.
4) If the Android phone powers off due to lack of battery during the process, it could damage the device. Therefore, the Galaxy S4 should have charge above 80% battery charge.
5) The phone should be rooted and have latest version of either ClockworkMod recovery.
6) The Android 4.4.2 Google Edition ROM works only with Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505. As applying this to any incorrect variant might brick the device, verify the model number of Galaxy S4 by navigating to Settings>> About phone>> Model number.
7) After flashing the ROM if the device gets stuck on Booting animation or experience boot loop then perform wipe cache partition and wipe dalvik cache for a few times before rebooting the device.
8) Once the ROM is installed, users are advised to give 10 minutes to the ROM after the device boots up for the first time for better user experience.
How to install Android 4.4.2 KOT49H KitKat AOSP Google Edition ROM on Galaxy S4 LTE GT-I9505
Step-1: Download Android 4.4.2 Google Play Edition ROM for Galaxy S4
Download link: danvdh-GE-4.4.2-02182014-INT.zip
Step-2: Connect Galaxy S4 to the computer using USB cable then copy the downloaded ROM file to the internal storage of the phone. But do not extract/unzip the file
Step-3: Unplug the USB cable from the phone and switch it off
Step-3: Place the phone into CWM recovery mode by pressing and holding Volume Up, Homeand Power buttons together. Release all the buttons when the custom recovery menu appears
Note: In recovery mode, use Volume buttons to scroll between options and Power button to select the desired option.
Step-4: Create a Nandroid backup of the existing ROM which can be restored later if the new ROM does not work or users wish to go back to the previous ROM.
Select backup and restore, name the file and confirm the process. Go back to main recovery menu when the backup is completed
Step-5: Perform a Factory Reset. This will wipe all data from system partition, which means the device will lose installed apps data and all the other system files [Factory Reset does not delete contents from internal or external storage.]
Select wipe data/factory reset and confirm the process
Also find format/system option and confirm the process
Step-6: Install the ROM on Galaxy S4
Select install zip from sdcard then select choose zip from sdcard. Now browse to the location where Android 4.4.2 ROM file is saved. Select it and confirm installation
Step-8: After the installation process is completed, return to the main recovery menu and reboot the phone into normal mode. If you are asked to fix root, deny that process and select No
Step-9: After the phone boots up successfully, give the ROM a few minutes to settle
Step-10: Launch the app drawer and open the Xposed app, press the Framework Button and confirm installation of the framework
Step-11: Reboot the Galaxy S4. When the device finished rebooting, launch again Xposed: Open the Module Menu and enable Gravity box. Then reboot the phone again
The Galaxy S4 should now boot into normal mode and run Android 4.4.2 Google Edition ROM. Head over to Setting>> About phone to verify the software version of the device.
Friday, February 21, 2014
CHIP DESIGNER Nvidia has announced an updated version of its Tegra Note 7 tablet that has LTE support and comes with the Android 4.4 Kitkat mobile operating system.
The Nvidia Tegra Note 7 LTE is nearly identical to the model that the firm introduced back in November, but it comes with the added bonus of HSPA+ and LTE connectivity. Here in Europe, the Tegra Note 7 will support the 800, 1800, and 2600 LTE bands, which suggests that the device will be released in the UK.
Nvidia said in a blog post on Friday, "Our Tegra Note 7 is getting a new family member - one that comes with great connections. We're adding our i500 LTE modem - and its 4G LTE cellular connection - to the world's fastest 7in Android tablet.
"[The] i500 [modem] leverages a unique software-defined radio technology - meaning it can deliver new capabilities via software without requiring an entirely new chipset. Another big plus is higher efficiency - it's only 40 percent the size of conventional modems but has [four times] the processing capability of its predecessor."
As well as added mobile connectivity, the Nvidia Tegra Note 7 LTE will also arrive running Google's Android 4.4.2 Kitkat mobile operating system rather than Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It's also being reported that the latest version of Android has started rolling out to Nvidia's first generation Tegra 7 tablet.
Beyond that, the Tegra 7 specifications remain unchanged. The Nvidia Tegra 7 LTE touts the same 7in 1280x800 resolution IPS display and is powered by the same Nvidia Tegra 4 chip, which touts a 72-core Geforce GPU and a quad-core Cortex A15 CPU with a fifth "battery-saver" core.
There's also stylus support, 5MP and VGA cameras, a microHDMI connector, 16GB of internal storage and a battery that Nvidia claims will last for 10 hours of video playback.
Nvidia's Tegra Note 7 LTE tablet will be available globally from the second quarter priced at $299.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
