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With the Samsung Galaxy S5 unveiled, all eyes are now on HTC for the announcement of their new flagship. The HTC One successor was leaked earlier by evleaks in several photos including some HTC One M8s branded with AT&T and Verizon logos. A YouTube user named “GadgetReviews” recently posted a 12 minute video in which the HTC One M8 was fully leaked including the specs, design, interface and much of our previously leaked information was confirmed. The Video has now been taken down but has been reuploaded by several other users.

Here are some photos from the video!

HTC M8 (left) and HTC One (right)

HTC M8's dual cameras alongside dual LED flash

HTC M8's redesigned camera app

Camera modes of the HTC M8

HTC M8 (left) and HTC One (right)

The front of HTC M8

The back of HTC M8

Looks like HTC M8 will be slimmer than the HTC One

New redesigned HTC Blinkfeed

HTC M8's dual cameras alongside dual LED flash

HTC M8 (left) and HTC One (right)

The video confirmed much of the information that was already leaked including the dual cameras and Sense 6.0. Some new features unveiled include the microSD slot with redesigned BlinkFeed.

In the camera interface there is the option of “Dual Capture”. This is enough to hint that the dual cameras at the back have some special functionality. Though many users were hoping for it to actually be a 3D camera, the dual cameras seem to deliver a completely new camera feature that is yet to be fully unveiled. But let’s not get excited! There was a dual capture feature with the Samsung Galaxy S4 which basically captured a picture from both the rear and front cameras at the same time. There are chances HTC included the same feature in the HTC One M8. There is also a selfie mode which will most likely use the front facing camera for taking self photos.

The Video also shows the One M8 compared to its predecessor. Design changes include a lengthier build along with removal of the two capacitive buttons on the front. The HTC One M8 will accompany on-screen buttons like those on the Nexus 5.

We still don’t have much news regarding the specs of the HTC One M8 but a 2.3 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2 GB RAM and a 2900 mAh battery would be a safe bet. Although, I hope I’m wrong here. The 2 GB RAM looks to be enough but compared to the flagships of today, 3 GB would seem sufficient. The HTC One M8 is expected to go official on March 25.

What are your thoughts on the new HTC One? Be sure to leave a comment!

Samsung has finally taken the curtains off of its next Galaxy smartphone–the Galaxy S5–at the Unpacked-5 event under-way right now in Barcelona, Spain. The smartphone retains a number of Galaxy-centric features but also sports several new ones with a fingerprint scanner, heart-rate sensor, and a revised physical design being a few of them.

With the physical design of the smartphone, Samsung chose to go with polycarbonate for the fifth consecutive time and the phone features a soft-tone, dimple-textured plastic back-cover that Samsung likes to call “modern glam look” and it may remind some of the original Nexus 7. The front side, undoubtedly, takes some design cues from its predecessor–the Galaxy S4′s–with only minor tweaks here and there. Overall, the phone has slightly less-rounded corners and a little larger frame to house a 5.1″ display.

The UI has been simplified for the first time in a Galaxy flagship device and the usual S-based additions that Samsung offered in previous instalments are not a major focus. It is, perhaps, a direct result of Samsung’s deal with Google where the latter “forced” Samsung to provide a true-to-original Android UI experience. Also, there are Private Mode and Kids Mode, which block the access to certain features. The Ultra Power Saving Mode will keep the phone alive for longer periods of time in stand-by mode if battery is about to run out.

On the hardware side, perhaps the biggest surprise is the heart-rate sensor on the back, right under the camera. It can sense the heart-rate by measuring the pulse from the fingertip of a user. Rest of the specifications, that have leaked a number of times before, provide only customary upgrades from last year’s Galaxy S4:

2.5 GHz, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
2 GB of RAM
5.1-inch, 1080p Super-AMOLED display (1920 x 1080 pixels)
16 or 32 GB internal memory options with microSD card slot expansion
2.1 MP secondary and 16 MP primary camera with LED flash and optical image stabilization
2,800 mAh battery
Fingerprint sensor (embedded in the Home key)
Heart-rate monitor
Infra-red blaster for remote control options
USB 3.0 / NFC / Bluetooth 4.0 BLE/ANT+ connectivity
IP67-certified water- and dust-proof housing

The smartphone camera was a major focus of the official announcement and Samsung claimed the right to several “industry firsts”. One of the major camera features is PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) where the camera intelligently and automatically detects the right phase and contrast for the situation. Moreover, the camera features a 0.3 second auto-focus time which is actually pretty decent for a smartphone camera. Also, Video HDR mode, Selective Focus and Defocus Effect have been added to the camera. Selective Focus works like Nokia’s Refocus feature, to bring a particular part of the picture in focus after the photo has been taken. Defocus is a new feature that sounds cool in theory–it enhances blur for the background and adds bokeh to give the images a more professional, wider-aperture look.

Samsung has made the health & fitness apps and related wearables a major focus of the event with announcing four devices with built-in health-related sensors: the Galaxy S4, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit smartwatches. Bundled with these devices is the S Health Suite software pack that promises a complete fitness monitoring solution for Sleep, Exercise, Food, Stress and Weight scenarios.

Galaxy S5 will be made available from April 11th this year in nearly 150 countries. There’s no word on the price of the device yet.

Sony has just announced the Xperia Z2, which is the direct successor to the Xperia Z1 that released in the fall. While quite a bit stays the same, there’s also quite a bit that has changed.

While there’s plenty of other things mentioned in the press release, much of it is the standard fluff and fanfare that most press releases come with. Ultimately, the differences come down to the spec sheet, and the Xperia Z2 has few notable changes from the Xperia Z1. Battery gets larger to compensate for the larger display, Sony added the ability to record in 4K/30p, the SoC is a minor bump from improved yields, RAM goes up to compete with Samsung’s Note 3 and presumably a future Galaxy S phone as well.

While I will admit that I haven’t properly used either Xperia Z1/Z2, I do have a good idea of the various issues that seem to be consistently repeated by Sony in their Xperia lineup. Probably the biggest question that I have is whether the Xperia Z2 truly has a better display than the Xperia Z1. While the press release talks about how “TRILUMINOS Display for mobile with brand new Live Colour LED uses red & green phosphor with blue LEDs and customised colour filters to produce a brighter and more uniform light. The result is richer colours on the screen for all of your smartphone viewing without the risk of saturation,” I am skeptical that this actually translates to better display. While it’s too early to judge whether display has truly changed from the Z1’s display with poor calibration and worse viewing angles, initially it seems that nothing significant has changed.

What can be talked about is the MSM8974AB, a SoC that was already outed by Xiaomi with their Mi-3. The differences are minor, far smaller than that of the APQ8064 and APQ8064AB/AC, which had slightly improved IPC and higher clocks. The 8974AB instead brings higher GPU clocks (550 MHz vs 450 MHz), higher memory clocks (933 MHz vs 800 MHz), and the ISP goes from 320 MHz to 465 MHz. This is almost guaranteed to be the SoC of choice for all high end flagships launching at MWC, judging by various rumblings about the internet.

The final change of note in the Xperia Z2 are the stereo front facing speakers, which are finally in a phone that doesn’t start with One or Butterfly in the model name. While there aren’t many details on the quality of the speakers, just putting them on the front is great. However, just like with HTC devices, it seems that the speakers have added a great deal of bezel to the front of the device. While some may not mind the difference, there are definitely a great deal of people that voice their complaints over the size of bezels in phones.

Outside of hardware, it should be noted that Sony is advertising a “built-in noise cancelation feature with certain earbuds. These would use two microphones located on the earbuds and leverage the smartphone for the noise cancelation processing.

Following up Sony’s launch of the Xperia Z2, they’ve also launched the Xperia Z2 tablet, which fits the name well, as it is effectively has the same internals as the Xperia Z2, only made into a tablet, which means removing the data/voice modem for the Wi-Fi variant, increasing the screen size to 10.1”, and changing the camera from the 20.7MP, 1/2.3” sensor found in the Xperia Z2 to an 8.1MP unit on the back, likely of either 1/4” or 1/3” format. There are some changes to battery size, thickness, and weight, but everything else is carried over, such as the FHD Triluminos display, IP55/58 rating and the front-facing stereo speakers.

Finally, Sony launched the Xperia M2, a mid-range device that seems to directly target the Moto G based upon its platform and spec. I say this because the SoC is the Snapdragon 400 with quad core Cortex A7s at 1.2 GHz. The one major difference is that this phone has LTE. This means that it’s probably the MSM8926 running inside, unless Sony is packaging a separate modem to enable LTE, which is rather unlikely.

This is an interesting device because it’s not a simple refresh. The display is likely to not be competitive with the Moto G unless its calibration is much better, but Sony has also introduced LTE into their device. The camera could be noticeably better, as the 5MP camera in the Moto G is certainly not targeted at anyone that intends to use their phone as a primary camera of any kind. The Xperia M2 also has a dual-SIM variant, although that device won’t have LTE. While the press release doesn’t have any indication of whether or not the Xperia M2 will have microSD, it should be a relatively safe bet to say that it will, based upon Sony’s continued inclusion of microSD even at the high end of the market. Overall, depending upon price, this will be competitive with the Moto G, as they trade blows in specifications.

What are your thoughts on these devices by Sony? Let us know in the comments section below.

Nokia has finally put the rumors to an end by unveiling the Nokia X Family at the MWC an hour ago. After all the unofficial news and rumors, it was finally good to see Nokia making a move to Android Open Source Program (AOSP). This means that the Nokia X family will not actually be an Android powered Smartphones but will be able to run the Android compatible apps. A couple of days ago, we updated you on the rumor stating that Nokia will unveil not one but three Android powered Smartphones. Although the third one was least expected, Nokia still managed to introduce the whole X Smartphone lineup with three devices. While unveiling the X Family, Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop said “The Nokia X (family) is all about giving you access to the world of Android apps.”

I am sure all the Nokia fans around the country have long waited for this moment to actually get the perfect combination, Nokia + Android, or at least the pleasure of experiencing Android apps on Nokia. Well, if Nokia would have decided to go for this a couple of years ago then things would have been different for them. Anyway, let’s just not go there and stick to the joy and excitement part.

One of the two devices of the X family, Nokia X and X+, have the same specs apart from the internal storage and memory featuring a 1 GHz dual core processor, 4 inch display and a 3 MP rear camera and is priced at only €89 and €99 respectively. Now the price tag is something that encourages me to experience it and I am sure it does to you as well. Talking about the Nokia XL, which is a rather high end device, features a huge 5 inch display and comes with a plastic body. Being the high end Smartphone, it comes with a 5 MP rear camera with LED Flash and a 2 MP front camera to entertain video calls. If this has excited you much then the price tag will definitely lure to take it home as soon as possible. The recently unveiled Nokia XL is priced at a mere €109, and you don’t get a high end device at such a price range, other than Chinese ones.

The UI is quite fluid and looks more like Windows tiles and by that look, anybody can easily say that this is a hugely customized version of Android. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have a Google PlayStore app instead it will have a customized Nokia app store that will have the apps you need and if it doesn’t, it shall have the link to download it. There are other ways of installing the apps that are not present like downloading the .apk file and copying it on your SD card and simply install it. So, as far as experiencing Android apps are concerned, you will never be left behind. The Nokia X family also comes with a 1 month Skype premium subscription and a whopping 10 GB of cloud storage on OneDrive, a new name for Microsoft’s SkyDrive. It is definitely not a bad deal at all at the price range. The Nokia X family goes on sale in the coming few weeks with more members of the X family to arrive as the year goes on.

Let us know in comments about what you think of the newly unveiled X family by Nokia and keep reading the Android Download Blog for more news and review.

Huawei used it's presence at MWC to announce the MediaPad X1, which Huawei claims that it is "the lighest and narrowest 7-inch tablet". At 239g of weight and 103.9mm width, it has nailed the dimensions of the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HDX 7.

Huawei also made the tablet Ultra thin at just 7.18mm of thickness. It is made of aluminum which gives it a more premium and sexy look.it equipped with a 7-inch display (1920×1200), 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 13-megapixel camera (5-megapixel front) 5000mAh battery, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and an aluminum build, with what Huawei says is an 80 percent screen-to-body ratio. Expect this guy to hit in March in China, Russia, Western Europe, Japan, Latin America and the Middle East.

There’s also a MediaPad M1, which contains a bigger (but lower resolution) display, at 8 inches (1280×800), 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 5-megapixel camera, 4800mAh battery and a unibody aluminum design. The M1 will be available in the same markets as the X1 this March.

Like we saw in an earlier leak, Huawei’s Ascend G6 4G is a mid-range smartphone that sports a 4.5-inch qHD screen (950×540), 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (5-megapixel front), 1.2GHz quad-core processor, NFC, 2000mAh battery and a frame that’s just 7.85mm thick. Nothing to stand out in any particular way. But the device actually comes with LTE support for up to speeds of 150Mbps. That’s blazing fast (if your network supports those speeds), and should allow folks to stream movies with ease.

It appears Huawei is also unveiling a plain old Ascend G6 during Q1 this year that won’t get those blazing speeds, so it just depends on the market you’re in and what you can afford. That device will come in black, white, pink, gold or blue. The Ascend G6 4G, meanwhile, will be available starting in April, and arrive in black with light gunmetal grey or rose gold highlights, or in white with pink or champagne gold highlights.

Huawei has just unveiled its first smartwatch, the Huawei TalkBand B1, a device with a tiny, 1.4” bendable OLED display, fitness tracking functions and a pop-out earpiece for voice calls. Neatly, the Huawei TalkBand B1 works with both Android (2.3 Gingerbread and later) and iOS (5.0 and later) devices.

The TalkBand B1 features a six-day battery life courtesy of the 90mAh juicer inside it and the low power display. It supports NFC for easy sync and pairing with devices, and you can pop-out the attached earpiece to talk. The bundled-in earpiece is what makes the band itself is so thick - it measures 14.6mm. And talk time via the earpiece is quoted at the impressive 7 hours.

The 1.4” OLED screen itself looks more like displays on fitness trackers like the Nike FuelBand, and the TalkBand B1 overall looks much more like a fitness wristband than a watch. That’s also backed up by its features - a step counter, tracking for distance traveled, and amount of burned calories. In addition, it can track your sleep and use that information to wake you up at the best time, without abruptly interrupting your deep sleep cycles.

The Huawei TalkBand B1 is coming to China in March, whereas internationally it will launch in Japan, the Middle East, Russia and Western Europe in Q2 2014.

No pricing for any of these products have been revealed, but announcements are sure to come pretty soon.