Google shook the mobile scene when last October it dropped its marvellously crafted Pixel flagship. While the handset raked in stunning reviews with its silky smooth performance, spectacular camera and nifty virtual assistant , not everyone loved its hefty price – but this might all change soon.
Citing an undisclosed but reliable source, 9to5Google reports the Big G has set its sights on bringing a bundle of enhancements to its second-generation Pixel as well as a modest ‘budget’ model of the flagship device, aimed at “emerging markets.”
While the budget alternative will come at a “significantly cheaper” price, the higher-end model is expected to see “at least” a $50 hike in price – it will however offer a slew of improvements.
Among other things, Google is said to have devoted its efforts to further refining the already excellent camera. The report also suggests the search engine giant is testing with enhanced chipsets from two different manufacturers – including Qualcomm and Intel.
Though the next-gen Pixel will likely sport a camera that might “not have large MP size,” the device will “compensate in extra features.”
In line with earlier speculation, Google’s new flagship handset is also slated to be waterproof – a feature many technophiles felt should’ve been included in the original Pixel. While prior reports suggested the next-gen version will “ definitely ” have water resistance, more recent rumors indicate the functionality is “still on the table,” but not yet confirmed.
The budget model, codenamed ‘Pixel 2B,’ will come with slightly less powerful hardware specs and will likely start shipping shortly after the release of its higher-end counterpart.
iPad Air will ship on November 1 in 41 countries, iPad mini with Retina coming later in November
At its October media event in San Francisco today, Apple announced the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina . The successor to the iPad 4 will ship on November 1, 2013 in 41 countries, while the iPad mini successor will arrive later that in the month, though no specific date was given.
Here’s the full country list for the iPad Air: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finalnd, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
It’s worth noting that the iPad Air will be launching in China from day one, just as the iPhone 5s did. This is a first for Apple, a company that’s pushing hard to grow its customer base in the world’s most populous country.
The iPad Air’s pricing remains unchanged from the iPad 4, meaning it starts at $499. The iPad 2, on the other hand, will remain at $399.
The iPad mini with Retina will debut at $399, while the original iPad mini’s price has dropped to $299.
Meanwhile, check out all our coverage from Apple’s event here, and here’s everything Apple announced in one handy list .
Feature Image Credit – Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Samsung expects the Galaxy S4 to pass 10m sales in the third week of May, twice as fast as the S3
Samsung expects Galaxy S4 sales to break the 10 million milestone over the next seven days, making it one of the fastest-selling smartphones the company has ever produced.
Shin Jong-kyun, co-CEO of Samsung Electronics told a number of journalists at an industry event in Seoul, South Korea, that the company was “confident” it would pass the milestone before the end of next week.
“It is selling much faster than the previous model S3,” he said.
If global sales for the Galaxy S4 continue to rise and hit the 10 million mark as expected, it will also claim the title of the company’s fastest-selling smartphone. In comparison, it took the Galaxy S3 two months to hit the same lofty goal .
The Galaxy S4 launched in most markets on April 26 , which means that it’ll have had a little under a month to make the same progress. It highlights a growing interest not just in the Android platform worldwide, but also Samsung’s smartphone portfolio on the whole.
The Galaxy S4 has enjoyed a monumental marketing campaign both before and after its launch, starting with a number of teaser videos that included Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd during the Superbowl , as well as this little chap leading up to the launch event in New York.
The Broadway-style unveiling in the Big Apple drew some criticism from the press, but it was without doubt one of Samsung’s grandest and most high-profile media events. Billboard and television advertisements have since swamped a number of major cities, giving the Galaxy S4 the best possible chance at retail.
All of this has undoubtedly had a positive effect on initial sales.
Google surprised many attendees at its I/O developer conference when it announced a new version of the Galaxy S4 running stock Android (version 4.2.2). The device will be available from the Google Play Store for $649, with all the usual high-end hardware; a Snapdragon 600 chipset, 13MP camera, 16GB of internal storage, a 1080p display and LTE support.
Sales figures for the Nexus line – a dedicated range of stock Android devices produced by Google in conjunction with an OEM partner – are notoriously hard to come by, but the updated Galaxy S4 is likely to be a first-choice device for Android developers and general Google enthusiasts. Therefore, it’s safe to say that Samsung will be breaking more sales milestones later this year.
Hat tip Engadget
Image Credit: Greg Wood /Getty Images