Nokia Lumia 710, 800 to get internet sharing in WP 7.5 Tango

The Lumia series, the hallmark Windows Phone devices by Nokia, so far were left out in the cold as regards the Wireless Hotspot functionality. Every other WP smartphone has been enjoying that since the update to Mango, but not the Lumias.

Previously, we've caught wind of rumors that the about-to-be released Nokia Lumia 610 finally has that feature.

Now user reports suggest that the Lumia 710 and 800 will also have that featured enabled once the new Tango (WP7.5 refresh) update becomes public. So far, only pre-release firmwares have been out and about via the NaviFirm application. Navifirm acquires the firmware files directly from Nokia support servers so those are the real deal.

The words "Gedeeld Internet" in the screenshots above mean Internet sharing in Dutch.

Another thing is that a changelog for one of the firmwares on NaviFirm lists "Tethering or internet sharing ability" as coming with Windows Phone Tango.

Do you have wireless hotspot on your phones and do you use it often?

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Vodafone UK claims first dibs on the next Samsung Galaxy

Today Samsung released the first teaser for the UNPACKED event where we will see the next Galaxy smartphone flagship. The Galaxy S III will only be officially announced on May 3 in London, but Vodafone UK already wants you to know they will be selling it.

The operator has put a banner on its official website, which you can click to register your interest in the next Galaxy smartphone and subscribe for updates about it. So whatever the next big Samsung thing is and whenever it gets released – Vodafone UK will have it.

The fact that one of the large UK carriers will be offering the next Samsung flagship is hardly news, but the eagerness to announce that to the public really speaks volumes about the device itself.

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LG Optimus 3D Max launches in Europe, not coming to the UK

LG has some good news for 3D buffs - the LG Optimus 3D Max, their second generation Android phone with glasses-free 3D screen is launching across Europe. There's some bad news too - the Optimus 3D Max won't be coming to the UK for now.

Anyway, the 3D Max brings updates over the original Optimus 3D in several key areas - the dual-core CPU is now clocked at 1.2GHz (it still uses a TI OMAP 4430 chipset though), it has 1GB of RAM (up from 512MB), it's 2mm thinner, 20g lighter and comes with NFC connectivity.

Also, the HDMI port has given way to a MHL-enabled USB port, which can do up to 1080p video output (in both 2D and 3D modes). LG will release a tool that upscales Android apps to 1080p resolution as a maintenance release later on.

The dual-5MP camera hasn’t changed though and the screen is still a 4.3" WVGA LCD.

Another thing that will come as a maintenance release further down the line is the Range finder app that lets you measure distances to and the dimensions of objects by leveraging on the smartphone's two cameras and some clever math.

There's another feature that LG showed off at the MWC - the DSLR shot that uses similar distance measurements to add a DSLR-style shallow depth of field to regular photos from the camera. The press release makes no mention of that feature, so there's a chance it didn’t make the cut.

What is included with the Optimus 3D Max is a 3D converter tool that takes 2D apps (as in non-stereoscopic) and converts them to stereoscopic 3D. That's good, because there aren’t that many stereoscopic apps out there.

Amazon.de has the LG Optimus 3D Max available for €515 (including VAT), while some of the retailers over at Guenstiger.de offer it for €440. Amazon.at (Austria) also have the smartphone available for €515. That's all the online stores we found to sell the 3D Max, but availability should expand quite quickly.

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T-Mobile could get its own Galaxy Note as T879 leaks

Samsung has been intensely promoting its Galaxy Note phoneblet ever since its announcement, and it looks like it might finally make its way to T-Mobile.

   

While the T879 model number may be a far cry from the SGH-i717 of the original Galaxy Note, there's a few key bits of information that point to it being a T-Mobile branded Note:

…the leaked ICS build for the AT&T Galaxy Note has the build number IML74K.144, indicating the build date and it is the 144th custom build. The SGH-T879 has the same build number because it was built from the same sources at the same time, meaning that it is indeed a brother to the AT&T Galaxy Note. The build servers and time stamp match up with Samsung’s official build information. We know that this build is intended to be an official build because the build number is suffixed with the baseband version instead of a decimal number indicating a custom build that voids the warranty.

Obviously, all of this is still highly speculative. Be sure to check back with us for more as this story develops.

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ICS-running Motorola RAZR HD shows up in China

The Motorola RAZR HD name leaked a week ago though some EXIF data and now alleged photos of the actual device have hit the Internet. The phone in the photos is headed to China Mobile and carries the model number MT887.

The Motorola RAZR HD MT887 is an Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone and lacks any hardware keys, opting for on-screen ones instead. The smaller bezel means a smaller phone compared to another China-bound RAZR with an HD screen - the MT917.

 
Motorola MT887 next to an MT917 (4.5" screen)

This could be due to a smaller screen size - 4.3" seems like a good guess, but 4.6" is mentioned in a couple of places. The camera on the back is reportedly an 8MP unit, which is inline with the EXIF info we saw.

Here are some further specs on the Motorola RAZR HD according to the rumor - TI OMAP 4430 chipset with dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage, GSM and TD-SCDMA network connectivity. The phone is thicker than the 8.5mm thin XT917, which generates speculations that it packs a 3300mAh battery, a la RAZR MAXX.

  
Some leaked renders of the Motorola MT887 from earlier this week

There's another model number thrown around - MT889, which may be headed to China Telecom. There's no info on a world-wide version of the Motorola RAZR HD, but a Google-owned Motorola can't take too long to deliver an ICS phone, can it?

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Samsung Galaxy S III GPU benchmark pops up, tops charts

The yet unannounced successor to the Galaxy S II popped up briefly in GLBenchmark's results page to confirm that the S III (or whatever it's called) is the next top dog in droidland - GPU-wise. The results have since been hidden from prying eyes, which does give them an air of legitimacy.

The device, sporting a GT-I9300 monicker, does better than almost all the major players on today's market. In the off-screen 720p test, where raw GPU power is emphasized, it achieved 92.2 frames per second, beating the Tegra 3 and Adreno 225 GPUs by a lot and even gave the dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 inside the iPhone 4S a spanking. It did come short of the new iPad's quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU, though.

GLBenchmark 2.1 Egypt off-screen 720p

Higher is better

•  

• Samsung GT-I930092.2
• HTC One S56.2
• HTC One X64.9
• Apple iPhone 4S72.7
• Apple iPad 3139.2
• Samsung Galaxy S II65.4

While these are preliminary results, which will probably be different from the ones of the final product, they do point to a powerful GPU inside the next Galaxy flagship. Previous rumors pointed to the same Mali-400MP GPU architecture as in the Galaxy S II, but maybe Samsung is adding another core to it.

There isn't long remaining before we find out - the Samsung flagship will hit the stage on May 3 in London.

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Sony Xperia P and Xperia U delayed until May 28

Sony Xperia P and Xperia U are scheduled to be released this May. The previous launch date rumors were pointing to May 7, but according to new info from Clove UK, Sony will be delaying both devices.

Either those rumors were full of it or Sony faced some production or shipping issues as the date has now been pushed back to May 28. Granted, three weeks isn't too bad, but delays are never good news.

The aluminum Xperia P (black, silver) is available on pre-order on Clove for £330. The youthful Xperia U (white, black) is going to be sold for £204 there, but you should consider the lack of a microSD slot and the limited internal storage it has to offer.

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