World Mobile News

The latest version of Xiaomi's MIUI 6 is to become available for the Redmi 1S later this week. MIUI 6 was announced back in August last year, but the budget-friendly smartphone has so far been left out in the cold. Admittedly, it will be a beta version of the ROM at this point, released to the public to iron out unforeseen imperfections. The official version should follow in the coming weeks though. The company has also promised that the update will be rolled out to its entire smartphone lineup at a later stage. MIUI OS is Xiaomi's iOS-inspired thoroughly-customized Android overlay. It abandons Android's two-level interface and ditches the app drawer in favor of a number of homescreens for all your apps. A flat, polished look with consistent app icons is also typical of the MIUI. Via View the original article here

Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Note II will also get the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, although it hasn't yet confirmed the date. The announcement was made by Samsung Poland via a tweet. It is worth noting that the South Korean company usually updates it flagship devices for around 1.5 years, but the Note II seems to be an exception as it has been more than two years since the device was launched. The news comes just a day after the Galaxy Note 4 started receiving the Lollipop update in Poland. Via View the original article here

Samsung has started rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Galaxy Note 4 in South Korea. The update is currently available only for the Exynos variant of the Note 4 on the SK Telecom network, but it should be available on other carriers shortly. The update can be downloaded right now from Samsung Kies desktop application, with the OTA download arriving later. The Note 4 Lollipop update started rolling out yesterday, with Poland being the first country to get it. It should be rolling out in other regions shortly. Source View the original article here

The Lumia 1020 and 925 are finally getting the long-awaited Denim update in select European markets. Today Microsoft confirmed that the roll-out has officially begun but as usual it might take some time to reach every device out there. Different carrier update schedules can affect availability just as much as geographical location. One of our readers from Hungary has already provided us with a screenshot of the OTA and everything seems to check out. So if you own a Lumia 1020 or Lumia 925 be sure to check regularly over the next few days for the update package and report back with any interesting findings. News has already surfaced that O2 in the UK will start updating their units today, but things can get a little messy when searching for availability. The US Lumia 1020 for instance is available exclusively through AT&T and they are yet to share any information on update plans. In case you find it hard to make sense of it all, Microsoft is providing nicely organized version tab...

AT&T has started rolling out the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop for the LG G3 units that it's sold. This follows the rollout of the new software for G3 models from other parts of the world, which started last year. If you have an AT&T G3, it should soon notify you that an update is available to download and install, if it hasn't done so already. The file you need to grab comes in at around 690MB, and after performing the five-minute installation procedure your phone will be running Android 5.0.1, software version D85020f, build number LRX21Y. If you haven't received the update notification yet, you can always manually make the smartphone check for it by using the relevant part of the Settings menu. Source View the original article here

Motorola brought Lollipop to all of its current Moto smartphones but the first-gen Moto X is still left hanging. Sure, the Moto E is yet to taste Android Lollipop, but the testing processes has already begun, which means its update is ready. What happens to the original Moto X then? Motorola has decided to answer this bugging questions over Twitter. Apparently, the Lollipop update for the Moto X is still in development and Motorola is working on fixing compatibility issues with the SoC. The first Moto X runs on the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with dual-core 1.7GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. It seems the vanilla Lollipop is facing some issues with the hardware and requires further tweaking. Anyway, Motorola doesn't want to give any promises for release dates, but it assure its Moto X users that all hands are on deck for the update and it will roll out as soon as possible. Source View the original article here

Samsung has already updated the GPE model and the I9506 Galaxy S4 with Android 5 Lollipop. It recently begun seeding Lollipop to the Exynos-based I9500 Galaxy S4 flavor in Russia, too. As promised, the I9500 is the next major Samsung Galaxy S4 model to get the latest Android version. The second market to get the Lollipop treatment is India. The update is now available there over the air and weighs about 990MB. This means you must have at least 3GB free space before updating. Naturally, if your Samsung Galaxy S4 model is locked to a specific carrier it may took some extra time before the Lollipop updates reaches you because of the additional testing required. The Snapdragon 600-running I9505 Galaxy S4 will be next to taste Lollipop. The update is already in testing and should begin rolling out very soon. Thank you, Sameer Khan, for the tip! View the original article here

Sony has started rolling out Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update to users in some markets, namely Malaysia and Australia. At the moment, the new software (version 12.1.A.0.266) isn’t available over the air, and you’ll rather have to use Sony’s PC Companion desktop software to download and install it to your phone. That’s not the problem considering all the goodies you’ll get in return. These include the fancy white UI seen in other Sony smartphones that run Android 4.3, a new Sony Smart Camera and Sony media apps, new downloadable Xperia themes and wallpapers, a new launcher, as well as a number of performance improvements that make the UI feel a lot smoother. We’ve no idea when the Japanese company will bring the same update to other parts of the world and can only hope this will be a short wait. In addition, we’re hoping Sony will allow this process to be conducted over the air rather than requiring their infamous desktop software… [Via: XperiaGuide, UnwiredView] Dusan has been using sma...

Future plans for rollout in other markets not yet available LG has announced that it will begin rolling out an update to Android 4.4 KitKat for Korean variants of the G2. Speaking specifically of the model for its own domestic market, LG says that KitKat will be hitting its flagship by the end of the month, and considering that we're half way through December we have just two more weeks to wait before at least some G2s start seeing the software. Unfortunately no specifics are given on what changes LG plans to bundle along with the move to KitKat, nor does it offer any timeframe for G2s in Western markets . Considering the carrier involvement here in the states that's not hard to imagine, but knowing that LG has the software ready for at least one variant has us hopeful that it won't be too long before we have more information on a more advanced rollout. Source: LG (Translated)        

Touch and drag to focus and expose your images, and it really works The camera on the Moto X is not going to win any awards. It won't turn you into Trey Ratcliff , it won't get you paid for your pictures by National Geographic, and it won't keep you warm in the evenings. But it opens fast, and with the new enhanced "touch to focus" mode that came with KtiKat it takes pictures a bit better than it did before. Previously, something was broken with touch to focus. Things seemed to focus on the center of the viewfinder no matter where you tried to move it to, and a lot of pictures showed this by being blurry and grainy. Focus and exposure are two of the most important things we need out of a small sensor camera (the third being good white balance and color correction) and part of the reason why pictures from your phone always look like pictures from your phone. Motorola wants the camera to be good . They used relatively good components , and are working on the...

It seems Samsung has ironed out any issues with the Galaxy S3 4.3 update, at least in the US Sprint has joined the fray and the Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy S3 is now pushing out hard and heavy on all  three of the four major US carriers. Besides the improvements and stability that should come with 4.3, this one will add support for the Galaxy Gear if you've been eyeing Samsung's smartwatch but don't feel like buying a Note 3. As usual, results for the OTA will be mixed and at least a few folks will hit a snag or two. Everything you need to know will get talked about in the forums , so that's where you should be. Thanks everyone who sent this in!        

Another Moto X is added to the KitKat stables Motorola has just confirmed that the AT&T Moto X is getting its Android 4.4 update. Shortly after the soak test began, the KitKat update is on it's way to everyone with a Moto X on AT&T. This makes the third (fourth if you count the developer edition) Moto X to be updated to KitKat . We're excited, We know you're excited. Heck, we're also excited that you're excited.  The release notes are after the break. Source: AT&T read more