The Nokia 3310 is in some ways better than the Samsung Galaxy S4, here's why

Before we begin, let's make it clear that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is among the greatest smartphones money can buy today. With all its awesome features, Samsung's flagship is at least a gazillion times better than a Nokia 3310. However, isn't it funny how in some ways a Nokia 3310 is still superior? Just think about it – the Samsung Galaxy S4 is pretty and all, but it is also fragile, while the Nokia 3310's durability has helped it achieve legendary status. Also, the Nokia 3310 could last for days on a single charge, while a typical smartphone, even the Galaxy S4, would need to be recharged almost on a daily basis. And that's not all. Read on to learn why a Nokia 3310 is still in some ways better than the Galaxy S4.

1. Repairability The Nokia 3310 was a rather simple device and its plastic panels could be replaced easily if cracked or damaged. Repairing the Samsung Galaxy S4, however, will require time, skill, and most importantly, lots of money.Nokia LCD

2. Durability The Nokia 3310 was built to last, and besides, there wasn't a whole lot on it that could break. The Samsung Galaxy S4, however, might suffer some serious damage only after a couple of drops, and that 5-inch screen is vulnerable to scratching and cracking.

3. Longer-lasting battery If you buy a Samsung Galaxy S4, chances are that you'll be recharging its battery on a daily basis, or at least every other day, depending on how much you use it. The Nokia 3310, however, could last for days without needing a recharge. That was, of course, due to the fact that one couldn't really do a whole lot on it so it just stood on stand-by 95% of the time, but hey, when you needed to make a call, the humble 3310 was always ready.

4. Price The Samsung Galaxy S4 costs about $630 when bought without carrier subsidy. That's quite more than what the Nokia 3310 was priced at launch even after you throw inflation into the equation. Today, a second-hand unit can probably be bought on eBay for about $20.

5. Usability outdoors The Super AMOLED screen on the Samsung Galaxy S4 is amazing, but it doesn't look as good if the sun is shining straight at it. The Nokia 3310, however, with its monochrome LCD display, could be used just fine under the sun's scorching rays.

6. Ringtone loudness Okay, we do admit that the loudspeaker on the Galaxy S4 is loud enough so you can easily hear it when it is ringing. However, the monophonic ringtones on the Nokia 3310, composed of simple square audio waves, could be heard from a further distance.

7. Ringtone composer The Nokia 3310 had a built-in tool allowing one to compose their own ringtone. Up to five of these could be saved onto the device. The Samsung Galaxy S4 doesn't have that, but at least it lets you set a song stored onto the device as a ringtone.

8. Pre-installed games The Nokia 3310 came with four games out of the box: Pairs II, Space Impact, Bantumi, and the hugely popular Snake II. The Samsung Galaxy S4 may support tons of awesome games, yet not a single one comes pre-loaded.

9. Faster emergency calls To dial 911, 112, or any local emergency number, one could just start typing straight from the lock screen. In other words, it took four presses of a button to call for emergency. On the Galaxy S4 you have to unlock the lock screen, open the phone app, open the dialer, and then type the emergency number you want to dial. Sure, it takes just 10 more seconds or so, but these 10 seconds may make a difference in extreme cases.

10. Not attracting thieves From a thieve's perspective, a Samsung Galaxy S4 is a lot more valuable than a Nokia 3310. If you lose an S4 or if it gets stolen, chances are you will not ever see it again. A Nokia 3310, however, isn't as valuable so it won't attract a thief's prying eyes.

The Nokia Lumia 520 is coming to AT&T

While T-Mobile is going to be offering the high-end Nokia Lumia 925, AT&T is apparently going in the other direction. A leaked picture of the back cover of the entry-level Nokia Lumia 520 provided by @evleaks via a tweet, shows the AT&T logo. The message from the reliable source says that "It's coming," which doesn't give us a precise date or pricing information, but does tell those who are interested in the device to keep an eye on AT&T.

The Nokia Lumia 520 is basically the same phone as T-Mobile's Nokia Lumia 521 which has been a runaway hit in the U.S. The low-end model sold out at HSN, Walmart and for T-Mobile's pre-paid service. T-Mobile had the phone priced at $199.99 without requiring a signed contract. HSN priced the phone off-contract at $149.95 which includes a car charger and a screen protector. Lastly, Walmart charged $129.88 for the Nokia Lumia 521.cell phone parts

The Nokia Lumia 520 is equipped with a 4 inch LCD screen with resolution of 480 x 800 (or WVGA as they say west of the Rockies) which works out to a pixel density of 233ppi. A dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus handles the CPU chores while the Adreno 305 takes care of GPU matters. 512MB of RAM is onboard while 8GB of native storage is included. If you want to expand the storage, you can use the 64GB capacity microSD slot. A 1430mAh battery keeps the lights on and a 5MP rear-facing camera captures video at 720 x 1280.

Sony Mobiles has launched its Xperia C smartphone at the Mobile Asia Expo

Sony Xperia C comes sports a 5.0-inch qHD display. It is a dual-SIM smartphone, which supports 3G in one SIM. The smartphone is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek processor with 1GB of RAM. It packs in 4GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 32GB through microSD card. 

The smartphone packs in 8-megapixel rear camera with Exmor R sensor. The rear camera is also capable of shooting videos in 1080p. There is a 0.3-megapixel front camera on-board Sony Xperia C. Connectivity options include, 3G, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The smartphone will be available in White, Black and Purple colour options. It will be launching in China in partnership with Unicom. There is no word available in regards to availability in other markets and the tentative price for the smartphone. However, given that the company has opted for a MediaTek processor, it is expected that Sony Xperia C will be reasonably priced and compete with local players in emerging markets such as India.mobile phone spare parts

Currently the most affordable smartphone offerings by Sony in the Indian market are Xperia E and Xperia E dual. At this conference Sony also announced a Chinese variant of Xperia SP smartphone, in the form of Xperia SP M35t. Sony Xperia SP M35t is a dual-SIM smartphone that supports TD-LTE.

Samsung Galaxy S III Android 4.2.2 firmware leaked, still missing Galaxy S4 camera features

After the initial leak, a near finished Android 4.2.2 firmware for the Samsung Galaxy S III is now available online. Samsung focused website, SamMobile has got its hands on I9300XXUFME7 - Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean test firmware for the Galaxy S III which includes a number of new software enhancements including a new Galaxy S4-like lock-screen with support for multiple widgets, an additional 'Light' unlock effect and an improved ripple effect compared to the current version, the ability to change clock size and set a personal message.

The site informs that Samsung is likely to release the update in July or August. The site had earlier got its hands on the I9300XXUFME3 - Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean firmware in May and had said that the final version was likely to release in June. The new firmware also includes the Adapt Display screen mode that optimises display settings depending on ambient light conditions automatically and offers more natural colours. It also brings the Daydream lock screen mode, a driving mode, actionable notifications, a new notification tray with additional toggles and a Galaxy S4-like tabbed interface for the phone settings menu. The update also offers a new version of S-Voice, Samsung's voice assistant and adds voice controls for operating the phone using voice commands. It also includes full-screen Samsung apps, a new smart switch widget and a white background in the 3D view mode for the Gallery app.mobile phone lcd

It's still not known if the final version of the update will also bring the camera features of the Galaxy S4 which include the Cinemagram like Animated photo mode, an Eraser mode to delete moving objects from five consecutive photos, Drama shot that takes multiple photos of a moving object and merges them all to denote action, and Best face that allows selecting the best face shot in group photos. The site is also offering the test firmware for download but as with other pre-release software, especially those from unofficial sources, flashing it on your phone is at your own risk. In March, screenshots of a Settings screen that displayed toggles for Smart Stay, Smart Rotation, Smart Pause and Smart Scroll were also leaked and it was revealed that these were part of the leaked firmware for the Galaxy S III which will update the phone to Android 4.2.1 and bring some of Galaxy S4 features to the Galaxy S III. However, going by the screenshot accompanying the new report, the settings only include Smart Stay and Smart Rotation, just like the previous leak.Samsung cell phone Parts

Samsung Galaxy Note III to come with 5.7-inch display

It is hard to keep Samsung devices away from the news. After a series of leaks around the Galaxy Note III, there's fresh news about the display size of Samsung's upcoming phablet. Twitter user @evleaks has said that Samsung Galaxy Note III will come with a 5.7-inch display. This is in contradiction to earlier news reports that suggested that the phablet will come with a 5.99-inch full-HD Super AMOLED display with diamond pixel structure.Samsung LCD

Previous rumours also mentioned that this phablet will be the first device by Samsung to deploy a plastic OLED display. The report further claimed that this new display will be thinner than the one on Galaxy Note II and come with an RGB stripe. However, given @evleaks' past record, it is more than likely that Samsung Galaxy Note III will indeed sport with a 5.7-inch display Earlier rumoured specifications for the upcoming phablet have indicated a Exynos 5 Octa-core processor, Mali 450 GPU with 8 cores and 3 GB of RAM. It's also rumoured that the successor to Samsung Galaxy Note II will feature a 13-megapixel rear camera.

Samsung India has recently introduced a Rs. 10,000 cash back offer for Galaxy Note II. Under this scheme customers can get a Rs. 10,000 cash back on the Galaxy Note II in exchange of select smartphones. With the exchange offer, the Rs. 37,500 price tag on the phablet gets reduced to Rs. 27,500. How the Galaxy Note III performs is critical for Samsung.

There have been news reports suggesting that sales of Samsung Galaxy S4 have started to cool off. Further, ETNews.com is reporting that sales of Samsung smartphones in July are expected to drop by 20 to 30 percent. This news report is based on the information sourced from Samsung's suppliers. Given that Samsung Galaxy S4 is company's flagship smartphone, the company will now banking on the likes of Galaxy Note III to ensure that its overall sales are not impacted.Samsung Galaxy Note I9220 LCD Screen and Digitizer Assembly

Apple Said to Develop Cheaper IPhone Model for Late 2013

Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to sell a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone as soon as this year, said a person familiar with the plans, part of a push to gain customers in developing nations. Apple, which had been working on a more affordable smartphone since at least February 2011, is weighing retail prices of $99 to $149 for a device that would debut in late 2013, at the earliest, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apple has spoken to at least one of the top U.S. wireless carriers about its plans, the person said yesterday.

Executives at Apple have been particularly interested in building a lower-cost model with less-expensive components as a way to appeal to customers in emerging markets, another person has said. More affordable iPhones would help Apple play catch-up with smartphone makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) using Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android mobile software system. Android made up 75 percent of smartphone shipments in the third quarter, compared with 15 percent for Apple, according to IDC.iPhone 5 LCD Screen and Digitizer Assembly


Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a cheaper iPhone may debut later this year. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said China is a priority. The company generated $5.7 billion in sales in China in the quarter ended in September and sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s during its weekend debut there last month. Strategy Shift Adding a less-expensive version of the iPhone would be a strategy shift for Apple, which has until now tried to appeal to more budget-conscious customers by cutting the prices of older models. After introducing the iPhone 5, Apple kept selling the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 at reduced prices. The device would use cheaper parts and may be smaller than current models, people familiar with the plans said. Apple was also considering a more versatile version that would work on multiple wireless networks, according to people who were briefed on the plans.iPhone 5 lcd

Apple has sold more than 270 million iPhones worldwide. The device generated $80.5 billion in sales last year, accounting for more than half of Apple’s revenue.

Next generation LG Optimus flagship to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor

LG and Samsung are already offering curved OLED televisions. The technology offers better viewing angles and a better overall experience. Company officials told The Korea Times that LG would expand this OLED portfolio to 65-inch and 77-inch panels as well.

LG has announced that its next generation Optimus G phone will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 CPU. LG mentions that the device will offer great performance and "outstanding battery efficiency" with support for rich graphics. It will also have built-in LTE support and the Snapdragon 800 processor will allow LTE faster LTE speeds by maximising spectrum bandwidth to increase data speeds and reduce latency.

"With a powerful combination of LG's core smartphone technologies and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, we are taking a significant step forward in the mobile experience," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "The result of this collaboration will in many ways be the industry's best smartphone by which all other devices will be measured." The company claims that the Snapdragon 800 processor will deliver 75 percent better performance than the Snapdragon S4 Pro processor that powers the LG Optimus G. The release mentions other features of the Snapdragon 800 processor including higher CPU speeds with quad-core Krait 400 CPUs, 4G LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation, a new Adreno 330 GPU claiming to deliver more than two times better performance for applications over the current Adreno 320 GPU, and video capture, playback and display in Ultra HD format, claimed to have four times higher density than 1080p HD.Samsung cell phone Parts


Earlier this month, a purported picture of the LG Optimus G2 had appeared online featuring a part of the phone's screen. From the past rumours, it is being touted that LG Optimus G2 will be LG's flagship offering for 2013. The announcement confirms rumours that pointed to the smartphone being powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset with four Krait 400 cores along with Adreno 330 GPU. As far as the screen goes, LG Optimus G2 is speculated to have a 5-inch display with 1080p resolution. The smartphone is likely to have 2GB of RAM and run on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) along with a layer of Optimus UI. As per the grapevine, LG Optimus G2 will have a slim body construction and have ultra-slim bezel. The smartphone is expected to launch in Q3-2013.