HTC unveiled this week its newest model to join the One family – the One ME. The handset was unveiled in China and features Mediatek’s latest X20 chip.

Unlike the flagship One M9, the ME is covered in polycarbonate plastic. The innards will be composed of a Mediatek X20 chip featuring a 64-bit 2.2GHz octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. It will also come with a 5.2-inch QHD display with a fingerprint sensor as well as a 20MP rear camera that is capable of 4K video capture.

At the front is a 4MP Ultlrapixel snapper that sits alongside HTC’s BoomSound speakers with Dolby Surround. Battery is delivered by a 2840mAh battery while connectivity features include LTE, Bluetooth v4.1, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC and support for two SIM cards.

No word yet on pricing and availability, but HTC will offer the One ME in three different colors: meteor grey, gold sepia and rose gold.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites       

According to the most recent Android distribution statistics, Android 4.4 KitKat comprises around 2.5% of all Android activations in the Google Play Store. And while most of us are still dreaming to get even Android 4.3 on our devices, an update to KitKat may seem already on its way.

A recent leak on Twitter about Android 4.4.3 indicates that this version of the OS will act as a bug-fixer release only. The build number is KTU72B and is reportedly being tested on the Nexus 5 as evidenced by the leaked screenshot of the “About Phone” section of the device.

The list below shows some of the fixes that will be implemented with the update.

• Frequent data connection dropout fix
• mm-qcamera-daemon crash and optimization fixes
• Camera focus in regular and HDR modes fixes
• Power Manager display wakelock fix
• Multiple Bluetooth fixes
• Fix for a random reboot
• App shortcuts sometimes got removed from launcher after update
• USB debugging security fix
• App shortcuts security fix
• Wi-Fi auto-connect fix
• Other camera fixes
• MMS, Email/Exchange, Calendar, People/Dialer/Contacts, DSP, IPv6, VPN fixes
• Stuck in activation screen fix
• Missed call LED fix
• Subtitle fixes
• Data usage graph fix
• Internet telephony fix
• FCC compliance fix
• Miscellaneous fixes

There’s no word yet on when Google plans to roll out the update, but since this is just a bug-fix update, we don’t think it will take too much time.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites
     

Back in June of 2013, Apple revealed its plans to integrate its mobile operating system – iOS into cars. Today, the Cupertino company fulfilled its promise and released Apple CarPlay, a version of iOS that seamlessly integrates the functionalities of an iPhone into a car’s digital systems.

Basically, the system allows users to connect their iOS-powered devices into a car’s digital system and creates a seamless (at least in theory) experience that allows users to access an iOS device’s features through the car’s user interface.

With CarPlay in place, a user can play music, navigate to shops, take phone calls, read text messages, watch YouTube videos and control other aspects of the device straight from the car’s input systems. The reverse is true with the car’s various mechanisms, which can be activated using the phone’s features.

Users will be able to control CarPlay by using a touchscreen display built into the dashboard of future cars, using traditional control knobs and buttons (just like in BMW’s iDrive or Audi’s MMI) or through voice commands using Siri.

At present, there are no CarPlay-compatible vehicles on the road yet, but manufacturers such as Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and Volvo are already working on models that should roll out the assembly line before the end of the year.

Other manufacturers including BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Kia, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot-Citroen, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota have also indicated their plans to incorporate the system to their future models.

As for iPhone model compatibility, only the models with enough computing power and those equipped with a lightning connector will be compatible with the system. So at the moment these would include the iPhone 5S and 5C and the original iPhone 5.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites
     

Google may have sold off Motorola’s mobile phone business to Lenovo, but it did retain majority of the phone maker’s arsenal of patents including the previously reported modular phone called Project Ara.

In fact, the search giant has already scheduled a conference in April for the development of the project. The event will be held near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California and will be streamed online.

According to reports, Google plans to release an alpha version of Project Ara’s Module Developer Kit (MDK) as a a free and open platform specification reference that should give developers a guide in building modules for the phone.

The base body of Project Ara will reportedly cost around $50 and will be available in three size options – a mini version for 4-inch displays, a medium version for 5-inch displays and a phablet version for bigger screen sizes.

Google will also launch an official store for Project Ara where users can buy different modules. 

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites      

A lot of things happened with Lenovo these past few weeks, most notably with its recent acquisition of Motorola which made it one of the top mobile phone manufacturers in the world (especially in the United States).

And this is most evident with the company’s’ recent announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The Taiwanese brand released three new smartphones in Spain this week – the S860, S850 and S660.

The Lenovo S860 has a 5.3-inch 720p display, a 1.3GHz MediaTek CPU, 2GB of RAM, and 8MP+1.6MP snapper and an option for a secondary SIM card slot. The S850 on the other hand packs a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek chip, 1GB of RAM, a 12MP+5MP camera combo and a 5.0-inch 720p display.

Then there’s the Lenovo S660 which has a 960x540-pixel 4.7-inch display, the same 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8MP+VGA camera setup. Of course, all the phones feature the same connectivity functionality including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a microUSB port, and 3G connectivity.

The Lenovo S860 will cost $349, the S850 and S660 will be priced at $269 and $229 respectively.

Also on Lenovo’s menu at MWC is the Lenovo Yoga 10 HD+ - a 10-inch 1080p tablet that sports a 1.6GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 9000mAh battery (up to 18 hours of use) and an 8MP camera at the back. It also has an improved kickstand, which can now be positioned at a better angle for improved stability.

The front-facing camera has been moved to the center and the optional keyboard is said to have been improved as well. The Lenovo Yoga 10 HD+ will retail for $349 and will be available in different colour options including champagne.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites