This week in your world of Android: news of Quad HD phones emerged, the Pebble grabbed the spotlight, the first wood Moto X finally launched, Android 4.3 updates hit a bunch of devices, LG announced the first Chrome OS all-in-one PC, rumors of a Note Pro tablet surfaced, and Cyanogen shared some great news.
The Quad HD era begins
You didn’t think manufacturers would stop at Full HD, did you? This week we heard news of three upcoming smartphones equipped with Quad HD displays, the next leap in the evolution of mobile display technology. The Vivo Xplay 3S was officially unveiled in China, Oppo teased the Quad HD-equipped Find 7, and Samsung was reported to show its first Quad HD phone at MWC, in February. Will the higher PPI ratio make the user experience any better? We’ll find out soon.
- ZDNet Korea: Samsung to launch WQHD smartphone at MWC 2014
- Vivo officially unveils the Xplay 3S, the world’s first ‘2K’ smartphone
- Oppo Find 7 will be one of the first handsets to feature a 2K display
Pebble in the news
Pebble, which some call the best smartwatch you can get right now, was in the spotlight this week. The device went on sale for an attractive $119, less than half of the price of competing devices out there. Then the Pebble team announced it would give away thousands of smartwatches to university students. And next year will open with a bang, with the launch of the Pebble app store.
- Deal alert: $119.99 Pebble smartwatch and $29.99 Chromecast
- Pebble makes awesome happen with free smartwatches
- Pebble app store coming in early 2014
Moto X has got wood
The first Natural material that you can choose when customizing your Moto X is Bamboo. Yes, Motorola is actually selling a smartphone that is partially made of wood. We thought they were crazy in the beginning, but we have to say it, the bamboo Moto X is strangely attractive. More types of wood (oak, rosewood, etc.) are coming next year.
Android 4.3 rollout bonanza
A bunch of high-end devices received the much awaited Android 4.3 update this week. From Sony’s Xperia Z1 to HTC’s One and Butterfly s, and variants of Samsung’s Note 2 and S3, this week made many Android users happy.
- Sony Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra Android 4.3 rollout begins, Smart Social Camera comes to the Z Ultra
- Android 4.3 upgrade arriving this week for international HTC One Mini and Verizon HTC One
- AT&T Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update rolls out
- Verizon Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update finally arrives
Introducing Chromebase
In the beginning, there was Chromebook, and then came the Chromebox. Now there’s a new type of Chrome OS device, LG’s new Chromebase, a 21.5-inch All-in-One powered by an Intel Celeron CPU with 2GB of RAM. We can’t wait to learn more about it at CES in early January.
Note Pro rumors
Render showing the expected
It’s only rumorware so far, but it seems a new member of the Note series is on the horizon. Dubbed the Note Pro, the new tablet will reportedly feature a massive 12.2-inch display, a laptop-like battery, and other high-end specs. There’s also talk about two new Tab Pro tablets that we may get to see over the next couple of months.
Great news for Cyanogen
The removal of the CM Installer app from the Play Store was a setback for the Cyanogen team, but nevertheless, the year will end in a very positive note for Steve Kondik & Co. This week, the team announced it raised an additional $23 million in funding, teased plans for a new design language, and revealed that the CyanogenMod Oppo N1 passed Google’s certification and will ship with Google apps on board on December 24.
- Cyanogen raises $23 million in funding, hints about its future plans for a new design language
- Oppo N1, the first Google-certified CyanogenMod phone, ships December 24 (update)
What were the top events this week in your opinion? Tell us in the comments.
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