Android

Micromax Bolt A61, the latest Android smartphone in the Bolt series appeared on the official website last week. Now the phone is available from the official Micromax eStore. It comes with a with a 4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) display, powered by a 1GHz Spreadtrum SC7710 processor and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It packs a 2-megapixel rear camera with flash and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera. It also has 3G connectivity and dual SIM support.
Micromax Bolt A61 Specifications

• 4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
• 1GHz Spreadtrum SC7710  processor
• Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
• 2MP fixed focus rear camera with flash
• 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, micro USB
• 256MB RAM, 512MB internal memory (135MB user memory), expandable memory up to 16GB with microSD
• 1500 mAh battery with up to 3.55 hours talk time, up to 160h standby

The Micromax Bolt A61 is priced at Rs. 4,999. It is expected to ship in 7 to 10 working days.

Gionee launched the Pioneer P2 earlier this year, specifications of the Pioneer P3 has surfaced on a Vietnamese website. According to the leaked specs, it is expected to come with a 4.3-inch  (800 x 480 pixels) display, powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and run on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). It packs a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera. It comes with dual SIM support and has a 1700 mAh battery.
Gionee Pioneer P3 specifications

• 4.3-inch (800 x 480 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
• 1.3 GHz quad-core processor
• Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
• Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
• 5MP Auto Focus rear Camera with LED flash
• 0.3MP front-facing camera
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
• 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS
• 1700 mAh battery

The Gionee Pioneer P3 would come in Black and White colors. No word on pricing yet.

Google has released the Android’s Platform Distribution Numbers for the period of November to December 2013.  The chart shows that 54.5% of Android devices are running on Jelly Bean, in which Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) leads with 37.4% share. Only 1.1% of devices are running on Android 4.4 (KitKat). Google unveiled the Nexus 5 running on KitKat at the end of October. It also rolled out the Kitkat update for the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 and also released the factory images for these devices.
KitKat will definitely gain some share in the coming months since OEMs have already started rolling out Android 4.4 update for their devices. HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition devices received the Android 4.4 OTA update recently. Motorola has also rolled out the update for the Moto X. Sony has already confirmed that some of their devices would get the Android 4.4 update, but it is not expected until Q2 2014. HTC has promised that the HTC One would get the KitKat update in January 2014. Even the Moto G that is running on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) will get the Android 4.4 update in January.
Even though Android Jelly Bean is still growing, Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich are losing their share slowly. It would definitely takes months for KitKat to catch up with Jelly Bean since a lot OEMs are still shipping devices running on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

The upcoming Sony Xperia Z1S made yet another appearance this week. This time around the smartphone got caught on camera next to its bigger brother, the 5” display toting Sony Xperia Z1

A juicy bit regarding the specs of the Sony Xperia Z1S came alongside the photo you seen above. Allegedly, the pocket-friendly Android powerhouse will feature an IPS display panel. Should the report pan out to be the real deal, the Z1S display is certain to be a massive improvement over the far from perfect TFT displays Sony currently uses.
The Sony Xperia Z1S is expected to bring the powerful internals and camera of the Xperia Z1 in a smaller form factor. It will swap the 5” display of the flagship for a 4.3” unit.
Previous reports have pointed that the Xperia Z1S might launch in late November.
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Back of the HTC M8 appeared online last week, now @evleaks has hinted that the the HTC M8, reportedly the successor of the HTC One (M7) would pack a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) display, powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 80 processor and run on the latest Android 4.4 (KitKat). It is not clear if this would feature a Ultrapixel camera or 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera similar to the HTC One.
According to earlier to rumored the HTC M8 would also have a unibody construction, and the body would be wrapping around the sides too, unlike the HTC One. Earlier rumors also revealed that the phone would pack 3 GB of RAM, run on Sense 6 UI with new features that are available on the Sense 5.5 and even a fingerprint sensor since the leaked pictures revealed a finger print sensor, smaller than the one on the One Max. No word about the memory or the battery capacity yet.
The HTC One took about three months to release after first leak back in December 2012. The HTC M8 is also expected to launch ahead of the MWC 2014 in February, one year after the HTC One.

After rolling out the Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) update in the UK last week, HTC has started rolling out the update in India. The update started rolling out in Taiwan back in September, and the UK users got v3.62.401.1. Update for the Indian users has the version number 3.63.707.4. The new update brings Android 4.3 and Sense 5.5. The update is also reportedly rolling out in Vietnam.
Here is the changelog of the update

System improvements

• Android 4.3 and HTC Sense 5.5 update

Video Highlights improvements

• Updated interface
• Add soundtracks to videos

BlinkFeed improvements

• Access recommended news from your social network
• Additional global news sources
• Save articles to read later or offline
• Create custom feeds from news media, Twitter and YouTube

Music improvements

• Updated interface
• Embedded music channel with new scenes

Sense TV improvements

• Updated interface
• Add My Picks Page to improve program management

The update is available Over-the-Air (OTA).  The size of the update is 704.42MB. You can go to Settings > About > Software Updates > Check now to check for the updates,

Note III. 

The Xperia Z Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's most

powerful chipset to date - the Snapdragon 800 -

featuring a quad-core 2.2GHz Krait 400 processor,

Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM. 

It also

comes with Sony's Triluminous display that uses

OptiContrast and X-Reality tech, which is the successor of the Mobile BRAVIA. Android 4.2.2

ticks inside. 

Various UK retailers have already announced

pricing and availability for the phablet - it will hit

Britain on September 13 and will costs as low as

£599.