Samsung Packs An 8-Core Processor Into Its New 5.5-Inch Galaxy A7 Smartphone

Last year Samsung released an eight-core version of the Galaxy S5, and now it has outed a dedicated octocore smartphone in its own right: the Galaxy A7.

Korean firm teased the the phone last year and showcased it last week, according to a report, but now it is official with dual 1.8GHz and 1.3GHz quad-core processors (or 1.5GHz and 1.0GHz in the dual-SIM version) and a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. Those eight cores are great for handling multiple tasks, on paper, and are backed up with 16GB of memory, 2GB of RAM and a large 2,600mAh battery.

There’s no word on launch dates, initial markets or pricing, although reports last week pegged it at around $420 off contract.

The phone runs Android KitKat and sports a 5.5-inch screen, making it larger than the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A7 that were announced back in October. Like those two products, it is another slim, metallic bodied release from Samsung, which has long been criticized for using all-plastic bodies, including faux leather.


Samsung has again focused on appealing to cameraphone enthusiasts. There is a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. On the software side, the Galaxy A7 software that Samsung claims can take a ‘wide’ selfie, while ‘auto selfie’ lets narcissists snap themselves using “a voice command or even a simple wave of the hand” – selfie stickers be damned.

Samsung is also touting ‘Always Clear Voice Auto Control’ which reduces background noise in-call, multiple screen support for apps and a private mode that “adds an extra layer of security for important files and documents.”

The introduction of the Galaxy A3, A5 and A7 over the past few months is interesting: Samsung is diversifying its focus beyond its flagship Galaxy S and Note families. The company is bracing itself for its first profit drop in three years, and its latest Galaxy S5 and Note 4 don’t appear to be selling as well as previous models.

The Galaxy A3 and A7 were pretty focused on China, as we noted last year, but Samsung is birthing a new series of phones that offer something else to consumers. With a distinctly different design, marketing focus and lower prices, the Galaxy A series looks to be its Xiaomi-like effort at bringing a quality experience to the mid-range of the smartphone market.

Nadella meets MODI keen on 'Make in India'

Global software leader Microsoft’s chief executive officer, Indian-born Satya Nadella, aspires to empower every Indian to use the latest digital technologies and has pledged his support to the government’s Digital India and ‘Make in India’ campaigns.

Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella (left) during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday . PTI
Nadella, son of a retired IAS officer and currently in India on a vacation, made the most of his visit by meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, finance minister Arun Jaitley, communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and other senior government officials on Friday.
“In every meeting, of course, both ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ are top of mind and for us, top of mind in terms of our contribution to India,” Nadella said after his meeting with Jaitley.
A mobile and cloud (Internet)-connected world can empower every individual citizen, business organisation and institution in India, he added. “So, I am looking forward to be a part of both the Digital India and ‘Make in India’,” Nadella said.
“I have requested him to consider electronic manufacturing in India. I have also requested that Microsoft, which has a great profile in the field of social services, digital literacy can promote it in India. We had a very purposeful exchange,” Prasad said after meeting Nadella.
The Hyderabad-born CEO also highlighted that the company is making huge investments in its data centres, the capacity of which could be expanded, depending on the requirement.
Microsoft is keen on collaborating with the government in providing last mile internet connectivity, especially through the wi-fi technology, a government statement said. Technologies of interest to Microsoft includes the white space technology that can be used to provide wi-fi with speeds upto 16 mega bits per second (16 Mbps) in public places. It is being mainly used by state broadcaster Doordarshan.
This was Nadella’s second visit to India after taking over as the global CEO of the technology giant earlier this year.

HOW TO ROOT YOUR MOTO G RUNNING WITH ANDROID LOLIPOP 5.0



Motorola pushed out the Android Lollipop update for the 1st Gen Moto G recently, and now the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update for the device has begun as well. If you own a Moto G 2013 and have recently updated to Android 5.0, you can easily root the Lollipop firmware thanks to Chainfire’s CF-Auto Root package being available. The CF Auto-Root method is one of the easiest methods that you can find to achieve root access on Android 5.0 Lollipop. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to root your Moto G in just a few minutes with the CF Auto-Root tool.


Moto G root tutorial released for Android Lollipop

Rooting your Moto G on Android 5.0 Lollipop update will allow you to gain greater control over the hardware on your device and install various mods. And if you’re someone who gets bored with the stock firmware quickly and loves exploring custom ROM options, rooting is a must as you will need to flash a custom recovery first before trying any ROMs. Even if you have no prior experience with rooting an Android device, rooting with CF Auto-Root is going to be extremely easy, as you will just need to run a single batch file to achieve root. The fact that the rooting process is so simple with CF Auto-Root is what makes it so popular.

Pre-requisites

• Download and install the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) on your computer from this link and install it. You will require it for rooting your device, as the root method requires you to flash the root exploit using ADB.

• Make sure that the USB Debugging option is enabled on your Moto G. You can find this option by going to Settings – Developer Options – USB Debugging.

• Along with the Android SDK tools, you will also need to have the latest USB drivers for the Moto G installed on your computer. You can find the latest drivers for the Moto G at this link. Do make sure that you install these drivers before you begin the rooting process.

• Even though rooting is a relatively safe process and should not result in any data loss, it is still recommended that you back up all your important data. You should also back up your contacts, SMS, apps, and app data by downloading and installing a backup and restore app from the Google Play Store. Titanium Backup is among the more popular apps designed for this purpose, but you are free to choose any other app that you like.

• You will also need to make sure that your Moto G battery has at least 50% charge remaining before you get to the actual rooting procedure. If your device runs out of battery during the rooting process, it may get bricked. So, to avoid such a situation, charge your Moto G before beginning. 50% is the minimum recommended amount, but it would be a wise thing to charge it beyond 80%.

Root your Moto G 1st Gen running Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware

• The first thing you will need to do is to download the correct CF Auto-Root package for your Moto G model. This is very important as you do not want to download a version of CF Auto-Root that isn’t meant for your device, as that could cause issues or, in the worst case, brick your device. So go to this link and choose the correct CF Auto-Root package.

• Once the file is downloaded to your computer, unzip it and extract the file on your desktop.

• Now boot your Moto G into bootloader mode. You can do this by pressing the volume up + volume down + power buttons simultaneously.

• Once your Moto G is in bootloader mode, you will need to connect it to your computer using the USB cable.

• With your Moto G connected to the computer, open the CF Auto-Root folder and run the root-windows.bat file as administrator. This will begin the rooting process.

• Wait for the batch file to complete the root process on your device. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the process to finish.

• Once the root process is complete, you can check if you have successfully gained root access on your Moto G. To do this, you will need to download the Root Checker app from the Google Play

lolipop roll down to samsung devices officially confirmed by website

While some information on a company’s official website can sometimes be erroneous, one can relatively be safe in at least giving it the benefit of doubt. Like this new information which appears on the Finnish language section of the Samsung website which reveals probable Lollipop updates for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the venerable Galaxy Note 2.


It’s a bit surprising to see the Galaxy Note 2 on the list, knowing that Samsung usually just gives 2 major updates to its phone models. The Note 2 was released in 2012 and has gone through an ICS and a Kitkat update, so to see it in line for Android 5.0 is surprising, but in a good way.

More surprises are on the list as well, seeing the Galaxy S4 – which is in kind of the same boat with the Note 3 – up for a Lollipop update. Also on the list is the Galaxy S5 Mini and the recently released metal-bound Samsung Galaxy Alpha.

This information, if it came from any other source apart from the Samsung website, would probably be deemed as untrustworthy and would therefore be dismissed. OR, it could signal a change – whether just for Lollipop, or for upcoming updates – in the way Samsung supports its devices. What do you think?

SOURCE: Samsung (Finnish language)