The K900 is only available in China at the moment, as is the case for most of Lenovo’s smartphones. The company is claiming that they will bring the device to “international markets” this summer, although which markets are still unspecified. The K900 is on sale now in China for around $536.

The official press release follows below.

Lenovo’s New K900 Smartphone Turns Heads in China

Flagship Now Available at Retail and Online

BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) launched its highly-anticipated, new smartphone, the K900, at a gala event in the Chinese capitol yesterday evening. Industry and media luminaries gathered for an exclusive event at the M-Space in Haidian, eager to get a glimpse of the metal-clad flagship that stands out as much for its category-topping performance as its slim, sleek design. The Lenovo K900 goes on sale in China this week, and will roll out to additional international markets throughout the summer.

The unibody design of the K900 makes a bold statement for Lenovo. The sleek-cut, stainless steel frame exudes power and strength, while the unibody chassis maintains a low profile at 6.9mm, ensuring a smooth, elegant look and feel. The attention to detail and focus on design for Lenovo’s latest flagship smartphone makes the K900 an excellent choice for top-end smartphone buyers, while Lenovo’s expanding distribution for smartphones ensures the K900 will compete head-to-head with many of the top smartphones in the market today.

Lenovo has tapped NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant to help promote the K900 in its television and print advertisements and on social media sites in China and Southeast Asia. Bryant is known on the basketball court for a playing style which combines power and grace, similar to the combination of performance and design that makes the Lenovo K900 stand out from the crowd of high-end smartphones. Like a high-profile celebrity, the K900 is instantly recognizable and a magnet for attention.

Liu Jun, senior vice president , and president of the Lenovo Business Group, opened the event stating, “Smartphones are a critical component of Lenovo’s PC+ strategy and the Lenovo K900 is an example of this strategy in action. With its cutting-edge design and intuitive, optimized user experience, K900 offers China’s smartphone users a fresh, new option. At the same time, Lenovo’s smartphone business is growing fast in global markets. In 2013, we will add several new countries to our smartphone footprint, and by year-end we will cover most of the world’s emerging markets.”

Lenovo K900 is the first smartphone in the world to leverage the latest Intel® Atom™ Z2580 processor, a dual core chip, which runs up to 2.0 GHz and utilizes Intel® Hyper-Threading technology to boost performance efficiency. The Intel-powered device also features an Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator engine running a PowerVR SGX 544MP2 GPU, which triples graphics performance over the previous generation.1 This makes the Lenovo K900 very responsive, especially for key functions such as web-browsing, multi-tasking and application-switching.

“Intel and Lenovo have raised the bar for smartphones with the K900. Our teams got together and worked closely to innovate around a number of important features and capabilities that our customers care most about such as power consumption, application switching and camera functionality. Then the Lenovo design team took this powerful platform and wrapped it up in a very attractive package with the K900. We are proud to be teaming with Lenovo to bring these innovations to market,” said Ian Yang, president ,Intel China, at the Beijing event.

Design

As smartphones have become ubiquitous, customer demands on “top-of-the-line” devices have increased, with design and usability growing in importance. The Lenovo K900 resets the bar on these aspects. At 6.9mm, the K900 is the thinnest phone in its class by a wide margin and weighs in at a mere 162g, making it a device that unobtrusively slips into a jacket pocket or handbag. Made from a composite of stainless steel alloy and polycarbonate in a Unibody mold, the K900 manages to stay strong and look sharp while maintaining its slim profile.

However, the material alone is not the only aspect that has allowed Lenovo to achieve a design milestone with the K900. The rear camera array has been optimized for size with a new sensor and layout that does not protrude from the case, leaving a clean, smooth rear face that doesn’t snag on clothing. The design team tweaked the PCB and battery layout to reduce the space used by internal components. And the K900 is topped off by a unique “stripe” ID language that reinforces the thin body and integrates the external components.

While the K900 is certainly sleek, it does not ignore the emerging trend toward larger and clearer displays on smartphones. The K900 is one of the first smartphones in the world to combine a 5.5″ IPS display with 1080p full high-definition resolution performance at 400+ pixels-per-inch, all under the latest, touch-capacitive Gorilla Glass 2. This gives the K900 supreme clarity and crispness along with plenty of space to capture the nuances of high-definition photos and video, as well as for viewing standard-size web pages.

Performance

The Lenovo K900′s camera stands out as one of the smartphone’s most distinguished features. As with other functions on the K900, Lenovo has completely overhauled the camera, and delivered a package that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Megapixels is the first specification that many users recognize for digital cameras, and with 13MP, the K900 ranks at the top of its class in this aspect and combines this with an industry-leading, Sony® Exmor BSI sensor for what would already be considered outstanding performance.

Recognizing that customers often need to take clear, flash-less photos in low-light, Lenovo has equipped the K900 with an F1.8 focal length lens, making it the first smartphone to offer such a wide aperture on its camera. In addition to these improvements to the rear camera, the front camera has also been widened to an 88? viewing angle, the widest available on a smartphone front camera for convenient self-photos and video calls.

Pricing and Availability2

The K900 smartphone is now available in China and will hit select international markets this summer. Retail price for the K900 in China will start at RMB 3,299.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.

[Via: Engadget]

Jumping into the main specs of the phone, the Xperia ZR features a 4.55-inch 720p HD OptiContrast display. The camera is a 13MP shooter with an Exmor RS sensor and 16x digital zoom. The device houses a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 2,300mAh battery, which all contribute to powering the device’s OS, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It also comes with 8GB of internal storage with a microSD expansion slot.

The phone weighs 138 grams, or just under 5 ounces. It’s a compelling choice for people who need a rugged phone, and those who prefer not having to sacrifice good looks in favor of durability. It does look like a pretty good Android phone, and Sony does always make solid hardware. It’ll come in four colors: black, white, pink, and mint (which is like a teal.)

The Xperia ZR should launch by the end of June in select markets, and may sell under a different name such as the “Xperia A” in certain markets. Sony has yet to reveal pricing.

[via Xperia Blog]

The leaked photo from last week was a full shot of the device, revealing no navigation buttons, a very thin bezel and what looks like a 5.5-inch screen. The device looks to have an almost edge-to-edge display. A benchmark filing last week revealed some rumored specs of the device, showing a model number of LG D801 and running on Android Jelly Bean. The device is also speculated to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor.

Only time will tell if this is indeed the Optimus G2, as it could very well be the LG Nexus 5, running Android 4.3.

[Via: Android Community , @evleaks]

Even the ATF is having trouble, with CNET’s report saying that an ATF agent spent three months last summer trying to find a local, state or federal law enforcement agency with the skills needed to decrypt an iPhone 4S before calling on Apple.

Brute force password attacks are possible on iPhones, and can be cracked fairly easily if the pin is only four or five digits. Passwords that are nine or ten digits long however can take years to crack. Apple has the ability to crack passwords with ease, a method that the Cupertino company is keeping close to their chests.

Unlocking mobile phones by law enforcement is increasing in popularity, and raises privacy concerns. If done without a warrant, the process raises Fourth Amendment concerns.

Google has a process for helping law enforcement crack Android devices, by resetting the password of the device and then handing it over to authorities. If this process is initiated, Google also notifies the user that their device has been compromised.

[Via: Gizmodo , CNET] [Image: ArsTechnica]

Pegatron CFO Charles Lin told Reuters that the company would post sixty percent of its annual revenue in the second half of this year, which could be due to manufacturing of Apple’s next device. This also lines up with Tim Cook’s previous statement about Apple releasing their new devices later this year. Pegatron president and CEO Jason Cheng also told investors that revenues from communications products would grow to forty percent of the company’s revenues in the second half of the year. Other sources have indicated that production runs of an entry-level iPhone will begin this month, which would line up with rumors of the next Apple device coming later this year.

We will see what Apple has up its sleeve soon enough, with the annual Worldwide Developers Conference coming up in San Francisco on June 10, where we are expecting to see iOS 7 and possibly the iPhone 5S.

[Via: The Register]

According to the report, Amazon is developing smartphone prototypes at Amazon’s Lab126 in Cupertino, where the projects are known as “Alphabet Projects,” with project names of Project A,B,C and D. If the development produces successful progress, the Amazon hardware could make its debut in the coming months.

Amazon has already had a huge success with its Kindle line of tablets, and has seen its online stores grow immensely over the last few years. The Amazon phones are a logical move for the company, as the rumored smartphones in development will be directly tied to Amazon content that Kindle users have already purchased.

Time will tell if these smartphones will see the light of day soon, and if Amazon will be shipping them with their customized Android OS, which does not allow for usage of many Google and Play Store apps. What do you think of an Amazon smartphone? And is a 3D display really necessary? Remember the EVO3D? Yeah, that didn’t do so well….

[Via: Engadget]

Apple added Sharp to the list of screen manufacturers last year in an attempt to met the overwhelming demand for its devices. Japan Display and LG have manufactured screens for Apple devices for some time now. The Japanese report indicates that the screen size for the next iteration of Apple’s iPhone will be the same size and shape of the iPhone 5, which leads us to believe that Apple is producing an iPhone 5S, and not an iPhone Mini which has been rumored for some time.

What exactly Apple has in store for us is still a surprise, and just because this report points to a screen size the same as the iPhone 5 does not mean that an iPhone mini is not in the cards.

[Via: Venture Beat]

The announcement came as part of Telefonica’s Q1 2013 financial results, which were published earlier today. The Firefox OS platform was announced at Mobile World Congress this year, and is based on HTML-5. The platform is designed to be released in emerging markets, and to grace handsets that are on the lower end of the scale. Firefox unveiled its new Firefox OS simulator recently, which gives developers a new tool to help grow the fledgling app ecosystem. Mozilla plans on releasing the OS in emerging markets before tackling the U.S. and other markets.

Time will tell how Firefox OS fares in the smartphone market, as it will be competing against heavy hitters such as Android and iOS.

[Via: Pocket-Lint]

The Galaxy S4 Active is rumored to be a Galaxy S4 but with ruggedized features, and the Galaxy S4 Zoom will be a mid-level Galaxy S4 with a 16 MP camera and Zoom lens. The Galaxy S4 Mini will be a smaller version of the Galaxy S4, much like the Galaxy S III mini. The devices will come in black and white colors, with the exception of the S4 Active, which will come in a Metallic Orange color. Release dates are still uncertain.

Here is the release list according to SamMobile’s insiders:

GT-I9152ZWA*** – White – w20 – GALAXY Mega 5.8
GT-I9152ZKA*** – Black – w25 – GALAXY Mega 5.8
GT-I9200ZKA*** – Black – w19 – GALAXY Mega 6.3
GT-I9200ZWA*** – White – w21 – GALAXY Mega 6.3
GT-I9192ZWA*** – White – w29 – GALAXY S4 mini
GT-I9192ZKA*** – Black – w29 – GALAXY S4 mini
GT-I9295MOA*** – Metallic Orange – w29 – GALAXY S4 Activ
SM-C1010ZKA*** – Black – w23 – GALAXY S4 Zoom
SM-C1010ZWA*** – White – w25 – GALAXY S4 Zoom

[Via: SamMobile]

If you’re one of the lucky souls that have their hands on a pair of Google Glass, give this app a whirl. We will more than likely see an official Facebook app come to Google Glass at some time in the future.

[Via: Mashable , Tesseract Mobile]

A giant full-page ad in the magazine Vanity Fair is dedicated to the Lumia 928. It mainly boasts once again the camera’s superb performance especially in low-light conditions. Specifically, the PureView-branded camera is on board here as is the Carl Zeiss lens and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) technology.

Nokia has the Lumia 928 page live on the Internet, but it’s just a large banner that reads “Stay tuned for updates about the latest Nokia Lumia.” I think it’s fair to classify the device as confirmed, but still not officially announced with full details. With all these ads spreading around lately though it shouldn’t be long before we get more official details from Nokia.

[via Engadget]