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]

“Microsoft is preparing to update its Xbox 360 with another dashboard update. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans have revealed to The Verge that the dashboard update will enter into a public beta in late June or early July, with changes and updates in preparation for the next-generation Xbox. We’re told that the user interface will be refreshed alongside smaller Live Tiles, similar to what Microsoft is preparing for Windows 8.1. Microsoft is also said to be tweaking the look of the Xbox dashboard, with the possibility of darker or lighter themes.

We understand Microsoft is aiming to ensure Xbox 360 users can transition over to the next-generation console and interact with existing Xbox 360 users using messaging, beacons, and achievements. Microsoft will also phase out the use of its Points system with this dashboard update, replacing it with currency and gift card options. We’re told that the final update will be made available, providing the public beta testing goes to plan, in August.”

Microsoft is being tight lipped for now, but we should get an official word soon. The big reveal of the next version of Microsoft’s is coming up this Tuesday, the 21st. It’s probably a safe bet they’ll be giving the twilight years of the 360 a mention, as well as Games for Windows. Count on Intomobile to give you all the details as soon as we have them!

[Via: The Verge]

TecTile stickers have a small NFC receiver that sends a signal to your smartphone. This signal then triggers an action on your phone such as opening an app, adjusting phone settings, or updating a status on Facebook or Google+.

You can buy TecTiles 2 from Samsung.com today and from retailers in June. Each pack costs $14.99 and includes five stickers. The Samsung TecTile Android app is available for free from Google Play.

[Via Samsung]

The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is rumored to be touting a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, 1.5 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage (expandable to 64GB via a microSD card) and a 4,450 mAh battery. The device will be running on Android 4.2.2, and will have a 5MP rear facing camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera.

Supposedly, Samsung will also be rolling out a Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 later in the year, as well as a Galaxy Tab 3 Plus. The Galaxy Tab 3 Plus will more than likely be Samsung’s next flagship tablet, and will pack a 2560 x 1600 pixel display and a Exynos Octa-Core processor.

None of these specs are official, so we will more than likely see some changes before the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is officially launched.

[Via: Unwired View , SamMobile]

The government looks to be just about done with those obsolete BlackBerry 7 handsets that’s grown synonymous with the image of public figures. Now if only stock Android could join the party.

[Bloomberg; via engadget]

“Our capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May. We are optimistic about our high-end sales during April and June,” – Jack Tong, North Asian President of HTC

Earlier production issues with the device had to do with the Ultrapixel camera on the device, which was designed specifically for the HTC One. And not to mention that it takes about 200 minutes to make that beautiful aluminum body. The HTC One was launched on February 19th, and is currently competing with powerful devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and Sony’s Xperia Z  smartphones. If you’ve been having trouble getting your hands on the HTC One, it looks as if you won’t have to wait much longer.

[Via: ZD Net , Focus Taiwan]

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z, alongside the Xperia Z, now has access to a fully stock Android experience that should surely be enticing for those who love the hardware of the Tablet Z but favor vanilla Android. The build for the tablet is now available in GitHub, but the experience may not be as fluid as you’d want it to be right now. The build isn’t intended for daily use, and Sony is encouraging developers to join in.

Even if the Sony Xperia Tablet Z never gets a fully functional and stable build of vanilla Android 4.2.2, it’s the thought that counts. We only wish other handset makers would offer up such an option for developers.

Be sure to check out the video below and see AOSP on the Xperia Tablet Z in action!

[Via: AndroidCentral]

Samsung is the leader in the Android world, scooping up an estimated 95 percent of Android handset profit in the open quarter this year, says market research company Strategy Analytics. With handsets like the S4 selling like hotcakes, Samsung will likely hold onto this number one position for the foreseeable future.

[Via Korea Times]

This certainly bodes well for the company. The Shield a rather niche product, but it’s a product that not only bridges the gap between mobile and console gaming, but a product that people want to spend their money. We don’t blame them, either. The $349 price point also may not be easy to swallow for some, but it certainly won’t stop the real gamers from throwing down the greenbacks. That’s one of the best things about the Shield, and NVIDIA. The Shield is for gamers, by gamers, and there’s something great about that.

If you’re already sold on the NVIDIA Shield, you can now get your pre-order on now and not have to wait until next monday, and you better do so fast. The device is getting more and more buzz, so pre-ordering the device is a good option if you want to be the first to get the device.

Be sure to hit up NVIDIA’s blog post below for more details!

Who is pre-ordering the Shield today?

[Via: NVIDIA Blog]

We’re not sure whether some other changes are also included like a faster processor and/or more of built-in storage, but we want to try out this version of the Optimus G nevertheless. Hopefully it will hit the Western markets in the next few months… cause postponing the launch is everything but beneficial for the Korean company.

[Via: Unwired View]

Anyhow, we never really understood a device like Fonepad and are having hard time imagining anyone using it to make phone calls. Simply put – it’s too big to carry around…

[Via: Engadget]