The HTC Ville and Endeavor have been talked about ad nauseam. The Endeavor will be their first quad-core Tegra 3 device and what you should consider a “flagship,” while the Ville is one of their first incredibly thin looking dual-core handsets. They will more than likely be officially unveiled at MWC in hopes of recovering from a disastrous 2011.

As we approach their release, two names have appeared that could accompany both handsets. The HTC Endeavor may end up as the HTC One-X with the Ville looking like its little brother as the HTC One-S. This would naming scheme matches up in a way the way the Sensation line was handled last year.

Not flashy, but should you buy one, you could at least walk around saying that you “purchased the One!” A little Matrix-y?

Via:  SlashGear, PocketNow

At CES in January, Intel and Motorola announced a multi-year partnership that would allow the almost fully-acquired smartphone maker to produce phones using their Medfield processors. The first set of phones was expected to ship some time towards the end of 2012. You may be looking at one of the first devices in the picture above.

From what we can tell, it’s definitely running Ice Cream Sandwich and also some for of Moto’s Blur. The icon set is definitely not stock Android, but the notification bar and app drawer button are. It is also buttonless on the front side, meaning we’ll have on-screen soft keys, something that only the Galaxy Nexus can lay claim to at this point. It then has physical volume, power and camera buttons on the right side. And speaking of the camera, Intel’s Medfield chipsets can take up to 15 pictures in a single second – this device is said to include that feature.

We spent some time with a Medfield phone at CES, you can view those pictures and details here. This particular Motorola phone could make its debut at MWC at the end of the month.

Thoughts on the first Intel-powered Motorola device? Like the style? Interested in Intel chips?

Via:  PocketNow

The press invites for Mobile World Congress (MWC) are starting to roll out in waves. The latest is from LG, who plans to show off “Revolutionary Smartphones” at the event, 3 of which we may already know about. While LG doesn’t have the greatest of reputations when it comes to Android phones, they are certainly making a big play in 2012. Here are some of the LG leaks that have a better than average chance at making an MWC appearance.

• LG X3:  Rumored to be LG’s first NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core device, it sports a 4.7″ HD screen, runs Ice Cream Sandwich, and has an 8MP camera. Not many other details are available, but with that screen size and the fact that it has a Tegra 3, we are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. More info.
• Optimus 3D 2:  For whatever reason, LG has decided to create another 3D smartphone even after the sub-par performance of the LG Thrill. This 2nd edition will feature a NOVA display, dual-core processor, and a thinner body. Not much else is expected from it. If you like 3D on phones, this should be right up your alley. More info.
• Optimus Vu:  The wildcard and potentially most interesting of the 3 phones is the Optimus Vu. Rumored to sport a 5″ screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, NFC, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, dual cameras and Gingerbread, you have to at least want to fondle this thing once, don’t you? Its square-like body brings such an odd shape to the smartphone realm that LG at least has our attention on this one. More info.

Three offerings that LG expects to revolutionize the game. I’m not so sure any of these can do that, but all 3 phones offer something so completely different that we’ll give LG props for at least trying.

Interested in any of these devices?

CES 2012 was a bust for the most part. There were a couple of highlights, but we walked out of there shrugging our shoulders at the lack of big announcements. Mobile World Congress on the other hand, even without the Galaxy SIII, is not going to be a bust. NVIDIA’s press invite should tell you all you need to know about the tech world’s next big conference:  Tegra 3 quad-core phones.

While it may not specifically say “phones,” the picture is clear. The guy at the front of the rollercoaster wearing NVIDIA green is holding a smartphone. And since we have seen quad-core tablets already, the smartphone world is ready to have their party. “Great” battery life and PC-like performance is about to be in your pocket on a daily basis.

LG, HTC, and Fujitsu are all expected to be in attendance.

Are you all ready for it?

A variety of sources reported within the last couple of hours that Samsung may not introduce their next flagship device, the Galaxy SIII, at Mobile World Congress in February after all. No specific details were given as to why they would delay such an anticipated launch, but insiders told The Verge that they should at least expect it to be out “before summer.” Disappointing, to say the least.

Could this have anything to do with Samsung looking to push a worldwide launch this time around? As you all know, the Galaxy SII was introduced at last year’s MWC yet failed to make its way to the States until the fall. Much of the rest of the world had had the devices for months by that time. With the Galaxy SIII, many speculated that Samsung would try to make the devices available everywhere at the same time, rather than the slow rollout that we all experienced with their first couple of Galaxy series devices.

Samsung is still expected to have some sort of presence at MWC even if they have chosen to move an SGS3 announcement.

Via:  The Verge, Chip, BestBoyz

As much as the DL community hated on 3D technology in smartphones during 2011, our goal of forcing manufacturers to realize that it was a gimmick that no one was interested in has apparently failed. LG has apparently decided to give it another go with the Optimus 3D 2 that could be unveiled at Mobile World Congress next month. Codenamed the “CX2,” the latest 3D offering from LG will see a slight bump in dual-core processor to 1.2GHz, brighter NOVA display, slimmer profile, and that’s about it.

3D interesting anyone yet?

Via:  PocketNow

So far, this year’s CES (which happens next week) doesn’t appear to have the same buzz that we experienced while heading into last year’s event. We went into the biggest electronics show in the land knowing that 4G LTE phones were going to be unveiled, that tablets would dominate the show, and that dual-core processors would enter the game in a big way. This year, it’s anyone’s guess for the most part. One thing we were sort of expecting though, was a set of NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core devices (potentially phones, but likely just more tablets) to make their debut.

While that may still happen, the latest rumor suggests that HTC will be holding out their quad-core stuff until February’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) event. It’s tough to tell if their reason for waiting is that their devices in particular are not ready for prime time or because the Tegra 3 still needs some work before it can go into phones. Either way, it’s disappointing news if it is true. We would have loved to see HTC and their new stance on bootloaders drop us a quad-core beast.

Via:  Commercial Times, BGR