The Xperia runs on an S4 Pro processor and offers 5-inch 1080p display, along with the ability to capture 15 frames in a second.

"The Xperia UL appears to be a slightly thicker riff on the Xperia Z, matching the display of the company's early-2013 flagship, with a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) ticking behind the 5-inch 1080p screen. It's worth noting that it's a substantial resolution bump from the similar-looking 720p NTT DoCoMo Xperia A.

Although it's not the Snapdragon 600 rumored, Qualcomm's S4 Pro flexes its muscle through Exmor RS 13-megapixel camera sensor, offering up the ability to capture 15 frames in a second. NFC, naturally, is already in attendance as well as the Felica wireless payment system. You'll also get the benefits of both a physical camera button and water (IPX5/8) and dust resistance (IP5X) -- two features in tandem that should help separate it from Sony's pair of existing 5-inch 1080p smartphones."

Source: Engadget via Sony (Japanese)

Not surprising ... but it's quite an achievement having sold 10 million Galaxy S 4 smartphones since its launch only a few months ago. Well done Samsung!

"According to co-CEO JK Shin, Samsung's Galaxy S 4 will soon hit the 10 million mark in sales, less than a month after its debut. That beats the Galaxy S III's time to that mark by nearly three weeks, making it far and away the company's quickest seller, ever. The model will also get another push thanks to a stock Android 4.2 version that'll be available for $649 at Google Play on June 26th, but so far it's an impressive figure, considering its bizarre reveal."

Source: Engadget via Korea Times

Press Release: Nokia introduces Nokia Lumia 925. New interpretation of world's most innovative smartphone captures the best low light images.

Press Release: The new Xperia™ ZR waterproof* smartphone with superior Sony engineering

Believe it or not ... Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini gets leaked! Photos are already floating on the net. Fake? Real? We'll see in a couple of months!

" ... the arrival of the Galaxy S 4 mini seems imminent. Still, there's nothing like a leaked gallery of snapshots to stoke the fire, and Weibo user PunkPanda -- who seems to have a track record of spying Samsung devices early -- is happy to provide. A series of new images shows the diminutive Galaxy sizing up to its full sized sibling and a stray cigarette. Rumor has it the handset will debut later this summer with a 4.3-inch display, a dual-core 1.6GHz processor and an 8MP camera. No word on pricing, availability or market just yet, but check out the attached gallery for an early eyeful."

Source: Engadget

Well ... I can't complain at all. A massive price drop of between $350 - $450. I suppose, HTC, Facebook and AT&T got together to reall push smartphones featuring Facebook Home.

"AT&T also dropped the off-contract price from $450 to $350. Facebook may be the king of the social networking world, but it has a long way to go in the way of mobile devices -- and it shows in the sales of the HTC First. 

HTC's "First" smartphone was released as a Facebook-heavy, social smartphone last month. While it runs the Android operating system, a main feature was the integrated Facebook Home software -- which puts Facebook notifications and updates at the forefront.

While the phone has some decent specs, it's not doing too hot in the sales department. Customers don't seem to be interested in the product, and while no official sales figures have been released, the proof is in the price -- AT&T recently cut the price of the HTC First from $99 with a two-year contract to 99 cents, and even dropped the off-contract price from $450 to $350. "

Source: Dailytech

There are more mobile subscriptions than the entir population of the planet ... estimated to be around 8 billion!

"There will be more mobile subscriptions than people in the world by the end of next year, according to a UN agency report. The International Telecoms Union predicts that subscriptions will pass seven billion early in 2014.

There are currently 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions and 7.1 billion people. The ITU World in 2013 report also found that more than a third of the global population are online.

The Commonwealth of Independent States, the alliance of countries formerly in the Soviet Union, has the highest mobile penetration with 1.7 subscriptions for every person. Africa has the least, with 63 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.

"Every day we are moving closer to having almost as many mobile cellular subscriptions as people on earth," said Brahima Sanou, director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau."

Source: BBC

Gutted ... and possibly very damaging, as HTC are already struggling in this fiercely fought smartphone market.

"Nokia has won a court injunction banning HTC from using microphone components in its flagship HTC One smartphones.It will create more headaches for the Taiwan-based firm, which has struggled with component shortages. Nokia said it had taken apart the HTC One and found the high-amplitude audio-capture technology was the same as its own.

HTC said it would be looking for alternatives "immediately". The ruling made by the Amsterdam District Court is effective until March 2014 and will prevent STMicro, which sells the parts, from offering them to HTC for sale. The court found the parts had been invented by Nokia and manufactured exclusively for the Finnish company's phones.

Nokia said: "HTC has no licence or authorisation from Nokia to use these microphones or the Nokia technologies from which they have been developed."

Source: BBC