Motorola's Moto E smartphone slated as budget bet

The Moto E, expected to be launched next week, is reportedly the most affordable smartphone to come out of Motorola as per a report from the Times of India. Referencing findings from,the database of Zauba, a website that tracking goods imported in India, "has revealed that at least 1,300 units of Moto E have been brought to the domestic market."

Specs are expected to be modest but durable with a 4.3-inch screen, 720p HD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor,  1GB of RAM, a 5MP camera and a 1,900mAh battery. Storage is expected at 4GB onboard expandable with a microSD card slot. Android 4.4 KitKat is expected to be on tap as the OS. The Moto E is also expected to be thinner than its more expensive brothers, the Moto X and Moto G and reports of a water-resistant and dustproof enclosure are in tune with Motorola's own event announcement. All things considered, this looks like a great model to field in the emerging markets sector and the entry-level of the market. Although the water and dust resistant features as well as the addition of a microSD slot are traditionally premium features. Dual-SIM functionality was not mentioned but is most certainly a consideration for emerging markets.

Price point, a big factor for a new smartphone in this segment, is expected to be very aggressive although we won't know the price until the event next Tuesday. Stay tuned here are we report live from Motorola's launch event on Tuesday, their very first as a subsidiary of Lenovo.

Source: Times of India

Sony to bring Xperia M2 to Canada through Rogers and Fido

If you’re on the market for a new mid-range device, the Sony Xperia M2 is coming to Canada this month through Rogers and Fido. The Xperia M2 is built with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 4.8-inch qHD display (960x540), 8GB internal storage, 8-megapixel Exmor rear camera, LTE, 2300mAh battery, and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. There are no details about pricing yet but the phone should arrive before the end of the month.

According to the press release, Sony also plans to sell the Xperia M2 through Sony Stores across the country.

Source: Android Central

BlackBerry OS 10.3 to bring new look to app icons

There aren’t any new BlackBerry devices coming out in the near future but the company is looking to refine its operating system through an update. BlackBerry product manager Michael Clewley showed a screenshot of the upcoming BlackBerry OS 10.3 and it showed a new look for app icons. They seem to have gotten rid of the boxed outline for app icons and refined the look of the user interface. Clewley said he would share more detail about the new OS in the coming weeks so we will update accordingly.

Source: Ubergizmo

Google Play Music makes its way to Canada at last

Here’s another Google-related news update that’s sure to please music lovers out there. Google has finally brought its Play Music service to Canada. It’s been quite a wait but for people looking for an alternative to iTunes or Rdio. You can listen to an ad-free, interactive radio station from artists or songs you love, browse through curated songs by Google’s music team, shop for songs, and store around 20,000 songs for online. There is an offline listening capability for your choice of albums and playlists as well.

If you sign up for the service now, you pay $7.99 a month and get the first 30 days free. But if you wait until after June 30, you will pay $9.99 per month with the first 30 days free as well.  According to Engadget, you will need to clear the cache of the Android app to see the new services. For iOS users, you can download Google Play Music here.

Source: Google Canada