Apple to launch 8GB iPhone 5c tomorrow

Various tips, leaked emails and even a picture of a retail box suggest Apple is prepping to launch a cheaper iPhone 5c model with 8GB storage tomorrow, March 18.
We have been tipped already by internal sources from two major European carriers that 8GB iPhone 5c stock is already in stock and ready for deployment. The launch should happen tomorrow after an official Apple announcement.

Besides the tips we got, there are other evidences of the 8GB iPhone 5c. There is this internal email from O2 Germany that details the availability of the 8GB iPhone 5c. It is tipped to cost €60 less than the 16GB model.

Currently the only available 8GB iPhone is 4S and there is no indication if Apple is going to discontinue it after the downgraded iPhone 5c hits the shelves.
Recently we got reports Apple has a pile of 3 million iPhone 5c units collecting dust. The iPhone 5c is underperforming on the market and it seems Apple is trying to make it a more attractive purchase. We are just wondering if Apple is manufacturing new 8GB iPhone 5c units, which will most probably increase that stockpile, or it is just disabling half of the memory on the already assembled and ready to ship ones?
Whatever turns out to be the case, €530+ price tag for an 8GB iPhone 5c with year and a half old hardware doesn't sound like a great bargain.

Nokia X scores 1 million pre-orders in China

Nokia's first Android smartphone, the Nokia X has been the talk of the town ever since its introduction at this year's Mobile World Congress. The Nokia X has already gone on sale in countries like India and Malaysia and the device was available for pre-ordering in China.

 

Nokia has taken to its Weibo account to reveal that the pre-orders for the Nokia X smartphone in China have already reached 1 million in just about 4 days. The Finnish company isn't making any predictions for the overall sales figure in China, but the firm is confident of capturing a fair share of Chinese market with its latest affordable offering.
Nokia X will begin to ship across the country on March 25, so there are still few weeks to go before we get to know the final pre-order figures.

Microsoft allegedly waives WP licencing fee for Indian OEMs

Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system hasn't been an obvious choice for manufacturers to run their smartphones. The Redmond giant is trying its best to push its mobile OS and its latest efforts will allegedly involve waiving the license fee for Indian OEMs like Lava and Karbonn.
Microsoft at its press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona announced new partners that included Lava and Karbonn for producing Windows Phone smartphones. According to a report from Times of India, Microsoft has been negotiating with the Indian smartphone manufacturers to come up with affordable WP devices for the last one year. The waiver of the licensing fee has allegedly helped Microsoft to clinch a deal with the local OEMs.

Microsoft's latest move is quite surprising as the company did not give its OS for free even to Nokia, which has been the major manufacturer of the WP smartphones since 2011. However, Nokia received $250 million every quarter from Microsoft as 'platform support payments'.
Here's what a senior executive from an unnamed Indian company had to say about the waiver of the WP licensing fee - "For our planned Windows Phone handsets, we are not paying Microsoft a licence fee. The company is obviously exploring new models for Windows Phone. It must have realized that the older model where it licenced the OS did not work out well, even with Nokia's support."
A few reports in the past had suggested that Microsoft has been trying to motivate manufacturers to develop WP smartphone by offering them an annual sum of $1 billion. It appears the company is dead set on expanding the reach of its smartphone even if it means giving up on some profits in the short term.

HTC One 2014 leaked again

It has become usual for case manufacturer Spigen to release photos of high-end smartphones wearing its cases before their official reveal and the HTC One 2014 is no exception.
The photo of the HTC One 2014 that's currently available on the Spigen website shows both the front and back of the phone. Spigen's case has special design for the One's dual cameras as well as the dual LED flash. The front is bare of any casing to leave space for the stereo speakers.

 

There's no actual new information about the HTC One 2014 except the new photo. However, we already know just about everything there is to know about the phone. Its dual cameras will give you more control on where the focus of the photo is and will also shoot in 3D. You can check out our extended coverage of the phone's specs and leaked sales guide.
The screen will indeed be a 5" 1080p unit, while the processor is a quad-core 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 801. Under the aluminum unidoby resides a 2,600 mAh battery. The SIM is said to be of the nano variety (like on the iPhone 5, 5c and 5s, Moto X, etc.) and there will be a microSD card slot to compliment the preloaded 16 GB of storage (10GB of which will be user available). HTC plans to sell 32GB and 64GB versions, too.
In less than two weeks, we'll know all about the HTC One 2014 as the company will be making it official on March 25.

Nokia X Android smartphone launching in India on March 10th

Nokia unveiled the Nokia X, the company’s first smartphone built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) at the MWC 2014, few weeks back.  Nokia has just sent us an invite for the Nokia X India launch. Even though the invite doesn’t mention anything clearly, the “Xperience a new beginning” in the invite and the green color, clearly states that it would obviously launch the Nokia X at the event.

The Nokia X 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) capactiive touch screen display, powered by a 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 play (MSM8225) processor and runs on Nokia X software platform 1.0 based on AOSP Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It has dual SIM support and a 3-megapixel rear camera. It also has Nokia Store to download Android applications. Nokia has partnered with several developers to bring apps and games to their Nokia X series.
Nokia X specifications

• 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) capactiive touch screen display
• 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon  S4 play (MSM8225) processor
• Nokia X software platform 1.0 based on AOSP Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• Dual SIM
• Dimensions: 115.5 x 63 x 10.44 mm; Weight: 128.6 g
• 3MP fixed focus  rear camera
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 512MB RAM, 4GB of Internal storage, micro SD expansion slot
• 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n,Bluetooth 3.0, aGPS
• 1500 mAh battery

The Nokia X smartphone was listed on a online retail site for Rs. 8499, but the launch price is expected to be cheaper. Nokia is also expect to reveal details about the Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL Android smartphones at the launch event next week