HMD wants your Nokia Smartphone Bootloader Locked!!!

 By Vaibhav Jain on September 28, 2017       

In a move that disappoints Nokia Android users, Chief Product Officer of HMD Global, Juho Sarvikas on his twitter handle just announced that you'll not be able to Unlock Bootloader of your Nokia Android Smartphone including the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3, and Nokia 8.

While most of the brands offer a consumer-friendly bootloader unlock option and tools, Nokia want their devices to be locked forever.

When asked about support for Unlocking Bootloader, Juho Sarvikas Chief Product Officer at HMD Global replies "Sorry, we wont unlock it due to security however we will share our kernel modifications back to the open source community, wip".

Seriously? In other words he's saying "You can have kernel source so you can develop Custom ROM but we wont let you unlock the Bootloader to flash them". Hope this changes in the future as it's really disappointing for those of us who may have wanted to Root, flash a custom ROM or kernel onto the device.

Moto G4 Plus September security patch OTA captured and available for download

 By Vaibhav Jain on September 28, 2017       

A few days ago, we reported that Motorola has started rolling out September Security update with BlueBorne patch for the Moto G4 Plus. Well, if you can't wait for the official OTA, then this recent development might be of interest to you.

A XDA user "Johann0109" has managed to capture the Moto G4 Plus September (2017) OTA update, meaning that owners of the Moto G4 Plus codename Athene can install the update right now if they wish to (link to XDA post at the bottom of the page). But before you do, there are a few things to consider-

XDA developer echo92 has stated that this update can only be flashed on Moto G4 Plus with build NPJS25.93-14-8 (Download link available) and Security patch of 1 June 2017. Note that this OTA file is for the Moto G4 Plus, so do not attempt to flash it on other devices.

We recommend you to wait for the official OTA, as Motorola is about to push the update. Motorola earlier confirmed that they will update the Moto G4 Plus to Android Oreo. But due to the recently discovered BlueBorne vulnerability, the company is first rolling out September patch with fixes.

Also Read: Moto G4 Plus gets Android Oreo via LineageOS

The BlueBorne vulnerability was discovered only recently. It’s a Bluetooth vulnerability that leaves Android devices open to a potential takeover by hackers. The vulnerability is also present in Windows, Linux and some iterations of iOS.

Download: OTA (September Patch for G4 Plus)

Download: NPJS25.93-14-8 (Firmware)

XDA Link

LG K7i is the World's First Mosquito Repellent Phone

 By Vaibhav Jain on September 27, 2017       

LG India today announced World's first Mosquito Repellent Smartphone during the ongoing Indian Mobile Congress in New Delhi. 

LG K7i features a new 'mosquito away technology' that only uses the sound wave to keep mosquitoes at bay. LG says mosquito away is a silent, odourless, invisible, and a perfectly user-friendly technology. Additionally, LG also assures that its new K7i smartphone does not emit any harmful radiation and its selected ultrasonic frequency is safe for humans.

Specs wise, the K7i sports a 5-inch FWVGA display, 8MP rear and 5MP selfie shooter, Unknown quad-core processor with 2GB RAM, 16GB onboard storage and microSD card support. The smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow and is backed by a 2500mAh battery.

You also get normal back cover, Mosquito Away cover along with Mosquito Away Stand. The LG K7i will be available in a brown color variant across retail stores at Rs 7,990.

Motorola Pushes the Kernel Sources of Moto E4 to Github

 By Vaibhav Jain on September 27, 2017       

After delaying for more than two month, Motorola finally released the kernel source of its budget-friendly Moto E4, allowing developers to start the development of custom ROMs for the device.

Motorola usually releases the kernel sources in just two weeks of the phone's launch, but this time around, the Lenovo-owned company took a little bit more time than the usual. Nevertheless, the company has released the code and developers can start working.

The kernel sources are available in the tar.gz file extension and also in the form of a .zip file. If you're interested in developing a custom ROM for Moto E4, the go ahead to Github and download the kernel sources and set it up in the Android Kitchen.

The Moto G5 Plus is the latest budget smartphone from the company packing decent specifications such as the Mediatek SoC, 2800mAh battery, Android Nougat, and a 8MP Rear Camera.

Essential sold out only 5,000 phones since launch

 By Vaibhav Jain on September 27, 2017       

A new report shows that Essential managed to sell nearly 5,000 PH-1 units since launch. To recall, Andy Rubin announced the Essential PH-1 phone back in May with top-notch specs and mouth-watering design.

The entire package is offered at a price of just $699, way less than the Samsung Galaxy S8 and is available only through Sprint. Essential also plans to launch its Essential Home smart-home hub later this year.

The Essential smartphone features a 5.7-inch QHD edge-to-edge display, not the one seen on Galaxy S8. It is powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. The phone comes with ceramic back and includes USB Type-C port, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC. The phone runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

The attraction for the phone is at the back where the magnetic connectors lie. With the help of these magnetic pins, you can connect additional devices. For now, there's a 360-degree camera that has two 12MP lenses. At the back, there are two cameras of 13MP along with an 8MP front-facing camera. The so-called modular 360-degree camera costs $199.