Nokia denies rumors that they’re looking to re-enter the smartphone arena

Nokia has been rumored to reenter the smartphone scene as soon as their “no smartphone” clause that was part of their departure from Microsoft runs dry. As much sense as those rumors might make, Nokia’s official word says they’re wholly inaccurate.

The company released a statement today to address the rumors (which doesn’t happen often) and reassured everyone that they have no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets. Here’s the full quote:

Nokia notes recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China. These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive.

Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.

Key in on one word: “currently.” That alone leaves open the possibility that they’ll make a return someday. Will it be the day Microsoft’s clause expires? Five years from the day the clause expires? No one but Nokia knows, but for now they’re giving us no reason to believe that we’ll see a phone with a big “N” logo on it anytime soon.

[via Nokia]

Help wanted: Samsung is looking for designers to fill Galaxy Theme Store with new content

Samsung’s Theme Store is probably one of the better things that was introduced in the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The ability to completely change up the look of your device’s user interface — app icons, wallpapers, settings, menus, etc. — was a breath of fresh air and something Android users have been asking for ages now. The only problem: there aren’t all that many themes to choose from at present.

But Samsung is looking to change that. Instead of allowing just any ‘ol Galaxy users to submit their own theme into the store, Samsung is looking for qualified designers looking to create themes for their Galaxy Theme Store via a new landing page. Samsung asks all potential candidates submit a portfolio of their work, along with a brief introduction, to theme.ptn@samsung.com.

This is in stark contrast to the way HTC runs their theme store on the One M9, which essentially allows any user to submit their own theme for others to download. Samsung’s method is better for quality control and should keep the Theme Store filled with only the highest caliber themes. Let’s hope they’ll update the Theme Store with categories and some kind of search function in the near future as well.

So, if you’re an Android themer looking to possibly make a little extra side money (paid themes aren’t available yet, but should be coming soon), drop Samsung an email.

[Samsung Galaxy Themes]

Newly announced HTC J Butterfly 3 could be the redesigned One M9 we were looking for

When the HTC One M9 was finally unveiled at Mobile World Congress, there were more than a few fans who were disappointed to find the design didn’t deviate much away from last year’s One M8. It didn’t help matters that only a few weeks prior to the official unveiling, famed tipster @evleaks revealed press renders of an alleged One M9 with a vastly different front face. In the end, that device apparently never made it out of the concept phase with HTC instead opting for something a little more familiar to consumers (perhaps even a little too familiar). But is it possible HTC incorporated that leaked design in its latest handset for Japan?

Announced in Japan, the HTC J Butterfly 3 is the company’s latest high-end device for Japanese carrier KDDI. It packs a design aesthetic eerily reminiscent of that leaked One M9 we saw awhile back, only with a few key differences. One, this phone is all plastic and the perforated speaker holes sit in between the glass display and the plastic bezel. It’s very similar to what we saw with the HTC Desire EYE. Running with that, the Butterfly 3 even packs a similar 13MP front facing shooter like the Eye, mounted directly in the middle of the top plastic bezel. You may remember this was rumored early on to come equipped on the One M9 (and shown in @evleaks’ leaked render).

On the back, HTC’s Duo Camera makes a return (another feature we heard would make it to the One M9 but didn’t), coupled with a 20.2MP rear facing camera. As far as other hardware specs, the Butterfly 3 features a pin sharp 5.2-inch 2560×1440 resolution LCD 3 display, Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB RAM, 2,700mAh battery, IPX5/IPX7 water resistance rating, and comes in 3 color options: red, white, and blue.

There really is a lot here to love and honestly, it makes us wonder if the Butterfly 3 doesn’t trump the One M9 in some respects. The Butterfly 3 will launch in Japan this June on KDDI.

[HTC | via Engadget Japan]

HTC won’t be looking to make a “One Mini 3″

We’ve typically come to expect miniature variations of flagship handsets shortly after they launch, but one report suggests HTC won’t be looking to further that trend for the HTC One M9. Focus Taiwan credits the president of HTC North Asia for making that apparent.

HTC says the market is no longer ripe for that category of products, with folks demanding phones with bigger displays. To that end, HTC already has a few devices to offer up, including the flagship HTC One M9 and M9+, the slightly more affordable HTC One E9++, and the budget Desire devices they’ve seeded into the market as of late. It also doesn’t help that the “mini” devices were nearly as big as the normal-sized variants.

The decision to ditch the Mini line might have come at just the right time as few are likely to trust HTC’s willingness to support the devices with ample updates. They recently confirmed that neither the HTC One Mini or HTC One Mini 2 would be seeing Android 5.0 Lollipop.

It’s understandable for the original HTC One Mini as it launched about two years ago, but we’d say the one-year lifespan of the HTC One Mini 2 was far too short. Regardless, the line is dead so moot point is moot — if you’ve been waiting for a smaller version to launch we’d say it’s safe to start exploring other options.