HTC One X, One S And One V Land In Europe April 2nd

HTC has announced the first few destinations for the new One series of Android-based smartphones: The HTC One X, One S, and One V will be landing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland next week, April 2nd.

The One X will be the line’s toppermost of the poppermost device. Priced at 599 euros for an unlocked, unsubsidized unit, the One X features a 4.7-inch 720p screen, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, a 1.3MP front-facing cam, and an eight-megapixel snapper at the back.

At 499 euros, the One S is the line’s ‘mid-range’ model, but with a spec that’s still pretty good. This one packs a 4.3-inch screen with a 540 x 960 resolution, a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, aVGA front cam and an eight-megapixel main camera. HTC One X, One S, One V to land in Europe on April 2 htc one v. The One V is the line’s ‘budget’ model, offering a 1GHz single-core processor, 3.7-inch, 480 x 800 screen and a five megapixel camera for 299 euros.

All three phones will arrive preinstalled with Android 4.0 layered with HTC’s Sense 4.0 interface, which introduces HTC ImageSense (a suite of camera and imaging features). All three phones also feature Beats Audio for enhanced sound quality.

HTC’s One line is expected to reach the US soon. The One X will arrive as the HTC Jet on Sprint (probably on April 4th), and AT&T. The One S will be landing on T-Mobile, while the One V is rumored to be headed to Virgin Mobile.

HTC One X, One S, One V ON SALE Early In Germany:

Samsung Adds Extra Blink Security To Android Face Unlock Feature

Samsung has this week increased the security of its Android Face Unlock feature. That keep unwanted guests from accessing your smartphone and data using a photograph. In the past it has been possible for the Face lock feature to be duped into providing access using just a photograph. Google has always acknowledged though that the Face Unlock feature was more of a gimmick rather than a serious biometric security feature.

But Samsung has tried to increase the security of the face Unlock feature by adding an extra measure which requires the owner to now blink in front of the Face Unlock screen to prove they are not a photograph.

So anyone thinking of accessing an Android smartphone using just a photograph will now have to use an animated Gif image to gain access instead. Before you ask, no I haven’t had a chance to check if this will work as yet.

Vodafone UK Releases Android 4.0 Update For HTC Sensation

Earlier this month, HTC already announced their Android 4.0 update plans for smartphones. HTC has also rolled out the Android 4.0 update for the HTC Sensation and Sensation XE owners in Germany and other Nordic countries. However most of the folks living in other countries were still waiting for this update.

Vodafone was the first carrier to sell the powerful HTC Sensation in the UK. Now, Vodafone is the first carrier to roll out the much-awaited Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update for the HTC Sensation in the UK. The latest update comes with some amazing features such as Beats audio, face unlock, advanced voice and text input, improved email, UI improvements and much more. Vodafone UK sent the following message to the HTC Sensation owners.

This update bumps the HTC Sense to version 3.6. It is advised to backup all you data before updating the device. You should also make sure that your battery is fully charged, before updating the device. If you find something new, please let us know in the comments section below. HTC Sensation owners on Orange and Three UK might have to wait for few days for the Android 4.0 update.

UNLOCK HTC SENSATION 4G - How to Unlock HTC Sensation 4G simcard by Unlock Code:

LG Lucid Lands On Verizon

When you used to look at Android handsets and think they were still a little too expensive. It only seems like a few weeks ago when we were saying how cool it was to have a sub $100 / £100 device and then comes along Verizon with their just announced LG Lucid. Normally when we talk sub 100 we also talk sub par specs however to be fair to Verizon, this one is really worth the $’s.

With a 4 inch Gorilla Glass LCD, a1.2 Ghz Dual Core CPU, 4G LTE Radios and a 5MP camera the Lucid proves that it’s certainly no cheapskate handset. Other specs on board the Android 2.3 device are 1GB RAM, 8GB internal, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 3.0, DLNA and a 1700mAh battery.

So, essentially If you sign-up for a two-year contract it’s yours for $79.99 after a $50 rebate, however, this being a 4G LTE phone, the required data plan is expensive and will add at least $30 onto the standard tariff.

LG Lucid Headed to Verizon:

RIM Reports $125 Million Loss, Will Focus On Business Customers

RIM,the makers of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets has announced a net loss of $125m for the three months to the 3rd of March 2012, this compares to a profit of $934m for the same period last year. The company revenues have also fallen fro $5.2 billion to $4,2 billion, and shipments of their BlackBerry devices fell 11 percent on the same period last year.

RIM has announced that Jim Balsillie, one of the founders of RIM and the former co-chief executive has resigned from the board, and the company has now said that it will be focusing in enterprise customers in the future. Over the last couple of years RIM has attempted to compete with the likes of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android smartphones in the consumer market, at which they have been less than successful.

RIM’s CEO Thorsten Heins has said that the company will now focus on its traditional core market of business customers, which has worked well for the company in the past. It will be interesting to see if RIM are able to turn its business around by focusing on the very thing that made it popular in the first place.

For more information:
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/rim-reports-125-million-loss-will-focus-on-business-customers-30-03-2012/

Blackberry Outages Continue To Affect World:

HTC One X Gets Unboxed

The HTC One X set to go on sale in Europe next week, a device that will be the company’s first big release of 2012. It will also mark the first quad-core release for HTC as the overseas One X is equipped with a Tegra 3 dual-core processor on board. It also runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, making it an extremely attractive device for consumers. Well, today, we have our first unboxing of the device which arrives just ahead of launch and gives us a great look at HTC’s latest and greatest smartphone.

HTC-Hub, a French blog, has managed to get its hands on one before the April 2nd launch date and they gladly take us on a tour of the packaging, the accessories in the box, and the device itself.

Unfortunately, we don’t get a full-blown tour of Android 4.0 and the new HTC Sense 4.0, but we have already shown you a tour of that on the AT&T device.

The international version of the device will be launching with a quad-core processor. However, AT&T’s model will be launching with a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor on board. That’s because, at the time, the Tegra 3 quad-core chip did not have the proper certification for use with 4G LTE, the network on which the AT&T model will run.

And while the international version has a release date, AT&T has yet to cough up the goods. We’re thinking that we’ll see it in April, especially because T-Mobile is rumored to be getting the One X’s brother, the One S, on April 22nd.

Hands-On With The HTC One X and HTC Sense 4.0:

Sony Xperia Play Gets Official Android 4.0 Beta ROM

Sony has released a beta ROM of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for their Xperia Play smartphone, and you can test out ICS on your Xperia Play before the final version is released. The beta ROM comes with the usual warnings, that you should only download and install the ROM if you are an Android developer.

Upon request we’re today releasing an Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) beta for Xperia PLAY, and we’re really interested in getting your feedback on this beta release. As games are such a crucial part of Xperia PLAY, we would like to know how well this ICS beta for Xperia PLAY works when you’re playing games. You can download the Xperia Play Android 4.0 Beta ROM form the Sony Developers website, and you can also find out more details about the ROM there.

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview:

HTC One S Headed To T-Mobile 22nd Of April

HTC announced a range of new android handsets at MWC last month, one of those is the new HTC One S and it looks like the device is headed to US mobile carrier on the 22nd of April. The HTC One S comes with Android 4.0 and it features a 4.3 inch qHD touchscreen display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, it is powered by a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor and it comes with the latest version of HTC’s custom user interface, HTC Sense 4.0

The HTC One S is the mid-range device in HTC’s latest One line. It falls in between the X and the V in terms of specs, it features a 4.3″ (540 x 960) AMOLED display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and VGA front facing camera. If the rumored date is true, interested folks should start saving up for the phone.


Other specifications on the HTC One S include a front facing VGA camera for video chat, on the back we have an 8 megapixel camera for photos and video which can record full HD video in 1080p.

T-Mobile HTC One S hands-on at MWC 2012:

T-Mobile Amaze 4G And Sensation 4G To Get Android 4.0 Update Soon

Here’s some great news if your carrier of choice has the color magenta all over it, and you own either an HTC Amaze 4G or an HTC Sensation 4G. Both those phones will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at some point in the future. This information doesn’t come via a leak, but it’s officially straight from T-Mobile itself. The carrier has updated its support documents for both the Amaze 4G and the Sensation 4G, and the newly revised documentation clearly mentions ICS updates, as you can see.

Unfortunately though, T-Mobile hasn’t publicized any other details about these updates yet. So we don’t have any indication of when they will become available. However, the support documents should be constantly updated as new information comes out, so we’ll keep an eye on them for you and let you know the instant there’s any news on the matter.

One thing looks pretty clear. HTC’s Sense 4.0 seems limited to smartphones that are shipping with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the gate. So the HTC One series has this new (and trimmed down) version of Sense. But older devices such as the Amaze 4G and Sensation 4G will probably just get Sense 3.6, which (as its version number suggests) is just an incremental update to the Gingerbread-based Sense 3.5. You can’t have it all apparently, since HTC is desperate to sell some new phones, especially after the rather rough times it faced last year.

HTC Amaze 4G vs. HTC Sensation 4G Review - by Gazelle.com:

LG Optimus Elite For Sprint and Virgin Leaked

Mobile phone carrier Sprint is gearing up for the release of a new appealing Android-based device on its airwaves, namely the LG Optimus Elite, and what appears to be the first press photo with the device has just made an appearance online.

This is Sprint’s flavor of LG’s Optimus Net NFC, and will feature a different design from the original when released in the coming weeks. The smartphone should include an 800MHz application processor inside, along with a 3.2-inch HVGA display, and a five-megapixel camera with flash. The phone will be a mid-level device, though the addition of NFC will offer it some extra value.

Apparently, Sprint’s pre-paid arm Virgin Mobile will also carry the device (though only starting with May), and a photo to prove it is available in the gallery. Rumor has it that Sprint’s version of the device, (codenamed Gelato), will be cheaper. However, Virgin might have it in the $100 range too.

LG TMOBILE G2X 1080P AT NIGHT. PIONEER ELITE VSX-74TXVI:

RIM Says They Are Not Abandoning Consumer BlackBerry Market

Earlier today we head RIM’s latest financial results, where the company had made made a loss of $125m for their last financial quarter, And RIM’s CEO Thorsten Heins said that they would be concentrating on their core market of business customers.

This led to speculation that RIM would be abandoning the consumer market for BlackBerry devices, and now RIM has confirmed that they will continue to develop blackberry devices for consumers. Research in Motion Ltd will instead concentrate on reaching business customers, who are said to value the security of the company's handsets.

RIM has been struggling as Americans are abandoning their BlackBerrys for flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software. Despite the phones' continuing popularity among business users, the firm has had limited success trying to enter consumer markets in recent years.

Blackberry Messenger or BBM For iPhones and Androids - LATEST NEWS:

Samsung Galaxy Beam Up For Pre-order In The UK

One of the new smartphones that Samsung showed off at this years MWC, was the Samsung Galaxy Beam which comes with built in projector, the device is expected to launch in the UK in July and it is now available to pre-order.

The Samsung Galaxy Beam features a 4 inch display with a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels, a 5 megapixel rear camera for video and photos and a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat, plus a built in video projector that can project images and video up to 50 inches.

The Samsung Galaxy beam comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and it also features 8GB of built in storage, Samsung have said that it will get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich shortly after release.

UK retailer Clover have just put the Galaxy Beam up for pre-order with a price of £454.80 including taxes, although they have also said that this price may change slightly between now and launch.

[GALAXY Beam] First Hands-on Video:

Nokia Lumia 610c CDMA Windows Phone Announced For China

Nokia launched its first Windows Phone CDMA handsets in China, now the world’s biggest smartphone market. The Nokia Lumia 800C, a version of the flagship Lumia 800, and the budge Lumia 610C will represent Nokia’s WP portfolio in the world’s most populous country.

The Lumia 800C is made to work on China Telecom’s 3G network, but apart from that there is little difference from the original unibody design and hardware guts. The handset is CDMA-compatible and will be launched in April in Tianyi FlyYoung shops and Nokia’s own stores.

The first 100,000 buyers get to download Fruit Ninja and Plants vs Zombies for free from the Markeplace. The budget Lumia 610C wasn’t given an exact release date, but is still expected to come in Q2 2012. The handset is among the first to lower the bar on Windows Phone and features only 256MB of RAM, a shortcut that allows it to keep a very low price. At the same time, Microsoft has worked with Nokia to ensure the WP experience remains smooth as molasses.

LG Optimus 4X HD To Launch In India In May

The quad-core Tegra3-powered LG Optimus 4X HD smartphone may be debuting as early as May in India, though it’s still unclear when the phone will arrive in the U.S. The LG flagship smartphone features a quad-core processor, 4.7-inch 720p HD display, and a slim profile. The phone is expected to arrive in June in the UK. Other LG smartphones, such as the 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio Optimus Vu and the Optimus 3D Max will debut shortly after the launch of the Optimus 4X HD. The Optimus 4X HD is one of several new quad-core smartphones that were launched late last month at Mobile World Congress. The device is very similar to the HTC One X, including the screen size, though the One X will shed its quad-core processor in favor of an impressive dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU from Qualcomm when that smartphone arrives on AT&T. Along with the HTC One X, the LG Optimus 4X HD will be among the first smartphones with a quad-core processor to hit the market. Both phones will utilize NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 CPU. Huawei is also in the race for quad-core supremacy with its own quad-core CPU known as the K3V2 found inside the Ascend D quad smartphone series. Pricing information is not yet available for the India launch of the LG Optimus 4X HD and LG has not made an official announcement regarding availability yet.

LG Optimus 4X HD Hands-On:

Nokia To Launch Two Budget MeeGo Smartphones?

If you’ve never played around with the Nokia N9, the only MeeGo handset on the market, then you’re missing out. It’s one of those handset that geeks everywhere get a little nostalgic about because it MeeGo really was a great operating system. According to an industry insider Nokia is working on 2 new low end MeeGo handsets, and information was recieved directly from Nokia’s Next Billion Group.

Since Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft, the company has essentially been divided into two groups, one focused on Windows Phone and the Next Billion Group who is reponsible for the S40 & Asha lines. The two groups have completely different tasks, the Windows team obviously keeps Microsoft happy and the Next Billion Group is tasked with creating low costs handsets which will likely be the first place that they will access the internet. Even though Windows Phone has the budget Lumia 610, Windows Phone isn’t the capable of being a low cost handset for a few different reasons.

The big question is “Why would Nokia still care about Meego?”

The most obvious reason is that Windows Phone just can’t compete in the low end smartphone game. First there is the operating system which isn’t free, that alone drives up the price. If we take a look at the latest budget Windows phone the Lumia 610, it is a 256mb devices and some features are being disabled because the device just doesn’t have the available RAM.

Let’s keep on looking at Nokia’s other operating system options, there is also their S40 java based devices aka the new Asha line. This line up of handsets haven’t exactly received stellar sales numbers. One of the reasons the line isn’t performing as well is that the touch experience isn’t competitive. When you’re competing on price point it’s often about packing in as many features as possible and if you go up against similarly priced Android handsets there it is really no contest.

Nokia could also use Symbian, expect they can’t, Symbian is now run by Accenture so they don’t have control over the Symbian device roadmaps which is aimed at high end phones. So we’re going to see the same problems here as in Windows Phone 7 and the base cost of fully functioning feature rich handset are going to be too high.

MeeGo is also a lot more adaptable than Windows Phone, its roots are in open source. PhoneNews raises some good points around MeeGo, if we think about where the next billion handsets are coming from they are going to be in areas where solar power charging may be more important than ten-point multitouch. MeeGo can also work with monochrome or e-ink display’s and the Windows Phone platform restrictions would shoot down the innovation that Nokia will need to drop smartphone technology in places where it cannot thrive today.

Meego CE Summer Edition on Nokia N900:


Nokia N9 MeeGo Smartphone - Full Presentation with all Slides:

New Amazon App Turns Any Android Device Into A Kindle

Android 5.0 Jelly Bean Coming In Q3?

With Ice Cream Sandwich being introduced to the world during the Google I/O event in may 2011, then officially launched in October, it seems like we really haven’t had enough time to get to know the 4.0 version of the OS. Although Android 4.0 has officially been available for over five months, statistics show that not even two percent of Android devices in existence are running Ice Cream Sandwich. The latest data released by Google shows that a meager 1.6% of devices have ICS installed, with those users becoming fragmented due to the varying point releases of version 4.0 they are running.

While the Android owning population waits patiently for the announcement that the manufacturers of their device are about to launch the ICS update, Google are said to be putting the final touches onto the next major release of Android in an attempt make Q3 of 2012 a viable release point. The report comes from the hit and miss rumor site DigiTimes, who have cited industry-based sources on this one, but have a varying success rate when it comes to claims such as these.

The current version of Android offers probably the most notable upgrades to date, with features such as facial recognition, widget re-sizing and a new powerful voice input engine; but has been extremely slow to gather pace in the industry. Companies such as HTC have announced the the HTC  One X, One S and One V which will be their first three Android 4.0 handsets, with others such as Sony about to release two smartphones initially running Android Gingerbread but benefitting from almost immediate ICS updates.

If the unnamed source is accurate, then those devices could almost immediately be running an out of date version of Android. Android 5.0 Jelly Bean was previously speculated to be coming at some point during Q2 of this year, but it looks as though that could be temporarily delayed by the company in favor of a slightly later launch. Android 5.0 looks all set to bring updated and improved support for those users who prefer their Android experience to be via a tablet device, but as DigiTimes sources have stated "The rapid shift of OS may not be healthy for the development of the Android Ecosystem" and could create a trend of Android users being consistently one step behind the official current version of the OS.

 

Google Android 5.0 Jelly Bean to be released in Q3 2012:

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Acer Iconia Tab A510 Goes Up For Pre-order

Acer’s latest installment in their tablet lineup has made its official debut here in North America as the Iconia Tab A510. Acer is rightfully showing off their pride and joy as this tablet will be the first Acer slab to house a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. The Tab A510 will also be the first edition of the Acer Olympic Games series, and will feature an exclusive Olympic rings design branded on the back of the slab.

Acer has set the price at $449, which will score you Google’s latest OS (Android 4.0), a 10.1-inch WXGA (1280×800 resolution) HD display, Polaris Office 3.5, 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, dual cameras, and most importantly the juice of a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. Sounds downright mouthwatering right? Here’s what Acer had to say about the power of the Tegra 3,

This processor provides a unique Super 4-PLUS-1™ Quad Core CPU design with a fifth Battery Saver Core that allows up to four cores to be dedicated to demanding tasks such as watching video and playing the next generation of graphics-intense mobile games. These four cores provide up to 2.6 times the performance and up to three times the graphics performance compared to previous generation processors, making the tablet incredibly responsive with life-like and crisp visuals for mobile entertainment and console-quality gaming on-the-go.

For More Details:
http://theunlockr.com/2012/03/22/acer-iconia-tab-a510-up-for-pre-order-now-ics-quad-core-tegra-3-processor-449/ 
 
 Acer Iconia Tab A510 Android 4.0 tablet with quad-core CPU:
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Apple’s iPhone Tops Customer Satisfaction Survey

Apple once again topped the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey with a satisfaction score of 839 out of 1,000. The survey measures satisfaction with performance, ease of operation, features, and physical design. HTC took second place with a score of 798, Samsung followed closely behind with a score of 769, and Motorola a score of 758. The industry average score is 774. Apple was the only manufacturer who earned a 5 Power Circle Rating. HTC came close with four circles, and the remaining manufacturers managed 3 circles.

The biggest gripe consumers have with manufacturers and their devices? Battery life. According to the survey, battery life (lack there of) is the single worst aspect of owning a smartphone. As a result, owners satisfied with their device's battery life are likely to rate the manufacturer higher and purchase the same brand again.

As a result, power hungry 4G phones often come with higher rates of dissatisfaction. The shorter lifespans of 4G device batteries is only exacerbated by the increased time 4G phone users spend on their devices, thereby killing the phones quicker.


The balance between speed, battery life, and a happy customer is something many manufacturers are struggling with. Apple thus far has side-stepped the issue by not implementing 4G in their handsets. With the release of the new iPad Apple has finally entered the 4G LTE fray, but reports indicate battery life hasn’t taken a noticeable hit. However, to achieve this Apple included a battery nearly 70% larger than that found in the iPad 2. Apple, has a unique advantage in respects to optimizing their products as well.

With all the advancements in mobile display, processor, and graphics technology, battery advancements have seen little progress. Something new needs to emerge, otherwise manufacturers will be forced to scale-back their devices capabilities, or release crazy powerful devices with horrible battery lives.

Apple Siri Gets Updated, Further Yelp Integration

Apple doesn’t release any information when its voice activated virtual assistant, Siri, gets an update, but it would appear that Siri has recently been updated with some new features. According to the guys over at Gadgetsteria, the latest update seems to have come around the time Apple released iOS 5.1, which was last week. The latest version of Siri on the iPhone now comes with further Yelp integration, and this was recently confirmed by Yelp over on their blog.

Well, last week, Apple launched iOS 5.1 and with it, an updated Siri and Yelp integration on iPhone. Now when searching for a recommendation on local businesses, Siri will return Yelp-reviewed businesses and when you tap the star rating (BOOM!) you are immediately taken to the Yelp business profile page. Oh, the places you’ll go… now that you’ll have faster access to Yelp review highlights, quick tips, hours of operation, address, phone number, photos — the list goes on.

Apple iPhone 4S Siri demo:

Apple Tv with Siri coming 2012?: