Author: Roy Alugbue

Those of you itching for a new mid-range device are set to have yet another option to choose from as Sony has introduced its Xperia SP smartphone to the masses. Just like we’d previously expected, the new device will fall in between the Xperia S and Xperia P smartphones, this device will come in at 4.6-inches and feature a dual-core 1.7 Snapdragon chip, 720p display, an 8MP camera utilizing an Exmor RS sensor, NFC and LTE capabilities. Oh and in case you were wondering, the device will indeed feature Android 4.1.2 running the show. Additionally, media aficionados will be quite pleased at the fact that Sony is tossing in its WALKMAN, Album and Movies apps which gives access to all sorts of awesome content like 18 million songs to listen to or access to over 100,000 movies— giving users tons of options to choose from.

The device will be available worldwide sometime in Q2. While you wait for the device to hit the stores, why not hit the break and check out the full press release?

Come comment on this article: Sony introduces the Xperia SP smartphone to the public

You folks remember that dream Nexus 5 “Megalodon” handset we mentioned to you all a few days ago? Well while it appears that some of the preliminary specs we’d heard about may be a slightly over exaggerated (especially the OLED display and 3 gigs of RAM), some new rumors have surfaced indicating the Nexus 5 will at the least include some attractive internals compared to most other smartphones out there. According to a PhoneArena tipster, the rumored device will have a 5-inch 1080p display, 2 gigs of RAM, a 3,140mAh battery. And remember how Vic Gundontra predicted Google’s phones will be capable of some pretty sweet photography capabilities? Well it’s possible the Nexus 5 will have a camera module that has a “triple camera sensor thing” with Nikon branding— pretty much indicating that Google is (finally) taking the cameras on its devices seriously. Oh and the upcoming device will feature Key Lime Pie for good measure as well.

No word yet on when we can expect Google to unveil this supposed Nexus 5 smartphone, but it’s safe to say that we can all start to salivate at the thought of a potentially sweet device.

source: PhoneArena

Come comment on this article: Google’s Nexus 5 rumored to feature a potential camera with Nikon branding

You know about that mysterious Motorola X smartphone that we’ve been hearing more and more about? Well it’s possible that it’s a codename for not one smartphone, but rather the first of many smartphones. Rumor has it that Google is considering looking at other manufacturers line and introducing an X line of smartphones— kind of Samsung’s Galaxy or LG’s Optimus lines. Not only does this unify Motorola’s product line, but it also guarantees more cohesive product support for customers. For example, the first phone in this “X” line “will guarantee at least one “full Android version” update after the purchase of the phone” that is handled directly by Google Motorola, not the mercy of various wireless carriers out there.

Oh and the news doesn’t stop there folks. Rumor also has it that this new “X” phone or line will be sold through “an unnamed online store”— which almost certainly points to the fact it will be sold in the Play Store for the masses, which by the way will be sold at a heavily subsidized priced like the Nexus 4 in order to get interest from consumers. And finally— the mysterious device(s) will be completely customizable by allowing the device’s color, RAM and internal storage to be completely configurable.

Again this is pure rumor and speculation, but you can’t help but be giddy at the idea that this is the direction that the Motorola brand is potentially about to take. Maybe that rumored smartphone we saw a few days ago may hold more weight than we’d previously thought….

source: Unwired View

Come comment on this article: Rumor: Upcoming Motorola “X” is not just one phone, but a new line of devices

You have to hand it to Samsung really. After getting the public to generate unprecedented buzz and pandemonium, Samsung certainly brought in the Galaxy S 4 with a bang thanks to its snazzy Unpacked 2013: Episode I event. Heck— the buzz and excitement caused not one, but two competitors to try and pour salt in Sammy’s coffee, yet Sammy wasn’t deterred. As opposed to the traditional unveilings and demos that we’re used to seeing at keynote events, Samsung instead thought about doing something ummm, “unique” or “different” to say the least by providing a variety of skits, dances and literally theatrics to introduce its new flagship. More importantly, Samsung used its brand name to be out of the box in comparison to its competitors: go into the heart of the Broadway, use one of the world’s largest stages complete with an orchestra, an MC and some sweet live performances to introduce something that is “unique” and different”.

While those of us in attendance were quite impressed (and believe us, Rob Nazarian & I were certainly entertained at the event)— the Galaxy S 4 certainly poses a significant observation of not just the Galaxy S 4, but Samsung as a brand as we know it: Samsung is utilizing the features and more importantly— the marketing of its products to sell its brand. Make no mistake about it: Samsung has made a serious transition going from what was known as a relatively unknown Korean brand to a wannabe Apple competitor to what is perhaps the most exciting and controversial brand to date. The scary thing is this— not only is the transition a success, but everyone else is now playing catchup in terms of brand recognition and excitement.

Let’s start off with the basics of why Samsung is focusing on its software and features that distinguish itself from the competition. As you’re already aware, the Galaxy S 4 smartphone comes with internals that have been seen in most, if not all other flagship phones already including the full 1080p display, 2 gigs of RAM and a quad-core processor (save for the octa-core processor to be found in select variants of the device). If you paid close attention to the Unpacked event, Samsung spent no more than 5 or so minutes highlighting the hardware and internal of the device, but instead spent over 45 minutes highlighting all the bells and whistles of its unique feature set.

For example, Samsung spent an extraordinary amount of time highlighting its Sound and Shoot feature which more or less allows users to record audio clips to compliment any image that is taken with a smartphone— to the average user, this is something that is probably going to be useless, but Samsung spent a great amount of time and energy to make the feature truly compelling and meaningful… even if it’s not in reality. Another example is the fact that Sammy also took an extraordinary amount of time highlighting its revamped S Voice Drive feature– which is more or less a combination of bits and pieces of Apple’s Siri, Google’s Maps/Now/Navigation app and its original S Voice feature to make what supposed to be the most revolutionary and complete hands-free while driving app to date. I’ve only given two examples of what the Galaxy S 4 has to offer, but here’s a complete rundown of the Galaxy S 4′s feature set that was showcased at some point at yesterday’s announcement:

• AirView
• Smart Pause
• WatchOn
• Optical Reader
• Group Play
• Phototography: Drama Shot Photo Eraser, Sound and Shot, Cinema Photo, Dual Shot, Dual Recording, ChatON Video Chatting
• ChatON Screen Sharing
• S Translator
• Adapt Display
• S Health

Samsung couldn’t have pulled off showcasing the compelling needs for the smartphone’s features without its topnotch research and marketing department. Don’t forget folks— Samsung isn’t afraid of spending money on its research and marketing departments— and it shows. Take a look at not just its extensive “4″ marketing campaign, but its highly successful campaign last year showcasing its Galaxy S III smartphone. While Apple spent an enormous amount of time and resources participating in a major legal battle against Samsung, Samsung instead spent an enormous amount of time highlighting what its Galaxy S III could do that the Apple iPhone couldn’t at the time, such as utilize true 4G LTE and enjoying the ability to share personal items with the simple tap of the device. The result is not only a Samsung loyal following that grew from this, but many iPhone users as well as other Android brand users jumping straight to the Samsung ship as well. The Korean giant spends an enormous amount of time observing the trends and seeing what people really want and the Galaxy S 4 as well as upcoming products are a reflection of that notion.

So are the Galaxy S 4 and future Samsung products a reflection of cutting edge technology and innovation? Well no… not really. But that isn’t Samsung’s gameplan at this point. Samsung is taking aim at the general consumer at this point and showcasing how its products differ from the competition, even if it’s something we’ve already seen before. There’s a bigger picture too with Samsung’s plan: by doing this strategy, Samsung is using its marketing and special features in its devices to slowly distance itself not only from Apple and other Android manufacturers— but Google itself. If  the other brands haven’t paid much attention before, they may want to start doing so soon, very soon.

Come comment on this article: The Samsung Galaxy S 4 isn’t about the specs, it’s about the features and marketing

JK Shin may have been pretty excited about the Galaxy S 4 launch yesterday, but he doesn’t seem to be quite as enthusiastic about Sammy’s Windows-based smartphones. As highlighted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Shin clearly indicates that:

 ”Smartphones and tablets based on Microsoft’s Windows operating system aren’t selling very well. There is a preference in the market for Android. In Europe, we’re also seeing lackluster demand for Windows-based products”.

While he took some time to clearly express what we’ve all been thinking all along with Windows-based products, he also took some time to reiterate its partnership with Google and put to rest any potential rumors out there by stating that “we like Android and we plan to continue our good relations with Google. I don’t think it’s correct to say that there’s friction”. So there you have it folks— Samsung is content with Android, knows the market well and will continue to do its best to innovate and grow as a brand.

source: Wall Street Journal 

Come comment on this article: JK Shin takes time to highlight there’s no demand for Windows-based products and Samsung/Google are BFFs

Those of you who are looking to get a more secure device can look forward to something new and exciting from Blackberry. It has announced that it plans on bringing its Secure Work Space for Android devices in June, which should bode well for those of you who happen to hear about a little something called Samsung Knox, but want to stay with your existing smartphones. In case you’re not familiar, Secure Work Space is a security solution that allows enterprise customers to separate and secure both work and personal data on employee smartphones— effectively creating a work profile completely independent of a personal profile that’s all on one device. The great thing is that the product is completely managed by BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, which frees users from the need of having to use separate phones or complicated virtual networks. No word on the cost yet, but further details will probably be out before you know it.

source: AllThingsD

Come comment on this article: Blackberry introduces its topnotch security software to Android

We’re a little over 24 hours away from what should be the most anticipated announcement of the year and Samsung is giving us yet more reasons to be truly excited. As seen in the clip below, you’ll see that there are tourists soaking in all the lights and the surreal atmosphere in Times Square, when suddenly they are greeted by some well-dressed individuals that are clearly up to some shenanigans. When the shape of a box telling the audience to “Be Ready 4 the next Galaxy” is fully formed, the audience is then treated to an all-out flash mob dance, complete with some snazzy music and some pretty hip moves.

Oh and in case you were wondering— the audience was completely entertained by the performance. But don’t take our word for it— check it out for yourself in the video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: Samsung gives Times Square audience a show with Flash Mob performance, leaves everyone wanting more

As we see more and more 8-inch or under tablets produced for all sorts of demographics, the overall demand for those tablets will grow in the coming years. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the 2013 forecast for the worldwide tablet market has increased to 190.9 million units, which is up from its previous 172.4 million units. In fact, research analyst Jitesh Ubrani believes that “one in every two tablets shipped this quarter was below 8 inches in screen size. And in terms of shipments, we expect smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013 and beyond” .

Naturally Android manufacturers were quick to realize the unique niche market and are currently leading the way in terms of overall market share compared to competitors. The IDC believes that Android-based tablets will reach a peak market share of 48.8% for 2013, followed by Apple at 46% and Windows RT-based tablets after that. Of course as the years go by, both Android and Apple-based tablets will see their market shares drop slightly to 46% and 43.5% in 2017, respectively; while Windows-based tablets are expected to grow to 7.4% in 2017 which is significant and all– but probably not going to worry too many people very much.

source: IDC

Come comment on this article: Smaller tablets becoming all the rage and expected to grow worldwide, so sez the IDC

Is Google starting to truly exert its influence into upcoming Motorola devices? It sure appears to be the case as a new mystery phone has surfaced for our viewing pleasure. With specs that clearly identify it as a potential high-end phone, the mysterious XT912A features some goodies including a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chip, 2 gigs of RAM and a solid 2,200mAh battery. Seeing that this device looks like it has a lightly-customized build of Android, it’s no surprise that most folks are expecting the XT912A smartphone to be the rumored “X” phone that we’ve been hearing about more and more lately— but you may want to calm your expectations down a bit, and for good reason. The XT912A seen above seems to feature what is a 4.7-inch 720p display, while the “X” phone is expected to have anything from a 4.7-inch screen to a 5-inch display, but with a full 1080p display.

Regardless of if this is truly the rumored “X” phone or not, it appears that Google is certainly intent on making some noise in the smartphone wars— and for good reason too.

source: Tinhte
via: pocketnow

Come comment on this article: Motorola XT912A smartphone gets leaked, gives indication it’s not the rumored “X” phone… for now at least

If you’re a DIRECTV subscriber then you’ve no doubt had an itch to watch all that exciting TV content on your tablet, but haven’t had an opportunity— until now. DIRECTV has announced its newest app for Android tablet that aims to give subscribers a fairly complete viewing experience, on their tablets that is. Using the app, viewers are able to watch select live channels, browse through all types of channels and even create a customizable homescreen which allows for users to create a list of favorite channels to help truly personalize the DIRECTV viewing experience.

The app comes in at a fairly hefty 15MB, so if you DIRECTV subscribers out there on a Honeycomb+ tablet are ready to start watching some TV on your tablets, head on down to the Play Store today and grab the app today.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: DIRECTV App hits the Play Store for tablets

Sure Apple may be gaining some serious momentum and taking a big bite of the smartphone market share out there, but it’s easy to forget that Samsung is still putting some serious pressure on the Cupertino giant. In fact– there are those that believe that Samsung and Apple are on an even playing field– perhaps even a slight advantage for Samsung. Thanks to a nice little infographic that was unveiled recently, we see that Samsung has a clear advantage when it comes to its R&D department, advertising spending and the sheer number of employees compared to Apple. Naturally Apple turns in a bigger profit with its iPhone sales, but Samsung gets the last laugh considering it ships more devices per capita.

Don’t take our word for it— hit the flip to get the amusing, yet noteworthy comic for yourself.

source: socialmedia today

Come comment on this article: Comical Infographic showcases how Samsung can go toe-to-toe with Apple

We’d recently reported that Apple’s brand seems to be growing at a steady rate and it seems to have a direct impact on the enterprise market out here in the States. According to customer data from enterprise file sharing and hybrid cloud storage company Egnyte, of all the enterprise devices out there using its service in Q3/Q4 of 2011 to date, Apple iPhones and iPads account for nearly 70% of all enterprise-based devices out in the corporate world, compared to a paltry 30% for Android-based smartphones and tablets. More over, preliminary results for 2013 indicates that iPhone and iPad enterprise market share accounts for nearly 80%, while Android smartphones and tablets dipped to 22% total. Here’s a full statement from Egnyte on its thoughts of the fascinating study:

“While initially iPads dominated our use, iPhones have taken over.  2011 use showed the iPad accounting for 40 percent of our usage, in 2012 iPhones are now 42 percent of usage, and Android has remained constant at about 30 percent of use. There are two interesting points here, first, Apple seems to have at least temporarily won the hearts and minds of business users with its products accounting for about 70 percent of our traffic. This is important because it’s a flip-flop from the days of old, where Apple products were rarely seen in the corporate landscape.   It’s also an indication that when BYOD wrested control over what devices consumers used from IT, they overwhelmingly chose an easy to use product that focused on UI and usability, perhaps even at times over depth.

The second interesting point is that while tablets are certainly hot, iPhones are driving most of the traffic. This may be due to the fact that the iPad doesn’t replace a laptop yet as the corporate device of choice, but try and take a business person’s smartphone away from them, and you may not have a hand left.  Smartphones are a must have, and we suspect that since people are already checking email on such a phone while they are working remotely, it’s an extra step to get out and bootup your tablet, so if you have a great phone app that does the same thing, just use it to view your files. Most editing we think still happens on the laptop/desktop.  This ‘on the go’ access is further confirmed by the fact that only 31 percent of iPhone sessions occurred over Wi-Fi, that means over three-quarters of access happens via cellular services”.

Looks like the Android platform is going to have some work cut out for it if it wants to get in the good graces of corporate users. Then again, special designs and arrangements from manufacturing giants would probably be a good way to start trying to get in the good graces of corporate folk.

source: TechCrunch

Come comment on this article: Apple iOS platform favored by enterprise users over Android

Team Rovio is at it again bringing the world yet another cool and catchy title called The Croods for the masses to become immersed in. The game is based off of Dreamworks’ animated film and has players playing as Grug who will try to hunt and gather resources for his family. Set in a fantasy world, Grug will need to find and make the various wild animals his own in order to grow the world. The premise of the game is fairly straightforward, but it quickly becomes complicated when Grug has to encounter a variety of creatures and deal with in-laws that are just as much of a threat as the wild animals.

The game is due out next week, but while you wait to get in on the gameplay, feel free to check out the trailer below to get a better feel of the game.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: Rovio launching The Croods in the Play Store on March 14th

It appears there is yet another Sony Xperia smartphone is on the horizon folks. Also known as codename ”TaoShan“, the Xperia L (model C210x) will be a fairly modest smartphone and feature the typical run of the mill budget-level specs. The Jelly Bean-powered device will have a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon chip, a 4.3-inch FWVGA display at 854 x 480 resolution with virtual buttons, 8GB of storage and get this— an 8MP camera utilizing Sony’s Exmor RS sensor giving users topnotch photo and video quality. There’s no word on where and when the device will be launched as of yet, but you can bet we will keep our eyes and ears open for all of you prospective buyers out there.

source: Xperia Blog

Come comment on this article: Sony Xperia L smartphone leaked: brings Jelly Bean to and Exmor RS camera to an otherwise budget-level device

Looking forward to that major Sammy device that’s set to be introduced next week? Yeah— so are we gang. With that in mind, we have some additional leaks to share with you all highlighting how the Galaxy S IV’s UI may indeed look upon its arrival. As indicated in some screenshots from the Galaxy S III’s leaked 4.2.1 firmware, we can see the Galaxy S IV will indeed have the Smart Scroll and Smart Pause features, just like we’d previously heard before. In addition, the inclusion of these features all but confirm the Galaxy S IV will utilize a full 1080p HD panel, giving users all the detail and quality they can handle on the rumored 4.99-inch display. Could it be possible that the upcoming device will have even more custom or unique inclusions to the UI? We’re certainly inclined to believe that its not that hard to fathom seeing something an even more updated version of its Touchwiz Nature UI.

It’s only another week before the big event gang. Just one more week…

source: SamMobile

Come comment on this article: Leaked screenshots highlight Samsung’s Galaxy S IV smartphone may feature Smart Scroll and Smart Pause features

If you own a Samsung Galaxy Stellar, you’re about to be in for some exciting news. Verizon has announced owners of the device are about to get an OTA notification indicating an extensive update is at hand. The update comes in at a hefty 400MB in size and not only brings items like network improvements, but it (finally) brings Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) and all the standard Jelly Bean goodies like Google Now and an improved UI. Naturally the update is being rolled out in phases, so if you own the device and don’t see it right away just sit tight— it’s on the way and will be there sooner than later.

source: Verizon

Come comment on this article: Verizon announces Jelly Bean update for Samsung Galaxy Stellar smartphone

Chrome is no doubt one of the most popular web browsers on our Android devices, but it appears that Google is intent on making the web browsing experience just a little faster than it already is. Taking a page from web browsers like that from Opera, Google has unveiled a preliminary build of its Chromium web browser that utilizes data compression. Here’s how Google describes the data compression feature:

“Reduce data consumption by loading optimized web pages via Google proxy servers”.

So essentially Google’s data compression will do two things: provide more efficient security and speed up page load times. More efficient security comes from the Chrome browser using SPDY (the company’s proxy servers) which forces SSL encryption for all sites. The speeding up of the load page times on the other hand, is done by multiplexing multiple streams of data over a single network connection and assigning high or low priorities to page resources being requested from a server.

Google hasn’t exactly made this feature public yet, but it is available to test out for those of you Android 4.2 users who like to be ambitious and try things out. Hit the break for the full instructions on how to get this neat feature going.

• Go to Settings, About Phone.

• Find the build number

• Tap on the build number repeatedly about seven times

• Note that after the third tap, you’ll see a snarky dialog that says you are four taps away from being a developer.

• After the seventh tap you will see a message that says “You are now a developer.”

Once all is done, the Developer Settings option (which you need to enable USB debugging) will again be in the device’s Settings app.

Come comment on this article: Google currently testing data compression feature for Chrome Browser

If you’re a Verizon Galaxy Nexus owner, then it looks like you’ve got some sort of update on the way… which we were already aware of and expecting. Reports are coming in that the nation’s wireless carrier is currently testing a mysterious JDQ39 build of Android 4.2.2 which seems to feature some new radios, but unfortunately seems to feature an old bootloader and old kernel version.

PWhy Verizon isn’t updating the kernel and bootloader beats us— but maybe it’s just part of its extensive testing before rolling out to the masses. Nevertheless we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes and ears open to what Verizon has up in its sleeves for you G-Nex users out there.

source: XDA Forums
via: Android Central

Come comment on this article: Is Verizon prepping an Android 4.2.2 update for Galaxy Nexus users? Sure seems to be the case

Amazon finally decided to show some love to tablet owners in Europe by releasing its tablet app for European markets. The app is fully compatible with both 7 and 10-inch Ice Cream Sandwich+ tablets with resolutions from 1,024 x 600 to 2,560 x 1,600. This means that those of you living out in France, Germany, Spain or the UK will be able to search, browse & buy millions of products— spending that hard-earned cash of yours in the in the process.

We know that many of you are itching to grab the finally, so click on the Play Store link to finally dive in and get in on the action. Go on… you know you want to.

Play Store link

Come comment on this article: Amazon releases Amazon tablet app for European markets

T-Mobile recently shared some good news with the public indicating the company is headed in a better direction— albeit at a slower rate than competitors. According to its Q4 results, while the nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier saw a slight decrease in postpaid subscribers, it saw a significant uptick in prepaid subscribers with the addition of 166,000 total customers. Adjusting for the postpaid subscribers, T-Mobile saw the  the net customer additions come to something around 61,000 total.

While the customer additions are exciting, T-Mobile really used the Q4 results to tout its ever-growing LTE plan. As part of its gradual evolution to the next generation of 4G, T-Mobile formally announced its LTE network “been completed” in Las Vegas and Kansas City, so those of you living in those markets can already enjoy some fast LTE speeds. More importantly— T-Mo will actually accelerate its LTE plan and insists that 100 million customers will be covered by the middle of the year, while more than 200 will see LTE by the end of the year. Oh and don’t think that T-Mo has forgotten its faux-g base either as completed extensive HSPA+ upgrades in the Orlando, Ann Arbor and Richmond markets, bringing the total number of customers covered by 1900MHz HSPA+ to something in the neighborhood of 142 million.

All we need now are just a couple of LTE-ready devices T-Mo, but as the old adage says: better late than never T-Mo.

source: T-Mobile

Come comment on this article: T-Mobile uses Q4 results to tout slight growth in overall subscribers, casually mentions rollout of LTE to Las Vegas and Kansas City in the process