Apr
24
2012
Yeah I know, teardowns are for the hardcore geeks. Most people don’t care what’s inside there phone, they just want it to work. Some of us get a high in seeing what really goes into making a world class phone like the HTC One X. In fact, sometimes we might even need to open the phone up on our own to replace a “non-removable” battery. If you’re just browsing or you want to find out how to open your One X, hit break for some more pics and the source link for more info.
Categorized as Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
The team that officially broke the news of Google’s new online cloud storage offering is at it again, and this time we’re letting you know that Google has made it official. Over at the official Google Blog, the search giant has finally announced all of the mouth watering details we’ve been waiting for. The days of not being able to send a file via email because it’s too long or large are over. If you’ve got a large file to send over 25 mb’s, Google Drive will allow you to seamlessly share the link via any means. In addition, once you upgrade to 25 GB’s, your Gmail storage will also be updated to that amount.
Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.
With Google Drive, you can:
- Create and collaborate. Google Docs is built right into Google Drive, so you can work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Once you choose to share content with others, you can add and reply to comments on anything (PDF, image, video file, etc.) and receive notifications when other people comment on shared items.
- Store everything safely and access it anywhere (especially while on the go). All your stuff is just… there. You can access your stuff from anywhere—on the web, in your home, at the office, while running errands and from all of your devices. You can install Drive on your Mac or PC and can download the Drive app to your Android phone or tablet. We’re also working hard on a Drive app for your iOS devices. And regardless of platform, blind users can access Drive with a screen reader.
- Search everything. Search by keyword and filter by file type, owner and more. Drive can even recognize text in scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Let’s say you upload a scanned image of an old newspaper clipping. You can search for a word from the text of the actual article. We also use image recognition so that if you drag and drop photos from your Grand Canyon trip into Drive, you can later search for [grand canyon] and photos of its gorges should pop up. This technology is still in its early stages, and we expect it to get better over time.
» Read the rest
Categorized as Android Applications, Android Customization, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Google News | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
Just announced today you will be able to purchase the Galaxy Nexus directly from Google for $399. That is a great price for anyone wanting to pick-up the GSM version of the Gnex. Making your purchase in this way will give you a Galaxy Nexus “unlocked and contract free”. The limit is five devices per customer, and this offer is currently only available in the US.
Details from the Google Blog state that you can buy this device in the Play Store under a new section called ‘Devices’. As already mentioned this is a unlocked GSM device so you can chose your favorite compatible carrier, which includes T-mobile and AT&T of course. You’ll get access to Google Wallet with a $10 credit upon activation, and all the great features of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
source: googleplay
Categorized as Android News, Android Phones, Google News | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company, ZTE, has been making a bit of noise in the Android scene as of late. Currently aimed at the low-budget crowd, ZTE has already provided Sprint a decently spec’d ZTE Fury smartphone and the ZTE Optik dual-core tablet. AT&T has also adopted the ZTE Avail for their GoPhone prepaid cellphone program and Metro PCS, Boost Mobile and Cricket have taken a liking to ZTE Android offerings as well.
Now, among plans for a mass produced Android global domination, ZTE has its sights set on the phablet market. Expected to launch by the end of 2012, we will see two stylus toting Android 5 inch-ers similar to the recently controversial Samsung Galaxy Note. Though we have seen some success with the G-Note, many users out there still debate whether the phone is just too small to be used as a true tablet or too large to function as a proper phone.
ZTE will accept the challenge to bring more Note-like devices into the Android arena in hopes that this Note-worthy market of users will have blossomed by the end of this year. So is anyone excited to hear about more of these devices hitting shelves in the future? Hit the source link below for details on the future plans of ZTE.
source: reuters
Categorized as Android Manufacturers, Android Phones | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
Samsung is quite busy with its upcoming plans next week, but that doesn’t mean it’s not quietly working behind the scenes on other devices set to be released in the near-future as well. The fine team at pocketnow reports the infamous Bluetooth SIG has recently published listing details for a Samsung SCH-I200. Of course the Bluetooth SIG doesn’t give much details for upcoming devices, however pocketnow cleverly used the model number to track down a GLBenchmark to find some interesting details for the smartphone. For starters, the SCH-I200 is currently going through testing with Verizon under the codename of “Jasper”. It will also be powered by a Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor clocked at 1.5GHz with a heavy heaping of Android 4.0.3 and feature a WVGA screen (as opposed to a 720P screen).
To sum everything up: this device looks like it’s one with a combination of high-end and low-end specs, similar to how it’s done with devices like the Galaxy S Blaze 4G. Perhaps Verizon wants to change the perception of what a budget phone is and introduce some quality features in devices that won’t break consumers’ wallet too much. Now that we are aware of the existence of “Jasper”, it probably won’t be too long before we see Verizon and/or Sammy come clean and reveal the device to the public.
source: pocketnow
Categorized as Android Carriers, Android Leaks & Rumours, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
Ah yes, the newest iteration of Samsung’s Unpacked App. Generally speaking, when Sammy unveils a new edition of Unpacked, it’s usually a big indicator for something big on the way. The new editions of the apps coincidentally seem to come before a major event too such as CES. To those of you who’ve been paying attention and haven’t been living under a rock for the past month, you’ll remember Sammy has a big London event next week, which is expected to introduced the most anticipated Android device for 2012. So right on cue, Samsung has released the newest app for all interested parties to see. However, you’ll note something significant in the app description: the appearance of the “S3″ and ”galaxyS3″ monikers. The only sort of direct indication we’ve gotten previously from Sammy is the upcoming Galaxy S III known as “the Next Galaxy”. This might be the first indirect confirmation of the Galaxy S III set to be revealed next week.
Of course this “S3″ appearance could be meaningless. As you might imagine, the S3 references are for keyword searches, so it really doesn’t mean anything since Sammy knows many of you are searching for S3. Despite all that, Samsung continues to just tease the masses, doesn’t it?
If you’re interested, you can find the app available now in the Play Store for all Android 2.2+ devices. You can find the Play Store link and QR code once you hit the break. » Read the rest
Categorized as Android Leaks & Rumours, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
If you have been wanting to pick up an Android 4.0 tablet at a relatively affordable price, then do I have some good news for you. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is now available at Best Buy for $249.99, which brings Ice Cream Sandwich in an easy-to-use 7″ design. The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a microSD slot with support up to 32GB for expandable storage, and a 1024×600 resolution touchscreen. Best Buy is offering the titanium silver model that gives you a snazzy-looking device to browse the Web, play games, catch up on some reading, or video chat with friends and family. A VGA camera is included on the front for video chat duty, while a three megapixel camera is on the rear. Not exactly high specs, but then again this tablet should compete nicely with the Amazon Kindle Fire. If you are interested in picking up the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, then head over to the Best Buy website to order one with free shipping or stop by your local store.
Source: Best Buy
Categorized as Android News, Android Retailers, Android Tablets | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
NFC is on of the more exciting technologies developed in recent years. We can do everything from making payments to sharing music, but now there’s yet another use for the technology: identification. Let me explain— Samsung is one of the world’s leading manufacturers that’s constantly looking for break the norm and try something new. Instead of using plastic ID keycards at its headquarters in Suwon, Sammy wants to have 40% of its employees get access to the facility by using NFC-equipped smartphones. That means to enter, employees would point their NFC-equipped device to the sensor instead of the plastic ID keycards. Very unusual, yet exciting indeed.
There are a few factors for why Sammy is trying this application of NFC out too. For starters, the development of Plastic ID cards are relatively cheap, however they are susceptible to being lost and stolen– so they’d have to be replaced immediately. While it’s ok once or twice, if the keycards are lost more frequently, the costs do add up in the end. It doesn’t help that companies such as Sammy have thousands of employees, so the costs of replacing cards grows even higher on a regular basis. However, employees are much less likely to forget, lose or drop their smartphones— meaning they’re less likely to lose their form of access to Sammy’s facility. So basically, Sammy saves a ton of money by using NFC instead of using plastic ID keycards
Sammy not only plans on using this system at its headquarters, but it also plans on implementing this at other locations later this year. With this, other companies should take notice and at the very least consider this very clever and innovative way of using NFC.
source: Unwired View
Categorized as Android Applications, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Google News | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
Are you a fan of the larger handsets such as the Galaxy Note? Were you hoping for a possible alternative? Call it a phablet if you like, LG is now poised to release their 5-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio Android phone next week, and this one’s going to be white in color. This GSM phone/tablet combo sports a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera, LTE, 1024 x 768 display, and stylus. The device is currently running on Gingerbread, but an update soon after launch to 4.0 (ICS) should be available. Initially we brought our readers a hand-on of the LG Optimus Vu from the floor or this years Mobile World Congress. This video gave a better look as to what this new LG device is all about.
We couldn’t tell you if this device will even show up in the US. Although if it does, it could give the Galaxy Note a bit of competition. What are your thoughts on this new trend with the over-sized handsets? Do they appeal to you? Let us know in the comments if you could see yourself using this Optimus Vu, or the Galaxy Note. Or would it just be awkward?
source: lg
Categorized as Android Manufacturers, Android Phones | Full Post
Apr
24
2012
We’ve been hearing about Google Drive for a long time now. For a while it seemed like an urban legend, but we have proof of its existence from a leaked screenshot and a developers video. The only question is when will it drop? The latest rumor has it for today, but we are hoping it will at least be this week. Reuters is reporting that it could drop today as well. They confirmed what we broke, and that is that it will come with 5GB. As expected, you will have an option to purchase more for a fees. What those fees are, we don’t know yet, but Reuters is hearing that they will offer up to 100GB of storage.
It’s also unclear how Google will differentiate their service from competitors like Dropbox and Box. Will they be gambling on their name or some sort of improved integration with Android? I’m hoping they will announce some sort of app data backup service so people can easily save their game progress and play where they left off on other devices. Whenever Google Drive drops, we will be sure to let you know all the details. Stay tuned.
source: reuters
Categorized as Android Applications, Android News, Google News | Full Post