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Samsung Galaxy S 4 Lands on Telus April 27th

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by Spencer McClendon on
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April 27th is a day to mark on your calendar my friends, that is if you live in Canada. Telus just issued a press release with all the juicy details about the Galaxy S 4. I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, because the date is only important if you preordered the device. If not, you are going to have to wait until May 3rd when the phone becomes available in stores.

The phone will cost you $700 off contract, or $199 with a standard three year Canadian contract plus an additional $50 data plan. You have your choice of white frost or black mist.

Continue on past the break for all the details from the Press Release  » Read the rest

Samsung issues official announcement regarding Jelly Bean update for U.S. version of Samsung Galaxy S III

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by Jeff Causey on
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As Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is taken up by more and more manufacturers on their new smartphones hitting the market in the near future, Samsung is in a bit of tight spot in trying to get their best-selling Samsung Galaxy S III updated to Jelly Bean. An update is needed to help customers who bought the popular smartphone happy and not feeling like their virtually new phone is outdated mere months after its release. Add to that news that U.K. carrier EE plans to make the Galaxy S III available with Jelly Bean pre-loaded and you have the potential to upset the early adopters. » Read the rest

Samsung Introduces TecTiles NFC Tags

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by Brian Kramer on
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We’ve been hearing for years about NFC being the next big thing in the mobile arena, and Samsung has just doubled-down by introducing TecTiles reusable NFC stickers that, when touched with an NFC enabled phone, can perform nearly any action you can dream up.  Along with the release of the NFC stickers comes an app (also called Samsung Tectile) available free in the Google Play Market.  So is this really going to be a big thing in your mobile life?  Click through to find out…

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Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 Now Available from Carrier Three UK

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by Adam Johnson on
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UK mobile carrier Three has announce today they are launching the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2. This device is the second coming of their previous Galaxy Ace. The new Galaxy Ace 2 boasts features such as a 3.8-inch screen, 5MP shooter and Front facing VGA camera to compliment, 800MHz dual core processor, and 4GB internal storage. There are a couple ways you can get you hands on this phone. One way is with a couple plans called Essential or Ultimate Internet 500 for £22 ($35) per month. Another option is the pre-paid or Pay As You Go. Purchase the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 for £230 ($363) and choose an All in One plan which offers various options which includes “all-you-can-eat data”. Which could be a great option based on the direction carriers are headed these days with the contract based plans. Hit the jump for all the details from the press release.

 

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SwiftKey 3 Beta available for download to VIP members

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by Chris Stewart on
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Ever since it arrived on the market with a Splash, third party replacement keyboard SwiftKey has gone from strength to strength. It’s still my personal keyboard of choice and has made me 27% more efficient, saved me 23,463 key strokes and corrected over 11,155 typos… apparently. There are a huge choice of replacement keyboards on the Google Play Store, each promising a different unique selling point so it’s important to keep innovating in order to stay ahead of the game. Touchtype, the developers behind SwiftKey is doing exactly that and has an exciting new update on their official website, providing that you’re a VIP member.

SwiftKey 3 Beta is available to download now in the VIP lounge and brings a number of creative new features. The highlight of the new release is ‘smart space’ a feature that detects when you’ve accidentally missed hitting the space bar and joined numerous words together, auto-correcting it for you in real time. There are a number of other improvements such as easier access to punctuation keys, improved layout and bigger keys. You will also find a number of new themes available including Ice Cream Sandwich Holo for all you Android purists out there.

We hope to see the full release hit the Play Store soon, however if you simply cannot wait then head on over to the VIP lounge and get yourself signed up. Be warned though, the servers are taking a pounding at the moment so you may need to show some patience.

You can also check out the video guide and the full press release after the break.
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Sony flagship Xperia phones set for the US via Brightstar

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by Chris Stewart on
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Living in the US and itching to get your hands on Sony’s flagship Xperia Android phones? Wireless distribution giants, Brightstar has got you covered as it’s set to bring the Xperia S, Xperia U and Xperia P to our doorsteps. No dates have been announced as yet  however watch this space as we’ll be sure to keep you posted as soon as we have more news.

President of Sony Mobile Communications North America, Paul Hamnett quoted “We are thrilled to expand Sony Mobile Communications’ presence in the U.S. with Brightstar, offering a broader range of our Xperia portfolio to consumers”

Sony is really working hard to turn around its fortunes in the Android market. Sony Ericsson never really hit the heady heights achieved by big rivals such as Samsung and Motorola, and the newly founded Sony Mobile Communications is determined to right that wrong. The new devices have arrived to critical acclaim , if Sony can back that up with a solid worldwide distribution strategy then it may well be on the verge of an impressive turnaround.

Will you be looking to pick up Sony’s latest offering over that of Smasung, HTC, Motorola et al? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to check out the full press release from Brightstar after the break.

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8GB NOOK Available Now for $199, NOOK Color Reduced to $169

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by Stacy Bruce on
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Today, Barnes & Noble officially announced the smaller 8GB version of the NOOK tablet. The device is pretty much the same as the original 16GB model except it has half the storage capacity and 512MB or RAM instead of 1GB. The new 8GB NOOK is going to run $50 less than the original and will sell for $199, available now online and in stores. This new version of the eReader will now be in direct competition with the uber popular Kindle Fire and it will be interesting to see how the two tablet’s sales figures will compare head to head.

Along with the 8GB NOOK announcement, Barnes & Noble today also announced the the NOOK Color will now be offered at the discounted rate of $169. You can read the full press release after the break.  » Read the rest

Panasonic Reveals Water/Dust Proof 4.3-Inch OLED Phone, Destined for European Markets

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by Stacy Bruce on
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A few weeks ago, we told you about Panasonic’s goal to take on smartphone markets outside of Japan and ultimately reach annual sales of 7.5 million units by 2015. Their first attempt will be in the European markets with a new 4.3-inch OLED smartphone that was just announced. Not many details were given other than it will be an ultra slim, D-shaped device that is water and dust resistant. It seems like if they want consumers to get excited about the device they would at least give us some detailed specs to go along with these mediocre pictures.

According to the press release, ambitions are high and Panasonic hopes to push this phone worldwide and ship 5 million units in the next fiscal year. With all the great devices available these days, Panasonic is really going to have to hit a home run if they don’t want to be disappointed. Take LG for example. Like Pannasonic, they have been quite successful with consumer electronics but have not quite been able to harness the mobile device market just yet. Only time will tell I guess.

As soon as we get some specs (let alone a name) we will let you know more. Join us after the break for the full press release.

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Amazon’s Kindle Fire Will Have Access to Android Apps but Not Via The Android Market

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by Stacy Bruce on
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It appears that Amazon didn’t want their Kindle Fire to get lost in the hype of all the latest tablet news and released some new info with hopes to re-kindle the fire. After today’s Asus Transformer Prime announcement, Amazon dropped a new press release describing the ins and outs of its latest tablet endeavor, and yes, its Android powered.

Will the Kindle Fire be an Android tablet? Will we have access to the Android Market? These have been questions on all of our minds and the answer is yes and no. Literally in that order. The Kindle Fire is powered by Android but will be accompanied by a custom UI, unfortunately you will not have access to the Android Market with the official build of the OS (but you can bet the devs will cook something up!). You will though, have access to thousands of apps via Amazon’s very own market, the Amazon Appstore. Here, check out what Amazon has to offer:

When Kindle Fire customers across the country open their boxes next week, they will be able to choose from several thousand of the most popular Android apps and games, including Netflix, Rhapsody, Pandora, Twitter, Comics by comiXology, Facebook, The Weather Channel and popular games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio. Kindle Fire customers will be able to download these apps and games without having to register multiple times and using Amazon’s simple and secure 1-Click payment technology. Plus, all apps are Amazon-tested on Kindle Fire for the best experience possible, customers can get a great “paid” app for free every day, and once you’ve downloaded an app from the Amazon Appstore, it’s available on Kindle Fire as well as your other Android-based devices.

So there you have it. Another official Android tablet. And this one is only $199! Any one pre-ordered yet?

Jump past the break for the full press release.

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U.S. Cellular Launching 4G LTE in 2012, Rollout to Cover “Select Cities” in Six Different States

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by Stacy Bruce on
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Yesterday, U.S. Cellular announced the impending launch of its 4G LTE network, saying that they have plans to cover about 25 percent of its footprint in the initial rollout. Throughout the announcement there is no mention of which markets would be a part of the first LTE push, but the carrier just issued a press release detailing a few cities that will be included within the initial launch.

  • Iowa: Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Des Moines
  • Maine: Portland and Bangor
  • North Carolina: Greenville
  • Wisconsin: Madison, Milwaukee, and Racine

U.S. Cellular also confirmed that markets in Texas and Oklahoma will be included as well, but didn’t specify which cities. With new LTE coverage comes new LTE handsets, and U.S. Cellular is currently testing devices that should be available in the first quarter of 2012. No word on which devices are being considered, but you can assume most of them will be Android based.

Join us after the break for the full press release. » Read the rest

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