Home Blog Page 1286

Android Jellybean 4.1 Announced, coming in July: Here’s what comes with it

AndroidGuys
-
0

Finally, Google has announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (That’s two words, not one!) at Google I/O, with a release in July. So now, you’re thinking, what comes with it? Lets take a look:

Expanded Notifications

Notifications in the pull-down menu will now give out more information, and will be fully expandable, meaning you can do actions straight from the notifications menu. Miss a call? Call them back OR message them from the pull-down. See the body of an email. Reply to all attendees of a calendar invite. Like and reply to social media. Sounds great!

Google Now

Google Now is really cool.Google now is an intuitive feature that strives to make your whole life easier. Have a calendar notification with a location attached? Google Now will figure out your usual travel method to the location, map it out using that travel method, calculate the time needed to get there, and set a reminder for you to leave at that time. Public transit? No problem, it’ll even calculate stops. It will also show you places of interest on your route, and keep you updated on sports scores, flights, currency rates, etc., all while keeping you organized.

Project Butter

We’ve all experienced some lag with our Android devices. Now, Google is looking to fix that with “Project Butter”. Visualizations of corn-on-the-cob aside, this is exciting. While ICS always aspired to get the lag out of Android, it never quite seemed to “get there”. While ICS always relied mostly on UI improvements, Jelly Bean actually works under the hood to bring more optimization. For example: when you touch the screen, the CPU will automatically ramp up so it responds better. And how about 60FPS? Sounds good on this end.

Offline Voice Actions

Who hasn’t tried to use Google Voice Actions in a place where data is, well, not so great? It’s a frustrating experience to say the least. With Google Voice Actions coming offline from the cloud, you can use it without ever having a data connection.

Knowledge Graph

Knowledge Graph aims to change the way you search (again). If your search is easily recognized by Google, your device will display a results card, with all the pertinent information. Weather searches will display all types of weather info relative to you, rather than just search results. Contacts will come up with a contact card. You can also swipe the card away to view standardized results.

Camera Gestures

More gestures are also coming, with pinch to zoom, left swipe for camera roll, pinch in to expand gallery, and more.

Auto-Resizing Home Screen Widgets

Who hasn’t wanted this?? Gone are the days of “no more room on the screen” notifications (unless your screen is actually full), and icons will auto-rearrange around it.

So, what do you, the reader, think? Let us know in the comments!

Google Nexus 7 is here, launching in mid-July

AndroidGuys
-
0

Ladies and gentlemen, the day is finally here when we see the first ever Google-branded tablet. Behold, the Google Nexus 7, an Android 4.1 tablet manufactured by ASUS. There’s no doubt that in it Google and ASUS have just made the most perfect Android tablet, and it’s beautiful as well. It will be launched with Android 4.1 along with the apps, games, books, magazines, and music from the amazing Google Play store.

Nexus 7 will be available in mid-July from the Google Play store for only $199, though it’s currently available for pre-order. As a bonus, if you order now, you will get a $25 gift card to spend in the Play Store. It makes the Google Nexus 7 the cheapest and yet most powerful tablet available in Android sphere. Have a look at the main specs:

  • 7-inch 1280 x 800 HD display
  • Tegra 3 quad-core 4-PLUS-1 processor
  • 12 core GPU
  • Front facing camera
  • 9 hours of of continuous video playback

There’s no rear camera in the Nexus 7, so maybe Google thinks that taking pictures from a tablet is appropriate and awkward. That’s about all that we know about the Nexus 7, and I am really happy to see this amazing masterpiece from Google and ASUS. Don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comment box below.

Source: Google

Samsung Galaxy S III review

Scott Webster
-
0

What we liked: The Samsung Galaxy S III is heavy on hardware, but even heavier on experience. The leading-edge specs easily put it at the top of the Android mountain, however its the personal touches that will see this phone selling like hotcakes.

Room for improvement: A little slipperier than we’d like, the phone backside is also quick to pick up smudges.  And, even though it’s more narrow than other large display handsets, it’s still not easy to operate with one hand. Some of the front-facing camera features could be more accurate.

Review at a glance: Putting the fanboy-imposed expectations aside and looking at the phone from a general consumer standpoint, the Galaxy S III is an all-around winner.  The Android 4.0 experience only gets better with Samsung’s custom features.  Sharing is the name of the game here and mobile users will be sharing their love of the Galaxy S III this summer

Before we go any further

As one of the most anticipated samrtphones of all time, the Galaxy S III has a lot to live up to.  In case you missed it, rumors and speculation were rampant this spring over what hardware was going to be for Samsung’s flagship device.  When it was announced, it featured pretty much all of the upper-tier stuff we expected, and the masses were sufficiently pleased.  Yet, despite its top of the line hardware, all the dual-core this, 2GB that, and other hardware won’t be what gets people chatting.  For the first time since the G1, it’s what this phone does that makes me show it off.

I love to take review phones out in the wild to see what friends and family say about them and the Galaxy S III was no different.  Would people see its white design and massive screen and ask me about it? Yes.  Would I end up talking about its 2GB RAM and 8-megapixel camera?  Only to show off burst mode, best shot, and other cool tricks.  It’s not that the hardware was embarrassing or second-rate, it’s just that’s not what average users care about.  Because of that, this review will largely focus on the “stuff” that Samsung did with this phone that separates it from other higher end smartphones.

A bit on the hardware

What’s not to love here?  The dual-core 1.5GHz CPU is quicker than anything your typical consumer needs and it shines when doing your mundane stuff like downloading apps, playing games, checking calendar, and playing with media.  Paired with 2GB RAM, the Galaxy S III is ultra-fast and more than able to handle whatever you throw it at.

The 4.8-inch 1280×720 display is downright gorgeous and will grab the attention of anyone within range.  Surrounded by its white shell, the handset looks clean, classy, and sophisticated. The screen is is protected by Gorilla Glass so I know it’s going to handle pockets and purses just fine.  We sincerely missed the Gorilla Glass tech on the Galaxy Nexus and were only too pleased to learn it made the trip.

Colors are more natural than in previous Super AMOLED models and the clarity cannot be overstated.  Sure, there’s IPS stuff out there on other models but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t appreciate the Galaxy S III display.

Even with its 2100mAh battery inside, the Galaxy S III feels light, yet never cheap.  Yes, you can bend that battery cover in all sorts of taco shapes, but it’s pretty strong and resilient stuff.  Feeling like a shinier, more expensive version of last year’s Galaxy S II, the handset is taller and slimmer than its predecessor.  Speaking of  battery, we’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well it holds up over the course of a day. It’s not a Droid Razr Maxx, but we expected less time with the 4.8-inch display and all the goofing around.  Off the charger, we were able to go all day long, five days straight.  The first two days were weekend and the times we really installed our apps, took a chunk of photos and video, and more.  A normal workday?  Should be more than fine, if not as good as your current smartphone.

The 8-megapixel camera marries the tech from the Galaxy Nexus with the higher resolution stuff from other Samsung models.  What’s more, the addition of new features makes sure that it’s not just pixel count that folks worry about.

The experience that matters

Staying with the camera, we really love the near-zero shutter lag, 8 picture burst mode, and Best Shot.  We tested the various features over the weekend with kids playing in the pool and were impressed with the single shots around the water.  Switched to Best Shot and Burst Shot, we grabbed dozens of candid shots of children jumping off diving boards, playing with squirt guns, and going down the slide.  It was perhaps the camera features alone that had friends and family asking to see what we were doing.  Handing the phone off to demo for a moment, the general reaction when giving it back was, “That’s my next phone!”

Resized from 3264×2448 but not edited or retouched.

There are also other features in the camera and its app that we really dig, including the smile detection, panoramic mode, HDR, and Buddy Photo Share face tagging. Upon taking a photo of various people, the phone will ask if you’d like to identify the person(s) in the photo.  Once you tell it who is in the picture, the Galaxy S III will automatically tag and sort images around them.  Similarly, it’s easy to access all of those specific photos in your gallery and share them with contacts.  The front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera was great for self-portrait shots and video chat, however we didn’t spend too much time on this front.

The Samsung Galaxy S III has a terrific feature called Smart Stay, which utilizes the front-facing camera to keep a watch on your eyes while browsing the internet, read documents, and other apps.  Designed to keep your phone from falling asleep on you, it ensures you don’t have to tap the screen to keep it awake while you try to figure out what OMGWTFBBQKTXBAI means.  Results varied here however the brighter environments always worked better than dimly light bedrooms or living rooms.

 

Much will be said about the “wannabe-Siri” in S Voice and how it’s almost as good of an experience.  I loved it and think the average user will be pleased with the way it handles voice requests and commands.  There’s a sizable list of things that can be done here, including checking weather, Google searches, countdowns, timers, alarm clocks, appointments, phone settings, navigation, messages, emails, and more.  No, you can’t ask if the Red Sox are winning right now, but it’s more handy than anything else you’ve used so far.  We found the feature able to recognize commands and questions in ways that we were comfortable.  In other words, we didn’t have to learn how to ask it questions with particular phrasing or pacing.

NFC and other sharing features

With so many devices coming with NFC support, it was not a surprise to learn that the Galaxy S III had an NFC chip inside.  What pleased us, however, was how Samsung was able to take the tech beyond mobile payments and the narrow perception it carries.  With TecTiles, users can program these postage-stamp sized stickers with whatever commands or tasks they’d like.  Put one on your nightstand and tap it before you go to sleep to turn off the ringer and Wi-Fi.  Stick one in the car and enable driving mode with the a simple bump.  Parents should set one of these in the house and program it to send off a “I’m home and safe” message for kids getting home from school. There’s a seemingly endless number of things you could make TecTiles do and at $14.99 for 5-pack, it’s a cheap way to smarten things up.

Introduced as Android Beam with Android 4.0, Samsung takes the sharing option to another level with S Beam. Paired with Wi-Fi Direct connection, this lets users share all kinds of content to other devices with a simple tap.  Once paired, it’s a breeze to share pictures, video, web content, contact info, and more.

Along those same lines, AllShare gives users the ability to share movies, photos, music, and more with Samsung Smart TV’s, DLNA-capable devices, and other options. Watching a movie on your phone?  Why not push it out to the projector or television?  The same goes for files you’ve got store in the cloud, or outside of your home.  Just look for the logo in the corner and share it!

Bottom line

Hype confirmed.  This handset is everything we’d expect out of Samsung’s flagship device on just about every front imaginable.  Thanks to a unified branding and singular form factor, across multiple providers, there will be no mistaking one of these as better than the other.  And, since it’s so widely available, the Galaxy S III stands as good a chance as any to knock the iPhone down another notch.  With Samsung’s new smartphone you’ll come for the gorgeous and stay for the experience.  Yes, some of the features can be found in third party apps or on other devices, however it’s presented in a total package with which we’ve fallen fast in love.

EDITOR NOTE: We reviewed the AT&T and Sprint versions of the Galaxy S III and found them to be identical in every facet, save for data speeds.  Look for the Galaxy S III at AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, and C Spire Wireless.

Toshiba Excite 13 review

Scott Webster
-
0

What we liked: The Toshiba Excite 13 is not only a great desktop companion but its NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor provides an immerse gaming experience.  Android 4.0 is a plus, and the front-facing camera is better than expected.  We also applaud Toshiba’s decision to include a full SD card slot.

Room for improvement: The Excite 13 is 13-inches so it’s not meant for much use outside of the living room or office.  Select videos, apps, and assorted content don’t take advantage of the screen size as well as we’d like.  The $649 sticker will turn a lot of people away.

Review at a glance: As powerful as any other tablet we’ve reviewed, the Excite 13 is a polarizing experience.  Perfect for use on the couch or on the desk, there is simply nothing portable here.  Works wonderful as a second screen experience in the office and in more permanent settings.  Toshiba is headed in the right direction with Android tablets, however this is one that won’t see mass adoption.

The best second screen experience yet

Whether for yourself or for a loved one, finding the right size for an Android tablet is not something that’s easy to do.  Even I regularly bounce back and forth between loving a 10-inch experience and really appreciating the portability of a 7-inch model.  Toss in those occasional 8.9-inch models and things get muddy pretty quickly.  That said, when Toshiba asked if I’d like to review a 13-inch Toshiba Excite 13, I jumped at the chance.  How would I find the experience?  Would it be cumbersome in a way that often sees me leaving it alone or would I try to take this thing everywhere I went?  As it turns out, it was both.  Consider that an analogy to how the consumer market might view the Toshiba Excite 13.

Make no mistakes about this tablet, it’s massive.  Compared to a 10-inch device, it’s night and day.  Compared to a 7-inch model?  It’s laughable.  Days into use, I’m torn on whether I feel the Toshiba Excite 13 falls under “bigger is better” umbrella or if it’s “too much of a good thing…” For that very reason, I cannot imagine spending $650 (or more) on the tablet.  Priced lower, I would not have a tough time recommending the device for people who like their tablet semi-stationary.

I’ll not bore you with benchmarks or how it performs as compared to other tablets, but will recap a bit of the key hardware.  Specs include 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera, front-facing camera, headphone jack, microHDMI, and microUSB.  Weighing 2.2 pounds, the tablet measures 13.5 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches.

Preconceived notions

I initially subscribed to the notion of “we love 13-inch notebooks, so why not tablets” but now understand why we don’t.  Netbooks and notebooks are designed to sit on your lap, letting you type comfortably.  Tablets, on the other hand, require that you give one hand to holding the device and using the other to peck away.  And while the Excite 13 offers a nearly full-sized keyboard experience, I could not help but worry that the tablet was going to slide off my legs.  Elevating a bit to keep this from happening, the tablet slides down to the waistline and makes for a wonky experience.

What works well and what doesn’t?

It took me all of one day to figure how to best use the Excite 13, and that was setting it on a tablet stand and putting it next to my office monitor.  Using a Bluetooth keyboard, the 13.3-inch tablet felt wonderful on apps like Gmail, Twitter, Hoostuite, and Chrome.  There’s nothing quite as comfortable as reading with Pocket, Kindle, or Nook apps and IMDb was a real pleasure as a couch companion.  Netflix?  This streaming movie and TV service, as well as YouTube and Google Play Movies, really shines on the Excite 13.

Dwarfing a 10-inch Motorola Xoom

Thanks to the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, games run without a hitch and graphics shine on the large display.  Unfortunately, many of the games we’ve come to love on smartphones and smaller tablets simply didn’t feel as fun on the 13.3-inch screen.   Don’t get me wrong, Angry Birds was flawless, but games that require button pressing and D-pad stuff…?  No thanks.   That said, a Bluetooth gaming controller changes everything again as the tablet becomes a monitor.

The more I use tablets, the less I find myself caring about rear cameras.  I often find it silly to see someone record video or take pictures with anything bigger than 7-inches and this only amplified my feelings.  I would feel like an idiot holding this thing up in a crowd or at a little league game and suspect many others would.  On the other hand, front facing cameras are becoming increasingly more important and useful.  The Toshiba Excite 13 provides a great experience here and apps like Google+ and Skype work exceptionally well.

You know how, every once in while, you encounter apps that don’t scale well on larger tablets?  The Toshiba Excite 13 shines a bright light on these titles and really makes these select apps look terrible.  The same goes for the occasional video which doesn’t fit all that nice in the 1600X900 resolution.

Battery life for the tablet is rather decent, and is promised to be 13 hours of usage.  Given that we kept ours next to the desk and on a stand, we charged ours on a semi-regular basis.  Those days where we took the tablet out and about for extended periods, we found the Excite 13 lasted all day long, despite its massive screen.

Wrapping up

Some of the additional things I enjoyed with the Toshiba Excite 13 include the screen orientation lock button, micro-HDMI port, and SD card slot.  Toshiba’s Audio Enhancement feature lets users access SRS sound settings and the  Ambient Noise Equalizer adjusts the volume based on the amount of noise in your vicinity.  Likewise, the speakers were loud and clear, something I fully expected given the amount of space available in the design.

Toshiba does install its own suite of applications, many of which aren’t all that bad.  Seasoned Android users might have their own favorites, however the preloaded selection is a decent mix of fun and function.

Four times the size of a 7-inch tablet, but 1/4 the portability.

Weighing a shade over 2 pounds, it’s easy to mistake the tablet as initially feeling light.  Use it for more than ten minutes and it becomes obvious that it’s not.  Held in landscape mode, it’s nothing you want to do with one hand.  Turned on its end and held in portrait mode, I felt like Moses with one of his famed tablets.

Summarily, if you ultimately consider a Toshiba Excite 13 for yourself, you will need to also factor in a tablet stand and Bluetooth keyboard.  These two accessories are almost a necessity if you want to use it in a productive manner.  Starting at roughly $650 for the tablet alone, you could find yourself spending another $100 or more for some essentials.  I’m a fan of the Toshiba hardware and their tablets as a whole, but recommendation of the Excite 13 is a case-by-case decision.

AT&T announces 4G LTE Sony Xperia ion for June 24

Scott Webster
-
0

AT&T today announced the pricing and availability for the Sony’s first 4G LTE smartphone, the Xperia ion. Expected to hit stores on June 24, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich handset will cost $99.99 with a two-year service agreement.

Hardware for the Xperia ion is quite nice and includes a large 4.6-inch 720p HD LCD display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 16GB internal storage, and 12-megapixel camera. On the subject of software and user experience, the Xperia benefits from having PlaySation certification, Sony Video Unlimited, and Sony Music Unlimited services.

Although it’s not quite as polished and sexy as its international NXT brethren, the Xperia ion is a powerful package with a wallet-friendly price.  Let’s hope this is a sign of bigger, better things out of Sony here in the United States.

 

EXPERIENCE HD ENTERTAINMENT EVERYWHERE WITH XPERIA™ ION FROM SONY, AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT AT&T JUNE 24

Sony’s First 4G LTE Smartphone Ideal for Creating and Showcasing Premium Entertainment with Video, Photo, Music and Gaming

DALLAS, June 14, 2012 – Entertainment fans longing for a better mobile HD experience will soon have an all-new 4G LTE Android smartphone to covet as the Xperia ion from Sony arrives exclusively in all AT&T* channels June 24.  The new Xperia ion builds on Sony’s reputation as an innovator and leader in imaging and entertainment and costs just $99.99 with a two-year agreement.

AT&T customers have access to the nation’s largest 4G network, covering more than 260 million people. As 4G LTE expands, AT&T customers are able to enjoy a widespread, ultra-fast and consistent 4G experience on their compatible device as they move in and out of LTE areas. AT&T has two 4G networks that work together for customers, LTE and HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. With other carriers, when you travel outside of their LTE coverage area, you’re on a much slower 3G network.

Sony’s first 4G LTE smartphone comes with a 4.6-inch HD Reality display (1280 x 720), as well as the ability to view HD content on the big screen via HDMI. The HDMI connection also opens the Xperia ion’s TV launcher, a customizable home screen carousel of application shortcuts. You can navigate the TV launcher and the rest of the Xperia ion’s menus at your convenience using your TV’s remote control.***

Shutterbugs will love the Xperia ion’s 12-megapixel Fast Capture camera and quick launch feature to seize life’s unexpected moments. With its dedicated camera button, the Xperia ion swiftly goes from standby to first camera shot in just 1.5 seconds and then from shot-to-shot in less than a second, ensuring you don’t miss a moment.  Xperia ion boasts all-around HD video recording, so whether capturing memories or video chatting, you can be sure to have high-quality video on the go using either your rear or front-facing cameras.

Xperia ion is complemented by SmartTags****, which let you do things you normally do on your phone, but more quickly and easily, with just one tap.  Using near field communication technology, SmartTags let you store device preferences for a variety of locations and situations – like opening and controlling volume on the music player if you head out for a run, turning on GPS and Bluetooth in the car or turning on your alarm and silencing your ringer at night.

Sony Entertainment on the Go

Taking your music and videos with you everywhere just got easier than ever thanks to the Sony Entertainment Network (SEN). Sony Music Unlimited puts a global catalog of more than12 million songs at your fingertips, and Sony Video Unlimited makes sure there is never a dull moment with the latest Hollywood blockbusters and TV shows from all major studios available for you to rent or buy.

For the Xperia ion, both Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited are available for download from the Google Play store.  AT&T customers who buy the Xperia ion will get to try the premium service level of Music Unlimited free for thirty days.  The Xperia ion is also ready for advanced gaming as it is PlayStation® Certified. The hardware is optimized to deliver an exceptional gaming experience and users will have future access to PlayStation titles as the catalog is developed.  With so much entertainment to be enjoyed, the Xperia ion comes with plenty of internal memory, with the option to add up to 32GB external (microSD™) memory.

For more information, customers can visit http://www.att.com/aboutus.

Key Specs:

  • 4.6″ (measured diagonally) 720p HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine for unbeatable HD viewing
  • HD imaging excellence from Sony: 12MP camera with Exmor R™ for Mobile camera sensor, 1080p HD video recording on primary camera, 720p HD front-facing chat camera
  • Easy multi-screen connectivity with HDMI and DLNA®
  • 1.5Ghz dual core processor
  • 16GB internal memory with microSD™ expansion slot supports up to 32GB
  • PlayStation Certified for high quality mobile gaming

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

**Data rates apply.

***Compatible with Bravia Sync enabled devices.  Limited functionality supported on most HDMI enabled TV’s.

****SmartTags sold separately.

Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets.  4G speeds delivered by LTE, or HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul, where available.  Deployment ongoing.  Compatible device and data plan required. LTE is a trademark of ETSI.  Learn more at att.com/network.

iHome iC50 FM Stereo Alarm Clock review

Scott Webster
-
0

What’s the last thing you do before you fall asleep at night?  Assuming you make it to bed and have the presence of mind, you generally do the same thing each night.  Chances are good that you plug your phone in and/or set your phone alarm.  Why not do both, and more, with iHome’s iC50 FM Stereo Alarm Clock?

Doesn't matter if it's Samsung, HTC, Motorola...

We’ve spent the last few nights falling asleep next to the iC50 and have come to like having it on the nightstand.  Designed to work with any Android handset with a headphone jack and microUSB port, the device charges you up and plays your music at the same time.  The SmartSlide dock lets you plug in your phone in landscape or portrait mode and fits everything we threw at it.  The lip of the stand could be a little bigger but we’re happy nonetheless.

Thanks to built-in speakers with ‘Reson8 speaker chambers and EXB bass enhancement”, you’ll be drifting off to sleep with a Slacker Radio lullaby that sounds louder and clearer than your phone. Prefer to listen to some local radio instead?  The iHome iC50 has you covered there, too.

How big is the iC50?  Picture one of those square tissue boxes that you send to school and you’ve got a good reference point. It’s compact and clean with responsive buttons and a cord long enough to reach behind the table or bed.  While the sound is not loud enough to fill a room, it’s plenty for a sleeping environment or…ahem, you know.

Like any other alarm clock, the iC50 lets you wake up to music or notification tones, however there’s a bit more play with a physical device.  The clock face has a couple of dimmer options to choose from and looks great from a distance.  For an added experience you can also download the iHome app from Google Play and set up some custom alarms.

Normally priced at $59.99, we were able to find the iHome iC50 ten bucks cheaper at Amazon. Seeing that it falls under $50, this would make a good gift for that Android lover headed off to college this fall.

Samsung announces Galaxy S III for five U.S. carriers

Scott Webster
-
0

Samsung today confirmed that the Galaxy S III would be coming to five U.S. wireless providers, putting to bed some pretty exciting rumors.  In fact, it was not so much of an “if” but rather a “when” it was going to happen.   Much as we had hoped and expected, Samsung will deliver the same form function and design across all releases of the handset.  According to Samsung, the Galaxy S III will start arriving in June for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular.  Pricing will start “as low as” $199 but exact costs and launch dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

UPDATE:

Samsung Galaxy S III Coming To Five Major Carriers Beginning in June

 In an industry first, Samsung delivers the same iconic smartphone design and premium content sharing experience with customized AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular services starting from $199 

DALLAS — June 4, 2012 — U.S. consumers on five major service providers will now be able to own the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S® III. Galaxy S III, optimized for peak performance on the nation’s fastest 4G LTE and HSPA+ 42 networks, will be launching with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular starting in June. Exact pricing and retail availability will be announced by each of the five carriers in the coming weeks.

“The U.S. launch of the Galaxy S III is the most anticipated launch of the year. As promised, we are delivering the ‘next big thing’ for U.S. customers and across all major carriers,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. “Galaxy S III introduces new technological innovation and takes sharing to the next level.”

With the Galaxy S III, Samsung is setting a new standard for smartphones. This device was designed to be lightweight, durable and powerful. The Galaxy S III weighs 4.7 ounces and is 8.6 millimeters thin, making it lighter and sleeker than other leading smartphones, including several competitor models with smaller displays. The brilliant 4.8 inch display extends to an ultra-thin bezel to maximize the viewing area. The Galaxy S III delivers impressive processing power to allow more applications to be accessible simultaneously.

The Galaxy S III goes far beyond content consumption to content sharing. Continuing its history of innovation, Samsung has simplified how consumers share content and control the device with a single touch, through enhanced gesture technology or the simple movement of the eyes.

Sharing Made Simple

The content sharing experience on the Galaxy S III addresses the sharing needs of consumers, whether it’s sharing and editing a presentation with a large group in real-time, sending digital images to several other smartphones at the same time or transferring large files within seconds from one phone to another. Further, these sharing experiences are simple and require little, if any, set-up.

Sharing With Multiple Devices

The Galaxy S III introduces the next evolution of Samsung’s content sharing service with AllShare® Play. This service automatically notifies the Galaxy S III to Samsung HDTVs, mobile tablets, laptops and other consumer electronic devices on the same network that are ready to receive video files. Users can also remotely access files from devices on other networks.

Sharing with Groups

With AllShare Group Cast on the Galaxy S III and a Wi-Fi network, users can share and collaborate on documents, presentations or images in real-time with multiple friends or co-workers’ without loading the file separately.

With Share Shot, become the official photographer for a group of friends. There’s no need to send photos and video via email, MMS or a USB drive. Users can quickly and seamlessly share pictures taken with the Galaxy S III’s 8 megapixel camera to other phones from up to 200 feet away. Once the Galaxy S III is synched with chosen devices, the pictures are automatically shared.

Sharing Smartphone to Smartphone

S-Beam is an industry first, providing fast, easy transfer of large files, such as videos and documents, with a single touch of the Galaxy S III without needing a Wi-Fi connection or cell signal. A 1GB movie file can be shared as quickly as three minutes and a 10MB music file can be transferred in seconds by simply touching another GALAXY S III phone.

Smartphone Simplicity

The S-Voice™ feature on the Galaxy S III offers much more than just asking and answering questions.  S-Voice allows users to control the applications and services used most with words instead of touch. Use S-Voice to turn the volume up or down on the music player, answer or reject incoming calls, shut off or choose to snooze the alarm clock, or take a picture by saying “smile” or “cheese.”

Smart Stay puts the “smart” in smartphones. With Smart Stay, the Galaxy S III tracks the user’s eye to ensure the device screen is always on while you’re looking at it. By knowing when you are looking at the screen, it doesn’t dim the backlight or timeout to an idle screen.

Motion simplifies and short cuts many common functions including converting a text message to a call by simply raising the phone to the ear, tapping the top of the phone to go to the top of an email and list of emails or contacts, and alerting to missed call or text message.

The capabilities of the Galaxy S III’s 8 megapixel camera are far beyond point and shoot. Burst Shot captures still pictures at a rapid-fire pace at three images per second with zero shutter lag; and Best Shot recommends the best picture to keep based on colors, lighting and clarity. The Galaxy S III shoots and plays back 1080p HD quality video with a backside illuminated sensor that improves performance in low light environments, and provides the ability to capture a photo during videoing

Watching video while downloading a large file or service is seamless with Pop Up Play. Pop Up Play allows you to watch any side-loaded video content while operating any application in full-screen, background view at the same time. Video running on Pop Up Play can be moved anywhere on top of the full screen, much like picture-in-picture capabilities on large screen TVs.

Powerful Performance

The Galaxy S III includes Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with TouchWiz enhancements, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5 GHz dual core CPU and 2GB of internal RAM to provide high-speed performance enabling efficient and seamless multi-tasking. The dual-core processor offers competitive speeds and performance as leading quad-core processors without sacrificing valuable battery life. The brilliant 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED™ touchscreen display brings content to life, without compromising the device’s true pocketability. The expansive display is protected by Gorilla Glass 2.0 to guard against cracks and scratches and provide enhanced touchscreen responsiveness.

The Galaxy S III, which comes in Marble White and Pebble Blue, is powered by a removable 2100 mAh battery for extended use on a single charge. Users can store large libraries of photos, videos and music onboard the Galaxy S III with expandable memory to compliment the standard 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage.

“The Galaxy S III is the most innovative smartphone on the market today. It is an industry first to see five major carriers align behind the launch of a single device virtually simultaneously,” said Todd Pendleton, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Telecommunications America. “To support the immense excitement for the Galaxy S III we will execute our biggest marketing campaign ever. Consumers won’t be able to miss why this device is the must-have smartphone.”

For more information:

 

1 Number one mobile phone provider in the U.S. and global claim for Samsung Mobile based upon reported shipment data, according to Strategy Analytics, Q1 2012 U.S. Market Share and Global Market Share Handset Shipment Reports.

Samsung, Galaxy, AllShare, S Voice and Super AMOLED are all trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 

About Samsung Mobile

Samsung Mobile (Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC), a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsungwireless.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2011 consolidated sales of US$143.1 billion. Employing approximately 206,000 people in 197 offices across 72 countries, the company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine independent business units: Digital Media & Communications, comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LED. Recognized for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

Sony announces sleek, durable and water resistant Xperia go, Xperia acro S

Scott Webster
-
0

Sony today announced a pair of new Android smartphones in the Xperia line, both of which are sexy, slim, and pretty darn rugged. Expected in the third quarter of the year (Q3 ’12), the Xperia go and Xperia acro S bring durability and water resistance to the sleek and familiar form factor.

On the lower end we have the Xperia go which runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread (4.0 update expected) and features a dual-core 1GHz processor.  The screen is  a 3.5-inch Reality display with a scratch resistant material and support for wet finger tracking.  Additional details include a 5-megapixel camera, IP67 dust and water resistance rating, and preloaded software in the form of Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited from Sony.  Available in black, white, and yellow options, look for this one in the United States under the name of Xperia advance.

 

Moving up the line a bit, the Xperia acro S is a big, beautiful handset that also happens to be rugged and powerful.  Specs are impressive and include a 4.3-inch 720p HD Reality Display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, and 12-megapixel camera.  Designed to withstand scratches, water, and dust, it’s the prettiest smartphone we’ve seen in this space yet.  Like the Xperia go, the Xperia acro S also comes with the preloaded Sony content however this one is also PlayStation Certified!

 

Pricing and carrier availability for both models will be announced as we draw closer to the second half of the year.

Xperia go

  • 3.5” Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine gives razor sharp clarity
  • 5MP fast capture camera goes from sleep to snap in just over a second
  • Scratch resistant mineral glass display with wet finger tracking
  • Highest level of dust and water resistance in a smartphone – IP67 Rating
  • 1Ghz dual core processor gives consumers super fast performance
  • Launching on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgradeable to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
  • Available in black, white and yellow colours

Xperia acro S

  • 4.3” 720p HD Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine gives razor sharp clarity
  • 12MP fast capture camera goes from sleep to snap in just over a second with a single key press
  • PlayStation™ Certified
  • Full 1080p HD video recording and 720p HD front camera
  • Scratch resistant mineral glass display with wet finger tracking
  • IP55 and IP57 Ratings for dust and water resistance
  • 1.5Ghz dual core processor gives consumers super fast performance
  • Launching on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
  • Available in black, white and pink colours

Sony

Google officially acquires Motorola Mobility, looks down the road

Scott Webster
-
0

Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility has been officially cleared and completed, according to a post on Google’s blog today.  Google CEO Larry Page tells us that the nine-month process has wrapped and that Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha has resigned his post.  In his place will be Google’s own Dennis Woodside as he looks to take things into the future of smartphones and mobile tech.

“Motorola literally invented the entire mobile industry with the first-ever commercial cell phone in 1983. Thirty years later, mobile devices are at the center of the computing revolution.  Our aim is simple: to focus Motorola Mobility’s remarkable talent on fewer, bigger bets, and create wonderful devices that are used by people around the world.”  – Dennis Woodside

Larry Page’s comments indicate that we might not want to look for immediate results or set high expectations this early in the game.  The bigger picture stuff is where this new company is focused, with loftier, all-encompassing long-term goals.

It’s a well known fact that people tend to overestimate the impact technology will have in the short term, but underestimate its significance in the longer term. Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound–as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone. That’s why it’s a great time to be in the mobile business, and why I’m confident Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.

Google | Press release

Flygrip: The one-handed accessory you never knew you needed [review]

AndroidGuys
-
0

Have a big phone? A big tablet? Little hands? Slippery hands? Here’s what it comes down to: if you can answer yes to any of these, then you need a Flygrip. What’s a Flygrip, you ask? Here’s a video to give you an idea. Basically, it’s a small accessory that goes on the back of your device and uses your middle and ring finger as a stabilizer and your index finger as a counterweight, so you can use your device one-handed.

With my Galaxy SII’s massive screen, I was constantly having to do some major hand acrobatics to use my phone one-handed, if I could ever even do it at all. Enter the Flygrip. This device has not only made it so that I can use the device with one hand, but it allows me to simply keep a better grip on it, even when I’m using it with two hands. And one-handed swyping? This thing makes it a breeze.

Need more? How about this: the Flygrip also gives you a built in kickstand. Simply take the back piece, insert it into the built-in slot, and you’re watching movies hands free.

The package comes with the Flygrip itself, padding for the finger slats for smaller hands, extra adhesive, an alcohol swab for cleaning, paperwork, and – I’ll admit it – a REALLY cool box.

If you struggle with using your device (phone or tablet) with one hand, then you need to check this out. Be sure to hit up their website here and get you one. They run about $30 each.

1...1,2851,2861,287...1,315Page 1,286 of 1,315