Friday, February 3, 2012



Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:58 PM PST

I’ve had the Galaxy Tab 8.9 by Samsung for about a full week now which means I’ve had some time to gather my thoughts and decide how I truly feel  about the device.
With all honesty this tablet is amazing it does very well with anything you throw at it from multitasking to smooth graphics this tablet will do it all. While using the Tab 8.9 I experienced little to no lag regardless of how many tasks I was attempting to accomplish.
This Tablet has a great spec sheet listing a NIVIDIA Tegra 2 1Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM, Android 3.1 Honeycomb, Samsung’s Touch  Wiz UX, 6100mAh battery, and a gorgeous 8.9 inch display.
The rear 3 megapixel camera has little to no shutter lag and takes pretty nice pictures for a tablet. The screen is very responsive and has a incredibly vibrant and crisp display measuring in at 1280×800 pixels with a screen size of 8.9 inches measured diagonally. This tablet only weighs 1.03 pounds with a slim profile measurement of 0.34 inches which makes it feel just stunning while using the device.
It’s hard to come up with anything that I didn’t like about this tablet, it does everything you ask for, which is the way it should be. If I were to pick up a tablet in today’s market I would pick up the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 for me it has the perfect size not to big and not to small. I would love to own one!
See the full in-depth review below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXvdkeFGRic
Is this the Tablet for you? What are your thought of the Tab 8.9 share them in the comments below.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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This article, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Full Review , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:57 PM PST

Market research reports appear all too often, but some of them seem very different or contracting. It’s important you know what type of market share the new chart represents and what the numbers show. Some of them show market share based on last quarter alone, which is all about *new* sales market share. Others, like this one here, show how many subscribers in *total* the main platforms have, while others are simply being misleading by combining data that doesn’t make sense.
Also, some  are for US while others are for global market share, so that’s always good to recognize, too, because the US and global market shares are not always very similar, although it seems that the US and global ones for Android are pretty similar this time around, but still not identical.
So what we have here is a US market share statistic for the total number of subscribers for all these companies. So when they say Google has a 47% market share, almost double of their next competitor Apple, what they mean is that out of the almost 100 million smartphones currently being owned in US, 47 million of them are Android smartphones, 29 million are iPhones (not sure if iPod Touches are still included in these), 16 million are Blackberries, less than 5 million are Windows Mobile and WP7 phones (mostly Windows Mobile ones), and a little over 1 million are Nokia Symbian phones.
Once again, this is not about the last quarter’s sales, it’s about the total number of mobile devices in US. The only part that shows something about new sales in this table is that “change” column, which shows how many percentage points they all gained (or lost) during the September-December period.
So for now it looks like Android is still the fastest growing platform in US, and it also has a user base that is almost double that of Apple in US for smartphones. If nothing else, this should at least put developers on their toes, because many of them live in US and develop mainly for the iPhone, when Android is already on twice as many phones there.

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This article, Comscore: Android Continues to Lead in US by a Large Margin And Is Still the Fastest Growing OS , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:47 PM PST

The Transformer Prime was launched about 6 weeks ago, and a couple of weeks after that we already found out about the Transformer Prime TF700, which is pretty much the same but with a 1920×1200 display instead, and $100 more expensive. And now we also get this leak about another Transformer Prime device, called TF300. So what’s going on here? Is this another slightly upgraded Transformer, or a next-gen one? And what is Asus thinking anyway?
First of all, I do think Asus is starting to use the same strategy that plagues many phone manufacturers today by releasing a new model every other month, but the truth is Asus is not new at this. As a PC manufacturer, they are used to doing this, just like all the other PC manufacturers. They are doing the same with the Zenbooks, and they also did the same with the netbooks.
Part of their strategy, just like most others, is to release many models in the hope that the novelty of each device will boost sales (I’ve talked about many times how it’s a mistake in the long term), but another part of it is that they are doing this to test the market and see what type of model really works, and then stick with it.
They did this with netbooks, too. When they started with them, they first made them with 7″ screens and with Linux, then with 9″ screens, then 10″ and 12″ and with Windows, and finally realized that the most successful model was the one with Windows and a 10″ screen. They are doing the same in the tablet market, first with the hybrid Transformer, then with another type of hybrid, the tablet with the sliding keyboard, the Padfone, and will soon offer a 7″ tablet, too. What I’m hoping for is that they will also offer a 11.6″ Transformer with a 1920×1200 (or even 2560×1600) resolution, with a larger keyboard, and with a dual core Cortex A15 processor.
I’m thinking this could be a real next-gen Transformer, because I don’t think the TF300 is a next-gen device. It looks more like it is just a slightly upgraded version of the Transformer Prime TF201, and the name suggests that as well. Hopefully, this time they actually check these devices before putting them on the market, because it didn’t look like they did that before they released the Transformer Prime, with all its GPS issues.

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This article, Is The Asus TF300 a Next-Gen Transformer? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:11 PM PST

VoLTE or Voice over LTE is something Verizon has been trying to implement in their LTE network for a while now. They realize that the future is all about using voice over the data pipeline, and they want to be the first in the US to do it. But to do that they need chips that are able to achieve that in a very efficient way, and Qualcomm is the first to make that happen. Many might not realize this, but Qualcomm used to be a company that was a lot more known for their telecommunications business than for their ARM business.
So how will this work? Before we get to that future of All-IP communications, where everything happens over the Internet, we’ll need a transition period, and Qualcomm is providing that with these new VoLTE chips that allow voice communications to switch from LTE to WCDMA seamlessly, so you don’t lose ability to use this technology as soon as you are outside of the LTE coverage.
Qualcomm will give a demo for this at MWC in Barcelona in a couple of weeks, but I doubt we’ll see this technology in phones until the end of the year, or most likely not until 2013. If they are just in the demo stage, it means it will take 8-12 months for their customers to ship them in devices (remember how long it took Nvidia to ship Tegra 2 and Tegra 3?).
Here’s the full press release:
SAN DIEGO — February 2, 2012— Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that the Company, working with Ericsson, has successfully completed the first voice call handover from an LTE mobile network to a WCDMA network using Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC). An important technology required for voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) support, SRVCC is a 3GPP specified feature that enables continuity of service by seamlessly switching to a WCDMA network when a consumer on a VoLTE call leaves the LTE network's coverage area. This milestone occurred on December 23, 2011 with an Ericsson network using a handset which incorporated Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 3G/LTE multimode processor. A demonstration will be available at Qualcomm's booth at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 27 – March 1, 2012.
"As LTE networks are deployed alongside 3G networks, the ability for multimode 3G/LTE mobile devices to connect to different network technologies will be an important part of providing the best possible mobile voice and data experience to consumers," said Cristiano Amon, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm. "Qualcomm is committed to the successful deployment of LTE networks worldwide in conjunction with 3G networks, and the milestone we've achieved with Ericsson is another step towards making VoLTE technology a commercial reality."
SRVCC is the next logical step in the 4G LTE voice roadmap following the commercial launch of circuit-switched fallback technology (CSFB) on smartphones in 2011. CSFB allows a single radio in the handset to dynamically switch from an LTE data connection to a 3G connection when the user needs to make or receive a call. Similarly, SRVCC support enables a single radio in the handset to execute a seamless handover of a voice call from an LTE network to a 3G network. Furthermore, SRVCC and CSFB allow both LTE and 3G network connections to be supported on a single chip, eliminating the need for smartphones to use separate LTE and 3G radios and modems. This allows OEMs to design handsets with lower power consumption and component costs and a smaller size. Given that 3G networks will continue to be deployed in conjunction with LTE networks for quite some time, SRVCC and CSFB are essential to provide a seamless voice experience to customers using LTE multimode handsets once VoLTE is commercially deployed. Qualcomm is committed to ensuring the best voice performance to users in LTE networks through industry-leading CSFB and SRVCC technologies.

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This article, Qualcomm Brings Us Closer to a Future of All-IP Communications , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:07 PM PST

Well, isn’t this a surprise? It looks like one of the main backers of Isis, the carrier owned mobile payment service, is finally allowing Google Wallet on its NFC phones. The truth is this shouldn’t have been a surprise in the first place. Google Wallet should’ve been allowed from the beginning, otherwise this is a dangerous precedent for carriers if they get to “vet” what kind of applications are allowed on the market. It’s especially more dangerous if those apps are supposed to compete with one of their own services.
I think NFC is a revolutionary technology, and if the whole mobile ecosystem (OS makers, manufacturers, carriers), financial companies, and retail stores all decide to use it, it will really change things for the better. The first 2 sectors seem to want to embrace it, but retail stores will be harder to convince to get on board because it costs them quite a bit to set-up the infrastructure for mobile payments. But it’s certainly not an impossible task, and as all carriers and financial companies start adopting it, it will also become a nobrainer for retail stores to do it as well.
Some still believe NFC is a gimmick, because they look only at what you can do today with it regarding payments. Even if NFC payment would be a gimmick, which I think it isn’t, NFC could still be used for a lot of other things, too, once it’s everywhere. It could be used to open hotel doors, car doors, or any other kind of doors. This is just an example, but there will be plenty of innovative ways to expand its use once every phone has it.
I also believe it could finally help Bitcoin become a real currency by having a real economy behind it made from commerce with real world products. It’s very hard to pay in the real world with Bitcoin, but once all phones have it, it’s just a matter of the retailers or other businesses accepting Bitcoin, and that would just follow its natural course. There are already Bitcoin Wallet applications that work with NFC, so this should be just a matter of time before it becomes reality.
The bottom line is there are many ways in which NFC-enabled phones can be used once they are everywhere and the infrastructure for interacting with NFC-phones is there, too.

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This article, AT&T Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S Are Now Able to Install Google Wallet , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:35 PM PST

There are 2 more weeks to go until MWC, and we already have a leak for what looks like will be a Galaxy S 2 Plus phone that will be unveiled by Samsung there. Some believe this is not the Galaxy S 2 Plus because it doesn’t fit some benchmarks, but unless the picture is fake, this looks exactly like a Galaxy S 2 Plus would look like.
This trend for Samsung worries me a bit. They are messing with a good thing, which was releasing one great phone every year, and are starting to offer a new model every few months with a few improvements. This can only mean that once the Galaxy S 3 is unveiled just a few months from now, it might not look as spectacular, specifically because they’ve been releasing every single technological improvement that might make the next-gen Galaxy S be head and shoulders above the previous version.
Also, other rumors say that Samsung might at least announce, if not release, the Galaxy S 3 in April. An April release is certainly possible, but in the light of releasing Galaxy S 2 Plus in February, if not later, it would seem crazy to release them with such close launch dates. Even if it’s in June, it would still seem pretty close.
I’m not completely opposed to the idea of having a Plus version at exactly the middle of the lifecycle for a phone. Google does it, too, with 2 major versions of Android per year, and chip manufacturers do it, too (if not more often, which I also find pretty crazy – there’s no reason to release a chip with +200 Mhz every 3 months).
So the point is, I could see how this would work out, if say Galaxy S 3 gets released in June, then a Galaxy S 3 Plus in December, which would have everything upgraded by 30-50%, but keep most of the looks the same (it just needs to be a beefed up version for those of us buying it late in the lifecycle), and also come with a newer version of Android than the original, which should be mandatory.
This should be good enough for new buyers who are looking at competing offerings as well, and the original just doesn’t seem as powerful anymore, while in the same time it doesn’t completely annoy the original buyers, because the improvements are not that great to warrant getting the Plus version, and they would be better off waiting for the next major release another 6 months. Then, release the Galaxy S 4 in June 2013, which should be about twice as good as Galaxy S 3 in everything, and also has the latest major version of Android. And then continue this cycle.
The Galaxy S 2 Plus rumors seem to be almost on par with what I’m asking for, considering it’s supposed to feature Android 4.0, only a slightly changed design, and most likely a dual core 1.5 Ghz Exynos 4212 (30% faster CPU, 50% faster GPU). There’s just that problem I mentioned in the beginning. The timing is absolutely terrible. This should’ve been announced in November or December, at least in the rest of the world. I guess the US launch completely messed up their launching plans, too. But if that was the case, then they should’ve just discarded the GS 2 Plus, and start this process with Galaxy S 3.

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This article, Here Comes Galaxy S 2 Plus? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:07 PM PST

Google has just revealed a new security system for the Android Market called Bouncer. They made this last year, and it’s been already running for a number of months, making sure that there are no malware infested applications in the Android Market. Here’s how Bouncer actually works:
The service performs a set of analyses on new applications, applications already in Android Market, and developer accounts. Here's how it works: once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags. We actually run every application on Google's cloud infrastructure and simulate how it will run on an Android device to look for hidden, malicious behavior. We also analyze new developer accounts to help prevent malicious and repeat-offending developers from coming back.
If you caught that last part, it says they are running every single application from the Market on their own cloud systems (much like Amazon demos their Android apps, I believe, but just on the back-end and done automatically). This way they get to check every application that exists in the Android Market for malware.
According to Google, malware reports have already dropped by 40% in 2011 for the Android Market. This is an important distinction, because according to Google (and what I’ve always believed, too) the security companies that want to sell their own “anti-virus” applications are mostly talking about malware that exists in apps outside the Android Market.
This includes apps you find on pirated sites, apps that exist in other “app stores”, like say the ones in China, and so on. While Google is always looking to improve Android’s security, which is already a very secure OS compared to say Windows for most of its lifecycle, but ultimately, if you decide to get an application from outside their own Market, and from an untrusted source, then there’s little blame you can put on Google for that, and you just need to be more careful with what you’re installing. Freedom to install anything you want from anywhere comes with a price – and that price must be paid in responsibility and vigilance.

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This article, Google Reveals Bouncer and Says Malware Reports Have Dropped by 40% in 2011 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:27 PM PST

Yeah we know Box.net is now at box.com but just saying “box” sounded a little vague in the title. Anyways, we all know the developers at XDA are just so awesome, and now they have written a little application that will give you 50GB of storage on Box instead of the standard 5GB.
It couldn't be simpler, takes less than 5 minutes. I actually done this on my coffee break this morning. Its that easy.
1. Download Box from the Market.
2. Sign up if you haven't before or sign in if you have.
3. Download  this , install it like any other app.
4. Enter your email and password hit the button.
Box should send you an email to confirm the upgrade.
Done!
If you’re worried about security issues, you can go ahead and change your password after you get your upgrade to the 50GB. Although the developer says that the app does not hold your password, it’s a just-in-case type thing.
If you have any comments or questions feel free to leave them below.

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This article, How to get 50GB of Cloud Storage space on Box.net , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:11 PM PST
Another security hole has been made public that affected a number of HTC handsets, including the Thunderbolt and a few other higher end HTC devices. The issue was first discovered last September, and was then patched in most of the handsets through OTA updates without any of you knowing. The vulnerability had to do with the way some of their handsets connect securely to WiFi networks, potentially leaving your password available for apps to read.
A list – from what we can tell – of devices that have already been updated is not available at this time. HTC has asked that we all check back next week to see whether or not your phone has already been fixed or if you need to manually patch your phone yourself. So look forward to us letting you know next week which phones need to be manually patched so we can keep your security in tact.
If you’re to worried about this security hole a custom ROM should be able to patch it for now.


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This article, Wifi Security Issue in select HTC devices may have Already Been Fixed? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 02 Feb 2012 10:39 AM PST
Today, Google released their latest percentage regarding who’s using what version of Android. These are devices that have accessed the Android Market over two weeks ending Feb. 1. The long and short of it is this:
  • Ice Cream Sandwich is up to a whopping 1 percent of all devices. That’s the Galaxy Nexus, of course.
  • Honeycomb (Android 3.0) is still around, hitting 3.4 percent of devices in the past two weeks, up a percentage point from a month ago.
  • Gingerbread (Android 2.3) is at 58.6 percent, up from 55.5 percent last month.
  • Froyo (Android 2.2) fell three percentage points to 27.8 percent.
  • Eclair is hanging on at 7.6 percent, down from 8.5 percent last month.
Google is currently activating more than 700,000 Android devices a day. How many of those do you think are Galaxy Nexus’? It’s a bit surprising to see that Eclair is still on 7.6% of Android devices considering it’s been outdated for over a year and a half. It launched on the original Motorola Droid, which launched in November 0f 2009.What version of Android do you have on your device? Let us know in the comments.

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This article, Ice Cream Sandwich is now on 1% of all Android Devices, Gingerbread still Rising , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

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