Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Update - 9



Posted: 18 Feb 2012 05:05 PM PST
One month ago, Notion Ink had an alpha version of Ice Cream Sandwich for Adam users. As with most alpha versions, it was extremely buggy. Now, you can download the beta version. The GPS, graphics acceleration, 3G, USB, Youtube and Wi-Fi are working much better compared to the alpha version. However, the camera, light sensor and microphone are still not functioning as they work out the bugs. If you own one of these nifty tablets and would like a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich, hit up the link below to download it.
source: Notion Ink
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 04:07 PM PST
As tablets become more and more common in our daily lives, lots of innovative uses for them are being found. Samsung had already teamed up with the Phoenix Suns to bring the Galaxy Tab 10.1 court side.  Now, Samsung has struck a deal with the Atlantic Hotel Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to place the Galaxy Tab 10.1 into more than one hundred guest rooms.
Guests can use the tab to easily access hotel services, like room service or spa appointments. This system is named iGet, a hospitality focused method that uses the tab to run Runtriz Hotel Evolution Software. This user interface, developed by Adjacent Innovations, will have pre-installed apps and games to deliver a first-rate experience for guests. All your hotel needs will be accessible with a simple touch of your finger. Where do you think we’ll see tablets being used next? Let us know in the comments below.
source: Intomobile
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 03:37 PM PST
In another addition to the Apple vs Motorola saga, it appears that Apple has formally filed a European patent complaint against Motorola Mobility. Motorola, in a regulatory filing, issued the following statement.
“On February 17, 2012, the company received a letter from the European Commission notifying it that the Commission has received a complaint against Motorola Mobility, Inc. by Apple, Inc. regarding the enforcement of MMI’s standards-essential patents against Apple allegedly in breach of MMI’s FRAND (fair and reasonable) commitments.”
Motorola, currently in the process of an acquisition by Google,  won an injunction against Apple in Germany back in November. The European Commission polices competition between companies in the EU, and is currently investigating Samsung in a breach of anti-trust against Apple. This could be an interesting – albeit tedious at times – battle to watch.
source: reuters
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 12:25 PM PST
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is selling some of his Google stock to the tune of approximately $1.45 billion. This will reduce his ownership of Google from 2.8 percent  to 2.1 percent.
A regulatory filing shows that Schmidt started the stock trading in November, and plans to sell up to 2.4 million shares. To avoid a market impact, the stock will be traded over a period of one year. As of Friday afternoon, Google’s stock has fallen 3.3 percent compared to one year ago. The stocks have, however, risen slightly over the last three months.
Schmidt had been Google’s chief executive for 10 years before co-founder Larry Page took over the job in April.
Is this a simple case of Schmidt diversifying his assets, or is he worried about the future market strength of Google? If he just making sure he doesn’t have all his eggs in one basket, why didn’t he do this before? Only time will tell how Google fairs in the global economy. Let us know your opinion in the comments.
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 11:28 AM PST
Opera announced via a press email that they will debut new versions of their popular browsers, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile, at Mobile World Congress 2012. These versions will have an emphasis on social browsing, and there will be an announcement regarding mobile payments.
Opera will come up with new versions of the Opera Mini and Mobile browsers whose new features will focus a lot on the social aspect of browsing. Opera has the highest market share when it comes to mobile browsing with more than 160 million active monthly users worldwide. Opera will also be making an announcement related to mobile payments which will democratize the area by bringing it to not just smartphone users. 
Stay tuned to Talk Android for all the details from MWC, from February 27-March 1 2012.
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 11:27 AM PST
UK based mobile network, Orange has a bit of history launching it’s own branded smart devices. Budget Android handsets such as the San Francisco and Monte Carlo have proven to be strong sellers and the recently announced Tahiti tablet looks set to follow that trend. If a recent rumour from Simon Hardy over at coolsmartphone is anything to go by, the intel toting Orange London is set to be the next in line.
In a post online, Simon stated “As an Orange customer, I was signed up to a marketing scheme of theirs called Better Together. This basically involves being asked to complete various surveys related to phones & plans, internet, adverts, etc. Today I completed a survey on what they claimed to be a phone that they will be introducing called the Orange London.” The picture above was sent to Simon on completion of the survey.
The first point of note is there is nothing in the information that confirms that the Orange London will actually be an Android handset. The softkeys at the bottom of the phone certainly look like a typical Android arrangement with home, back and multi-tasking clearly visible. What we can see are some fairly impressive specifications as well as some extremely bold claims. The 4.03″ gorilla glass smartphone boasts a powerful 1.6Ghz Intel processor, 8MP full HD camera and 16GB of internal storage all of which is not-too-shabby. Orange claim that the London will have “the highest browsing speeds vs. any other phone in the word” as well as an “amazing, one-of-a-kind, 8 megapixel full HD camera lets you capture up to 10 photos in less than a second! It can zoom 8 times & has the best ever phone camera stabiliser.”  Those are bold claims indeed and we’ll be keen to see this phone in action.
You can file this one under ‘rumour’ for the time being however with the World Mobile Congress just around the corner, we may not need to wait long to find out more.
source : coolsmartphone
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 10:51 AM PST
President’s Day is around the corner, and that means deals! This coming President’s Day, Best Buy is holding a few offers on some Android devices, including a buy one get one offer on the Droid RAZR. If you buy a black Droid RAZR ($149 on a 2-year contract), you’ll receive a second for just $49.99. On top of that, any smartphone from AT&T or Verizon can be activated free of charge (with a qualifying contract).
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, or you’re in the market for a tablet device, Best Buy is also giving out $50 gift cards with the purchase of a 16GB Galaxy Tab 8.9 or 10.1. Best Buy is also offering $100 off any broadband mobile device when packaged with a laptop, netbook, tablet, e-reader or gaming console. If you’re a Sprint user, fret not, as Best Buy is throwing you a free HTC Evo Design 4G on a 2-year contract.
Are any of our TalkAndroid readers going to take advantage of these offers? Let us know!
source: android guys
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 10:19 AM PST
If you were to ask me what my favorite 3rd party keyboard is, I wouldn’t hesitate when answering. It’s Swiftkey X, hands down. In case you haven’t hear about SwifKey, it’s a keyboard replacement that has a powerful prediction engine based on your typing history. The app has the ability to monitor what you type on email, Twitter, Facebook and even your very own blog, creating personalized prediction that will save you tons of keystrokes. Available for both tablets and smartphones, SwiftKey X is the new and improved version of the OG SwiftKey.
TouchType Ltd., the creators of SwiftKey, are currently celebrating over 5 million downloads and wanted to offer discounted rates for those who have yet to download one of their applications. Along with the weekend-only sale, they have updated the apps to feature additional language support and more, there is now support for over 35 languages. What’s more, SwiftKey announced that the apps prediction engine has saved users over 35 billion keystrokes, thats’s over 400 years of typing!
If you have yet to use one of SwiftKey’s apps, I highly recommend you take advantage of this 25% off sale. It only lasts through this weekend so you better jump on it! Hit the source link below to choose from the selection of SwiftKey keyboards, and be sure to let us know what you think.
source: Android Market
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 07:12 AM PST

Owners of the Motorola Droid X might want to start hitting the ‘check now’ button in the system updates menu as Verizon has just released the change-log for the impending 4.5.621 update.
The OTA update is set to bring a number of bug fixes and systems enhancements to improve on the device’s previous gingerbread update. Highlights include browser improvements, music player stability, improved OTA push as well as the promise of less memory issues and force closes.
It may not be as exciting as an update to ICS however there are certainly some major improvements worth getting your hands on. The update weighs in at 15MB and should only take 5-15 minutes to download.
Check out the change-log as well as a handy guide on how to install in the link below.

source : verizon
Posted: 18 Feb 2012 06:22 AM PST
Here at TalkAndroid, it would be an understatement to say we’re excited about the forthcoming World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. We’re also extremely jealous of you lucky people who will be over in Spain enjoying the event as it unfolds. We do however have one word advice before you hit the road for Barcelona, you might want to pack a map with your sun-cream.
The main public transportation operator in Barcelona, the TMB is set to strike from 27th February to 1st March. The strike is set to effect all major bus and metro routes in Barcelona and with an expected 60,000 attendees, the strike will surely have a significant impact on travel for the week.
World Mobile Congress organizers GSMA are confident that the show will go on without too many problems. There is a comprehensive contingency plan in place that can be quickly implemented should the planned strikes go ahead.
For those who don’t already use it, perhaps now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the wonderful Google Maps Navigation. You just might need it!
Check out the statement from GSMA.

The metro and bus workers from TMB, the main public transport operator in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, have announced plans to strike during Mobile World Congress which will be held 27th February through 1st March 2012.
The GSMA has senior executives in Barcelona and they have been meeting regularly with government officials from the City of Barcelona, Catalonia Regional Government, Spanish Ministry of Industry, the Fira and the various police authorities since the strike was first announced. The GSMA has advised the government authorities that they should do everything to avert the strike and we have been assured that negotiations are ongoing in order to try and resolve the issues.
In the event the parties do not reach agreement, comprehensive contingency plans are in place to ensure that all participants of the Mobile World Congress have unfettered access to and from the Fira during all days of the event. We will announce the details of those contingency plans as necessary should the strike take place. The GSMA remains confident that the issues will be resolved and that there will be little, if any, impact to the Mobile World Congress.
Further, the Barcelona government has offered the GSMA its strong assurances that Mobile World Congress attendees will not be affected and all participants will be able to arrive and depart the event safely and without disruption.

Posted by at 11:07 PM

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