Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:40 AM PST  It was just a few days ago when Panasonic announced its intention to stage a major comeback in the mobile market with the introduction of the Eluga smartphone, a water-proof and dust-proof 4.3-inch smartphone that will be headed for Europe next month. Just to feed our passion for something new here at the Android Authority headquarters, we were really hoping to see the device in action at the MWC this week. Well, just like an answered prayer, the slender-looking Eluga was displayed today at the MWC.  Judging from the hands-on, it appears that the Eluga has got the good looks, thanks to its back edges that curve up to the screen. Even though the Eluga we saw on display today was running Android 2.3, and quite sluggishly at that, Panasonic made it clear that the device will be getting an Ice Cream Sandwich update during the summer. Notable features include a yet-to-be revealed dual-core processor, an NFC chip, an 8 megapixel camera and 8GB of storage.  But Panasonic has another surprise up its sleeve. Alongside the 4.3-inch Eluga smartphone is a 5-inch prototype of an Android 4.0 smartphone dubbed the Eluga Power. Although the prototype was found to be running an early version of Ice Cream Sandwich, it wasn’t too bad and it still packs a punch. Just a few tweaks here and there to work on the bugs and other software issues, and the Eluga Power should make it to the top of our list in no time. Are you listening Panasonic? Software matters!  Some noteworthy features of the 5-inch device are its dual-core Qualcomm S4 1.5GHz processor, a 1280 x 720 screen display , an 8 megapixel camera, 8GB of storage and a fast charging technology that can fully charge your battery in less than an hour. In case you forgot, the Eluga Power is also dust-resistant and waterproof. If all goes well for Panasonic, both the Eluga and the Eluga Power will be some of the first high-end Android smartphones designed in Japan that go on sale in the West. And how about you? Would you buy a smartphone from Panasonic? Like what you see? Galaxy Note anyone? Is there enough here to entice you away from your Android dreamphone of choice? YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Can Panasonic Be a Comeback Kid with the Eluga & Eluga Power? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 27 Feb 2012 11:16 AM PST  Android is winning once again – big time. According to the "Father of Android", Andy Rubin, Google is currently activating a staggering number of 850,000 Android devices daily. At this rate, the overall Android population should be somewhere around the 300 million mark including 12 million tablets. Overall, an annual growth of 250%. Wow! In a meeting with reporters just today, Andy Rubin clarified that the stats are indeed true and very reliable. According to Rubin, Google does not “chop things up” when Android users reset or sell their devices, which means that Google only counts activations once per device via a designated device ID. But, it is important to note that devices that don't have Google services within their software are not included in the survey. Devices like the Kindle Fire are one of them. Rubin gives full credit to Google’s constant effort and dedication to set the bar for what is possible:
Andy Rubin’s goal for Android since its conception, has always been for the OS to become an ecosystem that will enable phone manufacturers to build newer and better solutions. “I wasn’t trying to go and commoditize a bunch of people and make all their products look the same,” Rubin said. At Mobile World Congress last year, the Android Market had over 150,000 apps. That number is now three times larger, with over 450,000 apps currently in stock. With all the amazing Android devices we’re seeing at MWC, how high can Android climb? How’s that for growth? Do you realize, that based off these numbers, nearly 5% of people on the planet have an Android? YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Android Godfather Affirms 850,000 Android Activations Everyday, 300,000,000 Android’s Worldwide , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:44 AM PST  Samsung is not perfect, and I think they are following the wrong strategy by releasing many rehashed devices lately. Still, this is how they have done business over the past several years. I’ve been amazed at Samsung’s ability to make the Galaxy S the phone of the year, twice in a row already. When the original Galaxy S launched, it was unbeatable for at least 7 months until the first dual core phone appeared on the market. Again, with the Galaxy S2, it was unbeatable for around 6 months until the Galaxy Nexus appeared, which perhaps not by coincidence, was also a Samsung device. I started to feel a little disappointed with the latest rumors about the Galaxy S3. It all seems too predictable, and when things are predictable in the smartphone world, it only means one thing – that it will soon be beaten by a competitor’s product. I think it’s unfortunate the Galaxy S3 will likely have to go to market before the Exynos 5250 is ready (Cortex A15 based), because I would’ve really liked for it to arrive with that particularly powerful SoC. Considering how quickly the Samsung Autobot churns out devices, I still think they will launch a Galaxy S3 Plus, XT, or something by the end of the year with that the Exynos 5250. But, until then, I think the Galaxy S3 will still continue to dominate. Why? Well let’s start with this simple rumor. HOT RUMOR ALERTBGR reports that the Galaxy S3 will feature a “Full HD” display. You can read that again. They say it will have a 1920×1080 resolution that usually comes with a big screen TV or a more expensive laptop, on a 4.8″ screen. That’s a density of ~460 PPI. This reminded me of an Anandtech article from last year, where they reviewed a Toshiba display with a ~500 PPI, which is pretty close to this. We predicted this in our Top Technologies Android Will get before the iPhone feature. Here’s what they said about it then: “The image above summarizes the advantage of high PPI. ~500PPI is starting to be close to the limits of human eye because even at very close range (like in the image), seeing the individual pixels is nearly impossible. At normal viewing distance, it would be impossible to see individual pixels.”If the Galaxy S3 has a 1080p display, even if it comes in July as another rumor says, it would be well worth the wait, and would make it the device of the year – once again. But I’m starting to believe Samsung will have other surprises for us, too. For one, there’s the already rumored ceramic back, which could be very interesting, and could give it a great design and solid and smooth feel in the hand.Of course this is just speculation for now, and until Samsung make it all official, we could see a few more things either added or removed from this rumored specs list:
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, If This Is True, the Galaxy S3 Will Be the Best Phone of the Year – Again , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:41 AM PST  At long last, the much-awaited Padfone that has mesmerized us since it first previewed last year, is here. And we can’t tell you how excited we are to finally have this product has officially been made official at Mobile World Congress today.The brains of the whole operation is powered by the Padfone itself, and features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD screen. And, just as we had predicted, the smartphone is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 with an Adreno 225 GPU. It sports an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and an F2.2 “5-element” autofocusing lens. Sure, no quad core Tegra 3, but this is one seriously powerful SoC. Sounds pretty cool huh? In fact, if you’re interested, check out how the S4 stands up to Tegra 3 here.  Other notable features include a 16 – 64 GB internal storage capacity (expandable via microSD), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, HDMI, a gyroscope, a compass and a 1,520mAh battery. As far as the connectivity is concerned, the Padfone smartphone supports WCDMA, EDGE/ GPRS/ GSM and HSPA+. According to Asus, download speeds in this device could reach up to 42Mbps.  Thankfully, Asus has confirmed that the Padfone will be running Android 4. Really though, the Padfone represents the culmination of so many of our devices, Laptop, Smartphone, and tablet, all in one. Really what’s so amazing about the Padfone is its “1 SIM for 3 devices” functionality. Meaning, you are getting three devices altogether – the smartphone, the tablet and the keyboard dock (you’ve already seen that via our previous “’1 + 1 + 1″ blog post).  The tablet component of the arrangement is a 10.1-inch station that has the same features of the Asus Transformer Prime tablet. Further, the tablet also increases the Padfone’s battery life five times more than its standard capability. If that wasn’t already enough, Asus has gone the extra mile and made it compatible a keyboard dock that transforms the Padfone into a laptop, thanks to its full physical keyboard. The PadFone is 128 x 65.4 x 9.2mm, weighing 128g, while official specs for the measurements of the tablet haven’t been formalized. Either way, both devices connected should weigh in at around 700 or so grams.Of course, the tablet component of the whole unit, aka the Padfone Station, doesn’t have any processor whatsoever, nor memory or storage. Specs wise, it still does feature the following:
 But wait, there’s more – Asus caught us off guard by adding a stylus headset that functions like a regular headset for making phone calls while allowing you to use the device as a sketchpad at the same time. Yes, the stylus headset, to the envy of all HTC Flyer and Galaxy Note users, has a microphone and a speaker on it. How cool is that? Kudos to Asus for a very impressive product! We can't wait for the Padfone to arrive in April this year. Excited? I bet the carriers aren’t. I would be absolutely amazed if this device was offered on contract, at a subsidized price by any major carrier. That being said, it will be interesting to see how they react to people putting their SIM cards in them – especially those of you with unlimited data. Note the HSPA+ functionality. We’ll keep you posted on one of 2012′s most amazing products! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Asus Padfone Finally Gets Officially Offical, Cameos with Stylus Headset , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:05 AM PST  The Chinese at ZTE, like their conationals at Huawei, have a lot to prove this year at MWC. Both Chinese manufacturing giants have huge global businesses (ZTE is number four cell phone maker in the world), but little influence in the immensely lucrative Western smartphone markets. However, that may change in the close future, and Samsung and HTC should really be worried.ZTE previously announced the beautiful Mimosa X, a dual-core Android 4.0 device with a lightweight profile and an equally light footprint on your budget. With all its qualities, the ZTE Mimosa X isn't the kind of phone that would dazzle the hardened audience that attends Mobile World Congress. ZTE needed something bigger and flashier, something more quad-corey (yep, we made that word up, right now). And that bigger, flashier smartphone is the just announced ZTE Era. A Quad-core Smartphone for the Budget-Conscious Today at MWC, ZTE revealed a host of devices, but the star of the show is clearly the ZTE Era. The 4.3-inch device from ZTE runs on Nvidia's Tegra 3 4+1 cores platform (as most of the other quad-cores models presented so far do) running at 1.3 GHz. That's respectable, but a notch below the HTC One X' or Optimus 4X HD's 1.5GHz clock speed. Just like the Mimosa X, the Era incorporates the new Icera radio chips, which Nvidia claims offer better battery consumption. The ZTE Era's screen is one of the weak points of the new device. While other quad-phones please our eyes with HD resolution, the Era only has qHD – 960 x 540. Not actually a showstopper, but something that may put away some potential buyers (especially pathological nitpickers like us). Of course, the new Era will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (here that Sony?). Other notable specs include 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, and an 8MP camera with autofocus that shoots at 1080p. Did we mention that everything is packed into a sleek, 7.8mm thin case? If you're expecting dazzling performance from the ZTE Era, you may be a little disappointed by this lower-speced quad-core. But again, the lower specs should, in theory, translate into a smaller price. It's a compromise that, we're sure, many would love to make. The ZTE Era will start selling in Europe and China in the second half of the year. No pricing information yet, and also, no news about its availability in the rest of the world. Android 4.0 Quad-Core Tablets and Other Goodies from ZTEThe Era was the highlight of ZTE's event, but the Chinese mammoth presented a few other interesting Android devices.The big boys in ZTE's new lineup are the seductively-named PF100 and T98 tablets, both quad-core, both running Android 4.0. The PF100 is a ten-incher with WXGA resolution, while the T98 comes in the 7-inch variety. ZTE went crazy and announced two other 10.1-inch tablets, the V96 and the V9S, both powered by dual-core Qualcomm chips. Note that the V9S comes with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, which is somewhat disappointing.  Expected to hit the stores in Q2, ZTE's new tablets should be budget-friendly. If that's the case, we expect at least a moderate level of success. Although no hard information is available, some of ZTE's slates will definitely be available in the United States. Accompanying the tablets, we caught glimpse of a few other Android smartphones that are less impressive than the Era, but still run Android 4.0 and pack a serious punch – the ZTE Mimosa X (disclosed last week), the ZTE Blade II, the N91, and the Skate Aqua. More details in the press release. Let us know what you think. What you be willing to buy a ZTE? Four ultra device styles – Ultra HD, Ultra Fashion, Ultra Wide Screen and Ultra Power; and 'four' technologies – 4G, Android 4.0 and quad core; usher in a new era for ZTE branded handsets and tablets 27 February 2012, Shenzhen – ZTE Corporation ("ZTE") (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, has laid out its challenge to the global leaders in the mobile handset market with the announcement of a wide range of new high-specification handsets and tablets. The new devices will target, in particular, users in the high volume/high value markets of Europe, Japan, the USA and China.  Leading the ZTE charge – announced at the Mobile World Congress 2012 telecoms industry event in Barcelona – is one of the thinnest quad-core smart phones on the market today, the ZTE Era, which will be launched in Europe and China in the second half of 2012. The ZTE Era handset packs high definition multimedia capabilities into a package that is just 7.8mm thick. Based on the NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core mobile processor and equipped with a NVIDIA Icera 450 HSPA+ modem, with a 4.3 inch QHD (960 x 540 pixels), 8GB of expandable memory, HD voice and Dolby sound, and running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the ZTE Era provides powerful new ways of communicating and sharing, with easy multitasking, rich notifications and deep interactivity. The ZTE Era delivers a great combination of amazing battery life and outstanding performance with Tegra 3's unique 4-PLUS-1™ quad-core architecture with a fifth battery saver core. "Last year, ZTE terminal shipments grew by 50 percent, exceeding our objectives, and we achieved a 400 percent increase in smartphone shipments," said ZTE EVP and Head of the Terminals Division, Mr He Shiyou. "This growth has been worldwide – ZTE smart terminal shipments in Europe increased by over 300 percent last year, and terminal shipments in the US by 100 percent. Revenue from international business is now over 60 percent of ZTE's terminal revenues." "Our long-term goal for the Terminals Division is to achieve a compound growth rate of above 40 percent per year for five consecutive years from 2010, and to become one of the top three vendors in the global handset market by 2015. This extensive new range of handsets, tablets, datacards and user features we are announcing here at Mobile World Congress 2012 will help us drive this momentum through 2012 and beyond. This is a new era for ZTE branded devices," continued Mr. He Shiyou.ZTE also announced a suite of new handsets including the ZTE PF112 with a 4.5-inch high density (HD) screen providing high quality 1028 x 720 pixels viewing and high specification audio and video capabilities; and 7-inch and 10.1-inch quad-core tablets for the European market. Further announcements included the first appearance of the ZTE MiFavor UI smartphone user interface which simplifies and improves the Android user experience; the ZTE Touch and Share near field communications application which enables users to exchange data or make payment by simply touching their device to another; and additional models in existing handset ranges. These include the Kis and Acqua models with 3.5-inch and 4.0-inch screens respectively, providing additional price-points for this excellent value Android 2.3 range; and the ZTE Blade II with an upgraded 1.0GHz processor. ZTE also announced its second Windows Phone smartphone, the ZTE Orbit which runs the latest version of Windows Phone, and comes with 4GB of memory, HD Voice, and a 5Mpx autofocus camera with LED flash. The ZTE Orbit follows the ZTE Tania running Windows Phone, which launched in the UK in January and is shipping in the next few weeks. The ZTE Orbit will be available sometime in the second quarter of this year. According to industry analyst Gartner, ZTE was ranked the world’s No.4 in terms of handset shipments in Q4 2011 and ZTE smartphone sales are growing faster than any other vendor except Apple. "In 2012, ZTE products will be building up from the low-middle end of the market into the middle-high end, with the ZTE Era being the best example of that development," Mr He Shiyou said. "We will continue our long-standing cooperation with operators around the world, but we will also continue to build our distributor channels (both ODM and OEM), and we will be focusing our marketing in particular on the high-end markets of Europe, America and Japan." The ZTE Era, together with the comprehensive portfolio of ZTE terminals, is on display at MWC 2012 in Barcelona on the ZTE booth in Hall 8, stand B145.YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKENo related posts.This article, ZTE's Quad-Core Era Begins at MWC , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 27 Feb 2012 04:51 AM PST  Beautiful, isn't it? First, it was January at the CES. Then, this week's MWC was pegged as the perfect occasion to launch the S3 (in 2011, the Galaxy S2 was announced at MWC). But Samsung made it clear that we won't see the new S3 in Barcelona. So the next supposed release date became the Angry Birds Space launch event in March 22. But come on, Angry Birds is big, but not Galaxy S3 big. And certainly not big enough to deserve to share the limelight with the vaunted Galaxy S3. A Samsung representative quickly denied the Angry Birds connection. With that being said, when can we realistically expect the Galaxy S3 to launch? Galaxy S3 to Be Released in JulyWe have strong reasons to believe that the S3 will finally grace us with its presence sometimes in July. While we can't offer a precise Galaxy S3 release date, several clues suggest that Samsung will hold out until the middle of the summer to announce its new flagship device. Here are the most important:
Moreover, MTN got a lot of heat from local customers for not carrying the Galaxy Nexus, which explains the eagerness to announce that the new and improved Galaxy S3 will come on their network. Although we can't guarantee that the rumor is accurate, this type of sources are generally more accurate than the anonymous gossips that usually make the rounds of the tech blogs.
What better time to launch a flagship device than when all eyes are on you? Sammy knows that and will do everything to capitalize on the attention garnered by the Games. This is why we are willing to bet on a S3 release date that is close to the July 27 opening ceremony.
This year, Samsung seems to have taken a cue from last year's fiasco. As we speak, the Koreans are probably hard at work preparing the new Galaxy S3 for a smooth release. These preparations take a lot of time, and a summer release would give Samsung just that – the time it needs to properly woo the largest smartphone market in the world.
Last year, with a staggered and repeatedly delayed release, the S2 did well, but its performance was dwarfed by the iPhone 4S. This time, a more coordinated attack could yield better results for the S3.
The new S3 is hotly anticipated, and the rumor mill keeps spitting out all kinds of presumed specs, details, and release dates. Maybe Samsung is trying to temper the gossip a notch. The last things it needs is to build too much hype around the S3, and then, to leave us all hanging. Samsung knows that frustration can be dangerous and may be trying to set some realistic expectations. |
Posted: 27 Feb 2012 04:14 AM PST  An interesting patent filed by Google last year was recently revealed through a publication this month showing what appears to be a new touch gesture invention that could help users better interact with their touch devices. It’s actually an original search-based gesture that is meant to be used for future devices. The invention, dubbed as "Continuous Gestures", will allow touch gestures to call and command search functions on every content found on the screen. If you think that the technology is familiar, you can actually find this relatively similar process in apps like the Dolphin Browser and Google Search. According to the patent filed by Google, the said "Continuous Gestures" will allow users to draw circles on whatever they want to search within the screen by drawing letters such as a letter “g”, meant to initiate a search function using Google, or a letter “S”, which, according to the document, will trigger a pop-up menu for search options using Yahoo, Wikipedia or Bing. Essentially, the search function is automatically initiated each time the user lifts his or her finger from the screen. But the technology makes perfect sense. What’s the point of having touch-sensitive devices if we have to dig through sub-menus to achieve what should be a simple, easily executed command? Google is working hard to revolutionize mobile technology in its strictest sense by maximizing the touch screen capabilities of their future devices while minimizing the need for external support at the same. That’s basically the reason why this patent was filed in the first place. We all know the limitations of touch-sensitive devices. In contrast to standard computing devices such as desktops and laptops, touch-sensitive devices might have problems detecting user input. That is, of course, true. You can probably relate to the difficulty of highlighting a particular piece of content in an article using your finger. PC’s on the other hand, have the I/O advantage via dedicated inputs such as track pads, the mouse and the keyboard. But with the technology around us constantly evolving, not to mention the epic rise of smartphones and tablets these days, there is a need to find newer and better ways of communicating via our mobile devices. Google’s newly filed patent is one of those solutions that we are looking for. Google uses the term “Continuous Gesture” on its new invention. If the patent will be finalized and approved, mobile computing will be easier for us all. The patent was filed last year sometime in the 3rd Quarter and it was published by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) this month. You can get an in-depth view of this technology by visiting this site.  |
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Update - 85
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment