Android Authority |
- All new Google+ app with Hangouts and fresh look is here
- SMS Flash: App for viewing incoming SMS even in full screen mode
- Best Android apps for doctors, physicians, and medical practitioners
- Wondershare Player: Multi-format multimedia player, video discovery, and media streaming app for Android
- Last week of the TegraZone Player’s Choice Awards! Don’t miss your chance to win an ASUS Transformer Pad 300!
- Google Play now has in-app subscriptions
- Samsung Galaxy S3 unboxing and hands on! [exclusive]
- ABI Research: Phablets to ship 208 million units a year by 2015
- Is the Galaxy Note 2 going to be released this fall?
- LG Nitro HD gets Android ICS, leaked build
| All new Google+ app with Hangouts and fresh look is here Posted: 25 May 2012 03:01 AM PDT
Google+ launched a year ago, and while it will not replace Facebook anytime soon, the budding social network got a lot of users so far. I even think that, while Google+ and Facebook share some similarities, in reality, Google+ is more like a long-form Twitter than a Facebook competitor. From my experience with it at least, you don’t really go there to share stuff with your “friends”, but to see what the authorities in some areas that you’re interested in are posting. Then comment on their posts, and +1 or share their posts with whomever you may have added to your circles. One thing I liked about the Google+ mobile app ever since the beginning was the instant-upload feature. I think it’s a great way to sync your photos with an online account like Google+ and it saves you the trouble of connecting the phone to the PC, then copying pics on the PC, and then uploading them yourself to the web. With the Google+ mobile app, you can just take the picture, and it’s instantly available online and you can share it with others. Of course, sharing is all up to you. The pictures are private by default, so you don’t have to worry about them falling in the wrong hands.       The new Google+ app for Android has been overhauled with an enhanced and more beautiful browsing experience of the Google+ posts (based heavily on images). The latest version, which has started rolling out yesterday, also adds some interesting features:
The most interesting new feature by far is the Hangouts feature, which to be honest, I expected it would be available from day one. But I suppose it makes more sense to have it now, when more people have moved to LTE data plans. Anyway, video streams will burn through your data cap pretty quickly, so right now you’d be well advised to stick with Wi-Fi. I figure that for the very low-end smartphones the new app might not be very fast; the app is graphics-intensive, which require a lot of processing power to render and load. If you’ve already tried the new Google+ app, do you like the new UI, and does it work well for you? This article, All new Google+ app with Hangouts and fresh look is here , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| SMS Flash: App for viewing incoming SMS even in full screen mode Posted: 25 May 2012 12:00 AM PDT
One of the greatest things about having an Android phone its ability to display messages, like popups, anywhere on your phone. Everything goes according to our expectations except for one thing: pop-ups don't work when you're playing games or using apps in full-screen. That results in not being able to view messages when you're concentrating on your game and that’s annoying. But, here's the good news: Android developers have heard your problems and that’s where SMS Flash comes into the picture. SMS Flash is a simple app that will display incoming messages as soon as it reaches your phone, whether you’re playing a game or using an app in full screen, without disturbing you. You do not need to stop whatever you're doing just to see your new message, which makes it very convenient. What's really nice about having this app is you can specify a blacklist, allowing you to add contacts whose messages you don’t want to see on the fly. You can also personalize and customize your SMS notifications, from transparency level to tile behind the message. You can also change the the color of the tile, and adjust its opacity level. You can also put photos for each of your contacts so you can identify quickly the person that sent the message. SMS Flash also lets you switch the blacklist into a whitelist, which functions as the opposite of the blacklist. Where a blacklist restricts which messages won’t be shown on the fly, the white list lets the user determine only whose messages get shown while the user is using apps in full screen. Setting the display duration of the message is possible in SMS Flash for up to 12 seconds. Extending the duration of the message can especially be handy when you’re reading longer messages or when you’re just reading a special message from special someone and you just can't get over it. You can also choose which particular area of the screen you’d like the pop-up to appear in. Going deeper into the app, you can find very useful features like enabling password-protection in which only the owner of the Android device can see the message. It’s very useful for people who want their privacy on their Android devices. There is also an option to avail of the app's proximity sensor controls. The app allows you to dismiss messages by touching the proximity sensor once. Or, you can extend the message’s display time beyond the set limit simply by touching and holding the proximity sensor. Or, you can quickly switch to the reply box by touching the proximity sensor twice. You can personalize your SMS Notifications, from putting an image of the message senders and their message, to displaying only the name of the sender and their message or only displaying the sender’s name and message. With SMS Flash, you can fully enjoy your device’s full screen view when you’re using apps without being annoyed by the messages that come into your device. You can download SMS Flash free from the Google Play Store for free. This article, SMS Flash: App for viewing incoming SMS even in full screen mode , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Best Android apps for doctors, physicians, and medical practitioners Posted: 24 May 2012 09:00 PM PDT
When you’re a medical professional, lives are in your hands. Saving them means relying on split-second decisions and everything you ever learned from med school and real-life application. Though your medical texts may help you out in dire situations, you can’t always ask for five minutes to run to your office to page through a book. What you can do is to make things easier, not just for yourself but your staff and your patient by carrying medical texts and references in your pocket. The Google Play Store is brimming with all sorts of apps and even doctors get their own share of handy tools. You won’t ever have to worry about being far away from that book you memorized from cover-to-cover when you can lean on an app sitting comfortably on your Android device. We’ve put together a list of some of the best apps to help out medical professionals, no matter what their field of expertise is. Medscape Medscape is the leading medical resource for clinical use not just by physicians but also nurses, medical students, and other medical health professionals. Medscape gives you medical news from Medscape News. Get daily news from any of the 34 specialties; just select the specialties that you’d like to follow. The app also gives you the ability to search the entire Medscape News and MEDLINE databases, as well as the ability to save articles and read them offline. Medical health professionals have access to prescribing and safety information for more than 8,000 branded and generic drugs, OTC drugs, and herbals and supplements. Check almost any disease, condition and procedure by being able to access over 4,000 evidence-based articles authored by leading physicians and experts, 600 step-by-step procedure videos, and 100 tables and protocols. There’s one thing to keep in mind when using Medscape, however; users with rooted devices and ad-blocker software may experience connectivity errors while using Medscape. Devices that are supported by Medscape are the Motorola Droid, the Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, HTC Incredible, Samsung Galaxy S, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. WebMD for Android With WebMD on your Android device, you have 24/7 access to mobile-optimized health information and decision support tools to help you improve your decision making and health improvement efforts. You get access to tools such as WebMD’s Symptom Checker, Drugs & Treatments, First Aid Information, and Local Health Listings. With the help of a 3D figure, doctors can determine what’s troubling a patient by tapping on the part of the body that the patient feels discomfort in. From there, they can narrow their search by selecting the patient’s symptoms and viewing a list of potential conditions and issues. Doctors will also be able to access WebMD’s extensive database for information on Drugs, Supplements and Vitamins, as well as being able to access Uses, Side Effects and Warnings. That way, doctors can prep patients for any possible discomfort without having to guess. WebMD can also make identifying the pills a patient is already taking with its Pill Identification Tool; you won’t have to press your patient for some pill’s name they hardly remember when you can easily identify prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines by its shape, color and imprint. WebMD is chock-full of other features you can try out and it’s free to download from the Google Play Store. Diseases Codes ICD-10 No matter where you go, you can rest assured that you’ve got a reference to all international diseases in your pocket. You can be on your vacation or in transit when you encounter someone who needs your medical advice and you’ll always have the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) at your fingertips. Diseases Codes ICD-10, an Android app developed by Trofo Systems, can help you determine disease codes through its objective and fast interface. Make queries by typing the disease name as well as by code. If you’re feeling lazy, or stumped, auto-complete search will make your life much easier. The most-accessed codes can be saved in a bookmark list for easy access and reference. The best part is, you don’t need to be connected to the Internet to access data. All that information is stored in a single download of 1 MB and you can even install it on your SD card. You will, however, need Internet access for disease-related ads. Epocrates Epocrates makes sure that you have access to reliable drug, disease, and diagnostic information wherever you are. Epocrates offers a free drug application, Epocrates Rx, that features thousands of drug monographs, a drug-drug interaction checker to make sure that patients won’t get a cocktail of unfortunate side-effects, a pill identifier for when you need to tell medicine apart and label them correctly, and health plan formularies. Medical health professionals can check out a drug of their choice, from its common term to its full name, as well as its uses and reported doses. Doctors can also check a number of infectious diseases and their empiric therapy, specific therapy, or other bits of information that may be helpful to the doctor. If you need more features and functions, you can also purchase Epocrates’ premium applications, such as Epocrates Essentials Deluxe, Epocrates Essentials, and Epocrates Rx Pro. You can download Epocrates for free from the Google Play Store. Skyscape Medical Resources If you need more medical resources, Skyscape Medical Resources might just give you what you’re looking for. This app is a valuable decision-support tool that helps medical professionals–from doctors to nurses and med students–find the answers they need quickly. Available for free on the Google Play Store, Skyscape Medical Resources comes packed with medical resources such as drug information, medical calculators, and clinical information on more than 850 topics. You also get RxDrugs, comprehensive information on thousands of brands and generics with interactions, including a multi-drug analyzer tool, pill images and over 400 integrated dosing calculators. Users also get Archimedes, a medical calculator with over 200 interactive tools, Outlines in Clinical Medicine for evidence-based clinical information on hundreds of diseases and symptom-related topics, and MedAlert for in-context and specialty focused journal summaries. If you need more, you can purchase any of the 600 premium resources in 35 medical specialties and conveniently access them all through Skyscape Medical Resources. PubMed Mobile If you’re writing a paper, or you’re compiling a number of journal citations for your own research, PubMed Mobile might just be the app for you. PubMed Mobile lets you search the PubMed database packed with 21 million citations for articles and journals, specifically biomedical and life science journals. Search for what you need using the keyword search function, and save your search queries. Save citations for easy access later or share them with other doctors and medical health professionals by e-mailing them. If a full article is available, link to it. The app also has functions like posting a comment for an article for public viewing, writing a note to yourself, and viewing public comments for an article. PubMed Mobile is available for free on the Google Play Store. If you want more features, such as the ability to search an author or a journal, you can purchase PubMed Mobile Pro for a small fee. Calculate by QxMD Developed by QxMD Medical Software, Inc. and a collaboration of clinical experts from diverse backgrounds, comes Calculate by QxMD. This app provides clinical calculators and decision support tools for health providers. It has detailed references with Pubmed integration and provides comprehensive and insightful results for both medical health professionals and patients. Calculate is focused on highlighting tools which are useful in clinical practice and serve to impact diagnosis, treatment, or determining prognosis. With its elegant and intuitive user interface design, users can access more than 150 unique calculators and decision support tools. Select from any of its numerous calculators, grouped together for easy access. Choose whatever fits your current needs, such as general calculators, those specifically for cardiology, and many more. The app provides tools to reduce and predict perioperative, guide treatment, determine prognosis, dose, calculate, classify, manage, stage, understand and diagnose. Calculate by QxMD is available for free from the Google Play Store. Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal Sometimes patients won’t take the doctor’s word and will try to skirt around diet plans meant to help them get better. They might just need a push in the right direction with concrete numbers, together with your guidance. Helping your patients keep a good grasp on how much they’re consuming will be easier with Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal. Boasting the largest database of over 1,700,000 foods and an amazingly fast food and exercise entry, doctors can help their patients take those unhealthy pounds off. Doctors can also recommend this app to their patients with Android devices, so they can easily keep track of all the major nutrients, calories, fat, protein, carbs, sugar, fiber, and cholesterol they’re consuming. The app can also give doctors an idea of what exercises to recommend their patients, with a selection of 350 exercises. Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store. Ob (Pregnancy) Wheel Though obstetricians and gynecologists could best benefit from the Ob (Pregnancy) Wheel app, any medical health professional with pregnant patients can make use of this app. This multi-function pregnancy calculator lets you calculate dates of pregnancy down to the very last detail. You can determine when your patient’s last menstrual period was, her estimated time of conception, weeks gestational age, estimated due date, and more. If you have several pregnant patients and you don’t have time to spare keeping separate records for them, no problem. Ob (Pregnancy) Wheel lets you store multiple patients for easy retrieval. If you need to view data on your computer, or you’d just like to back it up in a safe place, Ob (Pregnancy) Wheel can export data to XML on your SD card. Ob (Pregnancy) Wheel’s pro version lets you import saved data and save the app to your SD card. Start calculating pregnancy details using Ob (Pregnancy) Wheel, available on the Google Play Store for free. Speed Anatomy Quiz Free Keep your mind sharp and make sure you’ve got all the important parts of the body memorized with Speed Anatomy Quiz Free. The app is an addictive game that tests your speed and challenges your knowledge of human anatomy. Don’t limit yourself to boring flashcards and covering body part names on a chart when you can have a more enjoyable time playing a game. Speed Anatomy Quiz Free contains almost 300 labeled parts from all the main regions of the body. The faster and more precise you can point to a liver, a gallbladder or an incisor, the more points you earn. When you hold your finger over an image, a magnifying glass appears which allows you to achieve more precision and higher scores. Speed Anatomy Quiz Free contains 28 levels, including an overview of bones, muscles, arteries, veins, the respiratory system and much more. Instead of dozing off during those late night shifts, work on your mastery of the human body with Speed Anatomy Quiz Free. With these apps, doctors, physicians, medical practitioners, and other health care professionals can rely on medical texts located right in their pockets. Download one or all of these Android apps for doctors and make your clinical practice easier. If your favorite medical professional app didn’t make it to our list, let us know what it is in a comment below. This article, Best Android apps for doctors, physicians, and medical practitioners , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Posted: 24 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT
If you are looking for a video player for your Android device, the Google Play Store certainly doesn’t have a dearth of them, but only a few of them really are superb and comprehensive. Here’s a video player app that we highly suggest you to try out if you are looking for a comprehensive, feature-packed video player that’s also forgiving on the wallet. It’s called Wondershare Player and it will surely work wonders for you. Wondershare Player is one of the most comprehensive video players for Android, beating most video player apps with its functional features, not to mention the clean and nice-looking user interface that it sports. The highlight of the app’s features is its ability to play any video format, including FLV, AVI, MKV, WMV, MOV, RM, RMVB, ASF, M2TS, MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, M2TS, VOB, F4V, 3GP, and more. The app can’t just play all these video formats but also plays them without glitches and with amazing flawlessness. More Features Wondershare Player is also not just a plain video player. It also brings a lot of delightful goodies that users can enjoy. The app lets you explore and find more videos online with its built-in browser, letting you browse for videos on popular video sites like YouTube, Vevo, and Hulu freely. It provides you with suggestions for the hottest and most popular videos online, keeping you updated on new TV episodes and music videos. Wondershare’s Watch Later feature is also very handy if you don’t have the time to watch all the videos you’ve discovered. You can even watch some of those videos later even without a data plan. You can download streaming videos from CNN, NY Times, Ted Talk, NASA TV, and Funny or Die. Streaming via a local server on a computer is also supported. The app has a search function dedicated to conveniently locating your video files no matter where you saved them on your device. You can also pull media files from any custom directory that you may be using. And, if you visit video streaming sites, Wondershare will automatically bookmark those websites so that you can easily find those sites again. Wondershare can also play DVD content along with complete DVD navigation support for a better DVD video experience. All subtitles and embedded video files are also supported and it has a seamless playback feature which remembers the exact part of the video where you stopped. The app does that for every single video on your playlist. Some other features like the option to select the quality of video streams (up to 480p), a history log containing details of previously played videos, and an on-screen network connection indicator are also included in the app. Despite being packed with a lot of features, Wondershare is just light on your device and it’s not battery hogging, letting you use your precious battery power for other apps and functions. Give this app a try and reinvent your video experience on your Android device. You can download Wondershare Player free of charge from the Google Play Store. What makes a video player a wonderful player for you? This article, Wondershare Player: Multi-format multimedia player, video discovery, and media streaming app for Android , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Posted: 24 May 2012 01:29 PM PDT
The awesome giveaway that we are running together with NVIDIA is in full swing, and today the sweepstake enters its third and final week. In case you need a refresher, you have a shot at winning one of the seven Prize Packs offered by NVIDIA to celebrate the first anniversary of the TegraZone or one of the three Prize Packs that we are giving away to our loyal readers. We've already announced the name of the first winner of a Tegra 3-powered ASUS Transformer Pad 300. His name is Christian Damian from Los Angeles, CA. Congratulations, Christian and let us know how you like your shiny new toys! One prize down, nine more to go! Soon, we will reveal the winner of the second Prize Pack, comprised of a powerful Transformer Pad device and all the accessories you will need to enjoy your favorite games on the go. Here's what you stand to win: Prize DetailsThe ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is powered by the high-performance Tegra 3 system on a chip. The 4+1 cores architecture enables the chip to deliver the excellent performance demanded by cutting-edge games like ShadowGun or Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II, without draining the battery in the process. The Transformer Pad features 1GB of RAM, a 1280 x 800 display, and runs the latest and greatest flavor of Android. With great specs and a sleek design, the Transformer Pad 300 qualifies as a high-end device, but the price tag doesn't show it. Along with the Transformer Pad 300, the Prize Packs contain:
We are giving away two more Prize Packs and Nvidia is offering seven Prize Packs to celebrate the first anniversary of the TegraZone. Don't miss your chance!
Enter the sweepstakes nowDid we get you excited? It's easy to enter the race for a Transformer Pad 300 Prize Pack! Just visit our giveaway page and follow the instructions there. Also, make sure to vote in Nvidia's Player's Choice Awards and claim your chance to other seven packs!
TegraZone Player's Choice AwardsRunning through May 31, the TegraZone Player's Choice Awards give you the opportunity to vote for your favorite TegraZone game in three categories:
You can choose from some of the best mobile games around, including Dark Meadow: The Pact, GTA III, Riptide GP, or Soulcraft THD. Which one is your favorite? Only one week left to vote and enter the race for a Tegra 3-powered ASUS Transformer Pad 300 Prize Pack. The winners will be announced at the E3 show on June 6. Stay tuned to see who are the next winners of our giveaway. Good luck, guys! This article, Last week of the TegraZone Player's Choice Awards! Don't miss your chance to win an ASUS Transformer Pad 300! , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Google Play now has in-app subscriptions Posted: 24 May 2012 01:14 PM PDT
Google Play is not exactly the most efficient mobile app store for monetizing apps, and there have been many reasons for that. Google has addressed many of them over the past 2 years like: implementing better ranking of apps, making it easier for users to discover new apps, adding more countries that support paid apps, adding in-app billing, and so on. But they still need to work on making it easier for developers to make money. Google says that the top 23 out of 24 top-grossing apps in Google Play use in-app billing, and that overall, the revenue they get from in-app purchases exceeds the revenue for simply buying the app. This is due solely to people willing to buy an app “once”, then expecting all updates and new features to come for free. With in-app billing, developers can get them hooked on the main app, and then sell them more content for more money. Google is currently introducing in-app subscriptions as well, for apps such as magazines and journals, but they say developers can also use it to bundle apps, for game levels, music, video content, and any other type of creative content. Glu Mobile has already implemented in-app subscriptions in some of their apps like Frontline Commando. In the next few days, we’re going to see more developers launching apps with this paying method. If you’re a developer, you can get started with implementing in-app subscriptions right away with this handy documentation. If you’re already using in-app billing, the changes to the code to support in-app subscriptions will be minor. If you’re a frequent Google Play user, what do you think of this money-making method? If you’re a developer, will you be taking advantage of this new feature? Let us know in the comments below! No related posts. This article, Google Play now has in-app subscriptions , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Samsung Galaxy S3 unboxing and hands on! [exclusive] Posted: 24 May 2012 12:33 PM PDT
The internet waits for no man (or woman)! While over ten million people all over the world are waiting eagerly for Samsung’s 2012 flagship to arrive at their doorsteps, Android Authority has been scouring the globe, leaving no stone unturned in our quest to provide you the finest Android device coverage on the planet! But enough about our plans for global Android domination. Our man Randy Khoo just attended an exclusive event in Malaysia, and was able to sneak out with a brand new Samsung Galaxy S3! Check out the video in all it’s glory below. Observe the thin bezel on the device, the inclusion of S-Memo for what potentially offers Galaxy Note Stylus-type functionality down the road, and more, in the 8 minute plus video below. We’ve covered this device harder than we’ve covered any other. We just gave one away. The official ROM has already been leaked, and S-Voice too. And the party is just getting started, folks. Let us know your thoughts! What devices would you like to see this compared to? What do you want to see us do with it? Benchmarks? Sample photos and video? S-Voice is in action? You’re the boss – you decide! This article, Samsung Galaxy S3 unboxing and hands on! [exclusive] , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| ABI Research: Phablets to ship 208 million units a year by 2015 Posted: 24 May 2012 12:23 PM PDT
Our own Ankit did a very thorough analysis of what he called "the rise of the phablet" last week and, if anyone doubted the future success of such devices, you now have one more reason to start doubting your doubts. According to a study conducted by ABI Research, a very prestigious research firm based in New York and founded way back in 1990, phablets will "explode" during the next few years and will reach an amazing 208 million worldwide yearly shipments by 2015. Of course, these are just predictions and some very risky ones, considering how the technology world keeps changing and throwing surprises at us, so they should be taken with a large grain of salt. Then again, it's clear that ABI Research hasn't come up with this number out of thin air and the company is basing its research on the "attractive two-in-one device proposition" made by phablets and how that could sweep users off their feet for years to come.
In fact, the research firm lowers the minimum screen size of a phablet to 4.6 inches, so you might now understand why they are predicting huge sales for the devices. Also, we have to say that the 208 million figure should not appear so impossible to reach if we only think of Galaxy Note's recent success or the initial reactions to the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3 unveilings and/or releases. ABI research's study over phablets is a very thorough and complex one, but unfortunately you have to pay to get access to all of its content. If you're curious to find out the company's predictions on phablet shipments and revenues by region or on "super smartphone" shipments and revenues, you can go to their official website and find out how to get the entire report. And if you decide to pay up, you could hit us with a comment below and tell us a little bit about the report sections we haven’t seen yet. We’d also like to hear your views on phablets' increasing popularity and how you see the market niche's future progress. This article, ABI Research: Phablets to ship 208 million units a year by 2015 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Is the Galaxy Note 2 going to be released this fall? Posted: 24 May 2012 11:49 AM PDT
Because it hasn’t been more than a few months since the Galaxy Note was launched in US, you may be inclined to believe that the Galaxy Note 2 will be launched in 2013. But if we go back, we see that the first Galaxy Note was announced in September at IFA in Berlin, and then less than 2 months later it was released to the public in Europe, at the end of October. These next-gen devices tend to be released about a year later compared to their predecessors. By now, most manufacturers should be able to make next-gen devices even after 10 months. If they think they can add more features in those last 2 months, they wait and make it easier for potential customers to know when such device is expected to arrive, if there’s a sense of predictability. Since the original Note was announced last September at IFA, I think we can expect the next one to be announced this year at IFA as well. But they’ll probably try to separate the launch date as much as possible from the launch of their Nexus device (which might be on November 5th).  Samsung Galaxy Note 2 concept Unless it’s launched in December or even later than that, this device won’t have Android 5.0, since they’ll want to put their skin on it, too. I believe it will have a version of Android Google which will be released at the Google I/O event. The screen size will be either the same 5.3″, with smaller body, or it will have a slightly larger screen (5.4″, 5.5″), while maintaining the same overall size. The processor should be the Exynos 5250, and I hope it will be. I’d be quite disappointed if it’s the same chip as in the Galaxy S3, unless they really want to leave that chip for their Nexus device. Normally, I’d expect them to continue to use the Pentile screen we’ve seen in the Galaxy S3, but hopefully after they’ve received a lot of negative feedback for it, they will stop using it. I actually expect Samsung to use Pentile for quite a while, even if they stop using it in smartphones. They are still the high-resolution tablets coming up, and it’s very unlikely they will build a non-Pentile display for them, because it would be very expensive for them to build a 2560×1600 resolution display that is also Super AMOLED. It might be so expensive, they’ll just stick with PLS LCD, or some IPS display they are making (for the tablets). I’m also hoping for an even more accurate S-pen and screen that will allow for more pixel-perfect drawings. The S-pen is already the best touchscreen stylus on the market right now thanks to their partnership with Wacom. However, I’m sure it can still use some improvements. If you’re a potential buyer for the Galaxy Note 2, what would you like to see in it? This article, Is the Galaxy Note 2 going to be released this fall? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| LG Nitro HD gets Android ICS, leaked build Posted: 24 May 2012 11:33 AM PDT
Take the Nitro HD, for example, which was AT&T's take on the original LG Optimus LTE. The 4.5-incher came with a full HD display, a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and an 8 MP rear-facing camera, which was pretty much all that you could want from a high-end smartphone back in December 2011. However, the device, which ran Android 2.3 Gingerbread upon its release, was delayed time in and time out for getting Ice Cream Sandwich and we still don't know when to expect an official update. The only thing LG told us was that they planned to upgrade the Nitro HD "sometime soon", which turned into "not that soon" and is now "hopefully at same point in the future".
If you've been waiting to get ICS on your Nitro HD and you feel you can't wait any longer, there is finally a solution for you, courtesy of a leaked Android 4.0 build available on RootzWiki. The user who put up the ROM for download said that he has "no info on it" and that he is "not responsible for your actions", which might not be very encouraging, but then again initial feedback is (mostly) positive. Some users who've been trying out the software for size have complained about their IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) going missing after installing the leaked build, but most of the people who've flashed the ROM say that it's working like a charm. I don't have to tell you all of the things that will be improved, upgraded and changed once you take your Nitro HD to that next software level, but if you're still skeptical about installing the firmware and you don't want to void your warranty and end up regretting it, you should check out this XDA-Developers forum thread and find out all there is to know. Also, keep in mind that, if you decide to try installing the ROM, you'll need your battery power to be above the 50% mark and that everything on your phone will be wiped out with the upgrade. What say you, Nitro HD users? Will you be flashing this leaked build on your phone or are you still going to wait for an official update? This article, LG Nitro HD gets Android ICS, leaked build , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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Whether we like it or not, the time of the "petite" phones with touchscreens between 3.5 and 4 inches has passed and we are now heading towards the domination of "super-phones" and "phablets". It's practically impossible to find a high-end Android smartphone released during the last few months (or due for release soon) that has a display smaller than a 4-inch and the biggest hits of the market seem to fall in the 4.6 to 5.3-inch range.
What's interesting though, and should be underlined, is that the study integrates into the "phablet" category more devices than we currently see as phone-tablet hybrids. ABI Research calls the Galaxy Note and the LG Optimus VU phablets, but also the Galaxy S3 or the HTC One X, which we honestly thought of as slightly bigger than usual phones, but phones nevertheless.
Although they can easily go head-to-head with the likes of Samsung or HTC when talking about their phones' hardware and performance, LG is not exactly the go-to company for high-end devices right now. This is due to the software tweaks and especially the delayed Ice Cream Sandwich updates.
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