Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Android and Me

Android and Me

Verizon’s Galaxy S III available July 10th for $199

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 03:06 PM PDT

verizon-galaxy-s-iii-630

Verizon has been dancing around this one for almost a month now with shipping dates varying from July 5th to July 12th, but the Galaxy S III was finally sick and tired of it and made them set a July 10th date to settle down and make this thing official.

Don’t expect any surprises with the Verizon version of the Galaxy S III, as Dustin rightly pointed out, one of the amazing features of the Galaxy S III is it’s consistency across the major US carriers.

It won’t come as a huge shock that Verizon will be stowing a little bloat on board for you, but unless you bought the Verizon Galaxy Nexus it shouldn’t be anything more than what you’ve grown accustomed to on previous devices. They call specific attention to the Color app which offers some video sharing features exclusively on Verizon and also the streaming video curator Viewdini that we covered not long ago.

Other than that we have the same Galaxy S III that you are almost unquestionably familiar with by now.

  • 4.8″ Super AMOLED HD display
  • 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • Android 4.0
  • 8 megapixel rear camera with zero shutter lag
  • 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
  • NFC
  • LTE
  • S-Voice
  • 16/32 GB on-board storage (microSD slot for additional storage)
  • 2,100 mAh battery

The 16 GB in Marble White or Cobalt Blue will set you back $199.99 and the 32GB in either color will ring up at $249.99. The 16 GB version will be available both in store and online on the 10th, but the 32 GB will be online only at launch.

I know we have quite a few of the Verizon faithful around here. How many of you are biting on the Galaxy S III?

Update: Sounds like some early pre-orders are starting to ship today, anyone get their shipping notice from Verizon yet?

Show Press Release

Samsung Galaxy S® III Available On The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network Starting July 10

PR Newswire

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and DALLAS, July 3, 2012

Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) today announced that the 4G LTE-powered Samsung Galaxy S® IIIwill be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com/galaxys3starting July 10.  Galaxy S III customers will have access to the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network which is available in 304 markets across the United States.  Verizon Wireless 4G LTE will be in 400 markets covering 260 million people by the end of this year.

Customers can take advantage of 4G LTE-optimized apps like Color to share live video broadcasts of life’s special moments with their Facebook® friends.  Sharing live video with audio is an exclusive feature of the Color app on Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network.  Customers can broadcast real-time footage of a newborn’s first step with family members who are miles away or share a beautiful view of a vacation spot to make friends at home jealous.  Combining America’s largest 4G LTE network with the Galaxy S III’s 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED™ display creates the perfect duo to watch movies, television shows and other video content with apps like viewdini.  Viewdini brings the power of Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network to the screen by streamlining access to videos from a wide range of content providers, including cable operators, websites and other popular video sources.  The viewdini app can be downloaded from Verizon Apps and Google Play.

Additional features:

  • Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • Mobile Hotspot – Share a 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices
  • 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 2 GB RAM
  • Share Shot – Create a temporary photo sharing network with a group of friends who are nearby at the same party or event; photos can be taken by any member of the group and shared with the entire group
  • S Beam – Share pictures, videos, documents and more by simply touching two Galaxy S III devices’ backs together
  • S Voice™ – Featuring natural language recognition, you can control the apps and services used most with words instead of touch
  • Pop Up Play – Videos can be played in a small window while customers use the rest of the display to complete other tasks such as typing emails, organizing calendars and updating their social networks
  • Evolved camera capabilities – Burst Shot mode instantly captures 20 continuous shots and Best Photo feature selects the best shot to display
  • Enhanced camera – 8-megapixel rear camera with zero-lag shutter speed and a 1.9-megapixel front camera so customers can capture pictures and videos of themselves or video chat with family and friends
  • microSD™ card slot for expandable memory

The Samsung Galaxy S III is available in 16 GB and 32 GB models for $199.99 and $249.99 respectively with a new two-year customer agreement.  The 16 GB model will be available in stores and online starting July 10 and the 32 GB model will be available online starting July 10 and will be in stores in the coming weeks. Customers will also have the choice of the Galaxy S III in two colors: Marble White or Pebble Blue.  Customers can visitwww.verizonwireless.com/galaxys3 for more information on the Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless.


Android 4.0 only on 11% of Android devices weeks before Jelly Bean release

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT

android-magazine-spread

The Android Developer site has just released their latest dashboard which paints a picture of operating system penetration. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was announced back in October of last year, and in the 9 months since launch has only managed to find its way onto 11% of Android devices. Frankly, that’s an abysmal figure and points to the failures of the so-called Android Update Alliance.

But let’s ignore throwing blame around, for now; after all, there’s plenty of that to go around. Last week, Google took the wraps off of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is set to launch to Nexus-caliber devices in the coming weeks. Will it be another 9 months until the masses a treated to their favorite jelly bean treat? We’re hopeful that the answer to that question is a resounding no.

Google and its partners are very keenly aware of the adoption problem, and have released the Platform Development Kit, which will be made available to handset makers a good two to three months before new Android releases are made available to the public. In theory, manufacturers have had access to Jelly Bean for a few months now, and with such early access could more rapidly build the custom UI elements they believe differentiate their devices and add support for component drivers, which should result in more timely upgrades for consumers.

Hopefully we’ll see more timely upgrades starting with Jelly Bean, but we’ll have to wait to see how it all pans out in the next few months. Jelly Bean will provide the first true test of the PDK and its effect on the Android ecosystem.
Posted by at 8:00 AM

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