Army stronger with Androids Fox News White Sands, NM – Android-powered smartphones will help soldiers of the future discover better trails, locate colleagues and build stronger defense -- capability that just doesn't exist today. They'll be a permanent fixture in the United States Army, ... See all stories on this topic »
Study: iOS Surpasses Android in Enterprise Usage PCWorld Transactions from Android devices, meanwhile, dropped to 37% by the end of March. As recently as December 2011, Android and iOS devices were about equal at 47% of transactions among Zscaler's enterprise customers, Geide says, after Android had held the ... See all stories on this topic »
Mobile OS Madness Ahead In June InformationWeek June is going to be a big month for iOS, Windows Phone, and Android. The progenitors of these three platforms--Apple, Microsoft, and Google, respectively--each have scheduled developer events in San Francisco throughout the month. See all stories on this topic »
Android in Europe and Asia Business Insider And Wattpad is one of the top free "Books" apps in both the iOS an Android apps stores. Wattpad has a very large mobile user base around the world as a result of the sucess of its mobile apps. And so this slide on geographic distribution of its user ... See all stories on this topic »
Help! I'm confused about storage on my smartphone CNET In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain how to store media on the expandable memory on a smartphone. by Marguerite Reardon May 12, 2012 12:00 AM PDT Follow @maggie_reardon One of the things that many Google Android users like about their devices over ... See all stories on this topic »
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This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like | TechCrunch By Kim-Mai Cutler Animoca, a Hong Kong mobile app developer that has seen more than 70 million downloads, says it does quality assurance testing with about 400 Android devices. Again, that's testing with four hundred different phones and tablets for every ... TechCrunch
Turntable.fm now available for Android | Ubergizmo By Gene Ryan Briones Users of Turntable.fm, the social media website that allows users to interactively share music, will be happy to know that a native app for Android has just been launched. In case you are new to it, Billy Chasen started Turntable.fm [...] Ubergizmo
Strength in numbers: Android's legacy By Nathan Snyder Android. We know the name but do we truly understand the ideals behind it? A few points to mull over before we begin this piece: Android is Goog. Android Authority
We recently told you that the Samsung Galaxy S3 version of the iOS favourite FlipBoard had been extracted and posted online. I’ve grabbed it off of XDA and tried it out on a Samsung Galaxy S2, an Asus Transformer, an HTC One X and an HTC Desire HD.
So, let me share my experiences with you.
Everything works
The first thing I should mention is that everything in the application works, this ranges from the namesake swiping between news posts to signing into Twitter. The initial set-up of an account and selecting news genres is easy, and from there you are shown the homepage, the screenshot below is of the landing page on the Galaxy S2.
Once you choose a news category from the homepage you can swipe up and down the list of current news stories. The real fun comes when you choose one to read because Flipboard eliminates the need for scrolling and zooming to see small writing. Everything is automatically shown at a comfortable font level with images and headlines also adjusted to fit attractively on the page. When you’re done with reading one page, enjoy the animation as you vertically flip the page over.
No tablet love
Whilst Flipboard works fine on phones, the let down in this build of the application is that there is no tablet compatibility. I like so many other Android fans like to use my Tablet to keep up to date on news and current events, and right now that can’t be done with Flipboard. The program was extracted from a Galaxy S3 it’s optimised for phones and not tablets. As a result the tablet attempts to scale things up. This behaviour doesn’t make the application look all that bad, because everything has already been prepared for the Galaxy S3′s 1280×720 display. It’s the interaction between news posts and their borders that have been scaled up. Also, it’s important you know that sadly, landscape mode doesn’t work either, not even on phones.
Final thoughts
Altogether I wouldn’t use this version of Flipboard on a day to day basis. It’s interesting in terms of styling and transitions, but not yet at a level to replace other news aggregators like Feedly. For me, Feedly is better because it synchronises across devices quickly with my already-established Google Account, and looks great on my tablet (screenshot below).
Perhaps when Flipboard releases itself to all devices there will be many improvements and tweaks to make it look and behave in a way that is even lovelier than it is now. If you’re a fan of the iOS version then this Android build will do you just fine, but if you want a far more developed and robust application then you’ve got to pick Feedly.
If you are interested in trying the S3 build of Flipboard, check out the link below! Any thoughts?
Android. We know the name but do we truly understand the ideals behind it?
A few points to mull over before we begin this piece:
Android is Google’s brainchild.
Android is property of the public.
Android is, and has been, a boon to mobile manufacturers, app developers, and retail outlets.
Think about the above for a moment. Imagine a world without Android. Would we still have diversity in the market? Would Windows Phones have Android’s market dominance in a competitive battle with iOS? I surmise it wouldn’t but let’s backtrack for a moment. Google develops each release of Android. However, leaked ROM’s, forks and mods are by and large the public’s doing — and are, in some cases, the product of commercial intent, like what Amazon has done — but regardless, Android’s development is largely the product of enthusiasm for the mobile environment, and the support of open-source software.
Ownership of Android
So who really owns Android? This may seem like a rhetorical question at first but let’s look at the third item on the list for an answer. If there were no Android, mobile manufacturers, app developers and retail outlets would be stuck in the days of old. We’d have a world with Apple vs. Microsoft going at it, both being closed to public development for the most part. The world of mobile computing and telecommunications at large would be vastly different, possibly even bland, simply because the third option does not exist. Shelves would be full of Samsung and Sony tablets running Windows Phone adaptations. The only alternative would be iPads. I don’t know about you, but that’s not a world I’d like to live in. Choices are good, and so is competition.
Open-Source Solutions
The support of Android, in general, is a vote of confidence for crowdsourcing. It’s a statement of trust and intellectual wealth being passed about in the hive, as opposed to the “closed door policies” that exist under the two aforementioned companies. For those who are really paying attention, I haven’t mentioned Symbian specifically because Nokia isn’t a big player in the mobile software development world anymore. Loyalists who use nothing but Symbian, swear by it’s reliability and utilitarian appeal, are welcome to it. Symbian hasn’t done anything groundbreaking like the other competition has in recent years. Case closed.
Android is the futureproofing of mobility, and it could be that Google someday decides to pack up and move to the next town. But for now we have a beautiful synchronicity between consumer adoration and developer intelligentsia creating some visually exciting and productive apps and devices. When you leave the show content to the audience, great things can happen. This is something that research and development in big companies can’t co-opt. It’s an organic human response to the lack of creative solutions on the market at the time of Android’s initial release. Continued availability is just the evolution of an idea funded by the enduring human quest for information.
Our bodies create and use a ton of energy, and it could be going to better places, like, uh, your Android phone! If Cinderella were to live in the 21st century, she probably wouldn’t be very happy to hear what we are going to tell you today. 24-year-old Anthony Mutua from Kenya has developed an ultra-thin chip of crystals that can charge mobile phones when placed in shoe soles and the technology is set to go into mass production soon enough.
The chip, once installed into a regular shoe, generates electricity when you step on it, and can be harvested in one of two ways. You can either charge a phone while in motion through a thin extension cable running from your shoe to your pocket, or, you can choose to store the electric energy and charge your phone after you have stopped walking or running, after taking your shoes off.
Either way, there’s no doubt that this is cool, and you’ probably will want to start taking care of your shoes more if you choose to go for this innovative technology.
Mutua, the technology's inventor, expects the crystals to go into mass production very soon, especially due to the fact that they can store energy, which could make them very popular for "people looking to charge phones as a commercial activity". The Kenyan has failed to tell us if his crystals will be able to power any phone, "dumb" or smart, but has announced that the technology has the ability to charge several devices simultaneously. This is, of course, if you walk enough.
The chip can be inserted inside the sole of any shoe, with the exception of bathroom slippers, and you shouldn't worry too much about deteriorating or wearing out your footwear, as the crystals can always be transferred from an old shoe to a new one.
The technology's price in Africa is set to be quite affordable, especially considering that no one has really tried to bring something like this to market before. The equivalent of $46 will buy you a chip with a two and a half-year warranty, which will be fitted to a shoe of your choice in no time.
The National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) has funded the project with around $6000 so far, but Anthony Mutua has been promised additional financial help for getting the technology to mass production and to larger markets beyond Kenya.
Nairobi, the country's capital, was the host of the invention's official debut, at the recent Science and Innovation Week, but things have moved on very fast since then. The idea has already been patented by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute and there are rumors going around of private companies wanting to financially aid the further development of the project.
I personally think this is one of the coolest inventions I've had the privilege to write about in a long time, as it has the ability to provide an alternative and easy to use energy source for cell phones worldwide while encouraging people to do more physical exercise at the same time. Also, it might be nice to see a few girls wearing the same pair of shoes for more than two consecutive days for a change!
Android's Ice Cream Sandwich is all that everybody talks about right now and each and every one of you who owns a device running an older version of the OS is craving a scoop of tasty ICS and its butter smooth action. CM9 is the alternate software to go for in case your phone is not on an official Android 4.0 update list, but even that's not enough to satisfy the needs of every mobile user out there.
Fear not, though, because CyanogenMod 7, based on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, is a project that will be taken to new heights, according to an announcement made by our favorite independent developing team on their official blog.
The initial CM 7.1 release, which has been around for a few months, still has its fair share of bugs and glitches. But while the team is busier than ever with working on CM9, the devs will still be taking care of any and every problem reported on a device running CM 7.
The CM 7.2 software package, based on Android 2.3.7, is itself in the works and will be released sometime soon. However, the CyanogenMod team hasn't mentioned any kind of timeframe for the launch, so we could be waiting for a few more months. That's the bad news part of the report, but there is good news to mention too.
Five new devices have been added to the official list of phones supported by CM 7.2 and, while they're not what you would call high-end or very popular gadgets, they could surely use a software update. The HTC Status (aka ChaCha), HTC Wildfire S (Marvel), LG Optimus Chic (e720), Motorola Photon (Sunfire) and Samsung Galaxy 5 (i5500) are among the "fantastic five". Anyone who's hesitating to upgrade from one of these phones to something newer, faster and cooler might be in for a treat soon enough.
The CyanogenMod team has also announced that the "7.x branch" of the project "will stay open, available, and active beyond 7.2", which is great news for anyone who owns an older smartphone that is still not on any update lists. "We aren't just leaving you behind" said Ciwrl from CyanogenMod, a message for any Android veteran fearful of being left in the dark with an old phone running glitchy software.
Head on to the source link to check out the full CM blog post, with all the details surrounding the Gingerbread-based CyanogenMod 7's future and tell us if you've tried the 7.1 software, what you think of it, and if you're eager to check out the 7.2 version, as well as other future ROMs from the developing team!
The Samsung Galaxy S3 was pompously presented in London last week and, while some rumors and leaks preceding its unveiling were spot on, others worked to raise expectations to near feature pitch level, which subsequently disappointed more than a few would-be fans. For example, you probably all remember a "leak" from back in March, which showed what we thought was the S3 in a "press photo".
The leaked design bared little resemblance to how the S3 turned out to look after all, but it now seems that the photo was in fact of a Samsung phone due to be released this year. The SHV-E170K was just confirmed as hitting South Korea later this month and, while we can't be 100% certain that we are looking at the exact same device, the newly unveiled phone looks a lot like the one pictured in that March image.
Powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) processor, the SHV-E170K can be called the Galaxy S3's "baby sister", as it's a bit smaller, comes with slightly less impressive specs and, if I may say so, looks a bit more fashionable.
The 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display sported by the SHV-E170K features a qHD resolution (960 x 540 pixels) and the rest of the features known at this time include a 5 MP rear-facing shooter, a 1.3 MP front-facing camera, the running of Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz UI on top and 4G LTE speeds from Korean carrier KT.
The spec sheet is not official, but a GLBenchmark test just about confirms the phone as coming with all these features. As for RAM, ROM, battery capacity and other things that could make you decide to either go for this device or pass on it, these are still unknown, but should be made official soon enough.
Neither the official release date, nor the pricing have been announced, but we know that the SHV-E170K will hit Korea by the end of May and we are almost sure that the phone will never see the light of day outside Asia.
All in all, the Samsung SHV-E170K looks like a device to perfectly fit that gap between the Galaxy S2 and the S3, or between mid-range specs and high-end features, and it might become popular enough if Sammy will make it available for a decent price. What do you guys think? Would you be tempted to go for the SHV-E170K if it were to ever come to the US, Canada or Europe? What would be a fair price for the phone? Do you like its design better than the one featured by the S3? Hit us up with a comment and let us know!
Who says that you have to wait for Valentine’s Day to look for love? Though romance can bloom between people under certain circumstances, people aren’t always as lucky. Maybe you don’t know how to approach that guy you’ve been working with for years, or you don’t know how to say exactly what’s on your mind to that cute girl, or you may get tongue tied when you try to ease into asking your friend out to a possibly romantic date. Put your mind at ease because technology can help you out. We’ve put together a list of apps that’ll help you get a date, a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Here’s your chance at love and companionship in the power of your Android device.
Say you’re out somewhere and someone catches your eye. The thing is, she or he has been looking right back at you, too. You really should seize the moment and walk up to that person, but what do you say? Regular greetings like “Hi,” “Hello,” “How do you do” are so stale–and don’t even think about asking for the time or asking about the weather. What you need is help.
Pickup Lines That Works gives you an idea on how to break the ice. The lines the app gives you may not be guaranteed to work, but you’re sure to have a good time laughing at them. Browse through pickup lines in order or tap the random button to let the app throw a surprise at you. If you find a pickup line that you like, favorite it so that when you need to talk to someone, you’ll have your reliable pickup line close at hand. If you want to help out other people who get tongue-tied in front of a potential date, share a pickup line directly from within Pickup Lines That Works. This app is available for free from the Google Play Store.
If you’re having trouble finding people to talk to at your local hangouts, you’re going to need bigger guns. Or in this case, dating apps. First on our list is DATING (meet singles), developed by levelmatchcity. With over 20,000 downloads, this app allows you to flirt or just make and chat with new friends. Just like Facebook, you can write on your wall just what is on your mind and you can also check on what other people are saying. Leave them a comment and strike up a conversation. Post a picture of yourself in your best outfit to encourage people to message you. If you hit it off really well with someone, then it’s time to invite them to a coffee shop or a bar to have a few drinks. Some users love how DATING asks lots of questions to help you find a better match. Check out who lives in your town so you can increase your chances of meeting someone.
Closely following DATING’s lead, at 19,000 downloads, OkCupid is another user favorite. You might be familiar with OkCupid’s free dating site which promises to use math to get you dates. With the OkCupid app, you won’t need to be on your laptop or desktop to enjoy the powerful dating capabilities of the website. Make use of OkCupid’s famous Locals feature which is a new way to chat with singles and meet new friends. You can broadcast your status for other people to see and upload your photos to put a face behind your self-summary. Customize your match search to find exactly what you’re looking for, but if you’re feeling lazy, you can let OkCupid do the searching for you. You can see each person’s age, sexual orientation, current relationship status, and location on their profile. Once you’ve suitable matches, send them a message. If things go well, set up a date to meet–and cross your fingers that sparks will fly.
Seems like there may be some truth to that saying, “There are plenty of fish in the sea.” Though typically we hear that after heartbreak, this app gives you the power to reel in a catch. With a catch phrase like “your other half is waiting,” it’s no surprise that POF Free Online Dating Site has over 15,000 downloads. PlentyofFish.com is one of the leading and largest online dating sites in the world. With 39.5 million users, you’re bound to find your other half somewhere in here. The app has a simple but clean interface, giving you options to start a conversation, review your sent messages, to tinker with your profile, to see who viewed you and more. When you check on your conversations, you’ll see the senders’ profile picture first, next to their user name, the date they sent the message, and whether you’ve read the message. Though you’ve got plenty of fish in the dating sea, get to know your potential match and see how well you get along.
MiuMeet is another dating app that’s joining the fray. MiuMeet gives you GPS location-based matches, allowing you to make new friends and to find your soul mate. If you believe in the power of zodiac signs, MiuMeet provides you with a daily love horoscope. Whether or not it’s accurate, your horoscope should set the tone for your day. Using this app, you can send text messages with pictures and a wide variety of smileys. Whatever your sexual orientation, MiuMeet lets you filter people by age, interests, places and tags. Import some of your favorite pictures of yourself from Facebook and put your best smile on your profile page. You can see how comfortable people are with things such as chatting, trading pictures, meeting up with you, hooking up, or even proceeding into a relationship. That way, you won’t be shooting blindly in the dark and you can handpick someone who might be able to resonate with you.
At a whopping 22,000 downloads Zoosk is free to join and promises to let you do online dating your way. Zoosk, just like previous dating apps, gives you GPS location-based matches so you can find candidates in your area. Add a few friends to get to know them and send them little tokens as an icebreaker. Unfortunately, you’ll need to pay a subscription to send and read messages. Users have complained that Zoosk doesn’t provide enough free features for members who don’t feel like committing to a subscription. Apart from the snag of paying fees, Zoosk is a powerful dating app that may just help you find the one you’re looking for. Other users have argued that the fee you pay for Zoosk also weeds out the undesirables, so if you’re willing to pay a little to get a better selection of match candidates, Zoosk might just be the dating app for you.
Perhaps the biggest fish in the dating app ocean is Meet New People. At a staggering 151,000 downloads, this app boasts over 35 million single men and women for you to flirt with, date and have fun with. Meet New People prides itself in being the best social network place to–you guessed it–meet new people. With the Ask Me feature, people can ask you questions and you can respond to them. You’ll be amused with what people ask and what they answer to your own questions. If you want to meet even more people, step into the Spotlight and check out which members are located in your area. Unfortunately Meet New People is a large battery guzzler and may randomly force close. According to reviews, these problems only started appearing in recent updates so here’s to hoping that Meet New People’s future releases will do away with this snag. Download Meet New People for free today!
Maybe you aren’t looking exactly for someone to date seriously. Perhaps what you need is someone to spice up your life. With BeNaughty, you can meet other flirty singles who’re also looking for the same type of partner. Download this app and create a free public profile with your basic information. After you’ve added all the necessary details, start browsing and checking out other singles. On their profiles, you’ll find their age, their location, and what they’re looking for in a potential match. If you find people you like, send them a wink to let them know you’re interested. In fact, you can send winks to an unlimited number of people on BeNaughty. You can even send them an icebreaker or see where they are on the map. If someone’s captivated by your profile, they can send you a message, as well. Meet several people at once by joining one of BeNaughty’s many chatrooms.
Congratulations! You’ve finally gotten a date! Whether you struck up a conversation at your usual haunt or you managed to meet someone from one of the dating apps, there’s always the big event–the date. If you met your potential partner over a dating site, you might have had the wall of the Internet to protect you. Going on a date for the first time can be nerve-wracking but thankfully, there’s an app that’ll help you out. Dating Tips and Tricks, as it says on the tin, gives you some of the best tips and tricks to survive the date. It also gives you some great ideas to make your first date truly memorable. If you’re not sure how to be smooth and enticing, Dating Tips and Tricks also features flirting tips. And, should something not go well with your date, Dating Tips and Tricks also comes with pick up lines. Download Dating Tips and Tricks for free from the Google Play Store.
Everything’s gone well; you found the person of your dreams, felt a connection over several hundred messages being exchanged and made the big commitment to see each other for your first date. Things got even better, because after a few more dates, you’ve moved on into committed territory. We felt that it was just right to wrap up this selection of companion-finding apps with an app that’ll help you keep that special someone for a long time. Relationships take a lot of work, and over the years you forget how to maintain it. 101 Relationship Tips does what it says and gives you tips to keep your relationship strong and healthy. Since problems are a normal part of relationships, 101 Relationship Tips will help you overcome obstacles and enhance your connection with your partner. Download 101 Relationship Tips for your Android device today and keep your relationship strong and healthy.
With all those apps, we hope you’ve found somebody to love. If your favorite dating app didn’t make it on the list, share it with us and fellow readers in the comments section. Who knows, you may just help someone find his/her soul mate.
Although Android users were used to being treated with priority access to Google+ updates, the latest version of the G+ app has hit Apple's devices before becoming available in Google Play. Advertised as a "mobile app with sense and soul", the new Google+ experience is a "feast for the eyes", coming with several design tweaks, but also a couple of improvements to the app's functionality.
I haven't had a chance to test the new Google+ mobile app (no, I don't own an iPhone, in case you had any doubts), but the official photos look indeed sexy! The fonts are crisper, the profile pics are larger, the home screen looks more elegant and "friendlier" and you can simply feel that Google has put some thought behind the update.
However, "looks alone aren't enough", as Google's Senior VP, Vic Gundotra, admits in the official blog post announcing the update's release, so the new app comes with some improved functionality too. The tweaks are not dramatic, but you should feel some added speed, as you have a "stream you can swim in" at your disposal. Important actions, like +1, are highlighted and easier to access at any time, while surfing between older and more recent conversations is now more accessible and friendlier.
The iPhone update is already available in Apple's App Store, and the new Google+ app for Android should be made available in "a few weeks". The same sexy, elegant new app will come to Google Play, but, at the same time, Android users should expect a "few extra surprises".
What do you guys think of this new Google+ mobile app? What do you think those "surprises" in store for Android devices and Android devices only could be?
Apple's iPhones are by far the most popular smartphones in the world and, while we could go on and on about how that success is based on all the wrong reasons, the fact of the matter is Apple's iOS has a lot of things that Android just doesn't.
One of these missing features is a certain connection between the native apps of an iPhone, a connection that has helped Apple build an identity of its own and create a more unitary and friendly ecosystem. I knew this for a while, you probably knew it, and Google seems to have finally found it out too. At least that's what we can make of the fact that the search giant is reportedly developing a clone of iPhone's Game Center, an app that consolidates all the gaming apps and leaderboards of a certain user.
The report is far from official and is only based on confidential sources for the time being, but then again, it comes from Business Insider, a website that we can usually trust for these kinds of "exclusive unconfirmed reports".
According to BI’s sources, Google's new software, which doesn't have a name just yet, will include a social achievements system, giving people awards and trophies for doing certain things in games. Google’s game center will also include a leaderboard, that ranks players, as well as an easy to use and accessible friend finder.
These are all functions and features found on Apple's Game Center, so you might wonder what could Google implement to infuse some originality in the app. Ask and you shall be answered – rumors state that the Android's social gaming hub will feature some kind of Google+ integration.
I'm not usually a fan of copying others and calling it progress, but Google really needs to make some efforts in the gaming area and especially in social gaming. And if that means they have to clone something from Apple, I can live with that, as long as they are able to tweak things and add a couple of touches of originality.
According to Business Insider's source, Google is planning to emulate Apple in other areas too. Google Play's payment system is miles away from Apple's App Store in terms of "smoothness" and Larry Page's team seems to have finally acknowledged that. There's no mention about the search giant's precise plans for making up the handicap against Apple, but it's still nice to hear that Google is acknowledging its weak points and working to improve.
Getting back to the Game Center-like native app that Android might feature soon, I would love to hear your opinions on the subject. Will Google manage to come with a better piece of software than Apple? Is it something Android really needs right now?
“More is always better” is a statement that seemingly holds true in the world of technology. More cores and faster processors, higher RAM, higher resolution Super LCD or AMOLED displays, bigger batteries, and more storage capacity. The capabilities of handheld devices increasingly mimic PCs, and naturally, the expectations we have from our devices have also changed over time.
Just when we thought that mobile devices are finally “good enough”, things changed again. All our storage needs were moved up “to the heavens” with the introduction of cloud computing and storage. From my own experience, all my photos are on Dropbox, all my files and some videos are on Google Drive, and all my music on Google Play Music. Suddenly, the 32GB microSD card becomes a little redundant.
With online storage and streaming services becoming increasingly attractive, we’ve seen mobile manufacturers rushing to get a slice of the pie. HTC has reportedly acquired music-streaming service MOG, while Asus and Acer prepare their own cloud services. Following this trend, Samsung announced today the acquisition of mSpot, a budding media-streaming service.
While Samsung did not disclose the terms of the deal, the New York Times estimates the value of mSpot at about $8.8 million. According to TJ Kang, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s Media Solution Center, Samsung shares mSpot’s vision to bring a best-in class cloud experience to consumers. He further added that mSpot is backed up by great technical solutions and ran by a great engineering team.
The acquisition of the Palo Alto, California based startup might provide multiple advantages for Samsung including:
With the recently launched S-Cloud and the acquisition of mSpot, Samsung will be able to compete with Apple’s iTunes and iCloud storage solutions, as well as Google’s Drive and Play Music services.
The integration of mSpot will allow for a more comprehensive media and entertainment experience across all Samsung devices.
mSpot already has deals in place with major studios such as Disney, Lion’s Gate, Sony, Universal, and Paramount to stream their movies and TV shows to handheld devices.
This latest move highlights Samsung desire to offer feature packed devices, while reducing the dependency on other companies. Apart from using in-house Exynos processors and AMOLED displays, new Samsung devices, such as the Galaxy S3, will be loaded with unique features, like S-beam (quick file transfer system) and S-Voice (Voice recognition and command support). The addition of S-Cloud and now mSpot should be considered another tick in the win column for the tech giant.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever used mSpot? Is the mSpot acquisition a good move by Samsung? Let us know in the comments section below.
Show full PR text
Press Release
Palo Alto, Calif. – May 9, 2012 – Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced today it is acquiring mSpot, Inc., a leading mobile cloud contents service provider based in Palo Alto, California.
The acquisition will provide a cloud entertainment experience of music, video and radio services for users of Samsung devices, while extending mSpot's cloud and streaming solutions to a broader base of global entertainment fans. The combination will extend mSpot's top class cloud and streaming services, while further enhancing Samsung's mobile and tablet device entertainment offerings. The mSpot entertainment services will be a key pre-installed offering on newly announced Samsung mobile devices.
"mSpot shares our vision to bring a best-in class cloud and streaming entertainment experience to consumers, and they've backed it up with great technical solutions from a great engineering team," said TJ Kang, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Media Solution Center.
"Samsung is unparalleled in terms of global reach and cutting edge devices; with our combined resources, we are looking forward to redefining media consumption across the mobile universe with cloud services," said mSpot Chief Executive Officer Daren Tsui.
The acquisition will include the full scope of technology, assets and human resources under mSpot. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2011 consolidated sales of US$142.2 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company consists of nine independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Memory, System LSI and LED. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, mobile phones and semiconductor chips. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com. About mSpot
mSpot was formed in 2004 and is a provider of innovative music and video delivery service for mobile devices. The company has been providing white-labeled cloud entertainment services for major US mobile carriers. It also has its own brand services available in the Android Marketplace or App Store. For more information, go to www.mspotcorporate.com
The Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X are the indisputable stars of the Android smartphone market these days. Neither one has enjoyed a proper US release, but pretty much everyone agrees that the two are the best Android has to offer right now.
However, things change so rapidly in today's technology world that nobody would be surprised if someone came out with a better Android smartphone by the end of the year. Well, that possibility is now a probability: a so-called LG LS970 Eclipse has just been leaked with some out of this world specs.
The device, while far from being official, is said to be powered by a quad-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor (codenamed Krait) and to feature an Adreno 320 GPU, as well as 2 GB of RAM. That's right, this might be the second ever phone to come with 2 GB of RAM (after the recently unveiled LG Optimus LTE2) and it could also feature a faster chipset than anything we've seen before.
You might remember some benchmarks from a while ago that showed the dual-core S4 processor performing faster than Nvidia's Tegra 3 platform. Well, that was only dual-core and was doubled by an Adreno 225 GPU. So, can you imagine how a quad-core S4 chipset could perform, helped by an Adreno 320 graphics processing unit?
The rest of the Eclipse's leaked specs include an impressive 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.3 MP front-facing webcam, 16 GB of internal storage, a 2100 mAh battery, and a 4.67-inch WXGA LCD TFT display with a 1280 x 768 pixels resolution.
The Eclipse might be sold by Sprint and run on its budding 4G LTE network. In spite of the amazing specs inside, the device is set to measure a mere 8.6 mm (0.33 inches) in thickness. We are unsure if BriefMobile’s unnamed source is trustworthy, but it has seemingly managed to get hold of a photo, in addition to the phone's spec sheet.
There's not much we can say about the Eclipse's design from looking at the pic (it is from the back and not very bright), but it seems to look a bit similar to the Motorola RAZR. You will also probably notice a strange hole in the phone's body, but we're positive that’s the result of the testing process.
As far as availability and pricing goes, the source failed to offer any specifics, but said that the phone is expected to ship somewhere in the fourth quarter. That could be five months to seven months away, but I feel that this device, if it proves to be real, is definitely worth waiting for. How about you? Do you think that LG has what it takes to challenge Samsung and HTC for the Android smartphone "throne"?
