Saturday, November 3, 2012

Android Authority

Android Authority


NEW LTE technology can double smartphone battery life

Posted: 03 Nov 2012 12:20 AM PDT

Power is usually the holy grail of mobile communications and mobile computing. No matter how powerful your phone’s processor is, how big the screen, or how fluid the user interface, it will not amount to anything if the power supply is limited. This is why manufacturers and technologists have been trying to find ways to reduce power consumption, or at least find ways to improve efficiency in charging and power use.

A startup based in Massachusetts may have the answer, and it tries to improve power management by addressing the problem at its core: power amplifiers.

A few takeaways from this article:

  • Base stations waste 65% of energy on inefficient power amplifiers.
  • This costs $23.4 billion in wasted electricity per year.
  • A startup is redesigning the power amplifiers used in base stations and mobile devices to reduce power use.
  • The “asymmetric multilevel outphasing” technology will be formally launched at MWC 2013.

Case in point: cell sites around the world will cost about $36 billion to power up this 2012, which amounts to 1% of the world’s energy production. 65% of this is wasted on inefficiencies brought about by a single piece of hardware: the power amplifier. In essence, a cellular tower’s power amplifier should be using significantly less power during standby than when transmitting data. But due to the electrical interference caused by rapid switching between low- and high-power states, power amplifiers are often using higher amounts of power than necessary.

On smartphones, processor chips typically use higher levels of power than standby even when just receiving data. This is because the phone has to transmit a signal back to the base station that confirms receipt of packets.

Eta Devices, a startup co-founded by two MIT professors, plans to address this deficiency by redesigning the power amplifier itself. The new technology is called asymmetric multilevel outphasing, and will dynamically switch across different voltages, choosing the one that minimizes power consumption. This can be done as many as 20 million times per seconds.

The technology is still being tested in the company’s labs. But they are planning to deploy by 2013, first targeting LTE base stations. The team will formally launch its technology at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which is among the biggest trade shows in mobile tech. But apart from telcos and base stations, the firm envisions a redesign for mobile phone chips themselves.

The plan is to produce a single smartphone chip that can handle the different cellular technologies and frequencies used by different standards around the world. To illustrate, the current iPhone has five such chips. Phones can realize significant damage with a reduction of “transistors” in its chips and the number of signal processing chips themselves.

By then, we can probably expect to get double the battery life from our devices. That’s unless we increasingly move toward bigger screens and blazingly fast processors.

Is anyone optimistic about this new power amplifier design? If we’re hoping for faster and faster processor cores  and GPUs without bulky battery packs, then we will definitely need this new tech.

Related Posts

Hexxeh ports Chromium OS to Nexus 7 as proof of concept (or maybe his skills)

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 11:12 PM PDT

What do you get when you cross two connected mobile computing platforms by Google? A Googlestein monster? Not exactly, as popular Liam McLoughlin (better known as Hexxeh) offers in his latest exploit. After porting Chromium OS (which is the open source release of the Chromebook OS) to just about any device, Hexxeh has not ported Chromium OS to Android-based Nexus 7 devices.

Why, you may ask? It’s because he can, and because it’s proof of concept that Chromium OS can run on the Nexus 7. Or perhaps it’s more of a proof that Hexxeh can do it, and he has therefore done so.

Of course the next question here would be why you would want to have Chromium OS on a tablet computer that already runs Android in the first place. There’s no short answer here, other than perhaps as proof that the Nexus 7 is a capable platform when it comes to cloud computing.

There are no details released on this port, only that WiFi and the touchscreen are working. No word on power management and other things that might affect your mobile computing experience. Check out the video below. Someone’s definitely drinking too much Jolt.

Related Posts

HTC Droid DNA press shot leaked

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 11:45 AM PDT

HTC J Butterfly

It seems that the arrival of the rumored HTC Droid DNA could be imminent.

The 5-inch HTC phablet first graced us with its presence in mid-October when it was announced for the Japanese market as the HTC J Butterfly. In the weeks following, rumors popped up suggesting the J Butterfly would eventually make its way to the United States exclusively for Verizon as the HTC Droid DNA. Now we have a leaked press shot that suggests the Droid DNA will arrive in early December.

The press shot comes from well-known tech leaker, Evleaks. Considering information from Evleaks tends to be pretty accurate, odds are this is the real deal. It also helps that Verizon’s own site and internal documents have made mention of the Droid DNA name as well.

Wondering what kind of hardware we might see with the HTC Droid DNA? It is believed the smartphone will feature a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage, an 8MP camera and the power of Android Jelly Bean.

HTC Droid DNAIf Verizon is still on schedule for an early December release, we can expect an official announcement any time now. As for pricing, an earlier leaked document suggested the possibility of $199 with contract. Keep in mind that none of this is official yet, so take it all with a grain of salt.

If the HTC Droid DNA is in fact the HTC J Butterfly, is anyone interested in picking this phone up as soon as it arrives? If not, do you still have your heart set on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 instead?

Related Posts

Facebook Advertisers can now choose which mobile OS and device their ads target

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PDT

facebook Advertisements have really grown up in recent years. You still find them everywhere but the primary marketing strategy is no longer tossing a giant picture on a billboard and hope someone drives passed and gets interested. Now, advertisements are internet based. They show up on Google, Facebook, and other various websites to entice people to check out the product. Facebook has taken it a step further.

The new feature for Facebook advertisers is that they can now target specific mobile operating systems and specific mobile devices. So if you’re an Android developer and you’re paying for Facebook ads, you can have your ads show up only on Android devices. That way you’re not paying to have them show up on iOS devices or other devices that can’t use your app.

For now, the only two mobile operating systems it supports are Android and iOS. So no Blackberry and now Windows Phone options for right now. If you do select Android, you can then select the OEM as well. So if you only want to advertise to Android users with HTC phones, you have that option as well.

So Facebook will start showing ads that are actually relevant to me?

That seems to be the long and short of it. With ads that target specific people, it is more likely that those people will click on those ads. As an example, if there is a company out there that only makes cases for Samsung phones, they can advertise only to Samsung customers.

As Tech Crunch points out, non-mobile companies can get in on this as well. So products that companies may expect Android owners to buy can more closely target Android users. For instance, iOS products can’t use a SD card. So SanDisk probably will probably stop sending their ads to iOS users.

As much as advertisement can get in the way, this is actually good news. Over time, mobile users will stop seeing ads that clearly aren’t geared for them. You may even see an ad for an app, a product, or a service that you actually want. It’s a strange world, you never know.

By directing ad content to specific users, advertisers can make a better use of their money. Is this a good move by Facebook? Tell us your thoughts.

Related Posts

Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini firmware now available online

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 10:20 AM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini

Most of us probably aren’t waiting at the edge of our seats for the arrival of the relatively low spec’d Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. That being said, if you are a developer you might be interested to know that the firmware for the S3 Mini is now available for download. As expected, the firmware indicates the presence of Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.

Is the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini really that bad? Yes and no. The biggest disappointment is that the phone has the S3 branding and yet is nowhere near as capable as the larger-screened Samsung Galaxy S3.

The bottom-line is that if you simply want a low-to-midrange smartphone that has attractive styling and reasonable hardware, the S3 Mini could be alright as long as the contract pricing isn’t very high. For those that need a refresher on the hardware specs, the Galaxy S3 Mini has a 4-inch display with a 800 x 400 resolution and a dual-core 1GHz NovaThor processor. Other specs include 8 or 16GB of storage, microSD, a VGA front cam, 1500 mAh battery, NFC and a 5MP front cam.

What do you think of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini? Interested or not?

Related Posts

Pre-release Jelly Bean build for Verizon Galaxy S3 leaks, official OTA to come soon

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 09:19 AM PDT

Despite the gloomy picture some rumors painted for Galaxy S3 users in the US a few weeks back, Samsung's flagship has started receiving official Jelly Bean "butter". Sprint has been the first carrier to roll out the new software package, while Verizon seems to now be next in line.

Though Big Red is still hush-hush on the matter, a pre-release Android 4.1 build has been leaked on XDA Developers forum and looks legit. However, according to jucytec, the lucky XDA user who got his hands on the firmware, this is not the latest or the final build, being dated about a month back.

Also according to the leaker, there was another build finalized in the meantime, which could reach OTA (over-the-air) in around three weeks if there won’t be any major glitches. That would put the official upgrade sometime at the end of November, which is definitely good news, despite that we all initially hoped it would come sooner.

Getting back to the Jelly Bean port on hand, we should tell you that its build number is I535VRBLI5, and, while it should work fine, we don't recommend installing for anything other than custom ROMing. That's because you could void your warranty, brick your device or fail to receive the official upgrade, and all those seem like unnecessary risks to take right now.

If you still insist on flashing, you'll need your S3 to be rooted, your bootloader unlocked and some basic knowledge of how these things work. Have fun and let us know how it all goes down!

Related Posts

Android 4.2 Brings Real Time Traffic Updates to Google Maps, conversation mechanism to Google Now

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PDT

android 4.2 With the release of the latest series of Nexus devices only a couple of weeks away, the excitement continues to go up. With leaked news and features still being discovered, Android 4.2 seems have to have a little something for everyone. It’s not over yet, either, as Google Maps and Google Voice still have some surprises for us.

Android Police had an APK tear down party. It included checking out the newest Google Maps and Google Now to see what new features they may have.

Google Maps got quite possibly the more functional update out of the two. It gained the ability to bring real traffic updates. Many out there may be asking what the big deal is. After all, Google Maps already had that, right?

Wrong, Google Maps updated the traffic information when you began your navigation but brings no new info while actually navigating. Now, if you hit the navigate button and a wreck happens in your path, Google Maps will update mid journey to let you know.

Google Now, on the other hand, gets a little humanization. Android Police found code that indicates that Google Now will start to confirm certain actions with you. In some cases, it’s hard to trigger the event, since asking it to call your mother doesn’t really need interpretation. However, this could lead the way to a more interactive experience with Google Now, which could make it a much more direct Siri competitor.

Why aren’t these listed as official new features of Android 4.2?

Well, when you market something, you really want to put your best foot forward. While the new updates are definitely awesome, they are just feature updates to a pre-existing feature. Google Maps already updates traffic info when you hit the navigation button. Now it does it all the time. Nothing really new, it’s just more vigilant. Also, as Android Police noted, getting the new conversation text out of Google Now can be a pain.

Nevertheless, the fact that there are still new features coming out of Android 4.2 is great. Official release of these devices is only 11 days away, do you think anymore new features will be unmasked? Let us know.

Related Posts

Oakley Airwave ski goggles bring a heads-up display, GPS and Bluetooth with a $600 price tag

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 08:52 AM PDT

I have to confess that I am not much of a snow person, but seeing these Oakley Airwave goggles and I almost wish that I was. Or maybe in an effort to avoid bringing this happy Floridian to the snow, is to hope that Oakley finds a way to bring this same technology into glasses for other sports. My wishing aside though, the good news is that the Oakley Airwave ski/snowboard goggles are now available for sale.

We should warn you though, these babies do not come cheap. The Oakley Airwave goggles are $599.95. Of course, given the technology, the price is probably justified. As to what they offer — just to begin with, the Airwave goggles have a heads-up display, GPS and Bluetooth. Additional sensors in the goggles will offer details on your altitude, speed and vertical descent.

The Airwave goggles can also be paired with your Android smartphone and display your incoming calls and text messages as well as any music playlists. And on top of viewing playlist information, you can also access and control those playlists. Oakley notes that the heads-up display is like looking at a 14-inch display from a distance of five feet.

And for those who are worried about being distracted by the heads-up display, here is how Oakley addresses that concern.

“When you are active on the mountain, you will have clear and open vision without obstruction or distraction. When it is time to stop and review your performance or get vital information, you simply move your eye toward the miniature prism lens.”

Otherwise, aside from the cool tech inside, the Oakley Airwave goggles have Oakley Plutonite lens material which filters out 100 percent of all UV light and a chassis that is made of lightweight Oakley O Matter which is said to stay “comfortably flexible.” Bottom line here, while this price is certainly not going to make these good for everyone, they do sound really cool.

Related Posts

Today only offer: Samsung Galaxy S3 is $100 at Best Buy on contract

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 08:41 AM PDT

Best Buy had so much success with its 50% off promotion for the Samsung Galaxy S3 last week that it decided to repeat the special offer one last time.

The S3 is therefore again up for grabs for $99.99 with a two-year contract from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. We're of course talking about the version of the super phone with 16 GB of on-board storage, but it's still one heck of a deal for one heck of a handheld.

Sprint's Galaxy S3 is left out this time around, but we remember that the carrier was in the center of attention last week, so we can probably let this one slide. Especially that now you have your choice of three networks and four different colors, including the special edition "garnet red" on AT&T and the "sapphire black" on Verizon.

You can take advantage of the deal both online and in Best Buy Mobile stores nationwide, but do hurry up, because this is a limited-time offer set to end later today. Or you can wait it out and see if the retailer will have something even cooler to offer come Black Friday. What will it be, folks?

Related Posts

Sprint’s LG Mach arriving in stores on November 11, priced at $99 on contract

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 08:22 AM PDT

When it comes to buying a QWERTY smartphone on Sprint, the choices aren't that many. Some of your options include the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE and the Kyocera Rise. The latest addition to Sprint's QWERTY lineup is the LG Mach.

If your fingers have been itching for the LG Mach since we last reported about the phone last month, you'll be ecstatic to hear that Sprint has finally shared some more details of the Mach's release date and pricing.

You can get the LG Mach from Sprint stores starting November 11. The slider phone will be offered for $99 with a two-year service agreement. This applies to both new customers and those who are looking to upgrade.

The LG Mach has been touted as "one of the thinnest devices" to sport a physical QWERTY keyboard currently offered by the carrier. Looking at the specs, we think there's more to like about the Mach. For instance, the phone boasts a snappy 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 dual-core processor.

As for the rest of the specs, they include a 4-inch display with 800 x 480 resolution, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, microSD support (up to 32GB), 5MP main camera, VGA front-facing camera, 1,700mAh battery, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. There’s no word yet whether it’s upgradable to Jelly Bean.

Is the LG Mach your dream slider phone?

Related Posts

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans


IDC: Android phones accounted for 3 out of 4 of all smartphones sold last quarter

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 02:25 PM PDT

Just when you thought the good news for Google had all subsided, another major piece of good news comes in for the “don’t be evil” company. The IDC, one of the world’s most respected and credible analytics firms, is reporting that Android was the king of the third quarter with 75% of all smartphones being sold running the OS.

Think about that — for every 1 smartphone sold last quarter without Android there were 3 more that runs Google’s particular offering. That’s huge news for the Mountain View giant who undoubtedly wants Google Search in the hands of pretty much anyone that cares to have a smart phone.

181.1 million smartphones were shipped in all, so that would put the Android figure at 135.82 million — staggering numbers, if I do say so myself. IDC maintains that Android has outpaced growth expectations every single year since it launched in 2008, and Google continues to best quarterly and yearly expectations set by the likes of Gartner, comScore, Nielsen and the like.

The only other operating system to take double digit percentage was Apple with 14.9% of the share. And beyond the bitten fruit company? The next closest operating system was RIM’s Blackberry, and that only accounted for 4.3%.

Windows Phone is continuing to struggle as it couldn’t even pass the antiquated Symbian, though Microsoft is banking on strong Windows Phone 8 buzz to keep its smartphone hopes afloat. Also, to its credit, Windows Phone was only one of three operating systems that grew (Apple, Google) albeit at a very insignificant rate.

One has to wonder where the tipping point will be for Google. Other competition threatens the “open and free” landscape Google has dominated for four years running, but most of those projects are either on their last breath or have barely taken their first.

iOS has remained relatively stagnant all things considered, though sales of the iPhone 5 will give Apple a much needed injection in the fourth quarter of this year. Beyond that, Google pretty much has a mean sleeper hold on the smartphone market that even Chuck Norris would be proud of, and it doesn’t look to be letting up anytime soon.

[via IDC]


iMpulse controller gets limited white edition

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 01:55 PM PDT

The Kickstarter campaign for the iMpulse wireless gaming controller is about to come to an end (34 hours as of the time of this writing) and a new pledge tier has opened up for those of you who haven’t yet gone “in for one.” The company has announced a limited run of an “iMpulse white” and the only way for you to get in on this is to pledge to buy one through Kickstarter.

Since this will be a limited run the cost is a little bit higher than the regular iMpulse controllers — you’ll have to pledge $37 if you want one of these to go on your keychain. Those who have already pledged can add the white edition for just $30 each.

You’ll have to use the “Manage Your Pledge” button to manually figure that into your current pledge, and be sure to note that you’re putting in an order for a white edition once you receive the iMpulse survey coming next week.

I must say that this controller looks great in white and if I were a backer I probably wouldn’t want to pass it up. Be sure to do what you need to secure one before the deadline ends in a day and a half, though, because once it’s over you won’t have any other chance to get one in this color.

There have been some other updates of note over the past month, such as news about new accessories and functionality. The iMpulSleeve will be available for those who want to store their controller for safe-keeping. When the controller is separated from the sleeve it acts as a stand for your phone so you can prop your phone up properly and game with comfort.

The project has also reached a stretch goal that will now be giving us two new shoulder buttons, something that is increasingly important for many games and will probably make for a more natural media-controlling experience. Find out more about all of these great updates over at the project’s Kickstarter page.


Huawei Ascend D Quad XL Review

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 12:49 PM PDT

It might feel like beating a dead horse at this point, but Huawei is not the device manufacturer we knew them to be only a year or two ago. Over are the days of cheaply assembled devices with just enough power to scrape by — those handsets have been replaced by hardware featuring quad-core processors and HD displays. The Huawei Ascend D Quad XL is one of those devices, and yet another sign that there is no turning back for the Chinese company that has taken some heat from the US government lately. The D Quad dazzles, but has Huawei created their top Android device yet? Read on to find out.

Hardware

The Ascend D Quad XL features specs to match nearly any of the recent crop of top Android phones. The handset  features a 720p HD IPS+ display measuring in at 4.5-inches (equating to a Retina Display challenging 326 pixels-per-inch), a 1.5GHz quad-core processor developed in-house by Huawei, and 1GB RAM. It also comes with an 8MP rear camera and 1.3MP front-facing camera, MHL connectivity and DLNA support, and a whopping 2,600mAh battery.

The two hallmark specs are obviously the HD display and K3V2 processor, both of which excel within the D Quad XL. The screen is crisp and clear and beautiful enough to put some pressure on other handsets featuring similar displays (HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S3). Depending on preference, the slightly smaller size compared to such handsets might be a deciding factor. Coming from using a Galaxy Nexus as my primary device it was surprising how much I noticed the difference of only 0.15 inches of screen real estate.

The quad-core chip in the Ascend D Quad is pretty stellar, especially considering Huawei’s announcement of the new chipset last February came out of nowhere. No one expected Huawei to release their own chipset, let alone one that excels at the level the K3V2 does. Compared to other devices boasting similar power in this department, users likely won’t notice much of a difference in performance.

In terms of design, the D Quad XL isn’t the thinnest device in the world. Coming in at 10.9mm thick, the phone has a reasonable heft to it, but the size is necessary to handle the large battery. They didn’t call it the XL for nothing, though implying that the device is in some way “extra large” (as its name does) would be erroneous. It still feels nice in hand and the use of quality materials and a textured back cover provide a nice touch.

Software

As was the case with the Ascend P1 (which we reviewed over the summer), Huawei is providing users with an experience most other Android manufacturers simply do not. Instead of having to make a choice between stock Android or a custom skin before buying a device, Huawei has made it possible to easily switch between their “3D Home” and “2D Home.”

3D Home provides a completely customized version of Android, one that really didn’t do much for me. Huawei’s user interface features its fair share of customizations, including an animated rotating carousel of homescreens.  Switch to the slyly named 2D Home and you are greeted with more or less a stock implementation of Android. Some of Huawei’s custom widgets and tweaks carry over, but at a glance you wouldn’t be able to tell the software apart from that of any other stock Android 4.0.4 device.

For this reason we have to give Huawei kudos in this department. Also for the way the handset’s hardware deftly handles this implementation of Android.

Camera

The Huawei D Quad XL’s 8MP camera is powered by the same software found in the aforementioned Ascend P1 and the recently reviewed MediaPad 10 FHD. Users get a decent selection of effects and options for altering photos and creating a bit of artistic flourish, bust as is the case with these other Huawei devices the results are far from spectacular.

Pictures don’t look terrible, and you can pull off some decent shots with good lighting and a bit of tweaking of the camera settings, but the biggest drawback was the inability to consistently capture quality images. This seems to be the case with most Android smartphones, and we’re still waiting for the day that a manufacturer is able to reproduce the photo experience iPhone users have had for years, as much as it pains me to say that.

Video falls victim to similar shortcomings, as can be seen in the sample below. Again, with time and patience a quality result is possible, especially with the camera set to full 1080p video mode, but ultimately the D Quad XL doesn’t transcend its position as a phone with a camera. It will be sufficient when you want to capture a spur-of-the-moment video or snap off a few quick pictures to share with your social networks, but it’s no camera replacement.

Conclusion

Let’s go back to the refrain: there is no turning back for Huawei. While it might be a stretch to imagine the Chinese company gaining much ground on Samsung and other manufacturers outside of their home country, the Ascend D Quad XL deserves to be considered among oft-referenced devices such as the Galaxy S3. It’s easy to snicker at the not-so-fortuitous name, which for English speakers has become the butt of many a joke, but there is nothing funny about what Huawei has created here. It has power, class, and a flexible operating system, and that’s just about all we could ever hope for out of a top-tier Android smartphone.

 


Nexus 7 fares well against latest iPads in SquareTrade’s “Drop and Dunk” Test

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 12:47 PM PDT

Drop tests have become a bit of a cultural necessity in the mobile tech kingdom, and another interesting test has been uploaded to YouTube for all to enjoy. This one comes from SquareTrade, the biggest provider of third-party warranties in the land. They obviously have some interest in tests like these considering they’ll be the ones replacing broken tablets for many of you, and what they’ve done here is interesting.

SquareTrade pitted the Nexus 7 up against the iPad Mini and the iPad 3 in what it calls a “drop and dunk” test. The drop test is actually performed using its “drop bot,” a machine that drops each device at the exact same angles and velocities. It’s pretty neat, actually, considering many people struggle to get devices to drop exactly the same in conventional drop tests.

In that portion of the trials the Nexus 7 seemed to have a considerable advantage over the two iPad devices. The first drop only saw a corner of the slab crack, though it couldn’t best the iPad Mini which only suffered some nicks on the edges. The iPad 3 was completely out of it.

The second drop — a face-down planche, if you will — proved devastating for both iPad devices, and while the Nexus 7 wasn’t completely in the clear its cracks were only minimal and didn’t do much to hamper the experience.

Finally, the “dunk” test had all 3 tablets submerged in water for the same amount of time to see how they stood up against water damage. None of the tablets seemed to malfunction, though SquareTrade erroneously suggest the Nexus 7 was unresponsive. Had they waited until it fully rebooted we would have a more accurate account of what ended up happening, but since it was turning on we assume things were OK.

We would never perform these tests on our own devices, of course, so you won’t be getting any results from us in regards to that. Just make sure that huge 7 inch slate is in your bag and not your back pocket before you start doing cannonballs all over the place. Take a look at the drop test video above.


Sprint ZTE Flash launching Nov 11th for $130 with 12MP camera, S4 processor, 720p display [LEAK]

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 12:44 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

Leaked back in July, the Sprint ZTE Flash — carrying a 12MP camera, S4 processor, and 720p IPS display — was originally rumored for an October 14th launch date. Here were are in November with neither hide nor hair of the device, but it seems the launch has only slipped a little ways down the calendar, now slated for a November 11th release.

This newest leak comes from our very own tipster who was able to secure a few leaked screenshot of the device, along with low $130 pricing and newly expected launch date. Another point of interest is the fact that the Sprint Flash could be offering a stock Ice Cream Sandwich experience if the above screenshot is any indication, possibly with Sprint ID.

But, even with a fairly nice spec sheet and reasonable price tag, the ZTE Flash definitely has its work cut out for it. Also launching on November 11th is the LG Optimus G ($200) and its qwerty cousin, the LG Mach ($100). Sprint customers definitely have some good options this holiday season.

Thanks, _epic!


HTC DROID DNA render leaked

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 11:52 AM PDT

Verizon’s 5 inch phone, now believed to be heading to market as the HTC DROID DNA, has been in the news quite a lot lately. Just yesterday a page for it was discovered on a Verizon support page. The would-be page (it was linked but there was no content) suggested Verizon was close to getting the phone ready for launch because, well, it would be a mistake to launch a phone without support documents for users who need help.

Well, another piece of evidence suggests that Verizon will soon begin to market the DROID DNA. Evleaks has posted a leak of what looks to be the DROID DNA, and considering the context of the image (the device sits within some futuristic setting) it looks like this might be a snippet from one of those elaborate banner ads or a DROID DOES landing page.

Regardless, it looks like Verizon and HTC are gearing up to drop this 5 inch bomb that looks to cause more than just a few ripples this holiday season. It’ll be interesting to see what they do in terms of timing with the Galaxy Note 2 launching at the end of this month. It was said that that particular device was scheduled so late into the month in order to make room for major marketing for the DROID RAZR HD devices, though that is something we likely won’t get confirmation on.

Indications originally pointed to a November release for the DROID DNA, though @evleaks is saying to expect this one early December. It should be an interesting six weeks for Big Red should things go according to rumored plans. Is anyone waiting to see what HTC and Verizon have up their sleeves with this release or will you go a different route for your holiday smartphone purchase?

[via @evleaks]


Samsung Galaxy Note 2 sells 3 million units in 30 days; Galaxy S3 at 30 million

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 08:52 AM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy S3 took the world by storm when it released this past summer. Sales are still going strong, and Samsung has found its bread and butter in the mobile world. Many didn’t know if that same success would eventually roll over into the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 series. Still relatively young, Samsung started perfecting this phablet phase back in 2011, and while the Samsung Galaxy Note was no failure, it certainly hadn’t reached the same success the Galaxy S line did.

The line is starting to blur, however, as it appears the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is quickly becoming a hit. In the short 20 days since it’s been available the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has apparently sold 3 million units. Sure, Apple might be able to sell that many iPhones in just a week or probably even a day, but considering how large this device is up against more slender and small options those seem like some very good numbers.

And consider this: most of North America haven’t even gotten a chance to buy the phone yet. Verizon and AT&T customers won’t have a chance to buy it until later this month, while those in Canada are only just now beginning to get their hands on it. Add in all the smaller countries in Europe, Asia and South America that might not yet have it and we’d say the Note 2 is doing pretty damn good for itself already.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has already eclipsed 30 million units sold to date, and with the holiday season looming it looks like they might be in line for another surge in sales after those who missed the summer rush finally get a chance to buy one. Samsung maintains four out of its best five weeks came after the launch of the iPhone, a figure that might indicate brand loyalty for Apple is finally starting to wane a little bit (though there’s really no telling what, exactly, it comes down to).

Whichever way you put it, Samsung has found no issue getting through the iPhone launch and this further shows why it now has a vast majority of the world’s major carriers in the palms of its hands (yep, even in the cellular mess that we enjoy here in America).

[via Samsung Tomorrow]


Mophie’s first non-iOS smartphone case is available for the Samsung Galaxy S3

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 08:08 AM PDT

I’m sure many of you folks have heard of Mophie. The company creates mobile battery-charging units, and it got its claim to fame by making “juice pack” cases for iOS devices. These cases provide protection and extra battery life at the same time, so it’s like having an extended battery or swapping out a spare. While this problem was obviously more geared toward the non-user-replaceable Apple devices, many people wanted these cases for other phones.

Well, Mophie has finally extended its collection to include the first Mophie juice pack case that isn’t an iOS device. As you might have guessed (that’s if you didn’t read the title first) it’s for the Samsung Galaxy S3, and this makes total sense for the company. For starters, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is pretty much identical on all carriers in all regions. Some units might be just a tad thicker, but the difference is so marginal that it doesn’t matter.

This gives Mophie just one form factor to target, and since the Samsung Galaxy S3 is a wildly popular phone it’s the perfect device to break out of the iOS wheel they’ve been stuck with. The Galaxy S3′s Mophie juice pack delivers an extra 2,300 mAh of juice, which is actually 200 mAh more than the capacity of the battery the Galaxy S3 ships with. This effectively gives you double the battery life, and while your phone will get a tad bigger you’ll no doubt appreciate what it adds.

Of course, there are a couple of different ways to use this case. Some people keep their devices inside the pack all day, even if they start the day at 100%. Others will only attach the pack when their devices are about to die, and this is probably the most practical way to use it.

But no matter how you prefer to go about your business the commonality of it is that you’re getting a great mobile charging solution that isn’t as cumbersome as the usual bricks we see. It’ll cost you $100 for the privilege of owning one, and you can go ahead and take the plunge over at their website today. The cases are available in either white or black. Read on for full press details.

New mophie juice pack Lets Samsung Galaxy S® III Users Do More with their Device

Battery Case Doubles the Time to Rock, Talk, Surf and Send

SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The mophie™ juice pack, which has kept millions of iPhone’s “in the green,” is now available for the popular Samsung Galaxy S® III, providing double the battery life on one charge as well as complete device protection in an ultra-thin, lightweight, low-profile design. The juice pack for Galaxy S III marks the company’s continued expansion into the Android market, with the new case joining mophie’s existing universal line of external rechargeable batteries.

“mophie has become synonymous with device power, and we are motivated to engineer new battery solutions for both the Apple and Android communities,” said Ross Howe, vice president of marketing. “We’re excited to empower Galaxy S III users to do more with their device without having to worry about running out of battery or having to take a time-out to recharge at a wall outlet.”
The juice pack Galaxy S III is now available for $99.95 at mophie.com and launching this weekend in select retailers nationwide.

Features of the case include:
100% Extra Battery Life-Packed with a 2300mAh rechargeable battery, users will appreciate up to 9 hours of additional talk time, 11 additional hours of Internet use, 32 hours of audio playback, or 8 hours of video playback
Custom Design-The ultra-thin, lightweight and low-profile case design provides protection while perfectly complementing the sleek look of the Galaxy S III
Sync with Ease-A pass-through USB cord allows users to charge and sync without removing their mobile device from the juice pack case
Charge on Demand-Features an on/off toggle switch that allows for standby and charging mode, giving users the ability to dictate when extra juice is needed
Battery Status Indicator-An integrated 4 LED status indicator notifies the user of how much battery power is left and displays how much charge time remains when the case is plugged in
For more about mophie and its full suite of products, please visit www.mophie.com.
About mophie
mophie is a California-based, award-winning designer and manufacturer of accessories that let users do more with their portable devices. The brand is widely recognized and highly acclaimed for its creative designs and innovative solutions; specifically surrounding the juice pack, the first “Works With iPhone” portable battery solution certified by Apple Inc. All of mophie’s products are developed to address real consumer and business needs and are seamless integrations of industrial, electronic, software and artistic designs. mophie products are available in more than 100 countries, and can be purchased in Apple stores worldwide, AT&T, Best Buy, Verizon, Sprint, and on www.mophie.com. Follow mophie on Twitter at twitter.com/mophie or on Facebook at facebook.com/mophielovesyou.


Jelly Bean distribution checks in at 2.7%, Gingerbread still sits on more than half of all Android devices

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 07:37 AM PDT

While Google’s tendency to keep the world updated on Android platform distribution numbers is more for the benefit of developers (after all, they have to know who to target), the tech world grasps onto these numbers with a tight death grip out of sheer interest. Welp, the latest report is up and things aren’t looking too out of the ordinary here.

For starters, newcomer Jelly Bean has managed to break a little ground with 2.7% of the share so far. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 has a huge part in this as it was the first device to come shipped with Jelly Bean and that phone has sold 3 million units so far. But there are also the Nexus devices which are sure to make up a good chunk of that.

Whichever way you slice the pie, though, the share is still quite small compared to previous versions, natch. For instance, Ice Cream Sandwich now exists on 25.8% of all devices. It hasn’t quite been able to break the same ground Gingerbread did on the phone side of things, unfortunately, and with Jelly Bean taking center stage it likely won’t ever reach those heights.

That’s a good thing, but none of it will mean anything unless we can get that Gingerbread count down. The legacy OS (it’s still totally operational, it’s just not the most modern version) still takes up 54.2% of all devices.

Most new phones and tablets are launching with Ice Cream Sandwich or higher so we can attribute Gingerbread’s resiliency to the fact that many phones have been left in the dark in regards to OTA upgrades. It’s a shame, but that’s the sad truth that we have to deal with. Most folks with these “dead in water” phones probably won’t be getting rid of them until their upgrades are up so Gingerbread could be the king for quite some time.

The reason it’s important to want Gingerbread to die is because it would accelerate development for Holo UI apps instead of people sticking to the old UI framework. There are a good amount of apps modernized already, but there are a lot more that simply haven’t caught up with the times. It’s not clear how things will look the next time Google updates these numbers but we don’t expect any huge jumps between now and then. Be sure to head to the source link for the full report.

[via Android Developers]


LG Optimus G, Sony Xperia TL now available from AT&T

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 06:40 AM PDT

The LG Optimus G and Sony Xperia TL are now available through AT&T. The devices can be found online and in stores, and pre-orders should be arriving at doorsteps today. The handsets serve as their respective manufacturer’s flagship Android devices for the second half of the year and both feature hardware that includes an HD display.

The Optimus G’s 4.7-inch screen is paired with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM. Unlike the version of the device that went on pre-order for Sprint yesterday, however, a 13MP camera has been switched out for an 8MP sensor. During testing, we found the phone to be quite impressive. The Xperia TL does feature a 13MP camera along with a 4.6-inch display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and 1GB RAM.

Both devices ship with Ice Cream Sandwich and feature 4G LTE connectivity. The Optimus G is available for $199.99 on a new two-year contract while the Xperia TL comes in at an affordable $99.99. If you are planning on picking up either, head over to AndroidForums and join the discussion at our Optimus G and Xperia TL sections.


Google’s Music Explorer now live in the Play Store for some users

Posted: 01 Nov 2012 07:49 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

It was earlier this week Google let us in on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and some of tasty treats that would be debuting on Nexus 4. Google went over many of the new features, also demoing Music Explorer, a graphical music discovery tool for the Google Play Store.

Well, it looks like you wont have to wait until Android 4.2 to try out Music Explorer for yourself, as Google has just flipped the switch enabling the feature for many Android users in the Play Store. Similar to something we’ve seen from the Microsoft Zune back in the day, Music Explorer introduces users to similar artists they’ve looked up in the Google Play Store using a snazzy UI. A similar option was always available in the Play Store, but it was never pretty as this. Let us know if it’s gone live in your Play Store!

Thanks, Tommy!