Android Authority |
- Rumor: Samsung prepping 8 Android smartphones for Q1 2013 (besides the Galaxy S4)
- Google ready to give away over $3 million of rewards for Chrome OS hacks during Pwnium 3
- Best Buy and Wirefly now have stock of the Nexus 4
- Samsung Galaxy Express: It’s another Galaxy that doesn’t make any sense
- DigiTimes: HTC will unveil the M7 next month in London, ship it in late March
- Google demands probable-cause warrant from cops before handing over user data
- Gmail’s ‘Quote Selected Text’ goes back to Labs due to user confusion
- Spotify Premium now bundled with Orange Young plans in Switzerland
- Deal Alert: Amazon reduces price of Droid Razr HD to $19.99
- Quirky messaging app ‘Line’ hits 100m users, targets the U.S. to spur growth
| Rumor: Samsung prepping 8 Android smartphones for Q1 2013 (besides the Galaxy S4) Posted: 29 Jan 2013 02:15 AM PST
While Samsung's high-end smartphones have obviously played a key part in the company's recent booming success in the Android décor, there's no doubt in our minds that the low-enders and mid-tier devices have also contributed to the unprecedented sales and profit boosts. To put it simply, it was a team effort that brought Sammy the Android crown, an effort sustained by the GNote 2 and GS3 as well as the Galaxy Y or Ace. It's only natural therefore to expect Samsung to continue pushing in the budget niche just as hard as it does in the high-end sector. And man, are the Koreans pushing! The rugged Galaxy Xcover 2 made its debut late last week, the Galaxy Pop saw daylight just yesterday, while literally moments ago we witnessed the Galaxy Express launch. But wait, there's more. Much more actually, if we are to trust SamMobile (and why wouldn't we?). The website's sources tell us that Sammy is in fact prepping 8 (eight!!!) other Android devices for Q1 2013 debuts. And that's not counting the GS4 pack leader we expect to see any day now.
The first side of this Samsung octagon is occupied by the GT-B9150 we've heard about way back in October 2012. This fellow doesn't have a market name yet, but the rumored spec sheet includes goodies like a 1,280 x 672 pix res display, a dual-core Exynos 5250 CPU and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. There could also be a slide-out QWERTY keyboard there, but that's only based on the model number. The GT-I8262, aka Galaxy Core, is the second Samsung mid-ranger expected by the end of March. Introduced already in China as the Galaxy Duos, this guy sports a 4.3-inch 480 x 800 display, a 1.2 GHz dual-core CPU, 768 MB of RAM and a 5 MP camera. The number three and four on today's list might have branding in common, being supposedly named the Galaxy Fonblet 5.8 and Fonblet 6.3. Though we've heard word about the first one before, we still don't have many details, besides the obvious screen size and the model numbers – GT-I9150 and GT-I9152. Meanwhile, the 6.3-incher is even more mysterious, although, judging by the existence of a sole model number (GT-I9205), we can guess it'll only come in a single-SIM version.
Moving on lower on Samsung's "food chain", we have four more phones with very few details attached to their names. These are the Galaxy Star (aka GT-S5282), Galaxy Pocket 2 (GT-S5310 or GT-S5312), Galaxy Young (GT-S6310 and GT-S6312) and Galaxy Frame (GT-S6810 and GT-S6810P). Based only on their rumored market names or model numbers, we can assume the Star will be a rehash of the 2012 Star 3 Duos (aka S5222), while the Pocket 2 and Young will follow on the footsteps of the Galaxy Pocket (S5300) and Galaxy Y (S5360). Finally, the Frame, which has been rumored before, shouldn't have any obvious ties with past Sammy products, though the specs could be similar to Ace and Mini's. Phew, now that was exhausting! And all those phones aren’t even official yet. Which begs the question – is Samsung going too far? Is the Galaxy big enough for so many slightly different devices? What do you guys think? Related Posts |
| Google ready to give away over $3 million of rewards for Chrome OS hacks during Pwnium 3 Posted: 29 Jan 2013 01:44 AM PST
In previous years Google’s Pwnium competition focused on its Chrome web browser but this year the search giant says that since Pwn2own is covering Chrome, it wants hackers at Pwnium 3 to attack Chrome OS. Google are giving away up to $150,000 per exploit but to get the money the compromise must be demonstrated on a base (WiFi) model of the Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook, running the latest stable version of Chrome OS. Also you need to give Google details of the exploit! Underwriting rewards of $3.14159 million might sound like a big amount, but during previous competitions Google only had to payout a fraction of the total rewards available. It is likely that security researchers will only find one or two exploitable vulnerabilities, so Google will likely payout around $300,000 by the end of the competition. However that is still a big some of money. Why is it important?So why is Google running these competitions and handing out such large sums of cash. In the same way that the technology used in Formula 1 racing trickles down to the consumer market, so it is with these competitions. Once the exploit has been shown Google, will update Chrome OS and Chrome to fix the errors. It will also start to look for similar and related errors in the code. With millions of people using the Internet and a good portion of those using Chrome, Chrome OS or Android, Google has positioned itself as a company which takes security seriously and is building trust among consumers and corporates to demonstrate that our data and Internet transactions are safe in its hands. The level to which that assertion is true is however a completely different conversation! Pwnium 3 will be part of the CanSecWest 2013 conference, where the annual Pwn2Own competition will also be run that targets web browsers including Google Chrome. Related Posts |
| Best Buy and Wirefly now have stock of the Nexus 4 Posted: 29 Jan 2013 01:35 AM PST
We told you a few hours ago that Best Buy has put up the Nexus 4 on its website for all to see, but — unfortunately — not to buy. The difference between then and now is that NOW the retailer is ready to take your hard-earned money. As you might already know, Best Buy is selling the Nexus 4 for $199.99 with a two-year contract on T-Mobile. Meanwhile, the "unactivated price" will set you back $599.99. It's definitely on the pricey side of things, but paying the premium means you don't have to worry about being stuck on a contract. As for something that’s a little hard to believe, there's actually another option online where you to can try and get your Nexus 4 from. Retailer Wirefly also has stock of the phone on its website, where it's offered for $149.99. Not only will you get to save $50, but it also comes with free shipping. The off-contract price is set at $570. If you’re interested, we suggest you hurry up and grab the phone from either of the two as soon as humanly possible. Let us know whether you’ve managed to score one or not below. Related Posts |
| Samsung Galaxy Express: It’s another Galaxy that doesn’t make any sense Posted: 29 Jan 2013 01:14 AM PST
Samsung has just announced a new smartphone called the Galaxy Express. It looks exactly like the Galaxy S3, it has the same specs as the Galaxy S3 Mini, except that the Mini has a 4 inch screen, whereas the Express has a 4.5 inch screen. We wish we were making this up, but we’re not. Samsung is calling this thing a “value-driven 4G LTE smartphone”. In other words, Samsung wanted to satisfy operators who didn’t like the Galaxy S3 Mini, but still wanted to offer their customers a smaller Galaxy phone that looks and feels like the original. When will this thing come out and how much will it cost? This is a Samsung press release we’re talking about, so of course that information isn’t provided. Should you buy the Express? No. Why would you? To show your friends that you wanted a GS3, but couldn’t afford one, so you had to settle on this thing?  The one redeeming feature of the Express is the fact that it has a Super AMOLED Plus display. What does that mean? Samsung gets a lot of heat for shipping phone that have screens which use PenTile technology. PenTile means that each pixel of a screen doesn’t have three subpixels, instead there’s two subpixels, with an additional strip of subpixels running next to them. There have been improvements in PenTile technology over the years, but we’re not going to lie, Samsung’s PenTile AMOLED screens still don’t look as sharp or as accurate as the LG LCD panels that other companies (Apple) use in their products. Those panels have all three subpixels. Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus screens also use all three subpixels. But back to the topic at hand, why is Samsung diluting the Galaxy brand with all these derivative devices? It’s painful to watch. It reminds us of Nokia, who used to make one flagship phone per year, and then ship it in a bunch of form factors using different model names. Look where Nokia is now. Related Posts |
| DigiTimes: HTC will unveil the M7 next month in London, ship it in late March Posted: 29 Jan 2013 12:51 AM PST
According to DigiTimes, the Taiwanese supply chain website that’s chock full of rumors, most of which turn out to be true, HTC is going to announce the M7 early next month at an event in London. In case you haven’t heard of the M7 yet, it’s the codename for HTC’s 2013 flagship phone. It’s going to take everything we like about the DNA/Butterfly, and kick things up a notch. Let’s start with the screen. The DNA/Butterfly has a 5 inch 1080p display. The M7 on the other hand, it takes that same resolution and shrinks it down to “just” 4.7 inches. That means it’ll have a stunningly high DPI of 468. Then there’s the camera. It’ll allegedly have a 13 megapixel sensor, which is all fine and dandy, but we care about the optics more. And as for the processor, there will be a 1.7 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon in there. Now we know what you’re thinking, who cares about the phone if you can’t buy it? DigiTimes goes on to say that the M7 will be on store shelves during the “second half of March”. Translation: HTC wants to have their high end phone out before Samsung drops the bombshell known as the Galaxy S4. But isn’t that the elephant in the room? Assuming the M7 turns out to be the ultimate smartphone. A device so amazing that you’re willing to do unspeakable acts just to obtain it. Shouldn’t you wait until Samsung hosts their own event to announce their next flagship phone? Make no mistake, 2013 is going to be a very interesting year. In 2011 we saw HTC’s Sensation fail to compete against the Galaxy S2. In 2012 we saw HTC’s One X fail to destroy Samsung’s massive marketing machine. Is the third time the charm or are we going to see HTC strike out for the third and final time? Related Posts |
| Google demands probable-cause warrant from cops before handing over user data Posted: 29 Jan 2013 12:25 AM PST
The fact that Google requires a probable-cause warrant from the police before handing over user data is a small privacy win for users of its services. However, according to Google’s own records, more than two-thirds of all the user data it does hand over are given without the need for any probable-cause warrants whatsoever. This is because of the existence of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act or ECPA, which was passed nearly three decades ago in 1986. Because of the ECPA, Google has to hand over certain kinds of user data as part of investigations if the data has been stored on its servers for more than 180 days. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy is currently trying to pass an ECPA revision that will make warrants mandatory, but his attempts have still not yielded any fruit. It may be unfortunate that the much-needed update to the ECPA is still pending, but at least Google is trying to do what it can to keep user data private. Other companies such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Facebook, have also taken similar approaches when it comes to handing over user data to government agencies. Until the pertinent ECPA revision pushes through, it’s up to policies made by companies like Google to ensure that the data its users store on its servers are kept safe and private, as it should be. Related Posts |
| Gmail’s ‘Quote Selected Text’ goes back to Labs due to user confusion Posted: 29 Jan 2013 12:18 AM PST
Of the three Gmail features that were released from the Labs in December, apparently one has graduated too soon to be perfectly primed for general use. Paying attention to user feedback, Google has recently decided to remove Quote Selected Text from the real world and let it undergo more testing. The official statement from the search giant is found in its official Gmail page in Google+, which goes:
By default, Gmail copies everything in your correspondent's email, along with all previous conversations, when you hit the Reply button and places it at the bottom of your draft. With Quote Selected Text, however, only the highlighted text is quoted in your reply. It's a useful feature when, for instance, you only want to reply to a specific thought found in very long email.
If you’re like me who misses the feature, you can still re-enable it through Gmail settings:
While you were in the Labs tab, you may have also found other interesting features that Google deems not yet ready for public release. You may test them yourselves, including the useful 'Custom keyboard shortcuts' and 'Background Send.' Just take note that they may occasionally break or disappear without prior notice. Related Posts |
| Spotify Premium now bundled with Orange Young plans in Switzerland Posted: 29 Jan 2013 12:14 AM PST
The first Orange Young plan is the least expensive one of all. It’s called Orange Young Star and it comes with unlimited calls and texts as well as 1GB of mobile data. Meanwhile, there’s a second plan called Orange Young Galaxy, and it comes with unlimited calls and texts along with 3GB of mobile data. Finally, the third and most expensive Orange Young plan comes with unlimited calls and texts plus 10GB of mobile data, and it’s called Orange Young Universe. All three plans now include Spotify Premium subscriptions that will allow users to enjoy music streaming without hitting their monthly bandwith caps. Back in November last year, we saw how Spotify teamed up with Sprint to provide a carrier billing option that allowed Premium subscribers to pay their $10 monthly subscription fee through their Sprint bills. Today’s news is an indication that Spotify is still working continuously to make things easier in more ways for its users around the world.
It’s not clear whether or not a similar deal is being cooked up by Spotify to be served elsewhere in the world. But a free Premium subscription to its music streaming service would surely be a welcome addition to just about any mobile data plan, provided that the price is right. For those outside of Switzerland, you can still get a free taste of what Spotify offers by downloading the official Spotify app through Google Play. Related Posts |
| Deal Alert: Amazon reduces price of Droid Razr HD to $19.99 Posted: 28 Jan 2013 11:58 PM PST
If you are considering switching to Verizon (no AT&T 4G LTE in your area?) or you are due for an upgrade on Big Red, this deal is for you. The Droid Razr HD has just dropped on Amazon down to $19.99 for new 2-year contracts and $0.01 for upgrades. While no longer cutting edge, the Razr HD is no weakling by any stretch of imagination. It comes with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor (the same one in the U.S. Galaxy S3), a 4.7-inch 720p AMOLED display, a large 2530mAh battery and Android 4.1. Its distinctive design and construction should also cause some heads to turn, and I am personally a fan the Kevlar backing. With both the Droid DNA and Galaxy Note 2 coming in at $299.99 on contract, this is a great alternative, especially for the price. Of course you could vainly attempt to get your hands on a Nexus 4 and switch to a prepaid plan but beware, your patience could be pushed to new limits if you decide to go down that path. As usual, both the black and white models and available. Have a look and spread the word, who knows how long the price will be this low. Related Posts |
| Quirky messaging app ‘Line’ hits 100m users, targets the U.S. to spur growth Posted: 28 Jan 2013 11:55 PM PST
Back in 2011, Naver launched its very own mobile messaging solution called Line, which raked in more than 2 million downloads in just three months. The success story continues, as the company announced that the app now boasts over 100 million users worldwide, a feat that took 19 months to reach. Like other competing instant messenger apps in the region, Line offers more than just the basic messaging features. It also allows users to make free voice calls, send photos and videos, and more. Seemingly unique to the app is the wacky Emoji and "fun stickers" that users can send to others. Think of them as emoticons on steroids.
New stickers can be bought using real money at its Stickers Shop. While they sound silly, the sales of the stickers in July of last year managed to net the company an impressive $3.75 million. According to the rep, the monthly sales figure is now much higher than that. Making the transition to a mobile-based social network, the app also introduced "home" and "timeline" features not too long ago, which allow users to update status, post pictures, and do other Facebook-y things. What's next for Line? After dominating Asia, Naver is now trying to make it big in the U.S., as it reportedly has signed up Snoop Dogg and other celebrities to entice young users in the country to join the service. It has also recruited a Paramount Pictures veteran to spearhead its U.S. expansion. If there isn't room for another mobile messaging application on your mobile device, you can actually download Line for your PC and Mac. Check out the link below if you want to see the fuss is all about.
Related Posts |
Google has launched its third Pwnium competition this time focusing on Chrome OS. For Pwnium 3 Google is prepared to give away up to $3.14159 million USD (yes, that is the number PI rounded up to 5 decimal places) in prizes to any security researcher who can demonstrate a browser or system level compromise.
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