Thursday, January 24, 2013

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

LG VS870 for Verizon passes through the FCC

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:17 PM PST

The rumored LG VS870 has officially passed through the FCC today, indicating an imminent launch. The device is expected to be irritably similar to the LG Escape that launched on AT&T last year, offering a quality cheap alternative for smartphone buyers on a budget. The FCC filing shows support for Verizon’s CDMA and LTE networks, as well as approval from the WPC (Wireless Power Consortium) which could mean Qi wireless charging may be in tow. There’s no word on a release date, though we’d expect it to see it arrive fairly soon considering the already-available Lucid’s rapidly aging hardware.

Source: FCC
Via: Engadget

Lookout Gets Updated To Bring Lock Cam Functionality, Allowing Us To See Who Tried To Steal Our Precious Toys

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:29 PM PST

 

As our smartphones become more and more valuable to us, we need to find different ways to protect them or recover them quickly if they end up in the wrong hands. With this in mind, Lookout Mobile Security has recently been updated to give even more security and piece of mind for owners of various Android devices thanks to a couple of features. The first feature is the implementation of Lock Cam, which allows for users to see if their device has been stolen or if someone else may be trying to snoop through when you're not around. The way Lock Cam works is that it takes a picture of anyone who enters an incorrect password three times into your Android lock screen with the front-facing camera on your device. Once that is done, owners of the vulnerable device then receives an email with the picture and the location of your device, giving you all the deets about who tried to access your device and where it happened. The second feature applies to premium subscription users where they can add a customized message of up to 300 characters to the Lookout Lock screen, so it acts as an SOS of sorts and helps the device find its way home to its rightful owner. Premium users can enable this cool feature by logging into Lookout.com from any smartphone or computer screen.

The latest update is now available for your Android device today, so head on down to the Play Store and grab it… now.

 

Play Store Download Link

Verizon offers DROID RAZR M in pink

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:38 PM PST

Yesterday in a report on global smartphone sales during the Christmas holiday period, we learned that one of the top three smartphones given as a gift was the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2. We have another holiday coming up in less than a month that usually involves some gift-giving, Valentine’s Day. Verizon may be hoping to capitalize on the holiday by making the Motorola DROID RAZR M available in pink. The new color should be available online and in stores starting January 24th.

source: Verizon

Galaxy S IV Screen To Surpass Retina Display Quality

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:22 AM PST

DigiTImes is citing unnamed industry sources as saying Samsung will incorporate new pixel layouts with increased resolution for AMOLED panels. The new design layout uses a hexagon and diamond-shaped pixel layout allowing for resolutions above 440 pixels per inch. The iPhone 5′s Retina Display is 326PPI. The same sources said the new panels would be used in Samsung’s Galaxy S IV.  Although we’re excited to see Sammi’s new flagship sport a top of the line display, we should point out the HTC Droid DNA already has a 440PPI display so it’s not exactly an industry first.

Quick recap of recent Galaxy S IV rumors: It could be unveiled in March,  with an Exynos 5 Octa processor, 5-inch 1080p display and an S Pen! I’d like to say to take these rumors with a grain of salt but I’m too damn excited and not-so-secretly wishing for them to all be true!

Source: DigiTimes

HTC Flip Clock to be included in Sense 5.0 after all

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST

We have seen a number of screen shots from the upcoming Sense 5.0 UI, but one thing that was absent in all of them was the HTC classic flip clock. All the images up until now showed a more minimalist version (pictured below). The assumption was that HTC was going to get away from it for the first time in many years, but lovers of the iconic flip clock can rejoice because it looks like it will be back again. HTCSource just received the image above to solidify it.

source: htcsource

Siri, an AI orphan, almost landed on all Android devices from Verizon

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 09:45 AM PST

In a new story published yesterday, The Huffington Post delves into the history of Siri, Apple’s voice-assistant that seems to be ubiquitous to the iPhone experience since the 4S came out. One of the interesting bits of information from the article deals with how the technology almost ended up on all Android phones that were going to be sold by Verizon.

According to the story, in the fall of 2009 Verizon inked a deal with Siri what would have made Siri a default app on all Android phones that Verizon was getting ready to launch the following year. However, Steve Jobs had apparently run across the iOS version of the Siri app in February 2010 and thought it was just what the iPhone needed to create a speech interface for Apple’s devices. Despite Verizon having already started working on implementing Siri on their Android devices, to the extent some early commercials had been developed, Apple somehow swooped in and insisted on Siri being exclusive to their devices and managed to nix the Verizon deal.

The Huffington Post article also reveals some the history of Siri. The genesis of the technology was rooted in a 2003 Department of Defense project referred to as CALO – Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes. The idea was to create a computer that could learn in the “wild.” It was considered a huge artificial intelligence project and by most measures was a success. Through a series of challenges over the succeeding years, some of the key principles in the project ended up starting Siri to capitalize in the market by producing a virtual assistant. One feature they hoped to include in the product was the ability to be a “smartass” when appropriate in order to provide some amusement. The Siri project team also worked to incorporate the use of a variety of web services through APIs, an idea that was scaled back immensely by Apple along with the language of the responses. In the end, Apple scaled back much of Siri’s powers to where it is a ghost of the artificial intelligence roots buried within its capabilities.

If you have some time available to read the article, you may want to check out The Huffington Post story in the source link for more about artificial intelligence and where we might be headed with virtual assistants on our smartphones and other devices.

source: The Huffington Post

via: The Verge

Android 4.1.2 Update Officially Landing On The International Galaxy S II Smartphone

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:53 AM PST

 

 

The day has finally come for all of you Galaxy S II owners that have been patient and waiting for all that Project Buttery goodness: the Jelly Bean update is starting to roll out to the international variant (GT-I9100) of the popular smartphone. SamMobile reports that the Jelly Bean update brings the Android version to 4.1.2 and build JZO54K, while bringing a whole host of improvements. One of the major things to note is Samsung completely left the horrible old UI and has implemented the Nature UX interface— which is the same as that found in the Galaxy S III. In addition to the newfound fluidity and speed of the UI, additional features include items like S Cloud support, new widgets, a new lock screen and of course, Google Now.

While the update is finally out in the wild, only owners of the international flavor of the smartphone can grab it at this time. This means that those of you on those carrier-branded models will need to wait just a little while longer. Don’t fret though— the update should be ready sooner than later for you folks. In the meantime— if you’re an owner of the international variant of the smartphone, feel free to check for the update at this time via Samsung Kies or OTA.

source: SamMobile


Google Announces Q4 2012 Results, Gives Additional Status Update On Motorola Acquisition

Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:34 AM PST

 

Q4 2012 was one heck of a time for Google. We saw the launch of some awesome devices… which resulted in some high demand and much pandemonium– and now it has some pretty solid earnings to show for the great year. According to Google head honcho Larry Page:

 

“we ended 2012 with a strong quarter. Revenues were up 36% year-on-year, and 8% quarter-on-quarter. And we hit $50 billion in revenues for the first time last year – not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half. In today's multi-screen world we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit. It's an incredibly exciting time to be at Google."

 

The reported revenues and free-flowing pipeline of funds were apparent at Google for Q4. The Mountain View giant reported consolidated revenues of $14.42 billion for Q4 which was an increase of 36% compared to the Q4 2011. What’s even more astonishing is that Google only accounted for its core advertising, search and mobile business when coming up with the $14 billion revenue total— if Motorola Home business was included, consolidate revenues would have grown to $15.24 billion dollars.

 

While the financial success is great news, we must realize that there is still a long journey ahead for Googlorola. It’s important to note however that the Google/Motorola marriage is still very much in transition. As it stands now, Motorola is losing money at a steady rate— and Google is certainly not in the position to lose money with Motorola. Here’s Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette highlighting Google’s stance on the Motorola acquisition in a brief nutshell:

 

“We do care about profitability, and that is our goal with every one of the areas where we invest… we’re not in the business of losing money with Motorola.”

 

Expect brighter and better days ahead for Motorola as it continues to be fully integrated into the Google family. We expect that while there is money being lost now— everything will be made up and then some in the future. You’ll find additional highlights and statements at the source link below.

source: Google

 

 

 

Verizon posts record breaking number of subscribers and LTE growth with a $4.23 billion loss in Q4

Posted: 22 Jan 2013 06:57 PM PST

Yep, you read that right. Despite having a record breaking 2.1 million subscribers for Big Red in Q4 2012, totaling over 98 million customers, Verizon posted a $4.23 billion loss. Now, losing a few billion dollars is never a good thing, of course, but Verizon is a postpaid wireless carrier, so most of their profit comes over the two-year contracts customers sign to purchase their heavily subsidized phones, so this is certainly not the end of the world for them. And the best part of this report is that we get a peek at smartphone trends.

Verizon’s subscriber base is now 58% smartphone users, up from 53%, and 87% of their 9.8 million sales in Q4 were smartphones. How many of those were LTE phones, you may be wondering? Right around 7.3 million, putting LTE devices in the hands of 23% of its customers, which is great news for LTE adoption. (hopefully we’ll see some other carriers pick up the pace and follow suit) Now, unfortunately for our little green friend, only 3.6 million of those 9.8 million phones were running Android, which coincides with some of that market share turmoil we’ve seen in the past few months. Android is still doing just fine worldwide, anyway.

source: The Verge

HTC M7 rumored to be headed to Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint

Posted: 22 Jan 2013 06:02 PM PST

The HTC M7 has been the source of many rumors and leaks lately, and now we have another big one for you. According to sources close to the matter, the M7 will be carried on three of the four major US carriers: Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. There is no evidence yet on whether T-Mobile will be seeing HTC’s next super phone, but it is possible that we could see a full four-carrier launch as HTC tries to take on Samsung’s Galaxy S III series which launched across all four US carriers about six months ago.

The M7 is poised to be a top contender in the crowded smartphone market, as it is rumored to pack a 4.7-inch 1,920 x 1080 display (with a mind-boggling 468ppi), a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor,  and 32GB of internal storage— all being operated by Jelly Bean topped off with Sense 5.0, which promises to have a "simple and clean" UI. The M7 is rumored to be released at MWC next month, so hopefully we’ll see the US variants coming a short time later. Any of you planning on picking up the M7 when it releases?

Source: evleaks
Posted by at 6:52 AM

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