Android Authority

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• Chromebook Pixel comes with new Chrome photo app
• Sony’s Xperia Z to land in Austalia mid-March for $749
• LG Optimus G finally landing in Europe with Android 4.1, but isn’t it too late?
• Galaxy S3, Note 2 and other TouchWiz devices affected by copy-paste clipboard bug [video]
• HTC One priced in Germany, on-contract in UK
• Galaxy S4 to feature Samsung Orb, a Photo Sphere of its own
• HTC’s CEO says company sticking with Sense, blames marketing for its problems
• Sony brings dual SIM Xperia E to America, offered unlocked for $199
• Motorola hands out $50 Google Play voucher for purchase of new smartphone
• French operator Orange unveils three new Android phones: Nivo, Lumo, San Remo

Chromebook Pixel comes with new Chrome photo app Posted: 22 Feb 2013 02:38 AM PST   In case you didn't hear about it by now, Google on Thursday has made the Chromebook Pixel official, a touchscreen-ready cloud-based laptop that is by far the most elegant, but also the most expensive Chrome OS machine to date. But why launch a device with a huge resolution display – MacBook Pro with Retina display-like screen – if users won't actually get to take advantage of those 4.3 million pixels? Sure, more Chrome OS apps will support the new screen resolution, but while we wait we'll tell you that there already is one such app, Google's revamped Chrome photo app. In a rather logical move, the company updated the photo app by adding new features like touch-friendly support and an extra grain of salt. The app is now more intelligent, and will be able to tell what photos to select from storage, as it understands which ones are blurry or have bad exposure. Furthermore, the app seems to have been updated to better accommodate sharing needs. As soon as an SD card slot is inserted into the Chromebook, the app will automatically recognize pictures and upload full-resolution images to Google+. Initially, the app will be available via the Chrome Web Store to Chromebook Pixel buyers, but it will roll out to other devices in the future.

Sony’s Xperia Z to land in Austalia mid-March for $749 Posted: 22 Feb 2013 02:20 AM PST Australia is just one of the many places where the Sony Xperia Z will be gracing its presence. We told you last month that all major mobile operators in the country will be offering the popular phone. Well, now we have some fresh information regarding its availability and pricing in the land of the down under. If you want to get your claws on the Xperia Z, you'll have to set aside A$749 (US$775), as it's the unlocked price that Sony has set for the phone on its webstore. Since the Xperia maker hasn't confirmed the exact date of its arrival, we'll have to turn to carriers to satisfy our — and your — curiosity. Both Vodafone and Optus said that the Xperia Z will be up for grabs starting from mid-March. You can get the Z from Vodafone for free with a $60 monthly plan on a two-year contract, though other plans are also available. As for Telstra, the mobile operator has confirmed that it'll be selling both white and black variants of the phone in its brick-and-mortar stores, while the purple model will only be available online. However, the release date there is still missing.

LG Optimus G finally landing in Europe with Android 4.1, but isn’t it too late? Posted: 22 Feb 2013 02:08 AM PST This is just too confusing. LG is readying the Optimus G Pro (two versions of it, in fact), the G2 is also said to be in the works, while Europeans are only now getting the first-gen Optimus G? That's downright ridiculous! And yet this is the way LG is choosing to do business. And they wonder why they can't be as successful as Samsung… Oh, well, at least they're throwing a buttery Jelly Bean treat in there to make Europeans feel like they're not the least important people on Earth. But that's only going to enrage Americans, who are still stuck on Android 4.0 ICS on their Optimus Gs. LG just can't get a break! Besides the adding of Android 4.1 in the mix, LG hasn't changed much, so this is the same old Optimus G we've known from November 2012. You get a 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, 2 GB of RAM, 4.7-inch IPS display with 1,280 x 768 pixels resolution, 4G LTE speeds (where they're achievable), 32 GB of on-board storage and a 2,100 mAh battery. We're unsure about the camera, but we don't even what to think how pissed Europeans would get if LG was going to slap the "new" Optimus G with an 8 MP snapper. So 13 MP it is… hopefully! Getting back to the software for a second, let's say the traditional JB tweaks are not flying solo. LG has also updated the QSlide feature and added Safety Care and Privacy Keeper. G's first stop on the old continent will be Sweden by the end of this month (so, next week), followed by France, Germany, Italy and other unspecified countries in March. No words on pricing yet, but with the far more impressive Xperia Z and HTC One launching any day now, LG needs something special to draw attention. Maybe €500? Less?

Galaxy S3, Note 2 and other TouchWiz devices affected by copy-paste clipboard bug [video] Posted: 22 Feb 2013 02:06 AM PST Looking for a fast way to reboot your Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2 and other Android Samsung handsets and tablets that have TouchWiz running on top of the Android 3.0-4.1? Just start copying stuff and soon enough your device will crash and reboot. Apparently this is an issue that affects plenty of Samsung device owners, and according to the video below, posted on YouTube just yesterday, Samsung has been aware of the issue and fixing it since October 22, 2012, or exactly four months ago. The problem appears to lie with the clipboard that keeps track of your copying commands for later pasting, and the bug is triggered after 20 or so items are saved in it. But then again this is not an exact recipe for “success,” and crashes occur randomly. After all, who keeps tracks on how many items were copied? Obviously this TouchWiz clipboard bug should be fixed with a software update, not that Samsung has the freedom of releasing such updates whenever they please considering that everything must go through carriers. However, the company was fairly quick to patch those recently discovered Exynos chip vulnerabilities, so one would assume that since late October last year the company would have had time to release an update to fix the problem. And in case you’re wondering, this appears to be a problem that affects stock Samsung ROMs, so if you happen to be running a custom Android built on your Galaxy smartphone or tablet, a TouchWiz-less one, then chances are you’re not experiencing it. Has this issue affected your daily activities?

HTC One priced in Germany, on-contract in UK Posted: 22 Feb 2013 01:28 AM PST Still haven't made up your minds on HTC's "One to rule them all"? Can't say I blame you. The thing is a mixed bag of nuts, and, with Galaxy S4's launch looming, it's hard to think Sammy won't do enough to undercut HTC… again. Yet there's something about the One that sticks. And for the time being at least, the 4.7-incher does have enough "juice" to outdo champs like the Droid DNA or Galaxy Note 2. Those are last year's flagships, but still. But if HTC wants to capitalize on this presumed short period of domination, the One has to be released… yesterday. Thankfully, the Taiwanese look like they've learned a thing or two after last year's One X flop. The current ETA for Europe is mid-March, but don't be surprised if you're going to see the bad boy in stores earlier. The German and UK launch stages are all set, with pricing details almost fully revealed. O2 seems to have the edge on the competition in Deutschland, even though T-Mobile, Vodafone and E-Plus are also confirmed to carry the phone. We're less than 12 days away from O2 Germany's release, according to the network's website, meaning the One will start shipping on March 6. Off-contract pricing starts at €661 ($870), while the subsidized flavor will set you back €25.99 each month. In both cases, you'll get a Beats by Dr. Dre headphone set for free (normally worth €99), so the deal doesn't sound half bad. Notebooksbiliger.de also has the HTC One listed for pre-order, but the ETA is "late March". The retailer's One is at the same time a tad pricier than O2's off-contract version – €669.90. On the other hand, if you prefer a carrier-locked model, you can pre-order it from here with Vodafone, T-Mobile or O2 plans starting at €182. Meanwhile, even if the GB launch is still scheduled for March 15, (some) on-contract pricing details have been revealed in addition to unlocked price points. Phones4U, which happens to have the best price for the SIM-free One, also offers it with Vodafone, Orange and EE 24-month contracts. The best deal seems to be with Orange, where you can get the One for free with £36 plans including 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 1 GB of data. Vodafone and EE also have the HTC phone available for no upfront charge, but their plans are steeper, at £37 and £41 respectively. Upon pre-ordering the HTC One, you'll get a complimentary set of UR Beats headphones, as well as a flip case, worth a total of over £100. Not too shabby, but is it enough to make you not wait for the GS4? You tell us.

Galaxy S4 to feature Samsung Orb, a Photo Sphere of its own Posted: 22 Feb 2013 01:27 AM PST That's right, we have more Galaxy S4 rumors for you, and this time around we're talking about a feature we expect to see on the device – panoramic picture mode – since, after all, it's a feature available in the latest Android OS versions. But, obviously, Samsung will have its own custom Photo Sphere, called Samsung Orb, a new report reveals. Android Geeks has it from a software engineer working on the Galaxy S4 that the flagship device will come with panoramic picture mode and Samsung Orb will let users capture 360-degree images. According to the unnamed engineer, the Orb will give you "an almost three-dimensional viewing experience," and it will be "even better than Photo Sphere, courtesy of the S4's amazing camera.” Speaking about camera, most rumors say that the Galaxy S4 will have a 13-megapixel camera, and it will surely be interesting to see whether Samsung has any other special camera features up its sleeve for this device, or whether it's simply moving along in the megapixels race instead of coining UltraPixels-like marketing terms. How reliable is the rumor? Well, we certainly expect more Android smartphones to offer Photo Sphere capabilities in the future, whether using Google’s default app or building their own similar experiences. The recently announced LG Optimus G Pro is one such example, going the custom route as well, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see Samsung include its own panorama mode in future Galaxy devices. That said, we are a bit surprised that a Samsung engineer would reveal as much considering the way Samsung has been protecting such leaks in the past – or is this some sort of anti-UltraPixels controlled leaked of some sort? We’ll tell you more in a few weeks, once the Galaxy S4 becomes official, at which point we’ll surely be able to confirm or deny the Samsung Orb feature. Are you used to taking panoramic photos? Do you care much about such a feature?

HTC’s CEO says company sticking with Sense, blames marketing for its problems Posted: 22 Feb 2013 12:12 AM PST During all the buzz around the launch of the HTC One, HTC’s CEO Peter Chou also gave some media interviews about the new phone and the direction that HTC is taking. One aspect of HTC phones, which you either love or hate, is the Sense UI which the company builds into Android to replace some of the stock user interface. One of the reasons people give for not buying a HTC phone is their loathing of the UI, which is often called bloated. But love it or hate it, the HTC One comes with Sense 5 and according to Chou, Sense is here to stay. In an interview with The Verge, Chou was asked about the lessons learned from the HTC One X and HTC One S. What was his response? Apparently it was all to do with bad marketing! Other than the Sense UI, the other accusation leveled at HTC is that it released too many phones. To clarify this a bit, Samsung, Sony and all the other Android smartphone makers have a large selection of phones and at different price points, but HTC seemed to go through a phase of just releasing the same phone over and over again with small tweaks. The HTC One S, One SU, One SV and so on. The difference between one model and another was the lack of Corning Gorilla Glass, or a slower CPU, or the addition of LTE. All very confusing. And maybe it is that confusion that HTC means to address with its new marketing approach. HTC’s boss did acknowledged that the company needed to improve its marketing so that “people really get the message.” Many users felt a certain level of frustration after they buy a phone then a few months later a variation comes out. Personally I think the naming is a big problem, I think the name for the HTC One is wrong. Although building on a brand like Samsung has done with “Galaxy” is important, Samsung has made sure that the names are sufficiently different but yet have the same brand. With HTC all they do is add or remove a single letter, which is way to subtle for most people! One worrying aspect is that it isn’t clear that HTC knows who its target market is. When asked about who its core customers were, Chou replied that they are people “who are driven and are passionate about their beliefs and are looking for differentiation.” People who “appreciate innovation”, who “appreciate inspiring experiences.” Well, first that is a not very convincing, everyone appreciates innovation. When I saw my first microwave oven, I didn’t say, nah, I don’t like that, too innovative. When I had an MRI last year I didn’t harken back to the days of x-rays. No, sorry Peter, everyone appreciates innovation. In fact Mr Chou used the word “innovation” ten times in the interview as if somehow the idea of creating something new was itself something new to HTC. When questioned about Windows Phone and Android, HTC’s top man was very diplomatic. HTC loves Android but it equally loves Windows Phone. Which does he prefer, why both of course! That is too be expected, but he was more frank when asked about other mobile operating systems like Ubuntu, Firefox OS, or Tizen. It seems that HTC is very happy to remain with Android and Windows, well for the moment anyway. As for tablets, yes HTC is interested, but it needs to figure out how it can differentiate it from all the others that are already on the market. Wise words. The last thing HTC needs to do now in the middle of its financial troubles is release a run-of-the-mill tablet that could be mistaken for a clone of one of the myriads of tablets already out there. What do you think, was marketing HTC’s biggest problem? Please leave a comment below.

Sony brings dual SIM Xperia E to America, offered unlocked for $199 Posted: 21 Feb 2013 10:50 PM PST If you're in the market for a new smartphone from a major brand that offers dual SIM capability, which is quite a rare breed in the U.S., you might be interested in what Sony has to offer. The Xperia E Dual, the dual SIM phone that was launched back in December, is now up for pre-order in America. You can grab the Xperia E Dual either in champagne or black directly from Sony's online store, which is selling the phone for $199 unlocked. If you pre-order it now, the handset will be shipped out next week for free. Having a phone with two SIM card slots is great for folks who are looking to declutter their mobile life. With the Xperia E Dual (UMTS/HSPA and GPRS/EDGE), you can also easily select which number to use at specific times automatically. As for the specs, the Xperia E Dual sports a 3.5-inch display with 320 x 480 resolution, a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, microSD support, 3.2MP main camera, a front cam, 1,500mAh battery, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Motorola hands out $50 Google Play voucher for purchase of new smartphone Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:29 PM PST Motorola is yet to reveal its flagship smartphone for 2013, though if rumors are to be believed the upcoming Motorola X is going to be "a game changer". To provide an incentive for customers who may find it harder to choose the brand over competing ones, the company is giving away $50 Google Play credit for those who purchase select Motorola smartphones between February 18 – March 4. The list of eligible phones include: Droid Razr M, Droid Razr HD, Droid Razr Maxx HD, Droid Razr, Droid Razr Maxx, Droid 4, Atrix HD, Atrix 2, Photon Q LTE, Photon 4G, Titanium, Admiral, Electrify M, Electrify 2, and Defy XT. If you buy the device straight from Motorola.com, you'll be automatically registered for the $50 promotional credit, otherwise you'll have to fill out and mail the rebate form, as well as proof of purchase, to Moto — and wait for 1-2 weeks. Once you've received the credit, you can use it on music, movies, books, apps, and more. It’s safe to assume that grabbing the Nexus 4 or any other hardware from Google Play is out of the question.

French operator Orange unveils three new Android phones: Nivo, Lumo, San Remo Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:03 PM PST The French operator Orange, which actually serves quite a few number of countries, has today announced three new Android smartphone. Two of them use Qualcomm chips, but one of them, the San Remo, uses a MediaTek chip. Let’s just dive right in: The Nivo is the cheapest of the three, though we don’t exactly have a price tag yet. It’s going to have a 4 inch 800 x 480 screen and a 5 megapixel camera. Under the hood there’s a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 clocked at 1 GHz. And Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is on-board. Next up the ladder is the San Remo. Like we said earlier, it uses a MediaTek chip, which something that’s quite rare in Europe. The chip in question is the MT6577, which is a dual core ARM Cortex A9 part that’s clocked at 1 GHz. The phone has a gigantic 4.7 inch screen that painfully only does 800 x 480 pixels. And as for the cameras, 8 megapixels on the back, 2 megapixels on the front. And finally, the cock of the walk, we have the Lumo. It’s Orange’s first network branded smartphone to have 4G LTE. It’s going to support the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz bands. As for the specs, you’re looking at a 4.5 inch display that does 960 × 540 pixels, 8 megapixel camera, and a dual core processor (Qualcomm S4 Plus) clocked at 1.2 GHz. We really wish we could tell you how much these devices cost, but that information wasn’t provided. We don’t even know which European countries will get which phones. We’ll try to get some answers at Mobile World Congress next week. We’re really curious to know who made these things. Huawei? ZTE? An unknown Chinese player we haven’t even heard of yet? Update: There’s a really nice collection of hands-on photos of these phones on The Next Web.

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