Android Community |
- DirecTV launches Android tablet app, forgets to support the Nexus 7
- T-Mobile gets even, fires back at AT&T with their own attack ads
- AT&T will unlock your mobile phone
- Lenovo S920 5.3-inch phablet and S820 smartphone leaks
- Bladeslinger Wild West action game comes to Android
- Facebook Phone chatter continues: HTC Myst may arrive this spring
- Xperia lust? iPhone owners pulled in by Sony’s magical “Transfer”
- HTC video gives behind the scenes look at building the One
- Chameleon Launcher 2 for smartphones public release coming soon
- Google Glass app to recognize friends using motion and clothing
- NVIDIA shows Riptide GP 2 on Project SHIELD
- Micromax A110 Canvas 2 gets Jelly Bean
- RemotePlay allows you to share media between devices with ease
- LG Optimus G gets Android 4.1.2 update
- Motorola Mobility cuts headcount by about 1200 workers
- Microsoft patent lawsuit looks to ban Google Maps in Germany
- LG Intuition update rolling out and causing major issues
- Sony Xperia Tablet Z launching in Japan on March 22
- Will the Galaxy S4 be squared-off? These cases think so
- Nokia befriends Apple in fight against Samsung
| DirecTV launches Android tablet app, forgets to support the Nexus 7 Posted: 08 Mar 2013 11:19 AM PST Despite the fact that DirecTV has had an Android app available for some time now. And not even counting the bit about them having an app available for the iPhone and iPad — they have finally released a tablet intended for Android users. The app, which is dubbed DirecTV for Tablets can be found in the Google Play Store, however some Android tablet users may not be able to use the app.
Before we get into that point, lets take a look at what DirecTV for Tablets does offer. The support includes Android devices running 3.1 or later and the features include streaming as well as the ability to browse the guide and remotely control your DVR. The app also has a remote control that can be used to replace your current stand-alone remote. The app also allows for some customization. For example, you can create a favorite channel list and also add, remove and reorder the modules. These modules include Live TV Streaming, Currently Watching, Channel Guide and more. So far things seem to be looking pretty good in terms of the DirecTV for Tablets app. In fact, based on the Google Play Store screenshots and comments, it seems pretty good. In fact, one user had called the app a “gigantic improvement compared to the other DirecTV app.” Here comes the issue though, this app does not offer support for one rather popular Android tablet.
As you can see from the above screen capture, the Nexus 7 is not a supported device. We are not entirely sure if the folks at DirecTV think the Nexus 7 is actually a smartphone, of if this was simply an oversight. In the meantime, those rocking a Nexus 7 will be stuck using the original DirecTV app, which is intended for smartphones. [via Google Play Store] |
| T-Mobile gets even, fires back at AT&T with their own attack ads Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:54 AM PST In case you haven’t seen the AT&T advertisements that have been making the rounds in magazines and newspapers around the USA the past few weeks, they aren’t too nice. They are attacking T-Mobile head on as we reported here, but this week T-Mobile is firing back and getting even. It looks like the gloves are off and this battle will be getting down and dirty.
It all started with AT&T posting attack ads in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and many other national newspapers calling out T-Mobile’s service. Stating “the truth about T-Mobile’s network” is that it has twice as many dropped calls, 2x the amount of failed calls, and 50% slower speeds than AT&T. Pretty big and bold claims right? Actually rewind. This all started last year when AT&T tried and failed to buy T-Mobile. This week T-Mobile’s launched their own ads combating those from AT&T. They really only needed one, but posted about 3 just for good measure. What did the main one read? “If AT&T thought our network wasn’t great, why did they try to buy it?” then simply states that AT&T is obviously worried now that T-Mo’s turned up the heat. Pretty interesting and direct ads I’d say.
Then T-Mobile didn’t stop there and apparent has two others making the rounds this week. Asking what keeps AT&T up at night, which is obviously them. Or things like “Can you see the beads of sweat in this AT&T ad?” and all sorts of fun. So as we said above, the gloves are off and this is a good old-fashion fist fight.    [viaTmoNews] |
| AT&T will unlock your mobile phone Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:39 AM PST The topic of mobile phone unlocking has been rather hot since it became illegal back on January 26. Regardless of how many people actually plan to unlock a phone, it seems that this is a topic that is not ready to go away. We have seen everything from a petition to the White House to talk from the FCC chairman and even the Wireless Consumer Choice Act. Basically, it seems that everyone wants this decision to be reversed. In fact, we are now hearing from AT&T on this very subject.
It seems they are very friendly towards the practice of unlocking. Well, friendly towards the practice provided a few points have been taken care of. The carrier has recently issued a statement on the Public Policy Blog and have said that their “policy is to unlock our customers' devices if they've met the terms of their service agreements and we have the unlock code.” They go on to say that this is a straightforward policy and that they want to make it as easy as possible. To that point, AT&T has recently begun accepting iPhone unlock requests online. Of course, the previous methods of calling customer support or visiting a store are still available. Back to the topic at hand though. AT&T believes that this whole unlocking bit will have “very little impact” on their customers. Basically, they are simply restating the existing policy here in that they will unlock “a device for any customer whose account has been active for at least sixty days; whose account is in good standing and has no unpaid balance.” In addition, AT&T will unlock devices for customers that have already fulfilled the service agreement. On the flip side of unlocking so customers can go elsewhere, they also took this as an opportunity to remind potential customers that they will “be happy to offer you a SIM card that enables you to obtain service from AT&T.” All said and done, we are fairly sure that there will still be some horror stories about customers not being able to get their device unlocked, but this policy does seem pretty fair. [via AT&T] |
| Lenovo S920 5.3-inch phablet and S820 smartphone leaks Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:27 AM PST It looks like the popular PC company Lenovo is aiming to offer a few impressive quad-core smartphones later this year. While we’ve already seen and were impressed with the Lenovo K900 Intel-powered 5.5-inch smartphone, today a few slightly more budget aimed smartphones have leaked. Both rocking quad-core processors, and one even sports a large 5.3-inch display.
Now at first glance both the device above and below easily look like something HTC might have designed and then scrapped along with their One series, but nope, these are actually two brand new phones from Lenovo. First up (pictured above) is what we’re hearing will be their mid-range women-aimed S820 smartphone. It offers a 720p HD display, but currently there’s not too many details to go along with it. However it will rock a quad-core MediaTek processor and be aimed for women.
Then the more important of the two is the smartphone shown above codenamed the Lenovo S920. This 5.3-inch smartphone phablet will sadly not rock a 1080p display, and will instead come with a 1280x720p HD display to help keep it priced for those on a budget. MyDrivers reports it will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, dual-sim support, a 2,250 mAh battery, and the same quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor mentioned above. It should come with 2GB of RAM and that back sure looks a lot like the One X – but that’s just me. Like most of Lenovo’s devices of late, these will most likely only be offered in China but there’s a chance we could see these smartphones arrive elsewhere. That S920 photo is a bit blurry but it sure seems to have some pretty narrow bezels and a snazzy design. Hopefully we learn more or receive additional details soon. Lenovo’s aiming to take over the budget market, so we’ll see how they do.    [via UnwiredView] |
| Bladeslinger Wild West action game comes to Android Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:52 AM PST There is a brand new wild wild west action game available for Android today, and it’s called Bladeslinger. You won’t be robbing banks or running from Indians with this one either. Instead you’ll play a blade-wielding cowboy that returns home to find his town overrun with monsters and ancient evil demons. Originally a Tegra 3 quad-core exclusive game, but today is available for all.
We’ve been waiting for this game to arrive for sometime now and it was originally shown off back in December of 2011 when the Transformer Prime launched, listed as coming soon to an NVIDIA Tegra 3 device near you. Fast forward to today, the game has now arrived on the Google Play Store (and TegraZone) with support for almost all fairly new and capable devices, not just Tegra tablets. The premise is quite simple. You play a tough and rugged cowboy William Glaston who returns to his hometown to see it’s been overtaken by ancient evil monsters and demons and you must fight your way through. Armed with a revolver pistol that neatly has a machete attached. You’ll be shooting and slinging that blade through hoards of enemies. The graphics are rather impressive and features all sorts of next-gen effects. Real-time lighting, water effects, lifelike physics, and much more. Not all the graphics will be enabled unless you have a Tegra device, but the game still looks incredible for most devices. Add in the intuitive touch controls you’ll be slashing your way through evil demons in no time. For me it appears to be compatible with most recent dual-core devices. Some of those include the Galaxy Nexus, RAZR HD, some Archos tablets, and almost every new quad-core smartphones and tablet available today. The graphics are stunning and gameplay is inviting and addicting. Give it a try today for $2.99 from the Play Store link below.    [via Play Store] |
| Facebook Phone chatter continues: HTC Myst may arrive this spring Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:44 AM PST The never ending tale of the Facebook phone has returned. Of course, we have seen a few devices actually released. In the past we had the HTC Status, which launched on AT&T. That release goes all the way back to 2011 and wasn’t all that successful, but the rumors of another Facebook phone have remained. Rumors that HTC was planning something sprung up in July of 2012 and remained throughout the year. It is now 2013, the year this is all expected to happen and it looks like we have some specs.
Well, some rumored specs anyway. We have yet to see anything official from HTC, or for that matter, from Facebook or any carriers. Needless to say, lets get on with those specs. The handset is said to be the HTC Myst, which was once known as the HTC Opera. The specs are said to include Jelly Bean along with a 4.3-inch 720p (320ppi) display and dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8960 processor. Not entirely bad actually. Additional details have the specs rounding out with 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, a 1.6 megapixel front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and HSPA as well as LTE connectivity. The basics such as Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n will also be included. Aside from Jelly Bean, the handset is also expected to arrive with lots of Facebook (and Facebook related) apps. Basically, it seems like one could expect to find the regular Facebook app as well as Messenger and even Instagram. For better or worse, this Facebook phone is said to becoming to the US market first and it could arrive as early as the spring. AT&T seems like a likely candidate given they released the Status, however that remains to be seen. As mentioned, the specs do not seem all that bad. They are certainly not what we would consider high end, but given a fair price this could make an appealing phone. Well, maybe for some. [via unwired view] |
| Xperia lust? iPhone owners pulled in by Sony’s magical “Transfer” Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:01 AM PST It seems that Sony must feel one of the ways to win that race for third is to begin attracting iPhone users. Well, while they haven’t specifically offered that little tidbit, they have recently released an update for the PC Companion and Bridge for Mac apps — one that is said to make it “ridiculously easy” to get your personal data off your iPhone and onto your new Xperia smartphone.
The update is called ‘Xperia Transfer’ and it will allow for the transfer of contacts, calendar, bookmarks, images, videos, text messages and email messages. You can also transfer your iTunes music. This transfer app will work with a handful of Xperia devices to include the Xperia V, Xperia VC, Xperia TX, Xperia T, Xperia TL, Xperia T, Xperia Z, Xperia ZL and the Xperia ZQ. The process seems to be simple enough and begins with backing up your existing iPhone using iTunes. From here make sure you have the Xperia Transfer app installed. Once that is complete you connect your Xperia smartphone to your computer, select the data you want to transfer and wait for the process to run its course. We haven’t seen any user reports and we certainly don’t have an iPhone with any data that needs to be transferred so it is hard to say how well this actually works. Anyway, despite us poking some fun at Sony for trying to win that race to third, this is an interesting approach. While we suspect many of the Android Community readers would be comfortable moving data from one phone to another, there are plenty of smartphone users that are likely baffled by the thought. As much as we hate to think about it, there are likely some users that either never upgrade because they don’t want to lose any current data, or they simply start fresh with a new phone because they cannot transfer that data. Based on that, we do offer Sony a bit of credit and hope to see similar support coming from others as well. [via Sony] |
| HTC video gives behind the scenes look at building the One Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:11 AM PST One difficulty with announcing a product that will not be available immediately is keeping it fresh in the minds of potential buyers. Basically, to keep it so everyone doesn’t forget about the product in the time between the announcement and the release. This seems like it will be part of the battle with the HTC One. Of course, the HTC One also has some competition to worry about.
Just to name one name, the Galaxy S4 which is going to be unveiled on the 14th of March. Putting the competition aside though, it seems HTC is doing a fairly nice job of keeping the HTC One in the news. We have seen some details in terms of features that were introduced making their way to older devices. Not to mention, talk of specific details on the One such as the ‘dual-membrane’ microphones that are expected to help improve audio recording quality. Another HTC One topic that was recently talked about came out of Mobile World Congress where the handset took the ‘Best Mobile Device’ award. Key for today though, HTC has released a video that gives a behind the scenes look at the manufacturing process of the One. We have seen similar videos in the past, and this one follows that pattern and offers a look at some of the machines and gives some details on the process. The end result, HTC is touting the One as a “breakthrough” phone. Time will tell just how accurate that will be, but as we recently saw with those HTC financials — they could certainly use a hot selling handset at the moment. Otherwise, those following the One should make sure to check out some of our previous coverage which includes our hands-on and also some benchmarks. Device Info
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| Chameleon Launcher 2 for smartphones public release coming soon Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:36 AM PST A teaser video of Chameleon Launcher for smartphones was released back in early-January and while we didn’t know when that would be available for users at the time, we do have a bit of good news today. It seems the beta is now available and a non-beta release should be arriving sometime in the next few weeks. That said, lets get into the breakdown of who can use the launcher now, and where you can grab it from.
This release comes as Chameleon Launcher 2 and it is capable of running on a smartphone or tablet. In order to get the beta today you will need to have been a Kickstarter backer. Phone support is being targeted towards handsets with a minimum display resolution of 1280 x 720 and it was said that the beta will run for a “couple weeks.” Basically it sounds like they just need enough time to ensure the bugs are taken care of. Once the beta period comes to a close the app will be available in a few varieties. Those who have already purchase Chameleon Launcher in the Google Play Store will get an update that will allow them to run the launcher on a smartphone or tablet. Additionally, the launcher will be released in a smartphone only version for $2.99. The currently available tablet version will remain priced at $3.99 (this will be the one that will eventually have support for tablets and smartphones). Otherwise, the folks at Chameleon have promised that more information will arrive “next week.” Availability, pricing and upcoming information teaser aside, lets discuss some of the changes that have come along with Chameleon Launcher 2 (for smartphones). The Home Screen and Context system has been updated so that it will provide a “better experience from small screens to large screens.” The previous build only allowed for one home screen per context and that did not work quite so well on the smartphone so that number has now been upped to three. Finally, this release also brought some changes in terms of widgets. These have been updated to work on various display sizes and resolutions as well as given some other enhancements. Bottom line here, the public non-beta release of Chameleon for smartphones is almost here. [via Chameleon] |
| Google Glass app to recognize friends using motion and clothing Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:01 AM PST We saw some Google Glass information released directly from the source back in February. It was the Google created video that offered a look at ‘How it Feels (through Glass)’ and since then it seems the Glass related talk has accelerated. Since that point we have seen bits about Google Glass getting some style as well as a mock-up coming from Jet Blue and a parody coming by way of Amazon. As of today we have a bit more to think about in terms of Glass.
This latest is coming by way of Duke University, who are apparently working on an app that will allow the glasses to recognize a person without using facial recognition. Coming from the published paper, it was said that they want to complement facial recognition. The paper acknowledges the use of facial recognition, however notes that “it may not always be possible to see a person’s face.” Based on that they plan to use other points including the “color of clothes, decorations, and even human motion patterns.” Putting this all together and we have what they are calling a “fingerprint.” The system itself is called InSight and while not perfect just yet, it was said that it becomes “feasible to recognize individuals with reasonable consistency.” The before side of this does take a bit of work though, it was noted that your ‘friends’ would need to submit some pictures of themselves ahead of time. Based on these images, and the data that is extracted from them — that person would then get a profile for easier recognition. While this seems interesting, it does appear to be something that we are going to have to see to really understand the full benefit of. One possible perk here, as compared to using facial recognition is that this seems to take some prep work, sort of making it an opt-in system. Basically, that seems like it should help to ease the minds of those concerned mainly with privacy. [via Engadget] |
| NVIDIA shows Riptide GP 2 on Project SHIELD Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:28 AM PST In keeping with the weekly Project SHIELD game teasers, NVIDIA is this time showing Riptide GP 2 from the folks at Vector Unit. The release of Riptide GP 2 will arrive as a sequel to the original Riptide GP, however as we have already seen with other Project SHIELD games — it will come with some Tegra 4 related enhancements. In fact, as compared to the original release, NVIDIA has said that Riptide GP 2 will make an “even bigger splash.”
Putting that slightly cheesy teaser line to the side and we have a game that appears to be joining a solid and ever-growing Project SHIELD lineup. Before we mention any of those previous games, lets touch on what you can expect with this one. It was said that the Tegra 4 enhancements will include HDR lighting and boosted reflection shaders as well as enhanced water and particle effects. Riptide GP 2 will also arrive with an all new spectator mode and of course — full game controller support. You will get an idea of the controls from the video, however it was said that the right trigger is to go, the left trigger can be used to slow down and also go in reverse and the joysticks are used for movement and also for control on the tricks. Basically, what you would expect. We get a bit of gameplay action in the trailer, so make sure you hit play on the above video. Otherwise, some of the previous games that have been teased include Burn Zombie Burn, Need for Speed and Real Boxing. We also spent some hands-on time with Project SHIELD during CES and you can check that out using this link. [via NVIDIA Blog] |
| Micromax A110 Canvas 2 gets Jelly Bean Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:30 AM PST Android users may or may not be familiar with a five-inch smartphone from a company called Micromax known as the A110 Canvas 2. The device is a smartphone that launched back in October featuring dual-SIM capability and a 1 GHz dual-core processor. The phone also has an eight-megapixel rear camera and a VGA resolution front camera.
Other hardware features for the device include a 2000 mAh battery with up to five hours of talk time, Wi-Fi, 3G capability, Bluetooth, and GPS. The manufacturer of the device has announced that a Jelly Bean update for the phablet is now available. However, there is one caveat. The manufacturer isn’t offering the Android update as an over the air update most of us are used to seeing. Rather, people who own the device will have to take it into a service center where the update will be applied for them by a service associate. The good news is the update will be free of charge. Obviously, it’s going to be an irritation for a lot of people to have to take their device to a customer service center, assuming one is located nearby. This device has apparently been very popular for Micromax, so this may be good news for some folks out there. [via NDTV] |
| RemotePlay allows you to share media between devices with ease Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:04 AM PST It’s not such a difficult thing to share your favorite media between your Android smartphone and your Android tablet via text messages or e-mail. However, it can be a challenge if you want to do something like share your favorite video between your Android smartphone and something like an iPad. A new app has surfaced that promises to make that sort of sharing easier to accomplish.
The app is called RemotePlay and it allows users to beam photos, music, videos, and documents between devices on the same network. The app launched for Android devices via Google Play on Thursday. The company says that the iOS version is very close to launching. As it is now, running the application on your Android devices will make sharing content across the network easier to do. The application will allow you to do things like share a photo or document with everyone using the app on your current network the same time. That means no more sending out multiple texts or e-mails with the attachments when you want more than one person to see what you’re working on looking at. An interesting feature of the application is that it allows the person who sent the image or document to close it on the devices when they’re done talking about it. The developer of the app says that it’s a combination of a proprietary discovery protocol and standard HTTP for file transfers. The app also performs transcoding to make content from iOS devices playable on Android devices. That transcoding process is said to introduce a bit of lag to the system. The company also says that is working on a version of the app for Windows 8. [via Gigaom] |
| LG Optimus G gets Android 4.1.2 update Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:56 AM PST Typical Android users are always on the lookout for updates to the operating system running on their smartphone. Android updates typically bring all sorts of fixes for issues you may be experiencing and often add new and interesting features to the mix. If you own the LG Optimus G smartphone, you should have access to the Android 4.1.2 update now.
Sprint announced that the Jelly Bean update is available and going out over the air as of yesterday. The updated operating system brings with it some nice new features and other changes. This version of the operating system replaces the previous default browser with Chrome. The update also brings Google Now, improved voice search, and the camera app. People who like to customize their device will also be glad to hear that system widgets can be installed now without having root access to the device. Another nice update comes with this new operating system is Android Beam to send photos and other content between devices. Android Beam supports Bluetooth data transfer. Notifications are also now expendable and actionable. The user interface is smoother and the phone will support user-installable keyboard maps. Users can now also turn off notifications on an app specific basis. This sounds like a very nice update indeed. [via Engadget] |
| Motorola Mobility cuts headcount by about 1200 workers Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:43 AM PST Motorola Mobility has announced that it will be laying off approximately 10% of its current workforce. The 10% number will impact about 1200 employees. As Motorola Mobility continues to reduce costs in an effort to return to profitability. Motorola officials told employees via e-mail that they are “very optimistic” about the new products they’re working on but that “costs are too high.”
The 1200 workers will be shed from the US, China, and India. A Motorola spokesperson said that the headcount reduction is a continuation of cuts that Motorola Mobility had announced last summer. In August of last year, Motorola announced that it would be cutting 20% of its workers, or about 4000 employees. Motorola has promised it is “committed” to helping workers impacted by the cuts through the transition period. Google purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2011. After Google purchased Motorola Mobility, the hardware company continued to post significant losses. In Q3 of 2012, Motorola Mobility lost over $500 million. The losses continued during Q4 2012, despite the lucrative holiday shopping season, with Motorola Mobility losing over $350 million during the quarter. Motorola didn’t mention how much money it expects to save with the additional layoff of 1200 employees. [via Wall Street Journal] |
| Microsoft patent lawsuit looks to ban Google Maps in Germany Posted: 07 Mar 2013 03:36 PM PST A report has surfaced this evening regarding one of many lawsuits and legal spats that Microsoft is involved in, only this time regarding a patent used by Google Maps. So far the details are still flowing in but this interesting report and lawsuit could wind up having Maps banned in Germany at the hands of Microsoft.
According to in-court reports from the guys over at FOSS Patents, Google and Motorola are on the verge of losing a patent lawsuit that could cause some major issues in that region. Apparently Microsoft holds a patent that is described as a “computer system for identifying local resources and method therefor” and is in direct use by Google. Reports confirm that after much deliberation Google hasn’t been able to convince the courts otherwise, and the Judge actually ended the most recent proceedings by stating, “He’s inclined to hold Google liable for the infringement” which could see Microsoft win a ban and injunction against Google. This could be bad in more ways than one. Google would have to cease their Maps in Germany on all platforms. Remove Google Maps from the Google Play Store for that region, disable features that enable Maps to work in their Chrome Browser on the web and mobile, and even cut all services to Germany. Pretty dire situation. Most likely this won’t ever actually happen, and we’ll see some sort of continued lawyer settlement talks or possibly even a licensing fee to be paid by Google. While no immediate actions will be taking place anytime soon, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and see how it all plays out. [via TechCrunch] |
| LG Intuition update rolling out and causing major issues Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:46 PM PST If you’re the proud owner of the LG Intuition over on Verizon Wireless, also known as the LG Optimus Vu phablet, we have some bad news. Reports are flowing in that Verizon and LG recently sent out an update for the device that is causing some serious issues and headaches for many. You’ll still be on Android 4.0 ICS, and all the problems it’s causing might make you want to reconsider accepting the update.
According to the folks at AndroidPolice, the LG Intuition update is causing far more harm than good. Since hardly anyone owns that massively over-sized device we haven’t heard much regarding it, but for those who do use it this is a major problem. The update is breaking all sorts of things, for multiple users, and hopefully a fix is in the works. Reports mention constant app failures and errors, notification errors and problems, SMS not properly working, and even the Google Play Store is broken. Basically this is a mess, and apparently this update wasn’t tested before being sent to the public. Way to go LG! Thumbs down for you. The Verizon Wireless community forum is filled with complaints.
For some the issue is so bad the Play Store is actually missing and users can’t connect to Google. Which means contacts are missing and won’t sync, calendar data is gone, and even photos and videos are being wiped out when usually updates never touch the SD card. What a mess. So far Verizon support hasn’t responded but one comment states an update is coming with fixes next week. For now if you happen to own the LG Intuition we’d probably recommend not accepting the update and waiting a few weeks. We’ll report back if Verizon or LG have something to say regarding these issues. Device Info
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| Sony Xperia Tablet Z launching in Japan on March 22 Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:59 PM PST Sony had previously announced the Xperia Tablet Z and at that time they had said the global roll-out would begin with Japan. Well, keeping on that same word, we now have some details in terms of the release date. Simply put, the Xperia Tablet Z will be available for those in Japan beginning on March 22. The key here is beginning as there will also be a second release date in Japan.
The March 22 release date will be for the Xperia Tablet Z model that will be available by way of NTT DoCoMo. Sony will also be releasing a Wi-Fi only model a few weeks later, on April 13. The LTE equipped model that will be available with NTT DoCoMo will be priced at 85,470 Yen. The Wi-Fi only model is expected to be $499 when the tablet arrives in the US. In addition to the Japanese release, the Xperia Tablet Z is also expected elsewhere, though details remain a bit on the light side in terms of the full roll-out. Sony has said the availability outside of Japan will begin in the second quarter of the year. So basically, you are looking at a release sometime between April and June. While Sony had announced the Xperia Tablet Z back in late-January, they were showing it off during Mobile World Congress where we managed to get some hands-on time, you can see that video below. Otherwise, Sony is touting this as the "world's thinnest 10.1-inch tablet" which comes as a result of the 6.9mm thickness. The display is sporting a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and some of the other specs include a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage and Jelly Bean. It also looks like the Xperia Tablet Z will arrive for those in the US as a Wi-Fi only and HSPA+ model. [via Xperia Blog] Device Info
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| Will the Galaxy S4 be squared-off? These cases think so Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:35 PM PST With the official event and announcement for the Galaxy S4 just a week away, we’re starting to see more and more leaks and rumors regarding the flagship handset. This week some reportedly “official” cases for the upcoming Galaxy have been spotted at the annual CeBit trade show, once again showing a squared-off design. Could the new S4 be slightly shorter and wider? These case manufacturers think so.
Back in February we saw a few case design leaks suggesting a squared-off looking Galaxy S4, and today we have the exact same thing. While nothing is official until Samsung says so themselves, these case manufacturers could know something we don’t. It’s hard to decide if this is real or not, but with multiple sightings with the same design we have a feeling they’re legit. According to MobileGeeks the case maker company called MyLiving had multiple different cases on display this week, all showing what appears to be a slightly shorter and wider Galaxy S4. If these cases are correct, the design will be extremely similar in all ways to the Galaxy S III, just with a bigger screen. The same flash, camera, speaker layout on back, and the power and volume rockers are also in nearly the exact same spot. The only difference being the 3.5mm headphone jack on top was moved to the other side, the camera hole is bigger and lower (13 mp camera) and Samsung’s added a few more noise cancellation microphones.
The link above where these images come from also have a full hands-on video comparing these cases to an actual Galaxy S III, showing the new phone will be wider, shorter, and a bit on the thicker side too. Obviously we’ll just have to speculate and call this a rumor for now, but we’ll have all the answers next week. This is probably a good indication of what to expect, but we will have plenty of pictures and videos live from the event in NYC on the 14th.    |
| Nokia befriends Apple in fight against Samsung Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:18 PM PST In the ongoing feud between Samsung and Apple, it looks like one of these companies has found a new friend. That company is Apple and the friend is Nokia. It seems Nokia has recently filed a brief in support of Apple and as a result has become the only outside group to come forward in support of the appeal. The interesting part here is that Apple had sued Nokia back in 2009. The companies later settled in 2011 and as a result, Apple had to pay Nokia royalties.
Previous history aside, Nokia filed this brief earlier in the week at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. The full brief is still sealed, however Reuters is reporting that details from an accompanying summary have Nokia arguing that the “trial court judge got it wrong when she denied Apple’s request for a permanent injunction.” Further details from that summary touch on the “casual nexus” statement that we heard from Judge Koh at the time of the ruling. If you look back, Judge Koh was noted as saying that; "Neither statements about broad categories, nor evidence of copying, nor the conjoint survey provides sufficiently strong evidence of causation.” She then went on to note that “without a casual nexus, this court cannot conclude that the irreparable harm supports entry of an injunction." Anyway, this summary is arguing that such a rule “could cause wide-ranging damage to the United States patent protection landscape.” Samsung’s brief is not due for another few weeks. Otherwise, for those trying to keep track of exactly which case this involves — this is the one where Apple was originally awarded $1.05 billion and then later had that cut by $450 million. Bottom line here, this battle looks to be far from over. [via Reuters] |
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