Android Authority |
- Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom official: specs, features, pricing and release date
- Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 cheaper from Amazon Wireless
- Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean updates reportedly delayed
- Gameloft shows off new stunning graphics of upcoming Asphalt 8: Airborne
- Verizon Casio Commando 4G LTE press image apparently leaked
- New Google Play Store shipping options available: Ground and Saver
- $99 7-inch Android tablets could arrive in Q3, new report says
- Additional Huawei Ascend P6 specs and Emotion UI images leak ahead of next week’s launch event
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean vs iOS 7
- Apple may have finally figured out what they are
- Google officially acquires Waze
- iOS 7 borrows heavily from its competition, but should we care?
- Intel CloverTrail+ processor mops the floor with its competitors
- Softbank increases offer for Sprint to $21.6 billion
- Nvidia Shield Showcase: Cribs Edition
- Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 and Sony Xperia M get UK release dates
- Purported Samsung Galaxy Note 3 prototype leaks again, shows same huge proportions
- Google Glass video shows how the device can be used in everyday life [video]
- Verizon commercial for Father’s Day 2013 promotes Google’s voice search (video)
- Underwriter Laboratories praises Galaxy S4 for its color reproduction
- Official Samsung accessories store to launch in Europe in July – report
- AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update underway
| Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom official: specs, features, pricing and release date Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:33 AM PDT
Samsung on Wednesday announced the latest member of the Galaxy S4 family, the Galaxy S4 Zoom, confirming recent rumors and leaks in the process. The most recent Galaxy S4 Zoom image leaks were right after all, we're indeed looking at a bulkier phone that's similar in part to the Galaxy S4 Mini and in part to the Galaxy Camera. Specs and featuresThe Galaxy S4 Zoom is an Android smartphone with advanced camera features so let's check out its specs and features:
As you can see, some of the recent rumors regarding the specs and features of the handset were right on the money. The Galaxy S4 Zoom is not a flagship device despite sharing that Galaxy S4 name, but it has some good enough features to get you through the day.
The handset will come with some interesting camera features as well, including a Zoom Ring, which will let users easily access the camera features. The In-Call Photo Share feature will let them instantly capture and send images via MMS to the person they're talking to. Photo Suggest is a feature that "instantly connects you to huge libraries of images taken by fellow photographers" to help out with photo composion and photo location. Smart Mode and Smart Mode Suggest features will help users take better shots without worrying too much about the technical stuff that may otherwise get in the way. On top of those, other TouchWiz features available in various of Samsung’s recent Android devices are to be expected. Pricing and release dateUnsurprisingly, Samsung left out launch details from the official press release, and we have no pricing for the Galaxy S4 Zoom at this time. We expect to see availability details arrive in the following days, especially since Samsung has a special London-based June 20 media event during which some of its most recent products will also be presented.         We'll be back with more news on this camera phone, but meanwhile let us know what you think of it. 
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| Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 cheaper from Amazon Wireless Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:03 AM PDT
The Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 is now available from Amazon Wireless for you to buy at a cheaper price than what the carrier sells it for. You can now purchase the device for as little as $119.99, provided you get it with a two-year contract. The price is only for new contracts, so if you already are a Verizon customer and want to upgrade, you’ll pay $169.99 for the device. Without a service plan, Amazon Wireless sells the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 for $649.99. The $119.99 price is a pretty large discount, if you take into account the fact that the carrier itself will sell you the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 for $199.99 with a two-year deal. Another important thing to know is that Amazon Wireless has both the black and white versions available at this price. Two weeks ago, when Verizon has made the Samsung Galaxy S4 available, you could have purchase it from Amazon Wireless starting at $179.99, so this is a pretty serious price drop. If you’re still undecided about getting the Samsung Galaxy S4 or not, you can always take a look at our review of the device, which will surely help you make up your mind. Will you take advantage of this offer and buy the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4? Tell us in a comment! 
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| Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean updates reportedly delayed Posted: 12 Jun 2013 01:48 AM PDT
The Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 is apparently delayed according to a publication. Sam Mobile posted on Twitter a short message to advise that the update has been delayed, with the "new TW [TouchWiz]" apparently being to blame:
The news isn't confirmed at this time, but the publication has provided accurate information on Samsung products and related software updates so far. We have no idea what issues may have delayed the Android 4.2.2 update, as the publication doesn't mention them at this time. While the updates for the two 2012 flagship handsets have been delayed, it’s not like we had clear release dates for them before. Many Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 versions are currently running Android 4.1.2, so at least most users are officially on a Jelly Bean version while the wait for the latest software version to be released. 
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| Gameloft shows off new stunning graphics of upcoming Asphalt 8: Airborne Posted: 11 Jun 2013 11:23 PM PDT
The game will feature eight maps in total. Seven of these are completely new and include the Nevada desert, the city streets of London, the water-soaked streets of Tokyo and frozen tracks from Iceland. The eighth map is a revamped version of the Monaco track from Asphalt 7, something that will please fans of the current installment.
Asphalt 8 will also feature some heavy duty multiplayer options including both synchronous and asynchronous modes. Takedown mode is returning and there are also two new multiplayer game modes called Gate Drift and Infected. In Gate Drift mode you challenge your friends in a "drift" race through multiple gates with more more being earned when you get through a gate. The Infected multiplayer mode is a came of chase. One player starts as the "infected" player and must hit another car to pass on the infection before their health fails. Doesn’t sound too hard? Well you only have 20 seconds to pass on the infection before you are knocked out of the game! When using an asynchronous multiplayer mode, something that has been popular in games like Real Racing 3 and GRID 2, you can compete against your friend even when they are offline. In short this time shifted mode allows you to compete against your friends previous best performances which are simulated while you are racing. Gameloft has released a teaser trailer and it looks very impressive especially when you consider the price tag! 
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| Verizon Casio Commando 4G LTE press image apparently leaked Posted: 11 Jun 2013 05:53 PM PDT
A new rugged Android-powered handset is heading to Verizon soon, according to an apparently leaked press image of the smartphone. The picture below, provided by the well-known @evleaks, who has been the source of plenty of similar leaks in the past, shows the Casio Commando 4G LTE (also known as the G'zOne Commando 811), which should be launched by Big Red in the near future. As you can see in the picture, Verizon’s logo is present, right alongside Verizon’s 4G LTE status bar icon. A July 3 date can also be spotted, but there are no details that would suggest that particular date would have anything to do with a potential launch.
Obviously with such leaks, no matter how trusted the source, there's always a possibility that the image is fake, so keep that in mind when admiring the device. That said, we'll point out that the handset has already hit the FCC, and actual pictures of the handset have been provided to the regulator (including the one below) – as you can see, they show a device that's similar to the one in the press render above, complete with Verizon’s logo. The FCC documentation also revealed that the handset comes with 4G LTE support for Verizon.
However, other details about the handset are not available at this time, so we'll still have to wait for Verizon to make it official before we can tell you more about its specs, features and availability. We'll point out that unlike in previous years, when rugged smartphones did not also pack high-end features, this year is a little different. With handsets like the Xperia Z and the Galaxy S4 Active out and about – the latter is yet to launch, but it is official – other rugged handsets such as the Casio Commando 4G LTE may have a tough time impressing the crowds. 
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| New Google Play Store shipping options available: Ground and Saver Posted: 11 Jun 2013 04:47 PM PDT
Two new shipping options are now officially available to Play Store users interested in buying Google hardware, just as previously rumored. Ground and Saver shipping options have been quitely added to the Google Play Store checkout shipping options, allowing you to save cash on your orders. The downside is that you'll have to wait a while longer to get your precious gadgets. Compared to the Two Day shipping option, which ensures your device will be shipped in one or two business days, with Ground you'll have to wait 3-5 business days for your ordered items to ship, while with Saver your package will ship in 5-10 business days. However, not all three options will be available with all Play Store items or accessories. The longer you'd wait for a Nexus 7 to arrive, the less you'd pay for shipping: $9.99 via Ground compared to $13.99 via Two-Day. But the Saver option is not available for the 7-inch tablet at this time.  Image Credit: Droid-Life While free shipping is not quite there yet, at least you can now save some bucks on shipping, that is if you're able to keep you patience in check when it comes to playing with new toys. 
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| $99 7-inch Android tablets could arrive in Q3, new report says Posted: 11 Jun 2013 04:22 PM PDT
A new report indicates that even cheaper Android tablets may be hitting stores in the very near future. According to Digitimes, 7-inch tablets priced at only $99 could be launched in the third quarter of the year, although the publication doesn't list any model by name, nor does it mention the OEMs that would create sell such devices. However, the site indicates that "many brand vendors" are apparently interested in Asus's MeMo Pad HD 7, the $129 7-inch tablet that was just unveiled at Computex a few weeks ago, mainly because its price, which makes the device one of the most affordable 7-inch tablets in town. For what it's worth, cheaper Android tablets are already available in stores – and have been available for quite a while – if you don't mind buying no-name devices that feature lower-end specs in most cases. But DigiTimes now speculates that "first-tier brand vendors" would join these "white-box tablet players" in releasing cheaper tablets in the coming months. The new MeMo Pad HD 7 tablet features a 7-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution, a quad-core Cortex A7 processor, 8/16GB of storage 5-megapixel camera and 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean under the hood. Obviously, of all upcoming tablets, we're mostly interested in the upcoming new Nexus 7 model – at least we're expecting Google to unveil a new model at some point in the future. And it will certainly be very interesting to see whether such a device would also be priced even more competitively than it already is. Since we're talking about new Asus creations – we expect the new Nexus 7 to also be made by the company – we'll also remind you that a 10-inch MeMo Pad FHD 10 packing an Intel processor has also been announced at the same trade show. However, pricing details for the bigger tablet are not available at this time, and we're definitely curios to see how much this model will cost. 
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| Additional Huawei Ascend P6 specs and Emotion UI images leak ahead of next week’s launch event Posted: 11 Jun 2013 03:22 PM PDT
The Huawei Ascend P6 isn’t exactly the net's best kept secret. Not only has Hauwei confirmed (and teased about) the phone's existence, we’ve also seen several leaks giving us new information and showing the phone in various colors such as black, white and even pink. Still as much as we know about the Ascend P6, there are still plenty of things we haven't seen. That's where popular tech news leaker @evleaks comes in. Taking to his/her Twitter account, we now get our first look at Huawei's newest version of its Emotion UI (seen above). In a word, the Emotion UI is certainly unique. Personally I’m not quite in love with it, but to each their own. In addition to the new pics, @evleaks has also revealed some new specs for the device. We already knew that the phone would have a 4.7-inch 720p display and a 6.188mm thick profile, but apparently it also has a 5MP front cam with a feature called "Face Enhance". We also have learned that the handset will have an 8MP back cam with a 4cm macro. That’s all the new hardware details revealed, but based on past rumors we also know the P6 will have a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 32GB storage, 2GB RAM and Android Jelly Bean. While a 1080p display would have been welcome, the P6 is certainly no slouch. So what other secret features might the Ascend P6 bring to the table? We don't have too much longer of a wait to find out. The Huawei Ascend P6 is set to be officially unveiled next week on June 18th. What do you think of the Ascend P6, interested or not?
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| Android 4.2 Jelly Bean vs iOS 7 Posted: 11 Jun 2013 02:41 PM PDT
Apple's WWDC is in full swing, and arguably the biggest part of its keynote yesterday morning was the unveiling of the new iOS 7. Now that iOS 7 has been announced we can formally pit the two biggest mobile operating systems head to head. It's go time – Android 4.2 Jelly Bean vs iOS 7 – in an all out fight to the death (or at least till one smartphone runs out of battery, whatever comes first). Disclaimer: I do not absolutely, positively hate iOS. I think it's a decent operating system, but I do believe Android has surpassed iOS in terms of functionality and user experience (or at least when compared to iOS 6). I own a fourth-gen iPod Touch and a third-generation iPad, and both devices are running the latest version of iOS 6. UI designiOS 7 offered the first major change in the design of iOS since its inception, opting for a cleaner, more modern look with flatter icons, and a big emphasis on translucency. Apple has also chosen an ultra-saturated palette of colors that you’ll either love or hate. The overall design is refreshing, yet still familiar, a difficult feat that Apple has managed to pull off.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean offers a darker, moodier user interface, with black the predominant background, white text using the familiar Roboto font, and accents of blue. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean offers the consistent Holo UI, which has been heralded for its modern look.
MultitaskingMultitasking is a big part of your smartphone user experience, and it was also one of the places where Android had the upper hand. Well not anymore, as Apple completely redesigned multitasking on iOS to provide a smarter, more efficient multitasking experience. Now all apps in iOS can open background tasks, moving iOS closer to Android in that respect. But one place where iOS defeats even Android is the fact that the multitasking is intelligent. If you open your favorite news apps every morning and night, iOS knows this and refreshes the app at those times.   It'll also analyze aspects like the strength of your Internet connectivity so that it will refresh apps at the right time. This is a very cool feature, in fact it's probably my favorite from the keynote and for that I'll forgive it for its webOS-like appearance, but of course we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out in the real world. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean offers the same reliable multitasking that's been available since Ice Cream Sandwich. Click on the multitasking button and you'll see all of your recently opened apps in a preview. Clicking on the app preview will open the app, and sliding the preview to the left or right will get rid of the preview. Lock/Home screenApple developed a brand new Lock screen for iOS 7, offering a live wallpaper which may or may not look like the Phase Beam live wallpaper in Android. iOS 7 also gives you access to your notifications straight from the Lock screen. There aren't many radical changes to the Home screen, besides the ability to add pages to your folders and a new color scheme and design for app icons. Sadly, this means there are no widgets available for use on iOS 7.
The Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Lock screen is a much more eventful place. The addition of Lock screen widgets allow you to get a glimpse of what is going on in your phone without ever having to unlock it. It also gives you quick access to apps like the camera, clock, mail, messaging and Google Now. Android's customization is also shown in the Home screen. Here you can add apps, folders and yes widgets too. This allows you to customize your device to exactly the way you like it, and with the thousands of widgets available in the Play Store, you certainly have a lot to choose from.
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| Apple may have finally figured out what they are Posted: 11 Jun 2013 11:27 AM PDT
Heading into WWDC, Apple made no bones about what we'd be getting from them. Unlike I/O, which is full of delightful mystery in the months leading up to it, Apple is fairly straightforward about WWDC. Walking into the event, banners with "7" and "X" decked the Moscone center. Anyone who was there, or cared to keep tabs on Apple, knew what they were about to see. They copied everything!You heard it, I heard it, and everyone said it. The world had memes ready to go before the event began, and were ready for any news of anything even remotely suspect. We took bets on how often we'd hear "revolutionary" or "magical". Still, we were interested in what was coming out way from Apple. Would we get true innovation, or more of the same?
Neither, really. What we saw was so oddly different, we we're still not sure what to make of it. We're still cocking our heads like so many pugs, wondering if iOS 7 is even interesting. The wholly new look suggests that they were as bored of looking at the interface as everyone else was. New icons, a new color scheme, but still no innovative features to speak of. The commentary isn't that Apple copied. That much is clear. The real issue is how clean a forgery this new OS is. Only time, and use, will tell. So far, it looks like a really half-hearted effort to satiate unruly users. The interface is new for the sake of being new.
Stolen from where?If we look further into the actual design, there is no direct lineage. We can't rightly say they took from Android or Windows, wholly. We see some wisps of TouchWiz, and a few subtle Windows Phone touches. Android is peeking at us from iOS 7, too. To get tucked into an argument about where these design cues came from is to open a can of worms. Software design is ripe with theft. If we're being fair, we could make the point that just about everyone stole design cues from Apple in getting where they are now, Android included. Again, there is no point to tracing the history of design, because we'll just get all the way back to cave drawings and unibrows. 
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| Google officially acquires Waze Posted: 11 Jun 2013 10:40 AM PDT
Over the weekend, we told you about Google's bid for Waze being on the horizon. The reported $1.3 billion price tag would eventually marry Waze with Maps, providing a better real-time traffic picture. As it turns out, those reports were pretty spot on. Today, Google announced they have inked the deal for Waze. While terms weren't disclosed in the official blog post, most of the other news was. The two will operate separately for now, opting to share functionality and information rather than completely merge. Waze functions will be slipped into Maps, and the powerful Google search will pop into Waze. From the official Google blog:
Once again, Google makes strides in the field of contextual data. We can only hope Waze is fully implemented soon, as it's a great app with a ton of promise for Google. Do you use Waze? Are you excited for it? Let us know in the comments section! 
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| iOS 7 borrows heavily from its competition, but should we care? Posted: 11 Jun 2013 09:03 AM PDT
If you were online at all yesterday, you probably heard at least a little bit about Apple's latest iOS 7. The new UI is completed redesigned and transforms the aging platform into something modern and fresh. At the same time, it also looks very familiar. Some of this is because at it's heart it is still iOS, but some of the familiarity also comes from features that Apple has swiped from the competition. Immediately we are seeing mixed opinions about iOS 7, and not just from the Apple crowd. There are Android enthusiasts that are applauding the redesign, and there are folks that are outraged by Apple "borrowing" features from the competition. The reality is that there is nothing new under the sun. So why are there so many folks deeply insulted or angered by the features that Apple has cherry-picked from its rivals? We'll get into that shortly, but let's start with a look at some of the features that obviously drew inspiration from other platforms. These features look familiar…The Lock Screen The iOS 7 lockscreen is dramatically different from prior versions of iOS and even brings the Notification Center right to the lock screen, something that we’ve seen with Android for a long while now. Even the whole design, background image, and text seem to take heavy cues from Android's lockscreen. I will, however, give Apple credit for its "massive innovation" of making the notification bar translucent – that's a nice touch. Apple's Back "Button" While Android has always had a back button, iOS users haven't had this same luxury. This all changes starting with iOS 7, which lets you swipe your finger from the left edge of the screen to go to the previous screen. This isn’t a "back button" in the traditional sense, but it works the same. If you are thinking you’ve heard of this before, you have, BB10 offers the same kind of swipe functionality. Multi-tasking in iOS 7 From WebOS to Android, and even Windows Phone – just about every mobile operating system offered a better multi-tasking experience than what was found in Apple's iOS, up until now. This time around, iOS 7 gets a card-style UI that shows a full preview of apps that are currently running. A similar feature exists in Android, of course. The new multi-tasking interface also heavily resembles the multi-tasking in WebOS. Automatic Updates One of the more painful aspects of iOS is updating apps. Unlike Android, there is no automatic updates, and instead you have to manually keep track and go into the App Store for said updates. This is finally changing with iOS 7 – a feature that has been on Android devices for quite some time.
Control Center Starting in iOS 7, Apple is introducing a Control Center. This new center has settings for things like Bluetooth, Airplane Mode and a screen rotation all in one convenient place. Sound familiar? TouchWiz and other Android custom skins have had this forever now, and since Jelly Bean, so has stock Android. We could go on all day… This is far from a complete list of features that have made their way onto iOS 7 coming from other operating systems. That's not even mentioning features that Apple borrowed from 3rd party apps or even from the Apple jailbreak scene. You get the point though. Apple is not afraid to copy features from other operating systems and apps and then bring them over to their own products. Does it really matter though? Yes and no. 
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| Intel CloverTrail+ processor mops the floor with its competitors Posted: 11 Jun 2013 08:32 AM PDT
There's no denying that smartphones are becoming pretty powerful; quad-core processors are now the standard in high-end handsets and clock speeds are creeping up into laptop territory as well. However, the one big problem that mobile technology still faces is the limitations imposed by running processors on a battery. With the likes of the Exynos 5 Octa and Snapdragon 600 offering pretty much all the power you'll need in a smartphone, the next big battleground is likely to be fought over power consumption. New architectures like big.LITTLE demonstrate that chip designers understand the problems associated with increasingly power hungry processors, but it's hard to tell which chip manufacturer actually has the best energy efficiency. Fortunately for us, ABI Research has conducted some tests which not only look at the peak performance of the current top of the line chips, but also the average and peak currents drawn under various conditions. The resultsThe test included some of the top of the line handsets and tablets using some of the best performing processors currently available on the market, the Intel Z2580 CloverTrail+-powered Lenovo K900 smartphone, Snapdragon 600 and Exynos 5 Octa versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the dual-core Exynos 5250 Nexus 10, and finally the Nexus 7 which utilises the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip. You can take a look at the results table below.  The results show a benchmark score followed by the average and peak current draw during the test. Intel’s chip scores highest on the most tests and draws the least current, and it’s only beaten by the Exynos 5 Octa when it comes to GPU performance. Just looking at the base CPU score alone, the dual-core CloverTrail+ comes out on top by a couple of hundred points, followed by the four Krait 300 cores in the Snapdragon 600, and Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa chip, which houses four Cortex A15 and four A7 cores, following closely behind. But the real surprise can be seen if you glance over slightly to the right: the CloverTrail+ draws significantly less current than its competitors. The average CPU drain on the Lenovo K900 was just 0.85 amps, whilst the supposedly energy efficient Exynos 5 Octa Galaxy S4 drew an average of 1.38 amps, and the Snapdragon 600 drew a massive 1.79 amps on average. Peak current draw is even more telling, 1.05 amps peak for the Z2580, 1.71 amps peak for the Octa, and 2.10 amps for the Snapdragon 600, making the CloverTrail+ not only the fastest but also the most energy efficient processor out of these current top of the line components. ABI engineering Vice President Jim Mielke summed up the company's findings:
The closest competitor to the current draw of the CloverTrail+ is the rather outdated Tegra 3, which uses four ARM Cortex A9 cores rather than the newer, and more power hungry, Cortex A15 cores found in the Exynos 5 processors. But the old Tegra 3 languishes really far behind in terms of performance, scoring only half as well as Intel's processor. It seems that Intel has finally managed to find the right balance of power and energy efficiency after some dubious performance results with its previous Atom chips. But we're still waiting to see more handset manufacturers implement Intel's processor technology. BayTrail will be even betterWith high-end smartphones pushing the performance and energy boundaries, Intel seems to have found the sweet spot. But if consumers continue to demand more performance, then Intel's next line-up of BayTrail chips could provide real competition to ARM's processors. Intel is already promising significant performance and energy improvements over the current Saltwell cores used in its CloverTrail+ SoCs, which would put the Silvermont-based BayTrail even further ahead of the current top of the line offerings from Samsung and Qualcomm. In fact, as the Exynos 5 Octa is designed to be Samsung's flagship processor, the company could see itself falling significantly behind Intel in terms of raw performance for the first time in the smartphone business. Similarly, Qualcomm will have to rely on its upcoming Snapdragon 800 processor to compete with Intel’s next-gen chips, but we're currently unsure exactly how well that chip will perform.  Intel’s new Silvermont architecture will supposedly double its peak performance over Saltwell, but will consume only a quarter of the power whilst in a low-power mode. Similarly, with BayTrail set to be even more power efficient than CloverTrail+, ARM based processors are going to have to find significant improvements in energy efficiency in order to compete. The only thing holding CloverTrail+ back at the moment is the lack of an integrated LTE solution, which is an important feature for high-end markets. However, the new BayTrail Atom SoCs will be shipping with integrated LTE bfore 2014, which could see Intel finally get some decent market share in the mobile processor buesiness. If Intel manages to capitalise on this growing gap in battery efficiency whilst offering top of the line performance and a fully integrated SoC, then I can definitely see consumers flocking to Intel-powered handsets to reap the benefits of improved battery life. 
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| Softbank increases offer for Sprint to $21.6 billion Posted: 11 Jun 2013 08:22 AM PDT
Just when we thought the Sprint-Softbank marriage was a done deal, issues arise. Dish Network, who made a late charge to acquire Sprint from under Softbank, threw a big wrench into the plans. Their offer, which was $25.5 billion to Softbank's $21 billion, made Sprint shareholders take notice. Citing Dish's inability to create "an actionable offer", Sprint is again looking to Softbank. While the Dish offer provided enough reason to consider it, most notably more money, Sprint shareholders believe the Softbank deal is the best course of action. Of course, they'll now want something a bit closer to the Dish offer from Softbank. Softbank has increased their offer for Sprint to $21.6 billion, up from just over $20 billion, and restructured it to give them a larger stake. The new offer is for $16.6 billion in cash, and $5 billion invested into the new company. This will give them a 78% stake in the new company, whereas the former offer would have left them with a 70% stake. That offer also gave shareholders $12.1 billion, and pumped $8 billion into a new company. What we can take from this is that shareholders are not as interested in a healthy new company as they are more money for their position. This deal, while a bit larger, has a troubling structure moving forward. The Dish offer was for around $17 billion in cash to shareholders, and roughly $8 billion invested into the new company. Shareholders are clearly wary of Dish, as they'd need to leverage quite a bit to make such an offer work, which may have been the "actionable" part they were missing. That could tell us that Dish's plan for executing such an offer isn't solvent. Sprint hasn't closed the door on Dish, though. They've given them until June 18th to present a "best and final offer". Oddly enough, they wish to have a deal done by the end of July, so we'll be watching closely to see how this all plays out. 
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| Nvidia Shield Showcase: Cribs Edition Posted: 11 Jun 2013 08:14 AM PDT
There's plenty of gaming news coming out today thanks to E3, but rather than big fancy presentations, Nvidia has taken a slightly more laid back approach to advertising its new gaming platform with its latest promotional video. This latest Nvidia Shield ad, if you can call it that, comes in the form of a "Cribs Edition" show, featuring a behind the scenes look at Gearbox Studios and tour of Gearbox CEO and President Randy Pitchford's home. He shows off his impressive gaming collection, awesome self-built home theatre, and his various gaming setups. As a PC gamer myself, I have to admit that I'm pretty envious of the amount of tech in his home. Anyway, without spoiling anything further, take a look at the video for yourself. If you're just interested in the Nvidia Shield stuff, then you can skip to around 5:51. The streaming from PC to Shield feature at 6:25 looks particularly impressive; I can imagine it coming in quite handy for PC gamers who just want to sit on the sofa for a more casual gaming session. Importantly, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable input lag, but that will obviously depend on the speed and quality of your home WiFi network. Nvidia Shield appears to be shaping up quite nicely, but it will be interesting to see how well a new portable gaming system will sell in the face of the recently announced next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. 
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| Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 and Sony Xperia M get UK release dates Posted: 11 Jun 2013 07:34 AM PDT
The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 and Sony Xperia M are probably two of the most expected devices by those buyers looking for an affordable Android smartphone that offers some decent specs. Now they both have UK release dates, according to retailer Carphone Warehouse. The retailer revealed on its website that the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3, a device very recently announced, will be available in July, so you’ll have to wait about a month for it, provided it all goes according to plan. The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 has a 4-inch WVGA display and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core CPU and 1GB RAM. It also has a 5-megapixel main camera (as well as a VGA front one) and it runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Internal memory is 4GB, to which you can add more using a microSD card. A similar page has been created for another Android smartphone featuring lower-end specs, the Sony Xperia M. However, if that’s the phone you want to buy, your wait will be a longer one, since the retailer mentions an August release date for the device. Just like the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3, the Xperia M is set to also have a dual SIM version, but Carphone Warehouse is talking about the single SIM variants, though.
The specs of the Sony Xperia M include a 4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, with the device being powered by a dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm CPU and 1GB of RAM. Internal memory is 4GB, and there’s a microSD card slot on board, too. Also important is that the main camera features a 5MP Exmor RS sensor. NFC is also included, and so is Stamina mode, to get more use out of the battery. Do you plan on getting one of these two devices? If so, which one? 
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| Purported Samsung Galaxy Note 3 prototype leaks again, shows same huge proportions Posted: 11 Jun 2013 07:09 AM PDT
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 prototype leaks are on a roll, as today it's time to look at yet another purported shot of the monster device. Most likely not a retail version, the latest leak show a behemoth display encased in a rectangular-shaped bezel that reminds of the good old Galaxy S2. Just like the pictures surfaced two days ago, this Galaxy Note 3 prototype seems to have a 5.99-inch large screen, which looks awfully large next to other cellphones. As seen in the picture below, the device is almost twice as long as a legacy Nokia phone and way longer than another Samsung prototype (on the right). Considering the squared corners that are unlike Samsung’s recent design choices for flagship devices, this is most likely a fake shell used by Samsung to test Galaxy Note 3's internal parts.
The smartphone is rumored to pack a 5.99-inch Full HD display and a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with an Adreno 330 GPU. A healthy 13-megapixel rear-mounted camera and S Pen capabilities are also expected. On top of that, we should see Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean as the main platform with TouchWiz on top. However, this alleged Galaxy Note 3 prototype can’t be confirmed at this time, so the traditional grain of salt is in order. Would you purchase a Note model that big if these rumors become reality? 
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| Google Glass video shows how the device can be used in everyday life [video] Posted: 11 Jun 2013 06:11 AM PDT
A new Google Glass video shows you how the device can be successfully used in everyday life, giving you answers in situations you come across in various moments. The video shows Googlers testing the device with various searches, some of them very funny, and putting Google’s search capabilities, and the way they can connect various pieces of information, to work. Verizon has also promoted Google’s voice search capabilities in a new ad (but it’s not Google Glass-related). Coming back to the new Google Glass video, it must be said that its subjects are asking Glass questions from a lot of areas of activity, and the device seems to have no problem quickly answering them. Moreover, you can use it to instantly get a translation of a few words or a conversion (useful when in a foreign country), check out restaurants around your location, as well as perform mathematical operations and look for flight details.
But if those are examples of useful information, the truth is that we usually look for stranger things on Google in our everyday lives. That’s why the video also shows how Google Glass can be used to provide answers to various questions (some of them very funny), or show you pictures you want to see – like some images of Richard Branson in drag (ok, maybe you don’t want to see those). You can also ask it questions that bug you at a certain moment, like “what was the movie in which Jim Carrey gets his memory erased?” or find out what the band that played the “How Bizarre” song was. The device shows some very good comprehension of spoken language, even when asked to search for something like “Bob Loblaw Law Blog”. All in all, the video shows that you can rely on Google Glass for help in your day-to-day activities: Are you looking forward to Google Glass? Do you plan on buying the device when it becomes available? 
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| Verizon commercial for Father’s Day 2013 promotes Google’s voice search (video) Posted: 11 Jun 2013 03:55 AM PDT
The commercial that Verizon has prepared for this year’s Father’s Day is one that will certainly bring a smile to the faces of all fathers out there. Called “Mr. Fix It All”, the ad promotes Google’s voice search services, in a funny yet plausible way. In case you didn’t know, voice search can be used to find out how to fix a broken window, a broken dishwasher, and even a broken heart. Now, after watching it, don’t tell me the Verizon commercial hasn’t remind you of at least one situation in which being able to do a Google search on your phone saved you in a tricky situation. Using search on our phones has become such an integral part of our lives, that we don’t even realize how much it helps anymore. 
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| Underwriter Laboratories praises Galaxy S4 for its color reproduction Posted: 11 Jun 2013 03:45 AM PDT
Underwriters Laboratories, the safety consulting and certification company headquartered in Illinois, recently handed Samsung a certification for its 4.99-inch Super AMOLED display mounted on the latest Galaxy S4 handset. UL described the Full HD resolution (1080 x 1920) panel as one of the best on the market. According to the appraisal, the Samsung Galaxy S4 offers one of the best color reproductions and the largest percentage of Adobe's RGB spectrum: 97%. Adobe's standard is said to include 30% more colors than the general sRGB standard that is broadly used. On top of all that, UL said that the panel brings some of the best contrast ratios on the market, an advantage especially observed in bright sunlight: 3,352:1. Moreover, Samsung's display has a color accuracy tolerance smaller than 0.006, translating in vivid colors and crisps images. Samsung is not at its first UL award, earlier this year the same company handing a platinum certification to the Galaxy S4 for its limited impact on the environment. When we compared the performance of the Galaxy S4 display against the display of the HTC One, we found the former to have richer contrast and deeper blacks, but less realistic colors. While Samsung managed to produce generally brighter, saturated colors and wider viewing angles, we found the HTC's display sharper and reflecting less light when directly exposed to sun. 
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| Official Samsung accessories store to launch in Europe in July – report Posted: 11 Jun 2013 03:28 AM PDT
A dedicated online store for Samsung accessories is the next step in the Korean company’s extensive marketing efforts. Samsung is doing its best to make the Samsung Galaxy S4 and its other flagships ubiquitous, by opening Samsung Experience Shops in over 1400 Best Buy locations, which are set to be available for at least three years. The next step is for the company to capitalize on its extensive range of mobile accessories, some of which, like the Body Scale for the Galaxy S4 or the heart rate monitor, adding extensive functionality to Samsung’s devices. According to industry sources quoted by ET News, a Samsung accessories online shop is in the works, that will launch in Europe first, “around early July”, followed to other parts of the world in the future. The online store will sell, according to the same source, both accessories made by the company itself and some made by its partners (which will include some wireless chargers Samsung has ordered recently). Samsung has made a wireless charging kit for the Samsung Galaxy S4 available just a few days ago. The plan is to generate revenue and to gain customer loyalty, as users won’t have to look for accessories elsewhere if they can get them directly from Samsung, making sure they’re fully compatible (and, probably, at the best possible price). The same report mentions that the worldwide smartphone accessories market is currently at around 50 trillion Korean Won (around $44 billion), it makes quite a lot of sense for Samsung to want a bigger chunk of that. We’ll just have to wait until July to see if the project materializes. What do you think about the idea of a dedicated Samsung accessories shop? Let us know in a comment! 
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| AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update underway Posted: 11 Jun 2013 03:21 AM PDT
An AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Jelly Bean update is (finally) underway, and, judging by the reactions of users having received it, it’s been long overdue. It’s been quite a while since the device has received Ice Cream Sandwich, and now it’s Jelly Bean time for users of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 (model number SGH-I777). They were probably pretty jealous on owners of the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, since they’ve received their Jelly Bean update a couple of months ago. Anyway, since late is better than never, you can now go ahead and download the update using the Kies software. The AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Jelly Bean update will move your smartphone to version 4.1.2 and its build number, according to users who updated their devices, is UCMD8. A change log for the new update is not available yet, but you’ll certainly get Google Now, smoother performance, and improved notifications. No news on the OTA rollout is currently available, although that should happen pretty soon. Are you a user of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2? Have you received the update? What do you like most? Let us know in a comment. 
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All driving game aficionados will be pleased to hear that Gameloft is working on the next installment in the Asphalt series and the graphics look stunning! Asphalt 8: Airborne, which is scheduled to be released this summer, includes new maps, a new physics engine, and new weather effects. Dubbed “Airborne” because of the off ramps that launch your car into the air for some spectacular stunts, the new game will only cost $0.99 when released!
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